Alumnae | CLASS NOTES
Betsy Whitman Winder ’76
Rising to Life’s Challenges We often speak of teaching Agnes Irwin girls to be resilient, strong and compassionate, and to learn how to manage any situation that life gives them. Betsy Whitman Winder ’76 has always been determined. She says that this was fostered from the moment she arrived at AIS in third grade and was encouraged to do her best, from the classroom to musical performances to the playing fields. She credits teachers Susanna Carter, Charles Brown, Ed Gardner, and Joan Keyser for pushing her hard while promoting a love for their subjects. The love for sports, music and even math that Winder developed at AIS continues in her life today. But do these qualities really hold up when tested with life’s most difficult challenges? Winder faced that test when her daughter, Stirling, was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in 2004 at age 18. Stirling was in her freshman year at the University of Vermont, playing on the Varsity field hockey team. Despite hospitalizations and frequent trips to Boston for medical care, Stirling continued to be very involved at UVM, holding student leadership positions and graduating in four years. As one learns about Stirling’s battle with cancer, it becomes obvious that she adopted many of her mother’s qualities! According to Winder’s longtime AIS friend and Stirling’s godmother, A.K. Van Alen Frazier, “Throughout Stirling’s treatments and surgeries, Betsy remained positive, persistent and proactive. Neither she nor Stirling felt sorry for themselves despite numerous setbacks. With Betsy’s love and guidance, Stirling thrived in spite of her cancer, achieving her goal of becoming a neonatal intensivecare nurse.” Winder said that if they had lived in Philadelphia, her daughter would have attended AIS, even though she believes she was already an Agnes Irwin girl: “Enthusiastic, willing to help others, a team player, working her hardest at everything, never giving up... all with a beautiful smile.”
winter to South Carolina. One of my greatest pleasures is being a grandparent of four, ages 10, 8, 6, and 4, all of whom live nearby. Keeping up with grand-
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daughter Brooke Wolitarsky ’25 brings me back to Irwin’s for holiday concerts, Mayfair and, of course, Grandfriends’ Day. How things change and still remain
AGNES IRWIN MAGAZINE
SPRING 2016
“Enthusiastic, willing to help others, a team player, working her hardest at everything, never giving up...”
the same! Irwin’s continues to be a strong thread in my life.” Christiane Hemingway Jones ’72 shared that
2015 was a banner year!
But every ounce of Winder’s strength, enthusiasm and resilience was tested when Stirling died in 2012 after an eight-year battle with cancer. According to Winder, she had lost not only her daughter, but also her best friend. Of the time following her daughter’s death, Winder said, “I remember thinking how angry Stirling would be at me if I didn’t stay strong. If I had retreated or crumbled in the corner after she died, she would probably have said, ‘Mom, get up! You have things to do!’ It was literally through her strength that I got mine. And perhaps the reverse was true of her as we went through her ordeal together.” — Cindy Hooper Bell ’79
First, her older daughter, Erin Jones Higgins, gave birth in July to Chris’ first grandchild, Adeline Glee Higgins (whose middle name was chosen in memory
of her great-grandmother, Glee Mitchell Kelly ’50). Meanwhile, her younger daughter, Samantha, married Steve Kelleher in December 2015 on a