In Memoriam

Barbara Tomkinson Moser Racy died 9 March 2023 in Georgia under the care of her son and grandchildren. She was born 25 January 1947. After grade school, she attended Rutgers Preparatory School and enrolled at Mount Holyoke College. She completed her undergraduate degree in 1971 from Wellesley College. In 1967, Barbara and her first husband, Harry Moser, welcomed the birth of their son, Robert Henry.

from Julia Moorhouse Halle on 26 July 2023:

Today we lost our lovely friend, Toni. It has been an unusual sort of relationship - friends and dorm-mates at Wellesley, then a lifetime apart, going our separate ways, before Covid reconnected us in weekly zooms, uniting the Shafer ‘71s after 50 years. Here we shared something of Toni’s life, her beloved family and friends, her passion for drama, singing, travel, cats. Mostly we came to know Toni – her strength and courage, kindness and generosity, her indomitable spirit and wry humour. We are privileged to have been allowed to walk with her a little way along her path. 

From an online obituary: "Deborah S. Tetreault (Debbie), 74, passed away on June 8, 2023, in Naples, Fla., after a long illness... In 1961, when Debbie was 12, her father died and the family moved to Bridgton [ME]. Debbie graduated from Fryeburg Academy in 1967 and attended Wellesley College."

From her on-line obituary: Dolly C. Sadow (Goodman) of Bedford, MA on Saturday, October 8, 2022... Dolly was born in Athens, Greece, to holocaust survivors and immigrated at the age of 18... A lifelong lover of learning, she was valedictorian of Wellesley College and would beat you at Scrabble.

Carol Froman, age 73, of Atlanta passed on August 25, 2022 following a long illness. Carol was born in Washington D.C. and grew up in Long Island, NY. She earned a bachelor's degree from Wellesley College and worked as an editor for 20 years for the Centers for Surgical Anatomy and Technique at Emory University School of Medicine.

SAMMONS, Rev. Margaret Duncan Holt, age 73, of Kettering, died on August 3, 2022 in Traverse City, Michigan. At our 50th Reunion, Peggy read “Gone From My Sight” by Henry Van Dyke, during the hour dedicated to In memoriam.

Kristin Mortimer died on July 14, 2022, after a long illness.

Stephanie Beth Brett-Bell passed away in her home in Holliston [Mass] on Friday, January 7, 2022

Stephanie lived across the hall from me in Davis, Freshman year. I had been able to visit with her at our 45th but hadn't done a good job of keeping up with her. Freshman year Stephanie's parents visited often and always brought food. She had a stash which she shared freely. It was probably not until after we graduated that I realized why she always had food. She was a childhood diabetic and was dependent on it. Stephanie was a great student. She managed her course work and went on to grad school efficiently. I could never figure out how she did it! She also was a kind, faithful, and unassuming friend. It was never about her.-Ruth Reisner Brock

from friend and colleague, Sarah Oddie ‘11

Wilma Chen Chan ‘71 died suddenly on November 3, 2021.
Wilma was a trailblazer who enacted many groundbreaking policies throughout her distinguished public service career. A leader and warrior for all that’s good and right in this world, she embodied our school’s motto and was passionate about uplifting the voices of communities often unheard in policymaking spaces.
Wilma was an extraordinarily smart, witty, and determined alumna who took on challenges headfirst and with steadfast commitment. Wilma will be deeply missed, but her remarkable legacy will endure in the numerous initiatives she founded, individuals she mentored, and the communities dedicated to carrying out her vision.

From Parmelee Eastman:

Ellen Bluestone and I met our first year in Munger and quickly became friends. Her whole face would light up with her beautiful smile. Ellen was always curious, always full of ideas, always asking questions, and always very articulate. She married Chris Wilmot her senior year and moved to Philadelphia where she remained after she and Chris divorced.

Her early years after Wellesley were devoted to caring for her three wonderful children; Jessica, Richard, and Andrew. I enjoyed many visits to see Ellen and her children.

Later, Ellen returned to her love of English literature and studied towards a PhD. She used her knowledge to teach literature and tutor non-English speakers. She cared deeply about her clients and shared their joy when they used their new language skills to advance. She fought her colon cancer until the end on August 11, 2021, always planning to continue painting, writing, tutoring, and seeing her beloved grandchildren. That was Ellen; nothing could stop her except death.

