Association news & class notes
Winifred Wareheim Conner enjoys working sudoku and jigsaw puzzles. She watches home decorating and building TV programs. There’s quite a contrast from what they learned in home economics classes in the 1940s!
Virginia Phillips and Sara Belle Veale Walker send best wishes to all. Sara lives in a retirement facility, and Virginia lives in her own apartment. Neither are physically very active, but they still talk to each other to report on their lives at age 100. They continue to read and keep up with daily and college news.
Alberta Cross Decker turned 100 on July 17, 2023. Eighty people attended her birthday party, including 50 family members from Maryland, California, Texas, Louisiana, Washington, and Japan! Alberta lived in McDaniel Hall from September 1940 until September 1941, when she transferred to the University of Maryland (UMD). One of her fondest memories on the Hill is the kicking post at the bottom of the hill. Everyone walked down the hill after dinner, kicked the post, and walked back up the hill. She graduated from UMD with a degree in Home Economics on March 25, 1944. Along the way, she met an engineering student named Joseph M. Decker and fell in love. They were married on May 5, 1944. He finished his degree after returning from WWII as an Air Force officer. Alberta was working in downtown Washington, D.C., and when leaving a theater the night the war ended she observed the celebratory chaos we see in the movies! Alberta and Joe traveled extensively, worked together, played together, prayed together, and raised four kids who are still best friends. Joe left her July 7, 2017, just short of his 97th birthday. Alberta is still going strong and lives in the family home they bought in 1953. She attends her church, exercises daily, eats good food, and watches UMD football, Phoenix Suns basketball, Arizona Cardinals football, and Arizona Diamondbacks baseball.
Rev. Carroll A. Doggett writes that after seminary, he served 43 years as a United Methodist Pastor. He married Nan Austin Doggett ’47 on May 30, 1945. They were married for 71 years and had three children. Nan died at the age of 95. Rev. Doggett lives at Homewood assisted living in Frederick, Maryland. He is 100 years young.
Don Brohawn, 95, sends greetings to classmates and friends. He still plays the organ at his country church and paints watercolor daily. He has a new heart valve and pacemaker. He enjoys watching the Nanticoke River. Don resides in Tyaskin, Maryland.
Mary Ruth O’Kelly Elseroad sends greetings to all her friends from her home in Parkton, Maryland. She is blessed to be able to enjoy going to water aerobics at least once a week. She enjoyed celebrating her 97th birthday with family and friends in September, including five great-grandchildren — three boys and two girls.
Helen Lavin Bell is very proud of the street named after her. She is still in the art business, still in galleries, playing bridge, and doing lots of yard work. She’s so grateful that she can do it all. Her children are very helpful and solicitous.
Gladys Turner Bodnar recently celebrated her 96th birthday. She resides in an assisted living facility in Bettendorf, Iowa, near her eldest son’s home. She has two married sons, five grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren. She enjoys crossword puzzles, reading, and visiting with family.
Donald Egner remains active at his church, Orems United Methodist Church of Middle River, Maryland, which recently celebrated its 350th anniversary. In addition, he has been active in the Rotary Club of Middle River for over 60 years. He is still blessed with a great family — three children and their mates, five grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren. He is hoping his classmates are blessed as well.
John Haslip sends greetings from Needham, Massachusetts. He’s in his 90s and is looking for a continuing care retirement community in the Boston area, but availability is tight.
Albert Barnes is still residing in Naples, Florida, and looking down on the grass. There’s not much else to report, and he would love to see or hear from old friends from WMC.
Marilyn Goldring Rigterink, shares that her husband of almost 69 years, Walt Rigterink, died suddenly in January 2023. She met him on a blind date at the Naval Academy during spring break in 1953. He would sometimes visit her at WMC and stay with Ed Smith, Barry Winkelman, and Gus LaMar in their “spacious guest suite” on the top floor of Old Main Hall. Lots of good memories. She’s still in Oregon trying to figure out what’s next.
Jeannette “Jan” Spatz James has lived in Arizona for 11 years and she loves it. She has three children, three grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. Her 15-year-old granddaughter lives there and is a cheerleader. So, she spends a lot of time going to her activities. She celebrated her 90th birthday in March 2023. She’s involved in several study groups at church. Jan has a son and a daughter who live in California, so she spends a good bit of time there. She is still driving to stay busy.
John Batista has lived in Ohio for more than 50 years, so he considers himself a “Buckeye.” His wife, Suzanne Dorsey Batista ’55, passed away in 2021. Since then, he’s been living in a senior living community close to his children in Columbus, Ohio. He’s still driving, and he gets a chance to go to Starbucks for coffee a couple of times a week. He texts some of his classmates and occasionally calls them. Each year, they have a family reunion at Bethany Beach, Delaware. While there, he goes to lunch with Betsy Bowen Rogan ’55, Suzanne’s roommate, who lives in Berlin, Maryland. He also stays in touch with Priscilla McCoy LaMar ’56 and Patty Hamersly Church ’55. He still does pen and ink drawings and enjoys Zooming with friends around the country.
Robert Green Jr., and Marilyn “Lyn” Hazelip Green ’59 continue to reside in a retirement community in Williamsburg, Virginia. The past four years have passed quickly, largely attributable to friendly neighbors, efficient staff, myriad activities, no major ailments, and being close to family members in Richmond, Virginia. Notwithstanding their advanced ages and being averse to driving long distances, Robert and Lyn are looking forward to family get-togethers. He’s been assured that at the age of 89, he will not be asked to drive.
