Dear Classmates:
Can you believe that we are still dealing with the COVID Pandemic a year later? Things are getting better but will it ever really end?!? Kathy and Maria are thrilled that so many of you responded to their request for news. As Jane Stenson exclaimed, “I have to give it to you. You never give up!” (You’re right Jane, so next year you might as well just send in your response as soon as you get the letter!!!) They live for your notes, pictures and especially your Christmas cards. The year 2020 was a tough one filled with many highs and lows not the least of which was the pandemic. With the support our “Trinity Forever Friends,” we’ve all made it through and are looking hopefully to the future. Kathy and Maria hope that you all will take a minute and get caught up with the Class of 1978.
Theresa Barker Fachini checked-in to let us know that she was recovering nicely from knee replacement surgery. She confirmed what we all are now coming to understand: “It stinks getting old, but Medicare rocks! Theresa made it through the ups and downs of the COVID crisis with a little help from her dear Trinity friends. Every week she, along with Beth Adams Tonner, Kate Cooke Ryan, Chrissie Horigan and Kathy Keefe, revived and reinvigorated their decades long friendships with weekly Zoom calls. Together they got through nieces’ and nephews’ cancelled weddings, family member’s brushes with the virus, and quiet holidays without the usual festive family get togethers. Of note, Kate’s son, Patrick was married in August near Theresa’s home in Brandford, Connecticut and her daughter Meara gave birth to her first grandchild in February. Lucky Granny Kate, COVID tested and properly quarantined, spent three weeks in London visiting with adorable Finn and his darling parents. Theresa also shared that Beth and Chrissie were thrilled to have their grown daughters at home for extended stays while they sat out COVID and worked remotely. Kathy Keefe lives only about an hour away from Theresa in Roxbury, Connecticut and scouted out a restaurant halfway between them with outdoor dining and a BYOB policy (Bring Your Own Blanket!). Theresa was more than happy to brave the chill and a couple of snowflakes to enjoy the luxury of a glass of wine with an old friend. Now that they all have been vaccinated, they are looking forward to the end of the COVID craziness and a return to normal.
Anne-Lise Boistard sent her greetings from Lewes, Delaware where she and Bob retired two years ago after living forty years in Northern Virginia. They left behind their two children who are always more than happy to take advantage of free lodging at the beach. They blissfully enjoy the beach lifestyle nine months out of the year but admit they do find the busy summer months a little challenging. Since COVID put her volunteer work at the local animal shelter on hold, Anne-Lise has spent her free time learning how to crochet and making beautiful creations for her friends and working on projects around her house. She misses her family in France and all the wonderful food they prepare for her and hopes to visit them again soon—fingers crossed!
Stephanie Butterworth Fricke reported that she and Mark are LOVING retirement. They spent four months traveling through the western United States, following Highway 1 up the coast from San Diego, zig zagging inland to take in the National Parks. Maria followed them along on Facebook and agrees wholeheartedly that it was the “Trip of a Lifetime.” Next up they are headed to New England in September for an east coast adventure returning home to Arizona through the southern states. Tear Drop Trailer. Simple and Minimal. ‘Nuff said!
Maria received a lovely Christmas card from Judy Cabassa Tart with pictures of her beautiful family. Judy’s daughter Claire and her husband live nearby in Arlington with their sweet baby Maueve (2). Judy’s other daughter Maggie and her husband live a little further away in Omaha with their three children Wyatt (6), Mack (3) and Molly (born on March 16, 2020). It seems like just yesterday Maria was reading Little House on the Prairie to Maggy and her friend Breezy and Claire was amusing Maria’s niece and nephew by jumping into the swimming pool fully clothed!
Barb Cumiskey Duncan had a tough year on the job at the senior living home losing eight of their 190 residents to COVID. Although the number was relatively small, she was painfully aware of the impact on the families of those lost. Barb and the rest of the staff remained diligent in staying on top of keeping the remaining 182 residents safe, as she said, “a high-speed sport with lives on the line.” On a happier note, Barb was delighted to share the news about the birth of two new grandbabies Ruth to her son in Princeton, New Jersey and Theo to her son in Toronto. Barb was able to visit and hug them both and is hopeful for more to come! Maria wants to thank Barb for the “little extra love for all the work.” —You are the best, Barb!
