UMW Magazine Fall/Winter 2018

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A CAREER SEQUEL

FILM EXEC TEACHES BUSINESS OF BLOCKBUSTERS

JOURNALIST UNRAVELS FAMILY SECRET | P. 18 ARTIST CHANGED CAMPUS, UNITED COMMUNITY | P. 24


Contents Features

12 A Career Sequel Film exec teaches the business of blockbusters 18 Cherished Daughter, Forsaken Son Journalist unravels family secret

24 The Art of Living Painter changed campus and united a community

Departments 2 28 32 33 34 37 64

On Campus Notable and Quotable Get the Picture Book Report Alumni Seen Class Notes Closing Column


ON THE COVER:

Dan Wolfe ‘84 made a career of marketing Hollywood blockbusters. Now he’s brought his film expertise back to campus as a faculty member in the College of Business. Read Wolfe’s story on page 12. Photo by Adam Ewing

Photo illustration by AJ Newell

THIS SPREAD:

Each August, new and returning students, faculty, and staff meet on Ball Circle for Eagle Gathering, a candle-lighting ceremony that officially ushers new Eagles into UMW’s community of integrity, honor, and service. Here students show their enthusiasm as they pose for a smartphone photo. Photo by Suzanne Carr Rossi ’00

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ON CAMPUS

MANDELA, TOLKIEN AMONG GREAT LIVES SUBJECTS The William B. Crawley Great Lives Lecture Series returns in January for its 16th season. All lectures are free, open to the public, and begin at 7:30 p.m. in Dodd Auditorium, George Washington Hall. For information, call 540-654-1065 or visit umw.edu/greatlives. Jan. 15 Rodgers and Hammerstein, Todd S. Purdum, author of Something Wonderful: Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Broadway Revolution Jan. 22 Bruce Lee, Matthew Polly, author of Bruce Lee: A Life Jan. 29 Mikhail Gorbachev, William Taubman, author of Gorbachev: His Life and Times Feb. 5 Benedict Arnold, Joyce Lee Malcolm, author of The Tragedy of Benedict Arnold: An American Life Feb. 7 Jane Goodall, Dale Peterson, author of Jane Goodall: The Woman Who Redefined Man Feb. 14 Billie Holiday, Tracy Fessenden, author of Religion Around Billie Holiday Feb. 19 Gari Melchers, Joanna Catron ’79, curator of Gari Melchers Home and Studio Feb. 21 Dale Carnegie, Steven Watts, author of SelfHelp Messiah: Dale Carnegie and Success in Modern America Feb. 26 Nelson Mandela, Richard Stengel, author of Mandela’s Way: Lessons for an Uncertain Age Feb. 28 Oscar Wilde, Nicholas Frankel, author of Oscar Wilde: The Unrepentant Years March 12 Lucille Ball, Kathleen Brady, author of Lucille: The Life of Lucille Ball March 14 Radium Girls, Kate Moore, author of The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women March 19 Rocket Girl, Nathalia Holt, author of Rise of the Rocket Girls: The Women Who Propelled Us, From Missiles to the Moon to Mars March 21 J.R.R. Tolkien, Devin Brown, author of Tolkien: How an Obscure Oxford Professor Wrote The Hobbit and Became the Most Beloved Author of the Century March 26 Laura Ingalls Wilder, Caroline Fraser, author of Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder April 2 Gehrig and Ripken, John Eisenberg, author of The Streak: Lou Gehrig, Cal Ripken Jr., and Baseball’s Most Historic Record April 4 The Last of the Romanovs, Helen Rappaport, author of The Race to Save the Romanovs: The Truth Behind the Secret Plans to Rescue the Russian Imperial Family April 9 POW Wives, Heath Hardage Lee, author of The League of Wives: The Untold Story of the Women Who Took on the U.S. Government to Bring Their Husbands Home From Vietnam

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UNIVERSITY OF MARY WASHINGTON MAGAZINE FALL/WINTER 2018

FALL/WINTER 2018 • VOLUME 42 • NO. 2

Neva S. Trenis ’00 Editor-in-Chief

Laura Moyer

Associate Editor

Anna B. Billingsley

Associate Vice President for University Relations

AJ Newell Art Director

Liz Clark Kuvinka ’96 Maria Schultz M.Ed. ’11 Graphic Designers

Erika Spivey Bush ’11 Es Hethcox ‘18 Lisa Chinn Marvashti ’92 Angela Zosel McCormick ’00 Cynthia L. Snyder ’75 Joemmel Tendilla ’19 Mark Thaden ’02 Contributors

University of Mary Washington Magazine is published by the Office of University Relations for the alumni, friends, faculty, and staff of the University of Mary Washington. The magazine staff welcomes your comments. Email: magazine@umw.edu Mail: UMW Magazine 1301 College Ave. Fredericksburg, VA 22401-5300 Call: 540-654-1055. Please help us find you: Email address changes to alumni@umw.edu; mail changes to University of Mary Washington Office of Alumni Relations, 1119 Hanover St., Fredericksburg, VA 22401-5412; call with changes to 540-654-1011. University of Mary Washington Magazine is printed with nonstate funds and is made possible through private support. Read and comment on University of Mary Washington Magazine online at magazine.umw.edu.


ON CAMPUS

BOARD OF VISITORS WELCOMES THREE NEW APPOINTEES In June, Gov. Ralph Northam appointed three new members to the UMW Board of Visitors and reappointed R. Edward “Edd” Houck to the board. All will serve four-year terms expiring in 2022. Martha G. Abbott ’72 of Alexandria, Virginia, is executive director of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. An educator for more than 30 years, she previously taught and coordinated language programs at all levels in Fairfax County schools. In 2016, Abbott was appointed by President Barack Obama to the National Security Education Board, an initiative designed to build a broader and more qualified pool of U.S. citizens with foreign language and international skills. Allida M. Black of Arlington, Virginia, is a scholar and human rights advocate who is managing director of the Allenswood Group LLC, an organization empowering individuals and strengthening democracy through civic engagement, grassroots activism, and education. She is a research professor of history and international affairs at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and is founding editor and chair of the editorial advisory board for the Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project. Leopoldo J. Martínez of McLean, Virginia, is a business owner, international lawyer, author, and former Venezuelan congressman. He has worked with international law and accounting firms and has advised Fortune 500 companies, international businesses, nonprofit organizations, and governments. He founded LMN Consulting LLC, a global strategic advisory and advocacy firm with experience in U.S.-Spain-Latin America affairs, business, and trade. He also founded the Center for Democracy and Development in the Americas.

MARY WASH A ‘BEST AND MOST INTERESTING’ PLACE TO LEARN The Fiske Guide to Colleges has once again recognized the University of Mary Washington among the nation’s “best and most interesting” colleges – and offers student praise to bolster the claim. The 2019 listing was based on questionnaires sent to administrators and a crosssection of students.

UMW’S VALUES REFLECT COMMITMENT

UMW has announced ASPIRE, its new statement of community values, endorsed by the university following widespread community feedback. ASPIRE’s letters stand for the common values of the UMW community: - ACCOUNTABILITY - SCHOLARSHIP - PERSONAL AND INSTITUTIONAL INTEGRITY - INCLUSIVE EXCELLENCE - RESPECT AND CIVILITY - ENGAGEMENT The statement reflects the university’s commitment to “transform our academic community into a place where all will learn, thrive, and grow,” according to Vice President for Equity and Access Sabrina Johnson, who also is UMW’s chief diversity officer. For more on ASPIRE, visit umw.edu/aspire.

IT IS A STRONG COMMUNITY OF SOCIALLY CONSCIOUS AND ACADEMICALLY FOCUSED STUDENTS. – UMW STUDENT QUOTED BY FISKE

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ON CAMPUS

UMW GRADUATES 1,161 IN 107th COMMENCEMENT undergraduate program. Parker finished with a 3.99 GPA. An exceptional player on the UMW basketball team, she set a school record for the number of three-pointers made in a single game.

Norm Shafer

A veteran administrator and three longtime faculty members were awarded emeritus status:

The University of Mary Washington graduated 1,161 students in commencement ceremonies Friday, May 11, and Saturday, May 12. Marci Catlett, deputy superintendent for Fredericksburg schools, gave the graduate address Friday evening. Alumni businessmen Robert Davis ’12 and Abbas Haider ’12 addressed undergraduates on Saturday. Kendall M. Parker ’18 of Fredericksburg received the Colgate W. Darden Jr. Award, presented to the student with the highest grade-point average in the four-year

Martin A. Wilder Jr., chief of staff emeritus, served the university since 1979 and was chief of staff for presidents Richard V. Hurley and Troy D. Paino. In 2016, he was presented the Washington Medallion, which recognizes an individual who has served Mary Washington with exceptional dedication.

Michael Bass, professor emeritus of environmental science and biology, served the university for more than 45 years.

Timothy Crippen, professor emeritus of sociology, served the university for 36 years.

Joella Killian, professor emerita of biology, served the university for 34 years.

The emeritus title is bestowed on faculty members and administrators who have served the university for at least 15 years and who have attained the rank of professor or associate professor or the administrative equivalent.

FULBRIGHT SENDS PROFESSOR TO AZERBAIJAN Thanks to a 2018-2019 Fulbright U.S. Scholar grant, Associate Professor of History and American Studies Nabil Al-Tikriti is spending 10 months in Azerbaijan, researching centuries-old manuscripts and archives. Al-Tikriti’s work focuses on 15th- and 16th-century intellectual history and Sufi movements in Azerbaijan. Al-Tikriti also teaches in two Azerbaijani universities. This is Al-Tikriti’s first time as a Fulbright Scholar, the designation for American faculty whom the Fulbright program sends abroad for up to a year to study, lecture, and conduct research. As a student, Al-Tikriti twice received a different type of Fulbright award for study in Istanbul, Turkey. At UMW, Al-Tikriti has helped to advise those applying for student Fulbright awards, and many of his mentees have received grants. Mary Washington ranks as one of the top producers of student Fulbright awards. Two UMW professors were awarded Fulbright Scholar grants in 2015-2016: Melanie Szulczewski, associate professor of Earth and environmental sciences, and Julius Esunge, associate professor of mathematics.

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UNIVERSITY OF MARY WASHINGTON MAGAZINE FALL/WINTER 2018


ON CAMPUS

CHANGES AT THE TOP Paul Messplay, currently director of budget, will become vice president for administration and finance and will serve as UMW’s chief financial officer beginning Jan. 1, 2019. Messplay has worked in budgeting at Mary Washington for 11 years. He previously held positions at Virginia Commonwealth University, Tennessee’s Higher Education Commission, and Virginia’s Department of Planning and Budget.

932

326

64%

36%

“I am delighted to have someone with his finance background who understands university budgets, in particular, at this time when we are looking closely at reorienting our budget to make it possible for UMW to invest in our strategic priorities,” President Troy D. Paino wrote to the university community in announcing the changes.

28%

90%

Lynne Richardson, currently vice president for administration and finance and chief financial officer, will return to her role as dean of the College of Business (CoB), Jan. 1, 2019. Paino noted that since Richardson joined the CoB seven years ago, she has prepared it for a recent site visit by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) accreditation team. He called the visit successful and very positive. Paino wrote that Richardson’s first love is the College of Business. “I respect and am glad to honor her desire to return to that work to be closer to faculty and students again.”

Number of other states represented, plus D.C.:

34

Number of foreign countries represented:

38

Paino also thanked Interim Dean Kenneth Machande and Associate Dean Chris Garcia, and he thanked business faculty for the hard work that led to the positive AACSB site visit.

ART IN THE COMMUNITY

Karen Pearlman

CLASS OF 2022 BY THE NUMBERS

Students in Professor Carole Garmon’s environmental art class conceived and installed several projects to delight visitors to Fredericksburg’s nonprofit Downtown Greens community garden. The students added a wild rose trellis, a tiny free library, and a sound wall where children may make plenty of joyful noise. Shown here are students Mason Radcliffe, left, and Rhett Teaster installing their “garden moon gate.”

First-time freshmen

Female

Identify as ethnically diverse

Transfer students

Male

From Virginia

FOUR MELCHERS WORKS ADDED TO COLLECTION Four more pieces of Gari Melchers’ art are now part of the collection of the Gari Melchers Home and Studio in Falmouth. The three sketches and one painting came from the former Corcoran Museum of Art in Washington, D.C., which closed in 2014. The works were distributed by the National Gallery of Art, custodians of most of the Corcoran collection.

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ON CAMPUS

CAMPUS POLICE ACHIEVE ACCREDITATION

The milestone is also a first in the history of UMW Police.

Adam Desio

The UMW Police Department has become only the fifth campus police agency in the commonwealth to achieve accreditation from the Virginia Law Enforcement Professional Standards Commission (VLEPSC), the accrediting agency in Virginia.

Cedric Rucker ’81

UMW RANKS AS A TOP GREEN COLLEGE IN THE NATION

Chief of Police Michael Hall, left, and Officer Michael Jackson with students on move-in day

“IT’S A HUGE ACCOMPLISHMENT THAT GOES TO THE COMMITMENT OF THE WHOLE DEPARTMENT.” – Chief Hall Of 340 police agencies in the commonwealth – campus departments or otherwise – only 100 have attained VLEPSC accreditation. Chief Michael Hall set accreditation as a priority for the agency when he took the helm four years ago. The voluntary process enhances the quality of service and credibility of law enforcement agencies.

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The University of Mary Washington has landed on a list of top “green colleges” in the nation for the fourth year in a row. The ranking appears in the 2018 edition of The Princeton Review’s Guide to 399 Green Colleges. The Princeton Review profiles colleges with the most exceptional commitments to sustainability based on their academic offerings and career preparation for students, campus policies, initiatives, and activities. UMW was selected based on a 20172018 survey of more than 2,000 schools. UMW also was recognized by the Arbor Day Foundation in February as a Tree Campus USA for its commitment to effective urban forest management for the third consecutive year.

UNIVERSITY OF MARY WASHINGTON MAGAZINE FALL/WINTER 2018

UNIVERSITY EFFORTS INCLUDE:

➔ ➔

The President’s Council on Sustainability

Campus Dining, which was named a green restaurant as part of the Virginia Green initiative

Water conservation efforts, such as replacing more than 1,000 toilet fixtures plus sink faucets and shower heads to use significantly less water

➔ ➔

An extensive recycling program

Four LEED-certified buildings, and the promise that all new construction and major renovations will meet or exceed LEED silver standards

A revised policy to limit discretionary fossil fuel investments to below 4 percent


ON CAMPUS

PADDLE SPORTS GET BIG BOOST

UMW is among the nation’s top higher education institutions rated by The Princeton Review, which featured UMW in The Best 384 Colleges for 2019. Surveying 138,000 students, the book ranks schools in selectivity, academics, and quality of life. Students surveyed praised UMW for its sense of community, school spirit, small class sizes, undergraduate research opportunities, outstanding professors, and proximity to Washington, D.C.

BUSINESS STARS IN SPOTLIGHT

Norm Shafer

PRINCETON REVIEW: UMW’S GOT IT ALL

UMW has partnered with the American Canoe Association to provide online continuing education for Team USA canoe and kayak athletes. The canoe association has its national headquarters in Fredericksburg, and it is also the national governing body for Olympic and Paralympic canoe and kayak disciplines.

Joemmel Tendilla ’19

Because the paddling sports are not represented by NCAA programs, elite canoe and kayak athletes need a different way to pursue higher education while training for international competition. Team members are eligible to take online courses at UMW at no cost.

College of Business honorees for 2018 are, from left, Glenn Gray, Abbas Haider, Iris Harrell, Robert Davis, Rob Whitt, Cara Parker, Darien Thall, and Melinda May. The College of Business honored eight alumni at its annual Business Alumni Awards ceremony Oct. 19 at the University Center. They are: BUSINESS HALL OF FAME Iris Harrell ’69, founder and retired chief executive officer of Harrell Remodeling Inc. DISTINGUISHED BUSINESS ALUMNI AWARD Melinda May ’91, owner, Featherstone LLC Cara Parker MBA ’05, CEO, C Parker Consulting Inc. Rob Whitt ’93, managing director, Markel Corp. YOUNG BUSINESS ALUMNI AWARD Robert Davis ’12, chief operating officer, Aspetto Glenn Gray ’07, vice president, Buffalo.Agency Abbas Haider ’12, CEO and president, Aspetto Darien Thall ’04, audit senior manager, KPMG LLP

“We are thrilled that the University of Mary Washington will help our Team USA athletes accomplish both their athletic and academic goals on and off the water,” said canoe association Executive Director Wade Blackwood.

AGREEMENT BENEFITS NVCC TRANSFERS

Students who transfer from Northern Virginia Community College (NVCC) will benefit from a new guaranteed transfer partnership agreement. UMW President Troy D. Paino and NVCC President Scott Ralls signed the agreement in June. The partnership promises to smooth the transition for students and help them graduate on time.

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ON CAMPUS

UMW’s new executive director of human resources is Beth Edwards Williams ’94, a psychology graduate who returns to her alma mater after building an impressive career in HR and becoming a community leader. Williams has handled human resources roles for the Hilldrup Companies, Rappahannock Electric Cooperative, CVS/Pharmacy’s Fredericksburg Distribution Center, and several Northern Virginia defense contractors. She’s a board member for the Rappahannock United Way, a past chair of Workforce NOW, and a graduate of and mentor for Leadership Fredericksburg. Williams was named a Top 10 of the Next Gen by the Next Generation of Business Leaders in 2012. She holds a coaching certification from the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching.

#1

PSYCHOLOGY GROUP TAKES TOP HONOR

UMW’s chapter of Psi Chi – the international honor society in psychology – has been selected as the best in the 1,100-member organization. In May, the UMW group received the Ruth Hubbard Cousins Chapter Award, which includes a $3,000 prize, for demonstrating the organization’s mission of promoting excellence in the science and application of psychology.

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ERIC GABLE RECEIVES WAPLE FACULTY ACHIEVEMENT AWARD Professor of Sociology and Anthropology Eric Gable received the 2018 UMW Waple Faculty Professional Achievement Award in April. Established in honor of Shirley Van Epps Waple ’52, the nomination-based award recognizes faculty members who have made outstanding contributions to their scholarly or creative area of expertise. During his 22 years at UMW, Gable has distinguished himself as an international scholar with an extensive publication record and an active research agenda. He is an expert on museum studies, heritage, and the religion and politics of West Africa and Outer Island Indonesia.

UMW THEATRE’S SPRING SHOWS: GOD OF CARNAGE, COUNTRY WIFE

Geoff Greene ’04

ALUMNA LEADS HR

What happens when two sets of parents meet to try to sort out their children’s schoolyard tussle? The adults quickly devolve into bickering children themselves.

At least, that’s what happens in God of Carnage, the next production in UMW Theatre’s strong 2018-2019 season. The comic masterpiece by Yasmina Reza hilariously strips the characters to their cores, showing humanity at its most primal. God of Carnage plays in Klein Theatre on select dates from Feb. 14-21, 2019, with evening productions beginning at 7:30 p.m. and matinees starting at 2 p.m. Merrily We Roll Along

Taking theatregoers back to Restoration London, William Wycherly’s The Country Wife follows scheming playboy Harry Horner as he attempts to seduce the wives and daughters of the city’s most influential businessmen. But when sweet, innocent Margery Pinchwife falls under Horner’s spell, his mischievous scheme takes an unforeseen turn. The Country Wife will run on select dates from April 11-20, 2019, also at 7:30 p.m. with 2 p.m. matinees. Earlier in the season, audiences experienced Jessica Dickey’s hauntingly elegant The Amish Project and Stephen Sondheim’s brilliant Merrily We Roll Along. For specific performance dates and times and to purchase tickets, visit www.FredTix.com or call the Klein Theatre Box Office at 540-654-1111.

UNIVERSITY OF MARY WASHINGTON MAGAZINE FALL/WINTER 2018


ON CAMPUS

DIGITAL PEDAGOGY LAB HITS STRIDE UMW is now the permanent home of the Digital Pedagogy Lab, an annual days-long professional development conference for learners, educators, librarians, and administrators who incorporate technology into their teaching and scholarly endeavors. The project is the brainchild of Jesse Stommel, UMW’s executive director of teaching and learning technology, and Sean Michael Morris, director of the UMW Digital Pedagogy Lab (DPL). Lisa Becksford, left, and

Paul Anka Fresh off the success of October’s well-received Celebrity Series performance by Paul Anka, the UMW Rick Steves Philharmonic continues another highprofile season Dec. 7. That’s when travel expert Rick Steves will present his George Takei Symphonic Journey, a musical and video exploration of his favorite European countries. Also ahead are Gustav Holst’s The Planets, narrated by actor George Takei, March 23, 2019, and Antonio Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, featuring violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, April 26, 2019. All concerts will be in Dodd Auditorium and begin at 7:30 p.m. For tickets or more information, visit umwphilharmonic.com, email philharmonic@umw.edu, or call 540-654-1324.

Though the event at the Hurley Naomi Hall-Byers collaborate. Convergence Center draws highly regarded speakers and attendees from all over the world, it didn’t start out as a “big idea,” Morris told participants in the 2018 event in July and August.

Dave Ellis

HIGH-PROFILE SEASON CONTINUES FOR PHILHARMONIC

“It began with a desire to help teachers who were faced with teaching in an increasingly digital world get their feet under them,” Morris said in the conference’s opening remarks. “I am thrilled to be able to make official the relationship between Mary Washington and DPL,” UMW Chief of Staff Jeffrey McClurken ’94 said. “This internationally recognized series of events, which supports innovative, thoughtful, and empathetic teaching, is a natural fit for UMW with our faculty’s strengths in digitally enhanced, student-centered teaching and learning.” About 200 people attended the 2018 Digital Pedagogy Lab. Besides the annual event, smaller ones pop up in places like Cairo and Canada. And other schools, like Virginia Tech and the University of Colorado, are taking what they discover at DPL to their own institutions. “They’ve come, they’ve learned something they hadn’t thought of before, and it’s changed the direction of their careers,” Morris said. “What that says about UMW is that UMW is a center for teaching and learning that other people want to be able to model.”

FORBES: UMW IS A TOP COLLEGE UMW is ranked 205 overall among the 650 four-year colleges and universities that Forbes considers the nation’s best. Mary Washington is listed as 64th of the nation’s public colleges and 42nd in the South. Forbes compares four-year-colleges on alumni salaries, debt after graduation, retention and graduation rates, and more.

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SPORTS

HOMECOMING HIGHLIGHTS

Besides men’s and women’s soccer, the weekend included a concert on Ball Circle, an alumni happy hour, brunch with faculty faves, women’s and men’s rugby, and tailgating while cheering for Eagles athletes.

Susan Spencer

Below top: The Eagles men celebrate their 1-0 soccer win against Christopher Newport University, greeting fans during UMW Homecoming, Saturday, Oct. 20. Below bottom: Eagles midfielder Katherine Brady ’22 controls the ball against CNU.

Men’s soccer standout Ken Kurtz ’21 defends the goal in a 4-0 win over Virginia Wesleyan College in early September.

VOLLEYBALL, MEN‘S SOCCER HEAD TO NCAA TOURNEYS Two outstanding Eagles teams were headed to NCAA tournaments that began just as UMW Magazine went to press. Capping a season in which it was consistently ranked in the Top 25 Division III teams nationwide, men’s soccer won the Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) championship and received an automatic NCAA bid. The Eagles posted a 17-2-1 season record on the strength of dominant all-around team play and exceptional goalkeeping. The men were to travel to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, for a first-round game against Eastern University on Nov. 10.

Norm Shafer

Eagles volleyball gained an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, thanks to a 20-11 record against one of the strongest schedules in the nation. The Eagles were to travel to Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, to face former CAC foe Marymount University on Nov. 9. In volleyball, Savannah Powers ’20 earned CAC Player of the Year honors. In men’s soccer, Justin Carey ’19 was CAC Player of the Year and Jason Kilby was CAC Coach of the Year.

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UNIVERSITY OF MARY WASHINGTON MAGAZINE FALL/WINTER 2018


SPORTS

ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME SET TO WELCOME NEW MEMBERS The UMW sports Hall of Fame is set to welcome five new members to its 2018-19 class.

