Sweet Briar Alumnae Magazine

From Strength to Strength

ADear Sweet Briar Community,

fter 10 years since the announcement of the attempt to close our college, and as we approach the 10-year anniversary of the successful legal battle to save Sweet

Briar, our community has much to be proud of, including our academic achievements, programmatic innovations, and a reimagining of women’s leadership in the 21st century. None of this would have been possible without your engagement and philanthropic support. As you reflect on the past 10 years and our accomplishments, I hope that each of you will feel personal pride in the emotional and financial investments you’ve made in Sweet Briar.

In the pages that follow this letter, you will learn more about the last 10 years, as well as the current events,

projects, and students of Sweet Briar in 2025. We’ve highlighted the publications, awards, exhibits, and achievements of our faculty, students, and alumnae. You’ll learn about one of our most treasured faculty members, Dr. John Morrissey, as he heads into a well-earned retirement from teaching—but not from loving Sweet Briar.

Our students are why we are all here. In this issue, we’re focusing on our studio art majors, our legacy students and their alumna connections, a day in the life of Alia Peets ’25, an overview of our student activities on campus and the Student Academic Success Center, and the support provided for student scholarships by three local foundations that make significant contributions to give local students access to a Sweet Briar education.

In addition to our faculty, our staff also make each day at Sweet Briar run smoothly for our students. I know you’ll enjoy getting to know two of our staff members better, both of whom touch vastly different but equally important aspects of our campus life each day: Jazé Spradley, campus safety officer II and son of Wanda Spradley ’09, director of financial aid, and Sue Hostetler, agricultural crew member, who tends to Sweet Briar’s beautiful horticultural landscape. As you know, Sweet Briar is a small community, and, as such, each member makes a significant impact on all of our lives.

One of the pieces in this issue that I enjoyed most is a reflection on the last 10 years of Sweet Briar’s history through a timeline of events, ranging from academic accolades to innovative curriculum updates, capital improvements to leadership appointments, partnership agreements to philanthropic investments, and so much more. Each marker on this timeline demonstrates that Sweet Briar College remains relevant, adaptable, and responsive to the needs of today’s students. We recognize so many over the last 10 years who have been pivotal to strengthening our college (see page 34).

You may recall that when the Honorable James Updike, Judge of the Bedford County Circuit Court, ruled in favor of Saving Sweet Briar, Inc. on June 22, 2015, he remarked, “Sweet Briar College will not merely endure, it will prevail.”

Or, as I like to say, onward and upward!

With tremendous gratitude,

Mary Pope M. Hutson ’83 President

President Mary Pope M. Hutson ’83 with Dr. John Morrissey.

Spring 2025, Vol. 95, No. 1

Sweet Briar Magazine Staff

Editor

Clélie Steckel

Staff Writer

Rachel Balsley

Contributors

Lea Sparks Bennett ’83, Phyllis Watt Jordan ’80, Brianna Lee, Jazé Spradley

Art Direction and Design Journey Group

Photographers

Cassie Foster Evans Photography, Cole Pillow

College President

Mary Pope M. Hutson ’83

Board Leadership

Board Chair

Mason Bennett Rummel ’83

Board Vice Chair

Verda Andrews Colvin ’87

Board Secretary

Sally Mott Freeman ’76

“I remember the way I felt the second I passed that gate. It was like all the puzzle pieces were coming together, and I was like, ‘I need to be here. This is where I need to be.’ ”

—Natalie Cockey ’25

This magazine aims to present interesting and thought-provoking content about Sweet Briar College, its people and its connections around the world.

Publication of the material does not indicate endorsement of the author’s viewpoint by the College. We reserve the right to edit and revise all material that we accept for publication. If you have a story idea or content to submit for publication, contact the editor, Clélie Steckel, at cdsteckel@sbc.edu.

Contact Information

Office of Alumnae Relations and Development

P.O. Box 1057

Sweet Briar, VA 24595

When you have finished reading this magazine, please consider passing it along to a prospective student or family.

34 10 Years of Sweet Briar Success

Since successfully thwarting the attempted closure in 2015, Sweet Briar College and its community have shown what it really means to make a comeback.

40 Shark Man

Following 17 years at Sweet Briar, biology teacher, shark expert, mentor, and comic enthusiast

Dr. John Morrissey retires.

46 From Generation to Generation

Explore what the legacy student experience is like at Sweet Briar College.

Sweet Briar Alumnae

Sittin’ on the Golden Stairs

As any Sweet Briar woman knows, Step Singing is a beloved tradition that is as cherished today as it has been throughout the College’s history. The event pays homage to each class, but with special attention given to the group of those closest to graduating sitting on the Senior Stairs in their decorated robes, which are passed down each year from a senior to a junior. Taking place once each fall and spring, Step Singing is not only a time for camaraderie, light-hearted teasing, and celebrating our tap clubs’ next generation of members, but also an opportunity to lean into tradition and spend a moment of togetherness with the entire student body.

2 Sweet Briar Alumnae Magazine

Sweet Briar Honey Products

In the summer of 2024, Sweet Briar harvested more than 1,000 pounds of honey with assistance from the Willits Summer Food Systems Fellows. This gift from the bees in our apiary is available to purchase in the Book Shop, either on its own or in a variety of products made with honey, which is also stocked in rooms at the Elston Inn. Our soaps, lotion, and body scrub tend to fly off the shelves, so be sure to place your order soon!

From Merch to Mulch

Sue Hostetler’s journey from the Book Shop to horticulture.

18 Growing Up at Sweet Briar

Staff members Jazé Spradley and Clélie Steckel discuss growing up as children of Sweet Briar employees, and becoming employees themselves.

20 Alumna Excellence

Lendon Gray ’71 honored with 2024 USEF Lifetime Achievement Award.

22 A Day in the Life

Join Alia Peets ’25 during a day as a Vixen.

Onward & Upward

From Classroom to Gallery

Follow the journey of a studio art major.

Lifetime Achievement

Author Diana Maury Robin ’57 named the 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award winner by the Society for the Study of Early Modern Women and Gender.

27 Summer Reading

See what alumnae have been publishing for the past 20 years.

28 Faculty Publications

Sweet Briar faculty share their expertise through a variety of publications.

30 Community Support

Sweet Briar College students benefit from local foundation scholarships.

32 Of Note

Sweet Briar College celebrates several recent accomplishments, accolades, and pieces of exciting news.

P.23

Studio art majors grow through introductory courses all the way to a senior exhibition.

You can make a gift to support:

• Our students, through scholarships;

• Our faculty, through professional development and academic program support;

• Stewardship of our natural and built environment, including our historic district on the National Register of Historic Places; and

• Our entire community through greatest needs.

Use the envelope enclosed with this issue of the Alumnae Magazine, make a gift online at sbc.edu/give, or visit sbc.edu/ways-to-give for other ways to make a gift.

On the Quad

Cultural Landscape Study

By Clélie Steckel

Sweet Briar Museum,

watercolor

Locust Grove plantation house circa 1827.

IIn January 2024, Sweet Briar College launched a cultural landscape study with Liz Sargent Historical Landscape Architecture, a woman-owned firm based in Charlottesville, Va. A cultural landscape study investigates how human activities and cultural values shape historically significant properties by examining the historical and cultural significance of landscapes beyond just the built environment. Sargent and her team evaluate historical contexts and significance, identify character-defining patterns and features, analyze issues and opportunities, and develop treatment guidelines and recommendations. The cultural landscape study report is the product of these efforts and more.

The team, including Sargent, Jane Jacobs, and Sean Dunlap, visited Sweet Briar’s campus several times over the last year. They conducted research in the Cochran Library archives, Wick Building (where the College has stored many files on Sweet Briar history and ephemera), and used many of the drawings by Ralph Adams Cram, landscape architects, and more recent architects in the room in the lower level of Fletcher where these materials are stored in flat files.

The team also spent considerable time walking and driving around campus. They took many photographs and analyzed relationships between different landscape features. As a result of these inquiries, Sargent and her team subdivided the campus into “character areas,”

which are distinct regions with unified groupings of buildings or landscape features. For example, Faculty Row is considered a character area.

In addition to walking and driving around campus, Sargent and her team joined one of the College’s current students who uses a wheelchair to better understand the limitations of navigating campus for people who are not ambulatory. The College’s brick walkways, while beautiful and historic, present challenges for wheels, as do the current parking lots, concrete walkways, and asphalt paths. Sweet Briar has made progress in these areas in the recent past, and there are still many improvements to be made.

The report provides an extensive introduction to Sweet Briar’s land and buildings, including much of the historical context spanning from the Monacan era through plantation history up

to the present college history. The background on the history of the physical site of Sweet Briar College is also incorporated, including sites that pre-date the construction of the College. The report also gives information on the existing conditions of the land comprising Sweet Briar College and its contiguous properties as they stand today.

Among the historical contexts provided in the report is a summary of the history of the Monacans, the people indigenous to central Virginia, who took root in the area in the late 17th and 18th centuries. Sweet Briar College is located in the heart of the traditional homelands of the Monacan Nation, which remains one of more than 16 Siouanspeaking groups that occupied central Virginia.

Sargent and her team researched the plantation

Below: A bird’s-eye view of Sweet Briar’s core campus in the 1930s.

history of Sweet Briar, which includes the context of other plantations in Amherst County, including The Glebe, Fox Hall, Red Hill, Tusculum, Winton, Poplar Grove, and others. Sweet Briar Plantation’s original name was Locust Grove, established by George Carrington in 1770. Carrington sold the property to Thomas Wiatt, who then sold the property to Joseph Crews, who constructed a “six-room T-shaped brick farmhouse” on the center of the property around 1790, where he lived until his death in 1798. Upon his death, Locust Grove was bequeathed to his son, Thomas, who eventually defaulted on his payments. In December 1829,

the county placed Locust Grove for sale at auction, when it was purchased by Elijah Fletcher. At the time of purchase, Fletcher enslaved 12 people; this number increased as agricultural and livestock operations expanded. In Amherst County, enslaved individuals at Locust Grove and other plantations mentioned above included African and Indigenous peoples.

The team of faculty, staff, and administrators at Sweet Briar are currently reviewing the draft report and providing feedback to Sargent and her team. Once complete, they will incorporate corrections from that feedback, in addition to developing

Above: This 1851 architectural plan outlines renovations to Sweet Briar House.

the fourth chapter of the report on Analysis and Evaluation. The firm is also evaluating whether other character areas of the campus warrant an addition to Sweet Briar’s designation on the National Register of Historic Places. They are exploring additional areas of significance, including, but not limited to, African-American history, modern architecture, and the College’s recent initiatives in agriculture, sustainability, and environmental science. The chapter on treatments and recommendations will be written in collaboration with contacts on campus to address preservation challenges and provide recommendations.

Campus Activities

Snapshot

Left: A group of Vixens organize Daisy’s Closet during the College’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service.

Below: Students enjoy this year’s Winter Formal and its Deep Sea Soiree theme.

Right: Evelyn Anderson ’27 is revealed as a new QV member.

Below: The Class of 2028 enters Spring Step Singing.

Right: In January, the Office of Student Life and the Multicultural Student Center hosted a vision board craft night for an evening of fun, productivity, and positivity.

Indu

and

participate in a calligraphy activity during a Lunar New Year celebration.

The junior class gives a

to the seniors during Spring Step Singing.

Above:

Sharma ’27

Peninnah Adjei Gyamfi ’27

Left:

“Holla, Holla”

Below: Casey Dawson ’28, Lillian Kruchten ’28, and Meaghan Merritt ’28 participate in Back to School Bingo at the start of the spring 12-week term.

Sweet Briar Alumnae

New Student Academic Success Center Reimagines Academic Support at Sweet Briar

By Rachel Balsley

Office of Student Belonging with the Student Academic Success Center (SAS-C) this past fall.

SAS-C, led by manager Dr. Denise Young, is now located on the second floor of the Mary Helen Cochran Library and consists of private tutoring rooms as well as a classroom with smart technology that can be used for large groups and workshops. Dr. Young joined the faculty in August 2024, launching the center upon her arrival.

“Every campus has a really unique feel and way of doing things. In this first year, while

The start of the 2024–2025 school year brought with it a new and improved academic support

program benefiting students throughout their time at Sweet Briar College.

Members of the Dean’s Office and the Office of Student Life pursued a shift in how the College approaches academic support, enhancing the former Academic Resource Center and

continuing to offer the resources that are typically needed in academic support, I want to get to know who Sweet Briar students are, where they’re coming from, and what they need to be successful here,” Dr. Young said.

The enhancements to the academic support program have been extensive, ranging from creating a dedicated space for tutoring and reimagining the peer tutoring program with walk-in hours, to adding nightly study

halls by subject area and planning student success workshops.

“What I like about being a tutor is helping students become confident enough to tackle challenges on their own. Seeing that moment when something clicks for them is the best part for me because they are actually understanding the concept of what they are doing,” said student tutor Jaiana Gray ’26.

Addressing the typical academic support needs of a student body may lead the center to offer other engagement opportunities like hosting a bootcamp to bridge the gap between high schooland college-level math classes or individual meetings to help a student identify time in their schedule to study.

“Dr. Young has helped me a lot. I meet with her weekly to go through all of my assignments, and we come up with new strategies to help me stay organized. I’m less anxious now because I know there is a plan; it’s been really helpful. I think everyone should use the center,” said Caroline Patterson ’25, who works with Dr. Young and peer tutors through SAS-C. “I met with a tutor this week and she went over everything with me step-bystep. I’m not a ‘STEM person,’ so it’s been so helpful to have a tutor who is willing to sit down with me and go through every little thing.”

“There are lots of opportunities to work with and help students be successful,” Dr. Young said. “We want to help students rethink what they know as studying and get them more in line with the idea of learning.”

Dr. Denise Young and three students work in the SAS-C.

Comings and Goings

Welcoming Returning Faculty

By Rachel Balsley

When we started the new calendar year, two familiar faces rejoined the faculty: Dr. Melanie Stine ’06, assistant professor of natural science, and Dr. Stephen Loftus, assistant professor of mathematics.

Dr. Stine returned to Sweet Briar following most recently teaching middle school science and math at North Branch School in Afton, Va., after serving as an environmental scientist at consulting firm Ecosystem Services. She previously taught environmental geography as an assistant professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio, where she also received the Outstanding Service Award. From 2015–2017, Dr. Stine taught at Sweet Briar as a visiting assistant professor of Environmental Science. She graduated from Sweet Briar in 2006 with a degree in environmental science before earning a M.S. from Virginia Tech in geography and a Ph.D. from Texas State University in environmental geography.

“I could not pass up the opportunity to work at Sweet Briar again. I love being back here! The beauty of this campus and the opportunities to step outside to do research and explore the many acres of forests and fields with students are unmatched,” Dr. Stine said.

“Dr. Stine has a quiet, kind, methodical teaching style, and creatively intertwines her projects and classes with the ‘real world,’” said Siena Hasbrouck ’16, who added that her biology degree has helped her in her current field of clinical diagnostics. “I am confident that the current students of Sweet Briar will have an excellent mentor and role model to support them through the years to come, and someone whom they will be able to consider a friend, just as I do.”

Dr. Loftus came back to Sweet Briar after teaching here from 2017–2021, leading the math program in the 2020–2021 academic year. During his time at Sweet Briar, he received the Robert Barlow Faculty/ Staff Award in 2019 for his support of Sweet Briar’s student-athletes. Always interested in statistical education, Dr. Loftus has published two introductory statistics textbooks: Basic Statistics with R and An Introductory Handbook of Bayesian Thinking. Dr. Loftus earned his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees studying statistics at Virginia Tech and a B.S. in statistics from Appalachian State University.

has not been the same since. He went above and beyond what was expected of him as a professor,” said Sydney Campbell ’21 of her time working with Dr. Loftus as a student. “Dr. Loftus provided unwavering support to his students, whether that be helping us understand a topic covered in class or guiding us on our path to graduate school or the workforce; he was (and still is) always there. Simply put, I would not be where I am today without Dr. Loftus. His advice and support are unmatched, and I am forever grateful for his impact on my education and future.”

“Dr. Loftus has been integral to my education and career in statistics. His clear passion for

“I’m excited to return to Sweet Briar and look forward to the opportunity to work with students; dispelling fears of math and stats for some and getting to work with motivated scholars on undergraduate research,” said Dr. Loftus.

“Dr. Loftus opened the world of statistics to me, and my life

teaching combined with his in-depth knowledge has always been an inspiration,” said Riahn Holcomb-Selbert ’22. “From answering questions outside of office hours to providing extra practice problems, he has repeatedly shown care for his students’ success before and after graduation. I am lucky to have had him as a professor, and now to call him both my mentor and friend.”

Dr. Melanie Stine (above) and Dr. Stephen Loftus (right) teach during the spring 2025 12-week term.

By the Numbers

Dining Services

In partnership with our dining provider, Meriwether Godsey, Sweet Briar provides high-quality food to help nourish our community as we learn and grow together. We even make food a part of that learning, using our own 26,000-square-foot greenhouse as a classroom where students learn about sustainable agriculture and grow produce for the dining hall. Considered one of the finest in collegiate dining services, Meriwether Godsey powers three dining options on campus, as well as countless catered events throughout the year.

99%

of lettuce and herbs served are sourced through the greenhouse

8,750

1,400

Meals on Wheels meals served

35+ Ingredients served that were produced on campus

157,115

Total meal swipes in 2024

Including: eggplant, peppers, Thai basil, beets, cucumbers, tomatoes, Italian basil, rosemary, lavender, honey, tarragon, sage, chives, mint, parsley, thyme, oregano, cilantro, dill, habaneros, jalapeños, Thai chilis, African peppers, grapes, lettuce, radish, carrots, Malabar spinach, bitter melon, lemongrass, and more

Dining options on campus

Daisy’s Café

stocks items from 19 small businesses, 6 BIPOC-owned businesses, and 12 womenowned businesses

Donuts made in 2024 by Robin Mays

(Prothro Dining Hall, Daisy’s Café, Houston’s Bistro)

Vixen Voices

When Sue Hostetler came to Sweet Briar’s Office of Communications for her interview, she didn’t come alone. Along with her sunny smile, she brought with her several plants stored in the back of the utility vehicle she often drives. She eagerly showed off what she’s involved in during the winter months before describing her daily routine and favorite projects.

By Rachel Balsley

But before Sue put her naturally green thumb to good use on campus as a horticulturist, her

Staff Profile

Sweet Briar story began in the Book Shop. She spent 30 years working in college bookstores and as a textbook manager, including at neighboring Randolph College and Virginia Military Institute, some of which under the corporate Barnes & Noble umbrella. Prior to those roles, Sue was in an educational environment while working in early childhood education.

When she came to Sweet Briar in 2015, she joined Lynn Lewis as a part of the Book Shop staff, curating merchandise displays, helping customers, and preparing print projects for college departments. The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 caused the store to reduce its hours, leading Sue to take on a hybrid role. She started contributing to other areas of the College such as housekeeping, the Health Center, and as a member

of the grounds team, where she found horticulture. Sue eventually made the transition to horticulture full-time in 2021 and has been helping to curate Sweet Briar’s exterior appearance ever since.

Turns out, taking care of plants is just one part of her job. Sue not only plans where to place plants and helps seasonal species survive their off months, but she also focuses on arrangements for special events, cleaning out flower beds, mulching, general campus beautification, and a host of other tasks related to the College’s outdoors.

While Sue’s daily routine is largely impacted by the season, there’s always something to do. In the winter, she spends more time in the Guion greenhouse tending to the plants stored

there and nurturing cuttings to grow new plants. In the warmer months, campus residents often see Sue driving by on a front loader to move planters, mulch, or fallen branches.

“Driving heavy machinery is pretty cool! I’m up so high, since I’m kind of short, so I can actually see the grounds. It gives me a better vantage point from up there,” Sue noted. “I think people on campus like to see a female doing these things.”

Of course, you’ll catch her planting and rearranging different installments, but also setting up for events such as May’s Commencement and Reunion festivities. In the fall, she cleans flower beds and prepares plants for the colder months. This January, she piloted the dump truck fitted with a 9-foot

plow throughout the night to clear campus roads.

“The position has evolved, and it can be very dynamic. We arrange planters to suit the weather and different locations on campus, that’s a lot of fun,” she said. “It’s very creative when you get down to it. You’re being creative with the finances behind obtaining the plants, finding the right location for plants: where will they thrive? Where will they look right? What’s the season that’s best for this or that? It’s just a lot of fun. Plants are fun.”

One of Sue’s favorite times of the year is partnering with alumnae during Sweet Work Weeks when alumnae volunteer their time to campus improvement projects.

“I love having the alumnae come to campus. When I worked in the Book Shop, they were very supportive as far as ordering their swag. Now that I’ve left the Book Shop, here they are helping me with the plants,” Sue noted of her time working with alumnae volunteers. “Sometimes alumnae give me plants from their own collections, which is wonderful. They come to campus and do mulching, cleaning up, and

“Driving heavy machinery is pretty cool! It gives me a better vantage point from up there. I think people on campus like to see a female doing these things.”

—Sue Hostetler

cutting vines with me. They’re hands-on people; I love it.”

One of Sue’s favorite projects was when she and alumnae volunteers cleared out a large area in front of Elston Inn, including clearing and hauling away debris. Large rocks were placed in the area to serve as a focal point as one of the first things you see when you arrive at the guard house.

“I don’t think I felt that kind of alumnae support in previous positions when I was on other campuses. It has been really unique in terms of the actual support, enthusiasm, and energy of this alumnae base. I hope they always keep it up!” she said.

Another favorite project has been refreshing the area in between Fletcher Hall and the Mary Helen Cochran Library. The library’s patio was recently replaced, creating the opportunity to fill in the blank canvas with a new landscaping installment. The project included mulching and relocating large rocks and woodland ferns to the area, as well as planting gardenias and a collection of bulbs. The space also includes a bench and slate

pathways to nearby doors. Part of Sue’s job entails taking a sustainable approach to projects, searching for plants and natural resources from elsewhere on campus rather than bringing in new supplies.

“It’s like being ‘Dora the Explorer.’ We might be out looking for rocks, the best ferns, or gardenias left over from another project,” she playfully joked about seeking out items for this recent design.

Outside of plants and all that comes along with caring for them, Sue delights in nature’s other creatures, enjoying seeing the many animals that call Sweet Briar home as well. In the Guion greenhouse, she recently stumbled upon praying mantis cocoons, a species that devours other insects that devour plants and made for a welcome addition to the indoor environment. While she has to take into consideration where she plants things deer might like to munch on, Sue enjoys seeing them around campus, as with the birds, squirrels, groundhogs, and rabbits she crosses paths with.

“I love being outdoors. We have a beautiful campus,” she said. “Every time I turn around, I find something else beautiful to look at.”

Staff Conversations

Q&A with Jazé Spradley, Campus Safety Officer II

By Clélie Steckel

This February, I had the opportunity to sit down with Jazé Spradley, one of our campus safety officers and the son of Wanda Spradley ’09, Sweet Briar’s director of financial aid and an employee since 1985. I wanted to learn more about Jazé’s career in Campus Safety, as well as his experience on campus as a child. As a child of two former Sweet Briar employees, I can certainly relate.

Clélie Steckel: What are some of your earliest memories of Sweet Briar?

Jazé Spradley: Some of my earliest memories of Sweet Briar are attending the campus school and

learning how to swim in the pool in the Williams Gymnasium from the Sweet Briar swim team. I also remember onion rings and chocolate milk at the Bistro when it was still inside the Wailes Center.

CS: Did you come to campus after school? What other activities did you do on campus?

JS: I rode the school bus from the school every day to the Bistro when it moved to the Vixen Den, which allowed me to hang out and

do homework and create mischief on campus with all the rest of the campus kids.

CS: Tell me more about the mischief, please.

JS: We were able to go around and use department golf carts. No one would ever say anything. We climbed trees. I don’t really remember a huge Campus Safety presence back then, or we just didn’t get in trouble for much.

CS: What did you see and observe about your mom’s job at Sweet Briar while you were growing up?

JS: Growing up, I noticed that there were a lot of students and families that came to her for help. She was always able to help them in some way. If she didn’t know the answer, she was always able to find an answer. She knew who to get them in contact with.

CS: What do you remember about the process of your mom earning her degree at Sweet Briar?

JS: My mom is by far one of the hardest workers I’ve known in my life. She taught me to never quit anything that I’ve ever started, and to follow through with things. I witnessed my mom have a full-time job during the day, a part-time job that she would go to immediately after most days of the week and the evenings as well, as well as attending classes to earn her degree at Sweet Briar. She would also attend classes at any given opportunity that she could work it out into her busy schedule.

CS: When did you come to work at Sweet Briar and what was your first job here?

JS: I started in summer programs in May 2008. I worked summer programs every summer while I was in high school. When high school finished and before I went to college at Concord University, I worked in the Cochran Library, and I helped transition the old library into the new library. I moved all the books from the old stacks to the new stacks.

CS: I remember you were in the Air Force. What did you do in the USAF? What came after that and before coming to work at Sweet Briar?

JS: Before coming to work at Sweet Briar, I was a cop in the world’s greatest Air Force. The career field is called Security Forces. I served most of my enlistment stationed at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota, where I helped safeguard nuclear weapons. The things I was learning about nuclear weapons, they didn’t want to teach everyone in the Air Force, so I had to stay at that base for my full enlistment. If I wanted to retire from the Air Force, it would’ve been 20 years of service. I joined to travel. So, when my first enlistment was up after five and a half years, I chose to go home.

CS: What made you want to work in Campus Safety?

JS: Around the time I planned to get out of the Air Force, I knew I wanted to move back home. When I was looking at different jobs that were available in the area, Sweet Briar Campus Safety was a no brainer for me. What better job could I ask for? I was going to quickly get back involved with the community and help rebuild the campus culture that I had witnessed before the closure attempt.

CS: Having grown up around campus with your mom working here, how has your perspective on Campus Safety evolved from being a “campus kid” to now serving as an officer? What insights do you think the experience of growing up here give you?

JS: I feel that growing up on campus helped me understand the traditions and unique outlook Sweet Briar has. I feel that I can help the students in more ways by knowing who and where to find the information or help when they need it.

CS: Watching your mom work here, spending time on campus growing up, and now working here yourself, how does your

connection to Sweet Briar influence your relationship-building with students, faculty, and staff?

JS: I found having such a strong connection to Sweet Briar makes my job easy in so many ways, like the ability to connect with the students, faculty, and staff on a personal level and not just as a policy enforcer. Growing up in the community, I understand a lot of what the students have to go through on a day-to-day basis.

CS: Sweet Briar prides itself on our close-knit community. How does having grown up here affect your ability to balance professional duties with personal connections?

JS: Sweet Briar, or the “Pink Bubble” is what I call it, is a very close community. It makes it a home away from home. It’s easier to communicate on a personal level. It doesn’t matter what level of administration or whether it’s a senior or a first-year, I seem to get respect, so it’s not difficult to do the necessary role of my job.

CS: What stories or lessons from your mom’s time working here have shaped your understanding of Sweet Briar’s culture and traditions?

JS: Having grown up here and attending the campus school, she would always say, “Treat people the way you want to be treated.” And being the kid of an employee, and now an employee myself, I have had the privilege of seeing and attending many things that Sweet Briar has to offer.

CS: Does anything stand out in particular?

JS: Just last year, when we had Bethany Pace, a descendant of the Fletcher family, speak at Founder’s Day, it really touched me. I don’t know if it was just up until that moment, I didn’t really realize the impact that the slaves and the ancestry had on the College and what they built. So, at that time, I gained a greater understanding.

CS: What unique challenges and advantages do you experience

Above:

Jazé and Wanda Spradley at a luau-themed Parents’ Day at the Sweet Briar Preschool.

Jazé Spradley with his dad, Darryl, and a friend fishing at Sweet Briar’s Upper Lake.

Jazé Spradley proudly shows off his artwork at an exhibition in Benedict Gallery as a child.

Jazé and his classmates from the campus school.

Left: Wanda and Jazé Spradley walk together on campus.

in your role, given that many longtime community members knew you growing up?

JS: I feel having grown up here, I have a huge responsibility of promoting a positive image of Campus Safety. Some feel that we are only here to enforce the rules and policies. We as Campus Safety are so much more than that, and I think it’s important for me to get the new incoming officers trained in such a way that they learn and understand the Sweet Briar traditions.

Alumna Profile

Lendon Gray ’71 Recognized with the 2024 USEF Lifetime Achievement Award

By Rachel Balsley

FFollowing decades of riding and service to the equestrian community, Lendon Gray ’71 was recognized with the 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award by the US Equestrian Federation (USEF) in December.

Lendon has loved horses since she was a small child. During an interview by US Equestrian, Lendon remarked she was on a horse before she could walk. She officially began her riding career when her mother, Corrine Gray ’36, started a Pony Club in Old Town, Maine in 1956. Earning her A-rating at age 16, she was an eventer through high school while she also earned money breaking ponies. When she arrived at Sweet Briar College in 1967, she transitioned to the American Forward Riding System under tutelage of the late Paul D. Cronin, director of riding at the time. After graduating in 1971, she taught at the College for three years before getting a job in Alabama starting young horses for eventing. Much of Lendon’s early career became defined by her transition to dressage, in which she began competing at 27. She made a name for herself riding Seldom Seen, the first horse she trained all the way to the Grand Prix and who helped redefine the type of horse that could compete in dressage.

Lendon Gray competes in dressage early in her career.

Sweet Briar Alumnae

Lendon’s highly-decorated career was accented by numerous awards and milestones, including multiple Olympic qualifications, winning five gold medals at U.S. Olympic Festivals, receiving a Congressional Gold Medal following the 1980 Olympic boycott, and competing in dressage at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. She also represented the country in the 1991 International Federation for Equestrian Sports World Cup Final in Paris and the 1978 World Championships.

“The thing that I think I got most out of [my time at the Olympics] in many ways was watching the training of other sports because we don’t see other sports,” she said. “For me, it was the Olympic experience…Just being part of the whole thing, that was amazing.”

The accolades and honors Lendon has received are plentiful, including the Governor’s Award from the Maine Sports Hall of Fame, Exceptional Equine Educator Award, American Riding Instructors Association Master Instructor Award, as a U.S. Pony Club National Instruction Legend, and Most Influential Trainer Award from Young/ Youngish Equine Professionals Group. Lendon was inducted into the Sweet Briar College Athletics & Riding Hall of Fame in 2006

and the Roemer Foundation/U.S. Dressage Foundation Hall of Fame in 2011.

Lendon rode various breeds of horses in many styles throughout her successful show career before beginning her decades-long commitment to teaching youth riders. In 1999, she founded Dressage4Kids, which according to its mission statement, “provides educational and competitive opportunities to youth riders and the adults who support them.”

That same year, Dressage4Kids held the inaugural Youth Dressage Festival. Through coaching, her impact on dressage and youth riders has had an immeasurable impact on the international riding community.

“I love teaching…Just as I love taking any horse and making it better, I love taking any kid and helping him or her become a better rider and to enjoy it,” Lendon said.

In addition to teaching and holding countless clinics, Lendon has contributed her years of expertise to written publications such as the Chronicle of the Horse, Dressage Today, Horse People, and Equine Journal. She also authored Lessons with Lendon: 25 Progressive Dressage Lessons Take You from Basic “Whoa and Go” to Your First Competition in 2003.

Having previously served on nearly 50 committees for various

“I love teaching…Just as I love taking any horse and making it better, I love taking any kid and helping him or her become a better rider and to enjoy it.”

—Lendon Gray ’71

riding organizations, she is currently the chair of the board for the Dressage Foundation and a member of the Sweet Briar College Board of Directors.

Lendon was presented with her USEF Lifetime Achievement Award during the Pegasus Awards Dinner at the 2025 US Equestrian Annual Meeting on Jan. 23, 2025. When receiving her award, Lendon recounted some of her experiences, including touching on her time at Sweet Briar studying under Cronin. She also gave thanks to those who have helped her along the way.

“Thank you very much to everyone at USEF…and especially thank you to the wonderful horses that have given me an opportunity, and the amazing volunteers that are behind what I do that make it possible for me to stand up here, but they all should be up here with me. Thank you.”

Fern Feldman and Lendon Gray at a Dressage4Kids event.

A Day in the Life

Alia Peets

“There are three reasons why I chose Sweet Briar as my college: It has an amazing biology program, it has track and field and cross country programs, and for my friends.”

7-7:45 a.m.

Wake up and get ready

7:50-8:10 a.m.

Breakfast in Prothro Dining Hall

8:20–9:50 a.m.

Genetics with Dr. Nick Kinney

11–11:55 a.m.

Piano lesson

12 p.m.

Lunch with friends in Prothro Dining Hall

1:30–2 p.m.

Weekly RA meeting with Residence Life Coordinator

Max Cirillo

2–3:30 p.m.

Relax in dorm room

3:30–4:30 p.m.

Appointment with Head Athletic Trainer

Devon Schmitz

4:30–6:30 p.m.

Track & field practice

6:45–7:15 p.m.

Team dinner

8-9 p.m.

Studying in the Meta Glass Study Room

9–10 p.m.

Evening routine

I actually have no experience in playing the piano, so just learning the keys, learning to place my fingers, and learning to read music notes has been really fun.”

22 Sweet Briar Alumnae Magazine

Onward & Upward

From Classroom to Gallery

The journey of a studio art major

By Rachel Balsley

Small class sizes. Close relationships with faculty. A beautiful and engaging campus. These are the characteristics highlighted most often about Sweet Briar College, showcasing what we view as our biggest strengths. Our size and location directly benefit students, offering them more opportunities, personalized instruction, and inspiration from our natural environment. This is certainly the case for Sweet Briar’s studio art program.

“What’s unique about our program is the variety of artistic disciplines we’re able to offer at such a small institution, and the level of depth in those specific areas that our faculty are able to provide to our students,” said Shawn O’Connor, assistant professor and head of the studio art program.

To build their overall understanding and skills, studio

“The thing that some people might not know about our studio art program is the astonishing talent of our faculty,” said Dr. Robert Quillen Camp, director of the Kelley and C.T. Fitzpatrick Center for Creativity, Design, and the Arts. “With Professor O’Connor, they get to study with a truly accomplished ceramicist. Professors Claire Stankus and

art students start with a variety of foundational classes, offering a breadth of experience before honing in on an area or two in which they will go into more depth.

“My favorite aspect of the studio art program is the opportunity to explore and try new art forms, even when I had little to no experience,” noted Sydney Harris ’25. “Every studio art class I have taken has been challenging in the best way, and I have truly enjoyed myself! One of the most rewarding parts of the program is how professors allow you to work at your own skill level. They don’t expect perfection but encourage you to set your boundaries, which looks different for everyone.”

Sydney Harris ’25 will exhibit her photography during the Senior Art Exhibition.

Lou Haney are widely exhibited painters who both, in very different ways, transform the everyday into striking original work. Students might also study with Professor Laura Pharis, a painter and printmaker who has been at Sweet Briar since 1990, and whose practice includes the creation of thoroughly one-of-a-kind artist’s books. Professor Medford Taylor came to Sweet Briar from a long and storied career in photojournalism, with work in National Geographic among many other places. At Sweet Briar, you get to work closely with these singular artists, who serve as mentors and models of creative lives in the arts.”

Throughout the program, studio art majors have access to not only our accomplished faculty, but also myriad campus resources to support them in their studies and individual creative processes. The campus itself serves as a source for endless inspiration with its varied landscapes, collection of vistas and forests, and even structures like greenhouses and historical buildings. Our Art Barn and ceramics studios, equipped with a custom wood-fired kiln, offer easy access to the spaces and equipment they need to pursue their passions.

“We have some really amazing studio spaces. The square footage, how well equipped they are, and the privilege to have a studio just for one class for a whole semester is incredible. Students can come and go as they please; these are their spaces,” noted O’Connor.

“If you are taking a class in a specific studio, that means you have nearly unlimited access to the studio, which makes being creative feel more flowstate rather than dictated by time and space,” noted Tris Cleaves ’25, one of this year’s five senior studio art majors.

Chief among the resources available to art students is Sweet Briar’s art collection, an impressive catalogue of work supported by the Friends of Art that any faculty member can use as an aid in their courses. A professor might reference the collection to help expand on color theory or showcase a piece in real life.

“A remarkable asset we have here at Sweet Briar is an art collection that enables studio art professors to share artists usually only found in art history books. The color and abstraction composition class dives into boxes of Josef and Anni Albers color theory works, while printmakers have William Blake and Kara Walker to explore,” said Director of Galleries and Museum Clare van Loenen. “The galleries also host contemporary artists, whose

work fuels classes like classical drawing and painting one and two. This ability to teach studio art practice with direct access to famed artists and emerging talents in the classroom and on our gallery walls is pretty special.”

Once students master the foundational classes and pursue other electives, the program culminates in the senior seminar, spanning both 12-week terms of a studio art major’s final year at Sweet Briar. During this time, their focus shifts to life after graduation, as well as the Senior Art Exhibition, a public show that opens in April and stays on display through May.

In the fall of their senior year, the student-artists are encouraged to evaluate their body of work and conceptualize what message they might want to use it to say. Students and faculty look at the work they have produced so far and generate an idea that they can effectively communicate and present in a professional manner during the exhibition.

“In the beginning, we spend a lot of time talking about concepts and content, and then figuring out which is the appropriate medium to use to communicate an idea. Most of our artists have a pretty wide range of experience within different media,” said O’Connor.

Throughout the semester, arts faculty weave in conceptual art theory, professional practices like writing an artist’s statement and how to earn grants, and visits from guest artists. These themes and goals carry over to the spring semester, which includes a workshop with Director of Career Services Barbara Watts about résumé writing and internship and job opportunities, as well as field trips to learn about the various areas within the arts sector such as nonprofit organizations and galleries like the Academy Center for the Arts and Steven Francis Gallery in Lynchburg, Va.

This year’s group of five seniors are using these experiences to consider several paths, including applying to graduate schools, seeking internship and job placements, or becoming an independent artist, which shares a number of attributes with owning a small business.

“Having a guest critique each senior’s work has been a really successful aspect of our program. It provides our seniors with an opportunity to walk away with a new perspective from a professional outside of the ‘Pink Bubble,’” commented O’Connor.

During the process of preparing for the exhibition, students also gain experience in curating an art show, including learning more about how to hang art and pair pieces to help tell a story that is both effective and visually pleasing. This year’s theme is “Inner Landscapes,” and while the work is not thematic overall from artist to artist, common threads around the concepts of identity and self can be found in each display, presenting work that is varied yet cohesive.

The Senior Art Exhibition includes artwork from the five

“There’s a common stereotype about the ‘starving artist’ and the question of ‘what do you do with an art degree?’ Well, you can do anything you want, really. An art degree teaches you to be creative and think critically, and that can be applied to any field of work,” O’Connor said.

As they continue into the spring semester, the senior artists assemble a body of work for the Senior Art Exhibition based on feedback from faculty, peers, and guests. A pillar of the senior seminar, an impartial professional in the field attends the exhibition and offers an honest and critical assessment of each student’s work, how it’s presented, and how successful it is at communicating ideas. This year’s guest was Chelsea Tinklenberg, assistant professor of art at the University of Lynchburg.

seniors ranging in medium, spanning ceramics, paintings, printmaking, sculptures, and photography. The show opened on April 4 and will be on display in Benedict Gallery until May.

The studio art program is one of several courses of study supported by the Kelley & C.T. Fitzpatrick Center for Creativity, Design, and the Arts. Alumnae, families, and friends interested in supporting the arts are encouraged to attend events on campus and make a gift to the Friends of Art at sbc.edu/ friends-groups.

Above Laci Walker ’25 practices printmaking.

Right Tris Cleaves ’25 works on a sculpture.

Diana Maury Robin ’57

By Rachel Balsley

a master’s degree from Teachers College, Columbia University. She then pursued a Ph.D. in classics from the University of Iowa, completing her dissertation on the subject, “The Manuscript Tradition of Oppian’s Halieutica.”

“All of my academic good fortune began with my B.A. from Sweet Briar, and it just continued from there,” noted Diana.

In recognition of an incredible life dedicated to academia, women studies, and the study of humanism in 15th- and 16th-century Italy, Diana Maury Robin ’57 was recently named the 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award winner by the Society for the Study of Early Modern Women and Gender (SSEMWG).

The author of 10 books, Diana has published extensively in her areas of expertise for decades. She has also served as a mentor to female scholars, stressing and elevating the importance of mentoring the younger generation and increasing the field of study on early modern women.

Diana graduated from Sweet Briar in 1957 before receiving

Since then, Diana has completed a number of prestigious fellowships and appointments, including her current role as Scholar-in-Residence for the Newberry Library in Chicago, Ill. She previously completed the Exxon Education Foundation Fellowship for Research; Rockefeller Fellowship in Gender Studies; Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation Research Fellowship in Venice, Italy; and received the National Endowment for the Humanities grant several times. A lifelong learner herself, Diana has also dedicated much of her life and career to teaching and mentoring students at the University of New Mexico for nearly 25 years, currently holding the title of professor emerita of classics. While at the university, Diana led the comparative literature and cultural studies program and served as the foreign languages and literatures department chair.

