THE KINKAID SCHOOL
Updates were a little slow coming in this time, so either we are way too busy or way too boring! I’m guessing it’s the first. Thank you to Michelle Rogers Rogers, Linda Lyons-Brown, Helena Papadopoulos Johnson, Nancy Couch Davis and Dewey Gaedke for sending their latest news. As for the rest of you? I decided to squeeze a little extra scoop out of the class of ’82 with the help of social media! I think the biggest news of the year is that one of our classmates is the first official grandparent! How is that even possible when I still have a four year old?! Congratulations to Antoinette Arnold Maywald on her new granddaughter, Tilly! Let the spoiling begin. A lot of classmates have college kids now and it’s pretty cool watching life come full circle as their sons/daughters pledge the same house or attend the same colleges as their parents did years ago. Like Emily Wynne Bolin and Laura Wynne Cale’s daughters (Allison Bolin ’12 and Laura Lee Cale) who have both pledged Kappa Alpha Theta at University of Texas. Other classmates with kids in college are Michelle Rogers Rogers, whose daughter Margaret is a freshman at Furman University in Greenville South Carolina and Linda Lyons Brown who is officially an “empty nester” with all three girls in college. Carson is attending Ole Miss, and Kaddy and Krissy are at the University of Alabama. Linda also reports that she is happy to have them all home for Thanksgiving, although they will be eating their turkey feast early in the morning to accommodate the TCU & UT football game of course. Linda stays busy with her successful design business and lots of traveling. She is also the current President of Baylor College of Medicine’s Huffington Center on Aging. They just had a hugely successful Health Summit with Jane Goodall to raise funds for research. If you have ever seen a picture of Linda on Facebook, I think she’s got the “staying young” process mastered! Helena Papadopoulos Johnson is still napping after chairing The Original Greek Festival in Houston this past October. She said it was “awesome, exhilarating, exhausting and fun” all at once. And she is happy that her family still recognizes her. I heard through the “Greekvine” that the festival was a huge success. Congratulations on a job well done! Another successful venture completed this year was in San Diego, where Mike Curran opened his second “Cup of Yo” Yogurt Store. Way to go, Mike and if you are in his neighborhood, be sure and get your Yo On! And a big congrats to Carol Attwell Bourne who just recently opened a furniture 32
and gift store called “Shop the Tree House” in the Hill Country where she lives with her hubby Mike.
able to do what I love and also be a stay at home mom and wife. Truly, the best of both worlds.
Heading to the Hill Country for the holidays is Nancy Couch Davis, who thanked me for doing this column (you’re very welcome) and reported that for Thanksgiving she will visiting Comfort, Texas for the annual Christmas Parade. A classic Hill Country parade where “if you can put a light on it, it’s in the parade”. It’s the Texas version of the Rose Parade, well, not quite but it’s a great way to kick off the holiday season and a beautiful family tradition with her husband and two daughters. (Nancy, stop by Carol’s new store if you are in the area). Nancy’s daughters are seven and 13 and when they are not sipping on hot chocolate and watching a Christmas parade, they are busy taking dance lessons throughout the year.
As I end this column, Thanksgiving is this week and it’s a great reminder to always be thankful to God for the blessings I have in my life, not just during Thanksgiving but every day. Count your blessings not your misfortunes and remember, it’s the little things in life that really matter in the end anyway.
