Association news & class notes
1971
In fall 2021, we searched high and low for the sweatshirts and other green and gold accoutrements before making our way to Westminster for a combined Reunion with the Class of 1970. We lunched with the new president and applauded those receiving awards, dashed between the raindrops that came out of nowhere, and made merry into the night. Wearing medallions highlighting 50 years of lasting connections to Western Maryland/McDaniel College, we toasted those who couldn’t make it to the Reunion and with full hearts remembered those who are no longer among us.
The Reunion happened just after the feline assistants had seen our last column published in The Hill and were ready for a well-deserved catnap. They were a bit startled, then, when after what seemed like no time at all, it was time to get another edition of the “Adventures and Antics of the Class of 1971” ready for press.
After several meetings regarding workload, compensation, and benefits with said felines, we agreed to bring on additional staff — four new feline assistants to the feline assistants — and to set up a staff account at Chewy. Our staff of six was ready!
And so, it seems, were all of you. News started coming in quickly and the workroom was buzzing.
Gloria Phillips-Wren was the first to reply, seemingly somewhat motivated by (greatly appreciated) concern for me over now having six cats. Gloria has been moving faster than a speeding comet. Still holding down several positions at the Sellinger School of Business at Loyola University in Baltimore, she says this past year was so much better for her, getting back to travel including Ireland, Hungary, and Italy in summer 2022. “All expenses paid, one a special keynote invitation — so meeting with old friends and making new ones in real life. Plus, the ocean and southern fam. What could be better?” Gloria also saw old Sigma friends, thanks to Donna March Zeller and Candy Cooper Fairbanks and the Trippple (you all know who you are). Gloria’s feeling blessed at this “sweet spot in the universe.”
At home in the Northwest, Chris Spencer is still puttering away on Whidbey Island, Washington, writing (book number five is due out shortly), volunteering, doing yard maintenance, sculpting, and wandering the wind-swept moors in search of goblins. He made the journey back east in early 2023 and met up with Pam “Zap” Zappardino and Charlie; Barb Payne Shelton ’70; Barb Shipley Guthrie, M.Ed. ’76; Susan Phoebus Panek ’72; Charlie Moore and Carol Hoerichs Moore ’70; Richard Anderson; Linda Berry Van Hart ’68; and Wasyl Palijczuk. More travel took Chris to Scotland in 2022 with a side trip to see the French chateaux in the Loire Valley again. He also spent a week last summer on the schooner Ladona out of Rockland, Maine, and then he went to his perennial cabin on Lake Winnipesaukee. He explored Victoria, British Columbia, and hiked parts of Mount Rainier National Park and the canyons in Tucson, Arizona.
Susan Seney says things are pretty much the same in Seattle where she and Dorothy have spent 21 of their 32 years together. They have a son and two grandchildren nearby, so they are able to be together often. Their other son and his wife love Arizona. Susan continues active gardening and participation in their Senior Village (a national “stay in your home and enjoy community activities” group movement) NEST. She meets with folks for Spanish, science, poetry, folk song, and more. She and Dorothy finally returned to Maryland for a visit in 2022 and had mini reunions with various WMC friends in person: Julie Kline ’72 and Susan Baker ’72, online with Susan Schmidt, and over lunch with Will Werley ’70, Dave Buller ’69, and Steve Davis ’69. With their pet population down to Tinker, the dog, Susan and Dorothy get to sleep past 4 a.m. these days, though they miss the chaos of many pets just a bit. But, Susan says, “life changes and brings new challenges and opportunities as the ancient women tell us, and how we react is what matters.”
After 22 years, Marshall Adams and Leslie Hohn Adams ’73 have made a tough decision to pass their New Mexico ranch onto another family. They need medical services that are not readily available in a timely manner in very rural New Mexico, so they now live in Misquamicut, Rhode Island, year-round. Marshall says it’s a really cool place, but quite a different landscape from New Mexico. They’ll miss everything about the Land of Enchantment — the wonderful weather, daily life on the ranch, the unlimited and varied wildlife, New Mexico friends, the rich Navajo and Apache cultures, the open spaces (no neighbors for eight miles), the village of Magdalena, New Mexico craft beers and wines, genuine New Mexico food, and trips to Cloudcroft, Ruidoso, Mesilla, Pietown, Old Town Albuquerque, Taos, and the hot springs at T or C. Luckily, Leslie cooks so many of the southwest meals, but it will be tough to find those Hatch chiles that Hatch, New Mexico, is famous for and make just about every dish served in New Mexico very special. Like many of their WMC friends, they are celebrating their 50th anniversary this summer, and wonder, “Can we possibly be that mature?”
