Mustang Review

Mustang Review
The Newsletter for the George Mason High School Alumni Association
Published by the Falls Church Education Foundation
________________________________________________________________________________________
Summer 2011
www.gmhsaa.org
Number 42
Financial Problems Continue To Affect Mustang Review
Newsletter
It has been a little over a year now that you
received your last Mustang Review. As I
mentioned in that newsletter we have lost all of
our funding from the City of Falls Church School
Board and must now look to the Falls Church
Education Foundation (FCEF) for our funding
stream for the foreseeable future. .
The FCEF is committed to providing sufficient
funding to produce one newsletter per year and
we are grateful for this support. In addition, we
are looking at publishing a second Mustang
Review this winter that will reside on the GMAA
web site (www.gmhsaa.org). We also are
considering the mailing of a postcard to all know
alumni/staff announcing that the Winter 2012
Mustang Review is ready to be viewed on the
web site. If we can manage this financially, this
will help maintain our address database
because the Post Office will provide address
changes up to six months from the notification of
a change of address.
However, we still get hundreds of Mustang
Reviews returned as “undeliverable” and all GM
Alumni/Staff are encouraged to let us and you’re
your class rep know when your address
changes so we can maintain our data base
that we have worked so hard on over the
past twenty plus years.
MUSTANG REVIEW
Also, as you may recall in the last newsletter,
your alumni association is no longer keeping
track of emails – either in our database or on the
web site because of the labor intensive
requirements to maintain both. Therefore,
when your email changes please let your
Class Rep know as each Class Rep is
maintaining their own email database.
I
One way each of you could help alleviate this
current funding shortfall and help the FCEF
continue to provide the necessary funding
support to publish the Mustang Review is to
join the Mustang Alumni Club that the FCEF
sponsors (see the information sheet at the
end of this newsletter). Thank you,
Scott Sager '65
President, George Mason Alumni Association
Mrs. Alice Rooney
Celebrates Her 100th
Birthday on August 6th!
For many of us, thinking and talking about our
junior years at George Mason we invariably
recall our times in chemistry class and AMR (AllMighty Rooney). As one of GM’s most loved
and admired teachers, it is an honor, on behalf
of the entire GMAA, to wish Mrs. Rooney a very
SUMMER 2011
Page 1
happy and memorable 100th birthday! As part of
celebrating this amazing milestone, I would like
to encourage those alumni who had Mrs.
Rooney as a teacher to send her a birthday
card. Her address is:
Alice Rooney
1125 Brook Valley Lane
McLean, VA 22102
She will truly enjoy hearing from her students
and, based my experience in talking with her
over the years, she will likely remember most, if
not all of those who send her a card.
In Memoriam
Chester (Rocky) Rockwell - Staff
Stanley Major – Staff
Renzo Renzi - Staff
Sandy SIMS Jolin – 1958
Ann WILKERSON King - 1958
John Dillon – 1959
Stephen McNamara – 1960
Mary Anne Rankin – 1965
Phil Wright - 1965
Linda Lamb - 1966
Mark Tracz – 1974
Greg Parker - 1974
Mr. Chester (Rocky) Rockwell
As you may have heard, we lost one of the most
popular and admired teachers that GM was
fortunate enough to have teach us. Mr.
Rockwell was a true friend to the GMAA and
was a frequent attendee to many class reunions
and Hall of Fame activities. Rocky will be truly
missed. Below is a portion of his obituary:
from George Washington University in 1950.
He taught math and coached all sports at Clarke
County High for 4 years, and taught math (and
coached basketball) at George Mason High in Falls
Church for 34 years.
He was a member and treasurer of the Good
Samaritan Class of First United Methodist
Church in Winchester; Eagles aerie # 824,
American Legion post 21 and past member of
Moose Lodge. He was director of Apple Federal
Credit Union for 42 years.
He married Thelma Edwards on August 16th,
1952 in Hagerstown, MD.
He spent his retirement years doing the things he
loved to do, attending church, fishing, hunting and
traveling.
Died
Wednesday August 4th, 2010
George Mason Athletic Hall of
Fame
The George Mason Athletic Hall of Fame (HOF)
Committee is made up of three people each
from the GM Athletic Boosters, the GM Athletic
Department, and the GMAA. The last induction
ceremony for the 5th GM HOF class, following
the selection of Charter Members in 1993 and
three additional classes in 1995, 2006 and 2007,
was held in October 2009. Two selectees from
that class, Ken Powers Shutts ‘57 and Colleen
Winszler ’01 were unable to attend the
ceremony in 2009 and will be honored at our
next ceremony, now scheduled for the fall of
2012.
Obituary for Chester Rockwell
Chester “Rocky” Scott Rockwell, 88, was born June
25th 1922 in Sleepy Creek, WV. He graduated
from Berkeley Springs High in 1940 and received
his AB from Shepherd College in 1947 and MA
MUSTANG REVIEW
SUMMER 2011
Page 2
George Mason High School
Sports Teams Win Three Virginia
State Championships in 20102011 School Year
Congratulations to the athletes and coaches at
George Mason for completing a very successful
year on the court, field, and track. Special
recognition goes to the following teams who
continued GM’s long string of multiple Virginia
State Championships:
Girls Cross Country - VA State Champions
the past three years!
Boys Soccer – VA State Champions the past
two years!
Boys Tennis – VA State Champions – the first
since 2003!
Way to go Mustangs!
A New Superintendent of Schools
Is Selected
After an extensive, nationwide search, the Falls
Church City School Board selected Dr. Toni
Jones, as the new Superintendent of Schools
for Falls Church City Public Schools.
“The School Board is honored and delighted that
Dr. Toni Jones will assume the helm of our
school division, continuing our commitment to
provide all students in the City with a world-class
education,” School Board Chairman Joan
Wodiska said.
Dr. Jones will officially start on June 13 and
commence her duties as Superintendent on July
1, succeeding Dr. Lois Berlin, who announced
her retirement earlier this year.
MUSTANG REVIEW
As part of the Superintendent search process,
the School Board conducted six public hearings,
an online survey for staff, and an online survey
for the community. The Board also created a
website to gather additional community and staff
feedback and sought community input on the
development of the criteria to evaluate
Superintendent candidates. In total, more than
550 individuals, including Falls Church parents,
school employees, and community members,
responded to the School Board's detailed and
thorough survey. As the search moved forward
earlier this year, the School Board convened a
Community Panel to assist in the interviews of
potential candidates.
Recognized by the National Board for
Professional Teaching Standards as a leader
who “Promotes Accomplished Teaching,” Dr.
Jones recently served as the Chief Academic
Officer for Deer Creek (OK) Public Schools
where she held a variety of senior leadership
positions for the past 13 years. Under Jones’
leadership, Deer Creek – recognized by many
as the top school district in Oklahoma – has
grown from 1,200 students to almost 4,000.
She brings a vast array of experience that spans
more than two decades, having served as an
elementary teacher, special education teacher,
elementary principal, secondary school principal,
and district K-12 curriculum and instructional
technology administrator. She has worked on
various aspects of more than eight large-scale
school construction projects, and she has been
a district leader on multi-million-dollar strategic
planning.
Prior to joining Deer Creek, Jones worked in
Sydney, Australia as a teacher and administrator
at SCECGS Redlands, a diverse and dynamic
international school community. Her career
began in Reno, Nevada, as a multi-age teacher
serving primarily an economically disadvantaged
student population.
“Jones has served in virtually every position
available in a K-12 school division, and those
SUMMER 2011
Page 3
experiences should help her acclimate quickly to
Falls Church City Public Schools,” Wodiska said.
“She has spent the past 13 years helping lead a
high-performing, small school district like Falls
Church. And with her experiences in everything
from e-learning to special education to school
construction, she brings both experience and
knowledge in all of the major school issues
currently facing our City.”
She holds a dual bachelor’s degree in Special
Education and Elementary Education from the
University of Nevada, and a master’s degree as
a Reading Specialist from Charles Sturt
University in Australia. Dr. Jones obtained
administrative credentials from the University of
Oklahoma, and a Doctor of Education in
Educational Leadership from Oral Roberts
University in Tulsa, OK.
“I am energized and humbled by this
opportunity, and I can’t wait to embrace the
community of Falls Church as we work
collaboratively to make sure that our schools
continue to build on a tradition of excellence that
is highly regarded in Virginia, across the nation,
and around the world,” Jones said. “Falls Church
is the only school district I can see leaving my
home of Oklahoma for. I absolutely love what I
do on a daily basis, and I can promise the
community of Falls Church that I will always be
focused on what is best for our children!”
Dr. Jones brings with her a deep understanding
of curriculum and instruction. Her
accomplishments include national recognition for
technology integration K-12, implementing elearning options, and seamlessly infusing a
district wide data system for monitoring student
learning. She has a specific strength for
developing programs to target and assist
struggling learners, while maintaining an
environment that is rich in content and
opportunity for all students, including a focus on
gifted education.
MUSTANG REVIEW
SUMMER 2011
Page 4
GMAA Class Representatives
Staff
Nancy Birindelli
303 Sea Oats Trail
Southern Shores, NC 27949
252-261-3915
[email protected]
1953
Lynn Llewellyn
4209 Aspen Hill Rd
Rockville, MD 20853
301-871-6197
[email protected].
Sarah “Doll” Madden
14613 Deerhurst Ter
Silver Spring, MD 20906
301-598 4837
[email protected]
1954
Scott Butler
3020 Pine Springs Rd.
Falls Church, VA 22042
703-941-7136
Patti Regan Carson
8721 Jones Mill Rd.
Chevy Chase, MD 20815
301-656-0613
[email protected]
1955
Maggie Koontz Stewart
26047 Seminole Lakes Blvd
Punta Gorda, FL 33955
[email protected]
Judy Potter Brown
18 Chatsford Ct.
Bloomington, IL 61704
[email protected]
1956
Terp Palmer
3 Flowing Wells Ln.
Savannah, GA 31411
912-598-4614
912-598-4657 (fax)
[email protected]
MUSTANG REVIEW
1957
Pat Sullivan Palmer
(See 1956 for contact
information)
Dena Phillips
1430 Wannamaker Avenue,
Summerville, SC 29485
[email protected].
1958
Tiana Gillespie Camfiord
13025 Compton Rd.
Clifton, VA 20124
703-830-3783
[email protected]
1963
Bill Laing
59 Kendig Ln.
Martinsburg, WV 25404
304-274-3526
[email protected]
Nash Gifford
6509 79th Place
Cabin John, MD 20818
301-229-3118
[email protected]
1964
Judy Ingalls Hughes
67 Vineyard Lane
Media, PA 19063
610-566-3293
610-220-2889 (c)
[email protected]
1959
Clare Neuberg Dix
2619 Lemontree Ln.
Vienna, VA 22181
703-938-4997
[email protected]
1960
Hugh “Luke” O’Hara
1107 Kennedy St.
Falls Church, VA 22046
703-241-8636
HOHara@ManagementConc
epts.com
1961
Judy Fischer White
513 W Broad St Apt. 412
Falls Church, VA 22046
[email protected]
Pam Clark
[email protected]
1962
Carl Neuberg
3406 Fiddlers Green
Falls Church, VA 22044
703-256-5354
[email protected]
1965
Scott Sager
9698 Manteo Ct.
Burke, VA 22015
703-250-7791
[email protected]
1966
Joyce Powell Timms
2811 Mary St
Falls Church, VA 22042
703-560-1544
[email protected]
Jo Briggs Freeman
1307 Mormac Rd.
Richmond, VA 23229
804-741-5087
[email protected]
Merrill Hunt McCarter
15157 Woodsman Ln
Woodbridge, VA 22193
[email protected]
1967
Rose Martin GarrettDaughety
2112 Brandeis Dr.
Richardson, TX 75082
[email protected]
SUMMER 2011
Barry Buschow
903 Madison Ln
Falls Church, VA 22046
703-533-8610
[email protected]
1968
Nancy Clark Aderholdt
17091 Four Seasons Dr.
Dumfries, VA 22025
703-680-3094
[email protected]
1969
Barbie Watkins Blood
329 Old Kootenai Trail
Sandpoint, ID 83864
208-263-8559
[email protected]
1970
Robbie Werth
5414 Thetford Place
Alexandria, VA 22310
703-922-5264
[email protected]
1971
Billy Martin
1769 Ensenada Dos
Pensacola Bch, FL 32561
850-291-1363
[email protected]
1972
Patricia Hopkins PhillipsHolbert
5422 Quinn Lane
Woodbridge, VA 22193
703-670-6650
[email protected]
1973
Diann Bullock Watkins
1002 Madison Lane
Falls Church, VA 22046
703-538-6644
[email protected]
Page 5
1974
Brenda Brown Green
930 Ficklen Road
Fredericksburg, VA 22405
703-505-0834
[email protected]
1981
Jean Marie Diloreto King
4120 Lenox Drive
Fairfax, VA 22032
[email protected]
1986
Susan Schick Link
5920 E. Larkspur Drive
Scottsdale, AZ 85254
[email protected]
1975
Phil Acosta
101 Poplar Drive
Falls Church, VA 22046
703-533-0205
[email protected]
1982
Valerie Singleton Smolinski
4875 Old Dominion Dr.
Arlington, VA 22207
703-533-2390
[email protected]
Joe Cheek
2308 N. Madison St.
Arlington, VA 22205
703-536-5350
[email protected]
1976
Dan Collins
2800 Maple Lane
Fairfax, VA 22031
[email protected]
Karen Simms Tulloh
145 Lake Forest Dr.
Fredericksburg VA 22406
[email protected]
1977
Carolyn Fitzgerald Young
39605 Rodeffer Road
Lovettsville, VA 20180
[email protected]
Jimmy Herron Zamora
3789 Manila Ave A
Oakland, CA 94509
[email protected]
1978
Susan Richbourg Frick
3707 Ottawa Court
Woodbridge, VA 22192
703-590-4270
[email protected]
1979
Karen Huber Grubbs
7541 Royce Court
Annandale, VA 22003
703-941-6367
[email protected]
1980
Jackie Beinhard-Cook
7578 Hardscrabble Road
Addison, NY 14801
607-359-3381
[email protected]
MUSTANG REVIEW
1983
Tom Clinton
711 Hillwood Ave
Falls Church, VA 22042
703-241-2902
[email protected]
[email protected]
1987
Hugo Mendoza
6015 Sherborn Lane
Springfield, VA 22152
703-644-5280
703-962-0792 (cell)
[email protected]
[email protected]
1984
Susan Schneider Eddy
8685 Nagle Street
Manassas, VA 20110
[email protected]
1988
Brent Johnson
930 Argonne Ave.
Hollister, CA 95023
[email protected]
Rich Condit
[email protected]
Michael Willner
1817 N Queens Ln Apt 163
Arlington, VA 22201
703-465-2788
[email protected]
1985
Karen Seal Weir
122 Kelvingrove Drive
Madison, AL 35758
703-729-8618
[email protected]
Laura Jacomet Cesnik
2608 Middle Road
Winchester, VA 22601
540-722-9096
[email protected]
Katie Jacomet Clinton
4410 Glen Rose St.
Fairfax, VA 22032-1225
[email protected]
1989
Martha Behr Noone
6517 Tucker Avenue
McLean, VA 22101
703-821-8041
[email protected]
Rob Elmore
305 Eastbrook Dr.
Charlottesville, VA 22901
[email protected]
Laura Snider Nunley
316 Riley Street
Falls Church, VA 22046
703-536-2384
[email protected]
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1990
Chris Hurley
107 Cedarpost Drive
Cary, NC 27513
919-481-6992
[email protected]
1991
Sasha Day Schultz
10 Wrenfield Drive
Sewell, NJ 08080
703-242-7507
[email protected]
Dave Cook
P.O. Box 228
Jackson, OH 45640
740-395-3935 (cell)
[email protected]
1992
Deepa Menon
[email protected]
1993
Katherine Temple Craig
5400 Inverchapel Road
Springfield, VA 22151
703-321-3149
[email protected]
Josh McCall
[email protected]
1994
Lars Howlett
4144 25th Street
San Francisco, CA 94114
415-810-4906
[email protected]
1995
Sharon Eldridge
2011 NE 15th Ave
Portland, OR 97212
[email protected]
[email protected]
Page 6
Wilson Rickerson
98 Day St. Apt. 3
Jamaica Plain, MA 02130
[email protected]
Anna Molaski Lamb
10192 Kleinbrook Way
Highlands Ranch, CO 80126
[email protected]
Andy Hartman
4410 38th Street N
Arlington, VA 22207
[email protected]
1999
Olivia Thomas Devescovi
45586 Grand Central Sq.
Sterling, VA 20166
571-212-3380 (cell )
[email protected]
Toan Do
5985 Terrapin Pl Unit 302
Alexandria, VA 22310
[email protected]
1996
Jennifer Williams Persson
373 W. Broad Street
Falls Church, VA 22046
703-585-9625 (cell)
[email protected]
1997
Sarah Romer
116 Tollgate Way
Falls Church, VA 22046
[email protected]
Rachel Buckingham Cochran
[email protected]
Stefanie Williams McMaugh
311 Timber Lane
Falls Church, VA 22046
[email protected]
1998
Jennifer Freeman
1455 Skyview Road
Salem, VA 24153
[email protected]
Delora Parks
9817 Bronte Drive
Fairfax, VA 22032
[email protected]
2000
Jenn Brasler
1001 N. Sycamore St.
Falls Church, VA 22046
jennbrasler47@gmail
2001
Veronica Ratliff
[email protected]
Rebecca Davis
608 Highland Ave.
Falls Church, VA 22046
Whitney Lemke
164 Rees Place
Falls Church, VA 22046
703-577-2923
[email protected]
2005
Tania Andrade
[email protected]
2006
Meredyth Lowe
2701 Welcome Drive
Falls Church, VA 22046
703-489-2097 (cell)
[email protected]
2007
Charlotte Volpe
[email protected]
Anna Duning
[email protected]
George Mason
High School
Alumni
Association
450 W. Broad
Street
Suite 305
Falls Church, VA
22046
703-538-3381
www.gmhsaa.org
Margaret Lipman
[email protected]
[email protected]
2002
Juliana Pearson
703-727-4777
[email protected]
2003
Anne Maynard
703-627-9928
[email protected]
Caitlin Wright
540-204-6319
[email protected]
2008
Emily Perry
[email protected]
2009
Laura Peppe
830-455-0406
[email protected]
2010
(We need volunteers!)
2011
(We need volunteers!)
Eric Powell
5440 Marinelli Road #425
Rockville, MD 20852
202-213-2588
epowell.nrc.gmail.com
2004
Anya Solovieva
[email protected]
MUSTANG REVIEW
SUMMER 2011
Page 7
GMAA Class Articles
Staff
By Nancy Birindelli
Greetings fellow staff members. Hope that
2011 finds you happy, healthy, and greatly
enjoying retirement! Some news from Falls
Church:
Dr. Lois Berlin has retired as the seventh
superintendent of FCCPS. Her replacement is
Dr. Toni Jones who is currently the chief
academic officer for the Deer Creek Public
Schools in Oklahoma. (see article above)
Also retiring this year are Aurora Stelz (MD
teacher), Alice Nelson (MD teacher), Pat
Smith (MEHMS secretary), and Dana Upton
(MEHMS clinic aide).
Dr. Stewart Roberson, FC superintendent from
1992-96 will be retiring as superintendent of the
Hanover (VA) Public Schools concluding a
prestigious 35-year tenure in education.
The Agnes Meyer Teacher of the Year was
Suzanne Planas, Spanish teacher and
department head at George Mason HS; the
Support Staff Employee of the Year was Leila
Levesque, the student information specialist in
the Central Office.
Sympathy is extended to the family and friends
of Chester “Rocky” Rockwell (math teacher at
GM), Stanley Major (bus driver and friend to
all), and Renzo Renzi (maintenance
supervisor).
As you will read elsewhere, financial woes
continue to plague the Mustang Review as well
as education in general. Class reps have data
bases of their members so electronic
newsletters could be an option for continuing to
keep people informed; there is no such listing
for staff. If you wish to remain connected,
please send me your email address!
Nancy
MUSTANG REVIEW
Classes of 1953 and 1954
by Lynn Llewellyn ('53) &
Patti Carson
ON BECOMING
TOPOGRAPHICALLY CHALLENGED
One of the by-products of the so-called Golden
Years is the increasing probability of becoming
"topographically challenged," or more bluntly
speaking, asking yourself: "Where the heck am
I?" This condition manifests itself in different
ways and at different times, but it is always
there lurking in the background. Let us provide
a few examples from some recent class
activities.
By far our largest joint class outing was our
newly-named "It's Christmas in November"
luncheon at Logan's, once again arranged by
our own Sarah (Doll) Madden('53) who secretly
confessed we go there because she likes the
bread. In addition to Doll, other carousers
included Doll's daughter Mary Kate Carroll,
Buddy Tasker('54), Joan Gladstone('53),
Arlan Kinney('53), Lynn Llewellyn('53),
Barbara McFarland, Betty Yarbrough
Hilosky('54) and her friend Brooksie, Mary
Lou Dose('54) and her husband Dan, Fred
Louis('53) and his wife Mary Ella, John
Lintner('53) and his wife Roberta, and Nell
Crowley Campbell('54) and her companion,
Bob Schindler. A prominent no-show and
clearly topographically challenged was John
(Buttons) Yarbrough('54) who later described
being somewhere in the vicinity of Logan's, but
saw nothing that looked familiar and decided to
turn around and ride home on his motorcycle.
