1974 Class Notes for 2014-2015
Elise Allan Tucci responded quickly with a hope to hear great stories and see some photos from Reunion. Sadly, we learned of the death of Elise Tucci just prior to going to print. She still teaches pre-kindergarten at the Country Day School of the Sacred Heart in Bryn Mawr, PA, and is a grandmother of two beautiful girls, Anna Elizabeth and Juliette Elise, her daughter’s children. Her son Matthew is engaged to be married June 2015. Son Brian works for Google in San Francisco and son John works for Integrity Staffing Agency, which staffs Amazon all over the country. She sees Marti Kane Rodgers,her sisterHelen, Suzy Cunningham Hird, Kathie Scattergood Moser in Philadelphia, Susie Spaeth Maloy in Greenwich, CT, and Liz Glassmeyer once last year when she came from Cincinnati to Philly for a visit.
Suzanne White Days is planning to retire in the next few months and has bought a home in “The Villages” in FL where she hopes to enjoy her retirement with two Labrador retrievers, Bella and Hanna, and husband. She is still going to Truro this summer for two weeks and Donna Schlegel and her husband, Greg, Pat Fitzpatrick Niles and her husband, Mike, and Pat Pfister and her friend Paul are all planning to come down for a long weekend. Mary Jane Wietsma Gudgeon spent a few days with Suzanne in the spring after visiting her mother and two sons in the states before returning to Rome and Loretta Morris is finally into her new home in Ocean City after it being demolished by Hurricane Sandy.
Mary Jane Weitsma Gudgeon saw Donna Schlegel in June. “Donna was here in Rome overnight as she was leaving on a cruise from Rome the next day. Wish she could have stayed much longer.” Jane also saw Donna in March when she was in the US. Her husband and she spent a fun night with Donna and her husband at their home in CT. She was also able to spend a nice evening with Suzanne Days and her husband in April on that same trip to the US. She continues to live in Rome, Italy, and from what I see on Facebook, has done a lot of traveling lately.
“Good health, good friends, time to do things when we want in the timeframe we want,” is the word from Connie Abrashoff Bentzen. Their adjustment to the empty nest has been relatively easy and the kids are doing great. Husband, Craig, enjoys being retired though Connie is still working at Blackrock and doing some teaching at Duquesne U.
Lollie O’Connell is back working at the Smithsonian, this time as a video conferencer with the South American Art Museum. She writes, “I have had a wonderfully crazy last two years; third child Maggie was married, fourth child Audrey graduated college” and her oldest child, Abby, had the first grandbaby. Lollie’s son, Will, has a lovely girlfriend.
Lollie continues, “I have hung up the camera straps after pursuing my passion for 40-plus years … I did every kind of photography I ever wanted to do, and have taken every image on this Earth that I care to … the only time I pull out a camera is when granddaughter Charlotte Sloane appears.” She is immersed in a great ministry program with her new Episcopalian congregation. Education for Ministry is a four-year program which includes reading most of the Old/New Testaments plus the history of Christianity.
Anne “Nancy” Hill Forella reported that her younger daughter Natalie married a young man from Charlotte last October. Both are mechanical engineer graduates from VA Tech. She has two grandchildren, a boy (1) and a girl (3). “Husband Peter and I have been enjoying life: seeing our grandkids, friends and boating on the Chesapeake on weekends. We have a couple more years to work before retiring. He is still running his consulting business and I have been teaching the last 14 years in Fairfax County.”
Pat Mizzi is living in Sayville, NY. Recently she and her husband, Paul, were hosts for their third and final daughter’s wedding. Their family now includes three classy sons-in-law as well as three smart and beautiful daughters. It also includes eight grandchildren, four of each flavor. Pat manages her husband’s home-visiting veterinary practice from the lovely home near the water that they purchased from her parents. “Yes, I live in the same house I grew up in and see people I knew in elementary school on a regular basis.” She also helps to promote Girl Scouting in the local area.
Academically, she managed a master’s in psychology at Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland. More recently, she earned Shodon rank in jujitsu and is near Shodan rank in Aikido. Sometimes she teaches martial arts but has no current classes. Paul and she sail in the summer, ski in winter and travel to see kids at various times of the year. “If anyone is out my way on Long Island, NY, stop by and say hi. One of the advantages of a home office is that one is at home a lot and easily findable. I also do Facebook.”
