Class of 1970

Green Class of 1970

Welcome to the 2019 class notes for the class of 1970 at Trinity College.  Thank you to all of you who responded to our plea to let us know if we had correct mail and email addresses, and many more thanks to those of you added your news.  Chris and Margaret had a wonderful time putting together all of your stories.  Perhaps because we missed soliciting news last year and/or because our 50^th Reunion is approaching, we were heartened that so many of you wished to reach out and share.

We see certain themes:  Essentially, we are in good health, although some of us have dealt with serious issues, and most of us spend more time with doctors’ appointments (our own and others) than we would like.   We are involved with the taking care of elderly parents, while at the same time enjoying our children, grandchildren, and extended families.  We have individually resolved our issues with faith and religion and are at peace with our conclusions.  Generally speaking, we are pleased to find we are 70 years old, physically capable of doing what we want, and excited about travel and volunteer possibilities.  In short, we are committed to and engaged in living our lives to our own definition of “fullest.” The upheavals of 1968 prepared us well to deal with the challenges we face in life!

Donna Jo Haight Ganson got married on St. Patrick’s Day 40 years ago at the New York Junior League and is still celebrating the event at that location.  (Why mess with success?)  Attending the most recent party were her daughter, Joanna, a Foreign Service officer posted in Sri Lanka with her family (2 granddaughters); daughter Lindsey, a PR executive, up from Nashville, with her husband and son, and Blair, in her second year at Harvard Law, as well as Barbara O’Neil Mingle.

Donna Jo is currently the historian of the Garden Club of America and next year will become a national director.  She refers to this as a full-time obsession.  Hutch continues to work on the safe streets initiatives with the organization he helped start after he was mowed down by a reckless driver in a pedestrian crosswalk.

Donna and Hutch travel a lot, especially to Sri Lanka, visiting India and the UAE on the way.  They enjoy spending February in Florida and summer on Long Island, with the rest of the time spent in Brooklyn.

Donna also writes that Claire Stazeski Luken, Kathleen Ryan Sellew, Christine Jones Akram, Pam Hauserman Meyers, Barbara O’Neil mingle, Kathy Costello Jones and Barbara Sullivan Benic and I had a virtual reunion last spring and were so happy to connect. They plan to do it again although time has gotten away from them. She was able to visit with Kathleen Ryan Sellew this spring when she joined Hutch and me in Florida for a few days. We even had dinner with Kathy Costello jones who lives there part time. Our Trinity friendships have not faded after 50 years and we hope for an in person meet up in the near future.

 

Michelle (Mike) Wiley moved to North Adams, MA, in 2017 after falling in love with a wonderful guy.  She reminds us that it is never too late.  She teaches music and voice at Massachusetts College of Music of Liberal Arts.  At seventy years old this past December, she is so grateful that life is still full of surprises. 

 

Judy Frabotta is still living in Canada as a Canadian citizen.  She writes “although our federal and provincial governing bodies have their share of problems and scandals, it does seem that the political climate here is less toxic than in the US.  In particular it is evident, especially in the urban areas, that there is more than just lip-service to diversity, and even the very stubborn issues concerning the first nations people are starting to receive attention.”  She is still coaching and mentoring the next generation of leaders, both in the US and Canada; and is also working to find the time and head space to write a book and do workshops on the subject of life transitions.

She has two standard poodles, Sophie and Jasper.  She and Sophie go to hospice every week to visit with patients. “Hospice work is the gift that truly gives back on so many levels.”  Jasper is younger and full of beans.  He likes to run straight up hills.  She writes Sophie is her spiritual advisor and Jasper her personal trainer.

Judy suffered the loss of her Mom in June – the last year was tough on everybody, most of all, her mother.  “Knock wood, feeling healthy, hitting the gym every week to weight lift and run a bit and generally trying to live every day with gratitude and an open heart.”

Susan Lyons Murray and husband Paul recently moved into the Westminster Lifecare Retirement Community in Winter Park, FL. “We’re in good health, thank goodness, and are glad that we shouldn’t have to move again.  There are more activities than we could ever join.  I’ve gotten involved in some resident committees and we enjoy getting to know our new neighbors.  Although downsizing was a several year challenge, we find it freeing to live with fewer things.  While Paul golfs, I continue to volunteer at the Central Florida Zoo and love working with the animals and encouraging guests to support wildlife of all kinds.  May the road rise to meet you and the wind be ever at your back.”

Betsy Kelly Hoey writes “our big news this year is the arrival of Alexander Jackson Hoey, born December 18 to our son Tim and his wife Trish.  Xander is our third grandchild, joining Miranda (10) and Elena (8), daughters of son Andy and his wife Angela.  It’s fun to have a little boy following the two girls.  All in the family are healthy, including Jack and me, which is the most important thing.

Jack and I did a lovely trip to Switzerland last fall and have trips to France and Italy this year.”

Mollie Shannahan MacAdams “My husband and I are happily living on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.  I am putting my retirement papers in this week but will teach through June.  Our kids are all great – six beautiful grandchildren.  Amazing J.

I hear from Mary Winston Hansen, Imogene Drummond, Mary Helen Lysaght Cathles and Patty Mahon Hayden – but not often enough!  Maureen Foley Abramson and her husband came to Annapolis for a visit over lunch.  Looking forward to the next.  Not surprisingly we have a huge amount in common.  Long-time friends are the best!”

Susan Chamberlin Lom reports that it’s been a year of surprises and great change for her family.  Her children arranged a top-secret 70^th birthday gathering for her in Arlington, VA, and she was 100% surprised!  All four children were there, and it was incredible—a YouTube-worthy moment.  They also celebrated Max (#5), Pepper (#3), and Charlie (#76) birthdays there.  She and Charlie went on an extended “grand tour” of friends, relatives, great cities and national parks in May, culminating by celebrating her granddaughter Emma’s high school graduation in Tucson.  She’s on a full scholarship at the U of AZ now and they are so proud of her.  Susan’s daughter Ellen (and 3 cats) moved from PA to Richmond, VA ; son Greg and his family moved from Africa to Albuquerque; son Stephen moved from AZ to their Canandaigua cottage (attending college); and son Daniel changed jobs (and, they assume, many lanes) –  driving 1.5 hours to work, on his new electric motorcycle.  Charlie was gifted with two new grandchildren:  Sadie (2/15) and Benjamin (7/31), bringing their combined total of grandchildren to nine. They joined a bowling group, a card group, and are still playing bridge and volunteering nearly every day.  And they just returned from a week exploring the Keys and Key West – Whew!  Retirement continues to be wonderful, busy and rewarding.  They are grateful that it also continues to be happy and healthy for both of them and for their loved ones.  Susan has our 50th reunion in 2020 in her eyes, and in Christmas cards reminded TC friends that they better plan to attend!

Ava Vogel Smith writes “I haven’t changed email or physical address in 15 years, a record for Bob and me.  We are doing well.  Sold the business (skilled and rehab nursing facility) a couple of years ago so are really retired now.  Nothing note-worthy about my life.  Just trying to not get too depressed about state of the world.  Best to all.”

Anne Byrne McGivern writes “I was adopted by the Greens of ’70, having been a member of the class of 1969 through my junior year until taking a year off to serve in VISTA. I don’t have to explain to you how the world, including TC, had changed between 1968 and 1969! I’ve always been grateful for the many members of the class of 1970 who warmly welcomed me back and added so much interest and fun to my senior year.

After graduation, I returned to my native Chicago area, went to grad school at Northwestern, and got married.  Art and I are still married (as of this writing, anyway!), and have been blessed with four children and nine grandchildren along the way.

I taught in the field of special education early in my career and in middle school settings later on. Writing has always been a study and an interest of mine, and I love having more time for it now that I’m retired. My first novel, Danya: a Woman of Ancient Galilee, was published in 2018 by Wipf and Stock Publishers.

I hope to catch up with the Greens of ’70 at Reunion 2020!”

Grace Doherty Delatour says “We’re still living in Berkeley, Ca. in our first house.  We welcome visitors.  Both Michel and I are retired and are very active.  Michel makes a lot of red wine.  I’m trying golf and mahjong and am having lots of fun.  Our 2 boys are married. We have one grandchild who lives in New York City so I get there a few times a year when I usually have lunch with Imogene Drummond and Kathy Costello Jones.  To celebrate my 70th birthday, we enjoyed an unusual amount of travel this year:  Grand Canyon Raft trip, golf in Ireland, wine tasting and hiking in Argentina.  We are very happy and grateful for our current good health, family support, and friends.  My years at Trinity were very rewarding and I cherish the many memories.  I volunteer weekly at The Alameda County Food Bank and I believe senior citizens’ volunteer activities are an important part of support social services.”