Diana has been honored countless times throughout her impressive career, highlighting her commitment to her subject areas and expertise in the field. In addition to her Lifetime Achievement Award, recognitions include the Howard R. Marraro Book Prize in Literature awarded by the Modern Language Association; Roland H. Bainton Book Prize in Reference awarded by the Sixteenth-Century Society; Society for the Study of Early Modern Women Book Award; Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Book Prize for the Translation of a Scholarly Work awarded by the Modern Language Association; and Rome Prize from the American Academy in Rome.

“I must say, this lifetime achievement award is the most impressive recognition I’ve received. I think it’s the top academic award you can receive. It means a lot,” she said.

Diana is currently working on two book projects: The Life of Ippolita Maria Sforza: A Renaissance Woman in Naples and Filelfo’s Women: Literary Portraits from the Italian Renaissance Courts Diana will be celebrated during SSEMWG’s annual member meeting this spring.

Summer Reading

Alumnae Authors

Find your summer reads from these alumnae author-submitted publications published from 2005–March 12, 2025.

Books

Fiction

Feast and Famine: The Last Great Heir by Carina Finn ’10 (2025)

Chop-it-Chip Quest of a Ninja Chef by Elaine Mathews Honeycutt ’06 (2025)

In the Palm of My Hand by Jennifer Parker Raudenbush ’95 (2023)

From Colonial Ceylon to Down Under by Christine Weerasinghe Hand ’77 (2022)

Life in All its Quirkiness by Christine Weerasinghe Hand ’77 (2022)

A Knight’s Duty by Wylie Jameson Small ’83 (2022)

A Wall of Bright Dead Feathers: Stories by Babette Fraser Hale ’65 (2021)

Nonfiction Books & Chapters

Nurtured in Narcissism by Tosha Brown ’16 (2025)

This Familiar Heart: An Improbable Love Story by Babette Fraser Hale ’65 (2024)

Sense and Synesthesia by Betsy Thomas Rook ’80 (2024)

The Herbalist’s Guide for the Sober Curious: 65 Garden to Glass Recipes by Leah Jorgensen Jean ’96 (2024)

The Caregiver’s Journey by May Carter Barger ’81 (Elizabeth Dell) (2024)

Income Taxation of Fiduciaries and Beneficiaries by Frances Dornette Schafer ’70 (2024) (published yearly)

“A Life on His Own Terms: Albert D.J. Cashier by 95th Illinois Infantry” by DeAnne Blanton ’85 published in Final Resting Places: Reflections on the Meaning of Civil War Graves (2023)

Epiphany: The Season of Glory by Fleming Parker Rutledge ’79 (2023)

The Creative Instigator’s Handbook: A DIY Guide to Making Social Change Through Art by Catherine O’Brien West ’99 (featured) (2022)

Means of Grace: A Year of Weekly Devotionals by Fleming Parker Rutledge ’79 (2021)

Walking the Stations in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains by Emmy Savage ’68 (2021)

Entrepreneuring the Future of Higher Education: Radical Transformation in Times of Profound Change by Mary Landon Darden ’74 (2021)

Cemeteries of Nelson County Virginia (Third Edition) by Elodie Taylor Thompson ’71 (2020)

Being the Organic Self by Claudine “C.C.” Clarke Elian ’72 (2020)

“An Unescorted Male: Transcending Gender at a Southern Women’s College” by Caden Campbell ’13 published in Trans People in Higher Education (2019)

Sew Bags: The Practical Guide to Making Purses, Totes, Clutches & More by Hilarie Wakefield Dayton ’95 (2019)

Three Hours: Sermons for Good Friday by Fleming Parker Rutledge ’79 (2019)

“Saving Naples: the King’s Malaria, the Barons’ Threat, and the Letters of Ippolita

Maria Sforza” by Diana Maury Robin ’57 published in The Renaissance of Letters: Knowledge and Community in Italy, 13001650 (2019)

Advent: The Once and Future Coming of Jesus Christ by Fleming Parker Rutledge ‘79 (2018)

Hostage and Duchess in Renaissance Naples. Letters and Orations by Ippolita Maria Sforza, edited and translated by Diana Maury Robin ’57 and Lynn Westwater (2017)

Aging Famously: Follow Those You Admire to Living Long and Well by Elizabeth Meade Howard ’60 (2017)

John Apperson’s Lake George by Ellen Apperson Brown ’72 (2017)

Write Makes Right: Writing Systems & Cultural Worldviews by Claudine “C.C.” Clarke Elian ’72 (2016)

The Crucifixion: Understanding the Death of Jesus Christ by Fleming Parker Rutledge ’79 (2015)

“Cultural Contexts: Gender” by Diana Maury Robin ’57 published in The Oxford Handbook of Neo-Latin Literature (2015)

Replacing the Saint by Lori Faust Williams ’81 (Liesel Auberon) (2015)

Horses and Other Voices by Letitia Sanders ’62 (2015)

Summer in the City by Laura Elkins ’74 (2015)

Equusology: Deciphering Human and Horse Typology by Carolyn Plybon Fitzpatrick ’93 (2015)

Craftivism: The Art and Craft of Activism, Catherine O’Brien West ’99 (contributor) (2014)

To Make Beautiful the Capitol: Rediscovering the Art of Constantino Brumidi compiled by Amy Elizabeth Burton ’90 (2013)

“A Renaissance Feminist Translation of Xenophon’s Oeconomicus” by Diana Maury Robin ’57 published in Roman Literature, Gender and Reception. Domina Illustris (2013)

“Intellectual Women in Early Modern Europe” by Diana Maury Robin ’57 published in The Ashgate Research Companion to Women and Gender in Early Modern Europe (2013)

“La Traduction par Alessandro Piccolomini de l’Économique de Xénophon” by Diana Maury Robin ’57 published in Alessandro Piccolomini (1508-1579). Un Siennois à la Croisée des Genres et des Savoirs. Actes du Colloque International (2012)

Materan Contradictions: Architecture, Preservation and Politics by Anne Toxey ’86 (2011)

Ottemiller’s Index to Plays in Collections by Denise L. Montgomery ’75 (2011)

And God Spoke to Abraham: Preaching from the Old Testament by Fleming Parker Rutledge ’79 (2011)

Potpourri of Pattern Encore by Ann Funkhouser Strite-Kurz ’63 (2010)

Beyond 2020: Envisioning the Future of Universities in America by Mary Landon Darden ’74 (2009)

The Odes of Francesco Filelfo. Latin Text, English translation, introduction, and commentary by Diana Maury Robin ’57 (2009)

Publishing Women: Salons, the Presses, and the Counter-Reformation in Sixteenth-Century Italy by Diana Maury Robin ’57 (2007)

Encyclopedia of Women in the Renaissance. Italy, France, and England, edited by Diana Maury Robin ’57, et al (2007)

Diaper Patterns by Ann Funkhouser Strite-Kurz ’63 (2007)

“Cathay Williams: A Black Woman Soldier, 1866-1868” by DeAnne Blanton ’85 published in Buffalo Soldiers in the West: A Black Soldiers Anthology (2007)

Not Ashamed of the Gospel: Sermons from Paul’s Letter to the Romans by Fleming Parker Rutledge ’79 (2007)

Introduction to the Law for Paralegals by Deborah Kocik Benton ’75 (2006)

The Yale Book of Quotations, Denise Montgomery ’75 (contributor) (2006)

Plantations of St. Bartholomew’s Parish, South Carolina, text by Nina Sledge Burke ’64 (2005)

Creative Canvas Couching by Ann Funkhouser Strite-Kurz ’63 (2005)

The Palisades of Washington, D.C. by Alice Fales Stewart ’64 (2005)

Britain and the Americas: Culture, Politics, and History by Denise Montgomery ’75 (contributor) (2005)

Poetry

Why Gertrude Stein & I Bought the Pink House Together by Anne Babson Carter ’61 (2024)

Escape Velocity by Cate McNider ’83 (2023)

Statue by Marianne Micros ’65 (2023)

Hush by Susan M. Craig ’73 (2022)

Master Suffering by CM Burroughs ’04 (2021)

Intersection on Neptune by Donna Mihalik Lee ’78 (2019)

Eye by Marianne Micros ’65 (2018)

Yesterday’s Water: A Caregiver’s Poem Journal by Sally McCrady Hubbard ’65 (2015)

The Vital System by CM Burroughs ’04 (2012)

Separation and Return by Cate McNider ’83 (2010)

Seventeen Trees by Marianne Micros ’65 (2007)

On the Altar of Greece by Donna Mihalik Lee ’78 (2006)

Scholarly Articles & Reports

Holland, Lucie Stephens, et al. “Nelson’s Earliest Settler Likely Had Bipolar Disorder.” Nelson County Historical Society, 2024

Garfield, Jan Keith, et al. “Using the Baldrige Excellence Framework to Improve Resilience and Long-Term Success.” Chronicle of Management and Leadership, vol. 3, no. 1, June 2024, pp. 13-36

Greenwood, Kelly Bowman. “The Workforce Housing Organization Housing Report.” The Pescadero Community Foundation, 6 Feb. 2022

Garfield, Jan Keith, et al. “Using the Baldrige Excellence Framework to Improve Organizational Resilience and Sustainability,” Baldrige Foundation Institute for Performance Excellence white paper, 11 Nov. 2021

Brown, Ellen Apperson. “Beyond the Classroom and the Laboratory: General Electric Scientists Sparked an Environmental Movement.” Adirondack Journal of Environmental Studies: vol. 23: no. 1, article 11, 2019

Brown, Ellen Apperson. “For the Love of Island Camping.” Adirondack Journal of Environmental Studies, vol. 22: no. 1, article 10, 2018

Joerger, Verena M., et al. “Ultrafine Particle Number Concentrations and Size Distributions around an Elevated Highway Viaduct.” Atmospheric Pollution Research, vol. 9, no. 4, 1 Feb. 2018, pp. 714–722

Robin, Diana Maury, et al. “Ippolita Maria Sforza.” The Literary Encyclopedia. 9 Sept. 2018

Joerger, Verena M. “Mobile Measurements of Ultrafine Particles Near an Urban, Elevated, High-Traffic Roadway.” ProQuest LLC, Master thesis, 30 May, 2017

Boyce, Stacey Sickels. “Saving Sweet Briar.” CASE Currents. 10 May, 2027

Joerger, Verena M., et al. “Empirical Estimates of Size-Resolved Precipitation Scavenging Coefficients for Ultrafine Particles.” Atmospheric Environment, vol. 143, 11 Aug. 2016, pp. 133–138

Robin, Diana Maury. “The Lyric Voices of Vittoria Colonna and the Women of the Giolito Anthologies, 1545–1559.” BRILL EBooks, 1 Jan. 2016, pp. 431–466

Joerger, Verena M., et al. “Postfire Influences of Snag Attrition on Albedo and Radiative Forcing.” Geophysical Research Letters, vol. 41, no. 24, 20 Nov. 2014, pp. 9135–9142

Robin, Diana Maury. “Women on the Move: Trends in Anglophone Studies of Women in the Italian Renaissance.” I Tatti Studies in the Italian Renaissance, vol. 16, no. 1/2, 2013, pp. 13–25

Robin, Diana Maury. “The Breasts of Vittoria Colonna.” California Italian Studies, vol. 3, no. 1, 2012

Taggart, Deryth, et al. “Logging Across Borders and Cultures: An Example in Northern Maine.” Forest Products Journal, vol. 61, no. 7, Nov. 2011, pp. 561–569

Lynch, Erin. “My Reporting Requires a Full Staff—Help!” SAS Institute, paper 291, 2011

Robin, Diana Maury. “The Canonization of Italian Women Writers in Early Modern Britain.” Early Modern Women, vol. 6, 2011, pp. 43–78

Purvis, Deborah Bramhall, et al. “Aviation security: An evaluation of the ‘opt-out’ option for airport operators,” Journal of Airport Management, vol. 4(1), pages 51-71, September, 2009

Farquhar, Sue Wakeman. “‘Vera Philosophia’ and Law in Montaigne’s ‘de La Cruauté.’” L’Esprit Créateur, vol. 46, no. 1, 2006, pp. 39–50.

Farquhar, Sue Wakeman. “On Civility: The Model of Sparta in Montaigne’s ‘Defence De Seneque Et De Plutarque.’” Civilization in French and Francophone Literature, BRILL, 2006

Farquhar, Sue Wakeman. “‘Toutes Passions Mises En Arriere. ..’ the Emotions in Legal Perspective: Montaigne and the Palace Academy at Blois.” MLN, vol. 120, no. 1, 1 Jan. 2005, pp. S124–S140

Smith, Holly. “Garden Square News.” twice-yearly magazine, 1995-present

Faculty Publications

March 2024–February 2025

Becky Bivens, Ph.D.

Visiting Assistant Professor of Art History

Publication:

• “An Unlikely Match: Modernism and Feminism in Lynda Benglis’s Contraband” Arts 13, no. 3: 106 (2024).

Accepted for publication:

• “‘Sensuality Purged of Sentiment’: Lucy Lippard, Deadpan Eroticism, and Automatic Affect,” in AI, Automation, and Abstraction, edited by Ian Rothwell and Daniel Neofetou. London: Goldsmiths Press Conference presentation: “Abstract Expression: Helen Frankenthaler and Sonya Rudikoff,” presented at the Southeastern College Art Conference “Art of the US Open Session I: New Considerations in Feminist Art History” panel, October 2024.

Ashlyn Brady-Lusk, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Psychology

• Paper presented at the International Association for Relationship Research Conference in Boston, MA, July 5-9, 2024: “Women are more sexually satisfied in their romantic relationships than are men.”

Sandy Duis, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Psychology

Presentation:

• Duis, S. & Bradshaw, E. (11/2023)

Current Best Practices in the Assessment of Learning Disabilities, Lynchburg Area Clinical Psychologists.

Tracy Hamilton, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Visual Arts: Art History

• Invited to Loyola University in Chicago to deliver the paper,

“Mapping Women in Late Medieval Paris” and to present a workshop, “Using Digital Mapping in Your Research” on September 22-23.

• Invited to present the paper, “Women’s Networks: Digitally Mapping the Exchange of Manuscripts and Metalwork,” and lead discussion for Collective Wisdom From Medieval Women’s Networks: Exploring Techniques and Tools for Digital Analysis. An online event sponsored by the Center for Digital and Public Humanities, University of Missouri-Kansas City, the Research Group on Manuscript Evidence, and the Digital Medievalist (October 17-18).

Joshua Harris, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Music and Music Program Chair

• Was the Featured Composer at Christopher Newport University’s Contemporary Music Festival. He taught a masterclass to CNU composition students and gave a lecture on his music. CNU also presented a full concert of his music.

Shawn O’Connor, M.F.A.

Studio Art Division Head, Assistant Professor of Visual Arts: Studio Art Award:

Best Functional Pottery; 25th San Angelo National Ceramics Competition Exhibitions: In Hand (Juried) Mikhail Zakin Gallery at The Art School at Old Church, Demarest, NJ

• SIP: A Ceramic Cup Show (Juried) Savannah Clay Community, Savannah, GA

• 25th San Angelo National Ceramic Competition (Juried) San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, San Angelo, TX

• Clay National XVIII: The Handle, Carbondale Clay Center, Carbondale, CO

• 14th Annual Workhouse Clay International, Workhouse Arts Center, Lorton, VA

Chris Penfield, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Philosophy

Publication:

• Penfield, Chris (2024). ‘Deleuze and Foucault’s Virtual Ontology of the Event,’ Deleuze and Guattari Studies, Volume 18, Issue 4: 517-541.

Leighann Pennington, Ed.D.

Assistant Professor of Education

Publications: Hock, M. & Pennington, L.N. (2024, Mar. 29). Leveraging Feedback to Support Pre-Service Teacher Development: Strategies and Insights from the Field. Association of Teacher Educators’ (ATE) Annual Meeting, Anaheim, CA.

• Pennington, L.N., Hock, M. & Kimball, M. (2024, Feb 29-Mar. 1). Pairing YAL and the Canon: Strategies for Developing Engagement, Critical Thinking, and Social Justice Competencies. Summit on the Research and Teaching of Young Adult Literature, National Council for Teachers of English ELATE Commission (virtual conference).

• Hock, M. & Pennington, L.N. (2024). Creating and modifying effective assessments. VASCD Journal.

• Hock, M. & Pennington, L.N. (2024, Nov.). Cultivating critical thinking through canonical and noncanonical Texts: Using a social justice framework to shape curriculum and instruction. In M. Shoffner and M. George (Eds.). International Perspectives on English as an Emancipatory Subject: Promoting Equity, Justice, and Democracy through ELA. IFTE, Vol. 5. Conference Presentations:

• Pennington, L.N. & Smucker, A. (2024). Making the most of mentorship: Relationship-building and effective communication with your mentors. Virginia Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development (VASCD) Annual Conference, Dec 3-5, 2024. Williamsburg, VA.

• Smucker, A. & Pennington, L.N. (2024). Supporting mentor teacher/

pre-service teacher partnerships through building relationships and problem-solving. Virginia Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development (VASCD) Annual Conference, Dec 3-5, 2024. Williamsburg, VA.

Lisa Powell, Ph.D.

STEM Division Head, Director of the Center for Human and Environmental Sustainability, Associate Professor of Environmental Science and Agriculture

• Co-Authored Article: Kerry Renwick, Lisa Jordan Powell, Gabrielle Edwards, Understanding practice architectures in food systems education: A case study,Teaching and Teacher Education, Volume 142, May 2024

Brent Shea, Ph.D.

Professor of Sociology (Emeritus & Adjunct)

• External evaluator, Sociology program decennial review, Randolph College, March 2024.

• Invited expert commentary on individual and societal solutions for unhealthy behaviors, WalletHub personal finance site, March 2024.

• Participant, meetings of the Epidemic Intelligence Service, CDC, Atlanta, April 2024.

Panelist, “Bridges and barriers to participation: supporting sociologists at small colleges” and presenter, “Who needs sociology: reflections of a participant observer,” Southern Sociological Society Annual Conference, New Orleans, April 2024.

• Collaborator and contributor, “SDG 3 and WHO’s ‘Health for All’ Initiative,” Marvin Cheung, Editor, System-Wide Transformation Methods to Close the Compliance Gap and Advance the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (preprint}.

• Presenter, “Health and healthcare as incongruent human rights” and Chair, “Human Rights and Public Health” Session, Academic Council of the United Nations Conference, UN University and University of Tokyo, June 2024.

Presenter, “Developing a survey for assessing conference formats,” The Future of Scientific Conferencing Workshop, Office of Social and Behavioral Sciences Research, National Institutes of Health, June 2024.

• Author, “An ongoing narrative review

of portrayals of over-diagnosis and over-treatment in medical journals,” accepted for “Illness Narratives and Contested Illnesses” Session, European Sociology Association Annual Conference, Porto, Portugal, August 29.

Claire Stankus, M.F.A.

Adjunct Assistant Professor of Studio Art

• Featured in a group artist exhibition of 13 local and regional female painters titled, “Ecosystems” at Gallery360 in Roanoke. On view from October 4–November 22.

Anne Elise Thomas, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Performing Arts: Music Performance: “Istiwanat Live,” a collaborative performance/lecture at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress in Washington DC on June 5, 2024. Conference presentation:

• “Teaching Palestine through Music, Dance and the Arts.” Roundtable presented by Nili Belkind, Andrea Shaheen Espinosa, David McDonald, Hanna Salmon, Shayna Silverstein, and Anne Elise Thomas. Annual Meeting of the Society for Ethonomusicology (Online), October 17, 2024

Erica Trabold, M.F.A.

Assistant Professor of English and Creative Writing

• Selected as a Kolaj Institute artist-inresidence. From April 7-13, 2024, she traveled to Sanquhar, Scotland, to begin a new body of work that fuses collage and found poetry. Collages made during the residency period will be exhibited at Kolaj Fest 2025 in New Orleans and reproduced in an accompanying publication.

• Her anthology The Lyric Essay as Resistance: Truth From the Margins (Wayne State University Press, 2023) was named a finalist for both the Foreword Indies Book of the Year Awards and the Midwest Book Awards. Winning titles will be announced in summer 2024.

• 2024 Midwest Book Award, The Lyric Essay as Resistance: Truth From the Margins Interview:

• “How (Not) to Define a Lyric Essay” (with Heidi Czerwiec). True Magazine. August 9, 2024

Art feature:

“Circling the Square.” The Journal, The Ohio State University. May 29, 2024

• Recent exhibitions (collage): Amuse-Bouche, Le Mieux Galleries, New Orleans, LA; Virginia Artists Juried Exhibition, Charles H. Taylor Visual Arts Center, Hampton, VA (Honorable Mention)

Recent group exhibitions (collage): Ikebana, Pequeña Galería, Madrid, Spain; Modern Fluxus: Contemporary Mail Art FromAround the World, Little Gallery, Bowling Green State University Firelands, Huron, OH

Dwana Waugh, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of History, Social Sciences & Humanities Division Head Publication:

“Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Revisited: ‘Choice,’ Race and Housing in Charlotte’s Public Schools and Communities.” North Carolina Historical Review, vol. 101, no. 3 (July 2024): 305-333.

Forthcoming Publication:

• “Remembering the Past, Looking toward the Future: The Role of Memory and Racial Healing in the Preservation of R.R. Moton High.” in Prince Edward County, Virginia School Closing: A Compilation of Research Studies, ed. Terence Hicks. Charlotte, North Carolina: Information Age Publishing, Inc., 2025.

Community Support: Sweet Briar College students benefit from local foundation scholarships

SSweet Briar fully embraces its position in the regional community as a hub for education and culture, partnering with regional organizations to open the College’s doors to local students.

The Al Stroobants Foundation, Greater Lynchburg Community Foundation (GLCF), and Foster Fuels have been making an impact on the campus community for years through scholarships and grant support.

“Support from local organizations like these demonstrates the reciprocal value of partnerships between Sweet Briar and surrounding communities. We envision strengthening these bonds for years to come,” said President Mary Pope M. Hutson ’83.

Each year, the Al Stroobants Foundation and Sweet Briar partner to fund the tuition of one or two scholars hailing from the City of Lynchburg or Amherst, Appomattox, Bedford, or Campbell Counties in Virginia. The awarded grants cover full tuition costs for each first-year recipient.

“The Al Stroobants scholarship is one of the best grants that could be given to a student in the surrounding areas of the College,” said Hannah Brooks ’27. “I am so thankful to be given

Ciara Nauful ’26, GLCF scholarship recipient, accepts an award from Dean Greenstein.

Sweet Briar Alumnae

the scholarship for my first year attending a four-year college, and I will forever be proud to say that I was the young woman to be awarded such a scholarship.”

Founded in 2006, the Al Stroobants Foundation started funding grants to Sweet Briar students in the 2018–2019 academic year. Since then, 13 students have received scholarships, helping them pursue their educational goals. Grants received over the past seven years have surpassed a total of $300,000. The foundation continues Al Stroobants’s legacy of caring and providing for others through charitable giving following a life as an entrepreneur.

“The Al Stroobants Scholarship has allowed me to focus primarily on receiving my education without having to worry about financial stress that could potentially take away from my educational experience,” said Brianna Grooms ’28.

Also based in Lynchburg, the GLCF provides grants and scholarships to regional entities, helping residents and organizations create a charitable legacy. GLCF grants support student tuition, providing partial scholarships to first-year students with promise and financial need residing in the City of Lynchburg or Amherst, Appomattox, Bedford, or Campbell Counties. Since Sweet Briar students started receiving these grants in 2019, 12 students have benefited from GLCF funding, totaling more than $56,000. Outside of scholarships, GLCF has also supported other projects on campus since 2017, including several grants to improve the College’s trails system.

“It means a lot to me to receive local support from the Greater Lynchburg Community Foundation, as they are helping me to afford my college experience. My ultimate career goal is to give back to my communities and empower students on their career paths, much like the GLCF has already

Top: Brianna Grooms ’28, Al Stroobants Foundation scholarship recipient, participates in a Cookie and Canvas Night activity.

Bottom: Hannah Brooks ’27, Al Stroobants Foundation scholarship recipient, (middle) and classmates take part in a Daisy Ceremony.

students have benefited from support from the Al Stroobants Foundation and GLCF since 2018 and 2019, respectively. —Brianna Grooms ’28

“The Al Stroobants Scholarship has allowed me to focus primarily on receiving my education without having to worry about financial stress that could potentially take away from my educational experience.”

done for me,” scholarship recipient Ciara Nauful ’26 said.

Foster Fuels, through the Watt Foster Family Foundation, has made a five-year pledge of $100,000 to establish a scholarship for young women in our region to be awarded to students from the City of Lynchburg or Amherst, Appomattox, Bedford, Campbell, Halifax, Nelson, or Charlotte Counties. Foster Fuels has been serving Virginia residents since 1921.

From business majors to visual artists, students receiving scholarships from these local organizations range in major, ethnicity, background, and interests, helping make Sweet Briar an even more vibrant place.

“This support from these local organizations is invaluable to Sweet Briar, its students, and the local community. We look forward to more area students choosing to attend Sweet Briar many years into the future,” President Hutson said.

Of Note

The Princeton Review’s 2025 Best Colleges: Region by Region —

Sweet Briar College was recently named to The Princeton Review’s 2025 Best Colleges: Region by Region list. The list recognizes 631 colleges in seven zones, with Sweet Briar lauded as a top school in the Mid-Atlantic. The Mid-Atlantic list includes institutions in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and West Virginia that The Princeton Review considers “academically outstanding and well worth consideration in the college search.”

Education Program Accreditation

Sweet Briar’s Teacher Education Program is once again fully accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP). The complex reaccreditation process was led by the program’s dedicated director and faculty. The program will undergo the accreditation process again in the 2028-2029 academic year.

ROSE Leadership Conference

On March 1, eight students held the 4th Annual ROSE Leadership Conference on campus, sharing their insights and the leadership skills they developed through their participation in the ROSE program. The students led five interactive workshops ranging in topic, including presentations on “Self-Care as a Leader” and “How to Work as a Team.” The ROSE program was created as a part of the College’s Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) through accreditation with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). This co-curricular leadership program invites a cohort of students to strengthen their leadership skills through self-assessments, learn about teamwork and conflict management, and explore leadership theory.

Alumna’s $5M Bequest to Benefit Capital Needs of Sweet Briar

Sweet Briar College recently received a transformational $5 million bequest from the estate of Donna “Jan” Pridmore ’71, who passed away in February 2024.

Jan studied philosophy at Sweet Briar before earning a master’s degree and pursuing a Ph.D. from Boston University and returning to her home state of Florida. A lifelong learner with an affinity for literature and philosophy, she launched the website “Literary History” for students, which won an award from the New York Public Library.

Jan was also actively involved in her family’s business, Pridmore Corporation, a certified distributor of passive components, semiconductors, connectors, and electro-mechanical components founded in 1965. In 2000, the family transferred management of the corporation to Jan, who ran the company until its dissolution in 2017.

This sizable bequest will benefit Sweet Briar’s capital needs, including maintenance to existing academic buildings such as the Babcock Fine Arts Center and Guion Science Center. These integral learning spaces on campus provide outlets for creativity, innovation, and exploration. Updates will provide students the resources they need to pursue their academic passions while creating a more just and sustainable world.

Earned the Rosé Earns Gold

Following its inaugural entry to the Commonwealth of Virginia Governor’s Cup 2025 wine competition, Sweet Briar College Farm earned three top awards: the 2023 Earned the Rosé earned a gold medal while both the 2023 Leading the Way Chardonnay and 2023 Meadow Merlot earned silver medals. Recipients of the gold medal in the competition are included in the Virginia Gold Medal Wine Trail, which launched in March. To stay up to date on all of Sweet Briar College Farm’s agricultural products

Track & Field’s Debut Season

This year marks the track and field program’s first season as the newest addition to Vixen Athletics. With both indoor and outdoor seasons, the new track and field program was met with much interest from the student body and recruits. The inaugural season kicked off this winter as the team made steady improvement, setting a series of college records and achieving personal bests. Following five meets, the first indoor season ended at the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Indoor Championship on March 1. The team’s first outdoor season began later in March.

Sweet Briar College Equestrian

IHSA Zone IV, Region IV Finals

Champions

Region IV Coach of the Year: Lizzie Fisch

Lauren Burns Memorial Sportsmanship Award: Sarah Southard ’25

Team and three individual riders qualified for Zone Finals

NCEA ODACs

Single Discipline Runner Up Most Outstanding Performer Over Fences: Maggie Booth ’26

Head-to-Head Most Outstanding

Performer Over Fences: Maggie Booth ’26

Head-to-Head Most Outstanding

Performer Flat: Wyette Felton ’26

ARNC National Championships

3rd Place Overall Novice Team

1st Place Written Team

4th Place Program Ride Time

3rd Place Derby Team

2nd Place Medal Team

Best of luck to the riders and teams facing post-season competition in April and May after this edition goes to print!

Prevailing

The seven members of the Board of Saving Sweet Briar, Inc. used their knowledge and experience in their personal and professional lives to save our beloved college. We are forever grateful to them for their incredible dedication to Sweet Briar and their immense contributions to thwart the attempted closure.

Christine David Boulware ’77

Sarah Clement ’75 (Chair)

Sally Mott Freeman ’76

Jo Ann Soderquist Kramer ’64

Brooke Linville ’04

Ellen Ober Pitera ’93

Tracy Stuart ’93

2015 Since

10 Years of Sweet Briar Success

ON MARCH 3, 2015, members of the Sweet Briar College community received the shocking announcement that the College would close that June. Except it didn’t. Thousands of these community members, including students, alumnae, faculty, staff, retirees, former employees, friends, and even local businesses, said “not on our watch.” In the span of four months, these groups banded together to organize legal efforts to save the College, raise money, spread awareness, and give advice on a smooth transition to new leadership.

Since that time, Sweet Briar College and the members of the community that support it have shown what it really means to make a comeback. As the Honorable James Updike, Judge of the Bedford County Circuit Court, said in his ruling in 2015, “Sweet Briar College will not merely endure, it will prevail.” Read more about Sweet Briar’s movements from strength to strength in the timeline that follows and learn about what’s ahead.

Reactivating Our Agricultural Heritage

Building Academic Excellence

Improving Operations, Finances, and Visibility

Enhancing Student Life

Stewarding Historic Preservation Assets

Making Investments in Capital Projects

Illustrations by Brittany Fan

Sweet Briar conducted a comprehensive cost “reset” of tuition, room, board, and fees reducing tuition by 32%. The reduction was the result of careful analysis to make a Sweet Briar education competitive with selective public universities in Virginia, and highly competitive with out-of-state tuition rates.

In 2017, a faculty-led academic initiatives task force developed a proposal for three curricular changes: a core curriculum with a focus on women’s leadership; academic departments around three interdisciplinary “centers of excellence;” and a new academic calendar featuring a 3-12-12-3-week schedule to incorporate short terms dedicated to experiential learning opportunities.

Courts Resurfacing

Elston Inn Refresh Sweet Briar House Rehabilitation

In 2017, Sweet Briar College partnered with architecture, interior design, preservation, and planning firm Glave and Holmes to undergo a rehabilitation of the public spaces of Sweet Briar House.

Brown Family Apiary

Vineyards

In 2018, nearly 18 acres of vineyards were planted as a part of the College’s agricultural enterprises. Our vineyards now produce

As a part of the College’s agriculture enterprises, our 26,000-square-foot greenhouse was erected in 2019 and utilizes both hydroponic and soil-based growing spaces. Greenhouse

Sweet Briar Alumnae Magazine

2020

Women’s Leadership Core Curriculum Investments

Historic Structures Assessment by Mesick Cohen Wilson Baker Architects of 22 Buildings in the National Register Historic District

In 2017, Sweet Briar reset its core curriculum and tuition for excellence, relevance, and affordability.

Colton Stables Renovation

The College renovated the stables at the Harriet Howell Rogers Riding Center in 2020 thanks to a $1 million gift from Richard C. Colton, Jr. The stables were renamed the Howell Lykes Colton ’38 Stables in memory of his mother.

Named to U.S. News & World Report

List of Most Innovative Colleges in the Nation

Presidential Scholars Expansion

In 2019, the College announced a $5 million dollar gift to expand its Presidential Scholars program. Pictured here is President Hutson with a recent group of prospective Presidential Scholars.

Hiking Trails Rehabilitation

Bailey Room Renovation

In 2020, the College renovated the Bailey Room at the Harriet Howell Rogers Riding Center.

Named to U.S. News & World Report’s List of Most Innovative Colleges in the Nation

Kelsey Health Center

10-Year Reaffirmation of Sweet Briar Accreditation by SACSCOC

Outing Cabin Rehabilitation

Boathouse Rehabilitation

Sweet Briar College was most recently accredited in 2021 by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to award the Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Fine Arts, Bachelor of Science, and Master of Arts in Teaching.

Randolph Parlor Refresh

Gray Residence Hall Scoping Study

Pannell Scoping Study

Class of 1972 Student Commons Courtyard

The area formerly known as the “Lower Quad” was renamed for the Class of 1972 after the class raised more than $10 million to fund the renovation in honor of their 50th Reunion, along with raising funds for scholarships and improvements to parlors, kitchens, and lounge areas in all residence halls.

Reid Pit Renovation

Reid Residence Hall Parlor Refresh

Updates

Named to U.S. News & World Report’s List of Most Innovative Colleges in the Nation

Athletic Fields

In 2022, the College broke ground and completed the installation of both the Thayer Turf Field and the Meyer Soccer and Lacrosse Field, named for Mildred "Bee" Newman Thayer ’61 and Margot Saur Meyer ’60, respectively.

Sweet Briar Alumnae Magazine

Residence Hall Refreshes

From 2022–2023, kitchens and common areas in Carson, Dew, Grammer, Manson, Meta Glass, Randolph, and Reid Residence Halls received refreshes for students to enjoy, thanks to the Class of 1972. Pictured are students participating in an activity in the Reid Pit lounge.

Babcock Performing Arts Center Scoping Study

ABET Accreditation of Engineering Program Renewed

Sweet Briar offers one of only two degree-granting engineering programs at a women’s college in the U.S. The engineering science program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET.

Pool Renovations

Thanks to the generous support of the Perkins-Prothro Foundation and other donors, the Prothro Natatorium in the Fitness & Athletics Center underwent renovations during the summer of 2024, including replacing the metal halide lights with LED fixtures, replacing the ceiling and metal grid supporting the new lights, and updating existing electrical panels.

Guion Science Center Roof Rehabilitation

Board of Directors Approved Strategic Plan, September 2024

Developed 4+1 Partnerships with the University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, and the Institute for World Politics

Long-Term Bond Rating Raised by S&P Global to BB+ with a Stable Outlook

Clean Audits, with No Material Weaknesses for Four Years in a Row

2025

On the Horizon

Sweet Briar College successfully completed Phase I of its Where Women Lead campaign, including many of the capital improvements and scoping studies detailed in this timeline. Each of these successful efforts contributes to recruiting students, whether through investments in scholarships and academic programming or by investing in facilities to attract the next generation of young women who will go on to make a difference in the world. Other investments are embedded in the creation of the Women’s Leadership Core Curriculum and the expansion of the Presidential Scholars Program. It is now time to turn our attention to three more immediate needs to support our students.

First, Guion Science Center requires updates and renovations. As its name indicates, Guion is home to classes and labs in biology, chemistry, engineering, environmental science, mathematics, physics, and psychology. In summer 2024, the building was updated with a new roof, but we need to commit to a renovation. Future updates will include more open and flexible facilities that support collaboration and innovation while modernizing building systems to ensure safety, efficiency, and accessibility. Making these essential updates will ensure that we meet the needs of our students, 31% of whom are “Guionites.”

Colton Outdoor Arena

The Richard C. Colton, Jr. Arena provides an additional covered riding arena to be used for competitions, clinics, and instruction space.

Second, with its adjoining Bell Tower, Gray Residence Hall is one of Sweet Briar’s iconic historic buildings. Built in 1906, the building was reconfigured in the 1980s to move all student rooms to the second and third floors, and again in the 2000s to convert it from a residence hall to classrooms and offices for faculty and staff. To transition the building back to a residence hall, and one that meets the needs of our students and honors Sweet Briar’s historic architecture and its position on the National Register of Historic Places, Gray will be rehabilitated to its original purpose. Historic features such as floors, ceilings, fireplaces, and picture rails will be uncovered and return the building to its original appearance, while bringing the building up to code and updating mechanical, plumbing, and electrical systems.

Sweet Briar College has re-engaged Mesick Cohen Wilson Baker Architects (MCWB), who rehabilitated Venable Hall at Hampden-Sydney College to its historic configuration. The firm also conducted the scoping study for Gray and Pannell in 2022 and conducted the Historic Structures Master Plan in 2019. Another component of Sweet Briar’s historic campus addressed through the Historic Structures Master Plan are the College’s energy sources and their distribution.

When we think of capital improvements, we think of buildings, rooms, and exteriors. Rarely do we think of infrastructure. However, one of Sweet Briar College’s greatest needs is hidden from sight when we look at our beautiful and historic campus: its “state-of-theart” 1938 steam plant. This rabbit warren of pipes, valves, and boilers has long burdened the College’s Physical Plant staff and administrators. All residence halls except Green Village receive heating and cooling from the plant, which also serves buildings like Benedict, Cochran Library, Fletcher, and others.

Sweet Briar must update its electrical system to address the future needs for the campus. The solution to this campus-wide problem is to convert the College’s energy source from the steam plant to energy produced by wells in a geothermal system (the College already has two geothermal systems in place). From these wells, residence halls, academic and administrative buildings, and other facilities will receive environmentally-sustainable heating and cooling. While these systems are a significant investment in the initial setup and implementation process, the College will reap significantly more in savings over the long term.

Each of these needs serves to recruit and retain students. The energy conversion will pave the way for future renovations, as any infrastructure changes are much easier to make before building renovations or rehabilitations occur.

If any of these projects compel you to support Sweet Briar in a meaningful, lasting way, please contact Vice President of Alumnae Relations and Development Claire Dennison Griffith ’80 at cgriffith@sbc.edu or 434-381-6479.

Sweet Briar Alumnae Magazine

DR. JOHN MORRISSEY: SWEET BRIAR'S VERY OWN...

SHARK

Dr. Morrissey With his Wolverine Claws in 2022. as An Avid COmic BoOk ENthusiAst, he has a collectiOn of more than 22,000 comics.

by Phyllis Watt JorDan ’80 IllustratiOns by Cat sims

40 Sweet Briar Alumnae

MAN

ChOMp!

GGrowing up on a chicken farm in Maine, Dr. John Morrissey had a simple goal: stay in school as long as he could. His parents never graduated from high school; his six sisters never went to college. Morrissey was different. “I just knew that I loved school, and I loved learning, and I loved biology, and I loved animals,” he recalls.

After 13 years in college and graduate school and another 34 years as a biology professor, Morrissey has wildly exceeded his goal. He swam with sharks in the Bahamas, co-authored a best-selling textbook on marine biology, and shepherded dozens of Sweet Briar students on their journey into veterinary school. Now, as he prepares to retire, he has received an Outstanding Faculty Award from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia.

Morrissey, with his characteristic modesty, finds the award a bit inconceivable. “I show up every day. I do my job. I love the students,” he says. “I don’t need an award for that. I get rewarded every day.”

He came to Sweet Briar in 2007, looking to escape the hectic pace of his life teaching on the outskirts of New York City. “I just wanted a cheaper cost of living and a prettier backyard and a nicer commute and the same job—not knowing how wonderful Sweet Briar is and how different Sweet Briar is,” Morrissey says. “I got here, and I got the cheaper cost of living and the prettier backyard and the nicer commute. But I also got a job that immediately I realized was so different and so special.

“I kept having to recalibrate my affection for Sweet Briar. I kept thinking, ‘Okay, now I understand how wonderful and warm this community

is,’ and then something else would happen. And I would realize, nope, it’s even more wonderful and warmer than I thought.”

“I show up every day. I do my job. I love the students, I don't neEd an awarD for that. I get rewarDed every day.”

The students were a big part of the difference. At Hofstra University, where he taught for 16 years, he had to proctor his large classes carefully to prevent cheating on tests and exams. After the grades came out, about half his students would make appointments to argue with him for raising their scores. At Sweet Briar, he says “in 17 years here, I’ve had it happen perhaps three times. And all three times, they weren’t really arguing for points. They were legitimately asking where they went wrong.”

One of his Sweet Briar students has gone on to become a liver-transplant surgeon. Another traveled in the U.S. Navy’s Alvin research submersible to explore the ocean floor. In his time at Sweet Briar, 92% of the students who have applied to veterinary school have been accepted.

Dr.

Morrissey meEts with a student in 2017.

Beyond the students, Morrissey relishes the close-knit relationships with faculty and staff. At Hofstra, he said, he barely knew anyone outside the biology department. “Here, I go to lunch in Prothro, and we routinely pull two tables together because one table is not enough. And at the table, there’ll be three students, someone from Campus Safety, someone from the Physical Plant, someone from Career Services, faculty from bio and theater, and history, and business, just every day.”