Maryse Dejean sent a wonderful email catching us up on all her news. Maria was so happy to hear from her Oxford compatriot! Maryse lives in New Orleans, Louisiana where she works at a community radio WWOZ as their volunteer and community engagement staff member. She started volunteering there in 1991 and joined the staff in 1993. She has held different positions there over the years and is thrilled everyday to part of such a vibrant, creative and unique community of musicians, artists and cultural bearers. The COVID pandemic was quite a blow to everyone at WWOZ. Maryse stated that they are still “improvising” as they work to keep the operations going. She added that they have been through tough times before and thrive on “winning.” In addition to her work at WWOZ, Maryse also has partnered with her husband, Don Paul, on several other projects including managing a non-profit organization, Sticking Up for Children (SUFC), inspired by the New Orleans percussionist, Cyril Neville and his wife Gaynielle. SUFC is currently supporting three schools and an orphanage in Maryse’s native Haiti and it also has partners in New Orleans as well. For more information check out their website at www.stickingupforchildren.com. Maryse, Maria always knew that you would find something interesting to do!
It was nice to hear again from Susan Dunbar. As with most of us, COVID has thrown a wrench into her plans for the year. Susan’s long-awaited trip to Israel was canceled and her part-time job at Destination DC is on hold. With time on her hands, she set out to do some serious cleaning, renovated her bathroom and took up knitting once again. After not having touched a pair of needles in over forty years, she still managed to make an Irish knit sweater with little trouble. As she stated, “it came back like riding a bike!” (When was the last time Susan tried riding a bike?!?) When she needed a break from all of that cleaning and knitting, Susan volunteered at St. Mathew’s Cathedral, making lunches to feed the homeless. She also was able to celebrate her sixty-fifth birthday along with her sister and niece on a weekend of fun at the Ritz Carlton Tysons. Susan also is hopeful that the Dunbar clan reunion in Amelia Island, Florida this July will be a go!
Kate Farrell Mayne. Despite 2020 being the ‘Year of Loss and the Lost Year,” Kate looked for the silver lining. She found a lot of solace in having the time for long walks, reading and Zooming with loved ones. She is encouraged that we are now starting to enter a “new normal.” By the way, Kate, Maria also was so happy that you found the time to make the cool Christmas card of all the Maynes in their holiday pajamas!
Irene Finch Albritton reported that the past year has been very introspective for her. She was happy to have finally had the time for all of things she wanted to do and to enjoy her own company and the company of her husband and, of course, her dog. Like all grandparents she found it challenging to live without her grandchildren’s hugs. She is happy that things are improving with the availability of the vaccines but doesn’t want to return to the “old normal.” Instead, she is trying to create a “better normal.” Wonderful!
Cindy Flood Almand had a year fraught with highs and lows. Her daughter Clare’s congenital heart disease once again reared its ugly heard. Over the past thirty years Clare has bravely endured many surgeries and procedures. This past year her condition again became critical requiring her fifth open heart surgery. Because of the restrictions placed by the hospital upon visitors due to COVID, Clare spent nine days in the ICU alone while Cindy and her husband anxiously waited a mile down the road in their hotel. After five weeks in Los Angeles where Clare lives and the surgery took place, Cindy packed up Clare’s apartment and the two of them headed home to Arlington where Clare is recuperating. Although Cindy loves having her daughter at home, she hopes that she will be able to return to Los Angeles and resume her normal life soon. While Clare was in the hospital but before the shutdown occurred, Kate Farrell Mayne, her husband Gary and daughter Sarah were able to visit. Sarah recently moved to Los Angeles and it is nice that she could be near Clare, especially at this time, since they have been friends since birth. On the lighter side, Cindy’s oldest son, Andy who along with his wife and three beautiful children (Maria has seen the pictures and they are pretty darn cute) live next door. They are expecting their fourth child soon. Cindy’s youngest son graduated from West Point in June 2020. He has completed the requisite leadership training for Army Ranger School and is headed to his first duty station in Fort Collins, Colorado. He will be married in September. Despite Clare’s medical trials, there is still a lot of joy all around!
Kim Frazier opened by exclaiming, “Wow what a year we’ve all just had!” Despite the fact that COVID literally shut down the world, Kim kept right on going! She spent the early part of the year working with her women’s organization on four community projects including 1) Support the Girls (providing bras and hygiene products for abused and homeless women), 2) providing care bags for the homeless, 3) spearheading a winter coat drive and uniform drive for a local elementary school, and 4) supporting a shoe drive for a local church. This work is part of her commitment to her mom who passed away in 2016 and herself after retiring in 2019 to give back to the community that gave them so much. In May 2020, Kim was hospitalized with a very painful abscess in her spine. After four months of extensive recovery, including rigorous PT and OT, she was able to walk again and was completely back in the saddle by September. Kim, we are all so sorry to hear that you had to go through such a trial but are happy that you came through it with flying colors. In October her dance team, which Kim has been a part of for twenty years, worked with a local jazz musician to perform our first YouTube video. Suddenly then, enter COVID, with all the fear, paranoia, isolation and uncertainty that put the world on hold. Kim and her dad, who stays with her, spent a lot of time glued to the television watching every bit of news and information they could get about the virus, the vaccines, and the rest of the chaos in the country. Kim’s family was able to have a quasi-normal Thanksgiving and Christmas. Before the year was over, in late December, her Notre Dame Academy classmates (Class of ’74) scheduled a ZOOM call which turned out to be a barrel of fun for all of the alums on the call. They normally have an all class, yearend luncheon, but Covid had other plans. So, in spite of Covid, 2020 proved to be a productive year for Kim!
