Sweet Briar College Magazine - Fall 2018

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she pulled some tendons or muscles
in one leg. But, Jane felt she would
be better soon! Also, she said that
she had been in New York City the
week before, for a week, and was able
to see The Iceman Cometh and My
Fair Lady. She enjoyed being in her
apartment there, which she recently
had upgraded to be fresher and more
“with it!” She says she can enjoy relaxing
there, while at her house, Jessamine
Hill, in Kentucky, something
is always going happening! In April
she went with son Jim and daughter
Lucy and Lucy’s husband to San
Francisco for the marriage of another
daughter, Eliza, who lives there and
is a chaplain for Hospice. Among
other things, Jane belongs to a foreign
affairs group that meets every
month and requires preparation and
to a book club. She mentioned that
she had the Sweet Briar Open House
at her house last winter and enjoyed
that, and shortly after, met our new
Sweet Briar president and was very
impressed with her.
Ginger Chamblin Greene came
with her friend, Fred Landess, to a
party that my friend Doug Mackall
had at his Charlottesville condo
during the University of Virginia
Law School Reunion in May. Fred
and Doug were classmates some
years ago. Ginger looked fabulous
and seemed so happy. It was a treat
for me to have a small visit with her.
We feel so connected as do most of
us from our wonderful class at Sweet
Briar.
Pam Compton Ware our May
Queen, writes, “We can’t be this old!
In my head I don’t feel it, but the
body tells it like it is. ‘Life is swell
when you keep well.’ Remember that
one? It’s the current game plan. I feel
blessed with my wonderful sons,
their wives, and nine grandchildren,
eldest graduated, two in college, six
in high school/junior high. Hobbies
remain as before: gardening (joints
permitting), reading, church activities,
and bridge (unremarkable).
However, genealogy has captivated
me, and I’ve spent hours researching
several family lines, but I won’t bore
you with that. Dig into your own,
though; it is fascinating. As an SBC
government major, I was long ago
bitten by history as it is happening,
and heaven knows there’s been a lot
of that going on. Yes, I’m an addicted
news junkie, as well as a Jersey Shore
worshipper, where our annual Pilgrimage
takes place with as many as
we can crowd in. Often I think of our
idyllic time at SBC and am so grateful
it is still alive with new direction
and purpose. I miss the wonder of all
that and especially all of you.”
Emily Hunter Slingluff is enjoying
life in the same house on the bay
and close to the ocean for about forty
years. Her daughter is several houses
away and her son nearby in Charlottesville.
It is a thrill to stay in touch with
wonderful Sweet Briar classmates. I
enjoy playing bridge and spend lots
of time speaking and writing about
parenting. My first book, A Present
to the Newborn, has just come out in
audio, with a sympathetic narrator,
and is available on Amazon. This is
exciting for me, and I hope will help
parents with a child of any age. At
one of our convocations, our Sweet
Briar president, Anne Gary Pannell,
said, “When you educate a woman,
you educate the world.” Yes, mothering
matters. Sweet Briar mattered,
too.
1956
Mary Ann H. Willingham
P.O. Box 728
Skyland, N.C. 28776
hicklinw@bellsouth.net
Thanks to each of you who either
sent an e-mail or a real letter!
You make my job fun! You all are
great! I have always maintained that
old friends are the best; so especially
good to hear from you – and we are
old!
Ann Greer Adams was treated
to a “step back in time” last spring
when her son and his wife included
her on a trip to Virginia to pick
up their daughter, who was finishing
her freshman year at W&L.
She says Lexington looked just as it
did 60 years ago, when she was last
there. They took her to SBC, where
they walked the whole campus. Particularly
interesting she says is the
columbarium around the perimeter
of the Monument, where several of
our friends are buried: Mr. Hapala,
Dr. Nelson and Helen McMahon.
Then on to Charlottesville for the
full Virginia tour, loving every minute
of “remembering.”
