Carol Bonsal Bald ’48 passed away peacefully on Oct. 4, 2022, in North Andover, Mass. Carol received a master’s in education from Columbia while raising four kids and worked for over a decade in New Jersey’s Bergen Community College Adult Learning Center. Inspired by her post-college bicycle tour of Europe, Carol was an avid traveler and journeys included China, Africa, the Galápagos, and India, to name a few destinations. Active in sports (skiing, tennis, paddle, and golf), volunteerism, and a booster for women’s rights, she was a wonderful inspiration to her children and grandchildren. Despite having been widowed twice (Philip M. Johnson, M.D., and Robert Bald), Carol was always upbeat, smiling, and ready for the next adventure. Her four children and nine grandchildren are saddened by her passing but so fortunate to have had her in our lives.

Lynda Johnson Miller ’81, daughter

Elizabeth “Liz” Huntley Elledge ’48 of Naples, Fla., died on Sept. 28, 2022. Liz knew she wanted to attend Wellesley when she was a sophomore in high school. In 1948, she graduated with a degree in psychology. Everyone who knew her likely learned sooner rather than later that she was a proud alumna. After starting a family, she went back to school to get a teaching certificate and taught elementary school. Liz then earned a master’s in guidance counseling and served 14 rewarding years as a counselor for elementary and middle school students. She was preceded in death by her husband, Daniel P. Elledge, and her sister, Deborah Chantler. She leaves behind three sons, five grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. She loved learning and was extremely grateful for her long, productive life.

Robert Elledge, son

Margaret “Peggy” Wash Van Tassell ’48 passed away at home in her sleep on Christmas morning 2021. She lived alone and was driving and picking up younger friends for bridge club only days before passing. Peggy had a sound mind and sound spirit until her last breath. What a blessing she was.

Peggy’s family

June Emma Wilkins Smith ’49 passed away peacefully on Nov. 1, 2022, in Pittsburgh. June devoted her life to serving others through teaching, religious and service organizations, and church ministry with her husband, Rev. Charles Smith. Intelligent, articulate, and compassionate, she was an excellent teacher and writing coach and a dependable source of practical wisdom and sound advice. She was gracious, witty, optimistic, cheerful, diligent, and resilient. Her deep Christian faith motivated her to help others, strengthened her in trials, and brought her much peace and joy. Her large family and many friends will truly miss her.

Christopher Smith

Edith Nye MacMullen ’51, educator, mentor, and leader who inspired three decades of Yale University students, died on Oct. 6, 2022, at her home in Amherst, Mass., at age 93. For nearly 30 years, she was the director of the teacher preparation program at Yale. She also was chair of the teaching committee for the Yale-China Association. In 1995, the Yale chapter of Phi Beta Kappa awarded her the William Clyde DeVane Medal, which honors distinction in scholarship and undergraduate teaching. Edith earned two advanced degrees—an M.A. from Harvard University and a Ph.D. from Columbia University. In her retirement, she moved to Amherst and became an interpretive guide at Historic Deerfield and the Emily Dickinson Museum. She read constantly and cared deeply about causes, especially gender equity and educational reform.

Sandy MacMullen, eldest son

Nancy Herman Turner ’52 passed away peacefully on Oct. 2, 2022, in Montreal. Nancy was a proud Wellesley girl, treasuring her time on campus, reveling in the lifelong friendships nurtured during her time in Tower Court. Nancy raised three children in Darien, Conn., was an active congregant at St. Luke’s Church, and enjoyed community acting and singing with the Blue Notes, an all-women a cappella group. After marrying William Turner, she settled in Montreal, where she was active in the Garden Club and Westmount Tennis Club. Bill and Nancy traveled widely, reaching all continents and hosting many family get-togethers. Her greatest joy was being Gigi to over 20 grand- and great-grandchildren.