His affection for the school is contagious. Dr. Megan Kobiela, assistant professor in biology, remembers when she met Morrissey as she came to interview for a job in Sweet Briar’s biology department four years ago. “Bubbly is a weird word to use because he’s 6’ 6” and this huge presence, both physically and academically. He’s just so effusive in his enthusiasm,” she says. She had another job offer, but “it was him talking about the uniqueness of the place that really sold me on it.”

As a professor at Hofstra and Sweet Briar and in summer programs, he has taken students on marine biology trips among the coral reefs more than 50 times. He’s helped them watch for lemon sharks in the Bahamas, cownose rays in the Chesapeake Bay, and megamouth sharks in Japanese waters.

Some students in his field courses had never snorkeled before, while some had never seen the ocean. “It’s the best way to learn,” he says. “Having fish tanks in the lab, which I’ve had, or showing videotape, that’s all well and good. But when I lecture about something from eight o’clock to nine o’clock, and then at 9:20, it bites you, you tend to remember it.”

A PASSION FOR LEARNING

Sharks might seem an odd specialty for a professor raised on a chicken farm and teaching in Central Virginia. In fact, dinosaurs were Morrissey’s childhood obsession. He didn’t start thinking about sharks until he was contemplating graduate school. About that time, the movie “Jaws” was released.

“I was fascinated by the reaction to it because I thought it was a science fiction thriller, just like ‘King Kong,’ with an impossibly large vertebrate,” he recalls. “But when people came out of ‘King Kong,’ they weren’t afraid to go in the woods because they understood it was fiction. When they came out of ‘Jaws,’ seaside resorts were folding worldwide because no one wanted to go in the water.”

He started reading about sharks and became engrossed. “I actually felt, I still feel, sorry for sharks. They’re vilified for being hungry,” he says. He studied sharks as he earned his master’s degree at Hofstra, where he had studied as an undergraduate. He then went on to the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science for his doctorate.

For his part, Morrissey has been bitten by sharks four times. “All four times I deserved it,” he says. “If I was doing to you what I was doing to them, you’d bite me, too.”

Morrissey worried that his time at Sweet Briar was coming to an end when the College almost shut down in 2015. He recalls writing dozens of letters of recommendations for students who were forced to transfer, even as he looked for a new position for himself. He found a job, but quickly changed his mind when the College stayed open. Still, the biology and environmental science departments had gone from seven to two professors, meaning more classes to teach for Morrissey and his remaining colleague, Dr. Linda Fink.

The pandemic shut down his marine biology field courses and, more recently, health concerns have forced him to give them up altogether. His kidneys failed in 2023, leaving him dependent on dialysis as he awaits a kidney transplant. But he continues teaching and mentoring students. His expertise is captured in a textbook he co-authored, Introduction to the Biology of Marine Life, now in its 11th edition.

At Sweet Briar, he pours that expertise into courses that range from BIOL 111: Introduction to Organisms to BIOL 326: Comparative Animal Physiology. The list includes BIOL 115: The Biology of Superheroes, a class he’s only had a chance to teach once at the College. Each lecture highlights a superhero’s fictional power, say Wolverine’s ability to regenerate, then explores other species with that ability and the biology, physics, or chemistry of it. “I loved teaching it because it was a sneaky way to teach about the art form that I love.”

Morrissey began collecting Marvel comics in 1971 and now has 21,000 comic books in his basement. Some have become quite valuable, but he isn’t planning to sell. He appreciates the recent surge of interest that has come with a string of popular Marvel movies. “It’s a little odd in that for most of my life, if I revealed my fandom, it was an invitation to get beat up,” he says. “You know, it was not cool to be a comic book lover as a teenage male. And now, I have a class of 19, and eight people are wearing Marvel T-shirts.”

MAKING A DIFFERENCE FOR STUDENTS

Morrissey’s breadth of knowledge hasn’t gone unnoticed among his students. “I have no idea how this man’s brain can hold so much information about literally everything,” says biology major Etaf Jumaa ’26. “Even though he loves marine biology, he literally knows a little bit about everything. And he always emphasizes, and this has stuck with me, that no matter what field you’re going into with science, every science matters and that we need to expose ourselves to all areas of science because it’s all interconnected.”

Etaf remembers meeting the professor when she came for the Presidential Scholars weekend as a prospective student and sat in on a sample class. “Morrissey was the one who was teaching us. And it was just like his

Briar, but the class helped clinch the decision. Now, as she contemplates where to pursue her graduate studies in marine biology, he is advising her on whether to seek a master’s degree first or go straight into a Ph.D. program.

Many of the students whom Morrissey advises are hoping to become veterinarians. At most colleges, pre-med students far outnumber the pre-vet candidates. At Sweet Briar, it’s the opposite. Morrissey has nearly 30 advisees who are pre-vet and just two interested in becoming doctors. He considers the pre-vet track among the most difficult on campus. It’s not just the coursework: calculus, physics, organic chemistry, physiology, microbiology, and genetics, among others. It’s that students need to get high marks in each class to be competitive for the limited spots in veterinary schools. Every year, he gives interested first-years a speech warning them of the challenges ahead. Ariel Hullender ’25 remembers that speech well.

“He was saying that the road to pre-vet was going to be horrible. And it was going to be like you’re riding a bicycle and you can’t get off. And the bicycle’s on fire and you’re in hell. And this is horrible,” she recalls. “And I just remember it being like the funniest talk ever. It was scary. It was intimidating, but it set us up to know what the expectations were, while relieving the tension.”

He is now a committee member for Ariel’s senior honors thesis, which explores the impact of a broad-spectrum fungicide on the milkweed plant and, ultimately, on monarch butterflies. Ariel, who is now applying to graduate school and planning to become a professor, considers Morrissey a key part of her Sweet Briar experience. “I go hang out in his office all the time just to talk and get his advice on things, everything from classes here to disagreements with my friends to grad school applications,” she says. “I talk to him because he’s so good at being super reassuring and helpful and providing guidance.”

Noell Cosby ’17 is now a veterinarian, but she remembers her Friday mornings in Morrissey’s office. She would bring bacon from the dining hall. He would offer a fresh pot of coffee. At one point, she fed and cared for the footlong sharks in his tanks, an opportunity to get some valuable experience before she applied for vet school. “Obviously his classes were really hard, but he was just a joy to have as a professor,” she says. “He would make you laugh during class.” She has invited her erstwhile professor to her upcoming wedding.

“It’s the best way to leArN...When I lecture aboUt

something from eIght o’clock to nine o’clock, anD then at 9:20, it bites yOu, yOu tenD to rememBer it.”

His mentoring goes beyond students. In her first year of teaching at Sweet Briar, Kobiela recalls, she and Morrissey taught sections of the same course, and he shared his syllabus and materials with her. Initially, she used his materials wholesale, but over the past few years, she has tweaked the course and assignments. When he taught the course again this year, he adopted her changes.

“That was a huge confidence boost for me,” she says. “He’s always so supportive of new faculty. I can go to him with anything and know he’s going to give me good advice.” Kobiela can’t imagine what Sweet Briar will be like without him after his retirement at the end of the school year. “I’m definitely going to miss the sound of his feet coming down the hallway in Guion.”

Morrissey acknowledges he will miss his life as a professor, but feels a bit of awe that he managed to stretch his teenage desire to stay in school “as long as possible” into a four-decade academic journey.

“I was certain that one day I would flunk out, and I would go home, and I would inherit the farm from my aging parents,” he says. “As it turned out, the universe called my bluff.”

--> Dr. Morrissey is on the transplant list for a new kidney. <--

The Meredith Haga Fox Foundation is honored to provide more information about organ donation and how to help Dr. Morrissey at meredithhagafoundation.org

Meredith Haga Fox ’16, a kidney transplant recipient herself who passed away in 2017, was one of Dr. Morrissey’s students. For more information about registering to make a kidney donation, visit kidneyregistry.com

Dr. Morrissey shows off a shark to tWo students in 2010.

Exploring the Legacy Student Experience at Sweet Briar

BY PHYLLIS WATT JORDAN ’80

COOKE

ILLUSTRATIONS BY JESSE

LEGACY STUDENTS

hearing stories about Sweet Briar College at an early age, sleeping in pink and green bedrooms, and tagging along to alumnae events and Reunions. When it came to choosing a college for themselves, these students also found their homes at Sweet Briar. They enjoy the same traditions their mothers, aunts, and/or grandmothers experienced. They live in the same dorms.

These legacy students also encountered changes, such as a new emphasis on sustainability, or new facilities that didn’t exist when their family members attended. For some, it was always a dream to come to Sweet Briar; one transferred in after trying another college; another started during the height of the pandemic only to take a couple of years off; a third came only after her first choice shut down. But they all recognize what makes Sweet Briar special for them and earlier generations: the beauty of the campus, the connections to professors, and the warmth of friendships. This year, 44 students have legacy ties to alumnae, including 14 current first-years.

“Growing up, I’ve always thought it was just such a great community to be in, this community of people that genuinely like being together. Everyone is very connected even though they’re from different years,” said Madeleine Gardephe ’27, daughter to Yana Wagg ’95 and goddaughter to Wendy Weiler ’71. → → →

Natalie Cockey ’25 Oxford, MD

“Some of my earliest memories have the phrase ‘Sweet Briar’ in them,” Natalie Cockey ’25 recalls. Her aunt, Leslie Caroline Kirkby-Wardell ’84, had two boys and was so excited when Natalie arrived. “I remember her saying she had such fond memories of Sweet Briar and would always talk about how she wants me to experience the education and the community that she experienced, and how important it is to be surrounded by strong, educated women.”

Natalie initially resisted her aunt’s advice and chose a college closer to her home on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. When that wasn’t the right fit, she decided to visit Sweet Briar. “I remember the way I felt the second I passed that gate. It was like all the puzzle pieces were coming together, and I was like, ‘I need to be here. This is where I need to be.’” Her aunt helped move her into her dorm that fall.

A senior, Natalie is hoping to pursue a career in the foreign service and is applying to graduate school for international relations. At Sweet Briar, she plays on the soccer team, is a Bum Chum, and sits on the Student Government Association executive board as vice president of traditions, a role which involves planning for Step Singing, Lantern Bearing, and other special events.

“I didn’t know how important tradition is at allwomen’s colleges. And I felt very lost when I came in, like I didn’t really know what was going on, and I would ask my aunt a lot of things. I used that and was like, ‘I’m a leader naturally. And how can I fix a problem that I have felt?’”

Madeleine Gardephe ’27

Cold Spring, NY

On the wall of her dorm room in Manson Hall, Madeleine Gardephe ’27 has a picture of herself as a little girl, sitting in Sweet Briar’s library reading a book. From her early days, she tagged along with her mother, Yana Wagg ’95, and godmother, Wendy Weiler ’71, to Sweet Briar Day gatherings, alumnae events in the New York City area, and Reunions.

“Growing up, I’ve always thought it was just such a great community to be in, this community of people that genuinely like being together,” Madeleine recalls. “Everyone is very connected even though they’re from different years.

Above Left

Leslie Caroline Kirkby-Wardell ’84

Right

Natalie Cockey ’25

Below Left

Wendy Weiler ’71

Middle

Wendy Weiler ’71, Madeleine Gardephe ’27, and Yana Wagg ’95

Right

Yana Wagg ’95

“For events here, we’d stay in the dorms,” she adds. “So I could always imagine myself in the dorms and how I would set it up. I was very excited about that.”

When it came time to apply to college, she considered a few other places, but quickly decided on Sweet Briar. Now a sophomore, she’s majoring in business and finds the small classes help her focus on her schoolwork. “It’s just good preparation for the world. You have to be prepared, you have to be accountable, and no one’s going to let you slide.”

Madeleine started taking riding lessons this year and is now part of the riding team. She and her friends also spend time exploring the campus. “We always walk around the campus. Every day we’ll take walks around to get energy out.”

Being a student puts a different slant on Sweet Briar Day. “It’s also just nice going to the events now, like being at Sweet Briar and talking to the alums in a different perspective. And I can connect to people more.”

Cassie McCabe ’25

Dagsboro, DE

When Cassie McCabe ’25 was a junior in high school, her grandmother, Cynthia Hardy McCabe ’75, brought her to Sweet Briar for a visit. “They allowed visiting students or prospective students to stay in the dorms with current students, and that was kind of like a very unique experience,” she recalls.

She was drawn to the warmth of the community. “A lot of other universities I’ve visited, it feels very cold and not that many people are talking to each other, and they just kind of go about their way. Whereas at Sweet Briar, it seemed like everyone knew each other. Everyone was nice. Even if they didn’t know you, they would still talk to you and acknowledge you. And I really liked that.”

She applied early decision and became a biology major, with a minor in chemistry. Now, as a senior, she is waiting to hear back from the veterinary schools she applied to. “I feel like you get a very prioritized education,” she said. “You’re in a very small class where the professors genuinely do care about your success, and they’re not going to let you fail if you are trying hard.”

Cassie, who grew up in Delaware and whose aunt Tiffany McCabe Carr ’04 also went to Sweet Briar, is president of the Sweet Tones and a member of the Bum Chums. Among the things she loves about Sweet Briar are the traditions. “What my grandma explained is it adds to the magic factor of Sweet Briar. That’s what I look at it as. And it definitely helps to get you through the academics, having all of those fun little things to look forward to throughout the year, as well.”

Above

Left

Cynthia Hardy McCabe ’75

Middle

Cassie McCabe ’25

Right

Tiffany McCabe Carr ’04

Below

Left

Michelle Scherrer Klimt ’84

Right

Ella Scherrer ’27

Ella Scherrer ’27 Greenville, SC

Ella Scherrer ’27 grew up in a pink and green bedroom. Her aunt, Michelle Scherrer Klimt ’84, told her parents as soon as she was born, “That’s going to be a Sweet Briar girl.”

“My mom was like, ‘Oh, we don’t know. We never know what she’ll choose,’” Ella recalled.

When it came time to look at colleges, Ella initially thought she wanted to leave South Carolina for a city school. “My aunt was like, ‘Just come and look at it. Just stay for the scholar’s weekend. You’re going to love it.’ And sure enough, I absolutely fell in love with it here.”

It was the dead of winter, so it wasn’t the beauty of the campus that ultimately persuaded her. “It was 100% the people. I had been to a couple of different colleges just touring at that point. But when I came to Sweet Briar, it was like family.”

A sophomore, Ella is planning to major in biology and psychology with hopes of attending medical school. She’s a member of the Ear Phones and vice president and co-founder of Indie’s Designers, which teaches students different fashion skills like sewing, crocheting, designing clothing, and modeling.

As a member of the Student Government Association, Ella is dealing with the repercussions of a new admissions policy banning transgender students, a policy that many students and faculty members oppose.

“I try to be very careful about the way that I present my opinion on the policy, because I would never want it to be interpreted as hate for Sweet Briar whatsoever,” Ella said. “I think the only reason I do care so much about it is because I absolutely love it here. And it is so important to me that people feel safe and that they belong and that they have amazing professors and a rich community.”

Claire Coleman ’28

Inwood, WV

Claire Coleman’s ’28 first visit to Sweet Briar came when the College was in danger of closing. Her mother, Kimberly Ann Earehart Coleman ’00, wanted what she thought at the time would be a last look at her alma mater. “My mom wanted to see it again before it closed, and I wanted to see it,” Claire said. “I remember being really sad because I had wanted to go to Sweet Briar, and I was so sad that I wasn’t going to get to go.”

A decade later, Claire is a first year living in Meta Glass planning to major in biology and become a vet. She’s already taking courses for her major and has joined the Sweet Dancers, Young Democrats, and Sustainability Club.

Claire, who was raised in the West Virginia panhandle, said her family connection was a part of her attraction to Sweet Briar: her aunt, Amy Cathleen Earehart Lovelace ’97, is also an alumna.

“But then also the size was a big thing for me and just how pretty it is here. I just think it’s beautiful. A lot of the other schools you look at, you see a McDonald’s in the distance. I didn’t really like that,” Claire said. “I just really couldn’t imagine going somewhere else. I really like how small it is. I like how it’s like a community of people. I feel like I know people, and the professors actually know me and want to help and want me to succeed. I feel like at a bigger school, I don’t think it’s as personal.

“I think that it’s a place where you really can be yourself and feel included and feel like people aren’t going to turn you away for being yourself.”

Elyse Samassekou ’27 Huntington, WV

’02

’01

Elyse Samassekou ’27 Below

Kimberly Ann Earehart Coleman ’00

Middle Amy Cathleen Earehart Lovelace ’97

Right

Kimberly Ann Earehart Coleman ’00 and Claire Coleman ’28

When Elyse Samassekou ’27 was a baby, her mother, Tamara Trout Murphy ’01, started knitting her a pink and green baby blanket. Both her mother and aunt, Tia Trout-Perez ’02, are proud alumnae, meaning Sweet Briar was “one of the first concepts I knew,” Elyse said.

She remembers visiting for a Reunion when she was eight or nine. “That felt like the first example I had of a college campus and college alumni and what they did, how they got together for reunions, things like that,” she recalls.

“The funniest thing I’ve encountered is that my mental map of Sweet Briar changed so differently from visiting when I was a kid versus living here. When I visited as a kid, it was almost like the chapel was the center of the campus, I think, because a lot of things were outside of it or in it for events.” Now the center has shifted to the Student Commons and Prothro Dining Hall.

Elyse, a Huntington, W.Va. native, initially started at Sweet Briar in fall 2020 when the pandemic kept students from engaging in much social activity. She took a break after the first semester and came back in 2023 to try again. “I was worried it would be the same or not that much changed, but it really is a huge difference. I feel like this is kind of what it was supposed to be in 2020.”

A sophomore now, she sings in the Sweet Tones and is planning to major in philosophy, possibly with a performing arts or music minor. She values the close-knit campus and the connections she’s made. “It’s small enough that it’s very easy to have a one-onone conversation with your professors. It’s very easy to keep running into the same people. You have these communities that overlap. And for me, that’s a big plus. I think that’s amazing.”

Faith Lukachik ’28

Madison County, VA

Faith Lukachik ’28 has heard stories about Sweet Briar since she was a child and toured the campus, but it wasn’t until she came back to a Reunion with her mother, Amy Annabelle Sanford Lukachik ’99, that she understood what made the College so special.

“Reunion made me feel like this was home,” Faith recalls. “It was how everybody was so friendly. And even after not seeing each other for however many years, they were all still friends.”

She applied to 11 colleges, but chose Sweet Briar in the end. “The campus security felt nice, to be that safe. And then the atmosphere and how close everything was and how small the campus was, yet it was so big at the same time.”

Now a first year, she hopes to major in business and psychology and follow in the footsteps of her mother, a psychologist herself. She’s enjoying her classes but felt a bit lonely at first. “For me, it was really hard to just let go of everything and come into the ‘Pink Bubble’ and leave everything else behind. But it’s something I needed to do.”

What’s helped is bringing her dog to campus as an emotional support animal. Gabby—a mix of a border collie and labrador—stays in the dorm room while Faith is in class. But she gets to walk and play around campus. “She really does make it feel like home again. At home, she was not the same dog without me. So it was good for both of us.”

Stella Turner ’28 Arlington, VA

Right Faith Lukachik ’28

Stella Turner ’28 promised her late grandmother she would visit Sweet Briar at least once. Ellen Wheatley Turner ’91 attended in the 1960s and returned for her degree in 1991, while her sister Josephine Preston Overbey was in the Class of 1962.

Stella’s grandmother died during the pandemic, but Stella remembers their conversations in the basement of their Arlington home. “She always talked about fond memories of them, of the people there, the teachers, and just the community around.”

So when it came time to look at colleges, Stella put Sweet Briar on her list. She liked it, but initially chose Wells College in upstate New York instead for its biology program. Then, just days after she made her decision, the small liberal arts college announced abruptly that it was shutting down.

Stella reached out to Sweet Briar and secured her spot in this year’s first-year class. She’s thinking about majoring in biology, but also considering ancient studies. Ultimately, she would like to become a medical examiner.

She has also had time to indulge her artistic side, performing last fall in the College’s production of Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812. The play is a “sung-through” musical adaptation of a climactic chapter of Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace. “I’ve done musicals in the past, but I was worried because I’ve never done this sort of thing before,” Stella recalls. “So I was like, ‘Okay. Do it.’” This semester, Stella is performing in a play serving as a senior’s capstone project.

As she finishes her first year, Stella reflects on her grandmother’s memories of her college years. “It was quite inspiring to see how much Sweet Briar had affected my grandmother and how she still cared even years after she graduated.” Above

Josephine Preston Overbey ’62

’28

In Memoriam

1942

Lindsay Crumpler Nolting December 25, 2024

1948

Murray Armstrong James January 21, 2025

1949

Barbara Sloan Pearsall December 25, 2023

1950

Mary Waller Berkeley Fergusson September 19, 2024

Janet “Jan” Neumark Fribourg September 19, 2024

Virginia “Ginger” Luscombe Rogers

January 24, 2025

1951

Mary Jane Ertman October 14, 2024

Mary Pease Fleming January 20, 2025

Anne Sinsheimer September 12, 2024

1952

Mary Miller Carroll January 6, 2025

Benita Phinizy Johnson November 3, 2024

Edith Bell Lyon January 20, 2025

Nancy Trask Wood December 9, 2024

1953

Jeanne Duff

Date Unknown

Dorthea Fuller October 28, 2024

Dorothy Laird Williams November 11, 2024

1956

Pryde Brown September 29, 2024

1958

Lynn Crosby Gammill December 21, 2024

Linda McGuire Last September 19, 2024

Margaret “Peggy” Smith Warner November 9, 2024

1959

Alice Cary Farmer Brown November 29, 2024

Patricia “Pat” Chandler Burns January 1, 2025

Mary Ballou Handy Williams January 26, 2025

1961

Patricia Anderson Warren May 21, 2024

1962

Jane Roulston Beaver November 22, 2024

Lorinda Nash Collister November 3, 2023

Katherine “Kitty” Carter Nelson October 18, 2024

1965

Sonja Howell Baum September 26, 2024

Lynn Morgan Reynolds October 28, 2024

1967

Stephanie Ewalt Coleman February 12, 2025

1969

Rosemary Warner Seawell October 22, 2024

1970

Loring “Lorie” Harris Amass October 20, 2024

Mary “Christine” Love October 14, 2024

1971

Pamela Piech Sampson December 10, 2024

Louise Archer Slater November 25, 2024

1973

Margaret “Peggy” Holloway Fitch

October 16, 2024

1975

Patricia “Patti” Parker December 24, 2024

1976

Allyson Wilmer Jacobs January 6, 2025

1982

Sarah Starlin December 29, 2024

1983

Diana Duffy Waterman October 17, 2024

1988

Denise Landau Blind October 28, 2024

1990

Karen Brown January 28, 2025

1991

Nicole Jacqueline Gauthier February 29, 2024

Jennifer Vance Granieri October 18, 2024

1996

Mary Jane Bradley Flowers December 8, 2024

2015

Elyse Betz July 5, 2024

Data reported as of Feb. 24, 2025. Please send alumnae obituaries to alumnae@sbc.edu

Virginia “Ginger” Luscombe Rogers

JANUARY 24, 2025

Virginia “Ginger” Luscombe Rogers ’50 passed away on Jan. 24, 2025 surrounded by her three children at Summa Hospital in Akron, Ohio.

Ginger was born on May 13, 1928 in Grand Junction, Colo. to Martha Ruth and Carl Blackwell Luscombe. When it came time for college, Ginger boarded the train for Sweet Briar, at which she majored in physics and mathematics. Following graduation, she attended the Ohio State University to earn her master’s degree in education. Although she was on the vanguard of computer technology working for IBM in the 1950s, her true passions were architectural preservation and the decorative arts. Following a move to Hudson, Ginger became an active and dedicated member of the Hudson Heritage Association (HHA), serving on the board for multiple terms, including as president, all the while continuing to hone her skills and knowledge by taking postgraduate courses at Hiram College and Kent State University. Ginger also served on Hudson’s Architectural and Historic Board of Review, a position she held for 14 years. In 1984, she and friend and colleague, Don Reisig, received the Architectural Heritage Award from Summit County Historical Society. In 2019, Ginger was the first recipient of HHA’s Award for Distinguished Contributions to Hudson. Throughout her life, Ginger was also a terrific hostess, volunteer flower arranger, dancer, athlete, and rider. Ginger is survived by her three children, Sarah Luscombe Rogers, Anne Larkin Rogers, and Justin Towner Rogers III, and her grandson, Angs Warren.

Alice Cary Farmer Brown

NOVEMBER 29, 2024

Alice Cary Farmer Brown ’59 was a dedicated former Board member and alumna who made a significant impact at Sweet Briar and in her local community in Louisville, Ky. Her laughter was infectious and joie de vivre was notable. Alice Cary passed away on Nov. 29, 2024 not long after her husband, William “Lee” Lyons Brown, Jr., passed away on June 9, 2024. In 1996, Alice Cary received the Outstanding Alumna Award for her incredible volunteer service to Sweet Briar. Alice Cary was born March 22, 1937 in Louisville to Alice Cary and Eugene Farmer. After attending Louisville Collegiate School, she received her B.A. from Sweet Briar College. A month after graduation, Alice Cary married Lee, and together they raised three children, Lyons, Cary, and Stuart, on their farm in Prospect, Ky. Because Lee joined his family’s company, BrownForman Corporation, their early years took them to Paris, France, where their youngest, Stuart, was born in 1964. Alice Cary thrived in France. She attended cooking classes at the Cordon Bleu where she befriended, among others, Julia Childs’ partner, Simone Beck. Alice Cary delighted in hosting elegant dinner parties in their townhouse in Neuilly-sur-Seine, and because of her wild storytelling, infectious laugh, and talented cooking, her dinner invitations were much sought after.

In 1965, Alice Cary and Lee returned to Louisville, where Lee took on many leadership roles at Brown-Forman including CEO for 18 years. In 1972, Alice Cary joined the Glenview Garden Club where she began a long career supporting local and national horticulture and conservation efforts. She loyally served for half a century and as president for two years.

In 1994, Alice Cary began her work at a national level with the Garden Club of America as director of Zone VII. A horticultural judge, she spent 13 years crisscrossing the country sharing her knowledge and offering skillful advice to other devoted gardeners. Alice Cary was also a distinguished member of the Grass River Garden Club in Delray Beach, Fla., where she and Lee lived beginning in 2012. From 2001–2005, Alice Cary’s husband Lee served as the American ambassador to Austria under President George Bush. During this time, Alice Cary took her duties very seriously and was quite popular while helping serve her country.

Alice Cary was involved in many board and community activities during her lifetime, including as a longtime member of Sweet Briar’s Board of Directors; founding member of the New Arts Committee of the Speed Art Museum; member of the Junior League of Louisville; trustee of the Wintethur Museum and chairperson of the Garden Committee; trustee of the Storm King Art Center and founder and chair of the Landscape Committee; member of the horticulture committee of the New York Botanical Garden; and a trustee of the Society of the Four Arts.

Alice Cary is survived by her sister, Elizabeth Farmer Owen, three children, each of their spouses, eight grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

In Memoriam

Joe Monk

Elyse Betz

JULY 5, 2024

Elyse Marie Betz ’15 passed away on July 5, 2024 in Edmond, Okla. Born on Aug. 12, 1993 in Fairfax, Va., Elyse was a beacon of joy and creativity, known for her infectious laughter and the bright smile marked by her distinctive dimples.

Elyse graduated from Essex High School in 2011 and continued her education at Sweet Briar College. Her academic pursuits paved the way for a successful career as a senior project controls engineer/ specialist at Parsons Corporation, where she was highly regarded for her expertise and dedication. Her passions were as expansive as her career, with a particular love for horseback riding, which allowed her to explore the great outdoors she adored so much. Elyse also found joy in crafting and took on numerous home improvement projects, each a testament to her creativity and hands-on ability.

Elyse is survived by her father, William Betz, Jr.; stepfather, Richard Hamilton; sisters, Laura Beckman, Lynn Sharpe, and Crystal Pinnell and their spouses; and aunts, Barbara Betz Weidner and Elizabeth Fisher.

Carson M. Warrick

DECEMBER 13, 2024

Our alumnae from the 1980s and 1990s especially remember Carson M. Warrick, a Sweet Briar employee in Dining Services for more than 40 years, who passed away on Dec. 13, 2024. Carson was known for being a kind, welcoming person who always had an enormous smile on his face. His wife, Gail, also worked in Dining Services. Running into Carson after he retired from Sweet Briar at the local grocery stores was like greeting a long-lost relative—he remembered all the students, faculty, and staff he knew from Sweet Briar. Carson was born on July 12, 1945 to the late Carrie Warrick Rucker and William Rucker. He attended Central High School. In addition to his service to Sweet Briar, he also served as a bus driver and most recently as a custodian for Amherst County Public Schools for more than 10 years. He was a member of Union Hill Baptist Church where he served as a chairman of the Deacon Board, trustee, and a member of the choir. He enjoyed going to Walmart on a daily basis, up to two to three times a day. He also enjoyed meeting with old friends and making new friends.

He is survived by Gail; his three children, DeBraca Sales, Derricka Jones, Breon Blalund Taylor Warrick, and their spouses; eight grandchildren; siblings, Janice Sparrow, Shirley Sparrow, and Malcolm Rucker, and their spouses; and a host of nieces, nephews, and numerous friends, including his Walmart family.

DECEMBER 4, 2024

Joe Monk, retired professor of studio art, passed away on Dec. 4, 2024. Joe began teaching at Sweet Briar in 1980 with a part-time position in ceramics and sculpture. He retired from Sweet Briar in 2017. Many members of our community will also remember his wife, Suny, who is executive director of Second Stage in Amherst, a local nonprofit. She is also a former Sweet Briar Board member.

Joe was born in Beckley, W.Va. and lived in Richmond, St. Stephens Church, and Amherst, Va. He began his professional career as the resident artist at the Virginia Museum before teaching at Sweet Briar. A man of quiet grace and invention with a lively creative spirit, he was a gifted craftsman with the vision to see beauty in every object and space. Joe was an avid maker, artist, craftsman, builder, and engineer, always teaching, reading, or working. An avid collector, he generously lent imagination, skilled guidance, and materials to those around him who wanted to build and create.

Joe was raised in a close-knit extended family and he loved being surrounded by its warmth. Joe and Suny fostered the same qualities in their home by building a supportive atmosphere of caring and kindness, which was Joe’s trademark. He is survived by Suny, his daughters, Chatham and Mavora, and their husbands, Justin Rice and Vince Donoghue, and his grandchildren, Wilkes and Holcomb Rice and Claire and Elizabeth Donoghue, as well as a large family and many friends.

Paul David Cronin

DECEMBER 29, 2024

A loss felt broadly across the Sweet Briar College community, Paul Cronin, professor emeritus, passed away on Dec. 29, 2024. Paul was director and head instructor of Sweet Briar’s riding program from 1967–2001. During that time, he brought many accomplishments to the College—a new riding facility in 1971, clinics and instruction in the American Forward Riding System, and teaching hundreds of Sweet Briar alumnae how to be better horsewomen and good citizens.

Paul received an A.B. from Stonehill College in history and a master’s in social work from the University of Pittsburgh in community planning. Following this, he served as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy from 1960–1964 in Cuba and Africa, and for many years following as a Reservist.

An outstanding teacher, author, rider, mentor, and dedicated friend, Paul then dedicated a lifetime to educating young people about the American Forward Riding System, teaching and coaching generations of students who have successfully competed at local, recognized and IHSA horse shows, field competitions and riding to hounds. While at Sweet Briar, he consistently turned out capable and knowledgeable horsewomen on different levels and with a variety of goals. Sports Illustrated magazine cited him twice for coaching a record number of winning intercollegiate teams.

He also taught clinics throughout the U.S. as well as unique clinics in Brazil and England. His riding career focused on riding and schooling hunters and jumpers and teaching in the American Hunter Jumper System. As a junior, he competed successfully in the Boston area as well as riding horses for Gen. Richard Mellon’s Rolling Rock Farm in Pennsylvania. As an amateur, he showed and trained young horses in Virginia.

Paul was a lifetime student of internationally renowned horseman and educator Vladimir S. Littauer. He broadened his riding education overseas, including a sabbatical leave to ride at the French Cavalry School at Saumur. He rode and developed a large number of young horses that went on to be top show hunters. In addition, he did graduate work in sports psychology and motor learning at the University of Virginia.

During his 25 years as a “R” Hunter and Hunter Seat Equitation judge, he served on the AHSA (now USEF) Committee that established clinics for judges. His many accolades include Educator of the Year by the Virginia Horse Council in 1997, USHJA Professional Service Award in 2007, USEF Pegasus Award in 2009, and induction into the VHSA Hall of Fame in 2010. His book, Riding and Schooling the Sport Horse, was first published in 2004 by the University of Virginia Press.

Paul also enjoyed a successful career as a clinician and consultant for both institutional and commercial equestrian programs. He rode regularly with the first flight of the Orange County Hounds and especially enjoyed helping young professionals and schooling horses in the Forward Riding System.

He was predeceased by his loving wife, Elizabeth Ann Swift Cronin, and is survived by his sons Peter and David Richmond Cronin, their wives, and three granddaughters, as well as several nieces and close friends.

Michael Dulany Richards

NOVEMBER 8, 2024

On Nov. 8, 2024, Sweet Briar lost Michael “Mike” Dulany Richards, Hattie Mae Samford professor of history and professor emeritus. A respected historian, author, and longtime professor, he joined the College’s faculty in 1966 and retired in 2004. He will be remembered for his scholarly contributions, kindness, calmness, and involvement in his community and church.

He was born on Nov. 3, 1941 in Great Bend, Kan. to Cooper and Jane Richards. He received his undergraduate degree and met his wife of 42 years, Anne Richards, at the University of Tulsa before earning his Ph.D. in history from Duke University. During his doctoral work, Mike was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship and multiple scholarships from the National Endowment for the Humanities to research at the International Institute for Social History in Amsterdam, Holland.

At Sweet Briar, he was known for his engaging lectures, warm demeanor, and ability to connect with students.

Throughout his 38-year career, he shaped the lives of many students, inspiring them with his love of European history and encouraging them to think critically about the world around them. He served as president of the faculty at Sweet Briar several times. An avid reader and writer, Mike authored four books, including Twentieth-Century Europe: A Brief History, 1900 to the Present. After his retirement in 2004, he continued to teach at George Mason University and Northern Virginia Community College.

Beyond his academic accomplishments, Mike was an active member of his local community in Purcellville, Sweet Briar, and Front Royal. Mike served as president of the Humane Society of Amherst County and led an effort at Amherst County Library that doubled the size of the holdings.

Mike is survived by his three sons John, David, and Arie, and his partner of 20 years, Nancy Potter.

Class Notes

1952

Pat Layne Winks

312 Arguello Blvd., Apt. 3 San Francisco, CA 94118 plwinks@earthlink.net

News from classmates is sparse. As messages and cards go unanswered, we recognize that many are no longer here. That makes news from you all the more rewarding. Most of us are in retirement facilities. However, Anne Pope Wells still lives at home in Jackson, Miss. I remain in my San Francisco apartment. We are all grateful for family members who live nearby, as well as those who travel from afar to see us. Barbara McCullough Gilbert has moved to Stone Mountain, Ga., and loves seeing her son, daughter, and their families in Georgia, but misses her children and grandchildren back in Ohio. My two sons live in New York City, N.Y., so I have an excellent reason to visit. My daughter Cathy, who lives nearby, accompanied me there for a wonderful trip in the fall. I hope that wasn’t the last of my annual visits. Daughter Margaret, who lives in Olympia, Wash., came with me to Venice and Florence last spring. Over the holidays, Pauline Wells Bolton in Houston, Texas was visited by her daughter, who lives in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, while other family members joined her grandson Preston, a second lieutenant deployed to Alaska. Brr! Pat Beach Thompson moved to a retirement facility in Reading, Conn., and often sees her children, grandchildren, and great-grand-

children, as well as their dogs and cat. Ann Whittingham Smith lives in Torrington, Conn., near her children. Nancy Hamel Clark, in Greensboro, N.C., is often visited by her daughter Anne, who travels throughout the country to provide consultation to school administrators. She and my son Christopher, a comparative literature professor, would have a lot to discuss about the current state of education. At a Sweet Briar luncheon at the beautiful home of alumna Penn Mullen ’66, our table of former school teachers expressed relief to be spared the tremendous challenge of teaching post-COVID, iPhone, media-obsessed young ones. It’s hard to avoid comparisons of “Back in my day … ” Let us try to focus on the present and express gratitude for our lives today.

Jerry reported that the campus was more beautiful than ever although the boxwood circle by Sweet Briar House has developed a fungus and is showing its age. She and the other members of the classes beyond 50th Reunions were together as a group and given special attention. The chapel is not as active as it used to be, with no active chaplain, organist, choir, or director. Jerry was roped into leading the singing by the reunioning choir a cappella and it worked out well. At our class meeting, it was unanimously decided by Jerry that I should continue as class secretary/ president and the class thanked me for my many years of service! We owe a debt of gratitude to Jerry for all she did at Reunion. She flew to Sweet Briar from California, but in true Jerry fashion, took the train home!

I’m sure you have seen the attractive gate house as you enter the College grounds. Turns out that it was a gift from Anne Sheffield Hale in honor of Lysbeth W. Muncy, professor of history from 1943–1974, and G. Noble Gilpin, professor of music from 1946–1972. There is a plaque on the gate house giving that information. A wonderful part of Sweet Briar now thanks to a member of the Class of 1954. The only other person’s news I have is that I saw on Facebook that Ellie Voorhees Matchneer had a delightful Thanksgiving with everyone there including her five grandchildren.

We didn’t quite meet the goal of 30% giving last fall, but I do want to mention and especially thank Mary Ann Robb Freer, Merrill Underwood Barringer,

Lamar Ellis Oglesby, and Sally Gammon Plummer for their generosity to Sweet Briar.

Admittedly there is disappointment in not getting any notes from you last Christmas to pass on. Now that Class Notes are only once a year, we need to remember our classmates while we’re still here. We are down to about half now.

1956

Leona Crozier Chang: No news in the “wow” category, but I want to send greetings to my classmates and to share that I am blessed to have reached age 91, can still be active, have no health issues, love being a great grandma to four great grandchildren, and will celebrate my 65th wedding anniversary with Al. Life is good.

Jane Sigloh Slack: Living at Westminster Canterbury in Charlottesville, Va. Denny and I have reached an age in which our greatest challenge is remembering the neighbors’ names … I’ve mostly retired from priestly duties but, unhappily, still linger beside the bed of friends who are saying goodbye. We occasionally drive down to Sweet Briar for a look at all that’s new (a vineyard!). I’m proud to be one of her graduates. So is our daughter.

Bruce Watts Krucke 201 West 9th St. North, Unit 184 Summerville, SC 29483 bwkrucke@gmail.com

Our class’ 70th Reunion was a huge success! That is for the one person who was able to be there. Our faithful Jerry Dreisbach Ludeke had a wonderful time and reported on the occasion for me. Vaughan Inge Morrissette, Liz Carper Hoffman, and I were planning to be there. I’m not sure about the others, but I have a good excuse—I had a stroke! It only affected my speech, and because of good therapy, no one even notices anymore.

Mary Koonz Gynn: I looked at several college campuses before I graduated from high school, but the minute that my mother and I walked on the Sweet Briar campus, “This is the one, I’m done looking, mom!” My education at Sweet Briar was wonderful ranging from my favorite subject, horses, my major in mathematics, to learning about life away from home. After three years at Sweet Briar, I transferred to Purdue University, majored in math and physics, and then I worked as an engineer for 10 years designing and making vacuum tubes for atomic bomb testing and the medical industry. In the years following, I farmed our property raising corn and soybeans until retiring from driving tractors, trucks, and combines when I was 80 years old. The education that I got at Sweet Briar was truly wonderful and certainly was an important part of my life.

Jerry Dreisbach Ludeke, our lone reunioner.

1958

Jane Waring: I can’t say a word about my life in Charleston, S.C., without giving a royal salute to our president, Mary Pope, a Charleston-native! What a fine job she’s doing—not only in America, but all the way to Jordan! I bet those young ladies over there can’t wait to come to our treasured campus. We are all “proud to know ‘ya” as Mary Pope’s grandmother used to say! The “livin’” is easy here at Bishop Gadsden. Lots of new buds, plenty of bridge and croquet! Too much good food. I’m very fortunate to have all three children and four grandchildren living here. I’m having the best time spoiling every one of them. I pray all is well with fellow classmates. We’d love to hear from each of you.

Lee van de Velde: Biggest Blessing: Good health (Chris too). Biggest Joy: ALL family members well and happy, and caring about others. Biggest Worry: The country we will be leaving them.

Nancy Hawbaker Gilbert: Last spring I went on an Avalon River Cruise with my son John and daughter in law Marie to Holland and Belgium. The highlight of the trip was a days visit to the Keukenhof Botanical Garden to see the beautiful tulips. In the summer I visited my family in Chicago and revisited the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor where I graduated in 1958. In October I spent two weeks in Paris with a good friend. We had beautiful weather and visited museums and parks. So pleased that I can still enjoy traveling!

