class notes

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In Memoriam | People & projects

1970s

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1972

Martha Pantier Tehan
marthvic@aol.com

I spent the July 4th holiday on Long Island visiting Joanne Fabrizio Spencer and her family. I loved her Italian cooking and even brought eggplant parmesan back to Oklahoma on the airplane! Joanne took me to Lincoln Center for my first time, to see Giselle and Mama Mia! on Broadway. It was great fun. I recently walked in the Race for the Cure here in Oklahoma.

Sue Reinhardt Groesbeck completed her move to Toronto, ON. Husband Mark is acclimating to city life, and both of them love not owning a car—they can easily walk for errands and take public transportation to events. The Toronto Film Festival was a thrill. Sue signed on as head of Havergal College; she and Mark live on campus. This summer, they spent time with Susan Opie Smeragliuolo ’72 and husband Dan at Chautauqua in Boulder, CO. The Groesbecks’ daughters—Alicia, who lives in Madison, WI, and Chris­tina, in Atlanta, GA—are both doing well and professionally fulfilled. Sue’s parents, who live on Cape Cod, recently visited them in Toronto and saw all the sites. She invites classmates to “come see some hockey!”

Becky Layton Bartovics and Bill sold their home of 27 years in Lincoln, MA, in 2005 and bought the 34-acre property they named Cider Hill Farm on North Haven Island, in Maine’s Penobscot Bay. The farm includes fruit trees, Coopworth sheep, two Bernese mountain dogs, and a cat. Their sheep, newcomers to competition, won awards at the Maine Fiber Frolic and Common Ground Fair last year. She and Bill are blessed to have daughter Mina Bowdoin ’07 and son Foster, who transferred from Skidmore to College of the Atlantic, help with summer projects such as adding new posts to an 1800 gunstock post barn, moving a building to become a solar chicken coop, turning two gardens from gravel to production, and doing constant work on the circa-1830 house. They also co-own an old inn, which they run as a bed and breakfast (see www.nebolodge.com). Becky is also involved in protecting Sears Island, at the head of Penobscot Bay. She invites classmates to come anytime for “a PJ party.”

After years of renting, Linda Boise bought a new house, a two-bedroom
bungalow, in Canton, NY. She has been retired on disability for many years, due to a kidney transplant.

Liz Craig-Olins has been teaching high-school English in Newton, MA, for 10 years, after a career in freelance editorial and design work in book and magazine publishing in Boston. Stepson Matt lives in Nairobi with his wife and two young sons, and oversees education efforts for UNICEF in Somalia. Liz and husband Andy spent two fascinating weeks with them in Kenya last February in the midst of the political crisis. Stepdaughter Shura works for a healthcare nonprofit in Vermont, and spent a good deal of time working for the Obama campaign. Daughter Heather graduated from Wesleyan with a bachelor’s and master’s in earth and environmental science; she teaches science at the St. Marks School for Boys in Dallas, TX. Son Jake ’11 is majoring in business and is frequently visited by mom and dad. “Saratoga has definitely polished its image since the ’70s!” says Liz. She had a great mini-reunion with Ruth Kawecki Liebermann, Debby Weddell Crosswell, Joanie Frelich, Anne Chittenden Morsch, Leslie Forkner, and Chris and Kathy O’Hara last spring, and stays in touch with Jody Ziebarth, Karen Lee, and Kit Reitman.

Betsy Stern Guttag is interested in having classmates correspond with one another on a monthly basis. Her home was spared by the southwest Florida hurricanes last year, and she has great empathy for those affected. She and her husband have done a lot of traveling and have been in touch with old friends. The wedding of Jane Feinberg Karlin’s daughter Paula Karlin ’03 brought Betsy, Liz Knobler Weinberg, Carol Kroll Kahn, and Nancy Schwebel Forrest together in July. Betsy will stay with Jane in NYC when she travels for a “camp” reunion and will bunk with sister-in-law Joan Cardile Stern when she returns to NYC for a high-school reunion. Betsy was in Portland, OR, for her older daughter’s birthday.

Kathi White Taggart’s son Brian ’08 got his diploma about the same time husband Gerry retired. They all spent the summer getting reacquainted. She and Gerry celebrated their 25th anniversary in September and also attended their 40th high-school reunion. She says, “The numbers just keep getting bigger, don’t they?”

Caroline Kennedy is editor-in-chief of Gifts & Decorative Accessories magazine, where she has worked since 1985. An art major, she “never in a trillion years” anticipated ending up as an editor and writer, having chosen art so she would not have to write papers! “The joke is on me!” she says. In September she returned from a two-week vacation in Italy—“an art major’s dream come true.”

Greensboro Wonder & Wisdom, the enrichment program for children and seniors that Trish Passmore Alley started, celebrated its 10-year anniversary all summer. Like many folks working in nonprofits, Trish had fingers crossed in these difficult financial times. The program treats an increasing number of children who have autism and recently reached out to provide support for incarcerated dads with children in the program. Trish reports that one of the program’s word-challenged little boys went home recently and asked his mom, “What will happen to Santa Claus with global warming?” It is heartwarming to see the growth of the children in the program, she says. Trish filled in for her vacationing pastor in September and wrote a lovely “meditation.”

Maggie O’Bryan-Seidman’s daughter Jamie married Paul Malluzzo in September; they honeymooned in Cabo San Lucas and are settled in NYC. Younger daughter Jennifer graduated with honors in May from Manhattanville College and is also in NYC, freelance writing. Last year Maggie and husband Steve raced horses at Aqueduct, Belmont, and Saratoga, where they spent all of August trackside and visited Skidmore several times. They plan to join with partners to expand their stable from nine to 15 horses. Steve still works in New York in law, and Maggie is freelance writing. She reports that Saratoga was “as beautiful as ever.” She walked down Caroline and Phila Streets and Union Avenue, feeling as if she had never left.

Last year Beth Verprauskus Summerford and Jody Kelly went on a safari in South Africa, fulfilling Jody’s lifelong dream. The North Hall freshmen have vacationed together every year since graduation. They saw everything from monkeys, elephants, lions, and cheetahs, to zebras, wildebeests, African wild dogs, and waterboks. The South Africans were very friendly and cooked great food. Beth (esummerford@hanover.com) can suggest a four-star hotel in a beautiful private reserve for interested safari participants. She lives in Atlanta, GA.

Nancy Brennan went to France in July to visit a friend, but otherwise feels she never leaves the office! She and Mary Ferriter Gonzalez work in adjacent buildings in Hartford, CT, and meet for dinner once in a while. She likes reading about everyone’s whereabouts in Scope. Nancy is interested in having classmates get together by telecom occasionally, to stay connected, and adds a big “hats off” to Debbie Sehl Coons.

With her two kids’ college graduations (from Union and Brown) and weddings behind them, Antoinette Musco Kuritz and husband Richard are enjoying their grandchildren in sunny San Diego, CA. A literary publicist, she would love to hear from alums who have published books, for the Writer’s Roundtable radio show, which she hosts.

In October Molly Youngling reported that Meta Black Matthews, who attended Skidmore her first two years, died in July of breast cancer. Meta and Molly shared a room at the Adelphi Hotel during our 35th reunion. We send condolences to Meta’s family. Molly has recently joined the Bach Society Choir in Pittsburgh, PA. She is enjoying having time for friends and family, and to smell the roses.