Life after college
Dave Harper and his wife, Donna, are still enjoying retirement in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, living in their house that was built in 1957 by Dave’s aunt and uncle. He really can’t believe that he’s been mowing the yard there since then. “We’re watching our 16 grandchildren grow (ages 22 to 4) and tolerating their parents,” he says. Donna and Dave are both involved in their church, and for the past year, Dave’s been singing in the choir. Donna says that Dave couldn’t stand sitting in a pew, but he’d never admit that.
Carey Wolfson says things are fine in beautiful Boulder, Colorado. He and Nancy have taken two big trips since the last report, including 12 days in Portugal in 2022. In the spring of 2023, they toured Mexico City and Puebla, an old colonial town. Traveling there has inspired Carey to study Spanish at his advanced age, even if he’ll probably never be fluent. In fact, they are headed back to Oaxaca — his first experience of a part of Mexico that’s not just for tourists. Two years ago, Carey bought an e-bike that does well on gravel, and he’s enjoyed exploring dirt roads and trails all over again. The bike still requires effort, but it gives his aging muscles a bit of a break. Carey also still dabbles in digital photography, mostly using his iPhone to shoot and then manipulate the images. He taught a well-received course on this subject the past two summers at Common Ground on the Hill. Returning to the inspiring atmosphere of Common Ground on the McDaniel campus after a four-year pandemic break was heartwarming, to say the least.
Joe Anthony is retired from the tax accounting business. He says he kept up with the tax law OK, but not the technology. He is feeling great and his golf handicap has even come down: He shot his age four times last year, which is easier as you get older. Joe’s daughter Kate got hitched last year, and John Heritage and Sue Mawby Heritage were at the wedding. He visited “Vegas” Al Feigelson at his Fenwick Island beach getaway and met his wife. Joe is still in God’s country, Easton on the Shore, with his wife, Susan, and son Josh. Son Blake is working in Washington, D.C., and they touch base almost daily.
Sherry Redinger Whitt, M.Ed. ’73 and husband, Leon, are kept busy with church activities, physical therapy, doctor appointments, and workout and other activities at the Nanticoke Senior Center in Seaford, Delaware. She says she is grieving the death of a dear former workout partner and former WMC class of 1953 member Harold McTeer ’53 who recently passed: “We often shared stories of our fun times at WMC.”
Barbara Linton Morris and Bob Morris are going on 25 years in their Capitol Hill townhouse, and they seem to be decided that this is their forever home. Sure, there are some minor inconveniences, but their previous 25 years or so of moving from nest to nest around the Northern Hemisphere taught them how to turn inconveniences into adventures, and besides, they’ve got good medical care there. So, staircases are cardio exercises, high prices make bargain hunting a cherished talent, and city traffic makes bike riding fun. 2022 took them on an 8,000-mile test of the availability of charging stations for their EV, from Atlantic to Pacific shores and from Tucumcari, New Mexico, to Grand Junction, Colorado. (They passed the test, no sweat. Well, a little sweat between Reno and the Great Salt Lake when a target charging station went out of service, but they prevailed.) Bar Harbor, Maine, has also been an annual destination, and they’ve done every possible route between D.C. and Atlanta, where son Josh is raising their two extraordinary grandsons, Coltrane, 13, and Emmett, 11. Abingdon, Virginia, and Asheville, North Carolina, are favorite way-stops.
Harvey Broodno says that he received a quality education during his four years at the college. He also must acknowledge that he really matured into the person he is today during his graduate school years at a university. That is where he became incredibly intelligent, sophisticated, worldly, insightful, benevolent, enlightened, spectacular, and most of all, super humble.
Linda Sullivan Schulte, who was the first person in our class to go to Vietnam, is starting her eighth year of retirement at the beautiful dunes in Delaware. It used to be the beach, but they’ve had a series of windy and stormy nor’easters and now just the dunes are standing strong. Beach replenishment is a new growing career field. To keep out of trouble, she volunteers with the Center for Inland Bays helping with reforestation, turtle, and osprey projects. She’s attempting to polish any old art skills (photography, mostly) through the Rehoboth Art League. And to continue playing golf without falling face-first into bunkers, she had her knee replaced in 2023. Linda says it has not improved her game, but for the first time in 20 years, there’s no pain involved.
Walt Michael shares he is a proud new owner of a McDaniel faculty rocking chair, which they give out as a subtle hint to vamoose. However, Common Ground on the Hill has been named an official Folklife Center by the Maryland State Arts Council, so there’s lots more to be done, including archiving 30 years of concert recordings, producing two concert series and festivals a year, and teaching some classes to the undergrads. Walt is enjoying reading “King: A Life” by Jonathan Eig. There are three references to the scholarship of Ira Zepp ’52, Hon. L.H.D. ’15, and fascinating information about Rosa Parks and Lillian Smith, Esther Smith’s sister. He’s still playing concerts with his Maryland and New York bands at music events and festivals. His cottage on the bay continues to keep him entertained and busy, including deck diving, crab steaming, oyster shucking, fishing, and sailing. The Davis Brothers (Will Davis and Jeff Davis ’70), Ralph Wilson, and Bill Dudley ’69 made their annual visit in September … way too much fun!
