Class of 1955

Trinity’s Class of 1955 Group Zoom Call Late January 2022: The Alumnae Office worked patiently with us to set this up as we enter the 22nd Century online. Here are a few of our classmates who participated (I did not receive a final roster, but I think this is fairly accurate.), Mary Anne Smith Villaneuve, Dorothy Dannemiller Rogers-Abbey, Carolyn Hendershott Martin, Laila Curtin Cuddy, and Joie Lamb Krossa. Here are a few of our classmates who Experienced technical difficulties: Pat McCarthy and Lois McCann Ladds.

Mary Ellen Forbes McMillen

Sorry I missed the Zoom get-together. You’re 89.  I’ll be 89 on October 15. If all goes according to plan, I shall celebrate in San Francisco at the Top of the Mark.  Frances lives in Oakland and Matthew and wife Clara will come down from Portland, OR to raise a glass. Son Christian and family are here in Charlottesville, and I wish they could be there. We’ll celebrate twice! I’ve essentially completed research on another book, this one on the Canton Hospital in Guangzhou, China, the entryway for Western medicine and medical training into China, 1835-1935. It is a remarkable story of two cultures meeting and enriching each other. I’ll let you know how it works out. My computer is acting as though it’s 100! Love, Mary Ellen

Mary Anne Smith Villeneuve

Great to hear from you.  I would love to go to this Anniversary event, but it is not going to happen for me. I enjoyed our Zoom mini-reunion, and it was great to get to be in contact with everyone.  Wish that more joined us, but I enjoyed those who did, and I look forward to another session. Youngest grandchild graduated from high school, and I got to go thanks to son, Joe, who retired this year.  Joe suggested we do a “memory lane trip”.  We went in June to Vermont (sister-in-law), then to Syracuse (drove all around familiar places), then to Pennsylvania (son, John and family, graduation) and then home.  It was a great trip. Other than that, my usual week is trying to walk every day with younger neighbors, play 9 holes of golf once a week, still lector at 5PM Mass Saturday night.

Joan Keller Tibbetts 

I’m still living independently near the mountains in beautiful Saddlebrook outside of Tucson, AZ.  Fortunately, my health continues to be excellent so I’m still able to do everything I want though I have limited my travels recently.  I miss my trips to Australia and various cruises to foreign ports which I so enjoy but unfortunately Covid stopped that for the past three years.  My daughter in Portland, and sons in Santa Barbara and Japan are all doing well, and my six grandchildren are scattered, two in Australia, two in Japan and two in California.  I continue to sing with a woman’s chorus which is a fun- filled group of ladies here in my community.  At 88 I continue to thank God for my long and healthy life!

Carolyn Hendershott Martin

Hello to all of you, and hope life is good for all of you! My biggest event was the beautiful wedding for my grandson David and his wife, Monica, on May 28! What a lovely time!! Have talked with Pat McCarthy recently on the phone and had a good chat! I also called Pat Queenan Sheehan as well!  It is such a joy talking with them! All my family are doing well. We will be all together for Thanksgiving as usual with my daughter Mary and her family. Healthwise, I am doing well.  God is good! My love to all! Carolyn

Donna Demann Neville

Marching on is my main tactic, and so far, it has kept me going.  Just returned from a seven-day trip on the QM2 up the New England coast, joined by a friend from 1955/6, she the buyer and I the assistant. Old friends are a real glue in life. Many, many good wishes as we move through the corridor of life, to all classmates and families. Dorothy, hope you are well and keeping busy.  On a personal note, we had two weddings in the family this year. I am going to be a great grandmother in February!

Josephine Lamb Krossa

Thank you so much for being ‘55’s scribe. I know some of your story since graduation, and I am constantly impressed by your innate strength, resilience, positive outlook, and enthusiasm for life. You are amazing! As for me: I am pleased to report that life at 89 (90 in June) is good, notwithstanding all the typical old age stuff. My greatest blessing: Ken and I celebrated our 62nd Anniversary last June and look forward to many more! As a couple, we are blessed to be the parents of four exceptionally nice, talented, loving, caring “kids” and their spouses whose achievements make us proud every day: Jim & Cheryl, Dwight& Nancy, Sharon & Rob, and John & Gwenn. Our five grandchildren (Dwight: Cody and Ellie. John: J.T., Lani, and Cooper) are a source of pure joy, and we have the great privilege of living next door to John & Gwenn and their three. The pandemic cut short our wonderful world travels and caused our world to be quite limited to family, very close friends, and our “dream homes” in two beautiful places: Cayucos and Kirkwood. Currently, we are dealing with “empty nest syndrome”. J.T. graduated from Santa Clara and is working in the Bay Area, Lani is studying abroad in London this semester, and Cooper is a Freshman at Gonzaga in Spokane. We still do have John and Gwenn next store. I’m sure we’ll survive “empty nest”, and we got our third Covid-19 Booster today! Life for us is good.

Pat McCarthy

I just realized that I am already late sending this to you and just want to apologize.  My life is still busy even after my retirement two years ago, and I continue staying very active.  I loved our Zoom meeting, and would love to do it again, even with so few.  Beezie and I stay in contact, and I am also in touch with Carolyn Hendershott Martin.  Life is still good!

Barbara Burns (Beezie) Weidenbruch

Doing fine and hope you all are too! Over Labor Day had a happy family reunion.  Had my two  one-year-old “greats”, one from Colorado and one from Texas, and everyone else came. Have such happy memories of my Trinity days…tea dances at Georgetown, the Naval Academy,  the Shoreham, etc.  Coming home on the bus from the Junior Prom as a Freshman.  “Parlor calls” with “Sister Blue Glasses”. Trying to figure out Logic and Anglo-Saxon. Playing field hockey and basketball with my roommate, Pat McCarthy. Love and thanks to all my friends in ’55.  Very blessed.

