Class of 1966 Jottings for 2013

 David Rugh is involved in naturalist programs on the Olympic Peninsula; he graduated from a naturalist training course sponsored by the Jefferson Land Trust of Washington State."

Phil DeVol was honored as a Distinguished Alumni at the WOSA-NA annual meeting in Maryville, TN for his  “exemplary work in different countries around the world on poverty issues, the design of adolescent treatment programs, improving retention rates of new hires from poverty and the challenges of chemical dependence.”    

Cate Whitcomb was elected President of the League of Women Voters in Evanston and chaired a celebration committee for women having the vote in Illinois for 100 years. 

Suzy and Richard Friedericks: The highlight of summer 2013 was the Friedericks Family Reunion in Port Townsend, WA. This was the largest gather - 33 people - of the clan in 15 years or more. Carl (92) and Betty Ann (90) were guests of honor, of course. All of their children, Richard (class of ’66), Anne (class of ’67), Charlie (class of ’70), and Jim (class of ’72) were there with most of their children and grandchildren. Richard’s and Suzanne’s (class of ’66) three children David, Ethan and Elizabeth; and six grandchildren were all there. Anne’s husband Richard and son Malcom and family were not there but son Jericho and his wife Cass were there with their twin daughters were there. Charlie was there with son Carl. Jim’s and Diane’s four children were all their with a spouse or significant other except for one of them and none of them have children at this point. One of Richard's cousins and her husband also came from Philadelphia. It was four days of celebration in fabulous Northwest summer weather. 

In other news, Suzanne and Richard were in Hanoi, Viet Nam over Tet (New Year) in February followed by a walking tour on the Naksendo Trail in Japan over Spring Break. You can see pictures of all these events on Richard’s Flickr account: http://www.flickr.com/photos/30312225@N03/sets/

The 2013-2014 school year has begun and this will be our last at Hong Kong International School. We will move back to Port Townsend, WA in the summer of 2014. We look forward to a visit to India this fall where Suzanne and her brother David McCulloch (class of ’70) will visit places they lived as children in the Punjab. We hope also to visit Harishwar (Deepak) Dayal’s (class of ’66) Arpana foundation on our way. 

Phil Spottswood : Dear Cate,
    As always, thank you for being so faithful in collecting Chpebuh material for the Woodstock alumni magazine.  I will send mine well before the deadline.  Glad to hear that all is going well.  My family and I are in the middle of moving from Lafayette, IN. to Lexington, KY.  Two of my children and their families live their now and Michele (Nana) wants to be closer to the grandchildren. .

Linda Gamble McKendry:   Mom passed away Dec. 21, 2012, Dad passed away February 27, 2013.  Two days after his burial, my husband had: Heart surgery for an aneurysm, quit smoking, began radiation treatment on his larynx, and in the middle of that had a cerebral haemorrhage... OK... sounds terrible and it was quite stressful... but NOW Jim has recovered with a clean bill of health... I have all this FREE time and am picking up a few projects and enjoying 'retirement'.... currently called being 'retreaded''... Love 'n Prayers... Shalom, Linda Gamble McKendry

John Chaffee’s wife, Barbara Hunter Chaffee, MD, MPH,  passed away on March 5, 2013, after a long battle with breast cancer.  Several classmates, Rajan Kose, Ruth Morris Paige, and Phil DeVol  attended the funeral in Binghamton, New York.

Sherry Sergeant Cox:  Dear Cate,

         Sorry it has taken up to the last minute to get this off to you.  We've had quite a bit going as well these last 3 weeks, trip to San Antonio, entertaining new neighbors,  a week-end church retreat in which we housed a couple  and then more entertaining.  However, one big change has happened in our lives just within the last week so I'll incorporate that into the categories.    Hope you are getting all accomplished that you need to before your trip to India.  Hope that is safe and exciting.  I must admit I'm a little envious!  So here goes:  There have been no marriages or births in our immediate family.  3.  Graduations:  Our daughter Stephanie's husband John graduated from the OK Highway Patrol Academy in July after 20 weeks of training.   He will be working for now in Comanche County where we reside so we are most thankful to continue to have them nearby.  4.  Significant Life Accomplishments:  Stephanie continues working as an ER nurse at the county hospital. Our older daughter Sarah and her husband, Tony live in Biloxi, MS where he is a Capt  in the Air Force.  He is an instructor in air traffic control and Sarah is currently working at a bank and enjoying it.  The big change for Steve and me has been his forced retirement from working with the American Red Cross after 33 years last October.  We did not see it coming so it was quite a shock.  He just turned 60 so was not planning to retire for awhile but God had other plans.  In the long run it has been a blessing as it had gotten very stressful.  For 10 months he has continued to look for some kind of employment and just this last week got a part-time job working at a health food store which so far looks like a good fit.  He would still like something more substantial with benefits but for now it gives him more purpose.  He has also been volunteering at the Ft. Sill Natl. Cemetery, helping out at church with some repair projects, doing a Bible study, going to the gym and many odd jobs around the house.  I, Sherry continue with the same activities as the last few years; choir, Bible study, teaching English to an Iraqi lady, going to CO on a mission trip, helping with crafts for VBS, selling Mary Kay and accompanying Steve to the gym.  My Dr. said I need more strength training for my osteoporosis!  Otherwise we are thankful for so many blessings and happy to be together and healthy.     5.  Deaths - Even though some of these occurred last year  in the last year and a half when I lost my mother we also lost 3 brothers-in-law including my sister, Cindy's husband who died last Oct. from esophageal cancer just 3 months after diagnosis. It's been a really rough year for her. 

