Isolation has been sweetened for Diane Chesley-Lahm thanks to a bimonthly Zoom chat group centered on her freshman year dorm neighbors. They have supported and entertained each other through the pandemic. Members include Alice Meehan Clement, Kit Lane Dodge, MaryLou Duffy Corrigan, Marcie Grant Dahlen, Helen Mitchell, and Maura Tyrell. Kay Carmody Williams was also a part of the group until her death in November 2020 from a recurrence of cancer. Diane remembers her old roommate as a fun and substantial person who will be greatly missed, and is grateful for the time they were able to share before her illness overcame her. We send our profound sympathy to Kay’s family.
Sharon LaMont Charde writes: I am sorry I missed the opportunity to contribute to the class notes; it has been an incredible year for me. Mango Publishing published my book, “I Am Not a Juvenile Delinquent; How Poetry Changed a Group of At-Risk Young Women,” about my years of volunteering with delinquent girls in a facility –getting them to write their stories in poetry form–also creating a program with a local, elite private school so all the girls could write together–and how it helped me to heal from the grief over my lost son, to carry it differently. I spent the pandemic time doing countless Zoom interviews and talks to publicize it–all on my website–pretty immersed in this big job, since the publisher does almost nothing to help. Thanks to those of you who attended some of the talks! Blue Light Press will publish my next poetry collection in September, “The Glass Is Already Broken.” I had a wonderful writing residency at the Ucross Foundation in Wyoming, but had to fly home in the middle of March–I’m heading back in September and looking forward to it!
Reds of 1964 Class News 2019
Let me start with regrets for the missed news years. The problem was a communication issue when the Alumnae Office went to email-only notification of scribes and did not have my correct email address. Since there had been significant gaps and changes in recent years as the journal changed its publication schedule, I wasn’t concerned as soon as I might have been. But we are synched up now.
You will be reading this basking in the warmth of spring, probably around the time of our 55th reunion. But as I write there are still eight inches of snow outside in Boston, which is pretty much our YTD accumulation for this exceptionally snow-free winter. Despite the news reports of severe storms all over the rest of the country, no one mentioned weather in the class news, with one exception. Apparently the snowbirds are happily residing in warmer climates, and those hardy northerners remaining must be just taking winter in stride.
The exception I mentioned is Linda Hardesty Ring, who painted a cozy picture while tucked up by her wood stove in the New Mexico mountains watching the woods become blanketed by snow. Linda retired only last summer after 25 years in health care, and is balancing enjoyment with the inevitable first year guilt that infinite leisure brings. She keeps busy decluttering, volunteering at the Senior Center food pantry, practicing Tai Chi, researching her family’s genealogy, and traveling to visit her three children, six grand-children, and two great-grandchildren. Linda is mourning the loss of her brother Al in 2017.
Neighbor Pat McEnearney Stelzner returned to Trinidad last year at Carnival to visit cousins, and traveled to Portugal and Spain with her immediate family in June. She hosted an extended family reunion in Albuquerque during the October Hot Air Balloon Festival, which was very popular especially with the kids. She is volunteering with a support group for students in El Salvador. Linda Ring mentioned that Pat helped to found a local Senior Law Center that regularly provides advice to patrons of her Senior Center.
The Class of ’64 Santa Rosa Six annual retreat. L to R, Kit Dodge, Alice Clement, Helen
Mitchell, Kay Williams, Marcie Dahlen, Mary Lou Corrigan
The Santa Rosa Six returned to Marcie Grant Dahlen’s California home in October for their annual retreat, a week of good food, wine, walking Sonoma County Art Trails and non-stop chat. Enjoying the festivities were Kit Lane Dodge (Surry ME), Alice Meehan Clement (Pacific Palisades CA), Helen Mitchell (Lewisburg WV), Kay Carmody Williams (Redwood City CA), and Mary Lou Duffy Corrigan (San Francisco CA). Following the advice of the book by Ken Blanchard and Morton Shaevitz, “Refire! Don’t Retire!” Marcie works actively for political change and church reform. Marcie and Bernie are now full time Californians, and delighted to be nearer their two toddler granddaughters.