Liz Hickey

Basketball standouts Liz Hickey ’08 and Mike Lee ’07, lacrosse record-setter Caitlin Erickson Moore ’08, MBA ’12, baseball star Joe Kruper ’92, and longtime soccer and lacrosse coach Kurt Glaeser, professor emeritus of athletics, health, and physical education, will be honored at a ceremony Feb. 8, 2019, at the University Center. Hickey, now the women’s basketball coach at Averett College, was a three-time AllAmerican and the only UMW athlete to have her number retired. She helped the Eagles to three NCAA Tournament appearances, including the 2007 Division III Final Four. At graduation, she held school records for career points (303), season points (143), season assists (81), and points and assists in a game (18 points, 10 assists). Lee was a top player as Mary Washington emerged as a regional power in the mid-2000s and remains the school’s record holder in three-point baskets in a game (11) and in a career (323). He was awarded the Capital Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year in 2004 and gained first-team All-CAC honors in a career that saw the Eagles win 68 games.

Mike Lee

Moore, now UMW’s lacrosse coach, led the nation in assists and points per game as a senior in 2008 and still ranks in the Top 5 all-time in Division III for points and assists in a season (143 season points, 81 season assists). She earned All-America honors in her senior season. Kruper was at the forefront of Mary Washington developing into a national power in the early 1990s and still ranks as the program’s all-time leader in career triples. He was named three times as a first team all-conference selection. He posted a career batting average of .384 and a career fielding average of .975. Glaeser, who retired in 2016, was a successful coach for the women’s soccer and men’s lacrosse programs at Mary Washington. In soccer, he coached the Eagles to 12 conference titles and 12 NCAA Championship appearances, including the Final Four in 1992 and the Elite Eight in 1997 and 1998. Glaeser also led the men’s lacrosse program to the NCAA tournament in 2014. His combined 428 career wins in 27 years leave a lasting legacy in both programs’ history.

Caitlin Erickson Moore

Joe Kruper

Tickets for February’s induction ceremony will be available online at umweagles.com.

Kurt Glaeser

LONGTIME COACH KURT GLAESER LEAVES A LASTING LEGACY IN THE HISTORY OF MARY WASHINGTON WOMEN’S SOCCER AND MEN’S LACROSSE, WITH A COMBINED 428 CAREER WINS.

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FILM EXEC TEACHES BUSINESS OF BLOCKBUSTERS BY EMILY FREEHLING

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UNIVERSITY OF MARY WASHINGTON MAGAZINE FALL/WINTER 2018


THE QUESTIONS THAT CONSUME groups of students on a Tuesday evening in

Adam Ewing

Woodard Hall are the kinds of details that can make or break multimillion-dollar motion pictures: Does a film about Formula 1 racing, 2013’s Rush, stand a chance in a country where NASCAR is the dominant motorsport? Is there a way to make the coveted 18- to 24-year-old demographic excited about 1999’s The Hurricane? Does the title October Sky really tell a potential audience much about this 1999 film about Cold War-inspired amateur rocketry? The movies were released in the past, but this is September 2018, and the individuals discussing them are students in Marketing Movies, a first-of-its-kind class in the College of Business. The class is the brainchild of Dan Wolfe ’84, who created this group assignment to introduce students to lessons he learned during a career of movie marketing that included 25 years at NBC Universal. In the 10 minutes he’s given the groups to fine-tune their presentations in class, Wolfe moves around the room, checking their progress.

Dan Wolfe made a career of marketing films for Orion Films, New Line Cinema, and Universal Pictures. Now he’s sharing his expertise with students in the College of Business, where this photo was taken.


The students are to critique their assigned film’s marketing, then present how they would market the film if they were releasing it today. “You can’t control what the movie is,” Wolfe tells the class, “but you can control your marketing, the message.” That message was the focus of Wolfe’s professional life for the release of hundreds of films, including Best Picture Academy Award winners Shakespeare in Love, Schindler’s List, and A Beautiful Mind. A Virginia Beach native, Wolfe studied business at Mary Washington. His postgraduate experience and career have played out amid some seemingly serendipitous connections to his alma mater. After graduating, Wolfe returned to Virginia Beach and worked a job he was apathetic about. A classmate’s death in an auto accident was a wake-up call to stop accepting the status quo and start living his life. He was strolling Campus Walk on a return visit when he saw a flyer for film school at Emerson College and immediately knew he

wanted to apply to Emerson for a master’s degree. He earned his graduate degree in communication management and moved to Los Angeles to work for Orion Films. That led to his next job at New Line Cinema, and then Universal Pictures. A passion for movies got Wolfe into the business, but he also came to love the role an executive can play in improving an organization. Wolfe was executive vice president for worldwide creative operations at NBC Universal until he left the position in 2016. The job was the product of his vision to eliminate redundancies in the way movies were marketed across Universal’s various platforms – from theatrical releases to home entertainment to theme parks. “You’d build a marketing campaign and then home entertainment would do a different marketing campaign and then international,” he said. “A lot of the creative [work] was being repeated, and we were spending a lot of money to create it again. … I saw an opportunity to tie together theatrical, home entertainment, and international so that they weren’t just straight silos, to really be the hub for all these areas.”

“ WHAT THE YOU CAN’T CONTROL MOVIE IS, BUT YOU CAN CONTROL YOUR MARKETING, THE MESSAGE. ”

Dan Wolfe, center back, played on the Mary Washington golf team under the late coach Mildred Droste, center front, as pictured in the 1982 Battlefield yearbook.

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UNIVERSITY OF MARY WASHINGTON MAGAZINE FALL/WINTER 2018


Robert Martin

Even before he joined UMW this fall to teach film marketing, Dan Wolfe stayed in close touch with his East Coast alma mater and its students. Shown here in 2014, the then-executive vice president of worldwide creative operations for NBC Universal visited as UMW Executive in Residence. He speaks to then-UMW students Seth Dorman ’17, Todd Desgrosseilliers ’17, and Sharniece Parks ’16.

His work to institute a more holistic approach to marketing major films included establishing an office in London to act as a base for worldwide marketing. “It was great, because in many ways I love building things. I enjoyed eliminating a lot of redundancy that was going on,” Wolfe said. Selling a movie is vastly different from marketing a consumer product. Whereas Procter & Gamble has a lifetime to hammer its brand names into consumers’ minds, movie marketers must compel theatergoers to act during the first week after release, which often determines a picture’s success or failure. “It’s like your fast food of marketing,” Wolfe said. “With movies, you basically have a sixweek window where most of your marketing takes place before opening. Once it’s out, it’s out. You let it go.”

To try to simulate these high stakes in the classroom, Wolfe plans a final project where student groups will market the release of a movie he’s made up. He’ll give them the synopsis, the stars, and other basics. Then he’ll throw in curveballs that replicate situations he dealt with during his career – stars who get arrested or other potential blockbusters that claim the same release date. “You have to make adjustments on the fly,” he said. “These kinds of things happen.” As Wolfe’s career advanced, his work was satisfying. But the lifestyle wasn’t easy. “My 30s and 40s were a blur,” he said of the demanding schedule and Los Angeles-area commute that put him on the road 15 hours a week. When the first of Wolfe’s two children was born 22 years ago, he made changes and hired dependable people so that he could bring work

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Wolfe was responsible for the release of hundreds of films, including Jurassic Park and Despicable Me, and Best Picture Academy Award winners Shakespeare in Love, Schindler’s List, and A Beautiful Mind.

and life into slightly better balance. But four or five years ago, he felt it might be time for something different. “You’re making really good money and it’s hard to walk away, but at some point, you say, ‘It doesn’t matter. There’s got to be something else,’” Wolfe said. For Wolfe, that “something else” kept bringing him back to Mary Washington during his years on the West Coast. He was named Distinguished Alumnus in 2004, served as Distinguished Graduate in Residence in 2007, and was the 2010 commencement speaker. When Vice President for Administration and Finance Lynne Richardson came to Mary Washington as dean of the College of Business in 2011, she learned about Wolfe’s credentials and recruited him for

the College of Business Advisory Board she was putting together at the time. “He was one of the first people I invited,” Richardson said. The two hit it off and stayed in touch about ways that Wolfe could contribute to the university. “It was when I started realizing I could do more,” Wolfe said. Last spring, as Wolfe was going to job interviews and trying to figure out his next professional move, he asked Richardson what he’d need to do to transition to the world of education. Richardson told him that with his master’s degree and professional credentials, he could teach at the college level. Then she asked how serious he was about wanting to make the move. As it turned out, she’d just had a resignation on

“ REALLY GOOD YOU’RE MAKING MONEY ... BUT AT SOME POINT YOU SAY, ‘IT DOESN’T MATTER.’

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the marketing faculty and was looking to fill a vacancy for fall 2018. “It was just kind of one of those timing things,” Richardson said. “If he had not asked then, and if we had not had that resignation, it might have never happened.” In August, Wolfe dropped his daughter off for her freshman year at the University of Kansas, where her older brother was already studying. Wolfe returned to L.A., drove cross-country with his two dogs, and arrived at his new home in Fredericksburg days before Mary Washington students moved into their residence halls. “I talk on the phone to my daughter about being new on campus, and I realize we’re going through some of the same things,” Wolfe said. “She’ll talk about professors, and I’ll ask, ‘What’s that professor like?’ I’m trying to get a read on what she likes and what she doesn’t like.” Richardson said the transition to teaching can be rewarding for those who come from demanding careers – but it’s never easy. “These are people who had very busy, fastpaced, travel-all-the-time lifestyles, and they are realizing teaching is hard, the preparation, the time it takes,” she said. Wolfe said it’s been a learning curve, and he’s been grateful for the support he’s received from fellow faculty and Kenneth Machande, interim dean of the College of Business. Working with college students has given him an up-close look at a demographic that many marketers consider to be the holy grail. It’s been eye-opening but also humbling, he admits. “You go from being ‘the guy,’ and in many ways, it is an adjustment,” he said. “But I tell you, I love the energy of students. I’m seeing a lot of engagement.”

Zach Mayhall ’19 was drawn to Wolfe’s class because of a lifelong love of movies. The business administration major is interested in a career in marketing, possibly for movies or video games. When his group was assigned to critique the marketing of October Sky, he went to imdb.com to find out all he could about the title. To him, the producers’ decision to choose the title in part because it was an anagram of Rocket Boys, the book the movie is based on, seemed a little boneheaded. “I don’t understand why some executives in Hollywood make the decisions they do,” he said. Now he’s taking full advantage of the opportunity to question one in person. “You can talk to him about why certain decisions got made,” Mayhall said. “I like the fact that he has real-world experience. He wasn’t just some random person in the company, he was an executive, and he really has a lot of knowledge about the industry.” Wolfe has made clear to his students that he hopes they’ll use him as a resource, share their résumés, and let him help them prepare for the ultimate marketing project: promoting themselves to a potential employer. The experience takes him back to his own days at Mary Washington. “There’s definitely a sense of déjà vu,” he said. “Being here just feels like home. It brings you back to that memory of starting off somewhere new. “Mary Washington sent me out into the world and set the stage for me to be successful. Now it has drawn me back, and I’m hoping to help a lot of these young people who remind me of how I was at that age, just not sure about ‘Where does life take you next?’ “I hope I can help them creatively see the possibilities.”

“ A SENSE THERE’S DEFINITELY OF DÉJÀ VU. BEING HERE JUST FEELS LIKE HOME. ”

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Mary Carter Bishop looks at old photos and remembers an idyllic childhood with her parents. The family is shown, above, on Bridlespur estate near Keswick, Virginia, where they lived and worked. Bishop was an adult before she learned she had a brother, shown at right in a photo taken by his foster mother, and that he had experienced a decidedly different upbringing.

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Journalist Unravels Family Secret

STORY BY EDIE GROSS PHOTOS BY STEPHANIE KLEIN-DAVIS

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Mary Carter Bishop ’ 67 grew up firmly believing she was an only child. There had been a boy, 10 years her senior, who lived with her family when Bishop was very young, but she’d been told Ronnie Overstreet was her cousin. Besides, by the time she was 7, he was gone, and what few memories she had of the long-limbed, sullen teen grew hazier as the years passed. “The only really semi-vivid memory I have is of him standing in our teeny-tiny foyer. I remember my mom having him stand there naked and dusting him with some kind of powder, as I recall for his allergies,” said Bishop, who figured she was about 4 at the time. “It was a very sad scene. I remember him looking very distressed, ashamed, humiliated. And she appeared angry to me. I just remember looking at those two and thinking, ‘Something’s not right here.’ ” Bishop was 32 before she stumbled upon the source of that anger and shame: Ronnie wasn’t her cousin at all, but her halfbrother – a dark secret her mother had guarded from friends and family alike because she was 18, poor, and unmarried when he was born in 1935, the product of a youthful “mistake.” In Don’t You Ever: My Mother and Her Secret Son, Bishop thoughtfully weaves together the frayed threads of her mother’s enduring guilt, Ronnie’s tragic life, and her own shocking discovery. It’s an achingly personal tale that’s as much about class struggle in rural Virginia as it is one family’s heartbreaking history. Published in July 2018 by HarperCollins, the book is, in some ways, an attempt to reconcile the tender, overprotective mother Bishop knew with the one who seemed to have turned her back on her firstborn, once threatening him, “Don’t you ever call me mama!”

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Mary Carter Bishop, author of the memoir Don’t You Ever: My Mother and Her Secret Son, sits in her home office amid research files for the book. In it, she recounts her search for the brother she hadn’t known she had and how he came to be a deep family secret.

“Mary was such a cherished only child that it’s almost hard to believe how her brother was treated,” said Beth Macy, an author of three books herself and Bishop’s longtime colleague at The Roanoke Times. “It’s a story about shame, about poverty, about religion gone haywire. And it’s just so honest. That unflinching honesty is what makes the book so universal and makes it such a riveting read.” The book is Bishop’s first, but she’s no stranger to difficult stories. In her 35 years as a newspaper journalist, Bishop covered everything from the struggle for migrant workers’ rights in the Carolinas to the dangerous practices within Virginia’s pest control industry, a Roanoke Times project for which she was a Pulitzer finalist in the late 1980s. She was also part of the Pulitzer Prize-winning team that covered the 1979 Three Mile Island nuclear power plant disaster for the Philadelphia Inquirer. Since the publication of Don’t You Ever, Bishop has shared her family’s story at churches,

libraries, and bookstores, including two minutes and 17 seconds of audio from Ronnie, the only recording he allowed her to make before he died in 1991. At each stop, people have told Bishop how they identify with her family’s circumstances: her mother’s shame, her brother’s self-loathing, and their aching desire for respectability. Her mother, who died in 2005, never forgave herself for having a child out of wedlock, Bishop said. But she recognized her daughter’s storytelling prowess and gave Bishop permission to publish the account – after she had died. “One of the first stories that came out about my book had a headline that said ‘Journalist Reveals Mother’s Secrets,’ and I thought, ‘Oh God, I did!’ ” said Bishop, who lives in Roanoke with her husband, Dan Crawford. “If my mother and my brother had any privacy at all, it’s blown to bits.” Long before she discovered her family had secrets, Bishop enjoyed an idyllic childhood, growing up in the shade of the Blue Ridge Mountains just east of Charlottesville. Her family lived in a tenant house on the Keswick

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Bishop’s hand lies on a photo of her brother, Ronnie Overstreet, with Roy and Polly Hall, a young couple desperate to adopt Ronnie. His birth mother never allowed it, eventually snatching the 6-yearold boy from the only parents he had known and dropping him off, alone, at a boys’ home. Later he had to fend for himself and was institutionalized.

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estate of a DuPont chemical heiress, where Bishop’s father, Early Bishop, managed the farm and her mother, Adria Bishop, cared for the heiress’s two young sons. Despite the beautiful backdrop, Bishop said she was always keenly aware of the community’s class divide: At the top were the wealthy landowners, who whiled away the hours with fox hunts and alcoholfueled garden parties, and at the bottom was the servant class, people like her parents who were expected to work hard and keep quiet about the more scandalous activities of the elite. Bishop fondly recalled watching the news each evening with her father. Though her high school guidance counselor urged her to consider a career in the growing field of speech pathology and audiology, she felt drawn to journalism. “Listening to how [reporters] summarized very complicated events, I wanted to be one of them,” said Bishop, who majored in English and wrote for the student newspaper at Mary Washington. She would ultimately earn a master’s degree in journalism at Columbia University and another in creative writing at Hollins University. As a religion writer at the Richmond News Leader, she reported on clergy as they waded into national debates over race, poverty, and women’s rights. At the Charlotte Observer, she wrote about textile workers struggling to unionize and was part of a team of reporters that produced an investigative series on evangelist Billy Graham; it was later turned into a book. In 2001, she was awarded a federal grant to do research on eugenics survivors, information she hopes to turn into a book someday. “The learning I did every week as a reporter, it was like majoring in 50 subjects,” Bishop said. “It was awesome.” But she uncovered the most extraordinary story of her life in June 1978, when she returned to her parents’ home in Keswick to secure a copy of her birth certificate so she could obtain a passport for a trip to Europe. That’s when she noticed that her mother had written the numeral “1” in answer to the question, “How many other children of this mother are now living?” Bishop couldn’t fathom that her mother, ever meticulous, would make a mistake on her only child’s birth certificate.

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She also couldn’t imagine who that “1” could be. “It’s Ronnie,” her mother told her, referencing the gloomy boy Bishop barely remembered from her childhood. It would be nine more years before Bishop would track Ronnie down at his barbershop in Vinton, just east of Roanoke. She wasn’t sure he’d want anything to do with her. “I knew this much: I was spoiled rotten, and it was the opposite for him,” Bishop said. “I couldn’t imagine he would want to meet me.” But he did, and over the next four years, Ronnie shared with her the tragic details of his life: his brief happiness with a foster family that loved and wanted to adopt him; his miserable stay in an orphanage; and his eventual return to his mother, who sent him to reform school and ultimately, at the behest of Keswick’s moneyed class, to a mental hospital where he endured shock treatment. As a teenager, Adria Bishop had been exiled from her community and packed off to a home for unwed mothers. As an adult, she knew that acknowledging Ronnie as her son meant risking exile again and losing the little piece of paradise she and her husband had so carefully carved out for their daughter – something she was not willing to do. Ronnie was unwelcome, and he knew it, always referring to himself disparagingly. “He started revealing parts of his story to me. I said, ‘I can’t believe these things happened to him.’ It was in such sharp contrast to how my life had been,” Bishop recalled. Not long after their reunion, Ronnie was diagnosed with a rare hormonal disorder, one that could have been treated successfully decades earlier had Ronnie had close family or friends to notice the drastic changes in his appearance. Instead, even after his diagnosis, Ronnie insisted that his ballooning hands and feet and his misshapen face were inherited: “I just look like my old man, whoever the hell he was,” he would tell Bishop. “That killed me when I realized that his estrangement from my mother and from my family meant he was all by himself,” Bishop said.

“After all these things had happened to this man, he happened to get this rare disorder that played right into his worst fears about himself.” Refusing surgery, Ronnie died of complications from the condition in 1991. Following the death of her parents – her father in 2003 and her mother two years later – Bishop set about working on her family’s story in earnest, consulting journals, letters, and school and hospital records, and interviewing longtime family friends. The way Adria Bishop treated her son was, in large part, a reaction to the way her community had treated her. Bishop said she hopes the book will soften the hearts of readers who might otherwise be quick to judge and condemn.

Mary Carter Bishop shows a visitor a photo of Ronnie Overstreet at his Sportsman Barber Shop in Vinton, Virginia, not far from Bishop’s desk at The Roanoke Times.

“I feel so lucky to have been able to tell the story,” she said. “I hope the readers will look with greater compassion on the people around them and reach out to not just family members but neighbors. I guess I just want people to be nicer to each other.”

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By Kristin Davis

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Suzanne Carr Rossi ‘00

Artist, educator, and humanitarian Johnny P. Johnson was Mary Washington’s first African-American faculty member and is a treasured leader in the Fredericksburg community.

had taught first through 12th grades for a decade, coached basketball, and given art lessons to inmates. He was also an artist in his own right, with a following of Washington, D.C., professionals who drove to Fredericksburg to buy his work. But in 1968, the year Mary Washington came calling, he’d never instructed on a college campus. In fact, a civil rights group of which Johnson served as president had once been barred from holding meetings on campus because its membership was integrated. Now the college wanted Johnson to teach an art education class. Times were changing. So was Mary Washington. Johnson accepted the job, becoming the first African-American faculty member. He stayed on as an adjunct professor for two decades, as his reputation as an artist, educator, and humanitarian burgeoned far beyond the region. Over the summer, Fredericksburg honored those achievements with the first-ever Johnny P.

Johnson Day on July 7. UMW further honored Johnson with a private luncheon at the president’s residence at Brompton. “He came at a time when the university was making a choice to be more active and intentional in its efforts toward diversity and inclusion and civil rights,” said Sabrina Johnson, UMW’s vice president for equity and access and chief diversity officer. “It’s important to remember that, and to celebrate that as we continue in this journey.” Johnson was an artist before he fully understood what the word meant. At age 3, on a church pew next to his mother in their native Henderson, North Carolina, he outlined figures in the air. When he went off to school, he filled up the margins of his textbooks with drawings and spent hours making sketches on inexpensive typing paper. He loved music, especially the blues of Blind Boy Fuller, whose records he listened to on a Victrola. And he excelled at sports – he would go on to captain the basketball team at what’s now

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He was, in fact, beloved. Virginia State University and earn a spot in VSU’s “What’s so special to me about him is there Sports Hall of Fame. are very few people in this world who don’t His sister Helen, six years his senior, enforced see black or white. I think all of us have some diction and gentlemanly manners, teaching him prejudices. He loves everybody,” said Gaye to stand when a lady entered the room and walk Adegbalola, a Fredericksburg native and blues on the outside of the sidewalk in the company of singer who was Mary Washington’s second women. African-American student. “She had me quoting Shakespeare in seventh He gave constantly grade,” Johnson said. to his students When he went off and community, to college, she sent Adegbalola said. That his letters back with spoke not only to corrections. Johnson’s character In 1959, Johnson but that of his wife, accepted a job at Jean, and his two sons, Walker-Grant school who shared him with in Fredericksburg, the community that where he taught loved him. sixth grade and art As an art education for all grades. When professor, Johnson Fredericksburg introduced artists schools at last By the time artist and teacher Johnny Johnson joined the desegregated, Johnson faculty at Mary Washington, he had established himself both black and white. began teaching art at as a community leader who guided area young people “I told [students] to through the emotionally fraught 1960s. Here he chats with keep in mind that they James Monroe High a Mary Washington student in 1968. might get a job in a School. By then a husband and father, Johnson also was predominantly black community. I would share some personal experiences,” Johnson said. active in the burgeoning civil rights movement. When a Mary Washington student asked him After Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated for a tube of flesh-colored paint, Johnson handed in April 1968, Johnson helped channel the anger over a black one. “It was not to be funny, but to of that emotionally fraught time into a Young bring their attention to the fact that none of us are Men’s Club. And he served as president of the the same. You can take 10 white kids, and can’t Fredericksburg Council on Human Relations, a find a color to fit just one. Sometimes, you have to group of black and white city residents and Mary mix the paint.” Washington students. Later, after they became educators themselves, By then, integration also had come to the many came back to him, telling him his lessons college campus. Mary Washington enrolled its were right on target. “Those are the things I really first African-American student in 1962, formally appreciate,” Johnson said. desegregated two years later, and had its first Busy as he was with teaching and community African-American graduates in 1968. involvement, Johnson also was a prolific artist. Johnson was surprised to be asked to teach at Today, his paintings hang in embassies, banks, the university, but he threw himself into the job. He modestly recalls, “I think I did pretty well as a hospitals, and homes as far-flung as Europe and Africa. His work took him to Jamaica and the teacher.”

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Suzanne Carr Rossi ‘00

Johnson paints regularly in his studio on Charles Street in Fredericksburg, above. His paintings hang in embassies, banks, hospitals, and homes as far-flung as Europe and Africa. His work has taken him to Jamaica and the African nation of Benin as the guest of longtime friend and U.S. Ambassador Pamela Bridgewater, herself a collector of Johnson’s art.

