Belmont Hill Bulletin Winter Spring 2021 by Belmont Hill School

Belmont Hill t h e bu ll e t i n for be l m o n t h i ll s c h o ol

winter

s p r i ng

2021

contents

features

chapel talk

tokyo dreams

dr. rachel levine ’ 75 selected next assistant secretary for health

advisory changes

working together again

departments

belmont hill archives

speakers on the hill

community & diversity

arts on the hill

coaches’ corner

alumni events

class notes

in memoriam

our mission statement working together

Belmont Hill School educates boys in mind, body, and spirit to develop men of good character. Our community encourages and challenges students to discover and pursue passions, seek excellence, and face adversity with resilience. We cultivate critical thinking and creativity, teamwork and competition, hard work and reflection, tradition and innovation. Valuing our differences and working together, we embrace camaraderie, compassion, and service to others. Our school strives to instill in each boy ethical judgment, a sense of common humanity, and a lifelong love of learning. On front cover: Benny Wanger ’15, Alexander Richards ’14, Andrew Reed ’10, and Michael DiSanto ’08. Inside front cover: Dara Alizadeh ’11 was unable to make the photo shoot in December. He will represent Team Bermuda in rowing.

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chapel talk

CHAPEL TALK

Remarks delivered by Gregory J. Schneider, Ronald M. Druker ’62 Head of School on January 11, 2021

When I first sat down to write this speech, I was only going to address optimism and excitement about the day when normal returns. To be honest, I wasn’t having that much fun writing it, and I worried you wouldn’t have much fun listening either. It felt premature. I suspect that optimistic clichés are wearing thin for many of you at this point; I know they are for me. Yet I did want to offer a sense of balance and perspective as we launch these next few months as a school – clearly our most immediate challenge. I found myself landing on the idea of disillusionment, teaching, and Bob Dylan. Let’s see how it goes.

Good morning, boys, and welcome back to Belmont Hill after what I hope has been a restful, if not unique, kind of winter break. 2021 has officially begun, and I think we all hope that it will be a better one for our world than 2020 seemed to be. We must acknowledge that much uncertainty still exists about the remainder of this academic year. On the one hand, we are encouraged by optimism surrounding vaccines and the sense of hope for the future. On the other hand lies the grim reality of the pandemic today and its immediate challenges. I know that I return to campus with a great sense of optimism and hope about the second half of our year together. But we are going to need all of you boys – especially our Form VI boys – to lead us to a brighter future. It is time to start working together once again.

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Over the holidays, I was playing a board game with my family, and my oldest daughter offered the word “disillusionment” as a clue. Somehow the word stuck with me in connection to the sense of cloudy gloom and disappointment that the pandemic has brought to us this year. However, this is not the first time that a generation of young people has felt disillusioned. I was raised on the music of the ’70s even though I was a child of the ’80s and a young adult in the ’90s. To this day, bands like the Allman Brothers, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, and the Rolling Stones dominate my playlists. I had some awareness of Bob Dylan in high school as I was forced to do a rendition of “Blowin’ in the Wind” in my a capella group, and I remember an English teacher or two who referenced him as a poet. And yet Dylan’s presence didn’t speak to me in high school – he was somehow a bit too folksy and his guitar riffs were not nearly dramatic enough for my taste at the time.

When I landed at Amherst College in 1992, some of my friends were far more enamored of Dylan than I. Within a year or two, the song “Hurricane” became the anthem of my entire college friend group and remains so to this day. It was always played at our late-night gatherings with its raucous violin riffs adorning the epic tale of Ruben “Hurricane” Carter’s horrific victimization by our justice system. This story was perhaps made known more clearly to all of you in Denzel Washington’s feature film Hurricane in 1999 – but of course, you weren’t born yet. Well, check it out if you are interested. Ruben Carter’s story alone has the makings of a great Chapel Talk, and I hope this mention might spur some of you to explore it further. In October of 1994, Bob Dylan and his band visited LeFrak Gymnasium at Amherst College for a concert, which struck me as the calling card of a star whose best years were behind him. However, as someone who was also continuing to play in bands of various kinds, I began to appreciate just how many songs that I loved were, unbeknownst to me, written by Dylan: “Like a Rolling

Stone,” “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door,” “Masters of War,” “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right,” “All Along the Watchtower,” and “It Ain’t Me, Babe.” With the passage of time, these songs spoke to me more clearly through other artists. Earlier in my career, I was particularly impressed by a certain teacher with whom I worked named Mr. Fletcher, who employed a student-centered posture, an interdisciplinary mind, and an ability to re-invent himself in so many remarkable ways over his career. A history teacher by trade, one was equally likely in a Fletcher class to see a piece of the Constitution, a video of the Beatles, or the image of American Gothic on his projector screen. But above all else, like all great teachers, he knew how to tell a story that could capture an adolescent mind. I would often find myself drifting to his classroom when I needed to be pulled away from the demands of leading a school. I would step in whenever I heard the music – he was an expert on the historical significance of the Beatles,

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for example. But above all else, you could count on what seemed like a weekly appearance of Bob Dylan in Mr. Fletcher’s classroom. Students were asked to interpret lyrics, critique performances, and understand his historical significance in the context of world events. One of the songs that was always discussed in his classes was “My Back Pages” from 1964. Now, I am no Dylan scholar like Mr. Fletcher, and I will not try to pose as one just for the purpose of this talk. It is interesting to note, however, that this song was released when Dylan was only 23 after he was emerging as a voice for the Civil Rights movement at such a young age in the early ’60s. While the lyrics of this particular song are much debated, most agree that its haunting refrain: “Ah, but I was so much older then, I’m younger than that now” seems to capture his growing sense of disillusionment with the role that had been thrust upon him. Its change from his prior messaging frustrated many of his fans, and he did not actually perform it live until a concert in the summer of 1988 in Mountain View, California. For me, the song is, among other things, an iconic expression of ambiguity, of ambivalence, and of complexity – words that strike me

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as relevant at a time when we are processing the realities of a pandemic, systemic racism, and a divided political landscape concurrently. It is frankly too much to sit with each and every day, and it is hard to see a clear path out of this abyss at times. There is real temptation for all of us, or at least it’s tempting for Heads of School, to try to package this current period of time as somehow logical, expected, or able to be navigated with just a bit more patience and wisdom. To do so, I am reminded, would be to become one of Dylan’s hypocrites from the lyrics of “My Back Pages,” which he first labels as “corpse-evangelists” and later as “self-ordained professors.” Somehow, even at 23, Dylan achieved a kind of self-awareness regarding his own penchant to oversimplify the realities of the ’60s in lines like: Half-wracked prejudice leaped forth “Rip down all hate,” I screamed Lies that life is black and white Spoke from my skull. He acknowledges his own capacity for prejudice as well as being complicit in an overly simplistic narrative.

chapel talk

“ Sadly, no song will solve

the realities of this year or the ongoing challenges of this pandemic for all of you, but perhaps a little Dylan will allow you to sit with the ambiguity for just a little while longer – knowing that others have felt this way before us – and that brighter days will, in fact, arrive.

”

In analyzing this song, one is left with some painful questions like: “Bob, don’t you believe in this stuff anymore?” or “Mr. Dylan, don’t you think there is still a difference between right and wrong?” or “Isn’t the answer still blowin’ in the wind somewhere?” I suspect we will look back upon our period of history with a different kind of perspective than we can now. Whatever it is that we believe to be true about how we should have solved our current plight, we should not lose sight of the ambiguity and complexity of this era. You are already being asked to sit with this complexity each and every day during this pandemic. Coming back to my own analysis of Dylan, my favorite part of the song may actually be its title, which is almost never the case for me as a writer or a singer. This concept of “My Back Pages” somehow speaks to me of the notion of legacy, or that piece that is written about the author at the end of the book. In Belmont Hill jargon, we have a back page on our newspaper, The Panel – perhaps the part of the paper that actually matters most to all of you when the issue arrives. This song asks the question, What will “The Back Pages” of our life actually be? How will we write them honestly when our time comes? We are often so focused on the lead narrative and the strength of our current convictions. “The Back Pages” of our lives will likely be fraught with the more challenging realities of nostalgia, wistfulness, and perhaps even regret. I asked Mr. Butler to project the lyrics of this song while I perform it for you today. While we all may not be feeling quite as “Freewheelin’” as Dylan did when he released this song and this album, I still love the song. Sadly, no song will solve the realities of this year or the ongoing challenges of this pandemic for all of you, but perhaps a little Dylan will allow you to sit with the ambiguity for just a little while longer – knowing that others have felt this way before us – and that brighter days will, in fact, arrive.

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tokyo dreams

Introduction

TOKYO DREAMS By Bill Mahoney

Hanging in the hockey rink in the Jordan Athletic Center are banners proudly honoring the 12 Belmont Hill alumni who are Olympians. Remarkably, this year alone, five alumni, Michael DiSanto ’08 (who represented Team USA in Rio in 2016), Andrew Reed ’10, Dara Alizadeh ’11, Alexander Richards ’14, and Benny Wanger ’15 are training for the Tokyo Olympics. Benny Wanger, playing baseball for Team Israel, and Dara Alizadeh, rowing for Bermuda, have already qualified, while the other three, all rowers, are working to make the US National Team that will be announced later this spring. Each of them was

Andrew Reed ’10, Alexander Richards ’14, and Michael DiSanto ’08.

a three-sport varsity athlete while on the Hill. That Belmont Hill may have five alumni participate in one Olympic competition is unprecedented, and their fellow alumni will be watching closely for them as the Games approach. Enjoy the stories here of how each of these talented athletes came to have Tokyo Dreams.

Left: Alexander Richards ’14, Benny Wanger ’15, Michael DiSanto ’08, and Andrew Reed ’10.

Benny Wanger ’15.

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tokyo dreams

Ready to Represent: US Olympic Rowing Team

READY TO REPRESENT: Three Alumni Strive to Make the US Olympic Rowing Team

Alexander Richards ’14, Michael DiSanto ’08, and Andrew Reed ’10.

The days start early, go long, and the training is feverishly intense for the three Belmont Hill alumni who are trying to make the US rowing team for the Tokyo Olympics. But Michael DiSanto ’08, Andrew Reed ’10, and Alexander Richards ’14 enthusiastically embrace the work that needs to be done, as each is eager to represent his country and go for the Olympic gold. The journey to being on the cusp of Olympic competition has been long and challenging. “I am fortunate to have had a relatively straightforward path to where I am today,” says Alexander Richards, whose father, Chris Richards, is the legendary, longtime coach of Belmont Hill rowing. “I began rowing in seventh grade. High school set me

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up to race with the Junior National Team; rowing in college put me around some really good international rowers and prepared me for under-23s and the Senior National Team. So, it was a lot of little steps that I just kept taking that got me to this level.” Andrew Reed says that he constantly focused on improving. “That includes improving my physical fitness as well as my rowing technique and mentality,” he notes. Mike DiSanto waxes philosophical when pondering his journey. “To quote Michelangelo, ‘If people knew how hard I had to work to gain my mastery, it would not seem so wonderful at all.’ The path to get to the Olympics was paved with commitment, struggle, determination, persistence, setback, support, and luck.”

Coach Richards: Personal Reflections on the Rowers While each of these young men has put himself in the position of making the Olympics, he will still need to qualify in order to get there. The training is brutal and exhausting, and they work their training around their careers. Alexander and Andrew describe training between 10 and 12 times per week primarily on the water but also on the ergometer (rowing machines) and in the weightroom, with at least two sessions a week competitive and performance based. “It is monastic,” adds Mike, whose storied career includes a tenure as president of the Oxford University Boat Club where he was a multiple-time winner of the prestigious Boat Race. “On a typical day I wake up around 5:30 am and get on the water by 6:15 am. I finish up morning practice by 8:30 am, have breakfast and work from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. Then I go back to the boathouse for another practice – weights or erg – get home around 5:30 pm, cook dinner, and either finish up work or watch TV before bed at 9:30 pm.” They went through similar training last year until the pandemic caused their Olympic dreams to be put on hold. While obviously disappointed, each found a way to move past it and focus on training even harder, albeit with some safety limitations due to COVID-19. “We fortunately were able to continue training and working on our fitness,” Andrew says, “but the pandemic affected the ways in which we were able to train. Due to COVID-19 precautions, we weren’t able to train in the 8-man shell, and for a long period of time we were only able to train in singles.” Alexander says the postponement allowed him to do some personalized training in the first few months and then work on technique in the single over the summer. Mike concurs: “Right after the announcement, I flew back to Boston to be around loved ones. Through the support of my family, friends, Coach Richards, and the Harvard coaches, I was able to keep training and not miss a beat throughout the spring, summer, and fall.”

Michael DiSanto ’08 “In the winter of 2006, Don Bradley told me that I needed to get Michael to row. I didn’t really know Michael at that point, so I went to watch him wrestle and thought ‘Mr. Bradley is right.’ It took a few conversations, but Michael ultimately decided to give it a try. Ten weeks later he was a NEIRA Champion in our third boat, and just over a year after that, a National Champion in our first boat. The rest is history: captain of the Harvard heavyweight crew, president of the Oxford University Boat Club, 2016 US Olympic team, and now hopefully a second-time Olympian. The guys Michael rows with and competes against are often bigger than he is, but they are almost never better.”

Andrew Reed ’10

“ The path to get to the

Olympics was paved with commitment, struggle, determination, persistence, setback, support, and luck. – Michael DiSanto ’08

”

“I first coached Andrew not in rowing but in Middle School cross country, and there was a race in which he came across the line hobbling badly. It turned out he had fractured his ankle part way through. I said to him something like: ‘Well, Andrew, if you are tough enough to finish a race with a broken ankle, you are probably tough enough to row.’ And sure enough, he was. Andrew, like Mike, won Youth Nationals at Belmont Hill and then went on to have a great collegiate career and an even greater one at the Elite level – competing in three World Championships (winning silver in the USA 8+ in 2017), and now vying for a spot on the Tokyo Olympic Team.”

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Coach Richards: Personal Reflections on the Rowers AN ENORMOUS OPPORTUNITY

The rowers seem humbled by the enormous opportunity of representing their country in Olympic competition. Mike already experienced this in Rio in 2016. “Rowing at the Olympics has always been about repaying the debt I feel I owe to many people,” he says. “I’ve been presented with so many opportunities due to the sacrifices of others. I am only in this position because a number of people have helped me along the way.” Andrew sees it as a culmination of 15 years of training and focus. “It’s a chance to compete on the highest, most competitive stage the sport has to offer. It would be an honor to represent the United States.” Alexander adds, “It is a rare opportunity to be able to represent one’s country on an international level.” IT ALL BEGAN ON THE HILL

Dara Alizadeh ’11 “Dara was captain of the crew his senior year, and one of my distinct memories is of him finishing our grueling rowing practices and then hopping straight in the car to eat dinner as his mom drove him to Dana Hall, where he had the lead role in the spring musical. He is a guy of many talents! After Belmont Hill, Dara went on to be captain of Penn Crew, stroke of the silver medal USA 8+ at the 2017 U23 World Championships, and president of the Cambridge University Boat Club, where he won two Boat Races. He has made a very successful transition from sweep rower to sculler, and it is thrilling to think about him racing for Bermuda at the Olympics.”

Alexander Richards ’14 “I think people probably assume that there was pressure or an expectation that Alexander would row, but the truth is there wasn’t – it really was completely up to him. But I am glad he decided to pursue it, and it truly was a blast for me to get to coach his high school crews and then to watch his development in college and beyond. I think the work ethic he developed at Belmont Hill has served him very well. My own dad loved the Olympics, and he passed that down to me; so it is, of course, pretty exciting that a family member may get to compete in the Games!”

