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Spring 2022 Class Notessubmitted to the AssociateAlumnae of Douglass Collegeby class secretaries by ourDecember 15, 2021, deadlineare published here. The AADCrelies on class secretaries forthe accuracy of the information.We reserve the right to editClass Notes. Deadlines areDecember 15 and June 30each year.We report the passing of ClassSecretary Angeline MarucaFenton on January 31, 2022, inMillville, NJ, at the age of 98.Angie was awarded a fullscholarship to NJC, majoring inFrench, with minors in Spanishand Italian. She went on toteach and retired in 1976 fromVineland High School whereshe was a Spanish teacher.She was predeceased by herhusband of 50 years, and issurvived by her three children,nine grandchildren and greatgrandchildren, two brothers anda large extended family.’46Mary Digirolamo Casella423 North Woodland StreetEnglewood, NJ 07631Drmary07@aol.com’41Ada Glasser ssalumnae.orgWe will celebrate our 75threunion AADC AlumnaeReunion Weekend on June 1011, 2022. Save the date.We will celebrate our 80threunion AADC AlumnaeReunion Weekend alumnae.org’49Rose Musumeci Cipriano345 Wyoming AvenueMillburn, NJ 07041The AADC shares the death ofAnita Panitch Erman onSeptember 12, 2021. She wasan actuary for PrudentialInsurance Company for 30years and a past president ofthe Union, NJ, Chapter ofHadassah among othervolunteer pursuits. She and herlate husband were instrumentalin establishing Recital Stageand the Foundation for thePerforming Arts, which broughtlive concerts and performingarts to Union County, NJ. Sheis survived by a son, daughterin-law and two ol Witte De Long213 W. Columbia StreetFalls Church, VA 22046cjwdelong@starpower.netClassmates, I would love tostart this column with wonderfulaccounts of trips to far- awayplaces but our traveling daysseem to have been done in byCovid-19, if nothing else. And Ican’t tell you that plans for anin-person 70th anniversaryreunion is well in hand,because they are not. A Zoomreunion may still be possible,but we would need some signof interest from you on thatscore. The AADC has fewerthan 50 e-mail addresses foryou and the word is that mostof you are not opening mailfrom the AADC even if they aresending it to you. Meanwhile,keep washing your hands.Condolences are offered tothe surviving family and friendsof the following classmatesknown to have passed awaysince the last column.Gertrude Zwiebel Klausdied August 20, 2021, at herhome in East Brunswick. Gertwas a math major, editor-inchief of our Quair, and a Beeand one of three classmateselected to Phi Beta Kappa inour junior year. (Can you namethe other two without looking atQuair?) She married Icky(Irving, really) 14 days after ourgraduation and except for abrief stint as a statistician atBell Labs, Gert engaged in lifebringing up three children andvolunteering for many causes,including recording Books forthe Blind. She was an activeand devout member of herconservative temple inHighland Park and became itsfirst female president. Anaccomplished pianist, sheloved to cook, play cards, read,and take care of her familywhich grew to include one son,two daughters, sevengrandchildren, and threegreats. Icky predeceased her in2016.Betsy Wegrocki Kardydied April 28, 2021, in theWashington, D.C, area. Shewas a transfer to NJC for ourjunior year and graduated as ajournalism major. She metWalt, her husband-to-be, at apoli. sci. summer schoolsession and after marriage shetaught school in Pittsburgh, gotan MLS from Rutgers, andsubsequently became a schooland public librarian in Trenton,NJ and Montgomery County,MD, and an author of children’sbooks. Betsy also worked for anumber of trade associations,wrote newsletters, and movedwhen Walt’s job required it, butlived mainly in the Washington,DC area and moved into theCity in 2010. Walt died in 2018;he and Betsy are survived bydaughter Ellen.Joan Loewen Dermatislost a courageous fight against
