Class Notes

C O N C O R D A C A D E M Y M A G A Z I N E S P R I N G 2 0 1 0Washington, DC, so our longtime familysummer home in Mattapoisett, MA isnow my primary residence. Would loveto connect with anyone living aroundthere. I have a wonderful partner, JohnHenderson. We travel, sing in choralsocieties (still miss the Jabberwocks),and I do some work with Save the Childrenand maternal/newborn health indeveloping countries. Last January, oneof my daughters gave birth to anadorable little boy—grandmothering isthe best.” Anne Lenox has also joinedthe grandparent ranks: “Euphoriaabounds. We have a new grandson,Amos Campbell Eichler, born January 23,2010. He is the son of Stephanie, ourdaughter, and father Tom Eichler. Myjewelry has done well this year as Ijoined Newton Open Studios and nowhave a vehicle for more sales. And, I canhardly wait to take more classes thissummer at Haystack Mt. School ofCrafts. I love it there. Life is really wonderful.”Daisy Pickman Welch has been“a full-time RV gypsy, living in my vintageAirstream trailer for the last sixyears. Sometimes I work, sometimes Ijust drift around, mostly out west. Ispent a summer at Ellen Wolfe Allen’sranch in Montana and have visitedPenny Parks McDonald outside Denver.I generally work in the hospitality industry,either at a campground or for theconcessionaires that provide food andlodging in the National Park system. Myson, Jason Welch, is a thermal engineerat Celestica in Manchester, NH and livesin Derry, NH with his wife Suzanne andmy grandson Hollis. My daughter Jessicaworks for Community Servings inJamaica Plain. She ran the BostonMarathon for Community Servings lastyear. My friend and partner, Don Robertson,also a full time RVer, died in Septemberafter a wonderful four years ofworking and traveling together. I misshim but am carrying on cheerfully.” Andwe have this very happy news fromFrances Stevenson: “On October 17, Imarried Geoffrey Tyler, an old friend. Wehad reconnected accidentally. We willlive in DC, but hope to visit Australia,Did You Lose Your CA Ring?Did you lose your school ring onthe campus of Mount HolyokeCollege in the late 1960s or early1970s? Concord Academy hasbeen contacted about a ring foundduring that period, engravedwith the initials RMG. If you cansolve this mystery, please emailmagazine@concordacademy.org.50Geoffrey’s native country. Marriage is abig change after being single for 20years, but it is wonderful.”1964Class Secretaries: Caroline Herrick, caroline.herrick@gmail.com;Mary Wadleigh,marywj100@aol.comBetsy Mallinckrodt Bryden is veryhappy that her son Edward is finding lotsof friends and intellectual stimulation atWashington University, where he is afreshman. She is gradually adjusting tohaving him away at school. Betsy’s sister,Barbara Mallinckrodt Osborne ’62,passed away last March. There weretwo memorial services for her, one inTexas and one in the Chapel at CA,which was attended by many of herclassmates. Betsy enjoyed visiting withBetsy Fenollosa Boege ’61 and otherBelmont neighbors, to laugh and rememberthe good times. Betsy is sorry Barbaradidn’t have more of a chance toknow her four grandchildren. Anne TraffordGordy reports that her daughter isexpecting a baby in August, Anne’s firstgrandchild. Her son is in his fifth year ofcollege—and may finish sometime. BarbaraWoodruff Haas has been consideringretirement, but hasn’t decided yet.She and John went to Japan in October,“which was fantastic, a longtime dreamtrip.” There have been lots of changes inCaroline Herrick’s life: “I married TedSands in New York on January 2. Wemet when I was a senior in college andhe was a first-year graduate student—it’s only taken us more than 40 years toget back together! Last fall, after a yearlongtraining program, I became a docentat the Metropolitan Museum of Art.Although we’re planning to move to Connecticutthis spring, I will continue mywork with the museum, as well as myfreelance editing. I’m very happy.”Ingrid Michelsen Hillinger “still lovesteaching and students and even the law,odd as that sounds” —she is a professorat Boston College Law School— but“is very depressed about our countryand our paralysis.” Natalie Rice Irelandwrites, “Lots of changes taking place inmy household in 2009. I left my employmentof seven years and went to anewly opened retirement community asthe marketing director, but that didn’twork out, so I have been unemployedsince November. But that turned out notto be a bad thing since my daughter wasgetting married the end of December. Ihad time to do all the fun wedding-planningstuff. Just before I started my newjob, I went to China. This year I am goingto Russia with a new friend I met on theChina trip. Lisa Wyman Cowley visitedme in Tucson twice in 2009—once tohostess a shower for my daughter andagain for the wedding.” From Ree HallKatrak: “My husband Firoze and I arenow retired and involved in a lot of volunteerwork. I’m also doing a lot of artwork,which is both satisfying andfrustrating. Four times a year I go toBainbridge Island, WA, to visit my daughterSophie, the three