Patricia Rose Falcao – Patricia was the recipient of the Massachusetts Medical Society 2015 Woman Physician Leadership Award.  Patricia writes that of the 25,000 physician members of MMS, about 40% are women, and the Committee on Women in Medicine has worked hard to establish annual awards that are then given on behalf of the entire Society.  The Society also succeeded in establishing annual awards for Women’s Health and another for Women’s Health Research.  You can read more about Patricia and her award here:  http://www.massmed.org/News-and-Publications/MMS-News-Releases/Patricia-Rose-Falcao,-M-D–is-honored-by-Massachusetts-Medical-Society-with-the-2015-Woman-Physician-Leadership-Award/#.XJkAlShKjIU.
Patricia’s husband of 33 years, Jim Blumenfeld, is a telecomm engineer, and her daughter Alexandra, born in Boston, now age 30, is a Licensed Psychological Counselor, married, lives and works in Denver.

Penny Johnston Roen says “Although I’d love to see everyone else’s news, I don’t have much myself.  Bill and I retired and moved back to Florida almost nine years ago after several years in Savannah.  As far as my state of mind is concerned—or should I say the state of my mind—my car warns me when I have something behind or next to me and tells me how to get places; google supplements my memory; my phone gives me alerts and alarms all the time; and people I don’t even know (but who do have the same Tampa Bay area code as I do) call all the time to help me with my student loans, high interest credit cards and, most recently, how I can get vacation property in Florida! It’s not our mothers’ age 70!”

Sr. Marlene Biasiello is currently working as a chaplain in Stella Maris Nursing Home in Timonium, MD.  She has been there for 29 years.

Mary Mauriello Kelly retired as a diagnostic radiologist two years ago.  She says, “Since then I have stepped up my efforts to learn the cello.  I am in a community orchestra, I play with friends and I take private lessons.  I am in three book clubs.  I do Pilates and go to the gym.  My husband, Tom, and I maintain two houses, one in Seattle and one in Carefree, Arizona. I am pleased to spend more time with my family of origin, including my 92-year-old mother and my five siblings.

Both of our children, Nicholas and Claire, are lawyers like their father. Nick is a public defender in Seattle and Claire is a federal prosecutor in Los Angeles. I helped Claire plan her wedding to Robin Liu, which occurred in Seattle in September 2018.

Of our classmates, I most regularly see Claire Stazeski Luken and members of the Oxford Group of 1967-68:  Nancy Principi Scull, Carol Doerrer Bradof, Louise Donohoe Resor, Frederica Mansfield Templeton, and Kathleen Ryan Sellew.

I wish for our classmates, who experienced a huge cultural upheaval during our four years at Trinity, the grace of peace and health in the next phase of their life.”

Kathleen Gallagher says “I’m still working full time.  Two years ago I made a move from my Safety Officer position in Boston to a position as EHS Manager at a MedTech Company in NH.  The transition was tough, but I’ve settled in.  I hope to stay working for at least another year, but I may cut back to a four day work week.  My 50 minute commute seriously cuts in to my shoveling and mowing time at home.  I now have two grandsons, brothers Javier (9) and Rowan (2).  They live close by and I am able to spend quite a bit of time with them.  I find this rejuvenating…….and exhausting.  I am looking forward to taking them to see the new dinosaur exhibit at the Museum of Natural History in DC this year.  Hope to see you all there and, if not, at the reunion in 2020.”

Kathleen Hogan Breckenridge – “I am still in Kansas City but getting ready to make the big downsize move to Chicago (my old hometown when I was at TC).  Haven’t bought anything yet and still working on getting my house sold in KC before I buy, but looking in Chicago West Loop or Lakeview areas.  My daughter Molly and her family live in Roscoe Village and my brother lives in Libertyville.  I have high school friends that I have kept in touch with and hope to find some TC friends in the Chicago area too.  Anyone from TC (the class of ’70 or otherwise) send me an email.  My personal email is katebreck27@gmail.com.  I hope to continue my law practice remotely from Chicago at least for a while, so not retiring yet.  All three daughters are married and each has two children, but no one in KC, so this will bring me closer to one of them.  The others are in NJ and Dallas.  Looking forward to our 50^th next year!”

Barbara O’Neil Mingle moved from Ithaca, New York, to Virginia to be closer to family.  They may move again later in the year.

Mary Beth Turner Marquardt says “I can’t believe I’m turning 70 this year.  My husband (Rod Coleman) and I have been keeping very busy with exercising and socializing in our Florida community.  All of our family loves Disney so we generally meet up with each family there once a year.  As season pass holders we go over regularly.  In between we have been traveling:  Panama Canal cruise, Australia/New Zealand/Fiji, Switzerland and Rhine River Cruise, Canadian Rockies, and eastern Canada cruise.  We still have a few more places we want to visit – including South Africa! We enjoy visiting with our four children and five grandchildren.  The oldest granddaughter is graduating college and the youngest two are starting kindergarten!
I feel we have been very fortunate, with our families, our travels, our friends, and our health.  I’m really looking forward to our 50th next year, to catch up with a lot of classmates in person.”

Mary Finn Vanderbrook – “You mentioned our 50^th reunion in your letter.  It is stunning to realize that we have arrived at that auspicious point in our lives so rapidly.  As joy-filled eager-to-embrace-the-world Trinity graduates of 1970, it wasn’t possible for us to envision ourselves across a 50-year timespan.  Fifty years was an eternity from the perspective of a young woman graduate and at that moment we held eternity in our hands.  Yet viewed through the lens of hindsight, it has been a mere instant in time since our graduation day.  In that “instant of time” my husband, Marty, and I married, lived all over the world, raised a family and managed our careers.

Marty and I are retired now, he from his position as Director of Space Flight Systems for Space Shuttle Operations at United Space Alliance and myself from the employment sector of the Houston business market.  Now we celebrate the reign of ordinary days, free from the pressures of places to be and deadlines to meet and never enough time.  What glorious days these ordinary days are!  We are now more involved in all that is important to our life – our faith, our family, our environment and the arts.  It is a blessing to live very close to our daughters, Margaret (an attorney) and Jennifer (a school counselor) and their families.  Our Parish is very large, serving over 6,000 families, and we continue to be active in several of its ministries.  We are also passionate about gardening, the Houston Grand Opera, Society for the Performing Arts and the arts community.

Like so many of our classmates, our greatest joy is being involved in the lives of our grandchildren, Ryan (24), Brendan (16), Mary (14), and Joseph (8) who keep us young and very active.  Lately I have been helping our youngest grandson with his homework.  In reflecting on this, I have concluded that our lives have come full circle…. we are once again playing in the dirt and practicing our reading skills.  Life is good!”

Maureen Talty Konschnik – “Dave and I continue to live in the house we raised our children in while we consider the downsizing exercise that many of our friends have already successfully accomplished. We love this area, our son and his family live close by and we expect our daughter to return here one day so we are not looking at a geographic move but rather at more manageable space.  I broke my knee last winter hiking in New Zealand and after great care and successful surgery there, I came home to a house with stairs I could not negotiate for six weeks.  It gave me new insight into one level living!
I am back on two feet again and we both are enjoying good health, travel, retirement, and lots of time with our adult children and our two adorable grandchildren (I expect that last comment will be a common theme in all the notes you get) so life is good.  But we are both aware that we celebrated our 70th birthdays last year and while 70 may be the new 60, we are not 45 anymore!
I am not sure whether you want to address the political situation in our country but if you are polling, I am appalled with the current administration and the total lack of political civility and ethical behavior in what I believe is still a great nation.”

Diane LaPlante Cabrales – “I am so happy to hear from you both and looking forward to reunion in 2020.  Hard to believe it was 50 years ago.  What happened to us?  Just life I guess.  I am not yet retired, though I could be, and my husband Mike has been for six years.  He is happily playing a lot of golf, and I am happily coming to the office.   Although, it is certainly time for me to take a fresh look at life.  We have my mom living with us now, she will be 92 in May.  She can manage the stairs to get up to her bedroom and is generally in decent health – but I am  always reminding her to walk, walk, walk – go take a shower and hair wash, make your bed, pick up after yourself.  I thought I was past that when my kids left home. Good thing she is easy going and pleasant to get along with.

I am not sure if I am still working because I am so healthy, or I am so healthy because I am still working.  I suspect it is a combination.  My career keeps me mentally stimulated and very engaged with people, so all good.   Meanwhile we have done some traveling with family and friends.  Pat Hillman and I have reconnected, and we went to France together in 2017 and the Great Northern Rockies in 2018.  Greece is on the agenda for 2019.

I see Katie Hanley Rossner and Ruth Riley Sagar on a monthly basis, as we are all in a book club together.  Marybeth (Cookie) Hagis Dowdell and I also see each other, or at least talk on the phone (how much am I dating us?) on a regular basis.

I feel extremely blessed with good health, a very sweet husband and a great supportive family, both children, siblings and grandchildren.

My one sorrow is my son Robert, who is having a hard time in life right now and could use some prayers. Hopefully he will figure things out and get his life back on course.  No one gets to be our age without some hardship and rough seas – it comes with the territory.  But that doesn’t make it any easier.

Thankfully I still have a pretty strong faith, and that helps a lot.  Even though there are currently plenty of reasons to challenge the Catholic Church, you have to know it is because it is a manmade construct, and therefore plenty of things can go wrong.  Whew!  Enough.