Dorothy Dannemiller Rogers-Abbey

Highlight of the year was the June 18th beautiful wedding of my eldest granddaughter, Charlotte Myer, and Shawn Hyer.  It took place at Flanagan Farm, Buxton, Maine.  When Wilma Kelly Kennedy realized how close that was to her, she contacted me, and we set up a meeting on the Monday after the wedding. Tragically, Wilma’s son, Paul, called me four days before the wedding to report that Wilma had a major stroke of her left side.  I talked by phone with Wilma, and she was quite coherent She has had a set-back since.  She is in assisted living: 27 Forest Falls Drive, Apartment 103 Yarmouth, ME  04096.  Let’s send her cards. Luke Myer, Charlotte’s brother, is marrying an Australian, Ashley Day, on Easter, April 9th.  The wedding will be in Hawaii since this is halfway for each family.  They are planning a 90th Birthday party for me during the wedding time.  Much ado!!  They have just bought a residence in San Francisco and have invited the Myer family for Christmas.  I’m going, naturally.

Since the word is out about my 90th Birthday, March 15th, all sorts of cousins, etc. want to come to Santa Fe on that day.  We are a large Reunion-prone family! Son Bill is a successful metal artist.  His wife, Sarah Morrison, is now showing her art in a Chicago gallery. Son Bob and Barbara’s two daughters are in graduate school.  Mom is Mayor of Cranbury, NJ and up for re-election as I type.

Son Tim and Yvette’s daughter, Amelia, is gainfully employed as a corporate event planner in New York.  Son, Nick, is a junior at Whitman College, Washington.  Daughter, Cian, is a senior at Santa Fe High School.  This family invites me to Sunday night suppers which are a delight and I especially enjoy the take-home treats. My big buddy is Nibsy, a “torty” cat.  I use my walker when out of the house.  Shopping for one?  I highly recommend the “Nitro”.

Good health, God bless, and love to all you Golden Girls of ’55

Dear ’55 Golden Girls…Thank you for your news. The pandemic definitely cut down on responses. Enjoy this year’s news and let’s look forward to a healthy 2022 and lots of news. Dorothy Dannemiller Rogers-Abbey, Class Scribe

Wilma Kelly Kennedy Falmouth, ME
While I have no news, I’m moved to comment on the effects of the virus. COVID restrictions imposed on college people remind me of what an enormous privilege we enjoyed during our Trinity years. The excitement as freshmen beginning a new experience, meeting everyone and working together, new classes and teachers, living in our nation’s capital, etc. Is there a comparable experience? What a pity that these losses by today’s college people may never be recovered by them! Let’s hope remote learning will be limited in future and that in-person will be the norm. Finally, I pray that none of us or our loved ones were affected by the virus.

Mary Anne Smith Villeneuve Los Angeles, CA
I don’t seem to be doing much besides wearing a mask, social distancing, walking almost every day with neighbors (6 feet apart) and Zooming (one of the few good things from the pandemic). Our parish has daily and Sunday Mass streaming. I zoom for LMU prayer service, PEO Women‘s Group, Family get-togethers, Bible Buddies, friends who want to say hello and visit and two book clubs (one mystery books and one Jewish lit). I also went to the bay area for Thanksgiving and Christmas (one long trip). I have three grown children in the bay area and five grandchildren. I have one son in the San Fernando Valley near LA who has two children and one son in Pennsylvania who has three children. The last group I have only seen on Zoom. Many nieces and nephews (only two of us left in that category, aunts that is) who really look after me. Neighbors who check on me and with whom I have cocktails outside, distanced. I have talked to Beezie, Josephine “Joie” Lamb Krossa and Jeanne Zoli Danaher, my college roommate, whose husband died in January. I couldn’t reach Mary King Kayser. That’s the exciting news from here. Any possibility that the school could set up a Zoom call for1955 Gold Class? I would love to see and hear those of us who could do it. (Mary Anne, would you do it?  Just go ahead!  I’m sure the Alumnae Office would help. DDRA). Do you remember the old graduates who came to Trinity for Reunion while we were students!?

Mary Ellen Forbes McMillen Charlottesville, VA
My biography, Raffles, That’s My Name, of Sir Stamford Raffles (1781-1826), founder of modern Singapore and the London Zoo, was published in October 2020. The publishers, Pegasus Elliot Mackenzie Publishers Ltd., London, did a great job with it–beautiful cover. It is available on Amazon in both print and kindle format. I am very pleased!  Raffles was a challenge and very engaging to write. Sir Raffles himself was both, also! The biography is directed toward young people–the style informal but the facts are accurate. One of my cousins suggested her book club take it on.I am still in Charlottesville, VA and one plus–if there can be any!–to the virus is that Frances came from Oakland, CA to work from home here. Thank heaven for technology! I hope all are well. PS, this  ’55 classmate is published!  Anyone else?  Please let me know.  Do I qualify with many Letters to the Editor and Op Eds over the years?! DDRA

Katharine Loftus Boucher  Catonsville, MD
It is a grey day – heavily raining and evidently the first part of the storm that struck Louisiana yesterday. Ron came in with the mail and handed it to me. The weight of the Trinity book – I thought it was a magazine. I tossed it aside and then saw Sister Margaret’s picture, I didn’t move for over an hour. With our news I found myself mostly smiling but in a few places crying. Ginny Bennet lived in the same community we do. We had some good times sharing our memories of Trinity. I went through a year or so with medical issues which didn’t leave me much to do and took away from my work as a therapist. Oh, for another Reunion! Take care all.

