Bulletin Spring 2015 by St. George's School

ST. GEORGE S T H E B U L L E T I N O F S T . G E O R G E ’ S S C H O O L // S P R I N G 2 0 1 5

Sweet Music Jay Sweet ’88 producer of the Newport Folk Festival

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WINTER 2015

ST. GEORGE S SPRING 2015

T HE B U L L E T I N OF ST. G E OR G E ’ S SC H OOL

F E AT U R E S

D E PA R T M E N T S

18 Sweet Music

02 Letter from the Editor

Jay Sweet ’88 combines a respect for tradition with a forward-thinking music sensibility to put the Newport Folk Festival back on top

26 Pain … then Payoff New to the sport of rowing, Emily Kallfelz ’15 takes on an aggressive training regimen—and hits the college-recruitment jackpot

03 Campus News 14 Academic Dean 16 Singularly St. George’s 32 Alumni News 40 Class Notes 80 Student Essay

The St. George’s Bulletin is published bi-annually. It’s printed on 8pt Sterling Matte Cover and 70# Sterling Matte text by Lane Press, South Burlington, VT. Typefaces used are Antwerp, Brix Sans, and Brix Slab. Please send correspondence to bulletin_ editor@stgeorges.edu. © 2015 St. George’s School

OUR MISSION In 1896, the Rev. John Byron Diman, founder of St. George’s School, wrote in his “Purposes of the School” that: “the specific objectives of St. George’s are to give its students the opportunity of developing to the fullest extent possible the particular gifts that are theirs and to encourage in them the desire to do so. Their immediate job after leaving school is to handle successfully the demands of college; later it is hoped that their lives will be ones of constructive service to the world and to God.” As we begin the 21st century, we continue to teach young women and men the value of learning and achievement, service to others and respect for the individual. We believe that these goals can best be accomplished by exposing students to a wide range of ideas and choices in the context of a rigorous curriculum and a supportive residential community. Therefore, we welcome students and teachers of various talents and backgrounds, and we encourage their dedication to a multiplicity of pursuits—intellectual, spiritual and physical—that will enable them to succeed in and contribute to a complex, changing world.

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ON THE COVER

Jay Sweet ’88 backstage at the 2014 Newport Folk Festival. PHOTO BY RYAN MASTRO

The Bulletin of ST. GEORGE’S SCHOOL Robert Weston Associate Head of School for External Affairs Cindy Martin Associate Director of Advancement Quentin Warren Advancement Editor Bill Douglas Director of Alumni Relations Suzanne McGrady Director of Communications & Marketing Jeremy Moreau Web Manager Dianne Reed Communications Associate Lilly Pereira Art Director

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// SPRING 2015 Cover of the very first Bulletin

Look for this symbol throughout the magazine for bonus web extras

A LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

BY SUZANNE MCGRADY

Change and Renewal St. George’s stands at a remarkable moment in its history. All over the campus there are signs of vitality, adaptation and forward thinking: spirited new faculty members with new ideas and new passions, early drafts of a revamped curriculum we’ll be rolling out over the next few years, construction of a green-minded academic center. It seems the appropriate time to introduce a new look for the Bulletin, which will celebrate its centennial next February.

With the results of a comprehensive review of communications in hand, we set about last year building a new website, crafting a new admission viewbook—and now, as you see in your hands, redesigning the alumni magazine. If you haven’t already, I know most of you will turn quickly to the Class Notes. As it has been throughout our history, connections (and curiosity, in all its forms) are key to the success of St. George’s. Moreover, we know that to be the best we can be, we need our alumni to care about their school—their classmates, their former teachers, their memories. For that reason we’ve brought a number of features focused on alumni to the front of the magazine. One hundred years ago this June, the very first Alumni Association of St. George’s was formed “to unite more closely the old boys and to stimulate their interest in the school.” St. George’s was getting ready to celebrate its 20th anniversary the following year, and the push was on for nearly two decades of alumni to “renew their allegiance” to the school. In less than a year, the very first St. George’s Bulletin was published, in the late winter of 1916. “We want to see you again and find out what you have been doing, and we want you to see us and find out what we have been doing since you left us,” wrote the editor, Herbert F. Preston, who served on the faculty from 1910 to 1947 as

teacher of Latin, German and history, and who has come to be known as the beloved founder of the Christmas Festival. As we head into Alumni Weekend this May— open to all Dragons—Mr. Preston’s words still resound. Preston would go on to serve the Alumni Association as secretary and treasurer for 30 years and the Bulletin was at the core of his efforts to celebrate the news of St. George’s, thereby instilling in the members of the community a shared feeling of loyalty, pride and gratitude for this life-changing Hilltop. He even took it upon himself to supplement those efforts by serving on the board of the Red & White as alumni editor, in effect becoming St. George’s first class correspondent. We now have dozens of devoted alums in that role whose work to keep their classes bound together through news, photos and updates remain at the heart of every Bulletin. We thank them for their time—and for making their columns shine with detail, humor and poignancy. Today once again we ask our alumni to renew their allegiance to the school and for parents, faculty, friends and all members of our community to stay engaged and bless us with their gifts of talent, time and treasure. When Mr. Preston died on the last day of 1955, he left behind a legacy of Dragon pride that remains a model for us. I imagine he would be proud that we are growing and adjusting his Bulletin to continue to celebrate the news of today’s St. George’s.

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Campus News

IN 04 06 10 13

THIS SECTION Academic Center News From Campus Parents Weekend Athletics

E A rendering created by Studio AMD in Providence, R.I., shows the interior of the new St. George’s Academic Center, opening this fall.

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CAMPUS NEWS

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New Academic Center

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Opening a world of possibilities NEW SPACES equal new opportunities, and the SG Academic Center, now under construction, has math and science teachers—the whole community for that matter— in creative-thinking mode. For math and science teachers in particular, the new space will be about broadening

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the curriculum in ways we never could have imagined in the old duPont rooms. With an eye toward expanding both departmental and interdisciplinary offerings, teachers hope to incorporate more engineering and statistics into their program, according to Chair of the Math Department Linda Evans. Coursework in biostatistics could bring together science and math, while socio-statistics could bring together history and math, she said. Courses such as Manufacturing Engineering and Engineering Design could develop from science, math and art collaborations. Even the building itself will be a teaching tool, according to Chair of the Science Department Holly Williams. A so-called “green screen” will display real-time data monitoring the building’s systems and energy efficiency levels—and that data can be used by students in their lessons. When the center is completed in January 2016, math, technology and other interdisciplinary courses will be held in

the renovated duPont building. Science courses will take place in a new laboratory wing—an addition to the old duPont building—beginning this September. A central commons area in the Academic Center—a natural lightfilled atrium connecting the two wings— is being viewed as an extension of the teaching spaces. It will serve as a prime area for special events, like our Brown Bag Lunch Lecture Series, which periodically brings alumni For a timelapse video of construcand parents with science tion please go to expertise back to campus to stgeorges.edu/ AcademicCenter speak with students, faculty and staff. The atrium, which will have 80-inch flat-panel displays at each end, will be able to hold more than 100 people. For students, the expanded space afforded by the center will also provide new areas for studying—as well as collaborating with classmates and friends. Who knows what new ideas will be born there.

CAMPUS NEWS

Outside the Classroom

A BUILDING FOR A NEW ERA OF TEACHING + S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y

Students get lessons in architecture, physics and sustainability—right in our own backyard

Because of sensors in each room, lights in the building will turn off automatically or be lowered if it’s bright outside. The solar hot water and high-efficiency heating and cooling systems in the new SG Academic Center will use 30 percent less energy than an average system. The building’s photovoltaic system (solar panels on the roof) at its peak could power 7 percent of the building’s lighting systems, or the lighting in two of the teaching labs for over a year. In moderate weather the geothermal system will be able to heat and cool the second-floor greenhouse. Rainwater that falls on the roof will be gathered, filtered and stored in a containment vessel. When needed the reclaimed water will be pumped up to the restrooms and used for flushing. Source: EYP Architecture & Engineering, Boston

R E N D E R I N G C O U RT E S Y O F S T U D I O A M D

A wind turbine on the roof

Efficiency light sensors throughout

Solar panels on the roof

30%

less energy will be used by the new heating and cooling systems

Reclaimed water will be used for the restrooms

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Teachers will be able to use a number of building attributes in academic lessons. For instance: A wind turbine on the roof has been designed to utilize the increased air velocity as it travels over the parapet walls. A “green screen” will display real-time data monitoring the building’s systems and energy efficiency levels.

Students will be attending classes in seven state-of-the-art laboratory classrooms this fall—and expanding into a newly renovated duPont Science building by January 2016. But until then, teachers and students alike are using construction of the new St. George’s Academic Center as an educational opportunity in and of itself. Tech-minded students are getting lessons in construction as steel beams and structural framing gets put into place. Meanwhile those with a bent for sustainability are getting an inside look at LEED-certified construction as the building—and all its green bells and whistles—comes together with an eye toward limiting our carbon footprint. Even the members of architecture class have a life-size model just outside their window. As preparations got underway for the new center last summer, plans were put into place to move science classes into rooms in the Drury/Grosvenor Art Center. Dr. Bob Wein’s physics class has taken up comfortably in an expansive room that sometimes houses a Visual Foundations class—and biology teachers Dr. Kim Bullock and Science Department Head Holly Williams are meeting with students in a glass-enclosed room on the ground floor. A fish tank and terrarium moved with them. But it seems the reconfiguration of classroom space to accommodate construction may have had some unexpected upsides. Both science and art teachers are weaving construction topics into their curriculum, taking advantage of the working classroom that is a vibrant work site right in the center of campus. And the folks from Shawmut Design & Construction are eager to help out. Shawmut Project Manager Bill Sweeney led the architecture class on a tour of the site, giving students a behind-the-scenes peek at his crew working on framing a shaft for utilities in the ground beneath what will be the new lab wing. Donning hard hats and standing in what will eventually be a two-story atrium for students to study, meet and collaborate in small or large groups, the class got a lesson from Sweeney in materials strength and testing, along with green building techniques. Teacher Lisa Hansel said the “field trip” was enlightening for both the architecture students and for her. “We study how a building goes together on paper, but to see it firsthand is a hugely valuable learning opportunity,” she said. After the “field trip,” the architecture students returned to their work designing “earth-sheltered” houses, which also incorporate green building techniques—with a whole new appreciation for the building process. “The class and I look forward to another field visit later in the year,” Hansel said.

In the New Academic Center:

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GOING GREEN

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// SPRING 2015 Jack Hornor ’73 (right), shown here with his husband, Ron Skinn, established an endowment fund in 2014 that will award two $10,000 grants— one to a faculty member and one to a staff member— for recreational travel, no strings attached.

CAMPUS NEWS

Go West, Young Man! Jack Hornor ’73 endows a generous travel grant program to recognize and reward faculty and staff

IT ROLLS off the tongue like a triplet: students, faculty and staff, the essential building blocks of any school, the three legs of the stool, the magic ingredients that, combined, make up the academic engine that powers the learning and growing process. Of course every engine is a symphony of moving parts, and the better adjusted they are, the better the engine runs. The idea in a good school is to give all those parts the positive attention they deserve—students, faculty and staff. Jack Hornor was a student at St. George’s, a member of the class of 1973. He maintains that “virtually every important part of me was shaped and formed at St. George’s.” He also maintains that “it was the faculty who were most important in helping me grow.” He cites his advisor, the Rev. Robert Hansel, father of current Head of the Art Department, Mike Hansel ’76, for the quiet support he provided; Ted Hersey for teaching him to put one’s personal best above competitive achievement; and Doc Hoyt for the wisdom he imparted as advisor to The Lance when Jack was its managing editor. Following college, Jack joined the staff of Proctor Academy as director of public information, then moved onto the faculty as a teacher himself. Ultimately he found himself teaching English at Berkshire School for eight years. He learned firsthand how hard faculty members work. He also came to realize how hard the staff worked, something he hadn’t considered before. “They lined the athletic fields, cleaned the classrooms and dorms, maintained and repaired the buildings, cooked and served the food, made sure the administrative offices were sensibly and efficiently run and much, much more,” he said. When Jack was at Berkshire, a family close to the school established a travel grant program as a way of thanking the faculty and staff for their service. The idea was to provide vacation funds for time away from the school for the recipient and any attending family. That was 30 years ago. Said Jack, “I wondered if the time might come when I could make a similar thank you to the faculty and staff of St. George’s.” The time did come and that is exactly what Jack has done. In September he came to St. George’s and addressed the current faculty and staff in Madeira Hall, unveiling for them a travel grant program that he has established generously on their behalf. In a heartfelt presentation, he drew on his appreciation for the teachers and school staff he has learned from and worked with over the years, and he made it clear that it is the fulfillment of a

long-held wish that he set in perpetuity a fitting reward for those members of the school community whose service he so values. The Hornor Travel Grant Endowment will provide two grants in the amount of $10,000 each to be awarded to one faculty member and one staff member annually. The purpose of the grants is to provide the recipients the opportunity to travel, purely for themselves, with no professional agenda attached— simply leaving one place and going to another, in Jack’s words.

Now it is Jack’s turn to extend that gesture to the people at St. George’s whose predecessors made his experience on the Hilltop so meaningful and memorable. Anchoring the fund is a notable dedication, namely that it be given in loving memory of Jack’s parents, Edith and DeWitt Hornor. “In sending me to St. George’s they shaped my life,” he said. Now it is Jack’s turn to extend that gesture to the people at St. George’s whose predecessors made his experience on the Hilltop so meaningful and memorable. This year the grants are awarded to math teacher Doug Lewis and his wife, third-form dean and math teacher, Melanie, who have worked at St. George’s—mentoring hundreds of students—since 1995; and to Jeannie Morris, assistant to the director of operations, who has worked in a variety of administrative roles since her arrival at SG in 1992.

Amazing work from our A.P. art students

Other experiences supported by the Mandor Fund in 2014: Cheryl Larson traveled to Greece to explore the history of math. Art Department faculty took a ceramics class. Sugi Min, Teaching Fellow in Science, traveled to Seoul, Korea, to pursue a five-week Korean language program at Yonsei University’s Korean Language Institute, and Art teacher Lisa Hansel pursued advanced yoga-teacher training.

The fund—thanks to the generosity of the Mandors, parents of Nick Mandor ’14—also allowed two faculty members to travel to the Philippines to explore the possibility of a future student/faculty service trip there. Geronimo Captain Mike Dawson said his trip was to explore the programmatic suitability of several locations, possible partnerships

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More than a dozen St. George’s teachers had enriching professional development experiences supported by the school last summer, a few of which took them on international trips courtesy of the Elizabeth and Robert Mandor Educational Enrichment Fund. The fund, which supports “experiences or academic projects that will enrich teaching, will keep faculty current in their fields, and/or will contribute to the enrichment of the entire community,” last year, for instance, allowed the captain of Geronimo to travel to Greece and Turkey to investigate new opportunities for the student crew as the boat sails to the Mediterranean for the first time this summer.

with sea turtle conservation organizations and potential shipyards and marinas for maintenance periods in the region. Meanwhile math teacher Melanie Lewis (top right) and Director of Community Service Margaret Connor visited local schools on Jao Island in the Philippines to donate supplies and consult with local teachers. The two then flew to a temporary birthing center in Dulag, Leyte—the area most hardhit by Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) last November— to deliver more than 80 months of prenatal vitamins which had been donated by Dr. Mary Ann Millar P’13, ’15, and the faculty and staff at SGS. Other professional development opportunities for teachers are supported by grants through our Merck-Horton Center for Teaching and Learning, along with other funds that help teachers pursue advanced degrees.

ANGEL YANG ’18

Making Professional Development a Priority

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PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST(S)

#TBT #FormalDance LAURIE GERMAIN ’15

For more throwback photos follow St. George’s on facebook

AUDREY LIN ’16

Looking a little nervous, John E. Zimmermann III ‘62 sits next to some of the girls invited to a formal event at SG in 1961. ... Awww, go ahead, ask one to dance!

A R C H I VA L P H OTO C O U RT E S Y O F G I L B E RT Y. TAV E R N E R A R C H I V E S S P E C I A L C O L L E C T I O N S .

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P I E R AC E Rigby Knox ’16 was the first place finisher in the always-fun and spirited annual Pie Race Nov. 11 with a time of 6 minutes and 35 seconds, just a few yards ahead of twins Andrew Braff ’17 and William Braff ’17. Race organizer and math teacher Doug Lewis handed out a number of other awards/pies—including those to Angel Yang ’18, who finished seventh while riding a bicycle; Will Bemis ’15, for being the fastest sixth-former; Nick Ambrozic ’16, for being the first Canadian to finish the race; and C.J. Holcombe ’16, who ran the entire race in a full-length bear suit. The race enters its 57th year in November 2015.

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CAMPUS NEWS

Campus Highlights Traditions both new and old are always highlights of our events calendar. Here are a few recent occasions that were memorymaking for our current Dragons: A Service of Nine Lessons & Carols and the Christmas Festival—had everyone in a festive mood. Nothing like a candlelit chapel to set hearts aglow. Friday Night Lights games have gathered momentum here like a viral video. Between the fall varsity boys’ soccer team defeat of Barrington High Sept. 12 and a heart-pounding victory by the girls’ varsity hockey team over Governor’s in a “Pink the Rink” event Jan. 23, we’ve perfected the “hometeam advantage” environment with face-painted fans and a unified Dragon roar. This fall’s Middlesex Weekend games were also played at home after the traditional pep rally. The day, Nov. 7, was marked by stunning wins by the girls’ varsity soccer team (2–0) and the boys’ varsity soccer team (3–2).

By the Book Periodically the MerckHorton Center for Teaching & Learning sponsors a series of discussions among faculty members who have all read a common book. Following are the most recent books teachers talked about:

21st Century Skills: Learning for Life in Our Times by Bernie Trilling and Charles Fadel

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

by Carol S. Dweck

Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning

by Peter C. Brown

Making Learning Whole: How Seven Principles of Teaching Can Transform Education

by David Perkins

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BECKY HOWE ’15 / To view videos of all Chapel Talks in their entirety please go to stgeorges.edu/ChapelTalks

“So if you are ever looking for something to do that will make you truly happy, whether you are 13, 18, 40 or 60 do what the 4-year-old you would have done—because no one does it better than them.”

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F R O M C H A P E L TA L K S

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// SPRING 2015 For more photos and videos of Parents Weekend, visit our flickr and youtube pages

CAMPUS NEWS

Parents Weekend Performing with a host of musicians from the orchestra and various SG ensembles, Toni Woods Maignan ’16 absolutely rocked the house with her lead vocals on “Ain’t it Fun” by Paramore the Friday night of Parents Weekend 2014—just another show of the extraordinary talent that happens here on the Hilltop. And what about Jack-Henry Day ’15 and Cookie Guevara ’15 on “Chasing Pavements” by Adele? Goosebumps. From the first notes of “The Swingin’ Shepherd Blues” by the Jazz Ensemble to the final notes of the Super Group to wrap up the evening, Oct. 17 was our all-in-one night of outstanding St. George’s performance skill. A big Dragon shout-out to all our performers and a special high-five to the other soloists who, after weeks of practices, put it all out there under the spotlights: From the Jazz Ensemble: Beth Larcom ’16, trombone; Bessie Yan ’16, xylophone; Jon Wang ’16, alto sax; Harrison Paige ’15, guitar; Erick Lu ’15, alto sax; Jiwoo Seo ’16, trumpet; Alex Cannell ’15, bass; and Nurzhan Jandosov ’17, piano. From the Snapdragons a cappella group: Jessica Park ’15, Toni Woods Maignan ’16, Lauren Ceres ’18, Amanda Warren ’15, Laurie Germain ’15, Sydney Jarrett ’16, Sarah Rezendes ’15, Beste Engin ’18 and Svenja Nanfelt ’17; and From the Hilltoppers a cappella group: Jaewoo Kang ’15 and Wyatt Dodd ’16.

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CAMPUS NEWS

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A highlight of Parents Weekend? THE FOOD! “Even though we would like to change things a little, popular demand has prevailed,” says SG Director of Food Services Len Jackson of the menu for Parents Weekend. “Probably the single ‘must have’ is the braised short rib. We actually had new faculty members, prior to Parents Weekend, mention the dish. Our philosophy for putting together a menu of this size and for such a large group, is to offer something that you typically would not make at home and that presents a balance of flavors and textures that will have a broad appeal.”

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575 Number of pounds of braised short ribs prepared for our Parents Weekend dinner, attended by approx. 800 guests

MENU Arugula Salad w/ Roasted Pears, Gorgonzola Cheese, & Toasted Pumpkin Seeds w/ Brown Butter Toasted Rice Wine Vinaigrette Roasted Asparagus w/ Shaved Parmesan & Truffle Aioli Braised Short Rib of Beef au Jus w/ Pickled Mustard Seeds Baked Native Swordfish w/ Lobster Bouillabaisse Sauce Sauteed Wild Mushrooms in Vol Au Vent w/ Sherry & Sweet Cream Butter Smoked Gouda & Scallion Mashed Potatoes Roasted Butternut Squash w/ Onion Marmalade Chocolate Truffle Cupcakes w/ Vanilla Buttercream

move G ET R E A DY TO

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For more photos of the dance performance visit our flickr page

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DA N C E C O N C E R T / With a mix of modern, classical and Broadway-inspired numbers, members of the SG Dance Troupe— Lauren Ceres ’18, Sydney Jarrett ’16, Krysten Palmer ’18, Bessie Yan ’16 and Angel Yang ’18 (along with Zoe Schorsch ’18 and Catherine Farmer ’15, not pictured)—showed off their talents at dance concerts on Oct. 24 and 25, as well as at Parent Weekend.

National Signing Day NATIONAL SIGNING DAY in early February is a milestone day in the world of college sports— and St. George’s was proud to have three talented sixth-form athletes recruited to Division 1 schools who helped us celebrate. On Feb. 4, Sarah Boule signed a Letter of Intent to play soccer at Elon University in the fall; fellow soccer standout Conor Ingari will be playing at Boston University; and Jonathan Lumley, whose prowess on the gridiron caught the attention of recruiters, will play football for the Fordham University Rams. All three have won high praise from their SG coaches. Varsity girls’ soccer coach Ray Woishek ’89 called Boule, who earned ISL all-league awards in 2013 and 2014, “an intense competitor.” “She was always the strongest, toughest player on the field while playing with great sportsmanship. Her ability to control the center of the field was very important to the team,” Woishek added. As a freshman at Elon, Woishek said Boule’s challenge will be “to make a positive impression with her strong defensive play.”

Ingari, the varsity boys’ soccer team’s high scorer, was a central midfielder for the Dragons who often controlled the flow of the game for the team, according to coach Ed McGinnis. “He was an excellent shot, distributing the ball accurately and always winning tackles,” he said. At St. George’s Ingari played midfield in order to get as many touches on the ball as he could, but at BU, McGinnis predicts, Ingari “could become a more offensive player.” Athletic Director and Varsity football coach John Mackay called Lumley “one of the most athletic players” he has ever coached. “His skills—running, jumping—combined with his instincts and great hands will make him a tremendous asset for Fordham’s offense.” Mackay said the fact that Lumley, who suffered a broken wrist last fall, was able to secure a Division I scholarship without being able to play for most of his senior year “is a testament to his ability.” “He’s been a pleasure to coach and I know he’ll be successful at the next level,” Mackay said. “He’s got both the skills and confidence needed to achieve.”

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SLOANE BUHSE ’15 / To view videos of all Chapel Talks in their entirety please go to stgeorges.edu/ChapelTalks

NEW WEBSITE! Have you checked out the brand new stgeorges.edu?

“I think many of us get caught up in our own lives and we forget the feelings of others and do not understand the gravity of our words. I realize that appreciation of parents is rare in teenagers, but I want to try and correct that …”

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F R O M C H A P E L TA L K S

FROM THE DEAN OF ACADEMICS

BY C H R I STO P H E R S H AW

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Faith and Knowledge He posed a reasonable question. Nevertheless, it caught me unprepared on that daylong interview last April. The Rev. Jeff Lewis, school chaplain and head of the Department of Theology and Religious Studies, asked kindly, yet firmly, of this would-be dean, “How would you make sense of an Episcopal school that welcomes people of all faiths?”

The setting? Lunchtime, the Hamblet Campus Center conference room. An untouched Caesar wrap in front of me, with another six department heads leaning in to listen, I responded: “That is certainly a paradox.” [Pause.] “The truth is, I don’t know.” [OK…go with that.] “From my experience in schools, I do know that teenagers actively seek meaning and spirituality. St. George’s might, in fact, be ahead of the curve in considering faith and academic knowledge not diametrically opposed, but deeply integrated. [Not bad…] “It is in economics, actually, that I have explored this idea with students most directly. Amartya Sen, a Nobel Laureate and native of India who held tenure in the departments of both economics and philosophy at Harvard, has extended the conversation of economics into the mushy arenas of race, class and access. His theory of entitlements applied the most rigorous statistical analysis to the question of distribution of scarce resources. Who gets what? Why? Does fairness play a role? What is ‘fair’ trade anyway? Is that even possible morally? Spiritually? “We have spent the last 600 years erecting a wall between the objective empiricism of intellectuals and the ‘blind’ subjective faith of the religious. I actually believe [as I spoke, I realized just how deeply…] that the 21st

century, led by scholars like Sen, not to mention those of Islam—which has always viewed scientific inquiry as completely integral to the worship of a single God—that the 21st century will broker a re-joining of these two broad strands of human experience. Rather than see the Chapel [that magnificent structure stood, calmly, framed in the conference room window] as anachronistic in a contemporary school, why shouldn’t St. George’s set the example for the re-integration of faith and knowledge?” Fast-forward five months: Having moved to Middletown, I gratefully counted Jeff Lewis as both friend and colleague. On the sunny morning of Oct. 9, standing in the nave of the chapel, I listened to Jeff’s sermon unfold. His title: “False Choices.” He noted that Oct. 9 marked the Feast Day of Robert Grosseteste, Bishop of Lincoln, British statesman, philosopher and physicist, born 1168, died 1253: “A man of science, who postulated the origin of the universe as surprisingly close to ‘The Big Bang,’ and yet a man of faith; a son of privilege, yet a brother to the poor. “How could he be both?” Lewis challenged us. His point, in the end, proved that he and I agreed, long before we met, on a foundational value that renders St. George’s School unique. The more we embrace false choices, see life as Us versus Them, or worship Mammon over God (the day’s Gospel), the more we elude the real and complex truth of existence. Our task is to teach young people both the structure and the wonder of the universe. There can be no greater calling. What a privilege it is to join such a community.

Chad Ziadie ’15, Sylvia Zobel de Ayala ’17 and Izzy Knott ’17

“Our task is to teach young people both the structure and the wonder of the universe. There can be no greater calling.”

Maximum Geronimo Crew Size

improve their skills & achieve their goals.

FULL-TIME FACULTY

St. George’s is committed to helping our

Geronimo is a voyage of self-discovery. Through excursions that range from one week to six, students discover the joys and challenges of life aboard a cutter as they sail from the Northeast Atlantic to ports throughout the Bahamas and Caribbean. As they live, learn and explore together, classmates discover what it truly means to be a crew.

THE GERONIMO PROGRAM

A place where teachers want to teach.

St. George’s teachers are more than teachers. They are also dedicated advisors, dorm parents and coaches. Moreover, they are students themselves—taking advantage of professional development opportunities and the MerckHorton Center for Teaching and Learning to grow as educators. That growth benefits them and enriches the student experience.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

1st

$188,000+

CURRICULAR I N N O VAT I O N

We’ll LAUNCH a completely revamped curriculum in the fall of 2015—and move to a annually to teachers seeking advanced trimester system. Notable degrees in their professional area of study, and to supporting them in their efforts to is how we went about the enhance their instruction skills. PROCESS of devising the new curriculum: We held what we called a “BLITZ PLANNING” session with faculty last summer using the STANFORD UNIVERSITY “DESIGN THINKING” model to REIMAGINE our academic program.

The school devotes more than

Partnerships with Top Universities

St. George’s partnered with HARVARD UNIVERSITY to create the first school-based research program allowing Harvard graduate students a real life study experience and St. George’s access to the best research on teaching and learning available.

ST. GEORGE S

Singularly

Enriching Experiences

Our Global Cultural Initiatives Program (GCIP) is a summer program that combines a homestay and cultural immersion component with an internship at a local business or research institute. Some of our partners: The world renown medical research labs at the Curie Institute in Paris, J.P. Morgan in London and The Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales applied research laboratory in Madrid.

Thinking globally is part of the St. George’s culture. Whether a student participates in an exchange program with one of our partner schools in Iceland or China, a choir trip to Rome, or a Global Studies trip to places like Senegal, the Dominican Republic or Romania, they’ll return to the Hilltop changed forever.

IMMERSIVE LEARNING

Navigating the World

Geronimo, our 69’ U.S. Coast Guard-certified Sailing School Vessel, was designed for a SMALL NUMBER OF STUDENTS (up to 8), allowing for a high-quality, full hands-on experience.

Global Studies class destinations since the program started in 2008: Uganda Panama Poland Senegal Iceland Urban Asia Seoul, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hong Kong Dominican Republic Romania

students had a school-sponsored or supported international travel experience last year.

THE MERCK-HORTON CENTER

college admission deans and independent school college counselors attend our annual Clambake Institute each summer for an enriching professional development opportunity on the Hilltop.

100+

Fifth-Form Parents Weekend includes one-on-one meetings between college counselors and students’ parents. In group-sessions, parents have the opportunity to interact with admission professionals, financial-aid representatives and alumni parents.

Working Together

college visitors to meet with our sixth-formers.

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This past fall, we brought in

in faculty grants allowing teachers to advance and create new teaching methods. These grants have supported a whole new era of collaborative instruction, with teachers in departments like science and music teaming up on course units; along with new student-centered learning models, like one in which French students learn at their own pace with the support of faculty and peer tutors.

$223,645

Since 2009, Merck-Horton has awarded

Our teachers aren’t just passionate about teaching. They’re passionate about learning. With the Merck-Horton Center for Teaching and Learning, St. George’s supports the exploration of research-based and innovative strategies for the 21st century.

FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING

Since St. George’s college counselors are teachers, dorm parents and coaches, students have a built-in relationship of trust well before the formal college search process begins.

THE COLLEGE PROCESS

TURTLES have been tagged since the program’s inception in 1974.

3,000+

While on a Geronimo voyage, students catch, tag, and release sea turtles. The data collected is used by scientists to study turtles' migratory rates and habits.

The Geronimo program has long been associated with the University of Florida‘s Archie Carr Center for Sea Turtle Research and provides the largest active source of sea turtle research in the United States.

e Jay Sweet ’88, backstage at the 2014 Newport Folk Festival

Jay Sweet ’88 is kicking back on the deck of his family’s summer cottage in South Dartmouth, Mass., watching his children tumble back up from the shore carrying sea glass and shells. It’s Aug. 14, 2014, and Sweet’s winding down from a major adrenaline rush. Just three weeks prior, in a haze of excitement and insomnia, he was at the helm of the Newport Folk Festival, the three-day mega music event he’s been producing since 2009. As he recounts this year’s festival showstoppers and talks nearly without a breath about his latest favorite bands, he appears to have come only halfway down from the euphoria. For Sweet, the music never really stops.

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S T O R Y B Y S U Z A N N E M C G R A D Y // B W P H O T O S B Y R YA N M A S T R O // C O L O R P H O T O S B Y R I C H G A S T W I R T

JAY SWEET ’88 COMBINES A RESPECT FOR TRADITION WITH A FORWARD-THINKING MUSIC SENSIBILITY TO PUT THE NEWPORT FOLK FESTIVAL BACK ON TOP

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Sweet Music

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WEET LANDED the Newport gig six years ago, when he took the reins from the world-renowned music impresario George Wein. At the time, the folk festival was celebrating its 50th anniversary, but barely holding on. Wein, who co-founded the event with the late folk singer and social activist Pete Seeger in 1959, had seen its heyday come and go. He’d already tried selling his company, Festival Productions Inc., to another company. But things hadn’t gone well and Wein decided to take it back. He wasn’t, he said, going to let a business decision be the end of his festival. “I don’t treat the festivals as money,” insisted the 89-year-old Wein, who has produced hundreds of music events across the U.S., including the Newport Jazz Festival, since 1954. “For me, it’s a love of the music … and 60 years of my life that I’ve put into them.”

Still, he knew the folk festival had seen better days. Attendance had dropped; moreover, playing Newport as a musician no longer had the caché it once had when singer-songwriter types like James Taylor, Joan Baez and Joni Mitchell played there back in the 60s. When, Wein said nostalgically, musicians barely got paid to play Newport. “I don’t care whether it was Johnny Cash or Bob Dylan,” he said. “We have a letter that my wife [Joyce] sent to Bob Dylan—it’s now in the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame—advising him that he was going to get $50 plus expenses for his appearance. “That was a little bit of utopia for eight or nine years. … [The musicians] all came in one way or another to that festival and they were proud to be involved.” Now in the age of mega-festivals like Bonaroo and South-bySouthwest, the times, to crib Dylan, were a-changin’.

SWEET’S CAREER in the music industry had taken several twists before he met Wein in 2008, but what’s clear is that tunes have always been at the center of his universe. He traces the beginning of his infatuation back to 1982, when he was 10. One day he opened a letter from his mother and found a $10 bill. “But I was at a camp in the middle of nowhere Maine,” he said. “The $10 was better used lighting it to start a fire to cook s’mores! It had no relevance.” That is, he added, until a camp counselor—with a license to drive to a liquor store in town—saw it. “He could use the money,” Sweet said, “So he sold me three Grateful Dead tapes for $10. “I thought it was the deal of the century … and, now, looking back at it—it was.”

By the time he entered St. George’s at age 13 in 1984, Sweet, who had already convinced his mother to let him go see the Grateful Dead play at the Worcester Centrum the year before, was well on his way to becoming a music aficionado. “I was the nerd at the Grateful Dead concert. I didn’t go in in a tiedye. I would go in my little monogrammed shirt and take notes, like you’re doing,” he said. “Those reporter notebooks. I have 50 of those from age 13–18 all with set lists and notes that say things like, ‘There’s a 33 percent chance they’re going to play ‘The Other One’ coming out of ‘Space.’ … ‘I bet you Jerry is going to play these three songs tonight’ … All I did was write about music.”

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Sweet walks off stage at the Newport Folk Festival just after introducing the North Carolina-based Avett Brothers in 2013.

