class notes

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People & projects | UWW | In Memoriam

1940s

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1945

Olga Massimiano Gigante

Viola Woodruff Opdahl and husband Robert are co-authors of A Shaker Musical Legacy, released by the University Press of New England in July (see Books page in this Scope).

Phyllis Friedman Levenson flew to London for a week with a friend whose son invited them on his private plane. They saw all the sights and found a bridge club near their hotel, where they came in a respectable third in a delicate game. Phyllis has twin grandchildren who have graduated from college and landed great jobs: one in Washington, DC, and the other in NYC.

Isabel Sherwin Harris reports on her 10-day cruise on the new Queen Mary II: she enjoyed the trip but prefers a smaller ship. Since her husband died, she lives in a retirement community in Longwood, FL, where she finds it “impossible be lonely.” She continues to paint and sells prints of her work.

After undergoing knee surgery and four months of therapy, Betty Spoerl Eckerson has recovered nicely. She has returned to painting and her position as trustee for the Historical Society of American Decoration. Her husband, Bill, and I attended the same school in Pittsfield, MA. Bill plays trombone in local groups.

Pegge Fowler Lander enjoys her winters at the Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo, FL, and her summers in Rochester, NY. Pegge has four children and four grandchildren.

Susan Rabinowitz Malloy traveled to London for a theater tour in December. She then spent two weeks in Scottsdale, AZ, with her children and grandchildren. For her 80th birthday, she invited 40 friends to a concert by the Norwalk Symphony, followed by a party. Now back at work in the studio, she was one of four artists featured in Skidmore’s first alumni invitational exhibition, held at the Tang Museum this spring.

Jan Sharp Adkins and daughter Liz toured Switzerland and Italy last year, and visited granddaughter Jessica in Paris, where she spent her junior year in college. Jan also visited her son in Switzerland. In January, Jan visited son Alden in Berkeley, CA, where he and his family live in a wonderful house overlooking the San Francisco Bay.

Miriam Hinckley Taylor has moved to an apartment in Gaithersburg, MD.

Jeanne Kimball Carrazzone and husband Al invited families from their church youth group to start off the maple syruping of eleven trees surrounding their house and barn in February. Each youngster got to drill his or her hole and pound in the spigot under their parents’ watchful gaze.

Claire LaRose Leverault is Queen Mother of her local Red Hat Society, which boasts 90 members. She belongs to a computer club, teaches water aerobics three times a week, and enjoys digital photography. Claire embarked on a Lewis and Clark Expedition Cruise in Oregon in May and is planning a trip to Thailand in September.

Life for Anne Linton Waite at Meadow Lakes is “just fine.” With Princeton and NYC close by, she is never bored. Anne enjoys spending time with her twin grandsons, age 20. She has maintained close friendships with Scotty Blanchard Perkins and Marge Freeman Smith over the years.

Marjorie Duffett Reid and husband Lew spent a month in Florida, living in their motor home, camping, and visiting friends along the way. Back home, the couple delivers Meals on Wheels and volunteers at a local hospital. They attended the college graduations of two grandsons in May and stopped in Rochester, NY, to see Marjorie’s college roommate and Lew’s sister, Martha Reid Cucci.

Jean Garvin Slate enjoyed a trip to Denmark last year, accompanied by her daughter and Danish son-in-law. His aunt’s 70th birthday festivities involved many relatives and lots of food and wine.

Alfred Beers writes that his wife, Mary Covell Beers, passed away after five years in a nursing home. We remember Mary as a petite, cheerful, and charming lady; she will surely be missed.

We extend condolences to the families of several other classmates who passed away in 2003: We remember Katharine Kennedy Kent as our senior class president and writer for Eromdiks; Ruth Schneider Cardle for her gracious demeanor; Frances Holmes for her sparkling personality; and Margaret Honan, whose cheerfulness and dedication to nursing were unmistakable. They will be missed.

And now to me and mine: my five girls and nine grandchildren were home for Easter, and I’ll never forget the joy of seeing them all at the same time.