Erika Spivey Bush ’11

African nation of Benin as the guest of longtime friend and U.S. Ambassador Pamela Bridgewater, herself a collector of Johnson’s art. A stroke two years ago slowed Johnson down, but he still picks up his brushes a few times a

week. And although he has long retired from collegiate and public school teaching, he still gives art workshops at the city’s community center. While he was gracious about Johnny P. Johnson Day, the fuss made him a little uncomfortable. “I guess you might say I was slightly embarrassed,” Johnson said. “A lot has been given to me. The things I’ve done that people make a note of – they are things I think I was supposed to do.” Maybe so. But as President Troy D. Paino noted in a Free Lance-Star newspaper article about Johnson, the artist’s actions in the community and the classroom had positive, long-lasting effects. “Johnny P. Johnson paved the way for a new era,” Paino said.

Left: UMW President Troy Paino honored Johnson at “Johnny P. Johnson Day” at a packed Shiloh Baptist Church (Old Site) in downtown Fredericksburg and at a private meeting at Brompton.

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NOTABLE & QUOTABLE

Robert Higgins ’13 was chosen from hundreds of applicants for one of only six 2018 NatureNet Science fellowships. The Nature Conservancy program selects promising early-career scientists for two-year fellowships focusing on challenges associated with climate change. Higgins, who received a doctorate in chemistry from Colorado State University, will research rare earth ions at the University of Pennsylvania with Associate Professor of Chemistry Eric Schelter. Rare earth elements are used for technologies such as data Robert Higgins storage and wind turbines, but current techniques of purification and separation are environmentally damaging. Higgins will investigate new methods to separate rare earths from waste materials and minerals in an environmentally friendly, single-step process using their intrinsic magnetic properties. At Mary Washington, Higgins received an Irene Piscopo Rodgers ’59 and James D. Rodgers Student Research Fellowship in chemistry. He worked with Associate Professor of Chemistry Janet Asper at the 2012 UMW Summer Science Institute before graduating with an American Chemical Societycertified Bachelor of Science in chemistry.

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Director of Dance Represents NEA Nationwide Sara C. Nash ’01 joined the National Endowment for the Arts as its new director of dance in August. In that role, Nash will oversee a grants portfolio that in 2017 numbered more than 165 grants totaling $4.2 million. She will represent the NEA at dance-related conferences and meetings across the country. Nash, who graduated from Mary Washington with a degree in theater and dance, has nearly two decades of national and international experience in dance as a funder, producer, and project director. Before joining the NEA, she was director for dance at the New England Foundation for the Arts, overseeing its national dance project. Earlier, Nash managed the USArtists International grant Sara C. Nash program at Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation. She also worked as senior producer at Dance Theater Workshop (New York Live Arts) for more than six years, where she oversaw the international program, the Suitcase Fund, and developed residency programs for commissioned artists. Nash’s international experience includes working at Tanec Praha, a contemporary dance festival in Prague, and at the British Council in London. Nash frequently served as a moderator, guest speaker, and panelist for organizations such as the Alliance of Artists Communities, Dance/USA, the Japan Foundation, MANCC, and the NEA, among many others.

Jeffrey Filiault

Coveted Science Grant Goes to 2013 Grad


NOTABLE & QUOTABLE

Literacy Association Founder Honored for Life-Skills Advocacy For 45 years, the Trident Literacy Association (TLA) of Charleston, South Carolina, has helped adults acquire the literacy and life skills needed to reverse the cycle of generational poverty. In March, association founder and literacy advocate Patricia “Pat” Barrack Gibson ’62 was among several women in her community honored at TLA’s Founder’s Award Luncheon. The TLA serves about 1,000 adults a year with classes in basic literacy, GED preparation, English as a Second Language, and work-readiness. Besides founding the literacy association, Gibson retired in 2006 as dean of the learning center for Trident Technical College, also in Charleston. At Mary Washington, Gibson and her husband have endowed the Patricia Barrack Gibson ’62 and Mervyn Gibson Scholarship, which assists UMW students from the Northern Neck of Virginia who aspire to careers in education or medicine.

Lawyer Is Firm’s First Female President Courtney Moates Paulk ’92 has been elected president of the board of directors of the Hirschler Fleisher law firm in Richmond, Virginia. It’s the first time a woman has filled the role, equivalent to that of a chief executive officer. Paulk also chairs Hirschler Fleisher’s litigation section and co-chairs the construction practice. She will continue to advise clients on such matters as the negotiation and drafting of contracts, early dispute avoidance, and dispute resolution. Outside of the courtroom, Paulk is known for her ultradistance swimming Courtney Moates Paulk feats. She is among only 200 people to complete the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming, having swum the 21-mile English Channel, the 20-mile Catalina Channel, and the 28.5-mile circumference of Manhattan Island. She is only the fifth person to complete the Triple Crown twice. After receiving a bachelor’s degree in performing arts from UMW, Paulk earned a law degree from the University of Richmond School of Law. She joined Hirschler Fleisher in 2002.

Mervyn and Pat Gibson

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NOTABLE & QUOTABLE

Professor Unites Cultures

Monica Band

Monica Band ’11 practices what she teaches as an assistant professor of counseling at Marymount University. She received the Exemplary Diversity Leadership Award from the Association for Multicultural Counseling and Development. The honor came in April during the annual conference of the American Counseling Association.

Nestlé Gains Communicator After five years working in the nonprofit sector, Riham Osman ’13 recently joined Nestlé USA as an employee ambassadorship manager. Working from the company’s new headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, she is part of the communications team helping Nestlé employees across the company share their stories.

McCarthy Named Inland Marine Leader The Inland Marine Expo named Mary McCarthy ’06 to its “40 Under 40” list for 2018. The awards were presented at the Expo in St. Louis, Missouri, in May.

Mary McCarthy

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McCarthy has been quality systems manager for New Orleans-based Canal Barge Co. Inc. since 2014 and serves on the company’s corporate planning team, supporting strategic planning and budgeting. McCarthy is also president and co-founder of ADMIRALTY, a networking group for young people in the maritime industry. Before joining Canal Barge in 2010, she worked for the American Waterways Operators. She holds a master’s degree in public administration from the University of New Orleans.

UNIVERSITY OF MARY WASHINGTON MAGAZINE FALL/WINTER 2018

Riham Osman

Attorney Devoted to Defense Zealous representation is the credo of defense attorney Nellie E. King ’92 of West Palm Beach, Florida, and she’s bringing that zeal to a leadership role with the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. She was sworn in as secretary of that organization in July and is past president of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

Nellie E. King


NOTABLE & QUOTABLE

Innovative Teacher Gets A+ UMW Alumnae As an art and elementary STEM teacher at Represent at Geico Washington Episcopal School in Bethesda, Maryland, Katherine Falvey Lamb Owens ’99 developed a course to help students develop and market innovative products. Now, Owens has been recognized as one of 10 grand-prize winners of the 2018 Henry Ford Teacher Innovator Award. The award brings teachers from around the country to the Henry Ford museums in Dearborn, Michigan, for tours with curators and a recognition ceremony.

Katherine Falvey Lamb Owens

Antolick: Museum Store Exec Steve Antolick ’92 of the SmithBucklin association management firm has been named executive director of the Museum Store Association. The international organization, headquartered in Washington, D.C., advances the nonprofit retail industry. Antolick has more than 25 Steve Antolick years’ experience in association management and has worked for SmithBucklin since 1992.

Geico has recognized the leadership of two Mary Washington alumnae with the recent promotions of Pionne Young Corbin ’94 and Melissa Klein Gallaro ’02. Corbin is a senior vice president and manages the regional office in Lakeland, Florida. She also oversees the Southeast and Midwest regional offices and Centralized Services operation, all based in Macon, Georgia. Gallaro, based in Fredericksburg, is a vice president of Geico and continues to serve as vice president of Geico Insurance Agency, which manages partner companies for personal lines of insurance products.

Pionne Young Corbin

Melissa Klein Gallaro

Blakey Leaves RollsRoyce, Keeps Soaring Marion Blakey ’70 has retired as CEO of RollsRoyce North America Inc., but her high-flying career continues with a recent appointment as a director of Cobham PLC. The company, based in Wimbourne, United Kingdom, provides global technology and innovative services. Blakey is also a member of the board’s audit committee.

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GET THE PICTURE?

Give It Your Best Shot We’re guessing this photo of students trying to exchange an egg during a relay race dates to the late ’70s or early ’80s. And we hope you’ll help us learn the identities of these young women focused so intently on keeping the plastic spoons steady and the egg from going splat.

UMW Centennial Ima

ge Collec tion

Go online to magazine.umw.edu and click on “Get the Picture” to leave a comment. Or send an email with “Get the Picture” in the subject line to magazine@umw.edu. You may also write to: UMW Magazine – Get the Picture 1301 College Ave. Fredericksburg Va. 22401-5300

You Got It! Many readers wrote to put names to the faces of the two flag bearers standing beside Virginia Gov. John Battle during the dedication of duPont, Pollard, and Melchers halls in May 1953.

UMW Centennial Image Collection

The student on the left, holding the American flag, is Toula Drogaris Fotopoulos ’54. She recognized herself and identified the flag bearer on Gov. Battle’s other side as Mary Ann Dorsey Judy ’54. Toula’s daughter Vicki Fotopoulos ’78 wrote in, saying, “It was so surprising and delightful to see Mom’s picture in the magazine!” Others from the Class of 1954 who sent in IDs and reminiscences were Betty Bartz Bradford, Louise Robbins Bryant, Ellen Royston Myrick, Linda Le Hardy Sweet, and Barbara “Bobbie” Scott Trenis (mother of Editor-in-Chief Neva Trenis ’00). Garnette Bell Crawford ’53 and Beverly Carmichael Ryan ’55 also wrote.

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BOOK REPORT

Books by Alumni The Two Lives and One Passion of Louise Marshall: Founder of the Cabbage Patch Settlement Linda Raymond Ellison ’67 and Bill Ellison Butler Books, August 2017 Rich, flawed, and female, Louise Marshall saved people from certain ruin and changed thousands of lives for the better. The Cabbage Patch Settlement of Louisville, Kentucky, still uses Marshall’s methods to attack today’s most difficult social problems. Historical Animal Geographies Sharon Wilcox ’01 and Stephanie Rutherford, editors Routledge, May 2018 Historical animal geography explores how spatially situated human–animal relations have changed through time. It offers unique insight into the lives of animals past and how interrelationships were constructed among animals and humans. Rescue Board: The Untold Story of America’s Efforts to Save the Jews of Europe Rebecca Erbelding ’03 Doubleday, April 2018 America has long been criticized for refusing to harbor the Jews of Europe as Hitler and the Nazis closed in. Erbelding, a lauded Holocaust historian, tells the extraordinary story of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s effort late in the war to save the Jews who remained. Rube Tube: CBS and Rural Comedy in the Sixties Sara K. Eskridge ’03 University of Missouri Press, January 2019 Television’s rural comedy boom in the 1960s helped CBS revamp its public image after the 1940s Red Scare and the 1950s quiz show scandals. The Andy Griffith Show, The Beverly Hillbillies, Petticoat Junction, and other shows dominated ratings and attracted viewers from all parts of the country.

Soldiers in Revolt: Army Mutinies in Africa Maggie Dwyer ’04 Hurst, October 2017 Oxford University Press, February 2018 Soldiers in Revolt examines military mutinies in Africa through interviews with former mutineers in Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, and the Gambia. This view from the lower ranks is key to comprehending the internal struggles that can threaten a military’s ability to function effectively. Debating Women: Gender, Education, and Spaces for Argument, 1835-1945 Carly S. Woods ’04 Michigan State University Press, October 2018 Excluded from public life, women of the United States and Great Britain formed debating organizations that taught them to speak eloquently, argue persuasively, and assert themselves as citizens. They questioned and redefined norms of gender, race, class, and nation. The Titan Strain Virginia M. Soenksen ’05 Milford House Press, May 2018 In this science fiction novel, dystopian London has become the playground of mods – humans illegally experimenting with genetic modification. It is also the home of Liane, an assassin trained by the shadowy government that rules the city. When mods turn up dead, Liane defies her orders to hunt for the killers. Textiles of Japan Virginia M. Soenksen ’05 and Thomas Murray Prestel Verlag, March 2019 A discussion of the Japanese works collected by Thomas Murray, the book covers folk textiles, textiles of the indigenous Ainu, and textiles of the Okinawan Islands. Author Soenksen also wrote The Titan Strain, described above.

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ALUMNI SEEN

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From Your Alumni Board President Greetings, Mary Washington is still the thriving academic and social community that we enjoyed as students. What can we do as alumni to ensure that this success continues? President Troy Paino met with university faculty and staff at the beginning of the semester, reminding them of the power of a liberal arts education to address our society’s issues and challenging them to examine their role in that effort. We alums have a role to play as well: Promoting our university and encouraging top students to apply; connecting with other alums at reunions and regional network events; hiring students as interns or employees; providing scholarships and endowments for students and faculty; nominating outstanding alumni for our annual awards; and supporting the Fund for Mary Washington to advance the Alumni Association’s efforts to provide benefits and events for all 40,000 of us. Please get involved in some way. We want to ensure that all alumni have a voice in the future of our alma mater. As you strengthen your relationship with our Mary Washington community, both you and UMW will benefit. We look forward to connecting with you, either on campus or in your area. We are better together!

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Donna Sheehan Gladis ’68 President, Alumni Board

Alumni Awards

Winners of the 2018 Alumni Awards were announced during Reunion Weekend, June 1-3. Ann Simpson Brackett ’69 earned the Distinguished Alumnus Award. After a career as an adjunct professor of statistics and research methodology at Northeastern University, and as an evaluator of national, state, and local educational programs and services for WestEd, Brackett retired in 2009. She then co-founded Women and Girls Thriving in Brookline, a collective impact program in Massachusetts that assists nearly 90 women and girls living in poverty. From left, Gayle Weinberger Petro, Erik Johnston, and Gayle Weinberger Petro ’79 received the Ann Simpson Brackett were honored during Reunion Weekend Frances Liebenow Armstrong ’36 Service for their extraordinary efforts and achievements. Award for her enthusiastic work on behalf of alumni and current students. She has served on the Alumni Board for 10 years, is a member of the Heritage Society, and is the representative for the Jeannine Mary Pfeifle ’79 Memorial Scholarship. Petro has served on two reunion committees and has designated part of her estate to UMW for scholarship funds. Erik Johnston ’03 was named Outstanding Young Alumnus. Since graduation, Johnston served Virginia in key positions, including as deputy policy director of the commonwealth and now as director of the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development. At UMW, Johnston earned the Colgate Darden Award.

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UNIVERSITY OF MARY WASHINGTON MAGAZINE FALL/WINTER 2018


ALUMNI SEEN

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Alumni in Leesburg

Pictured from left are Sean Carpenter ’90, Marty Carpenter ’90, Mark Tringale ’90, Michael Tringale ’89, Christina White ’88, President Troy Paino, Elizabeth Baumgarten Heagy ’91, Jacqueline Hargest ’91, Lisa Reckmeyer ’87, Vice President for Advancement and University Relations Lisa Jamison Bowling ’89, and Kathleen Dwyer Miller ’85.

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On the Road in Britain An intrepid group of alumni and friends enjoyed a “Journey Through Britain” in July. The two-week visit to England, Scotland, and Wales featured lectures by Associate Professor of Historic Preservation Michael Spencer ’03.

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1908 Society at Commencement

Jana Privette Usry ’66, left, and Carolyn Eldred ’66 led the way as members of the 1908 Society participated in the undergraduate commencement on May 12. The 1908 Society includes Mary Washington alumni who have celebrated 50th class reunions. The “1908” refers to the year in which Mary Washington was founded.

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ALUMNI SEEN

Scenes From Reunion Weekend, June 1-3, 2018

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UNIVERSITY OF MARY WASHINGTON MAGAZINE FALL/WINTER 2018


No class agent? No problem. Send your news to classnotes@umw.edu. If you prefer to submit Class Notes by mail, send to: UMW Magazine – Class Notes 1301 College Ave., Fredericksburg, VA 22401

Read It

ONLINE

Find the original, unedited text of Class Notes online at magazine.umw.edu.

1930s

Though there is no news from the 1930s, two recipients of the Nina G. Bushnell Scholarship by the Class of 1937 have graduated. Juliette Guilloux ’18 graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology and music and a minor in chemistry. Martha Keegan ’18 graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in studio art.

1940

No Class Agent classnotes@umw.edu Two recipients of the Oscar H. Darter Scholarship in History by the Class of 1940 have graduated with Bachelor of Arts degrees in history. They are Heidi Schmidt ’18, who graduated cum laude, and Khayla McGowan ’18.

1941

Dorothy Shaw dorothyshaw1919@gmail.com Jasmine Courts ’18, recipient of the Mildred McMurtry Bolling Memorial Scholarship by the Class of 1941, graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish. Class agent Dorothy Shaw has tried to connect with several classmates but has received no responses. She hopes 1941 graduates or their family members will get in touch.

1942

No Class Agent classnotes@umw.edu Ethan Carter ’18, recipient of the Class of 1942 Scholarship in Business Administration in Memory of James Harvey Dodd, graduated

magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting.

1943

No Class Agent classnotes@umw.edu

Jane Trevvett Winston Ford wrote Scenes From My Palette, a memoir including reminiscences of living in Willard and Mary Ball halls and attending college classes during summer sessions so she could graduate in just three years, at age 18. With World War II in progress, air raid sirens sounded frequently in Fredericksburg, and the students would race in their nightgowns to the basements of their residence halls. There they’d sing patriotic songs and hymns to pass the time. The book mentions friends Mary Reams Turner Maynard, Helen Martha Vest Larkins ’45, Barbara Hisey Trevvett (who married Jane’s brother, Jack), and Jane’s sister, Christine MacDonald Trevvett ’47. Sadly, Martha Larkins, Barbara Trevvett, and Christine Trevvett are deceased.

Twice widowed, Jane now lives in a Richmond retirement community. She is an accomplished portrait painter, though these days she prefers to create Phyllis Quimby Anderson stage designs for a theater company pqhndson@comcast.net and to mentor young artists. A 1946 graduate of June Davis McCormick ’49 wrote, “With the occupational therapy program God’s gracious gift and the advanced at what’s medical treatments of today, I’m still here!” now Virginia Commonwealth University, Two recipients of the Class of 1944 she received VCU’s “Making a Memorial Scholarships have graduated. Difference” alumni award. Kimberly McFarland ’18 graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology and a minor in chemistry. Michael Sekyere ’18 No Class Agent received a Bachelor of Science degree in classnotes@umw.edu accounting with a minor in economics.

1944

1945

Class agent Phyllis Quimby Anderson would like to hear from classmates or their family members. She uses a cane or walker, plays bridge, does jigsaw puzzles, reads, does chair yoga, attends exercise class, and volunteers with her church. Three daughters live nearby, a son lives with her and is engaged, and other children recently visited.

1946

Phyllis and one of her daughters attended Greta’s Run, a race held in honor of her 14-year-old granddaughter who was killed several years ago by a falling tree at her school in Westfield, New Jersey. She attended the annual USS New York reunion with her two sons.

Charlotte Smith Needham visited her dear friend Helen Robertson Creekmore at her home in Richmond. We are sad to report that Helen passed away on Sept. 18, 2018.

To celebrate her 95th birthday in May, about 30 family members came for a reunion.

Patricia Mathewson Spring classnotes@umw.edu

1947

Betty Moore Drewry Bamman classnotes@umw.edu

In a recent issue of the University of Mary Washington Magazine, Charlotte Smith Hill ’48 remembered that Charlotte Smith Needham used to receive many phone calls from military boyfriends. Charlotte Smith Needham countered that Charlotte

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CLASS NOTES Let us hear from you! Deadlines for submissions to class agents: • For spring 2019 issue: Dec. 15, 2018 • For fall 2019 issue: June 15, 2019

Smith Hill got much better grades in biology. “I wished they had been mine, as I was a science major also,” she wrote.

1948

No Class Agent classnotes@umw.edu

1949

June Davis McCormick jaymccee@yahoo.com Having bid you a fond farewell in our notes of last January, as Gen. Douglas MacArthur famously announced, “I have returned.” Or rather, with God’s gracious gift and the advanced medical treatments of today, I’m still here! Sadly, four of our classmates were not as fortunate. Their obituaries are excerpted here, and you can read more detail online in the unedited Class Notes. Anne Byrd Pitcher, 89, died in Burke, Virginia, in January. Anne attended Elon College in North Carolina for two years before transferring to Mary Washington and receiving her bachelor’s degree in English. She was a librarian at Langley Air Force Base in the 1960s, then moved to Northern Virginia when husband James A. Pitcher was transferred to the Pentagon. After their three sons reached college age, Anne was a personnel assistant in the Fairfax County Public School system in the ’80s and ’90s. Her husband preceded her in death, but her sons, their wives, and five grandchildren survive her. Jean Willis Standing passed away in Pacific Palisades, California, in April, days after turning 90. Jean attended Holton-Arms School before coming to Mary Washington to earn a bachelor’s degree in history. After graduation, Jean studied languages at the University of Geneva in Switzerland, and while abroad she met former Royal Air Force pilot Hugo Standing. After she returned home, he proposed by mail, and they

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were married in Washington. Jean taught fifth grade and later worked for the State Department and for Westinghouse. The family relocated to Los Angeles, where Jean was president of a woman’s club and a volunteer for the National Charity League. An avid genealogist, Jean was member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Colonial Dames, and National Society of Descendants of Washington. Her husband, a son, two daughters, and two grandchildren survive her.

of Richmond and later was a substitute teacher for Henrico County schools. Lawrence preceded her in death; a younger brother, her three sons, their wives, three grandchildren, and several nieces and nephews survive her. As we continue learning of the loss of dear classmates, we offer our heartfelt condolences to their extended families.

UMW’s annual donor appreciation luncheon was held in April. Ever-faithful Elizabeth “Betty” Fischer Gore and daughter Carolyn represented absent class donors. Betty’s Conni Conley Stuart ’49 has been scholarship is given emulating Annie Oakley with a powerful annually to an art water pistol to rid her balcony of pigeons. major, while June Davis McCormick’s annual award Katherine “Kate” Mayo Schmidt, 89, is given to a voice major. June’s niece, passed away in April at home in Palestine, Happy, attended on June’s behalf to meet Texas. At Radford High School she her current recipient, who presented formed many lifelong friendships, one song and led the alma mater. including that of Corinne “Conni” Marion “Wendy” Selfe Kelly wrote that Conley Stuart, who also became our other alumni residing at Westminster classmate. Kate earned a bachelor’s Canterbury in Lynchburg enjoyed degree in English and obtained a teaching coverage of husband George’s 100th certificate. Kate met a Navy man, Bill birthday party. In summation of that Schmidt, on a train. They corresponded happy event, Marion wondered if for several months until he proposed there might be others who nightly during Thanksgiving with her family sleep with a 100-year-old man. in 1949. They married the following That drew guffaws from readers, summer and moved to Houston, Texas, and Marion wondered if it got that where Kate earned a master’s degree issue of our UMW Magazine “kinda from the University of Houston. She X-rated?” It certainly was enjoyed! taught English and literature for many years, became a high school counselor, One alumna in residence is Norvell and ran testing and ESL programs. Millner Thomson ’48, who also reads our Kate and Bill were generous philanthropists. They established a charitable gift annuity for Mary Washington. Preceded in death by her beloved Bill, Kate is survived by son Billy and his wife, Terri; a brother and his wife; and several nieces and nephews. In July, Catherine Newton McGahey, 89, passed away in Richmond. After earning a bachelor’s degree in history and a teaching certificate at Mary Washington, she worked as a clerktypist for the FBI in Washington. She and Lawrence McGahey married at St. Mary’s Church in Alexandria in 1952. The couple and their three sons moved to Richmond in 1963. There Catherine taught at parochial schools in the Diocese

UNIVERSITY OF MARY WASHINGTON MAGAZINE FALL/WINTER 2018

efforts, remembering her “junior” friends. Marion described Norvell as “still petite, cute, and perky, who walks a mile every day and well might be an inspiration to us less active ’Niners.” We hasten to mention our peripatetic Conni Conley Stuart, who regularly walks several miles daily, whether in Toronto or during her travels. Marion and George joined a busload of senior residents for a trip to Bedford, Virginia, and an impressive evening at the National D-Day Memorial. With ideal weather, they also had great seats since there aren’t many World War II veterans left to remember that turning point in the war. Marion said George is still the poster boy for 100-year-old guys and that she continues her recovery from a knee


replacement last June. Nothing racy there! Conni, who recently celebrated her 89th birthday, continues auditioning for commercial work in Toronto. While she

share their thoughts. When unexpected medical problems necessitated additional treatment, June asked, “Isn’t this a bit much?” And they laughed together in understanding.

to celebrate her 90th birthday July 30. Instead she chose to return to her original home, Chatham Farm (now Chatham Winery). Son Tom arranged the trip, and a niece was to join them. And that’s our Harriet! We hope it was a very special day, recalling all the joyful memories of her lifetime.