Hope you have lots of responses to your request.  I always love getting the Journal and read about what everyone is doing.”

Carol Leffson Baker – “Top o’ the Mornin’ to you, Greens of ’70!!

Remember us arm in arm skipping down the hall of Main singing this entire version?  Seems like a lifetime ago.  Hope all are well and enjoying some form of retirement.  Looking forward to seeing everyone for the big activities being planned for our 50^th (though none of us is old enough for that one).

Please think about it now and plan to come.  Reach out to the classmates you know and make sure they are coming.  See you all next year.”

Barbara Stack Moore – “This milestone “70” year has been fun!  Spurred on by entering this new decade, Chris Houlihan Eppinger, Carolyn (Po) Foster Locke, Lorena Meunier and I had our first ever Main Room 418 reunion in New York.  We met freshman year when we shared a quad and 52 years later we had lots to talk about and life experiences to share!

Other Trinity classmates I have seen this year include Julie Sheets Vogel, Karen Segal Griffin, Kathy Schaaf Cropper, Joan Carey McCabe, Nancy Monogan Ziomek, and Kathy Reilly.

My older daughter lives in San Francisco and my younger daughter lives in Paris so we visit both areas frequently. I currently volunteer in a Dominican nuns’ program teaching female immigrants English – the women are a joy to work with and their life experiences underline the good fortune of living in the United States.”

Cathy Largay McCarthy – In April/May of 2018, I traveled with a couple of work pals on a tulip cruise starting and ending in Amsterdam for a week, and we then took the high speed train to Paris for five days – travel seems to be one of the most enjoyable benefits to our “later” years. In late June 2019, these same travel pals and I have booked a Baltic Sea trip starting and ending in Copenhagen, Estonia, St. Petersburg, Helsinki, Stockholm, and some stops in Germany.  I love the idea of a floating hotel. As of the end of June 2018, I am officially retired and working on figuring out how to schedule/unschedule my days but am certainly enjoying no alarm setting. As many of us turn 70, I want to thank my children (and other family & friends) for celebrating me in grand style in November 2018.

Gloria Brozik Barnstorf – “I see Maryrose McCaffery Martino.  She is very active as president of her chapter of tax registered agents and accountants.  For exact name, ask her!  Her daughter Kate will be married in September and George is walking her down the aisle as her dear father Michael passed away.  I talk with Rosalie Angelo and Jean Bell Hessenauer occasionally.  Both are well, funny and young at heart. This weekend I happened to find Michelle Wiley’s LinkedIn and YouTube.  She still has that great voice and style. Loved the jazz!!!!  Wishing everyone health and happiness.”

Imogene Drummond (aka Libby Green) “Living near NYC allows me to stay in touch with dear Trinity friends.  I treasure special times with them.  Grace Doherty de Latour and Kathleen Costello Jones, class of ’70, along with Mary Francina Golden, class of ’71, celebrated my recent birthday at lunch at Orsay restaurant in Manhattan. This past summer, I was an artist in residence at Airgentum Art Residency for three months in Castilblanco, Spain.  There I created an interactive video installation–a new direction for me–that connected the people of Castilblanco with the cosmos.  In my immersive installation, people moved through the exhibit space and saw imagery of their local landscape and the cosmos projected onto them.  To symbolize consciousness, the imagery was also reflected in mirrors.  I was thrilled with the enthusiastic response!  To see a video of the installation, go to: https://vimeo.com/310449886.

Lynn Erickson writes “My daughter Gretchen, Rod and I own a 112 acre horse farm in rural Berks County.  The farm is 210 years old, and yes, we have “ghosts” walking among us.  We have 20-30 horses at any given time, two pigs, more chickens than my daughter appreciates, and the occasional coyote, bobcat, a herd of deer and other wildlife too numerous to list.  We have three border collies who recently decided to “connect” and their 14 kids are (hopefully) leaving for new homes. After 30 years apart, Rod and I reunited about 11 years ago, and although we’re 70, we’re still working the farm. Gretchen had a serious accident about 15 years ago while in law school. She was stopped behind a tractor trailer, waiting, when another tractor trailer hit her vehicle at full speed.  She has had two back operations and is looking at a third, but to say I admire her is an understatement.

Gretchen was on the road to celebrity in the horse world, training with two Olympic riders when the accident happened and drowned her dreams.  Although she eschewed the practice of law because of the years of recuperation and surgery, and wasn’t released for riding for most of those years, she didn’t sit home feeling sorry for herself.  Instead she put her heart into the horse farm from the ground up, training adults and children, horses others could not, scheduling breeding and generally making the farm a class operation.

Me? I am still practicing law, busier than I want to be.  I had hoped that closing my office and moving the practice home (the farm) would allow me some free time to work with our horses, but you can’t have a practice for 45 years and not make friends who still run into problems, and now their kids are needing legal help.  I try to discourage new clients by telling them my office is a farm and I’m not dressing up for them, but that doesn’t seem to work.  Most of my practice is criminal and family (same thing sometimes) but “hay” (horses gotta eat), it pays the bills.

The story of Rod and I re-connecting is a strange but lovely story, too long for this info-email, but he moved back here from Arizona and the three decades apart seem only flash-by memories. We get to ride occasionally, but short of dinner with friends a couple times a month, we don’t get out much.

Everyone is invited to come play at the farm if you’re ever in the Berks County area.  Kids (well I guess grandkids) can walk with the horses (two of which are only 24” tall).”

Jean Bell Hessennauer– “My big news this past year was my son’s wedding.  Jim and Kristen were married in September 2018 on a beautiful day in the midst of the monsoon weather we had been having.  The reception was at a local winery which was a very pretty setting.  My brother and his children and grandchildren all came to town for the wedding.  All in all it was a wonderful day.  I have heard from Gloria Brozik Barnsdorf, Barbara Phippen Cutler, Cathy Looby McCourt, Barb Wurzelbacher Arndt and Rosalie Angelo this year.  I guess we all survived turning 70!”

Janet McCabe Maley – “It’s hard to believe that our 50^th Reunion is just a year away.  Since our last Reunion we have added three more grandchildren to bring the total to five.  Each of my three children had a child in 2017. I am still active in my bowling league and my Woman’s Club.  I am treasurer of both organizations.  My husband is still working as a software developer. I’m looking forward to reconnecting at our 50^th Reunion in 2020.”

Matilda Giampietro – “My son Gabriel, the oldest of my 4 children, has a fantastic, Michelin star rated restaurant in Brooklyn called The Finch.  He is also getting married this summer to the mother of their three-year-old son, Jasper.  Gabe and FonLin (Chinese medicine practitioner) live in Brooklyn and are remodeling their recently purchased brownstone in Brooklyn.  My daughter Rebecca and her husband Chris Roddick live in Brooklyn as well, with their four-year-old son Milo.  Rebecca is an outstanding horticulturist, runs the Brooklyn Bridge Park, and Chris is the arborist of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.  My daughter Jessica lives in Berkeley, CA, with her husband Alex Harvill and their two children, Oliver (6) and Hazel (4).  Jessica has worked for Pixar for many years.  If you watch through all the credits on Cars, Finding Nemo, Coco and other Pixar films you will see her name (Jessica McMackin Harvill).  My daughter Meghan lives in Brooklyn with her husband Dan Gregoras and their two-year-old son Aiden.  Another son is due in June.  She was the JCrew jewelry designer for many years and now is starting her own jewelry line.

I love performing with my group Wykeham Consort, and these days we are fascinated with Sephardic music and love performing and sharing it.  I am still teaching at Washington Montessori School, and enjoying it.

A good bit of my summertime is usually spent teaching in China, doing Montessori teacher training workshops and doing volunteer work teaching music with S’Cool Sounds in Jordan with Syrian refugee children, in Kibera, Nairobi, Kenya (Kibera is the largest slum in Africa) and in Burundi.  Village Heath Works in Burundi is a truly astonishing place.  It is a testament to strength of character and perseverance in the face of incredible difficulties and ethnic cleansing rage (think Hotel Rwanda).  Deo Gratias Niyizonkiza, who founded this clinic, in my opinion, is a saint.  You can read about him in the book Strength In What Remains, a NYT best seller by Tracy Kidder.

I am also the cantor on Sunday mornings in my Catholic parish in Bethlehem, CT.  I feel grateful for the chance to use my voice to pray.

In 2016 I was awarded the Golden Alumna of the Year award from Stone Ridge, Country Day School of the Sacred Heart, where I went to high school.  What else…. my mother is 94 and lives in an assisted living place 15 minutes from my house.  I am divorced and have been for 23 years.  I would love to find my true love, but have not found him yet.  Any suggestions, send them my way!”

Mary Teresa Millea Manion a picture is worth a 1000 words.  Here’s a picture of Terry and Chuck in Alaska to celebrate her 70^th birthday.  Enough said.  Terry had just undergone cataract surgery, so wasn’t up for writing.