Jackie died on 29 December 2020 in Asheville, North Carolina, where she worked for the Buncombe County Library System for 30 years. She was a professional musician and writer, creating several fantasy books and short stories as well as game books, which brought her fans.

remarks by Judith Moore at Reunion 2021

In our junior year, we both lived in Davis. I was on the first floor and Jackie was in the basement. Her windows opened out at ground level, and cats and people freely came and went through them. In our senior year she moved to an apartment in Somerville, which seemed like the height of sophistication to me – I missed her daily presence.
I was in awe. Jackie was so smart, creative, insightful, free-thinking, and courageous. She was a wise sprite with a wicked sense of humor. I was terribly shy, but she accepted me for who I was, and I cherished the companionship.
We all touch many more lives through our years than we ever know. I’m sure Jackie had no idea she touched my life as deeply as she did. But she did and we are each linked through our lives in a circle of friendship and love.

Electra died on 27 December, 2020, at home in Wilmington, Delaware. Her Easter parties were legendary.

remarks by Natalea Skvir at Reunion 2021

At Wellesley, Electra majored in Art History and was a member of the Shakespeare Society. Upon graduation, she became a curatorial assistant at the Fogg Art Museum at Harvard and, the following year, she married Walter Yorsz, an MIT graduate with whom she eventually had two children, Stephen and Christina.
Her career in the arts included curatorial work at Dumbarton Oaks Library and Collection in Washington DC, and serving as the Bicentennial Secretary for the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution.
While still in her thirties, Electra successfully battled breast cancer but Walter died in 1989. Left a single mother at 40 with two children still in elementary school, she focused her time, love and attention to shepherding them through adolescence. Once both children were in college, Electra returned to the museum world in 1998 as a Development Officer at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where she remained until her retirement in 2014.
Electra had a great sense of style, an eye for design and décor, and a lively wit. She was a skilled writer and editor, fabulous cook, a beloved mother, and a generous and caring friend who handled life’s challenges with immense grace and strength. Her final challenge was pancreatic cancer, to which she succumbed at Christmastime, 2020.

Martha transferred to Yale after one year at Wellesley and became a physician. She died on 16 November 2020 in Canton, Ohio, after decades with Parkinson's Disease.

remarks by Judy Coburn at Reunion 2021

Martha and I were roommates for just one semester, the spring of our sophomore year. She was among the group of our classmates who transferred to Yale for junior and senior year. From Yale she went on to Harvard Medical School, married a medical school classmate and did her residency at Boston Children’s Hospital, staying for an additional year to serve as the first woman chief resident.
Martha and her husband chose to settle in Canton, Ohio, Martha’s home town. They had four beautiful children while Martha practiced as a neonatologist, taking care of the sickest babies in the community.
In her 40s Martha was diagnosed with Parkinson’s. For the rest of her life she did everything she could to live as full a  professional and family life as her worsening condition allowed.
I never once heard Martha complain about the terrible misfortune of her disease. She had a wonderful wide mid-western smile. She was intellectually gifted, modest, optimistic, generous and appreciative of all the good things in her life.  She came back to the Wellesley campus a number of times and more than once said to me that she felt closer to her Wellesley classmates than she did those from her New Haven years.

Tara died unexpectedly after a fall in her Charlotte, Vermont home on December 8, 2020. She is remembered as a teacher, caseworker, mother, and feminist.

remarks given by Susan Andrews at Reunion 2021

Tara Mullen entered Wellesley with our class, but finished her education at the University of New Hampshire and Antioch College. While raising her two children on a farm in Vermont, Tara pivoted to a career in human services – first as an elementary school teacher, and then as a caseworker for the homeless and people with disabilities.
Tara cared deeply about family, friends, and was a conscious feminist. She could fell trees, fix a carburetor, stack firewood – while also defending the human rights of others. Later in life she found a soul mate in her husband, Bill – and together they enjoyed organic gardening. Her obituary ends with these words: Tara was fiercely intelligent, dogged, compassionate and wise; a stalwart friend, wife, mother, and grandmother.

Dr. Betty Bardige died on November 24, 2019 waiting for a new heart. She wrote and co-authored more than a dozen books. Betty served on the boards of many organizations.

remarks by Ellen Bluestone at Reunion 2021

Betty Segal Bardige was someone who contributed a great deal to the world as a professional and a human being. A psychology major at Wellesley, Betty earned a Ph.D. in Education at Harvard and became an accomplished early childhood educator, author, advocate, and philanthropist. Betty’s commitment to the education of young children grew out of her own inspired childhood and the special influence of her mother, Marilyn Segal, herself a Wellesley graduate and early childhood educator, and this legacy continues today through her daughter Kori, a Ph.D. candidate at Lesley University. Betty’s devotion to education was further nurtured by the man who started out as her young high school physics teacher, followed her to Wellesley, and remained her devoted husband and fellow educator for over fifty years—and by her sons Brennan and Arran, who were always deeply proud of their mother.

