Wow, if you read the most recent MAINE Alumni Magazine, you are probably strutting. There are so many areas where our college has and does stand out since the 1800s to now. We may not be on every American’s tongue, but we are surely affecting their lives in many ways. I have always been proud to brag about my school.
I don’t usually make this about me, but I am so aware of how very lucky I am. For years I have been engaged in a number of organizations and associations and community projects, and I was surprised in the hospital last week (now I have a pacemaker!) when a nurse looked at me and said, “you are famous” and told those around us about a bunch of projects I did that she loved. Having lost the world’s most wonderful husband two years ago, I just put down the world’s most wonderful dog (everyone who met him said so too) for his comfort and love, so the hospital trip was no trauma, but I had a lot of time to recall and appreciate the good fortune in my life. We should never get too busy to do that!
Happy news from classmate Don Violette— he kindly included a photo of his 60th wedding anniversary dinner with wife, Janie, last October. He is a happily retired executive and entrepreneur, and Janie is a retired school secretary/receptionist. They have three adult daughters and four adult grandchildren (two boys and two girls) and are heavily involved as volunteers. As a family they all love the ocean, watching sports, learning about current affairs and history, and some traveling.
Our classmate Diane Davis Reynolds passed last November and is now keeping an eye on us. Paul Reynolds is editor of the Northwoods Sporting Journal and would love to hear from you at (207) 745-3133 or vpaulr@tds.net.
We also share our caring on the loss of Donald McBeth, who was residing in Vero Beach, FL, but was in Maine for a family gathering.
May I take a moment to recognize those members of our class who have donated to the wonderful University of Maine Alumni Association: John Abbott, Sandra and William Brewer, Linda Clapp, Sandra and Robert Clark, Mary Davis, Mary Forbush, Ernest and Nancy Marriner Jackson ’67, Carole Ross, Gordon Tennett, and David Young.
Big or small, donations make such a difference to the Alumni Association and the University of Maine.