ALUMNAE MAGAZINE
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Starting Line.
A MESSAGE FROM
PRESIDENT JO ELLEN PARKER
ON STRATEGIC PLANNING
In introducing the current strategic planning process, I used the metaphor of the
"starting line." A starting line, of course, suggests that a race is about to begin.
There were several reasons I liked the metaphor of a race for this particular
strategic planning process. A race has a beginning, a middle and an end. It has a
clear goal and a clear pathway toward that goal. A race involves an awareness of
competition— even if only against one's own previous best— and success depends
on training, preparation and attitude. And, of course, a race involves moving
quickly!
The "Starting Line White Paper" (available in its entirety on the strategic planning
blog at strategicplan.blog.sbc.edu) laid out my charge to the community; in a way,
it charted out our racecourse for us. The rest of this message summarizes its key
points.
Continued on page 24. . .
FOLLOW ALONG ONLINE AT:
str ategicplan .blog . sbc . edu
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Hank Yochum, Director of the Margaret Jones ,
Wyllie '45 Engineering Program
SWEET BRIAR ALUMNAE MAGAZINE SUMMER 2010 VOL. 81, NO. 1
SWEET BRIAR ALUMNAE MAGAZINE POLICY
One of (he objectives of ihe magazine is to
present interesting, thought-provoking material
Publication of material does not indicate
endorsement of the author's viewpoint by the
magazine, the Alumnae Association, or Sweet
Briar College. The Sweet Brior Alumnae
Magazine reserves the right to edit and, when
necessary, revise all material that it accepts for
publication. Contact us any time!
Colleen Karaffa Murray '06, editor
434 381.6317
cmurray@sbc edu
Media, Marketing and Communications
PO Box 1056, Sweet Briar, VA 24595
434.381.6262
Boxwood Alumnae House
PO Box 1055, Sweet Briar, VA 24595
800381.6131
alumnae@sbc.edu
Office of Development
PO Box 1057, Sweet Brior, VA 24595
434.381.6161
Sweet Briar Alumnae Magazine Production
Graphic design by The Design Group,
Lynchburg, VA.
Printed by Progress Printing Company.
INSIDE FRONT COVER: Message from the President on Strategic Planning
2 Engineering Inspiration: 1945 Graduate Endows $3 Million Fund to Support
Engineering Program
4 Engineering Inspiration: 2009 Engineering Graduates
8 1 01 st Commencement Links Class of 201 0 to SBC's 1 0th President
10 Going Places in the Foreign Service
1 2 All in a Life's Work: Elinor Stebbins '00 Receives the Congressional Gold Medal
1 4 Worlds Within Worlds: 201 0 Senior Art Show
1 8 Sweet Briar Celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the Boxwood Circle
20 Advanced Fiction with Carrie Brown
22 Homecoming 2010: Go Somewhere You Love this Fall
24 Strategic Planning Continued
25 Just Say Yes!
26 Mini Reunions ETBRIAft
27 Alumnae Weddings
28 Bulletin Board
29 Recent Deaths
30 In Memoriam
32 Transitions
33 Class Notes
INSIDE BACK COVER: In the Sweet Briar Tradition: Anne Walden Dewey Guerin '41
>0°
Mixed Sources
Cover Image: Juniors Sarah Lightbody (left) and Lauren Perhala work on one of the
engineering department's ongoing projects to design and build a low-cost, functional
prosthetic hand. The students are contributing to the project through the Honors Summer
Research Program, which awards competitive fellowships to work one-on-one with faculty
sponsors.
PHOTO BY NANCY BIACKWEIL MARION '74
Engineering
■ f 1
3R w/ ft H
1945 Graduate Endows $3 Million Fund
to Support Engineering Program
JENNIFER MCMANAMAY, STAFF WRITER
Margaret "Peggy" Jones Wyllie always wanted to be
an engineer, but when she entered college in 1941
pursuing that dream, was nearly impossible. In those
days, universities with engineering programs rarely
admitted women and no women's college in the
country offered the degree. So in 1945, Wyllie
graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in chemistry from
Sweet Briar College.
2 •Summer 2010
Sweet Briar College Alumnae Magazine • www.alumnae.sbc.edu
inspiration
Sixty-five years later. Sweet Briar is one of only two
U.S. women's colleges to offer an engineering degree.
The program's success has permitted Wyllie to revisit
her childhood dream while expanding opportunities
for Sweet Briar's aspiring engineers of today. She and
her husband, Jesse Wyllie, have given $3 million to
Sweet Briar to create an endowment in support of the
program. Shortly after the gift was announced, Jesse
Wyllie passed away.
In recognition of the gift, SBC Engineering will
henceforth be known as the Margaret Jones Wyllie '45
Engineering Program. It is the first named academic
program in the College's 109-year history.
Sweet Briar's engineering curriculum was built
over several years beginning in 2002, largely with $1.5
million in grants from the National Science Foundation.
The first class of degree candidates was enrolled in
2005 and graduated last year.
The College offers a B.S. in engineering science
and a B.A. in engineering management. The
curriculum emphasizes experiential learning, design
as a fundamental element of engineering, and creating
solutions to human problems. The engineering science
degree track is multidisciplinary, rooted in mechanical
engineering and engineering design, with an emphasis
on electrical and mechanical systems.
The B.A. option responds to the high demand
among today's technical companies for graduates with
strong educational backgrounds in both management
and technology. Fundamental science, math and
engineering courses, combined with an emphasis on
developing management skills and interconnections
between the disciplines, are the core of the program.
The Wyllies, who met at The Johns Hopkins
University where Peggy earned her master's in
chemistry, were early and generous supporters
of engineering at Sweet Briar. They contributed
substantially for laboratory renovations and equipment,
computers and software from 2005 to 2007.
Earlier this winter. President Jo Ellen Parker invited
the couple to campus to attend a lecture, tour the
department's labs and machine shops, and meet with
students, faculty and administrators.
"Peggy and Jesse Wyllie were impressed by the
quality of Sweet Briar's engineering students and
faculty, by the mission of the program and by the
innovative curriculum," Parker said.
"They appreciated the careful stewardship, which
made effective and thoughtful use of their previous
gifts and of National Science Foundation grants. But
mostly, I think, they appreciate the importance of
Sweet Briar College Alumnae Magazine • www.alumnae.sbc.edu
sending women engineers into today's marketplace
prepared to use their skills responsibly, sustainably and
thoughtfully."
SBC engineering director Hank Yochum also noted
that the Wyllie s gift validates what the College has
done to develop a high-quality program.
"This endowment speaks to the success of
the program and to our commitment to creating
opportunities for women to become engineers that
make a difference in the world," Yochum said.
"The gift will help us provide even more
opportunities for our students, including funds
for additional state-of-the-art lab equipment and
scholarships. It will also support community-based
design courses, like last year's collaboration with
disabled workers at Lynchburg Sheltered Industries.
That project resulted in a national workplace innovation
award for design."
Peggy Wyllie lives on her cattle farm in Troy, Va.
She and Jesse retired there in 1982 after his career as
a research scientist and executive with Gulf Oil Corp.
They moved around, living in the United Kingdom, the
Middle East, and Texas. California and Pennsylvania.
While her husband, a Rhodes Scholar from South
Africa, climbed the ranks at Gulf to serve as president
and chairman of the company, Peggy raised three
children and pursued her own interests, including riding
horses. In a recent interview with Virginia Business,
Wyllie said she rode competitively at Sweet Briar and
didn't stop riding until age 75.
There also was a time in the 1950s when she
satisfied her need for speed as a race car driver on
the Sports Car Clubs of America circuit. What the
somewhat diminutive Wyllie lacked in stature she made
up in nerve, sometimes pushing the Jaguars she drove
to 1 1 0 miles an hour.
The Wyllies
appreciate the
importance
of sending
women
engineers
into today's
marketplace
prepared
to use
their skills
responsibly,
sustainably
and
thoughtfully."
—JO ELLEN PARKER
Left to right: President Jo Ellen Parker with Jesse Wyllie, Peggie Wyllie '45 and Hank
Yochum.
Summer 2010 • 3
Engineering
Inspiration 2009 Engi
In May 2009, Sweet Briar graduated its
first full class of engineers — four women
who helped pave the way for future engi-
neering students. Recently, we learned that
these new alumnae have begun promising
careers or gone on to further study. From
conducting research in nanotechnology
to working with a government intelligence
agency, these engineers are doing work
that proves the program's success.
During interviews with the four graduates, each was asked about
her most memorable experience at Sweet Briar. Three, who
attended the spring 2007 Technology and Society course, said
the same thing. As part of the class, they planned and executed
a trip to Guatemala, where they helped build a clean-water sup-
ply system for a rural boarding school. They also built a pump
connected to the storage tank that could be operated by hand
or electrically. All three alumnae spoke of how the project gave
them the chance to help others, one of the fundamental goals of
engineering.
The newly named Margaret Jones Wyllie '45 Engineering
Program continues to grow with 20 students enrolled for the
coming year. The number of women in engineering is steadily
increasing through our Explore Engineering program for high
school girls and through our engineering scholarship pro-
gram, both of which are funded through the National Science
Foundation and the Wyllie endowment.
4* Summer 2010
neering Graduates
Sarah Smiley stands in front of Tuck School of Business
where she attends many of her classes at Dartmouth.
Smiley's intended degree integrates both engineering sci-
ence and business.
Sarah Smiley
Helping others in practical ways has always been
important to Sarah Smiley, and engineering has
provided her with the tools to do just that. She chose
Sweet Briar's engineering program for its focus on
mechanical and electrical engineering, small class
sizes and varied course offerings. Having graduated
magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa with a double
major in engineering science and mathematics. Smiley
now attends Dartmouth College where she is earning
a master s degree in engineering management.
"I believe that we're blessed to be a blessing,"
Smiley said. "And I want to help people. I want to be
the best leader that I can be, and I believe that one
way to obtain this goal is to challenge myself and get
the best education I am capable of."
At Sweet Briar, Smiley was involved in the Falls-
on-Nose tap club, golf club, the American Society of
Mechanical Engineers, and she participated in three
separate internships.
During her sophomore year. Smiley traveled to
Guatemala with her classmates where they began
construction on a water system for a local school. For
Smiley, the project was rewarding, not only because
of the hands-on experience, but also because of the
Sweet Briar College Alumnae Magazine • www.alumnae.sbc.edu
s ■■■
HI
Amanda Baker explored parts of Ecuador in January 2009 on a kayaking trip.
connections she made with the children at
the school.
"We got to throw a party with the kids
there with a pinata, which we helped them
to set up," she said. "The water system
construction was a lot of physical labor, but
we learned about the culture while we were
there. We practiced our Spanish, drew on
our history of Latin America, really put to
work our problem-solving techniques."
Smiley always valued the intimate setting
she encountered at Sweet Briar and the
confidence that a women's college gave her,
especially since she has entered a field in
which women are the minority.
Currently, Smiley is working toward
a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certificate,
which focuses on developing best practices
in manufacturing production. Eventually,
she'd like to work for a technical company
in operations. She is on the Master
of Engineering Management Council
and is co-leader of the Operations and
Manufacturing Professional Club. She is
a teaching assistant for the upper-level
mechanical engineering class, machine
design. Overall, Smiley is thriving in her
new life at Dartmouth, and fondly cites her
Sweet Briar experience as the springboard
for her path.
Amanda Baker
As a young girl, Amanda Baker was curious
about mechanics. She took apart radios,
remote controls and toys with moving parts,
trying to figure out how they worked. When
she heard her mother's footsteps coming
down the hall, she'd quickly attempt to
reconstruct the items before being caught. In
high school. Baker began taking engineering
classes at a community college and felt she'd
found her niche.
Now she is a full-time employee of
Straughan Environmental Services in
Columbia, Md. She spends her days doing
stream surveys and assessments, field
work, habitat assessments and storm water
management plans. She's also a part-time
student at The Johns Hopkins University,
where she's earning her master's in
environmental engineering and science with
a focus on stream restoration. She's also
part of the Johns Hopkins Outdoor Pursuits
program, leading kayaking, backpacking,
rock climbing and outdoor adventure trips.
Baker chose Sweet Briar to provide
her with the necessary link between her
high school education and post-graduate
aspirations. A double major in engineering
and environmental sciences, Baker was
involved in clubs, activities and programs
all over campus, including the Sweet
Briar Engineering Society, American
Society of Mechanical Engineers, Women
in Engineering, SWEBOP (the College's
outdoor program) and Tau Phi.
During her sophomore year. Baker was
part of the Guatemala trip and said that it
was an adventure she'll never forget.
"I helped organize the logistics of the
trip," Baker said. "It was one of the most
demanding classes and at the same time one
of the most gratifying."
The trip taught Baker that engineering is
about helping people. "That should be our
number one priority," she said.
Richmond
Engineering
Group Names
weet Briar
i jrst Recipient
f Award
JENNIFER MCMANAMAY, STAFF WRITER
The Richmond Joint Engineers' Council
has selected Sweet Briar College
to receive its 20 1 0 RJEC Award
for Outstanding Achievement in
Advancing the Study and Practice of
Engineering.
Sweet Briar is the first recipient of
the new award. The RJEC chose the
College to recognize its creation of
degreed programs in engineering and
the graduation of its first class in the
spring of 2009. Sweet Briar is one of
two women's colleges in the country to
offer degrees in engineering.
Hank Yochum, director of the engi-
neering program at Sweet Briar,
accepted the honor at the RJEC's
annual Engineers' Week Awards
Banquet, held Feb. 1 8 at the Jefferson
Hotel in Richmond.
"The award acknowledges the
College's commitment to increasing
the number of women in engineering,"
Yochum said. "We are especially
pleased to earn this inaugural award
from an organization with such state-
wide reach as the RJEC."
Since the class of 2009 graduated,
Yochum has been following the wom-
en's progress as they pursue advanced
degrees or begin careers in the field.
"The success of our first graduates, in
graduate school and in practice, dem-
onstrates the high quality engineering
education a small liberal arts college
can provide," he said.
Sweet Briar College Alumnae Magazine • www.alumnae.sbc.edu
Engineering;
Inspiration
Lauren Guyer
Lauren Guyer found her way to SBC
engineering along an indirect route. She
started with a strong interest in architecture
and also in riding. Searching for colleges
that offered intensive riding instruction,
she stumbled upon Sweet Briar and the
engineering program, which turned out to be
the right fit.
2009 Engineering Graduates
Guyer received a B.A. in engineering
management at Sweet Briar. The degree
combines engineering science and the
business practices that are common in her
field, which include production management,
marketing, human resources and accounting.
Guyer s Sweet Briar experience gave her the
confidence to work in a male-dominated field
and also the practical knowledge she needed
to get a job and excel in it.
Like others in her major, Guyer was
involved in the Falls-on-Nose tap club and the
Sweet Briar chapter of the American Society
of Mechanical Engineers. A member of the
riding council, Guyer spent many hours at
the barn planning in-house horse shows,
volunteering, riding and caring for horses.
At Sweet Briar, two events were
particularly memorable for Guyer, who
is now an intelligence specialist with the
National Ground Intelligence Center in
Charlottesville, Va. In her first year, she
and her teammates won the Cardboard Boat
Regatta, paddling to victory in Sweet Briar's
lake aboard their cardboard-and-duct tape
vessel.
During her sophomore year, the
Guatemala project had a strong impact on
her outlook as an engineer. Guyer and her
team overcame numerous obstacles during
and before their trip including fundraising,
bad weather, language barriers and sickness.
In the end. the opportunity to have a tangible
effect on a school in need was invaluable,
said Guyer, who feels that Sweet Briar helped
her to become a confident leader, equipped to
handle the challenges in front of her.
Kaelyn Leake
Kaelyn Leake is doing something at the
University of California, Santa Cruz, that
most people have never heard of. She's
specializing in nanoscale optofluidics, a
research field that studies optic and fluidic
components in the same microscopic
system. Leake is attempting to design a
portable, inexpensive device that will be
used to detect dangerous viruses and strands
of DNA, as well as many other processes
that take extensive amounts of time and
money to detect in a laboratory setting.
These devices would be useful to traveling
researchers as they enter developing
countries and remote areas where they could
identify a hazardous virus on site.
"Engineering is very much a
multidisciplinary field," Leake said. "We use
Engineering Students Recognized Nationally
for Community Outreach
In a recent regional version of the Technology and Society course, students designed and
created tools for physically and mentally challenged employees at Lynchburg Sheltered
Industries, a local nonprofit company. The new tools created by the students are being
used at LSI today.
Students involved in the project participated in the 2009 NISH National Scholar Award
for Workplace Innovation and Design, a national engineering design competition. Sweet
Briar students, including '09 graduate Sarah Smiley, earned third place in the competi-
tion, an impressive accomplishment for our program.
1
EJ
1
Sarah Smiley '09, left, and Maxine Emerich '10
at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., where
they were recognized for a project design.
6 'Summer 2010
Sweet Briar College Alumnae Magazine • www.alumnae.sbc.erJu
physics, chemistry, math and even biology
daily at UC Santa Cruz. Sweet Briar s
engineering program, which combines
mechanical, electrical and some civil
engineering, prepared me for this."
As an undergraduate, Leake was involved
in the Engineering and Physics Society,
fencing, American Society for Mechanical
Engineers and the Falls-on-Nose tap club.
She graduated Phi Beta Kappa with majors
in engineering science and physics and
received the George H. Lenz Excellence in
Physics Award.
One of Leake's favorite moments at Sweet
Briar took place on a late night in the Guion
Science Center. In her first engineering class,
she was tasked with creating a Beanie Baby
launcher. The contraption had to launch a
Beanie Baby over a "mountain" at a certain
angle and height.
"The night before the assignment was
due, the whole class was in the engineering
lab trying to finish the building for the
project and calibrating the catapults ...
There were many flying Beanie Babies,
collisions and races on wheeled chairs down
the hall," Leake said.
When most of the catapults did not meet
the specifications, Leake and her classmates
realized how much testing, thought and
study goes into completing a seemingly
simple task.
Leake recently received a QB3
Fellowship for first-year studies in the Keck
Center at UC Santa Cruz and looks forward
to new discoveries in the field of electrical
engineering.
ENGINEERING FACULTY
Honk Yochum
Associate professor
Program director
Ph.D. Wake Forest
University
Interests: nanotechnology,
optics, engineering
outreach
Engineering
° AT SWEET BRIAR c^
The engineering program at Sweet Briar now hosts a week-long summer
course and two overnight Explore Engineering weekends for junior
and senior high school girls. Participants engage in engineering projects such as
creating robots that make music and art, designing electronic clothing, making
iPod speakers, building interactive stomp pad games and more.
The program emphasizes the creative nature of engineer-
ing and the ways that engineers make the world a better
place. Students see engineering in action as they
work with current SBC students and faculty.
They also meet with area women engi-
neers, learn about Sweet Briar's pro-
gram and stay in the residence halls.
No prior experience in engineering <^C
is needed. For more information on Explore
Engineering, visit: www.engineering.sbc.edu.
Scott Pierce
Assistant professor
Ph.D. Georgia Tech
Registered Professional
Engineer
Interests: machine design,
low-cost prosthetics,
robotics
Dorsa Sanadgol
Assistant professor
Ph.D. University of Virginia
Interests: mechatronics,
increasing opportunities
for women in engineer-
ing
T.C. Scott
Associate professor, joint
with UVA
Ph.D. University of
Michigan
Interests: heat transfer,
automotive engineering
Scott Hyman
Whitney Guion Professor
Ph.D. University of
Maryland, College Park
Interests: radio astronomy,
image processing
Sweet Briar College Alumnae Magazine www.alumnae.sbc.edu
Summer 2010 7
T
10 1st Commencement
Links Class of 2010
to SBC's 10th President
Jo Ellen Parker opened Sweet Briar's 101st
commencement on Saturday, May 15, ready to confer
155 undergraduate degrees and six Master of Arts
in Teaching degrees. When she left the stage at the
conclusion of the ceremony, she had become an
honorary member of the first class to graduate since
she became president.
Senior class president Carlisle "Carlie" Adams
announced the honor, and presented Parker with
a class ring. Adams noted that Parker had faced
challenges during her first year, but rose to meet them.
"I'll say to my new classmates, I'm just a little bit
verklempt," Parker said in response, and noted that as
the College's 10th president she is numerically as well
as emotionally linked to the Class of 2010.
Debra Elkins '93 delivered the commencement
address, which struck an engineering theme
appropriate to her background. She is a risk analysis
expert serving as a section chief with U.S. Homeland
Security. After receiving her bachelor's from SBC in
mathematical physics, she earned a master's in math
and a doctorate in industrial engineering.
Elkins advised the Class of 2010 that the liberal arts
education they received at Sweet Briar has prepared
them to engineer the future in everything from health
care and education to fixing energy shortages and
environmental issues to ensuring the nation's security.
"You have the rights and privileges that go along
with being a Sweet Briar graduate, but you also have
a responsibility to use your education to help address
these tough issues," she said.
Elkins said each also has a responsibility to herself.
"Find whatever it is that you love doing and that you
do really well, and go after that dream with all your
passion and energy. Then you will have found not only
a job, but an interesting, fulfilling career path, where
you have lots of opportunities to give back to your
community and broader society."
Elkins comes from good stock and a proud Sweet
Briar tradition: A sister and two cousins also are
graduates and her late mother was professor emerita
and former chair of Sweet Briar's math department, for
whom the family established the Judith Molinar Elkins
Prize. It recognizes outstanding achievements in math
or science and is one of five all-College awards that
are presented during commencement each year.
Elkins was able to present the award named for
her mother to Laura Nicole Jett. Jett also earned the
8 -Summer 2010
BY JENNIFER MCMANAMAY
President Jo Ellen Parker was given a class ring by senior class president Carlie Adams
at commencement. Parker is now an honorary member of the Class of 2010.
honorary title of Emilie Watts McVea Scholar as the
highest ranking member of her class, a distinction she
shares with Elkins, who won it in 1993.
As is customary, dean of the College Jonathan
Green called each candidate to the stage to receive
her diploma from President Parker. Other speakers
included Rachel Flynn representing the board of
directors and Jennifer Crossland '86, president of the
Alumnae Association.
Three guests also were acknowledged at
commencement. President Emerita Betsy Muhlenfeld
and her husband, Larry Wollan, and Margaret "Peggy"
Jones Wyllie '45, who with her late husband, Jessie
Wyllie, recently endowed a fund to support the
College's engineering program.
Visit www.sbc.edu/news/items/9680 for the full
story.
Debra Elkins '93 delivers
the 2010 commencement
address.
Sweet Briar College Alumnae Magazine • www.alumnae.sbc.edu
Aili McGill '10 and Marian McGill 02.
Left to right: Missy Flanigan Clark '77, Barbara Clark McLaughlin '77, Kathryn Smith
'10, Blair Clark Swoope '83 (mother).
Lisa Weisbrich '10 with her sister, Petra Weisbrich,
who graduated in December 2009 and received
her diploma at the 2010 ceremony.
Maribeth Turner '10 and Grace Turner
Creasey '01.
L
Malone Roberts ' 1 0 with her mother,
Martha Roberts '75.
Four turning point students earned their bachelor's
degrees. Left to right: Wanda Spradley, Deborah Taylor,
Donna Kerley and Tina Thompson.
Autum Catalon Wade '04
and Sarina Catalon '10.
Sisters Caroline Bailey '13 and Elizabeth Bailey '10 with
their mother, Susan Parr Bailey '81.
Six students received their Master of Arts in Teaching. Graduates from left to right are: Sarah Johnson, Elizabeth Shuford, Lisa Mazingo, Tracey
Nicely, Jennifer Gottfried and Erin Coppersmith.
Sweet Briar College Alumnae Magazine • www.alumnae.sbc.edu
Summer 2010 • 9
Going Places
in the Foreign Service
IhERJTHIRD DAY ON THE JOB, Heather Wright
participated in a Hindu cremation. Now in her
second year, she has shared tea with an Afar sultan
and stood on the deck of the USS Cole.
Wright is consular section chief at the U.S.
Embassy in Djibouti, a small country on the Horn of
Africa. She also is acting political chief and acting
public affairs officer. <.
In the course of a day she may brief U.S.
military personnel at Camp Lemonnier on
local customs, visit an American in jail or
arrange another's funeral. More often she
sleuths through visa applications separating
^fact from sometimes hilarious fiction made
up by people trying to get to the United
States.
"I do a lot of talking and meeting new
people in support of the U.S. government's
mission. I also do a whole lot of writing,
something that I can thank SBC for," Wright
says. "My work is very interesting and
challenging, no day is ever the same as the
0~ Summer 2)10
Sweet Briar ftillfigeHltinihae^lagazine www.akimnae.sbc .«du_ -
day before. It can be stressful, but I love it
and thrive in it."
Wright, an international affairs and
Spanish double major, knew she wanted to
be a diplomat when she applied for a Thomas
R. Pickering Graduate Foreign Affairs
Fellowship in 2006. Hers was one of 19
graduate fellowships to be awarded that year.
The Pickering paid her way through a
master's program at George Washington
University, where she graduated magna cum
laude. It provided housing, a living stipend,
two summer internships, including one as an
assistant public affairs officer in Asuncion,
Paraguay, and a guaranteed job in foreign
service after graduation.
In return, she has to fulfill all
requirements for a regular Foreign Service
Officer, including security and medical
clearances and passing written and oral
exams. She also must have tenure by the
end of her three-year service obligation in
Djibouti.
While the whole package was worth about
$150,000, Wright said the opportunity "to
hob-knob with and be mentored by senior-
level personnel in the U.S. government" has
been invaluable. So are the travel and cultural
experiences that come with working for the
State Department.
She is a long way from her hometown of
Princess Anne on Maryland's Eastern Shore,
where she grew up with her mother and her
grandparents.
Djibouti is in Northeast Africa on the Gulf
of Aden. It has nearly 200 miles of coastline
and encompasses coral islands off its shores.
Bordered by Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia,
much of it is rugged desert, where on hikes
Wright said she has seen children seem to
materialize out of the rocks. Though most
Djiboutians live in the cities, many remain
nomadic herders, raising goats and cattle.
Wright lives among and works with
the locals, who are predominantly ethnic
Afars and Somalis. Ethiopians, Arabs
and Europeans also make up part of the
population. As a former French territory the
culture is influenced by African, Arab and
European customs.
Most Djiboutians are devout Muslims
and some bear the mark of "sujood" on their
foreheads from their daily prayers.
"It's a mark of piety and people are
very proud of it," Wright said. "People are
generally open here and if you make an effort
to learn a few words in Somali, it will get you
pretty far. I started out with just the words,
'yes,' 'no,' 'thank you,' 'please' and 'I don't
i5V
People are generally open here and if you
make an effort to learn a few words in
Somali, it will get you pretty far. I started
out with just the words, 'yes,' 'no,' 'thank
you,' 'please' and 'I don't have any money'
have any money.' The last phrase normally
gets a lot of laughs, a handshake or a hug or
two when I'm in the market."
She discovered Djiboutians love to party,
too, to the point of shaming Americans. "I
went to an International Women's Day Event
in honor of the first lady. I got there at seven
p.m. and didn't leave until after two a.m., and
that was only with other Americans. I later
found that the party lasted until six a.m."
Wright's work hasn't just exposed her to
people and places that most Americans never
experience, it's allowed her to see her own
country in a new light.
"Not that many Americans get to see the
good work that we do overseas," she said,
describing a visit to a food pre-positioning
warehouse. "It's the jump-off point for almost
all food aid going into Africa, particularly
Ethiopia. It's really an incredible feeling to
see boxes of food stuffs piled thirty feet high,
all stamped with US AID.
"It's also a great feeling to visit refugee
camps that are really the last hope for people
fleeing horrendous conflicts and know that
my country funds about twenty-five percent
of their operation."
Even more gratifying, she said, is helping
an American who has gotten himself stranded
in a dangerous situation in Somaliland to get
home or helping a family in the United States
deal with the loss or injury of a loved one in
Djibouti.
While representing the U.S. government
makes her more wary than she might be
otherwise, it hasn't hindered her immersion
in the culture.
"I'm not naive and I know that there are
people out there who don't like Americans
and Djibouti is right in the middle of it —
Somalia, Eritrea, Yemen, pirates, need I say
more?" Wright said.
"But working for the State Department
has afforded me an incredible opportunity to
live and work in a world that I scarcely think
I would have visited on my own. I'm getting
to see and do things that not that many people
can say they have seen or done."
Sweet Briar College Alumnae Magazine • www.alumnae.sbc.edu
Elinor was everything that Sweet Briar is about . . .
She was a living example for us sitting right there in
the classroom.
-Emily Pegues '00
SPOTLIGHT
Elinor Stebbins (far left) poses with some of her fellow pilots.
At age 19 Elinor Fairchild was among the
youngest members of the Women Airforce
Service Pilots, who in World War II became
the first women to fly American military
aircraft.
At the age of 75, Elinor Fairchild
Stebbins was the oldest person ever to
graduate from Sweet Briar with a four-year
degree.
She didn't really plan any of it, Stebbins
said.
Retired and living in Richmond with her
husband, Robert, she began attending classes
because she admired poet Mary Oliver,
who was then SBC's Banister Writer-in-
Residence.
"One thing led to another and I finally
matriculated," Stebbins said, laughing.
In 2000 she graduated from Sweet
Briar with a degree in English and creative
writing. The occasion was most memorable,
she said, because her children and
grandchildren were there to celebrate with
her.
Nearly 10 years later, on March 10,
2010, she was one of about 200 veterans
of the WASP to accept a Congressional
Gold Medal during a ceremony at the U.S.
Capitol. The medal, the highest civilian
honor bestowed by Congress, was overdue
recognition for the women's wartime service
that for a long time the military barely
acknowledged, let alone heralded.
It was an important event, and Stebbins
borrowed back her old dress uniform,
which she had donated to the Virginia War
Memorial, for the occasion. Numerous
dignitaries spoke, including House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi and former NBC news anchor
Tom Brokaw. Stebbins thought the ceremony
was well done.
"It was expeditious," she said. "Nancy
Pelosi was graceful and brief."
Again, for Stebbins one of the best parts
of the whole experience was the family
reunion that went along with it.
Stebbins decided to take flying lessons
after her first plane ride at age 18. She'd just
graduated from high school in Pelham, N.Y.,
and moved to New York City, where she was
working and going to college at night. It was
in late 1943, on the day she logged her 35th
hour of flight time — the minimum required
to apply for the WASP — that someone
mentioned an Army agent was in the city
recruiting women pilots.
"I went in and signed up." Stebbins said.
"You wanted to do something during World
War II. Everybody did."
As a student at Sweet Briar, her friend
12 -Summer 2010
Sweet Briar College Alumnae Magazine • www.alumnae.sbc.edu
Elinor Stebbins was honored by family and friends at a nearby restaurant after the ceremony.
Standing left to right: Douglas Seay, senior staff member House Foreign Affairs Committee; Lorna
Stebbins Fossand, daughter; Rodger Stebbins, son; Elinor Fairchild Stebbins '00; Paul Stebbins,
son; Ben Alexander, nephew, son of Elinor's only sister. Seated, left to right: Conrad Carter, friend
of Elinor; Elin Stebbins Waldal, daughter; John Stebbins, son; and Janelle, John's friend.
and classmate Emily Pegues '00 saw in
Stebbins' choices not an overt role model
but someone who was the "real thing."
"Elinor was everything that Sweet
Briar is about," Pegues said. "Yes, lifelong
learning, but responsibilities first, and then
she went back and did what she needed to
do. Her priority was the war, then her family
and when she had a chance, it was time for
her."
As for women who go out and make a
difference, "She was a living example for us
sitting right there in the classroom," Pegues
said.
The WASP operated in the United States
between September 1942 and December
1944. relieving male pilots for combat duty.
They were civil servants, although they
woke to reveille and marched everywhere
they went, Stebbins said.
They went through seven months of
basic, primary and advanced training,
the same as male pilots. According to the
WASP national archive at Texas Woman's
University, 1,074 of 1,830 accepted pilots
graduated from training. More than 25,000
applied. The program was ended when the
men began coming home, despite a bill
already before Congress to militarize the
WASP. In 1977 they were finally given
veterans' status after a number of the
WASP pilots successfully lobbied for the
recognition.
The WASP trained at Avenger Field in
Sweetwater, Texas, then were stationed
at U.S. bases. Missions included testing
aircraft, ferrying planes, and towing targets
to give ground and air gunners practice with
live ammunition.
Stebbins began training in Texas in
January 1 944 and later was assigned to
Grand Island Army Air Base, Neb., where
her unit's mission was to prepare personnel
for overseas duty. She often flew the C-45, a
twin-engine transport, but her ambition was
to check out as first pilot on the four-engine
B-17 bomber. She did log one flight as first
pilot of the famous Flying Fortress.
For a pilot, going from single or twin
engines to four engines is a jump, she
explained. "It's not a giant step for mankind
but it's a big step."
The B-17 was a "plane with no vices,"
Stebbins said, so forgiving that her only
worry when flying it was that if she ever
had to bail out, "it would land peacefully by
itself in a cornfield."
"I thought it a distinct possibility that it
would be capable of landing itself," she said.
"Not so of other planes. A '17 could come
in on a glide. The B-25 had to be flown
all the way to the ground. I flew it only as
co-pilot. The C-45 was easy to fly, but I
don't picture it landing itself either."
But Stebbins knows first-hand that planes
don't land themselves and bailing out was
an ever-present danger. In fact, two of the
38 women who lost their lives while serving
in the WASP were her roommates and best
friends at Sweetwater. One was returning
from her first solo in an AT-6 and collided
with another plane. The other parachuted
from her plane as smoke billowed from the
engine, but she was too low to land safely.
It fell to Stebbins to escort their bodies
home. The Army paid the train fare and gave
her a flag for the families, with whom she
stayed in touch after the war. Sixty-six years
later, she put on the same uniform she wore
to her friends' funerals to accept the Gold
Medal.
Stebbins' year in the WASP was marked
by strong relationships with the people she
served with, and not just the women. The
Elinor Stebbins, March 10, 2010.
men, she said, "treated us with respect and
kindness and friendship."
When it ended, she returned to her job
at Esso in New York, where she edited the
employee newspaper, the Esso Manhattan.
She later worked at the Olympia News in
Washington. In 1950 she married Robert H.
Stebbins, a geologist whose career would
take them to a mining camp in Washington,
and to posts in California, New York, Texas,
Utah and Alaska.
Her son Paul Stebbins says his mother
regards life as an adventure and that when
you see what you love, you go for it.
Like flying — and literature and writing.
Initially she commuted to Sweet Briar from
Richmond, but lived in a single room in
Randolph for her last two years. She went
home on weekends, but during the week ate
meals with friends and frequently attended
lectures and events.
Paul Stebbins said it was like her to
immerse herself in the experience. "Why
would you rob yourself of the opportunity?"
he said, adding that his father, who died
in 2006, didn't mind. "My father thought
that was the most wonderful thing on earth
— yet another reason to be amazed by this
woman I love."
He believes his mother is typical of her
generation, the one Tom Brokaw wrote
about in "The Greatest Generation." She'll
never brag about her accomplishments,
because she sees no reason to. It's what he
finds so special about her: The sense that to
her everyone can do something remarkable.
"She would say we should not be
surprised by the capacity of ordinary people
to do wonderful things."
Sweet Briar College Alumnae Magazine • www.alumnae.sbc.edu
Summer 2010- 13
The 2010 senior art show,
"Worlds Within Worlds,"
unveiled the depth of
thought, skill and creativity
of six graduating seniors.
The collection exhibited a
wide range of media and
styles including photography,
oil paintings, drawings in
charcoal, pencil and pen and
ink, and mixed media works.
The seniors coordinated
publicity for the show and
prepared all of their own
works for hanging, a project
they worked on for months
before their debut. Each
year, the campus community
anticipates the opening of
the senior show, and this
year's display provided
an exceptional view into
the artistic worlds of these
six students. View more of
"Worlds Within Worlds" at
worldswithinworlds.tumblr.com.
^
f**
HB
Meredith Paysinger Paradox
14 • Summer 2010
Sweet Briar College Alumnae Magazine • www.alumnae.sbc.edu
COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA
I am inspired by the
natural beauty of the
surrounding world. From
an early age, I have had
a strange connection
with the curious nature
of animals, which is
revealed in the focus
of my work. I enjoy the
simplicity and beauty of nature, whether
it is the depths of an ocean or the top of
a mountain. When I create my work, I
definitely go somewhere else in my mind,
as if I am in that particular place or in the
animal's mind, feeling its emotions. I want
people to look at my art and see what I see,
which is the rare and unbelievable presence
of the earth's amazing creatures and their
natural realm of life. I want the viewer
to feel as if they are within the world of
the painting. I believe the Earth speaks to
everyone, and if we just take the time to
listen, we will hear what it is saying.
1 am open to trying all forms of art,
though I gravitate toward oil painting. I like
blending colors to find new ones and trying
things to make a project come alive. I see
a dreamlike quality within my art, which
is not purposely done, but it's something
that takes a life of its own. Thinking about
it now, on some subconscious level I may
dream of living a life free of what being
a human entails; a life full of adventure.
I believe it's important to dream, living
each moment with wonder, curiosity and
amazement.
V
JENKS, OKLAHOMA
The majority of my artwork in this collection is inspired by architec-
ture. At the beginning of the fall semester, I struggled with creating
artwork that genuinely expressed my vision as an artist. I explored
a variety of different ideas, techniques and mediums, yet nothing I
created resonated with me. That is, until I looked to architecture for
inspiration. The overwhelming beauty of the architectural structures
s spoke to me, and I was able to find my voice. I have especially been
■if'.jm-. stimulated by the architectural design of old cathedrals. The intricate
details, awe-inspiring craftsmanship and grandiose form have been
the source of inspiration in this collection. My artwork is not a literal translation of the
structures that inspired me, but instead an abstract compilation of their lines, shapes and
forms.
I have also incorporated my digital design skills and graphic design background
into this collection. I have used text to create images and then used a transfer technique
to incorporate my computer artwork into a more traditional setting. I took a more
contemporary approach with these pieces, which forced me to loosen my control over the
fate of the work.
My relationship with Jesus Christ is one that envelops my life and defines me as a
person. Because God is the center of my being and influences all that I am and accomplish,
the spiritual — which so strongly defines me — naturally translates into my artwork.
oberls Transcending Presenc
Sweet Briar College Alumnae Magazine • www.alumnae.sbc.edu
Summer 2010 • 15
Kuczynski
WILLIAMSPORT, MARYLANI
The line between fantasy and reality is a fine one. I sometimes find it
difficult to differentiate between the two worlds, but as an artist I find this
trait helpful most of the time.
Motorcyclists are such illusive creatures. They have an air of mystery,
danger and an undeniable level of "cool" that fascinates me.
With this romanticized perception, I set out on my most recent
photographic journey. However, after a couple of months of shooting,
reality set in. I had to deal with the fact that these people were indeed
"real." Weeks of criticism made me doubt at times whether I would be
able to express my fascination, and capture for my audience the mystery and elusive nature
that I saw. A momentary feeling that I had been defeated by reality forced me to strike back
by diving deeper into fantasy.
During my struggles with the Biker project, I set forth on a new endeavor. I decided
to turn my friends and classmates into fairy tale characters. My goal in this project was
to re-create scenes from some of my favorite stories and make the characters seem more
tangible by turning college students into damsels in distress. By creating these imaginary
worlds and successfully capturing them with my camera lens, I was able to better see the
target I had been missing with my Bikers, allowing me to reach a turning point in my work.
In these most recent bodies of work I have attempted to show two different yet connected
concepts. With my Bikers I have taken reality and sculpted it to match my fantasy,
showing my viewers the magic and intrigue I see when I look at my new friends. In my
interpretations of classic fairy tales, I have explored the world of fantasy and brought it
much closer to reality. Instead of seeing the impossibilities of these timeless characters, I
hope my audience can now see real human beings in the same fantastic situations.
In my opinion, the connection between these two concepts lies in the constant struggle
between fact and fiction. The ability to jump back and forth between the two with the use of
my camera is what fuels and inspires me most as an aspiring artist. I now know that through
my craft I can create and display my own interpretation of the world, whether it is real,
fictitious or somewhere in-between.
Caiti Kuczynski
Cool to the Touch
Brvca Brewer
TULSA, OKLAHOMA
As humans, we dream
when we are asleep, but
also when we are awake
and unattached mentally
to anything around us.
These dreams are often
bits of memories coupled
with fantasy and things
otherworldly. The focus
of my recent body of work has been to
transform my dreams and memories into
works of art.
Making these fleeting and often shadow-
images into drawings is not an easy task;
the original idea is not always the best or
most informative. In moving from smaller
drawings into larger ones with some of my
pieces I was able to transform the drawings
slowly into the stories I wished to tell. For
instance. Life Within Ruins has a small and
large version, both related yet distinct in
their own right. From the smaller to the
larger, I changed certain details in order
to make my memories of Rome, as well
as the images from my imagination, stand
out separately, but also remain reliant upon
each other in order to make the story whole.
This piece evokes the spectacular life of the
Romans and their great conquests that fell
by the wayside, yet it depicts that new life
emerged and flourished among the ruins.
In pulling from my personal life I've
tried to make my work more emotional,
connectable and interesting to myself and
my viewers.
16 • Summer 2010
Sweet Briar College Alumnae Magazine • www.alumnae.sbc.edu
Ashleiqh Hawkins
MANASSAS, VIRGINIA
Madeline Davis
NORFOLK, VIRGINIA
Up until this year, I have always made art in the same way: using the
same techniques, using the same materials, and creating a specific motif
that can be recognizable anywhere. I have a defined style when I paint
and when I draw, both with charcoal and ink. This semester, I branched
out by using new materials and mediums. Both aspects of my art until this
point in time are represented in this show: the past and the new. Although
I continue to love creating traditional works such as oil on canvas,
charcoal on paper, and using pen and ink. the new mediums force me to
experiment and come up with new ways to express my ideas and feelings.
It is in this way that I feel freer, more ambitious and even more excited about creating art.
In each of my self-portraits, I bring attention to internal growth, intimate emotion and
the challenge of overcoming pain. The organic nature of each piece shows that even through
the most difficult circumstances, the artist within me continues to persevere and grow. Love,
compassion and the influence of the natural world calms even the most troubled heart.
Questioning who I am and why I am here lies at the root of my existence. My images
have a confident and austere nature that confronts the viewers by asking them if they know
the answers to these very questions pertaining to themselves. Through colors and contrasts, I
strive to create images that reflect the details of a reality that I am constantly searching for. I
discover a small piece of it every day.
Light fascinates me and
I wonder at its infinite
capabilities. It has the
capacity to sustain
life, to change a mood
dramatically, to alter
people's emotions or
feelings or to spotlight an
otherwise ordinary object
and make it extraordinary.
With photography, light is crucial. The
eye conveys an image to the mind. Through
the magic of light, photography enables that
image to appear on paper. A single person
can, from a mere rectangle of information,
create something multitudes can appreciate.
Light makes the seemingly impossible,
possible.
In my photography, light is the subject.
I marvel at the way it can make the most
common objects beautiful; the way light
makes a glass on the table seem magical
or a doorway seem like a portal to the
beyond. As light is the focus of my series
of photographs and not a mere element, all
other components of the photograph are
secondary.
I will forever be amazed by light's beauty
and will strive to use photography to depict
light as I see it.
Ashleigh Howkii It's the Humidity
Sweet Briar College Alumnae Magazine • www.alumnae.sbc.edu
Summer 2010 • 17
Sweet Briar Celebrates the
of the
SHEILA ALEXANDER, MAJOR GIFTS OFFICER
Gladys Wester Horton '30,
Elizabeth "Jackie" Bond
Wood '34 and Nancy
Dowd Burton '46 were,
individually and together,
forces to be reckoned
with in whatever project
they undertook. Now
deceased, Sweet Briar
celebrates the legacy
they began 50 years ago
with the invention of the
Boxwood Circle society.
Gladys Wester
Horton '30
Elizabeth "Jackie"
Bond Wood '34
Nancy Dowd Burton '46
In the 1959-60 academic year, these three alumnae wanted to bring giving to a new high.
They pooled their talents for fundraising. Wood looked at the impressive circle of 3 1
boxwoods in front of Sweet Briar House and saw the inspiration for the name of the new
giving society. Their impressive goal that year was to find 3 1 alumnae who would each
contribute $1,000 or more to Sweet Briar College. Possessing such tireless determination
and enthusiasm, perhaps they were not surprised at all to meet such resounding success. In
2010 the Boxwood Circle celebrates 50 years of existence.
When Wood was presented with the Outstanding Alumna Award in 1970, she said, "...our
role as alumnae should be to give to the College four of its primary needs: interpretation,
ideas, students and money." That statement sums up the drive the three had for helping
Sweet Briar continue to provide for other young women the exceptional education that they
had experienced.
The vision of these founding members for a giving society exceeded all expectations.
Thanks to the leadership of Wood, Horton and Burton, and so many other dedicated alumnae
leaders over the next 50 years, the Boxwood Circle has grown from an ambitious goal of
securing 31 leadership givers at $1,000 in 1960 to securing 318 leadership givers in 2009.
Giving levels have risen to include $5,000 and $10,000, now the Fountain Society and
Column Society respectively, and gifts at the Boxwood level are between $2,500 and $5,000
annually. These gifts are a vital source of support for the College. Those who gave to the
Annual Fund last year at the Boxwood Circle level or above raised a total of $1,885,573 in
unrestricted support for the College. That is over 80 percent of the total Annual Fund!
This year's Boxwood Circle is led by Kimberley McGraw Euston '92. Euston is
enthusiastic about her continuing connection with Sweet Briar.
"The Boxwood Circle, as a leadership giving program, creates one of the strongest ties
you can have with Sweet Briar once you have graduated," she said. "I don't know of anyone
who didn't feel the tearing of a beloved bond at graduation, a sense of loss because of the
extraordinary experience we had as students. Part of that loss was about traditions. It doesn't
have to be a loss. Committing to Sweet Briar at a leadership giving level keeps you firmly
entwined with the College and brings you incomparably closer with the greatest Sweet
Briar tradition of all, upon which this College was founded by Indiana Fletcher Williams:
philanthropy. This is the truest, purest tradition at Sweet Briar."
Euston, along with the Boxwood Circle Committee comprising 16 alumnae volunteers,
has a goal of 320 leadership members for 2010.
The 50th anniversary celebration in April paid respect to the founders of the society, as
well as the many dedicated volunteers who have contributed to the continued success of
the Boxwood Circle over the years. To honor this milestone, do your part through giving
and volunteer service to ensure that the Boxwood Circle moves forward toward another 50
remarkable years of distinguished achievement in support of the College.
Wood, Horton and Burton gave a firm start to a giving society that would support Sweet
Briar into the future, long past their years of service. They pass on an inspiring tradition of
sustaining the future of the College so many of us love.
18 -Summer 2010
Sweet Briar College Alumnae Magazine • www.alumnae.sbcedu
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Grounds superintendent Donna Meeks takes Boxwood celebration guests on a tour of the President's Garden.
Winnie Leigh Hamlin '58, Allison Garrison '10 and John
Risher at the celebration luncheon.
Sweet Briar senior Laura Jett sits with Ann Morrison Reams '42 and Sarah Murdock
Moore '59 at the 50th Anniversary Boxwood Luncheon.
Boxwood Circle Giving Chair Kimberly McGraw Euston '92
and her daughter Katherine at Sweet Briar House.
Sweet Briar College Alumnae Magazine www.alumnae.sbc.erJu
Summer 2010 • 19
• Brown is the author of the novels
Kose's Garden, Lamb in Love, The Hatbox
Baby, Confinement and The Rope Walk,
as well as the short story collection The
House on Belle Isle. She has received
the Barnes and Noble Discover Award,
the Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize and
a National Endowment for the Arts
fellowship. She has twice been the
recipient of the Library of Virginia Book
of the Year Award.
Over the spring semester. Banister Writer-in-Residence Carrie Brown
taught three award-winning hooks in her advanced fiction workshop:
Too Much Happiness hy Alice Munro; Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth
Strout; and The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi
ichie. Brown chose these texts not only for their powerful, expertly
itten prose, but also because she felt a strong personal connection
with them.
"I've read all of Alice Munro s work," she said, "and my admiration
for her has only deepened over the years. Strout s Olive Kitteridge
was given to me by a friend long before it won the Pulitzer Prize, and
I fell in love with the book. I've been a one-woman distributorship
for it. I think I've given away about fifty copies to women who mean
something to me. It s a perfect book for female readers because it's
so much about a woman's experience in the world. And Adichie's
work, though it is the work of a writer much younger than Munro or
Strout, shows intellect and energy and range and heart, and I'm full of
admiration for those qualities."
Brown also wanled students to see how the sensibility of these
writers might have been influenced by their age and background,
she said. In Too Much Happiness. Alice Munro is writing at 79, with
the wisdom of her age and a wealth of experiences to include in this
collection of stories, many of which are dark and terrifying, yet at
the same time full of beauty and majesty. Strout, 54, is writing in
her prime. Her work often focuses around the American small-town
existence, and Olive Kitteridge is full of everyday tragedies and joys.
Adichie, born in 1977, is a young Nigerian writer, bringing vitality
and insight into a foreign culture many of us have not experienced.
Many of the stories in the texts focus on the lives of women
and their particular place in the world and in society. When Too
Much Happiness won the Man Booker Prize in 2009, Jane Smiley
wrote in her announcement speech: "Alice Munro understands and
communicates that a moral life full of drama can be lived by any
woman, in fact, must be lived by every woman. To read her work is
to see lives from the inside that in another author's work might appear
meaningless and unimportant — such is her capacity for empathy."
Strout and Adichie take on a similar task to Munro 's, writing
characters with nuanced and realistic experiences who suffer quietly in
lives full of drama and meaning.
"I think all three of these books are towering works," Brown said.
