Life Events and Class Notes Issue 1

Life Events and Class Notes

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end your news to the Class Representative(s) listed with your class. If your class has no representative listed, send news to the Alumnae & Donor Relations Office, 580 East Main Street, Spartanburg, SC, 29302 (nancy.gage@converse.edu).

Class Representatives may submit notes for every issue of class notes published. Class Notes includes information submitted to the Alumnae Office by February 5, 2014. Class Representatives are volunteers elected by their class and are responsible for the accuracy of their Life Events and Class Notes.

Make sure we have your correct E-mail address! Please send E-mail addresses to: nancy.gage@converse.edu.

IN MEMORIAM

Mary Hamilton Stephens ’29, June 22, 2013

IN MEMORIAM

Rosie Carlisle Cunningham ’34, March 3, 2013 Elizabeth Williams Houston ’34, March 17, 2013 Alice Frances “Daughty” McKellar Lawrence Granade ’35, January 21, 2013 Jennie Howe Merrill ’35, October 5, 2013 Carol Wofford Parker ’35, January 10, 2013 Sara Louise Hearon Manning ’37, May 10, 2013 Catherine Alexius Emerson ’37, February 19, 2013 Allene Cudd Burgess ’38, January 1, 2014 Mary Dorcas Harding Carey ’38, January 20, 2014 Rachel Jackson Bunte ’39, January 5, 2014 Virginia Isobel Pharr Byrd ’39, March 16, 2013 Margaret Finley Atwater ’39, July 30, 2013 Laura Moore Harrison ’39, December 30, 2013

IN MEMORIAM

Laura Keller Perrin ’40, July 11, 2013 Eleanor Rodgers Macdonald ’41, December 19, 2013 Ruth McKeithan Thomason ’41, November 20, 2013 Louise Falls Arnold ’43, May 4, 2013 Bessie Rice Ball ’44, August 16, 2013 Ethel Chapman Bennett ’43, June 6, 2013 Eleanor Toole Going ’43, January 18, 2013 Gene Mears McLaughlin ’43, May 1, 2013 Bettie Vann Sharpe ’43, August 9, 2013 Anne Crooks Smith ’43, January 10, 2013 Ann Lomax Coward ’44, December 10, 2013 Peggy Johnson Crock ’44, February 16, 2013 Lou Carlisle Horne ’44, August 12, 2013 Margaret Workman Hudson ’44, Apri 28, 2013 Barbara Dial McAlister ’44, April 1, 2013

Justin Derieux New ’44, January 27, 2014 Mary Carson Jones Pease ’44, July 14, 2013 Phyllis A. Roe ’44, August 25, 2013 Imogene Taylor Walker ’45, August 7, 2013 Sarah Davis Anderson ’45, January 21, 2013 Dale Warmath Clymer ’45, October 26, 2013 Isabel Russell McCarty ’45, March 31, 2013 Sue Robbins Murray ’45, April 21, 2013 Louisa Ellerbe Tobias ’45, October 3, 2013 Helen Ruth Jordan Craine ’46, February 9, 2014 Nancy Milby Gabhart ’46, November 27, 2013 Jean Claire Griffin ’46, March 24, 2013 Jane Culcleasure Haynes ’46, August 29, 2012 Belle Darden Griffin ’47, June 10, 2013 Mary Nettles Lentz ’47, January 10, 2013 Kit Anderson Pearce ’47, September 8, 2013 Nancy Nash Reynolds ’47, January 26, 2014 Jean Carlton Bowman ’48, January 28, 2013 Julia Pinnix Elrod ’48, April 5, 2013 Ellen Swails Evans ’48, December 22, 2013 Betty Camp Graves ’48, August 21, 2013 Teresa Hughes Klim ’48, July 19, 2013 Alice Mobley Lipscombe ’48, February 27, 2013 Beverly Sloan Shuler ’48, January 4, 2014 Margaret Gay Simmons ’48, February 24, 2014 Mary Anna Chaudron Stewart ’48, July 8, 2013 Rella Anderson Carp ’49, October 3, 2013 Harriett Bozeman Farmer ’49, October 25, 2012 Betty Wyatt Leonard ’49, February 9, 2014 Lila Gaines Talmadge ’49, January 10, 2014 Fay Graham Walton ’49, September 21, 2013

SYMPATHY

Allene Cudd Burgess ’38, January 1, 2014, sister of Blanche Cudd Gibbes ’41 John James Cudd, Jr., June 10, 2013, brother of Blanche Cudd Gibbes ’41 Mary Ellen Suitt, January 19, 2013, sister of Sarah Suitt Miller ’43 Howard H. Skidmore, February 10, 2013, husband of Lois Waage Skidmore ’45

Nancy Nash Reynolds ’47, January 26, 2014, sister of Sarah Nash Wilson ’45 Julian Parker, Sr., March 2012, husband of Frances Evans Parker ’46 Isabel Russell McArty ’45, March 31, 2013, sister of Emily Russell Clark ’47 Susan Gayle Fletcher Tansey, April 8, 2013, daughter of Louise Price Fletcher ’47 Charles Henry “Bud” Warwick, III, February 18, 2013, husband of Elsie Cushman Warwick ’47 Martha C. Harris ’50, September 22, 2012, sister of Nancy Harris Roberts ’48 Robert E. Carpenter, Jr., February 5, 2013, husband of Betty Jo Putnam Carpenter ’49 Vernon D. Gwynne, July 7, 2013, husband of Betty Ragan Gwynne ’49 Ernest H. Mellor Jr. April 22, 2013, husband of Lalla Brown Mellor ’49

Class of 1941

ELEANOR GARNER McCandlass reports she is alive and well at age 92. She still drives, plays bridge and amazes her friends. She would love to hear from other ’41s.

Class of 1947

LOUISE PRICE Fletcher and family lost her eldest daughter, Susan Gayle Fletcher Tansey to cancer on April 8, 2013. Survivors are her son, Chris (29), her husband John, her sister Jane Fletcher and mother.

Sue was always very healthy, walking the Appalachian Trail in summer and the hills of Charlottesville, VA in winter. She was a guidance counselor and supervised the 4-year-olds program called “Bright Stars”.

Class of 1949

Call your classmates to join you for your 65th Reunion on April 25 and 26 on the Converse campus. Don’t miss Converse’s 125th celebration.

LIFE EVENTS CLASS NOTES

65TH

REUNION

Class of 1954

Bet Shepherd Ancrum 35 Honeysuckle Woods, Lake Wylie, SC 29710 803.831.0205, bancrum@comporium.net

IN MEMORIAM

Reavis Gray Davis ’50, May 18, 2013 Martha C. Harris ’50, September 22, 2012 Carolyn O’Shields Lamm ’50, February 2, 2013 Lois Scott Mengel ’50, June 5, 2013 Elizabeth D. Baird ’51, March 26, 2013 Maude Bull Clinkscales ’51, September 21, 2013 Louise Kuker Freeman ’51, October 2, 2013 Agnes Newton Hollerith ’51, May 28, 2013 Esther King Marsh ’51, December 18, 2013 Polly Day Judy ’52, September 18, 2013 Stasia Mayfield McDowell ’52, November 8, 2013 Sadie Edwards Dye ’53, January 16, 2014 Pat Skelton Liphardt ’53, November 16, 2012 Barbara Hughes Bennett ’54, July 27, 2013 Lucile Willis Graham ’54, December 9, 2012 Betty Sue McDonald ’54, October 25, 2013 Liselotte Martha Schmidt ’54, June 24, 2013 Barbara Zeigler Wrightenberry ’54, May 17, 2013 Margaret Carrick Fairlie-Kennedy ’55, December 7, 2013 Barbara Gregory Moore ’55, March 15, 2013 Alice Asbury Stone ’55, May 5, 2013 Jan Bell Bobbitt ’56, November 14, 2013 Mason Edens Hawley ’56, August 3, 2013 Margaret Evatt Kelley ’56, October 9, 2013 Charlotte Ferguson Sloan ’56, October 18, 2013 Starke Hagood Bishop ’57, June 11, 2013 Carolyn Gleaton Cox ’57, January 13, 2014 Faye Durham Kidd ’57, November 22, 2013 Lee Nealy Lockridge ’57, May 3, 2013 Vicki Grubbs Moore ’59, February 16, 2014

SYMPATHY

George Warren Smith, February 18, 2012, husband of Frances Martin Smith ’54 Jacob L. Goodman, January 4, 2013, grandson of Jane Bolding Crook ’56 Bill Tunno, November 26, 2012, husband of Elisa Ott Tunno ’56 Thomas Armstrong, March 12, 2013, husband of Martha Allen Armstrong ’57 Roy Bell Harrelson III, June 24, 2013, son of Alice Cox Harrelson ’58 Roy Harrelson Jr., October 23, 2012, husband of Alice Cox Harrelson ’58 James “Scott” Burton, May 20, 2013, step-son of

Class of 1951

CAROLYN “SISSIE” SNOW McAlister was inducted into the National Shaggers Association in November 2012.

Class of 1953

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So good to hear the success of LAURA MCLEAN Taylor’s son Spence Taylor. Dr. Spence Taylor is Greenville Health Systems’ Vice President of Academics, Executive Director of University Medical Group, Clinical Professor of Surgery and Senior Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Diversity for the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville, as well as an internationally recognized vascular surgeon. Dr. Taylor led the effort to build a new medical school to better meet the Upstate’s changing health care needs.

60TH

REUNION

Margaret Jackson Bundy 518 Briarwood Road, Lancaster, SC 29720 803.282.6002, mjbundy@comporium.net The big news for the Class of 1954 is the upcoming 60th Reunion. 60 – can you believe it? (Turns out all those term papers and recitals were just preludes to real life.)

We will meet for drinks and dinner at the Piedmont Club the first night and try to recognize each other without seeming to peek at name tags, and can then swap lies about our fabulous lives and careers and perfect children and grandchildren. Bring both pictures and cameras.

Then on Saturday, the all-class Reunion Brunch will let us get together with everybody else, and we’ll try to recognize our campus, which has undergone at least as many changes as we have. Footnote: Be aware that we, as an even-numbered class, have the great honor of being Pink Panthers! (odd-numbered classes are Red Devils)

Class of 1955

JoAnn Guyton Davison 1722 Peggio Lane, #1, Missoula, MT 59802 406.829.6376 I am tendering resignation. The Class of 1955 needs a new Class Secretary. When I retired from my former life in 2002, I left my laptop in Baltimore and abandoned my email address. I have been quite happy with the US Postal Service and my trusty telephone. (If I live to see my 11 year old granddaughter in college, my friend, who already has grandchildren in college, tells me that I will have to re-computerize if I expect to have any communication with her “Carpe Diem”.) JANE MARIE HANCOCK Jennings and Jacob decided it was time to downsize last fall. They sold their house in the country and moved to a “nice brick bungalow” in Bishopville, SC. Hopefully, by the time you read this all the boxes will have been unpacked. MARGARET STEVENSON Bucholz called recently from her apartment in Wilton, CT. She no longer has piano students. She is still driving and enjoying going out to dinner. JULIA BLAIR Brenaman moved to Westminster-Canterbury, a retirement center in Richmond, VA where PAYNE BOUKNIGHT Tyler and her husband also live. Julie has developed a problem walking. Recently, after several falls, she spent a few days in the hospital for tests, and then she spent three weeks in a rehab hospital for therapy.

As I write this in February, she is back at W-C in the Health Center doing therapy and hoping to be back in her apartment soon. AMARYLLIS DOAR Duvall and Hal keep busy. They spent a week last June at Pawley’s Island, SC with their children, grandchildren and great grandchild. In October they cruised up the Mississippi River on a steam paddle boat. Ann says: “Our health is remarkably good for old folks!” On that upbeat note, I bid you a fond “Adieu!”

country. As we move into our 80s, slowing down seems to be anathema for many of us. TOLLY GILMER Shelton had a great trip to Hawaii in March with friends.

Not to be slowed down by a first-day spider bite, they toured the islands for 10 days including snorkeling off Oahu. The remainder of the year was spent visiting with relatives across the southeast and renovating their former home for better senior access. SUNSHINE CONNOR Norwood sent us a lovely photo collage of her family and 2013 events. Her year included a trip to Scotland.

BETTIE JANE WOODWARD Grant was treated to a fall trip to New York City by her daughters. Broadway plays and sightseeing filled their days. A highlight was a visit with classmate NANCY BOSTICK Parks who lives in NYC. ANN HUDGENS Karegeannes had lower back surgery in August, 2013, with very good results. She says walking upright feels very good again. She sees classmate ROSS MAGOULAS often at Converse music events.

He lives in Charleston and continues to work in music related activities. Ann also meets MARGO HESTER Roff and MARY OELAND Alexander for lunch in Spartanburg frequently. It is a great way to see old friends.

Class of 1957

Evelyn Moore McGee 72 Anson St, Charleston, SC 29401-1502 843.722.3049, pnpmcgee@comcast.net Kathryn Blake Pearce 27 Savage St, Charleston, SC 29401-2409 843.577.6688, KittyandBobP@aol.com Margaret Dick Wyman 1716 Graeme Dr, Columbia, SC 29206-4455 803.782.8883, maggiewyman@aol.com The far and wide trips previously taken by our classmates seems to have narrowed down to weekly trips to doctor’s offices, hospitals for “replacements”, moves to retirement homes, bridge games and Publix weekly one cent sales.

SARA HAYNIE Fant has moved to a retirement home in Anderson, SC where she continues to play lots of bridge. JULIE MEADOWS Ritchie lives in Beaufort, SC (Cat Island). She retired from Astra Zeneca in 2004 and was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005. But that hasn’t stopped her from enjoying her four children and

Class of 1956

Ann Hudgens Karegeannes 137 Mabry Drive, Spartanburg, SC 29307 864.579.3801, ahkare33@aol.com Our class members have been doing some traveling during the past year, seeing the world and our own

From left to right: Molly Sheorn Evans ’58, Margaret Dick Wyman ’57, Caroline Grimball ’68 Seated: Christie Zimmerman Fant ’41 taken at Trinitiiy Cathedral

12 grandchildren, duplicate bridge and golf. In 2005 she activated her GA Real Estate License. LINDA ROLLER Livick is an elder in the Presbyterian Church and is active in women’s work, her garden club and DAR. Linda and Mal ran Augusta Military School until it closed in 1984. She retired from Stuart Hall in 1996. Linda has 13 grandchildren and nine great grandchildren.

JANE POWELL Crowder’s grand-daughter, Mary Jane, a dance major at the University of Alabama, was awarded a scholarship to “go pro” at the Broadway Dance Center (BDC) in New York. KITTY BLAKE Pearce is recovering from a recent knee replacement. Her daughter Kathryn is also recovering from a Kidney transplant.

MARGARET DICK Wyman recently had dinner with Hal and Amaryllis Doar Duvall ’55 and James and Mary Satterlee Egglezos ’56. For over 45 years Margaret has enjoyed time spent with Converse girls in her book club.

AMY EDMUNDS Bramlett, Elaine Finklea Folline ’58, Betty Ann Nelson Richardson ’58, Katherine Ryan Stribling ’58, Molly Sheorn Evans ’58 and Jane Kerr Williams ’54. Trish Hemingway Campbell ’58 enjoys playing bridge with Louise Earle Oxner ’61 and MOTSY CROSLAND Johnson.

Class of 1958

Elaine Finklea Folline 740 Kilbourne Rd, Columbia, SC 29205-2048 803.254.9503 Nancy Hayes Wilkerson 2122 Norton Rd, Charlotte, NC 28207-2138 704.376.4776, nwilkerson@bellsouth.net DAISY BARRON Leland enjoyed attending the Converse College luncheon in Charleston, SC and sitting with President Betsy Fleming. Daisy says that Converse is so fortunate to have Betsy. Also sitting at the table were Cecile Ulmer Shuler ’57, Nantce Wright Biggs ’55, and Temple Wright Hayes ’55, Nantce’s sister. Daisy had not seen Cecile or Nantce in many years. Dr. Jamye Horres Hurteau ’95 is a dentist and coordinated the luncheon in Charleston, SC. Daisy is so proud of Jamye. As many of you know, ELAINE FINKLEA Folline had a stroke during the summer. After time in the hospital and in rehab, Elaine is at home with help around the clock.

NANCY HAYES Wilkerson called Elaine and had a great time talking and giggling. SHINGER HASELL LaBorde wrote that Elaine attended her book club meeting. Shinger has had a rough time recovering from a broken hip and she came down with shingles, which she had for four months. BETTY ANNE NELSON Richardson sent Daisy a beautiful Christmas card with Betty Anne smiling proudly surrounded by her 10 grandchildren. One of Betty’s grandsons is married and in medical school in Charleston, SC. JANET JOYNER’S Christmas card included one of her poems titled Winter Solstice. ALICE HOWARD McClure’s grandson is a freshman at Ole Miss and loves it. Daisy received a Christmas card from JANET SHARP Carroll, who still lives in Atlanta, GA. CAROLINE TAYLOR Reddick has a tendency to think of all of us as still as young as we were at Converse. Unfortunately, some of us are in the puny category. Daisy is so happy to be feeling better this Christmas; she attended five events the week of Christmas with both immediate and extended family members. Both of Daisy’s daughters have stepped forward to help with entertaining for Daisy. Daisy’s daughter Libby Leland Puckette ’86 leads a bible study at her church. Daisy’s daughter Ellen Leland Wilhoit ’84

is serving as President of the women of the church at First Presbyterian Church in Florence, SC. Libby’s son Stephen will finish Clemson in three years and will enter graduate school following graduation in May. Ellen’s son Richmond is in Dubai for the second semester of junior year; he is with a group from the International School of Business from University of South Carolina.

Aaron and Daisy are plugging along with many ’senior moments’. Daisy continues to serve (since 2000) as chairman of her circle at her church. Daisy enjoys seeing ANNE FERGUSON Caughman when Ferg comes to Charleston, SC to have her car serviced. Ferg spent a wonderful Christmas in California with daughter Mary’s family. Ferg continues to be active in working with Hospice in public schools.

Class of 1959

Harriet Marshall Goode 55TH REUNION 131 E Main St, Rock Hill, SC 29730-4539 803.327.4746, goodeharrietm@comporium.net Mary Jane Pearce Holland 814 Greenway Dr, Florence, SC 29501-5568 843.665.2003, mjh@sc.rr.com RUTH JUNKER Mitchell, last year, after 28 years in Boston, Ruth relocated to the Cochella Valley in CA, where she is thoroughly enjoying the climate, the numerous cultural events and most of all the interesting people from throughout the US, Canada and a number of foreign countries. What thrills her most is to have come full circle, to again being involved in the music world after a career in Institutional Advancement, traveling the world implementing special events and fostering relationships with families for admissions and fundraising. Ruth presently serves as Chair of Special Events and Development for Classics for Kids Foundation, founded 15 years ago by Condoleeza Rice and Michael Reynolds, Cellist, Artistic Director for CFKF. Elegant annual events throughout the US feature Dr. Rice, concert pianist, and the Muir String Quartet in an intimate setting. A highlight of the evening is always the exchange of questions and answers between Dr. Rice and the audience. The most recent event was at Mary Hart and Burt Sugarman’s home in Beverly Hills. The next event will be in May in a private home in Las Vegas. All funds raised provide matching grants for quality string instruments for children. Also, CFKF has begun a new

initiative of program creation for inner-city children aged six to twelve to have the opportunity of learning to play a string instrument. Ruth was part of the launching of a Music Education Program at the Boston Salvation Army Kroc Center in December. GAYLE NEWCOMB traveled to Vienna and Prague where she loved seeing the gorgeous architecture and beautiful art, and enjoyed the fine food.

Gayle is still taking weekly piano lessons and is a member of the Charleston (SC) Academy of Music, which often has concerts in historic Charleston homes. She is also creating small books and continues to spend time gardening. ANNE ARGO Sanders and her husband, Sandy were honored recently by the gift of a handsome bench placed in the Susan Jacob Arboretum on the USC Upstate Campus. Anne reports that she and ANNE BAKER Pipkin see each other at their favorite restaurant on Sullivan’s Island (SC) from time to time. TINK MACAULAY Carney is still passionate about politics, but her focus right now is spending time and energy with the Colorado Health Care Cooperative, which is a member-based, non-profit approach to universal health care in Colorado. Tink is working on having that initiative put on the ballot in 2015. JANE TORKINGTON White says because of some health issues, she’s had to cut back on her hiking, skiing and tennis, but she and Buddy are living happily in Florida. (Is anybody in our class still skiing and playing tennis? Hiking…..well, that’s OK.) SALLIE MURPHEY McCutchen and Ted enjoy going to the beach and we’re all so thankful Ted is feeling well again. “SISTER” MARSHALL Goode is still a full time studio painter and is happy to be represented by several commercial galleries. She and Martin enjoy traveling to visit children in South Kingstown, RI, Nashville, TN and Mt. Pleasant, SC. CAROLYN TURNER Kelly has nearly achieved Life Master in duplicate bridge! She also is still active in a piano group, church choir and committees, book and garden clubs. Carolyn has moved into a carefree retirement center and says she is downright spoiled with no problems to solve or hassles cope with. MARY JANE PEARCE Holland’s Christmas card showed her seven grandchildren having fun at their beach house.