Barbara Burns Weidenbruch Beezie Rockville, MD
Not a lot of news from an 87-year-old lady with white hair who has traded a hockey stick for a cane. Peter died the end of January 2018 and his last tax job was 45 years of teaching tax at Georgetown Law School. Our son, Bill, who lived with us, died the end of April 2018 after 39 years at the local Giant. I am still in our same house here in Rockville that we moved to in 1964. None of my other four kids live near nor do any of my 13 grandkids.  I will be a great grandma in August. Doing fine, played golf until I was 80. 14 of our classmates married Peter’s classmates from Georgetown Law School so many parties thru the years! Love and happy memories to all my friends from 1955. Still remember arriving in DC after riding on the sleeper from Providence. Not a lot of news from an 87-year-old lady with white hair who has traded a hockey stick for a cane. Peter died the end of January 2018 and his last tax job was 45 years of teaching tax at Georgetown Law School. Our son, Bill, who lived with us, died the end of April 2018 after 39 years at the local Giant. I am still in our same house here in Rockville that we moved to in 1964. None of my other four kids live near nor do any of my 13 grandkids.  I will be a great grandma in August. Doing fine, played golf until I was 80.

Carolyn Hendershott Martin Woodstock, MD
All is well with me thank heavens! It has been quite a strange year for all of us due to this COVID virus! I was vaccinated for COVID-19 in February this year, and three of my five family have also been vaccinated, with the others waiting their turn. Lots of take-out orders instead of eating out, staying home and live-streaming Mass, lots of long phone conversations, walking, reading books, listening to the TV, sometime cooking new recipes, chatting with neighbors always using my mask, and the usual doctors and dentist appointments – all filled my days! I have heard from Pat McCarthy and Patricia “Pat” Queenan Sheehan several times with delight!  Such dear old friends! How fortunate we are to spend time together via phone!  God is so good! My health is as good as it can be! I have not fallen for three years (since Mother’s Day 2018)!  Walking carefully with determination and always using my walker – that is my mantra!  And always with a good-natured smile!  My family are all well, thank God!  Two of my daughters have survived breast cancer and are doing very well!  Everyone else is healthy and thriving! Stay well all. With love…..

Patricia “Pat” Queenan Sheehan Avon By The Sea, NJ
This season is a downer – been nowhere, done nothing sums it up. The good news is that those near and dear to me are all well. Moreover, I have a new Trinity College student in the family! My youngest grandson is attending Trinity College…Dublin, not DC in a dual degree program with Columbia in NYC.

Patricia Lang Fitzgerald  Reading, MA
Being in touch stirs fond memories of TC and DC. Letting go of my car and drivers license was a difficult step. Missing the Boston chapter of the alumnae association. Looking forward to summer at Nyes Neck on Cape Cod. I moved two summers ago to be near my son in Reading, MA – some friends addresses lost in the move. I can be reached at 75 Pearl Street, Apartment 121, Reading, MA 01867. Cheers…..

Donna Demann Neville Dover, MA
Hello to classmates of 1955. Perhaps you, like me, have became more than familiar with Turner Classic Movies and a new life style this past year. Bringing some joy to this New Year was the April wedding of my first grandchild, Kelsey, at the St. Regis in Atlanta. I also was lucky to spend some time in Florida visiting family on “sabbatical “. Warmest wishes to classmates, hoping all of us can meet whatever challenges are on the horizon.

Dorothy Dannemiller Rogers-Abbey  Santa Fe, NM
Somehow these memories surfaced this year: The TC western group took the train from Chicago, Joan Blais, Judith “Judy” Finn Walsh and Leo Harmon, picked me up in Akron, OH. We partied all the way to DC! A date had to go to the main entrance, register, and then had to wait on a Victorian horsehair chair for us to appear after we had been called. An endurance feat! I spent several Thanksgivings at my roommate’s home, Wilma Kelly Kennedy, in Jersey City, NJ. (It was too far to go to Akron!) We took the train to New York, had cocktails under the clock at the Biltmore (the clock is now gone) and I was enthralled with New York! We did matriculate…How about Father Eugene Burke’s Philosophy classes? Reading has sustained me through this horrid pandemic. My son, Bob, sent me John Steinbeck’s Cannery Row on Kindle and it kicked me into reading his works. What a writer! How did I miss him before? Another word of precaution regarding a knee replacement. I had this procedure in 2014 and as I mentioned before, as a result, I developed neuropathy (total numbness) in both lower legs and partially in my feet. I do not recommend this procedure to anyone 78 years or older. I have a friend who has worn a brace, as an alternative, for years.  He is 91, runs around, drives. This changed my life completely to a cane and a walker for long distances. I no longer am able to drive which is a real bummer. We’re having a Myer (daughter Laurie and Colin) Birthday Reunion (grandchild Gus turns 30 May 1) on the Outer Banks, NC.  After much consideration, with all adults vaccinated, with extreme precautions, we’re going for it! Son, Bill, and Sarah are in Chicago, Bob and Barb in Cranbury, NJ and son, Tim, and Yvette here in Santa Fe. Tim and Yvette’s eldest, Amelia, graduates May 8th from Lewis and Clark College, Portland, OR. Ten grandchildren, all over the country and up to amazing things!  Eldest is 35 and youngest is16, one married. Good-day and good-night sweet princesses and may flights of angels sing thee along thy way.    (Shakespeare abridged….. apologies to Dr. Burns)……..Dorothy

Dear ’55 Golden Girls,

Mary Elizabeth Pyne Beins, DC, sent an immediate reply.  Her six children live within a 45-minute drive of her home, which means six pairs of helping hands.  She has 18 grandchildren and there are five other pairs of grandparents.  She is expecting her first great-grandchild in April.  For her 85th birthday, one of the grands flew in from Hawaii (a West Point grad and an Army pilot) and took M.E. for a flight in a small plane.  She said she remained calm except when landing, when she stressed and curled her toes inside her shoes!  She reads and does Sudoku.  “I watch the old game-shows, re-runs, and I hear every word!  We had such good diction then!”