1960

Lura Coleman Wampler 1406 Thomas Rd Wayne, PA 19087 lcwampler@comcast.net

Norma Patterson Mills (Chattanooga, Tenn.) and her husband, Olan, attended the inauguration of Mary Pope Hutson where she also saw Jane Ellis Covington (Richmond, Va.)

and Louise Jenkins Maybank (Charleston, S.C.) who is Mary Pope’s godmother.

Maline Gilbert McCalla (Austin, Texas) keeps in touch with Maydelle Foster Fason (Austin, Texas) as well as Lee Cullum (Dallas, Texas). Those Texas girls stick together! She has also reconnected with her big sister Ann Young Bloom ’59.

Nancy Corson Gibbs (Columbia, S.C.) had a great trip down the Elbe in May with her partner, Curt. Then in July, her family came together at Lake Burton in Georgia to celebrate her 85th. This February, she’s planned a cruise along the Amalfi Coast. If not traveling, she’s into jazz and the arts.

Mary Ellen Acey (Henrico, Va.) retired after 35+ years on the science faculty at Bryn Mawr School in Baltimore, Md. She and her husband, Basil, retired to Cedarfield, a CCRC in Richmond, Va. to be closer to family and where they enjoy the many opportunities to explore new horizons and friends.

Jane Tatman Walker continues to live in Zionsville, Ind. where for the past 12 years she has been working on family history, drawing mostly on materials from the various trees that landed in her lap as well as some found in an antique family table secret drawer. She and Frank enjoyed a Crystal cruise with Frank’s son and his wife on the St. Lawrence River starting in Quebec and ending in New York in late September. They spent a week in Naples, Fla. this past winter. She continues to enjoy tai chi and a weekly book club.

Winkie Wimbish Chalfant moved into Vicar’s Landing in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. nearly a year ago and is delighted to realize that she is one of five Sweet Briar alumnae in this beautiful retirement community. She continues to spend summer months in Maine. Her favorite activities are bridge, reading, book groups, and walking to the shore in Maine and around the lovely lake at Vicar’s.

Betsy Buechner Morris (Marblehead, Mass.) is thankful for a full life with her now deceased husband after 60 years together. Recently, she took a trip to Albania with a friend to do some hiking in the mountains. In Maine, she keeps busy by taking

classes, serving on the board of a couple of volunteer organizations, playing sports, and connecting with friends.

Isabel Ware Burch remains in Williamsburg, Va. where she takes her dog, Rappy, to visit at a hospital every week where they are received warmly by the nurses, doctors, and patients. She is still involved with 350-year-old Bruton Parish Church where she has started volunteering in their amazing gift shop. She visits with Jane Ellis Covington in nearby Richmond, Va. Her two sons and families live in Philadelphia, Pa. where one of them worked with three Eagles football players to produce a third Christmas album. Money raised is given to local children’s charities—last year $3.25 million. Go Birds!

Katie Mendelson McDonald sends greetings from Hong Kong, China where a daughter and her family also live.

Carolyn Gough Harding (Sterling, Va.) took a river cruise in France with her son last summer. They enjoyed visits to vineyards and historic sites as well as a few venues used in the Olympic games.

A mention of Gail Lloyd (New York, N.Y.)—she is always the first to reply to any and every email Lucy and I send out. We love knowing that she is at the other end of our communications!

Heidi Wood Huddleston continues to split her time between Hilton Head, S.C. and Bowling Green, Ky. where she now shares a house with her youngest daughter. The two of them traveled to London after a grandchild spent a semester there; they then expanded their trip to other places in Europe. Heidi is a great grandmother several times over and does a great job keeping up with her expanding family.

Linda Sims Newmark is still enjoying retirement in upstate South Carolina playing golf, bridge, walking with a group, boating, and participating in a book and sewing club. She loves having her daughter and son-inlaw live with her in Keowee Key for the past four years. She still has a home in Atlanta and enjoys frequent outings there with Ann Crowell Lemmon and with her two Sweet Briar granddaughters.

Sue Styer Ericksen Cahill is happy living in her retirement

community in Reading, Pa. and has just been elected to the Resident Council Board serving on Hospitality and Golf committees. She is still playing golf and went skiing in the Poconos this past winter. She is blessed with good health!

Carol Barnard Ottenberg has moved to smaller quarters in her retirement community in Seattle, Wash. while maintaining a cottage and garden 15 minutes away. She uses a bike for short errands and walks a lot. Due to her interest in cutting wooden jigsaw puzzles, she traveled to Rochester, N.Y. and Hanover, N.H. for puzzle events. She spends most of August at her summer camp in Maine. She also participates in a book club.

Lucy Martin Gianino continues to be active both professionally and with her volunteer work. She retired from her 44-year board position on NYC Parents in Action, but remains on the advisory board. She is warden for Saint Andrews by the Sea Episcopal Church, a summer mission church on Fire Island, N.Y., which involves a great many interesting moments with wonderful priests coming and going weekly! Summertime on Fire Island for Jack and Lucy is filled with joy because so much of their family is there with them including their six grandchildren, whose ages range from almost 21 to 7.5. As an actress, she’s delighted that she just completed a spot on CBS’s “Elsbeth” as a Scottish school teacher which aired in February. Of course, she’s always involved with Sweet Briar and loves hearing from everyone.

Lura Coleman Wampler: Fred and I hosted 17 family members for Christmas at our farm in Wayne, Pa.—we think every year is the last time we can do this, but who knows! A trip to Memphis, Tenn. to see our grandchild star as Hamlet in a Shakespeare theater and a precious few days in Cape May, N.J. were highlights of this past year. I participate in a book club, a garden club, and head up the altar flower committee for historic St David’s Church in Wayne, Pa. We celebrate our 60th wedding anniversary in June.

Diana Muldaur Dozier: Founder and President of Animal Shelter of Martha’s Vineyard. Keeps me very busy! Proud to be upright at 86!

Class Notes

All classmates will receive a call giving information about our up-coming 65th Sweet Briar Reunion. Lucy and I are truly looking forward to seeing many of you on campus!

1962

Bettye Thomas Chambers 3900 Royal Blvd. Lynchburg, VA 24503 bettyethomaschambers@gmail.com

“Alive and well in Paris,” reports Marcia Armstrong Scholl, our most far-flung correspondent. Sadly, not all are alive and well. Lorinda Nash Collister’s husband, Dan, very kindly responded to the request for alumnae news to say that Rindy had died in November 2023, adding that she “always spoke kindly of Sweet Briar and valued her years there.” Other recent deaths among our classmates are Katherine “Kitty” Carter Nelson, Nancy Fleshman Bowles, Judy Whitacre Snider, and Jane Roulston Beaver.

“On the edge of the world out here in California,” Betsy Shure Gross and Gary have a large, far-flung family: a son, four grandchildren, and eight greatgrandchildren on the West Coast; a daughter, four grandchildren, and “our Yankee greatgrandchild” on the East Coast. Betsy adds: Although COVID and health issues have curtailed some of our activities, book and knitting groups provide friendship and intellectual stimulation while our gardens provide four-season (ah, California!) sanctuary and joy. Our giant schnauzer keeps us good company as well. Gary continues to row year-round with his crew, self-named the “Old Curmudgeons.” We miss our friends and neighbors in Boston, but for that absence there is “abundant compensation.” Betsy is in regular communication with her Sweet Briar roommate, Kim Patmore Cool, who, she says, is as passionate about the College as ever.

Back in the East, Kim herself elaborates: “Daughter Heidi (Colby, ’85) and I enjoyed a two-week cruise on the Viking Egdir from Budapest to

Amsterdam, plus a few days in Berlin, this past November. I continue reviewing theatre and covering arts and leisure for Florida’s Venice Gondolier Sun and judging for U.S. Figure Skating for the 56th year; even judged in Lynchburg, Va. a few times. With Heidi, I have been to every continent but Antarctica. I have seen skating ice and curling ice instead and written more than 20 books, thanks to Sweet Briar, Dr. Pannell and friends like Betsy Shure Gross.”

Julia Shields, writing from Charlottesville, Va., says her favorite pastime is genealogy: “I spend far too much time researching and sharing info with cousins and nieces. I am determined to find my elusive fifth great-grandfather before I die! Also delighting in the newest members of the family, including my great-grandniece, Ruthie, the cutest child in the universe.”

Jo Wheatley Overbey and Hutch moved into Lynchburg, Va. from their farm in 2019, just as Hutch’s health was starting to fail. He became bedridden the next year, gradually declined, and died in March 2021, “putting a warm and loving end to our long go” in the 60th year of their marriage. In spite of COVID, they had been able to gather frequently with their two daughters, who lived nearby. In addition to her daughters, Jo treasures a much-loved son-inlaw, four grandchildren (no longer children!), and one great-grandson (five), “who is a joy.” She has moved into a condominium in Lynchburg and is enjoying life at this stage. Having taken up watercolors recently, she is both surprised and thrilled to be part of a show at The Art Club in April. She adds: “I see several people who were at SBC with me: Bettye Thomas Chambers, Lisa Wood Hancock ’63, and Tappy Lynn ’64, to name a few. Footnote: my greatniece, Stella Turner, is a freshman at Sweet Briar, to my delight!”

I (the aforementioned Bettye Thomas Chambers) am delighted to have reconnected with Jo, after a 60-year hiatus. In 2022, I enjoyed a mini-reunion à deux with my Sweet Briar roommate, Kay Dienst Allen, meeting in Charlotte, N.C., midway between Lynchburg, Va. and Augusta, Ga., where Kay still lives. Al and I are continuing to travel as much as

possible while we still can, having embraced the mantra, “May the last check bounce!”

Another Lynchburger, long since transplanted to Pennsylvania, Ann Percy Stroud writes: “I am still living in Chester County, Pa., in an old Quaker farmhouse (c. 1720s–1830s), and was lucky to be invited to visit Bettye and Al Chambers in Lynchburg last September for our 65th(!) high school reunion. It was wonderful to see Mina Walker Wood and Peggy Mundy Mosby there, as well as Tappy Lynn ’64 and Betty Forsyth Harris ’60. I was especially lucky because a few months later I broke my hip, which cut down on travel!”

Peggy Mundy Mosby has been happily situated in WestminsterCanterbury in Lynchburg, Va. for the last four years, having decided to move there after her husband Richard died in 2018. She has “four wonderful children, with great spouses, who have given me nine healthy, happy grandchildren and one great-grandson,” adding that it is “always exciting when we can get together.”

Hurricane Helene, which devastated parts of the southeastern U.S. in September 2024, was not kind to Cary Lamond Courier, who wrote: “Due to disruption of power, water, and internet, I have been hanging out with a friend in Fairfax, Va. I’m very lucky to have had no injury to person or property, but it will take a long time for Asheville to get back to ‘normal’ from this 100-year storm.”

Nancy Hudler Keuffel, too, was mistreated by Mother Nature in fall 2024, when a large oak tree (48” in diameter) fell on their house in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., doing lots of damage and forcing them into temporary digs until their house is repaired, hopefully within a year. On a happier note, Nancy and Gerd had a wonderful trip all over Greece in summer 2024. They visited the islands, the Pelopponnese, Thessaloniki and really enjoyed seeing the ancient digs. Then, in October, they went to Japan to sightsee and play golf, a trip that had been planned before the oak tree massacre.

May Belle Scott Rauch reported having gotten together with Alice Allen Smyth and Patsey Carney Reed in summer 2024 and was hoping for a December get-together with Anne Allen Symonds, who writes:

“Taft and I had a wonderful barge trip on the Saone River last spring with two of our sons and their wives. We celebrated his 85th with a dinner party at our home in Park City under a beautiful Utah sky. Looking forward to moving into our new home next door to youngest son David in a gated community after Christmas (our answer to the ‘old folks’ home!)”

Speaking of which, members of the Class of 1962 are at the age and stage where many are finding, or have found, a retirement community (often a Continuing Care Retirement Community or CCRC) an attractive living arrangement. All of our correspondents who have made this move have been unreservedly enthusiastic about their choice, especially since their new lodgings are more often than not in the same general neighborhood as the home they are leaving, meaning that friends and family are nearby.

For the past 11 years Anne Parker Schmalz and Bob have been at Carleton-Willard CCRC in Bedford, Mass., where they have continued to enjoy the company of their three grandchildren, all of whom have worked in the facility’s dining room over the years. Anne has also enjoyed her work as editor of the resident magazine, which has allowed her to know all 300 or so residents and to witness “living fully dying well” as a vigil volunteer.

After a whirlwind life of eight years in Asia, a house in New Zealand, and sailing all over the world, Winnie Swoyer Phyfe moved back to Nonquitt, Mass., when her husband Jim retired. Jim died four years ago, and Winnie is now living in South

Heidi and her mother Kim Patmore Cool.

1962

Dartmouth, Mass. She relishes family get-togethers with children and grandchildren every summer in Nonquitt and reports, “Life is actually very nice. I’m content, have a lot of friends and just enough activities: not too much travel, so I am thankful for all that earlier travel.”

Also in the Northeast, Nina Harrison Scribner and Curt are happily ensconced in the retirement community, Cumberland Crossing, in Cumberland, Maine, having been persuaded to give up their vintage 1820 home, just a stone’s throw away, after a series of falls. Nina and Curt, now married for 62 years, feel blessed to have all their children close by, plus eight grandchildren and a great-grandson, due on Christmas day 2024. Reminiscing about her time at Sweet Briar, Nina says “The daily life had an incredible impact on me, with both insignificant and meaningful moments in class or outside in the Heaven on Earth beauty of the campus. Relationships with one another took precedence over everything else.”

Ann Ritchey Baruch is very happy in Beaumont, her retirement community in Bryn Mawr, Pa., enjoying the company of old and new friends and “more fun activities than anyone has time to participate in,” adding “I’m very lucky to be still strong and healthy and particularly love gardening and bridge.” In October, she traveled to Borneo with a small group to make friends with orangutans, spider monkeys, and proboscis monkeys in the tropical jungle. After battling oppressive heat and humidity, she concluded “I loved seeing the primates in their habitat, but once will be quite enough!” Her far-flung family includes her older son, Richie, wife Laura, and children Jack (12) and Lucy (10) in Mill Valley, Calif.; son David and wife Kate with their children Henry (13), Billy (12), and Cece (8) in Darien, Conn.; and daughter Marcy, a talented singer-songwriter, in Scottsdale, Ariz. Summing up family news, Ann says “Being a grandmother is very wonderful!”

Adele Vogel Harrell and Parker are at Fox Hill in Bethesda, Md., where Adele, as chair of the building committee, is “learning more about the maintenance of large buildings than I needed to know.” She is settling into

community living, continues to play bridge, and enjoys new friends at Fox Hill and old friends in D.C. After a major crash of his mobility scooter last May, Parker now has a new scooter “that just cannot be turned over.” A source of joy is the family, which is “scattered everywhere, so thank goodness for FaceTime.” They see lots of daughter Logan, who lives nearby, and recently more of daughter Glenn, who has bought a farm outside Princeton. Of the eight grandchildren, five have graduated from college (one married, one engaged); two are still in graduate school; two of the remaining will graduate in 2025, leaving only one in high school next year. Parker is particularly excited about attending Gordon’s upcoming graduation from Princeton, which will coincide with his 65th reunion there.

From Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., Sally Sharrett Perryman reports: “I lost my wonderful husband, Paul, earlier this year, but am so grateful for all our 63 years together, for our two sons living nearby, and for life here at the Devonshire.”

Barby Ross Goode says “David and I are O.K. and hanging in there by a thread! I have a lot of health and mobility issues, but my spirit is strong and I do what I can. We moved into a lovely retirement facility a year and a half ago which is only about a mile from our home so we are still living within our comfort zone!” Barby feels “truly blessed in many, many ways” to have had all seven grandchildren, progeny of two happily-married daughters, grow up in their immediate vicinity. Most have now fanned out to other locales: one lawyer, two doctors, one at the U.S. Department of State, one in a private equity firm, and one a senior at UVA, while the youngest is still a student in Charlotte, N.C. Barby has remained in close contact over the years with Jocelyn Palmer Connors. Jocelyn is godmother to Barby’s daughter, Amy, and Barby is godmother to Jocelyn’s daughter, Kaky, who also lives in Charlotte.

In September 2024 Jocelyn and Tom enjoyed being at the inauguration of Mary Pope Hutson ’83 as Sweet Briar’s 14th president. Jocelyn wrote: “It was great to see past presidents

Betsy Muhlenfeld and Philip Stone there. A great occasion. The campus is as beautiful as ever!” The Connors have moved to Arbor Acres, a retirement community in Winston-Salem, N.C. According to Jocelyn, “Living in such a place is a lot like being in college again. There are so many great lectures and activities, and we have been joined by interesting and wonderful folks from all over.” Her favorite activities there are gardening, golf, reading and exercising at the fitness center.

Jocelyn sent a wonderful photo of three-and-a-half generations of “Connors Girls,” who had gathered for the baby shower of “little Jocelyn’s” second baby girl, due in December 2024.

1964

Mary Green Borg 1854 13th Avenue Greeley, CO 80631 maryborg68@gmail.com

Thanks to all who responded to my survey, as I take over this note project from the amazing, incomparable Ginny deBuys

From the survey and my unscientific conclusions, we have owned more dogs than cats, though one of us has lived with four damn cats! Mary Deas Boykin Wortley seems to live in a full on menagerie of dogs, cats, cockatiels, and lots of orphaned wild critters, she and her kids cared for and then released back to the wild. We seem to prefer historical fiction … so I guess we read fiction and non-fiction at the same time! Most of our classmates have had one partner, many of us are widows, and two divorced stupid husbands who left for younger women. One of us admitted to making two husband mistakes and Penelope “Penny” Writer Theis reports she and her husband just celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary and writes “Life is Good!” … ah how great!

If we’ve raised kids, most of us had two or three and one after trying for a daughter, got her tubes tied after birthing five sons. One of us has been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s and

remains hopeful and happy and on her own. We have all kinds of new parts … VM DelGreco Galgano just got two new knees last year. (I will include a question next year about new body parts and breast cancer survival … the typical organ recital). Jackie Nicholson Wysong wins the prize for most jobs … over 12 and Lee Daughtridge Turner is still happily employed in her 30th season as the director of operations for the University of Florida gymnastics team. She is having too much fun to retire.

We are a traveling group; everyone seems to be going everywhere and having amazing adventures. Speaking of traveling, Anne Herrmann “APD” has invited all to stay at the Herrmann Hotel on Park Ave in NYC (I took her up on that once and can tell you all, Anne Day and Johnnie Herrmann are terrific hosts). Vera Le Craw Carvaillo has also invited each of us to visit her if we are near Geneva, Switzerland.

Alice Fales Stewart, who lives in a lovely condo in D.C., Susan Williams Snead, who has lived on the coast of Maine for 36 years with her now retired psychiatrist husband, Bob, and Joann Soderquist Krammer, who lives near Burlington, Vt., all noted that daily walking is so important in their lives for physical, mental, and intellectual health … so gals, I for one, may take up their challenge as they are all smart and in shape! Those of us who attended our 60th Reunion, perhaps realized it may be our last one, so I want to close these notes with two thoughts from our classmates. “Being with dear old friends had

Penelope “Penny” Writer Theis and husband, Stu, celebrate 60 years of marriage.

Class Notes

an almost magical quality as I remembered the girls we were and witnessed the women we have become … in the beautiful setting of the College … we all learned so much at” from Grace Mary Garry Oakes and “I treasure my family, but oh! I care for my SBC friends! Each interaction is a joy, and I know we need to hold hands through this time in our lives” from VM DelGreco Galgano. So, let’s stay connected … reaching out to each other as we navigate our 80s. Cheers to each of you.

Virginia DeBuys: A good year—our 60th!—a wonderful Tauck Canyonlands tour, golf events for Jerry (Ocala and San Antonio), a road trip north to Massachusetts to see family and old friends and one more—the Florida Keys over Christmas (with help from Susan Baxter). I just cook cookies this year as Jerry’s family is not coming down. Keep in touch!

were able to reach that milestone. While Jay and I are no longer able to travel, I’m so glad we never put anything off “until retirement.” (If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans) Happiest thing for me this year was the surprise visit from Lee and Julie for my 80th. I still keep in touch with Jane Taylor Ryan and miss my roomie, Nadean “Deanie” Finch Hampton. Lots of SBC friends here in Richmond, Va.! Love and best wishes to all.

Some of us did some pretty amazing things when we celebrated our big birthdays!

Bitsy Taggart writes of skydiving over northern Michigan on her big day! But her greatest sense of accomplishment of the year was her writing, along with her cousin, a family history, beginning with her greatgrandfather’s roots in the Isle of Man! You can see Bitsy’s book in the accompanying photo (hopefully). Congratulations, Bitsy, on this major success!

Penn Willets Mullin 124 Linden Lane San Rafael, CA 94901

Dear classmates: It was so wonderful to hear from so many of you as we begin a brand new year!

I don’t know about you, but when I think of the number 80, I have trouble connecting it with myself! I am fortunate to be in good health, but I never take it for granted. Rather treasure each day and feel fortunate to be able to enjoy it fully. I find that I value my friendships more than ever, so many of them that began at Sweet Briar!

Cherry Brown Peters: I’ve WAY overcommitted myself to volunteer work this year and had to get organized to a level more like undergrad than retiree: notebooks and reports are everywhere in my little home office! I’ve even had to co-opt the back of the sofa for grab-and-go materials! (Here’s a snap of just how bad it’s gotten!) But if I learned anything since I retired from my tech career, it’s that I’m happiest when I’m busy. Happy Holidays to all!

Sally Kalber Fielder: This was the year that most of us turned 80, and I hope that many of us

Lee Miller Mackubin writes of her deep gratitude at being CANCER FREE after her bout with lung melanoma! She is thankful for God’s grace and the support of family and friends. Her life is getting back to normal now, as she continues her work caring for the homeless and her church responsibilities. She and her grandchildren enjoyed a trip to the south of France at Thanksgiving! Yay, Lee! We toast you as you recover so splendidly!

Ginny Butters reports that she is in email contact with Betty Booker Morris, Margo Langenberg, El Griggs Diemar, and Robin Cutler. She commutes to Delaware and Martha’s Vineyard. And gets to see Pam Mendolia Abernathy in Manhattan, where she lives. Ginny’s son, Andrew, and his wife teach at the University of Texas. This is too far away for Ginny to get to see enough of her granddaughters!

Happily, her son Morgan is moving to N.Y.C. He will be working with Avenida Energy, which Ginny’s husband David has recently helped take over. Ginny professes to be the “lightweight of the family,” playing pickle, tennis, mahjong, and helping keep a book club organized! Doesn’t sound lightweight to me!

Natalie Funk admits to being “grateful to be mobile”

family history. 4. A picture to share the obvious energy of SBC friendship and connection! 5. Penn Willets Mullin and her granddaughters at her 80th birthday! 6. This is Kathryn Mathewson, her granddaughter, Katherine “Kat” Rainville, and her daughter, Heather Rainville. Kat was here for an Admissions tour and we all had lunch. 7. Cherry Brown Peters’ volunteer work overrunning her couch! 1966

Clockwise: 1. Kate Barret Clay with grandkids, Christmas 2023. 2. Painting in acrylics by Bunny Cord. 3. Cover of Bitsy Taggart’s

after a busy time traveling for family visits recently, including Williamsburg, Va. often to see her sister and Charlottesville, Va. to visit Jeff’s brother. They got to stay at Elston Inn when their granddaughter graduated from Liberty University, and then were in Lynchburg. Va. for her wedding. They were glad to be able to get up to New Jersey for Carol Stokes Kennedy’s ’68 daughter’s wedding and Gracie Butler Johnson’s funeral. Natalie was grateful for being able to spend time with her brother at the Homestead before he passed away. We send our condolences to you, Natalie, for this loss. Thank you for continuing to be our wonderful Class President!!

It was wonderful to hear from Robin Cutler, writing from California, where she has now lived for nearly five years! She reports that she misses the East Coast, but is happy to be near her daughters and grandsons (Will and Alex, 14 and 16) out here in Oakland. Robin keeps busy with reading, writing, volunteering, and exercise. A big focus has been sorting through family papers and shipping them to archives in many parts of the country. She is moving to a better apartment in January at the same retirement community where she now lives. Robin, expect a visit from Randi Miles Long, Keenan Colton Kelsey, and myself soon!

“Sort of a hermit since retirement two years ago,” writes Kate Barret Clay. She reports spending most of her time doing yard work and doing upkeep on her old house. (Does this sound familiar?) When not at home, she’s watching grandkids play soccer or just hanging out with them and their parents. “I’m quite content. After spending 54 years on the go, being at home is a treat. I love animals, birds, trees, and wildflowers.” Yes, Katie, you do sound content and happy! Wonderful!

Randi Miles Long celebrated her 20th Leap Year birthday this year! And she is having trouble believing that she and Herb are really 80 years old! (Ah, yes!) Last winter she and Herb were celebrated by their children with wonderful parties!

“Looking back,” Randi writes, “I feel I have accomplished much in my life journey, but still have so many things I want to do.” I

imagine many of us can relate to this feeling. One of her recent priorities is helping a church-based organization that furnishes apartments for previously unhoused people (refugees included). Randi is also working on a team that strives to introduce nature and birding to underserved communities in the Oakland and San Francisco areas.

She loved visiting classmates Jane Nelson, Makanah Dunham Morriss, and Betty Booker Morris recently in Richmond, Va. Randi and Makanah attended the same high school in Connecticut! They all had fun catching up with each others’ lives at lunch!

Randi ends by sharing her feelings on a topic we all are giving serious thought to this year. “Most important to me as I reflect back on 2024 is how very disappointed I am in SBC’s recent change to its admission policy. It seems that Sweet Briar is becoming a community that does not support my values: to be supportive and understanding of all people. The new admissions policy is not in keeping with my understanding of fairness, inclusivity, and equality. As an alumna, I cannot support the new admissions policy and no longer in good conscience financially support our school in my trust. It was very disturbing to me that the faculty and students did not have a voice in the change in the admission policy.”

Martha Swanson Madden experienced the loss of her dear husband this year. We send you love and our condolences, Martha, as you embark on a new course, one that many of your classmates have been traveling in recent years. Martha shares that she and her husband were able to enjoy seeing lots of plays together as well as a wonderful cruise through the Panama Canal when he was still able to travel. Now, Martha has recently cruised with her sister from Barcelona to Fort Lauderdale, returning home to slowly work through a lot of things she needs to take care of, something to which many classmates can relate! We will keep you in our thoughts and prayers, Martha!

“My biggest complaint,” writes Keenan Colton Kelsey, “is that my health gives out at the worst moments! I just had to miss a chance to teach English in

Guatemala. But overall, I am good. Mark and I act like newlyweds, having so much fun, lots of traveling and adventures.” Amidst her busy days, Keenan still finds time to continue serving on SBC’s Board. But she admits that “it is harder to find a way through some of the complexities.” Good things include getting to preach now and then, and that I get to see Penn Willets Mullin often, who lives nearby.

(I love this!) Keenan shares that her dear half-sister has passed away recently, and this reminds her to cherish the present. Amen! “See you at Reunion!”

We are certainly travelers as we embark into our 80s! Hooray! Sally Hoffman Thomas writes that she and her husband Paul celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 2019 with a Viking River Cruise from Budapest and west with extra days in Budapest and Prague. A great celebration, Sally, and you did it before COVID! Yay!

Jean C. Barquin is another of our big travelers! Cruising along the coast of West Africa, then up the Amazon! Followed by a trip to Paris with her granddaughter (8), “revisiting all my favorite spots from JYF!” Next was a big family celebration of Jean’s BIG birthday over Labor Day. “How is it possible that we are 80!” she writes. Jean still lives in her same home in Bethesda—41 years. Son, Nick, with his wife and Jean’s, granddaughter (14) and grandson (11), live 15 minutes away. Daughter with family live in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. with granddaughters (6 and 9). All joined Jean for Thanksgiving this past November at her house!

“2024 was a really good year for us,” Jean reports. “Ramon and I are in good health and able to pursue all our activities. At our ages that is a blessing and we treasure it!” Absolutely!

Big changes for Kit Baker Sydnor this year. She and her corgi are now settled in a cottage at Westminster Canterbury in Lynchburg, Va. following the sudden passing of her husband this fall. Kit is thankful to have friends and family close by as she looks ahead. She loves hearing from classmates!

Kit, we are thinking of you with love and so much sympathy for you in the loss of your husband. We hope that you are being surrounded by love there in your new commu-

nity, with loved ones nearby. Bunny Cord reports that she is working hard to finish paintings (acrylics) for a student sale at the Glassell School of Art at the Houston Museum of Fine Arts. She has been experimenting with a flat diagrammatic background and a “realistic” subject. “Would love to hear from other ‘later in life’ painters,” Bunny tells us. Hooray for you, Bunny! We hope that you will be successful with lots of sales at the show!!

Gathering with Jane Nelson , Betty Booker Morris , and Randi Miles Long was a big highlight for Makanah Dunham Morriss this past fall, as it was for all the others there! “Catching up, sharing memories, being so grateful for our time at SBC, and also sharing heartfelt thoughts and concerns for Sweet Briar during these complex and challenging times.”

Makanah reports that she and Bob are doing well, but definitely slowing down as they pass through the big birthday this year. But they still love their country life in Forest, Va. This said, they are beginning to look at a timeline for moving into an excellent senior community in Lynchburg, Va. where Makanah’s close friend Kit Baker Sydnor has moved. Several other SBC alumnae are there as well, so it must be a great place!

Jane Nelson reports that last June she moved to Westminster Canterbury (WC) Richmond, Va., the continuing care retirement community from which she retired from her work in Pastoral Care in 2014. Unfortunately, she had to spend the first several months in the health care center while she recovered from a broken ankle. She was so glad to have this option at WC and to have the support of her family and others as she navigated a very complicated move from her old condominium. As many of you know, “such moves have their own set of rewards and challenges!” She is so happy to have her family home in Culpeper, Va. where she goes as often as possible.

Jane looks forward to reviving an “Annual Trip” for Keenan Colton Kelsey, Penn Willets Mullin, and herself. “We always miss our fourth roommate Susan Dodson Hiller, but have great laughter and memories to share.”

Class Notes

Hope as many classmates as possible can attend our 60th Reunion! And lastly, me. I feel very blessed to have health, family close by, a job that I love, close friends, and travel opportunities now and then as I roll into my Eighties! I guess the biggest change in my life lately has been the passing of George last May at 90 after a battle with dementia. Happily, at the end of his life, his “old self” returned and we were able to enjoy some warm and close days together again. I feel so thankful for this gift.

Seeing Keenan and Randi often are wonderful “hot fudge sundaes” in my life. And Jane in Richmond, Va. and I laugh on the phone all the time. We miss Susan Dodson Hiller so much, always, our fourth roommate.

I am really enjoying teaching autistic young adults at a nearby school, a learning experience for me every day with these wonderful people. I love having all seven grandkids living in northern California and getting to see them often! Each summer my sister and I head to Montana for our annual flyfishing adventures near Bozeman. We’re joined by families, golden times.

It has been quite an inspiring process reading your wonderful messages! I am left with a sense of our class being a group of women with great courage, energy, talent, determination, curiosity, spirit, high principles, and loyalty to old friendships forged at Sweet Briar. I am proud to be counted as one of you.

To leave you laughing: Recently I was talking to my granddaughter (7) about what it was like when I was little. She listened and then said, “But Jama, whenever I think of you as a little girl, I always picture you living in a cave!” 1968

Pembroke Herbert Kyle 26 Canterbury Hill Topsfield, MA 01983 pembroke.kyle@gmail.com

Katey Buster: For a few years now, I have been doing a lot of bird photography and posting sometimes on various Facebook pages. Except for glaucoma creeping up and causing me to lose half

the slight in one eye and some in the other, I still manage to go birding and take photos. I will enjoy it as long as it lasts!

Phoebe Peacock Brunner: I love living at Watergate South, directly across from the Kennedy Center. When I leave a performance there, I get selfish pleasure in seeing the cars inching out of the garage and the people standing in the cab line. Been there, done those, but now I just walk across the street to be home. I am within walking distance of museums and galleries, so much Washington, D.C. has to offer. I get to Philadelphia, Pa. via Amtrak about once per month to visit my grandchildren, Wilfred and Amelia, and my veterinarian daughter, Mary, and her musicology professor husband, Phil. Mary’s identical twin sister, Anne, continues working at the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (i.e. the sanctions squad) and I see her and her fiancé as often as possible.

Martha Pritchett Conner: C.V. and I have had a good year with some aches and pains, but we are still kicking. My daughters, Leslie and Elizabeth, are close to us and I help when needed by carpooling and babysitting. We spend much of the summer at our lake house with them and their families and friends. Other travels are to visit my sons and their families: Hartwell in Erie, Colo. and Poston in Kansas City, Mo. We had several trips to Hilton Head, S.C. All children were present when Poston was inducted into Riverside High School Hall of Fame for having held the State of North Carolina record in the 50 meter freestyle for 10 years! I still enjoy playing golf. On Sept. 6, on our way to the Sapphire Valley/ Cashiers area of N.C, C.V. and I stopped at the Black Mt. Bistro to have lunch with Betsy Wolfe and her mate Gary. Three weeks later, Hurricane Helene hit Black Mt. and left major destruction. Betsy and Gary visited us in the fall in Durham, N.C.

Pam Boyd Daniel: My family and I are well and happy. We have a lot for which to be grateful! Last summer, we took our younger daughter and our two granddaughters on a cruise to Portugal, Spain, and France. We loved experiencing familiar sights through our girl’s eyes.

Barbara Dunlap: This was a “pink” day quite by chance for Charlie, me, and my twin brother, Tee, before he died in December 2024. This past year he joined us in Arizona to battle stage four pancreatic cancer. His wife, Shellie, who was in our class at Hollins, was a trooper. We had a good time trading barbs about SBC and Hollins.

Melinda Brown Everett: My husband, Vin Klos, and I celebrated our 31st anniversary in December 2024—not a bad track record for a got-a-late-start second

marriage. We’re in relatively good health. We’re continuing to enjoy living at our CCRC, Brooksby Village, near Boston, Mass. More than 1,800 residents; many of them fascinating, stimulating, and just whom I’d like to be when I someday grow up.

The Mystery Lovers group I started with a handful of friends this past February has grown to 88+ members with monthly meetings, a newsletter, member presentations, and communitywide programs by local and regional authors.

Clockwise: 1. Charlie, Barbara Dunlap, and her twin brother, Tee. 2. Betsy Wolfe and Martha Pritchett Conner. 3. Percy Clarke Gwinn and family. 4. Francie DeSaussure Meade’s family.

Older grandson, Max Everett (17), just earned his Eagle Scout award. His project was building raised flower beds outside the local animal shelter to beautify the grounds and to provide a pleasant space for folks to “test walk” adoptable dogs. Younger grandson, Alex, is also well on his way to Eagle Scout. Their father, my son Jeff, just received two national graphic design awards: one for his 444-page book, Let It Bleed: 20 Years of Poster Design from Rockets Are Red Studio, and for his cover design for the cult classic graphic novel, I Was A Teenage Dominatrix by Shawna Kenney.

My older son, Phil, and his wife, Rebecca Smith, recently completed their fifth walk on the Camino de Santiago de Compostela (i.e. “The Way of St. James”) in Spain. They go by different routes each time, hiking anywhere from 200–800 miles depending on their entry point. They’ve asked me to accompany them. Maybe to speed up the inheritance process? Each time my answer varies from a simple “No” to “Are you kidding me?”

Jennie Lyons Fogarty: I attended the Democratic Convention in August—a lifelong dream I can now check off my bucket list. Looking forward to a trip this summer to Paris and Normandy with granddaughter Maggie. It will be my fourth “grand” trip with a teenage grandchild—I am a huge fan!

Percy Clarke Gwinn: I am happy to say that the Gwinns are all doing well. Michael and I will celebrate 53 years of marriage in April and are trying to “grow old gracefully.” Our granddaughters Amelia (16) and Sara (14) are both volleyball players and play not only on school teams, but traveling teams, too! Son, William, who specializes in toxicology, is still at NIH in Raleigh, N.C. and his wife, Trish, is a lawyer with Aon. So glad to have them only an hour away! We had a wonderful summer/fall at our home in Jonesport, Maine and saw Octavia “Tay” Wood Cooper and husband, Jim, several times at our little yacht club events. We have both had our summer homes in tiny Jonesport for over 20 years … small world!

Rickey Hendricks: I recently moved to Aptos, Calif., overlooking Monterey Bay, in Santa Cruz

County. Now I am just two minutes from one of my daughters, her husband, and my youngest grandson, who just turned six. He is a frequent visitor with many hours of Lego and various games each week.

Brenda Darden Kincaid: Doug and I have now lived in Lynchburg, Va. for over seven years. It is a lovely town, rich in history and filled with many fine people. I fill my days playing duplicate bridge, reading, or working for the Altar Guild at St. John’s Episcopal Church. Our eight grandchildren are growing up quickly. The oldest, Ellie Hollon, will be married next May in Lexington, Ky. She is a physical therapist and her fiancée is an occupational therapist. We had a lovely cruise last spring from Spain to Greece. Our summer always includes a family gathering on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. We feel very fortunate to live near one of our children and her three boys. Our other grandchildren are in Kentucky and Sacramento, Calif. A message I keep on my fridge says: “Life is

short, so be swift to love and make haste to be kind.”

Amy Thompson McCandless: 2024 was a year of travel. Amy and Steve began the year with a Winstar Cruise through the Panama Canal including stops on several Panamanian islands, Cartegena, and Aruba. While Steve was enjoying his annual salmon and halibut fishing in Alaska, son Colin and Amy went hiking on Oahu and the Big Island in Hawaii. Son Alastair out traveled us all, though, with not one, but two birding trips to Australia. Steve and Amy ended the year with a Viking Journey to the Antiquities cruise that included visits to ancient Herculaneum, Knossos Palace in Crete, the ruins at Ephesus, and the Parthenon and Acropolis. Amy was thrilled to be able to visit palaces she taught about in her European history survey at the College of Charleston and Steve was equally delighted to ponder the engineering feats of the past. We are most thankful for family and friends and good health.

Francie DeSaussure Meade: Still feeling lucky and happy to live near my three children and their families, including my son Ted’s baby boy, Easton, born on June 2. Now there are seven! Best wishes to you all.

Betsy Wolfe: My connection with Sophie at our 55th Reunion led to a fun and meaningful visit with her and Christian in France this spring. I also visited Martha Pritchett Conner and C.V. in their Durham home in the fall. Four and a half years after Ed’s death, I am “mated” with Gary Anderson, a man with whom I have purchased a new house in my home town of Columbia, S.C. He has a home in Asheville, N.C. where we will spend cooler summers, winters will be in Columbia and we are traveling about a third of the year. We both have family—children and grandchildren—spread between Palo Alto, Calif. and Tahoe, Calif., so that keeps us attached to the San Francisco Bay Area and friendships there. This late third quarter relationship was wanted,

Clockwise: 1. Brenda Darden Kincaid’s family at Nags Head. 2. Amy Thompson McCandless “AmyAncientEphesus.” 3. Francie DeSaussure Meade and John visiting Pembroke Kyle and Bill on Nantucket. 4. Sally Watkins and husband, Jim, on Nantucket. 5. Catherine Porter and Jim with daughter, Terrell, and fiance, Jack Newell. 6. JYF Alums: Anne Webster, Julie Seibels Northup, and Julie’s husband, Fred. 1968

but still unexpected. Gary makes me laugh everyday as we negotiate remodeling, playing golf, bicycling, traveling, and mixing family and friends. He’s a good kisser, and that helps a lot too. We enjoy visitors, and you are welcome in either of our locations even though Asheville is not up to par and we won’t be in our new Columbia house until late March.

Julie Seibels Northup: This year has been one of transition. We decided to move back to Seattle, Wash. to be near our older son and his family. Our other son lives in San Diego, Calif., so it seemed a logical decision, but downsizing by about two-thirds has really been a challenge. Hoping to continue some legal work, sing with a chorus, or otherwise replace or duplicate what made my time in Asheville, N.C. so rewarding. I’ve kept up with several classmates, primarily those who also experienced the Junior Year in France, which regretfully seems to have disappeared along with the College’s distinguished French department.

Catherine Porter: My biggest news is two-fold: 1) that my mother, Sweet Briar Class of 1944, died in August at the age of 102. She was May Queen, and when I was at Sweet Briar, people who knew her would always say that she was the most beautiful queen ever … and that I looked exactly like my father. I always agreed. But it was a bit weird. I do look like my father. She was a big supporter of Sweet Briar. She was totally with it and in no pain, so a very peaceful death and a great life. We should all be so fortunate. 2) Our daughter, Terrell, and only child, is engaged to be married to Jack Newell, her long-time beau. I am enjoying retirement, spending time in our new home in McLean, Va., our little place in Aspen, Colo., and our weekend place in Rappahannock County, Va. So far, we are healthy. We feel very fortunate.

Sally Watkins: 2024 was a year of change for me, my husband Jim, and our dog Henry. We sold our home in Alexandria, Va. last summer and moved to Lancaster, Pa. to be closer to my daughter and ideally to retire. Retiring has proved to be harder to do than we thought. I am still traveling to D.C. to do appraisals because I love the work, and the extra money is great. Finding the right life balance is hard, but I hope to figure it out soon.

