class notes

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In Memoriam | People & projects

1960s

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1969

Elizabeth Mckinley Loomis
lizyloo@comcast.net

Are you ready for our fantabulous 40th reunion? We’ve got lots planned to keep you on your toes, engaged with classmates, and seeing Skidmore as you have never seen it before. See you in Saratoga, May 28–31!

Phyllis Fradkin Boynton is a geriatric-care coordinator for a local elder-law attorney in Milford, CT, one of a small number who shifted their practices to a holistic model called life-care planning. They assist elderly and disabled clients and their families to plan long-term financial and care needs. Phyllis is a board member of the Life Care Planning Law Firms Association. Husband Bob is an attorney in private practice. Daughter Amy earned her master’s in special education from Simmons and teaches at Marlborough (MA) High School. Phyllis is in touch regularly with Sandra Davis Flood and Heather Knickerbocker Chace; the trio holds an annual Christmas luncheon at Heather’s home in Watertown, CT.

Sue Jebb Tether and husband Harry took a Patagonian fishing trip this past winter. Harry consults for the Treasury Department and private clients in Latin America. The couple maintains friendships in that part of the world, and their annual January vacation to Argentina thaws them out in midwinter. They live near Sunapee, NH, and enjoy the sports, cultural, and educational opportunities the area offers. Sue took a master gardener course sponsored by University of New Hampshire extension. She is also fulfilling a 45-hour volunteer internship at the Fells, a local historic site. For Reunion, she is organizing a Salisbury/Wilmarth contingent!

Candace Leeds and husband Ed Katz are looking forward to Reunion. They would love other classmates in the Hamptons to join them at their new Westhampton home; they enjoy long weekends there in the warmer months. Candace will mark her 16th anniversary at Loews Corporation for the Tisch family, as VP of public affairs.

Melinda Reach regrets that she most likely will not make it to Reunion. After retiring from a 35-year career on Wall Street, she moved to the south of France with husband Jean-Paul Lecomte. Their youngest of two children, son Russell is finishing high school at the Mougins International School. Living there has been a good experience for them, Melinda says, and she is learning a new language, slowly—“One year of college French didn’t really do it for me.” The large international community has enabled her to make friends. She also travels extensively. She is having lots of fun playing bridge again after a multiyear layoff. “That was a subject I did well at while at Skidmore,” she quips.

Last June Karleen Erhardt retired from her job of 22 years as director of college relations and publications at Suffolk County Community College on Long Island. In August she hosted a retirement party for herself at Theatre Three, a year-round nonprofit professional theater in her hometown of Port Jefferson, where she had volunteered for many years being publicist and house manager, working backstage, and appearing onstage in several productions. Skidmore was represented by Leslie Gardner McGovern, Mary Hardman LaPorte, Marcia Jensen Watson, and Mary Ann McKay ’70. Karleen continues to work part-time at Suffolk as chair of a faculty committee that is producing an oral-history video for the college’s 50th anniversary next year.

Carol Robelen Gilbride is a real-estate agent with Sotheby’s in Greenwich, CT. Her sister Beth just finished renovating a house for resale in Old Town Park City, UT, close to the slopes and downtown. Carol is looking forward to Reunion and catching up with long lost friends.

Barbara Herbert von der Groeben has a new e-mail address: 04vndrgrbn11@gmail.com.

Congratulations to Anne Harvey Grote and Meredith Black Zahlaway, who are both first-time grandmothers.

Laura Fabel Dumouchel’s eldest daughter, Alexandra (who came to our 10th reunion as an infant) was married to JF Duchesne in 2007. Both are Middlebury grads. Since then Alexandra has been admitted to the bar in Connecticut and passed the bar exam in New York. She works for Paul Hastings, an international law firm based in NYC. Second daughter Renee, a Williams grad, is marketing manager for the 92nd Street Y in NYC. Her youngest, Evan, also a Middlebury grad, is in Hollywood, hoping to be seen on the silver screen in the near future. An elementary-school principal for over 14 years, Laura elevated one school to Compass status, a notable recognition for achievement in state exams, and is working to expand the school day, to improve student outcomes in core subjects and allow more time for hands-on, inquiry-based learning. In her personal time, she designs, makes, and sells jewelry, mostly necklaces. She and husband Bruce, a psychologist who specializes in biofeedback, are looking forward to turning their Victorian home in the Berkshires into a bed and breakfast when she retires. Laura hopes to see everyone at Reunion.

Joan Raphael Weinstein and husband Philip have been married for two years. Joan works part-time at the International Institute of Rhode Island in the refugee resettlement department. The Weinsteins built a house in Guanacaste, Costa Rica, where they wintered after a trip to South Africa and Botswana in the fall. Joan played golf twice last summer with Ann Coddington Mays.

Paula Goldblatt Pearson’s daughter Alessandra is in the class of 2011. The more things change, the more they remain the same, Paula says. “Allie has spent two years in McClellan, the only dorm I ever lived in on the new campus.”

Peggy Amyot Mangano is happily retired from midwifery. She teaches childbirth education classes, hikes, runs, and travels. Peggy audited Spanish 101 at Skidmore while hosting two students from El Salvador:
Maribel Platero Torres ’11 and Marta Cuellar Aguilar ’11. Husband Tony is on the board of Nueva Esperanza del Norte (New Hope from the North), a group that brings young Salvadoran students to the US. Peggy can be contacted at ammsm4@juno.com.

Peggy Vinal Mosher retired in 2007 after 37 years of teaching grades K–2. Husband Bob retired too, and after a memorable trip to Italy later in 2007, they got the puppy they always wanted. Now Bob and Peggy travel separately—Bob on fishing trips to Mexico, Colorado, and Canada, and Peggy to Madrid to spend time with daughter Laren and a newborn granddaughter.

I look forward to seeing you at Reunion!