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The road to their Tokyo Dreams began at Belmont Hill. Alexander states that Belmont Hill set him up very well to get to where he is today. “The School helped me get into Harvard, one of the top programs in the country, where my rowing developed even further. The coaching and teaching helped me learn to be ‘coachable,’ which is an important skill at the national team level.” Andrew believes that being in the challenging Belmont Hill environment pushed him to achieve more than he thought possible. “On the rowing team, being surrounded by so many successful older students who were getting recruited to amazing colleges motivated me and encouraged me that being successful in this sport was a real possibility.” Mike recalls being motivated by great teacher-coaches. “My teachers and coaches reinforced the greatest gift my parents gave me: They believed in me,” he states. “Never once did Mr. Richards, Mr. Bradley, or Mr. Butler ever say what couldn’t be done. They empowered me to believe anything I wanted was in reach. They equipped me with the tools and the attitude to get there.” Pointedly, the young men speak poignantly about the impact Coach Richards has had on their lives. “Aside from my parents, there is no one else who has been so influential in shaping me into the man I am today,” Mike says. “He saw something in me I didn’t realize existed. He provided the framework and guidance to foster its growth and always believed that the sky was the limit.” Andrew also has fond reflections on Coach Richards. “I loved the atmosphere he created on the team,” he says. “He made it feel like by being on the team and trying your hardest, you were a part of something really special. I was incredibly proud as a senior to win a national championship with him as my coach.” And Alexander, of course, knows Coach Richards more commonly as his dad. “He introduced me to the sport and was my coach freshman through senior year,” he reflects. “He definitely helped me develop a love for the sport, as his love for rowing is so clear. We even rowed together at the Head of the Charles a couple times! He has been very influential in my getting to where I am today, and I know I wouldn’t be where I am without him.”

tokyo dreams

Ready to Represent: US Olympic Rowing Team

BEYOND THE GAMES

Whether or not they realize their Tokyo Dreams, there is life beyond the Olympics. Alexander, the youngest of the three, says that rowing for another few years is certainly a possibility. “I could see myself training on my own next year and working a bit more of a full-time job before joining back with the team,” he notes. “I also will apply to medical school down the road as I hope to be a doctor one day. Time will tell.” Andrew is simply looking forward to coming back to the East Coast and spending more time with family. “Also, I am looking forward to getting back into cross-country skiing and moving forward with my career.” The group’s elder statesman, Mike, is looking forward to moving to New York with his girlfriend of seven years, who he describes as amazing. He plans to work full-time for the private equity firm he currently works for. “The Olympics are a zero-sum game: Some will make it and others will not. Rowing is often referred to as the ultimate team sport. But if you’re not careful,

it can seep into other parts of your life. I’m doing my best now and will continue to focus on and prioritize the truly important things, which I have I missed out on due to rowing: weddings, funerals, relationships, careers, and, most importantly, time with the people I love.” Their place on the Olympic team is not guaranteed, and indeed, with the pandemic still a factor, neither are the games themselves. But, as with their fellow alumni Benny Wanger and Dara Alizadeh, the dream is alive. Having five Belmont Hill alumni on the doorstep of competing in the Olympics is truly an astonishing feat. One can be certain that the Belmont Hill community is rooting hard for these remarkable young men, as they strive to realize their Tokyo Dreams.

Alexander Richards ’14, Coach Chris Richards, Michael DiSanto ’08, and Andrew Reed ’10.

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tokyo dreams

Representing His Heritage: Benny Wanger

REPRESENTING HIS HERITAGE:

Benny Wanger ’15 to Play Baseball for Team Israel

On May 6th of 2015, Benny Wanger ’15, then a senior at Belmont Hill, pitched a perfect game, defeating Nobles. It is believed to be the only perfect game in Belmont Hill history. But even with that remarkable performance on his already-impressive résumé, never did he think he might one day be playing in the Olympics, representing Team Israel. The road to Tokyo began after his junior year at Yale, when he met Eric Holtz, manager of the Israeli national team. “He had seen my teammate Eric Brodkowitz and me play,” Benny explains. “He offered us spots on the team, and Eric and I committed to playing for Team Israel in the qualifying tournaments in the summer of 2019.” The team faced a daunting task in order to qualify for the Olympics. It included playing four sequential international tournaments in Bulgaria, Lithuania, Germany, and Italy. “Since only six countries’ teams qualify for Tokyo in baseball, there would only be one team from all of Europe and Africa,” he notes. “Although it seemed like a pipe dream at the time, I agreed to play for the chance at the Olympics, no matter how small.” In March of 2019, a major roadblock befell him in his senior year at Yale, when an injury necessitated season-ending surgery that included a six-to-eight-month rehabilitation. This forced him to miss the first two tournaments in Bulgaria and Lithuania. “I also decided during that time to take a graduate transfer year at the University of Southern California for my last year of NCAA eligibility,” he adds. When he learned that Team Israel had won the first two tournaments, he knew he wanted to join the team, even though he was still in the rehabilitation process. “I decided to leave USC on the second day of school – though I would Zoom into classes at 4:00 am – to fly to Tel Aviv and start my six-week journey with Team Israel.”

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Coach Mike Grant: Personal Reflection on Benny He would eventually fly to Germany with three teammates – all former Major Leaguers – for the European Championship. After coming in 4th in the European Championship (the top five teams advance to the Olympic qualifier), the team flew to Italy for the final round of the tournament. Team Israel mounted an incredible run and ended up defeating all the top European teams (Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Germany), each of whom had defeated them in the earlier European Championship tournament. Only the winner of the Italy tournament would qualify for Tokyo, and Team Israel clinched that spot after defeating South Africa 11-1. Benny recorded three hits, scored four runs, and drove in three more for the tournament. He also tossed 4.1 scoreless innings on the mound, giving up just one hit and one walk, while striking out five batters. THE ROAD AHEAD

When the pandemic struck and caused the subsequent postponement of the Olympics, the team was disappointed but did not let this deter their spirits. The plan right now is for all the players to stay in shape and play their own respective seasons up until about a month and a half before the games. They will then regroup and scrimmage against some summer league/ professional teams. After completing his master’s degree at USC in entrepreneurship, Benny learned that the NCAA would give athletes another year of eligibility due to COVID-19. He has transferred to the University of Miami, playing baseball while completing a master’s in international business. Benny states that this experience has given him a greater perspective on his heritage. “I feel that I’ve developed a much stronger connection to both the land and the people as well as Jews all over the world. I couldn’t be more thrilled to be representing my heritage by competing for Team Israel.” He believes strongly that Belmont Hill helped him develop the tools to succeed. “Belmont Hill has a way of pushing students toward achievement in many different areas,” he states. He also calls particular attention to his former Belmont Hill coach, Assistant Head of School Michael Grant. “Coach Grant

“Benny was a part of a storied run of three consecutive ISL titles at Belmont Hill, playing a key role on two of those teams. Even amongst squads that sported upwards of eight or nine eventual college players, he always stood out, both on the mound, in the field, and at the plate. Benny had tremendous poise as a pitcher, no moment ever seemed too great. He always would have the same relaxed, confident approach, and he played the game with energy and joy – he was a big part of why these teams just loved going out and competing together. That game against Nobles is still one of the best games I have ever seen pitched in person, at any level. The entire game only took 75 minutes, and that is only because of what we did offensively. He only threw 71 pitches, and still had 9K’s – fastballs to both sides of the plate, two-plane slider, and a nasty changeup. Ben had three college-level pitches at the high school level!”

is probably the most impactful coach I’ve ever had. He really set me on a path towards success in baseball and beyond. He teaches all of his players to be mentally tough and was instrumental in showing us how to compete.” While completely focused on his college season and then the Olympics, he has even bigger dreams down the road. “I’m hoping to have the chance to play professional baseball. That will start with the MLB draft in July, which is right before the Games.” Exciting times, indeed, and quite an amazing journey for this accomplished young man. Scorecard for Benny’s perfect game for Belmont Hill.

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tokyo dreams

Daring to Dream: Dara Alizadeh

DARING TO DREAM: Dara Alizadeh ’11 Will Compete for Team Bermuda

but was raised in Bermuda – was always a consideration, but it posed one very significant challenge: He had to learn how to scull (rowing with two oars as opposed to one), and scull well, in very little time. Deciding to delay his senior year at Cambridge, Dara raced in the 2019 World Championships after just three months of sculling training. He describes that regatta as humbling, as he finished near the bottom, but also as an important learning experience. He then traveled to Australia for three months of training, where the quality of his racing improved significantly. He returned from Australia ready to compete in the Americas Olympic Qualifier in Rio de Janeiro, but that race, and eventually the Olympics, was canceled due to COVID-19. He then returned to Cambridge last September to work on his dissertations while continuing to train for the rescheduled qualifier. The postponement was a disappointment, but he saw it as an opportunity to train hard and improve. “I thought to myself, ‘OK, this is the reality: How can I use this situation to get better?,’ he explains. “I saw it as more time to improve my fitness, my technique, my racing capacity, and more.” In March, Dara succeeded on this mission in punching his ticket to the Games. INSPIRATION FROM THE HILL

Rowing along the Charles River during many a practice in his years at Belmont Hill, Dara Alizadeh ’11 always dared to dream, and his dreams were of one day rowing in the Olympics. “It is the peak of rowing, and I always looked up to the Olympic athletes,” he recalls. Already qualified to row for Team Bermuda in the Tokyo Olympics, Dara has realized those dreams. His journey began on the Hill, and continued at the University of Pennsylvania, where he medaled in the U23s (for rowers under 23 years old), and at the University of Cambridge in England, where he raced on two teams that won the prestigious Boat Race. He also served as president of the Cambridge University Boat Club. In 2018, he spent the summer in Oakland, CA, rowing with fellow Belmont Hill alumni Michael DiSanto ’08, Andrew Reed ’10, and Alexander Richards ’14 with the US Senior team. It was during this time he said he learned that the standard was very high for the U.S. sweep team (in sweep rowing, each rower has one oar), and that going back to continue studying at Cambridge would mean he couldn’t row full time. Rowing for Team Bermuda – his mother was born in the UK

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His Belmont Hill experience has stayed with him and inspired him even in the most challenging circumstances. “I’ve taken a lot away from my time at Belmont Hill, from both the classroom and the river,” he says. “I was very fortunate to have great coaches in Middle School like Mr. Wood and Mrs. Sweeney. I was equally fortunate to then join a varsity program under the guidance of Mr. Richards. He taught me that in order to do something well and be the best, you need to live what you’re doing. The rowing team at Belmont Hill for me was a lifestyle, one of discipline, hard work, no excuses, and above all, ‘pull harder.’ I’ve continued to live this 10 years later. This isn’t just for the rowing though; it’s for everything I do.” Dara says that even when he graduated from Belmont Hill, Mr. Richards continued to be deeply invested in his life. “At each step of my rowing, I always knew I had him to talk to. I have the utmost respect for Mr. Richards as a person, as well as his turning Belmont Hill rowing into a powerhouse. I owe him a lot.” And what lies beyond his Tokyo Dreams? “Not sure yet!” he exclaims. “I’ll probably enter the real world. I’ve had a pretty good run so far. Paris 2024 sounds pretty sweet though… .”

belmont hill archives

FROM THE ARCHIVES By Caroline Cushman, School Archivist

BELMONT HILL SCHOOL OLYMPIANS Belmont Hill has a rich history at the Olympics in the hockey, rowing, and cycling events. As we watch some of our alumni pursue their dreams in Tokyo, here are our Olympians during their time on the Hill. Bill Cleary ’52 Hockey 1956 - Cortina d’Amprezzo - Silver Medal 1960 - Squaw Valley - Gold Medal

John Allis ’60 Cycling 1964 - Tokyo 1968 - Mexico City 1972 - Munich

Stewart MacDonald ’67 Rowing 1968 - Mexico City 1972 - Munich 1984 - Los Angeles (coach) Silver Medal, 8+/4-

Bob Cleary ’54 Hockey 1960 - Squaw Valley - Gold Medal

David Weinberg ’70 Rowing 1976 - Montreal

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belmont hill archives

Tom Darling ’77 Rowing 1980 - Moscow 1984 - Los Angeles - Silver Medal, 8+ 1988 - Seoul

Mark Fusco ’79 Hockey 1984 - Sarajevo

Scott Fusco ’81 Hockey 1984 - Sarajevo 1988 - Calgary

David Jensen (member of the Class of 1984), back row, fifth from left. Hockey 1984 - Sarajevo C.J. Young ’86 Hockey 1992 - Albertville

Ted Murphy ’90 Rowing 1996 - Atlanta 2000 - Sydney - Silver Medal, 2-

Michael DiSanto ’08 Rowing 2016 - Rio

To see a video assembled in 2014 about Belmont Hill Winter Olympians: https://vimeo.com/498471296/e0e51cd56e

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speakers on the hill

SPEAKERS ON THE HILL BELMONT HILL SPEAKER PROGRAM

Belmont Hill is so fortunate to be able to offer our boys a wide array of distinguished speakers in our historic Hamilton Chapel. Through the years, our Head of School, alumni, and faculty – as well as an impressive list of guest speakers – have presented on a broad range of topics. In our non-denominational chapel, we seek to engage our community, start conversations, and foster a balanced and civil exchange of opinions. Head of School Chapel Talks and the Parents’ Council Speaker Series are made available to parents by video whenever possible. Other talks are shared publicly on occasion, but the primary audience is the internal community of students, faculty, and staff.

kai bynum

October 2, 2020 | Cum Laude Guest Speaker Dr. Bynum is the current Head of School at Hopkins School in Connecticut. He was formerly an English teacher and director of Community and Diversity at Belmont Hill (2007–2012). Dr. Bynum spoke to the entire Belmont Hill Community, and welcomed and recognized the newest members of the Belmont Hill Cum Laude Society. He spoke fondly of his time at Belmont Hill and urged students to not just be exceptional thinkers but also to apply sound action to leadership in the world today.

harry goldberg

October 9, 2020 | COVID-19 Presentation Dr. Goldberg joined the Belmont Hill Community at the beginning of the 2020–2021 school year as the chair of the Science Department. In October, he shared a presentation with students, faculty, and staff on COVID-19, focusing specifically on the transmission and physiology of the disease. Describing the science behind the precautions that we were taking on campus, Dr. Goldberg reminded the community about the importance of staying vigilant in using face coverings and social distancing.

michael thompson

October 27, 2020 | Parents’ Council Presents: Modeling Civility, Supporting Community: Parenting Through the Election and Beyond Dr. Thompson, Belmont Hill’s consulting psychologist and a regular speaker on campus, spoke to the parent community about the challenges of parenting during the pandemic. He addressed parents’ concerns about their sons’ social development, how to manage anxiety in uncertain times, and how to establish guidelines and limits for their teens that work for their family.

caroline randall williams

October 29, 2020 | Multicultural Alumni Partnership (MAP) Speaker Series Ms. Williams is an award-winning poet, young adult novelist, and cookbook author as well as an activist, public intellectual, performance artist, and scholar. She is the author of Lucy Negro, Redux and Soul Food Love, and is currently a writer-in-residence at Vanderbilt University. In June, Ms. Williams contributed a powerful New York Times opinion piece, “You Want a Confederate Monument? My Body Is a Confederate Monument. The black people I come from were owned and raped by the white people I come from. Who dares to tell me to celebrate them?” Ms. Williams kicked off the inaugural MAP Speaker Series, which was moderated by Will Forde ’05 and Caleb Collins ’93. www.belmonthill.org

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speakers on the hill

peter flaherty p ’17, ’24

November 2, 2020 | School Meeting: What to Watch for on Election Night: An Insider’s View of the Election Political strategist and consultant, Mr. Flaherty has advised campaigns nationwide for senate, congress, governor, and president. On the eve of election day, Mr. Flaherty spoke live in the Chapel to a small and socially distanced group while livestreaming to the rest of classrooms across campus. He spoke about what to watch for on election night. One of his main focuses was on key battleground states, such as Pennsylvania.

lcdr daniel w. mcdonald ’05

November 13, 2020 | Veterans Day School Meeting LCDR McDonald delivered a poignant virtual speech to students providing insight into the true meaning of Veterans Day. He asked students to think about how they define service and left them with his two keys to discovering the answer. “First, you need to align your principles and values to your actions. To do that, you need to consider what your principles and values actually are. Second, you need to put others before yourself. These are both things you can start doing today.” He stressed to the boys, “You have a faculty dedicated to making sure that you become good people.” LCDR McDonald attended the United States Naval Academy and was commissioned as a Naval Officer in 2009. He qualified as a Naval Explosive Ordnance Disposal Officer and has since deployed worldwide with Navy, Army, and Special Operations forces. He is currently stationed at MacDill AFB, Tampa, FL.

jim peck ’77, p ’21

November 24, 2020 | Annual Thanksgiving Gratitude Chapel In the Chapel, before Thanksgiving break, Mr. Peck reminded everyone to seek out and experience gratitude in even the simplest moments of everyday life. He also spoke to the boys about his own Belmont Hill experience and how lucky they are to be at Belmont Hill even in these much different times. A familiar face on campus, this year Mr. Peck has been helping out with the Middle School Office. He is also advising in Form II and coaching Middle School football, hockey, and baseball.

field yates ’05

December 4, 2020 | School Meeting Speaker Mr. Yates spoke about how much has changed for him personally and professionally since the pandemic began. He reminded students to be grateful no matter what being on campus looked like and that they were a part of the Belmont Hill community. He stressed that the community stays with you long past graduation. Mr. Yates is an NFL Insider for ESPN who contributes analysis, breaking NFL news, and fantasy football insight year-round across the company’s multimedia platforms. On NFL Sundays, he hosts ESPN2’s award-winning pregame show Fantasy Football Now.

joani geltman, msw

December 2, 9, and 16, 2020 | Parents’ Council Presents: “Parenting During the Pandemic” Ms. Geltman led three interactive conversations with parents geared toward the different developmental needs of our students. In separate talks, Form I and II, Form III and IV, and Form V and VI parents discussed their specific concerns about raising their sons during these unusual times. With her blend of advice and specific strategies, delivered with warmth and humor, she provided a tool kit of tips for parents to try at home. Ms. Geltman is a child development and parenting expert with more than 30 years of experience working with parents, children, schools, and community groups. She reminded the community about the importance of staying vigilant in using face coverings and social distancing.

