Summer 2010 - The Green Issue - 39

W W W.HOOD.EDU

We had a wonderful time in a fascinating country filled with rich history and spectacular sights.” She has two wonderful grandchildren—Kayla, 7, and 9-month-old Nicholas. Patricia Merrill teaches “regular” art, piano and voice plus English and speech to Korean children. She has begun to tutor under-achieving children in Los Angeles. “Most of these children are from poor socioeconomic neighborhoods, heavily minority-based and underserved scholastically. In addition to teaching myself the Korean language, I have had the opportunity to revive my skills in Spanish. The work is taxing but very rewarding!” Her step-granddaughter Brittany will be married this summer and oldest grandson has completed his junior year at California Lutheran Univ. Betty Wright M.A. ’90’s oldest grandchild Colleen will attend Gwynedd Mercy College (eastern Pennsylvania) this fall, as she received a scholarship to play soccer. She has set the bar high for the younger two granddaughters and her only grandson. Sandy Warren Owens and now-retired husband Bruce relocated to the U.S. in March after 14 wonderful years in Brussels, Belgium. They look forward to a new life near Sandy’s family in Georgia.

1963
Giving Participation: 27.85% · Total Class Dollars: $17,983

Dorothy Snyder Engle 204 Linden Blvd. Middletown, MD 21769 (301) 371-5170 dengle3699@aol.com Jo Ann Twilley Plichta M.A. ’86 43 Consett Place Frederick, MD 21703 (301) 360-9623 Dorothy Snyder Engle wrote: Have you noticed that gasoline prices went down this past spring? It’s because I was on trips and not driving. More on that later. Mary-Verdella Wagner Nelson and Helen Pinckney Schafer, and their husbands Paul and Bill, took a two-week cruise out of Los Angeles to Hawaii, where they sailed around the islands and enjoyed the perfect weather only to come home to “monsoon season.” MV said so many of the passengers were grossly overweight and/or decrepit. Same with my cruise. Thank goodness no emergencies, like needing to man the life boats! MV said she and Paul visited with Nancy Craven Jacobus and Nancy’s uncle, who turned 94, in central Massachusetts. It seems MV’s family has adopted Uncle Guy, and enjoys his company and stories of WWII. Mary Ann Holloway Ford is supervisor of social workers at a prison complex in Hagerstown, Md., and still loving her job. She and Wilbur are happy finally to be grandparents to a boy and a girl—one for each of their sons. Carolyn Maxwell recently had a wonderful visit with Margie Kipp Surbeck and Margie’s husband Richard whom she was dating at Hood. The Surbecks took a long road trip. Carolyn, always busy, enjoys her volunteer work with the Venice Garden and Home Tour and is taking some classes at Emeritus College in Santa Monica. Her oldest grandchild is starting at the Univ. of California Santa Cruz, and the little ones keep her running. Our sympathy to Sally Schaeffer Morse on the death of her mother, Helene Schmauch Schaeffer ’37, at age 94. You may know that Helen’s mom had a lifelong love of Hood and traveled there every year with Sally. This year, Bobby Campbell Rickman M.A. ’75 accompanied Sally to the Hood reunion luncheon. They had a good time marveling at the 70-year class and one lady for her 75th. Sally reported that Hood is doing well. “Because of several large bequests,” she said, “they are on their way to building a wonderful gym behind the old infirmary. The playing fields and outdoor