Now ordinarily one might accept this story at
face value if it weren't for the fact that, at the
time of the luncheon, an unconfirmed report had
Buttons doing "wheelies" on his chopper in front
of a notorious biker bar just off Interstate 66.
Obviously impressed that a man of his age
could do stunts looking like the reincarnation of
Evel Knievel, Yarbrough was immediately
awarded honorary membership in the
Gainesville Chapter of Hell's Angels, then
quickly propelled into the biker establishment by
a crowd of on-lookers. Buttons emerged later,
appearing somewhat disoriented, with a fresh
tattoo. But, again, this is all hearsay.
A second if less dramatic example occurred the
month before when Doll Madden and Patti
Carson("54) drove to Waynesboro, VA, to have
lunch with Nancy Garber('53)at the Cracker
Barrel. Despite having a GPS in the car, Doll
managed to choose a circuitous route home,
missed the Leesburg Bypass, and crawled
through that bustling metropolis during rush
hour exclaiming "I'll never do this again!" Or,
consider the special Culpeper, VA, Christmas
luncheon -- appropriately scheduled in
December -- for the benefit of visiting
classmate, Jim Arnold('54).
Those in attendance included Buddy Tasker,
Joan Gladstone, Patti Carson, Doll Madden,
Buttons Yarbrough, Penny Jackson
Moffat('53), and Vince Charlton("54) and
Louise Charlton('54). However, missing was
Jim Arnold. Jim, it turns out, was ill, and
unfortunately could not make the trip. Jim, we
all wish you the very best and hope this finds
you in good health. More recently in April, Bob
Schindler's daughter arranged a surprise
birthday party for Nell Crowley Campbell at a
Lebanese restaurant in Arlington, VA. Many
people were there to celebrate Nell's birthday
including her stepson, Bill Campbell, Bob
Schindler, a number of Nell's fellow teachers,
and members of the Civil War Round Table.
Doll Madden, Patti Carson, and Mary Lou and
Dan Dose were also present for the festivities.
Nell, we won't ask which happy birthday you
celebrated, but we wish you many more in the
years to come. To the best of our knowledge,
no topographically challenged folks were
present at the party.
The final "Where the heck am I?" episode
belongs to Lynn Llewellyn who, while walking
toward his Rockville home last March, was
attacked by a pit bull and found himself in the
Montgomery General Hospital ER in Olney, MD.
Without going into all the gory details, let us just
say that in the future he will refrain from wearing
any garment that says "BITE ME" on the back.
Lynn said first of all he didn't know the dog
SUMMER 2011
Page 8
could read, or that he would take the message
literally.
MOVING RIGHT ALONG
Two other items of interest are worth noting.
First, our good friend and classmate, Arlan
Kinney -- a recognized authority in the field of
counterterrorism -- has written a book entitled
"Background To War." According to Arlan, "It is
a story about what it was like to live in Saigon,
Vietnam during the tumultuous period of
transition from our professed role as military
'advisors' to our escalation of the war in 1965."
The book describes Arlan's "personal
experiences and history of events that occurred
before, during and after his two years in
Vietnam from April 1963 to April 1965 as a
special agent with the Air Force Office of
Special Investigations." Arlan notes that
"Background To War" shows "how similar the
decisions and mistakes by both the military,
diplomatic community and politicians during and
before the Vietnam War were to those made
during the second war with Iraq and the war in
Afghanistan." The book is due to be published
in August 2011 and anyone wishing a copy
should contact Arlan at [email protected].
Congratulations, Arlan!
Second, as many of you may recall, this fall
marks the 60th anniversary of our start at
Thompson House. In early May, a small group
of us -- Patti Carson, Doll Madden, Mary Lou
and Dan Dose, and Lynn Llewellyn -- got
together at our local Panera and began talking
about the possibility of putting something
together called "Memories of Thompson
House." The basic idea would be to compile a
collection of stories, anecdotes, and humorous
recollections of what it was like during the year
we spent before the completion of George
Mason High School. Included with the
"memories" would be any photographs we can
dredge up from the mostly forgotten, dustcovered boxes in our collective basements. Not
knowing exactly when the current issue of the
Mustang Review will be published, it is quite
possible that we may have already contacted
many Thompson House alumni. Much will
depend on how many people are interested in
contributing to the project. We will try to reach
as many folks as possible in the coming weeks,
and provide more specific information than is
included here. In the meantime, if you wish to
contribute a story or desire more information
about the project, please contact Lynn Llewellyn
at [email protected].
MUSTANG REVIEW
Class of 1955
By Maggie Koontz
Stewart & Judy Potter
Brown
Hurray for technology. The class of ‘55 is
spread from sea to shining sea, but we can still
be in contact. For this Review update Maggie,
back in VA, and Judy, in IL, divided the list. We
heard from a number of you who are keeping in
touch with one another. Here‘s the news we got
from some of you.
Bill Breit wrote Maggie, ―I don't have any real
news from Texas except that it is hot and very
dry (read drought) and we pray for rain daily.
Have kept up with Dave Harrison. Don't know if
he sent you his fine book about growing up in
Falls Church. I think he is having it re-published
so if you haven't received a copy give him a
jingle and get one. You will enjoy it. He
mentioned most if not all of us in the book. I
have not received a hard copy of the GM
newsletter and wonder if it is still being
published. If they have gone to computer only
please send me the info on accessing it. Sue is
about the same and we enjoy our dog Sandy,
feeding the birds and doing a lot of reading. We
are doing what a lot of old folks do although I
don't feel old most of the time. Hope you are
still painting. I still display the work you did for
me some years back. Look forward to
corresponding with you.‖
Hank Farrell is keeping busy with volunteer
stuff, including Foodbank, SCORE, AARP
Taxaide, church choir, and umpiring baseball
plus woodworking. Celebrating 50 years of
marriage to the same woman, Laura, this
summer.
Jane Anderson Moon writes ―I've been retired
now for more than 5 years and still having fun.
My husband and I are both in good health and
enjoying our quiet life. Much of my time is still
devoted to trying to upgrade our rather worn
house and garden, and taking care of a couple
of rental houses. I attend classes and also
teach in a program for older people at California
State University at Fullerton. Also I've been
writing some stories of my life for my children
and grandchildren - trying to give them a feel for
how life was when we were young - it's so very
different for them today!
―Our two married children live in northern
SUMMER 2011
California (Orinda and San Anselmo, both
beautiful scenic places that we always enjoy
visiting), and our older son lives in Orange, CA,
with us, providing much help with various
repairs and the gardens. Our oldest grandson
is graduating from high school June 2011 and
planning to attend local College of Marin for the
next two years. In late June, his Eagle Scout
Court of Honor will be held. His middle brother
is in high school, and our youngest two
grandchildren will be in junior high school.
Time seems to be speeding by.‖
Mary Jane Clark Wild: “So nice to hear from
you [Judy]! I'm just making your deadline for info
for the Mustang Review. I literally just got back
from 10 days in Denver (visiting our youngest
daughter and her family) and am now checking
our e-mails. Wow - have just a few!!!
We are still enjoying our life in State College,
PA and caring for 300+ rose bushes keeps us
busy! We survived the winter from hell by going
to Culebra Island (halfway between Puerto Rico
and St. Thomas). Should have stayed longer.
Still in good health and are able to kayak in the
lakes near us and hike/camp in the mountains.
Maybe just a bit slower? We still travel a lot;
celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary with a
three-week trip to Ecuador - a week in the
Highlands, a week in the Amazon jungle and
then eight days sailing around the Galapagos
Islands in a 14 passenger catamaran boat.
Whole trip was just wonderful! And those bluefooted boobies in the Galapagos are the best.
Saw two males boobies do their "mating dance"
over one female; the loser was so sad and just
slunk away. Loved swimming and snorkeling
with the seals and sea lions. plus the "southern"
penguins. What an experience. Another great
trip was to the Biltmore estate in Asheville, NC.
What a mansion! Everybody needs 250 +
rooms, right? And such an incredible garden.
Olmsted did just a wonderful job of landscaping
the estate; am always awed by the great job he
did in planning/landscaping Central Park in
NYC. Will be going in late September (after the
PSU/Alabama football game and before the
PSU/Nebraska game!) on a trip to the Grand
Canyon, Bryce and Zion National Parks plus a
day at Hoover Dam and the new Colorado river
bridge that took ten years to plan and build. And
last, but not least, spent a few days in
Manhattan (just before Easter) with Mac (Nancy
McCarthy) and Bev Evans (Eubanks). Had a
great time doing the museums, sightseeing,
going to the theatre. My favorite play/musical
was The Million Dollar Quartet about the one
Page 9
night that Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Carl
Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis played together for
the first and only time -- made rock and roll
history. Ah, what music -- brought back great
memories of those high school years! So now I
can't wait to hear about the "doings" of the class
of '55.‖
Bev Eubanks Evans: “A couple weeks ago
Mary Jane Clark Wild and I met at Nancy Jo
McCarthy Herzog's flat in NY for 4 days. (Even
though she lives in Bucks County Pa. she has
retained her flat on the upper east side). We
laughed at all the dumb things we did from the
Maypole at Madison Elem. school in the 3rd
grade to the Thompson House in the 9th. Then
there was that weird schedule we had in the
10th since Geo. Mason wasn't ready. We
walked to my house for a 2 hr. lunch every day
and did our homework for the last 2 periods
ending at 4:30. Would kids do that today? No,
No. We decided at our 50th we would get
together more often. Old friends are really the
best! Thanks for keeping up together.‖
This from Karl Larew: “Hi, Judy! Did I tell you
that Marilynn and I spent a week and a half in
Egypt in November 2009? (That was about all
our aging bods could manage.) We spent some
days in Cairo (medieval Islamic sites and the
great museum) and nearby pyramids; went as
far south as Abu Simbel (giant statues of
Ramses II which got relocated when Lake
Nasser rose behind the l960s' dam and
threatened them); then sailed down the Nile
(that is, heading north because Nile flows
northward) to see various sights. Otherwise, I've
been part-time teaching and both of us have
been writing novels. My six novels are for sale
on Amazon.com, Kindle, Smashwords, and
Nook. I've sold about 100 copies so far. I'm also
about to reissue my genealogy book on Larew
family, based largely on the Civil War diary of
my great-grandfather. We still live in southern
Pennsylvania with our 8 year old cat.‖
Don Jones: “My life continues to be a happy
one - still good health, and all the children and
grandchildren are doing well. Oldest grandson
just graduated and will be working in DC at a
publishing house in their marketing/advertising
department. So thankful he has been successful
in landing a good job with today's economy.
Granddaughter will graduate in a couple of
years and will be an elementary teacher, so,
hopefully, she will be employable. Another
granddaughter will be a senior in high school
this coming year, so she (and family) are going
MUSTANG REVIEW
through the visitation/application process.
―We will be traveling to California again this
September for about three weeks and will visit
family and friends along the way. We will be
visiting with Wayne Daugherty's wife, Judy, in
San Diego before heading back to Wilmington.
We are still working on Dave Harrison and his
wife Judi to pay us a visit. Dave is a big Civil
War buff and there is a great deal of history in
the southeastern part of NC.‖
From Dave and Judy Harrison who love and
enjoy living in their university town of
Charlottesville with many activities and a varied
cultural varied environment. Dave has written a
memoir Mid Century Boy: Growing up in the
40's and 50's. It is a recollection of Washington
and Falls Church at St. James school and
George Mason. It's 160 pages with lots of
photos and Dave has produced the drafts from
Vanity Press and is looking for a publisher.
Maggie can't wait for a copy. Judy has hers.
Hank Farrell wrote that he is busy with
volunteering; including Foodbank, Score, AARP
Taxoid, church choir, umpiring baseball must
wood working. He and Laura are to celebrate
their 50th anniversary this summer.
Maggie and Bill moved from Herndon, near
Reston, 3 years ago for various reasons to
Punta Gorda, Florida. She wasn't that happy to
go but Bill wanted to be near his brother and the
house with a swimming pool was to my liking.
And it cost less than a 2 bedroom/2bath condo
in Reston then. His brother died a year or so
after we arrived and that was hard. So after 2
and a half years they moved back to Reston,
bought a condo and then decided they wanted
to be near Lake Anne so moved again. Their
address on the GM sheet is 2 houses ago but
their e-mail has not changed. Address is 1550
1A/2 Moorings Drive, Reston, Va. 20190. Mag is
back at the Torpedo Factory Art Center in
Alexandria with the Printmakers Inc. (web site:
tfpi.org).
Judy and her husband, Jared, took a fantastic
trip to Turkey, the best trip ever, where they
spent a week in Istanbul, from there to Izmir and
then four days sailing down the Turquoise
Coast, swimming and hiking as we went. Had a
fabulous guide whose knowledge and love of
ancient archeology was vast and whose
storytelling ability was first-rate. We stayed
overnight with a family in a small village in the
Taurus Mountains– visited a tea house – talked
SUMMER 2011
to the villagers, all male of course, went to a
school where the children tested their English
on us and we our Turkish on them to their great
amusement. From there to the fabulous
restoration of Ephesus, to the growing city of
Antalya, then scrambled up rickety ladders and
down into the depths for the cave churches of
Göreme, saw the vast Konya Plateau, to the
home of the Sufi where we watched the
dervishes whirl, and ended our trip in a hot air
balloon high over the otherworldly landscape of
Cappadocia. It was a truly magical trip.
And now to answer Bill‟s question: hardcopy of
the Review is no longer in existence, having
gone the way of all other such publications – a
victim of budget cutting. Get on-line access
through the George Mason High School Alumni
link at
http://www.fccps.org/alumni/aboutgmaa.html
and click on the Mustang Review button, where
you‘ll be sent to a .pdf file. There you can see
all digitized copies of the publication going back
to the 2003/2004 edition.
Another link will give you this heads up: "As a
result of the huge successes of the GMAA AllClass Reunions your alumni association has
decided to continue to hold similar events every
five years – the next All-Class Reunion will be
held in June 2014– the exact date will be
determined once the school calendar for school
year 2012/2013 is finalized. Classes are
encouraged to plan their 5-year cycle reunions
to coincide with this GMAA all-class reunion
plan." That would make us 1 year shy of our
60th reunion. Good grief!
So, e-mail either Maggie
([email protected]) or me
([email protected]) with your news of
whatever is going on in your lives and photos. If
you‘re so inclined go ahead and invite a friend
to join Facebook or another electronic
community. So many exciting ways to stay in
touch! Remember when our typewriters didn‘t
plug in?
Classes of 1956 & 1957
By Terp ’56 & Pat Sullivan
Palmer ‘57
We have reached the stage of life where there
are 50th Anniversary celebrations, 50th College
Reunions, High School and College graduations
Page 10
but very few babies unless they are great
―grands‖. Now if the bodies will just hold out, we
should have lots more of the same.
We had an email from Barbara Moore
Greenwood who is now retired from Stanford
after 20 years. She says her husband plans to
retire eventually and then they hope to do some
traveling. In the meantime, they are having fun
spoiling their 4 grandchildren — two of whom
live in London and enjoy making fun of her
American accent.
Barbara also mentioned that she is still in
contact with Rick Walter. She suggested that
we should recognize his spectacular career.
―He is Emeritus Professor at Washington
University in St. Louis, has multiple published
works and is a great scholar‖. We all knew him
as a really nice guy. Way to go Rick!
Howard Bronson and his wife Judy are in the
process of moving back to the Raleigh area of
North Carolina so that they can be near two of
their three sons. Jo Ann Cooper Stout has
been dividing the year between Northeastern,
Pennsylvania and Sarasota, Florida and they
have recently decided to move full time to
Florida. Bert Charlton and Kent Modine are
leaving South Carolina and heading north to be
closer to family.
Class of 56
Thanks to Sara Jeffrey, Pat Stevens & Mary
Beth Roder, who are working on another class
reunion. If we had your email address, than you
have already received notice of this event but if
not here is a copy of that email.
―It‘s been another 5 years since our last
reunion and there are some of us who feel the
urgent need to meet again, since we are all on
that slippery slope. So we are proposing a gettogether the first weekend in October —
October 1 and 2 but we need to know your level
of interest and what you would like to do. Email
me, [email protected] with a CC to
Pat Stevens [email protected] your
response to the following suggestions.
1. Are you interested?
2. Would you prefer a catered get-together at
Marybeth‘s hone in PG County, MD or a dinner
at a restaurant/hotel (ain‘t nobody cookin)?
3. Any suggestions?
We are excited about the prospect of seeing
MUSTANG REVIEW
everyone, so get busy and let us know what you
think.‖
Sara Jeffrey Boyd
There has been a lot of positive response so far
and by the time you receive this, plans should
be finalized. It is important that you send
your current email address to the above and
Sara/Pat can send you all the details. Hope
to see you there.
Class of 1958
By Tiana Gillespie
Camfiord
―I‘m so far behind I think I‘m first!‖ unfortunately
applies to my recent failing at keep this column
going. I can‘t begin to tell you how much I
LOVED all the cards and letters you sent me
after I lost Bob shortly before our 50th in October
‘08 (and then mom in December). We would not
have had our terrific reunion had it not been for
the efforts of JACKIE ABRAMSON BENTON,
NASH GIFFORD, ANNE LEWIS LEYDEN,
BETSY O‟ROARK SCHEBEN, MARY JEAN
SANDFORD CAMPBELL and LARRY and
BETSY BROWDER WILSON. Anne (our
detective) finally found LOUISE VORLANDER
ENNANUL.
Louise is now a widow living in Charlottesville
where she runs a boarding and grooming
business, breeds dogs and has a menagerie of
animals on her acreage. We just spent an hour
on the phone and I picked my jaw off the floor
when I learned of the incredible life she has
had. In short she graduated from the University
of Maryland, was a USAID officer in Ankara,
Turkey (her dad was USA attaché there also),
―had a ball‖ and married a lawyer (international
law/CPA). In Maryland she was a state
senator‘s wife for 36 years and had run JFK‘s
poverty program for DC, Maryland and Virginia.
Due to vision difficulties she was chair of the
Blind Industries in Maryland – all this while
building a horse and breeding farm and hosting
special horsing events in the indoor riding ring.
She has 2 married daughters, one of whom
lives close by with a 5 year old grandson. Now
with 2 corneal transplants and reduced ac‘s to
40, she loves her work and counts each day as
a blessing. Several of us hope to visit her this
summer!
SUMMER 2011
What a joy to see so many who travelled great
distances to come – many for the first time in 50
years – DONALD COHN, GARY CROWTHER,
TONY HODGES, MARION MEYERS BROWN,
PAT RUTTER WILLIS-GREENBERG and JIM
RICKETTS. NELSON CLAYTON and Stephie
could only come Friday evening which is not
enough time for a real visit in the packed Don
Beyers showroom. My youngest son Nate was
my dinner date/photographer. He was hoping to
hear some stories of our HS adventures too. His
photos (and others) were sent to Nash who
forwarded them to everyone. Nash‘s site for HS
photos is www.GMCLASSOF58.com so keep
them coming!
ELSIE JAY DUNHAM‟s husband Bob did the
formal class photo and a framed picture with
signatures of classmates was presented to me
along with a beautiful crystal vase to sit on the
dining room table for all the future dinners her (I
hope!). I‘ve loved all of our get togethers over
the past 18 years, so if you‘re in town let me
know!
I don‘t know if the music played that night
included the song ―Love is Beautiful the Second
Time Around‖ but puppy love was in the air with
BRENDA BUSHDID and Hank Xander and
ROD FRULAND‟s Judy (who met online 2
years hence) - even GWEN WARTON and
HANK DEAN – after all these years… and
DOUG SMITH and DON COHN
MALCOLM CARPENTER, Kiki and daughter
Jessica were here again from Germany for a 3
week visit with son and grandkids in DC. Our
get together was again at JANET REES
WATSON‟s home on the only day they could
spare. DAN and Joyce RUNYON, JANE ST.
JOHN, “BUTCH” McGONEGAL, NASH, MOE
HEDETNIEMI and I spent a laugh filled
afternoon together. Ask the guys or RICKY
BRUSH sometime about jumping out of
airplanes at 18, 19 while having ―a few‖.
RONNIE MILLER is now living in Emory, VA
where he has restored their home across the
street from Emory & Henry College. A slower
pace for sure but he still does interiors for a few
favorite clients – He missed the 45th reunion
over an insistent yacht owner in the Bahamas
who needed a ―party redo‖.
Sadly I have to include the loss of SANDY SIMS
JOLIN and ANN WILKERSON KING. They
both had loving marriages, children and full
lives. Dearest friend PATT MANLY BOWERS
Page 11
nor Sandy‘s husband Jack knew she had
cancer until she had a short stay in Atlanta
Hospital. Jack and Bob Bowers were FCHS
friends and everybody grew up together. We
last saw Sandy at the 40th reunion. Ann stayed
in touch but was always out of town during
reunions. She had multiple health issues in later
years but was well loved by her family, church
friends and others who shared many stories at
her service which Janet and I attended.
Please forward any address/email changes to
myself, Nash or Ann Lewis. Nash has kindly
offered to be second class rep after many years
of help from Jean Ann Albright Kirby. Many
hugs to both!