As usual, Betsy Griffith is as busy as ever doing all sorts of interesting things! Her year of COVID has been crammed with history. She has written three Linkedin articles on Black history, taught Black history with a racial equity firm called Equity Through Action, presented a paper at the Renaissance Society of America and contributed to an essay on how slaves were viewed in the Renaissance. She and Don have learned how to entertain safely outdoors and, aside from missing their grandchildren, have enjoyed staying at home. In September she is still slated to return to shipboard lecturing with Viking River Cruises in the Mediterranean. Her family has been hit by COVID but thankfully all mild cases. She keeps those who have lost loved ones in her prayers. Never a dull moment with Betsy!
Susanne Hardy Nolan reported that, despite all of the hardships of COVID, it provided the Nolan family the opportunity to spend more quality time together than at any other point in the past (Best thing about that—they’re all still on speaking terms!). Although their trip to the Canadian Maritimes scheduled for August 2020 had to be cancelled, they managed to make family trips to Hilton Head Island in September 2020 and to Williamsburg at Christmas. Now that they all have been vaccinated, their normal life is returning albeit in baby steps. Best of all, being fully vaccinated enabled Susanne to venture down to the Gulf Coast in March 2021 for her annual trip to visit with friends and family in Mobile and Pensacola and to attend the Mobile Flower Show. Susanne and Paul traveled to Alaska this past June to celebrate Susanne’s sixty-fifth birthday (Welcome to Medicare my friend!) and have additional repeat family vacations planned to Hilton Head Island in September and Williamsburg in December. On a sad note, Paul’s Father passed away in April 2020 and his beloved Uncle Dick in September 2021. The Class of ’78 extends their deepest sympathy.
Christine Horigan expressed her gratitude to her Trinity friends, Beth Adams Toner, Theresa Barker Fachini, Kate Cooke Ryan and Kathy Keefe for helping her get through the worst of the pandemic and the recent presidential election cycle with their now famous weekly Zoom calls. Chris took a moment to say that she is most proud of her three children, Clay, Nina and Sarah, who are thoughtful and kind and care deeply about things that matter. (Take a bow Christine, they didn’t turn out the way because the raised themselves!). Chris closed by saying the she wishes all of her fellow classmates good health and happiness—right back at you, Chris!
In her note, Albine Katial Martin stated that a year of COVID losses and challenges has left her feeling grateful and humbled. Her parents and brother made it through a difficult winter in Colorado, her husband continues to work from home and hopes to return the Boston’s North Shore soon, and her daughters are back at work in New York and London. This past year Albine has kept in touch with Anne-Lise Boistard, Martine DeCervenes, and Pat Delmer Davis and enjoys participating in their Zoom book club. (She feels like she needs to retire so that she can finally finish her books!) Looking back on 2020 she feels like it was a year of honoring her friendships and hopes that in 2021 a spirit of service, kindness and forgiveness will stay as a reminder.
Kathy Keefe wrote that she has nothing new to share this year, not even a new sweater! Like the rest of us, she plans to burn her COVID clothes as soon as she can find replacements! Looking back over the past year, Kathy expressed her gratitude that Sister Margaret Claydon passed before everything was shutdown and sympathized with the terrible toll COVID took on those in communal living situations like Mount Notre Dame in Cincinnati. Kathy managed living alone during the pandemic by entertaining outdoors, socializing around firepits, sharing cooked meals and lots and lots of Zoom (She is a part of the now famous Adams/Barker/Cooke/Horigan weekly Zoom meeting!). Kathy joked that she finds peace in her solitary COVID lifestyle by telling herself that since she is not around people, no one got on her nerves and she didn’t get on anyone else’s nerves! (I guess that’s one way of looking at it, Kathy!) Now that things are opening up a little, Kathy looks forward to seeing her friends and family maybe even indoors! Last August the New England Zoom Girls met at the Inn in Sturbridge (Beth Adams Tonner didn’t make it as she lives in Chevy Chase) and she is looking forward to her nephew Seamus’ wedding. Kathy wishes all of her classmates good health and a happy spring and summer!
Like the rest of us, Gwen Knighton Williams has been grounded for all of last year. She was very disappointed that her travel plans to Austria/Germany and Hawaii were squashed due to COVID. Now that she is fully vaccinated, however, she is looking forward to returning to going to concerts, plays and travel and enjoying good times with friends. Throughout it all, she has remained grateful for her good health and, especially, for her wonderful son.
