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1940s

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1946

Miriam Blechman Grimes
Miriam2166@aol.com

Janice Chiquoine Beacham reports the sad news that husband Frank died in March. The memories of their wonderful years together bring her comfort.

Mary-Jane Galvin Stevens is remarried and living in Pawleys Island, SC. MJ has known Robert since fourth grade, and the pair, each having lost a spouse, met again at their 50th high-school reunion. MJ has a son in Denver, CO, another in Kissimee, FL, and a third in Bainbridge, NY. She has five grandchildren and one great-grandson, born in January.

Barb Smith Martien has become the principal caregiver for her memory-impaired spouse. She paints and draws when she can. She asks if anyone is interested in a five-bedroom, winterized house on the shores of Lake Chautauqua—“a dream house in a dreamy spot.”

Ruth Pflanz Frank reports that St. John is becoming the Beverly Hills of the Caribbean, but she still loves it. The St. John School of the Arts keeps Sis busy.

Ann McWhinney Watson’s vacations mostly consist of visiting her three sisters—in Boston, Poughkeepsie, NY, and New Jersey—and getting together with brothers in Santa Fe, NM, and San Diego and Venice, CA.

Faith Hope Barnard and husband Dave were in the Chicago area for the summer, catching up with the grandchildren. They are also rehabbing an apartment, which tenants had occupied for 23 years. One of their golden retrievers accompanied them, as always, and made them some friends at the local dog park. A week in Virgin Gorda with Faith’s daughter and two sons provided a good time.

Cyrena Parker Konecky gets up at 4 a.m. to be at her electrolysis practice—on Fifth Avenue, across from the New York Public Library—in time for clients who arrive at 7, before work. She keeps the office closed part-time so she can help out with grandkids and enjoy her family.

This past spring Peg Eaton Koerner visited her children and did some sightseeing—including a drive to Washington, DC, to see oldest son Chris and tour the memorials and the Library of Congress.

In May she flew to Denver to visit her daughter, the youngest of her five children, and toured several sites in the area. At home she swims, golfs, walks her dog, and works two volunteer jobs.

Betty Bryan Rosenbaum continues to thrive after moving to a senior residence apartment. She has found new friends and new talents (pool and bocce) to complement her first love, gardening. Not worrying about house repairs and yard work is a big relief, she says, and she is grateful for elevators and ramps.

Gladys Benfield Watkinson is still on the farm, raising Halflingers—Austrian alpine workhorses that are “not too big but extremely rugged and strong, and resemble small Belgians.” Benny and Bill enjoy cart driving. They recently traveled to California for Bill’s reunion with ex-night fighters aboard the Yorktown.

Elizabeth McAllister Brown has taken the big step of selling her home and moving into a condo in Edina, MN. As we all know, “there is so much to sort and get rid of!” Betty reports a wonderful 80th birthday celebration with all the family, including four children and their spouses, 13 grandchildren, and two sisters.

For Connie Wallace Caldwell, “life is good.” Husband Dave had a ball at his 70th Brown University reunion; there was only one other male classmate he knew, and five ladies from Pembroke. Seven of the eight Caldwell grandkids live nearby, which makes the couple’s friends envious. Connie continues her volunteer work at Rescue Village, a state-of-the-art animal shelter where she is a cat-cuddler for traumatized kittens.

Pris Smith Osborne’s son, David, has coauthored The Price of Government, concerning the federal fiscal crisis. Pris is “fighting the good fight” in therapy to recover the use of her left arm and hand after a stroke. Happily, other effects have already been reversed. Pris and Jean Alvord Donahue have known each other since fourth grade and celebrated their birthdays (a few days apart) with a picnic. Pris joined the “I am 80” club.

Jean Donahue marked her recent 80th with a family-only picnic, as she didn’t wish to “advertise my age to the world.” She commented, “My lord, that seems old
…yet I don’t feel or think any differently inside this ancient body.” Jean didn’t want gifts, so two sons are giving their labor to complete some tasks at the Donahues’ Hood Canal cabin. Jean and Dick attended her mother’s family picnic in Buffalo. The huge family is held together by sisters, aged 94 and 96, the last of six girls and four boys. They also visited Dick’s sister in Watertown, NY, and friends in Toronto.

Ellen Hinds McGrath wrote about her dear friend Helen DeGroff Whitcher’s death from cancer this March. A month later, Ellen suddenly discovered she was battling the same malady. She is taking it in stride, and we wish her well. Many years ago, Ellen introduced Helen to the boyhood friend of her then-future husband, and Helen married the friend. The couples always lived nearby, so Ellen and Helen stayed in close touch.

I am enjoying living in a condo, and the trauma and work of getting out of my house is about forgotten. I loved my home but decided it was time for another family to enjoy it. Knowing it will be a long time before I am “settled in,” I took my 10-year-old grandson, Raphael, on an Intergenerational Harry Potter Elderhostel. Activities included trips to Blenheim and Warwick Castles, a tour of Oxford and particularly of Christ Church, site of some Harry Potter film scenes, and a ride on a steam train aptly named Hogwart’s Express. As the kids say, the trip was “awesome.”