1985 Class Notes for 2021
Greetings Class of 1985! We had a great response with news this year and have a lot of catching up to do. Oddly, we have all been quite isolated for the past 15 months and don’t feel like we have too much to share, yet there is news, a lot of good, and some very hard. We are happy to share the good and trust it will lift spirits for those who are sharing some sadness in their lives.
Paul and Catherine Kaputa Sutphin
First response was from Cathy Kaputa Sutphin. Cathy and her family are back in the DC area. Her husband Paul has retired from the Foreign Service after 35 years of being a FS Officer. Their travels took them from Jerusalem to London, Dubai and Kenya with stateside tours in between. Sounds like an amazing opportunity for Cathy, Paul and their children Lucy (24) and Nic (20). Cathy teaches RCIA at Good Shepherd and runs into classmate Janice Johnson Spollen. Janice is the Parish’s Director of Finance. She and her husband Mike have been raising their family in Alexandria. Janice was a CPA / Financial Analyst for 20 years before choosing to stay home with the children and start her role at Good Shepherd. Janice, Mike, Patrick (St. Vincent College ’21) and Rosemarie (Duquesne U ’22) traveled to Ireland in Early 2020 before the world shut down.
Janice Johnson Spollen with her family in Ireland – January 2020.
Another world traveler is Alicia Cotter Reynolds. Alicia and her husband Jim recently moved back to RI from SC. They had many overseas stints, but Rhode Island has always been home. They are happy to have finally landed! Their three kiddos are grown, Jamie (27) is in NYC, Sarah (25) is in Charleston and Hope (23) is in DC. Alicia lives two streets away from Maura Healey. The two friends get together for frequent walks and visits. Maura has four children and teaches at the Wheeler School. Alicia had lunch with Nancy Hannigan McCabe when she moved back to RI and hopes to connect with other close by classmates this summer! She had a visit with Julie Elder and Vivian Anieros when they visited Charleston. She also got to see Julie on a trip to Florida. Alicia is back to being a fulltime realtor at Residential Properties and loves it!
Mary Bridget Cooke-Kager shared she and her husband Don recently celebrated their 30thh anniversary. Their oldest son, Ciaran graduated from Perdue (’19) with a degree in Industrial Engineering, Desmond from the U of Vermont (‘20) with a degree in environmental Sciences and Bridget is a sophomore at UNH studying Education.
Yvonne Schroeder and her daughter, Isabella, at her daughter’s graduation in April.
Yvonne Schroder also shared news about children in college. Isabella graduated from Belmont U (‘20) with a degree in Music Business. Miles is a sophomore at the University of Hawaii. He is a world class outrigger paddler who has represented the USA in World Championships! Yvonne has been remarried for several years to a lovely man, Mike Lake. They live in CA. Yvonne is a Chief Legal Officer and would love to connect with classmates on LinkedIn – (Yvonne Schroeder). Yvonne has had a tough time watching her parents age from afar. She has not been able to visit them (or her sisters) in Panama. We hope the restrictions are gone soon and all will be able to travel, especially for essential business.
While we are talking about smart kids – Maria Sayers Roginski shared she has spent most of the last year at home with her family in MD. Her oldest is a sophomore at Northwestern and has been attending class via Zoom from his bedroom. Not something we aspire to in a college experience! Her youngest will be attending Notre Dame this fall. She claims she wasn’t ready to be an empty nester so adopted a pandemic puppy! Maria has seen many classmates including Betsy McGrath Finneran who introduced Maria and Suzanne Williams Marcou to pickleball. Suzanne works for Montgomery County Public Schools doing middle school finances (that will surely help keeping score in pickleball!) She remains in touch with many TC friends and gets together for all kinds of occasions – when friends visit DC, she sees them, when she goes to see her son Ted, who lives in Brooklyn, she sees NY area friends, when she went to the Philadelphia Flower show she saw Sheila Rainey Piernock and more! Many years ago, some TC friends and honorary TC friends got together for “luncy”. A typo that has never been fixed but is the source of much laughter! It’s the annual invitation for Mary Anne Dooley, Patty McNaughton, Tish Van Dyke (‘86), and Gretchen Romweber Bukowski (’87). Suzanne also sees Kay Toohig Goulette (‘84) at a friend’s beach house and reports she still has the best laugh! Suzanne closed with her daily gratitude for her Trinity friends and the wonderful times they continue to share!
