WHY FAITH MATTERS AT EHS
Change Service Requested
FALL 2019
|
EPISCOPAL GOES TO WAR
EHS |
|
1200 North Quaker Lane Alexandria, VA 22302 703-933-3000 1-877-EHS-1839 www.episcopalhighschool.org
Non-Profit Org. US Postage PAID Alexandria, VA Permit No. 105
MUST-SEE TV FROM ALADDIN FREEMAN ’94
EPISCOPAL’S EVOLVING CAMPUS WHY COMMUNITY IS KEY
T H E M A G A Z I N E O F E P I S C O PA L H I G H S C H O O L
|
FALL 2019
Conceptual rendering of a new quad to be built at the western end of campus.
Teacher Hugh Koeze (yellow jacket) led the Outdoor Leadership Program on a soggy but fun overnight trip to the Three Rivers Wilderness.
Talk Similar to the Washington Program, service opportunities have helped me understand the world both around and beyond DC. Also, you can try a new sport ... like Ultimate Frisbee. Right, Mr. Rauth?! Your teachers care about your education, but also, they care about you. Over the last few years, I’ve found that I have never and will never fit into the mold of the “EHS Student.” During my freshman year, my fellow classmates called me “coach Amason,” “dorm dad,” and even “Mr. Amason.” I hated it. How could I not? Being told you don’t exactly “fit in” never feels good. It makes you wonder, “What have I done to come across this way?” Eventually, I realized that I was never going to be the kid they wanted. I couldn’t stop myself from yelling “hello” across the chapel quad, from stopping to talk to everyone (and to have a serious conversation about how they’re doing), and from listening intently to speakers. I was never going to fall asleep in Pendleton or skip class. If I had first free, I was still going to wake up and eat breakfast. That’s just who I am. And that’s cool! I have had the time to start figuring out who I am because of Episcopal. There is no “mold.” There is no one way to be here. There is no one way to act. We each get to define that for ourselves. Even if you aren’t just starting here, you have the resources to figure out who you are, too. It will not be easy, but as the
late President John F. Kennedy said, “We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.” Although the decade ends in a few months, and we won’t be going to the moon, we should all aspire to push ourselves out of our comfort zones. Episcopal gives us many opportunities to find out who we are and to understand how to apply ourselves in different situations. It is not always going to be perfect, but you are in charge of your experience here. You have all the resources you need to take advantage of the opportunities at Episcopal. So when you are feeling down, remember … You’re off to great places …
Gilbert Amason ’20 is from Mountain Brook, Ala., a suburb of Birmingham. He’s a member of the student Vestry and played varsity football this fall. His younger sister, Emmie ’23, started at EHS this year. His older sister, Edith ’17, is at Sewanne: The University of the South.
Contents ON THE COVER
IN THE EPISCOPAL EXPERIENCE 22 INVESTING Episcopal begins work on a new campus quad that will deepen the School’s sense of community and enhance its mission.
FEATURES
FAITH MATTERS 30 WHY Nearly 200 years after its founding, EHS remains committed to the spiritual growth of its students.
BUILD IT… 38 IFTheYOU School’s classrooms are becoming digital-age construction sites as students master high-tech tools and assemble their futures.
TV 44 MUST-SEE His parents thought television would stifle his creativity. Now, Aladdin
Freeman ’94 directs live ESPN coverage for audiences around the world.
MATRIX 50 THREAT Former CIA officer Kristen Edwards Marquardt ’97 has fought to keep the United States safe from a host of dark scourges. Next: battling cyberattacks.
GOES TO WAR 54 EPISCOPAL A student’s curiosity about the “forgotten” war leads to a rich history of Episcopal during WWI.
IN A ROW! 58 THREE An exciting Spirit Weekend concludes with a third straight win over
Woodberry in The Game. Plus: 2019’s Hall of Fame inductees, and how 25 alumni connected with students.
DEPARTMENTS
2 FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL 4 EHS SOCIAL 5 EPISCOPAL UP CLOSE NOTES 68 CLASS After Episcopal: Harvey Moseley ’69, Barry Inabnet ’83, and EHS
basketball coach turned college great Courtney Banghart. Plus: new books from alumni, a golf victory over Woodberry, and more.
109 IN MEMORIAM Head of School: Charley Stillwell Assistant Head for Advancement: Christina Holt Director of Communications: Billy Faires Editor: Drew Lindsay Class Notes Editor: Elizabeth Henderson ’11 Contributing Editor: Lindsay Bingham Photographers: Natalie Davis, Rebecca Drobis, Billy Faires, Elizabeth Henderson ’11, Denny Henry, Junko Pinkowski, and Cory Royster Archivist: Laura Vetter Designer: Linda Loughran
Printer: Worth Higgins & Associates, Inc. Published by Episcopal High School for alumni, parents, grandparents, and friends of Episcopal High School. ©2019 Episcopal High School Please send address corrections to: Advancement Office Episcopal High School 1200 North Quaker Lane Alexandria, VA 22302 Or by email to dwr@episcopalhighschool.org
EHS
Episcopal High School does not discriminate in its admissions, or in the administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship programs, or in access to or treatment in any other School-administered program on the basis of religion, race, color, sex, ancestry, sexual orientation, disability, national origin, or any other protected category in accordance with applicable Federal, State, and local laws.
THE MAGAZINE OF EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL
1
From the Head of School The first months of each school year offer an important opportunity to reflect once again on those core elements of our mission that frame how we approach educational excellence. Our mission has long held up the twin pillars of intellectual and moral courage as the ultimate objective of an Episcopal High School education. For us, these pillars are grounded in academic excellence, honor and integrity, care and concern for others, and support for the spiritual growth of all our students. In this year when we are focusing a great deal of energy on bringing to life our new Strategic Plan, we continually circle back to
We pursue a marriage of our traditional strengths and innovative enhancements to ensure that the educational experience at Episcopal is second to none. these core pillars as we pursue a marriage of our traditional strengths and innovative enhancements to ensure that the educational experience at Episcopal is second to none. Our students must be ready to excel at the country’s finest colleges and universities and become courageous, compassionate leaders ready to make a true difference with their lives. In this edition of our magazine, you will have an opportunity to dive more deeply into this focus on tradition and innovation as we build an even brighter future for the School. You will see how the spiritual life of the School, our ever-present Chapel program, and our confidence in our identity as part of the Episcopalian school tradition continue to play a central role in our students’
experience. While the traditions of our Chapel program remain a steady presence, our innovative enhancements in the area of STEM programming guide our efforts to prepare our students for a quickly changing, technology-infused world. Our new courses and facilities associated with these STEM areas of engineering, computer science, and robotics are inspiring today’s students to new academic heights. Other areas of our Strategic Plan are also highlighted in the magazine. Two foundational elements of our lives together on The Holy Hill have always been our focus on the importance of fostering close and caring relationships among the faculty and the students at the School and our great concern for the health and wellness of every student in our community. As you read more about our new Master Campus Plan, you will see both these elements come to life. Our new health and wellness facility will allow us to support the health and wellness needs of our students in a manner that enhances our status as a true leader. We believe that the physical and emotional well-being of our students plays a critical role in their success in all their endeavors both in and outside the classroom. Similarly, our decision to develop two new smaller dormitories will give us the flexibility to maintain our current enrollment and make enhancements to all our residential spaces on campus. A new residential life curriculum, when matched with smaller faculty-student ratios on dorm, will open a powerful new aspect to our longstanding work to develop in our students the strength of character and tools to navigate today’s complexities, grow as impressive leaders, and be their best selves. We remain grateful for the remarkable efforts by all in our Episcopal family to support all that we do and to help us be the wonderful school we are today. We look forward to partnering with our alumni, parents, and special friends in the months and years ahead as we continue to bring these exciting enhancements to life. Sincerely,
Charles M. Stillwell
2
EHS
THE MAGAZINE OF EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL
3
EHS Social
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
1 Faculty gathered in August to prepare for the 2019-20 school year. on Hoxton Field during orientation.
2 Welcome back, students!
3 New students and monitors play games
4 Marine veteran Henry Stoever ’84 spoke at the special Veterans Day chapel service.
got hyped up before its game against St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes in the Seminary Hill Cup. first overnight camping and hiking trip in the Three Ridges Wilderness in Virginia. the Alliance of Asian Cultures and Experiences partnered to celebrate Diwali.
5 Girls’ varsity soccer
6 The Outdoor Leadership Program took the year’s
7 The fall colors in full swing!
8 Members of the Vestry and
9 Alli ’20 and Claire Boehm ’20 reprise spooky characters from “The
Shining” for Halloween.
CONNECT WITH EHS Instagram @episcopalhs
4
Facebook Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Va.
Twitter @EpiscopalHS @EHSMaroon
YouTube EpiscopalHSVa
Flickr Episcopal High School (Maroon and Black)
Episcopal Up Close n ACADEMICS
An Electives Bonanza
Molly Pugh and her fellow English teachers offer juniors and seniors 26 advanced electives.
Revamped English offerings feature nearly two dozen advanced courses, from Shakespeare to Colombian writer Juan Gabriel Vásquez. Juniors and seniors are feasting on a wide array of English courses this year, thanks to a shift in curriculum. Department chair Molly Pugh and her colleagues offered 26 advanced electives to upperclassmen during course registration. These included traditional studies of “Moby Dick,” Russian short fiction, and Nobel Prize literature. But the mix also featured an exploration of the personal essay, an analysis of the themes of good and evil in literature, and a class titled Wandering the Literary City, which will explore notable authors and works from Washington, among other cities. “We really wanted to give students the most choice,” says Pugh. “We also believe that some of the best instruction happens when the teacher loves and owns the curriculum fully and conveys passion for the topic as well as expertise.” Research also indicates that students learn best when they can follow a passion or interest. Whit Morgan, one of the School’s Shakespeare experts, is teaching a course on Shakespeare’s plays in their original text form but also as interpreted in movies and performances in Washington-area theaters. Morgan has taught Shakespeare at the college level and collaborates with the co-founder of the American Shakespeare Center.
Lauren Echko is teaching a new global contemporary fiction course, with students reading and discussing college-level texts published since 2000. “I love what we’re doing with the English department,” Echko says. “It offers a lot of autonomy for teachers and a lot of opportunities for the students.” Her course has two small sections, both with fewer than a dozen students. They’re studying fiction from across five continents, with works including novels or short stories by such writers as Ian McEwan of Great Britain, Colombian Juan Gabriel Vásquez, and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, the Nigerian-born author of such acclaimed novels as “Americanah.” “While I love Shakespeare and older literature,” Echko says, “it’s important for the kids to see that contemporary fiction has merit, that it’s exciting, and that it has the same themes that you see throughout time.” As students choose their junior and senior courses, they will be required to take at least one writing-intensive course and another class focused on American literature. But those requirements come with plenty of choice as well; there are eight courses on American literature and seven that are writing intensive.
EHS
THE MAGAZINE OF EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL
5
EPISCOPAL UP CLOSE
n FA C U LT Y N E W S
“THOSE WHO CAN” Hits Memphis EHS alum teams up with Episcopal students and teachers for art exhibition. Pinkney Herbert ’72 (second from left) at his Memphis gallery with (from left) EHS arts faculty members Junko Pinkowski, Nat Duffield, and David Douglas.
EHS visual-arts teachers hit the road this summer with an exhibit showcasing their work as well as the artistry of Episcopal students. “Those Who Can” opened in June at Marshall Arts, a 15,000-square-foot arts complex that Pinkney Herbert ’72 created out of a former auto-body repair shop. All five members of the EHS visual-arts faculty — David Douglas, Nat Duffield, Frank Phillips, Junko Pinkowski, and Liz Vorlicek — exhibited work that included digital art, paintings, drawings, photography, ceramics, and sculpture. The idea for the exhibit began to take shape two years ago, when Herbert exhibited a show of his paintings at EHS during Reunion Weekend. Herbert — a nationally known artist and teacher who has exhibited in Italy, Japan, and Germany among other places around the world — encouraged the faculty to continue their own work and exhibit, just as college art professors do.
“It’ll be great for people to see not only their excellence as teachers but also that they are professional artists,” Herbert says. Local and regional exhibits are good, he says, but the exhibition in Memphis will help the faculty connect to new audiences and gain new perspectives. “Those Who Can” debuted in the spring of 2018 in the Angie Newman Johnson Gallery of the Ainslie Arts Center. Thanks to support from an Episcopal family, the five teachers traveled to Memphis for the Marshall Arts opening and spent several days visiting the city’s cultural sites. Students whose work was featured in the exhibit were: Garrott Braswell ’19; Wardie Cammack ’20; Barrett Carney ’19; Kate Castle ’19; Helen Chen ’21; Karla Domingues ’20; Forbes Dudley ’21; Caroline Jones ’20; Tina Liu ’19; Nina Moore ’20; Nora Stanko ’19; and Cindy Xin ’20.
Welcome to EHS! New faculty for 2019-20: (front row, from left) Grace Pratt, interim assistant chaplain; Brileigh Pinkney, assistant director of admissions; Natasha Kollaros, counselor; Thomas Owen, English teacher; (second row) Warren Quirett, associate director of college counseling; Benjamin Douglass, senior associate director of admissions; Joseph Eldred, social studies teacher; Kyle McCuskey, assistant athletic trainer; and returning social studies teacher Mike McGowan. Not pictured: Connor Gallegos ’11, admissions data coordinator.
6
n GUEST SPEAKERS
The Quest
Dr. John Marshall ’79 P’11, a renowned oncologist, attended his first funeral when he was in eighth grade. It was a service for his mother, who had died after a battle with Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Marshall shared this story with EHS students during a half-day “Faces of Cancer” event organized by science teacher Kathleen Caslow as part of the School’s Washington Program. As the keynote speaker, he spoke with juniors as well as a host of other interested students. Small breakout sessions followed with speakers who included research experts from Georgetown University and the National Institutes of Health as well as families and individuals “Faces of Cancer” gives students insights into who have suffered from cancer. Among those: EHS teacher Stacie the science, and tragedy, of the disease. Galiger, whose husband died in 2015 of a rare bone cancer, and Liza Marshall, a retired lawyer and wife of Dr. Marshall who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006. In his keynote, Marshall shared his personal experiences with cancer and discussed myths about the disease, the economics of treatment, and his work to advance genetics-driven precision medicine. When his mother was diagnosed, Marshall accompanied her on many of her visits for radiation and treatments. “I grew up with cancer all around me,” he told the students. After her death, he enrolled at Episcopal, which he said became “my rudder” at a time where his life felt out of control. “The teachers around me were my parents and my family.” Years later, after Marshall was Oncologist Dr. John Marshall ’79 talks with a small group of students following his keynote address. well established as a cancer physician at Georgetown, his wife, Liza, received her diagnosis of breast cancer. As his wife underwent care, he came to see firsthand the struggles of patients undergoing treatment. “I realized I had no idea what it is like to be on the other side of the white coat,” he said. “It changed me.” Today, Marshall is leading a global effort to create an alliance of medical centers to develop precision-medicine treatments targeting cancer caused by specific genetic abnormalities. “We have to work together,” he said. “At a time when our world is building walls, they have to come down for medicine and health care,” he said. In her breakout session, Liza Marshall met with a smaller group of students and shared with candor and warmth the story of her breast cancer. She detailed her nine months of treatment, which included surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, and participation in a clinical trial. She also talked about the effects of her illness on her children, Charlie ’11 and Emma, as well as how it shook her own EHS teacher Stacie Galiger shared with students the story of her psychological footing. “So much of cancer or any disease is feeling husband’s illness and death from cancer. like you don’t have any control of your life,” she said.
FOR A CURE
EHS
THE MAGAZINE OF EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL
7
EPISCOPAL UP CLOSE
n TRAVEL EXPERIENCES
One Summer, FOUR CONTINENTS EHS students journeyed to Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin America on individual scholarships and study trips.
Leslie Reyes-Garcia ’21 conducted research in the rainforests of Costa Rica.
COSTA RICA: MIRACLES IN NATURE Science teachers Kathleen Caslow and Javier Bastos led four students on a trip to do field research in Costa Rica. Caslow, a former research scientist with George Washington University and the National Institutes of Health, believes such realworld experiences are critical to spark a passion for science in high school students before they decide their college path. “We want to show them that science isn’t simply chemistry, biology, or physics,” she says. “It’s not linear. It’s using everything you
8
know to learn, to ask big questions, and to create something that’s relevant for the world.” Joining the Seeds of Change program led by scientists from the University of Wisconsin at Madison and the University of Costa Rica, the EHS students conceived and executed experiments related to antibiotics produced naturally in the rainforest. The program is particularly focused on leafcutter ants, which generate an antibiotic to protect fungus gardens they cultivate to provide food. Clay Sailor ’21 studied the proteins in the hard shell of a butterfly’s cocoon with other Seeds of Change students. Their field work suggested the proteins were not effective fighting bacteria. When the students presented to the Seeds of Change scientists, they faced intense scrutiny of their methods. “They really butchered us,” Clay says. “But that taught me how to take constructive criticism.”
FRANCE: A FAMILY AFFAIR A half-dozen students traveled to Paris for a three-week stay with families of students at the Lycée Stanislas, a Paris high school with which EHS has a decades-old exchange program. Students visited Stanislas classes, took their own classes in conversation and culture, and visited many of the city’s major cultural landmarks as well as the Normandy region and D-Day
beaches. The trip also mixed in several unique experiences, including a class in making macarons and a weekend’s stay in a 17th-century home near the Brittany port city of Saint-Malo. The students’ everyday interactions with host families gave them another extraordinary opportunity for learning about the French culture and improving their language proficiency. Ruby Gregg ’21 stayed with a student whose family lives in a small apartment just south of the Eiffel Tower. “It was interesting because it was so culturally different,” says Ruby, whose home is in a suburb of Richmond, Va. “I learned a lot about French culture but also about living in a city.”
GREECE: A CRISIS CONTINUES Twelve students traveled to Greece to study the four-year-old refugee crisis in that country. This was a follow-up to a trip taken by EHS students in 2017, when record numbers of families were fleeing countries in the Middle East, including war-torn Syria, and crossing the Mediterranean from Turkey to Greece in search of a new life. Like the earlier EHS group, the students visited Lesvos Island, a hub of the crisis, to learn from and work alongside nongovernmental organizations and community leaders providing support to the refugees. They found camps still packed with numbers twice, if not more,
EHS students worked in the garden of a community center for refugees on the Greek island of Lesvos.
than capacity, and a situation marked by fatigue and frustration. While on Lesvos, students spent two days working on projects for One Happy Family, a nonprofit-sponsored community center that offers Lesvos refugees schooling and medical services as well as a cafe, restaurant, garden, and more. Olivia Shackelford ’21 says the refugees she met and worked with offer a real-life example of resilience. “They’ve been through so much, but they haven’t given up,” she says.
MOROCCO: SOCCER, COUSCOUS, AND ARABIC Gilbert Amason ’20 had only studied Arabic online, through Episcopal’s program with the Global Online Academy, before he arrived in Morocco this summer for an intensive, six-week language program. After settling in with his host family in the outskirts of Marrakech and beginning daily Arabic study, he was soon bartering in the market, helping teach others English, and spending hours in cafes watching Morocco’s national soccer team play on television.
“Everybody was in the cafes watching the games,” he said. “You could walk out on the street and there’d be no cars.” Last spring, Gilbert became the first EHS student to earn a scholarship for Arabic study with the National Security Language Initiative for Youth, a U.S. Department of State program. One of 19 American students in the Morocco program, Gilbert took a college-level Arabic course at a local cultural and language institute and also worked with Moroccans studying English. During his off hours, Gilbert was often at home with his host family: a husband and wife and their three sons, plus married daughters who visited frequently. As his language skills grew, so did his bargaining power in the city’s markets. “If you speak Arabic, the price goes lower,” he says.
SPAIN: OLD WORLD MEETS NEW WORLD Eighteen students spent three weeks in Seville studying the Spanish language and culture as well as the region’s rich history as an Old World capital where New World influences were first felt. Their daily classes were held in Seville’s old town, a short walk from many historic sites, including the Golden Tower, a 13th-century Moorish military fortification that later, under Christian rule, became a destination for gold-laden cargo ships arriving from the New World. “The culture and architecture of the city and the country is really a combination of the Muslim, Jewish, and Christian cultures,” says Spanish teacher Douglas Daza-Quintero, who chaperoned the trip with longtime trip leader and colleague Catherine Gómez-Goodnow. “When you’re walking around in Seville, you feel it — in the music, in the customs, in the foods, and in the language itself.” “The architecture of the center city is just so beautiful,” says Caroline Ullrich ’20.
TAIWAN: BECOMING A GLOBAL CITIZEN Like Gilbert Amason, Isabelle Bechtel ’20 received a National Security Language Initiative for Youth scholarship for language study. Her six-week program took her to the Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung, where she studied Chinese and Chinese culture daily. “When I got there, I wasn’t sure I could even say ‘thank you’ properly,” she says. “But I think my Chinese grew by leaps and bounds.” Isabelle lived in an apartment with her host family, who took her to their vacation home outside the city and to night markets, a fixture in Chinese culture with streets turned over to vendors selling food, clothes, and other retail items. The program also introduced Isabelle to diplomats and others whose careers routinely take them around the globe. “My eyes were opened to opportunities overseas,” she said. “The job that I want doesn’t have to be in one location.”
Gilbert Amason ’20 (center) with a fellow American student and two brothers from the family that hosted him in Marrakech.
EHS
THE MAGAZINE OF EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL
9
EPISCOPAL UP CLOSE
n VISUAL ARTS
10
FALL COLORS? More than 30 students helped to make this mural. It’s a cyanotype, a print with cyan-blue silhouettes created when photographic paper is selectively covered with objects and exposed to ultraviolet light. The objects block the light and create the silhouettes. Visual-arts teacher Liz Vorlicek learned this technique at the Shakerag Workshops in Sewanee, Tenn., where instructors from around the world gather each summer to teach painting, digital arts, wood carving, and other arts. She attended on a Shakerag scholarship awarded to educators. At EHS, Vorlicek’s students collected leaves that had fallen near Anderson Pond, put them on top of reactive paper, then exposed the paper to the sun for several minutes. Once the mural was complete, the students also created a series of intricately carved and textured vases, sculptures, and other ceramic works inspired by the cyanotype. “I was eager to incorporate a new way of working into my curriculum and help my students gather ideas from the natural environment,” Vorlicek says. “The dynamic thing about cyanotype is that it is so immediate — which is refreshing and satisfying compared to the laborious process of creating ceramics, which can sometimes take weeks to months.”
EHS
To see other student art from the fall, go to Episcopal’s Maroon and Black Flickr page.
THE MAGAZINE OF EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL
11
EPISCOPAL UP CLOSE
n AFTERNOON OPTIONS
The Courage to Dance Why wearing leotards and performing to Disney music is harder than you think. “Happily Ever After,” Episcopal’s fall dance performance, was a sweet Disney-themed confection. Yet the title and ode to childhood hide a truth the 16 performers learned almost daily in their afternoon program: It takes a lot of courage to dance. “They’re doing so many things that aren’t easy for high schoolers,” says dance teacher Brieanna Bailey. Teens often aren’t comfortable with their body image, yet they put on leotards and manipulate themselves into uncomfortable and seemingly embarrassing positions. Challenging as that might be in the cozy Ainslie Arts Center studio, it can be terrifying when performing in front of a Pendleton audience. “It doesn’t really hit me until I’m on the stage,” says Leslie Reyes-Garcia ’21. “I look out, and people are looking right back at me.” Recognizing that such fears might limit their growth, the dancers tackled them purposefully from the fall’s first sessions. With Bailey, they put together an agreement outlining expectations regarding respect, kindness, trust, and teamwork. Though students arrived with all levels of experience, they agreed to make their group a safe space where everyone could experiment and try new things. No judging others, no comparisons, but lots of encouragement. Bailey also introduced a discussion of the School’s Portrait of a Graduate, which details personal qualities like humility, honor, resilience, and — particularly important to this group’s work — the courage to accept challenges with confidence. “That was really cool,” Sofi Igyan ’21 says. “I had never thought about bringing that into the studio.” Rachael Coad, a professional instructor with the Washington Ballet who worked with the dancers this fall, noted the positive vibe in the studio. Though few of them had focused on ballet previously, they willingly leaped into what can be a scary unknown. “Ballet can be really uncomfortable, especially at first,” Coad says. “But they have created an environment of respect and kindness that allows them to just go for things and try new things.” Leslie had never danced before coming to Episcopal. She’s proud that her flexibility, endurance, and body control have all improved, but she says she’s discovered benefits outside the studio as well. Conquering her performance stage fright, for instance, has helped her with class presentations. “I’ve definitely learned more about who I am as a person and what I can take on,” she says. “In general, I’ve learned how to push things aside and decide, ‘This is something I enjoy doing, so I’m going to keep going with it.’ ”
12
Sofi Igyan ’21, captain of the afternoon dance group.
The dancers bravely take on new things, says Washington Ballet instructor Rachael Coad, who worked with them this fall.
EHS
THE MAGAZINE OF EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL
13
EPISCOPAL UP CLOSE
n PERFORMING ARTS
FALL SPECTACULAR Students took to Pendleton Hall’s Fox Stage twice this fall with stunning performances. All the EHS musical, vocal, and dance groups — with more than 100 students in all — exhibited their work from the fall semester in the Performance Arts Showcase during October’s Family Weekend. Works ranged from the pop-hit classic “Stand by Me” (performed by the a cappella group Jack of Hearts) to the classical composition “The Planets” (by the EHS Wind Ensemble). Spirit Weekend guests, meanwhile, were given a twin-bill treat: the traditional fall play plus a dance concert, with both delving into cultural classics of childhood. “Lost Girl,” the one-act play, imagined what happened to Wendy Darling after her adventures in Neverland in J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan.” The afternoon dance group, meanwhile, assembled a Disney-themed performance inspired by classics such as “Tangled,” “The Princess Frog,” and “Toy Story.”
CHORUS
14
ORCHESTRA
DANCE
A CAPPELLA
EHS
THE MAGAZINE OF EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL
15
EPISCOPAL UP CLOSE
n COMMUNITY
This One’s for the GIRLS St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes beat EHS in the 12th Seminary Hill Cup, breaking a 5-5-1 deadlock in the annual battle between fall girls’ junior varsity and varsity teams. But the two days of spirited competition still produced a net positive. Fans packed the stands and the sidelines, and the beloved tradition once again fostered sisterhood and community between the next-door neighbors and rivals.
16
Audrey Dearlove ’23 (left) and Janil Cohen ’21
Jane Hill ’20
Varsity volleyball
Millie Pettegrew ’20
Lucy Williams ’20
EHS
THE MAGAZINE OF EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL
17
EPISCOPAL UP CLOSE
n ATHLETIC S
Caroline Garrard ’20 Girls’ soccer knocked off Holton-Arms, Bishop McNamara, and Bishop Ireton in the regular season and advanced to the semifinals of the ISL-A tournament. The gritty team went to overtime four times and saw 11 games end in a tie or a one-goal decision.
Fall Highlights Red Staunton ’22 (left) and Hays Talley ’21 In only its third year, boys’ crew increased its roster by a third, allowing it to enter a four-man boat and an eight-man boat in three regional regattas. Both boats saw steady and noteworthy improvements over the season.
Lucy Dixon ’21 Field hockey’s season highlights included a 3-2 overtime victory over Holy Child in which Missy Brandt ’20 scored the game winner. Also: Dymin Gerow ’20 had 13 saves against Georgetown. Alli Boehm ’20 Alli won the cross country state championship in the VISAA, while her sister Claire ’20 finished fourth. The season saw several girls set personal-best times.
18
Wyatt Singletary ’20 Football opened with three wins in its first four games, but injuries stole its momentum. The team closed the year 5-4 and finished with a satisfying 20-16 win over Woodberry (page 58). Chineme Agulanna ’20 Boys’ cross country took 13th place overall at the state championship meet, posting an 18:46 team average on the 6K course, more than a minute faster than last year’s time. Tre Simmons ’20 and Zeddy Williams ’21 finished 29th and 37th.
Anna Morris ’20 Led by senior captains Lily Dolan and Nora Huffines, Girls’ tennis thumped St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes 6-1 in the Seminary Hill Cup and closed out its regular season with a tight 4-3 win over Georgetown Visitation.
Thanos Androus ’20 With only five returning players, boys’ soccer learned and grew under senior co-captains Thanos Androus ’20, Alex de Casteja ’20, Herbert Gray ’20, and Ransdell McCauley ’20. The team earned four wins and three ties. Zoe Smith ’22 Season highlights included a fourth straight win over St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes in the Seminary Hill Cup and an ISL-AA tournament quarterfinal win over Georgetown Day. Captains Elyse Farrell ’20 and Mary Preston Singletary ’20 also led the team to a No. 6 seed in the VISAA tournament.
EHS
THE MAGAZINE OF EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL
19
EPISCOPAL UP CLOSE
n NEWS FROM CAMPUS
A MCCAIN-RAVENEL FIRST Students who spearhead key EHS campus groups joined with mid-career global leaders in a leadership workshop — the first initiative of a partnership forged by Episcopal’s newly created McCain-Ravenel Center for Intellectual and Moral Courage with the McCain Institute, a D.C. think tank. Members of Episcopal’s Honor and Discipline committees were joined by Next Generation Leaders, individuals selected by the McCain Institute from around the world for a year of professional development in the United States. These included an adviser to the Lithuanian president, a BBC journalist in Myanmar, and the founder of a network of elementary schools in Africa.
I LIKE PIE The Dorm Games that traditionally open the EHS school year featured a pieeating contest in which students put aside their seated-dinner manners.
SWIM, WALK, BIKE FOR GOOD For the third straight year, Episcopal hosted and helped run a children’s charity triathlon in September, with more than 150 in the EHS community — students, faculty, and staff — turning out as volunteers. The 10-year-old Just Tryan It race raises funds to support families struggling financially as they care for and get treatments for a child with cancer. The group covers such expenses as transportation costs for treatments, home care and palliative care, and everyday needs such as utility bills. Chineme Agulanna ’20 won the event’s Ken Caputo Volunteer Service award. “Chineme was wonderful. He ran the course at least three times cheering kids on the whole way,” said learning specialist Anne Carver, a run captain. Receiving honorable mention for the award were Gilbert Amason ’20 (Caputo winner in 2017), Nia Beane ’21, Regan Simmons ’21, and Arman Singh ’20.
LITERARY HEROES As part of its Festival of Hispanic Cultures, EHS invited two notable Hispanic cultural figures to campus. Edgardo MirandaRodriguez, author and graphic novelist, and Carlos Andres Gomez, poet and actor, gave presentations of their work and signed copies of their books. Miranda-Rodriguez, a writer for Marvel Entertainment, created the popular comic book series about the superhero La Borinqueña, whose powers originate in the history and mysticism of Puerto Rico. Andres Gomez, a Colombian American, is the author of the acclaimed “Hijito” and “Man Up: Reimagining Modern Manhood.” 20
BOOK SIGNING Graphic novelist Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez signs his comic book.
Student Leadership for 2019-20 These seniors assumed campus leadership roles at the beginning of the school year. Honor Committee
Jack Lee (head), Gilbert Amason, Wardie Cammack, Neely Holt, Bear Matheson, Maggie Mattox, Cooper Redd, Tre Simmons Monitors
“WAY TO GO” Award-winning EHS volleyball coach Kim Adams.
COACHING LEGEND RECOGNIZED EHS coach Kim Adams received a prestigious award for her work in girls’ sports at Washington-area independent schools over almost 25 years. Adams was named the 2018-19 winner of the Marsha Way Leadership “Way to Go” Award, which is given annually to a varsity coach in the 15-member Independent School League who has made significant contributions to the league. “Few, if any, coaches have collected the number of ISL banners in multiple sports that Kim has,” says Jen Fitzpatrick, director of girls’ athletics at Episcopal. “And few rival her tenacity as a competitor. She has high expectations for all of her athletes — regardless of the circumstance or level of play — and they rise to the challenge.” In 19 years at Madeira, she recorded more than 200 victories in volleyball, and her teams captured ISL banners in softball, basketball, and volleyball as well as state and metro-area titles. Kim also served as an assistant athletic director at Madeira for six years. In just five years at Episcopal, she has already amassed more than 60 wins at the helm of the volleyball program, and her teams have won divisional banners in both volleyball and softball. She also serves as an instructional technology specialist.
Head monitor: Eli Gaines. Senior monitors: Alli Boehm, Claire Boehm, Yareni Murillo, Christian Storch, South Wallace, Natasha Wanjiru, Mike Yang. Monitors: Gilbert Amason, Amber Azmoudeh, Jane Durden, Jack Fitzpatrick, Pierson Gammage, Neely Holt, Jack Lee, Ben Lee, Finlay MacKnight, Bear Matheson, Maggie Mattox, Jamall Mensah, Cecilia Moore, Millie Pettegrew, Cooper Redd, David Rondeau, Arman Singh, Mary Preston Singletary, Wyatt Singletary, Tallie Steiner Discipline Committee
Ben Lee (head), Amber Azmoudeh, Lily Dolan, Sunny Miller, Joseph Notzon, Millie Pettegrew, Arman Singh, Tallie Steiner
F L A G S F LY I N G Laird Dining Hall now sports 31 flags, each representing the country of origin of EHS students. After discussions last year with faculty, staff, and students, the School added the flags as a way to celebrate the diversity of the Episcopal community.
HERSHEY HONORED Former EHS Headmaster Rob Hershey was recently honored with the 2019 Sally K. Boese Distinguished Service Award by the Virginia Association of Independent Schools (VAIS). “Hershey’s career work,” notes the announcement from VAIS, “exemplifies the qualities desired for the Sally K. Boese Distinguished Service Award winner: an ability to create an outstanding program extending beyond (his) own school; a talent for inspiring others and encouraging meaningful collaboration that produces lasting results; an advocacy of independent school education, whose effort benefits all independent schools; and, a concerted effort on behalf of VAIS by contributing time, effort, and ideas in planning, leading, and promoting VAIS programs.” Hershey led Episcopal for 18 years as its 11th head in the School’s illustrious history He began his educational career in 1970 at Woodberry Forest School following his graduation from Williams College. At 29, he accepted his first headship at Durham Academy in North Carolina. After a decade of leadership there, he returned to his alma mater, leading Collegiate School in Richmond for a decade before transitioning to Episcopal. EHS
THE MAGAZINE OF EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL
21
INVESTING IN THE EPISCOPAL
EXPERIENCE 1
22
2
FEATURE
A conceptual rendering of a new quad planned for the western end of campus. Built in the core of campus next to key student facilities such as Centennial Gym and Stewart Student Center, it will feature two new dormitories and a new health and wellness center.