Mary Riordan Bejan writes “My mom passed away January 2018.  She came to Trinity from a farm in CO in 1945.  There was only one other student from “out west” and they were constantly asked about buffalo and cowboys.  She went to spring break with friends her first year at Trinity and story goes that my dad, a Georgetown grad, who had just finished with army and was celebrating a bachelor party spotted her “under the clock at the Biltmore.”   He turned to his friends and said “See that red head over there – I’m going to marry her” and he did.  Much to her mother’s dismay, she left Trinity after her freshman year and married my dad, who passed away in 1970.   So Trinity plays a big part in our family story.
We have been in Durham since 1985 with Adrian a Professor at Duke with no plans to retire until he physically and mentally has to.  I have been managing mom’s estate and my grown children, the second of whom is at Duke this week giving two talks.   You can find her TED talk online with more the a million views.   Reilly (Margaret) and I attended last year.   Adrian will be giving one in DC next week.
We will finally have a wedding in the family next year in September, the youngest of our three.

Maureen Gerrity Boyd – “I am happy to report that I am still enjoying skiing, bridge and travel!  In May two of my granddaughters are accompanying me to Paris if the yellow vests don’t shut the city down.  Turning 70 was bearable because my sons gave a party in a mountain cabin for me and all my family members were there to celebrate.  Hope all are healthy!”

Kathleen Gilligan Sebelius says “I left government service in July, 2014 and continue working in health care with private companies and non-profit organizations.  I help friends in KS and around the country get elected to office but my days as a candidate are over.

After 43 years in Topeka, KS we moved to Lawrence, KS, in mid-2017, and we love our new community. And I get on airplanes a lot. Our two sons are both married; one in KS and one near Boston, with our three grandsons. Everyone is healthy and happy most of the time.”

Carol Doerrer Bradof came in under the wire with this report:  “Our state-side Oxford group had a reunion—with some of our spouses—in the Asheville/Burnsville area last October, 2018.  We had a wonderful time hiking, cooking, laughing, touring Asheville’s Biltmore and Thomas Wolfe’s museum/home, and simply enjoying each other’s company:  friendships that have lasted fifty years.  We banned all discussion of the deplorable current presidency and would not let it encroach on our happy reunion.  O tempora O mores.  We hope to have another reunion soon, perhaps in Scotland, so as to entice our UK classmates, Anne Kulbok Daniels, Christine Malisek Mills, and Carol Lucey Bennet to join us.

Jean Mulcahy Vanek writes “I am eagerly anticipating next year’s reunion, while ruefully remembering helping out at the 1970 alumnae gathering.  At the time, I marveled at those fifty-year alums, and couldn’t imagine ever being that old.  Fast forward to gray hair, grandchildren, retirement and wrinkles.
Cathy Largay McCarthy and I agreed to coordinate the “2020 Vision” Reunion — because hindsight is always 20/20.  To that end, I would like to pose two questions:

1. For those who have never (or seldom) attended reunion — Why not? And what would entice you to come next year
2. For those who regularly attend — What are your favorite activities? What could be different or better?

Send responses to vanx@comcast.net with a cc to cathmccarth@aol.com.  Cathy and I will carefully consider your input as we strive to orchestrate a unique and memorable weekend.”

Margaret Mary Reilly – It was a good two years.  A few new additions to my social calendar (who among us does not have a cardiologist?) but nothing that could not be solved or managed.
I have taken to the road in my 2004 Subaru Forester with a moon roof and heated seats.  The big trip was cross country to a niece’s wedding in Los Angeles.  My travels in the US had been primarily by plane and, therefore, urban.  It is an entirely different world on the ground.  I stick out.  I like to think it is the flowing white hair but I suspect it is the New York license plate.  People talk to me and I am happy to report that, as a nation, we are friendly, kind and generous.

Mary Riordan Bejan has joined me on one trip where coming up from DC we took a left instead of a right and ended up somewhere in the wilds of Pennsylvania.  Once again, friendly, kind and generous.
My message now is ‘Prepare thyself.’  Chris and I are meeting this summer to scrub the class list, update non-working emails and find “lost” members to hopefully reconstitute the Class of 1970 in some of our sins and all of our glory.

Christine Houlihan Eppinger – Margaret Reilly and I enjoyed visiting (and a few glasses of wine) while reading all of your emails.  I was encouraged by how healthy, vibrant, and mostly contented we are.

Since returning to the States from England, Charlie and I split our time between Massachusetts and Florida.  Having a dog too big to “fit under the seat in front of you,” we take to the road twice a year armed with our audio books and maps.  Our route varies to visit our children, family, friends, and to find new golf courses for Charlie to play.  We picked up the travel bug while living in England, and continue to explore new places both in and outside of the US.

My goal in life is to “shed” – pounds, paper, “things.”  So far I have been spectacularly unsuccessful.  The only thing “downsized” in my life seems to be time.  I am learning to play bridge, and Bailey, our Golden Retriever, and I travel to the area Boys & Girls clubs where the children read to Bailey.  I volunteer at the Humane Society in FL and the local food bank in MA.

I get to see Barbara Stack Moore when she and Pat visit Florida, and Terry Millea Manion when she and Chuck get to Massachusetts.  Somehow these annual visits seem to be only a few months apart!

In closing, a shout-out to the Development Office for their excellent series on Trinity Trailblazers for Women’s History Month.

Also, anyone wishing to contribute to our Class Fund (very important with our 50^th Reunion coming up), please send a check to the college [Trinity Washington University, Office of Alumnae Relations, 125 Michigan Ave. NE, Washington, DC 20017] payable to “AATC Class Fund of 1970.”

Finally, please put the dates of May 29-31, 2020 on your calendars for our 50^th Reunion.  You’ll be hearing more from Jean Mulcahy Vanek and Cathy Largay McCarthy in preparation for the event.  We hope to see as many of you as possible there!

Greetings,

We have made it through our first iteration as class scribes.  Please note that class notes are in transition.

We mailed out 165 letters. Only 4 were returned as non-deliverable.
We sent out 126 emails, of which 46 bounced back.
We received 21 replies – all via email.

So we now have our base.

Our next step is to verify all email accounts that appear active.  If you receive this message, or are reading this in the On-line Class notes, please confirm with a reply to TCDC1970@gmail.com.  A simple ‘l got it’ would be terrific.

On a sad note, we have suffered two deaths since our last newsletter.  Anne Clark, Margaret Clark Lerchen’s sister, reported that Margaret passed this past May from complications of dementia.  Anne wrote that it had been progressing over the last three to four years, which is why she was unable to attend the 45^th Reunion.  Anne remembered her sister in this way:

While raising three boys, Margaret earned her Master’s in Library Science from Southern Connecticut State University in 1993 and worked at the Fairfield Public Library until 2013.  As a children’s librarian, she was dedicated to helping children learn and grow.  Although her time with us ended much too soon, Meg’s life was filled with the company of friends, her love of community, and her devotion to her family.  Being an accomplished cook and baker, her greatest joy was to celebrate a holiday or special occasion with loved ones, or simply to have a family meal at the beach.

Therese Pasquale Maguire passed away this past July due to complications from Alzheimer’s.  She was surrounded by her husband, Davey, and her three much-loved children, Gabrielle, Madeleine and Owen.  Therese was a professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and so enjoyed her career teaching International Short Story, Fiction, and Film.  She also served as the Associate Director of the Residential Academic Programs.  While at Trinity, Therese studied abroad in Aix-en-Provence beginning a love affair with France and its language.  She earned her Master’s degree in French at Middlebury College and a doctorate in Comparative Literature at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Barbara Stack Moore remembered Therese in this way:

She was exuberant, intrepid and always ready for the next traveling adventure.  Therese was an avid runner, sailor, and skier.  She loved to entertain and always had a houseful of her children’s friends, family, and drop-in guests. Therese celebrated every occasion and was a hostess extraordinaire.  She was incredibly bright, a natural story teller, quick to laugh, a whirling dervish on the dance floor, and never too busy to comfort and help anyone in need.  Her energy and her enthusiasm were unmatched.

Now on to the class news.

The replies to our solicitation were just terrific. There are certain themes – transition to a new freedom as children become independent and careers are modified, reflections on change and, of course, loss. So, without further ado, here are the replies.

Matilda Giampietro:  I am teaching Montessori music and movement in the school where I began teaching (Washington Montessori School, New Preston, CT) 33 years ago when my four children were little and attended that school. I have learned a great deal since then, taking lots of courses and workshops, Orff Schulwerk training and certification and earned a doctorate in music. I built a practice of training Montessori teachers how to teach music using the incredible music materials of Maria Montessori.

This work has brought me to China and Vietnam where I have been teaching young Montessori teachers for four years on school vacations. I have also been very happy to work in Burundi (Billage Health Works) and Kenya (schools in Kibera slum in Nairobi) building music programs in fragile communities along with my friend and fantastic musician, Nina Stern. This past June we went to Jordan to work with Syrian refugee children with The Syria Fund.

