Academic EXCELLENCE | Personal ACHIEVEMENT | SUMMER 2014
SUMMER 2014
A MAGAZINE FOR ALUMNAE, PARENTS AND FRIENDS
In this issue: Saint Mary's Leadership Initiative | School Climate | Alumnae News
Kenan Library Revitalized for the 21st Century
Board of Trustees 2013-2014 Lane Turner Nash ’72HS ’74C, Chair Theodore D. Bratton, Vice Chair John E. Stephenson, Jr., Secretary William C. Monk Jr., Treasurer At-Large Members R. Marks Arnold , Raleigh, N.C. Gloria Taft Becker ’92HS, Raleigh, N.C.
Administration Monica M. Gillespie, Ph.D., Head of School Sarah Hanawald, Dean of Teaching and Learning Josette Huntress Holland, Associate Head and Dean of Students Abby Johnston, Director of Development Kim McDowell, Director of Admission Laura Novia, Director of Marketing and Communications Sally Woods, Director of Finance Saint Mary’s School Magazine Published by Saint Mary’s School 900 Hillsborough Street, Raleigh, N.C. 27603-1689 919-424-4000 www.sms.edu
Martin M. Boney, Raleigh, N.C. Theodore D. Bratton, Raleigh, N.C. Martin H. Brinkley, Raleigh, N.C. Barbara Eagleson Cain ’65C, Wilmington, N.C. Eric W. Evans, Raleigh, N.C. Sallie Harris Glover ’81HS ’83C, Raleigh, N.C. R. Gordon Grubb, Raleigh, N.C. Hubert B. Haywood III, M.D., Raleigh, N.C. Kenneth B. Howard, Raleigh, N.C. Elizabeth Stewart Long ’78C, Milwaukee, Wis. Lanier Brown May ’78HS ’80C, Chapel Hill, N.C. William C. Monk Jr., Greenville, N.C. Lane Turner Nash ’72HS ’74C, Raleigh, N.C. Elisabeth Rasberry Pitts ’79C, Charlotte, N.C. Margery Johnson Springer ’79HS, Raleigh, N.C. John E. Stephenson, Atlanta, Ga. F. Jefferson Stocks, Raleigh, N.C. Gray Clark Stoughton ’78HS ’80C, Greenville, N.C. William G. Taylor, Charlotte, N.C. Nancy Kerr Thomason ’73HS ’75C, Dunwoody, Ga. Edwin L. Walker, Raleigh, N.C.
Editor Mary Virginia Swain ’77C Director of Public Relations and Publications mvswain@sms.edu Class News Editor Emory Rogers Church ’74C Contributors Monica M. Gillespie, Ph.D.; Josette Huntress Holland; Katherine Jackson; Abby Johnston; Laura Novia; Mary Virginia Swain ’77C; Diana Williams Contributing Photographers Mary Virginia Swain ’77C, Margaret McGlohon ’81C, Greg Mintel, Diana Williams, Photo Specialties, Blanche Williamson '76HS Design Heath Hilliker Printing Metro Productions, Raleigh, N.C.
Margaret Longley White ’79C, Greensboro, N.C. Margaret Williams Williams ’78HS ’80C, Charlotte, N.C. Faculty Representative to the Board Teresa Assenzo Student Representative to the Board Mary Stuart Fountain ’14, Raleigh, N.C. - SGA President
Mission Statement Saint Mary’s School, a community dedicated to academic excellence and personal achievement, prepares young women for college and life. Founded in 1842 in the Episcopal tradition, Saint Mary’s School is an independent, college-preparatory, girls boarding and day school dedicated to academic excellence and personal achievement for grades 9-12. Saint Mary’s School admits high school girls of any race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin.
SUMMER 2014
CONTENTS DEPARTMENTS
FEATURES
Head of School Message
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Personal Achievement
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Athletics
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Calendar of Events
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Events Photos
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Milestones
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Alumnae Awards
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Class News
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Sarah Graham Kenan Library Remodeled for the 21st Century
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On the cover: Sarah Graham Kenan Library Revitalization.
Leadership In Action
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School Climate at Saint Mary's
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Commencement 2014
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MESSAGE from the Head of School
A True Servant Leader Remembering Kate Spruill Harrison '35C By Monica M. Gillespie, Ph.D., Head of School
I knew that I was in the presence of an extraordinary person when I sat down to have lunch with Kate Harrison. At 96 years old, Katharine Spruill (Kate) Harrison ‘35C had as much energy as our current Saint Mary’s students, and I did my best to keep up. When Kate spoke about her time as our alumnae director and the hours she spent riding on buses to visit alumnae across the state, her perspective became quite clear: “Serving others is a privilege and deserves our best efforts.” Born before women had the right to vote, Kate lived through decades of significant changes and embraced every new opportunity those changes afforded. With her passion, intelligence, authenticity, and love, Kate embodies all the characteristics of a servant leader. She has dedicated her life to “enriching the lives of individuals, building better organizations and ultimately creating a more just and caring world.” Among many examples, generations of girls in Rocky Mount had the opportunity to enjoy athletics, including tennis, because of Kate’s advocacy for girls’ access to physical education in the local public schools. Thanks to her efforts, the blind and visually impaired have a better quality of life through access to 24/7 radioreading programming. Kate’s lifetime of servant leadership improved the lives of many individuals and communities, and especially Saint Mary’s School. Kate understood that her educational experiences prepared her well, and she described how she had drawn upon the skills she developed in her schooling. She spoke about how her professors taught her effective communication skills, such as speaking with engaged listening and writing with insightful reading. All those who knew Kate appreciated how her approach reflected confidence in her own perspective and consideration of the values of others. Her approach proved invaluable to her as she advocated for changes and persuaded others to join her efforts. Her ability to share the compelling value of a Saint Mary’s education to raise money for the school is legendary.
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Kate was a problem solver with exceptional critical thinking skills. She explored and analyzed ideas and issues with perception and creativity, weighing the merits of the information available to her, and considering multiple perspectives always while remaining aware of her own conceptions. During Kate’s years as alumnae director, she realized that keeping alumnae connected would be challenging and extended beyond her manual typewriter’s capabilities, as this was long before email, Facebook, and Twitter. Kate and her colleagues created local and regional networks of Saint Mary’s alumnae to keep them philanthropically engaged and connected to the school. Throughout her life, Kate kept up with the times and technology. She embraced versatility, new information and skills and created solutions that positively impacted society. Along with her many gifts, Kate has inspired others because she has demonstrated moral, spiritual and intellectual character. Her friends and family and those whose lives she touched felt the impact of her strong character. Kate had a clear sense of who she was and she always showed care and respect for the lives and beliefs of others. Above all, Kate acted with courage and took ownership of her actions and approached life with curiosity, perseverance, resilience and joy. On May 30, 2014, Saint Mary’s School lost a true servant leader and friend: Katharine Spruill “Kate” Harrison ’35C. Gratefully,
Monica M. Gillespie Head of School
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Sarah Graham Kenan Library 4
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Smart TVs and whiteboard walls are new features of the revitalized Kenan Library.
Sarah Graham Kenan Library at Saint Mary’s School has a bold, fresh look and feel thanks to a generous grant from the William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust used to update the student areas of the library in the winter of 2014. The library remained open through the renovation, and the project was completed in late winter. A celebration event was held May 7. The revitalization project created a fresh, functional and welcoming space - a central learning hub that inspires intellectual courage and makes a thoughtful, positive impact on the academic experience and lives of students. The library provides areas for focused, silent study as well as versatile, stimulating collaborative areas where students love to study. Function, form, furniture, technological innovations and compelling ways to update the library for 21st-century project-based learning were all considered and achieved. Kenan Library was named after alumna and philanthropist Sarah Graham Kenan, class of 1893, whose charitable foundation made the building possible. Kenan Library was dedicated in 1966. Over the past decade, the William Rand Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust has generously provided substantial grants making possible extensive facility and interior renovations which have also made it possible to host visual art exhibits and literary events throughout the year. “The remodeling of Kenan Library has resulted in a bright, contemporary, and vibrant intellectual center that beckons our students to come, engage, and stay,” says Diana Williams, director of Kenan Library.
The Sarah Graham Kenan Library was designed by notable Raleigh architects Holloway and Reeves in association with the famous 20th-century modernist architect Edward Durell Stone, the same team that collaborated on the design of the North Carolina Legislative Building. Interior Architecture and Design (IDeA), a woman-owned and managed interior architecture and design business with a strong regional presence, was selected by Saint Mary’s School to provide design services for the 2014 Kenan Library remodeling project. IDeA believes in the “transformational power of built environments to sustain and enrich the lives of those who dwell in them.”
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IDeA seized the opportunity to support the education of young women and provide inspiration for success as students prepare for college and careers. IDeA conducted an environmental behavioral study related to the Kenan Library remodel project. “The remodeling of Kenan Library has resulted in a bright, contemporary and vibrant intellectual center that beckons our students to come, engage and stay,” says Diana Williams, director of Kenan Library. “The number one request of students prior to the remodeling was more – many more – power outlets. Since girls do the majority of their work on their laptops and also communicate and learn through their other personal devices such as smart phones and iPads, being able to power these devices while working on projects in the library is essential. We installed 75 percent more outlets. The collaborative side of the library is equipped with flexible spaces, movable furniture, energetic colors, round tables, tables with built-in whiteboard tops and whiteboards and smart televisions in every study room. The quiet side of the library embraces cooler-toned colors, coffee bar seating, cozy easy chairs, silent study reading tables and lots of books. The ‘new’ Sarah Graham Kenan Library is quite an inviting, energetic center filled with students busy gathering information and exchanging ideas.”
“The remodeling of Kenan Library has resulted in a bright, contemporary and vibrant intellectual center that beckons our students to come, engage and stay.” Diana Williams, director of Kenan Library
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The response from the students to the renovation has been wildly positive and well-received. The library quickly became the most popular hub of student life this spring following the renovation, with students arriving early to stake out their study spot and staying late until the library closed. The furnishings and décor echo the ambiance of a hip, coffee shop, and the learning resources are interactive and student-friendly. Adelle Johnson ’16 says, “I love the new modern look!” “The new technology in the library, such as the plasma TVs in the study rooms, has been especially beneficial for my studies,” says Abigail Ueland ’15. “I enjoy the exciting and colorful environment and how it makes studying more enjoyable and hands on,” says Samantha Berlin ’16.
“The new technology in the library, such as the plasma TVs in the study rooms, has been especially beneficial for my studies,” says Abigail Ueland ’15.
And, while students may have gotten into trouble for writing with markers on the library walls in the past, writing on the walls is embraced and encouraged in the study rooms with erasable whiteboard walls.
Pictured above: Students work informally with instructor of French Nadia Metina-Belknap using the new, portable whiteboards in Kenan Library.
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“I really enjoy all the resources that are available, especially the many surfaces we can write on, such as the whiteboard walls and whiteboard tables,” says Andy Smithey ’16. A notable feature of the redesign is an eclectic collection of art. The library design committee, with the expert ideas of the interior architectural team, chose to emphasize the design of the building by creating an impression of colorful, elegant simplicity in interior spaces. Interesting lighting, basic geometric shapes, bright color combinations, pleasing negative spaces and large sunlit windows are all present. Using a minimalistic approach, there was an intentional effort to fill the first floor space with a few pieces of appropriate, interesting and meaningful art. A gallery area for revolving student art exhibits remains on the second level.
Pictured: Kenan Library offers a variety of study spaces for students, including whiteboard tables, traditional study tables and quiet nooks with comfortable chairs or Smart TVs on which students can project computer resources.
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“Velvet Nights,” an oil painting by the late Betty Adams, longtime art professor at Saint Mary’s, hangs in the main floor lobby between two study rooms. “Taos XLI, XLII, XLIII,” a triptych by Peter Keefer, hangs on the wall to the main entrance on the lower level. “All Taped Up,” a collaborative triptych created this year for Kenan Library by advanced art students of Teresa Assenzo, adorns the back wall on the south side of the library alongside the new “Sarah Graham Kenan Library” lettering. “Aldert, the wolf” a mixed media sculpture created by A.P. art students as part of Raleigh’s “Red Wolf Ramble” in 2002, resides underneath the main library staircase. An impressionistic landscape watercolor of a Blue Ridge Mountains scene, donated to the library in 1987 by North Carolina artist James Augustus McLean, is also on display. One of the most notable art items is the old-fashioned card catalog, used by the library until 1998, which is being preserved as an art object. It is on display in the lobby area near the north doors on the lower level under a photograph of Sarah Graham Kenan. While the information once contained in the card catalog is now accessed online through the school’s website, the library staff considers this important artifact a historical work of art. “Thank you, for everyone’s support and enthusiasm regarding the library remodeling project,” says Diana Williams. “There are so many people from the Saint Mary’s School community, adults and students, who volunteered, offered their input and made a difference in this project. We are grateful to our generous benefactor, Tom Kenan, who made this project possible through the grant from the William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust.” Mary Virginia Swain ’77C, director of public relations and publications, and Diana Williams, director of Kenan Library, contributed to this article.
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LEADE Leadership in Action: Saint Mary’s Leadership Initiative
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ERSHIP Saint Mary’s has long offered a foundation for the inspiration of future business, civic, education and church leaders, and leadership development is a time-honored hallmark of a Saint Mary’s education. One need only to look at the courageous accomplishments and contributions of Saint Mary’s alumnae to their communities, businesses, institutions and churches to know that this school breeds leaders in action. Leadership development at Saint Mary’s today takes place in myriad intentional ways throughout all aspects of academic and campus life to prepare young women for leadership in the 21st century. Saint Mary's School recognizes the importance of providing girls with meaningful leadership experiences both in and out of the classroom. As a result, the school offers a wide range of student leadership opportunities. Whether it's being part of the student government, participating as a day or boarding prefect, leading a discussion in class, sitting on the Judicial Board, acting as an athletic team captain, doing the right thing in a difficult situation, working behind the scenes as a stage manager, leading the community service community, serving as a club officer or participating in organizations such as Saint Mary’s chapter of the National Honor Society, opportunities abound. Students are encouraged to strive for leadership positions, lead quietly by example and give of themselves to the community. By so doing, they build valuable skills in preparation for college and life.
Pictured above: Student leaders participate in a leadership workshop in Tyler Board Room. Pictured, page 10: Students develop leadership skills through community service projects such as the Hope Gardens, left, and Habitat for Humanity, right.
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Above: Saint Mary’s student leaders collaborated with students from the Wake Young Women’s Leadership Academy in a girls’ leadership summit. Right: Ninth-graders participate each August in a ropes challenge course.
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To that end, Head of School Monica Gillespie and her team, including Josette Holland, associate head and dean of students, and Katherine Jackson, leadership initiative coordinator, in concert with academic and student life staff, have created a new leadership vision and initiative designed to strengthen students’ habits of a lifelong learner: character, communication and critical thinking. Strategies for the leadership initiative include re-envisioning clubs, development for student leaders, community partnerships, career day networking, building a united leadership language, establishing best practices, a year-long leadership challenge and focused leadership opportunities. These strategies will not only help support the development of important skills, but will also help students understand that there are many ways to lead. “We hope to challenge the notion that one must have a title to be a leader,” says Ms. Jackson. “Each girl’s leadership journey will be, and should be, uniquely based upon her interests and talents. Our goal is to support each girl’s journey through skill building, providing a variety of role models and exposing students to new experiences where leadership can be put into action.” An important focus is on servant leadership, an ancient philosophy that was renewed by Robert Greenleaf in the 1970s. According to the Robert K. Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership, “servant leadership is a philosophy and set of practices that enriches the lives of individuals, builds better organizations and ultimately creates a more just and caring world.” Traditional leadership generally involves the accumulation and exercise of power by those at the top. By comparison, the servant leader shares power, puts the needs of others first and helps people develop and perform as highly as possible. The servant leadership model as outlined by the National Association of Episcopal Schools, and embraced by Saint Mary’s, calls for sharing leadership, valuing people, developing people, providing leadership, displaying authenticity and building community. Under the umbrella of these leadership theories, Saint Mary’s offers a safe space for conversation, intentional community, leadership and professional development workshops, leadership experiences, community service opportunities, community engagement, collaboration with Wake Young Women’s Leadership Academy, partnerships, guest speakers, 24/7 programming for all students, advisory, classroom experiences, mentoring and more.
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“Saint Mary’s provides girls with the resources and opportunities they need to be good leaders,” says Hannah Jones ’16. “Saint Mary’s makes sure that girls know that leadership takes place both in and out of the classroom, and that you don’t always have to be the loudest to be a leader and to be heard.”
Students are encouraged to display authenticity, assume best intentions, extend grace and speak with an authentic voice.
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“Saint Mary’s provides girls with the resources and opportunities they need to be good leaders,” says Hannah Jones ’16. “Saint Mary’s makes sure that girls know that leadership takes place both in and out of the classroom, and that you don’t always have to be the loudest to be a leader and to be heard.” Leadership opportunities offer elected, appointed and openmembership activities and organizations and include executive Student Government Association officers, marshals, boarding and day student prefects, Global Ambassador Program prefects, technology prefects, vestry, academic clubs and organizations, arts, athletics, a variety of interest-based clubs, community service and general leadership development such as COMPASS Leadership Development Days, Exploration Days, leadership workshops, the girls’ leadership summit, junior speeches, internship and COMPASS Leadership Development Week outings. Saint Mary’s is also participating in the Raleigh Chamber of Commerce’s “Leadership Raleigh,” an innovative program for preparing the leaders of tomorrow. During the nine-month program, participants get an in-depth view of community issues, develop skills necessary to assume leadership roles, and are exposed to community involvement opportunities. Leadership Raleigh is unlike other programs because it provides participants with the opportunity to meet and discuss issues with key community leaders. Participants study the qualities that make an effective leader, analyze individual leadership roles and develop personal leadership styles and skills. They are then challenged to apply their talents by joining professional associations, civic clubs, public boards and commissions.
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“There are many chances for girls to learn how to lead and prepare to be a leader – Exploration Days, career day, leadership workshops and the leadership discussion luncheon,” says Hannah Jones. “It was amazing at the leadership development workshop this winter to see the Tyler Room filled with leaders of all kinds – those who serve on the food committee or the Judicial Board of as class or SGA officers – all collaborating on leadership for our school. Girls have a chance to have their voices heard and their talents used.” Ms. Jackson says, “The leadership initiative is designed to support not only girls in formal leadership roles, but help every girl examine her authentic self, find her voice and learn new skills to become a leader in her daily life.” In short, the initiative reflects the fact that leadership is an integral part of every aspect of a Saint Mary’s School education." A survey of the student body this spring offers a clear picture of the impact of the leadership offerings at Saint Mary’s. The survey participants demonstrated that Saint Mary’s students engage in leadership opportunities to serve others, not for self-gain. The highest ranked reason for engagement is that the girls enjoy planning, organizing and encouraging others. The survey shows that girls are highly aware of and impacted by the actions of others. They view leadership as being action-oriented. When asked to define leadership, the top three response categories were: role
Mary Hinton ’88HS, the newly appointed 15th president of the College of Saint Benedict in St. Joseph, Minn., reflects on how Saint Mary’s helped shape her as a leader. “Saint Mary’s played a critical role in my development as a young woman and as a leader. It was at Saint Mary’s that I developed the confidence and courage to share my voice, to choose to pursue positions of leadership and to be unafraid of any personal or professional challenges that I may face.”
model (29 percent), helps others (21 percent) and ability to lead a group (19 percent). The top skill the girls identified that a leader must possess is the ability to communicate. The top trait identified is respect for others/kindness to others. Sixty-three percent of girls responding to the survey identified themselves as leaders within the school and 65 percent as leaders within their community. Within the school, girls exhibit courage, confidence and perseverance engaging in leadership. More than half said they would feel comfortable running for another leadership position if they did not win their first choice/first round of elections. Bailey Ham ’15, incoming student body president for 2014-2015, says, “There are so many leadership opportunities and chances to put yourself out there, and it takes courage to run for office, and then it takes courage to lead, as everyone is watching you as a role model.” Another incoming president, alumna Mary Hinton ’88HS, the newly appointed 15th president of the College of Saint Benedict in St. Joseph, Minn., reflects on how Saint Mary’s helped shape her as a leader. “Saint Mary’s played a critical role in my development as a young woman and as a leader. It was at Saint Mary’s that I developed the confidence and courage to share my voice, to choose to pursue positions of leadership and to be unafraid of any personal or professional challenges that I may face.” Hannah Jones captures perfectly the spirit of leadership at Saint Mary’s School. “If you give Saint Mary’s girls the chance to lead and try new things, it’s amazing what they bring to the table, what they can achieve and how they change the community for the good.” Katherine Jackson, leadership initiative coordinator, and Mary Virginia Swain ’77C, director of public relations and publications, contributed to this article.
Pictured left: The entire student body, faculty and staff participated in January in Saint Mary’s first Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, all taking leadership roles to complete a variety of service projects. Above: SGA President Mary Stuart Fountain ’14 speaks at the SGA induction chapel this spring. Each student has a public speaking opportunity during her time at Saint Mary’s.
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By Josette Huntress Holland Associate Head and Dean of Students
“Life is short and we don’t have much time to gladden the hearts of those we walk the way with. So make haste to be kind and be swift to love.” Henri-Frédéric Amiel, 19th-century Swiss professor of moral philosophy
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Like any other day after the blessing and dismissal in Chapel, our Saint Mary’s girls spilled out of the Chapel doors onto the beautiful campus. Doors were held for each other, girls raced to the dining hall for lunch, while others lingered to talk with faculty, and laughter rippled between arm-linked friends. Any respectable Instagram user could find an award-winning scene to capture. Caption underneath that Facebook post? Love. Community. On an Episcopal school campus like Saint Mary’s, just exactly how do we take care of our students so that they know that they belong? Saint Mary’s is a healthy community in which three important things happen: students feel known, students are engaged and challenged appropriately and students (as citizens of our school) have choices. Above all else, our teachers and staff members care enough to know our students. Each girl is treated with unconditional regard. Adults and students brainstorm together, plan together, laugh, compete and sometimes struggle together. We communicate our support to students, when they are in triumph or in trouble, through class meetings, daily advisory, COMPASS Leadership Development programming, Chapel and in class. An engaging lesson might lead to a conversation and a summer internship; a junior speech might lead to an article written for the newspaper. When girls feel known, they are more resilient. They’ll find the courage to be their authentic selves, take more intellectual risks, and after that, magical things can happen. This past year, amid all the nightly news about tragedies at other schools, I needed a “gut check.” I wondered how many times members of the Saint Mary’s community talked to each other about the ideas of inclusivity, kindness and forgiveness. It’s natural for any school to be filled with people who come to us with different understandings of these core values, so I was curious to see where we stood.
“Any respectable Instagram user could find an award-winning scene to capture. Caption underneath that Facebook post? Love. Community.”
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Saint Mary’s fosters a spirit of kindness and inclusivity in all aspects of student life. Pictured clockwise are students working on a community service project, ninth-graders on a grade level outdoor adventure and students singing the School Hymn, arm-in-arm in chapel.
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Our students have shown us that it’s important to learn math, arts, writing and science – and that it is equally important to have spent time in a place that pays attention to their spirit and character.
With that in mind, I decided to observe our community through the lens of inclusivity for just one week. During that short time, I heard no fewer than 13 messages of inclusivity and kindness; 11th-graders spoke about it during junior speeches; student leaders talked about it in assembly; our head of school encouraged girls at leadership training; our chaplain gave girls the opportunity to share their passions during vespers; teachers wove messages of diversity into their classes; and one evening during a quiet study hall in Penick residence hall, a sneeze was heard down the silent hall and met with half a dozen anonymous “bless yous!” whispered from studious rooms. Clearly, our girls are treating each other with integrity and kindness, and they are supported by faculty and staff who truly care. Further, our school counselors created discussion and listening groups to talk about kindness and community, the real life kind of community and the online kind of community. Face to face kindness, Twitter kindness, Snap Chat kindness - it’s all part of our school’s conversation. This is how we are attending to girls: we are paying attention to who they are, we are supporting their development as ethical humans, and we are cooperating with them as they follow their passions. We acknowledge that there are times when we falter, and we need to pay attention to that, too. Because part of listening is paying attention to what remains unspoken, on March 4, students, faculty and staff took a survey called “The School Climate Survey.” This survey was designed for middle and high schools
to help confirm and support what schools know about students’ lives. It also helps determine if there are things schools can work on, particularly in regard to kindness, inclusivity and feeling safe. At Saint Mary’s the survey fits into the larger picture of how we support girls. Results have already helped us to identify what work needs to be done and affirmed our commitment to knowing ourselves honestly in our journey toward being our best selves. Our commitment to the healthy development of our students, our commitment to our alumnae and to our institution continues with the school asking the right questions. As we watched our seniors finish their final exams and graduate, their high school experience did not end abruptly; rather, it softened beautifully and transformed into a life of looking forward, a firm foundation underfoot. They savored their last moments with friends and teachers, and promised to come back to visit us in the future. “For life is short, we don’t have much time to gladden the hearts of those we walk with.” Our students have shown us that it’s important to learn math, arts, writing and science - and that it is equally important to have spent time in a place that pays attention to their spirit and character. Josette Huntress Holland Associate Head and Dean of Students Josette Huntress Holland is starting her 10th year as the associate head and dean of students at Saint Mary’s School. She holds an undergraduate degree from Colby College and an M.Ed. in human development and psychology from Harvard University. Josette resides in the Bishop’s House on campus with her husband, Thomas, a physician at Duke Medical Center, and their children, Andrew, Jack and Sophie.
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COMMENCEMENT 2014
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Commencement
2014 Handkerchief drops on 172nd session
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Hannah Dawson Gage '71HS '73C delivers commencement address The sights and sounds of “Pomp and Circumstance” filled the Grove Sunday morning, May 18, 2014, as 58 seniors graduated from Saint Mary’s School. Head of School Monica M. Gillespie, Ph.D., presided over the commencement exercises. It was a glorious Saint Mary’s commencement day in the Grove, as the graduates turned their tassels and Saint Mary’s rings. Valedictorian Rachel Schwitzgebel ’14 of Raleigh delivered the valedictory address. She told the graduates, “Several years ago, someone told me that one of the greatest gifts you can receive from your parents is the privilege to attend Saint Mary’s. As I was warmly welcomed into the Alumnae Association, I thoroughly realized the gift’s value – the lasting lifelong friendships and support network that one gains from being a Saint Mary’s girl and the confidence we will always feel from Saint Mary’s, no matter where life may lead.” continued on next page
Pictured left: Commencement award winners and speakers, from left to right: Rachel Schwitzgebel, Caitlin Garrabrant, Kaitlin Harlow, Mary Stuart Fountain, Meg Cooksey, Frances Cayton, Florrie McCard.
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COMMENCEMENT 2014 Florrie McCard ’14 of Atlanta delivered the senior commencement address, having been elected by her classmates as the senior commencement speaker. “Whether it has been four years or two, I believe that any length of time a student spends here has the potential to be truly transformative.”