Lexi Laccetti Beyer reported that, so far, she and Jeb and her entire family, including her ninety-year-old mother all have come through the pandemic unscathed. Even though she realizes that her family has been more fortunate than most, the loss of family gatherings has been hard but they plan to make up for it when it is safe again. Since Christchurch School switched to virtual learning, Jeb spent most of the year working remotely from home. The silverlining has been that, as a result, he has realized that he can be happy and satisfied spending his time with Lexi and the corgis and, after thirty-two years of boarding school life, will retire in June 2022. Lexi sends love and prayer to all of her Green classmates!
In addition to sending her own news, Lexi asked Kathy and Maria to make sure that they noted the death of Sr. Seton Cunneen, ’65 who passed away peacefully at Mount Notre Dame in Cincinnati after a long illness. She was especially important to Lexi because she served as her mentor while studying the Classics but in some way touched all Trinity students. The Class of ’78 must take a moment to remember her selfless example, personal warmth and fierce commitment to social justice. May you rest in peace, Sr. Seton.
It was wonderful to hear from Regina Laffey Ruocco. She had a lot of catching up to do!! On January 1, 2021, after thirty-four years as a trial lawyer with the New Jersey office of the Public Defender, she retired…sort of. A few weeks later, she opened her own law office that specializes in various criminal matters and preparing wills like she did in the 1980’s when she was just getting started working for her dad. Over the past decades since we last heard from Regina, she has experienced quite a few changes in her life. She was blessed with two marvelous daughters who are both graduates of Muhlenberg college with double majors. Caitlin, her eldest, studied Psychology and Dance and Erin, her youngest, studied Business Administration and Art. (Maria wished that she would have coupled her study of history with something practical Regina’s daughters!). In addition to their day jobs, they are both involved in dance as choreographers and photographers…a love they both shared since they were toddlers. In the summer of 2013, Regina married Tom Ruocco. After having served in both the Army and the Marine Corps, including a tour in Desert Storm, Tom spent the past twenty-five years working in law enforcement. He is looking forward to retire in a couple of years. In 2016 they bought a new home and are still in the process of “making it ours.” Tom has two wonderful daughters of his own, Katie and Marissa, who are ten years younger than Regina’s daughters and they are all enjoying having younger and older sisters! Katie is a student at Monmouth College while Marissa currently is developing her talents in the area of cosmetology. In addition to their four daughters, their family is rounded out by the love and companionship of two dogs. Around the time that Regina wrote her response, she and Tom were headed to South Carolina to tour the USS Laffey, nicknamed “The Ship that Would Not Die.” Even though it was not named for anyone in Regina’s family lineage, she found it interesting nonetheless. As far as our classmates are concerned, Regina mentioned that she still chats with Anne-Lise Boistard from time to time and enjoys seeing all the photos on Facebook from many of the other ‘78ers. Thanks so much for checking in, Regina. It was fantastic to get your news!
Cindy Lingley is happy to report that she can now be counted among the fully vaccinated. Like many others she decided that the pandemic was a great time to add a puppy to her household and got herself a little toy poodle! He is a lot of fun and brings her much joy. Cindy just completed chairing the Best Buddies Southwest Florida Friendship Walk and had a wonderful day celebrating the buddies and inclusion. She is looking forward to returning to Brewster on the Cape for the summer.
Denise Loftus Davis. In mid-November, Maria received and email from Cindy Flood Almand containing terribly sad news. Denise’s thirty-five-year-old son, Jonathan, died in a car accident. I can only imagine the unspeakable sorrow a mother experiences at loss of a beloved child. Denise you are in all of our thoughts and prayers. May God hold you in the palm of his hand at the excruciatingly painful time.
For Martha Lord this has been an especially sad and strange year. Last April her mother passed away at ninety-seven after contracting COVID in the assisted living home where she lived. Having just lost her own father at ninety-seven from COVID, Maria can closely relate to Martha’s pain. At the time she sent her response, she had just finished sorting through and giving away her mom’s cloths and planning her celebration of life scheduled for July. In other news, Martha continues to work for the same firm that she has been for the past several years. She and her husband have both been working remotely from their home offices. Aside from work, Martha has been painting, gardening, listening to audio books, keeping up with her family and friends in Florida and North Carolina, working on her 1897 house in Hickory and her little place in the mountains and cooking more than she cares to do! This summer she is looking forward to a weekend with her daughter in Washington, DC that will include a tour of the Trinity campus, hiking in the mountains and spending time at the beach. (Can Maria and Kathy tag along too?). In closing, Martha stated that as a result of experiencing the pandemic, she has gained a greater appreciation for her loved ones after months of separation. She also is happy and hopeful for our country under the leadership of our new president.
Pat Madigan continues to work at the National Institutes of Health and has been teleworking full-time during the pandemic. She keeps fit by taking daily walks outside and climbing the stairs inside her building. Pat was happy to report that she now has five grandnieces and another on the way—no grandnephews yet.
