1967 Class Notes for 2018
Our Golden Jubilee was a rousing success! Antonia Daily, who couldn’t be with us (and who is recently retired and still adjusting) asked if I would summarize it. In brief: chaos, cocktails, chatter of all kinds. Because there were so many of us, it is well-nigh impossible to recount the different groups, conversations, laughs, dances. But I must mention our class photo from the Jubilee luncheon, and our subsequent Well Sing. Since we were the 50th class, our photo was taken first. And then we adjourned to O’Connor, practiced for a few minutes, re-elected “The Susans” – Doherty and Numrich – to chair the 55th Reunion, and took our places on the first and second floors. Led by our Belles Deidre Ryan Menoyo and Martha Moynahan McMahon, along with songster Mary Ann Datillo Gaul, we sang the old beloved songs – The Marching Song, “Don’t Forget,” “Today, While the Blossom Still Clings to the Vine,” and many more. If there was a dry eye in the house, I didn’t see it. I sure didn’t have it. Looking around and down from the second floor, it was a perfect day and a perfect way to “Try to Remember,” which we did.
Thanks to Susan Numrich, the Saturday night party at the Washington Court Hotel was spectacular! Great food, terrific DJs, screams of laughter and, at the end, “The Smoker Song.” Those of us gathered to sing it were deep in dreams of all of you.
On Sunday morning, some of us went to TC for breakfast; others went their various ways. One of our number (you know who you are, Deirdre) said that in her wildest imagination she could not have conjured up a more perfect 50th Reunion. Many of you said the same in your answers to my pleas for news. True, all true.
And now, in no particular order but with deep appreciation to my respondents, the news since then.
Marianna Law Merritt, for whom the 50th was her first Reunion, is already planning for the next one and much enjoyed spending time with two of her roommates, Karen McLinden Hickman and Janie Martini-Bowers. Marianna’s “weekday companion,” her wonderful grandson, is now in kindergarten, and they enjoy their walks to and fro. Marianna has joined a daytime Bible study group and found some new friends in her (and our, I guess) age group. Another newbie, actually a double newbie since we haven’t heard from her in 45+ years, joined us at Reunion. Kathryn Cross, who was found by Susan Doherty Russell after an extensive investigation, joined us and reconnected as if the “re” had no meaning. She and her roommate Ann Blyberg and loads of others chattered as if it was yesterday. Kathryn is living in Colorado helping with “the littles” reading, and wondering what she wants to be when she grows up! Janice Fisher Long first stated “I have nothing to report which is GOOD.” Upon my commiserating with her, she said I had misconstrued (me????) her, that she meant that all was good; life on an even keel, books to read, movies and plays to see, music to hear and wine to appreciate, and that she does all of the above! Anne Maher Teddlie reports that she and Don are fine, “aside from the normal ills of being 72.” They are travelling frequently and continuing their volunteer works.
Martha Smith Butler loves our “community of fellowship,” and calls her grandchildren “the delight of my retirement.” Phoenix had the hottest winter in memory. Send some here, Marty, please! As for Carol Dwyer Simmons, time spent with her four-year-old granddaughter is “great but tiring.” She and four siblings and families held a wonderful reunion, and in August, Carol and her sister Maureen took their annual trip – this time to Venice. Kathy Lamb OʼHara, still searching for normal, is doing very special volunteer work for CASA. She is a Court Appointed Special Advocate and is assigned to be a friend to a child in the foster care system. Speaking of volunteering, Susan Doherty Russell was a volunteer driver at a Chris Evert Charity Tennis event, and her passengers were the Pointer Sisters. Sue and Melinda are happy and healthy, and Sue has expanded volunteering to a local soup kitchen. She is, she says “on a first name basis with all the homeless here in town!” Gael Canaugh Finan and husband Bernie are now residents of a 55-and-older community which they like very much. Gael is giving time to St. Vincent DePaul selling used furniture, which she likes because the proceeds stay local.
Joanita Gonsalves Birkmeyer celebrated 50 years of marriage just before Reunion, and delights in her three grandchildren: Julian, Vesper and Winona. Trish Clark Seifert says she has nothing to report, except that they went to Falling Water. I know that’s less than true, because Trish hosted a lovely dinner for me at her house when I went down to VA for Genie Flahieʼs sonʼs wedding reception. Trish, Trish McGarraghy Bowman, Sue Numrich, Diane LeRoux Arnold, Kathy Seubert Heberg and I shared a grand evening of Chinese food and conversation. As for Genie, she flew off to Brazil for son George’s marriage to the lovely Gabi, then hosted a USA reception for the bride and groom, which was one of the happiest events I have ever attended. Trish Bowman is looking forward to her daughter Carolyn’s June wedding, and feels fortunate to have her sisters, children and grandchildren nearby, allowing for lots of family gatherings.