At St. George’s, he said, he became friends with some upper formers who shared his passion. “From day one I found a bunch of the older people, who instead of thinking of me as a lowly freshman, saw me as a fellow lover of music,” he said, “which gave me the confidence to be such a music geek.” Anyone who knew Sweet at that time, though, would recall a kid who didn’t always play by the rules. His standardized test scores were super high, but the rules interfered with his preferred lifestyle: staying up late, making mix tapes for friends, and going to see live music, whenever and however he could. “I got in a lot of trouble,” Sweet admitted. “At

SG, you know how they say, ‘hold your applause until all the people get their diploma’? Well there were some teachers who spontaneously applauded when they read my name because they were still in disbelief that I actually made it.” One was then Dean of Students Steve Leslie. “In my own cartoon, Mr. Leslie was always the guy grabbing me by the scruff of the neck or the ear and just being like … ‘Sweet!’ He was my perceived nemesis.” When Sweet went on to study creative writing at the University of Colorado, where he graduated in 1993, music was still a focus. Beside taking every free moment to see live music, even if it meant traveling

from Boulder to San Francisco or Los Angeles “six or seven times a semester,” Sweet started his professional music writing career at the now defunct magazine, The Environmental Journal, which published his interview with Bob Weir of The Grateful Dead, about the band’s attempts to help save the rainforest. “Yes, I realize the irony in my first paying writing gig revolving around that particular band; however, let’s just say that financially I’m still in the red when it comes to my overall relationship with them.” It was shortly after college when Sweet had a serendipitous meeting on a ferry heading to Nantucket. Bobby Farrelly was also on the boat

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Sweet thanks the crowd for their support at an after-party show at the Jane Pickens Theater following the 2013 Newport Folk Festival.

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“The folk music definition has changed in this fast music world and musical styles are blending really quickly. It is forward-thinking and open-minded of the Newport festival to embrace different styles.” T R E Y A N A S TA S I O, P H I S H

and the two chatted. As it turned out, Sweet later took a job working as a locations scout for Bobby and his brother Pete, the Farrelly Brothers, the Rhode Island-born producers of blockbuster movies like “Dumb and Dumber” and “There’s Something About Mary.” One day during a scouting expedition, Sweet was driving over the Newport Bridge, with Pete Farrelly and the actors Jim Carrey and Renée Zellweger in the back of the car, checking out locations to film “Me, Myself and Irene.”

“I was driving, not really talking much, but there was a lull in the conversation so I turned on the car stereo and started playing one of my mixes,” Sweet said. “They were like, ‘Who is this?’ And I was like, ‘This is Wilco, and the other artist was Son Volt and they used to both be in this band called Uncle Tupelo… “I wouldn’t shut up. And they all kind of looked at me funny. I was telling them, ‘If you like this, then you’ll love this …’ Then I finally realized I’d been blabbing on and on, so I said,

‘You know what, let me just make you all some mixes.’” Off handedly the actors told Sweet what he really should be was a music supervisor, the one who consults producers on what music to use, so he went out and formed his own consulting business with a partner called Sweet & Doggett. Times were a little rough in the beginning. The two started out helping place music in cat food commercials—but then began landing ads for Nike and New Balance. “You know, cooler things,” Sweet said. After an AT&T commercial featuring Snoop Dog, Sweet consulted on music for the X Games, and then things really started to take off. “I was getting to hang with my favorite bands in these amazing locations on someone else’s dime,” he said. “It was pretty fun.” Soon enough, one of Sweet’s clients became Festival Network, which was buying up rights to produce music festivals across the country. At the time they were investigating the possible purchase of Newport Folk and they asked Sweet to consult. “I wrote this 18-page position paper,” Sweet recalled. “It basically said if this company were to buy the festival, here is what they would need to do to revive it.” The company eventually signed the contract with Wein and with Sweet as an associate, ran the 2008 festival. With Sweet’s recommendations, the line-up that year broke all kinds of folk genre barriers. Gone was the top-to-bottom line-up of classic, soft-strumming folkies. Rock band the Black Crowes and Trey Anastasio, frontman for the jam band Phish, headlined, while other artists on the bill included Stephen and Damian Marley, sons of reggae icon Bob Marley. “The folk music definition has changed in this fast music world and musical styles are blending really quickly,” Anastasio told an NBC reporter at the time. “It is forward-thinking and open-minded

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“Oh, what is my life right now?” he says, smiling as he looks out onto a sea of dancing fans. “What is this?!” In Sweet’s mind, that’s what Newport’s about. “They play in front of 5,000 people and the first 1,500 people toward the front are singing every word to their song,” Sweet’s own voice cracks. “So you understand why they start crying on stage? “How does that happen? Now you know why I get passionate about it and why it’s not about me. I’m not the one that tells the audience to go and learn about the band.” If you want to know what the lineup for the festival is, you have to keep an eye on their own social media, that’s where the constant conversation between what Sweet calls the “folk family” is happening. And these days, really, which artists will get tapped for the folk fest is anyone’s guess. Beck, one of the great alternative rock heroes of the 1990s, with best-selling songs like “Loser,” headlined the festival in 2013. Seventy-five-year-old rhythm and blues maven Mavis Staples performed “The Weight” at the 2014 festival alongside members of Dawes, Trampled By Turtles and even Norah Jones, known mostly for her jazz vocals. These are the types of moments at the folk fest that have Sweet often overcome with emotion. “Jay cries six to seven times throughout the weekend. I mean blubbering,” said his wife, Margaret. “And then he emotionally crashes for the whole week after. He really does give almost everything to this festival.” Sweet also relishes the number of SG connections with the festival. Every year former Director of Technology Charles Thompson runs the stage crew, which is comprised mainly of former St. George’s students. “We do a whole ‘Go Dragons!’ cheer, me and the team,” Sweet said. “And all these famous musicians are like, ‘What the hell is going on?! What the hell is a Dragon?!’”

THESE DAYS the Newport Folk Festival isn’t something Jay Sweet just runs, it’s a precious something he holds tenderly in his hands. You get the feeling he’s still afraid of dropping it. “I honestly wake up and say I can’t believe this is my job,” he said. “I just don’t take it lightly at all and in general it freaks me out.” He’s become good friends with Wein and the two talk weekly by phone. “He needs somebody to unload on if he’s got a problem and I’m his, shall we say, his worry bird,” Wein said. “He talks to me when he needs a little bolstering.” Sweet resists central-figure status, but the bottom line is that when you buy a ticket for Newport Folk these days, you’re essentially betting on Sweet’s ability to reel in legendary artists, his ear for newcomers—and his ability to read a crowd. The festival issues no press releases to mainstream media and doesn’t announce the line-up before tickets go on sale. “We like to consider ourselves a festival that’s very curatorial,” Sweet said. “The skill set comes not in recognizing talent, but in recognizing how our audience will react to an artist.” Take, for instance, a band Sweet saw play in Austin, Texas, in 2012. “They were playing to a room of about 100 people,” Sweet recalled. “They only had two EPs out at the time, but watching the audience react to every nuance that was happening on stage with such excitement and fervor … It was just so physically palpable, I started to laugh —and no one outside of Texas had really heard of them.” The artist was the brother-sister duo called the Oh-Hellos: one of the biggest success stories of the 2014 Newport Folk Festival, according to Sweet. The group didn’t even have a real album out, but it didn’t stop ticket holders from signing on as fans. Watch a clip of their performance of their song “Trees” on YouTube and you’ll see lead singer Tyler Heath get emotional at the crowd appreciation.

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of the Newport festival to embrace different styles.” The Jay Sweet formula had started to take shape. It was a short success, however, for Sweet’s bosses, who took it on the chin in the 2008 economic downturn. “I came to work one day and there was a chain on the door—literally,” Sweet said. “I was out of job after a decade of making very good money and living my dream.” That’s when George Wein somehow got a hold of that 18-page paper. At first, Wein said, Jay Sweet was “just a guy who talked a lot.” But Wein was able to look past Sweet’s harsh criticism of his festival contained in the paper. Moreover, after the successful 2008 event, which got good press and a noticeable uptick in ticket sales, “I said there’s something about this man, Jay Sweet, that intrigues me. He knows what he’s talking about as far as contemporary folk music is concerned. And so I spoke to him and I said, ‘I’m going to say you’ve got it. I’m going to give you a chance to prove yourself.’” Sweet would be in charge of booking the 2009 festival. Eventually the numbers would speak for themselves: In 2011, the two-day event sold out Saturday. In 2012, both Saturday and Sunday sold out. In 2013, the event became a three-day extravaganza, with organizers adding a Friday, and both Saturday and Sunday sold out and Friday almost sold out. And in 2014, the Newport Folk Festival sold out all three days months in advance. “So we sold out 30,000-plus tickets months before the festival and before we announced the vast majority of the line-up,” Sweet said. “So, yeah, George was pretty happy.” And with National Pubic Radio broadcasting the festival each year, there’s a possible added audience of 2.2 million. Sweet, Wein said, has proven himself. “He’s done the most fantastic job for me imaginable.”

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“We do a whole ‘Go Dragons!’ cheer, me and the team. And all these famous musicians are like, ‘What the hell is going on?! What the hell is a Dragon?!’” IT’S AFTER MIDNIGHT in July 2010 and Jim James, the lead singer and songwriter for the Kentuckybased band My Morning Jacket, wants to go for a nighttime swim. He’s in Newport, having been one of the headliners at the Newport Folk Festival, and he, Sweet and a few other musicians are in afterparty mode. At first James says he’s going to cross the lawn of one of the mansions on Bellevue, but Sweet implores him not to and instead gets James’ driver to take the group toward First Beach. That’s when James spots the illuminated tower of the St. George’s Chapel in the night sky. “What is that?” James says, “the Rhode Island Cathedral? It looks like Hogwarts!” “Uh, no. It’s a high school,” Sweet replies hesitantly. “My high school.” “You’re kidding me, right? Well, we’re definitely going there. I have to see this thing up close,” James says. As the driver pulls the car up onto the lawn behind the Chapel “golf carts were coming from every direction,” Sweet recalled. Campus safety officers drill Sweet to make sure he is who he said he was, and then let the group come into the moonlit chapel. They keep the lights off. Sweet remembers the night like a good dream. James, he said, stood in the middle of the aisle and sang Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” a cappella. “You’d think [it] would be cheesy, a joke,” he said. “But in the Chapel,

with five people and all the lights being off and Jim being in the perfect center where you don’t need any amplification and singing that song the way he did … I mean we were mesmerized.” Sweet even gave a chapel talk. “One of my biggest regrets [about SG] was never doing a chapel talk,” he said. “And I gave one that night to those people. I said, ‘I never was brave enough to stand up and give my chapel talk,’ but here I am 20-plus years later with these amazing people, some of my favorite musicians on the planet, and I’m living my dream. It was strangely satisfying and obviously, completely surreal.” The late-night swim happened at Second Beach instead.

AS HE WOUND DOWN from the euphoria of the 2014 fest last August, Sweet had already invited the first artist to the 2015 festival. “I put in my first offer yesterday to a band that pretty much no one has heard of,” he said, insisting he wouldn’t name names. “But I have a feeling that will change by the time July 2015 comes around.” Sweet, who found the band in a tiny club in Providence, said that again it came down to his witnessing the audience reaction to the band. You get the feeling Sweet just feels music in his gut. Said Sweet unabashedly: “People who don’t understand the power of music aren’t my people.”

Last summer Sweet was in the midst of the thousands attending the folk festival at Fort Adams State Park—taking care of the musicians and running from stage to stage—when he was approached by a fan. “Literally an arm stopped me— and it was Mrs. Leslie,” said Sweet, remembering the encounter with now retired Associate Director of Admission Betsy Leslie, wife of Steve Leslie. “I said, ‘Mrs. Leslie!’ and she said, ‘I just wanted to let you know that not only am I proud of you, but Steve Leslie has probably never been more proud of a student than he is of you.’ “She was more polite, but basically the tenor of the thing was we thought you would end up in a ditch, and you didn’t, and now we’re at your festival. We actually paid money to come to see your festival!” Interviewed recently about Sweet, Steve Leslie said indeed, times had changed. Among his memories of serving as Dean of Students at St. George’s, he said, was supervising “Rock Pile,” a form of punishment that was created in part as a direct response to Sweet’s accumulating infractions. “I would gather a group of students who had cut too many classes, not completed homework assignments, cut chapel, or (heaven forbid), violated the dress code at 7 a.m.—and go down to pick up trash along the road by Second Beach. “Jay was somewhat of a regular on my squad.” Now that Leslie is happily retired and no longer “chasing down recalcitrant teens,” he said he looks forward every year to joining friends and family at the Newport Folk Festival. “And I am keenly aware that it has been Jay who stepped in, recognized the challenge of revitalizing the iconic festival, and has brought to it a resurgence that many of us never dreamed could happen. “And every summer, in late July,” he added, “my mantra is, ‘Jay Sweet is my hero!’”

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Sweet readies to introduce the Providence-based band Deer Tick at the 2013 Newport Folk Festival.

S T O R Y B Y S U Z A N N E M C G R A D Y // P H O T O S B Y D A N C O P E N H A V E R / D A N C O P E P H O T O . C O M

Pain … then Payoff NEW TO THE SPORT OF ROWING, EMILY KALLFELZ ’15 TAKES ON AN AGGRESSIVE TRAINING REGIMEN—AND HITS THE COLLEGE RECRUITMENT JACKPOT

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Born to a mother and father—Julie and Andrew Kallfelz—who both took up the sport for the first time and rowed competitively at Cornell University, it was probably inevitable that Emily, the eldest of two daughters (sister Eliza is a fourth-former), would try rowing herself one day. Both girls have witnessed their parents’ passion for the sport, watching from the Cambridge, Mass., shore each fall as the two participated in the Head of the Charles Regatta as part of Cornell’s alumni team. It wasn’t, however, until the 2013 Head of the Charles, when Andrew heard from a fellow rower about his own daughter’s experiences getting recruited to colleges strictly Emily and her team train based on her indoor rowing machine times that he at the GMS Rowing Center encouraged Emily to try the sport. At that point, he in New Milford, Conn., for the 2014 World Rowing said, “She reluctantly was interested.” Junior Championships. “She asked me, ‘Well, what will I have to do?’” The mission was pretty straightforward: pull a good time in a high-profile indoor rowing competition and you’ll get the attention of college coaches. The training could really pay off. To solidify the goal and give herself a target, in November 2013 Emily signed up for the premier indoor rowing event in New England, the 2014 Charles River All Star Has-Beens (C.R.A.S.H.-B.) Sprints World Indoor Rowing Championships. She had just three months to train; the event was to take place

in February. And it was a tall order. Having spent a good part of the summer in China, Emily—a varsity soccer player, swimmer and sailor—hadn’t recently been working out very much. To get in shape, Emily said, she would stagger up to the Kallfelzes’ Concept 2 rowing machine in their attic at 5:45 a.m. every morning and row for about an hour and a half—straight. It was, she said, “the most painful workout anyone could ever have.” It took some special backup. “My dad was kind of driving the whole thing,” she said. “He got me up in the morning when I didn’t want to, and he got me doing the workouts— because honestly, they were brutal.” At the time, the Kallfelzes also found a secret weapon in Xeno Müller, a 1996 Olympic gold medalist who coaches rowers around the world virtually from his post in California. The two have never met. Andrew videos Emily on the erg and sends it to Müller. Müller sends back tips and a training plan. “I figured out pretty early on that dad-as-coach probably wasn’t going to work so well,” Andrew said. “Having Xeno, I could be the reinforcement and he could be the one who says, ‘OK this is how you do it.’” Most days, Emily would also double up on her workouts, meeting with SG Varsity Swim Coach Keri Cunningham, who designed a strength and conditioning program to help her build her endurance. All the while Emily was maintaining high marks in three APs and two honors courses; fighting to stay awake to do homework. “Emily has a tremendous work ethic,” Cunningham said. “Her success did not happen by accident; she earned every bit of it.” Still, there were times when Emily thought she might break. “And that was probably a few times a week,” she admitted. (continue to pg. 28) E

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o onlookers, it was an enviable position to be in: Emily Kallfelz ’15 of Jamestown, R.I., was pondering admission offers from Harvard, Yale and Princeton. “Really,” she admitted, “I might just have to toss a coin.” That was back in the fall, a milestone moment in what by many accounts has been a veritable meteoric rise to proficiency in the sport of rowing. On the day she had to make her decision about where to go to college—Oct. 1, 2014—it was, in fact, less than a year from when Kallfelz had first folded herself onto the seat of an indoor rowing machine, a training ergometer, or “erg” for short.

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N A SNOWY FEBRUARY 16, 2014, Emily entered Boston University’s Agganis Arena to see an event floor strewn with dozens of rowing machines lined up in rows. When she found her place and got on her erg she looked up to find a video camera pointed at her. “I was terrified,” she said. Then the referee shouted, “Ready all … Attention … Row!” Fueled with adrenaline, Emily came out hard—and about halfway through, she said, “I was pretty much done.” “The last minute and 45 seconds … I don’t remember it, honestly. I just remember not being able to feel anything.” Still, she kept going, telling herself it was only two more minutes of her life; she could do it. When she finally got off the erg, she said, she fell over.

Perhaps not an elegant entrance into a ballroom, but Andrew calls it, “her coming out party.” Because she’d never entered her times into Concept 2’s worldwide database, she was a virtual unknown. Now, in a field of 239 rowers in the Junior Women’s Division, she placed eighth. The next day she spent two hours with the coach at Harvard and met the entire rowing team. Almost immediately her email box began to fill up with inquiries from college recruiters. “OK, so I’m done now, right?” That’s what Emily remembers thinking at that point. Visions of actually getting into a racing boat, pulling real oars through the water, wind in her face, were distant. “Look, I don’t care if you ever take another stroke before you show up here as an athlete,” the Harvard coach told her. “You don’t ever have to get in a boat as far as I’m concerned. You’ve done what you need to do to show us that we want you.” Andrew’s perspective was different. Getting on the water is the fun part, he said. Emily allowed herself a couple of weeks off, but decided to use part of her March Spring Break to attend a camp at the Florida Rowing Center in Wellington learning how to actually scull. She started out in a novice boat, a Zephyr by Peinert Boatworks out of Mattapoisett, Mass., wider and more stable than a racing shell Then she made a hard choice. “Sailing is still my favorite sport,” she told her dad, as she made the decision to step away from the SG sailing team and do a special athletic project last spring. She would continue to work with Cunningham on strength and training and drive up to the Narragansett Boat Club in Providence on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays to row under the direction of Coach Peter Wilhelm.

She put another goal on her training map: the Lowell (Mass.) Invitational, and with just three weeks before the regatta, she had to get into a racing single—a much narrower boat, 26 feet long and just 26 centimeters wide, she called “super tippy.” “I flipped the first time I was in that boat—and it was cold,” she said “You can’t right the boat by yourself because you have the oars, so the coach has to come over, drag you out of the water and into the motor boat, flip over the boat, put you back in— and then you row again.” Still a little unstable, and admitting to only pulling about 40 percent full effort because of it, Emily still placed second in the competition at Lowell. Rowing, indeed, had started to get fun. The next week, on the same course, Emily entered the US Rowing Northeast Championships, the regional qualifier for the US Youth National Championships. The top three finishers in each event would qualify for the National Championship regatta three weeks later in California.

“[Emily’s] success did not happen by accident; she earned every bit of it.” limiting factor,” she said. As a newcomer, she didn’t have everything down yet. After half of the race, she was catching up and ultimately came in third. “I didn’t mope, but I was definitely frustrated with myself,” she remembered. She told her dad, “I could’ve won that. That is so annoying.”

ment. “At the beginning of my training my dad encouraged me to get started and helped me over some bumps,” she recalled. “But then I started to really enjoy the sport.” Ten months after those first torturous workouts on the erg in her attic, she was heading to Hamburg, Germany, to represent the United States.

resilience and determination, they won, beating the Italians with a time of 7:23:49. “We were just so determined to prove ourselves to ourselves,” she said. “It was a confidence booster for us. It was very relieving.” The girls emerged from that race with the fastest time out of every female quad there that day,

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In Germany, as the temperature sizzled and rowers from all over the world competed for training space in Aussenalster Lake, Emily and the girls in her quad felt the rush of competition. “Seeing the course was awesome. It was so beautiful,” she remembers. It was like being in the Olympics, all the athletes walking around in their team uniforms with race credential I.D.s hanging around their necks. After a week of training, the racing began. There were heats and Emily and the three other girls in her quad took third behind China and Great Britain. Then came the semifinals. Emily remembers about 90 seconds of smooth sculling before things went horribly awry. “One of the girls in our boat caught a crab; she got her oar stuck in the water and our boat turned like 90 degrees and we couldn’t get it out of the water because it was stuck under the boat and backwards. We were sitting in the water for 25 seconds.” At first, she said, she remembers thinking “like a beginner,” like they could catch up, but her hopes were pretty soon dashed. Rather than going to the A final, they competed in the B final, where through sheer

She had reached the point where she felt she could actually win. Three days after getting home to Rhode Island Emily left for selection camp for the Junior National Team in New Milford, Conn., where she was vying for a spot in a quad—a four-person boat—with 40 other girls. It didn’t take long for her to nab one of the four seats: in a standard erg race, she placed first after weight adjustments, then she won two 1.5-kilometer time trials. She had secured a place in the quad as a stroke, the rower closest to the stern in charge of keeping the rowers’ stroke rate and calling out adjustments. Soon she knew the rest of the girls who’d be in the boat with her—and a whole new way to experience rowing. “You realize that the team dynamic is so much different than being by yourself,” she said. The girls camped out in a bug-infested, unfurnished house in town, sleeping on the floor. But what Emily remembers most is the bonding: training hard, really hard, but then going into town to get fro-yo and making pottery. Looking back now, she said, she’s glad she had her father’s reinforce-

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Andrew remembers standing on the shoreline of the Merrimack River in Lowell at about the 1,000meter mark on a pathway that ran along the length of the course. “I saw her come by and just started running,” he said. He saw her propel to the finish line. “She wins it, wins it,” he says, his voice breaking with emotion. “Yeah. It was just unbelievable. “As a parent spectating this, I’m just like, ‘Are you kidding me?’” Next up, in May, were the Nationals in California, where in early time-trial heats at 8 a.m., despite nerves, Emily took second place to continue on in the competition. “I was really flustered. There’s a huge mental component to it,” she recalled. “My steering was off.” Afterwards, though, she remembers telling her dad, “That was so much fun!” On the fourth day of the event were the finals, and Emily paced around inside the boathouse. “I didn’t talk to anyone before the race,” she said. “I just tried to conserve energy.” It didn’t look good early on; she was dead last for the first 250 meters. “My technique was the

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“You realize that the team dynamic is so much different than being by yourself.”

// SPRING 2015

LATER THAT DAY in October, when she finally had to make her college choice, she chose the school with a focus on undergraduate programs and departments “dedicated to helping rowers specifically with balancing schoolwork and athletics and with finding jobs,” a “small and very tight-knit” rowing team that was friendly and welcoming, and coaches whom she believes are “the best in the country.” “I chose the school I would fit into best,” she said. Princeton had won the toss.

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loved the assistant coach there. It was just like, ‘She is the best!’ They were buddies. She was getting buddy emails from the coach at Princeton, ‘Hey, how did the soccer game go today?’ They knew what was going on in her life. They were friends. And the same thing was going on at Harvard with a couple of students. “And so when it came time to make a decision, it was incredibly personal because she knew she was going to have to let two sets of friends down and she didn’t want to let anyone down because she loved them all.” Ultimately, Emily admits, she had to be pragmatic. Rowing will enhance her life for the next four years. She’ll turn 18 in April knowing that she’s headed to the Ivy League—a heavily recruited top prospect who also will represent the United States for the second time at the World Rowing Junior Championships, which this summer will take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In the end, though, “there’s no professional rowing,” she said. “I’m not going to go row for the rest of my life, so I want to make sure I’m picking a school that’s a good fit academically and socially as well as athletically,” she said. “I can’t really go wrong with the schools I’m choosing from, which is a good problem to have.”

THESE DAYS as Emily heads into another season of training for her second World Junior rowing competition in August, she said, “It’s a nice position to be in, obviously, and I feel very lucky.” She attributes only part of her success to her own focus and determination. “A lot of it has not much to do with me,” she said. “My dad was a great coach. I got great coaching from Xeno in California. I had an amazing coach on the water. I had a training plan. It was pretty much the ideal circumstances to go into rowing.” For Müller, Kallfelz is the ultimate student: “driven” and “open to coaching.” “She also trusts her mom and dad, trusts my coaching and builds on what she learns,” he wrote. Emily also credits genetics. “My dad … he’s got a lot going for him and he’s passed some of it to me. “He is one of those people who can push himself to the limit, to the point of passing out, every single time. He’s very, very, very strongwilled, which has helped me a lot. His strong-mindedness kept me going, because I didn’t have that.” Then there’s the pure biology: Both Andrew and Emily score well on endurance physiology tests: blood lactate levels and the O2 max—how efficiently you can convert oxygen to energy. Still, Andrew sees Emily’s successes another way. “She’s always been a kid who is willing to work really hard. She was

also an athlete who would work really hard and put in incredible amounts of effort, but who was not always served with the same level of reward in terms of performance,” he said. “She worked very, very hard in the pool … but her success in the pool is probably not commensurate with the effort she’s put into it. “Seeing her rewarded for her training now,” he said, “is sweet. “In some ways,” he added, “rowing was the perfect sport for someone like Emily. One thing’s for sure: it’s a sport you don’t have to start when you’re 4. There’s some hopefulness for late bloomers in that. “Unlike, say, soccer or swimming, where to be considered an ‘elite’ player you have to start at 5, 6 or 7 and train nearly year-round, rowing allows more opportunities for older kids to excel. “They don’t make itty-bitty oars and itty-bitty boats for kids to row in; it’s really an adult-sized sport,” he said. Recalling last winter, Emily says, “Of course I wanted to give up at some points. … There were points when I was like ‘I am done. I don’t want to be doing this any longer.’ “But then once you hit the threshold of, ‘Wait, I may actually be decent at this; maybe I should keep trying it’ …” she pauses. “After that, it’s purely focus.” When the day came to decide which of the Ivy League colleges she would attend, Andrew says he was “shocked at how emotionally stressful” it was for Emily. “When you are a recruited athlete, these coaches and these programs are so good at the recruiting process that they turn you into friends,” he said. Within a couple of months of the C.R.A.S.H. Bs Emily had had really personal interactions with the coaches, the assistant coaches and the staff and the members of the rowing teams. “So she loved the coach at Yale. He was awesome. She

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including all six boats in the A finals (China won the event with a time of 7:26:48). Emily wrote her college essay about the event and bouncing back from adversity. “I learned a ton about my own mental and physical strength,” she said. “And I met teammates I will be friends with for years.”

I T ’ S M AY. I T ’ S N E W P O R T. I T ’ S A C E L E B R AT I O N ! st. george’s school

// SPRING 2015

ALUMNI REUNION WEEKEND The weekend isn’t just for reunion classes. If you’re an alum*, you’re invited—every year. F E E D YO U R I N N E R D R AG O N . C O M E B AC K TO T H E H I L LTO P.

MAY 8-10, 2015 Register at www.stgeorges.edu/AlumniWeekend

*at or past your fifth-reunion year. A special Prize Day Weekend Cookout for alums in the Classes 2010-2014 is planned for Sunday, May 24.

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Alumni News

E A story about Philippe Cousteau ’98 and his “Life-defining Quest” to preserve his family’s legacy appeared in the Aug. 4 edition of Conde Nast Traveler magazine. See class note on page 69 for more. PHOTOGRAPHY BY MICHAEL MULLER

IN 35 40 41 79

THIS SECTION Alumni in the News Class Notes Memorial List From the Archives

ALUMNI NEWS

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What fascinates you about the Asian culture? I think two things really fascinate me. One includes the depth and intricacies of Chinese. China has a long, rich history and culture, and this is manifested in the language. Second, being in China, it’s amazing to see how quickly the country has changed. Talking to Chinese friends and colleagues about their life experiences gives you a feel for the incredible amount of change Chinese society has undergone in the past few decades.

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What were those first Chinese classes at SG like for you? What do you remember about them? Do you have any advice for firstyears? My first Chinese classes at SG were a whirlwind. I distinctly remember Mr. Jaccaci rambling on in Chinese, and I was really impressed. A tip for first-years would be use a sharp pencil or thin pen—it makes writing characters a lot easier and neater! And, of course, make sure you devote lots of time to studying.

Reconnecting in Shanghai JULIA OAK ’10 graduated from Hobart and William Smith Colleges in 2014 with degrees in sociology and Asian studies. This year she is in Shanghai working as an English teaching assistant at the YK Pao Secondary School, where her former SG Chinese teacher, TONY JACCACI, is now the head of school.

What made you decide to make the leap and to move to China after graduation? Was it always a goal? I studied abroad in Beijing in 2012 on an intensive language studyabroad program. After being in Beijing, I knew I’d come back after I graduated. Tell us about meeting your students for the first time. What are their concerns/hopes/ aspirations? Do you see big differences/similarities between Chinese and American teenagers? I think overall their goals, concerns, hopes and aspirations are much more focused on college and good academic grades than many students in the U.S. Not only is education very highly valued in Chinese culture, but many of our students hope to matriculate eventually into a U.S./U.K. college, so it is incredibly important for them and their

ALUMNI NEWS

How is your life most different living in China vs. the U.S.? Shanghai is a very foreigner-friendly city, so besides food and language, I’d have to say the most different thing about living here is the time difference. It’s hard when you have exciting or sad news and really want to talk to loved ones but it’s 3 a.m. in the United States. Have there been any times in the last months when you wished you could’ve been part of something that happened here in the U.S.—or wished for more news about current events back home? Social media and texting make it pretty easy to know what’s going on at home—but that has its pros and cons! I definitely get more homesick and feel like I’m missing out after Face timing or seeing photos of friends and family online.

Kelsey Crowther ’08 was recently appointed the new program director at Ida Lewis Yacht Club in Newport. Crowther, who grew up sailing at the Chatham Yacht Club on Cape Cod, was a four-year varsity sailor at SG and was a sixth-former when the Dragons won the Team Race Nationals in 2008. Michael Scott Hanrahan ’88 published his first novel—an environmental thriller “about animals and nature attacking humans when the latter’s domination threatens the Earth.” Hanrahan is an educator and filmmaker who teaches environmental media storytelling at the University of California, Santa Barbara’s Carsey-Wolf Center for Film, TV, and New Media.

Christopher T.H. “Toby” Pell ’66, P’95, retired executive director of the Preservation Society of Newport County and a former partner at Barclay Investments in Providence from 1976-1991, was recognized at the University of Rhode Island’s Distinguished Achievement Awards celebration in October. Pell received a Deans’ Award for his service for many years on URI’s Graduate School of Oceanography Advisory Council, which he currently chairs. The Newport home of jewelry designer Cory Plumb ’92 and her husband, race car driver Matt Plumb ’92, is featured in “Living Newport: People, Houses, Style” by Bettie Bearden Pardee (Glitterati Inc., 2014).

After a 15-year career with Starbucks, most recently as vice president, Global Responsibility, Ben Packard ’85 is now at The Nature Conservancy as director of corporate engagements. The Rev. Christopher M. Agnew ’63 received the National Episcopal Historians and Archivists’ John W. Davis Award at NEHA’s annual meeting last June in Salt Lake City, Utah. The award recognizes “outstanding contributions by an NEHA member to the organization and/or Episcopal church history and archives.”

Patricia Barroll Sellman ’82 earned first place for her entry in The New Yorker magazine’s Jan. 15 cartoon caption contest.

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How does our pop culture translate? Well, I have a group of advisees and the other week they were watching a Taylor Swift music video and told me they’d heard that every American hated Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber even though they're popular here [in China]. I said that some people liked them and some did not—but not every single American.

Richard Painter ’80 was quoted in the Dec. 26 New York Times article, “A Bipartisan Push to Limit Lobbyists’ Sway Over Attorneys General.” The article reports on a bipartisan effort to change the way state attorneys general interact with lobbyists, campaign donors and other corporate representatives. Painter, a University of Minnesota law professor who was the chief White House ethics lawyer during the Bush administration, is now a fellow at the Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard.

Kevin Holden ’02 recently won a three-year post-doctoral fellowship at Harvard that will begin in June. The post is offered by the Harvard Society of Fellows, which notes that candidates are selected “for their resourcefulness, initiative, and intellectual curiosity, and because their work holds exceptional promise.” Holden is now in the process of completing his Ph.D. in comparative literature at Yale.

What do your students know about the United States? Many of our students are pretty familiar with many aspects of the U.S. and Western culture. That being said, I think many of our students enjoy learning about the U.S. through movies, music and books. I know several students who are reading and watching “House of Cards,” “Enders Game” and “Hunger Games.” Many of the TV shows that are popular at home are popular here as well.

A LUM N I I N T HE N E WS

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families to reach the goals needed to achieve this. In terms of similarities, there are still many similarities between teenagers across continents and cultures.

ALUMNI NEWS

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‘Mad Man’ Jack Shuttleworth ’49: Adventures in Advertising

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WHEN JACK SHUTTLEWORTH ’49 watches the AMC hit TV show “Mad Men,” which enters the second half of its final season April 15, the midcentury-modern office furniture and martini lunches look quite familiar. So do the machinations of the fictitious Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce advertising agency. That’s because Shuttleworth is one of two veteran account executives in the Class of 1949 who worked on Madison Avenue during the 1960s—the so-called “golden age of advertising” depicted on the show. The other was Bob Gleckler, who for years headed up the Oil of Olay campaign at Young & Rubicam, one of the world’s largest consumer ad agencies. Mr. Gleckler died last June. Shuttleworth said that aesthetically, at least, in many ways his and Gleckler’s days back on the avenue were much like those on the TV show—with at least one notable exception. “The office interiors are perfect,” he said. “That’s the way those agency rooms looked, the kind of furnishings they had,” he said. “But what’s way out of touch is the facial hair. This was ‘The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit,’” he added, referencing the 1955 best-selling novel by Sloan Wilson, later made into a movie starring Gregory Peck. “You had to dress well to work at an advertising agency. You had to be cleanshaven. If someone came through with stubble on their face, they wouldn’t get through the door.” It was a world that easily lent itself to drama, according to Shuttleworth. Because of the competitive, results-oriented nature of the business, personal lives took a toll. If a firm lost an account, account reps lost their jobs. “We called it ‘Pink-Slip Friday’ in those days,” he said. “Someone was always being let go.” It was a freewheeling atmosphere where ad reps didn’t have to punch a clock. “The three-martini lunch was standard operating procedure.” Shuttleworth said he was lucky to have gotten the opportunity to move up in the industry after he graduated from Bowdoin College and came home from serving as a troop commander at Fort Benning during the Korean War.

During the summer while he was in college he worked in the mailroom at Robert Orr and Associates on 59th Street in New York across from the Plaza Hotel. “They had the Pan American Coffee Bureau campaign: ‘Give yourself a coffee break,’” Shuttleworth said, which paved the way for unions to write a mid-morning break into their contracts. “That’s an example of advertising leading the way,” he said. His first full-time job was at the Kudner Agency from 1955–63, where he started out in market research. A common sight was the copywriters all sitting on the floor, jackets off, brainstorming for a pitch to make to a potential client. “Anyone could say anything,” he said.