Bunny Burwell Nesbit writes
that she is living a wonderfully full
life in a continuing care community
in Sarasota, FL. A highlight of the
year was the 100th Reunion of her
dad’s family in Upperville, VA, which
lasted 11 days! Lots of other SBC alums
(’52,’55,’58,’66,’82, &’84) we’re in
attendance, making it a super special
event!
Macie Clay Nichols shared
lots of Kentucky news. Meredith
Smythe Grider spent the summer
in Michigan, having previously sold
her gift-ice cream shop there. Each
of her three daughters spent some
of the summer with her. For the past
two summers Macie has followed
campers to Beaufort, N.C., where
she enjoyed good times with Mishew
Cooper and her husband, Murray
Williams, who now live there in a
condo with a marvelous ocean view.
She also reconnected with some old
UNC friends. Macie tells us that
Norma Davis has moved from Tunica,
MS, to a retirement community
in Memphis, where Norma is very
content. Norma had called Macie for
a Derby tip, and no doubt Norma
was delighted with the tip, Justified.
Macie and Robert celebrated their
57th wedding anniversary this year
and have lived in the same house for
55 of those years. Her daughter and
her children live nearby. Son Rob
and family live in Spain; so Macie
is hoping to win the lottery to buy a
plane for more “togetherness.” Macie
recently attended an SBC gathering
at the beautiful home of Jane Feltus
Welche ’55 for an inspiring update
by SBC Board Member, Mason
Rummel. Macie laments that our
class giving participation is low. [Be
of cheer, Macie: this past fiscal year
we are up to 31.3 percent, up from
25 percent the previous year, See? I
said you all are great! Now, if we had
a class fundraiser, think how marvelous
we could be! And here is my
plug: Please, please send something
— large or small — to SBC when
the next solicitation arrives!] Sudie
Shelton Moseley lives fairly close to
Macie in Kentucky; whereas Sudie’s
two sons live in Louisville. Sudie attends
an annual seminar each year at
Cambridge, joined by other perpetual
students of many nationalities.
Lee Chang Crozier wrote that
all is well with her and hers in California,
although definitely concerned
about the August fires. She is still involved
in “committee responsibilities,”
helps coordinate the music at church,
and plays the piano and sings in the
choir. She and Al are coming up on
their 59th wedding anniversary! Lee
and I exchanged a couple of e-mails
reminiscing about painting posters
and decorating for our Spring Dance,
the theme for which was “Occidentally
Oriental.” Remember?
Janet Monroe Marshall writes
that she is settled into her new retirement
home in Ellicott City, MD,
having moved there from Pennsylvania.
Much to do there, so much so
that she finds it hard to find chunks
of time to read, contemplate, and
keep up with family. For her, the biggest
change that she has seen since
we left college is the speed of everything:
film, talking, soundbites versus
discussion; brief flashes of information
to stay with shorter and shorter
attention spans of everyone. There is
also more and more online activity, as
in anything involving the oxymoron
called “Customer Service!”
Nancy Ettenger Minor has recently
moved from Savannah, Ga., to
a continual care community on Hilton
Head, S.C. She is still playing a
lot of bridge and is rapidly adapting
to and enjoying her new location and
all it offers.
Nancy Howe Roberts continues
enjoying traveling, recently taking a
delightful trip to the Gulf Coast with
Jim’s two sons and their families. She
still lives in a retirement community,
enjoying a very active life there. She
plays bridge and golf and plans to go
to Chicago for Christmas.
A wonderful note from Peggy
Ann Rogers recapping her fascinating
life. An English Lit major at
SBC, she went on to receive a Ph.D.
from Oxford. She attended the Coronation
of Queen Elizabeth in 1953
and had a day with Mother Teresa in
Calcutta in 1989 with Medical Missions
of NY (1985-1989). She was
with the Philadelphia School Board
for 35 years and taught in England
for 30 summers with The Institute
of International Education. She has
generously donated many books to
Sweet Briar. Now about 85% deaf,
she is active with organizations focusing
on deafness. She would love
to hear from classmates: 635 Alexian
Way #805 HC, Signal Mountain,
TN 37377.
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