This page is devoted to written tributes to classmates who have died. It all started with a close-knit group of special friends who have gotten together annually for many years now. Ties started our sophomore year, mainly, with a core group who had the good fortune to live in Mountain View, at that time a sophomore dorm, with additions from Woodbridge. The recent death of Jan Speirs Sprague, whose obituary is linked to her name on the ‘Deceased Class Members’ page, resulted in a flurry of emails, relating mournful and happy memories. Rather than creating another link, this page started with a collation of outpourings of love and grief from many of her friends in this group.

It is my hope that other groups of friends will create additional records of this nature, giving not only memories, but healing to friends, families and classmates who survive. Please send the collation to the Web Coordinator for inclusion in our website.

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Wendy Goepel Brooks: A very moving tribute to Wendy can be found in the newsletter of The United Farm Workers, HERE. I do hope you will read it. Wendy and I were in Safford our freshman year, and I remember her fondly.

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Sue Bradley Cabot. Sue requested that donations be made in her name to the Maine Coast Heritage Trust (https://www.mcht.org/).

More memories and tributes for you to pursue are HERE. We will miss her…

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Jacqueline ‘Jackie’ Cannon Brown. Jackie’s daughter Amanda wrote a beautiful tribute to her mother, and included a request for stories and memories from those who knew Jackie, so she could pass them on to her son Charlie, Jackie’s grandson, who sadly is too young to remember his grandmother. I hope classmates who knew Jackie well will send their memories to Amanda.

This is the tribute from Amanda, written on December 15, 2017.

Amanda M. Brown
c/o estate of Jacqueline Brown
419 E 57 St Apt 12F
New York, NY 10022-3060—
Email: brownster73@yahoo.com

It’s taken me a while to write this. Doing so makes this real and I don’t want it to be. I apologize to those of you who are finding this out through Facebook instead of a phone call. She loved a lot of friends and family and this past week has been hard. Mom died peacefully in her sleep on December 9th with her beloved Snickers at her feet. She passed before some ends were tied, questions answered, and stories told. She was the most independent, strong and fearless woman I knew and I’m lucky she is my mom. She faced adversity with grace, flair, and a bit of sass.

Those of you who knew her, know you were loved if she called you “friend.” She went by lots of names, Jackie, Mom, Auntie Juan, and Mamma B, but her favorite name came recently in “Grammy.” She was so looking forward to her upcoming trip to Cleveland to be with us for Christmas so that she could witness the joy of Christmas through Charlie’s eyes and we could hit the day after sales at Target, Crate & Barrel, and Pier 1 as has come to be a family tradition. I know she’s pissed she will miss it. We will do what we planned and keep her in our hearts while we do. It will be hard. Friday, December 8th was the last time I talked with her. We spoke about her upcoming trip to Cleveland for Christmas and how much she was looking forward to it. Charlie told her about his day at school and she sang him “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer”. We talked about our plans for her trip. I was going to fly to NY this weekend, help her pack, drop off Snickers at the dog sitter, take a few bags of clothes to be donated, and we would then fly back to Cleveland together. She was really looking forward to it. We both told each other that we loved one another and then hung up. I fully expected to talk to her the next morning. If I’d know that simple regular everyday conversation would be our last, I would have said so much more. But, I didn’t get that chance.

Mom was born in Erie PA on July 23rd 1938. She attended Erie Country Day and then went to Chatham Hall. She earned her college degree in Byzantine History from Mount Holyoke College. After college, she moved to New York City and worked for AFS for a number of years. Mom also worked at The Day School, Allen Stevenson, Fountain House,
and the Amateur Comedy Club. She was a master at fundraising and development. She knew so many people and their stories and how they were connected. It was amazing to listen to her talk about people she knew. She loved to travel, to entertain friends at her apartment, to shop for great deals, and to read a lot of books. She completed the Sunday NY Times crossword puzzle often. Yep, often! Most recently, her passion lay in rescuing Schnauzers and fostering for NJSRN. Snickers was her precious second baby.

