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1988

Tracy Richards Dingmon
tdingmon@charter.net

We are greatly saddened by the loss of class secretary Tracy Richards Dingmon, who died of lung cancer in June, leaving behind husband Charles and three young children. Tracy waged a valiant battle with her illness while reaching out to others afflicted with this disease. In 2007, a year after she was diagnosed, Tracy spoke at a fundraising walk sponsored by the Lungevity Foundation. She shared stories of other women—including mothers of young children, whose courage had inspired her—and offered a glimpse into what she was thinking and feeling. “I have my husband, Charlie, who has been my rock, without whom I would be lost. We have three beautiful children, Samantha, Joseph, and Alexandra, who inspire me every day. I have many wonderful friends with whom I spend hours drinking coffee and discussing the latest books we’ve read. We often walk for miles and miles, so deep in conversation that we forget to stop, pouring out our hearts about life’s ups and downs.”

Robyn Loring Specthrie ’87 witnessed Tracy’s speech, along with Kristen Erickson, Jodi McLane, Jen Lathrop Price ’87, Laura Brody Ellor, and Stacy Tauber Meisel. Robyn shares this tribute to her dear friend: “I first met Tracy in Physics 101. Bonds were formed as we pushed each other down Caroline Street in shopping carts, screaming with joy, for we lived in the moment even then. She spent countless nights sleeping on my window seat in Tower with our other partner in crime, Stacy Tauber Meisel. When Tracy was diagnosed with cancer in 2006, I was celebrating my second year free from breast cancer. I made more frequent trips then, to tell her how important our friendship was and remind her to fight hard. We talked about the piercing mo­ments of fear, the frustrations, the anger, and the desperation to feel and live normally. She muscled through, finding the silver lining. She laughed and smiled even when it hurt. She reminded everyone of the love, abundance, and joy we have daily and that we must have hope and faith even when we don’t know where our path is taking us. Tracy walked that path with poise, courage, strength, and grace.”

Andrea Banbury, husband Alex, and daughters Emilia, 9, and Quincy, 7, moved from Berkeley, CA, to Hong Kong last year at the request of Alex’s company, DeSimone Engineers; they will remain there until 2011. After a few months of adjusting, everyone is now enjoying life in a city that combines modern Western living and old Chinese culture. The family lives within an ex-pat community on an island with housing, shops, schools, but no cars. Andrea invites anyone planning to visit Hong Kong to contact her at coxbanbury@yahoo.com.

Last year, painter Josh Dorman received a $7,000 New York Foundation for the Arts grant—one of 134 awarded to artists in New York State for excellence in printmaking, drawing, and artists’ books. Josh is working with the Memory Bridge Foundation in Chicago on a project involving the “mapping” of the internal geographies and memories of Alzheimer’s and dementia patients.