class notes

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1980

Peri Snyderman
specialcat@msn.com


As most of us will turn 50 this year or next, it has been suggested we have a mini-reunion 50th birthday celebration bash in Saratoga. If you’re interested, please let me know. We need to get
the planning ball rolling!

John Aurbakken and his wife, Andrea Ballard, will be spending the next two years in Bamako, Mali. Andrea is a Peace Corps health-care provider, and after more than seven years in Bulgaria, she has been reassigned to Bamako, where she will provide health-care to volunteers serving in Mali. They were originally scheduled to transfer to East Timor, but that was canceled when the country erupted into a violent social crisis. While in Bulgaria, John landed some speaking parts
in about 10 movies that were made by US film companies based in Sofia, the capital. He also did
a lot of photography, some of which was printed in an English language magazine called Tour BG, and he hopes to continue his camera work in Mali. Anyone wanting to get in touch may do so at jalfab@yahoo.com.

Lauren Clarke Hutton, living in England, came to the US for a “girls weekend” in Boston with Cindy Knauer, Lorraine Rogus Sager, Nancy Crane ’81, and Betsy Linzer Rickert ’81. Lauren is getting active in her art again; you can see what she’s been up to on her new Web site: www.laurenaveryhutton.com.

Kim Greene and husband John Gray got back into beekeepings and harvested 40 quarts of honey from just one hive. They also had a great vacation in Costa Rica, and Kim competed in and finished her first triathlon and duathlon. John is a research geochemist with the US Geological Service, and Kim is a middle-school science and health teacher with Boulder Valley Schools. They spend a lot of time outdoors hiking, biking, skiing, etc., and welcome anyone to “visit, stay, and play from our house” anytime. “I hope all are achieving their dreams and savoring life as we reach our 50th birthdays!”

William Gold is living on a gentleman’s ranch in Chenango, NY, with a wife, three kids, two dogs, and seven guinea pigs—with wild deer, coyotes, bears, and foxes flitting about. Buck is looking forward to opening up a new aviation school—including commercial and ultralight aircraft, paragliding, ballooning, and skydiving. The skydiving course will be farmed out, as he sees “no point in jumping out of a perfectly good airplane.”

Brenda Fedrizzi Korn’s family has spent a year in Singapore, where there’s a huge expat American community. They’re enjoying Asian foods and opportunities to travel to places they’ve always dreamed of. Highlights include skiing in New Zealand in August and snorkeling in Malaysia. Son Alex is doing well as a 6th-grader at the Singapore American School, and husband Nate is working hard with United Technologies Asian Operations. Brenda volunteers for the PTA, Scouts, and the local hospital. She is also looking into part-time work at a local pharmaceutical company.

After earning a master’s in management from Lesley University in 2003, Katie Goode bought a townhouse in Hopkinton, MA. She has been working for the TJX Companies for 13 years and started a new job there in November as assistant VP of human resources for Home Goods. She travels, stays in touch with Skidmore friends, and loves spending time with her nieces and
nephew. She also enjoys visiting Saratoga when she can.

Carrie Hare is happily ensconced in her new home, a 1949 bungalow in downtown Colorado Springs. Daughter Rebecca, an 11th-grader, is looking at colleges, with an eye toward majoring in biology. Son Alex, a 9th-grader, is still adjusting to high school. Carrie has been the administrator of Renaissance Academy, a small, private pre-K–8 school. Carrie and kids took a vacation on the East Coast this year, arriving during the July heat wave. Aside from blowing a fuse and losing the AC one night in Brooklyn, they had a great time. While there, she had the chance to catch up with Susan Sturges Acheson, who was unable to attend our 25th.

John Howley’s son Tom ’10 is a freshman at Skidmore. “It is fascinating to see the college as a parent and to get the feedback from a son who is living in Howe today,” says John. “There are so many changes (all for the better), yet the essential qualities that we loved remain the same: great sense of community, wonderful and accessible professors, and a real sense of fun and excitement.”

Stephanie Miles-Beaudett and husband Mal are now empty-nesters. Son Ethan is at Colgate, majoring in neuroscience, and son Ben is at Hampshire. Both are very happy. Stephanie finished her master’s in July and went back to work as a school nurse in August. She is also taking Bikram (“hot”) yoga. She says time is just flying by, and she barely has time to miss her kids.

