class notes

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In Memoriam | People & projects

1950s

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1951

Patricia Bryant Koedding

Charlotte Eberwein Sutherland keeps busy with church music and volunteer work. The grandkids live nearby, so she gets to see them often. Charlotte uses a walker and is trying to avoid a second knee replacement. She enjoyed the summer at her house on Cape Cod.

In Florida Sue MacWatty Morris and her daughter attended a book signing by former roommate Susan Hardie Alexander, the author of Jamaican Journey.

Joyce Hansel Housman, recovering from lung cancer, is feeling better. She says her husband and family are doing well.

Ann Hammel Kahl won first place in the Winter Park, FL, 10K race for women ages 75–79. She also won the Track Shack Grand Prix in seven races. Ann coaches and trains women over 50 in weightlifting and running. She also runs a thriving calligraphy business and is working on a book to encourage people to start similar businesses.

All six of Janice Luther Gay’s children are doing well. Janice lives with her oldest daughter, Wendy, in Rifle, CO. She is no longer totally involved with horses, but her daughter is—and Janice enjoys watching her ride and having the horses brought up to greet her. She enjoys living with Wendy and her husband, John, especially since she is able to have her kitties there—including Mr. Fuzzy.

In Florida Marylyn Taylor Mooney and husband Ed are enjoying life. They like swimming in their pool, and Lyn loves tending her gardens. In May their five kids arranged a family reunion on Captiva Island with spouses, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Lyn points out what a great class 1951 was and still is.

Catherine Knight Dillingham has a granddaughter at Skidmore: Abigail Bowling ’12. Cappy says, “Being that she’s extremely bright, lovely, and talented—watch for her name in the future!”

After 40 years of working with her family’s decorative-fabrics firm, Murray Bartlett Douglas has finally retired. But she still volunteers on special initiatives, like the firm’s Color Key project, and thoroughly enjoys it.

Lois Burch Whitford retired from teaching phys ed in 1984 and has since been involved as board secretary with a small chapel. She has also been a member of state, county, and local retired teacher organizations. Widowed since 1993, Lois lives with her daughter and son-in-law in Rochester, NY. She is glad to have this arrangement, as her oldest son is in England and another is in New Jersey.

Anthea Merrihue Turner still spends winters in Maitland, FL, where she is involved with the arts. AJ went to London over the Easter week to visit her nephew and partook of “nonstop art, theater, and good food,” she says.

Isabelle Bohman had a wonderful and educational trip to Antarctica with several Skidmore alumni and other collegiate groups. Izzy says the scenery was beautiful and she enjoyed seeing a lot of penguins.

Class president Merrylou Greeley Van Gelder is on to a new pursuit, making jewelry instead of selling antiques. Her business is called Ms. Gems. She gathers beads at the Tucson Gem Show in Arizona. Daughter Martha Van Gelder ’79 celebrated at her 30th Skidmore reunion; she lives in Boulder, CO. Merrylou’s other children live in the Boston area, and she gets to see them frequently. The Van Gelders’ oldest grandchild is 26.

Joyce Griffin Lovell is living on St. Helena Island, SC. She traveled to Florida and visited with Joan Kreuser Noone, husband Roger, and Anne Scaaf Wadhams and husband Charlie. Joyce lost her husband, Chuck, last summer. He had been very medically challenged after being on dialysis for over five years. The class extends its sympathies to Joyce.

Last year Jo Feron Reese lost her younger brother to heart failure. This year’s news is joyous: Son Steve was promoted to lieutenant with the Hollywood (FL) Fire Department. When he first started, his dad asked, “What do you want to be, the chief?” And Steve quietly answered “Yes.”

Inge Jensen Brown of Katonah, NY, has stayed connected to the children of our late classmate Ethel Leete Rabin. Ethel’s daughter Julia and her husband, who have become good friends with Inge, live in Wendell, MA, where Julia works at a bindery and her husband works for the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Ethel’s other daughter, Jelyn, lives in Atlanta, GA. Inge’s son Peter lives near her home; his son Max attends Hofstra University and is majoring in business. Another of Inge’s grandsons, Jon, received early acceptance from Bucknell University’s school of engineering.

Janet Ainsworth MacDonald is on the board of directors of a community theater. Quilting, reading, and walking her dog a mile a day are among her activities. She also plays bridge in a foursome with a lady who is 96 and “sharp as a tack.”

Hilda Canez Auguste and her husband have fulfilled a dream. They restored an old sugar mill in a historic part of Haiti in memory of their child Francoise. The building is used for musical performances, including the International Jazz Festival, and exhibits historic artifacts and pictures. Francoise passed away from leuke­mia in 1976. Three years ago another child, Ralph, died of a heart attack at age 51. The class extends its heartfelt condolences to Hilda and her family.