1 2 New Dormitories 3 Centennial Gym 4 New Health and Wellness Center 5 Stewart Student Center
EHS begins work on a new campus quad that will deepen the School’s sense of community and enhance its mission.
E
3
4 5
piscopal’s 2018 Strategic Plan is a blueprint for the future as the School approaches its third century. Yet the plan is guided by the words of one of the School’s heroes of the past, legendary EHS teacher Patrick Henry Callaway. Callaway once said that a great school should display an “under construction” sign at the gate at all times. He was speaking metaphorically, of course, to articulate the idea that the best educators relentlessly innovate in pursuit of excellence and a better tomorrow. Yet soon Callaway’s words will take on a literal meaning as construction signs go up and work begins to create a new quad on the western end of the EHS campus, with two new dormitories and a new health and wellness center. With the new living spaces, the School is not looking to expand enrollment. Rather, it aims to reduce the average student-to-faculty ratio on dorm campuswide from 23-to-1 to 15-to-1. Living with smaller groups of students, faculty will build deeper relationships with their charges — relationships that EHS believes are key to a student’s academic success, character, and healthy emotional development. A new health and wellness center, meanwhile, will advance a key Strategic Plan priority. Episcopal in recent years has invested significantly in its health staff and programming, reaffirming its belief that the high expectations and rigor of its academic program must be accompanied by a focus on the physical and emotional well-being of each student. EHS now has one health professional for every 41 students, the best ratio among its peer schools. Yet McAllister Health Center, built in 1934 as an infirmary for an all-boys enrollment half the size of Episcopal today, is an impediment to continued on page 27 EHS
THE MAGAZINE OF EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL
23
THE EVOLVING EHS CAMPUS t
his conceptual rendering illustrates how the School is folding the planned facilities into campus. The new quad will be a natural extension of the campus core, lying just west of Baker Science Center and Stewart Student Center. The new track and field, meanwhile, will occupy ground that Episcopal planners earmarked for expansion as far back as 1984. It is to sit adjacent to Coxe Field and Hummel Bowl.
1 Baker Science Center 2 Stewart Student Center 3 New Quad 4 5 New Dormitories 6 New Health and Wellness Center 7 Hummel Bowl 8 Coxe Field 9 New Track and Field 24
1
THE EVOLVING EHS CAMPUS
4
t
3 2
his conceptual rendering illustrates how the School is folding the planned facilities into campus. The new quad will be a natural extension of the campus core, lying just west of Baker Science Center and Stewart Student Center. The new track and field, meanwhile, will occupy ground that Episcopal planners earmarked for expansion as far back as 1984. It is to sit adjacent to Coxe Field and Hummel Bowl.
9
1
7
5
8
6
1 Baker Science Center 2 Stewart Student Center 3 New Quad 4 5 New Dormitories 6 New Health and Wellness Center 7 Hummel Bowl 8 Coxe Field 9 New Track and Field 24
25
THE THE MAGAZINE MAGAZINE OF EPISCOPAL OF EPISCOPAL HIGHHIGH SCHOOL SCHOOL EHS EHS
26 26
Episcopal’s health program, once simply focused on caring for the sick, now features a range of services that includes athletic training.
continued from page 23 further advances. “Episcopal has squeezed the last bit of life out of the McAllister facility” as a health center, wrote Deborah Beck of the University of South Carolina after a comprehensive analysis of the School’s clinical care and health and wellness programming earlier this year. The new quad is not a bid to increase the 440-student enrollment. “Many schools expand because they need additional operating revenue,” explains Boota deButts ’76, chief financial officer at EHS. “But we are in an incredibly solid financial position. We don’t need to expand.” Rather, brick and mortar are needed to improve and update the hallmark “Episcopal experience” enjoyed by generations of EHS students. “In our mission statement
The new quad will be closely integrated with other key buildings in the campus core, including Centennial Gym, Townsend Hall, Stewart Student Center,
and core beliefs, the School commits to helping students thrive and build the relationships with faculty that will prepare them for lives of moral and intellectual courage,” says Head of School Charley Stillwell. “The new spaces go to the heart of that work and will deepen the influence of Episcopal on students’ growth and development.”
and the Hummel Learning Center.
W
NEW HEALTH AND WELLNESS CENTER: MORE THAN ASPIRIN AND FLU SHOTS
D
r. Adrianna Bravo, Episcopal’s medical director, has worked in boarding schools for 20 years. And as Millennials gave way to Gen Z, she recognized a huge shift in what it takes to help teenagers prepare for college. In the past, schools had to focus chiefly on academics, which meant hiring outstanding faculty and college counselors and building a rigorous curriculum featuring plenty of advanced courses. Now, she says, a true college prep program must ask: Are students resilient? Can they manage time? And stress? Do they know how to take care of themselves and avoid unhealthy risks? “If Episcopal wants to continue to best prepare our students to go on to college, succeed there, and move into the world as their best selves, we have to double down on what we do outside of academics,” Bravo says. “The more we teach, model, and prepare students to be healthy and well in their lifestyles and daily living, the more likely they are to succeed in their academics and athletics as well as their relationships and social-emotional lives.” Episcopal has already made bold changes in response to the changing needs of students. It has emerged as a pioneer in the care of students, with wellness initiatives and education about mental and sleep hygiene, the dangers of illegal substance use, and more. The counseling staff recently expanded to include a third, part-time counselor. Built during the Depression, McAllister served for decades as an infirmary staffed by a visiting doctor and an on-call nurse. Though it’s been reconfigured several times, it simply can’t meet the needs of a 21st century health and
boundaries that adults set; they need parent-like figures to be in the living room and in their lives.” The School also is designing an enhanced residential-life curriculum to take advantage of the smaller dormitories. “The smaller ratio of students to adults will help us increase the number of those critical adult-student conversations that we know are a signature strength of our community,” says Doug Dickson, assistant head for student life. “And we hope to make those conversations look and feel like those that happen around the kitchen table at home. We envision talking about things big and small — relationships, living in community, academic and peer pressure, career aspirations. And we want to have more chances to talk about life skills — things like cooking, doing laundry, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.”
Highlights n The School will construct two 35-40 bed dormitories, each with three faculty residences. The new faculty residences will help the School move closer to its Strategic Plan goal of 100% of faculty living on campus. n Estimated construction cost: $30 million. Endowment needed for longterm care: $8.3 million. n Construction is scheduled to begin when funding is secured. Once finished, the School will modernize
and refurbish existing dormitories in phases. n Painted drywall, wood trim, and other dorm finishes will resemble those found in a family residence. n Students have enthusiastically endorsed adding kitchens, along with seating for 8 to 10 people. The School wants to encourage social activities such as cooking that bring students and adults together as well as join individuals from different walks of life in an experience.
CHOICE
The new track and field, a natural extension of Episcopal’s campus that School leaders envisioned as far back as 1984, will be built adjacent to Coxe Field and Hummel Bowl.
NEW DORMITORIES: FAMILY AWAY FROM HOME hen Lucy Whittle Goldstein ’97 lived on Anderson, her dormitory head routinely brought everyone together for cookies, cider, and conversation. Two decades later, those gatherings remain among her fondest memories of Episcopal. Now, as dean of residential life, Goldstein sees the new dormitories as a way to create similar moments as well as smaller, more personal student-faculty interactions that are at the heart of the Episcopal experience. Episcopal’s 440 students will soon be spread over 10 dormitories not eight, which will give faculty more opportunities to get to know students and build richer relationships. “Things come more naturally when you have fewer students,” she says. “It feels more like a family. ” Some students may not realize they need faculty on dorm. “But they do,” Goldstein says. “They need the
THE BEST
n Flex spaces will be included for informal student-teacher gatherings as well as for students who need privacy for study or phone calls home. n Big common spaces will feature furniture and tables that can be arranged for a variety of gatherings; with Netflix and other internetstreaming services, a television is no longer the focal point of the common room.
wellness program. The building’s reception area doubles as the nurses’ work station. Staff dispense medications to students from a cabinet in an open hallway near the front entrance, assuring little privacy. Cramped exam rooms are stuffed with everything from laundry to supplies, and the overnight nurse sleeps on a pull-out recliner in the nursing director’s office. “We just don’t have the physical space to deliver care in the way we want or with the breadth that we want,” says CFO Boota deButts. In the next few years, the School will convert McAllister to a new purpose and construct a new building designed so that health staff deliver clinical care with efficiency and privacy. Plans call for spaces filled with natural light and a welcoming design. With the building positioned at the heart of campus near the Stewart Student Center and the Laird Dining Hall, Bravo believes it will be a beacon that calls to students even when they’re not sick, inviting them to stop in when they want to talk about nutrition or sleep problems. It will also be a sanctuary for students who just want a break and a moment of quiet to tend to their own wellness. “I am proud of the care we deliver and the programming that we do already,” Bravo says. “It’s going to be greatly expanded and improved upon with the new facility. I can see how all the many components of health and wellness housed in this new center will work together to help prepare our students for their next steps in life, and I’m so excited about that.”
Highlights n Estimated construction cost: $12 million. Estimated endowment for longterm care of the building: $3 million. n Construction will begin when funding is secured. n The building will be roughly double the size of McAllister Health Center.
27
28
n New features will include comprehensive treatment and clinical work areas; a classroom for health and wellness courses; a meditation room; and separate waiting areas for sick and “well patients.”
n The number of exam rooms will double to four, and there will be separate spaces for laundry, supplies, and treatment. n The School’s counselors will have a separate, dedicated space in the building.
E
piscopal’s campus encompasses more than 130 acres, Center, Laird Dining Hall, athletic facilities, and each a valued and treasured asset for generations of Townsend Hall’s classrooms, creating more density students. Yet what parcel of land can best accommodate at the core of campus and putting all the School’s the new facilities crucial to educating future generations? social and wellness components in close proximity. School leaders wrestled with that question in 1984, Also, other potential sites had environmental issues when EHS enrollment was just over 300 or other disadvantages; one would students. After months of study and have forced students to cross the analysis, they agreed to several guiding busy road that rings most of campus. principles for land use. Among those: Finally, moving the track and field any new academic or residential buildoffers an enormous opportunity to remake ings would be built close to the core of the EHS athletic facility arguably most campus to preserve the School’s tightin need of work. The field’s undulating knit community feel. Other new facilities ground needs a modern drainage system. would be added west of Hummel Bowl It’s the second choice of EHS soccer teams and in Laird Acres. Shot put and discus will no next to the newer Bryant Field, which has More than 30 years later, Episcopal, longer be relegated to the been praised by U.S. World Cup teams now with 440 students, has arrived at makeshift space on the Front that used it for training. The track surface, a similar conclusion in its new campus Drive lawn. meanwhile, is long overdue for replacemaster plan. The School and its ment, and its unusual configuration makes campus-design experts studied several possible sites for for unorthodox start and finish lines, complicating the the new dormitories and health and wellness center. hosting of events. Ultimately, all agreed that building on the site of The new field will provide an inspiring venue and help Hoxton Field and Track represented the best and only ensure the School’s five soccer teams will have adequate suitable option. space for practice and games. Its natural grass surface will The School didn’t reach this decision lightly. feature an advanced drainage system, and there will be an Hoxton is a cherished fixture on campus, a place used indoor shelter, space for storage, and parking. and loved by decades of students. The School will erect The new track will have a standard configuration and a marker on the new quad to celebrate its legacy and a high performance surface that will help protect runners tell its story. Built in 1914 — a gift from sisters B.H. from injury. The complex will also bring running and Buckingham and I.C. Freeman of Washington to extend throwing events together; it will include space for discus the sporting activities of the recently completed Stewart and shot put, which are now relegated to the lawn adjaGymnasium — it has hosted more than a century of cent to the Front Drive. athletic competition. An added bonus: with the track’s relocation, EHS will Still, the advantages of locating the new quad on be able to make the campus ring road a continuous loop, that spot are too many to ignore. It is the best and most improving traffic flow. suitable place to integrate the dormitories and health The estimated cost of the new track and field is $5.1 center into the heart of campus. In that location, all million. They are expected to be completed sometime three buildings will be steps from the Stewart Student in 2020.
EHS
THE MAGAZINE OF EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL
29
THE BEST
CHOICE
The new track and field, a natural extension of Episcopal’s campus that School leaders envisioned as far back as 1984, will be built adjacent to Coxe Field and Hummel Bowl.
E
piscopal’s campus encompasses more than 130 acres, Center, Laird Dining Hall, athletic facilities, and each a valued and treasured asset for generations of Townsend Hall’s classrooms, creating more density students. Yet what parcel of land can best accommodate at the core of campus and putting all the School’s the new facilities crucial to educating future generations? social and wellness components in close proximity. School leaders wrestled with that question in 1984, Also, other potential sites had environmental issues when EHS enrollment was just over 300 or other disadvantages; one would students. After months of study and have forced students to cross the analysis, they agreed to several guiding busy road that rings most of campus. principles for land use. Among those: Finally, moving the track and field any new academic or residential buildoffers an enormous opportunity to remake ings would be built close to the core of the EHS athletic facility arguably most campus to preserve the School’s tightin need of work. The field’s undulating knit community feel. Other new facilities ground needs a modern drainage system. would be added west of Hummel Bowl It’s the second choice of EHS soccer teams and in Laird Acres. Shot put and discus will no next to the newer Bryant Field, which has More than 30 years later, Episcopal, longer be relegated to the been praised by U.S. World Cup teams now with 440 students, has arrived at makeshift space on the Front that used it for training. The track surface, a similar conclusion in its new campus Drive lawn. meanwhile, is long overdue for replacemaster plan. The School and its ment, and its unusual configuration makes campus-design experts studied several possible sites for for unorthodox start and finish lines, complicating the the new dormitories and health and wellness center. hosting of events. Ultimately, all agreed that building on the site of The new field will provide an inspiring venue and help Hoxton Field and Track represented the best and only ensure the School’s five soccer teams will have adequate suitable option. space for practice and games. Its natural grass surface will The School didn’t reach this decision lightly. feature an advanced drainage system, and there will be an Hoxton is a cherished fixture on campus, a place used indoor shelter, space for storage, and parking. and loved by decades of students. The School will erect The new track will have a standard configuration and a marker on the new quad to celebrate its legacy and a high performance surface that will help protect runners tell its story. Built in 1914 — a gift from sisters B.H. from injury. The complex will also bring running and Buckingham and I.C. Freeman of Washington to extend throwing events together; it will include space for discus the sporting activities of the recently completed Stewart and shot put, which are now relegated to the lawn adjaGymnasium — it has hosted more than a century of cent to the Front Drive. athletic competition. An added bonus: with the track’s relocation, EHS will Still, the advantages of locating the new quad on be able to make the campus ring road a continuous loop, that spot are too many to ignore. It is the best and most improving traffic flow. suitable place to integrate the dormitories and health The estimated cost of the new track and field is $5.1 center into the heart of campus. In that location, all million. They are expected to be completed sometime three buildings will be steps from the Stewart Student in 2020.
EHS
THE MAGAZINE OF EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL
29
Chapel services remain a central part of the EHS calendar, one of the many ways the School supports the spiritual journey of students, regardless of their faith.
30
FEATURE
WHY
FAITH MATTERS Nearly 200 years after its founding, EHS remains committed to the spiritual growth of its students.
S
ports began to push religion out of Lexi Weger’s life when she was in middle school. Weger ’18 grew up Catholic and made a habit of Sunday school and holidays with the whole family, including her sister, Shawn ’07, sliding into the pew. But weekend games and tournament travel had disrupted that routine, with consequences for her faith. “I kind of fell out of touch,” she says. Arriving at Episcopal, Weger quickly came to crave the thrice-weekly chapel service and the calm it brought her as an array of new things crowded her mind and schedule. Weger settled in to campus life soon enough — she graduated with All-Met and All-State basketball honors and the grades to earn admission to Princeton — but throughout her four years, she relished the quiet and stillness of Callaway Chapel, the soft light filtering in from the stained glass. “It was a safe haven,” she says. She particularly liked that students dropped their backpacks at the door, a figurative unburdening of the work and stresses they shouldered daily. Once again regularly sitting in a pew, she felt surrounded by people who loved and supported her. “Chapel is just so special that without it, Episcopal can’t be the place that it is,” Weger says.
EHS
THE MAGAZINE OF EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL
31
WHY FAITH MATTERS
E
piscopal High School was founded 180 years ago with a singular purpose: train young men for the seminary. Church leaders hoped the School, working in tandem with the Virginia Theological Seminary, its neighbor on The Holy Hill, could bolster the ranks of the priesthood. The role of religion at Episcopal has changed since then, as it has in America itself. Increasingly, EHS reflects the country’s growing religious pluralism; the Vestry, the student group that organizes chapel services and encourages religious discussion on campus, last year welcomed its first member who is a practicing Muslim. (See page 34) Yet with all its students, the School still considers their spiritual growth one of its highest priorities, regardless of their faith background. This work will always be key to Episcopal’s mission, as it’s a crucial element of the education of young adults.
The Rev. Betsy Gonzalez, head chaplain, says many students are curious about what faith means for the larger world, and what it might mean for them.
32
First and foremost, faith defines and inspires many of the character traits that EHS aims to instill, like humility, kindness, empathy. To stand silent on that, particularly at a boarding school where students spend 24 hours a day, would signal that faith and spirituality are not integral to their lives, or at least not as important as calculus or English or football. The teen years are critical for adolescents to forge their personal identities, yet absent a robust EHS religious program, students could conclude that faith does not play a role in who they are, or who they will be. The School’s ongoing focus on and confidence in its identity as an Episcopal school were a big draw for Charley Stillwell as he considered the job as Head of School back in 2015. “The identity grounds all our students in crucial values and an understanding that they are all part of something much greater than themselves,” he says. “This crucial spiritual life of the School reminds our students that they have both the capacity and a responsibility to make a positive difference in the lives of others here on campus and beyond our gates throughout their lives.” Faith and spirituality are routinely discussed and practiced on campus. Campus activities offer dozens of
opportunities each month — in worship, in the classroom, and in extracurriculars — to help students examine their beliefs and to support them in their faith journey. Though every student attends chapel, their engagement varies. For many, Episcopal represents their first worship community, says The Rev. Betsy Gonzalez, head chaplain at the School. Some may have grown up attending worship irregularly, if at all. Others are testing whether they have outgrown their beliefs from childhood. Regardless, most come to campus curious about what faith means for the larger world, and what it might mean for them. “They ask where faith intersects with the big questions of their lives, whether those are about relationships or the presence of evil in the world or loss and grief,” she explains. “They want to know where those things come together.”
Pierson Gammage ’20 (left), senior warden of the student Vestry: “I’m very open to talking about my faith. It’s something I enjoy.”
C
allaway Chapel sits near the heart of campus, steps from Baker Science Center, the proximity a reminder that faith and reason both have a place on campus. “It looks as if it belongs and will last,” wrote Benjamin Forgery, the Washington Post’s architecture critic when the chapel opened in 1991. Forgery noted that the interior echoed the Washington National Cathedral; its visual centerpiece, the round stained-glass window at the back of the sanctuary, was created and installed by the cathedral’s master artisan, the late Dieter Goldkuhle, father of Andrew Goldkuhle ’85. Upon glimpsing the new building, Joan Holden, then head of nearby St. Agnes School (soon to become St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes), said she believed it was grander in design and scale than any chapel built by a school in decades. Each year students gather in chapel for their first worship service even before their first class. During any given month, students gather as many as 20 different times in Callaway for worship on campus. The Episcopal liturgical tradition undergirds a chapel service that has become uniquely Episcopal. With the creation of the Chapel Songbook, the community has crafted a chapel service that includes readings from scripture, hymns, prayers from a number of religious traditions, recitation of the Lord’s Prayer, prayers for the needs of the community, and the passing of the peace. Throughout the year, the School comes together to celebrate the Christian calendar’s major events. And each year, a handful of students take confirmation classes and become members of the Episcopal Church in a spring service in which the Bishop of Virginia presides. Callaway is also the scene of the commissioning of graduating seniors, an emotional sendoff at their last chapel service. As they stand lining the walls of the sanctuary, Gonzalez walks among them, gently touching each on the head and praying. “Our Creator God, it’s an honor to join you in affirming and celebrating Episcopal’s Class of 2019,” she said this
year. “You have created each of them in your image. You have created them to live inside a big story, not a small one — your story — the story in which your glory and honor and truth and beauty and grace and love are at the center.” As Gonzalez slowly made her way around the room, students and faculty wept. Her voice occasionally choked with emotion. She later said she avoided looking directly at students for fear that she, too, would cry and be unable to finish the prayer.
P
ierson Gammage ’20 is no stranger to worship. Her father is Catholic, her mother takes seminary classes, and Pierson grew up attending youth group and Bible study in a nondenominational Christian church in her hometown of Greenwich, Conn. “Faith has been a constant for me,” she says. When looking at high schools, Pierson was drawn to Episcopal in part because of its religious identity. At the end of her first year, Pierson joined the Vestry, the student group that organizes chapel worship and creates informal opportunities for students to consider their faith in other settings. This fall, Pierson assumed the role of senior warden in the Vestry. It’s a position that’s a magnet for students who want to talk about faith, says Paul Pivirotto ’19, her predecessor. “I’ve had countless times where people have
EHS
THE MAGAZINE OF EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL
33
WHY FAITH MATTERS
“ Why Are People Fighting Over This?” Since its founding, Episcopal has sought to nurture the spiritual growth of its students. Given modern America’s religious pluralism, however, that looks different today than it did in 1839. Obviously, the School no longer follows its initial charge from the Episcopal church to prepare young men for seminary. Yet EHS embraces the denomination’s welcoming doctrine and aims to support every student in their faith journey. “For the Episcopal Church, it’s really about having a big-tent philosophy,” says the Rev. Betsy Gonzalez, head chaplain at the School. “We’re called to be not only in conversation and in concert with our fellow Christians, but also with people of all faiths, people of no faith, people of strong faith.” Not coincidentally, application to the campus Vestry is open to all students, regardless of their faith background. The group helps organize chapel services and creates opportunities for students to explore their spirituality. Last year it launched the Seekers, a group that aims to identify structured and informal ways to help students of all faiths. In one of its first events, Seekers helped coordinate a dinner discussion in Bryan Library about religious identity and expression on campus. The School also put on an iftar, the traditional community evening meal by which Muslims break their Ramadan fast. More than 40 students and adults attended, and a number of community members fasted for the day leading up to it. –––– Last spring, Shawn Mustafa ’20 became what is believed to be the first practicing Muslim to join the Vestry. Shawn came to Episcopal from Saudia Arabia, where his family regularly attends Friday mosque services. Christianity was largely a mystery; he had never heard the Lord’s Prayer before his first EHS chapel services. Still, Shawn was intrigued by the worship and prayer. He says Gonzalez sought him out early to make sure he was comfortable, and the two soon were talking regularly. Though Shawn had reservations about joining the Vestry, he decided that working within the group would be the best way to support other non-Christians on campus in their faith. In addition to his work on the Vestry, Shawn is a member of the choir. He says he loves singing and music theory and welcomes the opportunity to work with music from England and around the world. A senior, he will this
34
Shawn Mustafa ’20, the first practicing Muslim on the student Vestry, leads the day’s version of the cycle of prayer, in which each student, faculty, and staff member is prayed for once during the year.
year complete the required Biblical Theology course, in which he will have the opportunity to write the gospel from his perspective. He says the Episcopal religious program has helped him discover parallels between Christianity and his faith. “I definitely used to think that Islam and Christiantity are vastly different,” he says. “That was a huge shock to me: ‘Wow, they aren’t that different; why are people fighting over this?’ ” Shawn remains devoted to Islam. He has a prayer mat in his dorm room and uses apps on his phone that help him squeeze Quran readings into the busy EHS schedule. He talks with his mother daily. “She constantly reminds me to pray any chance I get,’ he says. “And to thank Allah for the blessings of family and fortune he has given me.” –––– Not all students outside the Christian faith feel comfortable with Episcopal’s religious program. Some invest minimally in chapel or other elements. Others may “closet” their faith because they worry that they will stand out at a School with a strong Episcopal tradition. Shawn and other Vestry members began last spring exploring how to support such students and make them feel welcome to express their faith. The discussion led to twice-monthly visits to campus this fall by Imam Ali Siddiqui of the Muslim Institute for Interfaith Studies and Understanding. He joins students for a Sunday brunch, study, and prayer, and then comes to campus on a Friday to teach how they can lead Friday prayers themselves. EHS is exploring a similar arrangement to regularly bring to campus a leader from a local Jewish synagogue. Says Gonzalez: “These changes are apart of the School’s growing commitment across the board to meet students where they are and to bring them into community together, but also to facilitate their individual practices and traditions inside that unity.” Says Shawn: “We need to make people of all faiths feel comfortable.”
come and asked me really difficult religious or philosophical questions, and that led to a three-hour conversation, which is awesome,” he says. Pivirotto says many of those who sought him out balked at organized religion yet not at faith itself. “They’re spiritual, not religious, but sometimes they do open their ears during chapel and listen. There are some things that appeal to them. Or they say, ‘I don’t take that Bible story 100 percent seriously, but I like the message it was putting out there.’ ” Pierson welcomes such conversations. As a junior, she joined and helped to lead Christian Fellowship, a student group that meets twice a month for dinner and discussion. It was born organically perhaps 15 years ago when students sought to create a venue in which they could talk about faith, the Bible, and their lives. Math teacher Mimi Schwanda and her husband, Peter, lead the group’s discussions. They see each gathering as an opportunity for the students to step back from their daily grind and consider questions of faith in a relaxed forum with friends. “This is a chance for them to think about what they’re hearing and seeing in chapel and how it’s going to integrate into their day-to-day lives,” Mimi says. One semester, they studied the Lord’s Prayer. “We say this prayer every time we’re in church. But we decided to take it line by line and
ask: What are we saying? What does it mean? And what does it mean about the way we live? What is God asking us to do through these words?” The Schwandas believe teenagers need to talk through faith matters among themselves, apart from authority figures and outside formal structures. “They need a place where it’s safe for them to articulate things,” Peter says. “They
“ That’s why chapel at Episcopal is so different and so special,” says Christian Wright ’18. “It’s the students.” need to try on beliefs and figure out what it is they believe and hear their peers in a place that feels slightly less institutional. It’s a chance for them to consider what their faith means to them.” Pierson says many students arrive at fellowship with a deep faith; others are still exploring. “It’s important to talk about what you believe and to hear what others believe because it makes your opinion even stronger. I’m very open to talking about my faith. It’s something I enjoy.”
Gilbert Amason ’20 talks about his Episcopal experience at a September chapel service. Students deliver the homily at Friday services, one of the ways they help shape worship.
EHS
THE MAGAZINE OF EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL
35
WHY FAITH MATTERS
Callaway Chapel opened in 1991, a time when other private schools were stepping back from their religious identities.
Despite her many church-related activities back in Connecticut, Pierson says her EHS experience has only deepened her faith. “Through the group, the Vestry, and other things, I feel like I have an even stronger community of Christian friends here at EHS than I did at home. And I believe that’s just another thing that makes Episcopal such a unique and special place.”
T
he role of faith at EHS today has its roots in a bitter conflict 50 years ago that could have led Episcopal, like other schools at the time, to shed its religious identity. In the late 1960s, EHS students agitated against policies they argued shackled their development and treated them as children, not young men on the verge of independence. Graduation requirements, the demerit system, and the ban on long sideburns came under attack, but the daily chapel services and Sunday worship sparked perhaps the strongest enmity. Students argued that they were herded into pews for rote worship that was dictated by tradition and devoid of relevance for young men. A Chronicle survey of seniors in 1967 found that 84 percent believed the School’s religious program actually weakened their faith. The newspaper’s editors recognized the incongruity of a religiously founded school that pushed students away from faith; they lobbied the administration to invest more in students’ spiritual growth and help them wrestle with questions of faith, they
36
said. Among other things, the newspaper urged the School to hire its first full-time chaplain. Addressing what the Chronicle dubbed “the religion problem” ultimately fell to Archibald R. Hoxton, Jr. ’35, the
In the late 1960s, Chronicle editors urged the School to hire its first full-time chaplain and invest more in students’ spiritual growth. legendary EHS athlete and valedictorian who had grown up on campus while his father and namesake was Principal. In the fall of 1967, Hoxton, now a veteran teacher and school administrator, took the reins as Headmaster and moved quickly. He first asked The Rev. John Smith, an assistant pastor of a church in New Hampshire, to study campus faith life, then hired him as the School’s first full-time chaplain. Hoxton endowed the new position with considerable authority, Smith says; the chaplain was made the School’s third-highest ranking official, and Smith was given a coveted house on campus previously occupied by the football coach. Smith and Hoxton began a refashioning of faith life at the School that would continue into the tenure of Sandy Ainslie ’56, a top administrator under Hoxton who would become Headmaster in 1981. Smith led a committee of faculty, students, and administrators that worked for two
years and issued in 1971 a blueprint for change. Among their proposals: move worship from the Pendleton Hall auditorium to a dedicated chapel building, a recommendation that Ainslie as Headmaster would realize with the opening of Callaway Chapel in 1991. The report also called upon the School to turns its Biblefocused religious studies curriculum into a theology program that treated the study of religion — Christianity primarily at that time, but other faiths, too — as an academic discipline. To grow in their faith, Smith says, students needed more sophisticated instruction than what they got in Sunday school. “I wanted these young men to start making some decisions on their own about how faith was going to fit into their lives,” Smith says. Not coincidentally, the School also began to yield its authority over how students worshipped and examined their faith. In a newly created School Worship Committee, faculty and students came together to plan each week’s Sunday service. Discussion groups were launched for the community to consider what the Chronicle described as “practical, spiritual, and philosophical questions of daily life.” The newspaper applauded these moves, acknowledging that the School was taking a risk by ceding some control. “It’s in our hands!” it concluded triumphantly.
F
ifty years later, though the School’s chaplains and choral director lead chapel services, students play a large role in designing worship. Begun under Headmaster Ainslie, the Vestry directs peers who serve as acolytes, readers, and torch bearers. Vestry members also create a cycle of prayer for the year in which they take time in chapel to pray for each advisory and School administrative department, ensuring that every student and adult in the community is named in prayer at some point. Gonzalez also makes a point to pray for family members and alumni who have passed away. Many students, she notes, experience the death of someone close for the first time while at school, and they need support and to learn that they don’t carry their grief alone. Students outside the Vestry also routinely prepare a special piece of music to sing or perform — an opportunity for them to express themselves in front of a supportive community. At Friday services, the homily is set aside for students to deliver a talk about a personal experience — a family death or divorce, a personal struggle, a learning moment — but also matters in the national news. Meron Teskete ’19 last year brought the audience to its feet for a standing ovation following his story of how his family fled a repressive government in Eritrea when he was 10 years old. Christian Wright ’18, who was senior warden of the Vestry, is exporting the EHS brand of student-led worship to Wofford College, where he’s a sophomore. Wofford doesn’t lack for Christian worship and study opportunities,
Jack Donaldson ’20 sings a song by the Lumineers at a September chapel service. Students routinely prepare and perform a special piece of music in chapel, one of the ways they help shape worship.
but Wright found them stifling after Episcopal. “I felt as though I was being force-fed information,” he says. With another student, Wright last year launched A Simple Meal, a student-organized Wednesday worship service modeled in part on the Episcopal chapel service. Ordained clergy preside, but Wright and friends plan the music, the scripture reading, the lesson. Afterward, everyone gathers for soup and conversation. “That’s why chapel at Episcopal is so different and so special: It’s the students,” he says. The chapel service leaves an imprint on many students, regardless of their faith. Almost two years after they graduated, members of the Class of 2014 were confronted by the death of their EHS friend and classmate Chris Shea, who was known for his laughter and joy. Distraught, several Episcopal alumni at Southern Methodist University reached out to each other and, feeling the need to be together, gathered at the university’s small church — a place Episcopal had taught them can be a source of comfort. Sitting silently in the back pew, they watched the chorus practice, letting the music wash over them. EHS chapel services certainly left an imprint on Lexi Weger. In her first year at Princeton, as she transitioned to college life and academics, she was again stressed and anxious. The opening of basketball season left her feeling overwhelmed. “Can you help?” she said in a text to Gonzalez at Episcopal. The two talked and considered how she could find a worship experience at Princeton akin to Episcopal’s. Weger also asked Gonzalez to send her a copy of the Chapel Songbook. She knew many of the hymns by heart, but that was not enough. She needed a physical copy of the songbook, a little piece of Episcopal itself.
EHS
THE MAGAZINE OF EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL
37
Members of the robotics team take one of their creations out for a spin. The team is entering its fifth year of competition.
38
FEATURE
IF YOU BUILD IT... EHS classrooms are becoming digital-age construction sites as students master 3D printers, learn Python programming, and assemble their futures.
T
he buildings are made from brightly colored molded plastic. They’re not Lego, but they look like toys and are small enough to fit in a toddler’s hand. Each of the six is positioned on a piece of cardboard in an arrangement familiar to all EHS students as well as many alumni. Callaway Chapel stands in the center, with a cross carved out of the plastic above the entrance. Stewart lies to the northwest, its tapered columns facing Dalrymple, whose limegreen exterior is notched with the windows of dorm rooms. This scale model of Episcopal’s chapel quad wasn’t created by architects. Rather, it’s the handiwork of four students, two boys and two girls. Over the course of a year, they got a deep immersion in Episcopal’s approach to teaching STEM — science, technology, engineering, and math. That instruction looks nothing like it did a decade ago, and it’s a whisper of what it might be in a few years. For their chapel quad project, the students first took measurements of the buildings using old-fashioned tape measures as well as lasers. They also mastered the software to run a 3D printer, work they began in the School’s advanced engineering course then continued through independent research. Ten years ago, the School didn’t have an engineering course. Nor did it have a 3D printer.