Phil Enstice reported, “Well, the good news is not much is changing for Gail Chance Enstice ’73 and me other than painting and recarpeting the house that we bought four years ago.” Phil participates in a weekly Zoom call with Phil Riggin ’69, Jeff Carter ’70, Neil Messick, and Gene Grosh, where they rehash local sporting events and other trivial matters.
Viveca Mummert Michaels reported that she has had three years of staycations, as they were able to get one of the last completed Catalina Pools three years ago. It took them nearly a full year to get it completed, but the pool provides a lot of pleasure in the summers and makes retired life more enjoyable. After 42 years of teaching, Viv said, “I don’t really miss that routine anymore.”
Brenda Murray, M.Ed. ’77 is still living in the 55-plus community she moved into two years ago, where she has wonderful neighbors and many new friends. Her home is on one floor with no steps, which was a blessing when she needed back surgery last year.
Charlie Moore and Carol Hoerichs Moore ’70 continue to feel blessed that all is well with all the family. In 2022, the Moores went to the Holy Land, Zimbabwe (twice), and Italy. The last was over Thanksgiving when they visited their oldest granddaughter, Annabelle, who was studying in Sorrento for the fall semester of her senior year at Elon University. Another highlight of 2022 was the 50th reunion of the Phi Delta Theta Charter in April. Chas says brother and classmate Don Schenk did an incredible job of organizing a great weekend with over 200 brothers attending.
Keith Muller and his husband, Stephen, have been busy traveling all over the place, most recently returning from a tour of South Africa and Victoria Falls. Closer to home, they are exploring relocating to a life plan community in 2024. But they don’t have plans to stay put by any means. So far, both are healthy and enjoying life in retirement. “We realize how fortunate we are and are most grateful,” says Keith.
Donna and Harold Baker really like being “really” retired. They finally traveled to Israel in October and have had time to visit family and friends in Atlanta and Orlando. Unfortunately, Harold mused, “funerals have become frequent gathering venues (remember when it was weddings?).” Even though the 50th anniversary celebration of Phi Delta Theta Maryland Beta Chapter’s founding was delayed one year due to COVID-19 concerns, Harold said the golden reunion occurred in April 2022 and was a great success thanks largely to the efforts of classmates Don Schenk and Charlie Moore. Enough present members and alumni turned out to fill Little Baker Chapel at the memorial and new member induction ceremony. They were pleased to have President Julia Jasken speak at the reunion dinner in Gill.
Betty Tokar Nitchie, M.Ed. ’77 is in New Hampshire (over 40 years now) with kids and grandkids close by in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. In post-retirement, Betty spends a lot of time as a volunteer. She works with the AARP Foundation Tax-Aide program, where they prepare income taxes for free for pretty much anyone who needs it. She is very involved with the National Alliance for Mental Illness. Betty also volunteers as an usher at a local theatre and gets to see some great touring and local shows. Traveling when she can (generally one trip a year), Betty spent several weeks in Costa Rica last year. She’s been to many of her bucket list destinations outside the U.S., but still has a couple more to go.
In thinking over the past two years, Dave Clark wrote, “I noticed that we pour our life and love into family milestones and celebrations.” They recently enjoyed a week at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, in a huge, rented house right on the beach with Colleen’s side of the family (five of her siblings, three spouses, two adult children, and two teenage grandchildren) for a total of 12 energetic, ocean-loving people! Dave and Colleen visited grandson, Joseph Mastrangelo, at Fort Lee, Virginia. He’s now Airborne, loves jumping out of planes, and is serving in Anchorage, Alaska! Dave continues to serve as an Episcopal Supply Priest on an as-needed basis. He and Colleen are also now on the board of directors for the United Democrats of Washington County, Maryland, which is a political activist organization. In the midst of all this, somewhere, somehow, Colleen managed to get a knee replaced. Imagine what she can do with that new knee!
