Choate Rosemary Hall Bulletin | Spring '15

BULLETIN THE MAG A ZINE OF CHOATE ROSEMARY HALL

SPRING ’15

growth & prosperity 1940–1965

common roots

In this issue:

BREAKING THROUGH: Women in Science

shared purpose

A CHOATE ROSEMARY HALL READER: Bull Sessions: Choate 1952-1955

ENJOY THE RUN Noah Hastings ’15

Dedication of the Cameron and Edward Lanphier Center for Mathematics and Computer Science – March 27, 2015

BULLETIN THE MAG A ZINE OF CHOATE ROSEMARY HALL

SPRING ’15

Choate Rosemary Hall Bulletin is published fall, winter, and spring for alumni, students and their parents, and friends of the School. Please send change of address to Alumni Records and all other correspondence to the Communications Office, 333 Christian Street, Wallingford, CT 06492-3800.

Choate Rosemary Hall does not discriminate in the administration of its educational policies, athletics, other school-administered programs, or in the administration of its hiring and employment practices on the basis of age, gender, race, color, national origin, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, or non-job-related handicap.

Printed in U.S.A. 1415-097/17.5 M COVER: In 1950, the Mothers’ Association gave

Choate its first TV; it was installed in the Library.

Editorial Offices T: (203) 697-2252 F: (203) 697-2380 E-mail: alumline@choate.edu Website: www.choate.edu

Class Notes Editor Henry McNulty ’65

Director of Strategic Planning & Communications Alison J. Cady

Photography Emily Bierman Richard Howard Ian Morris Ross Mortensen David Nesdale Len Rubenstein

Editor Lorraine S. Connelly Design and Production David C. Nesdale

Communications Assistant Britney G. Cullinan

Contributors Emily Brenner Noah Hastings ’15 Hannah Higgin ’05 Peter B. Kaufman ’80 Jeffery Kurz G. Jeffrey MacDonald ’87 Henry McNulty ’65 Philip Nel ’88 Andrea Thompson Elizabeth Walbridge ’07 Ruth Walker Lindsay Whalen ’01 Geoffrey Wolff ’55

CONTENTS | Spring 2015

features

8 16 28

Breaking Through: Choate Women in Science Growth & Prosperity: Preparing For Leadership/1940-1965 A Choate Rosemary Hall Reader: Bull Sessions: Choate 1952-1955 departments

Choate Rosemary Hall Board of Trustees 2014-2015 Samuel P. Bartlett ’91 Michael J. Carr ’76 George F. Colony ’72 Alex D. Curtis P ’17 Thompson Dean P ’14, ’18 Borje E. Ekholm P ’17 David R. Foster ’72 Robert B. Goergen, Jr. ’89 John F. Green ’77 Linda J. Hodge ’73, P ’12 Brett M. Johnson ’88 Vanessa Kong-Kerzner P ’16 Cecelia M. Kurzman ’87

Edward O. Lanphier ’74, P ’04 Gretchen Cooper Leach ’57 James A. Lebovitz ’75, P ’06, ’10 Kewsong Lee ’82 Patrick J. McCurdy ’98 Robert A. Minicucci ’71 Peter B. Orthwein ’64 Marshall S. Ruben P ’07, ’08, ’10 Henry K. Snyder ’85 Jeanette Sublett P ’07, ’10, ’13

2 28 34

On Christian & Elm News about the School

52

In Memoriam Elizabeth M. Mitchell, Andrew Bernard Noel III, and Robert H. Williams ’49

58 60

Scoreboard Winter Sports Wrap-up

64

End Note Enjoy the Run by Noah Hastings ’15

Alumni Association News Classnotes Q&A with Takashi Murata ’93, Goldman Sachs, Partner; Profiles of Christopher Wynne ’95, Director of Operations Papa John’s; Stewart Goodbody ’95, Girl Scouts, USA, Director of Communications; and Isabel Lizardi ’01, Co-Founder, Bare Conductive, Ltd.

Bookshelf Reviews of works by Kate Walbert ’79, Richard Simon ’89, Ian Lendler ’92, and Otessa Ghadar ’00

Life Trustees Charles F. Dey P ’78, ’81, ’83 Bruce S. Gelb ’45, P ’72, ’74, ’76, ’78 Edwin A. Goodman ’58 Herbert V. Kohler, Jr. ’57, P ’84 Cary L. Neiman ’64 Stephen J. Schulte ’56, P ’86 Edward J. Shanahan P ’92, ’95 William G. Spears ’56, P ’81, ’90

Editorial Advisory Board Judy Donald ’66 Howard R. Greene P ’82, ’05 Michelle Judd Rittler ’98 Dorothy Heyl ’71, P ’07 Seth Hoyt ’61 Henry McNulty ’65 John Steinbreder ’74 Monica St. James P ’06 Francesca Vietor ’82 Heather Zavod P ’87, ’90

Follow us!

Like us! www.facebook.com/GoChoate Tweet us! twitter.com/gochoate Watch us! www.youtube.com/gochoate Share! instagram.com/gochoate Pin! pinterest.com/choaterosemary

2

ON CHRISTIAN & ELM | NEWSWORTHY

Lessons from P.S. 154

Surely, we were a sight walking through the streets of the Bronx and Harlem: 18 students and two faculty chaperones proceeding in a large group, stopping at each stop light to regroup, and checking each street sign to confirm our navigation. No one would have guessed that we were taking part in an experience that would change hundreds of lives in a matter of five days.

sional district in the United States,” she explained.

“And 98 percent come from families living below the poverty level.” Because of the limited funds and lack of a music program, she was excited by the possibility of a week-long introduction to music.

“The week that our students spent with the Choate chorus was invaluable. Our 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders made connections with your high school students that were personal and not soon forgotten.

I was amazed by how much our students learned about music, how quickly they came out of their shells, and how engaged and excited our most reluctant students were.”

Ms. Kegel strongly believes in the power of music education. Choate students “had an opportunity to give audiences a gift of incredible value,” she says.

“This practice of courageous generosity will serve them and their communities throughout their lives.”

Choate students had an opportunity to give audiences a gift of incredible value,” she says. “This practice of courageous generosity will serve them and their communities throughout their lives.”

Alysoun Kegel, the Director of Choate’s Choral and Vocal Program, asked me to assist her with this trip to New York City in March, when she and some members of the Choate chorus would teach music classes to public school students in the Bronx and Harlem. The rationale was simple: in these underfunded school systems, music programs are often cut. Thousands of school children have no music education at all: most could not tell you what “Do,” “Re,” and “Mi” means, let alone recognize a note on a music staff.

But by the end of the week at P.S. 154 on East 135th Street, we marveled at the performance of 250 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders as they joined the Chamber Chorus in a confident musical performance.

Dr. Alison Coviello, who has been at the helm of P.S. 154 for three years, remarked especially how the students who would not otherwise have participated with so much enthusiasm in their other academic classes were enthralled and captivated, especially those students with learning disabilities.

“P.S. 154 is located in the second poorest Congres-

Choate students, too, have learned much about what it means to work and learn in communities with so few resources. Many students were visibly upset when Dr. Coviello told them that recess had been suspended at P.S. 154 for a couple of months this winter because students did not own snow pants and boots. Choate students activated a plan to provide aid and to formalize an annual program with P.S. 154.

When our students were not working in the Bronx, they were teaching conducting lessons at music programs in Harlem, attending opera at the Met and other music performances, and enjoying a small sampling of Manhattan cuisine.

Will our students pursue music education in the future? Social activism? Urban school leadership?

We can’t know yet, but we do know that those who participated experienced the value of teaching, and they saw first-hand how music can change lives in unexpected ways.–Elizabeth Walbridge ’07 teaches in the English department.

Choate Highlighted at NAIS

Choate Rosemary Hall was highlighted as a school that exemplified “excellence” at the 2015 NAIS (National Association of Independent Schools) Annual Conference held in Boston in February.

NAIS President John E. Chubb cited Choate and seven other independent schools for qualities of demonstrated excellence, efficiency, equity, and emotion. Last April, Dr. Chubb visited Choate as part of his first-year listening tour.

During his time on campus, Dr. Chubb met with Headmaster Alex D. Curtis and students, toured the new the Cameron and Edward Lanphier Center, and also had the opportunity to hear presentations by Choate’s Director of Curricular Initiatives, Dr. Katharine H. Jewett, and the Director of Faculty Development, Thomas White III. The visit resonated with Dr. Chubb who praised the program-driven, studentcentric thought process that went into the construction of the Lanphier Center, the new i.d.Lab curriculum, and the professional development that would prepare faculty to teach in these “spaces of excellence.”

At the conference, Dr. Curtis joined members of the SSAT Think Tank on the Future of Assessment for a workshop entitled, “Measuring What Matters in Admission and Beyond.” He and Dean of Faculty Katie Levesque also presented sessions on “Making Room for Innovation: A Structural Approach.” Choate’s Director of Sustainability, Katrina Linthorst-Homan, presented at a one-hour workshop entitled, “Measuring Best Practices in Institutional Sustainability.”

BULLETIN | SPRING 2015 3

Nadal Award Recipient James P. Davidson This spring the Founders League recognized James P. Davidson with the Nadal Award. The award, created in 1969, is presented annually to a coach who has “demonstrated sportsmanship as defined in the statement; ‘Play by the rules, accept victory or defeat graciously, respect all who assemble and participate.’” In his 39-year career Jim Davidson has coached more than 100 seasons at Choate Rosemary Hall including cross-country, track, and basketball. Jim was hired full-time in the fall of 1976 as a history and philosophy teacher; he has also taught religion and social sciences. Jim, or “J.D.,” as he is universally known, became the founding father of girls cross country. In 1990, the Connecticut Board of Certified

Basketball Officials named him Referees Coach of the Year for all-around sportsmanship and knowledge of the game. Last May, Coach Davidson was inducted in the Choate Rosemary Hall’s Athletics Hall of Fame.

CHOATE TRAVELS TO CIF CONFERENCE IN JAPAN From April 2 to 4, Lucia Madero-Murillo ’15, Christopher Moeckel ’16, and History, Philosophy, Religion, and Social Science teacher Jim Davidson traveled to Japan to participate in the annual Critical Issues Forum (CIF), co-sponsored by the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (MIIS).

Students from seven U.S. high schools, two Russian high schools, and five Japanese schools presented their findings on this year’s topic, “Nuclear Disarmament: Humanitarian Approach.”

The Choate pair was selected – based on their submitted work – to pair with a team from the host school in Hiroshima, Jogakuin Senior High School, to deliver a joint presentation on the importance of youth education toward achieving the goal of a world free of nuclear weapons. Their presentation at a public symposium, which included Hiroshima survivors, commemorates the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombings.

Chris and Lucia’s presentation summarized the history of treaties and the current effectiveness of the NPT (Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty) and START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty). Their conclusion focused on a new treaty that would lead to the elimination of nuclear weapons. The Choate students were introduced by Choate alumnus, Jeff Adler ’95, U.S. Embassy Public Affairs Assistant Attaché.

Journalist Bob Woodward Speaks at Special Program Pulitzer Prize-winning Journalist/Author and Associate Editor of The Washington Post, Bob Woodward was interviewed by sixth formers Noah Hastings and Isabella Crane at an all-school special program on April 28. Mr. Woodward’s visit was made possible by the Thalheimer Educator-in-Residence Program. Mr. Woodward has shared in two Pulitzer Prizes, first in 1973 for the coverage of the Watergate scandal with Carl Bernstein, and second in 2002 as the lead reporter for coverage of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He has authored or co-authored 17 books, all of which have been national non-fiction best sellers.

Athletics Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony The newest inductees to the Choate Rosemary Hall Athletics Hall of Fame are Olympians Julie Chu ’01, Hilary Knight ’07, Kim Insalaco Legg ’99, Josephine Pucci ’09, and Phoebe Staenz ’14, the 1997 Boys Crew Team, Jeffrey “Woody” Laikind ’53, and Coach William “Tom” Generous. The ceremony will take place during Reunion Weekend on Friday, May 15.

2015 Alumni Award Recipients Peter C. Goldmark, Jr. ’58 and Margaret “Peggy” Brim Bewkes ’69 were the recipients of 2015 Choate Rosemary Hall Alumni Awards presented during an all-School meeting on Wednesday, April 22. On his watch as chair of the Choate Rosemary Hall Board of Trustees, Peter witnessed the newly merged Choate Rosemary Hall and the first co-ed graduation in 1978. The former New York State budget director was credited with rescuing both the state and New York City from the brink of financial collapse in the mid-1970s. He has also made significant contributions in the non-profit world as director of the Environmental Defense Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation. Peggy has made significant contributions in writing, directing, and producing television and film, which include an Emmy Award and Writers Guild Award for Outstanding Television Documentary, and has continued her longstanding and noteworthy commitment to various philanthropic endeavors.

Honorees are pictured above, with Dr. Alex Curtis and Patrick McCurdy ’98, Alumni Association President.

Economics Challenge Competition Choate’s Economics Challenge team competed at the state level in March. Fifth formers Jade Goldstein of Rutherford, N.J., Ryan Dent of Madison, Conn., Dominique Williams of Madison, Conn., and Albert Zhang of Acton, Mass., were the highest scorers and became state champions. The team competed in the National Semi-Finals on April 14 against the champions from all the other states. The top four teams in the National Semi-Finals will move on to the National Finals in New York City in May.

4

ON CHRISTIAN & ELM | On Campus

n

tio a ic

d

e rd

r hie

te n e

c

p

n la

ON FRIDAY, MARCH 27 , Choate Rosemary Hall’s Board of

Trustees dedicated the new Cameron and Edward Lanphier Center for Mathematics and Computer Science. Presiding at the ribbon-cutting ceremony were Michael J. Carr ’76, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Alex D. Curtis, Headmaster, lead donors Trustee Edward Lanphier ’74 and his wife Cameron, and keynote speaker, Nicholas Negroponte ’61, Founder of the MIT Media Lab. Members of the Elman, van Eck, and Shattuck families were also on hand to dedicate the Elman Auditorium, van Eck Family Classroom, and the Shattuck Robotics Lab, named in honor of Johannes J. Shattuck ’93.

LEFT Front row, from left, Headmaster

Alex Curtis and Beth Curtis, Board Chairman Michael J. Carr ’76, Cameron and Edward Lanphier ’74, P’04

5

van Eck Classroom

Shattuck Robotics Lab

1

Elman Auditorium

2

3

4

5 6

1 Board Chairman Michael J.

6 Lanphier Dedication keynote

Carr ’76 and Headmaster Curtis congratulate Jan and Cynthia van Eck P ’14 at the dedication of the van Eck Classroom.

2 Richard Elman and son Marc ’11 at the dedication of the Elman Auditorium.

3 Shattuck Robotics Lab dedication. From left, Bradlee H. Shattuck ’64, Trisha M. Shattuck ’93, Xavier Shattuck (son of Johan ’93), Headmaster Curtis, Heidi Shattuck (mother of Johan), Brendan Shattuck ’01 (brother), Alden Shattuck ’66 (Father of Johan), Trevor Shattuck ’96 (brother), Celeste Shattuck (daughter of Johan), Julie Shattuck, Board Chairman Michael J. Carr ’76, Avery Shattuck ’02 (sister of Johan), Johnathan Shattuck ’70, Kyle Shattuck ’94, and Erica Mestuzzi ’93.

4 At the Thursday evening celebratory dinner prior to the Friday dedication, Headmaster Curtis presented a framed photograph of the Lanphier Center to Cameron and Edward Lanphier.

5. Edward Lanphier, former faculty member Julie Goodyear ’65, and Edward’s sister, Margaret Hawn.

speaker Nicholas Negroponte ’61, Founder of MIT’s Media Lab. Faculty and students were riveted by his presentation.

6

ON CHRISTIAN & ELM | On Campus

M@I eR To celebrate the opening of the new Cameron and Edward Lanphier Center for Mathematics and Computer Science, students and faculty participated in 18 MakerFaire workshops facilitated by Choate faculty, educators from the Eli Whitney Museum and Sikorksy Aircraft.

Workshops included making LED Choate boats, Building an Auto-rotator, and Programming for Non-Programmers.

Photo collage: Science department head Ben Small and science teacher Larry Stowe assist students in the Nerdy Derby workshop which involved having wooden cars race down a dual-track. Meanwhile science teacher Christopher Hogue supervised third former Maddie Mandell as she drilled axle holes for her woodblock car body.

Facilitators at the Eli Whitney Museum led workshops on The Hand: Anatomy & Gesture and Theater of Light: The Artful LED. Participants sculpted hands from blocks of clay onto wooden dowels and made LED shadow puppets. Students also worked on projects during a Robotics Romp at the Shattuck Robotics Lab.

6

7

Ć’ 1RE 8

1

2

3

4

5

8

Feature

Dr. Kerri Cahoy ’96, Boeing Assistant Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT, unfolds the solar panel petals from an early prototype model of the Microsized Microwave Atmospheric Satellite (MicroMAS) nanosatellite.

THROUGH

BULLETIN | SPRING 2015 9

KERRI KUSZA CAHOY ’96 HAS AN UNUSUAL PROBLEM: FIGURING OUT HOW TO SPEND A BILLION DOLLARS. She’ll have help, to be

sure. Kerri, Boeing Assistant Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT, is part of a NASA study group deciding out how to get the most bang for the buck being spent on a new telescope to study exoplanets – planets orbiting other stars outside our solar system.

BREAKING by ruth walker

It’s an important issue, given how NASA’s Kepler probe has discovered hundreds of new worlds for scientists to explore. But the billion-dollar question is only one of the scientific challenges on Kerri’s agenda. She’s also studying decades of data accumulated from the geostationary satellites that have been up in the sky since the late 1970s, to see what they reveal about space weather. And she’s also the leader of an MIT student team that has built and launched a 5-kg weather sensing nanosatellite to the International Space Station, from which it has been deployed into orbit since early March.

Kerri is one of a growing number of alumnae in the so-called STEM fields – Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math – including, Bevin P. Engelward ’84, Sc.D., professor of biological engineering at MIT; Caroline Howe ’03, a newly minted master of city planning from MIT; Emily Reid ’05, a master’s degree candidate in computer science from Columbia; and Rachel Mellon ’12, a junior majoring in computer science at Stanford.

Some common threads emerge: their observations that some bright young women simply don’t appreciate their own intellectual strength; the value they put on role models; the special challenges that keep women out of computer science, even if they excel at science and math; and, for those at a certain point in

WOMEN IN SCIENCE

their lives, the challenge of combining raising a family with a top-level career in science.

They see “a lot of progress” for women, but also clearly a lot more progress to be made.

They are passionate about what they do, and passionate as well about supporting young women coming up behind them.

10

MY STUDENTS ARE SO GOOD AND THEY DON’T RECOGNIZE IT! –DR.KERRI CAHOY ’96

Kerri points to two key experiences that brought her to a career in space science. As a fourth-grader, under the direction of a “very artistic” teacher who made the planets come alive, she created a series of reports on the solar system. And then, as a freshman in electrical engineering at Cornell, she spotted a flyer advertising opportunities to do paid research for NASA’s Mars Rover program.

Kerri worked for Cornell professor Steve Squyres, the longtime principal investigator for NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Mission, which brought the Red Planet into the nation’s living rooms through images captured by its robotic rovers, especially Opportunity, the Energizer Bunny of planetary exploration.

That adventure set Kerri on her career course.

But she remembers a day toward the end of eighth grade when her middle-school English teacher asked her pointedly, “What are you doing next year?” It took Kerri a moment to realize the teacher was probing her on her high school plans and trying to ensure the family considered Choate. “Would your parents let you apply?” the teacher asked.

That afternoon the teacher drove her straight to the Choate Admission Office to pick up an application. She then drove her home to talk with her parents about sending her there.

“I did end up attending Choate,” Kerri, a Wallingford native, says, and she calls the experience “transformative.”

In college, she opted for electrical engineering as a way to honor her electrician father. She earned the degree he never got, “to carry on his dream.”

Kerri makes clear that what she calls the “lifestyle requirements” of a career on the cutting edge of science can be daunting, especially for young mothers, “even with all the great support we have here,” at MIT. She and her physician husband have two very young children. At critical moments they have had to rely on grandparent help with childcare when she has had to travel or meet other professional commitments. “There’s nothing easy about the lifestyle,” she says.

“We probably lose people there,” she adds.

THE BEAUTY OF SCIENCE Just a few minutes’ walk away from Kerri’s office on the MIT campus, but in a very different scientific world, are Bevin Engelward’s office and lab.

Her work focuses on how the environment affects health. Cancer research, she notes, has tended to focus on genetic factors in causing the disease – but these account for only about 30 percent of the total risk for cancer. The other factors are environmental, in the broadest sense, such as diet, physical activity, exposure to toxic chemicals.

As a Yale undergraduate, Bevin found her imagination captured by “the beauty of science,” as she studied crystalline protein structures. “The idea that you can understand things at such a deep level” fascinated her.

Bevin had gone to Choate at her mother’s insistence: “Then I was surprised how much I loved it.” She reveled in the opportunities the School provided to express excellence and leadership.

She did not go directly from Yale to graduate school. She followed a boyfriend to Boston, a move she describes as “typical of the time.”

As she contemplated her options, she took a job that was not intellectually challenging where she merely prepared biological samples for microscopy. She then worked as a database developer and realized she could have a career there. She wanted to have a family.

But she also realized she wanted to study in the field that truly fascinated her. And so she went back to her first love, the biological sciences, and ended up at the Harvard School of Public Health.

Once admitted, she nosed around to find the best classes available to her, and determined they were mostly at MIT, accessible through cross-registration. All her core classes were there. “The teaching was amazing … I was in awe of my MIT professors.” She was impressed with the idea that teaching “is not a chore, it’s a privilege.” Before she had finished her degree, she was invited to apply to join the MIT faculty.

BULLETIN | SPRING 2015 11

THE STUDENTS WHO ARE SURPRISINGLY STRONG ARE SOMETIMES NOT AWARE OF THEIR OWN POTENTIAL. THE CHALLENGE IS TO MAKE SURE WOMEN SEE THEIR FULL POTENTIAL. –DR. BEVIN P. ENGELWARD ’84

12

GIRLS TEND TO SHARE WHAT THEY’VE LEARNED AND START TEACHING IT TO SIBLINGS OR EVEN PARENTS. THERE’S A BUTTERFLY EFFECT. ONCE THEY GET INTO IT AND GET IT, THEY LOVE IT ENOUGH TO KEEP GOING.

–EMILY REID ’05

BULLETIN | SPRING 2015 13

Emily Reid ’05 says, “When I was growing up, I was always interested in math and science, and theater and writing.” And she credits the strong background she got at Choate. “I always excelled in math. But,” she adds, “I was never one of those kids pulling computers apart.”

As a Tufts freshman in the fall of 2005, she took a computer science course and “found it really challenging at first.” She was one of just a few girls, amid “guys [who] had been coding at home for years.”

The next year, she got through a “weedout” course in computer science, with the help of a female mentor. Then came other opportunities, such as attendance at the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing, where she says she found “a huge community” of women in computer science that she didn’t always see in her classes.

After graduation, with a major in math and a minor in computer science, Emily spent four years at MITRE Corp., working in cybersecurity.

Then she found herself drawn to the field of natural language processing. In the fall of 2013, she started a master’s program in computer science at Columbia University’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. She is also doing research at Columbia’s affiliated Center for Computational Learning Systems.

There, she and her colleagues use computers to analyze “corpora,” or bodies of writing, for their use of language. A particularly rich corpus is the Enron Dataset, derived from material subpoenaed and put into the public domain during the federal investigation of the Enron Corp. bankruptcy.

Last summer, Emily worked in Miami with the non-profit organization, Girls Who Code, teaching young women how to write computer code. In December, she became Curriculum Director at Girls Who Code in New York City.

“The idea is to teach computer science in a liberal arts fashion. We don’t teach Java, for instance, but they’ll have the concepts: loops, variables, conditionals.”

“I think there’s a huge confidence drop-off in middle school” on the part of girls, she says, which seems to coincide with a fall off in interest in science and math.

THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT

Not all female scientists find such a congenial academic home as did Bevin, though. Could confidence be a factor?

“Maybe this is changing,” she says hopefully, but she finds “women are less confident in their ability to do science.” She encourages her female students but sometimes finds a surprising “disconnect” in them: “The students who are surprisingly strong are sometimes not aware of their own potential. The challenge is to make sure women see their full potential.”

Even at MIT, she says, many female undergraduates don’t consider going on to graduate school.