Margaret “Peggy” Walton Mason’s alumna Pamela A. Mason ’74 hosted a lovely daughter, Pamela A. 90th birthday luncheon for her mother, Mason ’74, hosted a Although we are not promised Margaret “Peggy” Walton Mason ’49. lovely party for Peggy’s tomorrow, we still set our alarm 90th. Four generations clock in anticipation of another day. were there including May we all set our clocks. With love, doesn’t get every job, she feels that just a new granddaughter, her namesake. faith, and continued hope, June. preparing for the auditions keeps her Peggy was sorry to learn of the passing mind alert. Conni keeps in touch with of Elizabeth “Liz” Barnes Hornsby, former roommate Norah Pitts Byrnes adding they both had been in the Marcy Weatherly Morris and suitemate Betsy Thorne Bultman ’50. Terrapin Club when Liz was the star classnotes@umw.edu Conni has been fighting off pigeons who diver. Peggy suffered a stroke on the took over her balcony when her pigeon last day of June and spent July coping. Benjamin Whipkey ’18, recipient of the screen was removed during building Released from a short hospital stay, Arabelle Laws Arrington ’41 Scholarship painting. In ongoing battles with the Peggy was back home in Bethesda, supported by the Class of 1950, noisy, messy birds, she bought a powerful getting back to her normal routine. graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science. water pistol and began emulating Annie When June learned of her own diagnosis Oakley daily, scaring the birds away. Not much news from all of you and prognosis last December, she thought classmates. Remember this is your Betty Bond Heller Nichols missed seeing to find a replacement as class agent, a column and I can only relay what you tell Jane Yeatman Spangler and daughter Jan role June has filled for nearly 40 years. me. Please put my address, P.O. Box 1, on their return trip from Pennsylvania Harriet “Scotty” Scott Brockenbrough King George, Virginia, 22485, in your to Concord, North Carolina, last immediately came to mind. Starting address book and send me a note or August. Jane and Jan went on a river her prescribed infusion treatments, Christmas card telling me your news. boat cruise in Europe last year and hope I did hear from to keep traveling together. Betty Bond Nan Riley Pointer had not heard recently from the other The Morris Stage at the renovated Heslep down in Gloucester. two members of the Forever Friends Amphitheatre was named in recognition Nan reports they Foursome, so we only hope all is well had a wonderful of Marcy Weatherly Morris ’50 and with Charlotte “Chot” Baylis Rexon cruise to Antarctica Juney Morris ’50. and Fred as well as with Dorothy in January and “Dotty” Booker Pinkham and Dave, met Vicky Nichols all of whom were reported now living Wilder ’80 and in nursing facilities. Bless them all! with immediate side effects, June was Marty Wilder, who recently retired as delayed in contacting Harriet. Then chief of staff for presidents Rick Hurley At Christmas, Betty Bond’s daughter June received an email in which Harriet and Troy Paino. Exciting meeting a Mary Anne announced that everyone was Washington alum so far from home. described her own health issues. going to Fort Lauderdale in February to Nan said Elizabeth “Betty” Simms celebrate Betty Bond’s 90th birthday! In March, while visiting son Scott and Hayes lost her husband, George, during B.B. immediately said she couldn’t do his wife, Jenny, in Arizona, Harriet the last year. She has lived in Gloucester that, but Anne informed her that all was stricken with severe back pain. ever since we graduated, taught school the plane reservations were made, a A radiologist, Jenny quickly sought for a year, and then married George. wheelchair arranged for getting through a diagnosis and advice from her

1950

the airport, and an appointment made for Betty Bond’s dialysis treatment there. The biggest surprise came after they had arrived, when there was a knock at her door and all four grandchildren walked in. They had flown from Virginia, Philadelphia, Maine, and Oregon, all beautifully coordinated by Anne. Betty Bond and June often compare notes on their ongoing health issues and

colleagues. A CT scan and MRI called for immediate back surgery. Harriet returned home to Richmond, where son Ben met her plane and took her to her doctor. Additional surgery was needed, but by mid-May Harriet was able to return to her apartment using a wheelchair. With physical therapy she progressed to a walker and then a cane. Harriet rejected plans for a big party

Reunion in June was exciting for Juney, me, and our family. The Heslep Amphitheatre was dedicated in honor of Josephine McPherson Heslep ’56 and husband Donald, and the stage was named for our family. The beautiful framed plaque reads as follows: “MORRIS STAGE. Named in recognition of the generous support of Marceline “Marcy” Weatherly Morris ’50 and Elmer “Juney”

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CLASS NOTES No Class Agent? Your classmates still want to hear from you! Send news directly to classnotes@umw.edu. Rudolph Morris Jr. ’50 and to honor 100 years of Morris family legacy connections at Mary Washington.” Juney’s mother, Emma Morris 1919, attended the State Normal School to become a teacher; Juney and I graduated in 1950; grandson Paul Morris ’10 and his wife, Cassandra Lewis Morris ’11, both majored in drama; and great grandson Lucas Prunczik ’20 began his third year in August. What a great honor!

1954 No Class Agent classnotes@umw.edu

1955 No Class Agent classnotes@umw.edu Longtime class agent Christine Harper Hovis is stepping down and hopes a classmate will volunteer to fill the newsgathering role for the Class of 1955.

Katherine “Kitty” Trussell Wilson writes that she spent her freshman year, 1946-47, at Mary Washington and loved the friends she made, the campus, and horseback riding. But she was homesick and transferred to the University of Georgia in Athens, her home. She’d love to hear from anyone who might remember her.

She writes: “It has been a long and wonderful time for me to be your class agent. I remember reporting marriages, jobs, children, travel through our country and the world, and eventually, doctor visits. … I really, really enjoyed all the notes I had. Thanks to all of you for the news you sent. I’m now retiring as your class agent, as my husband, Neil, died in mid-April from heart problems and a stroke. It was 63 years for us, and we did have an interesting and fun marriage. … God bless all of you, and much love to all.”

1951

1956

No Class Agent classnotes@umw.edu

1952

Corley Gibson Friesen corleyfriesen@comcast.net Phyllis “Butch” Farmer Shaffer shared news in a phone call to the Office of Alumni Relations. After graduating, she worked for the YWCA in Charleston, South Carolina. She married Walley Shaffer, a Penn State graduate and shrimp boat captain. She held a “celebration of life” ceremony eight years ago for her 80th birthday. She recommends it to her Mary Washington roommates and classmates; celebrate your life while you’re still living it! More than 260 people attended hers, and she had a wonderful time.

1953 Betsy Dickinson Surles surles@infionline.net Betsy Dickinson Surles reports hearing no news from the Class of ’53. She’d love to hear what classmates are doing!

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Ann Chilton Power anncpower1@gmail.com Nanalou West Sauder and daughter Anne E. Sauder ’80 attended the retirement party for Martin Wilder, chief of staff for presidents Rick Hurley and Troy Paino. Nanalou is a former rector of the university and now lives at the Kendal at Lexington retirement community. Also living there is Lucy Coates Moise. Rheta Burks Snider retired from teaching in Northern Virginia and moved back to her native Rockbridge County with her husband, a fellow teacher.

Anne Henry Brugh retired to The Glebe, a retirement community near Roanoke. In Atlanta, Michelle “Mickey” Foley McDaniel and her husband are on a waiting list for the retirement community they have chosen. I tried to reach Barbara Strangmann Hiscock twice at her apartment at Broadmead in Cockeysville, Maryland, but she was out and about! My first cousin’s granddaughter was married in April. My granddaughter, the bride’s third cousin, was the flower girl – same generation, just a 30-year age difference!

1957

Joyce Bristow Wrestler joycewrestler@gmail.com I presume that volunteering and caring for others has kept you ladies so busy that there was little time left for sending messages for the magazine. I hope to hear from you for future publications. Meredith Puller Townes, sadly, lost husband Jack in January. They were married for more than 60 happy years. She keeps busy with golf, bridge, and church activities. She recently became a great-grandmother. Walter Grantz, brother of Helen Grantz Fortner and husband of Barbara Craft Grantz, passed away in March. Helen and Barbara were grateful that Libby Fordham was able to attend his memorial service, and for the children and grandchildren who are helping with Barb’s planned move, possibly to Woodbridge near Helen, who was her Mary Washington roommate. Walt was known for his photography, flying, and involvement in design and construction of bridge-tunnel highways, including the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. An airplane he built is being donated to North Carolina State University, where it will be displayed. Jean Durham Busboso planned another river cruise in Europe. Anne Daniel Fowler planned a great luncheon for our Warwick High School Class of 1953 reunion at the Hampton Yacht Club in June.

After having a “celebration of life” ceremony, Phyllis “Butch” Farmer Shaffer ’52 said, celebrate your life while you’re still living it!

Ozzi Mask is a charter member of Potomac Harmony Chorus and continues directing the Sweet Adelines. Ozzi retired from teaching English and journalism in 1990 after 30 years at J.E.B. Stuart High School in Fairfax County. She keeps up with students past and present.

UNIVERSITY OF MARY WASHINGTON MAGAZINE FALL/WINTER 2018

Mary-Montague Hudson Sikes’ husband, Olen, was recovering from a scary bout with Guillain-Barre syndrome last fall. After a hospitalization and rehab, he was


Happy ‘Misfit’ Finds Success on Stage, TV

I

lona Dulaski ’64 has literally done theater with her eyes closed. While playing a blind character in Signature Theatre’s spring 2018 production of John, Dulaski opted to spend most of the 3½-hour run time with her eyes shut – except for the moments when she had to negotiate stairs. She didn’t get to see much of the show, but according to a review in the Washington City Paper, it appeared that Dulaski was “having more fun than anybody” as the play’s quirky free spirit, Genevieve Marduk. That’s not an act, according to Dulaski. After more than 50 years as a professional actress, singer, and voiceover artist, the Annapolis, Maryland, resident says she still loves the work. “I have had a need to be an actress from the time I was 7,” said Dulaski, who has performed on stage and television since graduating from Mary Washington with a Bachelor of Arts degree in theater and a minor in music. “I do it all, and I love it all. I even like ‘extra’ work to a point.” The daughter of a concert pianist and a member of the Foreign Service, the Washington, D.C., native grew up largely in Mexico City – where she became fluent in Spanish – before finishing high school in Maryland. She said she was a terrible testtaker and worried how that might affect her ability to go to college. But her father accompanied her on a visit to Mary Washington, where then-President Grellet C. Simpson explained that the college wasn’t interested only in her test scores. “He said, ‘We take students of all variations. We don’t seek out only the top intellectual people. We seek out rounded individuals,’ ” Dulaski recalled. “Well, they got rounded.” Dulaski wasted no time in auditioning for on-campus shows and was cast in several productions her freshman year. Dulaski jokes that the drama department, composed of “the misfits of Mary Washington,” was very much a family. After a particularly good show one evening, department

head Mark Sumner took the entire cast and crew out to Howard Johnson’s to celebrate – blowing the ladies’ campus-mandated curfew, for which they were grounded. Dulaski recalls being “in almost every show all four years” while serving as the president of the Mary Washington Players her senior year. “The thing Mary Washington was wonderful for is they gave me the experience,” she said. “I chose a school that would allow me to practice my craft.” After leaving Fredericksburg, Dulaski studied drama as a graduate student at Catholic University, toured for two years with the National Players, and then moved to New York City, where she met a dashing young theatrical technician at a party. Within six months, she and Steve Williams were married, and for the next 45 years, they’d pursue their crafts in New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C. In addition to stage work, Dulaski has voiced commercials, recorded books for the blind, performed in a quartet (in nine languages!) and posed as a patient in need of critical care for medical students at the University of Maryland Baltimore campus. Along the way, “I found out I was lousy with anything Shakespeare, but I was really good at avant-garde, stuff that was way off the wall,” Dulaski said. In fact, “quirky,” “eccentric,” and “sharp-tongued” are words used to describe the characters Dulaski has embraced over the years, everyone from the sarcastic and gruff Louisa “Ouiser” Boudreaux in Steel Magnolias to the temperamental diva Maria Callas in Master Class. Among

After more than 50 years as a professional actress, singer, and voice-over artist, Ilona Dulaski still loves the work.

her most memorable experiences was working for composer Stephen Sondheim in A Little Night Music and Sweeney Todd at the Kennedy Center. At 76, Dulaski, who was widowed in 2014, continues to audition. She even hired a personal trainer over the summer to make sure she keeps her energy up. “There are always things in the fire,” she said. “I love the joy I can give people with my soul. I’m a very giving person, and this is my gift.” – Edie Gross

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CLASS NOTES able to attend the December opening of her show at the Rappahannock Art League Gallery in Kilmarnock. She wrote an essay about her husband’s illness, diagnosis, and recovery. You can read it online in the unedited Class Notes. In January, my husband and I traveled to Australia and New Zealand, where we saw kangaroos, koalas, Tasmanian devils, and many birds. A highlight was riding the Skyrail to the Kuranda Rain Forest.

1958

Susannah Godlove sgodlove5465@gmail.com Judy Townsend Bainbridge and husband Bob spent 10 days with a Road Scholar program in Monterey and the Carmel Valley of California. They loved the Monterey Aquarium and Big Sur and enjoyed a visit to the Steinbeck Museum in Salinas, then visited San Diego. This was their sixth Road Scholar program and they planned another in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Joyce Corbitt Faison has moved to Lake Prince Woods retirement community in Suffolk, Virginia. Her husband passed away in 2014. To my classmates who attended reunion, please send me your news about it. And to the rest of the Class of 1958, I would like to hear from you!

1959

Edna Gooch Trudeau ednanewkent@verizon.net Irene Piscopo Rodgers called while visiting Kay Rowe Hayes during reunion weekend. Both sounded great. Irene had

grandsons: Dominic was born on New Year’s Day, and Carson was born in June. Lois expects a greatgranddaughter in December. Howard, her husband, is still in a mild stage of Parkinson’s. Lois volunteers at the Humane Society one day a week. Mary Massey’s year was hard work, settling Jack’s estate and completing several house projects. She and her dog, Gigi, volunteer at a nearby nursing home. Mary is in her 27th year at the Audubon Naturalist Society. She enjoys exercise classes, concerts, museums, and dinners with friends. She and Gigi walk three to four miles each morning to keep healthy. Charlotte Wohlnick Wiggs and Archie celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary and Archie’s 80th birthday. They cruised to Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom including Scotland. Son Alan received his engineering certification. Granddaughter Anna, Tracy’s daughter, loves acting. Gloria Winslow Borden sent updates of the last three years, which you can read about online in the unedited class notes. Highlights were a wedding, a birth, family members’ graduations, and trips. Sadly, Gloria lost her sister Marilyn in January. Last fall, daughter Cynthia and Rob took her to a World Series ballgame in Houston, a bucket list checkoff. Barbara White Ellis had knee replacement surgery in May and had recovered by August. Marcia Phipps Ireland and Gary made it to her roommate’s party in Annapolis after our mini-reunion. Kids and grandkids are all doing well. Son Kent’s daughter Larissa entered Boston University in 2017.

Alan, husband of the late Celeste “Pug” Shipman Judy Townsend Bainbridge ’58 took her Kaufman, sent a lovely Christmas sixth Road Scholar trip in California and is letter to continue ready for the seventh. Pug’s consistent news over many years, with updates about children, grandchildren, and a a 17-day stay in Australia and planned new great-grandchild. You can read a cruise from Florida to Copenhagen. In details online in the unedited class notes. April she met at UMW with scholarship Alan wrote that family and friends students to learn about their research have been most helpful, and he has projects, which she and her late husband, appreciated all the calls and letters. Don, sponsored. Kay decided not to run this year as chairwoman of the Fauquier Barbara Gordon McNamee and Bob County Republican Committee. have been busy. Bob golfs twice a week, Lois Gaylord Allen has two new

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runs, and exercises in the gym. Barbara

UNIVERSITY OF MARY WASHINGTON MAGAZINE FALL/WINTER 2018

Let us hear from you! Deadlines for submissions to class agents: • For spring 2019 issue: Dec. 15, 2018 • For fall 2019 issue: June 15, 2019

has traveled from one synchronized swimming meet to the other this year in the United States, Hungary, and Chile. Barb and Bob took a river cruise on the Danube and visited Budapest. Karen, their daughter, is now a grandmother. Joan “Joni” Whittemore Loock’s husband, Jim, had knee replacement using the latest technology, and recovery was quick and painless. Joni has had several eye procedures. In July, she visited with daughter Mardy and son Curt and his wife, Peggy. In fall they traveled to Wisconsin to see Jim’s daughters and grandchildren. They spent two weeks in Playa del Carmen in Mexico. Joni continues to volunteer in the emergency room at the local hospital. Barbara Barndt Miller bemoans the quick passing of years but enjoys the routine of cutting and stacking wood, mowing, gardening, and reveling in the changing seasons of New York state’s Genesee Valley from the rockers on her front porch. Her ponies, Rosie and Sweetie, enjoy being ridden across the land. Barbara stays busy with the Genesee Valley Hunt Club and sings in the church choir. Wayne is a hospice volunteer. Jane Tucker Broadbooks and John enjoy their apartment, about 10 minutes from Jon Karl and Catherine and 10 minutes from Catherine’s parents, which lends itself to family gatherings. Jane knits shawls for shut-ins, and she and John love antiquing. Jon Karl is vice president for communications for Illinois Realtors. Catherine teaches at Lincoln Land Community College in Springfield. Tucker is a sophomore majoring in history at Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri. Anna is a junior in high school, and Virginia is a freshman. Frances “Bunky” Bourke Firth celebrated last Christmas with 15 family members. Her youngest daughter, Kristen, has recovered after surgery and pneumonia. Bunky and John took a three-week tour of South America. Eleanor Markham Old’s widower, Arthur, and their children are fine. You can read his update online, in the unedited class notes.


Sally Warwick Rayburn and Jim babysat so daughter Ginny and two of her three children could go on a ski trip to Utah. In February they celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary with a ride on the EAA’s Ford Tri-Motor antique aircraft over Naples, Florida. They took son Steve and his wife Cindy on their annual trip to Hawaii. Jim went through some medical indignities in the spring, but he’s doing better. In August they took their RV to visit friends in Greensboro, stopping by to visit son Richard and family.

From Karen Larsen Nelson:

From Connie:

We enjoyed summer at our resort in the high country, with reasonable summer temperatures and starry nights. We are now back home and active again in our unique church, which is embedded in an assisted living facility. We are almost as old as some of the residents and can relate to them.

Jerri Barden Perkins went to Paris in May with a group from Harvard to discover the world Thomas Jefferson encountered during the years he served as diplomat. Jerri’s granddaughter accompanied her. The next month, Jerri traveled to Maine for that granddaughter’s wedding. Another granddaughter was to join Jerri in Paris for New Year’s.

Last winter we challenged you to answer a question a friend asked me: “Why do you want to stay in touch

Clara Sue Durden Ashley and Clarence have put their house in Great Falls, Virginia, up for Julia Coates Littlefield and Mo went sale. Their four to the United Kingdom for a week in sons are helping Judy Davidson Creasy ’60 and her husband July. Julia is in the Grace Episcopal by taking some of Church choir, and they sang in vacationed in the home they once owned in their belongings. the Welles Cathedral. All is well Son Dennis and New Zealand. with family. Beth and Mike are in his family left Mechanicsville. Scott and Susan and for Guantanamo grandchildren Chris and Mary Graham Bay, Cuba, on with old ladies you haven’t seen in are returning to Lexington and living July 6 and expect to be there two 50 years, and will probably never see with Julia and Mo until all is settled. to three years. Dennis is a civilian again?” Read about the responses employee of the Navy. Son Andrew online, in the unedited class notes. My daughter, Virginia, and grandson, lives in Arlington and works with a Lucas, are still brokenhearted over the From Jody Campbell Close: Norwegian company that manufactures loss of Virginia’s dear husband, Matt. I continue to enjoy the mental exercise and markets munitions. Son Park’s Lucas is in third grade, growing very of genealogical research. It involves daughter Noelle, 11, has been figure tall (3 inches in three months) and has much that Mary Washington taught skating in competitions for a few years. discovered a new interest – the piano. us – history, political science, geography, I am thrilled and hope he continues. Carolyn Crum Pannu teaches psychology, adults from around the world and sociology, logic, enjoyed an international day in June, and respect for Barbara Barndt Miller ’59 enjoys riding featuring a parade of nations, food, heritage – and and performances. She planned ponies Rosie and Sweetie in New York state’s technical advances a visit to Los Angeles to see her since our salad Genesee Valley. daughter, Kara. Carolyn was glad days. For Christmas to hear that Pat Scott Peck returned 2017 I gave the safely from her trip to Scotland. children and Madeleine “Maddie” Contis Marken grands the introductory chapter of our of Falmouth, Massachusetts, is a social family story. This Christmas they will worker. She still runs in races but writes get another chapter or two, I hope. Karen Larsen Nelson that “those young whippersnappers Karenlarsennelson60@gmail.com Karen and I know you value who are 75 are beating me in my age Mary Washington friendships Jody Campbell Close group.” With her daughter and a and that if you can manage it you jclose2@cfl.rr.com friend, she recently visited Galicia in will join us in Fredericksburg in northwestern Spain and hiked on high Judy Davidson Creasy and her 2020 for our 60th reunion. moors along the coast. Maddie and husband vacationed in the home they Cathy Ledner Kuttner get together at used to own in New Zealand, at least once a year in Mystic, Connecticut. the invitation of the present owners. Natalie Robins Lehmann-Haupt had a Ellen Gotwalt Willing shared the sad Connie Booth Logothetis (A - G) delightful visit with Elaine Freedman news that her husband, Bill, died June connielogothetis@gmail.com Horschman in California this spring. 16 at age 95. They were married for 30 years and Bill was a regular at our Renee Levinson Laurents (H – Q) Sandy Poole’s spouse, Barb, took her for class reunions. We will miss him. arjle@aol.com a five-day visit to Sandy’s hometown,

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New Orleans, to celebrate Sandy’s 80th birthday. Barb, an Episcopal priest, has been appointed to serve in a church in Easton, Maryland. Rose Bennett Gilbert spent a week on Nantucket with family and friends to celebrate her birthday.

Lynne Williams Neave (R – Z) lyneave@aol.com Please send news to the designated class agent according to the first letter of your maiden name.

Andy and I briefly caught up with Carole Grant LeMay and Ralph in Natchez, Mississippi; celebrated daughter Elaine’s 50th birthday with family in the mountains near Boone, North Carolina; and did a kitchen upgrade. We planned a trip to Northern Spain and Portugal in late summer.

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CLASS NOTES From Renee: Sandy Phillips Conklyn fell, landed on her outstretched hands, and needed carpal tunnel surgeries. She hoped to get back to her workshop after numbness subsided. Her oldest granddaughter graduated from law school, was studying for the bar, and was preparing to start an internship in Washington, D.C. Twin grandchildren graduated from high school and headed to Temple University and Virginia Tech. Mary Hatcher recently traveled to Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia; Newport, Rhode Island; Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; Phoenix, Arizona; and Florida. Sylvia McJilton Woodcock and Stuart enjoy traveling to see their son, daughter-in-law, and grandson in Charleston. Sylvia is president of the residents’ association at Windsor Meade in Williamsburg, Virginia. The UMW Foundation was to hold a retreat in August. Sylvia, Lynne Williams Neave, and Lloyd Tilton Backstrom were to represent our Class of 1961. Peggy Howard Hodgkins was feeling stronger and traveled from Maine to Hilton Head for a cousins reunion. Peggy also went to Georgia to see her sisters, brother and sisterin-law, and 89-year-old aunt. My news: I’m beginning to have second thoughts about moving to the desert. L.A. has been my home since 1975, and I love my life here. I planned a national parks tour in September, to Mount Rushmore, Yellowstone, Bryce, and Zion, with a visit to Albuquerque. My wonderful little “faux grandson” is 9 and won a math genius award at his school. From Lynne: Art and Lloyd Tilton Backstrom came for a New York City visit for a few days in June, and I planned some touristy adventures for us. We celebrated Lloyd’s birthday June 19. Becky Butler-Guy’s sculptor son, Jimmy Guy, has been awarded first place from galleries in Fredericksburg; Richmond; Washington, D.C.; Colonial Beach; and King George County, Virginia. Becky lives on ancestral land in Stafford County and speaks to civic and school groups about Patawomeck tribal culture and history. She taught the Patawomeck resurrected language for five years.

