We have so much to celebrate:

• An amazing 50th Reunion with 150 classmates attending
• A beautiful Record Book that has been sent to our entire class
• Awards and new records for our fundraising and attendance at reunion
• A special alumnae award for Laura Daignault Gates

AND best of all - just being able to see each other and reconnect!

We owe thanks to so many for the vibrant class of 1972.  We learned about Wellesley’s past and present through our Zooms, as well as getting a peek into our classmates creative endeavors.  We had a dedicated crew working on our Record Book.  The memorial book was a walk down memory lane and helped us remember those classmates we lost.  And, we reveled in peppermint pie and wearing our tiaras during reunion.

A big thank you to our officers over the past 5 years (and some for 10 years).  We couldn’t have gone through the both the fun times and the struggles of planning during a pandemic without all the support from our outstanding group.  Kim and Sarah created a great trip to Prague but had to cancel our Washington, D.C. reunion.  We had constant and always amusing reminders from Connie about getting her the news.  Sheila admirably kept our finances straight even as the college often changed the system.  Rebecca totally redid our web page and has included many new features.  And - as you can see above - what a remarkable team doing fundraising.  Many thanks to Beth, Nan, and Betsy for all their hard work.

It has been a privilege to be your Co-Presidents and also to have co-chaired the 50th Reunion.  We are still glowing (and bragging) about the success of reunion and all the positive feedback.  And - the rebel class made all the other classes jealous about our tiaras and dorm decorations.

Beverly and Marcia

We set new class records!

Our Fundraising Co-VPs, Beth McKinnon and Nan Roberts report that we exceeded all of our fundraising targets for our 50th Reunion giving.  

• 5-year reunion total: $5,478,834 (a new class record)
• Durant total: 62 (a new class record)
• Participation: 241 donors, 78.5%  (a new class record)

Thank you so much to everyone who supported Wellesley during the fiscal year ending June 30, 2022. Gifts to The Wellesley Fund from alums like you ensure the College can support what we love about Wellesley for current and future students. Click here if you who haven’t donated yet (or who wish to make an additional donation). 

Click here to go to the Record Book Page.

Co-Presidents:
Amy Sabrin (amysabrin@gmail.com)
Iris Yang (irispyang@gmail.com)

Vice President:
Ann Nunez (nunezae@gmail.com)

Secretary;
Maidie Smith Podles (maidiepodles@yahoo.com)

Treasurer:
Molly Baskin (mcb@ansleygroup.com)

Wellesley Fund Representative:

Mary Lane Stevens (marylane.stevens@gmail.com)
Kaoru Shino Harada (kaorushino@gmail.com)

Legacy Giving:
Betsy Bassett (elizabethbassettvt@gmail.com)

Web Mistress:
Rebecca Gould (rebeccagould72@gmail.com)

We are sorry to report the deaths of three classmates. Sally Burrow Abarno Balisciano died on Feb. 10, 2020, in Salem, Mass. Bonita Stanton died on Jan. 19 in New Jersey. Mary Stimson McNamara died on Jan. 26 in Savannah, Ga. The class extends heartfelt condolences to their families and friends.

Our condolences also to Susan Cardos Martinello, whose husband, Mario, died in August 2021 from a neurodegenerative disease. Only the month before, Mario and Susan attended the Indian wedding of their son Alex and Sanjana Rao in Virginia. Susan has found solace in a new friendship with Abby Bogin Kenigsberg ’60, who lives in the same Austin, Texas, apartment community and shares her love of poetry.

Kim Noland still works, mostly from home, and also serves as president of the Shelter Island Association. “This year, I am busy with civic work—the small town where I live is working on a comprehensive plan after many New Yorkers moved here in the pandemic,” she says. “My daughter lives in London, and friends and family in the U.S. recently gathered for a virtual baby shower on Zoom. The wonders of modern technology—Amazon delivered champagne and cake to the guests pre-party. I’m looking forward to becoming a grandmother.”

Betsy Bassett reports a terrifyingly close encounter with a wildfire: “We were visiting our daughter Victoria and her family in Superior, Colo., on Dec. 30, 2021, when with no warning, we were ordered to evacuate immediately as the Marshall Fire advanced toward us, driven by up to 100-mph winds. About 35,000 people were displaced as the fire swept across 6,000 acres in a matter of hours. We spent our four-night evacuation with [husband] John’s sister, Camille Pane ’82, and her family in Denver. Victoria’s home survived, by two blocks, but nearly 1,000 others were lost.”

Some far-flung friends sent brief messages. From Ann MacNamara (Springfield, Va.): “Greetings + Love.” Elaine Shiang: “Retired from MIT’s medical department after 35 years; now growing shiitake mushrooms and grandchildren in Cambridge, Mass.” Barbara Sladeck (New Britain, Conn.): “No computer—no email. The last dinosaur.” Lee Barber Nowoslawski: “Alive and well and living in Utah with my husband of 45 years, two children, and four grandchildren.” Mary-Ellen Perry: “Our 20th year of specialized transportation from Exeter, N.H., to everywhere. Assistive and supportive customized journeys for your bucket lists!”

News from Barbara “Bobbi” Turner: “My husband and I live in Glendale, Calif., near our eldest’s family and her two terrific children. The youngest, Ethan Archer, was born just before the pandemic. We have been so fortunate to see them weekly. But we have had only rare visits with our two daughters in Brooklyn. I am still working as a physician-researcher, part time (sort of). Medicine has been a wonderful (albeit demanding) profession. I’m delighted to report that I am the co-recipient of the 2022 Elizabeth Kirk Rose Women in Medicine award from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Looking forward to catching up with 1972 classmates at reunion.”

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Our mini-reunion in Key West, Fla., in November 2021 drew seven classmates: Anne Mitchell, Sarah Marter, Beverly Siegal, Mary Helen Kryda Weber, Marcia Armstrong, Elizabeth Bassett, and Kim Noland. The sightseeing, swimming, and seafood dinners were great, Sarah reports, adding, “As usual, the best activity was talking to each other.”