Class of 1959
By Clare Rae Neuberg Dix
FRANK GOVERN: We're fine. Went on
memorable cruise this past fall from Rio de
Janiero to Valparaiso. Special. I'm rehabbing
from the first of two total knee replacements.
Hope to back to normal by Sept.
LEON LUTHER RIX: Hi, classmates! Ellen and
I are doing well; Ellen is retired from teaching,
and I am still teaching drums and playing gigs
(musicians never really retire). My son Jano is
married and living in Nashville, making his living
as a drummer also. Our big news is that he
recently started playing (and singing) with the
Wood Brothers, who have been touring and
selling out a lot. Unfortunately, he‘s not on their
recent album, ‗Smoke Ring Halo,‘ but we saw
him play with them live at The Winery in New
York, and it was a great show. Go see ‗em if
you get a chance.‗Jano and (Leon) Luther Rix,
poster photo for appearance at Southpaw in
Brooklyn NY.
Greetings! Hard to believe two years have
passed since our last reunion...our 50th!! Oh
what a time we had!
The reunion committee worked long and hard
putting together a nice week end for you....we
hope you had a good time ....we did! Next time
please join us in the planning...it's fun too.
Since the reunion I am sad to say three of our
classmates have died: Sandy Johnson died in
October 2009; after attending his second
reunion Gary Briggs died in December 2009;
John Dillon died in July 2010. A note from his
wife Gail is located further down in this article.
My personal thanks to all who sent in the
following items and pictures. I can't do this
without you!
KEVIN TALBOT; Pictures is the brick Kevin
purchased for the schools front walk. This
commemorates the 50th reunion for our class.
That says it all.....Kevin and Rusty had a great
time too.
MUSTANG REVIEW
So, I‘m free again to do as I please – tutor with
the Literacy Council and join daytime groups at
the church I happily attend.
My husband, Howard, and I will visit his brother
in Arizona in May and travel to Las Vegas. In
July, we‘ll take our grandson with us on our first
cruise. We‘ll occupy a veranda suite on the
ship with the Garrison Keillor crew. It should be
a hoot.
Do you think I stand a chance of mastering
Twitter and Facebook or maybe even my
newest computer? ‗Fraid that‘s a rhetorical
question. Love and hugs to all – Caryl Rains
Clarke
JIM SCOTT: Dorothy and I will be celebrating
my 70th (isn't that unreal?!) with a cruise around
Italy to include Croatia, Greece, Montenegro,
and Monaco. This is one of those William &
Mary Alumni cruises. We leave on June 2.
The building our WV mountain top log house
continues (and because I am doing the work:
very slowly!). I'm down to baseboards, window
trim, and some interior log-siding walls. Also
some lighting still needs to be hooked up. Later
this summer I'll be starting on an out-building,
my woodworking shop. We still have to re-do
our gnarly road to the top and do some
landscaping, then maybe we can be the
"Snowbirds" we've set out to be.
Gail W. Dillon: Needless to say, the only thing
to put in the publication is that John passed
away on July 16, 2010. We have been good
and are continuing on with our lives however,
miss the guy a whole lot. We always had such
a wonderful time with you and your class of
1959. My best to all. Fondly, Gail W. Dillon
([email protected])
CARYL RAINES CLARKE: Isn‘t aging ducky?
After retirement as an incredibly happy
journalist, I became a part-time receptionist for a
charity helping the needy with food, medicines,
and reduced utility bills. My boss initially
expressed enormous pleasure at my
competency. BUT, during my 3 ½ years with
her, she proved herself to lead by intimidation
and public humiliation. Our association ended
Monday when I returned the church keys and
handed the boss a note ―Under the
circumstances, I resign....as of today.‖
Full time church staff agreed she is a liar! And I
was a ―bright star.‖ Seems they‘re investigating
her conduct.
SUMMER 2011
BILL HANSEN; Dear classmates and other
GM‘ers - Difficult to believe that two years have
gone by since the big 50th reunion! That was
such a fantastic event and so well-orchestrated
by those responsible. Thank you again for
putting it all together. It was very well done.
Over here in Paris, France, Ellie and I are doing
what we love to do, telling others about the
Good News of Jesus Christ. It is an amazing
thing that we have been doing this now for 32
years together. I have been telling others since
1961, when I first found out about it, and my
wife since she was a teen. That makes 50
years this August that God reached down in His
mercy and saved a wretch like me. I have
never gotten over it. I guess it wasn‘t just a
―flash in the pan‖ after all. Indeed, Jesus Christ
is the way, the truth, and the life. And nobody
comes to the Father but by Him. John 14:6.
In March of 2010, I was asked to perform the
marriage ceremony of a young man who grew
up in our church and Christian school in Peru.
Page 12
He was studying at Pensacola Christian
College. It was great to see old friends from
Peru again and also be able to stop by and visit
the Aviation Museum at Pensacola Naval Air
Station. Pensacola is special to me because
that‘s where I came to know Jesus Christ as my
personal Savior. Here‘s a shot of Ellie and I at
Pensacola,
followed by a pic of a youth activity.
L. to R. Helen Simpson Roney; Pat Harvey
Turner; Clare Neuberg Dix (Her Majesty);
Karen Hausman Garver; in back - the Queens
consort Dennis Dix; Gunther Morse; Bob
Barrett; Steve Callanen; & Tom Brett. That is
Dave Clark in the background hitting on the
blond.
then one of myself in my ―car‖.
That‘s me under the ―chute‖.
The instructor goes with it, so it‘s no big deal
(except the price) but it was very much enjoyed
by all of us ―kids‖. We miss you guys. Take
care of yourselves, especially now that most of
us are hitting 70. Looking forward to seeing you
all again. Bill and Ellie
Below that is the wedding,
Jane McCarraher & John Cannon – 50 years!
PICTURES OF ASSORTED CLASSMATES: at
a gathering on May 1st to celebrate the birthday
of Queen Elizabeth.
and then our fledgling church in MaisonsLaffitte, a northwest Paris suburb,
Jane McCarraher Cannon and Penny Sides
Valentine
That's about it for this time. Be sure to check the
web site for any of this article that did not make
it in the printed version. Space is limited! In
closing--if you think you spotted Dennis and me
this year in England, Spain, Portugal, Gibraltar,
Cannes, Florence, Montreal, Nova Scotia, New
York, Providence, or Bar Harbor be sure to say
hi....we'll be there! Best regards to you all, Clare
In case you do not recognize the classmates:
MUSTANG REVIEW
SUMMER 2011
Page 13
Class of 1960
By Luke O’Hara
The class of 1960 held their 50th reunion on
October 8-10, 2010 with a reception on Friday
evening at the Tyson Westin, a tour of GM on
Saturday afternoon followed with an impromptu
lunch downtown, dinner at the Westin on
Saturday evening and a picnic at Cherry Hill
Park on Sunday. Pictures from the reunion can
be found on the class
website…www.gmhs1960.com which also has
a virtual yearbook and the slide presentation
shown at the Reunion Dinner.
We were fortunate to have the following
classmates attend the reunion: Jerry Johnston,
Ben Schneider, Bill & Oma Gifford Hodges,
Ross Connealy, Mike Tackney, Bill
Henderson, Don Machrowicz, Mike “Ray”
Mahan, Patricia Govern Fuisz, Sue Levin
Peck, Barbara Ioanes, Susan Miller
Whitledge, Bob Garity, John Tvelia, Wilson
Perry, John Cannon, Pete Myer, Mike Kelly,
Pat Webster Benedict, Patricia Lay-Dorsey,
Bud Roeder, Bud Garland, Tom Jacomet,
Patricia Walter McFarland, Martha Benn
Martin, Diane Wallingford McCarthy,
Margaret Williams Roberts, Laura Carlo
Piver, Dan Rollyson, Larry & Evelyn Case
Cheatham, Jack Monroe, John Simon, Luke
O‟Hara & Mike McQuary
& our special friends from 1961:
Dave Hastie, Nadine Gasseau Held, Judy
Fischer White & Bette Brown Chinners
Jerry Monroe for providing the special name
tags and Molly O‟Hara Dowley for her help with
the class website and the reunion dinner slide
show. Also…special thanks GM Booster Club
for arranging for the tour of GM, the GMAA and
the Falls Church Education Foundation
(FCEF) for publishing and mailing the GMAA
newsletter and much more.
The following are recent updates from
classmates:
John Cannon (see picture of John and his
wife in the previous class article)
Wake Forest introduced me to Physics 60-62;
then I graduated from North Carolina State in
Mechanical Engineering 62-64.
General Electric, Salem Virginia and Edwards
AFB California from 64 to present as a retired
consultant in Salem. Everything I earn now is
for my three granddaughters in college who
inspire and lead me in ways I never imagined.
Celebrated my fiftieth wedding anniversary with
Jane McCarraher Cannon this past July. We
have five children (one died in infancy, one is
adopted from Korea) and eight grandchildren.
I live in the woods, make furniture, build houses,
play with a backhoe and cruise the Virginia
countryside in a sports car with Jane. I am a
regenerated Christian and serve as an elder in
a Baptist Church pastored by a top of the line,
sold out to Jesus, Annapolis graduate with the
tenacity of a warrior.
All this said let me clear up the story. Up until I
was about 35 years old I was a bad son, a sorry
student, a poor friend and a marginally
committed husband. Marriage transformed me
to a large extent, but I was still pretty much
worthless even though we kept reasonable
appearances. I was a Sunday school teacher
and Elder in a respected Presbyterian church,
but this did not dissuade me from abusing my
family and generally living a lie.
Special thanks to all of the classmates who
helped with the reunion, especially Barbara
Ioanes for her numerous calls to classmates,
Eileen & Dan Rollyson, Patricia Lay-Dorsey
and Pete Myer for all of the photos they took of
the reunion, Ben Schneider for providing the
music for the Reunion Dinner, Patricia LayDorsey and Laura Carlo Piver for their
inspiring remarks at the Reunion Dinner, Jack &
MUSTANG REVIEW
Now pardon me if this offends, but at this point I
recall Glenn Beck‘s infomercial on his ―religious‖
conversion available on YouTube, and it
concerns me that there may be
misunderstanding by association. Although my
change in life is of a completely different origin,
it was still on the order of a trashed life replaced
with one of being authentically incorporated into
the family of God, albeit a different god from Mr.
Beck.
SUMMER 2011
I can only say that the Jesus of the Bible is my
life. As I am sure everyone is becoming
increasingly aware, our remaining time is very
short. The day will soon arrive when we will die,
and objective truth will no longer be unknown,
ignored or denied. More and more I live for that
day.
So please don‘t avoid talking to me at the
reunion; I am very interested in hearing
everyone‘s life story and I won‘t bring up politics
or religion unless you do.
Larry Hanna
After leaving GM, I spent a year in prep school
where my parents hoped I would develop some
study skills. It worked. I went on to get my B.S.
with dual majors in biology and chemistry from
Lynchburg College. Mrs. Rooney would be so
proud. I then moved down to Blacksburg and
entered a PhD. program in biochemistry at VA
Tech. I finished my M.S. there but wasn‘t
interested in the research they were doing, so I
transferred to Vanderbilt University in Nashville.
At Vanderbilt, I was pursuing a PhD. in
physiology and M.D. While at Tech, I had to
use photography to document my research and
I became very interested in it. In Nashville, I
began doing photography professionally on the
side. I had gotten married before my senior
year at Lynchburg and after my first year at
Vandy, I decided that it wasn‘t going to work
out. We divorced and I took a year off from
grad school to work as a research biochemist at
Vanderbilt. During this hiatus, I really got more
and more involved in photography. After
completing my first year of med school and
finishing my course work for my doctorate, I
decided that I wanted to follow my heart and I
quit to pursue a photographic career. Boy were
my parents happy.
I moved to southern California and got a job
with Star Kist Foods doing product development
work, while I took some photography classes at
night. After 5 years in CA, I moved to Las
Page 14
Vegas in 1976, to get away from all the
freeways and traffic. Vegas was small then with
about 300,000 people now there are around 2
million. I opened an all-purpose photography
studio, but quickly found my niche in resort
photography. I do mostly photography for
advertising purposes for the resorts here,
although I do work nationally for Four Seasons
and some other properties. You can check out
what I do at www.larryhanna.com .
Fifty-two year ago, I began my mornings
walking to George Mason, sometimes with Bill
Clewlow. Perhaps we‘d run into Lee Rhoads
or Cappy Garity or others from what we called
the Poplar Hill gang. It was great to attend
school with neighborhood kids again, Pat
Govern and I had attended Holy Trinity in
Georgetown our first two years of high school,
and I was very glad to be in a local school
again.
I got married again in 1983 and have remained
so this time. My wife Peggy and I have two
children. Brandon is 24 and attending UNLV
while working. Our daughter, Brittany, is 22 and
just graduated cum laude from Rockhurst Univ.
in Kansas City. She attended college on a
tennis scholarship. Mike Mahan is probably
wondering where she got that gene (he used to
beat me regularly). Brittany is now working on
her doctorate in physical therapy. I look forward
to her being able to treat my many ailments. I
played rugby while at Vandy and feel the effects
every morning when I roll out of bed.
My old next door neighbor, Oma, introduced me
to all her friends, and she knows everyone.
Karen Sullivan had wheels and we‘d all sneak
out for lunch at the Arlington Boulevard
McDonalds and listen to the ―The Sounds‖ on
weekends, who played lot of Buddy Holly.
In 1964, a Pentagon agency hired me as an
experiment to see if they could teach a civilian
―girl‖ to program a computer. It apparently
worked, as I retired as a quality assurance
analyst for computer software 15 years ago.
My sister, Joyce, and I lived together in Adams
Morgan during the riots of 1968. We both left
DC that summer. Joyce married. I took off on
my own and toured Europe and ended up living
one year in Greece, after falling in love with a
Greek Naval officer. We lived under the
Papadopoulos military regime/junta when many
civil liberties were ignored. I made a living by
teaching American English as a second
language. Joyce died in 2007 of leukemia, less
than 100 days after we did a bone marrow/stem
cell transplant. I have greatly missed her.
I am doubtful, at this time that I will be able to
make the reunion. I have started teaching
some photography classes at a local college
that will keep me very busy along side my
regular work. I have had the privilege of
communicating with Patsy Lay Dorsey this past
year. If you haven‘t done so, you should look at
her website http://www.patricialaydorsey.com.
Her work is so incredible. She is really an
inspiration. I would love to catch up with many
others.
Barbara Ioanes
It‘s been quite a ride and some things never
change. Fifty years ago we had our first
Catholic President and today our first President
of color. I marched for Civil Rights and
Women‘s Rights, and for peace in Vietnam, and
we remain at war today, with women still hitting
the glass ceiling.
MUSTANG REVIEW
I‘ve lived across the street for the National Zoo
since the mid-seventies and been active in the
Woodley Park Community Association for the
past 30 years, presently serving as Veep. I
spend a lot of time with my 94 year old mom,
who just moved out of our Poplar Drive home.
I was widowed in my early forties to Chuck
Andrews, who was lost at sea. We enjoyed
scuba diving and had our son, Scott, who
manages bands, and just received his MBA
from GW. I also have two step-daughters and 4
step-grandkids. I married again to a great
dancer, and we parted after ten years. I enjoy
reading and fine art, flicks, walks, my garden,
travel, visiting with friends, and the ocean still
amazes me. I love rock‘n roll. I thank Luke for
being in my life since St. James days and
keeping our class together. Thanks to Bev as
well, who I often forget did not attend GM, and
to all of you for this 50th reunion and this
wonderful ride down memory lane.
SUMMER 2011
Mike Mahan
I joined the Navy in September 1964. OCS in
Newport, Rhode Island. Commissioned an
Ensign in February 1965. George Mason small
world story #1 – ran into Hugh O‟Hara at OCS
when I inspected his section. Spent a year in
and around Danang RVN, the ―plum‖ duty on
the staff of the Commandant Naval District
Washington inspecting officer‘s clubs and
hanging out at Embassy functions.
After the Navy, I went to San Francisco and
then to Hawaii FOR 1 ½ years to sun, surf and
carouse. I knew I needed to cover myself for
resume purposes so I enrolled in UH‘s MBA
program and somehow managed to graduate.
George Mason small world story #2 – Bill
Henderson and Talvo Ahola were in a class
with me.
I spent 1970 in the LA area playing around but
got a job in the travel industry to account for the
time before the real world caught up to me.
George Mason small world story #3 – bumped
into Lee Rhodes on the Sunset Strip where he
was running a restaurant.
I decided to get my act together in January
1971. Became a Postal Inspector and spent the
next 22 years investigating organized crime,
complex mail fraud and other financial crime
cases for the US Attorney in Chicago.
Retired January 1993. I did some PI work but
decided that I would rather travel the world than
make more money. I was going to write a book
about the best bars in the world but soon
discovered that I would rather drink in them than
write about them – so much for the book! I
spent the last 17 years traveling – Katmandu,
Amazon, Nile, SE Asia, South Pacific, Greece,
Turkey, etc. I am planning a safari to Kenya or
South Africa in 2011. I guess my life turned out
about the way I thought it would way back in
1960 – never really settled down and did pretty
much what I wanted. Regrets? Have none!
Page 15
I haven‘t been back to Falls Church since our
30th. Now the 50th. Where did the years go?
But who cares? I always toast the sunset –
―another day above the grass.‖
Kay Farrell Mikula
I am Sorry that I will not make the 50th but
hopefully the next one. It was great talking to
Barbara Ioanes. I got married in 1965—45
years! I left VA and lived in Chevy-chase MD
and then Atlanta GA for several years returning
to Northern VA in 73. After leaving GM, I went
to University of Kentucky along with Susan
Miller and Karen Strauss. My major at
My husband, Jerry, is retired from GSA. In
addition to my teaching I volunteer with the
Smithsonian.
Sue Levin Peck
Married for forty-six years and raised two sons
in Falls Church, Virginia. We have five
grandchildren who live in Raleigh and Chicago.
I worked as a dental hygienist in McLean for
twenty-five years. We retired to Wellington,
Florida in 2000.
We enjoy golf, cards, traveling, aerobics, tap
dancing, charity work. I am on the Board of
Papanicolean Cancer Research Unit.
Mike Tackney
Kentucky was psychology which qualified me to
do nothing so I went back to school first at the
University of Maryland and then Georgia State
University. I am a biology teacher which would
definitely surprise Mrs. Rooney and Mrs.
Shannon. I taught full time in Fairfax County
for 26 years. After being retired for a year, I
found I had too much time on my hands so went
back to teaching part time. I teach every other
day which is perfect. I keep saying that I am not
going to do it another year but I really enjoy it.
MUSTANG REVIEW
On July 5, 1960 I boarded the 3F bus in
downtown Falls Church and began the short
journey to the U.S. Naval Academy in
Annapolis, Maryland. About all I can say about
the ensuing four years were that they were
SUMMER 2011
action packed. I married our classmate, Betsy
Caron, shortly after graduation from ―Boat
School‖. We were off to Newport, Rhode Island
for two years while I served on two different
destroyers. In 1977 I found myself in Da Nang,
RVN serving as ―Skipper‖ of a Swift Boat
(PCF-56) for a year. Upon returning to the
―world‖ in 1968 I was assigned to teach NROTC
at Tulane University in New Orleans. It was an
interesting time to wear a uniform on campus. I
resigned from the Navy in 1970 to finish the
second year of an MBA program, but promptly
signed up again in 1970 to work for Adm. David
Bagley who was the Chief of Naval Personnel. It
was an interesting time to wear civilian clothes
and work on Jr. Officer Retention in D.C. My
Naval career finally came to an end when I
resigned for good in 1972 and set out to find my
way in the corporate world.
In spite of my less than stellar performance in
chemistry at USNA, I took a job with BASF, a
German chemical company, and ended up as
Manager of a chemical (chlorine & caustic soda)
plant outside Baton Rouge Louisiana – go
figure. My marriage ended after several years
in Baton Rouge. At that point I decided to
leave the corporate world and try life as an
entrepreneur.
With no sales or manufacturing experience
(other than chemicals), I started up Air &
Process Systems, Inc., an industrial sales and
manufacturing company based in Baton Rouge
which eventually provided ready to run
compression systems to the chemical plants
and offshore rigs in south Louisiana and
Mississippi.. After several years, and some of
the worst sales calls in the history of industrial
selling I must have gotten the hang of it as the
company grew from a one man operation to 36
employees. The company had good years and
not so good years as we survived the ups and
downs of the oil patch and chemical industry for
the next 31 years. Fortunately I met and married
Mary, the love of my life, during this time so life
was good. I closed the business in 2007 and
spun off two departments as a new company
under the management of one of my long term
employees. I sold all of the equipment and
fixtures to the new company, and remain an
inactive partner in that enterprise. We were able
to capitalize on our reputation of 31 years and
have retained all of our key suppliers and
almost all of our old customers. So far so good.
Page 16
With Mary retired after 37 years teaching
kindergarten and first grade, and the business
in good hands we were ready to try retirement.