Kerri makes a similar comment: “My students are so good – and they don’t recognize it!”

Bevin says that at MIT, women go from graduate school into post-doctoral programs, but most do not pursue professorships. And that, she maintains, is because that decision presents itself to be made when a woman is in her late 20s or early 30s, when the biological clock begins to tick rather loudly. She didn’t want to give up on having a family. The future husband she had followed to Boston, meanwhile, had acquired a PhD in mathmatics from Harvard, and soon became her husband. He is the primary caregiver of their two children.

And one bit of advice from a senior female professor left an imprint: “Don’t wait until you have tenure to have children.” And so she decided to have children even though she was still competing for tenure. There are now more and more examples of women scientists who have children during early stages of their careers and still get tenure.

However serious the challenges to women in biology, Bevin calls the situation more pressing in computer science and engineering: That’s where the biggest deficit is.”

The experiences of the two youngest alumnae in this scientific sisterhood confirm her point. According to statistics from “She++,” an advocacy organization that tries to get more women into computer science, women earn 52 percent of the science and math degrees in the United States, but only 18 percent of degrees in computer science.

14

WITH COMPUTER SCIENCE, I COULD BUILD SOMETHING FROM SCRATCH. THAT’S SO EMPOWERING. –RACHEL MELLON ’12

She identifies – and identifies with – a particular kind of female perfectionism that keeps girls from computer science. “I was very much a perfectionist,” she admits. But plunging into coding requires a willingness to take risks, make mistakes, and figure out how to correct them. “Nobody writes perfect code,” she adds.

The tendency to avoid risks is a particular problem in STEM fields, and it can lead to the vicious circle she noticed at MITRE: With few women working there, there were few role models, which meant in turn that few other women were attracted to the organization, however willingly it would have hired them.

On the other hand, Emily notes, “girls tend to share what they learn.” Girls come home from Girls Who Code sessions and start teaching what they’ve just learned to siblings or even parents. “There’s a butterfly effect.”

Emily’s hope: “Once they get into it and get it, they love it enough to keep going.”

VISIBLE ROLE MODELS “Even before Choate, I knew I wanted to focus on math and science,” says Rachel Mellon ’12. She appreciates the “lack of ambiguity” in math. And she has no hesitation about computer science. When she got to Choate, she planned her first year around an introductory Java class in the spring. “With computer science, I could build something from scratch. That’s so empowering.”

During her college years, she’s had two Google internships, one in Mountain View, Calif., last year and one in New York this past summer.

Rachel is proof that the impulse to mentor and support other young women in the field kicks in even before college graduation. She is Co-Director of She++, a nonprofit that was founded by two Stanford sophomores who abandoned their original majors, psychology and pre-veterinary medicine respectively, to devote themselves to “building a community for women and girls” in the world of computer science.

Rachel stresses the value of visible role models to bring to life the possibility of a career in computer science. She repeats a quote from Marie Wilson who founded The White House Project in 1998, a nonprofit to increase female representation in American institutions, businesses and government, “You can’t be what you can’t see.”

She++ makes the case that the lack of women in computer science not only cuts them out of lucrative careers – Silicon Valley and other tech hubs remain hungry for software engineers – but throttles national economic growth.

In some ways, the career odyssey of Caroline Howe ’03 is less a tale of “young woman in science,” and more a story of a practical thinker willing to pivot – a word she uses often – to ensure that she has the education and skills she needs to tackle the problems that have captured her imagination.

But she’s a mechanical engineer by training, which puts her in one of the fields where women have been most seriously underrepresented.

She was drawn to environmental studies as a college major – but then found she would be mostly learning about problems rather than solving them. A shift to ecology got her thinking in terms of systems and the way their elements interact among themselves, absent human involvement.

Then came another shift, to environmental engineering, a discipline that would let her design solutions to the problems she was learning about. She ended up with a double major in environmental engineering and mechanical engineering at Yale. Mechanical engineering, she felt, would give her the background to improve the system efficiency of buildings in particular.

The desire to work on buildings took her to India for a post-graduate “gap year” that lasted four and a half years. “In New England, we’ve already built most of our buildings,” Caroline says. She wanted to go somewhere where there was a lot of building going on.

PIVOTAL MOVES

BULLETIN | SPRING 2015 15

I NEVER WANTED TO FULFILL A STEREOTYPE. FOR BETTER OR WORSE, THAT PUSHED ME TO WORK HARDER. WHEN I WAS IN COLLEGE, I WAS COMMITTED TO BREAKING EVERY GLASS CEILING. –CAROLINE HOWE ’03

Her work with Indian entrepreneurs led to yet another pivot, this time to MIT, for a master’s in city planning. She had decided this was the degree she needed to help her address the problems people were bringing to her in her work.

As an undergraduate she remembers being one of only two women in her mechanical engineering class at Yale. “I never wanted to fulfill a stereotype. For better or worse, that pushed me to work harder. When I was in college, I was committed to breaking every glass ceiling.”

The questions of who raises his or her hand in class, and who gets called on, are important, in Caroline’s view. One essential way for educators to support girls in science is to encourage them to ask questions in class, and to keep asking.

Encouraging girls in science was, however, presumably not much on the minds of educators when another notable alumna in science, Katharine Way, was growing up. But she graduated from Rosemary Hall in 1920, where Headmistress Caroline Ruutz-Rees was an enlightened educator encouraging curiosity in her students and encouraged them “to discover the relations of the particular to the universal,” adding “your discovery of that is the valuable thing in intellectual education.”

Way was educated at Vassar, Barnard, Columbia, and the University of North Carolina and completed her Ph.D. in nuclear physics at Bryn Mawr. Starting in 1939, she spent years on the faculty of the University of Tennessee, near Oak Ridge. She studied nuclear decay and also specialized in the collection and organization of nuclear data.

During World War II, Professor Way worked on the Manhattan Project to develop the nuclear bomb. With novelist and anti-nuclear activist Dexter Masters, she edited One World or None: a Report to the Public on the Full Meaning of the Atomic Bomb, a collection of essays by Niels Bohr, Albert Einstein, Robert Oppenheimer, and others. Published in 1946, the book became a New York Times bestseller.

Caroline Howe says: “The core of science is all about curiosity – one question leading to another.” Katharine Way, it is easy to imagine, would have agreed. –Ruth Walker is a freelance writer from Cambridge, Massachusetts.

16

growth & prosperity

preparin g for lead e rship / 1940-1965 by g. jeffrey macdonald ’87

By 1938, both schools were primed for change. Choate ceased to be a private, for-profit venture; now trustees, largely alumni, would govern the School as a non-profit alongside Headmaster George St. John. That same year, Rosemary Hall ushered in a new era with the appointment of Headmistress Eugenia Baker Jessup ’10, the first new head since the School’s founding 48 years earlier in 1890. Change would need to be gradual, these leaders recognized, but could not wait forever.

At both schools, propulsion forward would come from rising national prosperity and population growth. Social norms would only begin to crack in the 1950s and early 60s; true integration of the races and sexes would not come until later. Yet the arc of the future was clearly taking shape, even in extraordinary wartime.

p h o t o g r a p h s c o u r t e s y o f c h o at e r o s e m a r y h a l l a r c h i v e s

Feature

c o m m o n r o o t s

s h a r e d p u r p o s e

The mid-Winter Dance was held during Festivities Weekend.

In 1958, the Phil Malen Orchestra celebrated New Orleans Jazz.

18

IN THE LATE 1930s , teaching at Choate or Rosemary Hall

meant accepting a Spartan, no-frills lifestyle. Choate masters lived as if they were still in school themselves, occupying dorm rooms and sharing bathrooms on their hallways. Salaries at both schools were so modest that the best teachers routinely left for higher wages elsewhere.

The status quo needed updating in a host of areas, starting with conditions for faculty.

“The crying need is for better salaries for the regular teachers,” Jessup wrote in an early report to Rosemary trustees. “It has been so difficult to obtain good teachers in recent years that it was necessary to find the best teachers available, whether married or single, male or female.”

Jessup called for changes that would in effect make Rosemary Hall more like Choate, where competitive faculty salaries were already helping attract and retain legendary talent. She urged more attention be paid to “the individual girl,” whether she was honing her skills on the playing fields or taking challenging upper-level classes.

Jessup would eventually guide Rosemary to embrace a taxexempt structure like Choate’s, which would help stimulate much-needed fundraising.

Headmistress Eugenia Baker Jessup ’10 and Martha Abbott ’49.

ABOVE French Class,

Rosemary Hall, 1949 BELOW At Rosemary Hall,

preparation for college remained the backbone of the curriculum. During the war years, greater emphasis

was put on science and mathematics “to fit girls to take the place of men in work in scientific fields.”

Also, practical courses in first aid, home nursing, and stenography were added.

CHOATE, MEANWHILE, would evolve over the next quarter century to more fully reflect – and prepare leaders for – a dynamically changing American society. The School would make itself hospitable to prospective faculty, parents, and students by providing sought-after benefits. But its responsiveness to the wider culture wouldn’t end there. Choate relentlessly vied to keep programs relevant to the needs of the United States and equip graduates to lead the country.

Days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, a Choate News editorial argued the School should respond, but not as it did in World War I. Swapping athletics for ROTC drill regimens would be a mistake, the student newspaper said. Sports should continue alongside rigorous academics, with a stronger emphasis on math, science, and practical mechanics.

“Certainly a sound mind and a sound body are the most vital demands upon an individual now that modern warfare has turned from trench and hand-to-hand fighting to a battle of wits and machines,” the editorial read.

Physical fitness training during World War II

20

Boston Braves bowling in the Winter Exercise building during Spring training, 1943.

CAMPUS LIFE TOOK ON A WARTIME FEEL , complete with bomb shelters and drills that had students literally running for cover. Choate kept sports, but cut back on away-game travel and school vacations to conserve fuel.

Waiters and maids had become almost a thing of the past.

Students started making their own beds, doing dining hall chores, tending apple orchards, and harvesting potatoes.

Classes increasingly delivered what the country needed.

In new “war courses,” students learned aeronautics, navigation, and nautical astronomy. In 1944, four Choate masters collaborated on a textbook, An Introduction to Navigation and Nautical Astronomy. Accelerated programs enabled students to graduate before their 18th birthdays, which put them on track to become military officers. Lest Choate have to guess how to prepare soldiers, the Department of War explained it in black and white.

“No marching and so-called military drill,” said a letter George St. John received from the Department. “We teach that in short order. By the hardest studies you can give… teach ’em to use their heads, and be quick about it.”

When the War ended, Choate would again embark on new construction, as it had done with Memorial House after World War I. The Logan Munroe dormitory, named for an alumnus, went up in 1946 with a distinctive feature: two apartments for married masters. It would be the first of several dorms with apartments built for a new age and for newly minted veterans, eager to teach and raise families.

To guide Choate through the post-War era, the mantle fell to a new headmaster. After 40 years at the helm, St. John handed over the school he’d built to his son, Seymour. An Episcopal priest with linguistic fluency in French and German, Seymour St. John ’31 won the trustees’ confidence to sustain what Choate did well and also make it modern, worldly and responsive to the times. He got right to work.

“In 1947 when I became headmaster, my first goal was to bring every housemaster up to what I called the ‘washbasin standard of living’, and we did that in the first year,” Seymour St. John says in a transcribed memoir. Among his first moves was to enroll masters in TIAA benefits, which ensured them a pension upon retirement.

Like his father, St. John felt Choate couldn’t rest on its laurels or remain as he found it. He swiftly launched a two-decade campaign for faculty housing improvements through new construction and remodeling.

In 1946, John F. Kennedy ’35 returned to campus to participate in the 50th anniversary of the School. In his speech, he laid down a challenge: “I believe that in the future, if Choate is really to survive, the men who teach at Choate must instill in its students an active interest in our politics and in the national life around us.” The idea from Kennedy was taken up by Courtenay Hemenway (his former teacher) who fashioned it, with Kennedy’s input, into the Public Affairs course introduced in 1948.

Logan Munroe, as viewed from Memorial House steps, 1950.

“I believe that in the future, if Choate is really to survive, the men who teach at Choate must instill in its students an active interest in our politics and in the national life around us.”

c o m m o n r o o t s

–john. f. kennedy ’35

s h a r e d p u r p o s e

When Senator John F. Kennedy ’35 came to Choate to receive the School's first Alumni Seal Prize in 1958, he met with Headmaster Seymour St. John ’31, left, and his former history master, Courtenay Hemenway.

22

Despite limited resources, traditions of Rosemary continued in the 1950s, including daily required chapel and a uniform dress code for various occasions. Just about every graduate went on to elite institutions such as Radcliffe, Vassar, and Bryn Mawr.

Choate Chapel steeple drawing, circa 1924

Rosemary Hall Gymnasium, 1953

Helen MacKissick Williamson.

Rosemary Hall's Headmistress, 1953–1957

the School had no endowment and was running a $37,000 deficit. In 1948, a new push began for alumnae to buy Rosemary Hall from its founding headmistress, Caroline Ruutz-Rees.

The proposal to make Rosemary Hall an alumnaeowned, non-profit institution offered mutual benefits.

It would cash out and establish annuity payments for Ruutz-Rees, who by this time was 83. It would also make the School more attractive to donors, who would be able to claim tax deductions for charitable giving. Alumnae received assurance that Rosemary would grow enrollment and cover all expenses with tuitions.

In 1950, the deal went through, establishing the Rosemary Hall Foundation. Now Rosemary had a legal status akin to Choate’s, but wasn’t yet out of the woods.

Rosemary’s enrollment in April 1950 dipped to 118, down from a high of 208 in 1927. Teacher salaries remained low and 10 years of deferred building maintenance took a visible toll.

Yet, Mrs. Jessup would not give up on new initiatives and bold risk-taking. In May 1950, Newsweek wrote about Jessup’s ”Operation X” which gave 10 selected seniors exemption from school rules during spring term, testing their self-proclaimed readiness for college. Said Jessup, “[The girls’] opinions are asked for and valued, both in the classroom and in matters relating to the operation of the School. They are trusted and given responsibility. This makes them feel that the School belongs to them, and that its success or failure is in their hands.”

Despite limited resources, traditions of Rosemary continued in the 1950s, including daily required chapel and a uniform dress code for various occasions. Just about every graduate went on to college, and Rosemary was well-represented in elite institutions such as Radcliffe, Vassar, and Bryn Mawr. But some of Rosemary’s programs were cut back, (the annual Shakespeare play was produced every year without fail) as students felt the financial pinch.

Jessup hoped her successor, Helen MacKissick Williamson, could build on the momentum established when she took the reins as Rosemary’s third headmistress in 1953. A nonRosemarian, she sought changes to the curriculum and a reduced role for the Committee, and resistance swelled almost immediately.

Early in her tenure, a group of faculty and staffers balked at Williamson’s initiatives. She resigned in December 1955, only to be reinstated a week later. She died of cancer in 1957 after just four years on the job, forcing Jessup to come out of retirement and steer the ship for an interim year.

IN GREENWICH,

c o m m o n r o o t s

s h a r e d p u r p o s e





LEFT T h e 1 9 5 2 a n d 1 9 5 6

D e om c r a t i c p a r t y n o mi A d la iE .S t e v e n s o n 1 8

n e e ,

ABOVE He

a d ma s t e r S e y mo u r S t . J o h n m e e t i n g w it h b o y s in fo r m a lly a t C u r t i s Ho u s e , 1 9 5 4

CHOATE AT THE TIME WAS NOTCHING FEATHERS IN ITS CAP AS A RELATIVELY YOUNG SCHOOL , just 50 years

old in 1946, with outsized aspirations to train top leaders.

Under the direction of Choate English master Bob Atmore, the campus became a destination for big-name speakers, including former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, poet Robert Frost, evangelist Billy Graham, and baseball hero Jackie Robinson, the sport’s first black major leaguer.

Alumni raised the School’s profile further. From 1952 through 1960, all of the Democratic Party’s presidential nominees were Choate men: Adlai Stevenson ’18 in 1952 and 1956, then Kennedy ’35 in 1960. Even though a straw poll taken by the Current History Club in October 1960 showed 82% of the boys favoring Nixon and only 18% for Kennedy, never was the School prouder than when he was inaugurated President on January 20, 1961.

Choate’s reputation grew internationally, attracting students from more than a dozen countries in the early 1950s. But the School still saw itself as accountable to more than tuition-paying parents and students from across the globe. It remained focused on preparing young men to lead at top levels of business and government.

In 1957, Seymour St. John recruited the School's first Russian teacher, Johannes van Straalen. The program was launched just weeks before Sputnik made world news. In 1959, following a visit to the Soviet Union, St. John and van Straalen created a summer abroad program for Choate students.

St. Andrew's Camp, 1951.

Located a mile from campus, it welcomed 25-30 boys from urban areas to enjoy nature, wholesome food, and help shape moral character.

One exemplary trip reflected that ethos. At the height of the Korean War in April 1951, Seymour St. John traveled to Washington, D.C. to meet with the U.S. Navy’s director of training and the Department of Education’s director of secondary schools. He went to ask one question: how can Choate help America win the war?

“He was prepared to make any schedule changes and to put in any new courses so desired,” reported the Choate News. He returned with a mandate to “teach in broad patterns the basic courses that are necessary to all specialization,” as summarized by the News. “Physics is more important than electronics; biology is more important than medical technology.

Seymour welcomed the government’s affirmation, but he kept pushing the envelope of what it could mean to serve students and nation alike. Indispensable would be a keen, nuanced understanding of the world. An avid traveler himself, St. John encouraged Director of Summer Programs Hubert Packard to bring an international dimension to the Choate Summer School. Between 1959 and 1962, summer programs sent students to Russia, Mexico and six European countries. During the academic year, opportunities emerged in three new foreign language tracks: Russian, Arabic, and Chinese. As the Cold War upped the ante for containing Communism and winning the space race, Choate students were once again training to help America win.

In hopes of shaping compassionate as well as worldly leaders, Choate encouraged its students to serve at the yearly St. Andrews Camp for disadvantaged boys from New Haven and New York. From its founding in 1913 to its last year in 1971, Choate students raised funds to run the camp and served as its counselors. They helped boys learn outdoor skills, enjoy games in the country and build moral character, as per the mission of Choate’s St. Andrews Society.

c o m m o n r o o t s

s h a r e d p u r p o s e

26

was evolving with a measure of openness to a changing society. Choate’s first prominent female faculty member, Pauline Anderson, directed the library through a decade when circulation grew 600 percent. She paved the way for a new wing in 1962. Between 1946 and 1965, the School built eight new dormitories with faculty apartments and steadily renovated others to Seymour’s “wash basin” standard. As soon as George and Clara St. John Hall was dedicated in 1957, classrooms were abuzz in foreign languages, including those of strategic value to the nation but seldom studied in secondary schools.

MEANWHILE THE WALLINGFORD CAMPUS

ABOVE Pauline Anderson,

Choate's first prominent female faculty member, escorting Robert Frost around campus for the dedication of the Library's new wing. According to Pauline, "It was, I believe, the first time we had paid an agent’s fee for a speaker to come; I think we paid him $1,500."

RIGHT St. John Lecture Hall, circa 1960s. Dedicated in 1957, the buidling's color scheme, according to a review in the News, was a mix of "Waikiki green, moonbeam blue, and jubilee yelow." From Choate Rosemary Hall: A History of the School, 1997.

“The hard work you put in here will not be wasted, because the end product of that hard work will be the acquisition of a disciplined mind.”

–headmistress alice mcbee

1964, Sixth Form coffee with Headmistress Alice McBee. From left, Susan Heyn, Sally Thompson, Alice, and Claudia Bingham.

One faculty member reflected "I have never met anyone who had a clearer knowledge or more thorough understanding of young people." – A History of the School, 1997.

c o m m o n r o o t s BACK IN GREENWICH, ROSEMARY AT LAST TURNED A CRUCIAL CORNER when Alice McBee arrived as head-

mistress in 1958. From the start, she pumped up enrollment.

The School’s small, tired physical plant didn’t stand in the way. Virtually every double room in a dormitory became a triple as girls packed in.

“This increase of students represents Rosemary’s maximum capacity within the limitations of its existing plant,” McBee told trustees in June 1959. “It reflects the national increase in school population and, to be brutally frank, a need for further income.”

McBee, or “Mac” as she was affectionately known, lamented how the low salary problem still vexed Rosemary more than 20 years after Jessup flagged the issue as a priority. In 1959, a beginning teacher in Greenwich public schools could earn within $500 of the highest-paid, mostexperienced teachers at Rosemary. McBee saw larger enrollment as an essential prong in a financial strategy to upgrade facilities, including a gym she termed “under sentence of death from the fire department,” an inadequate infirmary, and a need for more lab space.

McBee’s administration creatively leveraged the power of contingency giving to raise much-needed funds. For example, in 1958, an anonymous benefactor promised to give $1,000 for every percent of increase in alumnae participation in annual fundraising. With that incentive dangling, participation jumped from 18 to 60 percent, and Rosemary reaped an additional $42,000 on the promise.

With funds on the rise, Rosemary built a new dormitory, which enabled enrollment to grow some 20 percent to more than 250 from 1959 to 1964. The School still exceeded capacity, as evidenced by the seven students living upstairs in McBee’s house in 1964. But few complained about accommodations as Rosemary was on a roll. By 1962, spending on faculty salaries had doubled, and by 1964, operating deficits were erased.

Pressures for social change began to mount. Rosemary had no black students in the early 1960s, and White Anglo-Saxon Protestants filled the vast majority of seats at Choate. The School admitted its first black student, Ralph Bunche Jr., in 1959. In 1966, Rosemary Hall opened the door to greater diversity in admitting its first black student, Terri Façon, and hiring its first black faculty member.

Choate wouldn’t do the same until 1969.

Neither Choate nor Rosemary was oblivious to the winds of change swirling around them in the mid-60s.

NEXT ISSUE:

inclusion & access the winds of change / 1965-1990

Choate, like Rosemary Hall, was a product of its time, largely loyal to society’s status quo, keener to study and eventually respond to cultural shifts than to drive them.

Social norms, however, were about to give way, swiftly and completely, to the biggest changes either school had ever seen.

s h a r e d p u r p o s e



CHOATE

READER

O n the occasion of Choate s 125th celebration, we asked Choate Rosemary Hall authors from across the decades to write a tribute or recollection of their time at school. Geo rey Wol 55 is the author of six novels;and biographies of Harry Crosby, John O H ara, and most recently, Joshua Slocum. The Hard Way Around: The Passages of Joshua Slocum was reviewed in the Spring 2011 issue of Bulletin.

The author lives in Bath, Maine.

Bull Sessions choate 1952-1955

by geoffrey wolff ’55

CHOATE FACT From 1940

until 1959, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt made seven visits to Choate.

RECENTLY MY WIFE AND I WERE WATCHING KEN BURNS’ TELEVISION SERIES DEVOTED TO THE ROOSEVELT DYNASTY.

While it was perverse not to admire Eleanor s sternly promoted good deeds and her relentless insistence on fair play, there was also something excessive about her rectitude that drove me nuts. After 60 years there popped into my head the expression, Straight Arrow. ( Expression in the sense of square-jawed, frank-eyed facial set as well as of idiom.) I was transported to our Chapel, the vivid memory of commendable homilies delivered by estimable personages. The 1955 Choate Brief alludes to corpulent visiting preachers wheez ing as they struggled to the pulpit s summit in order to evangeliz e the stamina, courage, and manliness dramatized by Sir Edmund Hillary s 1953 ascent of Mount Everest.

Anyway, not wishing to risk being mistaken by my wife for a cynic, sexist or lookist, Imerely remarked, You know, Eleanor Roosevelt visited Choate to talk to us.

No way!

In fact she visited more than once. More than twice.

Bushwah!

She said bushwah in its vulgar American translation from the bogus French, emphatically capturing the spirit of my favorite tribal memories of Choate, hidden from the chiefs and Great White Father: Bull Sessions. Remember? Whispers and unrestrained laughter with roommates just before and often after lights-out, or during visits to

friends rooms in Woodhouse or Combo or West Wing or Bungalow, training to become bull artists ? O h, how I miss those powwows!Passing along the lore and legends, the wisdom entrusted to fth formers by sixth formers.

Lies and astonishments, cautions and certainties. And every now and then, as though by miracle, a truth.