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Eleanore Saunders Sunderland had a quiet first half of the year after a very active overseas trip in December and January. Her two children stateside are fully involved with her life, and she talks to her daughter in Italy frequently.

granddaughter Blaire Persell ’18 planned to live in the D.C. area. Blaire is the daughter of Bev and Bob’s late son, Bobby, who was an air marshal. Bev’s father is 97 and lives an active life in Florida.

Jane Riles lives part of the year in Fort Lauderdale and part in San Diego. She planned a trip to Berlin, Germany, in September to see daughter Annelise Riles receive an award for lifetime achievement across the social sciences

Louise Couch Girvin and John live in Kentucky and were celebrating their 55th anniversary and the graduation of granddaughter Emily from University of Kentucky. Granddaughter Joelyn is a junior at Eastern Kentucky University.

Kathleen Sprenkle Lisagor’s grandson Runner/racer Madeleine “Maddie” Brett Burcher graduated from Contis Marken ’61 said “those young Stafford High whippersnappers who are 75 are beating School and was me in my age group.” headed for the engineering school at Virginia Tech, bringing back special memories and humanities from the German Kathleen shared with Barry there. government and Humboldt Foundation. This makes three generations; Brett’s Jean Ryan Farrell and Frank live in dad also went to Virginia Tech. Atlanta and spend time at their lake Peggy Downs Gerber and John visited house on Lake Lanier in Gainesville, the Holy Land in spring. The group Georgia. Frank Jr. lives nearby; Robert’s met in Tel Aviv, traveled to Nazareth, family has moved from Singapore to stayed on the banks of the Sea of Galilee, Roswell, Georgia; and David was soon and went to Jerusalem as the new U.S. to return after five years in Madrid. embassy was being opened, prompting Kay Slaughter had a rough spring violent protests in Gaza. Their family medically but is now fine. She planned worried, but Peggy and John were safe. to participate in a community sing-in Pat Mackey Taylor enjoys her seven in Charlottesville to commemorate the grandchildren, six of whom are girls. events of last Aug. 11 and 12. In October She raised six children, five of them she planned a trip to Italy with the boys, and had to wait till age 66 to Center for Palladian Studies. Daughter become a grandmother. She is a docent Margaret lives nearby, and her son and at the Hampton History Museum daughter-in-law are in eastern Virginia. and takes classes with Christopher Newport University’s LifeLong Learning Society. She planned a fall paddlewheel cruise on Oregon’s Snake River, Kathleen Sprenkle Lisagor following the Lewis and Clark route. klisagor@yahoo.com Nancy Powell Sykes is enjoying traveling again after two years Nancy Powell Sykes of joint replacements. She spent npsykes@yahoo.com two weeks last Christmas with Jane Walshe McCracken her daughter in San Diego. janemcc@cox.net Myrtle Lee Dean France, Nancy Sykes, Nancy Edwards Brockman lives in and Kathleen Lisagor were invited to Cary, North Carolina, close to her represent the UMW 1908 Society (all two daughters and their families, graduates of 50 years or more) and including two grandchildren. She is a process at commencement this past May. certified music practitioner for healing, Unfortunately, Kathleen was on crutches specializing in therapeutic harp playing after a fall and had to watch remotely. at the bedside. She plays weekly at a Montgomery County Museum, where hospice and at a hospital ICU and NICU. Sue Grandy Farrar is director, sponsored Beverley Sulpice Persell lives in a concert as part of the Mountains of Alexandria and was excited that Music events in southwest Virginia.

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UNIVERSITY OF MARY WASHINGTON MAGAZINE FALL/WINTER 2018


Betsy Carper Cole and Sue attended. Joan Akers Rothgeb had a week’s visit in Houston, Texas, with Mary Lott Haglund and husband David. Mary and Joan met Lucy Ritter Todd and Janice Tucker Goebel ’76 for lunch in Bastrop, Texas. Janice knew Joan when she was growing up. Lucy has a studio in the modern Bastrop Art Gallery. At a Women of the Rotary lunch, Mary and Joan met Mary Washington alum Pat Voelker Donnell ’60. Maggie Walker McAllister arranged a lunch in late spring at a beautiful winery near Harrisonburg. Emily Lewis, Bettie Stewart Kienast, Georgianne Maloy Hull, and Joan Akers Rothgeb attended. Emily stays in contact with Helen Alexion James, who lives in Virginia Beach. Nancy Cheek Mitchell lives in Winchester, where husband Robert practices law. They have been attending grandchildren’s graduations. Nancy and Joan met for lunch this spring. Their connection goes back to high school, when they met at a state student government conference. We extend our hearts and sympathies to Kathy Clark Wray, who lost her husband last fall. She was Nancy Powell Sykes’ roommate for three years until she left to marry her Marine. Her three sons are nearby in Stockton, California. Our condolences to the family of Steva Jenna Kellenberger. Her son reports that she and her husband died recently. She enjoyed her friends and life at Mary Washington and was a world traveler with her husband.

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Linkey Booth Green linkeyg@embarqmail.com Betsy Lydle Smith, who has served as class agent with Linkey Booth Green, is no longer able to fill the role. She writes, “I’ve enjoyed doing this and wish you all the best.” Class notes are edited for the print publication, so Linkey strongly encourages classmates to read the longer, unedited notes in the online version of the magazine. Attending reunion were Karen Gustafson, Linda Musselman Voight, Lola Bergman Siddall, Amanda Wichard Cebrowski, Peggy Baylor Sturt, Ann Wallace, Jewel West Norman and

husband Jim Ledbetter, Peggy Barrett Hein and husband Robert, and Linkey Booth Green and husband David.

are stepping down from their professional lives for Bill’s health and so they can have more freedom to see family.

Barbara Bold Ducker and Tom attended his 55th University of Virginia medical school reunion in Charlottesville. Also returning were Ted and Mary Stewart Booth Ruhnke and John and Beth Lisle Turner. Tom, Ted, and John were U.Va. classmates.

Karen Gustafson and her husband planned a two-month trip to Italy in late summer. She hoped the visit would improve her fluency in Italian, which she has studied off and on for 40 years.

In February, Arlene Drescher Wilson created the costumes for the performance Visual Listening at Vanderbilt University’s Ingram Hall. She expected to see Julie Burch Southall soon, as her son lives in Nashville. Beverly Bird Miller and Paul enjoy the activities and community at the Village of Deaton Creek in Hoschton, Georgia. Paul says it’s like living on a cruise ship, only no oceans. Eileen Hildebrand Andrews and Ray both play golf, and she plays bridge. Susan Palmer Walbridge Davies went back to New Bern, North Carolina, for the graduation of a son of her “second family,” a Bosnian family that escaped the war.

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Susan Rowe Bunting Susan.bunting@gmail.com I volunteered to be our class agent, having retired in 2007 from 18 years as a teacher, principal, and assistant superintendent followed by 26 years as the CEO of a health foundation. My two children are grown and traveling the world. My second husband and I live in rural Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. We first dated my freshman year (he was at the University of Virginia), but we went our separate ways. Forty-five years later we reconnected – but that is another story.

I still smile at the vision of Jacquelyn Suzanne “Sue” Meyer ’65 rushing soaking wet from swimming class into Dr. George Van Sant’s philosophy class, usually with some farfetched tale of Diane Lovewell Melton and Kitty why she was late. Dr. Van Sant always Shannon, Lois Smith McDaniel, allowed the interruption with a smile. and Bev Sangston are in touch. Or the Halloween my roommate Ann Janice Coleman hopes to start an alumni Carney and I dressed up as Raggedy chapter in The Villages, Florida. Ann and Andy and trick-or-treated at the home of Dr. Sidney Mitchell, our English professor. Pat Mackey Taylor ’62 planned to follow I’m sure you all have some serious, crazy, the Lewis and Clark route on a paddlewheel or fun memories to cruise on Oregon’s Snake River. share, and I would love to hear from you. Thankfully Faye Russell Hatcher Haggerty keeps in I saved my Battlefield yearbook touch with Nancy Gibbs, Sally Tarrant from 1964 and can refresh my Bernert, Mary Saunders Latimer, Beth memory as to who you are! Lisle Turner, Lois Smith McDaniel, Beth Carole Whitehead Bolt Hylton remembers Wharton Williams, Bev Kepner Puma, that Evangeline “Van” Newman Avery Linda Herrold Hansen, and Cecelia Rice. was her Mary Washington roommate Lila Davis was moving back into her all four years. After graduation Carole house after a broken sprinkler pipe married Paul Bolt, whom she’d met in led to a five-month renovation. 1962 at a campus mixer. They raised two sons in Fredericksburg, where for Susan Rutan Joehnk had breakfast with 26 years Carole was a teacher and then Kathy Friedman Levinson in California, principal at Fredericksburg Christian and they talked nonstop for three hours. School. Paul was an engineer at the Susan’s three sons and their families Dahlgren naval base. Sadly, Paul died live within a mile of one another. after a difficult journey with Alzheimer’s Linda Gulnac Steelman and Bill attended disease. Carole moved to Waynesboro, his 55th reunion at Swarthmore. They Virginia, to be near a son, his wife, and

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CLASS NOTES two grandchildren. In Sunday school class at Wayne Hills Baptist Church, she met a gentleman who had also lost a spouse to Alzheimer’s. They married in 2010 and enjoy grandchildren, church activities, and traveling.

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Phyllis Cavedo Weisser pcweisser@yahoo.com In July I planned to escape Atlanta’s heat for a two-week river cruise around the British Isles. Playing on three tennis teams keeps me out of trouble and sort of in shape. My daughter’s family, including boys ages 5 and 7, is only 20 minutes away. My son is stationed in Pensacola but is building a home in Clayton, Georgia, which is less than 90 minutes away. I look forward to day-trip visits once he retires from the Navy. Pat Hartman Brownlee and John, her husband of 51 years, live in Southern California. They have four daughters and seven grandchildren, ages 2 to 15. They enjoy travel, especially to Mexico and Hawaii. Pat would love to see any classmates who get out her way. Mary Montenecourt Goodfellow is a retired teacher. She and childhood sweetheart Chuck have been married 53 years. They live in her family’s 1890 home of four generations on a meandering river in New Jersey. Mary and Chuck treated their family of 17 (including nine grandchildren) to a week on St. Thomas for their 50th anniversary and Turks and Caicos in February. They are active volunteers, and she enjoys tennis. Felicity Hallanan and Evelyn spend the long winters in northern New York saving for their travels. They’ve taken Road Scholar trips including a Dutch barge trip up the Mosel River; a journey through Romania; and a trip from Charleston, South Carolina, to St. Augustine, Florida. They attended the general convention of the Episcopal Church in Austin, Texas, in July. Felicity and her five siblings have created a trust to retain the 170-year-old family home for future generations. Cheryl Gonzales Yancey has been involved with the Richmond Symphony since 1969 and still works with the symphony part time. She and sophomore roommate Sandra Clay Copler meet for lunch a couple of times a year. Henry’s and Cheryl’s blended family includes children and grandchildren in California, Florida, Virginia, Maryland,

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and Washington, D.C. Cheryl planned a June trip to Charleston, South Carolina, and an August “Royal London” tour. Carolyn “Cookie” Davis Lakin Davis enjoys being president of Historic Port Royal Inc. The group has two museums, a portrait gallery, and several historic buildings including a colonial meat house and a 1929 school for African American children. Though it’s a volunteer position, it seems like a full-time job. She took time off last November for travels in Iceland and England with her two sisters. Carolyn shared the sad news that Madeline Sue Rouzie Townsend’s husband, John “Frankie” Townsend, died recently. Virginia Hughes Jett and Carolyn recall how John and Madeline dated all four years while we were at Mary Washington.

their quest to visit them all. Margaret said the landscape was 50 shades of brown. Margaret knits turban-type hats for women undergoing cancer treatment. Barbara Hagemann Hester and Donna Lingo Rauch keep in touch.

1966 Katharine Rogers Lavery hlavery1@cox.net The Mary Washington Lunch Bunch met in Arlington, Virginia, in May. You can read all about it online, in the unedited class notes. Eileen Goddard Albrigo’s son, Todd, and his wife, Carrie, were expecting a baby girl in October, bringing the Albrigo grandchild tally to 11 boys and three girls.

Joan Cuccias Patton’s travels have taken her to Phyllis Cavedo Weisser ’65 wrote that the Outer Banks; playing on three tennis teams keeps her a family reunion “out of trouble and sort of in shape.” in Newport Beach, California; to Ireland for a nephew’s wedding; and on a cruise from In May, Rebecca “Becky” Tebbs Nunn Basel, Switzerland, to Amsterdam. starred in An Evening With Two Lois Rucker Scott and husband Sam Fabulous Old Broads in Three Acts return often to their high school alma at the Lancaster Players Playhouse in mater in Arlington to watch their eldest White Stone, Virginia. It was her first granddaughter cheer for football and stage role in 32 years, though she’d basketball games. Another granddaughter done standup comedy and directed will be cheering soon, and Lois and productions. Previously she acted with Sam will become bleacher champs. the Helen Hayes Repertory Theatre on Broadway, in dinner and community Caroline Hogeland Ruppar and theaters in the Washington area, and husband Allan wintered at their home in in commercials. Becky is vice mayor Jacksonville, Florida, and spent summer of Kilmarnock and the state director at their home in Reston, Virginia. In of the Ms. Virginia Senior America January they cruised to Cuba, then Pageant. She held that title in 2016. through the Panama Canal to Costa Rica. During spring break they hosted Lynn Bard Jones lives about three their 10-year-old Florida grandson miles from Becky and is a big golfer. for a tour of Washington, including a She’s retired from a job setting up tour of the Capitol and a visit to the post exchanges all over the world for floor of the House of Representatives. the Marine Corps. Lynn reported that He was excited that it snowed. Helen-Thomas Ritchey Donnelly ’64 lives in Pepperell, Massachusetts, and recently lost husband Russ. Margaret Cobourn Robinson and husband Kenny went to Raleigh, North Carolina, in February and had lunch with her sophomore roommate, Trudy Kitchin Kohl. Trudy and Bill planned to move back to Virginia Beach this year. In April, Margaret and Kenny flew to Oklahoma City, rented a car, and toured nine state capitols in 10 days as part of

UNIVERSITY OF MARY WASHINGTON MAGAZINE FALL/WINTER 2018

Carolyn Anne Eldred was featured in UMW’s Heritage newsletter. She’s involved in campus activities and joined members of the Department of Theatre and Dance in New York to see three Broadway shows. As an active member of the Heritage Society, Carolyn walked in the UMW academic procession at commencement, accompanied by Barbara Bishop Mann and Jana Privette Usry. Carolyn has also established the


Wilder, UMW Shaped Each Other Over 38 Years

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or a college admissions officer, freshman move-in day is one of the two best days of the year, recalled Martin A. “Marty” Wilder Jr. “We would always fan out across campus and help people move in and carry boxes,” said Wilder, who retired in 2017 after a 38-year career at the university that started in admissions. “We knew those students personally.” Wilder came to Mary Washington in 1979 as an assistant dean of admissions. Over nearly four decades, the school’s reputation and his career evolved side by side as he rose through the ranks, eventually serving his last seven years as chief of staff to presidents Rick Hurley and Troy Paino. Wilder has worked for six of Mary Washington’s 10 presidents. When he started, the school was led by Prince B. Woodard, who encouraged Wilder to pursue a doctorate as he was just getting started in his career. Wilder also credits Senior Vice President Emeritus Conrad Warlick with providing strong mentorship – and for hiring him. Warlick recalls interviewing Wilder just before he departed for a camping trip in Canada, evidence of a passion for travel that Wilder continues to pursue. Warlick was so eager to hire him that he tracked down Wilder’s father in Roanoke through directory assistance and told him that if he had any word from his son during his trek through the wilderness, to please let him know he had a job at Mary Washington. “It was one of the best decisions I ever made,” Warlick said. Wilder got great fulfillment from the role admissions played in helping Mary Washington carve out a niche in the competitive world of higher education, becoming more selective and striving for greater diversity in its student body. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Mary Washington was in transition. It had gone co-ed in 1970, and in 1972 it had become independent,

Vicky Nichols Wilder and Marty Wilder, her husband, honorary classmate, and longtime administrator, pose at reunion. terminating its role as the women’s branch of the University of Virginia. “All of a sudden, Mary Washington had to forge its own identity and its own niche in higher education in Virginia,” Wilder said. From early on, Wilder felt the school’s leaders had a solid understanding of what would distinguish Mary Washington from other institutions. It sought to be the state’s premier public liberal arts school, with a commitment among its faculty and leadership to forge close relationships with students, and to foster close relationships among students. To carry this message to potential enrollees, Wilder and his colleagues hired recent Mary Washington graduates to go on the road. One of the first recruiters hired was Vicky Nichols ’80, who would become Wilder’s wife. “It was always good that she did that semester of recruiting, because she had a pretty good idea of what I did,” Wilder said. The couple has three adult children, two of whom graduated from UMW: Nicole, Tori ’12, and Maggie ’15. Wilder also credits targeted programs at the university for helping shape the student body. The Honors Admission plan, a precursor to the Honors Program begun under

President Hurley, helped UMW attract highly talented students. The Rappahannock Scholars Program, begun in 2008, makes a Mary Washington education possible for students who are the first in their families to attend college, or who otherwise could not afford it. The other best day of the year for an admissions officer is commencement day. That’s when Wilder watched the individuals he’d counseled as high schoolers walk across the stage, transformed by their time at UMW. At 2018 commencement, the tables were turned. That day, Wilder was named chief of staff emeritus. Soon after, during reunion weekend, he was made an honorary member of his wife’s class of 1980. “I consider myself very blessed to have had a 38-year career at a place that I came to love so much,” Wilder said. “Mary Washington is an extraordinary place, and I will always be grateful for the central role that it has played in my life and for my family.” – Emily Freehling

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CLASS NOTES Carolyn Anne Eldred ’66 Scholarship to “support the natural and built environment, our animal friends, and the pursuit of knowledge and justice.” Anne Powell Young and husband Virgil moved in June from Tennessee to Fredericksburg, Anne’s home territory.

freshman roomie, Dottie Lewis Kluttz, transferred to the University of Virginia nursing school. They reconnected in 1980 in Savannah, Georgia, where Ann was living at the time. Dottie has become a professional storyteller who travels to events and meets with folks to record and preserve their memories.

Terry Caruthers has resumed her Lois Rucker Scott ’66 and husband Sam writing with a series of short stories watch their granddaughter cheer for football about her mother and basketball games at their high school and life in beautiful, alma mater. rural Monterey, Virginia. Terry and Don traveled to Colorado in February, staying in She had one last, sweet visit with Beaver Creek before visiting Don and Betty Birckhead Vickers, her dear Kitty Downs Gregg, who gave them a friend and neighbor for many years, tour of Colorado Springs and Boulder. and spent hours on the phone with In May, Terry, Don, and 64 friends from Julie Bondurant Freeman in South Lake Norman took a cruise of the British Carolina. Just before moving Anne Isles. As the tour concluded, Terry and sent a copy of our reunion booklet Don explored towns of their English to Ambler Carter, who later said she heritage. This fall two grandsons return had stayed up nearly all night to read to college. The third, a high school junior, it. After Anne’s three grandchildren is touring colleges and is considering helped her unpack boxes and books Mary Washington to play soccer. she was finally able to relax. Mary Kathryn Rowell Horner wonders if anyone else is having trouble downsizing. Condo living in Florida has proven to her and Charlie the brilliance of worryfree, clutter-free living. However, back in Alexandria, what will she do with her Carly’s dress box from 1966 or her freshman MWC sweatshirt? Mary Kathryn and Charlie celebrated their 50th anniversary last November. They welcome visits in Naples in the winter and Alexandria in the summer. Barbara Bishop Mann and Robert took a 50th anniversary Rhine cruise last year, freeing her up to work on Virginia legislative issues this year. Bobbi has been passionate about K-12 education and worked hard to keep that issue warm for the June primary elections despite the General Assembly’s preoccupation with Medicaid expansion. Ann Enders Hughes and husband Luther live near Charleston, South Carolina. Ann attends the Charleston Tibetan Society meetings and meditations, and they remind her of Mary Washington and Dr. Kurt Leidecker’s Asian philosophy class. In 2001, after Ann’s roommate Joyce Epley Dutkin died, she trained as a hospice volunteer in Joy’s honor, first visiting patients’ homes, then volunteering at the local nursing home. Ann’s

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a sabbatical from painting to oversee the final stages of renovation of their home in Cape May, New Jersey. She and TaB planned to host friends there and enjoy summer oldies concerts, Friday night dances, biking, and beaching. Katharine Rogers Lavery and husband Hank took a road trip through Florida to visit friends, relatives, and Hank’s classmates, and to attend a grandnephew’s wedding in Gainesville. In May they drove to New London, Connecticut, to attend granddaughter Mary’s graduation from the Coast Guard Officer Candidate School. Of 78 graduates, about 25 had qualified military family members to present them. Hank presented Mary. After a short visit with another granddaughter in New Haven, Katharine and Hank took the ferry to Long Island and visited with Lavery family members.

