News

From Mary Smith Podles, Class Secretary
1972notes@alum.wellesley.edu

Click "Read the Story" below to see more pictures.

Kudos: On April 24, Susan Richards Windham-Bannister was the recipient of the 2024 Henri A. Termeer Innovative Leadership Award at the 2024 Annual Meeting in Boston of MassBio, the industry trade association for Massachusetts’ life sciences industry. Sue is only the third woman to receive this award and the first woman of color. See her photo below.

Chief curator Page Talbott announces that on July 18, the exhibition Philadelphia Revealed: Unpacking the Attic will open at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. The exhibition will cover 300-plus years and will close on Dec. 1. On a personal note, Page’s seventh grandchild was born last summer.

In January, Martha Morrison Veranth had deep brain stimulation surgery for Parkinson’s, and now her formerly shaky left hand and right foot are completely steady. She has been able to go back to playing recorder, piano, and harp.

Travels: In late April, Martha and her husband John treated Carolyn Stone, Karen Ouzts, and Karen’s husband, Bill Petuskey, to a tour of the spectacular scenery near their home in Boulder, Utah. Stunning vistas of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, hikes, petroglyphs, a memorable (!) ride down the Burr Trail Switchbacks, and a concert by Martha in a reverberant 100-foot-tall slot canyon. Delightful!

Amy Sabrin, Ellen Maycock, and Iris Yang attended a meeting of the Wellesley Club of France in April at the Paris home of Katheen McDonough de Carbuccia ’62 for a fascinating presentation by Caroline Bruzelius ’71 on the restoration of Notre Dame.

In April, Mary Lane Stevens and Tom took Amtrak across the country (both ways!) to see the eclipse. The total eclipse was perfection, and the trip had other highlights, including dinner with Susan Sarvay and Fred in Portland, Maine.

Travels remembered: Sue adds, “Later in the month, I enjoyed reliving the great adventure undertaken in 2019 with classmates Mary Lane Stevens, Faye Sinclair, and Elizabeth Bassett; Betsy took her husband by car along the Camino de Santiago de Compostela route we followed in Portugal and Spain, posting photos of places we enjoyed (and occasionally suffered!).”

Linda Lucignani Eyler, as an astronomy major, has always been drawn to celestial events. What got her started was the 1970 total solar eclipse seen from a small plane off Cape Cod. She periodically watches dark skies for comets, meteor showers, aurora borealis, planets, eclipses, and even satellites. After seeing the 2017 and 2024 solar eclipses, she hopes to see the next North America total eclipse … in 2044.

And this from Louise Bedichek: “Somehow I felt unprepared for the news of the death (in October 2023) of Margaret ‘Margie’ Stiehler Bacon, my freshman roommate. I am grateful that we were both on that fabulous class of ’72 trip to Italy, organized by Sally Phelps Smith and Sandy Ferrari Disner, and that we were both able to attend our 50th reunion, as well.”

Remembrances of things past: Connie Kallman wonders if other classmates are experiencing flashbacks connecting this tumultuous spring to the student protests of the spring of 1970. Compare and contrast, anyone?

From Mary Smith Podles, Class Secretary
1972notes@alum.wellesley.edu

1972 Celebrations: Martha Morrison Veranth is recovering from deep brain stimulation surgery for Parkinson’s disease. She’s already seeing positive effects and expects that soon she’ll be able to play recorder and harp again. At the time of writing, she was looking forward to a visit from Carolyn Stone and Karen Ouzts in the next month. Carol Bolton Dane celebrated the Year of the Dragon by putting little stuffed dragons and books about the Lunar New Year in her Little Free Library. Our own dragon lady, Mee-Seen Loong, held a week-long party in New York with a suitcase full of decorations from Hong Kong. Tower and Severance roommates Susan Cardos Martinello and Jill Janows met up in Austin, Texas, where Jill was visiting her son; they enjoyed lunch and beautiful February weather together.

It’s Academic: Art historian Liana Cheney added five new publications to an already impressive list. An equally impressive list of topics included Federico Zuccaro, Josefa de Óbidos, Guido Reni, and the infant Bacchus. Holly Fishman Simons is pleased to announce that her daughter Becca is now the director of admission at Wellesley. We’re pleased, too! Jill Ramsfield is working with Mary Barnard Ray on the seventh edition of Legal Writing: Getting It Right and Getting It Written. (Sound familiar?) Jill also exhibited in the Hawai‘i Watercolor Society’s show Reflections on Water. And your humble correspondent has taken a job teaching sacred art and architecture at St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore. My seminarians are so sweet that I am in serious danger of diabetic shock.