Alice Clement reports a good year filled with health, travel, plays, music, reading, movies, and some work for good causes in between. With her children and grandchildren, she spent two weeks in Salt Lake and Yellowstone. They stayed at a magical lakeside B&B complete with canoe in which they explored the lake and viewed the wildlife. She also spent almost a month touring China with a friend and neighbor. Alice marveled at the excellent infrastructure and many high rise apartment buildings, but was surprised at the government control of information access – no email, Facebook or news. She mentioned a slower year for houseguests, only 35 versus the usual 50. Gulp!
This is probably a good time to mention to those of you who send me Christmas cards or newsletters that they are always saved and brought out when it’s time to write up the news. Because of the missed years, I have two from Barbara Bachmann Glynn; here’s hoping I get the chronology right. Daughter Betsy married in Charlottesville in 2016. The Glynns, still based in Atherton, CA, now have eight grandchildren, teens to toddlers, and much of their travel is with or to them. Barbara spent her most recent birthday in Boston with son David for the Red Sox opener, July Fourth in Hawaii with the whole family, and later toured several spots in Europe including Paris, Copenhagen, Geneva, and Omaha Beach Normandy with husband John. The previous year they toured the British Isles.
From Naples, FL Marie Sheehy Klemann stresses the joy of family visits, walking at nearby parks and beaches, and volunteering as antidotes to passing dear ones and the greater frequency of medical visits. She and Ted visited family and friends in Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania last summer, and continued north to a round of celebrations in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and Calgary celebrating Ted’s sister’s ninetieth birthday.
Sad to report, in January 2018 Marianna Santoro Noto lost her husband Bill after 52 years of marriage; he died of cardiac arrest as a complication of flu. She is recovering and learning to be independent. Please know that our thoughts are with you, Marianna. Highland Beach, FL is now her legal residence, but a New Jersey girl at heart, Marianna still spends part of the year in Tinton Falls, NJ.
Greg and Mary Lou Farmer meet a penguin in Antarctica
Another Jersey girl, Mary Lou Heck Farmer and her husband Greg, celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in the fall with a trip to Antarctica, the seventh continent in their travels. They visited southeast Asia in the spring, as part of the plan to do demanding trips now and save cruises and such for later, when they get old! Closer to home they were feted by their children at a surprise anniversary party attended by most of the bridal party, the priest who married them, 50-plus relatives, and friends, including Trish Murphy Kesler and Anne McGee Gillespie.
Lorraine Berkvist with grandsons Cassidy (L) and Ryley (R)
During the summer Mary Lou hosted Anne, Lorraine Noe Berkvist, Ann Glennon and Peggy Ann Clark Schwartz at their home in Avon-by-the-Sea NJ.
Marie Dennis describes her continuing work with Pax Christi International as life-giving and demanding. At home in Washington DC, across the country and abroad, Marie is engaged in fund raising and implementing the institution’s Catholic Nonviolence Initiative, which encourages theologians and academics worldwide in developing papers on nonviolence from the perspectives of theology, ethics, ecology, feminism, and interfaith. Her favorite trip, however, was to El Salvador with her 13-year-old granddaughter and namesake Marie Adele. Marie edited a book on nonviolence titled Choosing Peace which was published by Orbis in 2018.
Travelers extraordinaire Fran Durocher and Siggi continue the pace on the domestic front, but did not manage a trip to visit family in Germany this year. They spent several chilly weeks in Siesta Key in the winter of 2018, ironically enjoying much milder weather on the way home while visiting Sandy McFeeley and her partner Marjorie in Moorseville, NC. In the fall they visited the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, Williamsburg and Myrtle Beach, and then Philadelphia and Rhode Island for an extended family Thanksgiving celebration. When at home in Dumfries, VA they have found a niche counseling seniors about end-of-life medical issues and they enjoy dinner with friends, church activities, and performances at Arena Stage.
