Class Notes

great-grandson to her step-grandson,Matthew Jennings. He is beguiling!Betsy Day Moulton writes, “At thisadvanced age it is mostly a question ofwatching and applauding my children andgrandchildren doing fascinating things:granddaughter Kate Murphy, as a summerintern to her U.S. senator from RI;granddaughter Ruth Adler, tendingtoward a career in graphic design; andmuch more.” Betsy is still “poking aheadat writing fiction and essays.” MargotFenn Borden says, “No exciting travels,nor major accomplishments other thanstaying healthy and active. Maculardegeneration cramps my style some, butlife is still a lot of fun. Scenery and peoplein Vermont are beautiful.” PhyllisRothschild Farley was delighted to hearher stepdaughter-in-law had a doulaassist her when she had her baby in September.It was Phyllis who adapted thedoula concept for people who are dying,and she is still working with people whoare at life’s end. “Oddly enough, thesame qualities for both are useful.”1944“All things considered, I can’t complaintoo much,” writes Lucia Cabot Cipolla.“Four nice kids, six wonderful grandkids,and although we live far apart, I spentmost of the summer near family living inthe Seattle area.” Elizabeth PerkinsDraper is leaving Maine to return toMassachusetts, where most of her familylives. A great-grandchild was expectedin April. “At 84, I’ve turned into a frail oldlady and returned, as well, to the pasturesof yesteryear — Cape Cod,” writesAti Gropius Johansen. “My husbandand I made the move to a Cape Cod cottagefrom our self-designed residence inupstate New York last fall.” Ati enjoysweekend art classes and is still aBauhaus true believer. Muffy McKinstryThorne was disappointed to be the onlymember of her class at reunion last year.She spent the summer months in NewHampshire with family and returned toCalifornia in September. In January shetraveled to London again for theatre —her record is 23 plays in 13 days!1946Class Secretary: Penelope WeadockSlough, 159 Grosse Pointe Blvd., GrossePointe, MI 48236Cory Benson Johnson has settled in theretirement community of Kendal atHanover in Hanover, NH. She finds theresidents friendly, supportive, andinteresting. The facilities are comfortable,and the view splendid. The cold northernclimate is quite a change from Cape Cod,and she misses her house in Chatham,which she designed and had built as herretirement home 11 years ago. BettyEames Hooper has moved from Englandto Perth, Australia, where her two sonslive. She is a volunteer teacher onemorning a week in her grandson’sprimary school and is doing waterexercises. She says two of her fourgrandchildren are moving into theteenage category, which isn’t too easy.Cynthia Hill Williams has retired fromtraining and running dogs in retrieverfield trials. “As I have aged, I find it lessfun to chase up and down the east coastto go to the trials.” She fills her hourswith painting and has completed 46paintings in the last year-and-a-half. Onepainting was accepted for a calendarpublished by a local art association andanother hung, for the month of January2010, in a juried show at the Concord ArtAssociation. She is proud to say that sheis no longer a “refusee,” but a small frogin a big pond. Sally Hill Friedlanderremarks that we are certainly getting upthere in years. “In my dotage, I am tryingmy hand at watercolor.” She’s alwayshoping that someone will come andpaint, or just visit, in Maine. After 26years, Debbie Perry Clark has “retired”from singing barbershop. She got tired ofnight driving and putting on makeup(eyelashes) for shows. As a result of this“retirement,” she joined two othersinging groups — her church choir and anew church enterprise called ThresholdChoir, which will provide pastoral carethrough life’s transitions. A thirdpossibility, just for fun, is a madrigalchorus. Lee Lawrence Pierce haswritten seven doll stories. She has acollection of 180 dolls from 40 countries.One doll, in particular, Perla Negra,changed the course of her life forever(see Alumnae/i Profiles, page 8). BettyRowse Wilson reports that last year shewent to Southern California, from Utah,for a short visit with friends she hadworked with at the school district. Heroldest grandson drove her — the firsttime she’s had a chauffeur — and theyalso went to see Price is Right andJeopardy. “It was a celebration of my80th birthday.” Hannah Tilly SniderKeevil says that nothing is muchdifferent with her. “Her health is good,energy sufficient, family interesting andinvolving, and her husband is stillpracticing good medicine. In our eighties,much gratitude abounding (oh yes, musicstill a joy)!” I, Penny Weadock Slough,report that my health remains prettygood, but my zip is flagging a bit. In aneffort to reduce the amount of energyexpended, I am selling my house inCanada to the daughter and son-in-law ofa very good Canadian friend. I amdelighted to have the house sold tosomeone familiar. It makes giving it upmuch easier after uncounted years. I’mstill