1966 Class Notes for 2014-2015

Pat Aiken-O’Neill is a first responder with news of her first winter in Naples, FL, and finding “peace and well-being.” She traveled to France for a friend’s 70th, “hard to believe/accept this milestone.” Tessa Bielecki continues her life’s work of retreats, writing and preaching from the hermitages in Crestone, CO. In complete contrast, Chris Donovan volunteers in NYC as part of Community Emergency Response Team and Office of Emergency Management, dealing with storms, trees, sanitation and other issues of city life. Chris enjoyed a fascinating trip through the west and southeast Silk Road of China.

Joan Gordon Waks and boyfriend are off to China with a cruise on the Yangtze River. Joan retired from her family law practice and now does guardianship cases for adult protection services in Passaic County, NJ. As part of a European cruise in 2012 she attended the canonization of seven saints in Rome. More travels to London, Paris and a Danube cruise were on the itinerary. Carol Frenzel Cradock and husband (both retired) traveled to Egypt (“loved the pyramids”), Israel, Cyprus and Turkey. Russia is next. “Entranced by WWI history,” they also visited the battlefields of Belgium. That number 70 popped up again: Carol reminded everyone to have plenty of cake and ice cream and a glass of wine.

Nancy Clemens Rimkus and Bob cruised through the Panama Canal and up the west coast of Mexico. Son David is now teaching in FL. Nancy has been “remodeling, entertaining guests and wishing the world was more peaceful.”

Eileen “Timmy” Davis mentions a lovely shopping complex at Michigan and Monroe near the Brookland Metro complete with Barnes and Noble, an outdoor cafe and luxury condos. She volunteers to find homes for stray cats in various DC neighborhoods. Anita Brady O’Sullivan helped Claire Pilliod Brown celebrate her 70th in Tuscany.

Virginia Lopez Begg has become interested in genealogy and family history. Son Ian and Kimberly are expecting number five; Eric and Caroline and children are in CA. Grandchildren and world politics give us pause to agree with Virginia who says she is a “great believer in prayer, so prayer is what I do.”

We send prayers to Evie Sweeney Naranjo whose husband, Milo, died suddenly on April 3rd. He and Evie had enjoyed a vacation in St. Kitts and she had participated in a walking convention in Orlando just prior to his death.

Retirement news arrived for several classmates. Aikya Param (Eunice Diehl) in Oakland, CA, retired from medical research at Kaiser Permanente. She “may need to retire” from her volunteer work with two prison ministries and a monthly newsletter. She completed her first Sketchbook Skool online class. Jane Dammen McAuliffe retired from Bryn Mawr and began a year-long residency at the Library of Congress to finish her book on the Qur’an. She has moved to Georgetown and visits daughter Meg in Rome. Carol Tobin has retired and sold her house in Chapel Hill to live full-time in Charlotte, NC, with her husband. Fortunately the closing was not postponed by a tree falling on the house!

Helen Dudzinski Schorr in Plainwell, MI, enjoys visits from daughters and grandchildren, exercising with water aerobics and Pilates and vacationing in FL and the Bahamas.

Jeanne Schuerholz Rosenwald and Bob have moved to the historic area of Savannah and love its activities and restaurants. Jeanne writes that a distant cousin of Bob’s created the Julius Rosenwald Fund for African-American students, which established over 5,000 schools in the South. Jeanne and Bob helped restore one in VA.

Irene Ryan Shaw summers on Long Island with family nearby. Irene received the Patrick Healy Medal from Georgetown for non-alumni service and support in April in Miami Beach with a great gathering of friends and family. Irene sees Kathy Mahon Doyle and Cathie Black.

Joe and I traveled to Sarasota, FL, this winter and then enjoyed his 50th reunion at Notre Dame. The university scheduled a wonderful homecoming experience for the alumni. Ten grandchildren spread across Alexandria, VA, Rumson, NJ, and Long Island entertain us with birthdays and activities. I continue to volunteer at our parish school.

I want to say “you’re welcome” to you classmates, who thanked me for this annual endeavor.

I close with a line from Chris Donovan: “Thinking of you and classmates and hope we are celebrating our youth while adventuring into unknown ideas and explorations, in depth and/or breadth. I am thinking about choices and what makes sense.”

Seventy is just a number; 1966 is what defined us.

Sincerely,

Valerie Quandt Sperber