Onyx Anneau Fall 2021

obtain news of Nancy “Nan” Nose Watakabe , with whom we both lost touch. Johanna finally made contact in Japan with a friend of Nan and her husband, Shigeo, and found out that Shigeo died in July 2019 and Nan, in September 2019. May they rest in peace. I’m grateful for Johanna Reichel Schuller’s efforts since 30 grandchildren take a good deal of her time! In early 2019 Paul and Johanna traveled to the Holy Land where they renewed their marriage vows at Cana and baptismal vows by the river Jordan. They visited the south of France in August and in 2020, celebrated their 80 birthdays with family and friends. Anne Sheridan Ruck declared turning 80 was great since her whole extended family gathered to celebrate! Anne’s “best travel year ever”— not 2020 — included visits to Wisconsin, the National Parks in Utah and Arizona for three weeks, New Orleans, Greece and Italy and Salt Lake City, Utah for Thanksgiving. She reported that son, Matt, has recovered from a serious leg infection. Wallette Garcia Pellegrino wrote that they had little to report except that they had gotten the COVID vaccination. She mentioned concern for the state of our country and is praying for resolution and unity. Ellen Goodrich Bondi couldn’t recall her last normal social event. Her daughter Lynn’s 50 2020 birthday was celebrated outside with masks and six feet apart. Zoom offered Ellen and Jim the opportunity to participate in their theater group activities. They missed gym and Ellen confessed to lackluster home routines. She was still recovering from 2019 shoulder surgery. Kathy Bogan Cannady reported a tough recovery from her second shoulder joint replacement in December 2019. Kathy continued bridge games throughout 2020 with proper precautions. She volunteered to be a U.S. Census enumerator and worked August through September. An October visit to Oklahoma and a December trip along the Sarasota Keys soothed quarantine malaise. Wally Shelley Nowicki found life rather dull after her normal busy volunteer schedule. She managed to get to church on Sundays and her weekly library book sort. She said grocery store and doctors appeared to be the rest of her social life. Wally worked the polls in 2019 and as always, loved doing it although the days were long! Wayne and Marcia Chester Richey met Shari Wigle in Fort Worth, Texas, in May 2019 for their first reunion since our 50. In 2020 the Richeys cruised the islands around New England, visited Colorado and attended Wayne’s August Air Force Reunion in San Antonio, Texas. Their 2021 agenda includes the Far East trip cancelled in 2020. A Christmas card from Arlette Orlando Tanin said they were still debating whether to head to Naples, Florida, for the winter where their daughter and family live. It was a very quiet and different holiday season in Massachusetts. They hoped life would get back to normal soon. Carol Sipe Harter had her 80 in February 2020 — celebrated with a big party/dance at her church. Art classes resumed in November but

chorus was virtual. Sadly, Carol lost two sisters in the last two years. Carol and SMW roommate Gloria Hemery Duckworth enjoyed the Woods Viking Cruise up the Rhine River. Ann McCrea Bresnahan wrote that her youngest daughter Sharon lost her husband to ALS in June 2019. Her family of three daughters and three sons had a rough 2020 with many health issues. Ann, who was very active in the music ministry at church and volunteer sites, really missed those activities. Linda Roof Sheehan emailed from Florida where she was vacationing with friends. When home in Ohio, she helped with the crews at her parish sanitizing for daily Mass. She continues to serve as sacristan. And like the rest of us, she continues to pray for an end to the pandemic. Barbara Saj wrote that “doing a whole lot of nothing” wasn’t working so Facebook provided social diversion and being a big reader was a definite plus. More entertaining activities included inventing new cocktails — “not a daily activity” — and finding new eating places. Since she lives in New York City, that was a problem. Barbara Pusateri Gaynor posted that the highlight of a strange 2020 was Christmas with her family. Her grandkids came after all of them tested negative for COVID-19 and had a fun filled reunion. A heart failure report prompted new and improved nutrition and she now enjoys a whole- foods, plant-based diet and its health benefits. The Westhoven lifestyle changed considerably with the elimination of big family dinners — though warm weather allowed outside gatherings. Unfortunately, two grandsons’ college graduation celebrations were cancelled as well as the high school and grade school graduation celebrations of two granddaughters. The quarantine inspired me to get busy and finish a large quilt for a grandson. I have four more to finish but hope to find inspiration elsewhere. As always, I thank you all and am grateful for your continued faithfulness in responding to the prayer requests and to my pleas for news. Please keep praying, keep well and keep in touch.