ALUMNI NEWS

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A secretary would take notes. He remembers a fellow copywriter coming up with the line, “Wouldn’t you really rather have a Buick?” Shuttleworth hit the jackpot when he wrote an ad that ended up as a two-page color spread in Life magazine that read, “Time takes a holiday in the time-proof body by Buick.” “We took Buick to the No. 3 in national auto sales after Ford and Chevrolet, knocking out Plymouth,” he recalled. Like a commercial jingle that stands the test of time, Shuttleworth’s legacy in advertising has continued long since he left the business in the 1980s. His work is still evident in the coffee aisle at supermarkets.

After Kudner, Shuttleworth had a stint at the ad firm Atherton & Courier, then moved on to become the advertising manager for the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia. At the time the association was already spending millions to promote their product in print campaigns depicting a made-up character, a coffee grower named Juan Valdez. Shuttleworth bolstered their current print campaign with an ad saying, “Most Americans don’t know beans about Colombian coffee.” Then he brought the character of Juan Valdez to life through a series of television commercials. “I thought if we could show him working, rather than just somebody in a costume in a print ad, we’d have something,” he said. Shuttleworth, accompanied by the Cuban-born actor José F. Duval, started going to Colombia to shoot the commercials. Soon, he learned, Maxwell House, Folger’s and Chock full o’ Nuts were all getting letters from consumers wanting to know if their brand was Colombian coffee. And supermarkets like A&P started marketing their own brands as being “100 percent Colombian coffee.” The iconic Colombian Coffee logo, with a sketch of Valdez and his mule in front of the Andes Mountains, was born. Thirty years later, in 2005, consumers selected the logo in an Advertising Week contest as “the most recognized advertisement icon in the United States.” “It paved the way for coffee to be valued,” Shuttleworth said, “and for people to pay—without a lot of objection— more money for a good cup of coffee.” Now, as Shuttleworth and his wife, Clare, travel around the country, they often find themselves in other national grocery chains, like Publix and Winn-Dixie—and there, in the coffee aisle, they still see the 100 percent Colombian coffee seal on even the newest supermarketbrand coffee cans. “That knocks me out,” Shuttleworth said. “You don’t necessarily think you have a long-term image with advertising, but in this case, it’s just kept on going.” Now that’s a campaign Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce would covet.

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“It paved the way for coffee to be valued,and for people to pay—without a lot of objection—more money for a good cup of coffee.”

ALUMNI NEWS

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Q+A

W I T H M I K E C A S E Y ’11

// SPRING 2015

A training injury in the summer of 2013 forced him to sit out the entire season, but Casey, who was elected a captain of the Division I University of Rhode Island men’s soccer team despite the misfortune, is once again making an impact It must have been an incredible feeling to get back out on the field after recovering from your injury last year. Can you tell me what it was like, both physically and emotionally, to sit out during the 2013 season? How did working through that adversity help you grow as a player? ‘An incredible feeling’ doesn’t quite sum up how great it was to be able to get back on the field and not only practice again, but be able to play in our first preseason game and score a goal in the first two minutes. Sitting out the 2013 season was pretty difficult because I have never been asked to sit out for an extended period of time like that, while the rest of my teammates were able to play. The worst part was showing up to practice every single day and not being able to do anything but help pick up balls and cones. Emotionally, it took a toll on me because I live with a bunch of my teammates, so I would have to hear about soccer and be around it all the time without being able to even think about playing. As I was coming back from the injury and starting to be able to bike and walk, I began to gain confidence. Minor setbacks felt like major setbacks, however, and I would constantly have to remind myself that I did not want to come back from this injury to just be able to practice, I wanted to start and make an impact on the team. … The 2013 season was pretty unsuccessful if you were to look at our team’s stats and results throughout the year, but it also acted as

a constant reminder to me that coming back from my injury and making an impact, whether it be big or small, was a golden opportunity. It is quite an honor to be selected as a team captain. What additional pressures and/or responsibilities come with assuming this role? Being selected as a team captain is a great honor that I have received for the past two years, however, it did not take its full effect until this current season. Being a captain who was injured and unable to play, I understood that there were more responsibilities off the field that I would have to manage, yet, I knew in the back of my mind that you need to be able to lead people on the field before you can fully earn their respect. I believe that in coming back from the injury and training throughout preseason this year, I really earned the respect of my teammates. The main reason I feel this way is because I would never ask something of my teammates that I did not believe I could do, or attempt to do. I know that I am not the most talented soccer player, but I like to think that with my hard work and the motivation of the more talented players around me, I can have a huge impact on URI soccer. After winning just two games in 2013, URI was picked second-to-last in the Atlantic 10 preseason poll for 2014, but the team managed to put together one of the most successful seasons

in recent history, winning the regular season title and advancing to the A-10 Championship game. In your opinion, what was it that made this team special and what were the keys that led to such an impressive turnaround? For many years now, we have underperformed and failed to meet the expectations of what URI soccer is known to be. To finally change that, feels incredible. I grew up watching URI soccer from a young age and always thought the world of the team, so it was great to do what we did this season—not only for ourselves, but to gain the respect of our alumni. We knew the whole year that we would prove everyone wrong for doubting us and our ability to win important games. But still, we kept our heads when we started winning until it just became natural. The biggest turnaround for us was probably the winning attitude that we developed early on. There were big moments during the season where we took care of the teams that we knew we could beat, and then fought like hell to win games that we knew we had only the slightest chance of winning. Coach Elliott drilled that winning attitude into our heads throughout the season, until we knew that losing was not an option for us. Scoring the two goals in the Atlantic 10 semifinal game was the best feeling I could have ever had because I had dreamed of that moment since I was injured. I would constantly push myself to work harder and come back stronger so that I could score a game-winning goal and have all of my teammates tackle me. The fact that it happened in overtime, in a win-or-go-home situation, made it even more special. What would you tell a fellow Dragon about playing sports at a high level in college? What are the sacrifices/ rewards? Dragons already know what it is to sacrifice, going to one of the best boarding schools in the country and having to give up the normal life a high school student lives. They have to play a sport in all three seasons, have to perform at an extremely high level academically and go to school

ALUMNI NEWS

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“I remember my freshman year here at URI, hearing overwhelmed students complain about the amount of work they had. I would just think—they have no idea what students at SG have to handle.”

As far as my future goes, I know that nothing has quite prepared me for my career like playing college sports has. It has established a competitive nature in me that has me constantly striving to win and improve in every way possible.

You'll be returning to URI next fall for a fifth year of school, your fourth playing soccer. Any thoughts about approaching your final year of collegiate sports? Any other goals regarding the sport? Will soccer always be a part of your life? I had planned to finish playing collegiate soccer this year if we had won the Atlantic 10 championship. However, I could not let myself come so close to achieving a goal that I have always had, only to come up short and leave. So I am coming back for another year with the plan to win the Atlantic 10 championship and put 2015 in the record books. After college soccer ends, the memories will remain with me forever, as well as the people I have met and played with along the way. I’ll never forget the 2014 season and the gigantic run our team made against the odds, however, I’m hoping to make the best memory I will ever have in lifting the A-10 trophy in 2015.

Lastly, how do you think SG helped prepare you for your time at the URI and what do you miss most about SG? SG prepared me for life at the University of Rhode Island more than I ever could have imagined. It is almost as though during the first semester of college I thought to myself, ‘I have an incredible amount of time on my hands’… even though I was still adjusting to the demands of the rigorous schedule that comes with playing college soccer! St. George’s always kept us scheduling our time and even set a designated two hours of study hall each night where we had to be either in our rooms or at the library studying and doing schoolwork. I remember my freshman year here at URI, hearing overwhelmed students complain about the amount of work they had. I would just think—they have no idea what students at SG have to handle. What I miss most about SG is the full-on community experience. Everyone knows everyone at SG and if they don't know you, they make an effort to introduce themselves and start a conversation. Everyone always seems to be looking out for you, even after you graduate. I also miss the great days spent out on the varsity soccer field playing with guys like Valdair Lopes ’12, Graham Knisley ’10 and Carmen Boscia ’09. Memories of beating Middlesex on Middlesex Weekend alongside these guys will be with me forever.

You’re majoring in finance. Any plans/ career goals after graduation in 2016? After graduation this year, I am planning to return for my master’s degree. After hopefully graduating with my master’s, the plan is to get a job. But, if I get the chance before I enter the ‘real world,’ I want to make my way around the world— hopefully crashing at all of my teammates’ homes as many of them live around the globe.

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six days a week. Competing at the Division I level demands that same commitment. You must perform well academically, give up what is the stereotypical social life of a college student and work hard every single day because you train six days a week.

P H OTO C O U RT E S Y O F U R I

CLASS NOTES

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C L A S S C O R R E S P O N D E N T S are highly valued volunteers at St. George’s. They help the community remain knitted together in so many ways. We know these pages are the heart of the magazine. They are often the first to be read and they fuel memories and keep classmates bonded and engaged in each other’s lives. They also spark new connections, new support structures and new ways to engage with the SG family. And so the school wishes to thank the following class correspondents, who have retired from their posts, for their years of service to the school. Your work is so very appreciated.

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Lisa Bostwick ’83 (2013–2014) Kate Georgi Lauprete ’91 (2008–2014) Nicole Robinson Menges ’91 (2008–2014) Liz Irving Woodard ’97 (2008–2014) Anissa Roberts ’00 (2003–2014) We will welcome to the team Jennifer Vandermoer Mitchell, who has volunteered to serve as the new correspondent for the Class of 2000, and Cliff Dent, who will be writing for the Class of 1976. See an empty place where your class column should be and want to see it filled? Reconnect with old friends? Rally the class for your next reunion? Contact Director of Alumni Relations, Bill Douglas at ClassNotes@stgeorges.edu.

Francis Coxe Forbes ’37—“Great Uncle Frank” to Will Forbes ’92—celebrates his 95th birthday with Will’s daughter Sarah.

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Anderson Todd, 1932 Bolsover Road, Houston, TX 77005-1614, P: 713-529-1932, F: 713-526-2449, andytodd@rice.edu ■ Our little class lost Albert Merck in July, following a crucial heart operation in April. He was a valiant soul, a great man. Ever self-effacing, he was an extraordinary force for good in our world to whatever he set his heart, his mind, and unrelenting energy. ■ We are down to three. We span the country with Cresson Wistar, in the East, stomping around Whitemarsh outside of Philadelphia. In the West, Lynde McCormick, has parked his Gold Wing Honda for good in La Jolla, north of San Diego. As for me, in burgeoning Houston, I am enjoying having my tall, slender but

svelte, smiling and swaying, orangehaired granddaughter, Hannah Todd ’14, now a freshman, living on the campus of Rice University. And that is only a stone’s-throw away from where I now sit trying to make something out of nothing for your perusal. ■ Back to Albie’s great efforts in helping to innovate “teaching and learning” at SGS and elsewhere. I have the above noted granddaughter and another tall, orange-haired lass, Margaret Todd ’17, still at SGS, who can attest to the great changes, from our time, in what goes on in the classrooms. ■ What is wonderful are the “give and-take” interactions, the “over the table” discussions and exploration of possibilities and consequences. All “this good stuff” that goes on now at the school is, in many ways, due to the work and generosity of our classmate.

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Please contact Bill Douglas at 1-888-I-CALL-SG or ClassNotes@ stgeorges.edu if you would like to volunteer to serve as class correspondent.

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Please contact Bill Douglas at 1-888-I-CALL-SG or ClassNotes@ stgeorges.edu if you would like to volunteer to serve as class correspondent.

1942

Phillip F. Thomas, 102 Cartersville Road Extd., Cartersville, VA 23027, 804-375-9345, pftebt@gmail.com

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Peter M. Ward, 137 Hollow Tree Ridge Road, Unit 1222, Darien, CT 06820, P: 203655-3117, F: 203-656-0141, pward@ chadbourne.com

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Woodruff B. Crouse*, 485 Kercheval Avenue, Grosse Pointe, MI 48236, 313-885-0359 ■ Hard to believe our class will live on without Robin Rogers. All of you will remember Sid Thayer’s passing some 25 years ago. ■ We, the remainder, will steadfastly advance even without our memorable leaders. ■ As Clementine Churchill would say to the Prime Minister in moments of anguish, “WOW”!

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Col. Peter L. Hilgartner*, USMC (Ret.), 9032 Jeffrey Road, Great Falls, VA 22066-4151, 703759-2617, highpocketspete@verizon. net ■ I am happy to report that there are a number of us who are still fighting the good fight! It must be noted that our 70th Reunion, Friday, May 8, to Sunday, May 10, 2015, is fast approaching! To top it off, St. George’s would like us to be their guests (free of charge)! When I spoke with Phil Pierson, he indicated that he would like to attend. Bill Gowen and I are on board as well! Webb Hilbert is a “potential attendee” at this point. In light of the fact that there will be a special dinner honoring us and other alumni who have already celebrated their 50th reunion, we do need to let the school know which of us are coming, so they can plan accordingly. ■ I am counting that there are still six of us who represent our class. I am including Oscar Gubelman and Phil Pierson in that count, though I have not been able to reach either of them. Regarding Phil, some months ago, he told me about his need to relocate, but since then, we have lost contact. He was trying to decide between the East and West Coasts. I am betting that he chose

* We are sad to report these class correspondents have recently passed away.

CLASS NOTES

Charles L. Ritchie Jr. ’41, Jan. 18, 2015

SPRING 2015

David H. Couch, 3970 Red Rock Way, Sarasota, FL 34231, 941-924-0079, dc-mlc@verizon. net ■ After a prolonged absence in our class notes, it is encouraging to report that with upcoming issues, the Class of ’46 will once again be able to bring updated information to those of us who remain on the roster. For better or worse and with no regard for the old military saying: “Never volunteer,” I, Dave Couch, have taken the job and have already heard from “Ace” Adams and Jon Isham, which guarantees a modicum of acidic humor in future notes. I will soon touch base with as many as possible to bring us all up to speed on what’s going on since the informative days of Jack Lyte, who was a class act in the role of class

Bertram Lippincott Jr. ’41, Dec. 5, 2014

MEMORIAL LIST Francis M. Blodget, Jr. ’37, Aug. 24, 2014

1947

The Rev. Jonathan L. King, 257 Franklin Avenue, Wyckoff, NJ 07481, 201-891-9275, jlking340@aol.com

William D. Kilduff ’37, Aug. 5, 2014 John H. Wulsin ’38, July 20, 2014 Albert W. Merck ’39, July 22, 2014

1948

Peter O. C. Austin-Small, 159 Tuckie Road, North Windham, CT 06256, 860-465-9441, paustinsma@aol.com ■ Wingate Lloyd starts us off with a celebratory note: “Thank you for your letter of Aug. 28, and thank you particularly for your good work as Secretary of the Class of ’48. You noted that time marches on, and indeed it does: earlier this month my wife, Janet, and I celebrated our 60th wedding anniversary, much to the horror of our four children, who found that the event makes them feel very old. To mark that occasion and Janet’s birthday late last year, we spent six days with children and grandchildren at the Club Med at Punta Cana, at the eastern end the Dominican Republic. We have been to other Club Meds, and they are really ideal for a multigeneration family vacation. I’ll bet that there are other classmates who can boast 60 years—I know of one, and there may be others. Keep up the good work.” [I will try.] ■ Yes, some of us can relate well to Larry McKibbin’s comment on the art scene and especially the opera in Santa Fe. Larry’s email message: “We split time between Santa Fe and El Paso. Children spread around the county—California, Oregon, Oklahoma, Florida—so we spend a lot of time on the road. My wife, Jacque, is an artist and opera buff, so Santa Fe is her favorite, but we also enjoy El Paso. Upon retirement from academia, I decided that our long-range plan would be to follow the whim of the moment. No fixed schedule. Lots of golf. Regards.” ■ A timely note from the well-traveled Don MacNary: “Just returning to Florida after a couple of weeks river cruising on the Mosel/Rhine, then to friends in Vermont for part of the Marlboro music shindig, then back to Mashpee on Cape Cod for about a month. The Cape’s summer was cool and lovely, felt like September all summer. Very unusual, but delightful.

Herbert W. Cantor ’41, Oct. 31, 2014

1946

correspondent. ■ All the best to all of you, Dave

st. george’s school

the West Coast as he lived on that side of the U.S. during his working years. I have not been able to locate Oscar either, so if any one of you has their current contact information, please get it to the school and to me. We need to reconnect with them in preparation for the May Reunion and festivities. ■ In August, I had the honor of attending the 1st Marine Division Reunion, in Charleston, S.C., with my youngest daughter, Dale. My battalion, the 1st Battalion 5th Marines, had a wonderful showing by both officers and enlisted men and their families. I was asked to speak to them at a special dinner, but my daughter, Dale, asked me if she could speak first. As a father, I was very proud of her. She spoke of the great legacy that all my Marines have, and that God protected all of us in that conflict. After that, I spoke, and was quite touched by the men and how they honored me, whom they nicknamed “Highpockets.” My daughter surprised me by giving me a hat labeled “Highpockets” on it. I was taken aback when Major General Nicholson, commander of the 1st Marine Division, told me what a great honor it was to meet me. It was due to my leadership in my battalion during the Vietnam conflict. That Marine Reunion made this old warrior proud that his service to his country was appreciated. ■ In conclusion, let’s make every effort to attend this Alumni Weekend, May 2015, to celebrate our 70th reunion.

Woodruff B. Crouse ’44*, Jan. 15, 2015 William S.R. Rogers ’44, Aug. 12, 2014 William L. Rudkin ’44, Dec. 28, 2013 Webb Hilbert Jr. ’45, Jan. 21, 2015 Peter L. Hilgartner ’45*, Jan. 8, 2015 Arthur I. Austin ’46, Feb. 3, 2015 Ralph Carson ’47, Nov. 14, 2014 John W. Harris ’47, Oct. 20, 2014 John K. Hyatt ’48, June 19, 2014 Edward F. Molyneux Jr. ’50, May 27, 2014 Courtney B. Nelson Jr. ’50, Jan. 19, 2014 Daniel B. Leonard ’54, July 20, 2014 Leonard A. Yerkes III ’54, Sept. 2, 2014 George G. Miller ’55, Sept. 1, 2014 Robert S. Ramsay Jr. ’55, July 13, 2014 Woodward H. Register ’61, July 27, 2014 Francis Brewis ’68, Feb. 18, 2014 Richard W. Cooper Jr. ’68, Sept. 8, 2014 John H. Rives ’69, Nov. 22, 2014 T. Christopher Boardman ’79, Nov. 18, 2014 Nicholas Keszler ’10, Dec. 7, 2014

COMM U N I T Y

Kathleen A. Collins RN, Health Center (1989–1996), Jan. 3, 2015 Nancy P. Corkery P’73, ’74, GP’07, ’08, (spouse of Chris Corkery, SG faculty 1958–1972), Jan. 4, 2015

Now returning to what seems to be renamed “HOME” after years of “being away in Florida.” “The change seems to be a result of moving into a retirement community in St. Petersburg, where a ton of worries about getting older and the future, have been lifted, and we feel settled and wonderfully supported. Yes, we both have to manage health on a

■

CLASS NOTES

st. george’s school

walked a bit on beaches and such, and thought yet again, that Maine might be a pretty nice place to close out our lives, but probably not. ■ Good notes guys, but not enough. Next time?

1949

SPRING 2015

Dave Shurtleff ’48 (second from left) along with his sons, Michael and Matthew, and his wife, Cynthia, show off the Chinook salmon they caught in Nootka Sound, British Columbia.

number of fronts, but nothing so far that feels AWFUL. But now it’s become home. Best to all.” ■ A good missive from Dave Shurtleff, along with a fishy picture. Was the knee damaged at SG, Dave? Dave’s email: “I received your snail-mail request and decided to answer it before I join the majority of my close friends at St. George’s who are now dead. Fortunately, the only survivor known to me is George Bradley and his wife, who spent a few days with us several years ago. ■ “I fully retired after 53 years as a professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine here in Seattle (including 11 years of retired—extended as a volunteer) and my last scientific publication in June of 2013. Academic survival in one institution was at times a travail! I am still fishing with my wife and two sons for salmon and steelhead and daughter and son-inlaw for Dungeness crab from our summer place on Dabob Bay. The brain functions well except for “senile moments” of lost memory but the body is not, particularly the right knee that was destroyed playing football. Thanks for your work for St. George’s class of ’48. Cheers.” ■ Your correspondent, Peter Austin-Small, will be taking a memoir course this fall at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, Conn., where my wife, Linda, works as the parish administrator at St. Mark’s Chapel. Just after Labor Day, Linda, I, and our daughter Sara spent the better part of a week on the southern Maine coast visiting old haunts and even almost literally bumping into an old friend in his 1935 Packard convertible on the road in Kennebunkport, plus briefly visiting with one of Linda’s California-raised nieces working on a farm in Harpswell, of all places on the planet. We ate very well,

C. Jackson Shuttleworth, Jr., 230 Windward Court North, P.O. Box 621, Port Jefferson Village, NY 11777, 631-331-6098 ■ Harry Houghton is recovering well from a serious health problem. He was hospitalized briefly, causing him to miss our 65th Class Reunion last May. Harry and his wife, Nettie, were planning a fall vacation trip to the coast of Maine, “not fah” from where he lives in the Boston area. People in the know say that’s the best time of year to visit there. Less crowded than the summer months (after all Maine has called itself “Vacationland” for a long time) and the ocean is as warm as it gets to be. ■ George Gedney reports how much he and his wife, Jeanne, enjoyed attending our reunion. George had been unable to attend some of the more recent reunions, because they conflicted with landmark family events. ■ No more class news to report at this time. We got worn out talking about each other on the Hilltop last May.

1950

John T. Bethell, 59 School Stree, Manchester, MA 01944, 978-526-1104, john.bethell @verizon.net ■ Attending his 60th reunion at Yale, Joe Burnett was “pleasantly shocked by what went on. One classmate had paid for the whole class at the festivities, including food, booze and a two-hour cabaret show of Cole Porter songs done by a four-person troupe from New York. We had an attendance in the mid-300s, from a graduation group of 800. In addition, the class exceeded a targeted donation level to build two new residential colleges.” ■ Jerry Ford had an equally positive report on his Princeton reunion. “Our Class of ’54 had a great 60th,” he wrote. “We broke many records. Since I live in Princeton, I am usually involved in class functions. I design the reunion outfits, the class ties, ‘tiger lily’ scarves for the wives and lead the class in the P-Rade. In my early days, I designed

dragons, but switched long ago to tigers. Someday I may come to the Hilltop dressed in my Princeton regalia and scare the hell out of everyone.” ■ Howard Crowell writes that he and Sally are “still thriving in our continuing-care retirement community, and as predicted, busier than ever. The new Sarasota Military Academy middle school opened on Aug. 19, exactly six months from the day we put the shovel in the ground (amazing). We now have two charter military schools in Sarasota County—governed by one board, which I chair—and go from grades six to 12. Choice is what this is all about, and the atmosphere in these schools is refreshing. Even the teachers are in uniform. Pretty spectacular!” ■ From his home in Barcelona, Mike Da Costa writes: “I had a nice summer, with a very good trip to Switzerland and Germany in late June and early July. In Germany, I stayed with the godson of my uncle Charlie Sinnickson ’39. As of now, my doctor says I can’t take six-hour transatlantic flights. When I next see her, in December, I will ask if I can go to the United States next summer via London, Iceland and Eastern Canada, which is about an hour and a half from Iceland. If my doctor says I can go by way of these short flights, I will spend a week or 10 days at each of those stops. If it isn’t possible, I will take a boat either from Lisbon or England.” ■ Ted Hussey and his wife, Nancy, made an October visit to Washington, D.C., where Nancy was honored for her 40 years of needlework for the National Cathedral. Over the years, she has embroidered 10 distinctive pieces for the Cathedral. The Husseys also planned November and February trips to Southern California for the weddings of two granddaughters. “We are blessed to be living active lives in Georgia, where we never thought we would end up,” writes Ted. ■ Thanks to Joe Burnett for alerting us to a vignette of John Stein in former CIA lawyer John Rizzo’s “Company Man: 30 Years of Controversy and Crisis in the CIA” (Scribner’s, 2014). Our erstwhile senior prefect is described as “a large, bearlike man … dressed mostly in tweeds and cardigans that had a rumpled elegance. He had an impish, sometimes mordant sense of humor, was fond of tossing off one-liners in meetings large and small and had one particular habit that I found

CLASS NOTES

1952

Carl H. Grashof, III, 113 Old Orchard Road, Coatesville, PA 19320-5903, P: 610-384-2330, F: 610-384-1589, realseller@aol.com ■ I am so pleased to receive two responses to my last class notes. One from Howard Lewis reminding me he is among the two living members graduating from Harvard from our class, with honors no less, after I wrote only James Witker remained with the sun still shining on his face. Next Townsend Shields corrected my snowfall error from well over 100 to 200-plus

Who is this distinguished looking gentleman? HINT: He is a Basso profondo.

SPRING 2015

Mitchell Pierson, Jr., 1661 Murray Road, Victor, NY 14564-9144, 585-924-2514, mitchpierson@gmail.com

removed, married her sweetheart, handsome husband in Minneapolis, Minn., “The Land of Lakes” with more than 200 people in attendance where I got to sing for my dinner of walleye pike, which are plentiful in those parts. My two older boys took me fishing in Southern Maine this past week and the three of us caught and released over 100 smallmouth bass 18 to 20 inches and 3 to 5 pounds, all on the Androscoggin River. We had a wonderful guide the first day (meadowbrookguide@ fairpoint.net) and the next day we fished farther up the river on our own and did just as well. Most of Maine’s rivers are used to produce electricity so there are dams a plenty, and above and below these dams are where the fish hang out. They don’t nibble; they devour any artificial or live bait you throw their way. No need to let them take the bait because as soon as you feel the fish bite, it’s in their stomach; they are that hungry. I included the email address of the guide because he’s so good and if fishing or hunting are your hobby, he is the best. ■ I talked to Jim Witker, and he sounds just like he did in 1952: full of vim and vigor, but his “Charleston Dancing” days are but a memory of good times past. Arthritis and just plain old age have taken their toll as they have with most of us. Getting old is not for sissies! You learn to live with pain. He robbed the cradle when he married Christine, and now she is the big breadwinner, selling real estate in Long Island. Funny, when I spoke to her recently she was out of sorts with the vast number of newcomers into the real estate business who simply don’t know the business and probably never will. I told her it’s our job to be very patient with them because you can accomplish much more with honey than you can with frustration. Being a Realtor for 46 years, I know how the business has changed as well as the people in it. I can tell she knows it but sometimes it’s very hard to control our emotions. Their two children are very successful: one a film manager in California and a daughter in public relations here on the East Coast. ■ William Powdrell (Powdy) is never at a loss for words, and he and Helga are staying in Florida all year round now with their English bulldog, Dottie, who is 15. They won’t come north to Fairfax, Va., as long as the dog lives. One must

1951

inches last winter. It proves at least some of you are actually reading the scribble I am submitting twice a year. I have been class correspondent for quite a few years and thoroughly enjoy the assignment, but would be quite willing to relinquish the job to any classmate who might enjoy taking over, so speak up should that be your desire. ■ I would like you all to take advantage of two offers on the table, which will enrich your appreciation of two of our classmates. First, Robert Maddock has offered to send any member of our class a copy of his new history book in two volumes, and I can say, with authority, both are amazing in-depth and understanding of the 1300-year war that has been going on all these years between Muslims and Christianity. Bob spent 10 years researching the subject, and his books read like an historical novel—very hard to put down. The subject matter is electric and amazing in scope and detail. He self-published both books and is being careful with whom he sends them to, but I’m sure he feels comfortable sending you copies of both books. I suggest you offer to pay him something should you be interested or at least increase your annual giving to St. George’s School. ■ The second offer is a video copy of Jack Doll’s celebration of life service, which the school produced this past spring in the Chapel. It contains all three speeches made by Barry Sloane, Sarah Coffin ’06 and Head of School Eric Peterson. I joined in with the school choir to sing John Rutter’s “For The Beauty of the Earth,” which was so much fun with all four parts and finally I stumbled through my solo of “The Lord’s Prayer.” The sheet music jumped up and down from nerves but it sounded reasonably good. Gale Boone in the alumni office sent Barry and me a copy of the video, and I’m sure more copies can be produced for those of you who would like one. For me, it’s a beautiful remembrance of a great classmate. ■ My summer and fall were exciting and fruitful. My favorite grandniece, once

st. george’s school

curious but endearing. He always had a TV in his office that was turned on, with the sound off, either showing episodes of “Sesame Street” or cartoons. Before becoming the IG [Inspector General], he had risen to the top of the DO [Directorate of Operations], holding the iconic position of deputy director of operations (DDO, the top career spy in the CIA).” ■ After 19 years as residents of Port St. Lucie, on the east coast of Florida, Ted Tansi and his wife, Mary, have moved west to the Gulf Coast and become Neapolitans. “This will allow Mary to be closer to her family, who also live in Naples,” writes Ted. “My family are all in New England, so it is fine by me.” The Tansis moved in September. “The area we are in is called the Vineyards,” adds Ted. “My phone is 772-418-5561, and all friends are welcome should they be in the area. My best to all our classmates.” ■ From Charlie Watson: “Summer was full of grandchildren, PT and a spectacular 60th reunion at Yale.” ■ Your class secretary, who is also secretary of his Harvard class, attended his 60th and can attest that commencement week in Cambridge had an atypical tinge of blue. The last of eight honorary degree recipients was George Herbert Walker Bush, Yale ’48. (His citation read, “With faith, courage, and service true, his eyes ever fixed on points of light, he piloted our nation through changeful skies; his cap was Blue, his house was White, and now his robe is Crimson.”)

CLASS NOTES

st. george’s school

// SPRING 2015

remember Dottie is a girl, not a boy so she is not a bulldog but rather a “cowdog.” Powdy always likes us to remember that in the American Lexicon, the three most important words are “ratings,” “cleavage,” and “absolutely,” a word used so frequently here in America. ■ I called Martha Connolly, who is Van Hoffman’s widow, and she tells me she has retired from William & Mary where she taught music but she still sings in the choir. We had a beautiful service in the school chapel when Van passed on, and Jack Doll and I did our usual job with the eulogy and solo at that time. ■ Kindly write me your news, so I may include it in the next Bulletin!

1953

William C. Prescott, Jr., 557 Smith Neck Road, South Dartmouth, MA 02748, 508-9926330, wprescott@wheelerschool.org ■ It was a glorious 2014 summer in the Northeast; here’s hoping the winter will be kinder/gentler than last year! ■ Peter Sour writes: “At Rockledge Farm our small flower business has been blooming! We deliver bouquets of flowers and veggies to locals every Friday and the weather has been helpful. The season continues until the first frost—then tranquility. We frequent Lake Chautauqua—extended summer stays and get there most weekends to enjoy a simpler life. No TV but we have Wi-Fi. Summer brought many of our kids and grandkids for programs at Chautauqua Institution, as did Susie’s gourmet cooking. Our three dogs, including our old Newfie, love swimming, too...” ■ As I mentioned previously, I have kept Natalie Humphrey “in the loop” by including her in my occasional group emails to the class, and she recently wrote to thank me (along with Hugh Neville) for attending the memorial service for Larry this past July. She added: “Larry’s years at St. George’s were challenging scholastically, but he learned so much. (Responsibility, leadership, intellectual challenges and the importance of lifelong friendships.) I am totally ‘blown away’ when I read about what is happening at St. George’s and Wheeler School as well!” she said, recognizing her and my Wheeler connections. ■ And speaking of Hugh Neville, he and I played in two senior golf tournaments in the late summer. We came in second at

his Rhode Island Country Club event and first in my Country Club of New Bedford event. Surprisingly, we were not tapped to represent the USA in the Ryder Cup competition. Obviously, we would have had a major impact on the outcome! ■ As always, I invite you to keep in touch!

1954

Please contact Bill Douglas at 1-888-I-CALL-SG or ClassNotes@ stgeorges.edu if you would like to volunteer to serve as class correspondent.

1955

Thomas H. Stevenson, 32 Morton Street, Apartment 7C, New York, NY 10014-4057, 212-2439058, tomstevenson@verizon.net ■ Laurie Driggs was supine when I reached him in the early afternoon at his Easton, Md., home. I always suspected pilots pilfered extra shut-eye on transatlantic runs. With no careless pedestrians, concealed ditches or deer in the headlights, the only distraction from nodding off would be an occasional fetching stewardess. Laurie came close to confessing. “I could lie here all day,” he murmured. “The only exercise I get is moving the pillows.” ■ Indeed Laurie admitted that he was supposed to be splitting wood and cleaning up the yard. But Captain Beth was away on a trip to Canada working while Flight Engineer Laurie and his crew of two dogs and three cats are now retired in Easton. ■ But how to get his attention? I decided to raise a question that has dogged him since 1996: The still unexplained loss of a TWA 747 in the sea off Long Island. Laurie (also a TWA pilot) had been one of the original group of vocal critics (the best known was Pierre Salinger) of the government investigation. But what do we know nearly a decade later? Apparently next to nothing. ■ Some initially speculated that it was terrorism. Laurie now doubts that explanation and leans towards the theory that the flight was downed by a U.S. Navy sub (or subs) on a training mission: A training missile targeted at a drone veered off course, hit TWA Flight 800, sending 230 (passengers and crew) plummeting to their deaths. ■ What riles Laurie the most today (his voice rises) is not what happened but why an elaborate investigation

by the FBI never produced a plausible answer. “How could that be?” he asks. ■ That’s still a mystery. Want to explore it? According to Laurie, among the websites still debating theories, www.twa800.com is perhaps the best. Other aviators weigh in, and the site includes a count of how many favor each of the three top theories. ■ However, Boots Ceres suggests that the only way left to unravel this unsolved (covered up?), decades-old mystery is to assign our former spooks Bob Simmers and Dave Hoopes to launch a probe. I will vet their report with Laurie before publication of the next Bulletin.

1956

Robert S. Ingersoll, III, P.O. Box 3659, Wilmington, DE 19807, 302-575-0575, robertsingersoll@ aol.com ■ Bob Ingersoll, whose preferred mode of transportation is a bicycle over the hills and dales of Chester County, Pa., and Jamie McLane ’57, whose preferred mode is his 50-foot trawler “Wanderer’s Rest” plying the inland waterways and Caribbean, instead recently hiked in the Brandywine Valley with their wives, Lynn and Meg. ■ Dinner conversation included recollection of Jamie’s game-tying goal in the final minutes of regulation against R.I. state hockey champs, Burrillville, who had come to the Hilltop intent upon beating up on the preppies. The game remained a 1-1 tie despite sudden-death overtime. Those were the days when Coach Pip Cutler strung parachutes above the rink to create shade and deter the ice from melting. ■ Todd Breck ’56 had a music gig with his band “Whirled Peas” and could not join the hikers, although he pledged to return to the Hilltop for our 60th, coming up in 2016.