Though engineering teacher Scott Pohjola was on hand to guide the students, their learning was largely do it yourself. No lectures. No textbooks. Just walk into class and get to work on the project. Teach yourself the software, with help from YouTube tutorials, Pohjola’s pointers, and, most of all, trial and error. More than once, plastic spooled out from the printer in what the students laughingly refer to as a spaghetti monster. Once finished, the Chapel Quad miniature didn’t meet all the group’s ambitions. They had hoped to create a model of the entire campus. Still, the students say they learned a great deal that will give them a leg up in college and help prepare them for engineering careers. Most of all, they’re excited because they’ve glimpsed the future, and they’re eager for more.
S
igns carrying the warning “Construction Zone” could be posted outside classrooms across campus. This fall, the advanced engineering class learned how to design in both 2D and 3D, using the School’s laser cutter as well as the 3D printers for projects that included building small-scale, self-propelled vehicles. In the School’s newly created class on 3D modeling and robotics, students built
EHS
THE MAGAZINE OF EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL
39
IF YOU BUILD IT...
Arianna Otoo ’21 and her teammates will design, build, and program robots for competition.
phone-charging stations from scratch, aiming to deploy them across campus. By the end of the semester, they plan to use the Python programming language to fly drones through
an obstacle course in Flippin Fieldhouse. Spring will see the debut of a second new STEM class, advanced topics in computer science. The School’s robotics team, meanwhile, began its fifth season this fall, returning a group of veterans who last year helped Episcopal earn its first playoff berth. And the Science Olympiad team is assembling everything from protein models to elaborate bottle rockets. At the same time, students are pursuing independent STEM-related research supported by faculty and tapping the School’s expanding resources. A small team aims to test whether Archimedes, the celebrated mathematician and engineer of ancient Greece, could have built his fabled “death ray” using soldiers’ shields to concentrate sunlight on a Roman fleet of wooden boats and set them ablaze. Early calculations suggest the students’ replica will require 6-foot-square mirrors — and perhaps 100 students to help position them. “That would be great, for both the data and the fun,” says Killian Vetter ’20, one of the team members. EHS has facilitated this STEM growth with new courses, space, and equipment. Episcopal, among the early wave of high schools to see the educational value of high tech in the classroom, purchased its first 3D printer about six years
40
ago, stowing it awkwardly in a physics prep lab. Later, as the school added more printers, science faculty fashioned a Fabrication Laboratory, or “Fab Lab,” out of a 500-squarefoot spare room. This fall, the Fab Lab moved to a room twice the size of its former home. It houses the School’s growing complement of 3D printers (eight, including two purchased this fall,) a laser cutter, and four work spaces for students doing independent study. The old Fab Lab, meanwhile, has been converted to provide the Science Olympiad and robotics teams their first home. “It’s like a high-tech garage,” says Dr. Kim Olsen, chair of the science department. Some students are calling it the “Construction Room.”
T
he School is doubling down on STEM in part because of changes the digital age has brought to American education, culture, and high schoolers themselves. Thanks to tech and Internet advances, adolescents today can access mountains of information and research with just a few mouse clicks. As a result, topflight secondary education must shift its focus from memorization and acquisition of knowledge to the application of what you know, Pohjola says. Such sophisticated work used to be reserved for college students, but no more. “The mentality was once: ‘OK, we know you’re good at math and physics, and you might
Killan Vetter ’20 (left, with Andrew Kraut ’21) has been studying computer programming since fifth grade. This year, he’s also working on the School’s 3D printers.
enjoy applying that knowledge in college.’ But why not start here?’” High schools also are introducing students to digital-age entrepreneurialism. Engineers and scientists, once sideline contributors to businesses run by corporate managers, now launch their own start-ups to manufacture and sell products that answer a marketplace or social need, whether for safer cars, clean water in Africa, or GPS systems to track lost pets. Asking students to devise solutions to everyday challenges — say, by creating phone-charging stations on campus — makes clear that today’s inventor is often an entrepreneur, says Pohjola. In advanced engineering, for instance, he requires his students to write business-like summaries of the cars, windmill turbines, and other products they create. “We spend time on what a nice, professional piece of technical writing looks like — with graphs, tables, data, images, and video clips,” he says. “It’s often the first time that they’ve done that. They’ve written lots of academic papers, but now, they’re trying to sell their idea.” Most of all, Episcopal’s investment in STEM is a recognition that the high schoolers of the 21st century are digital natives often eager to work with the technology that surrounds them. And they want to create some of their own. Ned Warner, who teaches computer science, says interest in his class has probably tripled since he began teaching six years ago. Students generally enjoy the concepts taught in his intro and advanced courses, but they’re hungry to know how that often esoteric and abstract knowledge can be put to use. Last year, some of those students lobbied the administration to create a next-step computer science elective. That push led to Warner’s new advanced topics in computer science course, which will debut next semester. The class will focus on a series of projects that teach an aspect of working with databases, networked programs, dynamic web pages,
and more. He and students are talking about devoting some time to technologies used by the web services offered by Amazon, which is building a new campus just a few miles from Episcopal. “In the intro and advanced courses, the students spend a year working on the fundamentals of what they could do in the future,” Warner says. “But we also want them to see the finish line.” Wyatt Singletary ’20 was one of the students who urged the School to expand its computer-science offerings. He caught the STEM bug when he took Warner’s intro and advanced courses last year as a junior. Learning to write Java code, he created algorithms to do everything from play chess to calculate the odds of winning a lottery, and he thrilled at the hands-on problem-solving. “Instead of regurgitating a math formula or doing a physics problem, you’re on the computer, writing code. When you click ‘run’ and it works, it’s more satisfying than any other class that I’ve had.” When Wyatt completed the course, he was disappointed there was nothing more he could take as a senior. Now, he is enrolled in both of the new STEM electives. “Students like Wyatt are why we need to keep developing new courses and new approaches,” says math department chair Dave Collins, who’s teaching the 3D modeling course. “They can’t get enough of this stuff.” Unlike Wyatt, some students arrive at Episcopal having already plunged deeply into STEM subjects. Thanks to online courses offered through such entities as the Khan Academy, a grade schooler or middle school student can follow their academic passions outside classroom lessons, notes Olsen, the science department chair. Via Twitter and other social media, they can kick around ideas with leading
The old Fab Lab was converted to provide Science Olympiad and robotics teams their first home. “It’s like a high-tech garage,” says science chair Kim Olsen. scientists and experts. By ninth grade, they may be ready to start a nonprofit or create a new consumer product. The internet has opened up endless opportunities for the curious to learn and grow, Olsen says. “Students can do things now in terms of research, independent study, and entrepreneurship that you could never do before,” she adds. “Kids are coming to Episcopal and saying, ‘I want to have the resources to pursue this exciting new idea I have.’ ” To help students chase their dreams, Episcopal is expanding structured opportunities in which they can connect with experts and businesses in the Washington area. Killian Vetter ’20 came to Episcopal with a love of computer science born in fifth grade, when interest in a
EHS
THE MAGAZINE OF EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL
41
IF YOU BUILD IT...
computer game led him to programming courses offered online by the Center for Talented Youth at Johns Hopkins University. Later, while earning his computer-science badge en route to becoming an Eagle Scout, he spent a week with a local web-development company, biking to and from its offices every day. At Episcopal, Killian has raced through core courses and electives and taken summer classes at Carnegie Mellon. This fall, he joined the advanced engineering course and dabbled with a 3D printer for the first time. Outside the classroom, with the School’s help, Killian is seizing opportunities to learn off campus. Last year, he took part in the School’s pilot program for juniors to do afternoon externships with area businesses and agencies — one of the first initiatives of the McCain-Ravenel Center for Intellectual and Moral Courage. Killian went to work for the Matrix Group, the web-development company that helped with his Boy Scout badge. Working alongside the chief technology officer, he performed a number of upgrades on Matrix’s internal network, growing skilled at many things he previously knew little about. “I had to learn a lot of things on the fly,” he says. He also got an insider’s look at how the company divvied up work daily. “It was exciting to see how a company operates and what it would be like to work in a company in that field.”
A
s the McCain-Ravenel Center grows, the future of STEM at Episcopal will likely feature an even broader array of learning opportunities at area companies and public agencies. In the EHS classroom, meanwhile, expect
The new Fab Lab is home to eight 3D printers.
42
instruction in STEM subjects to continue to cross the traditional academic disciplines. Ned Warner says he can see a time when the School’s entrepreneurship coursework is taught hand in hand with engineering and computer science. The 3D modeling course, which weaves together science, computer science, and math, frequently takes Dave Collins from his math classroom across campus to the Fab Lab. “These fields should have very few boundaries,” Collins says. “The students will get a more genuine experience if we blend them even more.” The future has already begun for the four students who built the chapel quad model. Each was a senior during the project, and, despite the spaghetti monsters, each is studying engineering in college: Barrett Carney at Georgia Tech, planning a degree in aeronautical engineering; Arden Faires at Virginia Tech (industrial design); Collin Fitzpatrick at the Virginia Military Institute (mechanical engineering), and Chris Denning at Wake Forest (aerospace). Talking a few days before Episcopal’s graduation, they spoke excitedly about the 3D printer as a revolutionary invention. Fitzpatrick said he has heard that the military is paying to train troops on printers not very different from those at EHS. At her senior externship with the Commercial Space Flight Federation, Carney learned that companies are using more sophisticated versions to build rockets from copper and gold. One day, they said, 3D printers may be as common as the toaster. “But right now, we are a part of a relatively small group of people who know how to use this stuff,” Denning said. “That in and of itself is pretty cool.”
Return to The Hill • REUNION WEEKEND •
June 5-7, 2020
C E L E B R A T I N G T H E C L A S S E S O F. . .
1950, 1955, 1960, 1965, 1970, 1975, 1980, 1985, 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010, and 2015 www.episcopalhighschool.org/reunion Registration opens late January 2020.
EHS
THE MAGAZINE OF EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL
43
ESPN director Aladdin Freeman ’94 manages dozens of cameras at nearly 40 boxing events a year plus college football games and some of the major events in professional tennis.
44
FEATURE
MUSTSEE
TV
His parents thought television would stifle his creativity. Now, Aladdin Freeman ’94 is directing live ESPN coverage for audiences around the world.
A
laddin Freeman ’94 stands on the theater stage of MGM’s casino at National Harbor, outside Washington, D.C, worrying over what he calls a “tiffany.” The delicate-sounding word comes from a man no one could consider delicate. An EHS football standout whose smash-mouth play earned him the nickname “Freight Train,” Freeman still has a gridiron physique and tough-guy look. T-shirt and shorts, hair cropped close. Shoulders as wide as a highway overpass. Knees each sporting a long scar from surgery. Yet Freeman’s job, he readily acknowledges, demands a wedding planner’s attention to details. Including the tiffany. In less than 36 hours, the MGM theater will host a highly anticipated boxing match between two undefeated junior welterweights. ESPN is airing the fight, and Freeman, who directs boxing, college football, tennis, and occasional other sports for the media giant, is responsible for creating a broadcast that makes this humble venue, capacity 3,000, pulse like Madison Square Garden with 20,000 in the house.
EHS
THE MAGAZINE OF EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL
45
MUST-SEE TV
From the stage, Freeman surveys the theater and runs through a mental checklist. Crews have assembled the boxing ring on the theater floor, in front of the rising rows of seats, and Freeman considers the ring walk, the entrance of the two fighters into the theater. Is each boxer’s path laid out so that ESPN’s cameras can capture the moment with drama? Also, he’s worried about the boxers’ dressing rooms, where MGM has put down plastic to protect carpets from the fighter’s shuffling feet as they warm up. Will the plastic crinkle and pop like firecrackers and disrupt his audio feed? And the tiffany — that bundle of microphones that dangles above the ring. Freeman has watched boxing on television since he was about 5 years old, and he knows that the sound of flesh absorbing blows is critical to the broadcast. But is the tiffany too high to catch that audio? Or … is it so low that a boxer can jump up and grab it? Freeman has seen a fighter do exactly that. Indeed, after 20 years with ESPN working broadcasts ranging from Wimbledon to Monday Night Football, from X Games to professional bowling, he’s learned that he has to plan for the unexpected, even the unthinkable. And while he doesn’t know it yet, tomorrow’s fight at National Harbor will be no exception.
T
here’s rich irony in the fact that Freeman is a top television director. Growing up, his parents didn’t own a TV because they believed hours in its thrall stifled creativity. But for big boxing matches, the family rented a set. His father, who grew up in the 1940s, when boxing was a favorite American pastime, had gone to fights with his family, everyone dressed in their finest. He passed on his love of the sport to his son, the two of them gathering around their rental, with Aladdin offering commentary even as a tyke. At Episcopal, Freeman gathered his friends to watch Tuesday night fights broadcast on cable. But it was football that became his playing passion. A bruising fullback, he helped lead teams that lost only two games over three years and posted undefeated seasons in 1991 and 1992 — the first in 30 years at the School. Those teams were inducted into the EHS Athletics Hall of Fame. Though Hummel Bowl stands filled with cheers of “Freight Train” when he ran, Freeman was enormously popular on campus because of his warmth and infectious good nature, faculty remember. “He could have been the biggest, toughest, baddest guy on campus,” says English teacher Whit Morgan. “He just rejected that in favor of sheer friendliness and exuberance. He was all smiles; he never busted an attitude.” Once, during a schoolwide discussion about how to break down stereotypes, Morgan and other teachers had
46
Freeman and fellow footballer Cary Goodwin ’93 come down the Callaway Chapel aisle in helmet and pads, shouting, grunting, and pounding on each other. Freeman then picked up a violin, Goodwin stepped to the piano, and together they played a beautiful rendition of Pachelbel’s canon, by German Baroque composer Johann Pachelbel. It was the ideal illustration of the day’s lesson, Morgan says.
“ He could have been the biggest, toughest, baddest guy on campus,” remembers teacher Whit Morgan. “He just rejected that.” “The two biggest, toughest guys on campus showed a side of themselves that people literally did not know.” Freeman says his time at Episcopal set him on the right path for life. Childhood friends back in his Silver Spring, Md., neighborhood made life-changing bad decisions, he says. They slid academically, had children as teenagers. EHS teachers, he said, kept him on track. He reels off a long list of faculty and staff whom he “ran with,” including Steve Castle, Perry Epes ’65, Jim Fraser, Marcia Jones, Ed Rice, and Bobby Watts. “You don’t realize when you meet them that they’re always going to be in your life,” he says. Freeman had dyslexia, which sometimes made academics a struggle, but faculty worked with him and held him accountable. Teachers, in turn, credit him for working hard and staying upbeat. “He was so easy to work with,” remembers Castle, a physics teacher and football coach. “Some kids who struggle bang their head against the wall. I’m sure he had moments, but he never let it beat him down.”
Says Freeman of the rigors of EHS: “At the time, when you’re going through it, you don’t realize how it’s preparing you for life. I didn’t take Episcopal for granted; I understood the opportunity I was given. And I didn’t want to screw up; I didn’t want to let my family down. I wanted to make something of myself.”
E
SPN’s small army will spend three days crawling around the MGM theater preparing for the fight. Freeman — who lives in Santa Cruz, Calif., and has a condo in Connecticut not too far from ESPN’s Bristol headquarters — arrived on the second day and began prowling the complex to scout camera angles and troubleshoot. He’ll do this almost 40 times this year, directing nearly 20 fights as ESPN’s boxing director and another 13 college football games, along with the college lacrosse national championship, some major tennis tournaments, and a handful of other events. His job: manage a large crew, deploy hightech equipment worth millions, and telescope the sprawling spectacle of a live event — the action, the noise, the energy — into the pinhole of a television screen. As he walks the theater on his inspection tour, he declares: “It’s not Madison Square Garden, but it’ll work.” Freeman got into sports television not long after college. After EHS, he played football at West Chester University, outside Philadelphia, then at Towson University, near Baltimore. As Freeman was weighing a bid to turn pro, Luke David ’93 helped him land a job with a Washington television station’s weekly show covering Redskins football. Freeman’s personality and deep knowledge of the game earned him access to players who typically shunned the media, which impressed his boss. When that show was cancelled, she put him up for an entry-level job at ESPN.
The globetrotting Freeman at Green Bay’s Lambeau Field for an NFL game and cycling the streets of Paris during coverage of the French Open.
EHS
THE MAGAZINE OF EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL
47
MUST-SEE TV
He arrived at the network in 1999 and impressed with his hard work and creativity. Asked in one assignment to identify the fighters in archived boxing-match tapes, he dug in deeper and added a round-by-round summary of each bout. That helped him earn a gig traveling the country and doing pre- and post-match interviews with boxers. He also earned high marks on a broadcast of a celebrity athlete golf tournament; told to produce a highlight video of sporting gods like Larry Bird in their natural sport, he added a blooper reel that showed their funniest goofs and missteps. Soon, he was assigned to college football. When Freeman was outside football season, he worked a variety of sports so he could meet and learn from different ESPN staff. Perhaps his least favorite: women’s professional bowling. He didn’t enjoy golf either. But beginning in 2004, he joined coverage of major tennis tournaments and fell in love with the beauty and power of the sport. He also got his first taste of international living; assigned to produce “scenics,” video from the environs of tournament locales, he hustled the streets of cosmopolitan capitals — Paris for the French Open, Sydney for the Austrailian Open, and London for Wimbledon — to dig up creative shots from cafes and cultural touchstones such as the Sydney Opera House and the Eiffel Tower. “Tennis showed me the world,” he says.
“ I didn’t take Episcopal for granted; I understood the opportunity I was given,” Freeman says of his time at EHS. “And I didn’t want to screw up; I didn’t want to let my family down.” Today, though he’s on the road constantly for broadcasts, he uses his down time to travel. He has twice joined the running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain, and recently returned from a beach vacation in Asia. Freeman’s first solo gig as director came in 2008, when he led a tumultuous broadcast of the X Games in Los Angeles. An earthquake rocked the area and knocked out his communications, so he had to juggle a phone, walkie-talkie, and other improvisations to direct coverage.
O
n the night of the fight at MGM, Freeman squeezes into ESPN’s command center, an 18-wheeler parked by the theater’s loading dock and jammed with equipment. He mans a bank of small screens carrying images from one of 23 cameras. Here, the wedding planner morphs into part air-traffic controller, part Army general, as he directs his crew through his headset with rapid-fire commands.
48
Freeman, whose hard-nosed style of play at EHS earned him the nickname “Freight Train,” leads the team onto the field.
“You have to stay calm,” he says. “The more crazy you get, it messes things up.” Adrenaline will surge through his body for hours after any broadcast, making for some sleepless nights in hotels. Some colleagues turn to drink, some burn out. Freeman, however, radiates energy as he talks about his work. He’ll be in Philadelphia for a fight in a couple weeks, then Las Vegas and Los Angeles. He’s considering buying a house in the Pacific Northwest, hoping to put roots down. But he says he’ll probably direct for at least another 15 years. The National Harbor fight between undefeated boxers Maxim Dadashev and Subriel Matias delivered a surprising and grisly turn of events. Dadashev began to take a pounding in the 10th round, and the bout was stopped before the bell to start the 12th. The fighter collapsed outside the ring and was taken by ambulance to the hospital. He later died from massive head trauma. It’s the second time Freeman has seen a fight with a fatal outcome; the other was in 2001. “It’s sad,” he says. “This is a gladiator sport. Frankly, I’m surprised there aren’t more deaths.” Boxers today don’t train enough as defensive fighters, he adds. That may have something to do, he adds, with the rise of mixed martial arts, the full-body combat whose violence is glamorized. Directing coverage of the fight, Freeman had to put aside emotion and consider how journalistically to cover the moment. Most analysts didn’t think Dadashev was in trouble until after that decisive 11th round, but Freeman noticed earlier that he was getting wobbly and dispatched his rover cameraman to the fighter’s corner. After the 11th, that camera zoomed in on the fighter’s trainer, Buddy McGirt, as he pleaded with the dazed Dadashev to let him to stop the fight. “You’re getting hit too much, Max,” McGirt said, almost nose to nose with his fighter. “Please, let me do this.” Later, Freeman’s cameras caught Dadashev’s collapse as he returned to his dressing room. “We were ready,” Freeman says. “You try to prepare for every situation and how it will get covered, even something like this.”
Tuition only covers
65
%
of the full cost of each student’s experience. Our community
Thanks to you,
of alumni, families, and friends will provide
we can offer
100%
of the amazing opportunities critical to our mission.
7,500
$
towards each student’s education through gifts to the Roll Call this year.
Join this coalition of loyal donors and make an impact today.
www.EHSRollCall.org EHS
THE MAGAZINE OF EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL
49
THREAT MATRIX
Former CIA officer Kristen Edwards Marquardt ’97 has battled dark scourges ranging from arms dealers to weapons of mass destruction. Next up: cyber attacks.
B
y the time she turned 24, Kristen Edwards Marquardt ’97 had enjoyed her fair share of adventure. Before coming to Episcopal as a sophomore, she had lived virtually her entire life abroad, in Saudi Arabia. While at Brigham Young University, she paused during the traditional four-year march to a degree whenever irresistible opportunities popped up. Like working for a Broadway theater company. And mentoring
50
inner-city children in the District. And spending 18 months in Slovenia on a Mormon mission. Later, as she completed her master’s in international relations and security studies, a friend suggested yet one more adventure: Join the CIA. The idea struck her as an incredible opportunity to serve her country, but also a chance to travel the world and do some challenging, fun things. Her application — she sent it via
the Internet, with no inside connections to help get her noticed — led to nearly 10 years in the agency as a case officer and plenty of exciting, fulfilling work. In her first years, she was assigned to counterproliferation, where, among other things, she recruited spies to help stop the spread of weapons of mass destruction. “I chased arms dealers, nuclear weapons programs, chemical weapons — really shady, bad
FEATURE
Kristen Edwards Marquardt ’97 spoke with seniors this fall about her career in national security, her life’s choices, and her faith.
people.” Later she moved into counterterrorism and spent time in the war zones, where she was taught to defend herself if her life was in peril. After leaving the agency in 2015, Marquardt stepped into the policy arena, bringing her on-the-ground perspective to debates on international affairs and national security — first as a senior advisor to the Foreign Affairs Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives, and then as a senior counselor to the secretary of homeland security. Today, she has moved into the private sector, where she heads cyber strategy for Bank of America. Marquardt lives in McLean with her husband, Daniel, a former BYU defensive lineman and now chairman of Poepoe Foundation a organization dedicated to improving the lives of native Hawaiians. They have two daughters, Alia, 10, and Ellie, 7. Marquardt came to The Holy Hill recently to talk with seniors about her career and offer some life lessons. She also spoke with the magazine. YOU SPENT YOUR ENTIRE CHILDHOOD ABROAD, YET IT WAS YOUR LOVE OF COUNTRY THAT LED YOU TO THE CIA. My dad is a chemical engineer and worked for Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s national oil company. We lived in the eastern province of Saudi Arabia from the time I was probably 3 months old until I came to Episcopal. I think there’s something about growing up overseas as an expatriate, particularly in a place where freedoms are not really available, that makes you so deeply grateful to be an American. Most people who live in the United States never know what it’s like to live someplace where you’re not entitled
to express an opinion. As a woman, I wasn’t even allowed to drive a car. In the States, you know that your voice matters, that your thoughts matter, that your participation in government matters. At the same time, I really love a good adventure. So the CIA offered the opportunity to serve my country and what seemed like a great adventure. YOU’RE AN ACTIVE MEMBER OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF L ATTERDAY SAINTS. HOW DID YOU RECONCILE YOUR WORK WITH THE CIA WITH YOUR FAITH? When I joined the CIA, I was super excited. I thought, “I’m going to protect my country and travel the world and collect intelligence for the president and policymakers. I’m going to save lives and make the world a better place.” At the same time, I was going to have to lie — a lot. I lied to everyone about everything. I lied about where I worked, I lied about what my name was. I did some soul-searching before I took the job and asked myself, “How do I make this work?” I decided that my choice was acceptable to God and acceptable to me because of why I was doing it. But I also felt like it was really important that by accepting that reality, I had to be scrupulously honest in the rest of my life. All those little white lies we tell — “Oh, I can’t make it tonight; I’m super busy” — I decided I couldn’t afford those. My mom says the pendulum swung a little too far, to brutal honesty, but I decided I had to be really honest with myself, with my family.
I also committed to finding ways to serve others. Outside my job, I filled the other part of my life with service and altruism. I committed to all of these things, and that still remains a big part of my life today. I serve regularly in my church and community. I have a particular interest in working with young adults and youth so that they feel heard and loved. I have been teaching a youth Sunday school class for most of the past five years. I love mentoring and am active in several professional groups for women. Having spent most of my career in male-dominated, “good old boy”-type organizations, I relish the opportunity to support other women. HOW HAVE THE THREATS TO THE UNITED STATES CHANGED SINCE YOU JOINED THE AGENCY? I joined in 2006, the height of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. At the time, foreign terrorist groups generally represented the biggest threat to our security. Even in more recent years, ISIS ably demonstrated that given a vacuum and ungoverned space, people who like chaos will thrive. Now, however, we recognize that while foreign terrorist groups are a threat to everyone, some nation states like Russia and China will always be significant threats to our security and to world order. At the same time, there has been a realization in the last couple of years that domestic terrorism — that hate as a whole — is a problem. Really, there are many people who espouse hate and violence as a means to disrupt the world order and create something else. And they are all a threat to us, regardless of their ideological drivers. Sadly some people radicalize to pure
EHS
THE MAGAZINE OF EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL
51
THREAT MATRIX
“ These technologies will think for you, and the world you are exposed to will get smaller and smaller.” violence and then seek out an ideology that will justify their desire to kill and hurt. So there’s a different landscape today than when I started; there are now multiple threat drivers, overlapping threat vectors, and increasing layers of complexity and connectivity. YOUR WORK IS NOW FOCUSED ON PROTECTING A L ARGE FINANCIAL INSTITUTION, BANK OF AMERICA, FROM CYBER ATTACKS. ARE WE AS A COUNTRY PREPARED FOR THAT KIND OF ATTACK? Certainly, we’re paying more attention to the cyber threat. Congress is devoting more resources to it and giving greater power to those trying to prevent cyber attacks. There’s also a greater professionalization of the field. But the cyber threat is growing, and changing. In years past, a limited number of countries had the tools and expertise to conduct catastrophic attacks. But tools have leaked,
methodologies have been shared, and common enemies make for strange friendships. Identification and attribution are increasingly difficult. Additionally, technology and innovation continue to alter the landscape. Artificial intelligence is coming online and quantum computing is advancing, and the leaps that are going to come out of that will be exponential. In another 15 years or so, with the way technology is going, you will be able to crack encryptions that were previously thought uncrackable. For individuals, emerging technology is going to make use of all the data that we freely give away. Eventually, all these new technologies will be able to put together a very targeted picture of what you respond to — colors, textures, shopping preferences, food, smells — and they’ll tailor that experience to you. On the one hand, you might say, “Oh, cool.” But think of all the things you’re going to miss out on as technology slims down
From left: Marquardt in front of Air Force One while working for Homeland Security, outfitted for a war zone, and with her husband Daniel and daughters Alia, 10, and Ellie, 7.
52
your world based on your biases and your preferences. These technologies will think for you, and the world you are exposed to will get smaller and smaller. IN YOUR WORK, YOU MUST TAKE STOCK EVERY DAY OF SOME VERY UGLY AND DANGEROUS THINGS. HOW DO YOU MANAGE THAT PERSONALLY? I choose to be happy. That’s what I tell my kids every day: Happiness is a choice. Even in a war zone, without family in the middle of nowhere, with limited water, you can still have fun. Also, I generally think most people are good. I think things are always going to turn out well. They are probably not going to end up like how you imagined them. For example, if you had asked me out of high school what I thought it my life would look like, this is not it. But this is way better.
What’s Your Legacy?
The Bell Society
Monitors in 2014
Forging the Future at EHS Discovery, learning, and experience are not new at Episcopal, yet many members of the EHS family are only now learning that they can make a more impactful gift than they ever imagined possible. Making a gift in your long-term plans is a perfect way for anyone who loves EHS — alumni, parents, grandparents, faculty and friends — to create a lasting legacy and embolden The High School’s future. If you ever wonder how you could do more to give back and help create the Episcopal experience for future generations of students, see what you’ll discover at future.episcopalhighschool.org.
future.episcopalhighschool.or g Kent Alle y • kda@episcopalhighschool.or g • (703) 933-4026 EHS
THE MAGAZINE OF EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL
53
FROM THE ARCHIVES
EPISCOPAL
HOW A STUDENT’S CURIOSIT Y ABOUT THE “FORGOTTEN WAR” LED HIM TO CREATE A RICH HISTORY OF THE SCHOOL DURING WWI.
54
GOES TO WAR Students during the war were required to wear khaki uniforms and train with Springfield rifles.
B
etween World War I’s first salvo in 1914 and America’s entry into the conflict in 1917, Episcopal took on a martial air. Guest speakers preached national preparedness. Students wrote of Kaiser Wilhelm’s Germany as a barbarous villain and France as a virtuous symbol of liberty. The School even conducted daily military drills, with students dressed in khaki uniforms and wielding government-issued Springfield rifles. These are just some of the nuggets that Jerry Chen ’19 uncovered last year in a deep dig into the history of Episcopal during World War I. In the School’s digital-history course and later during
independent research he conducted as part of his senior externship, Chen assembled a rich online account that examines the conflict’s influence on EHS alumni and campus life. This was not Chen’s first exploration of Episcopal’s past. As part of the School’s commemoration last year of its 1968 integration, he contributed to a history of the Stouffer Foundation, which was founded in the late 1960s to provide scholarships for AfricanAmerican students to attend Southern preparatory schools such as Episcopal. Also, he researched the impact of African Americans who worked at EHS before integration.
EHS
THE MAGAZINE OF EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL
55
EPISCOPAL GOES TO WAR
Cuthbert Buckle, Class of 1910, was the first alumnus killed in the war. Later, a letter from EHS Headmaster Archibald Robinson Hoxton Sr. was found in his belongings.
Entering the second semester of his senior year, Chen was intrigued by accounts of World War I and the centennial commemorations of the armistice declared in 1918. Beyond the fighting, he wanted to dig deeper into how the war influenced and even accelerated changes on the American homefront. The war coincided with and fundamentally changed, among other things, the Great Migration of blacks to the north, the suffragists’ movement, and rising fear of communism. Despite this significance, Chen was surprised to learn that downtown Washington features memorials to every American conflict of the 20th century except World War I. “It’s a big war that reshaped America, but it’s a forgotten war,” he says. Laura Vetter, the School’s archivist, was impressed by Chen’s sophisticated approach. “Not a lot of students think much about World War I,” she says. “They tend to be drawn to the better-known conflicts — the Civil War and World War II.”
56
C
hen’s first stop in his research was the plaque in Pendleton dedicated to the 22 EHS alumni who died in WWI. Using the Bryan Library archives and online databases, he wrote a short biography of each man and created a digital map showing where they had fought and died. “Although most of the action took place in Europe, it was a world war,” Chen says. “I wanted to show that it wasn’t just happening in the muddy trenches of the Western Front but also at Gallipoli and in the Middle East and Siberia.” More than 400 EHS students, faculty, and alumni fought in the war, serving on battlefronts across the world. The Chronicle featured frequent accounts of EHS-related news from the trenches, noting who had enlisted, won military honors, or died. The first among the fallen was Cuthbert Buckle, Class of 1910; among his belongings was found a letter from EHS Headmaster Archibald Robinson Hoxton Sr. On the homefront, Chen found that war news and debate crowded into EHS classrooms, chapel, and meetings. Before the United States joined the war, faculty routinely shared with students articles on patriotism and speeches by British leaders. In 1916, Headmaster Hoxton held the School’s annual contest in public speaking on the subject of “Christianity and War.” The rivaling Fairfax Literary and Blackford Literary societies later debated the merits of a military draft. Over time, the School began to see its role as preparing their charges for the battlefield. Formal military training was introduced in the spring of 1916, with daily drilling that cut into practice time for sports. Students, Chen found, chafed
“ I wanted to show that it wasn’t just happening in the muddy trenches of the Western Front but also at Gallipoli and in the Middle East and Siberia.” at this new requirement and the accompanying khaki outfits that became required wear throughout the day. Whispers once observed that most students considered the drills an “irksome imposition”; later it called them “stupid.”
Jerry Chen ’19 poses with a wooden rifle used in WWI training at
A
Episcopal before rifles were issued.
fter American troops crossed the Atlantic to fight, Hoxton and other teachers routinely read to students from letters sent from the front lines by fellow students, teachers, and alumni. In School gatherings and Bible classes, the boys of Episcopal heard firsthand from their EHS brethren fighting in the first war to feature the Industrial Age’s brutal, mechanized weaponry. In late October 1917, Hoxton shared a letter he had received from teacher Patrick Henry Callaway, who had donned a uniform and joined the fighting, interrupting what would become a legendary 70-year career as an Episcopal teacher. Callaway told of his pursuit of an officer’s commission and urged his former charges to write him with news of the School. There was also a letter from Arthur Barksdale Kinsolving, Class of 1914, who recounted how his poor eyesight had kept him from assignment as an ambulance driver — until a corps commander discovered the two were both EHS Old Boys. Chen found that the academic program changed little during the war; Episcopal, for instance, retained instruction in German, which many public schools dropped. But the war intruded frequently on student fiction and poetry, often with Germans depicted as bloodthirsty. A poem Chen discovered titled “Spring —1917” read: “For truth and right they grasp the sword — Fear Death? / What word has Spring for these fellow men? / Far o’er their heads an eagle circles high, / And the nature whispers soft: ’Tis good to die.’ ” On November 6, 1920, a year after the war formally closed by treaty, the entire School gathered with nearly 100 alumni to mark the erection of a marble tablet in the chapel to memorialize the 22 alumni who died. Many dignitaries
In his research, Jerry Chen ’19 discovered poetry, short stories, and other student writing with themes rooted in the war. This unsigned poem, titled “Spring — 1917,” considered the sacrifice of those fighting abroad.
attended, chief among them Secretary of War Newton Baker, an EHS alumnus from the Class of 1888. Baker’s speech was a “beautiful and eloquent address,” according to a Whispers account of the day that Chen found. He told the students that “the responsibility of whether or not this country would witness a repetition of this disaster to civilization” rested upon the shoulders of their generation. Twenty years later, Chen notes, Baker’s hopes of a lasting peace would be dashed. Tragically, what was supposed to be the “war to end all wars” only prepared the world stage for another cataclysmic conflict, and for another group of Old Boys to cross the Atlantic to fight.