Virginia “Ginnie” Tull Phipps and Charlie Phipps ’55 send greetings to all of their WMC classmates and friends. They are alive and well and aging gracefully in Baltimore.
Bev Hill, M.Ed. ’68 shares that she is proud to be part of the Class of 1960. Some of her classmates may find it interesting to learn that she changed careers along the way and pursued a career as a military PA. She had the opportunity to live and work on many Indian reservations, including the Apache and the Sioux reservations, as well as U.S. military posts. It was a life-changing opportunity that she dearly loved and valued. It involved working at the U.S. Naval Academy and at Fort Bragg, home of the 82nd Airborne. Serving U.S. troops was interesting and fulfilling on many levels. She had a wonderful career that she loved and retired as a ranking officer, which she is proud of. Bev fondly recalls the friendships she made at WMC. The friendships were very special and a valued part of her college experience. They are also a part of the history of the school never to be forgotten.
Donald Hinrichs writes that he and his husband continue to live happily and well in Montreal. He has lived in Montreal since 2004 when he retired from teaching at Gettysburg College. Several years ago, they moved from a house on the east end of the city to a downtown apartment where the car can have a home off the street and out of the snow and Donald has access to an elevator. When he goes outside in the city, he uses a mobility scooter. It is only a 20-minute ride to the arts/theatre center, the major city park, two hospitals, the old city area, and the St. Lawrence River. Five minutes gets him to Gay Village and a host of stores. What more could he ask for? His children, their spouses, and grandchildren live in Morristown, New Jersey, and Ogden, Utah. They are all thriving, and they see each other as much as possible.
Rita Anne Jones is doing the same things, only slower, it seems. She went on a road trip to Baltimore this summer and saw her sisters and family, and collected 10 more states in an attempt to Volksmarch in all 50 states a second time. She may not reach her goal, but it keeps her going. She tries to do a Volksmarch or two every week, which gets her out of the house and moving. She still goes to Knit & Chat at church and would be working in the church library, but a pipe broke there last spring and it hasn’t reopened yet.
Doris Miller Nickoles and Ken Nickoles ’60 will be married 59 years in 2024. They have both spent most of their lives in the education field. Doris spent 30 years teaching eighth graders and subbed for 15 years. Ken worked for the Washington, D.C., school system, ending as the director of labor relations. They stay active with their church, the retired federal employees’ group NARFE (Montgomery County), Boumi Temple activities, and Daughters of the American Revolution meetings. Doris enjoys reading, doing genealogy research, watching sports, and playing with the granddaughters. Ken has had five left hip replacements, so his outside activities are very limited now. They have lived there since 1975, and their two children and two granddaughters live nearby. They are involved in the Association of School Business Officials International, which includes people in the education field who are not teachers or principals but business managers, bus drivers, architects, etc. They attended the October meeting at Gaylord Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland. Ken is a past president of the association and of the Maryland group. Representatives from England, South Africa, Chile, and many other countries were among the 800 attendees at the convention.
Sandy Riggin retired in 2010 and has been finding new meaning in her senior years. In 2011, she and her partner, Helen, were married in Raquette Lake, New York, three months after New York declared gay marriage legal. They had lived together in Hayes, Virginia, since 1994. Helen worked at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science as a health educator for the Virginia Department of Health for 15 years, making good use of her past work as a schoolteacher and a nonprofit community organizer for the American Heart Association. Sandy cherishes her sister Bobbie, who lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, with her husband, Tom. Her two dear nephews live in Dundalk, Maryland, and Clarksville, Maryland, with their wives, and have two daughters each. For fun, she is now a “wannabe” landscaper/gardener, after their wonderful days of sailing on the Chesapeake came to an end. For many years, the “Forever Wild” Adirondack State Park had been their summer/fall vacation “go-to” place. They have always rented a house on Raquette Lake. Canoeing, kayaking, sunfish sailing, and fishing have been an enjoyable mainstay. At age 81, Sandy is spending more time than she wishes with eye drops, heart pills, hearing aids, and Tylenol. She is most grateful for an initiative called the Great Society back in 1965, which included Medicare and Medicaid. She still watches “Jeopardy!”, and she is happy to say that her favorite Beatle, Paul McCartney, is a living testimony for her generation.
Diane Simpson Krell writes that life is good next to Solomons Island on the Chesapeake Bay and Patuxent River in Southern Maryland. Her recent wildlife sightings include a pelican and seagulls by the boardwalk on the island and a heron caught in the act of catching and eating a fish. She keeps in touch with Kay Wilson Groninger ’65 and Bob Kruhm. She enjoyed her 63rd high school reunion in 2023 and looks forward to the WMC 60th Reunion this year!
Trudy Jo Hahn Snader was married to Richard Snader, who died at an early age. Trudy has two sons, Philip and Joey, and four grandchildren. She lives in New Windsor, Maryland, and has been in a wheelchair for several years. She previously lived on a farm in her husband’s family home. She resided on West Green Street in Westminster, Maryland, when she attended Western Maryland. She still loves her alma mater.
Joe Wenderoth and Cassie are doing fine in Baldwin, Maryland, and travel when they can.
Carol Wilkinson Coffeen of Parkton, Maryland, writes that her last trip overseas was to Iceland. They were able to get through COVID-19 well with family close by, but 2022 was a bad year: she had two operations and lost her husband of 57 years, Tom. She misses him very much, but fortunately has two daughters’ families within a mile of her who have been extremely helpful and kind. In 2023, she attended four grandchildren’s graduations. Fortunately, the triplets graduated on three different days.
Rhonda J. Myers ’88Honor Class Reporter3925 Sybil RoadRandallstown, MD 21133rhondaj_myers@hotmail.com