al um n ae now
from Palm Beach) and I are flying off to Columbia, South America for a week with my old Florida church group. Sandy speaks Spanish. The Bishop of Columbia speaks Italian in addition to Spanish, so Sandy and I will be in fat city. (I can still limp along in Italian). Athens, Ga. is still wonderful. I do travel a lot between children in California and in Virginia. All of us are going to Africa in July — to Botswana, Zimbabwe, Johannesburg and Capetown. Lots of game drives, chances to ‘bond’ with villagers (not a touristy thing) in small remote places. Africa is a cathedral unto itself, and as all four grandchildren are animal lovers and ‘tree huggers’ the excursion is right up their respective alleys. That is all the news that is fit to print. I am quite fit and have a stable full of gentleman callers from the safe pinnacle of my eightieth year.” Josephine Jackson Miller is still driving during the day, enjoys her church work and having lunch with friends. Dorothy Parker Hale, Nancy Brogden Booker and I, your class correspondent, had lunch and enjoyed reminiscing. Please send me your news!
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Needs correspondent!
Several alumnae from the class of ’54 attended the St. Catherine’s Advent Carol Service in December. Mary Johnson Campbell, Cynthia Childrey Tucker, Tibby Moore Gardner, Pamela Gibson Farrar and Anne Harrell Bristow attended the tea at Dr. Scheckelhoff ’s following the service. “What joy and beauty the service brings,” writes Mary. “It fills us with holiness and prayerful reflection for the season ahead.” Alice Parsons Sawyer, M.D. is living in a retirement center in Venice, Fla. In 2014 Betsy Nelson Wing published a novel, “Now History,” set mostly in Richmond during World War II. Visit Betsy’s web site, betsywing. com, for synopses of her novels and to view samples of her artwork. Cornelia Long Matson writes in, “We sold our vineyard in France to a Chinese company and now spend the summer at Hound Ears Club near Blowing Rock, N.C. We had a family reunion with 21 attendees, including my daughter Julia Kaminski Trampe ’78!”
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Caro Short Beebe, 3115 Stony Point Road, Unit B, Richmond, VA 23235; jbeebejr@aol.com
Last summer John and Ione Coker Lee along with Chris and Betsy Moncure Bredrup enjoyed a wonderful trip to London, Oxford and Wales. The trip continued Ione and Betsy’s tradition of visiting British universities together which started with attending University of London in 1958! We were sad to hear that Florence Pittman Hays’ husband of 60 years, Andrew Jackson Hays, passed away in May 2014. Florence, an artist and avid bridge player, has two sons and two grandchildren, one
L to R; Bottom Row: Betty Broaddus Cox, Weezie Daniel Owen, Susan Taylor Montague-Reese, Mary Mattingly Walker; Middle Row: Mimsy Wood Jones, Susan King French, Lizora Miller Yonce, Penny Baldwin Williams; Top Row: Martha Luck Robertson, Meriwether Tannahill Beatty, Lou Elam Johnson, Mary Blair Scott Valentine, Patricia Coxe Ware, Lucy Davenport Wallace
boy and one girl. It was wonderful to see so many classmates who came to celebrate our reunion and the kickoff of the 125th anniversary celebration in April. Congratulations to Mimsy Wood Jones who was one of the recipients of this year’s Distinguished Alumna Awards. Penny Williams Baldwin spoke to the Upper School students during Career Day on Friday. EDITOR'S NOTE: A special thank you to your correspondent, Caro Short Beebe, for hosting the class party at her home.
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Penny deBordenave Saffer, 1500 Westbrook Ct., #3131, Richmond, VA 23227; Penelope1845@gmail.com
We were sad to hear that Judy Dickerson Bullock’s husband Bill died after a long illness, and our sympathies also go to the family of Betty Reed Belden who has died. Clare Horsley Stewart travelled to Chile with ten kids and grandkids during the Christmas holidays to see her older daughter and family who live in Santiago. “Loved the whole country!” She doesn’t mind her age, but can’t believe how old her daughters are and that a granddaughter is looking at colleges! Where did the time go?? Clare is thankful every day that we were the kids of the 50’s and 60’s – so much fun to remember! Isabel Ware Burch wrote from Captiva Island where she went Ultra Extreme parasailing — at our age! — and saw beautiful views of the island from 1000 feet up in the air. She is heading a year-long celebration of the church building at Bruton Parish in Williamsburg,Va., which will include interesting lectures, concerts and visits by
the Bishop of London, his wife, the Presiding Bishop and others. Wickie Brown Plant and Mac had a wonderful trip to Cuba, just ahead of the first steps to normalize relations. “It’s a beautiful historic island with much art and architectural treasures and so little money. The natural world is also lovely….no pesticides or fertilizers and the bee population there is totally healthy!” Susie Totten Peters was appointed by Governor Terry McAuliffe to the Virginia Board of Historic Resources, where Susie worked as historian and editor from 1968 to 2002. Her son, Ross Peters, was named Head of St. George’s Independent School in Memphis, Tenn. Suzanne Zoppa Taylor’s oldest grandson, Kurt Taylor, has started a business called NextGlass, a smartphone app that helps choose a wine or beer that matches your taste preference. Kurt has been on several national TV programs and was named to the 2015 Forbes Magazine 30 Under 30: Food and Wine list. Amanda Tevepaugh Macaulay has been busy waterproofing and reconstructing her basement so that she might host our 60th reunion Sunday brunch in 2016! [Ed. Note – I think she is kidding about the locale, but mark your calendars — it’s just a year away!] She plans to attend her 55th reunion at Wheaton College and feels sorry for those planning what will be their last reunion at Sweet Briar College. Helen Scott Townsend Reed is delighted to still be working... “study trips to East Germany, Sicily and Poland, always interesting people, history, art and architecture as long as the feet, eyes and brain function!” As of this writing Mimsy Brenaman was about to leave for Egypt to stay near the pyramids and travel the
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