1965 Class Notes for 2018
I was pleased to hear from several classmates again after a break since our last Reunion, but was sad to hear from Chuck Johnson that Blanche Coughlin Johnson passed away. Blanche wrote six cookbooks and was his business partner and editor of their publishing company, Wilderness Adventures Press. She was also an avid bird and big game hunter and fly fisher. We also lost Pastor Jake Kopmeier, whom we knew as Anne Kopmeier, within the last year.
Happier news was received from Martha Moon Pavlick who with her husband took a nine-day pilgrimage through England and Wales following in the footsteps of the English martyrs, including an ancestor of hers, as well as the oratories of Blessed John Henry Newman. She and Tom expect their first great-grandchild and 20th grandchild later this year. She still is active in her church and sings in the funeral choir. Gardening, reading and the piano are also favorite activities.
Gary and Mary Reinhard Webster have settled into life at Wind Crest, a senior independent-living community of about 1,300 residents in Highlands Ranch, CO. She and Gary are active in a few of the many groups there, as well as church and community organizations. Gary is a Denver International Airport Ambassador, and dressed in a bright plaid vest and a black cowboy hat, he provides information and assistance to travelers. Last summer’s eclipse was one of the amazing events of the year for them. They have planned trips in 2018 to the Panama Canal and the South Pacific.
Leila Gonzalez Sullivan got to take her dream trip to the Galapagos Islands and is now planning a river cruise on the Nile, another dream. She is in the second year of work as director of research for a National Science Foundation grant to investigate the STEM programs in historically black colleges and universities. She traveled all over the south and met some wonderful leaders and students. Analyzing thousands of lines of transcribed interviews, along with nudging a few students to finish their dissertations keeps her busy.
Margaret Hammann Way and Gunnar spent two weeks in England, France, Scotland and Ireland with their children and grandchildren last summer, and this year went on a 10-day driving trip to UT via NM and AZ that included visits to national parks. Son Christopher and family live in Coeur D’Alene, ID, which Margaret describes as beautiful. Their other son is closer in Kansas City. Margaret’s mother passed away in 2016 at age 98.
Sr. Seton Cunneen’s brother, Monsignor Sean Cunneen, passed away in March of this year. Ann Schroeter Mangone’s husband, Bob, and one of her sisters both passed away in the last quarter of 2017. She indicated that her daughters have been wonderful during this time and in February she got together with her London daughter, traveling to India and the Maldives, a very interesting trip.
Hedy St. Denis Glenn went to Macedonia twice in Oct.-Nov. as an international election observer for municipal elections and went to VT in August for a Peace Corps reunion. Her husband Wayne has had his mobiles displayed at the Smithsonian (Ripley Gallery and Hirshhorn Museum) and elsewhere. Her sister Shari Lama ʼ66 moved to two miles from them in Reston, VA.
Mary Ann Maloney Murphy left Chevy Chase and her friends and moved to CA in 2005 to be near her son, taking a big leap into the unknown. She was able to use her MSW from Smith to find a job, from which she retired in August 2016. She loves sleeping in late and doing what she feels like doing after so many years of pushing herself. She spent time in Bulgaria in 1991 while her former husband was teaching law on a Fulbright fellowship there and learned how awful Communism is in terms of destroying trust between people since everyone was afraid of being reported to the KGB. She is thankful to Trinity for so many blessings.
Terrel Funk Gagermeier and Dave are still in their house where they can host sleepovers for their four grandchildren and enjoy the large porch in summer. Their grandson Ben is improving after the head injury he suffered in 2015. During Lent, Terrel was reading a book on thankfulness rather than worry.
Jane Raymond Smith and Joe are in the process of rebuilding their home of 39 years after losing pretty much everything in it to the Houston floods of 2017. They hope to spend a number of years in it before making another move. The idea is to modernize it so that it will be easier to sell when they are ready. They are living in a furnished apartment, which is working out well and work is proceeding. She is still working out, taking classes, participating in two book clubs and staying as busy as she wants.
Hazel Farrell Murray is still enjoying painting, museums and volunteer teaching at a camp in CO for children facing cancer, epilepsy, autoimmune disease or transplants. She looks forward to visiting her 3 grandchildren in San Francisco. She is also pleased to be able to spend time with Kathleen Amend Collins and Margaret (Cis) Keller Sperling when in NY. Her daughter Kathryn has a few Aillea stores, which sell toxin-free cosmetics. Hazel has done some of the artwork for her.
Marian Patrizio is enjoying being a grandmother and having her son and his partner in Auckland; they are expecting a boy to join his sister in May. Marian is still teaching English as a second language to UN Quota refugees. She is pleased that New Zealand has elected a government more aligned with economic and environmental concerns since NZ needs to look at the effects of corporate dairying on its waterways. She returns home to see family annually and follows developments in the states. She is hopeful that the questioning and push back that is developing will continue to create a force against the current dismaying mess. For her, the elephant in the room is campaign funding by large corporations who write the agenda for members of Congress. Elections in NZ are within a specified time frame of months, not years, and there are very strong public disclosure regulations around funding which makes such a difference.
Susan Walker Wilson is still working full time teaching human anatomy and physiology at a CA community college. She loves her work and has no retirement incentives. She had three joint replacements in the past four years, both knees and a hip. Her non-work passion is her garden, where she spends any free hours on weekends pruning, weeding, and planting. Pat Cawunder successfully completed chemotherapy for lymphoma, which was to be followed by radiation to prevent its recurrence. She wrote that the other parts of her life were doing well.
Sheila Tully Hamilton shares that she and her husband Perry moved to San Diego to be closer to their son, Nicholas.
Marianne Novy retired from Pitt in August 2016, after teaching there since 1971. Since retiring she finished and published another book, “Shakespeare and Feminist Theory” (Bloomsbury) and an article, “Transcultural Adoption Literature for Pediatricians and Parents,” to appear in a journal, “Adoption and Culture,” published by Ohio State University Press in cooperation with the Alliance for the Study of Adoption and Culture, which she helped to start about 20 years ago. She also hopes to do some more writing about recent adoption memoirs and novels, and is trying to educate about adoption in other ways. She has also been working with church-related groups to arrange panel discussions of issues ranging from race to fracking. Her husband David Carrier has recently published a book about art galleries and is working on another one about Naples, Italy.
Dominic and I moved to Foulkeways, a continuing care retirement community, in December and are adjusting happily to the change. We recently spent a weekend in NYC with all three of our sons and spouses and four grandsons, a real treat. In May, we’re traveling to northern Spain as well as Porto, Portugal, and some of France near the Pyrenees, finishing in Barcelona.
I look forward to hearing more news from classmates on the Trinity website.
Robin Spence Costa