“I am three and a half years from retirement and counting the months,” states Karen Doherty. “My wife and I will retire to our house in Greenport, NY, on the east end of Long Island, and also plan to do a bit of traveling – Italy and the Baltic countries to start.” She would also like to visit the home of her English ancestors, Stratford-Upon-Avon. She had some DNA tests done two years ago, and some of her heritage is newly found. She would like to dive deeply into mapping her family. For now, between work, family and struggling with a health issue, she can’t tackle as many things as deeply as she would like, but finds out little bits that keep her intrigued.
She has also started research for an article on Ed Murphy, a Stonewall veteran and a very complex man. “He was a gay activist in the 1970s and 1980s who had his start in a blackmail ring of closeted homosexual men in government, business and public life in the early 1960s. I knew him personally, although only one side of his life. It was a shock to discover his past.” She is currently head of marketing for Exaclair, Inc., in NY. They import and distribute stationery products from France. It’s hard sailing in a digital world, but luckily for her many people still enjoy writing on good paper.
Jeanne Smith Jardien retired from the Chicago Park District and is now working at her “retirement job” at a 24-hour emergency and specialty veterinary clinic. She enjoys working four days a week and is still very involved with Irish setter rescue. She has a blind rescue dog Sully (4) and a show dog Rogan (2). She started in the show ring one and a half years ago and put a championship on Rogan last December. She is now working on a grand championship. Jeanne sees Anne White a few times a year when she is in town and they get together for dinner. Anne is doing well and living in NY.
Linda Schneider is still working for the division of investment management, chief counsel’s office, in the SEC. She’s been with the agency 37 years this September, and her present black Labrador Seeing Eye dog, Teddy, is squiring her around. She is still in the old family homestead. Both Teddy and she seem to be in good health. Linda’s latest of the nine books – three novels, a poetry collection and four short story collections from Author House – is her autobiography, A Blessed Life that came out in 2012.
It has been a busy couple of years on Capitol Hill for Susan “Fredi” Fournier. They did a renovation of the second floor that included redoing the lighting throughout the house and rebuilding both decks. She had to move out, though luckily her son and daughter-in-law had room and only lived a few blocks away. Her granddaughter was born three weeks later and she and her husband spent many a night walking the floor with a colicky baby. They are expecting the second grandchild, likely another girl, in December. Susan’s younger son is getting married in September in the mountains of CO. When visiting out west, Susan has seen former classmate Michelle Madril, who she has remained close to since she left sophomore year. “As Pat Sullivan Shapiro and I are working on the 45th you will be hearing from us. We want a large turnout for the 45th and even bigger for our 50th.”
Kathy Keyes Hart provided a few details about Reunion. “The Alumnae Luncheon was attended by Suzi Cunningham, Fredi Fournier, Jean Flatley McGuire, Diana Ingoglia Morefield, Lolly O’Connell, Mary O’Connor Barrett,Julie O’Neill, Marti Kane Rodgers, Pat Sullivan Shapiro and Jane Tingley. The Class of 1964, celebrating their 50th, had well over 100 women attending. That’s a goal we should aim for in 10 years! It was fun touring the campus and seeing all the improvements that have been made since we were there. After dinner on Saturday night, a bunch of us met up at Chadwick’s down on K Street in Georgetown, which brought back a lot of old memories.”
Jane Tingley wrote her news after attending Reunion. Her daughter, Sarah, is living and working in Washington and loving the fun city life of DC. Son Henry is in his sophomore year at Davidson College. Jane and I hope to connect next time she comes to Davidson (just north of Charlotte).
Jane shared news of others including a special reunion this past fall at Suzy Cunningham Hird’s home in Phoenixville, PA, when Beth Garrity Ellis flew in from London and Jane drove up from DC. Marti Rodgers joined them for an outdoors walk and they visited Marti’s home, meeting her husband, Michael. Beth’s oldest daughter, Nina, plans to attend a creative writing MFA program in the fall. Beth’s younger daughter, Laure, is completing her junior year at St. Paul’s Girls’ School in London, where she studies Chinese and is beginning to learn Japanese.
Suzy Cunningham Hird has a new financial position that allows her to work from home, which she enjoys. Her younger daughter, Liz, was married in April. Suzy said it was a beautiful and fun wedding. Suzy’s three children live relatively closeby and come home especially to enjoy her fabulous cooking.
