University of Mary Washington - Index

University of Mary Washington - summer08 - Index

successful landscape
architect, and he and
his wife have two sons
in college. Michael,
an anesthesiologist,
and Christina have
a son and daughter
in college. Connie’s
daughter, Mary, and
her husband have
three children. Their
daughter, Ann Marie, who is with Pulte
Homes, as is her sister Michelle, was
married in June. Connie has given up
real estate after 30 years and doesn’t
miss the stress.
Clelia Boushee Bullard and Ray
aren’t as active as before Clelia’s bout
with lymphoma began about three years
ago, but they have a good quality of life,
working around the house, dining out
with friends, and being with family.
When Clelia’s energy is low, Ray helps
out, and they share the cooking. His
signature dishes are shrimp creole and
meatloaf.
Elsie Davidson Floyd’s back is in
a “holding pattern.” She has had three
nerve blocks in an attempt to get rid of
the pain she has off and on in her left
leg, but none have worked. Her family
has been a big help, preparing most of
the Thanksgiving dinner and visiting in
the summer.
Carol Bailey Miller has cut back
on her horse-show officiating but enjoys
taking multiple day trips with her “barn
buddies” group of four adult ladies who
ride. At Graves Mountain, they enjoyed
a trail ride through the orchards. A
Winchester trip included a side trip to
the Charlestown racetrack, where she
lost $6 on the ponies. Carol was reelected
to the VHSA Board of Directors and
has been appointed to the Cumberland
County (Va.) Planning Commission.
Billie Mitchell Hanes and Dick
had a springtime visit to New York City,
traveled to Vermont at the height of the
fall foliage, and continued to Quebec
City. Business responsibilities and Dick’s
traveling have been lighter, and Billie is
happy that her good eye is stable.
The highlight of the year for Nan
Riley Pointer and Joe was a cruise
to Hawaii, where they visited Pearl
Harbor – a moving experience. Nan
and several friends also went on a
bus trip to Branson, Nashville, and
Asheville just before the holidays, and
they enjoyed the Christmas shows and
decorations. Nan continues to be active
in her local United Methodist Women
group. She is the Virginia President of
the International Order of the King’s
Daughters and Sons and attended its
Central Council in Chautauqua, N.Y.
Ginny Hardy Vance sent me the
obituary for Ann Wrigley, and then I
received a phone call from Mary Mount
Lind with the same information. We
had a nice chat, and I was glad that
all is well with Mary and Dick. Ann,
who lived in Alexandria, did work for
the federal government and for the
Republican National Committee in a
program for large financial contributors.
Kitty Garland Obenshain ’53
had her sixth children’s opera
officially première at Radford
University in November, followed
by six school-tour performances.
It was an up-and-down year for
Barbara Birkenmeyer Mader and Bill.
Traveling to visit family and their usual
stay at Nags Head were the good parts.
The downers were the loss of their not
yet 5-year-old basset hound, Rhoda, and
Bill’s being diagnosed with Parkinson’s
disease. He is still maintaining most
of his activities and received a muchdeserved
Community Service Award.
Barb is pursuing the possibility of
having a cochlear transplant, as her
hearing loss is an ongoing issue.
Barbara Lloyd Hiller and Jim
made it to their grandson Kevin’s
graduation from the Air Force Academy
in Colorado – an awesome ceremony.
They celebrated their 55th anniversary
with the whole family in Ocean City,
Md., at Thanksgiving. They enjoy their
life in State College, Pa., where there is
much going on. Barbara is now editor of
the Women’s Club newsletter.
Marge Diener Knapp didn’t
make the overseas trip to sing in the
Salzburg Festival with her church choir
due to a bad fall. She spent the summer
recuperating and is now in her new
house in Jamison, Pa., just south of
Doylestown.
In San Diego, Betty Gavett
Breeden and Joe made a move to a
small two-bedroom apartment not far
from their former home, which they are
renting to their son and his family. They
have had some health-related challenges
due to Joe’s back pain and Betty’s hernia
surgery. She is doing fine now and
enjoying mending books as a library
volunteer.
Winston Jones Lata and Alfred
of Lawrence, Kan., did quite a bit of
traveling in 2007 – a mini-reunion
of Alfred’s Princeton classmates on
Nantucket, a Caribbean cruise, and a
grandson’s wedding in Florida. Winston
recently finished her six-month
probation in order to become a Lay
Associate of the Order of the Holy
Cross. This means that she is trying to
live a Benedictine life.
Patti Head Ferguson and Glenn
sent a lovely Christmas letter with
pictures of the family. Scott and his wife,
Andrea, live in Berkeley, Calif., and he
is traveling the world as vice president
of Ergomeda, an international medical
equipment company. Their son, Royce,
is in Shanghai teaching math to college
students. His brother, Arno, is minoring
in Japanese at UC-Berkeley and hoping
to return to Japan this summer. Patti’s
daughter, Sherry, and her husband, head
of the World Bank, travel a lot; Patti’s son
and his wife work for Edenspace; and
their daughter is taking a year off from
William and Mary to study in London
near her younger brother, who is at
Lancing College. The sad news is that
Glenn has been diagnosed with terminal
bone cancer. He savors family visits and
keeps up with the sports pages.