Those classmates being recognized at the 125th celebration at Converse include TINK MACAULAY Carney, SISTER MARSHALL Goode, MARGARET CAMPBELL MacDonald and RUTH JUNKER Mitchell.

LIFE EVENTS CLASS NOTES

IN MEMORIAM

Carol Rothrock Bleser ’60, August 20, 2013 Joan Steed Carter ’60, January 9, 2014 Virginia Dyson Hooper ’60, March 5, 2013 Leanna Young Parker ’60, December 11, 2013 Schuyler Campbell ’61, May 24, 2013 Jeanne Anderson Derrick ’61, October 18, 2013 Linda Weil ’62, August 1, 2013 Elizabeth Manning Duncan ’63, March 5, 2013 Jackie DuBose Black ’64, February 13, 2014 Herman M. Davis, Jr., ’64, December 2, 2013 Martha Hackney Grodzicki ’64, March 24, 2013 Lyles McLeod Stone ’64, January 19, 2014 Nancy Wilkins Lyndon ’65, March 15, 2013 Linda Still Miller ’65, April 25, 2013 Helen Tucker Bailes ’66, September 14, 2013 Donna Chapman Mayry ’66, January 8, 2014 Grace Jordan Howard ’67, March 15, 2013 Patricia Ann Moore ’67 MAT, September 2, 2013 Marian I. Church ’68, July 29, 2013 Virginia Preston Self ’68, November 29, 2013 Frances Minor Clary ’69 MEd, January 6, 2013 Ann Barrow Weiler ’69, February 14, 2014

SYMPATHY

Allen Sims Marshall, Nov. 5, 2012, husband of Sally Watkins Marshall ’61 George Dewey Oxner Jr., July 7, 2013, husband of Louise Earle Oxner ’61 Robert Haas, April 29, 2013, husband of Jennifer Sandifer Haas ’64 Charles Connor McGehee III, March 19, 2013, husband of Brenda Burke McGehee ’64 Philip VanderMyde, September 16, 2012, husband of Terry Grier VanderMyde ’64 Julius Alvin “Gil” Gilreath, May 27, 2013, husband of Perry Russell Gilreath ’65 Eugenia Cogswell McCuen “Woo” Thomason, June 17, 2013, sister of Virginia McCuen Mallis ’65 Myers Hampton Hicks, November 2, 2012, father of Rachel Hicks Crosby ’66 Ruth McKeithan Thomason, November 20, 2013, mother of Sally Thomason Russell ’66 Jennie Howe Merrill, October 5, 2013, mother of Margaret Merrill Quarterman ’66 Aaren Inman Smith, Jr., June 1, 2013, father of Suzanne Smith Jordan ’67 Evelyn Robertson King, February 18, 2013, mother of Robbie King Staubes ’67 George R. Wilkinson III, August 20, 2013, brother of Richie Roper Wilkinson ’67 Bootsie Calhoun, February 21, 2014, mother of Elizabeth Calhoun Chalker ’68 Vaughn Dickson Early, February 21, 2013, mother of Carol Early Graham ’68 Walter K. Hood, August 6, 2013, husband of Elizabeth Welch Hood ’68 Jennie Howe Merrill, October 5, 2013, mother of Mary Merrill McIlhany ’68 Mary Francis Raysor McGinty, May 5, 2013, mother of Carol McGinty Rawlinson ’68

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William Craver, May 5, 2013, father of Ginny Craver Good ’69 Martha Wilkins Chandler, January 26, 2013, mother of Jane Chandler Rouse ’69

Indonesia and are going on a medical mission to Sri Lanka. At home in Murrell’s Inlet, SC, after May, she would welcome seeing classmates there.

Class of 1960

Mimi Little McKinney 1145 Partridge Road, Spartanburg, S.C. 29302 Troysr@aol.com

Donna Culbertson Fritz 105 Sunline Place, Spartanburg, SC 29307 864.582.4588 (0) 864.579.3986 (H) maximum1983@cs.com

Happy 2014 to all of you. HAPPY HENRY had hip surgery in early fall and has recuperated nicely. Happy volunteers at one of the Columbia hospitals on a regular basis and really enjoys it. FRAN EVANS Read’s Christmas card showed Fran and Peter surrounded by their children and spouses at their 50th anniversary party. Fran and Peter live in the Bishop Gadsden Retirement Community on James Island, SC. DONNA CULBERTSON Fritz received the Mary Mildred Sullivan Award at the 2013 Graduation Ceremony at Wofford College, a wonderful honor and one she will cherish. JACKIE HACKLER Hollis and her husband Richard were there with Donna and joined Max and Donna at the awards luncheon. Please send Donna your news, this is a great way for the Class of 1960 to keep in touch.

Class of 1961 Betsy Blythe Frazer 324 Nottingham Dr, Chapel Hill, NC 27517-6575 919.402.0409 ebfrazer@earthlink.net Marietta Williams Gordon 310 Laurens St, Camden, SC 29020-3630 803.425.4118 gogogrammy310@gmail.com Frances Taylor Meissner franmeissner@verizon.net After a 50 year career, FRANCES BLAKE Goddard received the Joseph G. Lynch Lifetime Achievement Award by the Virginia Society for Clinical Social Work in September. She still sees patients and is working on second editions of her books. Last summer, PEGGY WILSON Schneider and her husband celebrated 50 years of marriage in France with her entire family of 10, including two grandsons. Last fall, PIEDY MAHAFFEY Waterfall, BETTY LAKE Orr, and BETSY BLYTHE Frazer spent a few days laughing together in the NC mountains. Betsy has a new granddaughter, Alice Blythe Frazer, born last July 5, in Cork, Ireland. Betty has had dinner with MELI RABB Rucker, who lives in Winston-Salem, NC. Meli has an interest in and works at The Ski and Tennis Station there. VIRGINIA MCNEILL Maddry has a grandson (15), who is over 6’ and, unfortunately, lives far away in Wisconsin. She still lives in Norfolk, VA and retired from Old Dominion in 1994. Last fall, ELSIE WHETSELL Stevens, ALICE HASKELL Sanders, MARTHA BROCKINTON Roberts and LAURA SIMPKINS Stock attended an alumnae luncheon at the Charleston Yacht Club.

SALLY WATKINS Marshall and Laura enjoyed lunch with Martha at Bishop Gadsden in Charleston. SUSAN HAWKINS Bruns and Tom enjoy winter diving in

Class of 1962

CLAUDIA MCCOLLOUGH spent a fabulous two weeks this summer in Jerusalem, Israel and Turkey with her two brothers; one, a Biblical archeologist. They get together for a few weeks each year in honor of their parents for the wonderful family life they gave them. JOLENE WILLARD Bryant wrote that her daughter, Laura B. Palmer ’91 is working on her PhD; her grandson Austen is attending Clemson. TERRELL COOK McMillan’s daughter, Ellen Hickl, a part time model, and granddaughter Sara Grace (4), can be seen in the January issue of Cooking Light, and other magazines this spring. MALINDA MAULDIN Whitelaw is now a great- grandma! She is still busy with her musicals and visiting children. She and Richard leave in April to see her daughter and family in Melborne, Australia. CANTEY BRABHAM Carpenter and Bill are now living alternately between their log cabin and town bungalow in beautiful, scenic, Brevard, NC. JULIE BLACKWOOD Stevenson reports a fun get together in Highlands, NC. The group included DOTTIE HENDERSON Wise, Claudia McCollough, MICHAEL HOLT Crawford, TERRELL COOK McMillan, MARY LOUISE CHANDLER Kilroy and RANDY NEW Armstrong, whose art work was on display in the Bascom Art Museum. GENE WILSON Upmeyer is still busy with concerts and recitals, grandchildren and her 94 year old mother. Gene and Ernst celebrate their 50th anniversary in May. She says life in good! LYDIA WILLARD Kellett and Bill moved to an apartment on the river in Cleveland Park in Greenville, SC. She’s in touch weekly with WINKIE GIDDENS Greer and PRIS BROWN Willard and had lunch recently with MARJORIE CODDINGTON Cannon and ANNA LINEBERGER Stanley. PRISCILLA HOLEMAN Hopkins and Lint report they delight in being “on call” to visit their son and daughter and families in Asheville, NC. Blessings to you all, and a special thanks to those who sent in news ! Mimi

Piedy Mahaffey Waterfall ’61 and Betty Lake Orr ’61

Class of 1963 Lou Hoffler Bright 205 Sugarland Drive, Apex, NC 27502 loubright@att.net Betty Moore Henderson 13302 Tosca Lane, Houston, TX 77079-7121 713.465.0940, 713.254.8328 eliza.henderson@att.net Hadley Morgan Hines 2103 Glenwood Avenue, Raleigh, NC 27608 hub711@aol.com Wallace E. Johnson 460 Mockingbird Lane, Spartanburg, SC 29307 wallaceejohnson@bellsouth.net Emily Kerr Stay 9619 Pekin Road, Novelty, OH 44027 estay@windstream.net Carolyn Morrow Wynn 137 Fernbrook Circle, Spartanburg, SC 29307 cmwynn@charter.net Ladies of 1963 - Our biggest news is our unofficial “Fifty + One” reunion coming up on April 25-26, 2014. The occasion is Converse’s 125th anniversary and all classes are invited. The College has selected 125 alumnae to represent Converse for the big anniversary celebration and four of our classmates are among the honorees – WALLACE JOHNSON, ANNE WATERS Green, CHARLOTTE SAVITZ Ciraulo and BETTY MOORE Henderson. Several of us plan on being on campus for the fun that weekend. Won’t others of you join us? Those of you who live within reasonable driving distance of Spartanburg really ought to be having serious thoughts about coming! Check out converse.edu/reunion for the run-down on reunion activities and registration. On-site classmates CAROLYN MORROW Wynn and Wallace Johnson are arranging a Friday night (April 25) dinner for us at a local restaurant, plus Carolyn and husband Bob have invited us to their home for a Saturday night (April 26) gathering again, just as they did last year at

our 50th reunion. Gracious folks, those Wynns! And, now some class news. Speaking of CHARLOTTE SAVITZ Ciraulo, she and her husband are living in Los Angeles, CA, and loving it. Grandson Charlie is three and lives nearby with his parents, which makes life perfect. Charlotte is no longer a television producer; she is now a licensed Spiritual Counselor with a private practice. EMILY KERR Stay and BOOPIE POOLE Rose spend much of their lives driving from Novelty, OH, and Raleigh, NC, respectively, to Spartanburg for Converse Alumnae Board meetings. When she’s not attending meetings, Emily is involved at home with quilts and cats. Boopie spends her free time with grandchildren in Greenville, SC. A couple of our classmates have moved lately. JOAN PIERCE Edgerton has a new address in Atlanta, GA. LYN SAUTER Little now calls a Wilmette, IL, condo on Lake Michigan home. In the travel department, HATTEE ZIEGLER Christian and JULIA ADAMS McLaurin both went to Quebec (separately) with daughters and their families. Hattee reports that Quebec has LOTS of snow! ANNE FLINTOM McLeod traveled to Italy; she reports that Italy has LOTS of scarves. (Now, so does Anne!) AGNES BINDER Weisiger wrote from Argentina. She was touring; Ed was golfing. A cruise around South America and a few January days in Antarctica were the next items on the footloose Weisigers’ agenda. HADLEY MORGAN Hines and her daughter’s family loved splitting their European jaunt’s time between Paris and a rental house in Dordogne, France. In September, BETTY MOORE Henderson finally got to Kenya and Tanzania to experience African wildlife up close and personal. Trip of a lifetime, she says. JUDY WAINER Ponce lives in Mexico, where she reports that her children are involved in graduate studies and that she is doing lots of English-Spanish translating. ANNE WATERS WESTBROOK Green has been spending time with words, as well. She’s taking poetry classes and penning her own verse. CECIL LEWIS Caldwell has happy news to report – a new granddaughter named Eliza Louise Pincus Caldwell.

Betty Moore Henderson has a six year old “horsecrazy” granddaughter whom she discusses occasionally with our class equestrian BETTY REYNOLDS Oare.

ELAINE SMITH Thompson Hrazdil is another busy grandmother – twin granddaughters near her in

Columbia, SC, and three more young grandchildren in Charlotte, NC. DOTTIE MYERS McGirt sent Thanksgiving greetings, while GIBBIE SCOTT Walters told of having 14 in her home for the Christmas holidays.

(She doesn’t recall ever leaving the kitchen!) HATTIE LIDDON Andersen sent Christmas greetings, photos and news from Denmark. Hattie had to miss our 50th reunion last April due to husband Mogens’ ill health.

Happily, Mogens has recovered and the Andersens enjoyed a trip to the U.S.A. in September, visiting many friends, including LISH EARLY Willey in Birmingham, AL, BOWIE SWETENBURG Frazer in Montgomery, AL, and NELL HIGDON Hudson in Columbus, GA. When asked to send us some interesting news from Gainesville, GA, MARY WIN CORCORAN Watson replied that she’s still waiting for something interesting to happen …. GELENE DUNCAN Ellsworth says she enjoyed last April’s 50th reunion so much she’s driving up from Columbia, SC for our “Fifty + One” gathering this April. We Class of 1963 Representatives (Emily, Hadley, Carolyn, Wallace, Lou and Betty) really hope some of the rest of you will join us, too!

Class of 1964

50TH Liz Harkins Biosca REUNION 807 S Mountain View Cir, Johnson City, TN 37601-3462 423.926.9897 ehbiosca@hotmail.com Sarah Miller McDaniel 1140 Pilot Boy Rd, Wadmalaw Island, SC 29487-6993 843.559.7267, sarahmcdanielw@bellsouth.net Winged Victory: Does she stir any 50-year-old memories?

She loomed above us as we approached the dining room at Converse. Why was she there? Why were we there?

What was she saying? “You are an original. I am a copy.” Have you like Winged Victory lost your head, but gained much wisdom and have the wit of Nora Ephon?

Or do you, like Winged Victory and Nora, feel bad about your neck? (Regrettably, Nora now has her own wings.)

(Continued)

LIFE EVENTS CLASS NOTES

(Continued)

Class of 1966 Mildred Gee Akers geeakers@aol.com Linda Whitnel Crimm thecrimms@gmail.com

Or have you grown wings for your grit, and grace under stress? Have you attracted cultured people, but paid their bills? Have you dined on fabulous food and never gained weight? Have you had great fame and many expenses? Did you travel in many countries, but with too much luggage?

(We are probably all smarter travelers, or literally pay the price). Have you had an educational or humanitarian trip or, an unlikely pilgrimage? Let’s all gather on campus April 24-27 and talk about these things and laugh about even more. Information is on its way. Respond and show up.

We will be there and like winged Victory our brains may be missing but not our memories! (by Sarah and Liz with huge creative help from JUNE MCINTOSH Uhler) The spectacular Class of 1964 will gather April 24, 25 & 26 in Spartanburg for our 50th…yes, Fiftieth…reunion. Better be there or you will be chosen class rep for the next 10...yes, Ten…years. Register now! On line: converse.edu/reunion

Class of 1965 Margaret Clotfelter Allen 733 Glenwood Dr, Athens, GA 30606-4627 706.546.9960 margaallen@charter.net

works by MARSHA SAMS Thrift. Marsha continues to teach in public school as well as spending lots of time Marguerite McCord Campbell with her two grandchildren. Sandra’s husband had a few 204 Glenroy Ct, Flat Rock, NC 28731-9561 health issues recently, but they continue to enjoy being 828.697.8435 involved with their Whippets. ANNE JONES Holloway margotcampbell@mindspring.com stays busy with her four grandsons and spends her time Our most important news is we have our 50 year between her farm on the Rappahannock River outside of Lucia Cleveland Johnson anniversary to look forward to in the spring of 2015! I Fredericksburg, MD, and trips to Florida in the fall and 35 Meadow Lakes Ter, Cedartown, GA 30125-6906 hope everyone will keep this in mind. MARION RIVERS winter. BROOKS SANDERS Hamilton and husband, 770.748.9509 Cato writes President Betsy Fleming, daughter of LIB Sam, recently completed a total renovation of his 1830 luluatwinshape@yahoo.com BURNETT Fleming and fiancé Ed Weisiger visited Marion boyhood home in Georgetown, SC. Brooks is enjoying and Wayland at their Wyoming ranch in July. They were many activities from entertaining in that grand old home, Thanks to all of you who sent news of yourself or of all busy attending the WYO Rodeo, riding 4-wheelers for counseling at a crisis pregnancy center, and of course classmates. Hopefully, you’re all thinking about or have miles on the ranch near by the Big Horn mountains. Also her grandchildren. We’re all invited to stop by and visit. made plans already to attend the festivities surrounding the they enjoyed a great high-goal polo match in nearby Big ELVY TALLEY Bryan had a visit from her children and 125th anniversary of Converse during reunion week-end.

Horn. As Marion wrote this email temperatures were 10-tograndchildren over Thanksgiving. Golf still continues to If you haven’t made your plans, you need to get busy. Word 20 below zero! SUSU PHIFER Johnson said the campus be a passion as well as studying music. Her latest claim th has it that the 125 celebration will be well worth attending looks gorgeous with lots of continuing improvements. to fame was starting the company, Exodus Coffin Works, even though it is not our year to reunion. CATHERINE Among the progress is a new Field House and the Inc., providing an affordable choice of burial besides WILLIAMS Swann retired June 30, 2013 after 14 years fundraising for the renovation of Pell Hall is in the final cremation and caskets. Google the company and read of ordained ministry in the Episcopal Church in VA. Kaki phase. BETTY BYERS Mastley writes husband Dale took the story behind the idea. Kudos to you too, Elvy! JUDY and husband Robert have moved to Reedville, VA. A most her on a wonderful trip to Ireland last spring. Betty stays in COE and MARGOT McCORD Campbell have been inspiring email from CANDACE LOWE Long saying touch with CHARLENE SEIGLER Wells, ROSEMARY enjoying yearly get togethers with BETH BREWER that she received her Pilot’s License in December and is NEWTON Bass Young and BIBBA WALKER Thomas Franz, LEE TABB Lauterbach, JANE MOODY now working on her Instrument Rating to enable her to but they have not had a get together in a while. LINDA Galbraith and KAREN STRATTON Schlag. For the fly through the clouds. As she so aptly put it, “learning a FRANK Johnson is enjoying life on Hilton Head Island. big 60th birthday, they celebrated in Las Vegas, and for whole new way to navigate through life.” In the Spring, She stays busy playing golf and working with Women In the 65th, a cruise was enjoyed from Montreal to Boston. she will be installed as President of the National League Philanthropy, which helps to support organizations on the This year they met in Greenville, SC and took a tour of America Pen Women(www.nlapw.org), the nation’s Island. Also she is a member of the Junior League sustainers of Converse admiring all the changes and encouraging oldest organization for creative women-writers, artists on Hilton Head through the Savannah League. PERRY those who have not been back recently to do so. JUDY and composers- founded in 1897 and headquartered in RUSSELL Gilreath welcomed a beautiful grandson GORDON Collier is the recipient of the R. Hugh Daniel Washington, DC. She will be commuting between Atlanta Gilreath “Gil” Evans Hill this past June. ANNE WING Endowed Teaching Chair and the Board of Trustees and Washington every month and will be living at Pen Arts Coffey had a wonderful visit with Perry in August and Leadership Award at The Altamont School (Birmingham, (about a mile from the White House) half the time. They got to meet that precious and adorable baby! GINGER AL) and on retirement was conferred the title of Dean of rent rooms for tourists -very reasonable and close to the MCKINNEY Jernigan and GINGER MCKINNEY Jernigan Faculty and Spanish Teacher Emerita. Judy writes that Metro. To qualify, you just have to know a Pen Woman, and and Anne Coffey had a great January lunch and “catch up” she had lunch recently with NANCY McCALL Poynor we all know Candi. Also, through the Creativity Training visit in Raleigh, NC. and THEO NEWSOME Greene. Theo was just back Anne Wing Coffey 805 Northern Shores Pt, Greensboro, NC 27455-3459 336.286.4717 annecoffey2@aol.com

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Happy New Year and 70th birthday to all! How is that possible? BARBARA NELSON Yergens says retirement has been good for Bill and her. They have done several sailing trips, reconnected with old friends, and enjoy quality time with their sons and their families.

Barbara volunteers at CODA, a domestic violence shelter for Beaufort County and three adjoining counties.

She finds answering the crisis line and processing children’s intake very rewarding. SUSIE HARDY Barnhardt Betsy Fleming & fiancee Ed Weisiger and Marion and Wayland Cato. writes that her son Bradford graduated from Franklin and Marshall, got his Institute, her speaking schedule has also increased.

Masters at Harvard, and is living in Sydney while working Needless to say, aviation has and will enable her to be on his PhD. He and his wife have two little boys. IRENE responsive to her many outreach and ministry requests.

MORRAH’s daughter, Edna Morrah Ingold ’04, also lives Kudos to you! KAY WYATT Cheves writes that in the in Sydney. Susie’s daughter, Amanda Bernhardt Roth, is a past 18 months she and husband, Langdon, have had lawyer who graduated from USC. She met her husband at three family weddings and are now grandparents of five.