complex in that area are already impressive.” Sally recently spoke to Nancy Maguire Densmore, who enjoys her grandkids and golfing, and to Susie Stamm Taylor, who is still singing. Sally said she has been in touch with Jan Mason Poole, who was a widow until last year when she remarried and now lives in Davis, Calif. When she attended a Hood cocktail party in Baltimore, Sally found herself to be the oldest alum. Sally and Al traveled to Germany for a tour and to see the “Passion Play” at Oberammergau. Bobby Campbell Rickman recently received recognition for all her hard work in setting up training for the volunteer program at Frederick Memorial Hospital years ago, where she still spends many hours volunteering (21,000 hours so far). Have you noticed that the economy is picking up? Well, I think I (Dottie Snyder Engle) am largely responsible for boosting the construction and travel industries. First travel: In late February, I, a neighbor and our travel group (Ron was still in basketball season) left for a 17day cruise through the Panama Canal, visiting Cartagena, Columbia; Puntarenas, Coast Rica; Huatulco, Acapulco; and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, disembarking in San Diego for two days and staying with my Hood roomie Brenda Eklund Pearson. (My cruise ship was picking up 2,400 nudists from 52 countries for a cruise to Hawaii. We watched the ship depart but all passengers were clothed.) Carolyn Matusiewski Cannava flew into San Diego the same day I got there, with her children and grandchildren giving her a break from the cold weather in the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska. (She said it was -27 degrees when they flew out.) They were going to Disney World the next day. The three of us and my neighbor, all of us retired teachers except Carolyn (still happily being an elementary principal) had a great evening together. Carolyn explained that there are two kinds of people in Alaska—the kind who have hit a moose and the ones that haven’t. She has! Her son is called by the police to “dress out” moose that are hit by cars and the meat is given to food banks. Then Brenda gave us a grand tour the next day. Later, Brenda was traveling with her group, Friendship Force, to central West Virginia for a week of home stay; then to Cape Town, South Africa, and a one-week safari. My Danish exchange student, who graduated from Middletown High in 1989, called and propositioned me to come to Barbados to help him with his two children, ages 2½ and 6 months, while his fiancé reported directly to work. I couldn’t turn down a free trip. This couple, both Danes, had worked for Shell Oil in London for eight years. They had wanted to get a transfer to Barbados and finally did just a month before their wedding was to take place in Denmark. They were getting married on the exact day of their 12½ year, copper anniversary. I fell in love with the boys that I refer to as my Danish grandsons. After being home nine days, daughter Robin and I flew off to Copenhagen for a few days of sightseeing and to the unusual wedding. For one thing, the wedding cake was several pieces fashioned like two Danish cartoon characters—one a frog and one a bird—and wrapped packages. These were all covered in marzipan. Then we flew to London for five nights and saw just about everything humanly possible. I crossed Stonehenge off my “bucket list.” We felt proud of ourselves for navigating the “tube” and seeing so many things, including the Queen and her retinue—including carriages and horse and marching units. Can’t see that very often. She was on her way to the opening of Parliament. We also noticed that items were missing from the jewels at the Tower of London—out with the Queen for her use in Parliament. The news the next day was that England will be adopting some of the austere measures that the U.S. is, such as raising the age at which one can retire. We made it back home to find that the bathroom renovation that was supposed to be “nearly done” was nowhere near done and big mistakes had been made, causing more delays. And soon, it’s on to the next bathroom. At least they should

be finished when you visit for the 50th reunion. Yep, the workmen have three years. Late news came from Bobbi Sterner Kemmerling. Our sympathy to Bobbi on the death of her mom, age 93, in April. The good news is that she and partner Carroll are happily retired and are enjoying the easy life. Her youngest daughter, a pastor on leave, has a 7-year-old adopted daughter, was married last year and recently had a baby. If you want to hear more about you and less about me, please send news. If you e-mail me, please put “Hood news” in the subject line so it doesn’t get sent to spam. Thanks for all of your help.

1964
Giving Participation: 31.07% · Total Class Dollars: $12,303

Barbara Maly Fish 1006 Urban Ave. Durham, NC 27701 (919) 688-9125 barb2fish@yahoo.com Betsy Speed Rich reported that son Joe finally married two years ago to Mariapia DiBonaventura. Pia, as the family calls her, has a doctoral degree from the Univ. of L’Aquila in central Italy and is a microbiologist currently working as an adjunct instructor at York College on Long Island, part of the CUNY system. Joe still works for Citi as an assistant vice president of their main office in lower Manhattan. Joe’s younger brother Jim is single, lives in Queens and works in advertising with The Martin Agency. Nights and weekends, he is active in the comedy and improv scene in New York City. Betsy and her husband Tom are both healthy and they are especially glad that Tom has not had any more cancer scares since 2007. With the approach of summertime in Montana, where they live, the Richs anticipate lots of hiking, kayaking, partying and hosting houseguests, plus golf for Tom. “Life is good,” says Betsy. As of June 15, 2010, Fletcher and Barb Wallwork Reynolds have been married for 47 years. They have four children and 10 grandchildren, most of whom have followed their parents to Florida, where two of Barbara’s three sisters also live. Fletcher works one or two days a week doing relief work for veterinarians in the Fort Myers area. Barbara said, “He isn’t quite ready to retire from a profession that he enjoys and that has been good to him.” Barb retired about nine years ago from a career as a family counselor. The Reynolds enjoy babysitting for their grandchildren and traveling, with a trip to China scheduled for June. Barb Betke Krajewski reported that she has been enjoying the beauty of the western national parks, with Lassen Volcanic National Park as her favorite. Next she will visit several of Alaska’s parks with her daughter. When at home in Phoenix, Barb spends a lot of time volunteering for the local food bank. After much soul-searching, Pam Wallace Johnson and her husband sold the home in Concord, Mass., where they had lived for 40 years, and bought a home in Naples, Fla., half a mile from the Gulf. Many Concord friends winter in Naples, which made the move easier. The Johnsons escape the summer heat by migrating to their beach house in Marshfield, Mass., where they have spent summers for the past 22 years. Pam would love to connect with classmates in the Naples area. Her e-mail address is DKJANNURS@aol.com. After Jo Ann Risser Moroz’s husband Pete retired in 2001, he has done consulting for the South American division of his former company, which has resulted in three trips a year to Chile and Peru. The last trip to Chile was canceled by the devastating earthquake, which heavily damaged the plant in Concepción. Repairs are underway, so JoAnn and Pete plan to go there in July, with a side trip to Peru for Pete to teach a metallurgy class. JoAnn is still active as a volunteer naturalist for the county park nature center,

Summer 2010 - The Green Issue

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