Which returns my memories to a visit from Eleanor Roosevelt. Everyone (excepting Republicans) knows and knew then that Mrs. Roosevelt was willing to say only what was perfectly true. And if I remember rightly, the truth that she told us in the basement of the Chapel that night in 1954 was bleak. Esteemed scientists had con ded to the great President s widow, that the earth our earth would soon, in a million years or so, be encrusted by ice, just as it had been long ago. Iam aware that this projection today seems ironic, even ludicrous, so I call upon my schoolmates to con rm or deny her prophecy.

But whether by ice or hot water, we were sunk, screwed to the wall. I remember vividly with what a brave show of equanimity my school comrades, present in the audience, accepted this awful calculation. We had seen war movies, and had learned from them to ape the impassive physiognomies grace under pressure, as our hero Hemingway had it that bomber pilots displayed during the pre-dawn brie ng that foretold that only three out of ve would return from this dam-busting mission.

This would have been on a Saturday night, no? In lieu of a movie. Which meant that no homework was due the following day. And this was a good thing, because given the stunning news that we – never mind Our Earth – would soon be goners, deep-frozen, maybe even dead, who was going to memorize a future perfect conjugation for Mr. Joseph or puzzle out for Mr. Shirk why a2+b2=c2? Or correct sentence fragments committed in Mr. Lincoln’s grammar class? Let alone show up for kitchen duty at 6:00 am (or was it even earlier) in Mr. Pudvah’s galley?

Remember, this was before Google. This was the stirring age of jackass philosophy, happy days for boarding school teens, sheltered as we were from reality and contradiction.

So, Moose, how about that ice?

Hey, Mouse, you believe that crap?

I vaguely recollect one or two schoolmates who would confess, beats me or I don’t have a clue or ask Wolff. Not because Wolff was voted by the 1955 Brief Board to be the smartest in our class, but because he was voted “Thinks he is.” My specialty was the dissemination of truths derived from Ignotum per æque ignotum, meaning “the unknown by the equally unknown,” a form of fallacy in which one attempts to prove something unknown by deducing it from something else which is also not known to be true.

(Donald Rumsfeld would understand.)

Class of ’55 Bull artists from left Grey McGown, Skip Moss, and Geoffrey Wolff.

off a radio, and hit her in the thigh, leaving a pineappleshaped bruise.” (I pledge on my honor as a gentleman that I was assisted in verifying this fact by a website authoritative in its judgment of the credibility of urban legends. Check it out.)

Remember, this was before Google. This was the stirring age of jackass philosophy, happy days for boarding school teens, sheltered as we were from reality and contradiction.

In other words, bushwah.

What we knew was pretty much nothing. But what we believed we knew, and confidently confided, was a wisdom authorized by bogus experience, or perhaps asserted by the younger brother of a scholar at Cornell whose roomie was the cousin of an emergency-room intern who heard with his own ears a story told by a surgeon who had seen with his own eyes a victim of a gut-sucking-out vacuum airplane toilet. Or do I have that unlucky patient confused with a victim of an attack by an alligator to a Park Avenue toilet from the Manhattan sewers into which said alligator – then an inchling – had been heedlessly flushed?

This really happened in November of 1954, and at least one of our current events-minded classmates read about it in the Herald Tribune: Ann Hodges was hit by a meteorite on a clear afternoon. “Ann was napping on her couch in Sylacauga, Alabama, covered by quilts, when a softball-size hunk of black rock broke through the ceiling, bounced

So why wouldn’t we have believed that: • A tooth left overnight in a glass of Coca-Cola would have dissolved by sun up • An aspirin placed in a glass of Coca-Cola made boys irresistible to teenaged girls • Coca-Cola – bought from certain vendors known to the speaker – contained near-lethal doses of cocaine.

• The St. Johns owned a huge asparagus farm in the Louisiana bayous, which is why we were fed asparagus in the spring. And that the asparagus served at Choate was defective, unsuitable for sale to civilian consumers. Proof? Take a whiff of your urine.

• The Head had secretly instructed The Kitchen to put saltpeter in our “bo-day-dos,” or was it “bah-day-das.”

Even so, despite ice or flood, hell or high water or impotence or hurtling asteroids or tainted asparagus or vengeful reptiles, it was our mission, expostulated passionately by Eleanor Roosevelt – to be Straight Arrows, good boys: strong links in a strong Choate chain.

30 30

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

Regional Club Events

Events back in Wallingford

choate rosemary hall alumni association mission

DC Winterfest

Career Networking Brunch

To create, perpetuate, and enhance relationships among

We got together January 15 at the cozy Metropolitan Club for this year’s DC Winterfest. Many alumni took advantage of the Choate alumni network, like the group of women from the class of 1992 who met to reconnect. Thanks to the former Alumni Club of DC co-chairs Patrick Holley ’90 and Anna Lindel ’03 for their help securing the venue for this year’s event and for their past leadership. We welcome Dan Carucci ’76 and Tillie Fowler ’92 as the new co-chairs.

On January 11, we held our second career networking brunch, focusing on working in the arts. Corina S. Alvarez de Lugo ’81, P ’13, Ben Broderick ’05, Kari Cholnoky ’06, Lee Lee Englund ’98, Katie Hartsoe ’06, Fritz Mitchell ’76, and Shantell Richardson ’99 spoke to current students about the trajectory of their careers since Choate and how to make it in the arts.

More than 50 students, faculty, and staff members attended. Interested in being on a future panel?

Email Monica St. James at mstjames@choate.edu.

Chicago Club Launch

Boston Blades v. Montreal Stars

We couldn’t have asked for a better turnout or more enthusiasm for the launch of the new Alumni Club of Chicago on January 22. Recently appointed co-chairs Shanti Mathew ’05 and Margaux Harrold ’06 gave remarks to the guests and promised a full schedule of fun and educational events.

Two teams from the Canadian Women’s Hockey League faced off at Choate on January 24 in a packed Remsen Arena. Nicole Stock ’05, girls varsity hockey coach, and goalie for the Boston Blades, arranged to have Choate host. The game turned out to be quite the Choate alumnae Olympic reunion, with former Olympians Julie Chu ’01 and Hilary Knight ’07 on the ice, and Angela Ruggiero ’98 cheering them on.

Choate Rosemary Hall alumni, current and prospective students, faculty, staff, and friends in order to foster loyalty, interest, and support for the School and for one another, and to build pride, spirit, and community.

OFFICERS

New York

Patrick McCurdy ’98

Sheila Adams ’01

President

Jason Kasper ’05

Chris Vlasto ’84

Rosemary Hall

Vice President

Alice Chaffee Freeman ’63

Parisa Jaffer ’89

San Francisco

Secretary

Kevin Kassover ’87 Tara Elwell Henning ’99

STANDING COMMITTEE CHAIRS Admission

Washington, D.C.

Gunther Hamm ’98

Dan Carucci ’76

Colm Rafferty ’94

Tillie Fowler ’92

Annual Fund

Beijing

David Hang ’94

Gunther Hamm ’98

Communications

Hong Kong

Michelle Judd Rittler ’98

Sandy Wan ’90

Kathrin Schwesinger ’02

Jennifer Yu ’99

Nominating/Prize

Seoul

Chris Hodgson ’78

Ryan Hong ’89

Regional Clubs

Thailand

John Smyth ’83

Pirapol Sethbhakdi ’85

Class Agent Training Dedicated volunteers gathered in New York City on January 29 for this year’s Class Agent training.

The event started with Chris Vlasto ’84, Executive Producer of ABC’s “Good Morning America,” explaining the expectations of the program. The group was then taken on a private tour of ABC’s control room and the observation area for the “World News Tonight” live taping.

NYC Happy Hour

Student Relations/Campus Programming

COMMITTEE MEMBERS Dan Courcey ’86

On February 11, more than 60 alumni from the Classes of 1980 to 2012 braved the frigid New York City winter to attend a happy hour gathering at Turnmill. A specialty drink, the "Gold and Blue," was concocted for the occasion. Many attendees were surprised at the number of young alumni living in New York, prompting the planning of more reunions.

Mike Furgueson ’80

Executive Director of Development and Alumni Relations

Miami Happy Hour

Carolyn Kim ’96 ADDITIONAL EXECUTIVE

Shantell Richardson ’99 REGIONAL CLUB LEADERSHIP Boston

Mari Jones Director of Development and Alumni Relations

Choate’s happy hour at American Social on March 5 proved that our alumni in Miami want more Choate in their lives. We look forward to seeing you again next year.

An Evening at the Lanphier Center with the Alumni Club of Connecticut A large group of parents and alumni joined us for an Alumni Club of Connecticut reception on March 27. Guests were able to hear from Headmaster Alex Curtis, tour the center, and learn about the curriculum from Choate’s mathematics and computer science faculty.

Start // Up Choate On April 8, 70 alumni and parents gathered to hear from Dave McClure, founder of 500 Startups and often described as a "super angel investor." Dave shared stories about his experience in the startup world and offered advice to people in the audience.

The Start//Up series continues to be a great way to help alumni network, and we look forward to hosting the next installment featuring Choate’s own entrepreneurs over Reunion Weekend.

Patrick Clendenen ’84 Lovey Oliff ’97

Monica St. James Director of Alumni Relations

Connecticut David Aversa ’91

Leigh Dingwall ’84

Katie Vitali Childs ’95

Rachel Gritzer Faculty Representatives

June

July

September

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

6/7 – Commencement / Choate 6/14 – Sonoma Foodie and Wine

7/11 – Nantucket Parent Event /

9/17 – Celebrating 125 Years:

Nantucket, Mass.

TBA – San Francisco Giants Game / San Francisco TBA – Summer Concert in NYC / New York 7/30 – Boston Red Sox vs. Chicago White Sox / Boston

Headmaster Reception / Los Angeles 9/30 – New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox / New York

London Kate Aquila ’92

C A L E N D A R O F E V E N T S – Be part of it!

PAST PRESIDENTS Los Angeles

Susan Barclay ’85

Tom Nieman ’88

Chris Hodgson ’78

Stan Savage ’92

Woody Laikind ’53

Event with Linda McCulloch ’75 / Sonoma, Calif.

6/20 – Celebrating 125 Years: Headmaster Reception / Washington, DC 6/24 – Chicago Cubs vs. Los Angeles Dodgers / Chicago

BULLETIN | SPRING 2015 31

2

1

3

3 6

4

5 8

9

7 1 Career Networking Brunch 2 Nicole Stock ’05, Hilary Knight

’07, Angela Ruggiero ’98, and Julie Chu ’01 meet on the ice before the Boston Blades vs.

Montreal Stars game 3 Katie Taylor ’98, Jennie Ripps ’98, and BZ Kirkbright ’99 at the Start Up//Choate event 4 Jeanette Sublett P ’13, ’10, ’07; Charles Harrold ’64, P ’06; Stephanie Harrold P ’06; and Langdon Neal P ’13, ’10, ’07 at the Alumni Club of Chicago launch 5 Alumni Club of Connecticut co-chairs Katie Vitali Childs ’95 and David Aversa ’91 with Headmaster Curtis

6 Dave Engstrom ’09 and

Nicholas Andonie ’11 at the Miami Happy Hour 7 Jim Sherman ’80, Lissa Johnson ’02, and Tadd Spering ’99 connect at the Start Up// Choate event in New York City 8 Members of the class of 2010 at the NYC Happy Hour 9 Class agents gather for a photo at ABC Studios 10 Tillie Fowler ’92, Connie Forkner ’92, Mimi Dennis ’92, Katie Marsh ’92, Sophie Hanrahan ’92, and Nicole Miller ’92 at the DC Winterfest 11 Alumni of all ages at the annual DC Winterfest



ALUMNI ASSOCIATION | 125Events

Celebrating 125 Years FROM SAN FRANCISCO TO SEOUL,CELEBRATIONS MARKING THE START OF THIS MILESTONE YEAR WERE HELD AROUND THE COUNTRY AND GLOBE. O n Janury 28, a c el ebrati on was h os ted by D av i d F raz e 84 and Gary Loeb i n th ei r beauti f ul l y apoi nted h ome i n S an F ranc i s c o . M any of our Bay A rea al umni gath erd wi th th e Board of T rus tes and f ri ends of th e S c h ol to rec onec t and c el ebrat . C h ers to our Bos ton al umni f or brav i ng th e c ol d and wi ntry weath er to j oi n us at th e Is abel l a S tewar Gardne M us eum on F ebr uary 25 . M ore th an 10 al umni gath erd to mi ngl e , expl ore th e beauti f ul c ol l ec ti ons of th e mus eum,

and,

of

c urso e , to c el ebrat to s endp th ei r wi out i n great numbers to network i ng. Th ne th e c el al mniu . Th e next s top was c onti nued i n Hong K ong se pec i al l y s pec tac ul ra c enough

nters th ebrati and el ebratoy

C h ateo .O i n th e e Braz i l i an on h ead Bangk ok wh th en i n c a

n M arc

h 3, our s nu y C urto f or d el ot A s i a wi re a f ant as Bei j i ng, wh er k e . warm,

al umni

weath

and parents er fo P al m Beac i c i ous s nac k s , c co k ait th a l ov el y di ner wi ti c artyp awi ted. hT e we wer daz z l ed iw ht

l cu h c l s , and th S f es an

k y ame eoul ti v i ti es

2

3

4

1 1 2 5

TH

CELEBRATIONS:

1 Celebratory cake at San

2 Linda Lau P ’07; Jonathan “JJ”

3 The Choate a cappella group,

4 Parents and alumni gather for

Francisco’s event

Abram ’99; Joyce Abram P '06, '01, '99; and Jordan Abram ’06 at Hong Kong event

the Kaprophones, pose in front of the 125th ice sculpture.

Hong Kong’s celebration

3

BULLETIN |SPRING 2015  

2

1

4

3

  

 1 2 5

TH

CELEBRATIONS:

1 Young alumni cut the cake in Boston.

4 Silas Chou P ’02, ’96, ’93; Thomas Lau P ’07;

6 Gaby Coseteng ’14, Marlon Antunez’13,

8 A gathering of alumni and parents in

2 Frances and Ted Little ’49 in Palm Beach

Fiona Li P ’03; Dan Courcey ’86; and Arthur Mui ’04 gather in Hong Kong.

5 Bangkok alumni gather around the festive 125th cake.

Dylan Anslow ’11, Aitran Doan ’13, and Rachel Mellon ’12 in San Francisco 7 Alumni and parents in Beijing with pagoda› style cake

Seoul with Director of Athletics Ned Gallagher, Director of Student Activities Jim Yanelli, and Executive Director of Development and Alumni Relations Dan Courcey ’86.

3 Host David Fraze ’84 with Headmaster

Curtis and Michael Carr ’76 celebrated in San Francisco.

34

CLASSNOTES | News from our Alumni

Choate, circa 1956

BULLETIN | SPRING 2015 35

1940s ’46 C

George T.H. Fuller writes, “I am retired from most everything. Though I am a retired member of the Law Society of British Columbia, and the Canadian Bar Assn. I am also a retired member of The North Puget Sound Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church in the USA. I do attend Christ Church Cathedral in Vancouver, a thriving institution of some 700 members, which is active in social justice issues, and provides food for street people. I take courses at the University of British Columbia, with its student body of 50,000 students, who come from various places in the world. We have a house on Lopez Island in Washington State’s San Juan Islands. One of my daughters and her family are able to carry on her work of international consulting on various current issues from Lopez Island.”

’47 C

Arthur Rouner writes, “Molly and I, and our Pilgrim Center for Reconciliation, continue to lead three-day healing retreats in Minnesota, especially for African refugees here. A PCR team was in South Sudan for most of November, leading three reconciliation retreats for conflicted leaders there.

Another team did a three-week retreat with leaders in Rwanda, Bukavu in Congo, and in Bujumbura, Burundi. Besides being the founder, I am privileged to be the Pilgrim Center’s still-serving President Emeritus.”

’48 RH Dotty Braden Holbrook writes, “I just turned 85, and I wonder who of my classmates are alive, and just where they are. I now live in Florida (near Gainesville and the U. of Florida) in the winter and in the mountains of North Carolina, at Blowing Rock, in the summer.”

Send Us Your Notes!

We welcome your submission of classnotes or photos electronically in a .jpg format to alumline@choate.edu. When submitting photos, please make sure the resolution is high enough for print publication – 300 dpi preferred. If your note or photograph does not appear in this issue, it may appear in a subsequent issue, or be posted online to Alumni News on www.choate.edu.

To update your alumni records, email: alumnirelations@choate.edu or contact Christine Bennett at (203) 697-2228.

’49 RH Lee Bagwill writes, “My husband, John, and I (now married 61 years!) are still enjoying life on the Rhode Island shore, where we have lived for 20-plus years. We still get around OK, but certainly more slowly than before, and with more of the mid-80s issues! Times with our three children and six grandchildren are precious, as are our frequent bridge games (usually two or three times a week), and also taking part in the many interesting opportunities offered in the Newport area.”

1950s ’50 C

Jim Carpenter writes, “My wife, Shirley, had a major heart attack in October of 2013 which prompted us to move to a continuing care retirement community in North Naples, Fla. This is a campusstyle community built around an 18-hole par 3 golf course. Not that we are golfers but we know that there will never be a high rise sprouting up on the fairway outside our window! We are becoming spoiled. Our daughter, Connie, bought our previous home and her daughter, Emily Deans ’05, was just here staying at Mom’s place and visiting us. The two homes are about 15 minutes apart. Connie is a teacher in Connecticut and we expect her to spend the winters here when she retires in a few years. A major plus for me is that after many years I now have a place for my HO train layout”.

Eyvind Faye writes, “Choate was the setting where one of the greatest sources of pleasure for my life was introduced…the ukulele. New to the school as a third former in 1947, part of my identity was having lived in Hawaii and one of my new friends said ‘if you’re from Hawaii, you must play the ukulele.’ I didn’t, but I knew my mother did. She saved me by giving me one she had, a Martin soprano, and showed me the basics. Thus began a hobby. Since then, I have added guitar and double bass. I play now in a group calling ourselves The Putah Creek Crawdads and we produced our second CD. We consist of guitar, mandolin, banjo, fiddle, harmonica and bass and we play folk, gospel, and bluegrass. We were initially influenced by the likes of the Weavers, Kingston Trio, Burl Ives and the Carter Family. Our ages range from 45 to 93 and three of us have been playing together for over 65 years.”

Fritz Trapnell has authored a book called Harnessing the Sky, to be published in July by the Naval Institute Press. It is a biography of Fritz’s father, Vice Adm. Frederick M. Trapnell. He was an aviator and test pilot well-known in naval aviation circles; the runway complex at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, is named Trapnell Field in his honor.

Fritz and his wife, Nomi, expect to attend his 65th year reunion at Choate in May.

Henry Barkhausen ’32, our oldest living alumnus, and his son Henry Barkhausen ’65, who is celebrating his 50th reunion this year. Henry Senior is pictured in his boat shop in 2014 working on Final Effort, a 14-foot rowing and sailing boat of his own design.

’51

C Hedrick Smith, author of Who Stole the American Dream? writes, “Having spent much of the past 18 months crisscrossing America giving talks and listening to the unhappy questions of thousands of Americans turned off by our dysfunctional politics and highly unequal economy, I have created and launched a new nonpartisan website to encourage civic action at the grass roots. People get it.

Washington is stuck in gridlock. Now it’s up to us.

And there is actually a lot more reform taking place on at the local and state level than most people realize. So our site is full of progress reports, issue briefings, and surprising success stories, as well as good readings and contacts for getting help.

I hope Choate Rosemary Hall alumni will click on www.reclaimtheamericandream.org. ”

’52 C

Jack Houx appeared last month at the Vero Beach Theatre Guild as ‘Morrie’ in “Tuesdays with Morrie,” a benefit production for the Theatre Guild.

Houx reports he has long wanted to play the role of Morrie, but has had to grow into it. At age 80, he thinks he’s ready, although he’s sure E. Stanley Pratt would have disagreed.

’53 RH Jean Hilditch Wilson writes, “My youngest daughter, Heather, still lives and works in Leadville so I am lucky enough to take care of the grandchildren Evan, age eight, and Avery, age six, at least 48 hours a week. They keep me young. I was able to take a trip to Oregon to visit my other daughter, Jennifer, and her son, River, age five, in January. My sister, Barbara (Hilditch), passed away January 20, 2014.

She went to Rosemary in Greenwich for one year. I’m still traveling. This year I walked the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path in Wales (186 miles) with a friend. After our hike I was able to spend several days in Bath and a day at Stonehenge (two more places off my bucket list) before visiting friends in London and Horsham.

Haven’t seen any of my classmates recently but hope some can come to Leadville for my big 80th birthday celebration on August 7, 2015.”

36 CLASSNOTES

’55 C

Peter Elebash writes, “After retiring a few years ago, I set about writing my autobiography. After two years of constant effort, it was recently published

by Tate Publishing. The title is The Last Resort, and you can find it on amazon.com. So far, the reviews (also on Amazon) have been favorable. Basically, it is an adventure story – leaving a sleepy small Southern town in 1953 to come to Choate (a major culture shock, like going to a different planet in that era), on to Yale, six years in the 20th Special Forces Group, beginning a career in the ’family business’ in Columbus, Ga., which went horribly wrong, then embarking on a career in real estate which took many twists and turns over the next 45 years. And did I mention four wives and three children? My fourth and final wife, Jane, and I live in West Palm Beach, just across the intercoastal waterway from Palm Beach. Most of my working time now is devoted to promoting Urban Youth Impact, which, as the name implies, offers hope and opportunity to inner city children.”

’56 C

Lee Gaillard writes, “My article on the role of luck in the Battle of Midway was recently published as Chapter 45 in the Naval Institute Guide to the Battle of Midway; my series of three essays on astronomy as our new frontier will be appearing in the March, June, and September issues of Reflector, the quarterly publication of the Astronomical League; currently at the Col. C. David Merkel Center, I am offering biweekly sessions for discussion of selected war poems in an effort to help vets cope with their PTSD issues.”

Stephen Schulte writes, “A number of years ago I became of counsel to Schulte Roth & Zabel (headquartered in NYC), retired as an adjunct member of the Columbia Law School faculty, and moved to Carmel, Calif., with my wife, Patsy. It has been a wonderful move for us. We are both active in the community. I sit on the Board of our local hospital, and have recently retired as Chair of the Board of York School (a private local school that was featured last year in a Wall Street Journal article describing a special class project). In addition, I continue as Vice Chair of the Innocence Project, a national organization which pioneered the use of DNA technology to free the innocent, and now has broadened its activities to address legislative and related reform of our criminal justice system.”

’58 C

Chris Cory writes, “I went for a week’s vacation in March to Lake Arenal and Tamarindo, Costa Rica, and toted along a head full of rusty Spanish learned at the knee of Donald Devenish Walsh. I even bought a used copy online of his “Repaso.” (No Vis Ed cards this time.) Those three years of classes and the Spanish table with the two other Spanish teachers have served me well de vez en cuando as employer, journalist, reader of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and tourist, and I deem them a great gift from Choate.”

Those three years of classes and the Spanish table with the two other Spanish teachers have served me well as employer, journalist, reader of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and tourist, and I deem them a great gift from Choate.”

–CHRIS CORY ’58

’58 Dennie Williams writes, “After almost four decades as a news reporter, specializing in investigations at The Hartford Courant, I am now a part-time freelance reporter and opinionator on the Internet and in local newspapers. Four or five years back, I was picking blueberries with my fast-picking wife, Ina, when an orange butterfly landed on my hand as it reached out or another blueberry. Startled, my hand shook a bit and sent the butterfly back up in the air. That inspired my book: The Spirits of Birds, Bears, Butterflies and All Those other Wild Creatures.

Now I talk to every bird flying close by and wait for butterflies to land before I walk on.”

’59 C

Morris Everett Jr. writes, “I’m selling the world’s largest collection of movie posters, 196,000 posters, at profilesinhistory.com over the next four years, three auctions per year. Everything from Casablanca to Star Wars. My photo leasing company in NYC, The Everett Collection, continues to do well and can be seen in in photo credits in almost any magazines with entertainment photos. The collection has 2,500,000 available entertainment photos: everettcollection.com. Regards to my classmates and all Maiyeros.”

Ivan Light has written a spy-vs.-spy thriller called Deadly Secret of the Lusitania. In this historical novel, an insurance investigator and his fiancée have undertaken to assist a stevedore’s widow unjustly deprived of her husband’s life insurance benefit in July 1915. But the couple then find themselves unexpectedly in possession of the suppressed, secret truth about the Lusitania. Visit the website: www.deadlysecretofthelusitania.com.