Alida Malkus Stroebel’s plans to retire in June 2020 were derailed by the pandemic. Without warning, her school was summarily closed on March 13, 2020. With everyone working from home, there was no time to transfer her records or responsibilities to anyone else. During this time, she recorded stories for teachers to use in distance learning. After being called back to work at the beginning of May, she was tasked with preparing laptop computers for students without access at home. Through the efforts of Alida and her team, over five hundred devices were prepared! In addition to maintaining the computers, she continued to record stories for teachers as well as to manage the weekly curbside library. Maria and Kathy do believe that Alida will be more than ready for her well-deserved retirement now scheduled for June 2021! On a personal note, her daughter Meagan and her fiancé postponed their wedding until July 2021 but in the meantime went ahead and bought a house in Oceanside, California. Alida’s daughter Emily and her husband had a second baby, Elyse born on February 25, 2021 and bought a house in upstate New York so that they could take their two children out of the city. Alida, you certainly have a lot going on this year!
Mary Mallen Badowski sent Maria and Kathy a wonderful Christmas letter filled with all sorts of Badowski news. Mary began by reflecting upon 2020 stating that, just as with the Kennedy Assassination and September Eleventh, we will all remember where we were and what we were doing or not doing in 2020. Despite the difficulties, it was a big year for Mary and Adam. For starters, after six years of marriage, they sold their remaining place in Purcellville, Virginia and consolidated all of their earthly belongings into one beautiful home in Round Hill, Virginia nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The first full day in their house was St. Patrick’s Day and, in true “Green Girl” style, they celebrated with a carryout meal of a typical Irish dinner! Once relocated, Mary’s first challenge was to replenish the family larder, which had been eliminated in preparation for the move, at the same time that the Governor of Virginia shut down the state, leaving all of the stores emptied of supplies! In October, Adam experienced a bit of a COVID scare when he felt a tightness in his upper chest. After a day in the emergency room, much to Mary’s relief, he was diagnosed with “Walking Pneumonia. Strange times when pneumonia is a relief! After a bit of forced R & R, he is now on the mend and looking forward to getting back to gardening and golf. Much to Maria and Kathy’s dismay, Mary’s daughter Katie turned forty in November! (We don’t feel TOO old!) If this was not shocking enough, Katie’s children (Mary’s grandchildren) are now eighteen and sixteen. Kathy remarked that it seems like just yesterday that Katie was three and she was asking Mary if Katie could be a flower girl in her wedding. Mary declined saying that Katie would be too fidgety! (Geeze, Mary!) Like other of our classmates’ children, Katie sat out the first three and a half months of COVID at her mom’s house. As soon as the summer rolled around and things with COVID improved, Katie and her daughter, Talia, headed to the Jersey Shore for summer jobs, beach time and a visit with Talia’s paternal grandparents. Mary’s dog Zoe, a two-year old New Skete German Shephard, keeps her constantly on the run. Zoe is affectionate and playful but a little on the unruly side. After countless trips to training camp, however, things are slowly improving to the point that Mary believes she will finally be able to take her for a walk in 2021! One of the most notable experience that Mary and Adam shared this past year was witnessing the events commemorating the seventy-fifth anniversary of the day that Washington, DC celebrated the end of World War II. Since the practices were held in Loudin County, they had front row seats to the flyover that included every plane type that participated in World War II. This spectacular and moving event caused them to remember family members and others who saved our Nation through their undaunted heroism and sacrifices. What a wonderful opportunity for this resident historian!
Nancy McCann Vericker sent her greetings from her beach house in Rhode Island where she and Joe were sitting out the worst of New York City’s COVID pandemic. Nancy continues to work at her parish in her cherished position as a youth minister counseling high school students while Joe remains busy with his photography business “Photobureau.” While they love it in Rhode Island (Who wouldn’t!), they find the commute a real haul and they are looking forward to eventually returning to New York. Nancy’s children are all thriving. Her daughter Lizzy and her husband Michael have a beautiful son, Charlie, who brings his grandmother and the rest of the Verickers much joy. Nancy is particularly proud of her son, JP, who co-owns and operates a treatment center in Massachusetts, “Ark Behavioral Health” which has now grown to five locations. A couple of years ago, Nancy and JP co-authored the book “Unchained: Our family’s Addiction Mess is Our Message (It is very well done and I highly recommend it!) and Nancy continues to write a weekly blog on recovery issues for parents. Her daughter Molly works alongside her brother JP at one of his treatment centers. Nancy’s youngest, Grace, is a sophomore at Penn State and has been with her parents in Rhode Island continuing with her studies remotely. With all of her children except Grace on the way with their lives, Nancy and Joe are in the process of downsizing and sold their family home in Scarsdale. When COVID slows down, they hope to return to the New York area but in a much smaller space. Nancy reported that she speaks often with Grace Gagliardo McLaren. Grace has started the “Insight Retreat” near her home in Marco Island, Florida and has asked Nancy to help her with all that. Nancy, Maria wants you to know that she is grateful for the long-standing friendship of her beloved Trinity roommate.