Cornell and they now live in San Francisco. Susie is retired ANN ARMOUR McCoy enjoyed a cruise to the Western and still lives in Charlotte. She keeps up with ADELAIDE Caribbean during Christmas. SANDRA SHERARD REECE Small. She and Jim stay on the move.

Bethea recently attended an art exhibit that featured

Class of 1967

from a holiday visit with one of her sons in Seattle.

Nancy and husband, John, had just returned from a late December trip to Vienna. Judy has retired and is currently looking forward to spending a week in Paris in late March with some of her teaching colleagues. She has also visited CONNIE CAREFOOT Durrence and husband, Larry, in Lakeland, FL. Judy and Connie were roommates on 2nd Dexter our freshman year. Connie recently retired from practicing law. Judy and husband, Steve, have visited one of the Frank Lloyd Wright homes and are looking forward to seeing more. Thanks again to all who sent news. Looking forward to seeing all of you who come to the 125th birthday party. There are very few email addresses for our class members. If you have an email address, please send it to your class reps.

Class of 1968 Carol Graham 727 Alta Vista Drive, Vista, CA 92084 760.224.1123 earlygram@earthlink.net Caroline Grimball 109 Walden Court, Columbia, SC 29204 803.782.5828 caroline5828@bellsouth.net Barbara Baker Kennedy 4400 Dewees Court, Raleigh, NC 27612 919.782.9459 bkennedy8@nc.rr.com Ann Wallace Nichols 6607 Greenville Highway, Brevard, NC 28712 404.580.4975 wallacenichols@gmail.com

GREETINGS to all! For those of you who were not able to attend our 45th reunion in April 2013… you were certainly missed. For the 25 of us who did… we enjoyed seeing each other and the gathering in the Cabin after dinner to hear funny Music School stories….complete with impressions of the professors.

Also, the results of the 1968 Class Questionnaire were compiled by ANN WALLACE Nichols and read at the class dinner. Thanks to all who responded. There were certainly some interesting answers which will be featured in future class notes. Thanks to all who contributed to our successful Capital Campaign.

We achieved the $50,000 challenge and our class will be able to name a room in Dexter or Pell in the near future. Our total class participation was 27% which was second only to the Class of 1963 for the Class Act award. Ann Wallace Nichols was part of a gathering of several classmates during the fall in Cashiers, NC. It included LESLIE CLARK Randolph, CINDY ARCHIBALD Purcell, MARI ANNE STRIBLING, NANCY BEASLEY Meldram and JOANNE GILMER Cole. ELEANOR WEAVER Carter and Heyward have added a third log cabin to their Pisgah Forest, NC property which is becoming a real family compound. Ann Wallace Nichols visited with AMANDA COFFEY Demarest at a Converse luncheon in Biltmore Village in September and said she looked fabulous. GILLIAN WHITE Goodrich was named the Outstanding Woman in the Community for 2013. Gillian was one of seven women honored as the UAB Outstanding Women for 2013 during a ceremony Thursday, March 14, 2013 in the Hill University Center Great Room Hall.

The UAB Women’s Center, Women’s and Gender Studies Program and UAB Commission on the Status of Women present the awards annually during Women’s History Month to honor women in the UAB and Birmingham communities who have mentored

or served other women, taken a courageous stance or overcome adversity to achieve a goal. JUSTINA LASLEY Minifie has a new book coming out titled: Wake Up! Use Dreams to Change Your Life.

Class of 1969

45TH Cathy Riley Howle REUNION 808 Law Plantation Rd, Darlington, SC 29540-7607 843.393.7317 rileyWilds70@gmail.com Ashley Fine Nagle 301 Kirk Ln, Media, PA 19063-2217, 610.565.4483 avfnagle@hotmail.com Sydney Patricia Smith 3015 Rhodenhaven Dr NW, Atlanta, GA 30327-1225 404.352.5249 csmithstepsahead@aol.com Thanks to all who sent us news! We are looking forward to seeing you at our 45th Class Reunion on April 24th and 25th! CISSY SMITH, with help from JACKIE NOYES, arranged the delivery of flowers for her niece’s rehearsal dinner, a cruise down the Potomac, last June in Washington, DC. She is now remodeling a house in Atlanta, SC for resale. CATHY RILEY Howle happily announces that son, Sam, and wife, Carissa, of Mount Pleasant are expecting their first child (her first grandchild) in late May. Nancy joiner Hyatt expects the arrival of her seventh grandchild in early May. She, GAY COOK Robson, ELINOR BANKS McLaughlin, LEE ANN LOWRY Harris, and MARTHA BARRON Barnes plan to attend our reunion this April. This group spent Memorial Day together in NC. Nancy and Gay had not seen each other in over forty years! SALLY FLEENOR Reed hopes to attend our class dinner on Reunion Weekend. ELINOR BANKS McLaughlin and husband, Woody; LEE ANN LOWRY Harris and Jim; MARTHA BARRON Barnes and Mack; GAY COOK Robson and Ted; NANCY JOINER Hiatt and Joe; ELIZABETH BLACKFORD Refshauge; and Barry Flood gathered in Waynesville, NC at Lee Ann’s family compound.

Elinor and Woody have been to OR and CO to visit children in their new RV. All four “children” came to Nashville, TN during Christmas week. NANCY RAY Scurry and husband, Ralph, went to Myrtle Beach, SC for the National Shag Dancing event. They still live in Callison, SC, part of Greenwood County and are retired while both sons, Ben and Daniel, continue the family tradition of working with Northwestern Mutual. They recently moved an old log cabin belonging to Ralph’s family onto their property. They enjoy time spent with their eight grandchildren, ages one through 16. SALLY EVANS Lockwood sent a Christmas Letter telling of her work as a member of the American Bar Association accreditation team as well as work at the Office of Bar Admissions in Atlanta. Her son, Jay, turned 30 at his surprise birthday party and is in his third year of Emory Medical School doing summer work with the Emory Chapter of Project Medishare in Haiti. Son, Chip, 32, and wife Meg live in Boston attending Harvard grad school and being resident tutors in Adams House at Harvard as they pursue doctoral studies. JACKIE NOYES serves on the national board of Women Heart, headquartered in Washington, DC.

LIFE EVENTS CLASS NOTES

IN MEMORIAM Eugenia H. Bryan ’70, April 20, 2013 Barbara Weller Bringman ’71, December 29, 2013 Spencer M. Johnson ’71, December 28, 2013 Henrietta Pollard ’71, January 8, 2013 Charles Everett Templeton ’71 MAT, October 14, 2012 Elizabeth Thomas Street ’73, January 11, 2013 Allison Whaley ’74, December 30, 2013 Anne R. Acee ’75, January 21, 2014 Iris Hearn Stuart ’75, October 29, 2013 Mackey King Tarrant ’76, December 12, 2013 Don Bryant Caudle ’77, July 28, 2013 Rhonwyn Valdes Huff ’77, May 3, 2013 Fran Snite ’77, December 13, 2013 Dorothy C. Culp ’78, November 23, 2013 Ellen Jones Donkle ’78, July 16, 2013 Alica F. Grizzle ’78, February 14, 2013 Helen Massey Holmes ’78, May 5, 2013 Christine M. Reid ’79, October 6, 2013

SYMPATHY

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Louisa Norwood Ellerbe Tobias ’45, October 3, 2013, mother of Louisa Tobias Campbell ’70 Adelaide F. Holderness, December 14, 2013, mother of Pam Holdeness Hassenfelt ’70 Edwin Harris Teague III, January 1, 2014, brother of Melissa Teague Albert ’71 Pauline Ethel Ray, January 18, 2014, mother of Jane Ray Ehrie ’71 Jennie Howe Merrill, October 5, 2013, mother of Elizabeth Merrill Rust ’72 Howard H. Skidmore, February 10, 2013, father of Diana Skidmore Smith ’72 William Craver, May 5, 2013, father of Ellen Craver Young ’72 Margaret Gay Simmons ’48, February 24, 2014, mother of Gay Simmons Colyer ’73 Mary Francis Raysor McGinty, May 5, 2013, mother of Harriet McGinty ’73 Robert Glenmore Sharp, January 26, 2013, father of Esther Sharp ’73 James C. Kyzer, Jr. July 1, 2013, husband of Peggy McKewen Kyzer ’74 Jennie Howe Merrill, October 5, 2013, mother of Susanne Merrill ’74 Kathryn M. Kerr, May 14, 2013, mother of Jane Kerr Pride ’74 Ben Puckett, June 2, 2013, father of Carol Todd Puckett ’74 Susan Collins Hardaway ’69, November 18, 2012, sister of Ellen Collins White ’74 Kathleen Mize Wilson, April 29, 2013, mother of Roseanne Wilson ’74 Mary Payne Brown Perry, July 7, 2013, mother of Kathryn Perry Bumgardner ’75 Maude Bull Clinkscales ’51, September 21, 2013, mother of Sallye Clinkscales Bunch ’75 Mary Francis Raysor McGinty, May 5, 2013, mother of Marian McGinty Carpenter ’75

Ellen Griggs, June 23, 2013, mother of Debra Griggs ’75 Mary Lynn Idleman Heyl, December 20, 2012, mother of Barbara L. Heyl ’75 Gina Richardson Dale ’80, May 27, 2013, sister of Ann Richardson ’75 William Craver, May 5, 2013, father of Missy Craver Schenck ’75 Mary Anna Chaudron Stewart, July 8, 2013, mother of Caroline Stewart Whitlock ’75 Robert Glenmore Sharp, January 26, 2013, father of Elise Sharp Moore ’76 Reavis Gray Davis ’50, May 18, 2013, mother of Carolyn Davis Stewart ’76 Margaret Adger Fulton Walker ’45, October 4, 2012, mother of Ann Fulton Walker ’76 John Neal Walker, February 18, 2013, father of Ann Fulton Walker ’76 Luke J. Solesbee, February 19, 2013, father of Patricia Solesbee Foy ’77 Norman Douglas Ellis, Jr., July 3, 2012, father of Pam Ellis Hall ’77 George H. Mattiske, Jr., January 25, 2013, husband of Bobbie Twitty Mattiske ’77 Jasper C. “Jap” Boles, December 13, 2012, father of Lynn Boles Pittman ’77 Mackey King Tarrant ’76, December 12, 2013, sister of Bet Tarrant ’77 Andrew Taylor Collins, July 2013, son of Donna Anderson Collins Yamini ’77 Howard K. Olive, October 27, 2012, father of Karen N. Olive ’78 Charles P. Bridges, March 7, 2013, father of Suzanne Bridges Coggins ’79 Edwin “Eddie” Kelley Lathan, Jr., November 16, 2013, husband of Darleene Jordan Lathan ’79 Jane Beasley Moore ’50, January 9, 2013, mother of Margaret Moore Sellers ’79 John Milton Smeak, December 14, 2013, father of Charlotte Smeak Verreault ’79

Class of 1970 Janice Mack 6 Indigo Cv, Greensboro, NC 27455-3424 336.282.0520 janice.smack@gmail.com Lynnie Hicks Mitchell 1612 Oberlin Rd, Apt 4, Raleigh, NC 27608-2045 276.920.4283 ethmitch@gmail.com From 12/13 Christmas cards to Smack: THAYER CHEATHAM Willis is going strong heading up her company and publishing a newsletter for wise philanthropy. You can tell Thayer is passionate about her work. SHERRI BOWERS is retired in Georgia, and it sounds like she is loving retirement. She made her acting debut as Bev in Ellen Byron’s Graceland. she now has the acting bug along with her husband.

JAN ROREBECK Dees continues to enjoy retirement from teaching; she took things pretty easy in 2013 and concentrated on helping husband David get stronger from a serious infection he had. He is gradually getting better. PATTY DOWNES Johnson and husband Steve traveled to France and Italy, and then spent lots of time at the beach. CLAIRE HAILEY Hall continues to be an

active grandmother to her five little ones. PERRY HICKS Jordan likes the warm weather in San Antonio. Daughter Liz moved south to New Orleans after completing law school in New York; Liz works in the public defender’s office. Perry’s other daughter Sara works for a firm in Washington, DC. MARION BROOKE Carson and husband Charlie are enjoying time together living in Charlotte, NC, and with Marion’s mother who still lives in her own home. Earlier in the year, I heard from STUART RINEHART Stewart; she continues to be very active as an Episcopal priest, and she is also involved with a Counseling program at Johns Hopkins.

EILEEN NOLEN Shepherd and husband Stephen spent Christmas in Disney World entertaining Stephen’s grandson. PAM HOLDERNESS Hassenfelt and Smack run into each other at the local farmer’s market almost every Saturday. Pam either brings a grandchild, daughter or husband Steve with her. NANCY JANE STEADMAN Calloway, ANN JOYNER Cross, LYNDA “SMITTY” SMITH Swann and Smack had their annual pre-holiday dinner together in Winston Salem, NC. Nancy Jane older daughter Holland is working hard in her medical residency program. Ann continues to work part-time for her husband while finding time to be grandma to son Oliver’s toddler daughter Dottie in Charlotte, NC. Ann’s daughter Eleanor works for Davidson College.

Smitty continues to face the daily challenges of running the family mail order business. Since earning her MBA, daughter Parker has worked for Lululemon Athletica; Parker and husband Thomas just moved from Vancouver to Charleston, SC. In 2013 daughter Lanier got married and now works for a consulting firm in the DC area.

HOWARD BROWN Millican, LYNNIE HICKS Mitchell, and Smack get together several times a year, and they had their annual post-holiday lunch for the first time in Raleigh, NC. Howard’s new puppy Lizzie keeps her busy, but she makes time for some little travel.

Son David does bird research in interesting parts of the world; he is headed to Hawaii for the first few months of 2014; Howard will have a beautiful place to visit. Lynnie’s big news is that she sold her house in Virginia and moved to Raleigh, NC. She is happy with this big change in her life and has been busy renovating a condo in the Cameron Village area. Daughter Mary Lyons now lives in Wilmington, NC, and works for a private school there.

Daughter Laurie and husband Steve moved from New Hampshire to Washington, DC, and Laurie began a new job with the National Trust; this fits in with her graduate degree in historic preservation. Smack continues to teach special education in the public schools, and she works hard and long hours in an effort to deal with the challenges of the job. Hope all is well with all of those Smack has not heard from in a while. Please send Smack some news about yourself. Smack writes class notes each January and would like to include more classmates.

All classes are invited to the April reunion since it is the 125th anniversary. Smack is going; please join her!

Class of 1971 Jane Byrd Melton 115 Bickerstaff Rd, Clemmons, NC 27012-9053 janemelton@triad.rr.com Mindy Thompson Orman 1040 Gateway Ln, Nashville, TN 37220-1043 orman@realtracs.com

Nancy Lide 2032 Sussex Ln, Winston Salem, NC 27104-2208 nancyclide@alumni.wfu.edu JANE RAY Ehrie’s mother-in-law died from injuries related to being hit in a car by a car and the following morning Jane’s mother died. Our sympathy to Jane and her family.

Class of 1972 Betsy Crane Griffith 238 Mountain View Rd, Princeton, NJ 08540-7718 southernbcg@aol.com Jill Rushforth Coker 17 Collins Ridge Dr, Greenville, SC 29607-3775 864.281.0314 Florence Twitty 525 Woodland St, Spartanburg, SC 29302-2762 864.585.5018 SARAH BROWN Stewart is an Administrative Law Judge for the Social Security Administration in MS. BETSY CRANE Griffith hosted a Converse alumnae event in her home on Hilton Head Island in November 2013.

Class of 1973 Kay Humphries Maddox khm1222@gmail.com Even though our 40th reunion was not well attended, those of us who were present had a great weekend. KAY HUMPHRIES Maddox joined CATHERINE WARD Harkey, MARY NELL ROGERS Brandt, PEGGY KELLEY Lancaster, LEILANI RICE Fisher and FRAN DUQUETTE Davis at Gerhardt’s restaurant on Friday night where we enjoyed catching up on each other’s lives. It was good to see EMILY JONES Rushing for lunch at Converse on Saturday. Emily is still living in Birmingham, AL, and retired from The Community Foundation for Greater Birmingham. CATHERINE WARD Harkey is semi-retired from her 20 years as Director of Church Music at three area churches, but is currently Director of Hand Bells Choirs at Myers Park Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, NC where she and husband, Henry, have lived since she finished graduate school in 1975. But the big news from her is that she has a beautiful granddaughter, Brooke, who is now six months old. Brooke’s dad, Jon and mom, Jill, live in Atlanta, GA. The younger Harkey son, Chris, lives and works in Charlotte, NC. Catherine said, “I am very much looking forward to our 45th reunion in four years and hope to see everyone there.” FRAN DUQUETTE Davis is living in Inman, SC, and grows organic vegetables on her farm. LEILANI RICE Fisher has been retired from teaching music in the Spartanburg public schools for a few years now but keeps busy in the Spartanburg Repertory Company and as an officer in her music club. PEGGY KELLY Lancaster just retired from teaching school last spring so she has much more time to devote to her grandchildren each day. MARY NELL ROGERS Brandt and husband, Bucko, still love living in Spartanburg, SC where he is happily practicing law.

Mary Nell said, ”Mississippi Mud may still flow in my veins, but Carolina is home!” She missed much of the

reunion last year since daughter, Rogers, was getting married. Three of her children are living and working in Spartanburg, SC while their youngest child just moved to Asheville, NC. Mary Nell’s oldest daughter, Cate, and her husband, Aaron, are parents to Winnie (6), who is the first grandchild. Kay Maddox is enjoying being retired after 38 years teaching music. She and husband, Bob, embarked on an adventure in military life in 1981 and lived in many wonderful places. Bob retired from the Air Force but still flies for Delta Air Lines. They have moved back to Spartanburg, SC where they are both staying busy working on their new house when not traveling to spend time with their two sons and grandchildren. Son Aaron, and his wife, Laura, are parents to Garret (13) and Olivia (3) and live in the suburbs of Washington, DC. Their younger son, Robert and his wife, Bridget, have one daughter, Ainsley (3) and live in Lexington Park, MD. MARTHA “MOTT” RYAN Bramblett just retired last June after 35 years from public school teaching in Spartanburg, SC where she raised her two sons. RICHARD SIMMONS is enjoying retirement but still sings as a cantor at his church and for local ball games in Winston Salem, NC. He has been married to the same wonderful woman for almost 39 years. MARY PAPADIS Koutroulias can’t let her music connection go completely even though she has retired as a public school music teacher in Spartanburg, SC. Her church position keeps her actively involved in music.

She and husband, Stathe, have been married for 38 years and raised their three children in Spartanburg, SC. Now she is enjoying her five month old grandchild.

MELISSA PARHAM Musgrove reports actually using her Psychology degree for many years in vocational rehabilitation. Now she is doing something she never expected to do - an interiorscaper who provides plants for commercial customers. After working in the field for 10 years, she has owned the business since 2008.

Melissa was widowed in 2012 but has her two college

age children to keep her busy. Daughter, Cade, is a senior at University of Alabama, and son, Rawls, is a sophomore as Mississippi State University. RUTH “TEM” DICKSON Dalton lives in Gastonia, NC, where she is teaching elementary school music. However, she is contemplating retirement in the near future. Her three sons are scattered all over the country. Ben and his wife live in San Diego, CA, and have two children, Maddox and Marlo; Nathan and his wife are living in New Orleans, LA; and Martin is living in Raleigh, NC, where he enjoys the single life. MARY GWATHMEY Michaux has lived in Greensboro, NC, since 1985 where she has worked for the Center for Creative Leadership as their telecom guru. For the past year she has been working part-time and is contemplating retirement in the near future. Her daughter, Megan, has two precious children, Hunter (5) and Lily (2), and is expecting a third in June.

SUSAN MARRASH Minnerly is still living in Charleston, WV, and is a tenured full Professor of Theater at West Virginia State University. She reports that her life is good and she loves her job. Her husband, Doug, is semi-retired and keeps busy as a part-time minister at a small Presbyterian church nearby. It gives him time to spend with son, Nathan (18). RUTH GARVEY Horger shared a “small world” story from a recent beach trip to Hilton Head, SC. She and her husband were riding bikes when they passed another couple. The other lady said, “Ruth, I think we know each other from Converse College.” It turned out to be Ruth’s roommate from her sophomore year, CAROL DAVENPORT Dunst. ALIDA MCILVAIN Haslett is leading a very busy life in Bryn Mawr, PA, where she and husband, John, raised their four children. She continues to paint as well as design framing and matting in the gallery where she works. You can find her (Continued)

LIFE EVENTS CLASS NOTES

(Continued)

heading up the First Friday Art Shows every week. Her son, John (35), will be married this September and works in the medical device field. Son, Matt (33), is a singer and songwriter in Colorado and is considering a return to school to study music. Son, Nick (29), is a farmer in Vermont but also writes and sings his own music. Nick is engaged to be married this May. Daughter, Alida, is in Colorado finishing her Master’s degree in Education and Social Work while she works as a special education assistant and part-time ski instructor.