Diane Chesley-Lahm feels fortunate that her eight grandchildren, who keep her very busy, all live close to her in Columbus OH. She has lots of activities with friends as well, and found the play Hamilton amazing.
Carol Higgins Aultman explored bridges and castles in Prague, Vienna, and Budapest last fall, and ended with a Danube River cruise. She enjoys the company of her children and grandchildren who all live close by. Carol is enjoying retirement and volunteering at Inniswood Gardens in her hometown of Westerville, OH.
Lorraine Noe Bergkvist continues the travel phase of life with a trip to Dubai and Bahrain to visit grandson Cassidy who is stationed there in the Navy. She also had a girlfriend big birthday trip to Florence. Her latest textbook Introduction to Computer Science: Coding, co-authored with a Univ. of Baltimore colleague, introduces younger students to the exciting world of computer coding. She is now living permanently in Mount Dora, FL where she plays tennis and pickle ball. (My senior center sponsors pickle ball too, but I have yet to figure out the rules.)
Eileen Carr Nixon is still in the workforce. She is a real estate broker and a state certified real estate appraiser with her own appraisal company. Eileen has been revisiting places she first knew as a Trinity junior abroad in Vienna, this time with mature eyes. She has also added Poland, Prague, Budapest and Germany to the list, travels to Denver and Scottsdale to visit her sons, and hosts her daughter at home in Rehoboth Beach DE. When not on the road, Eileen enjoys painting, yoga, and the company of great friends.
My lab mate Mary Donnelly Kaser sounds incredibly busy. She and Lee are traveling less and filling in with local activities. Two of their three children, and three of six grandchildren, live near their Wilmington DE home, much to their delight, but son Kenneth is still based overseas in Denmark. Mary is still active with Ikebana (Japanese flower arranging), her gourmet group of 45 years, a book group, garden club, and the church bell ringers. In addition she is taking history, art, and movie classes at the Osher Life Long Learning Center at U of Delaware, a contrast to her college years of math and science studies.
Sharon Charde at the Women’s March in Washington
Sharon and John Charde at the Potala Palace in Tibet
Poet Sharon Lamont Charde continues to write and publish her work. She was included in 64 Best Poets of 2018 by Halcyone Magazine and has a chapbook to be published in spring called Unhinged. She has been granted fellowships to several prestigious writers’ workshops and has traveled to Tibet, Bhutan, Rome, Ireland and Spain. On the home front in Lakewood CT, she has acquired a new puppy and become very active politically. Sharon’s husband John is recovering well from heart surgery; she is grateful for her own good health.
Condolences to Gail Higgins Fogarty, who sadly writes of the loss of her husband Ed in August of 2017. Their courtship began at the Kennedy Center ballet, and both Gail and Ed have been enthusiastic donors and volunteers for many years for the Providence Festival Ballet, where the Edward M Fogarty New Works Fund has been established in his memory. Gail has met with many Trinity classmates over the last couple of years, including Juanita Mulaire Cullen, Mary Beth Jacobs, Paula Sullivan O’Brien, and Kathy Kane Epatko, as well as her twin sister Carol at various family events.
Betty Condon sent a brief hello. She is still in Lynn, MA with a few more aches and pains but still enjoying some short trips.
Mary Fanning Broderick and Frank celebrate their golden anniversary this spring. She takes pride in her three children and seven grandchildren, but worries about the uncertain world ahead for them. Mary suffered a slight stroke in January in which she lost the sight of one eye. She can still read and belongs to two book clubs, and can drive, since New Hampshire, she informs us, requires only one good eye for a license. She has also become a “gym rat”.