Wayne Laessig and Lynette enjoyed lots of 2023 in the mountains in Truckee, California, but decided it’s time to sell their cabin this summer. It’s three stories, and they decided that doing other things was better than maintaining a second house with a lot of snow shoveling. Wayne is still doing some California Fish and Game volunteering; stays active in his Vietnam unit reunions; does some duck, goose, and elk hunting plus rock cod, salmon, and halibut fishing, and has a full freezer now! A friend who used to be his boss took them to Maui for a fun week with her, her sister, and Lynette. They also did a northwest trip to visit an ailing friend and a New Jersey-Pennsylvania-Delaware trip to visit family and friends. In with the joys of life, they had some sad times, losing some friends and family, which reminded them to enjoy those they care about now, while they can! One of the most enjoyable, fulfilling times was when Mike Ward and Jim Resau joined Wayne and Lynette at his AC-119 Gunship Reunion in November held in Washington, D.C. It was great to have them and they seemed to enjoy the stories! One special moment was when Carol Hinton, whose hubby he flew with in Vietnam, presented them both with a Quilt Of Valor (QOV), which is a quality, handmade quilt awarded to a service member or veteran who has been touched by war, to bring comfort and healing. The quilt says unequivocally, “Thank you for your service and sacrifice in serving our nation.” The QOV Foundation’s volunteer quilters have presented over 300,000 quilts. Another special moment was watching Mike engage with the survivors of the only AC-119 we lost in combat. Mike and Jim fit perfectly in their reunion, and Wayne was thrilled to have them there. Although, they did tell some WMC stories that Wayne had not told his AC-119 guys, who had lots of questions later. But it all reminded him of his WMC time where friendships seem to be forever ones!
Sue Faulkner Rea says the stress of administering 40 housing, homeless, and social services programs is over, but sometimes she thinks retirement is so you have time for doctor visits! Sue’s new knees don’t let her do much gardening, so free time is devoted to needlework, reading, and watching the bald eagles who have nested nearby.
In retirement, Jeff Cohee enjoys a lot of trips and activities. He has still never owned a car, computer, or smartphone.
Nick and MaryAnn Julia Kaveski are enjoying retirement in Fort Myers, Florida. She volunteers as a college math tutor (thank you, Dr. Jim Lightner ’59!) and continues to take courses as a “Senior Scholar” at Florida Gulf Coast University, currently Psychology of Adulthood and Aging. MaryAnn is a guardian ad litem with the child foster system and participates in TSA K-9 dog training at Southwest Florida International Airport.
Kathie Watson Helfrich and her husband, Stephen, got home from a lovely trip and then discovered that they both had contracted COVID-19. During their isolation, as they went through all their mail, she found a postcard about class news. After reading the card, she had a flashback of all of us more than 50 years ago as college students, which was followed by a flashback of those of us who were at the 50th Class Reunion. Remembering our class and all the really wonderful people who are in our class led to a wave of fondness: “It was a real jolt of joy! It was surely better than any pharmaceutical on the market!” She feels so fortunate to have gone to college with all of you and to have such fond memories of you.
Rick Matheny says the good news is that the past year has been pretty much uneventful. With two replaced knees, he managed to survive flights to and from Montevideo, Uruguay, and still walk. In January, he was again appointed acting director of public health at the Quinnipiac Valley Health District for three months. “Absolutely the last time!” he says. He continues to putter around the flower gardens in spring and summer, rake leaves in the fall, and hibernate in winter by watching UCONN basketball. All four children and five grandchildren live within an hour’s drive, and get together fairly often. Rick still does some photography, mainly of their flowers. Rick and his wife celebrated their 53rd wedding anniversary on Dec. 26.
Bob Wall retired from the bench 10 years ago. The year 2020 was a disaster with profound personal losses, and now he is in assisted living due to Parkinson’s disease. Bob still cherishes the friends and memories at Western Maryland.
The highlight for Steve Jones this past year was a three-week trip to Antarctica and Patagonia. Antarctica is pristine, clean, quiet, and has amazing scenery with lots of penguins. On their last day, they went whale hunting in the Zodiac just before returning to the ship. Three of these 30- to 50-ton humpback whales approached the Zodiac one after the other and dove under it to feed! The woman driving the Zodiac said she had never experienced that in her 12 years of doing tours in Antarctica. One humpback whale passed within 10 feet right by where Steve was sitting.
Charlotte Hannemann Bennett has been relatively calm. Charlotte and Mike managed to get five nights at Mexico Beach, Florida, after Christmas. At 77, they had to set an alarm on New Year’s Eve to be sure and get a 2024 kiss. They have managed to dance to a few of their favorite local bands, but most of their social life includes gym workouts, book club monthlies, Parkinson’s disease support group meetings, tennis, and jazz and pep band performances by their grandson. They had a couple of wild winter days with snow, wind, and ice and some days with 29-degree wind chill temperatures, but spring flowers sprouted in February.
Barbara Payne Shelton ’70 and I continued our now 53-year marriage with a 50th anniversary cruise on the Rhine River, albeit two years late because of COVID-19. It was a wonderful trip although we returned with COVID as a souvenir. Barbara retired from her long career as a college professor several years ago and has focused on quilting, making numerous friends in the craft, many much younger than our daughter! She and her buddies have made huge numbers of beautiful quilts, many being donated to various charities and organizations. Our house is an enviable showcase of her creativity and talents. Barbara is now in her sixth term as a McDaniel College trustee.
Jim Resau, Mike Ward, John Heritage, and I went to Sarasota, Florida, to see several Orioles spring training games, a first for all of us. The Crab Guys continue our 40-year monthly events with steamed crabs, shrimp, National Bohemian, and chocolate at my house. We sometimes have over a dozen grads for great eats and lots of stories.
I’m in my 52nd year of dental practice, work four days a week, and love my choice! Several other career choices have tempted me (astronaut – never got a call back, porn star – never even offered a screen test), but I seem best suited for dentistry. I have plenty of time for hunting, some fishing, and hiking. My appreciation of natural history began as a Biology major at WMC and has only grown more intense with time.
Gordon Shelton1968 Class Reportergbs500@gmail.com