1960s ’61 C

Dave Cook is keeping busy recording magazines and books for the blind. On screen, he was Robert Duvall’s body double in The Judge and also played Alfred, Batman’s butler, in Caped Crusader - The Dark Hours. He will also be announcing on the first tee for the 13th year of PGA Tour’s playoff event the Deutsche Bank Championship.

Hardy Jones is living in Florida with wife, Deborah, chow, and cat, and appreciating the warm weather. He reports that he had lunch with Terry and Pam Hannock. “Discovered he and I are both painters. Fondly remembering art history class by JP Cosnard. Thought I would hate it but was enthralled.

Still working on dolphin issues, now on stopping slaughter of dolphins in Peru for shark bait. We’re using crowdfunding to raise funds for a film. I’m in for back surgery soon. Trepidation but hopeful it will get me back on my feet.”

Stim Kennedy writes, “As you may or may not know, I have been battling cancer (multiple myeloma) for almost five years now. So far, this is not a curable cancer. However, I maintain a positive attitude and have many friends and my ex-wife’s family in daily prayer for me.”

Howard J. Morrison, Jr. writes, “Poor dirt farmer Howard Morrison is now growing organic ginger, turmeric, and galangal and then creating healthy and delicious end products: ginger honey, ginger syrup, ginger snaps, ginger candied pecans, chocolate covered ginger, two ginger teas and two ginger ales/beers (one with mint and the other with turmeric). See: www.verdantkitchen.com. The sales department is selling faster than the ‘production department’ can produce.”

BULLETIN | SPRING 2015 37

’62 RH Davyne Verstandig writes, “I continue

1

teaching English and Creative Writing at UConn as well as giving readings and writing workshops. Check out my website www.davyneverstandig.com. I am also enjoying my weekly visits to see my grandsons Michael, 1, and Eric, 4, and my daughter, Deva, who all live in Groton. My son-in-law is a nuclear technician aboard the newest sub, U.S. North Dakota.”

’63 RH Rozzie Chubb Davis writes: “We had a great

2

3

4

1 Peter Elebash ’55 and wife,

4 Five Rosemarians and one

Jane, live in West Palm Beach.

2 Dave Phillips ’61, Mazie St. John, widow of Headmaster Emeritus Seymour St. John ’31, and Headmaster Alex Curtis at a Choate luncheon on Jupiter Island, Fla. in March.

3 Lane Morrison ’63 is on the board of the Nemours Wildlife Foundation, which owns 9,800 acres in the Ace Basin of South Carolina. Here he is banding black-bellied whistling ducks last summer.

Choatie enjoyed breakfast last September at Downyflake Doughnuts on Nantucket.

From left, Sue Bristoll Sayles ‘61, Hether Macomber Turner ‘59, Judy Hetzel Jones ‘63, Dede Hetzel Jagger ‘61, Alice Chaffee Freeman ‘63, and Sam Turner ‘60.

family Christmas and New Year. All our grandchildren growing and thriving in every way. One of them, Wyatt, turned seven on January 8. He adores Harry Potter books, so his other grandmother and I went on his birthday trip to Universal and its Harry Potter Worlds. I am still sitting on several non-profit boards and trying to adjust to being part of the oldest generation. Still think I am young, but glad to have these birthdays 52 years after leaving RH”.

Donna Dickenson (and husband Chris) spent Christmas in New Mexico with her daughter Pip. Donna writes that she seems to have just about the right amount of work, with lots of invitations to do things that interest her. Recently she was interviewed by an Austrian film crew for a documentary on ‘future babies’.

Penny Griffith Dix weathered the winter cold by taking short trips to visit friends in Florida and Arizona. But their big trip this year is to Portugal, Spain and Morocco, along with sailing through the Straits of Gibraltar.

Alice Chaffee Freeman’s daughter Sarah and her husband, Daniel, have given up the New York rat race and moved to Vermont. Both are looking for jobs. Alice’s other big excitement is the completion of filming of Go With Me based on her husband Castle’s novel of the same name. The film stars Anthony Hopkins, Ray Liotta, Julia Stiles and Hal Holbrook, and it is due to be released in November. Alice sees Lorna Tighe DeZengotita periodically, and reports that Lorna’s doing fine. She is happily commuting into New York from her home in Rhinecliff one night a week to help care for her grandson, Luke. Both Lorna’s kids live in NYC. Doreen McClennan Gardner writes: “With a year and a half into our retirement, we have been enjoying a number of road trips, the most recent of which was in the fall of 2014. We embarked on a 4,000-mile trip through 10 states and into 11 National Parks throughout the West. I am an instructor for AARP Driver Safety Classes and volunteer at the Morro Bay Estuary Program and at a local college.”

In early summer, Jean McBee Knox and husband Dick will be moving to the new house they have built in Center Sandwich, N.H. Angela Treat Lyon was invited to show at a Honolulu gallery and has about two dozen paintings and a few stone sculptures at Nohea Gallery in Honolulu. She has also put together a catalogue of her artwork, gifts (prints, pillows, tote bags, etc.) and books, which can be found at angelatreatlyonart.com.

Margo Melton Nutt visited Margo Heun Bradford in Bethesda in November. In addition to some sightseeing in the DC area, the two Margos spent time planning their spring trip to England (the Cotswolds and London), during which they will spend a couple of days with Donna Dickenson near Oxford.

Judy Shaw Richardson’s cruise to Panama last fall was a definite success. She writes, “We made it through the canal and can take that off our bucket list.” She says Costa Rica was amazing, as was Colombia. Her four grandchildren are great.

Betsy O’Hara Stiefvater writes: “I moved [from Germany] to Cornwall, England in March, and I have a new partner as well, Clive Atherton, so if anyone makes it all the way to Blisland (pop. 500) on the edge of the Bodmin Moor, do look us up. It is incredibly beautiful there and we can offer an ancient village church, a community store and quaint English pub almost next door, as well as endless hiking paths.

Here is my email address: bobo@jaybo.eu.”

Reeve Lindbergh Tripp has visited and been visited by children and grandchildren during the winter, and has been working on various projects.

One of them is a program started in 2008 with the local Senior Center, a wonderful monthly memoirwriting group. Their second anthology, Good Living Review 2 was published in December. On a larger scale, The Lindbergh Foundation, established in 1977 and dedicated to preserving a balance between technology and the natural environment, has embarked on a program working to combat, through the use of aerial drones, the criminal poaching of rhino and elephants in South Africa and Namibia.

’65 C

Stephen Buck has transitioned from being “self-unemployed to semi-retired.” He has written a travelogue of his last nine months at: stephenbuck. info/travelogues/Nine_Month_Trip/Introduction.html He writes, “Originally we were to be in Paris for three months, but about 10 days before we were to arrive we lost the apartment that we were going to staying in and scrambled to get another through airbnb.

What am I going to write about? What I always write about - myself, also what every American writes about here - Paris. Will this city teach me to see, to understand what I see and then communicate it? Of course, it will be a love letter. I love Paris even though I don’t speak much French. I always start in French but it peters out rapidly. All in good time.”

Doug Cooper is still hoping he can attend the 50th reunion. He writes, “Unfortunately, it is the same weekend as CMU’s graduation. Late-May until lateJune, I will have a show of large (48” x 60”) drawings of New York City bridges at the Hirschl & Adler Gallery.

The gallery is in the Crown Building 730 Fifth Ave. between 56th St. and 57th St. The opening will be early evening, Thursday May 28th. You’re all invited.”

38 CLASSNOTES

’66 RH Ann Whipple Marr writes, “Since retiring in

’68 RH Carolyn “Lindy” Dewey writes, “I am currently

July, I’ve been spending some time in Haiti, working with an educational group in four rural schools outside the southern city of Jacmel. The experience has been both breathtaking and heartbreaking.

Wonderful students, dedicated teachers, and more challenges than one could imagine. Our work is mostly in professional development for teachers, supplying them with opportunities to extend (or finish) their education, providing workshops on relevant topics, getting into the classrooms to demonstrate, co-teach, or observe instruction. An amazing experience – very humbling and incredibly rewarding.”

living in northwest Montana where I am semi-retired and working harder than I ever have creating the Spiritworks Herb Farm, Learning and Healing Retreat Sanctuary near Glacier National Park. You can learn more about what I am up to at www.spiritworks.us.”

’66 C

Noel Hynd did the translation, and Patricia White ‘88 did the lettering, of the first Englishlanguage edition of Hot Charlotte, a graphic novel originally published in French by Les Editions Glenat, Paris. Hot Charlotte is available from Red Cat Tales Publishing.

Rod Walker writes, “I retired a few years ago and moved to our property near Charlottesville, Va. Now I am forming a nonprofit to address invasive species that threaten to destroy forests across 10 counties of northwestern Virginia. Our targeted area is just under 3 million acres and includes the entire Shenandoah National Park. We have a veritable Who’s Who of conservation organizations, federal agencies, state agencies, non-profits, foundations, and public and private landowners involved in creating this program. If any of you are interested in forestry and conservation, feel free to track me down. And if any of you are coming by the area, let me know and stop by.”

’67 RH Mary Louise Lange writes, “I continue to learn from the challenges in my 28th year as a psychologist at an outpatient clinic in Nyack, N.Y. I love spending my free time with my dog, Lola, exercising, and adventure traveling.”

’67 C

Chip Mixter writes, “Still enjoying plastic surgery after almost 30 years in practice. Working at the Partners in Health Hospital in Mirebalais, Haiti four times per year.”

’69 RH Kat Bennett Bastis writes, “I moved back into the city permanently about four years ago – feels like coming home. I’m living on the Upper West Side in an apartment that gives me studio space … and more room than the 400 sq. ft. I was in for two years in the West Village! I am also still working in a studio at the Art Students League mainly for the drill press, band saw and the great community. I work with salvaged materials … if anyone is interested you can see more at www.kathleenbennettbastis.com.” Kat had a solo show in April called Permutations - at First Street Gallery, 526 West 26th Street in Chelsea. She adds, “My oldest son lives in San Francisco - working in a tech related company, and think I have lost him to the West Coast for good … younger son lives in Brussels making his way as an artist.”

Margie Pollack Bondy is still decorating and has picked up a new demographic – octogenarian friends of her mother. They’re downsizing, so they need help deciding what to take to smaller spaces, repurposing furniture by reupholstering, arranging furniture and accessories and hanging art. Margie’s husband, Dick, is still enjoying his work with AFLAC and daughter Diana is finishing up her master’s in school psychology at Fordham and working as a school psychologist at Scarsdale High School. Margie made it down to Wellington & West Palm Beach for an Equus charity riding exhibition and some general relaxation.

Connie Terry Ferguson is busy planning a party for her mother’s 95th birthday in April and putting together the itinerary for a trip to knock a few things off her bucket list in May. She and Bob will hear Turandot at La Scala, Traviata at Opernhaus Zurich and Eugene Onegin at the National Theater in Munich. She is happy to have missed the frigid temperatures and snow shoveling in Vermont: “Being a snowbird is not all that bad.”

Virginia (Baba) Bartholomew Keyser reports that the highlights of 2014 were mostly medical.

The year included husband Mac breaking his collar bone in a biking accident and subsequent surgery and Baba’s total hip replacement in October. That said, both are doing great and managed to get over 1,000 miles logged on their bikes in Vermont and Massachusetts.

Mia Byers Norton wrote “We are all fine.

Marshall Jr. got married and they are living in Richmond. Adam and Kim and our grandson are living in Madrid, Spain. Our little guy turns 3 in late March. They come home for good in late August and will live in Alexandria, Va. They have been abroad for three years. He is with the State Department. Alison is finishing up her master’s program in teaching this spring and is one of the few female employees at Harley Davidson here in Richmond. Marshall and I are enjoying our retirement.”

’69 C

Pat Crandall is in his 22nd year teaching in Jacksonville, Fla., after 20 years in the Navy. He reports his eighth grandchild arrived in February.

Dick Moberg writes, “For the past 35 years I have lived the entrepreneur lifestyle, developing advanced brain monitoring technology. We are currently creating the first Smart Neuro ICU to improve the management of head trauma and related disorders. Our recent work has been funded

by NIH and the Department of Defense and we now have a commercial product that is selling in the U.S. and Europe. I have been fortunate to have been able to follow my passion over the past decades and the wealth I have gained has been in the form of seeing ideas turn into products that help save lives. My current company has been growing rapidly which has been gratifying. Our last (and only) round of investors included my old Choate roommate, Dr. William Collins. My only other passion is snowboarding and I’m looking forward to when I can spend more than a few days each year in the snow.”

’68 Life is truly good and I welcome inquiries from RH friends, even those I have not seen since graduation. It is amazing how life circles back on earlier relationships and what happens when those connections are renewed.

–CAROLYN “LINDY” DEWEY ’68

BULLETIN | SPRING 2015 39 1 Helen Halpin ‘69, left, and

2 John Gelb ’72, Bill Henderson

3 Burditt Brothers, from left,

4 Andrew Cohen ‘73 and

classmate Vickie Spang ’69, right, in Tiburon, Calif.

’72, and Bill Hilton ’72 gathered for a few days of sun in Culebra.

John ’70, Benjy ‘76, Fred ‘69 and Tim ’72 on campus for a lacrosse game

Stephen Davis ‘73 5 RH ’75-76 at Christmastime in New Haven. From left, Maggie

Moffitt Rahe ’75, Leslie Atkinson ’76, Dorothy Hurt ’75, Liz Flavin ’75, Annie Lewis Drake ’75, Allison Peck Hughes ’75

6 Jamie Campbell ’73 walked

his daughter, Sasha, down the aisle on August 2, 2014.

2

4

1

1970s ’70 C

John Faber writes that he will again be the Starter for the 2015 WGC-Cadillac Championship at the Trump Doral in Miami, Fla. This will mark his seventh year with the event that encompasses the top national and international players in golf.

Norm Wu writes, “For most of the past 25 years, I’ve been a serial entrepreneur. After starting tech ventures in software, semiconductor IP, optical networking and more recently in healthcare, I was recruited two years ago as CEO of i-Human Patients, an innovative education technology company focused on providing online virtual patients. We simulate complete, interactive patient encounters so that healthcare students and practitioners can rapidly develop and perfect the way they assess, diagnose and treat patients. As a social venture, our goal is to enable healthcare providers to deliver higher quality and more cost-effective care, while accelerating the training of clinicians to address the global shortage of healthcare professionals.”

’72 C

Steve Monroe writes, “Saw Kim Oler and Bill Henderson at John Gelb’s 60th birthday bash in NYC late last year. No one looked a day over 59. Our Condolences to Haigh Reiniger on the death of his beautiful daughter, Lindsey, in January.”

’73 C

Jim Bertles is happy to announce that he and his wife, Lisa, are grandparents. James Ernest Hennigan was born on March 12, 2014.

3

5 Tim Bradley writes, “My mother, Leah Catherine Slater, passed peacefully on April 1. She was 91 years old. For those who were fortunate enough to have met this feisty and spirited woman, please take comfort in knowing that she was ready and that she is at peace. She was always so incredibly proud of Choate and its influence on my life and our family’s lives.”

Mike Bruno writes, “I lost my father, Al Bruno, on October 5, 2014. Great dad and just a great guy.”

Malcolm (M.J.) Byrne published a new book, Iran-Contra: Reagan’s Scandal and the Unchecked Abuse of Presidential Power in fall 2014. He continues to live in Washington, D.C., and invites any and all fellow ‘73ers to call or visit anytime.

James (Jamie) O. Campbell, host of Business Talk with Jim Campbell, a nationally syndicated radio business talk show, recently had two Choate ‘73 classmates on the show – M.J. Byrne speaking on his book and Andrew Cohen speaking on his book about a Choate alum, Two Days in June: John F. Kennedy and the 48 Hours That Made History (reviewed in the Winter 2015 Bulletin.) Jamie's show can be heard on Yale Radio and 1490AM WGCH Greenwich on Sundays from 10 to 11 a.m. EST. Andrew Cohen with his wife, Mary Gooderham, braved the snows on a drive from Ottawa to Chester, Conn., to give a talk on his new book, Two Days in June over Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend. Andrew spoke to the congregation where Stephen Davis ‘73 is president. Stephen’s new book, Bonfire of the Nest Eggs: What’s Wrong with the Financial System and How to Fix It, is due out from

6 Yale University Press in March 2016. Stephen is a senior fellow at Harvard Law School specializing in corporate governance, also the field of Jon Macey ‘73, who is with Yale Law School.

David White writes that he has started an agency in Banjul, Gambia in West Africa employing Gambians to work on cruise ships. “We are currently hiring partners with Norwegian Cruise Lines and have 88 Gambians going to work from jobs such as cooks and servers all over the world on Norwegian ships. Gambia is a very poor country and this enables everyone to make excellent wages and bring the money back to their families. We plan to expand all over West Africa and work with other cruise lines.”

’74

C Russell Davis writes, “I’ve cut law practice to 20%, spending the rest on a new startup medical device development company, called Alkamie Group. Although we don’t turn lead into gold, we are creating class II medical devices and spinning them into sustainable companies. San Diego remains a fantastic spot for med device development, coupled with wireless communication.”

’76 RH Bette Ann Sacks Albert writes, “My daughter Brittany, who graduated from Hamilton, worked for Sotheby’s in the Prints Department and now is the Donor Relations Coordinator for young donors at the American Friends of the Israel Museum in NYC. Remy, a Bates graduate, is a Marketing Assistant in Integrated Marketing at Martha Stewart Living Magazine.”

40 CLASSNOTES

Dominique Callimanopulos is the owner of a philanthropic travel company, www.elevatedestinations.com, that this year became the first company to launch a Buy A Trip, Give A Trip platform. For every trip her company books worldwide, they sponsor an excursion for local youth to get to see sights normally reserved for tourists. Dominique lives in Boston.

Her daughter, Alexa Clay has a new book The Misfit Economy, being released in June by Simon & Schuster, which has been called out by The Daily Telegraph, the Huffington Post and the World Economic Summit as a must-read in 2015. Dominique and Erica Disch (formerly Erica Ellis ‘76) are still best buds and are traveling to New Mexico together soon.

’77

RH Bonnie Hutchinson Zellerbach had a wonderful time at the 125th anniversary reunion in Bangkok in March. She writes, “While I was the only member of the class of ‘77, it was good fun to meet and share stories with fellow alumni. It was particularly nice to see Tom Yankus and to meet his daughter who was born years after we graduated.

I kept chuckling to myself because I remember my 16-year-old self thinking Tom was ‘old’ when we were there; old is definitely a relative term now! Please let me know if you are ever in Bangkok.”

’78

Phil Squattrito writes, “In 2014, I marked 25 years as a professor in the Department of Chemistry at Central Michigan University. My main work these days is teaching general chemistry to future generations of doctors, engineers, and the occasional chemist. I am also active in our faculty union, serving on the last two bargaining committees (collective bargaining is not dead in the Midwest yet) and chairing the grievance committee. Outside of the university, I am in my sixth year as chairperson of the Union Township Planning Commission, which oversees development in the municipality of roughly 10,000 residents that encircles the city of Mt. Pleasant.”

1980s ’80

Michael Lewyn is finishing a one-year visitorship at the University of Missouri at Kansas City law school. He has been busy both in the scholarly community and in the community at large; he recently spoke at a conference of property professors at Washburn Law School on “Smart Growth Oriented Density and Parking Regulations”, and recently published an article in the Real Estate Law Journal on gentrification (works.bepress.com/lewyn/96/ ). In addition, he has created a “Car-Free in Kansas City” webpage (mlewyn.wix.com/autofreekc ). In August he will move to Pittsburgh to begin another one-year stint at the University of Pittsburgh’s law school.

Gordon St. John writes, “My family and I are looking forward to the 2015 Choate graduation of Jake and Alex Amorello, twin sons of my sister, Susan St. John Amorello ’84. With this, we will extend the Choate Rosemary Hall family tradition to five generations of St. Johns – great aunt Gladys Watkins Seymour RH 1905 and great-grandfather Seymour St. John through Alex and Jake. As for me, I am excited to report that daughter Ashley will be finishing her second year of her PhD program at Boston University.

Son Chris will graduate from Princeton, alma mater of great, great uncle Jim St. John ’28. Chris is a chef and will likely head to Oregon to carve out his niche.

Alex, the youngest, is at UVM. My questionable hockey career continues in an ‘old man’ league. Most important, marriage is going strong after 31 years. Business at Pentra, the employee benefit consulting firm I lead, provides plenty of challenge and opportunity.”

Kenny Tung finally launched into advisory mode last year but continues to provide ad hoc general counsel services to mostly foreign investors in Asia. A few months ago, he started to advise a top U.S. private equity fund to help look after risks in the China portfolio companies. Recently he also began an engagement to advise ZF, a German auto components company, to facilitate the Asia Pacific aspects of the closing and integration of their acquisition of TRW.’81

Tom Colt writes, “I have been living in Pittsburgh since 2008 with my wife, Megan. I work at Shady Side Academy as a college counselor and assistant cross country coach. In the summer I am a narrator for Just Ducky Tours of Pittsburgh. My wife and I have been able to take some great vacations over the past few years to places such as Iceland, Cuba, Panama, Peru, and Colombia.”

’82

Kalen Hockstader Holliday writes, “The silver (no pun intended) lining of being eligible for an AARP card was reuniting with so many (hate to say it) old friends. I was fortunate to have many Choaties come to my December birthday celebration in Sleepy Hollow, including Page Vincent - who came despite the party taking place on her own birthday, Cynthia Houx, Christine Mulkiewicz, Dave Seaman, Caroline Vincent Mockridge ‘84 and my brother, Lee Hockstader ‘77. It was wonderful kicking off the birthday year back in May with one of my Choate roommates, Laura Rawlings, with 12 of our college classmates in Arizona. Lynn Pantano Dale had a rooftop birthday celebration in Boston last June that showcased her amazing event planning skills. When not celebrating birthdays, I’m directing communications for Covestor, an online investing company. My company relocated from Times Square to Boston’s financial district two years ago.”

Jim Loughlin writes, “I am planning to move my law practice around the corner, directly across from the Wallingford Public Library and adjacent to the Choate campus. I see Tom Daly, Dave Valenti and Ken Mita frequently. But most important, I believe Will Aufderheide can be seen in Nissan television commercials. If it is he, I never knew Will was so good looking. How’d he get that gig? If it’s not him, my recollection about his looks remains undisturbed.”

LEFT Taylor Safford ’77 and Chris Rice ’72

CENTER Jim Sherman ‘80 escaped the

on Pier 39 in San Francisco. Taylor, who is president of Pier 39 (www.pier39.com), and Chris met while Chris was working on a project for Pier 39. They realized they both went to Choate!

brutal Northeast winter with a 10-day Caribbean sailing trip. On a sailing yacht, he and a group of friends visited Antigua, St. Barth, St. Kitts, and Nevis.

RIGHT Ricky Posner ’82 and his wife, Isabel Serra, and their three children, twins Nicolás and Natalie, and Laura, with Director of Choate Rosemary Hall Summer Programs Eera Sharma. The Posners hosted a Summer Programs reception in Guatemala City.

BULLETIN | SPRING 2015 41

&

Last December, Headmaster Alex D. Curtis announced a new multi-year admission initiative involving Japan. Thanks to the foresight and generosity of Takashi Murata ’93, a Tokyo-based alumnus, the School is introducing a scholarship program specifically earmarked for Japanese students. The Murata US-Japan Scholars Program consists of grants for talented Japanese students to study at Choate for both summer school and the academic year. The first Murata US-Japan Scholar will attend Summer Programs this June.

BULLETIN: A three-year student, you came to Choate

from Scarsdale High School and enrolled in our Summer Programs in 1990. As a ninth grader in Scarsdale, you attended a Japanese school every day after the school day ended and considered, at one point, returning to Japan for high school. What made you decide to come to Choate?

TAKASHI MURATA: My parents wanted me to go back to Japan for high school, so every day after I finished my classes at Scarsdale High I had to go to a cram school to study for the entrance exams. I had a strong desire to stay in the U. S., and pushed back hard. My parents budged at the end and allowed me to stay here. My father learned about Choate through a business contact who was an alumnus.

The Choate admission office told me I had to prove myself in the summer program. Fortunately I was able to do so with B/B+ grades, but it did not come easy for me. On one occasion, I remember calling home in tears thinking I was not going to make it.

B: English teacher Doug James noted that as a student you were a “resourceful scholar with an engaging style and mind.” What classes had the most impact on you at Choate?

TM: The humanities classes, history and English.