Jane says plans are in the works for another mini reunion, which may become a larger group including Marti Rodgers, Julie O’Neill and others from the Reunion group of women. They may head up to Watch Hill to see Beth and/or the Cape to visit Julie O’Neill and Mary O’Connor Barrett. Please let Jane know if anyone would like to join them!
Many of you might have gotten a note from Trinity about classmate M. Patricia Smith who is the solicitor general of the Department of Labor. She was interviewed on ABC. “She has given thousands of coal miners suffering from black lung disease new hope, encouraging them to re-file benefit claims that had been previously denied.” Nice to know we Trinity girls do make a difference!
Andrea Croce Birch shared that she got her 15-year service award from Brenau U. in Gainesville, GA. She finds it hard to believe that she has been dean of the College of Fine Arts and Humanities at Brenau since 1999!
Joan Austin Pellerin continues to be a staff member at the U. of VT. She does a considerable amount of freelance interpreting and runs across another Trinity grad from time to time within her profession. She has an awesome grandson (8) and her youngest daughter (of 6 children) just finished her first year at the National Technological Institute for the Deaf (part of RIT). Joan will spend a significant part of her summer going to regional interpreter conferences around the US (San Diego, Atlanta, greater-Boston). She misses her past roommate of four years, Pat Shea!
“All is well in FL,” writes Bonnie McLean McKinley. She was thrilled to become Nana in February. Her son is doing a fellowship in pediatric pulmonology in Houston. Daughter Lauren is in Atlanta and Caroline is nearby in Clearwater. Husband, Paul, has retired and she is still working, though hopefully for only another year or so.
“With each new job, I think that this will be my last,” says Stephanie Slepicka Shipp. “That was 1997 when I went to the Census Bureau. Since then, I have worked at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Science and Technology Policy Institute (working for the White House science advisors) and now am creating a new lab as a research professor and deputy director of the social and decision analytics laboratory at the VA Bioinformatics Institute at VA Tech in Arlington, VA. We are working in the brave new world of big data and urban analytics to learn about the rhythm of the city to inform policy making.” Her vacations are to St. Augustine, FL, where her older daughter and husband recently relocated from Bergen, Norway, and to San Francisco, CA, to visit her younger daughter. For fun, she and her husband bike, walk, go to Arena Stage, attend Shakespeare theaters and attend Cap’s hockey and Nat’s baseball games. “It is hard to believe that it was 40 years since we graduated from Trinity and now have many happy memories of our time there.”
An email arrived from Kathryn “Katy” Webster, SND, the first in 40 years! Now with the Internet I can get her news on time! She has been a Sister of Notre Dame since 1976. In 1984 she came to Brazil and in 1993, moved from Maranhão to the state of Pará, living on the Transamazon Highway, Centro Nazaré, 95 km from Altamira. She spent 4 years in Itaituba, still on the Transamazon Highway, but very much farther west from where she is now, and three years in Altamira, 140km west of there.
She has been associated with Anapu for the last 20 years. (This was where Sister Dorothy Stang, SND, was assassinated in 2005. At the time she was living in Itaituba and returned in 2006). “The struggle is for life: of the people, the land, the forest and the rivers. We are 80km from the Belo Monte complex, a hydroelectric dam that is being built after 30 years of protest because it is a natural disaster, and the energy it will produce will not benefit the local population and really is not needed.”
Katy lives with three other SNDs, and is waiting for a fourth to come before the end of the year. She works with the pastoral team visiting the communities, holding meetings, walking with the people in their struggle for land, security on the land and preservation of the forests from the loggers, ranchers and mining companies.
They are getting ready for the Ninth Forest Pilgrimage, which was established the year after Sr. Dorothy was killed, as a way to commemorate her life, and struggle, but to make a very clear statement that no one fled, the people are still here and the struggle continues. Check out her Facebook page: Katia Webster for the poster image. “It is a rich and wonderful life, and I am very grateful for the opportunity to live and work among the people of the Transamazon.”
Marti Kane Rogers shared, “We did have a wonderful time at Reunion. It was the perfect weekend weather-wise and our 40-year-old memories were still alive. After dinner, we went up to the fourth floor to check it out. It looks almost exactly the same but the rooms are all singles now.”