I know this story well because Betty and I came from the same town—Hollywood, Florida—and shared some rather unique pre-Wellesley memories: like getting sun drunk doing acrobatics in the hot Florida sun and trick-or-treating one Halloween as Happy Tooth and Mr. Tooth Decay.

Though we settled in different cities and had our own lives, we spoke optimistically of embarking on a new round of closeness as Betty waited in the hospital for a heart transplant. (I had had a kidney transplant, so we had something else to share.) She was getting ready to write a book about her mother and was busying herself reading the love letters she had exchanged with Art her freshman year at Wellesley, when she died before the transplant could take place. But she must have really wanted to be here today because she has visited me a couple of times recently in my dreams, asking me to beam a message of love to the Class of ’71!

died January 12, 2020. The College reported this in Winter 2022. A classmate from Talawanda High School in Ohio reported on Facebook that her sister, three children, and their spouses were with her.

Pat Kenowsky died after a fall at home in Twentynine Palms in July 2019. Belinda Wilkins Tepper remembers, "Pat Kenowsky was also from California and in Munger. She said Wellesley was her parents' choice and she planned was to flunk out after one semester. I was fascinated by someone so unlike myself, such a live wire. She dropped out, moved to Israel, studied at Hebrew University, and got married. She returned to live in Southern California. Her later years were devoted to poetry and painting. There was a service in Joshua Tree held by Marines she befriended in the high desert."

Kathie Manly Bell died on July 9, 2019, after a valiant battle with pancreatic cancer.  Kathie, who followed her mother to Wellesley, was from Raleigh, North Carolina.  Sophomore year she roomed with Jessie Thompson Krusen  (whose mother also went to Wellesley) from Richmond, Virginia, and May B. Taylor Hollis from Atlanta, Georgia.  Their room in the Crow’s Nest in Severance was known as the “Southern Triple”.  When confronted with a decision to study or play, Kathie always said, “It’s the good times you’ll remember!” and never have three young ladies had so much fun. Sadly, Kathie transferred to the University of North Carolina her junior year but always kept up with her friends at Wellesley. She even attended our graduation. Her graciousness, style, and vibrancy will be missed by many. - May B. Hollis

remarks by Jane Oonk Goedecke at Reunion 2021

I met Kathy move-in day freshman year. We were to share a small double in Tower Court West. She had already arrived and was out. In the center of the room was a very large box. I peeked inside. It was filled with shoes. I’d brought about four pairs. On dateless Saturday nights she taught me how to dance with the doorknob. This was the beginning of a wonderful cultural exchange and close friendship that lasted until 2019 when Kathy died of pancreatic cancer. 

Kathy was raised in Raleigh, NC. After two years at Wellesley she returned to the south and received both a BA and an MA in Art History from UNC Chapel Hill.  In 1981 she moved to New York City where she worked for Hirschel and Adler and Edward Thorp Galleries. There she met and married Jeff Bell and became stepmother to his eight-year old daughter. She and Jeff later adopted twin boys and moved to the Philadelphia area, where she was active in a variety of volunteer organizations, including The Church of the Redeemer in Bryn Mawr, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and the Colonial Dames. 

I will always remember Kathy with a big smile on her face, a somewhat daring hat on her head, shoes that always matched her outfit, a strong religious faith and stronger love of family and friends. 

died December 16, 2018. The College reported this in Winter 2022.

died December 14, 2018. The College reported this in Winter 2022.

Betsy died in Madison on 13 February, 2018. Betsy was an avid reader, and enjoyed foreign travel, language study, music, gardening, puzzles, and cheering on the Packers.

remarks by Susan Andrews at Reunion 2021

Margo died in New York on November 21, 2017. Her career was devoted to arts administration.

remarks by Cynthia L. Chennault  at Reunion 2021

Margaret Donaldson, known as Margo, died in November 2017 of injuries after a fall.  She spoke with her twin sister Anne from the hospital but later lost consciousness and died peacefully in her sleep. 

  From the time I met Margo—freshman year in Tower Court—I was struck by her openness to adventure and mischievous spirit.  She was quick-witted, knowing just how to poke fun at situations and people--sometimes ruefully at herself.  I remember her laughter; the mischievous twinkle in the sideways glance of her eye; her graceful fingers gesturing to make a point.  She was not overweight but like many of us, went on diets to shed pounds gained from dorm food.  One of her regimens was to consume only water and hard-boiled eggs. She said she then felt like “a watermelon stuffed with eggs.”  On the topic of food, one of her kind gestures for me and others was to buy treats in town for surprise celebrations of our birthdays. 

