class notes

1920s | 1930s | 1940s | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s

People & projects | UWW | In Memoriam

1950s

1950 | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959

1955

Mardi Duggan Drebing
mardifly@aol.com

Adele Albrecht Wakefield-Gren visited son Philip, his wife, and their sons, ages 2 and 4, in Seattle, WA. She says plans for our 50th reunion are coming along nicely, and she is excited about seeing classmates there.

Sue Alling Pulling’s two grandchildren graduated from high school last June. Husband Benjamin, who suffers from Parkinson’s disease, stays active working with disabled seniors.
Sue Bauman Walker still works part-time and has a new poodle puppy name Kisu. She may attend Reunion.

In Newtown, CT, Margie Bowers Rogers enjoys living in the country with deer, coyotes, and wild turkeys. Her son and grandson are in Park City, UT, and her daughter lives in Fair Oaks, CA—giving her opportunities for travel. She is involved with community theatre, the Connecticut Chorale Society, and recording books for the blind. Margie is looking forward to Reunion.
Dottie Benedict Foley is aiming to return for Reunion. She is recovering from a broken arm sustained last summer.

Rosanne Brody Raab traveled to Australia and New Zealand for business and pleasure. She and husband Ed were planning to celebrate Thanksgiving with the family on the West Coast. She will definitely attend our 50th.

One of my constant correspondents, Diane Davis Nelson, will be unable to attend Reunion since she will be cruising on the Mediterranean Sea in June with a group from Savannah Lakes, her retirement community. She recently took a cruise in the western Caribbean. Both Diane and her husband have grandchildren graduating this year. They spent two weeks at Lake George last summer with Diane’s daughter Kathy and two granddaughters.

After 28 years in southern California, Lois Denerstein Marantz has returned to New Jersey, where she loves retirement. She is looking forward to Reunion.

Ruth Foster Fleming, Barbara Thomas Green, and Sally Wagman Hoge attended an Eastern Long Island Skidmore club lunch in August. They had a great time and are all planning to be at our 50th.

Bobbie Gordon Spiegel, who spent five days in an emergency shelter in Vero Beach during last summer’s hurricanes, returned to find her apartment undamaged, but missing some surrounding trees. She is working with Sue Warren Campbell, putting together our class history. Bobbie encourages everyone to complete the questionnaire and submit photos so that our 50th will be extra special.

Anne Griggs Danzberger and husband Alex arranged a family get-together during Thanksgiving on Block Island. Anne enjoyed our reunion-planning session in July and is looking forward to our 50th.

Bobbie Haft Hausman has been living in Bonita Springs, FL, for eight years. Semi-retired, she works per diem for the VNA flu clinics and geriatric day-care centers. Her three children and four grandchildren are scattered throughout the country but connect by phone at least twice a week.

Nancy Lee Farrell is also looking forward to Reunion. Another semi-retiree, she is a substitute teacher in Burlington, VT, and also in Tacoma, WA, where she spends winters to be near grandchildren. She is making arrangements for a group of young Israeli and Palestinian puppeteers and dancers to tour the US this summer. The group’s director has taught the children to deflect aggressiveness with creativity.

Since moving from Connecticut to Fearrington Village, NC, in 2002, Jackie Loohn Stempfle and husband Bill have found being retired “great fun,” and they get to see their daughters and eight grandchildren much more often. Jackie is counting the days until our 50th.

Ruth Miller Kwartin and Saul are both retired. They have ten grandchildren; the oldest is a freshman at Emory, and the youngest is a couple of months old. They visit back and forth often. The Kwartins will be attending our 50th.

The class offers its sympathies to Faire Millham Hart, whose husband of 52 years, Ashton, recently passed away.

A part-time nursing supervisor, Nancy Passaro Whittaker has ten grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. She stays busy directing guest services for her 1,500-member church and caring for two dogs.

Sue Pynn Beamish spent a month in Portugal with the family of daughter Lisa Beamish Carvalho e. Silva ’80 and her family. Sue’s private and professional life is centered on animals: horses, dogs, and a cat. She goes fox-hunting in winter, paints in her spare time, and has found success exhibiting and selling her artwork.

In Sarasota, FL, Carolyn Ruscoe Burt hopes to avoid more hurricanes. Rusty visits her six granddaughters in the North during the summertime, but the timing is such that she’ll miss coming to Reunion.

Patti Sherman Jones and Walter survived the Florida hurricanes, but had to sweat out the lack of power and air conditioning for several days.

Audrey Schmierer Deren’s son’s place in Orlando suffered major damage—mostly to the landscaping. Audrey enjoys sailing and visiting children in Florida, Idaho, and New Jersey. Husband Julius still works full-time.

Mert Smith Ingholt and Hal returned from Hawaii and are in the process of moving into a new home.

Nancy Sulkin Marin reports that her school, Palm City Elementary in Stuart, FL, held up better during last summer’s hurricanes than some of the newer schools built after Hurricane Andrew. Nancy’s husband, Sal, escaped to Tampa and NYC for Frances and Ivan (the Marins’ children and grandchildren enjoyed his unplanned visits); he went to a shelter, however, for Jeanne. Nancy’s home now sports a new tin roof and screened porch.

Connie Swedlin Sultan and former roommate Lois Denerstein Marantz, who were both nursing majors as well as camp bunkmates, have reunited after 40 years. They both hope to make it to Reunion.

Margaret Tait Willard enjoyed a great reunion in California with her three children and seven grandchildren. The clan went to Sequoia National Park, where they spied five bears. Peggy hopes to make it to our 50th.

Sue Campbell survived four hurricanes with minor damage, “not to mention the psychological damage of thinking that nature’s wrath was aimed at Florida.” She is looking forward to Reunion and hopes everyone will return. Sue represented Skidmore at the installation of the new president of the University of Florida at Gainesville, which went off as planned on September 10, though the reception was canceled and the food donated to the hurricane shelters.
Sue also writes that Ann Hewson Galloupe was involved in a serious auto accident in early September and is undergoing rehabilitation therapy.

Rosemary Wheatley Hudson will be at her husband’s Yale reunion in June, so won’t be coming back to Skidmore.

Adele Albrecht Wakefield-Gren will be in Seattle visiting son Philip, his wife, and their two boys, Barrett, 4, and Brendan, 2.