Nancy Hickox Wright: Much to my joy, our CCRC stages a 23 act Follies every year! Last year I sang backup as one of the Supremes and had two parts in a total Ass-level skit directed by a former admiral. I had two parts because I had to take over the part of an ill player. To differentiate us I had to use an accent for one of the characters. When asked how I did that, I replied “Sweet Briar College!”

Sally Paradise Ingber: Just glad for every day and how much SBC has meant to me. Golfing, traveling, still working, family is getting to be a geometric progression as more babies are born to the younger generation. Grandchildren in college! So sorry to miss Frances Kirven Morse’s get together in Palo Alto, Calif. Hope not to miss the next California “get together.” We have thought of staying in Maui, Hawaii or Scottsdale, Ariz., but for now still have residence in California. Still no idea what is coming next, but wishing Sweet Briar well in this changed world and hope to see dear classmates soon.

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Mardane Rebentisch

McLemore 719 Jones St. Suffolk, VA 23434 jlmmrm39@gmail.com

55th Reunion—May 30–June 1, 2025. Please plan on attending!!!

Betsy Edwards Anderson: I had a wonderful visit with Katie Harris several weeks ago. Her visit was so delightful and happy. We could not stop talking and reminiscing on our days at Sweet Briar. It’s a joy to have these long lived friendships!

Lynn Barr Hoyt: It feels like our 75th birthday celebration was a short time ago. I’m enjoying retirement, spending time in my garden—sometimes working there—and lots of hiking and birdwatching in local parks and preserves. This summer, Reed and I made a couple of trips to Belfast, where his brother has a home. And we even sailed to Cuttyhunk, Mass. for a brief taste of island life in early September. We’ve had several chances to cheer our granddaughters in their soccer

and field hockey games this fall. Otherwise, just chugging along in our daily routines and making some plans to travel next year.

Lawson Calhoun Kelly: We were in the mountains in Cashiers, N.C. where the eye of Hurricane Helene passed directly over us, sparing us the catastrophic damage of Asheville and other cities. We had water damage in the basement and several big trees fell, which temporarily blocked the road. A creek near our home turned into a raging river with white-water rapids, so once again we got to see the power of Mother Nature and the fragility of our lives. Every day is truly a gift. The time we spend in the mountains half the year is quite a change of pace from Atlanta, Ga. It only takes me five minutes to get whatever errand that needs to be run. Most of my time is spent teaching classes at church either in a grief ministry called “Walking the Mourner’s Path” or watching and discussing “The Chosen,” a fabulous series on the life of Jesus and his disciples. Frank continues to be an orthopedic consultant and an avid golfer. Our grandchildren are growing up. One has flown the nest to Indianapolis, Ind. to study and work in the racing industry. Our only granddaughter has committed to Brown University to play volleyball, and the youngest continues to delight us with his funky sense of humor and football capers. Our move to Atlanta to be closer to our children and grandchildren has turned out to be the blessing we hoped it would be.

Helen “Stuart” Camblos: Two weeks after my rotator cuff surgery, Hurricane Helene devastated our mountains in Asheville, N.C.—we lost 40% of our beautiful tree canopy and recovery will take years. Power and internet immediately failed for about a month and we are still boiling water! A huge tree fell on my house and came through the ceiling. It took out the back porch, but I am thankful I have a house, as many people were not so lucky. It’s been heartening to see volunteers and workers from all over the U.S. come here to help, and FEMA has been amazing despite news to the contrary. In other news, I loved watching my oldest daughter complete the N.Y.C. Marathon flanked by her

two sisters after she crossed the finish line.

Candace Buker Chang: Feeling myself growing older by the minute, I’m trying to pack in as much travel as I can, often with dear SBC friends. I loved my time at SBC, and I treasure the enduring friendships I made there. However, I am now heartsick about the direction the Board and president have led Sweet Briar. The threats that have followed towards those who disagree and are vocal about it only speak of repression which is the very opposite of a good liberal arts education. I will be hoping and praying for a more inclusive and loving direction for Sweet Briar.

Jane Gott has joined Jo Shaw Lawson and I on our annual winter trip to Saint John where we all enjoy sitting on the beach and snorkeling. Then in March 2024, Jo and I set off for Egypt, something I have wanted to do ever since I was about 10 years old. It did not disappoint—the temples, tombs, and museums are just amazing! In June, I accompanied my granddaughter, Cleo (14), to Japan for two weeks. Mostly Tokyo (which was way too hot), but a great couple of days in Kyoto as well. She then stayed on for two more weeks to study Japanese— she would now like to move to Tokyo! In late August, Jo invited Laura Sickman Baksa, Jane, and Barbara Offutt Mathieson to her cabin just outside Estes Park, Colo. We had a fine time driving around Rocky Mountain National Park, seeing moose, elk, and bighorn sheep, cooking and eating, and just enjoying each other’s company. In October, it was back to Saint John for two weeks of grandchild care (again, way too hot for my taste, but at least no hurricane) and then Betty Rau Santandrea came to Boston, Mass. to visit for a week. We went to Cape Cod, Mass. so that Betty could see the ocean.

Carey Cleveland Swan: Wish my class notes were more exciting, but I can only repeat how yoga and a slower and more contemplative life have been so good. And no, I do not live in a cave in the Himalayas. This is 100% Houston, Texas. I mainly enjoy (among other things) walking in the neighborhood, being with friends, and waiting for my next rescue dog to appear in my life. And here is a humble-

1970

Clockwise: 1. Ann Wheeler Ehrich walking into Settle, N Yorkshire. 2. Emmy Moravec Holt and Joan Hennessy Wright in Fenwick, Conn. 3. We were at the Melk Abbey in Melk, Austria on Christmas Eve, 2024. It was cold and a wonderful trip. 4. Helen “Stuart” Camblos’ oldest daughter, Jennifer (center) completed the 2024 N.Y.C. Marathon. Her two sisters, Caroline and Margaret, cheered her on!

brag: our oldest grandson is in law school. Think we are old yet?

Annie Compton: I had a great visit with Katie Harris before Thanksgiving when she and her husband Marvin drove in from California to see their daughter here in Austin, Texas. It’s such a treat to see Katie when she comes in … She caught a preview of my partner Greg’s work and mine as we were setting up for the annual Austin Studio Tour. Painting and politics keep me busy—oh and keeping tabs on my Texas family AND all my siblings, as well as my two son’s families (hooray for two granddaughters) back east … Anyone coming through

future, and fun with friends give me a rich life. I’m grateful.

Elsa Jones Forter: I’ve had a tough year. My husband died in May after three months in the hospital with a septic infection which shut down his kidneys. Our children have been a wonderful help to me over this time. A bright spot occurred when I got together with Roseanne Feldman and her daughter who were visiting Boston, Mass. After a nice brunch, we did a tour of the art in the Boston Public Library which was quite amazing, especially the Sargent art on the third floor. My son and I spent Thanksgiving with my daughter and family in Durham, N.C. They will be here for Christmas, which will be nice.

Ann Gateley: I’ve been traveling this year to Japan (with SWW friends) and to Italy, Croatia, and the Netherlands to visit friends who live there. I continue cycling so I can eat more!

Betty Glass Smith: 2024 has been a challenge for us, with several more health issues to deal with, but I’ll have to say Bill and I are still able to do many of the things we enjoy. Luckily, our immediate family and close relatives are fairly healthy and doing well. Sadly, some friends are no longer with us. We still love being in Virginia’s Northern Neck and hope to be able to stay in our house at least three or four more years. Bill is in his 80s and there has been talk about where we should go next and when. By the way, he still rides on his jet ski!

perfect trip. We love Regent Seven Seas, and their largest ship is 750 passengers—which is a perfect size. We were dazzled by the whales and the mountains and the glaciers. We’re looking forward to joining David and Kay Parham Picha in January 2025 on our third Country Music Cruise. On the health front, I continue to battle lung cancer and I’m happy to report I’m winning. It has been over seven years, and with a genius oncologist, we continue to beat the beast. We send love and prayers to all.

Joanne Hicks Robblee: For the last three years, I have served on our church Vestry—two years as warden. That certainly has kept me busy. My newest volunteer endeavor has been to teach a class for our local hospice called “Ducks in a Row.” This six session class focuses on different aspects of organizing paperwork and making end of life arrangements.

Austin? Come on by! I’ll be at the easel most days or painting nearby.

Nia Eldridge Eaton: Lucky me—History, art, material culture, and horticulture continue to enrich my life as I continue my docent work at Winterthur and Brandywine River Museum. Like all museums, we challenge ourselves to become more relevant and attract new visitors by creating linkages, so life is always intellectually challenging, never stale. As I write this, deep in yuletide prep for fundraisers for my various garden clubs. This year’s physical therapy has hopefully forestalled the need for knee replacement. Boxer dogs, the

Katie Harris: In November, while in Austin, Texas to visit our daughter, I had a chance to hang out with Annie Compton, my SBC roommate for all four years—and I had a chance to buy two of her paintings. Check out her terrific work at www.anniecompton.com. From Austin, I flew to Charlotte, N.C. and stayed with Betsy Edwards Anderson for two nights. I also made a quick trip to Greenville, S.C. to visit overnight with Jane Rush Davenport. It was just wonderful to get to visit cherished friends in person.

Karen Hartnett: George and I discovered how much we love cruising years ago, and we decided any place we might want to visit is within 25 miles of a coastline. So far, that strategy has worked. Our last cruise was to Alaska for 14 days in August 2024, and it was a

Sue Holbrook Daly: We have had quite an eventful summer as I am now a breast cancer warrior. I’ve had a bilateral mastectomy with reconstruction and am on oral chemotherapy for the next five years. I mention this to beg EVERYONE to please stay on top of and get their yearly mammograms. Mine literally saved my life. I have been blessed with wonderful doctors and a supportive family. Everyone else is thriving but no travel or vacations for the Dalys. I am getting back to my shop in Old Town Alexandria, Va. and that has been a Godsend. I wish each of you Happy, Healthy Holidays!

Deborah Jones: My note this year is easy: there is nothing new to report! We are both well, just older. No serious travel undertaken or planned and no serious illnesses. Grandchildren (10–30) continue to make their way in the world. The older ones get in for visits now and then and that is always fun.

Page Kjellstrom: I managed to travel to Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Bulgaria, Romania, and the French Open just before the Olympics. Otherwise lots of tennis, canasta, bridge, and Mahjong. Lorie Amass made a Florida visit. Note: Vieve Minor Moeckel is enjoying living in Lexington, Va. Fran Griffith Laserson: It’s been a glorious year for me, starting with the birth of my “last” grandchild and only

grandson, Griffith Edward Bussmann, in San Francisco, Calif. in May. Daughters, Tenley and Galen, and their families gathered in our favorite summer place, Quogue, to welcome Griffy into the family. I took a threeweek adventure with a friend on a 72 foot Rockstar Bus (happily with a driver) to South Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming and loved Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons, fly fishing, and rafting. I got tips on Montana from Lorie Harris Amass. She will be greatly missed.

Diane McCable Reid: We had a low-key year. I had knee replacement surgery in June and have been in physical therapy since. The only highlight of the year was new grandson, James Reid Gilloran, born in May—looking forward to finally meeting him Thanksgiving.

Katie McCardell Webb: My husband and I just returned from a trip to Egypt which reawakened the memories of ancient history-seeing what Egyptians accomplished in person is much more impressive than reading about it. The new Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) just opened two weeks before we toured and it is one of the most impressive buildings I have ever seen, costing over $1 billion. Also spent a day with Sally Taylor at Weatherall—she shared her bounty of ferns among the wetlands on her property, so after digging for an hour, I have a piece of Weatherall in my yard. Sally has really created a special place preserving the land and returning it to only natives. And her house she designed and built is fabulous.

Jean McKee Carmichael: This is the busiest time of year for our senior show choir, performing two to three times a week since the beginning of November. We sing at various senior centers, assisted living facilities, and memory care centers and enjoy bringing some holiday cheer to all those who live there. As the years pass, my voice gets lower and lower (along with other parts of my body) and I now find myself singing tenor. I managed to squeeze in a trip to Scotland and another to Las Vegas, Nev. to see the Eagles in concert between both a knee and shoulder replacement!

Betty McLemore White: I never thought I would be a grandmother, but I now have two grandchildren: Waverly (3) and Wylie (6 months).

Emmy Moravec Holt: This has been a year of travel for me. Trips included touring the south of France, drooling over English gardens, traveling throughout Scotland (and got caught in the July 19 crowdstrike in Amsterdam with canceled flights home and frantic crowds), enjoying a western Mediterranean cruise to coastal places in Italy, France, and Spain, and finally, exploring and loving places and safaris in South Africa, Botswana, and Zimbabwe. My runway is getting shorter, so I’m trying to cover a lot of places on my bucket list while I can. In December, I’ll once again be in the Greenville Ballet’s Nutcracker as the Grandmother (who else?!). It’s an easy part, as Bill and I enjoy nine grands of our own. Of the nine, we have one little girl who has definitely already found her voice.

Barbara Offutt Mathieson: The big excitement of the year was traveling by myself to Kathmandu, Nepal, for a meditation retreat in June. I wasn’t sure my body could handle 34-hour flights, but it did just fine. In August, I enjoyed a much gentler and more social week with freshman year friends Candace Buker Chang, Laura Sickman Baksa, and Jane Gott at Jo Shaw Lawson’s lakeside vacation home in Colorado. It was a real treat to explore Rocky Mountain National Park together, take turns cooking, and simply enjoy each other’s company in a lovely setting.

Debbie Ohler Bowman: I have seen two classmates, ML Moore and Jonna Clarkson, during the year and Ann Gateley and Kate Schlech at SWW. I’ve continued to adjust my volunteering and don’t have weekly ongoing jobs, but pick up time limited jobs, like helping with the blood donation drive at church. I am partnering with Habitat prospective homeowners, doing CASA clerical tasks, delivering bags of food to schools, and sometimes going to a community food distribution center. I was the only female the youth group could find to chaperone their retreat (with some low ropes type activities). It was fun and exhausting. I thought I’d really done something to myself, but it was simply waking up muscles I hadn’t used in a while. I had planned to go on a Danube cruise, but it had to be canceled

for knee surgery for my travel friend. So I made visits to family in New Hampshire, Maryland, and Pennsylvania and went on a spiritual retreat in Kentucky. I’m focusing on friends and family and being available to them and creating mischief.

Bonnie Palmer McCloskey : Tom and I have been married 53 years and have four children and nine grandchildren. We have been living in Aspen but now live half in Aspen, Colo. and half in Mexico at a private golf and beach club, Querencia ( www. qcabo.com ), which we bought seven years ago and run. Full life! Still active on Aspen Institute Board. Still play and love golf and ride horses. We travel and love to read. We especially enjoy a big family, now 17!

Kay Parham Picha: In September, Molly Woltz, Emily Gooch, Frances Gravely, and David and I spent three nights at Frances’ beautiful Blowing Rock, N.C. home. We knew that Hurricane Helene was predicted to come into Florida, and maybe touch North Carolina way over on the western tip of the state, far from where we were going. We looked forward to getting together, the weather was clear, so we drove two hours west. We enjoyed talking and playing Scrabble all day, and we went out to a delicious dinner. The house is solid and cozy, and we had electricity and water, but no internet nor TV … so we never did hear any updated news. The next day we had lots of rain and a few leaks in the roof, but we decided to stay in place since we had food, water, and we knew we could get along without electricity for a short time (we had candles, and the weather was not cold), and we were enjoying talking A LOT! We had no news, so we did not know anything about where the storm was nor what devastation it was causing. We started getting messages on our phones: “are you OK?” “Aren’t you coming home?” “Do you need a helicopter to come and pick you up?” What? The rain and wind slowed, and the storm passed. Frances even received an automated message that a restaurant was expecting us for our dinner reservation. We thought that odd, but we decided to drive out into town to look around. The town of Blowing Rock was lit

with lights, streets had already been cleaned up, but there was a curfew, so we went back home and made a frozen pizza. The next day, four of us drove home to the Greensboro, N.C. area, leaving Frances there to get ready for more Sweet Briar friends due that night. At home, we watched the reports of terrible devastation and lives lost all over the North Carolina mountains in that storm. We had been in our little oblivious cocoon, safely spared from the wrath of the hurricane … talking and laughing and enjoying good friends and good food and wine. In December, we will travel with our kids and grands to cruise the Danube at Christmastime. We look forward to the Christmas markets, castles, waltzes, and decorations. In January, David and I will meet Karen Hartnett and George for a week on the Country Music Cruise in the Caribbean. I am finishing up my year as president of the Dog Club here at River Landing. Later this spring we are planning a dog wedding.

Marcia Pollock Ragsdale: All is well here but we were lucky to have escaped the worst damage of Hurricane Helene and even our mountain home was left unscathed except for power outages. Helen “Stuart” Camblos was not as lucky. I’m going to try to meet up with her soon as we want to come to SBC in May. I now have Craig and his whole family living with me due to water damage. I’ve been wanting to downsize, but a good thing I still have all those bedrooms! My two oldest twins are freshmen at the Citadel which gives me a good reason to return to Charleston, S.C. more often. We are spending Thanksgiving in Highlands, N.C. and wish everyone a happy and safe holiday season.

Betty Rau Santandrea: Still enjoying living in New Mexico: the vistas, sunsets, museums, galleries, and restaurants. We had 15” of snow Nov. 7, 2024. In May, we visited Tuscany and then Switzerland where my daughter and her family lived for their sabbatical year away from Cornell. Then we adopted a Shetland sheepdog (7) at the end of June 2024. He keeps me walking under two miles a day. Got to visit Candace Buker Chang in late October in Boston, Mass. and then also connected with Laura Sickman Baksa and her partner

Joan on Cape Cod, Mass. I hope some of you will visit me in 2025.

Kate Schlech: On the whole, it’s been a lousy year. Even my wonderful trip in January–February 2024 ended on a sour note. It was three weeks—a week in Easter Island (Rapa Nui), a place I’ve wanted to go since I was 10 and read Thor Heyerdahl’s works, followed by a week on a small boat cruising the Chilean fjords and down and around and actually a climb up onto Cape Horn, and then a last week in Patagonia. That was the last straw, and the group of 15 started dropping like flies—two of our fellow travelers got COVID, another had a bad fall that required 50 head stitches, and a fourth had such a serious case of gout, he ended up in a wheelchair. I managed to dodge all of those bullets, but by the time I got home, I had a full blown case of pneumonia and had a three-day stay in my local hospital. But at least I was on home turf. I spent a week at SBC this summer at Sweet Work Weeks, but I’m finding that harder each year—dunno how many more of those I can handle—but as long as they let me ride in the golf cart moving supplies and water around where needed, I’ll keep it up for a bit. Maybe. Next trip on the horizon is three weeks in India and Nepal

from mid January to early February 2025. Had I known about the toxic air in Delhi when I booked, I might have reconsidered, but too late now.

Laura Sickman Baska: I have two grand-toddlers, Cassian (3) and Paris (1), living in Puerto Rico, where their dad currently has architectural projects. Joan and I saw them in Praiano, Italy this summer for a wonderful stay at a cliffside villa. We all hiked hundreds of steps to the beach and back up past vineyards and olive groves! Later in summer, we met up with four SBC classmates in Colorado for more hiking fun in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Pat Swinney Kaufman: I did get recruited to come out of retirement and am now serving as the commissioner for the N.Y.C. Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment which is responsible for building and growing the film and television industries, live entertainment such as theater and Broadway, the digital gaming industries, and the pipelines to build and develop jobs in these and related fields for an ever broader array or representation of great jobs and opportunities for New Yorkers. It’s a challenging time for several of these sectors, but I feel lucky to work in these fields. Would love to connect with one and all who pass through

N.Y.C. Two out of three daughters are married and have provided me with three wonderful grandchildren! The third daughter just got engaged … so let the wedding planning begin!

Heather Tully Click: Richard and I moved to Annapolis, Md. in May 2024 after eight years in Alexandria, Va. For four of those years, our two children and four grandchildren were within a couple miles of us, hence the reason we moved there from Georgia in 2016! Circumstances changed in 2020 (as did a lot of things that year). Ben’s new assignment took him and his family to Paris, France. Amanda took a new job in Annapolis, about 50 miles away. She and her family seem settled in their house, work, and school, and Ben and his crew expect to be moving to London, England in mid-2025. So, we made the decision to relocate to Annapolis and anticipate one more move in about three years to a CCRC (Continuing Care Retirement Community) in Annapolis. Life is good; we are healthy and happy, enjoying our grandchildren (6 and 8), traveling (both for fun and to see distant grands), and attending events at Richard’s alma mater, the U.S. Naval Academy. We both volunteer at the Maryland Therapeutic Riding Center. Turns

out it is therapeutic for us too! I encourage you to join us at Reunion, especially if you missed our really fun 75th Birthday Bash on campus in October 2023. It has been an honor to serve as your Class President these last five years. This will be the end of my term, so if you miss Reunion, you might find yourself elected to a class leadership position in absentia! Looking forward to seeing everyone in May.

Tauna Urban Durand: For the first time in 50 years, Carol Covington Bellonby, Linda Williams Buttrill, and I got together. We met at Carol’s (and husband Mark) house where she lived while at SBC. It’s on the Potomac and has a wonderful view. Carol is a docent at the National Gallery of Art and she took us on a private tour of the highlights of the museum. The best part was just being together and talking and talking non-stop for two full days! It was such a treat to be able to do that. This has been a really busy and exciting year for me. My granddaughter, Bailey, graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Georgia (GO DAWGS!) in May, and then married her high school sweetheart on June 1 in a wonderful wedding in Little Rock, Ark. She and her husband, Anthony, began medical school together at the University of Arkansas in Little Rock in August. One of my grandsons, Parker, joined the Air Force at the end of last year and, after tech school, he got married this past March 30 and is now stationed in San Antonio, Texas until he deploys to Qatar next April. My other grandson, Reese, just joined the Army and will graduate from basic training on Dec. 13 at Fort Sill, Okla. and then head to San Angelo, Texas. My other grandson, Michael, is in his senior year at Missouri State and will graduate in May. He wants to be a statistician.

In July, Doug and I took our three sons and their wives on an Alaskan cruise. It was the first time they had been there and they loved it! They were able to appreciate the wildlife and the natural beauty. They especially liked seeing the whales (we all did). It was so much fun to be able to spend that week with them without the distraction of kids and jobs. Then in September,

Clockwise: 1. Laura Rickman Baksa’s two grand-toddlers, Cassian (3) and Paris (1). 2. Karen Hartnett and George on Regent SS Explorer in Alaska, August 2024. 3. Connie Haskell and Emmy Moravec Holt in Sicily. 4. Richard and Heather Tully Click. 5. May Fox, Jessica Holzer, Wallis Wickham Raemer, and Mary Jane Brock in Denver for Lorie Harris Amass’ service this October. 1970

Class Notes

we went on a 53-day cruise to Japan starting in Seattle, Wash. and then Canada and Alaska, and Aleutian islands. The highlight was Japan with 13 ports starting in the northernmost island and heading south through Okinawa. We experienced big cities and small fishing villages. We learned so much about the people, culture, food, and history. It was like a “semester at sea” with so much enrichment. We came back through Hawaii and ended in Seattle. It was truly amazing. We came back home Oct. 24 after two hurricanes had been through our area while we were gone. We were fortunate to have just lost some screening on our pool lanai. I would have been more settled, but I went right to work on helping with the election like I was doing in the primary before I left. It took a lot of time and effort, but I felt it was more important than getting totally unpacked, etc.

Katy Warren Towers: My life continues to be full of blessings, including good health, wonderful friends and family, fun and meaningful experiences, and a great sense of God’s love and provision. I still stay busy with yard work, book club and garden circle, church activities, trips, reading, praying for our country, visits with family and friends, and more. In early June I spent two beautiful weeks in southern Italy— primarily the Amalfi Coast and Sicily—and in November another two very interesting, wonderful weeks in central Mexico—Mexico City and five UNESCO World Heritage Site colonial cities. I still love visiting Cashiers, N.C., and will be with family in Mobile, Ala. for Christmas.

Ann Wheeler Ehrich: I went on a walking tour of the English Countryside in late July—walking trails in North Yorkshire. I traveled with a friend, but our walks were self-directed with written directions and GPS maps to get us to the next inn. The areas were remote and we got lost twice. No cell phone service, but GPS works directly with a satellite. Watching the weather we saw it was raining part of every day so we anticipated having to walk in the rain—it’s England. We had perfect weather, not a drop of rain and temperatures in the 60s. The landscape was brilliantly green.

Wallis Wickham Raemer: Mary Jane Brock, May Fox, Jessica Holzer, and I attended a beautiful service for Lorie Harris Amass where I, as the “friends rep,” delivered a remembrance from us and friends Katie McCardell Webb, Frances Gravely, and Connie Haskell While Lorie leaves an empty space that can never be filled in our “Carpe Diem” friends group and in all of our lives, I know that a friendship as long and deep as ours will never end.

Suzy Yates: No real news: In Richmond, Va., watching three grandchildren who are growing up too fast.

Mardane Rebentisch

McLemore: This has been an unbelievably busy year for me.

I’ve done a lot of traveling—most were unexpected opportunities, but there was little break in between events. I play in two golf leagues (although I’m not that good), so every chance I get I’m off playing golf. My big events were a cruise with my sister, Sally Rebentisch Randolph ’74, from Lyon to Avignon and then to Aix-en-Provence, Reims, the Loire Valley, and Paris. Then off to the beach (my favorite) on the Outer Banks in North Carolina by myself, with friends, and with children and grandchildren. In the fall I went on a trip to see friends in Jackson Hole, Wyo. and afterwards to Smith Mountain Lake, Va. with my long-time travel group friends. My final trip was a visit to Lake Como, Lucerne and then a cruise to Amsterdam. Then I lifted a suitcase that was too heavy, and oops—I’m now having rotator cuff surgery—ugh—golf may not be happening for a while.

I am hoping many of you will be attending the Reunion—our b-day bash was such fun!— I hope we can get a good crowd again! I want to thank you for the privilege of being your class secretary all these years. I have very much enjoyed my contact with you and appreciate your making it so easy for me. I am ready to pass the torch and let someone else share the fun—so be thinking.

1972

Jill Johnson 146 Hebron Ct Madison, VA 22727 jilljohnson@isisllc.us

MarySue Morrison Thomas 98 Pine Bluff Portsmouth, VA 23701 msuethomas@gmail.com

Susan Snodgrass Wynne wants the class to know that the students and staff are enjoying the addition of the teak benches, tables, and chairs in our ’72 Courtyard, one of our 50th Reunion achievements. She thanks Jeannette Pillsbury on behalf of our class for her numerous photos and emails about campus life.

Susan has spent the last year adjusting to the challenges of widowhood. She has been fortunate to live near her sons and grands. She enjoyed a fun trip to Paris last summer before the Olympics with two granddaughters and daughters-in-law. She and Rhonda Griffith Durham took a girls’ trip to Zurich, Lucerne, and Basel in September with other Virginia Beach, Va. friends. CARPE DIEM!

Dale Shelly Graham and husband James report that 2024 was the best year ever. In February, daughter Lily gave birth to their grandson, Colton Graham Smith, in Charlotte, N.C., and in December, son, Fielding, and his wife gave them their granddaughter, Nelle Lavarre Graham in Dallas, Texas. After several years of making do with grand-dogs, they feel so blessed to have these beautiful grandchildren. Lots of travel to these cities is planned.

It has been a year of travel for Deirdre “DeDe” Conley. On April 7, she departed Miami, Fla. to see the tulips in Amsterdam which were magnificent even in 3°C weather. DeDe spent the summer in France and traveling in South Korea, initiated by her love of k-dramas. During this fabulous two-month journey she enjoyed the brilliant fall foliage, Unesco sites, temples, palaces and historical villages where the dramas are filmed. DeDe visited Georgie Vairo and Bitsy Butler on her way home and

journeyed to Wilmington, N.C. at Christmas with visits to Sarah von Rosenburg and Marty Neill Boney. She expressed gratitude to Jeannette Pillsbury for always keeping all of us connected.

Copenhagen was the destination of the annual family trip for Marty Neill Boney, husband Bill, and their two children. Marty reported that it was so lovely and charming and filled with warm people who were hot to discuss American politics! Completing their world travels, Marty and Bill concluded an exciting December with one of the highlights of their year—their semi-annual slumber party in Charlottesville, Va. with Carter Frackelton

Sarah von Rosenburg stays very busy in retirement. Her in-town son, Charlie, his wife Mandy, and three sons are endlessly busy with sports. Sarah does enjoy having dinner together with them most weekends. She has traveled to Ohio several times this year, including Christmas, to visit her younger son, Will, his wife Margaret, and their two little girls. Sarah reports she stays active in her community taking art classes and volunteering in development in several ways. She loves volunteering at Thalian Hall, a 150-year-old performance hall in her hometown, Wilmington, N.C., which is very strong in the arts. We are all grateful for Sarah’s never-ending support and remarkable volunteering for Sweet Briar.

Martha Holland reports she and husband, Chris, spent some great family time at the beach last summer with their children and grandchildren. The entire family returned home in December for a wonderful and exhausting Christmas together. Martha acknowledges that they socked in due to the December snowstorm, the highest amount of snow in the Washington, D.C. area in years. Never fear, they soon headed to Key West, Fla. for a few months of warmth and rest.

Kitty Adams Murphy claims that, although she saw no classmates except on Zoom meetings, it has been a fun and busy year. She and husband, Pat, adopted a quirky, strong-minded, adorable English setter who had lived on the streets, eating whatever she could find. Housetraining was interesting, though she and

Pat are both learning to obey! In addition to her usual garden club volunteer efforts at Weed Wrangle and Cheekwood’s Native Plant sale this year, Kitty was on call for multiple assignments as her Garden Club of Nashville hosted a GCA zone meeting. She and a friend were asked to put together an educational exhibit using a terrarium to demonstrate a hydrologic system and present a 150-word essay outlining the workings and benefits of a healthy ecosystem. After carefully wiping down the slime trails from tiny snails who endlessly emerged from a rotting log, they proudly won a blue and a GCA Education Award. Family reunions were plentiful this year in Nashville, Tenn. on Canandaigua Lake, and in Baltimore, Md. where they celebrated Kitty’s sister’s 70th birthday. In Kitty’s words, “When the baby of the family turns 70, you know you’re gaining on Father Time.” Kitty remarks about how blessed they are as she and Pat closed out 2024 on a cruise of the Southern Caribbean with Pat’s twin and family.

Holly Smith sends news that her Garden Square News magazine, written for London’s communal gardens, is still going strong and will reach its 30th anniversary next year. Sarah von Rosenburg is a huge fan and sends Holly bucketloads of encouragement. Holly stays in touch with Marilyn Pritchard Harvey’s son Ross since he and his lovely wife house sit for her in London while she and husband, Neil Osborn, are on vacation.

According to Holly, Neil has interesting challenges these days as the chairman of the governors of a 1,000-year-old boys’ school north of London. He is constantly dealing with the Labour government which has imposed heavy taxes on institutions such as these.

Now in her 48th year as a faculty member at St. Andrews University, Edna Ann Osmansky Loftus is also serving as chief academic officer for Webber International University of which St. Andrews is a branch campus. She has primary responsibility for the academic aspects of the upcoming SACSCOC 10-year accreditation process. Edna Ann also preaches regularly in local Presbyterian churches as a qualified elder. Her husband, Bill, is

enjoying his retirement and piano lessons while managing some serious health challenges, and her son, Will, is a fly-fishing guide in Asheville, N.C. where he recently survived the effects of hurricane Helene reasonably well.

Jane Powell Gray continues to enjoy traveling with (and sometimes without!) her husband Frank. Last summer they went on a river cruise to Portugal and recently took their family to New York City. She also loved a stay at the Frackelton B&B last fall with several SBC classmates. In 2025, Jane and Frank have booked trips to St. Vincent, Norway, and Iceland. This summer, Jane and her sister Judy Powell ’69 are going on a walking tour of the Cotswolds and a side jaunt to Edinburgh.

Kathy Upchurch Takvorian continues to be engaged with SBC through the Class Leadership Group and her position on the Campaign Cabinet. She remarks that the cohesion we felt at our 50th Reunion persists; she was particularly saddened by Sue Jensen’s death whom she did not know well before Reunion. Kathy was honored to march as a class rep in the Inauguration of President Mary Pope Hutson in September and loved seeing several classmates there. On a personal note, Kathy has a new granddaughter (10 weeks old) who lives down the street and keeps her occupied, as do her older brothers and other cousins.

Carter Frackelton enjoys hosting her ’72 mini reunions in spring and fall. This year’s New Year’s Eve luncheon was a gathering of seven in her home to welcome in 2025. Carter stays busy as ever with volunteer activities, enjoying time with friends and family, and her special camp time of three months in her “happy place!”

Jeannette Pillsbury continues to feel it a privilege to work with the current faculty and to serve the Sweet Briar students of today. The students appreciate it when she says, “When I lived in Randolph … ” or when the newly tapped Tau Phi’s found out that as a Chung Mung, she had a different relationship with them back in the day. Recently Jeannette joined a few classmates in the home of Carter Frackelton to enjoy a New Year’s Eve luncheon. Alumnae friendships provide her muchneeded fuel for today’s challenges.

1972

Clockwise: 1. Carter Frackelton, Martha Holland, Jeannette Pillsbury, Susan Snodgrass Wynne, former SBC President and now Board member Phil Stone, Janet Nelson Gibson, Jill Johnson, MarySue Morrison Thomas, and Kathy Upchurch Takvorian at the inauguration of Mary Pope Hutson ’83 as president. 2. Cheddar Thomas, feline son of MarySue Morrison Thomas. 3. Sarah von Rosenberg’s Christmas in Ohio. 4. Carter Frackelton, MarySue Morrison Thomas, Janet Nelson Gibson, Jeannette Pillsbury, Jill Johnson, Mary Heller, and Martha Holland. 5. Class of 1972 Courtyard, one of the many results of our 50th Reunion efforts. 6. Jane Powell Gray and husband, Frank, in Portugal.

Sweet Briar Alumnae Magazine

MarySue Morrison Thomas can’t believe it has been three years since our fabulous 50th Reunion and is only two years until our 55th. A lot has happened since that three-day party of the century—for Sweet Briar, for every one of us and for our country. Change is inevitable and usually perceived in a personal manner, whether positive or negative, and change will continue to affect every aspect of our lives. At least now we can experience the advantage of a Sweet Briar education through our individual acceptance and compassion for every person we meet.

Jill Johnson and MarySue Morrison Thomas are encouraged with the responses from the alumnae for our class representation in the spring edition of the alumnae magazine. We thank you for your participation in keeping our classmates informed through this avenue and look forward to next year when we get to do it again! 1974

Edie McRee Bowles 4717 Cutshaw Ave Richmond, VA 23230 804-925-5441 emcrbowles@gmail.com

Suzy Castle Rolewick 740 Shabbona Dr Fontana, WI 53125 630-337-5289 suzcr@yahoo.com

Elizabeth Andrews Watts: After our ’74 Reunion, Leslie Elbert Hill, Jane Hutcherson Frierson, Susan Stephens Geyer, and I extended our time together by spending four days in Charlottesville, Va.

Jan Renne Steffen: Loved Reunion. I love the Sedona, Ariz. area: lots to do, especially with my dogs, Snookums and Ollie (Lhasa apso and part-lab, part-curly haired dachshund). I live in a quiet neighborhood adjacent to Mingus Mountain in the Verde Valley, and go off-roading in my Rubicon Jeep. I’m an HTP—A Healing Touch Practitioner-Apprentice (business: Emerald Healing), with a year left before qualifying as Practitioner, with a subsequent test to become certified. Also enrolled in Healing Touch for Animals and do remote healing if anyone wants energy work.

Clockwise: 1. Ruthie Willingham Lentz and Liz Thomas Camp in Memphis at the Historic Display on the Mississippi River honoring the State of Tennessee’s role in giving women the vote. 2. Elaine Mills shares her love of native plants in many educational videos. 3. Wanda Cronic Howell celebrates her newly renovated Chrysler Dodge Jeep RAM dealership.

4. Barbara Ashton Nicol’s son Christopher’s wedding April 2024.

5. Jim and Bonnie Chronowski Brophy with grands, Connor (8) and Vivienne (4.75), at Canoe Brook CC in Summit, N.J.

6. Christy Maxwell Harris ’03 (Emoy’s daughter), Emory Furniss Maxwell, Barb Ashton Nicol, Liz Thomas Camp, Riley Maxwell (Emory’s granddaughter), and Ford Maxwell (Emory’s grandson) meet in Selma to honor the memory of Emory’s brother, John Furniss. 7. Lee Wilkinson Warren’s son and spouse. 1974

Clockwise: 1. Edie McRee Bowles. 2. Edie McRee Bowles’ granddaughter, Olivia Whiteman, began riding lessons in the fall of 2024. 3. Leslie Elbert Hill, Jane Hutcherson Frierson, Susan Stephens Geyer, and Elizabeth Andrews Watts at our Reunion.

Sweet Briar Alumnae Magazine

Leslie Elbert Hill: The past year was travel-filled: many places to see while I’m still able! SBC Reunion was lovely. Thankful to all of you who did so much to make it memorable. Following that wonderful weekend, I spent a few days in Charlottesville, Va. with SBC friends. June brought a family vacay (all nine of us) to St. John for a week. July took me to Scotland and Ireland—two places on my bucket list—then back home for a brief rest before babysitting grands while their parents toured Spain. Back to North Carolina in December. Fun and exhausting!

Barbara Ashton Nicol: I had a great time at Reunion catching up with classmates. The campus and the weather were beautiful. Robert and I are enjoying the 2025 new year at our Dauphin Island, Ala home with our family of 16. Hope everyone has a great 2025!

Ruthie Willingham Lentz: I’ve been a world traveler this year!

From Austin to Boston/N.Y.C. to Charleston, then Albuquerque/ Santa Fe, Denver, Richmond/ Sweet Briar, Bentonville & Fayetteville, Arizona, Buffalo, Indianapolis and London, England—2024 was my year to travel! Best moments ever were my 50th SBC Reunion and pilgrimage to Liverpool to see the Beatles story—both were great fun! Can’t wait to see what 2025 brings—maybe to Paris and the new Notre Dame, who knows?!

Liz Thomas Camp: Liz— always the journalist and recorder of memories—shared several photos, documenting 2024 and SBC friends’ get-togethers. In April 2024, 48 years later, Liz joined Matron of Honor, Barb Ashton Nicol, at her older son’s wedding in Barb’s historic Tuscaloosa home. Fall 2024 found Liz on a Memphis, Tenn. visit in Ruthie Willingham Lentz’s stately home on Stonewall. Ruthie knows every Memphis “pig track & alley” like the back of her hand!

Tana Meier Parseliti: Retirement continues to be busy and memorable, including 2024. I was on the committee that brought the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Traveling Wall to our town. It was incredibly moving and gratifying to honor our veterans. I am also involved with a public art project called The Sculpture Project, working since

2018 to memorialize town citizens who have made significant contributions to our community. We raise funds for life-size bronze sculptures. To date, we have dedicated two sculptures and are completing fundraising for our third. I feel blessed to have meaningful work and wonderful friends to work with.

Bonnie Chronowski Brophy: I wish a joy filled, peaceful, healthy, and prosperous 2025 to all! Jim and I enjoyed seeing everyone at Reunion (and missed those who couldn’t come). I wish a bum leg hadn’t precluded me from circulating more!

Lee Wilkinson Warren : I traveled a lot in 2024, including to Africa, Paris, Zanzibar, and New Mexico. And I joined Ruthie Willingham Lentz on a trip to Arkansas, including seeing Michele “ Mitch ” Dore , and getting a personal tour of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. I’m starting painting classes again in March in Cary, N.C., with

a beloved teacher, hoping to invigorate my passion for creating art again while being in community. I much prefer learning new approaches in a group setting. “If the interest doesn’t reignite, c’est ça .”

Elaine Mills: I have been volunteering with the Master Gardener program in Arlington, Va. for the past 13 years, reaching the 15,000-hour milestone of service with my unit in 2024. I enjoy growing and photographing native plants and sharing enthusiasm for sustainable landscaping in daily social media posts, articles, and educational presentations on the local and state level.

Susan Stephens Geyer: I traveled with my daughter, Julia Hunter Geyer ’05, to the Lac Mus festival on Lake Como in July, then on to Portugal and London. I stay busy with the Dallas Opera, the Dallas Symphony, and other arts organizations throughout the year. May 2025 promises a wonderful trip

to France: Lyon and a Rhone River cruise with classmates Jane Hutcherson Frierson, Leslie Elbert Hill, and Elizabeth Andrews Watts

Mary Witt Will: Fritz and I moved to a beautiful retirement community in September 2024. We think it is the nicest one in the Richmond, Va. area with very friendly residents. Fritz is involved with a men’s group and other activities. I keep busy with exercise classes, meeting new friends, and exercising my adorable but very active cockapoo, Angus. Day trips, music, art, swimming, and interest groups are abundant! I loved seeing so many classmates at our Reunion, and am very proud of what we have accomplished as a class. My number one wish for all is good health and happiness. “Nothing Like Us Ever Was!”