Andrew W. Gray, son

Emilie “Muska” Benes Brzezinski ’53 died on July 22, 2022. In addition to making monumental art out of tree trunks that she foraged and shaped with a power saw, Muska had a gentler side. At her six-acre home in McLean, Va., where she and Zbig once entertained President Jimmy Carter, she kept bees, had a rabbit “haven,” made jams from her own wild berries, and raised exotic veggies like kohlrabi. Freshman year in Noanett, Muska baked perníčky, Czech gingerbread cookies iced with folk designs, and for our junior year spring dance in the Alumnae Hall ballroom, she brought in a birch sapling she had dug up in the woods. Muska loved her connections with the natural world.

Maria Petschek Smith ’53
Lorine Anderson Parks ’53

Thyrza Day Zabriskie ’54 moved into Eternal Light and Love on Oct. 17, 2022. As her two daughters, we were fortunate to share her Wellesley legacy, whose motto, Non Ministrari sed Ministrare, fittingly encapsulated our mother’s life of devotion to servant ministry alongside our father, George, her beloved husband of 55 years. Their venues of service included the Philippines and many states, from Massachusetts to Montana. Thyrza’s numerous Wellesley friendships were treasured as an important part of her full, rich life. She will be missed by her three children, six grandchildren, and the countless communities to which she was so deeply connected.

Laura Zabriskie Catlin ’83
Anne Zabriskie Castren ’85

Toni Inman Palter ’54 died on May 23, 2022. Toni often spoke of her time at Wellesley: marathon bridge games, girls who became lifelong friends—even some studying!—amid beautiful surroundings. She especially enjoyed serving as editor of the Purple Prose newsletter, which kept her in touch with the world of learning and companionship that meant so much to her. Forever a great communicator, she was famous for her interior decorating skills and for maintaining correspondence with her friends (and their children as they became adults). Toni will truly be missed by many, but the memory of her smile will never fade.

Jennifer Palter, daughter

Carol Macdonald Murdoch ’54 died on Sept.12, 2022. Carol left Wellesley after her junior year to marry Air Force 2nd Lt. Bill Murdoch (Harvard ’52), her high school sweetheart. When then-Capt. Murdoch died in a flying accident in 1958, Carol was left with their two children and was pregnant with a third. Despite assurances that widows with small children simply did not return to college, Carol enrolled at Harvard in 1968 and completed her degree in 1970. Carol devoted herself to a number of causes: recruiting minorities and girls into transportation engineering; organizing alumnae support for Ewha Womans University (Seoul, South Korea); and teaching English as a second language to Spanish-speaking migrants in Washington, D.C. Perhaps most of all, she was devoted to the care and support of a much-loved granddaughter with autism.

John Murdoch, son

Mary Russell Oleson ’56 died on Oct. 18, 2022. Mary was a brilliant student who led an astounding life devoted to family and her 30-year career with the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey. She married John Oleson in 1957, and had three children. They spent 20-plus years living and traveling abroad. John served as deputy director of the USAID while Mary taught math in American schools and joined many other charity and social functions before returning to Chevy Chase, Md. She got her B.S. in computer science and became an IT specialist at the National Geodetic Survey until retiring in 2007. Mary and John moved to Baltimore in 2000 to be near their grandsons. Mary’s life continued to be an amazing adventure, including Wellesley class reunions and visits to New York City where we, and other loving classmates, always celebrated our fabulous relationships.

Merle Golden Bogin ’56

Mary Ann Burgess McCrea ’57 passed away peacefully on May 25, 2022, at home in Honolulu. Born in Paia, Maui, and raised in Honolulu, Mary Ann graduated with a B.A. in English, and earned a teaching certificate from Berkeley in 1958. She married Barry McCrea (Stanley Barrows McCrea) in 1958. Her Wellesley roommate, Marcia Wright, served as one of her bridesmaids. Barry died piloting a small plane in Massachusetts in 1966. Mary Ann worked as a realtor for 30 years and married Joseph Dacey in 1980. She is survived by her three children, Marcia, Anne, and Stanley, her three stepchildren, Todd, Tucker, and Tyler, 10 grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

Anne McCrea Orndahl, daughter

Jane Grant Pinkston ’57 died on Sept. 28, 2022 at age 87. She was an active supporter of her children’s educational, sporting, and social organizations. When her children were older, Jane returned to the workforce, first in retail and later in medical transcription. Jane progressed from working in a doctor’s office to starting her own medical transcription business. Jane was a woman of great personal and professional accomplishment. Her achievements came through her sheer determination and focus, more impressive in light of her battles with multiple sclerosis and macular degeneration. Despite those challenges, Jane was a voracious reader, mastering generations of technical tools for the visually impaired. Jane loved her four years at Wellesley and the lifelong friendships she made there.