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greg dayton ’83

January 8, 2021 | School Meeting Speaker Mr. Dayton ’83 (Belmont Hill faculty 1999–2004) talked about his songwriting process, his personal musical influences, and then performed two of his original songs. Mr. Dayton is a singer/songwriter who was inducted into the New York Blues Hall of Fame shortly after the release of his debut solo album, Lonesome Road, in 2016. His follow-up album, Sailing for the Sun, was released in February 2020. He is currently working on his third album.

jessica lahey

January 19, 2021 | Parents’ Council Presents: The Gift of Failure Ms. Lahey, the author of The New York Times best-selling book The Gift of Failure, led an informative talk for our parent community on the importance of helping children develop their intrinsic motivation. Through a balance of enabling autonomy, encouraging competence, and fostering connection, parents can partner with their children’s teachers to develop these skills and raise happy and confident young adults. Ms. Lahey is a contributor to The Atlantic, Vermont Public Radio, The Washington Post, and The New York Times on the topics of education, parenting, and child welfare. She has taught grades 6–12 in public and private schools.

anna mcdonald

January 20, 2021 | School Meeting Speaker On Inauguration Day, Ms. McDonald spoke to students about the historic significance and importance of our first female vice president. She talked about how much hope it gave her for herself and her daughter and also what it meant to the greater population. She emphasized that Vice President Kamala Harris is the product of all the hard-working and change-making women who came before her and echoed her promises to lift the next generation. Ms. McDonald joined Belmont Hill in 2019. She currently teaches English, is a faculty advisor for Community Service, and coaches Middle School soccer and basketball.

ibram x. kendi

February 1, 2021 | Multicultural Alumni Partnership Speaker Dr. Kendi is the Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities at Boston University, and the founding director of the BU Center for Antiracist Research. In a webinar moderated by Will Forde ’05, Dr. Kendi defined antiracism and noted the steps one can take to incorporate this into one’s life. He explained that to be antiracist means to realize that the policies in society are at the root of the problem, as opposed to the people. “We have been taught to consistently see people as the problem, particularly Black, brown and indigenous folk,” Dr. Kendi said. It is important to see, “the actual policies behind the difficulties of certain groups of people.” He took questions from students near the end of his talk. Dr. Kendi is a contributing writer at The Atlantic and a CBS News racial justice contributor. He is the 2020–2021 Frances B. Cashin Fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University. He is the author of many books including Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, which won the National Book Award for Nonfiction, making him the youngest ever winner of that award. He also authored three #1 New York Times bestsellers, How to Be an Antiracist; Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You, co-authored with Jason Reynolds; and Antiracist Baby, illustrated by Ashley Lukashevsky. His newest books are Be Antiracist: A Journal for Awareness, Reflection, and Action; and Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, co-edited with Keisha Blain. In 2020, Time Magazine named Professor Kendi one of the 100 most influential people in the world. www.belmonthill.org

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dr. rachel levine ’75

DR. RACHEL LEVINE ’75 Selected by President Biden and Confirmed by the Senate as Next Assistant Secretary for Health

Dr. Rachel Levine ’75 was President Joe Biden’s pick to become the next Assistant Secretary for Health and has been confirmed by the Senate. She served as Pennsylvania Health Secretary and has been widely praised for directing the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. A Professor of Pediatrics and Psychiatry at the Penn State College of Medicine, Dr. Levine was previously Pennsylvania’s Physician General. “Dr. Rachel Levine will bring the steady leadership and essential expertise we need to get people through this pandemic – no matter their zip code, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability – and meet the public health needs of our country in this critical moment and beyond,” President Biden said in a statement. “She is a historic and deeply qualified choice to help lead our administration’s health efforts.” Dr. Levine is the first openly transgender federal official to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

Dr. Levine visited Belmont Hill in 2016 and spoke candidly in Hamilton Chapel about her journey as a transgender woman, urging the boys to be warm and accepting of others, to embrace and learn about them on their own terms. In her talk, entitled “Eye of the Hurricane,” she metaphorically used the hurricane to describe the world we live in, with so much going on around us at such a fast pace. “Being in the eye of the hurricane means that you will be calm and centered,” Dr. Levine explained. “Not only calm and centered...but uniquely who you are. You want to be comfortable in your own skin...comfortable in your actions.” At the conclusion of her talk, she was given a rousing standing ovation by the students and was clearly touched by the response.

Vice President Kamala Harris praised Dr. Levine as “a remarkable public servant with the knowledge and experience” to help contain the coronavirus pandemic and “protect and improve the health and well-being of the American people.” Governor Tom Wolf of Pennsylvania said of Dr. Levine, “Her work for our commonwealth has been transformational, and I appreciate it more than I can say. I and the people of Pennsylvania owe her a debt of gratitude for her leadership, strength, and dedication to protecting every person’s health amid unprecedented circumstances – and, at times, amid hateful distractions. Dr. Levine is both competent and compassionate, and never lets the anger or fear of others sway her from her goals.”

Dr. Rachel Levine ’75 addressing the School in 2016 in the Hamilton Chapel.

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advisory changes

ADVISORY CHANGES

As the School Administration worked hard to reimagine what on-campus learning would look like physically, there were also many meetings, conversations, and planning done to ensure that the programming for 2020–2021 reflected the changing world. In March of 2020, Director of Health and Wellness Hope Rupley was asked to provide remote programming to support the mental and physical well-being of students. There were opportunities for students to participate in everything from virtual boot camp to discussions centered around diversity, equity, and inclusion. After a summer of careful planning, Belmont Hill welcomed students, faculty, and staff back to campus four days a week while using Wednesday as a day for remote learning and deep cleaning of campus. To minimize contact with other students and faculty, the school day on campus was divided into three longer class periods with an hour break for advisory and lunch. During this time, students meet with their advisor and same group of students each day. Originally designed to assist with contact tracing, students and faculty alike began to enjoy having a consistent part of their day among so many other changes.

The Advisory Program has become a place for students to create and foster deeper friendships as well as an opportunity for advisors to learn more about their advisees on a deeper level. “The balance of free time and intentional social-emotional learning programming together has really resonated with the boys,” said Mrs. Rupley. SCHEDULED ADVISORY TIME REPRESENTS A FOCUSED APPROACH FOR EACH DAY

Monday is used as “Community Time” where students can eat lunch and have less structured time during their day. There has been a combination of indoor and outdoor activities. In the nicer weather, there were opportunities for the boys to be outdoors, and to play socially distanced games such as Spikeball, Wiffle ball, soccer, and more. In the late fall, Belmont Hill became home to a nine-hole disc golf course, which provided a fun way for the boys to be competitive and stay outside. As the weather changed, an outdoor ice rink was created and installed as an added safe, outdoor student activity.

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advisory changes

Tuesday became a more structured social-emotional group learning experience or activity. At the beginning of the year, these groups livestreamed talks about academic integrity, bullying, and other pertinent topics that are traditionally covered at the start of each year. This year, there have been different community service initiatives that were organized by advisory groups, such as the DOVE “adopt a family” program, in which advisory groups had the option to contribute to the holiday wish lists of families affected by domestic violence. Other programming ranged from watching and reflecting on a video on mental health in the sports world to an activity about connection circles that advisory groups across all grade levels participated in to help learn more about each other and find commonalities. One week featured a talent show for which each group submitted a video highlighting an unusual or unique talent or performance. Students then voted for their favorite video from the Middle and Upper School advisories. Thursday Advisory block is designated for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), with the curriculum developed by the Belmont Hill DEI team. Every week brings a dedicated time to listen, learn, and discuss different topics. Being able to have these discussions with a group that spends so much time together has added value and

fostered openess. In this time, there have been student speakers, visiting speakers, book and movie suggestions, Belmont Hill election polls, and many discussions about ongoing racism and issues in America today. A very special highlight to this year’s visiting speaking program were the presentations by Caroline Randall Williams and Ibram X. Kendi. (See page 17 to learn more about the School’s Speaker Program.) Friday is reserved for a virtual Chapel/School Meeting. While the boys have been anxiously awaiting the return to packed Chapels, the livestream and speeches allow everyone to stay connected. This year, the students have heard regularly from Mr. Schneider, School President Tim McCormack ’21, as well as visiting speakers. There have also been musical performances by Mrs. Hamilton and Mr. Schneider, as well as remarks from faculty and alumni to keep things light. In the fall and winter, since Wednesdays were remote and all classes meet, Advisory is not scheduled. “This Advisory block has been an amazing change to the Belmont Hill community. It has helped create time to have difficult conversations and has also allowed the boys some unprogrammed time to learn from each other and catch up on their day,” said Mrs. Rupley. “Most importantly, it has been an incredible way to keep the mental health of our students at the forefront of what we do. With regular check-ins and scheduled time to build a bond with a smaller group of students outside the classroom, we have seen this program emphasize what we do best at Belmont Hill – develop men of good character.”

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fall reopening

WORKING TOGETHER AGAIN How Belmont Hill Opened During the Pandemic By Bill Mahoney

When Belmont Hill was forced to shut down the campus back in March of 2020 due to the global pandemic, the School administration was well prepared and had a remote-learning plan in place. The hope was that the remote-learning period would be temporary and that the boys would return to campus soon. But in the weeks that followed, as the situation grew more dire, it became clear that for the safety of the boys and faculty and staff, Belmont Hill would remain closed through the end of the school year. As summer began, the administration worked tirelessly with one goal in mind: to open the School in September and hold classes on campus. It was not an easy task. But following guidelines set by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), as well as maintaining regular communication with the Belmont Board of Health and consultations with medical professionals and external consultants, many new protocols and procedures were established. The School also engaged with the consulting group Fusion Cell, a firm that has taken deep experience from pandemic planning on military bases and transferred this expertise to schools. Additionally, an audit of the HVAC systems was commissioned in all campus buildings and improvements were made to ensure they were operating in accordance with guidelines from the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). This included the addition of portable medical grade HEPA filters where necessary. Finally, the School’s formal written plans were reviewed by its consulting pediatrician as well as the chief medical officer affiliated with Boston Children’s Hospital. “It took great creativity and even a few minor construction projects to prepare the campus,” noted Greg Schneider, Ronald M. Druker ’62 Head of School. Six tents were set up to provide safe outdoor spaces for teaching and learning. Many teachers took their classes outdoors in the warmer days of September and October, which allowed for students to easily spread out. The athletic center, large

Each morning, students show their health attestation to faculty at strategically located entry points on campus.

study halls, and dining hall were converted to classroom and study hall space to accommodate social distancing. Everyone seemed thrilled to be together again on campus, even though things were not quite the same. Mask wearing, three-ply only, was strictly enforced. The dining room remained closed for lunch each day, as boxed lunches were delivered to advisor homerooms. Corridors, stairs, and walkways were carefully marked to relieve congestion and allow for spacing. The schedule worked in a weekly remote-learning day, Wednesday, to allow for deep cleaning (which was also done on weekends).

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fall reopening

Bathrooms were cleaned a minimum of two times per day. Students and faculty were required to sanitize their workspace whenever they transitioned to a new space or used any shared equipment such as printers and copiers. Hand sanitizer as well as soap and water were available throughout the campus. A significant number of additional teachers and proctors were brought in to support new needs and to provide assistance to remote teachers. Later in September, COVID-19 testing was set in place to test all faculty and staff with a randomized sample of approximately 10–15% of

The Jordan Athletic Center was repurposed so that academic classes could be held in spaces such as the wrestling room.

Walls were removed in smaller classrooms to create larger spaces to accommodate social distancing.

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the student body to assess the status of the community. The boarding community was tested once a week given the larger amount of time spent on campus in fairly close proximity. In December, testing was expanded to include all students. As the Bulletin went to press in late March, the School remained open even as the pandemic surged. Students and faculty were on campus five days a week. The strict protocols and new guidelines could not dampen the spirits of a community that was happy and thankful to be working together again.

Social distancing and masks are key to keeping in-person learning as safe as possible.

Students and faculty utilize outdoor spaces for classes, lunch, and mask breaks when possible.

community & diversity

BELMONT HILL ANNOUNCES NEW DIVERSITY ACTION PLAN By Caleb Collins ’93, P ’25, Director of Community and Diversity

Now that Belmont Hill has completed the National Association of Independent Schools’ Assessment of Inclusivity and Multiculturalism (AIM), what is next for the School? The goal was that the findings of the comprehensive diversity audit would become the foundation for a Diversity Action Plan that would guide the School through its Centennial. I am proud to announce the Board of Trustees recently passed the Diversity Action Plan this past fall. The intent of the plan is to address components of gender, sexual orientation, and sexual identity in addition to race, socio-economic class, and other areas. It will closely monitor the overall experience of our students as well as their parents. The School will place an even greater emphasis on training and professional development for faculty and staff. The plan will demonstrate to our external community that our commitment to DEI initiatives is real. This ambitious plan will provide the School with as many as 11 different areas of focus. The Board of Trustees Diversity Committee has prioritized areas of focus to ensure adequate progress is seen immediately. While much work on many of these focus areas had already begun prior to the formation of the plan, our pace has certainly quickened. 1. Pedagogy and Program – Move to a 6. Language – Help all boys and adults more integrated vision of multiculturunderstand intent vs. impact regarding alism, gender, and equitable teaching language use. practices within the academic program. 7. Parent Experience – Continue improving 2. Student Experience – Support support for and education of the parent body. difference and enhance a true sense 8. Governance – Promote leadership of belonging in new ways. development, equity, and inclusion among 3. Hiring – Aspire to surpass the INDEX median for teacher diversity within five years. 4. Admission – Aspire to have approximately one-third of the student body self-identify as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color). 5. Faculty/Staff Development – Build a truly culturally competent faculty and staff.

parents, students, faculty, and staff. 9. Alumni – Ensure all Belmont Hill alumni feel equally valued and supported.

Belmont Hill School Diversity Committee Jon Biotti ’87 President of the Board of Trustees, Parent Caleb Collins ’93 Director of Community and Diversity, Parent Gretchen Cook-Anderson Board Member, Parent Carl Dawson ’72 Board Member, Parent Will Forde ’05 Board Member

10. Marketing and Outreach – Increase marketing content for DEI initiatives.

John Grady ’66 Board Member, Parent

11. Centennial Vision – Clarify an even more inclusive Centennial vision for Belmont Hill that builds upon past strength with a demonstrated commitment to growth and improvement.

Kirk McKeown ’95 Board Member

The Board of Trustees will assess progress annually. This exceptional group fully embraces the plan and intends to support with resources as needed in order to make continued progress on its goals. The complete Diversity Action Plan can be found at www.belmonthill.org/diversity-action-plan on the School’s website.