Suzanne mentioned seeing Mary Anne Dooley. Mary Anne has been enjoying a quiet house with her 10-year-old rescue Jasper – a Welsh Springer. She has been keeping up with friends and family via zoom and Facebook. She bestowed a “Social Distancing Party Hostess of the Year” Award on Maria. Maria hosted some pool side parties, in person, while people weren’t getting out much. It was wonderful being with people! Mary Anne recently completed a day-long bike trek with Honorine Wallack and Mary Wallack. Honorine has been swimming all year and running a lot. She was hard to keep up with on the bike trail! Mary Anne was happy to report her parents had been wintering in Florida and now are vaccinated and able to return to Virginia. Those long-awaited hugs were most welcome! Mary Anne has been working as an event planner. We know you can figure that hasn’t been happening, but she has shifted and gotten certified in Virtual/Hybrid Event Planning. A lot of learning and flexibility to adjust to this adventure none of us anticipated! Mary Anne also shared the news that Lee Gaudreau Kent’s daughter Corinna just finished up her freshman year at Baylor.
Grace Coughlin Connell adds to the list of children attending college! Her daughter Grace Jr. is graduating from CUA in Nursing (’20). Daughter Cat is at Fordham’s Gabelli Business School and son Hugh is on his way to Virginia Tech. A soon to be empty nester, but never fear, she is very busy! Grace runs Grace Connell Designs which is a preppy floral / nautical stationary business catering to retail and bridal markets. She has been working, and growing, the business for 32 years with clients like Martha Stewart and Tiffany and Co. Grace is enjoying ties with MaryBeth Navin D’Agostino. MaryBeth has a fabulous shop, Navy Lobster, in Greenwich. Her shop welcomes pop up artists like Grace as well as shoppers looking for unique, curated gifts and art.
Liz Barnett Franks also has children in college. Christina is a sophomore at Rowan Univ. and Tara is wrapping up freshman year at Univ. of Delaware. As if going to college during a pandemic wasn’t challenging enough, Christina was seriously ill with anemia that required a bone marrow transplant. There were complications with the transplant that caused Epstein Barr Virus, which led to lymphoma. It’s been a constant battle with surgeries, chemo, radiation, pain meds and more. But every time Liz shares, she is encouraging and inspiring! As is Christina!!! They are true fighters! They can’t say enough good about Be the Match, folks who are willing to donate bone marrow (it saves lives!!) and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia!! I am not sure how Liz and Paul have continued to work as Christina has spent several months as a patient at CHOP. Tara’s first semester was virtual, and she was on campus 2nd semester. I trust all of our Trinity family knows what to do! May the Power of the Father…
Christina Popolo Howard also has two college age children. Eirann is a rising junior at Univ. of Georgia and Meaghan will be a freshman at UC Irvine School for the Arts. Her son Sean will be a sophomore at St. John’s College HS in DC.
Although Laura McCann McCaffrey has children in college, she was lucky enough to have all four at home, for about five months this year! As crazy as it was, she knew it was probably the last time that would happen and they made the most of it – assigned meals, family games and walks turned out to be a lot of fun! Jane and William are out of college and saving to fly the coop. Tess and Maeve are together at Elon in NC. Laura bumped into Lynn Carroll Looney (’86) on freshman move-in day! What a nice surprise! Laura is selling real estate and had the pleasure of helping Linda McCullough O’Leary (’84) and her husband buy a house in Alexandria. Joslyn Flynn Hills also found a silver lining having adult children living at home during the pandemic. Jos and her husband Steve live in Chevy Chase. Jos has been working as a Psychotherapist and loves it. Their children Annie (26) and James (24) are both living in NYC, although both were home for eight weeks during COVID. Jos admitted it was “much better for us than for them!”