Oddly, I was much better at math, science, and problem-solving. Thinking back, I feel the small class settings and my attempts to engage in class discussions had a big impact on me. I am not that talkative by nature so it took some getting used to, but that struggle definitely had a lasting impact.

A

TAKASHI MURATA ’93 with

by Lo r r a i n e s. c o n n e l ly

B: You were a varsity wrestler at Choate and member of the 1992-93 Founders League Championship team.

Your wrestling coach, Jay Hutchinson, said, “Nobody works harder than Tak.” You were also elected as a house prefect in McBee. How did those early leadership opportunities prepare you for later management positions in the business world?

TM: I still remember Coach Hutch talking to the team about how he loved wrestling because on any given day anyone could beat an opponent who is much better. He talked about how 90 percent of winning is attitude and all of the rest – physical attributes, technique – was 10 percent. That frame of mind is something that I have carried with me since. By the way, I still keep up with grappling through Brazilian jiu-jitsu, but I must say it gets harder every year. As for being a prefect, I remember wondering how I would compare with my sophomore year prefects. Pretty quickly, I realized I couldn’t be like them. I had nowhere near the cool factor that they did. You just realize you need to be yourself and do the best you can. That’s true of anything I have done so far. More recently, in 2011, I took over as the head of my group in Japan and later built our Australia business. I learned to embrace my own leadership style as opposed to being too conscious of what my predecessors did.

B: After Choate you majored in economics at Penn.

Did you head straight to Goldman Sachs right after that?

TM: No. My first job was with Secured Capital Corp., a real estate advisory firm in L.A. Then I moved to Japan. After the move, by chance I met a Goldman partner who was setting up a new business there, and I was offered a job. It happened so quickly, I remember thinking how hard it was as a college student to even get a final-round interview with a bulge bracket investment bank.

B: At Goldman Sachs, you have had meteoric success.

You were named a managing director in 2005, and just three years later, in 2008, you became a partner. Membership in the partnership pool is one of Goldman’s highest honors. As a Choate student you said that “tolerance and self-awareness” were the most important personal attributes. Do you find that is still true?

TM: I was lucky to be able to ride the wave of a new business within Goldman at an early stage in my career. I have been with the firm’s principal investing and lending group for 17 years. I joined at the inception of the group, and it was at a time when all Japanese banks had to massively clean up their balance sheets. There were a lot of opportunities to invest. Riding a wave of a new business platform is something my real estate professor at Wharton stressed as a key factor in elevating your career quickly. I like to say it was by design, but obviously there was a lot of luck involved. As for “tolerance and self-awareness” being important attributes, yes I absolutely think this is still true. It takes tolerance to create an open environment and it takes self-awareness to adjust and maintain that environment. It is imperative to embrace different views and people of different experiences and backgrounds.

B: Students from overseas have long been drawn to Choate. In a year when we are marking our 125 year history as a school, it is interesting to note that in 1908, the class valedictorian at The Choate School was Nobuyo Masuda, who was from Japan. What is your hope for the Murata US-Japan Scholars Program, and what do you hope it will achieve for global education?

TM: Wouldn’t it be great to have another Japanese valedictorian in the near future? My hope is that by taking the financial burden out of the equation, the program will allow more top-notch students in Japan to now consider U.S. boarding schools as a real option, and help create a bigger trend of Japanese students studying overseas at an earlier stage. Japan has been known as somewhat of a reclusive place and probably more so after two decades of economic deflation. Multicultural, multilingual Japanese talent is in short supply. I feel this in my job, and this is very concerning to me. However more recently the domestic and international trend is forcing many people in Japan to broaden their horizons and to think more globally again. Declining demographics is making overseas expansion an imperative for corporations. I hope this program comes at a right time and will benefit both Choate and Japan.

42 CLASSNOTES

Stacey E. Plaskett was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in November. A former Choate Rosemary Hall Trustee, she represents the U.S. Virgin Islands which is her ancestral home and where her family has lived for almost a decade.

’84 Liz Solovay writes, “When the phone rang and I recognized Choate on the caller ID my heart immediately swelled with pride. Do they want me to give an entrepreneurship lecture to one of their business classes? Do they want me to come speak about women’s empowerment? Or, maybe they want me to give an inspiring but humorous commencement address. After all, aren’t I a successful woman and a role model to many? Am I not the mother of five, a squash champion, and a super-multi-tasker? Did I not found a very successful small business – Lice Treatment Center? I picked up my iPhone and not knowing what to expect, I listened to the caller from Choate. ’Who? The school nurse? Lice? How many students?

That many? How soon can LTC get to Wallingford?’ I should have been thrilled that Choate would turn to me and my company in the school’s hour of need. I was. But … I was also a little disappointed that they weren’t calling me to request my soaring rhetoric or my inspirational life story. Then again, they did acknowledge that Lice Treatment Center is the best in the business.”

83

Ken Kennerly was inducted into the Palm Beach County Sports Hall of Fame. As executive director of The Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Ken presides over one of golf’s fastest-growing events, which, through his efforts, has raised $12 million for local charities.

’85

Maggie Brinckerhoff writes, “After 20-plus years working and living in NYC with my final position as the VP of Merchandising for Donna Karan Intl., I have stopped working. I’m working on our house renovation in Montclair, N.J. and spending time with my soon-to-be husband and his 14-year-old son and 9-year-old daughter. I started horseback riding with my daughter, playing golf, a lot of volunteer work at my kids’ school. I also spend time working for children with autism and cerebral palsy to receive horseback riding therapy. Looking forward to summer when we spend most of our time at our house in New Hampshire.”

Brian Hartzer writes: “I moved back to Sydney, Australia, in 2012 with my wife, Georgy, where I am now CEO of Westpac, one of the big banks here. I am hoping to make it to reunion this year.”

Elyse Singer writes, “I directed the premiere production of “Horseplay” at La MaMa E.T.C. this February and was accepted to the PhD in Theatre program at the CUNY Graduate Center beginning in the fall. My daughter and I enjoy living in Sunnyside Gardens, a historic district in Queens, where we sometimes run into Sharmeela Mediratta. I stay in touch with Erika Kindlund and Jennifer Stone Randolph. Hoping to make it to our 30th Reunion!”

’87

Kevin Kassover has been named Co-Chair of the Alumni Club of San Francisco. Please contact him at kevin@kassover.com with ideas for local events and/or a desire to volunteer.

Kate McNulty started a new job as Director of Planned Giving for the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco.

’88

Kate Byrnes is now in Vienna, Austria, serving as the U.S. Deputy Permanent Representative to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Allison Lurton writes, “I am happy to report that I was appointed General Counsel of the Futures Industry Association, a trade association in Washington representing Futures Commission Merchants and others in the cleared derivatives industry.”

Susan Whitmore writes that she is enjoying life in New Hampshire with her husband and son. “It’s been a great ski season but we’re looking forward to gardening and all the joys of summer with a 5-yearold. Wondering what Anne Dodge is up to.”

’89

Andrew Luca writes, “We moved back to Connecticut from California and are living in Redding.

Our kids are getting used to skiing in Vermont instead of Tahoe and I’m working out of PwC’s Manhattan office.”

1990s ’90

Stephanie Taylor Copelin writes, “I spent some time with Renee Bourgeois and her lovely family at a summer camp reunion in the Adirondacks (her husband and I were campers together). I see Suzanne Darmory regularly and hope to see her more when she moves a bit closer to me, in Connecticut.

I’ve been living in Wilton, Conn., for almost five years and work part-time in NYC - it’s just the right balance!

My husband and 7-year-old daughter just took a three-week trip to Thailand, which was amazing.”

’91

Anne Glass writes, “I am learning specialist and have been on the faculty at the Chapin School for the past five years. I am excited to share that I was recently awarded the Polly Rousmanniere Gordon Fellowship to study the neuroscience of reading at MIT this coming summer. In other news, I am enjoying life in NYC with my husband, Ron Hester, and my sons Jake (12) and Owen (9). I serve as a member of the Board of Downtown Little League.”

Mignon Z. La Bossiere (aka Zen L. Honeycutt), appeared recently in the eye-opening movie Bought about our food and medical system. She is founder of Moms Across America, a nonprofit national coalition of Unstoppable Moms. She is grateful to Mr. Generous’ teaching and impromptu debates which empowered her recently in speaking directly with the CEO of Monsanto at their shareholder meeting. Her organization has more than 400 leaders in 44 states and their motto is “Empowered Moms, Healthy Kids”. www.momsacrossamerica.com Alison Roxby was promoted to Assistant Professor of Infectious Diseases at the University of Washington in Seattle. Alison was awarded a grant from the National Institutes of Health to conduct epidemiology research on HIV susceptibility among women who use family planning in Nairobi, Kenya.

In addition to her ongoing collaborations in Kenya, she sees patients with HIV in Seattle and mentors medical students and residents.

BULLETIN | SPRING 2015 43

2

3

1

4

5

6 7

1 Ann Stanley ‘86 married Simon

Scheller of Zurich, Switzerland, on January 1, 2015. Simon, an architect and photographer, will join Ann in NY this summer. In October 2014, Ann started a new job at BNY Mellon as Managing Director and Counsel.

2 Abigail Zavod ’87 and Eddie Newbert eloped on April 8, 2014, at City Hall in San Francisco, Calif. The ceremony was witnessed by Abi’s brother, Matt Zavod ’90 and his wife, Meghan Brady Zavod. Nicole Ryan ’87 photographed the wedding. The festivities included celebrating with Kevin Kassover ’87.

3 The Shanahan cousins gathered in Wallingford for Christmas and took a long walk through the campus. From left, are Christian (4) and Luke Mehta (8), sons of Kate Shanahan ’92, and Jonah Schwartz (3), son of Nell Shanahan ’95. All are grandsons of former Headmaster Ed Shanahan.

4 Frederica Yang ’89 and husband, Andy Chao, welcomed a son, Andy Theodore Chao, Jr., who was born February 9, 2015. Baby Theo joins big sister, Celerina (9 ½).

5 Stephen Mullennix ’90 welcomed a son, Ayrton Teddy Mullennix, born February 2015. Big sisters, Charlotte (5) and Matilda (2), are excited with the new addition.

6 Jennifer Nodelman ’91 participated in the 2015 Boston Marathon on behalf of St. Francis House. A St. Francis House Board Member, Jennifer started running full marathons in 2008, always with the ultimate goal of running the Boston Marathon. Her very first marathon was the Marine Corps Marathon that her father had run 25 years earlier.

7 Luis Sanchez de Lamadrid ‘88 is living in Spain with his family. He is head of the Swiss bank Pictet & Cie and is preparing for the Spanish track and field championship in 400 meters.

44 CLASSNOTES

’92

Charlene Caprio just published a guidebook for Ikaria Island in Greece. Ikarians tend to live longer than most people in the world (and people want to know why). National Geographic explorer, Dan Buettner, found it to be one of the world’s “Blue Zones.” (www.bluezones.com). Charlene writes, “I lived on Ikaria for a year, working on environmental conservation projects, and I return about every year.

I co-authored the book with a Greek cartographer.” www.ikariaguidebook.com.

’93

Sarah Acheson Rand writes, “I am living in Mount Kisco, N.Y., with my husband, David, and our two sons, Max (8) and Jack (4). I continue to teach middle school Art at Wooster School in Danbury, Conn., where I am also the middle school Dean of Students. I am very happy to share that this winter a collection of my photography was on exhibit at the Lori Warner Studio and Gallery in Chester, Conn., as part of a the Average Joe Photo Show – an annual exhibition (started in 2013) featuring photography taken solely with mobile devices. This year’s water-themed exhibit tied in a philanthropic element with all proceeds going towards water.org. One of my photographs, entitled Nectarine, was awarded first place in one of two major categories.”

Ryan Makuck lives in Ellington, Conn., with his wife, Marcella, and their two daughters, Avery, 4, and Claire, 2. He writes, “I am an Emergency Medicine/Surgical/Hospitalist/Neurology Physician Assistant at Johnson Memorial Hospital. In May, I received the Excellence in Clinical Teaching award for precepting students from the Baypath University program. I was also recently elected Chairman of the Department of Allied Health and appointed as the first Physician Assistant ever to serve on the Medical Executive Committee at the hospital.”

Carol Thorstad-Forsyth was recently named a member of the DAR – Palm Beach Chapter. She is a partner – Registered Patent Attorney at Fox Rothschild LLP in West Palm Beach, Fla.

’97

Steve Carey and his wife, Emily Meeker, welcomed Kathleen Carey on February 2. Steve writes, “Mom, Dad, and Kathleen are all doing great!”

Alex Fleming and his wife, Mary-Katherine, welcomed their third child, a girl named Shiloh, in February. She joins her sister, Cheyanne (3) and her brother, RJ (2) in their rapidly growing household in Denver, Colo.

Shana Goldin-Perschbacher completed postdoctoral fellowships at Stanford University in music and feminist, gender, and sexuality studies.

She is now Assistant Professor of Music History at Temple University. She’s recently published articles on the musicians Meshell Ndegeocello and Bjork.

’98

Elizabeth Childs Sommer writes, “My premium nut and trail mix company, Sahale Snacks, was recently acquired by The J.M. Smucker Co. of Ohio. Our Sahale Snacks offices are staying in Seattle, which is where my husband, Matt Sommer and I will continue to live. I sincerely hope all Choaties will have a chance to try Sahale Snacks.”

’94

Lauren Wimmer and Odinn Johnson were married at City Hall in Brooklyn in September, 2014 and welcomed their son, Loki Ernest Cullen Johnson on December 31, 2014. They are living and working in the DUMBO neighborhood of Brooklyn. Lauren reports that classmate Sara Upton and her partner Scott Werner (cousin of Choate classmate Katie Bisbee) welcomed their son Nicholas last September.

They are living in Clinton Hill and Lauren and Odinn see quite a lot of them.

1

2

’95

Tom Muchiri Kabuga and his wife, Surhi, welcome the arrival of their second child, Kieron, on January 31, 2015.

4

’96

Chris Holinger moved to San Francisco about a year ago and is loving it. He writes, “I started a project with two friends in Mendoza, Argentina: Rule of Three wine was born out of a sense of adventure and desire to tell a story about a land uniquely suited to nurturing grapes, one small, interesting batch at a time. We have a 100% Malbec and our 2014 Rosado should be released around now. Go order some before we sell out! www.ruleof3wine.com Pete Mayer and wife, Dawn, and son, Luc, welcomed their second child, Dashiell Van Huysen Mayer. Pete writes, “We’re enjoying life in the San Francisco Bay area, where I have traded blue and gold for green and gold as the Director of Institutional Finance for the University of San Francisco.”

5

3 1 Jude Vitas (son of Michelle

2 Lauren Wimmer ’94 and

4 Juan Antonio and Arabella

and Ovi Vitas ’95) and Sam, Caroline, and Zooey Schamis (children of David and Becky Vitas Schamis ’91) were on campus for Deerfield Day 2014.

Odinn Johnson ’94 welcomed a son, Loki Ernest Cullen Johnson, on December 31, 2014.

3 Colm Rafferty ’94 and wife, Carol, welcomed a second son, Damien, in November, 2014.

The family lives in Beijing.

Cepeda, children of Camilo R. Cepeda ’93. The family resides in Sao Paulo.

5 Rodd Gerstenhaber ’94 and Laura Triviño Duran welcomed their third child, Maia Nila Gerstenhaber Triviño on May 19,

5

2014. Rodd and family are currently living in Mumbai, India.

’95

FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE In good times and in bad, people need to eat. It turns out pizza is a perennial favorite, whether you’re in Manhattan or Moscow.

Christopher Wynne ’95 was working with Russian mortgage backed securities in Moscow when the bottom fell out of the global securities market. He shifted his focus to pizza, and it’s become both a challenging and rewarding enterprise.

Christopher had purchased 51 percent of the Papa John’s Russian franchise as a “passive investment,” but that investment became very active once the 2008 financial crisis hit and wiped out his mortgage business.

Papa John’s became “a blessing in disguise,” he said.

In 2007, the business had four Papa John’s restaurants in Moscow. Today, there are 70 in three countries, including Belarus and Azerbaijan, and nearly 2,000 employees. The goal is to reach 100 restaurants in the next year and a half.

“Our sales have increased 10 times since we bought the business,” said Chris, on the phone from Moscow. “That’s the opportunity – there’s very little competition and everybody loves pizza.”

BULLETIN | SPRING 2015 45

CLASSNOTES | Profile Christopher Wynne

In the United States, pepperoni is the best-selling pizza. In Russia, pepperoni comes in sixth. For a while, Papa John’s sold a “From Russia with Love” pizza, which included mashed potatoes, but it turns out the Russians pretty much prefer any pizza with meat. There’s the top-selling chicken ranch, and also a “Supreme,” which has sausage, onions, and green peppers.

The biggest difference between Papa John’s in the U.S. and in Russia is that in Russia the restaurants are full service, including bars serving a full range of alcoholic beverages.

Delivery is also a big deal. Chris’s Papa John’s has a fleet of 300 cars – Daewoo Matizs – sporting the Papa John’s logo. There’s also a tremendous opportunity to expand delivery, said Chris, who cites the New York City area with about 10 million people and 4,000 establishments that deliver pizza, compared to 12 million Moscow residents and just 500 or so pizza establishments that deliver.

“Every different region or city has its own political structure that you have to deal with,” said Chris. “It’s a place where you test your grit and moral endurance on a daily basis, which makes life interesting.”

Hailing from Fort Collins, Colo., Chris had a grandfather who attended Choate, Richard Edwards ’37, and great uncle Howard ’39. Cousins Nathan ’98, and Lisa Edwards ’00 also were at Choate.

On the soccer field, Chris played fullback on a team that won the league championship, and gives major credit to varsity coach Watson Lowery and junior varsity coach John Ford with instilling the determination that helped him succeed in Russia.

“Doing business in Russia is mentally painful,” he said. “Every day there’s a new problem.”

“It tests character traits you otherwise wouldn’t test in business,” including endurance in dealing with problems over a long period of time, Chris said.

“You have issues you wouldn’t have to think of in the United States.”

Christopher started building his fluency in the Russian language in Naval ROTC while he was attending Northwestern University, majoring in economics. His graduate degree is in international affairs, earned at George Washington University. He used his Russian expertise researching arms proliferation for the U.S. government, which he said was interesting but did not exercise his creativity. He then imported computers, starting in 2002 when the Russian economy was still in the early stages before the big boom. That introduced him to a variety of people across the Russian economy, which has helped him build his business.

In 2013, Chris’s Moscow franchise was named Papa John’s international franchisee of the year. Chris is rightfully proud of the accolade. “Here it’s something I’ve built from scratch,” he said. “I feel like I’ve accomplished something.”

Chris typically returns to the U.S. once a month or every other month.

He’d been thinking he’d be in Russia for two or three years, but it’s turned into 14 so far.

“If you told me when I was at Choate that in 20 years I’d be selling pizzas in Moscow I would have said you are nuts, there’s no way,” he said. “But I couldn’t be happier.” by jeffery kurz Jeffery Kurz is general assignment editor and columnist at the Record-Journal in Meriden.

46 CLASSNOTES

CLASSNOTES | Profile

’95 Stewart Goodbody

Digital

C OKIES

Stewart Goodbody ’95 didn’t grow up a Girl Scout, but she wears the badge proudly now. “I’m an adult member,” she says, laughing.

Stewart joined the Girl Scouts of the USA in December 2013 as their Director of Communications. The time-honored institution is one of the most visible non-profits in the country; countless Americans have been impacted by the Girl Scouts.

It’s Stewart’s job to build from that base and bring the public perception of the Scouts into the future. “We’re trying to tell a new story about what Girl Scouts is,” Stewart says. “Everyone looks at Girl Scouts and thinks: cookies, crafts, and camps, but we’re much more than that.”

In December 2014, Stewart led the media launch for Digital Cookie, the first national online sales platform for the iconic program. Now, more than a 100 years after the first cookie was sold, you’re as likely to get a link from your local troop member as you are to get a visit to your front door.

The push for change began with the girls themselves. “They were telling us, for a while, ‘We really want to go online,’” Stewart says. Listening to what the girls want is at the core of the organization’s identity: “We’re girl-led, we’re girl-driven. We’re basically working for them.” The transition to digital is about much more than convenience. Each Digital Cookie participant has her own personal site, where she can list her goals and share how she plans to spend her cookie earnings.

“These are real, 21st century skills and they give our girls an advantage,” Stewart says. “They are basically learning how to run their own small online store.” Their success is in the numbers: Girl Scouts sell 800 million dollars worth of cookies a year, during a season that lasts only January through April.

And Digital Cookie is only one of many new initiatives.

“We need to move at the speed of girls and keep up with what they’re interested in,” Stewart says. “It’s all about giving them new opportunities and new experiences and our camps excel at that.”

They offer far more than sleepovers and nature hikes: “We have robotics camp, we have camp CEO. There’s a camp where girls are trained by first responders.”

The work that Girl Scouts do is personal for Stewart, and begins with her experience with public service as a student. “The culture at Choate is so tied to community service and giving back,” she says. “As a student, that was really so exciting to me, and I took advantage of the opportunity to be involved. I’m not sure that I would have seen working at a non-profit as a path for me if I hadn’t gone to Choate.” Over her career at many of New York’s top public relations agencies she worked with many non-profit clients, including KitchenAid’s Cook for the Cure. Now, at Girl Scouts USA, she sees the impact volunteers have on girls daily.

She hopes to attract a more diverse volunteer base. “We’re looking for more than moms. We’re looking for young professionals, college students, men,” Stewart says. Attracting new Girl Scouts and new volunteers begins, she says, with allowing the girls’ stories to be heard. “Every time I do a project with them, they impress me so much. People need to know what these girls are capable of.”

It’s a mission of increased importance to Stewart as the mother of two girls, ages 2 and 4. She lives with her young family in Brooklyn Heights, just blocks away from where the campaign headquarters of the country’s most famous Girl Scout, presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton, has established her presidential campaign headquarters.

Says Stewart: “I definitely believe that the first female president will be a Girl Scout.”

by lindsay whalen ’01 Lindsay Whalen ’01 is a Truman Capote Fellow in the Brooklyn College MFA Program.

BULLETIN | SPRING 2015 47

1

2

3

4

5 6

5

Mae Thornton Mehra is producing a documentary film with her husband, Atin Mehra, who is also the films director. Currently in post-production, the film is about prostitution in India’s Banchara tribe, where caste traditions have forced girls into the sex-trade for generations (www.bulbulthedocumentary.com). Recent transplants from NYC to LA, they’re soaking up the California sunshine with their three-year-old daughter, Alope.

Michael Rhodin and his wife, Elyse, welcomed their second child, Emma Susan Rhodin, on March 3, 2015. Big brother Adam is very excited to have a little sister. Michael was promoted from scientist to senior scientist at Enanta Pharmaceuticals in Watertown, Mass., where he works in R&D developing antiviral therapeutics.

Cait Unites moved from Rwanda to Haiti last year to continue working for Population Services International on sexual and reproductive health programs. She writes, “My Choate French classes are coming in handy here, though I have yet to find an opportunity to discuss existentialist literature or art history. One of the best things about being back in North America is that it is much easier to see people.

I spent time with Genevieve Croteau and her family over the holidays, and I will soon be on a beach in Mexico with Amanda Lucier, Christen (Eddy) Hadfield and Bianca Ferro. Genevieve Croteau is the Senior Director of Personnel at Sirens Media in Silver Spring Maryland. Amanda Lucier recently moved to Portland Oregon, where she is working as a documentary photographer. Christen (Eddy) Hadfield lives in the Bay Area with her husband Tom and 2-year-old son Elliot. Bianca Ferro is an Art Director for television and film and lives in LA with her daughter, Mila.”

’99

7 1 Geoffrey Kao ’96 was

selected as one of the “2014 Ten Outstanding Young Persons of Hong Kong.” The award was presented by the Secretary for Justice of Hong Kong.

2 Jessica Goldstein Malzman ’02 and her husband, Ari, welcomed their daughter, Quinn Sadie Malzman, on February 13, 2015.

Also celebrating the newest addition to the family were proud aunt Vanessa Goldstein ’04 and uncle Parker Goldstein ’16.

3 Amanda Todd Lynch ’98 and

husband, Barclay, welcomed their third child, Sadie Hathaway Lynch, on November 5, 2014. Sadie joins her older brother, Redington, and big sister, Mia. Amanda and her family live in Greenwich, Conn.