Top: Commencement speaker Hannah Dawson Gage ’71HS ’73C with her mother Hannah Lyon Dawson ’44C, son Dawson Gage and sister Terry Dawson ’78C. Bottom: Members of the Class of 2014 toss their caps to celebrate their Saint Mary’s graduation.
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Distinguished alumna Hannah Dawson Gage ’71HS ’73C delivered the 2014 commencement address.
Florrie McCard ’14 of Atlanta delivered the senior commencement address, having been elected by her classmates as the senior commencement speaker. “Whether it has been four years or two, I believe that any length of time a student spends here has the potential to be truly transformative.” Hannah Dawson Gage ’71HS ’73C, Saint Mary’s Distinguished Alumna Award recipient, delivered the commencement address. She spoke to the graduates about their next four years ahead in college. “I’m going to talk about only the next four years with the intention of offering a little practical advice that will give you a clear roadmap for college,” Ms. Gage told the graduates. “One of my favorite poet’s, Mary Oliver, writes, ‘Tell me what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?’ She reminds us that you are the only person who has sole custody of your life. I can’t tell you how to live your life or what dreams to pursue; but I can tell you to how to build the scaffolding that will support those dreams. How you approach the next four years will sketch the broader outline of your life. It’s important that you be intentional, assertive and confident.” She added, “I hope you’ll think about three strategies for maximizing your college experience; self-awareness, emotional resilience and financial resilience. These qualities will help you survive the highs and lows of life.”
“I hope you’ll think about three strategies for maximizing your college experience: selfawareness, emotional resilience and financial resilience. These qualities will help you survive the highs and lows of life,” Hannah Dawson Gage told the graduates.
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COMMENCEMENT 2014
Left: Walker Lytton ’14 was co-recipient of the Catherine Ruth Proctor Award, given at commencement. Top right: Marshals lead the graduation procession, followed by SGA President Mary Stuart Fountain ’14, Class President Mary Haley ’14 and members of the Class of 2014. Bottom right: The commencement platform party, from left to right: Chaplain Ann Bonner-Stewart, Dean Josette Huntress Holland, Board Chair Lane Turner Nash ’72HS ’74C, commencement speaker Hannah Dawson Gage ’71HS ’73C, Head of School Dr. Monica Gillespie, Dean Sarah Hanawald and Chief Marshal Caroline Utt ’15.
Rachel Schwitzgebel ’14 was the recipient of the 2014 Cooper Medal, in recognition of achieving the highest G.P.A. for the year. Frances Cayton ’14 of Raleigh was the 2014 recipient of the Niles Medal for finishing with the highest GPAs over her years at Saint Mary’s. Caitlin Garrabrant ’14 and Walker Lytton ’14 of Raleigh received the Catherine Ruth Proctor Award, presented by the Saint Mary’s chapter of the National Honor Society in recognition of the student making the greatest scholastic advancement over the past four years. Frances Cayton ’14 was the recipient of the 2014 Georgia Lee Kinsey Award for accomplishing the greatest scholastic advancement over the past two years. Meg Cooksey ’14 of Durango, Colo., was chosen to receive the King Medal, given each year to the graduate, who, in the opinion of the faculty, has most consistently practiced good citizenship at Saint Mary's and inconspicuously served as an example to others.
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Mary Stuart Fountain ’14 was voted by her classmates to receive the Margaret and Ann Highsmith Medal, awarded to a graduate who exemplifies the Christian idea of helpfulness to others motivated by her genuine love for all members of the school community. Kaitlin Harlow ’14 of Clayton is the 2014 Marian Drane Graham Award winner. This award was established in 1968 as a memorial to Marian Drane Graham, Class of 1919, wife of Frank Porter Graham, former president of the University of North Carolina and a former U.S. Senator. The award is made each year to a graduate who exemplifies Marian’s “reverence and humility of spirit, scholarship without pride of excellence, zest for life, faith and fortitude, and all-around development in the course of her radiant and nobly useful life.” Following the final singing of the year of the School Hymn, Chief Marshal Caroline Utt ’15 stood at the top of the steps of Smedes Hall, directly beneath the lantern adorned with Saint Mary’s blue ribbons, to drop the handkerchief and declare the 172nd session at Saint Mary’s to be officially closed. After the traditional handkerchief drop, the marshals walked into Smedes and closed the doors on another Saint Mary’s commencement. Baccalaureate preceded the commencement exercises in the historic Saint Mary’s Chapel with Chaplain Ann BonnerStewart presiding. By all accounts, Saint Mary’s commencement embodies personal touches of academic excellence, personal achievement, friendship, tradition, grace and courage that are hallmarks of the Saint Mary’s experience. Once again, Saint Mary’s graduating class boasts 100 percent college acceptance to a broad ranges of outstanding colleges and universities around the nation and abroad. Members of the Class of 2014 have been offered more than $3 million in college scholarships. The graduates leave Saint Mary’s School as courageous lifelong learners, well prepared for college and life. Mary Virginia Swain ’77C Director of Public Relations and Publications
Top: Vestry members lead the commencement procession through the Grove. Bottom: Chief Marshal Caroline Utt ’15 drops the handkerchief to close the 172nd session at Saint Mary’s.
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PERSONAL achievement These pages recognize a sampling of notable honors received by Saint Mary’s students by off-campus organizations. Saint Mary’s students are winners in National History Day competition
selected to go to the second round of this competition. The Profile in Courage Essay Contest “invites United States high school students to consider the concept of political courage by writing an essay on a U.S. elected official who has chosen to do what is right, rather than what is expedient.”
Piano students earn honors at Young Artist Auditions
Saint Mary’s history students were successful again this year, winning honors in the regional and statewide National History Day competition. Shelby Holmes ’16 won first place and Izzie White ’16 placed third in the North Carolina National History Day competition in the senior research paper division. Saint Mary’s students swept top honors in the Central Piedmont District competition, held at UNC-Greensboro. Izzie White ’16 placed first with her paper, “The Rights of Galileo and the Responsibility of the Church.” Shelby Holmes ’16 placed second with her paper, “The Nordic Superiority Complex: How Theorists Justified Nordic World Rule.” Jordan Gelber ’16 placed third with her paper, “The Justification of Slavery in Western North Carolina.” Samantha Berlin ’16 also participated with her paper, “Why Hitler Held the Jews Responsible for Germany’s Struggles.”
Saint Mary’s students advance in JFK Profile in Courage Essay Contest Sophia Buerher ’15 and Carson Clay ’15 advanced to the second round of the 2014 Profile in Courage Essay Contest sponsored by the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation. Only 175 of 1,951 essays submitted by students from around the country were
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Saint Mary’s School | www.sms.edu
Eight Saint Mary’s piano students participated in the 2014 Young Artist Auditions at Meredith College on March 14 and 15. Christina Cao ’14, Michelle Gao ’14, Estelle He ’16, Trang Hoang ’14, Brenda Lin ’17, Gloria Wan ’16, Lily Wayne ’17 and Emily Weatherspoon ’16 were awarded honors ratings for their outstanding performances. He won first place in her category, and was invited to perform in the honors recital held at William Peace University, March 23. Hoang won second place in her category, and was formally recognized along with He at the ceremony following the recital.
Frances Cayton ’14 recognized by Jan Karski Educational Foundation In December, Jan Karski Educational Foundation President Wanda Urbanska presented Frances Cayton ’14 with a hardcover copy of Karski’s, “Story of a Secret State.” The gift from the foundation was to mark the publication of Cayton’s paper, “The Ukranian Holodomor and the Western Press,” in “The Concord Review,” a prestigious journal of academic research papers by high school students. Cayton conducted research and discovered information about Stalin's murder of seven million Ukrainians in the 1930s during his forced collectivization program. She first learned about the topic in her Honors Western Civilization course, taught by Lisa Grabarek.
"I was overwhelmed to learn about all of those who died," says Cayton of the Holodomor, Ukrainian for “murder by hunger.” “I was stuck on the why-wedidn't-know-about-it piece," says Cayton. The Holodomor so fascinated Cayton that she devoted six weeks of her own time to researching the subject, along with time during her junior year, and ultimately prepared six drafts of the paper before submitting it to “The Concord Review,” which accepts just seven percent of submissions which come in from gifted students globally.
Hannah Cheney ’15 chosen for leadership program Hannah Cheney ’15 was among 46 youth leaders selected to represent North Carolina in the Youth Leadership Program with Central Europe this year. The program brings together young people and adults from the U.S., Hungary, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia to build leadership skills, cultural understanding and action-based solutions to community problems. During the two-year project, the European students visited the U.S., then the American students traveled to Serbia and Hungary to learn more about youth initiatives in Europe and participate in workshops to develop their own leadership skills. The project is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs and is implemented by Meridian International Center, a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C. Cheney was also named an International
Friends Foundation, Inc., Scholar, earning support for a life-changing experience abroad. Her experience is with American Youth Understanding Diabetes Abroad, and will include peer-to-peer education of Type One Diabetes in the Dominica Republic.
Molly Paul ’16 earns numerous honors Molly Paul ’16 has been recognized by several organizations this spring for her contributions to the community. Paul was awarded the 2014 Prudential Spirit of
Kaitlin Harlow ’14 is UNCChapel Hill Global Gap Scholar Kaitlin Harlow ’14 has been selected as one of only seven UNC-Chapel Hill Global Gap Year Fellows for 2014-2015. This highly competitive, nine-month fellowship, housed in and administered by the Campus Y, awards a $7,500 stipend to high school graduates who have been accepted to UNC Early Action and want to defer admission for one year to blend volunteer service, work and international exploration. For her global gap year, Harlow plans to work with nongovernmental organizations to improve the quality of child-care and education in Central and South America.
Phuong Le ’16 is art contest winner Phuong “Chelsea” Le is among the 12 winners of the 2014 Southern Teachers Agency Student Art Contest. Le’s painting, “Lighting O’ Grove,” will appear among the 12 winning entries in the Southern Teachers Agency Art Calendar, which celebrates southern independent schools and their talented students each year. Le is a student of Teresa Assenzo.
Community Award, a nationwide award that honors young people for outstanding acts of volunteerism. She operates an adoption agency for unwanted pet turtles and also makes and sells soap products to support native turtles, their habitat and conservation education. She is also one of five winners selected for the inaugural year of Climb 365, a new program sponsored by the Junior League of Greensboro in partnership with the Center for Creative Leadership. This was a nationwide contest open to women of any age. Paul also received the Student Leadership Award in Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education by the North Carolina Science, Mathematics and Technology Education Center. Paul also traveled to the White House in May with the delegation from the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences to accept a 2014 National Medal for Museum and Library Science Service, presented by first lady Michelle Obama. Molly was chosen by the museum to serve as the community representative for the award presentation. She is a longtime volunteer and junior curator at the museum.
Rachel Schwitzgebel ’14 receives Stamps Leadership Scholar Award Congratulations to Rachel Schwitzgebel ’14 who has received and accepted a Stamps Leadership Scholar Award to attend Wake Forest University. As a "full cost-ofattendance award," the Stamps award is given to only five incoming students and is in the top tier of merit-based scholarships at Wake Forest University. The Stamps award opens doors of opportunity to deserving students who demonstrate superior academic achievement, a high degree of intellectual curiosity and scholarship, and exceptional promise in leadership, service and social responsibility.
Grace Wayne ’15 places first in music competition Violin student Grace Wayne ’15 won first place and a cash award in the strings division of the Arts Festival Competition sponsored by the Woman’s Club and the Junior Women’s Club of Raleigh, January 27. Wayne advanced to the district level competition in February under the auspices of the General Federation of Woman’s Clubs. Wayne was also selected as a counselor for the Hugh O’Brien Youth Leadership summer program.
Sophie Wilfong ’15 accepted into Joffrey Ballet summer intensive Sofie Wilfong ’15 was accepted into the Joffrey Ballet School's Summer Jazz Intensive in New York City. Based on her audition for the summer intensive, she was also accepted into the jazz/contemporary trainee program for next year.
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ATHLETICS
Maddie Plumlee ’14 signs with Notre Dame volleyball Saint Mary’s School senior Maddie Plumlee of Winona Lake, Ind., has signed a National Letter of Intent (NLI) to play volleyball at the University of Notre Dame, where she will enroll as a freshman in the fall of 2014. Miss Plumlee, the daughter of Leslie and Perky Plumlee, signed her NLI in a ceremony held Nov. 17, in Chan-Poyner Hall. On the volleyball court, Miss Plumlee was a fouryear starter on the Saint Mary’s School varsity volleyball team. She has been named a 2013 Under Armour/American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) second-team All-American. She is a 2013 PrepVolleyball.com “Senior Ace,” placing her among the top 250 high school players in the nation. She was named the 2013 Triangle Independent Schools Athletics Conference (TISAC) Player of the Year. She was named to the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association (NCISAA) 3A AllState Team in 2012 and 2013. She made the News & Observer’s All-Metro Team in 2012 and 2013. In 2012, she was honored as the Wake County Athlete of the Week by the Raleigh Sports Club. She was the MaxPreps/AVCA North Carolina Player of the Week for October 15, 2013. At Saint Mary’s School, she holds school records for single match kills (36), single-season kills (514) and career kills (more than 1,000). On campus at Saint Mary’s, Miss Plumlee was an honor roll student, a member of the National Honor Society, a member of the Echo singing group and a captain of the Sigma-Mu intramural program.
Above: All-American Maddie Plumlee ’14 rewrote the volleyball record book at Saint Mary’s. Right: Maddie Plumlee ’14 and Saints volleyball coach Tonya Holmes are pictured at the ceremony where Ms. Plumlee signed her National Letter of Intent to attend and play at Notre Dame.
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Saint Mary’s School | www.sms.edu
Cameron Little ’14 signs with Citadel golf Saint Mary’s School senior Cameron Little of Charlotte, has signed a National Letter of Intent (NLI) to play golf at The Citadel, where she will enroll as a freshman in the fall of 2014. Miss Little, the daughter of Lynne and Nevan Little of Charlotte, signed her NLI in a ceremony held Nov. 13, in Chan-Poyner Hall. On the golf course, Miss Little was the number-one ranked player and cocaptain of the Saint Mary’s School varsity golf team, where she earned the MVP award in 2011, 2012 and 2013. She was the 2012 Triangle Independent Schools Athletic Conference (TISAC) individual champion and has made the TISAC all-conference team for three consecutive years (2011, 2012 and 2013 – all three years the conference has competed officially in golf). She earned North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association (NCISAA) all-state honors in 2011, 2012 and 2013 (all three years the tournament has been held) by placing in the top-ten in these annual state tournaments.
Above: Cameron Little ’14 was a TISAC conference champion. Below: Dean Josette Holland, Nevan and Lynne Little, Athletic Director Dean Monroe and Saint Mary’s golf coach Jimmy Hamilton (left to right, standing) join Cameron Little ’14 (seated) at the signing ceremony of her National Letter of Intent to play golf at the Citadel.
Miss Little was the 2011 North Carolina Women’s Golf Association Amateur Junior Division Champion. She is the 2013 Carmel Country Club Girls Division Champion. Since March, she has been playing in National Junior Golf Tour and Hurricane Junior Golf Tour events, and has numerous top-five finishes. Most recently, she qualified to play in the inaugural HJGT Hurricane Cup, an annual event featuring teams of top junior golfers from Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee and Ohio. Miss Little will represent North Carolina in the number one position. She has volunteered during two summers with the Charlotte First Tee program, serving as a coach. She was awarded the Nick Ricci Youth Mentor of the Year Award in 2011 by the Charlotte First Tee. On campus at Saint Mary’s, Miss Little was an honor roll student, senior warden of the chapel leadership vestry and a member of the Beacon honorary leadership society, the Echo senior singing group and the Young Republicans. She also served as a dormitory prefect and as a dormitory council representative. In the Charlotte community, she has participated with the St. Peter’s Episcopal Church youth group in hurricane relief mission trips to Alabama and pilgrimages abroad. She also served as a teen counselor for the Charlotte Episcopal Outreach Camp.
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2014-2015 CALENDAR of events
2014-2015
Save the dates and join us for these year! special events for the First day of classes for the 173rd session August 18
Triangle Admission Brunch September 10
Parents Weekend September 12-13
Eucharist Chapel
September 16 | 11 a.m. - noon Saint Mary’s Chapel
Admission Shadow Day September 22
Fall Chorale Musical Revue – “Disney on Broadway” September 25 | 7 p.m. Pittman Auditorium
Smedes Parlor Concert – opening concert of the 34th season September 30 | 8 p.m. Smedes-Emory Parlor
Admission Shadow Day
November 10-11
Fall play: “Steel Magnolias”
October 13
November 14-15 | 7 p.m. Pittman Auditorium
Board of Trustees fall meeting
Just for Dads Admission Event
Triangle area alumnae/Head of School party
Orchesis Dance Theatre Fall Concert
October 15-16
October 15
Founders Day Chapel
November 18
December 5-6 Pittman Auditorium
October 31 | 11:30 a.m. Saint Mary’s Chapel
34th annual Lighting O’ the Grove
Eucharist Chapel
Christmas Eucharist Chapel
November 4 | 11 a.m. - noon Saint Mary’s Chapel
Fall Alumnae Council meeting and Smedes Parlor Concert Leadership Luncheon September 26
Admission Overnight and Visitation Day
November 4 | 8 p.m. Smedes-Emory Parlor
December 7
December 9 | 11 a.m. – noon Saint Mary’s Chapel
Admission Overnight and Visitation Day January 11-12
Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service January 19
Granddaughters Club Inductions October 29 Saint Mary’s Chapel
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Saint Mary’s School | www.sms.edu
Smedes Parlor Concert January 27 | 8 p.m. Smedes-Emory Parlor
Auction Gala
March 6 Angus Barn Pavilions
Board of Trustees winter meeting February 4-5
Winter Alumnae Council meeting and luncheon February 6
Orchesis Dance Theatre Spring Concert
Chorale Spring Concert: “A Night at the Opera”
February 28 | 7 p.m. Smedes-Emory Parlor
Admission Special Invitation Event
Admission Sneak Peek for seventh-graders
Winter Musical: Rogers and Hammerstein’s “Cinderella”
Smedes Parlor Concert
African-American Read-In
February 9 Sarah Graham Kenan Library
Four Seasons Concertos by Vivaldi
March 6 and 8 | Saturday evening at 7 p.m.; Sunday matinee at 2 p.m. Pittman Auditorium
Grandparents and Grandfriends Day March 20
March 20-21 | Friday night at 7 p.m., Saturday matinee at 2 p.m. Pittman Auditorium
March 23
May 1
Spring Fling
March 24 | 8 p.m. Smedes-Emory Parlor
May 1 | Noon – 2:30 p.m.
Eucharist Chapel
Easter Eucharist Chapel
May 5 | 11 a.m. - noon Saint Mary’s Chapel
April 14 | 11 a.m. – noon Saint Mary’s Chapel
Board of Trustees spring meeting April 22-23
April 23 | 7 p.m. Smedes-Emory Parlor
Saint Mary’s opened on this day in 1842. May 12
Commencement for the 173rd session
end Week g n o i Reun sses endin a for cl o and five in zer 1-2 May
May 17 The Grove
For a complete calendar of school events throughout the year, visit www.sms.edu. Regional alumnae events will be added to the Alumnae web page, as they are scheduled. Events are subject to change due to inclement weather and other unforeseen circumstances, and any changes will be announced appropriately.
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EVENTS
FAYETTEVILLE
September 30, 2013 At the home of Jim and Mary Flagg Nimocks Haugh ’76C
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Hannah Lyon Dawson’44C, left, Elisabeth Burns Nimocks ’48C, right
Left to right: Robin Kelly ’75C, Betsy Gardner ’70HS ’72C, Nancy Saint-Armand Holt ’71C
Fayetteville area alumnae enjoyed a gathering at the home of Jim and Mary Flagg Nimocks Haugh ’76C.
Left to right: Martha Broadfoot Bock ’79C, Mary Flagg Nimocks Haugh ’76C, Jane Hollinshed Horrocks ’77HS ’79C
Saint Mary’s School | www.sms.edu
TRIANGLE AREA ALUMNAE AND HEAD OF SCHOOL EVENT October 15, 2013 Smedes-Emory Parlor
Left to right: Lennie Rosenbluth, Lee White, Margaret Longley White ’79C, Dianne Littlefield Rosenbluth ’63C Left to right: Jose Rawl Hall ’74C, Cathryn Cheek Zevenhuizen ’52HS ’54C, Laura Norris Raynor ’69HS ’71C
Left to right: Blanche Robertson Bacon ’53HS ’55C, Josie Rawl Hall ’74C, Melanie Hood Rankin ’77HS
Holden Royall ’00, left, Coco Pollard Davis ’74C
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EVENTS
NEW YORK CITY
October 24, 2013 At the home of Julian Robertson
Left to right: Lee Hennessey, Clarine Pollock Powell ’67C, Nan Wilson McLendon ’70HS
Nancy Cole ’68C, left, Jean Redding ’72HS, right
Left to right: Diane Gupton Becton ’77HS, Nella Fulton Timmons’77HS, Debbie Gupton Van Zijl ’76HS
Left to right: Margaret Cheatham Williams ’07, Annie Sellers ’07, Julian Robertson, Capel Kane ’07
Left to right: Cece May Scott ’68C, Frances Avera Gaither ’45C, Leigh Gaither Jones ’75HS ’77C, Blanche Williamson ’76HS
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Saint Mary’s School | www.sms.edu
ATLANTA
November 13, 2013 At the home of George and Elizabeth Stickley Scott ’86HS ’88C
Mary Ann Keith Massey ’57C, Katherine Allen Dierdorff ’90C, Monica Gillespie
Left to right: Susan Davis Virgin ’68C, Elizabeth Stickley Scott ’86HS ’88C, Wick Dunlap Garrard ’89HS ’90C
Left to right: Jo Crawford Phelps ’68C, John Phelps, Hutton Kent Dhue ’68C, Bob Dhue
Left to right: Suzanne Owens Logan ’73HS ’75C, Isabel Erwin Pope ’85C, Julia Walker Barge ’82HS ’84C
Left to right: Harriet Adams Harvey ’86HS ’88C, Tiffany Compton Wigbels ’85HS, Kimbrough Mobley Gibson ’84HS ’86C
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EVENTS
CHARLOTTE November 21, 2013 At the home of John and Charlotte Wickham Hill ’82HS
Left to right: Neal Turlington, Elizabeth Rasberry Pitts ’79C, Alison Stahl ’02, Kathryn Calder Barmore ’01, Maggie Bratton ’09, Missy Underwood Miller ’80C, Prince Dixon Witt ’78HS
Left to right: Nancy Bowen Wiggins ’68C, Margaret Williams Williams ’78HS ’80C, Liz Norfleet Reid ’91C
Left to right: Fred Brown, Lanier Scott Hoy ’64C, Doug Hoy, Lila Laxton Brown ’60C
Left to right: Kim Butler Moye ’82HS ’84C, Charlotte Hill Wickham ’82HS, Mary Martha Beecy, Ruth Taft Cecil ’84C
Left to right: Mary McLean Russell ’81C, Jane Pettit Higgins ’83C, Anne Stephenson Buresh ’81HS ’83C
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Saint Mary’s School | www.sms.edu
RICHMOND
January 7, 2014 At the home of John and Janie Swain Molster ’78HS
Linda Glass Hyslop ’71C, left, and Maria Charles Hill ’72C, right
Left to right: Lou Anne Watkins Williamson ’50HS, John Molster, Nancy Holland Tucker ’48C
Left to right: Elizabeth Kerns ’11, Kate Kittrell Kerns ’80HS, Janie Parker Pinney ’80HS, Dial Baker Love ’79HS
Left to right: Betsy Coley Fralin ’83C, Pat Wilkie, Meg Irby Clement ’72HS, Sheri Wilkie Tew ’78HS
Left to right: Torrey Moss Munford ’81C, Stephanie Bishop Williams ’90, Claudia Bishop Stubbs ’93HS, Jennifer Davis Salley ’98C
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EVENTS
Saint Mary’s School 14th Annual
AuctioN Gala “In a Grove of Stately Oak Trees”
March 7, 2014 The Angus Barn Pavilions Left to right: Head of School Monica Gillespie with auction co-chairs, Carol Brown Nash ’77HS, Rena Harris Earnhardt ’82HS, Claire Bryant
Left to right: Lee White, Emily Longley ’81HS ’83C, Monica Gillespie, Honorary Auction Chair Ann Penton Longley ’52C, Austin White ’10, Margaret Longley White ’79C, Ellison White
Left to right: Margie Johnson, Franklin Clark, Blanche Robertson Bacon ’53HS ’55C
Left to right: Kathy Sawyer Mann ’78HS ’80C, Lainey Cox Johnston ’80C, Gray Clark Stoughton ’78HS ’80C, Hope Saunders Hackler ’78HS ’80C
Left to right: Lois Perry Sawyer ’52C, Margaret Cheatham Williams ’50HS ’52C, Ann Penton Longley ’52C, Becky Gordon Hoggard ’51HS ’53C, Gray Proctor Clark ’52HS ’54C
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Saint Mary’s School | www.sms.edu
GRANDPARENTS & GRANDFRIENDS DAY March 28, 2014 At Saint Mary's School
Ginger Norfleet and granddaughter Mary Mac Collie ’17
Nancy Dawson Rascoe ’52C and granddaughter Lucy Mae Rascoe ’15
Aurelia Monk ’15, center, with grandfather Bill Monk, left, and grandmother Aurelia Fulton Stafford ’48HS ’50C, right
Lucile Best Jones ’48HS ’50C and granddaughter Darden Grubb ’16
Liddy Blincow ’15, left, and her grandmother, Garden Frampton
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EVENTS
NORFOLK April 1, 2014 At the home of John and Andie Rohrs
Alumnae Director Margaret McGlohon ’81C, left, with Adelaide Curtis Snyder ’39HS ’41C
Left to right: Kay Miller Pollard ’63C, Birte Chassey, Peggy Sears Mordecai ’49HS
Betty Lynch Hammond ’61C, left, and Faye Fakler Pahl ’60C, right
Left to right: Mary Virginia Swain ’77C, Julie McCollum ’66C, former Saint Mary’s Chaplain Andie Wigodsky Rohrs, Margaret Taylor Blair ’94HS
Louise Overman ’75HS, left, and her mother, Anne Townsend Overman ’47HS ’49C
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Saint Mary’s School | www.sms.edu
GREENVILLE, N.C.