"That's not an adjective typically used to describe the lives of women
20 -Summer 2010
Sweet Briar College Alumnae Magazine • www.alumnae.sbc.edu
Advanced Fiction
with Carrie Brown
" ' "■■ '■ ■ ii i»i
"ii ■"■ in in urn - -
in fiction. That kind of moral majesty
is more often ascribed to works by and
about men. Yet the complex, moral
dimension of the work of all three of
these writers is profound; these are
very big and important books about the human experience. There's
nothing diminutive or quiet about them. For young women writers to
be reading the works of authors who see the lives of women in this
important way can't help but be an inspiration. I want students to feel
that their own lives, their own imaginations, are important."
Brown hopes that her students will fall in love with the stories
she teaches, that by reading them, they will gain skill in their own
writing and appreciation of the craft in general, but also an enlarged
understanding of humanity. It's through the experience of reading, she
said, that students are connected to the part of themselves that helps to
inspire their own stories.
"The experience of empathy one has as a reader is the same as
the experience of empathy that is critical to the making of stories,"
she said. "The experience of being moved by a story — the pure
astonishment and magic of that — is often the experience that makes
Sweet Briar College Alumnae Magazine • www.alumnae.sbc.edu
It's through
the experience
of reading that
students are
connected to the
part of themselves
that helps to inspire
their own stories.
someone want to write in the first place.
The struggle, again and again, to say
the thing that feels inexpressible, to
find language for the complexity of felt
experience, is thrilling and mysterious."
In any fiction workshop. Brown said, students learn from their
own writing and from reading the work of their peers, but they also
— almost unavoidably — learn from the texts they read. "Students
will learn much more from their own experience as readers." she said,
"their own encounters with stories — and all the dawning amazement
contained in that encounter — than they will learn from someone
trying to tell them in an abstract way how it's done." Every story
provides a model for original creation, she said.
"It's a little bit like standing under a wave as it washes over you.
You absorb the complex aspects of storytelling from these books and
bring everything that has soaked into you to the next story you try to
write. The experience is cumulative and exponential. Students become
more and more sophisticated as readers and writers as they read and
write."
—COLLEEN MURRAY, editor
Summer 2010* 21
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Once upon a time you were a
student at Sweet Briar without a
care in the world. That may seem
like a long time ago, but a tew
days on campus can bring it all
right back. Playing all day without
a care is what Homecoming is all
about. So call your classmates
and see who's up for a trip back
to the Patch. Get out and play.
Play somewhere you love.
Honor
Traditions. They connect us
and call us back to what is real
and true. Step Singing, Lantern
Bearing and lifelong friendships.
Magic. These are the stories we'll
never forget and the ones we'll
talk about forever. Founders and
friendships, legends and leaders,
teachers and teammates: They
are still here and will inspire you
once again. Honor something
you love.
Connect
It's easy to get caught up in our
hectic schedules and endless
to-do lists. Luckily there is a whole
weekend at Sweet Briar dedicated
to connecting you with a place you
love. So this fall, come back to
Homecoming. Laugh, listen, share
and simply soak up the beautiful
surroundings of a campus so
breathtaking and vibrant that it still
fills up your heart. Connect with
somewhere you love.
Learn
Remember when you were a
student at Sweet Briar? You
were a dreamer, an explorer,
a creator, a researcher. Every
day you set out to learn new
ideas, new languages and
new cultures. All of those
discoveries and more are still
here at Sweet Briar. Learn
something new at a
place you love.
Fireworks • Homecoming Boxed
Lunch Picnic at the Boathouse •
Saturday Evening Cocktails, Dinner,
and Dancing • In-House Horse Show
Varsity Soccer Game • Alumnae
Tennis Social • Varsity Field Hockey
Alumnae Soccer Game • Alumnae
Swim Meet • Alumnae Volleyball
Game • Alumnae Field Hockey Game
The Indiana Fletcher Williams
Associates Luncheon, with special
guests the Keystone Society, Silver
Rose Society, Boxwood Circle, and
Bell Tower Society • Founders' Day
Convocation and walk to Monument
• Traditions Panel • Athletics
Hall of Fame Reception • 2010
Distinguished Alumna Award
Alumnae Association Board Meetings
• Founders' Day Community Picnic •
Alumnae and Student Coffee House
• Gold Star Volunteer Panel • Post-
game tailgates co-sponsored by the
Parents Steering Committee and
Friends of Athletics Parents
Celebrity Jeopardy! • Annual
Giving Volunteer Training •
Seventh Annual Cardboard Boat
Regatta • Homecoming Alumnae
College: African American History
and Slave Graveyards on Campus
• Marker Dedication and Service
of Remembrance at the Slave
Cemetery
See the complete schedule and register onli]
22 Summer 2010
Sweet Briar College Alumnae Magazine www.alumnae.sbc.edu
3F THE STORY. YOUR STORY. SWEET BRIAR.
$B
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HMMHM1
Homecoming Registration Form
Sweet Briar College Alumnae Association
SEPTEMBER 24-25, 2010
Name
(first) (maiden)
Preferred Name (FOR NAME TAG)
Class
(last)
Name of Guest
Relation
Guest Preferred Name (FOR NAME TAG) .
Phone: (H)
Preferred E-mail:
Employer:
(C).
Job Title:
We will post your name on the Alumnae Association Web site as planning to attend Homecoming.
If you would prefer that we not post your name on the Web site, please initial here .
Please return this form by Friday, September 3 to:
Boxwood Alumnae House, Box 1 055, Sweet Briar, VA 24595 — or by fax to 434.381 .61 32.
Registrations and fees are also accepted online at www.sbc.edu/alumnae/homecoming.html
Payment Options
The cost for the weekend is $75 per person and includes all meals and
advertised activities. Overnight accommodations should be booked and
paid for separately by alumnae and guests.
Please indicate the number of people attending each meal:
Friday, September 24, 2010:
Founders' Day Community Picnic
Saturday, September 25, 2010:
Breakfast at Prothro Dining Hall
Homecoming Boxed Lunch Picnic at the Boathouse
Cocktails and Dinner Dance
Please indicate how you would like to pay your
registration fees:
Enclosed is my check for $ .
Check made payable to "Sweet Briar Alumnae Association"
Please charge my debit/credit card $ .
MasterCard/Visa #
Exp Date 3 digit security code
Signature
t sbc . edu/alumnae/homecoming . html
Sweet Briar College Alumnae Magazine • vmw.alumnae.sbc.edu
Summer 2010' 23
strategic
planning
The Values
Throughout the fall of 2009, 1 conducted "conversation
circles" with three key constituencies: faculty, first-year
students and alumnae. Several themes emerged from these
sessions powerfully and insistently. The faculty spoke of
the importance of high standards for
student achievement. First-year students
expressed a desire for confidence and
competence. And many of you as
alumnae emphasized the friendships
you forged at Sweet Briar, the beauty
of the campus and the way your
JO ELLEN PARKER education prepared you for a lifetime of
PRESIDENT unexpected opportunities.
The vision that emerges is of a college
where young women discover and learn
to respect their own abilities and prepare for a lifetime of
adaptation and change, through the high aspirations their
faculty hold out for them and in an environment of natural
beauty and enduring friendship. If our strategic plan
promotes and supports a culture of excellence, confident
and resourceful graduates, and an expanded network of
women active in business, academics and civic life who
are proud to say they are Sweet Briar women, we will
have done well.
The Process
Until quite recently, academic "strategic planning"
meant that institutions would convene a large number
of large committees, which would dedicate two years
to developing a comprehensive five- or 10-year plan.
Current good practice looks rather different. Now, the
recommended approach involves an active planning phase
of six or nine months, focused on specific challenges,
contexts and opportunities; rolling implementation of
programs or pilots as soon as circumstances permit; and
an iterative approach in which data are used annually to
assess progress, revise planned activities, adjust goals and
redirect efforts.
Our strategic planning process will therefore move
quickly, focus on specific questions, be informed by
data and metrics, and will assume rapid implementation
and iterative review. In the end, strategic planning must
identify the results we hope to achieve. Subsequent
operational planning will focus on the activities we intend
to undertake to produce those results and the ways in
which we will measure our progress.
The Questions
There are questions that need to frame our efforts. They
are not the only questions that could be asked, but they
are the questions that must take priority at this time.
How can we balance our facilities, resources, student
body, faculty and staff to create a sustainable financial
model for the College?
Whom should Sweet Briar aspire to serve in coming
years? Should we educate more women of non-traditional
age? Should be expand to serve more students from
particular ethnic or religious communities, first generation
attenders, or students who identify with a particular
interest or activity? Where are there students who could
benefit from a Sweet Briar education, but who are not
currently finding us?
What are our strongest competitive advantages '.' Where
do our strengths resonate most strongly with what today's
students and their families care most about?
Programmatically, how can we ensure that our academic
program incorporates the technological tools and
resources that represent the current state of practice for
young scholars in each discipline?
Our answers to these questions will allow us to envision
a Sweet Briar that is operating sustainably, competing
effectively, engaging new populations and producing
liberally educated and digitally sophisticated graduates.
Our goal is to produce, through both strategic and
operational planning:
1. A realistic model for a Sweet Briar that is sustainable
in the present and which has significant potential for
growth.
2. A vision of a more inclusive student body and a
marketing strategy which is aligned with that vision.
3. An approach for distinguishing Sweet Briar in a
highly competitive marketplace.
4. A program which gives liberally educated graduates
the technological sophistication they need for
academic, professional and civic achievement.
The plan will be effective only to the extent that it
accurately captures the aspirations and values of the
entire community. Imagination, research, frankness and a
delicate balance of caution and ambition will be required
to seize this opportunity.
Opportunities
We want you, as alumnae, to be involved. Every one of
you, no matter when you attended Sweet Briar, what you
have done since you left campus, and how involved you
have or have not been in the past. We've set up a survey
so that your ideas and feedback can be incorporated into
our planning. The survey is online, easily accessible, and
will take no longer than 20 minutes for you to complete. If
you are unable to participate online, please simply contact
the alumnae office at 434.381.6131. We will immediately
send a copy of the survey to you through the mail.
Also, we have dedicated an area online to keep you up-to-
date on our planning. We invite you to visit strategicplan.
blog.sbc.edu, where you can follow along with each of the
study groups that is under way.
Finally, I would like to say that the energy, intelligence
and dedication that the campus community has brought
to this process is inspiring. In the months since the study
groups were convened the campus has been buzzing with
interesting ideas, provocative questions, new data and
optimism. There is no question that this race is off to a very
solid start, and that we have a winning team on the track.
24 'Summer 2010
strategicplan .blog . sbc . edu
Sweet Briar College Alumnae Magazine www.alumnae.sbc.edu
It is the beginning of Sweet Briar's fiscal year and the timing could not be more
perfect for you to re-engage with Sweet Briar! Here's how you can become
more active with the College. . .
VolUIlteer. Stay engaged with the
College through volunteering. Share your career
knowledge with students interested in your field
through work with career services. Reconnect with
your classmates by serving as a member of your
class giving committee in Reunion or host a young
alumnae phonathon. Serve as a member of the
Parent Steering Committee. English Griffith Koontz '95,
Annual Giving chair says, "I enjoy volunteering for
Sweet Briar. For me, it is an opportunity to give
back a little to the institution that gave so very much
to me. Additionally, it is a delight to meet and get to
know students, alumnae and friends of the College
— and to get back to campus for visits!"
VjrlVe. Make your best gift to the Annual Fund
every year. The Annual Fund comprises unrestricted
gifts that impact each facet of the Sweet Briar
College experience. Unrestricted gifts are crucial
to the success of the College and provide essential
necessities such as student scholarships, faculty
and staff salaries, academic programs, and other
less exciting but equally important needs. So when
you hear the phone ring and see Sweet Briar or a
classmate's name on the caller I.D. this fall, please
answer the phone. Now more than ever, your gift to
the Annual Fund makes a difference!
UOII16 D81C.K. Return to campus for
Homecoming, Reunion or Families weekends. Each
weekend is action-packed and provides a wonderful
opportunity for you to see old friends, make new
ones, and take a tour of campus to see what has
changed and what has remained the same. Or, visit
whenever! There is always something going on and
we would love to see you. The gates are always
open!
Sweet Briar College Alumnae Magazine • www.alumnae.sbc.edu
Just as the value of a
Sweet Briar degree
is always related
to the most recent
graduating class,
their opportunity to
succeed is directly
related to you and
your commitment to
the College. So this
year commit to saying
"yes!" to volunteering,
to giving, to coming
back and to Sweet
Briar!
"Til the
Cows
Come
Home. . .
The cows all came home during the SBC Annual
Fund's Third Annual Philanthropy Week,
March 1-5, 2010. Both local and Sweet Briar
artists were invited to participate in Philanthropy
Week by painting "art cows," which consisted of
two-dimensional plywood cow cutouts. These art cows
were the Annual Fund's tribute to the Sweet Briar
College Dairy that was in operation for over 40 years.
The herd of more than 30 cows went on parade and
moo-ved from place to place during the week.
On Thursday, March 4, the SBC Art Cows
moo-ved to greener pastures when they were put on
the auction block during the live Art Cow Auction.
For those who attended the auction, a wonderful time
was had by all! Bidding was fierce with the most
sought after cow, a mini moo by SBC art professor
Laura Pharis, selling for more than $350! The Art
Cow Auction was just one event out of a wonderful
week of activities highlighting supporters of Sweet
Briar and the power of philanthropy.
To check out other highlights and to view more
photos from this year's Philanthropy Week, visit
www.annualfund.sbc.edu/PhilanthropyWeek!
Summer 2010 - 25
««^ REUNIONS
Alumnoe celebrated the wedding of Susan Snodgrass Wynne's son on Amelia Island, Fla., on May 9, 2009. Left to
right: Lisa Nelson Robertson '76, Sally Old Kitchin '76, Greyson Shuff Tucker '72, Kathy Upchurch Takvorian '72,
Margaret Hayes Brunstad '72, Susan Snodgrass Wynne '72, Rhonda Griffith Durham '72 and Ginger Upchurch
Collier '72.
Left to right; Sarah Kingsley Foley '99, Molly Reeb
Nissman '77 and Jane Reeb Short '74 met at the Norfolk
area YMCA luncheon.
A group of alumnae attended Barbara Perry's speech at the U
Professor of Government at Sweet Briar.
Perry is the Carter
Cindy McKay '78, left, met Barbara Paulson Goodbarn
'83, right, at the NCAA Division III Regional Cross
Country Race where Cindy's son, Kevin Frick, and Barb's
daughter, Biz Goodbarn, were running.
fiB *•
Sweet Briar students accompanied financial aid officer Wanda Spradley to the General Assembly in Richmond to
lobby for the Virginia Tuition Assistance Grant and met with Senator Patsy Smith Ticer '55. Left to right: Wanda
Spradley '10, Whitney Waller '13, Patsy Smith Ticer '55, Michelle Messier '12 and Emily Masiello '11.
Jane Lauderdale Armstrong '78, center, and her husband
Mike, left, reunited unexpectedly with Cindy McKay '78
Jane and Cindy were roommates at Sweet Briar.
26 • Summer 2010
Sweet Briar College Alumnae Magazine • www.alumnae.sbc.edu
Tori Hankins '06 married Doug LaBrosse (HSC '06} on Nov. 21,
2009, in Charlotte, N.C. Several members of the Class of 2006
attended the celebration, including (left to right) Henslee Evans,
Olivia Ungerer, Hollylane Riley, Sara Coffey and Shanthi Ramesh.
Christopher Chamblin (HSC '97) and Lyndsay Wray Welsh '05 were married on Aug. 9, 2008, at St.
James Episcopal Church in Leesburg, Va.
Left to right: Kelli Bergmann Thomasson '04, Meredith Shaw Hansen '04, Katie A. Niemeier '05,
Courtney Pfaff Kimble '03, Lyndsay Welsh Chamblin '05, Angela Grisby '03, Krystal Dean Tucker '05,
Ashley Forehand '05, Laura Pearson '04, Laura Wolf '11.
Maggie Saylor '07 married
Martin Patrick on Aug. 29,
2009.
Jessica Mercier '06 and Mike
Andryshak were married on
Aug. 1, 2009 at Mountain
Meadows Lodge in Killington,
Vt.
Gwen Oiler Bombay '89 mar-
ried Greg Hess on May 5,
2009, After a honeymoon to
Disney World, they're making
their home in Stone Ridge, Va.
I
Erin M. Dennehy '06 married
Jason M. Kopczyk on May
17, 2008, at Waldenwoods
in Hartland, Mich,, where they
celebrated the day with close
family and friends.
Victoria Chappell '06 was wed
on April 4, 2009, to David
Harvey HI in Normandy, France.
The service took place in a
historic chapel and the recep-
tion was held on the grounds of
Victoria's family home, where
they were surrounded by close
family and friends.
On September 12, 2009, Sarah Belanger '01 married David Levinson (W&L '00). Natasha Nickodem Stevens '01 was the matron of honor;
Christine Rangel '01 and Casey Perlow '02 were bridesmaids. Also in attendance were Misa Sarmento '02, Allison Funkhouser '03, Maria
Kitchin '04, Vicki Zok Rosenthal '00, Grace Turner Creasey '01, Whitney Bryant '02 and Heather Brown Evans '86.
(Left to right) Misa Sarmento, Allison Funkhouser, Maria Kitchin, Natasha Nickodem Stevens, Sarah Belanger Levinson, Vicki Zak Rosenthal,
Grace Turner Creasey, Casey Perlow, Whitney Bryant, Christine Rangel.
Nancy Kleinhans '06 and
Christopher Carr married at
Snow Shoe Ski Resort in W.Va.
Sweet Briar College Alumnae Magazine • www.alumnae.sbc.edu
Summer 2010* 27
ILtUv BOARD
PLEASE SAVE THE DATE!
Sweet Briar College
Families
Weekend
October 15-17,2010
For more details call 434.381 .6205
or visit the Web page:
www.ccl.sbc.edu/general/families_
weekend.html
NEW LOOK:
In the fall of 2010, your alumnae
magazine will become the Sweet
Briar Magazine and will have a
completely new look! Watch for
changes to feature articles, photo-
graphs and design.
CORRECTION:
In the Winter 2009/2010 issue,
Eage 3, Judith Shapiro should
e listed as former president of
Barnard College, not Bryn Mawr.
6i dcMii
GRADS: TAKE CHARGE of Your First
Year After College! Kathryn Marion '84,
QwikSmarts Publishing, an imprint of Real
Solutions Press, LLC, 2009. During college,
Cliffs Notes helped you survive your exams,
but where are they when you really need
them ... in real life? Grads: Take Charge is
like getting summaries of all the best advice
from over a dozen other books for new
young professionals. It covers more than 140
JH
sa_aa____
topics from careers to credit to cooking and
everything in between to make navigating the
real world of work and independent living
less stressful and more successful. And it's all
presented in fast-reading, bulleted action-item
lists, which are perfect for the sound-bite
generation. Grads: Take Charge won finalist
honors in the National Best Books 2009
Awards in two categories.
The Lipstick Nomad, Jenne Lauren '01,
Eloquent Books 2010. The Lipstick Nomad
invites you to live your own Designer Life
— one where wisdom, righteousness and the
narrow path of love lead to finding your true
self — and in doing so, inspire others to do
the same.
Lauren's book is a delight for all
your senses as she incorporates virtual
soundtracks, films, books and recipes;
beautiful fabrics; scintillating fragrances; a
map of notorious and colorful places; and
a workbook for creating
your own Designer Life.
Written with fire, love
and the unquenchable
desire for adventure, The
Lipstick Nomad will paint
a tapestry of true beauty
within your heart.
V« i [ Ti« ifT"
Pnncipl»», tvuom m St>al»g<»
Differentiation at Work, K-5, Principles,
Lessons, and Strategies, Kay Brimijoin,
associate professor
Differentiation of education, and
Lane Narvez, Corwin
Press 2010. Based
on research and the
authors' experiences
at one remarkable
elementary school,
this book describes
what schoolwide
differentiation looks like in practice. The
authors show school administrators and
teachers how differentiated curriculum and
instruction can be successfully implemented
schoolwide. They share data that shows
significant gains in school achievement as a
result of the emphasis on staff development
focused on differentiation. Included in the
book are nine lesson plans from a range
of grade levels and disciplines, reflective
dialogues with teachers about refining their
design of curriculum and instruction, and
examples of how coaching teachers on
differentiation improves their abilities to
meet a range of learning needs in today's
classrooms.
Plato's Ghost, Spiritualism in the American
Renaissance, Cathy Gutierrez, associate
professor of religion, Oxford University Press
2009. Plato's Ghost examines the Spiritualist
movement as the legacy of European
esoteric speculation,
particularly Platonic
ideals, transformed on
a new continent. The
movement, Gutierrez says,
was a "renaissance of the
Renaissance," a culture in
love with history as much
as it trumpeted progress
and the future, and an
expression of what constituted religious
hope amidst burgeoning technology and
colonialism.
Gutierrez analyzes Spiritualist conceptions
of memory, marriage, medicine and finally
nascent psychology. In each she finds echoes
of Plato, pulling time backward even as it
marched toward a brighter future.
28 'Summer 2010
Sweet Briar College Alumnae Magazine • www.alumnae.sbc.edu
eee^U/
Choices, A. C. White (Anna
"Chips" Ohio Pai '57).
Dorrance Publishing Co, Inc.
2009. A team of scientists have
isolated an enzyme that allows
them to
clone
anything
or
anybody
that was
once alive,
as long
as they
have the
complete
set of DNA. This means being
able to clone and bring to life
any individual who is dead or
an extinct species if there is a
source of their DNA. Scientists
could clone Abraham Lincoln
from the blood on his shirt
when he was assassinated, or
Jesus Christ from the blood
gathered during his crucifixion
— which a church in Italy
claims to possess. But what
would be the consequences
of such technology? Choices
explores, through the eyes of
Dr. Ellen Chen, the head of
the team, what the potential
of such genetic cloning
would mean to society. The
book also depicts the politics
of academia at the highest
levels, and the pressures on
scientists to be productive and
to publicize discoveries before
competing laboratories can
do so. The pressures can be
extreme, sometimes resulting
in catastrophic effects on the
young scientists involved.
1933
Elizabeth Moore
Miss Elizabeth V. Moore
January 1, 2010
1935
Marion Walker
Dr. Marion Walker
Alcaro
December 13, 2009
Sarah Turpin
Mrs. Al Senecal
October 24, 2009
1938
Josephine Happ
Mrs. Spain Willingham
April 15, 2010
1939
Elizabeth Barnes
Mrs. Elizabeth B. Bird
February 1 1 , 20 1 0
Mary Buchanan
Mrs. George H.
Flowers, Jr.
March 16, 2010
1940
Margaret Woods
Mrs. M. W. Gillette
November 8, 2008
H. S. (Stuart) Hensley
Mrs. Gilbert H.
Woodward
December 29, 2009
1941
Carolyn Spivey
Mrs. Carolyn Spivey
Wilson
October 22, 2009
1942
Ruth Hensley
Mrs. Joshua F. B.
Camblos
December 3 1 , 2009
Mary Ellen Thompson
Mrs. Mary Ellen Beach
Ela
October 8, 2009
Frances Meek
Mrs. John E. Rowe
November 18, 2009
Joanne Oberkirch
Ms. Joanne Willis
October 25, 2009
Barbara Freking
Miss Barbara Freking
August 25, 2008
1943
Nancy Pingree
Mrs. Emerson H. Drake
October 22, 2009
Fayette McDowell
Mrs. W. Roscoe Willett,
Jr.
June 5,
2009
1944
Dorothy Beuttell
Mrs. E. Chatfield
Blakeman
December 18, 2009
1945
Martha Holton
Mrs. Donald G. Glesser
May 26, 2009
Joanne "Jodie" Morgan
Mrs. James R. Hartman
March 18, 2010
Alice Nicolson
Mrs. Alice Mcllvaine
September 9, 2009
1946
Mary Vinton
Mrs. Douglas K.
Fleming
February 16, 2010
Evaline Rife
Mrs. Leland Thompson, Jr.
January 7, 2010
Virginia Wynn
Ms. Virginia Q. Wynn
February 5, 2010
1947
Anne Webb
Mrs. George H. Moses
February 26, 2009
Marie Holman
Mrs. Douglas A.
Swayze
November 30, 2009
Jean Old
Jean C. Old
March 1 1, 2010
1948
Margaret McCallum
Ms. Margaret M.
Anderson
November 8, 2005
Suzanne Hardy
Mrs. Suzanne H. B.
Benson
January 19, 2010
Effie Jane Gray
Mrs. Philip A. Starck
January 3, 201 0
1949
Catherine "Bunny"
Barnett
Mrs. Walter H. Brown
February 19, 2010
1951
Tsun-Hsien (Sunshine)
Kwan
Mrs. Shantilal P. Bhagat
October 10, 2009
1952
Marjorie Levine
Mrs. Leonard S. Abrams
March 1 1 , 2009
Barbara Hoyt
Mrs. John W. Boyer, Jr.
October 26, 2008
Jane Mattas
Mrs. F Philip Christian II
November 27, 2009
Nancie McCann
Miss Nancie McCann
March 8, 2010
1953
Gage Bush
Mrs. Richard Englund
January 12, 2009
1954
Barbara Wilson
Mrs. Wilson Daniell
April 1, 2010
1955
Diane Hunt
Mrs. James D. Lawrence
January 26, 2010
1956
Sarah Sharp
Mrs. Sarah S. Taylor
January 24, 2010
Mary Pender
Mrs. Bertram Warren, Jr.
April 5, 2010
Joyce Lenz
Mrs. Hugh H. Young
February 28, 2010
1958
Marian Martin
Mrs. Paul P. Harrison
January 3, 201 0
1959
Gretchen Smith
Mrs. Gretchen
Buntschuh
February 1, 2010
Ethel Bruner
Mrs. Carl E. Campbell
January 23, 2010
1960
Griselda Fages
Mrs. Giselle Theberge-
Jeppson
January 15, 2009
1965
Elizabeth Grant
Mrs. Peyton Peters
February 22, 2009
1967
Pamela Sullivan
Mrs. W. Curtis
Livingston III
March 28, 2010
1968
Lee Cooper
Mrs. Bernard H. Schulte
December 1 3, 2009
1969
Mary Waterman
Mrs. Mary W.
Gildehaus
November 29, 2009
1973
Deborah Smith
Mrs. Deborah S.
Mardelli
February 9, 2010
Barbara Livingston
Ms. Barbara E.
Livingston
August 28, 2009
1976
Alicia Jo Ayotte
Miss Alicia J. Ayotte
December 1 7, 2009
1996
Katherine Campbell
Ms. Katherine Campbell
Brumley
January 28, 2010
If you wish to write to a member of the family of someone recently deceased, please contact the
Alumnae Office for the name and address.
Sweel Briar College Alumnae Magazine • wwwalumnae.sbc.edu
Summer 2010 • 29
e^^CrtA^Z^vx/
Walter Brown and Catherine "Bunny" Barnett Brown '49.
Catherine "Bunny"
Barnett Brown '49
The College is saddened to report the death
of devoted alumna and former board member
Catherine "Bunny" Barnett Brown. Brown
died on the morning of Feb. 19, 2010, at
Indian River Medical Center, Vero Beach.
For 32 years, she was active in both the
Vero Beach, Fla., and Convent Station, N.J.,
communities.
Brown graduated with a degree in psy-
chology from Sweet Briar in 1949. As a
student she was involved in the Bum Chums,
Paint 'n' Patches and Chung Mung tap clubs.
After college, she went on to become a
reporter, working for several newspapers and
Time Life.
Brown was an interested and caring
alumna who worked tirelessly for Sweet
Briar. Long before there was an Alumnae
Admissions Representative program, she
recruited students for Sweet Briar. She
served as a member of the Boxwood
Circle Committee, her class's Reunion
Gift Committee, a Leadership Donor, the
Campaign Leadership Committee and the
Development Leadership Council. She
organized alumnae events in both her New
Jersey and Florida homes and assisted with
Recognition Weekends and FOCUS events.
From 1981 to 1985 she served as a member
of the Alumnae Association board as edi-
tor of the Sweet Briar Alumnae Magazine.
Afterward, she served as the 1949 class sec-
retary, faithfully recording and submitting the
class news.
A member of the Keystone Society,
Silver Rose Society and the Indiana Fletcher
Williams Associates, Brown made Sweet
Briar a philanthropic priority. In recognition
of enduring commitment and devotion to the
College she was presented with Sweet Briars
Outstanding Alumna Award in 1992. Brown
also influenced others to work for Sweet
Briar, most notably her husband Walter H.
Brown, who served on the College's board of
directors beginning in 1986 and as chairman
of the board from 1987 to 1995.
Brown is survived by her husband of 59
years, Walter H. Brown; sons, Walter H.
Brown Jr. and Harold G. Brown; daugh-
ters, Catherine G. Erickson and Rebecca K.
Holmes; sister, Jean Ketcherside; 12 grand-
children and two great-grandchildren.
A memorial service was held at Sweet
Briar College's Memorial Chapel on Sat.,
June 19, followed by a reception at Sweet
Briar House.
Notes of condolence may be sent to: Mr.
Walter H. Brown, 1 19 Silver Moss Drive,
Vero Beach, FL 32963.
Katherine "Kay" Macdonald
ARTICLE COURTESY OF LYNCHBURG NEWS
& ADVANCE
Katherine "Kay" Macdonald, 87, died March
4, 2010, in Yarmouth, Maine. She was the
daughter of Arthur Souls and Katherine
Cameron Macdonald of Putnam, Conn.
Professor Macdonald received her B.S.
degree from The Bouve-Boston School of
Physical Education, Tufts University (now
Northeastern University). After teaching
at Abbot Academy in Andover, Mass., she
went on to complete a master's degree at
the State University of Iowa. Macdonald
then began a lifelong career as a teacher,
coach and administrator in Virginia at Sweet
Briar College, retiring in 1983 as professor
emerita. During these years, she took many
homesick, troubled and disabled students
under her wing, befriending them until they
could fly with their classmates.
Kay played a significant role in the
development of interscholastic field hockey
in Virginia. For many years, she held
workshops for area high schools, delivered
USFHA loan kits of equipment and hosted
international teams and regional tourna-
ments. Leading by example, Macdonald
played club hockey for more than 20 years
on the Blue Ridge Campus Characters team.
As the College's tennis coach, she was
instrumental in bringing top tennis coaches
to Sweet Briar for summer tennis camps.
In 2006, Kay was inducted into the Charter
Class of the Sweet Briar Athletics Hall of
Katherine "Kay" Macdonald
30' Summer 2010
Sweet Briar College Alumnae Magazine • www.alumnaesbc.edu
Fame in honor of her devotion to Sweet
Briar and its athletic success.
After retirement, Macdonald contin-
ued her interest in education by taking
undergraduate poetry courses, conducting
aerobic classes for the faculty and assisting
the College in fundraising. She was active
in local Audubon activities, the Humane
Society and Amherst County Library.
Macdonald promoted outdoor activities on
campus and received the Golden Shovel
Award from the Appalachian Trail Club for
her service clearing trails. If there were a
blue ribbon for a feline devotee, she would
have earned it for her many years of cater-
ing to an assortment of beloved feline
companions.
Macdonald's travels covered a good part
of the globe, with considerable time in the
British Isles. Always a champion of the
underdog, her worldwide view led to many
years of active involvement on behalf of
Amnesty International, USA.
For some time after retirement,
Macdonald lived in Fayetteville, Pa., then
moved to The Highlands in Topsham, Maine.
As her health failed, she resided for the past
five years at Brentwood R & N Center in
Yarmouth, Maine.
Macdonald is survived by two cousins,
Sarah Wright, of Sugar Land, Texas, and
Joan Roberts, of Baddeck, Nova Scotia; and
by many devoted friends, who will miss her
easy companionship, many talents, strong
code of justice and whimsical sense of
humor.
The Rev. Susan Lehman conducted a
memorial service in Memorial Chapel at
Sweet Briar College.
Macdonald requested that memorial
contributions be designated for the Nenah
Elinor Fry Presidential Scholarship Fund c/o
Sweet Briar College, Box 1057, Sweet Briar.
VA 24595.
Robert Marshall
The Sweet Briar community was saddened
to learn of the death on March 30, 2010, of
Robert Marshall, the former director of the
College's Junior Year in France program.
Marshall served from 1972 to 1984 as
the third director of JYF, which was founded
in 1948. He dedicated his career at Sweet
Briar College to improving and perfecting
the program, said Margaret Scouten, JYF's
current director.
He also organized a number of events in
observance of the program's 25th anniver-
sary, including the establishment of a 25th
Anniversary Scholarship Fund, a festival on
campus and completion of a short history of
JYF's first quarter-century. In addition, he
arranged for a group of alumni to visit the
Elysee Palace in Paris at the special invita-
tion of Claude Jacqueline Pompidou, wife of
France's then-president Georges Pompidou.
Those wishing to remember Marshall are
asked to consider a memorial to the Robert
G. Marshall Scholarship Fund, Junior Year
in France, Sweet Briar College, Sweet Briar,
VA 24595, or Christ Church, P.O. Box S, St.
Michaels, MD 21663.
Sweet Briar Remembers
Beloved Professor,
Eleanor Salotto
The College community mourns the loss
of Eleanor Salotto, associate professor of
English, who died this past winter. Salotto
began teaching at Sweet Briar in 1998 and
is remembered with fondness by her friends,
colleagues, students and
alumnae.
Salotto received a BA.
in English and French and
an M.A. in English, both
from Temple University,
and a Ph. D. in English
from Bryn Mawr College.
She taught 1 9th-century
British literature and film
studies at Sweet Briar.
Among Salotto's stron-
gest interests were women's
narratives and identity, film
noir, film theory and liter-
ary theory.
Her accomplish-
ments include her book, "Gothic Returns
in Collins, Dickens, Zola and Hitchcock,"
published by Palgrave in 2006; an intro-
duction for the Barnes and Noble Classic
Series edition of Emile Zola's "The Ladies'
Paradise;" and articles on that novel as
well as on "Frankenstein," "Bleak House"
and "Villette." She had been working on a
book project linking Darwinian thought and
Victorian multi-plot novels.
Lee Piepho, professor of English emeri-
tus, knew Salotto from the very first days of
her career at the College and recognized her
remarkable life as a professor and scholar.
Early in her career, she took on the task of
teaching a combination of 18th- and 19th-
century literature as well as heading the film
studies program, a growing topic of interest
among the student body.
Eleanor Salotto
Piepho remembers when the English
department was searching for a film studies
candidate. It was clear that Salotto was the
right person, yet, at that point in her career,
she needed additional professional develop-
ment before beginning to teach in the field.
She was given a two-year assistant profes-
sorship on a trial basis.
"In the summer, she went off and took
classes at New York University," he said.
"It was remarkable the way she grew. Her
accomplishment in the field was quite
extraordinary. The permanent results are her
book and, of course, the students who stud-
ied under her."
On March 23, an informal gathering to
reflect on her memory was held at Memorial
Chapel for the immediate community.
President Jo Ellen Parker noted Salotto's
devotion to her students, academic interests
and love of the College. Close friends and
colleagues spoke of her unconventional and
vibrant personality. They shared unforget-
table stories of their friend,
saying in various ways that
"Eleanor was Eleanor"
— a person of brilliant
intellect, deep feeling and
mystery.
Parker also recalled
the first time she'd met
Salotto, 20 years ago. "I
had the good fortune to
know Eleanor long ago,
before we had any idea
that we might reconnect
again at Sweet Briar.
Eleanor was a graduate
student at Bryn Mawr dur-
ing my days on the faculty
and in the dean's office there. We shared a
passionate interest in 19th-century literature
and in teaching.
"When I realized she was on the fac-
ulty at Sweet Briar, it was a joy to think
we would once again be colleagues. She
approached me after my first faculty inter-
view with her usual grace and generosity of
spirit, offering words of support and encour-
agement to a nervous job candidate.
"I know many of you have similar memo-
ries of the thoughtful kindness of our friend
and colleague. We will miss her sorely; how
lucky we were to know her!"
Notes of condolence may be sent to Salotto's
sister: Carol Watkins, 603 Belvoir Road,
Plymouth Meeting, PA 19462.
Sweet Briar College Alumnae Magazine ■ www.alumnae.sbc.edu
Summer 2010 • 31
t/LCZ4su!ufajjVi/y
Zach Kincaid
Media, marketing and communications
Zach Kincaid's first day as the new director of media, marketing and
communications was March 29. He and his family moved from Milledgeville, Ga.,
where he served as director of marketing and publications and taught history at
Georgia College & State University.
Kincaid has 15 years of experience in marketing, communications, strategic
planning, branding, Web site effectiveness and copy writing. His experience
includes 10 years in higher education and several at a promotions and events
agency where he served as a marketing coordinator.
In 2008, he managed a campaign that placed eighth in University Business's
"50 Best Branding Ideas." He has won several CASE Awards for design and
advertising projects and has served as a marketing and Web site consultant for the
film industry.
Kincaid will be responsible for creating and leading a comprehensive
communications and integrated marketing program that emphasizes Sweet Briar's
brand and enhances the visibility of the College.
As a senior staff member, he will counsel the president and senior staff on
communications and messaging work. He will work collaboratively across campus
to integrate and improve institutional media, marketing and communication
initiatives, and to support advancement and recruitment goals.
Kincaid holds a bachelor's in English from Washington University in St. Louis
and a Master of Arts in history from Trinity International University. He and his
wife, Heather, and sons Micah, Caleb and Benjamin reside on campus.
32 -Summer 2010
Bob Chase Retires to Life of
Some Work, Some Play
Mathematics professor Bob Chase is retiring after teaching physics and computer
science courses at the College for more than three decades.
Chase and his wife, Kathy Earnhardt Chase '67, plan to remain in Amherst,
where they reside. As a part owner and now vice president, secretary and treasurer
of Rebec Vineyards, he will spend much of his time working in the winery
business.
He'll also get to do more fishing, he said. Over the past few years he has
trekked to the Bob Marshall Wilderness in Montana for eight-day horseback
and float-fishing trips, and he spent nine days in Alberta and British Columbia,
Canada. He hopes to take at least one trip per year in the Missoula-Bozeman area
of Montana.
This summer the Chases plan to travel to Poland, Hungary and the Czech
Republic, and they're already anticipating next summer's trip to Ireland.
Chase said he also will continue spending as much time as possible with his grand-
son, Holden, who turned 10 in May.
A reception was held in Chase's honor on April 29 at Sweet Briar House.
Sweel Briar College Alumnae Magazine • www.alumnae.sbc.edu
1935
Juliet Halliburton Davis
4100 Well Spring Dr., No. 2305
Greensboro, NC 27410
1938
Frances Bailey Brooke
405 Jackson Ave.
Lexington, VA 24450
ma
im
Ann Morrison Reams
771 Bon Air Cr.
Lynchburg, VA 24503
amrsbc@verizon.net
What an unbelievable winter we experi-
enced this year! At Sweet Briar classes
were held most of the time, but with
some off-campus faculty not able to
get there. However, the students had a
fine time with great gatherings and fun
things planned. Schools were closed in
this area for 7 days during that 3-wk.
period. Happily, spring is on the way, and
I hope this issue finds all of you warm
and in good spirits.
I look forward each year to Bobby
Engh Croft's Thanksgiving letter. She's
keeping busy following Crosswell's
death last Mar. She still spends winters
in Tucson, but planned a trip through
the Panama Canal in Jan. and one to
AK in Jul. How wonderful to hear from
Edie Brainard Walter in D C, who
is enjoying her usual activities. Her
daughter, Anne, and husband Michael
are in India. They both have Fulbright
grants to teach at Madras Christian Coll.
Betty Childs and Mackall (Annapolis)
sent a beautiful card designed by their
son-in-law, Sanford Murck, an artist
married to their daughter Dryden (Class
of '65). It won an award from the Land-
lover organization in Savannah. I also
received my annual cherished card from
Ann Hauslein Potterfield and Tom.
From AR, Alice King Harrison sent a
clipping trom the Chattanooga paper
highlighting our alumna, Mollie Johnson
Nelson '64, who was the recipient of the
Outstanding Alumna Award at Reunion
Sweet Briar College Alumnae Magazine • www.alumnae.sbc.edu
t^Xft&y
2009. Arkie writes that even though she
uses a walker, she enjoys bridge, Mah
Jong, church work and grandchildren.
Shirley Hausman Nordham is glad to
have moved to Leawood, KS, to be near
her daughter especially since Al died
soon after. They enjoyed 20 good retire-
ment yrs. in Savannah. It's great that
Margaret Leonard Proctor still enjoys
keeping up with us even though she was
only at SBC for a short time. She lives in
a retirement community in Baltimore.
We continue to lose many of our
beloved classmates, but then aren't
we grateful to have lived this long at
such a wonderful time? Those who died
since my last letter are Mary Alice
Bennett Baumberger in AZ (5/3/09),
Patty Rose Early Trippet in Waco,
TX, (6/17/09), Mary Ellen Thompson
Beach Ela in Madison, Wl, (10/8/09);
Joanne Oberkirch Willis in St.
Petersburg, FL, (10/25/09); Frances
Meek Rowe in Fort Lauderdale, FL,
(11/18/09); and Ruth Hensley Camb-
los in Ashville (12/31/09). Ruth's sister,
Stuart Hensley Woodward '40 died 2
days before her. To all of these families
we send our love and sympathy
Stay well, stay happy and send
news. Much love to each of you.
Alice Lancaster Buck
21085 Cardinal Pond Ter., Apt. 106
Ashburn.VA 20147
Pbbuck1@verizon.net
m5
Dale Sayler Morgan
486A Beaulieu Ave.
Savannah, GA 31406
dalemorgan@comcast.net
Julia Mills Jacobsen
ljamj@erols.com
Mary Haskins King
501 Kimberly Dr.
Greensboro, NC 27408
Holly Zweigler Schroeter wrote in to
the alumnae office: I write to say that
I won't be able to attend our 45th. I'm
waist-high in boxes still, but loving every
HOW TO GET YOUR NEWS IN CLASS NOTES
Send your news to the class secretary listed with o
your class, If your class has no class secretary listed, please send
news to Colleen Murray at cmurray@sbc.edu or PO Box 1 056, Sweet Briar,
VA 24595. Classmates want to hear from you!
Secretaries may submit notes for every issue of the magazine. Please see
that your class secretary receives your news before the deadlines below:
Issue
Deadline
Fall '10
August 1,2010
Spring '11
February 1 , 201 1
Class secretaries are volunteers elected by their class and are responsible
for the accuracy of the class notes.
Make sure the Alumnae Office has your correct e-mail address!
Please send e-mail addresses to: alumnae@sbc.edu
moment in my new Tucson apt. I can
now walk out onto my terrace and have
a beautiful view of the Santa Catalina
Mt. range. I hadn't planned to miss the
reunion; I was there in 1990 for our
25th, along with my 2nd husband. My
son Eric (40) and his wife Katja live
in Falls Church, while my daughter
(39) lives in Prague. In 2002, 1 briefly
stayed in Somerset, VA, at one of their
father's homes, and my daughter saw
to it that we all traveled to Sweet Briar
for a visit. It was late Dec, so no one
was on campus. We sat next to the new
Prothro Center to eat our homemade
lunch. Then, we drove to the former
dairy, only to discover that the milk pro-
cessing building was now an Art Center.
The old Refectory where I had served as
a waitress was now an Art Gallery dedi-
cated to former President Pannell.
I have two grandsons, Jakub and
Nikolas, ages 9 and 7. They're enrolled
in Haycock Elementary School in Falls
Church, and are bi-lingual. Their mother
is Slovak. She owns and runs an art
restoration company in McLean; my son
works for the Washington Post in Arling-
ton. I am now retired. Best wishes to
everyone attending.
facebook
Does your class have a page on
Facebook, Linkedln, or other web
community? Please let us know! The
Alumnae Office is compiling a list
of class pages for our updated Web
site. Send an email to Colleen Kamffa
Murray '06, editor of the Alumnae
Magazine, at cmurray@sbc.edu with
the link to your class page.
ms
me
Mary Vandeventer Saunders
955 Harpersville Rd.
Newport News, VA 23601
im
Linda McKoy Stewart
18 Osprey Lane
Rumson, NJ 07760
lmckstewart@verizon.net
Maddin Lupton McCallie
1508 Edge wood Cir.
Chattanooga, TN 37405
As 201 0 gets underway your class
scribe of these last few decades has
decided she is too far advanced in yrs.
(I turn 84 this 1 st weekend in Apr.), and
I'm not able to write another column.
After all, I walk with a cane or walker
or a rolling chair, have hearing aids,
a mouth full of partial plates, droopy
eyelids, an occasional heart flurry, too
many pounds, no driver's license, no
get up and go — I just can't do it! Then
comes a warm, friendly voice and it's
Wayne Stokes Goodall on the phone
from Pittsboro, NC, my friend since
camp days in the 1930s who is always
interested in what's going on, and she
suggests that maybe I could get some
help from computer whiz classmate
Liz Barbour McCrea to communicate
with classmates for news. This great
idea creates conversations with Liz in
Alexandria, VA, so we join together to
write a newsletter. She had a brief note
Summer 2010 • 33
from TX from Polly Rollins Sowell
saying she "plays bridge and jitterbugs
by herself since her favorite partner Liz
is in VA, and she's in TX." A call from
Peggy Sheffield Martin in Atlanta tells
me she has lost her precious daugh-
ter Lisa Tunnell who has had lupus
for a long time. She died in late Feb.
and some 300 attended her service.
Martha Davis Barnes didn't answer
a call since she probably was on one
of her many trips, but we did learn that
she has a granddaughter who chose
to head to Hollywood to make a career.
Her name is Ellen Woglan and she's
active in movies and appears in weekly
TV series, Bold Case. Another piece of
sad news is that my SBC roommate
Suzanne Hardy Benson died in late
Jan. and her memorial service was in
an old Episcopal church in downtown
Augusta, GA. We recall when 8 of her
Briarite classmates gathered there a few
yrs. ago for her marriage to Cameron
Benson. Conversations with classmates
Felicia Jackson Burns in Gainesville
and Diane King Nelson in Homer, LA,
brought back to my memory the con-
nection Suzanne's daughters, Zan and
Bon, had with ballet in Augusta. We also
remembered that the Burns' daughter
Susan has 4 teenage children and 3
of them are triplets! Interesting news
from the Alexandria area reports that
the Kelly Foundation, which was set up
by our Nancy Vaughn Kelly and Dan,
has been recognized for 10 yrs. of ser-
vice with native Americans in Montana
encouraging them to better themselves
and improve their standard of living. We
heard that some of them put on feath-
ers and danced in D.C. although they
mostly are getting educated to lead use-
ful and productive lives. I learned from
a conversation with Audrey Lahman
Rosselot about living in the Alexandria
area with SBC classmates the Kellys,
McCreas, Virginia Wurzbach Vardy
all living in the same complex. Mary
Jo Armstrong Berryman reportedly
visited in D.C. from TX.
Since this class letter doesn't have
lots of names and news your scribe
is going to take the liberty of quoting
from Closey Faulkner Dickey and
her unsolicited letter which arrived a
month ago. This is to welcome spring-
time, do away with winter blahs and
cause you to sit back in amazement
at our classmate's life. "Our greatest
joy in the last 5 yrs. has been our new
summer home in Quarry Cove, ME.
The kids and grandkids share a big
modular home designed by Whit and
the waterfront activities include our
kayak, a canoe, 2 sailing dinghies and
our boat Wendelen. A quick rundown
on their progeny begins herewith: Whit
Jr. is drumming and composing in NYC,
playing mostly with the Matthew Shipp
Trio (sometimes in Europe). They are
34 • Summer 2010
sometimes written up in the NY Times
Art Section. Spoon and Renee love liv-
ing in beautiful Seattle. He's a financial
consultant, does lots of volunteering,
cooks for family and good causes and
plays guitar in bistros around town.
Renee is head of Perfusion at Children's
Hospital, rides a Vespa to work and
they all ski! Don lives near his parents,
works for state of VT in health care
and is getting a MA from the Woodbury
School of Mediation in Montpelier. His
children do well in high schools and col-
leges nearby. John and Julie live near
in South Hamilton, MA, where he has
his own business franchise, Express
Employment Professionals, matching
employers with employees. Julie works
with him and their 4 children participate
in various sports as well. They all ski at
Mad River Glen. Colt and Lynn live in
San Rafael, CA, where they enjoy amaz-
ing bird watching. Clo and Bruce live in
Anchorage, AK, and are kept busy with
2 young sons. Bruce is an expert on
measuring glacier melt and undertakes
other environmental endeavors for the
National Park Service. Closey adds that
the Dickeys still live in the winter in the
house they built 30 yrs. ago on Hardy
Hill in the midst of a wildlife sanctuary.
She plays duplicate bridge twice a wk.
and has recovered from a broken neck
caused by adjusting a high Venetian
blind. They are active in the community
of Lebanon, NH. Personal to my class-
mates...SBC 1948.... I'm wearing my
tee shirt with the roses on it from an
almost forgotten reunion to inspire me
to get this done, and at the age of 84 it
has been difficult. My dear David at age
88 has remained patient, good humored
and very helpful. This has been a fun
thing to do over the decades because
I have gotten to know so many of you
better than when we were at The Patch
back in the 1940 era. Thank you for
sharing.
m?
Catherine Cox Reynolds
20 Loeffler Rd. T-408
Bloomf ield, CT 06002
reynolds@duncasteremail.com
I must start these notes with the sad
news that Bunny Barnett Brown died of
pancreatic cancer on 2/1 9/1 0. Bunny
kept us together as Class Secretary,
writing notes on our activities as well
as updates on the Coll. She worked
tirelessly for Sweet Briar and was
presented with the Outstanding Alumna
Award in 1 992. I'll try to follow in her
footsteps with your help. Thanks to all
who sent me news. Some of the news
may be old hat by the time you read
this, because
I'm writing on 3/14 on a dark rainy late
winter day. If you have e-mail, you may
receive more recent news from time
to time. Those of you who decide to
join the 2lst century and acquire email
should let me know your address.
