Hood Magazine Summer 2008 - 31

W W W.HOOD.EDU my recovery period. That spring a friend and I went to London for the Chelsea ﬂower show. Last fall another friend and I cruised the Baltic and had two days in St. Petersburg. We were serenaded by a band of 50-60 year-old “natives” playing ‘When the Saints Go Marching In.’ In February it was off to Heidelberg for my oldest son’s promotion to full colonel.” Joann has some future trips planned. She hopes to get back to Hood for our 60th. It’s fun to be in touch with Joan Reydel Gammage as our California grandchildren are involved in similar activities—a summer junior life saving program and 8th grade trips to visit the East Coast. Joan reported that her neighborhood drainage issue with a prospective builder has been settled. No more days in court. Adelaide Hess, who lives in the Baltimore area, is retired but continues to work some six-hour days in administration at the hospital where she had been for 16 years. “Free time is spent attending BSO performances—both pop and symphony, and frequent trips to the theater and ballet here, in NYC and in Washington, D.C. My apartment complex is being extensively renovated!” Lois Vars Mason and Bill left February snow in Rhode Island and ﬂew to St. Barthelemy in the Caribbean. Now they’re enjoying the beaches at home in the Ocean State. Nancy Reed Robbins attended the February alumnae and alumni gathering in the Phoeniz, Ariz., area. We hope to see Nancy at our next reunion. She’s been a regular. I wish you could visit the Hood campus. New tables and benches encourage outdoor classes. New planting, etc., enhances the front of Alumnae Hall. Kiosks placed across campus hold notices of the many activities and there are people everywhere, even on weekends. As they say, “It’s a great place to be smart.” Sally Foss Banwart 174 Brookside Court Palm Harbor, FL 34683-5322 (727) 787-8583 Mary-Lou Springhorn Leidheiser 127 Burning Tree Lane Flat Rock, NC 28731 (828) 693-0630 Our condolences to the families of Jean Snyder who died Dec. 16, 2007; and Elizabeth Marks Dronzek who died March 8, 2008, in Springﬁeld, Ore. Our sympathy also to MaryGary Schoﬁeld Davis whose husband Donald died Aug. 30, 2007. Dottye Handley Ewing wrote of a “ﬁrst of a lifetime” long hospitalization early this year to announce that she has joined the multitude with a heart problem. She went on to explain, however, that she is still living a full life at Homewood Retirement complex in Frederick. She continues planning historic tours, attending concerts, reading and watching political shows and, with her dachshund, walks an hour and a half daily and spent Easter with Elva Remsburg Pepper ’51 in Pennsylvania. Sounds like a perfect retirement. Barbara Hamilton Meyer came to Naples, Fla., for six weeks to escape the cold and play tennis once a week. A Hamilton Family reunion is scheduled in December. Evelyn Bischoff Mitchell sent family news, and said Ted’s lymphoma seems to be in remission so he can play golf twice a week. They will be ﬂying back to Massachusetts in May. Lynn Leiner Bage called from Ft. Wayne, Ind., and really is enjoying the variety of all the activities in town. She resides with her son and his two teenagers, and keeps busy with church and community. She will summer at Lakeside, Ohio in their family cottage. Sally Herman Lunt “ﬁnally recovered from surgery for a demolished knee,” and is dancing again. She is again immersed in activities, including Liberty Classrooms for middle school youth. She has been in touch with Mary Lou Kilpatrick Benchoff and Kay Spear Feldmann. Carolyn Sener Rusk enjoyed having Betsy Newcomer Payette overnight and they met Betsy Cannon Martin and Jack over lunch at an Indian restaurant the following day. Barbara Hickman Reynolds and Betsy Payette often meet at meetings of the Cardinal Fedoras a.k.a. Red Hat Ladies. Barbara and Bill are hosting Mary-Gray Schoﬁeld Davis when she comes from Sarasota to attend the 60th Hagerstown High School Class Reunion, which Betsy and Jack Martin will also attend. That should be a real party! Joan Scott Hellmuth (Scotty) has not written for awhile, but wants us to know she lives close to seven grandchildren and loves to help when needed. She has traveled with a singing group to Cuba, South Africa and Louisiana, is joining the Episcopal Church in May and will travel with their mission team to a church in El Salvador to share in work and worship. Carol Cohen Friedman and her