1939
DIED: Demie Browne Blair on Jan. 25, 2013. Demie graduated from the College of William & Mary and was a long-time volunteer with Moral Re-Armament (MRA), now Initiatives of Change. She served on the board of the Collegiate Alumni Association and was also a member of the Women’s Club of Richmond and the English-Speaking Union. Demie loved to dance and assisted for years at the Cleiland Donnan Junior Assembly Cotillion. She was married to the late J. Terence Blair. Together, they served with the MRA in France, Brazil, and the United Kingdom.
1941
DIED: Barbara Budina Smith on Jan. 27, 2013. She attended Stephens College and was a former partner of Shop For Pappagallo on Libbie Avenue. Barbara was a member of River Road Presbyterian Church, the Tuckahoe Woman’s Club and The Country Club of Virginia. She is survived by her husband William R.L. Smith, daughter Nancy Smith ’75, son David M. Smith, four grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.
1948
Mary Young Heins writes, “We are great-grandparents for the second time! A little girl, finally, after four grandsons and one great-grandson.”
1953
DIED: Brownie Hunt Baker on Oct. 10, 2012. After Collegiate, she attended Mary Washington College. She used her creative talents and organizational skills to support organizations such as the Children’s Theatre, the Garden Club, St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, and Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden. She is survived by her sister Virginia Lee Hunt; daughters, Virginia McFerran and Lee Ann Graves; and four grandchildren.
1955
Betsy Minor McCommon, a professional actress, writes from Blacksburg, VA about her performance group called “Loose Thread.” “The first performances
Town School reunion classes gathered at Lemaire Restaurant on Oct. 11, 2012. Pictured are Susan Gladding Cocke, Lucye Seay Thompson, Kay McDowell Higgins, Luella Peters Hall, Dorothy Ewing Ferrell (all ’57), Mimi Thornton Oppenhimer, Jean Blankenship Faglie, Jackie Lynch Huffines, Nancy Thomas Hill, Betty Bramble Brown, Lou Galleher Coldwell, Jane Reed Fields, Nancy Page Hall Edmunds, and Kitty Jackson Bryant (all ’52).
led to standing ovations, and the group plans to offer the event throughout the state in the next year,” she says. “We have been friends for more than 30 years, performing as an ensemble initially and sustaining the bond with support for each other’s publications, gallery shows, performances and readings. We are a rich mix that has prompted director Bob Leonard of Virginia Tech, to say, ‘This is unique. There is no category in which this fits… you are not going to get this anywhere else.’ With story, song, and poetry, we address the aging process where in we lose youth, loved ones, jobs, health, and hope.”
1959
Jane Terrell Neer writes, “Our class of ’59 gets together for lunch every month with our Richmond classmates. We do have fun!”
1961
Connie Whittet Garrett writes, “Our two alumni children are back living in Richmond. After working in DC, Caroline Garrett ’96 is with Evolve Architecture, and, in 2011, Parker Garrett ’97 and Kim decided to purchase EMSCO, an electrical manufacturing business, in Hanover County. They have three children and reside in Westham.”
1962
50th Reunion
The class of ’62 had an awesome 50th Reunion and the best part was the number of classmates that came back! We had 23 attend and it was just like
Betsy Minor McCommon ’55, front left, is a member of the Blacksburg performance group, “Loose Thread,” comprised of a group of six women who have been friends for more than 30 years. As in a past performance, “Web Six,” they combine their original art, poetry, story telling, and photography in a theatrical presentation that addresses what we lose and what we gain in the aging process.
turning the clock back to Collegiate days. We were all young again, talking and laughing 90 MPH. The celebration began on Thursday night with tacos at Lucy Fitzgerald Steele’s house. The Richmond Reunion Committee (Ann Hirschler Long, Susie Materne Benson, Anne Hunter Larus Roe, Marion Smith Chenault, Sherrie Welton Parker, and Lucy) welcomed Sims Brockenbrough Foulks and Carolyn Gray Allen. Sims and Gary are moving from Louisville, KY to Wilmington, NC since Gary is retiring. They will be closer to their daughter Beverly, a professor at UNC Wilmington, and granddaughter Haley. They also have a son, Guy, with US Fish & Wild Life in
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