   She spent spring semester of senior year at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada. She went on from her B.A. in Psychology to a Master’s degree in Business Administration at UCLA.  She was Development Manager for the Pacific Northwest Ballet of Seattle when she flew east to be a bridesmaid at my 1980 wedding in D.C.  For the last thirty-five years of her career, Margo worked in New York as an administrator for arts-focused institutions. She and her longtime partner loved New York’s cultural vibrancy.  

Cheryl Linda Chevins Davis-Noe died October 5, 2017, at home in Rhinebeck, NY, following a short battle with cancer. Cheryl left Wellesley after one year.

Carol died of cancer on September 27, 2016. Carol was living in Nashua, New Hampshire.

remarks by Lula Kopper at Reunion 2021

I am grateful to several of Carol’s friends and Wellesley classmates who shared their memories of her for
this tribute.
Carol and I met in the fall of freshman year as residents of Tower Court West, and our friendship continued throughout her life. She majored in Asian Studies and had her own show on the college radio station. Carol is remembered as being very quiet and down to earth, as kind, generous and thoughtful of others. As one friend remarked, “Carol was often the quiet one in a discussion, but the one whose eventual, well chosen, few words would be the wisest of the bunch.” Another friend commented, “she was a great roommate, easy to get on with and very insightful. She had a really good sense of humor.”
Carol’s altruism led her to a career of helping others. For a few years, she was a resident “house parent” in a group home for mentally challenged adults. After that, she worked for many years as a rehabilitation counselor and finally as a mediation counselor.
Her cultural interests included music, live theater and going to museums. For many years we shared season tickets to a regional theater company. We usually met for dinner first. Our favorite restaurant was Southeast Asian. Carol always spent several minutes studying the extensive menu and then invariably ordered Pad Thai. One night I teasingly asked why she was even looking at the menu when she knew she was going to order Pad Thai. She gave me a look of “I’ll show you” and promptly ordered something else. I think she even enjoyed the new dish. She also loved animals. The several bird feeders outside her house were always full of seed. Her Wellesley roommate the year after we graduated wrote, “The apartment building in which we lived allowed pets, so we made the less-than-intelligent decision to get a kitten and gerbils, and then we spent most of the year trying to figure out how to keep the cat from eating the gerbils.” I don’t know about the gerbils, but the cat, George, moved with Carol and lived a long and happy life with her.
Her family lived nearby, and she was always extremely close to them. I will always be grateful to her for including me in numerous holiday gatherings and other family oriented activities over the years as my own family lived at some distance.
Carol died almost 5 years ago after a 2-year struggle with cancer. She faced her disease bravely but realistically. She is survived by three sisters, a brother and their families. We all miss her very much.

S. Penelope Teevan was a tax attorney in northern California when she died of cancer on March 15, 2016. We remember Sue Teevan as an aspiring actress who appeared in Junior Show 1969. In "Everything's Better with Bluebonnet On It" she was Ruby-booby-do, a girl who came on too strong.

died February 22, 2016. She lived in Hingham, Mass. The MVTimes called her "a longtime seasonal [Martha's] Vineyard visitor. " The College reported this in Winter 2022.

Claire passed away September 2, 2015, two years after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Claire died peacefully, pain-free, and surrounded by her family. From Caroline Bruzelius: She was a brilliant lawyer and scholar whose work focused on the regulation of international trade in Africa.  After graduation from Wellesley she attended Columbia Law School and initially worked for the firm of Coudert Brothers in New York, where she met her husband, Tom. Marriage and family, however, led her to recalibrate her priorities, and she turned her immense skills towards a career in teaching, first at St. John’s University Law School, then at Rutgers Law School. Her final appointment was as chaired professor at the Tulane University Law School. Claire and Tom have two daughters, Caroline Dickerson and Susannah Dickerson.  

Ada died on November 27, 2014 en route to a Thanksgiving gathering in Pennsylvania when a tire failure caused her vehicle to veer across the highway center line. A brilliant, generous, caring person, Ada leaves her beloved children Austin and Blythe Muller and cherished companion Richard Werber. Ada was General Counsel for the American Council on Education, previously Deputy General Counsel at NYU. A graduate of Wellesley College and NYU Law School, she will be missed by so many whose lives she touched. Classmate Polly Hutcheson remembers Ada as "an outstanding advocate for higher education" and a "remarkable ambassador for Wellesley". Ada served our class as vice-president from 2006 to 2011 and was brilliant at organizing mini-reunions wherever she traveled for her work.

died on September 25, 2014. The College reported this in Winter 2022.

Mary Hilmer died 21 February 2014. She requested no obituaries.