The Philly Trinity girls are good. She sees Kathie Scattergood Moser, Elise Allan Tucci and Suzy Cunningham Hird often. She enjoys her four little grandchildren who all live in the area! She is still working full-time as a contractor for IBM since she “retired.”
Kara McGuire Symons wrote that there has been a lot of life transformation for her and husband, Craig, and her children and grandchildren since October 29, 2012, when Hurricane Sandy made a direct hit on the town of Mantoloking, NJ. It was her full-time home with all of her family’s possessions. They evacuated, with what they could pack, to the mainland “but when the ocean broke through to the bay it flooded well into the area where we were. Our home was destroyed, as were most in the town, and the remains had to be demolished. It was an agonizingly slow process to gain access to the property, retrieve anything salvageable and wade through all the processes related to FEMA, state and local government and insurance, while trying to find a place to live.”
A few days after the storm, her sons managed to get to her and her husband, and they relocated to Norwalk, CT, to live with one of them until they could find a place to rent. They started 2013 in a rented, empty condo with no furniture. By fall of 2013 the insurance claims had been paid, the house demolished and the land cleared of debris. Major local, state and federal construction work is either in process or planned, to try to rebuild the infrastructure of the town and rebuild and safeguard the beach. It will be at least another year before any normality returns.
By the end of 2013 they decided that they needed a family home sooner than later and bought a house in Westport, CT. Their youngest son, Justin (29), moved in with them a month later. They now have seven beautiful grandchildren, two of whom have never known how wonderful life at the shore was. They still own the land but have no plans yet to rebuild. Maybe they will see life there someday, or maybe they will all just move on together. “We hope and pray that God takes us all through this continuing transition to a better life.”
Lorie Morris had wanted to come to the Reunion but financial resources have been tight. Her house also was hit by Sandy. She decided to tear it down and put up a modular, which had to be put up on pilings to meet the new FEMA standards (14 steps up). The State has deemed her eligible for a rebuilding grant but she’s not sure how much it will be for at this point. If she doesn’t get enough funds then things are going to be very tight for a while. She’s keeping her fingers and toes crossed and praying real hard! We will too!
Jeannette “Jea” Morgenroth wrote, “For about 10 years before I had to retire (disability due to MS), I worked at U. of Notre Dame Press and freelanced on the side as editor and researcher; I still do some research, editing and writing in music history (my own field) and once in a while in what I suppose would be called ‘politics’ (healthcare reform and advocacy, also race).”
Mary O’Connor Barrett and husband, Peter, recently downsized and now live in downtown Boston. Their daughter Colleen was married last September and lives in Boston as well. Their son Christopher will be married this June in Baltimore and plans to move back from CO some time to also live in Boston. Their son Daniel lives in Hyannis and comes over to see them when they are in Nantucket for the summer.
Mary Thornton Goedde squeezed out a note saying she still lives in St. Louis. “We just returned from a two-week trip to northern Europe, and our travels included St. Petersburg, Russia. It was fantastic. We saw the Hermitage, several castles, took a boat ride on the canals, and rode a hydrofoil to the Petersburg Summer Castle.” Other than a bit of jet lag, they really had a wonderful time.
Responding for the first time since graduation, Jeanne Cox Zepp filled in the gaps. She has lived in Montgomery Village, MD, with husband, Kevin, for the past 30 years. They are empty nesters now, with her two daughters, of whom they are very proud, attending graduate school. Jeanne and her husband both work. She is a director of public relations strategies for a PR firm that specializes in B2B technology. Kevin works in procurement management. In his spare time, he volunteers with the National Parks Service, putting on living history events.
“After years of being a swim mom, room mom, chauffeur and overall problem solver, the pace around the house is decidedly slower, but nice.” She has taken advantage of the opportunity to travel a bit, going to the Virgin Islands, Bahamas and Puerto Rico. She would love to plan a family vacation to Europe before both daughters take up their busy medical practices, but coordinating schedules is a challenge. Wish her luck!