1957

Stephen R. Wainwright, 23 Gawaine Road, North Easton, MA 02356, P: 508-826-9257, F: 508-230-8044, wainwrightsrpc@ aol.com ■ Daniel Stuart Dent writes: “Herewith a picture taken in late May of the Limey David Harwood and me in London. Had lunch with him and our wives. I had been trying to catch up with him for about five years and finally scored. He is in fine shape, as British as ever. He told me that he hasn’t been back

IN MEMORY

1956 Spring Dance: Kay Wilson from Lincoln, Mass. ■ “The animals are coming, one by one…” from the infamous SG octet. ■ Your friendship with our mutual great buddy, Crampton. You and he were inseparable and continually served as the comedy hour for the rest of us; and

Seeing you on TV in the corner of Marvelous Marvin Hagler and saying to my wife at the time, ‘That is Rabbi with no hair; what in hell is he doing in the ring corner with his famous fighter, particularly since all we heard from you in 1955, 1956 and 1957 was how great the ‘Brockton Bomber’ was?’ ■

■

SPRING 2015

■ Your lovely date for the

hold dear its setting among nature. The beauty of the St. George’s campus, he said, was life affirming. “Pure beauty in itself engenders strength and impulse equal to the mightiest call of religion,” he wrote. “The aesthetic permeates the soul and efforts of the human sort fortunate enough to experience it.” Tony Zane, St. George’s headmaster from 1972-84, remembers Dr. Wulsin as a kind, quirky and sage colleague. “He was a back-of-the-room kind of guy,” said Zane, “but when he spoke, everyone listened. He frequently had an unorthodox view; he looked at life from a different angle.” In a 1969 Letter to the Editor of the Red & White, Wulsin urged the students never to ignore the comforting and ultimately healing powers of Second Beach. “When you are mad, run down to the beach, and don’t stop until you reach the far end. … When you are lonely, walk the firm sand, dodging the changing wetness; the gulls and talking waves will keep you company. … When you are tired, take off your shoes and wade. Your feet will wake to the cold tingle, and soon you’ll be dancing. … And when you’re bored with the books, go to the sand and water with their eternity of living things, which worry not for you or your books. Bend down and join this strange world, and you will be a thousand miles away.” Among fellow trustees, Wulsin is also remembered for his thoughtfulness and for his eloquent, handwritten notes, often expressing gratitude or congratulations. Many in the St. George’s family have kept them among their keepsakes. Dr. Wulsin was married for 61 years to his wife Rosamond, the mother of his five children, until her death in 2003. He later married Anne Durant Sanger. He is survived by Sanger and his five children: John Jr., Lawson, Rosamond, Drausin ’72 and Stockton ’75.

to the States since graduation because he is uneasy flying; he did note that he is seeing a professional (“not a shrink,” thank you very much) with whom he will address his altitude concerns.” ■ I celebrated my 75th in August, and received correspondence from a couple of classmates. ■ James Woods McLane writes: “I will not be able to make the celebration of your 75th in person in Pocasset, but will be there in spirit. I recently celebrated mine in Jackson Hole, Wyo., and Yellowstone National Park with all my family. These are great events. Enjoy it! I look forward to being at your 100th. ■ “A few memories from our past together: ■ Mr. Pete constantly on our back to move quicker and be better on the No.1 ranked prep team in Rhode Island in 1956; and your constant horsing around in the huddles, on the bench, and in the locker room—what a backfield: Wortham, Large ’58, Van Liew ’58, and Wainwright. ■ Your creation of the Rock Alley Pledge of Confidentiality and Secrecy that we all had to sign in blood; the hole in the ceiling of Peter Howe’s and my closet in Sixth Form House leading to the Rock Alley clubhouse in the attic. ■ Your continual challenges to Schenck, Cham Jefferies, Hoyt, Wheeler, Pratt, Hersey, Rogers and Thornblade. Thornblade was one of a kind. ■ Your being the captain of the Pump Crew on the St. George’s Fire Dept.

Dr. John H. Wulsin ’38, a prominent surgeon and medical school professor in Cincinnati, Ohio who remained devoted to St. George’s over six decades, died on July 20, 2014. Dr. Wulsin was an effective and long-standing trustee, as well as a loyal benefactor to the school. He joined the St. George’s Board of Trustees in 1969 and served for 17 years until 1986, when he became an honorary trustee. In addition to his service on the board, he served as a regional representative for the St. George’s Admission Office. Dr. Wulsin, whose father, Lucien ’06 and brothers Thomas ’42, Lucien ’35 and Eugene ’39 also attended St. George’s, loved returning to the campus and cherished his memories of the Hilltop, including singing in the choir. Committed to ensuring the strength of the school, he was instrumental in the school’s transition to coeducation in the early 1970s and initiated and guided the school in the construction of Astor Dormitory and the staffing of a new health center. He also was one of the initial, generous financial supporters of construction of the Nathaniel P. Hill Library in 1978 and the Hamblet Campus Center in 2004. In 2003, Dr. Wulsin, who graduated from Harvard and then went on to earn a degree in medicine at the University of Rochester, was presented with the Howard B. Dean Award for his dedicated service to the school. Beyond his volunteerism and philanthropy, Wulsin is remembered for his warm nature and his zest for life. He was an avid horseman and appreciated the outdoors. In a 2003 letter to former Assistant Head of School for External Affairs Joe Gould, Wulsin urged the school to

45 st. george’s school

Top: Daniel Stuart Dent ’57 (right) and David Harwood ’57 met up for lunch in London. Bottom: John Kremer ’57, Ches Newbold ’57, Bill Jackson ’57 and Dan Dent ’57 gather at The Wine Gate restaurant in St. Johnsbury, Vt.—an annual meeting they’ve been making for about five years.

CLASS NOTES

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// SPRING 2015

“Anyway, have a great 75th, and I hope our lives again cross for a few laughs. I miss seeing you, my friend, and continue your battles against all those health issues that have been trying to take you down—you demonstrate what a fighter you can be.” ■ John Kremer III writes: “Happy 75th! I made it in March and still can remember at least 50 percent of information I try to store in my feeble brain. All the best.” ■ James Cheston Morris Newbold writes: “‘Live your life and forget your age’— Norman Vincent Peale. Just try to remember where you left the car keys. Happy Birthday. ■ “Be happy you can still drive a car! ■ “If you can read the front of this card, be happy. ■ “Sorry I won’t be there to celebrate your advanced age. You know how I love large gatherings.” ■ Daniel Stuart Dent writes: “Here with a photo of the annual (for about five/six years) of some of the crew at a St. Johnsbury, Vt., bistro. I assume you received the picture of Harwood and yours truly in London. I’m sorry I missed your birthday party. I was set to attend but a small crisis caused me to return to Alexandria from my trip to New England. In any event, many happy returns, and thanks again for showing me how to harmonize lo those many years ago!” ■ I also received a card from Bill Douglas in the Alumni Office: “You’re only young once, but you can stay immature indefinitely.”—Ogden Nash ’20. ■ “Our hats are off to you! Happy 75th birthday from the Hilltop.”—Rabbi

1958

Please contact Bill Douglas at 1-888-I-CALL-SG or ClassNotes@ stgeorges.edu if you would like to volunteer to serve as class correspondent.

1959

William A. Briggs, Jr., P.O. Box 305, Jamestown, RI 02835-0305, P: 401-423-0868, F: 401-423-0887, wbriggs41@aol.com ■ Peter Archer writes: “Thought this picture of Kate and me acceptable for presentation to my classmates. We are both humming along, having confronted lots of challenges and looking forward to many more! We’re back in San Francisco after having spent two months in Prouts Neck (south of Portland, Maine). I was sorry not

to have spent more time with each one of you at our 55th but had a great time. We hope to see any of you who might be passing through SF. Best regards to all.” ■ Blayney Colmore writes: “In addition to the delight in finding myself still above ground after all these decades, I am thrilled to have a new novel coming out, “Dead Reckoning,” that I trust will be ready for you in paperback or e-book by the time you read this. It’s a sort of fictional summary of much of what I have been pondering for as long as I have been aware of pondering. I’m hoping others will find their pondering addressed in it, too. Lacey and I are still migrating between rural Vermont and southern California. Our five children, four married, one a Zen monk, are challenging the world in many different ways, causing us to feel when it comes time to leave, we leave a legacy even better than we could have hoped.” ■ Kane Phelps writes: “My life is bubbling over with blessings. My private therapy practice is growing and I am deeply touched by the remarkable progress of my clients. My family is thriving in all quarters including my beautiful wife, Dee Dee (we celebrated our 40th on Jan. 1), three adult children and five delightful grandchildren who are a continual source of joy. If that’s not enough, I’m headed north for a special Sacred Circle dance weekend in October. To top things off, my Zen practice is helping to keep me focused on what is important in life.” ■ Tom Rusling writes: “Hi, Bill. Sounds like you and Joan are figuring out living arrangements much better than Ellen and I have, to date. The Bollettieri Tennis Academy is in Bradenton (which you will consider home), and I made a number of visits there when my son was preparing for his tennis career (which was short lived). ■ “Ellen and I are currently on the island of Kauai where I make my annual pilgrimage to avoid ragweed pollen. We have an interest in a condo here. Then we have a home near Rochester, N.Y., our principal residence. We have a delightful lake house on Keuka Lake, one of upstate N.Y.’s finger lakes. Plus two cottages on Lake Erie and have just acquired a motor home, which we plan to drive around the country and impose on friends. Our locations are therefore a good 5,000 miles apart. ■ “In addition, I’m knee deep in two new start-up companies. Last

Take a selfie: Peter Archer ’59 and his wife, Kate.

year I leaned on oldest daughter Eleanor to quit her teaching job and become managing member of one of them after I arranged the exit of the founder ‘for cause.’ ■ “To any itinerant classmates—if you happen to find yourselves wandering around the Northeast, especially during the spring, early summer or fall times, give me a call if you need a place to stay. Cell phone to reach me: 585-737-1956.” ■ Marty Thompson writes: “Thanks for the class notes request for current thoughts, Bill, but nothing much has changed, so there will be no update from me.” ■ Tom Winslow writes: “Sheila and I spent the summer cruising Puget Sound, the San Juan Islands and southern British Columbia on our yacht Tranquility. Along the way, we were occasionally joined by son, Jonathan Winslow ’03, who took time off from his architectural firm in Seattle. We still have wonderful thoughts of our 55th last May.”

1960

Peter R. Bartlett, 2764 W. Robinwood Lane, Fresno, CA 93711-2543, P: 559-431-3879, F: 559-435-0184, prbartlett42@gmail.com ■ The Class of 1960 is in its 55th year since graduation, and as such, is anticipating our every-fifth-year reunion on Alumni Weekend in May 2015. I regret that I will be unable to attend for the first time in 20 years but hope that many in the class will be able to “show the flag” in my stead. Sadly, I note the passing of Frank Wildman and Frank Sagendorph over the past year; they were both distinctive/ distinguished members of the class, each in his own way. I have, however, heard from several classmates since my last submission a year ago. ■ Billy Gubelmann, upon the news of the passing of the two Franks, noted that Frank Wildman

CLASS NOTES

age from six to 20, and the local ones keep us busy. Susie and I are fortunate to be generally healthy and in comfortable circumstances. I hope this proves to be the case with all who read this.

replace him in September. Joe continues to divide his time between Canada and New England (and between fishing trips) in his retirement. ■ I received a nice note from Don Chadwick who noted that he now enjoys an active retirement in Northern Georgia. He formerly lived in South Carolina where he had the chance to talk with Frank Sagendorph a couple of times. He, as did others, expressed his sadness at the passing of Frank and others (six total) in the class who have passed on. He and his wife were about to depart on a cruise to the Adriatic. Don has “penciled in” our May reunion, regretting having missed our 50th. He was planning to be in California and I hope to touch base with him when he is out here on the “left coast.” ■ I was unable to reach Tom Hoopes by email, and had to resort to “snail mail.” It worked, and he emailed back, updating my contact list. He reports that he is “still alive and kicking and in reasonably good health.” He lamented that we are “getting to that age where we hear about the loss of friends more frequently.” I replied that I often only see old friends at the funerals of other old friends. ■ Despite Tom’s and my lamentations about confronting mortality, I remain as he said in reasonably good health. My absence at the 55th will be due to a month-long cruise from Barcelona to Stockholm, with several stops where my wife and I have not been despite having lived (three years) in and traveled many times to Europe. In January 2014 we spent three weeks in Australia and New Zealand. I just finished a two-year stint on the county Civil Grand Jury, “stomping out public corruption,” so to speak. My wife remains the consummate volunteer! We have five grandchildren ranging in

SPRING 2015

George Crozier ’60 (right) netted this 30-pound salmon on the Grand Cascapedia in Quebec, Canada on Sept. 30. George, pictured here with his guide, Mike Cyr (left), netted the fish after a 35-minute fight. “We weighed it and immediately thereafter we released it,” he said.

Gaylord C. Burke, Jr., 655 Chetwood Street #205, Oakland, CA 94610-1475, 510-6018639, gaylordburke@yahoo.com ■ We are indebted to Bill Batchelder who has been keeping our memories of the Hilltop vividly alive over the last several years with his photos and wonderful descriptions of his golfing outings and lunches with Marcia and Robin Rogers ’44. We admired their relationship and were lucky to have the benefit of hearing about Robin’s insights and observations on our era at SG. Batch’s report on the memorial service for Robin at Saint Columba’s Chapel prompted a number of comments such as “getting old definitely sucks” from Perry Lewis and from Lewie Stackpole, “A parcel of my kin, Aawee as well, are now at rest at St. Columba’s. Their neighborhood is much improved by Robin’s presence.” ■ Toby Roberts reports, “We love North Carolina and our retirement community, Carolina Preserve at Amberly in Cary, N.C. I’m a Blue Devil and Jean is a Tar Heel since birth and our Casey graduated from Carolina; all makes for some vivid bball moments in our house. A comment on Robin Rogers: Robin was a natural-born leader in the truest sense. He exuded calmness and wonderful wisdom. His character was impeccable. The world needs more, many many more, Robin Rogers in our midst. My favorite comment so far was J. Lew Stackpole saying that his relatives in the Saint Columba’s cemetery were made better off by Robin’s presence.” Certainly we were, too. ■ In the same vein, Chris Jenkins said, “I just lost my oldest friend down here to a stroke last spring who was the same age as me, 71. Seems like we are at the age when we are losing too many friends or see them hospitalized for months on end. Guess I am more aware of it since I have been volunteering at our local hospital for the past seven years at the main reception desk where outpatients check in. Just received my 1,000-hour pin. I miss my time there when I am in Florida during the

1961

st. george’s school

held the distinction of being one of five members of the Class of ’60 who went on to become internationally licensed racing drivers. “That must be some sort of a record as a percentage [5 out of 37] of a graduating class,” but added that, “I don’t believe that motor racing was even a ‘for credit’ subject!” Billy reports that all is well with him, and that he now has three grandchildren; two are in Santa Fe and one in New York. I believe that one can expect that Billy will attend the reunion; his younger brother celebrates number 50 at the same time. ■ I received a short note from John McLeran that he continues to work primarily in land conservation, and he wonders if any others of us are similarly involved. I couldn’t answer his question, but perhaps any of you who are so involved can get in touch with him. ■ When George Crozer contacted me, it was at some length and very interesting. In the process of reporting about his July 2014 deer and wild pig hunting in the Masurian Lakes region of Poland, he included a brief overview of the flow of history of East Prussia from the 15th to 20th centuries, to include WWI and WWII military history correlates. As a longtime student of Eastern European and Middle Eastern history, coupled with my experience as an army officer in Europe during the Cold War, I was generally familiar with the subjects, but George filled in some blanks. As far as the hunting was concerned, he failed to bag a wild pig, but did get a doe. George continues his fishing trips, especially in Florida and Atlantic Canada with Joe Wright. ■ Professionally, George is still working full time for his firm (in the D.C. area). “Not so many billable hours now, but I have become, not a rain maker, but a drizzle maker. I originated a bond financing in the Middle East last January, which is still a work in progress.” He added that, “You might wonder, as I do, how the markets could even consider such a deal, but the optimism of investment bankers in unquenchable.” ■ Joe Wright has continued to indulge in his passion for fly-fishing, often with George Crozer. Joe has participated annually for 15 years in The Grand Cascapedia, a well-known salmon fishing event on a river in Quebec. However, due to a scheduled medical procedure, he was able to have George

CLASS NOTES

st. george’s school

// SPRING 2015

SG roommates Bill Batchelder and Peter Bouker from the Class of 1961 still keep in touch.

winter months. Don’t like it when I am on the other side of the desk. Seventy-one seemed so old when we were seniors so long ashore. (I think he means when we were sixth-formers. We are seniors now! ed.) ■ “Having a great time taking my 10-year-old grandson out to hunt doves. A major fall event in Virginia. The only problem is that he shot his first dove and then two more while I only shot one. Told my friends down here that I was just making way for the next generation of hunters. ■ “If you are ever near Warrenton or Key West during the winter, give me a call 540-270-3263 (cell).” ■ Bill Hayes, in his customary understated way, wrote, “Nothing much to report, except we were graced by the birth of our third grandchild a month ago—Roscoe Hayes Hurty by our daughter, Lindsay—old hat for many of us who may now be into great grandchildren, but we started late—don’t know if that’s the case with many of us, but just had a get together with eight fraternity brothers this last weekend, and one is a GGP...so the message is stay young and healthy... and see you at our 55th!” ■ At least stay “youthful” and healthy so we can see each other at our 55th Reunion in 2016, a year from May.

1962

George H. Helmer, 1202 South Perry Road. Woodstock, VT 05091, P: 802-457-1728, F: 802-457-4660, wbi@vermontel.net ■ Pete Andrews: “Not a lot of momentous news to report this year, but Hannah and I did have a really enjoyable twoplus weeks in England in May-June (it was her turn to choose this year!)—a good mix of walks in the country (Devon and Yorkshire), visiting with third- and fourth-generation family friends in Devon and with a former colleague in

Cambridge, then five days of plays and museums in London. We recommend it with enthusiasm. In late July we had our annual extended-family gathering at Mom’s house in Jamestown, R.I., then in August sang in an international festival of Russian choral music in San Francisco and Berkeley, organized by my brother. Still teaching (at least this year), still singing, still enjoying grandchildren (and of course, their parents!).” ■ Bill Edgar: “Our big news is that our daughter Debbie Edgar ’90 married a wonderful man named Mark Goeser. The wedding was May 10, 2014, in a vineyard near Santa Barbara. The happy couple lives in Pasadena, Calif.” ■ Joe Hoopes: “Spent summer of 2013 circumnavigating Newfoundland, which was fabulous. Spent last summer circumnavigating Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. Wonderful cruising grounds. In late August on the way home, stopped by Chester, Nova Scotia, to visit Tony Merck. Was great fun catching up. (Sorry no pic.) The Canadian Maritimes are terrific.” ■ Terry Meyer and Melissa drove over from Maine for a visit in August. Despite a very faint odor of French fries, his Mercedes diesel gets five green stars for running entirely on waste vegetable oil. And thanks to his instruction, I now feel confident to eat at least one of the mushroom varieties that grow in our woods. ■ A couple of weeks ago I had a raucous “puppy session” with our Tibetan terrier, Chester, at the home of Wimby Hoyt ’63. Wimby continues to prosper as a painter, and he and Kathy are clearly enjoying their lovely home in the hills of Hartland. ■ Daughter Madeleine purchased a small row house in Philadelphia, which caused me to fire up AutoCad and negotiate a bit of contracting. But summer in Vermont was wonderful as usual, and having so much time “on my hands” to enjoy it is so special! Cheers, George

1963

Robert C. Chope, 37 Kingwood Road, Oakland, CA 94619-2347, P: 510-4820250, rcchope@sfsu.edu ■ As consistent as the changing seasons, Lucien Wulsin checked in with his typically informative and detailed report. He sailed vigorously aboard Starbuck this summer, hiked in

Colorado in October, and enjoyed friends and theater in New York in November. He plans to work about another year heading the Insure The Uninsured Project (ITUP). He was pleased to let us know that at least in California, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is working “pretty well’ and voters’ support has markedly increased. He is most concerned, as am I, about the ongoing California drought. With the lack of water, large conflagrations throughout the state and the lower yields from our breadbasket in the state’s valleys, we all need to do more than just pray for rain. ■ Bobbi and I took a month-long trip to Turkey (Istanbul, Cappadocia, Bodrem, Ephesus) and the Greek Isles as well as Athens this fall. In November and December, we took a cruise to the Caribbean. In the summer we had a short stay in Rutland, Vermont, where we visited two of our grandchildren. The mountains were gorgeous. ■ I, and I am sure others in our class, would appreciate more updates, so please send me something for the next issue of the Bulletin. We are all transitioning from work to some sort of retirement, and it would be entertaining to see what we are all up to. I have been retired for a year now but remain busier than ever with a number of writing projects and entertaining travels.

1964

Robert E. L. Taylor, III, 23 Old Lyme Road, Hanover, NH 03755, 603-277-2919, retaylor3d@gmail.com ■ Colin Hanna co-hosted “The Mike Gallagher Show” from Jackson, Miss., for one week in August. Syndicated on over 130 radio stations, it has the sixth-largest radio talk show audience in America. Colin and Mike discussed improprieties and possible illegalities in the conduct of the Republican Senate Primary runoff race between U.S. Senator Thad Cochran and Mississippi State Senator Chris McDaniel. ■ SG awarded Colin a degree 25 years after he left the school on the eve of graduation. Now, 50 years later, Colin’s name is being added to the class names on the wall in King Hall. And to correct an oversight that was noted by Mike Morris, the 19611962 Honor Roll in the Study Hall is being corrected. ■ A class nucleus has formed in the north woods. Suzie and Hiland

IN MEMORY

Jersey and in political science at Rutgers and Drew universities. He also served on the boards of several institutions, including Westminster Choir College, Drew and Newark State College. When St. George’s embarked on a strategic planning process in 2006, Merck—whose son Wilhelm graduated from SG in 1976 and whose uncle was the senior prefect in 1920—was an eager participant. Months of research—discussion groups, surveys and self reflection about the future of the school—and one keystone planning session at Cap Gemini in Boston led to seven published initiatives the school would undertake in the ensuing five-to-10 years, including “creating a Center for Educational Innovation.” In the center, Merck said he envisioned “students who have different ways of learning different things, not being made to fit into a one-size-fits-all environment—and being listened to.” As noted, the center is now a reality, offering generous grants to teachers each year for professional development, providing a study center for SG faculty to work alongside the Harvard University Graduate School of Education researching instructional methods and cognitive learning data, and providing students with strategies for their own best learning practices. In 2011 at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Hill Library, where the Merck-Horton Center is located, Head of School Eric Peterson remarked on Merck’s foresight. “As we move into the future, Al’s vision is truly poised to infiltrate everything that goes on intellectually not only within the four walls of the Hill Library itself, but across the entire campus,” he said. “And for that we owe him both praise and appreciation.” In speaking at Mr. Merck’s memorial service, Director of the Merck-Horton Center Tom Callahan said that because of Merck’s “words and actions, more people are now speaking the language of reform and acting on it. “We now understand that what once sounded like a foreign language was that of a futurist, reformer and innovator,” Callahan said. “He touched all of us, and so many others with his vision and support in ways that will continue to unfold for years to come.” Mr. Merck is survived by his wife, Katharine, his children Albert, Friedrike, Patience and Wilhelm ’76. He had eight grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

// SPRING 2015

Doolittle and Robby Taylor and wife, Toni Egger, all moved to Hanover, N.H., where they are almost neighbors of Jeanie and Bayne Stevenson and (in summers) Karen and Bob Delgado. In September, Dorothy and Richard Verney came visiting from southern New Hampshire. All of them gathered at Bayne’s “River Camp,” climbed onto his picnic barge and ate a leisurely lunch on the Connecticut River. We hatched plans to add Peter Greenwood and Norris Strawbridge next year. ■ Ford Ballard has been planning his retirement date in April of 2016 and a move back to Newport. He is haunting apartment rental sites, checking up on the major nonprofits and going to the retirement seminars for the New Mexico Educational Retirement Board, Social Security and TIAA-CREF. ■ Noel Bennett reunited with Whitt Birnie in Tahiti. “He has spent decades sailing and teaching on remote islands in the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific and has finally settled on Tahiti with his French wife. We went snorkeling on a reef near the yacht harbor in Papeete. We saw some healthy coral, lots of fish and three sharks, two good-sized, one likely a bull shark, which caused us to climb back into the dinghy. Unfortunately, no one had remembered to untie us from the coral head, so Whitt volunteered to dive back in, returning with all limbs intact. ■ We had a good conversation over lunch at a local fish joint, and I left feeling that after 50 years I had renewed my friendship with a most remarkable and unusual classmate.” ■ Rob Taylor became a grandfather Sept. 23, his first.

49 st. george’s school

Bayne Stevenson ’64, Bob Delgado ’64, Dorothy Verney, Suzy Doolittle, Hiland Doolittle ’64, Jeanie Stevenson, Richard Verney ’64, Toni Egger and Robby Taylor ’64 pose on the dock after a Connecticut River picnic cruise.

Albert W. Merck ’39 devoted much of his life to education, and though he died on July 22, 2014, as the inspiration behind and instigator of St. George’s MerckHorton Center his legacy will endure. The center was founded in 2009 and named in honor of Merck and former Director of Instructional Services Beth Horton—and thanks in large part to Mr. Merck’s vision, it is now able to bring the best teaching and learning strategies to our classrooms. Mr. Merck was devoted to St. George’s and particularly passionate about the care and concern for students’ diverse ways of learning. He was a strong advocate for the use of technology in the classroom, and as a generous continuing benefactor of the school, donated St. George’s first computer lab in 1996. He served as a St. George’s trustee from 1967 to 1976 and was elected honorary trustee in 2006. A grandson of the founder of the Merck & Co. Inc. pharmaceutical company, Merck worked for a while in the family business, but never stopped dreaming of a future in which more students could learn on their own terms, in which teachers could be reinvigorated continuously by adopting new instructional methods. After his father died in 1957 at age 62, the younger Merck was elected to the Merck & Co. board of directors, freeing him from day-to-day operations of the company. The new position gave him time to pursue his true loves of teaching and public service. Already a graduate of Harvard University, he voraciously pursued two advanced degrees, one from Columbia University’s Teachers College and one from Rutgers University in the 1960s. It was an eye-opening, exuberant period for Merck, who admittedly had his own struggles in his early school years. At Columbia, he met the man he called, “the most revered teacher of the American Revolution,” William B. Morris. “He was an inspiring professor,” Merck said in a 2011 interview. “What he did was make the 18th century come alive. And also, he did what [St. George’s] teaching is going to do more of: He insisted that we do most of the learning. He didn’t give us answers; he set the stage and then said, ‘Now find out.’” Merck himself would go on to teach courses at Union County College in New

CLASS NOTES

st. george’s school

1965

// SPRING 2015

Jonathan M. Storm, 22 Rocktown Hill Road, Ringoes, NJ 08551-1231, 609-466-9498, deadeye@well.com ■ James Maloney has gone country, “trying,” he says, “without much success, to be semi-retired,” and having moved from the suburban shadow of the CIA in McLean, Va., to a farm in Madison County, Va., not Iowa, which was where the “Bridges” book and Meryl Streep movie were set. James now lives about an hour northwest of Charlottesville. He writes, “The farm is mostly forest, and we are nestled against the eastern slope of the Blue Ridge surrounded by a state wildlife management area and the Shenandoah National Park. At this point we have two heifers, 11 ducks, three geese and a lot of ignorance about tending animals, but we are having fun. We would be happy to see anyone passing this way, but when I told Lanse Offen that I had moved to Madison County, he retorted, ‘Speed trap.’ So beware.” By the time you all read this, James’ second son, Colin, will have been married for a couple of months, if all went as planned. ■ Doug Watson, having retired from Moody’s, is now teaching Principles of Investment at Pace University and says, “I will be happy to share my academic wisdom at The Big Reunion.” That would be our 50th, scheduled for May 7–10. Note that our class activities start on Thursday. ■ Hamilton Helmer, responding to a call for news, said, modestly, “I continue with my eclectic mix of activities, which is enjoyable.” On prodding, Hamilton explained that he is managing partner and chief information officer of Strategy Capital, an investment firm launched a little less than two years ago. “A bit odd to be doing this in my dotage, but it keeps me alert,” he says. But more importantly, there is the “unexpected delight that teaching has become.” He’s a consulting professor at Stanford, who, according to one student, “teaches a great Econ 101 class on corporate strategy; extremely high caliber intellectually, real-world and tons of very accomplished guest speakers” who have included Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix, and Bruce Chizen, former CEO of Adobe, two of Hamilton’s clients in a business strategy consulting firm he ran for years. Hamilton is developing an online business strategy based on the class and co-authoring a text

Top: Hamilton Helmer ’65 (second from left) visited the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul with his wife, Lalia, his daughter Margaret, and her husband Blair. Bottom: The Wakelin family gathered from near and far for the Fourth of July on Deer Isle, Maine. Left to right: Matt Kelley, Margie Wakelin holding Thea Kelley, Jon Wakelin, Gee Wakelin, Dave Wakelin ’65, Shawdee Eshghi (Ben’s wife, pregnant with grandchild No. 3), Ben Wakelin and Kian Wakelin.

on the topic. Hamilton requested news of Sixth-Form House neighbor (and my roommate) Gregory O’Laughlin. Gregory is an attorney in Edmonton, Alberta, and that’s about all we know. ■ Consider that a clunky request, Gregory, for your presence at the 50th, along with that of others who have stayed away over the years, as well as the group of more regular returnees on the Five-Year Plan since 1965. It should be much fun and great to catch up.

1966

H. Harrison Wulsin, 425 Seabreeze Avenue, Palm Beach, FL 33480, 561-802-3272, hwulsin@aol.com

1967

Peter H. French, P.O. Box 145, West Falmouth, MA 02574, 774-763-2146, phfrench4@ gmail.com

1968

William L. Campbell, 220 East Drive, Dayton, OH 45419, billcam2000@yahoo.com ■ Al See says that he has inherited “Dupuytren’s Disease (which causes your fingers to curl permanently to your palm)”

as a “genetic flaw” from a “marauding Viking” ancestor in medieval Scotland. “One hand surgery and three months of PT later I can again shake hands without the other person wondering what strange cult I belong to.” ■ Jayadeva Mandelkorn (gryoga.com) directs the Integral Yoga Institute in the Princeton, N.J., area. “Over the years, I have trained hundreds of excellent yoga teachers, taught thousands of classes and presented a variety of workshops in a lot of places. I teach Yoga 101 at Princeton University. I was once married and have five children and three grandchildren. I live together with a life partner, Johanna, and our sweet Havanese, Paddy.” ■ Giancarlo Alhadeff is a new grandfather to a baby boy, named Leo. “Our son lives in London so we are spending more and more time here. We still go to the U.S. in the summer and whenever we can. We keep in touch regularly with our classmate Bill Guenther. We spent a fabulous weekend in Guilford this summer with Bill and Deirdre. It has turned into a yearly date on our calendars. A little sailing and a fair amount of cooking, eating and drinking.” ■ Recently I corresponded with Bowdy Brown who is near Detroit. He has just celebrated the wedding of his son. ■ Happy to inform you that the first grandchild of Peter Chester ’68 and likewise first great-grandchild of the late Hawley Chester ’37 was born Sept. 28, 2014. Eliza Helen Katz is the 6.14-pound, 20-inch daughter of Caroline Minton Chester Katz and Andrew Thomas Katz in Charlotte, N.C. ■ David Halwig continues “to fail retirement as my strategic-planning hobby has blossomed into a real business. Keeps me engaged with interesting companies and people. Working on developing a new learning paradigm with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and continue to do regular guest lecture appearances with the Archer Center for Leadership graduate development program. Still (an SG) trustee—pay isn’t all that good, but the job has the best reward system I can think of.” ■ Anticipating “reliving … tales of Rome’s empire while standing at Hadrian’s wall” in northern England to celebrate his 65th birthday, Syd Thayer emailed from JFK Airport, “So sad to hear about our friend (classmate and later SG faculty member) Rick Cooper passing with cancer. None

CLASS NOTES

51 st. george’s school

Stuart Ross ’70, John Grosvenor ’69, Bruce Brown ’70, Bill Buell ’70, Chuck Pinning ’70, Jere Jones ’70, Ande Rockefeller ’70, Taylor Pyne ’69 and Web Golinkin ’69 attend a memorial service for schoolmate Richie Prowell.

of us ever will understand what Rick and his few African American classmates and schoolmates must have gone through at SG even with our best intentions. Rick always was a joyful soul while also challenging us on issues we didn’t even comprehend. This comes home so clear in Hays Rockwell’s book, “Steal Away, Steal Away Home,” a fictionalized tale of Conrad Young ’67’s experience, which I just reread. God bless Rick’s soul.”

with style.” ■ Ridge Evers: “Richie was truly one-of-a-kind. Somehow in fall term of third-form Richie already had the keys to every door on campus, which he had talked the two janitors into letting him copy. He just had the whole deal wired.” ■ Crawford Hill: “I recall one day in French class with M. Fitz-Gerald. The class was, in theory, totally in French. I was always trying to avoid being called on while hoping to string together three words into something coherent should such a crisis occur. Meanwhile I believe Richie was having a sort of running conversation in French with Fitzgerald that it seemed to me was about scoring Gauloise cigarettes for Fitzgerald’s wife. The class content was the least of Richie’s concerns; he had serious business to attend to.” ■ Hallett Johnson: “We all had our ups and downs at St. George’s, and during one of my larger downs, who should come out of nowhere and prop me up, but Richie Prowell. With a little help from a roommate’s stash of mini’s, Richie and I talked about how screwed up everything was. We felt so much better afterwards. Thank you, Richie.” ■ John King: “Richie was larger than life, and when I met him in September 1967 after the infamous ‘Summer of Love,’ he picked me up when I was worrying about things as a 15-yearold that he had processed years before. In my memory he was a character that J.D. Salinger could have loved.” ■ Tom Munger: “You don’t think of Richie as an athlete, but this memory flickers through often: I am pounding down the field our senior year, in the center of the field, Richie’s out on right wing, and no doubt Stuart Ross and Meade Thayer to my right and left. Richie launches the ball, and boom, impact off my head, ball in back of the net. I only scored one of those

in my soccer career, and Richie served it up. I can see him now, running down the right side line, long wavy hair blowing around his head, looking up, swinging, launching the ball, here it comes, spinning.” ■ Chuck Pinning: “Lars, Richie and I were the prefects in Auch II, shaping young minds for the future. Just before graduation, Dorm Master Roy Penny came to our “suite” and said, ‘If I knew you boys were going to behave the way you have, I never would have allowed you to be prefects in this dorm.’ We took that as a badge of honor.” ■ Ande Rockefeller: “Richie took me on my first trip to NYC third-form year. The first night we went to Mike Malkin’s bar. I was stunned. We were only 14 and Prowell, dressed to the nines in a gorgeous suit, walks in like he owns the place and says hello to five or six people. Then he casually ordered a cocktail. The waiter turned to me and, totally freaked out, I finally managed to order a beer. Just that, ‘a beer.’ I almost fainted when the waiter asked ‘What kind?’ Prowell gave me a look of pity that I still recall to this day. Boy, did I learn a lot that weekend!” ■ Stuart Ross: “Chad and I returned from our semester abroad in Belgium on May 3, 1970, and May 4 was Kent State. Immediately, the school shut down, protests were organized, and right there in the middle of the movement was Richie, black armband proudly in place, leading the student body (along with Charlie, Craig, Andy, Garrett and others) to rise up against the Nixonian madness that had just been unleashed against college kids not much older than us. I was really impressed by his firmness of purpose, his passion for leadership and his clarity in speaking out in those pivotal weeks.”