On the family front, I was married for 23 years and have four wonderful children (I was divorced in 1996). My son Gabe McMackin has his own restaurant, The Finch in Brooklyn, where he is owner/chef (Michelin Star rated) and a one year old son Jasper with his partner FonLin who is pursuing her degree in Chinese traditional medicine.  My daughter Rebecca and her husband Chris and two year old son Milo live in Brooklyn. Rebecca is the horticulturist of the Brooklyn Bridge Park and Chris is head arborist of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.  My daughter Jessica and her husband Alex Harvill both work for Pixar on animated films, live in Berkley with three year old Oliver and one and half year old Hazel Matilda.  My daughter Meghan got married in June to Dan Gregoras.  They live in Brooklyn, too, and Meghan is the senior designer of JCrew jewelry. They all are doing so well but I am most proud that they have pursued careers they love and work in fields that they both enjoy and make a contribution.
I am still Catholic (went through lots of struggles).  I am the cantor in my little parish and I find inspiration and intellectual engagement with Catholic thinkers but also from many other religions and sources. I listen to On Being podcasts with Krista Tippet (anyone else listening to them?).  I’d love to hear what you all are thinking, doing, what you find relevant and exciting.

Mollie Shannahan MacAdams:  Although I hardly missed a reunion over 46 years I did miss the last one, but hope to make the 50th.  Art and I are still living on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.  I’m commuting past Annapolis as a 7th grade social studies teacher. Your recent email mentioned reflection on who we were, while at Trinity.  As a teacher, I often think back to the big ideas we talked about in the history department at Trinity.  Though trends in big history themes have morphed, I appreciate the critical analysis methods we learned at Trinity.  I also appreciate the Sociology themes (Father Matthews) that we studied, casting interesting perspectives on studying the past and present.   Our four children plus spouses and significant others and four and half grandchildren, and four “grand dogs” are thriving.  They all teach us about the joy of living – which I try to pass on to my students.  I saw a study recently that reported that folks over 65 have a higher sense of enjoying life.  Amen to that!

Judy Frabotta:  Judy is now living in British Columbia and has become a Canadian citizen.  She writes:
This (being Canadian) makes it ever so slightly easier to watch the news of the US presidential race.  But not that much easier.  I’d say the whole world is pretty uneasy.

I keep busy lakeside coaching via Skype.  My clients are largely physicians or in some way involved with healthcare, so it’s kind of an extension of the consulting practice I had for years.  Also, I’ve recently had one of my dogs, Sophie, certified as a therapy dog and we visit the local hospice together.  I’ve done hospice work for more than 20 years, and it really clicks for me.   David, my son, is married and living in Philadelphia with his wife, Carrie and my adorable grandchild, Clare.  Thank goodness for Skype!  Long distance grand-parenting is not my favorite thing.  He has a great job doing public relations for Comcast.  My Mom is still alive and quite as feisty as ever.  She still drives, which makes me nervous but she’s in the gym three times a week!

Joan McCabe Carey:  I missed the 45th reunion but had a wonderful time at the 40th.  My husband, Kevin Carey, and I are happily retired on Martha’s Vineyard.

Jean Mulcahy Vanek:  On April 19th, John and I set out from St. Jean Pied de Port, France.  Forty days later, on May 28th, we arrived in Santiago de Compestela, Spain, having walked the 500-mile Camino, a pilgrimage with more than a thousand years of history and tradition.  It was an incredible experience on so many levels — physical, spiritual and emotional.

Susan Chamberlin Lom:  As always in my perspective, time is a river of varying depth, but always flowing along, sometimes too quickly.  Being “snowbirds”, we seem to fly even faster dividing the year so clearly into two halves.  I can report that my children and grandchildren (still 4 and 4) are all thriving.  We enjoyed a “historic” summer vacation in July at our NY cottage, with every last one of them, as well as a couple of significant others, in attendance (picture attached) – unprecedented! and wonderfully chaotic.  Everyone (14 plus two littles) was a good sport about bathroom lines and towel shortages.

I’m thriving, too, when we’re living in FL, more than I’d expected. I volunteer at our hospital in a couple different departments, as well as giving time as a Eucharistic Minister at church and in hospital and homes, which pretty much fills my week. I sneak off to the beach a few times a week, too, which is my secret “guilty” pleasure, taking time by myself. Charlie’s still enjoying his bridge and golf circuit, and regularly beating the competition.

I feel completely happy living at our cottage in NY. Every morning, and every night, I’m grateful for the time we spend here, surrounded by such beauty and peace. I feel complete here, and I don’t know when I’ve felt this way before, but it’s a major blessing. “Where your heart is, there also is your treasure…”

Cathy Largay McCarthy:  I took a wonderful Christmas Markets river cruise on the Danube with two friends last Thanksgiving with a couple of extra days in Vienna beforehand and Munich afterward.  Heartily recommend the floating hotel.  Christmastime was spent in FL with daughter Kate & family, followed by late Easter celebration for Sophia’s first communion and Frankie’s second birthday.  They came north for a week this summer, and we did some sightseeing in DC, then a few days in Ocean City where Jay, Karyn, & the dogs joined in.  Fun time was had by all.  Robyn moved into the District in May and seems quite content. I continue to work a four day week which provides great balance, and that in my estimation is what life is all about.

Kathleen Gallagher:  I’m still working as the Safety Officer at the Schepens Eye Research Institute in Boston.  I’ve been there eight years and hope to hang in there for another three to five years…..so many bills to pay; so little time.  I also happen to love my job, even with the commute, and I’m not sure I would know what to do with myself if I retired.

My girls, Bridget (32) and Halaina (30), seem to have found their way.  Halaina finished her master’s degree and is working as a conservator at the National Archives.  Bridget is scaling up her photography business in Worcester, MA, as she gets ready, with her husband Mike, to welcome baby number two in February.  Javier, my grandson, will start second grade next week and is still my best buddy.

Connie Kilmark, who has a consulting business and lives in Milwaukee, visited this past July and we spent a lot of time on my deck trying to find a breeze and catching up.  She traveled cross country to meet with a Harvard grad student that she has been mentoring and, since I’ve been proclaiming the wonders of the Worcester Art Museum, we had to spend a day there, too.

After the summer heat and the drought that we have had locally, I’m looking forward to a snowstorm to shovel.

Grace Doherty De Latour:  After 40+ years of working full time, I retired almost two years ago.  I love being a retiree.  My life is filled with spending a lot of time with Michel and our two sons as well as golf, other sports, reading, cooking etc.  Alex, our oldest, is getting married in October here in CA so I’m busy planning the wedding.  Last year Michel was immersed in chemotherapy and surgery for colon cancer but thank God, he is now in remission, so we are a happy group.

I know it’s been 46 years since we graduated.  I’ve done so much living and now it is getting more difficult to remember it!   Warm greetings to all our classmates.  We’d love to see you when you are in the San Francisco Bay Area, so don’t be shy about contacting me.

Carol Leffson Baker:  Hail to the Greens of ’70!!  Great memories still around since reunion.  It really was a weekend to remember.  Hope all are well.  We are still living on the water and God has been good to our family.  My daughters are doing well.  Church ministries and kindergarten reading program keep me busy. Larry and I are going on a cruise.  I heard from Mary Beth Marquardt and Susan Chamberlin and they are traveling and enjoying their summers and also I had a nice call from Janet McCabe and it was good to catch up.  I’m looking forward to the 50th and all the plans.  Stay safe and keep healthy.

Mary Beth Turner Marquardt:  Traveling has become the thing for me and my husband, Rod Coleman.  After not traveling much during our work years, we are trying to make up for lost time.  After reunion we went on a land/sea tour of Alaska and then took a two-week tour of Italy.  As I’m writing this we are headed off to our biggest adventure yet: Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji!  We decided we should not put it off since we are healthy and can still get around pretty well.  Some of our other interests are keeping fit, golf, and socializing with the many nice couples we have met in our community.  Of course we try to stay in touch with the five grandchildren, ranging in age from just under two to a sophomore in college!

I really enjoyed the 45th reunion, maybe even partly because it was a small group.  The dinner at Clyde’s was special.  It was nice to catch up at least a little with everyone.

Patricia Hillmann Shields:  Just like the old Trinity days – sliding in right under the deadline with my news!
The last year has definitely been full of transitions!  We sold Rich’s dental practice here in SW Michigan a year ago, and bought a second home in Asheville NC (near my 94 year old mom) a month later.  We were commuting back and forth every month or so between MI and NC, and found that we were not creating new paths into our retirement.  So, we decided to put our Michigan house on the market, and I am enrolled this fall in botany and ecology classes in the Blue Ridge Naturalist program at the nearby NC Arboretum.  I also plan to pursue volunteer opportunities, using my social work and human service administration background, and maybe find part-time employment.  I just don’t want to be in charge of anything anymore, with demanding deadlines and personnel issues!  Letting go of being gainfully employed has been a significant challenge for me.  I’d love to hear what other women from our class are experiencing. I agree with the sentiments of the 45th reunion – our college years were an amazing time of growth and transformation, both for ourselves and our world!  I love to share those experiences and insights with younger people.  And to think we went through all that without cell phones and computers!