The feline assistants absolutely adore Don Schenk. He addresses all his comments to them, commiserating that I “remorselessly hand out tasks” to them. They never tell him about the treats! Don and Janet are thriving in Michigan. If 2021 was the year to stay put, 2022 was the year to go. And go they did: to Missouri (Don), Vermont (Janet), WMC (Don), Florida (both), Oregon (both), Arizona (Don), and Maryland and North Carolina (both). The Schenks haven’t caught up with Hugh Carew and Sue Ball Carew or Keith Muller and Stephen, but aspirations are high. Son Josh and Elizabeth moved back to Chicago, so that’s in the plan, as is a trip to D.C. to visit Zach. The newest member of the family is another rescue dog (“grrr, take that Artemis and Arrow!”), who at 13 pounds turns from cuddly Chewie to chomping Cujo when any dog appears within sight of his one eye. Don continues his work with McDaniel students in his role as chapter advisor to Phi Delta Theta. He’s here a lot. I was sitting in front of the library with my iced mocha after teaching one morning, and who should come walking by? None other than DJ on his way to meet with Phi Delts. Don and several WMC alums gathered recently to honor classmates fallen too soon. The “Friends of George Shellem, M.Ed. ’75, [of blessed memory]” met in Havre de Grace recently. Joining Don were Ron Clawson ’69; John Offerman ’70, M.Ed.’75; Frank Sullivan ’70; Mike Rudman ’70; Charlie Moore; Harold Baker; Chuck Spicknall ’72; Dave Petrucci ’73; Milford Sprecher ’73; Ron Freeman ’72; Bucky Paper ’72; Matt Zimmerman ’73; Don Mohler ’72, M.L.A. ’77; Larry Van Horn ’76; and Randy Witter ’76. During dinner, they shamed some others by phone for not being present.
Leon Cronce had two weeks of “house arrest” due to Type A flu. Since he had the annual flu shot, it could have been much worse. But it sure didn’t keep him from all the fun the rest of the time. The annual Kettle Creek fishing/camaraderie trip was had, he reports. Terry Conover ’70, M.Ed. ’74 hosted attendees Tom Mavity, M.Ed. ’76; Artie Blake; and Leon, who look forward to this event each May/June. In addition to all the fishing, in 2022, Betty and Leon were on a 10-day tour of Ireland with three bonus days stay with their Danish daughter’s sister, who resides in Dublin. It was a great tour of the whole country, he says, with a private driver/guide in a vehicle just for them and one other couple. Having downsized, Leon and Betty are greatly enjoying condo life. It makes heading to their lake house so much easier. And last year, they hosted their aforementioned Danish daughter with her 21-year-old son and his girlfriend. Not sure how they fit it in, but the Cronces spent the weekend at WMC for the Sam Case ’63, M.Ed. ’66 Wrestling Duals, visiting with Susan Snodgrass Case ’65, M.Ed. ’84 and several alumni grapplers.
“Rick and I have been putting lots of miles on our motorhome,” wrote Eileen Sechrist Ott, M.Ed. ’87. Though they thoroughly enjoy their home in Green Cove Springs, Florida, they find the summers to be a wee bit hotter and more humid than they’d like. So, they take to the road. No longer campers, they choose instead to “RV.” Their little RV still has a small kitchen and bathroom, so they’re definitely not roughing it. In summer 2022, they headed north to join up with an RV caravan for a 49-day adventure. Meeting in Bar Harbor, Maine, the RVs crossed into Canada, traversing New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and Prince Edward Island before disbanding. “We met a lot of nice folks along the way and were treated to some interesting local customs. Upon arriving in Newfoundland, we were promptly ‘screeched in,’ a ceremony involving kissing a fish, repeating some Newfoundland dialect, doing a little dance, and tossing back a jigger of screech (rum). It was a memorable experience.” On the way to Bar Harbor, the Otts swung over to visit Carol Sims Nupp and her husband, Jim, in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. “It was fun just relaxing and enjoying memories of our days together at WMC.”
Speaking of Carol Sims Nupp, she is in a whirlwind of activity. Since our 50th Reunion on the Hill, Carol and Jim visited with their kids both in New Hampshire and in Colorado. Then the Nupps celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on June 10 in East Boothbay Harbor, Maine, continuing with their boys and families for a week in a beautiful waterfront Airbnb in Harpswell, Maine. In August, Jim was finally able to take his solo/self-guided trip to Norway and Finland after two previous plans were thwarted by COVID-19. Carol reports that she spent her summer “down at the lake, relaxing, reading, swimming, chatting with friends, and making new friends. Walking on our local rail trail and around our beautiful town was another of my preferred activities.” September brought Carol and Jim to a lovely farm venue near Winchester, for a family wedding and reunion. Carol was thrilled to be singing again in fall 2022 with Clearlakes Chorale. That fall, Jim and Carol attended his U.S. Naval Academy 50th reunion. “It was such a joy to spend a few days with Jim’s classmates and their wives in celebration of time spent together when we were all so very young!” she wrote.