Pat Queenan Sheehan, Avon by the Sea, NJ, says she is on “the right side of the grass” according to an Irish Pub witticism that she has adopted as her own.  As far as ailments go, Pat is annoyed by the loss of multi-tasking skills and time management.  Everything takes longer to accomplish (if at all.)  A special joy is a great-granddaughter who is now six and a first-grader.  Pat is still getting used to the fact that this makes her daughter a grandmother!  She gets to chat with Marlene Springman Berger and hopes to meet up with Carolyn Hendershott Martin for lunch in Union Station.  “I truly count my blessings and try to concentrate on a glass half-full, not half-empty!”

Joan Murphy Vayo, Alexandria, VA, closed her note with “See you next year.”  Yes…Our 65th!   I plan to go, do you all?  The Vayos are pros at reunions.  Joan and her husband went to his 70th Yale Reunion in 2013.  This was the first 70th Reunion in Yale history!  They had 39 classmates, wives, widows, all in their 90s, and talking about the 75th.  Joan is still working part-time at George Washington University.  She describes herself as a certified couch potato.  She sent a booklist of 10 favorites…could be our 2019 Reading List!  One that we concur on is Anthony Doerr, All the Light We Cannot See.  Due to space constraints, I cannot include Joan’s booklist, but I will email it upon request.

Mary Lou Crane Keenan, Lowell, MA, was especially sorry to learn of the death of Virginia Bennett Burch, December 20, 2018.  When Jim and she moved to St. Paul in 1969, they discovered that Virginia and Frank lived on the same street about four blocks away.  Virginia helped them settle into the neighborhood and with school decisions, etc.  A year later, Virginia and Frank were off to DC and the Library of Congress. “We were two TC women from Massachusetts (Holden and Ipswich) who landed in the upper Midwest for some time in our lives.” Mary Lou retired from selling real estate in 2015 at age 82. She does miss it sometimes, “but not so much the evenings and weekends”.  She has been active on some non-profit boards for many years so is still very much involved in the Lowell community.  She says her health is good though she has had two pulmonary embolisms in the past two years, but none for a year. She walks daily with two walking partners, but not in winter. “It gets us out every morning to exercise and settle all sorts of political business.” Jim and she have two great-granddaughters (5 and 18 months) in Dayton that they visit. “They are a joy!”

Eloise Johnston Sanchez, Atwater, CA, writes that she will be 86 in March.  She has some health issues but they are under control.  She walks with a walker, “but I still manage to go out to lunch with friends.  I am blessed to have five wonderful sons” and she lives with the youngest and his family in Atwater, south of San Francisco.  The other sons and families live in Guam and LA.  Sadly, Eloise’s only daughter, Noreen, died suddenly in Maui, in 2015. “We are coping with the loss as best we can”. She loves the visits of her granddaughter and great-grandson from Hawaii.

Donna Demann Neville, Dover, MA, writes: “My boys are making noises that perhaps Mom should move, but I must have enjoyed a very happy childhood because I brought much of it from Ohio, now resting in Dover!”  She plays some bridge, reads, and hits tennis balls with a pro for fun and exercise.  Donna will spend March in Palm Desert for sunshine and the Parabas tournament at Indian Wells.  Son Peter and Cindy will come.  She visits Geoff’s family, her other son, when they vacation on Nantucket in July. “Fond memories and warmest wishes to all of ’55”.

Peggy Mahorner Foster, Destin, FL, called me.  She has nine children, 21 grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren!  Five of Peggy’s children live in Atlanta, where she spends a great deal of time. We reminisced about Eisenhower’s Parade and Inaugural Ball in 1952.  Elbow-length white kid gloves and all. She went with John Foster, her future husband.  Peggy kept extensive diaries at the time and she read them to me!  Apparently, we were up until 3am!  That had to be a Presidential Permission! Peggy has to make a decision as to whether to repair extensive home hurricane damage, especially to the dock.  And a possible move? She attends Mass daily.

Wilma Kelly Kennedy, Falmouth, Maine, “I live in a retirement community.  My children are minutes away so we get together often.  Ocean View takes advantage of our proximity to Portland where we attend the symphony, theater, and a myriad of cultural events.  I’ve been playing duplicate bridge for many years, and enjoy the friendship of many Mainers, most of whom are, like me, from “away”. Do you remember Dr. Ross?  Leafing through a book belonging to my husband, Catholic Converts-British Intellectuals Turn to Rome, I came upon a tribute to Dr. Ross. She was one of the first Catholic laywomen to become an academic professional. At the time, women were not considered fit for that position.  She converted to Catholicism and after emigrating from England to the US, she received her Doctorate from Yale and taught in various women’s colleges, including TC. She wrote extensively on sociology, anthropology, and economics. I am never without a book to read.  I thoroughly enjoyed biographies of Abigail Adams and Dolly Madison.  I prefer personal memoirs and have found many fascinating stories by Middle Eastern women who have escaped to the US. Adjusting to old age is challenging to say the least…a time to reflect on all the good years we’ve enjoyed!”

Barbara Zamierowski Martucci, New Fairfield, CT. Barbara writes that she and her husband, Ernie, had been living in Arizona, enjoyably, for almost 20 years, when Ernie began to have health problems.  And then Barbara contracted macular degeneration which destroyed her central up-close vision.  She could no longer drive, read without huge magnification, nor play the piano because she could not read the music.  Their daughter and husband were building a house in New Fairfield, CT and offered to add an apartment attached to the house for them.  They welcomed the idea and moved to New Fairfield in 2016. Their daughter has been wonderful getting them to doctor appointments, doing errands, and having them for meals.  Another son lives close-by and is able to visit often. “During this time Ernie’s health declined dramatically, and he quietly slipped away, dying on January 12 of this year. Our four children were with me at his side when he died.  All four with their spouses and all of our nine grandchildren attended the funeral, which was a big comfort to me. We were married for 57 years. Now I’m trying to make the best of things.”

