1962 Class Notes for 2015
What a wicked cold winter we had this year! I don’t think anyone was spared, but by now you are all enjoying some warm weather. Our coastal California friends, Ann O’Hearn and Roberta “Bobbie” Cresci Kunath, fared better with 70 degree temperatures and some much-needed rain. Ann is enjoying life and a visit to Florida where she will reconnect with family and Trinity friends. Her favorite pastime is spending as much time as she can with the two grandchildren (5, 3) who live in the LA-area.
Bobbi Cresci Kunath and husband, Karl, with their granddaughters.
Another Patriots fan, Ann Philbin, headed south for the winter and so escaped the Boston weather. After that she took a trip to Tokyo with the Boston Symphony.Bobbie and Karl made two trips to Connecticut last year to visit with son David and his family: in December for Christmas and in September when Bobbie flew to Bethlehem. She stayed a night with me, then we drove to Connecticut for a wonderful lunch with her family, then on to the Cape. There we connected with Jeanne Becker Lynch, Diane “DD” Newell Jacko, Patty May Halpin, Suzy Kramer Glynn, Susan Micone McGorty, Carol Mitchell Curran, Lenora “Lee” Shannon Williams, Rhea Picotte Clark, Mary Sullivan Henry, and Patricia “Cookie” Glennon Whamond for a fun-filled couple of days filled with talk and laughter and good Trinity memories. Jeanne, Patty and I became grandparents again recently: Jeanne in July with the birth of Alice Flaherty Lynch, Patty in January with the birth of Emily Patricia Halpin, and me in August with the birth of identical twin girls, Brianna Nicole and Emilia Elizabeth Clark. We are truly blessed. Patty’s oldest grandchild is a sophomore at Dartmouth; the others are thriving and keeping their parents busy. Daughter Mary is head of school at Derryfield in Manchester, NH. Trish is teaching at Wayland High School, Tom is teaching at Wayland Middle School and Chris is working for the NFL. Chris invited Patty and Tom to go with him to the Super Bowl, and so they did! She said it was a lifetime experience and extra-special since the Patriots won! Tom continues to love work, mentoring and teaching med students, and skiing; Patty is busy with town boards and efforts to raise funds for Catholic schools.
Joan Selke Sallee and husband, Tom, with grandson River Kenneta
Joan Selke Sallee writes that she and Tom have had a very family-centered year particularly as the four grandsons (10, 9, 8, 6) are close at hand. Their daughter, Margaret, had her second book, on faculty fathers, published last fall. You can imagine how touched Joan and Tom were to have the book dedicated to them. Tom was honored in October for 25 years as president of college prep math (CPM), the program now taught in 47 states, and remains active in CPM as well as the No CA Math Project at UC Davis. He even “does math” in the grandsons’ classrooms on a weekly basis! Joan’s term on the Letters and Science Deans’ Advisory Council at the UC Davis, was renewed for another three years but still she finds time to sing in the Davis Chorale, take exercise classes and read for two book clubs. She also stays in touch with several of her classmates from Mills College in Oakland, where she received her master’s. The Sallees enjoy attending plays, operas, lectures and concerts, and enjoyed a wine tasting trip in the fall to Willamette Valley in Oregon and to the theater festival in Ashland, Oregon. Speaking of Oregon, Ron and Tessa Merdler Green are looking to move from Albany to Portland and, hopefully, if the timing works for the sale of their home, they will enjoy a trip to Poland. In the meantime, Ron continues with his music and Tessa with her art and writing. They both contribute their time to community causes.
Sue Watson Madigosky and Walt are doing well. Walt is ever-busy as Mr. Fix-it and last year participated in the 60th anniversary of the Korean War activities. Sue recently sang at the SND convention at Trinity and reports her eyesight is considerably better, which is very good news, although driving is still not an option. Of their eight grandchildren, six live down the block! Both Walt and Sue continue their involvement with the Teams of Our Lady, a Catholic lay movement of spirituality for married couples who want to develop their relationship with God both personally and as a couple. (Please refer to www.equipes-notre-dame.com/en for more information about Teams.) During the past five years they have been in leadership as the Mid-Atlantic regional couple serving some 45 active groups with over 130,000 members in 78 countries. Their involvement has taken them to California, Massachusetts and Texas, where they visited with Carole Eisenhauer Updyke. Sadly, I have to report that Carole’s husband, Joe, passed away last June. They had been married for 48 years, during which time their life was blessed with many travels including both abroad and here in the US. Their last trip was to Alaska and the Northern Pacific, ending in Tokyo. Joe loved teaching adult ed classes and teaching and welcoming RCIA students into the Catholic church. Carole says both she and Joe grew over the years in their faith life. Also, I have to report that Veronica “Ronnie” McKenna Feerick’ s husband, Dick, died in November, 2013, after a brief illness. The good news is that she is doing better now and still lives in the Chicago suburbs not far from her six grandchildren, ages 9 to 13. Her son and his wife, who live in Arlington, VA, are expecting their first child in May. Please remember both Carole and Ronnie in your thoughts and prayers.
On one of my trips back to DC since the move to Bethlehem, PA, last May (you may recall I made that move to be closer to family), I enjoyed a lovely evening with Jeanne Lynch, Carol Curran, Ann Wigglesworth Barbieri, ConnieKrisman Hart, Rita Murray Meyer, Mary Catherine McGarraghy Beyda, Stephanie McKernan Warring, Mary-Margaret Donnelly Gillen, and Cathy Schulz Mattingly. Jeanne spent several months in Connecticut last year and hopes to do the same this year. She has traveled to Seattle and Denver to visit children and grandchildren and to South Carolina to visit her brother, Paul, and his wife, also Suzy and Jamie Glynn. She also continues her law practice, mostly wills and trusts. Carol and her husband, Jim Mull, had a good travel year, a month cruising around the Far East, including a visit to see the Great Wall of China, and a nostalgic trip to Vietnam for Jim, who had served there during the war. They also took a trip to the Turks and Caicos with their children and grandchildren.
