NEWS BRIEFS 175th ANNIVERSARY GALA Joan Comer Johnston ’87C, Laura Norris Raynor ’69HS ’71C are 175th gala co-chairs Blanche Robertson Bacon ’53HS ’55C is honorary chair Saint Mary’s School is pleased to announce that alumnae Joan Comer Johnston ’87C and Laura Norris Raynor ’69HS ’71C have been named as co-chairs of the 175th gala committee. Outstanding alumna Blanche Robertson Bacon ’53HS ’55C is honorary chair of the 175th gala celebration. These alumnae leaders and the committee are hard at work creating a spectacular, festive, and memorable evening to celebrate this extraordinary milestone in Saint Mary’s history on May 12. Blanche Robertson Bacon ’53HS ’55C When it comes to Saint Mary’s School, Blanche Robertson Bacon ’53HS ’55C, honorary chair of the 175th anniversary gala, has done it all. As a student, Bacon was a student leader, serving on the Legislative Body, the Belles staff, and as assembly chairman, along with memberships in the Dramatics Club, the Y.W.C.A., Canterbury Club, Spanish Club, and MU athletics society. As an alumna, Bacon has devoted herself in extraordinary ways to serving her alma mater. She served on the Alumnae Council before serving a total of 16 years on Blanche Robertson Bacon the Board of ’53HS ’55C Trustees, answering the call each time it came for another term. She served as vice chair of the Board of Trustees and, throughout her tenure as a board member, on every possible committee and sub-committee. She was a member of the head of school search committee that brought Theo Wilkes Coonrod to Saint Mary’s and co-chair of the committee that coordinated the installation of Coonrod as the 12th head of school.
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Bacon was the honorary chair of the 2005 auction gala and the first recipient of the Mazie Strickland Froelich ’51C Society Outstanding Alumna Award in 2000. She is the namesake and heart and soul of the Blanche Robertson Bacon Honors Scholarship, which transformed the boarding program at Saint Mary’s when it was endowed and established by her brother, Julian Robertson, and his late wife, Josie, in 2001. Bacon was the 2009 recipient of the John Bratton Jr. Volunteer Service Recognition Award, awarded on rare occasions to those who have served Saint Mary’s with distinction for decades. Bacon is a member of the Heritage Society, which honors those who have included Saint Mary’s in their estate planning, and the Lifetime Giving Society at Saint Mary’s, which recognizes those who have made significant lifetime contributions to the school. Outside the gates of Saint Mary’s, Bacon has been an active community leader and volunteer. She is a devoted member of Christ Episcopal Church, a sustaining member of the Junior League of Raleigh, a member of the National Society of Colonial Dames, and has served on the boards of the UNC Lineberger Cancer Center, Wake Medical Center, and Penick Village; on the advisory council of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Wake County; and as a membership co-chair for the North Carolina Museum of History. Bacon is married to Zack H. Bacon Jr. She is the mother of Blanche Spencer Williamson ’76HS, Julian Williamson (wife, Beth), and the late B. Robert Williamson Jr. (wife, Caroline). She has six grandchildren, Rob, Caroline, Wyndham, Blanche, Elizabeth, and Pell Williamson ’18. She has three stepsons, Zack Bacon III, Louis Bacon, and Bart Bacon, and numerous beloved step-grandchildren. Bacon is a native of Salisbury, N.C., and her parents were the late Julian Hart Robertson Sr. and Blanche Spencer Robertson. Her brother is Julian Hart Robertson Jr. and her sister is Wyndham Robertson. Joan Comer Johnston ’87C Joan Comer Johnston ’87C grew up in Seagrove, N.C. After graduation from high school, she decided to follow in her sister’s
footsteps and attend Saint Mary’s for her first two years of college. After growing up in a small town, Joan believed Saint Mary’s would offer the education a larger college would, but on a smaller scale. “Saint Mary’s provided me not only leadership opportunities and the small class environment, but also lifelong friendships,” says Johnston. Joan enjoyed the all-women’s educational experience so much, she chose to complete her undergraduate education at Meredith College, where she graduated with a B.S. in social work. While attending Meredith, Johnston met her future husband, William Ransom “Ran” Johnston Jr. The Johnstons will celebrate their 24th anniversary this spring. They have a son, William Ransom Johnston III, a sophomore at N.C. State University, and twin daughters, Margaret Ivy Johnston ’20 and Martha Luck Johnston ’20, both 9th graders at Saint Mary’s. Other family members who have attended Saint Mary’s include Johnston’s sister, Elizabeth Comer Dozier ’82C; both mothers-in-law, Mattie Lou Uzzle Blackman ’61C and Margaret Louise Hamilton Johnston ’57C; and sister-in-law, Martha Margaret Johnston Chesnutt ’91HS. Johnston has been a loyal Saint Mary’s volunteer for several years. She has served on the Alumnae Council, on her class reunion planning committee, and on host committees for regional events both in Raleigh and Atlantic Beach. She currently serves as a member of the Parents Association, as co-chair of the faculty-staff appreciation committee. She has been involved in many civic and community organizations. She is an active member of White Memorial Presbyterian Church. She has been deeply involved with Duke Raleigh Hospital, serving as a guild member, volunteer, and buyer for the hospital’s gift shop for the past eight years. She has been active in her children’s schools over the years, serving as co-president of the PTA at Aldert Root Elementary School and on myriad committees at both Root and Daniels Middle School. Johnston is a member of the North Carolina Museum of History Associates, where she has held an active role for many years. She is a member of the North Carolina Museum of Art and volunteered with the Carolina Ballet. She is also