Fifty-some years ago, when the fates squeezed Ann Donnelly Malinowski, Mary Haggerty Korey and Jane Herlihy Dee into a triple, who could have imagined that both Ann and Jane would have grandchildren living in Hoboken! But Ann doesn’t want Mary to feel left out because her “grands” are in CA. Mary sends greetings to all and hopes to see as many as possible in Cape May. Janie’s year was tough after the loss of her husband, but she also had the joy of welcoming two new granddaughters. As for Barbara Hauck Crowe, determining she has too much “stuff,” she is involved in what she calls a bout of “Swedish Death Cleaning.” In keeping with the nationalistic nature of her report, Barb had her DNA tested. Like the guy in the commercial, she is not German! She is Irish! Welcome to the club, Barb! Mary McGee and husband Jack Lee enjoy seeing their grandson Adrian once or twice a week. Mary sent a photo of her and her nephew, who graduated from Trinity in 2017 with his MA in education, 50 years after our commencement! Mary says that, while he is not the first third-generation TC grad, he is the very first male!
As for Barbara Oliver Reynolds (DNA test, anyone?), her cruise to Scandinavia and returning to Iceland after 46 years allowed her to compare the 36 degree temperature in Iceland with the 10 below wind chills in Ohio. Muggsy Ernst Mason sends sincere thanks to all the Golds who reached out to her with notes and phone calls when her husband Peter died. Muggs made a September visit to Little Silver and a good time was had by all, and I will be going up to see her in VT in a month or so. Muggsy received a great Christmas present from Kate Clair Freelandand husband Ted, who sent her ticket to Oakland for a good long visit. Kate herself reports that she has lessened her work week to three days, but still keeps hold of seven days of worry. She and Ted, while dealing with home improvements, traveled – Africa twice, Switzerland, Sun Valley Writersʼ Conference.Carol Moss Ryan writes from Maui (oh, how sad!) that her motto while there is “beach/read/eat.” Doesn’t that sound grand? Carol and Kevin are first-time grandparents. They will celebrate 40 years of marriage with a trip to Spain this spring. Kathy Rockwell Lawrence is taking a year off from adjuncting at CUNY and, while she misses teaching, loves the time she’s spending at The Writers’ Room on Astor Place. She and Andy will celebrate their 50th in June and love spending time with “the youth of tomorrow,” Blaise (5) and Arden Hawk (almost 1). Vicky Pundsack Reynolds, retired from U of Cincinnati, is working on a campaign for the DePaul Cristo Rey High School for low income city students. (Ann Donnelly Malinowski also gives time to Cristo Rey.) Dian Callaghan Reynolds and husband Tom have been taking classes through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute of Denver University. They are planning a Midwest trip in May to visit baseball parks in Chicago, Minneapolis, Milwaukee and Cincinnati or Kansas City, making their major league total 20 out of 30 parks!
According to Marie Calcara Murphy, while others are travelling to exotic places, she is still heading to the office every day, when not writing and presenting at conferences. She and Jack, who has cut back his work load and is enjoying “time affluence,” will be making a pilgrimage to the churches and monasteries in France and Switzerland this summer to celebrate their 50 years of marriage. Marie says that grandchildren are “the excellent reason for not strangling our own children when they were teenagers.” Mary Ellen Brady Jensen has sent a photo of her youngest “reason for not strangling our own children.” Yvonne Godoy Ramos was on her way to Kansas City and thence FL when she wrote – two complete wardrobes in one suitcase! As for Rosemary Scotti Foster, it was what she calls a “quiet year,” with only two cruises and no new grandchildren to join her and Perry’s six who range in age from 13 to 2.
Linda Suit Thompson, still caring for her non-English-speaking mother-in-law, recommends Confessions of an Imperfect Caregiver by Bobbi Carducci for some great coping methods, among which glasses of wine figure prominently. Similarly, Charli Miller Sugihara works hard to maintain a positive mindset.
Maria Loli Alvarez-Murray is back from her sojourn in China. She relates that Christmas there is almost non-existent, which, when you think of it, sort of makes sense. She is off to the DR shortly, and will probably return in May. Enid Galliers, who says she has nothing much to say this year, traveled to GA in June, then to St. Petersburg for a week in September, and then to the Caribbean on a week-long cruise (she held a sloth!) and then to Palm City, FL. I wonder what Enid would consider an eventful year? Perhaps one like Ginny Allen’s. Ginny writes from Thailand, from whence she moves on to the Philippines for a visit for the 50th reunion of the high school class she taught there. In May, she’s off to Australia and may do a safari this coming September. Last fall she spent three weeks in India and Bhutan. In between, actually right after Reunion, Ginny, no stranger to cardiac cath-ing, had another stent put in, which is why she restrained her dancing at our Saturday night event. If she happens to be around, Ginny will come to Campus on the Cape on August 23.