Marianna Dunn was unable to make plans to attend Reunion this year as she and her spouse, Cindy, dealt with the sudden decline of a family member who passed away peacefully in hospice with many prayers and much love on Memorial Day. Marianna and Cindy inherited Jason, a Cavalier King Charles dog, and he is transitioning nicely into their existing dog and cat family. They have had a good year otherwise. They had a wedding ceremony at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church in DC last October which went beyond their expectations. They are blessed to mark 20 years together this year. They co-chaired a successful 160th gala fundraiser for various St. Alban’s parish ministries this spring. It was a great opportunity to grow closer to folks that serve their church and attend other services since singing in the choir limits their interactions with people on any given Sunday.
Connie Oprisch also wasn’t able to go to Reunion because of an out-of-town wedding. “As for work, I’ve had a good year with the English language learners in grades 3, 4 and 5. The challenge this year has been dealing with the new curriculum rolled out in grades 4 and 5.” A travel highlight of 2013 was her visit to northern CA in August. Her sister’s husband was assigned to Palo Alto (about an hour from San Francisco) for a couple of years and they stayed with them at the beginning of the trip. They enjoyed San Francisco and the great view from Telegraph Hill. Her husband, Peter, even won a ticket for a free pair of Levi jeans in the birthplace of Levi’s. They traveled on to Yosemite, passing almond orchards and artichoke fields, and getting a whiff of garlic as they drove through the garlic crop in Gilroy. “If you haven’t already visited Yosemite, we recommend this gem for a future vacation. Monterey is also impressive with its craggy cypress trees along the coastline and the rocky beaches. It was fun to marvel at the sea lions and otters at Point Lobos State Park.”
Terry McNearney wrote that she had a knee replacement last September, and then had a significant health event. She is on the mend, labs and tests are normalizing.
So we’re over 60 now and not bullet proof! Terry is still in Indianapolis, at Eli Lilly, where she works on new medicines for pain. She expects to be there for a few more years and then retire to TX. She got together with Tom and Mary Goedde at Christmas and said it was absolutely great to see them. Their two boys are doing very well and they had a cruise planned to get out of the snow.
Eileen Tarpey Foster wrote that as of June 13, she will be retired from teaching junior high English! The kids are grown, and Bill retired from Amtrak last year. She and Bill haveno big plans yet, but are looking forward to spending time together.
Pat McGuire wrote, “I can hardly believe I’m finishing my 25th year as Trinity’s president. What a ride it’s been, and I still have so much that’s not done. Breaking ground last weekend for the new academic center was thrilling, and getting that building out of the ground will be a joy to watch in the next two years. Higher education today is full of endless challenges, and aside from keeping Trinity moving ahead I spend a great deal of time on the public policy circuit testifying, lobbying, writing and generally trying to stay on top of all of the legislative and regulatory issues.”
In her “spare” time she enjoys wildlife photography and escapes to the Eastern Shore at least once a month to spend time at places like the Blackwater National Wildlife Preserve near Cambridge, MD, and other beautiful spots where she finds large concentrations of eagles, ducks, herons and other interesting creatures. She’ll be heading north for vacation in the Adirondacks where she has gone for the last 20 years.
While some have longevity in the job, Marcy Wilson Aguilar just completed her first year teaching at St. Francis International School. She taught pre-K at St. Catherine Laboure for 28 years. When her school closed she had to seek new employment. This is the school of her parish, St. Camillus. “It was tough leaving St. Catherine and I still miss all of my colleagues, but I’ve enjoyed my new school and colleagues.” Granddaughter, Ellycia (11), is entering middle school. Marcy is so thankful to have Ellycia in her life. They spend time together every other weekend. It keeps her going.
As for myself, I just celebrated a one-year anniversary as the director of the new Matthews Heritage Museum. The small local history museum, in an 1880 house, has been very well-received by the community. Some of the history we tell is recent enough that many people relate, remember people and places and offer how appreciative they are that we have saved “their history.” I have 17 volunteers who are terrific. I work only three days a week, though am appreciative to have a job back in the museum world after four years of searching.
Moving back to Charlotte proved to be the answer. It is great to be with old friends again. Last summer the book on High Point was published, and I did a number of signings. In my spare time I have worked on my house and created some gardens. The past few days a friend from junior high and her husband helped me build a bridge over the creek in the back (way too hot). Now I am working on updating the kitchen. Vacations, unfortunately, are limited due to the work schedule.
After my brow beating we had a record turn-out for news, two for the first time in 40 years! Thank you! Wishing all of you a good year, and see you at the next Reunion.
Barbara E. Taylor