A L U M N I M A G A Z I N E - Colby-Sawyer College

Leah Caswell ’65
Which dorm(s) did you live in?
Burpee basement!
What do you remember most
about Colby-Sawyer?
The fun we had. I remember
once laughing so hard with my
Burpee basement compatriots
that I fell off the bed. I remember
the study breaks we took to walk
to the “Curb,” a soda fountain in
the arts center, for a late evening
repast. And I remember skiing
nearly every day the bus made
that trip up the mountain.
What are you doing these days?
Since 1984 I have run my own
company, Liberty Design Co. We
manufacture stencils, as well as a
line of paints and stencil brushes.
How did you get into the stenciling business?
I was a school guidance counselor, recently divorced and supporting
my son on a meager salary. I reasoned that, if I could start my
own company and work hard, I might be able to provide my son
with a good education—and perhaps ski in the Alps occasionally.
Stenciling was popular in 1984, so I decided to manufacture stencils,
to which I later added paints and brushes. I named the company
Liberty Design for the liberty of women to do as they choose
and profit by it. With a lot of hard work, the help of great employees
and manufacturers reps, the wisdom and forbearance of my
young son, and articles on the company in Colonial Homes and
Country Living magazines, we have sold our products to over 2500
distributors and stores throughout this country and in Canada.
With the advent of the Web, we are also selling to individuals via
www.libertydesign.com.
And when you’re not working?
I enjoy the company of my parents who are 93 and 96 and, along
with my brother, help them to live independently in their own
home. I care for my precious 13-month-old granddaughter, Piper,
two days a week. We go to museums and concerts and are generally
on the road looking for adventure. I play the horn when the
spirit moves, kayak all summer, ski all winter, and travel as much
as I can.
to the same firm to do some
consulting. After being divorced
for 12 years, Pat remarried in
1999 to her college sweetheart,
Dick Jones. With the marriage
she gained 2 stepsons: Matt, an
architect in Chicago, and Ben, a
mortgage consultant in Phoenix.
Pat’s own son Courtney is in the
military stationed in HI. In Feb.
he returned from a 15-month
deployment in Iraq, where he
was an interpreter with an infantry
unit in the Sunni triangle (the
64 COLBY-SAWYER ALUMNI MAGAZINE
Leah Caswell with her granddaughter,
Piper.
most dangerous place you could
be). He was due to be transferred
to Germany in Aug., where he
will be training new recruits
being sent to Afghanistan. Pat’s
daughter Meghan is a benefits
consultant with a financial services
firm in Boston. She graduated
from Colgate one week before her
son graduated from Cornell. Pat
and her husband were preparing
to host an engagement party for
Meghan in July with the wedding
the following July. In Aug. they
planned a trip to Amsterdam to
visit their 6-year-old grandson
and celebrate their 10 th anniversary.
Susan Patricelli-Regan writes
that she and husband Bill just
welcomed a healthy granddaughter,
courtesy of their son Craig
and his wife Kristi. Craig is a
Navy air-traffic control officer stationed
in Corpus Christi, TX, and
Kristi just completed her teaching
degree. Second son Colin is busy
with his assistant men’s crew
coaching position at Williams
College in Williamstown, MA.
In the winter he works full time
with H & R Block. Christopher,
the oldest son, has been transitioning
from a NY club promoter
and event coordinator to a successful
website designer. Susan
continues to work as a consultant
for her former employer DIAGEO,
as director of trade and community
relations for the corporate
relations department. Bill has
taken an active volunteer role as
chairman of their town’s Cox TV
committee. They have 2 horses, 6
Jack Russell terriers, a foxhound
and 4 cats. Susan continues
with her avocation as a rider/
trainer with clients off property
on weekends. She wishes to say
hello to her former roommate
Elizabeth “Lee” Reisner Murray.
Ellie Love-Ammermann writes
from Germany, where she continues
to give English lessons at
her English Academy outside of
Munich, Bavaria. She has been
married to a German for many
years. She is learning Italian so
that she can offer other languages
at the school, including French,
Italian and German. Ellie’s son
recently married a Thai girl with
2 weddings—one in Bangkok
and one in Bavaria, where they
live. Ellie makes numerous trips
to Italy to tend to her vacation
home in Tuscany, which she
rents out. She did the restorations
of the inside of the home several
years ago: www.casa-cantante.
com. Barbara Pinkerton Corns
was trying to talk her roommate
Sherry Reiche Greene
into joining her at the reunion.
She’s been to New London to
visit her brother and sister-inlaw
but was unable to visit the
campus. Barbara spends her
time in Cleveland, Key West and
Duxbury, MA, in the summer.
She recently retired from the
Medical U of SC as the associate
provost of education and student
life. Valerie Taft West and her
husband are doing some long
awaited traveling: They went to
the British Virgin Islands and the
PGA Championship in MN. Next
on their docket is a trip to Seattle
to visit her son’s family, including
5-year-old granddaughter Lili.
Her other son lives in NYC and
is a musician. Valerie’s husband
has 2 wonderful daughters; one
is in Charleston and the other
in Germany. Between them they
have 3 other grandchildren. “I’ve
had a wonderful career and now
am enjoying life as a retired, but
not retiring, person,” Valerie
writes. Nancy Bland Wadhams
and her husband spend the
summer at their cottage on Bear
Island on Lake Winnipesaukee,
NH. They are expecting Alice
Lawton Lehmann and her
husband to visit for a couple of
days. In Oct. they planned to
return to CT to sell their home;
they’re ready for condo life
since they are away so much.
In their spare time they love to
spend time with their kids and
grandsons, read, travel and do
any activity out of doors. Nancy
has taken up watercolor painting
and is involved with The
Village For Families & Children
in Hartford, CT. Liz Ridley Mills
has just moved to Grantham,
NH, after her husband Richie
retired as president of St. Joseph’s
College in Rensselaer, IN. They
also spend time in their second
home on Hilton Head, SC.
Ellen Terhune Schauff is back
in Germany with her husband
Dietrich, who unfortunately has
Parkinson’s disease. Because of
a fall while there, he has been
hospitalized, so Ellen will remain
in Germany for an undetermined
length of time. We all wish you
both the best, Ellen. Liz, Cathy
and I will miss you at our semi
annual luncheons in Concord,
NH. Speaking of Cathy Wood
Hallsworth, she was enjoying
the summer; all the rainy days
gave her more time to quilt,
which is her passion. Cathy
has had some of her quilts juried
in the Lowell Quilt Festival
and the VT Quilt Festival this
year. She and Dave are off to
Boothbay, ME, for their annual
vacation there over Labor Day.
And lastly, Rick and I are enjoying
our retirement. Last July
we purchased a second home
in Bonita Springs, FL, on a golf