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last March with their three older grandkids. They have since visited the Adirondacks and several sites in New Hampshire, and are hooked on RV travel! Phoebe Adams Marshall and Al visited Kiawah Island, S.C., where Al officiated at a tennis tournament. Pam Roberts Welham crossed another item off her bucket list with a cruise from Athens to Istanbul in September while she and Walt celebrated their 47th wedding anniversary! Susan Shinnick Hossfeld and Carl visited Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City on a three-week trip to Canada in October. They returned home through the White Mountains for their first fall season of the year. In November they experienced their second fall (one of their favorite times of the year) but at home they have to rake the leaves! Liz Decker Rogers still works part time as medical social worker for a home care agency. Her big accomplishment is learning how to enter data on a smart phone-sized computer. Another grandchild is expected in February. Judy Hammond Blatchford wrote, “We continue to travel a couple of times a year (Turkey and Alaska recently) and moved to a smaller townhouse adjacent to Ben and Nancy Turner Heckscher in April.” Debbie Patterson Clark enjoyed a visit in June with Carol Eaton Mendelsohn and Howard, who were on their way to the Cape to visit Carol’s sister. Debbie recently sang Beethoven’s “Missa Solemnis” with the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra in the historic St. Anthony’s Cathedral in New Bedford. She enjoys her 2-year-old granddaughter Caitlin every chance she gets. Bobbi Arthur Pretzsch has been living a dream of traveling with her husband Bob in their fifth wheel (a fancy trailer) while hosting at several campgrounds in the Northwest. They’ve made many new friends and have seen beautiful areas of our great country. Recently they camped on a bluff overlooking the Puget Sound, and enjoyed watching the river traffic on the water and the deer that daily wandered by their travel home. Nancy Turner Heckscher and Ben visited Penny Misirian Mardoian and Art in New Canaan, Conn., in October. They toured The Philip Johnson Glass House, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. Nancy encourages us to plan for our 50th reunion. She hopes we will have a record number of classmates and husbands attend our reunion in 2012, just a year and a half away. We want to contact as many as possible and find out what they have been doing with their lives and talents. Do we have your e-mail address? Please send it to us. We will be making a book and also hope to have discussions at reunion relevant to our lives. What can you tell us? Can you send pictures of events and current pictures of you? Beth Davis Pauley phoned me (Linda “Lynn” MacDonough Morrow) with tales there isn’t space to write here. All I can say is that we should be sure to go to our reunion to ask her about her new life as a single. When she takes her grandkids for a ride in her speed boat they say, “Crank it up, Muzzie!” I have been in touch with Fay Blakeslee Rossley a lot, during the summers mostly. Her e-mail address is FRossley@ aol.com. She is living in Massachusetts and has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. She is so upbeat that I marvel at her. I haven’t been in touch with her in months or so, so I don’t know the latest. I have lost track of Caroline McFarland Seidler even though we were roommates our sophomore year and I was in her wedding. I know that she has had a lot of illness over the years but am not sure of whether she is still alive or not. Barbie Reeves McGee and I met for lunch in Harrisburg, Pa., when she was returning to Illinois from her annual visit to the shore. We had fun catching up and agreed we will go to our 50th reunion. In February, I will be in Ecuador visiting the Galapagos, the Quito area and Amazon. I’m trying to use my Spanish. If you don’t usually do e-mail, send me your news via a friend or family member’s e-mail.
1963 Giving Participation: 18.47% · Total Class Dollars: $13,383
Dorothy Snyder Engle 204 Linden Blvd. Middletown, MD 21769 (301) 371-5170 dengle3699@aol.com Jo Ann Twilley Plichta M.A. ’86 43 Consett Place Frederick, MD 21703 (301) 360-9623 Our condolences to the family of Margaret Fountain Spillane who died Oct. 9, 2010, in Winter Haven, Fla. Dorothy Snyder Engle wrote that 2010 started out for her with great travels that she chronicled in the summer news. Add to that her trip with Ron and friends to Corolla, N.C., for their annual trip to the beach and a week to visit son Ryan in Sonoma County, Calif. Unfortunately, there were some downsides to the year. Dottie’s second half of her thyroid went to thyroid heaven to be with its twin in September. At the end of November, daughter Robin Engle ’96, now 36, had her bicuspid aortic valve replaced with a tissue valve (pig) because the leaking had become severe. While she was under the anesthetic and with her chest open, a thoracic surgeon gave her a modified Ravitch repair, putting in a titanium bar and some other metal. She is sporting a seven-inch scar. Her recovery has gone well except for fluid retention. Dorothy’s roomie, Brenda Eklund Pearson, has been traveling the world and having great adventures. Her travels have taken her to South Africa and Brazil. She is lucky to live so close to her son Daniel and his family so she is, between trips, able to baby-sit the girls, now 3 and 5. I’m sorry I don’t have more news for you, so please e-mail me and be sure to update your e-mail address. I love to hear