4 Katie Murphy ’97 married Patrick Foley on October 18, 2014 at Jacob’s Pillow in Becket, Mass. Classmates in attendance from left, Jacqueline (Blair) Telgheder ’97, Diana White ’97, Jack Downey ’98, Ann-Marie (Lawlor) Hyatt ’97, Suzy Gibbons ’97,

Stephanie Mauterstock ’97, the bride, Patrick Foley, Mary Hatch ’97, Aaron Rak ’97, and Lee Clark ’97.

5 Kimberley Chien ’97 married Eric Schwesinger on June 21, 2014, at the Palm House at Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, Brooklyn, NY. Seventeen years after graduation, she and her Choate classmates are still great friends. From left , Thuyanh Luong ’97, Kim, Christine Durongapidya ’97, and Marie Suwannukul ’97.

6 Damarie O’Toole Ocasio ’99,

and her husband welcomed a son, Caleb O’Toole, on December 2. Caleb’s sister, Alessandra (2.5), is a wonderful big sis!

7 Jim Vitali ’99 married Melissa Ganias on November 2, 2014, at Magen’s Bay on St.Thomas, USVI. Choate family and friends in attendance included Katie Vitali Childs ’95, Lisa Vitali ’93, Matt Kokoszka ’99, Brendan Cullinane ’99, and Kate Witherspoon ’00.

Mary Farnsworth is currently living in New Haven and is the Strategic Planner for the Connecticut Office of Early Childhood, a newly formed state agency.

Lauren Oakes defended her doctoral dissertation at Stanford’s Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources. Her research focuses on adaptation to climate change through a social-ecological approach and centers on yellowcedar decline, a tree species dieback associated with climate change in the Alexander Archipelago, Alaska.

Lauren has written about her work for the New York Times Green Blog.

48 CLASSNOTES

2000s ’00

1 4

2

3

Frank Gerratana is in his seventh year as an intellectual property attorney at Fish & Richardson P.C. in Boston. He was recently appointed Chair of the New Lawyers Committee of the American Intellectual Property Law Association.

Otessa Ghadar was recently interviewed by the Huffington Post and mentioned her Choate teacher Elizabeth Lowery in her answer to the question ‘Who influenced you?’ She writes, “I specifically mention Ms. Lowery as being a major inspiration to me as a youth – someone who inspired me and encouraged me and challenged me. The interview even made it to the front page of the Huff Post, which was neat. It was important to me that I pass this on as I feel so many of the high school teachers who changed our lives and strengthened our resolves … don’t get thanked nearly enough.” (See a review of Otessa's book The Wild West of Film on p. 63).

Andrew Stewart and his wife Lia and son Ryan welcomed their daughter, Isabel Brisset Stewart, known as “Ellie,” on January 2.

’01

Asha Agrawal and Lissa Moses ‘02 (former Choate hockey teammates) are now living together in San Francisco after bumping into each other at SXSW in Austin, Texas in 2014. Asha invests in sustainable companies at an environmental venture capital firm, Westly Group, and Lissa raises seed funding for Mosa Mack Science, an education startup that’s revolutionizing science education.

6

9

7

5

8

1 Jason Rahal ’99 and Tracy

3 Paul Falcigno ’98 and his

4 Shell Roberts ’01 married

5 Gunther Hamm ’98 and wife,

7 Zoé Bolesta-Reynolds ’02

9 Special Deputy Attorney

Zupancis Rahal ’99 announce the birth of their son, Thomas Zupancis Rahal, on February 23, 2014.

2 Carlos Machado ’99 and his wife welcomed a son, Carlos Alfredo Machado IV, on October 13, 2014. His sister, Sofia, is 3 years old. The family resides in Coral Gables, Fla.

wife, Kelly, welcomed a son, Philip Michael, into their family on November 8, 2014. His big brother Grant LOVES playing with him!

Winthrop (Win) H. Smith III (Brunswick ’98) on his family farm in Litchfield, Conn., on September 27, 2014. The couple, who met at Amherst College, currently resides in Greenwich. Choaties in attendance included Aaron Roberts ’02 (groomsman/brother of the bride), Riley McCarthy ’02 (bridesmaid), Samir Gautam ’02, Darren Norton ’02, and Lili Ruane ’77 (stepmother of the groom).

Anna Fang, welcomed a son, Konrad.

6 Alexandra Jordan ’01 and husband, Josh Stinchcomb, welcomed Lily Alexandra Stinchcomb on December 21, 2014. The family resides in Brooklyn Heights. Allie is pursuing her Ph.D. in clinical psychology at Columbia University Teachers College.

and husband, Garth Reynolds, welcomed Élodie Grace Reynolds on January 13, 2015, in Oakland, Calif.

8 Emily Levada ’01 and husband, Jonathan Kirtz, welcomed son, Zander Marcus Kirtz-Levada, this past December. All are happy and healthy living in Boston, where Emily is associate director of onsite merchandising for the Wayfair family of brands.

General Anthea Jay Kamalnath ‘02 with her boss, California Attorney General (and U.S. Senator Candidate) Kamala D. Harris, at the Attorney General's inaugural ceremony at the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, Calif., on January 5, 2015.

BULLETIN | SPRING 2015 49

CLASSNOTES | Profile Behind a nondescript black door in the vibrant Shoreditch neighborhood of London, Isabel Lizardi ’01 and the team at Bare Conductive push, in her words, the “boundaries between the physical and the digital.”

The company designs and manufactures technologies that connect any surface, object or space to the digital world. Isabel, the company’s co-founder, is head of finance and marketing.

Its first product, Electric Paint, began as a group project at the Royal College of Art at Imperial College London. The carbon-based paint conducts electricity and enables its users – ranging from children with pens from the shop at the Museum of Modern Art or kits from a local toy store to amateur coders to technological innovators – “to draw a circuit, cold-solder a component, or turn any surface into a sensor.”

Bare Conductive’s Touch Board is a piece of hardware that can transform Electric Paint sensor data into sound, light or data, she says. Touch letters painted on a wall with Electric Paint and connected to the Touch Board, and a voice sounds, “A is for apple!”

Across the room, the same components set up another way enable a user to touch a painted-on light switch to switch on a lamp that illuminates a dark corner. The fun-loving team also set up a sensor on the steps that announces “Intruder Alert!” when the office dog – Isabel’s spunky pug, Rory – bounds up to the third floor to say hello.

Though the diverse team includes engineers, Isabel’s own background is in fine art and design. After graduating from Choate and before starting in the Innovation Design Engineering program at the Royal College of Art, Isabel earned a degree in Japanese Studies and Fine Art from the University of Pennsylvania and spent two years in Japan teaching English and researching handcrafts.

Finding only high-cost and high-toxicity materials for her design projects, Isabel converged with peers from diverse fields to develop consumer-based versions of manufacturing materials. Bare’s nontoxic, solvent-free, and water-soluble Electric Paint dries in five minutes, can be used on conventional electronics as well as on wood, paper, plastic, or fabrics, and comes off with soap and water.

Most customers buy Bare Conductive’s products to use as gifts or toys; about a third of customers use them as tools. Only one to three percent of customers are innovators.

Based on the notion that people with flexible and user-friendly tools left to their own devices will innovate, Isabel relies heavily on social media and making sure that it is as easy as possible for customers to share their creations. On bareconductive.com, anyone can see projects posted by other users or share their own.

Highlighting the wide appeal and application of the company’s products, Isabel notes, “You don’t have to know how to code to use Bare’s Touch Board.” The circuit board has 12 input probes that can be extended using the paint and programmed for different outputs.

This can be straightforward, as in the case of the talking alphabet board or the intruder alarm, which trigger an mp3 file when a user touches the Electric Paint. In the hands of someone with even amateur coding ability, the Touch Board can produce much more sophisticated outputs, and even be connected to the Internet.

Bare initially funded its Touch Board with a campaign in late 2013 that had a goal of raising £15,000. With 1,895 backers, the project raised £122,907. The tool is designed as “an easy-to-use platform” to make projects interactive, responsive, smart or just fun.

It has touch and distance sensing and works with standard headphones and speakers. There is no need to program anything, Isabel says, “unless you want to!”

One of the best parts of owning a business, she reveals, is directing its vision. When Bare launched, painting a circuit – now easily replicated by others – was new. It is impossible to predict in what directions user innovations could push the company’s vision next, and what the commercial and industrial applications might be.

The Bare Conductive team now stands at eight full-time employees, and Isabel notes that the company is always looking for talent. Working for Bare is “more about flexibility [of] mind [and] mindset… than background,” she says.

’01

PUSHING BOUNDARIES

Isabel Lizardi

by hannah higgin ‘05 Hannah Higgin ’05 is a Ph.D. candidate in American History at Cambridge University.

50 CLASSNOTES

’04

John D’Agostini started a leadership training business that uses sport, fitness, and virtues training to develop teams, groups and individuals into leaders. His deeply valued experiences at Choate were a driving force in his decision to form “Inside Out Leadership Training.” The business is mobile and growing quickly, with clients ranging from adolescents to adults. For more information, visit www. insideoutleadershiptraining.com.

’05

1

4

Jenny Bierce and Colin Judd will be embarking on the journey of a lifetime in July, driving a tiny car from London to Mongolia in an effort to raise money for Charity: Water. Over the course of one month, they will pass through more than 20 countries, raising awareness for Charity: Water’s mission to bring clean water to every person on earth.

In order to make the trip possible, they are looking for sponsors and supporters to help get them there safely. Please visit their website www.khanquistadors. com or email khanquistadors@gmail.com for more information.

2

’06

Kaitlin Kunkler is getting her master’s in media, film and journalism studies at the University of Denver, where she is editing a documentary that focuses on empowering homeless youth in the city Denver. She is also working as a production assistant for Warren Miller Entertainment, a revered ski film production company.

’08

3

Emily MacLeod is currently in London studying at King’s College London for her MA in Shakespeare Studies. In the fall she will return to teach theater in Massachusetts.

4

’11

7

5 1 Hugh Patrick Keefe ’02

married Megan Conley at the Mt. Washington Hotel in June 2014. Currently, they reside in Atlanta, Ga. 2 Julia Fraser ’03 married Andrey Washington on Oct. 3, 2014, at the Prospect Park Boathouse in Brooklyn, N.Y. Choaties in attendance, front row, from left, Charlotte Fraser ’05 (maid of honor); classmates

Christine Leach; Julia, Rachel Attias; and mother-of-the bride, Lorraine Connelly. Back row, from left, stepfather and history teacher John Connelly, Shannon DeVore, Nick Cobbett, Catherine Tarasoff, and Lane Carpenter.

3 Jessica Martha ’04 married

5 Queenette Karikari ’05 got

Alexander Fennell on November 9, 2014.

4 Emma Iannini ’12, fourth from left, was a guest panelist on the Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore. She was representing the organization that she founded, Georgetown Against Gun Violence.

married on September 12, 2014, in Roslyn, N.Y. and was fortunate to have four of her best friends from Choate there: LeAnne Armstead ’04 ( bridesmaid), Salima Tongo ’05, Shanellah Verna ’05, and Myescha Joell ’04.

Sara Kirshbaum was a White House intern during the fall semester of 2014, working in the Office of Political Strategy and Outreach. She is currently completing her final semester at George Washington University, where she is a Political Science major.

Ifeoma Ozoma writes, “After graduating from Yale in May, I will be joining the Public Policy and Government Relations team in Google’s Washington, D.C. office as a policy associate.”

’12

Chloe T. Smith is a junior at New York University majoring in Social Work with a minor in Psychology.

WWW.CHOATE.EDU/SUMMER TAKE YOUR PLACE IN OUR HISTORY. Choate Summer Programs enjoys a rich tradition of academic excellence and innovation. Our curriculum today hones 21st century skills – collaboration, creativity, communication, and connection – while exploring content not traditionally found in middle or secondary school curricula.

For students currently in grades 6 & 7: • THEATER ARTS INSTITUTE / 4–week program / June 28–July 24 • MATH/SCIENCE INSTITUTE FOR GIRLS / 5–week program / June 28–July 31

For students currently in grades 8-11: • THE KOHLER ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER SUMMER INSTITUTE 4–week program / June 28–July 24

SUMMER DISCOVERY | MORE DETAILS ABOUT CHOATE SUMMER PROGRAMS

SUMMER DISCOVERY

OF

OF

YEARS

YEARS

100

CELEBRATING 100

Celebrating

52

IN MEMORIAM | Remembering Those We Have Lost Faculty and Staff

Elizabeth Mushinsky Mitchell

Andrew B. Noel III

Robert H. Williams ’49

Elizabeth Mushinsky Mitchell, Choate Rosemary Hall’s longtime Campus Visit Coordinator, died January 30, 2015, in Branford, Conn., of cancer. She was 78.

Liz grew up in Wallingford and graduated from Lyman Hall High School and Brown University. She then returned to Wallingford, where she was a reporter for the Meriden Record newspaper. It was her job that led her to meet her future husband, Alphonsus Mitchell, who was covering Wallingford for the New Haven Register. They married in 1960, and Liz devoted much of her time to rearing their children. In the late 1970s, she met Choate Orchestral Director Phil Ventre, who was trying to start a local orchestra; that led to her involvement with the new Wallingford Symphony Orchestra, which she served for many years as President and board member.

She was instrumental in starting the WSO children’s concerts and the annual outdoor July Pops. In 1979, she was hired by the School to do research for the Development Department, and in 1983 was appointed Associate Alumni Director, a position that evolved into the Director of Parent and Alumni Relations. For many years, Liz was the genial, welcoming “face of Choate” to the 2,000 prospective students and their families who visit the School each year. When she retired in 2013, the News commented, “Her friendly smile and her always-full bowl of candy spread happiness throughout campus.”

The feeling was mutual. “I love, love, love the kids at Choate,” she told the News. “They’ve become my kids … the students are always new, and it’s always fun.” Besides her husband, Alphonsus, of 243 S. Main St., Wallingford, CT 06492, she leaves four children: Ed Mitchell ’79, Sam Mitchell ’80, Chris Mitchell ’82, and Elizabeth Mitchell ’84; and 10 grandchildren, including William Mitchell ’08, Ellis Mitchell ’09, Adeline Mitchell ’11, Eleanor Mitchell ’11, and Andrew Mitchell ’13.

Andrew B. Noel III, the School’s Director of Financial Aid and Associate Director of Admission, died January 21, 2015 in Wallingford of cancer.

He was 46. Born in York, Maine, Andy was a graduate of Governor Dummer Academy and Bowdoin, and earned a master’s degree from Boston University. “A quintessential school man, Andy has been working in independent schools without pause since his graduation in 1992 from Bowdoin,” said Headmaster Alex D. Curtis. Before coming to Choate Rosemary Hall in 2000, he held various positions at Cardigan Mountain School, Lake Forest Academy, and Salisbury School. At those schools, he worked in admission and athletic offices and coached hockey, one of his great loves.

At School, Andy coached boys varsity hockey and junior varsity baseball. “He had an uncanny ability to give both clear, helpful instruction and powerful motivation to each athlete in his care,” Headmaster Curtis said. Andy had deep ties in the hockey community, and for many summers was a coach at Bobby Orr’s hockey camp. Orr admired Andy’s professionalism and poise, noting, “His outstanding work ethic is matched only by his desire to motivate players, both on and off the ice, to their highest level of aspiration.” He also worked with young people in the Wallingford Hawks, the Wallingford Little League, and Choate’s Athletics Advantage baseball program. Director of Admission Ray Diffley said that Andy “was an iconic symbol for character education espousing hard work with a smile; team was always number one.”

In April, Headmaster Curtis announced that the School’s Wallingford Scholars Program will be renamed – Andrew B. Noel III Wallingford Scholars Program – in recognition of Andy’s commitment to financial aid and his dedication to community both at Choate and in the Town of Wallingford. He leaves his wife, Kate Noel, 417 N. Main St., Wallingford, CT 06492; three children; a twin sister, Michelle Noel Fleck; his parents; and his grandmother. Friends have established a fund in Andy's memory www.fundraise.com/andy-b-noel-iiifamily-trust.

Robert H. Williams ’49, who taught at Choate Rosemary Hall for 40 years, died February 16, 2015, in Wallingford.

He was 83. Bob was born in New Haven and grew up in a Choate family; his father, Alphonse Williams, was a chef at School and his mother, Jeanne, was a nurse who occasionally worked at the Infirmary. Bob, known since childhood as “Bobo,” started in Choate’s first form in 1942, and from the outset was an excellent athlete. He played varsity football, hockey, and track, was hockey captain for two years, and was secretary-treasurer of the Athletic Association. He also won the School art prize, and his classmates voted him one of the “most influential” sixth formers.

After Choate, he went to Yale, where he also played football until a knee injury sidelined him. In 1952, thenHeadmaster Seymour St. John hired Bob, while he was still at Yale, to teach mechanical drawing. “He is tremendously hard-working, self-disciplined, and ever ready to give,” Seymour wrote in a letter to Yale. Bob spent one year, 1957-58, away from Choate working at Pratt & Whitney Aircraft in East Hartford, then returned for another 35 years at School. When he came back, he taught mathematics. “His teaching skills were renowned,” wrote Dan Rugg ’64. “One wondered how those Popeye-like arms could so delicately take a piece of chalk and demonstrate all the various formulas across the board without crushing it.” Bob was head of the mathematics department from 1971-73. From the beginning, he coached football, and was head coach from 1964-73. “In schoolboy football,” said retired teacher and fellow football coach Tom Yankus ’52, “there are practices and there are PRACTICES. Bob’s practices were events not to be missed, as he sprinkled a generous assortment of one-liners into his patter as he demystified the complexities of the game he loved.” Says Drew Casertano ’74: “To this day, I still hum his favorite song, ‘It’s a lovely day for whatever you want to do’ – which he would sing at football practice in the rain or snow, wearing his shorts.” The 1975 Brief was dedicated to Bob. In it, the editors wrote, “Bob Williams has represented to generations of students what a Choate teacher should be – a brilliant scholar, a dedicated coach,

BULLETIN | SPRING 2015 53

and a true friend. Blunt, outspoken in thought and action, Bob spends most of his waking hours working for his students.” In 1973, he took over the operation of the Dodge Shops, where he not only held woodworking classes but helped students and faculty build all sorts of projects. His own passion was boatbuilding, and when he and his wife, faculty member Harriet Blanchard, built a house on Cape Cod, they were able to sail Nantucket Sound in a sloop of his own making. Bob retired in 1993. He leaves his wife, Harriet Blanchard, 333 Christian St., Wallingford, CT 06492; and two daughters, Michele W. Gibson ’73 and Suzanne Williams ’76; and two grandchildren, including Sarah Gibson ’06.

Alumni and Alumnae

’28 RH Mary “Polly” Edson, 105, died February 26, 2015, in Shelburne, Vt. Born in Cincinnati, she came to Rosemary Hall in 1925; her grandfather, Julian Curtiss, was prominent among those urging Caroline Ruutz-Rees to move the School from Wallingford to Greenwich.

Polly was a member of the Athletic Association, a Marshal, and in the Kindly Club, and she earned one bar on the Committee. She then attended Sarah Lawrence, where she studied history and art. After she married and moved to Greenwich, she was active in the community, volunteering in the children’s ward at Greenwich Hospital and working at a sports clothing store in Greenwich and, later, in Essex, Conn.

She enjoyed painting, especially in watercolors. Polly was chair of her class’ 50th Reunion in 1978. She leaves two daughters, including Nancy Edson ’62, 516 Acorn Ln., Shelburne, VT 05482; a son; six grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; and two sisters.

Her mother, Mary Curtiss ’02, and a niece, Ruth Cutler ’66, also attended Rosemary Hall.

’30 C John Richardson van Dyke, 102, a retired technology executive for several companies, died January 13, 2015, in Holland, Pa. Born in Newark, N.J., Rich, as he was known at School, came to Choate in 1928. He was in the French Club and the Glee Club.

After graduating from Princeton, he

worked for IBM, designing systems for the insurance industry. Later, he was with the Prudential and State Mutual insurance companies, RCA, and Sperry Rand. During World War II, Rich helped design and manage the U. S. Strategic Bombing Survey, which coordinated bombing raids in Europe. After the war, he designed and installed a system to automate Princeton’s Registrar’s Office. He retired in 1977 to Rehoboth Beach, Del., where he was active in the community. He spearheaded the drive to found a local YMCA and was its first President. He was later a Director of the Delaware YMCA and was inducted into its Hall of Fame in 2005. He leaves three children, including John van Dyke, 16 Allwood Rd., Darien CT 06820; and a granddaughter.

’35 C

Cad Walder Arrendell Jr., a retired surgeon, died January 1, 2015.

Born in Ponca City, Okla., Cad was at Choate for one year; he played football, basketball, and baseball. After Choate, he graduated from Brown, then joined the Medical Corps of the Navy, graduating from the University of Oklahoma School of Medicine. He practiced general medicine in Ponca City with his father and brother from 1949-51, then trained as a general surgery resident in New Orleans. He practiced general surgery in Charlotte, N.C., from 1955 until he retired in 1982. Cad enjoyed golf, croquet, barbershop quartet singing, and painting in watercolors. He leaves his wife, Charlotte Arrendell, 29 Wagon Trail, Black Mountain, NC 28711; two daughters; four grandchildren; two step-grandchildren; and a step-greatgrandchild. A son predeceased him. A brother, the late Eugene H. Arrendell ’37, also attended Choate.

John J. Osborn, 96, a retired surgeon, died April 25, 2014, in Belvedere, Calif. Born in Detroit, Jack came to Choate in 1931. He was in the Cum Laude Society and the Glee Club, and played horn in the Band. After Choate, he earned degrees from Princeton and Johns Hopkins Medical School, and completed a residency at New York University College of Medicine.

There, he became interested in the oxygenation of blood, and in the 1950s he and another surgeon invented the heart-lung machine that made open

heart surgery possible. Its first use was in 1956. In his later years, Jack was affiliated with the California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco. He enjoyed sailing, and hand-built a 36-foot brigantine. His first wife died in 2004; he leaves his second wife, Sheret Osborn, 41 Salinas Ave., San Anselmo, CA 94960; eight children; 19 grandchildren; and several great-grandchildren.

’37 C

Chauncey O. Page, 96, died November 23, 2014, in Bethesda, Md. Born in East Orange, N.J., Chauncey came to Choate in 1935, where he was President of the Band and the leader of the Golden Blues, playing saxophone.

After Choate, he graduated from Yale, and in World War II was in the Army Air Corps in Europe. Returning after the war, he ran import-export businesses in the New York City area. He leaves two children and three grandchildren. A brother, the late Leslie M. Page ’32, also attended Choate.

’38 RH Henriette Marie van Eck Warfield, 94, died December 10, 2014, in Annapolis, Md. Born in San Mateo, Calif., Marie came to Rosemary Hall in 1934; she was captain of track, basketball, and tennis; she was also in the Kindly Club, the Music Club, the Scouts, and the hockey team, and she earned eight bars on the Committee. She then attended Geneva College for Women in Switzerland. An accomplished pianist and active golfer, Marie also enjoyed church work, gourmet cooking, and gardening. She leaves five children, including Carel “Carel” Warfield, 2904 S Haven Dr., Annapolis, MD 21401; eight grandchildren; and a sister, Agnes van Eck Reed ’35. ’38 C Carey Vennema, 93, a retired lawyer and preservationist, died July 24, 2014, in New York City. Born in Passaic, N.J., Carey came to Choate in 1936. He lettered in fencing, played trumpet in the Band, was on the board of the News, and was in the Cum Laude Society. After graduation from Amherst, he was in the French-speaking cryptological unit of the Army during World War II. Following the war, he earned a law degree from New York University and practiced with the firm of Winthrop, Stinson, Putnam and Roberts.

Carey lived in Greenwich Village, and in later years spent much time working to preserve its architecture and culture. He vacationed in Swans Island, Maine. He leaves his wife, Holly Vennema, 265 West 11th St. Apt. 1, New York NY 10014-2418; four children; and 10 grandchildren. A brother, John Vennema ’44, also attended Choate.

’40 C Richard P. Kleeman, 91, a retired journalist, died December 5, 2014, in Rockville, Md. Born in New York City, Dick came to Choate in 1936.

