class notes

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In Memoriam | People & projects

1970s

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1973

Joanne Rubin
jrubin610@aol.com

Connie Terry Ferguson’s son Peter continues to be one of the top 15 salespersons at Automatic Data Processing Inc., a business outsourcing firm. He lives in Brooklyn, NY, and spent much of last summer sailing off the south shore of Long Island, where Connie sailed for many years before moving to Vermont. Daughter Abby moved from San Francisco to Quincy, MA, where she is pursuing a doctorate in psychology; her dissertation focuses on how a child’s disability affects the family. Connie and husband Bob spent last March in Vero Beach, FL, but Connie still loves winters in Vermont, snowshoeing and playing platform tennis. In the warmer months she plays golf and tennis and enjoys gardening. She also fundraises for a number of local arts organizations and Choate Rosemary Hall, and assists Bob in his portfolio-management business.

Margaret Cary Curran advises, “Get those annual mammograms, ladies!” Early breast-cancer detection saved her life. Margaret teaches skiing at Sugarloaf in Maine on weekends and holiday vacation weeks. She says, “See you at the slopes!”

New Haven, CT, resident Melanie Stein Wolf’s daughter Rachel married Jeff Heyman last June. The newlyweds live in Cambridge, MA, where Rachel is a theater-arts teacher and Jeff attends an MBA program at MIT. Melanie’s son Dan attends University of Pennsylvania Law School, and son Mike graduated last May from Syracuse University with a bachelor’s in hotel and hospitality administration. Husband Jimmy is a school administrator, and Melanie herself chairs a school planning and placement team. She is sorry to have missed Reunion but was in the thick of wedding planning and finishing the school year.

Mary Ellen Knight Thompson lives in Beaufort, SC, where she is representing six local artists, most of them of the Gullah culture. (The Gullah are African Americans living in the Low Country region of South Carolina and Georgia, who have preserved many African cultural and linguistic traditions.) She was in a reality-TV episode last fall that has yet to air. Daughter Elizabeth runs a studio for jewelry artists in Brooklyn, NY, and has her own jewelry in several shops in NYC and the South. Mary Ellen’s son Alex is spending spring semester in Copenhagen, Denmark; she accompanied him before setting off on her own to explore Scandinavia.

A librarian at the University of Colorado in Boulder since 1997, Charlene Kellsey is now head of acquisitions. As librarians have faculty status there, she was promoted to a tenured position as associate professor in 2005 and spent a wonderful sabbatical in England and France. An article based on her research in Arles, France, was published in the fall 2008 issue of RBM: A Journal of Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Cultural Heritage. Charlene is developing a pastime as a weekend painter, working mostly in pastels. She has had a few paintings in local shows, and really enjoys the change of pace from her academic work. Son Ken is general manager for Century 21 movie theaters in Redwood City, CA. Daughter Rebecca lives nearby in Parker, CO, and is a medical-office assistant in a gastroenterology practice.

Barbara Feuer Rosenbaum is a social worker in Lexington and Sudbury, MA. Husband Charlie is an oncologist. Son Sam is getting his MBS; son Eric works at the Media Lab at MIT. Barb would love to hear from classmates to plan a mini-reunion.

Susan Hayward Donahue hosts 10 classmates every summer at her Maine cottage and promises to gather a lot of news from this year’s get-together.

After 25 years, Barbara Kosheff is leaving her job in quality assurance and technical services at Cadbury Schweppes/Snapple Beverage Group. Her department was relocated to Texas, and Barb wanted to remain in the Northeast. She plans to look at other opportunities but may retire, joining husband Robert and gaining more time to reconnect with people. Daughter Sarah is a sophomore at Bucknell; Katie is a junior in high school.

Zoë Vose Morsette, who built costumes for Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock this past year, also landed a nice contract for several props for Shrek the Musical, which opened on Broadway in December. She flew out to Los Angeles to spend Christmas with Marilyn Holgan Wall and her family. Marilyn and Zoë also got together with Victoria Sokol during the visit.

Timi Carter says she has been processing a lot after the loss of her “Happy Pappy.” After hearing from Trish Passmore Alley ’72, she again reflected upon how special those weekends were. As freshmen, we gagged at the thought of fathers as dates for the weekend; but after that first one, we realized we could actually have fun with them. For Timi, who was one of five children, spending one-on-one time with her dad had a very different dynamic. There was also the fabulous bond that developed among the fathers over our four years; some of them even kept in touch themselves. Timi says they treasured those hats, ties, and other Happy Pappy mementos. If any classmates wish to share memories of those weekends or anything else about our years at Skidmore, please forward them to me.

Katie Alverson ’74 contacted me with the sad news that Sean Jackson Patrick died in January of complications resulting from surgery in November. The class sends condolences to Sean’s family and friends.

I was recently elected and installed as the first VP of the Lucas County Bar Association in Ohio. Over the winter, I tried to spend as much time as possible playing with my son Barry in the snow; he loves the winter weather. The snow and sub-zero temperatures reminded me of how popular January term was during our tenure at Skidmore. While winter sports enthusiasts skied, many of us took the month to study in Russia, Italy, Israel, London, or the Grand Canyon. I’d love to hear how some of you spent J-term.