Marcy died at home in Huntingtown, Maryland on Tuesday, June 18, 2013 after a challenging three-months living with acute myeloid leukemia. Born in New Haven, Connecticut on March 28, 1949 to Herbert S. and Margaret N. Damon, she was raised in North Conway, New Hampshire. She graduated as Valedictorian from Kennett High School in 1967, graduated from Wellesley College in 1971 and later received a Master's degree in environmental sciences from American University. She taught English in Lyons, France for a year after college, where she perfected her French accent and developed a taste for French food, fashion and film and a life-long appreciation for travel. She worked for Air France in Boston and Washington, DC and took the opportunity to make one of the most epic but awkward trips of her life. She flew from Paris, to Mozambique and Rio de Janeiro, but with each leg routing her back to the same airport in Lisbon, Portugal. She married John D. H. Kane III at her grandparent's farm in Tamworth, New Hampshire on October 4, 1975. Together they happily raised three sons while living in Virginia, North Carolina and most recently Sykesville and Huntingtown, Maryland. However, her roots were in New Hampshire granite and she shared her love of the White Mountains in all seasons, with her family. Kayaking from their home by the Patuxent River was also a joy, especially when the osprey were nesting nearby. Outnumbered by her household of males, she always worked to even the odds with a female dog, currently a yellow lab mix, named Molly. A childhood spent in one of the most beautiful places in America inspired a lifelong love affair with nature, which also became one of her most passionate causes after reading Rachel Carson's Silent Spring in high school. She would even go on to work for the Rachel Carson Trust while in graduate school. Years later, she became a naturalist at the Jug Bay Wetland Sanctuary in Lothian, Maryland in its education program while, mostly, overcoming her childhood fear of snakes. Following that, from 1999 to 2011 she worked in habitat restoration for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. Working with large groups of volunteers to plant native trees, shrubs, and underwater grasses, she and her CBF colleagues made strides to "Save the Bay" for future generations; a phrase she truly believed in. As an ardent proponent of native plants and rain gardens, she landscaped her yard at home accordingly. Like her parents, she was an avid birder and resisted washing the windows near birdfeeders in hopes of avoiding bird vs. window collisions. A bald eagle sighting over the house was always a cause for celebration. She was a long-standing member of the Board of the American Chesnut Land Trust, but her volunteer interests went beyond the environmental. She was also an active participant in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program, among others, and sponsored several international exchange students. In addition to her husband, John, she is survived by her sons, Matthew of Los Angeles, California; David of Asheville, North Carolina; and Edward and daughter-in-law Kathryn of Baltimore, Maryland. She also leaves her brother, Edward, of Concord, New Hampshire and sister, Susan, of Grantham, New Hampshire and an extended family of in-laws, nieces and nephews, aunts, uncles and cousins. She will also be missed by the many friends and neighbors she made and kept in touch with from childhood to the present day.

Barbara Danahy Callahan, 62, former resident of New City, died at home of complications from salivary gland cancer on July 16, 2012. Mrs. Callahan, who retired as an award-winning television journalist, was a graduate of Clarkstown High School and Wellesley College and lived in St. Petersburg, Florida. She was a former news anchor, producer, assignment editor and assistant news director at television stations in Tampa and St. Louis.

Mrs. Callahan was co-founder of the Greater Tampa Bay Breast Screening Project, which provided low-cost screening mammograms sponsored by the American Cancer Society. A Life Member of the Board of Directors of the American Cancer Society of Pinellas County, FL, she served on a county task force to discourage teenage smoking and a Florida state task force for breast cancer awareness and coordinated care. Mrs. Callahan received recognition from the Florida state legislature for her promotion of breast self-examination through the Buddy Check program. She was a past President of the Tampa Bay chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and the Wellesley College Club of Tampa Bay.

Mrs. Callahan is survived by her husband, Dr. Daniel J. Callahan; their son, Daniel J. Callahan Jr., Esq.; by several brothers and sisters and their spouses, Nancy Danahy of Suffern, David Danahy of New City, Jeanne Burden of Franklin, TN, John J. Jr. and Lisa Danahy of Florence, KY, Thomas V. and Elizabeth Danahy of West Nyack, and Kevin R. Danahy of New City; her aunt Joan D. Danahy of Somerset, NJ; her brother-in-law Thomas D. Callahan III and his wife Mary March Callahan of Collingswood, NJ; and by many beloved nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Stephanie Casale Carlton died July 15, 2012.

Dee (Olga Frieda) Howard of Morrisville died Thursday, March 24, 2011. She was 62. Born Dec. 30, 2948, in Omaha, Neb., Dee was a two-year resident of Morrisville and a former resident of Newtown and Bensalem, Pa., and Lawrenceville, N.J.  Dee was educated at Wellesley College and she graduated from Yale University. She was an environmental program director of the State of Nebraska and New Jersey and an advertising copywriter.  She is survived by her loving husband, Ray Milinski and his family; her two brothers; her nephews and nieces, and her three loving cats.