April 15, 2014 At the home of William and Aurelia Monk Left to right: Carol Brown Nash ’77HS, Debbie Edwards, Lou Latham Miller ’69HS ’71C
Clarine Pollock Powell ’67C, left, Katherine Allen Gray ’77HS, right
Left to right: Lane Turner Nash ’72HS ’74C, Lee Holmes, Lou Cheatham Holmes ’57C, Gray Clark Stoughton ’78HS ’80C
Louise Mann Clement ’81HS ’83C, left, Torrey Green Stroud ’68HS
Left to right: Nelson Blount Crisp ’56HS and Clark and Lisa Stallings
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MILESTONES IN MEMORIAM Martha Dabney Jones ’26C, former dean of students, February 15, 2014
Margaret Norfleet Gidley ’45HS ’47C, April 2, 2014
Dorothy “Pedie” Hulick Bengel ’58C, January 30, 2014
Florence Frazelle Phillips ’29C, October 7, 2013
Betsy Tom Lawrence Homewood ’45HS ’47C, class secretary, April 11, 2014
Marianna Sink Stoner ’58C, January 14, 2014
Katharine Spruill Harrison ’35C, former alumnae secretary, May 30, 2014
Willie Marjorie “Midge” Riddick Holmes ’47C, March 15, 2014
Jane Russell Harris Grant ’59HS ’61C, October 17, 2013
Anne Boyd Whitaker Bullock ’36C, May 3, 2014
Mary Catherine English Butler ’49C, February 2, 2014
Virginia Ann “Jennie” Gregory Sparks ’61C, February 28, 2014
Ruth Long Williams ’36C, March 20, 2014
Joanne Bailey Hagan ’49C, November 18, 2013
Sally Pisani ’71HS ’73C, daughter of the Rev. Dr. Frank Pisani, ninth president of Saint Mary’s, June 17, 2014
Mary Wood Winslow Bobbitt ’37C, April 21, 2014 Lucile Best Aycock McKee ’37C, November 24, 2013 Isabelle Badger Traylor ’37C, October 3, 2013 Helen Montgomery Poole ’39C, class secretary, May 12, 2013
Leah Lloyd Rigsbee Nash ’49C, October 13, 2013 Jeanne Brown Wright ’49C, October 15, 2013 Sarah “Sissy” Rhodes Craver ’50HS, May 4, 2014
Sarah McKay Munford ’75HS, December 11, 2013 Barbara “Bonnie” Ford Hassold ’75C, June 5, 2014 Janet Bridger Chernega ’76C, October 24, 2013
Virginia Kaulbach Hillger ’40C, in 2013
Shepherd Rustin Smith ’50HS ’52C, January 6, 2014
Kathrine Robinson Fort Neel ’41C, October 31, 2013
Jane Nisbet Goode ’51HS, December 1, 2013
Lauren Elizabeth Dilthy Sink ’85HS, April 12, 2014
Alma “Gloria” Reynolds Tart ’41HS, September 24, 2013
Patricia Ruth Stonham Radisch ’51C, March 30, 2014
Mary Graham “Chelsea” Blake ’86HS, October 13, 2013
Pauline “Peeny” Bernhardt Green Carter ’42C, October 2, 2013
Connie Williams Edwards ’52C, December 2013
Mildred Borden Lee Stout ’42C, November 13, 2013
Janet Harris Towle Hathaway ’52C, March 23, 2014
The Rev. Starke Spotswood Dillard, former chaplain and faculty member, former trustee, January 24, 2014
Grace Woodard Wysor ’42C, October 16, 2013
Frances Pickett Blickenstaff ’53C, May 18, 2014
Virginia D.P. “Sammy” Doughton ’43C, April 15, 2014
Faye Brown Fleming ’53C, December 7, 2013
June Bourne Long ’43C, former trustee, January 19, 2014
Charlotte Nicoll Watt ’53C, November 20, 2013
Jane Evans Wetmore ’43C, October 25, 2013
Sumner Parham Broughton ’54HS ’56C, March 9, 2014
Henrietta Ragland Badham ’44C, April 4, 2014
Kathleen Hartsock Lilly ’54HS ’56C, April 10, 2014
Nancy Brockman Dudley ’44C, October 4, 2013
Mary Searle Platt Rowland ’54HS, April 4, 2014
Betty Ruth Windes Willis ’44C, April 3, 2014
Valentine McMillan Armstrong ’56C, May 12, 2014
Dorothy Whitehead Woodard Cooke ’45HS, October 25, 2013
Legare Hobbs Thackston ’57C, January 13, 2014
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Saint Mary’s School | www.sms.edu
Loli Oates ’84HS, February 27, 2014
James Hagood Ellison, former trustee, November 24, 2013 George Hiram Fuller Sr., former staff member, May 13, 2014 Eugene Brooks Hardin Jr., past chair of the board of trustees, May 9, 2014 Terry Lynn Poe, former Chapel organist, November 19, 2013
MARRIAGES
BIRTHS
Claire Norman ’91C to James Adam Deakin, November 16, 2013
Nicole Franklin ’03 to Blair Thompson, March 23, 2013
Ashley Shelton Moretti ’91HS ’93C, a son, March 25, 2014
Laura Chilton ’99 to John Dameron Midgett, March 30, 2013
Athena Garner ’03 to Tom Williams, October 5, 2013
Tracy Ivey Batts ’94HS ’96C, a daughter, December 2013
Meredith Bell ’00 to Daniel Hughes, May 17, 2014
Lindsay Cutting ’05 to Shawn Ryals, November 9, 2013
Dare Branch Krompecher ’97HS, a son, February 28, 2013
Patti Mims ’02 to Robert Gorrell, May 10, 2014
Ashley Hudson ’06 to Teddy Randell, November 16, 2013
Kristin Woods Williamson ’97C, a daughter, December 24, 2013
Maja Jenson ’04 to David Duncan, April 2013
Carly Phillips ’06 to Stuart Duguid, May 17, 2014
Suzanne Parker Bulakowski ’98HS, a son, December 13, 2013
Merriweather Raidle ’04 to Michael Gerard Mulé, March 28, 2014
Supriya Sundaram ’06 to Sumesh Kaza, July 2013
Liz Knox Bottoms ’96HS ’98C, a daughter, May 24, 2014
Nia Triantis ’04 to Jaymes C. Gillespie, June 2013
Rhyne Andrews ’07 to Craig Callens, November 16, 2013
Leslie Allred Yates ’96HS ’98C, a daughter, June 11, 2014
*Kathryn Doll ’03 to Tareq Adham, May 26, 2013
*Emily Long ’07 to John Melvin, May 10, 2014
Grayson Glisson Nichols ’01, a daughter, May 12, 2014
Sarah England Cook ’03 to Justin May, October 13, 2012
Amy MacGill ’07 to William Claiborne Yarborough, February 15, 2014
Liz Dodd Sherrod ’01, a daughter, April 11, 2014
*Married in the Saint Mary’s Chapel
Louise Beasley Warrenda ’01, a daughter, December 12, 2013 Kristen Florio Boggs ’02, a son, April 2013 Hollan Rudolph Young ’02, twin sons, April 16, 2014 Margot Childs Stanley ’03, a son, February 15, 2014 Sarah Simons Team ’04, a daughter, June 13, 2014
Saint Mary’s Heritage Walk Honor or memorialize a Saint Mary’s friend, relative or yourself by purchasing a personalized brick to be placed on the Heritage Walk. Saint Mary's Heritage Walk bears the names of hundreds of alumnae, graduating seniors, faculty, staff, parents and friends of the school. The Heritage Walk is the front campus walkway that spans the distance from Pittman Auditorium, past Smedes Hall, to the Chapel. For information, contact Shannon Williams at 919-424-4104 or swilliams@sms.edu, or you may print an order form from the “Support” section of the website at www.sms.edu and mail it with payment to the school.
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AWARDS 2014 Mazie Strickland Froelich ’51C Society Alumnae Awards The Saint Mary's Alumnae Council created the Mazie Strickland Froelich '51C Distinguished Alumnae Society in honor of Mazie's leadership and service to Saint Mary's School. The ultimate example of a distinguished alumna during her lifetime, the late Mrs. Froelich was the first female chair of the school’s Board of Trustees.
Jane Augustine Rabon ’59C named 2014 Distinguished Alumna Award recipient
Left to right, Alumnae Association President Sally Pelletier ’77HS, Jane Augustine Rabon ’59C, Monica Gillespie
Jane Augustine Rabon is the 2014 Distinguished Alumna Award recipient. “Chip,” as she was known by her classmates, hailed from Bellefontaine, Ohio, where she was the oldest of three sisters, one of whom followed her to Saint Mary’s. Jane was salutatorian of the College Class of ’59 at Saint Mary’s, and had been a member of “The Belles” staff, Sigma Pi Alpha (honorary French society) and the Mu intramural society. After Saint Mary’s, she earned a degree in French from UNC-Chapel Hill. Jane served Saint Mary’s as the executive secretary of the Alumnae Association and alumnae director from 1962-1981, the longest-serving alumnae director to date. Jane set the bar high for alumnae relations and created many of the systems still in place today. She established a professional program modeled after women’s colleges in the south, and oversaw the management of both the Alumnae Association and all of the alumnae chapters.
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Her achievements at Saint Mary’s were many. She was known as an indefatigable fundraiser and was admired for her dedication to her alma mater. Jane promoted and encouraged alumnae to give to the annual fund, empowering them to stand up for the causes and places that were important to their lives. She said, “Alumnae are the front line, and Saint Mary’s needs their loyalty and support.”
She improved the quality, appearance, frequency and reach of the alumnae magazine. She felt that it was more than a newsletter - that it should interpret the institution and its alumnae. She began the practice of sending the magazine to all alumnae, not just those who donated. She created and then continued to strengthen the annual fund and established the Smedes Associates, Order of the Grove and 1842 Society giving recognition societies. She developed and managed the first phonathon in 1975, a program that earned the Exceptional Achievement Award from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). She managed the first alumnae directory, and was responsible for creating and organizing the alumnae records system, finding more than 4,000 lost alumnae. She served as chair of the Women’s Colleges for District III of the American Alumni Council. She was invited to be the commencement speaker at Saint Mary’s in 1981.
“Pioneer” would be the best word to describe Jane’s career in the field of development and institutional advancement. For more than 43 years, she worked in this field during a time when very few women held leadership positions. She left Saint Mary’s in 1981 to become assistant director of annual giving at UNC-Chapel Hill, as the university’s first female development officer. Following her tenure at UNC, Jane was appointed the first director of development at the North Carolina School of Science and Math. After five years at the NCSSM, Jane was selected to be the first executive director of the Wake Community College Foundation, where she oversaw and developed all aspects of the foundation for 16 years. Jane says that in all the places she worked or attended, she was most at home at Saint Mary’s. Upon her retirement from Saint Mary’s, her colleagues and the administration established the Jane Augustine Rabon Belles Award in her honor. This honor was given in thoughtful appreciation for Jane’s work as editor and publisher of the alumnae magazine and in alumnae relations. The Belles Award is given annually to the Saint Mary’s student who contributes most to the excellence of student publications. Jane was married to Roy H. Rabon Jr. from 1969 until his death in 1984. She has two stepchildren and a particularly close relationship with two grandchildren and a nephew who live in Raleigh. She is member of Christ Church and is involved in many community activities.
Under the umbrella of the society, two outstanding alumnae awards are given annually - Outstanding Alumna Award given annually for outstanding service through leadership, student recruitment and alumnae support, and the Distinguished Alumna Award recognizes an alumna's outstanding achievements in volunteer service and/or her professional distinctions.
Linda Kerr Moore ’69C named 2014 Outstanding Alumna Award recipient Linda Kerr Moore ’69C is the 2014 Outstanding Alumna Award recipient. Linda grew up in Raleigh and was a day student at Saint Mary’s College following her graduation from Broughton High School. After Saint Mary’s, she earned a business degree from Hardbarger Business College and began working for her family’s business, Kerr drug stores. Linda is married to Ralph Moore (a former chair of the Saint Mary’s board of trustees). She is proud of her children and grandchildren, including son Steven (Amberly) and their children Bryson, Banks and Abbey; son Kerr (Casie) and their children Parris and Lilabett; and daughter Katherine ’00 (Richard McElroy) and their children, Mac and Gray.
Alumnae Association President Sally Pelletier ’77HS, Linda Kerr Moore ’69C, Monica Gillespie
Linda’s Saint Mary’s memories include time spent in the day student house and learning to play bridge. When daughter Katherine entered Saint Mary’s as a ninthgrader in 1996, Linda reengaged in campus life as a parent volunteer. Katherine was a three-year day student and a senior year boarder, and Linda found myriad ways to get involved. To assist the admission office in recruiting boarding students, Linda set up a “model” dorm room so that prospective students and their parents could imagine themselves in the boarding community.
Keys to her success including making sure that Raleigh parents were engaged in the school, that boarding parents had local families to call on when needed and that the faculty and staff were thanked appropriately. Thanks to Linda’s vision and leadership, the current Parents Association is still strong today. Many of the programs created then, including the Faculty-Staff Appreciation Luncheon and the family picnic, are among favorite campus events today.
Linda was asked to spearhead the creation of the Saint Mary’s Parents Association in 1996. For the next two years, Linda and her team of parent volunteers partnered with the administration to put in place activities and programs appropriate for the high school.
After her stint as Parents Association president, Linda served two terms on the board of trustees from 1999-2007. As a trustee, she served on the student life and development committees and the head of school search committee (1998-1999). Linda is proud of the many successes of the board
of trustees while she was a member, including the hiring of Theo Wilkes Coonrod as head of school; the renovation of Smedes Hall, East and West Rock; construction of the townhouses and the focus on enhancing the academic program. Linda and Ralph served on the Beyond Imagination Capital Campaign committee and helped raise $1 million for the naming of the head of school’s home. Linda served as the honorary chair of the first school auction gala in 2001 and has continued to lend her name to alumnae events in Raleigh and at Atlantic Beach. “It was easy to get in the groove and fall in love with the people at Saint Mary’s,” says Linda. “It’s important that alumnae continue to care about the future of our alma mater and take it forward.”
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CLASS news
1939 Class News It’s all here – the latest and greatest news from alumnae in odd-year classes. Saint Mary’s extends a special thanks to the dedicated class secretaries who compiled and crafted these class newsletters. Even-year classes will be featured in the winter 2015 magazine. Alumnae in these classes will receive information to facilitate the reporting of news to class secretaries or directly to the school.
Class News Policies Due to the uncertain nature of certain types of news, Saint Mary’s does not publish news of wedding engagements or pregnancies. We publish news of marriages, births, adoptions or deaths, based on published news reports or direct phone or e-mail contact with the Alumnae Office from the parties or immediate families. Please remember to include Saint Mary’s in your wedding announcement in the newspaper and please send birth announcements to the Alumnae Office for inclusion in the milestones section.
College
Helen Montgomery Poole of Richmond, Va., passed away May 12, 2013. She is survived by her son, Rodney Montgomery Poole and his wife, Laureen; two daughters-in-law; and six grandchildren. She was predeceased by her husband, Jerome Travis Poole, and two sons, Travis William Poole, Jr. and Craig Rutledge Poole. Helen graduated from St. Catherine’s School, Saint Mary’s Junior College and Hollins University. She was a member of the Woman’s Club, the Tuckahoe Woman’s Club, the Senior Board of Children’s Hospital, the Country Club of Virginia and First Presbyterian Church. She was the devoted, longtime class secretary for the College Class of 1939. Sarah Korn writes from Cockeysville, Md. She is doing well, living in a retirement community and enjoying some volunteering. She recently visited a niece in Puerto Rico (her work is there) and also enjoyed some more local travel.
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College and High School
Saint Mary’s Class Notes are published for each class once each year. Due to the extended nature of the production schedule for the magazine, class news is meant to be a once-a-year general update of your news for the previous year. We cannot guarantee the exact timeliness of your news, so please keep our advance deadlines in mind when submitting news. Saint Mary’s School reserves the right to edit class news for content, length and timeliness. Photographs may be submitted for consideration for the class news to mvswain@sms.edu or Mary Virginia Swain, 900 Hillsborough Street, Raleigh, NC 27603. Photos must be high-quality prints or digital .jpeg photo files of at least 300 dpi. Group shots should include Saint Mary’s alumnae (and spouses and children) only and must include a detailed listing of everyone pictured, including full names and class years.
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1944 High School and College: (left to right): Bettie Gaither Stokes, Mary Pierce Johnson White, Mary Lynn Lewis Delany, Olive Camp Johnson
1943 College
Anne Dickson Waldrop Betty Michaux Graham is still living in Raleigh with husband John and their youngest daughter, Anna. Their two older daughters are Kathy Graham Wood ’70HS and Betty Graham ’72HS.
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1945
College and High School Marcia McMillin ’45C is living in quiet retirement at an assisted living facility in Chattanooga, Tenn. She still takes an interest in cheering on the Tar Heels! While at UNCChapel Hill, Marcia got to know a fellow classmate who dated her roommate. That classmate was the actor Andy Griffith! She has maintained her interest in music and sang with the Chattanooga Opera Chorus for over 60 years. She would welcome notes from old friends. Mail them to 312 Sunset Circle, Lookout Mountain, TN, 37350.
1947 College
We are sorry to report that Betsy Tom Lawrence Homewood, wife of the late Samuel Sholes Homewood and longtime class secretary for the Class of 1947C, died April 11 in Clarksville, Va. Betsy Tom was the long serving class secretary for the College Class of 1947. She was born on November 14, 1928, to Dr. Benjamin Jones Lawrence and Carolyn Thomas Farthing Lawrence. She grew up in Raleigh and graduated from Saint Mary's and the UNC-Chapel Hill. She taught history at Northampton County High School East in
SAINT MARY’S REMEMBERS
Creeksville, N.C. She was a member of Grace Episcopal Church in Weldon, where she served on the altar guild and later All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Roanoke Rapids. She was an avid gardener, earning the Master Gardener distinction, a longtime member of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and an active member of The Book Club until she and Sam retired to Virginia. Of her many activities, she was most proud of her service as a trustee on the board of Halifax Community College. She is survived by her son, Samuel Sholes Homewood, Jr., his wife Carolyn Smallwood Homewood; her daughter Betsy Tom Homewood Brown ’73HS and her husband, Raymond T. Brown; and three grandsons, Stephen Halsey Conger, III, Samuel Sholes Homewood, III and Hillman Collins Homewood. A memorial service was held April 15 at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church in Littleton. Betsy Tom’s daughter, Betsy Tom Homewood Brown ’73HS ’75C was kind enough to send in the news that had been sent to her mother before her death, carrying out Betsy Tom’s service as class secretary to the end. Sara Mell Edwards wrote from Anniston, Ala., that they are all “excited and atwitter’ because her granddaughter is planning a November wedding. Sara says that she is doing well, but “probably a bit slower, if that’s possible!” She plays bridge, volunteers at the hospital, enjoys the Garden Guild, concerts, local theater. Sara was excited that she won $1,000 in the Saint Mary’s auction raffle this spring. After receiving the letter about Betsy Tom’s death, Sara wrote to the school and made a memorial gift to the Haig-Homewood Scholarship Endowment fund at Saint Mary’s in Betsy Tom’s memory. Sande Childs Jeter wrote from Columbia, S.C., that they enjoy their North Carolina mountain house as well as visits to Pawley’s Island. Sande spends a lot of time working in her yard and playing Rummicubb and Shanghai with friends. She sees Sara “Chubby” Covington Rice,
June Bourne Long ’43C, former trustee, former Alumnae Council president, capital campaign chair June Bourne Long ’43C of Roanoke Rapids, a distinguished leader at Saint Mary’s, died January 19, 2014. Her leadership roles at Saint Mary’s included serving as president of the Alumnae Association, as a member of the Board of Trustees and as chair of the successful “Foundations for the Future” capital campaign. A native of Tarboro, N.C., she was a faithful member of All Saints’ Episcopal Church, where she served as a Sunday school teacher, chair of the altar guild, ECW branch president and as the first woman elected to serve on the church’s vestry. She also served as president of the Episcopal Church Women of the Diocese of North Carolina, a member of the Episcopal Diocesan Council and Thompson Children’s Home, president of Churchwomen United, area chair of the North Carolina Museum of History Associates, member of the board of trustees of Browns Summit Episcopal Center, a member of the North Carolina Society of the Colonial Dames and past president of the Halifax Memorial Hospital Auxiliary. She was married to the late Willie Jones Long Jr., and was grandmother to alumna Emily Long Melvin ’07. Funeral services were held January 25 at All Saints’ Episcopal Church.
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CLASS news
1949
High School See news from classmates in the College Class of 1951.
1951 College
1949 College: (left to right): Mary-Bryan Cummings Rasberry, Betty Debnam Hunt, Anne Dewey Heartt Gregory, Marion Turner Hubbard, Anne Townsend Overman
Helen “Woolie” Boyle Baxter and Patsy Taylor Black ’48C occasionally at Still Hopes Episcopal Retirement Home. Sande has three great-granddaughters.
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High School Shirley Frew Ivie writes that she still lives in Richmond, Va.
1949 College
Anne Townsend Overman ’47HS’ 49C lives in Virginia Beach, Va., and is now a great-granny twice. “All of my family live here at the beach, all 14 of us,” says Anne. She was looking forward to attending her reunion. “It is always wonderful to come back to North Carolina: Raleigh, Saint Mary’s and Chapel Hill.” She says she was born in Virginia, and has a wonderful
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life there (especially until she lost her dear husband 18 years ago) but her heart still lives in the Old North State. Molly Oakey Brodie writes that she enjoys the leisurely life at Plantation Village in Wilmington. Nancy Spoolman Clyde reports that she is “still hanging in there” in Greenville, N.C. Her 10 grandchildren are all grown up, except for two (9 and 6). She still leads an active life in spite of a bout with throat cancer (completely gone for six years) and two hip replacements. She was sad to hear of the death of Barbara Miller Barksdale. She keeps up with Libba Kornegay Pate. Her daughters help keep her going. Nelle Clark Pender writes from Marietta, Ga., “Our big news is the arrival of four greatgrands in the past three years.” She no longer plays golf, but she does a little gardening and enjoys trips to their beach cottage at Fripp Island, S.C., where she looks forward to “walking on the beach, watching the sunset and giving thanks for our long life together!”
Louise Milliken Howard June Reuning Faucette stays in touch with Dot Crawford Selby, her former roommate, who lives in Brentwood, Tenn. June is happily settled in the lovely mountains of North Carolina. She and Ed celebrated their 62nd wedding anniversary last year. Frankie Allen Fanjoy ’49HS ’51C informed me of the death in September of 2013 of Anne Rixey Ruffin. We extend our deepest sympathy to Rixey’s husband Bill and their family. While reading issues of the Saint Mary’s alumnae magazine, I read in “Milestones” of the deaths of Carolyn Welch Loughlin in December 2012 and Juliette Fulghum Newcomb in October of 2013. I know that we will miss our dear classmates Rixey, Carolyn and Juliette. During May of 2013, my husband Harry and I attended my 60th reunion at UNC-Chapel Hill. It was the first Carolina reunion that I had ever attended and was well worth the effort. The crowd was small and manageable and the planned events brought back many memories of my two years in Chapel Hill. The Old Students Club luncheon was one of the highlights. Betty Ray McCain ’50C gave the invocation. Margaret Ann Brock Beaty and her husband Carroll were on the registration list but we did not see each other until we were leaving and walking through the parking garage. It was grand to see her, as we quickly shared memories and caught up on friends and families. Margaret Dunn Toms is so very glad to be living at The Cypress of Raleigh for
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the last five years, and she enjoys seeing other Saint Mary’s friends who are there. Margaret’s granddaughter is at Durham Academy. Jean McGhee Russell wrote from Wichita Falls, Texas, that all is well with her family. She was in Raleigh early this year for the class reunion of the high school she attended. Jean does not come to Raleigh often, so her visit was special. Virginia Hall Wood wrote from Edenton that life is good and that her children and their families are doing well. Laura Chapman Rico is still the coordinator of the tutorial program at the Los Banos Campus of Merced College in California. She enjoys what she is doing and has no plans to retire. In the summer of 2013, she visited Anvik, Alaska, her childhood home. June Bullard Winston ’49HS ’51C has a growing family. Baby June arrived last June, Logan in July and Grace this past February. “Also, we had a family wedding in January and I have a new granddaughterin-law. We’ve just gotten back from an exciting trip to Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. It was very interesting, but also makes you thankful you live in the U.S.A.” June is still living in Charlotte. Nancy Bobbitt Thompson '49 HS '51C writes that she was the only Class of ’49HS member at Saint Mary's for the reunion weekend in April, but she hopes to be back in two years for the class of ’51C reunion. “My husband Sam died in September 2010, and I miss him more every day. My daughter, Nancy Thompson Heathcoate ’77C, moved in with me and it has been a blessing for both of us. Her three sons have all graduated from college so we have a wonderful time seeing any and all of them when they stop by. My son, Sanford IV, is an attorney in Raleigh and is married with two daughters and a son. My daughter Elizabeth is married, lives in Richmond, Va., and has two boys and a daughter. My nine grandchildren range in age from 7 to 31 years. Nancy's middle son is married and in med school at UNC-Chapel Hill and he has a 15-month-old, which makes me
Katharine Spruill Harrison ’35C, former alumnae secretary Katharine Spruill Harrison ’35C, former alumnae secretary, died peacefully surrounded by her four children, on May 30, 2014. Kate was a lifelong resident of Rocky Mount, born September 14, 1916. Always a leader, she served as student body president at Saint Mary’s, where she graduated in 1935, and as senior class president at Hollins College, where she graduated in 1937. During her years as a Saint Mary’s student, she also served as hall president, president of the MU intramural society, a commencement marshal and was a member of the Hall Council, the Pan Archon Council, the field hockey and basketball teams, Letter Club and altar guild.
on the Alumnae Council, the Board of Visitors and on the Honorary Cabinet and National Leadership Council for the school’s Beyond Imagination Capital Campaign. She is the namesake of the Katherine Spruill Harrison Scholarship, established by her son, William B. Harrison Jr., in honor of her long history with Saint Mary’s. She was part of a long family tradition at Saint Mary’s, with generations of her family attending Saint Mary’s, including her daughter, Kack Harrison Hardin ’70C, who followed in her mother’s footsteps as student body president and with a long tenure of distinguished to the school, including terms on the board of trustees.
In 2010, Harrison received the John Bratton Jr. Volunteer Service Recognition Award in honor of eight decades of service to Saint Mary’s. She worked for several years as the alumnae secretary/ director at Saint Mary’s, before marrying Billy Harrison in 1940. As alumnae secretary, she tirelessly traveled the state and the south connecting with Saint Mary’s alumnae. She later served
She was a courageous woman of many talents and interests and tremendous energy who was ahead of her time as a champion for equal access for women. She started and coached the first girls’ tennis team in promoted the first gym classes for girls in Rocky Mount. She was an active Girl Scouts leader, a member of the National Society of the Colonial Dames, a member of the alumnae councils at Saint Mary’s and Hollins and president of the Episcopal Church Women at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Rocky Mount, among many community activities. A celebration of her life was held at the Good Shepherd, Tuesday, June 3.
Kack Harrison Hardin ’70C, Frank Harrison, Kate Spruill Harrison ’35C and Josephine and Bill Harrison, are pictured in 2010 at the alumnae gathering at Kate’s home in Rocky Mount, when she was presented the John Bratton Jr. Volunteer Service Award for distinguished service to Saint Mary’s.