1969

Charles C. Spalding, Jr., 85 Timberland, Aliso Viejo, CA 92656, P: 949-448-5919, F: 949-613-8500, cspalding@ spaldingcpa.com

1970

Stuart C. Ross, 40 Katonah’s Wood Road, Katonah, NY 10536, P: 914-232-7450, F: 914-232-7486, stuartross318@gmail. com ■ On June 17, 2014, the Class of 1970 lost a very illustrious member—Richie Prowell. In the four short years we knew him, Richie left a very powerful mark on so many of his classmates. So here are a few of our reminiscences, from a time so long ago, but still firmly etched in our collective memory: ■ Rich DeBragga: “Richie was the epitome of New York City style and sophistication. With his tasseled loafers, double-breasted blazers and sideburns, he was distinctive, understated, low key and in perfect taste. He was unfailingly polite. He was way ahead of the rest of us. He leaves us now with the awareness that he won’t be there to show us how any stage of life can be lived

SPRING 2015

John Hartnett ’69 shows his Dragon pride by holding an SG flag at Salisbury Cathedral on Oct. 21. His morning visit was part of the “English Cathedrals, Gardens, and Towns” tour he helped to organize and lead this past fall.

Peter Chester ’68 (right) holds his granddaugher, Eliza Helen Katz, born Sept. 28, 2014, to his daughter, Caroline Minton Chester Katz. Eliza is the great-grandchild of the late Hawley T. (“Tommy”) Chester, Jr. ’37.

CLASS NOTES

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// SPRING 2015

Chris McKleroy ’71 captured this shot of classmate Gary Doyle when the two got together at the Newport Jazz Festival in August.

1971

Jeffrey Longcope, 187 Falmouth Road, Falmouth, ME 04105, 207-781-2142, jlongcope@ earthlink.net ■ Chris McKleroy reports: “Enjoyed five-plus weeks last summer in our farmhouse in Chaplin, Conn. (near UConn). Gary Doyle and his wife, Janet, came down for the Newport Jazz Fest weekend where we saw Winton Marsalis in the rain at Fort Adams. Fortunately the tent had a great show by Dave Holland Prism with Kevin Eubanks playing a mean rock/jazz lead. ■ “Also caught up with Hunt Block over a pre-season 49ers game at a sports bar in Shelton, Conn. On the home front in California, I’m still consulting in electronic packaging for a few clients. We recently moved from Los Altos to downtown Menlo Park. It is very enjoyable being walking distance from all the coffee shops, restaurants and the farmers’ market in Menlo Park. In 2015 let’s all arrange for a golf outing in the Conn./Mass. area. Best to all.”

1972

John H. Stewart II, 100 Malcolm Drive, Pasadena, CA 91105, P: 626-403-0545, F: 909-396-4981, johnstewartathome@ yahoo.com

1973

H. Andrew Davies, 237 E. 54th Street, Apartment 2C, New York, NY 10022-4739, 212-7532164, hchixdigme@aol.com

1974

Michael H. Walsh, 7 Hall Avenue, Newport, RI 02840, P: 401-848-9496, MHWNPT@ gmail.com ■ The Class of ’74 had a bit of a “come-down” after our 40th reunion.

Within the months leading up to that epic weekend, I had been obnoxiously bombarding everyone with zillions of emails. (Anthony Mason said I somehow jammed and shut-down the entire computer systems at MSNBC) getting everyone psyched-up to come to Newport, informing them of good hotels and restaurants to check out along with a brief history of my hometown, Newport. ■ I didn’t hear much from my class after the reunion, nor did they hear from me. I felt they had enough of me. I assumed everyone was swamped this past summer, as I was, and I didn’t want to bother anyone; especially after all the hounding I did last year, to come back and re-connect, which we did. ■ At our age, most have children and some even have grandkids. There are summer homes to maintain, weddings to plan, family vacations to organize, companies or nonprofits to run, along with hobbies, sports, relaxation and just plain simple family fun. ■ Fortunately, I friended a lot of classmates on Facebook, so it’s been nice getting some updates. ■ Gerry Lauderdale sent a shout-out to the class while on vacation in Tuscany, Italy, with his wife, Josephine. Gerry writes, “Low down on the Lauderdales: Josephine and I are celebrating 30 years of married bliss in December. We went to Tuscany for 10 days as an early present to ourselves. Downsized the empty nest in Andover to a new place in Methuen a few miles away. Still next to the New Hampshire border with all that tax-free shopping and cheap liquor. Still have a summer place in Padanaram, Mass., and spend a lot of quality rum-and-tonic time in Nonquitt on the water, golf course and the like. … I see Jim Perkins and George Gebelein ’73 a lot there. Life is good.” ■ Russell Long forwarded a eulogy letter he sent to an environmental group he founded in San Francisco the day after Robin Williams died. Russell wrote (edited version): “Dear Friends of the Earth Board, as I’m sure most of you have learned by now, the wonderful and brilliant comic Robin Williams left us yesterday. Robin left a huge impression on those of us who were privileged enough to meet him as part of two fundraisers we held in San Francisco about six years ago. At each event, Friends of the Earth asked him to

Top to bottom: Alec Walsh ’74 (third from left) is pictured with his son Allie, his wife, Sally, daughters Mary and Sarah, and son-in-law Thatcher Martin, holding Alec's granddaughter Audrey. ⁄ Anthony Mason ’74 (left) interviewed British pop singer Sam Smith (shown here with an early vocal coach) in England for a piece that ran on “CBS Sunday Morning” in October. ⁄ Caleb Mason ’74 (right) and his wife, Anne, in Portland, Maine.

participate and he gladly obliged. His infectious comic relief had many of us on the floor. Distinct memories include his off-color jokes about another group, Friends of Uranus, he considered helping (instead of us) and running a natural gas-powered vehicle to Sacramento by hooking it up to burrito-eating Uncle Bernie in the back seat. There are so many of us who are deeply grateful for his presence here on planet Earth. This is a tragic day for his family, his friends and his fans.” ■ Almost everyday, artist/ photographer, John Sutton posts his beautiful photographs of life in Vermont on Facebook. Avid golfer Gail Gillespie Garcia posted a bunch of pictures of what looked like her and her “bestie” girlfriends at some golf outing she seemed to be hosting, Gail and her friends all smiles. Gail has a summer place up in Maine along with Ben Eshleman (as my partner does) and in August, Ben sent a picture of him, Gail and David Corkery at a dinner gathering they pre-arranged. They looked “chill”—and you can’t go wrong in Maine. ■

IN MEMORY

CLASS NOTES

BY DAVID MADEIRA ’84

Sandy Foster pops in and out as do Alec Walsh, Caleb Mason, David Corkery’s wife, Nancy, and Lou Ann Wright. Lou Ann posted sweet pictures of her family and her dogs down in Florida. Sandy Foster seems to be a very dedicated teacher at the Harley School in upstate N.Y. and Sandy has two beautiful twin daughters. ■ Anne Jenkins is still working hard blowing things up in a mine way up in the Rocky Mountains in Colorado and she does not come back to Newport as much as she used to after her mother died last year. Anne told me when she has free time she visits her daughters, Hillary Jenkins ’08 and Abigail Moates ’11, in Oregon where they are both in school. ■ Craig Fitt and Bruce Shostak got in a bad car accident in Nantucket in August and Craig told me it really knocked the wind out of them. Fortunately, they are OK. ■ Our 1973 and 1974 tennis teams were

inducted into the SG Sports Hall of Fame on Nov. 9. Peyton Fleming, Andy Vermilye and I were on those teams playing back-to-back undefeated seasons. Also inducted was Matt Corkery ’73, who many of us know

well. ■ Mary Gooding reported in an email, “Just wanted to let you know that Jerry Kirby was in the social pages of this morning’s Providence Journal. Nice picture of him and his wife, Kim.” ■ The only email from Jerry Kirby this

SPRING 2015

Top to bottom: Ben Eshleman ’74, David Corkery ’74, Nancy Corkery (seated left) and Nancy Eshleman (seated right) share an evening in Maine. / Anne Jenkins ’74 visits her daughters Hillary Moatz ’08 and Abi Moatz ’11 in Eugene, Ore. / Gerry Lauderdale ’74 and his wife, Jo, spend a vacation in Tuscany, Italy. / Doug Dechert ’74 takes in the art at a gallery in New York.

St. George’s is paying its final respects to Lewis Madeira ’39, an alumnus who loved the school with all his heart. He was also one of my heroes, in addition to being my grandfather. It is hard to write honestly about a man I looked up to since birth; my admiration for him only grew as I matured. As a member of the class of 1939, my grandfather came to Newport in the fall of 1932 and his heart never left the campus. I have joked that Pops had three children: my father (who was in the class of ’62), my aunt and the school. While this is a joke, it’s true that St. George’s has his DNA running through it as much as I do. Current students know of my grandfather through his financial support, which made Madeira Hall possible. However, all of us (myself included) have walked by his acts of love for SG and never noticed them. He was the largest donor to Merrick House, and helped to design it (right down to its built-in dressers— something he included in each of his houses), to the weight room (because I complained about our strength program after starting at Penn) and to countless yards of pipes for the school’s plumbing. These are select examples of how he wanted to do what was needed for the school he loved. My favorite gift he gave was the Main Common Room as it shows so much about my grandfather’s personality. As a freshman at SG, I made a comment about

Editor’s note: On Feb. 21, St. George’s dedicated a chapel memorial stone for Lewis N. Madeira ’39, longtime member of the Board of Trustees, devoted Dragon and one of the school’s most generous benefactors, who died Sept. 14, 2009. Following is a remembrance by Mr. Madeira’s grandson.

how I did not like the decorations in the Common Room to my father and was immediately scolded. “Don’t you know your grandfather gave it?!” Obviously, I didn’t and who would have expected me to realize that the plaque that simply reads: “Given by an Old Boy in honor of his father who went to Middlesex” was referring to the man I knew as Pops? Yet, this vaguely worded plaque was the most public credit he took until Madeira Hall because he gave gifts out of the desire to help instead of for his ego. This is a lesson he learned at St. George’s: Getting the job done is more important than who receives the credit for it. He also learned loyalty at SG. There are countless examples of his dedication to friends and family, but my favorite story was told only once in my presence when we ran into a St. George’s classmate of his. The floodgates opened at this unexpected reunion with an old friend, and he spoke lovingly about a former teacher of theirs who had been captured in Manila’s fall to the Japanese. After MacArthur fulfilled his promise to free the Philippines, my grandfather’s Army unit was responsible for cleaning up the captured island. Somehow he talked his way off duty one day to search out a former SG teacher. The Rev. Alfred Griffiths—who had taught “Sacred Studies” one year at St. George’s from 1935-36 and helped coach the middler football team—had been a Japanese captive. After finding his old teacher, my grandfather brought him back to his camp to be nursed back to health on half my hero’s rations. If I had not seen the tears in his eyes as he told this story, I would assume it was embellished over time but even if slightly exaggerated, this memory speaks to my grandfather’s amazing levels of love and dedication to those who changed his life. We can all reflect upon my grandfather’s love for St. George’s, think of ways it changed us for the better—and maybe even think of our own ways to give back to our old home.

st. george’s school

Lessons from Pops

CLASS NOTES

st. george’s school

// SPRING 2015 Top to bottom: A story by Anthony Mason ’74 about the musical collaboration between singers Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett aired on “CBS Sunday Morning” in September. / John Sutton ’74 uses his remarkable eye to photograph scenes in and around the state of Vermont. / Keith Cornell ’74 and Mike Walsh ’74 took a Sunday morning tour of the campus at the end of their 40th reunion.

past summer was, “Keith Cornell, in Palma, Spain, racing in the Super Yachts regatta. Headed to Norway on Sunday. Where are you?” ■ One of Jerry Kirby’s clients threw a huge party for Jerry’s entire staff, his large construction crew, their wives, along with all the painters, the stone masons, anyone and everyone who did any work on this big house on Indian Avenue that Jerry built and/or restored in Middletown. Jerry, as he did for our reunion, once again reserved the New York Yacht Club where a huge tent was set up on the lawn and upwards of 600 people showed. I heard Rhode Island Governorelect Gina Raimondo was there because Kirby-Perkins endorsed her candidacy. The party was the talk of the town. I almost crashed it just to freak Jerry out. ■ There are still other classmates I have not profiled yet in past Bulletins. I was nervous they might not get back to me. I didn’t really know them in school, as they

seemed more like the quiet, reserved types, and I assumed, like many folks in any past class, they might have put St. George’s behind them. Surprisingly they all got back to me, enthusiastically! When you hear from a classmate you haven’t spoken to in like 40 years, it really makes a “Class Scribe’s” day! ■ I got David Keith’s email from Russell Long who was David’s roommate back in school. David wrote, “Undergraduate studies at Amherst College, Portland State University (O.R.), Tulane University (In this period, lived on each of the three coasts and discovered Mardi Gras). Moved to Boulder, Colo., in 1981, moved outside town to current residence in 1987. B.S., University of Colorado, Boulder, in architectural engineering ’85; M.S., University of Colorado, Boulder, in civil engineering ’92. Married May 21, 1983, to Julie Leonard (as she is still known). We had identical twins, Elizabeth and Rose Keith in 1989 (red hair, blue eyes and freckles: surprise, surprise). The twins graduated from Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Mass., with honors, as did my mother and my maternal grandmother did before them. I am the founder/president of Marshall Design Inc., a consultant for illumination lighting design, an educator, a researcher and mostly a designer in illumination with the emphasis on exterior light design, related exterior lighting topics, particularly, light pollution. I’m a fellow of the Illuminating Engineering Society of NA (FIES, 2001). Currently: My daughter Elizabeth teaches early childhood education in Spanish and English in Denver. Rose is completing a Ph.D. program in something like botanical genetics at Duke University in N.C. (with summer field work in Idaho) and is engaged to be married. My wife, Julie, is executive director of the League of Woman Voters, Colorado, in Denver. I am mostly playing my 1961 Gretsch Single Anniversary guitar and singing with friends in my garage-based recording studio or otherwise staying busy until the office phone rings. Mike, thanks for your efforts on this.” ■ Journalist Anthony Mason is posting all the time, pictures of famous people he’s interviewing as a preview to his weekend morning show on CBS. He also sold his suburban house in Rye, N.Y., and has moved into a classic, old

condominium building on the Upper West Side of Manhattan with his family. Anthony takes some great urban photographs of New York City. ■ Chris Walker went to Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania and majored in music and classics. After graduation, he went to study in Europe on a Watson Fellowship for a year. Then, Chris stated, “I received a call to the ministry.” He is the assistant pastor at Bethel Community Church in Bristol, Conn., and has been working in the church since 1982. He married Martha Loukides in 1988 and they have three children: Josiah C. Walker (born in 1998), Zion S. Walker (born in 2001) and Seraphim J. Walker (born in 2006). They all live and go to school in the Unionville/ Farmington, Conn. area. Chris wrote, “Sorry to miss the big reunion. I enjoyed reading about it and seeing all the pictures, Thanks for keeping track of all of us. If you need help getting to heaven, I’m glad to share the secret.” (I need all the help I can get, Chris!) ■ Tara Welles (Allison) got back to me from an old family summer camp on a series of islands she escapes to with her entire family up in Sault St. Marie, Canada, on the Great Lakes. I was surprised she has Wi-Fi (I’ve been up there). Tara got a bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University in nursing. She’s married to a man named Nick with four adult children (two step) and they all presently reside and work in the Boulder, Colo., area. She lived in Ann Arbor, Mich., for a long time and raised her first two children mostly on her own, working as a nurse. She presently works for an organization called Patch as a marriage counselor (I think) and said she still works as a nurse now and then. ■ David Wanders went to Yale University and graduated with a B.A. in political science and economics. He then went on to the Northwestern School of Management and got his master’s. His wife, Kristi, is a University of Utah graduate and a big skier. They have a daughter, Elizabeth, who is a healthcare consultant and a son, Graham, who is finishing up his junior year at the College of Charleston. David has been in the commercial finance world for 34 years, now with a 133-year-old, fifth-generation owner/managed firm, Loeb Term Solutions. I believe he told me he and

CLASS NOTES

st. george’s school

on the current SG email list for the Class of ’74 will read this and get back to me. I can be reached at mhwnpt@gmail.com. Until next time, or next Bulletin, yours truly, Mike Walsh.

1975

Please contact Bill Douglas at 1-888-I-CALL-SG or ClassNotes@ stgeorges.edu if you would like to volunteer to serve as class correspondent

1976

Clifford L. Dent, P.O. Box 10796, Phoenix, AZ 85064-0796, 602-943-8391, dentcliff@ gmail.com

1977

A. Peter Barbaresi, 4 Hillsborough, Newport Beach, CA 92660, 949-723-1983, peter. barbaresi@gmail.com ■ Big news from Newport: Elena Thornton Kissel was remarried on Aug. 16 to Richard Beverly Corbin III. Sandra Thornton Whitehouse, Belinda Buck Kielland and Nancy Parker Wilson were in attendance. Elena is working for the Green Schools Alliance and dividing her time between Newport, R.I. and New York City. Her three daughters are thriving: eldest Siena is a marketing director in NYC, Lucy works for the Manhattan district attorney and is getting ready to apply to law school, and Rosie is a sophomore at Brown (mom’s alma mater.) ■ Our forever-young student Janet Thomas has graduated from Old Dominion University as a finance major with a minor in actuarial math. And equally impressive, Janet will be running two (yes, two) half marathons in November on consecutive weekends.

1977 classmates Nancy Parker Wilson, Sandra Whitehouse, Belinda Kielland and Elena Kissel attend the Newport Antiques Show held at St. George's last summer.

Meanwhile, Grandma Thomas now has five grandchildren. No slowing down for this young lady. ■ Donald Van de Mark continues to reside in Sonoma County, Calif., and has undertaken the project of remodeling a small Victorian house in San Francisco, smartly taking full advantage of the local tech boom and soaring real estate market. He is also planning a trip to South and East Africa this winter. ■ Chris Lirakis is now working with the quantum-computing group at IBM Watson Research Center. He is also supporting Rian Smith’s ’76 School of Leadership Afghanistan (SOLA). ■ And finally our man in the greater EU, Ben Edwards continues to raise and invest money in emerging companies in primarily Eastern and Western Europe. He’s now extending his empire to include Sub-Saharan Africa with a Nairobi office. Ben’s base of operation is London with the main office in Vienna. Eldest son Ben Jr. is in due diligence to buy a restaurant in Vienna, and youngest son Nicholas is now a college grad and plying his newly minted graphic design skills in Brighton on England’s southern coast. ■ And for me, given the relative brevity of this submission, I’ll take the liberty to share some news: I went through the sale of our company (Velocity Sports Performance) to STACK Media this past June. STACK is a large sports digital media content publisher. Check us out on the web at STACK.com and just see what this is all about. The deal was the culmination of nearly six years of managing the company to this time and place. Very satisfying to get the deal done, but now the next level of work is underway! Endless, endless, endless fun. Best regards to the rest of the crew out there.

SPRING 2015

John Bermingham ’75 and wife, Marnie, visited their son, Jack Bermingham ’16, during Parents Weekend at the High Mountain Institute in Leadville, Colo., where Jack studied during the fall semester.

Kristi were leaving Chicago and moving to Charleston, S.C. David’s last email title to the class: “Red Sox Nation-How Did The Cubs Do In The Last Series In Beantown?)” ■ After St. George’s, Robbie Wilson went to Princeton where he majored in economics and rowed on the varsity lightweight crew. ■ Other SG grads at the time included Elliot Swan, Danny Slack ’73, Rob Dickey ’73, Sally Blodget ’75 and Steve Douglas ’75. After Princeton, Robbie went to law school at UVA in Charlottesville and then practiced law in New York City for 28 years before moving his practice closer to home. He has been married to his wife, Sheila, also a lawyer, for 21 years and they have a son, Renwick, who is a freshman at Oberlin College in Ohio. He notes: “If anyone is passing through Greenwich, Conn., feel free to get in touch. Best Robbie.” ■ I want to finish this report with a sad notification. The class of ’74 received a letter from the Alumni Office last June that they had gotten word that fellow ’74 graduate and local day student, Tom Loughlin, had passed away at the age of 54 in Florida, about four years ago. I asked the school if anyone knew how or why or where but they said they had very little information on the subject. Some of the class got back to me remembering Tom’s basketball achievements and I remember him being on the track team. David Wanders: “I played hoops with Tom. I hope St. Peter had a big towel for him.” Alec Walsh: “His dad used to watch our football practices sitting in his car near the field. Tom’s athletics meant a lot to him, as did getting an SG education.” Caleb Mason: “I also remember Tom’s dad at games and he was very proud of his son, who was a sweet soul.” Minot Frye: “I edged Tom out in the school-eating contest. He wasn’t pleased and challenged me to a cardboard-eating event. I passed. Always bought my summer bait from his dad’s place on Wellington.” Paul Barclay de Tolly: “Tom was a big man with a big heart.” When I hear that one of my peers has passed, it only encourages me to live life to the fullest and concentrate on getting the important stuff done.” ■ Well, this report ended up being an earful. I didn’t think I had a whole lot of material to work with when I started this installment, but … ■ Maybe someone from the class who is not

CLASS NOTES

st. george’s school

1978

// SPRING 2015

Leslie M. Greene, 110 South Street, Fairfield, CT 06824, lmg4187@optonline.net ■ Hello classmates. It’s been a while since I’ve caught you up on class news, having skipped the notes last time due to the demands of a move this summer. While I haven’t gone far, from Westport to next-door Fairfield, Conn., it was quite a chore to empty out our home of 22 years and ready it for the market. Luckily, I’m a teacher with summers off. I’m excited to be much closer to the beach in my new place in Fairfield. Visitors are welcome! And the summer wasn’t all drudgery—my daughters and I (along with Meredith’s boyfriend) enjoyed two fun-filled weeks in Scandinavia, touring Copenhagen, Stockholm, Oslo and the absolutely stunning fjords of Norway, which I plan to visit for a longer stay someday. And yes, the land of the midnight sun lived up to its name—the skies were still lit well into the wee hours, so we enjoyed late nights canal-side in Copenhagen, and darkness had yet to fall as we left the Ice Bar in Stockholm, which we found to be absolutely hilarious! ■ So ... on to news of our classmates... ■ Victoria Taylor continues to wow “foodies” everywhere with her line of gorgeously packaged spices and rubs. This summer InStyle Magazine chose her products among their top eight (at No. 2!) favorites out of 2,700 vendors from 49 countries at the Fancy Food Show in NYC. I recommend you take a look at her company’s website, www. victoriagourmet.com, where you too will be wowed by the rainbow assortment available. Congratulations, Victoria! ■ Speaking of NYC, surely Jon Isham is not the only classmate who marched there in late September at the historic People’s Climate March. Were some of you New Yorkers there? My daughters were there representing the next generation—gives us all hope for the future! ■ Speaking of Jon, he posted a great picture of his recent reunion with Willard Sistare and Cam Reynolds Hardy at the Westminster School for a conference on teaching and civic engagement. Jon writes: “It was a joy to catch up and reminisce about what we objectively feel was SG’s best class ever!” I second that emotion, Jon! ■ And I had the pleasure of bumping into Hunt Henrie and his wife, Leslie, and their younger son at

Fenway Park over Labor Day Weekend— not at a Red Sox game but at a Tom Petty concert. Great fun on a gorgeous summer night. ■ Speaking of Hunt, I have not yet officially thanked him in this column for his help this spring fundraising for the Sheryl Hersey Love Coaches’ Cup. By running the Boston Marathon in Sheryl’s (and others’) honor, he put us “over the top” in raising the funds to endow this named award in perpetuity. Thanks again, Hunt, and all of you who helped make this a reality. The Cup will be awarded for the first time on Dec. 5 at the Fall Sports Awards Assembly. What a fitting tribute to our friend and classmate Sheryl! ■ And I’m pleased to report that Joe Kettelle was selected for the St. George’s Sports Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony took place in November on campus during Middlesex Weekend. Mike Aubrey couldn’t have said it better: “Congrats to our classmate Joseph B. Kettelle! Proud to block for you so you could get all those yards on the football field! Well done, Joe!” ■ On that happy note, I wish you and yours a happy and healthy 2015!

1979

David F. Bayne, 5 Windsor Road, Darien, CT 06820, P: 203-656-3311, F: 212-905-6478, dfbayne@aol.com ■ First, the big news— Carina Sayles was married in September to Christopher Licciardi. Now, the even bigger news: They persuaded guitar virtuoso Stanley Jordan to play at their wedding. Stanley was everywhere at the Gathering of Vibes festival in Bridgeport this summer, which is apparently where Carina tracked him down. Congrats to Carina and Christopher on their wedding and on their choice of music to lead them into married life. ■ Lindsay Hopkins-Weld was awarded a three-month artist residency in Bermuda, starting in mid-March. If anyone is looking for an excuse to visit Bermuda in the spring, this is it. ■ How strange it is that our kids are graduating from college and getting jobs? Lindsay and Minot Weld’s ’78 son, Dixon, graduated from St. Lawrence University two years ago and is now working in Boston for a medical research company. My daughter (and Smith College grad) Elizabeth Bayne ’10 is now working as an associate scientist at Pfizer’s research facility in

Groton, Conn., and Carla Barbaresi Edson’s daughter, Charlotte Edson ’10 (another St. Lawrence grad), is working in Stamford, Conn., as a brand manager for a local brewery. (Now, that’s a job I could sink my teeth into. Charlotte, if you need an assistant, you know whom to call). Finally, Bob Smithers’ son, Drew, is in Nashville learning how to be a guitar hero from people like Jack Pearson (formerly of the Allman Brothers). Drew’s group Whoa Dakota released their first self-titled EP on iTunes last spring. Keep your eyes peeled for Smithers on the cover of the Rolling Stone someday soon. How cool is all that? ■ So, our good friend Dr. John Holder (don’t worry, he’s not a medical doctor) has something to say. I’m just going to quote him rather than mess with him (this time): “It was great to see the small but hardy band who made it to campus for our reunion in May, and to see the many changes and planned expansions on campus. It’s also been good to reconnect with several people through the Facebook group I created, and thanks for the plug in the last class notes. For those who aren’t members, it has the incredibly creative title, ‘St. George’s School Class of 1979.’ It’s a closed group, but people can request to be added. I briefly reconnected on Facebook a while back with our former classmate, Ted Shuttleworth, but he seems to have disappeared from it. As I recall, Ted was doing something like screenwriting in Hollywood. ■ “I was very sorry to hear of the recent death of Robin Rogers ’44, John’s uncle. I never had him as a teacher, but I enjoyed working with him in his capacity as faculty advisor of the Red & White. My condolences to Mrs. Rogers and the rest of the family. ■ “At the end of the summer, I finally completed the much longer and more-expensive-than-expected process of renovating my childhood home and moved back in. My new/old address is 2196 Saluda Road, Rock Hill, S.C. 29730. My dog, who has spent virtually his entire 12-year life in an apartment and a condo with me, is still getting used to the idea of a 7-acre yard that he can just walk out into without a leash. Although I don’t have a tenure-track job, finishing the Ph.D. (speaking of things that were much longer and more expensive than expected) makes it look like I will be teaching at Winthrop University for the

IN MEMORY

1981

Charles A. de Kay, 901 Forest Avenue, Apartment 1E, Evanston, IL 60202, 630-896-9474, c_de_kay@hotmail.com ■ So. True confession time. The raft of submissions for the last issue astonished me and wore me out. There was such an outpouring of love and stories, that when the issue deadline came around, well, I skipped town. All well and good, but now I’ve got stories that are vintage. I wanted to include them here, because I know if I were you, I’d want to read them, so look for them at the end of this column. ■ Libby

SPRING 2015

David T. Gardner, 1105 Sherman Avenue, Saint Simons Island, GA 31522, 912-638-9866, davidgardner61@gmail.com ■ Katherine Whitney: “Like many of my classmates, I’m sure, I dropped my first born off at college last fall. We pulled away in our empty station wagon and she drifted into the exciting mix of people, academics and activities at UCLA. Back in Berkeley we still have a middle school son, so we’re well grounded in adolescence and family life. Now that we’re down to one kid, my museum consulting business is thriving—coincidence or destiny? I’m lucky that I get to see Bay Area denizens Lauren Dessommes Hancock, Chip Strayer, Elizabeth Corbus and other classmates that Lauren’s charisma draws to the Bay Area (I’m talking about you, Bob Connelly.) I am looking forward to our reunion and catching up with everyone.”

A spirited, dedicated class correspondent for nearly 20 years, Herbert W. “Herb” Cantor ’41 was the epitome of a St. George’s loyalist. Through his writings and correspondence with classmates, Cantor kept memories of his years on the Hilltop alive long after Prize Day in 1941. He died on Oct. 31, 2014. After St. George’s, Herb, also known to friends as Bill, attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Cornell University. He was an engineer and general manager for several shoe manufacturers and then became vice president/application engineer at Solvent Kleene, Inc. Along with his dedication to St. George’s, Cantor was a devoted fundraiser for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. An avid swimmer and cyclist into his later years, he was one of the earliest participants in Dana-Farber’s fundraising bike ride, the 182-mile PanMassachusetts Challenge from Sturbridge, Mass., to Provincetown. The lengths of his rides varied, but between his first PMC ride in 1984 and his last in 2013 at the age of 89, Cantor—who lost a son, Robert, to cancer in the 1960s—raised more than $150,000 for the institute. Many riders and fellow St. George’s classmates and alumni credited him with being the inspiration for their own community service. Because of his longstanding commitment to fundraising for the institute as well as his dedication to St. George’s, Cantor was presented with the school’s most prestigious, distinguished alumni honor, the John B. Diman Award in 2006. Mr. Cantor is survived by his wife, Barbara; his children Jeffrey, David, Arthur and Emily; and six grandchildren.