pancreatic cancer and passedaway July 3, 2021. Less than ayear earlier she had relocatedfrom her fifty-year home inPlattsburgh, New York, toCarlisle, PA to be closer to oneof her two surviving daughtersand four of her fivegrandchildren. Joan and herArmy officer husband marriedshortly after our graduation andspent the next 20 years movingaround the country and someof the world at Uncle Sam’sbehest. He served in both theKorean and Vietnam Wars.After his retirement as aLieutenant Colonel Joan andhe settled in Plattsburgh andbuilt a cabin in theAdirondacks. Walter died in2010. Quair lists Joan’s majoras Radio-Journalism, and shespent a lot of college time atWRSU. While moving aroundwith Walt’s career she hadseveral short-lived jobs in radioand newspaper journalism, coauthored a book which is still inprint, and continued to writearticles for various magazines.Class Historian JaneTomlinson Mathews died athome after a brief illness onJanuary 10, 2021. She was anEnglish major at NJC, knownfor cashmere and tweeds; shemet Duncan while a studentand they married in 1952. Withthe exception of several yearsin Westfield early in hermarriage, Jane lived her wholelife in Cranford, raising foursons (two of whom still live inCranford). Duncan died in 1987and Jane became a salesassociate with a name-brandrealtor; she served for manyyears as an Executive Boardmember of Cranford FamilyCares. Jane is survived by herfour sons and fivegrandchildren, three of themboys, before finally twingranddaughters were born.Claire Caka Holmsen,who met her husband-to-be inhigh school and becameengaged to him our junior year,died September 26, 2021.Quair lists her major asPreMed, but after marrying TedHolmsen and together raisingtheir four children, she wentback to school at the Universityof the Pacific and earned aDoctor of Pharmacy Degree,then worked as a pharmacist,first in Walnut Creek, CA, andlater in Clayton, CA. She wasan avid gardener and raisedmore than 40 varieties oflavender. Her extracurricularactivities also included theLeague of Women Voters anda calligraphy group. Afterretiring as a pharmacist, Clairebecame an active volunteer atthe Clayton Community Library.She is survived by Ted, herhusband of 68 years, and theirfour children.I can be reached byregular USPS mail or by emailif you have news to share.’53June Rosener Wessel539 Mountain Avenue, Apt 801New Providence, NJ 07974jrwrmw@aol.comCondolences to EllinFennessy Barker on the deathof her husband, Charles A.Barker Jr. on May 1, 2021.Charles, who worked in theinsurance industry and was aprolific writer, graduated fromRutgers in 1951 and remainedinvolved with his class, thealumni association, the CagersClub of the women’s basketballteam and was selected as aLoyal Son of Rutgers.Sympathy is extended to thefamilies and other loved onesof classmates whom we knowto have died recently.Charel Young Schaubpassed away on April 26, 2021.Charel had a full scholarship toNJC, graduating with highhonors. She was a bi-lingualexecutive secretary at OrthoPharmaceuticals in Raritan inthe 1950s. Later, she was asubstitute teacher in theHillsborough Township schoolsystem and worked for theHunterdon County Chamber ofCommerce.’54Adriana Ricci tes@douglassalumnae.orgSadly, we share the death oflongtime Class SecretaryHelen Gorby McCahill ofOcean Grove, NJ, who passedaway on January 7, 2022, ofconditions relating to heart anddiabetes. Helen graduated witha degree in mathematics. Shemet her late husband, James,at a church in New Brunswick,they married after graduatingand raised their children in hishometown of Dover, NJ. Theirearly efforts to help theircommunity by providingaffordable housing became alifelong passion for Helen.From creating Dover FISH, anorganization that providedtransportation, to taking aposition later in life at age 81 atTrenton’s Housing andCommunity Development, shewas committed to helping endhomelessness. She became adeaconess in the UnitedMethodist Church in 1997.Helen traveled extensively,taking two around-the-worldtrips. She is survived by herthree children, twogranddaughters, a brother,sister and many nieces ’57Marjory Lockie Bradshaw320 Partridge RunMountainside, NJ 07092mlb320@comcast.netWe will celebrate our 65th atAADC Alumnae ReunionWeekend 2022 on June 10-11.It is also a special time as thecountdown has begun for theAADC’s 100th anniversary inJune. In addition to Reunion,there will be a 100thanniversary Gala on June 11. Ihope to see as many of youthere as possible.On behalf of the class,thank you to Geraldine MarkStapleton for her service asClass President. Unfortunately,health issues prevent her fromcontinuing in this capacity forour class. Going forward, ourballot for Class Officersincludes: Inez PhillipsDurham, as Class President;Rose Silkowitz Feder, FundAgent and Treasurer; and I,Marjory Lockie Bradshaw asClass Secretary. If you wouldlike to serve our class, pleaseget in touch with me. We hopeto see you all soon!