OA-Spring 2023

Shari Wigle loves to watch the Arizona sunrises and sunsets in her new home state. Her family of nieces and nephews is scattered over five states so Thanksgiving, with nine family members, was a treat. Shari traveled to The Woods Reunion with Gloria Hemery Duckworth , who is also an Arizona resident now. Shari’s “Woods roommate,” Marcia Chester Richey , was at Reunion with her husband, Wayne and daughter Melissa Richey Wagner ’92 . Shari mentioned that a monsoon created some major damage to their village landscape but repairs were done. Anne Sheridan Ruck reported that “the (California) mountains are magnificently crystal clear after all our rain.” She visited, reminisced and laughed with Margie Cahill Ban and Frances “Fran” Hogan Luby during 2022 visits to Wisconsin and Illinois. Her son Matt just moved to Fort Wayne, Indiana, where they have some of the best services for amputees in the country. Ellen Goodrich Bondi had nothing nice to say about their Washington weather! Ice storms over the 2022 holidays had them housebound for three days. Granddaughter Paloma is a sophomore at Berkeley and relished six weeks of summer school in Korea. Ellen has some health issues but says Jim is a great caretaker! Mary V. Sherman Krebs claims nothing exciting is happening in Louisville, Kentucky. She has been struggling with Covid and pneumonia since Thanksgiving and has decided to be positive and think that things will get better with each new day! Mary Rehorst Engelkamp has been faced with the challenge of caring for her husband, Glenn, who has Alzheimer’s. Mary and family have been looking after him at home, but he is going to a memory facility near their home where she can visit as often as she wants. She is grateful for that. Harriet Cox Hrezo asks for prayers for her son Rob who has amyloidosis, which is treated with chemotherapy. 2022 included a trip to the 60th Reunion, a visit to Newton, Massachusetts, for a sixth great-grandchild’s baptism and a Christmas visit with daughter Marie and granddaughters. The Hrezos downsized to a single floor condo in January of 2023. Margaret “Peggy” Piszczek Kloempken and hubby Tom enjoyed Christmas in Boca Raton, Florida, with all their family. Four of the grandsons are in college. While in Florida, Peggy does water aerobics and Tom bikes daily. Travel there “seems to be to and from the airport a lot!” They will head back to Illinois in March. Linda Roof Sheehan looked forward to her annual February trip to Florida - the 25th year of golf with her same foursome. In April 2023, she’ll join three of her kids at the Masters in Augusta, Georgia. Travel included two 2022 college graduations, with two more in 2023. Linda says graduations are great catch-up times. Madeline Honnigford Roe celebrated her 80th birthday with all her family in the Grand Tetons in June 2022 (Covid delayed). She wrote that her life was full and “busy,” which included being a grandmother again at 82 and keeping up with all the older grandchildren, from working ones to college and high school ones. Judith “Judy” Meyer Grissmer and husband David have five grandchildren who have graduated college and reside anywhere from nearby Charlottesville, Virginia, to Seattle, Washington. Two delightful great-granddaughters live nearby. Dave hasn’t retired, but Judy has and is organizing a volume of over 40 years’ worth of poetry she has written – 35 poems were published in literary journals. C L A S S N O T E S