We considered several alternative locations,
none of which were in the deep South or subject
to hurricanes. We eventually chose Abingdon,
Virginia, a wonderful old historical town located
on Interstate 81 about 17 miles from the
Tennessee border and 110 miles down the
interstate from Virginia Tech. We were very
fortunate to stumble upon a wonderful piece of
property located within several hundred yards of
the Virginia Creeper Trail, a beautiful biking and
walking trail that allows us to walk to town in
about 30 minutes, or to cycle (or take our bikes
by van) to the top of Virginia‘s second highest
peak and ride downhill through the Mt. Rogers
forest for almost 20 miles, a real ―Ya Hoo‖
experience.
Since Mary had found and kept a floor plan for
her ―dream house‖ for years we had a great
starting point for our new home. By the time we
were ready to build we had ―dreamed‖ up a
home which has wonderful mountain views,
plenty of room for family and friends, is highly
energy efficient, and is based on ―age in place‖
design standards (one floor, wide doors and
halls, grab bars, etc.)
Mary and I have four children, one hers,
Amanda, two mine, Karen and Stephen, and
one ours, Erin. All are successfully on their own.
We are fortunate to have 4 wonderful
grandchildren, all boys. We‘re pretty active
together – hiking, paddling, mountain biking,
skiing, and exploring the wonderful area we are
living in. We are located less than a mile from
Interstate 81 at exit 17 in Abingdon. We have
plenty of room and invite any of our classmates
who find themselves traveling through our area
to visit with us. No Kidding! This is a real
invitation. You can reach us at 276-206-8203.
We hope you‘ll be calling.
Please stay well and look forward to seeing
you at the
55th reunion in October of 2015…..if not
sooner.
In Memoriam
Unfortunately we received a note from Susan
McNamara that Steve passed away in
December of 2009.
Stephen H. McNamara passed away on
December 28, 2009 of complications from
MUSTANG REVIEW
the Bronze Star for meritorious service, the
Purple Heart for wounds received in action in
Vietnam, and the Army Commendation Medal.
He was a graduate of the University of Virginia
and the University of Virginia School of Law.
Class of 1961
By Judy Fischer White &
Pam Clark
Coming Soon!
50th Class Reunion
September 23rd-25th
Visit our class website for details
www.gmhs1961.us
cancer at the age of 66. Steve is survived by
Caroline, his wife of 43 years, and his children,
Matthew (Veronica) McNamara, and Deborah
(Nicholas) Hutchins and six grandchildren.
Steve was a member of Hyman, Phelps &
McNamara, P.C from 1984 until poor health
forced his withdrawal from practice in 2003. He
was an eminent figure in the food and drug bar,
admired by his clients, fellow practitioners, and
opponents. He provided valuable advice to the
Congress in the development of the Dietary
Supplement Health and Education Act. In his
professional endeavors he was respected for
his attention to detail and for the imaginative
solutions he found for knotty issues. He was
universally admired for his civility and respect
for others.
Prior to joining HPM, Steve was the Senior Vice
President and General Counsel for the
Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association,
Inc. (now the Personal Care Products Council).
Steve was also proud of his service at the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration, where he was a
staff attorney, senior trial attorney, and
ultimately the associate chief counsel for food.
For about a year, he served as the acting chief
counsel. He was twice recognized by the
agency with the FDA Award of Merit (FDA‘s
highest award for service).
We are so proud of our website, developed
and presented to you by our own classmate,
Jon Klein. It provides not only information, but
the vehicle needed to ―keep the home fires
burning‖ for those who want to stay in touch.
We hope you enjoy it, both now and in the
future.
Included in the package of information
sent to you by Pam Clark is our Golden
Anniversary Questionnaire along with a return
envelope addressed to me. The questionnaire
is also available on our class website. The
information you provide will be included in a
Golden Anniversary Memories and Directory
booklet you will receive at the reunion. Please
submit early so that we can ―get busy‖. If you
have not received your package and/or we do
not have your current contact information,
please alert either Pam or myself immediately
via e-mail:
[email protected] OR
[email protected]
In addition to co-team leaders Pam and myself,
our reunion committee includes Jon and
Charlotte Momsen Klein; Emily Akerman
Bowling and her husband Dick; and George
Toregas and his wife Patricia. We thank
Dave Hastie for his help and kudo‘s to David
Farrell. You will see David‘s original artwork at
the reunion and on our website.
Steve served as a chaplain‘s assistant in the
U.S. Army from 1967-1969, and was awarded
SUMMER 2011
Page 17
Our classmates helped shape our lives both
directly and indirectly. We look forward to
coming together to share great memories and to
renew and discover friendships. See you in
September.
Class of 1962
By Dena Phillips
George Mason Class of 1962 News
We will be celebrating our 50th year since
graduation in 2012. Several classmates are
planning to gather soon to make some definite
plans for a reunion. We have had positive
responses, and there should be a great turnout.
I have heard from Lee Forrest, John Carlo,
Judy Zipf Palmer, Dee Marks Duncan, Susan
Eubanks Shiflet, Mary Drisko McCall, Sharon
Schneider Groves, Nancy Wilkerson Boobas,
Jerry Puckett Monroe, Sharon Cosminsky
Kern, Winn Dalton Traulsen, Charles
Albright, Marvin McFeaters, and Carol Collier
Duncan. Hugh O‟Hara, who is the class
representative for the class of 1960, has
volunteered to help us build a website. This will
be a wonderful way for passing along
information to our class.
Many of you know that Johnny Wise, the Falls
Church policeman who kept all of us out of
trouble as teenagers, passed away in 2010.
Judy Phillips and Nancy Boobas were at his
funeral and that is how I reconnected with them.
It was wonderful to see school friends and
share memories of growing up in Falls Church.
We also realized that Johnny Wise was coming
to each of our houses to make us aware that he
knew our parents and that kept many of us out
of trouble. Johnny used to take us roller skating
and on beach parties, and he always showed
up on my birthday. I used to babysit for his
children too.
Judy Phillips invited several of us to her
children‘s cabin in the mountains of Western
Virginia and we had a grand time. We danced
the jitterbug to our music of the 1950‘s and
1960‘s, ate way too much food, sat on the porch
watching sunsets, and went for walks. I
realized that walking uphill is difficult at age 66,
but I was able to navigate downhill easily.
I am keeping a class list with addresses, phone
numbers, and email information. Feel free to
MUSTANG REVIEW
send any changes that you might have so that
our list will be current. Also, if you would like to
update me on what you are doing now, I will
include it in a booklet that we are preparing for
the reunion. You might like to send pictures of
your family to share as well.
Some events during our reunion will include a
tour of George Mason, gathering at class
members‘ homes, and should the weather
cooperate we will have a picnic in the park. If it
has been a while since you have returned to
Fall Church, be prepared for changes. I dislike
change personally, but time marches on.
Send your information to Dena O. Phillips, 1430
Wannamaker Avenue, Summerville, SC 29485,
or you may email me at [email protected]. I
hope that you will come to our George Mason
50th Class Reunion and reconnect with your
friends from Falls Church. It should be great
fun!!! Dena Phillips – Co-Class Representative
Class of 1963
By Bill Laing
Forty eight down and two years to go! We will
have a tough act to follow after seeing photos
and a video for the class of 1960 and their
recent 50th!
We are hoping that someone from the 1960
class can identify those ‗60 class members that
were pictured in the group photo? Even though
very few of you have changed in appearance, it
would be nice to have that information. i am
sure Luke is burnt out, so maybe another
classmate can forward that information to those
class reps. who express an interest. Fantastic
job, Luke, your 55th is just around the corner.
This newsletter‘s class article includes an
update on the 50th (Jack Roe) and hearing from
a classmate who had disappeared for many
years and we welcome her back to the flock
with open arms!
Mark your calendar!
attendance at the GMHS homecoming football
game and a dinner at the home of Gail Yates.
Please save the dates. Glad and Jack will be
providing you more detailed information when
we get closer to the reunion. Also, please send
Jack ([email protected]) and/or Glad Hatchl
([email protected]) your email or
mailing address.
From Shelley Buck:
Happy New Year. I now probably qualify as the
world's slowest writer, but my book is finally out
as of November, 2010. You can find
―FLOATING POINT: ENDLESSLY ROCKING
OFF SILICON VALLEY‖ at Smashwords dotcom, or in Apple's iBook store for the iPhone
and iPad. It's an eBook, chronicling what
happened when we tried to shorten a dreadful
commute to Silicon Valley by moving from the
suburbs to a boat....You can try out a free
excerpt at Smashwords.
It would be interesting to know how many of us
GM grads are writing, now that retirement age
has arrived. I suspect, a lot of us are. It's
something one can do even when snowed or
rained in.
Shelley Buck, as always, blogging on buckdata
dot-com for news and commentary, and
ePicaro dot-com, which showcases the travel
writing of California-based writers. New, too, is
Spryto dot-com, addressing our need as
newbie elders to make a lot of noise! See
http://buckdata.com for News and Views.
Best wishes for the New Year!-Shelley
Ps (Shelley would be a good person to round up
our 10+ California grads for our 50th)!
Bill
Class of 1964
By Judy Ingalls Hughes
Hope you enjoy the following!
The 50th reunion planning committee led by
Glad Bulwinkle Hatchl and Jack Roe have
been working on the reunion activities. The
reunion will be held Oct.12-14, 2013 (Columbus
Day weekend). The activities will include
SUMMER 2011
Classmate Updates:
Ron Tinkham
I'm still single, hang gliding, ultralighting,
motorcycling, canoeing, camping and just about
Page 18
anything that'll let me dig on the buena vista.
Bought a new house in '03 in
WestByGodAlmostHeavenTakeMeHomeCountr
yRoad, Virginia, retired in '05 and trying to stay
healthy.
Ross Armstrong
Well, let‘s see, for the last 47 years . . . I started
at UVA in Sep 64 in physics . . . and finished in
May 75 with a BS in Commerce, concentration
in accounting. Interspersed with my time in
Charlottesville was a short time at George
Mason University, and jobs as a stock clerk at
DC‘s Blue Cross Blue Shield, track maintenance
worker on the Washington & Old Dominion
Railroad, accounting clerk at American Federal
Savings and Loan, and clarinet player in the US
Army. I took Basic Training at Fort Jackson,
Columbia, SC, Feb-Apr 68. During those two
months, the Tet Offensive occurred in Viet Nam
and Dr. King was shot. I arrived at the 75th Army
Band at Ft. Belvoir, as I recall, 3 months after
Phil Gillespie left it. I was there Apr 68-Oct 69,
then in the 8th Infantry Division Band, Bad
Kreuznach, Germany, 50 mi. SW of Frankfurt,
Oct 69-Jan 71. At Ft. Belvoir we played for the
weekly new class orientation and corps field
parade of the Army Engineers‘ Officers
Candidate School and monthly graduation of
the Engineer Officers Basic Course, as well as
ceremonies at other VA and MD posts. We also
marched in community firemen‘s parades,
traveling as far as Oakland MD. In Germany we
played for military ceremonies and local wine
and beer festivals. One festival we played for
was a town of 1,200 pop. celebrating its 600th
anniversary. The draft being on, I played with
music graduates of, among others, Shenandoah
Conservatory, Peabody Conservatory, Oberlin
College, Juilliard School of Music, and Eastman
School of Music.
In Jun 75 I started as a staff accountant with
CBM (Councilor, Buchanan & Mitchell, P.C.,
CPAs, Bethesda, MD), celebrating its 90 th year
in 2011. I got my CPA in Jul 77. I am still at
CBM as Director of Quality Assurance Services,
as which I do final technical reviews for
compliance with professional standards of the
financial statements that we audit, review, and
compile for clients, and assist other firm
members with technical matters. CBM is a
regional CPA firm specializing in nonprofits and
auto dealers with clients primarily in the DC
area but also ranging from PA to TN and FL.
One of CBM‘s founders, William Baldwin
Buchanan, had 12 children, two of whom are
columnist Pat Buchanan and Bay Buchanan,
MUSTANG REVIEW
Treasury Secretary under Reagan.
In Aug 84 I married Christine Winters of
Weatherly PA. No kids. Christine is a basic
research chemist at National Institute of
Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Bethesda.
Christine and I are working full time with no
definite plans to retire.
We rented a town house on Maple Avenue for
two years from the Stephensons, retired
minister of Columbia Baptist. In Aug 86 we
bought 603 Randolph Street, where we still are.
Mom (GM librarian) spent her last three years
here with us until her death in 93 at 86. When
we moved in, the Diehls, Herndons, Siks,
Bunchs, Cavanaughs, McCarthys, and
Hannums (hope I didn‘t miss anyone), all GM
parents, lived on Randolph. Mrs. Cavanaugh
and Mrs. Hannum are still here. Barry
Buschow ‟67 and Bill Bolser „65 live around
the corner on Madison Lane.
Ed Murray
In keeping with my long tradition of moving
every 3-4 years to some place new and
exciting, I now live close to God's Hometown
here in Israel, a hop, skip and jump from Tel
Aviv's Ben Gurion airport.
Long story, but basically, my wife, a
veterinarian, is an Israeli so we moved here last
year from Oklahoma.
Quite a difference compared with Norman and
Stillwater, Oklahoma, my previous two places of
residence, though I'm sure all those good
Baptists there would be happy to know that I am
now so close to God. :>)
Ironically, I live on Yonatan Netanyahu Street.
Yoni was Bibi, the President's, brother and the
only soldier killed in the Raid on Entebbe. I say
ironic because I am certain that I am the only
one on the street who has ever been to
Entebbe, in fact I came close to losing my life
there too, not really. But I did get in trouble with
some Ugandan soldiers.
The military headquarters for the Ugandan Army
was at Entebbe and when I arrived there, the
civil war was still in full swing so the airport and
military headquarters were places where it was
illegal to be running around with a camera
taking pictures.
But I REALLY wanted to get pictures of the old
terminal where the Israelis had been held
SUMMER 2011
hostage and knew that the time to do this was
early Sunday morning when all the soldiers
would be busy sleeping off really bad
hangovers. I also thought I could get away with
two other excuses. The first was to say I was
dropping off papers to a WHO group that was
looking into the AIDS epidemic and the second
was to explain away the camera by saying I
wanted to take pictures of the sun rising over
Lake Victoria.
So I prepared some papers for WHO and
headed off with my camera. Got there and as I
thought, there wasn't anyone awake at the
roadblock into the airport/military headquarters.
Drove over to the little hill where the WHO office
was where I could take pictures right across the
street of the old terminal, the damaged MIGs
and started taking my pictures. Then, with the
sun rising over Lake Victoria, I pressed my luck
and started taking pictures of the sun rise. My
bad. That delayed me long enough to be
spotted by some soldiers driving by toward the
main terminal of the airport.
I then spent the next hour in discussion with
them about keeping my camera because the
President had made a special point that his
soldiers would not take things from the people.
When they then said they wanted to take my
film, I objected on the same grounds, but a
quick witted sergeant quickly solved that
problem. He asked me to hand over the film,
opened it and then handed it back to me
smiling. He then reminisced about the good old
days when they would have just shot me on the
spot instead of wasting so much time talking to
me. I connected with him quickly saying he
would love my father, a career military man, and
he told me to leave the area and not come back
unless it was to get on a plane to leave the
country. He said that if I had any further
meetings with WHO or other NGO's at the
airport, I was to clear them at military
headquarters first, something I never bothered
to do.
Enough. It is Independence Day here and
Israelis really like to celebrate things like that.
Carolyn Leps Turner
Your email came at just the right time, today is
the first day of our full-time RV living. We have
always wanted to travel in an RV when we
retired, and we have had various types over the
last 44 years. Last August we bought a
Winnebago Adventurer 33' motor home in
hopes of being able to someday live our dream.
Page 19
We have been unable to sell our house
because of the market, and we wanted to rent it,
but hadn't been able to until last month. A friend
of ours from church unexpectedly stopped by
our house and mentioned that she and her
husband needed a house to rent by April 1st.
So, in one month we sold, gave away, donated
and threw away 44 years worth of "stuff," and
moved into our RV.
We stayed in Orlando for three weeks to be with
family at Easter and take care of our two year
old granddaughter. Tuesday after Easter we hit
the road for California and brought along our 11
year old granddaughter, Ashton, for two weeks.
We had a great trip across country and it was
such a wonderful experience for her.
We came to Los Angeles to visit our son,
Christopher, who lives in this area. He has
been in the film industry for the last 15 years
and he recently completed filming Pirates of the
Caribbean IV where he was Johnny Depp's
stunt double. The premiere of the movie was
last Saturday at Disneyland and all of our
children and their spouses were able to fly out
for the event. Christopher was able to get ten
tickets for us to go and walk down the "Black
Carpet" with him before having dinner and
watching the movie. We stayed at the
Disneyland Hotel and on Sunday, he took us all
to Geoffrey's in Malibu for Mother's Day Brunch.
Last night, my daughter, Angela, her husband
and our granddaughter flew back to Orlando
and this morning Tony and his wife and Rachele
and her husband flew out. It was a wonderful
weekend and it was the first time that we have
had a time together without the grandchildren.
Although they were missed, our kids really
enjoyed their time together, and we enjoyed
watching them interact.
So today is the first day of our new life. We will
be here in California until the middle of June
when Chris will premiere the documentary he
wrote and filmed called A Century of Light, on
the longest burning light bulb in history in
Livermore, CA. After that we have no plans
until September when I am going to Sicily with
my sister, Beth, and my 15 year old
granddaughter, Michaella. Between now and
then we want to visit National Parks in Utah,
South Dakota, Montana and wherever else the
road leads. We will be spending the winter
months back in Florida to be near our children
and grandchildren for the holidays, before
heading out again next Spring. This all
happened so fast, and we have a lot of things to
work out as we go along. We are not wealthy
MUSTANG REVIEW
and will have to find some work to do while
traveling or while back in Orlando, but we have
been blessed with this opportunity and if we
wait until we can afford it, we might never do it.
spring but they were not harmed. He and his
wife are continuing to enjoy their professional
lives and I appreciate their continued
contributions on our behalf to Social Security!
Doug Lind
After getting my undergrad degree at UVa and a
one-year stint at Cambridge University
(Churchill Scholarship), got a PhD in Math at
Stanford in 1973. A few postdocs, and then
ended up at the University of Washington in
1976, where I did a term as department chair in
the 1990's. I'm about to celebrate 25 years
being together with my partner John Treat, who
is currently on the faculty at Yale.
Karen Culbertson Womack moved to
Bradenton, FL 8 years ago after retiring from
nursing. She spent her last ten years working
as a nurse case manager for an insurance
company . Karen enjoys volunteer work, her
friends, her 9 year old canine best buddy, and
life!
Gail Mabry Ferrick
It's been fun catching up with some of our
classmates on facebook which
really makes me look forward to our 50th
reunion. I hope it will be well attended. I'm still
in Columbia, SC and happily working for the
Army. Since I really like my job, retirement does
not seem to be in my near future. In my spare
time, I travel as often as possible, most recently
to Morocco and California.
More routinely, my passions are spending time
with friends, reading, quilting, knitting, hiking,
yoga, working out, and my latest addiction--Zumba! Life is good. If you come my way,
please let me know. I'd love to see you.
Laurie Overby Robinson
I'm working in the Obama Administration at the
U.S. Department of Justice as one of Eric
Holder's Assistant Attorneys General -- came
back to DOJ after the inauguration in January,
2009. It is fun but hectic - would be easier if I
were 20 years younger! My husband Sheldon
is getting ready to retire in June from his law
practice in Washington and will then be
teaching at the University of Maryland Law
School, and my son Teddy, now 28, is getting
his degree in architecture from the Graduate
School of Design at Harvard this May.
Dean Thomerson
Dean is a Director of CSX Transportation Co.
(Railroad) in Florence, SC having been
employed there for 42 years! He and his wife
have a married son, married daughter and a just
graduated daughter from U. of S.C. They have
four grandchildren. His plans for now are to
retire May 1, 2013.
Phil Quam
Phil is a part-owner of an Insurance Business
Agency, Property & Casualty, specializing in
Construction, in Virginia Beach, VA He and his
wife Debbie have a daughter and son. Phil‘s
hobbies are fishing – off shore, Alaska,
Guatamala, Sarasota, (actually it sounds like
anywhere there is water he‘s ready to go!) and
tending his flower gardens, which he said was a
shared passion with his dad.
Phil is a prostate cancer survivor and keeps in
touch with many
GM classmates.
I talked briefly to Glen Letham. He and Bobbi
Walter Letham are back in the Falls Church
area.
Robin Uhl Lorton and her husband have lived
in San Antonio, TX, for 20 years and love it.
They have two sons and twin 5 year old
grandchildren; a boy and a girl, who live close
by.
Al Akerman
Al and his wife Margo (whom he met while at
Advanced Naval Flight Training in Corpus
Christi, TX), live in Knoxville, TN, after having
lived in quite a few different states. Their son
and daughter are nearby and Al and Margo just
became grandparents with the birth of their
brand new granddaughter, Mairen.
Rick Hoffman is living in Massachusetts and
still has an interest in very large four-legged
creatures that move swiftly going nowhere but
hopefully the finish line. His mom, (librarian at
Thomas Jefferson Elem.) passed away recently
while living with his brother(Shad) and wife in
Florida. Rick said his sister(Jane) had recently
moved to Montana.