months, she saw family frequently. She worked on getting her house on the market and hopes 2021 is the year. Shari Wigle sold her condo and moved in the middle of the pandemic. After 70 years of living in California, she moved to Surprise, Arizona, in September of 2020. “Selling, buying a house and moving to a new state during a worldwide pandemic was challenging.” But she’s very happy she did it! Gloria Hemery Duckworth lives an hour from Shari in Chandler, Arizona. Sadly, Gloria lost her husband, Bob, in November 2020 to respiratory complications. Gloria continues treatment for a lung tumor and has been taking oral chemo daily since February 2020. The small tumor is stable. Please keep Gloria and her family in your prayers. Tom and Margaret “Peggy” Pisczcek Kloempken’s son-in-law, Mark Poker, suffered a fatal heart attack in September 2019. His wife (Peggy’s daughter, Mary Catherine Kloempken Poker ’89 ) died in 2009. He is survived by two sons. Peggy’s carpal tunnel surgery and knee replacement, Tom’s emergency stint surgery — all successful — ended 2020. They rehabbed into 2021! Oldest grandson Michael graduated high school and attends Macalester College in Minnesota. Harriet Cox Hrezo’s grandson, Kyle, married Jackie in May 2019. Harriet’s knitting skills have produced three Christening blankets for great grandchildren and she made many of the 2020 Christmas presents. She wrote of fun cooking challenges since Andy, in charge of shopping, came home with untried food choices! They celebrated the holidays with family — very carefully. Elizabeth “Beth” O’Connell had successful gamma knife surgery for a tumor behind her right ear and a skin lesion removed over her left eye. Beth’s 80th was celebrated with family – masked at six feet — as they were at all O’Connell celebrations. Beth’s brother Tom died suddenly and unexpectedly the end of January 2021. Please keep Tom, his wife, Connie, and family in your prayers. A note from Annabelle Farr Mumma in early 2020 reported that she had spent Christmas with her son Kevin and family in Raleigh, North Carolina, and then drove to South Carolina to visit for a few days with her daughter Debbie and her two daughters. Everyone was well. No news from Annabelle since then. Louise O’Neill Keefe emailed that she was diagnosed with several heart problems but had recovered completely after surgery in October 2019. Since COVID, she and Bob have stayed home but look forward to taking their travel trailer out to visit Florida State Parks and introduce their new Maltese puppy to camping trips. Johanna Reichel Schuller contacted Barbara Cratty Albanese’s sister, Stella Cratty Bryant ’64 and found out that Barbara had several health problems and moved to Maine to live with her son Justin and his wife. She died in November 2019 of complications from all the health issues. Barbara and her husband, who died in 2012, will eventually be buried in Rome. After extensive research, Johanna was able to

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Nancy Von der Schmidt Primus 142 John Pott Drive Williamsburg, VA 23188

nmprimus@yahoo.com (518) 796-5892 (c)

Linda Snyder-Lundstrom 602 Black Horse St SE Palm Bay, FL 32909 lindakaylundstrom@yahoo.com (321) 698-2926

Annie Huggins Grissett-Broome lost her dad in 2020, to Alzheimer’s and her best friend, Marlena Ladd Johnson-Hill , whom she truly misses. She is blessed to have the ability to care for her mother and love her four grandchildren “to pieces!” She travels the U.S. for work and hopes to travel outside the U.S. upon retirement. Our sympathies for your losses.

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