Molly Kubly Fritz and her family during the Fourth of July weekend in 2020
And yet another Mom who loved having a full house, had a very full house! Molly Kubly Fritz had her 6 children with 2 bonus children living with her during the pandemic, and loved it too! Her oldest, Colin, lives in Chicago and was home every weekend with his girlfriend. Augie and his wife moved back to Milwaukee and in with the Fritz’ until their home was ready. Billie was hit with COVID-19 so drove back from Denver and worked from home for a few months. Sydney, was studying in Italy but had to return home for the semester and summer before returning to Portland, OR for her senior year. Michaela was home from UW – Madison as they were shut down. And Shelby is still in high school, so the whole family was together. All of Molly’s children grew up playing multiple sports, so for the first time ever there were no evening activities! Having a sit down dinner every night was a huge treat for all! Molly reports they did a mix of cooking and ordering from local restaurants to help support them. Now everyone is back “where they belong hard at work or college.” With one left at home Molly and David are hoping to spend more time in a new place they purchased in Naples, FL. Molly has to step back from some volunteer commitments so she will be able to go with more ease. She will remain on the Milwaukee Repertory Board, but is resigning as the Board President of the Charles E. Kubly Foundation President after 7 years. This Foundation was started after the death of her youngest brother, Charlie, 17 years ago and the mission is to better the lives of those affected by depression. So many of us have experienced depression or have loved ones who struggle. Thank you for the work you and your family have done to raise awareness and support!
’85 members at the opening of Waitress on Broadway.
While we are talking about being in the thick of college life right now, I (Toni Klesius Maurizi) and my husband Chris share that we are too! Nina is a rising senior at Tulane Univ. studying Communications. Daughter Elsa is a sophomore at Wake Forest Univ. and is steeped in the arts and sons Rudy and Vincent are a rising junior and sophomore respectively at Delbarton School in Morristown, NJ. We once again are on the college visiting / admissions habit-rail with two high schoolers. We live in NJ, and although I grew up not far from Trinity in Alexandria, VA I say with pride and warmth that New Jersey is home. I keep in touch with many friends from our class of ’85 but also many from my sister Amy Klesius Van Slyke’s class of ‘84 ; Mary Sue Howley Dwyer, Ann Barrett Connor, Cricket Bach Cush and Mary Harper Hagan, Maura Rainey McCormack, all ‘84.
Sarah Parkinson Hartke shared she is looking forward to getting together with her mother and four sisters, two of whom were at Trinity with us – Susan Parkinson Witmer (‘83) and Donna Parkinson Savitt (‘84) this summer in Avalon, NJ. Sally shared that she, her husband Dave Hartke (CUA ‘82), Cassidy (24), Nolan (18) and Max (17) moved to the Philadelphia area years ago to be closer to family. Sally is a VP at Schultz & Williams, a fundraising consulting firm in Philadelphia working for nonprofit clients. Dave retired early due to illness but has been able to enjoy frequent visits from his CUA friends. We are sorry to hear of Dave’s situation and lift you all up in thought and prayer.
The number of educators in our group is most impressive! Mary Beth Schneid is in her 33rd year of teaching Special Education. This year she was not only learning to teach virtually but got a new content area and is the VP of Negotiations for the teachers’ union! Yikes! She is planning to retire at the end of June! She and Jeff were married one month after graduating from Trinity. Congratulations on retirement and such a significant anniversary! Their son Ian is an Electrical Engineer (RIT) and lives in Chicago. Daughter Anna is at home. She graduated from Hobart/WM Smith Colleges and is getting a certificate in Human Resources at LeMoyne, while training her service dog and being a dog walker for others. Mary Beth’s mother has downsized and is closer to siblings, which is great. Mary Beth hopes to spend some family time at the Schneid family camp in the Finger Lakes this summer. All TC friends are welcome!
