Thornton Academy Postscripts Alumni Magazine Winter 2008 | Page 16

www.thorntonacademy.org CLASS NOTES 1927 Ralph Meserve was recognized in August for 75 years as a member of Saco Mason Lodge 9. 1936 The Roy Fairfield Maine History Center at Dyer Library in Saco was dedicated in September. A number of alumni and friends contributed to an endowment fund that Roy set up to provide professional support for the center. Walter and Althea Fogg Johnson rented a house at Ferry Beach in July, and the extended Fogg and Johnson families spent time reconnecting. Walter celebrated his 90th birthday last May with a party and an avalanche of more than 150 cards and messages. 1937 Marianne Holt Gillis wrote the Alumni Office in the fall: “I am now in an assisted living apartment at the Gorham House, in Gorham. . . My house will be up for sale soon.” 1939 Marian Adams Hanson volunteers at her church’s thrift shop two days a week. 1940 Mahlon Ross shared info with his classmates recently. “I am still very much involved in the Pussini Foundation, The Richard Wagner Society of New York and the Vocal Record Collectors Society,” he wrote. 1942 Harold Blaisdell wrote last September, expressing how much he had enjoyed the Senior Alumni Reunion. “I really enjoyed the gettogether yesterday. It’s amazing to me how much Thornton has grown since I graduated. I hugged several of the ladies. (I wouldn’t have dared to when I was a student).” 1943 65th Reunion Mary Sawyer Jordan wrote in August: “Still breathing (huffing & puffing). Just had our 60th Class Reunion at UMO. Looking ahead to our 65th at TA in 2008, RAHRAH-RAH.” Marilyn Leary Milliken also shared news: “I now have two great granddaughters, Lilly and Keira Milliken, one granddaughter, Courtney, five grandsons, Ashley, Todd, Blake, Everett, and John Milliken.” Mary Brownlee Savage is now residing at Evergreen Manor. Earl Dawley wrote: “As an electrical engineer for Western Electric Co., I traveled around the world to Asia, Africa, Europe and South America, as well as to islands in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and the Caribbean.” 1944 Marjorie Drowne Googins has lived in Englewood, FL, for 35 years. Rachel Whipple Small is living in Gainesville, Florida, and still active in civic and political organizations. 1945 Pat Henderson Reny retired from 16 Saco & Biddeford Savings on July 27, 2007, her 80th birthday, after 19 years. She is cleaning out her home and moving to a new apartment. Irene Lonsdale Rancourt and her husband George celebrated their 61st wedding anniversary last summer with family and friends. Helen Lundy Boyd and her husband Lee celebrated 60 years of marriage in August. “We have a son, Justin, an electrician for Daisy Brand Sour Cream, and a daughter, Lundra, a veterinarian and also a BS degree nurse, and studying for her masters in nursing. LOVE TEXAS!” 1946 Wallace Nutting completed two terms as mayor of Biddeford and has decided to take some time off. He and his wife, Jane Walker Nutting ‘47, plan to move from Biddeford Pool to Saco. (See story on page 21). Robert McAvoy returned to campus in October when he and five other alumni were inducted into the TA Athletic Hall of Fame. See story on page 11. 1947 Raymond Hackett, his sons Bruce and Ray, and their wives, dropped by campus for an impromptu tour in October. It was the first time Ray had returned to campus in many years. He reminisced about chemistry and physics classes, the football team, being class president, and taking his now-wife to the senior prom in Emery Gym. Ramona Cook wrote in November: “We continue to divide our time between Connecticut and Vermont. We have become great grandparents. I am very involved in art as a landscape painter and am doing very well both with exhibitions and sales.” Catherine Letellier Marceau moved to California in 1958, living in Redwood City and Milpitas, and is now in Turlock. She has been married for 58 years and has 19 grandchildren. 1948 60th Reunion John Anagnostis has published a book, “49 Storer Street,” a compilation of articles written over the years for the Journal Tribune about Saco and Biddeford, starting in 1600 and working up to the 20th century. Janet Garon Huot is keeping busy volunteering at TA, the Animal Welfare Society and Bon Appetit Soup Kitchen in Biddeford. Ernie volunteers at TA “when they need him”—which is often! 1949 Jeanine Wortman Post is busy with church volunteer work, yoga, bridge, and trips to see her son Doug and his wife Ellen. Ellen Gagnon Dube and her husband Noel “Pete” have been amusing Saco residents for 2 years with their whimsical “lawn men.” The stick figures, Fred and Clyde, on the Dubes’ Ferry Road lawn, change costumes and poses to mark holidays, beach time, graduation, and other occasions. During the football season, one wore a TA helmet and the oth- Photo by Shawn Patrick Ouellette ‘89 Christine Clarke, Bob Hurrell and Ella Mae Grant Blackmore check out an old ‘62 yearbook at their reunion. er a helmet from Biddeford, with the ball changing hands occasionally. Bill Kany has left his position as chairman of the board of Saco & Biddeford Savings at the age of 75. He jokes: “I got caught up in my own rules,” meaning the mandatory retirement age. Bill remains active in a wide variety of Saco civic affairs and Thornton activities. 1952 Helen Rancourt Hilton writes that she is “retired and loving it!” She and her husband are enjoying their kids and grand kids. They spend the winter in Florida, and Helen volunteers in the church office two days a week when they are in NH. Marga ret Hooper Cote is still busy with the troops at Westover Air Force Base near her home in Chicopee, MA. Last fall she said goodbye to her nephew, Rod Hooper, son of Herbert Hooper ‘47, who was leaving for Kuwait. “If any of you have family members leaving Westover, please know that they will be well fed and cared for and sent off with a big hug and a promise that the USO will be here when they return.” 1953 55th Reunion Classmates will be pleased to hear that the new gym at Alfred Elementary School in Alfred, ME, where Frank Tarazewich was principal for many years, has been named in his honor. A committee is raising funds for the memorial sign, asking individuals and groups to “buy a letter.” Contact Skip Huot—207/2833859 or Julie Berry Gerrish ‘72, a teacher at the school— 207/3249499. Rita Choroszy Boudreau wrote in the fall: “We now have 24 grandchildren! The oldest is Capt. Joe Morin, an Air Force helicopter search and rescue pilot now serving his fourth tour in Iraq.” Audrey Murray Goucher called in September to offer old TA photos from her mom, Marjorie Rhodes ‘32. Audrey was a member of the Class of ‘53 but left at the end of her sophomore year. Donald Lester retired in 1991 from Jordan Marsh and in 2001 from LL Bean. He and Robert Tims were inducted into the TA Athletic Hall of Fame in October 2007. (See story on page 11.) 1954 Barbara Hobb Storck is celebrating POSTSCRIPTS * WINTER 2008 the 14th anniversary of her shop, Heart’s Desire, in downtown Saco. The shop sells consignment clothing and accessories, everything from casual to evening wear, and some really fascinating curiosity items. Richard Grant was inducted into the TA Athletic Hall of Fame in October. (See story on page 11.) 1955 Donna Hill Lee started an education consulting business training teachers three years ago. In March 2007 she spent three weeks in Australia and New Zealand. Shirley Peck is retired and enjoyed watching the Red Sox win another world championship. When Marilyn Macomber Ives moved back to North Saco, she found a new pastime. She volunteers with the Ambassador Horse Program, providing foster homes for horses who would otherwise be euthanized or sold at auction. The organization accepts donations of retired standardbred horses from trainers and retrains them for pleasure riding. Marilyn provides the “land, labor and love,” and foster horses enjoy the company of her horse, Chestnut. Also involved in the program is Lori Pennell ‘93, who does much of the actual training. 1956 Richard Monroe and his wife Susan purchased a new home on Harrison Bay. “We love it here in Tennessee,” he wrote. “We are in perfect health and are still involved with special needs students in Hamilton County schools, enjoying life to its fullest.” 1957 The Class of ‘57 enjoyed their 50th class reunion last October at Homecoming, with 31 classmates gathering from as far away as Florida. They enjoyed three days of activities. After all the celebrating was over, the class presented Thornton with a donation. Leone Cloutier Rickabaugh and her husband Reed took their ninth trip to Alaska with their RV. They were on the road for six months. Elizabeth Treadwell McKinnon and her husband John celebrated their 50th anniversary in July with family and friends. 1958 50th Reunion Marjorie Cole Thompson wrote in