From SC, Henriettta Carriere Hight is still lifelong learning through art classes and the travel bug sent her off to Munich and Prague. She and Jon will be coming north for Henri’s various reunions, and she hopes to see many, many of us in Cape May. Sue Numrich, resting after the well-deserved laurels vested upon her at Reunion, went off to Florence where she paid homage to Sienna, Assisi, wine and cheese. At the Uffizi, she was enthralled by Michelangelo’s uncompleted gallery of slaves and so much more. After an appropriately Italian cooking lesson, Sue returned home and had a total shoulder replacement. Then she had a car repair and came home with four new tires and a rescue dog named Miles. May both your pup and your tires, not to mention your shoulder, wear well, Sue. Down in sunny FL, Dave and Kathleen Flood Renton spent Christmas with children and grandchildren, minus the Boston offspring who, four days after Christmas, welcomed the Rentons’ 11th grandchild. A splendid time was had by all, and Kathy is enjoying life every day. Summer will bring back many of the Christmas celebrants, and maybe #11, as well! Our CA correspondent Kathleen Courtney reports that she and Jon traveled from Ireland where they attended her grand-nephew’s christening, to Amsterdam, St. Petersburg and Moscow, ending up in Athens for a rendezvous with 20 members of the Bardis clan. But Kathleen says that meetings with classmates were “even better.” In November they went to Portland for the wedding of Jane Bailey Braunger’s son Matt. Jane, you will recall, was, with Louise Smith, the co-writer of “Thunder Hail.” Mary Connelly LaBarre’s husband Jerry was the officiant at the wedding and Kathleen had the opportunity to visit Mary at the care facility where she lives. Mary is an “unbelievable spirit, accepting her condition and loving to talk about the past at TC and with her family. Her address: Marie Rose Center at Mary’s Woods, Caritas Room 105, 17360 Holy Names Drive, Lake Oswego, OR 97034. Kathleen also dined with Kathleen Lavin Mague and Keating Vogel and husband. Keating will be “on site” for the birth of her first grandchild in Singapore. Kathleen is winding down her company and remains active in community advocacy, the Greek community and St. Dominic’s.
Also from CA, June OʼBrien Hurtgen has all three sons living locally and they get together almost weekly. Only grandchild Annabelle is almost five, and a true delight. June reads and plays bridge and is missing her two darling dogs who died last year. From our classmate Lynda Murphy, who lost her husband Jon Boisclair in 2014, comes the news that her daughter Alexandra Marie is a JD MBA working for UBS Wealth Management and her son Pierce is CEO of CARVOODOO, a start-up on-demand car service. Lynda, still practicing law, splits her time between DC, Palm Beach and Chateauneuf de Gadagne. Another of our freshman Golds, Sharon Volovski Sullivan, stayed on in DC to tour after Reunion, and walked so much in the heat that she wound up with plantar fasciitis/tarsal tendonitis, which took five months of physical therapy to clear up. Ah, Sharon! Laurie Casey Alkidis has gotten together with Kathleen Brennan Kelly, who lives about 45 minutes from her. Laurie also traveled to Cyprus where the whole family of 8 adults and 8 children went octopus fishing, parasailing and mosaic viewing. Laurie continues her work for the Assistance League, a national organization for clothing, feeding and supporting children and women at risk. Laurie says that Reunion made her realize what “a remarkable group of women we were at Trinity: bright, adventurous and ready to change the world. Perhaps,” she adds, “we did accomplish the latter in some fashion?”
A Golden first! A response from Kater Nicholson Pendergast! Now don’t faint! Kater will be, as of the end of December, fully retired from Northeastern University after a 47-year career. She is, she says, entering “Phase III” of life, and among other pursuits, is greatly enjoying ladies’ lunches, which are most fortifying. Kater and Ed took a road trip through five southern states visiting several of his kids and grandchildren, and, to prepare for more adventures, Kater has taken up yoga and engaged a trainer. She urges all Golds and friends-of-Golds to come to Campus on the Cape on August 23. It is always a delight. And she plans to see us all in Cape May. Liana Fiol-Matta, writes sadly that her Puerto Rico is still in dire shape, with many houses gone or simply unusable. She and her husband Hamid visited a mountain region where friends have second homes – 30% of the trees are gone. That said, her family, close and extended, is all well and safe and her grandson will be attending Wharton in September.
As for me, I had a rough winter health-wise, but am emerging from my lousy cocoon and eagerly awaiting spring. I went to London with Pete last July, Punta Cana, DR, in February (unfortunately missing Maria Loli by about a month) and am going up to VT to see Muggsy next month. June (be warned, Jo) we will be in Chicago. All too infrequently, I see Ann Donnelly Malinowski, Gael Cavanaugh Finan, Janie Herlihy Dee, occasionally Ellen Dempsey Feeley-Neches and Peggy Harrington MacNeal ’66, who has recently moved to my area. Always a joy. And, in advance, let me apologize for any errors, misquotes, omissions, commissions and near occasions of sin contained in this narrative.
In closing, I want to pass on some thoughts from our own Regina McGranery. “There is no doubt that an ‘attitude of gratitude’ lifts our spirits. Society encourages us to [dwell on] something bad happening which, in context, we did not deserve. Long ago, I decided to reflect when something good happens which, in context, I did not deserve. … Often good things appear to happen ‘out of the blue’ and we need to pay attention, to make these experiences color our day and our attitude toward our lives.” Let’s listen, my friends, and do it. Thanks, Regina.
PS: Cape May, September 25-28.
Very much love,
Boodie Christian Clark
booinls@verizon.net