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SAINT MARY’S REMEMBERS
Martha Dabney Jones ’26, former dean of students and alumna always the Spirit of St. Mary’s. All of the students are quite sad that Miss Jones will no longer be our Dean after this year, but our love and best wishes follow her to Stuart Hall, hoping that her constructive influence will live there at it will always at St. Mary’s.” A similar tribute in the 1954 Stagecoach read, “The high ideals of our dean in future times of indecision will direct us toward finer ways of life. Her lofty principles will remain embodied in us wherever we are. She is our guiding star.” After graduating from Williamsburg High School and attending Saint Mary's Junior College for two years, she graduated from Sweet Briar College in 1929. She later received a master’s degree in English from the University of North Carolina.
Former English teacher and Dean of Students Martha Dabney Jones, 104, a member of the Class of 1926, died February 15, 2014, at Westminster Canterbury of the Blue Ridge in Charlottesville where she had lived since 2004. She was born January 15, 1910, in Williamsburg, Va., the daughter of the late Edmund Ruffin Jones and Jane Dabney Jones. Ms. Jones was much beloved at Saint Mary’s. The caption for Dean Jones’ photo in the 1955 Stagecoach reads, “True and noble, our Dean gives devotion to the understanding and guidance of St. Mary’s girls, and by the example of her high ideals, she inspires us to carry with us
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After teaching public school in Princess Anne County, Va., 19291931, she spent the rest of her career in education under the auspices of the Episcopal Church. After working for three years as a missionary in Christian education in eastern Oregon, she taught at the Hannah More Academy in Maryland and then served from 1937 to 1955 as an English teacher and later as dean of students at Saint Mary’s. Finally, she was headmistress of Stuart Hall in Staunton, Va., from 1955 until her retirement in 1972. During this period, she served a term as president of the Virginia Association for Preparatory Schools. After her retirement, she served as director of development for Stuart Hall during 1973-1974. In 1945, while at Saint Mary's, Jones joined the W.A.A.C (Women's Auxiliary
Army Corps) during World War II and was stationed in London during the buzz bombing and then later in Paris. In 1945 she was awarded the Croix de Guerre avec Etoile by the French Government. In Staunton, she was a member of Emmanuel Episcopal Church serving as treasurer and senior warden. She was also active in the local affiliate of Literacy Volunteers of America, the Mental Health Association, the Association for Retarded Children, and Meals on Wheels and served on the boards of Kings Daughters Hospital, and the Community Concert Association. She was a member of the Thursday Morning Music Club and the Staunton Choral Society. After moving to Charlottesville in 1988, she became a member of Christ Episcopal Church, where she served on the vestry, sang in the choir and served as president of the St. Margaret’s Guild. She was also a foster grandmother. A memorial service was held at Christ Episcopal Church, Charlottesville, Va. Interment was at the University of Virginia Cemetery. Sources: Martha Dabney Jones obituary; “The Stagecoach” of 1954 and 1955; “The Heritage,” by Martha Sprouse Stoops
CLASS news a great-grandmother! Enough about me, I hope to hear news about everyone else!” In 2012, while reading the “Carolina Alumni Review,” I noticed a small article about a special project of UNC: the digitizing of the yearbooks of around 80 colleges and universities in North Carolina and the digitizing of around 175 high schools in the state. These yearbooks were digitized through the N.C. Digital Heritage Center, a statewide program housed in the North Carolina Collection at UNC-Chapel Hill. I found the web address and spent many entertaining hours tracking down family members of long ago at UNC and Saint Mary’s. The digitizing process begins with the Saint Mary’s yearbooks of around 1890 and continues to around the 1970s.You can see each yearbook in its entirety just by clicking page after page. It is great fun. This is a fine project of the university for it enhances the family, social and cultural history of North Carolina. If anyone would like to know the web address, please contact me and I will send it to you. Please send more news next year. I miss you when I do not hear from you. With love to all, Louise
1954 College: front row (left to right): Laura Ann Travis Radolff, Pat Perry Moser, Anne Nichols Moore, Carolyn Baldridge Creech, Mary Ann Smoot Higgs, Mela Royall Lawrence, Alma West Green; back row: Abbot Henderson Howard, Harriet Conger Glover, Cathryn Cheek Zevenhuizen, Sally Shapard Hill, Frances Stubinger Daugherty, Mary Grady Burnett Koonce
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1953 College
Gene Overbeck Britt continues to travel in France and Italy, studying art, architecture and music, as well as taking painting workshops in Venice. Bebe Correll Hales writes from Cincinnati, Ohio. She volunteers at a food pantry, the Cincinnati History Museum, and the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden as an educator. She is widowed. Ann McColman Copeland is still in Charlotte.
1954 High School: front row (left to right): Ina Gee Ridley Pittman, Ruth Watkins Barber, Carolyn Foy Ragsdale, Martha Brooks Bricio; back row: Ruth Elliott Overman, Mott Butler Goff, Marianna Miller Raugh, Jane Westbrook Thomason, Barbara Hunt Wolper
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1953
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1955 College
Sara Walters Lowe It’s always my pleasure to say hello to all of you through this class letter. Not many personal responses this year, so a short letter follows. October 2012 brought another Nags Head house party at Marie Tyler Gardner and Jim’s wonderful place on the beach. Attending this time were Mary Rhea Spivey Jones, Kitty Campen Field, Libby Reese Ward, Mary Ruth Divine, Aubrey Campbell Hord and I. What a great time we had with good food, great weather and good company! Missing this time were Margot Hammond Cunningham and Anne Marie Miller Moreton – both greatly missed. Earlier in the fall, Margot and Decatur and their entire family were treated to a wonderful visit to The Homestead as guests of their daughter and son-in-law. Wonderful treat for sure! Just following our Nags Head trip, Libby and David joined a northern cruise, which ended in New York for a weekend. Aubrey and her son were making plans to go to Hawaii over Christmas to visit her daughter and son-in-law. Ann Nimocks Pleasants lost her husband Bill in June 2012. She is making all the adjustments you have to make and loves living in Washington, N.C. - lots of friends there, and many are Saint Mary’s friends. We all send warm thoughts to her and her family. She has two daughters and five wonderful grandchildren. Ann is in the same book club with Dill Walker Lynch ’54C and Ann Winslow Jennette. She talks frequently with Virginia Lilly Yarborough. Quick note from Jane Wrike Beck who “hangs tough” in Burlington. Pat McQueen Spruill and Joe stay busy in Williamsburg, Va., with involvement in Bruton Parish
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Church and historical and architectural programs. They vacationed at Nags Head with their daughters. For Christmas, they all gathered in Denver, Colo., where two of their daughters live. Elizabeth Arthur Bell still lives in Raleigh and has eight grandchildren: three girls have graduated from college, two boys are currently at UNC-Chapel Hill, and three boys are still very young (3, 5 and 5). Little other news from me. I am so fortunate that all of my boys live in Charlotte and we gather as often as possible. I am looking forward to the graduation of my oldest grandson from Kenyon College in May. I think of you all so many times and hope you are well and happy. Stay in touch as you have time. Best love to each and every one. Fondly, Sara
1955
High School Barry Bowen Gilmer Dear classmates, it has been so good to hear from you, and I hope all who did not respond are well and just enjoying this special time in our lives, which is supposed to be less busy! Mine is not! Jane Walker Kerewich is excited about her trip down the Mississippi River, from Memphis to New Orleans. It is called “Southern Culture and Civil War.” That sounds fascinating to me and I hope to hear more about it, Jane. Coleman Jenkins Dance reports that she and Bob planned to celebrate his 80th birthday in May and will be in an art show in Morehead City in June. Coleman and Bob are still painting every day. Coleman’s oldest grandson is working in Charlotte, having graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill in May 2013. The next grandson will be a senior at the University of Georgia. Her oldest granddaughter is a rising junior at UNC-Chapel Hill and the next grandson is going to be a freshman there. The last boy is in high school in Raleigh. Dotty Peirson Bailey is still in Swansboro and enjoys
St. Peter’s by the Sea, where a couple of other Saint Mary’s alumnae also attend. She sends love to all of us. Margaret Burnside Kapner recently had a visit from her daughter and two grandchildren from Atlanta. Her niece and great-great-nephew from Richmond, Va., joined them. Margaret also visits her grandchildren in Fort Worth, Texas. She has resumed her watercolor painting and is doing some church work. In January, Margaret celebrated her 75th birthday in Nassau with three of her friends also born in January 1939. What a treat! Mittie Crumpler Landi and husband John are well and enjoying their retirement home. Mittie had a total knee replacement in August 2013 and feels fine, though the other knee must soon be done. They still enjoy their house at Debordieu, S.C. Their family is all well: three oldest grands have graduated from college, and their fourth grandchild is in Germany studying. The other four are still in high school. Mittie says what I think we all feel, that she and John feel blessed that they are doing as well as they are at this age! Anne Powell Ward is living in Powhatan, Va., and is planning to move to a retirement community. Martha Gay Burns Morton had a new grandson born March 10 to her son, James. He has two other boys (5 and 4). Martha Gay is retired after a 30-year nursing career and is enjoying every minute of it! She says hello to all. Betsy Duke Seaman is recovering from a knee replacement and feels fortunate to have a daughter and son in town. Betsy’s other daughter is in Baltimore, and their children are at the University of Virginia, Washington and Lee, and Garrison Forest. Peter is still in health care and Betsy has moved into an apartment. Carol McWhirter Cape has been in Asheville at a sorority convention and to see the house she bought there for a summer home. It is next to her daughter’s home. She is buying a smaller house in Myrtle Beach, and will sell her larger one. Carol says that it is harder than she thought to downsize after 36 years in that house.
She is still in real estate but is semi-retired. Carol says that God has blessed her with many blessings, friends and good health. And she would love to hear from any of us when we are in the Myrtle Beach area. Emily Cater Hubbard and husband Clark are still in Richmond Hill, Ga., where Clark is rector of St. Elizabeth’s Episcopal Church. Emily coordinates a Bible class there, which continues to draw women from various backgrounds and places. It warms her heart that young women can come there and find close friends, support and good study in their program. Emily is expecting the 10th grandchild this summer, which will bring the count to eight girls and two boys. Her oldest granddaughter is at Converse and oldest grandson is at the College of Charleston. Emily is often on the road visiting her children in Tallahassee, Birmingham and Houston. My news, Barry Bowen Gilmer, sounds a lot like the rest of yours! Fred just had a hip replacement but other than that, we certainly have no complaints. I am enjoying my photography and vegetable gardening and some hiking, and Fred and I are traveling as much as we can. We have 18 grandchildren, ages 8 to 23. The oldest is in grad school at University of South Carolina and the next is graduating from Washington and Lee in May and will be attending Vanderbilt Law School in September. There are two at Clemson, one graduating and one is a sophomore. Another grandson will be graduating high school from PCA in Mt. Pleasant and playing soccer for USC-L next year. After that we have three graduating high school next year and then – well, on and on! I was diagnosed with breast cancer last August and had a lumpectomy with excellent results and very good pathology. God is good. As most of you know by now, we lost Catherine Dent Brantley in February this year. I will miss her greatly, as I know you all will, too. She always had news of all her grandchildren and greatgrandchildren. I noticed, too, that her Saint Mary’s needlepoint has been given to the
school and is hanging in the hallway. Please do keep in touch! Life is short and I know that Saint Mary’s and my friends there have been a huge part of my life. Best love to all, Barry
1957 College
Susanne Lunsford Burton Sawyer says, “I write this brief note with a sense of great sadness in my heart. Two of our stalwart ‘Faculty House’ classmates, dear Nan Bailey Crawford and Joan Williams DeHaan, both originally from Wendell, have recently died. That wonderful FH crowd – young, immature 16-year-old girls away from home for the first time – grew up better together that first year at SMJC (’55-’56). We supported one another as best we could, studied a bit, smoked a bunch (Chesterfield Kings, unfiltered to boot), played bridge or tried to, laughed, talked about boys, ordered pizzas which were delivered (for goodness sakes) and learned to live together on the second floor of a really old building which probably should have been condemned long before we moved in! That year was indeed a banner year – the beginnings of new and now old and dear friendships for some of us. I will miss Nan and Joan and will always remember the times we shared in Faculty House. I am so glad that I lived there with them and others that first year. It made a difference in my life and is good to remember and to think about today.” Phyllis Wall Purdy writes from Calhoun, Ga. Her husband Ron is now totally disabled, but she continues to volunteer at church, with literacy and tutoring. She took her daughter Louise and two granddaughters on a 17-day grand tour of Great Britain last summer. Her whole family still enjoys a trip to Atlantic Beach each July. Anne Powell Ward reports that they are planning to move to a retirement community in Powhatan, Va., this year.
1957
High School Lambeth Walker Marshall is still working full time as a landscape designer and professional potter. She is a volunteer and founding member of the Waxhaw Arts Council and winner of many awards as a professional potter.
1959 College
Sarah Ellen White Archie ’57HS ’59C writes that they have moved to New Bern and like being closer to Atlantic Beach, where they spend the summers. Mary Ann Powell Everett writes that she and Spencer spend the winters with about 100 other North Carolinians at Quail Ridge in Boynton Beach, Fla. Otherwise, they are in Wilmington, where she plays lots of duplicate bridge. Toni Lonning retired from 30 years of medical social work in January of 2011. She worked 22 years at Providence St. Vincent’s Hospital in Portland, Ore., and 10 years at the Cancer Center. Her son Kevin moved in with her, and has two adult children. Her daughter, Elizabeth, and husband Kevin live 30 miles away with their two children (10 and 6). Elizabeth teaches music at her children’s school and in her studio. Kevin is a professor of music at Western Oregon University. “I love being retired and spend my time with friends and family,” says Toni, who lives in Lake Oswego, Ore.
1959
High School McNair Currie Maxwell lives in Palo Alto, Calif., but traveled all the way to Raleigh in April for her Class of ’59HS reunion. She loved being there, but hopes the class will have better turnout in 2019.
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CLASS news “Put it on your calendar to come to our 60th,” writes McNair. “We are a good and faithful group and we can show it! Even the Class of 1944 had more attendees – and they are 15 years older than we are.” She urges everyone to plan now to attend the 60th and make it a weekend-long celebration.
1961 College
1959 College: front row (left to right): Mary Ann Powell Everett, Jane Augustine Rabon, Ada Ellen Hoell Smith, Betty Lou Baeles Watson, Ann Campbell Fulton, Georgia Fuller Johnson, May Eason Mills; second row: Caroline Cannon Harrington, Linda Vick Browne, Rett Weston Padgett, Jeanne Moye Whitfield, Carolyn Harris Conarroe, Judy Highsmith Budacz, Octavia Phillips McLeod; third row: Becky Robertson Warren, Joyce Batchelor Parks, Anne Wright Steele, Blair Maddison Sloan, Georgia Cobb Joyner, Bev DuBose Patrick, Sarah Ellen White Archie
1959 High School: front row (left to right): Martha Winstead Brannock, Julia Hunt Allen, Hadley Morgan Hines, McNair Currie Maxwell; second row: Jackie Polk Edwards, Edith Alston, Amelia Yancey Bond, Martha Pat Bell, Caroline Finlay Meyer
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G.G. Saunders Buxton Dear Classmates, Gill Holcombe Powell wrote that she sees Anna Cay Henry Hawes and Betty Jones infrequently but is in communication with Shef Wilson Dana. Midge Midyette Peery has been painting Charleston architecturals for the past three years. Eleven paintings are finished and two more are planned. The paintings are large watercolors that will constitute a oneperson show at the Greenville County Museum of Art. The show will open December 2 and run until February 2015. Midge will be at the museum on December 7 to talk about the show. There will be a catalog. Needless to say, it’s very exciting. Trudie Johnson Owings and husband Palmer have three children. Their son Palmer is an MAI, Capers is an attorney and Mary has her own speech pathology business. There are eight grandchildren, five girls and three boys. All are quite bright and doing well. Trudie lives in Mt. Pleasant, S.C., and is lucky to have them all nearby. The entire family vacations in the North Carolina mountains every year. Trudie sees Susanne Bowles Royster often. Susanne lives in Mt. Pleasant, too. Also in the Charleston low country area for at least part of the year are Susan Goode Batten ’61HS ’63C, Jane Brooks Ball ’62C, Courtenay McDowell ’62C and Sally Harper McCoy. Beth Freeman Gephart Wyant will be celebrating her fifth anniversary to “an old love” 40 years later. Her husband is from upstate New York, the Hudson Valley area, so they now go back and forth between Raleigh and Clinton Corners, N.Y. With his and hers, there are 15 grandchildren. Beth retired from American Airlines in 2001 and most recently retired as a real estate broker in Raleigh. Her granddaughters
are at Elon and UNC-Chapel Hill. Beth looks forward to our 55th reunion. Ann Swindell Wyche writes from High Point. She traveled to New Zealand, Australia and Hawaii last summer, followed by a trip in September to attend a wedding in Mainz, Germany, and a visit to Paris. She plans to retire in June. Bobbie Watson Douglas continues her valiant battle with ALS. I had a wonderful visit with her in December last year. Her spirits were great and she maneuvers her motorized chair quite well. Our deepest sympathy is extended to Joanna Dayvault Jones and Glower on the loss of their oldest son, Mark, in November 2013. He suffered for more than three years with cancer. During happier times last year, Joanna and Glower traveled and spent most of their time in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Betty Lynch Hammond has moved back to Virginia Beach, to be closer to son David’s family and to be with old friends. She enjoyed a recent alumnae gathering in Norfolk, Va., and being “reunited with great gals!” Betsy Eagles Fouros and her husband live in Wilmington. They are both chefs and have written a cookbook called “Feast for the Gods.” It is available at Barnes & Noble or at Amazon.com. Bucky and I continue to travel and see family and friends. During Garden Week in Virginia, we saw Hadley Morgan Hines while she was in Williamsburg. Betty Lynch Hammond took several girls to Litchfield, S.C., for a few days. Hadley, Becky Elmore Clement and I were among those there. Hadley and Chasie Allen Harris were supposed to join my garden club for a bus trip we take to Philadelphia for the flower show each year, but bad weather the first week of March prevented them from getting here for the trip – which was a disappointment. If anyone is interested in going to the flower show, let me know, and information will be sent to you when it is available. That’s all the news for this year. Don’t forget to write! G.G.
1961
High School Toler Yates Edwards writes from Charlotte, “We have three children. Graham is in California with Charlotte (6), David (3) and Grace (1); Catherine is in Arkansas with Caroline (6) and Lucy (3); and Elizabeth is moving to North Carolina from Pennsylvania (we are so thrilled) with Ella (6), Ben (4) and Peppa (1). As you see, we have been blessed with eight grandchildren in six years. My husband Tony and I love to travel.”
1963 College
Sue Battle Moore Dearest all, Our 50th reunion last year was a smashing success! It was one of those “woulda, shoulda, coulda” events. In case you missed it, hang in there, ladies, ’cause the 55th reunion will be in 2018. In the meantime, it was great to hear from Mary “Noonie” Covington Crabtree who reported “the best cruise ever in January on the Crystal Symphony.” She and husband Jack spent 28 days traveling from Chile to Auckland, New Zealand, with stops at Easter Island and Pitcairn Island, just to mention a few. Needless to say, Bettie White Cooper gets around. She reports having seen (you know who they are) Belle, Alice, Sally, Ninah, Rosa, Jewell and Judy over the past few months. Bettie and husband Marshall still enjoy spending time with their grandchildren Charlie (7) and twins Evans and Downey (5). In addition, Bettie reports that her nephew, Anderson Fariss, oldest son of her sister, Lore White Fariss ’76HS, was married in May. Elizabeth “Libby” Beury from Charleston, W.V., loved being at our 50th reunion and seeing classmates, “all of whom looked great!” I’ll have to agree. Joanne Gladstone Vaden
just checked in to say “hi” and that she’s still living in Midlothian, Va. Charlotte deLoach Riley reports from Charleston, S.C., that she’s happily retired from real estate after 26 years. She and husband Joe have loved living in Charleston since 1967 and have two sons and two grandchildren. Charlotte’s last real estate client was her cousin Jody Blackwell Anderson ’62C. Sada Mason Huggins from Augusta, Ga., writes in to say that she is still adjusting to being 70, while in her heart she's only 30! We can all appreciate that sentiment, I’m sure! Kay Miller Pollard lives in Virginia Beach, Va., where she grew up. She called on her way to Sarasota, Fla., where she attended her granddaughter’s college graduation. “Just to catch up, I have seven wonderful grandchildren, five girls and two boys. Son Garland and his wife Alice (they met when he was at Woodberry and she at Foxcroft) have three girls, the eldest graduating one year early from university in June. Another is graduating and heading on a full gymnastics scholarship to one of four choices, yet known. I am also now officially a great-grandmother of Quincy, a precious and precocious boy. I’ve caught up with and expect to see some of our classmates on my trip to Florida to visit grandchildren. I have talked to Barbara Lee, Bert, Gee, Alice Stallings, Flo, Becca and, of course, Marty.” Kay attended a spring Saint Mary’s alumnae gathering in Norfolk, Va., and enjoyed meeting Head of School Monica Gillespie, who “is really doing a great job. We love the emphasis on courage.” Kay is interested in having a CD made of the ’63 Cold Cuts album. If you have one, please let me know and I’ll pass the wand on. Don’t you think we need to preserve that “thing” for future generations? After all, “Mamma didn’t lie” and we were always “up on the roof!” My best news of the year is that my granddaughter Grace Battle Thompson, daughter of Heather Moore Thompson ’88HS ’90C will enroll at Saint Mary’s in the fall as a member of the new Class of 2018!
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CLASS news
1963
High School Lindsay Smith Newsom writes that after the 50th reunion last year, she and Mac shot off to Atlantic Beach for a wonderful, relaxing summer, where it is fun to see Saint Mary’s friends from all over. Late September found the Newsoms in London for a fabulous week just before they flew to Moscow for a Viking River Cruise up to St. Petersburg. It was a great trip - easy, fun and beautiful. They highly recommend it! In early March, they joined a group of friends for a 10-day trip to the Holy Land Israel and Jordan - another very special trip. Their daughter, Kate, still lives in Brooklyn and is a graphic designer at Trinity Episcopal Church Wall Street. “Fortunately, she’s still happy for her parents to visit and plans all sorts of adventures for us.” Lindsay and Mac will be at the beach for the summer.
1965 College
Trudie Turner Arrington Hello Class of ’65, I hope all is well with everyone. It’s hard to believe that next year is our 50th reunion. What a treat and honor to be a member of the Saint Mary’s family and come together. News from our class was very scarce – let’s make sure attendance next year doesn’t follow that pattern. Barbara Hall Wullschleger shares that her grandchildren (twins are 10 and the little guy is 6) came to Florida for spring break. Then Barbara and Sears flew to Amsterdam for the tulip cruise followed by three days in Brussels. Margaret Jackson Weatherly shares that they love Billy's retirement and are finding it a wonderful time in their lives. They will soon go to Little Washington for the summer and
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1964 College: front row (left to right): Beverly Bailey Wright, Cindy Schwartz Kelly, Marilyn Stadler Gideon, Martha Weeks Daniel, Janie Stronach Wood; second row: Clare Garden Maddison, Mary B Ball Chisenhall, Carol Mahany Haley, Margie Winslow Green, Susan Dixey Sprouse, Nancy Powell Mason, Jean Winborne Boyles; third row: Peachy Lee Shealy, Susan Cook, Gaye Harris Law, Anne Chamberlain Fowler, Anne Scott Miles, Martha Powell Wilkins, Kathy Cannon Morgan
leave when they are ready! Their big news is the arrival of another granddaughter on November 21. Margaret Gorham is the daughter of their youngest, Mary Lindsay, and her husband, Jason Evans. She joins her brother Sam in Charlotte. Carol Cantwell Putney shares that she continues to enjoy retirement - reading, gardening, volunteering and traveling. She and Bob had a great trip to Northern California last fall and spent Easter in England, traveling with a Barton College international travel group. She is a co-director of the local Augustine Literacy Project. The project trains and supports tutors who provide free, long-term, one-to-one instruction in reading, writing, and spelling to lowincome children who struggle with literacy skills. They had their annual meeting in Chapel Hill recently and Carol sat beside
our own Betsy Wilson Savage, who is the director of the Burlington Augustine Chapter. Leah Osgood Joseph has also taken the training in Asheville and is tutoring a child this year. Carol says, “Hopefully, we are making a difference in the lives of these children!” Louise Clark Strauss happily reports that she was married on October 26, 2013, to a wonderful man and an old friend, Gordon Strauss. Helen Wright Redwine ’63HS ’65C was at the wedding, which took place at the home of Caroline Clark Trask ’58HS ’60C, Louise’s sister, in Beaufort, S.C. Louise and Gordon live in Mt. Pleasant, S.C. I continue with my work in training at J. Crew. It’s amazing to be a part of the business world with the perspective of a fourth-grade teacher. We train to give everyone super customer service when
SAINT MARY’S REMEMBERS
Eugene Brooks Hardin Jr., past chair of the board of trustees
1964 High School: left to right: Alice Tripp Sullivan, Mary Ann King Jones, Julia Hansen Floyd, Hettie Johnson, Skinner Anderson McGee, Mary Block Levine
they call. It will be 2015 before we know it – seems like 1965 wasn’t that far away. Hope everyone is making plans to gather in Raleigh next spring to represent a wonderful Saint Mary’s class. Take care Trudie
1965
High School Joan Wickham Sugg I went to Ireland last August, the highlight being the “Book of Kells” in the library at Trinity College, Dublin. As Dr. Morrison said, “There WERE no Dark Ages in Ireland.” September was another trip, this time to the eastern Greek islands, specifically Rhodes and the island of Patmos – the cave of John the Beloved Disciple was especially meaningful, and western Turkey. In February, I went back to Egypt to meet Dr. Zahi Hawass. He made arrangements for us to go several places off hours, so our group was the only group there. He also presented several lectures
and Q&A sessions, and gave each of us a copy of one of his books. He thought naming my three cats after pharaohs was very appropriate: “The ancient Egyptians once worshipped cats as gods. Cats have never forgotten this." Wandering around the Egyptian Museum (second trip there) with no one else there was wonderful. It gave me a chance to spend as much time as I wanted in the King Tut Treasures room and to say hello to some really old “friends” (think mummies): Seti I, Ramses II, Hatshepsut, as well as Prince Rahotep and his wife Princess Nofret (think statues) and Pharoh Kufu (tiny little statue about three inches tall).