Spring, ouch of t t in fa t rs es the fi nt tree, d breath ta in is w d h a t u sing s from The So le b r a re, they w e h d t ir b im t h The firs is mate beside e to be. h s that ar live.” h y it a d w r d e n m A to m sweet su say: “ ’Tis good , the roar Of long, o t ce s n a m r e F re se rred All Natu seas in war-sca e iv g o e more, e wh he Across t non tells of thos e, and would giv us an th Of iron c for Freedom’s ca d this first brea n s A e . v e li in Their re to giv nce aga Fear Death? y but mo e “drive,” and o d— Had the h t the swor tells r p s fo a r g g in r y he ow men? Of Sp d Right T r these our fell n a h t u r For T igh, pring fo circles h rd has S What wo ir heads an eagle is good to die.” the soft: “ ’T Far o’er whispers e r u t a N And EHS
THE MAGAZINE OF EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL
57
SPIRIT WEEKEND
58
THREE IN
A ROW! EHS beats Woodberry 20-16, its third straight victory in The Game.
Episcopal set the tone for the 119th edition of The Game in the first three plays from scrimmage. Alex Manoogian ’22 stopped a Woodberry ball carrier for a loss. James Greene ’21 intercepted a pass and returned the ball 25 yards to the Tigers’ nine-yard line. Then Bear Matheson ’20 took a handoff, broke through the defense, and rumbled into the end zone. Total time elapsed on the clock: one minute. The Maroon’s dominance didn’t stop there. The Tigers mustered just nine yards rushing and a total of 134 yards of offense — four fewer than Matheson alone earned on the ground for Episcopal. Quarterback Emmet Morehead ’21 ran for two scores and racked up 180 yards passing, connecting with eight different receivers. Two special-teams miscues helped Woodberry score nine of its 16 points, but when the Tigers threatened in the closing minute of the game, Jamall Mensah ’20 knocked away their last-chance end-zone toss. The win — which follows last year’s 25-21 victory and a 21-7 triumph in 2017 — closed out a Spirit Weekend that saw thousands come to campus. Headliner events included the fall play and dance performance (page 14); the ceremony to induct the 2019 Athletics Hall of Fame class (page 62); a CONNECT on Campus event (page 66) in which 25 alumni talked careers and life with students; and the bonfire and Spirit of The High School Dinner on the eve of the game. Watch a video with highlights from Spirit Weekend at www.episcopalhighschool.org/spirit.
EHS
THE MAGAZINE OF EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL
59
SPIRIT WEEKEND
mel
ns in Hum
Maroon fa
EHS coach
Students
60
ll
Erik Nowe
ate
at the tailg
The Spirit
h School
of the Hig
Dinner
ion
game act
ers in pre
Cheerlead
Tailgating
m arrives
a Football te
nfire
at the bo
oale ’07
e Danny C
e Inducte
of Fam letics Hall
Ath
.
ont Drive
on the Fr
The Class
ge cars
Rival vinta
EHS
eunion
of 1951 R
THE MAGAZINE OF EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL
61
SPIRIT WEEKEND
HAIL,
MAROON
Alvord “Skip” Beretta Rutherford ’58
2019 Athletics Hall of Fame Inductees span a halfcentury of competition. The EHS Athletics Hall of Fame honors athletes who distinguished themselves at Episcopal and brought recognition and pride to the School. This year’s class of inductees were honored at a Spirit Weekend ceremony and at halftime of The Game. Mayo King Gravatt ’64
The 1971-72 Soccer Team
62
Elizabeth Harrison Carrington ’06
Elizabeth Boothby Krusen ’98
James “Jim” DuBois Farrar, Jr. ’70
Alexander Grady Drago ’84
Daniel “Danny” Kinsman Coale ’07
Alvord “Skip” Beretta Rutherford ’58 (posthumous induction)
Mayo King Gravatt ’64
A FAN FAVORITE IN FOOTBALL. WHISPERS CALLED HIM THE “LITTLE FELLOW WITH THE BRUISING BLOCK-TACKLES AND TREMENDOUS PUNTING.”
“ALL PERFECT,” TR ACK COACH JIM SEIDULE SAID OF GR AVATT’S FORM IN THE POLE VAULT.
Rutherford lettered seven times in football, soccer, and baseball during his EHS career. He was a defensive back and punter for the football team and was the baseball team’s top pitcher and hitter. As a member of the soccer team, he led the Maroon to a Washington Metropolitan League secondplace finish in 1957. He was a two-year co-captain and three-time All-Metropolitan forward. His senior year, he was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Washington Metropolitan League. Rutherford went on to Williams College, where he played soccer, football, and baseball and took up lacrosse and squash. He was the leading scorer and co-captain of a soccer team that won a New England Championship in 1961. He also earned All-American honors that year.
Gravatt was an Episcopal standout on the gridiron and on the track. A kicker on the football team, he found success in clutch moments, with his extra points proving the difference in a 14-13 victory over Woodberry in 1962. In his last year, he was named to all-star football teams by the City of Alexandria, the Washington Star, and D.C. Independent Preps. In six seasons of winter and spring track and field, he was undefeated in the 13-foot pole vault. He also competed in the 220and 440-yard sprints, losing only once in each event his senior year. In his final state meet for Episcopal, he won both sprint races and the pole vault, a triple victory achieved only twice in EHS history.
EHS
THE MAGAZINE OF EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL
63
SPIRIT WEEKEND
James “Jim” DuBois Farrar, Jr. ’70
Alexander Grady Drago ’84
Elizabeth Boothby Krusen ’98
LED HIS COLLEGE TEAM TO THREE NCA A L ACROSSE TOURNAMENTS.
SET SCHOOL RECORDS FOR INDOOR AND OUTDOOR SHOT PUT THAT STILL STAND.
WENT 26-0 AS A JUNIOR AND WAS NAMED THE WASHINGTON POST ALL-MET GIRLS’ TENNIS PL AYER OF THE YEAR.
A three-sport athlete, Farrar earned varsity letters as a member of the football, wrestling, and lacrosse teams. On the football field, Farrar played guard for his first two varsity seasons and fullback his senior year. He was an attackman and midfielder in lacrosse, serving as a co-captain his senior year. Farrar took faceoffs, led the team in ground balls, and was the second-leading scorer his junior and senior years. He was named Most Valuable Player in his senior year. Farrar went on to play football and lacrosse at Washington and Lee University, where he started on both teams all four years. He played midfield and defense for the lacrosse team, which finished as NCAA semifinalists his junior and senior seasons. As a senior, Farrar was a co-captain of the 1974 team and was named first-team All-South Atlantic and third-team All-American.
Drago played football and was a force on the track and field team, competing in shot put and discus. During his sophomore, junior, and senior years, he led the indoor track and field team to three undefeated seasons. He competed on the IAC title winning outdoor track team his junior year and individually won both the shot put and discus events. He was named All-IAC in outdoor track his junior and senior years and was a co-captain his senior season. As a sophomore, junior, and senior, Drago competed in the Eastern States Track & Field Championships, the most prestigious high school indoor meet, and was All-East his senior year. Drago continued his track and field career at Boston University, where he competed in the shot put, discus, and hammer throw and was named an All-East performer.
Entering Episcopal as a sophomore, Krusen immediately made an impact on the School’s tennis program. The team won the ISL each of her three years and went undefeated in 1996. Krusen earned All-ISL and All-Met honors as a sophomore, junior, and senior as well as the Alexandria Sportsman’s Club Athlete of the Year in girls’ tennis. “She is just turning into a beautiful tennis player,” Episcopal Coach Katherine Stewart told the Washington Post after her remarkable junior year. “She is just so steady.” Krusen continued her tennis career at Princeton University and was a member of the 2000 Ivy League championship team that posted 17 victories, setting a school record.
2019 individual inductees, from left: Daniel Kinsman Coale ’07, Elizabeth Boothby Krusen ’98, James DuBois Farrar, Jr. ’70, Elizabeth Harrison Carrington ’06, Alexander Grady Drago ’84, and Mayo King Gravatt ’64. Also, Alvord “Skip” Beretta Rutherford ’58 was inducted posthumously.
64
Elizabeth Harrison Carrington ’06
Daniel “Danny” Kinsman Coale ’07
The 1971-72 Soccer Team
SET SIX RECORDS IN TR ACK AND FIELD, THREE OF WHICH HAVE NOT BEEN BROKEN.
“WE’VE NEVER HAD A KID IN MY TIME AT EPISCOPAL PL AY AT THAT HIGH LEVEL IN T WO DIFFERENT SPORTS [L ACROSSE AND FOOTBALL],” SAID PETE GILLIN, COALE’S EHS L ACROSSE COACH.
THE SQUAD, WHICH PL AYED IN THE WINTER SEASON, WAS THE FIRST UNDEFEATED TEAM IN EHS SOCCER HISTORY.
An integral member of the cross country and indoor and outdoor track teams during her time at EHS, Carrington earned All-ISL and All-State honors all four years in cross country and was named second-team All-Met her junior and senior years. In her senior year, she won the ISL championship race and went on to break the VISAA statemeet record. Carrington was also named All-ISL her sophomore, junior, and senior years in track. She was the ISL champion in the 1600-meter run her junior year and the 3200meter run as a senior. Carrington is the rare athlete to be honored by the Alexandria Sportsman’s Club in two sports: in her senior year, she was named the group’s Athlete of the Year for both cross country and track and field.
Coale excelled at football, indoor track, and lacrosse at EHS, leading all three teams as captain. On the football field, he showed enormous versatility, playing punter, kicker, punt returner, kickoff returner, wide receiver, and safety. He was named All-IAC as a sophomore, junior, and senior; second-team All-State as a sophomore and junior; and first-team All-State as a senior. Additionally, the Alexandria Sportsman’s Club named him Football Athlete of the Year as a senior Though Coale was offered lacrosse scholarships to Johns Hopkins University and the University of Virginia, he accepted a football scholarship at Virginia Tech, where he had an illustrious career as a wide receiver. After college, he was a member of the Dallas Cowboys, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Indianapolis Colts.
2019 inductees from the 1971-72 soccer team, from left: Thomas Burwell Preston ’72, Duval Scott Farrar ’72, Richard Larcombe Schley III ’73, Eugene Prince Hooff ’72, R. Sterling Kelly III ’72, Walter Montgomery Cart, Jr. ’73, James Henry McKee ’72, Henry Sayler Morgan ’73, and Randolph Carlos Metcalfe ’72.
It completed the 1972 season with 12 wins and one tie and a firstplace finish in the Washington Metropolitan League. The team scored 45 goals while only allowing 13. Junior co-captain and forward Hank Osborne (inducted 2009) scored 24 goals and was named regional All-American (he would go on to earn full All-American honors the following season). Co-captain Gene Hooff scored 10 goals and goalkeeper Randy Metcalfe, fullback Sterling Kelly, and Osborne were all named to the All-Metropolitan first team. The members of the team were: Alan Forbes Brackett, Jr. ’72, Henry Andrew Brown III ’72, Nicholas Browse ’72, Walter Montgomery Cart, Jr. ’73, John Carrington Eggleston ’72, Duval Scott Farrar ’72, David Nicholas Carlile Follis ’72, Benjamin Harrison, Jr. ’72, James Farrier Hobson ’72, Eugene Prince Hooff ’72 (co-captain), R. Sterling Kelly III ’72, Robert D. Lewis ’73, Grover Cleveland Maxwell III ’73, John Elphinstone McIntosh, Jr. ’72, James Henry McKee ’72, Randolph Carlos Metcalfe ’72, Andrew Hebb Miller ’73, Henry Mann Montague ’72, Henry Sayler Morgan ’73, Heslett Killin Murray* (coach), Henry Plant Osborne III ’73 (co-captain), Thomas Burwell Preston ’72, Jeffrey Hoffmann Quaritius ’73*, Landon Haynes Roberts, Jr. ’73*, C. Thomas C. Russe ’72, Richard Larcombe Schley III ’73, Carl Vicars Smith ’72, R. Wayne Smith III ’72. *deceased
EHS
THE MAGAZINE OF EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL
65
SPIRIT WEEKEND
Jon Yim ’97, managing director of Kipps DeSanto & Co., which provides merger and acquisition services to leading defense and technology firms. Carl Morris ’99, executive with Azizi Jones ’02, an attorney with the Erickson
3M & KCI Medical Devices and
Immigration Group.
former NFL wide receiver.
PAYING IT FORWARD EHS alumni return to campus for a day devoted to helping students with advice about life and careers.
I
n the second biennial CONNECT on Campus event, 25 alumni returned to campus for a full day of conversations with students about careers, life, and the key ingredients of success and happiness. Academic classes were canceled in lieu of a range of opportunities for students to glean wisdom from graduates who included an NFL player turned health-care executive, the founder of an e-commerce start-up, and a career firefighter. Departing from the career-day panels typical at many schools and colleges, CONNECT on Campus
66
brings graduates back to EHS to meet with small groups of students for intimate conversations. It’s an extension of CONNECT networking events begun for alumni in 2014-15 in cities such as Washington, Charlotte, Atlanta, New York, and San Francisco. In the on-campus edition, students choose alumni they want to meet and take the lead in Q&A sessions. Topics this year ranged from career paths to the value of internships and graduate education to the personal qualities that are critical to success.
Bill Goodwin ’95, founder of an executive-search firm that works with technology, bioscience, and other innovative, high-growth firms.
Courtney Gunter Rowson ’95, co-founder of SDCO Partners, a leading national design firm.
ADVICE FROM ALUMNI
“ Develop a personal mission statement. What is your purpose for being alive for the next 70 years? Really think about that. And then list out your goals.” — Bill Goodwin ’95, founder and president of Goodwin Executive Search
“ Whatever plan you set, know that it’s going to change” —Wray Barber Whitticom ’98, a managing director with J.P. Morgan
“ You don’t have to be the best at everything, but you have to try your hardest. Grit, and putting one foot in front of another, and not taking ‘no’ for an answer — that’s all so important.” —Lindsey Dorman Johnson ’07, co-founder of Weezie, a luxurytowel e-commerce start-up
“ Keep an eye on the horizon. You have to look for and prepare for transitions even before they happen.” —Carl Morris ’99, a former NFL player and star wide receiver at Harvard, now an executive with 3M & KCI Medical Devices
EHS
THE MAGAZINE OF EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL
67
Class Notes
’47
Harvey Lindsay One Colley Avenue, Apt. 900 Norfolk, VA 23510 (H) 757-423-1877 (O) 757-640-8202 harveylindsay@harveylindsay.com
I had a very good conversation with Archie Baker, who lives in a retirement community just outside of Charleston, S.C. Archie said that he and his wife have been married 64 years, which is really great. They have four children and are enjoying life very much. They have been in reasonably good health, and Archie said that he still plays golf once or twice per week and sometimes shoots his age. He was a great athlete at EHS, so I’m not surprised he is still so active. He has been retired for several years. It was great to have an opportunity to catch up with him. I spoke with Hugo Blankingship, who is living outside of Fairfax not too far from EHS. Hugo reports that he and his wife are enjoying retirement and every once in a while he gets by EHS for a visit. He mentioned he served on the board of EHS for several years and was chair of the board for a period of time as well. It was great to have an opportunity to talk with him. Bill Fairey says he and his family are doing well. They live in South Carolina, and he gets to see his children quite often because they live there at the beach. It was good to hear his voice. George Francisco is enjoying retirement in Houston and said things were going great for his family. We had a nice chat. I had an opportunity to talk with Eddie Leake recently, and he has moved to a retirement community in Richmond similar to Westminster Canterbury. Ed sounded in great spirits and said he was feeling well and was happy not to be living entirely alone any longer. It was good to chat with him again and reminisce about old times. Hunter deButts’s stepgrandson Walter Blessing ’23, from Charleston, S.C., entered The High School in September. He is the grandson of Billy Hanahan ’49 and the nephew of Bill Hanahan ’82. His father, Bo Blessing, graduated from Woodberry! 68
There are several ways to submit Class Notes: 1. S ubmit news online through the alumni portal at www.episcopalhighschool.org; 1 2. Contact your Class Correspondent by phone, mail, or email; or 2 3. W rite your news in the space provided on the Roll Call reply card and mail it with your 3 annual gift.
I have had a difficult time dealing with the loss of my wonderful wife of 62 years. I now realize what folks go through when they lose a loved one. It is a very difficult situation, but as long as the memories are there, it helps a lot. I have been dealing with macular degeneration for almost 20 years, and my eyesight has deteriorated fairly quickly recently. I’m hopeful I can find relief to make this a better situation. I haven’t been able to find my Whispers to confirm that there were 47 of our Class of 1947 at EHS, but now we have 14 still living, and we are truly grateful for this. We all wish the very best for EHS and the great job it is doing educating our young people. Thanks to all in our class for their participation.
’48
Hugh Richardson 1819 Peachtree Road, NE, #200 Atlanta, GA 30309 (H) 404-351-0941
Some Yankees like to poke fun at Southerners and say they marry their cousins. Not Alabama’s Pete Eastwood, who married a fine young lady, “Punky” Brooks from Georgia, no relation. However, Pete had two Alabama first cousins, Greely McGowin ’44 and Floyd McGowin ’47, at The High School and two second cousins, Jim McVoy ’45 and Bill McVoy ’50, also from Alabama. Pete and wife Punky both graduated from the University of Alabama, as did their three daughters and son. The Eastwood family members naturally were disappointed that their alma mater didn’t win the 2018 NCAA football championship, but chances are the Crimson Tide will be playing for the 2019 title. This Class Notes writer tried to telephone Pete Eastwood’s fellow speedy halfback and letterman on Coach Bus Male’s 1947 football juggernaut, Bill Dunn, in Santa Cruz, Calif., but got nowhere. That is until Bill and
his sparkling wife, the former Joan Everett, realized I wasn’t a roboguy, scammer, or bill collector. Bill graduated from Princeton, where he majored in engineering, and roomed with Gus Middleton, as he had senior year at EHS, where the two wrote the terrific “School Bull” column, which good naturedly lampooned the big dogs and those not so big. In 1958, Bill got his law degree from Stanford, as did George Denny. He has practiced “solo” law with one of his daughters, Susan, a paralegal. Bill and Joan have another daughter, Elizabeth, and a son, Hunter. Bill’s brother was John Dunn ’50, who graduated from Princeton in 1954. John graduated with honors from the University of Virginia’s medical school and was an endocrinologist practicing in Charlottesville. Bill and John’s father was William Hunter Dunn, UVA class of 1919. Henry Schacht, after attending the Class of 1948’s 70th Reunion, said there was no more Egypt, which is difficult for some of us old-timers to believe. In our day, belonging to Egypt, where we could smoke after getting permission from parents when we became 17, was sort of a rite of passage. Sports have always been big at The High School, and for those of us who tried but couldn’t make a varsity team, it was good to be in the relaxed company of Egypt’s heads, most of whom were sports stars. There was Sultan Weir Goodwin, Prime Minister Phil Duckett, Grand Viser Norris Broyles, and Pope Frank Meade. Weir even said that among his fondest memories of EHS was “being sultan of Egypt.” In just two years on The Holy Hill, Dick Cocke not only graduated in significant standing, but was also promoted to the varsity football team after a stellar start on the “B” team coached by Syd Walden. Another outstanding player on the “B” team was Ed Van Winkle, who had been called up for early varsity practice, endured the sweat and toil, and for some reason ended up as an outstanding
SUBMIT YOUR CLASS NOTES ONLINE! Just go to the homepage and click on “Alumni” and then “Submit A Class Note.” For help with passwords or login, please contact the Advancement Office.
Joan and Bill Dunn ’48.
“B” team performer. Ed went on to receive his varsity letter in tennis, was a splendid tennister at Georgia Tech, and won many state doubles championships with his late brother Fritz Van Winkle ’53.
’49
Herbert Donovan 3085 Mill Vista Road, Unit 2322 Highlands Ranch, CO 80129 (H) 303-645-6561 hdonovan152@gmail.com
Mary and I are happily settled in our Colorado retirement home, called Winn Crest, about 30 miles south of Denver, having moved here from Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., about 18 months ago. We are within an easy drive of two daughters and their families and enjoy seeing them often. My wife is a Wyoming native I met when beginning my work as an Episcopal priest fresh out of Virginia Seminary in 1957. So we feel very much at home in these parts. Do keep in touch and let us find some event that will help us stay in touch with fellow Old Boys — and Old Girls, too. May God bless old EHS. — Faithfully, Herbert Donovan ’49.
’50
Class Correspondents Needed 70th Reunion: June 5-7, 2020
If you’d like to volunteer to be the class correspondent or just to share an update, please contact Elizabeth Henderson ’11 at eah@episcopalhighschool.org or 703-933-4125.
Dylan Glenn ’87, Julian Robertson ’51, and Dick Rutledge ’51 enjoy festivities before The Game.
’51
Dick Rutledge 38 Hillandale Road Rye Brook, NY 10573 (H) 914-937-5765 dickrutledge@earthlink.net Lee Marston 17 Linstead Road Severna Park, MD 21146 (H) 410-647-7493
Charlie Merriman is in good health and is “suffering for Jesus” in Maine, Virginia, and Palm Beach. He mentions that he spends most of his time hiking, golfing, and playing bridge. He said Walter Reed was a wonderful class agent, a comment seconded by all. Julian Robertson is alive and well and reporting for work daily. Recently in the press, he was reported to be a “luxury hotelier” in New Zealand. Some may want to ask him about that at our 70th. Julian spends a great deal of happy times with his nine grandchildren, one of whom is a young, nationally ranked squash player. Otto Lowe and his wife, Pat, have recently shifted locations in New Jersey to Bay Point Harbor. He reports that he is spending volunteer time at his church in support of the 170-year-old Family Partners special program, which serves children with mental, emotional, and behavioral needs — and he suggests that we all look it up and do likewise. Dick Rutledge reports that he is still playing singles tennis but doesn’t win anymore. This fall marks the 13th anniversary of his Faith on Fire, a monthly biblical preaching program in the Greenwich/Westchester County area outside of New York. Our great classmate Nigel MacEwan is seriously ill. Everyone remembers Nigel, but
not everyone knows that he has for many years sponsored the MacEwan Scholarship at EHS, which provides need-based tuition support. His wife, Judith, mentions the wonderful letters they have received from the recipients. Pegram Harrison states that he and Ann are coming to the 70th Reunion. They spent the summer in Maine at Dark Harbor. Frank Shoup left his professorship at the Naval Postgraduate School in 2007 to let his kids take care of defending the country: Elliott is a Topgun fighter pilot flying Hornets, and Allison flys Blackhawks with the Special Operations Forces. Meanwhile, Frank, who is one of our three remaining members of an undefeated EHS tennis team, has won silver at several tennis tournaments in the past years. Jim Rumsey reports that he is healthy in mind and body. He still continues with some financial consulting and a little fly-fishing but no more trips to Alaska. He also does a lot of exercising and spending time with his three children. John Maddox is recovering from a staggering fall and head injury in 2016. He and Bettye report that John is making progress in recovery. They are currently staying at Lenbrook Apartments in Atlanta. Jere Michael has lived an exciting life. He and his wife, Holly, have traveled to 60 countries across what might be termed “the time of their lives.” Since our last Reunion, they have traveled to 10 countries, including Mexico, Egypt, Tanzania, Germany, Africa, Jordan, and Israel. Holly still works as a design consultant. Jere’s work is charting and planning the next country to visit. Some news across the years: Palmer Stearns continued his “crazy legs” reputation at Virginia Tech for four years after EHS but shifted to defense. After the army, he spent most of his career in heavy duty engineering, mostly with a European company where he was a senior executive. Later, he worked for an engineering company in the United States. He told exciting stories about several buildings he constructed in Europe. He remains in excellent health. We lost Kelly Dixon to dementia and Parkinson’s disease on June 15. (In Memoriam, page 110.) Nick Barlow suffers from dementia and is living at the Colonnades in Charlottesville. Lee Marston visited him for over an hour, and they had a wonderful conversation about EHS
THE MAGAZINE OF EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL
69
CLASS NOTES
hunting grouse, ducks, and geese, and their old friends at the University of Virginia. Anyone who wants to talk to Nick should stop by. Harry Arnold enjoys living outside of Atlanta. He sends a warm Georgia greeting to all his old classmates. Peter Van Blarcom is doing very well in assisted living and enjoys it very much, but he will not be able to come to the Reunion. Bobby Page has moved back to Virginia. He is happy as a farmer in a little town near Ashland. Bobby had gone to Alaska in 1950 with his brother and Nick Barlow. Bobby and his family spent over 20 years in Alaska and loved it, but he is happy to be back in Virginia. Jake Mitchell and wife Sandra still live in southern Maryland, in La Plata, where his family has lived for generations. Jake has a farm on the Chesapeake Bay where he mows the hay and keeps up the farm. He and Sandy raise over 15 cats. Jake and his daughter Amn, Gish Anderson ’50 and his wife Gaye, and Sylvia and Lee Marston plan to attend the Virginia vs. Duke football game in October. Hardy Patten is having a hard time. He has a rare condition and can’t sleep more than four hours a night. Hardy is still single, lives five minutes from EHS, and is a huge supporter of the School. He has gone to many basketball and football games, in addition to his sport, soccer. Hardy was very close to Dick Thompson and has many stories about him as a coach, teacher, and Headmaster. Johns Jaudon has family in Northern Virginia and hopes to come to Reunion. Johns went to the Naval Academy and became involved in nuclear submarines. He already has great-grandchildren and two more coming. He has found the secret to having great-grandchildren, which some of us still haven’t found! Tommy Buist from Charleston, S.C., now spends much time in western North Carolina near Kanuga in Hendersonville to escape the Charleston heat. Tommy has lost 30 pounds and is on his way to losing more. He is on the Keto diet, which was advertised on a North Carolina country music program. Doug Whitlock and wife Rose live in Montgomery County, Md., and have three children and already seven great-grandchildren. Doug became an officer in the Marines right after graduating from Duke. Doug was in charge of many ships, teaching Navy personnel how to identify enemy craft during 70
the Korean War. Doug worked with all kinds of ships, from aircraft carriers to destroyer escorts. He says all of the hundred or so craft he worked with have been scrapped. We look forward to seeing Doug and Rose at our 70th Reunion. Lee Marston still plays squash, which he learned when he was captain of the squash team at EHS. He now plays only doubles, or “Old Man Squash.” He also still swims almost every day in the Severn River. Lee and his wife of 58 years, Sylvia, live in Severna Park, Md., near the Naval Academy. Bill Calvert is in good health and is planning to come to the Reunion in November. He has a daughter living in Maryland, and he comes back to see her on a regular basis. Bill is still very active in his barbershop quartet, and has been for 40 years. He sings in several places around Texas every year. Bill and Lee Marston had a great convo, and he said that one of the best things he had done in the last few years was to go to Walter Reed’s funeral service. Walter, Bill, and Lee played squash together and were good friends. Bill got to know Walter’s wife and met most of the children. He debated going back for the funeral and was very glad that he did. Roanoke reports that Frank Boxley, our last standing football captain, is in good shape. Yes, he walks two miles a day, plays a lot of Rummy Cards with family/friends, and keeps up with VMI Football, which he claims is having an improved year. But I can report that a main activity is his annual fishing trip of about 12 days to Montana and Idaho and dipping into the Missouri River.
’52 ’53
Harte Crow (H) 603-643-5007 hcahcrow@gmail.com
Ed Mullins (H) 803-782-3027 (O) 803-733-9401 ewmullinsjr@gmail.com
Members of the Class of 1953 who attended the joint Reunion with the Class of ’54 included Drummond Ayres, Jon Bryan, Ammon Dunton, Wayne Holman, Austin Moore, and Mayo Read.
Greig Cummings Jr. ’53 with granddaughter Ellie Cummings ’19 at her Episcopal graduation in June.
’54
Charlie Covell (H) 352-336-0127 (O) 352-273-2023 covell@louisville.edu
The big news is that our joint 65th Reunion was a big success, with 12 classmates, including your correspondent, attending at least part of the festivities: Mort Boyd, Harry Braxton, Will Bridgers, John Burress, Oscar Davis, Richard Davis, Darrell Jervey, John Mason, Charlie Tompkins, Nelson Weston, and Robert Wilson. Several wives attended as well. We combined with Class of ’53 members Drummond Ayres, Jon Bryan, Ammon Dunton, Wayne Holman Austin Moore, and Mayo Read to make it a real crowd. Highlights included news that 88% of our class gave to the EHS Roll Call, the highest participation rate of any Reunion year class. We had a delicious steak dinner Friday night in Blackford Hall (my quarters at EHS), heard an excellent talk by noted author Jon Meacham, were shown some rare, early edition volumes donated to the School by Wayne Holman, made oral history recordings with archivist Laura Vetter, enjoyed Saturday breakfast at the home of the Head of School, took a tour of campus (hard to trace the old demerit walking oval), and enjoyed the Saturday night dinner. I am not sure if everyone was contacted, but our talented class cartoonist and warm, humorous friend Larry B. Creson of Memphis, Tenn., passed away on July 2, 2019 (page 111). I was informed by his widow, Elaine, not by the chaplain. He will be sorely missed. A letter from John Burress said, in part: “Great Reunion. … It was great fun, and I left with a great feeling about the School being in such great hands (Ravenel would give me a D-. Too many ‘greats.’). Also evermore grateful to be there.” John passed along a response to him from Thomas O. Moore ’77, who enjoyed a handout letter
SUBMIT YOUR CLASS NOTES ONLINE! Just go to the homepage and click on “Alumni” and then “Submit A Class Note.” For help with passwords or login, please contact the Advancement Office.
from a close friend of longtime Principal Lancelot Minor Blackford while the two were in the Confederate Army. I brought copies to Reunion for those attending and will be glad to send any of you a copy if you would like. John Mason writes, “Combining our Reunion with the Class of ’53 was a stroke of genius. Those of us there got to see people that we might not have otherwise. For me, it meant quality time with many — Mayo Read, Wayne Holman, and Austin Moore in particular. My wife, Linda, and I live in Alexandria and attend EHS events frequently. She says this one was exceptional. Kudos to John Burress, our excellent emcee, and to Brandi Vasquez and the EHS staff for organizing things so well.” Robert Wilson writes, “Charlie, I enjoyed Reunion and seeing everyone. Now fully recovered from my recent knee replacement. Had a great trip to Scotland (my 31st) in late July-early August. Others (younger) played 20 rounds, only 14 for me. Look forward to our 70th.” I would very much like to hear from those of you who have not written or attended reunions, whether you want to have remarks published or not! Best wishes to you all and your families for good health and happiness. — Charlie
’55
Sandy Wise (H) 614-766-1511 (O) 614-447-0281 hawppmd@aol.com 65th Reunion: June 5-7, 2020
’56
Fielder Israel (H) 540-504-7862 gretchen.israel@gmail.com 65th Reunion: June 2021
“Gaudeamus igitur, post molestam senectutem” was on my mind one morning as I awoke. What we sang at our graduation is still being sung at graduations. I have had wonderful phone conversations with Bill Saunders. He’s still going strong. August 1 was his 58th year at Wells Fargo. “I won’t stop working until I forget how to get there or forget how to get home.” Bill has been working with the Boys and Girls Club for 41 years, teaching them (and us) what we learned at The High School: “honesty, goodwill, reaching out to the needs of
others.” From his Latin classes under Herr Whittle at EHS and his continuing studies at Hampden-Sydney, Bill shares three Latin words: “Gravitas: be responsible for your own actions. Simplicitas: work hard and earn a simple, honest living. And pietas: be responsible for your family, your community, your country, your place of worship, and your God.” Bruce Rinehart just called. He calls me by the nickname I used for the first 40 years of my life, “Skip.” We recall times at Episcopal, especially attending Mr. Whittle’s second-year German class. Bruce remembers going to Mr. Albert’s restaurant in Alexandria, where a steak cost about $1.25, and seeing Mr. Whittle in a corner of the restaurant talking German to Mr. Albert, who was German. Bruce continues to be very active at Christ Episcopal Church in Charlotte, N.C., having served as senior warden. His sister Carolyn Stewart, an ordained Episcopal minister, served at Holy Redeemer in Baltimore and has now been called back to minister to those with mental illness and their families. I have received emails from Russell “Russ” Roberts and Henry Spalding. All four classmates who responded have wished me well taking over for Terry Cooper, who died last December. Also, McLane Tilton Jr., and Richard Kelly White Jr., of our class died last year. Prayer: “Lord Jesus, receive into your Presence all in our class and their spouses who have died. May they go from strength to strength in Your heavenly service. Amen.” Faye and Henry Spalding were married 56 years before she died. This past April, Henry married Alice Horsley Siegel “at her farm with all family on hand — her three children and my three, their spouses, and 15 grandchildren.” So, Henry concludes, “our lives are fun, busy, with lots of moving parts.” Lastly, I spoke with Nelson Durden. He and his wife, Molly, are now living in a retirement home in Charlotte, N.C. Nelson tells me he has two granddaughters at The High School, Jane Randolph Durden ’20 and Suzanne “Annie” Durden ’22. Class, our 65th is about a year and a half away! Hang in there, and the Lord willing we’ll have the opportunity “to recognize each other after all of these years” and share some fellowship with one another.
