1965 Class Notes for 2015
Many of you wrote about how much you enjoyed renewing friendships at our 50th Reunion last May. Thanks to Maribeth Flynn, Leila Gonzalez Sullivan, Jane Raymond Smith, Marie-Jeanne Marcouyeux Gwertzman, for organizing it and to Jane Raymond Smith, Kathy Kennedy Chapman, Melanie Martinelli Gajarsa, and Dorothy Ryan Siden for leading us to surpass our class gift goal of $100,000. Several of you commented on wanting to support Trinity’s current mission of educating lower income women. Over 50 class members were able to attend all or part of Reunion.
People started to gather informally at the Washington Court Hotel on Friday afternoon and some attended afternoon talks at Trinity and then a reception buffet. Then it was back to the hotel where additional time to get reacquainted was enjoyed by many. Saturday was the luncheon for all classes at which we were presented with our Trinity Golden Jubilee medals and photographed as a group. During our class meeting we had a memorial for the eleven deceased members of the class where each one was remembered individually.
Mass followed in the chapel celebrated by Sr. Seton Cuneen’s brother, Sean. The class party followed at the hotel in the evening. Dan and Lee Rogers Matyola and Mickey (Marilyn to the world outside Trinity) Demorest had put together a slide show of photos from our Trinity years which played continuously during the class party. Their roomie, Cappy Finn Smith, brought her usual humor. She has recently moved to a condo in Lowell, MA, following husband Gene’s death a year ago. Lee & Dan celebrated the 50th anniversary of their elopement during reunion. They had just returned from a trip to Japan and China.
Hazel Farrell Murray and Matthew came to the luncheon but missed the other events due to the conflict with Matthew’s Georgetown Reunion. Eileen O’Donnell Jacxsens enjoyed seeing people at the luncheon and the memorial. Her husband Peter joined us for the Mass.
Gunner and Margaret Hammann Way came from Wichita, KS where Margaret is still working part-time for a law firm. They combined it with one of their visits to her mother in NJ. Afterward they enjoyed a visit at home with Christine McHale DiBenedetto and Vincent who were on their way from their winter home in Hawaii to a family vacation in Provincetown, MA. Margaret’s one son and grandchildren live in Coeur D’Alene, ID and the other in Kansas City. Jane Raymond Smith & Joe are enjoying time with their nearby grandchildren and planned to take an African Photography Safari.
Terrel Funk Gagermeier asks for prayers for her grandson’s recovery from a fractured skull and brain injury. She had intended to come to Reunion but cancelled due to his accident which occurred shortly before the birth of a younger sibling. Nana Terrel was needed to help. She did get a firsthand report from Paula Pratt Pomainville who stopped on her way home to see Terrel and deliver greetings from Reunion attendees. Paula and Ruth Chojnackiare two reunion attendees who left Trinity before graduation but still feel a special attachment to the class. Ruth taught a Peace, Justice and Conflict Studies course at DePaul University and planned to teach a new course on poverty ethics in the fall. She also teaches 10-week theology modules for the Chicago Spanish-speaking diaconate formation program. Her husband Cary coordinates the math center at Truman College. They planned to return to Penobscot Bay, ME, and perhaps a bit of Quebec later in the summer for vacation, followed by multi-generational Chojnacki family reunions soon thereafter.
Marion Patrizio reported that, although too far away to attend, she enjoyed reading about reunion and the photos that were posted and thinks we are aging graciously. Portia Saponaro Redfield and Itti Hartigan Furlong were unable to come due to family deaths. Health issues prevented Cis Keller Sperling and Mary Harrington Post from coming. Kathy Mullin Mullinix was with her daughter-in-law who died a few weeks later. Ellen Corge Umlauf is in nursing home after a serious stroke a few years ago. We were sorry to miss seeing all who could not come for whatever reason.
Sr. Seton retired last year from Gonzaga and traveled to Nemours for a retreat celebrating her Jubilee with the SNDs. Sr. Ann Gormley ’45 (Sr. Frances while we were at Trinity) is also accompanied Seton. She and Sister Margaret and two other members of the class of 1945 also attended the reunion luncheon.