1967 College
Joan Wickham Sugg Christine Hurst Copley continues to enjoy retirement. Chris is planning a twoweek trip to Turkey in February, with an additional three days in Istanbul. Anyone visiting Atlanta should give her a call. Luci
Eugene Brooks Hardin Jr., retired banker and former chair of the Saint Mary’s board of trustees, died May 9, 2014. Hardin was born in Wilmington, N.C., the only child of Eugene B. Hardin and Roberta Sterling Hardin. After serving in the Navy, he earned a degree in business administration. He then served in the Air Force before going to work at Wachovia Bank, where he held positions in Wilmington and Burlington before being appointed office executive for Raleigh. He assumed responsibility for the bank’s central region and was later elected regional vice president. While devoting a great part of his life to Wachovia, he also focused a tremendous amount of his energies toward his church and community, including outstanding leadership as board chairman at Saint Mary’s and as a trustee at HampdenSydney College. He also served as past chair of the Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority, past chair of the Raleigh Civic Center Authority, officer of the Raleigh Chamber of Commerce and as a director for the Rex Hospital Foundation. He was an active member at Christ Church, Raleigh, where he served three times on the vestry. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, alumna Olivia Lynch Hardin ’50C, a past member of the Saint Mary’s board of trustees, as well as his son, John Haywood Hardin and his wife, Elise; daughter Olivia Hardin Pettifer ’82HS and her husband, Andrew; and two grandchildren, Helen Olivia Hardin and Alexander James Pettifer. A celebration of Mr. Hardin’s life was held May 13 at Christ Church.
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CLASS news
Members of the Class of ‘68C gathered for a mini-reunion at Atlantic Beach, N.C., this spring. According to one class member, after losing a beloved classmate, Carolyn Blaine, they decided life was too short to go so long between reunions, so this gettogether was planned. Everyone enjoyed a good Saint Mary’s time together.
Turner Johnson stays very busy with her English antiques shop at Five Points in Raleigh: Luci T. Johnson ~ Antiques & Interiors. Luci says, “Please come see me when you’re in Raleigh – 2002 Fairview Road! I am so blessed to have both of my daughters in Raleigh, as well as my two precious grandchildren: Katherine is Kristin’s nine-year-old, and Charlie is Julie’s three-year-old. I love spending time with both of them! I had a very successful “huge” back surgery at Duke last August to correct scoliosis. I now have steel rods holding my back straight! I really look forward to our next reunion!” Harriet Day Jett lives in Atlanta and loved celebrating Easter with her one grandson, who is a four-year-old cutie.
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1967
High School
1969 College
Liz Burleson Hudson So wonderful to hear from you all. Our 45th reunion was a success and it was good to catch up with old friends. Everyone needs to put our 50th on the calendar now so we have a big turnout! Cille Kidwell Allen now has four grandchildren. Baby Stuart was born in July 2013 and baby Ellie in March 2014. Cille enjoys her tennis and volunteer work, as well as the garden club
she is active in. Cille went to Key West in February and will be meeting up with the “group” (Katherine B, Bonnie B, Kerr T and Debbie P) at the beach, as they have been doing for 25 years! Corrine Davidson Aycock reports that she has good and bad news: good is that she finally has a grandchild, bad is that the baby lives in London. The entire family went over to London for a reunion last December and had a wonderful visit. Husband Ed and Corrine purchased a house in Morehead City four years ago and hope to “finally get moved in” totally this year. Josie Peoples Dickson and husband Warren retired to Fearrington Village, between Chapel Hill and Pittsboro, after 29 years in Austin, Texas. Josie sees Frances Gilliam Fontaine a lot and says that Frances helped
them get settled and unpacked. “What a great cousin to have!” Josie has taken up road bike riding and did the 2014 Cycle North Carolina Coastal Ride in Oriental in April. She loved it. She says, “All that spandex is necessary and comfortable.” (She must be in great shape!) Josie is also singing with two community groups and enjoying a photography group. Retirement is wonderful and she is glad to be back in Saint Mary’s territory! Mathilde Duffy and I (Liz Burleson Hudson) had a great chat on the phone. She was sorry to miss the reunion but she says that she keeps very busy showing her artwork in galleries, art and flower shows, as well as doing commissions. Playing tennis, volunteering, singing and doing nature photography also keeps her busy. Mathilde says she would love to see anyone who comes to the Boston area. Mary Burhoe Gillam lives in Asheville with husband Scott. Their three sons – Tom who is in Columbia, S.C., with First Citizens, Ingram who is in Hickory with Camfil-Farr, and Frank who is in Blacksburg, Va., getting his Ph.D. in bioengineering - are close by. Son Frank and his wife, Anne Elizabeth, have a new baby, Thomas, and Mary is a proud grandmother! Mary and Scott spend their time between Asheville and Lake Tahoma, near Marion. They spend February in Wild Dunes and love it. Mary sees Clarine Pollock Powell ’67C, who is married to Mary’s cousin and is a retired teacher from East Carolina University. Margaret Morrison Hamilton ’67HS lives in Wilmington with retired tennis coach husband Jeff. Anne Dickerson Whitehurst ’67HS also has a lovely house in Wilmington with husband Lee. Mary says it is a “must-see” if you are in the area! Anne’s grandchildren are in Virginia. From our class of ’69, she occasionally sees Susan Johnson Hedgepeth, who is still teaching and lives in Winston-Salem with husband Jay. Sarah Colton Villeminot comes to Asheville to visit her mother, who is in the same nursing home as Mary’s.
Sarah still does some writing and gives lectures on perfume. The Reverend Sealy Cross visits her parents in Lake Tahoma and Mary sees her there. Mary says if anyone visits Asheville please look her up! Sealy Cross officially retired March 2 after being an Episcopal priest for 21 years. She served as vicar at the Church of the Ascension at Fork, Advance, N.C., since 2006, and prior to that served at St. Timothy’s Church in Winston-Salem. Nancy Helms writes that she loves being back in Raleigh and spending time with her children and two grandchildren. She still teaches part time and is looking for property in Asheville for part-time living. (We may be able to get a whole group of the ladies of ’69C going there soon!) Ella Davies Hudson takes the cake this year for wonderful trips. She went with husband Knapp to Iceland in May and the Isle of Skye in October, where she did
photography. If you want to see her work, go to stonecoastphotography.com. The Hudsons are dipping their toes into RVing with a Class B camper and have gone to Florida and Nova Scotia. Ella has no grandchildren yet but says she enjoys her friend’s grandchildren and hopes for one soon. Ella has a standard poodle named Izzy (short for Isabella Mowgli) and her daughter’s two cats, which are two cats too many! She says to come visit her in Maine. Wendy Soper McSweeney says “never retire!” She has a photo scanning and archiving business which has morphed into helping folks put together their memoirs. Very rewarding and interesting. She and husband Pat, who is a retired lawyer, do tons of yard work. They closed their B&B and now just enjoy an empty house. Wendy enjoys her three children: Robert (33), Molly (31) and Annie (28). Julie Badger Moore writes that she has been dating a
1969 College: front row (left to right): Sue Willingham Upchurch, Nancy Helms, Cille Keedwell Allen, Kerr Blackwell Tallberg, Linda Kerr Moore, Bonnie Bowen Banks; second row: Martha Davis Moore, Julie Badger Moore, Helen Alford, Jane Aycock Murphy, Debbie Boyd Pearson, Farley Wallace Bernholz, Ashley Mawyer Bryd; third row: Katherine Bratton Hunter, Corinne Davidson Aycock, Sara Jane Hargrave Pate, Susan Foltz Deyton, Kay Wetmore Stallings, Frances Gilliam Fontaine, Josie Peoples Dickson
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CLASS news wonderful man for four years who lives in Blowing Rock. She has dinner once a month with classmates Susan Foltz Deyton, Kay Wetmore Stallings and Nancy Helms. She sees the Raleigh crowd frequently and attended the Saint Mary’s auction with Frances Gilliam Fontaine and Katherine Hunter Bratton. Julie’s daughter Katherine and her husband live about 10 minutes away, which is wonderful. Theresa Rhodes Rosenberger and husband Eric live in New Hampshire, and she says that she has not seen anyone in our class for ages. Theresa was in Raleigh a few weeks ago and went by Saint Mary’s. She said that it looked wonderful and brought back some fabulous memories. Husband Eric still runs his education consulting business, so they travel to Asia frequently. Theresa left her presidency of the local telephone company and returned to her old law firm so she could be freer to travel to New Mexico to visit her daughter Cristina. Cristina is receiving her doctorate in art history from the Institute of Art in N.Y.C. and continues to work for the Harvard art museums with modern art. Son Ian works in New York City as a terrorism analyst, and younger daughter Lizzie is a teacher in N.Y.C. and was selected by NASA as an education ambassador. She will be trained and participate in NASA flights on the Sophia to the stratosphere. Nancy Shumadine writes that she is still with Wells Fargo Bank in Norfolk, Va., where she is a trust and fiduciary specialist. Son Addison lives in Richmond, Va., with wife Janice, two sons (12 and 10) and a daughter (7). Other son John owns a computer company in Virginia Beach, where he lives with his wife, two daughters (6 and 4) and a son (1). Nancy writes that it is fabulous having her grandchildren so close and she enjoys all their varied activities. Nancy and her husband Roger travel frequently for business, and this year visited Antwerp and Barcelona, as well as Mallorca and Amsterdam to see the tulips. She writes, “If only I could remember the
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Spanish that Senorita Anderson tried to teach us.” Nancy recently talked to Pam Fellow Cook and had a wonderful conversation. Pam lives in Charlotte, and Pam and Nancy hope to get together soon. Sue Willingham Upchurch says that although the records say she retired 12 years ago (in the North Georgia mountains) it is not a life of leisure. She works full time doing volunteer work, is active in the United Methodist Church fundraisers for missions, teaches environmental education classes to students in a five-county area, and works with the American Cancer Society on the Relay for Life. This is near and dear to her heart, and she says, “This year I joined the survivor lap as a breast cancer survivor. Girls, early detection mammogram found it!” We all wish Sue the best. Last year was busy with a “new knee” and getting rid of the cancer. Sue and husband George took their grandson (13) to Yellowstone - awesome place. They also took a cruise around the Chesapeake Bay. She has gatherings with Susan Byars ’70 and talked with Dede Walton Wolfe, who is doing fine in Hendersonville. She says that meeting with Beth Holder Hanford was as “fun as ever!” For all of us she writes, “Remember, life is too short to be anything but happy!” What wonderful advice! On that upbeat note, I, Liz Burleson Hudson want to thank all of you for the wonderful news! You cannot imagine how much fun it is to get the emails back and hear all about your exciting lives. I just wish we had everyone’s email. My husband Walt and I still live in Midlothian, Va., with our two rescued Bichons, Lola and Abbey. We attended a Saint Mary’s get- together in nearby Richmond over the winter. It was really great to see all the bubbly (and young!) staff working on the alumnae events. We are staying put this year with no big trips except to the Asheville area to hunt for a retirement home. I cannot wait to see all of my classmates there who now call it home. (Lunch maybe, girls?) My mother,
Eleanor Jackson Burleson ’37C, is 96 and doing really well, considering. She lives at Goodwin House in Alexandria, Va., so I get to D.C. often. I still work at Capital One as a risk compliance specialist, but plan to retire next year. I do volunteer work with a Bichon rescue group and garden. It is hard to believe that we turn 65 this year, but so glad to hear that we all are keeping busy and active. Keep in touch and encourage others you see to send me their email addresses so we can share their RAZZLE DAZZLE Class of ’69 NEWS. Affectionately, Liz
1969
High School Amy Carr Thullen Thank you, girls who sent news! Summer has finally stuck its pretty head out and may it finally replace the terribly cold and dark winter which many of us experienced around here. Now for news. Rosie Hammond Persmarck is still working in Eugene, Ore. She loves gardening and has travel plans on all burners: Peru, Sweden and Haiti, where she will join with Chapel Hill Episcopalians to support a local school. Daughter Anna is a junior at Carleton and will be going to Chiapas, Mexico, this summer. Anna has spent previous summers in Peru, Chile and Guatemala. Beverly Johnson Funke says life is good at the beach (Morehead City)! She loves to tutor all ages and also enjoys placing animals of all kinds. The most unique animal was a huge pig named Portabella. Her husband Uwe (pronounced “Oova”) is with Veneer Tech, which deals with veneer from all over the world. Their daughters, Karen and Kristen, are in Raleigh and Charlotte, so Beverly is up and down Highway 70! She sees Pattie Moore Boyette and her daughters and recently talked to Trish Hutchins. Miriam Manning Sauls’ son, Will, married in December 2013 and
daughter Claire is in law school. Miriam had the “trip of a lifetime” this summer when she traveled to Vietnam with her sister, whose daughter lives in Vietnam. Her pictures were beyond fabulous. She still works at Duke as the producer in the theater department, doing short documentaries. Husband Bruce does web development and plays drums in a rock and roll band. Unfortunately, Miriam lost both her brother and mother this year. I had the luck to have had lunch last fall with Miriam, daughter Claire and Charlotte Ness Terry, and we had a blast reminiscing and learning from the younger set as well. Their husbands joined us later for shopping! Charlotte sells real estate in Vero Beach, Fla., and is a wonderful grandmother. Marilee Hall, still in Cookeville, Tenn., is a clay artist in the field of figurative sculpture and enjoys arts administration, community work, gardening, loving boyfriend and family, being an aunt, and kitties. Marilee’s mother started and continues a large family tradition of spending a week together at Isle of Palms, S.C. This past year, Marilee’s work took her to Palm Beach, Atlanta, Chattanooga, Nashville, Charlotte, Denver and Asheville. She says packing artwork and displays into her van and hitting the road might not be the kind of career one plans on, but it continues to be interesting, challenging, educational, heartwarming and fun. What more could one ask? Marilee does do commissions, so look her up. Marilyn Kirkland Poole saw Marilee on YouTube having an interview on “One on One with Becky Magura.” Perhaps you can Google that and see it? Sally Breeden Schwartz will be traveling too, it seems. They are still in New Mexico and have two grandchildren, Logan (14) and Luke (8) close by, and another, Call (5) in Portland, all of whom they adore. Her youngest son, Will, was teaching in an international school in Saudi Arabia and will move to Tokyo this fall. Sally looks forward to visiting him there and also going
to London, Scotland and the Cotswolds with husband Hank on another trip this summer. Clyde Williams is my part-time neighbor here. She runs a shop in Blowing Rock and spends time there working and golfing. She sold us the house we live in now. Jim and I still love “Mo’head,” and we have added bridge lessons to our diet. In my class are Sallie Beard Burton ’75HS ’77C and Bryan Cheek Frazier ’75HS ’77C, and they are so much fun! I had the pleasure of attending Lillian James Smith’s daughter Eliza’s wedding in March in their gorgeous garden in Wilmington. It was simply divine, and I so enjoyed seeing all her family and friends, many of whom attended Saint Mary’s, but that list would be absurdly long. I met up for lunch and shopping with Olivia Grimes Roberson ’70C, Kack Harrison Hardin’70C and Elizabeth Sloan. Beaufort may never be the same. I will mention Julia Weskett Barfield ’68HS, whom I so enjoyed catching up with and was thrilled to see her again after too many years. Jim and I went to Scottsdale, Ariz., in December, and I go to Prague in June. Can’t wait. Remember to call when you are in the neighborhood y’all. Would love to see y’all. One last thought. It seems that many of us could not be at our reunion in April, so please mark your 2019 calendar NOW for our 50th, so we can have a huge blowout celebration. Love to all and thanks for your news, Amy
1971 College
Betty Anne Queen Bush I love my job! Getting the scoop on everyone. Ha! I have to let you know that Everall Aiken Peele was the first to check in. She lives in Eden, close to her parents, and enjoys the retired lifestyle with her husband. Her son is still in Gainesville, Fla., with two little grandsons. Eva’s daughter and son-in-law live right here
in Greensboro. They are missionaries and getting ready for a long- term trip to France with Global Outreach. Awesome! She sends her best - life is good! Alice Proctor Witten is also retired and enjoys her grandsons to the fullest. Sure, all those years teaching at Havelock Elementary will come in handy. Alice still keeps close contact with Flubby Smith, Lee Quinn Stroud and Captain Betsy Blee! Lee is retired too, and spends her time catching up with friends and family. She enjoys helping at church and playing with her lil’ Chinese Crested Powder Puff Sadie. Lee still lives in Jacksonville, N.C., but loves Wrightsville in the summer, where she sees old SMJC friends. Honey, don’t we all love the beach? Mona Franks Knight lives in Mt. Pleasant, S.C., and is enjoying traveling and spending time with her granddaughter. Life is good. We all need to visit Southport and take the ferry over to Bald Head Island - making sure, of course, we have the wonderful Captain Betsy, ’cause she might be going part time! Jane Moore Lazarus checked in from Cooper City, Fla. She is still working at Nova Southeastern University, and her son, Adam, is about to graduate. Oh, and I loved that since both Jane and Susan Carroll Alexander’s moms are in the same retirement home, the daughters coordinate their trips to visit each other! Susan is closer, so she checks in on Jane's mom. Now is that sweet or what? Jane said she and her husband loved Barbara Olschner’s book, “The Reluctant Republican,” chronicling Barbara's run for Congress. Jane said the book illustrates Barbara's wit, intelligence and courage. (She also wonders if there are any t-shirts left?) Susan Carroll Alexander writes that she is finishing up a year as past Presbyterian women’s moderator at her church. In January, she enjoyed a visit in Pinehurst with Barbara Call McGowan. She also mentioned how she enjoys seeing Jane Moore Lazurus while on visits with their mothers in
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CLASS news Gastonia. Susan’s daughter Catherine is in Durham and her daughter Mary Carroll is in New Bern, so she is close enough to visit for a meal on weekends. Susan and husband Johnny Mac enjoyed an ACC weekend visit with old N.C. State Sigma Nu friends, including Jane Wood Youngblood ’70C. Helen Pruden Kaufmann writes, “My news is that Paul and I are still living in the San Diego area, and that I’ve recently published ‘White Gloves and Collards,’ a memoir about my childhood in Edenton. I’ve enjoyed keeping up with classmates on Facebook. If any of you are ever in southern California, let me know!” Honey, DO we have the celebs from 1971C or what! Just shows you how we are getting better! Hey, if you have not signed up on our Facebook page: SMJC1971 COLLEGE, well do it today! (The NSA needs some more info!) I’m still in Greensboro, working on Mark Harris’ campaign. I am fine and loving life as well. Not sure what 2014 holds, but trusting in WHO does. Love to all, Queenie
living in Alexandria, Va. She and John will be married 38 years this summer. They took a trip last year to Australia and New Zealand that was athletic and fabulous! Caren still works at HelmsBriscoe, doing meeting planning, and she loves it. She also enjoys biking and going to the gym. John works in mergers and acquisitions. Webb is 28, and Jack is 24. Life is full!
1971
Please, while you're thinking about it, send me your current email address, as this seems to be the best way to stay connected. Stamps will likely be a dollar next time. Bummer. Also, I need to say this and I will not beg, but you all must seriously plan ahead for our reunions! Last year’s 40th just teetered on a pitiful turnout. Really. Where was everyone? Get out your calendars and put sticky notes everywhere for 2018, yes, 2018. We will be 65 years young and we will make the Saint Mary’s campus ROCK. No excuses! It is a short weekend but so much fun that your face will hurt from smiling and laughing. Okay - to the news. Most of us are in a holding pattern, but still leading interesting and full lives. Families are still growing! By the way, I think it's finally safe to say that the only baby news from this point forward will be GRAND babies! First of all, a lovely pat on the back of our own Hannah
High School Harriett Cowper Bobbitt Becky Sutton Gray lives Charlotte. She retired from Duke Energy in July 2013, after 30 years with the company. Husband Jimmy retired in late 2012. They enjoyed an Alaskan cruise last year, as well as a trip to the U.S. Open tennis tournament. Becky is taking care of her in-laws at home, teaching a Sunday school class of fourthgraders, and doing other volunteer work. She is planning mini-vacations this year. Janet Burhoe-Jones and husband Munroe Jones live near Asheville. Daughter Janny works for NOLS and Outward Bound. Daughter Josie, her husband Hoyt Doak (son of Lucy Bratton Doak ’72HS), and baby son are moving to New Bern this summer. Caren Threshie Camp loves
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1973 College
Lynn Johnson Titchener Oh, happy day! I'm in a room without a roof! Responses almost overfloweth and cometh out of the woodwork this time! It took a network effort, but it paid off. Thank you to all who reached out to others and shamed them into answering the call. We all need a little nudge now and then. Warning: the following news includes updates that may or may not be factually true. I report, you decide.
“Shug” Dawson Gage who delivered the 2014 commencement address in May at the SMS graduation ceremony. We are so proud of you! The Saint Mary’s reunion weekend in April marked the 70th for the Class of 1944C, which includes my mother, Mary Lynn Lewis DeLany. As a special tribute to their celebration, Missy Taylor Manning created one-of-a-kind ceramic bowls for each of the ladies who attended. Missy is so talented - and the ladies were quite touched to have a unique piece made by a fellow Saint Mary’s alumna to mark their milestone. It was an honor, Missy writes, and she adds that our SMS/SMC relationships keep us connected and span the generations. Too true. Missy's daughters are Alice Manning Touchette ’97HS and Travis Manning Berk ’01HS. Missy has three grandchildren and dogs. Robin Gaither's aunt, Bettie Gaither Stokes, was one of the Class of '44C attendees. Robin sends news from California that she loved turning 60 because of all of the senior discounts! Oh yeah! This summer you can find Robin in and around Nags Head. Nancy (Nature) Armstrong Murray actually filled out the whole blue sheet (gasp!), mailed it in (gasp again), and detailed her life as a Montessori teacher in Washington, N.C., and as mother-in-law times two. Daughter Madison and husband Adam live in Telluride, Colo., and son Gray married Sally Mebane, daughter of Martha Blalock Mebane’s ’72C, last year. Nature's youngest, Sam, is also in Telluride. Martha and Peaches Rankin ’72C are successful vendors at the Saint Mary’s Reunion Bazaar! Yes, the children are out of their playpens and into nuptial bliss, getting married left and right. Anna Fenner Rives in Chapel Hill sends news of surviving two weddings last year - son Jefferson in New York in May 2013, and son Julian last December. Anna now has three doggies, two grandchildren, via daughter Ramsey, and a new business with husband Jeff Chapel Hill Solutions, a healthcare recruiting business. As a certified health
coach, Anna helps teach others good health habits including how to lose weight. Google that! Lynn Lasater Reynolds reports that life is good in the empty nest lane. Lynn and Paul are working on a “house project” and hope to move in this summer. She reports that there are many SMC girls in the new neighborhood here in Raleigh. She's flirting with painting classes in the meantime. Lynn's daughter Mary Margaret is in D.C., and son Paul is in Raleigh, working with dad in the investment business. In September, two of our own reportedly took their freshmen “babies,” to University of Miami at Ohio: Debbie Branscome Jones' son Trent, youngest of three boys, and Judy Edwards Marani's daughter Kate. Debbie is in Chicago; Judy is in Atlanta. Next up with news is Ann Lindley Proctor in Raleigh, who I recently cornered at her place of work and forced her to tell her story. Well, it’s all over Facebook anyway. Ann's oldest son, Cameron, was married in June 2013. Kathryn Houghton Schreier is also in Raleigh. Her son was married last August. She shared a lot of news about husband Frank, but what about Kathryn? I mean, Frank is cute, but we want to know what you are doing! Staying busy no doubt. Virginia Cox Love is alive and well in Huntsville, Ala. She is retired (what does that word even mean?) from Virginia public schools as of February 2013 (which means you could have made it to our 40th reunion last spring - I'm just saying). Thank you for writing! Virginia stays busy with charity work and local community activities. She and first cousin Winston Cobb Green ’71C enjoyed a genealogy excursion together last summer. More grandbabies! Caroline Lewis Miles has three so far - daughter Cleaves and Mark’s children are Caroline Rose, Merritt and John. Just precious. Caroline is in Pittsboro and decorating everything that ain't tied down. Son Bill is practicing law, and the ranch is prolific. Margy Perdue Price has how many
grandchildren? Who knows – she's probably lost count! Talk about prolific! Still living in Alexandria, Va., Margy does enjoy a wild golf cart ride every now and then. I have personally witnessed that sideshow. Wheee! Sarita Hardy Cawiezell and Roger have moved to Greenville, N.C. As a designer, faux finisher and event planner, her days are full. Son Landon Minges married on May 3, 2014. Congratulations! Also wedding and event planning, Ann Beland Brooks reports that she is now three years cancer free. Yippee! Ann is an active member of Christ Church in Raleigh, still a pharmaceutical sales rep, and wants us to nail down a PR party. I’m in! Ann sends secondhand news of Jane Hight McMurray’s daughter Win, who once dated Michael Phelps! PROOF – we need PROOF! I once dated Mark Spitz – in my dreams. That counts, by the way. Wonderful swimmer. But that was the ’70s. Jane Hight McMurry writes the following, “For the record, Win did date Michael Phelps, and they remain as friends as he focuses intensely on his competitive swimming career. He visited Wilmington several times and we took him to some of our favorite places – Wrightsville Beach and to my grandson’s baptism at Lebanon Chapel. Google ‘Win McMurry Michael Phelps ESPYS’ or just their two names for a tons of photos for the proof Lynn is looking for! Win is now dating a wonderful man from New Orleans. Perhaps better to say about me and my family is that we continue, as I hope all of my classmates and their families do, to move forward in life as inevitable obstacles are encountered and we determine to turn them into objectives for positive growth. We find joy in happy events – for me, a wedding (daughter Allison to Jacob Cordell), the birth of a new grandchild (Auggie), Allison's progress on a Ph.D. in public policy, Win’s career growth as a sports journalist, the long awaited results from hard work (recent selling of international rights to my book,
“Navigating the Lipstick Jungle” (www. navigatingthelipstickjungle.com), and the blessings of friendship. Most of all, I’d like for my classmates who didn’t come to the last reunion to know that I missed seeing them and hope they’ll be able to make the next reunion. I hope they are happy and realize that the sky is always blue - even when it is covered with gray clouds for them, as it has often been for me. The gray clouds have a way of parting at Saint Mary’s, so please come next time!” So, Henni Towler Corbin told a story that I cannot relate – she made me swear. It was intriguing, involved a celebrity, and people you know. Sorry, that is all I am allowed to divulge. Henni is in Raleigh and on Facebook. Who isn’t, right? Cam Young Choiniere and husband Laurent are in Winston-Salem (actually Pfafftown), and she looks more like her maiden name than anyone I know. Cam is still designing, and works with the Amani Children's Foundation, which raises money for children's homes in Kenya. Their son, Ian, is a graduate of UNC-Wilmington and there are three dogs in this family - all boxers. You remember Amy Durham Asbury! She is our skin care specialist living in Morganton. She wears it well. She loves the mountains and the water of Lake James. Amy shares office space with a massage therapist and a psychologist - “what a ride!” Indeed! Donning her coolest jeans, she recently took her youngest son, Ross, to a Springsteen concert. Daughter Ellen is studying nursing at UNC-Charlotte and daughter Milly is married and living in Charlotte with husband Louis (who is Amy’s husband’s son). This is not made up. Here on home turf, Mary Legg Moore is proud of her two: Molly, a paralegal with Manning Fulton and Skinner, and Frank, who’s in tech sales. No babies, just dogs. We do lunch. Carolyn Hicks Baggett loves married life and is still busy counseling at Wake Technical Community College. She and Fred show up in the craziest places.
