CLASS NOTES
46
WINTER 2013 | ST. LAWRENCE UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE
1977
Bonnie Steuart Taylor ’77
9823
Fosbak Drive
Vienna, VA 22182
703-281-2281
bonnie.steuart@gmail.com
http://slu77.blogspot.com
Next Reunion: 35
th
,
May 30-June 2, 2013
(
cluster with ’78, ’79)
Kim Linker Stebbings
sent a special message
in late August upon the passing of our good
friend and classmate,
Kathy Fitch Davis
(
see
also “In Memory”):
“
Kathy passed away after nearly five years
of fighting breast cancer, surrounded by her
wonderful and supportive family. We were
blessed to be put together as roommates in
1973.
Little did we know it would result in a
lifetime of friendship. The last time I saw her and
Bill ‘75 was on Father’s Day in June, and she was
as energetic, positive and upbeat as ever. We
enjoyed a lovely brunch and it was a wonderful
reunion and a great last memory.
“
When I’d visited her in April we’d talked about
all of our great memories of her KDS and SLU
friends. She’d kept her ‘Pig Book’ – if you can be-
lieve it! She even cookedMrs. Brown’s Chicken Di-
van recipe, which we loved at KDS. It was just like
Kathy to remember all the little details and plan a
wonderful weekend of ‘old times’together -- I will
treasure that forever.
“
The funeral in Eden, N.C., was a wonderful
outpouring of support. Many of her students
attended and said she was the best teacher they
had ever had. Remembrance donations can be
made to the Breastcare Research Foundation,
bcrfcure.org, or to research in breast cancer at
Duke University.”
Pat Wadsworth
sent a photo of ‘77 and ‘78
classmates, taken in November 2011 at the
home of
Elizabeth Connor
and her husband,
Bob Weis. The get-together was initiated when
Jim McCabe
saw a photo of Elizabeth and Bob’s
son, Connor Weis ’15, in the “Chips”section of the
magazine – “a testimony to the utility of these
photos!” Pat said. Many of the participants had
been getting together each November for pre-
Thanksgiving dinners, a tradition that has kept
folks in touch for nearly 35 years. Attendees came
from New Hampshire, New York, Michigan and
Massachusetts. “We agreed that everyone looks
pretty good considering our advancing age,” Pat
added. “Thanks to Joel Collamer ‘78 for sending
this along!”
Holly Steuart Robertson
is again in the
Emmy race! As this goes to deadline, CBS-21
in Harrisburg, Pa., where she is vice president
and general manager, has received 13 Emmy
nominations in 12 categories. The station was
the only local station nominated in the “Best
Local Newscast” category. Holly has put her
stamp on every station in her 35-year career,
winning Emmys in Albany, Rochester, Phoenix,
Las Vegas and Bismarck, North Dakota!
As for her sister and your faithful reporter, Don
and I are entering empty-nest status, having
dropped our youngest, Carly, at UVA, where she is
a“first-year”and loving it! Our daughter Tekla is a
senior at the University of Mary Washington and
Drew is enjoying post-graduate life in Brooklyn,
working for Kiehl’s.
I was thrilled to arrange a visit with Denise Fasa-
noMcDermott‘78 last summer while at the Jersey
shore. It was great to catch up and get the scoop
on her and her three daughters.
Gayle Viebranz Welch
and
Barb Williams
Wiederecht
have agreed to serve as our 35
th
Reunion co-chairs! Barb reports, “I am alive and
well and living in Westport, Conn. My husband,
David ’78, works for GE in Stamford. We have two
children: Christopher, a senior at the University
of Wisconsin, and Caitlin ’15. Yes, we have a
CHIP! It has been fun going back to St. Lawrence
as a parent and running into many people we
know, also now parents, as well as professors
who are still there. Campus is still beautiful and
the new buildings are amazing.
“
Gayle and I encourage you to make the trip to
Canton to reconnect for our 35th Reunion, May
30 -
June 2, 2013. It’s a cluster reunion with ’78
and ’79, so there should be many familiar faces. If
anyone has any ideas for activities and/or would
like to help with the planning, please get in touch
with either me
(bwiedere@optonline.net
) or
Gayle (
rgwelch@comcast.net)
. There is also a sur-
vey on the SLU website that can be filled out for
your RSVP and to submit ideas. We hope to see as
many of you as possible -- who can believe how
fast the years have flown by?!”
Gayle adds that she and Rob live in North An-
dover, Mass. He works at Spaulding Rehabilita-
tion Hospital in Boston. Conor graduated from
St. Lawrence in 1997 and married a classmate, Ra-
chel Harrington Welch ’97. They were expecting
their first child in January.“It’s hard to believe that
Viebs is going to be a grandparent!” she wrote.
Megan graduated from Villanova in ’09 and is in
Denver, while her youngest son graduated from
William & Mary in 2011, and is in graduate school
at Chapman University for film production.
Gayle has kept in touch with
Marty Lawthers,
who lives in Saranac Lake, N.Y., and has a daugh-
ter who attends St. Lawrence. Last summer, Gayle
finished a six-year term on the Alumni Council
Executive Committee, “an incredible experience
that allowed me to visit campus twice a year and
to interact with the students on campus. They are
intelligent, curious, and motivated to make the
most of their St. Lawrence experience.
“
St. Lawrence has a lot of exciting new programs
and is a very different place from when we were
students,” she added. “Check out the website or
become a friend of SLU on Facebook to learn
more about what’s happening on campus.
Barb and I are looking forward to seeing lots of
classmates at Reunion!”
I give because
“
I give to St. Lawrence out of a sense of gratitude for four years
of a rigorous education. I was trained to think, question, defend,
and articulate my position. I believe I was living the meaning of a
“
I give to St. Lawrence out of a sense of grati-
tude for four years of a rigorous education. I
was trained to think, question, defend, and
articulate my position. I believe I was living the
meaning of a liberal arts education.
“
At St. Lawrence, students are challenged to
learn and grow and compete in today’s compli-
cated world. As alumni, we are called to help
as mentors and as generous givers of our time
and talent. The goal is to encourage and support our students as they become
flexible, responsible, creative, ethical and moral leaders. St. Lawrence must
provide that first-rate education to help deliver this outcome. This is why I
give.”
–
Jim Polos ’66
To read why other alumni support St. Lawrence, go to
www.stlawu.edu/igivebecause
.
I give because .