Speaking of dancing, Dewey Gaedke is hoping to take Salsa lessons soon! He also mentioned that he is taking improv theatre classes and trapeze classes. Ether he has a truly interesting life or I am the most gullible classmate around. Dewey spent Halloween in San Francisco with all the real freaks and goblins. He also sold his company this year and is building an Iphone app for women, all while helping the homeless through Mobile Loaves and Fishes. Many other classmates have been helping charities and donating to the victims of Hurricane Sandy. I hope that all our friends and families who were in the path of Sandy weathered the storm safely and have power, of course. As for me, I’ve enjoyed keeping up with many classmates on Facebook, especially reading the political banter of Pito Pratt, who keeps me laughing daily. I love seeing pictures of everyone’s family and can’t believe how time flies by! My oldest son, Daniels, is now in sixth grade and we are experiencing the joys of pre-teenage years (oh, payback is hell). Daniels is into every sport you can imagine. His favorites are baseball, like his dad and playing soccer like a true Semander. My youngest, Zane, is four and a half and I am busy chairing a holiday Toy Drive in his honor “Zane’s Toy Chest” for kids with autism. He is doing great and both boys keep us laughing and on our toes. My husband Fred has begun to expand his law business into mediation and he is really enjoying the transition. We celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary this year and our family grew plus one, with a new puppy named Arri. I am still choreographing and traveling to Houston several times a year to work with the Kinkaid cheerleaders. If any of you were at the Homecoming game or St. John’s game, you may have seen my choreography. I feel blessed to be
Finally, we are still seeking contact information for the following classmates. Please contact me (msemander@yahoo.com) or the Alumni Office at the school if you have their email or address. Thanks! WANTED: Sam Adams, Barana Baker, Mallory McDade, Pat Beathard, Annelise Bovet, Loueva Halla, Susan Schwartz, Cynthia Davis, Dimitri Demopolous, David Frame, Nancy Dunlap, Ray Gregory, Toby Whitehead, Pito Pratt, Virginia Waller, Will Wright, Heidi Tieken, Walter Keneally, and Katy Bohnert. Cheers to 2013, hope it’s a great year for everyone!
1984 Jackie Fair Houston, Texas jfair36900@aol.com It was great seeing everyone last spring at the dedication of the Lenny C. Katz Performing Arts Center. In what turned out to be a mini-reunion, we were well represented with almost one-third of our classmates showing up to this wonderful honor for Lenny. The crowd included Ken Barrett from California, Mimi Killinger from Maine, Jeff Foster from Oregon, Teddy Terhune, Lance McInnes and Kevin Killens from Austin. Jeff Vallone graciously offered his wonderful restaurant, Ciao Bello, for a post dedication gathering where we toasted Lenny and caught up with old friends. You can check out pictures on our “Kinkaid Class of 1984” Facebook page. In addition to members of our class coming from near and far, we raised over $13K for The Lenny Fund. You can still make a gift to the fund; by credit card at www.kinkaid.org/onlinegiving and selecting The Lenny Fund as an option in the restricted gift category, or by check payable to The Kinkaid School (note The Lenny Fund in the memo section), Advancement Office, 201 Kinkaid School Dr., Houston, Texas 77024. Brett Sanders (who also attended the dedication) is still doing equity trading and working in minor league baseball.
He encourages any classmates wanting to attend games with the Round Rock Express (Austin) or Corpus Christi Hooks to contact him. Todd Siegler writes from Colorado: “in the spirit of being a proud daddy, my eight year old son won Nationals for Ironkids this year and my ten year old daughter did great in the Boulder Ironkids.” Another proud parent, Marvin McMurrey became the father of twins earlier this year; I see lots of diapers in his immediate future. Speaking of changing diapers lots of diapers, Lance, who is father of a four year old, and two year old has another one on the way. Lance has obviously been a very busy man; he’s also just launched another new food brand - Boomerang’s. You can find Boomerang’s all natural meat and veggie pies in your local Whole Foods frozen aisle; be sure to give it a try. Lance says to “tell everyone they are always welcome to visit in Austin; we will show them a good time - take them on the lake, let them babysit, etc.” On the other end of the spectrum: Anne Chmielewski Kushwaha’s son is a freshman at UCLA and Leslie Schlumberger Garcia reports that they are in the process of completing college applications for her son who was just elected Homecoming King (the first ever) at Saint Mary’s Hall. As for me, I am again concentrating on my custom homebuilding/remodeling business Taylor/Jill Development. In August, my oldest daughter began her senior year at Wellesley College and my youngest daughter started her freshman year at Kinkaid; I can see the finish line!!
1987 Ashley Brunson Clark Houston, Texas ashclark2003@yahoo.com Doug Rosenzweig Houston, Texas dougrosez@aol.com Our 25th reunion in April was a blast and it was great seeing and reminiscing with everyone there (about 30-35 classmates in attendance). Thanks again to John Young for hosting the event. Before getting to the class updates, we want to again acknowledge the tragic passing of our classmate Louis Rothermel on July 17, 2012. Our deepest sympathies go out to Louis’ family and friends. As far as class news goes, here are the current updates: