Hope 2023 is going well for each of you! I had so much news from Alison Weiskopf last time that I am going to finish up with her news first.
Alison recently had lunch in NYC with Anne Sorenson Shaver and Ann Searle Horowitz.
Anne Sorensen Shaver lives in the Bay Area with her husband of 33 years, Dave. Her oldest son, Tyler, graduated from University of California San Diego, works at a startup and recently bought a house with his high school sweetheart. Her middle son, Andrew, went to Columbia University and works for PwC, speaks five languages and lives in Europe. Her daughter, Olivia, is at University of Southern California studying psychology.
Ann Searle Horowitz is coaching a YMCA swim team, works with classmate Paul Stratta on the iPlayMe2 tennis app and just finished the sequel to her middle grade novel “Trident.” She was excited to play in the Eastern Tennis Sectionals with her USTA team in fall 2022.
Scott Ukrop and his wife, Lilo, are still in Richmond, Virginia, but find they are spending a good amount of time in Louisiana, where Lilo grew up. Scott is a managing director at NRV, an early-stage growth fund investing primarily in tech and better for you/better for the planet consumer goods companies, where he works closely with fellow alum Laura Mooney Markley ’07, M.Acc. ’08. Lilo is teaching a second-year class at the Darden School at the University of Virginia, where she and Scott met. Scott and Lilo’s son, Ned, got married in Dallas in July 2020, and their daughter, Polly, got married on Avery Island in Louisiana in October 2021. Ned and his wife live in New York, where they are working following Ned’s graduation this past spring from Darden. Polly is completing her MBA at Darden and will be working in New York as well after graduation. Their younger son, Mac, is working in Washington, D.C., in real estate finance, and despite the number of Darden family members, has no plans to attend there (at the moment).
J.D. Neary has been in Richmond, working at the McGuireWoods law firm, since 2003. He is presently the chief legal talent officer. He is happily married to Mary Beal Neary, and they have two children: Jack (recently engaged!) and Gretchen. Both children chose UVA, which J.D. is questioning as a personal failing …
Jim Lovegren and his wife, Deidra, are transitioning back to Virginia from their longtime home in Florida. They recently bought a condo in Charlottesville (the place that they were set up on a blind date 30 years ago by She-Chris Neikirk). Deidra has just published a book, “The Medicine Girl,” which is on Amazon. Jim worked in Big Law for 20-plus years and still has his own firm but has been working full time for the past 18 months at the Small Business Administration, Office of Disaster Assistance on the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program. They have three children who are all doing well.
Now to begin the news from Marna Ashburn, who moved back to Williamsburg in 2015 and is enjoying life with new and longtime friends. She still writes (www.householdbaggage.com) and does a podcast (www.ethicsandetiquette.com) as well as takes advantage of all the local area has to offer.
Susan Hudgins Franz, who lives three miles from Marna, is staying active in state and national politics and spends time in the winter at her home in Florida. She lives in the same neighborhood on the James River as Kari Guillen Traver and Tony Traver, so she and Kari are paddle boarding and walking buddies. They all love to watch the sunsets together on Kari and Tony’s dock. Kari retired in the spring, an event which was marked by a party attended by Lilly Graves Weber, Susan Gordon Henry and Alison Horrocks Miller ’84, M.B.A ’88, among many others. Kari is now in the full-time grandmother business (she has seven grandchildren).
Kari, Susan, and Marna go to the local brewery for music bingo hosted by Maria Zwick Schisa, whose day job is a teacher.
Janet Payne Papazis left Williamsburg and moved to Northern Virginia but hopes to get back very soon for music bingo and sunsets.
Susan Bowe and Marna attended an outdoor Jason Isbell concert last summer and hung out with Dave Anderson ’86 at the beer tent beforehand and found him to be the life of the party. Susan and Marna discovered by accident that their fathers both went to Granby High School in Norfolk at the same time, and Marna’s grandmother taught piano to Susan’s dad. They had plans to get their fathers together for a reunion, but sadly Marna’s dad passed away from pancreatic cancer before they could make it happen.
Marge Johnson Bessler and John Bessler have lived in Williamsburg since John retired from the Army. (He’s now a Department of Defense civilian.) Kari and Marna ran into them on the Capital Trail when they were biking, and John and Marge were walking their dog.
Marna bought a queen headboard off Facebook marketplace only to find the seller was Keith Exton and his wife, Cindi. They’ve sold their house in Governor’s Land and are living temporarily in an apartment while they renovate a house near Berret’s restaurant in CW. Marna got to hang out with them at their epic Duck Donuts Tailgate during the Elon game.
Elaine Carlson ’84, Ed.S. ’94, Ph.D. ’97 is Marna’s go-to in Williamsburg for attending W&M soccer and volleyball matches. She recently retired and invited Ann Kempski ’84 and Marna to Duck, North Carolina, for a fun September beach week to celebrate. Kelly Halligan Zimmerman ’84 and Marna stay in close touch as they do a podcast together called “Ethics and Etiquette: A Thought-Provoking Dialogue About Everyday Dilemmas” (available on Spotify and Apple). Kelly is an attorney with a wicked sense of humor who brings a great perspective to each episode.
The nice thing about living in Williamsburg is that Marna gets to see alumni as they pass through. In August, she had dinner at Paul’s with Angela Hussey Owens, who traveled from her home in Colorado Springs to help her daughter, Savannah, get settled before she starts her MBA at W&M. Angela’s high school classmate, Tom Tierney, has returned to his hometown of Garden City, New York, after living in Wilmington, North Carolina, near his brother and sister for several years.
Mike Lorch (now retired) flies in from New York a few times a year to play golf with friends in Williamsburg, and he and Marna always get together for dinner.
In June, Marna spent a terrific long weekend with Mary Willis Jones Page and her husband, Tommy, at their lakeside home in Salisbury, North Carolina.
Thanks to Alison and Marna for all the great news! Hope to hear from more of you soon. Valete, omnes!