Molly Messner Lane has weddings on her mind! She wrote that her oldest son, George, was married last August and her youngest son, Jeff, will be married this August. The joy of celebrating her son’s weddings was tempered by the loss of her ninety-four-year-old mother-in-law in January. She lived in Molly and her husband’s building where they cared for her, enabling her to stay in her own home. Having just been through the same thing with her own father, Maria appreciates the difficulties but also the joys of taking care of an aging parent. Bless you for that, Molly!
Jane Muldoon Smith writes that life in North Carolina is good! Due to COVID, she is now retired. Although she misses teaching, she loves having more time with Peter, her children and her grandchildren. Her days are spent walking trails, participating in various clubs and volunteer work. She and Peter continue playing music from their front porch. Originally, they called their concerts “Woodstuck” but now that COVID restrictions are lifting they changed the name to “Woodsticky!” What a lovely thing to do for your friends and neighbors during this stressful time!
On a very sad note, Bob Ellington, loving husband of Karen Munley Ellington, wrote to inform us that, after being hospitalized for two weeks for a non-Covid related issue, she unexpectedly passed away at Mount Vernon Hospital in Alexandria, Virginia on April 29, 2020. In addition to her husband of thirty-nine years, Karen is survived by her daughter Meredyth Ellington. She is also survived by her daughter Jesse Riordan and her husband Michael and son Iggy. On behalf of our entire class, we would like to extend our deepest sympathy to Bob and his family over the painful loss of their beloved wife, mother, and grandmother. We also would like to assure them that Karen’s memory will live in our hearts and memories forever. It is so difficult to lose one of cherished classmates.
We received Sheila Murdock Phelan’s response right around the time of Prince Philips passing. She reminded Maria of the time forty-five years ago while studying in Oxford, that they saw Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth up very close and personal while opening a campus building. Maria reminded Sheila that she would have remembered it better if she would have taken the lens cap off her camera when she was taking pictures! Sheila continues to work as a Senior Director of Operations at DK, a division of Penguin Random House. In her spare time, she did political work in advance of the 2020 election and the Georgia senate races. She still lives in Cos Cob, Connecticut with her sister, Sarah ’80 and her partner of fifteen years, David Lappin. Sheila’s son, Kevin, is “somehow” thirty-three and, much to his mother’s astonishment, has taken up cooking during the COVID lockdown. There is so much that she has missed during COVID but, in the end, considering what our ancestors endured in times of trouble, it all seems so much more doable.
Roberta Phippen Collier checked in to say that she plans to continue working for a few more years. Despite COVID, she was able to make a couple of trips by car to North Carolina, Virginia and Washington, DC. She is looking forward to attending wedding in Minnesota and South Carolina and, now that things are opening up a little, she hopes to travel to Europe at Christmas. It will happen, Roberta!
Eileen Preskenis Maguire wrote to announce the engagement of her middle child, Patrick to Ms. Corey Alexandria Reid. Having already been postponed once, she is hoping for an October 2021 wedding. In the meantime, she is staying “low and safe.”
Like the rest of us, Paula Pucillo Schenkel will be happy when the whole COVID thing is over. Between her first and second vaccine, for some unknown reason, she and Dave contracted COVID. Thankfully, no one else in the family was exposed and they survived and are now doing well. In much happier news, Paula and Dave were able to travel to Arizona in September to celebrate their youngest son, Andrew’s, thirtieth birthday. On December 31, they were blessed with their fourth grandchild, Oliver. Due to COVID, Paula and Dave opted not to travel to St Maarten this winter, but instead rented a house in Key West for the month of February. Although it is was not quite St. Maarten, they were happy to get some sunshine and warmth and have a few days with their kids and grandkids.
Gemma Puglisi continues in her position as an Assistant Professor at the American University School of Communication where she has taught for the past eighteenth years. Gemma’s biggest news of the year, however, was being inducted to the National Capital Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America’s Hall of Fame. According to the press release, she was being recognized for her “lifelong achievements in the public relations industry and for using her sphere of influence to advance the Greater Washington, DC community and non-profits, for mentoring and propelling the next generation of young professionals forward, and for her self-less contributions to multiple professional development organizations in our industry.” Way to go, Gemma! Your classmates are proud of you and so is Trinity!
