Reflections Magazine Issue #71 - Spring 2010 | Page 22

Alumni News

Valiant Women: Celebrating the 90s
By Jennifer Hamlin Church

As Siena Heights celebrates
its 90th anniversary, meet
four alumnae who can point
to their own “90 (plus) years
of excellence.”
In Siena’s early years, students (all female
at that time) were encouraged to become
“valiant women.” The reference, in Proverbs 31, describes a woman whose value
is beyond measure and is sometimes
translated as the “worthy wife” or “virtuous woman.” But the Adrian Dominicans
embraced (and inspired generations of
graduates with) the translation extolling
“the valiant woman” with its connotations
of strong leadership.
Meet Eileen Sanford, Ann Tompert, Mary
Barker and Sister Clare Gleeson. As young
women, they all attended St. Joseph College, graduating before the Siena Heights
name appeared. As alumnae with a combined age of 370, they are living proof
that being valiant is not just for the young.
Survivors all, they have endured illness and
loss, joy and achievement, relying on grace,
wit and creativity to “meet life bravely, gallantly, by (their) faith kept unafraid” (Siena
Heights alma mater). We salute them!

Eileen Burns Sanford ’37
Greenwich, Connecticut

Raised in a large family in Bad Axe, Mich.,
Eileen went from Adrian to the University
of Southern California to study writing,
before relocating in suburban New York
to raise her own large family with husband
Bill. But she never stopped writing; her
life and times are chronicled in countless
poems. She has been an active volunteer
for decades, and maintains a keen sense
of humor. “I’ve been spending time being
18 again” is how she once described recalling “the wonderful times I had at Siena,
way back in the dark ages!”
We reprint here the opening lines of one
of Eileen’s poems, which seem particularly
appropriate as we remember our history.
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Reflections Spring ’10

Alumni Profiles
Eileen Burns Sanford ‘37 and husband Bill

Anna Bakeman Tompert ‘38

“Absent Friends”—by Eileen Sanford
From oldest to youngest
we raise our glasses high
in a toast to “Absent Friends.”
It is a toast of broadest scope
for those we love, and miss,
and hope are well and happy…

1936 issue of The Adriannum. An accomplished armchair traveler, Ann’s books for
children explore diverse cultures, historic
saints, and creative problem-solving. Firm in
her faith, with a keen eye on contemporary
politics, Ann continues to smile at life and at
herself, often signing her letters “D.O.L.” for
Dotty Old Lady…which she clearly is not!

Anna Bakeman Tompert ’38

Mary Duker Barker ’39

Port Huron, Michigan

“Why do you keep writing?” someone
asked Ann a few years ago. “How could I
not?” she answered. “That’s what writers do.”
She should know. With 40-plus children’s
books to her credit, Ann continues writing (longhand on a yellow tablet), sending
manuscripts to agents, corresponding with
publishers, speaking to groups when asked.
This past July, she was a fe ]\