Ludmila Nemec Wiedemann, Ketchum, ID. Ludmila writes: “We are all well, my husband, Harald, me, my children, Jano and Alexander, and my grandchildren, Oliver and Alec.  We no longer go hiking, but go for little walks and like to go swimming in a warm swimming pool in Sun Valley.  On our two acres, we see deer, elk, rabbit, fox and sometimes the rare mountain lion.” She sent several photos of the animals, a lovely photo of the two of them and a beautiful family photo.  “My problem is hearing and I must wear hearing aids.” Harald added:  “Hi!  And a moose too!  xxoo  Harald

Barbara Burns Weidenbruch “Beezie”, Rockville, MD.  Beezie writes: “2016 was a very difficult year for me and my family.  Peter died on January 31 and our son, Bill, age 56, died April 20.  Both were good men.  Peter taught at Georgetown Law for 45 years and Bill worked at the Giant grocery store for 39 years.  Peter and I were married over 60 years, lots of kids and grandkids but no “greats”.  Love to all of ’55.  You can’t make old friends!  Fondly, Beezie”.

Carolyn Hendershott Martin, Woodstock, MD.  Carolyn writes:  “I was able to go to Virginia’s viewing and Funeral Mass at Charlestown Retirement’s beautiful Chapel last December and met her lovely daughter, Mary Ellen, her husband and family.” Kate Loftus Boucher and husband, Ron, live close-by so Kate and Carolyn often lunch together.  Pat McCarthy and Margie Kruse Wallenberger are in touch with Carolyn.  My life changed completely in 1980 when my husband, Don, died of colon cancer.” Carolyn managed to become a very successful computer analyst and retired in 1996. She raised five children. They and eleven grandchildren live fairly close-by.  She has travelled extensively in Europe, the US and Canada.  Health issues: a heart attack in 1995, a stroke in 2008, broke her right femur in 2018, and yet she reports:  “Right now, all is well with me.  I use a walker and cane, walk 30 minutes a day, and do my physical therapy exercises.”

Joan Keller Tibbetts, Tucson, AZ, “I still live in the beautiful “active retirement” community of Saddlebrooke outside of Tucson and I hope to remain in my home forever!  Fortunately, my health continues to be excellent which means I am still able to travel with ease.”  Joan loves cruise trips. She spends part of every year in Australia visiting a delightful widowed Aussie whom she met on a New Zealand cruise.  Her three children and six grandchildren, ages 5-22, continue to bring her joy.  She was able to cruise from Sydney to Tokyo last spring and take the “bullet train” to Fukuoka to visit her son, Brian, and family.  Brian is principal of the International School there.  Her grandchildren are bi-lingual. They raise Rhodesian Ridgeback dogs which they breed! “I continue to sing with a ladies three-part harmony group and we provide entertainment for the many assisted-living homes in the area.  Singing continues to be an important part of my life and I’m thankful my voice has held up over the years.  Our college has certainly changed over the past years but the then the world is changing and we must try to fit in, difficult as that may be at times.”

Noreen Casey Emerson, Bethesda, MD “It was good to read that Virginia Bennett Burch is enjoying her Eternal Reward for 63 years of faithfully collecting the news of our class.  My life is full with 12 children, eight spouses and 19 grandchildren to keep me out of mischief.  There are many happy occasions to celebrate: holidays, birthdays, First Communions, Confirmations, graduations, anniversaries.  Each gathering is a blessing to share.

Mary Anne Smith Villeneuve, Los Angeles. Mary Anne writes that her husband, Fritz, died almost 2 years ago, 1 1/2 months short of 60 years of marriage.  Lots of celebrations:  high school and college graduations, granddaughter’s wedding, even an International Ultimate Frisbee Tournament in Toronto that her grandson played in and the US won!  She still lives in LA and is blessed with her children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews and long-time friends. Also her neighbors, P.E.O group, and fellow parishioners.  Mary Anne walks most every day, enjoys Bible Studies, Lector and Eucharistic Minister duties, Mystery Book Club, and Jewish Book Club.

Margie Kruse Wallenberger, Pittsburgh, PA “My husband, Frederick, died bravely in 2017.  I am still trying to find out who I am without him.  I had a warm phone conversation with Carolyn Hendershott Martin, who called to tell me about Virginia’s passing.  Virginia was a close friend.  I remember her high intelligence and her wonderful sense of humor.  I’ve recently re-read The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder.  It is, to me, a Kruse family heirloom–heart-breaking, then heart-healing.  It has the most beautiful closing lines of any book I have ever read:  There is a land of the living and a land of the dead and the bridge is love, the only survival, the only meaning.  Greetings to all my classmates. I love you all.” 

Joie Lamb Krossa, Cayucos, CA   Joie writes that 2018 was a particularly grief-filled year.  Their eldest son Jim’s wife, Cheryl, lost her battle with cancer in January. Ken’s brother, Lester, 90, died in April, followed in September by Ann-Marie Lamb Holland, Trinity ’52, Joie’s sister and life-long friend, confidante, and mentor.  “Ken and I continue to enjoy life in Cayucos and travels near and far, but the “getting old” part is definitely a nuisance.  Ken commented recently that my problem is having the mind of a 26-year-old in an 85-year-old-body.  Nice thought from my husband of 58 1/2 years!”  A degenerating spine caused Joie to use a three-wheel walker which she says is super-maneuverable, and a handicapped parking card came with it!  Ken and she are still in their dream house, next door to their son’s family.  Three other children are near enough to see often.  Bragging rights are in order for her grandchildren: Graduation Honors, 3rd in Arizona 2018 Ironman Triathlon, Varsity Crew Team, four years, Varsity Cross Country and Volleyball, and Junior Varsity Basketball. The empty nest comes in three years. They have done many trips in the US in the past two years.  In 2016 they did a family trip, a spectacular African Safari including Cape Town and three tented safari camps. “We really welcome houseguests, especially from Trinity!”