Diana Hamilton Cowell and Katharine share a connection to West Virginia University, where Katharine’s grandson is finishing an engineering degree and Diana’s son is in a political science graduate program. Diana organizes and hosts activities connecting Bethany Beach, Delaware, with its sister city of Périers, France. She is secretary of the Bethany Patsy Monahan Holden ’67 and Mike have Beach Volunteer Fire Company adult triplets and four grandchildren. Auxiliary. She participates in Inland Jana Privette Usry sang in a choral Bays research projects and assists ensemble in the annual production with fish count surveys. Diana and Live Art sponsored by the School of husband Dan visited friends in Mont the Performing Arts in the Richmond de Marsan, France, cruised from Community, or SPARC. More than Barcelona to Rome, and stayed 250 children participate in the SPARC three nights at a villa in Tuscany. after-school performing arts program. About half have special needs, and members of the community choir learned to sign all the songs. Mary Elizabeth Bush Dore

1967

In New York, Susan Roth Nurin has seen every opera performed at the Met this cultural season and heard her son play his trumpet for the 14th time at Carnegie Hall. Susan gives tours to Spanish speakers, serves lunch to Holocaust survivors, and volunteers at the opera and in an organization that helps the elderly. Watercolor artist Pam Kearney Patrick joined the KYO Gallery in Alexandria, Virginia, which opened May 25 with one of her paintings on exhibit. Pam also exhibited two pieces at the Green Spring Gardens show in Annandale. Pam took

UNIVERSITY OF MARY WASHINGTON MAGAZINE FALL/WINTER 2018

mbeth1945@gmail.com Thanks to those who sent news for this issue. Your unedited letters can be found online at magazine.umw.edu, and you can read the shorter versions here. Gail Balderson Dise recalled living in Marshall Hall with Mary Beth Bush Dore, a friend since seventh grade. It was there that Gail met Ray Dise, her husband from 1968 until his death 11 years ago. Gail is retired from a 45-year federal government career and lives in Lake Ridge, Virginia, near her son and his family, including two grandsons in college. Last fall Gail


and Mary Beth surprised Joan Gillis Baker ’69 in Florida for her birthday. Gail planned a trip to Amsterdam and a Baltic cruise this summer. Linda Raymond Ellison retired after 30 years as a reporter and editor at the Courier-Journal and Louisville Times, and retired again from teaching at Bellarmine University. She’s editor in residence at Simmons College of Kentucky, a historically black school built 130 years ago by former slaves who wanted a future for their children. She and husband Bill co-authored the biography The Two Lives and One Passion of Louise Marshall: Founder of the Cabbage Patch Settlement, published last August. Daughter Susan teaches anthropology at Wellesley College. Jane Wolfe Stilmar and her husband of 47 years divide their time between homes in Alexandria and Kilmarnock, Virginia. She is a certified public accountant and works seasonally. They have two sons and were expecting their first grandchild this fall. In the Northern Neck, Jane enjoys gardening, kayaking, and playing duplicate bridge. Dixie Kopfler Susalla and Paul, her husband of 32 years, are retired from the Navy and live in Sun City West, Arizona. Their beloved dog provides emotional support for Paul, who is disabled from an aneurysm. Patsy Monahan Holden and Mike live in Kingwood, Texas, north of Houston. They have adult triplets – a daughter and two sons – all living in Austin, Texas. They have four grandchildren. They planned a family trip to Hawaii this summer to celebrate Patsy and Mike’s 50th anniversary. Patsy has been a licensed professional counselor for 25 years and now works one day per week. She also taught and was a school counselor for 30 years. Joanne Hamilton Curtis and Ronald, married since December 1967, operate a custom-home company in Williamsburg,

Let us hear from you! Deadlines for submissions to class agents: • For spring 2019 issue: Dec. 15, 2018 • For fall 2019 issue: June 15, 2019

Virginia. She also has taught high school math. Son Brian lives in Richmond and has an adult daughter, Wendy, who lives in Denver with her twin sons. Joanne and Ronald visit her family often and have a residence in Breckenridge. Patsy Jones Lingle Kroll-Mazzocco and husband Felix live in Bonsall, California, where they grow 2.5 acres of avocados. She enjoys grandchildren and taking bridge lessons. Patsy and Felix married in 2004. Susie Pedigo is retired after 34 years of teaching. She is a docent for the Chrysler Museum of Art and teaches classes in creativity. She studies postmodern and classical ballet, hip-hop, and belly dance. She writes, “I’ve become the Jill of all trades I always wanted to be.” Marie Campen O’Callaghan and husband Michael live in Mooresville, North Carolina. They’ve traveled in the Western United States, Europe, and the Caribbean. They traveled to Australia in February for their 50th anniversary. They have five grandchildren. Mary Kline Johnson is retired after 40 years in juvenile justice as a probation officer, manager, and supervisor. She has been married to Doug since 1972. One daughter lives in Washington, D.C., and works in politics. The other

Mary Turner Boyd lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, and is glad that other Mary Washington grads live nearby, including Kathryn Fowler Bahnson ’66, Kay Majeski ’66, Gloria Shelton Gibson ’69, and Sidney Robins Lockaby ’71. Mary and classmate Catherine Wilson of Alexandria, Virginia, have participated in President’s Travel Club trips. Mary’s son, daughter-in-law, and two children live in northeastern Tennessee. Eleanor Frith Peters is back in New York City now that husband Mike is retired as president of St. John’s College in Santa Fe, New Mexico. They cruised from Lisbon, Portugal, to Dublin, Ireland, to celebrate their 50th anniversary. Daughter Becca is a high school geography teacher and lives with her husband and three children in Greenville, South Carolina. Son Mike, a retired Army colonel, and family were living in Washington, D.C., but expected his foreign service officer wife to be posted to Spain. They have two children. Nancy McDonald Legat and husband Dan enjoy traveling and spending time with family, including three great-grandchildren. Nancy enjoys gardening, writing, and crafting.

Jane Farrar Montague enjoyed reunion in 2017 and hanging out with Gayle Atwood Channel, Gail Dise, and Mary Beth Dore. She’d like to hear from classmates vacationing or living Betty Dobbins Talley ’68 hiked the last in Washington state.

100 kilometers of Camino de Santiago in Northern Spain. is a Mary Washington graduate who is a nurse practitioner in Raleigh, North Carolina, and recently gave Mary and Doug their first grandchild. Virginia Blackwell Rigsby and husband John live in Orlando, Florida. They recently spent five weeks in Africa, visiting animal preserves in several countries including Tanzania. This summer they planned an Arctic Circle trip to end with a week in Iceland. Beverly Hammond McCauley and Bill planned to mark their 50th anniversary this summer with a tour tracing the Lewis and Clark expedition. Beverly and Bill live in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, but recently purchased a second home in Charlottesville, Virginia, where they lived while he finished medical school in 1970.

Yvonne J. Milspaw retired from teaching college three years ago. Husband Douglas Evans also is retired from his broadcast engineering job. Son Wesley teaches humanities at a local community college, and son Brandt has taken over his father’s broadcast engineering position. Yvonne and Douglas have a grandson. They were planning a family trip to Northern Ireland this summer. Ann Dalby Cole lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and attained the rank of Life Master in duplicate bridge two years ago. She plays percussion in a concert/ marching/pep band; attends baseball games of the AAA Albuquerque Isotopes and women’s basketball games of the University of New Mexico Lobos; travels to bridge tournaments and national parks; and has five beautiful cats.

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CLASS NOTES Susan Church Dillon and John, who will celebrate their 50th anniversary next year, live in historic Oxford, Maryland, on the Eastern Shore. After 20 years as head of the upper school for the Country School in Easton, Susan is retired. Children Meghan, Lindsey, and Brendan live in St. Louis; Washington, D.C.; and Philadelphia. Susan and John have 10 grandchildren. After attending reunion in 2017, Mary Beth Bush Dore and husband Casey visited with Gayle Channel and husband Warren; Gail Balderson Dise; and other relatives and friends in the Tidewater area. In December, the Dores celebrated their 50th anniversary with a cruise to Cuba, traveling with daughter Ginger Dore Marshall ’94, and son-in-law Scott.

1968

Meg Livingston Asensio meglala46@gmail.com A spirited group enjoyed our 50th reunion weekend. Thanks to all who contributed to the reunion gift. The Class of 1968 is now recognized on a brass plaque in the beautiful, newly restored Heslep Amphitheatre. Our class was proud to see Donna Sheehan Gladis inducted as the new president of the Alumni Association. Many reunion attendees heard about the student counseling services available at the Talley Center with the support of Betty Dobbins Talley and her husband. Betty had some amazing travel adventures this past year. She hiked the last 100 kilometers of Camino de Santiago in Northern Spain with friends last fall; visited Argentina, Chile, and Easter Island in April; and toured Ireland right after the reunion. At home in Sebastian, Florida, she volunteers for Habitat for Humanity, Riverside Theater, Impact 100, and Vero Beach Museum of Art. Helaine Patterson of Connecticut was unable to attend reunion due to caregiving duties for family members in Georgia and Florida. Eileen Curley Baker was on a river cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam with husband Frank. They divide their time among residences in Rhode Island, Florida, and Connecticut. They have four children and four grandchildren, ages 5, 4, 3, and 2. Mary James Wright received a master’s degree in theater and returned to Mary Washington as a faculty member in

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1969, taking over Albert R. Klein’s classes after his death. She served on the committee to make the campus coed, a status long established by the time son Christopher Wright ’93 enrolled. Mary worked in children’s theater and instructional design before completing her career as managing editor of Time-Life Children’s Publishing and Education. Barbara Bennett was one of the first women to work on Wall Street in 1968, and one of the first women to attend the Chase Manhattan Bank Credit Training Program. She earned an MBA in finance from Fordham Graduate School of Business in 1973. She was an international banker traveling to Latin America for Chase Manhattan, Bank of America, and Citibank. She is CEO of Anari Inc., working with large institutional investors. After collecting artwork for many years, Barbie now owns Q Street Fine Art in Washington, D.C. Douglas Finney is a psychotherapist at Finney Zimmerman Psychiatric Associates, with offices in Norfolk and Virginia Beach. She has developed a side practice in sports psychology, working with high school and middle school athletes. She also works with the Old Dominion University football team as a confidence coach.

Jim live in Staunton and their guest cottage is yearning to see more of you. Mary Margaret Marston Monroe and Richard became grandparents for the third time in April, a little girl born to their son and his wife. She joins the grandboys, their daughter’s children, ages 9 and 12. The Monroes live in Blacksburg, Virginia. Barbara Stevenson Kerkhoff shared some of her Mary Washington memories, including learning harp from Jeanne Chalifoux Goddin, who sadly passed away in January. Barbara continues to play harp for weddings and events. Nancy Porter Atakan of Istanbul, Turkey, was featured in the Fall/ Winter 2017 issue of Mary Washington Magazine. Nancy and Mehmet are celebrating 50 years of marriage, and both sons and their families live within walking distance. Nancy had art shows scheduled in Istanbul and Canakkale, Turkey; Stockholm, Sweden; and Brooklyn, New York. The Brooklyn show, at the International Studio & Curatorial Program, was to open Oct. 30 and continue for three months.

Elizabeth “Liz” Morgan Golladay has been dealing with the aftermath of losing her husband, H. Randall Miller Jr., in July 2017. She’s back in the studio after a long hiatus to be a caregiver. She attended our Chesterfield County public schools reunion, then recruited Barbara Burton Micou ’69 back traveled to Raleigh to work to help children in unstable homes. for a four-day studio mentoring workshop with a married At reunion an alum from the Class of team of acrylic and collage artists. 2003 asked Mary Ellen “Ashe” Ashelford Lynn Belcher Fox was spending the “Is that a tiara?” Before Ashe could summer and fall at the family cabin on the respond, the younger alum glanced at her north shore of Gull Lake in Minnesota. nametag and said, “Oh, 1968. You’re in Four kids, four grandkids, three that cool class!” Georgia Carroll Sherlock in-laws, and two friends came to visit. reported that two members of the Class of 1993 asked if they could join our Leneice Wu retired in 2002 from the class because we were the coolest ones. Library of Congress. Daughter Emily Sally Guy Brown enjoyed seeing the campus looking so gorgeous with landscaping and beautiful new buildings. Carol Hawtin also enjoyed reunion, writing, “We certainly held our place as the Most Fun Class Ever.” Pam Tompkins Huggins said reunion made her prouder than ever of our extraordinary class: “Every five years, we all get the joy of being with smart, successful, and sassy women.” She and

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Wolf is a stage manager in San Jose, California, and son Paul Wolf is a paralegal in Waterbury, Connecticut. Paul’s son, Lucas Royce Wolf, is named for Leneice’s late husband, Royce Wolf, who died in 2005. In 2013, Leneice married John Thomas, an attorney. They were moving to a senior residence in Northern Virginia as they coped with John’s Parkinson’s disease.


Iris Harrell ’69 is consulting for two families affected by the Santa Rosa firestorm of 2017. Janice Bryant Lotterhos, Marilyn Wheeler Hiatt, Betty Haskins McClaskey, and Mary Lou Hull Soper continued their reunion in the Canadian Rockies aboard the Rocky Mountaineer train from Vancouver to Banff. They spent time in Lake Louise before flying home from Calgary. In Vancouver they had dinner with Meg Livingston Asensio and husband Ash, who had just completed an Alaska cruise. Susan McCrory Braaten and husband Tom live in New Bern, North Carolina, and spend time with their daughter and her family, who live in Raleigh. Susan provides technology training and support for Keller Williams Realty in New Bern. Merrilyn Sawyer Dodson and husband Steve spent 10 days in France last year and enjoyed a vacation this year in Atlantic Beach, North Carolina. They are adapting to Steve’s diagnosis of Parkinson’s. Reunion brought together Custis Hall suitemates Nelle McLaughlin Busch, Amelia Cooper Grosberg, Sharon Maddrea Nelson, and Kathy Nagy Schabacker for the first time since the ’70s. After reunion, Stevie Danahy Larson and Peter planned to travel to Sturbridge Village, Massachusetts, for a July conference of the Society of American Period Furniture Makers. Stevie cares for her mom, who has dementia and still lives two blocks from Mary Washington. Dodo Fisher Roberts sold her house in Wilton, Connecticut, and moved to a downtown apartment where she can walk everywhere with her new rescue pup. After reunion, she was headed to Nantucket for the summer. Debbie Derr McClintock is president of the Woman’s Club of Farmville, Virginia, vice president of Central Virginia Arts, secretary of the garden club, and a member of the Commonwealth Chorale of Virginia. After reunion she planned to prepare for an October family reunion. Bobbie Price Wallach reflected that the late Dr. Laura Sumner would have been proud of women she mentored from our class, including Bobbie and fellow reunion attendees Judy Henley Beck, Judith

Jackson Jones, Pam Tompkins Huggins, Julie Deane Webb, Leneice Wu, and Donna Harrison Lile.

Shortly before reunion, Ash and I moved from Southern California to Denver, Colorado, where we were living in an apartment until our house in an over55 community was completed. After reunion, we spent an amazing three weeks on a land tour and Windstar

Pam Hogan Baynard’s son Nathan and his husband adopted a baby boy, Luca, last November. Pam feels she should get the award for being the oldest first-time grandmother in our class. But Marianne DeBlois Zentz has a first grandchild born in February in Houston, so she contends for the title as well. Any other competitors?

Karen Kilgore Ralston and Jim moved to Melbourne Beach, Florida, where they can see dolphins, alligators, and manatees, and be near their daughter. They have a second home in Colorado near their son Regina Sneed ’69 is a guide for public tours and grandkids. at San Francisco’s Museum of Modern Art. Karen tells a harrowing story of breaking her neck last year on cruise in Alaska, including a float a cruise in the Mediterranean. She plane ride over the Taku glacier. has fully recovered, but it took five months. Travel insurance covered the As I was finishing this column, I learned huge expense of getting her home. of the death of Kerry Walsh Sweet ’69 from pancreatic cancer. Kerry started Bonnie Page Hoopengardner and Roger with our class, left for a year, and visited Karen and Jim in Florida on returned to graduate in 1969. She their way to Port St. Lucie. Karen also and I had reconnected on Facebook had dinner with Linda Huff Alderson’s and had lunch together when Ash husband, Sandy, and some of the and I were in Seattle last summer. Mets staff. Karen planned a trip to Lake Como, in Italy, to see friends. She gets the resilience award!

1969

Iris Harrell morejoy43@gmail.com Megan Garvin ’18, recipient of the Class of 1969 Laura V. Sumner Memorial Scholarship, received a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology with a minor in business administration. Jenifer Higgins Clark and Dane live in Dunkirk, Maryland, and still run her oceanography business, Jenifer Clark’s Gulfstream. Beth Ball Townsend moved to a townhouse in the historic Church Hill area of Richmond, Virginia, where she works full time running a security business. She is a happy grandmother. Lyn Howell Gray lives in the African country of Liberia, where husband Jim heads research at Cuttington University. They’ve moved three hours away from the capital, Monrovia, to escape high rents. Lyn is semiretired but is director of Liberia Reads, which trains and coaches Liberian teachers. Lyn and Jim still have a house in Blacksburg, Virginia, but aren’t ready to retire there yet.

I, Iris Harrell, am consulting for two families affected by the Santa Rosa firestorm of October 2017. One couple’s house in my neighborhood burned to the ground, and the other had severe smoke damage. They needed help with insurance claims and getting a designer and contractor, among other things. I am chair of the building committee in my 3,000-house homeowners’ association. I play lots of pickleball and some golf, take yoga, train at the gym, and play in the folk band More Joy. I saw Sharon Dobie in Seattle while Ann and I were visiting Ann’s uncle. Sharon and I were American studies majors at Mary Wash, but I hadn’t seen her since college. I was surprised to learn that I would be inducted into UMW’s Business Hall of Fame this October! Who knew American studies majors could be entrepreneurs? Charlotte Padgett Duis sold her nursery several years ago and enjoys the freedom to travel when she wants. She and her husband volunteer for nonprofits. Regina Sneed enjoys living in a continuing-care senior community in

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CLASS NOTES San Francisco. She is a guide for public tours at San Francisco’s Museum of Modern Art. She still protests the same injustices we protested in the 1960s, but with a 70-year-old body. She asks, “Is that really fair?”

the items, check out the unedited Class Notes online for summaries. Cathie plans to match our class’s contributions to the Class of ’69 scholarship that will be celebrated at our 50th reunion.

Linda Marett Disosway reports that Mary Pat Tull Jenkins passed away May 4, within a month of her diagnosis with melanoma. We have lost too many of our classmates to cancer.

1970

Nancy Yeager Allard and her husband attended two of Mary Washington’s Great Lives lectures last year. She planned a trip to Alaska and the British Isles with her sisters and spouses. She has completed her three-part pledge for our Class of ’69 scholarship. Anne Witham Kilpatrick and Jeanine Zavrel Fearns planned to get together in South Carolina for the Greenville Scottish Games earlier this year. Suzy Bender Winterble and Toni Turner Bruseth planned to get together in October. Linda Gattis Shull had a replacement of a prior knee replacement, so she was working on physical therapy. Mary Washington roommate and best friend for life Barbara Burton Micou came to Charlotte, North Carolina, from Virginia to help her get through the first few days. Barbara was recruited back to work by Chesterfield County public schools due to her experience helping children with unstable home situations. Gloria Shelton Gibson was adjusting to retirement and was planning a trip to Iceland. She looks forward to seeing classmates at our 50th reunion in June 2019. Phyllis Newby Thompson and John live in the Silicon Valley of California. They have a son in Minneapolis and a daughter in New York. Phyllis enjoys gardening and spending time with her two golden retrievers.

Anne Summervold LeDoux ledouxanne@yahoo.com

In February I made my dream trip to Antarctica, and it was everything I had hoped! John and I spent Easter in Venice and then took a small ship and sailed down the eastern coast of Italy, ending in Malta.

Our 50th reunion will be here in less than two years. Our class gift will benefit the mental health center on campus. Thanks to those who have contributed already.

1971

In January, 10 of us from the Class of 1970 met for lunch in downtown Fredericksburg. Karen Anderson Muszynski, Frances Cone, Susan Duffey DiMaina, Suzanne Ferguson Buchanan, Tina Kormanski Krause, Kathleen O’Neill, Gabby Pagin, Elaine Wilson Maloney, Barb Bingley, and I attended.

Mary Anne Burns passed away Nov. 9, 2017. Friends who gathered in Arlington, Virginia, to celebrate her life included Barbara Bingley, Marion Blakey, Tina Kormanski Krause, Susan Wagner Lacy, Kathleen O’Neill, Joanne Sinsheimer, and Kathy Thiel, all Class of 1970; Cynthia “Davey” Ellis, Natalee Franzyshen, Kathy “Ernie” Marilla Kent, Diana Rupert Livingston, Dory Potter Teipel, and Jane Touzalin, all Class of 1971; and Karen Tucker Jenkins and Philo Funk Rosenfeld, both Class of 1972.

Gabby visited Mexico in February and planned to celebrate her September birthday in Greece. Tina planned an Alaska trip this summer. Susie and her husband planned to rent a house in Florence, Italy, for a year. Kathi went to Northern Italy. Elaine retired from Fairfax County schools and has three local grandchildren. Frances took a cruise to France; her twins are now 33. Karen retired a year ago, is active in community fundraising, and put on a Titanic dinner for 60 people. Her son married in August. Sandy Sayre has been raising her grandchildren – now 16, 18, and 20 – since her daughter died in 2013. One grandchild is a Mary Washington student, one is at Longwood University, and the youngest is at Chesapeake Schools’ Science & Medicine Academy.

Reading the column about Venus R. Jones ’68 in the last issue of the UMW Magazine sparked a reminiscence for Maureen Rowe Paige, a transfer student who roomed for a year with Eveline Our classmates Marilyn Shull Black Cropper. “I didn’t realize until a week and Cathie O’Connor Woteki were or so later when the newspaper came mentioned in the Spring/Summer to interview me and was told that I was 2018 issue of the University of Mary the first case of inadvertent integration Washington Magazine. If you missed of a white student and a black student, in other words not requested by the students The Class of 1970 50th Reunion gift themselves.” will benefit the UMW Talley Center for The two became Counseling Services, named in honor of friends, but Eveline left Mary Betty Dobbins Talley ’68. Washington and

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ultimately earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees elsewhere. They planned to reunite on campus this fall.

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Karen Laino Giannuzzi kapitankL11@yahoo.com

1972

Sherry Rutherford Myers sherryhon2011@gmail.com Dennis and I finally moved to my late parents’ homestead in the Roanoke area. I look forward to alumni activities and reconnecting with classmates in this part of the world. Sherrie Mitchell Boone is marking 50 years of friendship with Nancy Mahone Miller, Martha Stansell Vogel, Laurie Clark Crigler, Kathy Duley, Kathy Ray, Shirley Harris Sutton, Terri Hall Alford, Brenda Franklin, Anne Toms Richardson, and Mary Saunders Williams. Several of them planned an August get-together at Mary’s cottage in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. In fall they were to meet at Shirley’s place in Nelson County, Virginia, where Lona Kardos Tonelson and Gail Sherwood Cervarich were to join them. Elizabeth Lewis Wenner and Charles live in Charleston, South Carolina. Betty loves riding her two Dutch Warmblood geldings in dressage and sailing her Cape Dory 36. She is a social justice advocate in Charleston, striving to reduce racism and homelessness. Cheryl Prietz Childress and Dave enjoy their granddaughter, Ellie. Daughter


Historic Preservation Grad Is VDOT Guardian of Virginia Historical Treasures

Stephani Kalis

Ken Stuck shows artifacts, right, that are similar to the ones found at the Newtown site.

K

en Stuck ’90 sits at the intersection of progress and the past in his job as cultural resources coordinator for the Virginia Department of Transportation’s busy Hampton Roads District. In an area of Virginia that is home to America’s first permanent European settlement – along with a bustling modern network of roads, tunnels, and bridges – Stuck deploys teams of archaeologists to search for traces of the past beneath land that has been slated for roads that will keep Virginia moving into the future. Sometimes, his work leads VDOT to redesign projects so that they don’t unnecessarily disturb historical sites. Other times, it leads his teams to unearth long-buried history. A few years ago, Stuck oversaw work that offered a rare glimpse of an 18th-century settlement found near the I-64/I-264 interchange on the border of Norfolk and Virginia Beach. Work to improve the interchange continues, but before construction began, Stuck engaged the College of William & Mary’s Center for Archaeological Research – where he held his first job in archaeology – to perform a fullscale excavation of the site. Previous archaeological work

had revealed that the location was home to the Colonial-era settlement of Newtown. Stuck said the investigation uncovered a cellar that contained more than 20,000 artifacts, including pottery, pipes, and even leather soles from shoes that had presumably been tossed into a brick-lined well found during the excavation. Because the artifacts were found on what at the time was the property of an area church, the church owns them. But Stuck said church and VDOT officials have worked together to ensure that the fragile items are preserved, with the help of William & Mary’s archaeology lab. The project exemplified what Stuck likes most about his job: the opportunity to connect the community with a piece of its history. Stuck worked with VDOT’s public relations team to produce a video about the project, which helped educate area residents about the early 18th-century Colonial settlement lying beneath the interstates many of them travel daily. (Find VDOT: Unearthing Colonial Newtown on YouTube.) He also visits schools to talk about his work. A Richmond native, Stuck knew early on that he wanted to do

something hands-on involving history. “I got very interested in archaeology in high school,” he said. He visited what was then Mary Washington College during his college search, and after a tour, decided to seek out the school’s Department of Historic Preservation, led at the time by Professor Carter Hudgins. “We came in unannounced from a regular tour and asked if we could talk to someone,” Stuck recalled. “Professor Hudgins spent 45 minutes with my parents and me talking about the department. I pretty much left that day knowing that Mary Washington was where I wanted to be.” He met his wife, Wendy Scott Stuck ’92, at Mary Washington. Stuck went on to earn a master’s degree from William & Mary, then worked at their Center for Archaeological Research before joining VDOT. “I thoroughly enjoy what I do,” Stuck said. “We try to contribute something to the knowledge of archaeology and architecture in Virginia with our work.” – Emily Freehling

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CLASS NOTES Thea and husband Eric stay active in the Atlanta area, and son Alex and wife Belle recently purchased a home in Richmond. Dennis and I planned to get together with Cheryl and Dave at Natural Bridge, Virginia.

1973

Joyce Hines Molina Joyce.molina@verizon.net More than 40 registered to attend our 45th class reunion. Many have retired and enjoy exploring hobbies, traveling, and grandchildren. Janet Hedrick promises to retire before our 50th reunion. At the class dinner some said you don’t receive UMW’s emails. It may be because your email address has changed, in which case you should contact the Alumni Relations office to update your information. Check your email “junk” folder as well. And consider this a reminder to send me your news when it happens. Kaye Carrithers has a new grandson, who was born on her mother’s birthday. This is grandbaby No. 7 and grandson No. 6. We celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary during our annual flight to Sentimental Journey in our 1946 J3 Piper Cub from Richmond, Virginia, to Lock Haven, Pennsylvania. After talking to Winnie Stalnaker Feldhaus, I’m more excited than ever about our upcoming adventure to Alaska.