Lorena Meunier:  I’m happy to report that I reunited recently with Trinity friends. In July, several friends of Thérèse Pasquale Maguire came together to say farewell at her funeral. This very sad occasion was marked by the love of her husband David; their adult children Gabrielle, Madeleine, and Owen; her sisters and their families and friends; her college friends Carolyn (Po) Foster Locke, Barbara Stack Moore, Pixie Sheets Vogel, Joanne Leary, and me; and with so many who had the pleasure of knowing the vibrant, witty, and unflappable Thérèse. She was petite in stature but an amazingly strong and gifted woman. Sometimes being a friend means being there to support each other through sad times. Everything else that could be written seems unimportant in comparison.

I’ll mention one adventure though: In March, Bill and I traveled to Alaska for the ceremonial start of the Iditarod in Anchorage, flew by bush plane to see mushers at the second checkpoint, did sight-seeing, and tried mushing with an Iditarod veteran.

Janet McCabe Maley:  Somehow life seems busier and somewhat more complicated since the children graduated and started on their life journey.  Are we ready to retire?  Are we ready to downsize?  How our futures will play out is still very much a part of the unknown.  Hopefully, we will remain strong and healthy so that we can make our own decisions.

Dick’s software developer work has been cut back dramatically, so the retirement decision might be made for us.  Jennifer, our oldest and only daughter, has a daughter (two-years old) and a son due in February.  She lives in Ketchum, ID and operates a small organic soap business, Aspen River Soap Company.  She loves all of the outdoor activities that this area has to offer.  John, our oldest son, lives in Clarksburg, MD.  He works as an environmental engineer designing water treatment plants for HDR, Inc.  Since he lives so close, we get to see our granddaughter (three-years old) at least once a week.  What a joy this is.  I wish that our other grandchildren lived closer.  Michael, our younger son, lives in Williamsburg, VA; however, he and his wife are in the process of relocating back to Pittsburgh, PA for his job.  He works for Bechtel as a nuclear engineer at the Bettis Atomic Laboratory.  They plan to buy a house and hope to start a family.

As for me, I continue as the Treasurer of both the bowling league and the Women’s Club that I belong to.  Life is all about family and friends now and making the most of the time given to us.

Justine Foley Croteau:  I haven’t been in touch in a while mainly because since I retired I don’t remember deadlines!  Over the past few years I have gotten involved in doing genealogical research into mine and my husband’s ancestors.  I have found some interesting relatives and fun information, including a great-great-great grandfather who fought for the Union in the Civil War with an Irish Massachusetts regiment.  He came home from the war and fathered 16 children!  Mostly it’s like a puzzle and I am seeing how many pieces I can find.

On a sad note, my mother passed away in May at the age of 98.  She lived with us for the past 11 years and although I knew she was getting weak physically her mind was sharp right up until the end.  We chatted just a few minutes before she passed and we were thankful that she was able to be at home with us.  She had a long, full life and left a large, loving family.

Bob and I have been blessed with three grandchildren and enjoy our time with them.  We have been heading south to Florida the past few winters for about six weeks and hope to continue that as long as possible.  As much as I love New England, I don’t miss the winters at all.  Hope all is well with members of the Class of 1970.

Carolyn (Po) Foster Locke:  My husband Steve and I completed our 15th Pan Mass Challenge, the largest athletic fundraiser for cancer research in the U.S. this past August.  We are nearly at $200,000 total over the years.  We usually cycle from Wellesley to Bourne and back, a distance of 180 miles.

Therese’s (Therese Pasquale Maguire) memorial service was a powerful testimony celebrating her remarkable life and devoted family and friends.  I will be officiating at her daughter Madeleine’s wedding in June 2017.  I welcome suggestions for my “ministerial” garb.

Barbara (Barbara Stack Moore) and I attended the wedding of one of Pixie’s (Julie Sheets Vogel) sons in Colorado in July.  Sadly her husband, Bob, beloved by all, had died in December on the eve of my grandson Alastair’s birth, so I am convinced he carries some of his wit and wisdom, though must give credit to my son, too!

I have left my higher education decanal duties after 40+ years as of August.  It was time, given all the travel, projects, volunteering for literacy interventions, and training I have planned to get back into competitive rowing and tennis.  Cycling will be my constant as I travel the world. May we all have health and laughter in the years ahead.

Eileen O’Connell Andary:  I missed last year’s reunion because it was the same weekend as my niece’s wedding.  That was a happy occasion – one of three great family weddings last summer, including my daughter Maureen’s, in which I gained a wonderful son-in-law.  But, prior to that, in the spring of 2015 we had lost my dear husband Bob to an awful cancer, which he (we) had been fighting for more than three years.  I’m so grateful for the nearly 43 years we had together, most of which Bob spent in public service as a federal and local prosecutor and later in inspector general and  law enforcement fields. At virtually the same time, my 90-year old mother (Trinity ’45) also passed away, so needless to say I’ve spent the past year in recovery and rebuilding mode, with the great support of family, neighbors and friends (notably Ellen Gloninger Murray, who  promises to write shortly).

I still work full-time in non-profit management and human resources over the years in various DC-centric tourism and service organizations.  I’ve started looking at options for scaling back or branching out, but haven’t quite visualized full retirement yet, and would love to hear our classmates’ experience and ideas about this next transition.

Ellen Gloninger Murray:  I am currently serving as Assistant Secretary for Financial Resources at the US Department of Health and Human Services.   I had the honor of serving under our classmate, Kathleen Gilligan Sebelius.  In January, my term will end as we usher in a new President.   It was a great honor to serve in this administration.

We moved to Capitol Hill after raising our boys in Alexandria, VA.  Rich is retired and loves it.  He volunteers at the Washington Jesuit Academy twenty hours a week tutoring students in math and tries to get 15,000 steps/day.  My son, John, and his wonderful wife, Carolyn, live in the DC area and are the parents of my two grandchildren, Conor and Cate.  They attend Holy Trinity School in Georgetown and we had lunch at the Tombs on Grandparent’s Day!  My younger son, Anthony, lives in Boston and loves the city.  He works for a non-profit in the area and enjoys the opportunities Boston offers to bike and listen to music.

Mary Teresa (Terry) Millea Manion:  The day after I retired in June, 2015, Chuck and I took off to “look for America” and attend a nephew’s wedding in Milwaukee.  Since then we have taken numerous trips in eastern US and Canada.  We have found that there is something fascinating in almost every town or city.

In March we visited with Mary Riordan Bejan and Adrian in Durham, NC.  In April we saw Penny Johnston Roen in Tarpan Springs, FL.  She is overjoyed at the recent arrival of her first grandson.  We have also enjoyed time with our two granddaughters, who are the best and the brightest.  I enjoyed our 45^th, and am looking forward to our 50^th.

Barbara Stack Moore:  I have been retired from my position as a school principal for four years now and can hardly believe where the time has gone!  I did get my real estate license and have been working in that field supposedly part-time, but real estate is more of a 24/7 proposition so I am not sure I will continue.  We have done lots of traveling since I retired – right now we are looking forward to a trip to Sicily in October. My daughter Sarah lives in San Francisco and my younger daughter Anne just took a job in Paris so keeping up with them requires a lot of traveling!  I volunteer in an after-school homework help program for immigrant children and I love working with them.  I am looking forward to my 50^th high school reunion in October in Tucson.  How can this be??  I feel grateful to have maintained so many friendships from my Trinity days and cherish them.

Gloria Brozik Barnstorf:  No real news with us, but that may be a good thing!  George and I love our life together and realize just how lucky we are to have 43 years of marriage, health, and love to look back on.  So many of our contemporaries have not been so lucky and are either widowed, passed on, divorced or dealing with ill health of themselves or a spouse. While we were not blessed with children of our own, we have many, many young people in our lives and feel that we may have had an influence on their development in small ways.

I miss my clients but not the day to day routine of our law practice.  Seems I am still in demand as a consultant but without the worries of the case!

I see Maryrose McCafferty Martino, Rosalie Angelo and Jean Bell Hessenauer often.  They look fabulous—slim, young and fascinating as usual.  Mose is still working at her accounting business in Cherry Hill, NJ, as well as being an officer in her local professional association which requires her to travel to conventions, etc. on a regular basis; Jean in still librarian for a major law firm in Baltimore, raising her horse, dogs, cats, chickens and ducks on her land in Northern Maryland; while Ro and Glo (me) are just ladies of leisure.  Regards to all the “girls” of 1970.

Margaret Reilly:  I have enjoyed my life.  I am what the psychologists call an “autonomous female.”  I took lovers instead of a husband, did not have children (although on behalf of the human race, sincerely thank those of us who did) and am happy in my choices.  My nieces tell me I am not like a real adult.  My career morphed over time from Economics to international software developer to Wall Street.  I have lived all over Europe and Canada and finally returned to New York in 1986.  I now live in the house where I was born and marvel that the neighborhood has changed from an immigrant neighborhood to “Manhattan East.”  I have enjoyed my life.