Most of us have been involved with
family and travel over the last year.
However, Dot Rouse-Bottom's
activities may have a wider impact.
She's celebrating Hampton, VA's 400th
birthday this year on 7/9/10. Hampton
is the 1st continuously operating English
speaking community in the U. S. I had
thought that honor went to Jamestown,
but that settlement didn't last, and Saint
Augustine and Santa Fe were Spanish
speaking communities. So Dot is quite
right that Hampton's 400th birthday is a
big deal. Hampton came into being on
7/9 of 1610 when fully armed English-
men came ashore, attacked the Indians
and established a maritime community,
which has grown and prospered to
this day. By the time you read this,
the celebration of Hampton's 400th
anniversary will have culminated with
spectacular fireworks and significant
historical events (conferences and
publications) thanks to Dot.
As for travel, perhaps the award for
the most miles covered should go to
Peggy Cromwell Taliaferro She
visited her sister in the Swiss Alps last
summer and journeyed to the Galapagos
Islands, 600 mi. off the coast of Ecua-
dor, in Feb. There she saw blue-footed
boobies and the rarer breed, red-footed
boobies. (I noticed that SBC was running
a trip to the
Galapagos this winter. Maybe some of
you went?) Alice Trout Hagan and
Patsy Davin Robinson are perhaps the
most inveterate participants in Sweet
Briar trips, but Alice tells me that
although they're both fine, they've given
up long trips.
Phil and I went to Morocco last
winter. That may be our last overseas
trip, but we're planning a cruise on the
Erie Canal, Lake Ontario and the St.
Lawrence Seaway in Sept. Domestic
travel without long airtrips is more ap-
pealing these days.
Caroline Casey Lindemann may
surpass Peggy Cromwell's travel
record by the time she completes her
trips for 2010. She'll be going to
Norway and, on a separate trip with the
Richmond Museum, to the Italian Lake
District. Caroline will also be coming
north to Cambridge to see her oldest
grandchild graduate from Harvard Law
School. (I hope she'll stop in Hartford
en route). Caroline's adventures are
planned by her daughter who lives in
Richmond and is a travel agent. Her 2nd
son, Stephen McGehee, is in his 1st
yr. at VA Theological Seminary having
retired from a 30-yr. banking career in
Atlanta. Caroline lives in Westminister
Canterbury, a retirement community in
Richmond. Libby Trueheart Harris.
Margaret Towers Talman and Kitty
Hart Belew also live there.
There seems to be a trend among
49s toward retirement home living. We
like to be relieved of cooking, cleaning,
snow shoveling and have the security
of onsite medical care. Carolyn Can-
naday Evans needed such care this
year. She broke 2 ribs camping trip with
her son last fall, developed shingles and
fell on the ice and broke her wrist this
winter. However, she has recovered from
all those ailments and is now looking for
a job as a court advocate for children
in foster care in Ashburn, VA, similar
to what she was doing when she lived
in Reston. Carolyn sees Flip Eustis
Weiner, who now lives in a retirement
community in Silver Spring, MD.
Jean Taylor is still in her Washing-
ton apt. She has a severe back problem,
but is able to get out and about with the
help of a back brace.
June Eager Finney has been busy
preparing an art exhibit for a good friend
in Baltimore. June says she doesn't
draw anything, but is able to create her
images/scenes using an ordinary pair
of scissors. She sees something in her
head as she flips through magazines,
catalogues, newspapers, etc. that she
can turn into an object to be mounted on
whatever paper she has around. Good
recycling.
Pat Brown Boyer had a chilly
winter in FL, but was expecting to see
Judy Easley Mak and Dayton who
were stopping for a visit in Winter Park
on their way south. Dayton is working on
an oral history of the State Department
and Judy is still selling real estate in
Washington, 30 yrs. and still going
strong.
I hope it warmed up in New Smyrna
Beach, FL for Sue Corning Mann's visit
at Hank's daughter's house. They have a
grandson in Argentina. Maybe that's
the place to go these days.
Phil and I enjoyed seeing Ann Hen-
derson Bannard and Yorke last Sept.
when they were here on a great circle
tour of the Northeast. They're just fine
and had seen Kay Veasey and Dave
Goodwin, who are also fine.
My dear roomies, Preston Hodges
Hill and Larry Lawrence Simmons
are both
widows now, but are keeping busy with
good works and family visits. Larry deliv-
ers food for Meals on Wheels and reads
weekly to third graders. Her daughter
Dede has published a mystery called
Silent Screams under the pen name C.E.
Lawrence. It's a real page turner.
Sweet Briar College Alumnae Magazine • www.alumnae.sbc.edu
mo
to stay in touch. Make sure to keep
our new class secretary au courant
even though you may think no one is
interested. We are!
It's always great to hear from
classmates who left us midstream.
Mary Ellen Davis Gettel, who earned
a B.A. from U. IN and an M.A. from
Stanford, wrote "as I look back I realize
how much help SBC has been and what
friendships it has brought about."
Pat Owens Purvis and family
spent spring break traveling to Wash-
ington D.C., VA, and NC looking over
schools for her granddaughter. Then
she visited a grandson at Wake Forest
U. He'll study next spring in London.
Her other grandson at the U. AL went to
Cambridge (England) for the May Dance
in Jun.l Pat herself plans to travel to
Aspen, CO, and then to England this
summer.
Edith Brooke Robertson attended
her grandson's graduation from U. Ml
and then was off to CO to visit her son
and family.
Ann Preston Vick has moved to St.
Augustine; Anne McNeer Blanken to
Lexington, VA, to be near her daughter
and husband, both graduates of W&L;
and Mary Waller Berkley Ferguson
and husband are living at Westminister
Canterbury in Richmond.
Nancy Drake Maggard sent a
photo of her family of 8 children, 17
grandchildren and 1 great-grandchild.
Can anyone top that?
Betty, B.G., Elmore Gilleland and
Guy are still traveling. Last year they
took a trip to the Baltic and Scandina-
vian countries. In Nov., B.G. attended a
Colonial Dames meeting in Jacksonville
and saw Margaret Murchison Corse
who is living in Jacksonville again. B.G.
keeps in touch with Diana Dent, Nell
Greening Keen and Nancy Storey
White, all of whom are happy in their
respective retirement homes. She and
Guy venture into the deep freeze in Ml
every Christmas to visit their daughter
and family.
Jean Probeck Wiant was unable
to attend Reunion as she went to her
granddaughter's graduation from the
Manhattan School of Music and then
on to her grandson's h. s. graduation in
Katonah, NY. She has moved to a new
retirement center east of Cleveland, but
is still active on the Women's Board of
the Cleveland Institute of Music and the
board of a baroque music group. She
also works with a mission group involv-
ing transitional activities for the jobless
and homeless.
Sally Bianchi Foster has another
2 grandchildren off to coll. (Earlham &
Lafayette) and I have 1 , but no telling
where at this writing, as he applied to
13 coll.!
This is my last report. I've enjoyed
hearing from all over the yrs. and hope
mi
Patty Lynas Ford
2165 W. Dry Creek Road
Healdsburg, CA 95448
patella2@sonic.net
Thank you to all who have contributed to
our class notes.
Sunshine (Tsun-Hsien Kwan)
died on 1 0/1 0/09 at age 81 . Her hus-
band, Shantilal Bhagat called to let us
know. She'd have been 82 on 1 1/6/09.
In 1/09, because of an irregular heart
beat, she had open heart surgery as 2
valves were leaking. She chose to have
them repaired rather than replaced.
The surgery stopped the leaking for a
while, but only temporarily. Hypertension
ensued and the causes of death were
congestive heart failure and septice-
mia. She had had a hysterectomy yrs
.ago, but had adhesions that had to be
repaired off and on so she was opened
up 4 times, resulting in staph infections.
After SBC she went to Cornell to get her
M.A in nutrition. There she met Shantilal
who was getting a degree in agronomy.
They were married there; then went to
India for 1 6 yrs. There are 2 daughters
in San Diego and a son in Kansas City.
They had been married 57 J£ yrs. Isolde
Baisch Werhahn '53 was a close friend.
Shantilal said that his son tried unsuc-
cessfully to contact her in Stuttgart re-
cently. A service was held on 1 2/6/09 at
the Church of the Brethren in La Verne,
CA. His number is 909-392-4078.
Joanne Williams Ray: (Words
from her faithful and caring son, Max.)
Nothing significant this yr. other than
her getting a cold 1 2/1 8 and was so
weak she couldn't get out of her chair,
and we feared the worst. She's doing
OK, but we're still fearful of this turning
into pneumonia. She spends all day
to and from the bed into the kitchen
to eat, a slow, but steady decline. She
doesn't know us, much less other
family and friends, I'm sad to report.
She was dropped from the Alzheimer's
study 02/06/09, as she went from a
23 to between 0-3 in a 1 2-mo. period
on the mini-mental exam, and we're
told to expect to have to call in hospice
between 6-1 8 mos. out. So we bide
our time and try to keep her happy, fed
and comfortable. (Note to PLF: As you
may have noted, I'm pretty good about
information retention. It's my job as a
financial advisor and it doesn't suit badly
as mother's social secretary either!
Mother is still going pretty well, consid-
ering. We endeavor to take good care of
her. She still maintains a constant laugh,
says thank you when you do what she
wants. I've also heard from Joan Davis
Warren and am now friends with her on
Facebook, as well as Samuel B. Hellier,
Jean Stapleton Hellier's husband who
was a Phi Psi and one of my father's fra-
ternity brothers (and mine as well now!)
It seems the more consistent I get about
sending out Mama's Christmas cards,
the more folks I'm hearing from. Max
T, Ray, AEP, CLU, FBS, Family Business
Associates, 2766 Smyer Circle, Vestavia
Hills, AL 3521 6-1 025
Mary Pease Fleming Trying to
free my desk of 2009, which includes
messages from '51 classmates. Ann
Petesch Hazzard writes that her dear
husband, Rutledge, passed away in
2009. She and Rutledge had moved
some yrs. ago to 4800 Fillmore Ave.
#551 , Alexandria, VA, 2231 1 . (As you
know Ann and Rutledge had retired from
a lifetime career in the Army. At the time
of his retirement he was a Brig. Gen.)
Many of their neighbors on Fillmore Ave.
are also retired Army friends. Ann says
that she's grateful to be living "in this
wonderful place with wonderful people,"
now that Rutledge has passed away. I
also heard from Eugenia Ellis Mason
in Petersburg, VA, and Jean Duerson
Bade in Louisville, KY. Both are widows
now, Jean electing to stay in her big
house. Jean frequently sees Diane
Richmond Simpson, her friend of
many yrs. Diane is in a wheelchair from
an arthritic condition and unfortunately
cannot continue to swim with Jean as
she has done for a long time Jean still
does her laps in the pool "when I can"!
Also heard from Joan Davis Warren in
Philadelphia, but not from Barbara Birt
Dow, who also lives there. Rives and
Joan celebrated the holiday season with
Rives's shoulder in a sling from rotator
cuff surgery on 1 2/9. He's doing well
and together they're looking forward
to the summer wedding of our oldest
grandchild. They see Ann Sheldon
Taylor Campbell often. She and Bill
Campbell travel some, but mostly
hang out at their apt. at Westminster
Canterbury.
Sue Lockley Glad I have zero
news! Ned and I spent the winter quietly,
recovering from our lousy summer of
surgery. However, we're both on the
road to mending completely and hope to
get to OR this summer. There will be a
constant parade of children and grand-
children (accompanied by their dogs)
and that will be fun, if chaotic. However,
I think I'll retire from the competition on
the tennis court and golf course, maybe
stick to croquet. We should all aim to
be healthy and prepared for our 60th
reunion in 201 1 . Good grief! Best to all.
Mona Wilson Beard: May and
sunshine seem a long way off just now!
Thank you for the reunion dates. At least
it won't be snowing 30 in. 60 yrs. is
a pretty long time! No real news here.
Sweet Briar College Alumnae Magazine • www.alumnae.sbc.edu
I'm gradually establishing a pattern and
getting acquainted with the folks and
activities here.
Betty Browder Nibley: I spent
most of the yr. getting my house ship-
shape and downsizing (ugh) by throwing
out, shredding, and otherwise dumping
30 yrs. of stuff I'd accumulated in that
big house. I've moved to a beautiful apt.
at Knollwood, a retirement community
for military widows and spouses. It's
located in Washington D.C. and there
are many friendly and gracious people
here. I'm attending exercise classes and
a multitude of events and trips. Sold my
house to a nice couple (she went to SBC
class of '93!) I'd love to hear from and/
or see classmates.
Ruth Oddy Meyer: I look forward to
any issue that has news of the Class of
'51 . It seems like a lifetime ago, but one
that I remember with much pleasure. I
have 4 granddaughters, but have been
unable to persuade the 2 eldest to
consider SBC. They want to go where
the boys are. I'll keep the pressure on
the other 2. We're going to London in
Jun. for the graduation of the 2nd eldest
from the American School. After 5 yrs.
of England's weather, she only looked
at colleges in warm climates and will be
going to the U. Miami, FL, next yr. After
graduation the whole family will be
going to St. Petersburg, Russia for a few
days. Aside from wild plans, Ed and I
continue our hospital volunteering (ER
for 24 yrs.) and in our spare time, bridge
is his hobby and painting is mine. Mona
Wilson Beard and I keep in touch
by email, and I hope to persuade Sis
Hayden D'Wolf to join in this yr.
Ann "Ben" Benet Yellott: Still
helping out with the local therapeutic
riding program and the nature center.
Love hearing about classmates. Really
sorry to hear about Sunshine (Tsun-
Hsien Kwan). I waited tables with
her. She was a special person. I heard
from Ruth Oddy Meyer at Christmas.
The puppy is fine; we're busy now with
agility, which is a blast! Trouble is, I can't
keep up with him!
Jean Graham "Randie" Ran-
dolph Bruns: I avoided a dreadful siege
of winter weather in postponing my
return home (from FL) until a lot of melt-
ing goes on. Julie Micou Eastwood is
planning to come "back east" to see her
brother who isn't well. And I hope she'll
have a few days in Warm Springs.
Lynne McCollough Gush: I have
no real news for SBC, since dog, ballet
and teaching go along as usual. Not
enough teaching, due to the economy, to
warrant a trip to reunion, but sufficient
for customary adventures. Nancy and I
are working on the Liszt B minor sonata
arranged for 2 pianos by Saint-Sans.
The garden needs doing. We didn't
need a hard freeze of 2 days after the
drought, the hurricane, and the flood.
Summer 201 0 • 35
The greenhouse habitants are lovely,
but everything I failed to bring in is thor-
oughly Gothic. The Alumnae Magazine
is glamorous. So, in fact, is the campus
these days,
Patty Lynas Ford: While visiting
our daughter and family in Leesburg,
VA, in Sept., we were fortunate to be
able to go to SBC for the Inauguration
of our new president, Jo Ellen Parker,
a most impressive person inaugurated
in a stirring event. We are fortunate
to have her, a fine successor to Betsy
Muhlenfeld. The Upchurch Field House
has to be seen to be believed! It's
enormous and very adaptable for dif-
ferent functions. I was able to audit the
Intermediate Greek class, exactly 60 yrs.
after my time in 2nd-yr. Greek. Also, I
was able to have some time with Dr. Eric
Casey, the excellent classics professor,
to read selections from Oaphnis and
Chlo . Greek was my dearest love at
SBC so I was able, thanks to Dr. Casey's
kindness, to be a part of his class.
Afterwards, we had lunch with him and
his wife who teaches religion. All meals
are served cafeteria-style now, no more
student waitresses on the scene. And
the dress code has become extremely
relaxed. But that doesn't detract from
the spirit of the girls. We visited the new
student house called "The Green Vil-
lage," which are very much in demand.
Recently, we had lunch with Julie
Micou Eastwood and Dick in the Napa
Valley. She's planning to go east later in
the spring to see her brother and plans
to go down to VA to visit Jean Graham
"Randie" Randolph Bruns Last week
we had lunch in Santa Rosa with Anne
Sinsheimer who was in the area to
visit friends and relatives. She had had
a splendid trip to Africa last yr. Her life is
busy with community activities, her dog
and knitting (she was wearing one of her
gorgeous sweaters when we saw her).
Lynne McCoullough Gush sent youth-
ful pictures of herself and her fun-loving
Kensington Weimaraner. Our local
daughter, Elizabeth, is awaiting delivery
of the harpsichord she commissioned
last yr. She painted the soundboard last
summer and has put some finishing
touches on it. She's active in the Early
Music scene in the Bay Area. I've been
at the Animal Shelter for 1 3 yrs. now,
3 mornings a wk., training and walking
dogs and cuddling cats. Gardening gives
Dick and me great pleasure, and as I
write this, the many camellias, daffodils,
daphne and other shrubs and flowers
are in bloom. It's good to hear from you
and to find connections with some of
you that we didn't know existed. I invite
others to write. It's hard to believe that
in 14 mos. (May 201 1) we'll have our
60th reunion! Thanks again.
36 • Summer 2010
ma
Patricia Layne Winks
312 Arguello Blvd., Apt. 3
San Francisco, CA 94118
plwinks@earthlink.net
Christmas 2009 brought the gift of
many messages from our class. To all of
you, thank you so much!
It was good to hear that a number
of you reunited, sometimes after many
years. Janis Thomas Zeanah lunched
with Freddie Collins Brister when she
was in Richmond — the first time they
had seen each other in more than 40
yrs. As Janis noted, "The really good
news: we recognized each other." Ellen
Galey Sher drove up from Asheville,
NC, to visit with Laura Radford Goley
and celebrate the inauguration of
President Parker.
Joanne Holbrook Patton wel-
comed Edie Marsh Fonda and Jane
Russo Sheehan to her annual alum-
nae picnic at Green Meadows Farm.
And most recently, at the Vero Beach
reception honoring Dr. Parker, Anne
Hoagland Kelsey reunited with 3
classmates: Frances Street Smith,
Kitchie Roseberry Tolleson, and
Mary John Ford Gilchrist
Many of us continue to travel far
and wide. Anne Hoagland Kelsey
probably racks up the most frequent
flyer mileage, what with residences
in FL, Cape Cod and NJ, as well as
children and grandchildren around the
country. Between travels she remains
involved in, among many activities,
Childcare Resources, an organization
providing early childhood and family
support for working parents.
Trudy Kelly Morron observes
that with all the airport security, delays,
and general lack of amenities, "getting
there is not even half the fun," but she
did get to London and Cornwall all the
same. Others anticipate journeys in
201 0 Mary Barcus Hunter plans a
trip to the Italian Lake District with her
sons, Bare and Tom. Florence Fitch
Patton will go on a cruise of the Orient,
visiting all the capitals of countries from
Japan down to Singapore. In late sum-
mer 2010 she'll see the once-a-decade
Passion Play at Oberammergau. Leila
Booth Morris is looking forward to a
trip to Tuscany, as well as a visit to West
Point in May for what would have been
her late husband Jim's 65th reunion.
When I asked you for one specific
thing you'd like to accomplish in 2010,
many of you echoed my own determina-
tion (perhaps the word "hope" is more
accurate) to get papers, files, and gen-
eral collections of junk/treasure in order,
as Laura Radford Goley put it, "so the
kids won't have to." Joanne Holbrook
Patton has enlisted the help of Gordon
Coll. archivist and student interns to
prepare a database of the historic Patton
home and its contents, in order to deter-
mine their future use. Another classmate
dealing with the challenging prospect of
downsizing is Nancy Morrow Lovell,
who is first trying to organize her vast
files of genealogy research materi-
als, before ultimately moving from her
large home on 5 acres. As she notes,
"One of the best features of this home
is its fabulous storage space. One of
the worst features of the home (at this
point in my life) is the fabulous stor-
age space." Mary Barcus Hunter has
maintained her late husband's oil and
gas business over the past 10 yrs. Now
she's clearing out files in anticipation
of turning over the business to her
sons Florence Fitch Patton is looking
forward to the last year of her three-
year term as National Corresponding
Secretary General of the Daughters of
the Revolution, though she'll continue
activities and responsibilities at the local
level Martha Yost Ridenour is ahead
of the rest of us: she already cleared
out a treasure trove from her basement
and uncovered, among other things,
lamps from family steamboats, dueling
pistols, Bowie knives from the Spanish-
Amiercan War, panning equipment from
the Gold Rush. (She'll leave the attic for
relatives to deal with!)
Leila Booth Morris is grateful
for her continued health and mobil-
ity. Martha Yost Ridenour hopes to
continue in good health and able to care
for herself. Nell Dumas Herff plans to
enjoy life.
I'm impressed by the wide range of
activities Peggy Nelson Harding bikes
and kayaks. Ann Whittingham Smith
plays badminton and has rediscovered
playing the piano — even duets! Janis
Thomas Zeanah has regular exercise
as a goal in 2010.
Like many of you, I hope to continue
to travel. I was especially pleased to
hear that both Josie Sibold and Mary
Lois Miller Carroll may include San
Francisco on their 2010 itineraries.
Mary Lois and husband Hugh rejoice
in his clean bill of health after a chal-
lenging course of radiation and che-
motherapy. Helen Graves Stahmann,
who lives in Queensland, writes that
she hopes to clear her coastal property
of lantana (Australia's equivalent of
kudzu?) and to travel to the U. S. I hope
she stops off in San Francisco, too.
Not all our news is happy news.
Several of you are bravely coping with
the care of seriously impaired spouses.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to you.
We lost three members of our class:
Barbara Hoyt Boyer, Marjorie Levine
Abrams, and Jane Mattas Christian
We are grateful for their presence in our
lives, and now in our memories.
Again, thanks so much to all of you
who wrote and enabled me to pass
along some news. I realize I've left out
news of our baby-boomer children and
Generation X grandchildren, but this
time I wanted to be sure you heard
about each other. More about our fami-
lies next time! Please keep me up to
date, so that I may share the news.
m3
Florence "Flo" Pie Apy
67 Rivers Edge Dr.
Little Silver, NJ 07739
732-747-4155
floapy@verizon.net
A big thank you to those who sent news
at Christmas: Kirk Tucker Clarkson
and Jack began 2009 with a "fabulous
trip to Southern Chile where we found
the glaciers and fjords breathtaking."
The remainder of the winter was spent
at their home in Ponte Verda, FL, near
their family. There, she enjoys seeing
Eleanor Johnson Ashby and Garnett.
The 3 Clarkson grandsons are all in
coll., and their granddaughter is a suc-
cessful caterer in Telluride, CO. Kirk had
a total knee replacement in May and
a thyroidectomy in Aug. She's playing
tennis again and ready to travel. Jack is
substituting in the courts (judicial, not
tennis) in Norfolk. Kirk often sees Katty
Turner Mears at Chesapeake Bay
Foundation meetings.
Sug Cantey Patton and Pat spent
a delightful 4 days at Cashiers, NC,
with Anne Elliot Caskie and Challen
and Edie Norman Wombwell and
George, all enjoying the great weather
and mountain scenery. The Pattons are
expecting a great-grandson in Mar. via
oldest grandson, Tim and wife Brooke.
Great news for Jeanne Duff and
me — Parti Tighe Walden is returning
to NJ after living for several yrs. in Las
Vegas. Parti's son-in-law has been
transferred back to Tishman's NY of-
fice. She and the rest of the family will
return at the end of the school yr. Now
Jeanne, Patti and I can resume our
luncheon get-togethers. Jeanne and I
have continued our meetings, but have
missed Patti. If any of you live within
driving distance of Princeton, NJ, we'd
be happy to have you join us.
A Christmas card from Anne
Joyce Wyman and Joseph pictured
their beautiful family — a handsome
son-in-law, a beautiful daughter and two
good-looking blond grandsons, but no
comments.
From my roommate. Kay Amden
Mary Lou underwent total knee replace-
ment (there seems to be an epidemic
of that). The knee having been deemed
"better than over," she and Kay are
taking their show "Sisters by Heart" on
the road to senior centers, retirement
communities, and women's clubs, Kay
Sweet Briar College Alumnae Magazine • www.alumnae.sbc.edu
mastered the art of Power Point presen-
tation to illustrate the program.
Sally Gale Beck and Doug enjoy
life in Merida, Mexico. Sally reports that
her knees are no longer what they once
were, so she has curtailed climbing the
Maya ruins. She now has more time for
reading and research.
From the Apy household: In Oct.,
Chet and I cruised the Mediterranean
in celebration of our 55th wedding
anniv. We toured Rome for 3.5 days
before boarding the Grand Princess.
The ship took us to Naples (Pompeii),
Athens, Istanbul, Ephesus, the Greek
island of Mykonos, Cairo (the Sphinx and
Pyramids), Alexandria and then back to
Rome and home. I'm sure that this will
bring back memories of your own travels
and perhaps encourage some of you to
see more of the world.
Just before we left, Chet and I got
the news that we will be welcoming
our 9th grandchild (a boy, as we later
learned) in Apr. Six of the grandchildren,
all the young ones, live in CA — in 2
households, 400 mi. apart — so we're
commuting grandparents. As of Apr.,
they'll range from age 0-30. Not exactly
a one-size-fits-all group.
As I was completing this column, I
was notified by the Sweet Briar alumnae
office that Gage Bush Englund died
over a year ago on Jan. 1 2, 2009. A
long and interesting obituary appeared
in the Jan. 1 5 edition of the NY Times,
a copy of which can be found if you
Google her name on the Internet.
My inbox is now empty, so please
send me your news for our next column.
mi
Bruce Watts Krucke
7352 Toogoodoo Rd.
Yonges Island, SC 29449
b.krucke@hughes.net
1955
Kathryn Beard
1074 Zanzibar Ln.
Minneapolis, MN 55447
kbeard3283@aol.com
Well, Ladies, here I am again! I did
hear from several of you, but most of
us seem to be living quietly these days.
Quoting Gail Davidson Bazzarre
wrote to let you know nothing is hap-
pening here!" That's just fine, as it's
enough for me to know that "we are
still here!" Gail still volunteers at their
church, and she and John enjoy their
"darling" great-granddaughter (2). Most
of you echoed Pam Compton Ware s
sentiment: "Family continues to bring
great joy." For Christmas Marty Hede-
man Buckingham's 2 children brought
their families to GA to celebrate. She
spent the summer on Cape Cod so she
was near both families. Bexy Faxon
Knowles and Bob may hold the record
with 16 grands and twin greats. Now
that they're boatless, they take a cruise
or 2 every yr. With a grandchild count
of 1 5, Betty Byrne Gill Ware and
Hudnall are a close 2nd. I love that she
sends photos — her daughter looks like
her twin! Emily Hunter Slingluffs
children both live within an easy drive
so she can see them frequently. Her
2 granddaughters are in school at
Princeton and UVA. Patty McClay
Boggs and Flip will head north in May
to attend the h. s. graduation of one of
their grandchildren. The biggest event
in Ruth Campbell VanDerpoel's yr.
was the marriage of son Jim last Sept.
to a lovely girl he met at his cycling
club. Ann Jeffers Hogarty writes
that although she very much misses
Dick, her family is with her often so she
feels very blessed. Last summer Sue
Bernard Odense and Larry spent 4
days with all the granddaughters — 2 of
them home from coll. Lots of fun, but
it took her a wk. to recuperate! In the
fall they went on their 1st cruise, from
Boston to Nova Scotia, with 2 couples
they've known for 50 yrs. Many of us
spent time on the road — no one more
than Joan Kelts Cook and Duncan.
Their family is scattered across the west
in CA, OR and MT. They also spent time
in the east visiting friends, cruising the
islands and exploring Disney World, and
that doesn't even count the 2 wks. at
their time-share in Mazatlan, Mex. last
winter Honey Addington Passano and
Bill were finally able to fly out of snowy
Baltimore in mid-Feb. and headed to the
Bahamas for 7 wks. in the sun. Honey
wrote of Sue Starkey Ragland's
death last fall. Sue was her freshman
roommate, and they had stayed in touch
through the yrs.
By now, most of us are retired,
but we're still volunteering. Diane
Johnson DeCamp is less active in
her Garden Club but still participates in
their events. She also volunteers at her
church as do Gail Bazzarre and Betty
Sanford Molster. Even I put in my
one morning a wk. at the County Adult
Corrections Facility! Others are enjoying
more comfortable climates for their
retirement. Gay Reddig Mayl and Jack
love sunny FL. In CA, Barbara Plamp
Hunt and George enjoy their retirement
community.
I am frequently in contact with Didi
Stoddard Fritz Merriman Naylor,
Ginger Chamblin Greene and Manda
McThenia lodice. Didi and her partner,
Jess Tobin, have a handsome new
grandson who they're silly about. Fritz
is still teaching and shows no sign of
slowing down, so I assume she enjoys
it. Ginger is still getting used to hot and
cold running water after her time in
rural Africa. Manda and Don are enjoy
having their older son with them for an
extended visit.
That's all I have. I echo Gail's senti-
ment: "There's nothing happening here!"
me
Meredith Smythe Grider
1307 Killiney PI.
Louisville, KY 40207
mgrider761@aol.com
Martha Anne Clay Nichols
3928 Old Brownsboro Rd.
Louisville, KY 40207
macnich@bellsouth.net
In the last issue of this magazine,
our class notes, written by Meredith,
was cut short, leaving an incomplete
sentence and omission of news from
classmates — so much for technology!
So the missed news will be included
with all the latest.
It is with great sadness that we note
the following deaths: Betsy Meade
Hastings Carolyn Dickinson Tynes,
Joyce Lenz Young Ann Irvin, Sarah
Sharp Taylor. Helen Wolfe Evans.
Jane Slack's son Ethan Engl, Nancy
St. Clair Talley's husband Lilburn,
Nancie Howe Entenmann s husband
Dick, and Frances Shannonhouse
Clardy's husband Jim. To each family
we send our condolences in their loss
and our loving support.
From Sarasota, Bunny Burwell
Nesbit resides in The Glenridge, a
continuing care retirement community,
and enjoys life there. She's at the top
as dean of a new community school,
chairman of the cruise committee, social
committee, liaison to performing arts
committee, opera guild and is active at
the Church of the Redeemer. What a
resume! Daughter, Katherine, married at
50, lives in Charlottesville, works for the
Federal Reserve and welcomes Bunny
for long summer visits. Let her know
when in Sarasota — she'd love a visit.
Ruth Phillips Hollowed continues
her career in advertising, but mostly
"does everything" for her 9-yr.-old
granddaughter who lives with her and
son/father, Chad.
Rose Montgomery Johnston
travels to visit her 4 daughters when
her profession in psychotherapy allows.
Holland and Croatia have been recent
destinations as well as a drive through
SBC, which inspired her with the beauty
of the campus and with gratitude for her
years there.
Barbara Brown McFarland in
OR still enjoys her work and will have a
granddaughter/graduate this spring.
Kay Smith Schauer and Bob
(battling cancer) keep a non-stop travel
schedule — Antartica, Central America,
Sweet Briar College Alumnae Magazine • www.alumnae.sbc.edu
hiking and to DE for a Smith family
reunion. Their volunteer lists includes tax
preparation for AARP, Stanford's Arizona
Cactus Garden, Unity Church. Add a
meditation group, 45-yr.-old book club,
Palo Alto tree advocacy and you know
why they lead "a wonderful life" and
send blessings to us sisters in the Class
of 1956.
Karen Steinhardt Kirkbride and
Dick focus their travel on beaches — DE,
FL, HI and St. Maarten. Apr. takes them
to NYC for son Trevor's wedding pre-
ceded by parties "from Fort Lauderdale
to Tokyo."
Nancy Greer Howe Entenmann
recommends the book When Husbands
Die, which had a strong impact on her
when she read it. She also says that
she's impressed with the SBC senior
class.
Barbara Darnall Clinton and Dean
have attended assorted engineering
conferences in Puerto Rico and Kuwait.
They attended grandson's graduation in
Ghana where daughter, Mary Kay and
husband serve as Methodist missionar-
ies; other grandson is in 10th grade.
Daughter Laura has active teenagers —
Shannon and Connor — travels interna-
tionally for AEI Energy. Son Charles has
made the Colonels List for the Air Force.
Barbara continues singing with her choir,
especially at Easter.
Nancy Ettinger Minor has earned
bridge Life Master, but volunteers with
elementary students in neediest Savan-
nah schools, too. The Savannah Music
Festival is a highlight on her Apr. calen-
dar. She finds time to play golf in spite
of a bum knee. Meredith and Macie can
sympathize as they each have 2 new
ones — anyone else?
Joan Broman Wright and Jim
survived the blizzards of 2010, which
assaulted Charlottesville. So, off to FL
for recovery and visits with family and
friends up and down the coast. She and
Mary Ann Hicklin Willingham are
planning our 55th in 2011 — put May
20,21 , 22 on your calendar now and
await more details. They won't accept
any excuses for not attending!
Jane Slack Sigloh has authored
a book, "Like Trees Walking," which
Meredith reports is wonderful and avail-
able from Amazon. Our class Scholar-
ship Fund has a value of $1 1 ,739 and is
helping a student in the class of 201 3.
Additions to the fund may be made
through annual giving and memorials.
Martha Clay Nichols is complet-
ing a 2-yr. term as President of the
Colonial Dames in KY. where 2 museum
houses in Frankfort, which offer them
lots of volunteer challenges in addition
to the normal Dame activities, She and
Robert travel to Providence to Martha's
family, Barcelona for Rob's and spent
2 wks in Egypt last month — did it a//!
Dr. Martha is teaching French at Brown,
Summer 2010 -37
juggles an amazing schedule; Rob is in
international real estate after 1 3 yrs. in
Spain. Robert is retired, but busy and
she's hanging on in the wonderful world
of real estate.
Meredith Smythe Grider spends
summer plus in her Ml retreat as a
shopkeeper and hostess to many family
and friends. For a winter break, Sanibel
for a few weeks is the balance. Her 3
girls and families are all right here in
Louisville and spend time with her —
wherever she is!
Now, if you aren't mentioned in this
tome, it's because nothing came to us or
SBC — please take a moment to share
some news for the next issue. And many
thanks to those who sent news — we
can't do this without you! Keep in touch.
9957
Carol McMurtry Fowler
10 WoodstoneSq.
Austin, TX 78703
carol@curnon.net
1956
Jane Shipman Kuntz
4015 Orchard View PL, No. 1
Powell, OH 43065
Jsk0536@att.net
Greetings from Buckeye Land! In case
you hadn't heard, Eddie and I have
moved to suburban Columbus; more
about that later. Our notes are a little
sparse, but I'm grateful to the few
people who did get in touch.
Adele Scott Caruthers has
retired again from her profession as an
occupational hand therapist. To help fill
her time, Adele volunteers helping 2nd-
graders learn to read. She's also taking
a continuing education class using New
Yorker articles as a textbook. She's
pleased to have extra time to paint and
is writing her memoirs. Adele will have
her 2nd hip replacement in May; she
had the 1 st one 7 yrs. ago and coded
on the anesthesia, so she has a differ-
ent doctor and procedure. Adele serves
on the hospitality committee of her
Episcopal Church in Albuquerque and
has recently moved.
Elizabeth Gallo Skladal was
selected as Alumna of the Year for
the U. of AK, Anchorage. The awards
luncheon was held at the Gorsuch
Commons in Anchorage. Elizabeth said:
"This award is personally shared with
Sweet Briar as I feel my education there
prepared me for the role as leader
in community endeavors. Thank you,
Sweet Briar!"
Joan Nelson Bargamin and
husband Paul had attended the early
curling contests at the Olympics after
a visit to Fort Worth to try bull riding!
38 'Summer 2010
Among her many accomplishments is
practicing law for 1 0 yrs. after gradu-
ation; she only substitutes now. Joan
also has had an antique business.
She keeps in touch with many SBC
alumnae; Californian Polly Barnes
Hester, a near professional golfer; Ann
Watkins Custer of NY, due for a visit,
with her husband David; and Carol
McClave Duncan owner of a beautiful
dairy farm in PA near the Land-O'Lakes,
a frequent visitor with her husband
Don. In Richmond Joan sees Mary Ann
Vandevoort Large '57 and Bob; Molly
Haskell '61 when she visits her SBC
roommate Barbara Fowler; and Pearl
Adamson '60 and Louise Dunham
Williams and husband Harold are
neighbors as well as Weezie Laughlin
'57. Joan also sees a lot of Betty
Waddell Henson who lives in Roanoke.
Joan has fascinating family history:
her father, a professor at W&L, was
British and still has many relatives
there; her mother was French and a
Cordon Bleu graduate as well as a
member of Howard Carter's team when
he excavated King Tut's tomb in 1922.
As a result of all these connections,
Joan and Paul visit England, France
and Egypt regularly. Joan's tales of her
youth are fascinating: she says she lived
in NYC, where she was a Rockette and
later moved to Chicago and FL; when
her father joined the faculty at W&L
the Nelsons moved to Lexington where
Joan met her husband Paul while he
was in law school and she was a pool
life guard; after a few years in SC they
moved to Richmond where they raised
their 2 sons. Joan has also appeared on
"All My Children," courtesy of her god-
child Eden Riegel. I would be remiss not
to send sympathy for the death of one
of her sons not long ago.
Thank goodness for holiday let-
ters; Judy Graham Lewis and Jim,
Charleston, WVA, sent a delightful
Valentine note. The Lewises celebrated
their 51 st anniv. on 6/1 4/09. Judy
spends her time at their church where
she's a bellringer and sings in the
choir, and serves food for Manna Meals,
a breakfast, lunch and dinner served to
as many as 400 people a day. She also
serves on the Gay & Straight Alliance
committee and tends to the church gar-
den. Judy had a hip replacement 2 yrs.
ago so she "walks vigorously" and starts
her day in a water aerobics class at the
YWCA. Jim has retired from the active
Episcopal ministry, but just finished
work as an interim "supply" minister for
4 parishes that combined into one. The
Lewis offspring are equally as active
as their parents' oldest son Stephen
has moved back home with his parents
and is exploring new business oppor-
tunities to support his 3 children who
live with their mother in MD. "Having
Stephen back home has been one of
life's unexpected gifts," his parents say.
Daughter Elizabeth and husband Mac
live in Durham, NC; their daughter is at
UNC-Asheville and son Lewis is decid-
ing where he wants to go to college.
Because Mac had serious surgery on
his foot, Beth and he have made the "in
sickness and in health" journey together.
Daughter Katherine and husband Bill
are both Episcopal priests. They're serv-
ing in a parish in Minnetonka, MN; they
and their children Eva and Jesse love
MN. Deborah, Katherine's twin sister,
in Concord, NH, is in her 2nd yr, as a
nurse in a cardiac care unit in a local
hospital. Her daughter Sarah is in high
school; besides being a good student,
she competes in crew, track and cross-
country running. Son Alex is the owner
of a local paintball facility. Deborah will
be remarried in Oct.
First, I want to apologize to all of
you for not getting the summary of our
fabulous 50th reunion in the Alumna
Magazine. I raced home and wrote a
comprehensive recap; the only problem
was that my e-mail didn't reach the
editor and I didn't realize it until the
magazine came out. For some strange
reason, I had no hard copy, my usual
practice, so that column is still float-
ing around cyberspace somewhere!
Fall 2008 and winter 2009 turned out
to be difficult because I developed a
low grade infection that just hung on
and on; I was also diagnosed with
polymyalgia rheumatica, an unpleas-
ant but treatable condition. The final
straw was cracking my ankle from a
fall while walking our dog. Then, due
to the influence of our daughters, we
moved to Powell, OH, in order to be
near Anne who started working for
the Zusman Hospice in 1/09; they felt
that, due to our "advancing yrs.," we
should be near one of them. We've
settled into a lovely patio condo, but I'd
forgotten what a nightmare moving was.
Martha Schneck, Don and children,
moved back to their home in Ashburn,
VA, after 4 yrs. in Pretoria, South Africa.
Don is now advising on security mea-
sures at new and remodeled embassies
and consulates around the world for
the State Department; he just returned
from consulting in China. Martha is
the aquatic director at the Pavilion, the
local community activities center. Katie
is a jr. at Mary Washington U. majoring
in fine arts with an emphasis on pho-
tography; Lauren graduated from the
American Int'l School of Johannesburg
last Jun. and is in a post graduate
year in VA and is taking flute lessons;
Cole is in the 8th grade and is an alto
sax player. This yr.'s snows were hard
on them after their sojourn in Africa.
Lee and Steve Caira, Clarksville, TN,
have a busy household with Steve's 2
children Ryan (19) and Ashley (16) liv-
ing at home. Steve is a distributor with
Hostess products and Lee continues
as the victim-witness coordinator for
the local attorney general. Anne loves
her job as community coordinator at
Zusman. She lives with her "significant
other" Rick Farley, a funeral director,
and daughter Lindsey (16). Eddie and
I are delighted being so close to them
and they've been great helpers with
our move.
Since my postcards were not a suc-
cess, I'll just ask you all to write your
news before the next magazine, due
out in the fall; that means getting your
news to me as soon as possible, either
by e-mail or snail mail. Both addresses
are with this article. Our reunion just
confirmed my opinion that our class-
mates are remarkable; they are attrac-
tive, bright and highly motivated, fine
ambassadors for Sweet Briar. Keep the
news coming.
1959
Ali Wood Thompson
89 Pukolu Way
Wailea, HI 96753
808-874-8028
travisnali@hawaii.rr.com
One of our sad moments in Feb., was
the passing of our wonderful Gretchen
Smith Buntschuh. All of us who went
to the 50th Reunion in Sept. remember
the delightful time we had with her and
have fond memories of her.
I want to thank all of you for such a
wonderful response to this 2nd newslet-
ter! For those that don't have email (for
the next edition of the SBC Alumnae
magazine), please send me your news
as soon as possible so that I can include
you in the next letter.
Liz Chambers Burgess: I'm
still reeling from Gretchen Smith
Buntschuh s death. It was so very
wonderful to renew that friendship at
Reunion. Have started volunteer work in
the Archives/Special Collections section
of the Old Dominion U. library. Also,
I've agreed to be treasurer for my DAR
chapter for the next 3 yrs. May be over
estimating my energy level, but it keeps
me out of trouble! Chuck and I just got
back from Atlanta, where we stayed with
our daughter and her family for a few
days. Our one grandchild, a 5-yr-old
girl who is beautiful and brilliant as are
all grandchildren everywhere, is quite a
drawing card for Atlanta visits. We visit
our son and his wife in NY regularly.
Otherwise, my main hobby is digging
into family history, which I do on the in-
ternet with occasional trips to NC where
many of my ancestors were. Chuck is
still teaching part time at Old Dominion
U., although he's technically retired.
He loves it, and I love the fact that he's
happy with what he does.
Sweet Briar College Alumnae Magazine • www.alumnae.sbc.edu
Betsy Colwill Weigers: I'm off to
the Caribbean tomorrow after having
spent a few days in NYC where the
weather was the pits and coming home
to Vail where the weather was also
the pits. Whatever does one expect in
Feb.? We sold our place in Mexico and
are now looking for other venues. Have
reconnected with Claire Devener (in
Anguilla), and I hope to see her while
we're in St, Barts. I've also reconnected
with Jackie Hekma Stone and Alice
Carey Farmer Brown Along with Di
Doscher I hope to have a mini reunion
this spring in NYC.
Tricia Coxe Ware: I'm looking for-
ward to spring. Richmond had 30 in. of
snow this winter! At least my grandchil-
dren, Mac and Riley, enjoyed it.
Caroline Blake Whitney: I'm a first
time writer of news. I've been reflecting
or reviewing the past many yrs. since
departure from our alma mater. From
the tranquil east coast of the Northeast
to the "Old Country" after marrying, we
lived in Switzerland for a couple of yrs.
and even considered settling in England.
However, the call from my husband's
father to come home to Argentina was
too irresistible. I had never been there,
so it was a great adventure, never to
be regretted. My 4 children call it their
country, having grown up surrounded
by family. My Mother-in-Law came from
a large Scottish clan who settled in the
deep south of Argentina, near the Straits
of Magellan. Those were amazing, excit-
ing and vibrant yrs. before everything
began to crumble. The government was
never good, became enmeshed in ram-
pant terrorism, friends disappearing, and
our lives had to change from a steady
rhythm to an irregular, inconsistent life
style. I guess it affected our marriage
more than I wanted it to do so. Sadly,
I had to accept that this part of my life
was over, and due to continued strife in
Argentina, it seemed best to return to
Boston. Shortly thereafter my husband
died, thus I call myself a divorced
widow. I had been away from the USA
for over 25 yrs. It was similar to starting
all over again, in a new country. Much
had changed and seemed strange,
even connecting with old friends. Their
lives had moved on, just as mine had,
there were gaps in the connections —
unknown children, different friends, the
changes wrought by the 60s and early
70s, which were not in my experiences.
Today seems like yesterday in that once
again I have lived just 2 yrs. short of
my other life in Argentina, back here in
Boston. Thus, reminiscing, it seems as
though there have been 3 volumes of
my life. What will the 4th contain? I'm
looking forward to a productive one!
Mary Harrison "Cookie" Cooke
Carle: I've decided to sell my house
in Wynnewood. I expect to move to a
2-bedroom, 2-bath condo in Havertord 4
mi. away. If the entire class of '59 could
please come here on my moving day,
carry an armload and enjoy a nice 4-mi.
walk together, it could be a wonderful
experience for all. Besides I could save
on a moving van. You all would need to
make a few round trips, so plan to bring
your most comfortable booties! As for
me, I hyperventilate at the thought of
climbing one flight of stairs to my cur-
rent bedroom, so I'd have to follow the
group in my Prius. (Snowdon, you can
ride in the car with me!) If I live through
this, it'll be a miracle. I've been here 38
yrs. I have enough stuff to fill ole Daisy's
gym and Babcock too. I'm clearly a bona
fide 'keepaholic.'
Deborah Dunning: Primarily, I'm
very busy working to insure that our
children and the children of our children
and future generations have health and
quality of life. The NGO I founded and
serve as president, The Green Standard,
is hosting a forum in Washington in late
Apr. to help manufacturers learn how to
"go green" and expand their exports and
sales. It's an adventure and, if any of you
are interested, you can learn about it
atwww.TheGreenStandard.org. I'd love
to see a bunch of you there and look
forward to catching up wherever.
Alice Cary Farmer Brown: We're
trying not to feel ancient as our oldest
child turns 50 this yr. and our oldest
grandchild just turned 20 and 6 other
grandchildren are teenagers. One little
guy is still just 1 1 . We managed to
drive up to The Pomfret School in a wild
blizzard recently to see a granddaughter
dance as a Flapper Girl in the school's
musical revival of "Thoroughly Modern
Millie." A week earlier we had driven up
to Deerfield Academy to see a grandson
come in 2nd in a ski race of over 200
skiers from 10 boarding schools. We're
off to FL to visit my mother-in-law (99)
who wants to go out every night! We
plan to spend, as usual, all of May and
Jun. at our place in Vienna. We were
there, also as usual, all of Oct. and Nov.
We returned in time for a big family
Christmas in Telluride, CO, with our
youngest son and his family. I share
our class's enormous sadness over
the untimely deaths of Ethel Bruner
and Gretchen Smith. Both were truly
special young women. I feel fortunate to
have known them.
Penny Fisher Duncklee: Jan.
took me to CA to visit Clint and Dave
and their families. Of course, it was fun
visiting, going to the San Diego Zoo and
Ventura beach. The train ride to Ventura
from Oceanside was wonderful. We
should all get back to taking trains.
John is writing some neat books
(www.johnduncklee.com), and I'm paint-
ing when I'm not "pottywashing" (doing
all the other stuff instead of what you say
you are going to do that day). I've taught
one of John's writing students how to use
a computer. Yesterday I had a pleasant
moment when I won an award for this
fun watercolor painting. I've been a little
discouraged lately because it's seemed
that only scribbles and splashes were
deemed "good art." "Why bother to learn
to draw or use paint?" I asked. Getting a
little prize shut me up nicely.
This Jun., we're taking our camper
to Knoxville, TN, for John's annual West-
ern Writers of America Convention. We'll
zigzag our way out and back so we can
explore and I can paint some of the neat
places along the way. We're happy and
healthy and enjoying life. My Web site is:
www.pennyduncklee.com.
(Ali's note: Did anyone want to know
what "potty washing was?... I wrote
Penny and she answered: "Pottywashing
goes like this: I get up from the break-
fast table and head to my studio. On the
way I see that the iron is still out on the
counter from cooling off after ironing
clothes yesterday. I stop and put the
iron away, As the cabinet door is open
I see the plant fertilizer and remember
that I was going to feed the plants in the
front hall last week. I get the fertilizer
out, dilute some of it and go water and
feed the plants. Then I notice that the
window in the front hall is dirty. So I
wash the window and the ones in the
dining room and living room. By then an
hour has gone by, and it's time for a cup
of coffee. And, I haven't done my email
yet. Suddenly it's 1 1 :30 and nearly time
for lunch, and I haven't touched a brush
or wet the paints, or, even thought about
the painting. THAT is pottywashing.
Jackie Hekma Stone: Synopsis
of My Life So Far. After I graduated,
I worked as a media buyer for Young
and Rubicam until I got married in '63
to Charles Lanier Stone. We moved
to Greenwich where we have lived in
the same house for 47 yrs. We had 2
daughters and now have 5 grandchil-
dren (2-13), which we enjoy spending
time with. After various volunteer jobs,
I realized I love to teach and learn. I got
my masters in elem. education from
Manhattanville Coll. In 74 and taught
middle school at Greenwich Academy
for 1 0 yrs. before becoming the Head
of Middle School in 1982. 1 loved that
job, but decided to move on in '89 to a
degree in landscape architecture. Just
at the time I decided this was not for
me, I was asked to be a consultant to
the School of the Holy Child, which was
forming a middle school. I was the 1st
dir. of the Middle School of the Holy
Child in Rye, NY for 6 yrs. During that
time, I pursued my Ph.D. in education
from Fordham U., which I finally earned
in '02. Next I was a Clinical Assistant
Professor at Fordham teaching and
running their Secondary Initial Teacher
Program full time for 3 yrs. Since retir-
ing, I occasionally teach as an adjunct
professor at local universities. I'm look-
Sweet Briar College Alumnae Magazine • www.alumnae.sbc.edu
ing forward to getting more involved in
local education programs as a volunteer.
