1980 Class Notes for 2021
Theresa Iannone and her husband Peter with Catherine Ziehm Warkala, Nancy McGovern Dries and Eileen Sergison Vogel ’79
Theresa Iannone wrote to say that she and her husband Peter and received many of their Christmas cards in March when they were forwarded from their New York City apartment to MA, where Teresa and Peter have been spending their time during the pandemic. She did not write last year as she had a perforated appendix and had a couple of hospital stays ending up with surgery right in February before the COVID-19 shut down. Luckily all is now well. Teresa’s daughter’s wedding took place in September 2019 on Cape Cod. The Iannones let go of their NYC apartment this past October and have since hunkered down at their house in MA. Post COVID-19 they hope to return. Peter, Jr and his fiancé, Terra, postponed their 2020 wedding and are hopeful for a celebration this October in Catalina, CA. Kevin came home from his Foreign Service assignment in Saudi Arabia in September due to COVID-19 and he is working in DC. Kathleen left NYC and is working as an attorney for UnderArmour.
Helen Blaylock wrote and sent a very cute picture. She said that since she managed to celebrate a milestone birthday before the pandemic on January 8th, she thought she’d share the celebratory picture. And yes, 60 was her real age, as she was a little younger than most. Helen says her constant prayer last year was expressing gratitude for making it to age 60 and staying healthy to see more years!
Maureen O’Leary Brown sent greetings from Ohio. As she was writing, sitting at her dining room table – her office for the last 12 months – she was looking outside at the snow that fell just the day before. Like many this year, Maureen stayed very close to home and only recently started going to the office for maybe two days a week. She reports that it is eerie to see downtown Cleveland so empty, with the parking lots only half full or even less. Other than the staff personnel at the front desk and the cleaning crew, Maureen doesn’t see anyone in the 11 story building where she works when she is there.
Corrine, Maureen’s oldest, managed to finish up her Master’s Degree from Johns Hopkins University and moved to Cincinnati for a new position this past year. She is a 5th grade teacher and it was not smooth sailing to be a teacher with schools being in and out all year. She is hoping to have some semblance of normal school year when they go back in the fall. Daughter Cara graduated from Misericordia University with her Masters in Occupational Therapy. It was challenging to finish up because her last clinical was canceled due to the pandemic. Thankfully her school was able to get her the placement she needed. She is now gainfully employed and loving her job. She finds the work fulfilling and she is living with Maureen and Dave to start to conquer some of her student debt.
Dave’s office/industry was deemed essential, so he hasn’t missed a day going to his office. That made things less stressful at home because the family was running out of places to set up home offices! Maureen closed by reiterating that it has indeed been a challenging time for our country and our world last year, this year and beyond. She hopes we will be able to gather in the near future for our + 40th reunion.
Joanne Despres hopes everyone is continuing to bear up in this godawful 100-year pandemic. She reports that her routine had been fairly monotonous but not unpleasant. Her employer (Merriam-Webster) closed the office about a year ago and sent everyone home to work remotely. So, like a lot of other people in this situation, Joanne spends weekdays shuttling between her home office in MA, the kitchen, the living room, and the bedroom. While she lives alone, she has a few pod members who come for masked visits regularly and they managed to keep eating dinner on the deck through the winter. Joanne invested in a propane heater that looks like a cross between the Stanley Cup and a street lamp and which a pod-mate dubbed “Lovely Rita Heater Maid.” It helps, though the side that doesn’t face the heater still gets frozen. She also takes the masked trip to see parents and siblings every couple of weeks.
From time to time Joanne hears from Mary Jane Brown, who lives in NJ and has also been doing fine. Her son Ethan is in his last year at Hamilton College. Joanne attended the funeral of Sister Maura Prendergast in Stevenson, MD, where she spent most of her last years in retirement. Joanne has been a friend since college days. Carol Oppenheimer (Callahan) (’77), another friend of Maura’s, was also there, as were Sr. Mary Ann Cook and Sr. Joan Mary Hill. Sr. Anne Cecilia passed away last year and Sr. Margaret Claydon about a year and a half ago. It’s been a tough couple of years with the passing of our beloved SNDs from our times at Trinity for sure.
