1953 Class Notes for 2021
Dear Friends from TC 1953-
I was thrilled to receive so many calls, emails and letters from you! I know that during this unprecedented time of COVID, we are all yearning for and valuing contact with family and friends and it is my pleasure to share your news. I hope you find this renewing of our special friendships as a comfort.
Our first responder was Betsy Staat Romson who wrote from AZ to say that she and Jim were planning to stay there for the winter and then return to NY after Easter. No pleasure trips were planned but all her family was well.
A wonderful newsy letter arrived from Christine Kennedy O’Connor, who last year celebrated her 62nd wedding anniversary. She and Dan have four children and ten grandchildren. Four years ago, they moved to a golfing community in NC. While Dan still enjoys the golf, Christine enjoys the watching.
Ann Cronin Scheelar says the lockdown in New York state has produced three more great grandchildren, now totaling eight. They all hope to get acquainted this summer but till then it’s shared photos, texting and the “old fashioned” phone!
Mary Gies Commins reports that she has finished her third book on her father’s ancestry and is now working on her mother’s side of the family. She remains living in the home she and Bill shared and has five of her six children nearby. So even though she and her kitty, Cherie, are hermits, they are well cared for. Mary reminded me of our “secret visitor” at TC – a bat joined our class for a brief, but exciting, visit. We fifth floor ladies felt it was only proper to give him a formal send-off and so we did. We dressed in our senior robes, including graduation caps, marched around the fifth floor with forlorn expressions and musically flushed him away to his final resting place. Mary shared that MaryLou Condon O’Brien had married a friend of her Bill and the couples saw each other many times. MaryLou’s daughter has reached out to Mary to talk and remember and Mary will send her some pictures of happy times together. It’s so wonderful to have our Trinity relationships continued with and between our children!
Shonnie Hall Finnegan wrote a very touching letter about Marie Noonan Sabin, who died last October. She spoke affectionately about her friendship with Libby Kilbourn Birdsall and Martha McGill Thornley. Libby was invited to speak at Marie’s online service, which I attended as well. Shonnie also keeps in touch with Cathy Claydon Lightfoot. I know we all send Cathy our warmest thoughts as we, and all of the Trinity community, mourn the loss of her sister, Sister Margaret Claydon.
I had a wonderful phone call with Pat and Rosemarie Battistelli Altieri. Rosemarie had a pacemaker implanted in early winter. She sounded and says she feels great. They have a grandchild in graduate school in Chicago studying electrical engineering. We made tentative plans to get together when COVID restrictions are lifted.
Mary Rossiter sadly lost her husband, John, last year. While she has lots of arthritis pain, and has a caretaker helping her during the day, she happily lives with her son and her daughter is just a few minutes away so she feels well cared for and safe.
Joan Payden continues to be an active CEO of Payden and Rygel, her global investment management firm. At her writing, they have been in lockdown for over ten months but says that working from home has proven to be very successful. Collaboration is the key! She occasionally sees Elaine de Montigny Donovan back east but not many others on the west coast. Joan has become quite involved with Trinity and its future. Over the past 10-15 years, women’s colleges have had a tough time, with Trinity being an exception. Joan attributes this to President Pat McGuire. She notes specifically the increased enrollment, competitive programs in science, nursing and pre-med, and the receipt of prestigious corporate grants that recognize the excellence of education. We should all be proud.
Claartje Rathjens Bertaut shares that her full schedule of exercise classes, walking, Chinese lessons and weekly dinner with family came to an abrupt halt due to COVID. Slowly some of these activities have returned but still no Chinese lessons! Her cats, Tessa and Lucy, keep her company while she tries to stay sane. Claartje has discovered, as I’m sure many of us have, that she already has lots of interesting books in her house, and has been slowly reading through many of them.
Betty Harkins Creamer is well and finds herself living in a cocoon. She feels outplayed by her electronic devises; aka alien beings. The fridge warns her to replace its filter, Alexa talks back to the TV, her robot vacuum wanders aimlessly over rugs bumping into things and her cell phone and Kindle require more attention that her kids or pets. Otherwise, all is going great. I’m sure we all are experiencing similar tugs of war with our devices!
Joanne and Jack Haffner
Joanne McGuire Haffner and Jack live in a retirement community in OR. Joanne has learned to do all her shopping on the computer and everything is delivered two hours later. It’s a great time saver and she plans to continue shopping this way. Joanne and Jack have nine great grandchildren and they are all being home schooled. This is working out very well for all. Their dog, Luci, is an 11-year-old Maltipoo and is a joy to have around.
MC Elward Halvorsen called one night in the middle of a rare blizzard in WA state. Sadly, she lost her brother, Frank, a year ago and the family is still waiting to have his funeral. MC continues to drive and live in the same house. She keeps busy with environmental projects and like all of us, is wearing a mask, reading a lot and looking forward to the world getting back to normal as she dutifully waits for her vaccine shot.
Jane Dunning Ford now understands why isolation can be considered a form of torture. She and Bill are comfortable and their children take good care of everything for them, although she worries about them as they are exposed to the virus every day. Jane says she believes the pandemic will be over when she can finally go to Mass again. I imagine many of us feel that way! The only classmate she is in touch with is Cecile Dreyfus Fleming who seems to have adapted well to her new life with her daughter in SC. Jane mentioned how hard it was to watch the insurrection at the Capitol in January and how very fortunate we were to see it free and open when we were students.
Adelene Cowhig Quigley, Pat O’Neal Schmitt and Nancy McCormack O’Connell
I had a delightful call with Adelene Cowhig Quigley one day. Her year of COVID started in Naples, FL where she had a great visit with Jan Dempsey Largay. Since then, she has taken turns staying with each of her three daughters and their families. She met Corinne O’Neil Wood for an outdoor luncheon last summer and then I joined her for lunch at Pat O’Neal Schmitt’s home. Pat is well and had just returned from a three-week family tour, which provided her with a new appreciation of the busy lives her children and grandchildren lead.
My daughter, Kerry (’80), and I have weathered the pandemic beautifully. We haven’t seen other family members, except to briefly exchange food and presents with my daughter Lauren (’84) at a parking lot on the border of MA and NH when travel restrictions were in place, but we do have frequent Zoom calls.
The year of the pandemic has been nothing that any of us have ever experienced but we are thankfully approaching a return to normalcy; albeit likely a new normal. As many of us celebrate our “BIG” birthday this year, may our family and friends continue to give us love and strength.
Be well, dear Trinity Friends.
Nancy McCormack O’Connell