1991 – Fall ’19 Class Letter
Tracy Maher
401-225-9189 / [email protected]
Samantha Bailey
612-978-4124 / [email protected]
Greetings, Class of 1991! Welcome to the fall 2019 class letter. I think we may be in a fallow period — fewer exciting weddings/births/job changes but not yet time for announcing retirements or updates about children moving into the weddings-and-births phase. Updates are a bit sparse — not sure if the switch to the electronic in the spring/paper in the fall has thrown us off our rhythm, but I opted to duplicate the updates from spring so the messages below are a mix of a few you may have seen online in the spring with a couple new. Please take this as a cue to do some sharing even if you’re experiencing mid-life stasis.
SAMANTHA BAILEY FAST ’91: “Marking a year at Optum. Grateful for challenging work and a steady paycheck; less so for a nasty commute fighting the Minneapolis traffic. Spouse and kiddo will leave soon for their annual road trip to Canada, giving me several weeks of solitude that I look forward to more than I actually enjoy. We’re deep in the season where I neglect housework in favor of yard work and I have the mosquito bites to prove it. By the time this letter is published, the vegetable garden will have been harvested and put to bed but at the moment the plants are still spindly and it’s hard to imagine that lush end of summer bonanza.”
KARL FELD ’91: “It’s summer in the Carolinas. I’m planning a weekend getaway with all three daughters to the Carolina beach for Father’s Day and a big trip out to LA for the Fourth with my kids still living at home. Moved into a new home last month but still in North Carolina and working for Ipsos Public Affairs in Washington, D.C. The move put my studies for Ph.D. exams on hold, but planning to get back to that in the fall. Best to everyone!”
BECKY HUSTAD FREY ’91 and BRIAN FREY ’91: “We celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary with a trip to Arizona in October, including Phoenix, the Grand Canyon, Flagstaff, Sedona and many points in between. It was unseasonably cold and rainy, but we managed to have a great time anyway, hiking and seeing the sights.”
CHARLIE MERWIN ’91: “Ellen and I are doing great in Barrington, Illinois, where I am still overseeing the Chicago northwest suburbs for a national financial services firm. We had a lot of travel this year with trips to Italy, France and England. Our son, JOHN MERWIN ’16, was in Mozambique with the U.S. Army but is back at Fort Drum, New York, now with his wife REBECCA MCLAIN ’16. Our youngest, Katherine, has graduated from college and lives in Greenwich Village, Manhattan. Our latest Ripon “reunion” was at ESA KIRRIKKI’S ’91 wedding last fall in Massachusetts.”
MAURA MURPHY ’91: “I am doing well; still living in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, with my husband, Steve, kids Truman and Claire, and dog Benji – and still working at General Mills. I am looking forward to taking a trip to the Azores this summer with JULIE ARMATOSKI ’91, HEATHER THIEME ’91, RONA HENDERSON PARSONS ’91, KRISTEN GRAY ’91 and VICKI HAAS SYMONDS ’92.”
LORI STITCH ’91: “No earth-shattering news here, since I’ve been staying closer to home lately to dote on our nearly 19-year-old kitty. With being around more, we decided to undertake some fairly significant home-improvement projects (adding several guest suites at our place in Park City … come visit!). We’ve taken a little time off here and there: managed to catch a few of the Sundance Festival films and some skiing in between (15 minutes from sitting in our living room to sitting on the lift!), and we took a four-day mini-break to relax on St. Maarten for Bernie’s 55th birthday. Christmas week in Amsterdam (airline trip), and yesterday I caught a flight to Paris last night to spend a day with him during an airline layover there before returning to the construction. But the most exciting thing lately was petting this moose when she strolled up to me as I was returning with a load of 2×4’s from Home Depot yesterday morning!”
Don’t Forget About Our Facebook Group
If you’re on Facebook, please ask to join our Class of ’91 group for updates and Ripon news. Alternatively, send your email address to [email protected] or text me at 612-978-4124 and I can add you to the group that way.
Warmly,
SAMANTHA BAILEY FAST ’91