Michael Grant Assistant Head of School, Dean of Faculty

Sarah Pelmas Head of School and O’Donnell Family Chair, Winsor School; Board Member Greg Schneider Ronald M. Druker ’62 Head of School David Wilkins Board Member, Parent

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Arts on the Hill Sean Horkan ’24 glazing a mug made on the pottery wheel.

arts on the hill

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Kites • Jake McManus ’24 • Ben Hack ’24 • Declan Reilly ’24 • Lucca Micciche’24 • Connor Mackey ’24 • Noah Farb ’24 • Daniel Xie ’24 • Max Glick ’24 • Lev Tolkoff ’24

Bowl by Jacob Gregor ’23.

Wooden Toboggan by Jackson Pagan ’24 and Alex Behn ’24 in Conceptual Physics.

Students watch a trash can firing in Ceramics class.

2 The practice is similar to traditional pit firing resulting in flashes of earth-like tones of color. 5.

This year the students in Woodworking classes worked to make the Asanoha pattern in their Kumiko lantern. This project was developed in response to the pandemic so that the techniques required to make the Kumiko panels could be completed at home with very simple hand tools, if needed. Luckily, all of the work was completed in the shop.

Ethan Xie ’26 works on his wire guy hero sculpture in Form I Art.

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arts on the hill

B-Flats: • Liam Horkan ’22 • Gabriel Klug ’22 • Daniel Rashes ’22 • Kailen Richards ’22 • Matthew Travaglini ’22 • Ryan Cannistraro ’21 • Jacob Czarnecki ’22 • Mr. Patterson

Middle School Jazz: • Daniel Xie ’24, tenor saxophone • David Luo ’25, trumpet • Carson Yoo ’26, trumpet • Brandon Li ’26, alto saxophone • Derrick Huang ’26, alto saxophone • Brady Paquette ’25, alto saxophone • Ethan Xie ’26, alto saxophone • Justin Li ’26, piano • John Pena ’26, bass guitar • Jackson Rich ’25, drums

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3 3.

4 4.

Upper School Jazz: • David Carter ’22, trumpet • Andrew Bittner ’24, trumpet • Daniel Bittner ’22, trumpet • Samuel Freed ’21, guitar • Alexander Behn ’24, trombone • Thomas Cannistraro ’24, bass guitar • Charles Geddes ’22, alto saxophone

• William Lloyd ’23, tenor saxophone • Quinn Peck ’21, drums • Cameron Connell ’23, piano

Orchestra: • Aleksander Vasu ’22, guitar • Julian Dalziel ’21, viola • Cotter Healey ’26, violin • Davin Roy ’24, violin • Jayden Lotin ’26, violin • Abraham Tolkoff ’21, clarinet • Kevin Jiang ’22, clarinet • Adrian Tan ’25, piano • Howard Huang ’22, violin • Matthew Torrey ’23, violin • Wesley Zhu ’25, violin • Arec Keomurjian ’22, piano • Yareh Constant ’25, bass • Timothée Simonin ’22, cello • Benjamin Gong ’26, cello • Theodore Stoll ’21, cello • Ms. Ahearne, cello • Jaiden Lee ’26, cello • Brian Lee ’24, cello

Music group captions are from left to right, top to bottom.

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arts on the hill

Photography: Abraham Tolkoff ’21 For my Contemporary Literature class with Dr. Tift, we read On Beauty by Zadie Smith. The narrative is set in a fictionalized Boston area with specific landmarks and locations mentioned throughout the novel. Dr. Tift opened up our assignment criteria, and I decided to use my photography knowledge to document various locations around Boston, Cambridge, and Wellesley to mimic places mentioned in the story. I began shooting with a 4x5 film camera equipped with a box of black-and-white film, a few lessons on the basic operations of the camera, and an omniscient book. After days of making pictures, developing my film, and scanning, I began to appreciate how the story materialized in my work. I opened my written response that accompanied the two dozen images with a quote from famed photographer Ansel Adams. He said, “When

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words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence.” Later, I spun this concept in my own way while reflecting on the overall process. “Just as each of the characters was changed by their lives in the story, we readers experienced the transformation from the first to the final words. There is something, too, about shooting photos in black-and-white, like the words and pages of a book. The challenge of coaxing depth and color from tones of gray mimics that of developing detail and imagery from words and phrases.” While the assignment meshed nicely with my ongoing Independent Study in Photography with Mr. Duarte, I appreciated the interdisciplinary nature of the work and look forward to a similar exercise with future books and projects.

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arts on the hill

1 Despite the challenges of this year, the theatre program has forged ahead by both directing our actors in individual monologues and group projects and offering weekly workshops in each of the following areas: directing, acting, playwriting, technical theatre and lighting, set design, and voice acting. We’ve invested in new equipment for filming and editing, including new cameras, lenses, and green screens to offer our students an array of options for their projects. Finally, we’re committed to bringing student-created work to life, meeting with our group project’s actors, writers, and designers each week as they write, develop, stage, film, edit, and produce their own films this year!

Will Achtmeyer ’26 writing an original screenplay in the house of the Kraft Theater.

Three students playing the improv game “Sit, Stand, Kneel” (from left: Joshua Houston-Davis ’23, TJ Cannistraro ’24, and Jerry Austen ’24).

A rousing game of “Zip, Zap, Zop” with custom rules (from left: Mr. DiResta, Boston Ezedi ’26, Jerry Austen ’24, Joshua Houston-Davis ’23, and TJ Cannistraro ’24).

Mr. Conway filming Jeremy Eaton ’23 outside of Robsham.

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Coaches’ Corner

coaches’ corner

It goes without saying, the ongoing pandemic created significant challenges regarding the staging of the athletic program at Belmont Hill this year. After a very successful fall season where the School offered athletics beyond the traditional fall sports – as well as five weeks of interscholastic scrimmages in cross country, football, and soccer – the task of moving on to the winter season presented new challenges. Gone was the ability to send the entire school outside every day for athletics. A new set of state guidelines governing winter sports was promulgated, which had to be digested and understood, and so began the charge of constructing our winter athletic offerings.

The goal, first and foremost, was to be able to offer winter sports in compliance with all state guidelines. At the same time, the ISL decided that traditional interscholastic league competition would not be possible. With these constraints in mind, the School worked out the ability to provide our traditional winter offerings (Alpine skiing, basketball, hockey, Nordic skiing, squash, and wrestling) and afford our boys a needed chance to exercise while also working on critical skill development in their winter sport of choice. As was the case in the fall, masks, hand hygiene, limiting the number of athletes in playing spaces, and frequent cleaning and disinfecting continued to be the norm. That, coupled with sport-specific rule modifications, allowed for our winter athletes to safely participate. These sport-specific rule modifications also helped clear the way for the ISL to allow member schools to schedule interscholastic scrimmages in basketball and hockey. We were excited to livestream our home scrimmages so that our community could see the boys compete. The School’s motto of “Working Together” has truly been on display with respect to providing athletic opportunities to our students during the ongoing pandemic. It took a concerted effort day in and day out by students, parents, coaches, staff, and administrators to follow protocols and make the athletic program safe and fun. Special thanks to our coaches for creating an incredibly positive and rewarding experience for our student-athletes. I am incredibly proud of what the Belmont Hill community accomplished. GEORGE TAHAN Athletic Director

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Cross Country JAKE DECAPRIO ’16, ADAM HARDER, AND MAYA JAROSTCHUK Co-Head Coaches

Certainly, and expectedly, COVID-19 protocols had some adverse impacts on the 2020 Belmont Hill cross country team’s season and overall experience for the boys on the squad. We were limited to practicing together just twice a week, there were no Friday-evening pre-race team dinners hosted by willing parents, we did not travel off-campus for weekly fall foliage over-distance jaunts, and both the league championship and New England championships were canceled, as were the majority of weekend races relative to a normal year.

For the first several weeks, it was not clear if we were going to be able to race against other teams at all, and in spite of that uncertainty, the boys were positive, competitive amongst themselves, and purposeful in their daily running, a testament to their mental toughness and competitiveness. Good news finally came along, and we were able to run several informal scrimmage races during the second half of the season, providing us with the opportunity to see how the boys could perform in actual race conditions.

That said, our young and determined group of runners made the most of what was available to us, attacking the workouts we were able to conduct with enthusiasm and unstinting effort. On days that we did not meet as a group, the boys completed over-distance and tempo runs individually and independently, certainly a testament to their dedication to improving as competitive harriers. Our two captains, Sreetej Digumarthi ’21 and James Donahue ’22, provided complementary leadership styles and positive role modeling for their teammates throughout the season. Digumarthi stoically persisted to train and compete to his best ability in spite of a nagging injury, and Donahue opted to compete in additional open elite races on his own, shattering the 15:30 5K barrier on the track on three occasions. Additionally, Abe Tolkoff ’21, a product of our Middle School program, was a steady performer and creative chronicler of images that he shared and creatively captioned for entertainment during our end-of-year virtual team banquet.

Given the widely varying protocols from school-to-school and scheduling logistics, we wound up running primarily against Roxbury Latin and St. Sebastian’s, hosting two meets on our on-campus loop, and traveling to Nobles and Roxbury Latin for two other races. Miles Sandoski ’24 was consistently one of the top finishers overall, followed by Arec Keomurjian ’22 and Thomas Romney ’22, who pushed each other all season be it during interval training or on race days. While scoring was unofficial, and further confounded by the fact that some of our opponents ran only a limited cohort of their squads, we enjoyed several “wins” and our three “losses” were by the narrowest of margins, 1–2 points. We are excited about what lies ahead for our core of returning runners from this year, also knowing that a few boys from this year’s Middle School squad showed great potential. Next year’s captains-elect are Donahue and Romney.

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coaches’ corner

Football CHRIS BUTLER, Head Coach

Led by senior captains Luke Bobo, Grant Litchfield, Cameron Reirden, and Ikenna Ugbaja, the varsity football team completed a successful 2020 season. Several other members of Form VI stepped into key starting roles and benefitted the team both on and off the field through their hard work. The fall presented the varsity football coaches and team with unprecedented challenges in maintaining player safety, while at the same time providing a football experience that was enjoyable and beneficial to the players. Under Mr. Tahan’s leadership, the Athletic Department worked tirelessly to provide the team, and all of the Belmont Hill fall athletes, with an opportunity to compete, and developed a series of protocols to keep everyone safe. We were fortunate to step onto the field three times each week under the School’s revised athletic schedule. The practices were skill-based, and the players took advantage of these opportunities to improve themselves as football players. The team’s strong character showed, and in true Belmont Hill fashion the players worked incredibly hard and improved their skills throughout the fall. The team is extremely grateful to Mr. Chin, Ms. Ruys, and Mr. Negron for their painstaking efforts to help support the program and maintain player safety. Although the team could not play the traditional ISL season and schedule, we competed in four 7-on-7 passing scrimmages against St. Sebastian’s, Rivers, Nobles, and Roxbury Latin. These scrimmages provided the players a chance

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to compete in interscholastic competition on Saturdays this past fall and wear the Belmont Hill uniform. The coaching staff was incredibly proud of the team because of the intensity and hard work they put forth on the field each and every day. Although faced with significant adversity, their efforts never flagged, and this was a true reflection of their character and championship approach to life. The team not only made the best of a challenging situation, they excelled at it, and we are very grateful to the 2020 team for making the season such a success. The captains-elect for the 2021 season are Michael Ahonen, Nolan Parchesky, and Henry Lodge. Finally, we want to thank the graduating players for their contributions to the Belmont Hill Football Program throughout their careers, and all that they accomplished while playing as part of the program. While we will miss them, the example they set, particularly this season, will continue to impact the program for years to come.

Soccer JORGE MONTOYA, Head Coach

The varsity soccer team returned a strong cohort of seniors from last year’s NEPSAC quarterfinalist squad, but the COVID-19 pandemic forestalled a run at the top of the ISL this past fall. Despite the absence of a normal slate, thanks to the hard work of Athletic Director George Tahan and Greg Schneider, Ronald M. Druker ’62 Head of School, the team played four scrimmages against a group of other ISL day schools, concluding with a 2–1–1 mark. This year’s games kicked off under very different rules, with kick-ins replacing throw-ins, bans on slide tackling, shoulder-to-shoulder challenges, and heading. Of course, the boys had to adjust to masks as well, but the skill and determination remained constant. The first match against St. Sebastian’s started slowly with a scoreless first half as the boys adjusted to the new rulebook, but they poured it on in the second period with three well-worked team goals to emerge comfortable 3–0 winners. A late penalty earned a 1–1 draw in a fiercely competitive, physical match against Rivers. But the undoubted highlight of the year came in a dramatic 2–1 comeback win against another perennial rival in Nobles.

Belmont Hill fell behind in the first half, but rallied in a pulsating final 20 minutes, during which midfielder Will Lloyd ’23 volleyed home the equalizer then, moments later, after a contentious penalty award, goalkeeper Zach Dines ’22 made a diving stop to keep the scoreline level. With the clock winding down, forward Jayson Firmin ’21 burst through and fired home a late winner. The final match of the year resulted in a frustrating 1–0 defeat against Roxbury Latin, as Belmont Hill spent nearly the entire game on the attack, but could only produce a plethora of squandered chances including a last-minute penalty miss. Defenders Matthew Britt-Webb ’21 and Will Dean ’21 shared the Coaches Award (MVP of the team), Firmin garnered the Sportsmanship Award, and defender Chris O’Connell ’21 earned the Most Improved Player Award. Next year’s captains-elect will be Lloyd and midfielder Max Carboni ’23. The senior class concluded its Belmont Hill career with an enviable record of three double-digit victory seasons and ISL top-three finishes, as well as two NEPSAC appearances. Just as importantly, they displayed superb leadership in a challenging and turbulent environment this past fall and helped maintain and grow the squad’s strong traditions and character. Goalkeeper Alex Atalla; defenders Britt-Webb, Dean, Connor Monahan, Riley Shafer, and Erick Silva; midfielders Timmy McCormick, Will McGaughey, and Mateen Nickpour-Reyes; and forwards Firmin and Charlie Penzone have helped compose the backbone of the program for the past few years and brought a consistently high level of performance to practices and matches throughout the year, despite the unprecedented circumstances. A number of those boys will play in college, and we wish them the best in continuing their careers. This senior group never flagged in the face of adversity and consistently maintained high standards for the entire program across their tenure.

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alumni events

ALUMNI HOUSE PROGRAMS Though there has not been the typical lineup of events and meetings hosted by the Alumni House, they have been busy creating virtual events to keep Belmont Hill constituents engaged with the School and one another.

2020–2021 PROGRAMS • Henry B. Sawyer, Jr. ’32 Golf Tournament at Concord Country Club - September 14, 2020 • Multicultural Alumni Partnership Mentorship student breakfast at the Alumni House - September 25, 2020 • Parents Fund Committee – Virtual launch with Jean Egan P ’22 and Greg Schneider - October 7, 2020 • Form VI Parents Fund – Virtual launch with Carolyn and Joe Curtin ’80 P ’14, ’21 and Greg Schneider October 8, 2020 • Multicultural Alumni Partnership Directors Golf Outing at Belmont Country Club - October 19, 2020 • Virtual Homecoming - October 24, 2020 • Multicultural Alumni Partnership Mentorship Program - November 11, 2020; December 16, 2020; January 12, 2021; February 9, 2021; and March 9, 2021 • Former Faculty and Staff Zoom - December 1, 2020. Attendees included: Bob Arnold, Buddy Bates, Erik Bertelsen, Eileen Burt, Ted Burt, Debbie Callahan, Ann Coté, Robert Cressey, Joe Curtin ’80, Vic deForest, Chip Dewar, David Dobrowolski, Arlette Doherty, Kevin Fleming, Robert Greene, Dave Greer, James Hejduk, Carl Hobert, Richard Hoffman, Colleen Kramer, John Mackenzie, John MacLean, Mary Ann McKenna, Guillermo Moronta, Jim O’Leary, John Petrie, Harold Prenatt, Tod Rodger, George Seeley, Don Stewart, Mary Swain, Ann Tift, Hans Wachtmeister, Christopher Wadsworth, George Weston, Patty Whitney, and Travis Woolcott.

