Hood College- Navigation, Summer 2009 - 33

34 HOOD MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2009 although she has tried to be more active in sports the happiest day in her life occurred when she was told that she had “completed the requirements for physical education at Hood and did not have to take any more sports, ever again!” Tarun Comegys Johns has been caring for her ill mother. Tarun cochaired the reunion and presented the class gift of more than $300,000 to President Volpe. Tarun continues her busy schedule of outings in the outdoors with her grandchildren. Starr Culver Weihe wrote to tell us that Rudy died at age 95 April 15 of congestive heart failure. Classmates circulated a newspaper article about Rudy, “The Singing Dentist,” which summarized his distinguished career and referred to his and Starr’s lovely relationship. Starr has decided to continue living in their retirement community in Tampa, Fla. Nancy Curran Crowley has a new grandson, making 13 grandchildren. Nancy and Bob drove to Washington State to see the Tulip Festival in the Skagit Valley. In September they joined their travel group for a “Rail & Sail” trip from L.A. to Vancouver and back. The Crowleys will cruise from New York to the Caribbean, stopping in Bermuda where they spent their honeymoon 50 years ago. Their family and friends will join them there to celebrate their wedding anniversary. Dorie Feikin Koman has two beautiful grandchildren—Gianna, 17, and Nathan, 15. Her husband Jerry is still seeing some clients in his home ofﬁce. Dorie works a few days a month seeing psychiatric patients. She enjoys gardening and making jewelry. Nancy Fletcher Artlett writes that she has enjoyed the e-mail jabber back and forth about pictures, pointing out the cigarettes held in several snapshots. As Fletch was preparing for knee replacement surgery she underwent emergency gallbladder surgery. Soon thereafter her mother died. Then her husband Frank took a trip to the hospital for four days. Then she had the knee surgery and rehabilitation, and is now home. Fletch said she often thought of Dr. Truxal’s words: “This, too, shall pass.” She thanks friends who sent greetings and messages of sympathy for her mother’s death, including contributions to Mrs. Fletcher’s marine-life museum in Juno Beach, Fla. Gayle Hamilton Blakeslee and Natalie Starr spent three wonderful weeks in Rome in March. Gayle was one of the honored former trustees of the Class of 1959. Sandy Hanson Hargrave missed the reunion in order to attend the christening of her grandson—her ﬁfth grandchild—in Fort Worth. Sandy continues to make progress recovering from her stroke. Janet Hobbs Cotton’s daughter Dawne Ward ﬂew from Scottsdale, Ariz., to the reunion Friday afternoon, surprising her mother, to see her honored at the Alumnae Luncheon. Marcia King Wilke travels yearly to attend music-teacher workshops and conferences. She combined her trip to the reunion with visits to her brother in western New York and her sister in Westminster, Md. Marcia has a small studio of 10 piano students and is still directing the church hand bell choir. At the end of June she will be awarded Honorary Life Membership in the Washington State Music Teachers Association for her service to that organization since 1991. Anita Lesher Hunter continues to operate her tutorial business, now having 18 students. Several of her Chinese-American students earned perfect SAT scores this year. Anita sent many terriﬁc photos to the class collection. Carol Lumb Allen missed the reunion because of a conﬂicting meeting of the board of the Grandfather Home for Children. Each year the home serves more than 300 needy North Carolina children in a variety of programs. Carol and Bob celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary by traveling to Thailand in February to join a Habitat for Humanity Global Village team to help build two houses in two weeks. They visited an elementary school and historic temples, and rode an elephant. Carol was honored as a former trustee at the Alumnae Luncheon. Barbara Lynch Guise enjoys her two granddaughters and her Gordon setter Sophy. Barbara writes that it hardly seems possible that many years have elapsed since she was at Hood, where she and many friends were starting out on the road to adult responsibilities. “It was certainly a different time.” Barbara Manger Kraske and Gerhardt took the elegant Grand Luxe Rail Trip from Chicago to San Francisco and back to Ellicott City, Md., with a side trip to visit their son Wolfgang and two grandchildren in Los Angeles. Their two daughters both live near the Kraskes. When the family attended the “Messiah” concert Barbara and Gerhardt introduced their twin eighth-grade granddaughters to Dr. Volpe. “Obviously our hidden REUNION 2010 1930 • 1935 • 1940 • 1945 • 1950 • 1955 • 1960 • 1965 • 1970 • 1975 • 1980 • 1985 • 1990 • 1995 • 2000 • 2005 Save the Date! June 4-6, 2010

Hood College- Navigation, Summer 2009

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Hood College- Navigation, Summer 2009