NANCY WALKER McEachern lives in Greenville, SC, where she is a real estate appraiser. Her second husband brought six grandchildren into her life, and she is very proud of her two grown children. Nancy is still painting, playing tennis as often as she can, and has discovered traveling. She still finds time to volunteer in the community theater. MARIANNA BUSCHING finished her MM in Vocal Performance in 1973 and has enjoyed a very successful career since her Carnegie Hall debut in 1979. Although she has retired from public singing, Marianna is happy and healthy at 75 and still actively teaching at Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, MD. She spends the summers teaching in various music festivals in Italy. You can hear her by going to Centaur Records where her CDs are for sale. She proudly reports that her three children are all happy and successful in their jobs, but she misses her four grandchildren who live too far away. GAY SIMMONS Colyer is busy in Atlanta, GA, where she chairs a non-profit organization called “ Do the Write Thing Challenge” which is part of the National Campaign to Stop Violence. Her two children, Wilkie (29) and Elizabeth (27) are all grown up. When she is not traveling with friends, Gay is involved in community service work, especially in her neighborhood association. ANN CLARK Webb has retired from school administration, but continues to work in the school office to keep herself busy and happy. Ann’s son, Richard, completed his residency in General Surgery at Walter Reed Military Medical Center and was then promoted to Major in the US Army. He and his wife moved to Columbia, SC, just in time for the birth of a daughter, Anne Caroline, Ann’s first grandchild. Daughter, Suzanne, recently graduated from the University of South Alabama with a Master’s degree in Nursing in the field of Women’s Health and is working in Columbia, SC, as a nurse practitioner. Ann and husband, Rick, stay busy with friends, family and church. CRISSA WALSH Keith lives in Columbia, SC, where she and husband Jon, will soon celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary. Their daughter, Sarah B. and husband, Chris, live in Herndon, VA, where he works for Homeland Security, and she for Oliver Wyman Co. Their youngest daughter, Anna, and husband, Mike, live in Mt. Pleasant, SC, where she is a nurse at MUSC Children’s Hospital and are parents to Crissa’s grandson, Miller (2). Crissa stays active singing in her church choir and driving to Mt Pleasant to see Miller. SUSAN KENNEDY Brown works with her husband, Ronny, in his office Carolina HealthSpan Institute in Charlotte,

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NC, where they treat patients with Bio-Identical Hormones. Both her children live in Charlotte, NC so they are able to enjoy spending time with them. Son, Spencer, and his wife, Courtney, have a one year old son, William Lauchlin Brown, who is his grandparent’s source of joy and fun. Their daughter, Margaret, works with her parents in their business. Susan stays in touch with SHARON AMOS Shealy and get together with her and her husband for weekends in Charleston, SC. Sharon lives in Winston Salem, NC, with husband, Ronnie, who is still practicing as an ENT and where she is in her 25th year of selling real estate. Their son, Chip, and his wife, Elizabeth, live in Charleston, SC. Chip is in commercial real estate and Elizabeth is an attorney.

Daughter, Lindy, and her husband, L.R., live in Pawley’s Island, SC where she is also in the real estate business while L.R. works for Wells Fargo. RHONDA HARVEY Lingerfelt retired from the city of Shelby, NC, in November of 2012 and within a week moved with her husband, Smith, to Raleigh, NC, where both of their married children live. That way they get to see grandchildren Sims, Merritt and Isla as often as they want. She gets together with Converse roommate SUSAN EMBRY Naylor about once a year. Susan has been teaching at Reinhardt University in Waleska, GA, for 39 years where she is currently serving as Coordinator of Undergraduate Studies. She plays the piano at her church and performs in recitals at the University. Susan enjoys spending time with her 99-year-old mother and two sisters who live near her.

ROSEMARY BINGHAM Blackburn lives in Richmond, VA, with husband, Percy, who is now retired. They have two grandchildren close by in Richmond, but the other two live in Columbia, SC. Rosemary makes the drive often to spend time with her daughter and her family there. It also gives her a chance to visit Converse friends in Greenville, SC, and Spartanburg, SC. She says that they are no more mature when they are together now than they were as college girls living in Belk and Andrews. ANNE OSBORNE Long and her husband, Leonard, sold their house on Sullivan’s Island, SC after living there 30 years so that they could live full time at Kiawah Island. But there is another move in the works for them since they are designing a new house to be build this spring. Her oldest daughter, Mason (28) is living and teaching in Prague. She is about to complete her DELTA diploma through Cambridge University this summer before moving to a warmer climate. Son Rutledge (26), graduated from Bowdoin College in 2012 and has been teaching and coaching at a boarding school in north Georgia. He is getting married in February. Livingston (23) graduated from Vanderbilt and went straight into a Master’s degree in Finance. He is putting it to use in New York City where he works for Wells Fargo’s Investment Bank. Palmer (22) is a senior at Newberry College where he is studying Studio Art. Anne plays a lot of golf and thinks life on Kiawah is better than she ever imagined it could be. PATRICIA STAPLETON Snider has been living in Easley, SC, since graduation where she taught choral music at Easley High School for 27 years, served as Choir Director at Easley First United Methodist Church, and is now the 8th Grade Assistant Principal at Getty’s Middle School. She and husband, Craig, have one son, Ian, who is making them grandparents in March. Pat is hoping that her granddaughter will also be a “Connie” since her experience there was so important to her life and work.

Class of 1974 Amanda Horton Dorman 6 Marsh Point Dr, Savannah, GA 31406-3218 ahdorman@comcast.net, 912.352.9853

40TH

REUNION

Elizabeth Elmore Rhoad 308 Laurel Dr, Lexington, SC 29072-3542 zqueen123@aol.com, 803.957.5809 WOW...Our 40th Reunion and 125th anniversary of Converse all rolled into one! If ever there was a time to journey back to Converse, now is that time. Calling classmates has been such a fun adventure as each has reminisced with such fondness our days together and asked how it could have been 40 years? CARSON FRANCE Richards has moved from the Kentucky countryside to the big city of Lexington, SC and loves it. She keeps up with fellow Lexingtonian, MISSY JOHNSTON, as well as, ELODIE HALE Craig, TAE BREENE, SARA ELLIS Lehner and MARY FAIR Graves. PATTY SMART lives in Welmore, KY where she is caregiver to her 92-year-old mother. LIZ HARRELL Willets moved to a retirement community in Lakeland, FL, and is engaged to marry Wes Eustice later this year. NANCY COX Vaughan is an empty nester with daughter, Chris, in Nashville, TN as a Speech Therapist and sons, Will and Charlie, at Sewanee and VMI. MARTHA TONISSEN Mayberry loves her new life of retirement in the Pisgah Forest. Her son, Chatham, is in Carlsbad, NM. EDITH ANNE EVANS Charping works with husband, Bill, in investments and development in Columbia, SC. FRANCES SMITH McLean has a great little shop called Beechers in St. Simons, GA. JANIE LEFEVER Stackhouse was lost, but is found and hoping to join us in April. NANCY HICKS Irwin and SARAH Lehner are our feet on the ground in Spartanburg, SC helping make class dinner decisions and GRAZIER CONNORS Rhea is helping AMANDA HORTON Dorman contact many of you to insure a great turnout for this very special occasion. Amanda has a Facebook page so please friend her to see who is making plans to come in April.

Class of 1975 Libby Knight Borders libby.borders@gmail.com To all! Happy New Year and cheers to our new decade!

I heard from JACKIE JONES Putnam in April and was so excited to catch up with her! She shared much but perhaps the best is she recently was awarded Teacher of the Year and Reading Teacher of the Year for Spartanburg County! She saw NANCY OSBORNE, BETSY MCPHAIL Weathersbee and JOY JOYNER Poe at their Myers Park High School reunion. Jackie, come to our next reunion! DEBRA DOLSON Rohrer wrote to say she and Craig celebrated their 25th anniversary and now have five grandchildren (four girls and one frustrated 9-year-old boy as he feels overwhelmed!)

MISSY MOSER Rankin, JOY JOYNER Poe and BETSY MCPHAIL Weathersbee get together and now their focus will be trips to see beautiful gardens, starting in North Carolina....and hoping to travel to Europe in the future! SANDY KOPP McNutt stays busy with work, family and lots of travels! Try St. Maarten, Prague, Budapest, Europe and India! Tere Yow Ey, LOUISE MALLOY Bonner, GINA MCGINNIS Long, LILLIAN

Berry Bate ’75 created this fountain “Mountain Memory” for Hendersonville, NC MONTGOMERY Lawrence and LIBBY KNIGHT Borders celebrated our 60th at the beautiful beach home of NANCY ORDERS Smith! JAMIE GAINES Crockett has a new grandchild, Caroline Elizabeth Booth Watkins. DEBRA GRIGGS was installed as President of the Virginia Federation of Humane Societies. And she has been appointed to the recently created State Comprehensive Animal Care Laws Workgroup which is tasked with reviewing current companion animal laws in Virginia and making recommendations to the Legislature.

BERRY BATE has been busy creating a Fountain for Hendersonville, NC. It represents where Hendersonville, NC is located geographically. It is surrounded with three major mountain ranges. It is in the valley. The water comes down both sides to represent the continental divide. It is located at the beginning of Main Street.

Come see it when you are in Hendersonville, NC. It took three months to hammer in copper. It weighs 30 tons. It is named “Mountain Memory.” Happy 2014!

Class of 1976 Lisa Williamson Anderson LAWHunt2@aol.com, 702.851.0189 Elizabeth Gordon Martin lizgm@aol.com, 803.787.1979 Claire Connors Wharton wcw1@windstream.net, 828.859.9397 PAMELA TOTTEN Alvarado retired from a Head Principal position and decided since sons Ian (28) and Ryan (24) are grown, living in Hong Kong and finishing graduate school, that it was time to take her educational leadership skills abroad. She spent a year and a half building an American School in Erbil, Kurdistan for US troops and oil company families and then was offered the opportunity to rebuild an American School in Hanoi, Vietnam. Pam says the staff is American certified so it’s wonderful to collaborate and discuss and build on

BEST practices and incorporating the Common Core Standards. She is exploring and learning about Vietnam by visiting museums, Ho Chi Minh City, the Mekong Delta villages, Hoi Anh, Sapa and so much more. Her school has students from six of the seven continents with many embassies and Ambassadors taking pride sending their children to experience the diversity. She notes that this is a tremendous experience which she will cherish for a lifetime.

Class of 1977 Pam Ellis Hall 423 Greenfern Court, Burlington, NC 27215 hallpam56@triad.rr.com, 336.584.6382 Lucy Hudson Stembridge 5595 Sequoia Drive, Forest Park, GA 30297-4080 sopranolucy@att.net, 404.361.7304 Thank you Class of 1977 for your news! It is wonderful to hear from so many classmates, especially those that haven’t been heard from in a while. After five and a half years of retirement, MARSHALL KIRBY is back in the classroom as a long-term substitute band director at Chesnee Middle School, Chesnee, SC. Marshall recently presented a clinic on sight reading skills for band students at the SCMEA Inservice Conference. RICK FAIRWEATHER is Vice President, Wealth Management at Wells Fargo Bank in Austin, TX. TIFFANY FOWLER Whitehead is proud to announce that her youngest daughter Paige graduated from Converse in May 2013 with a degree in Chemistry and a minor in Studio Art and is working as a Chemist at a chemical company in Easley, SC. Tiffany retired in May of 2010 after teaching school for 33 years and is thoroughly enjoying retirement. PATRICIA SOLESBEE Foy announces the birth of two grandchildren. Katherine Ann Foy (daughter of son and daughter-in-law, Robert and Kristen Foy), was born September 24, 2012. Jackson Christopher Foy (son of son and daughter-in-law, Chris and Allison Foy) was

born on September 21, 2013. KIM WEBBER Bain is in her fifth year of teaching third grade at Heathwood Hall Episcopal School in Columbia, SC. This is her 34th year teaching overall in many different schools and grade levels. Kim’s husband of 37 years is the Middle School Head at Heathwood Hall. They moved to Columbia after spending many years in Hendersonville, NC. Kim’s son is newly married and living in Greenville, SC. Another son is engaged and living in Salisbury, NC. Her daughter graduated from UNC-Wilmington and is in graduate school in Scottsdale, AZ studying dance education.

PATTI BALLARD Marler and husband Don live in Pickens, SC. Daughter Elizabeth Marler Armstrong is a practicing dentist with Don. Son Garrett is living in Ft. Worth, TX with his wife and son Graham. Patti left teaching years ago and works in Don’s dental practice as office manager, human resource person, computer person and/or “anything else that needs to be done” person. Patti notes that even though she was a day student at Converse, she has fond memories of her Converse days and friends. DONNA ANDERSON Collins is known globally as a feng shui master of distinction and the primary artist for the Saudi Royal family. She is the founder of “The Jelly Queens”, a Texasbased gourmet jam company, and winner of the 2014 Good Food Awards. Although brought to Texas from South Carolina kicking and screaming, she has ended up loving every minute of a life in the big state. Donna was chosen as one of the top 100 best amateur cooks in America on FOX’s hit show “MasterChef” with Gordon Ramsay. Her current passion is cooking up great things with all the “Queens” like a new spice company “The Spice Kings” and their first store, “The Jelly Queens’ Cottage: garden * gourmet * home ” ! And best of all – after a year of work - scheduled to air this spring, the “Queens” have a new TV show, “The Adventures of Jelly Queens,” starring 26 of the best chefs, the coolest music and the prettiest farms in the state of Texas! Stay tuned to see what the “Queens” cook up next! CHRIS WOOD Lynn is delighted to be a grandmother. Bradley Clinton Lynn was born in December and is perfect in every way.

Tripp and Elizabeth are in Ft. Leavenworth, KS while Tripp completes his Master’s degree, then they plan to move back to the east coast. Daughter Kathleen will be married soon in Charleston, SC. Chris, along with MARY JANE SIMMONS Candler, PAMELA CRAIG Meehan, MARGUERITE CALLAHAN, NANCY HUTCHESON Harris and JOSIE RUDOLPH Stokes attended the funeral service for RHONDY VALDES Huff in May 2013. Chris says Rhondy had planned the service so there was a lot of laughter as well as tears. JOY NANNEY Finch was Musical Director for the Spartanburg Little Theatre production of The Buddy Holly Story. Joy says that the incredibly talented young cast for this production made her feel 10 years younger at least until she had to get up the next morning! In November 2013, Joy received the Outstanding Continuing Education (CE) Professional Award from the South Carolina Association for Continuing Higher Education. As a professor in Greenville Tech’s Corporate and Career Development Division, Joy manages continuing education training for about 7000 students per year. In 2013 she served as the CE representative on the Institutional Assessment Council subcommittee (Continued)

LIFE EVENTS CLASS NOTES

(Continued)

charged with evaluating Institutional Success Measures for the college. She received the President’s Innovation Award for Institutional Impact at last year’s convocation, and she is currently heading up a Project IMPACT Task Force creating streamlined processes for collecting data to communicate the impact CE has on its students, their employers, and the community. As a testament to her widespread professional recognition, Joy was invited by the Southeast Regional Lead Consortium to provide a day-long workshop for state regulators updating them on recent changes to HUD Guidelines for Lead-Based Paint last spring. At the request of the League for Innovation in the Community College, she recently presented a webinar entitled “Collaborate! Collaborate!” for their Innovator Spotlight Virtual Event and worked with both curriculum and CE departments to provide a collegewide look at collaborative efforts at Greenville Tech. Joy visited with BOBBI TWITTY Mattiske last summer in Myrtle Beach, SC. SUSAN FULLER Hinrichs had a busy 2013. Twin daughters Margaret and Ellen both graduated in May from East Carolina with BFA in Art, emphasis small metals. The twins are jewelry designers and have an online business on Etsy Geoflora. Their designs are in several galleries and boutiques, plus they have jobs as apprentice bench jewelers with Jared. For now they are living at home and have taken over Susan’s art studio. Oldest daughter Elizabeth is an Art Director at an advertising company in St Louis, MO. Susan and husband Tom had a wonderful visit with her in St Louis over Christmas. Susan had a knee replacement in May and says she is much more mobile and, most

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importantly, pain free. She is still painting, and in a few galleries. Susan and her family spent a fun week at Edisto, SC in August with CLAYTON LIPPINCOTT Harvey and her daughters, Helen and Kate. Susan’s husband Tom is working in Augusta, GA building the water supply for a nuclear power plant being expanded for Georgia Power. PHYLLIS ASHLEY Beasley is a South Carolina Certified Emergency Manager, to go with her last seven years planning for public health emergencies with the SC Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC). Daughter Caroline was married last May. Phyllis and husband Jim celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary in Memphis, TN, the city where they were living when they met and married.

Phyllis spends all her time between her fulltime job with SCDHEC, part-time job as a professional dog trainer with Pawsitive Results, LLC, and training her own dogs for obedience competition and therapy work. DEBORAH TRIGG Varga and husband Rich live in Highland, MD, a suburb of both Baltimore, MD and Washington, DC. Their son, his wife and 2-year-old granddaughter live in Inverness, IL (Chicago area) and 18 year old daughter, Kat, is a freshman at Cornell University, in Ithaca, NY, where she plays Division 1 field hockey and is majoring in Biological Engineering. KATHERINE GRAVES KingGoodrich is delighted to announce the arrival of granddaughter Georgia McKelley King, born to Kat’s son Collier and his wife Marian. Collier and Marian live in Cincinnati, OH where he is a first-year resident. Kat and husband Jim recently moved back into their house in California this past April after a kitchen remodel project turned into an entire house gut/redo! Kat says that hotel living after seven months got old but they love the results. SUSAN BECKHAM Zurenda retired from teaching AP English at Spartanburg High School in May 2013 (33 years of teaching English, 10 of them at Spartanburg High School) and is now working as a parttime book publicist at Magic Time Literary Agency.

Susan’s older daughter Kassie and her husband Dustin

gave birth to Susan’s first grandchild, Nora Mae Baker, in August 2013. Kassie is a 5th grade teacher at Mary Wright Elementary in Spartanburg, SC. Susan’s younger daughter Susanne was recently married to Brian Jaques.

They are living in Indian Shores, FL for a year while Brian completes an advanced dental residency. Susanne works as program services coordinator for a non-profit organization, Wheelchairs 4 Kids, in Tarpon Springs, FL. LESLIE SCOLES Provence and husband Hall run The Shops of Provence, a retail store in Greenville, SC. Leslie also writes for TALK Greenville magazine. Son Hall IV was married in August to Blanche Price and is a tax attorney with Smith, Moore, & Leatherwood in Greenville, SC. Daughter Elizabeth and husband Everett are in Columbia, SC where Elizabeth works in development at Heathwood Hall and Everett is an attorney. MARQUIN BARRETT McMath teaches 4th grade at Savannah Country Day School. Her daughter Marquin is married to George Campbell from Thomasville and lives in Greenville, SC. Daughter Francie is in CRNA graduate school in Augusta, and son Heys is at Presbyterian College where he plays quarterback for the Blue Hose.

KATHARINE CHISHOLM Almy spent much of June in China going to the factories where their Stink Bug Chute is being made. LUCY HUDSON Stembridge enjoyed being the Assistant Presenter to Mary Scifres (nationallyrenowned writer for musicians, ministers and worship artists) in Florida for the Convergent Creative Workshop in October. She music-directed the touring show “The Forgotten Carols” in December, and sang Christmas Eve at St. Mark UMC. Husband Frank runs Demico, and plays piano for Friendship UMC. Daughter Gwen (Converse Class of 2010) works for Hands-On Northeast Ohio as a Volunteer Coordinator, often singing and acting locally. Lucy loves hearing from all of you, and would especially like to hear from more music majors.

Please join the Converse Class of 1977 Facebook group where we reconnect with classmates, share old memories and make new ones!

Girls weekend at the home of Blanche Gramiling Weathers ’78

Class of 1978 Lee Ullman Hutson 3128 Oakview Road, Columbia, SC 29204 803.782.4980 (home), 803.960.3732 (cell) ALICE DENMAN Grier writes she and Riley are still in Charlotte, NC . Their oldest son Morgan, who has Downs’s syndrome, works for Harris Teeter, enjoys water aerobics at the Harris Y almost daily and is very active in their church. Her younger son Chris will be married this April to his college sweetheart Caroline.

Chris works for Bank of America and Caroline is a second grade teacher in Char-meck schools. We are thrilled to have her in our family. Riley retired last year from the bank and quickly began teaching cycling classes at Try Sport. MARIAN POTTS Foster has a new granddaughter, Amelie Foster Way, born December 17! KAY FERGUSON Theis writes her son Spencer is a freshman at Westminster College in Fulton, MO and is a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. He loves it, except for the cold, but the smallness of the school is great. (Smaller enrollment than Converse).

Her son Marshall is a sophomore in high school and plays the euphonium in the school marching band and on the debate team. He is working on acquiring his Eagle Scout and should be done by this summer. Kay, also, took her boys skiing in Aspen for Christmas and they loved it! RILLA ALTMAN Thomas writes 2013 flew by after our wonderful reunion weekend! Their youngest son, Brent and his fiancee, Hillary, married at a Jamaican wedding in November 2013 at Ocho Rios!