Bill and Ann Barbieri recently celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary in Puerto Rico. They rented a villa in Rincon, a surfer town, and were able to house all 17 of their family minus daughter-in-law, Gabrielle, who was studying for the Bar examination. However, they made it back to DC in time for her graduation from Catholic University Law School. Ann says she and Bill are lucky that all kids and grandkids live close by (except at rush hour), which allows for many visits. Bill is threatening to make this his last year in senior softball but he’s still singing in the Reston chorale; Ann is still “making art” at the Torpedo Factory and will have an exhibit at the Arts Club of Washington in March, 2016.
Pat Anderson Henderson and George also celebrated their 50th with family and friends. They continue to enjoy retirement with occasional trips, occasional bridge and community involvements. Pat is ever thankful to Trinity for a “questioning and open mind.” Elizabeth “Betty” Ruzzin Lurie echoes those same thoughts and wonders if others in our class realize how privileged we were to attend Trinity when we did. “It still remains one of the most important experiences of my life.” Since her husband died, Betty has continued her work in clay, but on a reduced level. She no longer does shows as, since 2008, many of the galleries she used to deal with have closed. There are no grandchildren so she spends a great deal of time caring for her mid-20th century modern house and garden. Recently she had foot surgery and hopes to regain the same level of physical activity she had before, including annual hiking trips to such places as the south of Spain and the Italian lakes. A trip to Provence is in the “thinking stages.”
Cathy Chabot Fredericks says all is well in the Pacific Northwest. The oldest of the four grandchildren will graduate from high school in May. Cathy extends best wishes to all for a Happy Birthday, for many of us a milestone year. She and Jim enjoyed a visit last fall from Carol Rhodes Donovan and Hugh before their journey to Hawaii. 50 years ago the Donovans went to Minnesota to be in their wedding. The Fredericks have done some traveling of their own with trips to Great Britain, Alaska and Western Europe. By this time they will have taken a Mediterranean cruise, and Cathy will have traveled to NYC with some of her friends.
Although all the children are in the Northeast, Carol Murray Hogan is happy to be living in Florida. Francie and John sold their old federal colonial home in Ashby, MA, that they had totally renovated and moved to an equally lovely home on the Connecticut shore, which seems to have simplified their lives. They spent the past two weeks in Florida with Carol and Brian during which time they all spent three days in Orlando, exploring and riding every attraction in the Magic Kingdom. The two oldest grandchildren attend Yale and Williams College and another is at Sacred Heart in Greenwich, CT. All the Hogans were together for Thanksgiving in Scarsdale at son Brian’s home, quite a feat given the business of all. Small world: Carol’s Sarasota physician is the daughter-in-law of Pat Kenney Blagden, which gives Carol hope that at some point she’ll get to see Pat when she visits.
This past Christmas season was a big one for Alice McMahon Bender and her husband, Mick. They had their son’s family, including three granddaughters (2, 7, 9) from Nairobi home for Christmas, the first time they’ve been home during Christmas in about eight years. Just two days later Mick celebrated his 80th birthday with about 47 nieces, nephews and other family members. Last May, Alice’s grandson, Will, graduated from college and then in August the oldest granddaughter, Kelly (25), was married. The reception was in a 100-year-old barn near Erie, PA, that she and her daughter, Leslie, made into a virtual fairyland.
My own granddaughter, Samantha (25), was also married last year in a beautiful setting in Northern Ontario. She and her husband reside in a little town in Saskatchewan, CA, where she teaches grades six, seven and eight. It is hard to believe that we have grandchildren getting married!
Meg Acosta Martin is still working full-time running the library for a tax law firm in NYC. Her big news is that her eldest granddaughter, Elisa Nolasco, is graduating from the American School in Madrid in June and coming to study at NYU in the fall. Mary Anne Browne Lyons has continued her volunteerism as a director with the East Hampton Ladies Organization, where the volunteers work for the general welfare of the village of East Hampton and vicinity. Like so many of us, grandchildren are a big part of her life. She “finds it hard to believe, though, that we are now old, or at least what was considered old when we were the age of our grandchildren.” Maybe, she says, we are not old but have just reached a very mature age bracket.
Ever-busy Eniko Molnar Basa attended a conference in St. Catherine’s, Ontario, for the Congress of Humanities and Social Sciences and another conference at University of Florida for the American Hungarian Educators Association. She serves as the executive director of the association and enjoys working with the university, the local community, and the Hungarian consul. On her return trip home to Maryland, Eniko stopped in Chapel Hill to donate some books to the university library on Hungarian history and folklore; she is very happy the library is eager for more materials written in Hungarian. Eniko looks forward to continued contacts with UNC, her graduate alma mater. In recent years Eniko has served as a guide for visiting young Hungarian professionals, here in the US on internships, to places of interest in the DC-area. “It has been a good way to keep up with young people as well as learn what is going on in Hungary and Europe.” Congratulations to Eniko whose work has been recognized by the Hungarian American Coalition. A well-deserved honor, indeed. She looks forward to reading about Trinity and all of us from that very meaningful period of our lives.
From my desk, I continue to look forward to hearing from all of you and thank you for your support over these last 25 years. Till next year and with all good wishes for a happy, healthy 2015, and much love,
Joan Littley Clark