1974

Sid Baker Etherington sidleexx@yahoo.com Suzy Passarello Quenzer suzyquenzer@gmail.com We’re sad to report the passing of Pat Denton Rounds earlier this year. Those of us who lived on the third floor of Willard freshman year remember Pat well. Pam Smith McGahagin and her family have lived in Atlanta, Georgia, for three decades. Pam works in broadcasting but plans to retire next year. She remembers Pat Rounds, her Willard roommate, and their “old girl” get-togethers with Diane Harvey Smith Mosier. In June, Pam spent a relaxing weekend with Nonie Gassman Robinson at her home in lovely St. Petersburg, Florida, where they checked out the Salvador Dali museum.

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Pam hopes everyone shows up for our 45th reunion, the weekend of May 31 to June 2, 2019.

1975

Armecia Spivey Medlock vagirl1805@msn.com Victoria Scarborough owns and operates Materia Prima Ventures, a consulting business to help startups commercialize their technology. She retired as global director of external

Classmates who attended Jane’s funeral included Carolyn Roberts, Judy Sledge Joyce, Margo Clifford, Ann Chryssikos McBroom, Margaret Spivey, Betty Ann Gupton Teter, and Patty Finamore Wingfield. Carolyn said that while they were sad, they all enjoyed sharing stories over lunch, which would have pleased Jane.

Marti Taylor Clements’ son Tom, who is Carolyn’s godson, was married in Connecticut in May. He graduated from the University of North Carolina and was working in Madison, Wisconsin. Elizabeth Lewis Wenner ’72 is a social

justice advocate in Charleston, striving to reduce racism and homelessness. technology at Sherwin Williams and moved to Charlottesville, Virginia. Jan Hausrath Seddelmeyer is retired from the global consulting firm APCO Worldwide, and husband David Seddelmeyer also is retired. Daughter Jinny Grace Seddelmeyer is a high school senior in Reston, Virginia, where the family lives. Jan and Pamela Hatfield St. Clair stay in touch by phone. My news is that my daughter, Taylor, became engaged this past June, with a wedding set for April 27. She is a nurse in the oncology/hematology/ bone marrow transplant unit at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City, Kansas, and has begun a two-year nurse-practitioner program. Our younger granddaughter, Lucy, turned 3 this past June and our older granddaughter, Presley, started kindergarten at the end of August.

1976

Madelin Jones Barratt madbarratt@aol.com Our class president and great friend to many, Jane Reese-Coulbourne, passed away April 23, 2018. Jane had battled cancer for many years and was a tireless advocate for cancer research. Jane received a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Mary Washington and was among the first women to graduate from the University of Virginia’s master’s program in chemical engineering. Her genuine, ready laugh and easy manner will be missed.

UNIVERSITY OF MARY WASHINGTON MAGAZINE FALL/WINTER 2018

Margo Clifford retired from teaching after 41 years and planned a cruise to the Greek isles with former roommate Ann Chryssikos McBroom. Lucy Dee Kinsey and Daphne Johnston Elliott completed the Virginia Master Naturalist training program and, as citizen scientists, were monitoring the Bluebird Trail at James Monroe’s Highland, near Charlottesville. Kate O’Driscoll Sartor Hilburn is a photographer and an advocate for a regional domestic violence agency. Her photography and writing collaboration Beating Hearts: Stories of Domestic Violence has been exhibited around the country for the past 20 years. Kate enjoys spending time with friends in France and visiting daughter Jenny, a veterinarian in Kansas. Kate earned an MFA in photography from Texas Woman’s University in 1995. She was married to Wiley Hilburn, a journalism professor at Louisiana Tech University, who died in 2014. Beverley Condrey Berry is semiretired from the oil and gas industry in Texas and traveled to Italy with friends. She and her husband have a peacock that showed up in one of their trees. Beverley misses Mary Washington, but her best buddy, Eva Graham ’75, shares Facebook posts – including trips to Carl’s Frozen Custard! – that transport Beverley back to Fredericksburg. Susan Sendlein Luscomb and husband Rich welcomed granddaughter Campbell Reeve Autry, born in April to daughter Alicia and her husband, Dustin. Alicia is a clinical psychologist in practice with her dad. Sue and Rich’s daughter Ashton and husband Zach were renovating a


home in Memphis after living in London for seven months. Sue and Rich took a 10-day trip to northern Italy with friends. Kim Stambaugh Jureckson and husband Mitchell are grandparents to George, born in December 2017 to daughter Erica and her husband, Ian. Kim is a dance teacher and choreographer in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. She’s artistic director of the Grant Street Dance Company. She also works with retirement home residents to improve their posture and balance. Mary Johnson Mulligan was retiring from NASA after more than 30 years at the Kennedy Space Center. She looked forward to extended visits with a son in San Francisco and daughters in Northern Virginia and New York. She traveled to California for her son’s graduation from a radiology residency, and her family vacationed in Italy last fall. Helen Thornton Branch is 79 and reports that life is still good. She works with domestic violence victims and incarcerated women, travels often, and recently returned from a vacation in

Gazunis and husband Randy hosted Tom on the way as only a ’76er can. Lundy and husband Jim hoped to travel to the West Coast to see California, Vancouver, and Alaska – and Tom. Emmett Snead III self-published his historical novel Yankees in the Cornfield, the fictionalized memoir of a boy growing up on a Fredericksburg dairy farm in the 1950s and ’60s. My husband, Henry, and I spend time with our four grandchildren in Northern Virginia. We enjoyed a trip to Charleston, South Carolina, for a wedding in May. Shrimp and grits, barbecue, time with old friends, and lots of history made it a memorable, fun trip.

Hannah Patterson Crew planned to retire from the commonwealth of Virginia in September. Hannah and husband Todd expected a grandson in December, the child of daughter Elizabeth and her husband, Chris. Hannah and Todd’s daughter Emily and husband Brandon live in St. Petersburg, Florida. Barbara Bryant Zingg was West Virginia’s 2017-18 secondary math teacher of the year and continues to teach in Charles Town. Her husband of 42 years, Robert, retired from teaching high school special education in 2017. Lundy Baker Updike had a visit from Helen Taylor Salter in July. Lundy’s son Tom Updike ’17 accepted a tech job in California and drove across country to find a house to rent. Kate

Janet Place Fuller janetpfuller@aol.com Reunion weekend was awesome! It was wonderful reconnecting and connecting with so many alumni. A highlight was the president’s reception at Brompton. We were reminded of the beauty of Brompton and its grounds, making us grateful that it is identified as a Historic Landmark. I would encourage all of you to mark your calendars for 2023. It is not too early to plan to attend our 45th reunion.

1979

Barbara Goliash Emerson Emers3@msn.com

1977

Anne Robinson Hallerman arhmwc77@yahoo.com Best wishes to Kathleen Williams Pyrce, and congratulations to her lucky groom, John Mischler, who married July 21.

Janet McConnell Philips is retired and divides her Victoria Scarborough ’75 owns and time between Falls Church, operates Materia Prima Ventures, a Virginia, and Essex, consulting business to help startups Connecticut. She commercialize their technology. planned to visit Mary Washington roommate Sue Whittier Haley in Saco, Maine, in July. Mexico. Grandsons CJ and Avery have completed college. Helen’s daughter, Sybil, travels as a flight attendant. Helen cares for Sybil’s dog, Baxter, who loves to run, play, and chase things.

1978

The “Goddesses” – Jo McTague Atkinson, Craig “Skippy” Strickland Robinson, Pam Roberts Albrecht, Terrie Martin Dort, and Vicki Sprague Ravenel – held their annual reunion in Charleston. They met in March for Terrie’s birthday and to celebrate the life of her husband, Dean, who passed away in January. Vicki remains on the UMW Alumni Board and is vice president

The Alumni Association recognized Gayle Weinberger Petro with the Frances Liebenow Armstrong ’36 Service Award for her commitment and service to Mary Washington. Gayle has served on the Alumni Association Board for many years and has dedicated much time and energy to our alma mater. Carol Middlebrook and husband John took a hiking tour of the Douro Valley of Portugal. Linda McCarthy Milone and husband Paul celebrated his college roommate’s anniversary in Bermuda. I have retired after 32 years with Fairfax County government and more than 35 years total in local government. I’ll be serving on the Reunion Committee with Gayle for our upcoming 40th, May 31 through June 2, 2019. Put it on your calendars now! If you have suggestions for our Friday night class party or anything else, please contact Gayle or me.

1980

Susan Garter skaygm@aol.com

After a hiatus, the Class of 1980 once again has a The ready laugh and easy manner of class class agent. Susan president Jane Reese-Coulbourne ’76 will Garter looks forward to hearing be missed by her many friends. from classmates with news to be published of alumni awards, serving as a in the Spring/Summer 2019 member of the executive committee issue of the University of Mary for another two-year term. Washington Magazine.

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CLASS NOTES

1981

1984

Mark Madigan took an early retirement from the Department of Defense in 2010, and in 2017 earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in writing from Spalding University in Louisville, Kentucky. The program included foreign summer residences in Athens, Prague, Rome, and Edinburgh. Finishing Line Press will publish his chapbook, Thump and Other Poems, in January.

Greetings! I’m Christine Waller Manca, and it’s a pleasure to become the class agent for 1984. To (re-)introduce myself, I have been living in Houston, Texas, since 1990. Before moving to Houston, I enjoyed six postgrad years in Washington, D.C. I am senior editor at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and my husband, Joe, is an art history professor at Rice University. My daughter, Camilla, graduated from Trinity University in San Antonio and has returned there for a master’s in education. My son, Marcus, is a junior at Rice and is spending the fall semester in Rome.

Lori Foster Turley LoriFTurley@gmail.com

1982

Tara Corrigall corrigallt@gmail.com

Christine Waller Manca christine.manca@att.net

Last December, I got back to Washington and visited with Nan Stanford McCarry ’83 and her husband, Caleb, who live in Leesburg. I have also kept in touch with Marcia Guida my Mary Washington roommate Kathy Marcia.G.James@gmail.com Key White, who has lived in Calgary, Our 35th reunion was a blast. Attendees Alberta, Canada, since graduation. I am included Sarah Thompson Doig, Cathy excited to have the chance to reconnect Cooke, Mabel Royal, Anne Thompson with the class of 1984, and I look forward Steen, Karrie Nelson Ferguson, Susan to our 35th reunion in 2019. Please be Jones Hollister, Vince DiBenedetto, sure to send me your updates for future editions A shout-out to Blair Howard ’84 for running of Class Notes. the super-fun Facebook group “Our Mary Thanks go to our previous class Washington College Friends.” correspondent, Auby J. Curtis.

1983

Judith Sweetman Gwynn, Joe Davoli, and Judith Inge Forrest. Many thanks to Scott Harris for the James Monroe Museum venue for our class party. Mabel Royal won a North Carolina Central University award for excellence in teaching, nominated by students and voted on by students and faculty. Judith Inge Forrest marked her 80th birthday in September. She is pursuing a master’s degree in nonprofit management from New England College. She lives in Littleton, North Carolina. Billy Pugh’s daughter Katherine graduated from Berry College and teaches third grade near Atlanta. Daughter Lindsey finished her sophomore year at Kennesaw State University. Billy and wife Allison celebrated their 25th anniversary with a trip to Hawaii. They often get together with Billy’s Mary Washington roommate Tim Money and wife Melody.

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Freda White lives in Madison County, Virginia, and after many years of teaching high school biology, she switched careers and is a hearing specialist. All her children have left the nest, and her youngest just received her bachelor’s degree in nursing and has embarked on a nursing career in Harrisonburg. Freda has two beautiful granddaughters and is awaiting the arrival of a grandson in the fall. Freda is part of a group of Mary Washington friends who get together often, most recently for a stay in Nags Head, North Carolina. She reports that Cindy Greer Chalkley lives in North Carolina and has three children, one of whom lives in Alaska. Trish Bowdring Gordon lives in Herndon; her son started at Christopher Newport University this fall. Carole Comly Dezii and Mary Driver Downs both have kids living in Hilo, Hawaii. Teresa Negron Lough ’90 lives in Fredericksburg and stays busy with her

UNIVERSITY OF MARY WASHINGTON MAGAZINE FALL/WINTER 2018

four children. Lynn Conville Abraham ’83 lives in Richmond and is looking forward to retirement soon. Yvonne Koontz Sening ’85 lives in Centreville and is involved with the Woman’s Club of Fairfax while raising three boys. After 11 years as an attorney, Sarah Kosak Calvert is now a United Methodist pastor serving more than 100 churches in Northern Virginia. Sarah lives in Lake of the Woods, near Fredericksburg, and gets to town often. Son Matthew, 24, is a server at Sedona Taphouse, and Sarah hopes classmates will say hi when they dine there. After living in Northern Virginia, Jessica Woodman Godwin is back in Fredericksburg and looks forward to crossing paths with local classmates. She works for the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. I am sorry to report that Anne Baber Wallis lost son Christian Meriwether Kennedy last November. Christian, 21, was pursuing an equestrian career and was especially accomplished in dressage. Christian was tragically killed as a passenger in a car crash in Wellington, Florida. Anne’s classmates and friends extend our deepest sympathy to Anne and her family. A shout-out to Blair Howard for running the super-fun Facebook group “Our Mary Washington College Friends.” There is no substitute, however, for actually being together on our Mary Washington campus and in Fredericksburg. Please make plans now to attend reunion May 31 through June 2, 2019.

1985

Joanne Bartholomew Lamm jlamm88@verizon.net Joanne Bartholomew Lamm and Chris Lamm went on a Mary Washington alumni trip to Great Britain. The group of 13 included Associate Professor Michael Spencer ’03 of the Historic Preservation Department, who enhanced all of the tours with his historic preservation

No Class Agent? Your classmates still want to hear from you! Send news directly to classnotes@umw.edu.


Social Media Champ Recalls Pro Football Days

C

hat up Dustin McDonald ’07 these days, and he’ll remind you about one of the most underused features of Twitter – it’s Lists – and share at least five unique ways to engage followers on Instagram. The former professional football player might not mention his gridiron days at all. “That was so long ago,” stressed the digital and social media strategist now living in Washington, D.C. Back at Yorktown High School in Arlington, Virginia, McDonald rarely came off the field, playing three positions. He spent his first year of college at Division III Carnegie Mellon University, getting few carries as a true freshman running back. Unenthusiastic about classes in auditoriums, weary of snow before Thanksgiving, and eager to cut his tuition by two-thirds, he opted to transfer to Mary Washington. “The best part was some of the professors,” said McDonald, who graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. No football in Fredericksburg, but his passion for pads and plays didn’t wane, nor did club rugby and flag football satisfy the itch. His senior year at UMW he drove to Richmond three times a week to train at a highperformance center and took his final exams a week early so he could get an extra week of training near Atlanta. An online profile he created piqued interest from the Eidsvoll 1814s, a pro team in Norway, ranked eighth in Europe at the time. “I had ancestors in Norway, so this was especially appealing,” McDonald said. “Soon I was on a plane, hoping someone was going to meet me on the other side.” Provided salary, housing, insurance, a cell phone, and access to a car, McDonald played running back, linebacker, and special teams. “Signing autographs for kids

After graduation, Dustin McDonald played professional football in Norway. Now a digital and social media strategist, he recently married Stephanie Byrne in Marseille, France. The couple live in Washington, D.C.

felt pretty funny,” he said. “We had cheerleaders, but they were all volunteers. Most of the fans were actually supporting someone who was playing.” A playoff run fell short before the team, named for the signing of the Norwegian Constitution in 1814, would have advanced to the semifinals in Austria. McDonald still second guesses his decision to tackle the quarterback late in the game rather than gamble on stripping the ball from him. “I still wonder what would have happened if I had gone for the fumble,” he said, though it hardly haunts him. Instead McDonald spent three months touring 24 countries in Europe and Asia; he loved Berlin. He considered another season of football

’07

but instead went to work on his master’s in business administration at the University of Florida. He’s 34 now and recently married Stephanie Byrne in Marseille, France, followed by a honeymoon in Corsica. Looking to establish a social media marketing consulting firm, he regards football as just a blip on his résumé. Now instead of playbooks of X’s and O’s, McDonald’s preferred reads include TechCrunch, Hacker News, and books by self-help guru Tim Ferriss. Football has a limited reach in his eyes, but, he said, “technology is limitless. You can affect anyone anywhere.” – Vicki L. Friedman

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CLASS NOTES expertise. Travelers included Mary Donovan ’67, Grace May ’16, Suzannah Carretto ’15, Linda Wood Cranston ’63 and husband Craig, Suzette Robertson Hodges ’76 and husband Jim, Martha Jo Dillard Walters ’65 and friend Linda Serrett, and Meganne Lemon ’11. The trip was top-notch, and one that should be repeated.

1986

Lisa A. Harvey lisharvey@msn.com Katherine Spivey works for the federal government and co-chairs the Plain Language Action and Information Network, training federal agencies and presenting at national and international conferences. She’s also continuing her historical re-enacting, as seen in last year’s Monroe Inauguration bicentennial re-enactment at Monroe Hall.

1987

Kim Jones Isaac mwc87@infinityok.com

As for me, there are big changes in my life. After 22 years of owning a computer services company, we have opened a laser engraving business called Engraved With Style. It’s been a pretty big learning curve and a really scary change, but the time had come. Thankfully, we’ve had a lot of

Don Appiarius is a vice president for student services at a college in Wyoming. He received a doctorate last year in organizational management and hopes to return to the East Coast in about five years. Kristin Wenger ’88 is education coordinator Wife Vivian is a pediatric for the Blue Ridge Poison Center and an avid neurology nurse competitor and instructor in West Coast practitioner. swing dance. Daughter Na-Lee turns 11 this year.

great support and encouragement from the community. In addition, we’ve gotten a lot of advice from Lee Boyce Moretz ’86, and we are truly grateful. In June, my Mary Wash roommate, Lisa Onucki, visited Oklahoma City, which is only an hour from my house. We got to spend a few days together and had a blast running around Lawton and Oklahoma City.

1988

Rene Thomas-Rizzo Rene.Thomas-Rizzo@navy.mil

Jay Bradshaw jaybradshaw747@aol.com

From Kim:

Beverly J. Newman bevnewmn@yahoo.com

Kevin Sautter and Linda Milton Sautter recently celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary. Kevin retired from the Marine Corps as a naval aviator after 27 years and is now flying international routes for Atlas Air in a Boeing 747. Linda stays busy on their horse farm in Virginia. Son Daniel, daughter April, and granddaughter Phoebe are all doing well. Toni Moore Milbourne left her job with the public library and now works at the local senior center. The job involves finance and all aspects of the center, including day-to-day interaction with some great folks. Husband Tom retired from Lowe’s this year. Their youngest daughter, Samantha, attends West Virginia University. Daughter Maggie serves in the intelligence unit of the 82nd Airborne with the Army at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Children Allen and Polly are living the grown-up life. Julie Magness enjoys her career in human resources for the city of Greenbelt, Maryland. She and wife Kathy spent 2½ weeks traveling around Ireland in July. While Kathy drove, Julie’s job was to navigate and holler, “Left side of the road!”

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online and is a pastor’s wife. Her fourth grandchild was due in August.

Nee-Cee “Ringo” Baker rstarr66@msn.com From Jay: I was honored to co-chair the class reunion with Anna Wilson Hudson. More than 45 classmates attended at some point over a very busy weekend, and many brought spouses or children. You can read more about reunion online, in the unedited Class Notes. Luci DeShazo retired from the federal government in December 2016, after 29 years. She planned to get married in August and remain in Canon City, Colorado. Her daughter attends Western State Colorado University. Cathy Hill Pearson and her husband of 29 years live in Virginia Beach, Virginia, with the youngest of their four children, a high school senior. She and her 16-year-old planned a driving trip this summer from Virginia to Niagara Falls; across the United States and into Canada; down to San Diego, California; and back home. Cathy has homeschooled for 24 years – her own children and others. She also teaches Chinese children

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After Mary Washington, Christopher Simi earned a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Johns Hopkins University. He was a physicist at the Army Night Vision Lab at Fort Belvoir and a research scientist at the National GeospatialIntelligence Agency. Chris and his wife of 31 years, Sherry, have four children. Kristin Wenger received a master’s degree in teaching from the University of Virginia in 1992, then never left Charlottesville. She is education coordinator for the Blue Ridge Poison Center and an avid competitor and instructor in West Coast swing dance.

1989 Jim Czarnecki jimczarnecki@yahoo.com Jim Czarnecki has volunteered to be agent for the Class of 1989. He takes over from former class agent Leah Wilson Munnis. Lisa Barley Collins and her older child made it through the college admissions process, and her daughter planned to attend the College of William & Mary. Lisa recently celebrated 25 years with her employer. She attended an alumni event in Purcellville, Virginia, with Robin Carrier and looked forward to more events in Loudoun County.

1990

Susan Crytzer Marchant march66358@verizon.net

1991

Shannon Eadie Niemeyer sfniemeyer@comcast.net Charlie Gullo and family are still living in Vietnam, and he’d love to hear from


any UMW alumni in that country. Susan Gray Herring’s son, Mark Herring ’18, earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and double major in English with a concentration in creative writing. He was looking into job options. Susan’s daughter, Laura, graduated summa cum laude from Rappahannock Community College and entered the VCU School of Nursing in the fall. After 20 chemotherapy treatments, a bilateral mastectomy, and reconstruction surgery, Nicole LaPorte Parker is cancer-free. A routine mammogram in February 2016 found the two masses and saved her life. The love and support of classmates Amy Rose LaPierre, Cathy Pond Guillena, Dia Quillen Hablutzel, Laurie Johnson Chidlow, and Karen Clegg Blocker meant the world to Nicole, who is living every day full of gratitude.

1992

Courtney Hall Harjung charjung@hotmail.com My husband, Tom, and I are staying in Mobile, Alabama, for now. We had a great Mardi Gras season, attending five balls and lots of parades. In March we participated in a 5K, and in May we went scuba diving

as vice chair of the SkillSource Group board of directors. The organization provides free employment services to jobseekers and to businesses seeking to hire and retain qualified workers. Rachael Schmeller Crout, husband Eric, and their family hosted an exchange student from Berlin, Germany, for a few months. The student, Marie, planned to visit again this fall and possibly during Christmas. Daughter Heather planned to visit Marie’s family in Europe last summer. Daughter Anna works almost full time and was studying to become a physician’s assistant.

1993

Cheryl L. Roberts Heuser chatatcha@yahoo.com

1994

Jennifer Dockeray Muniz dockeray@apple.com Mary Trocchia Rasa received a Master of Library Science degree from Clarion University in May. She works for Harford County Public Library in Havre de Grace, Maryland. She lives in Perryville, Maryland, with husband Anthony and daughters Christina, 13, and Beth, 10.

Stephen Dawson received a doctorate Helen Thompson Mosher ’92 became vice in strategic president of communications for the National leadership in May 2018 after Active and Retired Federal Employees in May. completing his master’s in Aruba. We continue to travel to in business administration in 2014, Atlanta and Gulf Shores frequently. I both from Regent University. He is an recently lost my stepgrandmother. adjunct professor with Regent and has been an executive strategy consultant Linda Kelly Hadley has been in Apex, in private practice since 2001. North Carolina, for 19 years. Husband Jeff is a technical director with Charles Michael Cerami has been married 20 Schwab, and Linda is expanding her years to Melissa Keyser Cerami, and hobby of handmade cards and stationery they have three children – a daughter at into a business. Anna, 15, is in high James Madison University, a daughter in school, and Will, 12, is in middle school. high school, and a son in eighth grade. The Hadleys visited Yellowstone and Michael works for the Association of the Grand Teton national parks last year and United States Army and travels globally plan a trip to Europe next summer. This in the military trade show industry. summer they vacationed at the beach. Michael hopes to see many classmates at our 25th reunion in the spring. Helen Thompson Mosher moved to Annandale, Virginia, and became Colette Epple, husband David, and vice president of communications daughter Hannah live in Cleveland, for the National Active and Retired Ohio, where Colette is a professor. She Federal Employees in May. insists that “Cleveland rocks!” Fannie Davidson Gray and family live in Marc Tate was elected to a two-year term New Jersey, and they travel the world

in their free time, avoiding political discussion in an effort to remain married. Karen Mesich James recently moved to Charleston, South Carolina, where she works for Google’s data center. Karen’s oldest, Abby, was to begin at Appalachian State University this fall. Deborah Hodges Shelton was promoted to benefits specialist for Manassas, Virginia, public schools. Kelly J. Barnes works for the Army Corps of Engineers Institute for Water Resources and was included in a USA Today special issue for her work on photographer Gil Garcetti’s Women, Water, and Wells photography exhibit. As for me, I can’t believe our 25th reunion is coming up May 31 through June 2, 2019! I plan to make the trip from Austin, Texas, and hope to see lots of familiar faces there.