‘58Ellen Miller Samuel ’58168 Larchwood AvenueOakhurst, New Jersey 07755boonesam@icloud.comAs we to turn the calendar onanother year, we leave 2021behind and look forward to anew beginning in 2022. I hopeit will be a better year foreveryone and that we will beable to put this pandemic anddivisive atmosphere behind us.Only time will tell.I’ll start off by offering thatconsidering everything, all iswell in the Ellen Miller Samuelhousehold. Travel has beengreatly curtailed, so far limitedto road trip, which are mostlyfamily visits. Five of ourcombined eight grandchildrenhave completed theireducation, one in the School ofNursing at Rutgers, oneapplying to college for nextyear, and a ninth grader. Allthose finished are movingforward positively with theircareers. One will be marriedthis winter and we’ll wait andsee about the others. I alwayssay, it’s so much fun to watchthe kids grow into mature,responsible, productivemembers of society.May I remind you all, ifyour contact information(address, phone number oremail) has changed, please letme or the AADC know.I am blown away with allthe organizations ourPresident, Gail Phillips2
Houlihan is actively involvedwith. Her newsy letter follows:“I’m writing this during theDecember holidays when thecalendar seems to do doubletime and the days fly by. A verydifferent experience shoppingthis year. Everything on-line. Itried a store with my walker butcouldn’t manage it. All myfamily, except one son living inMiami, were at my daughter’shouse in Montclair forThanksgiving. Three brothersand five grandchildren (onefrom Charleston was sick andmissed it); one came fromTexas where he is working.Family is the best part of anyevent! I am happy to say that Iam still very active. I currentlyserve on three Boards whichZoom makes possible:Advocates for Children of NJ(ACNJ) 40 years; now theyhave term limits! Morris Hall/StLawrence Rehab HospitalCommunity Service Boardsince its founding in 1998. LongIsland Civic Association (LICA)in Maine probably 20 years. Mysocial life is doctorappointments! Maybe thissounds familiar. Nothingserious but things which requireattention. Talking about healthissues is not what any of uswant to do! I am excited thatDouglass is doing so well. Andthe AADC is celebrating its100th Anniversary! I believe weneed a strong AADC to be theGuardian of “our” DouglassCollege; the founders of theAADC recognized the need forthe Association to beindependent. Thatindependence has been crucialto the existence of Douglasstoday, even with the “R” in“DRC”. Thank you to those ofyou who are supporting theAADC; your help isappreciated. Wishing goodhealth to everyone and happymemories!”As always, Judith AppelWerner was right on time withher upbeat note. She writes,“Please know how much Iappreciate the continuous workthat our class officers and all ofour dedicated alumni boarddoes. I still am in amazementthat we continue to keep trackof and support both Douglassand each other. I continue toplay the organ in variouschurch and civic venues. It is adying out interest in youngpeople in music today, probablybecause it’s not lucrativeenough. Therefore, if one canplay the organ, you are in highdemand. Sad, but a fact. Myfamily and I have weatheredthe pandemic and this yearsent my second granddaughteroff to Lehigh as a new and veryhappy freshman. My daughterand her State Departmenthusband will be going to Chadin 2022, a wonderfulopportunity for him and animportant assignment. I hopethat my health remains so that Ican plan to visit this unusualcountry. Am still on the tenniscourt four times a week so amcrossing my fingers. I pray thisnote finds each of you in goodhealth and spirits still filled withchallenges.”I was so happy to receivean upbeat note from LillianHillman Swickle. She sent thefollowing: “I am doing well andenjoying living in my over-55community, Canal Walk (inSomerset, NJ). The only thingthat bothers me physically isarthritis in