Mary Twomey wrote that most of us in the class of 1980 are probably still waiting to qualify for the COVID-19 vaccine and quipped that not since she was about three has she wanted to be older! It seems like it won’t be until June that Mary and Carol will qualify for shots in Oregon, where they have been staying. Mary and Carol started to spend more time in Oregon during the early part of the pandemic when San Francisco was in lockdown. They love the easy access to nature. Mary is still consulting part-time on issues related to elder abuse (note to all – avoid it). Mary noted her concern about the health status of Sr. Seton Cunneen, who recently passed away. As many recall, Sr. Seton was very special to the group that was lucky enough to have her as their steward in Oxford during their sophomore year. My Sr. Seton experience was in Latin class, and my memories of that are not quite as fond, because Latin was hard!
Marian Hubler ’76 and Holly Hubler with their mother in Assateague, VA
Holly Hubler and her sister Marian Hubler ’76 with Mayan musicians who performed for them in Guatemala.
Holly Hubler wrote to say she was looking forward to the end of the pandemic, as we all are. She particularly has missed international travel, but did get a trip in to Guatemala with her sister and a close friend last year in March. It was an amazing tour with Caravan and they were relieved to make it back to the states right before the pandemic hit.
Holly continues to work part-time at the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, VA and will be starting her fourth year there in March. She reports gaining great insight into art, especially the French Impressionists and Mesoamerican art but the changing exhibits and interesting training sessions with enlightening curators make it really exciting. She feels fortunate that the museum has remained open during the pandemic, when so many across the U.S. have had to close. Holly is exploring teaching ESL (English as a Second Language) online. The goal for next year is to teach civics for aspiring immigrants who wish to become U.S. citizens.
She reports a pending trip to Siena, Italy for a two-week immersion Italian course, and she is hoping that it will transpire by the spring of 2022, when European borders open up again to international visitors.
Alicia Johnson wrote to say all is well. Alicia has been married to Doug for 40 years this May; they have four grown children: Doug who lives in Great Falls, VA, with his wife and three children Lydia, Holden and Cole. Son Chris lives in San Antonio, TX with his wife Lana and their two boys Jaxon and Mason. Son Tim lives in Huntersville, NC with his wife Kelly and their son Timothy. And lastly, daughter Jennifer lives in Long Island City, NY with her boyfriend and dog Addie. She is a nurse at NYU and is finishing up her Nurse Practioner degree. Alicia and Doug still live in Shrewsbury NJ. She reports filling up some of her week managing at JCrew. Doug still works for a shipping company from Richmond and they both enjoy traveling and visiting all 6 of the grandkids when they are able.
Thanks to all who wrote. We at the Cornfeld-Phillips household are well and feeling grateful to be able to read, drink wine and laugh. Jerry retired from the FCC mere months before COVID hit and the FCC moved to NE DC across the street from Gonzaga high school. I have adjusted to working from home fairly well most of the time. Oddly, I am pretty darn busy – my law firm merged with another one and we are now in mega-law firm world, which has its moments, both good and not so good. Our elderly cat Sophie keeps us good company as we work, prepare meals and generally just keep things at home on as even a keel as possible. As I mentioned in my scribe letter, I’ve been doing an online Ashtanga Yoga training class, and that has been a great and challenging outlet this past fall, winter and now spring. I feel as though I will be a life long yogi, regardless of whether I end up teaching; there is always so much to learn. We have been using our house in Rehoboth Beach a good bit more than before as someplace different to just hang out. One benefit of having that house has been that there was greater and earlier availability of COVID shots for me in Delaware than in DC. And I have taken a number of walks on the beach in both cold and warm weather; the vista is always beautiful no matter the weather.
Our son Elliot is about to graduate from the University of Vermont, and he’s interviewing virtually a good bit for financial or data analyst positions so we hope something good comes of that. Our daughter Lizzy has been in New York City this past year doing a graduate certificate program at the New School in documentary filmmaking. Fingers crossed she can find something in her field and can stay in the City as it is starting to come to life again.
Best wishes to all in our class wherever you are. I hope we have a chance to gather safely before long.
Laura H. Phillips
laurahathawayphillips@gmail.com