It was so nice to hear from Marie Reeping Englehart! She wrote to say that she is gratefully retired from many years of teaching special education at all different levels. She is very proud of her two wonderful children who are both employed by the space industry. Her son, Chuck, is thirty-one years old and works as a computer engineer for a government contractor doing business with NASA. Chuck is married to Shannon and they have two children, Charles, two and a half years and Henry, seven months. Marie’s daughter, Anne, is twenty-nine and works as an aerospace engineer at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). She is married to Matt and they have one child, Elise who is two years old. Since the outbreak of COVID, both of her children are working from home so Marie spends five days a week with her grandchildren. When not looking after the grandbabies, Marie has taken a few computer classes. Maria would like to thank Marie for sending her a copy of a poem that she wrote for Lori Spunt’s writing class. She can’t believe that you saved all that stuff but was glad you did! Marie wants you all to know that she misses her Trinity sisters!
Mayra Rios-Benitez wrote to say that this past year her family has passed so many milestones but due to the uncertainties and surprises of the COVID pandemic they, sadly, have not been able to celebrate with each other. Last September, Mayra’s became a great aunt and her youngest sister, Nydia, a grandmother with the birth of Kachi Garcia, a “little bundle of laughter and energy who is now six months old.” Mayra’s niece, Maria Christina, graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Juris Doctorate from the University of Puerto Rico. All of this has left Mayra wondering if she will follow in her father’s, Mayra’s brother’s, footsteps to the Superior Court. In addition to being unable to mark these milestones, Mayra also had to cancel her annual trip to Puerto Rico to visit her sister Emma Rios-Benitez.
Susan Rivers has undergone a lot of changes since last we heard from her. After many years in New York, she now lives in Richmond, Virginia. In addition to relocating, Susan also has left corporate life and has launched a writing business with a former Wall Street Journal colleague. Her business specializes in writing/editing/producing family histories. Currently, she is at work on a multi-century family history of an African American civil rights activist and contemporary of John Lewis. She described what she does as somewhat like what they do on PBS’s “Finding Your Roots.” To learn more, check out her website at www.singularstories.com. While working hard to establish her new business, Susan is also pursuing her passion for photojournalism. Richmond is currently reckoning with its position as the epicenter of the former Confederacy and all that suggests. She is photo-documenting this transition through portraits and words of Black Lives Matters activists and regular Richmonders. It’s all on Instagram: @susantrivers—don’t forget to take a look! On a more personal side, Susan reported that she lives just blocks away from her grandkids and is lucky to be close by as they are growing up fast! Her husband’s lymphoma remains stable and well under control. Life is good!
Barb Rooney Barzelatto has had a particularly bad year. Although they have long since recovered, everyone in her family got COVID. (Oh my!). There were, however, some points of light. The isolation that we all experienced this past year due to the lockdown was somewhat relieved for Barb when her daughter’s family, including three children and a fourth on the way, moved in with her and her husband. By the time she sent her response, Barb also had returned to school and was very happy to see all of her students once again. She is now anxiously awaiting the end of COVID and a return to normal life—whatever “normal” is these days! We’ll get there, Barb!
Our deepest sympathies, not to mention hugs and prayers, go out to Christine Ryan Jeffrey, who lost her beloved husband, JJ, on October 5, 2020. After putting up a gallant fight for many years, he finally succumbed to heart disease. This past year, he had a particularly hard time. In December 2019, he fell and broke his nose and wrist and in February 2020 the mitral valve that he had replaced five years earlier failed and needed to be replaced once again in April 2020. As he had many times in the past, he recovered from these episodes and was making good progress in cardiac rehab. In September 2020 he wasn’t feeling well and went into the hospital with what was thought to be gastro issues. His heart and body, however, were very tired and this proved to be his last visit. As you might image this whole thing was and is very, very hard for Chris but she has chosen to look for the blessings. She is grateful that she and JJ got to take a vacation to Ocean City in August. She is grateful that she was able to be with JJ when he died. She is grateful that her sons got to see their father one last time despite the restriction placed on hospital visitation due to COVID. Although it was quite small, again due to the restrictions placed on her by COVID, she is grateful that her family was able to have a funeral for JJ. She is grateful for the love and support that she has received from her friends. She is grateful for the love and support that she has received from her sons and their families. She is especially grateful for the time they have spent just hanging out with her, having ice cream on the last day of school and telling stories about “Mr. Wonderful.” Most of all, she is grateful for all of the fabulous memories.
Maria is always happy to hear from her best Green Girl, Edith Schultz Salamone. She expressed her frustration with COVID and the wait to get vaccinated. She is dying to go to concerts and to sing and dance and live life outside again—it’s all driving her a little crazy (not really)! The highlight of the year was the birth of her nephew’s first-born child, Jaxon—Edith assures us that he’s a real cutie! She also is thrilled to have her son and daughter living at home again with her and her husband. Edith is especially proud of her daughter who is a teacher and works for a daycare program that, “serves beautiful little babies while their parents work.” She closed out her message by exclaiming, “1978—What a year! Love my class, always will. Hi everybody! Miss you all! Be happy!” I guess that is why Edith is Maria’s best Green Girl!!.