            Well, I guess that about covers it.  Hopefully, I haven't been too wordy.   I hope you've had a good response.  I'm hoping the next class reunion I can make it, I've missed seeing everyone and it's hard to believe we are all 65 or older!    Take care.   Love, Sherry

 Judith Scheuerman Bender: 

My jottings are not as much as many of you have. I live on an Island surrounded by water in the Northwest. It is called Hat Island (Gedney is the name on the map) with my husband and enjoy the quiet and peace here. We watch the Eagles.  About March, we see the whales as they swim by. A small group of Porpoise went by earlier this year as well. 

Our health has been fair for the age we are at and I feel truly blessed. Our children and grandchildren are also doing well. 

I was nominated to be Communications Chairperson and Editor for our small Island newspaper which is absolutely great fun for me! There is a great group of people here who are on the committee and are so talented that my job is made easy and even more fun! 

I will be going to New Mexico in October for a reunion with the class I was with in Karachi Pakistan and then plan on another reunion next year with Missionaries we called "Aunties and Uncles". I wonder how many of us did that growing up where we did?

Judith

Claire Beery and Bill Haigwood were married September 21 in Santa Rosa, California...old friends who reconnected three years ago and discovered the love that had been hibernating.  Claire’s mother, Ginny Crane (a lively 90 years old) was the ring bearer and granddaughter, Tillie Domber (a lively 4 years old) was the flower girl.  Claire’s daughter’s Willow Summer, Mira Rosenthal and Zoë Leverant and many other family and friends celebrated with Claire and Bill.  Willow lives in Berkeley with husband Lew and has a new career teaching in a Waldorf based preschool.  She also continues as a national leader of the urban farming movement.  Mira completed her two year Stegner Fellowship at Stanford University – which meant a return to Jacksonville, Florida with her family (husband Greg Domber and daughters Lulu (1) and Tillie) where Greg is a history professor at The University of North Florida.  Mira continues writing and publishing poetry as well as translating Polish poetry.  Her second book of translations (Colonies) was published this year.  Zoë received her BA in May in Broadcast Engineering from San Francisco State University.  Her focus is audio for video (i.e. movies) and she immediately landed her dream job at Skywalker Ranch of Stars Wars fame.  

 Frances Hilliard Dawson:

As my jottings do not fit into any of the categories mentioned, I did not submit anything. I am taking advantage of the class e-mail list to send the short description of a recent trip. Included are a few pictures. In August I flew to Calgary to visit my daughter, Kathleen and family. Michael joined me there and we drove back to Colorado Springs together. Copied below are highlights:

We postponed our departure from Calgary until Kathleen had returned from school.  It is always hard to say goodbye, especially to the little ones.

The day was glorious, deep blue sky, fluffy pure white cumulus clouds, with the odd alto cumulous that reflected the orange of the sun. Travelling south of Calgary is big sky country and though we traveled under a sunny sky, to the west over the Rockies we could see storm clouds drenching the foothills.

We had packed enough to feed us for the rest of the day, so made uninterrupted progress to our destination, Izaak Walton Inn, Essex, Montana, 60 miles east of Kalispell bordering on Glacier National Park and Great Bear Wilderness Area, a 1,000 acres of wilderness. It was dark when we traversed the Blackfeet (this is American usage; in Canada, the tribe is referred to as the Blackfoot) Reservation and skirted the edge of the park on a very winding road. Seemed a much longer journey than when we covered the some of the same route the following day. The only place open for refreshments when we arrived at 10:00 p.m. was the bar. I had a cocktail made from a local cucumber based gin, “Whistler Andy”. Interesting.

Izaak Walton Inn was built in 1939 for the use of railroad personnel and anticipated as the entrance to Glacier Park, which did not happen. The personnel who lodged there were responsible for the helper engines situated at Essex to assist the freight trains over the Continental Divide at the summit of Marias Pass.  Now the Inn caters to outdoor and rail fan enthusiasts.  About 6 cabooses and one engine have been converted to sleeping quarters.