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• KWA Women’s Series featuring Mallika Marshall, MD (P ’23, ’26, SP ’90), Sarah Fortune, MD (P ’20), and Sue Wolf-Fordham, JD, MPA (SP ’76) - February 4, 2021 • Virtual Middle School Grandparents and Honored Guests Day - February 18, 2021 • Global Investing Webinar with Tim Buckley ’87 and Jean Hynes (Winsor P ’16, ’18, ’18, ’21) - March 8, 2021. More than 600 guests were in attendance for this joint event for the Belmont Hill and Winsor communities. • Virtual Annual Meeting of the Corporation - April 29, 2021 • Reunion Golf at Belmont Country Club - May 14, 2021 • Virtual Reunion - Each class will have their own Zoom event in the month of May. • Henry B. Sawyer, Jr. ’32 Golf Tournament and Auction at Concord Country Club - September 27, 2021

2020/2021 FORM VI HOMEROOM MEETINGS AT THE ALUMNI HOUSE:

2020/2021 GRAND ALUMNI ZOOM MEETINGS WITH FACULTY MEMBERS:

Mrs. Bobo - October 15

1968 with Walker Coppedge ’94 - September 17

Mr. Grant and Mr. T. Sullivan - October 16

1954 with Steve Kaplan ’83 - September 24

Mr. Coppedge ’94 - October 19

1960 with Jeff Fast - September 25

Mr. Doar - October 20

1962 with Caleb Collins ’93 - October 6

Mr. C. Schneider - October 22

1970 with Steve Carr ’93 - October 7

Mr. Richards - October 26

1955 with Chris Sweeney ’83 - October 14

Mr. G. Schneider - November 9

1952 with Corey Cofield - October 22

Mr. Patterson - November 10

1951 with Ken Martin ’65 - October 27

Mr. Kaplan ’83 - November 16

1953 with Nancy Montanaro - November 19

Mr. Coppedge ’94 - February 22

1957 with Lauren Hamilton - December 7

Mr. Richards - February 25

1959 with Casey Bobo - January 20

Mr. Kaplan ’83 - March 2

1956 with Ruth Sweeney - February 25

Mr. Doar - March 4

1955 with Jeanne Tift - April 14

Mrs. Bobo - March 5

1967 with Graham Masiiwa - April 27

Mr. T. Sullivan - March 9 Mr. C. Schneider - March 11 Mr. G. Schneider - April 6

FORM VI THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW (TYSK):

Mr. Grant - April 8

Alumni Career Panel - March 1

Mr. Patterson - April 9

EJ Cayemite ’12, David Luo ’13, Parker Mundt ’12, Carl Reid ’13, and Geoff Sullivan ’11

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alumni events

Henry B. Sawyer, Jr. ’32 Golf Tournament September 14, 2020 Concord Country Club 1.

Kevin McCafferty and sons Kevin ’98, Brendan ’00, and Brian ’05.

Billy Cotter.

John Grady ’66 and Greg Schneider.

Peter Loukas ’07.

Kevin Yetman ’06.

Charlie Kenney.

Greg Paul ’09.

Carl Dawson ’72.

Andrew O’Brien ’01, Matt Stoeckle ’01, Chris Stoeckle ’03, and Greg O’Brien ’03.

10. 2001 classmates D.J. Hynes, Jeff Hamilton, Kevin Galvin, and Chris Cotter.

1 This past fall, Belmont Hill held its 29th Henry B. Sawyer Jr. ’32 Golf Tournament and Auction for financial aid. Despite the challenging and unprecedented year, alumni, parents, and friends stepped forward to make this year’s event a success. Based on the safety protocols for golf, 29 foursomes set out on the course at Concord Country Club with tee times rather than the usual shotgun start format. The live and silent auctions were transitioned to an online format. With sponsorships and proceeds from the auction, the Belmont Hill community raised $162,000 for this year’s Sawyer golf tournament for financial aid. “It’s amazing what the committee, Alumni House, and faculty did to come together to support this event and encourage us, and what our supporters have done,” said Tournament Co-Chair John Carroll ’89. “In typical form, the Belmont Hill community stepped forward. Sponsors increased their sponsorships. We had a record number of golfers. We figured, why not make something bad into something good because financial aid is even more important right now,” added Tournament Co-Chair Jim Kalustian ’78. “We’re very fortunate at Belmont Hill to have a robust annual financial aid budget of $5.6 million,” said Director of Financial Aid Aylin Flanagan. “I can’t thank those who support this tournament enough for all that they are doing for students. For students past, present, and future, I am the one who can express gratitude on their behalf today.”

save the date

The committee wishes to thank the generous sponsors and those who supported the online auction. With four complete scholarships funded through this event, next year’s event could signal a completion of a fifth sponsorship.

Monday, September 27, 2021

Congratulations to this year’s top golfers: First Place: Ken Martin ’65, Chris Simon ’80, Scott McGrath, and John Broderick ’22. Second Place: Theodore Blank ’06, MacPherson Carroll ’06, Peter Loukas ’07, and Charlie Doar. Third Place: Jeff Hamilton ’01, Chris Cotter ’01, D.J. Hynes ’01, and Kevin Galvin ’01. Longest Drives: Blue Tee – Brendan McCafferty ’00; Gold Tee – Tom Worthen ’53. Closest to the Pin: Mike Maturo ’98.

30th Annual Henry B. Sawyer Jr. ’32 Golf Tournament and Auction Concord Country Club

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2020 Tournament Committee John Carroll ’89, Co-chair Jim Kalustian ’78, Co-chair Eric Ahlgren ’00

Dave Antonelli ’06 Toby Banta ’04 Chris Biotti ’85 Greg Boeing ’06 Billy Cotter P ’92, ’01 Mike Cotter ’92, P ’26 Warren Cross ’83, P ’17, ’19 Jeff Drucker ’90, P ’20, ’23 Chris Egan P ’22 Reese Genser ’87 Rob Glor ’06 Matt Gordon ’06

Jeff Hamilton ’01

Andrew Leisman ’03 George Lynch ’88 Emmett Lyne ’77 Ted Madden ’88, P ’20, ’22 Kenny Martin ’65, P ’91 Kevin McCafferty P ’98, ’00, ’05 Kevin McCafferty ’98 Andrew Mingle ’97 Brendan Monahan ’91, P ’22 Tad O’Donnell P ’20 Dan Ronan ’94 Mark Rooney ’91 Jamie Stanzler ’90 Norb Unger ’97 Scott Webster ’82 Cy Wilde ’80

C.J. Young ’86

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alumni events

Multicultural Alumni Partnership (MAP) Directors Golf Outing October 19, 2020 Belmont Country Club

Corey Cofield.

Emmett Lyne ’77.

Dave Antonelli ’06, Corey Cofield, John Grady ’66, and Groom Dinkneh ’09.

Groom Dinkneh ’09.

Greg Paul ’09.

George Lynch ’88, Carl Dawson ’72, and Groom Dinkneh ’09.

Graham Masiiwa.

Greg Paul ’09, Emmett Lyne ’77, and Graham Masiiwa.

Will Forde ’05.

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Class Notes

class notes

ALUMNI, FACULTY, AND STAFF: We would love to hear from you and share your latest news with the Belmont Hill School community. Please email your notes and photos to alumni@belmonthill.org. Length and content are subject to editorial approval; some submissions may appear as excerpts. The deadline for the Summer/Fall Bulletin is June 1, 2021. VETERAN’S PROFILE: Have you served in the military? To be publicly recognized in the Belmont Hill School Military Register, please complete the online form found under “Alumni” on the website. If you have any questions, please call the Alumni Office at 617.993.5203.

1953 DICK CHAIKIN ’53 writes, “Having had a periodontics practice at Charles River Place since 1965, I retired in 1997 due to a hand injury (a friend shook my hand too hard; lost my dexterity after a couple surgeries). Ned Ryerson was a patient there, only until I suggested some surgery. I wrote a textbook on perio surgery, became editor of a dental journal (seven languages), and taught at BU School of Dentistry as well as Harvard School of Dental Medicine. Gave lectures in Japan, Europe, South America, and the United States. Been retired in Palm Beach Gardens ever since, first at Ballen Isles and now in a rented apartment nearby OH, and as some of you may know, I became fluent in Turkish along the way. I look forward to reading about y’all in Class Notes each time.”

1954 BILL TAGGART ’54 writes, “Thanks to the Alumni House for arranging the Zoom on September 24 so that our Class of 1954 could meet and talk. This was very enjoyable since there has been no traveling for us since last spring and we don’t see any in the foreseeable future.”

Happy 100th Birthday to Nelson Darling ’37! His son Tom Darling ’77 submitted this photo with a note: “This photo includes a Christmas light decorated Roman numeral “C” (100) made by my brother Bill’s (’67) wife Betty to commemorate the occasion. Charles Jenney would be proud.”

Denise and John Shane ’50 with their Belmont Hill face masks.

Bob Togneri ’55 in his new Belmont Hill mask.

1955 From GIL SWIFT ’55 comes: “Hi, everyone! Sue and I just concluded our 60th year at our favorite place on earth, Nisswa, MN. We spent five months at the log cabin her dad built with a high school teaching buddy in 1947–1950. It is on a small lake and the woods around make a perfect setting. Hope all of you are staying healthy. Wish all of you the very best!”

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1956

1959

1963

This from BILL CUNNINGHAM ’56: “We approach our 65th anniversary with the sobering reminder that life expectancy was 60 when we were born. I reflect on my fond memories of Belmont Hill faculty and classmates and stay close to DAVE HAWKINS ’56 and JON WILCOX ’56. We graduated into a very different world and had more fun than people seem to experience today. My beloved wife, Deedee, and I are Florida residents in Vero Beach and summer at Lake Sunapee in New London, NH. Our daughter, Margaret, and son-in-law, Ted Lyon, live in Winchester, MA, and have two sons, ANDREW LYON ’26 and JAMES LYON ’25, at Belmont Hill.”

From NAT FLECK ’59: “My wife, Debby Pigman, and I have been in New Orleans for the last 16 years. Shortly before retiring we bought a retreat (a geodesic dome, actually) in Mississippi; it is a half mile from beautiful white sand beaches. We love it there. We are spending most of our time there during the pandemic. Maybe ten cars pass it in a day. I have my vegetable garden (winter season is best) and am starting a wildflower field across the road. Paradise.”

DICK VIETOR ’63 writes, “Being cooped up for seven months is getting weary. My family is all still healthy… but also suffering from being pent up. However, the last few months have been pretty productive for research and writing. I have been teaching virtually, and beginning next week, go back to Harvard to teach in a virtual classroom, to executives all over the world. That’s exciting.”

1961

From STEVE FORTE ’68 comes: “I have been in contact with classmate JEFF GOLD ’68 as he readies for his annual sail from Bar Harbor, ME, to Panama. It’s a long journey for Jeff and we hope to rendezvous in Panama this winter if it all works out. I have moved to Victoria, BC to be closer to my daughter who attends prep school in Mill Bay as her twin brother plays more competitive basketball in Victoria.”

1957 This from CLAUDE (TED) WELCH ’57: “A major recent change in my life occurred in mid-May. I moved from Buffalo, NY, my home for more than 55 years, to Auburndale, MA. My new home is in Lasell Village, in an absolutely wonderful place. Any Belmont Hill alumnus nearing or at retirement age might consider checking it out. One of the best aspects is its location: 0.2 miles easy walk to the Riverside T stop, so that I can easily reach my daughter’s home. My son lives in Newton Highlands, barely four miles away via I-95. The residents and staff interact well, and I have been greeted in a most friendly fashion during the 10 days since I moved in. I look forward to watching future Belmont Hill events, especially when my grandson, JACK DYER ’23, participates and spectators can attend. We did tour the campus in the fall of 2019. The facilities have changed mightily since I graduated in 1957! Am I wrong, but is Mr. Croke in the bottom left-hand corner of the large mural, in the athletic center?” (Editor’s note: No, Ted, you are correct.)

Claude Welch ’57 with grandson James Dyer ’23.

DAVE BURKE ’61 writes, “Now living in Charleston, SC, the finest city in the country, in my opinion. My brother, RON ’59, and I semi-retired from our manufacturing business after selling it to a Canadian company in 2016. Having trouble acquiescing to the pressure to be politically correct in every aspect of life. Consider myself a southerner through and through. If you have any college-age kids coming along, I can’t recommend sending them to Duke strongly enough.” This from BILL HOFMANN ’61: “I left the School to do my last three years at Lawrenceville after five years at Belmont Hill. Went to BU and Suffolk to get a BS, BA, and an MBA. Went to work in my father’s insurance agency part time and went to school part time. Served as president of the Independent Insurance Agents of Massachusetts in 1986. Ran for the Massachusetts State Senate in 1990 and lost with 45% of the vote. Became president of the Independent Insurance Agents of America in 2000. Served 12 years on the board of Commonwealth Auto Reinsurers (Massachusetts assigned risk pool) with four as president. Retired in 2011 with four offices and 45 employees.” WADE WELCH ’61 writes, “After 51 years in Boston, I moved my office to 175 Washington Street, Suite B21, Winchester, MA, on January 1, 2021. All other contact information is unchanged. Jane, Tracy, her husband, Steve, and grandchildren, Tory, Amanda, and BRADFORD ’26 are all well. Bradford is in Form I at the Hill. I hope you and yours are likewise. Best, Wade!”

1968

1970 ROB GOGAN ’70 retired from Harvard University in October of 2020. Rob helped found and markedly improved the recycling programs at Harvard. In 1990, its recycling rate was 5%; today it is more than 50%. Rob has made a tremendous impact beyond the environment by helping people through reuse. Harvard’s surplus furniture program has helped thousands of people locally and abroad. For 15 years, Rob assisted in collecting donations of make-up, hair and skin treatments, feminine hygiene products, and other grooming goods for homeless women at the Cambridge Family Center. Rob will continue serving on the RAC and MassRecycle, a statewide nonprofit.

1971 BOB KITTREDGE ’71 writes, “After floundering in the corporate world for three years (IBM), I was the last to see my incompatibleness there and moved to California and morphed into a hippie. These were the free and happy years. I married a younger

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class notes

French woman and had my first child at age 50 – finally mature enough for the task. At 60 my three concussions caught up with me and Parkinson’s moved in. I am still self-reliant and pain-free; hoping for magical breakthroughs and reliable self-driving cars to arrive just when I need them. Prosperity soothes all the rough edges, however, as does my family’s ongoing love. Philosophically: (you have been waiting to hear this, of course) the only thing that makes any sense is...joy. May our golden years have plenty!”

1972 STEVE HANSON ’72 writes, “Enjoying San Diego – for 27 years now. When I am not sailing or enjoying the great outdoors Southern California offers, I work! Not retired – career number three with the second business I have founded. Serial entrepreneur. Mergers and acquisitions of small to medium-size businesses. I look forward to visiting the Boston area soon to see my father, siblings, and friends.”

1973

1974

DAN SCHLEY ’73 writes, “Having suffered the indignity of COVID-19, a small group of intrepid competitors decided to form their own head race, the first of its kind, in an unusual location over a non-standard distance while giving full consideration to the need for social distancing and responsible interaction. The first Head of the Ponds Regatta was a 7500 meter head race on Mashpee-Wakeby Pond on Cape Cod.”

From BILL HARRIS ’74 comes: “Hey...it’s been too long. Family’s good. Anna is a structural engineer and Willis is a budding astrophysicist. Unfortunately, I divorced Merrilee, a very good woman. I’ve been starting tech companies – just sold one and starting another and mostly watching my hair turn gray. Best to all.”

Congratulations to KEN VICTOR ’73 on the recent critical praise of his 2019 poetry collection, We Were Like Everyone Else. The Montreal Review of Books said “Victor’s poetry does not shirk from ugly realities, but rather exposes them with grace and intelligence.” The Malahat Review wrote that “there is much to admire in We Were Like Everyone Else – the book reads like a Greatest Hits album.” And finally, Today’s Book of Poetry blog said that “books of poetry this fine are as rare as hen’s teeth... . We Were Like Everyone Else will be amongst the best poetry you read this year.”