I'm involved in tennis and boating; I oc-
casionally ski and play golf. My current
passion is playing duplicate bridge.
Meriwether Hagerty Rumrill: I'm
so lucky to have the 1st (Charles Rumrill
called Chip) of my 6 grandkids living
close by in Alexandria and have the joy
of watching him change weekly. The
mighty snows that hit VA were also a joy
this winter since I could just walk out the
front door, put on my cross country skis
and get on a trail through the woods and
around my lake. Clients are beginning to
call and I am eager to get back to work
(that's from someone who loves her
work). I still feel the loss of Gretchen
Smith whom I was getting to know as
we shared our joy of dancing.
We were hoping to meet in DC so
we could enjoy together the best dance
venue in the country. Great love of
family, friends, fun and work, and good
health. I feel very blessed.
Gay Hart Gaines: Sadly, Stanley
and I suffered the loss of our eldest
son last Jun. 18, to the ravages and
complications from his lifelong Juvenile
Diabetes. (Type 1) He was only 48, and
it was the worst blow we have ever
had. One has to keep on going for the
sake of all our family. You never get
over it. Really. You somehow get around
it. We celebrated our 50th wedding
anniv. with all of our children and 1 0 of
the 1 1 grandchildren and it was bitter
sweet, but wonderful. We took the whole
family to Williamsburg for a wonderful
dose of history as well as sports and
wonderful food. It was a big success.
I still represent FL on Mount Vernon's
board and am totally committed to my
favorite hero, George Washington. I
was elected chairman of the Capital
Campaign to raise $80 million to build
a library honoring our 1st and greatest
President and am very excited about
it. I'm also working for some exciting
political candidates, Marco Rubio for the
FL Senate, a thrilling young man, John
Kasich for Gov. of OH and think he's just
what OH needs and Lt. Col. Allen West
for our Congressman, here in FL. We
finally moved into our wonderful new
home on the ocean in time for Thanks-
giving and Christmas, and we adore it.
We named it "Lalaland" because all of
Palm Beach is really Lalaland!
Trudie Jackson Smither: I've
been working on my h, s, 55th reunion
in Sept. We have a very active and in-
terested class and hope for even more,
perhaps, than for our 50th, In May, I'm
going out of the country for the 1 st time
in yrs. to Prague, where I'll be one of a
tour of 17 people who will be sponsored
and led by the cultural leaders of the
Czech Republic in the US. It's 7 days,
staying in Prague. I'm really looking
forward to it.
Summer 2010 • 39
Jame Jamison Messer At the
moment I'm melanoma free. I see my
oncologist every 3 mos. at the cancer
center in IN. We spent Christmas at Dis-
ney with 3 of my children and 6 of my
grandchildren. I had the wonderful thrill
of swimming with the dolphins and 5 of
my grandchildren. A survivor indeed, I'm
leaving tomorrow to go to Grand Rapids,
Ml, to celebrate my granddaughter's
birthday. I've made a snowboard cake!
We'll go north for the weekend where
we spend part of our summers on beau-
tiful Torch Lake near Traverse City.
Jini Jones Vail: I'm waiting for
good news on my book. Hope it will
come this week. It's being read by a new
publisher in Yardley, PA.
Elizabeth Johnson Lipscomb
I continue to treasure opportunities to
take advantage of SBC events. Lloyd and
I enjoyed a wonderful performance of
Dylan Thomas's radio play, Under Milk-
wood, transformed into a lively drama
by Professor William Kershner. He's the
chair of the dept. of theatre and dance,
and his outstanding cast of SB students
and neighbors. Dean Jonathan Green
composed music for the production. The
program noted that this yr. marks the
100th anniv. of Paint and Patches! I'll be
back on campus in Apr. for the spring
meeting of the Friends of the Library.
Isa Mary Lowe Zieglar Though
it's not a competition, I'd love to know
if I'm the oldest 1 st-time grandparent
in the class. Our 1st just celebrated his
2nd birthday.
Sorrel Mackall Mcelroy: All is
great with us. We're still in the country
outside of Richmond enjoying good
health and our 1 3 grand children. We
just returned from a week of sailing
with one of the families in the BVIs. It's
such a treat. I love being part of the SBC
book club, We talk a lot, but do read the
books!
Virginia MacKethan Kitchen:
Here I am faux belting out a song at the
Sun Studio, where Elvis recorded. Corky
and I were in Memphis for a wk. in Feb.
to visit our 3rd son, Cameron and his
wife and 2 young boys. Our 2nd son
Alexander, who lives in Charlottesville,
was also there with his daughter and
son. Cameron is director of the Brooks
Art Museum in Memphis. For our 50th
wedding anniv. celebration Corky and
I took a Tauck Tour trip last fall to St.
Petersburg and Moscow and then rented
an apt. for a wk. in Paris.
Vicki Meeks Blair-Smith: I've
been up to my ears with a 60th grade
school reunion, would you believe, and
then away at the CAN-AM Crown sled
dog races. (Caroline did 206 mi. of the
250-mi. race.) Since I had to do some
bio thing for the 60th in May, I gave it
a SBC touch for you. Ages ago, I went
back to one reunion and enjoyed it,
especially since I was able to ride even
40 • Summer 2010
though I hadn't ridden for many years.
Here's a brief bio of my life: At SBC
'til end of soph, yr., I transferred to St.
John's, Annapolis to be with Jon Sweet. I
did yr. 1 of the 4-yr. program as student;
Jon & I married in '58; held a variety of
non-jobs while Jon finished senior yr.
Then we moved to Denver where Jon's
started law school. Another variety of
non-jobs ended as sec. receptionist for
Denver Country Day (now Kent Denver)
where I stayed for 6 yrs., going to DU at
night. Unfortunately the marriage didn't
succeed. In '65 I earned a B.A. with a
major in history and a minor in history.
of art. My parents died relatively young
in '65 and '66 causing me to move back
to CT. I went to SBC in part because
my aunt Marjorie E. Silvester was '34;
she rode for Miss Rogers (probably why
I "won" the Freshman Horsemanship
Cup & majored in philosophy under
"Lucifer." While I had many friends at
SBC, my best friends left when I did; as
a Northerner then, it became tiresome
to deal with the Mexican & Civil Wars.
My manners were not "Southern;" I was
called into D. Jester's office regularly for
being "rude" — e.g. forgetting to punctu-
ate sentences with "M'am." In New
Haven, we used "Sir" -surname for male
teachers but Miss or Mrs. + surname for
woman; even Hey, Sir was OK! In 1967,
I moved to Cambridge to work on a Ted
Sizer project at H'vard's Ed. School,
A Study of the American Independent
School. I met Hugh a.k.a. Bear sailing;
he was an engineer at MIT/Draper Lab
on the Apollo space project; we married
in '68 and have 2 children who were
"Lifers" at BB&N in Cambridge: Rob,
a graduate of Lake Forest, is married
and works as an engineer for Cbeyond.
They live in Downers Grove, IL and
have 2 children: Amelia (1 1 ) and Adam
(8). Caroline, a graduate of Bowdoin, is
Program Director for Outward Bound,
ME. She and her Brit husband Andy
live nr. Bethel; they have 1 5 sled dogs
with whom they run tours and race. See
my Grand Puppies at: www.sledpets.
com. While the children were young, I
volunteered in their various school librar-
ies and earned a Simmons MLS in 1 991
leading to work in Technical Services
(mostly cataloguing) in the h. s. library,
a special library in Boston (NEHGS), and
a Public Library on Cape until I retired
in 2009, primarily to spend more time
in genealogical research. A dog owner
since age 15, I've had 2 Dais, a string
of 5 Goldens, and now a string of retired
Alaskan Huskies from Caroline's sled
dog colleagues in ME. I moved to the
Cape about a decade ago between jobs
to be more at hand for Hugh's mother
who lived into her 90s on the B-S family
property in Dennis; Hugh followed about
2005 when he retired. Avid sailors,
we cruised in ME with the kids for yrs.
and now keep the same Vindo sloop
in Marion on Buzzards Bay. I gave up
sailing for kayaking over a decade ago
with a new interest in wildlife, ecology &
geology, and go out regularly with AMC.
Hugh works for the local U.S. Power
Squadron and gets his "crew" thru them.
I also lap swim, enjoy "woodsing" on our
property and am relearning recreational
reading. We travel some. Our favorite
home away from home being the Aigas
Field Centre, nr. Inverness, Scotland,
Lizora Miller Yonce: We still live in
Greenwich, but winter in Boca Grande,
FL, and spend part of the summer in
Fishers Island, NY. Mary Blair, Tabb &
Mary Ballou came to BG in Jan., and
we had fun in the cold weather. I have
4 grandkids. Sam (14), Isabelle & Caro-
line)! 0), and Miller (3).
Jane "Puss" Moore Banks:
The best thing that has happened for
me was a trip with my daughter to Ecua-
dor and the Galapagos Islands last Jun.
It was a learning and bonding experi-
ence. I work with my daughter every day,
but there were so many things I learned
from her, about her, and with her. I'm
fortunate to have my 2 older children in
the business with me. My daughter, the
RN, is dir, of nursing services and my
son is business manager and will take
over when I retire. I'm not planning on
that real soon! Tennis, paddle tennis,
and three hrs. with a trainer each week
keep me in shape. I'm lovin' life.
Fleming Parker Rutledge: Dick
and I renewed our vows on our 50th
anniv. at the National Cathedral in Nov.
with family and a few friends including
Susan Taylor Montague. The main
news, I suppose, is that I will be a visit-
ing scholar at the American Academy
in Rome in Apr. Our granddaughter
Dabney will be studying the history of art
in Rome for a term, I'm getting a book
of Old Testament sermons ready for
publication early next yr.
Ann Pegram Howington reports
her excitement with the SBC's Living
Room Learning. She comments that
Richmond has just caught on to some-
thing that has been happening in Atlanta
for 40 yrs. The SBC alumnae group of
20 or so get together weekly during
the 2 winter mos. to listen to lectures.
The basic approach is to meet in a
member's home. They were fortunate to
have an outstanding professor (Patrick
Allitt) from Emory U. lecture on Victorian
England. The series is so popular that
there is a long waiting list. The group
also went to Symphony Hall for an eve-
ning of entertainment, including dining.
The result was an elegant evening for
Ladies of a Certain Age, plus friends and
a spouse or 2.
Virginia Ramsey Crawford:
returned from St. John's in the Virgin
Islands. It was beautiful and we got
in lots of swimming. My 2 married
girls are well. Wynne works for H &
R Block; she's very busy. Her oldest
son was married last Jun. to a fellow
Cornell graduate. My grandchildren are
very adventurous. One of them spent
a semester in Italy, taking courses in
Italian. Another girl spent several mos.
in Senegal. In all I have 6 grandchildren:
3 boys and 3 girls. I'm living in a CCRC,
like it very much.
Judy Welton Sargent: I'm in high
gear trying to declutter and get my
house ready to put on the market by
4/1 . After 28 yrs. of being a pack rat,
sifting through the accumulated papers,
clothes of every size, and miscellaneous
junk, I'm somewhat overwhelmed. The
good thing is that I've made some prog-
ress. My 2 daughters, son-in-law and
precious grandson (2) moved to Austin
last fall, and I'm trying to catch up with
them. Enjoy the spring!
Mary Blair Scott Valentine: We
continue to have our 59 Book Club.
Everyone is going to hear Molly Haskell
SBC '61 (I think) talk at Randolph Macon
Coll. in Ashland, VA. The topic is her
book Frankly My Dear, a critique of
GWTW. Joe Knox, husband of late Ella
Prince, came to talk to us about The
Foreign Student. He had a SBC book
bag! My daughter, who was living in
Richmond, moved to Kiawah Island, SC,
loves it. So, Stukie and I continue living
in this cold. Bah! Off to Anguilla next
wk. to thaw out. Hope to see Claire
Devener. (Ali's Note: just got in another
email from M.B. who says, "Spent a
lovely evening with Claire Devener in
Anguilla, where we are now. Sweet Briar
girls can find each other everywhere.")
Anne Smith Heist: John and I
are celebrating 50 happy yrs. We have
1 daughter and 4 grandchildren who
live in Weston, MA. After being in the
clothing business for 30 yrs., I've been
active as a floral design judge with both
the NGC and GCA. We still live on the
ocean in Ormond Beach, FL, and travel
as much as time allows, mostly by ship
to Europe and car and house rentals
there. I was diagnosed with a rare lung
condition 1 1 yrs. ago and have been
on oxygen that long. Don't let it get me
down and all it does is complicate our
travel a bit more as flying isn't possible.
It makes John more creative. I see Ann
Pegram Howington at flower shows
and she hasn't changed a bit. Love to
read about all the other classmates, but
long to see Sue Pohl, Barbara Kelly,
Anne Wimbish Kasanin and Cath-
erine Brownlee Smeltzer one day.
Judy Sorley Simpson Not my
best yr.: my precious husband, Kep
Simpson, died in England of mesothe-
lioma last summer, from exposure to
asbestos 51 yrs. earlier in the Royal
Navy! I now parent our 7 grown children
and 20 grandchildren on both sides of
the Atlantic, yo-yoing back and forth,
and spending every Jan., May and
Sweet Briar College Alumnae Magazine • www.alumnae.sbc.edu
Sept. in our cottage in Little Missenden
in the UK. (If anyone is interested , it
is available for rent most of the year.
2 bedrooms in a delicious converted
barn in one of the most charming 15th
century villages in Buckinghamshire. 50
min. from London by train.) Had just re-
turned to NJ in early Feb. and fell flat on
black ice in our driveway, smashed my
forehead, elbow, and knees, 3 wks. in
hospital and now about to go home, No
more snow for me. It has haunted me
from NJ to Atlanta to the UK, and it is
still snowing, 28" in the last 24 hours,
and it's nearly Mar.!
Rew Price Came: A friend of
mine plus me, my brother and his wife
and a friend of theirs took a cruise to
the southern Caribbean in Nov. We
visited 6 islands, a wonderful time. I
had cataract surgery in Feb. and that is
such a fantastic thing. Now I'm thinking
about fixing a bunion problem. Such fun
getting all these parts corrected.
Polly Space Dunn: Winter has been
unusually cold; I painted a lot. We skied
one week with the grandkids, but did no
socializing in that I was recovering from
a face accident and couldn't talk too
well. I'm minus my front tooth for now.
Then, I fell again on Sat. and busted
open my lip! They're trying to figure
what caused the falls in that everything
checked out great, and I'm in "perfect
health"! No one seems too worried, but
for now, I'm very uncomfy. I don't like
to talk ailments but honestly, that's all
that's been happening! I'm looking for-
ward to a summer in the NC mountains
and to playing lots of golf. Other than
that, Mrs. Lincoln! Still remembering
Reunion with lots of smiles!
Val Stoddard Loring: I returned
with my sister from 9 days at Caneel
Bay on St. John to find that spring has
arrived in MA. There are buds on my
SBC rose! Steve and I will return to the
island in late Mar. with 8 grandchildren
and their parents. Where have others
of you taken successful family trips? I'd
love to hear from you.
Susan Taylor Montague: I took
a 3-wk. cruise from Buenos Aires to
Santiago in Jan. They're beautiful cities
(or should I say, were, before the earth-
quake). Montevideo and Valparaiso are
beautiful as well. I returned just in time
for the 2 blizzards we had in Feb. We're
finally rid of all the snow, but, sadly, all
the boxwoods, and holly and Magnolia
trees in my yard are ruined. I'm so ready
for spring,
Tabb Thornton Farinholt: Really
have nothing to report that's "news,"
just surviving a brutal winter! We went
to see Molly Haskell '61 speak at
Randolph-Macon College (in Ashland,
VA). Her book, Frankly, My Dear, on the
making of Gone With the Wind, we've
read and loved, and I've heard her
speak before. Can't get enough of her!
She's articulate, witty, informative, and
delightful. We were fascinated by her
incisive analysis of many aspects of
the movie's making, and its place (as
well as the novel's) in our culture. Molly
Haskell, a renowned movie critic, is as
impressive and effective on her feet as
she is in print, and we were so proud to
claim her and bask in all that reflected
enlightenment.
Kathy Tyler Sheldon: I was
shocked and surprised to hear of
Gretchen's death. I can see her so
well in my mind's eye at Reunion. My
sympathy goes out to the family. We're
snowed under this wk. after having
a mild Christmas. John and I visited
our daughter in Vancouver in Oct. and
stopped off to see our eldest grandson
who is playing ice hockey at the Ontario
Hockey Academy. He's off this wk. to
play in Pittsburgh, but we don't know
what all of this will lead to!
Ali Thompson: I just came up
from the beach (5 min. walk) where I've
been taking a water aerobics class with
a Styrofoam noodle — for an hour. We
call ourselves the "Noodle Soup Gang."
And, being it is humpback whale season
here; we see a lot of whales and their
calves cavorting around in the ocean
while exercising. My "Plunkers" Band
is still plunking along with 16 members
and my oldest member just turned
90 in Feb. and she's still dancing the
hula! We'll be taking off for Turkey in
latter part of Apr., so that should be an
interesting trip.
mo
Carol Barnard Ottenberg
1420 41 st Ave. E
Seattle, WA 981 12
ottenbergc@aol.com
mt
Jean Hutchins Sharland
1724 Aberdeen Cir.
Crofton.MD 21114
thefroghall@verizon.net
ma
Parry Ellice Adam
33 Pleasant Run Rd.
Flemington, NJ 08822
peaba@comcast.net
908-782-3754
Addie Kamke Cook is busy teaching
English at a local coll. She paints as
well, having done several murals, wa-
tercolors, and also some sculpture. They
live in the middle of the Finger Lakes
Region of NY, home of 267 wineries!
They sold their lake house, but still have
2 guest rooms and a boat. Fishing and
swimming are good. Addie has a son
who is moving from Virginia Beach to
College Station, TX. He's a veterinarian
dermatologist; his wife is working on a
pathology degree. They have 2 children.
Addie's daughter lives nearby in Canan-
daigua, NY, with her 2 children.
Cute message from Bettye Thom-
as Chambers: "If everyone has as little
news as I do, you have a thankless job
indeed. No children, no grandchildren,
no nobel prizes, no American Idol or
lottery winnings,"
Ann Ritchey Baruch is spending
8 mos. of the yr. on Spring Island, SC, a
beautiful marshland community focused
on preserving native habitats with 35
mi. of hiking trails and 200+ species of
birds. Ginger Cates Mitchell is also
there. Gardening is Ann's passion. She
has started a native plant propagation
and rescue group and has joined the
Board of the SC Nature Conservancy.
She's still on the Board of NC Outward
Bound School, running a scholarship
program that sends 20-25 inner-city
young Philadelphians on 2-3 wk.
courses. Her son, David, will be married
on May 15.
1963
Jane Goodridge
31-CArchdaleSt.
Charleston, SC 29401
jane_goodridge@att.net
After the long, cold winter everyone who
responded to me was longing for spring!
Betsey Beale was struggling through
back-to-back snowstorms at her farm
and reported that even her Great Pyr-
enees dogs had trouble walking! Lynn
Carol Blau reported that CT has had
more rain than snow and that a visit to
FL kept them in winter coats. She and
Jeffrey were planning a trip to Honolulu
at the end of Mar. as well as a musical
summer atTanglewood and Aspen. CT
is still their base; Jeffrey is still work-
ing and Lynn has been active on the
Hartford Art School and New Britain Art
Museum Boards Randy Kendig Young
had an unusually cold winter in FL;
she stays busy with Garden Club and
golf. Her granddaughter was sailing in
the Bahamas for 51/2 wks. of sea turtle
tagging — yes, learning can be fun!
Ann Funkhouser Strite-Kurz's
recent travels have been to visit the
grandkids — 3 boys (ages 10, 7, and 4)
on the West Coast and twin boys (3) on
the East Coast. They spent the holidays
at Rehoboth Beach and were marooned
at son Jeff's house in Alexandria for 2
days beforehand thanks to the 1 st big
blizzard that paralyzed Washington. They
had 2 ft. of snow at the family farm in
WV and the horses loved it! Her new
book, Potpourri of Pattern Encore is on
track for a Jun. release. Anyone interest-
Sweet Briar College Alumnae Magazine • www.alumnae.sbc.edu
ed in seeing Ann's needlework can find
her teaching portfolio and commercial
designs on www.needleartworks.com.
Laura Lee Brown was in FL where
her husband Steve was training for
coaching; after some back-and-forth
she explained that he was driving car-
riages or carts. In Sept., Ginger Cates
Mitchell, Prue Gay Stuhr, Mary Gro-
etzinger Heard, Sue Jones Cansler,
Judy Gutches Needham, and Cinnie
Hooten Magowan joined her in Louis-
ville for the Idea Festival. They stayed in
Hotel 21c within walking distance of the
lectures and had a splendid time. Laura
Lee and Steve are off to Stockholm for
an art opening of an exhibit that features
American pieces from their collection.
In her note Prue Gay Stuhr
mentioned an earlier posting from
Lea Osbourne Angell about a joint
replacement prior to our 45th reunion;
Prue now belongs to that small club
as she had the final hip replaced in
1 2/09 and is recovering well thanks to
the medical people and her husband
Ed. She mentioned the 50th anniv. of
the Greensboro (NC) Four who sat in at
Woolworth's and was reminded of the
brave women at SBC who sat in the
Lynchburg Woolworth's. She hopes that
the history will be recorded by a profes-
sor and student collaboration. It's been a
while since we've heard from Barbara
Sullivan Wanamaker, but she's still
in Huntington (NY) on Long Island and
selling real estate. She opened her own
real estate company 2 yrs. ago after
leaving Coldwell Banker. She said that
she figured she "would give it a shot
at this stage of my life" with a young
builder; now they have 3 offices, 70
agents, and 24/7 days! It's been very
successful so far and they hope to keep
growing! For more information see www.
sphhomes.com. Barbara spends any
free time with daughter Amy, married
to Joe, and 3 grandsons who live near
her. Her other daughter Laura is married
to Sebastien, a French chef; they have
a son Alexandre and plan to open their
1 st restaurant named Le Coimtre in the
Williamsburg section of Brooklyn in May
and will welcome any SBC people. Her
son Dave lives in Manhattan and sells
real estate there so at least one followed
her into the business!
Ginger Cates Mitchell and Mitch
are spending a lot of time at their home
in Spring Island (SC) and traveling as
much as possible while they can. They
had wonderful trips last year to Peru and
a cruise on the Baltic; they're looking
forward to another trip to Italy in May.
They are also on the road a good bit
trying to keep up with a fast-growing
passel of grandchildren spread from NY
to Mexico.
Pat Calkins Wilder is still photo-
graphing as full time as she can. Pat
plans to travel in the fall with a long
Summer 2010 -41
photo journey in the southwest. She and
Mike finished a long, messy construc-
tion project for which she packed away
everything to keep it out of drywall
dust, and they hope to have things
back together before the winter snows
melt. Their kids are fine and liking what
they do; there's one grandchild in each
family: Ben (11) and Clara (2). They're in
Seattle and England.
Sallie Yon Williams wrote that
she spends her time bouncing back and
forth from Virginia Beach to NY to see
son Whit and his daughter Allegra (7)
and to Istanbul where son Courtney lives
with his wife Nazli and Emyr (2). They
compromised at Christmas and met in
Paris for a wk. together. By the time they
got organized the only tree available
looked remarkably like Charlie Brown's,
but it had lights and a few ornaments
with a paper star made by Allegra, so
the children were pleased. Santa found
them, stockings and all; it was one of
those last minute decisions that became
an unforgettable experience.
My sincere thanks to everyone who
sent me updates and all the best to
everyone in our class!
1%4
Ginny deBuys
H16 Shirley Lane
Lawrenceville, NJ 08648
gdebuys@comcast.net
If you haven't signed up to receive Presi-
dent Parker's blog postings, I encourage
you to do so. Some day's it's a light note
about an event on campus and on
others it's a serious reflection on the
academic program, the College's future
or her experiences with the students. It's
a great way to keep in touch when you
are far away (http://blog.president.sbc.
edu). Thanks to Grace Mary Garry
Oates and Dona Van Arsdale Jones
who helped me gather news. Before
your next trip, get a class list and see
where your classmates are. Almost
everyone who responds says to visit or
call if you're in their area. If you need
more details, just ask me. Then
remember to look at the list! I just
missed seeing Lynn Youngs Esmay in
Naples because I didn't check my list
early enough Sheila Carroll Cooprider
writes that she "retired on 5/1/09 from
the active Episcopal priesthood. Have
you ever known a passive priest?
Retiring meant resigning from the
perfect job and then moving on to the
Denver area (Bloomfield, CO) where
Chuck's mother lives, and our daughter
LeaAnn, husband Geoff and son Logan
(3) and 6-mo.-old Maya live also. With
more time now, we can also be with
our Illinois (St. Louis area) daugh-
ter Kathryn and her men, Roger and
42 • Summer 2010
Aidan (9), Evan (6) and Kellan (1). Chuck
has pretty well finished with his course
on retirement, but I'm only beginning to
learn 'Retirement.' I'm trying to practice
my new findings, but with faltering
steps. I'm certain someday the picture
will clear. Come see us! Tuck Mattern
Harvey visited and had a great reunion
with Sheila. "Ralph and I are enjoying
retirement. I play duplicate bridge and
we travel. I met Edi Lasher Birch last
Jun. and spent the evening catching up.
Last Fall I visited with Pam Hellmuth
Wiegandt and Ebbie Evans Edwards
and found them both well." In Mar.,
Stephanie Stokes was "in Villefranche
for a mo. studying French, seeing the
museums of the Cote d'Azur, going to
Opera Galas in Monaco and Nice, and
seeing great friends. Will go on to
Maastricht for the fair before returning."
Sounds like fun! Stephanie now works
from home (when she's home!) Mary
Duer Colen is a grandmother for the
6th time. "We're building an addition to
our farm in MD, so that we'll have more
space to share with them all." Mimi
Couch Teschner "has recently retired
after years as director of develop-
ment for the Aspen Music Festival and
School, one of the country's pre-
mier learning and presenting institu-
tions in classical music and opera where
every summer artists from Yo-Yo Ma to
Renee Fleming perform and work with
students and faculty members from all
over the world. I plans to continue active
community volunteer service, while
looking forward to exploration
of new pursuits ." Nancy Lynah Hood is
on the go. "Roger has been busy with
the Death Penalty Project group, with
conferences in China twice, and Taipei in
Taiwan. He did his stint at UVa in Apr,
and I joined him for a spell in Charlot-
tesville and visiting Washington. We had
brilliant trips to Turkey in May and to
Tunisia in Sept. Taipei houses the Chaing
Kai Chek collection of Chinese
antiquities taken from the Forbidden City
in a huge Palace Museum, so that kept
me busy " Vera LeCraw Carvaillo
enjoys her family and granddaughter
Julie who is 2 and totally bilingual. After
a wonderful family Christmas near
Geneva, they rented "a 32-ft. sailboat
and sailed between Marseilles and
Cassis on the Riviera for 4 days,
mooring in quaint little ports each night.
It was our present to Philippe for his
70th birthday! We've also purchased a
new boat to keep on Lake Geneva near
daughter Patricia. We still haven't
retired! We continue looking for a
solution to avoid closing down the
company and abandoning employees
and clients. It hasn't been easy, but
miracle after miracle has kept us going.
We're thankful for the health to go on
working and also to enjoy our
blessings Marsh Metcalf Seymour is
now bi-coastal, racking up airline miles
between VA and CA. "My mother passed
away in Jan. just after her 96th birthday.
I'm clearing out centuries of family
artifacts and art works! Anyone wishing
to visit on either coast should contact
me 1 st to determine where I am! We
traveled twice with the Friends of the
Freer and Sackler Galleries, to L.A., and
then Cambodia. Both were excellent
curator-led trips. Dona Van Arsdale
Jones had a wonderful chat with Mary
Daes Boykin who is busy and happy.
Nina Sledge Burke is enjoying her
children and grandchildren and is still
active as Master of Fox Hounds for the
Low Country Hunt in SC. Tria Pell Dove
writes: "I moved to Geneseo, NY, to be
near my sister with my dog, 2 cats and
a horse. Still living in horse country. My
oldest granddaughter is a senior at St.
George's School in Newport, Rl, and
starting to look at colleges. My youngest
grandchild was born 5/09, quite a
spread! I have 5 all together." Carrie
Peyton Walker says: Why retire? "I like
what I do. I'm doing one-on-one
language coaching at Gilead Sciences
with fascinating people, people with
really interesting personalities and
unusual life stories. In other news, we're
still travel nuts. Venice (walking and
vaporetti) and the Slovenian mountains
by car last summer. A friend of many
years went with us, which led to some
humorous comments when we rented a
room together to save money. And who
in the world goes to England and
Scotland in the middle of winter? We do.
Academics get early Jan. and Jul. as
travel time. It was a winter wonderland
this year — the most snow in 1 00 yrs.
and very cold. But who cares? A roaring
fire and falling snow are perfect
together Missie Reeder Crosbie: We
spend a great deal of time in FL during
the winter. I married a Canadian, we live
in Toronto, but I finally got so tired of the
cold winters that we bought a little
house in Boca Grande on the Gulf Coast.
Allan and I live in the heart of this
wonderful city, Toronto, and have raised
3 boys here. The youngest 2 are
married: one couple in Manhattan and
the other in Dubai. The eldest is with
Doctors Without Borders in operations
and management and considers his
home base to be Cologne, Germany
where his girlfriend practices medicine.
These years have been very busy with
various volunteer involvements,
particularly with the boys' schools and
with the visual arts at the Art Gallery of
Ontario. 1 0 yrs. ago a friend and I
co-founded an advocacy group to
support the visual arts in Toronto and
we're so pleased with the financial
contributions it has made to individual
artists and to artistic projects here. I've
also had the great privilege to serve on
the board of the National Ballet of
Canada and be involved on the board of
the Bata Shoe Museum, a small,
delightful museum with a fabulous
collection of shoes from early Egyptian, to
Chinese to Christian Louboutin. I talked
to Judy Dunn Spangenberg She and
her brother continue to manage her
mother's photography collection. You can
see the pictures at www.pheobedunn.
com Grace Mary Gary Oates: I'm
taking my 3rd semester of Italian at the
Univ, of Maryland. It's a tor of work, but
I'm happily surprised that I can still learn
a few new tricks in spite of being such an
old dog; and I've thoroughly enjoyed all
my new 20-yr.-old friends. Who knew I'd
fall in love with Italy? As you know, we've
been spending time in Rome every fall
for the past 7 or 8 years, thanks to a nice
association Wally has with the U. of
Rome, La Sapienza. I adore Rome and
still cannot believe my incredible good
fortune. This past Sept. we tested our
stamina by going to Heidelberg for a
conference (preceded by 5 lovely days in
Paris), then came back here for the U.
convocation recognizing Wally as a
Distinguished U. Professor (something we
really couldn't miss!), then back the next
week to Rome. Lesson: we are way too
old ever to try such nonsense again! As
for other classmates, I talk with Nancy
Gillies, who is delightful and funny and
never fails to cheer me up. I've had
several delightful telephone visits with
Elizabeth Matheson this past spring
We discovered that we're both besotted
with Italy so had many notes to compare.
Elizabeth lives in Hillsborough, NC, where
she grew up, and, as many of you know,
is a splendid photographer. Those of us
who saw her wondertul photographs of
Italy displayed in the Pannell Center
during Reunion can attest to her talent. It
was wonderful to see everyone at
Reunion last May, and I was especially
pleased to see some classmates for
whom this was a 1st reunion (Mary
Fitzhugh and Anne Litle, for example)
and other dear old friends like Linda Lee
McAndrew whom I hadn't seen forever
and ever. I hope more people will decide
to come to the 50th, even if they've never
been before." Ginny concurs and says
she couldn't have said it better. As for
Ginny's news, I think retirement is really
fun! A year ago I met a guy, a widower,
while ushering at concerts at a Princeton
University facility. We're both retired and
free to play. This chilly Feb., we rented a
condo in Sarasota, FL, for a mo. and
then, since the Northeast was still snow
covered, drove to the Keys (Key Largo to
Key West) and then up to Cocoa Beach
and the Kennedy Space Center and then
home by autotrain. It was a great time. I
tutor a very kind and interesting
Palestinian woman as a literacy
volunteer. Till next time, be well and keep
in touch.
Sweet Briar College Alumnae Magazine • www.alumnae.sbc.edu
1965
1967
1968
Sally McCrady Hubbard
52 Sherwood Trail
Sewanee, TN 37375
sally@hubbard.net
Eugenia Dickey Caldwell says she's
in a flap trying to get ready to go to
Guangzhou and Beijing in late Mar.
to teach a class. Peter will join her in
Beijing and they'll be tourists for 6 days.
She's looking forward to seeing us girls
at Reunion.
Jane Merkle Borden, after 38
yrs. in Denver, decided it was time for
her (widowed 8 yrs.) to return to the
East Coast where both her sons live in
CT with their families. She's so happy.
Great fun to be a hands-on grand-
mother. No regrets.
Sally McCrady Hubbard s feared
retirement lasted all of 9 mos. and
then she took an unexpected 10-mo.
temporary job as office manager of
the Sewanee Summer Music Festival.
Her father founded the festival 54 yrs.
ago, and she was a piano student in
its 1 st 2 summers — what goes around
comes around. They hope for 180 stu-
dents, age 1 2 and up, and plan 4 wks.
of intense study with ensemble and
orchestra performances every weekend.
A great time to visit Sewanee: week-
ends between June 19 and July 18.
A favorite local h. s. art teacher,
Christi Teasley, approached Sally at a
concert to say that her mother, Merrily
Austin Teasley, had mentioned getting
SBC mail from her. Remember Merrily
from our freshman class? She trans-
ferred and went on to run historic inns
in interesting parts of TN and NC. Hope
we hear more from her.
Brooke Patterson Koehler and
Dan love to travel, but their style has
become seriously cramped by their
golden doodle puppy, Max. Brooke lost
her head at Christmas and bought said
puppy for Dan. They should have got-
ten a pound dog — they support their
local Humane Society in honor of their
beloved stepdog who's no longer with
them. But Brooke secretly wanted the
non-shedding golden doodle.
Last year they took 4 awesome
trips: a cruise around Vietnam, sailing
from Hong Kong where they celebrated
New Year's Eve amid unbelievable
fireworks, and ending in Singapore; a
round-the-world wildlife trip by private
jet; an African safari with their son and
daughter-in-law; and finally a cruise to
Antarctica in Nov.
Congratulations to Elvira who has
worked tirelessly and sometimes thank-
lessly; no one deserved it more! Brooke
wishes she could be with us at Reunion,
but this year it won't work; maybe the
50th.
Sweet Briar College Alumnae Magazine • www.alumnae.sbc.edu
Laura Haskell Phinizy has been
busy this winter helping daughter Laura
get ready to sell her D.C. home, with
real estate, and with beginning the
process of settling her mother's estate.
She had Laura, Keith, and the twins,
and Marion's Wesley in Augusta over
the Christmas holidays, which was dear
and helpful, as her mother died 12/30
at home. The family and business are
perking up this spring, though com-
pared to D.C, the real estate market is
slow and low.
1972
Randi Miles Long
19 Hidden Valley Rd.
Lafayette, CA 94549
randipi@aol.com
Makanah Dunham Morriss
1317 Rocky Mountain Rd.
Forest, VA 24551
revs2uu@aol.com
Diane Dalton
1014 N Astor St., Apt. 43
Milwaukee, Wl 53202
dbdalton@milwaukeerep.com
Lynne Gardner Detmer
125 Wareham's Point
Williamsburg, VA 23185
lgdetmer@aol.com
1969
Nancy Crawford Bent
14 Dopping Brook Rd.
Sherborn, MA 01770
Ascb61 4@comcast.net
1970
Susan Davenport Simrill
4945 Dupont Ave. S
Minneapolis, MN 55419
stuart.simrill@gmail.com
1971
Lynne Manov Sprinsky
The Old Smithy
2218Rt.87Hwy.
Montoursville, PA 17754
lsprinsky@gmail.com
Jill Johnson
2012 Wolftrap Oaks Ct.
Vienna, VA 22182
jilljohnson@isisllc.us
Ladies, here we are again. Lately,
whenever someone says, "It's nice to
see you," I have begun saying, "It's nice
to be seen." That is, until I look in the
mirror and try to figure out who the
heck that fat old woman is looking back
at me. All information on new rejuvenat-
ing procedures, surgeon references, and
miracle cosmetics are welcome and will
be shared.
In the interest of our class and
adopting new avenues to connect, I've
started a Group on Facebook — Sweet
Briar Class 72. Just so you know, as
the admin, I'm not letting anyone in
except us girls. That's so we can post
pics, tell stories, and make comments
that only we will see. There are quite
a few of our class now on Facebook
who we don't hear from often, and I'll
be trying to "friend" and get them to
join the group. I'm not saying who, but
there's someone in fabulous sunglasses
in some chic cafe in San Salvador, then
there's someone doing the "Hot Cha
Cha" and looking like a contestant on
Dancing with the Stars, then there's
someone in a pool doing some kind
of solo water therapy, and then there
are a few holding the most gorgeous
grandchildren. Enough! Just consider
joining, OK?
Ann Barton Brown reports that
over the past winter she enjoyed a
great wk. on the coast in rural Jamaica
eating fresh fruit and reading novels. A
perfect escape from the snows of PA!
She still loves consulting with nonprofits
and finds the challenges facing non-
profits during this economic downturn
a wonderful opportunity to help organi-
zations completely rethink all aspects
of operations in order to survive and
better serve their constituencies. Ann is
welcoming a new cardigan corgi puppy
into her home in Apr. and offers free
bedroom space to any SBC class of 72
members visiting Philly. She also has a
funky cottage in Cape May that is avail-
able for a modest rental fee for those
seeking a beach getaway.
Cutler Bellows Crockard and
Doug enjoyed a wonderful fall '09 trip
to the Amalfi coast, Rome, Venice, Lake
Como and Paris. After the ordeal of set-
tling estates, the economic meltdown
and the aftermath of hurricane Ike,
it was nice to get away and think of
nothing but the four major food groups:
pizza, pasta, beer and wine. One of
the highlights of the yr. so far has
been reconnecting with The Reverend
Patricia Reardon Riggins Patricia
was ordained in Jan. not far from San
Antonio and so met Cutler and Doug for
lunch after their grandson's 1st birthday
in Mar. It was great to see her and
they look forward to many more visits
to come. (See Patricia's details below!)
Cutler was also lucky enough to see
Susan Waller Nading at Liz Clegg
Woodard and Woody's daughter's
wedding in Dec. Happy 60th birthday
everyone!
After 25 yrs. of working in health-
care admin Patricia Reardon Riggins
entered the Seminary of the Southwest
in Austin, TX. She was ordained as an
Episcopal priest in 1/10 and is serving
as the Assistant Rector at St. Francis
by the Lake in Canyon Lake, TX. Her
husband Mike is an engineer, work-
ing for Sandia National Laboratory in
Albuquerque, NM and teaching atTX
Lutheran U. Their daughter Gloria and
husband live in Rio Rancho, NM.
Vivian Finlay has moved to Homer
by the ocean in South Central AK, 300
mi. south of where she had lived for the
last 26 yrs. She hopes to find part-time
work doing psychotherapy or teaching
counseling/psychology at the U. of AK
campus in Homer. She was fortunate to
enjoy a brief winter break at her condo
in Mexico.
According to Lexington, VA, resident
Margaret Lyle Samdahl Jennifer
Linsley Alphin also has a house in
that lovely pastoral place. It's to be her
retirement home! Jennifer contacted
Margaret with the news, and they hope
to meet soon when Jennifer and hus-
band Tom next come to visit.
Cleveland Hall reports in for
the 1st time in a long time, "forever
humbled by her classmates' high
performance and grand accomplish-
ments." She lives with her partner Lafe
of 35 yrs. in the woods on Whidbey
Island, WA, in a small log house of
their dreams, built by their hands from
Douglas firs on their land that took
about 18 yrs. to not quite finish. (All
in the journey, not the destination.)
Cleveland works as a bookkeeper for
small local firms, and keeps the neigh-
borhood water system going, but her
passion is native plants, volunteering
with Native Plant Stewards to propagate
natives for the local land trust and state
parks, salvaging natives for restora-
tion projects and monitoring rare plant
populations. Did you know there are
prairies (vanishing ecosystems) here in
the Northwest? Favorite activities are
hiking, camping, botanizing and getting
lost in the woods. Maybe some of that
beautiful territory at SBC had a subtle
effect after all...
Rhonda Griffith Durham enjoys
her work in independent school
accreditation as executive dir. of the
Independent Schools Association of the
Southwest. The only not great thing
Summer2010«43
about a fulfilling career is that it makes
keeping up with friends so challenging!
She goes to Houston every now and
then and always wants to see Nathalie
"Bobo" Ryan Hoyt. Since Bobo is a
full-time educator and Rhonda is always
on a mission, it rarely happens. Rhonda
and husband Lynn had dinner with
Bobo and Mont on a recent trip. Rhonda
reports that Bobo looked fabulous and is
as thin as she was when she could eat
what she wanted in the "Pit." Susan
Snodgrass Wynne and Rhonda keep
in close touch. Susan, ever thoughtful
and "queen of making happy memories"
for friends, sends fun messages and
keeps on the go. Susan keeps a sched-
ule that rivals that of Michelle Obama!
They both serve on their alma mater
Norfolk Academy's Board of Trustees.
So, that's an automatic quarterly visit.
Rhonda's daughter Caitlin is getting
married this fall and hopes that a few
SBC friends who know Caitlin well might
make it out to Midland. With a travel-
ing job, a son in Salt Lake City, a son
and daughter-in-law in Manhattan, and
daughter in L.A., it's no surprise that
Rhonda related well to "Up in the Air" —
well /us? the tricks of going through
security fast and getting perks! She and
Lynn are still blissfully married.
Marion Walker has been ever so
busy since 5/09 when 2 of the 4 law-
yers in the Ford & Harrison Birmingham
office left with one day's notice. She
and her remaining partner managed to
save a big case, but she has worked
practically non-stop until a big trial
ended 2/1 2. With a bit of a breather she
took a trip with Nan LaGow 71 to visit
Palmer Graham, Nan's SBC roommate
the 1st 2 yrs., in Ochos Rios, Jamaica.
The weather was wonderful and the
rum drinks at 11 a.m. on the beach
were just the thing to wash away all too
serious thoughts of "the law." Marion
only bought one present and that was
for her new grandniece (!) Mary Knox
Walker, who was born 10/22/09— the
day Marion headed off for Charlottesville
for a mini-reunion with some SBC
buds. Marion sees Margaret Hayes
Brunstad frequently and attended her
2nd daughter's wedding last Nov, It was
gorgeous! Leaving the legal workload
for a spell this summer, Marion will be
going to Barcelona for a conference
and then to France to spend a wk. with
a friend who purchased a house there.
C 'est la vie, Bonnes Amies.
Nonna Rosie Leparulo sends
greetings from Tallahassee! William and
Rosie enjoyed their granddaughter's 2nd
birthday in late winter. Gracie is their 1st
granddaughter, from son #2 Robert and
his lovely wife Kristy. They expect their
1st grandson in early Jun. Firstborn
Willy is still playing the field. Fortunately,
both sons live nearby in Tallahassee.
William is still at FSU after what seems
44 • Summer 2010
like a hundred years, and Rosie has
been commuting to teach at North FL
Community Coll. in Madison, FL, for the
past 23 yrs. Can retirement be too far
off? FL has the Deferred Retirement
Option Plan (DROP). When people ask
Rosie if she's on the DROP program she
tells them she's been working so long,
she thinks of it more as the DROP DEAD
program. Can't wait to be playing Nonna
full time!
By the way, Rosie stays in touch
with Cindy Miles Martinez, who is
a single grandmother of many — 5 or
6. Cindy lives and works in Louisville,
KY, and has 3 of her 4 children close
by. Also, Kathy Leibell Pasternak
and Rosie have never lost touch since
the 10th grade! Kathy is happy to have
her 3 kids out of coll. and on their own
in the NYC area. Son DJ married last
summer and "the girls" are just starting
careers. Kathy and husband Dana live in
New Canaan, CT
"Busy year as the economy
improves and wine business pick-
ing up," wrote Deidre Conley. She
missed Julia Woodard's wedding in
Dec. in Houston due to a conflict with
her company's national sales meet-
ing. Last summer Deidre and husband
Gerard had a fabulous trip to Austria
and Budapest. A mission to see the
original "Kiss" from Klimt was a suc-
cess, while they also enjoyed the music
in all the churches and squares in
Vienna and the original architecture
of Hundertwasser that they had never
seen before. Spent a day in Budapest
as Liz had always said it was one of her
favorite places and rising up on both
sides of the Danube, it's spectacular. A
boat ride on the not so Blue Danube
to the wine country "the Wacau," west
of Vienna, and a visit to MELK abbey
were a highlight. Drank delicious
Gruner Veltliner wines, the specialty of
Austria. Also loved Salzburg, the Alps,
a trip over to "Eagles Nest" in Germany
for a never forget history lesson and
a round trip through Graz — a World
Heritage Site, worth a visit, Here's to
a great 201 0! (Check out a couple of
her fun photos on the Facebook Group
page. ~JJ)
In Feb Jeannette Pillsbury
received word that she was granted
tenure and a promotion to associate
professor at Luther Coll.! She's most
relieved and grateful. She promises
even bigger news in the next Magazine
edition so please tune in again. (I know
what it is but am sworn.)
Peggy Hoy McFadden reports
that husband John joined the ranks of
the unemployed when he was laid off
1 wk. after the company he worked
for was sold, A mo. later he became a
self-employed contract worker when
he found employment with another
company. They're still taking care of his
mother using the PACE program avail-
able in Lynchburg. During spring break
they are taking their (SBC!) daughter
and her roommate to Disney for a much
needed break after all of the snow dur-
ing the winter.
Peggy Morrison Outon celebrated
her 60th in Turkey, consulting with the
goddesses about this growing older
business! She reports that son Ross
was named the winner of the Season
I PBS show "The Winemakers"! Ross
created his own wine from Paso
Robles, CA, which was then sold to a
national market, courtesy of the show's
nationwide audience. Her daughter
Katie also lives in Austin and paints,
cooks and lives with gusto. Peggy and
Paul continue to live in their beloved
Victorian house on the hill, although it's
somewhat the worse for wear after the
snowiest winter mo. in Pittsburgh's
history.
Having lived 22 yrs. in Clifton, VA,
Kitty Howell Riordan is retired from
middle management in a retirement
home and is planning on looking for
part-time employment soon. Getting
her mother's estate settled has been
a big job, and continuing to support
family and deal with older brother's
roller-coaster leukemia recovery keeps
her very busy. Kitty and Dave celebrated
oldest son's 30th birthday and look
forward to his move to local N. VA area
in summer. Youngest son is off to med
school in Aug., not sure which yet. Kitty
and Dave have a planned transatlantic
cruise to W. Europe (Azores to London)
in Apr. and look forward to some relax-
ing, pampering, and stimulating times
at 6 ports, ending in 3-day stay in
London. 10 step-grandchildren, 10-16
yrs., keep up the grandparenting activ-
ity, especially cheering on sports. Kitty
stays active with community peacemak-
ing activities and Pastoral Care Team
leadership at church. She stops into the
SBC campus periodically when on route
to Lynchburg for grandparenting duties.
Nice memories of days gone by.
Ellen Apperson Brown moved
back to Roanoke in Oct. (after spend-
ing the past 1 5 yrs. in Asheville,
Blacksburg, Stuart, and Radford), and
is hoping to develop a new career as a
freelance writer/historian. Although this
is probably the worst time to be looking
for work in the field of public history,
Ellen keeps knocking on every door
and has completed a 50-page history
for the Roanoke Kiwanis Club's 90th
anniv. celebration. Her latest bold idea
involves creating a website to teach
history, especially of Southwest VA, and
also provide assistance to genealogists,
teachers, and people worldwide who
are trying to learn more about their
ancestors in 1 8th and 1 9th century
VA. In addition to several other books
in progress, she's thinking about put-
ting together a book about our class.
She thinks it would be fun to collect
our various perspectives about our
Sweet Briar experience and compile a
social history about a women's coll. in
the late '60s and early 70s. Perhaps
some current students could help col-
lect interviews from us at a reunion,
or over the phone? She'd love to hear
from you if you have any suggestions or
would like to help. You can reach Ellen
at mynewestchapter@verizon.net.
Trish Neale Van Clief and
husband Dg are moving back to the
Charlottesville, VA, to be near son
Danny (32) and awesome Aussie
daughter-in-law, Anna, and 2 of their 3
grandchildren: Daniel (3) and George (7
mos.) Daughter Helen (31) and husband
Chase (also an awesome architect,
musician, and artist) are parents of
Ginny (1 8 mos.) and are expecting a
2nd baby in Aug. They live in Austin,
TX, where Trish and Dg manage
many visits now that they are retired.
Trish was happy to have seen several
friends from SBC this year, from 71 :
Cami Crocker Wodehouse, Nan Glazer
LaGow and Michela English and from
our class: Barbara Tessin Derry Gail
Garner Resch, Lee Essrig Marion
Walker. Marcia Wittenbrook, Louise
Martin Creason and Char Sturbitts
Everyone discussed her favorite books
(See our Facebook Group for details!
-JJ) and focused at length on wrinkles,
lard, thinning hair, exercise, aching
joints, knees and rotator cuffs, suddenly
and profoundly becoming grandmothers,
fears of job loss, the cost of insurance,
needing glasses and recalling all our old
Sweet Briar times. All 72ers pledged
to return to SBC for reunion in 2012!
Trish sends best wishes to everyone —
these are tough, challenging times for
ourselves and our families — and urges
everyone to pick up the phone or email
to stay in touch with their beloved
Sweet Briar friends. (Couldn't have said
it better, Trish. Thanks for the nudge.
You need an old friend's email? Contact
me! ~JJ)
Hers may be redundant news, but
since Elise Webb Neeland turned 60,
repetition isn't an unusual occurrence!
Older daughter, Leslie Harvey, and her
husband, Thomas, had a baby girl with
red hair in 4/09. The baby is named
Virginia, since both Leslie and Thomas
went to UVA law school and VA was
their 1st home. They now live in San
Francisco in Alameda (a little too far for
grandparents, but frequent travel helps),
and both have practices in intellectual
property. 2nd daughter, Elizabeth, was
married in 2/09, and she and husband
Dave live in Charlotte, NC, where Liz
does PR and marketing for a large group
of lawyers. Liz and Dave moved from
Atlanta to Charlotte just 2 mos. after
they were married, so they have had a
Sweel Briar College Alumnae Magazine • www.alumnae.sbc.erJu
busy 1st yr. Elise's husband David is still
trying to slow down in his practice and
maybe will be able to retire in less than
2 yrs! Elise and David hope it'll work out
so they'll have more time to travel to see
family and friends.
Last year was busy for Carol Cody
Herder's family. Son Charles graduated
from MIT with 2 degrees, one in electri-
cal engineering and one in physics, got
engaged, and then completed his M.A.
in electrical engineering at MIT. Since
his fiance Tina is also an MIT grad,
they decided to get married on a binary
date: 01-10-10! Carol's daughter Sarah
and son-in-law Marc Nathan just bought
their 1st home. Sarah is busy with busi-
ness travel while Marc is returning to the
U. of TX to pursue an M.A. in mechanical
engineering. Carol and husband Charlie
have decided it's time to downsize to a
townhome.
Pam Drake McCormick reports
that all is well in Wenham, MA. She and
Gardner are adjusting to the "empty
nest," All 3 children have migrated to
CO. Tucker and Tim are in Boulder and
Molly is in Denver, Pam stays busy
doing part time work for her town's local
Education Fund. Sadly, her mom, "Ping"
(Nancy Pingree Drake '43) passed away
suddenly, but peacefully in Oct. She
thanks all her SBC friends for all their
support.
Needless to say, Pam sees sister-in-
law, Kathy Walsh Drake, on a regular
basis. Pam is reporting for Kathy who's
on the road south for 2nd daughter
Hadley Nixon's opening of a fashion
boutigue in Chapel Hill, N.C. called
"Hadley Emerson." (Check it out on the
Internet, or better yet, stop by!) Kathy
and David still live in ME and their other
3 daughters are scattered, Elizabeth is
an auditor at Price, Waterhouse, Coo-
pers in Boston; Courtney is employed
at Thompson Financial in Boston and
Virginia (Jen) is applying to nursing
school. Pam reports that Kathy's golf
game continues to "shine."
Marty Neill Boney writes that her
biggest news is daughter Kristen's mar-
riage to Doug McBride out in northern
CA in 9/09. Wedding excitement hit a
fevered pitch when word came that Kris-
ten had to have emergency abdominal
surgery 2 wks, before the wedding. As
Marty and Bill landed on the runway
for the wedding weekend, son Andrew
called to say that Kristen was headed
back into the hospital for an infection.
After an overnight stay, Kristen some-
how managed to rally in time to make
it down the aisle. Love once again con-
quered all! The newlyweds Kristen and
Doug are thrilled to be in the process of
buying a house in Berkeley. Meanwhile,
son Andrew still loves hangin' in D.C. at
his editor's job at CQ Press.
Marty reports great success in her
annual Christmas Extravaganza shop-
ping trip in Raleigh with Carter Frack-
elton last fall. Santa managed to stuff
every stocking on Carter's list before the
weekend was over. Carter then surprised
Marty and Bill this winter on one of their
world-wind stays in Fredericksburg with
special appearances from Dale Shelly
Graham, Jill Johnson, and Ginnie
B. Payne Sasser. (Yes, photos on
Facebook Page! ~JJ)
Carter had her 7s/ ever Christmas
away from home in '09 and packed
a lot in a short period of time. She
went to visit Marty and Bill Boney in
Wilmington, NC, to celebrate the Sept.
marriage of their daughter, Kristen to
Doug McBride at a lovely "East Coast"
reception on 12/23. It was a beautiful
occasion, she loved being with them all
for such a happy time. On Christmas
Eve, Carter flew to Cincinnati to join her
brother and sister-in-law and her father
(who drove from Richmond) in sharing
the holidays with her niece Sara, her
husband Evan and his family who also
live there. The Feast of the Seven Fishes
was a memorable holiday meal that just
kept on coming! She then flew back to
Charlottesville to make the tail end of a
holiday family dinner there,
Carter has learned to knit. Working
with a group of friends, she has accom-
plished a couple of scarves, a hat and
a baby blanket and cap which she
will be proudly delivering to nephew
Robbie and wife Christine at a baby
shower. Their new baby boy is expected
to arrive mid Apr. Meanwhile, Carter
stays busy with volunteer activities in
addition to carrying out the duties of the
family manufacturing business, which
is experiencing the same difficulties of
these tough economic times as most
businesses are, particularly those in the
building related industries.
Dale Shelly Graham says she
really doesn't have much to report
since she and James lead a pretty dull
life. She's still following daughter Lily's
lacrosse games up and down the east
coast as she plays for her 3rd yr. at
Davidson Coll. Their son Fielding lives in
Dallas and works for Morgan Stanley, in
case any of you Texans need some help
with financial investments. In between,
Dale tries to keep in touch with local
SBCers as they celebrate birthdays and
catch rays together at the beach.
Well, Ladies. That just about covers
it, with the exception of a wonderful
2-day weekend celebration of Mary
Heller's big birthday! Postponed in
Dec, it was finally wedged in between
Jan. snowmageddons and a wild time
was had by all. Janet Nelson Gibson,
Carter Frackelton, and Ginnie B.
Sasser drove up from Fredericksburg.
Karen Medford arrived from Annapolis.
Dale Shelley Graham hosted the
guests, and I drove in from Vienna, VA,
both days. Mary wore one of my special
Tiara creations. (Photos on Facebook
Group. ~JJ) Hopefully, we'll meet again,
courtesy of Karen's ever-generous offer
of summer entertainment at her lovely
Rehoboth beach house, (Hopefully, we'll
see pictures from Karen and Eileen
Gebrian's trip last fall to Vietnam!) Tina
Hall Baugher, who also has a beautiful
beach home right around the corner,
promises to join us for cocktails and
laughter.
I appreciate all the news reporters
who responded to my pleas. May the
rest of you feel a twinge of nostalgia/
obligation and contact me at your
earliest. Email or USPS, either/both are
welcome.
And, please keep me up to date
with any email address changes! If you
aren't getting my rare emails, I do not
have your email address. Again, not
that I'm a rabid social media fan, but
do check in, look, laugh, and contribute
whatever to the Facebook group, Sweet
Briar Class 72 Big Thanks to all.
r?z3
Evelyn Carter Cowles
PO Box 278
Free Union, VA 22940
ecc52@earthlink.net
I have sad news to begin. . .Barbara
Livingston died the end of Aug. after a
long illness. Barbara had lived in Auburn,
NY, for nearly 15 yrs. She'd been
employed by Wells Coll. in Aurora, NY,
for several yrs. and recently was an ad-
ministrative employee with the Cayuga-
Onondaga County BOCES in Auburn.
She was an active volunteer in a number
of organizations, from the SPCA to those
involving the performing arts, and the
Willard Chapel. Sara Meyerdierks
Hillgrove attended the memorial
service for Barbara Livingston in Oct.,
where, along with her brother from D.C.
and sister from CA, she recalled happy
SBC memories for the guests. "The
theater ones were the best, as Barbara
and I were the 2 theater majors in our
class and were both very dramatic, then
and in life! She was a good friend to me
in spite of being completely whacky. I'll
miss her."
I'm also sad to report the death of a
former classmate, Deborah Smith-
Mardelli, in Feb. 2010 of lung cancer.
After leaving SBC, she graduated from
George Mason U. Until recently she
had worked as a technical writer for a
company contracted to do work for the
Justice Dept, She spent her younger yrs.
in Germany with her parents, then lived
the rest of her life in Northern VA. In
addition to being a past president of the
Northern VA Republican Women's Club,
Deb was involved with a welcome home
program for returning veterans at Ft.
Sweet Briar College Alumnae Magazine • www.alumnae.sbc.edu
Belvoir and also was active in a program
that escorted Iraqi War veterans around
the sights of Washington while they re-
cuperated at Walter Reed Hospital. She
is survived by her mother of Annapolis,
her former husband and her 2 sons.
Thank goodness spring is just
around the corner, at least we hope
since snow was the big news this win-
ter. Glenys Church had just finished
shoveling the snow from last weekend
and this wk, off the deck, only to have
to start again! Renee Sterling even
had blizzard-like conditions Christmas
Eve in Dallas! Cindy Bekins Anderson
wrote "I don't have any news to report
this time, but I hope your snow is as
pretty as ours was. We had about
20 in. in 2 separate storms, one
on Christmas eve and the other just
in time for the kids to return to school
(worth 3 snow days!) It still hasn't
melted, and we got another 5 in. last
night!"
Diane Dale Reiling has been
watching the winter weather in VA
with disbelief! "Susan Bundy has
posted some photos and even said they
couldn't get out the front door and had
to climb out a 1st floor window in order
to get out to shovel. Not much to report:
good weather, no snow and a slowly
improving economy and real estate
market. I was admittedly relieved to not
have to travel to SBC for board meet-
ings this winter in light of the record
snowfalls (plural) in VA. "I enjoy keeping
in touch on Facebook with so many
73ers from around the country. I see
Facebook as a great tool to use both
to keep in touch and to plan our 40th
reunion (gulp).
Trish Gilhooly O'Neill writes "I'm
in Phnom Penh at the moment, I come
here every yr. as I'm honorary trustee
of a wonderful orphanage just outside
of the city. I just returned from taking a
bus from Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh
City. It's a 6-7 hr. bus ride. What was
I thinking? Interesting however to see
the countryside. I'm off to Bangkok for a
few days, then to the U.S. before return-
ing to the Cotswalds where we still live
part time.
Robin O'Neil was jealous of our
snow! "We have only the cold weather
with none of the fun. Although we
do get to continue to foxhunt, very
important! Hunting with The Camden
Hunt has been cold but good. I've been
busy with family, both happy and sad.
My nanny who, at 18, came to live
with us when I was born is in a nurs-
ing home and has started receiving
hospice. I haven't had experience with
this, but think it is really wonderful and
am so grateful for it. The extra atten-
tion is most appreciated. My continued
fundraising in the community for the
non-profits I support is really tough. I
just remind others that the world would
Summer 2010 • 45
be an awful place in which to live if it
weren't for the non-profits."
Joan May Harden writes the only
new thing in her life is a 60 lb., yr.-old
pit bull puppy they adopted from a shel-
ter in Dec. "It's turned my life upside
down (in a good way) and given our
beagle a very large friend. The snow
you've had this yr. has kept us in NJ
more than we like! I think we'll probably
be in Lexington full-time by this sum-
mer...here's hoping!"
Susan Craig reports "Our oldest
son, Bennett, graduated last May from
Davidson, and after working in WY into
the fall, is now in the job search like so
many others his age! Having a 23-yr.-
old at home has been an adjustment,
but also wonderful. Our younger son
Edward is a senior at Coll. of Charleston
and plans to graduate in the spring, I
continue to work at my design and com-
munication business, trying to keep up
with technology and learning a lot, even
with my aging brain. Wayne has joined
a commercial real estate company after
being on his own for most of 30 years.
It's been good support in this economy.
We're both working hard and enjoying
life's simpler pleasures, not a bad thing!"
Peggy Garner and John are mov-
ing back to the Seattle area to be close
to John's oncology doctors and their
dear friends and family. We send all our
best wishes to John.
Laurie Norris Coccio writes
"Having retired as an elem. school
principal, I'm now dir. of our town
library. I love it, and not just because
the schedule is flexible! It's allowed us
to continue traveling, just recently surf-
ing in Sayulita, MX, and skiing in Grand
Targhee, WY. Nevertheless, my husband
and I are looking to retire "again" and
will enjoy our next chapter when (if?)
our house sells. We're having fun con-
sidering the possibilities."
Susan Dern Plank and Joan May
Harden attended the Inauguration
of President Jo Ellen Parker and
Homecoming on a soggy Sat. in Sept.
"But the rain couldn't dampen anyone's
spirits at such a wonderful celebration
of the coll. I urge all of you to visit cam-
pus now; don't wait till Homecoming or
Reunion! The new athletics center, with
its Houston Bistro and the Upchurch
Field House, is fabulous and the new
"green" apartments are nicely-designed,
spacious and eco-friendly. It was heart-
warming to see and hear the students
break into spontaneous applause as
their professors processed into the inau-
guration ceremony. The reception that
evening was a special time with good
food, music and conversation. Steve and
Kathleen Cochrane Schutze joined us
at dinner and we met their lovely family:
daughter Emily, who is a member of the
SBC Class of ' 1 1 , and her elder and
younger brothers. I'm looking forward to
46 • Summer 2010
spring daffodils blooming and hope it's
sooner rather than later."
Anne McDougall writes "During
the past yr. I've been taking some
courses in Christian counseling and
am working toward certification. The
process is slow since I haven't been in
school for many yrs. but I'm enjoying
the idea of embarking on a new career
at this (great) age. Husband Ed has a
new job working with our Central FL
Presbytery. Daughter Maggie and her
husband Jonathan (UVA alum) and
daughters Annie and Lily (my grandchil-
dren!) are planning a move to India later
this yr. They've signed on for at least 4
yrs. of missionary work there. We'll miss
them immensely, but look forward to
travelling to places we hadn't planned
to visit! Son Jim got married last sum-
mer and he and Rachel will settle in the
central FL area. Ed and I are thankful to
be healthy and involved in our careers,
church and community. Blessings to all
in class of 1973!"
Christine Eng Leventhal is still
teaching science at Darien H, S. "Peter
is teaching Tai Chi, doing nutritional
counseling, and running his natural
food store in Wilton; Amy, our eldest, is
a certified personal fitness consultant
in Montpelier VT, and is celebrating her
30th birthday (can't believe I have a
30-yr.-old daughter!) with a 3-wk. trip
to Costa Rica; Nick (26) is working on a
house reconstruction in Darien, and Jon
(22) is living in Boulder CO. We visited
my sister and her husband in Phoenix
last winter; went to my niece's wedding
in MN last spring, and went to Block
Island in Jul. Just returned from Boulder
last weekend and planning another
Block Island visit in Jul.
Debbie Pollock Arce writes "I
haven't written news in a long time, so
here goes:
First, I connected with Diane &
Chuck this weekend. They were down
in OR for a mini-vacation, and we
met for Sun. brunch & caught up. We
traded what we knew about other
classmates and promised to see each
other more often when she is in OR or
I'm in Seattle. I'm the CFO of a soft-
ware company in the greater Portland,
OR area. I was recruited away from a
similar position at another software
company a yr. ago, and this one is a
little closer to home. I'm experiencing
the empty nest as well. After getting
amicably divorced 3 yrs. ago, I still had
my youngest son, Reed, at home, but
he's now a freshman at OR State. My
older son, Ross, is a senior at U. of OR,
majoring in English. My oldest child, and
only daughter, Cory, is a graduate of U.
of WA. She lives near Seattle, and is a
manager for a wind energy company
there. She and her boyfriend travel the
world for fun, heading off to Iceland this
month for 6 days, and Japan, Korea,
Thailand and Singapore for 3 wks. this
summer. I travel a fair amount in my
job, and am heading to the UK on busi-
ness in mid-Mar. For fun, I run/walk half
marathons. I did 4 last yr. and hope to
do a few this yr. as well. My job keeps
me busy, but I'm so looking forward to
the day when all the college tuition is
paid, and I can "retire" to something
way less demanding to return the bal-
ance to my life!"
Weezie Blakeslee Gilpin I don't
have much to report other than the
hair being a little grayer and 2 children
mysteriously managing to be in their
30s, the other about to turn 28. To fight
the perils of gravity, I've been taking a
PE class at Bishop's called strength and
conditioning which is loads of weight
lifting and other exercises designed to
make you stronger and fitter. I've dis-
covered I love bench pressing and do it
with gusto. One of my 9th grade "class-
mates" told his mother that he called
class "weightlifting with Weezie." Bob
shows no signs of slowing down doing
college counseling and gap yr, counsel-
ing and loves southern CA as much as
I do. No grandchildren yet, much to our
dismay. I'm trying not to be an obnox-
ious mother and mother-in-law. Alexa
is a student advisor at an on-line uni-
versity and lives in the new snowbelt,
MD. Blake has been at UNC Chapel Hill
as a scholar-in-residence and is looking
for a coll. teaching job and doing so at
the worst possible time. Christopher
and Allison are taking a yr. off from
teaching and live in Australia for a yr. as
she has dual citizenship. So, life is full
and it's easy to stay healthy while living
in the best climate in the country (La
Jolla). Much love to all."
Lisa Marshall Chalmers reports
her latest: "Our son, Marshall, gradu-
ated from Harvard Law and is working
for the British firm, Freshfields, in
London. Our daughter, Elizabeth, got
married on 12/19/09 to Chris McGanity.
They're living in Nashville where he
attends Vanderbilt Law and she works
for Gaylord-Opryland as a marketing
coordinator. David and I are great and
I'm still painting portraits.
Reynolds and I too survived the
snow living down a little dirt road in our
new place. We are off this week to the
DR for my nephew's wedding and up
to Boston this summer for my brother's
wedding. All the kids and grandkids
(some of whom we have to look up to
now!) are all doing well. Reynolds is
still treating horses, foxhunting, fishing
and bird hunting. I'm still painting, fish-
ing, hiking and hope to get back in the
saddle with better weather. We plan to
spend time in MT this summer and fall.
I, like Weezie, am attempting to fight
gravity by an exercise class called "boot
camp," the name says it all! On that
note, great to hear from you all!
im
Rosalind Ray Spell
2710 Orchard Knob SE
Atlanta, GA 30339
rossiespell@yahoo.com
Meredith Thompson Sullivan
PO Box 1283
Livingston, MT 59047
gigiinmt@aol.com
What a class! You came through in
spades via e-mail, and we thank you for
your updates! Many of you traveled to
SBC for our 35th Reunion last May, and
some of you wrote your impressions of
the weekend:
Sandra Taylor continues to be
an active SBC alumna. She attended
Reunion, and said she realized her
"dream" of staying in Randolph. She
thanks her classmates for helping reach
our (financial) goal! She also attended
the inauguration of President Jo Ellen
Parker. Her sister, Marsha Taylor Horton
'76, sang at the event, and reports
the new Field House on campus is
spectacular.
On a recent trip to Atlanta, she met
Rossie Ray Spell and Mary Bush
Norwood for breakfast, and they talked
about Mary's recent bid for mayor of At-
lanta. Unfortunately, it was a close race,
and she lost by less than 1 ,000 votes.
Sandra sees Mary Witt, Con-
stance Scott, and Terry Starke Tosh
'75, several times a yr. in Richmond, VA.
Sandra continues working at SunTrust
Mortgage as a Project Manager.
Rossie Spell had a wonderful time
at Reunion, and enjoyed spending time
during and after the event with Daun
Thomas Frankland, Tricia Barnett
Greenberg. Beth Franke Lynn and
Meredith Thompson Sullivan
Mary Witt, who also made it to
the reunion, had a pre-reunion visit
with several classmates in Richmond,
VA before driving down to Sweet Briar.
She and husband Fritz are doing well.
Mary still works at Anthem Blue Cross
and Blue Shield, but has recently been
named medical director for care man-
agement. In her new position, she works
closely with nurses and physicians to
provide the best care for patients with
complex medical conditions. She will
also be the first woman to hold the post
of president of the University of Virginia
Medical Alumni Association.
Paula Hollingsworth Thomas:
All is well in Lewisburg, TN. Steve is the
minister at Belfast Presbyterian and we
love our little church. Charles and wife
Julie live nearby in Franklin, TN. Elyse
is finishing coll. at Belmont Univ. in
Nashville. We hear from Barbara, Ellie
and some other Boxwoodites. Sorry to
Sweet Briar College Alumnae Magazine • www.alumnae.sbc.erJu
have missed Reunion. I'm sure that it
was wonderful.
Debbie Hooker Sauers said it
was hard for her to get back to the real
world after being a coll. girl again over
Reunion weekend. Debbie and Drea
Peacock Bender Maureen Hynes
Binder and Pam Cogghill Graham
helped Sue Castle Rolewick celebrate
the wedding of her daughter, Katie.
According to Debbie, the wedding was
beautiful, and all the SBC girls were
there in style!
The week after Reunion, Jane Piper
Gleason and Joe moved from their
suburban house in Webster Groves,
MO, into a roomier urban condominium.
From their home on the 23rd floor, they
have a fabulous view of downtown St.
Louis and the Arch.
"The fireworks around the metro-
politan area on the 4th of July were
wonderful," Gleason added. She also
said it was great seeing everyone and
that "we haven't changed a bit."
Also the week after Reunion,
Marcia Brandenburg Martinson s
oldest son, Andrew, was married, so she
was unable to attend. (The best excuse
yet!) She still lives in South Weymouth,
MA, and works at her h. s. as director of
alumni relations. She has fun follow-
ing some of her SBC classmates on
Facebook.
Jane Renne Steffen teaches at
Art Institute of Pittsburgh Online Divi-
sion. Her specialty is textiles for interior
designers. I teach quilting in southern
CA. I just bought a new 1 8" long arm
quilting machine and it's computerized.
She enjoyed the 35th reunion and saw
many friends and made some new
ones. She wishes we could've had a
week together. Afterward she and her
husband vacationed in D.C. and went to
dinner with Nancy Mortenson Piper
and Chris.
M. Tracy James wrote, "I always
have fond memories of that gorgeous
campus, beautiful rolling hills and area
communities and the many wonderful
people I met there on campus, while
hiking and motorcycling." Tracy went on
to graduate from CO Coll. on the "Block
Plan" where students study one course
at a time. She worked on design exhibits
at the Children's Museum in Denver, and
community arts programs. She complet-
ed law school in 1981 and is working as
a mediator in the court system. She has
been married for 37 yrs., has 2 boys (1 7
and 20) and lives on what she describes
as a "semi-rural" farm in CO. She gave
up horseback riding a few years ago,
but continues to hike, ski, and garden.
She also enjoys "good food, wine and
conversation!"
Nancy Mortensen Piper attended
the SBC Homecoming where she met
new president, Jo Ellen Parker. She later
gave a brunch for Parker in Washington,
D.C, where she saw Sally Rebentish
Randolph and her sister who was in the
class of 70. She also had a chance to
see Terry's sister, Dorothy Lear Mooney
78, at the Saturday brunch "at Clyde's."
Nancy's daughter, Kate, is graduating
from Gorgetown U. in May. Daughter
Liz is 7th grade, plays basketball, and
could be a Sweet Briar candidate since
she loves horseback riding. Nancy works
part-time at Talbot's and sees Sandra
and Maria Vonetes 75 at the store of-
ten. Sharon Mangus had a Christmas
dinner at her house in Dec. where she
saw Cindy Conroy, Lisa Walker 75,
and Jody Anderson 75. She reports
that Sharon is an EMT in Alexandria,
VA; Cindy is retired and splits her time
between Alexandria and Cape Cod; Lisa
recently moved to Georgia; and Jody is
working at the SBA in Washington, D.C.
(I hope I got all that straight!)
Nancy Blackwell Marion is the
owner of The Design Group, a graphic
and Web design firm in Lynchburg, VA,
which has been designing this magazine
for the last 25 yrs. She has also started
a publishing company, Blackwell Press,
and so far is publishing local histories,
historic prints and a magazine, Lynch's
Ferry. She taught a graphic design
class at Sweet Briar for 8 yrs., but
resigned last year to concentrate on
her businesses. Now that her 3 children
are grown and all but one out of coll.,
she and Dave are traveling quite a bit,
thanks to their son's perks as a Conti-
nental Airline pilot.
Val Gordon-Johnson wrote: We
did one Broadway play in 2009 (Neil
LaBute's "Reasons to be Pretty"),
which was critical and popular hit, but
closed too early. We spent summertime
between NYC, WY and Toronto, and
winter in HI.
Andria Frances has been develop-
ing educational assessments at CTB/
McGraw-Hill where she has been for
the past 24 yrs. Daughter Ashleigh (24)
has a master's degree in archaeology.
She's been living in London for the past
several yrs. and has participated in 2
archaeological digs in Kazakhstan with
SBC Professor of Anthropology Claudia
Chang. In the past couple of years, Andria
has traveled to China, cruised down the
Yangtze River, walked along the Great
Wall, seen the Terracotta Warriors in Xian
and enjoyed a foot massage in Shanghai,
all of which were on her "1 00 Things to
Do Before I Die" list. She also went on an
African safari where she saw up-close
the elephants, giraffes, flamingos and
lions in several state parks. She's on
the board of directors for "Baby Love," a
nonprofit organization that participates in
"rocking the babies" in a hospital's neo-
natal intensive care unit. She continues
her volunteer work at the Animal Services
where she plays with cats and kittens and
helps with adoptions.
Many of our classmates are traveling
to interesting places around the world.
Julie Shuer is still living in southern
CA, but with 2 children in coll. and one
in a h. s. semester program in Israel,
she traveled to Tel Aviv for 3 mos. to
continue her Hebrew studies. Her
husband took off 3 wks. from his law
practice and joined her. After that, they
all met up again in Washington, D.C, to
attend their son's graduation, summa
cum-laude, from George Washington U.
Afterwards, she took her 2 oldest on a
road trip to Sweet Briar and Lynchburg
where they visited friends. The graduate,
Benji Davis, is now living in Tel Aviv; their
daughter, Gabrielle, is in her 2nd year
of coll. in Los Angeles; and Sofia, their
youngest, is a junior in high. Julie enjoys
swimming, cooking, walking the dog and
a "great 25-yr. marriage."
Bonnie Chronowski writes that
she's facilitating a course for 46 regis-
trants on church history. Son Christo-
pher will graduate from the U. of VA's
Darden School of Business in May, after
which he'll work for Heinz in Pittsburgh.
PA. Daughter Meghan lives in NYC and
is a public relations coordinator for J.
Mendel, the 5th generation furrier and
designer of ready-to-wear clothing. Bon-
nie is looking forward to a vacation on
St. Barth's in a couple of wks. with hus-
band Jim. They're also planning a trip to
Oberammergau, Germany, in Jul. to see
The Passion play, which is performed
every 10 yrs., and will be spending the
rest of the summer in Nantucket, MA.
Debbie Pelham Bigum is living in
Orlando, FL, with husband Randy who is
now working for Lockheed Martin after
retiring from the Air Force. Daughter
Lindsay graduated from U. of VA and
married Dan Huttman, also a UVA gradu-
ate. She holds a master's degree and
continues to work at Lockheed Martin in
Human Resources. Daughter Courtney
will be graduating from FL State U.
with a degree in recreation and leisure.
Debbie said she and her husband are
traveling quite a bit, their most recent
excursion to Costa Rica in Jan. Both are
now looking forward to a trip to Tuscany
in Apr., Atlantis in Jun., and a family
fly fishing trip in Sept. to Steamboat
Springs, CO. Last Sept., Debbie had
lunch with her SBC roommate, Mary
Fantone Davies in Norfolk, VA.
Meredith Sullivan and John trav-
eled to Botswana this past fall to photo-
graph the "Big Five," including a viewing
of "ol' Silver Eye," an aging lion, known
far and wide for his opaque cataract eye
and bad disposition. We saw Rossie
Spell and her children in Atlanta on the
way to catching our flight to Johannes-
burg, South Africa. We ended in Cape
Town at the Cape Grace for a much
needed rest before chugging north on
the Rovos Rail to Johannesburg for
our trip back to MI Meredith also had
Sweet Briar College Alumnae Magazine » www.alumnae.sbc.edu
dinner with Jo Ellen Lenoir Blunk 75 in
Houston over the Christmas holidays.
Victoria Bates continues to work
as a family practitioner for an HMO
in Tallahassee, FL., and has started
a part-time Osteopathic Manipulative
Treatment Clinic for back and neck
within her practice. This yr. she'll take a
3-mo. sabbatical to better understand
osteopathy. 3 yrs. ago, she moved her
mother, Carolyn Bates, to an assisted liv-
ing facility near her home. She and her
husband took a quick trip to Copenha-
gen, Denmark in Nov.
Joan Buckley Saunders said,
"I've never been in Class Notes, so here
goes." She's married to an Englishman
(Robert), has been living in Andover, MA
for the past 26 yrs., and they have 3
children: Nicholas (24), Amanda (22),
and Peter (19). She has her own design
business, and works mainly with fabric
when she and her husband are not on
the golf course. (You did a good job,
and we'll look forward to your next
installment.)
Marion Van Horn Eagan cel-
ebrated Mardi Gras and the Super Bowl
victory in her city of New Orleans. She
and Ann Pritchett Van Horn were
looking forward to a visit from Robin
Christian Ryan and Ruthie Lentz in
Mar. over spring break.
Elizabeth Watts reports that she
and husband Bobby are in their 18th
yr. at Episcopal H. S. where he teaches
history and coaches track, and she still
works for the development and commu-
nications offices. She's also the school's
photographer. They're thrilled to be
grandparents of Robert C Watts (Chip),
born in 6/09. He and his parents, Rob
and Alden, are now living in Japan.
Daughter Betsy and husband David
are living in Atlanta for a yr. before they
return to Washington, D.C in the fall.
Laurie Epstein Dearlove says she
enjoys being "Nana" to her 1st grand-
child, Quincy, born 7/8/09. He lives in
Denver with his parents, Jenni and Jim,
but "there are numerous visits." Her
husband continues to create new busi-
ness enterprises in the field of health
and wellness. Stepdaughter Jessica is
back from a 3-yr. mission to Kenya to
provide AIDS testing and information to
the Maasai as well as spreading God's
Word. She's now going for her master's
in psychology. The other stepdaughter,
Brady, will enter coll. in fall, and stepson
John is a junior at Glenbrook South H.
S. She also keeps active in her Pilates
reformer sessions and practices her
program of "Sheanetics," a combination
of yoga, tai chi, ballet and Pilates.
Betsy Hellmuth was sympathetic
to our plight as class secretaries since
she herself compiles Class Notes for
her h. s. graduation class and is now
planning its 40th reunion with Sarah
Johnston Knobluach hosting one of
Summer 2010 -47
the parties. She and husband Ted will
be grandparents at the end of May, in
fact, the baby is due on Janie Reeb
Short's birthday! Daughter Katie and
husband live in Beacon, NY, after 8 yrs.
on the upper west side of Manhattan.
Son TJ owns a RED movie camera and
travels on assignments as they come
up. He and his wife live in Columbus
where she'll be teaching dance. Their
youngest, Kimberly, is in Chicago, where
she is studying to become a certified
paralegal. She still sells Doncaster
clothing while her husband works as an
investment advisor, concentrating on
corporate bonds.
Francesca "Checka" Delle is
still a kindergarten teacher at PS 7 in
Cypress Hills, Brooklyn. Her daughter
is following the footsteps of her father,
Paul, and is in her 2nd yr. of Hofstra
Law School. Her son is a paramedic in
the city. She hasn't seen anyone from
SBC since her parents moved from
Washington D.C. to the eastern shore
and unfortunately, was not able to make
Reunion. Checka plans to take a group
of 4th graders to a dairy farm in VT for
a wk. in the summer. She did it last yr.
and it was a blast. It exposes city kids
to a whole different environment and
they learn so much from it, she says.
She and her husband are planning to
go to Saratoga Springs, NY for a few
days this summer. "Other than that I'm
trying to fight the battle of the bulge by
running, biking, swimming, going to the
gym and kayaking. I'm also involved in
my church as a eucharistic minister and
catechist. Hope you are well."
Sally Rebentisch Randolph
who will become a grandma for the
2nd time, reports, "This grandmother
thing is great!" She's still teaching 3rd
grade and will be retiring in about 5 yrs.
Sally also saw Ceci "Kirby" Wraase,
Sally Clary. Jane Frierson, and Karla
"Kline" Bradshaw recently when they
all met for "tea." (Tea? Riiiiiiggggghhh-
hhttttttt . . .)
Alethea Lee is making the rounds,
1st spending Thanksgiving with her
family in Rl, and later visiting her mother
and other family members over the
Christmas holidays in ME. She also
reported, "As I was coming home I had
a really bad auto accident on 95 — high
speed, hit and run, 3 cars. I got a broken
hand and had to have an operation. My
car is gone, but I'm alive!" Fortunately,
she is in physical therapy and back to
knitting again.
Please send more news for our next
Class Notes, and we'll "get it out there"
as they say on CNN!
1975
Sarah Preston Clement
5028 Domain PI.
Alexandria, VA 22311
scjr@comcast.net
Johna Pierce Stephens
1703 Beard's Creek Ct.
Davidsonville, MD 21035
johna_pierce@yahoo.com
me
Ann Kiley Crenshaw
1216 Cedar Point Dr.
Virginia Beach, VA 23541
akcrenshaw@cox.net
im
Sally Bonham Mohle
5039 Lewisetta Dr.
Glen Allen, VA 23060
SallyBonhamSBC77@aol.com
Hi, classmates! We now have a
Facebook group, so if you're on Fb and
haven't joined yet, please do! It's a great
place to reconnect.
Our deepest condolences to Jo Ella
Schneider Samp and Rich on the un-
expected loss of their son Peter in 2/09,
which I just learned about recently.
Becky Mayer Gutierrez: My 3
sons and 3 grandsons are well. George
and his wife bought a house; their son
was 1 on 3/1 4/1 0. Anthony and his girl-
friend are very close and visit often with
Gavin (3) and Gauge (2) on 3/15/10. Mi-
chael is in Heidelberg, Germany working
as an MP in the Army; he is doing well.
I hope to visit him during the summer
of 201 1 . 1 continue to teach 5th grade, I
love teaching and the students, I hate all
the paperwork and stress from the state
standardized test. I also work weekends
baking at a coffee shop, enjoy the
variety. My family has rented a house in
York Beach, ME, for a week in Jul., can't
wait. We are truly blessed.
Debbie Koss McCarthy: Our
1st grandchild, Anna Grace Ramey,
was born 1/25 to our daughter Courtney
and husband John. But Atlanta is too far
away from Chapel Hill! I'm taking a sab-
batical in the spring and will spend lots
of time there. Alex still enjoys work and
play in Manhattan. David and I are fine.
Barb Bernick Peyronnet: I'm busy
with Annie (15) and Maggie (20). Mag-
gie attends William and Mary and Annie
is a freshman in h. s. I continue to play
golf and serve on the 9-holers board.
We've had a great season snow skiing
at Wintergreen, VA, with terrific condi-
tions! Doug & I stay busy with church,
kids and elder care. I'm walking in the
annual 1 0K and am raising money for
Massey Cancer Center as I celebrate 6
yrs. in May as a cancer survivor.
Angela M. Scully: I'm enjoying
serving as Exec. Dir. of the Darlington
Arts Center in PA. Daughter Clara gradu-
ated from Kenyon and is working in
theatre in Philadelphia and son Matthew
is a Jr. atClarksonU.
Molly Reeb Nissman: My kids are
growing fast! Nancy (29) works at the
national office of the American Diabetes
Assoc, in Washington, D.C. Andrew
(1 7) and Matt (1 3) are both at Norfolk
Acad. I'm busy with my job at UBS as
a Financial Advisor in Norfolk. I have
3 partners at UBS, one of whom is my
sister, Jane Reeb Short 74. We have
fun working together! I continue to play
tennis; it's a great physical and mental
outlet. Last year, my 4.5 USTA team
went to Nationals and we came in 4th!
I'm renovating my house; there's always
a project to do!
Ellen Sellers McDowell: My
youngest child Kate graduates from high
school in May. We had a nice visit to
SBC last fall but she has decided to go
somewhere else. I thought the campus
looked great and the food was wonder-
ful. I would love to be going back. Kate
and I are going on a fun spring break
trip together, 1st to England to plan a
summer mission trip for our church
youth group and then to Paris where we
will meet my sister Susan Sellers Ewing
71 . 1 hope I remember enough of my
French to get around. Rex is working
in AL every week so he's commuting
between Dallas and Montgomery. Our
oldest daughter Emily (24) is finish-
ing a master's degree in Geology from
U. TX in Austin and will be moving to
Houston this summer to work for Hess
Petroleum. Ginny (22) finished atTCU
last year and is working in Dallas for a
small communications company. Mary
Susan (20) is a sophomore at TCU and
is studying engineering. I'm volunteering
at Kate's school, Parish Episcopal, as a
Senior Mom planning fun lunches for the
senior class (I still love to plan parties!)
and at our church with the youth group
and with Altar Guild.
Stephanie Maxson Kenyon: All is
well in the Maxson-Kenyon household.
We're gearing up for the h. s. baseball
season. Jay's the starting Varsity catcher
this year, so we get to sit in the bleach-
ers and sweat every pitch. Next it's col-
lege tours. I'm still teaching 6th grade.
My husband has retired, but substitutes
most days.
Fran Scott: I've begun a 2nd
decade with Scott Gardner Group, my
marketing/branding consultancy. Son
Zach turns 21 this yr. and still hopes to
make his fame and fortune writing and
producing in the music industry (as does
everyone else in Nashville).
Christine Boulware: Last year, my
youngest child, my daughter, finished
law school and is now a practic-
ing attorney in Houston, TX! My son
continues his career as a mid-level
financial executive with his multinational
corporation and is now weighing options
regarding an overseas assignment —
fun! I continue weathering the economic
storm as an executive recruiter, but have
now begun the final stages of launching
our internet business, lndiefilmz.com.
Kathy Roantree Renken What a
year! We've moved from MN to TX. It
all happened very quickly, but now the
family is together. Jeff no longer has
to commute as he's now a full-time
employee of Lockheed Martin. Children
have had lots of changes also. Doug
(23) graduated from SD School of Mines
and also started working for Lockheed
Martin, but in Marietta, GA. Emily (20)
graduates this yr. from Evangel U. and
is planning a 3-mo. missions/internship
trip to Nairobi. Then she'll be in the job
market for a job in public relations. Tim
(1 7) is a homeschooled h. s. junior; so I
have only one more year of teaching at
home. With the move everything is very
new and starting over seems daunting.
SBC'ers in Fort Worth, give me a call!
Libby White Drbal: Life keeps
cooking with Drew loving his sophomore
yr. at Elon in NC and the fraternity life
there. He hopes to study in Dublin fall
semester next year, which would be
very exciting. He'd check in on my
Amsterdam family from junior semester
abroad. I'm still in touch with them. Tyler
(1 7) a junior, is in the throes of trying to
complete his Eagle Scout project and
focusing on where he wants to go to
college. Doug has a challenging new
job as director of marketing in a small
veterinary pharmaceutical company
based in northern NJ. He loves the
challenge of bringing in more business,
which he's doing, but not without losing
a few more hairs. I worked for a small
saddlery shop last year, which was fun,
but unfortunately it didn't survive the
small business crunch and right before
Christmas had to close its doors. I'm
interviewing, trying to get back into
veterinary pharmaceutical marketing
communications, part-time. Like all of
us, Doug and I continue to monitor our
aging parents' health and home issues.
We're fortunate to still have all four of
them with us, but as you all know, aging
is not for sissies. (Ain't that the truth!
These birthdays are getting ridiculous
for us 77ers!)
Roxane Clement: I've been whip-
ping myself into shape going to Bikram
Yoga with Gregor Lee (class of 2000).
I'll soon be travelling back and forth
between Asheville and MT for a decorat-
ing job. I've enjoyed being able to touch
base with more SBC classmates through
Facebook.
Nina Baker Neal: Got remarried 3
yrs. ago to a wonderful man and moved
48 • Summer 2010
Sweet Briar College Alumnae Magazine • www.alumnae.sbc.erJu
to Ellicott City, MD. My daughter, Natalie,
is a sophomore at U. of St. Andrews in
Scotland and really enjoys it. She has
always been a rider, but is now into
playing polo! I stick to riding bikes with
my husband.
Missy Flanigan Clark: Life in VA is
going well. David and I have our grown
kids, Lauren is married and graduating
from UVA with her masters and will be
a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, Patrick
finished NC State a couple of years ago
and Philip is at ECU playing baseball
for the Pirates in the spring and the
Outer Banks Daredevils in the summer
months. I love my work at Saint Patrick
Catholic School as the Minister of
Spiritual Formation, and I never have a
dull moment as the lower school religion
teacher.
And I, Sally Bonham Mohle, am en-
joying being near our new great-nephew
Alec Brown, born 1/18. He joins his
brother Jack (6) also nearby. We count
them as our "virtual grandchildren," along
with their cousins Zach (1) and Bella Can-
non (4) in NH. I'm also enjoying living in
Richmond. Pete and I celebrated 32 yrs.
of marriage in Feb.
W8
Suzanne Stryker Ullrich
820 Waverly Rd.
Kennett Square, PA 19348
suzullrich@aol.com
W9
Mary Robbie McBride Bingham
7624 Coors Blvd. SW
Albuquerque, NM 87121
Sweetbriarl 979@gmail.com
Saralee Cowels Boetler writes:
I'm still busy as senior partner with
Fleishman-Hillard International Commu-
nications; serving on a National Trust for
Historic Preservation advisory board for
Historic Woodlawn (George Washington
gave it to his step-granddaughter, Nelly
Custis) and Frank Lloyd Wright's Pope-
Leighey House (only FLW building in VA
open to the public) and spending time
with George and dog, Angus at our WV
cabin. I'm starting to ride again (baby
steps!) and spending as much time as I
can with my 2 nephews, both of whom
had small roles in Academy-Award win-
ning film, "The Blind Side" with Sandra
Bullock.
Aimee Brett Kass: I work at Vort &
Morgen, LLC, a law firm that concen-
trates on civil litigation with a focus on
DYFS and public education. I'm also the
producer of a popular radio talk show
in the NY metropolitan region, The Sam
Greenfield Show on WVNJ. (The show
can be heard online.) We're not right or
left, just rational and entertaining. We
had SBC alumna Molly Haskell '61 as a
guest last summer. I manage a comedy
troupe called Full Metal Mamas in NYC
with edgy humor. The leader is Sam's
wife, Barbara Singer. And finally, I'm
busy with the Ethical Culture Society
of Bergen County as Pledge Chair and
organizer of fund raisers.
Betsy Byrne Utterback: Jim and
I moved to Tampa in Dec. where he's
working for Moffitt Cancer Center.
I've been lucky enough to visit Laura
Evans and Graham in Palm Beach and
Sally Ann in Key Largo. I'm looking into
continuing interior design in Tampa
once I get comfortable. Our children are
out of the house: James (28) is in grad
school (architecture) at Syracuse, Chris
is working in Phila in clinical research
consulting and Jenny (23) is in NYC at
SonyMusic working at Epic Records.
Looking forward to the summer in NH. I
had lunch with Louise about 6 mos. ago
and she's busy with her 2 girls who are
wonderful swimmers!
Susan Andrews Cress: Leigh's
job, SVP Energy Marketing & Inter-
national at Enbridge, had its ups and
downs. Travel mercifully slowed down
a bit with the sale in Apr. of Enbridge's
stake in a crude oil pipeline in Colombia.
Sadly, that means no business reasons
for now to visit a country that Leigh
and Susan have come to love, but the
May closing party in Bogota, preceded
by a few days in Cartagena, was a
memorable farewell. Susan is in her 2nd
year as president of the Junior League
of Calgary, her full-time unpaid job. Her
term has been eventful but rewarding,
highlighted by steady growth in mem-
bership and preparation for a celebra-
tion of the League's 60-year history in
Calgary. Her term ends in Jun. 201 0 and
Susan will take some time to relax and
decide what she wants to do next. Jim is
a 1st yr. law student at the U. of British
Columbia. Andrew is a 3rd-yr. student at
U. of Alberta.
Deborah Parker Gibbs is still
practicing law in Baton Rouge, LA; saw
Carol Williamson in Boston in Oct. She
stays there often to visit her son at St.
Paul's. Margaret Hixon arrived to visit
her just as I was leaving, unfortunately.
I had a good telephone visit with Mikki
Farley Canning, who has a new farm
in KY where she'll be spending time
soon, nearer her sons at Vanderbilt
and Fort Benning, GA. In the small
world department, youngest daughter
Martha, a freshman at Sewanee, has
befriended Sumner Dalrymple, Liz Day's
(78) daughter. I had a wonderful time
parent's weekend seeing Liz and her
husband Chris. I think often and fondly
of the peaceful days at Sweet Briar and
look forward to hearing news of our
class.
Lauren MacMannis Huyett: I'm
in Concord, MA, and down to 1 child
at home, Susan, (16) a sophomore at
Concord-Carlisle H. S. Kate is 26 and
working at Goldman-Sachs in NYC,
Phillip (24) is at Tufts Medical School
in Boston; Peter (21) is a senior at
Gettysburg Coll., Chip (20) is a fresh-
man at Miami U. in OH. I have my own
residential interior decorating company,
a lot of fun. In Jan., I hosted the Boston
Alumnae SBC Club luncheon. Many
ages came (60 plus people), a lot of fun!
My mother Lois Gene Patton '44 and
her friend Paulett Taggart '44 sang the
Senior Steps song that my Mom wrote
while at SBC!
And I, Mary Robbie McBride
Bingham, have a wonderful job working
at Helen Cordero Elem. in Albuquerque,
working with the gifted and talented
students and the lower archiving kin-
dergarteners. We have a promising
3-yr.-old at the racetrack and hope he
does well this spring. Please email me
at: sweetbriar1979@gmall.com. I have
tried to email everyone, but got a lot of
returns! Also, please do not feel that the
only thing you can write in about is your
family. We'd all love to hear about what
makes you happy and your hobbies,
passions, etc. Thank you!
mo
Frances McClung Ferguson
1917 Maylin Dr.
Salem, VA 24153
franferguson@comcast.net
Phyllis Watt Wilson
3939 Livingston St. NW
Washington, D.C. 20015
phylliswjordan@hotmail.com
mi
Claire McDonnell Purnell
Four Thompson St.
Annapolis, MD 21401
cpgd@verizon.net
Hello Classmates! A number of you
sent your news. Thank you all. Naomi
Weyand Smith and husband Scott live
in Atlanta where Scott is the General
Counsel of Genuine Parts Company.
Naomi is an employment discrimination
attorney at Fisher Broyles. She writes,
"I'm also on the Board of Directors of
the Center for Family Resources, which
helps homeless families with hous-
ing, food, and job training. Our son,
Harrison (21), is a junior at Presbyterian
Coll. in SC and thinking about law
school. Our daughter, Emily (18) is a
h. s. senior, and is considering SBC.
We recently moved to an old house in
Druid Hills in Atlanta, which we'll have
to renovate. We also bought a house in
Nantucket and saw Roberta Perillo '82
in Nantucket last summer. I had ankle
Sweet Briar College Alumnae Magazine • www.alumnae, sbc.edu
replacement surgery at Duke in Jan.
and am still recovering from that and
hoping for good results."
Elaine Arozarena is a global
Advisor in Human Capital Solutions with
partners in Europe and headquarters
in Vienna, Austria. "The brand name
is Neumann Partners, and my brand
in Iberia and the Americas is Global
Human Capital Solutions." She adds,
"My husband Carlos Montero de Alba
and I have no children but split our
time between Madrid, Spain, and NYC. I
also head a nonprofit foundation called
SABORES AUTENTICOS DE MEXICO
where we will start qualifying Mexican
restaurants by their authenticity with
ONE, TWO or THREE EAGLES...the idea
is to differentiate us from Tex-Mex,
which is the food you eat in the U.S."
Helen "Sam" Masters Durham
is still in Rochester, MN, working as dir.
of marketing for the Mayo Civic Center
with Buck (HSC '80) at the Mayo Clinic.
Rob (20), the youngest, is in his 2nd yr.
at Hampden-Sydney. Arch (27) is in NYC
and Ann Husted (23) is in NC. Helen
saw Mary Ware Gibson, Lea Sparks
Bennett and Mason Bennett Rummel
'83 last mo. Helen writes "Sadly I lost
my mom right before Christmas and the
most touching text came from Mary
Ware Gibson when she told me she'd
be driving up for the funeral, 'SBC girl
needs a hug, I'll be there.' It just goes
to show you that the lifelong friends
you make at SBC carry you through the
toughest times."
Boo Major is in her 1 2th yr. as
head coach for the U. of SC Equestrian
team. She keeps up with Lisa Kean '80
who has built a beautiful vacation home
on the outskirts of Asheville, NC. Boo
says, "You'd never know that Asheville
is 5 min. from her house with the beau-
tiful views of the mountains she has."
Boo's son, Mac, is in the 4th grade and
enjoys hunting and fishing; he shot 2
bucks this year. Mac also plays football
and baseball. "He's not too interested
in horses which leaves me relieved! I
couldn't afford it. Of course I still have 3
retired horses and a donkey at my farm
as pasture ornaments."
Kathy Levi Hoover and Michael
are living in Richmond and they have
finally emerged from 2 major renova-
tions to their home. Kathy writes "We
loved our neighborhood and didn't
want to move (Anne Little Woolley '83
is our neighbor). Kate (21), a '3rd year'
at the Mclntire School of Commerce at
UVa, is following in her dad's footsteps.
Anna (1 4) attends Collegiate School in
Richmond I see Terrell Luck Harrigan
often, as we're both room mothers for
our daughters' 8th grade advisories.
I also see Daughty Hagan Godfrey
when our daughters' sports teams play
each other. Michael is president of
Caprin Asset Management. I keep busy
Summer 2010 • 49
with family, friends, and volunteer work.
I enjoy planning our vacations. Our
favorites so far have been Yellowstone
and San Francisco. I love to hear from
and see all my SBC classmates!"
Stephanie Rinaldi Charlip is
living in Weston, MA, and she writes,
"This year my husband, Steve, (UVA
class of '81 , UVA Law class of '87)
started his own commercial real estate
law practice. My oldest child, Allie (23)
graduated from UVA in 2009; she'll
be applying to vet school in the fall. In
the meantime, she and I are going to
Panama in May on a Castration Vacation
(a program called SpayPanama, which
spays and neuters over 5,000 feral
cats and dogs per yr). My middle child,
Annie (21), is a sophomore at the U.
of Ml, loves it. My youngest, Jeff (1 5)
is a freshman in h. s. I'm still training
and boarding dogs in my home. I have
a new bird dog, an American Brittany
puppy named Finn; and I have taken up
pheasant hunting. I see Anne Sargeant
Rosenthal frequently, and talk to
Harriet Bielitsky as often as I can
Susie Wilson Lyons writes from
Lexington, KY, "I wasn't a real active
student at SBC so many may not even
know me! But, it was a good time with
some super fun memories." Susie's
oldest son, Will (24) has graduated from
college; sons Michael (21) and Chris
(20) are in college and her youngest,
Sam (16) is a sophomore in h. s. Susie
completed 2 yrs. at SBC and spent a
summer taking classes at the U. of AZ
then went to KY for a short while, or so
she thought. Susie met her husband,
Robbie, and the rest is history!
Susie writes, "I've decided, at the
age of 50, to go back to college to get
my degree. It was interesting to say the
least to request my transcript from SBC,
looks like I was not too into studying!
I'm loving it, working towards a B.S.
in management and ethics through
Asbury U. My boys are constantly ask-
ing me about my grades, and I seem
to need their help a lot! So interesting
to be reading books and writing papers
again, but I love it." Susie and Robbie
own Hartwell Farms, a thoroughbred
breeding and sales company. She sees
Ashton Nesbit Moynihan '82 and her 2
wonderful daughters. Susie says hello
to Betsy Simpson Huberts Anne
Sargeant Rosenthal Stephanie
Rinaldi Charlip Laurie Coe. Harriet
Bielitsky, and Nancy Webb Corkery
Allison Roberts Greene has had
a busy yr. looking at high schools for
daughter Mackenzie (14). Allison says
"It looks like she's headed to the Grier
School in PA after Labor Day and she
is excited about her choice. We just
returned from a wk. in Grand Cayman
Island. We had a wonderful spring break
seeing sea turtles, tropical fish, blue
iguanas, and stingrays. The kids,
50 -Summer 2010
Mackenzie, Andrew (13) and Meredith
(1 0) enjoyed swimming every day. Most
of all, we enjoyed how friendly the locals
were to us. We were happy to return
home to warmer weather." Allison still
works on the Advisory Board of Walk
On Equine Assisted Activity. It's been
a joy for her to see the program grow
to over 50 participants. Allison will be
participating in 3 upcoming fundraisers.
Meanwhile, Carson continues to volun-
teer as a Life Line Pilot. He just flew a
cargo mission for Haiti.
Stephanie Stitt Fitzpatrick is
"immersed in the sandwich generation,
with teenagers on one side and an
80-yr.-old mother on the other, family
life is full. Work has expanded, too, as
I've taken on clients with a large con-
temporary art collection. It's all good,
but after the snowy deluge D.C. experi-
enced, I'll be glad when spring arrives!"
Stephanie's kids, Alex (15) and Robbie
(12), made "lots of $ for the Special
Olympics, shoveling!"
Mary Kate Ferguson is living in
Baltimore and has enjoyed staying con-
nected with so many classmates on
Facebook. Mary Kate writes, "I traveled
to VT several times this past winter to
visit an old friend and got hooked on
the simple clean lifestyle there. Did a lot
of knitting and opened a shop on etsy.
com."
DJ Stahnope writes from the
Middle East, "I spent the last couple
of yrs. with Military Ministry, where I
assisted in the production of a 30-hr.
DVD training series for churches,
professionals and individuals on Christ-
centered healing for PTSD; and served
as volunteer coordinator in the Spiritual
Resources dept. I bought my 1st home
ever in lovely Williamsburg, VA, and
visited with many wonderful SBC pals
who also now make VA their home,
including Betsy Kyle Donahue '82 (who
hosted me for the past 4 Thanksgivings
at her house), Jean von Schrader Bryant
'82, and Polk Green '82. In Feb., I
rejoined the USO for which I had previ-
ously worked overseas and stateside
for 10 yrs., in order to return to direct
service to troops, which has always
been my heart. Now serving as a duty
manager at Camp Buehring, Kuwait,
I have a lot less responsibility than I
had in senior leadership, but much
more direct contact. I'm hoping to be
tapped for a position in Afghanistan in
the next 6 mos., bringing to bear all the
experience and training I've had from
both USO and Military Ministry. I place
frequent updates about my adventures
on Facebook and would welcome any-
one to 'friend' me if they'd like to follow
along or to send an email to djstan-
hope@gmail.com."
Anne Grovesenor Evard and
husband Walter are living in Versailles,
France. "Our antique shop is doing
well, and we had a visit from Carolyn
Birbick Thomason '80 and Tish Longest
Tyler '80. As for children, Anne-Marie
and Helene are now working and have
their own apts. That still leaves me 4
at home! Constance and Louis are in
graduate studies at universities in the
Paris suburbs, and Clotilde is study-
ing dramatic arts at the Versailles
Conservatory. My youngest, Bertrand,
is a senior in h. s., so we're almost out
of the school routine. Walter still works
for the Germans, in direct marketing.
He enjoys the shop on weekends, and
spends all his free time searching for
things to sell." Hope more SBC alumnae
will stop by to see us. We're next to the
wonderful food market in Versailles, in
a pedestrian antique quarter, with about
50 other shops. So y'all come on over!"
Eve Devine writes from Baltimore
"In 1/09, 1 left the hospitality industry
and took a position with the Maryland
Zoo in Baltimore as VP of Human
Resources. I love my surroundings; I
look outside my office window and see
Giraffes, Elephants, Camels, and Lions.
The MD Zoo is the 3rd oldest zoo in the
U.S. and is part of a 200-acre park in
Baltimore. The property, built in 1809,
was once owned by a Revolutionary
War hero and is the main administrative
office for the Zoo. It is a wonderful place
to work. If you are visiting Baltimore,
come see us. I enjoy seeing Brendy
Reiter Hantzes Mary Kate Ferguson
and Tania Voss Ryan as regularly as
our schedules permit."
Diana Landau McCulloch has had
an exciting 3 yrs! "I went to my 30th
h. s. reunion and re-met someone I
dated in 9th grade! Last summer I
moved my daughter, Pepper (11), the
dogs and horses to the Jacksonville
area. Pepper is attending St. Johns
Country Day School on Doctors Lake
and the horses/dogs enjoyed the mild
(for us!) winter. We're on the St. John's
River — it's HUGE — and I'm so glad
to be in the South again! I still have
my Revolutionary farm in Chadds Ford
and as both our families are still in PA,
we try to get up often to visit. I have
spoken a few times with Stephanie
Snead Jurascio, who was still in the
Baltimore, MD, area with 3 children.
Can't wait to see what all have been
up to!"
Harriet Harrison Leavell writes
that all is well in Houston (no hurricanes
in 2009!). Harriet's son, Walton (21) will
graduate from Rhodes College in May
2010, majoring in international busi-
ness. Last summer he was in Belgium
doing an international business program
through Rhodes. Her daughter, Brooks
(17), is a junior in h. s. and looking at
colleges. She plays field hockey, soccer,
and lacrosse and wants to continue
lacrosse in college. In between lacrosse
tournaments, she spent a month study-
ing in Salamanca, Spain, last summer.
Harriet writes, "I was able to go to Spain
for the end of her trip which was lots
of fun. I'm still working part time as a
CPA in a private company and I play
tennis at least once a wk. Whitney is
still at Merrill Lynch and tries to get to
AK every yr. or so for hunting, hiking
and fishing. Walton went with him last
summer and they had a blast. I see
Dana Painter Parkey (who is Brooks'
godmother) and Florence Baldwin
Langford whose daughter, Annie, plays
field hockey and lacrosse with Brooks.
Florence Baldwin Langford and
Tom have been in Houston for 3 Yi yrs.
and love it, although they miss the fall
of the northeast. After 3 yrs. of living in
temporary housing, they have settled in
a house they renovated. Florence writes,
"Our son, Byron (21) is now a junior
at Middlebury and our daughter, Annie
(18), is a senior in h. s. and will be
going to Colgate next yr. We're thrilled
they'll be in the same general area. We
will be empty nesters, so I plan to do
more volunteer work and travel with my
husband some. I didn't make it up to
SBC for the dedication of the new Bistro
in Sept., but hope to get up there soon!
I see Harriet Harrison Leavell all the
time — our girls go the same h. s. and
play sports together."
Nancy Webb Corkery is working
part time for a jewel store in Wellesley,
MA and for The Great American Rain
Barrel Company. She spent Easter with
Carla Cabot '84. Nancy is having fun
playing tennis, cannot wait for golf sea-
son to start up, and is looking forward
to racing and some cruising on her
new boat this summer. All the boys are
good. David is still working hard with
CBRE in Boston. Kevin, a junior at St.
Lawrence U., is majoring in Sociology
and Education. Kyle, a sophomore, is
a business major at The College of
Charleston. Nancy is hoping to get to
Italy this fall to see Laura Evans 79.
John, the girls, and I are still in
Annapolis. Mary (16) is a sophomore
and looking at colleges is on the hori-
zon. Seventh grader, Lizzie (13), is tak-
ing a pottery class and she loves it.
If you get to the Lake Placid Pub
and Brewery, you will see the SBC pen-
nant that I mentioned in my notes last
time, hanging on the wall. A silly, but
fun, pursuit of mine. Thank you for shar-
ing your news. Take care.
Sweet Briar College Alumnae Magazine • www.alumnae.sbc.edu
)O0
Consuelo Michelle Martinez
7007 North Tripp Ave.
Lincoln wood, I L 60712
Consuelo@h2oplus.com
consuelomichelle@yahoo.com
Amoret Thisell was the 1 st to write,
wishing her classmates ig Jul og Godt
NyttAr or New Year's greetings from NY
where she was busy baking additional
Julekake (Christmas bread). Daughter
Emma Grace (4) attends "International
Pre-School," with many United Nations
families. Big sister Diana (7) is the mirror
image of the "girl" from the original Mod
Squad show — same long hair and tie-
dyed clothes, (FYI it was actress Peggy
Lipton). While little sister Dorothea en-
joys PS 1 16 in Murray Hill, surrounded
by children from the NY Medical Center
families. Doro, as she's known, was very
proud of her class project describing her
family's immigrant story and how her
grandfather came to America from Nor-
way. Happy that builders finally finished
a new deck for their beach house on the
East End of Long Island, she describes
the three levels, as all raised, overlook-
ing beautiful Moriches Bay; near where
husband Edvard was born. The family
will renovate the 1950's bathrooms,
kitchen, and finish replacing the col-
lapsed ceilings. An unheated summer
home, they look forward to it becoming
as livable as one of the dilapidated
beach houses in the area, an old East
End tradition. Amoret extends the invite
to all who visit the East End. The family
was busy, last summer, for the 3rd time
in 10 yrs.; they had a major field fire at
their farm in upstate NY. The fire was
from power lines downed during a storm
and although the entire power line fell
down, the power stayed on and the hot
electric cable burned a trench into their
east paddock, turning the sandy soil into
glass! Thankfully the windstorm brought
rain, naturally controlling the spread of
the fire. The electric company moved
all the power lines from the back of the
farm out to the street. Not only will it be
safer for the family, but the unsightly
utility lines will be gone from the scenic
part of the property, she's thrilled.
Equally thrilling was Amoret's confronta-
tion with the bats that invaded the old
farmhouse in Jul. You may ask how
one gets rid of bats? With a trap, which
Amoret did. So in case you planned
to visit Amoret and family upstate, do
not fear the bats, they were extracted
from the home at least for now. Back
in the city, Amoret's genealogical work
uncovered that Edvard's American
great-grandfather was an ecclesiasti-
cal architect and active in the original
congregation of the Episcopal Church of
the Heavenly Rest in midtown Manhat-
Sweet Briar College Alumnae Magazine • www.alumnae.sbc.edu
tan. She therefore joined the church,
and the family celebrated Christmas Eve
services. We look forward to reading
more of Amoret's unique encounters
with nature in future updates.
Liz Hoskinson sent a Happy New
Year "and all that" As it is winter; Liz
has been at her writing desk more than
usual, penning articles for CentralE-
quine.com , TheEquestrianCorner.com
and the area newspaper on notable
trees. The subject was daunting, since
it dawned on Liz that she loves trees,
but "knows zero about them." It took a
bit of scrambling to pull off a plausible
piece. The horse business continues to
do well, with a good roster of students
and fun horses. Liz continues to be con-
cerned about the indifference towards
global warming, especially among the
"soccer mom" crowd as she indicates,
and works on a local committee to
address this. We look forward to Liz
sharing with us how we can each do our
part to gain greater awareness, taking
action in our own lives.
Speaking of global warming, Pris-
cilla Ream McPheeters wrote from SC
on a 68-degree day in Feb., just as she
was beginning to think that the family
needed to head farther south for milder
days. In addition to celebrating the
balmy weather, Priscilla and husband
Chip just made their last tuition pay-
ment this semester to SBC as daughter
Heather graduates on May 15th. She
still can't believe how fast 4 yrs. went!
Priscilla hopes to see everyone at our
30th reunion.
Theologian and horse back rider
extraordinaire, Nancy Dougherty
Davidson wrote from VA. Daughter
Meredith is a freshman at Clemson,
enjoying school and is a member of the
rowing team. Daughter Hyten, a junior
in h. s. runs cross-country and rides in
her spare time, while Lydia the "baby",
is in 6th grade, rides all of the time with
mom. Per my last update, Nancy earned
a master's degree in theological studies
at the VA Theological Seminary and is
involved in her church while pondering
the "valuable things she can do with the
degree." She continues to teach riding
lessons in Middleburg and dabble in the
jumper world with her horse Mar-
tini. Husband Mike a former West Point
graduate, is a government attorney.
Never one to sit back and do noth-
ing, Frances Ruth Fowler Bauerle
is the consummate pro multi-tasker
with 2 sons, a husband and an organic,
working farm 30 mi. outside of Athens,
GA. Her life has been consumed with
leading a grassroots effort in fighting an
environmental cause. She and her fellow
citizens of Elbert County, GA, collected
3,520 signatures (about 28% of the
registered voters) in only 1 0 days. The
petition requested the "right to vote" on
an amendment on a solid waste ordi-
nance preventing a garbage incinerator
or landfill in the county, an unspoiled
area, void of strip malls and big box
retailers. Our "Erin Brokovich" shared
that if a probate judge validates approx.
2,520 signatures there will be a referen-
dum. We wish them good luck and will
stay tuned for the verdict. In addition to
managing 3 jobs, preparing eldest son
for Mercer U. where he'll play tennis
and hopefully "study a bit"; Ruth is also
busy with son Magill (12) and supports
husband Jack's busy coaching career at
the U. of GA women's swim team.
"No earth shattering news to share,"
but we're glad she wrote. Rosemary
Hardy continues her noble work as
a behavior specialist within several
elem. schools of the Shawnee Mission
School District. Fortunately Rosemary
discovered a new outlet to help channel
work-related stress, she has been
volunteering for several months at a
no-kill animal shelter and "absolutely
loves it." Rosemary wrote that each dog
at the shelter is a sweetheart and has
something unique to offer their potential
family. When not working or volunteering
she stays in contact with Rebecca Cog-
gin Hubert ('83) who will visit Rosemary
in Kansas City this spring. A refreshing
optimist, she writes that life is good, no
complaints.
SBC class of 201 4 will include the
smart, talented and lovely Mary Whitney
Earnhart, daughter of Marie Engel-
Earnhart. Congratulations to Mary
Whitney who received a scholarship to
attend SBC.
Danielle Bielenstein visited SBC
after 30 yrs. As part of a panel on math
and science in government, she noted
that the turnout was large, a good ses-
sion. While looking out at the attendees,
toting their electronic accoutrements,
(laptops, iPods, cell phones), she dryly
informed the audience that when she
was at SBC, the greatest thing was
to have a phone in our rooms! That
got a laugh, though the students were
shocked our class was so electronically
deprived. The following morning, some
students came to her table in the caf-
eteria with more questions; Danielle was
delighted. While on campus, she met
with two professors, Brent Shea and Bob
Chase. They had a wonderful catch-up,
as it was great to be back on campus,
albeit almost 30 yrs. later! Her godsons,
Hugh and Christopher (Ande Tenant's
twin boys), will be turning 9 soon! Nation
Institute of Health (NIH) continues to be
busy, with normal business as well as
yr. 2 now of the stimulus money they
received.
Fellow graduate school alum,
Carrie Montague Stanny sent her
news from Pittsburgh, PA, where she
and husband Tim, also a T Bird alum,
live. After graduate school and having
son Patrick, Carrie attended U. of
Pittsburgh where she earned another
master's degree, this one in library
and information science. Carrie is the
reference librarian in Whitehall (a suburb
of Pittsburgh). She enjoys managing the
reference dept. in a small library, where
she works on everything from 3rd grade
school projects, to finding a Swiss bank
with Parisian offices, and then reading
a recipe over the phone to a patron. Still
with the trademark global mystique and
ready to assist others, Carrie also man-
ages a resettlement project for refugees;
Sudanese, Bhutanese and Somali
patrons. She also assists in providing job
skills to unemployed patrons and helped
an 85-yr.-old man refresh his skills. The
gentleman succeeded in obtaining a job,
which Carrie states, indicates something
about the U.S. economy. Husband Tim
is retired after 1 5 yrs. with Bombardier
and completed putting their 1 928 house
"back together." What originally started
as just "freshening things up" turned
into a major rehab with everything
replaced except the family dog. Son Pat,
a junior, is in the college search
process. Like his parents, he's thinking
about a career in international business
and has the travel bug. The family
traveled to Russia and will go to Turkey
this summer. In the meantime, they've
been shoveling a lot of snow and looking
forward to the spring!
Deborah Price Bowman looks
forward to returning to SBC this May to
see niece Lauren Miller graduate. The
Bowman family had a great summer va-
cation in Basin Harbor in VT after picking
daughter Katie (1 3) up from camp in
ME. She'll head there one last time in
Aug. and the family hopes to take anoth-
er glorious wk. in New England. Deborah
writes that Katie enjoys music, tennis,
soccer and Softball, while son Kessler
(8) is interested in Star Wars, Legos
and baseball. Deborah is an avid tennis
player, on the courts at least 5 days a
wk. Sadly, late last year her father who
was battling kidney cancer, passed away
right before Thanksgiving. Our sincere
condolences to Deborah and the family.
Hard to believe that "nothing is
going on in San Antonio, TX" according
to Leslie Hertz Firestone The house
they built in '05 is on the market; once
it sells they'll downsize and move to
their "forever" retirement house either
back home in Cleveland, OH, or back in
Las Vegas, NV (where we moved from
in '05). Husband Bob and she are still
weighing between friends or weather
in deciding their next move. In the
meantime, she's glad that Facebook,
making it so easy to keep in touch with/
find old friends from SBC and W&L. She
claims she spends way too much time
chatting on the social medium. Their
2 grandchildren, Samuel (6) and Olivia
(3), still live in Vienna, Austria, making it
difficult to spoil them long distance.
Summer 2010- 51
Lee Watson Lombardy writes from
Orlando, FL, where husband Warren was
named director of campus services for
Darden Restaurants. He's responsible
for the new headquarters of the Fortune
500 company (Olive Garden, Red
Lobster, etc.), located in Orlando. The
campus opened in late Aug./early Sept.,
they hope that once some of the kinks
are worked out of the building's new-
ness, the family will see more of him.
Competitive Irish dancer extraordinaire,
Georgia, (1 3) enjoys 7th grade at the
Christ School and took a brief break
from her dancing career due to knee
problems. Trips to the orthopedist and
physical therapist helped in the healing
process and Georgia is progressing well.
At 57", she is taller than Lee and has
several more inches to go! An assistant
city attorney with the City of Orlando,
Lee encourages any classmates visiting
the area to give her a call, and if she
gets any information on the soft launch
of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter
at Universal Studios, she'll surely pass
it along!
Lucie Stephens Holland continues
to enjoy working part time in press rela-
tions and marketing at The Potomack
Co. auction gallery in Alexandria. She
works with 3 SBC graduates, including
the owner of the company, Elizabeth
Haynie Wainstein '86, Tresy Robinson
Hillyer '83 and Martha Loftin '07. Lucie
is happy to help any classmates whose
parents are downsizing to apts. or
assisted living and is also busy with her
14-yr.-old son and husband who is a
White House correspondent for Reuters.
Monika Kaiser-Neheim and
family are all doing well. After spending
elementary and middle schools at a
small private school, son Julius started
h. s. in Aug. Excelling in math and
science, he's also active in drama club.
Daughter Alexa, a sophomore at The
Frost School of Music at U. of Miami,
will perform in the musical "RENT" this
spring. Portraying a German princess
(Annemie von Neuhausen), she's one
of very few paid performers at the local
Renaissance Festival. Husband Richard
is with Pepsi working "unbelievable
hours" and traveling quite a bit. In his
spare time, he participates in charity
races and is also on the committee for
4H (Helping, Hand, Head, and Heart) a
charity to help the poor and disadvan-
taged in the Dominican Republic and
in south FL. Monika is a volunteer at
Julius' school tutoring German language
students and the drama department.
She designs posters for plays, manages
and organizes meetings for fellow drama
parents. This spring she'll chaperone the
actors to the State's Thespian Festival,
which is always fun and extremely
tiring. In Jun. they'll travel to Europe
to Richard's parents in France and her
family in Germany. Dreading the actual
52 -Summer 2010
travel, according to Monika, taking a
plane to travel used to be the highlight
of her vacations, however now with all
the restrictions, rules and regulations,
traveling is a nightmare. She fondly
remembers flying from Paris to NY in
1 990 and having 3 seats to herself. As
always, Monika asks that if anyone is in
the area, please look her up.
Life has been busy for Lele Frenzel
Casalini, her father hasn't been well
for several mos., so she spends much
of her time with him. A tough and
emotional journey, but one she found re-
warding. Lele continues to be busy with
her business teaching Pilates, Yoga and
cycling. She enjoys working with clients
and seeing the difference it can make in
one's life. She continues with her own
physical therapy 3 days a wk. for the
past 4 yrs., continuing to gain strength
back from her knee injury when she was
15 in kickball accident and a cinderblock
wall, (reminding us that gym walls are
now padded). In addition to a fractured
spine when she was 35 and fell off her
horse, a cervical compression fracture
at age 41 (skiing) and finally a broken
pelvis at 45, (pulling too many G's skiing
Aspen Mt). A sport survivor, she feels
"great" now and has kept body, mind
and spirit, together despite 2 children in
coll. and 1 in h. s. When not busy with
family, Lele spends her time walking
her dogs (7, count them) and "thanks
God" for her working farm, 6 horses,
and passion for photography. Son Eli
(22), is a senior at Indiana U., starting
out as a chemistry major, he switched to
biology and studied at Saint Andrew's U.
in Scotland his junior yr. Lele thinks Eli
majored in golf, as she never heard him
speak about his classes, only golf as he
made the 2nd tier golf team. He plans to
go to med school after taking next year
off to do mission work and an internship.
Daughter Liza (21) is a junior at a com-
munity coll. in Indianapolis studying to
be a marriage and family therapist while
in a serious relationship with "a darling
boy" according to her mother. Daughter
Sophie (18) is a senior at Brebeuf Jesuit
Preparatory School, pondering on where
to attend coll. next yr., SBC happens to
be one of her choices, her 1 st choice is
Miami U. of OH, they'll visit both schools
before she makes her decision. Sophie
and Lele traveled to Africa 2 yrs. ago
on a 3-wk. mission trip, since then her
mission has been to save the children
of the world. She hopes to study global
health or work in the health field so she
can travel and work with an organiza-
tion such as Doctors without Borders.
Lele and the children enjoy going to
FL to visit her mom, SBC '57, in the
winter. During the Christmas holiday
she comes to IN, where they all pile in
cars, head "up north" to northern Ml
for fun in the snow, hot toddies by the
fire, and a New Year's celebration with
friends. Grams, as she affectionately
is known to all, also opens her house
during the summer mos. for the children
to have fun on the lake with lots of water
skiing, wake boarding, or anything else
behind a boat. Her only rule; "to turn
the outside lights off when you come
home at night!" Lele also had fun with
Jean, (Jean the Dancing Machine)
Von Shrader Bryan this past year as
they have visited one another. Daughter
Sophie had much fun with dear "Aunt
Jean", and her family. Jean and Lele are
planning a mini reunion this summer,
possibly Memorial Day, or a weekend
in Jun. for classmates to come to IN for
a long weekend to celebrate our 50th
Birthdays. There are plenty of rooms
on the farm for all, arriving on Thurs.
and leaving on Sun. Lisa Blake is
even planning on coming. The 2 keep
in touch, unfortunately when Lele is in
Aspen, Lisa is not. She sends her love to
all of her SBC buddies, we wish Lele's
father all the best.
r?s3
Cary Cathcart Fagan
329 Kelford Ln.
Charlotte, NC 28270
cary 1 983@bellsouth.net
First, I apologize for my email problems
in Mar. I hope to have all this sorted out
by the next go round. If anyone wrote in
and didn't make this issue it's because I
didn't get the email — I sincerely apolo-
gize. 2010 started out pretty rough.
My mother went through some tough
health issues, but made a remarkable
recovery and is healthier than she's
been in almost a yr. Sadly, our little bar
didn't make it and closed 2/28/10.
There were too many factors against us:
the bad economy (which was especially
hard on our blue collar regulars), a
bad partner (who we finally got rid of
in 2/09), a liquor licensing glitch that
took mos. to recover from, and lastly NC
went "smoke free" as of 1/1/10. Yes,
a state famous for Tobacco Rd., with
cities named Winston, Salem, Raleigh,
Newport and even Marlboro went smoke
free — go figure. Not even our little bar
(which didn't serve food) was exempt.
Oh well, it's mostly just sad not to see
our friends all together in one place.
Enough sad, now onto HAPPY. . .for my
birthday present this year my husband
Chris and I are going to Lincoln, NE, in
Sept. for UNL's Homecoming Weekend.
Finally Chris will get to experience the
whole Cornhusker tradition and see the
team play in Memorial Stadium with its
Sea of Red. Considering I converted him
from being a Notre Dame fan almost
1 0 yrs. ago, this is a big deal! We're
planning on traveling to SBC in Apr.
to meet up with Deirdre Piatt's family
and attend her daughter's senior thesis
play. Since Deirdre lives so far away in
South America SBC reunions aren't a
realistic possibility so I hope we had our
own mini-reunion in Apr. I'm listening
to my CD Rock of the 80's (V.3) to set
the mood as I work on our notes so I'll
end with. . . "and the silicon chip inside
her head gets switched to overload,
and nobody's gonna go to school today,
she's gonna make them stay at home"...
aaah the poetic tones of Bob Geldof
(hey, I could've quoted 99 Luftballons)!
Away we go...
Alice Cutting Laimbeer says
that her big news is that her daughter
Margot was accepted early decision
and is headed to Elon where her big
brother Parker already attends. SBC was
Margot's second choice, but it lacked
a football team! (Are you sure it wasn't
boys that SBC was lacking?) Last spring
Alice and family took a week long cruise
in the Caribbean, which Alice said "is
saving this art teacher's sanity!"
Ann Sterling Hart wrote that
horseshow season was in full swing
and she was working very hard and
long hours! Both her daughters are in
college now, Steph is about to graduate
and Ali is just beginning. Ann's other
children (her horses) are doing well this
yr. health wise and showing. Ann wanted
to write more, but had to get back to her
extensive duties as show secretary.
Deirdre Piatt and husband brought
their 3 youngest children to the U.S. to
see their older sister, Tanya's, play at
SBC in Apr. Tanya's play is about the life
and death of an Ecuadorian female poet
and Deirdre wrote that it was going to
be very elaborate. She was also hoping
that her brother, now living in upstate
NY, would be able to join them at SBC.
He had traveled to Ecuador earlier this
yr. where they enjoyed going to the
beaches, the forest and horseback rid-
ing to see howler monkeys! Deirdre and
her husband have been working on the
mountain called Cerro Jaboncillo, which
is rich in archaeology and is covered
in fine forest. She's doing research
and setting up a tourist trail. Deirdre
writes that it is crucial to develop low
impact tourism so as not to disrupt the
archaeological ruins, the spectacular
vegetation, the views, the waterfall and
most important to save this mountain
from the quarrying, which is already
causing destruction on all sides. She
says that the only trouble with this job,
apart from the danger of being seen as
an enemy by the quarry workers, is that
they have to commute by bus 3 hrs.
from the little town on Montecristi (the
center of Panama hat production) where
the family is now living.
Kathy Barrett Baker is having
so much fun on Facebook keeping up
with our classmates! She says it's great
looking at the classmates' offspring,
Sweet Briar College Alumnae Magazine • www.alumnae.sbc.edu
their prom photos and videos. Kathy
specifically mentioned Laura Mixon
Rodriguez's blog "Mixonian." Kathy has
been busy serving Writs and Detain-
ers for Jim's rental businesses. She
continues to work on her manner blog:
www.betteretiquette.blogspot.com, and
is saving up particularly good blog posts
for a future book. She was also doing
some event planning for FIRST Robotics.
Kathy and Jim welcomed their 4th
grandchild last spring! Kathy says that
our class' physical scrapbook is grow-
ing, but she still needs more photos: old,
new, weddings, children, Christmas Card
photos, etc. Please send photos to Kathy
at sabotschool@hughes.net. Photos will
be used in the scrapbook and/or may
be posted on FB at SBC Class of 1 983.
Everyone should check it out and Kathy
thinks if you aren't already on FB you
should join up!
Kim Howell Franklin said that she
was probably the 1 person in D.C. that
footfall the winter weather this past yr.!
The 3 blizzards were spectacular and
allowed Kim and her family to experi-
ence the monuments via cross country
skis! For spring break her family went
to Zion National Park. Kim's daughter,
Isabelle, got her braces off this yr. and
looks very mature. By the time this
magazine comes out Kim is hoping that
the long time coming kitchen renovation
will be completed. Kim wrote that's what
she gets for marrying an architect that
insists on doing everything himself. . .i.e.
the shoemaker and the kids with no
shoes!
Lee Ann Mackenzie Chaskes
wrote that this yr. has been an exciting
time in the life of her family. Their eldest
son, Will, graduates from West Point in
the spring and will begin living his army
life in Fort Hood, TX. 2nd son, Robert,
loved his 1st yr. at Hampden-Sydney.
Lee Anne's 9-year-old, Adam, leads
a busy life as a 3rd grader. Adam's
passions are kickball, basketball and
football! Lee Ann still volunteers with
Adam's school and scouting. (She says
she does the scouting only to wear the
sexy uniform.) She still loves her job as
an Area Development Manager with the
NY fashion company ETCETERA. Rob
and Lee Ann will be celebrating their
25th anniv. this Nov. She can't believe
that he has put up with her for that
many yrs. We can believe it Lee Ann,
you're fabulous!
Leslie Malone Berger is in her
6th yr. working for Roanoke County
Public Schools as a Speech-Language
Pathologist. She says her elem. school
is wonderful with a gorgeous view of the
mountains as a bonus! She also works
with a few students at the middle and
high school level. A couple summers ago
Leslie and her friend Diane, a fellow SLP,
started a summer camp for students
with Asperger's Syndrome (as well as
other students with weak pragmatic
language skills). The camp focuses on
social skill and role-playing while having
fun with crafts, music and animals. Both
Leslie and Diane recruited their own
children to participate at the camp as
typical-peer models. They are all looking
forward to another great summer expe-
rience. Check out the camp's website at
www.campconnectVA.com, I did and it's
amazing! When Leslie wrote they were
waiting to hear where their son Alex
(18) will be landing for college. They
had a great celebration for his Eagle
Scout award and loved seeing family
and friends. Kiernan (16) is also working
towards his Eagle, playing lacrosse and
learning how to drive. Emilie (1 3) keeps
all of them busy with her dance and
music. Earlier this spring Emile got to
sing with the Roanoke College Children's
Choir at NY's Carnegie Hall.
Mandy Beauchemin Frohn got
a promotion to CFO of her cardiology
group (that's why she had to work on
the Sun. she emailed me). Mandy wrote
better yet she has turned into a NASA
space "geek." She's making it a point
to see Atlantis, Endeavor and Discovery
all launch before they retire the shuttle
program. One of the benefits of living
in FL is that she is able to see the
launches from her front yard! Mandy's
even been traveling to Titusville to get
the "up close" experience which she
says is truly awesome. Mandy wrote that
as a biology major at SBC, the science
experiments being done up on the in-
ternational space station have intrigued
her, so she's made it her latest hobby to
follow the last few missions to the space
station. Good luck Mandy!
Mary Brown Watt Messer can't
fathom where the time has gone. She
writes that it seems like only yesterday
she was putting her oldest on the bus
to kindergarten and now he's making a
college decision! Mary vividly remem-
bers arriving at SBC in the fall of 79.
She's back to work after 1 5 yrs. of being
a stay-at-home mom. She's working
part-time at BB&T Bank, and loving it!
Now Mary has to start saving for college
tuition!
Mary Pope Hutson wrote in to
share a great story. She continues to
travel a lot for the Land Trust Alliance
and earlier this spring she was on her
way to a North American Wetlands
Council Meeting in Louisiana and as
she was walking through the Houston
airport Mary Pope saw a lovely lady in a
Lilly dress and remarked out loud to her
traveling colleagues "What an adorable
lady." The next thing she heard was her
name being called. Sure enough it was
Jane Dure '82, with her mother headed
to Mexico on Jane's birthday. When
she went to speak to Mrs. Dure, Mrs.
Dure said "I just love you Sweet Briar
girls!" Mary Pope wrote that this is her
highlight this year!
Mason Bennett Rummel and Rick
are working and traveling a lot. In just 3
mos. she was off to D.C, Denver, Pitts-
burgh, Atlanta, Colorado Springs, Kansas
City, San Juan and Napa Valley, wow!
Mason is about 1/3 of the way through
her master's degree. This spring her
son Bennett (the oldest) was accepted
into graduate school as well. Now the
race is on, but Bennett will probably get
his 1st since he can attend full time.
Mason's family has 2 graduations this
spring within about 1 5 hrs. of each other
and 300 mi. apart: Emma from high
school and Bennett from Case Western
Reserve in Cleveland. Annie is Vi way
through Business School at the U. of
Louisville. So with these graduations
Mason and Rick are just mos. away from
being empty nesters. Of course they'll
miss the kids, but she's actually looking
forward to her and Rick having some
fun! Mason saw Mary Ware Gibson
and Lea Sparks Bennett in Roanoke
and commented how nice it is to pick up
where you left off 25+ yrs. ago. The bot-
tom line is things are great with Mason,
but she needed to take a nap.
Melissa Byrne Partington wrote
me the nicest email thanking me for
the job I've been doing with the notes.
You're very kind Melissa, but I say hats
off to you for carrying the torch for so
many many years! Both Melissa and I
send a shout-out to Cathy "Cate" Mc-
Nider where are you? Your old friends
would love to hear from you!
Miriam Baker Morris and husband
Clay will be celebrating their 25th anniv.
this summer! They celebrated it early by
taking a trip in the spring. This past New
Year's weekend Miriam hosted Virginia
Claus Buyck and family, and Elizabeth
Cahill Sharman'84 and family at their
lake house. SC was playing in the Papa
John's Bowl in Birmingham. Miriam also
hopes everyone is doing well!!
Ruth Lewin and the firm she works
for, Summerfield's Interior Design had a
special visitor, Bunny Williams, a loved
NY interior designer. She was there
to do a book signing and Ruth wrote
that they sold over 1 00 books in 2 hrs!
Bunny also did a lecture at a Port Royal
Club luncheon; this is the initial event
of the Naples Art and Antique Show. All
proceeds collected from the event and
the book signing went to Collier County
charities. This is a highlight for not only
the firm, but for Ruth! Ruth wrote that
there has been an influx of tourism in FL
over the winter mos. This is good news
for FL. Husband Marc is still playing
piano gigs. Ruth writes that he's lucky
because it's pretty cut throat out there in
the music biz. They don't have any set
plans for the summer, but will probably
at least get to the east coast and see
old friends.
Wendy Chapin Albert finds it
hard to believe her oldest, Annie (1 8)
is graduating from high school. They
had already heard from 4 colleges and
were waiting on 2 more. Eleanor (14)
is psyched to be entering the upper
school next yr. Husband Tolly is still a
stockbroker with the firm Chapin Davis.
The firm that Wendy's father started 52
yrs ago. And even though he passed
away in 2001 Wendy loves that Tolly is
there and writes that she can still feel
her father's spirit when she's at the
office. Obviously, the family are animal
people — they have race horses, 2
ponies, 3 mares (who were due to foal
in the spring), a standard poodle and
a large cat! Wendy adores living in her
childhood home! She's a Realtor with
O'Conor and Mooney. She still loves gar-
dening and is looking forward to planting
a fabulous vegetable garden in May. For
spring break they spent a wk. at a very
special place, Rancho de los Caballeros
in Wickenburg, AZ. Wendy writes "Hey,
Sarah, Meg, and Blair would you believe
this year is my 25th anniv.!" If anyone is
passing through Baltimore give Wendy a
call so you can get together!
Wylie Jameson Smalls children's
book The Great Prune Caperfinally be-
came available for purchase earlier this
year on Amazon. The book is targeted
to those who enjoy the "Captain Under-
pants" genre (mainly 2nd-4th graders).
Wylie started working on the sequel
tentatively entitled There's Something
Strange about the New Kid (hint: he's a
vampire). She got her 1st royalty check
in Mar., which was enough for 2 mochas
at Starbucks, yahoo! Wylie writes "aside
from setting the literary world aflame"
she's gearing up for golf season, plan-
ning a family reunion trip to VT in Aug.
and teaching Rudy (16) how to drive.
Sorry Chris and I didn't make the Lilac
Festival in Rochester this year, maybe
next? Hi to Stuart.
rm
Sweet Briar College Alumnae Magazine • www.alumnae.sbc.edu
Debbie Jones
4416 Bromley Ln.
Richmond, VA 23221
elliesam@aol.com
Peg Twohy DeVan writes that all is
well out west in beautiful Aspen, CO.
Peg still works for the Aspen Ski Co.
in winter, running Powder Pandas at
Buttermilk. In the summer, she is play-
ing USTA tennis for the Snowmass Club
ladies and mixed doubles. Also, going
to horseshows every weekend with
her daughter Carolyn (14) and husband
Bob throughout the warm mos. in CO.
They'll be back in VA showing this sum-
mer for 2 1/2 mos. with their ponies and
Carolyn's new horse Crown Royal. Come
visit anytime!
Louise Jones Geddes's children
Summer 2010- 53
are approaching college age! Watching
the hurdles they're jumping through
makes her glad that she's not trying to
get into coll. now! Was sorry to miss
Reunion, but happy to hear the reports
of fun. Hopefully will make it next time!
Elizabeth Rogers Boyd writes that
Tommy is now a senior and trying to
decide where he wants to go to coll. He
wants to play football and has received
acceptances from several of the MN
Division Three colleges. He's being
recruited by one of the last all men's
universities in the U.S., Saint Johns
U. in Collegeville, WIN, so he's kind of
following in Liz's footsteps. No Boyd
Boy will be going to SBC! Tommy plays
football, baseball and basketball. Louie
is a sophomore and just finished hockey
season. Only 2 broken bones this year,
not bad! He also plays football and is
going to give the shot-put and discus
a try this spring. Tom is in his 20th yr.
of private practice and enjoys what he
does. Liz is now dir. of individual and
planned giving for The Friends of the St.
Paul Public Library (a real mouthful!) ...
from a lawyer to a fundraiser. Some day
Liz wants to do something so people
will be happy to see her coming rather
than want to run away!
Sharon Ingham Brown writes that
her family is divided between Tampa
and LA, as her husband and son Davis
(15) are temporarily living in LA to
pursue Davis' acting career. It's been
wild, but Caroline (12) and Sharon love
spending quality time together! She's
working on a fiction book based on the
story of her husband's injury. We wish
her luck!
Ann Alleva Taylor says that Carter
and the girls (Cabot 8, Caroline 6, and
Charlotte 5) keep her busy. Soccer,
ballet, gymnastics, you know the drill.
They continue to juggle living in Atlanta
and Vera Beach. One day they'll have
to decide where to stay for at least 9
mos. of the yr. It was fun to hear about
everyone during the reunion planning,
Ann wishes she had been able to join!
She's been excited to re-connect with
friends from other classes. Facebook is
amazing!
Kathryn Marion is lovin' life in
gorgeous CO! Kids, biz, and travel
keep her busy. Her beautiful Chinese
daughters are now 1 4, 1 2, 1 0, and
10. They're growing up fast; they can
practically manage the entire household
themselves! Kathryn's book, GRADS:
TAKE CHARGE of Your First Year After
College! was released last fall, and
earned Finalist Honors in 2 catego-
ries of the National Best Books 2009
Awards. Hubby, Mark, and Kathryn
celebrate their 20th anniv. this yr. with
3 wks. on their 2 favorite Hawaiian
islands. The girls and she are looking
forward to several wks. in their big
new motor home — this year's road trip
54 • Summer 2010
theme is American history, including
several presidential museums as well
as Colonial Williamsburg, Mt. Vernon,
etc. (and a stop at the alma mater, of
course!)
Beth Bossong Russell can't
believe it's been almost 28 yrs.! Beth
transferred after her sophomore yr. to
UNC-CH. She graduated from there,
married a fellow econ student (Ward
Russell) who was also her brother's
roommate and they now have 3 children
(ages 19, 17, 14) and live in Asheboro,
NC. Beth is a homemaker, but active in
the community — loves to cook, travel,
and take care of their old home. The
kids are at NC State and Greensboro
Day School and her husband works
from Greensboro. Beth has joined
Facebook and looks forward to using it
to reconnect!
Margy Kramer Kircher lives in
Massapequa, NY, with her husband of
24 yrs., Steve, and their 2 kids, Sable
(12) and Cullen (10). She's with the
same Wall Street firm for almost her
entire career, presently as a Senior Vice
President and Principal of Wellington
Shields & Co. She does the working
mother juggle between her office and
volleyball and baseball games. Margy
keeps herself sane by running almost
every morning, skiing in winter, and
spending summers at a beach club on
the southern coast of Long Island. The
pace can be frantic, but it's all good;
she's aware of how blessed she is.
Virginia Spigener Teel's children,
Annie Starr and Virginia Frances are
1 5 and 1 0, respectively, and love all
that life offers. Her retail business, The
Wrinkled Egg, celebrates 20 yrs. this
summer.
Helen Pruitt Butler doesn't have
much to report since reunion last May.
Spring is in the air here and the weather
is delightful. Real Estate is trying to pick
up a little bit. Her daughter, Frances is
finishing up her jr. yr. and getting ready
to start the coll. search.
Mary Earle McElroy Wright is
busy with 5 teenagers. She has 2 boys,
and her husband Bill has 3 girls! She's
a distributor with Monavie, an antioxi-
dant juice company and loves what she
does!
Nancy O'Brien Albus continues
her work treating eating disorders and
is currently running a residential treat-
ment program in St. Louis that treats
anorexia, bulimia and binge eating dis-
order. They're in the process of expand-
ing and in the next 6 mos. will have 2
sites in St. Louis and one in CA. Tom is
still working hard and they've adjusted
well to their kids being gone. Jenny
graduates in May from Notre Dame and
will be going to medical school next yr.
She's in the process of deciding, but
more than likely will be back in St. Louis
at St. Louis U. Chelsea is a sophomore
at Wake Forest, loves life. Apart from
her mom being sick, Nancy says things
are really good.
Shannon Young Ray says 201 0
promises to be a yr. of changes for her
and husband, Breck. Their senior at
St. Louis U, Breck Jr., will graduate in
May with a degree in finance and has
a job in St. Louis as well! Their senior
in h. s., Peter, will also graduate in May
and is anxiously waiting to see where
he'll land for coll. Their triplets are
freshmen in h. s. and have completed
driver's ed. They're now being chauf-
feured on a daily basis. Shannon contin-
ues to work for her family's oil and gas
co., and has stayed active on several
local boards. Breck and Shannon look
forward to a busy summer of getting
everyone settled in apts., jobs, and coll.,
with some family travel planned as well.
Best to all and call her if you visit Fort
Worth!
Elizabeth Sprague Brandt and
husband and are empty nesters and
have determined that it's not so bad
(probably because their daughter, Betsy,
is thriving as a freshman at Vanderbilt).
They've enjoyed a lovely weekend in
Nashville catching up with Elizabeth
Harley Willett and Marian Wahlgren
in Feb. and are looking forward to an
action-packed summer when their
daughter returns from school and joins
them on a trip to Spain. She's loved
reconnecting with SBC friends on
Facebook.
Ginger Reynolds Davis writes that
Carter will graduate h. s. and will attend
Presbyterian Coll. this fall.
Erika Dorr Marshall has been
enjoying another season of foxhunt-
ing with Lowcountry Hunt where Nina
Sledge Burke '64 hosted the opening
meet. Erika usually sees Elizabeth Sher
'85 too. Wiley is in her freshman year
at Coll. of Charleston and Helen Butler
is assisting in finding an apt. Foster
is a jr. and Elise is in 8th grade/home
schooled. Foster and Elise hunt with
Erika and Elise has joined Storybook
Farm's IEA middle school team. She
qualified to go to Zones! Bobby enjoys
his job at the National Wild Turkey
Federation
Holly Pflug Allport thanks all who
were able to make it to our 25th and
remembers what a wonderful time we
had. She encourages everyone to plan
on coming to our 30th — the more the
merrier. All is good in Winter Park, FL.
Peter is 1 5, Sarah is 1 4, Kate is 1 2 and
Julia is 9. In 2006, Pete and several
others left Wachovia to start FL Capital
Bank. They're so grateful the bank con-
tinues to do well and grow. Fall of 2009
brought them Kinsley, her friend's infant
whom Holly takes care of while her
mom is at work. Unfortunately for her
ego, people assume she's her grand-
mother. Kinsley has been such a lovely
blessing and addition to the Allport
household. Miss Holly's Swim School
opens again March 15, and she can't
wait to get back in the water with the
little ones and make them safe. Warm
wishes to all.
Kirsten Void Larsen writes that
after 20 + yrs. in the Chicago area
she'll be relocating with her family to
Darien, CT, at the end of Mar. for her
husband's job in NYC. Kirsten has her
own design and drapery workroom
on the North Shore and hopes to set
up shop when they get settled in CT.
They're excited about the move! Kirsten
has 2 children: Lars (11) and Eleanor
(13). Both kids play travel hockey.
Although they'll miss the Chicago
Blackhawks they're looking forward to
attending some Rangers games before
the season ends.
Lee Hubbard aka Sr. Mary Leanne,
SND is coming to the end of her 2nd
yr. as director of pastoral formation and
field education at St. John's Seminary
outside of Los Angeles preparing Roman
Catholic priests and lay ecclesial min-
isters for ministry in the most diverse
diocese in the country. She loves
teaching on the graduate level, and is
pursuing the Doctor of Ministry degree
as she's working. It's satisfying work
where she can really make a difference
as a woman in the Catholic Church. A
long way from her days as the Chair of
the Church and Chapel Committee with
Chaplain Mike Bloy, but it was a start.
As for myself, Debbie Jones, I
had the opportunity and joy to present
at SBC's 1st annual CIELA confer-
ence in early Mar, talking about
entrepreneurship in business. CIELA
is the Conference on Innovation,
Entrepreneurship and the Liberal Arts.
I shared my experience as co-founder
in my sister's company, Square One
Organic Spirits, LLC. There were many
great speakers, and I found the stu-
dents engaged and a fantastic business
faculty as well! Business is now a major
at SBC! The campus wasn't the same
as the great fun we had at our 25th, but
it was great to be back again so soon.
I continue with my day job as well, in
the mortgage industry, which is nothing
short of a challenge with the residual
effects of the economy, but I'm grateful
for the employment while also fortunate
to see the vodka business surviving as
well. I appreciate everyone's support in
that venture and have a blast staying
connected on Facebook.
7965
Ellen Carver Burlingame
1315 Boiling Ave.
Norfolk, VA 23508
ellenreed8@yahoo.com
Sweet Briar College Alumnae Magazine • www.alumnae.sbc.edu
m6
Mary Jo Biscardi Brown
29 Willowgreene Dr.
Churchville, PA 18966
Fbmb91 695@yahoo.com
Mary Jo Biscardi Brown and Lynn
Mather Charette are planning on see-
ing everyone for our 25th reunion next
spring 201 1 ! Mark your calendars! We
had a great time and a great crowd at
our 20th. Don't miss our next one!
Lynn Mather Charette and hus-
band John still live in CT with their
3 children, Ben (16), Tucker (14),
and Elizabeth (11). They spend lots of
time going to sporting events, on their
boat and at the beach with family, Lynn
hopes to see you all in 201 1 !
On June 30, 2010, Jennifer
Crossland will end her tenure as
president of the Alumnae Association,
though she will serve 1 more yr. on the
board. She has thoroughly enjoyed all of
her service to Sweet Briar, having been
on the board since '98. She considers
herself privileged and lucky to have
served with so many of our classmates
that the board in general got sick of
hearing about the class of '86! "Our
class always has been such an involved
class, no matter what the task, as long
as the task has served Sweet Briar
College; for that I thank you," she said.
Jennifer adds, "for those of you who still
desire to contribute your time, talents
or your financial support to SBC, please
do. There are many opportunities. I can't
wait to see you all at our 25th (can you
believe it!) reunion next spring!"
Elizabeth Eisinger Mackes
graduated from St. Louis U. School of
Law in '91 . She moved back to MD and
married Joe Mackes in '94 and subse-
quently had 3 children, James, Stephen
and Claire. For the last 7 yrs. she has
taught pre-K and is working on her
practicum for the Orton Gillingham
Academy (teaching dyslexics to read).
Rushton Haskell Callaghan ran
2 marathons (12/09) and (3/10) and
qualified for Boston Marathon 201 1 !
Rushton's children, Hampton (12) and
Farley (10), keep her busy with their
sports; Rushton volunteers at their
school as well as serves on The Jax
Zoo Board, Girls on the Run Board, and
Episcopal H. S. Alumni Board. She's
looking forward to Reunion 201 1 .
For the past 4 yrs., Leigh Ann
White has been living in Boston with
her 2 crazy kitties and the love of her
life, Brian. She works at a consulting
firm conducting health economic
studies for the pharmaceutical and
biotechnology industry. Happily, she has
reconnected with her fellow alumnae
online and hopes to see many of them
soon!
Mary Beth Miller Orson is still
living in Scottsdale, AZ, with husband
Carl and children, Caroline (11) and Eric
(7). She spends her time juggling fam-
ily, work and children's activities. Mary
Beth also organizes the occasional SBC
Phoenix Alumnae Club event!
Harriet McNair Alexander and her
family have been living in Houston for
over 8 yrs. now and simply can't believe
they like it so much. One very bright
spot for Harriet is seeing the marvel-
ous Bella Viguere Gsell every once in
awhile. Harriet's 3 daughters keep her
and her husband very happy and busy
and insane (2 are teenagers). Harriet
hopes she survives to see this in print!
Lisa Leigh Ringler Bennett and
Bob spent 3 amazing wks. in Costa Rica
in Feb. She and Bob are getting ready
for things to start up on the farm. Lisa is
working in PR for the grower's industry.
Daughter Sydney (14) may not know it
yet, but they plan to put her to work this
summer!
Louanne Woody continues to
sell homes on the Outer Banks of NC,
though is not as busy as she was a few
yrs. ago. She has returned to utilizing
her degree in mathematics by tutoring
h. s. math students. She enjoys the
one-on-one interaction both with real
estate clients and students. Louanne's
flexible schedule allows her time to
work on projects with fellow church
members at Mighty Wind UMC, includ-
ing health kits for Haiti, doing local food
pantry collections, and working on a
new project called "Jesus Loves You
Cradles." Additionally, Louanne attended
the John C. Campbell folk school to
take a course in creative writing and is
looking forward to visiting friends this
spring in NM.
Catherine McNease Stevens
lives in southern VA with husband
Nelson and son Henry (10). She works
as a research & data specialist for the
Southern VA Higher Education Center
in South Boston and teaches hunt seat
lessons in the afternoons. Henry is
foxhunting with his parents now, which
delights them to no end! Catherine is
enjoying catching up with SBC class-
mates and friends on Facebook.
Karen Fennessy-Ketola and
Barry continue to live in Freeland, Ml
and are doing very well. Karen has
just hit her 22-year mark with Dow
Chemical Company. Barry is in the Solar
Systems Group at Dow Corning. Karen
reports that Mid-Michigan is becoming
a beacon for Alternative Energy and
Technologies. Daughter Morgan (12)
is a competitive gymnast, is in Poms,
and loves math and science. Karen and
Barry are having a lot of fun traveling to
her competitive meets in places such
as Chicago, Orlando, Columbus, etc.
The Ketola family traveled to Spain for
spring break this year; Karen's first time
back to Seville since her Sweet Briar
Junior Year Abroad so many years ago.
In Jan., Laura Hand Glover visited
daughter Amber (SBC '03) and her
husband, who have settled back in
Houston and are happy to be "home."
Laura reports that Amber is scheduled
to be in South Africa this summer as a
fellow at a research institute studying
great white shark behavior, her passion.
Understandably, Laura is so proud of
her, just as she is of son Patrick, who is
steeped in music with his sax: march-
ing, concert and jazz bands in addition
to the church ensemble. Patrick is also
in JROTC and is in both rifle and drill
teams. Laura continues to work at SBC
and counts her blessings daily that she
can enjoy time on the campus every day
among such fascinating and promising
young women and an amazing faculty
and staff. Every semester she wishes
she could take half of the courses
offered! She's greatly looking forward
to working with our class for our 25th
Reunion and invites anyone venturing
back to the Briar in the meantime to
contact her as she would love to see
you and reconnect.
Susan Swagler Cowles and
husband Robby celebrated their 1 8th
wedding anniversary. Daughter Elli (1 7)
is a junior and is starting to "shop"
colleges; son Jake (14) is starting h. s.
next yr. Susan works at The U. of AL in
Tuscaloosa managing the Career Center
for the Coll. of Commerce and loves
working with students! Time flies, but
Susan relays that it's been great recon-
necting with SBC friends on Facebook!
Suzanne Craft Bailey and hus
band Drew have been married 1 9 yrs.
and live in Birmingham, AL. After 23 yrs.
in corporate banking, Drew opened his
own company, ECA Risk Management,
working with small to mid-size banks
developing their environmental policies.
Son Chris (15) continues to inspire
everyone as he learns to live with Type
1 Diabetes. In fall, he was featured on
The Rick and Bubba Show, and raised
over $3,500 for JDRF in the Walk to
Cure. Two recent opportunities Chris
had to raise awareness about juvenile
diabetes included his being featured
on Matters of Faith on ABC 3340 in AL
and having co-written a song titled "A
Crooked Road" with Dove Award winner,
Nashville singer songwriter, Steve Siler.
Check it out at http://www.facebook.
com/l/20600;www.musicforthesoul.org.
Currently we're raising funds to pro-
duce a full recording of the song, and
eventually turn it into a project and full
length CD. (Steve records the symphony
music in Prague). If anyone would like
to donate towards the project, they can
contact me at nascarfunbOwindstream.
net. Chris was also cast as the lead
character Frederick in his h. s.'s pro-
duction of "The Sound of Music" this
Sweet Briar College Alumnae Magazine • www.alumnae.sbc.edu
year. Suzanne's daughter Elizabeth (10)
is an avid horseback rider; she's jump-
ing and looking forward to her 1 st show.
She participated in Holiday Show Offs
and Summer Show Offs in Birmingham
and Entertainment Night. She had solos
in each of these song and dance stage
productions. Suzanne continues to work
with JDRF and all efforts on Juvenile
Diabetes research to find a cure. She is
also writing a Christian Fantasy Trilogy,
working with a fantastic editor in the
industry. Her goal is to finish her current
manuscript for editing by this summer,
In addition, Suzanne has been asked
by Christy Award winning author Shelly
Beach to be a member of her prayer
team, which is an honor and a privilege,
and has also been asked to be a core
leader for Community Bible Study in
Birmingham.
Sue Finn Adams is "living the
dream" in Williamsburg, VA! With her
kids now in elem., middle and h. s„
life is full. Daughter Elizabeth (16) is
starting to think about the future that
is all-too-soon approaching. Sons Ben
(1 3) and Thomas (1 1 ) aren't too far
behind — time is flying by. Sue continues
to work from home for a book publisher
in new project development. She enjoys
the flexibility and being available to
her children when they get home from
school as well as taking time off when
she feels like it. Sue loves keeping up
with so many Vixens on Facebook. It's
amazing to hear what everyone is up to
on a regular basis — a little bit like living
in the dorm again!
I thank everyone for their contribu-
tions to this and every other edition of
our notes. I hope to hear from you in the
future. If you aren't receiving reminder
notices from me for each publication I
apologize, as I must not have a current
e-mail address for you. Kindly contact
me at Fbmb91695@yahoo.com with
your e-mail address. On behalf of all of
us Class of 86'ers on Facebook, I invite
you to join us. Please remember that
Reunion 201 1 is just around the corner.
We're anticipating a great turnout and
hope to see you there!
1W
Jean Guergai
3641 Elderberry PI.
Fairfax, VA 22033
guergai@aol.com
1968
Maia Free Jalenak
605 Camelia Ave.
Baton Rouge, LA 70806
MaiaJay@cox.net
Our class is involved in so many inter-
esting endeavors and in such amazing
Summer 2010* 55
places around the world. Facebook has
been a wonderful tool for reconnecting
and keeping up with old friends. I was
delighted to hear from my freshman
and sophomore yr. roommate Alyson
Springer who transferred to William
and Mary during our jr. yr. Alyson got
a master's degree in social work from
the U. of GA and bought a beautiful
horse farm in Martinsburg, WV (near
Shepherdstown, WV, and Hagerstown,
MD) called Whiting's Neck Equestrian
Center. It's a full-service boarding and
training facility with indoor and out-
door arenas, miles of trails along the
Potomac River, and programs for all
ages and levels of experience.
Susan Detweiler writes that she
didn't go to Antarctica this past winter
because she needed to take care of her
climbing partner who was hurt in an
accident initiated by a mountain goat
knocking off a big rock. Instead, she
took a job teaching Nordic skiing and
guiding ski/snowshoe tours in Grand
Teton National Park. After a spring
desert rock climbing trip, she plans
to guide climbers again in the Tetons
this summer and will probably return
to Antarctica (the science support job)
again this fall. She enjoys keeping track
of SBCers on Facebook.
In 2009, Jeanne Rovics Mexic
and family went on an amazing trip
to Jordan, Israel, and Dubai, and
they're getting ready to go on another
adventure in 201 0 to New Zealand
and Australia. She continues to work
for Hilton Worldwide's International
Team and in the past few months has
traveled to: Venice, Barcelona, London,
Prague, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong
and Singapore. She notes: "I'm VERY
lucky that I'm able to call this work, and
I've gotten used to sitting in small seats
for long distances (and am thankful
I'm not 5'1 1 "). I see Kristen Petersen
Randolph regularly, and she makes
me do at least 2 workouts a day, so it's
a little like boot camp, but I keep going
back and LOVE it every time. Kristen got
me hooked on Hot Yoga."
Kristen Petersen Randolph writes
that she keeps in touch with Jeanne
Rovics Mexic, Nici Fraley Pechman
and Laura Schumacher Kasprzak
She and husband Ran keep busy with
their 3 boys and all of their activities.
Ran still works with the same law firm
where he worked when they 1 st met;
Kristen does some real estate work
and a bit of personal training. On a sad
note, Kristen's sister Reilly's husband,
Mark was diagnosed with non-smokers
lung cancer about a mo. ago after a
long bout with what was thought to be
pneumonia. The cancer is advanced and
he's taking chemotherapy treatments.
Reilly and Mark are inspiring with how
they're handling this heartbreaking time.
Kristen says they're hoping for the best
56 • Summer 2010
and appreciate everyone's prayers and
good thoughts.
Paige Shiller Okun writes "we're
in our 7th yr. in Singapore and still love
living in southeast Asia. My work with
Caring for Cambodia building schools
is amazing. We support 7 schools (pre-
school to h. s.) with a total of 5,400
students! I'd love to talk to anyone who
is interested in getting their community
or school involved in a service project
overseas, (www.caringforcambodia.org).
My boys are now 7 and 9, and very
involved in sports — soccer, baseball,
swimming and tennis. Because of the
tropical weather, everything runs year-
round! If anyone is in Singapore, please
look me up."
Eden Brown works full-time as an
independent writer-director. She finds
this new job amazing. She never imag-
ined making this career transition or
that she'd enjoy it so much. She's busily
working on a short film that she'll direct,
a feature film and a documentary on the
Korean War Veterans Memorial. She and
husband Bill will celebrate their 17th
anniv. in Jun.
Stacey Sickels Heckel reports that
sons Kent (14) and Leland (11), are do-
ing great and are involved in sports, arts
and friends. "I pinch myself that I'm the
mother to a rising middle schooler and
high schooler! Every age with them gets
more fun. I'm still enjoying working as
the exec. dir. for the foundation for our
local community coll., Anne Arundel. My
synchronized figure skating team, DC
EDGE, won the Eastern Championships
and then went on to get the silver medal
at the National Synchronized Skating
Championships in Minneapolis. I recently
caught up with Kate Cole Kite who also
lives in Severna Park. She reports that
her children are doing great. I had a nice
visit with Leslie Corrado Stillwagon in
her beautiful home in Chestnut Hill. Her
3 boys are precious. My sister, Susan
Sickels Dyer '91 , is living in Seattle and
recently went to the Olympics. Her boys
are into hockey and she keeps busy with
their schedules and volunteering at their
school."
Leslie Corrado Stillwagon and
husband David moved from Australia
and are now living in Chestnut Hill in
PA. She says it's wonderful being back
on the east coast after being away
for over 20 yrs. Leslie loves being a
stay-at-home mom raising her 3 boys
(16-mo.-old twins and a 5-mo.-old,
Holden, Porter & Ridgeway). She says
it's hectic having had 3 boys in 1 1
mos., but so fun! Leslie has enjoyed
seeing Katie Keogh Weidner, Kathryn
Ingham Reese and Stacey Sickels
Heckel and would love to hear from
any SB girls in the area!
Kate Cole Hite and husband Tucker
celebrated their 20th anniv. in Oct. and
commemorated the occasion by running
the Marine Corps Marathon. She notes,
"Yes, I did say marathon, and no, I've
never done that before (nor will I ever
do that again!) The day was wonderful,
and the 2 of us ran it side by side. I'm
so thankful to Beth Bennett Haga and
Katie Keogh Weidner for their sup-
port and encouragement along the 6
mos. of training. Since they've both run
marathons, they gave me a lot of good
advice!"
Kate Cole Hite. Kathryn Ingham
Reese, Mary Halliday Shaw,
Beth Bennett Haga Paige Apple
Montinaro, and Whitney Bolt Lewis
had a blast at their annual get-together
weekend, this yr. in New Orleans. I
drove down to New Orleans and had
a fun visit with them Mary Halliday
Shaw and husband Brad have a big
milestone this yr. with the graduation of
their twins (Jack and Mike) who will be
heading off to coll. in the northeast in
the fall. Their youngest, Kevin will start
h. s. in the fall.
Kelly Meredith lacobelli has a
new job as VP of marketing for BidAlert.
com which is a construction leads sys-
tem. It's the 1st time she's worked for a
small company and says it can be excit-
ing and challenging. She's still on the
alumnae board and is looking forward
to going to Reunion to see friends in
classes a little older and a little younger
than ours.
Tracy Tigerman Shannon says
things are pretty much the same. She's
still teaching 3rd grade and getting
used to her son being in h. s. on the JV
baseball team. She's also gearing up
for her 2nd grader to come to her class
next yr. for reading and math. She notes
that it should be a challenge (more for
her daughter than herself).
Dena Driver lives in Brooklyn, NY.
She and husband Greg Morcroft (who
graduated from W & L) have 2 children:
Emma (14) and Liam (9). They've been
married for 1 7 yrs. She works as a
property manager, which allows her to
find time to study yoga.
Brenda Childress Payne is happy
to announce a new addition to her
family. Her beautiful granddaughter,
Zoe Rae Elizabeth Payne was born on
Thurs., 9/24/09 in Orange County CA.
She weighed 8 lbs. 5oz. and was 20 Vi
in. Brenda enjoyed traveling to CA to
visit with the new baby and her family.
Anne Powell is still tax manager
at Henry Schein in Southwest VA.
She traveled to London and Salisbury,
England, where she got to play on the
famous Father Willis pipe organ at
Salisbury Cathedral. Another highlight of
the trip was taking the Eurostar to Paris
for a short holiday.
Vida Fonseca writes from New
Orleans that she received a promotion
with the Census OOS-QA/C, which she
notes "rhymes with moose back." She
writes that the promotion came at the
same time that she was voted senior
warden at her church. She adds, "Now
if I could just find a full-time, long-term
job with benefits before I reach retire-
ment age!"
Kathryn Deriso-Schwartz and
Mary Nelson Densmore Notaro
are planning a 22.5 yr. reunion for
anyone in our class who'd like to get
together for a girls' weekend. It will
take place the 1st weekend in 11/1010
in Jacksonville, FL, at a house that
belongs to Kathryn's family that used
to be a bed and breakfast. Anyone in
our class who'd like to go can contact
Kathryn at (786) 877-3754 or e-mail
her at akkbwc@aol.com
I've been busy doing some free-
lance museum projects in Baton Rouge
along with working on an exhibition
with the Dixon Gallery and Gardens in
Memphis. They're holding an exhibi-
tion of the work of Helen Maria Turner,
the artist who was the subject of my
master's thesis. One of the paintings in
the exhibition is coming from the Sweet
Briar collection. My son, Jack will be
starting his senior yr. in the fall and my
daughter, Nina will be in the 6th grade.
I'm excited that they'll be at the same
school this yr, even if it's just for 1 yr.
I'm looking forward to coming to VA
this summer for a family reunion near
Charlottesville and hoping to make a
side trip to Sweet Briar. Best to all!
r?s?
Miss Emmy S. Leung
7102 Wynne wood Ct.
Richmond, VA 23235
Fan-han@prodigy.net
emmy@wakousa.com
mo
Kelly Wood Erickson
104SWinterberryCt.
Smithfield, VA 23430
skjs2@charter.net
mi
Victoria Campo Byrd
2800 NE 22nd St.
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33305
garnettandvickie@att.net
Mamie Farmer Farley
5302 Bewdley Rd.
Richmond, VA 23226
mamiefarley@comcast.net
Tricia Pheil Johnson
10359 Church Hill Rd.
Myersville, MO 21773
tricia.johnson@strollerfit.com
Sweet Briar College Alumnae Magazine • www.alumnae.srjc.edu
1993
Stacey McClain
2219BelotePI.
Jacksonville, FL 32207
staceydmcclaJn@hotmail.com
Ellen Ober Pitera loves life with Charlie
(2) and is waiting patiently for the arrival
of their 2nd baby from Korea. She hopes
travel to get him/her in winter 201 0.
Mimi Davies Wroten and husband Neil
welcomed baby Connor in 1 2/09!
Beth Gilkeson King gave birth
to twins, Sarah Colby and Alexander
Gilkeson on 1/11/10! She plans to be
home with them until early May and
return to work. Tracy Camden Wilburn
visited the babies and her, and Tracy
enjoyed a lovely day together with her
husband, Adam. Beth is in touch with
K.L. Polevitzky who is deploying to
Afghanistan in Apr. Jennifer Jarvis
Ballard has been busy as a stay-at-
home mom and helping in girl scouts
and cub scouts. She and daughter
Jessica (8) have been active in a brand
new brownie troop. Jennifer says that
"it's great fun to work with these future
leaders. Maybe we'll get a Sweet Briar
girl or 2 from these girls."
Laura Warren Underwood,
husband George, and girls Christine
(9), Katherine (5), and Charlotte (2)
have made another trip to the Magic
Kingdom! Laura reports they're pretty
much experts now. Pictures are posted
on their website for all to see: friend T.
George Underwood on Facebook and go
to the links. Laura et. al write, "We miss
our friends from SBC."
Tracy Stuart has moved to Mar-
tha's Vineyard and is working part-time
as a freelance writer. She loves life by
the ocean surrounded by friends and her
boyfriend.
Maria Bergh and her husband
welcomed a 2nd daughter in 12/08 and
now live in Madrid, Spain. She is well
and keeps in touch with lots of Vixens.
201 0 started with a bang for Nalini
Mani. New job, but same career! After a
yr.'s hiatus of not seeing the inside of a
plane, she's back doing what she loves
most: travelling, albeit now it's primarily
during the wk. within the U.S. Nalini
plans a trip to Rome during Memorial
Day weekend and hopes to meet up with
Amy Davis '94 if she makes it over the
pond from UK. She's also planning a 2
wk. trip to Tibet in fall and is determined
to make it up to First Base Camp Ever-
est. She hopes to see Prerana Thapa
'92 in Nepal on her way there. Nalini
plans to celebrate the big 4-OH (shhhh!)
on Dec. 31 in Rio — come one come all
if you want to enjoy Caipirinha's on the
Tropic of Capricorn (perfect for my sun
sign!)
Julie Skilinski Brooks is walking
Sweet Briar College Alumnae Magazine • www.alumnae.sbc.edu
in the local National Multiple Sclerosis
Society's Walk on 05/02/1 0. She's
been busy hitting up friends, family, and
alumnae online to donate. She has also
learned to love the Wii and has danced
and boxed her way to a 20+ lb weight
loss! Julie reports that Laurie Palmer
just bought an 1 1 -yr.-old thoroughbred,
and she'll be up and riding him ASAP.
Laurie is excited about the purchase.
Julie occasionally gets to chat with
Gretchen Petrus and Nalini Mani. She
likes to talk about her gelato-eating ex-
ploits on Facebook. Sally Estes Vigezzi
learned how to fish last yr. and spent the
whole summer at the lake with her kids.
The family has even bought a fishing
boat and is excited to spend another
summer at the lake fishing! Sally is also
planning a trip to VA this summer with
a few days in VA Beach to see Colleen
Losey Daughtry who she hasn't seen
since graduation! Their kids are all about
the same age, so both are excited about
the visit. Sally hopes to make it to SBC
for a day.
Debra Elkins has just moved back
to D.C. and is now working for the U.S.
Dept. of Homeland Security building
strategic risk models. Good to know we
have Debra on our side! She writes that
it's great being back in VA.
Holly Witt Aitken is still having a
great time in Hong Kong. She and the
family are headed to the Great Barrier
Reef and Ayers Rock, Australia, on
03/10 and planning trips to Shanghai for
the World Expo, Angkor Wat, and a trip
back to the U.S. before the end of 2010.
Patty Friend Douglass is expect-
ing her 3rd girl in a few wks. She and
Melissa Cranmer McManus are still
great friends have seen each other a lot
this yr. Melissa's 3 children are Jack,
Olivia, and Finnegan, and Patty's kids
are Parker, Sarah Grace, and Georgia
(on her way.) Patty is still married in NY
and training horses, and she reports that
Melissa in Mclean VA, is married and a
very hard working momma.
Norma Bulls Valentine is still
doing real estate in Aiken, SC, and Wel-
lington, FL. Sister Nancy Bulls is also
doing real estate in FL and busy taking
care of the 1 2 horses on our farm .
Annalisha "Lily" Anderson
McGinley and family are still in Panama
City Beach, FL, and looking to staying
there for the foreseeable future. She's
working part time at her church, but
most of her time is taken up being
a mommy and running a large local
playgroup for pre-schoolers. Son Cash
(3) will be getting a baby sister the 1 st
wk. of Jun.!
Kimberly Cutting Winter writes
that twins Evy and Lolly (4) make their
parents laugh every day with some of
the humdingers that come out of their
mouths! Hayden (7) is enjoying school
and tae kwan do. Kimberly has started a
bakery from home and been pleasantly
surprised by its success! Her goal is to
open a storefront once the girls get into
school full time in a few yrs. Kimberly
had lunch with Susan Messikomer
Horenkamp in Maui, HI, in 02/10; they
were both there for their husband's win-
ners circle trip with the company SAP.
It was great to catch up and have some
time together sans children!
Tracie Allen Webber and Lee just
got back from a trip to the Bahamas
with Kelly "Pepper" Coggshall '95 and
Jim. The group had lots of fun diving,
although weather was a little cool.
Tracie reports that the kids are getting
big: George (1 0), Porter (6) and Anna-
Margaret (5). "Life is good!"
Dianne Hayes Doss has been
promoted to a Software Development
Manager position at Cox Communica-
tions, where she's been working for
the last 4 yrs. It's exciting and daunting
at the same time. Husband Bill has
resigned from HP and will be starting
a new job with TitleMax, working on
their consumer-facing website(s), which
will be new for him. Dianne and family
have adopted a puppy, a female, black
lab-mix named Sophie. Kids Dan and
Jenny are doing very well at school
and are participating in the GA State U.
Sat. School program again this spring.
They're planning a trip to Tampa for
a week in Jul., and otherwise will be
adventuring as kids, puppy, and energy
allow.
Sabryna McClung Roberson
reports that she's thoroughly enjoying
being a foster parent to 2 siblings, a
boy (6) and his little sister (2). She and
hubby Greg are hoping to move toward
adopting them late this summer! Sa-
bryna has started the countdown to our
spring break trip 'back home' to Islamo-
rada, FL! The kids have never been to
the Keys and are excited to finally meet
her side of the family. (They met 31
members of Greg's family in AZ during
a holiday wedding in 12/09.) She and
Greg look forward to volunteering again
at the 201 0 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach!
Sabryna (as always) hopes to visit with
anyone headed to Northern CA!
As for me, Stacey McClain, I'm re-
covering from a back injury and ready to
be better so I can get out in the garden
among other things! My daughter Ever
(5) is enjoying PK at Bolles and will be
attending Theatre Camp at the Jewish
Community Alliance this summer. She's
a reading, writing, and a budding artist
and performer and she never forgets a
thing! Husband Bob Folwell is enjoying
work with Interline Brands as well as
the view from the 14th floor of their new
digs. We are planning on a trip (or 3)
to Disney this year and hopefully some
time in VA to see family/friends/visit
SBC and a trip CA to visit Sabryna's new
clan. Yes, it is true, our 20th reunion is
approaching! Keep in touch and plan to
celebrate our 20th on campus and in
person!
im
Molly Morris
1411 S 6th St.
Columbus, OH 43207
molly.morris@gmail.com
Thanks to all of you who attended
reunion last spring. It was great to see a
few faces of people who hadn't attended
before, and a few of whom we can now
call "regulars." It was wonderful to catch
up, and we made some new memories.
Amy Loux, challenging some of the
guys to a bike race on the pink bikes
that the College has placed around
campus - and that took place at what?
One in the morning? Some habits are
hard to break when we get back on
campus, I think.
The class of 1994 is busy! Nicole
Streeter-Hokes and her husband Tyson
welcomed a daughter, Nahla Nicole
Hokes in April 2009. LaQuinta Donatto
'92 hosted her baby shower.
Caitlin Sundby Russell finishing
her last year of classes to get her M.A.
in Nutrition. She has to complete a
9-mo. internship in 201 1 , and then sit
for the Registered Dietician Exam. She's
thankful for her supportive family, es-
pecially her husband, Scott. Eva turns 5
this yr. and will start Kindergarten in fall.
Julia, hot on her older sister's trail, turns
2. She enjoys keeping up with her SBC
classmates on Facebook, and wonders
what we did without it.
Wendy Wall Nace is living in
Birmingham and working as a Licensed
Professional Counselor. She'll celebrate
her 13th wedding anniv. in 7/2010, and
is planning a mini-reunion in Atlanta in
4/2010 (and is very excited.) She wishes
everyone well!
Heather Bayfield Weidle and her
boys are doing great. Michael (5) and
Matthew (2) are going to a Montessori
school that they enjoy. Her business, Life
Management Advisors is going well, and
was a finalist for Best Overall Company
and Best Entrepreneur categories for the
Stevie Awards for Women in Business —
an international award given each year
in NYC. No win this year, but they're
keeping their fingers crossed for next yr.
They're franchising with a concentration
in FL. Check out their website at www.
lifemanagementadvisors.com. Misses
seeing Katherine Lindsay Auchter
since she moved to ME.
Elizabeth Thigpen Landry is living
in Pinehurst, NC with Aaron, Emma Gen-
try (9), Caroline (8) and Marshall, who'll
be starting Kindergarten in fall. They got
together a few times with Courtney
O'Dea Plaisted and her kids over the
Summer 2010* 57
summer and had lunch with Allison
Vollmer Douglass in NYC while on a
trip with Aaron.
Mtesa Cottemond Wright and her
husband Tony gave birth to a baby girl
on 1 0/1 5/09. She was a healthy 7 lbs,
13 oz, and 19 in.
Liz Gilgan has made the pro-
nouncement that she'll notbe pregnant
this summer. Nicholas is 18 mos., and
running all over the place and Liz had a
daughter 8/27/09 - Isabella Muirin.14
months apart, not quite Irish twins. She
saw Ashley Henderson Swigart in
early Dec. She came to Boston with her
son Preston. She saw Adria Lande '96
in Feb. for a short visit. She talks to Lia
Colbert Amelia Johnson, Corinne
Gaillard and Robyn Barto often and
they're all doing well.
Nellie Kan was happy to report that
she and Al got engaged on Valentine's
Day. They're planning a small private
wedding in a secret location. Best
wishes! There will be a lot of traveling
for the 2 of them in the next year!
Katie Blaik- James is celebrating
Elizabeth's 18-mo. mark. Conner is 10
and Jackson is 8. She and John are
celebrating their 5-yr. anniversary in
Jun. She's on indefinite maternity leave
and loving it.
Amelia McDaniel Johnson reports
that Wyly and Jed are growing like
weeds. They have 2 yellow labs, Ruth
and Earl. Jed would like to grow up to
be a "hunter" and Wyly is going to save
the world by recycling. (Sounds like her
mom!) Amelia is teaching, and Wooten is
working hard.
Allison Vollmer Douglass and
William welcomed Will on 1 2/4/08,
joining Kate and Abby. They're in NY.
Allison is doing art appraisals part time
with her dad and William is at CIT. She
loves keeping up with the SBC girls on
Facebook!
Amy E. Loux wants to thank the
SBC staff and alumnae office for a
fabulous reunion. It was her 1st visit to
campus since graduation, and she was
so happy that so many others attended.
She caught up with Katherine Cook,
Molly Phemister Sarah Underhill,
Nellie Kan. Mtesa Wright, and was
thrilled to see other alumnae that had
made the trek: Rebecca Carle '93,
Laurel Knaup '95 and Mary "Cookie"
Carle '59. She enjoyed visiting with Lisa
Johnston and getting an update on the
great work the library is doing. "Big love
to all my SBC Sisters!"
Andrea Buck got engaged to
Christopher Bingham on 8/2/09 with
a wedding planned in later 2010. She
hopes that some of her SBC classmates
will be able to visit Somerset to attend
the celebration. 2009 was a whirlwind
yr. for her. She finished working for the
Financial Times and completed her
Masters studies at Oxford U. She hopes
58 'Summer 2010
she'll be able to have some time to
enjoy being engaged!
Susan-Margaret Barrett and hus-
band Scott welcomed Lillian Margaret
Johnson into the world on 7/1 0/09. She
is joined by Charlie (4) and Benjamin (2).
Susan Margaret and Scott are staying
true to their passions for photography
and music, but are also very busy with
their growing family. Susan Margaret's
stunning photographs were part of the
alumnae art exhibition at Reunion.
Amy Ross, living and teaching in
the Bay area, reconnected with an old
friend and rediscovered her city over the
summer — as a tourist. She visited New
Orleans with some friends from Mem-
phis and spent time with Corinne Gail-
lard. She took her boys camping in the
Sequoia National Forest for a wk. (She
is proof that Ms. High-Maintenance can
indeed go camping.) She also travelled
to Costa Rica for 1 0 days, loved it.
Tysha Calhoun Stroka enjoys life
in central TX. She's working for SSA,
and is involved with and on the Board of
Dir. of the Gaslight Baker Theatre. The
latest addition to their furry family, Roux,
just turned 1 and is over 1 0Olbs. Tysha
still has a clean bill of health, but wants
to encourage all her SBC sisters to get
checked out annually to make sure
everything is working properly.
Betsy Lanard married Kevin Mc-
Cafferty in 3/09 and on 2/23/1 0 gave
birth to Brook Elizabeth. Marley is now 5.
Betsy is still teaching music for the Phila-
delphia School District and Alvernia U.
I'm the wine buyer/general manager
for a wine shop and bistro in Columbus,
and I'm also an active member of an
independent restaurant group in town. I
seek out new member restaurants and
give them the "tough sell." I'm also busy
planning a January 201 1 wedding to
Chuck Flasche. He proposed on a trip
to Rome just after the holidays, and
we're hoping to honeymoon in Australia.
(He was the tall guy at Reunion, and
yes, you'll be seeing him there again in
2014. Possibly with something to make
those dorm beds appropriate for a guy
who's 6'4".)
rw
Beverley Stone Dale
2006 Ashcrest Ct.
Richmond, VA 23238
bsdale@comcast.net
rm
Mrs. Amy Daugherty Michel
8185 E. Smooth Sumac Ln.
Tucson, AZ 85710
amy@themichels.net
Julie Baer Diter lives and teaches h.
s. English and French in Grosse Pointe
Ml. She's married to Gregory, whom she
met on her junior yr, abroad in France.
She has 3 children Alexandra (11),
Justin (10), and Guillaume (11) mos.
She's looking forward to warm weather
and travel. Julie sends a warm hello to
all old friends from class of '96.
April Collins Potterfield says her
big news is they will be moving to China
in Jun. Russell is starting business
ventures there and still functioning
as the CEO of Battenfeld Technolo-
gies. Benjamin will be going to Shekou
International School, as will Oliver and
Nathaniel (our 20-mo.-old twin boys). "I
was just recommended for Tenure and
Promotion at Westminster Coll. by the
Board of Trustees, however, I'll be leav-
ing the biology dept. in May. It's hard to
be an Associate Professor from across
the world. I intend to get the kids settled
into their schools, and their Mandarin
training, and then I might take some
courses at Shenzhen U. myself in order
to take advantage of all that China has
to offer."
Susan T. Cash writes: "I live in Elon,
VA, with my husband Jeff. I'm Dir. of Day
Support Services at The Arc of Central
VA in Lynchburg. I have 3 children in
college and 2 adorable grandsons, Seth
and Alexander, and 2 granddaughters,
Trinity and Faith. When not working, Jeff
and I love to go to Nags Head and fish,
and be with the kids and grandkids.
Amy Daugherty Michel & Sam
welcomed 2nd son Owen Laine Michel
on 1/28/1 0.Xander was thrilled to final-
ly meet his baby brother, and has been
excellent with him! Things were a little
crazy in the beginning, as Owen was
born 2.5 wks. early and then contracted
RSV and bronciolitis at 1 1 days old. He
had to be hospitalized for a wk., though
he has made a full recovery. Xander
turned 3 on 3/09/10, and continues to
be a smart, funny and joyful child. All of
the Michels are looking forward to a visit
from Paige Vaught Campion in Apr.,
and eagerly await the news of Imogen
Slade Rex's new baby boy in early
Apr. Amy continues to enjoy keeping in
touch with classmates and their families
through facebook, and especially loves
everyone's pictures!
Christie Cardon writes in 6/09:
"I was delighted to be a bridesmaid
in Ann Kay's wedding in MA and had
fun seeing other SBC friends. Then, on
1 0/9/09, Darryl and I welcomed our 1 st
child, Alexander Leathers Anderson. He
was a full month early, but healthy and
happy. I'm now back at work with King
& Spalding. In spring, we hope to travel
to Northern VA to introduce Alexander to
our SBC friends in the area.
Leah Jorgensen is living in
Portland, OR, and is enrolled in the
winemaking degree program at
the Northwest Viticulture Center at
Chemeketa Coll. in Salem. She's also
consulting northwest wineries and wine
businesses with marketing and com-
munications strategies. She freelance
writes about wine and gluten free
living. She plans to see Meg Magistro
Arcadia Cindy Rakow Readyhough,
Eileen MacMurtrie and Ardas Kaur
Khalsa (Alex Hiribarne) this summer,
Cindy Rakow Readyhough and
husband Patrick live in Charlotte, NC.
They have a little boy, Sam (2) and
recently had their 2nd child, Katelynn,
who's 5 mos. Cindy will be going back
to work soon with Ernst & Young and
her husband still works for himself
in the building/construction industry.
She keeps in touch with Meg Magistro
Arcadia. Eileen MacMurtrie. Leah
Jorgensen and Alex Hiribarne
Jennifer Smith reports all is well in
Richmond VA. "I'm in my 6th yr. as Dir.
of School Counseling at Varina H. S. in
Richmond, VA, and am back in school
pursuing my post masters certification in
Educational Leadership. I'll be graduat-
ing in Dec! At work I get very excited
speaking to my students about SBC. I
hope to get more there! I stay in touch
with Lynn Davis Saunders, Reneca
Rose Atkinson '97 and Andie Thomas
Young '95. We're hoping to find time to
get together soon! Life is great!"
Linday Mactavish Vogt was mar-
ried on 3/21/10 in San Pedro, Belize.
Her husband, Brian, is from Hibbing,
MN, and they're currently living in
Harrisburg, PA. Lindsay stays busy with
work, trail running, mountain biking, and
adventure racing.
Abby Phillips Hinga and Sean wel-
comed James Phillips Hinga on 2/5 (his
due date!) He weighed 9lbs and was 22
in. long. He's a healthy, happy baby who
is letting his parents get lots of sleep,
for which they are very grateful. The
family is loving life in Denver and having
Janeen Sharma and Laura Powell
Gatling close enough to see often!
As for me, life is treating me kindly.
I've had a great time getting to know
James Hinga in his 1st few wks. and re-
cently had a wonderful visit with Annie
Pankoski Sherman. Annie is happily
living in the Bay Area with her husband,
Peter, and their beautiful children Max
(4) and Elsa (15 mos). After 5 yrs., I
still love living in Boulder, CO. Last yr., I
finished my master's in psychology and
keep busy enjoying the Rockies and
working as a Human Factors Engineer.
My best to the class of '96.
1997
Kerri Rawlings Burtner
601 N Rosina Ave.
Somerset, PA 15501
kerri.burtner@gmail.com
Sweet Briar College Alumnae Magazine • www.alumnae.sbc.erJu
rm
Cynthia Bumgardner Puckett
7123 High St.
Floyds Knobs, IN 47119
cpuckett@sbc.edu
Cady Thomas
2330 Byrd Street
Raleigh, NC 27608
CadyLou1@gmail.com
Alicia Foster Wilbun says the Wilbun
family is doing great! She has learned
how to do Bunka (Japenese embroi-
dery), and it makes gorgeous pictures
and is tons of fun! It's nice to get out
once a wk. for adult time. Brianna (4) is
reading 3 letter words. It was exciting to
watch and listen as she read her 1st
word. She has also started gymnastics
and is doing really well — a natural.
Estelle (1) is running now (started walk-
ing at 10 mos.) and having a good time
playing with Brianna. Alicia had a great
visit with Fionna Matheson in Jan.
Fionna saw the girls and they went out
to dinner; it was nice to laugh like they
did in coll.! Alicia's family took a road
trip to Ml last May to see Krista
Wigginton Gravatt '99. They talk often
and hope to see her again this summer
so Alicia can meet Grace! Alicia keeps
in touch with Betsy Wilbun Ranson '99
and sees her when they visit
Appomattox. Alicia talks with Chantel
Bartlett often and hopes to see her
soon! Brigette Laib Mattox married
Mark Mattox in The Woodlands, TX,
1 1/28/09. Anna Meres Wade was a
bridesmaid Cynthia Bumgardner
Puckett was absent due to the
impending arrival of her new baby girl!
Brigette and Mark are now living in
Montgomery, TX, and loving married life!
Brigette is looking for a career change
from chemical sales to possible cos-
metic sales. Cynthia Bumgardner
Puckett gave birth to Eliza Joy Puckett
on New Year's Eve 2009! Cynthia and
Darrin are enjoying the roller coaster
ride of parenting 3. Although busy with
children, hearing from friends is a wel-
come respite during the day. Stephanie
Belk Loter and Tom are expecting their
2nd child, a boy, on 5/19. Stephanie
says, "Pregnancy is going well; we're
enjoying preparing the house, dogs, and
big sister for the new arrival." Abilene
(1 1/29/07) is growing like a weed and
exploring the world around her. She
amazes them with new words, songs,
activities. Stephanie works in
Greensboro at Novartis Animal Health
part-time and lives in Wake Forest. She
keeps in touch with Cady Thomas and
Susan Barney Astrid Liverman has
moved to CO for a new job. She and
Taylor bought a house in Evergreen, a
chalet on the side of a mountain, which
they love and will make their own in the
spring when it gets a bit warmer. They
have a puppy named Quoia (for
Sequoia, as she'll be huge) and Piki, a
feral kitten. This past weekend she had
a surprise visit from Cari Petrulli Class
of '99 and her husband Scott and baby
King. She was her freshman year room-
mate, but left SBC after. Carolyn Leddy
reports that with the situation looking
bleak for Republicans in Washington,
D.C., she decamped to Tokyo this past
fall for a yr. Her husband remains in D.C,
to advocate the misguided policies of
the Obama administration. But Carolyn
remains hopeful that he at least has the
good sense to keep the house clean
while she's gone! Carolyn is spending
the yr. on a Council on Foreign Relations
fellowship at the National Institute for
Defense Studies in Japan and is explor-
ing issues related to nuclear deterrence
in East Asia. She loves living in Tokyo,
drinking sake and traveling around
Japan and looks forward to her husband
joining for a trip to Vietnam in spring.
Carolyn will return to D.C. this summer
to join the Republican resurgence!
Cyndi Hague Hineline is excited that
winter finally seems to be ending in OH!
She and Shawn are well, and it's been
fun watching Alex grow (he never
stops!) and learn everything he can.
Cyndi performed in a production of
Sweeney Todd last summer and is help-
ing to develop a summer children's the-
atre program at her community theatre.
Last May, she met Katherine Carr in
Louisville for a long weekend, and they
visited with Cynthia Bumgardner
Puckett. They had a great time, even
though Cyndi managed to get them lost
a couple of times! She chats with
Heather Thomas Armbruster via the
internet quite a bit, and it's been fun
"reliving" the many late night discus-
sions they had in coll., although the
subject matter is a bit different! Leslie
Farinas Padron met with Samantha
Brodlieb Platner during Christmas in
NYC while she was home visiting family.
They met up for coffee and cake at the
Plaza Hotel. Leslie lives in Zaragoza,
Spain, has been married for 3 yrs.
Samantha Platner reports that she
always looks forward to their annual
Christmas reunion in NYC. She and
Mary Friberg collaborated during Feb.
201 0 New York Fashion Week on the La
Perla Fall 2010 show. Hourglass
Cosmetics sponsored the makeup for
the La Perla show that Sam was pro-
ducing as PR Manager, La Perla North
America. Mary was appointed PR
Director for Hourglass. It was fun work-
ing together! MaryLea Martin Harris
is having fun making artsy messes with
her 2 daughters Emma (7) and Claire
(3). She blogs about their arts and crafts
adventures on her blog Pink and Green
Mama (www.pinkandgreenmama.blog-
spot.com) It's been fun catching up with
SBC friends who read the blog and try
out her ideas with their kids. Amanda
Diamond Ring made the ribbon bar-
rettes for her daughter and achieved
rock star mom status. Also check out
MaryLea's Peep Diorama "Goodnight
Peep" (based on the children's book
Goodnight Moon) as one of 5 finalists in
this year's Washington Post's Peeps
Diorama Contest. A few months ago,
MaryLea received news from Anne-
Claire Wackenhut when she
announced her engagement to Scott!
She still sees Courtney Totushek Brown
'97 for play dates with their kids.
Amanda Diamond Ring and Kevin
celebrated a decade of marriage in Oct.
and keep active with Karleigh (who
loves school and is perfecting her
Hebrew and correcting her mom
already!) and Asher (3) who is starting
preschool this fall. Karleigh takes ballet
with Gregor Lee '00. Amanda had a
great time at Homecoming with more
friends than she can name, but
Scarlett Swain, Gretchen Tucker,
Charlotte Rognmoe Gilbar. Kimberly
Osborne Jerger. Jenny Hogan
Koehn, Lisa Hall Flynn, and Gregor to
name a few. She saw Robin Bettger
Fishburne '96 when she rode her horse
at the Biltmore Estate. Amanda and her
family /cveAsheville and requests all
SBC ladies give her a shout when in the
area. Nichi Benson Knox quit her
teaching job this past summer to stay
home with her 2 boys. Robert David (3
1/2) and Elijah (1 5 mos.) are full of
energy and are keeping her busy!
Erikka Sund Neal and her husband
welcomed baby #2, Samuel Garrison
Neal, on 5/27/09. He and Frances are
1 6 mos. Apart. Erikka is in her 7th yr.
teaching 3rd grade and now teaches at
the same school that she went to as a
child. Erikka spent a girl's weekend in
New Orleans with Erin Wortley
Valliere and Joanne Hopkins in Apr.
Erin Wortley Valliere says the Valliere
family is great and life feels so much
more manageable with the baby turning
2 this spring. She's working for the
Marine Corps as a government civilian
in Fire Support, loves it. Erin is running
quite a lot and signed up for a trail half
marathon Mar. and the Marine Corps
historic half in May. She misses every-
one. Erin is hoping to see folks at her
daughter's First Communion in May.
Laura Fitton Pieper has been out of
work for over a year now, after being
laid off from her last journalism job.
She's trying to make do with freelance
writing and temp jobs. If any alumnae
out there work for publications that
need freelance writers, give her a call!
Laura had an amazing experience in
Los Angeles last spring as a fellow in
the National Endowment for the Arts'
Sweet Briar College Alumnae Magazine • wwwalumnae.sbc.edu
Journalism Fellowship in Theater. She's
considering going back to school to pur-
sue an MFA in creative writing. Nathane
and Laura will be married 12 yrs. in
6/1 0! Jessica Pavia Tra changed jobs
and now works as a special education
administrator in Prince William County
Schools. Her job requires her to support
the teachers and school administrators,
so the day is never the same twice.
Jessica is working on a dissertation
proposal for her Ed.D. in Educational
Leadership. She hopes to submit her
proposal in the next mo. Her boys,
Kenny (7) and Donovan (5), are getting
big. Ken and Jessica have been married
for 10 yrs. Cady Thomas keeps in
touch with Katie Martin, Bronwyn
Beard, Lindsay Culp, Susan Barney
and lots of other SBC Ladies thanks to
facebook and email. She's planning a
trip with Susan and Lindsay this sum-
mer. Cady and her family spent
Christmas with Serena Putegnat and
Tara Putegnat '00 in Brownsville, TX,
and looks forward to seeing them again
this summer. Chantel Bartlett and
Kim Izquierdo returned from a long
weekend where they were reunited after
nearly 7 yrs. They spent the weekend in
Sonoma, CA, barrel tasting. Kim
Izquierdo is celebrating 9 yrs. with
Phizer. She travels both personally and
for work. She soon jets off for a week of
fun in Tokyo. Chantel continues to work
with foreign exchange students. In a few
weeks, she'll be turning in her 2 months
notice without a new job lined up!
Rather difficult to find a new job when
you won't be able to start for 2 mos!
Chantel thinks that she'll return to work
as an executive assistant for a while,
take a break from high-stress jobs and
focus on her new passion of becoming
a Zumba instructor. She'll achieve that
in May and is considering going to the
Zumba convention in Orlando come
Aug. She's hoping to have more time to
visit friends around the U.S. like Fionna,
Candice, Alicia and many more once
work-life isn't so crazy. She keeps in
touch with Candice Broughton
Maillard. Candice and family are doing
well, just always on the go with home-
schooling, swimming lessons and enjoy-
ing the great outdoors.
We want to encourage you to give
to the Annual Fund! Our goal for the
Pink Rose Society is underway, and
we're aiming at a 1 00% participation
rate for our class and want to challenge
everyone to give $5. As of today, 37
of us have pledged and given $3,865.
We'd love to give a grand total of
$10,000 with 100% participation by
6/30/10. Contact Cynthia or Cady for
further information. Keep in touch with
us via e-mail or Facebook. We want
to be the support network that uplifts,
encourages, and provides a haven for
each of us when we need it.
Summer 2010 • 59
rm
Lindsey Neef Kelly
15012 Ashby Way East
Carrollton, VA 23314
lindseyckelly@verizon.net
Christy Carl Allison is a SAHM of little
Laurel Elizabeth, born 8/21/09. Laurel
is happy, healthy and, just like Mommy,
loves to sing. Christy continues to pet
sit and do some online freelance writing
on occasion. She was excited to see
Kathryn Alfisi Marisha Bourgeois
and Sara Skoglund at a snow party
she held this past Jan.!
Kim Bolz-Andolshek is keep-
ing busy with her 3 children, Kate (7),
Leo (5), and Gus (2). Kim and husband
Justin are looking at some new models
for their grocery store this spring as they
have a new competitor building .5 mi.
from them. Kim was elected to serve
as chair for the 3rd yr. in a row on the
Pequot Lakes School Board.
Marisha Bourgeois is working on
her M.S. in speech language pathology.
She's the proud recipient of the Dept.
of Education Grant that provides free
tuition with a monthly stipend. In addi-
tion to her new love of science, Marisha
spends the rest of her time in the D.C.
dance world: performing, teaching, and
choreographing. Lately she's been cho-
reographing couples' wedding dances.
Her 1 st couple's dance was for Sarah
Dean in '08. She's also working on a
children's dance book, which her sister
is illustrating. She speaks to Jennifer
Crutcher daily and swears they're the 2
old guys from the muppets.
Rachel Bratlie and Chris are well in
Northern CA. Rachel continues to work
as an inpatient psychiatrist at a county
hospital in Martinez, CA. She's now
board-certified! Chris is working part-
time in civil engineering. They've made
several trips to Phoenix and D.C. to visit
with family. They're planning a 2-wk. trip
to Italy this May and can't wait!
Kristine Bria Brown and Andrew
are celebrating 2 yrs. of marriage this
Mar. and look forward to starting a
family soon. Kristine is excited about
her new business she just started. While
still doing social work, Kristine has just
accepted an offer as a wardrobe con-
sultant for the Doncaster Clothing col-
lection. Kristine is responsible for styling
the Trunk Shows as well as marketing
this fabulous upscale clothing line that
is developed in the same clothing mills
as Prada, Lanvin, and Chanel. Kristine
is looking forward to this new adventure
and encourages all SBC alumnae to
check out her website at http://www.
facebook.com/l/f4bd7:www.doncaster.
com/kbrown and please contact her if
you're interested in purchasing any of
the items available. Kristine keeps in
60 • Summer 2010
touch with Sarah Dean Annie Orten-
gren, Zakiya Norris and many others
via facebook.
Brenda Elze still lives in Panama
City, FL, where she's taking classes
"for fun" thanks to the Gl Bill! She had
a fabulous time at Class of '04 Ginny
Wood-Susi's wedding in Orlando in Feb.,
where she caught up with some alum-
nae she met at last yr.'s reunion. She
keeps in (almost) daily contact with Jen
Schmidt Major and enjoys monthly
conversations with Alex Sienkiewicz
Auer Jill Stromberg Abby Schmidt
Casey Herman and Sarah Lester
Sarah Kingsley Foley moved into
her own apt. in Sept. She started work-
ing for the Hampton Roads Chamber
of Commerce running their young
professionals division, Sync757, in Jul.,
loves her job. Sarah recently added ad-
ditional duties, coordinating the events
in Chesapeake, Suffolk and Portsmouth.
Her son Cole (4) is doing great through
his parents' separation and is a social
butterfly at his preschool. Sarah has
started auditioning again and per-
formed in a "cliff notes" version of The
Nutcracker and also sings the National
Anthem at large regional events.
Natasha White Gamboa has been
busy chasing after son Sebastian (2)
and is anticipating the arrival of another
baby boy on 3/11/10. She's still living
in Northern CA with husband Juan
and became a stay-at-home-mom last
yr. after a full-time career as a tennis
professional. She still dabbles in the ten-
nis world as a part-time retail buyer at a
tennis pro shop, which has been fun!
Kelly Turney Gatzke and husband
Ben have been enjoying Monterey, CA
for the past yr. while Ben attends gradu-
ate school. They'll be moving to West
Point, NY, in Jun. where he'll be teaching
in the math dept. for about 3 yrs. Future
SBC Vixen, Amelia, just turned 3 and
is excited for her brother, Cameron, to
make his arrival.
Krista Wigginton Gravatt was
busy in '09 getting ready for the arrival
of daughter Alexis "Grace," born 9/16.
She was excited after 2 boys to finally
decorate a room in pink and green!
Husband Latham completed his MBA in
Dec, and they're now looking at relocat-
ing to the Southeast, if possible. Krista
enjoys keeping in touch with her SBC
friends on Facebook.
Sarah Elkins Ince is still living in
the Charlotte area and recently returned
to work after giving birth to her 1 st
child Asa David Ince on 1 2/8. (Baby
pictures on Facebook.) Sarah is excited
to report that 2 of her students have
applied to been accepted to SB (though
they haven't made the final decision to
enroll yet). She also has several juniors
considering SBC. Sarah had a great time
at the Charlotte SB Day event and looks
forward to returning to SBC soon for
baby showers for Kristin Dane Ewing
(assistant dir. of career services) and
Robyn Sanderson (dir. of student activi-
ties).
Mamie Jackson lives in Atlanta,
GA, and has a new position as assoc.
vice president of development at
Spelman Coll. On 11/1 3/1 0, Mamie will
marry Robert Williams in Huntsville, AL.
Sean and Lindsey Neef Kelly,
along with daughters Catherine and Ra-
chel, welcomed Alice Marian (7 lbs) on
1 1/30/09. Lindsey is pleased to report
it was the most painless, uneventful,
and boring childbirth one could possibly
imagine. Alice was also the healthiest
newborn of the family, until Christmas,
when she went into respiratory arrest in
the ER. She was diagnosed with non-
RSV bronchiolitis and spent 1 0 days at
the children's hospital, but emerged as
good as new. The girls are thrilled with
their new sister, and surprisingly helpful,
for toddlers. Lindsey's now back at work
at Glasser and Glasser, looking forward
to summertime trips to Busch Gardens
with Sean and the girls, and working on
launching a blog, details on Facebook.
Valerie Roche Kite and Derek wel-
comed Shealyn Marianna on 12/30/09,
weighing in at 7lbs., 14 oz.
Meghan Pollard Leypoldt has had
a great time reconnecting with Vixens
over the past few mos. In Oct., Meghan
returned to SBC with Sarah Kingsley
for a graduate school recruiting event.
It was a blast to be back on campus,
see all the changes, connect with cur-
rent Chung Mungs and sip wine in the
Bistro with Sarah like old times. In Dec,
Meghan had dinner in Durham with Jill
Triana Sarah Dorminey Megan Butt
Glover and Elizabeth Melvin — talk
about trouble! In Jan., Meghan and
Brandi Whitley Hilder drove to MD for
Leslie Hager Holman s baby shower
where they were also able to visit with a
very pregnant Joce Wiherle Greimel
(her due date was the next day). During
their time together, they had lovely
dinner with Anne Jones Manning
in D.C. and got to meet her husband
too. The weekend afterward, Meghan
and her daughter, Piper, celebrated
Brandi's daughter, Amelia's 2nd birthday
in Chapel Hill. Meghan continues to
enjoy family life with Piper and husband
Steve. Piper is growing like a weed and
enjoys saying words like "chicken" and
"naked." Meghan fully indoctrinated
Piper into the world of football with the
culmination of the Saints' victory of the
Superbowl GEAUX SAINTS! Hope every-
one is having a wonderful new yr. and
do visit when you are in the area!
Jen Schmidt Major and Michael
welcomed Ryan Michael on 8/1 1/09,
much to Brenda Elze's delight since he
was born on her birthday.
Heather McLeod and TJ Griffin
welcomed daughter Hazel Belle on
1 0/6/09, a week after big brother Ea-
mon turned 2. Still enjoying Austin, not
that we get out much, she says.
Emily Sartor Patterson and hus-
band Brad are expecting their 2nd child
in 7/2010: big sister Claire is excited
about the arrival of the new baby!
Kathryn Taylor Paine and husband
Jonathan welcomed Amelia Rose Paine
at 1 1 :42 a.m. on 9/10/09 in Houston,
TX. Amelia's favorite activities are drink-
ing milk, eating rice cereal, and staring
at the family dog. After enjoying 3 mos.
of maternity leave, Kathryn returned to
work as the dir. of volunteer services at
the Ronald McDonald House of Houston.
In her "spare" time, Kathryn volunteers
at the patient and family library at TX
Children's Hospital.
Laura Walters Price can't believe
that her daughter Olivia just turned 5
this past Jan. and that she and Jeff will
be married 1 0 yrs. on 4/29 — time flies!
Jackson (3) is so talkative and such a
boy! Laura has gone back to Lynchburg
Coll. to get her endorsement in early
childhood special education so that
she can teach preschool handicapped
or work in a home setting as an early
intervention specialist.
Tina Hansel Snover is enjoying life
with her husband and 2 daughters (3 and
1) and working part time. She's a resume
consultant with Pathway Resumes and
still lives in Lynchburg. She also stays
busy with her MOPS group and is the
leader of the women's ministry at her
church. Tina, Melissa Henning Hill Kris
Harris and Susan Hurley Upshaw all
attended Meredith Tillery McNamara s
wedding last fall in TN.
Leslie Stokes completed her MDiv
from Emory U. in 5/08. Currently, she's
in her 2nd yr. of supervisory training
for Clinical Pastoral Education through
HealthCare Chaplaincy in Manhattan
and serves as a staff chaplain at Memo-
rial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. She
moved from Brooklyn to Queens this fall.
In addition to working toward certifica-
tion as a supervisor, board certification
as a chaplain, and ordination in the
United Church of Christ, Leslie is having
fun planning her wedding to Rachel
Small this coming Labor Day weekend.
They plan to have a religious ceremony
in Louisville, KY. where Leslie's fam-
ily lives and a legal ceremony in the
Northeast.
Lindsay Hicks Watrous and hus
band Tim welcomed a baby boy named
Owen on Dec. 21 . Lindsay recovered
well and Owen is healthy and chunky,
just like his brother Drew (2). Lindsay is
finding it challenging to divide her atten-
tion between them, but is managing to
keep sane on most days. She keeps in
touch with Anna Carmichael Redding.
Shannon Weisenberger Habenicht
and Jera Niewoehner, as well as a
number of Facebook-sawy Vixens.
Sweet Briar College Alumnae Magazine • www.alumnae.sbc.edu
3,000
Marilen Sarian
760 Kings Ridge Dr.
Newport News, VA 23608
artinspired@loveandmojo.com
3001
Amanda Campbell Wright
19304 Anna Kate Ct.
Pflugerville, TX 78660-2972
Swi m VixenOI @yahoo.com
campbell01@sbc.edu
It seems that '01 ers have been up to
many exciting things and have a busy
2010 in front of us! Congratulations to
everyone on your accomplishments and
can't wait to hear what's in store for you
next! Remember that our 10-yr. (Can
you believe it?) Reunion is next May!
Holla Holla!
Jennifer Stringfellow was
engaged to Paul Lamanna (UVA '02) this
past Sept. when they were vacation-
ing in Napa Valley, CA. She and Paul
are having a blast planning their Dec.
wedding, which will be in Alexandria,
VA. Sonya Truman '02 will be her maid
of honor. Jenn enjoyed seeing Megan
Thomas Rowe and Angela Rodriguez
Newman last Sept at Kate Talaber
Butler's wedding. Jenn is extremely
excited to have become an aunt in Jan.
Her older brother, Charlie Stringfellow
(HSC '96) and his fiance had a little girl,
Chloe, a future SBC grad, perhaps?! In
May, Jenn will celebrate her 9th anniv.
with her company, Jeremy Squire &
Associates.
Sarah Machinist still works in
sales for Kraft Foods and is in the
process of moving from Greenville, SC,
to Myrtle Beach, SC. She hopes to meet
new friends and new horses once she
is settled.
Amy Whitney Rippey says hello to
all her fellow Vixens! She and husband
Brian are living in Westminster, MD. She
works for Arnold Palmer Golf Manage-
ment as a dir. of sales. She's looking
forward to the next reunion.
Natasha Nickodem Stevens
and husband Matt bought a house in
Chicago's Mayfair neighborhood and are
looking forward to visits from Stepha-
nie Sherrard and Sarah Belanger
Levinson this summer.
Last fall, Marian Spivey-Estrada
joined Sarah Riggs Stapleton and
Erin McKinley Wiley for a mini-reunion
at the home of Elizabeth Puckett
Haworth in Sedona , AZ. Erin continues
to work as a speech therapist in Seattle
and welcomed her 1st child, Holiday
Joan in Nov. Sarah left her position as
an environmental science teacher in
the Bay area and is now living in Japan
while her husband Jim completes a
post-doc. Elizabeth continues to work
for the nonprofit organization Harvest,
for which she traveled to Haiti, the
Dominican Republic and Honduras last
summer. Elizabeth and Peter recently
welcomed Lord Finley Nelson, a beauti-
ful English bulldog, into their home!
Finally, Marian remains in Washington,
D.C., working for the American Red
Cross. Most recently, she was sup-
porting the Haiti earthquake response,
before going on maternity leave with
her 2nd child Benjamin. Big brother
Othoncito (2) eagerly welcomed the new
arrival.
Amy Tabb and husband Dave are
expecting their 1 st child in late Apr.
They bought a house last summer in
West Lafayette, IN, and are happy there
while Amy finishes her Ph.D. (expected
sometime in 2010) and Dave teaches h.
s. nearby.
Leah Brooks Waldrip and husband
Adam welcomed their 2nd child, Sabrina
Ann Waldrip on 3/8/10. Lucy Brooks
Thomas '00, and her new daughter,
Norah, came to visit their new niece
and cousin. Leah is excited to introduce
Sabrina to SBC.
Sarah Houston Kenning and hus-
band Tyler welcomed Jackson Alexander
Kenning on 7/12/09. He only weighed 4
lbs 3oz, but has quadrupled his weight
over the past 9 mos. He was lucky to
visit his friend, Charlie Stawasz, son of
Meghan Frier Stawasz, for a weekend
in Cape Cod. Sarah and Tyler have 1
more yr. in Albany before they move to
Philadelphia for Tyler's fellowship. She's
begun working 3 days a wk. at a reha-
bilitation hospital as a speech language
pathologist and hopes to visit Katie
Wood Rae and her family in Charlot-
tesville in May. Sarah is excited that her
term as president for the Junior League
of Albany is winding down and hopes to
travel more to see her SBC friends.
Mariana Souza is happy in Rio and
moving to a bigger house with husband
Humberto and Beatriz (1). Still practicing
law, loving it. Has been in touch with
Rocio Guerrero. Leslie Farinas. An-
drea Hidalgo and Olive Eiley through
Facebook.
Erin Harrison and Phill are
expecting their 1st baby boy in 7/2010.
They're excited to expand their family.
Erin still loves teaching Jr. high and Phill
is still in the credit union business.
Gwen Wray-Samans and husband
Jamie are expecting their 1st child this
Jun., and best of all: it's a girl! Hello,
Class of 2028! The parents-to-be are
moving to Alexandria in May. Gwen is
also expecting her M.Ed, in secondary
education in English from the George
Washington U. this Jun.
Rami Achterberg Heers and
husband Jesse are expecting their 2nd
child in Oct.
Nia Fonow Ravenstahl and
husband Matt, and step sons Maris and
Seth were delighted to welcome home
their newly adopted daughter Cassidy
Ellen Owings Ravenstahl, born on 9/17
in Port Charlotte, FL. The Ravenstahls
are enjoying being a family of 5 in
Northern VA and will be spending the
summer in Durham, UK where Matt is
working towards his Ed.D. Nia looks
forward to catching up with Jessica
McClosky who lives nearby in New-
castle while the family is there.
Meredith Taylor Eads and hus-
band Micah (HSC '96) welcomed their
1st baby, Isabella Grace, on 8/6/09!
Everyone is doing well, and the new
parents are enjoying every second.
Meredith wants to thank Tia Trout Perez
'02 for a fabulous baby shower! She's
wondering how early is too early to
send in Isabella's reservation fee for her
spot in SBC's class of 2031 ? Meredith
also went back to graduate school this
fall and is working toward her Ph.D. in
special education; she says it's been a
crazy few months and wishes maternity
leave had been longer.
3003
Margaret Brooks Tucker Buck
4436 Yoruk Forest Ln.
Charlotte, NC 28211
buckybrook@gmail.com
Lori Smith Nilan
14600 Windjammer Dr.
Midlothian, VA 23112
lorinilan@fwesco.com
It's been a busy yr. for the class of
2002. There are many new moms to
congratulate!
Amanda Davis Stevens and husband
Isaac are expecting their 1 st child this
summer, due 8/21/10. They've been
busy preparing for the baby's arrival,
and what's sure to be a long, hot sum-
mer. Amanda saw Jennifer Taylor
Catano and her husband Dave while
they were in CA on their "babymoon,"
and plans on attending her shower at
the end of Apr. Jennifer's sweet pea
is due 6/2/2010. She's keeping the
gender a surprise, which has been
exciting. She's been getting great advice
from other SBC moms on Facebook,
including Rebecca Waite Del Piano
and Laura Reither Marcotte Mary
Tassone Dunlevy and husband Dale
will welcome their 1st child into the
world in Apr. — a little girl and named
Ariana Elaine Dunlevy. Mary writes,
"She's already outfitted with Sweet
Briar goodies, and we expect her to be
a future alumna." Rachel Roth Allred
and husband Toby are expecting their
1 st child, a baby girl, due in Apr. Rachel
was able to spend time with Mary
Sweet Briar College Alumnae Magazine • www.alumnae.sbc.edu
Tassone Dunlevy. Kathleen Fowler
and Amy Waller '04 in Feb. at Mary's
baby shower (Mary is due 5 days before
Rachel), and is looking forward to seeing
Kathy and Amy again in Mar. along with
Stacey Armentrout Fallah and Angel
Milone '03 at her baby shower. Rachel
is also looking forward to serving as
a bridesmaid at Angel's wedding in
2/1 1 . She and Toby will celebrate their
4th anniv. in Aug. Liz Waring Mc-
Cracken and husband Chris welcomed
a baby girl on 1 0/26/09. Her name is
Isadora Anne.
There have also been exciting
professional moves for our class. Emily
Yerby is enjoying her new career at The
Greater Boston Food Bank, she writes,
"Aquiring food to feed the hungry is
truly a rewarding career." She and her
partner, Gretchen, are enjoying life in the
Boston suburbs and are looking forward
to traveling this summer! Ruth Huff-
man is running a landscaping business
in Lexington, VA, and is also writing
for a local newspaper and playing
upright bass fiddle in a bluegrass band
with husband Rooster Ruley. Meghan
Gregory is finishing off her last semes-
ter and will be graduating in 08/10 with
a MBA from Pfeiffer U. Sonya Truman
accepted a new job in Oct. and is now
the assistant general counsel in charge
of litigation at Entaire Global Companies,
Inc. She just bought a house in Atlanta
and is scheduled to close on 3/1 7/1 0!
She's anxious about the renovations,
but excited to move and to finally have a
huge yard that her golden retriever can
run in. Juliana DeSantis married Tyler
Perkins in the midst of a snowstorm
at her parents' farm in Culpepper, VA.
They said their vows in a greenhouse
surrounded by their friends and family.
They took a wedding trip to CO where
they did lots of snowboarding. Kathleen
Fowler is still teaching Latin in Fauquier
Cry, VA, and loving every minute (except
for those pesky snow days). In summer
'09, Kathy (along with fellow FL teach-
ers) took a group of students to Ireland
and the UK for 2 wks. to explore their
Roman and Celtic roots, and then stayed
for a few extra days to visit Cardiff,
Wales, and had a blast! She writes, "In
Sept., Amy Waller '04 and I bought our
1 st home. We're happy to be able to
paint the walls!"
I've seen several of our classmates
recently: Mary Tassone Dunlevy for
her baby shower, Rachel Roth Allred
for her baby shower, and Stacey
Armentrout Fallah for her son's 2nd
birthday. I also took my 1 st trip to the
West Coast, to visit my parents in their
new home in Portland, OR, over the
Christmas holidays." In the last edition of
the notes, I incorrectly stated that Kim
Martin and her horse were featured in
Sidelines Magazine. The article actually
was about Kim's good friend Megan
Summer 2010 '61
Beley Withrow '01 . 1 apologize for the
mistake. I look forward to seeing Mar-
garet "Brook" Tucker Buck Denise
McDonald Gentry, Maria Thacker
and Ashley Johnson McGee '03 in Apr.
for a girl's weekend, where they'll cheer
on myself and Kelly Monical while we
run the Charlottesville Half Marathon.
Brook and I hope 201 0 brings much
happiness and great health to you all!
2003
Courtney Amort Silverthorn
501 Palmtree Dr., No. 4
Gaithersburg, MD 20878
courtney.silverthorn@gmail.com
I hope everyone is enjoying the East
Coast thaw after that crazy winter! I,
Courtney Arnott Silverthorn, actually
spent my last week of "work" at the NCI
at home under 47 in. of snow (and paid,
at least) before taking a new position
as an Intellectual Property Specialist
with SAIC-Frederick on 2/16/10. Before
I left the NCI, I prepared a nomination
package for the Federal Laboratory
Consortium's Excellence in Technology
Transfer Award on behalf of an NCI
scientist, which won at both the regional
and national levels! I will be traveling to
Albuquerque, NM in 04/10 to attend the
FLC's national meeting and awards cer-
emony. Matt and I attended 2 VT games
over the winter (1 football, 1 basketball)
and are looking forward to a Caribbean
cruise for Matt's 30th birthday in 10/10.
Lindy Guill Cash and husband
Jonathan announce the birth of their 1st
son, Benjamin Jeffrey Cash on 2/17/10,
weighing 9lbs 21 oz. They're all doing
great and happy to have him home!
Christine Nail announces that she and
her husband had their 2nd son, Jaxson
Daniel Beisker, on 2/03/10.
Heather Cole Kraft and Kathryn
Kraft are meeting up with Caroline
"Cookie" Williams and her girlfriend
for a week-long trip Honduras, Belize
and Mexico! They are also expecting
their 1st child in 08/10.
Allison Albanis Strohmeyer
married Dax Strohmeyer on 05/09/09
at The Breakers in Palm Beach, FL.
Blair Baigent served as maid of honor
and Meg Foley, Carolyn Eney, Eliza
Chenault Hamnett '02, Brianna Meighan
de Hanna '05, and Megan Meighan
'06 all flew in for the weekend. Allison
also reports that Carolyn Eney is
engaged to Matthew Miller, and they're
getting married 5/10 in Seabrook Island,
SCI
Angelique Milone got engaged to
William Lee Dodson in Richmond, VA, on
1 2/1 2/09. They are planning a 2/26/1 1
wedding in Richmond, VA. Her maid of
honor will be Katie Morse '01 , and her
bridesmaids will be Rachel Allred '02,
62 -Summer 2010
Stacey Fallah '02, Mary Dunlevy '02,
and Amanda Schwink
Amanda Crighton Trefzger
started a new position as the enrollment
benefits director with EBC, Inc. in Cincin-
nati, OH. She recently obtained her OH
insurance license and graduated from
Hondros Coll. She and husband Joe are
enjoying married life and are planning a
few trips for this summer to Chicago to
visit with Anna Yankee; Virginia Beach
to see Lana Davis Booth and husband,
James; and to Canada. She keeps up
with other SBC friends regularly through
Facebook, including Courtney Finklea
and Meghan Koury.
Shirley Pinson Hendricks is
rounding out her 4th yr. of teaching; she
and her husband are doing fantastic,
and they visited SBC (his 1st trip) in
5/09 for Betsy's farewell dinner. He was
impressed with the campus and said
he could see how she fell in love with it!
They hope to visit campus once more
prior to their move north this summer!
Julia Schmitz was accepted into
SPIRE (Seeding Postdoctoral Innovators
in Research and Education), a post-
doctoral fellowship at UNC Chapel Hill
that combines a research experience with
a teaching experience. She spent 2/10
interviewing at the partner institutions
across NC and will soon find out where
she'll be teaching for the spring '1 1
semester. She recently went on a surprise
trip to visit Katy Kummer in NYC.
Nicole Crowder is loving her 2nd
yr. of teaching at the U. of Mary Wash-
ington. Her husband Mike finally got a
job in VA working for the DoD, and they
decided to buy their 1 st house.
Lisa Renfrow moved back to CA
from FL in 07/09. She'd been working at
Peju Winery in the Napa Valley, but just
accepted a position as the consumer
direct sales and wine club manager at
Mariposa Wine Company in Madera, CA,
and is moving 3/1 0.
2004
Virginia Wood Susi
7975 Dunstable Cir.
Orlando, FL 32817
ginnysusi@gmail.com
Brienna McLaughlin Pruce is a free
lance artist in Cambridge, England. She
and her husband are traveling the world
and loving Europe. She started an art
store on her website: brienna.net.
Ginny Wood Susi got married on
2/6/10. Her bridesmaids were Erin
Coleman and Jozanne Summerville
In attendance at her wedding were
Kirkland Wohlrab, Stephanie
Gleason Peppier, Brenda Elze
'99, and Emily Suchta. Ginny and
husband Phill live in Orlando with their
2 dogs.
Meredith Shaw Hansen has
been working at Wintergreen Resort
since 8/09. Her son Carter (4) is grow-
ing like a weed and has loved all the
snow. Christina Chubb and Meredith
met in Richmond for a girls lunch in
1/10.
Stacey Maddox is in her 1st yr.
of medical school at WVSOM. She's
enjoying the Problem Based Learning
Program, which is a self-study, small-
group program. She also enjoys living
in Lewisburg, WV, and the great outdoor
activities in the area.
Sarah Barrett is happy to
announce that she and Ivar Aass were
married in a private ceremony on
12/1 1/09 in NYC, where they reside.
Sarah is retaining her maiden name.
Andrea Staton Koplowitz mar-
ried Dale Koplowitz in 5/09 in Crozet,
VA. Katharina Fritzler '05 and Shelly
Kellogg '02 attended. Andrea is still
employed at UVA Medical Center in
Charlottesville, VA, and works in the tox-
icology laboratory. She volunteered as
an arts calendar manager for Piedmont
Council of the Arts in 7/08 and enjoyed
providing art events in the community.
She continues to work on art in what
spare time she can find.
Diana Marshall had surgery
on 10/23/09 at UVA hospital to help
her Crohns disease. She coded, and
lost half her blood due to internal
bleeding in recovery, and required
an emergency trauma surgery. Many
SBC alumnae helped her through that
tough time, Breanne Leibering, Leah
Philhower, Kathryn Davis '05, Andrea
Hidalgo '01 , and Sarah Parson Breeden
05. Courtney Pfaff Kimble took Dee
in post-surgery and used her nurs-
ing skills to help with proper recovery.
Diana's boyfriend, Erick Clepper, gave
her a promise ring for a pre-engage-
ment soon after surgery. Additionally,
during Diana's hospital stay, the 1st
annual Brownie Science Try It Day,
modeled after Prof. Jill Granger's event,
occurred. The event was organized and
planned with Girl Scouts Virginia Skyline
Council and Northrop Grumman Sperry
Marine, Charlottesville, Women Initiative
for Networking and Success Group.
Diana spent Thanksgiving with Sara
Lopez Dawson '02.
Kristin Trayer Barclay and hus-
band Matt are still living just outside
Charlotte, NC. Kristin is a church sec-
retary and teaches piano lessons out
of her home. In 2/10 Matt and Kristin
adopted an Australian Shepherd mix
puppy named Jack. Jamie Jensen '05,
residing in Charlottesville, VA, visited
Kristin in 3/10. The old roomies had a
great time catching up and taking Jack
on long walks!
Sascha Rogers is working as
a pediatric occupational therapist in
Northern VA, She speaks with fellow
SBC alumnae CM Burroughs, Karen
Story Mckenzie, and Jozanne
Summerville often. When she's not
going to the movies and to dinner par-
ties with friends, she's busy planning
her next vacation abroad.
Kirkland Wohlrab is the exec,
assistant for the Sigma Nu Educational
Foundation in Lexington, VA. She's get-
ting ready to make the big move from
Buena Vista to Lexington, a whopping
6 mi., in Mar. She enjoyed seeing all
of her classmates and meeting the
Class of 1999 girls at Reunion last May.
Kirkland talks with Stephanie Gleason
Peppier almost everyday and the 2
recently enjoyed a road trip to sunny FL
for Ginny Wood Susi's wedding!
2005
Melinda Wolfrom
105 State St., Apt. 1
Newburyport, MA 01950
mindywolfrom@gmail.com
Can you believe that our 5-yr. Reunion
is just around the corner?! Neither can
I! I hope you're all planning to attend
(May 21st-23rd). I would like to say
congratulations to all of you who have
had recent additions to your families,
and who have gotten engaged and/or
married within these past couple mos.
Hope you all are doing well!
Liz Eager Marvel lives in
Indianapolis, IN, with her husband.
She loves her job as events coordina-
tor at Coll. Park Church. Her husband
is in medical school, and this fall he's
going to Tsiko, Togo, in West Africa to
work in a missionary hospital for a mo.
Last Jun. Liz spent a wk. in Nicaragua
with her family, a great trip. This past
Sept., she was a bridesmaid in Karen
Dennehy Godsey's wedding along
with Lauren Wade Kerry Martin
Spruill, Erin Gibbs, and Virginia Fowler
'04. Also in attendance were Dana
Ripperton Maggie Murray Kathryn
Strong, and Julia Geyer. They'll be
getting together again this summer for
Maggie Murray's wedding in CA. She
also went to Milwaukee to visit Casey
Knapp Fleming last fall and had a
great time.
Mindy Wolfrom completed her 2nd
master's in classics at Boston Coll. in
May '09, and moved to Newburyport,
MA, to begin her new adventure as
an h. s. teacher! She's teaching Latin,
Greek, and philosophy at Haverhill
Public H. S. She had a very busy yet
wonderful summer: travels with parents
up to ME, with friends to the Cape,
and with Sweet Briar alumnae Nell
Champoux and Natalie Pye '07 to Eric
Casey and Cathy Gutierrez's house for
a visit of fromage, crepes, dachshund
kisses, and Moccamaster coffee.
Sweet Briar College Alumnae Magazine • www.alumnae.sbc.edu
Mindy also visited Molly Mitchell in
Minneapolis, MN, last Apr., where she
presented her 1st academic paper at
a classics regional conference. She's
also enjoyed the recent emergence
of the Sweet Briar Alumnae Club of
Boston, where she has been able to see
alumnae Denva Jackson and Michelle
Badger '06 regularly!
Diane Lotz Warren and Michael
got married on 1 2/1 9'1 0 despite the
blizzard that struck the D.C./VA area.
Tamara Himelright Helton and
Brian just bought a house in Palmyra,
VA, outside of Charlottesville. They
recently became proud parents of a
little girl, Chloe Jane Helton who was
born on 2/1/10. Tamara plans to return
to work mid-Apr. at UVA Healthsouth
Rehab Hosptial.
Sheena Belcher Hubbard and
Matthew are happy to announce the
birth of their 1st child, Aubrey Hubbard,
on 1/7/10. The family is doing well, and
mom and dad are adjusting to the lack
of sleep.
3006
Victoria Chappell Harvey
PSC 76 Box 7851
APO.AP 96319-0057
chappell.victoria@gmaii.com
Abby Adams bought her first home in
Ellicott City, MD, this past Sept.! She's
been doing a bunch of renovations
and has been living in the house for
a bit with her dog, 2 cats, roommate,
and roommate's dog. She's still work-
ing in the newborn nursery at Greater
Baltimore Medical Center in Towson,
MD, loves it! At Homecoming she saw
some ladies and she has been staying
in touch with Jenn Wiley, Lindsey
Cline Joanna Meade, and Jodie
Weber. Abby will be attending Jenn
Wiley's wedding in Vegas in Jul.! Abby
also tries to go riding whenever she
can.
Joelle Andrews is still living in
Durham, NC, with her dog Lindy Lou.
She loves to dance blues and lindy
hop, and frequently travels around the
country for events. Joelle is still work-
ing in Duke U.'s development office,
but not for long! In Sept., she's moving
to Sevilla, Spain, to work as an English
teaching assistant with a JYS sponsored
program. Maybe when she is there
Joelle will get to visit Jenny Jones
Collins who is moving to Germany with
her husband Tommy. But before the big
move, Joelle can't wait to see Jenny
Jones Collins Alexandra Blair.
Jessica Mercier Andryshak and
Charis Lease-Trevathan Chase at
Nicole Bergeron s wedding!
Michelle Clark Bowe and her
husband Thomas made daughter Lillian
a big sister with the birth of their 2nd
daughter, Madeline "Maddie" Laurenza
Bowe, on 1/20!
Jenniter Jones Collins is finishing
up her 4th year teaching 8th grade
science in Clarksville, TN. However,
this Jun., Jennifer will be moving to
Heidelberg, Germany with her husband
who is being stationed there with the
Army! They're so excited to have the
opportunity to explore Europe! Life is
getting very hectic preparing for the
move! Jennifer was lucky enough to
be maid of honor in Jessica Mercier
Andryshak's wedding in Aug.! It was
a beautiful VT wedding and she got to
catch up with Charis Lease-Trevathan
Chase Nicole Bergeron and Alexan-
dra Blair
Leigh Darrell was sworn in to
the MD Bar in Dec, and is enjoying
her judicial clerkship on MD's Eastern
Shore. She took trips to visit Laura
Pierce in KY and Kate Dobie in NY
during the 1st few months of 2010.
Ivey Tabor Godfrey welcomed son
Gabriel Martin on Mar. 5 and had a little
bit of a bumpy road in the beginning as
he spent his first 8 days in the newborn
intensive care unit due to breathing dif-
ficulties as he was 3 wks. premature.
He's home now and growing stronger
everyday and Caroline likes giving her
little brother kisses. They're still living in
Wake Forest and Ivey is a graphic art-
ist and her husband, Ryan, works as a
youth director at their church.
Tori Hankins married Doug
LaBrosse(HSC'06)on11/21 in
Charlotte, NC. Several members of the
Class of 2006 attended the celebra-
tion, including Henslee Evans Olivia
Ungerer Hollylane Riley Sara
Coffey and Shanthi Ramesh
Victoria Chappell Harvey is lov-
ing life in Japan! Besides exploring
she has kept very busy with volunteer-
ing on base along with her job. She
looks forward to future visitors as she
definitely suggests anyone to visit this
awesome country! This spring she's so
excited to be going back to the U.S. for
a short visit to see family and friends.
While she's there, she'll have the
honor of being a bridesmaid in Allison
Martell's wedding along with Lea
Pyne, Charlotte Speilman, and Becky
Teachy '07. Kassie Caola '07 will also
be in attendance.
Charis Lease-Trevathan Chase
graduated from Savannah State U. in
May with a masters in social work.
Sarah Liston is still working for
an IT company in Columbus, OH, as a
project coordinator. She'll be competing
in her 1st triathlon in Jul. She became
engaged to Jason Mitchell (RIT '06), an
electrical engineer, on 3/6 and they're
to be married in Mar. '12! She's so
excited!
Jenny Lynn is living in Richmond,
VA, and working at Henricus Historical
Park in Chester, VA, where she's the
Domestic Skills historical interpreter.
Henricus is the 2nd settlement in colo-
nial VA, founded in 1 61 1 , and the recre-
ated park is starling to ready for the
400th commemoration. Jenny regularly
interprets the "Maids for Brides" sent
over in 1621 , domestic servants, and
Alice Proctor, one of the few women
from a nearby plantation who defended
her homestead during the 1622
Massacre. (If you stop by Henricus this
summer, you might get to watch Jenny
give a musket demonstration with a
reproduction 1 7th century matchlock
musket!) Jenny is also performing
regularly with the Crossroads Irish
Dance Troupe in Richmond and, during
her time off, has been attending 18th
and 1 9th century reenactments up and
down the East Coast.
Lauren Martin is set to graduate
with her Doctorate of Physical Therapy
in May from the Medical Coll. of GA
after 3 long challenging yrs. This past
fall she was able to visit with Cara
Cherry when she came to Atlanta to
intern at the CDC. If all goes according
to plan, they'll room together in Atlanta
following both of their respective gradu-
ations. She stays in touch with Kassie
Caola 07, Tabitha Dixon Ward, Nicki
Brandt, and various other SBC alumnae
through the wonders of free long-
distance and Facebook. If anyone is
ever traveling through Atlanta, feel free
to look her up!
Stephanie Scherer McCallister
has had a lot of entertainment since the
Jan. addition of her second boarder col-
lie, Max. This past Mar. also marked her
first year as a home owner!
Colleen Karaffa Murray is still
at Sweet Briar enjoying the beautiful
campus with her growing family. She
and Brandon are expecting their 2nd
child in Nov.!
3,007
Emily Nicole Olson
382 E. Scripps Rd.
Lake Orion, Ml 48360
emilynicoleolson@gmail.com
Thanks to everyone who sent in notes!
As usual, '07 is up to some amazing
things.
Danielle Dionne is in her 2nd yr. of
teaching 1st grade at Countryside Elem.
in Northern VA, loves it. She's also in the
process of purchasing her 1st home.
Megen Blaesing recently
graduated from V.C.U. with a M.A. in
Occupational Therapy. She's working as
a pediatric OT in Lynchburg, VA, where
she lives with her fiance, Chris and
their pets, Socks and Sophie. They're
planning for their Aug. wedding as well
Sweet Briar College Alumnae Magazine • www.alumnae.sbc.edu
as building a house and a barn for her 3
horses on 70 acres in Campbell Co.
Morgan Roach continues to
work at The Heritage Foundation as
a research assistant on transatlantic
relations, public diplomacy, Africa and
Latin America. She's a member of
American U.'s WeLEAD Program, a
series of seminars dedicated to further-
ing women's leadership in politics and
government. She's also a member of the
Young Professionals in Foreign Policy
Discussion Group on Europe. This spring
Morgan will be playing in D.C.'s tennis
and soccer leagues. She continues to
live in Washington, D.C.
Danielle Briggs-Hansen works
for Systems Planning and Analysis in
finance, since 5/11/09.
Carlina Muglia continues to live
in Athens, GA, working at a law firm.
She recently moved to a new place
that is next door to Cole Shanholtz '06.
"We still spend a lot of time with each
other riding and playing with our dogs,"
she says. Carlina just finished taking a
trapeze class, is doing dog rescue and
Crossfit. This summer she'll be moving
to Austin, TX, and will be visiting in early
May. She writes, "I look forward to the
move and networking with any SBC girls
in the area."
Natalie Pye is in her 2nd semester
of law school at Washington Coll. of Law
at A.U. in D.C, and just made the Mock
Trial team. She writes, "School keeps me
pretty busy, but I hope to make it back to
SBC for homecoming in the fall!"
Laura Schaefer is still loving OR
and finishing up her AmeriCorps service
term with the Beaverton School District,
which ends in Aug. She writes, "We re-
cently received funding to upgrade most
of the lighting in our school gyms and
cafeterias with more efficient fixtures;
the retrofits will be complete before the
end of Jun. and will be saving enough
electricity each yr. to power 57 homes
(700,000 kWh per yr, almost $70,000!)
We've had such a successful yr., and
I'm looking forward to learning more
about energy efficiency and starting my
career on the west coast. I had a short
and snowy visit back to D.C. to celebrate
the holidays with Margaret Loebe '06
and Angelica Shea '06 before heading
up to PA to see my family."
Maggie Saylor Patrick started a
new job working as the assistant dir. of
the Annual Fund at Macalester Coll. in
St. Paul, MN. She says, "I keep dream-
ing of moving back to VA, but so far it
just doesn't seem to be happening."
Husband Martin will be finishing up his
master's thesis in Apr., and they plan on
staying put another yr. or 2 before mov-
ing on. She writes, "I had the chance to
visit with Rachel Reynolds when I was
down for the Feb. board meeting, but I
miss getting to see everyone regularly.
Campus looks great every time I visit,
Summer 2010 • 63
and I'm so proud of the new Green Vil-
lage and the FAC!"
Sarah Kindschuh spent last
summer and fall working in NM at the
Valles Caldera National Preserve and
recently spent the mo. of Jan. working
with baboons in a National Park near
Cape Town, South Africa, then spent
Feb. touring around the area. She has
lots of amazing pictures posted on
Facebook. I wish I could remember more
of the specifics, but as I write this she's
moving back to NM to work in the same
place again for the spring through fall
and she has no cell phone reception.
You'll just have to believe me that it was
really cool.
Heidi Trude continues to teach
French at Skyline H.S. in Front Royal, VA.
She was the head coach for the Aca-
demic Team (quiz bowl) this winter. Heidi
had a blast coaching the team and was
so proud that they came in 3rd place
in the district tournament. This summer
Heidi will be taking a group of students
from Skyline to Ireland, England, and
France. Heidi had a fantastic time at
Homecoming and President Parker's
inauguration. She's planning on return-
ing to SBC for graduation in May.
Caitlin Ashley wrote in for herself
and for Betty Skeen. She writes of Bet-
ty, "She's been studying at the U. of MD
since graduation and will be graduating
with her MFA in dance this yr. Her thesis
concert, entitled Geminuspace, was
the 1 st weekend in Mar. and from what
I hear was well received. In addition
to being a phenomenal dancer, she's
dating a wonderful guy, Hunter." Cat also
says Betty may be looking at moving to
NYC after graduating and says, "so any
SBC alumnae in the NYC area make
sure to let her know you're there! "
As for herself, Caitlin is going on
her 3rd yr. as an international trade
representative with the WV Development
Office. She says, "I assist WV business
with exporting. I organize international
trade missions or booths at international
trade shows and give WV businesses
the opportunity to sell their products
overseas." Since starting there, she has
participated in the Governor's 2007 Mis-
sion to China and led 3 trade missions
with WV businesses, 2 to China and 1 to
Canada. This yr., she's leading missions
to Australia and India. Also, she decided
to go back to school, and is getting an
EMBA from the U. of Charleston and will
graduate this Dec. (hopefully, she says).
She writes, "The business program has
scheduled an International Practicum to
Paris and Amsterdam for about 2 wks.
this summer, so if there are any SBC
girls in the area, let me know! I have
an apartment in Charleston (would love
SBC visitors) and am looking for a house
since I'm not leaving my job anytime
soon. My parents are nearby, so it's nice
to have family around, although, l defi-
64 • Summer 2010
nitely miss my SBC family. I do talk to
Betty Skeen and Rosanna Hawkins
Winner regularly, and am planning trips
to see them this spring/summer."
Kim Wadelton is currently in grad.
school at Georgia Tech for a dual M.A. in
architecture and city and regional plan-
ning. This summer she'll be in Bandung,
Indonesia working at an urban planning
firm. After that, she'll be going to Borneo
to do some volunteer work helping to
build a hospital which she and some
other tech students have been designing
for the past yr. She writes, "I'll be there
to help them break ground and pour
the foundations. It should be awesome.
I'd like to stay there longer to continue
overseeing the construction, but I'm
waiting to see if I get funding, and I'll
have to take a little time off school. But
no rush to graduate, right?"
Eleanor O'Connor is still in London
working on her M.A. in Publishing at U.
Coll. of London. She says, "I'm having
lots of fun exploring the city and taking
day trips away. I start my placement next
mo. and am looking forward to attending
the London Book Fair! If anyone is going
to be in London this summer, let me
know. I'd love to meet up!"
Stephanie Norris is teaching 4th
grade in Richmond, VA, and working on
her M.Ed, in curriculum and instruction
at the U. of Richmond which she will
finish in 5/1 1 .
Ferrell Lyles writes, "Things are
well here in NC! Since my fiance,
Andrew Smith (VMI '06), returned from
Iraq in 1 1/09 we have been enjoying our
house in NC with our cat Isobel and her
arch-nemesis: our Czech/DDR German
Shepherd puppy, Baron. I'm still working
for Booz Allen Hamilton as a senior
consultant. I started my M.A. degree
in diplomacy with Norwich U. in 12/09
and will graduate in 6/1 1 . In other
news, by the time you read this, Andrew
and I will be married! We're having a
small wedding with close family that
will take place on 5/30/10 overlooking
Frenchman Bay in Bar Harbor, ME. Katie
Vaughan '06 and Lynnsey Brown '07
are bridesmaids. Also in attendance will
be Andrew's sister Lydia Smith (who
attended SBC in fall '07) and Andrew's
cousin, Amanda Ankerman '00. After
serious consideration of many options
and the deliberation of a few, we finally
decided to take our honeymoon in the
British Virgin Islands! I hope that every-
one is doing well! I miss you ladies!"
Caitlin Cashin is halfway through
her M.A. in music and cultural history
at U. Coll. Cork in Ireland and having a
wonderful time.
Irene Maslanik will be graduating
in May from Stetson U. Coll. of Law in
Gulfport, FL. She writes, "In the last yr.
of law school, I've had the opportunity to
try several cases and it's been amazing
experience. Upon graduation, I hope to
work as a public defender in Clearwater,
FL. Nothing too exciting — ask me in
a couple a mos., and I should have
passed the bar, gotten a job, and should
be a real grown up! Keep your fingers
crossed!"
Emily Fitzpatrick is in her 2nd yr.
of coaching lacrosse at Oberlin Coll. She
writes, "As the recruiting coordinator for
the women's lacrosse program, I suc-
cessfully recruited the largest incoming
class in recent history of 1 2 student-
athletes." She's planning on moving
to MA for a grad. program in exercise
science and sports physiology. She's
waiting to hear back from Smith Coll.,
but was already accepted to Spring-
field. She says, "I'm excited to move
to western MA and looking forward to
more coaching."
Kelsey Jeffers is living in Falls
Church, VA, and keeping busy. She
writes, "I spend my mornings working as
a laboratory technician for the Vitreous
State Laboratory at Catholic U. of Amer-
ica in D.C. Our research is in nuclear
environmental protection through the
vitrification of nuclear wastes. I spend
my afternoons at the Madeira School
in McLean, VA, as the assistant aquatic
director where I coach swimming and
teach lifeguarding to h. s. girls."
Hollie Jennings Payne and
husband Johnny are expecting their
1 st baby, a daughter they plan to name
KadenceFaye, in Jul.!
Mary Petrie graduated from
Shenandoah U. with her M.S. in Oc-
cupational Therapy in 1 2/09. She was
honored to be elected the class speaker
for her wonderful occupational therapy
class. As of 1/10, Mary is working for a
small private outpatient rehab clinic in
Lynchburg. Currently, she is performing
contract services for this company in
the Buckingham County School district.
Mary loves her new career and is look-
ing forward to trying many new things
in 2010!
Allison Shaw Camper is living
in VA and teaching 9th grade earth
science. She's working on her M.A. in
education.
Rosanna Hawkins Winner is
working at a school for children who
have autism and really enjoys the work.
She says, "While it can be extremely
taxing, it's rewarding in its own ways.
She and husband Rob are busy fixing up
their house, trying to get things finished.
She says they have been successful in
some areas, "Our basement no longer
floods!"
Kim Battad still lives in the Bay
area, working as a music teacher at
Noteworthy Music School, teaching
keyboarding for children and adults. She
misses SBC and her classmates and
hope all is well with them!
Jennifer Dick is enjoying her 1st yr.
of graduate school at Eastern Mennonite
U. where she plans to earn her M.A. in
counseling. Studying keeps her busy, but
she'd love to visit SBC to see all of the
wonderful new changes!
As for me, I continue to live in Ml
with my wild and crazy family. In Oct., I
started teaching musical theatre classes
for kids at a dance studio and in Jan. I
started working as the costume designer
for the local h.s.'s spring production,
Annie Get Your Gun, which will go up in
Apr. I'm enjoying both jobs, and looking
forward to new adventures this sum-
mer. On the weekends I volunteer at a
Family History Library and teach Sunday
school to some rambunctious 7- and
8-year-olds. In 8/09 1 was able to visit
Kim Battad in San Jose, CA, which was
a lot of fun. I didn't get to see Sarah
Kindschuh in NM last yr. as I planned,
but plans are in the works for the com-
ing mos. I'd love to get to London to
visit Eleanor O'Connor, but so far my
funding will only allow floating across
the Atlantic in a barrel and that doesn't
seem like the wisest plan, I keep in
touch with many SBC friends and I love
being able to catch up with a lot more of
you twice a yr. for class notes! I'm really
hoping to make it to SBC for Homecom-
ing this year, so hopefully I'll see all of
you there! In the meantime, if anyone
wants to visit Ml, let me know!
2008
Kathryn Mills
4310 Bromley Ln.
Richmond, VA 23221
kpmills@affiniongroup.com
200?
Julia McClung
14957 Santa Lucia Dr.
Charlotte, NC 28277
Julia.McClung1@gmail.com
0,010
Alaina McKee
9653 Wexford Cr.
Granite Bay, CA 95746
amblues87@comcast.net
Sweet Briar College Alumnae Magazine • www.alumnae.sbc.edu
IN THE SWEET BRIAR
Anne Walden Dewey Guerin '41
Anne Walden Dewey Guerin '41
SHEILA ALEXANDER, development grants officer
Anne Walden Dewey Guerin, Class of 1941, loved
her years at Sweet Briar, where she majored in
English.
When she passed away, her brother, John Peyton
'Pete' Dewey, made a commitment to Sweet Briar
in memory of those happy years his sister spent at
the College and in honor of his mother, Anne Henry,
who was a native Virginian raised in Rappahannock
County.
"My mother loved Virginia. She attended Mary
Washington, but encouraged my sister, Anne, to
attend Sweet Briar, which she did," Dewey said. "After my sister passed away I
read an article in your alumnae magazine, and I thought that a gift to Sweet Briar
would be a great way to honor both of them and make a lasting contribution. I
know they would be pleased."
Dewey created a bequest to the College, making him an Indiana Fletcher
Williams Associate, a donor who makes a planned gift to Sweet Briar. He also
gave a generous endowment gift to the Elisabeth Showalter Muhlenfeld Fund for
Historic Preservation. This gift will help bring Sweet Briar closer to rebuilding
historic Tusculum on the College campus. This beautiful home was the birthplace
of Maria Crawford, mother of Indiana Fletcher Williams, who founded Sweet Briar
College.
When funds are available, Tusculum will be reconstructed near antebellum
Sweet Briar House, home to College presidents and originally a sister plantation to
Tusculum and Mount Saint Angelo, which is also a College property and currently
home to the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts.
"It is important for friends of Sweet Briar to understand that we work to ensure
that a donor's giving plan is satisfactory in every way to the donor's current and
future needs," said Garry Buttner, director of major and planned gifts for Sweet
Briar. "There are many creative ways to plan a gift that contributes to the future of
the College while creating a legacy in memory of someone special."
S
Ann Dewey Guerin at the site of a restored ruin on an American
Indian reservation in Santa Fe, N. M., during her junior year at
Sweet Briar.
"My mother loved Virginia. She
attended Mary Washing-ton, but
encouraged my sister, Anne,
to attend Sweet Briar, which
she did. After my sister passed
away I read an article in your
alumnae magazine, and I
thought that a gift to Sweet
Briar would be a great way to
honor both of them and make
a lasting contribution. I know
they would be pleased."
— John Peyton 'Pete' Dewey
G 0 S 0:ME.W B E RE YOU LOVE THIS FALL
YOUR INVITATION STARTS ON PAGE 22
Sweet Briar College
Box 1056
Sweet Briar, VA 24595
CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED
Non-Profit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
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Liz Kent
Library
SWEET BRIAR COLLEGE ALUMNAE ASSOCIATION
SPRING
Israel
February 26-March 7, 201 1
SUMMER
Chianti & the Italian
Riviera
May 8-17, 2011
A President's Trip:
Discovering Eastern
Europe
June 7-23, 2011
FALL
China
October 18-31,2011
For more information, contact
Melissa Coffey '98, tour coordinator,
at 800.381.6131 or mcoffey@sbc.edu.
Dates, destinations, prices and
itineraries are subject to change.
te-r::
*p