This past year was a big one for Jane Stenson and her family. Her youngest, Cecile, graduated from Wake Forest University with a degree in English and French. Her son lives in Madison, Wisconsin (lucky guy!) and enjoys his work with a medical software company. Jane continues to work at Catholic Charites USA and has been consumed with Food and Nutrition programming. Along with her husband, Chuck, she has been working remotely from her home office. With all of this going on, this difficult year has passed very quickly!
Penny Thompson-Kreisch and her daughter are both fine but COVID and politics have delayed their plans for the future. Although they are a bit behind schedule, they still intend to exchange the snow and tumult of Washington, DC for the warmth and peacefulness of Florida where they have family. They are looking at real estate and hoping the market will pick up soon. Penny reminisced with Maria about their Oxford days filled with tutorials, teatime, and working on perfecting their scone recipes. That was one big adventure!
It was so nice to hear from Theresa Van Vliet this year! She and Dale are fully vaccinated and, like the rest of us, are looking forward to putting the whole pandemic thing behind them and being able to move on and treasure some degree of normalcy. Sadly, Dale’s ninety-four-year-old father passed away in December and, because of the restrictions imposed by COVID, they have been unable to arrange a memorial. On behalf of the Class of 1978, Kathy and Maria send condolences. Theresa is crazy busy at work but still manages to find some time to catch up on retro French Chef episodes since she has already binged on everything else! I am sure we can all relate!
Lisa Wood Gregoire wrote that, despite how hard 2020 has been, she was very blessed throughout the year. She and her husband have been able to see and spend time with all of her sons and their spouses and children. Her middle son and his wife had a new beautiful baby girl. In December 2020 her youngest son became engaged to a wonderful girl and they will be married in 2022. This just proves that, even in the worst of times, life goes on in all its glory!
Maria Zehren, Kathy’s partner in crime (P.I.C.), is not loving COVID but has had her vaccination and is looking forward to the day when she can move about the county and abroad more freely (Green Bay is a great place but one needs to escape from time to time to keep one’s sanity). As we know Maria lost her ninety-seven-year-old father, a victim of COVID, and would like to thank all her classmates for their kind words of support. On a lighter note, Maria is happy to say that she successfully met Kerry McGrath Grant’s challenge to re-read the Education of Henry Adams. She is not too proud to admit, however, that even with a Bachelors, Master and Doctorate in American history, she found it a pretty hard slog. Not one to be discouraged, she finished The Last American: The Brilliant and Improbable Education of Henry Adams by David S. Brown and is trying to get started on The Decline of the Adams Family and Rise of Modern America by Douglas Egerton, a former Georgetown University classmate. After that, she hopes to be done with the Adams family for a little while, maybe forever—just sayin.
As for Kathy, I have struggled with the isolation of the pandemic and ironically, it has been a challenge for me to call friends and catch up. Both Colin and I have been working from home for the past year and a half, and the CEO at NEACH, the payments association I work for, has wondered aloud why we even have office space, as all staff have been able to work from home successfully and productively. Unfortunately, we are tied to a lease until 2024, but I think the office space will be much smaller thereafter. My daughter, Caitlin, has been working, as she says, for “big law” for four or five years, and finally made the decision to find a job as in-house attorney at an investment firm, where she won’t be working 24/7/365 and never being able to take a day off without work being sent for her to do, and the constant stress of unmeetable crazy deadlines. In short, she has decided to have a life! Since she hasn’t had time off for the past four years, she is taking three weeks’ vacation before starting her new job. It will be a big transition for her but a welcome one. My daughter, Maura, is still working for the Witherspoon Institute near Princeton, New Jersey. After being a teacher for eight years with an all-consuming schedule, she can now create and teach seminars for high school students and Princeton undergrads on subjects of great interest to her and the students. I am counting the days until sometime in January when I hope to retire from NEACH. The company doesn’t know it yet, but I am ready to see my husband working, while I ask him to keep it down, so I can watch the Today Show. I hope to take piano lessons again and visit a few friends when it is safe to do so.
Although they didn’t check in for the newsletter, Maria would like to thank Mary Feddis, Christine Frapwell and Lori Leibig for remembering her at Christmas with a lovely card. She loves hearing from you no matter what the occasion!
Well, that’s all folks! Kathy and Maria thank you for all for being so good about keeping in touch! We know how busy everyone is and appreciate that you found some time to send your news. Before you know it, they will be mailing off a letter asking you what went on in 2021! Keep those cards and letters coming!! All of our love to the fabulous Class of 1978!
Your Class Scribes,
Kathy Dysart Shea
Maria Zehren