from you. Dottie. Jo Ann Twilley Plichta M.A. ’86 wrote: Joanne Cissel Doyle retired a second time in June. During the last eight years she worked part time at the same library in Salisbury, Md. Jim, her husband, spends much of his time golfing and visiting friends. Their children have chosen careers in education. Their daughter is a speech therapist in Loudoun County Public Schools, and her son is the new dean of student learning and engagement at Baylor College in Waco, Texas. Since Joanne and Jim have never been to Texas, they are excited about their adventures to Texas with family. A two-week vacation to Frenchman’s Bay in Maine is first on the agenda with Sue Oster Robinson and her husband Dave. Joint vacations are yearly events for them, whether visiting each other’s homes or going to nearby attractions in Maine, Maryland and Florida. Sue and her husband like to take their RV camping. When they are not traveling, they are home in Sarasota, Fla. On a recent trip to Salisbury, Joanne invited the Robinsons to Lavender Fields for a mini vacation. There they are able to enjoy the beautiful craftsmanship of items made from lavender. The Doyles’ and Robinsons’ adventures are always relaxing and fun. During a recent visit with Mary Ann Holloway Ford, she shared how much she loves gardening and her job, where she mentors young social workers and is a program supervisor. Although retirement sounds great, she is not quite ready for it yet. In her spare time she takes part in a garden club, where they exchange gardening tips and visit beautiful premiere gardens. Will, her husband, is retired and enjoys the company of friends. Louise Thornton Burns and husband Joe have had their shares of highs and lows medically this year. Joe had to undergo a back operation and Louise is still recovering from an accident that occurred a year or so ago. Sadly, Sally, Louise’s younger sister, passed away from a hard
six-month battle with cancer earlier this year. The family is extremely supportive, which made the circumstances easier but times are still difficult. On the positive side, Joe and Louise are avid spectators of polo. Louise also enjoys playing bridge weekly with a new foursome in their home in Aiken, S.C. Louise’s mother, who is in her 90s, is still active and living well in her own home. Lois Baumgardner Spurrier, unfortunately, scared family and friends with unforeseen heart problems after a visit to her doctor because she was feeling tired. She was then sent to Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C., and had to have bypass surgery. Lois almost had the opportunity to be an angel but St. Peter warned God that Heaven was not ready for such a feisty woman. Lois chose the bovine valve over the titanium valve because she and Charlie were known for raising dairy cows. She amazed everyone and, after a long recovery period, was moved to a heart rehab nursing home; she then lived with a cousin and is now at her own home once again. Being such a strong woman, she was out and about right after recovery, shopping and cooking as if she had never had surgery and is now working part time as a night manager at a local motel. Thankfully because of that bovine valve, she is feeling “moo-ch” better now and plans to use this second chance to enjoy her life to the fullest! This poor pun may be my exit card for this co-writer of our class news. When talking to Natalie “Nicky” Rebert Warner, I found out she and husband Larry have three children and 10 grandchildren. Michael and his family live in Frederick, where he is a cosmetic surgeon. Since Nicky and I have been his patients, we can attest to his professional expertise and his caring manner. His father, a dermatologist, has an office adjacent to his. David and his family live in Rockville, Md. However, their daughter and her family live in London, which means other family members can enjoy visits across the pond. In fact, when I called Niki, she was packing her bag to leave for London. Take me with you! At last, one of our Western alumnae, Carolyn Maxwell, answered our call. Carolyn lives in Santa Monica, which she loves, but does miss the fall weather in the East. She went to her 50th high school reunion in October 2009. Her classmates had such a good time that they decided to have a 70th birthday celebration. Since she is on the planning committee, she is very busy. My husband, David, has also had some medical issues this past year. Doctors say he is medically complex; however, with his motorized wheel chair, he is very mobile and, in his spare time, attempts to do wheelies. He treats the grandchildren with rides in the chair on excursions to the mall, museums and other various activities. There is always a devilish gleam in the children’s and Papop’s eyes as they speed by on the chair. Thankfully there have been no tickets yet! Our son Scott, who resides in Pennsylvania, moved into a larger home to accommodate their growing family—Matthew and Emily, the twins; and Abby and Ben. I am so thankful for all of them. I, Jo Ann, enjoy reading, gardening and spending time with David. I have also had the opportunity to travel to a place foreign to me, speak a foreign language and experience a new culture. Sadly, my husband could not join me. Yes, you guessed it … I went to Advanced Auto.
1964 Giving Participation: 26.7% · Total Class Dollars: $8,825
Barbara Maly Fish 1006 Urban Ave. Durham, NC 27701 (919) 688-9125 barb2fish@yahoo.com In October, I (Barbara Maly Fish) attended my 50th high school reunion in Allentown, Pa., and shared a table with Mike and Flo Sechler Miller. They had