Carmel Fama Cervoni, Scarsdale, NY  Carmel writes that she has not been in touch mostly because her beloved Dom was suffering from Parkinson’s and passed away two years ago.  She is fortunate to have her six children, their spouses and ten grandchildren. Carmel says things have slowed down lately, mostly due to arthritis and a lack of car keys. However, being a ’55 Golden Girl and having her Catholic faith, she counts her blessings.  Carmel is keeping positive about Reunion next year.  “We’ll see.  Best wishes and love.”

Dorothy Dannemiller Rogers-Abbey, Santa Fe, NM  It has been delightful to hear from so many of you.  I’m impressed that we are “carrying on”!

My 10 grandchildren (of five children) range in age from 14 to 32.  And finally one is marrying on October 5 in Durham, NC.  Gus is marrying Elizabeth who is completing her Doctorate in Geriatric Medicine at UNC.  Now how’s that for in-house care?!  I was blessed at Thanksgiving to have 13 family members visit, and at Christmas, 12! I really miss Shirl Abbey, my late-life husband of nine years who passed away in 2014.  We met on Match.com a few weeks after our 50th Reunion!  We lived three blocks from each other.  What a blessing for which I am forever grateful. Amazingly, we made the New York Times, a full-page: Vows August 11, 2013.  Santa Fe has a wonderful Adult Education Program, Renesan, so I am matriculating once again.  One of my courses is James Joyce, The Dubliners.  I read Sarah Addison Allen’s Garden Spells, and ended up reading all her books.  My favorite cartoons, by the way, are Peanuts, Zits, Baby Blues, Without Reservations, and Pickles.  My dear buddy, Nibsy, a tortoise cat, sits on a pillow on my lap when I read!  I enjoy tutoring English to Hispanics (beginners) once a week and also volunteer weekly as a discussion facilitator for a NAMI group (National Assn. for the Mentally Ill)   As a result of a left knee replacement in 2014, I have atrophy in my lower legs and partially, my feet.  Balance is definitely an issue. Tai chi, swimming, and physical therapy exercises seem to help.  Peggy Foster reported exactly the same procedure and results.  I would caution against this replacement after 80 unless it’s absolutely necessary, substituting braces, etc. The huge grief in my life has been the mental illness of my daughter, Dede.  She burned our Connecticut house down in 1980.  After some psychiatric hospitals, she has been more or less homeless for years and just turned 60.  President Reagan closed all of our mental hospitals in the early 1980s saying that the private sector could handle it.  He created our homeless.  Psychiatric hospitals are exorbitantly expensive and out of reach of most Americans.  It is my dream one day that our jails would, for the most part, flip into mental health facilities.  I stay in touch with Dede and she with me.  She receives SSDI disability support, survival amounts.  Thank God our government supports this.  She prefers the outdoors to a shelter. She is at least wise to live in southern California.

Thank you all for your responses.  Let’s try to make our 65th!  Love and God bless you all and our country!

Dorothy Dannemiller Rogers- Abbey
dorothyrogersabbey@gmail.com
505-955-1984

Incredibly, Dede, 60, was struck by a car and killed immediately, crossing a street in CA on March 9.  I am grief-stricken but healing slowly.

I have saved the sad news ’til last.  I am enclosing a list of those classmates who passed away in 2016, 17, and 18.  Family members follow.

“May the Love of the Holy Spirit renew and quicken you”

“May their memories be forever a blessing.”

Georgianna McFadden Goebel     7/11/2016

Barbara A. Coppeto    1/5/2017

Rita Horbett Burns     1/20/2017

Marcella Seymour Lilly    9/30/2017

Catherine Monahan Kilduff    5/3/2018

Judith Finn Walsh     8/8/2018

Dauris Falcone Murphy    9/8/2018

Lore Carlisle Sheedy    10/28/2018

Virginia Bennett Burch     12/20/201

Deceased family members:

Daughter, Noreen, of Eloise Johnston Sanchez  2015

Husband, Ernie, of Barbara Zamierowski Martucci  2019

Husband, Peter, and son, Bill, of Barbara ‘Beezie’ Burns  2016

Husband, Don, of Carolyn Hendershott Martin  1980

My goodness, what a tiny little world we live in. Sr. Pat McCarthy, still the Pastoral Associate at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Richmond, VA, recently had a visit from Sherry Houghton of Williamsburg, whose husband, David, in town for rehabilitation, wished to become Catholic. Sherry mentioned David’s first wife, now deceased, as Gaynor. And yes, David had been married to our Gaynor Burtis Houghton. “I am so happy that I have had this opportunity to reconnect with Gaynor, and I know that she is watching over and praying for all of us.” Pat hopes that when David is received into the Catholic Church she will have the opportunity to meet David and Gaynor’s children.

In other exciting news, Dorothy Dannemiller Rogers was to marry her gentleman friend, Shirl Abbey, on July 24 on Bald Head Island, NC, with 27 family members in attendance. Best wishes, Dorothy! Other celebrations include an 80th birthday three-day extravaganza for Mary King Kayser held in Carmel, CA. Almost all of her children and in-law children were in attendance. Mary and Don will be in Lake Oswego, OR, for the next six months. Call them if you are in the area. When Eloise Johnston Sanchez turned 80 in March, her children hosted a big party for her. Eloise also hosted a small party when her granddaughter made her First Holy Communion. Last December Eloise fell and hit her head on the bed frame, which resulted in bleeding in the brain. She was medevaced to Sacramento to see a specialist, but is now fine. In January she was able to fly to Maui to attend her great-grandson’s birthday celebration. One son flew with her and another came from Guam, so they had a reunion with the daughter who lives in Maui and other family members.