Dee transferred to Yale.

died January 8, 2011.  Raised in India and the Philippines, Priscilla lived in Freeman freshman year, and later in Claflin.  A graduate of Michigan Law School, she practiced law in New York before she and her husband moved to a lovely horse farm in Maine, where she continued to practice law in Portland. Priscilla was a competitive carriage driver, and was known for her hospitality and style.  She was devoted to Wellesley and for years presented the Wellesley Book Award in local schools.  She is survived by daughters Philippa and Millicent Moon, and ex-husband Richard Moon.

Rosalind Ritchie Spitzer

died November 26, 2010 of breast cancer. Classmate Ada Meloy reported that Roz stayed close to classmates over the years. She remembers her arriving from Nebraska, moving to New York to earn her MBA from Columbia, and then to Los Angeles with a career in finance. Roz served as President of the Wellesley Club of Los Angeles. She was devoted to her family and pleased that her daughter, Erika Spitzer, '06, also attended Wellesley. They were looking forward having their 40th and 5th reunions together but Roz was taken too soon."

died on August 4, 2010, a year after being diagnosed with esophageal cancer. She was a graduate of Atherton High School in Louisville, Kentucky, Wellesley College, and the University of Louisville (MA and JD). An attorney in private practice, she also served as a Guardian ad Litem (GAL) for the family court system in Louisville. She was admitted to the bar in Kentucky and Indiana. Before attending law school, she was the owner/operator of the old Main Travel Agency. She continued to travel extensively as long as she was able. She served on the boards of JADAC and Seven Counties Services. She was a member of the American Needlepoint Guild (Louisville Chapter) and a life-long member of Lakeside Swim Club.

died July 30, 2010 after a courageous four year battle with pancreatic cancer. She kept her medical diagnosis mainly to herself, so many people who knew Karen were surprised to hear that she had been ill. Karen had been  active with our class and produced the record book for our last reunion. Karen was born in Bethesda, Md., on May 25, 1950. She earned BA and MA degrees in economics from Wellesley College and Johns Hopkins University, respectively. Karen moved to Northampton to take a position at Smith College, where she taught economics from 1975 to 1983. At Smith, she was director of the Jahnige Social Science Research Center for the 1978-79 academic year. She then began a career as a consultant, working with other consulting groups and forming her own firm, Streamline Training & Documentation.

Karen was a brilliant scholar with wide-ranging interests. She delved into whatever intrigued her and became expert in it - coming to the study of Russian language and literature through her love of ballet, for example, or to an exploration of punk/goth music through a trip on a Finnish cruise ship that led to fascination with all things Nordic, including the Finnish band HIM. Karen shared her knowledge of dance in her Daily Hampshire Gazette reviews of performances at Jacob's Pillow and other local venues. She was a tireless reader of books and periodicals ranging from The Financial Times to Blender, belonged to local book and play-reading groups, traveled widely for dance and opera performances, and maintained a blog where her professional postings shared space with poetry.

Barbara Bloom RansoN

died July 26, 2010 at her home in Park Rapids after a long illness. Barbara began with our class and graduated from MIT in 1972 with a degree in Civil Engineering. During the 1970's Barbara worked as an engineer in England and in California. Her work included supervising a construction crew for an oil rig on the North Sea, monitoring coal mine subsidence in Utah and Colorado,, and working on the design of trestles for the Alaska Pipeline and a borehole plug for the nuclear facility in Hanford, WA. In 1980, Barbara and husband Ed left California to make their home in rural Sebaka, MN. Barbara opened Ransom Engineering in 1981, specializing in landfill closures and design or recycling centers. In 1981 Barbara returned to school at North Dakota State University from which she received a Masters in Mathematics. She then taught mathematics at Bemidji State University until illness forced her to retire.

died on March 4, 2009. Patricia Holmes Shevlin on learning of her death said, "I remember working with Pam when she organized our reunion - the 20th or 30th --I can't remember which. She was great fun, very enthusiastic and worked super hard to make it a success."

passed away November 13th, 2008 after battling melanoma. During her career, Susan was an executive with Arthur Young, American Express, Merrill Lynch and Charles Schwab. She served on the boards of The Waldorf School in Ashland, Oregon and Berkshire Country Day in Massachusetts. She will be greatly missed by husband, Jack Musgrove and son Chase as well as by many classmates. A memorial service was held at the College.

