KAPPA ALPHA THETA
P.O. BOX 30166
COLUMBIA, MO 65205
Address Service Requested
THE THETA UPDATE
Debbie Young Tolliver '73 is a physical therapist
and lives in Springfield, Mo., with her husband,
Steve. They have two sons, Eric and Matt, and a
granddaughter, Alice. They enjoy traveling and go
to the lake regularly. Debbie says 12-13 Thetas get
together yearly and have done so for over 30 years.
Email: dytolliver@yahoo.com
Karla Arnold '78 lives in Kansas City, Mo., and is di-
rector of exceptional education for Kansas City Public
Schools. She has two children, Cameron and Katie
'07, and five grandsons, Kyle, Joe, Jackson, Tommy
and Jimmy. Email: karlaarnold02@gmail.com
Connie Adkins Blackford '80 moved to the Coun-
try Club Plaza in Kansas City and has "bumped
into Theta sisters I have not seen in years. So fun."
She's also enjoyed a mini-reunion with "corner
roommates" Beth Gibson Wright '80, Claudia
Kauffman Boosman '80, Sandy Hinds '80, and
Ellen Penner Dicks '80. Connie is a corporate in-
formaticist with Dignity Health and travels a great
deal to California with her work. Email: cjblack-
ford@gmail.com
Beth Naser Werling '96 teaches journalism, col-
lege writing, and junior-level English at Sandusky
(Ohio) High School, where she lives with her fami-
ly: husband Jason and children William and Payton.
Email: bethnwerling@gmail.com
Ryan Burke '99 and her husband, Ryan Vacca,
moved to Concord, N.H., in August 2017 with their
children, Graham and Foster. "We love living in
beautiful New England!" In January 2018, she be-
gan working as a biostatistician at Beth Israel Med-
ical Center in Boston, and that May she graduated
with her Ph.D. in epidemiology. Email: rcburke@
gmail.com
Erin Keegan Kritz '03 finished her medical train-
ing in pediatric critical care "after nearly 15 years
past high school!" She is now an assistant profes-
sor at Texas Children's Hospital/Baylor College of
Medicine in Houston, where she lives with her hus-
band, Erik. Email: erinmkeegan@yahoo.com
Christine Mathews '06 says, "It was so cool to
see the pictures of the new house, especially the
plaque for the Mathews sisters outside of room 208.
Molly '09, Mariah '12 and I were all Alpha Mu
presidents and lived in that room at some point. So
many great memories, and I love getting these won-
derful newsletters." She lives in Rockwall, Texas,
and is director-chief data office for AT&T. Email:
cmathews1020@gmail.com
Alumnae News
Gertrude Guinn Carney '38 lives in Sacramen-
to, Calif. Her late husband, George, was in the Air
Force, and they had three daughters. Trudy has
many memories from when they were stationed in
England and Thailand and of getting her private fly-
ing license. She still plays bridge.
Carol Banta Brewer '42 and her husband, Scott,
live in Gaithersburg, Md., and celebrated their 70th
wedding anniversary in June 2018. They have three
children, eight grandchildren, and one great-grand-
child. "We have a Theta daughter, Rebecca, Alpha
Chapter, and granddaughter, Bethany Hurt, Alpha
Chapter, who is president of the Alpha Facility
Corp." Email: duckinat@comcast.net
Sandra Smith Casteel '51 is still active in her com-
munity church and historic preservation activities.
She and her husband, Wynne, live in Ft. Lauderdale,
Fla., and have three grown children: Cathy, Mark,
and Rusty. Sandy says, "The house looks great—
wonderful redo!" Email: sandycasteel@comcast.net
M. Marjorie Meredith '52 is a retired assistant
professor emerita of physical education for the
University of Missouri. She writes, "I just want
to congratulate all of you on your achievements—
scholarship, volunteer activities to better humanity,
sports, and other contributions. Keep it up!"
Paula Oviatt Kurtz '53 is a retired realtor and
teacher. Her husband, Kent, passed away, and she
is adjusting to single life and spending time with
her four children (Brian, Kim Burzinski '80, Kris-
tan '82, and Kelly '85) and is "shocked" as three of
them are at retirement age. She also enjoys playing
bridge and seeing friends for lunch. Her pledge class
has produced a newsletter for 62 years—"wonder-
ful sisters!" Email: pkurtz52@gmail.com
Ellen Rose Douglas Roweton '56 has five children
with her late husband, Max. She now has 17 grand-
children and 14 great-grandchildren. She retired in
January 2018 from Rowetons Home Center after 50
years. She volunteers at the hospital in Bolivar, Mo.,
where she lives and swims twice a week for exercise.
She is "a very lucky lady" and is proud of her Miz-
zou Theta family legacy: daughters Vicki Morgan
'79 and Marla Kemp '83, daughter-in-law Susan
(Casanova) '85, and granddaughters Kaitlin '09
and Rebecca '13. Email: maxrose@windstream.net
Kathleen Krider Hawken '67 says she and her
husband, Harry, "are learning how to be retired"
in Jupiter, Fla. They have two children, Phil and
Sarah. Kathy reports that Fran Hoffman Wash-
ington '67 and her husband, Bill, live nearby in
Highland Beach, and Margie Johnson Jensen '70
is within travel distance on Marco Island. Email:
hawkenk@aol.com
VISIT US ON THE WEB
mizzoutheta.com
Mizzou Kappa Alpha Theta
@MizzouTheta
@MizzouTheta
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