He was in the Cum Laude Society, was on the boards of the News and the Literary Magazine, was managing editor of the News, won the School Latin prize, and received honorable mention for four other prizes. His classmates voted him among those “Most likely to succeed” and “Best student.” He started at Harvard, but left to join Army Intelligence during World War II, attaining the rank of first lieutenant. Graduating from Harvard cum laude after the war, he became a writer for the Minneapolis Tribune, and in 1966 became that newspaper’s Washington correspondent. Dick won several national awards for his writing. Starting in 1972, he was with the Association of American Publishers, a trade group. For several years he was the director of the First Amendment Center of the Society of Professional Journalists. He leaves four children, including Alice Kleeman, 559 Lincoln Ave., Redwood City, CA 94061; seven grandchildren; three greatgrandchildren; and a sister. ’41 C John M. Kauffmann, 91, a retired conservationist, died November 16, 2014, in Yarmouth, Maine. Born in Champaign, Ill., John came to Choate in 1937. He was on the Board of the Literary Magazine and was a co-founder of the Choate Double Quartet, a singing group that later became the Maiyeros.

After graduating from Princeton cum laude, he served as a diplomatic courier in Africa and Europe during World War II. He then was a writer for the Washington Star and National Geographic magazine. He joined the National Park Service as a planner, and in 1979, went to Alaska to study areas under consideration for designation as national parks, monuments, and reserves. He

54 IN MEMORIAM

wrote two nature-oriented books and was later a co-publisher of the Bar Harbor Times in Maine. John enjoyed singing all his life; in Washington, D.C., he helped found a singing group known as The Eight, which still performs. He was on the boards of several wilderness and conservation organizations. He leaves no known family; two brothers, the late Rudolph Kauffmann ’32 and the late Godfrey Kauffmann ’35, also attended Choate.

’42 RH Elizabeth M. H. “Bettine” Moore Close, 90, a retired teacher and missionary, died February 23, 2015, in Big Piney, Wyo. Born in New York, Bettine came to Rosemary Hall in 1938. In 1943, she married William Close, a surgeon. In 1954, the Closes moved to Switzerland, and in 1960 to the Republic of the

War II he was a Navy Lieutenant. After the war, he graduated from Yale and earned a law degree from the University of Connecticut. For many years Bob was a prosecuting attorney for the town of East Haven, Conn., and he later was an assistant state’s attorney for the Connecticut Circuit Court. He was also President of the New Haven County Bar Association. In Branford, he was on the Board of Zoning Appeals and the Ethics Commission, as well as on the Board of the Branford Community Foundation. He leaves three children, including Robert M. Taylor III, 7 Clover Ln., Weatogue, CT 06089; nine grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and a brother.

John F. Bergin, 88, a retired advertising executive, died July 19, 2013. John and his twin brother,

in New Haven and both were at Choate for one year; Tom played football, basketball, and baseball. He started at Princeton, but left to join the Army Air Corps in World War II, serving in the Far East. After the war, he graduated from Princeton, earned his law degree from Yale, and went into private practice in New York City. He then was assistant to the President of Sarah Lawrence College and taught at Sarah Lawrence and Yale. In 1963, he joined the University of Virginia Law School and spent 30 years there teaching contracts, commercial law, jurisprudence, property law, and law and morality, among other courses. In 1971 he was named the university’s William Minor Lile Professor of Law. When he retired in 1992, the Virginia Law Weekly devoted a special issue to him, renaming it the

until his death. Hal was a founder of the Crawford-Howard Foundation in Memphis. He enjoyed world travel, golf, and hunting. He leaves two children, including Sara Crump Crawford Howard ’86, P.O. Box 784, Dorset, VT 05251; and two grandchildren. Hal was a member of the Choate Society, those alumni and alumnae who have left a bequest to the School.

’44 C William J. B. Burger, 88, the owner of a shop featuring historical Americana, died December 31, 2014, in Sutter Creek, Calif. Born in Stamford, Conn., Bill came to Choate in 1940; he was a Lieutenant in the Campus Cops and was in the Choral and Glee clubs.

He served in the Navy in the Pacific during World War II and attended St. Lawrence University. He then moved

He was responsible for directing the creative work on many accounts, including Campbell’s Soup, the New York Times, Gillette shaving products, and B. F. Goodrich tires. He led projects for the Dodge rebellion and Pepsi Generation advertising campaigns. As director of the Coca-Cola account, his “Coke is it!” campaign ran in dozens of countries. –JOHN F. BERGIN ’42

’42

Congo, where they did missionary work and Dr. Close was personal physician to the country’s president, Mobutu Sese Seko. In Congo, Bettine taught English.

She loved all animals, especially the animals of Africa; a gorilla in the Bronx Zoo is named for her. She leaves three daughters: Tina Close ’63, Glenn Close ’65, and Jessie Close Pick ’72; two sons; and several nieces, including Eleanor Prugh ’74 and Elizabeth Cleveland ’76.

Bettine’s mother, Elizabeth Hyde Moore ’17, also attended Rosemary Hall.

’42 C Robert M. Taylor Jr., 90, a retired lawyer, died January 19, 2015, in Branford, Conn. Born in New Haven, Bob came to Choate in 1939; he was manager of varsity hockey, in the History Club, and an associate member of the Student Council. During World

Thomas F. Bergin ’42, were born in New Haven and both were at Choate for one year; John played football, basketball, and baseball. After graduating from Amherst, he served in the Army Air Corps during World War II. After the war, he began a long advertising career at Batten, Burton, Durstine & Osborn.

He then joined McCann-Erickson as director of the Coca-Cola account; his “Coke is it!” campaign ran in dozens of countries. John was on the board of directors of the American Association of Advertising Agencies. He left five children and 10 grandchildren as well as his twin brother (see below), who died a year and a half later.

Thomas F. Bergin, 90, a retired law professor, died December 19, 2014, in Charlottesville, Va. He and his twin brother, John F. Bergin ’42, were born

“Berginia” Law Weekly. A chair at the college was named in his honor. Tom enjoyed golf, music, puzzles, and the Boston Red Sox. He leaves a daughter and a grandson; his twin (see above) died in 2013.

’43 C Hal B. Howard Jr., 89, an investment counselor, died February 22, 2015, in Palm Beach, Fla. Born in Memphis, Tenn., Hal came to Choate in 1940. He was Art Editor of the Brief, Business Manager of the Literary Magazine, and won a School prize for penmanship. After graduating from Yale, he served in the Army in Japan, then earned a master’s degree from Harvard Business School. He worked with T. Rowe Price in New York City for 25 years, then began his own consulting firm; he was active in the business

to California and opened a shop in Monterey featuring Gold Rush ephemera, nautical paintings, and historical documents; later, he moved the shop to San Francisco. Bill had been a President of the Amador County Historical Society.

He leaves several cousins.

Frank L. Chipman, 88, a retired executive of a wire manufacturing firm, died March 3, 2015. Born in Easton, Pa., Frank came to Choate in 1940. He lettered in crew and wrestling, winning a School wrestling prize; was in the Golden Blues, the Band, and the Orchestra; and was a Campus Cop. After Choate, he served in the Navy for two years, then went to Lafayette College. Following graduation, he worked for the family hosiery manufacturing business, then joined Weller Co., the wire firm, in South Carolina. Frank

BULLETIN | SPRING 2015 55

enjoyed travel and golf. He leaves his wife, Gloria Chipman, 307 John Westley Rd., Greenville, NC 27858-1669; three daughters; two grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. Frank was a member of the Choate Society, those alumni and alumnae who have left a bequest to the School.

’45 C

Huntly G. Mayo, 86, a retired executive of the Aluminum Company of America, died June 5, 2014 in Cambridge, N.Y. Born in Providence, Hunt came to Choate in 1942. He was on the Student Council and Honor Committee, was in the Cum Laude Society, and was Captain of Baseball, President of the sixth form, and President of the News.

His classmates voted him “Most to be admired,” “Most influential,” and “Most respected,” and he was among those voted “Done most for Choate” and “Most likely to succeed.” After Choate, he graduated from Princeton, then began a long career with Alcoa. Hunt enjoyed reading military and political history, as well as the works of Mark Twain. He leaves five children, including Margaret H. Mayo, 23 Spring St., Cambridge, NY 12816; and seven grandchildren. A brother, the late Edmund Mayo ’42, also attended Choate.

’47 C

James T. Healey, 84, a retired attorney, died April 27, 2014. Born in New Haven, Jim came to Choate in 1944. He lettered in football, basketball, and golf; was in the Cum Laude Society and the Choral Club; was on the Student Council and the Honor Committee; and was Associate Editor of the News. After earning degrees from Yale and Yale Law School, he was in private practice in Hartford for 22 years, specializing in civil litigation. He later joined the legal department of United Technologies Corp. Always an enthusiastic golfer – he was captain of Yale’s 1951 team – he won many Connecticut and regional championships in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s and was elected to the state Golf Hall of Fame in 2001. He was President of the New England Golf Association in the 1970s. He was also a corporator of St. Francis Hospital in Hartford. He leaves his wife, Louise Healey, 60 Loeffler Rd., Apt. P-203, Bloomfield, CT 06002-4304; six children; 13 grandchildren; and a great-grandchild.

’48 RH Suzanne Gauthier, 84, died February 27, 2015. Suzanne came to Rosemary Hall in 1946. She was on the Kindly Club Council, was head of the Chapel Committee, was Assistant Day Fire Captain, and earned two bars on the Committee. She then graduated from Smith. Suzanne was in the Membership Department of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

She leaves several cousins.

’48 C

Allen George Dartt, 84, a retired stockbroker, died January 30, 2015, in Sarasota, Fla. Born in New York City, George came to Choate in 1944; he lettered in soccer and tennis and was in the Choral Club. For many years he was in the securities business in New York and on Long Island. An enthusiastic tennis player, he was a past president of the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association. He also sang in several choirs.

He leaves his wife, Rebecca Dartt, 8340 Wingate Dr., #1025, Sarasota, FL 34238-5410; two children; three stepchildren; four grandchildren; and two step-grandchildren.

’49 RH Molly Backus Sziklas, 84, died February 2, 2015, in Nantucket, Mass. Born in Nantucket, Molly came to Rosemary Hall in 1946. She was in the Kindly Club, Choir, and Philomel, was assistant head marshal and captain of the basketball team, and was treasurer of the Athletic Association and on the Dance Committee. She then went to Pine Manor College. She was briefly a model for Bonwit Teller in New York, then married and moved back to Nantucket, where she owned and operated the Wauwinet House and Crow’s Nest Cottages. She enjoyed sailing, hunting, and fishing. She leaves her husband, Robert Sziklas, P.O. Box 719, Nantucket, MA 02554; two daughters; and two grandchildren. ’49 C

Willoughby C. “Bill” Blocker, 83, a retired head of an optical firm, died November 29, 2014, in Louisville, Ky. Born in Larchmont, N.Y., Bill came to Choate in 1944; he played saxophone in the Golden Blues, sang in the Choral Club, the Glee Club, and the Maiyeros, and was a lieutenant in the Campus Cops. After graduation from Lehigh, he joined the Navy and served in the Korean War. He then worked for Lugene Opticians of New York City, eventually

becoming its president, and was later president of Optical Corporation of America in Louisville. In later life he was a real estate appraiser. Bill enjoyed singing with choral groups and in the choir of his church. He was also a member of several optical societies. He leaves his wife, Eunice Blocker, 3717 Crocus Ln., Louisville, KY 40207; three children; and five grandchildren.

’52 RH Anne Marshall d’Almeida Santos, 80, died November 5, 2014, in Siena, Tuscany, Italy. Born in Philadelphia, Anne came to Rosemary Hall in 1948. She was on the varsity field hockey and basketball teams, was manager of the Athletic Association, won both the athletic scarf and the athletic sweater in her senior year, and earned eight bars on the Committee. After Rosemary Hall, she attended Vassar, then married and moved to Italy. She leaves her husband, George d’Almeida Santos, in Italy; two daughters, including Julie Anne d’Almeida-Warrington; and a grandson. Two sisters, Julie Marshall Boegehold ’49 and Helene Marshall Hallett ’54, also attended Rosemary Hall; her brother, Harry Marshall Jr. ’61, and a cousin, John Dale ’66, attended Choate. ’52 C John Allison Michael “Mike” Morse, 79, a retired stock broker, died October 28, 2013. Born in New London, Conn., Mike came to Choate in 1948. He lettered in wrestling, was President of the Choral and Glee Clubs, sang bass in the Maiyeros, and was in St. Andrew’s Cabinet, the Ski Club, and the Press Club. After graduating from the University of Vermont, he was in the Air Force for three years. Mike then began a long investment career, first with Goodbody & Co. and then with Merrill Lynch, working in New York, Pennsylvania, Florida, Texas, and California. He enjoyed golf, tennis, fly fishing, skiing, and especially sailing; in the 1970s he was in the Olympic trials for Tempest Class sailing.

He leaves his wife, Hope Morse, 2310 Via Munera, La Jolla, CA 92037; two children; and three grandchildren.

David C. Sortor, 79, a retired dentist and innkeeper, died January 13, 2015, in Sherborn, Mass. Born in New London, Conn., David came to Choate in 1949. He was business manager of the Press Club, on the board of the Brief, and in the Glee Club, the

Chess Club, and St. Andrew’s Cabinet.

After graduating from Colby College, he served in the Navy, then earned a D.M.D. degree from Tufts. David was an oral surgeon until 1988, at which time he founded the Sherborn Inn in a house that had been built in 1762. He ran the inn until 2014. He leaves his wife, Rosemary Sortor, 33 Old Orchard Rd., Sherborn, MA 01770-1038; three children, including John Sortor ’77; nine grandchildren; and a sister.

’54 C James W. Sherwood III, a writer, died December 26, 2014. Born in Hollywood, Calif., Jim came to Choate in 1948; he was on the Board of the Literary Magazine and was in the Chess Club and the Western Club. After attending the University of Chicago, he became an actor in California. From 1960 to 1970, he lived in Paris where, says his daughter Roxanna Sherwood ’91, “he recalled being known as the American writer with a big sense of humor, a man who turned laughter into work as a painted clown-face mime he called Archy Archo.” Jim met his current wife, Karyn, the sister of Bob Lindig ’54, at his 35th Choate Reunion. Says daughter Roxanna, “Karyn offered him a new lease on life, opening his world to her two sons who soon took his name and called him Dad. For the next 25 years, they lived happily in Plandome, N.Y., where he wrote to live and lived to write, where he talked and laughed and made family memories. He passed away suddenly in his sleep after a beautiful Christmas day with family 2014. He died knowing that he was loved, that he worked hard and that his hard work paid off. He accomplished exactly what he hoped to, even recently stating that he no longer defined success as fame, but that he could declare his life successful because of the children he raised.” He leaves his wife, Karyn Lindig Sherwood, 14247 E. Dove Valley Rd., Scottsdale, AZ 85262; six children, including Veronica Sherwood ’83, Roxanna Sherwood ’91, and Christopher Sherwood ’92; and seven grandchildren. ’55 RH Mary Elizabeth Weed Foulk, 77, a competitive horseback rider and sailor, died February 11, 2015, in Greenwich, Conn. Born in New York City, Betty came to Rosemary Hall in 1953. She was Riding Captain and in

56 IN MEMORIAM

the Choir and Philomel. She then went to Wheaton College, where she was active in sports. From an early age, she rode and sailed competitively; in the 1960s and 1970s she won several sailing regattas, and in 1967 was named the Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year.

She was the former chair of the Greenwich chapter of Pegasus Therapeutic Riding, a horseback riding program for disabled people, and in 2012 was honored by the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association. The same year, Betty was inducted into the Choate Rosemary Hall Athletics Hall of Fame for riding, sailing, and field hockey. She leaves her husband, Bill Foulk, 2 Hekma Rd., Greenwich, CT 06831; two sons; and two brothers, including Joseph Weed ’54.

’55 C

Jack B. Austin, 76, a retired Navy Captain, died December 26, 2013, in Orange Park, Fla. Born in Hinton, W.Va., Jack came to Choate in 1952.

He lettered in football, wrestling, and lacrosse and was in the Press Club, the French Club and the Southern Club. He then graduated from the U. S. Naval Academy and earned a master’s degree in management at the Naval Post Graduate School in Monterey, Calif. Jack was commanding officer of a carrierbased anti-submarine squadron and Deputy Chief of Naval Operations Air Warfare. He was awarded the Air Medal, the Legion of Merit, and three Meritorious Service medals. After he retired, he worked as a strategy and recruitment manager for Texas Instruments.

He was an avid golfer. He leaves his wife, Sandy Austin, 2577 Paces Ferry Road N, Orange Park, FL 32073-6522; two sons; five granddaughters; and a great-grandson.

John B. Rison, 76, a telecommunications executive, died December 26, 2014, in Olney, Md. Born in Providence, R.I., John came to Choate in 1951; he was in the Rod and Gun Club and was co-manager of the Projectionists Association. After graduating from Cornell, he worked for Western Electric, AT&T, New York Telephone, Dictaphone and Executone in the New York City area. He then founded a telecommunications consulting firm in Gaithersburg, Md., from which he retired in 1989. Active in the Boy Scouts, he was awarded the Scouts’ highest adult award, the Silver Beaver. He leaves two children.

’59 C

Leopold F. “Rick” Schmidt, 74, the retired president of Olympia Beer, died November 22, 2014, of cancer. Rick came to Choate in 1956; he lettered in golf, was on the business board of the Literary Magazine, was co-business-manager of the News; and was in the Western Club. After earning degrees from Claremont College in California and the University of Washington, he joined the family business, the Olympia Brewing Co. in Washington, which had been founded by his grandfather. He later was President of the company, greatly expanding its market and overseeing the purchase of two other companies, Hamm’s and Lone Star; Olympia was sold to Pabst in the 1980s. Rick leaves a sister and several nieces and nephews.

’63 C Charles A. Sumner II, 69, a retired real estate executive, died January 3, 2015, in Gold River, Calif., of a pulmonary embolism. Born in New Haven, Charlie came to Choate in 1961.

He was in the Geology Club, the Press Club, the Glee Club and the Cum Laude Society, but he was known for rowing varsity crew. In 1962, he and Peter Johnson ’64 won the National Schoolboy Championship (17 and under), and the next year took the Canadian and U.S. High School Doubles. After Choate, he graduated from Yale, where he also was on varsity crew. He served in the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War, receiving the Purple Heart and the Gallantry Cross. When he returned, Charlie earned a master’s degree in real estate finance from Penn, then worked in San Francisco for MetLife’s Real Estate Finance Division. He later began his own firm, KCS Development, in Sacramento, sold it after 15 years, and was an executive with Mourier Land Co., retiring in 2007. Active in the community, he was involved with Sierra Adoption Services, the Sacramento Children’s Receiving Home, the Sacramento Tree Foundation and the Rotary Club. He enjoyed fly-fishing and fowlhunting. He leaves his wife, Valerie Harper, 11552 Forty Niner Circle, Gold River, CA 95670-7858; two daughters; four grandchildren; and a brother.

’64 C Peter E. Senné, 69, a retired entrepreneur, died December 25, 2014.

Born in Mineola, N.Y., Peter came to Choate in 1959; he was President of the Geology Club, Business Manager of the Brief; and won a school prize in manual arts. After earning degrees from Boston University and Harvard, he began a 44-year career in a number of Bostonbased industries. He was a co-founder of VR Business Brokers in 1978; President of the healthcare firm ISO Inc.; Executive Vice President of Viking Products; and President and Chairman of Total Compliance Solutions of Wellesley, Mass. He was also editor of the Journal of Healthcare Safety Compliance in the 1990s. He enjoyed sailing, swimming, and enjoying family. Peter also edited the yearbook for his 50th Choate Reunion in 2014. He leaves his wife, Kathryn Senné, 18 Coltsway, Wayland, MA 01778-3905; four children; a stepdaughter; and a sister. ’65 C

James L. “Jay” Abbott, 67, an airline pilot and, later, aviation executive, died January 29, 2015, in Bainbridge Island, Wash., of injuries sustained in a mountain-cycling accident. Born in New York City, Jay came to Choate in 1961; he was in the Glee Club, the Maiyeros, the Automobile Club and the Ski Club. After Choate, he graduated from the University of Denver. Shortly thereafter, he learned to fly, which led to a 12-year position with Frontier Airlines as a commercial pilot. In 1984, he was diagnosed with diabetes, which ended his career as a pilot – something Jay later said was “one of the best turn of events in my life.” He joined Boeing Co., designing cockpits, instructing airline pilots, helping to develop new aircraft, and traveling worldwide to work with airlines. He enjoyed skiing, tennis, sailing, hockey, swimming, and mountain cycling. At the time of his death he was a coach with the Gear Grinders, a middle-school cycling team. He leaves his wife, Darlene Abbott, 15088 Sivertson Rd. NE, Bainbridge Island, WA 981103054; a sister; and three brothers.

’67 RH Anne S. “Missy” Davidson, 65, a retired attorney, died June 18, 2014, in Morristown, N.J. Born in Port Chester, N.Y., Missy came to Rosemary Hall in 1965. She was on the Fire Squad, the Entertainment Committee, and the Board of the Answer Book; was Class Secretary of her sixth form; was in the Outing Club and Gold Key; and was a Marshal. After graduating magna cum laude from Smith, she earned a law degree from George Washington University, then stayed in Washington with the Food and Drug Administration until 1978. She was later Vice President and Associate General Counsel of the Sandoz Corp., retiring in 1999 as Senior Counsel. She enjoyed classical music, Himalayan cats, and was described as “liberal, fearless, socially conscious and determined to make her mark in the world.” She leaves several cousins. ’69 C

John S. Weatherley, Jr., 62, the former owner of a building company, died of cancer March 5, 2014, in New Canaan, Conn. Born in Greenwich, Conn., John came to Choate in 1965.

He was co-winner of the School Seal Prize. He was also editor-in-chief of the Brief and in St. Andrew’s Cabinet, the Altar Guild, the Aeronautics Club, the Camera Club, the French Club and the Cum Laude Society. He graduated magna cum laude from Dartmouth, then continued his education at Princeton, the Sorbonne and the Ecole des Hautes Etudes in Paris; he was also a Fulbright Scholar. From 1978 to 1989, he owned the Weatherley Building Co. in Princeton, N.J., and until 2006 was managing owner of the Berwick Land Corp. of New York. John was a member of the Gurdjieff Foundation of New York for 40 years. He enjoyed travel. He leaves his wife, Susan Weatherley, 98 Woodland Rd., New Canaan, CT 06840; four children; five grandchildren; and three sisters.

’71 C Per T. I. Larsen, 60, a contractor, died Nov. 22, 2014, in Morrisville, Vt., of cancer. Born in White Plains, N.Y., Per came to Choate in 1967; he lettered in skiing, was a senior editor of the Brief, was in the Gold Key Society and was a manager of the School’s FM radio station. He later attended Hampshire College and started Telemark Spruce Contracting in Vermont. Always a lover of skiing, Per lived for many years in

BULLETIN |SPRING 2015  

Stowe, Vt. He started two golf tourna› ments as community fundraisers. A columnist for the local newspaper wrote, Itis impossible to imagine Stowe without Per. He leaves his wife, Debbi Kehoe› Larsen, 600W Shaw Hill Rd., Stowe, VT 05672;three brothers, Rikk Larsen ’65, Peik Larsen ’67, and Leif Larsen ’73;a sister;and cousins Pike Talbert ’67 and Peter Talbert ’70.

’03

AndreasMaxim illian Stenbeck, 30, an investment executive, died March 16, 2015, of complications of diabetes. Born in New York City, Max came to Choate Rosemary Hall in 1999.

He was on the Committee on Student Activities and in the German Club. After studying at New York University, he co› managed the Kinnevek Group, the parent company of Metro US, with his sister, Cristina. He leaves several family members and ancØ e, Sarah Crocker ’03.

Trustee Gerrish H.Milliken Jr., who was a Trustee for 24 years, rst of Rosemary Hall and then of Choate Rosemary Hall, died January 11, 2015in Bar Harbor, Maine. He was 97. Born in New York City, Gerrish attended Groton and Yale, then served in the Army in the Philippines during World War II.After the war, he joined the family business, Milliken & Co., which had been founded by his grandfather in the mid› 19th cen› tury and eventually became the largest family› owned textile business in the world. He retired from Milliken & Co. in 1982,but continued to be a director of several family businesses until 2010.