I have attended the last three reunions, where I once again connected with four of my beloved Economics majors.  There were eight of us (Terry Millea, Mary Riordan, Diane LaPlante, Ellen Gloninger, Mary Lee Fox, Beverly Abyad and Kate Farricker) and because we were such a small group we took most of our classes together.  We ranged from the New York liberal (guess who) all through the gamut to Republican conservative.  The classes were freewheeling and always respectful and there were moments and lessons learned that have informed my entire life.   I had a roommate (Susan Lyons) whose background was entirely different from mine and to whom I owe so much for expanding my understanding of others.  And there were so many others who were integral to my life and whom I miss.

As to my present, I live to suit myself.  I have no particular goals.  I have learned to enjoy just being.  Someone once asked Patti Smith if she ever considered suicide (must have been one hell of an interview).  She replied, “No, I would always want to see what happens next.”   Well said, Patti.

Catherine Lynch Shapleigh:  Nothing much interesting happened to me after graduation until I got married to Sandy Shapleigh, a man with a very itchy foot.  He worked for the Peace Corps for five years, traveling and living in Latin America (I joined him for long stints in Paraguay and El Salvador), but mostly entertained myself in D.C. by getting a Master’s in Drama and then a PhD in Eighteenth Century English Literature at Catholic University.  This last entertainment took so long that the English Department hired me as a Lecturer, unable to think of anything else to do with me. Then, Sandy joined the aid giving arm of the Foreign Service (USAID that was), and we began living mostly abroad.  Our first post was Sri Lanka, where we stayed five years and started raising our two daughters, despite the civil war that broke out three weeks after we arrived.  This will sound trite, but they really were among the best years of our lives, except of course, for the violence.  We still have many Sri Lankan friends that are now dying off at a sad rate, and although we have returned to visit, we are very glad to have had our time there.
The next 20 years brought us as a family to Morocco and Zimbabwe, after which our first daughter put her foot down and demanded that we return to the U.S. for high school, so that she could dye her hair green and pierce her navel “like a normal person.”  So I suffered (NOT IN SILENCE) in the suburbs for five years, and got a Masters in Creative Writing at Johns Hopkins.  During this time, I returned to CUA as an adjunct, but left after a year. I will not go on about the adjunct system, but it’s not a good thing.

Shortly after the daughters went off to college, we retired from the Foreign Service and Sandy became a consultant in Ecuador, where we lived for another five years, and, which I still miss.  We go back there not frequently enough and play bridge.

Now in semi-retirement in Holyoke, Mass., the small town in which I was born, we “winter” in Cape Town, South Africa, one of the most beautiful places on earth, I think, and dote on our grandchildren who unfortunately live far away in Williamsburg, Brooklyn … and soon, please God, in Barcelona.  (Number two daughter cleverly married a Spaniard, and lives in Barcelona); we plan on spending a great deal of time there soon.

I warned you it was a geography precis, and I haven’t even mentioned the short term nonsenses, but believe me, no one wants to go there.

Reading this over,  I realize that it doesn’t sound very “autonomous” … one of the delights of the Foreign Service is that spouses must wear a badge that says “Dependent” in order to enter the sacrosanct Embassy grounds …but the fact of the matter is that I have made my life as I have found it.  In Sri Lanka, I was able to teach for a bit at the University of Peredeniya at Kandy, but my pride was starting CADS, a theater group that brought the Sri Lankan and American community together in a unique way.  In Morocco, I taught at the Rabat American School, but our crowning glory was the best (okay, probably only) production of ‘A Midsummer’s Night Dream’ in the Magreb.  I got a very nice little medal from the Saudis for it.  And two of my students went on to become professional actors.

The only person from Trinity that I still see is Penny Johnston Roen, who married my dear friend Bill Roen and who is just as wonderful as she was back in the day, when we moved out of Trinity and went to Pooks Hill, MD.  We don’t see as much of the Roens as we would like, but we try to catch up at least once a year in NYC or, last year, in New Orleans.

Maureen Talty Konschnik:  Dave and I celebrated our 46th anniversary in June and continue to love our role as grandparents to our little lion Anna. Our children are thriving, we both have an active retirement and life is good.

Maureen Gerrity Boyd:  My husband Warren Tashnek and I will celebrate our 25th anniversary on October 20.  We live in Houston and have a home in Aspen, CO where we spend the summer months and sometimes in the winter, downhill skiing.  I still am actively engaged in real estate in Houston.  Our sons, Brian Boyd and Howard Boyd are well, happily married, and have given us seven grandchildren, one boy Patrick and the rest are girls.  Brian is in Santa Fe with his two children and Howard is in New Orleans with his five girls!

My mother is still alive at 91 although she has some dementia she still know us, thank God. I have my rheumatoid arthritis under control and am able to have a pretty active life. I feel blessed, excited to live each happy day and grateful for all of my past experiences. I love hearing about my Trinity classmates.  I cannot believe that it has been so many years since we were together. Surprising and sad to hear about the classmates whom we have lost.  I feel too young for any of us to have dementia or die.  As my mom says, “Our exterior ages but we feel the same inside.” Love and best wishes to all.

Rosalie Angelo:  Jean Bell Hessenauer (Parkton, MD) and I were thrilled to attend the May wedding of Jim and Cathy Looby McCourt’s (Glenview, Il) son Brendan to Ashleigh Mondale at a beautiful resort on a perfect day in Riviera Maya, Mexico. It all couldn’t have been nicer and it was a real treat to reconnect with so many in the Looby family.  The newlyweds honeymooned in Italy and live and work in New York City.  And Jean is in contact with Barbara Wurzelbacher Arndt (Scottsdale, AZ) who has three adorable grandsons in Texas whom she tries to visit as often as she can.

Christine Houlihan Eppinger:  After returning to the US from living in England (a temperate climate) for 14 years, I wasn’t sure I could deal with New England winters.  Although we don’t have a fixed schedule, Charlie and I now split our time between MA and FL.  We enjoy both places, and feel we have the best of both worlds.

This summer I’ve attempted to sort through the many boxes of remembrances I’ve packed up in our nearly 50 years together.  I feel as though I’m on an archaeological dig, uncovering relics from the 70s and 80s – one week unpacking report cards, sports awards, and playlists from when the children were in high school, and the next week sifting through birthday and Mother’s Day cards they made when they were much younger.  I’ve been shredding checking account statements of accounts long since closed from banks that no longer exist.  It’s been a great trip down memory lane, but I don’t know what possessed me to keep so much.

In reading your letters, I feel we are a group of strong women, now in a reflective time of our lives.  I admire those who have learned to carry on after sustaining a loss.  It can’t be easy, but you do it well.

Fifty Septembers ago we gathered at Trinity to begin a new portion of this adventure called life.

Margaret and Chris had two wonderful visits working on this project.  We really enjoyed hearing from those of you who responded.  We know that there are many more stories and opinions that we didn’t hear.  We urge you to write to us now, with any changes in names, addresses, and particularly email addresses so that we can truly act as a conduit to enable old friends to reconnect.

Thank you and we hope to hear from you soon.

Margaret Reilly

Christine Houlihan Eppinger

This was our 45th Reunion year, so we were very excited to hear the news from our far-flung sisters, as we gathered again at Trinity. However, sadly there are not as many voices in the chorus of our reportage this year. We are disappointed that several people have slipped through the communication cracks due to unrecorded changes in emails and addresses. We’ve committed to improving our system to keep viable contacts active with everyone, managing updates and also encouraging attendance at our next, and fiftieth, Reunion – never too early, and it pays to advertise!

Sadly, our class reunion committee has experienced considerable tragedy, with the passing of Diane FineranHarmatuck in 2012, and the death of Jean Bell Hessenauer’s husband, Tom. Rosalie Angelo generously offered to step in for Diane and Jean.

First out of the mail chute was Jeanne Blakeslee, who is hopeful that she can come to at least part of our Reunion, having missed reunions in the past because the AP reading (“edu-talk for grading AP exams”) is the end of May and beginning of June, but she is free of that now. Last July she switched gears and became the principal of the school where her career first began, Mercy High School in Baltimore.She loves her new job, especially when she gets to call snow days! And she welcomes the challenge of daily problem-solving, having a wide range people to interact with, and daily planning and decision-making.

Jeanne and Whit have three children – a librarian, a soldier and a farmer, and all are married. She has one grandchild with another on the way: “Slow starters, my kids. Lots of grandchildren of my friends are going to high school and mine cannot even walk yet!” Jeanne closed by writing that she hopes we are all well. She ends with those words we always love to hear, that while most of her donating capacity does go to assist her school, “a check is in the mail” for our Class Fund.

Kathleen Gallagher writes that she’s still working as the Health & Safety Officer at the Schepens Eye Research Institute in Boston, with no thoughts of retirement yet. Her facility merged with another institution so she’s interviewing for positions elsewhere, to keep her options open. Kathy said, “I’m hoping my marketability hasn’t gone down as my age has increased,” and she’ll catch us up on every detail at Reunion. Kathy’s “vacations” have included driving her daughter, Halaina, and accompanying “stuff’ around the country, from Michigan to DC, and points in between. Her daughter, Bridget, son-in-law Mike and her grandson, Javier, are living in nearby Worcester. Kathy promises to regale us at Reunion with tales of Javier’s misadventures at kindergarten. Kathy laments the passing of cars with CD players, and, like the rest of us, she is rattled by juggling a plethora of passwords for ever-changing technology.