1980

Harlow Robinson got the ball rolling for us this time: “Because I really enjoyed reading everyone’s responses last time, I hope that having someone go first will open the floodgates again... ■ “I am in touch with some of you on FB and otherwise, but I will share with the rest of you that this has been a year of low lows and high highs. In February, I lost my wonderful husband of 20 plus years. He died suddenly and unexpectedly in his sleep at the age of 48. Being active duty military, he was in the best shape of his life, so I can’t blame that. Frankly, we don’t have a good answer as to why. The Coast Guard has been exceedingly supportive and he was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery on a beautiful day, with military honors. ■ “Two months later, I lost my dad. He had not been well for a while, so it was a blessing for him, but a one-two punch for my kids and me. ■ “But then there came the highs! At the end of February, my daughter performed in the lead role of her school’s spring musical. (My son was also in the show—how they did it still amazes me!) In late March, my daughter learned that she had been awarded a $20,000 scholarship for an essay she wrote back in the fall. She was the guest of honor at the awards ceremony where she was seated with David Rubenstein (the grantor of the scholarship) and Bob Levey. It was a beautiful night. Shortly thereafter, she learned she had been accepted to the University of Virginia— where she is now a ‘first year’ (aka, a freshman). She graduated as salutatorian and was awarded the school’s highest honor, the Founder’s Award. She spent the summer performing as Eponine in a production of “Les Miserables” on Cape Cod. ■ “My son is a sophomore in high school. He’s a good student and, in my biased opinion, just a really good guy. He is really into parkour and ultimate frisbee. He still loves to shoot pistols and rifles, but it’s probably not the same doing it with me; although he’s been a great teacher. He is about to get his driver’s license, which he is really looking forward to! ■ “As for me, I am finding that the house is getting bigger. I am busy, but not always sure with what—lots of volunteer stuff at school and otherwise. I have no interest in going back to practicing law, so who knows, maybe something

57 st. george’s school

foreseeable future. God knows I’m never moving again. I’ve said more than once that when my boxes leave this house, I will be in one of them.” ■ I know, it was a long quote, but college professors are like that … ■ The class notes would not be complete without an Igor Sikorsky update. Igor will be appearing at the Capitol Theater in Port Chester, N.Y., in November. (Fortunately, Phil Lesh and Friends will be appearing there at the same time, so there probably will not be room on stage for Igor.) No matter, it will be great to have Igor come out from the North Maine Woods to frolic and play. I hope you can too—whether you are at the Capitol or not. So long and stay in touch.–Dave

CLASS NOTES

new! ■ “I think of you all often and really hope to make it up to SG this year.” ■ Ana Kreisler: “Hello to you all! Libby, my best to you and your family. I, too, lost my husband to cancer 12 years back so I do know how you are feeling. I’m so sorry. ■ “As for me, pretty much the same; I’m still working on a big Georgetown project in Spain, my children are all grown up and about to graduate from college. (I can’t believe how time flies!!!)” ■ After offering their heartfelt condolences and concern for Libby and Ana, these members of the Class of ’81 provided this news of their own: ■ Buff Blanchard: “My life is status

CLASS NOTES

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// SPRING 2015

quo from last year other than my oldest daughter spending her junior year (of college) in Europe. I have not been back to SG for many years, but I am thinking it is about time to venture back to Newport sometime in the near future.” ■ Louise Wales: “We are at that age when life’s stakes are getting higher and the tests seem to be more challenging. I am sending focused thoughts of healing your way. ■ “My daughter is a junior at college and doing well. It goes insanely fast at this point. She is doing well and I am happy to be visiting her at the moment. All good there. ■ “I am still teaching for SCAD, though mostly with the eLearning students— a hazard of being facile with technology, I guess. I do still love the classroom and had a joyous spring semester this year. I am simultaneously and painfully plucking away at a Ph.D. —a story of love and hate that involves Kant, Hegel, Marx and Freud, along with a couple of trips overseas, so I cannot complain too fervently about the work. It’s really fun meeting with other students at residencies. ■ “I am spending quite a bit of time in the Outer Banks of North Carolina these days, so if anyone is keen to visit, the scenery and peace are exquisite.” ■ Danny Dunn: “Still working like crazy—going well, but a bit much at times. A road trip to the Hilltop seems pretty appealing right now. My son, Aidan, is a junior in high school now, and my daughter, Maureen, is a freshman, rowing crew. Both taller than me, although that’s probably not the hardest benchmark to hit. ■ “Wonderful seeing the names pop up—it really brings back a lot of good memories. Would be great to catch up in person.” ■ David Hennessy: “We sent our youngest daughter off to Boston College and are adjusting to the empty house. Very bittersweet to say the least. Our middle daughter is in her senior year at Middlebury and our oldest is working for Doctors without Borders in NYC fighting the Ebola outbreak. Miss them but also proud of all they have accomplished. ■ “Let us know if anybody makes it out to Idaho, and I will try to make it to the reunion next spring.” ■ Giovanna Marchant: “I now live in Merida, Mexico, and recently got my Chilean passport. For years in NYC I loved and had the privilege to work in the interior design

field. For a brief minute I wrote film reviews and couldn’t believe how happy that made me, and still I love sitting in the dark with flickering lights. ■ “I see Faulkner Fox, Sophie O’Shaughnessy, Julie Jensen and Joe Arcidiacono ’82 on a regular basis. When I am lucky, I see Megan Armstrong and Jo Greene in San Francisco where some of my family lives. I am sorry I missed Stephen Upjohn—but next time. ■ “Does anyone know about Michelle Ebanks or Anne Merriman? Also, I am curious about other Latinas/os as I am newly re-minted Chileana. Hola to Ana Kreisler. Sounds like catering must be fun in Madrid. Here in Merida we have a slow food market with delicious organic stuff. Jesus Mena and Greg Choa and Maria: What up?” ■ Jeff Lamb: “I had the chance to climb to the top of one of the wind towers we were installing in Two Dot, Mont., at 250 feet above the Montana plain. It was so worth it. ■ “My son is now a freshman at WVU and my daughter continues to excel in the ARC program. So life moves on and the roller coaster keeps going up and down while we ride.” ■ “As for myself, Charlie de Kay, it’s been a great year. Fast and furious at times, but nonetheless a great year. Last summer, I took the family to visit my sister, Sarah, who lives in France. She and her artist husband, Mihail Chemiakin, moved to the Loire Valley almost a decade ago. Our ‘European Family Vacation’ was great fun, and I think we succeeded in creating a whole new set of quality family memories. Returning home, my lovely wife, Christina, and I celebrated our 10th anniversary and look forward to many more. Our oldest is a high school junior and our youngest is in third grade, so we’re readying ourselves for the lengthy college years. ■ “In the meantime, I have the pleasure of seeing Evan Westerfield ’82 often, and—Bonus!—I get to have his great kids in my confirmation class. I had a special treat recently when Kim Hardy Erskine ’80 turned up for a visit at the church. Seems she’s a consultant for the Episcopal Church Foundation. Amazing what our classmates get up to!” ■ And now the “vintage” notes from the previous year ... ■ Nate Hemphill wrote: “OK, I can’t resist any longer ... As I write this, I am on dorm duty and it is my birthday! (Really! Half a century plus one.) ■ “I entered the

boarding school world with many of you in the fall of 1977 and I have not yet managed to leave. After teaching at SG for four years and grad school, I have been very happy teaching and doing lots of different jobs at Northfield Mount Hermon (NMH for short—nice initials) for the past 23 years. The time has passed quickly. I followed my wife, Mace, here and I figured we would stay a year or maybe two ... It is a great life and you never really need to grow up. ■ “I have taught math all along but have done stints in faculty recruitment and as a dean of students as well. I am now in college counseling and am loving the challenge … never a dull moment and I get to cross paths with Burke Rogers pretty frequently. ■ “Mace and I are the proud parents of two kids: Mackey, 21, is having a great junior year at Wesleyan, where she is playing both field hockey and ice hockey. Mace is no longer the varsity field hockey coach at NMH, so we have had the chance to see a lot of NESCAC campuses attending Mackey’s games. Cooper, 18, is a senior at NMH and is in the midst of the college application process. He has an ED app in and we are keeping our fingers crossed. ■ “I have managed to wrangle my way into a couple of programs at NMH that have allowed me to travel the world (with kids). I have been able to be the ‘math guy’ on several sophomore humanities trips to places like China, Brazil, and Africa (and India this coming spring) and I have enjoyed my work with our fabulous Model United Nations group and have been on about a dozen trips with those kids (Egypt, Poland, Turkey, Italy, Qatar, Holland, Prague, Germany, Russia, and ... I can’t think of the others). Anyway, it has been a great way to see some pretty amazing places. ■ “It is great to hear from so many of you. Let’s keep this going. Best to you all. One of the boys in the dorm needs help with his math homework. And so it goes.” ■ Anne Kuzminsky wrote last year that: “I’ve been living in West Kingston, R.I., and married to the same wonderful man for 23 years. I am still a martial artist after all these years and serve as director-at-large for self defense for the National Women’s Martial Arts Federation (www.nwmaf.org), which promotes the involvement of women and girls in martial

CLASS NOTES

SPRING 2015

definitely is in the rather ordinary category. I’ve lived in Wilton, Conn., for the last 20 years. My two oldest, Caroline (a junior) and Julia (a freshman) are both at Loyola University in Baltimore. Caroline leaves in January for a semester in Rome, making her life far more exciting than her father’s. My youngest, Sam, is a high school freshman who is still adapting to the often-unwanted attention that comes with being the last kid in the house. Up until two years ago I spent my career working for different telecommunications companies, but I’m learning a whole new set of industry acronyms working for a company that provides medical billing and electronic medical record support to physicians. As Buff said, we see a lot of the Blanchard family and our four oldest girls are especially close having spent many summers together on Cape Cod. We’re just starting to realize how much time gets freed up as the kids move out, so hopefully we’ll be able to do some traveling and reconnect with old friends. Nice to know some of you had the good sense to settle in places the rest of us might like to visit like Wyoming, Sun Valley and Savannah. You may live to regret your updates! “Best to everyone and I really do hope our collective paths cross before much longer!” ■ Faulkner Fox wrote: “Hi, it’s wonderful to hear what everyone is doing! I never imagined myself as 50 (certainly the thought never crossed my mind at St. George’s). Did anyone else contemplate being this old? My birthday was just a couple of weeks ago, and I was—and am—incredibly happy about it; the alternative to turning 50 is so much grimmer. Gio Marchant was with me to celebrate. A few months earlier, I marked the big year of birthdays with Megan Armstrong, Jo Greene, Sophie O’Shaughnessy, and Stephen Upjohn in San Francisco. Not long before that, I got to see Jim Vos and Joe Arcidiacono ’82 in NY. ■ “I live in Durham, N.C., where I teach creative writing at Duke. Except this year, I have a fellowship at UVA so I’m not teaching, and I’m doing a lot of driving back and forth to Charlottesville. I’m writing a novel, which is really fun and something I have very little idea how to do. (Up until now, I’ve only written poetry and nonfiction.) It feels pretty good to start something new at this age. ■ “I have an

Canaan is starting to seem incredibly boring after hearing all of this! Glad to hear that everyone seems to be doing so well. I am happily married to Eric Welles and have two stepsons in college and a daughter Elsie, 11, and son, Henry, 10. Elsie has become very involved in her dance company, so many weekends are spent backstage, which is a whole new world for me, and Henry is a soccer guy. I got to see Shrevie Hooker last week with her youngest, Charlie, who is good pals with my son; that makes me very happy! So great to hear from everyone. I hope those who haven’t had time to check in do so soon— this has been really fun to read.” ■ Greg Chopoorian wrote: “Lydia and I have been married for over 25 years now, and our older son, Nate, just recently finished up at Plymouth State University with honors in psychology. His area of focus is neuropsychology research. Mike is halfway through his film program at URI, and his metal band, Solanum, has been winning increasing praise in that genre throughout southern New England and beyond. ■ “My family and I own and operate a five-star skilled nursing facility (The Mansion Nursing & Rehab Center) in Central Falls, R.I., while Lydia continues to teach middle school music in nearby Woonsocket. In the evenings, I teach Kenpo/Jiu-Jitsu/Karate at our USA Karate franchise in Smithfield, R.I.—keeping fit and warding off arthritis at the same time! ■ “I am blessed to have been able to maintain a big toe in film and TV doing everything from acting, voiceover work, storyboarding and consulting as the need arises. A graphic novel is currently in development and, hopefully, other substantial projects as well! If any of you are passing through Rhode Island and would like to stop in for drinks, dinner or share a puff at a local hookah lounge, I am at your service! Some of you good folks I’ve been able to stay in occasional touch with, and I send warm regards to the rest! Cheers!” ■ Rust Muirhead wrote: “Maybe it’s just me, but as I read the words of classmates marking our respective half-century milestones, in my mind I still hear our 18-year-old voices. It’s strange, and reminds me that my own kids, two of whom are now older than I was at SG, are more fully formed than I sometimes give them credit for. ■ “Anyway, my update

st. george’s school

arts, healing arts and self-defense. I’ve been especially active with coordinating our annual professional development conference for women self-defense teachers and violence prevention activists. ■ “I teach self-defense for women and girls in my own community, and really enjoy working with mothers and daughters together. ■ “We have two children: Joshua (almost 17 and a high school junior), and Ellie (12-year-old sixth grader), both of whom keep us busy with all of their activities.” ■ Bill Loos wrote: “I can’t resist— what a long, strange trip. The email barrage has been tremendous fun. Turning 50 has kick-started a great appreciation for catching up like this. ■ “After two years with you at SG, I went to Suffield Academy and almost made it a year there! Then to Naples High School in Naples, Fla., (traded blazers and ties for baggies and flip flops). I was class of ’86 Northeastern—bachelor’s degree in business and history. After a few traveling years as a sales rep, I came to rest in my hometown, Pomfret, Conn., with the family business www.loosco.com becoming CEO in ’98. ■ “My wife, Erin, and I have a 6-year-old son, William, and a 4-year-old daughter, Addie. As of this morning, five dogs, four horses, two cats and a hamster are on the farm. I have three daughters from my first marriage: Samantha, 19, who’s a sophomore at Mass Art & Design; Rachel, 17, who’s a senior at Woodstock Academy; and Katie, 15, a sophomore at Woodstock Academy. ■ “At the 30th reunion, I bounced around emails with Tim Pierson, Jim Vos, and Matt Colbert. “Back in the 90’s, I used to run into Katie Wales ’80 at Dead shows. ■ “So, where are Jack Noble, David Lawrence and Dave Ferguson?” ■ Rick Briggs wrote: “Hi everyone. Rick Briggs here. Sorry I haven’t kept up with you over the years, but, like Marvin, I’ve been on the run. I am a high school IT teacher, currently in Lusaka, Zambia. My son, Stefan, graduates this year, and my older boy, Jason, is a senior at Williams. Previous posts have taken us to Botswana, Namibia, San Francisco, Thailand, Hawaii, Berlin, Cape Town and Budapest (in that order). It usually takes Interpol about three years to find me. “Next time you’re in Lusaka, look me up.” ■ Katie White Welles wrote: “Yikes! New

CLASS NOTES

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// SPRING 2015

18-year-old son who is a freshman at Oberlin, a 16-year-old son who is a junior in high school, and an 8-year-old daughter. They keep me busy. I have been married almost 20 years to the same wonderful man. We did something kind of crazy this past summer to celebrate being born in 1963—we got arrested for civil disobedience and went to jail. We were only 20 miles from home, but it was quite a trip. If you’re curious about what possessed us, google “Moral Monday arrests” and/or watch this insane Jon Stewart segment about the voter I.D. law in North Carolina. That’s what we were protesting. http://www.thedailyshow. com/watch/wed-october-23-2013/ suppressing-the-vote. “It’s really great to hear from everyone!” ■ Jarvis Brecker wrote: “Sixteen years in Oregon and still loving it. Thirty years ago, (has it been that long?) if you’d ask me where I’d be living, Portland would not have been on the list. If any of you visit, please let me know. ■ “Coming up on my 10th anniversary of being married (at St. George’s) to my wonderful bride Jen. We have two lovely daughters Ellie and Olivia (Maggie the dog would insist it’s “three”). In the category of ‘better late than never,’ Ellie just started kindergarten this year. Her sister Olivia is one year behind. So Lee (Findlay), I agree, the ‘kids in college’ thing seems a long way off. ■ “After 20-plus years of retail development I got tired of the relentless travel and moved into commercial real estate asset management. My timing sucked and I got in right when everything cratered. Fortunately, it has worked out, and I am a portfolio manager for Providence Health Systems and enjoying it. ■ “Still doing a lot of sailing and having fun with a sailing club I started out here with my wife and some friends called The Columbia Gorge Racing Association. It’s given me an opportunity to see a lot of Dragons who come to the Gorge to sail including Scott Ferguson, Peter Johnstone ’84 and even our venerable school doctor, Robin Wallace. Last year I was proud to present the U.S. Youth Championship double handed-trophy to SG sailor Max Simmons ’13. ■ “I hope everyone stays well and let’s not wait another 30 years to do this! The very best to you all.” ■ Last year Lee Findlay wrote: “Hi, Hi, Hi all, I just wanted to say hi to everyone, albeit a little

late. I miss you all and am so glad to hear that everyone is so well. When is our next reunion? Let’s do this right before it is too hard to get us all there. ■ “I was just texting with Soph, who returned from biking in South Africa yesterday. Whoo hoo! ■ “I’m great, though a little overwhelmed with high school applications for our oldest. (How do you guys have kids in college already? Katie and I just threw out the ‘Baby Einstein’ videos!) Nick, my incredible husband, and I have three fabulous kids, 13, 12 and 10. We live in NYC on the Upper East Side and love going up to Conn. on the weekends. ■ “Twenty five years and counting at the gallery. Please stop by when you are in this neck of the woods: David Findlay Jr. Gallery, 724 Fifth Ave, b/w 56th and 57th Streets. I would love to see you.” ■ Casey Sherwin wrote: “AAAH Wendy Keeves! Have not heard from you in a long time! Remember when you came to visit me at college, and we all skipped class the next day declaring it International Day?! My son was in Sydney for a semester abroad and had an amazing time. He is in Thailand now and I have my fingers crossed. ■ “Life here in Philly is great. John and I have three wonderful kids: Robbie who is a junior at Trinity; my daughter Blake, a freshman at Dartmouth; and Mac, 15, who seems to be enjoying his role as class clown. No idea where he could get that from. I keep in touch with Katie (Mac’s godmother and not helping the situation at all) and Laura Clark. Sophie came to visit me last year, which was a real treat. We went out to dinner with Dina, who I see regularly. Carlisle is not far from me, so all of you who have kids at Dickinson: I would love to see you. I hear a little bit about Mole as she sings with my sister-in-law; didn’t know you had that in you! Been back and forth with Lisa Colgate, she recognized my boys modeling for a Vineyard Vines catalogue (December issue). It has been great to hear from everyone and I hope we keep this going until our reunion!”

1982

Douglas G. Lovell III, 36 Rayton Road, Hanover, NH 03755, 603-727-2757, douglaslovell@earthlink.net

1983

Deborah B. Berg, 11511 113th Street, Unit 22B, Largo, FL 33778, brewster619@yahoo. com / Jennifer McLane Hinchliffe, 1017 Deerfoot Drive, Pegram, TN 37143, 615792-6949, jenlama32@gmail.com

1984

Brian M. Duddy, 99 Battin Road, Fair Haven, NJ 07704-3204, P: 732-345-1049, F: 212632-5397, bduddy@williamblair.com

1985

C. Fritz Michel, 4731 Fieldston Road, Bronx, NY 10471, 310-699-4468, cfritzm@ mac.com

1986

Sheila Elkins Baltzell, 18 Willow Place, Brooklyn, NY 11201, 718-222-8414, sbaltzell@nyc. rr.com ■ Exciting news from Christianna Hannum Miller: She has adopted Keita, 6, and Kristians, 4, from Riga, Latvia. “We traveled three times this year to Riga and to the U.S. Embassy and the adoption was final in September. The children are happy and healthy and now are fluent in English. They attend a small Quaker school during the week and Latvian school on Saturdays.” Christy, many congratulations to you and your family! ■ There are also a few of us in “empty-nest territory” as Bryce Traister calls it. “My son, Matthew, 17, is in grade 12 and going on the university tour this fall. His main consideration is in terms of where is ‘far away.’ Hannah, 20, is a third-year student at McGill majoring in art history and English and will be spending next semester living in Paris as an exchange student. Alison and I just celebrated 22 years of marriage, and we’re still plugging away at the English professor thing. I spend most days thinking that I’m the luckiest guy alive to have such a great life. Then there are the days I just can’t believe the Toronto Maple Leafs are so terrible.” ■ Todd Bland also writes: “Our three kids are all off to college! We miss them but life in the empty nest definitely has its advantages. As for me: I’m in my sixth year at Milton. I spent some time with Peter Groome and Pete Schellbach this summer; they are both great. Thirtieth reunion in May 2016, WOW!” ■

IN MEMORY

SPRING 2015

“[He] had more confidence in me than I had in myself,” said Kimbell, who recalled Rogers supporting him through difficulties and encouraging him to reach his potential. With Rogers’ inspiration, Kimbell said, he also developed an interest in history and politics that endured. In 1999 Kimbell established the Robin Rogers ’44 Endowment for Public Policy, which allows SG students to travel to Washington, D.C., to learn about government affairs from insiders. The first trip was in 2008; another trip will take place this spring. In retirement, Rogers remained a passionate student of literature and history as well as an ardent Red Sox fan and a resolute chess player. Through the years his devotion to St. George’s never waivered. It seemed Rogers always knew that he and the school were inseparable. In the 1950s, it had, in fact, taken several years for Headmaster William A. Buell to convince Rogers to leave his first post as a teacher at St. John’s School in Houston, Texas, and take a job on the Hilltop. When he finally accepted, however, Rogers wrote, “You can count on my unqualified loyalty and enthusiasm for as long as I am employed by the school.” Upon Rogers’ death, many community members shared their fond thoughts of their beloved teacher, colleague and friend: Said Cliff Dent ’ 76, “Robin Rogers always seemed to me to be as much a part of SG as the Chapel tower.” The Rev. John S. Rogers, SG Chaplain from 1976–1999, said he would always recall Robin Rogers as “a consummate school man.” “[He was] kind, witty, intelligent and concise,” Rogers wrote. “From the athletic fields, classroom, chapel and theater, he was ubiquitous. His approach towards students and colleagues was the same. Treat others with respect, kindly jab when needed and then follow up with a generous dose of encouragement.” Robin Rogers is survived by his wife of 65 years, Marcia Hersey Rogers; his children Caroline, Helene, and Paul ’74; his daughter-in-law Rosa Lasaosa; and his grandchildren David, Sam, Sebastian, and Elena. He is also survived by his brother Timothy Rogers ’51, his sister-in-law Martha, and their children John ’79, Burke ’81 and Susan (Rogers Mitchell) ’83.

Stu Danforth ’84, who went on to serve on the St. George’s Board of Trustees, also recalled Rogers’ pithy advice to his younger self: “Nothing wrong with a 'Gentleman's C,' Danforth ... just don't make a habit of it.” Throughout his career, five headmasters, dozens of colleagues and a number of development directors sought his counsel—and were the recipients of his blunt assessment of school affairs. “Robin often manifested a frown, a scowl and his manner was frequently disapproving,” wrote Tony Zane, headmaster from 1972–84. “But that was a front, a bit of an act. He was willing, perhaps even eager, to be a soft touch. He wanted all of his students, colleagues and friends to do well. And he went out of his way to help them succeed.” Following his retirement from St. George’s in 1993, Rogers—a longtime holder of a prestigious teaching chair— became the Anthony M. Zane Chair in History, and English and history teacher, emeritus. He attended frequent events and reunions and was active on nearly every kind of committee the school constructed. His historic perspective and memories were priceless. Athletic Director John Mackay said Rogers, who entered the St. George’s Sports Hall of Fame in 2008, came to as many SG athletic events as he could. To honor Rogers’ memory, this year’s football team donned helmets bearing “RR” on the back. In his later years, when a Red & White school newspaper landed in Rogers’ mailbox at Lazy Lawn down the road from the Hilltop, he read it from cover to cover, often leaving a voicemail of support for the staff. Indeed many connected to St. George’s report being a recipient of telephone messages expressing support from Rogers. At a memorial service in the St. George’s Chapel in November, former Director of Admission Jay Doolittle ’56, recalled Rogers as a stalwart companion, “treasured colleague” and “fellow gamesman.” “How often it was that [Robin’s] wit and wisdom were shared with us in the form of his now-legendary one-liners. Robin not only understood the old saw that ‘brevity is the soul of wit.’ He lived it,” Doolittle said. In another heartfelt tribute, Jeff Kimbell ’89 credited Rogers with turning around his high school career.

61 st. george’s school

William S.R. “Robin” Rogers ’44— life-changing teacher, devoted alumnus and ever-loyal fan of Dragon athletics— died on Aug. 12 in Middletown, R.I. He was 87. The grandson of Arthur S. Roberts, a senior master and teacher at St. George’s for 43 years from 1903–1946, and the son of Paul C. Rogers (faculty member 1925–26), Rogers was inextricably linked to the community virtually since birth. In his youth, Rogers was known as a solid student and a talented all-around athlete. Tall and lanky, he particularly excelled in tennis, which he played into his later years. After graduation from St. George’s, Rogers received a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Wisconsin and a master’s degree in teaching from Brown University. A lifelong educator, Rogers had a profound influence on St. George’s, where he taught history and English from 1956–61 and from 1974–93, and on the Pingree School in South Hamilton, Mass., where he was named founding headmaster in 1961. Former students recall Mr. Rogers as “a tough but fair teacher” who was “authentic, witty, and carved from the old boarding school ways.” His one-line advisor comments became the stuff of legend, so much so that many alumni can recite them wordfor-word decades later. “Despite his propensity for water-ballooning, Chris is doing quite well this semester,” Chris Dominguez ’86 recalled Mr. Rogers once writing home to his parents. “Still makes me laugh.” Classmate Peter Groome ’86 was one of Rogers’ many advisees: “In a note to my parents with my third-form final report card he wrote, ‘A ‘D’ is a perfectly acceptable grade for geometry.’” Until his death, not much about the Hilltop escaped Rogers’ interest— or attention. He never seemed to forget his roots,and he was, it seemed, empathetic to the core.

CLASS NOTES

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// SPRING 2015

Kristians and Keita are the children of Christy Hannum Miller ’86.

For those of you Facebook non-joiners, here are a few highlights: New York Times reporter Kate Zernike broke news about “Christiegate” while also writing some excellent reviews of “Orange is the New Black” (one of my new favorites). ■ Fred Carret has hopefully recovered by now from a horrific case of poison ivy. ■ Holly Brown is the proud owner of two Teacup pigs, Pumba and Penny, along with a thriving photography business in Denver, Colo. ■ Jim Gellert was interviewed recently by Maria Bartiromo for “Opening Bell” on Fox Business. ■ Henry Clews gets the prize for the best ALS Ice Bucket Challenge video. ■ And someday soon I’ll get around to updating my cover photo. ■ For now, thanks and best to all of you.

1987

Clymer D. Bardsley, 1 Shirley Circle, Narberth, PA 19072, 215-843-5413, clymerbardsley@gmail.com

1988

Michelle Doty, 231 East 48th Street, Apartment 2, New York, NY 10017, P: 212-606-3860, F: 212-606-3508, mmd@cmwf.org / Alfred Jay Sweet, IV, 45 Apple Street, Essex, MA 01929, P: 617-768-7293, F: 978-768-7127, ajsfour@gmail.com ■ While the world keeps spinning faster and we all do our best to hold on, consider this a quick respite from the chaos and daily kerfuffle to revel in the debauchery and ballyhoo from the Class of ’88. ■ Speaking of chaos, Tuck Dickey has finally decided to head to life’s hammock after serving our great country with distinction. But for some reason, after retiring from the Army, he decided to move to Arlington, enroll at Georgetown and father twins, (one of each) ... in the last year. Hey, Tuck, as Mr.

Penny would crow, “Find a dictionary, Dickey, and look up the word ‘retirement.’ You’ll be enlightened.” ■ Speaking of enlightenment, on the far shores of California, the former Red Key Society standout Lauren Rosen Purcell reports: “Life is good in CA. Hard to believe little Reed has just started preschool! Time truly does fly. I am staying busy as a mom, working in my private psychotherapy practice, and will soon begin a parttime counseling position at a private K-12 school in Oakland, for middle and high school students. I had the total joy of visiting Tiphaine Ravenel with my daughter in Boulder in July. And, Pilar Settlemier is enrolled in a weekend graduate program in SF, and I have been seeing her quite often! Been in touch with Laura Foulke ’87 and we are planning to get together soon. ■ Speaking of get togethers, on a recent layover in the Nashville airport I serendipitously ran into Geoffrey Fleming at Virgin America’s karaoke bar where he was singing both kinds of music, country AND western. It seems he had just returned to Music City after a visit with Patrick Wood Prince and Don Utroska in Chicago. As rumor has it, Patrick was badgering everyone to re-enact “Coyote Ugly” at an upscale steak joint. Luckily Don’s far better half, Ally, slipped Patrick some NyQuil disguised as a shot of Drambue and defused the situation. Way to go, Ally! ■ After finishing up a stirring duet of Garth Brook’s “Friends in Low Places” Geoffrey and I said our good byes and he went back to his lovely wife, three daughters and his impressive medical work. ■ Speaking of “Coyote Ugly” and other great cinema, producer Burton Gray checks in from the film world’s front lines: “2014 has been a fun year for us. We started with two films at the Sundance festival in January that I executive produced with my brother. Our older girls CC and Abigail came with Yardly and me to Park City, and now they have pretty high expectations for a winter ski weekend. ■ “Great to visit SG in the spring and see a strong posting from our years at the Alumni Board of Visitors event. Our youngest Burton Robert is now 2 and a half and keeping us acting young. Cheers to all.” ■ Speaking of acting young, Patrick Wood Prince checks in from Chicago: “Let’s see ... Had Don Utroska and his lovely wife, Ally, in Newport over

Folk Fest. I think Jay has something to do with the festival. It was a great weekend with lots of laughs, even though I didn’t bother with any of the music fun. I’m more into collecting sea glass these days. ■ “Anyhoo, I had a chance to catch up with Charles Thompson and practice my Russian at Kiliaen’s wedding. I am vexed that somehow I did not make the SG wedding picture! (Editor’s note: Well played, Mrs. Van Rensselaer, well played.) Kiliaen’s wife, Shania, is a lovely lady! Other than that, life is good in Chicago. Making sure I prepare fresh, no waste, non-GMO, organic meals for the kids, which takes up most of my day.” ■ Speaking of Don Utroska and his far better half for a third time, it seems after Geoffrey’s visit and constant braying about the finer points of southern livin’ (where we’re told it’s commonplace to use apostrophes at the end of gerunds in lieu of the letter “G”) the Utroska clan fell prey to its famous charms and moved to Atlanta. “Ally and I have moved to Atlanta from Chicago. I am a current student at Georgia Tech working on my MBA in management of technology. It is quite an intense and challengin’ program. So far, I’m really enjoying transformin’ myself into an engineer. Ally works for the Intercontinental Exchange and likes the surroundings and is adjustin’ well. ■ “Speaking of “Friends in Low Places,” Mark Taber and I had our annual sunrise Newport run-in this summer. I was headed to bed when I saw Mark walking his three teacup Chihuahuas down lower Thames for their morning constitution. Even though I was clearly exhausted, he showed off his new leather sandals and blathered on about Rob Flores’ penchant for crashing weddings.” ■ Speaking of weddings, we end this Bulletin with the best news of all: As you may have gleaned, Kiliaen Van Rensselaer took the lover’s leap. “The long wait to find my soul mate abruptly ended two years ago when I met Shaina Fewell. I asked her to marry me and with her encouragement, we held the ceremony at the SG chapel. We were honored to have the Rev. George Andrews officiate. Andrew Doolittle and Ted Duff were among my groomsmen and I was very moved that also from our class Ramsay Battin, Thad Davis, Rob Flores, Charles Thompson and Patrick Wood

CLASS NOTES

Jeffrey J. Kimbell, 2601 Foxhall Road, NW, Washington, DC 20007, 202-494-3420, jkimbell@kimbell-associates.com / Stafford Vaughey Meyer, 54 Tanglewylde Avenue, Bronxville, NY 10708, 914-8032796, stafford@staffordmeyer.com ■ First of all, the 25th reunion in May was easily the most entertaining and spirited reunion of our previous five. Period. Class unity was equally impressive evidenced by late-night operations throughout the weekend. The dinner Friday night at Clarke Cooke House for the whole class was outstanding and got out of hand early— and of course—as with most things for us—went late. To quote Scotty Clark ’88 of Clarke Cooke House, “Thank God you guys are here. Can you come next weekend too?” Loved the effort across the board. Saturday was spent at SGS, the Inn at Castle Hill (Han Kolff went missing with Lilly, Tori, Sissi, Whitney, Stafford and Fish for like three hours… Han you are strong like bull…), cocktails on the veranda, etc. Saturday night was legendary, ultimately leading to a late night LOO at our crib on the water complete with tiki torches, pig roast, chicken fights and a trident-throwing contest led by Jonny Dyke. Ray Downs successfully threw a trident 47 yards through a burning, stuffed Zebra. It was impressive. We had some attendees from the classes of 1984, 1994, 1999 and a handful of Salve Regina graduates (?) as

on the waterfront next door to each other, walking distance to SGS, eight months out. Thanks for coping, gentlemen. Legendary leadership not soon forgotten. Redwine also booked Clarke Cooke House and has already reserved the house on the water again for the 30th!! Bravo! ■ “Frank Abagnale Long-Distance Flyer Awards”: To Han Kolff and Larus Shields for both traveling from the Netherlands and London, respectively, to come for the weekend. Priceless work, gentlemen. Solid commitment. ■ The Bruce Jenner Defying Time Awards: To Cornell Caines and Nkem Okpokwasili. How on earth can you be in better shape in 2014 than 1989? Completely absurd. Additional personal note: Nkem, thanks for telling Jessica Kimbell what a great idea having No. 3 is. That will only cost me how much? ■ “Wish-We-Would-Have-Known Award”: To Tory Pulling as designated driver. After a white-knuckle car ride for Sissy Dent and Stafford Vaughey with multiple brushes with potential disaster, Tory stated plainly, “Thanks so much for letting me drive. My friends in San Francisco make fun of my driving.” ■ Other Class Notes: ■ Jeff Kimbell: The Kimbell boys are now 5 and 2 (Hunter and Cooper). I see early signs of successful entrepreneurship, downhill skiing, tarpon fishing and fighting for capitalism in them. We move in early 2015 (new address above) to The Kimbell Compound in Washington, D.C. ■ The collective (DJ) Fernandes and Brooke Connell families spent time at the beach in Narragansett last summer. DJ also notes that Eric Hottel has been required, via restraining order, to stop leaving “me” voicemails at 3 a.m. about my lack of athleticism. ■ Teddy Wight: “I am living in Baltimore; married with two

SPRING 2015

1989

1989 classmates Susannah Shogren, Sissy Dent, Tori Pulling, Katharine Fisher, Stafford Meyer, Whitney Smith, Lilly Phipps Cardwell and Katie Michel pose outside the Atlantic Grille restaurant, where they met on the Saturday morning of their 25th reunion.

Prince were there to celebrate with us. Representing some other classes at our wedding were: Leslie Bathgate Heaney ’92, David Merriman ’59 and Howard Merriman Jr. ’51. ■ Dutifully submitted by your humble scribes, ■ Michele Doty and Alfred Jay Sweet IV

st. george’s school

1988 classmates Geoff Fleming and Don Utroska have a night out in Chicago.

well at one point, a few who played through the night. One special note: We had no idea that a random woman was living in the house we had rented until AFTER the Friday night party. We came downstairs and there was a random note that said, “Someone lives here – Please be quiet.” WHAT? ■ Other highlights: Kristen Keenan, Becky Mohr and David Dickenson duets on the piano. Morgan DeJoux, Ted Wight and Brad Friedman— all coming to town, having a blast and running strong. Still absolute ’89ers and fellow Dragons. Thanks, gentlemen. And for those wondering—no, we did not get the deposit back for the house. ■ Also, a special thanks to all of the husbands and wives of 1989ers who were forced to relive the glorious late 1980s for one weekend in 2014. Brooke Ruma, Jessica Badgley, Jessica Kimbell, Jane Goldstone’s very cool husband, Susan Dyke (I’m missing a ton of people here, but it got a little foggy…sorry) etc. For the girls of 1989—let me just say, as us boys/ men/dads of our class get older, more out of shape, paler, more rotund, more folically challenged (but also more aerodynamic), you guys DON’T SEEM TO AGE. God bless all of you for putting up with us 25 years ago and continuing to speak to us today. ■ For those of you who could not attend (DJ Fernandes, BJ Miller, Clay Crow, Bill Ramage, Susie Andrade, Eric Hotell, Allison Holcomb and the 11 others): We hope our prank calls and emails kept your weekends interesting. If you give Charlie Ruma a cell phone number, you just never know what can happen … sort of like giving a 6-year-old a chemistry set or Larus Shields a surfboard and a one-way ticket to New Caledonia. You just never know. ■ Weekend Awards … ■ The “Andre Dawson Weekend MVP Award”: To David Dickenson. Dave was there for 36 hours. His hustle was outmatched— like Pete Rose in 1978 or Illa Nastese in 1980. Just that good. Swimming in the Atlantic in May at 5 a.m.? Always a good idea—especially with Ceebs Hartman, Almus Thorpe and Colin Born as lifeguards. If Eric Wiberg had been there that late, MAYBE this could be justified. MAYBE. ■ “Grey Goose Vodka Kings of the Weekend Award”: To Brooke Connell and Craighill Redwine for booking two ridiculous cribs

CLASS NOTES

st. george’s school

// SPRING 2015

kids, and run a financial planning firm for physicians. Everything is going well, but my dreams of being a professional athlete continue to fade.” ■ Andrew Ritter: “I had a great time back on the Hilltop for the 25th Reunion. Many thanks to everyone on the planning committee for putting together a memorable weekend. I continue to work for the largest prison payphone company in the country. Work and family keeps me very busy. Charlie Ruma continues to haunt my dreams as a potential inmate.” ■ Jonny Dyke: “The 25th was very high quality. We had a great summer seeing SGers, including Stafford Vaughey and Stan McLean ’90 at Larus Shields’ wedding outside of Munich. Total blast. Please visit us in Nashville soon.” ■ BJ Miller: “I’ve gotten really into cats. I am the Catman of San Francisco. Quietly however, I’ve been selling many of them to local tennis clinics to make tennis strings. Nice little side business … (wink).” ■ Larus Shields: “I got married this summer to some strong heat. We met on ChristianSingles.com She was really blown away by my 2013 Calendar ‘12 Months of Larus’ with various poses of me surfing, dog sledding and lifting weights in a bathhouse in Istanbul.” ■ Jane Goldstone Sarouhan: “Our 25th kicked off an epic summer of weddings, parties, celebrations and what not. Just winding down now and getting back into the flow of work/ school/ fall. Thanks again for a great time back in May!” ■ Anne Merriman Wells: “Continuing my work to grow Unite The World With Africa (unitetnz.org). [I was] in Tanzania in December installing sanitation systems at an orphanage and am planning another group tour— service safari—for June. Anyone want to come?” ■ David Dickenson III: “Dear classmates, I really enjoyed the reunion, and thank goodness I was only there for the first two nights! Thank you again to our classmates who worked so hard on our reunion. Please look us up if you ever find yourselves in Cleveland. Our children are both in high school now. Are you surprised I do not tell them what we were doing at SG between the ages of 14 and 17? Remember to keep a close shave and love all Dragons.” ■ Scarlet Johnson Jarrell: “I’ve been practicing a lot of yoga and working to bring it to our island community here on

Martha’s Vineyard. No Tarni Levett sightings. We all get busy in the summer here. However, I made time for family and the beach—thank goodness. It was great to see so many of you at the reunion. “Till next time ...” ■ Bill Wright: “I just wanted to let you know that it was great to see you and catch up with everyone at the reunion. Looking forward to the next one.” ■ Addison “Dean” Werner: “Do you know what comes before Part B? Part-AY! I’m still in NY fighting crabs and cabs.” ■ Tom Wang: “Recently moved with his wife and 3-year old son to Mill Valley, Calif., on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge, where kale is plentiful.” Tom continues to work as VP Product for RelayRides, the world’s largest car-sharing marketplace.” ■ Han Kolff: “2014 was a remarkable reunion weekend. What a joy and homecoming to be fully part of the beautiful May weekend and see how St. George’s is thriving. And especially to see how classmates do in many aspects not change at all. What a bond! I feel proud and grateful to be part of the SG family and enjoyed it tremendously. Would love to continue to support making this tradition possible for many to come and maybe at some point see my own kids spending some time at SG. Now at 9, 7 and 5, they are still enjoying the very free and joyful education in Holland, while as parents we are running around to make it all fit our agendas. Life treats us well!” ■ Becky Mohr: “I had a great time seeing everyone at the reunion last spring! Kids are now 14, 11, 10 and 8. All played travel soccer this fall. Enjoying living out in the country. Working in sales and marketing at Broadmead, a CCRC in Hunt Valley, Md. Good job, but would rather be home with my kids!” ■ Leyre Goitia: “Big news for me!: After a great time at the reunion and my trip to the Bahamas, I went back to Spain and decided I had had enough. So in a whirlwind three months, I have moved myself and three kids back to Nassau, and I am now trying to figure out a new business venture. Any ideas would be appreciated, and anyone coming to Nassau, give us a shout!” ■ Kenyetta Smith: “Doing great in LA as a creative entrepreneur. Have my own wellness business, www.UrbanWellnessLA.com. And I’m also feature and TV writer. Enjoying the 365 year-round sun.” ■

Forrest Badgley: “We got a new dog. His name is Papi. J-Lo named a song after him.”

