IN MEMORIAM Elizabeth (Betsy) Siemon Murphy ’55, February 11, 2019, age 81. After Beard, Betsy graduated from Smith College in 1959 and attended writing workshops—she wrote fiction and poetry, some published. Her professional life was led in Chicago, Illinois where she worked for a non-profit agency that aided other community non-profits with using computer software. Her volunteer work focused on schools and her church. After retirement, Betsy relocated to the Seattle, Washington area to be close to her children. At the time of her death she was living on Bainbridge Island. Her four children and 13 grandchildren survive her. Her husband predeceased her. Her sister is Mary Ayres Siemon Thompson ’65. Betsy wrote of her years at Beard: “Small classes and involved teachers made a big difference academically. Going to an all-girls school allowed us to feel—as women—that we could do anything. It wasn’t until we hit the work world that reality hit.”
highway trash clean ups!” Eve was a greeter for the Beaver Creek Children’s Ski School and did dressmaking alterations. Eve loved playing bridge with friends. Her husband Peter predeceased her. Eve’s daughter, son, and grandsons survive her. Cary Wiedenmayer Smallhorn ’56, February 6, 2020, age 81. Cary died unexpectedly during a skiing vacation in Zurs, Austria. She loved skiing, sailing, tennis, gardening and travel. Cary also enjoyed martinis, cigarettes, and singing Noel Coward and George Gershwin. She had family on three continents and was anticipating an April 2020 trip to England for the Grand National horse race, a destination she fixed upon in 1944 when she saw the film National Velvet. In quieter moments, she enjoyed playing with her four grandchildren and embroidering by a fire in her longtime Beverly Farms, Massachusetts home. Cary’s husband Christopher, son Thomas, daughter Caitlin, their
Peggy Harding Nelson ’59, Former Trustee, October 25, 2019, age 78.
Eve Ann Van Vleck Trumpore ’55, November 13, 2019, age 82. After Beard, Eve earned a Bachelor of Science from Salem College in 1959. Before her move to Colorado over 15 years ago, she worked for Sears for 20 years and retired from Citibank/Diners Club corporate customer service center. Living in Edwards, Colorado with her family of skiers, she was a community fixture. Eve was an elder for her local Presbyterian Church and volunteered extensively for nonprofits including Bravo Vail, a summer orchestral concert series, the Vilar Center for the Performing Arts, the Vail Valley Foundation, the Betty Ford Alpine Gardens, and the Shaw Cancer Center. She also helped register entrants for both world cup ski races and the snowshoe shuffle race to benefit breast cancer research. Eve worked with the PEO Sisterhood (which raises money internationally for women’s education) and Kiwanis. Of her volunteer work, Eve wrote, “I’ve even helped with
spouses and her grandchildren are among her many survivors. Cary embraced life and everyone she knew with gusto and a generosity of spirit. Cary was also a Beard girl for life. She wore her school uniform at both her 50 and 60 year reunions, stylishly unbuttoning the top button. Many Beard girls were her lifelong friends; schoolmate Naneen Hunter Neubohn ’57 was with her at the end. Reflecting on her time at Beard, Cary once wrote, “I was very, very happy there. I remember dreaming away at my desk in Mrs. Grant’s study hall, feeling safe, which is an odd thing to think about at age 15, and satisfied as I neatly ticked off homework assignments in those little brown note pads.” After Beard, Cary received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Vassar College. She had a variety of work experiences as a secretary then copywriter at publishing companies and magazines, third grade teacher, public relations official for an art college, a florist, and a detective. She volunteered at her children’s schools, did charity work for her church—St. Johns Episcopal in Beverly Farms, and maintenance for area public gardens.
Cary Wiedenmayer Smallhorn ’56
Peggy’s ties to The Beard School, The Morristown School and Morristown-Beard School were many and deep. She was the daughter of Anne Diss Harding, a Miss Beard’s graduate, the niece of Margaret Diss Schoettle ’35, the sister of Susan Harding ’63, the wife of Glen L. Nelson ’58, the mother of Glen “Chip” Nelson ’89 and of Pamela Nelson Davidson ’90, and the aunt of Victoria Harding ’05. Glen, Susan, Chip, Pamela and Victoria survive her, as do her brother, her daughter-in-law and sonin-law, and three beloved grandchildren. Peggy served MBS with devotion and distinction. She was a Trustee from 1995 to 1998 and served on the Alumni Board for over 20 years, including as president from 1993 to 1998. “Peg and I spoke about the Schools often,” Glen said. Peggy and Glen were mainstays of their class reunions. Peggy was her class agent and chair of their recent 60th Reunion. Daughter Pamela carries forward Peggy’s legacy. Pamela is a current Trustee and a recent speaker at the MBS Career Day. While still in school, Peggy and Glen were set up—twice. “We actually had Crimson Spring 2020 67