CLASS NOTES
WINTER 2013 | ST. LAWRENCE UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE 35
old. Jan said,“I guess we are tough old birds who
still think young while putting up with the vicis-
situdes of old bodies.” Jan and Lorna have nine
grandchildren – two superstars in college and the
youngest is 3. Jan preaches occasionally in south-
ern New England Unitarian Universalist pulpits to
fill in for colleagues needing a Sunday off.
Jan received a call from
Roger Greene
in Sunset,
Maine. Let us hear from Roger.
Thanks to
Sue Belden Rice
for sharing her very
productive garden photos. It looks as if it requires
long, strenuous, fatiguing labor. I’m sure the re-
sults are nutritionally beneficial.
Betsy Colyer Guernsey
lost her home’s first
floor and contents in the massive, unexpected
flood thanks to Hurricane Irene in August 2011.
She is now home with all new furniture. Betsy lost
the use of her right arm in a fall on ice two years
ago. She says the arm is only useful now for wine
gulping. She has to take up a new hobby since
she can’t play either tennis or golf.
Nancy Purcell Murphy
has been spending time
in her old stomping grounds since her wonderful
and talented husband, Doc, passed away in April.
Our condolences to Nancy and her family.
Liz Ehret
and
Dave Beebe
took a trip with the
Canal Society of NewYork State to visit the canals
of Belgium. For several weeks after the tour they
explored Normandy and theWorldWar I Maginot
Line fortifications. At the end of the trip, they vis-
ited some of their favorite places in Germany from
the time when Dave served in the Army. Family
members trace their roots to the Channel Islands,
and they spent a week primarily on the island of
Guernsey delving into family history, sharing sto-
ries with cousins, particularly how they survived
World War II, and walking in the footsteps of Vic-
tor Hugo and Renoir.
Bunnie White Lord
is retired and happily busy.
She talks with
Leslie Zittell Jose
,
who is doing
well and keeping busy. Leslie is involved with a
group of high-schoolers at a local private acad-
emy. They are the Sages and Seekers…. great
name for the seniors especially. Leslie gets to use
her marvelous gift of storytelling and works one-
to-one on oral history.
When
Marian Finck Moore
was visiting a
friend in East Falmouth, Mass., she met Doris
Ferry for dinner and a play,
The Student Prince
.
She traveled on to cousins in Sebago Lake,
Maine, and then to pick up her grandkids at
camps in New Hampshire.
Bob Biernacki
humorously calls this magazine
“
a guide to better living.” A correction to the sum-
mer issue is that Bob is retired from selling radio/
TV stations after years of station management.
Len Combi
and Carolyn returned from a won-
derful two-week vacation to Italy with both of
their sons and their families. They rented a house
with a pool about 30 miles outside of Florence.
The second week they spent on Lake Como in
Northern Italy. The six grandkids were just great
on the trip.
The
Fiske Guide to Colleges
2013
,
pp. 605-607, is
a must-read for all Laurentians. The article about
our University should make us all feel very proud
of being Laurentians for Life.
1957
Joyce Caldwell Rhodes ’57
5-
C Oak Crest Court
Novato, CA 94947
415-892-9351
RHDJY@aol.com
Next Reunion: 60
th
, 2017
Ina Rappe Wishner
displayed eight watercolor
paintings in Port Chester, N.Y. Because of an in-
jury to her right hand, Ina has recently tried pow-
dered pastels appliedwith brush or sponge. Daily
walks under White Plains ancient trees provide
the muse and the exercise.
Jean Aurnhammer Holmes
now lives in Berke-
ley, Calif., and she and I plan to get together. We
are about 40 minutes apart.
NancyMattisonTomion
and husband Jack host-
ed a family reunion in August. Christmas plans had
them in Boston to celebrate with daughter Lesley’s
family. Grandchild Jack is now a kindergartener.
Let’s close our eyes for a moment and
reflect. We’ll call it a St. Lawrence “mo-
ment of meditation.”
Think about your first great opportunity,
your first “big break,” that professional
or personal door that was opened for
you by someone else. Many of us in the
St. Lawrence alumni family can link that
memory to at least one St. Lawrence per-
son, because we have opened doors for
each other for generations.
I remember my first big opportunity
to interview for a teaching position
when I was right out of school. My application sat in a pile with
hundreds of others, but I got a chance to interview thanks to a
St. Lawrence alumnus in the leadership team of the school dis-
trict, and from there I was able to bring the skills and competen-
cies I had acquired at St. Lawrence into play. I got the job because
of those skills and competencies. The alumnus had helped by
opening a door for me, and I was able to make the most of that
wonderful opportunity, which shaped the rest of my career.
Regardless of your profession, I’ll bet many of you have similar sto-
ries. Perhaps it was an introduction; perhaps it was an interview;
perhaps it was a critical piece of advice or mentoring that made all
the difference. In today’s professional world, it is often internships
that launch young professionals into successful careers.
There are so many ways for one Laurentian to help another. One
of the most important is by offering internship opportunities,
whether paid or unpaid, to students. If you are not in a position
to sponsor an internship yourself, you may know people or orga-
nizations that could. If so, I urge you to refer them to the Career
Services office at St. Lawrence.
St. Lawrence’s new Strategic Map, “The St. Lawrence Promise,”
speaks of the importance of experiential learning. If St. Lawrence
is to continue its positive momentum, we must offer students the
kinds of experiences that will prepare them for future success.
Internships provide such experiences. In offering students these
life-changing chances, we help the whole St. Lawrence commu-
nity. We reinforce the very real image of St. Lawrence as a family
that takes care of its own. We make our own St. Lawrence diplo-
mas more valuable. And best of all, we get a good look at some
of the best and brightest young professionals in the world! Spon-
soring an internship is a win-win scenario.
When I spoke to the new students at last fall’s First-Year Con-
vocation, I predicted that each of them would have a classic
St. Lawrence “door opening” experience at some point (if they
had not already). I told them that St. Lawrence alumni look out
for one another and provide one another with opportunities.
I made these claims with confidence, because I have seen evi-
dence of this phenomenon at every turn in my life. Every Lauren-
tian I know has a story that confirms this truth.
I call upon the Laurentian alumni family to keep this beautiful
cycle of opportunity alive. Let’s all commit ourselves to the im-
portant task of generating and discovering internships for our
young Laurentian family members.
If you have an idea about an internship you might be able to of-
fer, or about a possible prospect you’d like to recommend, please
contact the Career Services Office at St. Lawrence. Thank you all
for being the best college alumni community in the world!
Stephen Todd ’92
Alumni Executive Council President
YOUR A LUMN I COUNC I L
That Big Break