It was beautiful! Then they had a big reception for them at their house in Conway, SC on November 16. Her daughter-in-law, Tanya, took her to Maggie Valley, NC where she is on ski patrol for Thanksgiving weekend.

They went to the Biltmore House for her birthday.

Christmas was busy, but wonderful with two sons, two daughter-in-laws, four grand-dogs and they’re going to be grandparents in August. (Lee & Tanya are the parents) BLANCHE GRAMLING Weathers hosted a girls’ weekend at her beautiful home in Bowman.

MARTHA ANDERSON flew in for the weekend, CATHY PROPST Bourne, LIB LANEY Peebles, JULIA

WEBB Davis, JEANNIE DAVIS Powell, BARBARA DUFFY Feemster, MARIAN POTTS Foster, JANE TAYLOR Lassiter and LEE ULLMAN Hutson were college girls again for the weekend! KAKI MANNING Zeigler had to cancel at the last minute, but she sent dinner for Saturday night. TRICIA KNOX Luther joined us for lunch in downtown Charleston, SC. JULIE PURCELL Thompson and her husband Jerry had the most delightful Christmas party at their beautiful home on Lake Murray, SC. SARENA DICKERSON Burch serves on the Converse Board of Trustees along with HARRIET SMITH O’Neill. Sarena is Chair of Converse’s Board of Visitors.

Class of 1979

35TH Margaret Horne Darr REUNION 234 Beechwood Dr, Spartanburg, SC 29307-2949 864.583.7464 buddymoonshine@charter.net The 79’ RED DEVILS are ready to rock and roll at reunion!! Our 35th and Converse’s 125th celebration promises to MAKE IT WORTH OUR TIME to be on campus that special weekend! News from our class is sparse; SUZANNE BRIDGES Coggins retired in June after 33+ years in elementary and music education.

She and her husband live in Greenville, SC and she reports that she visited with LIBBY CUTTINO Tilson sometime in the spring. ANNA SIMMONS Jones sent me a sweet note saying she and her husband are very close to Washington, DC and happily report their son is home from Afghanistan (THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE, SIR!) and their daughter is married and lives near them. ANNE CUSHMAN Prettyman and MIMI WIMBERLY Brown always were peas in a pod and both are involved in shops that are FUN to browse in! Their booths are precious with old ’memorabilia’ that you just might find a need for. KENT WALTERS keeps her foot in the big road of Atlanta, GA and beyond, as her daughter plays high school volleyball it seems all over the place, and her son is a freshman at Wake Forest playing baseball. MARNIE LAW George, in Tallahassee is proud of her boys, one graduating from college and the other

earning his Eagle! NANCY BAIN Coté and husband Paul are enjoying empty nesting since both their girls became Tennesseans! The Cotés celebrated their Anna’s wedding in fine style, and only prayers held off torrential rains until that Sunday! Can’t believe my beautiful Goddaughter is MARRIED! And Abby, her sister, is a happy freshman at Sewanee! Through that connection and the fact that her son married a wonderful Spartanburg girl, MARJORIE POLK Burnett has connected with lots of area ’Connies.’ MONTA MOODY Anthony I know enjoyed dancing with Marjorie at their reception cause I saw cute pics! HUNTER MCCLINTOCK Bell still has her feet up after her Anne Miller’s wedding recently! SARAH MERCER Chatel is counting down the days, literally, til the Braves’ spring season kicks into high gear. She and Peter treated the Cotés and Ken and me to a delightful evening of baseball fun and ’good cheer’! They are quite the ’hostesses with the mostesses.’

JUDY JOHNSON Honeycutt has moved back to the Sandlapper state and is residing in Rock Hill, SC! I can’t wait to see her, hopefully at reunion if not sooner!

DIANNE DEAVER Snodgrass LOVES being in Atlanta, GA close to her grandchildren. I wonder if they have heard any of those old jokes Dianne used to entertain us with for hours!! LEESA LAND Ray loves being at the beach and shares that her boys are both gainfully employed. VERA LYNN KELLUM Sheets lives in Mobile, AL, where she has recently posted photos of beautiful snow! JANE MURRAY Massey is well and I can tell spoils her children; her son bragged about her helping him move. KAREN WHITMIRE Copley revels in her grandchildren’s company, and are they cuties!! MILDRED RAGIS Roche is the glue that holds Converse together, I believe. Just saw a hilarious photo of her playing the piano, imagine that!, for a Converse Theatre production. Made me wish I’d been there!

KATHERINE EZICKSON stays busy (in New York, I think) sewing for her daughter’s ballet productions, including THE NUTCRACKER. CAROLYN MOORE Atkinson makes my head spin with her busy schedule in the mid-state! She is quite the artist!!! Ken and I enjoyed a surprise dinner with John and CHARLOTTE SMEAK Verreault last weekend, as the restaurant we were both trying to frequent was packed out and a parking lot chance meeting got us together. Oh…and I ran into ELLERBE PAGE Halligan pumping gas about two tanks ago. She was supposed to get me some info for these notes…so maybe next time, Ellerbe. “I understand JACKIE SIMPSON Anderson has picked up and moved to California; if you find gold in ’them thar hills’ make sure you get in touch, Jackie, or even if you don’t!!”

This spring will find Ken and me definite empty nesters as both our boys are tying the knot. When Ken and I married, he wanted six children….after three he decided ’we better stop while we’re ahead.’ So come March 8th and May 9th we will gain two beautiful daughters and then we’ll have six! I’m ready for that 4th child I gained in October 2011 to bring my little girl home from Hoboken, NJ!! Maybe by the end of the year. CAN’T WAIT to see all at reunion…and want to SHOUT OUT that Nancy Coté has again volunteered her beautiful home for our gathering Friday night! Wonder if we can find any bartenders ;) Til then….We’re Red Devil Born and Red Devil bred……. Margaret

LIFE EVENTS CLASS NOTES

Class of 1981 Marianna MacIntyre 864.542.3148 Marianna.macintrye@converse.edu

IN MEMORIAM

Gina Richardson Dale ’80, May 27, 2013 Connie Lloyd Horton ’80, March 13, 2013 Mildred B. Huffman ’80, March 17, 2013 Kathy Irwin Hamilton ’81, August 9, 2013 Lynn Shuler Smith ’83, June 21, 2013 Carolyn L. Miller ’86, March 2, 2013

SYMPATHY

Mary Anna Chaudron Stewart ’48, July 8, 2013, mother of Cecile Stewart Bone ’80 Ben Puckett, June 2, 2013, father of Helen Puckett Defrance ’81 Marva Vaught, December 28, 2013, mother of Claudette Regina Vaught ’81 Hugh Walker McClure III, April 24, 2013, father of Elizabeth McClure Blumer ’82 Nancy H. Brewer, September 16, 2013, mother of Amy L. Brewer ’82 Norman Pease, December 14, 2013, father of Connie Pease Happell ’82 Roland Wade Perrin, Jr., August 4, 2013, father of Phyllis Perrin Harris ’82 Mary Anna Chaudron Stewart ’48, July 8, 2013, mother of Mary Anna Stewart Terrell ’82 William Coppedge Collins, February 25, 2013, father of Courtenay Collins Eckardt ’84 Patricia Ann Fish Cheney, October 29, 2013, mother of Patti Lynn Cheney ’86 John Smiley Key, February 6, 2013, father of Mary Scott Key Pizzatola ’87 Starke Hagood Bishop ’57, June 11, 2013, mother of Dorothy Bishop ’88 Mary Teresa Hughes Klim ’48, July 19, 2013, mother of Kristina Klim Holler ’88 Gayla Mixon Pridmore, February 19, 2013, mother of Rena Pridmore Fowler ’89 Marie Benbow Harvin McDuffie, April 12, 2013, grandmother of Tania McDuffie ’89

Class of 1980 Holly Holstein Caprell holly.gcyo@gmail.com Margaret Craig Schafer ga.schafers@comcast.net Elizabeth Hughes ncclassicdesign@aol.com TRACY MOORE Pharo retired after 25 years at the Children’s Hospital of Alabama as a fundraiser and events planner in the hospital’s Foundation. She will move on to spend more time at her other careers being a Mom and over-extended volunteer! LIZZ TOPP Klammer was named the Texas Middle School Science Teacher of the Year. Sissy Swann Ivey spent a weekend at the lake with Sallie Turner Martin (hostess), Lisa Royster Carstarphen, Ceil Stewart Bone, Melanie MacMillan Glenn and Laura Satterwhite Hodge.

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...who gets married in August in Columbia, SC?....

ANN MOORMAN Price’s daughter. You may think it was a hot affair, well it was and it was exquisite too (so we hear…Neither Libby, Marianna nor Cornelia made the cut…just saying). CAROL UPCHURCH Campbell’s daughter was married also in a divine affair. LISA JOHNSON Bentley (and Danny), SALLY JETER Hammond and MARIANNA loved sharing the love. KAY GRAY, Meg Snively Strange ’82 and I chatted it up in Florida and then again here on campus with SHERRERD HARTNESS. Y’all really need to come back and break some bread with me here in Gee Dining Room. ’Think about Reunion April 25, 2014. It’s our 125th…or come anytime: Mi alma mater es su alma mater! AMY WARREN Beaty has helped SUSAN MCDONALD Davis with her new home as she prepares for a wedding!

Also, JANE RINEHART Crosby and SALLY JETER Hammond are in the throes of wedding planning!

Also have heard from Amy about her travels for some extracurricular activities in Laguna Beach, CA ;) I enjoyed dinner with LESLIE RUNYON Manning in Jacksonville, SC! She is working with the deaf to have their phone systems, so they may communicate with the world! How cool is that!? Life is Calling.

RUTHIE JONES Soliday updated me over a glass of wine. She is traveling with work and managing a teenager, whew to them apples and good luck one and all! CHRISTY DICKERSON Charman reports Ford (23) is working in NYC and Miller is a freshman at Hofstra on Long Island. CORNELIA CHRISTIAN has travelled to England: near York & Wales! Had a fine time staying in a friend’s home, too wonderful. Saw LIBBY CAMPBELL Patterson at a Clemson game (she and Russell go to all of them)… enjoyed crashing her daughter’s tailgate birthday party! Adorable. I love being back here on campus and I try my best to represent us well. Let me know where you are and give me some news so that we may include you here! (Instead of just us same ole same oles news!) Hope to meet some classmates up in New England soon and headed to Virginia April 3rd, 2014. Check out Facebook and the picture of dear, sweet Dr. Willis ~ we had dinner together last week in the snow…simply perfect. SALLY HERLONG has begun her Seminary program. We met recently at the NuWay to discuss.

Some things never change. She is as positive as ever and is following her dream. I hope you are too! (If not, work on it as soon as you can!) CHERYL HALL Thigpen says she remember shagging in the hall freshman year. Cheryl works at McDowell Pearman, LLC in Columbia, SC. Have I reminded y’all lately how much our percentages of giving count? Well, surprise, it does. For our Alma Mater’s 125th anniversary think about giving $12.50 to $125 to $1250 to $12,500! Get the picture? Call & let me know how I can help you help our beloved College!

But…if you find any incorrect information herewith: contact Libby or Cornelia! Happy “Double Nickels,” 55th-ish birthday, classmates! Do come see me…

MARIANNA MACINTYRE

Dena Stone Benedict ’82 and Meg Snively Strang ’82 in Cudd November, 2013

Class of 1982 Linda Still Winegardner 13412 Robert Walker Drive, Davidson, NC 28036, 704.965.4449 lwinegardner@bellsouth.net Sharing some news that has them “over the moon” CLAUDIA BARTON Coleman and Bob Coleman welcome their first grandchild Patrick Coleman Jackson. Coleman was born October 24, 2013 to Claudia’s daughter Anne Leighton and son-in-law Patrick. Also entering into the grandparent phase are JENNY MCGURK Fulton and her husband Kent with the January 19, 2014 birth of August Adrienne Johnson. Jenny and Kent moved to Oklahoma after graduation from law school. JENNY works for Legal Aid Services. CAROLINE WHISNANT sends greetings and an invitation for visitors to Wiesbaden, Germany. She describes her experience singing Elektra with the National Opera of Paris as “wonderful.” In the spring CAROLINE will be singing the role of Jezebel in the World Premier of Moby Dick in Warsaw, Poland and in the fall she will be in Antwerp for a new production of Elektra.

NANCY SMITH Gage, her husband, Ted, and daughter, Harrison, enjoyed a Mediterranean cruise this past summer from Spain to Italy. Harrison is a junior at Mt Holyoke College. Nancy writes she saw DENA STONE Benedict recently in Greenville.

Dena’s son attends the Citadel and her daughter is a freshman at Wofford. Nancy missed seeing Dena and MEG SNIVELY Strang in November when they visited the Converse campus. Marianna MacIntyre ’81 gave them a tour including Cudd. BECKI RAND Barnett and her family are now back home in SC after living for some time in Tunisia. Thanks to everyone who provided an update. Remember there is a Class of 1982 Facebook page. Also, please plan to attend the Converse 125th celebration the last weekend in April.

Class of 1983 Beth Ann Jones Julseth 6 Larium Place, Hilton Head, SC 29926 bjulseth@hargray.com Dear Friends, my how time flies. Thirty one years ago we were in the spring of our senior year – All getting ready to take off on our own into the “unknown” whether it be furthering our educations, starting a

Class Dinner - II Samuels April, 2013

career, starting a family, etc. We had all come from different places and became a part of the Converse community – a “Connie, a Red Devil” if you will.

Over those few years together, we experienced new things, matured and grew together as young women. We laughed together, cried together and most importantly learned to be supportive of one another. It was during those brief years together, friendships were made and bonds were created, bonds so strong to endure the test of time. Even though we may not connect as often as we would like – the fact is that we all share something very dear to our hearts – our time together at Converse.

In April, 2013 we had our 30th class reunion and we had 20+ attendees over the weekend. To all of you not able to make it - you were deeply missed.

There were 15+ that dined at II Samuels on Friday evening – All looked “Fabulous” by the way. A big thank you goes out to LOU PITTMAN Lindsey for all of her hard work and coordination. It was fun to be back on campus (beautiful as ever) to reminisce as well as take in all of the new changes – all for the better. There were those that did manage to squeeze in time for some shopping! On Saturday at the Founder’s Day convocation, everyone gathered in Twichell Auditorium. There were special recognitions for Converse graduates from the various classes. Our classmate, LESLIE HALE Weed was recognized for her tireless efforts and energies working in the area of Autism nationally and locally by establishing The HEAL Foundation which is a local non-profit organization in Northeast Florida serving individuals and families living with Autism Spectrum Disorders. In June, TAMMY BOATWRIGHT Duryea’s daughter, Savanna married in Bluffton, SC and KAPPY DERRICK Steck and BETH ANN JONES Julseth were able to share in the beautiful wedding and celebration of this special time. In October, EMILY GILGES Watson shared a special time with ELISE NEIL Bengston as Elise’s daughter Maggie was confirmed in the Episcopal Church – both live in Tampa, FL. Also,

Emily celebrated with BETH MCFARLAND Wilson at Wofford’s Homecoming. GINGER FINNEY Kinman lives in Greenville, SC and sees FRANCES KNIGHT Taylor and HALL HAYNESWORTH Bickmann often around town. Also, Ginger visits with LUCIA CARMICHAEL Bishop at an Annual Christmas party – good times I am sure. Lou Pittman Lindsey recently saw ROBIN FULLER and Robin is still a Designer at Hodge Carpets in Spartanburg, SC. MEG FLOYD Schwartz’s twins, Maggie and Page made their debut in Sumter, SC over the holidays. JENNIFER YOULES Dorn’s daughter is a junior at Converse continuing the Red Devil spirit.

Jennifer’s two older sons are attending Clemson and the Citadel – wow three in college at the same time! LINDA SINANIAN is living and working in “The World of Music” in New York. Also in the fall, ALICIA CREMINS Coleman spent a wonderful

afternoon with Converse Alums in the DC area.

Alicia was very impressed with the 21st century grads from Converse! A shout out to all of you!

TODD BECKHAM (MMus) performs in the Boston, MA area as organist, harpsichordist, countertenor, and conductor. He is Organist-Choirmaster of St. Barnabas Episcopal Church Falmouth, Cape Cod MA, and Artistic Director of the Meridian Singers at MIT Cambridge. The Reverend Dr. BEVERLY FINDLEY Gibson is the Dean of Christ Church Cathedral in Mobile, AL. My goal over the next year will be to reach out to each of you personally (with the information that I have) to reconnect. Please forward any contact updates, news updates, mini reunion information, etcetera to BETH ANN JONES Julseth. Please remember that we have a Facebook page, “Converse Class of 1983”. Go Red Devils!! I love you ALL!! BA (Continued)

LIFE EVENTS CLASS NOTES

(Continued)

Class of 1984 Jody C. Cole wildfair@aol.com

30TH

REUNION

Lynn Gully Orlando lynn.orlando@magellancharter.org Kevin Jenkins Plonk kjplonk@yahoo.com ELENA PRIBYL Rush in the Board Chair of the Spartanburg Area Conservancy. MURPH KINNEY was promoted to Associate Professor of History at Suffolk County Community College. JODY COLE moved from California to Atlanta, GA.

Class of 1985 Krisila Newman Foster krisilafoster@charter.net LeAnne Rowland O’Donnell lrodonnell@comcast.net Vandy Major McFaddin vmcfaddin@bellsouth.net FLORIA THOMAS Washington became a grandmother for the first time on November 1, 2013 to Josiah Timothy Morgan.

Class of 1986 Kathryn Donald Shook 105 Delmar Ter, Birmingham, AL 35213-3112 kdshook@att.net Julie D. Staggs 1521 Custis Ct, Atlanta, GA 30338-6985 jstaggs4@gmail.com

Karen Waters Thomas ’84, Jayne Reuben ’85, and Mary Helen Richbourg Earle ’85 at Greenville, SC event

16

Hi girls-Converse is celebrating its 125th birthday April 25-26,2014. Several of our classmates will be honored so if you are nearby plan to attend!!

Make hotel reservations now because the hotels are booking up. BETSY MAMOULIDES Hockaday is still teaching group fitness as well as coaching for Beachbody. Her oldest daughter Meghan is a junior at Appalachian and her youngest daughter Anna is in high school and homeschooled. She has loved being able to connect with former class members on Facebook and have even worked with some of them in her Challenge Groups which has been a lot of fun. Also, Betsy teaches at Lifetime Fitness in Cary and LACEY BOOTH Seaton who left Converse and graduated from another college showed up to one of my classes recently and now takes my class regularly! PATTI CHENEY reports her MS has been mostly in remission. She has been mostly spending time, until I went up to be with her mom JuneOctober(see sympathy), looking for a job and trying to get into a job training program that Maryland has to retrain people who can no longer work in the field they’ve trained in, in my case education. BRENDA DEMORY Law will complete 26 years working in Elementary Education this June. She was a preschool and elementary school teacher for five years. The last 21 years Brenda has worked as an elementary school counselor and loved it. Other milestones that seem surreal-her oldest daughter, Molly Law is a senior at Gardner-Webb University majoring in English with a minor in Biblical Studies. At this time, Molly’s plan is to go on to graduate school.

Brenda’s middle daughter will begin her sophomore year at Anderson University in Anderson, SC. this coming fall studying Criminal Justice. Her baby, Jessi will be a freshman at Bridgewater College in Virginia! CATHY MCALLISTER Watson and Cal will celebrate 23 years of marriage this summer.

He is still managing partner of his law firm and upcoming SC Bar Association President. Cathy is involved in quite a few community, church and school volunteer endeavors after being in the public health field for a long time. She is especially enjoying her work as a representative to the Converse Alumnae Board and we are very fortunate to have AMY TIBBALS Morales as our Alumnae Board President! Please come to campus in April for our 125th birthday celebration! Cathy’s Catherine is a sophomore at Wofford with a double major in Finance/Environmental Studies. Jay is in 11th grade and her youngest, Bess is an 8th grader. Busy time!

Cathy sees our Columbia, SC classmates a lot in town and literally ran into JENNY BURNSIDE Davison on the streets of DC over the summer.

Cathy had not seen her in years! It was the nicest surprise!!! Cathy has a Converse supper club that gets together every other month...25 years strong!!!

JULIE STAGGS had the pleasure of helping the Alumnae Board with their retreat again this year, spent the month of June in Asia (China-Shanghai and Beijing, Hong Kong and Singapore) for school and work and did lots of travel for work. Enjoyed a great relaxing weekend in Miami in November with Lesa Underwood ’90. Looking forward to Converse’s 125th anniversary year. In November, NAN DEMPSEY was named the 1st Director of the Upstate STEM Collaborative. Fluor, GE Power & Water,

Congratulations to Beverly Findley Gibson, Converse Class of 1983, on her installation as the 2nd Dean of Christ Church Cathedral in Mobile, AL. Beverly was joined by fellow alumnae for this special occasion in October 2013. Pictured left to right are Peggy Merriss ’83, Peggy Levensailor Lyden ’80, Alison Stafford Mitchell ’96 and the Very Reverend Beverly Findley Gibson ’83.