Anne Hunter Ganley and her husband hosted Tere Jover Tibbetts for Tere’s first reunion, coming from S. Lake Tahoe. She told us about arriving from Cuba and being sent to Trinity by her father, determined that she would get an education. She also related how after a few years teaching and a trip out west she decided to quit her job and move out west, convincing a few more teachers at her school to do the same. Also attending were Phil and Aldonna Picardi Noto; Aldonna was in the midst of chemo but feeling good and doing well. Phil was as gracious yet humorous as ever. A new grandson arrived after reunion.
Tom and Karen Jesatko Kenyon, Alex and Tina DePaulo Ross, Nina Scoma Jannik, Ginny Hamill, and Tina Scarcia Pugliese, who is still operating her PR business in Florida also attended. Mary Ann Fintz Alt, Aileen Armstrong Murck, Kathy Schiltz McDaniels, Cathy Norton McRae, Cecily O’Donovan Gargaro, and Kathy Amend Collins all came together. Sandra Skwirut Jaszek and Jenny Hart Lavail roomed together again for reunion. Jenny & husband Russ have taken up sailing. Pat Moylan Capozzi had Emma Portuondo Eaton and Blanche Cummings as house guests during reunion.
Dick and Kathy Kennedy Chapman , Liz Meunier Landis and Kathy Murray Matthews, Cora Glassmeyer Ogle, Ann Carroll Nealon and Louise Cleary Lintz also came in great humor. Maribeth Nason made a speed trip to reunion. She took the train from Boston early on Saturday, came to the luncheon and party and then returned overnight. Sheila Tully Hamilton and her husband Perry also added to the good cheer. Eileen Cooney kept us amused with her stories.
Art & Melanie Martinelli Gajarsa are enjoying new friends and activities in NH. Flo Robinson Ford is still on her farm in Vermont. I learned that she is only known as Flo with Trinity friends. Her family called her Dover, starting with little brother’s mispronunciation of “sister.”
Maribeth Flynn took the lead in planning the Reunion. She still is involved with the Brooklyn Museum. After reunion she and Tom took a trip to Amsterdam. Marie-Jeanne Marcouyeux Gwertzman led the planning for the memorials and Mass arrangements. She is still doing parish religious education in NY.
Marianne Novy continues teaching at Pitt and is pondering when to retire. She brought a collection of old Trinity publications to share. Leila Gonzalez Sullivan and Charlie had just had their new vacation home on Long Beach Island completed. Their prior one was destroyed by super storm Sandy. Mary Gillen McElroy and her husband finally got into their new home in VA last spring. Mary Reinhard Webster and Gary moved into a retirement community in Highland Farms after living in a suites hotel for several months. They also celebrated 50 years of marriage last June, as did Tom and Martha Moon Pavlick, and Anne Schroeter Mangone and Bob. Anne has taken up Master Gardening. Martha’s eldest son, formerly a D.C. contract lawyer, is now in the seminary studying for the diocese of Arlington, VA. He lives right down the street from Trinity. Tom and Martha celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with three days in NYC and then with a surprise cook-out/pool party at the home of their second son with all five children, their four spouses, and 16 grandchildren present.
Judy Szalontay Grosch expressed an interest in photos of reunion and reported that she is currently very involved with Syrian families in Germany, helping with school work, doctor’s appointments, etc. Hedy St Denis Glenn and her sister Shari Lama ’66 have been spending a lot of time in FL with their mother who is doing well at 102. Hedy got to do some business travel last November to Moldova, as an international election observer (one of 18 Americans in a group of 200 observers) sent by OSCE (Org. for Security & Cooperation in Europe) and ODIHR (Office of Democratic Institutions & Human Rights). She has also gone to Azerbaijan, Armenia and Ukraine with this group.
Judy Sugimoto Sykes called from Hawaii to catch me up on her extensive international travels which included Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Japan. She is part of the International Federation of Real Estate Professionals and their meeting last September was hosted in Hawaii. She indicated that Hawaii is currently a good market. Her mother is now living in a care home in Pearl City which takes a good bit of time to reach due to Oahu’s lack of mass transit. She is still enjoying her work and believes that age is how you feel.
I also enjoyed spending time with friends at the Reunion and wish even more of you could have come. It’s hard to convey the closeness experienced in writing about reunion. Several people suggested trying to have local mini-reunions in between those held at Trinity. I hope you’ll share them with your class scribe. Best wishes for a happy and healthy 2016!
Robin Spence Costa