Another mention of retirement came from Cheryl Carboni Smith. Cheryl is recently retired, but has been asked back to train the new crisis counselor. Cheryl lost her mother nearly two years ago and is now the full time caretaker for her sister. She is happy to have more time with her husband and sister. She shared all of them had COVID-19, but thankfully survived unscathed! Cheryl shared her daughter is in NYC working for Disney Publishing. Her step-son was married in 2020, with Cheryl as the presider! It was a wedding with 15 guests allowed. Like many couples now, they also celebrated a larger wedding at the planned venue.
Mary Rivers Cherry is another teacher and union representative. Mary teaches sixth grade math and is the president of the education union in Lenox, MA. Mary reported Michael is working from home. Son Anthony is engaged and hoping to be married in Ireland this summer! Daughter Cate is a certified Nurse Midwife / Nurse Practitioner who will be moving to Denver soon. Their youngest daughter is studying for a master’s degree in Dance from Sarah Lawrence.
Allyson Haley has been working at a Performing Arts and Technology Magnet School in Towson, MD and working as a Production Manager for three theatre companies! She is Department Chair for Special Education and is proud of the full inclusion program for all students with disabilities! For the past three years she has been the site coordinator at the Carver Center for Loyola Univ.’s Intern Teacher Program. This experience got her interested in going back to school to earn her PhD in Educational Leadership at The University of Notre Dame in Maryland. Ally is in the process of preparing to take her Comps! I know that brings back a lot of memories of senior year! Good luck Allyson – we are all rooting for you! We aren’t sure how she has any time left over – but she has time to be Aunt Ally to nieces and nephews – attending events and spending time with the kids. She is also involved with the youth ministry at the Church of the Nativity!
Debbie Bresnahan Ibanez is another special educator! Debbi and her husband live in MA where she is the Special Education Director for Haverhill Public Schools. Their two girls, Meaghan and Brittany live nearby so they get to see them often. Debbie is enjoying being an empty nester with their cat Checkers. They are planning a large family reunion this summer in Ocean City, MD. Pia Illarranendi is another teacher hailing from the Boston area. Pia has been living in MA for the past five years. She teaches Spanish at a middle school in Lexington and loves it! She has four children (two boys and two girls) ranging in age from 18–35. The youngest is going to attend UMass, Amherst this fall. Hurray for Pia who earned a master’s degree in Education two years ago. Amazing to be going to college at the same time as her children. AND… Pia became a United States Citizen last year!! Congratulations Pia!!
Another classmate shaping young lives is Mary McHugh McKelvey. Mary is a librarian at a Montessori school that has been open all year. It has been stressful, but also wonderful to be with the children each day. She admits it has been a long year and she is looking forward to the summer off with a few graduations, a reunion with her son who has been living in London and a granddaughter coming in August!!
Joanie O’Brien also had news of a new grandson. Daughter Therese (32) and husband Brandan welcomed Liam Foley Faherty on April 9th weighing in at nine pounds! He joins big sister Ellie who turned (3) on April 12th. Joanie is working for Amgen Corporation and lives in MA. She sees Susan Harrity Glatki, who is also living in Easthampton. Joanie has been in touch with the Alumnae Office about rescheduling last year’s missed reunion. There is some talk of 2022. She will keep us informed. Thank you, Joanie for working on getting us together in 2020 and 2021! Susan had a very difficult year. Her father died of COVID in May and 10 months later her mother died of lung cancer. We know everyone reading this is sending good wishes and thoughts to you as you cope with two major losses. Susan’s son is a personal chef in Boston. He was able to spend the winter in Florida with the family he works for! Susan was able to travel to Myrtle Beach this April. She stopped in DC on her way back to visit with Lisa Carr (’84). She enjoyed driving by Trinity and stopped to take a photo she shared on the Trinity College Class of 1985 Facebook Page. (If you are on Facebook, please join the group. Information for reunions and updates on class news can be shared and found there.)