News from Kathryn “Kit” Geraghty Tubman is of a year-long tussle with a partial tear of the Achilles tendon in the right ankle. “I’m apparently too old for surgery, so it’s been rounds of wearing a big boot, Bro driving me places, therapy and lots of sitting around. Outlook is iffy.” Kate’s family spent several days in DC over spring break. “The grandgirls were spoiled rotten at the Hay Adams Hotel and enjoyed Ford’s Theatre, the usual monuments, and seeing the Star Spangled Banner and the First Ladies’ dresses at the Smithsonian.”

December was a difficult month for Josephine “Joie” Lamb Krossa. She fell, breaking her hip, which led to surgery and a week’s hospital stay. After months of intense physical therapy Joie is through with her wheelchair and walker, hoping to eliminate her cane soon. Highlights of the year include a drive up the West Coast to Seattle for oldest grandchild, Cody’s, high school graduation and a week whitewater rafting and fly fishing on Idaho’s River of No Returns with most of the family. “Daughter Sharon and daughters-in-law Nancy and Cheryl decided even catered camping wasn’t for them!” The most momentous event of the year was Sharon’s marriage to Rob Black on May 4. Sharon and Rob met on the Internet 20 years ago when both were in graduate school n Great Britain.

Another wedding was reported by Pat “Mac” McFadden Schwarz. In Atlanta, grandson Nicholas married Amanda on Memorial Day weekend. Mac reported several trips. She and Ken bought a “fat fanny” car and drove all over the south and southwest last winter to avoid the snow and ice. “We saw lots of people, but I had a couple of episodes of congestive heart failure and that cut into the party time.” They are still gardening, but on a much smaller scale. They managed to attend the chrysanthemum show at Longwood Gardens and found it “worth the mileage and motel.” John is still flying Delta jets all over Asia. Ken, Jr. was looking forward to the opening of the Anderson Armory at Colonial Williamsburg. His daughter Juliet graduated from James Madison U in April with a degree in social work. Maria’s Brandon just finished his freshman year at KS State U, majoring in milling science.

Family gatherings in CA, Chicago, NY and Philadelphia for birthdays, sports, graduations, weddings and baptisms kept Anita “Neats” Casani Haffey busy. “All six Haffeys are married and have provided me with 17 grandchildren and six great-grands.” Peripheral neuropathy has slowed her down but she still volunteers with Crossroads for Kids Camp and the Duxbury Beach Reservation. Neats enjoys hearing from Peggy Mahorner Foster and Lore Carlisle Sheedy. Peggy and Donna Demann Neville had visited Lore. Donna still plays tennis and spent eight days in Indian Wells attending the Pariba tennis tournament. Two more of her grandchildren have graduated from high school and will be off to college in the fall.

Knitting is still Marcella Seymour Lilly’s passion. She made nine sweaters and 50 hats for the parish Christmas giving tree this past year. She is also knitting hats for premature babies at the local hospital. She was again planning a July visit with Muffet ’81 at her RI beach house and looked forward to her annual lunch with Dick and Anne Von Boetticher Duer. Marce also sees Marion Glennon ’58 at the first Friday gatherings of the Convent of the Sacred Heart and their art lectures. Marce has now had seven complete joint replacements and is enjoying her pain-free life.

An August vacation in ME is still on the annual agenda for Jim and Mary Lou Crane Keenan. They had not planned other trips, but had hoped to drive over to Ipswich for some of the world’s best fried clams. Mary Lou still sells real estate in the Lowell area. Mary Ellen Forbes McMillen loves San Francisco. She and Frances made another trip to see Matthew in Portland, OR, then rented a car, drove to Crater Lake and on to San Francisco. They had a drink at the Top of the Mark, enjoying the view of the city and the Golden Gate Bridge. In May Christian was asked to participate in commencement ceremonies at UVA. His first graduate student was also receiving a degree. Christian has been asked to write a third book by Oxford U Press.

Last summer Mary Anne Smith Villeneuve and family traveled to Israel where their grandson, who is being raised in the Jewish tradition, made his bar mitzvah. Shortly before she wrote, the family went to St. Louis where grandson Greg graduated from Washington U. Mary Anne keeps up with Joie Krossa, Mary King, Barbara “Beezie” Burns Weidenbruch and Jeanne Zoli Danaher. Beezie writes that she and Peter are enjoying his retirement, gracefully growing old together. Jeanne writes that she is “immensely proud of our two sons and their achievements and adore their children.” A proud grandmother, Barbara Zamierowski Martucci, writes that their oldest grandson just graduated summa cum laude from Fordham “and even got a job in his field.” Barbara has had a few health problems but is still volunteering at church and in their community.

The Palo Alto Auxiliary has claimed much of Luisa Crotti Pliska’s energy for the last 13 years. The group raises money for the Lucile Packard Children’s hospital at Stanford. For the past six years Luisa has been on the board and for the last three years she has been president. Daughter Laura is program director of OBGYN residents at UCSF School of Medicine. Son John is director of admissions at San Franscico State and “an excellent cook, struggling writer and tennis aficionado.” Tom lives in NY, working for Kenneth Cole. He also freelances as a designer photographer and print manager. Greg is also in NY. He is a film and TV composer, orchestrator, arranger and music director. He was named best musical director when War Horse won best play of the year award.