1990

William H. Bush, 1875 Century Park East, Apartment 2060, Los Angeles, CA 90067, bb.bush@nbcuniversal.com / E. Stanton McLean, 60 Hereford Road, London W2 5AJ, England, P: 011-44-207-2214662, stanton.mclean@jpmorgan.com ■ Greetings All, So based on the stories that we’ve heard about ’89’s reunion weekend (Jeff Kimbell driving to Portsmouth to put sugar in Miss Boocock’s gas tank for old time’s sake) and pictures that we’ve seen (Craighill ’89 and Ruma spooning on a two-seater couch in Auchincloss at 3 a.m.), we have some big shoes to fill come May (8, 9, 10 btw). In the meantime, here is the latest and greatest from the Class of ’90: ■ Ellie Linen Low made a major move this summer. “After living in the Pacific Northwest for close to 20 years, we decided it was time to come “home” to New England. We have settled just north of Portland, Maine, and our three kids—Haven, 11, Rosie, 9, and Blythe, 1—are adjusting well to a whole new world. I look forward to connecting more frequently with East Coast SGers!” ■ Whit Hammett writes: “My wife, Allison, and I are about to celebrate our 16th wedding anniversary. It is truly amazing how fast time goes. Our three boys—Noah, 14, Eli, 12, and Walker, 8—are all big sailors, tennis players and skiers. Noah is looking at SG this fall as a possibility for freshman year, next year. I am still with Mark Richey Woodworking in Newburyport, Mass., as executive project manager. It is hard to believe that I have been here 16 years. Work is exciting and challenging, as we are working on large projects all over the U.S. Had a great time this past summer at the SG reception at the Manchester Yacht Club. It was great to catch up with Tyson Goodridge and others while enjoying a perfect summer evening on the water. It was also fun seeing Bill Durgin on Martha’s Vineyard this past Fourth of July. He has made an annual event by being on island with his son, Sian, for that week each of the past three years. Looking forward to a great winter at Burke Mountain in Vermont. Think

IN MEMORY

Richard W. Cooper Jr. ’68 holds a special place in St. George’s history as one of the first two African-Americans to graduate from our school. He died at his home in Pacifica, Calif., on Sept. 8, 2014. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Cooper went on to earn his bachelor’s degree from Harvard and a master’s degree at Fairfield University. He returned to the Hilltop to teach English from 1983–1986 and was always an enthusiastic supporter of the school. He championed social issues as well, participating in SG’s 1993 Conference of Diversity. He is credited with helping the school to foster and support ongoing understanding and respect for issues of diversity. SG Director of Diversity and science teacher Dr. Kim Bullock met Cooper at a memorial service for former headmaster Archer Harman Jr. in 2004. After the service, she said, a number of African-American alumni gathered at her home. “They sat around talking about their time at St. George’s and it struck me: This is living history they could talk to the students about,” Bullock said. “His energy made me really think these stories need to be told.” She recalled Cooper asking her a lot of questions about the students she worked with at the time. “He genuinely wanted to know how things were currently regarding diversity,” she said. The meeting spawned the now biennial Alumni of Color Conference, which was inaugurated in 2006 and has since taken place in 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2013. At the time, Cooper was Associate Director of Undergraduate Admissions at the University of San Francisco, where he worked beginning in 1989 for 27 years, mentoring dozens of students of color including some SG graduates throughout his tenure. He served on the boards of national and regional organizations dedicated to providing access to higher education, living out the goals he wrote about in his parting words in the 1968 yearbook, The Lance. Coming to St. George’s, Cooper wrote, had been “a momentous step. I have found, seen and experienced real differences in modes of living between St. George’s and Cleveland. Coming away to school afforded me introspection: time and perspective to analyze and see through the superficial attitudes and actions of the cool adolescent Negro.” After Harvard, Cooper said he wished to “become involved with my people.” He expressed a wish to create “black leadership, black power.” “My promise to myself as I leave St. George’s is not to forget from whence I came and what I am.”

// SPRING 2015

snow!” ■ Georgina Rumsey Levey: “Well, usually I am in the habit of saying that everything is status quo, but this time around I can add a little more excitement to my update. Along with continuing to teach fifth grade and try to stay one step ahead of my 5- and 8-year-old boys, I am starting a new online business called KidKonnector.com that will provide information about kid-oriented activities, restaurants, lodging and retail services in the Aspen area. By the time this update goes to print, the site should be fully launched, so check it out if you plan to visit the Roaring Fork Valley (and don’t forget to try to look me up at the same time.) If nothing else, you will get to see plenty of pictures of my kids in action since I know that I can post their faces on the site without asking for additional permission. Hope to see everyone next May!” ■ Xander Paumgarten gets back

65 st. george’s school

Top to bottom: Caroline Grossman de Lasa ’90 (right) shares some time with her husband Jose and their children—Daisy, 12, Lola, 9, and Tessa, 7— on Block Island. / Tom Peters ’90 and his wife, Kate, visit Princess Louisa Inlet in British Columbia with their children Ellie, Tommy and Charlotte. / Xander Paumgarten ’90 shows off the campus to his wife, Mary Kathryn Edwards, from the bell deck of the St. George’s Chapel.

to the Hilltop. “We visited SG in August and Bill Douglas took my new wife, Mary Kathryn, and me to the top of the Chapel. Was surprised to run into Sethy and Babs up there. Random.” ■ Rodney Woodstock: Has laid some roots in sunny and warm Florida. “I am loving the real estate business and a flexible schedule allows me to get time in the water (surfing and paddle boarding), on the water (fishing and diving), as well as on the golf course. No ladies have been able to pin me down as of this writing, but I am opening up to the idea of a family. I see Jay Miles and his family each year in Park City in January around my birthday (Jan. 19), which usually coincides with Sundance. I keep in touch with Alex Condon and his family as his mom still lives in Palm Beach and he is now back in the States. If anyone is in the Jupiter/Palm Beach area, feel free to look me up for a round of golf or some fishing.” ■ Schuyler Marshall Morris moved north and was looking forward to a trip last fall to St. George’s, where Caroline Grossman was inducted into the Sports Hall of Fame. “We finally bought a house in New Canaan, Conn., and have already run into some Dragons since moving here: Caroline Grossman, Alex Tuff ’93, Kirtley Horton ’91, and also saw a few over the spring and summer breaks: Jonathon Dyke ’89, Craighill Redwine ’89 and Stafford Vaughey ’89, as well as Margot Mueller’s family. Last July I spent a night with Kate Denckla on my way to pick up Bear, 9, from camp in Asheville, N.C. (I am still laughing from our fun-filled visit). I am continuing to pursue acting, and just shot a commercial with the New York Rangers.” ■ Parker Wise is moving, too. “Still enjoying life in Washington, but we’re off to London this summer. Looking forward to reconnecting with the SG London crew.” ■ Samantha Becker: “We had a wonderful summer that included four weeks cruising around Narragansett Bay and out to Cuttyhunk, Martha’s Vineyard and Block Island aboard our sailboat Puffling; a week in Williamstown, Mass., including a trip to Tanglewood; three weeks in Surry, Maine, immersed in her natural beauty. You have to love the academic calendar for the whole family! Now I’m back to work (I’m still working as a psychotherapist at RISD) and school, and I just starting taking a painting class

CLASS NOTES

st. george’s school

// SPRING 2015

(oils), which is loads of fun.” ■ Per (Fruity Z) von Zelowitz: “All is well with here. We moved from Manhattan to the beautiful burbs of Summit, N.J., last year. I am working with tech startups in New York. Karin and I spend our free time corralling our spirited kids who are growing like weeds, traveling and spending as much time outside as possible. Would love to hear from anyone in the NY/NJ region.” ■ Tom Peters and his wife, Kate, are doing well out in the Seattle area. “We have finally opened a new law practice here in Bellevue, Wash., and have finally finished up the practice we started in Jackson Hole, Wyo. All three of our kids—Ellie, Charlotte and Tommy—are now in school and active—sailing and playing soccer mostly. Life is busy, but very enjoyable.” ■ And for us: ■ BB: “Life is moving too quickly. On Sept 17, my daughter, Josie, passed her driving test and now has a license. She wants a Range Rover. She’s getting Mrs. Buehler’s old Saab I bought for 50 bucks. She is 16. Mary is 14 and Lillie is 10. I am still married to the same woman. Admit it: You thought maybe this would not be the case. Boom! Sydney Bush is the best. I am currently working the Paleo Diet and my [chest is] tight. I have all my hair. Recently Steve Boyd visited me in LA. He brought bad wine and we had great fun catching up. His wife, Natasha, wrote some mommy porn à la ‘50 Shades’ and I was in it. That’s right, ladies. Pour a glass of red, and read it slow. Life is really good; I pray it is the same for all of you. I am going to rally the troops for our 25th. See you there.” ■ ESM: “My brother, Brent ’91, and his wife, Tara, had a baby boy (Alexander ‘Xander’ Grant McLean) this past spring. His cousins— Myles, 10, Tilly, 8, and Oliver, 3—can’t wait to meet the little man at Christmas. Lane and I saw Larus Shields ’89 finally tie the knot in Germany in what was billed as ‘Our Big Fat Bavarian Wedding.’ It did not disappoint. Had a lot of fun with Johnny Dyke ’89 and Stafford Vaughey ’89, but don’t tell anybody I told you they were there. Cranmer and I also had a great night out with Boyd’s, who was in London with Natasha for her book signing. He’s still big and he’s still red. Summer flew by, but we had some quality downtime in Shelter Island and Lake Tahoe and snuck in a day game at Yankee Stadium on our way back

to London.” ■ See everybody in May; we invited Juvenal—Your faithful scribes

1991

Please contact Bill Douglas at 1-888-I-CALL-SG or ClassNotes@ stgeorges.edu if you would like to volunteer to serve as class correspondent.

1992

Sara Ely Hulse, CBS News-48 Hours, 524 W 57th Street, New York, NY 10019, P: 212-975-8505, F: 212-975-9460, sse@cbsnews.com ■ This is a momentous year—most of us are turning the big 4-0. Not only did I, Sara Ely Hulse, pass that milestone, but then I added twin girls to the mix, and now I just found out that I added another baby to the family … a golden one. “48 Hours” won an Emmy for Outstanding Coverage of a Breaking News Story in a News Magazine for our special, “Caught,” on the Boston Marathon bombing. I was actually on the ground doing newsgathering and interviews (versus being back in the studio writing the pieces). It was yet another senseless act of violence, but it was heartwarming to witness how Americans and the Boston community rallied around their city. It was an amazing group effort to be a part of and I am proud of all my colleagues who contributed to this fine report. 2014 has been a good year—and so far 40 isn’t so bad. ■ Randall Flinn Stiglitz rang in her 40th birthday celebration in Newport at The Clarke Cooke House with Leslie Bathgate Heaney, Alice Fiddian-Green, Candace Gottschalk, Cameron Goodyear, Julie O’Donnell Wood, Tripp West, Cory Smith Plumb, Nicole Robinson Menges ’91 and Anne Young Gray ’91. Randall says she LOVES 40 and that it is a whole new chapter! ■ Randall was also with Tripp West in Bermuda to ring in his 40th along with classmates Cory Smith Plumb, Charlie Daniels and Leslie Bathgate Heaney. ■ Heidi Von Rosenberg Klapinsky also went down to Bermuda for a girls’ weekend with Margaret Ogden Hughes ’93. She says naturally they stalked Tripp and he delivered, giving them the full five-star treatment—wooing them and five other ladies while playing the tunes of Bruno Mars and Elton John on his piano in his

Top to bottom: Moy Dimen Drake ’92, her husband, Andy, and their children, Dash, Chance and Libby, land at their new post in Hawaii. / Will Forbes ’92 (left) and Katarina Sheronas P’59 (right) with Frank Forbes ’37 (center), Will’s great uncle, celebrate his 95th birthday. / Margaret Ogden Hughes ’93 and Heidi von Rosenberg Klapinsky ’92 visiting Tripp West ’92 in Bermuda.

Bermudian bungalow. Some things never change! Otherwise, she reports that the family is doing well. Her son, CJ, is now 5 and has started kindergarten (*sniff*) so she now plans to increase her work hours so she can stay busy. Her daughter, Reese, 8, is enjoying piano and yoga. Both of her kiddos are looking forward to the snowy weather for skiing and snowshoeing, but Heidi says she would be perfectly happy spending her winter in Bermuda! ■ Tobin Dominick also got to see Heidi in Mass., when Kate Thomson Ward ’93 hosted an SG reception at the Manchester Yacht Club this summer. Tobin says it was a great event and well attended by alumni: Kate, Heidi and Tobin, of course, as well as Tyson Goodridge ’90, Sven Holch ’91 and Whitney Hammett ’90. Tobin said it was a great way to reconnect with alumni from the North of Boston/Massachusetts

CLASS NOTES

67 st. george’s school

// SPRING 2015

Top to bottom: Tripp West ’92 (third from left) is joined in Bermuda by Andrew Heaney, Cory Smith Plumb ’92, Randall Flinn Stiglitz ’92, Norris Daniels, Charlie Daniels ’92 and Leslie Bathgate Heaney ’92. / Drayton Virkler ’92 enjoys a night out with his sons Sumner and Henry in their new home city of Singapore.

Top to bottom: Sara Ely Hulse ’92 shows off the Emmy Award she and her “48 Hours” team won for “Outstanding Coverage of a Breaking News Story” for their coverage of the Boston Marathon bombings. / Twins Kathryn Ely Hulse and Avery Burns Hulse, the daughters of Alex and Sara Ely Hulse ’92, show off their SG pride. / Lukas Kolff ’92 gets some down time with his son Charlie, his wife, Jo, and daughter Rose.

area as well as acquaintances of SGS, parents past and present, and incoming students as well. She says, overall, it was a beautiful and fun night in July. Other than that, Tobin says it was a busy summer—just non-stop! ■ Speaking of alumni get-togethers. Will Forbes found out at his Great Uncle Frank’s 95th birthday party that Francis Coxe Forbes ’37 is the last remaining member of the Class of 1937! Very impressive! And what an amazing legacy in the Forbes family along with Will’s older brother, Dave Forbes ’90, and maybe there will be some more Dragons in the not-to-distant future in the Forbes clan with Will’s daughter, Sarah, and son, Tyler! ■ Back to the Hilltop … Sue Maroney Swain is still living in Newport with her family. She says that she has been enjoying working as a psychiatric nurse at Newport Hospital and that it certainly

Top to bottom: Randall Flinn Stiglitz ’92 took this photo of classmates Alice Fiddian-Green, Candace Gottschalk, Leslie Bathgate Heaney, Cameron Goodyear and Julie O’Donnell during her 40th birthday celebration in Newport. / Sue Maroney Swain ’92 gets down and dirty during her third Spartan Beast—a 14-15 mile obstacle course race on Mt. Killington in Vermont. / Tobin Dominick ’92 joined fellow SG alumni Heidi von Rosenberg Klapinsky ’92, Whit Hammett ’90, Kate Thomson Ward ’93, Tyson Goodridge ’90 and Sven Holch ’91 at the SG reception at the Manchester (Mass.) Yacht Club.

keeps her on her toes. Her daughter, Ruby, is turning 5 this year and is loving being one of the “big kids” at her preschool (Bloom in Middletown, a wonderful, Waldorf-modeled school). Her husband, David, continues to put his all into his job with the R.I. Air National Guard, which is where he and Sue first met. Sue just completed her third Spartan Beast, which is a 14-15 mile intense, mud-filled obstacle course race on Mt. Killington in Vermont. She says she is still recovering as it takes almost nine hours to complete! Each year she says she swears that she will never do it again, but, of course, she is already contemplating signing up for next year … I say GO FOR IT, SUE! I’m so impressed! ■ From our classmates around the world

… Moy Dimen Drake and her family are now happily situated in their new post in Hawaii. She reports that all her little ones are now finally in the same school— Pre-K, K, and second. ■ Drayton Virkler checked in from his new home in Singapore to say that he and his family have successfully completed their move and are trying to get used to living in a 2,600-square-foot apartment. For friends in NYC, this size apartment may not sound that small, but for a family moving from a farm in North Carolina, it is! Ella, 12, Sumner, 10, and Henry, 7, are all settling in well at their new school, Stanford American International School (SAIS). They are quickly making friends and adjusting to a life of riding school buses (a.k.a., luxury coaches) and uniforms. Drayton says that work is going well. In the seven weeks he has been on the job, he has already been to Korea three times, India, China and Japan once. Through these trips he has discovered that there are no short flights in Asia. In fact, his shortest flight is four hours and his longest thus far is 6 and a half hours, but this is only because he has yet to go to Australia, which is eight hours from Singapore. But, he says, despite the many hours in the air, the job is going well, and he is learning a lot and having fun. ■ And from London … Lukas Kolff announced that he and his wife, Jo, were

CLASS NOTES

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// SPRING 2015

Maria and Serita are the daughters of Emily and Charles Barzun ’93.

expecting their third child in December! They are very excited and Charlie, 6, and Rose, 4, can’t wait to meet their new little brother. Lukas raced both Cowesweek and the Round the Island Race this year as he continues to be a keen sailor, and he won together with his son Charlie the overall sailing regatta in Greece during the summer holidays. ■ Jordan Macy is back stateside these days. He and his family have safely escaped West Africa and the Ebola crisis. It is a pretty grim situation, and he feels it is going to get much worse before it gets better simply because the West African health systems are not capable of containment. So for now they have relocated to a lovely old brick house on a working farm in the woods north of Monadnock, N.H. Jordo is keeping himself busy job hunting, but he is also enjoying being able to take in the seasonal sensations of New England once again and was looking forward to winter! ■ That’s it for now. Be sure to keep the updates coming!

1993

Geoffrey C. Siebengartner, Unit 4100, Box 6069, FPO, AP 96521, geoff@siebengartner.com

1994

Christine McSweeney Orthwein, 756 N Lake Way, PB, Palm Beach, FL 33480, 561848-2235, binkieo@gmail.com / Sara Selbert Savov, 424 Cognewaugh Road, Cos Cob, CT 06807, saraselbertsavov@ gmail.com ■ I thoroughly enjoyed seeing so many of you at the reunion and catching up after so many years. Isabel Lirakis was such a wonderful hostess and a highlight of the weekend was taking a class picture on the Peter Hurd Memorial Bench. I hope everyone stays in touch and starts gearing up for our 25th. ■ In

Steve Lirakis ’66 was one of several school and community members to join artist, fellow Dragon and daughter, Isabelle Lirakis ’94 at the opening of “Gilded” on Sept. 11. Isabelle’s work was the first exhibit in the Hunter Gallery this school year. photo by Mark Niu ’17

other news, Mark Traina is happily back at Taft as dean of students after enjoying a wonderful summer on the Cape. His daughters—Caroline, 6, and Lucy, 5—are enjoying fall in New England and playing well together. ■ In babyland… ■ Tris Millard is still in New Orleans working for JP Morgan Private Bank. His wife, Meagan, just gave birth to their second boy, and they are readapting to the life of new parents. He was bummed to miss the reunion and hopes to catch everyone the next time around. ■ Shreve Ariail reports, “My wife, Carrington Alvarez, and I had a beautiful baby girl, Anna Lourdes Ariail, last January. In keeping with family tradition, Lourdes is stuck with her middle name. Carrington just started teaching again part time and I’m still working as a deputy chief at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn prosecuting gang and terrorism cases. We try and keep in touch with the Roses, but like the rest of you ex-New Yorkers, they live in Connecticut. Nicki and Charles Rose: Consider this your dinner invitation to Brooklyn!” ■ In wedding news… ■ Mary Friberg and her new husband moved to Northern California for his job where he’s working for Bloomenergy, which is a clean technology company. They are currently living in Los Altos Hills (about 45 minutes outside of San Francisco). They have been loving the new Northern California lifestyle! Lots of hiking and eating at great restaurants, etc. She has also been fortunate to keep her job at Hourglass Cosmetics and work remotely— so she still gets to travel back to L.A quite often. They just opened their first store in Venice, Calif., this fall. Lastly, they have a new addition to the family—a sweet puppy named June.

Britten West ’95 captured this candid shot in Bermuda of his growing family: twin girls Isabel and Caroline, and son Oliver.

1995

Carolyn Sclafani Mowat, 111 Silver Hill Road, Concord, MA 01742, 978-341-8259, carolynsclafani@gmail.com ■ Eben Colby writes: “I seem to have reached a point in life where I never have anything new to report, but things continue to be great. I am a litigator at Skadden, Arps in Boston, which is always tough and interesting. I live just north of the city, have been married more than 10 years and have two boys, ages 6 and 8. We spend a lot of our free time in Maine, both on the water and working on our house and property, which is a lifetime project. Basically, it’s a lot of my boys and I messing around with a tractor, backhoe and a variety of other implements of destruction, cutting trees and planning various sheds and outbuildings. We also maintain a bunch of mostly old boats in various states of disrepair, which we are slowly restoring or refurbishing one at a time. In the winter, we like to ski. Of course, all of this nonsense is being strangled by the boys’ ever-increasing sports schedules, which is on the cusp of taking over any and all free time. I’ve managed to keep in touch with a few classmates, but am really looking forward to a big turnout at our upcoming reunion—something we all need to focus on making a big event.” ■ Tony O’Donnell writes: “Drew Dominick and his fiancée, Georgia Bridges, had Andrew Anthony Dominick IV on Nov. 1, 2013. It’s great seeing Drew be a terrific father and little Andy loves spending time with Uncle Tony! I’m bringing my lacrosse team down to St. George’s this spring to play. Going to be weird coaching against the Dragons! But hey, they are not as stacked as when John Harvey ’97 and the Jay “The Big Dog” Davenport and I were dominating the ISL! Hoping to come home with a W. But what I’m really hoping for

CLASS NOTES

is to see everyone at our 20th this spring!” ■ Jesse Johnson Randol writes: “I’m hanging in and hanging on in Bedford, N.Y. I take care of our three little ones and don’t foresee a return to teaching for a while. We get to see a good bit of Alix Johnston LaMotte, Nancy Dwyer Eaves, Chasey Hewes Allen and Amanda Coulon. We were joined by Garland Obrecht Alban, Serena Holch Manny and Eben Colby for Julie Eberhart’s garden dedication. It is beautiful and very thoughtful. Jules would love it. The Hilltop was just unbelievable. I can’t believe we went to school there. Hope everyone is starting to mentally prepare for our reunion—see you there!” ■ Holly Johnson writes: “My wife, Diane, who is also a professor of English, is completing a fellowship year at Princeton University. Our daughter, Valentine, is enjoying second grade and is currently engaged in an entrepreneurial venture with two friends that they call “Cocoa-bucks”” (Starbucks’s newest and toughest competition). They pitch it as a “winter weather version of a lemonade stand” and it has an elaborate cocoa menu with offerings like the “Snow Boat” involving a lot of marshmallow toppings. She says some of the proceeds will go to charity, but they aren’t sure which one yet. As for me, I am heading into my 10th year as a professor of English at New Media and am still obsessed with triathlon. I am hoping to make it to our 20th reunion.” ■ Jane Nigra Gallina writes: “I’m ecstatic to share that I’ve been a permanent resident of Canada for more than one year now and living in Montreal, Quebec. On Aug. 3, my husband and I welcomed our daughter, Sienna Jane Henderson Ranjbar-Chaloshtari, into the world.” ■ Britten West writes: “A couple things to report from Bermuda. On

1997

Please contact Bill Douglas at 1-888-I-CALL-SG or ClassNotes@ stgeorges.edu if you would like to volunteer to serve as class correspondent.

1998

Lindsey Houston Salmony, 604 S Camellia Street, Chapel Hill, NC 27516, 843-6543343, lindsey.salmony@blackbaud.com ■ Greetings, 1998 Dragons! It’s been so great to field all of the updates coming in. Thanks for being in touch! Let’s start with an update from overseas … ■ Marina Mello is still living in London and working as a communications manager in the not-for-profit sector. Her big news is the arrival of her son, Finlay Sheldon MelloSealey, on May 23. Marina and her husband Alastair will be celebrating their 10th anniversary this December. She writes, “Best wishes to the St. George’s crowd. If anyone happens to be visiting London, send me a Facebook message and I would be happy to buy you a pint. It’s always lovely to see a fellow American, especially from SG!” ■ Congrats, Marina, and also to four other dragon alums who are celebrating anniversaries! By the time these notes are printed, Chris Coffey and husband, Adam Riff, will be married a year. They live in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn. Chris was elected to the board of directors for Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy. He works as a political and government consultant in New York at Tusk Strategies. ■ Philippe Cousteau celebrated his one-year anniversary with wife, Ashlan Gorse. He is still president of EarthEcho

SPRING 2015

“Uncle” Tony O’Donnell ’95 welcomes into the world his nephew Andrew Anthony Dominick, son of Drew Dominick ’95 and his fiance Georgia Bridges.

Anthony L. Champalimaud, 31 E 12th Street, Apartment 5E, New York, NY 10003, alchampalimaud@gmail. com ■ Lee Fentress reports, “All is well out here in California. I saw Colin Wood a few weeks back when he was out in L.A. for a work trip. It was great to catch up and share some old SG stories. Also, Ned Johnson made it through town on his way up the coast to Santa Barbara’s annual daffodil show. His Charleston floral business continues to do well with, “revenues blooming like wildflowers,” as he likes to say. As for me, I’m still living in Venice, Calif., and keep in great touch with the Rob Johnson, Tommy Gresinger and Jerry Swon. ■ When we last checked in with Alex Sehnaoui he was happily engaged and planning his nuptials in Finland. We all waited for our invitations. When he visited New York in January, I thought, sure, use my flat while I’m away…and where’s my invitation!? On Jan. 25 I received an email, subject: “Alex and Alex Tie the Knot!” Turns out young Alexander has an impulsive side, which he shares with his bride. The two eloped and were married at City Hall. Congratulations Alex! ■ Unprompted, Alex has offered the following update with an announcement of his recent appointment as general manager of Havas’ Shanghai agency. “All is well. Just got back from a week in Beirut for a wedding, which was great fun. Hadn’t been back to Lebanon in over four years so it was quite nice to see some familiar faces in a familiar setting. Alex loved it as well, so that was a relief as I was afraid she might feel rather uneasy at essentially being dead smack in the middle of several war zones. Summer is coming to an end here in China, and I’ve got to say I’m somewhat looking forward to cooler temps, although we were spared last year’s abominable heat and humidity this year. We’re planning a trip to Thailand for Golden Week. Looks like I’ll be in Miami for Christmas this year, and not sure I’ll manage to squeeze

1996

in any skiing in Megève. If that’s the case we’ll certainly spend CNY there (early Feb this year). Better snow at that time of year anyway.” Thank you, Alex. ■ Not to be outdone, Alex Kielland Zerzan sent a nice smiley in reply to my request for news. I believe this means she is happy, healthy and doing well. ■ David Caldwell reports: “Living in Houston, Texas, with my wife, Nicole, and our twin 15-montholds, Philip and Adelaide. I’m working for FMC Technologies in the subsea oil and gas business. Drill, baby, drill!” ■ Congratulations on the fruits of your labors, Mr. Caldwell.

st. george’s school

May 20, my wife gave birth to fraternal twin girls, Isabel Carrington West and Caroline Liddell West. Four and a half months later we survived a summer with three under three.”

CLASS NOTES

st. george’s school

// SPRING 2015

International, which continues to develop environmental education for students across the country. Philippe is a special correspondent for CNN International but is now also host of a syndicated TV show on Fox called Awesome Planet, viewable on Hulu. The foundation arm of an investment fund (NYSE:GIVE) he helped found two years ago continues its partnership with Clinton Global Initiative and just funded the successful installation of solar panels on the roof of Panzi Hospital in eastern Congo. Panzi is an award-winning facility that focuses on maternity care and life-saving treatment for women survivors of sexual violence. Philippe and Ashlan are producing a documentary about endangered wild orcas and have been traveling on adventures most of the last year. ■ Also celebrating an anniversary is Greg Kiely, who writes, “I was just talking to someone about how we all started at SG 20 years ago! Sarah and I are about to head off to Bermuda where I’m umpiring a sailing world championship event and we’ll be celebrating our first anniversary. Now that I’ve recovered from my back surgeries, I’m racing in or officiating sailing events whenever I can. We try to spend as many weekends in Newport as possible, and I’ll be down there in the spring as an official for the Volvo Ocean Race and the college national championships. Other than that, my real estate office is keeping me incredibly busy with the crazy Boston-area market.” ■ Robby Larkin also celebrated one year of marriage with his wife, Joy. He’s had quite a year! In 2014 he earned his instrument rating as a private pilot, traveled to Corsica, France, and cycled around the southern half of the island, learned to quilt, and ran in his first stage race, the Trans Rockies Run from Buena Vista to Beaver Creek, Colo., over six days. He also made what he calls his “annual pilgrimage” to Experimental Aircraft Association AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisc. He is still living in Austin, Texas, where he and Andy Buckingham are building a couple of food businesses and running a very successful oil and gas exploration program. He writes, “It has been nice to see a few of you when you have traveled through Austin. My home is open to anyone who wants to stop through and see some music, swim in Barton Springs or take a flight out west to get some of

the best BBQ on the planet. Just ask Todd Nims—Austin is a good time!” ■ Speaking of Todd, he’s also had quite a year. A series of videos Todd produced titled “Children of the World” for the children’s museum at the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture has won several accolades, including two World Gold awards in New York Festivals and a silver in the Cannes Corporate Media & TV Awards. The series was shot in 16 different countries and five regions in Saudi Arabia covering a day in the life of a child in each place. When not working, Todd says he aims to go to “all those countries you aren’t supposed to go.” This last year he knocked Bangladesh, Rwanda, Serbia and Iran off of his list. While back in the States this past fall Todd caught up with fellow Dragon Yann Beise in Santa Barbara on a trip down California’s Pacific Coast Highway. He writes, “We hung out at one of his local spots, where—in true Beise fashion—all the wait staff seemed to know and love him. Hope all is well with everyone. Give me a holler if you are ever in the Middle East.” ■ Chris Clukies graduated from the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) joint program between University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and San Francisco State University (SFSU). He is still living in San Francisco and about to start a new job. On Aug. 31, he married Victoria Lopez in Sanger, Calif. Nate Fletcher was one of Chris’s groomsmen, and Cal Viall was also in attendance. ■ Speaking of Cal, he says he and his wife, Monica, have had a busy year selling a house and buying another in the funky mountain town of Carbondale, Colo. Cal works as a project manager for the country’s largest home technology company (VIA International) at their Aspen office. He’s says he and Monica have been hitting up music concerts and river trips whenever possible, and went to Mexico for String Cheese Incident in February. They also will head to Las Vegas for Phish on Halloween. He writes, “I’m heading out on Westwater Canyon on the Colorado River this afternoon for some river time! Life is sweet in the high country!” ■ Antonia Kerckerinck Kannengiesser and her husband, Frank, live in New York State where Antonia recently started back to work at a local home for foster children. All three of their children—Magnus, Luisa and Sofi—attend the same day school Antonia

went to as a child in Millbrook, N.Y. As it turns out, Magnus is in the same class as the son of Leslie Bathgate Heaney ’92. ■ In other news, many SG grads are expecting! Generosa Jones Archer is expecting the arrival of her second baby. She says her daughter Reyna—now 3 years old—wants a puppy. ■ Also expecting her second child is Fraser Ross Maloney. She says she and her husband, Rob, are doing well living in New York City and are expecting a daughter in late January. Their first daughter Riley started nursery school this fall and is looking forward to being a big sister. Fraser says every once in a while she sees Katie O’Kane Tobin, who was expecting a girl in late December. Katie is planning a move out to Locust Valley, N.Y. ■ Carlos Gonzalez and his wife, Maria, were expecting their second boy, Luca Luis Gonzalez, before November. Their first son Nicholas is already three and Carlos said he would make a sweet big brother. He writes, “This year has brought many blessings to my wife and I spiritually, physically and emotionally. I wish everyone lots of joy and happiness for this holiday season and for the upcoming year.”