The next day we spent in the Park. Enveloped by the heady scent of pine on the cool clear air as we entered alpine territory, we marveled at the white water dashing over rocky stream beds and amazing glacier sculpted mountains: razor sharp ridges or arêtes, horn/pyramidal shaped peaks and gigantic blocks of “basement” rock bereft of sedimentary deposits.  This park merits days to savor the many different terrains. We had one, so only a few stops. McDonald Lake was our introduction to the subalpine zone: Western Red Cedar and Hemlock, Birch, Furs, White Spruce and Horsehair lichen. A family of Red-breasted Mergansers entertained us as we explored the shore. Logan Pass at 6646 ft is Alpine territory.  We ate our picnic contemplating the surrounding peaks and alpine meadows. The “terracing” or ridges of gravel (eskers) left from stream-beds inside or on the surface of valley glaciers leading up to Reynolds Mt. (9,125 ft) are covered with evidence of the time when this land was covered by the Belt Sea and is some of the best preserved sedimentary rock in the world. Frozen ripples in sand and strings of cyanobacteria from a time that has too many zeros for me to grasp. All truly awesome.

Our attempts at birding the next day were disappointing, though we did discover a great location, Ninepipe National Wildlife Refuge, located in Flathead Indian Reserve, Montana for migratory birds; we were just too early, season wise.

We stumbled on another marvel the following day at a rest stop in Idaho, between Idaho Falls and Blackfoot on I-15, Hell’s Half Acre. It is basaltic lava plain located on the Snake River Plain high desert at 5,351ft. Molten rock came from 30 to 50 miles below the surface through fissures last about 4,100 years ago.  Steppe like vegetation is claiming this area that started cooling 3,000 years ago. The large jagged cracks and caves are being colonized by lichen, moss, sage bush, juniper (twisted and ancient looking), rabbit brush, prickly pear cactus and I think I saw a Rocky Mountain ninebark.

We cut across Colorado beside the Colorado River marveling at the variety of rock formations. Some mountains had almost been buried in their own rubble, which still retained the horizontal coloured lines of the original striations of rock. As we approached Denver storm clouds loomed ahead broken by strikes of lightening. To the east a complete double rainbow kept us company and at one point one end of the arc came down right in front of the car. It moved as we moved, so we decided that it was pointless to start digging!

As we have often noted wherever we travel by road in the US, all the roads and rest stops are excellent. The Bureau of Land Management has created two trails with interpretive signs at Hell’s Half Acre. Starting in Montana and carrying on in Idaho every town and village seemed to have not just one but several casinos. And we had several nice chats with people, a lengthy one with a couple from Billings, Montana. 

Five days, so we were on the move most the time, and so are tempted to revisit parts when we will be able to linger.

Harishwar "Deepak" Dayal: Dear All,

A rarest of rare opportunity to catch up with Chepbuh family, is being looked forward to with great pleasure and excitement.  Richard, Suzy, Cate all at one go! Some kind of a bonanza! Richard and Suzy will spend the day and night of the 29th with us at the Ashram and also make a very quick village visit to our Women Empowerment programme in rural Haryana.

We will meet again on 5th October in New Delhi over a South Indian meal. There will be a lot to talk about and with Cate with us we are sure to get all the updates on the Chepbuh family. 

I would like to reiterate that there is a special joy in meeting childhood friends, and therefore, anyone planning a visit to India - especially New Delhi and Woodstock - please do inform in advance so that we can get together.

God bless and with love

Harishwar

Cell: +91 98 186 006 44

The official words sent to the Quad~!

 

 Marriages:

Claire Marie (Blickenstaff) Beery and Bill Haigwood were married September 21, 2013 in Santa Rosa, California...old friends who reconnected three years ago and discovered the love that had been hibernating.  Claire’s mother, Ginny Blickenstaff Crane (a lively 90 years old) was the ring bearer.

 
Significant Life Accomplishments:

David Rugh is involved in naturalist programs on the Olympic Peninsula; he graduated from a naturalist training course sponsored by the Jefferson Land Trust of Washington State.

Phil DeVol was honored as a Distinguished Alumni at the WOSA-NA annual meeting in Maryville, TN for his “exemplary work in different countries around the world on poverty issues, the design of adolescent treatment programs, improving retention rates of new hires from poverty and the challenges of chemical dependence.”   

Cate Whitcomb was elected President of the League of Women Voters in Evanston in June 2013 and chaired a celebration committee for women having the vote in Illinois for 100 years. 

Judith Scheuremann Bender was nominated to be Communications Chairperson and Editor for our small Island newspaper which she finds absolutely great fun!

In Memoriams /Deaths:

Linda Gamble McKendry’s mother, Lydia Gamble, passed away Dec. 21, 2012, Her father, John Gamble, passed away February 27, 2013.  Two days after her father’s burial, her husband Jim had a severe health crisis but has made a good recovery.

Arun Kapur’s mother, Kamla Bery Kapur (’42) passed away in November 8, 2012 and his father, passed away on June 24, 2012.

John Chaffee’s wife, Barbara Hunter Chaffee, MD, MPH,  passed away on March 5, 2013, after a long battle with breast cancer.  Several classmates, Rajan Kose, Ruth Morris Paige, and Phil DeVol attended the funeral in Binghamton, New York.