Janet Srebalus, MM , has directed her talents towards counseling and giving seminars to women’s groups and youth and religious congregations in Tanzania. She lives in a community of three sisters - another American and a Tanzanian. Janet’s three-year renewal program allowed a return to the states during our Woods Reunion, which she enjoyed immensely. Celestine “Cel” Hamant related that in September 2022, her housemate, Monica, suffered a whole spate of bad luck when she fell and broke her femur. A litany of setbacks continued ending with Monica’s dismissal to home from rehab with Covid - which Cel got. They were glad to see the end of 2022 and hope 2023 will be better. Johanna Reichel Schuller and Paul welcomed granddaughter Aine in March 2022. In May, they made their long-planned trip to Ireland. Their annual fall Oktoberfest at home in Manassas Virginia was followed by road trips to visit the Reichel and Schuller families in the Midwest. A trip to Spain, Portugal (and Fatima) is on their 2023 schedule. Kathy Bogan Cannady said their community in Naples, Florida survived the devastation of Hurricane Ian in 2022. In October, Kathy toured the New Mexico Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque, New Mexico and visited Santa Fe - both rained out! Kathy continues working in real estate and volunteers at her church as a reader/lector and Eucharistic Minister. Wally Shelley Nowicki keeps more than busy between family and volunteer jobs. In May, she flew to Kansas City, Missouri and daughter Greta drove her to Reunion and stayed to meet all Wally’s classmates. At home in Pensacola, Florida, Wally volunteers at a free medical clinic and sings with the two church choirs. Ann McCrea Bresnahan flew to Denver, Colorado in October of 2022 with a friend. They toured Colorado via car, including Pikes Peak, Estes Park, the Royal Gorge and the Garden of the Gods. It was a ‘wonderful, exhausting trip”. Back home in Pekin, Illinois, Ann enjoys her return to musical activities since Covid restrictions were lifted. Here in New Jersey, we were delighted to welcome two great-granddaughters, unfortunately not near us. Our tally for 2022 graduation ceremonies included four grade and high school, one college and one post-grad. My quilting endeavors were focused on two baby quilts - fun projects! Most of the summer was spent kneeling - in the gardens! I’m grateful to all who responded with news and hope 2023 treats everyone well… please don’t forget our daily noon prayer for all our ’62 classmates. ’63 Anne Lenhard Benington ’63 2564 Birchview Dr Kewadin, MI 49648-9205 (614) 716-9104 albenington@aol.com As we grow older, we have fewer activities to share and more leisure to reflect. With this in mind, I asked our classmates to recall what brought them to The Woods 60 years ago, and where they hailed from. The responses are wonderful! We might imagine a class composed of only midwestern women, but ours came from coast to coast and the south as well. Mary Campbell arrived from Atlanta, Georgia. Her mother had heard of The Woods and wanted to attend but was unable. At the application physical, her doctor commented, “Another girl I saw recently is going to SMWC. “It was Kathryn “Kathy” Sharp ! They met at school and were roomies for three years. They also learned both of their moms were born in Pocahontas, Iowa! Michelene “Mickey” Barraco McCormick says she came to The Woods with Bridget Walsh to view

the campus. She was registered to attend St. Mary’s, Notre Dame, but didn’t know anyone there. Bridget convinced her to apply to SMWC so they could travel home together for the holidays. Mickey’s parents were on board as long as it was a small ALL girls’ school. Patricia “Pat” Clancy came from Chicago, Illinois and attended the Academy of Our Lady/ Longwood Academy. One of her close friends through grammar school and high school, Maureen “Mossi” Steed Sullivan , had three older sisters who attended Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College. Pat and her mother visited the campus and fell in love with the beautiful Woods! Barbara “Barb” Clemento Savino attended Providence High School in Chicago, Illinois, run by the Sisters of Providence. Barb attended a journalism seminar arranged by Sister Ann de Sales with Ellen Wierdak O’Keefe , a fellow aspiring journalist. Barbara still remembers her first sight of The Woods as her bus entered the gate and drove up The Avenue. “The classic beauty of the campus made a lasting impression on me. Attending The Woods became my goal.” Theresa Rosner White lived in Indianapolis, Indiana, and had two older sisters who attended SMWC when Theresa was only five years old. What really drew her was a film production of the campus shown at St. Agnes Academy, Indianapolis; a campus visit soon followed. Margot Rudge Sullivan says coming to The Woods started with a hometown friend from Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, who attended St Joseph’s College, Indiana. He dated a Woods girl and talked it up a lot! Margot’s family toured Catholic girls’ schools in Indiana and Ohio, and Margot really liked The Woods. She still remembers talking with Sr. Catherine Joseph Wilcox! Margaret McElroy lived in Chatham, Virginia. Five family members were SMWC alumni: her mother, two aunts, and two cousins. It started when her maternal grandfather learned about The Woods during a conversation with a fellow train passenger whose daughter attended The Woods. Although her mother never tried to influence Margaret’s decision, she is pleased she made it. Lydia Treadwell Blecksmith and her sister Louise Treadwell Conlon grew up in southern California and attended Marywood High School in Anaheim, run by the Sisters of Providence. Their parents were convinced that, after attending a small girl’s Catholic high school, they would be a perfect fit for a small girl’s Catholic college. Lydia says, “They were right, and the rest is history.” Colleen Ward Mayes relates that during her senior year, she had a counseling session with a priest. He simply said, “You are college material.” She had no idea how to start, but she ran into a friend, Mary Lou Patterson Smith , and asked about her college plans. Mary Lou said Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College was her choice since her aunt was a retired nun there. Colleen applied and attended, sight unseen. Judith “Judy” Scoggin McManmon came from Avon Lake, Ohio, along with her twin, Janet Scoggin Kerner . They became interested in SMWC because their mother, from Chicago, had always hoped to send a daughter there. They visited The Woods, along with high school classmates Nancy Van Uum Langworthy , Kathleen Kearney De Vito and Maureen O’Connor Killackey . Judy says they all loved being there! Janice “Jan” Gapen Dean attended Indianapolis’s St. Agnes Academy, a Providence high school. Several classmates were planning to attend SMWC, and Jan wanted to go away for college, but SMWC was too expensive. Her father said if she got an assistantship, she could apply. Jan did, saying It was one of her best decisions!

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