THE F RONT DR I V E I N M E M O R Y We received this letter from Bill Cook ’55 about the spring issue of the magazine: A couple months ago, I had the pleasure of reading the latest EHS magazine. What caught my eye was the article “A Timeless Welcome,” about the powerful impression that the School’s front drive makes on students and faculty. Needless to say, the story brought back many memories of my time at EHS, from 1951 to 1955. Particularly interesting was a photo that ran with the story. It was from the 1948 Whispers (above) and featured the front entrance on Quaker Lane. I had never seen this photo, which surprised me. I was the editor in chief of the 1955 Whispers, and we had run a photo of the open gate at the entrance in the first pages of the annual, then concluded the book with a photo of the closed gate to signal the school year’s end. Yet while doing research in other EHS yearbooks, I had never seen the 1948 image that was reproduced in the magazine. On a different note, I would like to mention several former faculty members who, coincidentally, had something to do with Whispers or the front drive. First, I had a wonderful visit with teacher Riley Deeble prior to his passing in 2016. During our get-together, he talked about how much he enjoyed working together during 195455 and publishing the annual. Also, I would like to mention William Moncure Booth, who served as an alumni secretary and development official at the School. He created two golf fairways on either side of the front drive. Both were set up so golfers could reach the top of the hill, just behind the houses near the main EHS offices. Bill Booth helped me improve my golf performance in the spring of 1955 — so much so that I qualified for and subsequently played in the National Junior Amateur Golf Championship, on Yale’s golf course in New Haven, Conn. The last person to note was Richard Porter Thomsen ’30, Headmaster from 1951-67, who simply wrote me the following note toward the end of the 1955 year: “Good work, Bill.” EHS
THE MAGAZINE OF EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL
71
CLASS NOTES
’57
Louie Gump (W) 423-282-3933 lhg703@yahoo.com 65th Reunion: June 2022
Tom Lawford writes, “Living in Reston, Va., for the last 23 years, single, in a mostly empty three-story townhouse. I worked as a NASA engineer from ages 21-25 but accidentally converted to medicine when they put me on a team to develop the first spacesuit. University of Virginia medical school ’69, board certified in internal medicine and occupational medicine. I watched my solo practitioner dad work way too hard as a physician, 365 days a year with no partners, and decided early on that medicine was not for me: hospital rounds Christmas and New Year’s Day at 6 a.m. — nope, nope, nope. I’m a STEM guy through and through, which funneled me through MIT, thence to NASA. “Private practice is too much of a rat race of how many patients can you stuff into an hour, so I crossed that off my list also. Being single with no financial family obligations allows me to put money down at about eighth on the list and choose work that lets me see only a tenth as many patients, and spend hours if need be with each, then do lots of internet reading on what I have just discovered. The life of the mind is much more fun than the life of getting and spending. “Now at 79.6 (us STEM guys do love those decimal places) I have trimmed work down to three days a week and really don’t want to stop. Of my two jobs, the one at the Smithsonian for 24 years has been fascinating, kind of a backstage pass to all of the wide range of things they are doing. Got to crawl through the underbelly of the Concorde when it was donated. Took a good look at the insides of the Enola Gay when it was restored. Sat in the pilot’s seat of a Japanese Zero where they were painting radium paint hash marks on the instrument faces (that’s why they needed me there). Consulted with curators at the reweaving of Old Glory when carpal tunnel became too prevalent. Medicine is now on an exponential ramping up of converting to more and more of a science, again exciting to me as a STEM guy. “Internet reading: medical genomics, the corrupting flow of money in medicine and big pharma, astrophysics (MIT never leaves your soul). Regrets: that I won’t live long enough to see where we are in 50 years ’cuz you ain’t 72
Henry Blake ’57 with grandchildren Juliet Faris ’19, Stephen Faris ’16, and Philip Faris ’13 at Juliet’s Episcopal graduation in June.
Tim DeGavre ’57 (center) in Antigua with his family to celebrate Tim’s 80th birthday.
seen nothing yet. The ramp up is dizzying. Best to my classmates.” Henry Blake writes, “Not much news. Grandson Philip Faris ’13 is in naval fighter pilot school in Meridian, Miss., grandson Stephen Faris ’16 is a senior at the University of Wisconsin. Granddaughter Juliet Faris ’19 will be starting nursing school at the University of Michigan this fall. I turned 80 in February and celebrated with as many family members as possible at our Paradise Valley (outside of Livingston, Mont.) vacation home. Snowed in for six days and couldn’t get a flight out for five more. Could have been a worse place. I love snow! News flash: On July 31, my great, great-nephew was born to Annabel Rose Dinnerstein ’07, who graduated exactly 50 years after yours truly. For some reason, and I still don’t know why, but his name is Henry! Boy, am I getting old, almost as old as my classmates.” Robbie Harrison writes from Highlands, N.C., where he keeps running into Woodberry boys, some of whom want to bet on the replays of the last EHS-Woodberry football
game. They lose every time. “I hear from Pearce Connerat and Tim deGavre, both who stay busy and healthy. My life is split between the mountains of North Carolina and the swamps of Savannah, Ga., and lower South Carolina. I am in my 57th year with the same shipping company but do very little anymore, especially when I can’t find my way to the office or get caught by a train blocking the way, then wonder where I was going and why. Otherwise married life has captured me and is leading me in all the right directions. I think it is amazing our class has so many living members at 80 years of age.” Tom Davenport writes, “It’s getting harder to put one foot in front of the other these days. But generally all is well on the Muskrat Farm, which we’ve converted to a pick-your-own operation in northern Fauquier County that draws on the suburban population of Northern Virginia. I continue to run www.folkstreams.net, which might be of interest to some of you because we collect and curate older films about American culture, with lots of films about the South.
SUBMIT YOUR CLASS NOTES ONLINE! Just go to the homepage and click on “Alumni” and then “Submit A Class Note.” For help with passwords or login, please contact the Advancement Office.
I run it with Dr. Daniel Patterson, a retired Keenan professor from the University of North Carolina. “My latest movie is a film about a lynching in the little town of Markham, Va., not far from my home. I keep up with a few classmates, notably the notorious poet Philip Carter, who writes lots about Mississippi and New Orleans from his home in Camden, Maine. He’s on Facebook and posts his poems there. Grice McMullan writes, “I’m now retired from practicing law, and retiring seems to be fine. Have two fine sons, one single and living in Charlottesville and one married and living in Baltimore with his wife and my three grandsons. All is well and I remain healthy.” Floyd Lankford writes, “At age 80, I am now a grandfather. Talk about ‘eventually’! One never knows. And my oldest daughter is 50. Youngest is the mother, and she has already sustained a heart event. It is a good life, but somewhat surreal. Was back at EHS for a big reunion of the ’63 undefeated football team. Fletcher Carter ’54 with game ball was back, too. School received game ball for future generations! Our games were played in Hoxton Field, not in the new stadium.” Tim deGavre writes, “Just celebrated my 80th trip around the sun. My son, two daughters, and their families gathered on Antigua in the Caribbean for a week of sea, sand, sun, and rum punches to get the next year jumpstarted. I also completed my every-decade triathlon (before coming to Antigua!): Walk (don’t want to chance mucking up my back) eight miles in 80 x 2 minutes; finished in 139 minutes. Swim 80 lengths of the pool (1¼ mile) in 80 minutes; did it in 61 minutes. Bike 80 miles in eight hours; a tough one, but done in 6:50. The next one at 90 is going to be a challenge!”
’58
Surry Roberts surryroberts@adventure777.com (H) 919-828-2245 65th Reunion: June 2023
Tommy Boyd: Tommy and Judy have just returned from a truly beautiful driving tour to Lake Champlain in Vermont, Camden and Bath in Maine, and Connecticut. They began the year in Williamsburg, Va., with Mary and Bill Crump ’57, Beverly and Page Dame ’59, and a host of University of Virginia friends. He keeps up with Shirley
and Saunders Midyette, Ricky Pietsch, and the Charlottesville horde. John Brabson: “I took my entire family, including seven grandkids, to Africa in June. Thirteen of us spent 10 days in Tanzania visiting the Serengeti, Ngorngoro Crater, and Maasai tribes. We stayed in game camps and saw the great migration of a half-million wildebeest and zebras. Truly a multigenerational trip of a lifetime.” Carter Cornick: Hayne Hipp relates that Carter retired “as the youngest agent at the FBI. Carter opened his own firm, working primarily in international security issues.” His son Carter ’80 was chief of staff to Sen. John Warner for several years and is now an attorney in Alexandria. Daughter heads human relations for General Dynamics in Williamsburg, Va. Carter lives near Inova Fairfax Hospital and will assist if classmates need it. Moncure Crowder: Followed University of Virginia friend to Atlanta. Banker for 30 years, retired early. Has climbed to 45 of the highest points in the 50 states. Still walks/ runs twice a week and competed in 40th edition of the 4th of July Peachtree 10K Race this year. Traced Crowder Family back to Jamestown. He is the historian of the First Presbyterian Church, which will soon enter the National Register of Historic Places as a certified historic property. Richard Durham: He has competed with distinction in masters swimming in Washington in the 200-meter breaststroke for the past 20 years (last lap is a bit rough!) Traveled to search Roebuck clan around Spartanburg, S.C., and visit Cowpens and Kings Mountain, N.C. Hayne Hipp: Decompression surgery for Ménière’s syndrome in January. “May be slow and deaf for a while, but Anna Kate says I’m already both of those.” Travels? “Two daily trips to the driveway for the mail and newspaper, items about which our grandchildren are clueless.” Present education? “Thinking about Brigitte Bardot in “And God Created Woman” in 1956 on 8th Street. Health issues? “An oxymoron.” Wife? “A full-bodied Bordeaux.” Distant humor? “Most ludicrous: Be Bop Barker.” Favorite master? “King Kong Karlson.” Sports trivia? “In the Gonzaga game actually thinking about scooping up a fumble and sprinting to a touchdown.” Charlie Hooff: Still works daily in his own very active real estate investment firm. Superb experience in Zululand of South
Africa with enthusiastic friend, perhaps the best ever — many lions and a white rhino, leopards, and beautiful striped nyala. Will take 13-year-old grandson next year. All four of his accomplished children live in his Alexandria homeland. Occasionally sees Sandy Sierck and others at the Metropolitan Club. Reads EHS news. Ted Hopkins: Superb trip to Bangkok for son’s wedding. Banking in Atlanta followed by Emory law school, master’s at New York University, and three years’ work in New York City, then legal practice in Columbia with emphasis on nonprofits — social justice, environmental issues, economic development, and finances. He has traveled the world, much with wife Katherine, especially Turkey, Korea, Britain, and across the United States. Saunders Midyette: Saunders and Shirley are traveling in September to London for a tour of homes built using the designs of Thomas Jefferson’s favorite Italian architect, Andrea Palladio. And they are meeting daughter Lenora and grandson Zachary in Oxford, where he is starting a mathematics major at Oxford University’s Exeter College. Bill Moffett: “I am sadly attending an increasingly frequent number of memorial services and interments at Arlington National Cemetery for comrades I served with in Vietnam from 1967-69. Heroes, every one of them. Rest in peace, colleagues.” Volunteers at a museum for Impressionist artists. Ran his first 5K in May — 46 minutes, not too bad for an old guy! Happily spending much time in Lewes, Del., kayaking, bicycling, walking, reading, and relaxing. Hoping for the best for all of us. Rick Pietsch: Hayne Hipp in contact with Rick, both trying out flexible ear gadgets. Rick won! He and Dee live in Naples, Fla., visit two sons who live in Boise and Hailey, Idaho. Still has home in Charlottesville and in with the old people wearing polyester yellow pants. Rick relates, “In 1957 Tom Hanks’s father, much better looking than his son, was a lead singer for The Diamonds when they launched ‘Little Darlin’.’ This was a time when the performers were happy, enjoyed themselves, respected their fans, dressed appropriately, and their lyrics could be understood.” Carl Ragsdale: Celebrating 57th wedding anniversary on Labor Day. Frequent trips to EHS with sixth grandchild, Will Schenck ’22, in school and daughter Alicia Alford serving second term on the Board EHS
THE MAGAZINE OF EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL
73
CLASS NOTES
of Trustees. Sees Tim Burnett when visiting family in Greensboro, N.C., and keeps in touch with Dabney McCoy and Hayne Hipp. Life is good in Beaufort, N.C., a wonderful place to live. John Ramey: Self-proclaimed oldest living member of EHS Class of 1958. If there is any dispute, John would need to see a birth certificate dated prior to May 19, 1939. After a career in banking and odd jobs in real estate, John is still living in his childhood home in Warrenton, Va. Missed annual trip to Boothbay Harbor, Maine, for the first time in years. Staunch member of Egypt! Surry Roberts: Likes books on survival, exploration, military biography, and adventure: “War Journal of Major Damon ‘Rocky’ Gause,” (Pacific theater of World War II; short, superb, and he survives); “Endurance” (Ernest Shackleton), by Alfred Lansing (the best ever read — 200 gifts); “Rudder: From Leader to Legend” (Normandy, World War II), by Tom Hatfield; “Narrative of the Adventures of Zenas Leonard, 1831-35” (fur trapping); and “Captain Blood,” by Raphael Sabatini. Tommy Roberts: Completely retired in Alabama, healthy and very active in hunting, fishing, travel, and golf. Recently shot a 71. Hallelujah! Peter Sevareid: Had dinner in Manhattan with Billy Hood, who has retired there from being a professor in art history at Oberlin College. Travels along the southeast coast of Thailand and recently read “A Sportsman’s Sketches,” beautifully written essays by Ivan Turgenev on rural Russia in the 1820s. Pope Shuford: Grandson chose WFS, not EHS; a huge disappointment, for sure, for Pope and EHS. John Waters: All-American in skeetshooting competition all across the United States since 1986. Three tours in Vietnam with 173rd, 101st Airborne, and 1st Air Cavalry. Stays in touch with military and skeet contacts. Still hunts ducks, geese, and doves. Pat Waters: Many years working with Medal of Honor Society of Mt. Pleasant, S.C., where he lives, and Brian LaViolette Scholarship Foundation. Much research and military history. His father, Lt. Gen. John K. Waters, was a World War II POW in North Africa and spent more than two years at Oflag 64, a Polish POW camp. Pat is raising money primarily from 900 survivors and children to rebuild 5,000-square-foot POW camp. He 74
travels yearly to the Pilsen Liberation Festival in the Czech Republic, Poland, and across the United States.
’59
J.D. Simpson (H) 501-663-8631 (O) 501-377-2110 jdsimpson@stephens.com 65th Reunion: June 2024
Jack Cann writes, “It is not often that you hear from me this frequently, but there is another development in my life, quite a surprise in fact. After I presented my most recent book in translation, “Portuguese Commandos in Africa,” in February, the retired commando generals who had fought in Africa banded together and persuaded the Portuguese president to grant me one of the knighthoods for which foreigners are eligible. When the king was ousted in 1910, the people did not wish to give up their honors, so the new president of the republic was made the grand master of the orders. This is a big deal, as by law there can only be a limited number of knights roaming around. The pool is tight, and one has to die to make room for additions. In 1980 the law was changed to accommodate people living longer, but still it remains exclusive. So I am to present myself at the Palace of Belém at 1800 on September 5 to have an audience with the president and receive the knighthood. I am to be a knight commander of the Order of Prince Henry the Navigator (approximate translation from the Portuguese). I am certain that neither Mr. Ravenel nor Mr. Ordeman ever thought that I would be an author. Amazingly I still have an inscribed copy of his English Reference Book. I am also sure that those masters had no idea of the seeds that they planted in many of us at the time. So, this is great fun.”
’60
Bill Drennen (H) 304-876-1236 (O) 304-876-6400 wmdrennen1@me.com 60th Reunion: June 5-7, 2020
Caught out in the rain without an umbrella, reminds me of school days and oh yes, those class notes I once again will soon cast from whole cloth and some frantic phone calls before dinner tonight. Hello, Henry, is that you? How are you doin’? What’s happened in Columbus since last we talked? Is Wellborn still sneezing his way out of Jams,
Two Pages: Page Dame ’59 and Page Light ’17, who completed a summer internship at a rural health clinic in Namibia.
Jack Cann ’59 receiving the knighthood of the Order of Prince Henry the Navigator at the Palace of Belém in Portugal.
and what about Gardener Girard, and Butch ... notes from last communication four years ago or so. And Don Fitzhugh, how have you survived the terrible rains in the Northwest? Is your river there under control? And Cathcart, Hurricane Dorian should be knocking on your door right about now. Be safe and write and tell me what’s up with William Wilson. I do not even have an address or phone number for him. How many of us have died since yesterday? Raise your hands, because Mr. Callaway is counting. I did see a report from Fontaine Lawson, who I know is in Richmond because Bella and I stopped there for dinner with Rebel friends on our way back from Florida a couple of years ago... and by the way my writing “Kanawha Salt” is historical fiction, so my fictionalized stuff is legitimate, not an honor offense. And this is sort of fun, just rambling on, using my mind to touch classmates who are not writing me with their latest shenanigans. It does seem strange to consult a high school newsletter for the latest obituaries. If you feel like spouting off, I’ll include your ruminations with mine, including credits and bylines as approved by John Jones if need be. I love you all just like the 60s people we are. ...Remember the strand?
SUBMIT YOUR CLASS NOTES ONLINE! Just go to the homepage and click on “Alumni” and then “Submit A Class Note.” For help with passwords or login, please contact the Advancement Office.
’61
Elliott Randolph (H) 410-377-6912 Elliott.randolph@comcast.net Lanier Woodrum (H) 540-774-2798 Lbwoodrum@cox.net 60th Reunion: 2021
’62
Al Berkeley (H) 410-243-7859 alfredberkeley@gmail.com 60th Reunion: June 2022
I got a call from Rob Wright, who sends me some hilarious jokes from time to time. He is keeping busy keeping busy. Woody Efird reached me electronically (sometimes I cannot remember whether I actually talked to somebody or texted or emailed). You guys probably do not remember when Woody ran away from EHS, only to be greeted by the railroad police on the Southern railway. It was a great plan, but he forgot about the high speed telecommunications of the time: the telephone. About a year ago, I meant to write, Elliot Randolph ’61 and I sat together at Alan Mead’s ’54 funeral. Alan was a friend of John McCain ’54 and had great stories to tell on McCain. Alan was one of the EHS guys at Alex Brown & Sons when I started there in 1972, fresh out of the U.S. Air Force. He was a gracious, generous fellow. Tom Waring writes, “Except for the occasional visit by a hurricane like Dorian, I am enjoying retirement here in Charleston, S.C., reading books, playing with grandchildren (No. 5 is due to arrive in early December), and lunching with friends. Both of our sons and their families live here, which is a wonderful treat.” Neill McBryde writes, “I do not have much to add other than in 1969 I was licensed to practice law in North Carolina and therefore this year is my 50th anniversary and still practicing, but not forever. I did talk to Jim Seidule, my favorite professor and a great track coach (I ran the mile in my short twoyear stint at EHS). We both said we would have to make the next Reunion. Except for keeping up with both of our children’s families, who live in Charlotte, N.C., and have three children each, we do have more time for trips and the like.” I was blessed with a fourth grandchild, a girl named Grace, in August. Busy working
on an investment project for a United Nations associated foundation. Part of the effort is to finance 6,000 emission-free buses to replace diesel-powered buses. Very interesting. Another arm of the project is to plant a billion trees. Herding cats on the tree planting. It’s that decades-long growing horizon that clashes with instant gratification. Monty Gray wrote me that he has no news, but to change his email address from his law firm to a personal account. Smacks of retiring? My best to all. — ARB
’63
Class Correspondents Needed 60th Reunion: June 2023
If you’d like to volunteer to be the class correspondent or just to share an update, please contact Elizabeth Henderson ’11 at eah@episcopalhighschool.org or 703-933-4125.
’64
Alex Jones (H) 617-497-2387 (O) 617-469-2582 alexsjones2@gmail.com 60th Reunion: June 2024
At our 55th Reunion in June, Peyton Roberts — at the strong urging of his classmates — retold a story he had first told at our 50th and which brought down the house. The Roberts are a prominent family from Anniston, Ala., and it seems his sister was looking for a new maid for her rather grand home. One young woman looked promising, so his sister decided to show her around. They went from room to room and eventually came to the parlor, where there was a large oil portrait of a lovely girl in a formal gown. “That’s me,” said Peyton’s sister, with no small amount of pride. The young woman looked at the painting, then looked at Peyton’s sister, then looked back at the painting and back at Peyton’s sister. And then she said dolefully, “Ain’t time a wrecker!” A 55th high school reunion is a perfect moment to recognize that unhappy, but inevitable, truth — but with, I am glad to say, huge laughter. The Class of ’64 is as ravaged as any other group of septuagenarians, but the good news is that we are still by and large a lively bunch who seem determined to have a good time while we are vertical.
There is something remarkable about a 55th Reunion that has as many people attending as those attending that year’s 50th Reunion. … Which we did. Among the signs of life: Peyton is getting remarried and brought his fiancée, and Richard Bray ’65 also brought his new love. Buzzy Male talked movingly about his struggles with conquering depression and experienced the pleasure of having one of the boys he had coached at EHS, who was at School for his own reunion, spontaneously stand to give him a resounding tribute. John Peden, who was not invited back his senior year and so did not graduate with our class, was persuaded by David Dougherty and Crow to return and seemed to make his peace with EHS during Reunion. He was still hurting from that unexplained reversal. He was never told why he was not invited back, which is one of the School’s more bizarre bits of cruelty from those years. He had returned for the 15th reunion but had not been back in 40 years. He had one vivid memory from 1979 of chatting with Steve Watts about his then-blossoming career as a photographer. Steve asked him how he was doing, and John told him he had recently had his work in Mademoiselle magazine. He has never forgotten Steve’s dazzling response, offered deadpan: “I just let my subscription lapse.” John lives in New York with his wife, Paulette, and his photography business thrives. He also pursues his passion for music with a blog www.sidetracklinernotes.com, whose content is “arcana about music.” He was struck by how changed EHS is — with art and diversity and girls. He wandered the campus in a kind of bemused and thoughtful reverie, clearly trying to reconnect with old memories. And by the end of the Reunion, he seemed to be thoroughly back with us. One of the reasons for the Class of ’64’s Reunion success may be because we consider everyone who was ever in any way part of our class to be welcome. Hence, Jim Stallworth ’63, who came as a sophomore when most of us were freshmen, considers us his class, and he and his wife were prominently present. Humphrey Tyler, who started with us but finished in ’65, rejoined us — at least for the weekend. And though he was not in our class, Tom Dashiell ’66 was there and hung with us, which was an unexpected treat. One highlight of the weekend — which included all the various reunion groups EHS
THE MAGAZINE OF EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL
75
CLASS NOTES
— was an address by Jon Meacham, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of biographies of Andrew Jackson and others. He also happens to be the son-in-law of Rick Smythe, and came at Rick’s invitation — our class gift to the weekend. Rick introduced him. Also there to make merry were David Dougherty, who organized a special trip to the Newseum in Washington, John Keith, Steve Watts, Jimmy Black, Rodney Pitts, Bob Pretlow, Chassie Davidson, Richard Wight, Squinch Goodman, Hugh Wachter, Rip Thomsen, Frank Wideman, Hubert Haywood, Bob Irons, Tom Pope, Jay Morris, Ernie Williams, and, of course, Tom “Crow” Hall, who broke everyone up with his Reunion dinner address. At the last minute, Tom King fell ill and couldn’t take part, and Tigger Alexander, who had done a lot of recruiting, had to be in China on business. We had a hell of a good time! Actually, at least half a dozen people who didn’t make it were absent only because of circumstances. We are all aware that such gatherings won’t go on forever and that time is of the essence. So yes, you can be sure that we will be having a 60th Reunion in 2024! After all, we elected David Dougherty as Reunion chair for life, and he’s still breathing!
’65
Jim Sullivan (H) 615-292-3536 (O) 615-327-5759 jsullivan@mmc.edu Richard Lee (H) 401-423-2706 dlee60@verizon.net 55th Reunion: June 5-7, 2020
From our “Grass is Always Greener” Desk, see the photo (above) of Jamie Totten handing over a check for a cool $10 million to the superintendent of the Virginia Military Institute. Jamie oversaw his 50th reunion at VMI as well as the fundraising for the institute’s Class of ’69. ’Tis enough to make any alumni office salivate. (We wonder if VMI now has a “Food Court” devoted to individual cadet dietary predilections. ...) And Ward Carr made the trek from Germany for this event. Ward was able to spend some quality time with brother Al Carr ’61, who also attended VMI. Ward gets the EHS ’65 Fountain of Youth Award. He continues to collect oral histories from the few remaining German World War II vets. Whatever he is doing, it seems to be working. 76
Rodney Pitts ’65, Mark Janus ’65, and Clint Laird ’65 at the John Locke Society. Jamie Totten ’65 oversaw the fundraising for the VMI Class of ’69 50th Reunion.
Jack Glenn ’65, Buzzy Male ’64, Saint Pinckney ’65, Charles Glenn ’69, George Cathcart ’65, and Richard Gwathmey ’65 honored the late Erskine Wilde ’65 at a Charlottesville memorial service for those who lost their lives in the Vietnam War.
There is the appearance of youth, and then there is, of course … well, “youth.” Sandy von Stackelberg, along with wife, Nancy, are delighted to announce the birth of their first grandchild, C. Louis von Stackelberg, early in July. When not sailing in their own boat off New England, Sandy reports the two are chartering craft for such purposes from Tahiti to Croatia … also the Caribbean. Their mindfulness on a global scale regarding submerged rock hazards is to be admired. Clint Laird recently joined Rodney Pitts ’64, who’s on the board of the John Locke Foundation, in a co-sponsored gathering with the Federalist Society. They spent time with Mark Janus, plaintiff for the landmark Supreme Court decision Janus v. AFSCME … a brush with legal fame! Somehow, we doubt the musical strains of Pete Seeger’s “Which Side Are You On” permeated the venue. And our hat goes off to Richard Gwathmey and others among our classmates who took the time to attend last year’s memorial service on behalf of Erskine Wilde and other Charlottesville veterans who lost their lives in Vietnam. It was Jack Glenn, Erskine’s cousin, who alerted us to the ceremony. Along with Jack and Richard, George Cathcart, Buzzy Male ’64, Charles Glenn ’69, and Saint Pinckney made the trek, some from
Temple Grassi (WFS ’65) vs. Clint Laird ’65 at the 8th Annual Grassi Backgammon Cup at the Chevy Chase Club.
hefty distances. Erskine remains very much part of our collective memory, and gratitude is owed these class members who took the time to reflect as much by their attendance. We thank them for it. Is it our 55th Reunion coming up? Couldn’t be — that’s for old folks.
’66
Phil Terrie (H) 607-319-4271 pterrie@bgsu.edu 55th Reunion: June 2021
Last April, I was driving from D.C. (where my son lives) to Durham, N.C. (where my daughter lives) and stopped off in Richmond for lunch with Randy Wyckoff and Whitt Clement, who brought along brother Steve Clement ’67. Delayed for 90 minutes in a miserable traffic snarl north of Fredericksburg, I blamed this mess on Whitt, a vestige of his distinguished tenure as Virginia’s secretary of transportation. Ned Johnson writes, “I had a great time with Syd Gervin as my guest for turkey hunting at Pon Pon Plantation in South Carolina this April. Syd was in perfect form, both in the field and over cocktails. We had a grand time talking about our classmates! Syd killed two trophy gobblers (next page) with a single
SUBMIT YOUR CLASS NOTES ONLINE! Just go to the homepage and click on “Alumni” and then “Submit A Class Note.” For help with passwords or login, please contact the Advancement Office.
Randy Wyckoff ’66, Phil Terrie ’66, Steve Clement ’67, and Whitt Clement ’66 in Richmond.
property with a historic mansion, museums, and equestrian center, and this was a perfect fit for me and my family. When I retired, we moved back to the farm, and I continued my involvement with equestrian activities. My wife, Kathleen is an accomplished rider and trainer and my best friend. Our daughter, Ashley, has two degrees from the University of Virginia and is a nurse at the UVA hospital. I have enjoyed serving on the Piedmont regional selection committee for the Jefferson Scholarship Program for UVA for the past 25 years.” Also from Whitt: “Sandy Rowe has now retired from Hunton Andrews Kurth, where he spent his entire professional career as a leading sales tax attorney in Virginia.”
’67
Charles Coppage (H) 252-473-3893 (O) 252-480-2568 charles@nccoppagelaw.com 55th Reunion: June 2022
Syd Gervin ’66 with two turkeys he shot while hunting in South Carolina.
Jamie Hobson ’72, Barnes Moore ’73, David Luther ’70, Sarah Luther ’14, Walker Moore ’68, Hobby Luther ’71, and Jenks Hobson ’66 at a family reunion in Nashville, Tenn.
shot. I don’t know who was more shocked: Syd or the turkeys!” Henry Smythe writes, “Susu and I fished with Blair Buck and Della in Maine in June and saw them again in mid-July in Whistler for a few days. He is retired and taking up fly-fishing. I am a ⅔ lawyer at this time and enjoying the slower pace. We had dinner a week ago with Felicity and deRo Myers ’67. They live outside of Charleston, S.C., now. Susu, whom I met on a sort of blind date to the movies at Pendleton Hall, and I will celebrate our 50th anniversary next June. DeRo and Chip Watt were groomsmen, and Bill Gray ’67 was best man.” Bill Perry writes, “Greetings after a long absence! I am retired after 33 years in the magazine and newspaper publishing business (after 10 years in the record business — I know, I know, what’s a record?) and life is good. There is always time for another project or two, but for the moment, I am a member of the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper ‘water watch’ team here in the Atlanta area, delivering samples from the river and its tributaries to our lab for close examination. Polluters beware! I live in the new city of Chattahoochee Hills,
Ga., and spend a lot of time attempting to tame what we laughingly call ‘our yard.’ Try to contain your excitement. It’ll get even better. Stay well, old friends!” Will O’Keefe (by way of Whitt) writes, “After graduating from the University of Virginia, I taught school for two years and continued to play rugby before returning home to run our family farm. After hanging up my cleats permanently in 1978, I continued with the horses as a livelihood and recreation. The livelihood was breeding thoroughbred racehorses to sell at Saratoga, N.Y., and the recreation was fox hunting and steeplechase racing. I have been racing secretary and/or announcer for most of the steeplechase point-to-points in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania for about 40 years. I created the Central Entry Office for taking entries for the races and displaying results and history back to 1970. In 2007, I was inducted into the Virginia Steeplechase Association Hall of Fame. When our family stopped selling horses, I became the executive director of the Westmoreland Davis Memorial Foundation at Morven Park near Leesburg, Va., from 1993 until 2010. Morven Park is a 1,200-acre
’68
Walker Moore (H) 864-543-1514 (O) 864-941-0666 moorew327@aol.com 55th Reunion: June 2023
In July, first-, second-, third-, and fourth-generation descendants of Jennings Wise Hobson reunited in Nashville. One of the sidelights of the family reunion was a reunion of two generations of EHS alumni. Of the 73 attendees, seven had attended – some even graduated – from EHS. Those in attendance included Jamie Hobson ’72, Barnes Moore ’73, David Luther, ’70, Sarah Luther ’14, Walker Moore ’68, Hobby Luther ’71, and Jenks Hobson ’66. Another family member not in attendance but another EHS alum is Brendan Luther ’10.
’69
Kinloch Nelson (H) 585-385-3103 (O) 585-264-0848 kinloch@rochester.rr.com Marty Martin (C) 919-272-2106 marty_martin@martinlegalhelp.com 55th Reunion: June 2024
Glen Stancik writes, “Returning for the 50th Reunion, I especially appreciated that most of the returnees had mellowed in their EHS
THE MAGAZINE OF EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL
77
CLASS NOTES
perspectives about what is really important in life. Everyone seemed to possess a certain humility and intentional altruism, both of which are in short supply in our current social climate. It gives me hope (and a little pride) that my fellows would be such persons, especially since our privileged lives would have tended to slant us otherwise. “My hope for us in our remaining years is that we would still desire and be able to make a beneficial impact in the lives of others — family, friends, and foes. I pray that we would all finish well and that there would remain many more strides before the finish line.” Kinloch Nelson writes, “Every time I go to one of these events, something happens that I didn’t expect, I see someone I hadn’t seen for decades, and I find out once again that life after EHS was not the same as life at EHS back then. Folks have changed; they have found their way and most of them have interesting stories to tell. And there is usually something interesting to do. “One year we got together and played a game of baseball, and we all agreed to just trot around the bases if anyone managed to hit the ball. No running necessary. Not a lot of big plays but a lot of hilarity. Bill Lewis did manage to hit the skin right off the ball though, which pretty much ended the game. Everyone signed it and I still have it. “One year we all watched Marty Martin run around the lacrosse field in a reasonably well-organized game and managed to go the distance. Memorable. This time around, at the class dinner, we had the old Bryan Library all to ourselves and at one point a microphone got passed around and the stories started to flow. Some crazy things happened back then that I never knew until now. I hope to hear more of that next time. “I enjoyed the little tour of Tudor Place, but frankly I enjoyed the conversation on the bus ride more. For me it’s really all about finding out what everyone did, and what they are doing now. That’s why I have returned to these reunions.” T. Lad Webb writes, “For me, my best acquaintances only covered half or less of our graduating class. That meant that many folks were acquaintances only, and, after decades of seeing posted updates and who is living where, I am delighted to be able to chat a bit more personally with a wider range of classmates than was possible in the course of daily life in the 1960s.” 78
Craig Stewart ’70 met up with former teacher and coach Jim Seidule at a ceremony honoring Jim’s son, Ty Seidule, as he retires from the Army and as head of the history department at West Point.
Geoff Snodgrass ’71 and David Kelso ’70 in New Orleans.
Verne Morland writes, “The EHS reunions I have attended were truly unique opportunities to reconnect with people who were important fellow travelers in our collective journey to manhood. Meeting them again, in the same but now enhanced venue of our youth, was a distinct pleasure. Equally important as that ‘reconnect with old friends’ factor, I had very pleasurable opportunities to meet classmates who, but for our tiny social circles within a small school, I should have known better. In short, I met old friends and I gained new friends — all in a weekend 50 years after that seminal time. I will be coming back again as long as I am able.” John Zapf reports, “At the end of September I will have reached the one-yearof-retirement milestone after 42 years of practicing law. More power to the rest of you Class of ’69 barristers who are still hanging in there (Martin, Robertson, Poisson, Lewis, Haley). Retirement takes some adjustment, but I haven’t regretted it for an instant. Gail and I very much enjoyed Reunion — it was great to see guys I haven’t seen in five years and other guys I haven’t seen in 50 years (Billy Sullivan, John Minor, Richard Rhodes, Isaac “Don” Stephens, Chuck Clay, Ben Gray). We had a pretty good turnout, but I would have love to have seen all the guys who couldn’t make it. Maybe in 2024?
Reunion dinner: Jim Seidule, Jackie Phillips (Al’s widow), Nelson McDaniel, and David Dougherty ’64 with his wife. In the spring, these classmates committed to attending our 50th Reunion and are currently contacting fellow classmates to encourage their attendance: David Clarke, Jenner Wood, Leebo McLaughlin, Roddy Davis, Johnny Coupland, Ed Rutledge, David Luther, Milton Sams, Bob Coffin, Peyton Prospere, Richard Berkeley, Jim Newman, Vic Grainger, Philip Bray, Jimmy Farrar, Will Corbitt, David Kelso, and Craig Stewart. We hope every member of our class and spouses/significant others will be there for a fun weekend! Our class has a new retiree: Phil Bray. Phil and his wife of 29 years, Ingrid, recently sold their Label Service business for a retirement that includes gardening, painting, traveling, and time with their granddaughter. As fall begins, Phil and Ingrid will go on a driving holiday in southern France and Spain. Later, during the winter, they will go on an ambitious trip to South America. When Phil is not traveling, he pursues his hobby of painting and hanging out in the mountains of North Carolina. If you would like to look at Phil’s paintings, they are displayed on Facebook at Philip Bray Art. Although Phil specializes in landscapes, there are also some portraits and sketches.
’70
’71
Our 50th Reunion is June 5-7, 2020. Craig Stewart and the Reunion Committee have done a wonderful job so far organizing the event. A highlight will be the faculty members who will join our class for our
Geoff Snodgrass writes, “Holly and I celebrated the birth of our third grandchild in July. Elizabeth James Snodgrass was born to Tyler and Christopher Snodgrass in Austin, Texas. Tyler is in the wholesale jewelry
Jim Newman (H) 253-677-4697 Newman_jim@comcast.net 50th Reunion: June 5-7, 2020
Geoff Snodgrass (H) 504-895-4200 geoff@snodgrassplc.com 50th Reunion: June 2021
SUBMIT YOUR CLASS NOTES ONLINE! Just go to the homepage and click on “Alumni” and then “Submit A Class Note.” For help with passwords or login, please contact the Advancement Office.
Harvey Moseley ’69 (photographed in 2007) was part of a team that confirmed the Big Bang theory of the universe.
After Episcopal
How to Reach for the Stars
Astrophysicist Harvey Moseley ’69 on the values that have shaped his life and career. B Y EL I Z ABET H H EN D E RSON ’ 11
Harvey Moseley ’69, astrophysicist and quantum-computing expert, has dedicated his career to solving problems that most people don’t even know exist. The words “quantum computing” and “X-ray spectroscopy” conjure images of scientists huddled over computers and datasheets with seemingly never-ending strings of numbers. For over 40 years, Moseley has been that scientist, using complex mathematical equations to develop instruments and technologies that help us reach the farthest part of our solar system. Moseley grew up on a farm in Chesterfield County, Va., on the border of Virginia and North Carolina. Coming to Episcopal, he says, was a challenge that helped him find the path that the next years of his life would follow. After graduation, Moseley followed his longtime girlfriend to Connecticut College, where he continued his studies in mathematics and physics. After graduating in just three years, he married Sarah and they moved together to Chicago, where Moseley attended graduate school at the University of Chicago. In 1980, Moseley took a position at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. For 38 years, Moseley worked on projects ranging from the Cosmic Background Explorer — which confirmed the Big Bang theory of the universe and earned a Nobel Prize for team leaders — to the James Webb Space Telescope, a successor to the Hubble. Recently, he has taken his astrophysics experience into the field of quantum computing, where he is working to advance quantum computers as part of the team at Quantum Circuits, Inc. Amiable and personable, Moseley speaks about the intricacies of astrophysics in a way that makes even this liberal arts major believe she can almost understand it. Below, Moseley shares some of his thoughts — not on the world of telescopes and satellites, but on his personal values, his advice for young EHS alumni, and how his time at EHS has affected the rest of his life. Values that have shaped Moseley’s life I don’t necessarily think about that a lot. If I had to say, “What are the things that really matter?” I think the two values that are really important in the world are fairness and truth. If you like
finding out the truth, then a career in science is a great way to go. You have to want to get to the truth more than you want any particular answer. Fairness is the other one that is important. Think of the Golden Rule and imagine any interaction between yourself and any other person. You have to understand what it would look like if you were in their position and if they were in yours. And you both have to be aware of that and act in such a way to maximize fairness so that both people come out as well as they can. We’re all in this together. Advice for other EHS alumni You have to choose important problems and then seek out really talented people to work with to find the solutions. Many things you try won’t work at first. It is important to be able to keep a continuous supply of sufficiently good ideas so that you know what to do next if the first thing doesn’t work. Do something that you think you could be happy doing for a long time. People now change jobs at a rapid pace, but developing a core of skills and abilities makes you appealing for whatever job you want to do. Takeaways from his time at EHS Going to Episcopal was an important thing for me, coming out of the rural culture of my home and trying to figure out the next step. The years that I was at Episcopal were really tough personally because of my mother’s death, but I came out of it with a level of academic and intellectual confidence that led me to believe that I would be okay at whatever I chose to do. The things that I remember most were largely academics. I enjoyed them and it was confidence-building for me to come in from a small rural school and to be able to go in there and say, “Yeah, I can do this.” I still have a number of lifelong friends from the Episcopal days. It’s important to find friends who are thoughtful and interesting. When you have such friends, you have to value them and do what’s required to maintain those friendships. It can be hard work, but that is probably as close as I can come to advice. EHS
THE MAGAZINE OF EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL
79
CLASS NOTES
business, and Christopher works for SHI, a custom IT solutions company.”
’72
Beau Wilson (H) 212-588-9363 (O) 212-603-6185 beauatciti@aol.com 50th Reunion: June 2022
We all remember our classmate, Charlie McKamy, from the Delta in Greenville, Miss., who passed away on Easter Sunday, April 21, 2019 (page 113). As his Washington and Lee classmate remarked, “Charles took the Easter Express!” Oral Roberts, Charlie’s lifelong friend, has many, many memories of him. “Charlie joined us in our second year on the Hill. I can’t remember when it happened but sometime over the next two years after that we became fast friends, and he became my dearest friend and confidant while we were at EHS. He was, for me, a refuge and a source of deeply needed affirmation. We roomed together our senior year, a year in which many of us who lived on 3rd McGuire will recall Buck’s notable protracted renditions on his own guitar of Bob Dylan. Truth be known, these renditions were, shall we say, ‘endured.’ But he did inspire a love for Dylan that endures, now and then.” Oral recounted that he traveled with Charlie to Greenville, Miss., over spring break in 1971. They camped out in a field that was laden with cowpies, and which, even in Mississippi in March, was “cold as hell” overnight. Later, in our EHS career, Preacher and Morgan Williams joined Charles and me in a road trip to my Dad’s cabin on the Rappahannock. I don’t recall whether we actually made it to the duck blind, but I do recall hours of poker, and that Morgan, who was sleeping in the same room with Preacher, emerged around 4 a.m. complaining that his roommate’s flatulence made it impossible to sleep! It was Charles who called me several years later, while I was at Virginia, to notify me of Morgan’s death. I last saw Charles 12 or 13 years ago, maybe at a football game at Episcopal. He visited our home in D.C., met my wife, Afsoon, and the girls, and gave me some advice on landscaping the yard. We spent hours talking, and he accompanied me and my girls to a playground where they played and we reminisced. It was deeply satisfying to reconnect! 80
Bill Hand ’73, Gilliam Kittrell ’74, Graham Barden ’74, George Harrison ’74, and Boyce Cheek ’74 in Beaufort, N.C.
Then, out of the blue, about two months ago he called me, and we talked for two hours. Covered the waterfront on life: joys, sorrows, illnesses, and faith. And our desire to get together again, soon. So I am reflecting on all these things, and of our need, among family and friends, to be in closer touch, and to cherish our common paths — cowpies and all! How fitting that his passing was on Easter Sunday, when the empty tomb signals that death has been defeated, and that Christ’s resurrection will, one day, be Charlie’s own. From the Book of Common Prayer: “Thou only art immortal, the creator and maker of mankind; and we are mortal, formed of the earth, and unto earth shall we return. For so thou didst ordain when thou created me, saying, ‘Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.’ ” Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia. We’ll sure miss Buck when we gather in 2022! Charlie Bagley always had fond memories of Charlie. When he ran into Charlie on campus during our tenure, he always lit up the room with his infectious smile and his cackle. He was confident in what he knew. He had that amazing wide smile and that disarming laugh that let you know that he was in the vicinity. He was also willing to help you out in any way he could. Goober Patton also has great memories. They were talking at the most recent Reunion, which they both attended, with Charlie saying that his “only regret” from his time at EHS was the Woodberry game his senior year. He wanted to go back and replay that “sucker” somehow. In hindsight, it’s interesting that he also brought up his concern that some of us would not make it to the next reunion. I wonder if he knew somehow that he would be one of those who left us far too early. I also know through discussions with him at that time and later postings on social media that he was secure that his life
The ever-present smile of Charlie McKamy ’72.
would not end on this earth. I’m confident that he has a new body, that 10-ton megawatt smile, and is in a far better place! Many of Goober’s recollections of Charlie relate to the varsity football team their senior year. Charlie was the “bell cow” of an outstanding offensive line. He and Tommy Preston were the starting guards, with Bill Swinford at center. Bo Abbot was at one tackle, and though I’m not sure about the other tackle, it might have been an underclassman like Barney Lovelace. Goober, Ralph Strayhorn, Tony Chase, and Kin Nevitt got all the offensive credit, but any success they had was really due to that offensive line. Charlie knew his assignments like no one else, he was always spot on executing those assignments, and he had a reassuring confidence that he exuded in the huddle. He also had those intense eyes. You knew he was paying attention and was “ready to kick some a--!” Howell Morrison says that the best demonstration of Charlie’s true character was the St. Stephen’s game our senior year, when Charlie kept dislocating his shoulder. Howell
SUBMIT YOUR CLASS NOTES ONLINE! Just go to the homepage and click on “Alumni” and then “Submit A Class Note.” For help with passwords or login, please contact the Advancement Office.
Stuart Grainger ’75 and Tom Van Meter ’75 at the spring opening of Keeneland race track in Lexington, Ky.
could still see Charlie hustling off the field, his arm hanging limp by his side, and Coach Shelor popping it back in so Charles could charge back into the fray after each shoulder “repair ”! Selfless courage and devotion to the EHS team in action! In other news… Charlie Bagley attended the spring varsity athletics banquet to represent the 1972 Hall of Fame lacrosse team for the presenting of the Joe Shelor ’52 MVP Award. Will Cory ’19, a senior from Afton, Va., won this award. Will led the team to an 11-win season, including an overwhelming “whopping” of Woodberry Forest, 17-5, and a No. 3 ranking in the Virginia state polls. On June 26, I had the distinct honor of meeting the Most Rev. Michael B. Curry, the 27th presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church and the first African American presiding bishop. The bishop addressed parishioners in the Diocese of Western Carolina at the Trinity Episcopal Church in Asheville, N.C., and spoke about his latest book, “The Power of Love: Sermons, Reflections, and Wisdom to Uplift and Inspire.” (Bishop Curry, who married Prince Harry and Meagan Markle, now the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, in May 2018, spoke at Episcopal early in 2019 as the School’s Portrait in Faith honoree.) Bishop Curry recognized the Maltese Cross on my breast pocket as Order of St. John, and he laid his hands upon my head and blessed me. I was very emotional! We are both members of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem. The Order of St. John, founded in 1888 under Queen Victoria of England, operates
ophthalmic hospitals in Jerusalem, Gaza, Hebron, and Anabta in Israel. Finally, our Jamie Hobson is touring the National Parks system. Please Google “Jamie’s NPS Travel Blog.” When he was a young man, he was privileged to work summers for the U.S. Park Service building trails in Shenandoah National Park in Virginia and as a backcountry ranger in Mount Rainier National Park in Washington State. He has since had a love affair with the park service and its people. He has known many and hopes to meet many more of them on his trip. In Blowing Rock, N.C., where I have retired, we offer the Prayers of the People at St. Mary of the Hills to the mercy for all who have died. Please join me in praying for our EHS ’72 classmates: Hugh Morgan Williams (died on October 5, 1975, in an auto accident in Ithaca, N.Y.); Julian Morton Cocke, a pilot for USAirways from 1984 until 2006 (died in Wilmington, N.C., on February 15, 2008, of cancer); Reginald W. Burns, head of the Honor Committee and head monitor (died in Cloverdale, Calif., on January 7, 2016, of stomach cancer); Deane Hurt Hundley (died on October 22, 2017, in Miami; page 113); Robert Sheffield Preston III, former EHS monitor (died of Alzheimer’s in Carpintaria, Calif., on November 22, 2018, Thanksgiving Day, Bobby’s favorite holiday, per Vince Dobbs); and William Charles McKamy (died on April 21, 2019, Easter Sunday, of a stroke in Pensacola, Fla.; page 113). God bless them all. Amen.
’73
Porter Farrell (C) 817-846-2810 pfarrell@farrellcompany.com 50th Reunion: June 2023
’74
Bill Stokes (H) 919-490-7141 bill.stokes56@gmail.com Gilliam Kittrell (H) 919-788-8171 (O) 919-876-7411 gillkitt@bellsouth.net 50th Reunion: June 2024
For those of you who have been wondering, the Class of 1974 is alive and well. This June, we celebrated our 45th Reunion, and several classmates were in attendance. Rob Farmer and Nash Francis anchored a group that included Charlie Clark, Frank Rambo,
and Phil Duckett. Phil has really caught the fishing bug, and I would not be surprised if he became the star of his own fishing show, “Wicked Stripers.” The Reunion in 2024 will be our 50th, so we need to plan to be there if at all possible. Meanwhile, a second, informal reunion was organized by Graham Barden this summer in Beaufort, N.C. George Harrison found his way there from his family farm in Virginia as well as Boyce Cheek, Graham Barden, Gilliam Kittrell, and Bill Hand ’73. Of particular interest were the ancient photo books showing “interesting” old EHS antics as well as a photo of Nelson McDaniel hogtied with neck ties.
’75
Willie Moncure (C) 703-836-2596 william.moncure@raymondjames.com Hunt Burke (H) 703-768-1705 (O) 703-684-1645 huntandmolly@verizon.net 45th Reunion: June 5-7, 2020
’76
Boota deButts (H) 703-998-1487 (O) 703-933-4092 whd@episcopalhighschool.org 45th Reunion: June 2021
’77
Class Correspondents Needed 45th Reunion: June 2022
If you’d like to volunteer to be the class correspondent or just to share an update, please contact Elizabeth Henderson ’11 at eah@episcopalhighschool.org or 703-933-4125.
’78
Jim Clardy (H) 704-332-4195 (O) 704-339-2015 jim.clardy@wellsfargo.com 45th Reunion: June 2023
Fifteen members of the Class of 1978 and the Class of 1979 converged on the Hill in June for our 40th Reunion. As typical of the class of 1978, our celebration was a year late; we’d like to blame it on the Class of 1979, whom we shared Reunion with, but our 40-year record of underperformance precedes us. EHS
THE MAGAZINE OF EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL
81
CLASS NOTES
Woody Woodside, Ward Whitfield ’79, Charles Winston, Mack Faulkner, Marsh Pierce ’79, Ben Salt, Harry Archer, Jeff Pierce, Morgan Wright, Douglas MacGill, Scott Goodman, Jack Saylor, Gus Barber, and Cook Edens enjoyed cocktails followed by a seated dinner Friday night. One consensus is that in the last few years, a number of us have come dangerously close to turning the dreaded 6-0. The most startling news from Reunion was the conversion from confirmed bachelor to happily married for Jeff Pierce, who stealthily entered into holy matrimony nearly six years ago with the shockingly attractive Lynette Maxwell without informing even your humble class correspondent. To say that Lynette, an ’82 grad of the University of North Carolina, is an upgrade to Jeff is like saying that my Lamborghini beats your Yugo (the cutting edge of Serbian/Croatian technology). They live in Wilmington, N.C., where Jeff still works for Shurtape and Lynette runs a dental practice. Congratulations, Jeff — we’re now talking TO you rather than behind your back! Unfortunately the slew of Saturday activities — a 5k fun run, a walking tour of D.C., more afternoon drinking, and another class dinner — went unrecorded by your humble scribe, who had to skip town. Needless to say our class that came together in the Carter administration left the Hill with lots of laughs and more memories but fewer brain cells, and we look forward to our 50th (or will it be our 51st?) Reunion.
’79
Bill Hughes (H) 203-861-1641 William.hughes@pb.com 45th Reunion June 2024
’80
Staige Hoffman (H) 813-597-5059 staigehoffman1@aol.com 40th Reunion: June 5-7, 2020
Dear Class of 1980, At the time of this writing, Hurricane Dorian has made its way up the East Coast. I trust and hope that any Old Boys in its way are safe. We are in the second week of NCAA football … as always … what happened to the 4th of July? A few notes and photos to share: 82
The Class of 1979 at Reunion.
Morgan Wright ’78, Dan Sapp ’79, Charles Winston ’78, and Woody Woodside ’78 at Reunion with a poster of the late Sandy Johnston ’78.
I received a photo (next page) from Tom Garland last night. Seems that he and John Dixon were in search of Tacker LeCarpentier after the University of Virginia’s big win over William and Mary in early September. Tacker provided the Charleston, S.C., group photo (next page) back in April. He was in town for a conference and assembled a great group. King Smith and John Dixon traveled to St. Petersburg, Fla., to stay at Lucas Fleming’s luxury, 12th floor condo in downtown. I did not make the excursions on the 31-foot Chris-Craft boat. However, there was golf as well as many of Lucas’s St. Petersburg friends in attendance that evening. Jack Sayler ’79 told me that his EHS class reunion this past June was a great success. What appeared to make it interesting was that it was in conjunction with the Class of 1978. Not sure if we will be with the Class of 1981 or not next year. Jack and I certainly enjoyed the Auburn basketball team as it moved through the SEC and NCAA tournaments this past year with many exciting wins.
Dan Sapp ’79, Harry Archer ’78, Chip Craighill ’79, and Ward Whitfield ’79 at Reunion.
Quintie Smith ’79 sent me the photo (next page) of himself, Pierre Manigault ’80, and Alec Smith, who have delved into the horse business together. Tom Garland was in Lewisburg, W.Va., this past July. He spent some time with Oscar Nelson ’79 at his family farm, Morlunda. Oscar and his wife, Ginger, have six children, and they are also grandparents. Let us know of any news that you want to share. It is great to hear from everyone. We are not getting older — it’s just that the reunion years keep increasing. — Staige Davis Hoffman, Sr.
’81
Seward Totty (H) 859-268-8673 (O) 859-514-6434 seward.totty@gmail.com 40th Reunion: June 2021
SUBMIT YOUR CLASS NOTES ONLINE! Just go to the homepage and click on “Alumni” and then “Submit A Class Note.” For help with passwords or login, please contact the Advancement Office.
NEW BOOK S F ROM A L U M NI AU TH OR S Betrayal in Berlin: The True Story of the Cold War’s Most Audacious Espionage Operation by Steve Vogel ’78
Francis Johnson ’81, Gilly Dotterer ’81, Pierre Manigault ’80, Rob Wilson ’80, Tacker LeCarpentier ’80, and David Ingle ’80 in Charleston, S.C.
John Dixon ’80 and Tom Garland ’80 after UVA’s win against William and Mary in football.
Pierre Manigault ’80, Quintie Smith ’79, and Alec Smith ’80 with their horse trainer, Arch Kingsley.
’82
Arthur Smith (H) 205-802-7180 wilchester@msn.com 40th Reunion: June 2022
I hope this finds everyone from the Class of 1982 in excellent health and enjoying life. If you are reading this but not receiving my emails and would like to do so, please ping me so I can add or update your email address. I had lunch with Mills Fleming on one of my trips to Savannah, Ga., this summer. Mills reports that his son, Alexander, graduated from Georgia Tech last May with high honors in mechanical engineering. He begins his master’s program in mechanical engineering (with a focus on robotics) at Tech in the Fall. Mills and his wife, Marianne, continue to live in Savannah, where Mills is an attorney for HunterMaclean and his wife, a physician, is an internist. Notes from hither and yon: Caulley Deringer reports all is well. Caulley’s son, Caulley ’23, is rooming with Ed Lilly’s younger brother’s son, Steven ’23, as a freshman at EHS this fall. Caulley ran
into Moultrie Dotterer on a recent visit to Washington and Lee, when Caulley was passing through Lexington with his son and Moultrie was dropping off one of his daughters, who is a freshman at W&L. Macon Baird reports that Mark Slack and Greg Peete ’83 had an excellent time at their annual golf outing in Henderson, N.C. Parker Johnson reports that Thomas Parker Johnson, Jr. ’22 and his twin sister, Rebecca McPhail Johnson ’22, are eagerly looking forward to following in the footsteps of their father, Parker, and Thomas’s godfather, Winston Holt, this fall as incoming sophomores. Their pending graduation, still years away, will be 40 years (!) after commencement for the Old Boys. Here’s hoping their experiences on campus at EHS will be as formative and lifelong as mine and Winston’s and all our fellow classmates in the Class of 1982. Winston Holt caught up with Ed Lilly in Alta, Utah, this past winter. Winston reports that it was a “big-time vertical day in Alta with Ed.” I like the big thumbs-up from Ed and the big shaka from Winston — hey, cowabunga dude! Not much else to report in this edition. I think everyone is busy wrapping up their summers. It is great staying in touch with everyone; please keep it up. Thanks for everyone’s contributions! Give me a call if your travels bring you to Birmingham. – Arthur Smith
’83
Frank Vasquez (C) 804-873-2212 frank@copyfaxva.com 40th Reunion: June 2023
First — wahoowa! How ’bout dem Hoos!? NCAA champs in basketball and lacrosse! Not much has changed for me since the last update, except my mother passed away
This is a true-life Cold War thriller about Operation Gold, a CIA operation to construct a 1,500-foot tunnel into East Berlin to tap into critical Soviet telecommunications. Kirkus said it is “as well-paced as a le Carré novel, with deep insight into the tangled world of Cold War espionage.” A journalist for the Washington Post for more than two decades, Vogel reported from Cold War Germany and covered the fall of the Berlin Wall. Jiffy Body: The 10 Minute System to Avoid Joint and Muscle Pain by Bart Potter ’87
Potter developed a strength-and-flexibility routine after years of fighting chronic shoulder and back pain. No doctors or therapists had been able to help, and the pain had grown so bad that he learned to write with his left hand. The cure? With help from Sean McCarver, an expert in body mechanics and exercise science, Potter identified muscle imbalances in his body and slowly built back his muscle mass. He apprenticed with McCarver, then began working on his own with patients. Alfred’s Book of Monsters by Sam Streed ’13
While at the Rhode Island School of Design, Streed — son of EHS teacher Jeff Streed — wrote and illustrated a children’s book about Alfred, a little boy who dislikes his aunt’s tea parties and other “delightful things” and creates his own tea party for monsters. “This is one pretty spooky picture book, with skulls, a jar of eyeballs, and talk of stolen souls,” writes Kirkus. “Streed offers thrills and chills.” EHS this fall hosted an exhibit of Streed’s artwork from the book in the Angie Newman Johnson Gallery.
EHS
THE MAGAZINE OF EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL
83
CLASS NOTES
in June. My family and I appreciate all the outpouring of love and support. Well, you know we are getting old when I start thinking of retirement and where I want to retire. No. 1 and 2 on the list are Belize and Costa Rica. Get a nice little ocean villa and have a boat for some fishing. My daughter is in Belize right now with Pathlight.org. She and some of her sorority sisters began last year, and they really enjoyed helping out the kids and experiencing the country. She will be 21 in September and is a rising senior at the University of Kentucky. While I will never be a Wildcats basketball fan, I have found myself cheering on the Kentucky football program over the past three years. My son will be 24 in August, and he works for Temper Pack, a fairly recent start-up in Richmond making biosustainable packaging material, particularly thermal packaging — think Blue Apron, Hello Fresh, and other overnight-delivery frozen food companies. Pretty cool and interesting company — he loves it. He was supposed to be a senior at Virginia Tech this year, but he decided to take the year off and work. Now he is thinking of changing his degree to engineering and re-enrolling as a junior. John Herbert writes, “I recently accepted a position as head of the natural gas business for Marathon Oil.” Lad Duncan writes, “I have two girls, ages 14 and 16, and I am looking forward to fishing and hunting in my spare time as fall approaches. I will hopefully be hunting exclusively with a traditional bow this deer season. It will be challenging for sure.” Whit Page writes, “Frank, I am glad the University of Virginia finally got something to put in it trophy case since the University of North Carolina’s trophy case is so full (darn women’s soccer). I see Jimmy Patrick at Starbucks in Chapel Hill, and I sometimes swim with Fletcher Fairey at the Meadowmont fitness center (Macon Patton works out at my fitness center, too). Had fun at Reunion last year having to listen to Barry Inabnet be disappointed that other classmates hadn’t had more success so his greatness wouldn’t stick out so much.” Gill Holland writes, “Our only news is that my wife, Augusta Brown Holland ’94, is about to celebrate the one-year anniversary of The Pine Room’s grand opening. It is a great new restaurant in the Harrods Creek neighborhood of Louisville. (instagram @thepineroomky)” 84
Michael Holt writes, “I am just always curious as to how Frank can edit Whit Page’s Class Notes to get them printworthy.” Geoff Allen writes, “In a little less than a month, our second son will head off to the University of Delaware, and we will enter the proverbial ‘empty nest’ stage. I am looking forward to the new chapter — we hope to travel a bit more and take advantage of a more flexible schedule. Our oldest is set to start his junior year at Notre Dame. I am still with Axpo US in New York. Our operations are off the ground, and we will be looking to grow and expand over the next few years. We hope to move back to the Southeast at some point. Saw Barry Inabnet for dinner recently — a group of Tar Heels got together to send his family on their way from NYC to their new home in Kentucky. As always, if anyone is passing through NYC, please look me up.” Kenny Tyler (he tried to sign it as Ken; pffft — always Kenny to us) writes, “My son Jordan ’16 will be a senior at William and Mary, where he has exceeded his old man’s GPA but perhaps not his bar bill. My daughter Logan ’19, after being a four-year starter for the EHS varsity girls’ soccer team, heads to Roanoke College, where she is a recruited member of the women’s soccer program.” Nick Owen writes, “My daughter Jane ’19 just graduated from EHS last year and will be attending Davidson next year, while my son Mitch ’20 has one more year at EHS. My daughter Ellie has one more year at the University of Richmond. Alison and I split our time (when not attending school events) between Atlanta and Highlands, N.C. Visitors always welcome!” Barry Inabnet writes, “After spending 21 years living and working in NYC, the Inabnets have relocated to Lexington, Ky., where I have been successfully recruited to become the next chair of surgery at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine. The biggest adjustment has been transitioning from a pedestrian and public transportation culture to a car culture. There is no doubt that Lexington is a great place to live; we bought a house very close to campus, so please look us up if you pass through town. Seward Totty ’81 has lived in Lexington since the early ’90s and extended a warm welcome.” David MacLeod writes, “My wife and I dropped our son Pearce off at Sewanee on August 24, effectively leaving us empty nesters. However, with Wes Oates and Allston Moore now sending their children to the
Geoff Allen ’83 and Barry Inabnet ’83 met for dinner in New York.
University of Alabama and Winton Blount and his wife having recently relocated to Tuscaloosa and Barry Inabnet and his family to Lexington, I am hoping there will be more opportunities to reconnect. If travels bring me close to anyone else out there, I may be a threat to reach out. Time is flying, but life goes on!” Tom Thagard writes, “I am a (senior) commercial litigator at Maynard, Cooper & Gale in Birmingham, Ala. My oldest son, Thomas ’14 (23), is attending law school at the University of Richmond. My middle son, Gene (22), just graduated from West Point and is a second lieutenant in the Army, learning to fly helicopters. My youngest, Christopher (18), just returned from Amman, Jordan, where he was in an Arabic language-immersion program sponsored by the U.S. Department of State. Things could not be going better. I would love for anyone traveling through Birmingham to look me up.” John Gable writes, “Being out in California with a kid just starting in 8th grade, I can’t help much with the Sewanee thread. But I can say that our son Bo is very interested in boarding schools and in Episcopal. When we visited before the summer, we got to spend some time with Jeff Streed (I think his first year was our senior year) — he showed us some insanely beautiful ancient books from before the printing press. I also got to meet separately with Head of School Charley Stillwell and some of the faculty leaders to discuss technology’s impact on society and to help them continually evolve how to manage that for EHS students. These guys are really smart and thoughtful — it is impressive. (It blows my mind that when I applied, I was on the waiting list and barely got in — wouldn’t
SUBMIT YOUR CLASS NOTES ONLINE! Just go to the homepage and click on “Alumni” and then “Submit A Class Note.” For help with passwords or login, please contact the Advancement Office.
After Episcopal
Dr. Barry Inabnet (left) in Kenya with U.S. missionary surgeons (from left) Dr. Jerome Taylor and Dr. Rohan Joseph. Inabnet and fellow PAACS surgeons worked at Tenwek Hospital, one of Africa’s largest mission hospitals.
The Power of Prayer
On a medical mission trip to Kenya, Dr. Barry Inabnet ’83 saw how faith can influence a field where science and reason typically rule. Until a trip to Africa earlier this year, Dr. Barry Inabnet ’83 had found that, in his profession, reason almost always trumped faith. Inabnet, a surgeon, is a pioneer of what’s called “scarless” thyroid surgery and an expert in the field of minimally invasive endocrine surgery. His journey to the top ranks of academic medicine began at Episcopal — where he played varsity soccer, ran track, helped edit the yearbook, and volunteered at Arlington Hospital during his senior elective — and included undergraduate and medical degrees at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a fellowship in surgical endocrinology at Cochin Hospital in Paris. Recently, he was named the Johnston-Wright Endowed Professor and Chair of the Department of Surgery at the University of Kentucky after more than 20 years in leadership roles in the Mount Sinai Health System and at Columbia University in New York City. Yet as he scaled the heights of a staunchly secular field, Inabnet found that his Christian faith grew increasingly important to him personally. Raised attending the First Presbyterian Church in his hometown of Greensboro, N.C., he grew deeper in his faith upon meeting his wife, Kathleen, whom he married in 2001. Through a trusted partner in his department at Mount Sinai who is a missionary surgeon, he became interested in the work of the Pan-African Academy of Christian Surgeons, or PAACS, a nondenominational nonprofit organization that trains general surgeons in Africa. The PAACS founder, Dr. David Thompson, laid the groundwork for the organization while working in a missionary hospital in Gabon in the late 1990s. Parts of Africa have only one surgeon for every 2.5 million people, and Thompson realized that many Africans were getting medical training in the United States, then staying abroad. Through PAACS, he hoped to bolster the ranks of Africans committed to caring for residents of their home countries. PAACS has grown to include 12 training programs in eight African countries and has graduated more than 100 surgeons from the program, all of whom practice in Africa. In February, Inabnet led a 14-day PAACS mission trip to Kenya with several colleagues from Mount Sinai. They first served as faculty at a skills training conference for 48 PAACS general surgery residents and then joined the staff of Tenwek Hospital, a PAACS
training site and one of Africa’s largest mission hospitals, providing surgical care to more than 8.5 milllion residents in the southwestern corner of Kenya. The work at Tenwek was particularly invigorating for Inabnet as he and his colleagues dealt with cases that included advanced tumors, massive thyroid goiters, penetrating and blunt trauma, burns, and neurosurgery. “I will always remember how the missionary surgeons performed surgery and delivered care at the highest level in an environment of unbelievably limited resources,” he says. PAACS doctors from all over the world worked alongside Inabnet at Tenwek. They were helping to teach the hospital’s residents, but he found he learned from the residents as well. “They trained us, we trained them,” he says. “It was humbling to have senior residents take me through operations that I haven’t performed in years.” Working with PAACS, Inabnet also relished the chance to bring his faith to bear on his work. The doctors prayed when meeting patients and before surgery. Tenwek’s motto is “We treat — Jesus heals,” and psalms and Bible scripture are posted on walls throughout the hospital. Before arriving at Tenwek, Inabnet felt the power of such prayer in a personal way. A friend from the States called him with word that his son had suffered a fractured mandible in a skiing accident. Just before the boy went into surgery, the friend asked Inabnet to pray for a successful procedure and recovery. At that moment, Inabnet was overseeing a laparoscopic skills training lab with eight PAACS residents, but the group stopped its session and collectively prayed. “Working in an environment where faith is front and center was transformative for me,” he says. After his return to the States, Inabnet began talking with PAACS about joining its leadership. And thanks to his experience, he made it a point in his interview process with University of Kentucky officials to talk about international-relief work as a key for medical education. He hopes to build in an international rotation for surgeons training at the university, perhaps through PAACS. And, despite the busyness of his new job and his family’s move, he’s making plans to go on the next PAACS mission trip. It’s scheduled for 2021. EHS
THE MAGAZINE OF EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL
85
CLASS NOTES
have made it today.) Hope all is well. I lost my Mom a year and a half ago, and despite her age and that this is what happens to everyone, it still hits me off and on.” Warren Harvey writes, “Cathy and I celebrate our 30th anniversary this weekend. We are officially empty nesters and grandparents to a beautiful 9-month-old granddaughter, Elena. While I hated to miss Reunion, I have enjoyed reconnecting with a number of classmates this past year.” William Nakhleh writes, “In 2018, I started a new law firm, Nakhleh Rothfeld, LLP, with offices in Old Town Alexandria and Rockville, Md. My wife, Vanessa, and I split time between Northern Virginia during the week and Ocean City, Md., on the weekends in the summer and fall. My daughter, Elizabeth, is studying at George Mason University, and my son, Ziad, is an associate at BlackRock, where he works with fixed income and trade analytics and has passed levels 1 and 2 toward his CFA.” Halsey Wise writes, “Our youngest son, Harrison ’21, is a junior at EHS this year. He will be our fourth child to attend EHS. When all is said and done, that means Lisha and I have logged nearly 16 dorm move-ins and lots of Family Weekend events, experienced almost every faculty member and coach, visited 20 colleges, and now are nearing the end of tuition stream at EHS. Our son, Hale, and daughter, Olivia, graduated in 2015 and son, Cole, graduated last June in the Class of 2019. Over the years it has been great to reconnect with so many folks in our class and others. Almost everything about the School is far better than when we were all there, although I still miss the rhythm of the bell ringing to tell you what time of day it is and where you needed to be. I guess iPhones perform this function now. Best to all.” Leale McCall writes, “After attending college at Sewanee: The University of the South (YSR!), where I roomed with Will Dukes, I spent four glorious years in Nashville, Tenn., working in advertising and public relations, and then got serious and went to law school at the Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham, Ala. After graduation I clerked at the Alabama Supreme Court and the Court of Civil Appeals and then took a job with an insurance defense firm in Montgomery, Ala. I spent 18 years in private practice as a litigator and insurance coverage specialist, and then in 2014 I became a staff attorney in the state Supreme Court clerk’s office 86
and remain there to this day, trying to help lawyers and the general public navigate the appellate system, though I’ve learned you can’t fix stupid. It is never boring. Currently (on my off time, which I now have periodically as a state employee) I am working my way through a sizeable bucket list and traveling as often as I can.” Richard MacKnight writes, “My wife, Rachel, and I are still living in Alexandria and have been practicing the empty-nest routine as our son Finlay ’20 is a senior at The High School. Rachel runs her own public diplomacy and strategy consulting company, and I am developing business around artificial intelligence, machine learning, and software automation technologies. I am learning new things every day!” Shayam Menon writes, “Anita and I just celebrated our 28th wedding anniversary, and we have three boys. Vijay graduated from the University of Virginia, Kiran is a fourth year at UVA, and Neil is a second year there. It was a difficult adjustment for this W&L boy, but all good now, and I’m claiming bragging rights for the championship! God bless, Shayam.” Jimbo Galloway writes, “I’m still going strong and still very active despite my body telling me to slow down. My wife, Camille, asked me last night how many surgeries I’ve had since we were married almost 30 years ago. If I could remember past yesterday, I’d say it’s about 10 or so. Yes, soccer is a rough sport, having played it up until about 51 years young. I understand MacLeod and Inabnet and others are still playing regularly. My daughter McCabe is getting married in two weeks, so Camille and I’ve been busy preparing, but I conveniently had neck surgery two weeks ago so I can’t lift a finger for a while. That being said, my doctor assures me that I’ll be able to entertain our guests with my infamous bottle dance! Don’t ask, but there are three phases, and the third is dangerous.” It is hard to believe that this summer marks the fifth anniversary of Homer Jacobs’s passing, and we still mourn this tragic loss of a true friend. Efforts are underway to set up a memorial in his honor, so stay tuned! Class of ’83, play hard, cherish friendships, love thy neighbor, and attend the next Reunion!
Henry Stoever ’84 on his way to a smooth recovery on Belle Haven No. 4.
’84
Sam Froelich (H) 336-288-5711 froelich@me.com 40th Reunion: June 2024
’85
Thorne Gregory (H) 203-655-7139 (O) 212-500-3049 thornegregoryjr@me.com 35th Reunion: June 5-7, 2020
A number of Class of ’85 members have children who are current students at EHS: Lathan Allen — Carson ’20 and Katherine ’20; Rod McGee — Hugh ’22; Ed Walker — Finn ’21; and Patrick Weston — Patrick ’22.
’86
Art Taylor (C) 703-774-5079 art@arttaylorwriter.com 35th Reunion: June 2021
This issue’s roundup from the Class of 1986 seems to span a wide range of life’s milestones: a birthday and an actual birth, transitions from high school to college and through college, a trio of creative achievements, and even a retirement on the horizon! Keeping at least loosely with that order (and including some news unfortunately left out of an earlier update): Spencer Connerat celebrated his 50th birthday last year with a visit to Québec City and took a tour of l’Assemblée Nationale du Québec with his wife, Sara, and his then2-year-old son. More recently, in May of this year, they welcomed a new child into the family, too; Spencer writes: “Lily Grace
SUBMIT YOUR CLASS NOTES ONLINE! Just go to the homepage and click on “Alumni” and then “Submit A Class Note.” For help with passwords or login, please contact the Advancement Office.
“All the Birds in the World,” a new book by David Opie ’86.
Rodney Robinson ’86 and Emmie Burns ’10, two of several EHS alums who work at Facebook.
EHS A L UM NI S QUE A K B Y WOODBER R Y F OR E S T
Wright Wall ’86 and his son, Davis, on a mission trip in Kenya.
Art Taylor ’86 at the Edgar Awards.
Connerat now joins her big brother Joseph (3½) as two of the youngest residents of our town of Belleair, Fla.” Welcome to the world, baby girl! Last fall and this fall, several other Old Boys ushered older kids into a different stage of life. Jim Bard, who’s still working for Accenture in Atlanta, and his wife, Alicia, sent their daughter for her first year at Duke last year, and his son recently graduated from Georgia Tech. Jack Redhead, now in his 25th year with Bank of America, wrote that his son Charles has just started at College of Charleston, and his older son, John, is now in his final year at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Rodney Robinson’s younger daughter began at Barnard College/ Columbia University last year, and his older daughter is entering her senior year at Hampshire College in Amherst, Mass. And Rodney himself has a milestone ahead:
January will mark 10 years at Facebook! Time flies. Wright Wall wrote from Kenya where he and his son, Davis, were doing a short-term mission. Wright is now pastor at the Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Raleigh, N.C., and his daughter is attending St. Mary’s in Raleigh along with Rob Jones’s daughter. They had dinner with Dave Lewis on his recent trip through Raleigh as well. Wright’s oldest son, Chris, is in his sophomore year at McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin. Bill Fitzgerald retired from the Army on June 30 and is now employed as a civilian in the Army in Austin, Texas. He was awarded the Bronze Star in Afghanistan and the Meritorious Service Medal in Bosnia. Several folks from our class (including me) have had some success with creative endeavors. David Opie (subject of a nice story in the last issue of the magazine) sold his first book as an author/illustrator: the nonfiction All the Birds in the World, scheduled for release in spring 2020; we’re providing a
With “The Game” still weeks away, Episcopal and Woodberry Forest squared off in September for a different annual clash: the 21st Alumni Cup Challenge golf tournament. Gathering at Yeamans Hall Club in Charleston, S.C. — ranked by Golf Digest as one of the 100 greatest courses in America — graduates of the two rival schools hit the links for a day of fun and friendly competition. The event raises support for scholarships at both schools. EHS squeaked by Woodberry Forest with a score of 36½ to 35½ in the Ryder Cup-style format, which featured best-ball play, alternate-shot matches, and individual competition. Pictured with the cup are Class of 1984 team members (from left) Matt Long, Henry Stoever, Jim Sutton, and Garth Ainslie. Long and Sutton served as captains of the EHS team, which boasted 37 golfers.
EHS
THE MAGAZINE OF EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL
87
CLASS NOTES
cover preview (page 87)! Dave also taught a summer course at the Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts in Old Lyme, Conn. In a different medium, Scott Pietsch put out the sixsong EP “Shadows of Noise” last December; give it a listen on Spotify — good stuff! And I’ve been very fortunate this year with my short fiction: My story “English 398: Fiction Workshop,” originally published in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, won this year’s Edgar Award for Best Short Story! I had another story published in EQMM as well — “Better Days,” in the May/June issue — with a couple more stories forthcoming over the next few months (I’ll share in the next column). Finally, one chapter closes as another opens. Here’s Richard Reese — on the eve of his retirement! — sharing stories about “one of the most awesome years during my teaching/coaching tenure.” In his own words: “I was the assistant for both the Carver High School boys’ and girls’ 4A basketball teams in Columbus, Ga. Both teams won the state championship. This makes the third championship during my coaching tenure; we won the football championship in 2007. It was one hell of a ride. The boys’ team had to beat one of our region rivals for the fourth time in order to win the championship, and the girls’ team went undefeated. As a matter of fact, one of the girls on our team also played on the Team USA three-on-three gold medal-winning team. My daughter, who was a member of the state championship team, will be attending the University of Georgia in the fall and majoring in theater, so my wife and I will be joining the empty-nesters’ club; pray for us. I will also be starting my final year before being eligible for retirement. It has been a great 30 years, and I am anxiously looking forward to the next chapter in my life.” Congratulations, Richard! And best wishes to you — and to all of us — about whatever’s ahead!
’87
David Haddock (C) 301-575-6750 davidhaddock@yahoo.com 35th Reunion: June 2022
Thanks for all the great responses to my request for updates. Our class has been rather busy vacationing this summer, as you will see below. But Bart Potter has been working hard. Bart reports that he “just wrote and released a book (page 83) this year. It’s 88
James Connor ’87 with his sister in the British Virgin Islands.
Howard Hunter ’87 and son Robert.
James Blue ’87 with family in Martha’s Vineyard.
Stephen Shuford ’87 with sons Pope (left), age 14, and Hal, 12, in Glacier National Park.
Rich Gardner ’87 with husband Kiko.
Dan Deutermann ’87 and family at the Women’s World Cup in Paris.
called “Jiffy Body: The 10 Minute System to Avoid Joint and Muscle Pain.” It’s available on Amazon and more information can be found at book.jiffybody.com.” James Conner reports that he is “still sporting the old issue shirt. Tommy hooked me up on a few extras back in the day.” James and his family celebrated his 50th birthday with a sailing trip in the British Virgin Islands. Howard Hunter and his son Robert, age 5, continue to protect the world from
the zombie apocalypse, as pictured (above) at the Sandestin resort in Florida. James Blue reports, “We just finished our summer on Martha’s Vineyard. Dylan Glenn almost ran me over last year at the airport. He stays in the banker section of the island while we slum in what our son and others call ‘the ghetto.’ Our son Alden returned to Ole Miss last week. He lived at home in Manhattan this summer while working at Guideposts — that august journal of spirituality started
SUBMIT YOUR CLASS NOTES ONLINE! Just go to the homepage and click on “Alumni” and then “Submit A Class Note.” For help with passwords or login, please contact the Advancement Office.
the trip was taking my kids to Croatia; see our photo (left).
’88
Will Burdell (H) 505-259-9068 (O) 912-638-3611 willburdell@gmail.com 35th Reunion: June 2023
Scott Millen ’87, wife Cindy, and daughters Bella and Lexa on the Hawaiian island of Maui.
Dane Snowden ’87 with husband Spencer and daughter, Harper Ann.
’89
Croom Lawrence (C) 540-878-6754 croomlawrence@gmail.com 35th Reunion: June 2024
’90
Joe Dulaney (C) 662-519-1480 (O) 662-363-2922 joe@dulaneylawfirm.com 30th Reunion: June 5-7, 2020
David Haddock ’87 and sons Adam (in yellow), age 8, and Alex, 10, in Croatia.
by Norman Vincent Peale. Effie graduated from St. George’s with distinction. She just finished her first week at Kenyon College where, on meeting someone the first time, you are obliged to say your pronouns. Like her brother, Effie refuses to learn to drive. We moved back to New York in December. It remains the best city in the world, and I am lucky to live here. My husband, John, toils at one of the Wall Street law firms, while I remain a broadcast news executive — the only field I have worked in since before leaving college — this time with PBS NewsHour. We are blessed and welcome visitors.” Kevin Dell reports that he ran the Kansas City Marathon in May. Stephen Shuford reports that he vacationed with his family this summer in Glacier National Park, Big Sky, Yellowstone, and Jackson, Wyo. Dan Deutermann reports (in the third person, to help me write this update, not knowing how much I cut and paste): “Dan Deutermann is still loitering in the Fort Hunt, Va., ’burbs with his wife, Kelly, and three kiddos — Finn, Remy, and Rio. Had
an amazing European vacation this summer culminating in going to the quarterfinal of the Women’s World Cup in Paris: USA vs. France! I hope all of you are doing well, please reach out if visiting in the area … love to meet up for a cold beverage perhaps.” Rich Gardner reports that he and his husband, Kiko, have retired and will be splitting time between Barcelona, Spain, and Lisbon, Portugal. Scott Millen reports that he vacationed with his family in Maui this summer. Dane Snowden reports “My husband, Spencer, and I welcomed our baby girl, Harper Ann, to our family in December. We are enjoying fatherhood — diapers and all.” And last but not least, me. This summer I walked the Camino de Santiago 500 miles across the north of Spain, from the border with France in the Pyrenees, to Santiago de Compostela, and then continued 50 more miles to the Atlantic Ocean at Cape Finisterre (end of the earth). And then I hiked the Tour du Mont Blanc, a 100-or-so mile circuit hike around Mont Blanc, passing through France, Italy, and Switzerland. But the highlight of
Greetings! As another school year rolls around, I reminisce to when we first checked in at The High School. The first thing I recall about the School was the heat. Like many of you remember, we did not have air conditioning in the dorms. Box fans and cold showers were about the only relief. As I moved my daughter, Isabelle ’21, into 3rd Dal over the weekend, I was impressed with all the upgrades the School has made to the dorms. The campus as a whole looks fabulous. If you have not had an opportunity to visit lately, this year will provide several opportunities. The Woodberry game will be in Alexandria this fall, and in June we will celebrate our 30th Reunion. Yes, officially we are the old guys. I hope each of you will make a plan to attend one or both of these events. With that said, I have a couple of updates. John Stevens recently married the love of his life, Brandie Stevens. John and Brandie are residing in Houston, and, yes, he is still a Longhorns fan. David Maybank and his wife, Keri, recently adopted a beautiful baby girl, Parsons Maybank, into the family. Congratulations, guys!
’91
Will Coxe (C) 864-313-9803 williecoxe@gmail.com 30th Reunion: June 2021
Greetings to the Class of 1991! I hope this finds you well as summer comes to a close. EHS
THE MAGAZINE OF EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL
89
CLASS NOTES
John Robbins came through Greenville, S.C., this summer for some fellowship, accompanied by his wife, Elizabeth, and daughter Eliza ’23. Eliza started EHS in the fall and we are all thankful she just takes after her mother. Champ Covington and his wife, Wendy, met up with Dave Thomas in Charlotte, N.C., for a Dave Matthews concert. George Gates is living in Oxford, Miss., and has started a new job in the land of the Ole Miss Rebels. Life is treating me well in Greenville, S.C. Sorry we could not pull off a reunion this summer at my mountain house. Our 30th Reunion is less than two years away, so I hope to see everyone back on the Hill in 2021. Please write or call and let me hear from you.
’92
Fred Alexander (C) 704-641-4858 fcaiii@yahoo.com 30th Reunion: June 2022
Greetings Class of 1992, I hope your summers have been relaxing. Now, for many of us: the routines of school, fall sports, and hopefully some cooler weather. I’m going to take a moment to speak about not taking things for granted. It’s easy to do as we get caught up in our daily lives and plug along. In hindsight, I have some great friendships from The High School that I enjoy but based on my reaching out it doesn’t seem that way until we cross paths, and then it’s like we never missed a beat. I guess what has brought some of this on is that I was lucky enough (granted I am sure Mike does not feel this way) to go to Big Mike McCabe’s funeral. Big Mike’s son, our Michael McCabe, gave a eulogy and absolutely nailed it. One of the highlights: he said that his dad took an interest in his friends to the same extent he took an interest in his own son. I remembered being with Nell and Big Mike when they were often up on The Holy Hill, and I was treated, as others were, like a member of the family. As you look back on it, these experiences were repeated in different settings by members of the faculty and staff, whether it was an Adjustment Club meeting, talking with the kitchen staff prior to waiting tables for sit-down meals, or going out to dinner with a friend and his parents. These experiences carried over off campus and outside the school year as well. I remember visiting Fielding Logan, Beverley Logan McCaskill ’94, Willis Logan ’96, and Dan 90
William Coxe ’91 and John Robbins ’91 in Greenville, S.C. Parsons Maybank, daughter of David Maybank ’90.
Logan ’96 on Pawley’s Island, S.C., several times over the course of a couple of summers in the early to mid-1990s at Beverly’s parents beach house. Mr. and Mrs. Logan always opened their door, even when their children were not there, with a cold beer and a good story. As I was working at an inn on the island where I was in theory always on duty, those nights helped keep my sanity. Sometimes you get a peek into the future. When back on campus two years ago, I got to eat lunch with Bear Matheson ’20, our own Murdoch Matheson’s son. What a great kid; he was engaging and at least acted like he was interested in what I had to say. This fall I am a coach on my son’s youth football team. I love interacting with the other kids and teaching them the game. One of the kids on the team is the nephew of Flynn Jarrett ’93 and Luke Jarrett ’94 and the grandson of Joe Jarrett ’67. Like many on his team, he is a great kid, although he could use some of Flynn’s special, weight-loss chocolate powder as he could stand to gain a few more pounds. As I write this, I hope that those kids will remember learning something positive from this season, perhaps a lesson in life, that I was so fortunate enough to have learned from my relationships, whether I knew it or not at the time. You never know who or when you might influence another person. The lessons and experiences gained from the family that is Episcopal High School’s faculty, staff, and alumni are and were invaluable to me. While we (and especially me) are far from perfect, I think I’m better for it. Finally, in other news, master thespian Jim Sibley has finished this season’s outdoor production “Boo GameCocky.” It was Wednesday through Sunday at the Bryson
John Robbins ’91, wife Elizabeth, and daughter Eliza ’22.
City, N.C., outdoor amphitheater. John Mullins evidently went to three showings. I heard that one was enough to get the message. If you are in the Charlotte, N.C., area, please look me up. Send me what you are doing, want to do, or did in the past. The rest of your classmates and I want to know what’s been going on in your world.
’93
Walker Lamond (C) 301-580-0761 walkerlamond@mac.com 30th Reunion: June 2023
Victor Maddux suffered a freak platform tennis injury that will leave him on the sidelines for the season. Thankfully, it’s not his drinking hand. Upon my arrival back in the U.S. this summer, I met Mark Masterson ’92 and Willy Clark ’92 for what was supposed to be a quiet dinner on Connecticut Avenue in D.C. before Chris Jacobs arrived with half of the Chevy Chase Club in tow since I hear the bar at that prestigious institution closes promptly at 5 p.m. Chris’s position as the director of business development at BDS Construction forces him to spend considerable time on the golf course, which must be a sacrifice for him since we all know how much he hates sports. Speaking of old sports, Trey Bason hosted a group of fine, upstanding gentlemen down
SUBMIT YOUR CLASS NOTES ONLINE! Just go to the homepage and click on “Alumni” and then “Submit A Class Note.” For help with passwords or login, please contact the Advancement Office.
Griff Gideon ’93 and Chas Marsh ’93 at Jackson Hole Still Works.
Class of 1993 members Lee Vaughn, Ryan Craig, Trey Bason, and Harrison Thurston supporting each other in the OBX.
in North Carolina this summer for a long weekend of fishing, drinking, and telling lies. From the looks of their Dare County mug shots, Thomas Wood, Harrison Thurston, and Ryan Craig haven’t changed a bit from high school, but I almost didn’t recognize Lee Vaughan without his white jeans. Gary Graham was due to join them, but he penciled in the wrong weekend, and his wife called him home to Red Dog Farms to feed the llamas. David Stallings lives in Raleigh, N.C., where he is the proprietor of Shenandoah Homes, a company that builds subdivisions, houses, and apartments throughout the Research Triangle. When he’s not at home in the Tar Heel state, he is at the Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo, Fla., or out in Big Sky, Mont. If there was a Fantasy League of EHS grads, you’d definitely want to draft Rahmaan Streater, who is still killing it at JPMorgan Chase. He and his wife and two daughters are living in New Jersey. I also heard through the grapevine (Instagram) that Alexandria developer Craig Dixon and his wife just welcomed
a new baby girl. Congratulations, Craig! And Griff Gideon reports that he ran into Sibby Banks Schlaudecker and Chas Marsh while on a two-week fishing vacation out west this summer. Chas runs a little bootlegging operation called Jackson Hole Still Works, where he makes craft vodka and gin, both of which mix well with Georgia’s BugJuice. In my last dispatch I neglected to mention that before departing the Middle East, I enjoyed a great catch-up with Max Vielle, who just happened to be passing through Amman, Jordan. Max is a fascinating guy who spends a lot of time doing aid work in Haiti. I’m sure he shared more details than that, but we were sampling quite a few Jordanian wines, and I was distracted by his almost complete lack of a French accent. I made him talk like Inspector Poirot just to make sure it was really him. If you need proof that I am alive and well and living in Virginia, I’ll be in the stands on November 9 for The Game and hope to see a lot of you there. Victor has already been out to the Bowl to scout early football practices, and he reports that we should have a pretty good squad this year despite their lack of superstars like ’90s legends Chaney Milner, Flynn Jarrett, and Jon Ylvisaker. But win or lose, the action’s always in the stands, so plan on making the trip so we can cheer the Maroon and talk about just how good we used to have it.
I’m now training to be a therapist, so a new career is on the horizon. Kelly Boldrick Barbour and her boys, Boldrick and Crawford, joined Sarah Baltimore McElwain and her boys, Charles and Thomas, for “Aladdin” at the Kennedy Center this August! Perhaps they will be on The Holy Hill themselves in a few short years! Danny Van Clief writes, “Greetings from Charlottesville, where Daniel (12), George (10), and Claudia (8) all headed back to school recently to begin their 7th, 4th, and 3rd grade years. We had a pretty special summer; I was between jobs in the solar industry in June and July, and we took advantage with some travel ‘home’ to Australia for five weeks to be with Anna’s family in and around Sydney and the small farming town where she grew up, Barraba. It was awesome to truly settle in and spend significant time with the Aussie side of our family. “This fall I’m helping to launch a Charlottesville-based business called Sun Tribe Development, extending a 12-year run in solar that began unexpectedly with a phone call I took in Australia inviting to me join (another) Charlottesville based startup in the sector. Sometimes one phone call can lead us in the most interesting of places. “I hope everyone is fired up for our upcoming 25th Reunion. Let’s make it a great turnout. I hope all of you are well and think of our time together often, and fondly.”
’94
’96
Emily Fletcher Breinig (c) 480-330-8017 fletchee@hotmail.com 30th Reunion: June 2024
’95
Sarah Baltimore McElwain sarahbmcelwain@yahoo.com Pence Craddock Scurry (c) 803-361-7354 pencescurry@gmail.com 25th Reunion: June 5-7, 2020
Cassie Miller Birtwistle writes, “I was back at EHS in April for a reception honoring my dad’s (Dr. Mike Miller) 50 years of teaching and his retirement. While there I managed to catch up with Juliana Bush ’96, who works in the Advancement Office. I live in London with my husband, Mike, and 7-yearold twins, Hank and Lila. After working as a fashion buyer in New York City and then running an arthouse cinema here in London,
Temple Forsyth Basham (C) 804-332-1517 templefbasham@gmail.com 25th Reunion: June 2021
Labor Day is behind us, children are back at school (meaning the inmates are no longer running the prison), and life is good! While I’m ready for fall, summer was full of fun adventures and visits with old friends. We kicked it off with a great visit to see Brian and Sarah Akridge Knutson in Alexandria and have another visit planned for October. Next stop was Charleston, S.C. — hotbed for celebrity EHS alums – for three nights in late June. Had an awesome visit with Tyler and Jane Pope Cooper at their sweet pad on Sullivan’s Island. Golf cart to the beach + sunset swim in the creek + steamed shrimp and wine on the screen porch = perfection. The relaxation continued on the dock of the Stono River with Jacqueline and Garland Lynn. Comforting to know nothing has changed! EHS
THE MAGAZINE OF EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL
91
CLASS NOTES
Topped it off with some great music from a Florence band featuring James Erwin ’95. Too bad Shep Rose ’97 was at Jax’s wedding hobnobbing with the Vanderpump Rules cast. Though we did see one of his “Sweet Story” hats at a local store, evidence that good ol’ Episcopal sarcasm is alive and well. The only notable people missing from our trip were Kent Lowry (where were you?) and Randy Shelley, who’s in southern Georgia for a six-month writing residency. Don’t forget the little people when you win your first Pulitzer. Andrew and I daydreamed various “how to winter in Low Country” scenarios the whole way home to ease our re-entry blues. Luckily, we didn’t have to wait long for the next party welcoming Court and Laura Morton Michau to Richmond! So pumped to have them in the best capital of the South (couldn’t resist, Bill) and just had to celebrate with co-hosts Carter Hancock Johnston ’97, Hampton Moore Eubanks, and Robert Birdsey ’95. We got along fairly well with Court’s Woodberry crew; after all, it’s easy when you know you’re superior in pretty much every category. Robert just mentioned he was meeting with Danny Van Clief ’95 to discuss his successful work in solar power as president of Coronal Energy. I recently heard from Juliana Bush, who’s back at The High School working in the Advancement Office at EHS. Can’t wait to grab coffee (wine?) the next time she’s in Richmond for work. Alas, my former wingman, Luke Zehner, is signing off from Class Notes duty in the midst of being dad of three and freelance copywriting. I’m certain you’re all sick of hearing from me, so I urge one or two of you to take over. I’ll happily pass the baton to some new blood to keep the ’96 updates fresh! Happy fall to all.
’97
Bill Allen (C) 919-673-2269 williamwallen@gmail.com 25th Reunion: June 2022
’98
Katherine Moncure Stuart (H) 540-672-4258 katstu@gmail.com Andrew Nielson (c) 706-254-2277 anielson@servicesource.com 25th Reunion: June 2023
92
Philip Cox ’99 and Alex Schultes ’99 “dune bashing” in Doha, Qatar.
Read Mortimer ’98, former faculty member Pete Gillin, and Topher Patterson ’94 teamed up to play at the Shoot Out for Soldiers in Philadelphia.
’99
Becky Kellam Everhart (c) 917-628-5945 beckykellam@gmail.com 25th Reunion: June 2024
Philip Cox went to Doha, Qatar, to visit Alex Schultes and his family in March. They had a great time just hanging out for five days. There are pictures (above) of them “dune bashing.” He reports: “Yes, we got stuck and had to dig out. That was after we almost went off a dune cliff. Hilarious and fun time. The rental guy said, ‘You break, you buy.’ No insurance.” Sounds amazing! Ravenel Richardson and I got to see each other Memorial Day weekend. She was in Virginia Beach, and we saw each other a few times.
’00
Schuyler Williams (c) 703-304-9243 schuyler13@gmail.com Maisie Cunningham Short (c) 310-498-5241 maisieshort12@gmail.com 20th Reunion: June 5-7, 2020
Greetings from the West Coast! In August, my son Emmett turned 1 and we ventured cross country to see family in Cape Cod and Maine. My partner in crime, Schuyler Williams, writes that after nearly 15 years in advertising sales, most recently for the New York Times, she made the (crazy or courageous!) decision to quit her job and take a few months off to travel and change career paths. This commenced with an Ashtanga
Ravenel Richardson ’99 and Becky Kellam Everhart ’99 with their children in Virginia Beach.
Vinyasa yoga teacher-training in Thailand, followed by a few weeks exploring and surfing in Vietnam and Bali, respectively. To say that it was life-changing, especially given that it was her first time in Asia, would be an understatement! Upon returning to the United States, she went to Jackson Hole, Wyo., and unexpectedly ran into Jeb Stuart ’01, who has been living out there for almost 10 years and now manages sales for an outdoor apparel company, Stio (www.stio.com). Schuyler’s travels abroad continued with attending Will Nisbet’s ’01 wedding in Les Contamines-Montjoie, France. In tow were Hattie Gruber, Brenton Hardee ’02, P.X. Head, McCoy Penninger ’02 (he officiated the wedding!), Fletcher Slater ’02, David Clarke ’01, Will Lombard ’01, and Morgan Akers ’01. Complete with the tradition of unearthing a bottle of bourbon and passing it among all guests to a dance party that ended at 4 a.m., this international EHS reunion was one for the ages, and we all agreed that our stomachs have never hurt so intensely from laughter versus over-consumption of wine, cheese, and bread! (See picture on page 94 for proof!). Congratulations to two of my
SUBMIT YOUR CLASS NOTES ONLINE! Just go to the homepage and click on “Alumni” and then “Submit A Class Note.” For help with passwords or login, please contact the Advancement Office.
After Episcopal
Coutney Banghart’s basketball coaching career, which began at EHS in 2000, has now taken her to perennial women’s college power UNC.
She’s Got Game
Former EHS teacher and coach Courtney Banghart takes over the powerhouse UNC women’s basketball program. Only 15 teams have won an NCAA Division I national championship in women’s basketball since its tournament began in 1982. Now, former EHS faculty member Courtney Banghart holds the reins of one of those teams: the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She was hired at UNC in April, the latest milestone in a nearly 20-year coaching career that includes a dominating tenure at Princeton (seven Ivy League titles, conference records for wins as a coach). Had she remained at Princeton, she was a virtual lock for the Basketball Hall of Fame. Banghart saw none of this in her future when she gingerly stepped onto the Episcopal High School campus as a newly minted graduate from Dartmouth in 2000. Despite breaking school records for three-pointers in a game, season, and career, she saw no future with hoops. “Coaching basketball wasn’t a real career,” she thought at the time. Then-EHS Athletic Director Tim Jaeger, who knew of Courtney through his father, the AD at Dartmouth, invited her to join the School as the girls’ basketball coach. He sweetened the deal by offering to let her teach and work as an assistant AD. “I wanted to have my hands in lots of things because I didn’t want to close any doors at the start of my career,” she says. With Jaeger as a mentor, Banghart learned invaluable lessons. “He was so good about so many little things in coaching — encouraging me to come up with a typed practice plan, for example. I don’t know if he was just trying to develop me as a coach or because I was so young and he wanted to make sure I put some thought into it. But I valued how he got me to think about the importance of preparedness.” At UNC, Banghart replaced Sylvia Hatchell, who resigned after 33 years following a string of issues around her player relationships. Banghart knew her first goal had to be working to establish trust with a group of women she didn’t recruit. “My superpower, everyone tells me, is my authenticity, and I just have to authentically make sure they know I care,” she said. “Sometimes people resist that because they suspect ulterior motives, but the bottom line is everyone wants to be cared about.
And if they come to trust me, then we can work on other things that are hard together.” She’ll know she has hit that mark when her team plays with a sense of freedom on offense and defends with toughness. Offense is much more difficult to teach, she said. Defense, on the other hand, “is all about effort and angles.” ———— Banghart’s decision to leave Princeton had little to do with UNC’s championship pedigree. She had already turned down jobs with other perennial championship contenders. Rather, she felt she risked putting down such deep roots at Princeton that her future growth would be limited, and Chapel Hill offered a positive change across several dimensions. In the end, family was a major factor. UNC practices in the early afternoon, which means she’s more available for her three small kids. Princeton practices in the late afternoon. “I knew I would never be able to go to a JV soccer game or whatever they’re doing as they got older, because I would always be at practice,” she said. “I didn’t want to lie in bed at 65 and say, ‘I’m in the Hall of Fame, isn’t that cool,’ but my kids would be like, ‘Mommy missed everything.’ “The other day, my five-year-old son was in the bath, and he said, ‘I love North Carolina,’ and I said, ‘Me too. Why?’ And he said, ‘I see you more. I spend more time with you.’ And it’s true. I don’t miss family dinner unless I’m recruiting.’” When Banghart thinks back to beginning her career at EHS as a 21-year-old New Hampshire native who had never lived outside her home state, she’s especially grateful for the lasting connections and foundational lessons. She still fondly remembers the community of adults working on The Holy Hill. She specifically mentioned her then-student manager Millie Tanner Rayburn ’02, “always a diehard UNC fan,” who was one of the people she contacted early after accepting the Tar Heel coaching job. “I’m grateful Episcopal put me in situations where I was leading lots of different people in different ways, in classes, in sports, in administration, etc.,” she said. “I’ve learned more because I started my career with this wide range of experiences with a lot of different people.” EHS
THE MAGAZINE OF EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL
93
CLASS NOTES
best friends in the entire world, Will and his gorgeous wife, Eloise! Alicia Ravenel Boyd wins this edition of Class Notes with her massive news that she and her family are moving to Sydney, Australia, in September! They are relocating for her husband’s job and expect to spend the next three to five years in Oz. Vince Van Dillen spent the summer in California and is heading to Maryland this fall to pursue some new opportunities in school and work. Anne Perry Swift and her husband are now officially outnumbered after welcoming their third child, Sam, in April. Also welcoming a baby this summer was Sarah Brown Love, whose son, Samuel McDowell Love, was born on June 22. As a new mom, she is also juggling running several Pure Barre studios, having just opened a third location in Richmond, where she sees Becky Arnesen Jenkins when she comes in for class. Betsy Watts Metcalf managed to sneak in some time off the grid and spent six days backpacking in Colorado — no kids and no phone! Her girls will be in kindergarten and first grade, respectively, at Westminster this fall, and she is relieved to be on the other side of toddlerhood. From the Middle East, Zsolt Parkyani writes, “Work is same old, same old — still running real estate for a UAE bank, but at the end of last year I started my global exec MBA program at INSEAD and fingers crossed will be graduating in Singapore in December. The program has taken me from Abu Dhabi to Paris and Singapore, and I have had the privilege to share the journey with 59 extraordinary people representing 32 nationalities. Have also just completed a fourweek online course organized by the World Bank, “Unlocking Investment and Finance in Emerging Markets and Developing Economies (EMDEs),” so 2019 has been all about learning and self-development.” Houston and Brice Lohr Barnes are both looking forward to Reunion next year, and their 9- and 7-year-old kids are keeping them busy with basketball games and swim meets. Both Brice and Houston are working remotely from Florida and loving it. Houston just launched a new division of his law firm, Southern Franchise Law (southernfranchise. com) to handle a growing sector of his corporate law work, while Brice is working with progressive organizations and political clients. Their biggest news is that they both joined the Democratic National Finance Committee 94
Matt Kirwan ’00 and his wife, Amanda, with their children, Noah and Hayden.
Children of Leah Kannensohn Tennille ’01, Taylor Gillis Clement ’01, and Caitlin Kannensohn Elam ’03 hanging outside Blackford. Left to right: Augustus Clement, age 3; Wilby Clement, 6; Townsend Tennille, 5; and Abby Elam, 8.
Brenton Hardee ’02, P.X. Head ’00, Schuyler Williams ’00, Hattie Gruber ’00, Will Nisbet ’01, Eloise Repeczky, Will Lombard ’01, Morgan Akers ’01, David Clark ’01, McCoy Penninger ’02, John Brooks ’02, John Nisbet ’03, Anneka Wisker ’07, and Fletcher Slater ’01 at the wedding of Will Nesbit and Eloise.
Kim Obradovich Holman ’01 with the Auburn Tiger and playing roller derby.
The children of Kim Obradovich Holman ’01: Jonathan, Samuel, and Edmund.
and will be working hard for the organization and serving on the board for 2020.
Kim Obradovich Holman writes, “I’m in my second year of grad school, Edmund is K3, Samuel is K, and Jonathan is in 3rd grade. We moved to Auburn, Ala., this summer, and I’ve picked up a part time gig with Auburn Online doing instructional design — as if there wasn’t enough going on already! We have two games left in our roller derby
’01
Beezie McLaughlin Sayers (C) 713-560-6210 beezie.sayers@gmail.com 20th Reunion: June 2021
SUBMIT YOUR CLASS NOTES ONLINE! Just go to the homepage and click on “Alumni” and then “Submit A Class Note.” For help with passwords or login, please contact the Advancement Office.
Jayme and Holt Hobgood’s ’01 newest addition, Clarke, born in May 2018, and their dog, Penny Lane. Jonathan Lee ’01 comforting Townsend Tennille after his mother, Leah Kannensohn Tennille ’01, told him he couldn’t do something.
The children of Jayme and Holt Hobgood ’01: Colton, almost 2; and Clarke.
’02
Andrew Farrar (C) 919-616-6636 asfarrar@gmail.com Artie Armstrong (C) 805-341-5233 artiearmstrong@yahoo.com 20th Reunion: June 2022
Lauren Sims Polak ’01 and her children. Left to right: Greyson, age 3; Wesley, 8 months; and Scarlett, 8 months.
Beezie McLaughlin Sayers ’01 and family.
Cooper Sayers, youngest son of Beezie McLaughlin Sayers ’01 and Hanley Sayers.
season, and I’m looking forward to the offseason because this momma needs a break! We play in Montgomery, Ala., on Sept. 21 and Oct. 5 if anyone finds themselves nearby or wants a really weird (but fun) weekend vacation.” Leah Kannensohn Tennille and Taylor Gillis Clement spent a week at EHS this
They were quite tiny at first but are now healthy, chunky little babes. It’s been a crazy ride but they’re loving every minute. Holt Hobgood writes that everyone is doing well in the Hobgood household. He and his wife, Jayme, welcomed a second son, Clarke, in May of this year. Their elder son, Colton, will be 2 in two weeks. Two under the age of 2! Life has certainly been busy. They lost their sweet black lab, Lucy, back in October, but she had a long and wonderful life, and their other dog, Penny Lane, turns six in two days. Will Nisbet married Eloise Repeczky in Les Contamines-Montjoie, France, on August 10. The ceremony was enthusiastically officiated by McCoy Penninger ’02, a close friend of the bride and groom. There were many EHS alumni in attendance. It was a fantastic time, and they couldn’t have been happier to have had so many EHS friends with them to help celebrate. Beezie McLaughlin Sayers and her husband, Hanley, welcomed their fifth child, a boy, Edwin LeRoy Cooper Sayers, in October 2018. Baby Coop is much adored by his older, very helpful siblings.
summer, where their boys and Leah’s niece did HeadFirst camp on campus. Leah and Taylor explored Alexandria with Lowden Clement (age 1) and spent lots of time on campus. They all loved eating in the dining hall, and they spent some time with Jonathan Lee and got to meet his adorable son, Grayson. Lauren Sims Polak has had an eventful year! She and her husband found out they were expecting twins last summer and decided to leave their great little house near the city and head to the ’burbs of Denver to find more space for their growing family. Greyson, now 3, started preschool and is loving it. Scarlett and Wesley decided to make an early debut right before Christmas. They were born at 32 weeks and spent five weeks in the NICU.
Andrew Farrar ’02 and Morgan Guthridge ’99 drove up from Richmond to watch an EHS varsity football practice and to speak to the team about what their time at a Episcopal and their experiences as football players meant to them.
’03
Alden Koste Corrigan (C) 443-783-4659 alden.k.corrigan@gmail.com 15th Reunion: June 2023
I hope everyone from the Class of 2003 is doing well. Our family had a busy summer. We welcomed our second daughter, Spencer Mathews Corrigan, on May 20. Our older daughter, Carson, has been quite taken with our newest addition. We are hoping the novelty of having a baby sister does not wear off anytime soon. We are still in Atlanta and EHS
THE MAGAZINE OF EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL
95
CLASS NOTES
love running into the many EHS alums in the area. Congratulations to several other classmates who also welcomed children into their families. Daphne Clyburn and her husband, Michael MacEwen, were thrilled to welcome their first child, Benjamin Arlo MacEwen, into the world on June 29. The family has enjoyed visits from Sally Flynt and Sarah Wood. Gray and Sally Mebane Murray welcomed their second son, Blalock “Lock” Armstrong Murray, born April 14 at 6 pounds 2 ounces. Stuart and Laura Davidson Hartley welcomed a daughter, Mary Maxwell Hartley, on November 27, 2018, in Lexington, Ky. Chris Hutchins recently announced that his company, Grove (hellogrove.com), was acquired by Wealthfront. For the last three years Chris has been working to make financial advice more honest and affordable for everyone and will now be doing it on an even larger scale.
Morgan Guthridge ’99, Andrew Farrar ’02, and Warner Blunt ’07 at EHS varsity football practice.
Gray ’03 and Sally Mebane Murray’s ’03 son, Lock.
’04
Caitlin Smith (C) 337-302-2444 caitlin.ann.smith@gmail.com Harrison Gilchrist (H) 804-443-5247 chgilchr@gmail.com 20th Reunion: June 2024
’05
Ellie Frazier (C) 540-256-7215 kefrazier8@gmail.com 15th Reunion: June 5-7, 2020
Peebles Squire and wife Lauren Cobert have waved goodbye to Arlington and headed south to the holy city of Richmond. They look forward to catching up with all the neighborhood Old Boys and Girls! Alston Armfield Daigh and her husband, Alex, welcomed Charles Carter Daigh on March 20. Charlie joins older brother Alexander. Chris Mixon and his wife, Ali Kittle, welcomed daughter Freya on May 7. Lila Warren lives in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., and manages the fly-fishing, shooting, and equestrian programs at the Greenbrier Resort. She’s had a great summer in the woods and on the water. 96
Carson and Spencer, daughters of Alden Koste Corrigan ’03.
Alexandra Varipapa and her family have been enjoying life in Brooklyn with their new(ish) baby boy Roman James Morse. He’s 9 months old now. Big sister, 3-yearold Sloane, has been an excellent helper and entertainer to him. In June, they celebrated Robbie Varipapa’s wedding to Lindsey DeGeorge where they got to see Zach Chesson and his wife, Cassie. Kate Hanlan Hollo Kegan and Henry Kegan baptized their son, William Calvert DeForest Kegan, on August 24 in Callaway Chapel at EHS. Cal’s godmother is fellow classmate Brennan Killeen Lynch. Other grads in attendance included Hannah Reuter Rothrock, Hunter Mitchell, and Peyton Killeen Walling ’06.
Daphne Clyburn ’03 with her husband, Michael, and son, Benjamin Arlo MacEwen.
Mary Maxwell Hartley, daughter of Stuart ’03 and Laura Davidson Hartley ’03, pictured in her uncle’s (Jesse Davidson ’04) EHS sweatshirt given to him when he was born.
SUBMIT YOUR CLASS NOTES ONLINE! Just go to the homepage and click on “Alumni” and then “Submit A Class Note.” For help with passwords or login, please contact the Advancement Office.
’06
Molly Wheaton (H) 504-288-1990 mewheaton@gmail.com Margaret von Werssowetz Waters (C) 843-607-5788 margaretvonw@gmail.com 15th Reunion: June 2021
Hannah Reuter Rothrock ’05, Kate Hanlan Hollo Kegan ’05, Brennan Killeen Lynch ’05, Peyton Killeen Walling ’06, Hunter Mitchell ’05, and Henry Kegan ’05 at EHS for the baptism of Kate and Henry’s son.
David Wang ’05 with daughter Holland Beatrice Wang, born February 13.
Charlie Daigh, son of Alston Armfield Daigh ’05.
Kerby and Spencer Katona ’05 with daughters Emerson and Ella Scot Katona, born June 21.
Roman Morse, son of Alexandra Varipapa ’05, in an EHS onesie.
Dear Classmates — Margaret von Werssowetz Waters reporting. I asked for you all to entertain me with updates while I was out on maternity leave, and you delivered! Growing families and moves seem to be big news these days. Ned and I welcomed our daughter, Goodwyn Rhett Waters (“Goody”), on July 1, and we are thrilled that she arrived mere weeks after Ann Condon (“Annie”) Murray, who currently is the youngest girl living on Anderson dorm with her mom, Frances deSaussure Murray. Anne Womble Hobart welcomed a baby boy, John “Hastings” Hobart IV, back in February. Carrie Coker Kuykendall and her husband Matt moved to Savannah, Ga., this summer and are expecting a baby boy in October. Jenner Wood writes, “My wife, Emily, and I had our first child on January 29, a boy named Jenner. He is well-outfitted with EHS gear thanks to his grandfathers, Jenner Wood ’70 and Howell Morrison ’72. Jenner looks forward to growing up in Charlotte, N.C., with fellow EHS baby, Fletcher Dunn Jr. Thomas Light shared: “Kate and I are having a baby girl in late October! We are really excited. Also, we just moved from Atlanta to Tampa, Fla. (Kate’s hometown), to be closer to family. It’s great to be closer to the water, beach, and family.” Elizabeth Harrison Carrington’s daughter Libby turns 2 this December, and Elizabeth is also now expecting her second, due in March 2020. Elizabeth has also been inducted into the EHS Athletics Hall of Fame, a great honor and no surprise to anyone who has ever seen her run. I do not have a great mind for recalling sports memories, but even I remember how epic the cross country team was during our time at Episcopal. Another cross country alum, Holly Casey Bent, writes: “A few updates for us — I had a baby on April 1!! Maxwell Stuart Bent Jr., Max, and I took the spring and summer off to be with the baby and just moved to the D.C. area. We are living in Bethesda, Md., where big Max’s new job will be, and I will be working remotely for a social-media EHS
THE MAGAZINE OF EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL
97
CLASS NOTES
marketing and technology company based in New York City and London. Our first stop after unpacking our new place was The Holy Hill, and I showed both big and baby Max around our beautiful campus. Here’s hoping for a member of the Class of 2037!” Honour Alston Thornton has a baby girl named Pierce, who is now over 6 months old. Honour and her family just bought a new house, and she is still working as a cardiacsurgery nurse practitioner. Will Reavis is modeling a more adventurous family life. “Our youngest son, Shepherd, was born at the beginning of February, and in April we sold our house in Norfolk, Va., and bought a sailboat. I quit my job, and we sailed away (really just up and down the East Coast). We are now in the process of moving back to land, in St. Thomas, V.I., this time. Open invitation to anyone from the Class of ’06 that needs some time in the tropical weather.” But for the ultimate family adventure, we all must bow down to Jenna Llewellyn Hummer, who is expecting triplets! She writes, “Most of my updates are on the ol’ gram — my husband, James, and I just moved to Charlottesville by way of five years in Manhattan and our most recent year in Tampa, Fla., and we are hunkering down this fall to prepare for the very, very cute nuclear bomb that is about to be dropped on our quiet little life: triplets. Our three little boys are due sometime in December with the hope I can keep them cooking ’til Christmas. I’m currently working as the PR director for a software company (Squaremouth.com) and plan to stick with it as long as my swollen little fingers can type, then we’ll see! It’s quite nice to be back in Virginia — please reach out if you’re ever in the neighborhood!” Hendrik de Zwart reports, “Peebles Squire ’05, his wife Lauren Cobert, Taylor Fondren ’05, and I went on a group ski trip with friends to the Three Valleys in the French Alps back in March. Great snow, great weather, and somehow cheaper than going to the Rockies. I also finally found a way to play field hockey again and promptly broke my wrist making a save. ... Hope to be fully healed in the near future.” Scout Douglas Osborne and her husband, Russell, recently bought a house in Falls Church. Russell works in Georgetown at a company called Framebridge with Julie Zambie Williams ’07. They see each other 98
Hendrik de Zwart ’06, Peebles Squire ’05, and Taylor Fondren ’05 enjoy a ski trip in the French Alps.
Peter Dunbar ’06, Fletcher Dunn ’06, Daniel Gottwald ’06, Thomas Light ’06, Walker Francis ’06, Rutledge Long ’06, David Lambeth ’06, Mason Tillett ’06, Wesley Long, Paul Light ’06, and Stephen Shaw ’06 gathered in Kiawah, S.C., for their annual Old Boys Classic.
Katharine Pelzer ’06 hiking in Simien Mountains of Ethiopia.
from time to time at company events and have enjoyed catching up! Clay Schutte writes, “I’ve been traveling all over the eastern and central United States putting up glamping tents at music festivals this summer; I had VIP access to a bunch of cool events, so it was a good time. I’m planning to head back to Vail, Colo., to teach skiing again this winter.” Also out west, Keith Plum married his beautiful wife, Alli, this summer in Telluride, Colo., and Kingsley Trotter — recently graduated from Vanderbilt law school — writes, “I moved to Denver!”
John Hastings Hobart IV, son of John and Anne Womble Hobart ’06.
Spencer Brown has moved to the Midwest — Carbondale, Ill., to coach the linebackers at Southern Illinois University. “We’ve got some rebuilding to do,” he says, “but we’re excited about the future!” Somewhat farther afield at her new home in Nairobi, Kenya, Katharine Pelzer shares, “I am enjoying living in a cottage with a garden after years of apartment living and exploring a different part of the world on my weekends. I am grateful that my company
SUBMIT YOUR CLASS NOTES ONLINE! Just go to the homepage and click on “Alumni” and then “Submit A Class Note.” For help with passwords or login, please contact the Advancement Office.
Keith Plum ’06 and wife Alli were married this summer in Telluride, Colo.
’07
Katharine Farrar (c) 540-460-2974 kdf@episcopalhighschool.org Clark Barber (c) 864-325-0940 clark.barber@gartner.com 15th Reunion: June 2022
Emily Wood, wife of Jenner Wood ’06, and their son, Jenner Wood V, ready to cheer on The High School.
Pierce Thornton, daughter of Honour Alston Thornton ’06.
Maxwell Stuart Bent Jr., son of Holly Casey Bent ’06, in Callaway Chapel at EHS.
sends me to the U.S. every quarter, allowing me to stay in good touch with family and friends, including many EHS folks. My only gripe is that Margaret moved a block away from where I lived for six years in D.C. a few months after I moved away. If anyone passes through Nairobi, please look me up! Including a picture (previous page) from a trekking trip I did with a client and colleague in the Simien Mountains of Ethiopia — highly recommend!”
it so far and should be an exciting venture. On the travel front, I had a blast on two trips this summer with Kingsley Trotter (we went to Lake Tahoe, and I visited her in Denver/ Boulder). Also got to log some quality time with Lizzie MacPherson ’05 in Cartagena, Colombia, and Sarah Montz Harcus in New Orleans — Sarah’s two children, Parker and Ward, are beyond adorable!” From Miller Cornelson: “News from my world: I just started my MBA at New York University, which I’m excited about. I see a good amount of Steve Shaw and Paul Light still. Steve has become fancy and moved to the Upper East Side (my, how nice) with his wife, Mackie, leaving Paul and I downtown to fend for ourselves.” Steve and Paul were among those who gathered for their eighth annual Old Boys Classic, which took place on Kiawah Island, S.C., this year. Check out the photo, and keep the updates coming for next time!
Mary Lide Parker writes, “Ahoy from the middle of the Pacific Ocean! I’m back at sea, working on board an oceanographic research vessel as a video engineer. That means I’m operating cameras on remotely operated vehicles at the bottom of the ocean (roughly 10,000 feet deep). It’s a pretty incredible gig — in the past few days, I’ve filmed a dumbo octopus, a vampire squid, dozens of deep sea corals, and some real funky crinoids. Today we crossed over the equator, which included an initiation ceremony for us polliwogs — we are now noble shellbacks (Do we have any EHS alums who are also sailers/mariners? If so, they’ll appreciate that.) Adventure life continues to be quite rad. Hope everyone is doing well!” Back in the U.S., Molly Wheaton reports: “Still living in Austin, Texas. Recently switched jobs, and I’m working for a tech startup in the oil and gas market. It is called RigUp — think Uber for the oilfield. I love
Keeping on the theme of major life events from our previous Class Notes update, I shall now pronounce our following classmates husband and wife: This past May, Julie Zambie (now Julie Zambie Williams), married Alan Williams, her Monroe, La., hometown hero, where they now reside. Lindsey Dorman Johnson, Kelsey Montz Duffey Aimee Barraza MacInnes, Ansley Stewart Condon, Caroline Kelso, Katharine Farrar, Clark Barber, Lindsey deButts ’08, Julie Barraza Boggs ’06, and Daniel Barraza ’18, all gathered on the banks of the bayou to celebrate! Sparks flew when Claire Schmitt became Claire Schmitt Virga upon tying the knot with her husband, Ian, in June. Fellow classmates Sallie Madden, Sally Channell, Alexandra French, and Anna Belk Elliott were all by her side as bridesmaids. Jess Alfaro Murphy found the luck of the Irish when she married her husband, Gene. They said “I do” in Ireland, where Gene is from, where they met, and where they now live! Many EHS pals made the journey overseas to be her lucky charms on the big day: Diana Trimble, Kidder Williams, JT Jobe, EHS
THE MAGAZINE OF EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL
99
CLASS NOTES
Drew McGowan, Allison Ledwith Glubiak, and Zach Glubiak ’08. Five more babies have entered into the Class of 2007 family! Katie Grover Oswald, Annabel Rose Dinnerstein, and Jane Arnold Wylie are now all moms. Scope out the Birth Announcement section of the magazine for more details. Sebastian Sabella brought home his son, Archie the bernedoodle, this past summer and has loved every minute of fatherhood. Kelsey Montz Duffey also became a mother to Rex, a mini cavapoo, who has won the hearts of three EHS girls who take turns babysitting when his parents are out of town: Katharine Farrar, Olivia Vietor ’09, and Elizabeth Henderson ’11. Shawn Weger graduated from Cornell’s SC Johnson College of Business and is now crushing it in New York City as a manager of consumer marketing at American Express. Need some extra travel points?! Shawn is your girl! Until next time, folks …
Lindsey deButts ’08, Katharine Farrar ’07, Julie Zambie Williams ’07, Aimee Barraza MacInnes ’07, Lindsey Dorman Johnson ’07, Ansley Stewart Condon ’07, Kelsey Montz Duffey ’07, Alan Williams, Caroline Kelso ’07, and Clark Barber ’07 at Julie and Alan’s wedding.
’08
Lucy Glaize Frey (C) 540-327-2267 lglaize@gmail.com 15th Reunion: June 2023
Regardless of a life structured around an academic calendar or not, I always feel nostalgic at the end of the summer. It’s wild to think that at this time 15 years ago, the Class of ’08 was headed to The Holy Hill for freshman year, anxious and excited for all to come. Let’s not forget how comfortably we settled in, though, not only because of everything that is comfortable about the people and place but also because of our infamous three-day Burch Trip of course. (Thanks to the Class of ’06 for braving a full five-day Burch Trip in a hurricane. A good lesson on learning from past experiences.) It wasn’t just freshman year: every year I arrived at Episcopal, the end-ofthe-summer-nostalgia was quickly replaced with excitement for fall and the school year. These days, I still feel that nostalgia when summer comes to an end, and also look forward to different parts of fall, including college football, surprisingly! Tripp’s done an excellent job molding me into a University of Michigan football fan. So now at the end of summer, the excitement for football season makes the nostalgia for summer more bearable. So far, U of M is undefeated this season. Go Blue! 100
Sebastian Sabella ’07 with Archie.
Katherine Laws Wylie, daughter of Jane Arnold Wylie ’07.
Katie Grover Oswald’s ’07 daughter, Julia.
Tripp, Renner, and I had an excellent summer, with lots of long weekends up in Harbor Springs, Mich., and quite a few trips all over the Atlantic Coast. Renner and Finley Stover, daughter of Monica and Bo Stover ’04, continue to enjoy spending their days together in their nanny share. Alex Hess is having a wonderful time pursuing his MBA at Cornell’s SC Johnson
Henry Liam Dinnerstein, son of Annabel Rose Dinnerstein ’07.
School. Harrison Jobe ’06 and Shawn Weger ’07 graduated from the program last year and were amazing ambassadors. Alex reports that Upstate New York is still an amazing region.
SUBMIT YOUR CLASS NOTES ONLINE! Just go to the homepage and click on “Alumni” and then “Submit A Class Note.” For help with passwords or login, please contact the Advancement Office.
Class of 2008 classmates Ann Gordon Pelletier Eisenzimmer, Leah Andress Brady, Eliza Coker, Lily Fowle, Marguerite Kleinheinz Stoner, Eleanor Galloway, Amanda Weisiger Cornelson, and Carson Roberts Paschal celebrate at Marguerite and Matt Stoner’s wedding in Fort Worth, Texas. Clay Dunnan Maxwell ’08 and Grover Maxwell at their wedding at Yeamans Hall Club in Charleston, S.C.
Tripp Frey, Shaw Cornelson ’04, Mark Paschal, Chris Eisenzimmer, Matt Stoner, Lucy Glaize Frey ’08, Amanda Weisiger Cornelson ’08, Liz McLean Hughes ’08, Ann Gordon Pelletier Eisenzimmer ’08, Carson Roberts Paschal ’08, Marguerite Kleinheinz Stoner ’08, Eliza Coker ’08, Wes Graf ’08, Grover Maxwell, Clay Dunnan Maxwell ’08, and Harrison Gilchrist ’04 celebrated Clay and Grover’s wedding in Charleston, S.C.
Marguerite Kleinheinz ’08 and Matt Stoner at their wedding in Fort Worth, Texas.
Emily Urquhart ’08, Trina Brady Hooker ’08, and Biz Dale ’08 showering Baby Hooker with love at Trina’s shower in Raleigh, N.C., in August.
Will Hand contributed his first-ever update this season! He is a part-owner of District Doughnut in Washington. I know what you’re thinking; no, they do not have gluten free options … yet! Will and his business partners opened their first shop in the Capitol Hill neighborhood in 2014. Fast forward to 2019, and they have five locations, including their first in Virginia in Arlington’s
Larry Owens ’08 and Raphael Nash Thompson ’74 after a performance of “A Strange Loop” at Playwrights Horizons.
Ballston Quarter. Will hopes to see some students and faculty there! Whit Slagsvol is still practicing law in Charleston, S.C. He works with mostly small and growth-phase businesses, start-ups, and some nonprofits as general corporate counsel. He reports that Slagsvol Law Firm is having a very strong second year, and the firm takes the majority of his focus. Because he represents a handful of hemp and cannabis-related companies, he decided to start the South Carolina Cannabis Association (a hemp-industry association). He is a registered lobbyist at the
state level, advocating for the South Carolina medical cannabis bill. The association partners with the National Cannabis Industry Association and works with the Marijuana Policy Project at the state level. It will soon be working with National Cannabis Industry Federation at the federal level in D.C., as his partner just took the chief operating position position there. Whit also has a license to grow hemp in South Carolina, with three greenhouses currently planted under his license. He just secured a hemp-processing license and plans to have a lab processing for fiber in the next year, with an eye on sustainable plastics. In any other “free time” Whit can find, he works on a headphone technology he came up with. He hopes to have a prototype and a patent in the next year. Whit says, “It’s a cool idea, it does not exist, and I am super pumped.” He and his business partners hope to pitch to Bose once they have a working prototype. Whit was sure to add that he had EHS
THE MAGAZINE OF EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL
101
CLASS NOTES
nothing to do with this other than having the idea and finding engineers to actually do the thing. While this may sound like a lot, Whit assures us that he is “just a lawyer by day, with a few side projects that I pursue in my free time with some hope that one of the irons in the fire will ignite.” Marguerite Kleinheinz Stoner married Matt Stoner in Fort Worth, Texas, in April. Ann Gordon Pelletier Eisenzimmer stood by Marguerite’s side as her maid of honor. Clay Dunnan Maxwell married Grover Maxwell in May at Yeamans Hall Club in Charleston, S.C., surrounded by their best friends and family. There were lots of Episcopal attendees, which made the entire weekend extra special. Liz McLean Hughes and Ann deSaussure Biondi were bridesmaids. Shortly after the celebrations, Clay and Grover bought a house in Mount Pleasant, S.C. Check out the gorgeous photos (page 101) from the weddings! Trina Brady Hooker and her husband, Cahill, are expecting their first child in October! The gender will be a surprise! Biz Dale Uhrinek and Emily Urquhart made the trip to Raleigh, N.C., for Trina’s baby shower in August. Clark Wright recently returned from coaching baseball and playing second base for a semi-professional team in Debrecen, Hungary, this summer. As he writes, he is preparing for a new job at Rabun Gap Nacoochee School, a boarding school in Georgia. He is the head baseball coach, a history teacher, and a learning specialist. Clark says it’s already bringing back a lot of great Episcopal memories, just from the other side of things as a teacher. As you might expect, the experience is also giving Clark a newfound appreciation for how hard the Episcopal faculty works! Dylan Harry, Tom Weaver, Zach Glubiak, Todd Becker, Tucker Clarkson, and Jeremy Austin all joined Lee Carter in Lake Tahoe for his bachelor party. Dylan reports it was quite a party. There were several Lime Scooter wipeouts, and Tucker and Todd had a Smart car! Jeremy and Dylan followed that party with a road trip down the east side of the Sierras to meet Tom back in Los Angeles. Unfortunately for us, Dylan did not submit any photos of this party. Karl Stratos moved to Rutgers University as an assistant professor in computer science. Karl says that if you’re in the New York-New Jersey area, please say hi! 102
The wedding of Alec Smith ’09 to Claire Chewning, with Class of 2009 members Hanes Dunn, Bess Trotter DuBose, Jeila Martin Kershaw, Alex Fleming, Edward Pritchard, Elizabeth Ward Nation, Bradley Lockhart, and Hill DuBose.
Will Cauthen ’11, Sarah Cauthen ’10, Ben McCormick, and Cary Hairfield ’11 at Sarah and Ben’s wedding in Hawaii.
Carly Linthicum Blue ’09 and husband Steven Blue with their dog, Riley.
Austin deButts ’12, Kate Frediani ’10, Cricket Roberts ’10, Whitt Clement ’10, Will Winkenwerder ’10, Tom Peabody ’10, Coles Lawton ’10, Clare and Beirne Hutcheson ’10, Jeannie Burke ’10, John Thomas VanMeter ’10, Eliza Carter ’10, Lee Cowden ’10, and Cord Smythe ’03 celebrate the wedding of Beirne and Clare.
Larry Owens finished a critically acclaimed run as the star of the new musical “A Strange Loop,” at Playwrights Horizons, where he crossed paths with Old Boy Raphael Nash Thompson ’74. He recently completed filming the upcoming season-four premiere of “High Maintenance” on HBO and an untitled secret Muppets show for Apple TV. He’s currently filming a studio feature comedy, “Silent Retreat,” opposite Isabella Rossellini. When production ends, Larry returns to Williamsburg in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he
Cameron Hawkins ’10 (center) with her boyfriend and Coles Lawton ’10 in Colorado.
SUBMIT YOUR CLASS NOTES ONLINE! Just go to the homepage and click on “Alumni” and then “Submit A Class Note.” For help with passwords or login, please contact the Advancement Office.
frequently performs stand-up comedy and hosts a weekly podcast, “What Makes U Sing?,” with Larry Owens. He included that he remains unwed.
Head of School Charley Stillwell in Penick Hall with descendants of W.W. Yen Class of 1897, one of the first Chinese students to attend EHS. Top row, from left: Elizabeth Yen and husband Jun Yen (W.W. Yen’s youngest grandson); Ann Yen (W.W. Yen’s great-granddaughter) and husband David Powell; Lucy Dong (W.W. Yen’s great-grandniece) and husband Kevin Dong. Bottom row, from left: Victoria, Daniel and William Yen (children of Ann Yen and David Powell and W.W. Yen’s great-great-grandchildren).
’09
Billy Hackenson (C) 703-850-7023 whackenson@gmail.com Kathleen Hullinger (C) 703-946-5381 khullin@g.clemson.edu Stockett Marr (C) 540-905-2916 j.stockett.marr@gmail.com 15th Reunion: June 2024
Hello again fellow ’09ers. I hope all of you reading this are doing well. It was great seeing so many of you at the 10th Reunion in June and hearing what everyone is up to these days! Our updates are a little light this time around but, nonetheless, very exciting news for three of our classmates. Carly Linthicum Blue married Steven Blue in Colorado in July. Their adorable dog Riley was in attendance as well. They reside in Arvada, Colo. Congratulations, Carly. Alec Smith married Claire Chewning on June 15 in Georgetown, S.C. Fellow classmates Hanes Dunn, Bess Trotter DuBose, Jeila Martin Kershaw, Alex Fleming, Edward Pritchard, Elizabeth Ward Nation, Bradley Lockhart, and Hill DuBose were there to help the happy couple celebrate! Alex Helm is engaged to Emily Patterson, and the two were married September 14 in Cambridge, Mass. They currently reside in the Boston area. Wishing you all the best as you start your lives together. Please remember to spread the word among those you keep in touch with when you see my posts on Facebook and Instragram asking for submissions. Class Notes can be submitted anytime to me, Kathleen Hullinger, or classnotes@episcopalhighschool.org Until next time, take care.
’10
Whitt Clement (C) 804-477-5732 wwc3uk@virginia.edu 10th Reunion: June 5-7, 2020
The class of 2010 has entered the era of weddings and graduate school. Audrey Humleker is getting married in November. Congrats Audrey! Beirne Hutcheson got married in July, weeks before deploying to
A LE G AC Y V I S I T An 1897 edition of the Chronicle featured a student’s detailed account of a night at a rather usual theater. After patrons file in and take a seat in hard-back chairs, waiters bring tea and water pipes that, when smoked, filled the theater with a chorus of bubbling sounds. No curtain draws to open the play; instead, the actors step onto the stage directly from their dressing rooms. The troupe includes no women, though some of the men have applied rouge and adopted a coquettish manner to play female characters. The student was not describing any theater in Washington, or even the United States. Rather, it was a portrait of a typical Chinese theater written by W.W. Yen Class of 1897, one of Episcopal’s first Chinese students and a future great leader of China. Descendants of Yen visited campus in late August and read the Chronicle article, toured campus, and tried to imagine how their famous ancestor – later to become China’s foreign minister and premier — spent his first years in America. Among the artifacts they saw: letters to Yen’s father from then Headmaster Launcelot Blackford, including one in which he said of the child: “In every class he seems already to have taken a high stand.” Ann Yen, great-granddaughter of Yen, spearheaded the trip. She and her husband, David Powell, were traveling with their three children in
the States from their home in Toronto and asked to visit campus. Joining them for the EHS visit were: Yen’s youngest grandson, Jun, and his wife, Elizabeth, visiting from North Carolina; and Lucy Dong, granddaughter of Theodora Yen, and her husband, Kevin, who live in Washington. Archivist Laura Vetter, Head of School Charley Stillwell, and Assistant Head for Advancement Christina Holt gave them a tour of campus, making sure to stop at Hoxton House and other buildings that were part of campus when Yen was a student. The group also spent time in the Bryan Library, reading Blackford’s letters and the Chronicle story. Episcopal’s first Chinese student, Theodore Wong, the son of a Chinese missionary, enrolled in 1892. Yen, a native of Shanghai, arrived in 1896 and quickly distinguished himself, earning the Johns Prize for Eminent Academic Excellence, among other awards. He went on to the University of Virginia, where he became the institution’s first international student to earn a bachelor’s degree. Back in China, Yen led an influential life in which he served as ambassador to Russia, delegate to the United Nations, and eventually a five-term premier. Today, 52 students attend EHS from 17 countries: Belize, Bermuda, Bhutan, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Kenya, Korea, Lithuania, Namibia, Netherlands, Panama, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Thailand, and Ukraine.
EHS
THE MAGAZINE OF EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL
103
CLASS NOTES
Afghanistan with his wife, Clare Moser. A group of EHS classmates were in attendance to help celebrate. Sarah Cauthen is in her sixth year of teaching at Iolani School in Honolulu and still enjoys working in the boarding program as well as directing the school’s writing center. She married Ben McCormick in July and loved having her friends and family in Hawaii, including Cary Hairfield ’11 and her brother Will Cauthen ’11, who were both in the wedding party. If you find yourself in Winston-Salem, N.C., look up Matt Hudson. He just started his first year at Wake Forest law school. Good luck, Matt! Cameron Hawkins started a dual MBA and master’s in environmental management degree program at Duke. She loved seeing Coles Lawton in Colorado before moving to Durham, N.C. