classnotes Special Edition: Class of 1955 class notes for Friends School of Baltimore 2017 Magazine.
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Pat Tisdale ptisdale96kp@gmail.com
This is our year for hitting the big time with most of us arriving at the exalted age of eighty! I think it is amazingly wonderful as we skip along to whatever comes next. Many thanks to all who responded to my request for news, it is always gratifying to discover who is where and what is happening. It was great to hear from Chris Tabor who does not surface often. He writes, “I’ve been living in Vermont for nearly 35 years and have been very fortunate to live in a modest condo unit located in a very quiet area of South Burlington. There is a great deal of open space and my back yard is adjacent to a heavilywooded portion of a city park. Whenever I return to my place, I see the Adirondacks across Lake Champlain and when I drive to the business district, I see the Green Mountains. However, because of aging I must now make plans to move to a comprehensive retirement facility. Consequently, I’m now in the process of downsizing. My daughter is still living in San Jose, Calif. where she is an electrical engineer specializing in automotive electronics, specifically self -driving vehicles. In past decades, she worked on different types of projects and made trips to Asia, but now she makes many trips to Europe. My granddaughter received a B.S. in environmental science from UC Berkeley a few years ago. She currently works as a senior account manager with a public relations firm in San Francisco that specializes in
For fun, a photo of the Class of 1955 as juniors from the 1954 yearbook.
environmental — related businesses.” Lolly Schorreck arrived at the decision to downsize a year ago and she writes, “I have moved to a retirement community in Annapolis, Ginger Cove, and I love it! There are lots of trees on a bluff above a creek off the South River; friendly, interesting people, many activities and great food. One daughter lives nearby, and the other is in Austin, Texas.” Lolly is one of our ‘ ’55 Lunch Bunch,’ and she and I often travel together from the south monthly to meet Ginny Mitchell, Robin Dodd, Iris McFaul and Pat Morrill, the ‘northern diners.’ Ever since our 50th Reunion in 2005, Pat Morrill has organized this classy group, sending out e-mails to remind us about the first Thursday of the month and making reservations. It is always a special time. In April, Pat and Bill Morrill seamlessly glided to their next path in life. Pat writes, “Our biggest news is our move to a condo
in the Mercy Ridge retirement community. No more maintenance worries and very little cooking. Who could ask for anything better? We have a new member of the family, a Havanese dog named Charlie, 1 ½. I am afraid that he is in for a shock. No more opening the back door and letting him chase squirrels. We are a bit concerned about his adjustment to condo living. It will be a huge adjustment for all of us. Our daughter Kim and her family are buying our house, so we will still have big family dinners in our ‘old’ home in the future. She has been living right across the street from us for 10 years. Our new condo is about three minutes away, so we will be close and able to help her with her two daughters. We are about to enter a new stage in our lives.” It is such a pleasure to hear from Page Singlewald Williams every time there is a plea for a couple of sentences for class notes. Page lives in Texas and
has two sons. She embarked on a driving trip and visited with Al Seivold and his wife Cathie for an afternoon, commenting on the great location of Murrells Inlet, S.C. where the Seivolds are now living. Another of our stalwart men responded this time, which was welcomed. Bill Putt from West Hartford, Conn. writes, “On May 25th I will turn 80 which in some ways seems like a remarkable achievement, probably in some people’s minds, my best. This year, I have resigned from a couple of boards, one in China and one at MIT. I am trying to spend more of my time working on my house and farm in Vermont which gives me a complete distraction from the world’s problems when I am up there. My son and his family live just 20 minutes from my wife and me and we have two terrific grandsons, ages 8 and 12, who as they used to say on Lake Wobegone are both ‘above average.’ I get to watch lots of soccer,
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basketball and lacrosse games. I also spend a lot of time working with some MIT undergraduates who are in the fraternity that I belonged to. It is a good way to remind yourself that you are 80 years old. A lot has happened since students used slide rules, Bunsen burners in chemistry labs and CB radios. Politically, I just hope that I will survive the Trump term as president.” Closer to the Washington, D.C. scene is Linda Bunce, whose life sounds full of action. Linda writes, “Elliott and I continue to be active in promoting and developing a music program in the elementary schools of Alexandria for disadvantaged children. The program, Simpatico, is under the umbrella of the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra. We are just completing our third year at John Adams Elementary School where over 100 children are participating in an intensive before and after school program five days a week. There are 45 nationalities at the School, so when you watch the children it’s like a rainbow of faces. 70 percent of the children are on school lunch programs. There are five
Please send all Milestones to alumni@friendsbalt.org.
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different music groups including chorus. It’s been great fun for us. Our consultant says it’s the most diverse El Sistema program in the country. Funding continues to be a challenge, but better this year than last. I’m also on the Board of the Alexandria Symphony so in between the two organizations, it’s almost like a full time job. Elliott and I continue to enjoy our time in Switzerland in the summer. The small village where we stay has become a second home to us. Switzerland is a beautiful country with trails at all levels, so when we have friends and family join us everyone walks or hikes at their comfort level.”
Milestones IN MEMORIAM Howard Ayares ’55, May 26, 2017 Eleanor “Ellie” Johnson Dubbelde ’55, December 1, 2017