grandchildren, and,if he’s not touring, my son-in-law, BrendanHill. (He’s the drummer in the bandBlues Traveler). My son Anthony is thechef/owner of a restaurant in Cambridgecalled Second Street Café, so I get tosee him pretty regularly. Firoze and Ihave traveled to places like China, Tibet,Bhutan, Costa Rica, and Africa. I sendlots of love to the class of ’64 and lookforward to the next reunion.” CatherinePetersen Mack still has horses, thoughshe is no longer a breeder of Connemaraponies. She also has lots of dogs. Ohyes, there are lots of grandchildren too.Tad and Edith have a 6- and an 8-year-old,a boy and a girl. Alexis and his wife havetwo little girls—one brand new, and oneaged 2. Catherine visits the Boston areafairly frequently to be a helpful grandmother.Hilary Falk Marx lives in Floridabut travels out west fairly often to seeher two daughters and her son. Onedaughter is a Hollywood agent, anotherdaughter teaches kids with specialneeds, and her son works at the GrandCanyon. Jane Palmer is now retired andhas more time to devote to her life’s truepassion—the study of Tibetan Buddhismand a life led in accordance with itstenets. Her work has been focused onestablishing the Tenzin Gyatso Instituteat a former 350-acre hunting lodge inBerne, NY. A big conference is scheduledin June, featuring the author of TheTibetan Book of Living & Dying, SogyalRinpoche. Casey Morgan Peltier lives inArlington, VA and was snowbound afterFebruary storms. No fishing trips forCasey and husband Alec until the meltingoccurred. Rebecca Ramsay writes,“The downturn in the economy resultedin early retirement for me.” Now manyinterests, including nature programs atFresh Pond Reservation, dance, running,biking, cross-country skiing, figure skating,ballet, three book groups, watercolorpainting, and singing can take precedence.Becca’s also a member of aColombian human rights watch group.Susan Pickman Sargent writes a rollickingaccount of the challenges she facedin the past several years: “I am doingwell in my surprising new life—unexpectedlyretired in 2008 from full-timeclinical practice as a child and adult psychologist.David Taylor, whom I marriedin 2005, moved to Boston from Philadelphiain 2007 to take care of me when Iwas having surgery and treatment forcancer. I liked surgery so much that Idecided to have two new hips as well!My daughter married in 2009, a beautifuland joyous occasion. David and I arebusy with our five children (and a grandchild).We have renovated my house inBoston, and whenever anyone invites usto visit or go on a trip, we go. I havebeen amazed to wake up like a kid eachday and ask myself, ‘What would I like todo today?’ and have such anticipation ofexploration. It is a blast.” Ann DickersonSwanson moved to her late father’shouse in Truro, on Cape Cod. It was difficultto make the move, leaving theirlongtime residence in Marshfield Hills,but they are thrilled to have completedthe task. The Swanson sons are bothmarried and live in Ann Arbor, MI andAlexandria, VA. Ann Fritts Syring, livingin Florida, felt the tragedy of the Haitiearthquake and its effects acutely. “Onefeels so helpless in the face of the disastersthat affect the world.” Ann isbuoyed by family happiness, though, astwo of her three nieces are expectingbabies in the summer and she will be a“most happy aunt.” Ann looks forwardto trips to California and Cyprus to“cook, clean, change diapers, and offermoral support.” Speaking of travel, Annsaw Wendy White on a January trip toRome and Florence. “We laughed overthe memories of Miss Young’s storiesabout the artists, like the amorous FraFilippo Lippi (I finally saw the originals atthe Uffizi so many years later).” FrannyHowes Valiente has retired from hernursing work with blind patients at theVA. Both Franny’s mother and her daughter-in-law’smother died in the past year.In addition, Franny’s father has a form ofAlzheimer’s. Her sisters and brother havebeen wonderful through all of this sadness.Franny speaks glowingly of themand of her children and her two “beautiful,talented and energetic granddaughters,”all of whom bring her much joy.She expects to spend more time in theeast, now that she is retired. “My cup isfull and I am looking forward to manynew adventures now that I have thefreedom to travel.” Mary Wadleighdrove up I-95 with Casey MorganPeltier last June on the way to the fun40th reunion of our class. “The weatherat reunion was super, and the 14 of uswho made it for some part of the weekendreally had fun catching up, evensinging selections from the MiddlesexHymnal in the beautifully enlargedChapel. The ensuing year has been filledwith both delightful and tragic moments,but the fullness is really what counts. Istill keep homes in Brooksville, ME andon Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. It’s achallenge, and life is busy in both places,but it feels right for the time being.Friends who have transcended difficultchallenges of their own inspire me tokeep going, living life to the fullest, nomatter what temporary obstacles presentthemselves.” Wendy White’s son,