shoulders, but, ohwell!”Tam Martinides Gray isalways so articulate. She sendsus the following, “We have toadmit that in our family, 2generations comprising two ofmy daughters and onegranddaughter, have eithergraduated or are still attendingBryn Mawr College. Itessentially demonstrates thebelief in women's collegestoday when a number areeither going co-ed ordisappearing altogether. I stillbelieve in the advantage ofwomen taking leadership rolesand this was always anopportunity for me to stepforward in school and at TimeMagazine; I retired as a SeniorReporter and am still workingon SeniorWomen.com. I inviteour class to explore my 20-year-old website and let meknow if they'd like to contributeby writing to meat tammgray@gmail.com.Cheers to the Class of 1958!”Ellen Ehrmann Everettpassed on sad news: “My dearhusband Bill passed away onJune 8, 2021. He had severalnon-covid health issuesaggravated by a broken hip. Iwas diagnosed with lymphomain January. I finished anaggressive course of treatmentin June and have been inremission since then. I hopeeveryone is doing well.” Onbehalf of the entire class, Isend our condolences to Ellenon the loss of her husband andwish her all our best as shecontinues her recovery from achallenging illness.Ellie vomEigen Winslowhasn’t skipped a beat. It’sobvious her move to aretirement community a fewyears ago was a good one andher interest in the arts has beenable to thrive as she movesforward with her new life. Shewrites, “In recent months mylife here at Pennswood Villagehas returned closer to the oldnormal. Good administrationand the cooperation ofresidents has kept our Covidproblems to a minimum. We’veresumed a busy schedule of inperson meetings and trips toevents in the area. I once againhave tickets to the PhiladelphiaOrchestra, the Chamber MusicSociety of Philadelphia and TheMet in HD. Our ConcertsCommittee is bringing liveperformances back to thecampus. My friend Sally and Iare realizing how many detailsneed to be worked out to makelive concerts happen. Inaddition, the virtualperformances on our TVchannel continue, veryappreciated by residents.Bringing good music to ourcommunity is a rewardingendeavor for me. Another yearhas brought some new healthchallenges, but I’m able to dealwith them and have access togood care. We certainly havemany new concerns, both as anation and a planet. I lookforward to the newspaper everymorning. Our immediatecommunity escaped theravages of Hurricane Ida, butmy beloved hometown ofMaplewood, NJ, was not sofortunate.”Pat Kurz Ameling writes,“Thanks to the reduced level ofactivity during the pandemic,and long time out of the deepwater exercise program, Ideveloped severe sciaticawhich ended up requiring backsurgery in October atGeorgetown University Hospitalin D.C. My neurosurgeon did aminimally invasive procedurethat solved the problem. So,after six days in the hospitaland two weeks in arehabilitation facility near home,I am at home with the help offamily and health care aides.My adjustment to greatermobility will continue in the coldwinter. I am grateful for thedoctors, nurses, therapists,health care staff and aides whohave helped. And havingfriends who have been throughsimilar surgeries (a retiredphysician and a retired nursepractitioner) has been a sourceof information andencouragement for my lesscomplex procedure, and I amnot in pain! In the process Ihave even lost some weight,and an inch in height. Soundfamiliar to anyone out there?My daughters and their familiesare working extremely hard.Karen, on the dairy farm inMichigan, turned 60 on NewYear's Eve. Lisa, in Virginia andan Honorary Class of "58member, is still with AT&T. Sheand her husband are true"sandwich generation"caregivers as his father is indeclining health. I hope to getto New Brunswick for theAADC 100th, accompanied byLisa again. Meanwhile, I will begrateful for each day as itcomes, and for the family andfriends around me. Blessings toall for good holidays and thehealth to enjoy them”.Lisanne ArmstrongJames wrote a brief but very3