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CLASS news TASTE the next letter? Get out there and win those lotteries! Date those pool boys! Get lost on desert islands - or on dessert islands - that would be delicious! Write to me anytime. I’m always here for you. And thank you all for playing. You’re the best! Love, Lynn
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High School
1974 College: front row (left to right): Nancy Hunter Simpson, Beth Ellington Owen, Libba Barbour Shelton, Pam Stroupe Brown, Greyson Gates Kuhn, Sukoshi Williamson Roberts, Emory Rogers Church; second row: Susan Byers Muir, Anna DuBose Doughton, Jane Abernathy Hahn, Eugenia Owsley Fowler, Kirt Rendleman Austin, Lynn Welton, Jeanne Turcotte Clark, Lane Turner Nash; third row: Elizabeth Wood, Nancy Raymer James, Bebe Aycock Krewson, Margaret Stevens Mauney, Laura Grimes Smith, Rachael Holmes, Tish Detgen Murray, Melrose Whitfield Fisher; fourth row: Susan Gotherman Hortman, Julie Parker Funkhauser, Becky Clark, Josie Rawl Hall, Shelley Tosto Snider, Marcy Beery Dineen
And they have one grandbaby. Thank you, Carolyn, for helping me at the Saint Mary’s Alumnae Bazaar last spring. In January, Suzy Maynard Barile was awarded the rank of associate professor by Wake Tech Community College in Raleigh, where she has taught English for the past 15 years. She continues to present programs on her book, “Undaunted Heart: The True Story of a Southern Belle and a Yankee General,” which was published in 2009. As for me, Lynn Johnson Titchener, well, the sky in my world is still Carolina blue, and I am quite blessed to be mom to two
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beautiful girls, gainfully employed! Winnie is the associate archivist at Biltmore Estate in Asheville, and Liza is an account executive at Bolt Public Relations in Raleigh. No weddings yet, no babies, except for my granddog Baloo. Calligraphy Plus+ is thriving and I am happy to report that I have met more than a few lovely brides and moms this past year. It is exciting to create unique wedding invitations and add custom weekend event booklets to the mix. Teaching water aerobics five days a week keeps me semi-sane. It’s wild fun! So there you have it. Our 61st year news wrap-up. Can't you just
Barbara Egerton Tillery It’s been a very long time since our class has had a secretary for the class notes, so I figured I would volunteer for the job. I have enjoyed hearing from several of you, and I appreciate your words of encouragement, even from those of you who didn’t send any actual news. Beth Clifton Morrison and husband Phil have relocated from Garner to Candler, just west of Asheville, partly to be near Beth’s daughter, Juliana. Son Wes just moved to Sydney after living in Shanghai for four years – he’s a manager for Cigna Health. Phil and Beth have four dogs and a cat and are enjoying their “new” home, which was built in 1910, as well as the gorgeous views and interesting history of their adopted town. JoAnn Nance Small lives on the Outer Banks of North Carolina and hosted a Saint Mary’s gathering last summer with other local alumnae. Since retirement, she and husband William have spent part of the winters in Wyoming, where youngest daughter Hannah Small ’05HS lives. When home at the beach, JoAnn plays in two bridge groups with Saint Mary’s alumnae, and she volunteers with several organizations. Her children are scattered around the country. Leslie Sloan Nicholls reports that she and husband Biff live in Wendell, near Raleigh, and have two daughters, 30 and 31, who are both married and have two children each. Leslie and Biff have traveled the world and have taken their girls to Australia, Africa and Italy. She spends a lot of time with her four grandchildren, loving every minute! Ibba Edwards Gladden lives in Atlanta and works at General Electric Co. as a global accounting manager. She has worked for GE for 27 years. Her girls are now 35 and 28; one is a lawyer at AT&T in New Jersey and the
other is a teacher in Atlanta. Ibba loves to spend a week every summer at the Outer Banks. Susan Rogers Cassady lives in Tallahassee, Fla. She had a surprise visit with Jaynie Milligan Spector when she wandered into Jaynie’s art gallery on a recent trip to Charleston, S.C. Susan reports that she and her husband are empty nesters. Their oldest son, Case, is married and lives in Delray Beach, Fla. Middle son Richard is in Tallahassee, and the youngest, Pierce, is in the second national tour of the “Book of Mormon” musical, currently on the west coast. She says if you get a chance to see it, do so because it’s funny! Dixie Fields Lini writes that she lives in Emerald Isle, on the North Carolina coast. Her daughter Megan is a junior at N.C. State, and her son Nick is at the culinary school at Cape Fear Community College. She and husband John will have been married 26 years this May, and she says they are truly blessed! Kathryn Scott Long wrote that she and husband Bobby were busy getting ready for their son’s wedding on May 10. He and his new bride, Etta, will live in N.Y.C. where he has been for 10 years. Daughter Katie is an artist in Charleston, S.C., where she and her husband have two little boys. Kathryn says she loved seeing lots of classmates last May at the ’73HS reunion, and that no one had changed a bit! Susanne Owens Logan lives in Atlanta and is a real estate closing attorney. She is happy that the real estate market is on the upswing there now! She remarried in 2008 to Scott, who is also an attorney. Susanne lost her only son in a car accident six years ago. She is blessed with two stepdaughters who are 20 and 18. Susanne and Scott enjoy cooking, traveling and listening to music. She loved the reunion last year, and we all thank her for her work in organizing it. Betsy Willard Hicks has been in Wilmington for 20 years. She has three grown daughters - Leigh (35), Cameron (31) and Carson (29), and a five-year-old granddaughter. Betsy works for four plastic surgeons, scheduling and coordinating all the surgeries. She says she
loves her job and loves Wilmington. Charlotte Cameron lives outside of Washington, D.C., and enjoys being involved with several museums and performing arts organizations. She and husband John Marshall are looking forward to a back roads bicycle vacation in Normandy, France, this summer. They have a vacation house in Brevard, and love to explore the many waterfalls. Charlotte loves taking short trips to New York City for performing arts events. 1974 High School: front row (left to right): Jane Johnson Brady, She is thrilled to be reconnected with Saint Catherine Blankenship, Bennett Wellons Water; second row: Susan Creech Rankin, Becky Davis Morlok, Mary McGranahan Moss, Val Mary’s classmates and Tullai Williams, Sidney Jessup hopes to attend the next reunion. Catherine Phillips Winslow would love to see any of us who travel to moved back to Raleigh in 2011 after living Miami. She even offered to shuttle us from in Greensboro for 18 years. She has two the airport to the cruise ports! Virginia sons - Chase (25) lives in Greensboro, Doty DeMarsh works one day per week at and John (23) is completing his master’s Hayes Barton United Methodist Church in degree at Wake Forest. Catherine has been Raleigh and volunteers with a prayer shawl teaching in a variety of schools and is ministry at the church. As for me, Barbara currently a teacher assistant (totally less Egerton Tillery, I have been living in stress, she says). She also loves giving Laurel, Miss., since 1994 when I remarried wine demonstrations at Costco (sounds and moved here from Lenoir. I have like a really fun “job,” doesn’t it?) She worked in graphic design at a university volunteers at Ten Thousand Villages in since moving here. My husband Tim and I Cameron Village, and sings in the choir at are avid ballroom and square dancers, and St. Michael’s Episcopal Church. Margaret we also are in charge of decorating a city McAlister has lived in Miami for the park for Christmas - 12 acres - 500,000 last 30 years and has raised two boys lights! My only child is Laura (28), who there – David is 32, and Alexander is 28. lives in Brisbane, Australia. Tim and I love She found true love four years ago; he is to travel, and we visited Laura in Sydney a tropical fruit grower, so she says she is and Brisbane in 2011. I hated to miss the now a farmer’s wife. She loves being selfSaint Mary’s reunion last spring, but I did employed as a human resources consultant. get to see a lot of our classmates at the Margaret has become a passionate social Broughton High School reunion in Raleigh justice activist recently and is fighting for last October. equality for all. She loves connecting with her SMS classmates on Facebook and
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1975 College
Patricia (Trish) Holt Parker Hoping that the old adage “no news is good news” applies to all who sent no news. Leslie Sloan Nicholls reports she has a new address in Wendell, near Raleigh. Best wishes to Christie Murphy Gustafson who was happily remarried in June of 2012. Her sons, Max and Sam, gave her away. Kaye Pass Lambert and husband David attended the ceremony. Life is good in Freeport, Maine, but her future intention is to winter in the Carolinas. Christie loves the Charleston, S.C., area and plans to call classmates, including Deborah Walter in Beaufort, S.C., when the time draws near. My life in Pinehurst with husband George continues to be great! I still love teaching yoga (21 years at First Health). My oldest daughter Kate is working in Portland, Ore., and loves the West Coast. Her younger sister, Paton, will graduate in December with a degree in accounting. Love to all! Trish
1975
High School Annette Kerlin McBrayer recently took a trip to Nashville, Tenn., to see the Cheekwood Gardens. She and Allison Kerr ’75C swapped emails but were unable to get together. Allison still has her music therapy practice. Annette is practicing real estate litigation law in Atlanta.
1977 College
Mary Virginia Swain Hello, classmates! Thanks to all who sent news! Barbara Johnston Bush lives in our mutual hometown of Wilmington, where
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she continues her work as business manager at WHQR, the wonderful NPR public radio station there. You can hear her witty banter on the air during the station’s pledge drives throughout the year. She and husband Cameron enjoy the Wilmington lifestyle, and I see them regularly when I am in town. Sissy Holman Chesnutt wrote that she, Jeanne Bridger Konitzer, Suzanne Smith Huggins, Laura Baldwin Overman, Margaret Clements Conolly and Elizabeth Davis Williams enjoy time at the beach together each year. She says, “Many of those hysterical moments from our beach trips get lost in the translation once we get home, but my husband, Marc, ‘gets it,’ and we keep laughing long past the visits.” She says they have “not lost their luster.” Sissy’s daughter, Parker, is married to Drew Honeycutt and is living in Raleigh, where she is legal counsel for Clinipace in Research Triangle Park, and he is principal with Bagwell and Bagwell Insurance. Sissy and Marc’s son, Marc, also has his eye on the insurance business having completed his licensing while finishing up at East Carolina University. Sissy works “very full time” at the law office. She and husband Marc spend time at Atlantic Beach and see many Saint Mary’s alumnae there. Cissy also keeps up with Saralee Smithwick and Pickett Holt Yon. Syvil Pate Dunlap writes from Hillsborough, where she lives with husband Mark, their two sons, and Syvil’s mother, who lives in the in-law suite at the end of the house. One son is a rising senior, and the other is a rising freshman at Trinity School of Durham and Chapel Hill. Son Paul, the oldest, plays basketball year-round and hopes to play in college. Son Pate plays soccer, basketball and golf. Syvil and Mark both work at Trinity School and love being near the boys and having time off with them. She says their travel has been focused on gyms and playing fields throughout the Southeast. Syvil says she often thinks about Saint Mary’s with fondness and fun memories. Jean Bridger Konitzer writes from Shelby of a happy
year in their family, along with husband Bob and their three children. “Daughter Mimi (a.k.a. Hollis) married Aaron Motley in a ceremony at Rivers Ridge Lodge in Old Fort, N.C. My Saint Mary’s roomies, whom I still love to pieces, Suzanne Smith Huggins, Trisha Urquhart Spain and Margaret Clements Conolly, were there to celebrate with me! Mimi graduated from UNC Med School in May with a Doctor of Medicine. She will be at Mission Hospital in Asheville for her residency in OB/GYN. Son Mac is a golf professional at Bandon Dunes Resort in Bandon, Ore. He has already had his first hole-in-one there while teaching a junior class! Son Drew works at the Lily Bean Coffee Shop here in Shelby on Saturdays and loves it!” Suzanne Smith Huggins reports that her oldest son Smith graduated from Charlottesville School of Law in May; middle son Sam lives and works in Raleigh; and youngest son Ross graduated from N.C. State in May. Suzanne lives in White Lake. She visits Margaret Clements Conolly in Ponte Vedra, Fla. Check out Nancy Thompson Heathcote’s business on Facebook, the NTH Degree, where she sells painted furniture, custom painted gift items, and tasty baked goods and pimento cheese. Corneille Little loves living in Raleigh again and reconnecting with old friends. Corneille teaches adult art classes from her new home and elementary art in Morrisville. For the third consecutive year, one of her students has won major art awards from Wake County Gifts of Gold. Caroline Holt Stirling takes art class from Corneille and loves it! Corneille’s grandson Dylan turned two in May. Corneille notes that Mother’s Day, which was co-founded by her grandmother, celebrated its 100th anniversary this year. She is also building a wonderful art business with pet portrait commissions, so check out www. petportraitsbycorneille.com. Her portraits are truly wonderful! I bought a couple of prints at the Saint Mary’s Alumnae Bazaar from Corneille of paintings she has done of Smedes and the Saint Mary’s Chapel,
which she has been painting in wonderfully different ways since we were students. Also at the Alumnae Bazaar in April, I bought a beautiful necklace created by Caroline Holt Stirling and some of that wonderful pimento cheese from Nancy Thompson Heathcote. Our class was well represented with creative talents at the bazaar! Hazel MacKenzie Mason writes from Newport News, Va., where she will begin her 10th year as art teacher at Hampton Roads Academy. Her sons have finished their first year of college. In her spare time, she keeps busy with calligraphy, flowers and painting furniture. Trisha Urquhart Spain wrote proudly that her husband David was featured recently in the “New York Times,” in an article about moss gardening. If you go to the “New York Times” website online, look up, “Gathering Moss,” in the Home and Garden section from April 2, 2014, but here is one quote of interest from the article, “Mr. Spain’s wife and her friends like to walk barefoot over the moss and frolic.” Ann Barwick Whichard wrote from Greenville, N.C., to say that their oldest child, son Jordan, married Jessica Slider from Pewoma, Mich., last summer, in a beautiful wedding on the Pamlico River, near Bath. The newlyweds are now happy and living in Washington, D.C. Ann says all is well with she and husband Jordy and their family. Marcy Connors Yerkes writes that she has “worked long enough in New Hampshire as a professional and decorative fine arts artist.” She is “painting” her way back home to South Carolina and starting all over again in Greenville. She asks for our blessing as well as some word-of-mouth marketing as she embarks on her work in a new place. Check out her business on Facebook at Southern Accent Designs or her website at www.southernaccentdesigns.com. Marcy is among numerous talented artists in our class who are teaching and working professionally. Marcy says she has two of the most beautiful and best daughters a mother could have, Sara (29), a nurse practitioner working in women’s health in New York City, and Rebecca (25), a second-grade teacher at Mast Way school district in New Hampshire. She says it will be tough to leave Rebecca behind, but she loves the great outdoors in New Hampshire. Marcy signs off by saying, “Live! Learn (your lessons)! Laugh!” Lou Whitmore Catania, a star of the stage in Pittman Auditorium during our student days, is returning to Saint Mary’s as the new director of theatre, beginning with the 20142015 school year. She is already planning next year’s drama productions, “Steel Magnolias,” in the fall, and
SAINT MARY’S REMEMBERS
The Rev. Starke Dillard, past Saint Mary’s Chaplain, former trustee The Rev. Starke Spotswood Dillard Jr., former Saint Mary’s Chaplain, died Friday, Jan. 24, 2014, in Raleigh. Dillard served as chaplain from 19771984. He also taught in the religion department. Dillard was much beloved by the Saint Mary’s students for his wry and sharp wit, sense of humor, zest for life, progressive thinking, wisdom, and fatherly care and mentoring. He and his wife, Angela Hamer Dillard, lived on campus in the Chaplain’s home, where they often hosted groups of students for dinner and festive fellowship. Dillard shared these thoughts, in the fall of 1982, about his work at Saint Mary’s: “My work here is so basic. It is beginning to dawn on these young women that they do not necessarily have to be an appendage to a man. They find the future both exciting and frightening. I am here to help them sort out their problems. I like being with them because they are so honest. This is my parish. We share the happy times and the sad times.”* Dillard was the son of alumna Alice Walker Dillard. He grew up in Greensboro, attended the Virginia Military Institute and was a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Virginia Theological Seminary. His sister, Walker Dillard Kirby, was a member of the Class
of 1943 at Saint Mary’s, and his daughter, Hamer Dillard Salmons was a member of ’80HS and ’82C classes. Dillard also served on the Saint Mary’s board of trustees in the 1990s. A funeral service, including Holy Communion, was held Tuesday, January 28, at 10 a.m. at Christ Church, Raleigh. *Source: “The Heritage” by Martha Stoops, taken from an interview for the Caseette newsletter
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CLASS news Saint Mary’s Women of Courage Mary Hinton ’88HS named 15th president of College of Saint Benedict Saint Mary’s alumna Mary Hinton ’88HS, Ph.D., has been selected as the 15th president of the College of Saint Benedict, a leading liberal arts institution for women, located in St. Joseph, Minn. The appointment was made in March after a unanimous vote by the College of Saint Benedict board of trustees. “The CSB board of trustees was impressed with Dr. Hinton’s breadth and depth of experience as a scholar and senior-level administrator in higher education,” said Lynn Newman, chair of the college’s board of trustees and co-chair of the presidential search committee. “The presidential search committee and board of trustees believe Dr. Hinton’s warmth, intellect and ability to connect with the search committee, faculty, staff, students and the board to be key strengths that will serve her well in her presidential role,” said Newman. Dr. Hinton served previously as vice president for academic affairs at Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh, N.Y. Prior to that, she was the associate vice president of academic affairs and chief planning and diversity officer at Misericordia University in Dallas, Penn. Her work has been published in scholarly journals and in books, including her own book, “The Commercial Church: Black Churches and the New Religious Marketplace in America.” Her extensive experience also includes nonprofit education organization management, philanthropic work in the corporate sector and work as a private elementary school
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teacher. She holds a Ph.D. in religion and religious education with high honors from Fordham University, a Master of Arts in clinical and child psychology from the University of Kansas and a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Williams College. “I am humbled by the opportunity to lead an institution with such a powerful liberal arts tradition that is grounded in the Benedictine values of the founding order,” Hinton says. “CSB was built by strong and courageous women who knew the value of educating women and who celebrated and engaged both their intellectual lives.” She reflects on her Saint Mary’s experience, saying, “Saint Mary's played a critical role in my development as a young woman and as a leader. It was at Saint Mary’s that I developed the confidence to share my voice, to choose to pursue positions of leadership and to be unafraid of any personal or professional challenges that I may face.” Dr. Hinton will not be the only Saint Mary’s School alumna on the campus of the College of Saint Benedict this fall. Saint Mary’s outstanding young alumna Gini Todd ’13, recipient of the 2013 Margaret and Ann Highsmith Medal at commencement, is a rising sophomore at CSB. The two look forward to meeting this fall.
the musical, “Cinderella,” in the spring. She has been working as artistic director in Wake County Public Schools. I look forward to having Lou as a colleague! I, Mary Virginia Swain, continue into my 28th year working in communications, publications and public relations at Saint Mary’s. I live on campus in a beautiful new Saint Mary’s townhome, where we had the festive class reunion party in 2012, and where everyone is always welcome. I have a getaway spot in my hometown in Wilmington and visit regularly on weekends, holidays and in the summer. So, I see a lot of my lifelong friend Barbara Johnston Bush, and we also see Jeanne Bridger Konitzer and Suzanne Smith Huggins every summer at Wrightsville Beach, as well as Vivian Rawls Watkins. I also see many of our Raleigh classmates from time to time around town, Trisha Urquhart Spain, Morgie Towler Duke, Nancy Thompson Heathcote, Kim Shavlik Randolph, Caroline Holt Stirling and others in and around our class year. So, I hope to see you all somewhere along the way soon: around town, at the beach, at an alumnae event, or at our next reunion in 2017! I am hoping to start a periodic class email newsletter to try to make us feel more connected, so please send me your email and some news if I don’t have it on file at Saint Mary’s – mvswain@sms.edu. Mary Virginia
1977
High School Ellis Efird Furst writes from Wilmington, “Ellis (artist formerly known as Cindy) is painting and making things. Daughter Paris (24) lives in Berlin, Juliet (19) is at UNCGreensboro in art, and Evangeline (14) is a Special Olympics swimmer.”
1979 College
Windy Tillman Pratt Wow. It’s hard to believe it has been a year since our last update. I hope you are all well. It has been fun to hear from so many classmates and was really great to see many of you at the 35th reunion in April. So much going on with all of you! Mary Craig Timberlake Brown was the mother of the groom last fall when son Whit married Abby Skinner (daughter of Elizabeth Smith Skinner ’80C). Mary Craig’s daughter, Annie, is beginning grad school at Meredith in August. Mary Craig teaches second-grade at Ravenscroft School, and says they try to get to Beaufort as much as possible. JulieAnn Cook Stewart’s middle son, John, graduated from Georgia Southern University in May and Joe (15) keeps them busy with baseball and Boy Scout activities, including his Eagle Scout project. Dana Darden Copeland writes that she really enjoyed seeing some Saint Mary’s girls at a gathering in Norfolk, Va. She is in her 26th year of teaching first-graders. Son Darden will be a sophomore at Hampden Sydney. She says she loves seeing Elizabeth Raspberry Pitts and Molly Peebles Squire at the football games there. Pooh Herring Christophe reports that the highlights of her year include various concerts including the Rolling Stones Tongue Pit in D.C. with Sally Pelletier, Molly Peebles Squire and Claire Dicke Forsyth, as well as BB King, Buddy Guy and Masters of Funk. She is also taking in lots of movies and art exhibits while continuing to serve as a consultant to her older children, Andrew and Sarah, both working in the D.C. area, and parenting Phil, a rising college junior. She is planning to hike Mt. LeConte again in the fall and asks that someone reading this please organize a huge house party at Wrightsville Beach. (I do not need to get very creative writing these updates they speak for themselves.) I recently had lunch in Pinehurst with Karen Dearing Ferebee. We had a great time catching up and could have gone on for hours more. Karen works part-time at Chezelle, a clothing boutique in Charlotte. She says the most exciting thing she is doing right now is her work as a Stephen Minister through her church. Karen and
1979 College: front row (left to right): Windy Tillman Pratt, Sally Pelletier, Molly Burton Tull; second row: Holden Anthony Davis, Marian Carson Green, Elizabeth Lane, Margaret Longley White, Melody Lancaster Mitterling, Ann Howard Foster; third row: Elizabeth Rasberry Pitts, Betty Smith, Jennett Carver Skipper, Joan Andrews Holder; fourth row: Mary Foy Ragsdale, Molly Peeples Squire, Kitty Galbraith O’Grody, Susan Wilson Snider, Pooh Herring Christophe, Kendall Page 1979 High School: front row (left to right): Betty Lynn Walters Eller, Susan Fleming McCann; second row: Michele Zaytoun, Mary Allison Bunch, Coles Hines Jones, Gwyn Cooley Pearce, Caroline Sanders Hatcher
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CLASS news David will have two children in Nashville, Tenn., in the fall. Son Walker works for First Tennessee Bank and daughter Martha and husband Luke are moving there this summer for Luke’s residency at Vanderbilt. Mary Kathryn graduated from Carolina in May and will be working for Wells Fargo in Charlotte. Melody Lancaster Mitterling works at a jewelry store in Cameron Village, having retired from her position with the State of North Carolina. Her oldest daughter, Laura, graduated from East Carolina University in 2013 and has a paralegal degree from Meredith. Younger daughter Marianna will be a junior at William Peace University and recently received the MVP award for soccer at Peace. Kendall Hill Page has a very busy law practice in Chapel Hill. She and Mendy travel to wonderful places - Italy last fall and New Zealand and Australia next year. They are heading the construction of a Lacy Care Building for the pets of people who pass away or are no longer able to care for them. The building is designed, decorated and staffed in a home-like setting for cats and dogs waiting for a new forever home. This will be the second of its kind in the country! Kendall also serves on the board of Paws4ever, a guaranteed adoption center in Orange County. Tricia Kelly Pinkard sends greetings from Chevy Chase, Md., where she and Bob live a busy, fun life. Tricia has been involved with starting a tuition-free Episcopal school for AfricanAmerican boys in Southeast D.C., the Bishop Walker School for Boys, and is having fun with other non-profit work as well. They enjoy summers on Squam Lake, N.H., and hiking in the White Mountains. Her 17-year-old son is in school in Idaho, and she loves visiting him in that beautiful part of the country. She recently had dinner with Jane Hollinshed Horrocks, Mary Adcox Gill and Martha Broadfoot Bock. Elizabeth Raspberry Pitts reports that she has enjoyed reconnecting to Saint Mary’s over the last 10 years through service on the Alumnae Council, as a parent of a
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Saint Mary’s student, and for the past three years, as a member of the school’s board of trustees. She continues to represent many fine artists through Portraits South and enjoys traveling near and far, from Atlantic Beach all the way to Tanzania and South Africa. Elizabeth also spends time visiting her son at Hampden Sydney College and her daughter, Betsy Bryan Pitts ’09, who works in finance in New York City. Elizabeth volunteers at Urban Ministries in Charlotte and enjoys playing golf, tennis and taking art classes. Susan Sargent Shaffer says she lives a quiet life in Chapel Hill and continues to tutor through the Hill Center. She has been sidelined from her favorite activities, skiing and running, with two cervical spinal surgeries over the last two years. Susan, we wish you healthy days ahead and expect to see you back on the trails, running and skiing. Beth Gardner Strandberg lives in Raleigh and works in the governor’s office. Her daughters are all doing well. Tyler lives in Jackson, Wyo., working with troubled youths. Blair is finishing physician assistant school in August, and Josie is a rising junior at N.C. State. Margaret Longley White reports that she and Lee are empty nesters in Greensboro. Daughter Ellison (25) works in Atlanta and daughter Austin White ’10 (22) graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill in May. Margaret is serving on the Saint Mary’s board of trustees and loves being so involved with our wonderful school! I am still working at Stifel Nicolaus, an investment firm in Pinehurst, and stay busy with my calligraphy business as well. Mike and I continue to love serving on the Young Life committee here in the Sandhills. Our son, Guion, and his wife, Abby, live in Charlottesville, Va. I was mother of the groom last October when our son, Win, was married in the Saint Mary’s Chapel. He and Tracy live and work in Raleigh. We are so blessed to have wonderful daughters in our family now! It is a great thing to hear from you all! Windy
1979
High School Mary Allison Bunch retired in March after 31 years of service with SSA Disability Determination Services. Her last 15 years were as a training supervisor. “I’m loving it so far!” she reports. She is spending more time with her new puppy “Rhys,” a Pembroke Corgi, and is looking forward to more volunteer work with Christ Episcopal Church in Raleigh and spending time with her parents and her brother’s family. She also plans more trips to the coast.