Daun Thomas Frankland: Daun sent a brief, emphatic message: “The best SBC moment in 2024 was our Reunion. So happy to see so many dear classmates!”

Furniss Maxwell. 2. Lee Wilkinson Warren’s daughter and spouse. 3. Lee McEachern Collins ’94, Liz Thomas Camp, and Emory Furniss Maxwell enjoy Sweet Briar Day in Atlanta at the home of Louise

at Reunion: Cynthia Conroy, Drea Peacock Bender, Jennifer Smith Hanes, Deborah Hooker Sauers, Suzy Castle Rolewick, and Hannah Pillsbury.

Clockwise: 1. Boxwood Girls ’74 in Quad 50 years later: Edie McRee Bowles, Liz Thomas Camp, Ann Pritchett Van Horn, Robin Christian Ryan, Nancy Lea Houghton, Ruthie Willingham Lentz, Mary Witt Will, Paula Hollingsworth Thomas, Barb Ashton Nicol, Ellie Plowden Boyd, Marian Van Horn Eagan, and Emory

Jones Geddes ’84.

Classmates

Jennifer Smith Hanes: The highlight of 2024 was definitely the 50th Reunion. I am grateful to classmates for encouraging me to attend, and to all who organized and executed a truly memorable time together. Meeting President Mary Pope Hutson was a delight. My years at SBC remain some of my most cherished experiences! Tom and I live in Richmond, Va. where he is a retired malpractice attorney and I stay busy with choirs, bells, Tuckahoe Woman’s Club, arranging flowers, book club. My days are filled with family: three children, seven grandchildren, and beloved dogs. We all enjoy nature, hiking, birding, cooking, and times together! Family motto: “Carry on … the best is yet to come!” Carry on, Sweet Briar … you are an amazing, resilient, and promising college with so much to offer the young ladies of our future. The best is yet to come!

Wanda Cronic Howell: This year has been incredible! Renovations were completed at our family Chrysler Dodge Jeep RAM dealership. Beyond work, we ended 2024 with a dream vacation in Hawaii. I am ready for an exciting 2025, celebrating 50 years of the Cronic Automotive Group!

Edie McRee Bowles: I retired last April, completing a development career with eight years at Virginia’s largest community health nonprofit. Celebrated with a trip to Amsterdam, Viking’s Rhine cruise through Germany/France with husband Barney and my oldest childhood friend/spouse—and a jaunt through the Alps to gorgeous Lago Maggiore. Responding to the siren call of Italia—a lifelong love ignited by SBC ’72 semester a il piu bello Firenze. May ended with our ’74 50th! Summer and Thanksgiving brought Chicago, Ill. visits with son Jamie Whiteman and his family. We enjoyed seeing the grands participate in their latest sports!

Suzy Castle Rolewick: As with so many classmates, Reunion was a HUGE highlight of my year. From there, I went on a Rhine River cruise with my husband, brother, and sisterin-law, and other friends, then back to Illinois to pack and move full time to our lake house in Fontana, Wis. As we have for many years, in August we had a

mini reunion at our lake. Debbie Hooker Sauers and Pamela Cogghill Graham were the only classmates able to come this year, but we always have other friends as well. In October, I again had the opportunity to visit Sweet Briar to show it off to my oldest granddaughter.

Ann Stuart McKie Kling: What a fabulous 50th Reunion! Such fun celebrating with classmates, especially my close friend, Cindy Sutherland Looking forward to our 55th! I love helping with the historic preservation advisory committee, which I did prior to our Reunion as we inventoried china and glassware in Sweet Briar House and items in its basement. In September, I joined friends on another bike/hike trip to Savannah and Charleston, S.C … always a joy to be on the east coast. In October, Bill and I visited our daughter, Shelby, in Chicago, Ill. to see her recently purchased condo and meet her new boyfriend.

1976

Lynn Kahler Shirey Rock Moore House 121 Duke Street Alexandria, VA 22314 lynnrshirey@gmail.com

The “Bicentennial Class” (1976) is gearing up for our big 50th Reunion in 2026! Read to the end of our Class Notes for an alert on this big event! But, 2024 has been a busy year for us all!

Kay Ellisor Hopkins and husband, Joe, celebrated their 46th wedding anniversary in March with a trip to Savannah, Ga. They bought a house in Conroe, Texas the weekend of her 70th birthday, and moved in early August. They are delighted that it is just 20 minutes from their three granddaughters (11, 9, and 2) and can attend their athletic and school events. In late October they traveled to Hot Springs, Ark. for a softball tournament, and then Kay represented SBC at a College Fair in November. She has had fun serving with Norma Neblett Roadcap as class stewardship chair, and is looking forward to our 50th Reunion!

This fall Cynde Seiler Eister and husband Ron welcomed their eighth grandchild and are delighted she lives closeby. Their traveling takes them to Virginia and New Jersey to spend time with their other seven grandchildren (4–12). Most weekends they enjoy their cozy cabin nestled in the Pine Creek Valley. Cynde and Ron are still working, part-time, while participating in a variety of church and community endeavors. Cynde continues with property management and has her eye on a 19th century farmette. Her horse, pony, and golden retriever are her joy therapy.

Mary Larkin Barnett Braun continues to enjoy teaching Pilates and Bartenieff Fundamentals to her amazing clients at her studio, Pilates Evolve, in Spokane, Wash.

Ann Works Balderson and Biv are enjoying ranch life in Wyoming while their apartment in Pittsford, N.Y. enables them to visit with friends in the east. Daughters, Sarah and Maggie, both live in Jackson, so they see them

frequently. Son, John, just bought a house in D.C., but loves spending time at the ranch. Ann and Biv love company, and encourage any classmates heading to Jackson to be in touch (585-721-1067 or workado12@gmail.com).

Karen Adelson Strauss reports that living in the mountains out west—with its vibrant, outdoorsy, and enthusiastic community—has been a good choice for her. Her days are filled with courses, friends and family, volunteering, the outdoors, and travel.

Marsha Taylor Horton and her husband embarked on a Mediterranean cruise to Italy, Greece, Turkey, Malta, and Spain to celebrate their 27th anniversary. Then they celebrated Marsha’s 70th birthday with an all-white party and danced the night away! It was a banner year as her mom celebrated her 95th birthday, her husband his 65th, her son his 25th, and her daughter her 21st! Another landmark was celebrating the 112th anniversary of the church her great-

1. Sally Mott Freeman, Megan Morgan with Lynn Kahler Shirey gather after Lynn’s father’s funeral in her garage with her 1934 Super 8 Packard. 2. Cheryl Lux and a Daspletosaurus tooth (encased in a rock) excavated on her ranch. 3. Lunch at the Coral Reef Yacht Club with Peter Fucini, Tom Lumpkin, Peyton White Lumpkin, and Amy Troxell Stein Fucini. 4. A mini-reunion of Liz Farmer Jarvis, Lisa Schubert, Jill Wentorf Wright, and Holly Weaver Kenreich.

Clockwise:

grandparents founded, where her mom has been a member for 90 years!

Laurie Lenkel is still happy as Ombudsman at the FDA, and hopes the new administration sees the value of working to mediate disputes with the regulated industry. 2024 was going to be her final year running major marathons, running the Boston Marathon in the spring and the N.Y.C. Marathon in the fall. While her pace has slowed, she was still able to train and run the 26.2 miles—so she may run one more year! She particularly mentions being thankful for good health, achievements, and knowing the beauty of SBC.

Cheryl Lux’s ranch is doing well. She went to Santa Fe, N.M. in August for the Sante Fe Opera and had a terrific time sharing an Airbnb with Sarah “Sally” Hawthorne Berriman and her husband, Steve Brown, of Denver, Colo. There are two professional fossil/dinosaur digs ongoing at her ranch, with dinosaur fossils discovered and going to the Muséum des Sciences naturelles de Belgique in Brussels.

Mell and Lochrane Coleman Smith went to Scotland in August, Lochrane’s first trip across the pond in 44 years! She is over the moon with the news that she will become a grandmother in early December!

Virginia Spangler Polley and husband David now have two grandsons in Ridgewood, N.J. who they saw at Thanksgiving. She continues as a Rule 31 mediator in Tennessee, which she has done since graduating from law school. They got another Jack Russell puppy (Duchess Dottie, 9 months) after Shorty passed away last year. Understandably, she is preoccupied with training.

Kari Andersen Shipley is fundraising, golfing, painting, hiking, and taking care of grandchildren and her mother. They are spending summers in Lake Toxaway, N.C. and winters in Delray Beach, Fla. They took a wonderful barge trip in France with the family to celebrate their 47th anniversary and her 70th birthday … how can this be? She won Best in Show for one of her paintings, with the funds going to local charities. She is also chair of Conservation for the Garden Club of America, South Florida chapter, and travelled to D.C. to

meet with congressmen and senators on environmental issues.

Amy Troxell Stein Fucini sends love and thanks to Peyton White Lumpkin and husband Tom for giving shelter in Miami, Fla. to her and husband Peter, hurricane evacuees fleeing southwest Florida’s impending Hurricane Milton. She says it was an awesome reunion!

Liz Farmer Jarvis is clearly a reunion magnet, and Holly Weaver Kenreich, Jill Wentorf Wright, and Lisa Schubert were delighted to join her for celebrations. While Liz, Holly, and Jill are grandmothers or almost grandmothers, they are also artists (Liz a painter; Jill a landscape designer) and activists (Holly with local schools and politics in Savannah). Liz sits on the boards of the Buddhist Digital Resource Center (the largest archive of Buddhist texts related to philosophy, astrology, medicine, etc. in the world) and Food & Water Watch (which works to insure the safety of our food and water).

Tennessee Nielsen is hoping that her June granddaughter, Elle, will be in the Class of 2045! She travels to Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island, to see Elle and her brothers whenever she can. In April, she enjoyed a mini-reunion in Miami with Lola Brock Meakin ’77 and Liz Conway Selden ’77.

Norris Judd Fergeson’s daughter, Katie, has been in and out of the hospital in 2024, and then moved into an assisted living facility in the summer— Norris says that she has learned a lot about the ins and outs of Medicare and Medicaid. The good news is that this coverage has almost completely paid for all of Katie’s care costs. Norris continues as chair of the Board for NonPareil, the organization that supports Katie and other autistic young adults. Her younger daughter, Cecily, has moved to Austin, Texas and is working in the Texas State Library—Norris is delighted that she might become an archivist. Norris was able to get away for a month in upstate New York, hiking along the Niagara River and enjoying temperatures much more reasonable than those in Houston, Texas! She is also looking forward to traveling to Greece and tooling around on

a ship that will deliver her to adventure hikes in Turkey and the Greek islands.

Maureen O’Hearn Slowinski and husband, Hill, had a very special Christmas this year, welcoming a new addition to the family. Their son, Brooke, and his wife, Zoe, had a baby girl named Millie who brings such love and joy to the whole family. She also enjoyed seeing Lynn Kahler Shirey and Sally Mott Freeman at Sulgrave Club activities in D.C.

Missy Briscoe McNatt and Jack Marcum were married on Aug. 3, 2024 (she was widowed in 2013). Jack (W&L 1974) and Missy dated when she was at SBC and reconnected at a party in 2023.

SBC roommates Melanie Coyne Cody and Becky Wilson McDonough attended the festivities. Her daughter, Marisa, and family moved to Falls Church, Va. from Seattle, Wash. and she is delighted to have them closer. Her son, Cameron, and family live in Edinburgh, Scotland where Cameron is co-founder of Mocean Energy. Together, the newlyweds have seven grandchildren (3–12).

Ann Kiley Crenshaw’s husband, Clarke, had a stroke when they were in Dallas for Christmas. Thankfully, he is doing well, his damage is minor and they expect him to totally recover. They were supposed to go with their boys and their families to Disney, but the loss of that trip was a small price to pay for Clarke’s excellent prognosis.

Peggy Weimer Parrish and Elliott Graham Schoenig were roommates again for most of 2024. Peggy had sold her condo in Midlothian, Va. three years ago to move in and take care of her mother. So, when her mother went into assisted living in January, Peggy was homeless, since commuting from Danville, Va. to Midlothian was not feasible. Elliott invited her to come and stay. Ironically, Elliott’s mother suffered health issues soon after Peggy moved in. So together they watched their mothers decline. Elliott lost her mother in November and Peggy’s mother died two weeks later. It was cathartic for the former roommates to have each other again, and to discuss the joys and challenges of caring for their dear moms. On a happier note, Elliott welcomed her third grandchild in mid December and has another

granddaughter due in April of next year. Peggy is finally retiring, effective Jan. 15, from Brightpoint Community College; she’s looking forward to being in Danville fulltime for a while and then figuring out next steps.

Sally Old Kitchin reports that her youngest son had his second child in mid-December, a beautiful Christmas Joy, and also leading to a very busy time! Big sister, Sally, is very welcoming to her little brother. Sally now has seven grandchildren and feels so blessed as they all live close to her.

Though shocked to be turning 70, Cissy Humphrey decided to celebrate and threw herself a big party. With family and friends together, it was a huge success. Then in April she took a five-day Caribbean cruise sponsored by the Moody Blues and featuring 27 bands from the ’60s and ’70s. It was such a blast that she is going again in August, from Boston to Canada. In July, she and Tennessee Nielsen took a road trip to Little Rock, Ark. to visit the Clinton Library—never too old for a road trip! She is still working in the oil/gas group at Bank of America, now clocking 10 years! And, dealing with things that she sadly reports occur at our age, had cataract surgery in August.

Sally Mott Freeman and husband John traveled to Normandy, long a bucket list item. They were moved by Normandy’s rich D-Day history, seemingly endless points of interest, and not least the wonderful (and grateful still) descendants of Naziliberated Normandy. Four days before their departure for France was the historic investiture of our first alumna president. Sally was honored to co-chair the inaugural weekend with fellow Board member and friend, Kelley Manderson Fitzpatrick ’82—a timely reminder to ’76ers to enlarge our worlds with younger friends! Sally reports that it was wonderful to share Mary Pope’s inauguration with many classmates in attendance, including Sally Old Kitchin, Ann Kiley Crenshaw, and Cathy “Slats” Slatinshek. Sally and John are delightfully preoccupied with their nine grands (2–16). She is still speaking to groups about her book, The Jersey Brothers, most recently keynoting the annual commemorative Texas gathering honoring

the legacy of the U.S.S. Houston. Sally is in her third and last term on the Sweet Briar Board, serving as Board secretary and on several committees. She has joined the board of her high school alma mater, St. Anne’s-Belfield School in Charlottesville, Va., and the Pentagon Memorial Fund board, whose mission is to build and maintain an educational legacy regarding the 9/11 terrorist attack on the Pentagon. She reports enjoying many escapades with fellow classmates over the past year. Tricia Cassidy Higgins, Kate Kelly Smith, Laura Lee Bost, Katy Mikell, and Sally traveled from far and wide to Treacy Markey Shaw’s fabulous hideaway, This’ll Do, at Lake Burton, Ga. for a terrific September weekend. She and Megan Morgan connect regularly. Each time we discuss when and how we shall resume our horseback riding adventures, which we then never do (wisely, perhaps). She and Megan attended the memorial service for Lynn Kahler Shirey’s father,

who she remembers as a Sweet Briar dad extraordinaire. Despite the somber nature of the event, it spawned a beautiful and heartwarming reunion of Sweet Briar friends.

Megan Morgan is currently somewhere in the mid-Atlantic, en route to England on the Queen Mary II. On board, she was tapped for a Cunard Cruise Line photoshoot to appear in Harrods magazine (because, of course, she was!).

Your Class Secretary, Lynn Kahler Shirey, and husband Steve travelled to the Amalfi Coast in the spring for my 70th birthday, and in the fall I went on another fabulous trip (involving camels!) to Morocco. The day I returned, we picked up our new cavalier king Charles spaniel puppy. And, as I knew that three weeks later, I was having total knee replacement surgery, I went into concentrated puppy-trainingmode! I am happy to report that I am “coming out the other side” of the knee ordeal, and having the puppy has been a huge comfort.

Sadly, after one and half years of visiting daily with my dear father, he passed away on Father’s Day, and I was grateful for the incredible support of my Sweet Briar sisters who could be with me: Sally Mott Freeman, Megan Morgan, and Saralee Boetler ’79.

I close with an important announcement for us all from Sally Old Kitchin. She alerts our whole class that, “We should begin talking this spring and planning for our 50th Reunion in June 2026. Please plan NOW to come to campus to celebrate together. It will be the 250th anniversary of the founding of our country, the 125th anniversary of the founding of Sweet Briar, and the 50th Reunion of our amazing class! What a remarkable time! And, think of the ’76 swag we can create for it! Onward, the Spirit of ’76!”

1978

Suzanne Stryker Ullrich suzullrich@aol.com

It’s always wonderful to hear back from so many of you, especially during the cold month of January! It has indeed been cold, so sitting by the fire to pull everything together is an added treat! We are such a diverse class of smart, creative, and VERY busy ladies! (Be sure to take those rare moments to relax and enjoy the little things!) The year has been full of births, and deaths, retirements, new beginnings, travel, and as always … time to catch up with classmates!

Leslie Anderson Battle sadly lost her 95-year-old mother, but she also gained a son-in-law when her daughter, Bailey, was married last May. It was exciting to be able to hold the wedding reception at the same yacht club in Coconut Grove where both her parents and

Clockwise: 1. Sally Mott Freeman and Sally Old Kitchin in the line-up prior to the inaugural ceremony. 2. Sally Mott Freeman, Ann Kiley Crenshaw, Cathy Slatinshek, and Sally Old Kitchin at lunch following Mary Pope Maybank Hutson’s ’83 inauguration. 3. Missy Briscoe McNatt and Jack Marcum were married on Aug. 3, 2024. 4. Marsha Taylor Horton and her husband in her Flying Dress photoshoot in Greece. 5. Kari Andersen Shipley’s Best in Show art. 6. Megan Morgan (left) recruited for a photo shoot aboard Cunard, for a future Harrods magazine spread. 7. Ann Works Balderson (center) with husband Biv, and children Maggie, John, and Sarah.

she and Mike had their marriage celebrations. And how fun to have Katie Brown Eney there for the festivities! Leslie spends a lot of time in the North Carolina mountains and, while they were there when Hurricane Helene hit, they consider themselves very fortunate to have not sustained the damage felt by so many others. They spend a lot of time with their four grandchildren which “brings us the most joy!” 2024 was a big year for travel for Katherine Powell Heller She and John were able to go to Antarctica, South Georgia, and the Falkland Islands last February/March, Portugal in May, and the Arctic in June. (Have you hit all the continents yet, John?) They had a bout of COVID on a ship in 2023, but we’re able to do a redo of Norway, Svalbard, and Iceland this year as well. That is a lot of travel! Katherine and John’s youngest daughter will be getting married in October this year and has chosen “home” as the venue. Needless to say, Katherine is busy freshening things up, both inside and out! They enjoy having the grandchildren close by and are routinely challenged with weekend-long sitting stints while their parents travel afar!

There have been lots of new grandchildren this past year, as well as many of us trying to keep up with those already getting taller by the minute or chasing each other through our houses, all in good fun! Jean Beard Barden was thrilled to welcome her first grandchild, James Wilder Barden, this past fall. It was a welcome change after she took a nasty fall last summer in Italy while riding her Vespa, resulting in MAJOR shoulder surgery! Long recovery, but Jean was able to take time to visit campus for the induction of Bonnie Jackson Kestner, SBC’s very first swimming coach, into the Athletics & Riding Hall of Fame. This event brought back many wonderful memories for both Jean and the first SBC swim team captain, Sally Ann Polson-Slocum, who was also able to attend. Sally Ann mentioned that, after 40 years “Jean Barden and I were able to spend three amazing days together at Sweet Briar honoring Bonnie. We had such an incredible time together and were able to see others from our class, as well

as President Mary Pope Hutson ’83 and Claire Dennison Griffith ’80 for meals and tasting the new Sweet Briar wines! What a fun time that was.” Those who were also able to attend and support Coach Kestner, as well as Robin Behm ’79 who was also inducted, were Cannie Crysler Shafer, Holly McGlothlin, Suzanne Stryker Ullrich, Jane Mooney ’77, and True Dow Datillo ’79. It was a fun time to be on campus!

Last July, Sally Ann PolsonSlocum and Bill joined his siblings on a cruise departing from Reykjavik with ports-of-call in Iceland, Greenland, and Nova Scotia. Getting away from the July heat, they got “up close and personal” with icebergs that kept them a little further out from a few ports. “Fascinating world, especially in Greenland!”

After Bill spent some time in Peru building houses for those less fortunate, he met Sally Ann in Amsterdam where they embarked on a two-week cruise on the Rhine, Main, and Danube Rivers. “We explored beautiful medieval towns and breathtaking cities such as Vienna, Budapest, and Prague.” Sally Ann’s company, MedWatch LLC, reached a major financial milestone this year. As a result, Sally Ann hosted 40 staff and spouses to a Bahamian cruise on one of Royal Caribbean’s megaships. “The event was a huge success, bringing together many colleagues who largely work remotely and celebrating their important contribution to the healthcare industry.”

Lee Boyes Carollo loves being a grandmother to her grandson (2.5), who “is talking up a storm and running me ragged,” and is still teaching high school honors chemistry after 44 years. She has also taken on a district-wide job mentoring new science teachers which she feels very rewarding. Dealing with a lot of teachers who come from industry, as well as new teachers, who find classroom management and lack of funding frustrating, she helps with grant writing and acts as a second adult in the room. “I wish I had had a mentor when I started teaching!”

In her spare time, Lee gets involved with Pilates and takes her Chesapeake Bay retriever for daily three-mile hikes, and most importantly, she reports that it has been two years since her

pancreatic cancer surgery and, so far, a clear future!

Katie Renault Baldwin is still enjoying the Oregon West Coast, but reports there’s “just a lot of rain.” They welcomed their fourth grandchild, a little boy named Maddox, last November, so now there are two girls and two boys! Last summer they were also able to visit the Outer Banks, N.C. and Michigan.

Donna Mihalik Lee reports that her grandson, Isaac Lee, is a ballet dancer and choreographer teaching with the Charlottesville Ballet. He has even choreographed a performance that incorporated one of Donna’s poems, “Intersection on Neptune.” He was interviewed about it in the Sticks and Stones newsletter. Donna also reports that her poetry continues to be published in various journals and anthologies in Canada, the Netherlands, U.K., and U.S.! She has indeed become an accomplished poet!

Carolyn Ennis wrote in from Germany. “I’ve enjoyed staying in touch with Leke Osinga Scully,

and I’m following her son Kirk’s new musical adventures! My older daughter got married and moved to Switzerland! I am settling into my little mountain home, feeling very thankful for everything. I have been quite involved with my old high school, Aiglon, nearby in Switzerland, addressing the Model U.N., and taking part in alumni panels. I attend lectures and joined a running group in nearby Freiburg! I’m still looking for more volunteer opportunities. Was quite burned out and exhausted when I retired in 2022, but have relaxed and rested, and am grateful for my new life!” It’s hard to keep an SBC girl down!

Jane Hemingway Sullivan sends greetings from N.Y.C.! One of the highlights of her year was the Friends of Art meeting held in Greenwich Village at the Art Gotham Gallery which is inside Eliza Hamilton’s townhouse! (Fun! In “The Room Where It Happened!”) What a fun time to be updated on all things Sweet

Clockwise: 1. Carolyn Ennis running! 2. Leslie Anderson Battle and Katie Brown Eney at Leslie’s daughter, Bailey’s, wedding. 3. Cannie Crysler Shafer, Suzanne Stryker Ullrich, Holly McGlothlin, Sally Ann Polson-Slocum, and Jean Beard Barden on campus for the Athletics & Riding Hall of Fame induction.

Class Notes

Briar with President Mary Pope Hutson ’83 in attendance. And how fun to continue the celebration after touring the gallery at a restaurant aptly named Sweetbriar! Jane also continues with her involvement with the Coolidge Presidential Foundation, most recently planning their winter gala. One little glitch has been a round of treatments for Jay who is dealing with multiple myeloma! Jane feels very fortunate to have the “best doctors ever at MSKCC! Stay well friends.”

Maggie Laurent Gordy wrote that her gorgeous garden was finally asleep for the winter. “I’m a reading tutor with a fourth grader at a local school which is a lot of fun. We go to Richmond regularly to see the grands (two redheaded blue-eyed girls, 4 and 8).” Maggie and Lee Ramsey Simmons have fun taking antiquing/thrifting trips to Maryland and Pennsylvania, and regularly get to see Mo Moffett Kyle and Antoinette “Toni” Christian Brown for more fun! “Spring is coming, with the promise of tulips, iris, phlox, and roses in the walled garden. Life is good!”

Nice to hear from Juliana Frosch from Amherst, Va. who continues her practice as a psychiatric NP, as well as serving as medical director at Horizon Behavioral Health. She enjoys having time with her dogs, cats, and horses, recently while she awaited grandchild number six in February.

Kathy Jackson Howe started in with lots of laughs as I read her notes! Reflecting on Root having retired before COVID and happy to not be in medicine, she added, “But what a mistake!” Yes, we are all getting to that stage of life! The laughter subsided when she continued that she had had surgery on a right rotator cuff in February 2024 and that recovery was much slower than expected. Being on an “orthopedic roll,” Jackson mentioned she was having her left knee replaced at the end of January. She admits that working out on the stationary bike to keep the pounds off was not working so well. Again, more laughs! She asked for advice on recliners to get her through the hardest part after surgery … hope you found the right one, Jackson! She and Root enjoy spending May through October in the cool of the North Carolina

mountains and asks if a mini-reunion would be fun? (To be discussed!) Jane Lauderdale has moved up that way as well. Jackson added that classmates Ann Yauger, Deb Davison Klein, Lisa Wray Longino, Mary Page Stewart, Cannie Crysler Shafer, Drew Springer Oswalt, and Ann Thrash Jones all wandered through last summer. After mentioning a little bit of travel along the Rhine, Bermuda, Florida, and Utah … all while cursing her left knee, she added that her children’s ages remind her that she’s getting old! (Aren’t we all!) The six grandchildren are scattered in Shreveport, La. and Valdosta, Ga.

Cathy Mellow Golterman is obsessed with her grandson, William (2.5), who she babysits as often as possible. He attends the same nursery school, Ladue Chapel Nursery School, that Cathy and her children all attended. She still teaches preschool with the Sweet Nuggets and has wonderful families that she babysits for on weekends. This summer will be spent working as a camp counselor at two camps before heading off for their annual summer trip to Wisconsin.

Carol Baugh Webster remarked that she and her husband are both enjoying retirement and “contrary to what everyone told me, I am never bored! I take regular classes in crocheting at a local yarn shop (hopefully improving my skills!) while Tim has been taking art classes which he will continue in 2025. He has built a studio workshop in the garage and is looking forward to doing more art.” They love living in Florida now and don’t miss the ice, snow, and cold at all. “Our goal is to hit the beach once a week at least and it’s lovely to be so close. We are doing a little traveling and enjoying going to local festivals, community theater, ballet, and seeing friends.

Sally Ann Polson-Slocum is not too far from us, at least part of the year.” Carol and Tim enjoy hosting many of their family and friends and hope to have more visitors in the future. In addition to their five grandchildren and one great-grandchild, they are expecting a second great-grandson in June.

Last June, Nancy Robinson Lindberg and Mike welcomed

Clockwise: 1. President Mary Pope Hutson ’83 and Kimberly Salib at Art Gotham. 2. Lee Boyes Carollo having fun with her grandson. 3 Suzanne Stryker Ullrich, Holly McGlothlin, and Muffy Hamilton Parsons at a Straight No Chaser concert. 4 Kathy Jackson Howe, Cannie Crysler Shafer, Mary Page Stewart, Barbara Behren’s Peck, Deb Davison Klein, and Mary Goodwin Gamper at Mary’s son’s wedding.

their first grandson, Nolan, and Nancy is really enjoying the “grandma gig!” She and Mike managed a few trips last year. They went to Belgium and Holland first, then walked in the Dordogne region of France before a final cruise to Norway in November. Nancy remarked that it was a great strategy for surviving the presidential election!

Anne Riordan Flaherty wrote about the then upcoming Southwest Florida SBC group event in Naples. There were to be around 15 alumnae for lunch while the husbands all went fishing! Great way to “divide and conquer!” The thought of warmth sure sounds nice right now! Carey Johnson Fleming was also looking forward to attending a SBC event in Greenville, S.C. as well.

And yet another grandchild arrived! Mimi Borst Quillman’s second grandson, Alexander Scott Quillman, arrived the day before Mimi’s birthday in December 2023. “In fact, I missed my last day of work before retirement because I was watching his

brother Pierce!” Mimi and Scott were able to take what Mimi calls “an amazing dove hunting adventure in Gualeguay, Argentina” last June with two of Scott’s fraternity brothers. Their annual trip to New Hampshire with Ginny Craig, Bill, and Mary Goodwin Gamper and Dick Gamper gave them time to hike to Greenleaf Hut. They must be trying to hit all the major peaks in the area as Mimi reports “only one more to do!” “I loved getting together at Longwood Gardens this fall with Mary Page Stewart, Meg Richards Wiederseim, Mary Goodwin Gamper, and Suzanne Stryker Ullrich, who amazed us with her plant knowledge.” Then in December, Ginny Craig and her adorable cockapoo, Poppi, spent Christmastime with Mimi and Scott. Katie Keogh ’88 also joined them for Christmas Eve. Mary and Bill Gamper, along with their two wire-haired pointers, came to celebrate New Year’s Eve. What a show that must have been with all those dogs, including Mimi’s two pointers! Mimi reports that she is

riding a little at a trail-riding barn down the road and talks often to Drusie Hall Bishop, who has also found a neat horse to ride.

Deb Davison Klein wrote in, at the time, that all was well in California. The horrible fires came later. She was able to come back to Atlanta, Ga., saw Ann Hill Yauger, and then spent Memorial Day in Highlands, N.C. with her daughter, Whitney, her husband, Alex, and granddaughters, Callie and Hollis. It was then off to Maryland for Mary Page Stewart’s son’s wedding in Annapolis, enjoying the celebration along with Mary Goodwin Gamper, Cannie Crysler Shafer, Barbara Behrens Peck, and Kathy Jackson Howe. “What a BLAST!” With granddaughters in the Atlanta area, Deb comes back for family time, but also loves catching up with classmates. The fall included a hilarious Halloween as well as a fun dinner with Jane Lauderdale, Ann Yauger, and a Washington & Lee friend Rodney Cook.

Since last year’s notes, Mary Page Stewart wrote that her greatest joy was indeed her son’s marriage to a wonderful girl in June, attended by many close SBC friends! She and Bob were also able to take a terrific trip with Kathy Jackson Howe and Root, starting in Amsterdam and ending in Milan, “with an open bar in between!” Mary also remarked about the great day spent with SBC friends at Longwood Gardens. It really was a great day!

A few classmates are moving! Lenore Cox reports that she will be moving to Lynchburg, Va. from Forest, Va. and is looking forward to seeing some of her besties, Lisa Spruill Darby and Mary Catherine Carrington, a RMWC grad. Anne Taylor Quarles is also moving to Fairfax Station, Va. near her daughter, Betsy. She can’t wait to reconnect with friends and SBC club groups and spend more time with her granddaughters, who will be very closeby!

Another wedding came this past September for Antoinette “Toni” Christian Brown and Jim. The wedding took place right there at Bluegrass Farm, site of many pre-Reunion parties! The new couple will be living in North Carolina with his two children and two dogs. “Jim and I continue to work on the farm … cows,

horses, and donkeys. After not riding for about a year and a half, I finally was able to get back on my horse. Very exciting, except now we are into the freezing months, so not much happening on that front!” Toni spoke of a wonderful trip to Williamsburg, Va. with Muffy Hamilton Parsons, Lynn Spilman Williams, Cindy McKay, and Suzanne Stryker Ullrich. She also gets to see Mo Moffett Kyle and Maggie Laurent Gordy for lunch on occasion which is always fun. Side note: Mo’s daughter just had a little girl, so Mo has now joined the rank of grandmother! Toni was also looking forward to a trip to the southwest U.S. this coming May with Jim, a new part of the country for them!

Leke Osinga Scully and Mark also hosted a wedding at their house! The back field was the perfect site for their second son William’s marriage to Samantha last August. And they will get to do it all over again when their oldest son Brendan gets married to his fiancé, Lindsay, next August! August 2025 should be a little easier after things were spiffed up for the 2024 wedding! Youngest son, Kirk, moved to Denver, Colo. where he is a videographer and makes music, performing songs he has written since high school. (Look for him on YouTube and Spotify) With retirement comes “volunteering!” Life stays busy for Leke and Mark, both of them with property management of the historical building they restored/ preserved and outfitted with up-to-date sustainable practices.

Leke is still a volunteer at the Simsbury Historical Society, while Mark is busy with his non-profit, PACE (People’s Action for Clean Energy) on sustainable issues in town and the state of Connecticut.

Another retiree, Susan Negaard Harley, is using this time to its full advantage! Many trips included to Europe, the Napa/San Francisco area, and an Alaskan cruise. Visiting Ann Thrash Jones and Bob on Fripp Island, S.C. for Thanksgiving was a delight and included great walks on the beach. Susan was able to spend Christmas with her children for skiing at Steamboat Springs, Colo. When staying at home, Susan volunteers as a driver for the American Cancer Society. “I really enjoy the people I drive and I also work at the Charleston

Animal Shelter with the doggies and kitties, who are adorable. I’ve only adopted one animal … so far!”

Ann added, “our grandchildren are growing older, 12, 10, 10, nine, and six, but we are NOT! We still enjoy our dog sledding and fishing adventures, but time with family and friends is best!”

Kim Hershey Hatcher is thrilled about the engagement of her daughter, Lynn Brugh Hatcher, to William Sells Bensur, the son of Sally Ann Sells Bensur ’79 in Fox Chapel, Pa. in January with a May 2025 wedding in Annapolis, Md. “It all started at Sweet Briar when Sally Anne and I were Reid dormmates nearly 50 years ago, so it’s going to be great! Great, too, is having Lynn and Will and our son, Georgie, his wife, Alex, and our granddaughters, Olive (4) and Liza Anne (1), all living close by in Annapolis, only 45 minutes from our home in Easton, Md. Sweet Briar meant so much to George and me back in the 70s when I was there, and it truly was the start of our life together—just the two of us—and I’ll never, ever forget it.”

Dudie Hiemenz DiLeo wrote in for the St. Louis crew! She gets together with Ann Key Lucas,

Cathy Mellow Golterman, and Becky Mulvihill McKenna occasionally, and had a wonderful long visit with Ann Maricle Stefano when they both went to their 50th high school reunion! Dudie loves spending time with her high school sweetheart of a husband, Tony, and her grandkids who “just melt my heart!” Indeed, they do, for so many of us.

Muffy Hamilton Parsons is always on the go, attending concerts and going to musicals with friends. With both boys now married, she spends time going in different directions visiting them: James and Rachel in Akron, Ohio and Spencer, Devon, and Brookes (1) in Massachusetts. Muffy and Cindy McKay see each other frequently, and last September, they went to support the SBC field hockey team vs. Kenyon College. “It was great rooting for the Vixens even though they lost the game. However, the next day they were victorious over the College of Wooster!” Muffy, along with Holly McGlothlin, got me to join them for a Straight No Chaser concert (an acapella group) in Richmond, Va. last fall. They really were terrific, and I would encourage anyone interested to seek them out! Lots of fun!

1. A bunch of QVs, Jane Dixon

Holly McGlothlin, Robin

’80, meet up at the Briar Patch before going to campus for Athletics & Riding Hall of Fame induction for Robin Behm. 2. Suzanne Stryker Ullrich and Rick conquering Waynapicchu at Machu Picchu. 3. Robin Behm presenting her SBC sweater to the director of athletics at the Athletics & Riding Hall of Fame induction. 1978

and

Dow

Clockwise:

Mooney ’77, Cannie Crysler Shafer,

Behm ’79,

True

Datillo

Class Notes

Lisa Wray Longino is looking forward to her oldest granddaughter’s high school graduation and the upcoming marriage of her nephew, Will, the son of Barbara Wray Heath ’81!

Like so many of us, we are hitting the road to wherever to visit our children and “the grands,” (me to Buffalo area, Vermont, and here in Pennsylvania), catch up with friends whenever possible, travel with husbands (met Rick in March after his work in Peru, visiting my old childhood haunts, as well as Cuszco and Macchu Picchu) whether they are still working or not (Rick has mentioned the ‘R’ word!) and filling our lives to the fullest! For the first time in a very long time, we were able to be with all three sons (Alex, Andrew, and Ned) and their families at the same time! August was met with time in Vermont on Lake Champlain (time to catch up with Lauren Place Young and her daughter’s family as well), and then again in November when youngest son Ned and Mariah hosted all for Thanksgiving. What a crew—Ned took advantage of having extra hands available, and rented an excavator for three days! Imagine, five grandsons and one granddaughter, each getting a chance to fulfill a dream … driving a “scooper-digger!” The older “boys” all enjoyed their time in the seat, as did I! The goal was to level spots for a swing set and a greenhouse being added to the expanding farm! Mission accomplished!

Downsizing (a.k.a. getting rid of “stuff”) is now part of our day-to-day, along with volunteer organizations. The yarn business (SUFibers) is growing, and I’m actually finishing projects … some from long ago! The knitting keeps me occupied in the car on those long car rides, along with listening to books for the two book groups I enjoy. I still do college fairs and write notes to accepted students. I am SO very impressed with the students interested in and being accepted to SBC! “Smart” is an understatement!

As many have reported, “life is full,” and for that we are thankful. Continue to be in touch with friends and family, and should you find yourself “downsizing,” be sure to send us your new addresses! Hugs, Suzanne.

1980

I’m hoping to see a lot of you at our Reunion May 30–June 1. Until then, here’s an update on what our classmates are doing:

Sally “True” Dow-Datilio: I’m writing from Seacoast, N.H. to wish my classmates, OLBs, QV family, Sweet Tones sisters, athletes, and Freshman ClassPresidents-of-yore a wonderful year of memories: the GongShow, all-nighter in the basements of Randolph and Reid, road tripping Route 60 at 5 a.m. for 7:30 Art History, among other fond tales. 2023–2024 was another year managing our Gymnastics School, well into its 51st year of continuous familyrun excellence, and visiting our two “boys-men” in Cleveland, Ohio and Nantucket, Mass. I was able to rendezvous with the cream-of-the-SBC-crop in the oceans of the Caribbean aboard the Vela; in Richmond, Va., for steamed oysters on the homemade griddle-a-la-mallonnee. AND huzza to Robin Behm, ’79, a hall of famer!! [Editors note: True was also inducted into the College’s Athletics & Riding Hall of Fame in 2012.]

Helen Compton Harris: 2024 was a rough year for me. Mom was ill most of the year and passed in October. I’m getting through it. Daughter, Lauren, graduates this year, and I’m not sure I’ll be available for Reunion, but I’ll do my best.

Pam Willett Hauck: I’m still living here in Chesterfield, Va., and enjoying my now four grandchildren whenever possible. Blessings abound. We had a wonderful trip to New Zealand last February, and now that my husband, Greg, finally retired at the end of August, we hope to do more traveling. Keeping busy with volunteer activities as a VCE Master Gardener and at our local state park. Also, I took up pickleball along with every other “young senior” in the area. However, my knees aren’t quite what they used to be. Ugh! As of now, I’m planning to go to our Reunion next spring and look forward to seeing our classmates then.

Megan Coffield Lyon: I had a wonderful visit in January with

Ferguson Sinks, Carol Williamson

Fannie

Barbara Wesley Bagbey, Jeanine Davis, Catherine Flaherty, Lisa Schneider Thornton, Georgia Schley Ritchie, and True Dow Datillo. 5. Carolyn Hallahan Salamon and her daughter, Meaghan. 6. Carson Freemon Meinen’s grandsons, Arlo and Teddy. 7. Phyllis Watt Jordan and Cindy Stover Motyka.

Clockwise: 1. Leslie Ludwick Bires and Tinsley Place Lockhart. 2. Phyllis Watt Jordan and Florence Rowe Barnick. 3. Megan Coffield Lyon and Annie Ivey Leonard. 4. Ginny Farris Hoffman, Lillian

Jenkins,

Zollicoffer Malone,

Annie Ivey Leonard in Greenville, S.C. It is hard to believe we have been friends for nearly 50 years. She is still the same happy, funny person she has always been.

Carson Freemon Meinen: Ed and I welcomed our second grandson to the family in the spring of 2024. We have enjoyed spending time in Denver with our grandson (2), who keeps us on our toes. We are looking forward to a cruise to Norway in the summer of 2025 as well as more trips to Denver, Colo. and San Antonio, Texas to visit the grandsons.

Judi Wright Noel: I am still working on restoring my rather large flower garden after a very old oak tree fell across it! It took out statues and shrubs along with other perennials and annuals. I’ll resume in the spring. Wish me luck!

