University of Mary Washington - Index

University of Mary Washington - summer08 - Index

66
CLASS NOTES
eight boys and four girls. Her youngest
son, Andrew, a West Point graduate,
was recalled to active duty in the Army
and was to go to Afghanistan. Clara Sue
attended her 50th high school reunion
in Columbia, S.C., and according to
husband Clarence, saw too many of her
old boyfriends!
Janie Riles’ daughter , Marguerite,
who lives in San Diego, had a second
boy, Oscar, in January. For Christmas,
Janie gave herself a piano; I am sure
many of you remember her playing in
Seacobeck after weekend dinners while
we stood around and sang. She enjoys
that now with her grandsons.
Bev Carlson Shea sent a picture of
herself and her new granddaughter, Kate,
visiting Santa. She was interested in our
trip to Alaska as she had spent a summer
there in high school.
Jean Ryan Farrell and Frank live
in Atlanta, where their oldest son, Frank,
also lives with his family. Two sons live
in Europe, so Jean and Frank had fun
visiting grandchildren abroad. Bobby
and family, with three children, have
been in Oslo but will move to Singapore
this year, where he will build a factory
for manufacturing solar panels. Son
David, along with Patty and the Farrells’
youngest grandchild, live in Zurich.
Jean and Frank’s other planned travels
included Egypt, the Holy Land, Utah for
skiing, and Cayman Islands for diving,
and probably Singapore later!
Dee Doran Cairns and husband
Doug, both retired, enjoy their freedom
to go and do as they please. They hoped
to return to Naples, Italy, in the spring to
see their son, Rob, who lives there with
his family.
A trip to France is in the wind
for Sarah Leigh Kinberg and Tom,
whose daughter Sarah Leigh and her
husband, Andreas, have bought a manor
house there. Other travels found them
in Yosemite; Las Vegas, where Sarah
managed to spend a week without
gambling; Point Reyes, Calif., for their
45th wedding anniversary; Alaska;
Norfolk; and North Carolina. Sarah
also traveled to Virginia for her 50th
high school reunion (or preschool – she
wasn’t sure which), and she and Tom
went to his mother’s 99th birthday
celebration! Sarah said she was a
wonderful person, who was not just her
mother-in-law but also her mom! She
passed away in November. In October,
Sarah had her year follow-up on the
gamma knife radiation she had to treat
her brain tumors, which have shrunk
some as a result. In her most humorous
style, she writes, “unfortunately the brain
shrunk 50 percent” and “Californians
are still celebrating having me off the
highway.”
Ellen Gotwalt Willing and Bill
have spent a couple of winter months in
Naples, Fla., in recent years and enjoy
the many new friendships they have
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made. Travels to Europe are also still a
favorite, and last September they went
to Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, and the
Czech Republic on a six-day cruise
on the Danube. In April, they were to
go on another Grand Circle cruise to
Sicily. Ellen often visits her grandson in
Vienna, Va., and when she’s at home in
York, Pa., she is an active volunteer with
their church, the York Symphony, and
other groups.
Another inveterate traveler is
Eleanor Knight Jensen and husband
Cliff, who have spent the past several
winters in New Zealand, with additional
travels last year to Fiji, France, The
Netherlands, Germany, Slovakia, Austria,
Hungary, Turkey, Greece, and St. Barts
in the Caribbean. They spend summers
at home in New Fairfield, Conn., where
they enjoy their flower gardens and
boating on Candlewood Lake. Cliff ’s
photographs are exceptional and are
regularly featured in the local newspaper.
Carolyn Crum Pannu hoped to
travel more this spring. She is registrar
at her sister’s Jazzercise class, which she
attends twice a week, and she walks with
a friend. Her grandson, who will turn
4, lives in Dallas and visited Carolyn in
November.
Andy and I made several trips
to visit our new grandson, Leo, in
Wilmington, N.C., including a six-week
stay, from Christmas through January.