Al told me their home (roof) had been damaged
by the terrible storms which hit that area in the
Mr.‖ Keeps-Tabs-On-All–Of-Us‖ Bruce Welch,
who retired last year, told me he is fighting
SUMMER 2011
Page 20
pancreatic cancer ―tooth and nails.‖ He was
feeling fine and said the diagnosis was totally
unexpected. Had treatment in Gainesville and
was able to have other treatments closer to
home. He did get to Daytona in Feb., taking a
friend‘s son, and I think he told me this is the
40th year of the National Hot Rod Association (to
which he‘s been every year!).
day and its adventures, the blessings of having
a loving partner, healthy family members who
each contribute something special to the
universe, and hope for the future.
Paul Revenko Jones
I was in the Peace Corps in Afghanistan from
70-71. I raced sailboats for 10 years on Lake
Michigan before giving that up for sailing for
pleasure (I derive no pleasure from competition,
and my crew didn't share my views). I still train
weekly (now for 17 years) in Aikido and will test
for sandan, 3rd degree blackbelt, sometime this
year if I don't damage myself.
Talked to Kathleen Modine and found she lived
very close to me in PA but was getting ready to
move back to Texas.
That's all. The school (website
http://www/pianotechschool.com/index.html)
thrives in fits and starts. We're doing marvelous
things, and putting more value into the world
than we're using.
Louis Kuritzky
Even though the log-book says I have logged
on to my 65th year, trouble is I don't FEEL any
different than when I was 25! Folks say I am
taller (as if that were ever possible), that my
nose is more prominent (or my head has
shrunken), that my sense of humor alone is
reason enough for hospitalization, and that
because of the age related changes in my neck,
I should be wary about going out anywhere on
Thanksgiving. What do they know, anyhow?
In my family: Going to Italy in September for my
30th wedding anniversary...never been, and
really looking forward to it
Daughter (Arielle age 28): graduating medical
school June 4, getting married June 11,
beginning Emergency Medicine Residency at
Shands Jacksonville (University of Florida) June
23.
Son (Zeth age 25): spends his time doing Salsa
dance demonstrations....can you make a living
at that? When I dance, people aren't sure
whether my medication levels are too high or
too low...but somehow, he's a great dancer. We
were not aware that either of his parents' blood
line contained Cuban, Mexican, or any other
Hispanic genetic material, but the way he
dances, we are quite convinced that this must
indeed be somehow the case.
Still having a good time, grateful for each new
MUSTANG REVIEW
I appreciate the efforts folks make at continuing
to support the flow of communication between
classmates.
Pete Shaw
After graduating from U of Richmond I joined
the Army and was assigned to Landstuhl,
Germany. There I met my wife, Linda, who is
from San Diego. We have a daughter, Jennifer,
and a 6 month old granddaughter, Kensie. I
retired from the Army in 1993 at Tripler Army
Medical Center, Honolulu, Hawaii and stayed in
Hawaii working as a vocational counselor and
adjunct professor at Hawaii Pacific University.
Then we moved to San Antonio in 1998 and I
taught at Texas A & M San Antonio
campus. Currently I‘m a part-time facilitator for
military transition programs throughout the
country. I failed retirement several times - just
don't like golf that much but am a big Parrot
Head and spend many weekends traveling to
the concerts. ("Bongo Man" for five years with
Buffett tribute band Texas Tide) Plans are to
move back east soon, maybe Annapolis. Still
have our house on Tracy Place in Falls Gulch.
Claudette Eubank Taylor
I am retired from a career in nursing, primarily
home nursing, and after all those years in the
Northern Virginia area I have finally moved. My
husband, Woody, and I moved to
Fredericksburg, VA last August to a wonderful
home on Fawn Lake. What makes this home
even better is that our son, Trae and his
wife, Stephanie, and our grandson, Luke, live in
Fawn Lake, too. We love the area but still
winter in Key West, FL. We like to leave the
snow and head south for sun and fun. At this
time in my life I enjoy being on the water and all
it has to offer, spending time with family,
especially that little fellow, playing Mahjong,
quilting and being around good friends.
Merle Fallon
I am alive and well in Warrenton Va.; practicing
law and raising two girls with my wife, Vicki.
One is in college (WVU) and the other still in
high school. I have caused some confusion by
changing my name from my stepfather‘s name
SUMMER 2011
(Valotto) to my hereditary name (Fallon). I‘m
Irish, not Italian, and I wanted my girls to know
their heritage. I‘ve lived in Warrenton since
1975 and have been to several reunions at GM.
The last one I attended was the All Class
Reunion several years ago. I am unable to run
anymore because of back and hip issues but I
ran until they flared up a year ago. We only
have three years until our 50th. Time flies. (So
did Merle, and he is in the running (pun
intended) for having the youngest child of all
classmates. Anyone with a child younger than
15?)
Clayton Baum
After graduation from George Mason, I earned
a B.A. degree in chemistry from Williams
College in Massachusetts, a Ph.D. in chemistry
from Princeton University, and did postdoctoral
research at The Florida State University. My
first teaching position was a two-year temporary
one at Bowdoin College in Maine and we
moved to Florida Institute of Technology in
Melbourne, FL in 1979. Melbourne is on the
east coast about 30 miles south of the Kennedy
Space Center. I have been at Florida Tech ever
since, except for sabbatical leaves.
I have been married to Melissa (a mental health
counselor) whom I met at FSU, for 34 years.
Our son, Matt, is an e-learning specialist at
Coco-Cola in Atlanta and is getting married next
week. Our daughter, Katie, works for the
University of San Francisco and enjoys the
music and food scene there.
I have not been in personal contact with any of
our classmates although I keep in touch with
Greg Cronin who graduated several years after
us. Every time I hear Peter Overby on NPR, I
am reminded of my days at George Mason.
Although I just turned 65 (as most of us), I have
no thoughts of retirement. I thoroughly enjoy
teaching and research and the constant
interaction with my students keeps me feeling
young. (Check FIT website for more Clayton
info)
Doug Conner
Sherry and I have been in Colorado for 32 years
right after we got married. We came here from
Arizona t o get my PhD in Biology from the
University of Colorado. No kids, just the two of
us. As you can see I do medical research for
Kaiser Permanente in geriatrics, hospice and
palliative care as well as work on Medicaid
programs with the State. Sherry manages
project managers for IBM's Financial Sector.
Page 21
We love to travel and will be going back to Italy
for the 3rd time in the Fall. I have also been
learning Italian for the past 2 years.
Richard Burgess is living in Spartanburg, S.C.
His brother Al was kind enough
to send his info – much appreciated!
Jay Hanke
Harriett and I are very happy to be living in
Winchester where I am a retired
United Methodist pastor, and she is working
part-time as a clinical social worker in an
international adoption agency. We have three
married children and nine grandchildren. God
continues to be grace-FULL in all His blessings
for all of us.
Kathy Smith Ware
Went to work for the Office of The Surgeon
General, Dept. of Army, the day after graduation
and worked there 9 years. Married in 1968 and
had two daughters. I went to nursing school at
age 35. Graduated, passed boards and
became a LPN but never really worked as a
nurse. Husband Jim died in 1995. I remarried
in ‘96 to Bob Ware, the ―boy‖ I was going with
when I went to GM. He retired after 35 years
with Dept. of the Army at Fort Belvoir and in
2000 we moved to Cape Cod. In 2002 we
moved to Arkansas to be close to our daughter.
Hoping to get back to Virginia.
Todd McNab has a cabin in the Smoky
Mountains where he enjoys fishing and
gardening and said he‘s ―sitting on a rainbow.‖
He and Phil Quam get together for fishing
adventures. Todd lives halfway between
Nashville and Knoxville, TN.
I talked to Donna Culbertson Mann who is
living in Lakeland, FL. She said they moved
when her parents were still there. I enjoyed
hearing about the new Legoland plans she said
are going to be part of Cypress Gardens.
Lance (Lanny) Benson
Having thought I would major in math in college,
after the good efforts of Mrs. Delaney and Mrs.
Disney, I switched to English. Got my masters
at BU, finished coursework on a PhD, during
which time I was a teaching fellow and realized I
didn‘t want to teach. I heard of a man at the
Harvard Center for Computer Graphics who
took on trainees. He remains a good friend of
mine.
I continued in computers and it was a good
MUSTANG REVIEW
career for me. I built my first microcomputer in
1979 and still play with little computers down to
fingernail size, as a hobby. I also renovated a
number of houses in DC (working with my
father, who had been a builder in the 50‘s – a
great experience). I always worked with a goal
of retiring early, since I didn‘t know how my
health would be. I retired in 1998. Regarding
health, there are issues with my shoulders from
58 years of crutch-walking, but otherwise I‘m
good, mobile, and do what I want to do. I came
to Nova Scotia on a two-week trip in 2000,
rented a house for the summer and the next
year bought a house in Milton, a little village an
hour and three quarters south of Halifax. My
house is over 160 years old, very nicely
restored in an antique fashion by the people I
bought from, right on a river about a quartermile above the tidal area. I‘ve been here most
summers since then, and about half the time
have stayed until Nov. In the summer I walk out
the back door and think I am in paradise!.
From Judy
I’m hoping those of you we haven’t heard from
will email me for our next Newsletter. It’s great
getting reacquainted. If you did not receive an
email from me regarding info for this Newsletter
it means I do not have your current email or
phone #. Please email me at
[email protected] (my new email address)
or call – 610-220-2889. I will send confirmation
that it was received. We are looking at three
50threunion dates, Sept.19-21, 26-28, and
Oct.3-5 (2014). If you have a preference, or
any other input regarding the reunion, please
contact me.
Let me know if you do not want your contact
info (email, phone, address) shared with
classmates – either by me, when asked, or
included in a directory or class website. We will
have a directory at the 50th so please update me
if your info changes. Hugs, Judy :)
Class of 1965
By Scott Sager
It seems to becoming for frequent – guess that
is the price you pay as we near or 50th Reunion
- but I have to pass on the deaths of two more
of our classmates. First, I received a note from
our class friend, Doug Sanford ‟66 who wanted
us to know that Phil Wright had passed away in
SUMMER 2011
early April 2011. Phil was a Vietnam veteran
and plans were to bury him in Arlington
Cemetery.
Then, just a few days before going to press with
this Mustang Review, I received a note from
Walt Rankin ‟64 informing me that his sister
and our classmate, Mary Anne Rankin had
recently passed away. If I get any further
information on either of these classmates, I will
include that in the next class article.
I have been in contact with Tom Cotner several
times since the last newsletter. Tom is still
teaching at the University of Texas. He sent me
some material on a subject that should be near
and dear to our hearts – the saving of the wild
Mustangs in the western United States. Tom is
very energized in this cause and the material
that he sent me was very disturbing that
described the horrendous treatment of these
animals. If you would like to receive more
information on this tragedy, please contact Tom
(1-512-472-4740) and he will be glad to provide
you with more information, including what you
can do to help the cause. Good luck Tom.
I also heard from Kathy McBride Lopresti who
sent me a nice note. Kathy indicated that she
had a great time at the last All-Class Reunion
and really enjoyed visiting with classmates.
She included a very old picture of yours truly
from, I believe, 3rd grade (Mrs. Spreen‘s class at
Mt. Daniel) that Kathy found somewhere –
thanks for the picture Kathy – if it was third
grade, that was my first year in the Falls Church
City Schools system. As I recall, in addition to
the two of us, Kathy Cruise, Phil Gelbach,
Barbara Bonnell, Ellen Glassman, David
Hodges, and Kenny Fisher, among others,
were in that class. That was a long time ago
and I may not have all of those correct – I‘m
sure Cruise will correct me if I‘m wrong!
As a reminder regarding our 50th Reunion, a
small group of classmates met at my house
during the 2009 All-Class Reunion weekend
and in between drinks and food managed to
discuss the pland for our 50th. We agreed on
several ―first principals‖ for our planning of the
reunion. Present during this discussion (in
order to affix blame in the future) were: Susan
Dexter, Kathie Edwards, Janet Neuberg,
Kathy Allen, Roberta Schaff, Marty Sik,
Diane Hughes, John Romer, John Bradley,
Tug Muilenburg, and myself. We kicked
around a number of ideas and eventually
Page 22
arrived at some basic, first order, requirements
that we would like to follow for that event.
First, we will plan to hold our 50th during our
actual 50th year since we graduated - 2015 and not hold it a year early to coincide with the
next All-Class Reunion to be held in June of
2014.
Second, we won't be locked into a June date
but will be flexible and perhaps hold the reunion
during the summer or in the fall (homecoming?).
Third, we would like to have the main reunion
event to be an informal gathering of the class
without the expense and planning required for a
hotel, restaurant, or similar venue - perhaps at a
classmates home or a park or ???
I think the core of a planning committee was in
attendance at my house that evening and I will
be looking to those classmates as well as any
other volunteers to begin getting a plan
together. We have some time but the sooner
we can lock in a date, the better chance we
have of getting a great turnout for our 50th.
Finally, I need some help from all of you.
Please send me a quick note to my email
address ([email protected]) so I can begin
capturing as many classmate emails as
possible. This is important so I, and others in
the Reunion Committee, can get the word out
on any reunion information. This is especially
important with the unpredictability of the
Mustang Review mailings. As mentioned
above, we need to decide a date so everyone
can save that date. We also need to identify
venue possibilities.
Also, when you send me a note please include
a few tidbits on what is going on in your life so I
can include that in the next newsletter – pictures
would be great if you are so inclined!
Have a great summer and I look forward to
hearing from all of you over the next several
months.
Ps Don‘t forget to send AMR a card for her
100th Birthday! I know Jonz won‘t forget!
Scott
MUSTANG REVIEW
Class of 1966
By Merrill Hunt McCarter
Hello friends. Another year has passed and we
are now 45 years past our high school
graduation. In the last newsletter we had asked
if there was any interest in having a 45th class
reunion. There has been no response to that
inquiry. Therefore, we‘ll head toward our 50th
and see what happens then.
I have been fortunate to hear from several of
our classmates this past year. Jo Ann (Briggs)
Freeman who always writes in this newsletter is
taking a break and asks if there is anyone out
there willing to take on her class representative
role. She had a heart catheterization in January
where a partial blockage in one of her main
arteries was discovered. A stent was inserted
hopefully alleviating future concerns. Since
then she has been focusing on following
through on other health concerns and getting
herself in good shape. She walks and stretches
regularly and has lost 30 pounds since
December. She hopes her experience will
encourage others who are avoiding talking with
their doctor to ―just do it‖.
Sharon Curtis lives in Arizona and would like
all to know that she is well and fine. She is
enjoying life and her favorite thing is the annual
Tucson Folk Festival. Her son, Joe, is a chef
and is currently working at a private club in New
York. She has a beautiful view of the
mountains from her front porch and has several
areas where she likes to hike.
After high school John Guy served in the Navy
for 4 years and shared some time with Jimmy
Kline in Jacksonville, FL. John went on to
college and got an AS in Fish and Wildlife
Management and a BS in Biology. He has
worked as a fisheries biologist and has had his
own business in industrial chemical sales. He is
now partially retired and works as a part time
supervisor for UPS. John was a bachelor for
years and years. Then age 50 got him and so
did his wife, Linda. They live in Minnesota less
than a mile from the Mississippi River. Linda
works for the Minnesota Division of Natural
Resources in the Parks and Trails Division. It
seems as if they are always doing something
exciting. He loves to hike, bicycle, canoe and
camp.
SUMMER 2011
David Hurt lives in Williamsburg, VA and has a
practice in anesthesiology. He serves SentaraWilliamsburg Regional Medial Center. He has
memories of those of us who went all the way
from kindergarten through high school together.
He remembers people such as Armin Ardai,
Tom Lewis, Vicki Allen, Mike McClure and
Bunnie Hamburg. Maybe there could be a
Madison Elementary School reunion!
Mary Ann (Layman) Nelson is divorced and
has one son. While married she traveled with
her military husband. She earned a BS from
the University of Connecticut and a MA from
Wesleyan University. She has worked for the
DOD, U. of Illinois human resources, Aetna
Insurance, independent consultant contract
work, and director of a historical society. She is
currently retired and enjoys working on family
genealogy, traveling and flower gardening.
What a fortunate person.
Virginia Penny Parker lives in Fairfax, Va and
works for the Fairfax Co. school system within
the Special Education Department. She works
with special needs students to include those
with autism, learning disabilities, and emotional
disabilities.
Doug Sandford was drafted in 1967 and
fulfilled his 3 year obligation with the 1st
Armored Division at Fort Hood, TX. He married
Linda Laird and they how live in Alabama. His
son, Jamie, was born in 1972 and has married
and given Doug and Linda 2 grandchildren. He
has recently retired after a 30 year stint in IT
Security. He has a BS in Business
Administration and Linda has a MS in
Community Counseling. She also has a
successful career in Folk Art and has pieces in
several museums and numerous private
collections.
Patricia (Wilson) Adams lives in Jacksonville,
FL with her 21 year old daughter and 15-month
old grandson. Patricia went to college at age 50
to learn graphic design and now freelances as a
graphic designer. She is in partnership with her
22 year old son who is the web designer. Her
portfolio site is www.pa-graphics.com and her
business page is www.betaimages.com.
Patricia states that ―Every day is a blast and an
adventure. Living with my daughter and
grandchild is literally icing on the chocolate killer
cake…‖. Her 27 year old son is a fitness guru
and does strongman work out and fitness
training.
Page 23
And lastly, on a sad note, Linda Lamb, our
Most School Spirited died in October 2010. She
lived in South Carolina where she was loved by
people at Bellsouth and within her Methodist
Church. She loved singing and helping others.
It is obvious that her death impacted many
people.
So there we have it, dear friends. I hope this
newsletter finds many of you in wonderful health
and enjoying life. For those who may have
struggles, I hope you will reach out to others
and allow them to care. If there are any people
out there willing to replace any of us as class
representatives, please let us know. Maybe
some ―new blood‖ will excite people and create
some interaction within our class. Peace, love
and happiness to all. Merrill Hunt McCarter
Class of 1967
By Rose Martin Daughety
& Barry Buschow
From Barry
Falls Church remains fairly insulated from all the
economic troubles in the country. Real estate is
as hot as ever and new homes are springing up
where bare land was once someone‘s
backyard. The big news here is that Howard
Herman, Class of 1972, retired after 40 years
of working for the city without taking a day of
sick leave. We named a park ―Howard E.
Herman Stream Valley Park‖ in his honor.
Personally, my son James Buschow, class of
2001, had a baby boy Rogan which puts me in
the elite group of Alumni called Grandparent.
Always good to hear from you, keep in touch.
Barry Buschow ([email protected]), CoClass Rep.
From Rose
I continue to work in Senior Living in Plano,
Texas, a suburb of Dallas. My husband, a
retired physician, has just suffered a stroke but
very grateful that he is recovering and anticipate
full recovery. We have four grandchildren from
his son and daughter. My daughter, Kathleen is
married and they recently purchased their first
home in Dallas which is our ―hood‖ as all the
kids live there. Our lives revolve around soccer,
LaCrosse, tennis, horseback riding (my favorite)
and skateboarding! I remember sitting on the
curb outside the Olom‘s home making a pact
with Noralyn and Jonathan that we would
MUSTANG REVIEW
never stop skateboarding. My nephew, James
Walker is an artist in the Leeburg area and he
just created a skateboard wall hanging made of
wooden pieces on top of a real skate board.
Awesome! The Martin family just had a reunion
in Miami where one of my four nephews,
Alexander Walker, was married. The
Cuban/Irish wedding was terrific. My wish for
everyone is good health and happy days. Rose
Martin Daughety ([email protected]), CoClass Rep.
Rick Sebastian - Rick Sebastian lives and
works for the Town of Fort Myers Beach in
beautiful Southwest Florida on the Gulf of
Mexico. I have been acting with local Theatres
for 25 years. This season I have had quite a
run. Starting at the Broadway Palm Dinner
Theatre as "Mr. Pinky", and understudy for
Edna Turnblad, in Hairspray, the Musical and
then playing King Claudius in Hamlet for the
Fort Myers Laboratory Theatre. From a mumu
to monarch in an easy time-step! Next I shave
my head to play Daddy Warbucks in Annie this
summer.
In between shows and work, I have to remind
myself to keep up my walking schedule of 4
miles, 3 - 4 times a week, on our Beach. So
close, and yet, so far !!! Walking !!! It's the thing
that will keep me going till the next Mustang
reunion. Must be all the migrating birds,
Dolphins, and native bikinis !!!
Bill and Jickie Crocker - Bill Crocker retired
from the U.S. Government Accountability Office
as Assistant Director for Homeland Security and
Justice on October 1, 2010, after 38 years of
government service. Bill served 2 years on
active duty with the Navy Seabees during the
Viet Nam era. Bill and his wife Jickie (Sides)
Crocker ('67) have been married for 42 years
and now live in Hickory, NC. Jickie continues to
work for Fairfax Hospital from Hickory as a
Medical Transcriptionist. Bill says he still enjoys
hotrods and classic cars and can now spend
more time with his hobby. He currently has 2
fully restored classics-- a 1963 Ford Falcon
Sprint and a 1961 Ford Galaxie Starliner. Bill
said he can be reached at
[email protected]
Peter Overby - Alexandra & I are doing well, as
we watch Falls Church in-fill with condos & pipe
stem houses. Our son Graham is at Savannah
College of Art & Design, aiming to become a
sequential artist (current specialty: distopian
comic novellas); daughter Honora is wrapping
SUMMER 2011
up 10th grade at GMHS, not-so-patiently awaits
her drivers license & college life. The news biz
is still an adventure, especially the perpetualmotion political campaign. (Peter is a reporter
for NPR radio).
