Association news & class notes
1960
Jim Thomas and Mil Dickey Thomas ’62 wrote to say all is well in Golden, Colorado. They are happy that their youngest son and his wife recently moved back to Colorado, bringing all of their children back to their home state. Their daughter and her family live just a mile away from Jim and Mil. The couple visited the Big Island of Hawaii for six weeks this past winter. While there, they became good friends with Peter and Susan Denman. Peter is a retired history professor who taught with Lloyd Musselman for over 20 years at Oklahoma City University. Jim says, “It truly is a small world!”
Elma Koons Molloy is still enjoying life at the beach in Ocean City, Maryland. She says age has slowed her down a lot, but she still has lunch with friends, many of whom no longer drive.
Karl Silex continues to play golf and tennis. Karl says, “I plan to pick up pickleball when Joan Zajac Silex ’61 and I have to move to the ‘old people’s home.’” He is in his 50th year in the Baltimore City Rotary Club and continues his involvement with two other boards. Grandson Henry, 16, has participated in soccer goalie training at McDaniel, grandson Ben Fireman ’26 is a sophomore at McDaniel, and grandson Davis, 16, is an excellent skier in Denver, Colorado. Karl keeps in touch with Lloyd Musselman, John Karrer, and Rod Ryon.
Roderick “Rod” Ryon says he and Joan are both well. They are making the adjustment to elder life and taking more than the occasional daytime naps. They finally made their way to Atlanta for the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Montgomery, Alabama, to visit civil rights museums and historic sites, especially the very moving National Memorial for Peace and Justice. Last fall, they traveled to Gloucester, Massachusetts, where they enjoyed the brisk weather and wonderful seafood.
Due to his wife’s health problems and his worsening night vision, Donald Hester has stopped his ambulance volunteering after 55 years. He is still active with the fire department, sings in the choir, serves on the vestry, and Rotary is still important to him. Due to an unfortunate head-on collision with a passenger ferry, Don’s boat was destroyed. No one on the ferry was hurt, and Don received only a few scratches. He has been spending many hours working on a replacement trawler, which needs a great deal of work. He keeps the boat in a new, free lifetime slip by the ferry terminal!
Sharon Board Chilcoat continues to live at Carroll Lutheran Village in Westminster, Maryland. She recently fell and hurt her back, so she is spending a lot of time with physical therapy professionals. She also keeps busy playing bridge and bingo once a week.
Lloyd Musselman writes that he and Nancy are doing well. With functioning solar panels on their roof, they are looking forward to doing their part for a cleaner environment. They are now enjoying watching Korean dramas on TV, having seen over 60 of them. Lloyd keeps in touch with some of the guys by emailing John Karrer, Karl Silex, George Varga ’61, Hon. H.H.D. ’92, Ted Kinter, and Bob Borden. “I have given McDaniel soccer coach Steve Corrieri a framed presentation of photos and one news article of our big victory over Drexel in the 1959 soccer season,” he says. “He has it hanging on his office wall, and I imagine it will always be somewhere on campus, along with the game ball, so generations yet unborn will know the story of that team and that day.”
Bev Schott Myers and Jon Myers ’61 have sold their houses in Vail, Colorado, and Owings Mills, Maryland, and are moving to a continuum of care facility in Towson, Maryland. They are doing fine and are busy walking, working out with a personal trainer, and playing contract bridge.
Esther Upperco Gay says living in Williamsburg, Virginia, remains most enjoyable. Esther has retired from substituting as choir director or organist and doesn’t really miss it. Bob is still called on occasionally to assist as a pastor.
An update on classmates who have died in the past few years: Gene Arbaugh, Gerald “Gerry” Reynolds, Joe Bender, Jill Brown Hurlbrink, Becky Reynolds, Bob Piavis, Ellen Snyder Hale, and Jean Cole, who many of us knew from Bob Cole and Jean’s marriage.
Carol Westerfield Rabush, M.Ed. ’79 and Don Rabush ’62, M.Ed. ’70 have been busy since our last class update. We sold the condo in Palm Springs, California, to a couple we are very friendly with, and they have given us the opportunity to rent it back every year. So, we will travel to Palm Springs next year at Christmas and stay for three months. In the meantime, we bought a condo in Carroll Lutheran Village in Westminster, Maryland. It’s nice, and we’re happy to be here. We keep busy by exercising — Don swims and I do chair yoga — and playing bridge. There are several people from the college living here and others from the Westminster community who we know, which made the move a pleasure.
Carol Westerfield Rabush, M.Ed. ’791960 Class Reportercmrabush@yahoo.com