“I am so thrilled about our Golden Reunion!” exclaimed Robert “Bob” Gagnon, one of my most faithful correspondents. “It was so well planned and executed. The entire alumni staff at McDaniel were on top of their game the entire weekend. Kudos to everybody who made this event one that we will never forget. We were treated like kings and queens!” Bob enjoys working with the Alumni Council, the WMC Heritage Society, and McDaniel Alumni Engagement on events for accepted, incoming, and new students. This is important work and is so beautifully coordinated by McDaniel staff, he notes. Bob sends special appreciation to Heidi Snyder Reigel ’97, who is “so enthusiastic and dedicated to WMC and McDaniel alumni, the Alumni Council, and the WMC Heritage Society.” The Heritage Society project painting the water tower next to Gill Center with the McDaniel logo was really exciting, and the society is now working toward lighting it so it can be seen and appreciated for miles at night. Bob is retired, but still accepts some engineering projects that sound interesting or challenging. He misses teaching at the University of Maryland engineering school terribly. “Martha is retired as well, but we assist Rebecca Gagnon Mason ’88 in her business ventures as much as possible.” The Gagnons live with Rebecca and the grandkids in a very large new house that they designed and built in 2019. “What a gift it has been to be a part of their lives as the kids go to college, graduate, and begin their lives as professionals!” Bob says, smiling from ear to ear, I’m sure.
Darlene Richardson Robison and Steve Robison ’72 love retirement. Darlene says, “We can say ‘yes’ if we choose to, not because we should. How freeing!” The Robisons are blessed to have lived in the same house for 36 years in the same area for 43 years. Amazing, considering that United Methodist ministers and their families are “itinerate,” she added. Another 50th wedding anniversary here. They have been spending time with their kids and grandkids observing, as we all do, “They really grow up fast.” Steve enjoys his woodshop and preaches quite a bit as “guest minister.” Both bring him joy and satisfaction. Darlene is enjoying their home and being able to be in it a lot. She calls the attic “the treasure chest,” as she goes through stuff and does find treasures with great memories. Some things are from their parents’ homes. “Now that I have time to go through them, I have discovered my parents saved their long-distance phone calls only for my brother and me and our families. The bills also track the places we have lived. We did itinerate more in the beginning of our lives together. Why they saved the phone bills is a mystery that will go unsolved,” she says. They are going to visit NYC for a weekend just because it will be fun. Darlene says, “I enjoy reading about our classmates. I do miss hearing from those who do not report in.”
Barbara Shipley Guthrie, M.Ed. ’76 and Steve are still living in Bethany Beach, Delaware, and love being near the ocean. They are both retired, but busy being involved in many organizations and programs in the community. “I am very lucky to still be running and occasionally run in races,” she says. She still goes to Zumba classes several days a week. She had great fun being a chaperone for her daughter Jessica’s French class trip to Quebec with about 48 students who were so excited to be there. She and Steve also boarded the Queen Mary in London and traveled across the Atlantic to arrive in New York City. And each spring, Barb and Steve have been traveling to San Diego. Barb also mentions our “great lunch at the Baltimore Museum of Art with some great alumni from WMC, Sue Phoebus Panek ’72, Chris Spencer, Barbara Payne Shelton ’70, and Pam Zappardino and Charlie.” (Steve was there too!) “We talked about our experiences at the college: early, early curfews; compulsory chapel; girls not being able to wear pants unless the dean proclaimed it a snow day; and meals in the dining hall!”
Still in Massachusetts, Mike Weinblatt continues to practice rheumatology at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and teaches at Harvard Medical School. COVID-19, he says, has impacted every aspect of his professional life. Fortunately, he’s been able to reduce his in-office time and in the summer only sees patients one day a week. This allows him to spend most of the week on Martha’s Vineyard, where Barbara and he race Herrshoff 12.5 sailboats. “We have three rules on the boat,” Mike says. “Don’t hit another boat, try not to be last, and have fun.” They travel down to New York to see their daughters and grandchildren. After a sabbatical due to COVID-19, Mike’s annual bike rides have resumed. Last year, he started the Lewis and Clark trail along the Pacific Ocean going across Oregon to Washington state. This year, the crew starts at the Idaho border and hopes to cycle into Central Montana.