uplifting note. “I am still workingat the library. A lively place. Nothoughts of retiring, am havingtoo much fun. Also thinking ofnew directions in design art formy cards, a never-endingsearch. Loving Maine, a greatchoice, 24 years ago”.Sherry WeissbergSpiezle sent a note that shewould be attending the YuleLog ceremony. Unfortunately, Iwas not able to join her, butshe did attend and sent me alink to view it. FYI: It’s still thesame. The video is onYouTube.It’s been a while since weheard from Marya Roof Dodd.She wrote: “Life up here inColumbia County, NY, is veryquiet these days due mostly toCovid interference. At our agenecessary travel is mostly tothe doctor, physical therapist,etc. We still enjoy this area andits animal life, like deer andbears. However, it is time tomove to simpler facilities andwe are looking around. GreatBarrington is close and sinceour son, Rob, lives with us wewill go in that direction so hecan keep his job at the Big Y.”Mary Alice Bisbee checksin often. She writes, “I am stillliving in my one-bedroomapartment in Montpelier, VT. Iuse a seated walker and canesto walk and am unable to walkany distance due to chronicpain. Holidays are with mybrother's family, as my twochildren are in Florida,unfortunately. Onegranddaughter is now alicensed clinical social worker. Istill enjoy swimming for myphysical therapy. I also stillenjoy singing with the churchchoir, but our church is still notopen due to extensive need forrepairs and upgrades due toasbestos in pipes. Winter,climate change, gun rights,abortion rights, voting rights,racial inequality and theimminent privatization ofMedicare looming, do notprovide a very happy prospectfor the New Year! Hello to all!”I was saddened to receiveword from Susan KoszeghyNaef that her son Mark passedaway a year ago. Condolencesto Susan and Charlie on behalfof the entire class. She sharesthe following:“Alas, at my age there isnot much uplifting that goes onin my and Charlie's life. I amapproaching 86 and he 91years. We lost our older son,Mark a year ago, I got shinglesfrom the first dose of the Covidvaccine and still suffer from it,had abdominal surgery inSeptember, etc., etc. Charlie,having been a professor ofPoliSci, is still following politicaldevelopments around theworld. Hamilton, NY, a quietcollege town, is managing wellwith Covid. They have testingsites on campus and tryinghard to keep us townies safe.Good news for me, they areallowing us back into theswimming pool. Our third greatgrandson was born this year.They live in southern Indiana.They have interesting names:Jackson Lee, Ashton andKonner. I am updated on theirprogress by Facebook. I belongto a Book group and havemany good friends in churchand around town. Though westopped having our weeklyluncheons, we do talk on thephone, at least some humancontact! May 2022 be a betteryear for all of us!”I heard from Ellen DubowAlpert way back in July, after Ihad submitted the fall column.She wanted to pass on that sheand sophomore roommateSandy Orenberg Gold hadreconnected after many years.She continued: “It was pure joy!We took off where we had leftoff, a deep friendship. Sandyleft Douglass after hersophomore year, got herdoctorate and married Dr.Howard Silver, then remarriedDr. Arnold Gold andunfortunately, after many happyyears, is now a widow. I oftenchuckle that she changed from‘Silver’ to ‘Gold’.”It’s always wonderful tohear from Lynn SchwartzCooper. “There’s not much toreport from the Cooperhousehold, but maybe no newsis good news!! We’re still hereand in good health and in ourhome of 55 years, so I guesswe’re winning! A major changein our lives is that our daughteris relocating back to the U.S.after 10 years of living inBrussels. We are beyondoverjoyed. I hope myclassmates are happy andhealthy and that we can enjoyanother reunion in 2023. Iwould participate in anothervirtual reunion in the meantime.Best to all!”I loved hearing fromRosebud Lefebvre Caradec.She’s anxious to hear from herclassmates and her upbeatletter follows: “After more than30 years in the commercial realestate investment industry I didnot renew my license this yeartheoretically I fired myself. Nowwith full days at home I fillsome of that time with stayingin touch with my three sons andtheir families and doing a lot ofvolunteer work. That timeincludes committee work at mylocal yacht club, sailing andcruising around the world whenpossible, Planning and ZoningCommission in my city ofSeabrook, a small but growingcity on Galveston Bay,southeast of Houston,TX, andstaying