Ron and Katharine “Kate” Loftus Boucher have also moved to a retirement community. They miss their home on the Severn River and all the water activities, but it is good to have fewer responsibilities. They enjoy their fifth floor apartment at Charleston in Catonsville where there is much to do. There are classes, concerts and card games as well as a fully equipped fitness center. They are both Eucharistic Ministers and lectors. Five of their six children live in the area so they see them often. They have made several trips to CO to see Tim and his family. A large gathering at Bethany Beach will allow them to see more family members. Kate still supervises a few therapists, which keeps her reading and learning. She and Carolyn Hendershott Martin had enjoyed lunch together. Carolyn’s cheery note mentioned a Memorial Day celebration at their pool with a special acknowledgement of all the veterans who live in their community. Carolyn’s daughter Mary has opened a gift shop on Main Street in Sykesville. If you are in that part of MD, be sure to stop in and say hello.Two of our classmates mentioned the impact of Hurricane Sandy. Pat Queenan Sheehan reports that her town was without power for nine days. “I spent the weekend at my daughter’s in New Brunswick so didn’t witness the ocean surge that moved the lake into my basement.” The furnace survived, but she has a new water heater, washer, dryer and dehumidifiers. The status of the air conditioning compressor is uncertain. Pat reported that the only classmate she has seen is Lenore Lyons Clark. She and Don are doing well. Pat had cataract surgery on one eye and was about to have the other done. Barbara Coppeto lost her front porch to Hurricane Sandy. Her new porch is almost completed. She came home from FL early this year, but while she was there, she had talked to Dauris Falcone Murphy and spent time at the beach with Rudy and Pat Ricker Yeatman. Eileen Kirk Clew usually spends a little time with Pat Sheehan when she visits NJ. She remembers Trinity fondly. Several of the girls she taught are now Trinity grads. Three years ago Eileen moved to a retirement community, which she enjoys. The residents have much in common, having moved from larger houses after disposing of many possessions.

The spring days were filled with First Holy Communions, confirmations and graduations for Noreen Casey Emerson. At home, Noreen has been cleaning out the basement. “It is amazing what 14 Emersons have accumulated (hoarded?) in 55 years!”

Our condolences to Mary Ruth Garvey Buchness on the death of her husband, Fred; to Wilma Kelly Kennedy on the death of her husband, Bill; to Catherine Monaghan Kilduff on the death of her younger sister Mary; to Joan Keller Tibbetts on the death of her sister; and, to Pat Lang Fitzgerald on the death of her special needs granddaughter, Liana (22). Pat and Liana were very close, having spent many afternoons together. Cathy reminded me that Mary spent her freshman year at Trinity before transferring to Drexel Institute in Philadelphia and graduating in 1957. Cathy enjoys seeing her grandchildren grow. Alice (13) is a fine student. Bonnie (9) shows artistic talent and Nicholas (6) is a typical boy full of promise and mischief. Cathy enjoys parish activities, a book club and a knitting group. Joan and Benton are no longer married. They both chose to remain in Saddlebrook, so have maintained a cordial relationship. Joan has been to Philadelphia for her sister’s memorial service and continued on to Chicago. She had also traveled to South Africa and enjoyed a Danube River boat trip, which featured classical music. Joan’s children and grandchildren are happy and healthy. Paul is still in Santa Barbara with his wife and two children. Lisa and her husband are happy in Portland, OR. Brian and his family have moved to Cairns, Australia. Joan plans a cruise to New Zealand and Sydney in November, so she will fly to Cairns to visit him, his wife and three children.

For 13 months, Suzanne Duross Kelly trained a dog which will eventually become a guide dog for a blind or disabled person. She still loves her prison ministry. Sue does “a touch” of private practice but is glad to be slowing down her activities a bit. She still rides her horse. Last summer she saw Dotty Ann Goff Bauer.

The inimitable Mary Elizabeth Pyne Beins sent a newspaper article on hackling, which has to do with growing flax and weaving linen. And no, Mary Elizabeth, I have never hackled. Marie Pace Quinn sent a check and the world’s shortest note. Pat Ricker Yeatman sent a lovely photograph of herself, her daughter Theresa Yeatman Gerlach (our class baby) and granddaughter Anne Elizabeth Gerlach, celebrating Mother’s Day. Pat reports that son Tim is now director and president of the Gibbs Cancer Center and Research Institute in Spartanburg, SC. He also directs the Center for Advancement of Science in Space.

Lunch plans were reported by Joan Murphy Vayo. Clara McGuire Haser had called and suggested a get-together when Clara was to be in town for her son’s graduation from CU. Joan’s granddaughter was salutatorian at her high school graduation in Wilmington, NC. She stands second in math in the state and will attend Columbia in the fall. Margie Kruse Wallenberger also reported having lunch with Clara. Margie has also had visits from her children and their families as well as from her brother, Ted. Son Paul, interested in flying and physics, lives in Pittsburgh. Margie belongs to a Trinity book club. They had just finished reading My Happy Place by Sonja Sotomayor.

Lore Carlisle Sheedy called me at the end of May. A bad fall had landed her in a skilled nursing unit. Finally at home she was trying to be patient during the long recovery time. Home is now an apartment. I also had a phone call from Sr. Maureen Griffin. We had a great talk about families, the olden days and Trinity. She is still teaching in Notre Dame Virtual School. I also talk occasionally to Dauris Murphy. My cousin, Brenda Bennett Scannell ’63 was in town in May to attend her 50th Trinity Reunion. We had a happy afternoon together. I still attend my doll group and a fiber arts gathering as well as a weekly sewing group. Mary Ellen and her family are well. Alice (12) still likes dancing and playing the violin. She is also learning to dive. I, like Noreen and so many other classmates, am trying to sort out (discard) the accumulation of many years. Sometimes it seems like an archaeological dig, as I uncover a layer and find mysterious items from long ago. Thank you for your newsy letters. I love hearing from you and learning about the twists and turns your lives had taken.

Virginia Bennett Burch