1981 College
Allison Gilbert Holmes Laura Head Lambert writes that she is having all three of her nieces stay with her for “surf camp.” She says they are all having a ball. Valinda DuBose Coates owns a bed and breakfast near Atlantic Beach. She and husband Jerry moved to Davis Shore two years ago. Their bed and breakfast is called Davis Bed and Breakfast. They would love for all of our SMC class to come down and check out their digs. You can contact Valinda at the following number 252-241-4010. They are working on a website and can be Googled. Check it out. You know that Valinda will make certain your stay is nice and fun. Valinda lost her father in April, so we send condolences to her and their entire family. Deane Gresham Holt’s father passed away in November 2013. My condolences go out to Deane and her family. On a much lighter note, Deane got married last fall to George Holt. Congrats go out to Deane and George. They live in Greensboro. Elizabeth Brooks Little writes that she lives in Charlotte with two teenagers, two dogs and a husband. She said that things are busy with her just like everyone else. Condolences go out to Margaret
McGlohon on the passing of her father, who died in December. Elizabeth Hardy Hogan wrote that her family took a trip for to Puerto Rico for spring break. This was their last big trip before son John goes off to college next year. While on their trip, John heard that he was accepted to Carolina, where he will attend in the fall. Elizabeth said this was a great way to start off their trip. Coles Hines Jones sent word that both of her boys have been at UNC-Chapel Hill. Reidy graduated this spring and Ruffin finished his sophomore year. Coles has enjoyed seeing Saint Mary’s classmates at the Carolina games. Coles is finishing her term as a co-chair of the Saint Mary’s Alumnae Council. She loves going back to campus for her meetings and catching up with other alumnae. Coles said that it has been especially fun working with Margaret McGlohon, our alumnae director. Coles recently met Valinda Dubose Coates and Blanche Gregory Garrell in Chapel Hill for lunch. Coles has also enjoyed getting together in Raleigh with Gwyn Cooley Pearce, Allison Gilbert Holmes, Elizabeth Hardy Hogan, Ruth E Perry Holding and Margaret McGlohon. Coles had her ’79HS class reunion this spring and enjoyed seeing old friends. Gwyn Cooley Pearce volunteers with the Women’s Center of Wake County, the Jamie Kirk Hahn Foundation and working on her jewelry business (www.etsy. com/shop/strandedbygwyn). Her son, James, graduated from Guilford College this year. Daughter Maggie Pearce ’11 is a junior at Appalachian State. Gary and Gwyn had a great visit with Caroline Sanders Hatcher and husband Bill in September. Gwyn also said that she loves keeping up with classmates on Facebook. Margaret McGlohon has enjoyed working as alumnae director. She would love to hear from more of us on a regular basis. She has enjoyed seeing many classmates when the alumnae office is on the road and when our Raleigh group gathers for lunch – Allison, Ann, Anne, Ashley, Betsey, Bonny, Carroll,
Catherine and Emily, Coles, Deane, Dudley, Brooks, Elizabeth, Gwyn, Mary R, Murray, Ruth E, Suzy, Torrey, and Virginia. Margaret so appreciates all of the alums/friends who reached out to her after her father passed away in December. She says that all of the support has meant the world to her. Outside of her work at Saint Mary’s, on weekends in the summer you can find Margaret at Atlantic Beach. Jennifer Collins still works as an actress and also as an acting coach. Jennifer does private coaching and workshops with groups worldwide with Hollywood Immersive. Kara Campbell said that her boys are 13 and 11 and doing great. She has just opened a skincare and cosmetics store in Charlotte called Woo Skincare & Cosmetics. They sell Bobbi Brown, Trish McEvoy, Laura Mercier, Chanticaille, Natura Bisse, etc. Check out their Facebook page. Kara says that there are a few of them in Charlotte that get together for breakfasts when they can. They all love sharing old stories. Suzy Dunaway Riley wrote that she is officially an empty nester. Ashley Richardson Allen and Suzy have taken up sewing and enjoy getting together to sew and to shop for fabrics. Bonny Harris Herrington received a text from Ashley Richardson Allen and Suzy Dunaway Riley while they were enjoying New York City. It appears they were standing outside of the Good Morning America show cheering on the Carolina Panthers with Panthers signs and Ashley in her full-length mink. This was the weekend before the Panthers playoff game. Bonny has a 13-year-old son who is an avid tennis player. She didn’t realize that they grow up so quickly. Her husband, Robert, is an American Airlines pilot and a captain in the Naval Reserves, currently serving with FEMA. Betsy Holmes Abbott has been the director of National League of Junior Cotillions, Cumberland Chapter, since 2005. She is also a consultant for the Carlisle Collection. Her daughter, Alex, is a sophomore at N.C. State. Husband Reg, daughter Alex, and Betsy enjoy summers in
Wrightsville Beach. Ashley Richardson Allen writes that she expects 2014 to be a big year for her sons, Lukas and Matt. Matt and his wife, Martha, live near Ashley in Charlotte. She also mentions sewing lessons with Suzy Dunaway Riley and says there are lots of funny sewing stories and great memories. She says, “If ya’ll are ever in Charlotte, please touch base.” Martina Scifres Jamison lives in Hilton Head and loves it. Retirement is the best! Last year, her older daughter (30) was married there, and both she and her younger daughter (24) live in Big Sky, Mont. Their middle child, a son (28), is a first-year student at Stanford Business School. Martina says thank goodness for Facebook so she can keep up with some of her SMC friends. Martina has a new email address martina.jamison@ gmail.com. Claudia Wooten reports that her business, Wine & Design Wilmington, has had a great year. They are growing their “On Wheels” program. This is when Claudia brings the party to you. They travel anywhere! Claudia is going to the Hatteras Marlin Tournament in June, to do an event for the ladies. Claudia is pleased to announce her oldest daughter, Kathleen Dunnigan, will be joining Wine & Design Wilmington as their private events manager. She has been at the Blockade Runner in Wrightsville Beach for two years as their private events manager, so Claudia is excited to have her come to work with her. If anyone needs a fun night, Wine & Design Wilmington can bring the party to you! Her youngest daughter, Sarah Dunnigan, is finishing up her two years at N.C. State Vet School and will intern this summer in Eastern North Carolina. Only two more years to go! Then Claudia will have a Dr. Dunny in the house. As for herself, she lives in Wrightsville Beach and loves it. She hopes to never leave the island. Claudia does get a glimpse of Eva Atwell Robbins when she comes to town. She always loves her visits. Catherine Winfield Pfeiffer is a school nurse with her summers off. She and husband Richard live
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CLASS news in Washington, N.C. Daughter Anna was set to graduate with a biology/chemistry major from East Carolina and on to the MCAT. Son Charles was a junior at N.C. State, and daughter Emily was a freshman swimmer at UNC-Chapel Hill. Catherine loves that her kids are all close by. With summers off, she plans to spend time with Nancy Brooks Newton. Catherine and Emily usually see lots of folks at the Atlantic Beach party each summer. Karen Apostolou Gliarmis still works at Vidant Health in Greenville and is painting (her first love). She planned to have a booth at the Saint Mary’s reunion weekend Alumnae Bazaar with her paintings. Her paintings are fabulous. I was lucky enough to see Karen while I was in Wilson for a wine tasting that I was doing. She looks great. Ann Scott Arthur wrote that she is going on college trips with her daughter, Elizabeth. Her son James may be going to N.C. State. Elizabeth Davis Treanor is doing well and living in Naples, Fla., with her husband Gregor and their two sons, John (21) and Robert (19). I had the privilege of having dinner with Caroline Sanders Hatcher and her husband, Bill, while she was in Raleigh for her Saint Mary’s high school reunion. She and Bill enjoy being empty nesters. Their daughter, Claire, graduated from University of Miami this spring. She spent her last semester in Prague. Their son, Reid, is at College of Charleston and liking it. I am still selling South African wines and really enjoying it. I want to thank you all for sending me all of this great information. If you aren’t hearing from me each month, then I don’t have your current email address. Please send it to me so that I can add you to the list of our birthday announcements.
1981
High School Constance Apostolou Anastopoulo, associate professor of law, has received tenure as a professor at the Charleston
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School of Law. Her teaching areas include torts, insurance and evidence. Her oldest daughter is now a Morehead-Cain Scholar at UNC-Chapel Hill, and has finished up her first year there. Constance says it has been wonderful to have that connection back to North Carolina.
1983 College
Lorie Goldston Garland Anne Stephenson Buresh lives in Charlotte with husband Jeff and two children: Anne Patterson (13) and Hunter (11). She owns an interior design business in Charlotte, Anne Buresh Interior Design. She is a member of International Interior Design Group, Femfessionals, Halifax Chapter DAR and the Mint Museum Auxiliary.
1983
High School
1985 College
Anne Raymer Cox lives in Charlotte, working as an employee relations manager for Wells Fargo Bank. She has offered to serve as class secretary for the College Class of 1985 in the future. Coco Young Bancroft lives in La Jolla, Calif. While visiting Chapel Hill with her high school-aged son, she saw Robyn Smith. She also saw Anne deRosset Falatko while visiting Washington, D.C. Coco is hoping her son will play football for Carolina! Virginia Yarborough Colantuono has a small jewelry company (babb-co. com) and teaches preschool at her church in Wilmington. “It keeps me on my toes,” she says. Son Thomas is going to Appalachian State in the fall and she looks forward to spending lots of time in the mountains.
1985
High School Berkeley Grier Hello, High School Class of 1985. This year, I only received class news from one of our classmates, even though I know many things are happening in our lives. Bridget Butler Millsaps has three kids Jack (14), Isaac (12) and Delia (6). She owns a legal support services business and recently moved back to Naples, Fla., after 20 years on Hatteras Island. I still live in Greenville, S.C., and enjoy my new career as a registered nurse. I look forward to our next reunion in 2015. Thirty years is almost here. Love, Berkeley
1987 College
Chrissy Bolin Rand Marcy Everett Voelkel continues to paint in both oils and acrylics, and paints pastel pet portraits. She has recently gotten hooked on doing clay hand building with Eleanor White Hunter. She continues to enjoy being on the Saint Mary’s Alumnae Council. Her daughter Hope is a rising sophomore at Saint Mary’s, along with the daughters of Elizabeth Grine Blount (Mable Blount) and Lynn Cowell Ives (Jane Ives). Marcy says is very cool to have her daughter at a place that meant so much to the women in her family. Hope is the fifth generation at Saint Mary’s, and she loves it. As for me, Chrissy Bolin Rand, I launched the paperback version of my first novel, “Brightleaf,” by Raleigh Rand in September of 2013. The e-book version was scheduled to launch in the spring of 2014. So crank up your Kindles and iPads and download a copy for a fun beach read! I am currently writing my second novel, “Ash Wednesday.” Will and I will celebrate our 26th wedding anniversary in October of 2014. All four of my kids have graduated from high school and are either in college or graduated. They have moved out of the house and are doing the things they love.
SAINT MARY’S REMEMBERS
Hiram Fuller, longtime staff member
1984 High School: (left to right): Heidi MontGreen, Susan Avent Irven, Carter Manning Wade, Betsy Diedrick McLean, Candace Harris Belmonte 1984 College (left to right): Ruth Taft Cecil, Elizabeth Sherrill Druga
George Hiram Fuller Sr., longtime staff member with the buildings and grounds department from 19811998, died May 13, 2014. Prior to his career at Saint Mary’s, Fuller served 28 years in the U.S. Air Force, reaching the rank of chief master sergeant. He served as command chief of NORAD, command chief of the Third Air Force, two tours in the Vietnam War and went into live fire as a courier in that war. He was chosen man of the year by the 355th Fighter Groups in 2014. In his retirement, he volunteered with the USO, Meals on Wheels, Tri-area Ministry, an RDU Ambassador and at New Community Church and North Raleigh Community Church. A memorial service was held May 15 at Woodland Baptist Church. He was preceded in death by his wife, Jay Fuller, and is survived by his children and their spouses and his grandchildren.
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CLASS news maintain a social life that brings her to Raleigh quite a bit to visit with friends and old Saint Mary’s classmates. She especially enjoyed seeing her old roommates Tracy Woolard Mayo and Kim Norfleet Collie ’88C at the Saint Mary’s Auction Gala this March! As for me, this past year meant big changes. I uprooted from North Carolina in pursuit of a new role with Nationwide Insurance in the Akron-Canton, Ohio, area and now have responsibilities for the personal lines processing operations in Canton, Ohio; Raleigh; Lincoln, Neb.; and Des Moines, Iowa. I love this experience, as I am traveling and meeting many of our associates and business partners across the country. Personally, I continue to enjoy time with family and friends as well as personal travel as much as I can manage. I have a young nephew and two nieces living 35 minutes from me now, which has been a wonderful part of this change. Life is good! Happy 25th, Class of 1989! I look forward to hearing what others are doing as well! Laura Query
1989
High School
1989 High School: front row (left to right): Catherine Scott Lackey, Geni Wade Slaughter, Elizabee Ellis Schnell, Ruth Dobson-Torres; second row: Travis Brady, Angela Sutton Furniss, Kathryn Falls Roberts, Heath Dalton Parker, Caroline Hodges Wyatt; third row: Sally Pridgen Spiegel, Virginia Sharp Robertson, Katherine Johnson Cabiness, Alison Nanninga, Alice Boggs Schroeder
1987
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1989 College
Laura Query Greetings, Class of ’89 College! I hope many of you enjoyed the reunion and time together this spring. It’s hard to believe that it’s been 25 years since we left Saint Mary’s for
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life's journey. We had a little news to share this year, so please keep it coming! Jill Sparks Pittman continues to live in Wilson and is working on her sixth year at Barton College in the transfer admissions office. She stays busy with her two children, William, a sophomore at Fike High School who achieved his Eagle Rank in Boy Scouts last year, and Grey, a seventh-grader in middle school who enjoys playing soccer. In the midst of work and raising two teenagers, she tries to escape and
Ruth Dobson-Torres is enjoying life with husband Victor in the Preston community of Cary. Ruth works as a marketing specialist with SAS and recently celebrated her six-year work anniversary, after rejoining the company in 2008. In her spare time, she enjoys running and playing singles and doubles tennis with USTA weekend and evening teams at Prestonwood. Ruth also has been making weekly posts to her personal blog, www. myshecave.com, for a few years now, and is a contributor to “Preston Life” magazine.
1991 College
Gina Hamill Donahoo Heather Scoggins White wrote to say that she is still working as an oncologist specializing in breast cancer at Physicians East in Greenville. She is married to Jule White and has a son Ethan (12), as well as a stepdaughter Maggie (16), two stepsons Alex and Nick, a daughterin -law and two step-granddaughters! Life is busy and she loves it. Ginny James Eagles still lives in Wilson. Kim Goines Griffin ’89HS ’91C has been living in
Alexandria, Va., for 15 years. She works at The National Cathedral School as communications coordinator. She keeps very busy with three girls, ages 15, 13, and 10. Her oldest daughter, Bailey, is a rising sophomore at Saint Mary’s, and loves it!
1991
High School
1993 College
Dow Perry Crowder Ann Akers Douglas and husband Joe live in Clearwater, Fla. Their three boys, Charlie (8), Grant (10) and Caden (11), keep them very busy with sports. Ann enjoys having her own business: she is co-owner of a boutique called For the Love of.... She plays tennis and runs and says that anytime she can sneak away to see her college girls is a big treat. Amy Albertson Paschold and husband Chris live in Williamsburg, Va., with their two boys, John (11) and Will (7). Amy is a financial advisor with Merrill Lynch and Chris practices oncology/hematology. Amy still plays a lot of tennis, and she tries to get to their Outer Banks beach house as much as she possibly can, but her boys keep the weekends tied up with sports. Julie Thomas Growney and husband John live in Raleigh with daughters Mary Braxton (11) and Sarah (8). Julie is finishing up her term as PTA president in June and will be recouping at the beach this summer. She continues to enjoy tennis and time with friends. Julie says that the exercise of writing this little news about her life has forced her appreciate how very blessed she is! Kristy Bumgarner lives in Charlotte and works for TekView Windows. She says that she is blessed to work for her father and loves the experience of learning from him. Her daughter Kate (1) has brightened
her world beyond measure. She adds that Lauren Counts Holcombe and Susan Cathey Strickland live close by and are still best friends after all these years. She is grateful to Saint Mary’s for these 20-plus year friendships! Charlotte Stephenson Hagman lives in Overland Park, Kan., with her husband and twin three-year-old girls. Catherine (Cat) is a brunette, and Sally is a red head. They are so different, but best friends. Charlotte worked as a therapist for six years, then managed a wine bar for four years. Now she has the most challenging job of all: stay-at-home mom, which she loves (most of the time)! Jamie Brantley Fernandez de Castro lives in Atlanta and loves being there. She and her husband have a house full! Their oldest is 10 and will start middle school next year, which she can't believe! The others are 8, 6, 3 (only girl) and 2. She’s busy, but can't imagine doing anything else. They will be doing lots of traveling this summer. They don't get to North Carolina as much as she'd like, but look forward to their summer beach trips here. Catherine Dalton Feldman is a stay-at-home mother of two children: Elie (12) and Dalton (10). She and husband Andy live in Raleigh and will celebrate their 15-year anniversary this July. She says time flies when you’re having fun! Catherine enjoys playing tennis and most of all being a mom! Sara Apple Wolcott is living in Alexandria, Va., with children Tad (10) and Madeline (8). Sara has just finished nursing school. Ann Lee Johnson and husband Gill are in the process of renovating their home in Mount Pleasant, S.C. Their boys Gill (12) and Smyth (10) keep them busy. Ann is enjoying her work as a teacher at a preschool. Mimi Pinner moved from Boston back to Raleigh a few years ago and, although a city girl at heart, she loves being back in the South, near family and old friends. Mimi keeps very busy working in public relations and raising her sweet daughter, Weatherly (3). She misses her Saint Mary’s girls but loved seeing many
of you last year at the reunion! Ashley Shelton married Paul Moretti in Chiusdino, Italy, in the summer of 2013. They had a beautiful outdoor ceremony in an ancient Italian abbey. On March 25th of this year, they welcomed a baby boy named Brooks Hamilton Moretti. Ashley thought that all of us old Cold Cuts would like the fact that she is struggling with lullabies, so the baby is hearing a lot of Cold Cuts songs! Mary Louise Talley Wright was married at the Saint Mary’s Chapel in October 2010. She and husband Chance live in Raleigh. They traveled a lot before having daughter Rainey (2). Mary Louise was an elementary school art teacher for 13 years and is now a stay-at-home mom. She and Rainey stay busy each week going to Gymboree, music, library story time, art museums, local parks and playing and swinging on their porch. The Wrights vacation in Blowing Rock and the North Carolina beaches. Mary Louise says it was great to be back on campus and fun seeing friends at the Saint Mary’s reunion last year. Saint Mary’s has never looked better! I live in Raleigh with my husband, Jason, and daughter Lilly (two in September), who is into everything, but such a little joy! Having a toddler is keeping us very busy! Being a mother is the hardest, yet most fulfilling, thing I’ll ever do. I work from home for a pharmaceutical company, which I love. I will spend as much time as possible at Nags Head this summer. Have loved hearing from all of you girls! xoxo Dow Perry Crowder
1993
High School Claudia Bishop Stubbs I hope this update finds everyone well. Thanks to those of you who sent in your submissions. Jennifer Boleman Ford writes, “I am loving my job. I am supporting communications for the largest financial platform conversion in
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CLASS news
1994 College: front row (left to right): Sally Howell Donaldson, Liz Grant, Kendy Allen Smith, Austin Staunch; second row: Susan Taylor Hawes, Ellie Jarman, Margery Knott Clifton, Ann Green Floyd, Andrea Staunch Green, Heather May Hughes
1994 High School: front row (left to right): Brooke Bohannon Schubmehl, Julianne Arnold Thomas, Beth Miller, Eliza Pittman Stephenson; second row): Elizabeth Killen Miles, Leslie Wagstaff McKay, Kristy Rawls Overton, Angela Englebert Peterson
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the world.” She still writes for the “Charlotte Observer.” “The kids are growing like weeds. Carson has been on the gymnastics team this year and has really shined. She has placed in each of her competitions. Robert has taken to baseball. He is playing each spring and fall. Hank’s sweet tooth loves the concession stand!” Nancy Mercer Johnson writes that she lives in Washington, N.C., with son Thomas (13) and husband Greg. Thomas keeps her busy with all of his activities. After being a stay-at-home mom for 10 years, she became a registered nurse and works at a local hospital. She also opened a business in downtown Washington. “I feel very fortunate to do these things and still make my family my first priority. I enjoy life as much as possible and always have more fun than work. I would like to travel more and am excited about a trip to Italy next spring,” says Nancy. Elizabeth Lynn Fuson writes, “I am living in Rocky Mount with my three children: Zoe (13), Xander (11) and Zac (8). I work for a log cabin company that you probably drive right by if you travel up I-95. Most of my time is spent working and driving kids back and forth between school and activities. Saturdays are usually spent at a football or baseball field. I enjoy taking my kids on trips and entertaining them and their friends on the weekends. I have a boyfriend who lives in Raleigh and have been enjoying lots of time there as well. I’m so glad it’s warm and can’t wait to spend more time at OBX this summer.” Corbin Williams Neuner writes, “John and I live in Richmond, Va., and have two boys: Will (10) and Rhodes (6). We enjoy traveling with the kids and are planning a trip to London. I spend a lot of time volunteering at our children’s school and for two local charities, St. Joseph’s Villa and Art 180, and I do photography on the side.” Nicole Barnett writes, “I am still in Dubai. I am getting to travel to some cool and not so cool places. I was bummed that I had to miss the reunion this past year. Hope to see you girls soon.” Michelle Oppegaard is lives in Cary with two children: Eric Michael (13) and Anna (11). “I have a marvelous Portuguese boyfriend and I’m having fun learning the language. We are planning a trip there in the near future. I love working for Wake County Schools as a data manager and enjoy all of my middle school students. We still enjoy time at Topsail and get there as much as possible.” Fran Kennedy Seaman writes that she lives in Clayton with husband Craig and son Daniel (3). “I am at home with my son and still in the fashion biz with my jewelry and accessories business, FSK designs. Most of my free time is spent running, on the beach or trying to find some kind of volunteer work. Any SMC girls in the triangle
area, let’s get together soon. I missed the last reunion and would love to see your faces!” Helen Nobles writes that she is taking a class to be a nurse aide. When her class is over in June, she plans to get a job at either an assisted living facility or a hospital. “I have discovered that I really do love the medical field. I dog-sit as a way to earn extra money,” says Helen. Betsy Ward Price writes, “I am enjoying life in the country and am getting ready to build a log cabin. I am a special education teacher at a middle school. My son Lofton is good. I have four stepsons and five step-grandchildren.” Jennifer Lynn Gay requests our thoughts and prayers for her and her parents, Judy and Herbert, after the unexpected and untimely death of her beloved brother H. Felton Gay, III, on February 18, 2014. Jennifer lives in Zebulon. Leah McCotter Eller continues to work part-time at Wilkes Community College, teaching developmental reading and English. This is the first year her college has combined reading and English. They are also now on a mini-mester calendar (8-week blocks). All these changes have made Leah’s job challenging to say the least. She also had a sudden hole in her schedule. “At first, I was a little bored at home and twiddling my thumbs,” she says. Now she loves being at home more and hopes to take more time off in the fall. David continues to work hard in the land development business. Wills (6) is finishing his first year of kindergarten. Bay (4) is in preschool three mornings a week. They are a busy family of four with t-ball, tennis, gymnastics and three dogs. Kelly Blount Grimsley writes that daughter India Jane (16) is aging her quickly with her driving. She loves to be on stage and anything to do with theater. Colin (13) loves playing middle school sports. Walton (9) loves horses and hunting. Mike is enjoying life as an organic blueberry farmer so much that he is expanding into other organic crops this season. Kelly still loves working with
FCA and WYLDLIFE. Pany Seyed Allen writes that it was great to see everyone at the reunion lunch last year. She will be celebrating her 15-year anniversary with Joe in July. “We had fun taking the kids to Saint Mary's last year to take family pictures. We met 20 years ago in front of Smedes for our first date. Joseph (8) and Jaden (5) keep us busy with sports and Scouts. And I love my job at SAS, planning marketing events at universities. I just celebrated 12 years there.” As for me, I am still living in Richmond, Va. I really enjoy my new schedule of working only three days a week. It is nice to be able to spend more time with John Bayley (3) and to volunteer at James’ (6) school. I look forward to spending a few weeks at the beaches of North Carolina this summer. It is hard to believe that we just had our 20th reunion and will be turning 40 this year. Where has the time gone? I hope to see many of you in the near future! Take care! Claudia Bishop Stubbs
1995 College
Tate Tattersall Garrison Hello Class of ’95C! Hope everyone is doing well. I’m looking forward to our big reunion in 2015! How can it be 20 years since we left SMC? Helen Banzet Wallace writes that Style Hawk continues to see growth on the services side of the business, as well as the blog, which has received recognition both nationally and internationally. Helen's love of animals is as strong as her love of writing. In September, she, Brian and Kate (4) rescued a terrier mix they named Winnie, who is a joy. Helen always likes to spread the word about the love and work that Saving Grace provides for animals in need. They are encouraging rescue and adoption and reminding people that rescue dogs rock, and adoption is the hip option. Zoe Balsamo
lives in Charlotte with her husband Sal and their daughter Isabelle (4). Zoe is a stayat-home mother and in her free time sells BeautyCounter, a safe and healthy skin care line. You can find her at zoe.beautycounter. com. She also fosters animals through the Humane Society and recently raised a batch of four sweet kittens for adoption. Zoe and her family hope to spend a lot of time on the water this summer, both at the lake near Charlotte and the beach near her parents. Brooke Ramos Singletary lives in Raleigh and works as a marketing communications manager for a hospital beds and medical devices company. She and her husband, Jon, are about to celebrate their seventh wedding anniversary and enjoy staying active with playing, hiking, swimming, gymnastics and dance with their daughter Dawn (4). Ashley Dawson Forbes lives in Raleigh and loves being right down the street from Saint Mary’s. She spends her time with her children, Julia Belle (5) and Jack (3). As for me, I continue to chase after my children, Thatcher (7) and Amelia (5). I recently took a job as director of business development with W by Worth, a women’s fashion company, based in New York, that thrives on empowering women to be CEOs of their own business, building careers in the world of fashion with the backing of a company devoted to supporting their success. My role will be to develop these teams of women and to create brand awareness in Eastern North Carolina. If you are looking for something to do, this could be it! Aside from the new job, we will also be spending a lot of time the beach and hope to see some of you down that way or around Raleigh! That's all for now! xo tate
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1995
High School Julie Johnson Babb Dickens Whitley Sanchez is working at Clean Design as an account manager and enjoying her three children: Raeford Commodor Sanchez, Emmaline Luis Sanchez and Harper Elizabeth Sanchez. Frances Carstarphen Jenkins lives in Morehead City with her husband Clark, son Ford (9) and daughter Marian Grey (7). She returned to work last year after staying home for eight years. She has joined Star Team Real Estate in Atlantic Beach. “I would love to see anyone who gets down to the beach this summer!” says Frances. Rebecca Ward King and her husband, Eric, welcomed Taylor, their second baby girl on January 25. Daughter Elliott (2) is a sweet and protective big sister. Sara McClure Peters recently had a second baby boy, McClure “Mac” Rowe Peters. She lives in New York City. Cooper Thornhill lives in Raleigh, still working in the legal business.