Mom did not want a sad goodbye. She wanted a party to bring her friends together and to laugh, to share memories and to connect. Some of you may not have seen each other in a while and so getting together would make her very happy. And, she would have loved that it be in NYC, her home that she loved so much. So that is what we are going to do. It will not be until after the New Year and once details of her estate are more settled, I will have time to thoughtfully plan the event with family and get information out to you. Please email me at brownster73@yahoo.com if you would like details about such an event in NYC. I may also post info here. I think we will have a small memorial at our church here in Cleveland after the holidays as well.

Many of you have asked if there is anything you can do to help. My answer is yes. Mom had so many wonderful stories about her adventures and her life. She did so many cool things, many of them with you. I was hoping she would share them herself with Charlie as he grew up. I am asking your help so that I can do that for her. Some of her stories will forever be emboldened in my memories of her, but many will come from those of you who have known her far longer than I did. I would like to collect these stories and share them with Charlie as he grows up. They don’t have to be life-altering memories of her. They may be things you remember her telling you in passing or a funny recollection that made you and her laugh. I will take any tidbit you are willing to share. Not only will that help me pass along her legacy to Charlie, but also I think it will help our family mourn. I would really appreciate anything you are willing to share. Please email them to jcbstories@gmail.com. If you’d rather mail them, I will happily send you my address. I may wait a bit to read them, but please know I thank you for taking the time to do this.

I will be placing an obituary in The New Work Times tomorrow and Sunday. She’d hate that I had to write it as she wanted to give final approval. She would say save yourmoney for flowers and donate to a dog rescue. Her favorite was New Jersey Schnauzer Network. P.O. Box 36, Fanwood, NJ 07023.

I hope I did ok Mom. Now if the Browns could just win a game for you on Sunday! Help
’em out if ya can! I love you so much! My heart is broken…. We all send you kisses!

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Eileen ‘Nini’ Shanley Kraus

I hope you will take the time to read this story about Nini which appeared in the Hartford Courant. It is an extraordinary story about an extraordinary woman. To see the article, copy the link and paste it in a new tab on your browser. Thanks to Debby Dodge Wood for bringing it to my attention.

http://www.courant.com/hc-extraordinary-life-eileen-krause-20170729-story.html

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Cece Frack Scott’s Bio Page from our 55th Reunion

This is an open and frank explanation of her recent health problems leading to her death. It is something she obviously wanted to share with us, so HERE it is.

And HERE is her obituary written by her wife, Astrid Lindstrom (MHC ’74.

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In Remembrance of Jan Speirs Sprague

Jan’s sophomore year classmates, mostly in Mountain View, have gotten together for several days every September for many years. When the news of her death reached us, almost immediately after her husband Dick’s call to Katie Frum Buttenwieser, there was an outpouring of affection and grief as the emails criss-crossed the country. We as a group decided to collate the most personal remembrances and share them with others in our class, as well as her family. Priscilla Cass Hundley, who has been in touch with Dick, reported that “Dick and Alison, Amy and Jen would love to have such a tribute, especially from Jan’s MHC friends.” You can see more from Priscilla below.

Katie Frum Buttenwieser: Those of us who were in Belmont in September admired her determination to be part of our gathering as well as her lively participation in our conversations in spite of her physical challenges.  Because of her remarkable spirit, I join Dick in the disbelief that she has died.  As we all know, the friendships that we formed at MHC seem almost eternal.

Judy Sayler Olmer: She has come through so much before and always seemed to have that special indomitable life force.

Gretchen Hall: We need so many more Janets in this world to help listen and heal and change people’s lives,  as well as to love all her kids and grandkids and all of us.  I’m so thankful she was part of my life, and our lives, for so many years with thick and thin on all sides as we have moved along our journey. How many lives are richer for her friendship, professional counsel, and just plain being!  Janet was tough and strong as well as funny and fun.

Julia Wharton Douglas: Jan was always at the center of a lively conversation! Always animated and articulate and full of good humor.

Willie Hann Young: Such a loss!  Janet was one of the most vital, caring and funny individuals I’ve ever known. Somehow, like her family, I thought she’d probably pull through this latest crisis and be telling us all about it in September. I will always think of her sitting at the kitchen table in Vermont or Belmont, captivating us with her bigger-than-life stories. How I wish we could have recorded some of them! She will be greatly missed by so many people. She seemed to have friends everywhere and touched us all with her caring and kindness.  It was a privilege to know her.

Ann Kingman Williams: Precious Ones, I am so sorry to get this news, a reminder once again that life is terminal. What wonderful friendships we have shared over all these years, to be cherished. I know we will all remember Jan with great love, and that her presence will be felt in all of our future gatherings. Aren’t we just so lucky, though??

Nancy Rich Coolidge: It is a huge loss to her close family, and to those of us who kept in touch every year as well.  When I think of Jan I realize how happy and interested I always was to see her.  She didn’t pull any punches, and always called it as she saw it.  Her honesty and thoughtfulness were as striking as her ability to see the humor in ordinary situations.

Pat Wood Barber: A sad time for us all…my precious memories of Janet are anchored in the many miles we shared on the road these 28+ years from Pleasantville to MHC, Bemis Hill Rd., Boston and beyond…the car overflowing with many of you, her tennis racket, home-made soups and snacks, all tucked in…later years adding the rollator. Her fierce pride in family was always front and center. Discussions were animated, laughter plentiful, and commentary offered with directness and so much love. This last trip, with Willie at the wheel, it was evident the effort and determination willed into Jan’s desire to be with everybody.  Bittersweet in reflection, those road trips now forever changed.  How dearly we mourn her loss. 

Betsy Cameron Barnett: Such sad news for us all, and hard to believe as she had pulled herself through so much. Jan was interested in all interpersonal situations, her family’s and ours, and offered direct, to-the-point caring opinions which we valued. When I think of her she is at her best and is holding forth with one of her hilarious stories —and we are all laughing our heads off. Great memories !

Jan Lawrence Lange: ‘Blessed be the ties that bind.’
Remembering with gratitude and love…

Debby Dodge Wood: She was courageous in facing her medical problems, always fun to be with as she could see humor in any situation, and full of tales of the beloved grandchildren, the light of her life. The move to Medford Leas was perfect for both Jan and Dick, providing a wealth of opportunities for them.

Priscilla Cass Hundley: I am still in shock.  I have talked with Dick several times; he said how much Jan’s MHC friends mean to him.  After all these years, he feels that we are all special friends of his too. He and the girls are coping remarkably well.  It is so difficult for them, as they really thought that once again Jan would pull through.  I remember especially the many good laughs when with them.  Jan was amazing in that, in spite of her multiple health problems and lack of mobility, she was good natured, thoughtful and delightful company.  She and Dick were such a team!  They were really amazing the way they handled everything so well together.

Jan was so about family.  How she loved those grandchildren.  She was so proud of all of them and delighted in sharing their latest good news. During my last conversation with her, she mentioned many times how helpful they and Dick had all been.  It was obvious how much that mattered to her. 

The girls have been so supportive of Dick and of each other. Dick said that he and the girls have planned to have Jan’s memorial service at Medford Leas on Sunday, April 9.

 Kay Jester Byerly: I am remembering meeting Jan for the first time at our dorm freshman year – I from Houston and Jan from Rye, NY. Probably couldn’t find two more naive freshmen in our whole class.  She probably thought I was some kind of idiot from Texas (only partly true, says I in my defense) and Janet (to my eyes) this sophisticated easterner who probably knew most everybody in our dorm and knew about a lot of big city stuff that I did not.  We were so very young.   Jan’s parents were there bearing bedspreads and other amenities that I did not try to haul on the plane from Houston.  I remember the bedspreads were red-corded cotton that were so popular at the time.  I hope I thought to thank Jan’s parents before they left.  Gradually, each of us decided to put our prejudices aside and allow each other to just be kids starting college with many fears, self doubts, and questions.   But I think we did not really know each other well. If I had it to do over again I would be more persistent in getting to know Jan, then I wouldn’t have been surprised and dismayed to learn that she had not been happy during most of our freshman year and had wanted to transfer to another school.  I might have been more supportive and a better friend.  So, I have some regrets.  But by the time we were seniors we lived in the same dorm and in some ways had become old friends.  She was a significant part of my history at Mount Holyoke and over these many years that we have been meeting in Vermont, then Belmont.  I will miss her.

Condolences can be sent to Jan’s husband:

Dr. Richard Sprague
            611 Medford Leas
            Medford, NJ 08055-2257

We were well-represented at Jan’s Memorial Service, which was held at Medford Leas on April 9, 2017.