husband of 58 years travel, volunteer and enjoy family and friends. With grown children, they have no plans to move, but are currently using their energy to raise money for Crohn’s ulcerative colitis, which has come into their family. Dody Nygren Wisnom writes from Tucson that there is no real news except for their new standard poodle. They call him “Charley” as in John Steinbeck’s crosscountry traveling companion. Ann Nygren Greenberg and sister Dody talk on weekends and in her letter, Ann says most things are “as usual” for her. She is still working, has a short commute, more books than she can read, and is enjoying the spring ﬂowers outside of her window. She adds, “I’m still functioning!” (And I say, “very well, Ann.”). Virginia Green McDermott tells us that she is in her 30th year at St. Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, N.J. She visited Noree Durgom Jeffrey in Alexandria, Va., in January and will see her oldest granddaughter Alysa off to the Univ. of Arizona next year. Jeanne Zimmerman Gearey had a busy winter and is looking forward to two weeks in Hawaii with her daughter. This is her ﬁrst trip back since 1969 when she lived there for three years. Carita Ackerly Warner is now keeping up with 11 grandchildren along with travel and volunteering with an adult literacy program. She remembers fondly her two years at Hood. Jane Taggart writes she was very happy to have heard from dear Hood friends during her recent surgery. She has two granddaughters graduating from college this spring, and now there are only 8 more to go. Jodie Kellogg Weddle and Dick have wintered for 26 years on Big Pine Key in the Florida Keys, where they have a wonderful church and community of friends. Most of their family, including six grandchildren come to visit each year, making for a lively reunion. This year, Jodie can hardly wait to get back to Maryland and see the twins, who were born in March. In West Hartford, Nancy Alderman Kramer plays tennis daily and enjoys the city programs for seniors. She still leads a popular play-reading class and is able to take in concerts at Tanglewood, only 5 minutes away. Doris Linblade Burn writes from Cedar Grove, N.J., that she’s now in her 37th year working at the American Red Cross in Montclair. She enjoys the job and is thankful for good health. A brief note from Lorraine Smarsch said she enjoyed a visit to Sedona and Scottsdale Ariz., last fall. At home in Rahway, she participates in aquatic exercise classes, and is active in a local branch of AAUW. Mary “Mickey” Davis Conley reported that Betty Marks Dronzek, her senior year roommate, died in late March but will be remembered for the good times. Mickey is happy to live close to her family and enjoys school specials and scout activities with the “grand boys.” Anna Grace Foster has been traveling—this past year to Bosnia, Croatia and Slovenia. She has two novels underway, and in February she and her partner did their synchronized swim show, à la Esther Williams. She is also taking voice lessons, as she enjoys singing with the Williamsburg choral guild. Emma Jones Hann was glad to learn that her Little Sister, Penny Hapgood Noepel ’54, will be returning to live in Massachusetts. With her 60th high school reunion coming soon, Emma can look forward to a second reunion in Berkshire County. Then in July she and Bill are off to Boy Scout Camp Philmont, N.M., hiking boots and all. Peggy Lewis Christensen is preparing for a hip re-replacement. Yes, another surgery, this time to get it right. On June 2 she will check in at New York’s Hospital for Special Surgery. We hope the results are A+ Peggy. Mary Lou Springhorn Leidheiser writes she is learning and loving to bead bracelets to raise money for cancer research. She does daily water exercises and has had good visits with family. In May she will be leaving on a concert tour in France, accompanied by her sister Susan and the Davidson, N.C., Choir on their singing tour. They will visit Paris, Bordeaux and Avignon, and are sure to have glorious weather and see gardens in bloom. Frances“Teeter” Pickle Wetmore is also heading for France with her niece to see Tuscany with Univ. of Pittsburgh alums. She talked to Mary Ann Evert Workinger and Evelyn Bischoff Mitchell and they are both in good spirits. Ruth Jackson Albert is looking forward to seeing all the family in a

Hood Magazine Summer 2008

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Hood Magazine Summer 2008