in good health using mynutrition degree and physicalactivity. Yes, I have beenblessed with good health andmental capacity. Lookingforward to hearing from ourother classmates. I share mycontact information here:PO Box 704, Seabrook TX77586 or phone at 281-8318241.Nancy (Nikki) Dietel hashad a challenging year healthwise but seems to be muchbetter now. She writes aboutmuch time in the hospital, manytests and procedures and thenin rehab. She goes on to say: “Iam now happily back in myown home. I do have PT twicea week and an aide who shops,cleans and washes clothes forme. But I am doing well! Thebest news is about thegrandkids. Matthew, thegeologist, worked all summer ina remote part of Alaska. He willwork for a mining company allwinter and go back to Alaska inthe spring. He has to commuteby helicopter there and wasinvolved in rescuing a lost hikerlast summer. Thomasgraduated from college and gota job in Robotics at an AirForce base in Georgia. Heworks on the controls of theplanes. That’s as much as Iunderstand! Eric is a writer forWarner Brothers and spentmuch of last winter overseeingfilming in Georgia. He recentlygot engaged at the GrandCanyon! So proud of all ofthem, but with Covid and thefact that my sons andgrandchildren all live in differentstates, I don’t get to see them.The internet helps me keep upwith their busy lives. No greatgrandchildren yet, though.Happy New Year to all!”Condolences: We recentlylearned of the passing of JudyHandshuh Fine on September15, 2021. Judy waspredeceased by her husbandBob, whom she married beforeher graduation from Douglass.On behalf of the entire class,we send sympathy to their twosurviving daughters, Shari andAmy and the remainder of theFine family.‘59Flora Buchbinder Cowen99 George AvenueEdison NJ 08820fbcowen1@aol.comOne of the December traditionsthat I have enjoyed whilewriting this column is theannual holiday letter that Ireceive from Rose AnnBorichewski Howarth; thisyear’s letter was written byRose Ann, and by her children.They wrote: “2021 beganon a hopeful note with COVIDvaccinations for Rose Ann andher friends at Meadow Lakes(in Hightstown, NJ). Soon thewhole family was vaccinated,and we were able to havesome visits in small groups.4
In April, Rose Ann wasthrilled to welcome her firstgreat-grandchild, Lara SophiaSeckin Livornese into theworld. Great-grandma enjoyedreading a book to Lara whenshe came to visit, and hopes toread many more from hercollection. The big newscontinued in August asgranddaughter Katie wasengaged to Jason Lefever.Rose Ann couldn’t be happierfor her darling granddaughterand is really looking forward tothe wedding!The Howarth family wishesa happy, healthy, safe andprosperous New Year to all ourfriends and relatives. Love,Rose Ann” (See photo.)We also heard from AliceFirgau, who shared news ofher recent travels. Alicereported: “Even though thepandemic is still threateninglyreal, I decided to fly toNorthridge, California, to spendThanksgiving with my 95-yearold sister, my niece Maggie,and my nephew Joe’s family.The weather throughout myweek’s stay was delightful—ablue, blue cloudless sky and80 temp. Only onThanksgiving Day did the windkick up, so much so that mysister insisted we not drive upto Santa Barbara forThanksgiving dinner at herson’s home. We stayed home,ate chicken, and funche, aVenezuelan cornmeal dish withadded ingredients much likepolenta.The next day Joe broughtus turkey and all the fixin’s for asumptuous dinner. I reallyenjoyed visiting with my sisterand doing crossword puzzlesdaily. Some of my sister’smemory is a bit shaky, but notat all with solving puzzles. Sheis still a crackerjack expert atit.”Condolences: Sad toreport, Dorothy Jane (Deejay)Cullen Schwartz died onTuesday, June 8, 2021 at herhome in Metuchen, where shehad lived for 52 years. She was84 years old. After graduatingfrom Douglass, Deejay laterearned three teachingcertificates at Kean College.Before her retirement, Deejaytaught kindergarten atCampbell School and MossSchool in Metuchen. Shedeveloped and taughtMetuchen's first all-daykindergarten program. Inaddition to teaching, she wasactive in community volunteerwork both in New Jersey and inFlorida, where she spentwinters. She was a deeplycommitted activist for peace.She was also a