George (Tom) Smith – Nothing exciting going
on in my life; I‘m retired, relocated after 25 years
spent in the Los Angeles area, to rural
Pennsylvania, living the quiet life. As for what
I‘m doing in retirement, let‘s just say: you‘ve
heard of the FWPP? [Federal Witness
Protection Program] They didn‘t even have to
Dick Fredenburg - Dick Fredenburg and Sarah
ALBRIGHT Fredenburg (‘66) have 6
grandchildren now. Two, of their daughter April,
live in Knoxville, TN. The other four, of their son
Dale, live outside of Boone, NC. Dick has been
working for the North Carolina Department of
Agriculture and Consumer Services for almost
17 years. As part of that job, he has been
published three time in Butane Propane News,
most recently in the April 2011 edition. He also
served as the contributing editor on the LP-Gas
Code Handbook for the 2011 edition. Both of
these are publications known in the LP-Gas
industry, but little known outside of it. If you are
not involved in the industry, the topics covered
are the ultimate cure for insomnia.
Cathy Dixon - I‘m considering returning to
school to upgrade my skills and possibly add
graphic designer to my credits. Working on
expanding my creative talents and adding
different post processing skills to my
photographs. My work is in a gift shop in
Virginia Beach and selling moderately. The life
of a freelancer dictates that you find a new job
every day. It‘s exciting and daunting at the
same time.
Stephanie Savage - writes that her mother died
this past January and I am going to Leipzig,
Germany in July along with my granddaughter
Josie to visit my son Patrick, his wife Anja, and
my one year old grandson, Max.
Larry Davis - I stay when and where I‘m
allowed if need be....nobody ever said this road
through life would be easy...I could write
volumes of true life changing moments and the
people, too...I‘ve referred to it as ―the never
ending saga of Larry‖.
Alison Buchanan - now Buchanan-Dexter. I
am married and currently live in Quebec City
and Vermont. My daughter and son are
Page 24
students at Concordia University in Montreal.
We all like to travel and I particularly enjoy
skiing, canoeing, kayaking, reading and
gardening. I still do a bit of poetrywriting....thank you, Mr. Dietz, for your
encouragement way back when I was an AFS
student and Senior at GM.
Steve Purvis - ‖Same old, same old!‖ But, truth
be told he still travels to the Caribbean
5-6 times a year. Can‘t beat that!
Dave Yarnell - alive and well in No. Virginia still
making music and passionate about art. Miss
my brother George Cotner (band member) and
keep him alive through contact with Steve
Ripley and his wife Martha and Tom Turrisi
also in the area! I‘ve seen all the fish Travis
Tabor has bagged and even located Annie
Roades after a lifetime of adulthood. Better
claim me for GM cause Worthington High
School in Ohio wants me to be their alumni! Tell
the gails I am a bit rounder these days but
single and sober to boot. I still play around
Woodbridge/Occoquan, ―Capt. Dave and the
Neptunes‖, a Tiki Bar Band, sometimes solo,
duet and/or trio.
Check out the whole Mustang Review at
http://www.gmhsaa.org/mustangreviewindex.ht
ml.
Class of 1968
By Nancy Clark Aderholdt
When I got the notice from Scott that an article
was due, I went out to my Class of ‘68 e-mail list
for updates from folks:
From Dave Evans:
After graduation I went to school Strayer
College for two years until they asked me to
leave because I had long hair. I was fairly
active in DC since Strayer was there and a girl I
knew went to GW at the time. I figured that
there was no money in demonstration as a
career so I joined the US Army for $188 a
month. When to all the wrong places you could
go to help LTC North with his plans, got blown
up in Lebanon, and finally went to the first Gulf
War. I quit after that with only a 100 hours to
fight a war I retired a 1SG and joined the civilian
sector working for GTE which became Verizon.
I was a manager for Verizon.com and Verizon
Online. Don't blame me, they ripped me off
MUSTANG REVIEW
too. In Nov 2003 the offered me early
retirement, I had long hair and a beard this time.
So I took the money and ran.
I now live on 20 acres of Ouachita National
Forest that I bought and have been married 5
times (PTSD) and have 4 children and 3
grandchildren. I run a small online business
called Dakotas Valuables; site name is the
same, thanks for the plug. I am on Face book
look for the old hippie with the cute girl in
Norman, AR. The girl is my youngest, only 20,
but the love of my life. My sister Debbie Haydn
is still in VA. She is on FB as well. Other than
that you have my life in a nutshell. Keep the
rubber side down and see you on the flip side.
From Mark Hutchins:
Hi Nancy, yes... feel free to pass on this new
email address - ([email protected]). my cell
is 540 660 4313... My European cell is 49 176
3855 3111... My USA address is 177 Skyview
Lane, Front Royal, VA 22630... and my address
in Germany is Kapellenstrasse 4, 65193
Wiesbaden... but I do not expect to be back in
Germany until June.
Not much new to report, except that I continue
to operate my company... Fighter Command
World War 2 Warbird and Biplane rides in
Winchester, VA... and I continue to do special
driver training.
It was a lifelong dream for me to live back in
Wiesbaden..where I lived from 1961 to 1964...
so I sort of split my time between here and
there...and my focus in life is to not put off
things that I have wanted to do, and to spend
more time with the people I like to be with. I feel
I am at the beginning of a new chapter in my
life...but have no real clue as to what that
chapter will look like...
Nancy, I hope you are well and having fun and
feeling at peace,
From Teddy Yeary:
Hey, Nancy. I've been retired for seven years,
playing as much golf as I can and spoiling my
three granddaughters. Ashleigh turned three in
April, Carleigh was born in August 2010 and
Michaela was born in January 2011. If I had
known how much fun grandkids were I would've
skipped the kids part.
Hope all is well with you.
From Ben Bull:
Hi Nancy. Quick update. My oldest daughter
Katie was married November 18, 2010 in
Phoenix. My middle daughter Sarah was
married in Whittier, California in 2009 and lives
in L.A. Betsy, my youngest, is a sophomore at
Emory University in Atlanta. Lynda, my wife, is a
psychotherapist in Scottsdale. I'm still practicing
law in Scottsdale with much international work.
As you may recall I had a scary encounter with
stage 4 cancer in 1999 and am very pleased to
report I'm blessed with perfect health today.
Very thankful for that as you can imagine. Our
first grandchild is due in November. All is good
these days. Thanks for everything Nancy.
SUMMER 2011
From Beth Dupont: (She sent me her 2010
holiday letter)
With gentle snow flurries outside the window on
this calm Saturday of the 2011 New Year, we
reflect upon the past two years and seek to
keep in touch with you. Thank you for your
cards and letters doing the same. Despite our
empty nest, we find ourselves busy as ever.
Professionally we both continue to grow in our
challenges and our use of technologies.
Kansas budget cuts have resulted in larger
class sizes for Beth and more responsibilities.
She still loves her students and teaching, but
during the school year there is little down time
to connect, even on Face book. Greg has
devoted much of his time to developing
relationship in his role as Managing Principal at
Lincoln Financial. He has traded time spent in
his long tenure on the KC Friends of Jung board
to serve on two school boards in KC, MO. Greg
also continues his writing and life-coaching
activities, now with a more narrow focus.
Fortunately, Greg‘s travel opportunities during
the past year included a trip to Orlando in which
Beth was able to join him. While there, she
excitedly visited a good friend, Laura Boston,
and her family whom she had not seen for
thirty-eight years. It was a special reunion.
Page 25
A shared interest in interfaith activities led to a
cherished trip to Turkey in June sponsored by
the Institute for Interfaith Dialog where Greg
serves as a board member. An interfaith group
of ten, we visited eight cities seeing numerous
historic, religious and cultural sights including
newspaper television, schools, universities,
hospitals, and service organizations. We met
people in leadership positions and ate in meals
in numerous homes where the hospitality was
incredible. It was truly the trip of lifetime, for
which we will always be grateful. Our many
experiences make us more committed than ever
to the idea that bridges of understanding are an
important way to Peace. So we continue our
work in interfaith dialog by leading our church‘s
interfaith team, connecting with many other likeminded people in the KC community.
As always, our family remains a primary focus.
Last year we soared into a new decade of
sexagenarians, taking on new names – Mimi
and Poppy. Beth‘s sister and brother now share
their birthday with our precious new grandson,
Everett Wayne Finnell II, born May 4, 2009. In
Dallas we shared the thrilling moment of his
birth with Emily, Dan, his parents and
grandmother. We now fully understand the
wondrous ―grandparent thing‖ we have heard so
much about. Our fun will soon double as we
eagerly await the arrival of our second
grandchild due March 25th in Denver. Andrew
and Alison are now into pink as they prepare for
their baby girl. She will join two other baby boy
cousins born just months or weeks apart. We
are ever-grateful that, despite geographic
distances, the next generation remains very
close, something we all cherish. Beth‘s brother
Andy and wife, Olivia, have helped to make this
possible by organizing an annual two-week
reunion at their lake homes in Glen Arbor,
Michigan. It has been a highlight of our
summers the past 14 years.
Aside from births, here are a few more
celebrations. Emily continues as a Special Ed
teacher in the Irving School district and has
recently ―fast-tracked‖ as a Sales Coordinator
for Juice Plus. Dan became a partner in his
architecture firm and successfully completed all
his board exams. Andrew became a Sales
Manager for SuperMedia and Alison is
transitioning to a sales team for her company.
They sold their Denver condo and have moved
into a beautiful new home in Centennial, a
Denver suburb. Adam, now a senior at HPU,
was selected to represent his Travel Industry
Management program for Hawaii Pacific.
MUSTANG REVIEW
Additionally, he was selected for a paid
internship at Vail, Colorado, last winter for which
he also earned college credit. Yea! Although he
learned to love snowboarding, he loves riding
ocean waves even more so he has traded
soccer for surfing. Hawaii and the ocean have
captured his heart, and he now calls it ―home‖.
2010 ended with both ups and downs. First the
ups: Our whole family gathered in Dallas before
traveling to Dan‘s parents‘ lovely lake home in
East Texas to spend Christmas. It was our first
time to be all together in over two years, and it
was fantastic. A downer was that several
weeks before Christmas, Emily had to have an
emergency hysterectomy due to a rare medical
problem after a miscarriage in early November.
Fortunately, Beth was able to spend part of
November and much of December helping
Emily regain her strength and spend cherished
time with her, Everett and Dan. Although we
had some tearful moments, the time together
was joyous and propelled us all into an exciting
new year full of possibilities and hope. We
share that hope with you as we all look forward
to a rewarding 2011.
Love, Beth and Greg
From Nancy Clark Aderholdt:I have been
enjoying life – traveling with my sister Diane
Clark Montgomery (Class of 64) for our
annual Caribbean cruise and having a
wonderful visit from my cousin, Ruth Robey
Whittington (Class of 67). I‘m off to visit the
National Parks later this year and in the
meantime I have great times with my
grandchildren, Garrett (7) and Grace (6) – the
true lights of my life. I hope all are you are well
and happy and keep those notes and e-mails
coming – I love hearing from everyone.
Class of 1969
By Barbie Watkins Blood
Another year has zipped on by, faster than the
last! Hmmmm….how could that be? But, I have
heard from several of our classmates and am
happy to share their input with you here. I have
been busy with the spring chores on my little
piece of property in North Idaho, mowing,
weeding and clearing with the help of a
borrowed tractor…now that‘s FUN! I still take
care of rescued dogs and cats and currently
have 3 dogs and 5 cats in residence. It‘s been
great connecting with old friends on Facebook
and on email ! I think it is interesting and
SUMMER 2011
heartwarming to see how many of us are active
in volunteer work and helping others, 2-legged
as well as 4-legged! We can be proud of
ourselves and our friends  (‗spose some of
them teachers rubbed off on us?)
From Annie Lyons: [email protected]
I still am living quietly in Clifton Forge, Virginia
with my four dogs and 2 birds. I have been
unsuccessful at finding work so I have been
keeping a friend‘s 3 month old baby boy twice a
week for extra money. I'm not dating because I
don't know how - it's been to long for me and
things have changed and I don't like playing
games. I daily practice my Spiritual teachings
which are most important to me and is what I
read about. I have been doing lots of volunteer
work with Hospice, I visit patients, go shopping
for patients, make bereavement baskets and
anything else they will let me do to keep busy. I
volunteer in the community as I can this helps
me keep busy and young (ha ha). I spend most
of my time reading, watching respectable TV,
gardening and cutting grass. People want me
to get on Facebook so we can talk but I am
afraid of it so I stay away from it. However if
anyone wanted to contact me they could write
me on my e-mail at [email protected] and
in the subject line please put "Friend from
George Mason High School" because if I don't
know you I won't open the e-mail and it gets
deleted. I'd love to hear from you. My plans for
the future? Heck, I just live one day at a time
and am grateful for that. I do have a sister who
is in the last stages of cancer and she asked me
to go with her to my mother‘s home town so I
am trying to save money to do that for her
before she crosses over. So I guess that's my
only plan for now. Trying to save money for the
50th reunion so I can attend. Until then, hope
you all are well and safe.
From Jack (Jax) Herndon: [email protected]
Page 26
Hi Barb,
Thanks for keeping the class together. I had my
60th birthday April (picture attached) and
celebrated with a cocktail party purchased at a
fund raiser. The beard is temporary and goes
after a costume fund raiser next week. I am
retired from working as a staff member at the
University of Washington Civil & Environmental
Engineering Department. I worked there as
Department Facility Manager and
Environmental Engineering Lab Manager for 12
years. I retired early due to an autoimmune
condition called Transverse Myelitis. It is not life
threatening, but it restricts what I can do to a
considerable degree. I gave up skiing and
backpacking, but still enjoy bicycling (with an
electric assist) and sea kayaking. Those
interested can get more information at
http://www.myelitis.org/tm.htm. It was totally
unexpected. The symptoms are reduce using
drugs developed for MS, but there is no cure for
the condition. My wife Sheila and I are working
our way through changes it made to our lives.
To keep myself engaged now I volunteer one
day a week at a local soup kitchen and food
bank and sing in a community choir. The rest of
my time is spent doing chores and projects
around the house. I am working to get back to
turning bowls from green wood found in the
area. I give the bowls away as presents or
auction items for charities. There is no way for
me to create them efficiently enough to be
profitable. Besides, it is the process and
discovery of what is in the wood I love as much
as the final product. Other ongoing interests are
on my Facebook Page under Jax Herndon. For
those of you in the choirs at GM, I recently
compiled a CD of music from George Mason. It
was from my father‘s reel to reel collection and
includes a piano piece by Gorge Cottner, the
Uncalled Four barbershop quartet reunion (Dan
Vines (69), Henry Herfindahl (68), Fred
Norman (70), and me), and a Christmas
concert from 1966. If you have interest in a copy
contact me by e-mail at: [email protected]. I have
been in touch with Dick Howell, the choir
director at the time, to get details on the music
performed. He lives in Florida now.
From Susi Mileson Modisher: (Find Susi on
Facebook!)
I‘m enjoying being in Colorado with my husband
of 33 years two kids, Heidi and Dustin who
moved to Boulder for CU and stayed. I'm hiking
and skiing, enjoying the mountains and trying
not to miss friends and the ocean breezes of
Hawaii where I lived for 20 years.
It‘s great to hear from Paula Rose Harris after
all these years! [email protected]
I live in Truro, Nova Scotia Canada with my
husband Paul. We have 2 children and 2
grandchildren.
During the 80's a lot of time was given to,
Hubtown Theatre (Founding President) and
then a founding member to the now, Hubtown
Theatre Society. I spent 10 years acting in
various theatre roles. I liked acting, and
choreographing. Also sang and was also a
menber of the Melodies and a female quartet
from 1979 to 1984.
In the early nineties did some Dinner Theatre
type stuff and got work as a background artist in
various films. If you watch Dolores Claiborne,
you will see me for a few quick seconds as a
maid in a turquoise uniform.
From Ray Rollins: I'm sixty years old, too fat
and too bald to care. I don‘t remember much
about high school and even less about college.
Ten years of retirement has worked wonders on
me. Life is good and will be better with a
different president. I think that about sums it up.
Ray Rollins
Harmony Ranch Shooting Facility
and Bar
My Mother and I actually were puritan woman in
the Scarlet Letter, filmed in Shelburne, NS. We
slept in my car.
In 1999 narrated a short film that won the
Telefilm in Atlantic Canada and the Silver Award
in Crested Butte, Colorado.
I enjoy tole painting & crafts. I also enjoy film
watching, director‘s commentaries and
computer.
I am recovering from the loss of my Mother,...
and for fun, I love to listen to music and write
MUSTANG REVIEW
SUMMER 2011
Page 27
poems when they pop into my head and time
allows.
I spend a lot of my time now trying to figure out
how to help the little town of Bear River and it‘s
tourist season...where I send my summer days.
Always trying,
Paula Rose Harris.
Love.
From Ken Potter: [email protected]
Great to see your words and photo in the
Mustang Review! I'm living just outside of
Portland, OR, where I have a music business.
The love of my life is a wonderful lady named
Mary Beth, who has a daughter in Moscow. We
travel there to visit a few times a year. Small
world! Please pass along my email to other
friends.
Ken Potter, GM '69
Well, that‘s it from the Class of ‘69, hope all of
you are enjoying peace and happiness in your
lives. I am looking forward to hearing from even
more of our classmates in the months to come
for the next issue of the Mustang Review! We
really have grown into some pretty decent
humans! Love and Peace, Barbie
Class of 1970
By Robbie Werth
Hello and greetings to the Class of 1970 from
Northern Virginia with news and notes from our
classmates and faculty members.
Gail Clinton has moved to Maine in the past
year with her husband, Joe. She left California
after 11 years and is now we are living in Cape
Elizabeth which is right next to Portland. She is
working part time for Catholic Charities doing
community psychiatry and is starting a private
practice as well. Gail loves being back in
Maine! She would like to say hello to all her old
classmates.
Pat Hundley Gallimore finally made the trip
north from the beautiful mountains of North
Carolina to see her brother Jon (John) Hundley
and celebrate his 60th birthday. Pat also had
time for a short visit with Lani (Fisher)
Browning and her husband Charlie Browning.
MUSTANG REVIEW
Her 38 year old daughter, Sherando Joy, and 8
year old granddaughter, Madison, travelled with
her to see DC. She arrived just in time to see
the Cherry Blossom parade. They really
crammed it in the week touring the White House
grounds, visiting the Capital, Native American,
Air and Space and Natural History Museums,
checking out the zoo, Hillwood Estates, and all
the monuments surrounding the tidal basin.
Pat‘s 33 year old son (Yanu) is getting married
this October. Their blueberry and red
raspberries are going to ripen soon; and they
have a u-pick operation. Pat and her husband
Paul will celebrate their 40th wedding
anniversary this November.
Ken and Theresa Woolfenden are living in
Nixa, MO. to be near family and grandkids. Ken
has 7 grandkids now! They just celebrated their
32nd wedding anniversary. They sold their
rebar company and Ken now runs the Rebar
Placing division for the same company who
bought them out. He travels all over the country
and their son Jake works with him as their
Safety Coordinator. Ken is very active in
Crossfit. He does Triathlons with his kids and
does very well for the senior division. They love
to go camping, kayaking, and boating at Table
Rock Lake.
Pat Herman sends his regards from Virginia
Beach. Pat works in Tidewater and the Outer
Banks of NC and says if anyone needs any
"local information" for a Virginia Beach or OBX
visit, please give him a call.
Andy Dupont was in DC last week to accept a
national award for the Lake Association he
belongs to in Michigan. Andy stopped by Falls
Church and GM and reports that everything
looked great. In addition to Andy‘s volunteer
responsibilities in Glen Arbor, MI, he and his
wife are going twice a year to Kenya to work
with a semi-primitive group called the Pokot. On
Andy‘s most recent trip he was teaching them
how to repair their water wells. He is also
helping them to use laptop computers for elearning in their developing school.
Ann Perry and her husband Mark are doing
well and still living in central New Jersey. Joan
and her parents are still in the Northern Va.
area. Her sister, Kim is still in St. Louis, MO.
Ann reached her 35th year anniversary with The
Dow Chemical Company as a division Quality
Director. Where has the time gone? Her
daughter, Kelly 24 is living a few miles away
working for 4-H on programming for children
SUMMER 2011
with parents serving in the military. Ann‘s son,
David 22 is at Farleigh Dickenson University
finishing a business degree. She is looking
forward to hearing about all of the adventures
from our class as we transition to retirement.
Ann writes; ―Who would have guessed that the
generation of people that did not trust anyone
over 30 would one day be 60 and looking at
retirement around the corner?‖
Lynne Westmoreland has been busy, busy,
and busy since her move to the Finger Lakes
region of NY. She lives on 13 acres with 3
rescued dogs, 3 rescued cats, and most
recently, 2 rescued horses. She and her
partner, Linda, were legally married in MA in
August of 2009 and spiritually married with
friends and family as witness in August of 2010.