As a Trustee of Rosemary Hall starting in 1958, and Chair of the Board from 1965 to 1974, Gerrish was instrumental in bringing together Rosemary Hall and The Choate School;he worked closely with his Choate counterpart, Board Chairman Daniel Tenney ’31, to accomplish rst coordinate education, then coeducation. Inthe School’s centennial year, Gerrish was given the Centennial Medal, awarded to someone who, though not a graduate, helped the School excel. He retired as a Trustee of Choate Rosemary Hall in 1982.Besides his considerable involvement with Rosemary Hall in Greenwich, he was also active in Greenwich Hospital and the Audubon Center there. InMaine, he supported many endeavors in

Northeast Harbor, including the library, a church, and a hospital. He enjoyed sailing, frequently traveling from Maine to Florida on his yacht, Spindle. He leaves six children, 11 grandchildren, and 10 great› grandchildren. A niece, Alida Milliken Zimmerman ’74, attended Rosemary Hall.

Jean Eglise William s, the former wife of Choate faculty member Bob Williams ’49, died February 11, 2015, in Porter, Maine. She was 83.

Born in Jackson, Miss., Jean came to Wallingford as an infant when her father, Charles Eglise Jr., was hired as Choate’s rst supervisor of buildings and grounds. She grew up on a farm that is now the site of the Kohler Environmental Center. After Lyman Hall High School, she graduated from the Stone College of Business in New Haven, then worked at the Southern New England Telephone Co. After she married Bob in 1953, she served as chairwoman of the Ladies Faculty Committee, took o cial game lms for Choate football games when her husband was head coach, and provided costume and wardrobe support for many School theater productions.

Jean returned to college at age 42, graduatingsumma cum laude from the University of New Haven. She also did graduate work at McGill University in Montreal. She later was assistant director of the Clinton County (N.Y.) Youth Bureau. Following her retire› ment, she moved to Maine. She leaves two daughters, Michele W. Gibson ’73 and Suzanne Williams ’76;two grandchildren, including Sarah Gibson ’06, and a brother, Charles Eglise ’51.

Oursympathy tothe families ofthe followingalumni,whose deaths are reported with sorrow: John J.Witherspoon ’33 December 8, 2012 Thom as J.Cam p.Jr.’36 December 8, 2012 Frederick C.SpreyerJr.’60 February 18, 2015 Elisabeth R.William son ’65 November 15, 2014

Create a Legacy Creating a Charitable Gift Annuity with Choate Rosemary Hall is impactful, beneficial, and flexible. In fact, it’s never been easier to provide for your financial security – as well as that of your loved ones – while also supporting Choate.

It s a safe and simple way to turn valued assets into guaranteed income for life.

You ll receive a high income payout.

A portion of each payment may be income› tax free.

You ll see an immediate income tax deduction.

Most importantly, your gift will have a meaningful impact on the future of Choate Rosemary Hall.

Sample Benefits for a $25,000 Charitable Gift Annuity* Age

Income Payout

Tax Deduction

65

4.7%

$8,407

70

5.1%

$10,004

75

5.8%

$11,257

80

6.8%

$12,413

85

7.8%

$14,054

*Based on Single Life Annuity with an Applicable Federal Rate of 2.2%

As we celebrate the School’s 125 Years and look forward to the next, ask yourself what your legacy will be. To learn about the many easy ways to create and maximize your legacy, contact the Planned Giving Office today.

Join the Society … The Choate Society.

LEGACIES THAT LAST FOREVER Rick Henderson Director of Planned Giving rhenderson@choate.edu (203) 697-2117

58

SCOREBOARD | Spring Sports Wrap-up

The Wild Boars earned berths in post-season playoffs for the girls varsity basketball and boys and girls varsity hockey teams. Boys varsity ice hockey closed the season with big wins over Loomis and Kent. Girls varsity ice hockey competed in the New England tournament for the 6th straight year. Varsity wrestling had a solid year once again, with Everett Roach ’15 and Michael Lipton ’16 both competing at the national tournament. Girls varsity swimming won the Founders League title for the 3rd consecutive year, with boys varsity swimming finished 2nd at the Founders League Championships. The diving team had Jill Gingher ’15, Haley Williams ’18, Virginia Stanley ’17, Juliana Ruggieri ’18, and Chelsea Swift ’15 placed in the top 10 on the girls’ side, while the boys’ Noah Schweizer ’15 finished 4th. Calvin Carmichael ’18 and Merrick Gillies ’15 also found their way into the top 20.

ARCHERY Varsity Season Record: 6-0 Captains: Alexander X. Ortiz ’15, Jacob A. Locsin ’15 & Ruoyang Ni ’15 Highlight: Undefeated season BASKETBALL Boys Varsity Season Record: 14-8 Captain: Trevor C. Dow ’15 Highlight: Big wins over Exeter & Deerfield Girls Varsity Season Record: 9-14 Captains: Christine M. Etzel ’15 & Danielle M. Etzel ’15 Highlight: Win over Deerfield to end the season

ICE HOCKEY Boys Varsity Season Record: 18-7-3 Captains: Vincent G. Ditmore IV ’15 & Samuel K. Tucker ’15 Highlight: Won Lawrenceville Tournament in Double OT; lost in semifinals of Large School tournament Girls Varsity Season Record: 15-7-3 Captains: Taegan F. Blackwell ’15, Anna N. Rudinski’15, & Katelyn E. Pantera ’15 Highlight: Big wins over Nobles, Tabor, and rival Deerfield

SQUASH Boys Varsity Season Record: 15-8 Captain: Winston E. Minor ’15 Highlight: Strong start to season

SWIMMING & DIVING Boys Varsity Season Record: 4-3 Captain: David T. Labonte ’15 Highlight: Placed 2nd in Founders League

Girls Varsity Season Record: 7-11 Captains: Lindsey Volta ’15 & Charis D. Freiman-Mendel ’15 Highlight: 9th at New England Tournament

Girls Varsity Season Record: 7-1 Captains: Livia S. Domenig’15, Allison M. Bazinet ’15, Jessica M. Fan ’15, & Eliza D. Romeyn’15 Highlight: Won Founders League WRESTLING Boys Varsity Season Record: 9-12 Captains: Michael D. Lipton ’15, Everett J. Roach III ’15, & Dylan D. Wallace ’15 Highlight: Wins over Marrianpolis and Andover

RIGHT Gabrielle Brooks ’16 shoots floater over the Kingswood-Oxford defense.

Dylan Wallace ’15

Kristina Schuler ’17

Sam Victor ’15

Co-captain elect Will van Allen ’16

BULLETIN | SPRING 2015 59

Gillian Gingher ’15

Nick Sanchez ‘ 15

Alex Ortiz ’15, Coby Locsin ’15, & Rose Ni ’15

Rebecca Wang ’16

60

BOOKSHELF

In this issue, a historian explores the history of everything – from the Big Bang to the present day; a filmmaker creates a soup-to-nuts resource guide for first-time producers; a children’s book author presents a graphic novel rendition of Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” starring a hungry lion as Macbeth and an ambitious leopard as Lady Macbeth; and a novelist offers a kernel of optimism in the face of chaos.

The Sunken Cathedral

By Kate Walbert ’79 | Reviewed by Andrea Thompson

THE SUNKEN CATHEDRAL Author: Kate Walbert ’79 Publisher: Scribner About the Reviewer: Andrea Thompson is the co-author, with Jacob Lief, of the book, I Am Because You Are, which will be published this spring.

The strange urgency in Kate Walbert’s latest novel comes from its subtlety. The looming disasters, the constant state of emergency, lurk underneath a veneer of everyday life. Anthrax, hurricanes, bombs – and oh, yes, pass the rice pudding. Even the most tumultuous times become quotidian, if they last long enough.

The setting is the near future, and in many ways things continue as they are now. Property values in Manhattan still hover in the stratosphere; traffic is terrible and occasionally deadly; over-achieving parents push and pull their children into and through private education. But a gloomy sense of random, arbitrary violence creeps in. School children practice screaming in case of abduction by terrorists. A rookie cop is knifed over a scuffle on a bike path. Rain and wind pound the brownstones of Chelsea with everincreasing frequency.

Walbert wields detail like a scalpel, slicing delicately to the core of her characters. Even the tiniest of cuts reveals multitudes. Marie, the character around whom much of the book revolves, is a Frenchwoman who emigrated to the United States during World War II; her childhood, alluded to as traumatic but never fully explained, presses upon her with increasing weight. Her tenant, Elizabeth, also struggles with a haunting incident from her past. Like the rising sea, the past inches up, eroding the seemingly stable foundation of life. Still, there are small moments of respite. Elizabeth watches her husband and son and “for a moment, it was simple and she did not feel the speeding up of urgencies or sense the lengthening shadow of the past; she did not seek the accumulating dark at the limits of the light.”

Not a great deal happens: Marie and her friend Simone take a painting class; Elizabeth struggles to write her family’s story for a school project. But every character, large and small, seems to harbor a catastrophe. Children grow up, disappear, leave only the memories of their tiny dependencies behind. The only pattern behind violent events is that we have caused them: with negligence, with cold calculation, with impatience. Yet we survive. This quiet persistence, this kernel of optimism in the face of chaos, makes Walbert’s story counter-intuitively hopeful.

Walbert deftly switches tone, perspective, and time, sometimes all within a sentence or two. Beauty and menace are intertwined: the buds on a cherry tree curl like a fist; spring flowers emerge from the soil “like so many broken fingers.” Elizabeth bikes through the city streets, “the light on her helmet flashing as if Elizabeth were her own ambulance on her way to her own emergency.”

“What If?” goes a recurring refrain in Walbert’s novel. “What If the man you love loves no one?” Or, “What If the ocean swamps the boat?” The world is unstable, in other words, and what are you going to do about it? Live.

BULLETIN | SPRING 2015 61

Teaching BIG History Edited by Richard B. Simon ’89, Morgan Behmand, Thomas Burke Reviewed by Emily L. Brenner

TEACHING BIG HISTORY Editors: Richard B. Simon ’89, Morgan Behmand, Thomas Burke Publisher: University of California Press About the Reviewer: Emily Brenner is a history teacher who taught on the Choate Rosemary Hall faculty from 2001 – 2013.

Can “history” include everything? Should it?

Proponents of the new field of Big History say yes: One of the field’s most famous originators claims that Big History provides “a framework for all knowledge.”

Big History courses include everything from the Big Bang to the present day, as opposed to traditional history courses that start as early as the beginning of civilization. The “history of everything” is taught in one academic year, or maybe two. Thankfully, for those wishing to take on this grand endeavor, there is Teaching Big History, edited by Richard B. Simon ‘89, Morgan Behmand, and Thomas Burke.

This volume provides college-level instructors and curriculum designers with a compelling case in favor of Big History, as well as a practical framework for adopting and implementing this new and rather controversial approach into an otherwise traditional liberal arts curriculum.

The Big Bang to the present day in one course?

Really?

To pull off this seemingly impossible feat, especially within the confines of an academic schedule, those within the Big History field break through traditional boundaries to reveal large-scale connections among traditionally separate fields such as cosmology, anthropology, geology, biology, history, and even physics. A tall order, indeed, but one the editors of this book explain well and advocate for with aplomb.

For example, they explain that Big History courses eliminate the divide between what is typically termed “pre-history” (human history before written language) and “history,” allowing archeology and anthropology to be included within an historical survey. Overarching themes can then emerge: human migration can begin with land bridges and transition into overseas exploration within one academic semester. Similarly, the inclusion of biology and geology within Big History pushes students to consider the global impact of our species over the relatively brief time we have existed on Earth.

But what is gained by starting students off with the Big Bang and taking them all the way to the present in what must feel like an academic whirlwind?

Perhaps more important, what is lost?

The editors of Teaching Big History argue that teaching in the Information Age requires innovation. “We are contending with the fragmentation of knowledge at a time when information is overabundant and easily accessible,” they observe. “The answer does not lie simply in experiential learning, flipped classrooms, or even MOOCs (Massive Online Open Courses).”

They go on to lay out what amounts to an educational manifesto: “Our times call for greater progress, a shift not merely in method but in content.”

After expanding their argument for Big History, the editors explain how to teach it. Each editor takes on his or her own chapter within the first part of the book, “The Case for Big History.” Then additional scholars who currently teach Big History are featured in the second part, “A Practical Pedagogy for Teaching Big History.” It is here that the book delivers its most valuable gifts to those wishing to build a Big History course, or simply incorporate Big History thinking into their current programs. Practical, replicable curricular plans, examples of assignments, guidance on developing assessments, and a fully annotated bibliography of Big History resources are presented.

Anecdotes from real classrooms and first-person narrations from instructors teaching Big History at present breathe life into what otherwise would be a dry instructional manual.

Critics of the Big History movement contend that its wide-angle approach inappropriately decouples humanity from history. They decry the fact that homo sapiens are not introduced until halfway through a typical Big History syllabus. Human agency, Big History critics argue, is sidelined in favor of an ecologically-driven narrative that reduces humans to the status of an invasive species.

Founding father David Christian’s many lectures and his TED Talk on Big History are known not only for their incredible synthesis of material but also for inspiring Bill Gates to fund an open online course on Big History for high school students. But it is at the college level where Teaching Big History takes its academic aim.

Whether the book will inspire a mass movement within higher education is unclear. My hunch is no, or at least not yet. But Teaching Big History will serve as a valuable resource for curriculum designers and educational reformers alike who wish to tie seemingly diverse fields together into one grand narrative.

62

BOOKSHELF

The Stratford Zoo Midnight Revue Presents: Macbeth

By Ian Lendler ’92 and Zack Giallongo | Reviewed by Philip Nel ’88

THE STRATFORD ZOO MIDNIGHT REVUE PRESENTS: MACBETH Author: Ian Lendler ’92 Publisher: First Second, an imprint of Roaring Brook Press.

About the Reviewer: Philip Nel ’88 is the author of Crockett Johnson and Ruth Krauss: How an Unlikely Couple Found Love, Dodged the FBI, and Transformed Children’s Literature (2012) and several other books about children’s literature and comics.

With a mischievous energy often missing from those “Classics Illustrated” comic books, writer Ian Lendler ’92 and artist Zack Giallongo have adapted Shakespeare’s Macbeth for the comics, in two senses of that word. First, the tale is rendered in the style of a comic book or (to use publishers’ preferred term) a graphic novel. Second, this Macbeth is funny.

After hours in a zoo, the animals stage Macbeth, starring a hungry lion as Macbeth, an ambitious leopard as Lady Macbeth, and a sleuthing stork as Macduff. Even if the clever allusions elude readers, these characters are amusing. Casting a stork as Macduff sets up a joke on the “none of woman born / Shall harm Macbeth” line, here rendered as “Macbeth cannot be killed by another person who’s been born from a mother” (the comic largely abandons Shakespeare’s language, though not his narrative verve).

Citing this prophecy, Macbeth protests, “Macduff, you cannot defeat me!” Macduff replies, “But I wasn’t born from a mother. I was delivered … by a stork!”

Amplifying the silliness, Giallongo dresses “Detective Macduff” like Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade.

Artist and writer also shift the play’s tone from tragic to comic by capitalizing on comics’ metafictional potential. As Scott McCloud, Hillary Chute and others have noted, comics have a unique ability to spatialize time, displaying narrative past, present, and future all at once: even when focusing on one panel, you see the panels preceding and following.

Recognizing this ongoing oscillation between immersion in one local moment and the distance afforded by seeing many boxes of time simultaneously, Lendler and Giallongo’s panels comment on other panels, and crack more jokes.

When Macbeth stands outside the king’s bedroom, debating whether he should kill him, Lendler’s narrator observes, “He couldn’t quiet his guilty conscience.” In an inset panel, one monkey child in the audience asks, “What’s a conscience?”

The monkey mother answers, “It’s the thing that tells you when you’re doing something wrong.” The other monkey child says, “I thought that was your job.”

Where that page explains “conscience” to a young person unfamiliar with the term, the next one goes

“meta” to emphasize the violence’s purely fictional nature. Just as Macbeth decides to murder the king, Lendler teases the reader with “What followed was horrible and gruesome and definitely the best scene in the whole play.” Turn the page to see an elephant crossing in front of the stage, looking for his seat, and blocking our view. The audience complains (“Down in front!” shouts a warthog), and one monkey child asks “what’s all that red stuff?” Mother monkey says, “Uhhh… nothing, dear. Probably just ketchup.”

Mom’s not just shielding her child: on the next page, Macbeth admits, “The king tasted awful! I had to use all the ketchup in the castle to eat him.” In addition to softening the scene’s brutality, the ketchup becomes a running gag — and a clue for Detective Macduff.

Where A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Hamlet use the play-within-the-play to comment on the main stories, Lendler and Giallongo use the playwithin-the-comic to mediate violence, foreground the art of adaptation, and amplify their merrily “meta” approach. Their Macbeth is not just a comedy about a tragedy. It’s a comic about a comedy about a tragedy. (It’s “meta” on multiple levels.) Indeed, their adaptation owes as much to the backstage musical as it does to Shakespeare. What Kiss Me, Kate is to Taming of the Shrew, The Stratford Zoo Midnight Revue Presents: Macbeth is to Macbeth.

Making Macbeth accessible to and age-appropriate for younger readers will, I expect, launch this book into many libraries and classrooms. The writer and artist have succeeded not because they’ve “dumbed down” Shakespeare or because comics are a “simple” medium suited to children. Their Macbeth works because they understand that effective adaptation depends upon creative translation. Attempts at “faithfulness” to an original don’t recognize that what works in one medium may falter in another: a “literal” rendering of Macbeth on the comics page would be as flat as the paper it’s printed on. Instead, Lendler and Giallongo develop a playful translation of Macbeth’s key themes, enlivened with absurdist humor, metafictional metaphors, and Macbeth’s rubber ducky.

Pass the ketchup and turn the page. Something funny this way comes.

BULLETIN | SPRING 2015 63

The Wild West of Film

By Otessa Marie Ghadar ’00 | Reviewed by Peter B. Kaufman ’80

THE WILD WEST OF FILM Author: Otessa Marie Ghadar ’00 Publisher: 20/20 Productions About the Reviewer: Peter B. Kaufman ’80 is Associate Director of the Columbia Center for New Media Teaching and Learning and the founder of Intelligent Television.

Every film project is made three times: when you write it, when you shoot it, and when you edit it. This applies up and down the line, from feature films to television and now to online video. Pioneer web video producer Otessa Marie Ghadar ’00 has written a soup-to-nuts handbook and resource guide for first-time producers seeking advice and know how as they explore all three stages at the newest frontier of online filmmaking.

Otessa’s biography features her work as a producer of the Web series “Orange Juice in Bishop’s Garden” back at the dawn of online video – 2007! – and the great personal stories she intersperses as her “tales from the trenches” in the book draw most effectively from her experiences in a place where few had gone before. Whether the Wild West in her title describes her time starting out – her “trenches” involve drug addicts hovering around her unguarded camera gear at outdoor shoots, arguments with strangers in streets and parking lots, even a flasher she chased away – or the world of online video today is no matter. The book is meant to give notes from an early explorer (think Lewis and Clark), serving up advice for would-be filmmakers on scripting and storytelling; directing and cinematography; fundraising; production planning; editing and post-production; marketing and promotion; web analytics; distribution; web design; and more.

Part of the lawlessness of the Web, both when she started producing and today – only 12 years after the founding of YouTube – is that no set lengths for films and no clear business models for making money have yet emerged. Otessa is not focused on the twohour film (produced at that duration in order to sell the maximum number tickets for the movie houses)

THE ABC’S OF LEGAL MARKETING Author: Paul S. Grabowski ’87 Publisher: New Year Publishing

BOOKMARKED Author: Wendy W. Fairey ‘60 Publisher: Arcade Publishing

or the hour-long or half-hour television program (some 42 or 22 minutes long, to leave room for commercials). Her focus is specifically on episodic web content: videos less than 10 minutes long, with six to seven minutes being the audience sweet spot. In fact, she asks, why produce for anywhere other than the Web? Otessa builds off films and television that have gone before, seeking to inspire Web producers with loads of information, exercises, and a jaunty “gird yourself” tone. She asks young producers, for example, to think of art, films, and color palettes that inspire them before they start shooting. Plan to shoot a scene and dress a set from Cecil B. DeMille’s “The Ten Commandments,” but with a shoestring budget!

She asks her readers to aim for “cinematic virtuosity.”

Producing for the Web today involves thinking of many screens – mobile foremost now. Otessa tells us that 90 iPhone5 screens can fit into the space of a 38-inch TV monitor – the way we produce new content has to take the fact of the small screen into account.

The book contains how-to info from planning story arcs to crowd sourcing (make your film something a dentist would want to be part of!), and loads of superb sample documents from call sheets to budgets to sample agreements and licenses (including Creative Commons) to menus for the craft services table (food, she tells us, is the most important part of the shooting day!). The Wild West of Film may contain too much basic information on things like social media platforms, and could have benefited from more examples of other online productions from 20072015, but it’s a super-useful addition to the how-to literature available for all the DeMilles of tomorrow.

64

END NOTE |

Enjoy the Run by noah hastings ’15

I wrote a college essay a few months ago that asked me to ruminate on “meliora,” that particular school’s motto, meaning “ever better.” That personal and community-wide introspection sounded exactly like what we do at Choate.

A classmate this year gave a passionate talk during school meeting about commitment to feminism. I arrived to history class afterwards, and my teacher asked, “So, what are you going to do now?” He emphasized that if we didn’t continue the conversation she started, her great speech would remain only that – a great speech.

We as a community are very good at reflecting on the value of everything we do and ensuring our experiences are productive. My teacher is a stellar example of this conscientious organization – he can explain the value of everything he assigns. It’s especially remarkable that in a class that could easily teach to an AP exam, he’s prepared us for that without narrowing the lens. He treats his students and their opinions as though they could be graduate students; that’s an incredibly empowering feeling. I dreamed of becoming a professional scholar before I took his class, and now I’m even more driven.

Choate has given me the opportunity to simultaneously pursue what I know and love and also delve into uncharted waters. I had, for instance, started running cross country in seventh grade and enjoyed it lot, so it was a logical choice for my first fall in Wallingford. Running became a metaphor for my school career and an exercise in medita-

tion and mental determination. (Music has played a very similar role in honing my focus.) Cross country has taught me that high school is in fact a race – but not in the uber-competitive way you might think it is. The goal is to run your heart out, but never be frantic. It’s all about control, confidence, and form. Enjoy the run but always keep in mind the larger perspective and why you’re racing in the first place.

I think that’s the single most important lesson and growth piece I’ve learned in my time here, and – acknowledging that running isn’t for everyone – I wish there were an obvious way to instill this principle in our students. I feel upset when I see a peer burning out toward the end goal of getting into college. My philosophy has always been that college and grades should be the byproducts and rewards, not the targets, of hard work. That’s why I stress the importance of giving students room to stray from the beaten path to cultivate themselves and their interests.

I was able to continue taking Spanish at Choate and also branch out and discover a wonderful connection in Arabic. I spent a summer studying abroad in Spain and can fully attest that the school’s immersion programs are rightfully a point of pride. That experience, paired with the exploration I made into the Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies (AMES) Program, was invaluable.

The reason I often cite for deciding to study Arabic is a trip years ago to Egypt and Jordan. I was wonderstruck then and sketched in my notebook everything that caught my eye. The magical moment was when I rediscovered my 11-year-old self while learning Arabic. It was the project I didn’t want to put down; learning vocabulary and teaching myself amateur calligraphy was the homework I rushed to do first.

In turn, that sparked my voracious appetite for history, philosophy, religion, and literature. I see the same academic fervor in some of my peers, and I strongly believe making space for experimentation and self-discovery in signature programs like Arts Concentration and AMES is crucial.

It’s easy at Choate to find someone who shares an interest with you, but it’s even more rewarding to search for, and cherish, a less apparent – and perhaps unexpected – connection.

I’m happy to say I’ve experienced far more camaraderie and support than cutthroat competition in my time here. Many of my classmates have had that same positive experience because we’ve felt able to explore without external pressure and we’ve been consciously thinking about our self-development throughout.

Noah Hastings ’15, former editor-in-chief of the News, is a sixth former from Madison, Conn.

This is a big year‌

MAKE YOUR GIFT TODAY www.choate.edu/give (203) 697-2389

Be part of it!

Celebrate 125 years of Choate Rosemary Hall with a gift to the Annual Fund. Your support ensures the School’s long legacy of tradition, community, leadership, and innovation lives on in the current generation of Choate Rosemary Hall students.

NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE

PAID

NEW HAVEN, CT PERMIT #1090

333 Christian Street, Wallingford, CT 06492-3800

Change Service Requested

The Choate Rosemary Hall Bulletin is printed using vegetable-based inks on FSC-certified, 100% post consumer recycled paper. This issue saved 101 trees, 42,000 gallons of wastewater, 291 lbs of waterborne waste, and 9,300 lbs of greenhouse gases from being emitted.