1975 JOHN COUGHLIN ’75 writes, “I imagine you’ll be reading this surprising note in the middle of deep winter 2021, with the end of COVID-19 on the horizon. Our family’s best news of 2020 was that my son JACK was admitted in Form I to Belmont Hill’s Class of 2026! Had a few pre-admission consultations with classmates FRANK BROSENS ’75 and Wellesley bus mate TIM FULHAM ’74, but Jack did all the hard work himself, and he and the School are a great match. Special commendations to Head Greg Schneider and his full team at ‘Bel Hill’ for orchestrating almost ‘normal’ school conditions under the not unsubstantial challenges of the pandemic. Looking forward to providing additional updates/flashbacks as we accompany Jack on his journey at his new home on the Hill.”

1977

HAL MELCHER ’77 writes, “After decades of raising a family and working in New Jersey, one positive result of COVID-19 is that it pushed me to move full time to the New Hampshire farm that I helped my dad build after the oil embargo. I am still a commercial property/casualty business

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Henry Emmett ’73: “It’s not the destination; it’s the journey.”

John Coughlin ’75 and son Jack ’26.

Ken Martin ’65, Jay Harvey ’74, Tony Green ’74, and Dan Green ’82 gathered for a round of golf in Woods Hole this summer.

insurance broker for clients throughout the country for some years to come, but, more importantly, I am looking forward to a time when this pandemic has passed and we can host a big BBQ party for a class reunion (2021?). It has been fun reconnecting with classmates these past years. Hopefully, being in the area will lead to even more laughs, fun, and adventures with you all. Reach out to me via email: hp401@aol.com.”

1978 From FRED HAGEDORN ’78 comes: “Well, after nearly 29 years in Chicago, I have returned to New England. I am now living in Concord, NH, as of February 2020. Need to rebuild my Executive Coaching practice, but COVID-19 has put a dent on those plans. Thankfully, the reason for the move was that my wife, Sarah Alger, has become the first Director of Major Gifts for NH Public Radio. It is good to be back closer to home and to

Belmont Hill. My brother’s son is in the Second Form, and I look forward to seeing him in many activities at our school.”

1979 CHRIS AVERY ’79 writes, “Had the opportunity to play golf with TED FARNUM ’79 a couple of years ago. Would love to catch up with any of you. I live on the seacoast of New Hampshire and spend my time golfing, playing music, and enjoying a career in hotel tech (amazingly, surviving the pandemic career-wise). Let me know if anybody wants to play golf. My heart belongs to Wentworth by the Sea and would love to catch up with any of you.”

director of the Edgerley Family South Boston Boys and Girls Club. Edgerley partners with three Boston Public Schools and they have about 60 children enrolled in the allday remote-learning programs.) “The staff has re-deployed and adapted as tutors and proctors in safe, engaging environments. For parents and kids to be able to plan for a space for their kids to go to school while it’s remote, I think there is a really big need for it. The students are fed two meals and a snack and they log on to their individual programs. If they have any questions or need help, staff is nearby. It’s just great to see the kids engaged in learning and engaged with our staff, albeit in a different way.”

1983

Class of 1983 get-together at Cross Services. For social distancing purposes, this was the first outdoor meal. Chip Tarbell ’76 was working the grill and Warren Cross Jr. ’17 stopped by for a while to say hello. We enjoyed hearing of his experiences at Babson College where he is a senior. Class of 1983 classmates from left to right, Andrew Washburn, Warren Cross, Chris Sweeney, Josh Levy, Robert Cleary, and Steve Kaplan. In front is Jack Gaziano.

Bob Sandler ’83 writes, “I moved to Los Angeles after college and live with my wife, Raquel, and son, Sevi, in Venice, CA. I am in the real estate business. Warm regards from California.”

HARRY DUVALL ’83 writes, “It’s a school year like no other.” (Harry is the executive

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class notes

1984 This from TAD GULESERIAN ’84: “This is our Post-Thanksgiving Football Game: 40 uninterrupted years. We’ve played in ice, snow, rain, mud, freezing temperatures, and this year we played amidst COVID-19. None of these conditions have been able to stop The Game. We wore masks and had sanitizer on hand. It was nice to get outside and reconnect with friends – especially this year. For this year’s edition we played in Arlington instead of the Belmont Hill Varsity football field. The Game included five members from the Class of 1984: CHRIS BROWN, WAYNE FITZPATRICK, MARK MARTINES, BRIAN MCCARTHY, and me. Also joining in The Game were 11 of our kids – including MATT MARTINES ’22 and LUKE GULESERIAN ’24. Due to COVID-19, after The Game we elected not to eat lunch indoors at Bertucci’s, but rather we dined outside on ribs, smoked brisket, pulled pork, smoked chicken, collard greens, macaroni and cheese, and cornbread from Blue Ribbon BBQ. We look forward to November 26, 2021, for the 41st edition of The Game. Hopefully we will be back at Belmont Hill for this game.”

JOE TULLY ’84 writes, “Despite dealing with the limitations of the COVID-19 pandemic, I’ve been able to still play the occasional round of golf, including my third annual August member-guest with Coach KEN MARTIN ’65, George Tahan, and CHRIS SIMON ’80. This year Bob Brownell stood in for George and led the team to a cash prize. However, the highlight of the day was Chris’s hole-in-one on one of the most difficult holes on the course. I’ve also been able to play the occasional round with BRUCE WIMBERLY ’84, JOHN HARDING ’81, and JOE ABATE ’85. My bout with an erratic driver was helped immensely by a recent lesson with BRIAN GOLDEN ’85. As of this writing it remains to be seen whether my Sunday night hockey crowd will convene in November. This annual rite of winter, organized by JAMIE HINTLIAN ’78, includes ERIC PRICE ’81, JIM KILEY ’82, JIM REICHHELD ’83, and PAUL TUTUN ’85 with occasional guest appearances by TIM CASEY ’82 and PAUL CASEY ’79. Although Father Time has taken his toll on us, I can still track the puck pretty well, thanks to great vision care from JIM UMLAS ’82. I also regularly see JASON TSE ’00 and KYLE

Class of 1984 Post-Thanksgiving Football Game.

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DUKE ’09 at my gym. Watching Kyle work out is worth the price of admission.”

1986 EDWARD PONZI ’86 writes: “Years go by but the old school remains. Please let me know if anyone is up in New Hampshire at the lakes in the summer. The dock is free and lunch is served. Regards, Edward.”

1989 From ROGER DUNCAN ’89 comes: “I’ll clear my 20th anniversary in the US Navy Reserves while on deployment in Africa this fall—serving as Public Affairs Officer at Camp Lemmonier in Djibouti through summer of 2021. My family is toughened to the reserve lifestyle, but every deployment is hard, especially with COVID-19 in the mix. My wife is carrying on well as Registrar at Bowdoin College, which has been lauded for its good COVID-19 response. Encourage you to look them up. Our two girls are taking on 1st and 7th grades aptly, with two days in school, three days at home. Being a

kid is not easy in any era. As a parent and graduate, I imagine the challenges students face, maintaining the culture of competitive excellence of which Belmont Hill is proud. The men who come out of Belmont Hill are consistently awesome and I have faith that they are flexing to fit the mission! I’d welcome anyone working in the professional media to reach out directly and ask questions about Camp Lemmonier or the larger mission. As well, I’d love to mentor a recent grad interested in military service of any kind. Most of my career has been as a photographer, transitioning to Public Affairs leadership as a Chief Petty Officer. In high school, I had no idea the military needed my skills in photography, writing, and leadership. I undervalued my Belmont Hill education as a young adult. Not so, now! I have every confidence that Hillies of both artistic and traditional demeanor can excel in military service. Please do find me as you have interest. Or, just drop off a casserole at the house and fix that pesky garden gate for my wife. Whatever works for you is good with me!”

1991 BEN COUGHLIN ’91 writes, “Greetings from San Francisco! With a junior daughter in high school and a son in 8th grade, I am constantly reminded of how lucky I was to spend my formative years at the Hill. We’ve tried to find our COVID-19 silver linings where we can, enjoying family cooking, hold ’em poker, and pickleball. On the professional front, our data center business continues to chug along while my wife, Annie, has been quite busy given her infectious disease specialization at UCSF. Sadly, this past year my dear mother, Sally, passed away after a long battle with cancer. I can recall so vividly my mom standing on the fields watching so many of my games at Belmont Hill, her red hair shining, and helping us bring home plenty of victories and ISL titles. I hope in these tough times that everyone can find some time to reflect on how fortunate we were to be a part of Belmont Hill and such an incredible community of teachers, classmates, character, and spirit. Here’s to a much better 2021!”

JEREMY DAVID ’91 writes, “I happily reside in North Easton, MA, with my wonderful wife, Nikki, and our three awesome kids, Sofia, 15 (who carries on the ISL torch at St. George’s), Jonathan, 12, and Lucas, 11. After graduating from law school in 1999 and spending 18 years in private practice and wealth management, my partners and I launched our own investment firm, Little House Capital, in 2017, specializing in private and institutional money management. I think often of Belmont Hill and the amazing five years that I spent there, and I wish all of you the best for good health and prosperity in all the years to come.” ARI KATZ ’91 writes, “Hi from Atlanta. We moved here seven years ago from New York and are really loving the South. In fact, there are a lot of northern transplants in our neighborhood. On the professional level, I am the chief of lateral partner recruiting and integration at King & Spalding, one of the largest law firms in the world. If you ever had told me in high school that I would have a career recruiting lawyers I would have laughed at you. It’s a ton of fun; filled with stimulating challenges, and professionally

The Katz family: Ari ’91, Noa, Zak, Stacey, Hannah, and Sophie.

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class notes

rewarding. And that’s the key to life – do something that you enjoy doing every day. I am lucky to be one of those that can say that about my work. A little about the family as that’s the reason for living and for these updates. Stacey and I have four kids now (crazy times). We know the term ‘zone defense and offense.’ They are a great bunch. Zak is 16 and driving (omg) and prepping for where he wants to go to college; he has his own business too (huh? this generation is so different, but in a good way). Hannah is 14 and has a lot of followers with her TikTok videos. Sophie is 12. She keeps us on our toes as we travel all around the South since she is an elite goalie for her ECNL travel soccer team ranked number one in GA (as of this writing). We know all of the hotels in Birmingham, AL; Jacksonville, FL; Orlando, FL; Greenville, SC, etc. And Noa is 3 years old. A real ‘surprise’ still and a blessing at

the same time. She runs the house; and that’s not a joke! She keeps us young at heart for sure. Time flies, but I have learned over the years to stop and look at the sunset; take long walks with my wife; listen to my kids’ ideas; and marvel at the amazing places we have traveled to as a family and the things we have been able to do together. My best bud from Belmont Hill is still my best bud – CHARLIE ROSENBERGER ’91. We get to see each other at least once a year, which is nice. Hoping everyone is happy, healthy, and safe. Enjoy the 30th!”

1995 MIKE KELLEY ’95 writes, “After spending two years enjoying the beaches and mountains in Los Angeles, my family decided that we are East Coasters at heart and moved back home, settling in Darien, CT. I recently joined ABC News and though working from home in a new job has been a challenge, it’s been great spending more time with my wife, Stef, and three kids, Emery, 8, Drew, 6, and Max, 4. We’re looking forward to seeing more of our families in New England and we hope to reconnect with classmates from Belmont Hill.”

1996 From ALEX HERZLINGER ’96 comes, “After serving for six years as a US Army Infantry Officer (including some close calls in Iraq), I returned to Boston for Harvard Business School in 2007. After graduation, I joined

Congratulations to Adrienne and Jon Mugar ’94 on the birth of Emily Jane, born on February 23, 2021. Emily joins big sister four-year-old Elise.

Maddy and Paul LeBlanc ’03 with Jane, 5, Beau, eight months, and Annie, 3.

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My family and I live in Chadds Ford, PA (outside of Philadelphia). I am blessed by my wonderful wife, Brenda, and boys, Micah, 11 and Joshua, 9. We love to explore local museums, parks, trampolines, swimming pools, and lakes. We maintain our steadfast loyalty to the Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox despite myriad protests of Philly fans. My parents are still going strong in the Boston area, and recently celebrated 55 years of marriage. I was really looking forward to seeing everyone in person for the big 25...here’s to celebrating just as joyously over Zoom!”

1997 This from SAM GORSTEIN ’97: “It has been an interesting and difficult year for us all, I expect. In the spring of 2018 I began working as a pediatric intensivist at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore in New York and have been working there ever since. During the COVID-19 surge in the spring we opened up our pediatric ICU to adults as well. It has been a humbling experience to see some of the sickest children and adults with this virus and the teamwork required to care for our patients.”

2003 The Belmont Hill Alumni House is proud to share a new podcast created by COREY GATEWOOD ’03 called “Black Men in Medicine” which he launched this past summer. In September, one of the episodes featured DR. ALBY COOMBS ’03 on running a private practice.

the Craniomaxillofacial Division of a Swiss company called Synthes. Living through a major acquisition by Johnson & Johnson, several relocations, thousands of nights on the road, and thousands of hours on Zoom, over a decade later I find myself leading US Sales & Marketing for the same division.

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Jackson Samuel Marcus, born on June 27, 2020, to Hanna and Jamie Marcus ’03. Jackson’s middle name honors his late uncle, Sam Letts ’00.

Alexander James Farkas, son of Zander Farkas ’04 and Christen Paras, born on December 3, 2020.

Sarah and Garrett Hatton ’05 welcomed twins on February 5, 2021. Brady Coyne Hatton and Grace Gordon Hatton were born at 5:37 pm and 5:38 pm, respectively, at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. “Mom and babies are doing great, and daughter Avery is excited to be a big sister to twins!”

Kennedy Lauren Keefe, daughter of Lauren and Kevin Keefe ’05, born on August 9, 2020.

Max Lacy Ritchie born on June 25, 2020, to Rachel and Chris Ritchie ’05.

Maxwell Patrick Corrigan-Chung born on September 12, 2020, to Jade Benjamin-Chung and Devin Corrigan ’06.

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2006

2010

From LORD NYADENYA OGHENOVA ORITSEBEMEGHO FRANCIS INYAGWA ’06 comes, “In the year 2020, I bought my first piece of land in Scotland and I am now an official Lord. In other news, I am pretty much self-employed at this point and love every second of picking my own hours and going all-in when it comes to business.”

JACK DESBOIS ’10 writes, “In June I moved back to Topsfield, MA, after living for the past five years mostly in Middlebury, VT. Continuing struggles with chronic Lyme Disease and co-infections, and related mold and chemical sensitivities, compelled me to take a break from my performing arts career and instead spend time healing. My graduate studies are likewise on hold; I am halfway through a Master of Letters program in Shakespeare & Performance with Mary Baldwin University, writing a thesis on immersive storytelling approaches to teaching Shakespeare in elementary school classrooms. While resting and recovering from illness, I have not been idle. This fall my brother LEO DESBOIS ’07, sister Margot, and I started DesBois Tutoring & Enrichment (desboistutoring. com), a service offering academic tutoring and educational enrichment programs to families and schools. We’re doing our best to keep students learning!”

2008

MICHAEL GLENMULLEN ’08 writes: “I recently moved back to Cambridge after quite a few years away. I spent the past five years in Los Angeles teaching math at an independent high school in Hollywood, CA, and tutoring privately. Prior to that, I worked as a PADI scuba diving instructor in Florida and Mexico for a few years. As much as I enjoyed adventuring around, I’ve now made a full homecoming, and I’m psyched to be back. Additionally, I’ve joined my family’s business in real estate, obtained my MA Real Estate License, and teamed up with The Petrowsky Jones Group at Compass’s Cambridge office.”

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2017 JACK ABLON ’17 writes: “This summer I became a commercial pilot, and I was just elected a captain of Colgate’s men’s tennis team as I enter my senior year.”

Will Forde ’05 and his 1-year-old daughter, Mia.

Taylor Shortsleeve ’11 graduated from UMass Medical School on March 31, 2020. Taylor served as a “surge MD” during Massachusetts’ COVID-19 surge from March to June. He appeared on the Today Show with Al Roker in a segment discussing Massachusetts’ response to COVID-19. He became engaged to Kendra Lastowka on June 5, 2020. She is a graduate of UMass Medical School who also served in the surge. In July, Taylor entered into UMass’s three-year internal medicine residency program in Worcester, MA. Kendra is enrolled in Tufts’ five-year orthopedic surgery residency. Both are living in Natick, MA.

