class notes

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1960s

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1960

Gail Bendix Jaffe
gailbjaffe@mac.com

Lynn Lamont Beckmann and husband Bob spend most of their winters in Palm City, FL. They enjoy summers in the Albany, NY, area with their children, grandchildren, and friends. Lynn spent many enjoyable hours playing golf and bridge with Mary Gunst Barnet ’39, Ellie Gunst Oppenheimer ’41, Gloria Moos Hatch ’41, Jan Roth Dorfmann ’53, Susan Liss Biggs ’58, Anne Costales Foy, and Barbara Henry Bagnall.

Anya Hubbard Murray spent a few days in Tucson, AZ, hiking and getting better acquainted with the desert Southwest. She and I were able to spend a couple of hours catching up. Anya continues to create tie-dyed scarves, which are aesthetically exquisite and spiritual as well.

Nelle Nugent has a new musical that she is trying out at the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis; it was slated to open July 26 and run through mid-October. Star Melissa Gilbert is a “charming and lovely actress,” and there is great interest in the show. With a new show heading for London and a film to be shot in South Africa, Nelle says she “gets to work in some really interesting and challenging places with some wonderful people.” She and husband Joylon are traveling to Liguria and Monte Carlo; his company, DeWitt Stern Group—an insurance brokerage firm started by his grandfather in 1899—is one of a few top US brokers operating there.

Peggy Hiller Harris and her husband visited Cuba to celebrate her husband’s 50th Harvard reunion.

Ann Phillips McGill is delighted with reader feedback for her new book, Miracles Made Easy. She describes it as “a door-opener for those who don’t yet realize that miracle-making is an ability everyone has.” You can read the book at www.MiraclesMadeEasy.com and order through Amazon.

Debby Davenport Brooks discontinued her e-mail and now corresponds via “turtle mail.” Her summer address is in Connecticut, and her winter address in Vermont. She would love to hear from you. When Debby and her sister Susan attended a memorial service at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, the campus sparked “memories of our free and wonderful youth as faculty brats with clout.” Debby traces her roots in the Pioneer Valley to the early 1630s. She and her sister inherited a silk wedding dress from 1874 that they will deliver to the South Hadley (MA) Historical Museum.

Sue Smith and I welcomed Mary Kelchner Lindner back to Tucson in February. We resumed our Monday Night Movie Club (old and classic movies as well as other favorites) and pot-luck dinners. We also attend the Tucson Symphony Orchestra and just enjoy being together. Mary left us in April to return to her Pennsylvania home; her stays are much too short.

In April Suzanne Elsesser traveled to Bilbao, Spain, where she visited the Guggeneheim Museum and immersed herself in Basque culture. She then spent time in Paris visiting friends. Sue continues to work with the Marymount Sisters and especially loves her weekly visits with her grandchildren, who call her “Mima.”

Lorrie Neski Fitch and husband Jim love group hikes with Elderhostel friends. They recently conquered Cathedral Rock near Apache Lake in Arizona. Lorrie takes classes and participates in cultural activities at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Santa Clara University. An in-house docent at the San Jose Museum of Art, she also brings art programs to local elementary schools. She attributes her love of learning to Skidmore faculty.

Mary Winters Cooper and Floss Bishop Bogdan attended a Skidmore luncheon in Naples, FL, where the group was updated on all the latest news from campus. Mary and Floss are nearly through their leadership year in the League Club, an organization of 650 current and former Junior League members in southwest Florida. Mary, outgoing president, and Floss, departing treasurer, are both ready to “retire to books and bonbons.”

Dottie Gordon Englander exhibited at a two-person show at the Albany Center Gallery and the Butzel Gallery at the John Sayles School of Fine Arts, where she gave gallery talks to six art, design, and computer classes. To have a look at her new work, visit www.dorothyenglander.com. Dottie enjoyed a three-month residence-fellowship at the Helen Wurlitzer Foundation in Taos, NM. She would love to connect with alumni at doroart2@gmail.com. Son Dan ’85 is a Web developer and project manager for Beacon Street Girls, an innovative Web site and book source for girls ages 9 to 13.

Joyce Jacobs Grand says she is “knee-deep in a major house renovation.” She hopes she and her husband live another 10–15 years in good health to enjoy the results of their labor. Joyce looks forward to our 50th reunion.

In February the Tucson Skidmore club was fortunate to host outgoing Dean of Student Affairs Pat Oles at the club’s spring luncheon. A lively, engaging speaker, he gave us pertinent, interesting, and enlightening information about current campus activities and admission trends.