Richmond alum in her 70s turned ‘someday’ into ‘today’

For our 50th wedding anniversary in 2024, Ted Chandler, L’77, and I committed to a full year of celebration — a journey to create 50 memories to commemorate our 50 years of marriage.

As we reminisced about the past, we began to realize that memories are not just a reflection of our shared history, but also a powerful force that shapes our present and inspires our future. This realization became our “why” and informed our decisions, ones that aligned with our commitments to family, friends, and community. We all have “should” and “someday” intentions, so our 50th anniversary became the year to just do it.

We, in fact, created more than 50 memories — but it still made a good title.

Our travels included biking, golfing, vacations with our family of nine, and intentionally reconnecting with old friends. We visited 12 countries, including Norway, where we hiked its beautiful mountains. We kayaked and swam — yes, swam! — in the Arctic Ocean, travelled by train through the Canadian Rockies, chased the northern lights in Iceland, toured Portugal, sailed the Caribbean, went on safari in Namibia, celebrated 50th class reunions at Richmond and UVA, and more.

These 50+ memories now live in a book we titled 50 Memories for 50 Years, which we intend to be a way for our grandchildren to learn who we are and how we celebrated life. 

Train hard. Get out of your comfort zone. Enjoy the accomplishments.

Since 2004, my husband Ted and I have hiked and summited mountains all over the world: Kala Patthar in Nepal’s Himalayan Mountains, Mount Everest’s base camp, Mount Kilimanjaro, Machu Picchu, Patagonia’s Fitz Roy, Mount Tubkhal in Morocco, Bhutan, Greenland, the Alps, Tasmania, Norway, and Sicily.

Our good health allows us to continue being active. We have an exercise room with framed photos on the wall from our extensive and sometimes difficult hiking trips. These photos provide fitness motivation so we can keep taking these stretch trips.

Waking up every day with a positive outlook, continuing to volunteer and travel with Ted. My 97-year-old mother — Westhampton Class of 1950 — still engages in learning and spending time with family, a great role model for optimism. If you can dream it, you can do it!

Friendships! College provided the opportunity to connect with great friends — and my roommate of all four years is still my best friend. I’ve also held onto my motivation to regularly volunteer to help children in need, something my degree in elementary education provided me with.

Hiking up the tallest mountain is really difficult — but coming down is even harder!  Mount Kilimanjaro is 19,340 feet tall, and we hiked 10,000 vertical feet DOWN after the summit.

Say yes to adventure! Whether on campus or in the world, saying yes can open doors to a better understanding of yourself. And you just might surprise yourself with what you learn.

The best story for this answer is actually from my daughter Becca Chandler Guillote, ’07. Becca was solo traveling in Italy during a semester of study abroad and had just hiked the eight hours of the Cinque Terre trail.  She was ready to find a place for the night but couldn’t find lodging. As she was walking through a small village, she noticed a girl wearing University of Richmond logo shorts. She quickly struck up a conversation and found a place to stay with other UR students.

Graduating as a Spider provides the foundation for success in life. In the 1970’s, this meant entering a job market with different technologies and more traditional career tracks. The professors and the college life, both then and now, give students an excellent foundation that encourages our education to be a lifelong journey rather than a single event. I am always proud to say that I graduated from Westhampton College at UR. And thanks to President Kevin Hallock for his leadership and continual improvements to the school.

Other people’s happiness! We choose our own happiness and our actions. So accept others with grace, let go of worry, and remember that everyone is fighting an unseen battle. No matter how we are treated by others, it’s important to show compassion and understanding.

My hopes and dreams are for my grandchildren and the world they will inherit. This generation is well-educated, has never known a world without technology, and they have the ability to solve many of our current problems.  Let’s continue to strive for peace.