Our daughter and her husband have
started a new business, selling green
building supplies, and we helped with
babysitting. I got together there with
Mary Hatcher, and we had fun catching
up. Barbie Upson Welch is still working
on getting her pilot’s license; we see each
other at the Smart Talk Lecture series
here. Her daughter, Meg, has three boys,
and her son, Bob, has one son and a
daughter on the way.
From Renee: Hope all of you
survived the winter well. I had a
wonderful time at my 50th high school
reunion in Washington, D.C.; I loved
visiting old friends, but it’s sad to no
longer have family there.
I found a cute dog, a bichon frise
mix, wandering the streets of Santa
Monica just after Christmas, and took
him to the local shelter. After five days,
nobody had claimed him, and I got him!
My 3-year-old golden retriever mix
loves the new one, and they play happily
together.
Lynn McCarthy spent 16 months
in an assisted living facility but has
quite happily jumped back into her life
again. A gardener extraordinaire, she
has grown a ton of tomatoes, which she
shared with the residents of her assisted
living facility, who began to refer to her
as “The Tomato Lady.”
Marg Gilfoyle Powell hosted a
small group of her Maury High School
classmates, including Sarah Leigh
Kinberg and Anna Burton Hathaway.
Betsy Ottley Taggart lives in Cheyenne
where she remains a dedicated musician,
plays in a trio, and is music director at
her church.
For the past seven years, Peggy
Howard Hodgkins had made bimonthly
travels to Jacksonville, Fla., to see and
tend to her mother, who died at 92 in
December. “What a lucky gal I was
to have such a sweet mom: Margaret
Wilson Howard,” she said. Now, Peggy
is focusing on plans for the future. She is
upgrading her lovely old home.
Sylvia McJilton Woodcock and
Stuart went on a great trip to New
Zealand and Australia with Stuart’s VMI
roommate and his wife. Stuart is doing
quite well after total knee-replacement
surgery in December.
Mary Martin ’62, who was in our
class but left for a year and returned
to graduate later, and Cynthia “Cyd”
Day Getchell ’60 are working on an
educational project for the Lakota tribe.
Mary loves reading about her classmates.
She extended her sadness at the news of
the passing of Vaughn Hargroves Scott.
Marcia Minton Keech and Bill
have fallen in love with Savannah and
their new home. Being so far from their
kids and grandkids has taken some
adjusting, but the folks in Savannah
seem to have welcomed them warmly,
and the family all came down for
Christmas. Marcia and Bill return to
Northern Virginia from time to time to
keep up with their business, The Keech
Co., which is now run by their son.
Marilyn Messier Whitmore had
a bout with breast cancer last May.
Thankfully, it was caught early, and she
is doing well. Marilyn and Bill both
turn 70 this year and are planning a
cruise to the Mexican Riviera during
Thanksgiving to celebrate. Bill still works
daily, and Marilyn works with him two
days a week and continues to be a docent
at the Ronald Reagan Library. They try
to get to their home in Las Vegas, which
they’ve owned since 1991, at least five
days a month. Marilyn is in touch with
Judy LaRoe Hare, who lives in Georgia,
sounds as young as ever, and is still
working.
Carol Linea Johnson, the daughterin-law
of our beloved late classmate,
Ann Hopkins Burroughs, is starring
in Mamma Mia – Las Vegas, which
has the honor of being the longest
running Broadway show in Las Vegas
history. She and castmate husband Don
Burroughs have recently purchased
a home there. Ann’s widower, Dick,
is doing well in North Carolina near
daughter Darcy. He, Lynne Williams
Neave and Sandy, Art and Lloyd Tilton
Backstrom, and Carolyn Crum Pannu
met in Las Vegas in August to see Carol
and Don in Mamma Mia.
Sara Prosterman Brown still works
50 hours a week and still loves recruiting
healthcare executives. She also has lived
in the same place for 34 years. They
have seven grandchildren, and Sara is
laboring to complete a quilt for each one
as high school graduation gifts to take to
college. The first one graduates next year.
From Lynne: Greetings! As I write,
I have escaped the brutal winter in New
York and am enjoying some golf and
beach in sunny Florida. Sandy and I