Todd Beckham ‘83 performs in the Boston MA area as organist, harpsichordist, countertenor, and conductor. He is Organist-choirmaster of St. Barnabas Episcopal Church Falmouth, Cape Cod MA,

Emily Gilges Watson ’83 and Elise Neil Bankston’s (’83) daughter confirmation

and Michelin North America are founding partners.

Its vision is workforce development through the engagement of students and communities in STEM opportunities. The Collaborative will pursue opportunities and possibilities that support our vision and positively impact the culture and future economic success of the Upstate and South Carolina.

CATHERINE PITTMAN Smith has recently been contracted by Arcadia Publishing (Charleston, SC) to compile a photographic history of Mountain Brook, AL which will publish in November 2014. Arcadia is known for its Images of America series books. She is still working on my coffee table book on Beaufort,

SC and is headed back the end of February to photograph seasonal daffodils. She will hopefully publish in 2015. KATHRYN DONALD Shook just returned from an interim trip to the Galapagos Islands with her daughter and Birmingham Southern College classmates- it was the trip of a lifetime!! She is not getting much response from classmates- a lot of returned emails so please contact your friends and give them my email address and please tell them to contact me with any new emails..kdshook@att.net.

Thanks

Class of 1987 Janet Bean BEANJ@clemson.edu Adele Penland Boyce emory104girl@bellsouth.net Martha Lynn Mercer Gaskins 843.833.4625 mlgaskins@gmail.com Happy 2014! We enjoyed all the Christmas cards and photos; it is hard to believe how fast time has flown and the toddlers have turned into adults!

ELIZABETH SHELTON Roddy sent greetings from Nairobi, Kenya, where her husband, Colonel John Roddy, is assigned to the embassy. They have had lots of opportunities to tour the area--her safari photos are amazing! Her son, Matthew (14), even climbed Mt. Kenya on a school trip! Her older son, John Michael, is a freshman swab at the US Coast Guard Academy. One of our talented classmates, ANNE TRENNING, has her own YouTube channel and Pandora station. Check them out--you are in for a treat! Another talented Red Devil, KATHERINE SCHILLING-Oakes, recently provided beautiful illustrations for the book My Daddy Takes His Legs Off. The book is available at www.harmonspeaks. com, and you can see some of the illustrations on her Facebook page. TERESA GAGNON Maino’s son, Chris, was married in a beautiful ceremony last fall. Teresa’s daughter, Marie, graduated last year from Georgia Southern and is a registered nurse at the Medical College of Virginia. Teresa’s youngest daughter, Anna, is five and attends preschool!

MAURA BINZ Jones is living in Dallas, TX, but spends a lot of time in Aspen, CO. Her young son, James, keeps her busy! MOLLY LEVY Campbell has returned to the classroom to work on her Education Specialist in Counseling degree. Wonder if Elvis goes to class with her? WALLIS CRUM Bond and her husband, Todd, took their 13-year-old son to NYC over the Christmas holidays. Wallis teaches third grade at Brennen Elementary in Columbia, SC. CINDY KUHLKE Gibbs, JANE HARLAN Beson, LYNN DYE Smith, NANCY DAVENPORT, LAURA CHAPPELL Bauknight, DONNA MASON Burnside, CLARKSON PARRENT Bowling, MARION MCNAIR Coleman and SARAH LANFORD Harrelson spent a fun girls’ weekend relaxing, laughing and boating on Lake Thurmond.

Lynn and her daughter, who is a freshman at UGA, recently ran a half marathon together. Laura’s son, Chappell, and Adele Penland Boyce’s daughter, Meredith, were confirmed at the Church of the

Advent in Spartanburg, SC last December. SHERRIE MOSS Board’s daughter is also at UGA, and she has spent some time studying abroad in Australia.

Sherrie and her family visit Litchfield Beach, SC often, as does REBEKAH JENNINGS Murphy.

Rebekah’s daughter Kathryn recently got her drivers license; Rebekah doesn’t seem to remember any of her own driving adventures in the ’Stang! Sherrie, Rebekah, Wallis, MARTHA LYNN MERCER Gaskins, ASHLEY KILGORE Wimmer, CHERYL MAY HAWKINS Steadman, PEGGY HAIR Alford and JULIE NORVILLE had a fun girls’ weekend at Sherrie’s beach house. Ashley spent the winter in Florida training her horse, Somerhall. Ashley is a rising star in the dressage world! PEGGY HAIR Alford’s son, Robb, is a freshman at USC; her younger son, Benjamin (15) attends Dreher High School. JULIE NORVILLE travels all over the country as a Senior Vice President for Aon Consulting. Julie and her family split their time between their house in Atlanta, GA and their cabin on Lake Lanier. Martha Lynn’s son, William, is a freshman at William and Mary, but she stays busy with daughter Anna (14).

ANDREA HOOVER Burden lives in Atlanta, GA, and got stuck on the interstate during the recent winter storm. She ended up spending the night on the floor of an Embassy Suites ballroom! SHEILA WILKERSON Chatto lives in Hickory, NC and spends a lot of time riding her horse, Mikey. Her daughter, Melissa, attends college in Missouri, and her son, Christopher, is a senior in high school. After spending several years in Alaska, ELLEN CREECH Nordstrom has returned to her southern roots and is teaching French in Charlotte, NC. BETH WOODS Sessums teaches kindergarten in Tampa, FL; her daughter, Claire, is at Auburn and her son, Todd, is a high school senior. MARGARET CONE Moran lives in New London, PA, and has posted some pretty impressive snow pictures this winter! ALLYN TALBOT Johnson is living in Tryon, NC and works at Upstairs ArtSpace. CHERYL MAY HAWKINS Steadman is combating empty nest syndrome with travel; she and husband Paul have recently visited Miami FL, Martha’s Vineyard and London. RACHEL HEAN Dobson beat the Valentine’s rush with her Christmas card this year! The pictures show a trip to Disney World with her family, including her stepdaughter who is married and living in Italy.

ERIN DOCHERTY lives in Spartanburg, SC and works for Spartanburg School District 6. She stays busy with her daughter, who excels in band. MARY SCOTT KEY Pizzitola lives in Birmingham, AL and has a beautiful daughter who is a “mini-me”!

Her son, John, is a kicker on the University of Alabama football team. KENDA HOLT Rusevlyan lives in Florence, AL and works at the University of North Alabama. She also has a beautiful, lookalike daughter. TERRI MINTON, JANET BEAN and ADELE PENLAND Boyce had a blast catching up with RUTH MCCORMACK McDaniel following a Spartanburg Little Theatre matinee performance of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” which featured Ruthie as conductor and Adele’s daughter Meredith as a chorus member! Hope all is well with the Class of 1987. Keep us posted!

Class of 1988 Amy Dudley Edwards amymike265@hargray.com Kristin Austin Smith kasgps88@bellsouth.net Be sure to join the “Converse College Class of 1988” on Facebook to connect with your classmates.

Class of 1989 Rawles Terrell Kelly rawles153@att.net

25TH

RE2NION

Wallace Davidson Prestwood wallacedavison@yahoo.com Joy Dascalakis 1850 N Elm St Greensboro, NC 27408 The Class of 1989 looks forward to our 25th reunion April 25-26. It’s hard to believe so much time has passed but it’s wonderful how our friendships have lasted! Many of you are reporting visiting the campus with your daughters now! TERESA HOPPER Spires works for the Girl Scouts of South Carolina Mountains to Midlands; her son recently graduated from USC in Columbia. LEAH ANDREWS Raabe is married to Chris Raabe and lives in New Hampshire. She is the Architectural and Design Representative for Mayer Fabrics and spends much time driving around New England. Her son Alden (21) is in training to be a firefighter and her daughter Kelsey (18) is a freshman at Quinnipiac University where she is playing Division 1 Lacrosse. PATTY CESTARO Rogers and her new husband Jonathan were married December 10, 2013 in Mooresville, NC and are enjoying newlywed life. JOY JOHNSON Dascalakis finally broke down and had the Greek wedding to go with the Greek husband she has had for over two years. She and her husband Demetri were honored to have TRACEY MOYLAN O’Malley serve as their Koumbara for the Orthodox ceremony.

The Koumbara is the marriage sponsor and one of the most important roles in the couple’s wedding.

Tracey came to Greensboro, NC with her adorable daughter Anna (7) who hit it off right away with all the Dascalakis and Johnson cousins. Everyone enjoyed a weekend of wedding festivity. WALLACE DAVISON Prestwood married her soulmate Bill Prestwood at Converse on March 24, 2013. The ceremony was held in the Gibbs Chapel in the Montgomery Student Center with a reception in Wilson Hall. In attendance were SHEA HANNER Mayfield, ELISABETH KINNEY McNeil and RAWLES TERRELL Kelly. See you in April!!!

LIFE EVENTS CLASS NOTES

Class of 1991 Dianne Prince Swann dswann@rockdale.k12.ga.us Dorsey Daugette DeLong teamdelong@gmail.com

IN MEMORIAM SHELLEY ROGERS Almers ’96, February 25, 2013

SYMPATHY Elsie McDowell Quarles, January 12, 2014, grandmother of Lydia Wood ’92 Ruth McKeithan Thomason, November 20, 2013, grandmother of Katherine Russell Selvy ’93 Sallie Dodenhoff Savage, October 29, 2012, mother of Summer Savage Crawford ’99 Aaren Inman Smith, Jr., June 1, 2013, grandfather of Louisa Jordan Morris ’99

Class of 1990 Cheryl Owens Verdell 298 Valley High Drive, Inman, SC 29349 864.814.0440 dverdell@bellsouth.net Rosemary Glaze Sullivan 14 Southington, Overton, Hampshire RG25 3DA, England 441.256.7714 We hope everyone is off to a great start in this new year!

LESA UNDERWOOD is anticipating a busy spring including events at the Masters, Las Vegas, and an inaugural event for Seattle Seahawks Russell Wilson and NASCAR Kasey Kahne. MISSY SMITH Reid ran into NANCY ALSTON Vaughn at the Chapman Cultural Arts Center for an art showing. ANN MORROW Boyd and Adam stay busy directing Camp Merri Mac for girls and Timberlake for boys. Their oldest, Mary Page is a sophomore at Chapel Hill, Joe will go to Covenant College in the fall, and Hank is a freshman at Asheville School. She recently ran into LENOIR WHITE Medlock in Asheville, NC. DEBORAH STANFORD Harris and husband, Tim stay busy with Ty (21), Savannah (15) and Brad (12) involved in cheering and sports. She enjoyed catching up with KAREN CATON Granger recently.

DEBBIE CURRIN Conner and WINNIE BROWN King tore up the dance floor with their husbands at the Dunes Golf and Beach Club. CLAIRE BRAMLETT Dehmer, JULIE HENNECY and REBECCA LESTO Shunk had a fabulous weekend in Sedona, AZ hiking and reliving the past! AMY BOYCE Louthan is fighting brain cancer with grace and her strong faith.

Please remember her and check my updates. MIRIAM DRENNAN is still in Nashville, TN. She is still writing, putting words together - and if they make sense, getting paid for them! Two weeks after finishing renovations on her other house, she moved late last August into a historic home. Apparently, according to Miriam, she has an addiction to never-ending project lists! CHERYL OWENS Verdell is having many fond memories of starting as a freshman at Converse as her own daughter prepares for college in the fall. Isn’t it amazing? It seems like yesterday that we all began our friendships! Keep sending us updates.

18

LAURA BRYANT Palmer is working on her PhD while her son Austen attends Clemson.

Class of 1992 Cindy Jerles Brown CindyLeeBrown@me.com Susannah Gramling Hubbell susannah@susannahgramling.com Class of ’92 News: “Make new friends but keep the old.... one is silver and the other one is gold!” We always love meeting new people but catching up with “old” friends is the BEST!! SUSANNAH GRAMLING Hubbell and CINDY JERLES Brown would like to thank those of you who responded via email and FaceBook to our plea for information. Join our Converse College FaceBook page to stay connected in between newsletters: Converse College Class of 1992. SUSANNAH GRAMLING Hubbell, her husband and their two children continue to love living in Charleston, SC. She is still painting and she has enjoyed focusing these past years on figurative work.

She does a lot of portraits. For her “pulling a figure out of a canvas is the most fun and rewarding!” When she is not in the studio she is chasing after her two children.

Matthew has outgrown all of them at age 13 and loves basketball. Her little girl Eads is eight. The two of them took their first painting trip together this past summer to Le Marche, Italy. CINDY JERLES Brown is still living in Orlando, FL with her husband Doug (Celebrating 20 years of Marriage this year) and their son Wesley (12) and new puppy Molly! Cindy still enjoys making homes beautiful through her faux finishing business, Fauxtastic Interiors. This past spring she joined the design team of Origami Owl, the fastest growing social selling company in America. Origami Owl was started by a 14 year old girl, and is one of the only direct selling companies that has opportunities for girls as young as 12 to become entrepreneurs! God has been faithful through a lot this year! Especially with their decision to adopt Classical Conversations into their life with the Challenge A program for Wesley. MOLLIE LITTLE Robinson just found out they are moving to Lexington, VA this summer with her husband’s job. They are excited, as it is a great opportunity for him! They will miss a lot about Mt. Pleasant, SC, however. Her oldest son (16) already lives in Virginia at a boarding school and her youngest son (13) is ready for a change of seasons and smaller schools.

Everyone is happy. That’s their big news! AMY WALKER Headley is teaching 12th grade AP & Advanced English at Newnan High School. BETH DAVENPORT Williams teaches 10th across the hall from her. Her daughters are doing great. Megan (14), her oldest, is in 9th grade at Newnan High. Her youngest, Caroline (12), is in 7th grade. Megan is in band, chorus, drama and loves high school so far. Caroline is in band, gymnastics and also likes school. Her husband Matt is still running Headley Heating & Air. He is a deacon at their church and very involved in helping the youth group. Both sets of their parents are in Newnan and they have a lot of family here.

Her grandmother died in July which was sad but she had been very ill. Our sympathies to you, Amy. SHANA MUNN Herndon’s four girls are growing up and getting busy with gymnastics, horseback riding and swimming.

She homeschools two of them. She teaches piano and just getting back into running. She hopes to send two of her girls to “Girls Day” at Converse this spring. TRACEY DOWELL Huggins’ twin boys turned eight at the end of December. Work keeps her busy muddling through the Affordable Care Act. SHALISE HUGGINS DeMott and her trade kids a lot since they only live three streets apart.

There is only eight months between the boys. ROSE BUYCK Newton is still fluttering as a banker, mother, volunteer and will soon add thespian to the list. She plays the role of Jerri Neal Mcfeeley in The May River Theater’s production of Dixie Swim Club. The play centers around five college friends who meet for a reunion one weekend a year at the beach. (the perfect play for a Converse Girl!!) The play opened Valentine’s Day and the director of the play is a 1995 Converse graduate Christine Grefe! ROBBIE MOSELEY Richards and her family are living in Sylvania, OH (right outside of Toledo), and have been there now for almost five years.

She just started working again, as an Assistant Director of Career Services at Bowling Green State University (BGSU), and she loves it! Life is good! LYDIA WOOD went to San Francisco, CA in October and was able to meet up with classmate, RINA SATO. JENNIFER COLE Jones says all is good in their home and God has been good this past year. She and her husband are living in North Augusta, SC. She continues to own/operate Therapeutic Interventions of Georgia that has been running strong for 13 years now. She is also lecturing nationally and internationally on swallowing disorders and training other speech pathologists how to treat patients with significant medical difficulties how to swallow. Her family has been blessed through God’s design of adoption. They have adopted three children at very different stages of life. Their daughter, Amber (adoption age 15), is now 20; their son, Capers (adoption age 9 months), is now four years old; and their son Samuel they adopted last year from China at the age of 6 1/2 is now 7 1/2 years old. He has survived multiple surgeries this year that were required to correct birth defects. His blog is on babyjellybeans.com. They are in the process of adopting two more boys from China this summer. Their names are Judah (7) and Randy (12).

They are excited to be growing their family through obedience in Christ. They stay busy with mission trips to train orphanage staff on working with children with special needs and to share the love of Christ. VICKI VERBUS Gayle is currently a research nurse at UT MD Anderson Cancer Center. Her sister, Michele Frankart, died in 2010 from Amyloidosis at age 52. Her dad died 18 months later from relapsed lymphoma. Our sympathies go out to you. LYN MATTHEWS Rehn is excited to announce that she will be bringing her daughter Carson in August to Converse! She will be in the Class of 2017! LESLIE MORTON Harmon is loving her job teaching listening and spoken language to her cochlear implant preschoolers! She and Scott just celebrated their 20th anniversary with a trip to the Dominican Republic! (She highly recommends it!) Her kiddos are far from perfect (she says), but are absolutely amazing and she loves them more than life! She loves staying connected to her “Connie” friends....there’s no one like them! (Well said Roomie!) MARCI MEADOWS

20TH

REUNION

Hyla and her family are moving back to North Carolina from Japan in the summer so husband can take command of a squadron. Yay! (Welcome HOME!!)

JENNIFER PLIZGA Gravely signed a contract for her third novel last week. Drown should be out this spring.

She had a short story included in an anthology called “Love and Diamonds” on Valentine’s Day. Her team won the SC AAA volleyball championship this past fall, her fifth. She was named by the SCACA and the HSSR coach of the year. It has been a great few months! PAIGE POOSER Merrill and her husband Denver have three children and they live in Charleston, SC. Paige is an Occupation Therapist for MUSC. She does an amazing job. She just entered a chili cook off. Good luck Paige!

NATALIE AUDISH Scott and her husband live in Charlotte, NC with their two children. Natalie continues to enjoy her job as a sales rep for an outdoor fabric company which keeps her busy traveling far and wide!

CAMI BURTON Hutchinson has been traveling a great deal. She just got back from a buying trip to Paris for interior design. Also, in September, she went on a tour of the Holy Lands with her husband. The tour was led by our very own ELIZABETH LESTO Zadig and her husband The Reverend Al Zadig. By all reports the trip was amazing! Not only does Cami have her hand in interior design but also painting in oils. She has become a wonderful artist!!! MARCY HINDES Swan is successfully juggling being a mother of four and having a fabulous interior design business in Columbia, SC called M. Swan Designs. She just returned from a ski trip with her family. She will be the President of the PTO of her children’s school next year. Good luck Marcy! Can you

believe ASHLEY BURNSIDE Brantley is about to have her oldest go off to college? Ashley is a school phycologist and is enjoying helping kids threw out Columbia, SC. SUZETTE BAGWELL Laney lives in Spartanburg, SC. She has two boys that keep her hopping! ELIZABETH LESTO Zadig and Al are enjoying living in Charleston, SC and raising their three children. Al is the rector of St Michael’s Church and Elizabeth is a terrific “First Lady” to the church involved in all aspects of the churches activities. She can even be spotted looking beautiful as she sings in the choir! ANNA WIMBERLY Pierce and her family are living in Atlanta, GA. Anna is enjoying teaching several days a week. She visited her classmate and cousin ELIZABETH LESTO Zadig over Christmas.

KATHRYN (POLLY) GREENE Haselden is doing well and chasing her girls. She is now coordinator of the Master’s LD program at Francis Marion and has earned Tenure and Promotion to Associate Professor. TRACI DOZIER Waite lives in Columbia, SC with her husband and two children. She teaches kindergarten.

Class of 1993 Lovell McClung White lovellmcwhite@gmail.com Alisa Marie Blanchard alisa.blanchard@att.net Congratulation to Dr. PATRICIA E. STUBBLEFIELD, who was recently promoted to full Professor at Cottey College, a women’s college in southwest Missouri.

Class of 1994 Holly Miller Smith hollybahamas@gmail.com

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Kristen Harris Cavin kristencavin@comcast.net Mary Ames Plowden Voyles MaryAmesV@bellsouth.net Our class continues to inspire and amaze me.

ALISON MURPHY Smock had a baby boy on August 30, 2012; his name is Harrison Brydia Smock. In December, WENDY MORROW Duke and her husband, Scott, returned from Myanmar.

They lived there for three months while coaching the Men’s National Basketball team during the South East Asian Games. Also working far from SC is NATALIE DAVIS Hall who will soon return to Alaska with her husband, Steven, as a missionary with SEND International. Our own CATHY GOODMAN Tate has just completed her third year with her charity, Operation Santa, which provided Christmas gifts to over 250 underprivileged children in Greenville, SC. As a result of her hard work, she was named a YWCA Woman of Achievement. DAWN BARNARD is also making us proud as a volunteer with Haiti Peace Quilts and at her full time job with Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project. ASAP (Continued)

LIFE EVENTS CLASS NOTES

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Class of 1996 Pamela Hughes Foster medalsgirl@me.com Jenny Williams jennywilliams_99@yahoo.com JENNIFER GEORGE Cook moved to Niceville, FL last summer. That’s right, Niceville, which is on a bayou, eight miles north of Destin in the panhandle. She is working at Northwest Florida State College in the Testing Center. KIRSTIE WALL Tucker is enjoying her family travel website and blog called Kids Will Travel (kidswilltravelguide.com), which focuses on how to enjoy the best of Washington, DC with children. She has also written an article titled “48 Hours in DC with Kids” that may be of interest to Converse graduates that are planning spring break trips or summer travel with their families. Lee, the children and PAM HUGHES Foster are well. They welcomed a furry companion, James Ewell Brown Stuart, on January 21. He is the best dog ever!