Mary Lee "Mimi" Hearne Barringer

Mary Lee "Mimi" Hearne Barringer, an independent health consultant and a volunteer with church and school groups, died Aug. 15, 2007 of pancreatic cancer at the Capital Hospice in Arlington, Virginia. She had lived in McLean, Virginia since 1984.
Mrs. Barringer was born in Washington, spent part of her childhood in New Zealand and graduated from high school in New Hampshire. After a year at Wellesley College in Massachusetts, she transferred to the University of Mary Washington, where she was a leader of the Young Republicans and the college chapter of the National Student Association. While in college, she was interviewed on the "David Susskind Show" about her opposition to the Vietnam War, which took on added meaning because her father was an Army colonel.

Mrs. Barringer pursued graduate studies in politics at the University of Virginia before withdrawing to care for her ailing mother. Developing an interest in medical care, she worked for about four years with the Virginia Department of Health in Richmond.
After moving to Arlington in 1978, she spent several years as a health planner with the Health Systems Agency of Northern Virginia, then worked as a private consultant in health economics. She was a volunteer member of the institutional review Board of the Inova hospital system. She was a PTA officer at Chesterbrook Elementary School in McLean and a member of the board of trustees at St. Andrew's Episcopal School in Potomac. She was a member of the Junior League and was known as an excellent cook and hostess.
Mrs. Barringer was a vestry member and senior warden of St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Arlington and sang in the choir. She was representative to the diocesan council and a lay leader of the Arlington region. In addition, she helped write a church cookbook and helped make costumes for youth musicals at the church and at her children's schools. Survivors include her husband of 29 years, Allen Barringer of McLean; four children, John Paul Barringer and Julianna Barringer, both of McLean, and Laura Barringer and Elizabeth Barringer, both of Arlington; and a brother.

died on February 25, 2007. Kathy was a respected magazine editor at Conde Nast Publications, Hearst Corporation and Grunar & Jahr USA.  A 17 year veteral of Vogue where she had several posts indluding Executive Editor, she then went on to executive-level editorial positions at Self and Harper's Bazaar and also edited three books for hearst. In 2001 Grummar & Jahr named her Editor-in-chief of Homestyle magazine.She is missed by her two brothers, and her many firends.

died July 8, 2005.  Nancy received her law degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1974. She joined the firm of Chadbourne & Parke LLP in 1974, became a partner in the tax department in 1986, and assumed Of counsel status in 2000.  She specialized in charitable and not-for-profit matters and in tax controversies, advising foundations and public charities on their tax law obligations.  In addition she advised individual taxpayers, trusts, and business entities about charitable giving and income and estate planning.  Nancy is survived by her husband Morton L. Pierce and two sons, Matthew and Nicholas.

died April 16, 2005.  She had been living with her father in Sugar Land, Texas.  Jan is surived by her father, two brothers, and her daugher, Ellen Kardas.

died November 29, 2004 in Pensacola Florida. Her friend Anne Quisenbery Spaulding reported that her death came nine years after being diagnosed with [cancer and given] ‘a year to live’. Anne says: " Laurie had a mission and that was to see her girls through high school. Sarah (22) and Katie (26) both remind me of their mother. She was a gifted teacher and poet and loved training and competing with her dogs, Jack and Splash. Laurie was an inspiration on how to continue living life with a passion, giving whatever you are doing your all, and never giving up – no matter what.”

died September 26, 2004 from breast cancer.  She left her parents, a brother and a daugher, Katherine, at the time a senior at the Madeira School in Virginia. "SKO" Whitbeck and Jennifer Greene had celebrated Kitty's birthday with her in February.

died September 22, 2004 from lung cancer. She was survived by her mother, two sisters and a brother.  Lisa Robertson wrote: "Sally was my college roomate and great friend for thirty-six years.  Sally was always loyal, unpretentious and un-materialistic.  She valued harmony and coworkers who were amusing more than (she valued) advancement or recognition.  Her last job was in the compliance department of Franklin Templeton Investments.  She loved theater, opera, films, and, like most of us, was a voracious reader.  Sally was the best part of my Wellesley experience, and I miss her." 

died February 10, 2004.  Margot Stout Whiting reported that her dear friend and roomate died after a relatively short and, unfortunately, unequal fight against liver cancer. Pat was survived by her husband David Kopf, daughter Suzy, 15 at the time, and by her mother.  Her father survived Pat by only two weeks. Pat was our Class Secretary from 1986 to 1991.

died on September 9 2003. Her husband, William Magenheimer, notified the College of her death. Bonnie was a child psychiatrist in Pensacola, Florida.

died on July 23, 2003 of breast cancer in her home in West Newton. She was very active in our class and beloved by many classmates.  She was a financial manager, determined athlete and volunteer and a lover of flowers. She is missed by her husband David and her daughters.

