Class Notes Spring 2024

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.