Gary Scholl, M.L.A. ’78 and Kathy had their seventh grandchild, Cal, last year. Kathy still volunteers for the Harford County Historical Society, as the chair of the textile department. Gary, meanwhile, is finishing up his 49th year of employment at John Carroll School. He’s hoping to make it through his 50th year and take it year by year after that. In his spare time, he makes moccasins. As you may remember, Gary spent a lot of time working with Indigenous people right around the time we left the Hill and has continued that relationship into the present.
Eric and Sue Shermer Seevers spent the past two years close to home. It has been a difficult time dealing with losses of friends and family as well as political unrest in Washington, D.C. Sue attends and helps lead a women’s Bible study at her church. She also has a passion for scrapbooking, which she shares with her mom. Both of these activities stayed vibrant due to Zoom and slowly returned to in person over the past two years. In spring 2021, they made weekly visits to Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. And in September 2022, Sue, Eric, and Sue’s mom, Betty, enjoyed an evening at the Lancaster Hot Air Balloon Fest watching balloon after balloon inflate and rise in the air to sail away on the breeze. Sue attended our 50th Class Reunion at McDaniel, exploring corners of the library during the rainstorm Saturday to watch the football game in comfort. She reconnected with several classmates, talked to others who returned for their Reunions, and thanks one really helpful staff member who got Sue safely back to her car across a dark campus after dinner. Sue was amazed at all the changes since she had last visited the school.
From April until October last year, Candy Cooper Fairbanks spent half her time in Barton, Maryland, trying to get the old family home (where both she and her mother grew up) ready to put on the market. In the family for 100 years, it was filled with lots of memories and old stuff. She is still working on giving things to family members and hoping the house will sell soon. Candy lived in the Trippple in Blanche Ward with Donna March Zeller and Mary Lou O’Neill Hoopes at WMC. And the three of them get together with other WMC friends every summer, as Gloria Phillips-Wren mentioned in her note. “Candy often arrives a day or so early to help get things ready. The group started out as a Sigma reunion and has grown a bit since then. I had been writing about it for so long, Donna decided I needed to experience the gathering for myself and so I did. What a fun time! And now I’m on the annual guest list.” Ya never know what new excitement awaits, but back to Candy. She spent several days last spring with Donna and Kent at Massanutten Resort near Harrisonburg, Virginia, which was a convenient stop on the way to West Virginia. Meanwhile, she is still working part time at the Walmart Pharmacy, going on year 35 even as we speak.
Rounding out the Trippple, Mary Lou O’Neil Hoopes checked in, writing that she and Jim celebrated their 50th anniversary last September by visiting nine national parks and other beautiful scenery in Arizona and Utah traveling by car. It was great weather the whole time for hiking and exploring. She missed the annual Trippple reunion at Donna’s house with Candy, Gloria, and several other third-floor Blanche Ward sorority sisters while out west seeing all those sights. But she and Donna got together with Gloria and their husbands after Christmas for a very enjoyable dinner at her home. Mary Lou is still preparing tax returns at her family’s business. “It hopefully keeps my brain cells firing,” she said. Still enjoying the worship ministry and serving at church, Mary Lou says “life is filled with unexpected blessings from the Lord if we just keep our eyes and hearts open for them. Blessings to all!”
We had lots of time to talk at Homecoming thanks to Johnson Bowie, M.Ed. ’74; Chuck Sullivan ’72; and members of the Class of 1972. Johnson and Chuck brought a whole caboose load of Gamma Betes from the years 1968-1976 back to campus for a party in the sky box at the football game. And there were plenty of non-Betes there, too! Not a whole lot of football watching happened. Folks were too busy talking, laughing, reminiscing, and hugging. Even a few tears were shed as old friends got back together. The guest of honor, Sports Hall of Fame inductee Gary McWilliams was unfortunately grounded in Florida because of Hurricane Ian, but he would have enjoyed the party. We did! And we toasted Gary’s induction into the hall. Then, as if one party at Homecoming wasn’t enough, the Class of 1972 decided to have an after-party at the Greene Turtle in Westminster, Maryland, for their class … and they invited the Classes of 1971 and 1973 to join in. What a great time. Johnson has wanted to get a multi-year party going for a while, and this year we had two of them.