Kathy closed by stating that she is planning to be at Reunion, and she voices our feelings by saying she “hope[s] anyone who has stayed away all these 45 years will join those of us who haven’t. It has always been a great experience and I come away 10 years younger. I don’t know how that happens every five years, but I swear it does.”

Patricia Condon Swift shared the big news that she and Myles happily closed their software company and retired at the end of 2013. Since then they’ve visited Ajijic, Mexico, a long-sought goal. Now she’s getting their place ready to sell so they can downsize: “40 acres and three buildings seem to take way too much work!” and they’re looking at places on the Oregon coast for their next home. Trish couldn’t make this Reunion but will try hard to get to our 50th.

Cathy Largay McCarthy had a lot of news to tell including praising her four-day work week, which allows her to enjoy and catch up on sightseeing, movies, lunches, and the beach. She is happy about the relocation of children and a new grandchild, Francis Dominic, born in April 2014, to join his sister Sophia (7). Our prayers go out to Cathy on the passing of her husband, Mike, last November, after a brief but difficult illness.

Mary Beth Marquardt and her husband, Rod Coleman, retired from their jobs as Navy civilian employees and moved from Potomac, MD, to Hernando, FL, where they appreciate the healthier and quieter lifestyle. They enjoy doing river and sea-going cruises, have seen Prague and Budapest, and were packing for another cruise as Mary Beth wrote us her news. She and Rod welcomed two new grandchildren recently: Rachel, born last August to Rod’s daughter; and a long-hoped-for baby, Matthew, born to Mary Beth’s son and daughter-in-law, last November.

Matilda Giampietro, singer, performer and teacher extraordinaire, wrote about her year of travels and musical accomplishments, and her continuing 34-plus years working for the Montessori (music) system. This includes her teaching at Western Connecticut State, and workshops at other schools around the country (one of her students was Michelle Wiley, who stayed with Matilda for a week of catching up). She also worked and performed in China, Vietnam, Puerto Rico, Italy, at the Village Health Works in Burundi, and at Shining Hope School for Girls in Kibera, Nairobi. Matilda’s four equally-accomplished and entrepreneurial children have given her three grandchildren: Milo, born in August 2014, living in Brooklyn; Oliver, almost 2, and his sister, Hazel Matilda, born in December 2014, living in San Francisco.

Mary Hickey Weiss retired last year from her position as general counsel for a Chicago-based investment management firm, and is now teaching part-time as an adjunct law professor in Rhode Island. She and her husband Don divide their time between home in Rhode Island, traveling to Chicago to visit their son Andrew, and to NYC to see their daughter Jaime.

Mary Mauriello Kelly reported that a reunion of the “Oxford Group” was held last May in the Brandywine River Valley. In attendance were Louise Donohoe Resor, Carol Doerrer Bradof, Jacqueline Miller Hill, Frederica MansfieldTempleton, Kathleen Ryan Sellew, and herself. They all had a lovely time touring the DuPont gardens and the Wyeth studio and environs. On a personal level, Mary says that she and her husband Tom are still enjoying their work in Seattle (law and medicine) and are proud of their two children, Nicholas and Claire, who are about to graduate from GW and the University of Michigan law schools, respectively. Mary also told us she keeps in touch with Claire Stazeski Luken, who is delighted with the arrival of her second grandchild, Max, and with Nancy Principi Scull, who is a prominent real estate lawyer in California.

Recent news arrived from Lorena Meunier, who wrote that during 2014 she continued to take mostly language courses at the University of Delaware’s lifelong learning institute. She is also involved with the International Women’s Club of Wilmington for language study. Her vacation highlight was taking a French immersion course at l’Ecole Coeur de France, in Sancerre, France. While she was in class, her husband Bill cycled around the vineyards in the beautiful Loire Valley; after those two weeks they visited the Loire Valley chateaux from their base hotel in Tours. “C’etait formidable!” Thanksgiving weekend was special not only because they were with Lorena’s brother Steve and his wife Laurie in Framingham, MA, but also because they met Carolyn (Po) Foster Locke and her husband Steve for lunch one day – the first time since Reunion 2010. Lorena rounds out her activities by connecting with family and friends near and far, hiking, experimenting in the kitchen and knitting.

Jackie Miller Hill wrote that, having experienced “Catholic, Black Baptist and Unitarian Universalist” churches, and through associations in the independent church she organized in 1998, she has worked to preserve the Low Country treasure of the ACE Basin, local art, and that she also enjoys birding. She echoes her interest and enjoyment seeing members of the “Oxford Group,” and in influencing the trails she travels.

Imogene Drummond wrote that she’s still working very actively with her Divine Sparks endeavor, adding a book proposal to her successful film project. She is in close touch with several Trinity classmates, and is grateful for her frequent visits with Kathleen Costello Jones, Grace Doherty de Latour, and Mollie Shannahan MacAdams. She often stays overnight with Mollie and Art on the Eastern Shore during her travels, enjoying Art’s fabulous cuisine. Imogene and Grace caught a performance of Phantom in NYC recently, and she and Kathy attended an art opening and dinner, also in NYC. She closes by saying that, “we are so blessed to have forged such wonderful relationships with such incredible women,” at Trinity.

Betsy Kelly Hoey has enjoyed a very happy, healthy and busy year, on the go traveling all over the world, checking off points on her “bucket list.” She and husband Jack visited New Zealand, French Polynesia, the Fox Glacier, and Machu Picchu, and after this, she’ll be happy to confine their trips to Europe and North America. She remains healthy and active by continuing to golf, swim, walk and sail, and loves living near her granddaughters (6 and 4).

Jean Mulcahy Vanek’s busy year reads like a travelogue. She and husband John welcomed granddaughter Lana Maeve in August 2014, the first girl born into the Vanek family in nearly 75 years. In April and again in October, Jean and her husband traveled to Mexico City to help their son Matthew settle into a new apartment. While there, they visited Jean’s brother Jim and his family in Torreon, in north central Mexico. In June, Jean and her husband traveled to Bali (“beautiful, fascinating and well worth the 37-hour flight”) for their nephew’s wedding. In August they traveled to Olympia, WA, for the waterfront installation of her husband John’s second sculpture, “Dignity and Labor.” Christmas was spent in Sand Pointe, ID. In January 2015, Jean and her husband began training for the “Camino de Santiago,” a 500-mile walk across northern Spain. They plan on taking six weeks to complete this epic journey.

Kathy Maley McCartney describes 2014 as a banner year for grandchildren, beginning with granddaughter Kate Minelli, born in February. Grandson Jack McCartney, born in April, joined brother Quinn (4). Kathy admits babysitting is her favorite past time, and she also continues to practice law with husband Don, and to teach government contracting.

As for your scribes, Janet McCabe Maley wants us all to know that she has experienced considerable milestones since she last wrote. Janet and Dick’s son John was married, and they welcomed their first grandchild Caitlin in August, 2013, for whom they babysit twice a week. In July 2014 their younger son Michael was married in Richmond, VA, during a wonderful wedding weekend filled with family and friends. In October, 2014 their daughter, Jennifer, had her first child, Aspen Alessandra. Janet and Dick went out to Idaho to spend a whole month with Jennifer after the birth, which was wonderful – after not having seen Jennifer since 2008, it was a real treat to be with her three times since June, 2013. Janet’s husband Dick’s work as a software developer has allowed him to telecommute, so hopefully his increased flexibility will allow more travel in their future. For now, spending time with children and grandchildren, family and friends, in addition to her volunteer commitments, are what happily occupy her time.

Lastly I, Susan Chamberlin Quick Lom, have also survived a year of great change. I retired from my long-time position as reference and genealogy librarian at the Allentown, PA, public library, in June, 2014. In July, Charlie and I sold our home in Emmaus, dividing four generations of stuff between our cottage in New York, our new condo in Cape Canaveral, FL, and the Salvation Army. (Believe me, it was tough; and my kids wouldn’t take enough!). We battled a sewage flood throughout our cottage, which occupied our summer months, and we had to leave for our new little condo in Florida in November, with yet more restoration to face when we return to New York in May. Now we’re enjoying life as “cliff-dwellers” in Cape Canaveral; it feels like we’re on a six-month (and one day) vacation. Recently, we entertained Carol Leffson Baker and her husband Larry Berger, for dinner. They were en route to their annual cruise, and Carol had lots of good news to share about her daughters. She and Larry raved about the exotic and abundant wildlife around their custom-built home on the Pamlico River in rural Chocowinity, NC, and we thoroughly enjoyed our “mini-reunion.”

My husband Charlie and I have begun some serious bird-watching, and we are thrilled to view rocket launches from our stairwell. Retirement has brought me luxurious hours of needlework, art, reading and contemplating the meaning of life, which becomes more profound as time goes by.