1997 College
Kristin Woods Williamson Ashley Barber Gaylord writes, “Living my dream! Raising three really fun kids, living in Raleigh and married to my best friend.”
1997
High School
Alice Manning Touchette Liz Gaither Carter is in California and married to Todd Carter (five years). They are the parents Olivia (3) and Rosemary (1). She is working as the director of field marketing for a high tech company in Silicon Valley. Things are busy as ever! Meghan Costello-Ishak lives in Raleigh and works as a nurse anesthetist (CRNA).
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She is married and has four children: Sophia (6), George (4), Peter (2), and Chloe (1). “Yes, we are a crazy zoo,” says Meghan. Kelly Davis is going on her 11th year working for a Washington, D.C., based think tank focused on state tax policy. She lives in Whitewater, Wis. (thankfully, she can work remotely), where her husband is a professor in the communication department at UW-Whitewater. They have three children: Lucy (5), Maya (4) and baby Zeb. Emily Rawleigh Faulkner married her husband Charles in the Saint Mary’s Chapel nine Christmases ago, and they are happily settled in Alexandria, Va. She is a stay-at-home mom, raising two amazing children: daughter, Hayden (6), and son Charlie (5). She reports that life has been an adventure, but they wouldn’t have it any other way. Tamara Cochran Giles lives in Apex with husband Kevin. Yes, the same one she was dating in high school (although they didn’t date through most of college at N.C. State). They were married in the Saint Mary’s Chapel in 2004 and will celebrate their 10th anniversary in April. She is a stay-at-home mom to Lindley (4) and Annalise (7). She says she wouldn't change it for the world! She stays busy volunteering at school, church and practicing her new hobby - sewing! Meredith Wiggs Horner married a Broughton boy, Scott Horner, and now has a son Tom (3) and baby girl Cate! They live in Raleigh. Debi Jolly moved to N.Y.C. last year, and Debi is working for a costume studio where she is the dyer and craftsperson. Occasionally, she is whisked away to teach a workshop on millinery or fabric dyeing. Josey Harris Kasper lives in Raleigh as a stay-at-home mom to Mary Louise (5) and Jack (3). Her husband, Todd, works at Quintiles and they attend St. Michael’s Episcopal Church. Josey loves hearing everyone's happy news! Steadman Lamm Lanier and husband Sam have three boys: Sammy (8), William (6) and Henry (18 months). She is celebrating 10 years in business - Belle & Co! Eva Toba Melamed says she has
a litter of kids. In 2008, she had triplets Sarah Daliah, Mina Sofia and Zev Ahron. In 2012, she had a little boy, Judah Sidney. She lives in Raleigh with her husband of 10 years, Jacob (Jay). She spends a lot of time at home but owns two companies. She is a partner in Prime Building Company, a 25-year-old commercial construction company, and is owner of Prime Energy Group, an energy modeling and spray foam insulation company. She is on the board of directors for her kids’ school and hosts two parties a year to benefit the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina. She loves hosting parties, cooking, traveling and has been dabbling in photography. Donnell Turner Oakley celebrated her seventh anniversary with Jacob in April. They have lived 12 wonderful years in Brooklyn. She has been on tour recently with a dance company. One of the companies she dances with performed at Aycock Auditorium in Greensboro in April. Laura O’Tuel married the love of her life on December 21. She inherited three stepchildren, so with her son, they are a family of six: a mini version of the Brady Bunch. As far as work goes (which consumes most of her life), she is the director of human resources (principal for the corporate world) for Surgical Information Systems. It is based in Atlanta with an office in New York, so she travels between the two. She says, “Anyone looking for a job? Love hearing from everyone. I sadly lost my SMS ring three years ago had worn it every day since I had gotten it.” Jamie Phillips says we always did have the best class! “I am divorced (so if anybody knows a cute single guy, send him my way!) and work from home doing patient recruitment for clinical research studies worldwide.” She decided, why not live at the beach? “I just moved to Wrightsville Beach this spring and I am loving it!” Lisa Tippet Rand is divorced and living in Fort Collins, Colo., with her amazing son Sam (7). She works out of her home for American Express, managing relationships with merchants who accept the card as a
Raleigh and works as a labor and delivery nurse. She was married more than two ago and, although no kids yet, her husband is one of twelve - so plenty of nieces and nephews to keep her busy. Dare Branch Krompecher had a baby boy on Feb. 28, 2013: Mansfield Peter Krompecher. They are calling him Field. Dare loves being back in North Carolina and close to family, especially now with a little one. “It truly does take a village!’ she says. “I am still enjoying working with S&P remotely with frequent travel to New York.”
1999
High School
1999 High School: front row (left to right): Anna Christopher Danner, Kempton Dunn, Megan Ryan, Georgia Moore Brown; second row: Caroline Creech Decker, Stuart Small Beaumont, Joanna Hill Worthington, Laura Chilton Midgett, Taylor Underwood
form of payment from their customers in Colorado and in Wyoming. Life is good and filled with after-school activities for Sam and lots of Legos! They had some excellent snowpack last winter, and she is happy to be back out west near her family after a 10-year stint in New York! Jessica Nance Rushing is very happily married and has an angel of an 18-month-old, Dorsey. She says things are busy as ever in South Carolina! Marion Yates Schiff calls herself “the token gay from the class of ’97.” She is an RN and director of nursing of two hospital floors in Huntington Beach, Calif. She is starting on her doctorate this summer. She and the love of her life have been together eight years. “No kids, no step-kids, none on the way. Ever. Just cats and dogs.” Elizabeth Jenkins Sessoms married Greg. (Yes, the same one she was dating in high school.) They moved back to Tarboro and have sixyear-old twins, Mary Liza and Andrew. She says she decided to quit the real world last
July and be a kindergarten teacher assistant at their school, where she is having fun and enjoying the extra time with her kids. Julie Strope has been living in San Diego for more than two years after five years in Los Angeles. She reports, “Lots of fun, life’s a beach!” She just got back from Sayulita, Mexico, an amazing bohemian beach town. “Go if you get the chance; it's magical! Very happy for everyone's achievements! Way to go class of ’97!” Peyton Hill Thigpen is mom to Kaylee (2) and Andrew (4). She switched from full-time to part-time work “since kiddo #2 came along.” She has been a geriatric nurse since graduating from UNC-Wilmington in 2004. She and Ron, a Wrightsville beach officer, we will celebrate 10 years of marriage in September! Alice Manning Touchette lives in Alexandria, Va., with husband Andrew and son Tommy (2). She works in communications and marketing with George Washington University. Betsy Poole Wilcox lives in
Elizabeth Kempton Dunn lives in Greenville. Georgia Boklage Brown and her husband have two children: son Hayes (5) and daughter Celia-Gray (3). “We are having a great time living in Raleigh and visiting the Saint Mary’s campus on occasion!” Laura Chilton Midgett was married in March 2013 to John Dameron Midgett. The wedding took place at Trinity United Methodist Church in Southport, and the reception was held at the Southport Community building. They honeymooned in Saint Lucia and live in Wilmington.
2001
High School Louise Beasley Warenda Jennifer Maupin Alexander and Haywood’s son, Haywood “Griffin” Alexander, Jr., was born into heaven on June 3, 2013. He was perfect and beautiful in every way, weighing nine pounds, two ounces and was 22.5 inches long. They are deeply grateful and appreciative of the support they’ve received from Saint Mary's classmates, alumnae, staff, faculty and friends. Their daughter, Marguerite, continues to fill their lives with so much
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CLASS news sunshine. Marguerite will be four in October and loves trains, ballet and riding horses. Haywood has recently been promoted to police sergeant, and they just celebrated seven years of marriage. Ashley Batts Allen welcomed daughter Adelaide on April 2, 2013. Ashley will be moving back to North Carolina in August, as she just accepted an assistant professor position at UNC-Pembroke. Katie Borland enjoyed celebrating the first birthday of her son, Michael Thomas. Elyse Campbell works at a consulting firm in Denver. Becca Jane Ayers Cody and her husband were married in 2012. They bought a house in Arlington, Va., and welcomed Penelope Grace (Penny) to their family. They both work for Deloitte Consulting LLP. Becca Jane is pursuing her master’s in instructional design technology at George Mason University. Lauren Talton Daniel is an elementary special education teacher in Carteret County. She married Seth Daniel in 2011 while living in South Texas. Lauren moved back to Swansboro in 2012 and landed a teaching job at one of the greatest elementary schools at the coast. Lauren enjoys riding her stand-up paddle board with her dog, Humphrey. She was recently accepted into a graduate program at UNC-Wilmington for instructional technology and is pretty excited to be a part of that! Lauren misses her carefree days at SMS, but has wonderful memories that she reflects on daily. “Shout outs to Lathan, Esthimer and Belknap forever tolerating my antics,” she says. Chesney Fowler’s son Caleb will be two in August. She’s accepted a position as an emergency medicine physician in Maryland, and will be moving back to Washington, D.C., this summer with her husband Mike, Caleb and their cats. Elizabeth Weaver Hilton lives in Los Angeles. Liz and her husband had a baby boy in March, Bennett Chapman Hilton. Kimmi Kresica is working happily as a printer for Spoonflower in Durham. Katie Newell Leach reports that Emily Alice Leach was born March 21, 2013.
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Tyndall is really enjoying being a big sister and making her laugh. Katie recites poetry to them every night before they go to bed. Her family still lives in Charlottesville, Va. Katie is enjoying being a stay-athome mom! Callie Safley McKenzie and husband Tim welcomed their first child, John Lawson McKenzie, on October 8, 2013. Corisande Samuels Nadeau and Roland are still in Maine with a kitty, Pumpkin. Cori has a little brother who will be seven this year and keeps them busy during visits. She works for Bottomline Technologies in operations. Grayson Glisson Nichols and Chris live in the Five Points area of Raleigh and enjoy every minute. Grayson loves seeing SMS girls at work. Having an office on Hillsborough Street keeps her connected. Daughter Emory (2) says “Mommy's school, my school” every time they drive by SMS. Thrills her every time! With any free time her family has, they head to Atlantic Beach for fun in the sun. Grayson hopes to see everyone at the next reunion! Katie Monaghan Nisbet is keeping very busy as a mom to Ford (1), renovating a home and working on interior design projects through her business, Kate Nisbet Designs. Macon Sykes Parsley got married on October 6, 2012, to Robert Parsley at Figure Eight Island. Robert and Macon met at Kathryn Calder Barmore's wedding in November of 2008. Macon and Robert live in WinstonSalem and Macon works for Forsyth Plastic Surgery. Lauren Rutherford Perry and husband George are living in Colerain with their dogs, Jackson and Harper. Lauren is about to start her 10th year working for the North Carolina Bankers Association. She’s enjoying the river, cooking, gardening and spending time with friends. Elizabeth Andrews Preyer and Britt are happily living in Greensboro with their two cats and new pug, Sasha. Chi is teaching a nursing assistant class at a local high school and working at Moses Cone Hospital in the emergency department as a nurse. She loves teaching the next generation of healthcare
workers! Clara Wortham Robinson married Stuart Robinson on August 6, 2011. She went back to school for her bachelor’s in nursing from UNC-Wilmington. Clara works as the clinical coordinator of the coronary care unit at New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington. She recently became certified as a critical care registered nurse. Clara and Stuart welcomed Emma Pierce Robinson on June 21, 2013, a future SMS girl! Liz Dodd Sherrod is still working as an attorney for a real estate group in Knoxville, Tenn. She and husband Matt welcomed a baby girl, Turner Elizabeth Sherrod, to the world on Friday, April 11, 2014. Lindsey Suggs is entering her ninth year of film production in Wilmington. Last summer, her work took her to Santa Fe, N.M., where she completed filming the feature film “We're The Millers.” She returned to Wilmington to begin work on CBS’s hit summer series “Under the Dome,” and went on to the new FOX series “Sleepy Hollow.” Lindsey continues to enjoy her role creating sets for films and television series while squeezing in volunteering with the Junior League, traveling near and far and visiting with Saint Mary’s friends in her free time! Carolyn Collins Thompson lives in Raleigh with her husband and son. She works in the pharmaceutical industry and planned to graduate in May from UNCWilmington with a master’s in clinical research and product development. Claire Spruill Tyler lives in Edenton, where she enjoys her dogs, peony farm, and living on the river with her husband. She spends her time plein air painting, volunteering for hospice, teaching art lessons and serving on the North Carolina Community Foundation, as well as The American Impressionist Society Fund. She works as a designer for her company, Southern Broad. Thanks for continuing to stay in touch with me. Please feel free to send news anytime for inclusion in our upcoming letters. Our family welcomed our second daughter, Mary-Bruce Ellis, in December 2013.
Beasley (3) is a wonderful big sister to Mary-Bruce. We enjoyed a trip to Disney World in March. Days continue to be busy with work at Capstrat, commitments at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church and weekend getaways to Atlantic Beach. It’s hard to believe another reunion will be in front of us before we know it. Looking forward to staying in touch.
2003
High School Shea Vause Gravely Sarah Todd McNally married an Irish man, Jim McNally, on June 29, 2013, in Washington, N.Y. The couple resides in New York City. In 2014, Sarah took a new position as the account managerhealthcare for a large steelcase furniture dealership in N.Y.C. called Waldner's Business Environments. She inherited their largest annuity account, and will be spearheading their healthcare initiative. Athena Garner Williams married Tom Williams on October 5, 2013, in lovely garden wedding in Fuquay-Varina. The couple resides in Cary. Lindsay Alexander Strickland and husband Steven have recently moved to Reaves Street in Raleigh. Lindsay is the new sales rep for Cisco Systems in Research Triangle Park. Hunter Snell Schenk married Edward Schenk on May 11, 2013, in a stunning wedding in Gloucester, Va. The couple resides in Raleigh and they recently bought a new house on Chowning Court. Cassie Gilbert Rice married John Rice on June 1, 2013, in a gorgeous garden wedding at the Raleigh Rose Garden in Raleigh. The couple resides in Raleigh. Nicole Franklin Thompson married Blair Thompson on March 23, 2013, in a gorgeous southern wedding in DeBordieu, S.C. The couple resides in Charlotte. Margot Child Stanley and husband Will welcomed their firstborn,
Harvey Southard Stanley, on February 15. Suzanne Prak Bostwick and husband Jay welcomed their first bundle of joy, James Robert Bostwick, IV, on May 10, 2013. Mary Kaitland Stuart Davis and husband Gene welcomed their first born, Wynn Davis, on October 30, 2013. Kate Yandell Reece and husband Will welcomed their beautiful twin girls, Mary Charles and Ann Briton, on August 15, 2013. Also, Kate is looking forward to finishing up her MBA at Wake Forest in August of 2015. Reagan Cannon just finished building her first and awesome house in Halifax, Va., where she currently resides. Sarah England Cook and Justin May were married on October 13, 2012 and currently live in Raleigh.
2005
High School Ila Walker Bittner Claire Cosgrove is living in Spain while working for a student life, study abroad program. Alex Crimmins lives in New York City and works at Barclays Wealth & Investment Management. Alex Baxter is working toward her master’s of mental health at Georgia State University. She is working on research aimed at increasing literacy in deaf and hard-of-hearing children. Alex is looking forward to an internship in the fall. Ellie Gilbert has passed the North Carolina Bar and is officially an attorney. She is working on Lorrin Freeman’s campaign for Wake County
2004 High School: front row (left to right): Britt Carl, Katie Whitmore, Merriweather Raidle Mulé; second row: Cameron Moss, Hunter Jackson Sabol, Brittany White; third row: Ashley Barbour, Dani Conway, Susan James, Tina Jaswani, Emily Brooks, Fletcher Mebane
District Attorney. Caroline McClintic is running the Wine & Design in New Bern. She and her French bulldog, Finn, enjoyed a weekend at her cabin and a wedding weekend in Wilmington with Katherine Carlton, Kathryn Calder Barmore ’01HS, and me in February for Kathryn’s sister, Caroline! We were also glad to see Charlotte Saunders Post, who lives in Wilmington, at the wedding! As for me, I switched careers in October and now work as a claims coordinator for AmRisc, LP, in Morehead City, an insurance company based out of Houston. I have continued to be active with the After Hours Rotary Club and planned the second Masquerade Ball this past March to benefit our new Hospice House in Carteret County. Looking forward to seeing the Class of 2005 at our 10-year reunion next spring!
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CLASS news
2007
High School Helen Johnson is starting her final year of medical school at Brown University and plans to pursue a career in surgery. She and Marvin Mao were married on November 25, 2012, at Grace Episcopal Church in North Attleboro, Mass. She and Joy Zhou are still best friends and celebrated last Thanksgiving together with Helen’s family at their home in Massachusetts. Sarah Nolan lives in Washington, D.C., with Caroline Donaldson. Meredith Vaughn Savill lives in Tampa, Fla., and is front office manager of the Hilton Tampa Westshore. She and Jeremy Savill were married in the Saint Mary’s Chapel on June 7.
2009
High School Betsy Church Hey girls! What a blast we had at our first SMS Reunion Weekend. It was a bit surreal to see everyone together (not wearing sweat pants), sitting in chapel, the dining hall and on the steps of Smedes! Can’t wait to see all of you again. Here's what everyone is up to: Carolyn Bacchus is finishing her master’s degree in public health at Tulane University in New Orleans, La., and hopes to stay there to complete her doctorate in public health as well. She loves living in New Orleans, and says all her SMS girls are welcome to visit anytime. Mary Stewart Bailey graduated from Clemson University and moved to Wyoming to work on a dude ranch for four months. She’s now living in Raleigh and working at the North Carolina Museum of History as an administrative assistant. Olympia Agnew works at a small, private high school in the Morrisville/Cary area, teaching biology and Spanish.
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Maggie Bratton graduated from Wofford College with a bachelor’s degree in English and moved to Charlotte, where she works for the interior design firm Circa Interiors & Antiques. She plans to go back to school to pursue a degree in interior design. Lizzie Capel finished her first year at UCBerkeley School of Law and is working at the Los Angeles County Legal Department for the summer. Arrington Clark graduated from the University of Georgia in December with a bachelor's degree in art history. She's living in Aspen, Colo. Mary Southgate Dickson graduated from UNCChapel Hill in May 2013. She currently does recruiting at Personify and lives in Raleigh. Ferebee Frazier graduated from Clemson University, and is living with me (Betsy Church) in Raleigh. She works at Biologics, Inc., as a human resources coordinator. Caroline Fuqua lives in Charlotte, and is the executive assistant to the CEO of North American Transmission Forum. She shares an apartment in downtown Charlotte with Maggie Bratton, and Charlotte Horney lives right across the street. Selby Graves graduated with a bachelor’s degree in applied physics from Appalachian State University in December, and is now in graduate school at ASU. She’s in a dual-degree program pursuing both a master’s degree in engineering physics with a professional science master’s concentration in instrumentation and automation, and a master's degree in business administration. Brianna Horn graduated from East Carolina University's College of Nursing with a bachelor’s degree in nursing. She’s working full-time as a registered nurse at Carteret General Hospital, and part-time at Harborview Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center, which are both in Morehead City. Hadley Henry is studying at the Savannah College of Art and Design. Taylor King will be attending UNC-Greensboro this fall in their MFA Choreography program
to further her dance career. She hopes to one day be a professor at a university. Emma Carol Lewis moved to the Outer Banks after graduation and loves her job managing a retail store. Maggie Liebowitz lives in Richmond, Va., and is in the process of applying to AmeriCorps. She started her own jewelry business called Maggie’s Trees, and her designs are hosted in several stores in the Richmond area. She also has an exciting cross-country trip planned for August. Katherine Lochbaum lives on the island of Saipan in the Pacific Ocean, located just north of Guam. She’s been there since June 2013 and loves it. She works at a resort, Pacific Islands Club Saipan, as a clubmate. She is a lifeguard and gets to spend her days playing with Japanese, Russian and Korean children. Elizabeth Moss Allen married Davis Allen at the Saint Mary’s Chapel on August 11, 2013. Adams Paschal works in Washington, D.C., as a retail strategist for a commercial real estate firm. Betsy Bryan Pitts moved to New York City last summer, after graduating from Duke University. In the fall, she enjoyed welcoming SMS alumnae and friends to the city during the Saint Mary's weekend in NYC. She is currently working for Berman Capital Management, a small investment firm focused on retail and consumer stocks. She enjoys work and is having lots of fun in the Big Apple! Abby Richmond lives in New York City and is working for Lululemon. Sara Bailey Stocks graduated in December with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Clemson University. She lives in Atlanta, Ga., and is a software consultant/application support engineer for AirWatch. Tess Wells graduated from N.C. State in 2013 with a bachelor’s degree in animal science and a second bachelor’s degree in Spanish language and literature. This fall, she will be attending Campbell University to pursue a one-year master's in public health, followed by the traditional four years of pharmacy school to become a PharmD.
2009 High School: front row (left to right): Caroline Mayberry, Carolyn Bacchus, Lauren Vitek, Betsy Church, Betsy Bryan Pitts, Elle Fulenwider, Adams Paschal, Maggie Bratton, Thembelani Marshall; second row: Charlotte Horney, Sara Williamson, Caroline Fuqua; third row: Ferebee Frazier, Mary Southgate Dickson, Sara Bailey Stocks, Jessie Gonia, Abby Richmond, Hadley Henry, Chelsea Reynolds; third row: Arrington Clark, Mary Stewart Bailey, Maggie Liebowitz, Tess Wells, Anna Fletcher, Selby Graves; top row, left to right: Taylor King, Sarah Rose Dorton, Emma Carol Lewis, Elizabeth Moss Allen
In the meantime, she’s working at a specialty infusion pharmacy in North Raleigh. Sara Williamson lives in Denver, Colo., and works as a communications specialist at eScience Labs. I graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill and love my job at Red Hat in downtown Raleigh. I manage Red Hat’s social media accounts and plan our internal events. Ferebee Frazier and I share an apartment near North Hills, and Mary Southgate Dickson lives just one building over. We had so much fun hosting the class party during Reunion Weekend. Lots of love and hugs to all of you! xoxo, Betsy
2011
High School Scott Orvis, Saint Mary’s director of college counseling, had a visit to Brandeis University in Massachusetts recently and met up with Bohyung Yoon, who attends Brandeis. She is majoring in biology and health, society and
policy. She contacted Youngshin Keum, who attends Massachusetts College of Pharmacy, and Youngshin came over to Brandeis. Youngshin is in the accelerated doctorate program and completed her bachelor’s degree last spring. This past year was the first of her master’s. In three more years, she will have her doctorate in pharmacy. Sarah Randall Fuqua attends the University of South Carolina. She is off to Italy this summer for a study abroad program with side trips to Budapest, Prague and Amsterdam.
2013
High School
Sylvia Weir Gini Todd is enjoying her studies as a nutrition major. She is very proud to be a cadet in the Fighting Saints Battalion ROTC Program at St. John’s University. She has received a three-year ROTC scholarship and is now a contracted cadet.
Way to go, Gini! Jessica Shuhua Yin is excelling in school. She was on the Dean’s List at N. C. State University her first semester. Jessica is active in many ways. She holds a leadership position within the Office of International Studies, working with small groups of students, she is part of the University Program Planning Board, and she is a proud member of Kappa Phi Lambda sorority. Jessica is also part of a hip-hop dance team on campus; she found out this year that she has a passion for dance. Morgan Alyse Parker had a great first year studying biology at Meredith College. She distinguished herself in the field from the outset and became a teaching assistant in biology in her second semester. She really looks forward to continuing to study biology and to focus on research. Morgan will continue her studies at N. C. State University, where she is transferring this fall. Sylvia Ann Weir immersed herself in N.C. State University this year by becoming an ambassador to the College of Natural Resources and being an active member of the Catholic Campus Ministry. She had the pleasure of hosting a Saint Mary’s Exploration Day at the College of Natural Resources to engage the girls in activities related to natural resources fields. Next year, she especially looks forward to continuing to sing in the campus Catholic choir and participating in timber sports.
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Thank you! Annual Fund
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The 58 graduating members of the Class of 2014 extend a heartfelt thank you to all donors to the Annual Fund who contributed to their extraordinary educational experience during their four years at Saint Mary’s. As generations before them, these students reaped the benefits provided by loyal alumnae, parents, grandparents and friends who so generously support the mission of Saint Mary’s School, year after year. These young alumnae look forward to joining the ranks of donors in the years to come, and encourage all those who love Saint Mary’s to help sustain our proud 172-year legacy of educating and preparing young women for college and life, by donating to the Annual Fund each year. To make a gift today, visit https://www.sms. edu/support_sms, mail a check to 900 Hillsborough Street, Raleigh, NC 27603, or contact Spencer Busby ’06 at 919-424-4110.
The Heritage Society
Jane Taylor Wolfe ’43C leaves enduring legacy of courage and generosity Jane Taylor Wolfe ‘43C wanted to make an impact on the school that made an impact on her. A bequest she left to Saint Mary’s upon her death in May 2013 did just that—it made a difference to the school she loved. Over sixty years after her graduation from the college, Jane still proudly hung a magnet on her refrigerator that read, “I am a Saint Mary’s Girl!” Often, she proudly wore her Heritage Society Pin, a recognition of alumnae who include Saint Mary’s in their estate plans. “Saint Mary’s meant a lot to Jane,” recalls her close friend, Lindsay Tice. “Her Saint Mary’s friends were her lifelong friends. In fact, one of her dearest friends, Ida Dunn Harris Parnell ‘42C, remained a neighbor at her retirement community in Charlotte.” A native of South Boston, Va., Jane entered Saint Mary’s School in 1941. Upon graduation, Jane and her roommate, Essie Bryce Evans Gordon ‘43C, enrolled at Randolph Macon Woman’s College and
remained roommates. In the summer of 1944, Jane entered a summer language immersion program at Duke University, where she met her husband, Dan. A year later, the two were married. Jane devoted a large part of her life to her successful career as the department head and director of medical social work at Charlotte Memorial Hospital, now known as Carolina’s Medical Center. Jane served in this role for more than 30 years and was, in many ways, a woman ahead of her time. “Jane had a passion for what she did and dealt with issues back in the ‘50s and ’60s that most women wouldn’t speak of,” Lindsay shared. “Jane was courageous. She wasn’t afraid to speak up for herself and for others.” Saint Mary’s was a special place to Jane and, because of that, she wanted to give back to the place that gave her so much. Her gift is her enduring testimonial.
If you are interested in leaving a planned gift to an institution where you could make a great impact, please consider a bequest in support of Saint Mary’s School. For more information, contact Abby Johnston at 919-424-4114.
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Saint Mary’s Scenes Card catalogs, once a staple of libraries, have effectively been replaced by online catalogs. During the 2014 revitalization of the Sarah Graham Kenan Library at Saint Mary’s, the library staff preserved the old card catalog, which was used from the library’s opening in 1966 until 1998, as an iconic art object. A photograph of alumna Sarah Graham Kenan, the benefactor who attended Saint Mary’s in the 1890s and for whom the library is named, hangs above.
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