three-timepublished author.Deejay is survived by herhusband of 60 years, HerbSchwartz; her daughters, EllenSchwartz and CarolynSchwartz Keane; hergranddaughters, SusannahKeane and Eliana Perosi; hersister, Madelyn Galvin; and byKathy Haines Cirz, GeorgeDorman, and Jill DormanPerosi. A private burial washeld at Beth David Cemetery inKenilworth.Condolences to the familyof Deanna Dolgins Schey,who died on July 18, 2021.When I learned of Deanna’spassing, I contacted ourclassmate Linda PullmanFish; Linda and Deanna werebest friends. Linda sharedmany loving details aboutDeanna: She wrote: “Deannalost her first husband. MikeGuterman, at age 40 fromcongenital heart disease.Deanna and Mike had twosons, Jimmy, who predeceasedher several years ago, andJohn. There are fivegrandchildren and twostepsons. A few years later,she married Ed Schey, andthey were happy together formore than 25 years until hedied two years ago.Deanna’s working life wasat the Bayonne Public Schools;first teaching high schoolEnglish, and then as a socialworker. Thank God her lastillness was brief. She sufferedfrom the usual infirmities of oldage, with which most of us areall too familiar with. Deannaand I spent a week together inJune at my beach house, whichhad become an annual eventand we had, as always, awonderful time together. Twoweeks later, she fell in herkitchen, fractured multiple ribs,and suffered complicationsfrom which she could notsurvive. As you know, she wasmy best friend from the first daywe met at Gibbons 28 inSeptember 1955. I wish I wereas articulate as I used to be, soI could express the richness ofour friendship and howimportant we were to eachother. Our years at Douglasswere some of the happiest ofmy life.As to me, I am hanging inthere, been living in New Yorksince I retired from my lawpractice. My husband Ira diedsix years ago, but I am blessedwith my three children (now intheir 60s!), four grandchildren,and three great grandchildren. Iam still a culture junkie andtaking a course or two everysemester just for fun! A friendof mine once said the hardestthing she had to do in life wasgrow very old gracefully. Amen.Sending love and wishing all ahappy holiday!”Thank you, Linda, forremembering Deanna withsuch warmth and usan Gordan MarchandClass Presidentsagmarchand@gmail.comI am writing our columnbecause we recently learnedthat Class Secretary RuthRasmussen Walker (Ruthie)passed away last year onFebruary 2, 2021. NancyPunchatz Hines sent a holidaycard to Ruth, which prompted acall from her son, who sharedthe sad news of Ruthie’spassing. We send our classcondolences to her family andto the loved ones of MettaCarberry Inskeep, who passedaway on June 22, 2021, andMary Kirincich Rencic, whodied on May 3, 2021.If you are interested inserving as Class Secretary,please email or call me at (732)819-9709.Marlene Varga Carlsonlives locally in Somerset, NJ,and she is very lucky to havemost of her family nearby. Shesees them quite a bit and had anice trip to Lake Placid with herdaughter in the fall. She hasfour grandchildren in college;one working on a master’sdegree at Vanderbilt, another atLehigh and two grandsons atRutgers, where her daughter isAssistant Director of Fitnessand Wellness.Penny Harter, our classpoet and writer, has beenproductive during thepandemic. She has a beautiful,new websitepennyharterpoet.com, whereyou can read about her latestpublications. It also has a bloglink where you can scrollthrough work she wrote andposted almost daily during thepandemic. She wrote to offercalm, hope, and peace duringthe months of fear, depression,and media chaos. Penny’slatest books of poems are “StillWater Days 2021,” and a “APrayer the Body Makes 2020.”We share one of her poemsthat is on her website:Shelling Peasby Penny Harterfor my motherWe’re shelling peas, gentlyrocking on the swingthat hangs on chains from theroof of the porchat my grandparents’ house.5
I’m four years old, wedgedbetween Mother a
Vineland High School where she was a Spanish teacher. She was predeceased by her husband of 50 years, and is survived by her three children, nine grandchildren and great-grandchildren, two brothers and a large extended family. '46 . Mary Digirolamo Casella . 423 North Woodland Street . Englewood, NJ 07631 . Drmary07@aol.com '47 . AADC .
