Skidmore College - Scope Magazine Fall 2018

30 SCOPE FALL 2018 Ellen Kniffin Wright and hubby Don moved to as- sisted living in Madison, Wis. They love being near their two sons and Ellen’s sister, but miss their friends of 54 years in New Jersey. Ellen doesn’t travel well and will miss our reunion next year. Adelaide Hodgman Marx may be “a little older but is still going strong.” She plays bridge four days a week at the senior center and works at her home in the Berkshires, which is getting old too! Dorinne Shutter Armstrong misses Margery Campbell Fort , who joined her on a trip on the Queen Mary in 1949. Margery passed away May 23. Dorinne observes, “Getting old would be quite pleasant, if family and friends would stick around to enjoy it with us!” In addition to Margery, the following classmates have re- cently left this earth: Eunice Kling Kirkbride, Eleonore Panzenhagen Mobley, Nancy Coe Wixom, Millicent Binder Asher and Alice Giese Clark. As for me, I hate the com- puter, my hands are not good and it takes forever to type. I walk daily without a cane and can do a mile, if it isn’t too hot. I still tend my little vegetable garden. Sometimes I take the three-hour drive to Pennsylva- nia. I play bridge on Thursday and serve as a lector at 8 a.m. mass. Once a month, I volunteer at a soup kitchen and help with the church Chronicles each month. Edith Armend Holtermann holterglas@aol.com Ina Spelke Schnell has re- turned to Plymouth Harbor, Fla., after the death of her husband and several travel adventures in Great Britain, Europe and Canada by bicycle. After a career in fashion design, Ina worked for many years with children in trouble with the law in NYC. In retirement, she has been involved with the Ringling Museum of Art and the Library Founda- tion of Sarasota County. Ina is hoping to find class- mates in the Plymouth Harbor area. Pat Bryant Koedding is busy as always with her family and artwork. We recently learned that Mary Burroughs Small died in 2015, and others left us this year: Elizabeth Phillips Brisson in January, Carol Peever Zedler in April, and Mary Kahle Monthie and Frank W. Gibbins in June. This issue’s “In Memoriam” has details. Also, Carl De- Santis ’s wife, Barbara, died in February. We send our deepest sympathy to all of their families and friends. Patricia Grummon Clegg patriciaclegg436@ gmail.com M.F. Hat- field , who had her 87th birth- day in April, is writing an essay entitled “End-Game Strategies.” I hope she will share it with the rest of us! Dawn Rylander Spitz and Eric are still singing and per- forming. Dawn won first prize in the National League of American Pen Women’s po- etry contest. Dawn and Eric are selling their Cape Cod home and moving to Venice, Fla. As class co-presidents, Dawn and I are already talk- ing about our 70th reunion in 2022! Barbara Brigham Posey ’s family writes, “Barbara’s time is fully taken up as a patient at St. Patrick’s Manor in Framingham, Mass. Although too weak to write, she often thinks of Skidmore and her classmates.” NYC resident Bea Kee shared news about her involvement with the New Birth Portrait Series, a collec- tion of videos created by her church that explore the lives of New Yorkers transformed by faith. In her “portrait,” Bea describes how exposure to Christian worship changed her life. You can view it at www.newbirthportraits.com. Peggy McConnell Hinricks spent a glorious winter in Vero Beach, Fla., before returning to her new resi- dence at Waverly Heights in Gladwynne, Pa. She has made many new friends and is creating artwork, which is “great fun on rainy days.” Peggy attended her grandson’s graduation from the Navy’s Officers Candi- date School in Newport, R.I. He is now training for atomic submarine service. Marcia Hilfrank Forrest and George enjoyed their vacation on Ossipee Lake in Freedom, N.H. Marcia has been vacationing there since 1931! The couple’s three daughters, eight grandsons and two great-grandsons are all doing well. Despite the prevalence of males, Marcia is holding on to some “girly items” from long ago. She and George feel very fortunate. Jean Adams Shaw and Biff, in Essex, Conn., are busy but taking life at a slower pace. Three great-grandchildren add to their joy in life. The couple enjoyed two days on the beautiful Skidmore campus and loved watching the New York City Ballet at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center. Nancy Kress Douglass , mar- ried for 65 years, now lives in “an old folks home,” they say. Actually, though, Friendship Village in Pittsburgh, Pa., is “a great place!” Their four children, 13 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren keep them very busy. Flora Shoemaker Taylor and her husband are grateful for their health and being able to stay in their own home in Kimball Junction, Utah. The “questionable” decision Flo made a few years ago to adopt a 5-year-old yellow Lab has proved to be sound. Their canine companion keeps them entertained and a little more active. Her husband received a new heart valve this year; the TAVR proce- dure, says Flo, is “an amazing advancement in medicine.” She sends good wishes to all. We send our love and prayers to the families of the late Mary Anne Sloate Ev- erett, Joan Hecker Masters, JoAnn Molinari Byrnes and Ann Brown Abdalla . Bill and I have been very busy celebrating his 92nd birthday, our 65th wedding anniversary, his heart-valve replacement and the beauti- ful weddings of two grand- sons to lovely young women. To top it off, we enjoyed three wonderful weeks of family fun at Lake Winnipe- saukee, N.H., this summer.   Betty Johnson Boothe bettyboothe@gmail.com Sue Davis Tull has been stay- ing close to home after back surgery in April. Her pain has been virtually eliminated, but sadly so has the option of playing golf! Daughter Katie lives nearby with her husband. Son Gray who had been in California for three years, returned to the East Coast to reduce expenses and be closer to the family. Anne, the eldest, lives in Massachusetts with husband David; now retired, she plans to relocate to Nashville, Tenn. And the youngest, Bob (whom Sue calls her “caboose child”), lives in Ohio with wife Kristen. Their daughter Jessie recently graduated from Denison and teaches at an elementary charter school in Washington, D.C., with City Year. Her brother, Corey, is a junior at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. Sue feels blessed to have Jessie and Corey so close by, while youngest granddaughter Allie, 15, is keeping Bob and Kristin from feeling the pangs of an empty nest. The family continues to make use of a cabin in a remote part of the Adirondack Mountains. In April Sue Lindemann Staropoli and Nick gathered with 11 family members and 45 friends for the wedding of granddaughter Sarah (sur- rounded by 15 bridesmaids) at a private estate on Maui, overlooking the Pacific. A July reception followed in Portland, Ore., where Sue and Nick attended grand- son Matthew’s White Coat Ceremony in August. He is a first-year medical student at Oregon Health and Sciences University, where Sarah is a physical therapist. Another C L A S S N O T E S ’52 ’51 ’54 REUNION ’19