Carol Pinkston ’83, daughter

Susan Jung Hoben ’58 died on Nov. 5, 2022, at Chaparral House in Berkeley, Calif., after a long descent into dementia. Susan was born in Milwaukee to Clarence and Matilda Aarons Jung, who instilled in her a lifelong love of nature and an ability to establish relationships with animals both domestic and wild, an infatuation with literature and language, and deeply held family values. After Wellesley, Susan received her Ph.D. in sociolinguistics from the University of Rochester. Susan taught at the University of Rochester, American University, and Boston University and did extensive consulting on issues concerning women’s access to education and economic opportunities in sub-Saharan Africa. In addition to her academic work, Susan wrote poems and essays, many of which were published in the Lincoln Review.

Allan Hoben, husband

Lynda Gregorian Christian ’60 and her husband, John Thomas Christian, both died in June 2022, within two weeks of each other. They had been married for 62 years. Lynda, my Claflin roommate for three years, courageously dealt with Lewy body dementia during her last years. She was one of Wellesley’s outstanding graduates, Phi Beta Kappa and a Durant Scholar, with a Ph.D. from Harvard and a law degree from Boston University. John, a member of the American Academy of Engineering, was a distinguished professor of civil engineering at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell. John and Lynda are survived by children Douglas Christian and Shirin Samiljan.

Carol Thompson Henkle ’60

Martha Reardon Bewick ’62 died on June 20, 2022. I had the pleasure of knowing Martha for several years. During the first Christmas season of the pandemic, I livestreamed a virtual carol sing from my church. That night, Martha emailed me a video of herself singing along with my performance of one of the carols. I’ll never forget the way receiving that email made me feel—knowing that even though we were all physically isolated, there was someone at home who was listening, and singing along with me.

Julia Carey, a fellow member of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus

Sara “Sally” Barnard Edwards ’63 died at home in North Haven, Conn., in September 2022, after two years of treatment for metastatic lung cancer. Sally was born to Edward Townsend Barnard and Charlotte Williams Barnard ’34. After her mother’s death in 1979, her father married Charlotte’s Wellesley roommate, Jeanette Poore Barnard ’34. After earning a master’s degree from Yale, where she met her husband, Don, Sally taught ballet for 26 years at the Princeton Ballet School while raising a family. In 1993, she earned a second master’s degree cum laude from General Theological Seminary in New York and began a new career as a pastoral associate and hospice chaplain, and she served on the faculty of the Yale Summer Institute in Bioethics. Her life exemplified the Wellesley motto, Non Ministrari sed Ministrare. She is survived by her husband of 57 years, two children, and six grandchildren.

Don Edwards, husband

Nancy Lankford ’64, our beloved friend, died on Oct. 25, 2022, after a long illness. Nancy was the Vil Junior and House President for Pomeroy and, after earning her doctorate at Harvard, she became a successful school psychologist. She also volunteered serving the homeless in Boston. Nancy “adopted” any of our children who attended college in the Boston area and celebrated special events in their lives thereafter. She enjoyed book clubs, her cat, Charlie, family antiques, and trips to Cape Cod and Delaware. Warm, caring, and vibrant, Nancy had a delightful sense of humor and was truly a beautiful person. We will miss her greatly.