Lynne will also graduate June 5th with a second
master's (in humane education) from
Cambridge College. She begins teaching
online in September for the Institute for Humane
Education (www.humaneeducation.org) and
continues to teach piano, as she has for the last
30 years. Lynee writes; "Linda and I are
blessed with an amazing, supportive, and loving
community here. We are involved in our church
(Unitarian Universalist Church of Canandaigua)
as lay leaders and religious educators and have
recently been hired as Social Justice
Coordinators. We are really looking forward to
the next reunion/event for our GM class and
hoping to see everyone soon. Anyone coming
to the Finger Lakes or Rochester/Geneva area
please let us knows so we can connect. Love
to all my classmates!"
Stephanie (Line) Netolicky writes that on April
2nd this month Jeannie Martin Walker's son
was married. Jeannie and Stephanie have been
childhood friends since 6th grade at Thomas
Jefferson elementary school having met in Mrs.
Allum's class. Jeannie said it would mean a lot
to her if Stephanie could attend her son's
wedding. Stephanie traveled to Miami, Florida
so that she could attend the wedding and saw
not only Jeannie but reunited with her sisters
and brother, Rose Martin Daughery ('67);
Nora Martin ('69), Billy Martin ('71) and
Kathleen Martin ('77)(?); some of whom she
hadn't seen since they graduated from George
Mason. Also, this past October, former
cheerleaders, Priscilla Tackney (Lewis),
Suzanne DuPont (Smith), Robin Cruise, and
Stephanie (Line) Netolicky (cheerleading
manager) met at the home of Sarah Stanley
(Popham) ('71) in Portland, Oregon for a mini
reunion.
Page 28
John Roebuck is staying in touch with Dan
Seideln. John is singing a lot of karaoke these
days including a lot of Elvis. He has now lived
more years in the Tarheel State than he did in
his native Old Dominion. He wants to know if
anyone hiring old timers in NoVA, and would
love to move back. In closing, he says,
―RED...WHITE...Fight team, fight. Go
MUSTANGS‖!
We heard from one faculty member Dewayne
Dozier who visited Vegas just before Xmas last
year and spent most of January of this year
"playing tourist" in Greece and Crete. Mr.
Dozier is seriously contemplating retirement, or
at least going through the motions of retirement,
when he hits the "magic number" in August.
We have lost mailing addresses for the following
Class of 1970 members: Joe Carpenter, Peter
Colonna, Denise Conley, Ralph De Los
Reyes, Dianne Demille, Claudia Dewhurst,
Richard Dumm, Joyce Fewell, Peter
Fredenburg, Jorge Garcia, Gary Lynam,
Stephen McIntyre, Chris Neumann, Janey
Reynolds, Eric Sherman, Ray Shick, Wilson
Stinson, Brenda Thorpe, Rena Trexler,
Donald Vines, Richard Warren Susan Weiler
and David Zell. We need to keep up with the
mailing address of our lost alumni. If anyone
has information about these missing alumni,
please let me know.
Also, over the last two (2) years I have had a
number of e-mail addresses bounce back. I
have lost the e-mail addresses for the following
Class of 1970 Alumni: Jim Davis, Mike
Tedder, John Wes Wagner, Eric Wolf, Mark
Greenberg, Eddie Orf, Wanda Elam, Steve
Larrivee, Coleen Lynch, Mike Lacy, David
Decreney and Ann Parson.
If any of the classmates know the current
addresses or e-mail address that is missing,
please send them to me at
[email protected].
Robbie Werth
Class of 1971
By Billy Martin
Hello Class of 71'
First let me start off with some news that should
have made it in the last issue of the Review.
MUSTANG REVIEW
Mark and Susan Hamlin celebrated their
daughter Meredith's wedding last summer. Mark
sent along a few pix and everyone looked
wonderful. Mark also mentioned that the last
time he was in a tux was as my best man in
1979! He looked great both times, and congrats
to you all. Mark is also spending time
performing and enjoying the music at Bangkok
Blues, where they have open mike nites. He
has run into both Andrew Acosta and John
Wise recently. Deb Rowan, Joyce Hileman
Depace, Roger McCleskey, Paul Karnis and I
think Toni Calderone watched George
Simpson's band perform at "Don and Clare's"
last summer. They had a blast, and intend on a
repeat performance from George this June
25th. All are welcome.
Judy Jensen recently contacted me asking that
our class have a 40th celebration this summer,
and it sounds like a great idea if ya'll can come
on short notice. The event is the "Tinnerhill
Blues Festival", June 11th at Cherry Hill Park.
The event has food and drinks for sale and the
admission is only $10.00. Our class event will
be coordinated thru Judy, her e-mail is:
[email protected]. Please get in touch with
her soonest to let her know if you can attend
and to find out more details.
I got an e-mail out of the blue last week with
Wendy Strachan Begle's e-mail address.
Wendy, if you read this, please get in touch and
let us know how you are doing. Johnny Faith,
aka John Grim has some awesome music on
Facebook that can be downloaded for free. The
3rd track, "Through to you" is my favorite, but
they all get my feet tapping, so check it out.
Also, Andrew Acosta has several Facebook
posts with his music. So far "Deep River Blues"
has my vote for best Bluegrass song of the
year.
Please get in touch with me via e-mail and
update your info with me, cause it's only a few
years till our next 5 year all class reunion. My
computer files were completely corrupted last
Fall when someone from the "Ivory Coast"
hacked my account and fried my hard drive.
And no, I didn't fall for the "Please send money"
appeal. Bottom line, I am in the process of
updating our entire class list with the help of
Linda and Deb. My only news is as I write this I
am in Mexico for the Rosarito Beach to
Ensenada bicycle ride/race and some really
great surfing in Baja. It's particularly good surf
for "old Guys" on long boards. Till next time,
SUMMER 2011
Cheers, Billy
Class of 1972
By Trisha Hopkins
Phillips-Holbert
Well, spring has arrived across most of the
Country and I hope everyone is done with the
snow! I want to thank all of you who attended
the All Class Reunion. It was great to see many
of you. There are pictures posted of the
Reunion at http://gmhsreunion.shutterfly.com
Just to let everyone know, the Mustang Review
will only be published once per year starting
with this year with other alternatives being
explored to keep everyone up to date. Budget
cuts have reduced the funding available for the
printing and mailing of the news letter.
Debbie Wilcox, Diane Bailey, Janet
Burnham, Sue Lemon, Susan Cumby made it
to the reunion along with many more. All were
doing very well. I caught up with Debbie after
the reunion I gave her a call to catch up. She is
happy and doing well here in the area.
Mary Karnis was at the Class Reunion and was
in the process of relocating from New England
to parts unknown possibly North Carolina I
believe. My last e-mail to her caught her just
―going out the door‖ to move. So Mary I hope
the move with smoothly and you are now in
your new location. E-mail and let me know
where you are.
Jeannie Lacy Rogers is spending her time
organizing and leading pilgrimages to
Medjugorje. Check out her website
www.AgnusDeiJourneys.com. If you are not
familiar with Medjugorje, you can check it out at
the official website www.medjugorje.hr .
I‘ve received several e-mails from Liz Hoffman.
She has been back in the area for several years
now and is enjoying work and gardening. We
plan to meet up soon for lunch and catch up.
As for my family, my daughter is engaged to a
great guy planning a winter wedding and
graduating from James Madison University; my
son will be entering VCU this fall. So we are
staying very busy planning graduation and
wedding events.
Page 29
I would really like to hear from all of you so
please e-mail or call with updates on where you
are what you and your families are doing.
Class of 1973
By Diann Bullock Watkins
another guy to perform 1 of the songs. You can
see the video at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZvrq4_g5Yw
Devra Bailey Murphy: The photo is from this
year's Relay for Life 5K. Don't be fooled—I ran
and walked! Last year I ran the whole thing and
since I didn't enjoy being sore for three days,
decided to mix it up this year. It worked as I
was only sore for two!
Didn't hear from too many classmates, but
here's what I got:
Charlene Morris Robey: Hello, Hello, & How
ya doing? Life is good here in Lake Arrowhead
since it's finallly warmer weather! Life is even
better since I found facebook and so many
George Mason Alumni. It has been great seeing
how everyone‘s life is going and watching their
children, grandchildren and celebrations in life
through pictures. Last summer was the best
ever because some of us "girls" got together at
Lake Arrowhead for one of the Huge parties we
have. Log onto facebook and friend me, I am
listed as Charlene Robey. I forgot to put my
maiden name. I have tons of pictures that I
know you will enjoy. Also I want to extend an
invitation for July 2nd - the first big party of the
year. Twist of Faite will be playing. All info will
be listed in "Events" section of facebook. We
are in N. Stafford, VA. It is amazing and
heartwarming to reconnect with long ago friends
after all these years. Diann wanted to post
some pictures, but I would rather you join us on
facebook to see. After friending, I will hook you
up with everyone else. HOPE TO SEE YOU
SOON!!!!! ([email protected])
On May 11th my middle son, Wade, graduated
from UGA with a teaching degree. Now the real
fun begins . . . finding a job. Anyone hiring a
high school health and phys ed teacher with a
passion for football? My youngest son, Sean,
and I will be headed to Virginia the end of May
and went to the Memorial Day Parade on the
30th. I hadn't been in many years and
remember having so much fun going to them.
This is the time of year I reminisce about going
to the lake with Anna Earman and getting our
tans on! Years come and go, but fond
memories of special times and people thankfully
never go away. That's all I have right now. I
hope everyone's doing well!
Danny Ciaccio:
My life is fuller than ever in Atlanta. I'm playing
in 2 blues bands, coaching 2 roller hockey
teams and raising 2 teenage boys. I noticed
that when they turn 13, Dad and Mom are no
longer cool. When they turn 16, we're just plain
stupid.
John Krogmann: I have been getting up in the
middle of the night still changing diapers and
making bottles for my two babies and watching
"Mary Poppins" all the time! How is that for
excitement? I did notice that the Palmistry
Reading sign went down after many years on
Broad St.
I'm still running a sales business and my wife
still works for a charter jet company.
Donna Fletcher Lensis:
Tom and I are boating a lot. We've gone over
3000 miles in the last year alone. We took our
boat to the Abaco Islands in January for 3
weeks, across the state of Florida through Lake
Okeechobee and the ICW to Marco Island,
Sanibel Island and Naples in February and then
we went to Bimini in April. We are, as I write
this (on May 12th), in the process of bringing
our boat back to VA and are currently in GA.
We've had great weather and have been able to
go in the ocean the last 2 days. Tomorrow
I spent Cinco de Mayo at Smiths Olde Bar in
Atlanta where they were in the midst of a
fundraiser called, "500 Songs for Kids
Foundation". Over 10 nights they have 500
bands perform one song each to help raise
money for the kids. A guy who also coaches
hockey and his goalie son asked me and
MUSTANG REVIEW
SUMMER 2011
looks good to go outside as well and we'll be in
SC by the afternoon. It will take about 9 days
altogether to get back to our home port of
Occoquan so we can begin the boating season
in VA. Life is Good.
Glen Hood: As commissioner of Claremont
(CA) I wear many hats, from finally moving our
fleet department from gas or diesel to
compressed natural gas. The city I work for is in
the forefront of this technology, except police
and fire, which is understandable. Let's start
with the City of LaVerne: I went back to school
and received my Grade 3 California-Nevada
water treatment as well as Grade 2 treatment
from Cal-NV. It seems hard to believe in 4 years
I'll retire with 70% of my salary from Cal-Per's,
the largest pension fund in the USA. Back to the
City of Claremont and Commission - We plan
equipment purchases in all aspects of
Claremont. I'm also in the Utilities Commission,
which deals with Golden State Water, a private
purveyor of our water in Claremont. Getting
answers from them is like pulling eye-teeth. Our
largest Sierra snowpack (134 ft.) in many years,
but they still want to go to the Public Utilities
Commission and ask for yet another rate
increase, which I'll go to Los Angles or
Sacramento and do "battle". My wife Claudia
and I do quite a few bed and breakfast trips. It's
nice to be pampered. We have been married 22
years. She has a daughter Heather who has 4
children, all of which I baptized, and now we
have a great-grandson Aiden. Life is, and I hope
always will be, full of pleasant surprises. I was
playing basketball until recently. My saying is
the older we get the better we used to be. And
to paraphrase, No amount of success can
make up for failure at home. We try to always
remember these and live them. Remember we
are still a tight knit group from Falls Church.
May we all be blessed with good health and
positive attitudes.
For myself, the biggest excitement is the
graduation of our son, Daniel, from George
Page 30
Mason University in January. He participated in
the convocation ceremony at the Prince William
campus on May 20th, and we were so proud to
see him walk across the stage. I‘m including this
in our class article as I‘m sure he hasn‘t written
anything to his GMHS Class of 2006 rep! His
degree is in Sport Management, and he's
currently the manager of Madlax in Alexandria,
VA.
Our next reunion for our class of 74 is July 30
2011 we don't know where at this time. Please
mark your calendars and contact Brenda if you
plan to attend. The most important part of these
reunions is everyone is so happy to see each
other. I will be waiting for your responses.
Brenda Brown
Class of 1976
By Dan Collins & Karen
As you are all aware, 2011 marks the 35th year
since our graduation – YIKES – I know I can
feel it in my creaky body, how about you?
Apparently plans are in the works for other
reunions, including the Class of 1971. Since no
one has stepped up to organize a 35th for us,
we‘re going to just tag along and join in the
multi-class events – you should see something
in this issue of the Mustang Review about those
plans.
I saw Mrs. Rooney, former GMHS teacher, at a
hair salon recently. She‘s still sharp as a tack,
and will be celebrating her 100th birthday this
year.
Mary Sitton and Glen Hickerson continue to
work hard with their two other partners and eight
employees running an environmental business
in Linden, Virginia (going on 17 years now!).
They also continue to work hard keeping up
with home and yard chores at the mountain
property in Front Royal. They just finished
building a much needed barn (see attached
picture) which will come in handy for equipment
and projects. We look forward to seeing
everyone at the all class reunion at Cherry Hill
on June 11th!
Class of 1974
By Brenda Brown Green
Last summer we had another class reunion
many people showed up it seemed like it was a
reunion of the cheerleaders from our class it
was fun.
It is regret and much sorrow that i report to you
the death of two of our classmates. Mark Tracz
lost his battle with cancer on July 3rd at the age
of 54. Mark was very popular with many of the
classes so we got to grieve with many from GM.
Then Greg Parker passed away due to heart
problems.
MUSTANG REVIEW
close to 200 firefighters fought the fire and
saved our community. One of the fires popped
up in the back yard of a neighbor across the
street, firefighters and neighbors, including my
husband, were able to put out the fire. It was a
very scary day for us and one house was
completely lost. We applaud the firefighters
from Prince William County and Fairfax County
for working so hard to save our community.
Chris, at the tender age of 51, is a full time
college student and made straight A's this last
semester. I am working on special assignment
at our Fairfax Wegmans, running the in-store
freshness program and veggie market in front of
produce, Come by and say hi. For those of you
remember our choc lab, Maggie, at 13 yrs she
has slowed down but still lives to swim every
day. She is awesome.
After a difficult 4years, I am happy to say as of
August 2nd I will have been cancer free for five
years...woo hoo!!!! Last year I volunteered for
the 60 mile Komen Race for the Cure. It was
the single, most awesome experience I‘ve ever
had. I always look forward to seeing
classmates but, due to scheduling conflicts I
may not able to do so this year. I am on
Facebook and you can contact me at
[email protected].
Karen (Simms) and Dan Tulloh recently
traveled to JMU for their son‘s graduation. The
whole family went so it was a great weekend.
Current status: two college graduates, one
graduating from high school this year, and one
still in middle school - we still have a few years
to go before we become empty nesters.
Gina Boyles recently celebrated 30 years of
marriage with her husband, George Burns.
They live in Upstate New York with their 2
grown children close by and two beautiful
grandsons
Last but not least, if you haven‘t seen Dan
Collins lately, it‘s because he‘s been with his
two 16 year-olds traveling the countryside with
AAU basketball.
Toby (Lazar) and Chris Fleshren are still living
in the paradise of Occoquan Forest. Our
paradise was threatened late winter when a
large wild fire broke out in our community. Over
71 units from surrounding jurisdictions and
SUMMER 2011
Page 31
Class of 1979
By Karen Huber Grubbs
Nancy McGlynn, Tammy (Mckenzie)
Denekas, Vida Reboca and Linda (Ferrari)
Vasquez - say Hi to everyone.
Sarah Lissfelt - May be going to Calcutta, India
for a year or two with her friend Joy if he gets
transferred.
Joanne (Gray) Bryant - Is adjusting to her
recent divorce and home. (Daughters) Erin and
Dena are both doing great! Erin is in 9th grade
and is part of the IB Program at Princess Anne
HS and Dena is almost a Senior at JMU!
Lisa (Lumsden) Ware – We attended my dad's
70th birthday bash! It was a quick Virginia trip
and I didn't get past my dad's...but the party was
attended by some "Tyler Gardens" friends:
Audrey Lemon/Susie Clinton, The Gilley Girls
(mom & Linda, Lisa & Lorraine), then some that
Madison Elementary folks might remember
(they moved early on)...The Johnsons/Ronnie,
Joyce, Cindy, Linda and Kathy; the Venti's
(mom & Helene and Carolyn)...there may have
been a few others as there were 60 family and
friends in attendance. It was GREAT to get a
tiny "Falls Church" visit in that way! Gary and I
just became official "empty nesters" as of last
month, too! So we've been updating the
upstairs bedrooms and enjoying some time
together as he looks for work (job ended last
month as well).
Chris (Bobb) Belt - Geetings from Las Vegas!
I hope everyone is well and wonderful. I am
enjoying life with my 20 month old
granddaughter Elena, who is keeping me on my
toes at all times. There is still no work here, but
that just leaves more time with my kids. My
oldest is now 22 and I also have a 20 and a 19..
I still look forward to the day I can make it back
there for a reunion. Keep the fingers
crossed.. " Slainte" to all,,, Chris
Mike Schneider - In July, I head back out for
my next (and probably last) tour with the State
Department.
Tina (Sprinkle) Lamont - The position I had at
the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann
Seton/Daughters of Charity was eliminated and
I am now out of work.
Our van, 1999 Dodge conversion Van died on
270 on March 23 for the last time and we
MUSTANG REVIEW
purchased a 2011 Prius. My daughter Kelly is
finishing up her final year at George
Washington University - She is studying to be a
Physician Assistant as well as getting her
Masters degree in Public Health. My son Ryan,
made the commitment to move in with his
girlfriend last summer. They are loving life. I will
be turning 50 in September. Ugh!! Not looking
forward to that. In March and in April I became
a Great Aunt to two baby girls, Brianna Marie
Sprinkle (Danny's daughter Danielle)
and Spencer Marie Ashby (My step sister
Kelly's daughter Nicole).
Luann (Toone) Marrow - My daughter, Anna
(18), is graduating this year and will be
attending Coastal Carolina University in the
fall. (Son) Christian only has one more year
before he will join his sister in the ranks of
college life. As for Kate, she is keeping me
young. . . at heart. Kate will be in the fifth grade
next year. The problem is she thinks she is in
high school. (the price one pays for having older
siblings). My husband, Bobby, is working hard
trying to keep the restaurant afloat. As for me,
well, I continue to chug along messing with the
minds of the young. June is going to be busy
with graduation, beach week and camps. Not to
mention my 25th wedding anniversary on the 21
of June. BIG month!! Life is good. My family is
healthy and happy so I can't ask for much more
than that.
Liddy Hewes Zarone - I recently started Grad
school for school counseling. Daughter Jordan
is wrapping up her junior year bio/premed at
JMU, son Jake is completing his freshman year
as an education major at Radford. Still married
and living in Stafford with black lab Nike (my
real baby). Spent Christmas vacation on a
cruise to the Bahamas and went to Harry
Potter's Wizarding world in Orlando! Love
BUTTERBEER :)
Leslie (Waite) Crabbs: - After 5 years in Key
West, we will be moving back to San Francisco,
CA this summer. Hope to get my oldest son
Andrew through high school and perhaps stay 2
more years and get my daughter, Reilly,
through. Then it is an RV and hit the road...
[Leslie was also the President of Sigsbee
Charter School Board in Key West, FL]
Jeff Bolster - I am the Cubmaster for my son
Victor‘s Cub Scout pack, and (wife) Terri is
President of the PTA at Signal Hill Elementary
School. Victor is in 4th grade and Hannah is in
1st, hard to believe. The Pack cleans up a
SUMMER 2011
portion of stream bed and trail at Jennie Dean
park 2x a year, along with various tours and
campouts during the year. I‘m still captain of a
skeet team at Fairfax Rod & Gun Club (7th year I
think, and shot in the weekly league year ‗round
for 10 years) and run one of the rifle matches
(been doing that for 14 years). Still doing a lot
of building for DoD, Coast Guard HQ, etc. in
Rosslyn and DC along with interesting jobs for
the building owners.
Nancy (Reinaga) Brough & Sheree (Bryant)
Bracco by Karen (Huber) Grubbs - Nancy was
with her cute son while his twin sister was at a
―Little Miss‖ event (I think that was the event).
Sheree has completed her Masters Program
while working and raising her family. Karen
went to Utah on vacation. All attended Howard
Herman‘s Retirement celebration.
Emails not working: Wally Costner, Mandy
(Upton) Kiser
Please stay in touch.