1999

H. Stephen Gross, Green Ledge Farm, P.O. Box 343, Unionville, PA 19375 , hsgross@gmail. com / Anne Harvey Sharpe, 1601 3rd Avenue, Apartment 23H, New York, NY 10128, adharvey8@gmail.com

2000

Jennifer Vandemoer Mitchell, 449 Mtn. Laurel Drive, #4, Aspen, CO 81611, 508-776-0608, mitchelljv@gmail.com

2001

Timothy W. Friend, 1200 N Hartford Street, Apartment 104, Arlington, VA 22201, 617513-9834, timothy.w.friend@gmail.com

2002

Dorothy P. Billings, 404 E 75th Street, Apartment 4B, New York, NY 10021, 212-318-2000, dorothybillings@gmail. com / Gerrit M. Lansing, 2423 39th Place NW, Washington, DC 20007, gerrit. lansing@gmail.com / Dana T. Ross, 215

CLASS NOTES

Bradley G. Hoover, 337 East 5th Street, Apartment 2FW, New York, NY 10003, 516-661-1285, bgh3175@gmail.com ■ We’ll kick off with exciting wedding news! Anna Bullard wrote in to report that Patricia Pendergrast became Patricia Finnegan in Connecticut on Sept. 13. Anna and fellow classmates Claudia Grey (with fiancé, Chris Cline ’02), Russell Lloyd, Marta de Movellan and Tracy Dana were in attendance. A fun time was had by all. Claudia and Chris were getting ready to tie the knot themselves on Nov. 1! Patricia, Anna, Russell and Chris Sessa ’02 went down to Florida to help them celebrate. ■ We’re also super excited to report that Sarah Koziolkowsky and her husband were expected to have an SGS lady Dragon in November! Congratulations to you both! ■ Abby Taylor continues her education at OSU’s vet school. She has recently begun clinicals and will be graduating in May. Not too far away is Colby Brown who reports to have successfully graduated from Case Western and now gets to call himself a doctor of medicine! Colby is not licensed yet though, so hold off on heading to Cleveland for those discount ENT surgeries. He plans to be in Cleveland

2004

J. Garth Fasano, 3000 Colorado Avenue, Apartment D215, Boulder, CO 80303, garthfasano@gmail.com / Julianna C. Howland, 132 N Kenmore Avenue, Apartment 3, Los Angeles, CA 90004, julianna.howland@gmail.com / Katharine Sheehan Ronck, 11 Swampscott Avenue, Swampscott, MA 01907, 610-909-6689, katharineronck@gmail.com

2005

Christina I. Saldivar, 1916 N 47th Street, McAllen, TX 78501, 956-585-8789, c.saldivar311@gmail.com

SPRING 2015

2003

Emily E. Jagger, 1833 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Apartment H-802, Washington, DC 20009 , emily.jagger@gmail.com / Marisa A. Rodriguez-McGill, 1100 12th Street NW, Townhouse A, Albuquerque, NM 87104, manhattanriss@gmail.com ■ Some pretty exciting news for our class this fall! ■ First, congratulations to Sara Plunkett and her wife, who got married in the fall at Williams College! Sara says that, “it was wonderful to have Ian Cook, Natalie Harrison and Courtney Soule take part in the celebration as my bridal party. Former SG faculty member, the Rev. Kit Lonergan, also presided over our wedding ceremony.” She is currently in San Diego, Calif., working on her master’s degree in sports administration. ■ Natalie Harrison graduated from the University of Miami in May with her master’s and law degrees, and found out this fall that she passed the bar exam! She’s currently clerking for a justice of the Florida Supreme Court in Tallahassee. She also saw Courtney Soule, Ian Cook, and Sara Plunkett at Sara’s wedding in June, and they’re all doing great. ■ Stephanie Wein was on leave this fall from her role as head of development for PennEnvironment in Philadelphia and was “living in Raleigh, running the biggest voter registration drive in North Carolina, registering … 20,000 minority voters in North Carolina with the Community Voters Project.” ■ Hailley Wollak is currently living and working in Houston, Texas. She works for a local community bank, Texas First Bank. In her words, “I spend all of my free time at my yoga studio —Big Yoga— practicing, assisting and now teaching classes on the weekends! And I absolutely love it!” ■ Darcey O’Halloran moved to Chicago in August to pursue an MBA at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. She is excited to be back in school, living in a new city and hopes to see other ’06 alums in Chicago soon! ■ Sarah Coffin is working on her internship this semester for her master’s in museum studies. She is currently interning at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in Visitor Services, specifically in Access Programs for those who are blind or have low vision. She’s still living in Boston, and for those of us who are Red Sox fans, is living the dream around the corner from Fenway Park and

East 68th Street, Apartment 9Z, New York, NY 10065, danatross@gmail.com ■ Since we did a full news update in the last magazine, we didn’t submit class notes for this edition. However, we would like to provide this note, which didn’t make the last column: ■ Both Alex Perry and Elliott Perry are residing in Dallas, Texas. Alex is excelling in residential real estate, property and property management. Elliott greatly enjoys his job in IT with Brinker (Chili’s).

2006

st. george’s school

Maria Shevlin ’02, Emily Whipple ’02, Logan Unland ’02, Dorothy Billings ’02 and Kesa Iskra Lindsay ’03 help celebrate Kate Harvey’s wedding in July.

another five years and hopes to visit Abby down in Columbus soon. ■ Shannon Karpovitz is still in PT school, but fortunately her course load is less intense this year so she’s looking forward to keeping in better touch with people. As you can imagine Shannon was very excited for hockey season to get underway. Me too! Go Islanders. ■ Marta de Movellan recently moved to NYC from London and is working at Lehmann Maupin Gallery. ■ Pavan Dharwadkar has been traveling around a bit lately. He spent time last summer in Abu Dhabi and France, and has recently been recruiting in Austin. Pavan continues to enjoy living in Denver. ■ After a long summer off, Bill Nordlund starts work at Deloitte Consulting this fall. ■ Rob Stevenson continues to work at T. Rowe Price as an analyst. In his free time Rob plays with drones. He most recently filmed a few regattas on the eastern shore. ■ Geoff Kearney was very excited about the return of football season. Although it has been a rough couple of years for the program, Geoff is in on coach Bret Bielema and felt pretty good about the prediction he had before the season began: six regular season wins and a bowl berth. Woo Pig Sooie! Besides football, Geoff finally got to see Jason Isbell live, and highly recommends seeing him as well as Fleetwood Mac on their upcoming tour. Finally, Geoff hopes that everyone is well, and sends his congrats to all the folks who’ve recently gotten married, had a kid or passed the bar! ■ You stay classy, 2003.

CLASS NOTES

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Marriages //

SPRING 2015

2 1

6 5

CLASS NOTES

CONGRAT ULAT IONS

Elena Thornton Kissel ’77 to Richard Beverly Corbin III [ 9 ] / Aug. 15, 2014

Mary Friberg ’94 to Bob Wilson [ 10 ] / May 17, 2014 Alex Sehnaoui ’96 to Alex Margaretha Baillie [ 2 ] / Jan. 25, 2014

Chris Clukies ’98 to Victoria Lopez Aug. 31, 2014 Leigh Fenwick ’99 to Nathan Eaton ’01 [ 8 ] / Sept. 13, 2014 Aurelia Drackett ’01 to Adam Demark July 6, 2013 Kimberly Keefe ’01 to Roy Smith Sept. 13, 2014 Annabel Prentice ’01 to Simon Botterill [ 5 ] / Aug. 30, 2014 Kate Harvey ’02 to Jason Anklowitz [ 4 ] / July 19, 2014 Katharine Modisett ’02 to Kevin Lander Aug. 23, 2014 Patricia Pendergrast ’03 to Michael Finnegan Sept. 13, 2014 Elizabeth McDermott ’04 to Edward Lanphier III Sept. 13, 2014

10 11

Brian Taggart ’04 to Adrienne Martin [ 3 ] / June 28, 2014 Alden Conway ’05 to Harris Fontaine Aug. 30, 2014 Sara Plunkett ’06 to Stephanie Berger [ 6 ] / June 20, 2014 Sarah Dick ’07 to Ryan Thompson [ 1 ] / July 26, 2014 Sofia Covarrubias ’08 to Nick Baer [ 7 ] / April 19, 2014 Hannah McQuilkin ’09 to Connor Eaton Aug. 9, 2014

€

SPRING 2015

Kiliaen Van Rensselaer ’88 to Shaina Fewell [ 11 ] / Aug. 16, 2014

st. george’s school

CLASS NOTES

st. george’s school

Babies

SPRING 2015

CONGR AT ULAT IONS

1 2

Sullivan Romeo Zuccaro and Aubrey Theodore Zuccaro to Carlie and Marc Zuccaro ’92 Nov. 9, 2014

Serita Isabella Barzun to Emily and Charles Barzun ’93 [ 1 ] / July 19, 2014 Anna Lourdes Ariail to Carrington and Shreve Ariail ’94 Jan.15, 2014 Augustin Davis Venom Millard to Meagan and Tris Millard ’94 July 23, 2014 Andrew Anthony Dominick IV to Georgia Bridges and Drew Dominick ’95 Nov. 1, 2013 Sienna Jane Henderson RanjbarChaloshtari to Greg and Jane Nigra Gallina ’95 [ 2 ] / Aug. 3, 2014 Finlay Sheldon Mello-Sealey to Alastair and Marina Mello Sealey ’98 May 23, 2014 Caroline Anthony Stern to Sarah and Andrew Stern ’01 [ 3 ] / Aug. 29, 2014

Liam Sciascia Chardon to Saasha Sciascia and Robert Chardon ’05 [ 4 ] / Aug. 15, 2014

COMMUNI T Y Gordie Dwyer to Kathy and Jeff Dwyer [ faculty] Aug. 6, 2014 4 5

Beatrice Kate Ploskina to Chad and Sarah Ploskina [ faculty] [ 5 ] / Aug. 28, 2014

€

Nina Roberts ’06 and classmate Mike Taylor ’06 run side by side in the Chicago Marathon.

working for the Red Sox as an archival assistant. ■ Piper Rastello has been on the road with Jesse McCartney shooting photo and video for him. She is making a career change and moving to L.A. to shoot in the celebrity circuit and work in music management while continuing to tour throughout the year. ■ Kaitlyn Evans, Annabel de Bragança ’07 and I (Emily Jagger) get together in Washington, D.C., every few weeks. Kaitlyn is still working as a preschool educator at The River School. When she’s not chasing around her students, she’s running marathons with her parents! ■ Courtney Soule: “I am still living in Boston, but I am taking a break from teaching high school Latin to attend Boston University for my Master’s in archaeology with an interest in heritage management/protection (especially the issue and prevalence of site looting internationally). I was able to see Sara and Natalie at a wedding earlier this summer and get to see Ian pretty regularly (because he’s also in the Boston area).” ■ And last, but not least, from Matt Bernard, who is still in San Luis Obispo, Calif.: “Matt Bernard just Is.”

2007

Alexandra E. Cahill, 360 West 2nd Street, Apartment 19, Boston, MA 02127, 857210-3444, alexecahill@gmail.com

2008

Westley A. Resendes, 200 N State Street, Unit 101, Ann Arbor, MI 48104, west. resendes@gmail.com ■ Hi Folks, It now has been 10 years since we first stepped onto the Hilltop and started our tumble into real life. I am glad to share that one of our classmates has returned to the Hilltop as a teacher! ■ Alison Fornell

CLASS NOTES

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writes, “I am a dorm parent in Auch, a JV field hockey coach and teach third- and sixth-form English. I’m also the director of the Writing Lab. It’s wonderful to be back on the Hilltop!” ■ We got a lovely update from Hailey Feldman: “I’m engaged! Over Memorial Day weekend, CJ Steadman proposed to me at St. Petersburg Beach in Florida. After six years of living in Manhattan, I moved to Tampa, Fla., last July to be with CJ. Life in Florida has been incredible! I look forward to having my friends and brother, Mack Feldman ’11, come visit me this winter! ■ “I am getting married on Nantucket, Sept. 19, 2015. Campbell McNicol ’09 will be one of my bridesmaids! Betsy Stavis ’08 will also be attending. Mack Feldman ’11 will be one of CJ’s groomsmen! ■ “I finished my master’s in education and history at NYU Steinhardt! Since I just moved to a new city, I will be substitute teaching and tutoring until I find a full-time teaching position.” ■ There’s another major life update from two of our classmates that we all saw coming: Allie Conti and Chris Fogg are now engaged! Chris proposed to Allie last summer in the most fitting way a Dragon could—on top of the SG Chapel. ■ Ellie McDonald saw the lucky couple over the summer, and she is still working as a Spanish teacher at the Westminster School in Simsbury, Conn. She is also staying competitive, as she is coaching

field hockey and lacrosse. ■ Kelsey Crowther is continuing with her master’s degree in education at Merrimack College and began to student teach in the fall in Haverhill Mass. She was expecting to complete her program by Christmas. ■ Allison Boynton has started working as an agent with the Back Bay office of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage. She is working with fellow Dragon Rich Hornblower ’95. So, if you are looking for a place in that area, be sure to look up Allie! ■ Chris Cooke is now working at a hedge fund, Impala Asset Management, as an equity analyst in the energy sector. He also recently went skydiving! ■ I’m still situated in Ann Arbor, but I got to visit home for a month over the summer. During an evening out in Newport with a old college friend, I ran into Whitney Curtin by the Boom-Boom Room, where we have some good memories from our post fifth-reunion activities. Whitney is now a sailor racing around the world. ■ I also had brunch at the Atlantic Grille with Bill Douglas, and we ran into Angus Anderson’s younger brother, Graham Anderson ’09. He had just finished up an internship in New York City and is going into his senior year at Babson. We look forward to seeing what you do next, Graham! ■ Geoff Pedrick: “I’ve been keeping busy out here in the middle coast. Most of my time is taken up by work, of

2009

Isabel H. Evans, 447 East 57th Street, New York, NY 10022 , 212-371-1193, Izzyevans22@ gmail.com ■ Hello, friends! I am truly sorry for the empty Bulletin notes in the last issue—I was still nursing a hangover from reunion. LOL. No, I was just really lazy. Anyway, reunion though. Wow! That was such a good time (Thank you, Bill and Co.). ■ From dancing the night away in the rink (Merrill Pierce, I’m so sorry for falling on top of you), to watching Lindsay Beck drive to the after-party with

SPRING 2015

Chris Cooke ’08, now an equity analyst in the energy sector, takes a break to go skydiving.

course. Through the Chicago Match Race Center, I have been able to spend heaps of time on the water. There’s always some exciting event in Chicago, so my friends and I have taken advantage of all the city has to offer with concerts, street festivals, and the like. It’s a pretty nice place to live, but it still can’t compare to Newport in the summer. ■ Sofia Covarrubias also had the chance to bring us up to speed: “I still work at Lutron Electronics based out of south Florida. I reside in Weston, Fla., along with my husband, Nick Baer, and our pets: Suki (chocolate lab), Kibo (black cat) and Tora (yellow tabby cat). ■ “We got married back on April 19 in Mexico City and we are getting ready to depart for our honeymoon in December in the Dominican Republic. Nick and I met at Lehigh during my sophomore year and we have been together ever since.” ■ Speaking of ’09ers, our thoughts collectively go out to Alex Layton ’09, who has been battling Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He has been updating us all via Facebook of his great progress, and the SG community has done a truly wonderful job of supporting him. We look forward to him recovering and continuing to make phenomenal music.Cheers,West

Mercedes Barba ’08, Liz Levison ’08 and Harriet Manice ’08 enjoy a weekend on Nantucket.

CLASS NOTES

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the EMS guys (good thinking, Becks), to seeing Alex Muhlbach, to hearing Diatre Padilla’s outrageous cackle, to drinking mimosas on the lawn of the Petersons’ house with the glistening ocean in the background (sigh), to Justin Hoffmann passing out (typical), to catching up on everyone’s lives (Sarah, Logan, Drew, Carmen, G, Jeff, etc.!), to seeing the look of terror in Katie Titus’s eyes at the sight of Doyle and Pat, to walking back with Meredith Kaufman to her house and eating all of Tutti’s food (I’m really genuinely sorry about that, Tutti), it was a truly epic weekend! Also, update: Peter Lawson-Johnston is NOT working at Dunkin’ Donuts. I was misinformed last time and I apologize. LJ is currently working with his dad and is a lovely young man. ■ Anyways, what else is new … Hmm. … Callie McBreen and McCrea Davison are living together in NYC now. They have a fantastic apartment littered with McCrea’s unique artwork. Callie and I traveled up to Vermont last summer to see Hannah McQuilkin get married. Insane. Her new husband is extremely handsome and looks like he could be a lead singer in Mumford & Sons. At the wedding, Cal and I caught up with Margaret Hawkins, who is doing wonderfully. She has just moved out to Austin and is still singing. The three of us hung out at the wedding with Leigh Archer and family, which was a blast. I’m sorry that Hannah beat you to it, Soph! ■ In other news, Vianca Masucci (miss you, boo!!!) is an HIV prevention specialist and volunteer coordinator at Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force, Lulu is still dating Manley and has many dogs, S.J. did the Ice Bucket Challenge and got mad at me after I tooled on him on Facebook (sorry, suga), and I’m back in NYC now for good (holla!) ■ Email me with anecdotes for next Bulletin to izzyevans22@gmail.com.

2010

Samuel D. Livingston, 60 Wharf Street, Nahant, MA 01908, 781-599-5515, slivingston12092@gmail.com ■ Classmates, thanks for keeping in touch with me to help make this edition of the class notes possible. It has been a joy to hear all your post-graduate plans. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone at

our five-year reunion this spring! ■ Eliza Ghriskey moved to Los Angeles in July where she lives with Hannah von Meister ’09 in Venice. Eliza works as a publicist at The Workshop, a PR and social media company. Eliza writes, “I’m missing everyone back East, but I absolutely love it over here!” ■ After graduating from Middlebury College in May, Laura Lowry went on a road trip from Vermont to Southern California to San Francisco, where she visited Jesse Pacheco who is working for Oracle. After the trip, Laura moved to Andover, Mass., where she is spending a year as a teaching fellow in the History and Social Sciences Department at Phillips Andover Academy. Laura is teaching world history, coaching track and field and serving as a house counselor to 44 girls. ■ This September Ashley Winslow began her studies at the Florida Coastal School of Law in Jacksonville, Fla., where she has embarked a four-year JD/MBA program with a focus in business and sports law. ■ Elizabeth Bayne recently moved up the Connecticut coast to Mystic to work as a chemical analyst at Pfizer’s Research & Development Headquarters in Groton, Conn. She is enjoying her first job and says she feels lucky to have the opportunity to meet and be mentored by brilliant and innovative scientists. ■ Hendrik Kits van Heyningen graduated Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude from Yale University with a degree in mathematics and physics. He is currently living in Boston, Mass., and he is employed at Analytics Operations Engineering, a consulting firm that applies operations research and mathematical methods to solve business problems. ■ Charlotte Edson graduated from St. Lawrence University with a Spanish major and English literature minor. She now lives in Greenwich, Conn., and works in Stamford at Half Full Brewery as the marketing and operations manager.

2011

Sophie C. Flynn, 1172 East Road, Tiverton, RI 02878, 401-624-8090, sophie.flynn@gmail.com ■ Since the last bulletin was published, I was fortunate enough to hear back from some more 2011 classmates! ■ Katie Harris is living in London for the semester, residing in Earl’s Court and taking classes

Graham Anderson ’11 poses with Director of Academic Services Rob Major after winning the Dean’s Leadership and Achievement Award at Babson College.

through a program called CAPA. She is also taking part in an internship in public relations with a company based out of Kensington. ■ Rachel Asbel is in the interdisciplinary degree program at Carnegie Mellon studying architecture and psychology. She studied architecture in Copenhagen during the spring semester and grew an affinity for longdistance bike riding and Danish licorice candies. ■ Victoria Leonard is studying at Brown, concentrating in political science and religious studies. She is also the president of Partners in Health Engage at Brown. This past summer she was in Addo, South Africa, teaching and working in a women’s empowerment initiative with Universal Promise, a nonprofit based in Newport. She organized trainings on entrepreneurship and handcrafts to equip the women with skills to start their own businesses and become financially independent. She also worked on local civic engagement and political empowerment, supporting efforts to demand basic services and stricter punishment for violence against women and children. Victoria added, “Sending love to all the Dragons!” ■ Sebastian Bierman-Lytle is at Dartmouth, where he has also been working on a software start up called IIO Interactive. You can check it out at http://iiointeractive.com/. He is excited to be launching it at Dartmouth’s DEN Innovation Center this fall!

2012

Jack I. Bartholet, 73 Cassandra Lane, North Kingstown, RI 02852 , 401-295-4108, 401-644-7714, jbartho6@jhu.edu

CLASS NOTES

Johnny Kim, 1237 Main Street, Concord, MA 01742, P: 978-371-3461, jjk90@ georgetown.edu ■ Congratulations on finally graduating from St. George’s, Class of 2014! Each of us (or, most of us, excluding those of us taking gap years) finally made it to college. Now, here is the first of many class notes that I’ll be writing on behalf of the Class of 2014 in the years to come. ■ Speaking of keeping in touch, the 15 Class of 2014-ers in Washington, D.C., including myself, have already had our first informal Alumni Reunion thanks to school prefect Alexa Santry, who offered her house in D.C. for

the event before leaving for Dartmouth College. Julian Turner, Kathryn Coughlin, Luc Woodard, Thomas Kits van Heyningen, Quang Hong, Wilson Rubinoff and Grace Polk were all there to enjoy Alexa’s tacos, while Cameron Cluff, Kari Anna Byrnes, Josiah Adams, Roger Dorr, Miranda Bakos, Nomikos Klonaris and Amirah Keaton were missing in action. ■ Here’s what other people are up to: ■ Annabella Doyle is on the swim team at Sewanee. The team is hardworking and competitive, but she likes how the team also forms a social group on campus. She regularly sees Cory Davis, Halsey Huth ’12 and Ben Rickabaugh ’13. She will major in English with a minor in film studies. ■ To our little surprise, Gigi Moylan joined many community-service groups at Boston College. She is most excited for “4Boston,” a competitive service program at BC. Everyone is split into groups of 12 with their own service placement. She says, “I applied for The Perkins School for the Blind. I volunteer there for four hours every week and reflect with my group of 12 about the three pillars of 4Boston: community, social justice and spirituality. This is a very big commitment, but I get to go into Boston and help the greater BC community. I wanted to work with Perkins because we did swim meets with them when Mr. Evans was a coach.” Gigi sees Colby Burdick ’13 and classmate

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2014

Top to bottom: Drew Michaelis ’13 and Alana McMahon ’13 at Elon University in North Carolina. / Theresa Salud ’13, Johnny Kim ’14 and Natasha Zobel de Ayala ’15 in Manila, Philippines.

Andrew Lynch every now and then. She has also grabbed dinner a couple times with Sophie Layton ’12, who told Gigi: “You never make friends like you do at SG. You never realize how much you love that place until you are gone.” ■ Meggie O’Connor, on her gap year before entering Elon University in the fall of 2015, is currently in the Dominican Republic teaching English to 290 children a day in the Monte Cristi school system. She is leading an after-school learning center for advanced English students. She also co-manages the program’s social media on Twitter and takes photos for the Facebook page. Meggie is looking to spend the latter half of her gap year in Washington, D.C., doing an internship, although these plans are not set in stone. ■ Margaret Schroeder is enjoying the social scene at the University of Pennsylvania, while managing her 5.5 classes and writing for the Daily Pennsylvanian. Margaret connects with classmates Seung Shin and Claire Yoon occasionally, but without any classes in common, not as often as she’d like. Unfortunately, nobody calls her “Marge” at Penn. This struck me as terribly sad news, but maybe that’s just me. ■ Claire Yoon has also been keeping herself busy at Penn. Currently undecided on her major, she is taking a wide variety of courses to open up her options. She enjoys her microeconomics class because she feels as though the material has many real-world applications. Claire and classmate Seung Shin see each other regularly, thanks to overlapping class schedules and the power of love. ■ After a fun summer in Costa Rica with Callie Randall and Conor Ingari ’15, Bud Fralick is now at Cornell. He has joined a wide variety of clubs across campus, including the Cornell Concert Committee and Slope Day Committee, CCAMS (Cornell Chapter of the American Meteorological Society), a food club, as well as a club that lets him puppy-sit future seeing eye-dogs. He was planning to play club hockey. He will major in atmospheric science and meteorology. It’s been a huge transition from life at SG, but having fellow SG grads like Ito Orobator definitely made things easier. According to Bud, “Ito and I always have a meal or two together once a week to check in on how we are both

Theresa A. Salud, 54 Bernadette Road, Morganville, NJ 07751 , 732-970-8456, tsalud@hamilton.edu ■ It was a very eventful summer for us as a class and especially for our very own C.J. Park, who chose to travel the world. Park spent one month traveling to Amsterdam, Brussels, Bruges, Paris, Salzburg, Munich, Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade, Sofia and Istanbul. ■ Our Senior Prefect, Will Fleming, also had a great summer spending time with family at the Vineyard. “Summer has been full of work, lifting and chilling so I can’t complain,” Fleming reported. Fleming is on the economics track at Middlebury. ■ After her post-grad year from Deerfield, Jess Hom is now at Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio. This winter, Hom is playing point guard for the varsity basketball team. Their first tip off was Nov. 15, so if you’re around the area during the season ... ■ Another athlete doing big things is Shannon Leonard, a midfield/forward for Division 1 Marist women’s soccer. In a big game against Rider, she tied the score. ■ Jeremy Monk is back in Montreal studying international development and education at McGill University. ■ As for me, I’ve been enjoying my time at Hamilton and the basketball season. This past summer I was in the Philippines teaching math and P.E. at my aunt’s grade school. I also had the pleasure of meeting up with two other Dragons there: Johnny Kim ’14 and Natasha Zobel de Ayala ’15. ■ I can’t wait to hear more from everyone else in the spring! Until then, I wish everyone a great year.

st. george’s school

2013

CLASS NOTES

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// SPRING 2015

doing and hang out rather frequently. While she has found her friend group and I have found mine, it is always nice to see a familiar face.” ■ Caroline Yerkes, as we all know, misses St. George’s. At Tulane, she has found that, in college, a lot of people “hang out” with her, but not many people are accessible enough to share a meaningful conversation with her. She wishes she could go back to her SG days, but she also understands that will never happen. She is simply thankful for all of what SG has done for her: “Thank you for everything, SG. I spent the best three years of my life on the Hilltop, and I will be eternally grateful to each and every person who made it my home: my teachers, for finally getting that ‘potential’ out of me; my coaches, for teaching me how to work together; my dorm parents, for being my moms; my prefects, for being my siblings; my advisor, for being my father; the chapel, for keeping me grounded; the ocean, for keeping me calm; the people who kept us clean and safe; and anyone and everyone with whom I had any type of relationship at St. George’s. Thank you.” ■ Thomas Kits van Heyningen is also having a blast at Georgetown. He joined Georgetown’s student newspaper, The Hoya, as a sports writer. He says, “I’m starting by previewing and writing game summaries for multiple teams, but might be assigned a ‘beat’ later on to follow one specific team exclusively for the remainder of their season.” I have a feeling Thomas will once again be Editor-in-Chief as an upperclassman here, but that’s none of my business…Anyway, he sees SG graduates Luc Woodard, Kathryn Coughlin, Jack Coaty ’13, Parker Little ’12, and me quite often. Thomas and I are looking to arrange an SG alumni group to attend American University’s future Division I rugby events to support classmate Cameron Cluff, who starts for the team. ■ At Dartmouth, Alexa Santry is taking classes, joining on-campus clubs and organizations and making friends. But most importantly, she is taking Arabic. According to one of her Snapchats and other anonymous sources, Alexa “just so happened to sign up for Arabic” and quickly became a fan. She sees classmates Teddy Carter, Samantha Maltais and Will Hill a fair amount. Since Peggy Kilvert and Cecilia Masiello are

playing sports, they are not around as much as everyone else. She adds, “It’s hilarious when we’re in the library at the same time because I have flashbacks to senior fall. Having so many kids from SG has also been nice because all of us have met a bunch of different people, and when we come together we introduce each other to our friends so we’ve been able to meet a ton of new people.” ■ Alexa has a quick message for our class: “Hello, Class of 2014! I miss everyone so much and wish we were all together, but I’m absolutely confident that everyone is killing it in college. I hope everyone is now realizing, as I am, what an amazing group of people we had in our class and how incredibly we worked and got along with each other. It’s so weird not walking into the dining hall and being able to sit down at any table and know someone, or walk across the quad and be greeted by absolutely anyone, and of course it’s incredibly heartbreaking not seeing everyone in Student Life block every week, but all of these absences have just further reminded me how special we made our time at SG. I hope everyone is continuing to make their mark at their new schools, and that we are all able to bring a part of SG to our new community (I personally plan to bring my scooter to school in the spring and can’t wait to whip around campus). I can’t wait to see everyone on Prize Day and am looking forward to continuing to be able to see everyone as we get even further away from our own graduation last May. Remember to keep doing you, 2014!” ■ Natalie Sullivan is enjoying the start of her college career at The College of Wooster in Ohio. She has joined various clubs and is enjoying biology class. While she loves the new experiences in Ohio, she would be lying if she said she wasn’t missing SG. You really don’t appreciate it to the fullest until you are gone. Unfortunately, she does not see very many SG alums in Ohio. To the Class of 2014: “I know you are all doing great things out there wherever you are! Thank you again for an unforgettable SG experience.” ■ As for me, I’m simply at that stage where I’m exploring my options in college. Georgetown has a lot to offer, but what caught my attention was a service organization called Prison

Outreach, which takes students to jails in Alexandria and Arlington, Va., with the purpose of tutoring creative writing to the jails’ inmates one-on-one. I am also the Georgetown Korean Student Association’s Freshmen Representative, so I’ve had many interactions with people who come from similar backgrounds as me. I am both excited and nervous for the busy four years ahead of me, but I will not let schoolwork prevent me from connecting with the Class of 2014 twice a year. ■ Good luck everyone. Keep in touch! S U B M I T A N OT E Please contact your class correspondent or the Advancement Office at 1-888-I-CALL-SG or ClassNotes@ stgeorges.edu. BECOME A CLASS CORRESPONDENT! See an empty place where your class column should be and want to see it filled? Reconnect with old friends? Rally the class for your next reunion? Contact Director of Alumni Relations, Bill Douglas at ClassNotes@stgeorges.edu. Save the Date A LU M N I W E E K E N D May 8–10, 2015 We hope you will be able to join us!

FROM THE ARCHIVES

To view the collection visit stgeorges.edu/archives

SPRING 2015

Dragon fact: The title of the exhibit comes from the fourth verse of the School Hymn: Here let Thy love and Truth abound, Changeless as yonder changeless sea. And ever may these walls resound, With grateful voices praising Thee.

“Yonder Changeless Sea: SG’s Historical Connection to the Ocean,” a unique collection of images and materials that illustrate St. George’s longstanding close relationship with the sea, is now available on our website, www.stgeorges.edu. Curated by School Archivist Valerie Simpson, the slideshow includes images of Sakonnet vs. Sachuest club team whaleboat rowing races at Third Beach, the school boathouses over the years, assorted spring and autumn all-school holidays of the early 20th century, views from the Hilltop toward the water, and more recent programs at SG including sailing and Geronimo.

st. george’s school

c.1905

S T U D E N T E S S AY

BY J E S S I C A PA R K ’15

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Blank Canvas

// SPRING 2015

Our art teacher, Mr. Cui, spoke no English. He offered no criticisms of our paintings. Instead, he simply demonstrated the strokes, depicting each object simply on a plain white background. Instinctively, I filled in the blank space, adding natural patterns, when I felt Mr. Cui’s long gray beard on my shoulder. He reached down and took my painting away.

“No,” he said in Chinese. “You are finished.” Leaving class to get bubble tea with my friend, Tati, I mulled Mr. Cui’s words. I had come to Beijing to improve myself, learn Chinese, explore a developing global power. Instead, I was handing in unfinished pages. From behind in the cafe, a woman bumped into me, disturbing my contemplation. Ten minutes later, I realized she’d stolen my phone. “You are finished,” Mr. Cui had said. The next day in class I could barely concentrate, channeling every feeling of frustration into the cherry blossom forming at the tip of my brush. My phone had contained everything—from meal calendar to trip goals. Now, however, my trip suddenly felt like a blank canvas in the most frightening of ways. On the page, my blossoms wilted. Mr. Cui approached me. “Patience,” he hummed. “Patience.” I drifted out of class ruminating on his ridiculous admonition. How could I possibly be patient with so much to do? Outside the building, I saw Tati with a book in her hand. “Hey Jessica,” she called, “have you ever read ‘Kafka on the Shore’?” “I told you, I DON’T READ! There’s no time.” “Well, what are you doing now?” I reached for my phone to show her my busy schedule. Then I remembered. Blank. Now, my time is blank. I took the book. Whatever. Two weeks later, in class, I nearly died as Mr. Cui yelled out behind me, forcing me to stow the book under my desk. “Xia!” he screamed, gesturing at his painting. Shrimp. I considered the claws, a dark curve swiftly brushed against a background of nothingness. I left class with the painting folded in my back pocket and my nose in the book. I was looking for

the Paleozoological Museum a few blocks away, but within minutes I lost myself in the streets. I tapped my pocket and remembered—no phone. Normally, I’d freak out, but I took a breath and sat down on a bench. I read “Kafka on the Shore.” From my left, a Chinese man approached. “Skin-Card?” he asked, pointing at my book. “Excuse me?” “Card-Skin-Card?” I listened to the Chinese syllables—Ka-fu-ka…ooh. It took 10 minutes to explain that no, this wasn’t Kafka, but Murakami, and another 10 for him to recommend Mo-Yan, and the entire time I thought how much Kafka would love that his name meant “Skin Card” in Chinese. Our discussion took an hour. There were many pauses and much empty space. Walking home, I thought about how I had changed since I first came to America for high school. At the time, I’d meticulously planned every detail, slowly filling my life with experiences that seemed to “fit.” One by one I checked my list: sports, clubs, grades. So, when the opportunity came to go to China for a summer, it seemed like a perfect addition. International experience: Check! From moment one, however, China resisted my attempts to fold my experience neatly into the place I’d set aside for it. Yes, organizing and filling our time feels great. It’s important, however, not to lose the empty space that allows us to explore, meet new people and turn a “productive” trip into a life-changing experience. A journey that takes a phone and gives you back Mo-Yan. A voyage that takes your museum trips and gives you beauty on a park bench. At my last class, I tried to explain what I’d learned to Mr. Cui. I handed him a blank sheet of paper. “Good,” he said, and sang a song.

Jessica Park â&#x20AC;&#x2122;15 of Seoul, Korea, attended the School Year Abroad Program in China during her fifth-form year at St. Georgeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. She heads to Cornell University in the fall.

ST. GEORGE’ S SCHOOL PO Box 1910 Newport, RI 02840–0190

Turtle Power During trips on board our 69-foot sailing school vessel Geronimo, students catch, tag and release sea turtles—providing the largest active source of research in the United States to the University of Florida’s Archie Carr Center. Scientists use the data collected to study turtles’ migratory rates and habits. Since the Geronimo program’s inception in 1974, students have tagged more than 3,000 turtles. This summer, Geronimo will make its first transatlantic trip to the Mediterranean—as the program’s focus turns from the Bahamas to Europe and a number of culture-rich ports of call there. The sea turtle research will continue. PHOTO: SCREEN CAPTURE FROM A GO-PRO VIDEO TAKEN BY BAILEY THRAN ’17

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