Congratulations to Caitlin and Ryan Young ’06 on the birth of their daughter, Reece, on January 22, 2021.

In Memoriam

in memoriam

In addition to his loving wife, Barbara, Mr. Birnie is survived by his daughter, Deborah Birnie, and his son, Douglas Hart Birnie; his daughter-in-law, Mary Fatigati Birnie; his sister and brother-in-law, Sally and William Stoops; and his grandchildren, Nicholas Kidder Birnie, Meaghan Hart Birnie, Kaitlynn Mary Yandell, Brian Douglas Yandell, and Caroline Birnie Yandell. He was also the brother of the late Richard W. Birnie ’62 and Hart Birnie Holan.

ARTHUR K. BIRNIE ’53

Peter Graffam Davis, of New York, NY, died on February 13, 2021. He was 84.

Arthur Kidder (Pete) Birnie, of Madison and North Branford, CT, and Brewster, MA, died on November 18, 2020. He was 85. Son of the late Mary Kidder Birnie and Walter Hart Birnie, Mr. Birnie was born in 1935 and raised in Winchester, MA. He went on to Dartmouth College and married Barbara Birnie, his wife of over 60 years. Mr. Birnie was a longtime member and active golfer at the Madison Country Club where he savored the lighthearted camaraderie and sincere fellowship shared with many on and off the course. Additionally, he gave countless hours to Madison through active involvement in a wide range of organizations that benefited all aspects of the community. He was seen by many as a consummate gentleman who valued thoughtful conversation and was always prepared to share his intellectual spirit on a variety of topics in great detail. Baseball trivia, Jeopardy!, board games, puzzles, and card games were constant companions during his life. Mr. Birnie also had a lifelong enthusiasm for trains and birds. His quick wit and dry sense of humor were appreciated by all who were in his presence. Above all, he valued a sound work ethic and had an unwavering respect for and commitment to education. Best known by all for his integrity, authenticity, loyalty, and gentlemanly and familyoriented qualities, he leaves the world and those he touched in a more fulfilled and stronger place.

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PETER G. DAVIS ’54

JOSEPH G. TELLIER ’53

Joseph G. Tellier, of Belmont and Bourne, MA, died on March 4, 2021. He was 86. Born in Cambridge, MA, he was the son of the late Marie and Augustus Tellier. Mr. Tellier was raised in Belmont, MA, and went on to attend Kimball Union Academy. He earned his bachelor’s degree in 1957 from Boston University, where he played goalie on the hockey team. Mr. Tellier worked for many years in commercial real estate and was a longtime member of Woodland Golf Club. He was a devoted family man and an enthusiastic boater. He was the beloved husband of Jean Almond Tellier. Also surviving him are his daughter, Michele Britt, and her husband, Jonathan, of Belmont, MA; his son, Joseph Scott Tellier ’86, and his wife, Kerri, of Weston, MA; his grandchildren, Caitlyn, Declan, and Kiernan Tellier; and many nieces and nephews. He was the brother of the late Edward Tellier of Belmont and Centerville, MA.

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Born in Concord, MA, in 1936, Mr. Davis grew up in Lincoln and Cambridge. He went on to Harvard College, where he majored in music and graduated in 1958. He later studied at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik and at Columbia University, where he earned a master’s degree in composition in 1962. By 1967 he had become music editor of High Fidelity and Musical America magazines as well as New York correspondent for The Times of London. He wrote for The New York Times, serving as music critic and classical music page editor in the 1970s and early 1980s before leaving to become classical music critic for New York Magazine from 1981 to 2007. Mr. Davis fell in love with opera more than 70 years ago and its treasures sustained him, as did his truly caring friends. He wrote for Opera News among numerous other publications and was the author of the critically acclaimed book, The American Opera Singer (1997), now considered essential reading. His wit and insights delighted all who knew and read him. Mr. Davis is survived by Scott V. Parris, his husband since 2009 and devoted life partner of 41 years; two sisters-in-law, eight nephews and nieces; and many great-nephews and great-nieces. He was preceded in death by three brothers, Stephen Davis, John Davis ’49, and Ted Davis ’51. Mr. Davis expressed lifelong gratitude to Belmont Hill for permitting him during his six years there to practice the piano, which he played as an accompanist for numerous shows at the School.

of Seattle, WA; his son, Edwin Burpee Goodell II, of Lexington; and three grandchildren, Zella Marion Goodell, Tristan Hanssen Goodell, and Trelawney Nichols Fulton.

FREDERIC W. BOOTH ’57

CHARLES W. GOODELL ’54

Frederic W. Booth, of Chadds Ford, PA, died on July 14, 2019. He was 81.

Charles Waterbury Goodell, of Lexington MA, died on October 17, 2020. He was 84. Son of the late Edwin Burpee Goodell Jr. and Ann Mathea Rogeberg Goodell, he was born and raised in Wayland, MA. He went on to Harvard College, where he rowed on the crew, sang in the glee club, and graduated with an A.B. in physics in 1958. He later earned a master’s degree from Harvard in the history of science. Mr. Goodell joined a select group of National Science Foundation funded educators to implement the innovative PSSC Physics program, which he taught at the St. Andrews School in Delaware. His intellectual pursuits led him to teach History of Science at Boston University and Wheelock College and work as a staff editor at the MIT Press. An early and vocal proponent of climate action, Mr. Goodell enjoyed commuting to work by bicycle in all weather conditions and participated in the “rails-to-trails” movement. As one of only a few parents who had played soccer in school, he coached for a number of years in the Lexington youth soccer program. A lifelong Unitarian Universalist, he sang for 35 years in the choir at First Parish in Lexington. In recent years, he took great pride in his work tutoring English as a second language for local residents and supporting anti-war, climate action, and social justice causes throughout the Boston area. Mr. Goodell is survived by his wife of 54 years, Trelawney Nichols Goodell; his brother, Francis Goodell, of Daytona Beach, FL; his daughter, Trelawney Goodell Fulton,

KING F. LOWE ’54

King Frederick Lowe died on February 27, 2021, at his home in Cotuit, MA. He was 84. Born in Cambridge, MA, Mr. Lowe was the only child of the late Frederick Joseph and Agnes Lillian (Fitzgerald) Lowe. He was raised in Cambridge and Belmont and went on to Harvard College. Upon graduation, he started his banking career with Chase Manhattan Bank in New York City. He retired as president of American Security Bank in Washington, DC. Mr. Lowe was a kind and caring person who was always available to listen and advise. He was devoted to his children and did many things to make their lives better, and he and his wife loved to travel around the world. Mr. Lowe is survived by his beloved wife of 40 years, Dolores Kurre Lowe; his son, Justin, and his wife, Supawan, of Los Angeles, CA; his daughter, Alison, of Cotuit and Brattleboro, VT; his son, Kevin of Cotuit; his daughter, Keely Welch, and her husband, Philip, of Charlestown, MA; his stepson, Douglas Burke, of Los Angeles; and a grandchild, Maeve Welch.

Born in Wellesley Hills, MA, he was the son of the late Vincent Ravi Booth and Anne S. (Chapman) Booth. He was a graduate of New England College and served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. Mr. Booth began his career with Turner Construction Company as a timekeeper, and he moved on to become an executive. His time with the firm spanned 50 dedicated years, beginning in New York City, and ranging to Rochester, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Chicago, Wildwood, N.J., Albany, Troy, and Schenectady. All those who knew and loved him will remember his kindness, generous heart, unconditional love, and hospitality. Mr. Booth liked to travel on his Harley throughout the eastern United States and the upper peninsula of Michigan, as well as Texas and Nova Scotia. He enjoyed the Boston Red Sox and Patriots, especially in victory. Mr. Booth lived in Chadds Ford since 2011 and previously for 18 years in Niskayuna, NY. He is survived by his loving wife, Nancy C. Booth; his son, David (Pam) Booth; his stepdaughter, Lynn (late Wayne) Curtis-Hedden; two sisters, Mary Doty and Sally (Bob) Bierman; a brother, Jon (Trish) Booth; as well as three grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, and several nieces and nephews. Mr. Booth was also the father of the late William Booth.

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in memoriam

In addition to his wife and three children, he is survived by four grandchildren.

son, Joshua Emery, and daughter-in-law, Anya Emery, and grandson, Andrew, of Londonderry, NH; and his daughter, Sharyn Emery, Ph.D., and son-in-law, Brian Kanowsky, of Jeffersonville, IL.

F. JAMES HODGES JR. ’57

F. James Hodges Jr., of Greenville, SC, died on July 15, 2020. He was 81. Mr. Hodges was born in Cambridge, MA, in 1939, the son of the late Frederick J. Hodges and Doris (Mortimer) Hodges. He went on to Williams College, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and his gift for mathematics was recognized by his appointment to teach freshman math while a senior. Upon graduation he married Sheila Marie Hertslet of St. Louis, and they were married for 59 years. He attended graduate school in economics at MIT but after one year came to work at the family business, Hodges Badge Company, because his father’s right-hand man had left to form a rival business. Mr. Hodges remained with the company until his retirement in 2000. As the Hodges family grew to three children, Rick, Sally, and Cassie, they moved from the Boston area to Newport, RI, where they bought an 18-acre farm and kept horses. The children attended St. Michael’s Country Day School, where Mr. Hodges was chairman of the board. After 25 years in Newport, the family moved to Charleston, SC, to escape New England winters. In Charleston, Mr. and Mrs. Hodges were 12-year volunteers at the South Carolina Aquarium. They later moved to Cashiers, NC, to leave the summer heat of the Low Country. In Cashiers, they were instrumental in having the Hampton School House moved to its current location on the grounds of the Cashiers Historical Society.

EARL C. EMERY ’58

Earl Carlton Emery, of Londonderry, NH, died on September 9, 2020. He was 80. Born in Quincy, MA, in 1941 to the late Carl and Doris (Leach) Emery, Mr. Emery grew up in Wayland, MA. He went on to earn his B.S. and M.S. in geology at Boston University. Enlisting in the U.S. Army in 1966, he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant, engineering branch, and rose to the rank of captain, earning the Army Commendation Medal. After his military service, Mr. Emery worked as a computer programmer for 40 years. He often served as an elder in the churches he attended. Mr. Emery was happiest when spending time with his family and helping others. He will be remembered as a lover of nature and an avid sportsman who enjoyed fishing, rock collecting, bird watching, and practicing karate. He especially loved finding items to recycle, going on many road trips with his grandson to gather materials that could be reused. Mr. Emery was also a voracious reader, picking up a new book immediately after finishing another. He particularly enjoyed reading texts on theology, geology, and military history, as well as biographies. He is survived by his loving wife of 56 years, Alberta (Terwilliger) Emery; his daughter, Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Virginia Emery, U.S. Army, currently serving at Fort Jackson; his

Mr. Hodges and his wife relocated to Greenville, SC, to be near medical specialists in 2018. Here, they spent the rest of their married life.

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WILLIAM S. FENOLLOSA ’58

William S. Fenollosa, of Annisquam, MA, formerly of Hopkinton, NH, died on November 24, 2020. He was 80. Mr. Fenollosa was the son of the late Elizabeth and G. Manuel Fenollosa. He grew up in Belmont, MA, and went on to study at St. Lawrence University. In 1968, he opened Granite State Volkswagen in Concord, NH. For the next 30 years, he was actively involved in the automotive community, locally and nationally. He is survived by his wife, Caroline (Lyn) Fenollosa; his son, Josh, and his wife, Catherine, of Arlington, MA; his daughter-inlaw, Amy, of Guilford, CT; his grandchildren, Ruby, Leo, George, Henry, and Charlie; his sister, Betsy (Sheldon) Boege, of New London, NH, and brother, Michael (Marilyn) Fenollosa ’65, of Lexington, MA. He was also the father of the late Nat Fenollosa.

Mr. MacLean had a long career in the hardware industry as a sales representative for Decatur Hopkins and Orgill, Inc., prior to his retirement.

JAMES E. DOWNES II ’59

James E. Downes II died on December 15, 2020. He was 80. Born in Winchester, MA, in 1940, Mr. Downes was the son of the late Thomas and Jean Downes. He went on to Harvard College, earning his A.B. in 1963. As a student in school and college, along with the sports of sailing, tennis, and ice hockey, he played local venues in a rock band. He later shared his enjoyment of sports through organizing groups of disadvantaged youth. He came to Berkeley, CA, in 1967 and in that Summer of Love met his wife, Carol. A self-taught artist, he sold his line ink drawings through the early 1970s. He then began a collaborative tennis playing and coaching journey. He taught his wife to play and together they enjoyed travel to tournaments, daily playing partners, and decades of wonderful students.

NORWOOD P. HALLOWELL III ’63

Norwood P. (Buck) Hallowell III, of Philadelphia, PA, died on November 10, 2016. He was 72. Born in 1944, Mr. Hallowell was the son of the late Norwood P. Hallowell Jr. and Priscilla (Choate) Hallowell. He went on to study at the University of Maine. Mr. Hallowell is survived by his loving wife, Marjorie (Miller) Hallowell; his sons, Darrin (Cindy) and Pen; his grand-daughter, Elly; his step-children, Donna Shore (Todd Hornik) and Michael Shore; his step-grandsons, Terak and Elan Hornik; his two brothers and sister; many nieces and nephews; and his loyal friends, Patrick and Carlton.

His love will always be felt by Carol and remembered by his brothers, Gregory Downes ’57 and Stephen Downes ’67; his sister, Bonnie Leonard; his brothers-in-law, Michael, John, and Thomas; and those who knew him.

Mr. MacLean is survived by his wife, Joan (Imbeault) MacLean; two daughters, Kimberly P. White and her husband, Richard, of Worcester, MA, and Courtney T. Murphy and her husband, Joseph, of Duxbury, MA; and six grandchildren, Rory White, Ainsley White, Gavin White, Ava White, Tierney Murphy, and Brunner Murphy. He is also survived by his brother, John C. MacLean, of Lincoln, MA.

FRANCIS P. BROWN ’64

Mr. Downes greatly loved and shared the uplifting music from the 1960s. In the 1990s, he delved into computer systems. He designed a daily meditation/prayer practice that furthered his kindness, mental clarity, and humor.

As a resident of Westborough since 1971, he enjoyed playing softball in the Westborough Men’s League and golfing at the Westborough Country Club. His greatest joy was watching his grandchildren play the many sports they were involved in. He was known around the fields and rinks as a proud Papa.

Francis Patrick (Frank) Brown died on January 30, 2021. He was 74.

Douglas T. (Duke) MacLean, of Westborough, MA, died on September 15, 2020. He was 76.

Born in 1946 in Boston, MA, to the late Francis and Henrietta Brown, Mr. Brown grew up in Somerville and Belmont, MA. He went on to Tufts University, earning his B.S. in mathematics there in 1968, and then his M.B.A. from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College in 1976.

Born in Boston, he was the son of the late Henry A. and Corrinne C. (Taylor) MacLean. He was raised in Lincoln, MA, and went on to Franklin & Marshall College, where he was a member of the football team.

Mr. Brown had a long and successful career in the emerging world of computers, starting with Digital Corporation, continuing on with Compaq, and finally retiring from HewlettPackard.

DOUGLAS T. MACLEAN ’63

He cared deeply for his family, both immediate and extended, and was often seen as

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in memoriam

the patriarch within the family who could be relied upon to provide an ear and thoughtful advice, while making sure to sneak in a joke or quick tease along the way. Mr. Brown went above and beyond the duties of a father with his unending love, strength, and guidance. He also had a great group of friends he saw as extended family. From the Amherst crew to the Winchester gang, Mr. Brown loved and was loved by his friends for his “Frank” advice and quick wit. He is survived by his wife, Nancy; his sons, Patrick Brown ’97 and John Brown ’99; his daughters, Margaret and Katherine; his grandchildren, Penelope, Bridget, Elizabeth, and Ryan; his siblings Mary, Richard, and Eleanor; and his many nieces and nephews and grandnieces and grandnephews.