Addressing each kitty by name, Coe Sherrard wrote that he knew they “were all pesky, but that’s probably what your servant (Dr. Pam) wants. As we age, we do less, so there is less to report ... unless we default to senior ailments, recent trips, and grandchildren. You get enough of that already, though.” Coe and Jeannie Castle Sherrard are doing fine in beautiful Shenandoah County and now see Joan and Dave Harrison ’70 often as they’ve moved two doors down from them. Coe has done a lot of interesting things since WMC — the Navy, managing Dollywood, and café proprietor come to mind. His latest novel, “Pedaling West,” was published in April. Meanwhile, Coe’s third novel, “The Other Side of Good,” won a silver medal in the 2022 International Readers’ Favorite book competition. Do yourself a favor and read Coe’s work … he is really good! But don’t go looking for novels by Coe Sherrard; his nom de plume, so to speak, is E. A. Coe.
Montana has been home to my roommate, Pat Callbeck Harper, for so long now that I’m pretty sure she’s not moving back to the East Coast. Pat’s husband, Rusty, says they are busy fulfilling a promise they made to grow old together. And I think busy is the operative word. They have both been involved in Montana politics and their Methodist church for a long time and that hasn’t changed. Following her stint as executive director of the Helena Symphony, Pat has been working as co-lead for the local chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.
This spring, I drove up to McDaniel to attend the annual B. Christopher Bothe Memorial Lecture. (Chris Bothe ’72 passed away in 1984; you may remember him as “Hiroshima.”) Many friends return for this event every year, and who should I run into but Mike and Cathy McCullough Shultz. Both are retired, although Cathy says she is having to retire a second time, this time from all of her volunteer “jobs.”
Neither Charlie nor I have really retired yet, teaching online for the University of Rhode Island and mostly in person for McDaniel. Our teaching these days mostly focuses on nonviolence in all its myriad aspects and its implementation as well. (I do my best to channel Ira Zepp ’52, Hon. L.H.D. ’15, who taught many of us how nonviolence works.) Surprisingly, and despite my lack of resemblance to certain professors past, I have taught Statistics in four different departments at McDaniel, including Econ! We are both teaching First Year Seminars these days; mine is called Taking it to the Streets: Nonviolent Protest. Charlie’s is the Psychology of Violence and Nonviolence. Our students give us hope for the future.
COVID-19 put our civil rights trips to the South on hold for a bit. But things are starting to open up, and I have just completed a journey with a busload of masked students from Nazareth College. I never realized how much I love these journeys and their impact on the folks on the bus until we had to stop for a while. I’m glad to be back on the road again. We stay politically active — Charlie writes; I organize protests and teach-ins, and volunteer for the college and a number of social justice organizations. And my work with the Adjunct Faculty Union at McDaniel continues.
In my last column, I wrote about Jim Hobart’s battle with Parkinson’s disease and the work he and Kathy Walter Hobart ’73, M.Ed. ’76 and their friends and family were doing to support research to find a cure. I am heartbroken to let you know that Hobie passed away shortly before our 50th. Kathy was with us as we remembered him with great love and thankfulness for his friendship at the Reunion.
With great sadness I also need to tell you that we lost Rowland Hill not long before I wrote this column. Richard Anderson wrote the following: “You may see elsewhere in this issue that our classmate Rowland Jacob Hill passed away Feb. 7, 2023. Rowland and I met at WMC when we were in our freshman year and both 18 years old. We were best friends from that time on. Rowland and his wife Marcie Ellithorpe Hill ’75 were homesteaders in Ritchie County, West Virginia. I was there the day they settled on their farm, and I visited often over the years. Rowland was the best man at my wedding. He helped me with many house projects over the years. He went into the film business with me, and we produced two documentaries together with West Virginia themes. Rowland even adopted my 1930 Model A Ford that some of you may remember was my car when I was at WMC. One of the last activities we were able to share was replacing the head gasket and adjusting the valves in early July of 2022. Three weeks later, Row was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumor. Despite immediate medical intervention, Rowland was unable to defeat the disease. He showed great courage and calm acceptance in the face of this personal catastrophe and as usual I learned a lot from him as he went through this. We have all reached the stage where the losses will mount. There is no avoiding it. However, we can learn from Rowland to be brave and ultimately accepting. My plan is to continue my work as a photographer and filmmaker and riding my bike and traveling with my family just as long as possible. Our son Nicholas accompanied my wife, Valerie, and I on a trip to England and France this October. We were pleased to be able to introduce him to Europe at the formative age of 23, the same age I was when I made my first trip to Europe. In the end, it’s all good.”
Look to the stars. Find the magic. Enjoy every second of the journey.
Love y’all,
Zap, Arrow, Artemis, Vanilla Bean, Bentley, Grampy, and Grampy’s kittenPamela Zappardino, Ph.D.1971 Class Reporterzapinator@aol.com