Lisa Kott Massirman and family moved to a new house on a lake in Coral Gables, FL. Husband Jay and kids Jordan and Drew are very excited. Lisa spoke to Donna Meadows, who is doing well in Houston, TX. Donna was one of 30 museum registrars chosen from over 140 applicants nationally to participate in an NEH-funded pilot study in museum collections management. She completed the graduate program in July, taking all of her coursework online. She says, “Mostly I’m just glad to have some free time again.” Donna goes to a ballet workshop every summer in the Taos Ski Valley, where last summer she had a way-too-close encounter with a black bear and this summer her car went off the highway and into a field as she swerved to avoid a deer. This is why she continues to live in a city where she can, at least for now, outrun anything that comes up the bayou.

Donna keeps up with Cathy Krayer Kimball by e-mail. Cathy lives in California, where she is the director of the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art. The museum recently moved into expanded new digs.

After spending a year in Martha’s Vineyard, Barbara Sabia and family have moved to Litchfield, CT. They are enjoying this beautiful and very quiet part of the state. Sofia and Connor attend a
local Montessori school, and Brent is finishing his last year at Tulane University. Barbara plans
to continue her fundraising consulting business in Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, and Massachusetts and hope to expand to other states as well.

After 22 years as technology coordinator at the Istanbul International Community School, Lane Riker Ceylan is now a college counselor and computer instructor. Her husband, Sinan Ceylan ’82, is the country director for Walt Disney in Istanbul. Daughter Lara ’09 is a sophomore at Skidmore and loves it. Daughter Aylin is a junior at Lane’s school this year and is starting to think about colleges. Lane recently saw Wendy Kilguss Jefferson ’80, who is doing well in Tewkesbury, MA.

Francine Safir has been working at Sanofi-Aventis, in Malvern, PA, for the last year in the global strategic project and portfolio planning department. She has 18 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry. Francine and fiancé David bought land in Chester County, PA, where they plan to build their dream house in 2008. Daughter Sasha, 16 (from Francine’s first marriage to a ballet dancer), loves art, design, and photography and has been hooked on Skidmore since visiting during Reunion 2000. Francine would love to hear from old friends at safir482@aol.com. Also, the class sends its condolences on the tragic death of her brother Howie in a car accident in July.

Karen Schubert and William Ramirez were married in Bermuda in June. Kathryn Schubert Whyland ’77 was matron of honor. The wedding, part of a weeklong family cruise vacation, included breathtaking views of the ocean and pink sand beach.

Filippa Scott Viola’s family now lives in New Hampshire after several years in Lund, Sweden. Filippa is a professor of Spanish at Southern New Hampshire University. Husband Tony is VP of Patni Computers. Daughter Marissa, a Tulane University freshman majoring in premed, spearheads an operation in the Seventh Ward to repair and clean schools so they can reopen. Daughter Tala was accepted into the Yale School of Writing. In 2005 Marisssa held a blood drive for Tala, who went through a nine-hour spinal fusion and is now the spokesperson for the National Scoliosis Foundation. The family attended the Back in the Dome event, which celebrated the reopening of the Super Dome after Hurricane Katrina.

Rhonda Sligar Shipley, still in interior design, is opening a new office in Larkspur, CA. She will
be traveling to Boston quite a bit to work on a big project in Winchester, MA.

Jamieson Thomson Thomas raced her last rowing regatta in an eight in November. Now she’s focusing exclusively on the single and double. She and Robert had a great time at our 25th and
look forward to seeing everyone again at our 30th.

After 15 years as director of alumni relations at Columbia University’s School of Law, Liz Westbrook Hydes is taking a break from work. She spent the summer doing what she likes most, playing tennis and volunteering. She is the Manhattan representative of the US Tennis
Association eastern section’s metro management committee and president of the 119th Street Tennis Association. Her organization co-head is Anne-Marie Jannuzzo, wife of Jeffrey Jannuzzo ’71. Liz’s new e-mail address is lizwestbrook@earthlink.net. She maintains a condo in
Troy, NY, which provides a great getaway when the buzz of the city gets too loud.

We send condolences to the family of Becky Layne Roberts, who passed away on Easter in 2006. Described by friends and family as a “mother extraordinaire,” she will be missed by all whose
lives she touched.