Sandra Rappaccioli Padilla: I am still living in Managua; my oldest son Max and his family are living here too, and I keep busy with my twin granddaughters (4.5). Jorge, Sandra Lucia, and Violeta are living in Atlanta, Ga. I visit them a couple of times a year, and I have met with Lisa Sturkie, Kathy Taylor, Francie Root, Wendy Woodward, and Georgia Schley Ritchie from our class, and other SBC graduates. Sandra Lucia will get married in May, and Violeta is expecting her first baby in February. I went to Dallas, Texas to visit my youngest son, Felipe, and had the greatest time connecting with Anne Darden and Beth Newberry

Gail Coyne Pierdiluca: I moved from Chicago to Amelia Island, Fla.

Carolyn Hallahan Salamon: Nothing much is happening here in Frederick, Md., and retirement has been interesting … I’m not sure how I ever had time to work, yet find myself at the end of many days wondering what I accomplished?! I will miss my son, Thomas, forever, of course—he would have been 25 this year. Just such a tragedy from which I’ll never recover (I did not have kids until 40 and 42). I have attached a recent picture of me with my daughter Meaghan from her visit in early November for her 24th birthday.

Anne Secor: After living in the remote woods of Québec for 17 years and raising my twins (18), I moved with them on my own to Brooklyn, N.Y. in July 2022. They are freshman roommates, thriv-

ing at Stony Brook University. I am reinventing my design career after a long absence, in a rewarding new relationship, and thankful to be back in New York.

Ann Connolly Simpson: Is it already time to write again? Good year with some travel—March was Turks and Caicos, gorgeous—U.S. Open Tennis in N.Y.C. in August and Greece in September—lovely! Now home and still at Excellent Vision in Portsmouth—must work to pay for the travel! Enjoying my grandbaby, Andi (16-months), daughter Hannah’s little one—so cute and fun! Looking forward to holidays with toddler energy! Hope everyone is well and has a safe and happy holiday!

Tinsley Place Lockhart: I’m semi-retired as of July 24, having been paid off as part of a large restructuring at Lloyds Banking Group where I was in fund management risk and compliance oversight. I still am a lawyer— just!—but am getting way too used to a more relaxed lifestyle. I’ve joined the Scottish Society of Artists and exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy in November. Can’t wait to paint more (acrylic on canvas) once I get my taxes done! Blessedly my family is well & growing. Son Beauregard lives in Dubai, U.A.E. with a senior role in HSBC, and two children, daughter Elodie (6) and son Ferdie born in August. Daughter Esmeralda is due to have her first child, a girl, next Monday, Feb. 3—pray all goes well! Am not sure I’ll get to Reunion, but did have a great visit with Leslie Ludwick Bires in March 2024.

As for me, Phyllis Watt Jordan, I moved to Monterey, Calif., in summer 2024 when my husband took a job at the Naval Postgraduate School. My plan was to retire, but I recently took a part-time job editing for an education website. Our kids are still on the East Coast: Miranda is working for a nonprofit in N.Y.C., and Jake is teaching math in Miami, Fla. I play bridge online every week with Lisa Ward Connors, Megan Coffield Lyon, and Emily Quinn McDermott. I got a chance to see Fran McClung Ferguson in Salem in June, Florence Rowe Barnick in Fredericksburg, Va. in September, Cindy Stover Motyka in Boston, Mass. last fall and Ann Connolly Simpson at Christmastime.

1982

Patti Snodgrass Borda Mullins 15 10th Ave Brunswick, MD 21716 pattibmullins@gmail.com

Brianna Boswell Brown: Jane Dure, Consuelo MartinezQuattrocchi, Molly Finney Grenn, Nancy Daugherty Davidson, Lele Frenzel Casalini and I journeyed through Portugal and Spain on a Camino pilgrimage. Rain, mud, and even a hurricane didn’t stop us … Next up, Kilimanjaro!

Catherine Adams Miller: 2024 has been a year of highs and lows. David and I went to Greece for his birthday in May with our daughter, Madeline, and husband, Larry. On Aug. 10, we celebrated my mother’s 98th birthday. My brother and wife visited from California. Just eight days later my mother died from complications from a fall. It was devastating since she was sharp and in good health. We completely cleaned out her apartment in two weeks so I could go to Tennessee to help our daughter, Ali, and Kai with our second grandchild.

Rosemary Hardy: Life is good! I continue to volunteer at a no-kill animal shelter that has been operating for about 60 years. Also, I pay a weekly visit to a lady in her mid 90s to help with various tasks/errands. She is the mother of a high school best friend, now living in New Hampshire. My favorite activity is looking after my grand-niece, Claire (2), a few times a week. She is incredibly fun to be around; I cannot get enough of her! It helps that I’m a true kid at heart.

Ethel Burwell Dowling: I enjoyed seeing classmates and friends from other classes at the inauguration of former Grey Hall mate, Mary Pope Hutson ’83, and also at the induction of Bonnie Kestner into the Athletics & Riding Hall of Fame.

Jane Dure: I did Sweet Work Weeks again with Lele Frenzel Casalini. We scraped and painted a doorway: it is perfect. Walked a portion of the Camino de Santiago, from Porto to Santiago de Compostela, with Nancy

Daugherty Davidson, Molly Finney Grenn, Brianna Boswell Brown, Consuelo MartinezQuattrocchi, and Lele. Would say it was the trip of a lifetime, but we are planning the next trip of a lifetime for 2026! Buen Camino! Jean von Schrader Bryan: “Jean Jean” the dancing machine is still in Amherst, Va. and loving life! Plan on our 45th Reunion to be the best! I’m only a phone call away if anyone wants to talk: 757-672-1329. Holla on, ladies. Mary LaVigne: Hello from western North Carolina. I wanted to send a heartfelt thanks to all my SBC friends that reached out during the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. Diane Dunaway Boles was extraordinarily wonderful during a stressful time with all kinds of offers of animal and human deliveries! Luckily, we were able to make do, so she could help those more tragically in need. Flo Rowe Barnick had to cancel her trip, but I hope to see her here soon. Y’all come visit us anytime!

Monika Kaiser: I was busy traveling this year. To give my sister some time to breathe, I went to Germany twice—as I have been the past five years—to help with the care of my mother, who suffers from dementia. In May, I treated my daughter to a 10-day trip to Japan and fell in love with the country. And in November, I took my son for 10 days to Iceland, which included snorkeling between the tectonic plates and glacier hiking. I would love to move there, if it weren’t so ice cold.

Liz Hoskinson: The upstate garden is expanding, with gorgeous sheets of granite sculpting the property and unexpected, strange plants popping up each season among the usual tangle that makes up a garden. Still involved with horses and eventing, and with a N.Y.C. group that awards garden grants to schools and nonprofits. I’m on the pickleball court two to three times a week, and travel looms large as well. I hang with Rhoda Harris and am truly enjoying the gatherings of the N.Y.C. alumnae group. Cautiously optimistic about the future SBC.

Gracie Tredwell Schild: I’m still doing bookkeeping and database work as a contractor here in Santa Fe, N.M. and playing

lots of tennis. My son is living in Atlanta, Ga. right now, so I’ve been going there for visits. I’m trying to drop some clients so I can get a little closer to “retired.” Then maybe I’d be able to travel more. I did make it back to Germany in 2023 for the first time since I left in 2011, and that was great. I’ve added two kittens to my household—guarantee against depression or boredom! Come and see for yourselves!

Heather Pirnie Albert: We have the travel bug! Went to Antarctica, then to Greece, and rounded out the year with a repositioning cruise through the Caribbean. We hired a sailboat in Aruba and especially enjoyed our time there. We have more trips planned for 2025. I love this retirement gig! I’ll still be running my small tax business for year number 38. I do volunteer work a couple of days a week to keep out of trouble.

Lee Lombardy Watson: I am enjoying retirement! This year I visited several national parks and plan to visit the Christmas markets in Prague and Krakow. In June, I accompanied my sister,

Lynn Watson Norfleet ’74, to Sweet Briar to celebrate her 50th Reunion. I picked up some great tips for things we can do when it is our turn to celebrate this milestone. It was wonderful to catch up with professors Brent Shea and Ron Horwege. I stay busy as co-leader of the Sweet Briar Club of Orlando and as Admissions Ambassador for Florida, in addition to volunteering around town.

Jennifer Rae: I continue to live in the Delaware-Maryland-Virginia area and drive for Lyft. Getting my marketing business going again coupled with AI. As I drive, there is always a SBC connection.

Mary Ames Booker: I lost my husband/partner unexpectedly in October 2023. We had been together for 35 years, so it was quite a blow. Since then, dear friends and changes at work have helped me move forward. Heartfelt thanks to Elizabeth Perkinson Simmons ’78 and Patti Snodgrass Borda Mullins. The Reverend Blair Both ’67 gave a meaningful service. Angels masquerading as long-time friends welcomed me for an August visit to Vermont. Many classmates

have been down this road and have been blessed by our SBC friendships. May 2025 be a year of renewal and growth for all of us.

Libby Lee Gantt Castles: Guy and I enjoy our growing family! The last of our children was married in May 2024. We have seven grandchildren with one on the way! Our oldest daughter, Mason, lives in Asheville, N.C. with her two children; our oldest son, Guy, lives in Charleston, S.C. with his two children; and our others, Mary Etta, Gantt, Ray, and Clara, live near us in Columbia, S.C. Guy is still working full time as a pediatrician, and I enjoy golf, babysitting, serving lots of meals, and love my Bible study. I lost my sweet mom in July, and my dad just celebrated his 95th birthday!

Marie Engel Earnhart: Lots of news for 2025. Mary Whitney is getting married in March. I am retiring from Fairfax County Public Schools in June. All is well!

Patti Snodgrass Mullins: My work with the Maryland State Education Association continues. Husband Earl (retired) and I enjoy Annapolis, Md., on the water on the sailboat, punctuated by

bingeing outstanding streaming productions. Daughter Virginia is employed as a server and saving money as she identifies graduate school opportunities in conservation ecology/wildlife management.

1984

Louise Jones Geddes 2590 Woodward Way NW Atlanta, GA 30305 ljgeddes5@gmail.com

Holla, holla and happy new year to all! I thoroughly enjoyed hearing from everyone who sent updates and offer a big “thank you” for your time and efforts in responding to the request. Judging by these notes, we’ve been busy and fruitful! While it’s a cold, crisp January day that I am working on editing and collating these emails, by the time the magazine arrives, the year will be halfway finished, so if you are enjoying reading about your classmates, please make a midyear resolution to send your own news later this year.

Leslie Caroline Kirkby attended our 40th Reunion last summer with her bestie, Jennifer Ditter Collado ’83, from California. They had a great time catching up with each other and everyone else at Reunion: wine tasting, trail riding, lots of laughs, and dancing at the dinner dance. Leslie Caroline is busy training her new Arabian mare, DAR Desperada. In the fall, she visited SBC to watch her niece, Natalie Cockey ’25, play her senior and last soccer game and to attend SBC’s play, Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812. It was a fabulous evening filled with laughter! Great job done by all. Sweet Briar’s campus is as beautiful as ever. Otherwise, she visited family and friends in Montauk, N.Y., and she also spends time with two Arabian horses, training in dressage and Western ranch.

Tricia Dolph Fallon reports that all three kids are out of college! A 10-year journey completed. Tricia has joined Sweet Briar Admissions part-time as the alumnae ambassador manager, and she says it has been so fun to connect with AAs all over the

Clockwise: 1. Six classmates hike through Portugal and Spain, Camino de Santiago de Compostela. 2. The family of Libby Lee Gantt Castles. 3. Brianna Boswell Brown and Nancy Daugherty Davidson get ready to keep hiking through Portugal and Spain. 4. Mary LaVigne enjoys equestrian pursuits in western North Carolina. 5. Rosemary Hardy’s grand-niece, Claire, keeps her young.

80 Sweet Briar Alumnae

country. Tricia invites us to join her as an AA! You can write notes, send texts, and/or attend college fairs. She enjoyed our 40th Reunion and looks forward to connecting with all of the class as the new Class of 1984 Fund Agent.

Vida Henry Fonseca traveled to Sicily with her beau, David. Vida got to use her college Italian while visiting David’s homeland. Driving in Sicily was a grand adventure! The trickster GPS didn’t help much outside the big cities, and even there, hair was raised as they careened down two-way, one-lane alleys pitting their tiny Fiat against giant tour buses and trucks. A 16-day trip turned into three weeks because they were booked on a non-existent flight as were several other people. ITA airlines are customer-service free, as is Delta, but they lived through it and got to see a marionette show based on the Geste d’Orlando that had been sold out the whole time they were there. Beautiful, but gory, and awfully racist to modern sensibilities. The food was excellent, and Vida walked enough to lose nine pounds!

Kirsten Vold Larsen resides in Lake Geneva, Wis. and celebrated her 35th wedding anniversary with Kris Larsen last summer. Their children Lars (26) and Eleanor (28) both live in New York, N.Y. with careers in advertising. They had lots of travel last year: Steamboat, Alaska Cruise, Philadelphia, New Orleans, Miami, and New York. Kirsten has been wildly successful with her custom window treatment and drapery business: Lake Geneva Blind Co. She is also obsessed with Botanical Arts via Garden Club of America. She hated to miss Reunion, but it overlapped with her Alaska trip.

Sarah Rundquist writes that she continues to be an ocean rescue lifeguard in Little Compton, R.I. in the summer while spending her winter months in Wellington, Fla., where she manages a polo team. She feels blessed to be able to fulfill her passions. She often thinks about SBC and that beautiful campus which is such a gem! Sending love and happiness to all.

Patsy Roby Gotfredson says that she and Ed are staying “nicely busy” in Grosse Pointe, Mich. Ed is still working and Patsy holds positions on an assortment of

non-profit boards. Their boys are doing well: Teddy (28) lives in West Village in Manhattan and works for Google, while George (24) lives in Grosse Pointe and works for a small private equity firm. Patsy keeps an eye on her mother, Mary Roby (92), who lives close by and is still on her own. She continues to enjoy golf and tennis and loves playing Mahjong. She remains in contact with a number of SBC classmates and cherishes those friendships.

Tracy Glaves Spalding is still teaching aspiring natural food chefs and loving it! She and Randy, following their passion for food, spent a couple of weeks in Turkey last spring, cooking, learning about Turkish cuisine, and eating so much good food. Istanbul was magical! In 2025, they’ve signed up for more culinary adventures in Oaxaca, Transylvania, and Catalonia … more cooking and eating! Anyone traveling through Denver, Colo. should let her know … She’d love to catch up.

Juliet Jacobsen Kastorff continues to split her time between western North Carolina and Ecuador. In North Carolina, she was at the heart of Hurricane Helene, so retreating to Ecuador was a welcome relief. The Rio Quijos EcoLodge in Ecuador is such a lovely destination, especially for bird watchers and those who enjoy outdoor activities. Juliet was so fortunate to be back at SBC last fall for the induction of Bonnie Kestner into the Athletics & Riding Hall of Fame. She loved being back on campus! Being part of the swim team will always be one of her proudest accomplishments at Sweet Briar.

Lisa Burwell Reichard still loves living in Middle Tennessee— even though her two eldest, married children and only grandchildren live in western Michigan. She FaceTimes with them often, and she goes to visit several times a year. Her eldest son’s twin boys just turned 5 in 2024 and her daughter’s daughter (born on my mom’s birthday, Ethel Ogden Burwell, ’36) turned one last September. Lisa’s son (28) lives in South Korea and is currently at the Korean Language Institute at Yonsei University in Seoul. Her youngest son works as an engineer in Tennessee while also taking graduate classes in struc-

tural engineering at Vanderbilt. Debbie Jones had a gratifying year with an appointment to Mortgage Bankers Association Board of Directors, Residential Board of Governors, and vice chair of Certified Mortgage Banker Society. She also had the privilege to present market liquidity solutions to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and other board governors at the Fed in D.C. Debbie is also very excited to be on the board of the Capital W Collective, a nonprofit focused on education, elevation, and empowerment for women in the field of mortgage capital markets. She is enjoying her new horse, Murphy, at Hunter Paces, and is looking forward to foxhunting. She enjoys seeing Ginger Reynolds Davis often!

Caroline Reece Aquino lives in the Plains, and works with

show horses and fox hunters. Jamie is enjoying living in Richmond, Va. Lots of SBC Vixens in the area, but she hasn’t seen any classmates recently.

Rosemarie Davis had a mini reunion in New York City with Mallihai Lawrence Tambyah ’85, Karla Kennedy Hicks ’85, Caroline Stacey, and Heidi Stukey Shott. Rose is interim director in a small anti-trafficking group called She’s Somebody’s Daughter. Her youngest son got married last fall and she is happily back to an empty nest!

Charlotte Hicks had a busy and rewarding year in 2024. She acquired another business, Freedom Through Systems, and is integrating it into her primary business, Nowpreneur. In October, she became the commodore of the Carolina Yacht Club (1853) and the chair of the SAYRA

Clockwise: 1. Leslie Caroline Kirkby at our 40th Reunion with Jennifer Ditter Collado ’83. 2. Rio Quinos Lodge in Ecuador where we can find Juliet Jacobsen Kastorff each winter!

3. Patsy Roby Gotfredson with her husband, Ed, and two sons, Teddy and George. 4. Rosemarie Davis with Mallihai Lawrence Tambyah, Karla Kennedy Hicks, Caroline Stacey, and Heidi Stukey Shott in N.Y.C. 5. Debbie Jones riding Hunter Pace with Murphy and friend Tracy Kilpatrick. 6. Leslie Caroline Kirkby with her niece, Natalie Cockey ’25.

Race Management Committee in January. She continues to serve on an insurance company board and to teach seminars around the country. She had the pleasure of attending the Sweet Briar alumnae brunch in Wrightsville Beach, N.C. in December and she loved hearing about all the great things happening at SBC and meeting local Sweet Briar ladies.

Colleen Kuebel Lewis’s most exciting news is the arrival of her first grandchild, Reid! She feels beyond blessed to be his “nanee.” She is still doing commercial real estate in New Orleans, La., but slowing down. She recently completed a big renovation of her home in New Orleans and celebrated 10 years of marriage with a little trip to Fowl Cay in the Bahamas. She caught up with some fellow Vixens on a jaunt to Palm Springs, Calif. Colleen says please holler if you are ever down in the Big Easy.

Susan Dickinson Lindner really enjoyed seeing everyone at Reunion 2024. The campus was beautiful as always and it was so good to catch up with friends. Susan was lucky enough to have everyone at her house for Thanksgiving 2024. She wishes everyone all the best in 2025.

Ginger Reynolds Davis is planning a trip to France in April and is very excited about that. She still chairs the Historical Association in Spartanburg and the 250 Committee as well, and she and Lynn both volunteer at church. Ginger loved seeing everyone at Reunion last summer!

Elaine Godsey Freim is happy to report that she has resumed participating in juried arts and crafts shows after a long hiatus due to COVID and back surgeries. She is also selling her creations online and she has a line of lamp work glass, Sweet Briar Rose Jewelry. She and Michael have been together for 31 years, and together they have six grandchildren ranging in age from 13–25. I certainly miss having them here, as most weekends when they were younger, they spent weekends with us. Michael retired last year, and it has been fun having him around more! Her son, Robb, practices acupuncture and herbal medicine in Richmond, Va. and will receive his doctorate in April 2025. Her daughter Jennifer

obtained her master’s and has been teaching earth and life sciences for 13 years. Last year, Jennifer received her SPED Certification from the University of Richmond and teaches in York County Schools. Needless to say, Elaine is very proud of them! Their (Michael’s) boys have amazing careers and she couldn’t be more proud of them. In 2024, they lost their beloved love bird, Patchouli, whom Elaine had hand raised since the day after he hatched. He was 17. They also lost their beautiful Zellie, a chihuahua-jack russell mix, after 14.5 years, but they still delight in our other three fur babies: Olive (10), a chihuahua mix, and Josie (4) Juniper (2), who are morkies. Elaine continues to enjoy all aspects of Mother Nature and find joy in every day.

Erika Dorr Marshall sent the following news: Wiley Marshall is a buyer for Rhodes Boutique and home stores and has a regular TV spot on “Lowcountry Live;” Foster Marshall married Emily, who is an artist at riverandwilds.com, and they have the first grandson, Graves Foster Marshall; and Elise Marshall married Ben Godley and just graduated as a nurse practitioner from USC. Erika is looking forward to a naturalist trip to Costa Rica this spring with her mom.

Laurie Scoval Pfeifer retired from teaching last June after 40 years teaching K–3 grades in New Hampshire for four years and Cape Cod, Mass. for the remaining 36. She also retired from her volunteer position as intern coordinator for the local Cape Cod Baseball League team. She exclaims how wonderful it is to have more free time! She absolutely loves retirement—volunteering, traveling, and trips to see family, the ability to be flexible and spontaneous and especially spending more time with her husband Brad (H-SC ’83). Laurie reconnected with Suzanne Stovall here on the Cape, summer before last and it was wonderful to catch up.

Robin Cannizzaro is still living with her long-term partner in Brooksville, Fla. on a 10-acre farm with five dogs, three cats, two birds, three horses, a mini donkey, and four cows. She is still busy in her homeopathic holistic

veterinary practice, Wholistic Veterinary Care.

Helen Pruitt Butler is going to be a grandmother in February of this year. Her daughter and sonin-law are going to bless Helen with a baby boy, and she can hardly wait for this new role in life! Helen and Stephanie Alford Collett are taking a tulip cruise tour to Amsterdam and Holland in early April 2025. Helen loves spending time with so many classmates who live in and around Charleston, S.C., and appreciates these lifelong friendships that were formed at Sweet Briar.

Holly Pflug Allport and Pete celebrated their 34th anniversary earlier this year. Their son Peter continues his work as a software engineer and has bought a home nearby. Sarah got married in February 2024. Sarah and Will now live in Dallas, Texas. Sarah is a pediatric nurse practitioner at Children’s. Kate is in nursing school. Julia is home from Auburn and living with us. Holly is lead paralegal of the estate planning department at Family First Firm and loves it. Pete’s family bought a cabin in upstate New York, so working from home may take in a whole new meaning!

Holly sends wishes for happiness and health to everyone.

Elizabeth Cahill Sharman and Jack will celebrate their 35th wedding anniversary in 2025. They traveled quite a bit in 2024. Both their children live in Washington, D.C.: Mathilde works in corporate communications and Jackson is in graduate school at the School for Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins. So, they spend a fair amount of time in D.C., but Japan was the highlight of their year. They loved everything about the country: the history, culture, food, cocktail bars, and shopping all were amazing. Libba says to get in touch if you’re in Birmingham.

Elizabeth Harley Willett enjoyed going to Reunion in 2024, spending some time in Richmond, Va. seeing Mary Earle McElroy, and had a great time catching up with friends on campus. She and Chris attended a July wedding for the daughter of Louise Jones Geddes where she was able to catch up with Elizabeth Cahill Sharman and Penney Parker Hartline. Elizabeth is still enjoying life in Atlanta, Ga. where Chris is still working for just a little longer! She still

Clockwise: 1. Reid, grandson of Colleen Kuebel Lewis.

2. Sharon Ingham Brown, Louise Jones Geddes, and Sue Walters enjoying their 40th Reunion at SBC. 3. Kirsten Vold Larsen on an Alaskan cruise.

fence destroyed. It has been a bit tougher this time around, Piper says, as her new insurance company is not exactly playing fair. On the positive side, she and Star Hollis Waldron got to go to Oak Island for a wonderful week in September, beachside with their good friend, Lee Stringfellow. Piper has also been busy launching her freelance copywriter/editing business. She says please email her if you have any nonprofit, technical, or email marketing needs!

has a small interior design firm and she is active in the Forward Arts Foundation and the High Museum. She and Chris love spending time in Charleston, S.C. whenever we can. They had some wonderful trips in 2024 with Chris to Scotland to see the British Open and England for Wimbledon, with family to Maine in August and Mexico for New Year’s.

Karen Williams enjoyed our 40th Reunion and she thanks SBC leaders for their ongoing efforts on behalf of Sweet Briar College. She is still busy on Capitol Hill and with the local SBC club in Washington, D.C. Her 2024 highlight was attending the Paris Summer Olympic Games.

Vernice Thompson has been living in Williamsburg, Va. for 18 years now in the same home. I have been working in retail here for five years. My younger brother passed from our lives on Nov. 13, 2024. That leaves me as the last surviving member of our immediate family. I just have three nieces and their children and a number of cousins. I enjoy crossword puzzles, YouTube videos, reading, writing, and staying in touch on social media. As for me, Louise Jones Geddes, 2024 was a busy year and I am enjoying a less busy 2025. I welcomed my first grandchild early in 2024 and am thoroughly enjoying the grandma role! I was able to sneak in a trip to SBC for our 40th Reunion. It was a joy to see the campus looking so beautiful, and I really loved catching up with friends. The Class of 1984 was well represented, but I think our

freshman year third floor Reid hallway was best represented in 2024! My daughter, Lucia, married mid-year, and we celebrated with a patriotic red, white, and blue theme the Saturday following July 4. Elizabeth Cahill Sharman attended, as her daughter Mathilde was a bridesmaid, and Lucia’s godmother Penney Parker Hartline was also there, as was Elizabeth Harley Willett. I also attended the inauguration of Mary Pope Hutson ’83 as president in the fall. In November I traveled to Chile and Argentina to see my oldest child, Charlie, who lives in South America, and while there I had dinner in Santiago, Chile with Robert Shepherd, who is the oldest child of Janet Lewis Shepherd. Robert lives in Santiago. I am a firm proponent of SBC remaining a women’s college and am trying to focus on that. I am not an arm-chair coach (or arm-chair administrator), and I don’t envy those making difficult decisions. But I continue to support them and hope all of you will too! And in that regard, if you are still reading, please consider making a gift: www.sbc.edu/give. It’s really easy! All the best to all of you for the rest of 2025! Drop me a message and tell me what’s up with you and I’ll add it in the next addition of our class notes.

1986

Alis “Piper” Van Doorn 1612 Slater Street Valdosta, GA 31602 alisvandoorn@hotmail.com

Missy Duggins Green 12221 Alhambra Street Leawood, KS 66209 missygreen@kc.rr.com

Alis “Piper” Van Doorn reports that she could almost substitute last year’s class notes for this year, as yet again, a hurricane roared through Valdosta (and North Carolina) on Sept. 27. Hurricane Helene was even more devastating than Idalia, decimating most of Valdosta. Piper had no power for two weeks, a tree on her house, roof damage and again, two more sides of the privacy

Ashley Simmons Bright says she had a fun mini-reunion on Tybee Island, Ga. this past summer with Elizabeth Sheehan Hamrick, Meme Boulware Hobbs, and Holly McGovern Barber celebrating 60! Ashley reports that she and Edgar are still living in New Orleans, La. and are proud grandparents of twins Evie and Lulu (2.5). They belong to her daughter Ella who lives in New Orleans also, so they get to see a lot of them! Both her boys, Gordy (and his wife) and Walker, are living and working in Dallas, Texas.

Christine Jones reports that she has been living in London for the last 30 years, still working in book publishing and still loving it! Christine has a son in London, a son in Somaliland (where he works for an NGO), a daughter in Bath, and two little grandsons (3 and 1), and another on the way. Christine and her husband spend their free time seeing their family or recovering! She was lucky enough to see her great friend Jackie Denu and her lovely daughter, Sophia, a couple of months ago when they came to stay. Christine says: “Hello to my fellow ’86 ‘ers!”

Clockwise: 1. Tracy Glaves Spalding showing off the product of cooking skills gained in Turkey. 2. Sarah Rundquist working her summer lifeguarding gig in Rhode Island and loving life. 3. Holly Pflug Allport’s first child to get married! 1984

Left: Mary Burke Morrow swimming in Croatia with her Vixen cap and pink and green kit. Right: Elizabeth Lindsey and Ken Locke celebrated their 35th anniversary in 2024.

Christine Navratil Deeter writes that “all is well in Ohio; she’s had a great year in real estate.” Her daughter, MacKenzie, is in her last year of law school at SMU in Dallas, Texas and will graduate with her JD/MBA in May. Her son Jonathan works in N.Y.C. in finance. Christine enjoys visiting her children. She loves seeing Linda Mae Visocan Scherr ’87 on occasion, and she keeps in touch with Drusilla Davis Fadus Christine is hoping to make it back to SBC for a Reunion one of these days.

Elizabeth Lindsey reports that she has a spouse in the house again after nine years of solo living. An interim pastor position close to home opened and Ken took it. Elizabeth says it’s an adjustment for both of them. William Basset Hound, who has been with her for three years, suddenly decided Ken can indeed be trusted, and even liked! Elizabeth says it is nice having the tension between her two best guys finally gone. She is still ghostwriting/ copy editing that memoir she rues ever having agreed to prepare for publication. She hopes to have it done and out of her life before 2025 ends!

Ingrid Weirick Squires writes that she and her husband moved to Williamsburg, Va. in November 2025. Their home is jokingly named “The Money Pit” and its endless projects keep them busy, but they are very happy to be closer to friends and family! Their son continues to enjoy law school at William & Mary (’26), and Ingrid knows he will be over for many meals to come. She urges any classmates that find themselves in Williamsburg to please let her know; hopefully her boxes will be unpacked at some point! And Ingrid says, “She is super grateful for all ’86 classmates!”

Lisa Leigh Ringler Bennett reports that she is enjoying life on the farm although she can’t keep her doggo out of the pond! She is still teaching yoga and developing a new workshop for scuba divers! Lisa is looking forward to March and a trip planned to Houston, Texas to see her daughter (who went to SBC her freshman year … the terrible, awful year). She is trying to convince her daughter and daughter’s husband to go to Belize with her from there. Fingers crossed! Lisa is hopeful

that by then she will have settled her parents’ estate because she needs to have some fun!

Mary Burke Morrow says she is enjoying retirement after 33 years of teaching. For a 60th birthday trip, she swam 26 miles along the Dalmatian coast in Croatia. (Wow, Piper is impressed!) At home Burke runs trail races (Canicross) with her dog, Shane.

Patty Glick and her husband, Dan Kress, moved with their critters, Meredith and Rainberry, to Folsom, Calif. in 2024 on a bit of a lark. Close to both beaches and ski hills, great horse country, a gardener’s delight, and a long spring/summer/fall pool season. They are loving it!

Robyn Bailey Orchard reports that she has added English for students of other languages, reading, and drama to the Florida educator certificate, joining her English, gifted, and civics seal of endorsements. In addition to teaching English and sponsoring the National Honor Society at Edward H. White High School, she is now the department chair and gifted support teacher.

Spunk Kuehlwein says the past year has been wonderfully busy with travel to Maine, the White and Green Mountains, Disney, and they are now gearing up for Scotland next summer. They celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary and have cherished many family reunions and visits with friends. Spunk has enjoyed work as an arborist and plant health care specialist, learning new skills and finding a renewed appreciation for trees and their complexities. She is taking the winter off to work on projects at home, and to focus on (trying) to train their energetic and somewhat mischievous young dog.

1988

Jennifer Crawley Lewis

4902 Duck Creek Ln Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32082 lcrllc@aol.com

Denise Landau-Blind sadly passed on Oct. 28. Denise relished time spent with her precious family above all else. Denise had recently retired from her long career as co-owner of family busi-

2. Alesia Hildebrandt and her son, Ryan. 3.

Keogh and her partner in 1985 when they met. 4. Katie Keogh and her partner now, nuptials coming June 2025!

ness, Giant Tire Inc. Denise loved SBC and was a loyal and caring friend. She loved horseback riding, fitness, the Mets, dancing, cooking, hiking, and walking her sweet dog Rolo for miles around town.

Stacey Vilar finally took her first hunter seat riding lesson! SBC just keeps inspiring us to reach further. This winter she will be taking a cross country road trip from the East Coast to Arizona. She is hoping to catch up with as many SBC friends as she can along the way.

Kelly Meredith Iacobelli is still teaching business at

the Savannah College of Art and Design on the Atlanta, Ga. campus. Her daughter, Kathleen, started her doctorate in occupational therapy. Kelly and John love cheering her on and travelling with her when they can find the time.

Cindy Rhoades Sherrell writes that it’s been a year since the fabric of her life was ripped apart. She says it’s been a long journey, and wants to thank all of you for your kind thoughts, prayers, visits, and hosting her visits. In March, she went to BEOND in Mexico to experience

Clockwise: 1. Pictured are Jennifer Bach Rosen, Kathryn Ingham Reese, Carey Grant Milden, Mary Halliday Shaw, Leslie Corrado Stillwagon, Paige Apple Montinaro, Kate Cole Hite, Beth Bennett Haga, Minta Jones Ford, and Whitney Bolt Lober.

Katie

healing and an Ibogaine treatment. Ibogaine is a plant medicine derived from the root bark of the west African plant, Iboga. She returned to BEOND over Thanksgiving to mark this oneyear milestone. Please know, each of you, that there is more love in this existence than we ever could imagine and that no matter what this life brings, that love is for us all. She is forever grateful for her Sweet Briar friends and hopes Sweet Briar will embody, absorb, and reflect love to all creations, all applicants, all alumnae, and learn to love themselves as this universe loves them. Her words are dedicated to Bill and Louise Rhoades who were her wonderful, sweet parents and to the love of her life—there will be no other—

Younge Enhart Sherrell Jr.

Katie Keogh is getting married in June 2025 to the Austrian boyfriend she dated when she was a sophomore at SBC. They met when she did a January term in Vienna and reconnected a few years ago. The first picture was them, taken in 1985. The second picture is them now. Katie also hosted a SBC mini-reunion in Old Lyme, Conn. last summer featuring kayaking, late night laughs, and lobster rolls.

Jennifer Crawley Lewis has moved from Jacksonville to Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. She attended the SBC luncheon on the Lodge and Club in the spring and frequently sees Heather Shettle Buerger’s brother Stuart at the gym at the Ponte Vedra Inn and Club. Her daughter graduated in May from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with a M.Eng. in biomedical engineering. Her uncle, who performed our graduation mass, passed away on Aug. 23.

Stacey Sickels is married and living in Mountain View, Calif., where she has a position at Stanford’s Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence Institute, focusing on developing ethical AI to benefit humanity. Recently, she has traveled for Stanford HAI’s education, research, and policy initiatives, with trips to Singapore, Washington, D.C., New York, London, and upcoming plans for the World Economic Forum in Davos this March (any Vixens going?). In addition to her professional commitments, Stacey is proud to be “Moxie” (her grandmother’s name) to Isla,

the daughter of Kent and Jami Heckel in Ohio, and to Leland, who is newly engaged and based in New Hampshire. Her sister, Susan Sickels Dyer ’91, is making an exciting life change, leaving her beautiful farmhouse in the Berkshires to move to Salt Lake City, Utah in an Airstream, where her husband will lead a patent law practice. Stacey is also part of a competitive synchronized figure skating team called the Tremors, based in San Francisco, Calif. Recently, she was deeply moved by those who expressed support for inclusivity at Sweet Briar and hopes that we can support our fellow LGBTQIA+ fellow alumni who have been educated by and graduated from SBC.

Alesia Hildebrandt is in her last couple of years of teaching, she hopes. Her son, Ryan, moved to L.A. a year ago and she misses him, but she got to visit this past summer. He is working right on Hollywood Boulevard!

1990

Jean Spillane Benning 1120 Walnut Farm Road Lower Gwynedd, PA 19002

Amanda Priddy Berkey 5702 Criner Road Huntsville, AL 35802 1990sweetbriar@gmail.com

Thank you to all of our classmates who submitted notes this year! We appreciate your dedication to Sweet Briar College and the Class of 1990.

Unfortunately, this year we have lost our dear sister Karen Brown . She will be deeply missed and we are sending our condolences to her closest friends and family.

Ann Beatty Malone: I enjoyed my first trip to Paris in April with Jean Spillane Benning and Dolly Garcia Simonet. We spent a wonderful week sightseeing, shopping, and eating. Our grandson, Chase, turned one this spring and keeps Bill and me on our toes when we watch him on Mondays and Fridays. Bill turned 60 this year and our son, Sam, turned 30 … where has the time gone! Alexandra will be graduating from Villanova nursing school in May 2025 and is currently applying for positions at Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia. I am still working for Abbott Diabetes Care and counting down the days to retirement.

Squiffy Walker Christopher: Hi, from Richmond, Va.! The Christophers had a great 2024! Sallie graduated from JMU, again, with her master’s in accounting and is gainfully employed and living in Richmond. Wizzie married Joe Hillegass (H-SC ’18) on Aug. 3 at my mom’s river house in Kilmarnock, Va. It was a beautiful day, filled with lots of love and fun. Wizzie is still working for SBC! Robert is still a librarian in Henrico County, and I started my 20th year of teaching preschool, but at a different school, River Road Preschool. I am loving my new school and children. We have a new kitten, Polly Pocket, she is adorable and our big boy Oreo loves her. Looking forward to 2025 and hope to see more SBC friends.

As well, my lead teacher at my new school is an SBC grad, Cabell Bondurant Harvey ’11! Love working with her, and what a small world.

Taki Kinoshita Austin: I’m still living in London with my husband and two kids. My children—a girl and a boy—have reached the exam stage of their school careers. I have started working again after 10 years being a SAHM. It’s been great. If anybody is in London and fancies a meet up, please email me at carolinetaki83@gmail.com.

Tracey Thomas Jones: As I write this, I am about to celebrate my 55th birthday! Jonathan and I celebrated our 34th wedding anniversary. We are adjusting to a new normal being empty nesters. Our eldest son, Nathaniel, graduated from FSU and is a civil engineer specializing in airports with a firm in Tampa, Fla. Our youngest son graduated from high school and promptly moved to Brooklyn, N.Y.C. to pursue an internship in fashion. Rather bemusingly to us, he somehow stumbled into a music career as a rapper and has been globetrotting around the world. We still can’t quite conceive how this has happened. I continue to teach art at a small Christian school, grades K–12. My husband serves part time with a ministry called Coaches Honor leading Bible studies with coaches and teachers in local schools, as well as counseling in private practice. I keep in touch with Kelleigh Klym Friesen and hope to join her for our next Reunion. Blessings to y’all!

Amy Donnelly Tobik: I’ve excitedly entered year four of my award-winning magazine, Exceptional Needs Today. I’m

Left-Right: 1. Ann Beatty Malone and Chase—Go Birds! 2. Amy Kroeger’s daughter, Macy Kroeger. 3. Beth Babbitt Bowen’s oldest daughter’s wedding.

Sweet Briar Alumnae Magazine

excited to share that my oldest daughter who lives in Charlotte, N.C. is getting married in the spring and my youngest is loving her public health job in N.Y.C. In my spare time I enjoy my local Rotary and DAR projects. Happy to add that Steve and I will be celebrating 34 years of marriage this summer. I’ve enjoyed staying in touch with old SBC friends over the years and hope to see everyone at the next Reunion.

Christine Carriere Zazulak: Scott and I are celebrating 32 years of marriage, and we just became grandparents for the first time. Our oldest son had a daughter in October, and our other four sons are all doing well, working and living in New Orleans, La. Our youngest son is a sophomore at Savannah College of Art and Design.

Julie Brooks Nyquist: is living in Wayne, Ill. with her son, Andrew (15), and husband, Stephen. They continue to work on their mid-century modern house and surrounding property. Julie serves on several nonprofit boards and enjoys playing platform tennis in a Chicago suburbs league.

Candace Preston Eccles: Last May, Steve and I were fortunate to stay at Claire Williams Navarro’s beautiful home in California prior to attending a conference. We enjoyed traveling in the area and seeing the sights. Unfortunately, we missed being with Claire and Marlon who had flown to their daughter’s graduation from SBC.

Brandi Beck: I’m still living in New York City and practicing

City, Mo., and they now live across the street from us. They are expecting their first in April. Luke and his wife are having their fourth in March. Practicing midwifery and still foxhunting!

Parker Shultis Pearson: This has been a season of goodbyes for me. I lost my best friend and SBC roommate Jenni Vance Granieri ’91 to dementia in October, and my father continues to decline towards the inevitable. I am so grateful to have reconnected with Karen Hott ’91 while in Atlanta, Ga. for Jenni’s funeral. It was a comfort to have a Sweet Briar friend to lean on and help me get through that time.

as a clinical psychologist. My daughter, Dasha, is a sophomore at Bard College, so Andy and I are embracing our empty nest. I keep in regular touch with Elizabeth Mason Horsley, Beth Melloy Lyons, Tisa Delaney Pearce, Heather Colson Ewing, and Charlotte Cantrell Doran while occasionally corresponding with many other Vixens. In October, Andy and I had brunch with Charlotte and her family in their new home, which was a treat. Sending love to all.

Elizabeth Mason Horsley: I am heading up the trust and estate practice at Christian & Barton, LLP, a Richmond, Va. law firm. It has been fun working with a much larger client base than I had in my solo practice. I am still making time to ride my horse, and I’m looking forward to going to the World Equestrian Center, Ocala, in February 2025. I recently saw Tisa Pearce in Atlanta, Ga. Please let me know if you are ever visiting Richmond. Would love to catch up.