PORTER E. COGGESHALL ’64

Porter Eaton Coggeshall, of Vienna, VA, died on January 3, 2021. He was 74. Born in Boston, MA, in 1946, he was the son of the late Alice Bigelow Eaton and Harrison Hutchings Coggeshall. He grew up playing soccer and baseball and attending games at Fenway Park with his father. After graduating from Belmont Hill, he attended Dartmouth College, and then earned a master’s degree from the University of North Carolina, where he met his wife, Mary Lambert Ball. After graduation, the couple briefly taught in North Carolina and Massachusetts. For the years 1969–1972, Mr. Coggeshall taught Latin and mathematics at Belmont Hill while acquainting boys with computers, coaching, and serving as an assistant in the Admission

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Office. They moved to the Washington, DC, area in 1972, and settled in Vienna, VA, in 1978, where they raised two daughters and their beloved West Highland terriers. A dedicated father, Mr. Coggeshall coached youth league basketball and soccer teams, tutored in math, and enjoyed working on projects around the house. He began his career at the National Academy of Sciences in 1972 as a research assistant in the Office of Scientific Personnel and moved on to direct a multiyear study that produced the Assessment of Research-Doctorate Programs in the United States. In 1984, he joined the executive office as associate director of the Report Review Committee and was appointed its executive director in 1992. Colleagues remember him as “simply one of the kindest, most intelligent, and most caring people” who was tirelessly dedicated to protecting the integrity of the Academy. He spent much of his free time volunteering with service organizations providing housing, meals, and employment for homeless people. In 2009, he co-founded Job Squad, a group of 60 National Academies staff volunteers who helped unemployed men and women at the Community for Creative Non-Violence by advising in the preparation of résumés and job applications. He did similar work at Jubilee Jobs, served on the board of directors of Miriam’s Kitchen, and annually led groups of teenagers on summer home-repair mission projects for Habitat for Humanity and the Pittsburgh Project. Mr. Coggeshall was a long-time runner, completing six marathons. Over the last ten years, he was also a beloved member of the local hot yoga community and was well known for his contagious humor and marathon yoga sessions, often taking multiple classes in a day. During the recent COVID-19 pandemic, he quickly made more new friends on his walking route to the local high school track. He will be remembered most for his integrity, hard work, and ever-present sense of humor, whether it was evident while negotiating a contentious report review process or com-

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pleting seven hot yoga classes in a day. He was always contagiously upbeat and cheerful and found humor in everything he did. A treasured friend to many and adored by his family, he is survived by Mary, his wife of 52 years; two daughters, Elizabeth Dove Coggeshall and Windsor Eaton Coggeshall; and son-in-law, Marc Buursink. His beloved grand-dog, Casper the Little Prince, will also miss him.

EDGAR J. WHITE ’64

Edgar J. (Ned) White of South Thomaston, ME, died on January 29, 2021. He was 74. Born in 1946, he went on to Yale College, from which he graduated in 1968 as Scholar of the House and a highly accomplished pool player. Mr. White became a freelance writer for print, public and commercial television, theater, and corporate media. His work included seven original musical plays for young adults; adult audience participation mystery plays; a children’s TV series; a movie of the week for HBO; and a variety of comedy, drama, and documentary for broadcast. Mr. White’s proudest accomplishments were his “Journeys Over a Hot Stove” blog (Bangor Daily News 2013–2019), constructing 25 crossword puzzles for The New York Times, and writing six novels (nedwhitebooks.net). He had a deep fascination for physics and life beyond Earth. A self-taught guitarist and pianist, Mr. White was a fierce seeker of truth and loathed pretense. He loved the open skies of New Mexico, where he lived for eight years, but especially embraced the down-to-

earth honesty, humor, and serenity of Maine and Mainers. In addition to his wife, Carla Poindexter, and three children, son, Sam White, and daughters, Molly Harvey and Amy White Graves, Mr. White is survived by his brother, Ridge; two sons-in-law and a daughter-in-law; two brothers-in-law and three sisters-in-law; five grandchildren; numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins; and a godson.

RICHARD S. HERRON ’65

Richard Stanwood Herron died on June 6, 2020. He was 73.

Until he retired in 2015, he devoted his professional life to education, serving as principal in Hartford and Bethel, VT, then superintendent of the Danville and Barre, VT, school systems. He took tremendous pride negotiating teacher contracts, which tested his ability to listen and to find the middle way.

leader of non-profit educational organizations, including in nine countries that teach the Transcendental Meditation program, Consciousness-Based education (miu.edu), and other practical programs brought to light by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi from the ancient Vedic wisdom of India.

In addition to being a good, fair, and gentle listener, Mr. Bacon was a ski instructor, an accomplished equestrian, an avid fly fisherman, a windsurfer, a hiker/camper/whitewater canoeist, a Boston Whaler afficionado, a sailor, a Serengeti Safari photographer, and a grown man who could launch a potato 50 yards with nothing more than a PVC pipe, hairspray, and a match. There was a lot of little boy left in John Bacon. His heart was always close to a summer home of his youth on Vermont’s Lake Willoughby. It was more a camp, its wealth found in the wildlife, extraordinary beauty, and a lake that reveled in silence. John listened – with exception. For example, the neighbors who did not know him, heard him – actually his signal cannon – which would fire off at each sunset. Cut too short, his life was well lived.

Mr. Wynne was known for accomplishing enormous projects, being undaunted by the greatest challenges, and always calm, inspiring, welcoming, joyful, focused, never rushed or overwhelmed. He was a mentor, guide, and friend to everyone. His clear voice, irrepressible spirit, wry smile, humor, and twinkle in his eye were loved by all.

Along with his wife Mary, Mr. Bacon is survived by his son Alex, daughter Kate, and sister Heather. He was also the brother of the late H. W. (Sandy) Bacon III.

JOHN A. BACON ’67

In honor of his extraordinary achievements, Mr. Wynne was awarded three doctoral degrees, including in public administration and political science. November 1 was declared as Mayor Wynne’s Day for his role in founding Maharishi Vedic City, Iowa’s newest city, where he served as Mayor for 18 years (2001–2019). Mr. Wynne was married to Maureen M. Wynne, an attorney and educator, and they had the good fortune to spend their lives working together on projects both in Iowa where they lived and around the world. In addition to his wife, Mr. Wynne is survived by his brother, John M. Wynne Jr., and sisterin-law, Juliette Richardson, of Princeton, NJ; his uncle, Dr. John Gurley, retired Stanford economics professor who celebrated his 100th birthday in February 2020 with Mr. Wynne in Palo Alto, CA; and his aunt and uncle, Gwen and Don Tilley, of Lincoln, NE.

John A. Bacon, of Bradenton, FL, died on March 16, 2021. He was 70. Born in Pittsburgh, PA, Mr. Bacon was the son of the late Anne (Dalzell) Bacon and Horatio Wood Bacon II. He grew up in Concord, MA, and went on to Dartmouth College, from which he graduated in 1971. Mr. Bacon later earned a doctorate in education from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

ROBERT G. WYNNE ’67

Robert G. (Bob) Wynne, of Fairfield, IA, died on June 8, 2020. He was 71. A graduate of Stanford University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mr. Wynne was an educator, academic administrator, consultant, mayor, trustee, and international

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in memoriam

BRUCE T. AMSBARY ’70

Due to omissions and an error when it first appeared in 2020, this obituary is republished below. Bruce T. Amsbary, of Needham, MA, died on November 14, 2019. He was 68. Mr. Amsbary grew up in Belmont, MA, and lived in Needham, MA, for 39 years. He went on from Belmont Hill to earn his bachelor’s degree at Hobart College and later received his M.B.A. from Babson College. As he began his career, Mr. Amsbary served as assistant to the treasurer at the Harvard Club of Boston and as assistant business manager at the Dana Hall School. He then joined the administration of The Rivers School, Weston, MA, where he served as director of operations and finance for 28 years and was admired for his resourcefulness, helpfulness, and collegiality. Mr. Amsbary was tireless in his desire to support others’ success and was an important player in regional and national associations, serving as vice president and audit committee chair for the Independent School Compensation Corporation, president of the Massachusetts Association of Non-Profit Schools and Colleges, and audit committee member at Belmont Hill. He also served as a focus group member, committee member, and consultant to many organizations ranging from NAIS and AISNE to a variety of schools nationally. His professionalism and exemplary work ethic were honored in 2003 when he was recognized by Rivers with its Bergen-Decker Award and again in 2019 with the dedication of its Amsbary Conference Room to honor his leadership and extraordi-

winter–spring 2021

nary contribution to the school. In 2012, he received the Will J. Hancock Unsung Hero Award from the National Business Officers Association.

own boat. Later, he primarily worked as a carpenter doing high-end finish work in and around Provincetown. His work was skilled, well known, and sought after.

Mr. Amsbary will long be remembered for his caring and generous kindness. He filled his rich life not only with his love of Belmont Hill, The Rivers School, summers at Basin Harbor, VT, and winters in Long Boat Key, FL, but also with family, humor, wisdom, travel, and long-standing friendships with fellow business managers, the Gourmet Group, and Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity brothers.

Mr. Porter is survived by his former wife, Nancy; their three daughters, Heather, Grace, and Hannah; and four grandchildren. He also leaves his three sisters, Susan Porter, Ellen Sindhu Porter, and Joanne Richardson, and his brother, Henry K. Porter III ’75. Mr. Porter was also the nephew of the late Thomas Porter ’41 and Alan Porter ’43.

He is survived by his beloved wife of 43 years, Elizabeth (Betsy) Gibney Amsbary; his son, Robert S. Amsbary, and his partner, Katharine Kaspar, of New York City; his daughter, Sarah B. Eytinge, and her husband, Bret J. Eytinge, of Seattle, WA; and his daughter, Dana T. Amsbary, of Watertown, MA. He is also survived by his brother, Douglas G. Amsbary ’71, and his wife, Irene S. Amsbary, of Sugar Hill, NH; and he was the cherished “Papa” of granddaughter, Grace T. Eytinge.

ANDREW M. PORTER ’70

Andrew Marsh Porter, of Cape Cod, MA, died on August 10, 2020, after a brief illness. He was 69. Born in 1951, he was the son of Henry K. Porter ’40 and Nancy (Wyeth) Porter. He grew up in Winchester, MA, and went on to the University of Denver. Mr. Porter lived on the Cape most of his adult life. First, he was involved in commercial fishing for many years, acquiring his

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GREGORY S. PALADINO ’76

Gregory S. Paladino, of Bedminster, NJ, died on July 1, 2020. He was 62. Born in Boston and raised in Stoneham, MA, Mr. Paladino was the son of the late Nicolena Mazzoni and Gaetano (Guy) Paladino. He went on to earn a B.S. degree from Wesleyan University and his M.P.H. from Yale University. Following his graduation from Yale, he started his career at Lederle Laboratories, now Pfizer, in pharmaceutical sales. After leaving Lederle as the district sales manager for the North Atlantic region, Mr. Paladino moved into the medical education industry, working with pharmaceutical and biotech companies on healthcare practitioner educational programs. He was an avid lover of all sports and a lifelong fan of the Boston Red Sox, New England Patriots, Boston Celtics, and, after moving to New Jersey, of the New Jersey Devils. Nothing could compete with a round of golf at Fiddlers Elbow or the other courses where he showcased his skills. Mr. Paladino imparted his competitive spirit and love of sports to his sons, never missing their practices or games. He was their coach, mentor, and hero.

He loved to travel with his family, relishing annual summer vacations in Chatham, MA, where he enjoyed watching nightly Chatham Anglers baseball games and taking long bike rides on the Cape Cod Rail Trail. His family made regular visits to Newport Beach, CA, where he golfed at Pelican Hill, and explored local restaurants and vistas along the Pacific Coast Highway. Mr. Paladino honored his family heritage with his love of homemade Italian food, having had the invaluable experience of growing up with a loving mother and grandmother, who, as culinary masters, made every meal an amazing feast. He was the devoted husband of Arleen (Ambrose) Paladino, of Bedminster; and loving father of John (Jack) Paladino, of Springfield, NJ, and Joseph Paladino, of Bedminster. He is also survived by his brother, Gaetano (Guy) Paladino Jr., and his wife, Ellen, of North Reading, MA; his sister, Rosemarie (Paladino) Brown, and her husband, Greg, of Ipswich, MA; and by loving cousins, nephews, and nieces.

STAFF

ANN V. JORDAN

Ann V. Jordan died on February 4, 2021, in Laconia, NH. She was 93. Born in 1927 in Cambridge, MA, Mrs. Jordan was the daughter of the late Frank and Anna (Spence) McGrath. At the age of two, she moved to Alton, NH, when her father bought a general store in Alton Bay.

She attended Alton High School, where she met Gilbert Stuart Jordan, who became her high school sweetheart. They married in 1948, beginning a 62-year partnership that would last until his death in 2010. In the early 1950s the Jordans joined the staff at Belmont Hill, he as director of buildings and grounds, a post he would hold for 31 years. Mr. Jordan also founded the sport of wrestling at Belmont Hill in 1955 and served as varsity coach as well as an assistant coach of football. For 25 years Mrs. Jordan worked as an office assistant in several departments and became switchboard operator and receptionist in the main office. Before her retirement, she worked for six years at Buckingham Browne and Nichols School in Cambridge. Mrs. Jordan and her family, who lived in quarters above the dining room, were a spirited part of the on-campus community at Belmont Hill. In retirement, she and Mr. Jordan enjoyed travel to many parts of America and Canada, and to Norway, New Zealand, and Portugal. The couple was fond of trail hiking in their winter home in Sedona, Arizona. She volunteered for 27 years at the Lakes Region Regional Hospital, and then for the Wolfeboro Chamber of Commerce. Mrs. Jordan was known for her exuberant smile, her love of life, and her cheerful laughter. She was a kind and loving person. She is survived by her daughter, Joanne Jordan, of Arlington, MA; her two sons, Harry J. Jordan ’65, of North Adams, MA, and Mark W. Jordan ’75, of Concord, NH; her sister, Patricia, of Westford, MA; and five grandsons. In addition to her husband and parents, she was preceded in death by her sister, Margaret, and her brothers, Peter, Paul, and David.

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2020–2021

Belmont Hill School

Board of Trustees Jon M. Biotti ’87, President William F. Achtmeyer ’73, Vice President Gregory J. Schneider, Secretary Anthony W. Ryan, Treasurer Jinane Abounadi Dewey J. Awad Mark D. Chandler ’74 Gretchen R. Cook-Anderson Warren Cross, Jr. ’83 Carl D. Dawson ’72 Jeffrey D. Drucker ’90 Ronald M. Druker ’62 Jean C. Egan Daniel S. Farb William A. Forde ’05 Scott A. Gieselman ’81 John T. Grady, Jr. ’66 Christopher J. Hadley Danielle A. Heard Jason H. Hurd ’90 Stephen R. Karp ’57 Jonathan A. Kraft ’82 George W. Lynch II ’88 ex officio

Emmett E. Lyne ’77 Amy B. Madden Carl J. Martignetti ’77 Kirk D. McKeown ’95 Sarah H. Pelmas Taggart M. Romney ’88 Jill M. Shah Brian J. Shortsleeve ’91 Margaret M. Wade Herbert S. Wagner III Meghan R. Weldon ex officio David B. Wilkins honorary trustees John M. Connors, Jr. John A. Pike ’49

350 Prospect Street Belmont, MA 02478 617.484.4410 www.belmonthill.org We welcome your comments and suggestions. Please address all correspondence to the Bulletin Editor at the above address, or email us at communications@belmonthill.org. managing editor Bill Mahoney editors Amy Hirsch Lindsey Taylor class notes & in memoriam Eileen Foley Harold Prenatt photography John Gillooly, John Gillooly IV, Kristie Gillooly Dean, Neal Hamberg, Amy Hirsch, Bill Mahoney, Adam Richins, Matt Risley, Paul Rutherford, and the Belmont Hill School Archives ©2021 Belmont Hill School. All rights reserved. Design by: amn brand + design amnbrand.com

On back cover: Luke Bobo ’21.

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Belmont Hill Bulletin Winter Spring 2021

Articles inside

class notes

in memoriam

coaches corner

tokyo dreams

advisory changes

arts on the hill

dr. rachel levine 75 selected next assistant secretary for health

community & diversity

speakers on the hill

features

working together again