1959 Class Notes for 2021
What a treat, especially in this horrible year, to get all your notes. Thank you all.
Sheila McHugh Barnwell and Jack split their time between MA and FL. They and their five children and their families have avoided the pandemic and have not had any family celebrations which would have included their 60th wedding anniversary.
Elaine Clark Moynihan remembers, with a smile, the (mostly) stress-free fun we had at TC. All of ‘59 will be in her memories along with trips to B’land and Gusti’s and GU basketball games with Steve. She and Steve have stuff but are still happy and blessed to be together.
Marjorie Marilley Ransom started 2020 with a trip to the UAE and Oman with daughter Katherine and family. She and a grandson were supposed to go on to Cairo but canceled because of COVID 19. When she studied traditional silver jewelry in Yemen 2004-9, she collected photographs of her collection and they were included in her book, Silver Treasures from the Land of Sheba. Her next challenge is to place this sizable collection in an American Museum. A highlight of the quarantine was several family readings of The Christmas Carol on Zoom. Marjorie’s three daughters and six grands are the light of her life.
Caryl Rivers Lupo started 2020 with a trip to Puerto Rico with her frequent co-author, Roz Barnett, for swimming and snorkeling and a wonderful visit in March to visit her daughter, husband and two kids in SF, and lovely trips around the bay area. By the time she got home, COVID was spreading and she switched to teaching her BU classes remotely. She was supposed to spend Thanksgiving with her son, his wife and daughter (and Caryl’s great granddaughter) in Houston, but COVID took care of that. Her son is an FBI agent and is on the SWAT team. They were deployed tp Texas after the Capitol riot, but things stayed calm. His daughter was married a few years ago and they all took a cruise as the wedding was on a beach in the Caribbean. Caryl is working on a new book about the new forces facing women, including neosexism, tribalism, white male supremacy and COVOD. Her three earlier books are e-books online by Diversion Press. Like most of us, she can’t wait to see kids and grands. Winter was so tough that she thought of dragging out her cross country skis, but a second artificial hip vetoed that. She has great memories of TC and looks forward to being under the red roof.
Carol Sullivan Spong’s husband, Fred, died after an awful fall on an up escalator. She suggests we all learn where and how to turn an escalator off. In the fall of 2019 she visited NY to see her grandson, Taylor, who designs and makes custom men’s clothing. Taylor showed her his NY and they had great fun walking the Hi-Line and just spending time together. His girlfriend also works in the fashion industry. Then to Northampton, MA to see daughter Beth and her family and then to Lowell to see old friends. She had lunch with Frances “Fran” Pandolfe Burns who lives in CN. They had a wonderful time catching up. Carol has joined the NAACP and is working to eliminate her own racism. She recommends “Walking with the Wind” about John Lewis. She belongs to a church served by women priests for 15 years. That must be a story in itself.
Bernadette “Bizi” Waters Reidy is doing well and is lucky to be doing Jazzercise, bridge and book club online…all helping to keep her sane. Her family is well…a grandson’s wedding in July was streamed but beautiful, grands with hybrid schooling, a granddaughter at GU Med, and her own children adjusting to new ways of living. She talks with Mary Kay and Julie regularly. For all this and for her life and friends at TC she is so grateful. I think we all echo that.
Mary Elizabeth “Liz” Killoran Shigley and Dick planned to take several trips in 2020 as they figured they didn’t have many more years they would be able to travel. The first two were cancelled because of the pandemic. The third, in June, to the British Isles and Ireland hasn’t been cancelled yet. Since they are taking their children and their spouses, she hopes this trip goes. Liz is just grateful she and Dick have each other and are healthy and sane.
Mary Kay Wantz Reber and George have been pretty healthy and blessed. She keeps busy reading, walking, playing bridge online and doing quite a bit of cooking. They haven’t seen their grandchildren who live in CA in a year and a half and are looking forward to seeing them, and just people, again.
Agnes Fitzgibbon Murdock and Fred have moved to a retirement home in downtown Evanston which is very convenient to shops, the lake and Northwestern U. Once COVID is over and things are back to normal it will be great. They still go to Santa Barbara for two to three months in the winter. Their last grandchild, no. 13, will enter college in the fall.
After nine moves in five years, Patricia “Pat” Lynch and Cliff arrived in Annapolis in 1965, built their home and she is still there. She retired from IBM in 2002 and is heavily involved in Community Advocacy at all levels of state and local government. Pat is president of a 10K member council and VP of a larger 20K member advocacy organization. Life is a swarm of daily Zoom telecoms and ongoing efforts to preserve her lovely environment next to the Chesapeake Bay. Her two daughters and families live nearby; they are blessed to be together. During COVID, they enjoy virtual wine time daily and share the family news. Armed with her 2nd vaccine, Pat will soon take great joy in just walking through a grocery store. Her grands are all adults, pursuing new careers and some in graduate school. She is waiting for the slowdown but she’s healthy and has gotten both vaccine shots. She used to get excited about going to the Kennedy Center for a concert and now gets excited if she can go to Trader Joe’s to view fresh veggies.
Sarah “Sally” Finnegan Harrs and Leland have lived like hermits this year, watching out their window with excitement about the flora and fauna passing through. The hummingbirds have been scarce this year, but the deer visit regularly as do little rabbits who are fleet footed enough to avoid birds of prey including eagles which nest along the river. She’s an avid reader of the NY Times which keeps her on her toes and the New Yorker which opens up worlds far beyond hers in Arlington. Sally has read with pride of two people who share her world. Nancy Pelosi has taken on an incredible task as Speaker of the House and has kept order where there isn’t any [wits in the House remark about her similarity to an elementary teacher] and Dr. Fauci has provided leadership where there was none, comes from our heritage. The 80 year old doctor is a Regis boy and he has carried his heritage with pride. One of Sally’s sons bumps into him regularly during special occasions at Regis. Nancy Pelosi and Dr. Fauci have carried the aspirations and achievements of the world we share and the anxieties that have come into our lives these days.
Julia “Julie” Moran Hall sold her house in Colts Neck, NJ in July and has been blessed to be living with her daughter Julie’s family including son-in-law Ted and grandson Teddy who is 10 and in 5th grade. It has taken her since July to find “the perfect house” which she recently did. Happy to say the closing will be done before this is printed and after some renovations she’ll be moving in. It’s a one level in a 55+ community in Holmdel, NJ and is near three of her five kids which is so important to her. Julie could write a book about trying to buy a house in a pandemic. She’s survived the devastating loss of John in 2018 and her house catching fire in 2019. Thanks to her five wonderful kids [she calls them her ‘parents – who can be strict at times] she’s been spoiled with constant kindness and care.
Ellen Jo Connelly Langreth is fairly close to her two children, seven grands and one great in NJ. She tries to help support them as they wind their way through colleges. Taking care of her summer house in MV and volunteer work against gun violence keeps her busy.
Diane Bush Miller had been living in Sarasota/Nokomis, FL for 21 years and is now living at Aston Gardens in Venice. She and her husband are very happy and healthy. They try to fill the hours of the day with really not much: walking [she tries to get 10,000 steps each day], reading, watching reality shows on TV, and movies at night. She misses her family and hopes and prays to see them again in the near future.
Elizabeth “Buffy” Driscoll Corr has moved to Naples with her son John after living with him and his wife in Maryland for 10 years. They bought a dog training business in Naples then went to Denver for training. John does most of the training but Buffy does some, but mostly does the office stuff.
Sylvia Murray Hutter thanks heaven that all of the Hutters are well. All the MDs were working throughout, a couple of them at the large convention center massive hospitals. Lots of quarantining, quite sobering. They all had vaccinations when they became available. Quite a year! The weather added to the turmoil. The snow has been abundant and gorgeous. Now spring is in the air and is most welcome. Three of the 13 grands graduate from high school this year both on the east and west coast. Still not determined if real or virtual. Dolph is still involved with teaching the Cardiac Fellows at MGH, but has lightened his schedule tremendously.
Kathleen “Kathy” Bruton Murphy’s and Bob’s family are keeping them a little busy and aware of the changing world.
All my family is doing fine, thank heavens, and I have kept busy with OLLI and OneDayUniversity, both of which I love. Mail sent to Sister Josephine Minhan, Mary Ann Reiss Norton, Constance “Connie” Sommer and Carolyn Brick Solomon has been returned as undeliverable. If anyone has information on these classmates, please send it to the Alumnae Association. Everyone sent good wishes to all of us, remembered happy TC days and good friends, had their second vaccinations, and hoped for better days ahead. Again thanks for all your responses.
Sheila