Milly died on November 23, 2002.  She was living in Great Falls, Virginia.

lost her battle with breast cancer on September 29, 2003. Joan was single and had no children.  She lived in Sausalito, California. Kate Cheney Creightson reported that Joan had many close and supportive friends who stayed the sourse with her including Wellesley alums, who traveled from all over the country to see her at the end. She says that "Joan was honest, straightforward, appropriately irreverent, optimistic and great company.  She will be missed greatly."

died November 5, 2001 of ovarian cancer. The daughter of Hartford lawyer and former Nuremberg prosecutor Edward Kenyon, Kraw grew up in Wethersfieild, Conn. She fell off her bike freshman year and missed a year of school. She earned her BA from Wellesley in 1972, and worked for the U.S. Department of Justice in Seattle before graduating from Boalt Hall School of Law in 1978. She joined the law firm of Beeson, Tayer & Kovach and became the firm's first female partner in its 50-year history. She was able to maintain a full practice despite a back condition stemming from the biking accident which left her paraplegic by the time she was 40.

In 1988, Kraw started her own practice in San Jose. Kraw and Kraw focused on employee benefits issues including representing multi-employer, multi-state pension, health and disability benefit plans.

Pauline Boerner Powers died February 16, 2000, at the age of 70. Born in Holyoke and raised in South Hadley Falls, she attended Mount Holyoke College, graduated from Harvard University in 1967 and received a master's degree from Wellesley College in 1971. She was the wife of Donald H. Powers. She had resided in Needham for 35 years and taught high school chemistry at Walpole Public Schools. She moved to East Orleans in 1995 having summered there since 1956. She was a member of the Orleans Federated Church and the Namequoit Sailing Association in South Orleans. She enjoyed singing at various churches and in organized choirs. Besides her husband, her mother and a brother, she is survived by two sons, Richard Powers of Cumberland, RI and Robert Powers of Northport, NY, a daughter Susan Powers of Boston, ten grandchildren and several nieces and nephews.

Shirley died February 19, 1998.  Rosanne Russell Phelps wrote of her fond memories of Shirley as the "bright, witty and funny friend who livened up a college summer on Martha's Vineyard."

died on February 9, 1997. The College reported this in Winter 2022.

Betsy died December 16, 1993, at the age of 44.  She was diagnosed with acute leukemia in June, 1993.  Through the rigors of chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant, she maintained an amazing level of energy and characteristic cheerfulness. She succumbed to a viral infection following the transplant. Bety served as our class vice-president from 1986 to 1991.  She headed the Southern Connecticut Wellesley Club from 1991 to 1993. Janet Steward wrote: "Those from Severance hall will remember her smile, her great laugh, and her boisterous sense of energy.  After graduating from Boston University School of Law, Betsy worked for General Electric before going into private practice in Greenwich Connecticut.  Her home was in New Canaan, where she served the schools, scouting and church."  Betsy was survived by husband Terry, daughters Susanna, then 13, Meggie, then 11, and Catherine, then 8 as well as her three sisters and her parents. Her mother and two of her sisters were Wellesley alums. Betsy's family set up a scholarship fund at Wellesley in her name. In Betsy's last appearance in our class notes she described taking her 12 year old daughter, Susanna, to the Washington reception for Hillary Rodham Clinton the day before Bill Clinton's inauguration.  Betsy said :it was the chance of a lifetime."

 died in 1977.

Elizabeth J. Rudman died of leukemia on November 23, 1977. Ellen Littlefield Battistelli wrote a tribute: "Liz finished college at NYU and then went to George Washington Law School in Washington, DC. She got leukemia in her final year but she was able to finish and even practice for a time. She was ill for almost three years and was in and out of Sloan-Kettering in New York. There were good periods for her when I think she was relatively pain free. Sadly, though, the last year was spent in the hospital. I can't tell you how incredible Liz was throughout it all. She grew to be a real legend in the hospital for both the staff and the patients. Liz was an amazing person and a true inspiration to everyone who knew and loved her."

transfered to the University of Chicago where she studied music. I believe she died on February 3, 1976. The University of Chicago Department of Music has been presenting an annual concert in memory of Cathy since her death. The Cathy Heifetz Memorial Award was established to commemorate the life and honor the memory of Cathy Heifetz (1949-1976), who came to The University of Chicago in 1973 as a student in the Department of Music. The Memorial’s first endowment created an annual award to honor a student in the Department of Music whose associations as a member of this community have been singularly marked by a spirit of caring and helpfulness.

died on March 31, 1972, at the Bethesda (MD) Naval Hospital of a chronic condition.  At the time of her death she was in her first year of law school at the Georgetown University Law Center In Washington, DC. She is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.