Still Working: Mary Perry, an RN, has, after 21 years of providing medical transportation with Liberty Livery and RoadNannys, joined the corporate world and become an LLC. She writes, “My Wellesley experience empowered this enterprise in many ways. I developed and wrote all our policies, procedures, screens, marketing materials, and forms for this revolutionary business concept. I would never have been able to do it without the literary nurturance I got at Wellesley.” And more: “If you know retired and/or disabled Wellesley women who are looking for meaningful part-time work, I would love to hear from them. We can use creative talent in many different areas. As adaptive change agents, we welcome novel recreational and business ideas which our staff and loyal clients always appreciate. Bucket lists are us!” Contact her at mperry@libertylivery.com. Louisa Kasdon is working on a podcast project, called Kochleffel, on the impact of Jewish women on all aspects of food. Says Louisa about the word kochleffel: “In Yiddish it connotes someone who is always stirring the pot, making things happen. Sometimes it is a compliment. Other times it is a gentle rebuke.” Got any nominees? Contact Louisa at louisa.kasdon@gmail.com.

Thanks to all for the updates. This job is way more fun than I expected.

Pictured above:  Alumnae from the Houston area gathered at the home of Debra Williams Anderson ’73 in Pearland, Texas, on Nov. 4, 2023, for the Wellesley Club of Houston Howdy. Pictured are: (front) Maneesha Patil ’78, Debra Williams Anderson ’73, Medina Barnes ’01, Carla Sapsford-Newman ’95, Rachel Hopper Tucker ’78, Lisa Heyden ’98, Lydia Luz ’82 , Elizabeth Rowe Wilder ’80; (back) Sanam Anwar ’15, Emily Goldberg Steiner ’59, Jessica Koh Lewis ’67, Rebecca Hansen ’72, Constance “Connie” Maier Bitto ’73, Marian Bonner ’83, Sandy Hellums-Gomez ’95, and Jacqueline Kacen ’83.

From Mary Smith Podles

1972notes@alum.wellesley.edu

So sorry to hear of the death of Margaret Stiehler Bacon on Oct. 21, 2023. Sincerest condolences to her family and many friends.

Better news: Congratulations to Senior Judge Vanessa Ruiz upon receipt of one of the 2023 Alumnae Achievement Awards for her groundbreaking legal and service work.

Click through for more news from our class presidents, Liana De Girolami Cheney, Joan Lovel and Elaine Shiang.

From Mary Smith Podles, Class Secretary
1972notes@alum.wellesley.edu

Guess I’ll start with the sad news first. I am very sorry to report the deaths of classmates Nancy Smith Jenks, Ellie Carlson, and Jeanne Olson Darlington. And sincerest condolences to Elizabeth Doherty, who lost her husband of 28 years, Dr. Richard Wolin, to melanoma in June—and to make matters worse, also lost her beloved old cat, Wilson, in July.

Answering, “How did you spend your summer vacation?” Elizabeth “Betsy” Bassett responded, “Under water. Many farms (mostly before harvest) and town centers in Vermont were devastated by torrential rains in July. The strength and character of Vermont derives from its small farms and businesses. But this is a lot. How will this special place emerge from a tragic summer? No one is immune from the ravages of climate change.”

The indefatigable Ellen Cahn writes more happily that she has enjoyed Wellesley 1971’s events on drama and Notre Dame Cathedral, Professor Stanley’s report on the boat trip to Antarctica, and the virtual alumnae event from Alice’s Table. She struggles to keep the plants from that latter one alive and thriving.

Better news from Marcia Armstrong. She reports that after last year’s diagnosis of triple negative breast cancer, she has undergone chemo, radiation, surgery, and Keytruda infusions, and the tumor is completely gone. She is now on the upside, awaiting the arrival of grandson No. 2.

And marriages: Katie Smith’s wedding in Cleveland Heights was a mini-reunion of sorts, with Delna Sethna Dastur ’71, Sally Phelps Smith, Ann Smith Seabright ’78, Mary Smith Laurent ’96, and Meg Smith Aeschliman ’04 in attendance.

Finally, birth pangs (of a sort): Judith Wynn Rousuck launched her epistolary novel, Please Write, in October. And my own A Thousand Words has finally triumphed over the seemingly endless supply chain queue. Wishing you all well. Please write!

Thank you for all the news!
Mary Smith Podles, Class Secretary:  1972notes@alum.wellesley.edu

Click through for photos and the complete text of everyone's submission.