HEATHER DEIFELL Smith and husband Richmond welcomed a daughter, Iona Grace Deifell Smith, on January 14, 2014. KATHRYN FISH Tinsley and her husband, Chris welcomed a daughter, Sydney Kate Tinsley, on September 11, 2013 and just celebrated their 15th wedding anniversary in Charlotte, NC. BONNIE ANNA LEE LEDFORD Burrell married James Dennis Burrell on August 1, 2013.

Class of 1997 Ashley McCabe Mowat ’95 with her children in England

helps link local farms to markets and build healthy communities through connections with local food.

Another impressive marathon was completed by KELLY RICHARDSON Weekes in November. This was her third marathon! Also, in the fall of 2013, CLEA FIELDS Schiffmacher sent her daughter, Anna, to Converse. How amazing it is to see another generation attending our beloved College! Some of our classmates have been so good about getting together regularly. Two groups that I heard of recently are MARTHA WHITE Waters, ASHLEY GROSS Millinor, ASHLEY DOVER Sorrow, ELIZABETH BURNETTE Killen, KIRSTEN KERR and ANGEL STEWART Young visited Chattanooga, TN and enjoyed Chattanooga’s “Wine Over the Water” event.

Also last fall GRAY TATUM Covington, SUSAND BEAN Candee and KATIE ABBOTT Kluttz shared a long weekend at the beach in South Carolina. This is just a small bit of all the exciting and wonderful things your classmates have been up to. There is much more to hear about, so I hope you will join us at our 20th (!) reunion in April! A good time is sure to be had!

Heather Eldridge heldridge244@gmail.com Catherine Alexander Girard crgirard@gmail.com LORI MILLS Merck, Professor of Spanish at Spartanburg Methodist College, was awarded the United Methodist Church Exemplary Teaching Award. The award, given by The General Board of Higher Education and Ministry of the United Methodist Church and faculty colleagues, recognizes Merck’s contributions to the learning arts at SMC. AMANDA THOMAS Trask relocated to metro Denver area for a new career opportunity. MELISSA VAN DOREN Weaver gave birth to Samuel Thomas Weaver on November 1, 2012.

Kathy Parrish Nelson ’94 and Carrie Hill Coleman ’96 at Greenville SC event February 2014

SUSAN MISKELLY received her Master’s degree in Integrated Marketing Communications from West Virginia University in May 2013. She was also recently elected to serve as Vice-President for the Rock Hill Junior Welfare League in 2014-2015. After taking two years off of teaching to raise her son Thomas Jesse, AMY GARRETT Lillis is now back to teaching 2nd grade math at a private school, Fredericksburg Academy in Fredericksburg, VA. JANE BRACKETT Giavedoni went from teacher to stay-at-home mom to business owner. She opened Cercie LLC in July 2013, creating, monogramming and personalizing! www.facebook.com/ cerciecardandvinyl. AMANDA THOMAS Trask and family have relocated to Denver, CO, for a new career opportunity and adventure. Amanda has a job with Catholic Health Initiatives as the national Vice President for the hospital medicine service line. They are enjoying the Colorado weather and the kids are learning to ski and snow board. LAURA MARCHANT Williams recently accepted a three-year position on the Caine Halter YMCA Board of Advisors in Greenville, SC. HEATHER ELDRIDGE was named Middle School Teacher of the Year at Wilson Hall in Sumter, SC. On Mother’s Day 2013, a sculpture was dedicated at Madison-Ridgeland Academy, in Madison, MS, as a tribute to the late Leigh Anne Ward ’97 who was a beloved computer teacher.

We hope to see all of you on campus April 25-26th for

Class of 1995 Laura Kate Moore Garner laurakatem@yahoo.com PAGE SPILLANE Fowler’s son William Jeffrey Fowler was born September 5, 2012.

Many congratulations to Lara Pettiss Harrill ‘96 whose son, Tristan, was named Boy of the Year by the South Carolina Leukemia and Lymphoma Society!

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Carolina Bar which is the membership organization for attorneys. LAURA MATTHEWS Pappas and KRISTI HINES Hagood got together back in August. They were able to spend the day together catching up, and Laura enjoyed meeting Kristi’s new baby boy, Benjamin! Laura is looking forward to rejoining the Junior League of Baltimore’s Board of Directors for the 2014-2015 year.

STEPHANIE EASTERDAY Bartuch and her husband, Joe, welcomed a daughter, Gabriella Ann on November 27, 2012. Joey is enjoying being a big brother. A great time was had by all that attended our 15 year reunion this past April. We are looking forward to everyone attending this year’s all class reunion in April 2014!

Class of 1999 Jennifer Nockels jennockels@gmail.com, 864.621.3460

Friends from the Class of 1997 enjoyed getting together in April at Seabrook Island. Seated left to right: Katie Fort Smith, Kim Varnadoe Kent, Rachel Chartrand, and Meredith Nock Partridge; Standing: Laura Marchant Williams, Caroline Taylor Player, and Heather Eldridge.

the 125th anniversary celebration/all-class reunion. Plans are underway for a ceremony that weekend to dedicate the class-sponsored memorial for Leigh Anne Ward ’97.

Stay tuned for more details. Please “like” us on facebook to stay up to date on the 125th reunion among other things! https://www.facebook.com/connies1997.

Class of 1998 Stephanie Easterday Bartuch s4easter@aol.com Ann Gerber Hawkins ahawkins828@yahoo.com Laura Matthews Pappas laura@mjpappas.com LEANN BEAVER Woodard and her husband welcomed a baby girl, Rossi Aleyna Woodard, born December 13, 2012. Her brothers love her so much. ERIN RICH Strickland and her husband, Chris, welcomed a daughter, Mary Scott on November 13, 2013. Her brother, Sam, is a proud big brother. HELEN WALKER Tolar has a new position as the Chief of Staff for US Sen John Boozman (AR). ANGIE MURPHY spent a week with MARY ELLEN GOFF Conner in Greenville, SC a few weeks ago while she was on a business trip.

They also had a chance to meet up with LAURA GILPATRICK Cook for dinner. She also stopped in at Westbury Pharmacy, owned by our very own, MARLA BILTON-Westbury, in St George, SC and spent time with her sweet family in December. She is involved in a career change and several new adventures in Black Mountain, NC. EVIE LIM DAVIS and her family celebrated the 2014 Chinese New Year with her new grandson, Duncan Pittillo, born last year on Valentine’s day to her son and his wife, as well as 28 family members. It was a memorable time knowing her mom was looking down from heaven as her family gathered in her honor. Hannah enjoys being the only girl among her

five boy cousins and they really spoil her. Her address is changing to 212 E. Myrtle Beach Hwy apt 10, Scranton, SC 29591. JENNIFER REESE Boyd started a new job last January as an eChannel IT Manager for Synovus.

BROOKE HARRIS Thompson gave birth to a girl, MaryAnna on December 4, 2012. ERINN COX has a new title, Director of Programming & Special Projects for Urban Expositions, Art & Design Fairs division. She is working exclusively for art + design new york and SOFA CHICAGO. She is focused on educational programming, special exhibits and cultivating opportunities for engagement and dialogue in the fields of fine art, craft and design for international art fairs in Chicago and New York. MICHELLE HARRIS Dennis is currently living in Columbia, SC with her husband and three year old daughter, Anna Margaret. She is working at the South

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Several of our classmates welcomed new babies to their families: SHWETHA GUPTA Silver and her husband Jeff welcomed their son, Devin Edward Silver on June 16, 2013. JENNIFER LOVETT Rackley and her husband Chuck welcomed their daughter, Charley Nell Rackley on February 21, 2013. ALISON BLOCK Martinez and her husband Ernesto welcomed their daughter, Juliette Amelie Martinez on February 4, 2013. STEPHANIE ELDRIDGE Avakian and her husband Jason welcomed their daughter, Allison Riley Avakian on December 11, 2013. We would also like to congratulate ANZER NIKKI WOODWARD on her marriage to Locksley B. Haynes in Key West, FL on August 9, 2013. BROOKE EUBANKS Kellett and Will Kellett were married in Westminster Presbyterian Church on December 22, 2012. LEE BISHOP Snell was appointed to the Board of Directors for the Palmetto Opera in Columbia, SC. RACHEL KATHLEEN KENNERTY reports she will not make the reunion this year. She lives in Belgium with her wife Rebecca, who is a music teacher for DOD and teaches at the NATO base near Mons, Belgium. Rachel is a world traveler who is writing books and blogs.

KRISTEN BRUCH Bostwick married Joshua Bostwick at the 1927 Lake Lure Inn, in Lake Lure, NC.

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LIFE EVENTS CLASS NOTES

IN MEMORIAM Kelly Adrianne Hutchison ’00, September 13, 2013 James Daniel Gault ’05, June 18, 2013

SYMPATHY

KATHLEEN HARRY Maynard, KILEY RIKARD, ALLYSON LOWDER Sanders, MARIA OLIVER Solomon, KARI KILLEN and ELIZABETH ANNE FULLER Easterling all made the trip to Alabama.

DARETH ALEXANDER Kovaleski and her husband, Benny, welcomed Savannah Jane on March 19, 2013.

Cecilla Noelle Crawford was born on December 24, 2013 to EMILY WRIGHT Crawford and her husband.

And Jake and ANGIE ACKERMANN Hart welcomed their son, Andrew Ackermann, on July 11, 2013. We know that so many of you are enjoying adventures of your own. Please contact us so that we can include them in the next issue!

Kathleen Mize Wilson, April 29, 2013, grandmother of Kathleen Harry Maynard ’00 Joanne Osteen Carlisle, January 23, 2014, mother of Mary Elizabeth Carlisle ’03 Linda Still Miller, April 25, 2013, mother of Eugenia Stone Miller ’04

Class of 2001

Class of 2000

Marion Sibley Yates marionsyates@gmail.com

Kiley Rikard kileyrikard@hotmail.com Amanda Crane Cox acranecox@yahoo.com Greetings from the Class of 2000! It appears that the last year has brought many life events to our classmates!

DANA LUTTRELL Garner and her family have moved back to Blacksburg, VA. Michael Kelton Hazzard was born to Noel and ANGELA ABRAMS Hazzard on February 4, 2013. The Hazzard family has moved back to Little Rock, AR to be near family. Mary Jacquelyn was born to Clint and LYNN JAMES Galloway on February 21, 2013 at 4 lbs 3 oz. Mary Jac joins three big brothers!

DEANNA FULTS received a promotion within TVA and found out that she is the first woman hired by TVA nuclear to be a Site Employee Concerns Specialist at one of their operating plants! LORI S. PETERS has been with the same company for 24 years and have moved up through the ranks. She has recently been promoted to Administrator of the North Columbus, GA region of clinics. She was previously at the corporate office in Nashville, TN as a Senior Internal Auditor. MILLIE POWELL Eggert gave birth to daughter Elizabeth Cole Eggert on May 31, 2013. ANNE GORDON Jenkinson and John Thomas Thompson were married on October 20, 2012. We celebrate the arrival of Bailey Marie Tate, granddaughter of BECKY DALTON. Becky is the Administrative Assistant and Acquisitions Supervisor in Mickel Library. Bailey arrived on March 27th weighing in at 7 lbs, 12.5 oz. CAROLINE LOWERY WYROSDICK-Webb and Kenneth Earl Webb married on September 28, 2013. KILEY RIKARD spent the summer in Romania helping to open a school! Also, Kiley completed a Specialist degree in August 2013 from Brenau University! Jack and LAURA PHILLIPS Murphy welcomed John Joseph Murphy V “Finn” on July 8, 2013! The family has moved to Charleston, SC. BRITNEY JEFFORDS Greeson and her husband welcomed Julia Ann Greeson on January 19, 2014.

JENNIFER FRITH Knapp married Timothy Knapp on August 17, 2013. SUSANNA KNIGHT Roberts, ANGIE ACKERMANN Hart, ANNE JENKINSON Thompson, ELIZABETH MOORE Pearson,

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Erin Stone Wesol erinwesol@yahoo.com Kristen Bottenfield Willimon kbwillimon@yahoo.com

In the midst of bustling holiday seasons, job demands and family commitments, the Class of 2001 still finds time to squeeze in some FUN!!! The first of November, MILLAN HAYES Edwards and SARAH CHILDERS Whipple joined NANCY SCHWARZ Lowry at her parents cabin in western North Carolina. Lots of food and 80s movies by a roaring fire! On January 4th, NANCY, MILLAN, REBECCA IRICK Gault, JULIE MCSWAIN Moss, CAROLINE CUTTINO, and ELIZABETH SANSOM Willimon travelled to Atlanta, GA to spend the weekend with KRISTEN BOTTENFIELD Willimon in her beautiful new home.

Friday night SARAH joined the group for dinner.

Saturday, NICOLE KOCH Kirklin joined everyone and attended SARAH’S baby shower. It was a wonderful weekend that ended much to quickly! On January 25th, JOCELYN BUCKNER and ERIN STONE Wesol were honored to attend JENNIFER WOODRUFF’S wedding in Savannah, GA. Dancing and merry-making were a top priority, and JENNY WOODRUFF and her new husband Luke Higgins hosted an amazing and lovefilled weekend. JOCELYN served as a graceful maid of honor, and JENNY was stunning in her vintage gown-her groom’s grandmother’s wedding dress!! On the way to Savannah, ERIN and JENNIFER ANDREWS Lambert got together for a girls’ karaoke night out—just like old times! KATHY ANNE POORE Sapp and her family, husband David, Savannah (4), and Noah (10 months) are celebrating their children’s birthdays with a trip to Disney World—exciting! KATHY ANNE keeps very busy working as a Critical Care Nurse and loves being a Mommy. LINDSAY RAE BIRMINGHAM changed career to a Pharmacy Technician in 2012 and married Emily Elizabeth Eudy in May 2013. LISA LO GUTHRIE gave birth to her son Jacob on May 21, 2013. Scott and TINA SOLLAZZO Agnew welcomed son Wyatt Agnew on December 13, 2013. STEPHANIE LIVESAY Winkler was selected as Staff Educator of the Year by her colleagues at Tri-County Technical College. Since it’s Converse’s 125th anniversary, ALL CLASSES are invited to attend this year’s reunion weekend, April 25th -26th.

Wouldn’t it be fun to sneak in an extra reunion BEFORE our 15th?? Thank you LAURA MASSEY Crawford for

reminding us on our Facebook page. Be sure to check out pictures and class notes now available online at: converse.edu/classnotes.

Class of 2002 Kerri Lynn Very poutypanther@yahoo.com Laura Causey Philippovic llcausey@yahoo.com LAURA CAUSEY Philippovic married Michael Philippovic in April 2013. KERRI OLSON Very married John Michael Allen Very on July 4, 2013.

Class of 2003 Alison Turner Watson alisontwatson@gmail.com Megan Elizabeth Bates gem1813@hotmail.com Melissia Heatherly Brannen melissiaab@gmail.com Mary Elizabeth Carlisle carlislem@yahoo.com ALINE NAHHAS-RUBIO got her Associates in Biblical Counseling. She is currently on an 11 month missionary tour of 11 countries with the World Race. She is working to raise awareness of orphans and human trafficking along with churches and the communities. ERIN NORTON Balco married Paul Balco on February 2, 2013. MARIA PERRY Allen now lives in Asheville, NC and is teaching kindergarten in the first Waldorf school in WNC. MEGAN RUSSELL Bates had a girl, Lily, born March 4, 2013. Megan Russell Bates is a stay at home mom to three children, Caleb (6), Nathan (3) and newborn, Lily. She lives in Anderson, SC. KATHRYN ASHLEY BRACKETT reports that things are going very well at Piedmont Technical College.

She is teaching and has just been promoted to serve as Director of the Honors Program. MARY ELIZABETH CARLISLE was promoted to Arts Administration Specialist for the Division of Arts and Communication Studies while continuing to hold position of Director of Campus Scheduling & Special Projects and Adjunct Art Faculty teaching Beginning and Intermediate Ceramics

On January 25th, Jocelyn Buckner ’01 and Erin Stone Wesol ’01were honored to attend Jennifer Woodruff’s (’01) wedding in Savannah, GA.

Class of 2005 Heather Nicole Engelmann hnengelmann@gmail.com Danielle Moss Beckford dsbeckford@gmail.com Libby Long Richards Libby.L.Richards@gmail.com

and 3D. SARAH ROWAN Dahl started “I Heart Live Art” (.com). She has painted live in Parliament in Australia and the Sydney Olympic Park. She also has the coolest rims (glasses) on earth; they are red devil red! Sarah has painted all over the east coast of the US on her holiday. She even found her way to Columbia College where she painted at the annual Fun Day with Mary Carlisle, Marney Babbitt ’02, and MELISSIA HEATHERLY Brannen looking on with about 300 guests. CAROLINE AVERY Coy is an elementary school Counselor and lives in Greenville, SC. CHERYL MOORE Cruickshank is a stay at home mom to Katy (3) and Owen (1). KATE FORD now lives in Burlington, VT and works in Residential Life at the University of Vermont. CARLA NELSON Martin is an Accounting Manager at MTC Federal Credit Union in Greenville, SC. She has two children, Evan (5) and newborn, Alyssa. MEREDITH “LEX” HERNDON recently completed a Master of Education at Tennessee State.

She founded “”The 06”” an east Nashville Organization working to organize and promote local music concerts, along with collaboration between new and established musicians. HOLLY GILMORE Hayes gave birth to daughter Molly Faith Hayes on November 16, 2012.

JESSICA LITTLE Conklin had a girl, Cora, born April 24, 2013. AMANDA SHOOK Mershon welcomed the birth of her son Jaxson in April 2013. CHELSEA JACCARD Kaufman married Richard Pearse Kaufman on September 8, 2012. Chelsea left Uganda in July 2013 and is moving to Kinshasa, DRC (Congo) in April 2014 after eight months of intensive French training in DC. ALISON TURNER Watson is a Music Therapist at Cascades Verdae in Greenville, SC. She is performing with Justin McCorkle Band. A few Red Devils got together to visit Alison at one of her live performances during reunion weekend. ANNA STEENERSON Young is Professor of Voice at the College of Charleston and married David Young on March 14, 2012. LYNN DANCHO Wilkes had a boy, Grant David, born April 23, 2013. AVERY TOMLINSON is living in Ellijay,

GA, working as a Veterinarian. KRISTIN MICHELLE SMITH is a Licensed Professional Counselor intern (LPC/I) at Palmetto Counseling Associates in addition to serving on the SC State Ethics Commission for six years.

CARLA NELSON Martin welcomed the birth of her second child Alyssa Mae Martin on February 7, 2013.

NICOLE GIRAUDIN Martinez had a boy, Kyle, born February 18, 2013. ROBYN HILL Sanderson had a baby girl, Adair, born April 8, 2013. ANNA SHECUT Pretulak had a girl, Marion, in June 2013, and has Hane (4). Anna moved to Greenville, SC, and is now working at Greenville Hospital System as Nurse Practitioner.

Class of 2004 Jennie Elizabeth Zehr Jennie.04@hotmail.com

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Casey Leanne Addis claddis@gmail.com Katherine Carr kateecarr82@yahoo.com Congratulations to MYRA GREEN Taylor on the birth of twin daughters Lexi Ann and Lily Dale on August 17, 2012! JENNIE ZEHR is teaching gifted and talented students in Charleston County schools.

SARA CHEHALIS BROWN Tollison gave birth to her son Samuel Mays Tollison on March 29, 2013. AMY ELIZABETH SHEEHAN, in July 2013, took a position with Q2 Administrators, a subsidiary of Maximus Federal Services, as Communications Manager. LAURA BURGESS Martin gave birth to her daughter Emily Ann Martin on June 17, 2013. CHRISTINE MCMAKIN Cantrell married Jason Robert Cantrell on March 9, 2013. HUNTER MARIE GILBERT Ray married Daniel Dubose Ray on November 11, 2011. Congratulations to TIFFANY SIMONS Duncan and Darrell on the birth of daughter Ysa in May 2012! FRANCES CATE and Lawrence Patrick Luckey married on April 21, 2012.

Congratulations to DANIELLE MOSS Beckford on the birth of her daughter Zora Elyse Beckford on November 2, 2012! ELIZABETH PATTERSON Moloney welcomed daughter Eleanor Elizabeth Moloney on April 27, 2012.

Congratulations to LAURA ALEXANDER Flack and Michael on the birth of their twin sons Charles and Alexander on August 10, 2012! MEREDITH ANN MCMILLAN married Patrick Augustine on October 19, 2013. Congratulations to JENNIFER JOHNSEY Britt on the birth of daughter Abigail Jo Britt in August 2013.

