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By Maura Fredey ’94, Maureen Moran ’89 and Marcy Vandale ’87
“I have been to Holy Cross more than I’ve been anywhere else in my life,” says Rosemary Cashman of Newburyport, Mass.
Listening to her recount her Holy Cross experiences over the years, it certainly seems that way. A graduate of Regis College, Rosemary married George A. Cashman ’47, in 1948. Two of the couple’s nine children attended Holy Cross as well: George Jr. ’73 and Brian ’77. Now Brian’s daughter, Emily—one of George and Rosemary’s 16 grandchildren—is a member of the class of ’07.
For the Cashmans, Holy Cross has been a steady and welcomed presence in their lives. “George is on the phone with Holy Cross practically every other day,” Rosemary says. “He’s into everything.”
George has served as class chair for 44 years, and the couple has not missed a class reunion—and they have attended countless Holy Cross football games, cheering from the stands year after year.
In 1998, on the occasion of the Cashmans’ 50th wedding anniversary, then College president, Rev. Gerard Reedy, S.J.,wrote a letter thanking the couple for all they had done over the years to help enrich the Holy Cross community; he also lightheartedly insisted that George take a break from all Holy Cross business on the actual day of their anniversary in July.
According to Rosemary, she has always felt completely welcomed and respected and as much a part of the Holy Cross community as her husband.
“When he’s off to Holy Cross, I am right there with him riding shotgun,” she says. “It’s fun, and the reunions are always great.” She has bonded with other alumni and spouses, whom they see year after year, building wonderful friendships.
“Other than women attending, the biggest difference I have noticed over the years is that the students have much more freedom today,” explains Rosemary, speaking of Holy Cross. “But what has remained the same is the loyalty to the school among the alumni—and that it is a very serious place which takes only the best students. There is just great camaraderie, and it is a great education.”
Of course, an “institution” cannot really provide camaraderie; it is, rather, the result of a special recipe—one that includes dynamic, talented and loyal spouses, that is, “de-facto alums,” such as Rosemary Cashman. And even though she speaks of the camaraderie and experiences that Holy Cross has offered her family, it’s certain that Rosemary herself has made a special and invaluable imprint on the community and camaraderie that is Holy Cross.
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Over the telephone, it’s hard to tell that Bette Connolly is 89—her voice is strong, her memory is sharp—and she articulates her feelings about Holy Cross with warmth and humor.
Her husband, John Connolly, was a member of the class of 1937. Although Bette and John were classmates at Beverly (Mass.) High School, it wasn’t until several years after graduation that they began dating. How they met was typical of the time: their mothers knew each other, and “his mother suggested that he call me,” Bette recalls.
Bette and John were married in July 1943, just before John went off to war. For the first two years of their marriage, he was overseas. “I was a young bride, and that was how it was at the time,” she says. “It wasn’t easy.”
Once John finally returned home, the growing Connolly family moved to Vermont, Texas and Michigan, before settling on Long Island, where John served as head of the science department at Mineola High School. It was also during those years that Bette’s love for Holy Cross grew to match her husband’s.
“We always went to reunions,” she says. “We had season tickets to the Holy Cross football games and were charter members of the Holy Cross Club of Long Island. We’re steeped in purple!”
When Bette and John traveled to Worcester for football games, they always tailgated with the same group of alumni, and they would always go to the same restaurant for dinner following the game. Through the years, the wives became friends as well.
Bette remembers well the camaraderie and loyalty among them.
The couple also interviewed boys from the local Catholic high school who were interested in Holy Cross.
When their daughter Peggy decided to go to Holy Cross as a member of the class of 1976, Bette and John were very pleased. “My husband was ecstatic,” she recalls, “and I was thrilled. I had graduated from Simmons College, but that was OK!”
Holy Cross is a special place, Bette says. “It’s different from other colleges. It’s small, and everyone seems to stay with you your whole life. It was an experience my husband never forgot.”
Although John has passed away, Bette is still on the board of directors for the Long Island Club. “I’m as loyal as any alumnus would be,” she says.
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It all began with her mother’s advice: “Date a guy from Holy Cross because they have dignity, refinement and class.”
Carol Newman Kendrick Mahoney took that wise advice and began dating Jack Mahoney ’55. Carol jokes as she recounts that she and Jack began dating on Sept. 3, 1954, the day after Hurricane Carol swept though New England. Today, some 52 years later, Holy Cross remains an integral part of not only Jack’s life, but also Carol’s.
It is well known that Holy Cross alumni feel a kinship toward one another, and that bond is often displayed in their communities and professional worlds. Spouses also feel that bond, and Carol is a prime example. She was introduced to Jack by the wife of a classmate, Barbara Granger. She recalls the many Holy Cross alumni who attended their wedding. And over the years that followed, she forged close relationships with Jack’s classmates and their spouses. Carol glows as she states emphatically: “There is not another college greater than the College of the Holy Cross.”
Although she attended Framingham State College and graduated from Chandler School for Women in 1954, this former United Airlines stewardess has been made to feel as though she is a member of the class of 1955. “I am not sure if there is a finer group of men than the ’55ers,” she says. “They make you feel welcome, and no matter where in the world you may be, they open their homes to you.”
Carol and Jack frequently welcome classmates to their Acton, Mass., home as well, and Joe Reilly ’55 calls them “world-class hosts.” The Mahoneys have hosted countless Holy Cross vs. Boston College football tailgates, post-football game tailgates, dinner parties, birthday parties and Sunday lunches for the class after their reunions. Carol has become an ambassador for the class of ’55 and, since its 25th reunion, has served with Jack as an arrangement co-chairs.
Kristyn Dyer ’94, associate director of alumni relations, says of Carol: “Seldom do I work with an alumnus—never mind a spouse—who has such genuine enthusiasm in making a reunion so personal and unique to the class. Carol goes above and beyond to make sure everything is perfect, without wanting an ounce of recognition in return.” One of a small group of 50th-reunion planners, Carol took responsibility for making overtures to the widows of classmates.
She also helps to maintain the class e-mail list, sending frequent updates when needed.
“Carol is universally appreciated by a group of wonderful male human beings,” Reilly says of her contributions to the class.
Maura Fredey, Maureen Moran and Marcy Vandale are members of the GAA’s Communication Committee.
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George and Rosemary Cashman
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