1995

Jane Archer jane@janearcherillustration.com

1996

Jennifer Rudalf Gates jeni17@me.com

1997

Michelle Trombetta michelletrombetta@gmail.com Amanda Neptune Bridges and her family were eager to move back to Rhode Island after her husband retired as an Air Force colonel after 23 years’ active duty. They bought a home in the quaint island town of Jamestown and looked forward to sailing and kayaking and seeing local friends and beautiful scenery. After nine moves in six states and two countries as a family, they were thrilled to be planting roots. Their children are Kate, 13; Nick, 11; and Will, 8. Christine Rollins Ragan completed her first half marathon at the North Face Endurance Challenge at Wachusett Mountain, a whopping 13 months after surgery for a full ACL tear. She and her family spent a week in June with Rebecca Giles Malin ’96 and her family at Lake Champlain. Julie Newell Leslie traveled to Tokyo and Seoul this spring. She was in Chicago in June, where she and Friar Patrick Daniel Tobin had a chance to catch up and

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CLASS NOTES explore the Windy City’s culinary scene. Friar Tobin moved from Minneapolis to take a new assignment in Chicago.

Fairfax at the Hotel Thayer in West Point, New York, in July.

Melissa VanZile has practiced family law since 2004 and is a shareholder with Barnes & Diehl P.C. in Richmond, Virginia. She has been ranked in the Top 50 Women Lawyers in Virginia Christine Rollins Ragan ’97 completed by Super Lawyers. Melissa was named her first half marathon at the North Face a Leader in the Law Endurance Challenge at Wachusett by Virginia Lawyers Mountain. Weekly in 2016, has been listed in Super Lawyers as a Virginia Super Lawyer for couscous cooking class, and randomly Family Law from 2013-2018 and as running into a childhood friend in a Rising Star from 2011-2012. Marrakech at the Jemaa el-Fnaa square. I visited my sixth continent, Africa, with a trip to Morocco. Highlights included glamping in the Sahara Desert, taking a

1998

Erika Giaimo Chapin erikagchapin@gmail.com Jen Carter Tsimpris is social services manager at Cedarfield Retirement Community in Richmond’s West End and is mom of two adorable children, John Landon, 6½, and Anne Kathryn, 2½. Jen keeps touch with Michelle Ayers, who lives near Fredericksburg, and Cat Cogut.

1999

Amanda Goebel Thomas goebel_amanda@hotmail.com

2000

Jennifer Burger Thomas jenntec14@gmail.com

2001

Annie Johnston anniebatesjohnston@gmail.com Caroline Jarvis Gee lives in London with husband Alex. Several Mary Washington friends attended their January wedding. Caroline and Alex traveled to Jordan and looked forward to moving to the London suburbs, where they would have space for a barbecue. Lauryn Blevins Ihle lives in New Hampshire, where she teaches high school biology and environmental science. She and husband Jay are parents of 3-year-old twins Estella and Reese and 2-year-old Cooper. Their family enjoys snowboarding, hiking, and camping. Stacy Weller married Robert

60

Michelle Carr Young was promoted in January 2018 to instructional coach for Prince William County Schools, and works in two high schools and the central office. She lives in Stafford, Virginia, with husband Jay and 8-year-old Emileigh. Kathryn Weller is the director of education at the New York State Museum. In spring she enjoyed coaching her daughter’s lacrosse team for the second year in a row. After playing lacrosse for four years at Mary Washington, she is thrilled to teach a new generation. Madelyn Marino married Michael Walker in June. The Rev. Jennifer Amore officiated the ceremony and I, Annie Johnston, read a sonnet. Jason Cobb, Jason Lane ’03, Val Quartararo Roy ’02, and Jamie Darcy Nevitt ’02 also attended. We had a blast catching up, reminiscing, and dancing like it was Winterfest 1998. Madelyn and Mike enjoyed two honeymoons: first traveling to South Africa and Mozambique and later driving across the country from Oregon to New Jersey, where they now reside.

of the moving image and audiovisual collections for the Library of Congress.

2002 Travis Jones tljones8@gmail.com Carolyn Murray Spencer turtlecjm@yahoo.com

2003

Jessica Brandes jessbrandes@yahoo.com John Cyrus and Sara “Katie” Eskridge married in 2005. John earned a Master of Arts degree from Virginia Commonwealth University and a Master of Library Information Science degree from Louisiana State University. He is a biomedical informaticist at VCU. Katie earned a Master of Arts degree from VCU and earned a Ph.D. in history in 2013. She teaches modern U.S. history courses at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Virginia, and writes full-time at William & Mary. The University of Missouri Press planned to publish Katie’s book Rube Tube: CBS and Rural Comedy in the 1960s this fall. John and Katie have two boys, Thomas and Elliot, and an elderly dachshund-beagle named Mac.

2004

Sameer Vaswani sameervaswani@msn.com Sarah Smith Elliott and husband Matthew live in London, where Sarah is managing director of the American European Business Association and chair of Republicans Overseas UK. In October 2017, they welcomed their first child, Charlotte Elizabeth Elliott.

Aaron Layman is an operations specialist for Wells Fargo in Roanoke, Virginia. He’s also marketing coordinator for the city’s Local Colors Festival, which celebrates Southwestern Virginia’s diverse Brianne Doura ’09 is director of policy ethnic heritages. He was best man and communications for the Massachusetts at the wedding Council on Compulsive Gambling. of Zach Zuro ’07 last October.

Stephanie Lee Scheibe Barb was promoted to on-site IT supervisor with the Library of Congress at the Packard Campus of

the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center (NAVCC) in Culpeper, Virginia. The NAVCC digitizes and stores all

UNIVERSITY OF MARY WASHINGTON MAGAZINE FALL/WINTER 2018

Jennifer Zoebelein received a Ph.D. in history from Kansas State University in May.


2005

Allyson “Ally” V. Lee Marzan allyvlee@gmail.com Cara Stout and Steven Wilkinson planned to marry Nov 3. She is an account executive for Edgenuity Inc. and Steven is an information security officer for Algebraix Data. Lauren Benere and Michael Forder married March 24. Mike’s daughter, Kelsey, was the flower girl, and the family lives in the Richmond area. Lauren teaches high school English and is working toward a post-master’s certificate in instructional design from the University of Wisconsin-Stout. Kimberly Pittman Gordon and husband Shamus Gordon ’06 welcomed daughter Brenna Davis Gordon on July 16. Brenna joins big sister Tierney, 2. Mary Bowen, a real estate professional for nearly 12 years, has been named managing broker of the Falls Church/ Arlington office of Long & Foster Real Estate. Bowen most recently served as managing broker of Long & Foster’s Arlington/Alexandria sales office in South Arlington before it merged with the Falls Church office.

2006

Shana Muhammad email.shana@gmail.com Adrienne Hagen accepted a tenuretrack teaching position in the Classics Department at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois. Kristen Borkoski Fulcher and husband Ryan welcomed their second son, John Clark, in December 2017.

2007

Leanne Shannon ’06 in Santa Fe. Maureen Murphy Kieffer and husband Leonard welcomed their first child, Leonard James Kieffer, on June 5. Jay Sinha is an information security attorney at Verizon Enterprise Solutions in Arlington, Virginia. Jeanette Schmitt Schnier, husband Dave, and big brothers Edward and Andrew welcomed baby Catherine Eva in December 2017. They planned to move back to the United States in July after four years in the Philippines.

2008

Trish Lauck Cerulli trish.lauck@gmail.com Alyssa Lee alyssa.linda.lee@gmail.com Elizabeth Liskom married Gray Boynton on April 28. They live in King George, Virginia. Christine Chapman and husband Colin Deyman ’09 welcomed their third daughter, Genevieve Julia, in March. Christine is a research and development scientist at IDEXX Laboratories in Westbrook, Maine. Lynn Burriss Webler retired as a major from the United States Army Reserve in June. She had served in the Navy for more than 10 years and is a Gulf War veteran. After a break in service, she enlisted in the Army Reserve and was commissioned into the Army Chaplain Corps in 2009. She is the author of Managing Grief: Five Ways to Stay Resilient After a Friend or Loved One Dies.

2009

Elizabeth Jennings elizabethsjennings@mail.com

Jay Sinha Jay.Sinha@alumni.umw.edu

Alexandra Meier Alexandra.m.meier@gmail.com

Sarah Eckman sarahje@gmail.com

Rebecca Fenwick lives in Savannah, Georgia, and is the director of preservation for Lominack Kolman Smith Architects. She recently coauthored an integrity and conditions assessment of Savannah’s National Historic Landmark District for the National Park Service.

Daniel Clendenin Daniel.clendenin@gmail.com Marcella Cavallaro Wallin and husband James welcomed baby Christian in March. Marcella serves on the College of Arts and Sciences Alumni Board and works at Esri, a mapping software company. Marcella was bridesmaid in the June wedding of

Whitney Packett English and husband Richard welcomed their second son, Samuel Claybrook English, May 4. They live in Warsaw, Virginia, and Whitney is a CPA for a local accounting firm.

Johannah O’Keefe and John Schell ’10 married Sept. 8 in the Shenandoah Valley. Maria Kipreos, Andrew Welsh, and Calvin Chan, all Class of 2010, were in the wedding party. Johannah and John live in Arlington, Virginia, where she works for the Consumer Technology Association and he works for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Brianne Doura announced her engagement to Chief Petty Officer Elias Schawohl of the United States Coast Guard. She is director of policy and communications for the Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling.

2010

Kelly Caldwell kellyecaldwell@gmail.com Sarah Trimble and husband Andrew Evans moved to New Orleans, Louisiana, for Sarah’s new position with the Naval Research Laboratory at Stennis Space Center. They looked forward to adventures in their new city, including UMW alumni events. Bryan Keys and Kathleen Watson Keys enjoyed sharing their career experiences with UMW students during the spring edition of UMW Career Chats. Bryan and Kathleen expected a baby girl in mid-October. Dave Pierandri and Cassandra Ratti married Aug. 26, 2017, at Upper Shirley Vineyards in Richmond, Virginia. Jacqueline Nova ’13 was maid of honor, and several other UMW alums were there to celebrate. Michael Ballard and Allison Sleeman married on June 20, 2018, in a private ceremony at the Loudoun County Courthouse in Leesburg, Virginia. In spring 2017, Virginia Scott was selected to be a Fulbright-Hays Scholarship recipient through Towson University. She lived for six weeks in Cusco, Peru, with 13 other teachers from around the United States. They had Spanish classes and excursions to learn about Peruvian culture and life. As part of her responsibilities, Virginia created a curriculum for teachers to apply in their own classrooms. She runs the theater department and teaches English at William Monroe High School in Greene County, Virginia, and lives in Crozet.

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CLASS NOTES

2011

Hannah Hopkins hhopkins89@gmail.com Kira Lanewala klanewala@gmail.com

2017

Mary Lee Payne Nangeroni ’48 Catherine Newton McGahey ’49

No Class Agent classnotes@umw.edu

Anne Byrd Pitcher ’49

2018

Jean Willis Standing ’49

Katherine Mayo Schmidt ’49 Norma Edwards Tyler ’49

Brittany McBride bmcbride2128@gmail.com

Billie Mitchell Hanes ’50

Political science grad Christopher Cassingham spent the summer working for the commonwealth of Virginia as a Governor’s Fellow. The program matched college students, recent graduates, and graduate students with Gov. Ralph Northam’s Cabinet secretaries, enabling fellowship recipients to learn the workings of state government and serve the commonwealth. At UMW, Cassingham was a member of the swim team.

Elizabeth “Bette” Hove Moseley ’50

IN MEMORIAM

Jean Crews Derry ’52

Dorothy Martin Krewatch ’39

Bernice Berkman Lipson-Katz ’53

Janet Patterson Lefferts ’39

Elizabeth Young Worthington ’53

Sylvia Garfinkel Carmel ’40

Beverley Maxwell Chamblin ’54

Elizabeth Hall Lundy ’40

Beverly A. Farster ’55

Sally Phillis Blanchet ’42

Eleanor M. Pollock ’55

Marion Marjorie Burgess Parce ’42

Anne Smith Janes ’56

Elizabeth Taylor Wetsel ’42

Joan O’Shaughnessy Kaufmann ’57

Evelyn Rowlett DuPriest ’43

Bonita Shields Lingaitis ’57

Bessie Paxson Etheridge ’43

Sheila Foley Reeder ’57

Elizabeth Storey estorey@mail.usf.edu

Agnes Constantine Specia ’43

Laura Baker Barclay ’59

Hazel E. Jeffries ’44

Susan Wiatt Briggs ’59

Courtney Cherico Hall and Nicholas Hall ’12 married April 15, 2017.

Elizabeth Helvestine Reinhardt Schmidt ’44

Mary Johnson Aurand ’60

Virginia Hazelwood Snellings ’44

Carroll McRoberts Gilges ’60

Alva Jenks McLemore Allen ’45

Judith Benson Judson ’60

Ann White Leonard ’45

Elizabeth Ditmars Prosser ’60

June Reamy Maxwell ’46

Sally Montgomery Silvey ’60

Marjorie Preissen Morgan ’46

Mary Stevens Taylor ’60

Marjorie Hatch Ritter ’46

Joan Anderson Thomas ’60

Marion Brooks Robinson ’46

Steva Jenna Kellenberger ’62

Evan Smallwood esmallwood15@gmail.com

Diana M. Tansill ’46

Joyce Lyons Terhes ’62

Judith Davis Clardy ’47

Louise Hobart Bryant ’65

Moira McAvoy Moira.jo.mcavoy@gmail.com

Katherine Knight Collins ’47

Saralyn Judd Pinson ’65

Marian Butler Conrad ’47

Susan Williams Cluff ’66

Erin Clark became executive director of the Fauquier History Museum at the Old Jail in Warrenton, Virginia.

Helen Robertson Creekmore ’47

Brenda Lay Crowley ’66

Aileen Robbins Heflin ’47

Carolyn Davis ’66

Anne Lawson Hoover ’47

Irene Fornes Kyser ’67

2016

Celene E. Idema ’47

Barbara Fisher Miller ’67

Nancy Odin McIntyre ’47

Bonnie Vourneen Kelley ’68

Willie Lee Nichols Rose ’47

Mary Pat Tull Jenkins ’69

2012

Mandi Solomon msolomon211@gmail.com Christopher O’Kelley is president of Art First Gallery in downtown Fredericksburg.

2013

Andrew Hogan andrew.hogan819@gmail.com Amanda Buckner McVicker amandabuckner1@gmail.com Robert Higgins received a Ph.D. in green chemistry from Colorado State University and was awarded a NatureNet Science Fellowship for his work on the reactivity and separation of rare earths. It provides funding for two years to continue his work as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Pennsylvania. [Read more about him on page 30.]

2014

Katherine DeCecco is a second lieutenant in the Army, serving in South Korea. She received a master’s degree in history from George Mason University and was commissioned as an officer in May 2017.

2015

Quinn Doyle quinnmdoyle@gmail.com

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Rosemary A. Miller ’50 Martha Waring Walker ’50 Barbara Hunt Bowman ’51 Juanita Pike Carter ’51 Cynthia Medley England ’51 Keren Morey Hepworth ’51 Jeanne Burckell MacDonald ’51 Lenora H. Wisner ’51 Patricia Leech Benton ’52 Julia Starkey Wilkinson ’52


Kerry Walsh Sweet ’69 Patricia Dengler ’70 Dana Tretola Huffman ’73 Kathleen King ’73 Barbara B. Kinne ’73 Jane Reese-Coulbourne ’76 DariAnn T. Pijanowski ’77 Jean L. Best-Franks ’84 Kevin P. Shea ’86 Kimberley Rivenbark Jesser ’89 Dennis M. Mondoro ’90 Kathryn Renee Atwood Swymer ’91 Helen Lee Southall Fletcher ’92 Paula I. Chadis ’93 Pamela L. Collier ’05 Jeanette K. Rasnack ’05 Morgan E. Arnold ’20

CONDOLENCES Elizabeth Simms Hayes ’50, who lost her husband Marceline “Marcy” Weatherly Morris ’50 and Elmer “Juney” Morris Jr. ’50, who lost their granddaughter Mildred Foley Crouch ’52, who lost her sister Christine Harper Hovis ’55, who lost her husband Meredith Puller Townes ’57, who lost her husband Helen Grantz Fortner ’57, who lost her brother Barbara Craft Grantz ’57, who lost her husband Gloria Winslow Borden ’59, who lost her sister Lynne Williams Neave ’61, who lost her husband Ellen Gotwalt Willing ’61, who lost her husband Kathy Clark Wray ’62, who lost her husband Helen-Thomas Ritchey Donnelly ’64, who lost her husband Madeline Sue Rouzie Townsend ’65, who lost her husband Elizabeth Morgan Golladay ’68, who lost her husband

OBITUARIES Diane Fowler Hatch, professor emerita of classics, died Oct. 13, 2018. She was 76. Born April 23, 1942, in Savannah, Georgia, she was a graduate of Sweet Briar College and held a master’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill when she began teaching Latin and classics at Mary Washington in 1966. She resigned in 1968 to pursue a doctorate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill but was recruited back to the Fredericksburg campus in 1972. Dr. Hatch completed her dissertation in 1974. With a Mary Washington colleague, Elizabeth A. Clark, Dr. Hatch co-edited The Golden Bough, The Oaken Cross: The Virgilian Cento of Faltonia Betitia Proba. Dr. Hatch was a founding member of what is now the Department of Classics, Philosophy, and Religion. She retired in 2000. William Conrad Pinschmidt Jr., professor emeritus of biological sciences, died Oct. 7, 2018, at Mary Washington Hospital in Fredericksburg. He was 91. Born Oct. 30, 1926, he grew up in Ohio and served in the Navy during World War II. He used the GI Bill to attend Mount Union College in Ohio, and earned a master’s degree from The Ohio State University and a Ph.D. from Duke University. Dr. Pinschmidt taught at Mary Washington for 33 years, retiring in 1987. He and his first wife, Distinguished Professor Emerita of Biological Sciences Mary W. Pinschmidt, were well-respected by students and colleagues. Dr. Mary Pinschmidt passed away in 1998. Besides teaching on campus, Dr. Pinschmidt spent many summers teaching marine biology in Deltaville, Virginia, on the Chesapeake Bay. He was a world traveler, a co-founder of Fredericksburg’s Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, a singer in many local groups, and a prolific performer in dinner theater productions. Wife Ogaenia DelCampo-Pinschmidt survives him, as do daughters Mary Lynn Pinschmidt Graham and Dr. Carol Pinschmidt Hagen ’86, four grandchildren, and a great-granddaughter. Mary King Ives ’74, who lost her sister

Anne Baber Wallis ’84, who lost her son

Terrie Martin Dort ’77, who lost her husband

Mary E. Loose DeViney ’86, who lost her parents and her husband

Anna Geisler Hogan ’82, who lost her father

Carol Pinschmidt Hagen ’86, who lost her father

Betsy Rohaly Smoot ’82, who lost her father

Lucas Prunczik ’20, who lost his mother

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CLOSING COLUMN

Willie Lee Rose, 1927-2018: An Appreciation By William B. Crawley Jr.

The University of Mary Washington lost one of its most distinguished alumni on June 20, 2018, with the death of acclaimed historian Willie Lee Nichols Rose ’47. Born in the southwestern Virginia community of Moneta, Willie Lee Nichols was reared in nearby Bedford. Having graduated from Mary Washington at the age of 20, she married William G. Rose, a mechanical engineer and photographer, in 1949. After teaching high school English and history for several years, she enrolled at Johns Hopkins University, where she earned a doctorate in history in 1962. Two years later, she joined the faculty at the University of Virginia, where her impact on the historical profession was immediate, profound, and far-reaching. The book that catapulted Rose to the forefront of American historians was titled Rehearsal for Reconstruction (1964). In that study of the community of Port Royal, South Carolina, where slaves gained their freedom in 1861, she argued that blacks had already demonstrated the capacity for self-government long before the Civil War ended. Such an unconventional thesis departed starkly from the long-prevailing conventional assumption – that the ineptness of freedmen and their manipulation by so-called carpetbaggers and scalawags contributed to a catastrophic period of Reconstruction. Rose’s findings indeed sparked the beginning of a markedly different interpretation of that period, a view that prevails to this day. The book won instant acclaim among scholars, receiving the Francis Parkman Prize for the year’s best book on American history. Rose’s eminent status among her peers provided a platform from which to pursue one of her major concerns: the need for greater representation of women in the historical profession – a view vigorously championed in a report by an American Historical Association commission that she chaired in 1970. Other notable accomplishments and accolades followed, as she moved in 1973 from U.Va. to Johns Hopkins. She was, for example, the first woman to be appointed to the prestigious Harmsworth Visiting Professorship in American History at Oxford University in 1976. The following year, she published a comprehensive volume titled A Documentary History of Slavery in North America. Then, in 1978 at the age of 51, at the peak of her career, she suffered a debilitating stroke. Though she continued on the Johns Hopkins faculty until retirement in 1992, her teaching capacity was significantly diminished and her scholarly output was limited to one collection of essays, speeches, and reviews titled Slavery and Freedom (1982), edited by her Johns Hopkins colleague William Freehling. At the time of her passing, Rose was 91. Her closest surviving relatives were her niece, Vickie Nichols Sherertz ’78, and a nephew.

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“Up until her death … Willie Lee fought every day to learn to read and write again.” Sherertz said. “I chose to attend Mary Washington primarily because of her passion for the college.” In her brilliant albeit too brief career, Willie Lee Rose left a lasting legacy, both as a pioneer in modern Reconstruction historiography and as an advocate for women in academia. Yet there was also an additional personal dimension that will long be recalled by those who, like me, had the good fortune to be among her students. Within my graduate student cohort at U.Va., Professor Rose was universally admired – by all odds the most beloved member of the faculty (and, tellingly, its only female). Diminutive and demure, this soft-spoken Southern lady – yes, lady – presented lectures characterized by brilliant and often provocative insights, typically delivered with unpretentious warmth. It was a privilege to have been associated with this remarkable woman and scholar, whose example has remained with me throughout my career at her alma mater. Distinguished Professor Emeritus of History William B. Crawley Jr. was a member of the UMW history faculty for more than 40 years, during which time he won awards for outstanding teaching and held a number of administrative positions. He is the author of a biography of 20th-century Virginia politician William M. Tuck, Bill Tuck: A Political Life in Harry Byrd’s Virginia. He also wrote The Centennial History of the University of Mary Washington.


From the Ground Up

The Leidecker Center for Asian Studies’ new Zen Garden, the Carmen Culpeper Chappell ‘59 Centennial Campanile, and the Heslep Amphitheatre and Morris Stage were made possible by private gifts.

Philanthropy brings good things to life at Mary Washington. Each year, private gifts provide essential scholarships for students, special support for academic departments, and critical funding for facilities — both old and new. Whether you give now or through your estate, your support is vital to ensure that students and the University continue to flourish. Make your gift today at umw.edu/onlinegiving or 540-654-1024.

Learn more at giving.umw.edu


Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage

PAID

Suzanne Carr Rossi ’00

1301 College Avenue Fredericksburg, Virginia 22401-5300

University of Mary Washington

Sweet Welcome

Freshmen (from left) Kree Small, Nia Blondell, Sareena Barnes, and Rayna Smith chat on the porch of Brompton at the annual late-August ice cream social for incoming students. They are among 932 freshmen and 326 transfer students who joined the UMW community this fall. President Troy Paino and his wife, Kelly Paino, continue the fun and much-anticipated tradition.


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