Willa Buckley Wolcott ’64
Judy Barr Wertheim ’64
Susan Dean Stayton ’64
Lynda Leney Leahy ’66

Jean Barker Jamison ’73 died peacefully in her sleep on Oct. 29, 2022. Jean arrived at Wellesley in fall 1969, from Bay Village, Ohio, and was part of the teeming group of freshmen assigned to live in Freeman Hall. She made many new friends and was known for her hearty laugh that would echo down the corridor! Jean was an enthusiastic participant in many areas of student life outside of her psychology and Spanish majors. She joined the Wellesley College Choir, rowed in the Dorm Crew, participated in synchronized swimming, and wrote for our Junior Show. When Jean returned to Wellesley for junior year, she wore a ring on her finger from the love of her life, Chuck Jamison. They married shortly after graduation and had a beautiful family with four children. Jean became a successful businesswoman and active community volunteer in Seville, Ohio. She remained a proud Wellesley alum and donor. Jean will be sorely missed at our upcoming 50th reunion in May. I am forever grateful that she counted me among her friends.

Elsie Dunlap Henderson ’73

Nikki Finke ’75 passed away on Oct. 9, 2022. Nikki, a former editor of the Wellesley News, rebelled against her grooming as a Manhattan socialite to pursue her passion for journalism, working as a foreign correspondent for AP Moscow and eventually finding her way to Los Angeles, where she seized on the media’s digital revolution to build the infamous Deadline entertainment industry website. Nikki was fascinated by Hollywood’s power players and held them accountable for their deeds—and misdeeds. Nikki was fiercely loyal to her friends and to Wellesley for nurturing her drive to challenge the status quo. And despite her tough exterior, she always loved a good Hallmark movie romance.

Connie Su ’09 and friends

Jenifer Mercer-Klimowski ’76 died peacefully on Nov. 30, 2022, in Des Moines, Iowa, from cancer. One of the first classmates I met in Stone Hall freshman year, she had many talents. She could sing, sew, knit, and perform any role to stage theatrical productions. She volunteered at the children’s story hour at the Wellesley Congregational Church. She graduated from law school in 1979 and had a 40-year career at an insurance company. Her husband, Kevin, and son, Elliot, turned her into an avid sports fan. She hosted a dozen classmates at the Iowa State Fair in 2017, and it was unforgettable!

Mary Young ’76

Jill Goldman ’78 died on Aug. 30, 2022, surrounded by her family at home after living and working with lung cancer for over three years. Jill was thoughtful, compassionate, energetic, funny, and totally unpretentious. Graduating Phi Beta Kappa, she went on to Johns Hopkins medical school and then worked for over 30 years as a primary care internist at the Brigham. She and her husband, David Nalven, built a close and loving family that now includes daughters Sarah and Claire, their husbands, and Jesse, her grandson born in April 2022. Jill will remain in our hearts for her kind and selfless caring for others—and for her love of laughter.

Winnie Wechsler ’78
Pamela Coravos ’81

Liz Hunter ’00 of Washingtonville, N.Y., died on Sept. 29, 2022, after a six-year battle with lung cancer. Liz was a four-year resident of Munger Hall and graduated magna cum laude, majoring in international relations. She attended law school at UC Berkeley, graduating in 2005 with honors. She opened her own law firm in Orange County, N.Y., specializing in employment law, and was a leader for her twin daughters’ Girl Scout troop. She is missed dearly by her husband, Brett, their three children, Luke, Amelia, and Eleanor, her parents and brother, and her many friends and Wellesley classmates.

Allison Marshall ’00
Lefty Keans ’00

Carol A. Millen DS ’98 died on April 4, 2022. I first met Carol when she was the administrative assistant in the Italian department. She always made everyone feel welcome, and her smile and laughter were infectious. She was a friend, a mentor, and such an inspiration. It was an honor to graduate with Carol, who took 10 years to earn her degree because higher education was so important to her. She truly embodied what every Wellesley grad should aspire to be: kind, caring, persistent, and resilient. Thank you for everything, Carol! You are deeply missed!

Maruta Zane Vitols ’98

Please contact the magazine staff at magazine@wellesley.edu to submit a memorial. Memorials in Wellesley magazine are limited to 100(ish) words. The magazine does not accept eulogies or previously published obituaries for adaptation. All submissions may be edited.