Cheryl Bishop Gilman: So many highs this year! In June, Scott and I attended Beth Babbitt Bowen’s oldest daughter’s wedding in Trappe, Md. Staige Grymes attended too, so we had a great time catching up. We spent our family vacation on Kiawah Island to celebrate my mother’s 80th birthday. A fun filled week with three of our grands and all our kids except our oldest and her husband. They have relocated from North Carolina to Kansas

LuAnn Hunt: I retired from the City of Lynchburg in May 2020, at the height of the pandemic, and my husband also retired a few months before me. We didn’t get to do much that first year due to so many restrictions, however our retirement gift to each other happened in 2022—we took a Christmas Markets river cruise on the Rhine River through the Netherlands, Germany, France, and Switzerland. It was a wonderful trip even though I returned home with COVID! Since then, we also managed a trip to the Bahamas and will celebrate 50 years of marriage in Barbados in the spring. Our oldest granddaughter (21) is a junior at UNC Chapel Hill. Our grandson (18) attends UNC Charlotte. I still have two younger granddaughters (13 and 10), whom I hope will at least consider Sweet Briar College in their future. As a retiree, there’s plenty to do … My husband and I both serve on the Meals on Wheels program here in Amherst. I am very involved in the Amherst Women’s Club as well as the Pink Witnesses, a small group of breast cancer survivors (yes, I’m a survivor, now for two years), and we send gifts of hope to newly diagnosed breast cancer survivors, as well as bring educational awareness to our local area about the importance of self detection and mammograms. I am also on the campus of Sweet Briar often, taking photos, of course, among other things. I was able to drop-in during the last Reunion and caught up with some 1989 classmates, Kate Robinson Hillestad and Madeleine Blanchard Corbo, to name a few.

Allison Richards: 2024 has been another busy year on 30A with the Richards Group fine-tuning our luxury listings and our team members. My husband, Scotty, and I are the principals with two additional team members. I am a member of two luxury networking groups, which leads me to travel at least once a quarter to fantastic locations, such as Coronado, California, Laguna Beach, Charleston, South Carolina, and Atlanta. During our downtime, we spend it at our second home in Ocala, Fla. at the Golden Ocala community that backs up to the world equestrian center facility. Gravin and Gigi are both 13 this year and are both working at fourth level, and we are showing Gigi with the goal in mind to top off the fourth level and move up in 2025. I stay in touch with Norma Valentine ’93 and I look forward to sharing the fantastic benefits of SBC and their equestrian program with all the young women that I can. We will have an exciting trip at the start of the year in January traveling to Cape Town, and going on Safari in South Africa. My mom turns 87 this year, and I am working hard to help her with all of her “must do” while she is still in great health and able to travel and visit family members. Our cousins live in Ponte Vedra, and we spend time during hurricane evacuations and holidays when at all possible.

Amy Elizabeth: I have decorated my dining room and living room in shades of antique rose and Georgian green, inspired by Sweet Briar’s signature colors.

Meg Caulk: I’m still in the Washington, D.C. area working on the leadership team at the National Air and Space Museum. Not much to report, but I guess no news is good news! I’m fortunate to see my dad every couple of months and have started traveling again with a cruise on the Rhine last October. Though I’m definitely more of a homebody as I’ve gotten older. I look forward to seeing SBC friends at Reunion. It’s been way too long!

Dolly Garcia Simonet: We are all doing well down here in Puerto Rico! Miguel Juan is a lawyer and works at Mikey’s law firm. Dolly is a graphic designer at an agency here in PRm and Maris is a senior at John Jay College in New York City. This year has been full of adventures—I had

Clockwise: 1. LuAnn Hunt’s trip to Europe. 2. LuAnn Hunt: Celebration of Life banquet. 3. LuAnn Hunt: Class of 1989 Reunion fun.

the chance to visit Paris with Ann Beatty Malone and Jean Spillane Benning, which was an absolute blast. I went to the Olympics in France with my family—such an unforgettable experience! I hope everyone is doing well. If you ever want a getaway, come down and visit me in Puerto Rico!

Jill Straughan: Jill has moved to beautiful Lake Toxaway, N.C. and is enjoying her wonderful view of the lake. Her two daughters, Bailey (27) and Mary Wilson (22), reside in Kauai, where she has visited, but they also visit her in North Carolina. They convinced Jill to move to North Carolina in the mountains after she rented the same place for vacation for years, and then the owner asked if she wanted to buy it, so she did!

Amy Kroeger: I’m staying busy practicing medicine in Phoenix, Ariz. and raising sweet Macy, who turned two in October. That same week, we celebrated Marrisa’s marriage to Andrew Hopkins. Seeing Sweet Briar girls when I can and looking forward to catching up soon!

Amanda Priddy Berkey: Well, I thought I had been busy traveling (more this year than in the last few years) until reading about some of your exciting travels! My trips have all been domestic lately. Enjoyed a spring girls’ trip to the beach with high school friends, including Louise Knox Bouldin Carter. The previous fall, Louise and I joined much of the same group for a fun trip to D.C. for a friend’s daughter’s wedding—sorry we missed Meg Caulk when we were there! We had two family trips to southwest Florida after Chris’ father passed away (once to spread his ashes in Charlotte Harbor) and also made a quick trip to Pennsylvania for the Berkey Family Reunion. Wish I could have seen Ann Beatty Malone and Jean Spillane Benning—I will have to plan more time next visit. I took my mom to see Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. to celebrate her 80th birthday. We stayed in a historic hotel and had a great time discovering the city. Also spent a fun weekend in Nashville, Tenn. for Chris’ 40th high school class reunion. Our son Chase (20) is studying computer science at the University of Alabama and has a cute new girlfriend named Maddie. Chase and Maddie went to see Taylor

Swift at the Superdome in New Orleans, La. this fall, along with lots of Alabama football games! Chris and I celebrated our 30th anniversary on Oct. 1. Hope to make it to our SBC Class Reunion in the spring and see many of our classmates there!

Jean Spillane Benning: I have travelled quite a bit for someone who does not travel anymore!

This year took me to Dubai for work, then off to Paris with Ann Beatty Malone and Dolly Garcia Simonet for a week. My husband and I went to Bermuda for his TEP fraternity, and then we took our family to Aruba for the Christmas holiday. My oldest daughter, Emma, is now a nurse in Boston, Mass. My middle daughter, Paige, just graduated with a public relations major from Auburn University, and my youngest is still at Babson, planning to go on Semester at Sea in the fall. I look forward to the day she graduates so I can stop working!

Thank you all again for submitting your news! We love hearing from everyone—whether you have exciting news to share or not. It’s great to just catch up and know where and how you all are. We want to support each other in life’s ups and downs—I’m sure we have all had both since that beautiful day in May 1990 when we graduated. Here’s to 2025, and wishing you all a healthy and happy year with your family and friends. Hope to see many of you at Reunion soon—maybe we’ll get that celebratory cheese plate that we missed out on in 2015!

Holla Holla!—Amanda & Jean

1992

Jennifer Toomey Driscoll

Susan Schmidhauser is looking forward to 2025 and plans to retire from working for the State of Delaware after 25 years of service, 23 of those as a prosecutor. She will continue to work on the farm she purchased in rural Queen Anne’s County, Md., which includes a dog and cat boarding facility. When she fully retires from law in December 2025, Susan will work at the kennel full-time, spend even more time competing in dog agility competi-

tions which she really enjoys, and do a bit of traveling. Sally Crocker hopes that all in ’92 are doing well, especially our classmates in California. I am still working through what life looks like without mom, but know that she is watching over me. Cynthia Thiele and I enjoyed a great long weekend in New Orleans, La. this past May. We try to connect every couple of weeks. We were hoping to have Heather Daly and Kate Powell join us, but hopefully next time. This year also marks the third anniversary of my launch of Innovative Sponsorships, a sponsorship agency representing some of Denver’s premier festivals and venues. It has been a lot of work, but incredibly rewarding. I see Harriet Farmer in Breckenridge from time to time, and just saw Ann Lindquist at a Denver Sweet Briar reception. Harriet would love to get all Denver/Colorado area classmates together soon, and I think that is a great idea—let’s make it happen ladies. This is also my year to start traveling again. I am heading to Bali for a couple of weeks in March for a yoga retreat and have another retreat planned in Greece this fall. It is good to have some “treats” to focus on.

Heather Allen Metzler is still plugging along in the world of finance and is now “NiNi” to two beautiful grandchildren. She loves every minute of being a grandmother and is thrilled to have celebrated her 30th wedding anniversary in 2024. She is still “adventuring” with Kelly Brown Estes, and is excited about their next adventure together—a trip to Greece!

Katherine Bradley-Black shares she became an empty-nester in the fall. Her daughter graduated from the University of Virginia and is in the SAIS graduate program at Johns Hopkins, studying at the campus in Bologna, Italy. Her son studies engineering at Virginia Tech. Katherine has been with WestEd for almost 10 years. She provides consultation and technical assistance to state education agencies and school districts to support increasing outcomes for students with disabilities. She visited Jill Fahy ’91 in Burlington, Vt. in the fall and had a blast.

Stacey Simpson writes that 2024 was a tough year for her family. She lost her father in

February, and her mother had knee replacement after a fall and is slowly recovering. She returned to SBC early summer for the writing workshop and loved being back and meeting new SBC sisters. Shortly after, she travelled to Peru to work with a Shaman in the Amazon jungle. She had an interesting time and plans to return. At present, Stacey is recovering from rotator cuff surgery, ready to welcome a new year and get back in the tack! Holla, Holla!

Carrie Bake-Wong celebrated the 10-year anniversary of her independent real estate brokerage, BAKE Real Estate, in Plymouth, Mich. in December. She often sees Kristina Glusac and keeps in touch with Ann Kohudic and Toi Reynolds. Her son, Oscar, is in his second year of university in Canada at Western University, studying business. Carrie still plays a little tennis for fun and enjoys reading as much good fiction as possible!

Tricia Pheil Johnson writes that in her “spare time,” she decided to open a coffee truck, Copper Fox Coffee, just outside Frederick, Md. She specializes in special events and festivals and secured a contract to service football games at a nearby Division II college. Tricia shares, “it’s been a crazy adventure and fun to finally use my marketing expertise for a business that is my own!” She shared that one never knows where they will meet a SBC alum. She was having an outpatient cosmetic procedure and Dr. Mary Craddock ’67 was her anesthesiologist and was a hoot!

Jennifer McCallum Smith writes there have been many changes in the last few years! In 2021, she divorced her husband of 22 years and sold her dressage training business in Weatherford, Texas. She moved herself, her dogs, and her horses to Waxahachie, Texas. In a strange act of fate, she was reconnected with a fella she knew from her childhood, and they were married July 1, 2023. They built a new home and moved in October. Between decorating the new house, riding, traveling, caring for her husband’s teenage son and their dogs, Jennifer has been staying busy and is so very happy! Catherine Gornto Freeman and husband Peter will celebrate

home” job as mom is completed. She will head to Georgia for the winter to play pickleball and take walks on the beach with her border collie. She remains grateful for good health and good friends and family, and wishes you all the same!

Jennifer Grimm De Mello e Souza lives in Edmonds, Wash. and teaches high school ceramics. She makes and exhibits her art regionally. Her kids are doing well: Robert (26) is a marine engineer and Sophie (20) is a junior at the University of Washington in mechanical engineering.

Jennifer’s father, retired professor Kenneth Grimm, lives in Amherst, Va., and she visits him, and campus, several times a year.

Janeime Asbury-Brown is enjoying practicing full-time as a licensed dental hygienist in Marietta, Ga. and teaching epidemiology part time at Georgia Highlands College Bachelor completion program. She looks forward to helping her oldest daughter decorate her new home in Columbia, S.C. as she continues to grow with her current law practice. Her youngest daughter just graduated from Mississippi College with her Master of Biomedical Sciences. They are looking forward to the next chapter of her journey as a dentist and can’t wait to find out which dental school she will attend. Janeime’s son is a sophomore at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Ga. pursuing a dual degree in computer engineering with Georgia Tech.

get married on 3/25. She and Clay feel so blessed with two wonderful sons-in-law. Margaret started her second year at Samford and Henry is a junior in high school. Kimberly started a new teaching job at a homeschool hybrid, which she loves. She hopes everyone is well! Kristin Liljegren Maurice also had a BIG 2024, and their Navy family has finally settled a little. Her husband just retired from the Navy and they moved off the base and bought a house in Eliot, Maine. They’re also settling into the role of “empty nesters” as their youngest headed off to the University of Maine and their oldest is a senior at Dickinson in Pennsylvania. “Hubby” got a new civilian job, and she’s now a fulltime elementary ESOL teacher just over the border in New Hampshire. Kristin is still teaching ESOL in adult education too. They welcome visitors anytime!

Cara Ardemagni LaRoche shares there were a few changes for them this year. Their daughter graduated in June from the school where Cara teaches, ending her “lifer” career there. She says it’s strange to not have Francesca there every day, but so great to see her thriving in her new space in college. Cara stepped down as math department chair and continues to teach full-time, while Bob started a new job in the fall. She encourages SBCer’s to give them a holler if you’re in the Pittsburgh, Pa. area!

their 30th anniversary in 2025! The kids are now adults with their sons currently living in New Orleans, La. and their daughter in D.C. Catherine keeps busy in New Orleans with their Mosquito Authority business, volunteering, tennis, and pickleball. In summer 2023, she joined Jen Valentine Van Ness , Leise Scheppe Hammer , Elaine Barksdale Finucane , Marilyn Adams , Lindsay Jenkins Matthews , Margaret Gibson Everett for a fun mini-reunion in Wrightsville Beach, N.C. and

then met up again in summer 2024 in Bald Head Island, N.C. She loved catching up with Holly Caswell King during two great visits over the past summer!

Cynthia Chilton Barrett reports that all is well in West Virginia. Her eldest daughter was married in August and her second daughter is in her second year of law school at UGA. Her youngest graduated from VMI in the spring and is getting ready to start a construction company in Michigan. Cynthia jokes that she’s retired now that her “stay at

Melinda Wick Aufmuth writes that she and Chris are enjoying living in South Carolina and staying busy with Christopher (15) and their two “four-legged children,” Sophie and Delly. Their oldest, Maggie (19), is a sophomore at Columbia University, and they travel to N.Y.C. at every opportunity! Melinda shares that it was wonderful to catch up with Amber Vellenga ’91, Donna Peters ’90, and Claire Stapleton Batson ’91 at Nicole Gauthier’s ’91 Celebration of Life. “We all love and miss her dearly. The Class of 1991 is forming plans to set up a study abroad scholarship in Nicole’s honor.”

Kimberly Olmstead Calhoun says “2024 was a BIG year for us.” Their oldest, Lily, got married in June. Their second, Caroline, got engaged in August, with plans to

Harriet Farmer Hoffman writes, “Holla, Holla! I am still living in Breckenridge, Colo. after coming here in the fall of 1992 right after graduation with Kathleen Davis Willis. When I am not taking a break to travel with my husband Scott, daughter Lucia (18), and son Tom (17), I am teaching art at Summit Middle School. Lucia is a freshman at the University of Colorado in Boulder and Tom is in his junior year of high school in Summit County. When we are in the empty nesting phase, we are looking forward to spending more time in Rincon, Puerto Rico, where Lucia was born. I love when SBC Vixens make it out to ski or hike in Colorado—Tavi Rainold ’91 and Sally Croker are in Summit too— love catching up with these girls! Always looking for excuses to reunion; Holly Caswell King and I are scheming for spring 2025!”

Clockwise: 1. Stacey Simpson at the Boathouse. 2. Hunter and Jennifer McCallum Smith. 3. Ned Barrett and Cynthia Chilton Barrett at VMI pinning ceremony. 4. Elaine Barksdale Finucane, Leise Scheppe Hammer, Jen Valentine Van Ness, Margaret Gibson Everett, Lindsay Jenkins Matthews, Catherine Gornto Freeman, and Marilyn Adams. 5. Tricia Pheil Johnson’s Copper Fox Coffee.

As for me, Jennifer Toomey Driscoll, I’m staying busy keeping up with three kids, Charles, two dogs, and one puppy … we added Louie, a Bernese Mountain Dog to our family in the fall! Kate and Betsy are living their best lives and working hard in New York City, and Charlie will graduate from Denison University this spring. I had a wonderful visit here in State College with Charlotte Bonini and her amazing son, Abraham, who came to check out the PSU football program! It is such a gift to stay connected with many of you through these notes. If you or your kids ever find yourselves in Happy Valley, please come stay with us!

1994

Kelleigh Smith Sommer: I still live in Bulverde, Texas with my husband, Richard. We’ve been married 28 years. Our son and his high school sweetheart both graduated from Texas Tech and recently got married. Being an empty-nester is great! I work part-time doing bookkeeping for two restaurants. Love going to concerts and quilting in my spare time.

Molly Morris Flasche: I am really loving my job as docent program coordinator at the Columbus Museum of Art. Now I actually get paid to do what I love! My work took me to Atlanta, Ga. in November 2024, and I was excited to catch up with Caitlin Sundby Russell when I was there. Eddie is in fifth grade. He’s playing soccer for a club team and is an incredible defensive player. Chuck and I are happy to have a kiddo who loves to travel as much as we do, so we’re starting to collect passport stamps again. Next trip? Stay tuned.

Allison Vollmer Douglass: Loved hearing from so many SBC alumnae during Kate’s Olympic campaign this past summer in Paris—it was a total whirlwind summer for us—thank you all for cheering her on!

Annie Pankoski Sherman: Annie Sherman still lives in Larkspur, Calif. with her husband, Peter, and their two children, Max (18) and Elsa (16). This past year, Annie was recognized as the 2024 Marin County School Board

Trustee of the Year, which was an extraordinary honor, and made even better because Janeen Sharma ’96 (and her guide-dog in training, Peru) was in the audience to see Annie accept the award. Janeen moved back to Boulder, Colo. this past year, and Annie looks forward to combining visits to see her son, Max, at the University of Denver with visiting Janeen.

1998

Cyndi Hague Hineline 1613 Finefrock Rd. Fremont, OH 43420

cyndi.hineline@gmail.com

Cady Thomas: Serena Putegnat and I traveled to Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa this year. We went on safaris, rode on a five-star train, and met people from around the world. Best is we are great travel partners and can’t wait until the next adventure. Katie Martin is now a travel agent and did a great job helping us plan the trip.

Kelly Bowman Greenwood: Just celebrated 20 year wed-

ding anniversary with Wayne in September! Looking forward to graduating from the UC Berkeley Master of Real Estate Development and Design in May 2025. I was honored to receive a ULI Chamberlin Fellowship to serve on a product council, and I’m looking forward to next steps—a career in sustainable property development. We attended the “Big Game” a few weeks ago, and got to see the Bears defeat Stanford at home and fans rush the field.

Anne Smith Culver: Anne Culver’s oldest daughter, Beth, was married this past May. Anne still works as an art teacher at a small private Christian school, and she and her daughter created a beautiful work of art together making the wedding dress. They enjoyed seeing Andrea McCarney and her family at the wedding.

Cyndi Hague Hineline: Shawn and I celebrated our 20th Anniversary in November! I continue to work for our county’s juvenile court and perform with the Toledo Opera Chorus and various community theatre productions along the “North Coast” of Ohio. I was also able to meet up with my friend Nancie Howe Entenmann

Roberts ’56 for lunch and a good visit in September.

Cynthia Bumgardner Puckett: Cancer-free again! I have appreciated all of the cards (from our 25th Reunion specifically)!

2000

Amanda Atkinson 709 Cedar Grove Rd. Broomall, PA 19008 amanda.atkinson@gmail.com

Mandy Rice: I’m enjoying my job as an operating room nurse here in Louisville, Ky. I have recently started volunteering with a local organization that spays and neuters community cats. Earlier this year, I traveled to England and Scotland, and most recently vacationed in Colombia. I am looking forward to our 25th Reunion!

Emily Pegues: I passed my Ph.D. viva at the Courtauld Institute of Art in April 2024 and am happy to have completed grad school despite continuing health problems from five years (and counting … ) of long COVID. Last April I also opened my first installation at the National Gallery of Art, and am curating an installation of 80 Renaissance bronzes to be permanently installed in our sculpture galleries soon—come visit if you’re in D.C.! I’m sad not to be able to attend our 25th Reunion, given the College’s current misguided admissions policy; “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

Evangeline Easterly Taylor: I received my 10 years of service award with the U.S. Department of State. I visited Amy Hess Snawder and Amanda Ankerman Miller in D.C. I also recently traveled to Germany, Switzerland, and France to see the Christmas markets.

Alison Stockdale: After 21 years at the Department of the Interior, I left for a position with the Department of Homeland Security. I’ve got two high schoolers and one third grader, and still live in my hometown in Virginia.

Kim Harden Fella: My husband, Chad, and I are still living on Lake Wildwood in Macon, Ga. with our two corgis, Hazel and Gus. I continue to work as a high school counselor at Peach County

Clockwise: 1. Look who came to visit Cynthia Bumgardner Puckett: Brigette Laib Mattox! 2. Anne Smith Culver and Brian Culver, daughter Beth with husband Roman Trettel, daughter Emma, and son Benjamin. 3. Nancie Howe Entenmann Roberts ’56 and Cyndi Hague Hineline. 4. Cady Thomas’s trip to Zimbabwe, Africa.

High School just south of Macon. Chad is still a part-time technology specialist at nearby Howard High School and is also president of the Board of Directors for our neighborhood HOA. We spent spring break last year in Utah, visiting Salt Lake City and Capitol Reef National Park, and spent our Christmas break traveling around Morocco. Hoping to see a lot of classmates at our 25th Reunion in late May!

Brandy Cash Watts: I’m in my 25th year teaching in Nelson County, Va. Les and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary this past summer and our daughter, Audrey, is a junior in high school, looking at colleges now. Sweet Briar is on her short list!

Benedicte Valentin Lamothe: After seven years in Castres, my family moved to Pau in the southwest of France in 2018 (1h 15 mins from Atlantic beaches, and 1h 15 mins from Pyrenees ski resorts). I’ve been working as a communications officer for the local university for almost two years. Our three sons are doing well, Remi in 11th grade, Paul in eighth, and Clement in sixth. In 2023, we will be celebrating our 20-year wedding anniversary!

Amanda Atkinson : I started a new job at Penn State University at Brandywine in January as an academic adviser. I’m not sure if Reunion is in my future as I am saddened by the College’s current misguided admissions policy. Eitherway, don’t forget we’ll (re)elect class officers, so you could be the next one to compile our Class Notes!

State Games in Florida in 2024. Sports keeps us busy, as well as work and animals. Sending love and hugs to all.

2002

Donyele Gibson Wilkerson: Donyele and her husband Earl celebrated their 20 year wedding anniversary this August. She continues her work as a civil servant working for the Department of Defense in the area of leadership development. She can’t believe her son is a sophomore in high school.

2004

Brienna Pruce: I am so grateful to have stayed connected to so many of my Sweet Briar classmates! Our little family has moved frequently (from Japan, Germany, Italy, England, Hawaii, to both coasts of the U.S.) and we’re getting very excited to finally find our forever home soon, especially for our son! Teaching yoga and painting my heart out still give me the greatest joy. I hope I see many of you in person soon so I can give you all big hugs and have a proper catch up! Please look me up and stay connected if we aren’t already!

Autumn Matysek-Snyder Fish: Happy to share that Jeremiah and I will celebrate our 20th anniversary in July. Xavier (15) started high school and continues to swim year round— great distance swimmer. Daisy (11) plays travel softball and got invited to represent Virginia at the 12U level in the National All

Sarah Ruff Gibson: For the past 20+ years, I have worked in different capacities within the dental and orthodontic fields. I had a (significant) and exciting job change this year! In April, I took over an existing consulting business. I am currently bringing SRG Training & Consulting to life! We do OSHA updates and training to assist dental offices with compliance and infection control. I also teach dental radiology, dental assisting, practice management which includes verbal coaching and treatment coordinator training. While I have a great deal to learn, I am loving my new gig and am embracing being a new business owner!

Misty Vandergriff Forsberg: Misty Forsberg and her husband, Adam (H-SC ’04), will celebrate 20 years of marriage in May 2025. They continue to reside in Greensboro, N.C., where they are outnumbered in a house full of teenage boys. Auden (18) will graduate from high school in May, Sutton (15) is a freshman, and Abbott (13) is in seventh grade. After many years in L&D, Misty now works as a nurse specialist for the Department of Public Health, focusing on initiatives to reduce her county’s maternal health disparities and infant mortality rate. She is also pursuing her M.S.N. as a women’s health nurse practitioner.

Donyele Gibson Wilkerson and family.

Jenny Lynn 550A E. Francis St. Williamsburg, VA 23185

sweetbriardaisy@gmail.com

Michelle Badger: 2024 was a busy year! In December 2023, I decided to run for State Representative in the 1st Plymouth District in Massachusetts. I spent most of 2024 connecting with voters, and I’m excited to say I won! I stepped down from the School Committee in December after 13 years and 2 years as chair. I also left my job at Massasoit Community College. After the campaign was over, I was lucky to spend six days in Hawaii with Victoria Chappell Harvey and her husband, David. It was so fun to explore the island and hang out with them.

Henslee Evans Elliott continues to teach art at a private school in Charleston, S.C. She and her husband, Van, just celebrated their eight-year anniversary. Her twins, Alden and Fulton, can be seen on HBO’s “The Righteous Gemstones” as Baby Lionel, a.k.a “the toilet baby.” Alden and Fulton enjoyed filming for seasons three and four. Henslee ran into Sara Coffey this past summer at the Seabrook Club pool. Henslee and her family also stopped by Sweet Briar to see the campus on the way back from a family trip this past summer.

Jenny Lynn was promoted to journeyman supervisor of the Anderson Armoury Tin Shop at Colonial Williamsburg in May

Left: Evangeline Easterly Taylor in Stein-am-Rhein with her family. Right: Emily Pegues assisted with lambing at Hallwood Farm, Kent, U.K.

Misty Vandergriff Forsberg’s son looking at one of her paintings.

2024. She participated in Sweet Work Weeks on campus in July with Joelle Andrews, HeatherAnne Speer Oertel, Kelly Crist, and Charis Lease-Trevathan Chase. The Class of 2006 celebrated a group 40th birthday and a mini-reunion for the weekend.

Amy St. John: After 17 years at the University of Richmond in advancement services, I have started a new adventure as the database manager in the development office at Collegiate School, a co-ed, college preparatory independent school for grades JK–12 located in Richmond, Va. Saying goodbye to all my Spider friends and family was bittersweet, but I am now a very proud Cougar!

Kathleen Wilson Wissel: I visited campus with my family and was able to show my children Sweet Briar for the first time. We

saw the Boat House, Monument Hill, the Train Station, and had lunch in Protho! I shared with them the traditions of the Rock/ Hitching Post, Junior Bench, and Senior Stairs.

Elaine Mathews Honeycutt: I have written a children’s book that is in the works to be published! It’s called Chop-itChip: Quest of a Ninja Chef and it’s going to be making its debut in mid-May 2025! Chip is training to be a ninja chef, but has one last quest: to travel the world learning the culture and cuisine of different countries. Join him in his journey and learn to make the dish yourself (recipe included)!

2010

Victoria Nilsson

vgnilsson@gmail.com

Jennifer Lundy started a new position as a program officer for East Asia and the Pacific at the International Republican Institute. She works to advance democratic values in Mongolia and East Asia, implementing programs focused on political party strengthening, religious freedom, and the inclusion of women and youth in politics. In September, Jennifer led the Asia Young Leaders Alliance Summit in Bali, Indonesia, where youth activists from Bangladesh, Mongolia, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka presented their work on youth engagement in anti-corruption efforts.

Allison Bailey recently graduated with her Ph.D. in nutritional biochemistry from the University of Minnesota. She is enjoying teaching high school biology and is looking forward to seeing everyone at Reunion.

After 3.5 years living in Italy, Aili Grace McGill Jones moved back to the U.S. in July 2023. In May 2024, Aili received her Psy.D. degree from Antioch University New England. She currently lives in her home town of Middlebury, Vt. with her two daughters. Aili works as a school psychologist for a local public school district.

Isabel Patterson became the director of business operations at Underdog and Company.

Amelie Drake Smucker completed her Ph.D. in educational policy, planning, and leadership from William & Mary and began a new position as assistant professor of special education and inclusive practice at Radford University.

Jasmine Jones has followed her passion for travel and is enjoying an exciting career as a flight attendant, traveling extensively around the U.S. and Caribbean.

Caroline Rainey recently left her job at the Georgia State Historic Preservation Office and has plans to travel. She recently spent a month in Europe touring from Greece to Portugal, and will be spending a month this spring in South Africa. She is also currently moving from Atlanta, Ga. to Athens, Ga.

Sydney Davis Cope returned to her hometown of Richmond, Va. and is currently working as a project manager for the cybersecurity firm Cyvatar.ai. She is expecting her second child with H-SC alumnus Zeb Cope in March 2025.

Lindsay Arnold Shea celebrated her love with a beautifully perfect wedding surrounded by several of her closest SBC sisters (Holla, holla 6PAK!) in Woodstock, Vt. Lindsay and her wife, Courtney, plan to relocate from Texas to Virginia where they have started their next tiny house project … this time at the Shenandoah River! On a final note, as part of the LGBTQ+ community, Lindsay and Courtney are deeply saddened by the lack of compassion, love, and human rights recently expressed by leadership. To all students, you are loved and supported. Lindsay and Courtney stand by you.

Tina-Rose Tolpa McGuire is happy to update with her new role as northeast area manager for Ferguson Strategic Infrastructure. Tina-Rose had her first child, a daughter named Finley, in June 2023, with baby number two on the way in May 2025. Tina-Rose is expanding her farm and family, but still living in western Powhatan, Va.!

2024 was a big year for Tania Salas! Tania and Danny had their first baby in October 2024, a sweet cheeky little boy called Rio! Their small business, Flour Your Dreams Bakery & Café, celebrated one year since opening its doors. In 2025, you can find Tania and Danny taking it easy, snuggling with their kitties and baby while eating their handcrafted croissants with a latte.

Alexandra St. Pierre alexandra.stpierre17@gmail.com

Khristian Salters khristiansalters@gmail.com

Lauren Babineau married Leif Bjarne Hammer in Oslo, Norway in June 2024 surrounded by their closest friends and family.

Eleanor Bryant moved to Charleston, S.C. with her hound,

Clockwise: 1. Kathleen Wilson Wissel and children. 2. Michelle Badger visited Victoria Chappell Harvey in Hawaii in December 2024. 3. Michelle Badger pictured with a group of volunteers and supporters after finding out she had won the election. 4. Elaine Mathews Honeycutt’s book coming out in May!

Ethel (14). Eleanor got engaged and bought a house. During the pandemic, Eleanor worked on an ambulance providing transport for COVID patients. She became a member of Phi Kappa Phi while attending Georgia Southern University. Eleanor is now a therapist specializing in couples work. She is also a ACE personal trainer and works part time for a college outdoors program. In spite of her busy schedule, Eleanor still travels the world and looks forward to visiting Ireland and Africa.

Victoria Bradley Gentry and her husband, Jesse, welcomed their third child, a baby boy, in April 2024. Little brother loves to be entertained by his big sisters. Victoria and Jesse are filled with gratitude for this wonderful life. Victoria maintains her business migration practice in the Nashville, Tenn. area. If you’re in Nashville, she’d love to grab lunch!

Elizabeth Jack is still living in the Richmond, Va. area and is currently recovering from a successful heart surgery. Her recovery time is spent resting, reading, and watching TV. Any prayers are appreciated.

Emily Koch Hodge and Cortney Davin Lewandowski spent a girls weekend together in upstate South Carolina where Cortney finally got to meet her fur-nieces and nephew. She was much loved and we can’t wait for her to visit again!

Cortney Davin Lewandowski gathered in Wilmington, N.C. for Sweet Briar Day Brunch on Dec. 1, 2024 at the Surf Club.

Caroline Overstreet and her husband, Frank, will be stationed in Fort Leavenworth, Kan. until summer 2025 and hope to move back to the East Coast next. They welcomed their first born, David, in September 2023 and will be

her husband, Brian,

Victoria Bradley Gentry and Jesse Gentry

their three

4. Lauren Madeleine Mooza Shurley and Graham Shurley with their three children. 5. Carolyn Birbick Ownby ’80, Cortney Davin Lewandowski, Sarah von Rosenberg ’72, Deborah Lanham Buschek ’99, Britt Klimberg Sheinbaum ’98, Elizabeth Perkinson Simmons ’78, and Connie Gehrman ’91 at Sweet Briar Day celebration in Wilmington.

Clockwise: 1. Fallon Niesen Winston with

and daughter, Iris, born Feb. 20, 2024. 2. Emily Koch Hodge and Cortney Davin Lewandowski have lunch at Chattooga Belle Farm. 3.

with

kiddos.

Clockwise: 1. Lindsay Arnold Shea and Courtney’s wedding day. 2. Tina-Rose Tolpa McGuire’s family outing. 3. Jennifer Lundy at AYLA Summit in Bali. 4. Sydney Davis Cope, husband, Zeb, and daughter, Elizabeth, visiting the Skinquarter Farm Market. 5. Tania Salas’ first child, Rio. 6. Aili Grace McGill Jones and daughters. 7. Jasmine Jones.

expecting their second baby in spring 2025! Caroline continues to run her small business, Overstreet Organizing, LLC, and volunteers in her free time.

Lauren Madeleine Mooza Shurley and her husband, Graham, welcomed their third child, Virginia Madeleine, to their family in January 2024. Big sister, Winn Cousins, and big brother, Beau Wilkins, are in love with their baby sister!

Fallon Niesen Winston and her husband, Brian, welcomed their daughter, Iris Ann Winston, on Feb. 20, 2024. They are very thankful to call her theirs. The Winstons reside in Tampa, Fla. Both Brian and Fallon are practicing certified public accountants.

2014

Melanie Rinehart

424 S 20th St Philadelphia, PA 19146 rinehart.melanie@gmail.com

Melanie Rinehart: Melanie celebrated her fifth year in Philadelphia, Pa. this past May. She still works as an archivist at the American Philosophical Society, the oldest learned society in the U.S. She, her partner, and his family spent two weeks in South Africa and Zimbabwe in July.

Tyesha West Anderson: Tyesha and her husband, Kevin, were married on June 3, 2024, in Winchester, Va. They are blessed to announce that they are expecting a baby in April 2025.

Natalie Dubishar: I have been working as a tutor and administrator at Huntington Learning Center-Herndon for a little over 3.5 years and love it. I travelled a lot this year, including Maine for summer vacation with my mom and New Orleans, La., for the eighth Air Force Historical Society’s WWII Veterans Reunion with my dad and aunt to meet with a few WWII Veterans. This reunion was held at the National WWII Museum.

Jacquie Oliver Kohart: In spring 2024, I completed my Doctor of Medical Science at Eastern Virginia Medical School, furthering my career as a physician assistant. Over the last year, I have been practicing in

2014

Top: Jacquie Oliver Kohart. Bottom: Tyesha West Anderson and Kevin on their wedding day.

medical oncology & hematology with a focus in thoracic oncology.

2016

Ellie McElroy Patterson: Ellie and her husband, Wes, welcomed their son, Woodward “Woody” Randolph Patterson, on Feb. 7, 2024. They live in Richmond, Va. where Ellie is a sales manager for a marketing company.

Brittany Agee Klingenberg: I hope this note finds you all well! I wanted to share some exciting news with you: I got married on Sept. 28, 2024! My husband, Branden, and I had a wonderful ceremony surrounded by family and friends. It was truly the most special day of our lives. Special thanks to my maid of honor, Mariah Miller, and bridesmaids Kari Christopher and Leah Haes for being a great support on our wedding day! Branden and I are currently enjoying our newlywed life and our newly adopted kittens, Sushi and Jasmine.

Kiersten Garcia: In July, I moved to Charleston, S.C. to be an

2016

Clockwise: 1. Ellie McElroy Patterson, her husband, Wes, and their son, Woody. 2. Shannon McCarthy had the opportunity to return to campus with members of Madeira School admin in September 2024. 3. Branden and Brittany Agee Klingenberg’s wedding, featuring bridesmaids Kari Christopher and Leah Haes and maid of honor Mariah Miller.

assistant professor of biochemistry in the chemistry department at the Citadel: The Military College of South Carolina! With my professor position, I also will lead my own research group where our focus will be detecting and tracking blood and saliva-based biomarkers in mild traumatic brain injury and subconcussive hits. I also just published my first first-author paper, which was completed at my previous position in Illinois.

Shannon McCarthy: In January 2024, Shannon started her new role as the assistant director of communications and marketing at the Madeira School in Northern Virginia. Many thanks to Lisa Longino ’78 and Beth Ann Trapold Newton ’86 for their guidance and support in applying for the position. This year, Shannon has enjoyed learning to crochet, journeying to the Renn Faire with friends, and spoiling her two kittens. As a former president of GLOW, she remains dedicated to the vision of an inclusive and welcoming SBC

that reflects the community she knew and loved when on campus as a student.

2018

Baylee Worth Leazer: Baylee completed her counseling residency and is now a licensed professional counselor! She is additionally celebrating one year married to her best friend, Drew. She has started working at Randolph College providing counseling services to students in addition to Johnson Health Center.

Ashton Mays Richards: 2024 brought many exciting changes to life! In March, I started a master’s in nursing program through Chamberlain University. Upon completion of this program, I will be eligible to sit for board certification as a family nurse practitioner. In June, Hunter, Raleigh, and I welcomed another sweet baby girl to our family. Raegan Penn Richards was born

on June 20, 2024 and we, especially big sister Raleigh, are all just smitten with her!

2020

Elizabeth Christopher Hillegass: Joe and I were married in August in Kilmarnock, Va! We attended four other weddings this year as well, celebrating the love of some of our closest friends. 2024 has been filled with so many amazing things, but we are certainly looking forward to relaxing in 2025!

Annika Kuleba Murrells Inlet, SC 29576 ajkuleba@gmail.com

Caroline Czarra carolinet2000@gmail.com

Elizabeth Sanford moved to South Carolina to start as a research and instruction librarian at Anderson University. She will be finishing her M.S. in library science at UNC Chapel Hill remotely before getting married in May 2025.

Lauren Jones graduated from Radford University Carilion in December with a M.S. of occupational therapy, accomplishing a life-long dream. She has relocated to Jacksonville, F.L. with her partner.

2024

Sonya Bhakta: I am now working as a case manager for Horizon Behavioral Health! I plan on beginning my journey for my master’s degree next fall!

Squiffy Walker Christopher ’90, Robert Christopher, Elizabeth “Wizzie” Christopher Hillegass ’20, and Joe Hillegass (H-SC ’18) at their wedding!

Lauren Jones holding a photo of her younger self playing with occupational therapy tools.

2022

Sonya Bhakta rocking it in her office.

2024

Ashton Mays Richards’ daughters, Raleigh and Raegan. 2018

94 Sweet Briar Alumnae Magazine

Send in your news!

New career? New baby? New adventure?

Update your class secretary or visit sbc.edu/magazine to submit your notes through our online form. Email photos with captions, subject names and class years to classnotes@sbc.edu

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• Print of photos may be mailed to our office, but will not be returned. Please include the names of the subjects in the photo, their class years, and a caption for every single image.

Disclaimer

While the Alumnae Relations and Development Office reserves the right to edit submissions for any reason, our goal is for Class Notes to represent the multitude of alumnae voices. To that end, we limit editing. Alumnae should be aware that they are submitting notes to a college publication and utilize appropriate grammar, punctuation, spelling, word choice, content, and correct spellings of classmates’ names. Please be mindful that Class Notes are a place for updates and friendships but are not to be used as a political platform. The thoughts and opinions expressed in Class Notes are personal and do not reflect those of Sweet Briar College. Sweet Briar women have strong ideas and thoughts that may not be shared by all readers. Our community is a loving and accepting place for all.

Next Class Notes Deadline (odd numbered class years only): Aug. 10, 2025

The Return of Amherst County Day

Once an annual tradition, Amherst County Day returned to Sweet Briar this year for the first time in recent history. The day-long event welcomed locals to campus to encourage college and county residents to get to know each other through a variety of communityfocused events.

On April 5, this year’s event featured a host of family-friendly activities, entertainment, and educational experiences including Amherst County’s annual Easter Egg Hunt, food vendors, crafts, the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture Tree Climbing Championship, tours of Sweet Briar galleries and museums, live performances, activities with students, and more. The programming was the perfect way to explore and enjoy our sweet slice of Amherst.

Special thanks to everyone in the community who joined us and contributed to this wonderful event. We can’t wait to see you here for the next Amherst County Day, as well as the Amherst County Fair, which will take place on the College’s property across Highway 29 from Sept. 4–7.

Ensure Your Legacy Makes a Lasting Impact

In 1899, Indiana Fletcher Williams founded Sweet Briar College through a visionary planned gift. Indiana’s vision of a college for the education of young women inspired her to establish a trust of land and other assets that became her enduring legacy. This planned gift has provided transformational education opportunities for generations of young women for more than 100 years.

Please join us as a Williams Associate to ensure that her legacy—and yours—will prosper in perpetuity. Donors who are 70 1/2 or older may make a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QDC) from their IRA or at age 73 a Required Minimum Distribution (RMD).

Not sure how to get started? Visit: sbclegacy.org For questions, please contact the Alumnae Relations and Development Office at 434-381-6131 or alumnae@sbc.edu.