The family of Carmen Zeppenfeldt
Catoni has had some trying times, too.
Her son, Luis Angel, had to have a kidney
removed due to a malignancy. Carmen’s
daughter, Ana, was with Luis while he
was in the hospital in Miami and was
able to give reports of his progress.
Alicia De Rivera-Cruz took a
cruise with her niece on the Carnival
ship Inspiration. One of their ports of
call was Cozumel. Although she still has
not gotten together with Carmen, she
has seen Mary Jean Diaz several times
in St. Petersburg, Fla., and in San Juan,
Puerto Rico.
As for me, my most recent
Elderhostel experience was in Baltimore,
where my high school friend and I
attended lectures and recitals at the
Peabody Institute of Music. I have also
had many get-togethers with Miriam
Sollows Wiel and Earl, mostly while we
are at our Cape Cod homes, even though
we live in New Jersey year-round. Earl
does a lot of golfing, and they both are
active in their church, with Mim using
her artistic ability to do most of the
decorating for special events.
1951
Roselyn “Rosie” Bell Morris
907 Conway Road
Fredericksburg, VA 22405
Hello, classmates! Well, guess what …
I am still waiting for some news from
you all. The next deadline is July 15th.
Please, please, please send your news!
I received a letter from Jean Tomko
Chapman telling me of deaths that
have occurred in the families of some of
our classmates. Condolences go out to
Carolyn Bowers Atwell on the death of
her mother, who was 104. Also, Jeanne
Burchell MacDonald lost her father.
1952
Corley Gibson Friesen
P.O. Box 533
Silverthorne, CO 80498
corleyfriesen@comcast.net
Class of 1952 – we look forward
to hearing your news of travel,
grandchildren, and retirement. July 15th
is my next deadline. Keep in touch!
Joan Britten Lucas and her
husband have made a decision that quite
a few of us have contemplated. They
have sold their house and have an
apartment in Paradise Valley Estates, a
68-acre gated retirement community.
Joanie wrote, “Life couldn’t be better.”
Susan Hutcheson Jurgens had
lunch with Carol Oliver Headlee,
Maxine Haley Hazelgrove, and
Rita Morgan Stone last fall. The
Headlees and the Stones live in the
same retirement community in
Richmond. Susan has also talked
to Mary Lou Finney Boyd, Elaine
Nader Powell, and Ginny Orkney
Philbrick. Susan’s two grandsons,
2008 college graduates, plan to head to
graduate school.
Carol Edgerton Cooper and her
husband, Charlie, have three greatgrandchildren
and have been doing lots
of traveling. They celebrated Charlie’s
80th birthday in Budapest.
Margie Gibson Blaxill joined my
husband and me on an African safari in
Kenya. We have many photographs of
elephants, wildebeests, zebras, and other
exotic creatures. It was fun!
1953
Rebecca “Becky” Spitzer Harvill
105 Woodmont Drive
Staunton, VA 24401
becbub@earthlink.net
My Bub and I continue to enjoy good
health, fine friends, and great family.
We are “holding” at 11 grandchildren,
ages 5 to 29. A granddaughter graduated
from Virginia Tech last May and is
now in dental school at VCU. Another
granddaughter planned to graduate
from the University of Denver in June,
and we’re looking forward to our first
visit to Colorado for the occasion.
Adele “Punky” Crise Thomas
became nostalgic reading the
Centennial issue of TODAY,
remembering just how beautiful the
campus is and how wonderful our
years together there were. She and Buz,
who live just outside of Annapolis, are
retired, active, and healthy. Their five
daughters keep in daily contact. Two
granddaughters are at Duke; one was
cast as Sandy in Duke’s production of
Grease. Adele enjoys painting still lifes
and portraits under the tutelage of a fine
young artist.
Deigh Renn Simpson stays busy
renovating her home and entertaining
friends, and she had the “most fantastic
Christmas season in years.” She,
Barbara Faxon Stout, and Charlotte
Benz Villalobos were looking forward
to being together at our 55th reunion.
Peggy Ellis Gill lives in
Massachusetts and spends much of
her summer tending to her garden and
spending time with her husband, Paul,
and her Irish terrier, Weebo. All three
get away for a spell each winter to a
favorite corner of north Florida. For the
last four years, Peggy has been the Irish
Terrier Club of America’s delegate to
the American Kennel Club, after having
served earlier as technical representative
to AKC’s Canine Health Foundation
conferences.
Betsy Dickinson Surles is busy
picking up pre-retirement projects and
finding lots of material for the DAR’s
research into ancestors from the 1800s.
She discovered several old cousins well
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