CATHERINE WOODRUM Pogue gave birth to son James Michael Pogue on June 30, 2013. Catherine is the Assistant Principal at Jesse Bobo Elementary School in Spartanburg, SC. LINDSEY SHAWN PARKER McCall gave birth to her second son, John Parker McCall on December 10, 2013. CLARE THOMPSON Huemmer was recently appointed Greenville County Magistrate Judge. SASHA LIPPOLD Smith welcomed Gaven William Smith on January 24, 2013, with a head full of hair!

Class of 2006 Mallory Beckett Daniel mallorybdaniel@gmail.com Claire Marie Slocum claire.m.slocum@gmail.com DEMARIS BROOKS Schwab married Andrew Schwab on September 1, 2012 in a ceremony at First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta (GA) and a reception at the Cherokee Town Club. LAUREN REBECCA GRAMLING Adams and Charles Christopher Adams were married March 23, 2013 at half after five o’clock at Gramling United Methodist Church. JENNIFER WAHL Settle graduated from USC Upstate’s Mary Black School of Nursing in December 2013 and currently works as a Registered Nurse at Spartanburg Regional Hospital. MELANIE LEAH HARRISON has new job as Director of Education at LeadingAge Texas. Mallory BECKETT Daniel moved to West Palm Beach, FL in June of 2013 and is now the Business Development Manager for Palm Beach County. SAMANTHA MARGRET CAULDER welcomed the birth of her daughter Sophie Alyce CaulderThomas on April 17, 2013. MELISSA PESARO Ragan welcomed the birth of her first child, Adeline Grace, on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2013. Bryan and MOLLY STOEHR Moyer welcomed daughter Olivia Bryn Moyer on March 21, 2013. Molly has a new job as Senior Director of Volunteerism and Advocacy with the United Way of the Piedmont in Spartanburg, SC. VIRGINIA JONES Witcher married William Rutledge Witcher on August 17, 2013. ELLEN GODSALL Escobar was just promoted to Director of Asset Management after being there only six and a half years. She will be supervising the entire Public Housing department, oversee Resident Services initiatives (Continued)

LIFE EVENTS CLASS NOTES

(Continued)

for families and elderly/disabled individuals, and the maintenance/management of over 100 scattered site rental properties in the Reno/Sparks area purchased through the Neighborhood Stabilization Program. She will also be involved in the agency’s implementation of our recent designation by HUD to be a “Moving to Work” housing authority. Will and BRELAN RIDDLE Montgomery welcomed their second son Samuel Beaumont Montgomery on February 7, 2014.

Class of 2007 Valerie Dowling 803.331.7847 Valerie.l.dowling@gmail.com GRACE BAGWELL Adams was married to Clayton Adams on July 20, 2013 with her reception held at Converse with 30 alumnae in attendance. Grace completed her PhD in Public Policy at the University of Georgia and graduated in August 2013. MADDIE HARLAN Jurek recently received her National Board Teaching Certification in Secondary Choral Music.

Maddie and her husband, Kyle, welcomed their daughter Allison Claire Jurek on January 15, 2014. BRITTANY HARRELSON was recently awarded the Slater Award for Excellence in Teaching from the Polk County Community Foundation and was also promoted to Lead Gifted and Talented Teacher for Spartanburg District One Schools. DEIDRE TINDAL will complete her Class of 2008 at their five year reunion.

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Master’s in Healthcare Administration at MUSC in May and begin a fellowship in finance and strategic planning at Massachusetts General Physician Organization, a teaching affiliate of Harvard School of Medicine in Boston. EMILY NESLEN Meduri married Joshua Meduri on September 8, 2012. JESSICA ATHERTON Misiak married Ken Misiak in October 2013.

Class of 2008 Sarah Marion 145 York Street, Chester, SC 29706 803.519.6504 swmarion@gmail.com Johanna Whitmer 233 Old Cedar Loop, Pawleys Island, SC 29585 843.457.1373 jnwhitmer@gmail.com Larkin Watson 105 Carolina Avenue, Greenville, SC 29607 903.521.4111 Larkin.watson@gmail.com As usual, our classmates have been very busy accomplishing all sorts of wonderful things over the past year. In April of 2013, 28 members of our class returned to Converse for our five year class reunion and had a wonderful time catching up and reminiscing about our time together at Converse. Here are some of the things that our classmates have been up to over the past year.

ANNA KATHRYN SMITH Backer and her husband Joe decided to pursue their dreams of establishing a music school and began running their own piano studio three years ago. In September of 2013, it expanded into the Cincinnati School of Music and they have grown to now provide over 11,000 lessons per year to students of all

Lydia ANTHONY ’08 and Pamela MONAHAN Berkeley ’08 at Taj Mahal when Lydia visited Pam who is living in

ages and abilities in piano, guitar, ukulele, voice, drums, electric bass, violin and viola. Lena Marie Backer, daughter of ANNA KATHRYN SMITH Backer and Joe Backer, was born September 2013. LARKIN WATSON passed the CFP® Exam and is now a Certified Financial Planner, SARAH MARION passed the NCIDQ examination for interior designers, SARAH YOUNG is a Certified Meeting Planner for American Waterways Operators in Alexandria, VA. ELIZABETH MARTIN became fully licensed as an SC Marriage and Family Therapist. CANDICE SINCLAIR Bishop has been busy traveling with trips to Australia in October 2012, where she snorkeled at the Great Barrier Reef and toured the Sydney Opera House, as well as a weekend trip to Gatlinburg, TN in October 2013 with her husband Tyler and SHARON STARLING Halpern and her husband Matt. ALEK REYNOLDS recently moved to Columbia,

SC where she is working as a full-time technician with the South Carolina Air National Guard and is about to be deployed overseas for the second time. She recently celebrated her four year anniversary with the Air Force as a Senior Airman. REBECCA BRUST Taylor is working as a Birth and Postpartum Doula in Overland Park, KS where she lives with her husband Porter who was ordained as an Anglican priest in December 2013. LEAH HARRISON lives in Charleston, SC where she works as Institutional Writer for Spoleto Festival USA. She also freelances as an editor and arts writer, with recent pieces for the New York Philharmonic, Symphony magazine and The Charlotte Observer. DANIELLE PEREGOY Barnes moved to Macon, GA in July 2013 with her husband Doug. RACHEL NG Hansen received a Certification on Social Media and Marketing and works for the Converse Admission team editing and producing all admission videos and managing all of the admission social media.

STEPHANIE NEWTON has taken her theme park experiences at Disney’s Animal Kingdom and SeaWorld and accepted a position as a Personal VIP Concierge with Suntastic Tours International who specializes in assisting families with special needs children as they try to navigate the confusion of the theme park world.

MELODY MCCLELLAN sang the role of the Young Lover in Puccini’s “Il Tabarro” with Opera Carolina in Charlotte, NC. She is doing a lot of auditioning in the professional opera arena. ASH SMITH has worked with the City of Spartanburg police department for five years and is on the K-9 Tracking Team as a Team Captain.

MYRA HENDLEY has moved to Greenville, SC and sings in the band Joie who released their first album called Silent Escape in December 2013. Check them out on iTunes! For Thanksgiving 2013, LYDIA ANTHONY visited PAMELA MONAHAN Berkeley in Gurgaon, Haryana, India, where she moved in November 2012.

They toured Gurgaon, Delhi and Agra, including the Taj Mahal. Pamela and Ryan Nichola Berkeley married in November 2012 in Gurgaon, Haryana, India. Lydia is the Web Content Manager at Converse in Spartanburg, SC. TIFFANY OURS is living in Brunswick, GA where she is focusing on music full time, teaching piano lessons from

Converse alums singing the alma mater to Kristina BLANCHARD Robbins ’08 at her wedding to Dr. Scott Robbins on September 21, 2013 in Spartanburg.

her home and at a local music store and auditioning for graduate school in piano performance. REBECA MORENO de Villanueva is living in Washington DC with her husband who works for the Guatemalan Embassy. KINCAID NEXSEN traveled to El Salvador with JOHANNA TORRES O’Donnell and her two sons for a week in November. LINDSAY DANIEL became a licensed attorney in Tennessee in 2013 and is Managing the Campaign of Dennis Brooks, Republican Candidate for Criminal Court Judge in Washington County, TN. She also recently became a Court Appointed Special Advocate for Children in Northeast Tennessee. NATALIE LINEBERGER is living in South Korea teaching English after teaching English in Spain for a year. BELDA THOMAS enjoys running into Converse alumnae and professors through her job as a Pharmacist at Walgreen’s in Spartanburg, SC. AUDREY JACCARD moved to Salt Lake City, UT in December of 2013 and is working for JJPotts/Ceramic Supply USA teaching ceramics classes, running the pottery studio and helping out on the

production side of the company. JULIA TUREK is living in Myrtle Beach, S where she purchased her first home in 2012. She works as the Regional Coordinator for a corporate landscape maintenance company and helps oversee operations in the Wilmington, Myrtle Beach and Charleston offices. MARGARET SHIRK Felkel has been working as an Accountant for the past three years for SCANA/SCE&G at the construction site for the two new nuclear plants that are being built. She and her husband Warren welcomed their first child, Anna Campbell Felkel, into their family on December 4, 2013 and currently live in Lexington, SC. SHONTAE ALSTON Usman is living in the Bronx, NY with her husband. She recently accepted a full-time position as a Recreation Therapist at a nursing home/rehabilitation center and is excited to introduce and educate the residents and staff about music therapy. Shontae and Abdul Latif Usman, married in August 2012 in Bronx, NY. Anna Kathryn SMITH Backer earned her Master of Arts in Arts Administration and Master of Business Administration from the University of Cincinnati in May 2012.

BRIANNE CROSS Leftwich earned her Master of Speech Pathology from the University of South Carolina in August 2013. Brianne is a Speech-Language Pathologist for Lexington School District Two in Lexington, SC. Simon Joel Leftwich, son of HANNAH EISENGRIEN Leftwich and Josh Leftwich, was born November 13, 2013. KELLY ORNER works for the Hearth Center for Healing in Columbia, SC. MYRA HENDLEY is a Program Therapist/Family Therapist at the Riley Center for Eating Disorders in Greenville, SC. MONICA MCKIERNAN is a Gallery Educator at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC. JESSICA HYDER is a Botany/Zoology teacher at JL Mann Academy. TIFFANY OURS is the Music Director/Pianist at Frederica Presbyterian Church in St. Simons Island, GA. ALANA STARWALT is the Lead Therapist at Functional Skills ABA in Greenville, SC. REBECA MORENO de Villanueva is a Visual Sales Associate at Anthropologie in Washington, DC. Elizabeth Martin is the Executive Director at West Gate Family Therapy Institute in Spartanburg, SC. MELISSA VAUGHANKleppelis a Theater Instructor at Greenville Technical (Continued)

Converse alums at Johanna WHITMER Ward’s (’08) wedding, October 5, 2013 Murrells Inlet, SC

LIFE EVENTS CLASS NOTES

(Continued)

College and the Warehouse Theater, Greenville, SC. RACHEL NG Hansen is the Social Media and Marketing Specialist at Converse in Admission and Co-chair of the Student Ambassador Team at Converse. Riley Campbell Hansen, son of RACHEL NG Hansen and Stuart Hansen, was born October 9, 2012. JOHANNA WHITMER Ward is the Interior Designer and Marketing Coordinator for SGA Architecture in Pawleys Island, SC. Johanna and Benjamin Ward, married on October 5, 2013 in Murrells Inlet, SC. AUDREY JACCARD is the Ceramics Instructor and Studio Manager at JJ Potts/Ceramic Supply USA in Salt Lake City, UT. JANICE BURRELL Metallo is an Interior Designer at the University of Alabama at Birmingham in Birmingham, AL. Janice and David Metallo, married on April 27, 2013 in Pawleys Island, SC. ALICE BEATY-Palacios and G. Alfonso Palacios Cordova married on August 4, 2012 in Inman, SC. Areli Nicole Palacios, daugter of Alice BEATY-Palacios and G. Alfonso Palacios Cordova, was born January 13, 2013. DANIELLE PEREGOY Barnes and Captain Curt Douglas Barnes II, USAF married on May 4, 2013 in Aiken, SC. NORA NASSRI and Jalal Eddin Hakmei, MD married on August 10, 2013 in Orangeburg, SC. KRISTINA BLANCHARD Robbins and Scott Robbins married on September 21, 2013 in Spartanburg, SC. Abdul Usman, son of SHONTAE ALSTON Usman and Abdul Latif Usman, was born in Feburary 2012. Joshua English “Jet” Taylor, son of REBECCA BRUST Taylor and Porter Taylor, was born March 2012. Abigal Fridzon, daughter of KATIE POOLEY Fridzon and Alex Fridzon, was born May 10, 2012. Norah Elizabeth Kelly, daughter of MONICA MCKIERNAN and Jeffrey Kelly, was born September 27, 2012. Anna Campbell Felkel, daughter of

23 Converse alums at Nora NASSRI’s wedding.

26

MARGARET SHIRK Felkel and Warren Felkel, was born December 4, 2013. SAMANTHA DEEANN PRICE earned her Master’s in Viola Performance on April 27, 2013 from CCM at University of Cincinnati.

Congratulations to MARYBETH SANDERS-Wilson on completion of her Master’s in Sacred Music from Perkins School of Theology-Southern Methodist in May 2012.

Also congratulations to Marybeth on her wedding to Bradley Wilson on October 13, 2012. SHARON ANN STARLING and Matthew Stephen Halpern married on December 31, 2012. LAUREN ELIZABETH POPE married Holland Belue on June 9, 2012. JENNIFER LEIGH HYLER and Dikran Nubar Yacoubian both of Columbia, SC were married at five o’clock in the evening, on September 7, 2013. SARAH BRACEY Johnson is a Chaplin Resident at Carolina’s Medical Center NE in North Carolina. Congratulations to STEPHANIE ANDERS and Byron McSwain on their wedding on October 6, 2012. Also congratulations to Stephanie on completing her Master’s in Education from Southern Wesleyan University in May 2012.

COURTNEY ROBERTS MARSHALL just started her job with Farrell Lines, Inc in July of 2013. They are a shipping company working mostly to support the needs of our deployed servicemen and women. We hope that you will make plans to join us on campus for the 125th anniversary celebration of the College April 24-26th. Stay tuned for more details of a class get-together during the weekend!

Class of 2009 Katie Beaty Mayes mayes.katie@gmail.com

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Daniela B. Cuddington burrows.dmarie@yahoo.com AMANDA SIMMONS is in her second year of teaching ESL in the United Arab Emirates. This is Amanda’s fifth year as a teacher. ANNA SHARP received her Master’s

in Marriage and Family Therapy in May 2013. She works as a Training Specialist and part-time Therapist at Willowglen Academy, a psychiatric residential treatment facility for children and adolescents in Kingstree, SC. BAILEY LANFORD Taylor and her husband Tripp have been married for three and half years. She is teaching kindergarten in Spartanburg District 7. BRITTNAY MORENO is living in Clemson, SC where she is a Personal Banker at Wells Fargo. BROOKE JAKELYN FRANKLIN has completed her Master’s in International Politics in 2012 (concentration on Food Policy and Eastern Europe) after returning from a year abroad in Russia. She is currently working for the Department of Defense. Brooke is a member of the Junior League of Washington and serves as a docent at the Lee-Fendall House Museum. ELIZABETH DEMPSEY previously taught in Denmark, SC for three years, but now is in her first year of graduate school at the University of South Carolina in Music Education. KELLY PANNOCCHIA is still living in Spartanburg, SC and working as a Legal Assistant at Talley Law Firm. She also runs the toddler nursery at Westminister Presbyterian Church.

REBECCA RAWLS Croskey was married to Andrew Croskey this past September. She worked for a year as an Academic and Premedical Advisor. They have now moved from Wichita, KS to Goose Creek, SC for Andrew to begin work as a Propulsion Engineer for the Boeing 787 project. ROBIN JOHNSTON is living in Spartanburg and has been married for over two years.

She has a two year old son named Gunnar, and is working at Spartanburg Regional Hospital in the business office. SARA SIPE has almost completed her postgraduate fellowship to receive her license in LMFT. She is currently working at a local non-profit organization called WestGate TCN. Along with Sara’s fellowship position, she is also the clinic’s office manager. TRIONA GATELEY is living in Chesapeake, VA and working as an Accreditation Consultant for the Portsmouth Health Department.

Class of 2010 Elizabeth Powell Dunaway 1059 B Stonegate Drive, Auburn, AL 36832 ejp0008@tigermail.auburn.edu Ashley Shearsmith 921 Steadman Farms Drive, Inman, SC 29349 Cc_chick_10@windstream.net It’s been almost four years since the Class of 2010 walked across the stage in Twichell Auditorium and we are doing exciting things so far. ANNAKATE RAWLES, for example, recently graduated from Emory University with an MDiv and from Cambridge University with an MA. She is currently working as an Associate Pastor at Christ UMC in Shreveport, LA. AMANDA STEVENS is now a portfolio reporting analyst and client relationship manager for Spartan Financial. NICOLE DUMOUCHEL Watford received an MEd in Gifted Education from Converse and is now teaching 3rd grade at H.E. Corley Elementary in Irmo, SC. JENNIFER BROWN VanDerwerken graduated with a Masters in Information Technology from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute this past summer.

MORGAN BYRN also received a Masters in Public History, from Middle Tennessee State University.

KANDICE JESKE Hunt also got married in July and ran her first 5k in November. She is currently training for a 10k! ELIZABETH POWELL Dunaway received her MS in Psychology at Auburn University this past May, and was married in September. COLLIN EMMEL Muldoon was married in December. She and her husband Frank are living in Albuquerque, NM, where she recently began working as an OR nurse. SHELLEY REID recently welcomed the birth of her youngest

Nicole Dumouchel Watford ’10 and her husband show their Converse pride as snow covers the SC midlands

nephew, Peter, to whom she is godmother. KATIE BOWEN is now the Welcome Coordinator for Wounded Warrior Project in DC. MARY ENGLISH was hired full-time with Habitat for Humanity of Charlotte as the Homebuyer Education Coordinator. She also purchased her first home in September! KAITLYN PRICE accepted a position as a Residential Learning Coordinator at Hollins University in Roanoke, VA. SARAH COONER married Gordon Methvin on June 22, 2013. GINA MCBRIDE married Brandon Parrish on November 9, 2013. KANDICE JESKE married Josh Hunt on July 13, 2013. Justin and AMANDA STILLINGER Knauff welcomed son Jackson Knauff on November 11, 2012. TIANA PIRES is an Account Executive, Skills for Chicagoland’s Future in Chicago, IL. KRISTA WILLIAMS is an Interior Designer at Cortney Bishop Design in Charleston, SC. Rico and CARRIE LAMAE (JACKSON) Saxon welcomed son Riccardo Lyndell Saxon Jr. on February 3, 2014.

Class of 2011 Whitney Lane Stonikinis wlstonikinis@gmail.com Lydia Hope Williams insideview@bellsouth.net ALEXANDRIA ROMAN, who is an itinerant teacher of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in York, SC District 3 Schools, has been chosen as the Teacher of the Year for Exceptional Student Education.

HEATHER NEFF Loveday and Rick Loveday were married in April 2012. Millicent “Millie” Rose Ledford, daughter of Kaleb and MADISON BREWER Ledford, was born on June 20, 2013.

Class of 2012 Brittany Danielle Pack brittany.pack1819@yahoo.com Sarah Ann Martin SARAHMARTINfa@gmail.com Congratulations to CAROLINE ROBBINS and Peter Bruce Wilson on their June 9, 2012 wedding. HILARY KOSS completed her Master’s in International Relations at Queens University Belfast last year and she is joining the staff of the Architect of the Capitol of the United States as a Visitor Assistant. HEATHER RENEE CRAPPS started her first teaching job at Chapman Elementary School in Spartanburg School District 7. MIRANDA PAIGE SNYDER moved to Pennsylvania with her husband in December of last year, shortly after finishing her degree. She has been hired on as a Technical Writer at ManTech International in Bel Camp, MD. VICTORIA HAND Walls married Jesse Clark Walls on December 15, 2012. ALLISON DENISE MITCHELL moved to Billings, MT in June 2013 and is a Mental Health Counselor working with troubled youth with dual diagnosis disorders in a residential facility. ANNA MARENGO completed her Master’s program at New York School of Interior Design.

Brooke Rowell ’13 enjoys the February 2014 snow with her little Rebecca Edwards ’15 and grand little Grace Frazier ’17

Class of 2013 Angela D. Means angmeans@yahoo.com

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Celeste Marshall Allen Kahn cmkahn91@gmail.com AMBER HOLLDAY Pack accepted employment with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and moved to Cramerton, NC. She will be working as a full time music teacher at Winget Park Elementary and Ballantyne Elementary in Charlotte, NC. SHANNON BROOKE BISHOP is an Admissions Counselor at Converse. BROOKE ROWELL is a Graduate Assistant in the Office of Alumnae and Donor Relations at Converse. LYDIA JONES Carroll married Matt Carroll on June 1, 2013.

ERICA LANE McDonald married Curtis McDonald on October 5, 2013. The Class of 2013 will be holding their class dinner at Cribb’s Kitchen on Friday, April 25th. RSVP to CELLY KAHN.

LIFE EVENTS CLASS NOTES