Carol Glavin Warren is enjoying travel in retirement. She saw Nora McMahon Glover while visiting a cousin in Buffalo, and has been unsuccessfully challenging Ann Kelleher Lattanza, a new grandmother, to Words with Friends. Carol and Kelly Snider Dunn just returned from an amazing Smithsonian journey through Patagonia, and are planning a Viking Cruise in Portugal in late May. Unfortunately, the latter conflicts with reunion weekend so neither Carol nor Kelly will be able to attend. Kelly’s husband of 53 years and Georgetown college beau Raymond “Slugger” Dunn died in March of 2018; we offer our deepest sympathy to your family, Kelly.
As for me, I finally retired two years ago and am amazed at how little free time I have. I made a commitment to exercise for health reasons but was surprised to find I actually enjoy yoga, Zumba, and strength/balance classes. I now spend most of April through November at the Thompson Lake ME cottage, sometimes blissfully alone with the cats and sometimes surrounded by the mobs of kids, grandkids, and other visitors. I’m still in the choir winters and am a lector at our little seasonal church summers. Cooking, reading, gardening, puzzles, home renovations, wine and sunsets keep me active and content.
Our class fund will benefit from your many donations. We especially appreciate those who took the extra step of mailing a check after submitting news by email. Many thanks also to Mary Alice Barrett Phelan, Mary Louise (Beez) Burke, Kay Meyer, Peggy Gorman Witte, and Mike (Mary) Connolly Egan; they sent no news but very welcome checks for the class fund. For those who still wish to donate, you can make your check payable to AATC Class of 1964 Fund, and mail directly to:
Alumnae Association of Trinity College
125 Michigan Ave NE Room 381
Washington DC 20017-1094
There is another new Alumnae Association option if you did not have a chance to get news to me in time for publication. Use the following website to upload news and pictures at any time: https://discover.trinitydc.edu/alums/class-notes-submission-form/
The following section of the news was written after our 55th reunion, May 31 to June 2. Our reunion co-chairs Rosita Torregrosa Bachmann and Lorraine Noe Bergkvist, exercised their energy, inclusiveness, and listening skills to planning a memorable reunion experience for us. These dynamos and their sub-chairs planned a day of intense discussion groups followed by a fun and casual happy hour at the comfortable Churchill Hotel on Friday. Many, many thanks to the anonymous classmate who so generously provided the cocktails and buffet.
Saturday was devoted to events at Trinity, starting with an address by the president and some faculty members to bring us up to date on the latest academic changes. We wandered through the sparkling new Payden Academic Center, awestruck by the state-of-the-art labs. Yes, ladies, there are even computer controlled life-sized mannequins which can be programmed to exhibit a host of symptoms for the nursing students, including one which gives birth to an infant mannequin. A far cry from the old science building of our day! The tour was followed by a delicious lunch in the Trinity Athletic Center.
Kathy Nealon Piva and Michelle Murdock once again took on the solemn duty of planning the reunion memorial service for our deceased classmates. Sadly, there are eight friends who have passed on since the last reunion. They are Betsy Butler McKegrey, Beverly Crouch, Diane Dacunto Ingram, Anne Higgenbotham Nardi, Anne Hoogland Williams, Carolyn Keenan, Carol Quinn Holden, and Gerry Ryan. Each woman was memorialized by a classmate who presented a brief eulogy.
The service was followed by our class meeting, Mass in Notre Dame Chapel, and dinner at the elegant University Club downtown. The entire weekend was a wonderful personal reconnection with about 50 classmates who attended the various events. It always seems to me as if we are picking up a conversation ended only five minutes ago rather than five (or 55!) years ago.
And a final plug from Reunion Chair Rosita:
All 1964 Classmates please join us for Class Reunion, our 55th, from May 31 to June 2, 2019. It should be fun to reconnect and remember the good old days. Best wishes from the Planning Committee.
Love to you and yours, and wishes for a year filled with serenity and joy for all.
Kate Sullivan Ryan, ‘64
19 Hutchins Rd, Medford MA 02155
781-396-3038
Ryanks376@gmail.com