I doubt many of us have personal chefs, but we do have a classmate who started a dessert topping business! Carol Caputto Atwil is growing a company called Top This Dessert Toppings! Carol and her husband have three grown kids who all survived the pandemic intact. The Atwils are enjoying being empty nesters and doing some traveling. Catherine Gorski Marinelli is another “empty nester”. She and husband Ray live in NY. Their oldest son John is living in DC. Claire moved to sunny Santa Monica, CA this spring. And Laura graduated from Penn State in 2020. Gorski just joined a fertility clinic called US Fertility, where she is an Operations Manager helping patients achieve their dreams of a family. She looks forward to gathering with classmates and other alums soon!
Ceil Andia Hatton and husband Paul are living in CT. Their two oldest children, Emily and Andrew have both finished college and are living in NYC. While the city was shut down, they too moved home. The youngest Hatton, Conor, made multiple attempts to find some sense of normalcy in his third year at the College of Holy Cross. Ceil has been able to work at home, but occasionally goes into her office in Westport. She is a partner in the firm Tech-Up for Women. She is involved in presenting weekly webinars and yearly events hosted by women who play a role in advancing the knowledge and content of technology. Sheila Rainey Piernock has tuned into some of the broadcasts and found them to be a great way to sharpen her skills. Ceil and her sister Sandra have their mother’s condo in Tampa where the extended family gathers often. Very much a happy place for them! Sheila has been a recipient of the serenity of watching the sun go down on the Gulf!
Another classmate working to advocate for women is Deidre Carroll Soraci. Deidre lives in MD and is working as an Executive Leadership Coach focused on elevating women in leadership.
Back to Sheila, she lives near Philadelphia with her husband Joe and “two wily cats”. She is the Head of Global Equity Trading and for the past three years has been a Partner for an investment manager outside the city. Sheila and her family had a tough year. “Sadly, our Dad, ‘Chief Rainey’ passed away, at 92 years old. We are fortunate to have him in our lives for so long.” She mentioned how hard it was not to have a proper funeral because of COVID restrictions. She looks forward to her siblings being vaccinated so they can get together again! On a happier note, her parents were able to attend her son, Jesse’s wedding to Ellie in 2018. They welcomed their first child, and Sheila’s first grandchild on both sides of the family. She and Joe are loving being grandparents and her mother is thrilled to be a great-grandmother! Sheila shared, “How far I have come from those carefree days at Trinity. And how wonderful that my freshman roommate and I are both grandmothers today.”
Seeing that I (Margaret Farrell Goggins) was Sheila’s freshman roommate I guess it’s my turn to share! Bill and I are also empty nesters, although during COVID we had long term visits by adult “children”, and it was all ok by us! Will and Libby welcomed their first child, and our first grandchild, in October 2019. They live in Williamsburg, about 40 minutes from us so we see them quite a bit! My mother passed away in January of 2020. Fortunately she was only ill for a few days and we were able to gather to celebrate her wonderful life. Catherine and Juan had to postpone their April 2020 wedding, but we have a new date in August! Mary (26) and Helen (23) have both been working extraordinarily hard teaching this past year. And Thomas (22) graduated from Hampden-Sydney College this May! We are done with tuitions, but the weddings are beginning, need I say more?!
Susie Tedesca Gardiner Cump shared she is working as a PA in family practice in Colorado Springs. Zoe (20) is a sophomore at Colorado State. Maddie (17) is a junior in high school. They managed to ski this winter but having to make reservations took getting used to. She hopes next year will be different. As an essential worker Susie got vaccinated in December, she hopes this time next year we will be talking of something besides COVID and encourages us to all get vaccinated. Thank you Susie for your frontline work! Glad you were able to stay well, and hope you continue to!
Before we close, we all owe a debt of gratitude to Rosalie Noethe. Rosalie has been the Class of “85’s Scribe for 25 years!! Rosalie, it is greatly appreciated that you held this position and kept us in touch for so long. Thank you!
This is a quote taken from Liz Barnett’s Facebook page – “The truth is people are dealing with more than they can handle all over the world. That’s why we need God and why he’s given us each other.” It has been a very hard year for many. Thank you for sharing your good news as well as your bad news. Know the Class of 1985 is here for each other in all of our struggles and our joys!
Cheers Class of 1985!
Margaret Farrell Goggins and Toni Klesius Maurizi