Class of 1984
By Rich Condit
Your Class Reps:
Rich Condit (studiostrobe ―at sign‖ hotmail.com)
and Sue Eddy (susan.eddy ―at sign‖
cheerful.com)
Bavette (Kimbrell) Battern was recently
married in the Bahamas and now lives in the
Midwest.
Bavette and Dennis on their August 2010
wedding day in the Bahamas.
Page 32
back row, L to R: Joe Trombo, Elinor Scully,
David Schleeper, Joe Cheek, Donnie Montag,
Andy Condit, Andrea Condit, Amy Johnson
Warren, Tom Warren
Matt Sullivan performed with the Bruce in the
USA band at the State Theatre in Falls Church
in January 2011. About a dozen classmates
came for dinner and to watch the show. Matt
also has his own band, which just released its
second album.
GMHS Classmates from several different
years at the State Theatre.
front row, both standing and sitting, L to R:
Amy Trombo and daughter Katie, Roger
Camp and 2 daughters (3/5s of the Camp
Family), Mistie Schleeper, Jeff Miers, Sue
Montag, Mike and Kirsten Dawson (nonGMers), Susan Schick Link
Class of 1987
By Hugo Mendoza
Hello Class of 1987:
1984 graduates at the State Theatre for Matt
Sullivan’s performance.
Matt Sullivan plays guitar with Bruce in the
USA at the State Theatre.
Hear his band at www.thesullied.com. See
more pics of his band and the classmates who
went to the show at
www.GMHSReunion.Shutterfly.com. You can
also see a list of our missing classmates on that
site.
I maintain an email roster of our classmates, but
only have about a third of our class. I only use
it 2-3 times a year, and don‘t share the address
with others. Please consider sending me your
address, or letting me know which ones you
have for others that might not get the Mustang
Review.
Class of 1986
By Susan Schick Link
Here is a picture taken at our 1986 class gettogether last summer (2010) at Joe Cheek's
house. Identification of the people:
Matt Sullivan plays to a sell-out crowd at the
State Theatre.
I wanted to touch base and pass on some
things. If you have any ideas for possibly
getting together next year (2012) or would like
to make a submission to the Mustang Review in
the future, please contact me directly. Also, I
have brought up a new blog site for us,
http://www.gmhs1987class.blogspot.com/. If
you‘d like to contribute to it, let me know. As
with the other site, the blog will give us an
opportunity to say hello and share ideas with
each other about the kinds of events we might
want to consider for future get-togethers.
I‘m still living in Northern Virginia, work as an IT
Project Manager in the private sector, and have
a son that is about to start high school—life‘s
moving fast! If you are visiting or passing
through town, let me know.
Talk to you soon and stay safe everyone.
Kind Regards,
Hugo Mendoza
Class of 1992
By Care Maree Harper
Greetings! As a member of the GM Class of
'92, our Class Representative, Deepa Menon,
has asked me to take the lead on organizing our
20th class reunion for next year. As you know,
our class has not had any reunions to date.
MUSTANG REVIEW
SUMMER 2011
Page 33
Please contact me if you would like to help plan
our 20th Reunion. To begin, I am considering
setting up a private group on Facebook and
send out a surveymonkey to get an idea of
preferences and date availability.
Sincerely,
Care Maree Harper
Class of '92
Class of 1993
By Katherine Temple
Craig
We had a wonderful 15-year reunion in summer
of 2009. Thank you Lance for offering up your
backyard for the event. It was great seeing
everyone and all the new babies. Babies….that
seems to be what most of us are making these
days  I have a few birth announcements.
Congratulations to all on the new additions to
their family.
Mandy Reidel and husband, Matt Muller,
welcomed their first daughter on October 7,
2009, Calliope Virginia Muller. Mandy is living
in Tampa, Florida where she continues to work
as a federal prosecutor.
Susie Hill Ross and her husband, David, also
welcomed a little girl, Aubrey Ann Ross, into the
world on January 13, 2010. Susie continues to
teach 6th grade Language Arts in
Mechanicsville, Virginia.
Troy Austin and his wife, Heather, had their
fourth child, a son, born November 30, 2009.
Troy Lee Austin weighed in at 8lbs 14 oz and 21
inches long. Troy reports that ―he is the coolest
little man ever‖. Troy, senior that is, is also
currently training for the Marine Corps Marathon
in October. Not only is he running the Marathon,
but also raising money for the charity,
Organization For Autism Research. Troy is
enjoying the journey so far and looking forward
to finishing the 26.2 mile run and crossing the
finish line!
Pail Bailey has been living in Tucson, Arizona
with wife Aimee since 2003. Paul is the Director
of Engineering at a small software company.
His wife is a psychiatrist at the University of
Arizona Medical Center. They have two
Labrador retrievers, but the biggest news is that
MUSTANG REVIEW
they had their first baby last May. His name is
Chappell J Bailey. He's very chatty and loves to
play in the pool.
Other news include, Karen Jacomet getting
married to Russ Dixon, May 21st in Knoxville,
Tennessee. Russ and Karen first met 13 years
ago at 8th and I Parade Night, thanks to
Elizabeth Sikkar and her now husband of 12
years, Cisco!
assistant director for counseling and
programming at the Duke University Career
Center and provides career counseling and
career development programming for
undergrads.
Dione Herlinger is now Dione McGraw. She
got married on February 20, 2010 to Robert
McGraw. Dione also was diagnosed with MS in
2000. I am happy to report that she is doing
well with treatment. She has 3 cats and is living
in Front Royal, Virginia where she loves it.
Remember to drop me a line! Let me know
what is new in your life, especially address or
email changes. I‘d love to hear from you.
Take care everyone,
Katherine Temple Craig
Sally, Hilary and Meg at Hilary's wedding
Class of 2000
By Jenn Brasler
It was great to see so many Mason alums at the
ten-year reunion last fall! We had a big turnout
at both the Saturday-night event at Claire and
Don‘s and Sunday‘s picnic. Those of you who
couldn‘t attend can find some pictures of the
events on Facebook. We hope to see even
more people at our next reunion.
And now, a few updates: Jessica Taylor lives
in the Shirlington area and is a child and family
therapist for the Arlington County government.
She‘s also working toward licensure for her own
private practice.
Ana Oancea is still at Columbia University,
doing tons of reading, writing, and traveling
around the world. Last summer she visited
Tromso, Norway, near the Arctic Circle, and is
looking forward to attending a conference a
conference in Pusan, Korea this fall.
Hilary, Tracy, Anne and Sally, trying to make
Mason M's with their hands
Beppe Wackerbarth will soon join that club of
married people, as she weds David Jones in
August. A number of her Mason friends will be
in attendance. Look for pictures (if I remember)
in the next issue. Hopefully you‘ll also get to see
pictures of Hope Bowers‘ little girl, who will be
born by the time you read this.
I‘d love to get more updates, so send me a
quick note at jennbrasler47@gmail if you want
to be featured in the next newsletter.
Jenn Brasler
Hilary Kautter got married at the National
Cathedral last August and is now Hilary Allsopp.
Meg Beyer and Sally Prendergast served as
bridesmaids, and Anne Petraeus and Tracy
Brown were among the guests. Hilary is the
SUMMER 2011
Page 34
Class of 2002
By Juliana Pearson
It‘s hard to believe we will have our ten year
reunion soon!
Emily Dittmar is finishing up her second year
as a PhD student at Michigan State University
studying ecology and evolution. She writes,
―I've decided on my thesis project and it
involves lots of traveling to Northern California
and hiking around in beautiful areas. This
greatly helps to mitigate the effects of these
cold Midwest winters! Specifically, I'm studying
the genetic basis of traits involved in adaptation.
I absolutely love doing research and am having
a great time!‖
Shannon Lawhorne writes, ―in November of
2010, I became a mommy to a beautiful little
girl, Vivianne Raine Lawhorne.‖
Peter Moses is nearing his 4th year in
Manhattan, and recently joined a hedge fund
located in Midtown.
Josh Singer got engaged in February to his
girlfriend Zaree Gliddon. They met while he was
getting his Masters in Teaching at GWU.
James Spivey lives in Denver Colorado and is
Founder and Chief Executive Office of Blend
LLP. His business has worked with clients such
as American Express, Lockheed Martin, and
National CineMedia to build cutting edge
websites, mobile and desktop applications.
I received my Masters in Education Policy
Studies this spring from GWU. I live in
Alexandria with my fiancé and work for an
education research company.
Juliana Pearson
Class of 2004
By Whitney Lemke &
Anya Solovieva
Hello Fellow Class of 2004 Alumni,
We hope that each of you is thriving and
enjoying life to the fullest no matter where in the
world you are. It‘s incredible to think how much
life has changes for many of us since high
school. Many classmates have gotten married,
had children and are embarking on exciting
careers and journeys. It‘s always fun to read
about how our former classmates are doing, so
please do send us your updates for the next
newsletter to [email protected].
Since the last newsletter, Anya Solovieva has
moved Down Under and is now living in Sydney,
Australia. She is spending her days exploring
the beautiful beaches, sailing in the Sydney
Harbour and building her consulting business.
She will also be starting a Masters in
Sustainability at the University of Sydney this
July.
Whitney Lemke is continuing to teach 6th
grade with Fairfax County. She enjoys the
challenge and loves collaborating with her
Kennedy Center arts coaches to provide an arts
integration approach to teaching. This summer,
she is hoping to visit Anya in Australia and to go
on many boat trips up and down the
Chesapeake Bay. Whitney lives in Arlington so
if you ever want to get together or arrange an
event please contact her.
[email protected].
In other updates that we‘ve found through a bit
of investigative work: Annie Wanlund will be
moving to Boston this coming fall to start a
Masters degree at Tufts University. Andrew
Montgomery has married his long time
sweetheart Tara and we noticed they‘ve just
been blessed with a beautiful baby girl Leah
Catherine. Rwaida Alshagra has moved to
Newport Beach, California with her husband
George and will be starting her Masters in
Teaching in a couple of months at University of
California-Irvine.
Joseph Mauro graduated from Michigan Law
School this past May, and on May 21 he
got married to Shannon Teare! Shannon is a
high school French teacher from South
Carolina. They met at Wake Forest. After he
takes the bar in July, they'll be moving back to
MUSTANG REVIEW
SUMMER 2011
the D.C. area. Joseph will be working as a law
clerk at the Court of Appeals of Maryland, in
Annapolis, and Shannon will be getting a
Masters in French at the University of
Maryland. Here is a recent picture of the
newlyweds.
"Hello to all of you. It‘s Camille Christophel. I
can't believe it has been 7 years since we left
George Mason. I'll be turning 25 this summer,
and I'm still a Parisian. As you can see on my
pic, I'm a reporter on the biggest french radio,
RTL. Working on a daily show. Life's pretty
great, I'm in love with another reporter. I just
came back from 3 weeks on the American West
Coast (I got to see Bill Bacon), and it reminded
me how much I love your country, and how
much my life with you all has changed me
forever. Since I graduated from GM, I had to
graduate in France. After that, I started working.
Movies production, radio and TV shows, script
girl ... And next July, I'll be leaving RTL to work
with Fremantle (X-Factor, America‘s Got Talent
...) ... See, it goes pretty well here! If one of you
comes to Paris, tell me !!!!"
This May, Kaitlin Bottock graduated from
University of Virginia School of Law. After
spending some time relaxing in Falls Church,
and perhaps a little traveling, she will be starting
work at a firm in Washington, D.C. this October.
Teddy Smith has had quite an eventful year.
Teddy is in the Army and currently deployed in
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Afghanistan with the 4th Brigade, 10th Mountain
Division and will be returning home to Fort Polk,
Louisiana later this year. He is now married and
has a beautiful 3 year old step daughter named
Dakota. His wife and he had the amazing
experience of welcoming their wonderful son
into the world named Braydon Thomas Smith
who was born march 5th, 2011.
be back in Falls Church for the summer and
also looking forward to teaching her students
again next year in the 8th grade!
Sofia Meisenheimer has graduated from UNCGreensboro with a bachelor's in French and
Anthropology and is now working for a company
in Winston-Salem, NC as a Communications
coordinator.
Jaxon, Lilliana & Gwyneth Goddard
Class of 2006
By Meredyth Lowe
Edmund Jong will graduate from Virginia Tech
this year with a Masters in Mining Engineering.
He is continuing with his Ph.D. in Mining
Engineering at Virginia Tech researching
computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling
for tracer gas in underground mine ventilation.
We also noticed he‘s gotten married!
Congratulations 
After finishing a term with Americorps up in
Alaska Elizabeth (Beth) Tyson is currently in
the second half of her graduate program. She is
studying for a MS in conservation leadership in
the human dimensions of natural resources at
Colorado State University in Fort Collins. The
second part of her program is in San Cristobal
Las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico where she will be
studying at a Mexican university called
ECOSUR. She will then be joining the Peace
Corps in January to do her thesis work in Latin
America. The point of the program is
multidisciplinary and she will approach
conservation from all angles.
Pete Hamil has been living in San Diego for the
past two and a half years and now is currently
working for SDCI.
Haley Chrisco Goddard had her third baby
Lilliana Ruby Goddard on September 28th,
2010. She weighed 8 lbs. 13 oz. and was 21 1/2
inches long. Gwyneth Pearl turned 2 in January,
and Jaxon turned 4 in May, and will be starting
Pre-k next August. She is still a stay at home
mom but is looking forward to completing a
Yoga and Zumba Instructor certification by the
end of summer.
MUSTANG REVIEW
Here is what the class of 2006 has been up
to…
Elizabeth Ortiz is in Falls Church, working for
hair club for men as an office manager and
Northeast Regional trainer. She is looking to
finish up her bachelors in Construction
Management within the next two years.
Zack Hall is currently waiting to leave for the
Navy as a Logistic Specialist. In the mean time
I'm assisting illegal immigrants as a coyote into
the US of A to suck up our jobs.
Lauren Moore is in graduate school for
Clinical/Counseling Psychology and Marriage
and Family Therapy at La Salle University in
Philadelphia. She has also continued her
research in sexuality and presented at her 4th
conference.
Johnny Shaw is living in Springfield, having a
daughter on June 28th and then heading to
Army basic training.
Lauren Cary is working at Bodies in Motion
Physical Therapy in Falls Church. She is
applying to physical therapy school this fall and
hoping for Marymount University in order to stay
local. This fall she went to South America for a
month to visit her brother in Argentina. They
backpacked through Bolivia and into Peru and
hiked the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu.
Emma O‟Hara is finishing up her first year with
Teach for America in the Mississippi Delta. She
is teaching 7th Grade Science in Greenville, MS
and it has been the most challenging and most
rewarding year of her life! She is so excited to
SUMMER 2011
Vadym Onyshchenko graduated in December
with a Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical
Engineering. He is now a Mechanical
Supervisor for Norfolk Southern in Pittsburg
Division, PA.
John Hillegass is currently at Radford
University. He will be receiving a B.B.A. in
Finance with a minor in Economics this
December. Then, he will be continuing his
education and pursing a Masters Degree
through the RU College of Business and
Economics Graduate Program.
Other than that, he is specializing in
Investments and Banking.
Unlike everyone else in our class, college didn't
really work out for Katie Gordon. So, she won't
be graduating this year. She might go back
someday but right now it's just not in the cards
for her. She has been working at Sephora at
Tyson's Corner for 2 years. She currently works
there full-time mostly as a makeup artist, but
she‘s dabbled in all of the departments.
Hopefully by the time this is printed she will
have been made a skin care expert. She wants
to continue to advance in the company and
hone her skills as an artist. She and Joe
Horneman (Class of '03) will celebrate 5 years
together in October. They are still trying to save
up to get married and get their own place and
hope to do so within the next year or so. She
hopes life is treating everyone well.
Tashdid Khan works as a software engineer at
a DC office and he keeps putting the decimal in
the wrong place.
Hayes Davis graduated at Old Dominion
University in 2010 with a major in International
Relations and a minor in French linguistics.
While at University, Hayes had the opportunity
to study abroad in Cape Town, South Africa and
also participate in an intense language program
in Tours, France. On New Years Day of 2011,
Hayes married, Ensign William Spencer, who
graduated at ODU in 2010 with a major in
Business Management and a minor in Middle
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Eastern Studies. Since then Hayes Spencer has
had a short internship at the Joint Forces Staff
College, the National Defense University. The
Spencers are moving to San Diego, CA in May
of 2011.
Association for Cancer Research and living in a
house with some friends in Northern Virginia. In
the fall, she will be attending grad school at
George Washington University, for a Masters in
Public Administration.
Bryan Collins still lives in Falls Church, and
works as a Youth Prevention Specialist. He‘s
also a Testing Coordinator for the Northern
Virginia Aids Ministry (NOVAM), which provides
free HIV prevention education and HIV testing
to youth ages 14-24.
Ruhee Jaffer is just graduating from George
Mason University with her BSC in Biology.
She‘s in the process of applying to dental
school and working as a pediatric dental
assistant in Centreville and she also works at
Mercedes Benz.
Camille Starr still lives in the area and works
for Cambridge Associates; it's a financial
investment advisory firm. She also spends a
good amount of my time with Doorways for
women and families, which helps to end
domestic violence and family homelessness.
Alex Teates is currently working as a car dealer
at Brown's Fairfax Mazda and will be returning
to school in the fall.
Megan Bledsoe still lives in Falls Church. She
is about to graduate from GMU in a few weeks.
She is a manager at Sport and Health, but she
is currently looking for a full time job hopefully
doing ABA therapy with autistic children.
Betsy Elliot lives in Maryland and works for the
Department of Defense.
Christie Ankeney is living in Oxford, MS and
she is working with Campus Crusade (a campus
ministry) at Ole Miss!
Bob Bumgarner is currently training to become
an EOD Tech with the US Army at Redstone
Arsenal, Alabama. When his training moves to
Florida, he will be getting married to his fiancée,
Jane, who he met in school at UMW.
Billy Gallagher is currently living in Fairfax, VA
trying to finish his first novel.
Karin Logan is working between CORK Wine
Bar in DC and a "supper club" in Rehoboth
Beach, DE for the season. She is in the process
of a 2-3 year Diploma for the WSET, i.e., Wine,
Spirit, Education Trust studying viticulture and
doing blind tasting. She completed the
Advanced Certificate back in October 2010.
Jessie Oxley is currently working in DC as the
Government Affairs Coordinator at the American
Kristin Schwind is graduating from Virginia
Commonwealth University's School of Nursing
with a BS degree. She has a job lined up at
Virginia Commonwealth University Health
System on the Acute Care Oncology floor. She
plans to continue onto graduate school here at
VCU in maybe another year, until then she is
going to focus on re-learning Spanish. This past
year, she went to Belize for a week with VCU's
school of nursing to help out at the local private
schools and clinics, and this has turned her onto
community nursing. She plans on working with
Richmond's homeless population until graduate
school kicks in. She wants to congratulate all
who are graduating with their super senior
degree's, to all who have successfully
transitioned to the "adult world", and to all who
are even thinking about going back for more
edu-ma-cation!
Lauren Lauderdale is still at Longwood
studying Psychology. She is a part-time student
since she only has 3 classes left before
graduation (next year) and will be doing an
internship. When she isn‘t in class she‘s
teaching at a nearby pre-school. She hopes
everyone is doing well.
the not too distant future.
Emily Bowditch lives in Charlotte, NC and
works as a recruiter and trainer for an asset
management company that works in the
community educating families on how money
works.
Andy Tonken is living in the West Village in
NYC and working in the Sales Department at
OXO International, a housewares company.
Maggie Person has graduated from William
and Mary last May (majored in Sociology and
Environmental Policy) and she‘s currently
working as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Togo,
West Africa. She is 7 months into her 27
months of service as a Natural Resource
Management volunteer.
Kaity Hauter graduated from Clemson
University in May 2010 with a degree in
Philosophy and Law, Liberty, and Justice. She
joined the Peace Corps shortly after and now
she‘s live in Ukraine where she works as an
English teacher. She‘s learning Ukrainian and
Russian and how to cook borshch.
As for me, I just recently got my certificate in
Sign Language. I‘m not really sure what I want
to do with that. I‘m currently still at NOVA trying
to finish up and get my degree. I‘m still
undecided on what I want to do as a career,
there are so many options. While I try and figure
that out, I‘m at Thomas Jefferson Elementary as
a counselor in the after school daycare program
and I still love it!
Willie Hoover just graduated in December from
The Ohio State University with a BS in Finance.
He‘s been working for a financial advisor with
Ameriprise Financial for almost four years now
and just switched to full time when he
graduated. He is living in Columbus, OH for the
time being-- plans on moving back to NOVA in
Remember, you can view this newsletter on the GMAA web site in
full color at www.gmhsaa.org
MUSTANG REVIEW
SUMMER 2011
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MUSTANG REVIEW
SUMMER 2011
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NONPROFIT ORG
Falls Church City Public Schools
George Mason High School Alumni Association
450 W. Broad Street, Suite 305
Falls Church, VA 22046
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FALLS CHURCH VA
ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED
PERMIT No. 16
PERMIT NO 1447
SAVE THE DATE!
5:30 PM - 7:00 PM, 14 OCTOBER 2011
FCEF/GMAA ALUMNI TAILGATE PARTY
PRIOR TO GM HOMECOMING FOOTBALL
GAME - ACROSS ROUTE 7 FROM GM AT
THE VIRGINIA COMMERCE BANK
MUSTANG REVIEW
SUMMER 2011
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