volunteering at the University ofMichigan’s archaeological museum,cataloguing ancient coins. As your classsecretary, thank you to all whoresponded by sharing their news.1947Class Secretary: Laura RichardsonPayson, 865 Central Ave., Apt. M-304,Needham, MA 02492Mary Leonard Allingham writes of “along and happy life.” She was married in1952, has four children, seven grandchildren,a career as a librarian/media specialist,and did a lot of traveling. Bob diedin 2007, and Mary stays at home morenow. “I loved my years at CA.” WendyAppel Brown had a wonderful 80thbirthday, spending a month in Californiawith family and friends and attending agranddaughter’s wedding on the edge ofPuget Sound. She is volunteering at aretirement home, and Larry plays tenniswith other seniors. Mary Leigh MorseHouston says her house in Concord is“still home after 52-plus years.” She is avolunteer driver and helps in a soupkitchen in Boston once a month. She visitedfamily in Colorado and Louisa NobleDrury in Vermont. They had lunch withAnne Johnson Jones ’48 and Joe — “anice reunion for us.” Mary Leigh’s marriageto her late husband Bud was featuredas a CA “love story” in the wintermagazine, which is online only at concordacademy.org/magazine.Laura RichardsonPayson and Sam are enjoyingretirement living, now able to go to symphony,theatre, and ballet door-to-door bybus. Mary Leigh Morse Houston andPatty Walcott Berger came to Laura’s80th birthday party. Bunty PeirsonRichardson says she and her family areall well. They had a cold winter in NewMexico. Our sympathy to the family ofMyra Blanchard Rucker, whose daughterJulia writes that her mother died inher sleep in August 2009. Edie ClarkeWolff and Jan went to Turkey in Octoberto visit her sister Emilie ClarkePrivratsky ’62, who lives on the Sea ofMarmara. They toured ancient sites in asailing schooner along the Carian coast.“We were the oldest of seven passengers,but the fittest for scrambling overthe ruins.” Ethel Borden Wood is enjoyinggolf, painting, selling her cards, andgoing on hikes and walks with her dog.All the family is doing fine — “no onehas lost a job or a house.”1948Class Secretary: Katherine FlatherBreen, 57 Chestnut St., Dedham, MA02026Addie Eicks Comegys shares the sadnews that her daughter Catherine diedunexpectedly on August 30, 2009.“Catherine was an inspiration for thosewith significant challenges, determinedto achieve full inclusion in their jobs,housing, and social/community lives.”Addie traveled to Florida in the springwith her daughter Lee Comegys Chafee’74, where she got together with PamelaCash Fisher and her daughter. Your classsecretary, Kitsey Flather Breen, says allis well; we enjoy time when all the familycan get together. As a class we are allthinking of you, Addie, and send you allour sympathy. Mary Lawrence Curryspends April–June and September–December in Groton, June–September inNova Scotia, and January–April in Florida.Mary enjoys volunteering in the hospitalin Vero Beach, FL. Ann Bemis Day continuesto write a weekly nature columnfor the Valley Reporter and sells herpoetry book and journal. Ann has twogreat-grandchildren, 3 and 1, who live inBrisbane, Australia with their parents;they are the grandchildren of daughterDeb, who lives in Gettysburg, PA. “Weall miss my son Alan, who died in 2008.His twin daughters are doing well.” “Notmuch news as we putter along towardfour score — how can that be?” asks KitEaton Dreier. “We are grateful for goodhealth in all three generations. Love toall.” Enjoying her smaller house, ZoeComninos Eleftherio likes her walks onthe rail trail. She has one granddaughterat Vanderbilt and one at RISD, and agrandson at Groton School. Since sheretired, Pamela Cash Fisher has beenleading a quieter life. She enjoys workingat her church thrift shop. “Life is good —busy as always,” writes Anne JohnsonJones, who skied every day in the winter.She enjoyed time with Polly EdgartonLanman and Sylvia ShawBrandhorst ’49 in Duxbury and lunchwith Mary Leigh Morse Houston ’47and Louisa Nobel Drury ’47 at SugarBush in the fall. Polly Edgarton Lanmantraveled to England in May with herbrother and other Morse relatives on an“ancestral tour.” Polly enjoys playing tennisin spite of a bad knee. Ann McKinstryMicou and her husband havemoved from their remote mountain tothe pretty village of Upper Montclair, NJto be near their daughter Julie. Ann haspublished a third book about fiction set inVermont. Nancy Bird Nichols is stillplaying viola da gamba and teachingNoyes Rhythm (creative dance). She alsoenjoys downhill skiing. She has “lots ofamazing grandchildren about to launchinto the adult world.” Joan GathercoleRice can hardly believe — until she looksin the mirror — that she celebrated her80th birthday last summer. This year hergranddaughter graduates from collegeand her oldest grandson is 25. “Happybirthday to all my classmates!” DeedySargent reports that this was the first41C O N C O R D A C A D E M Y. O R G S P R I N G 2 0 1 0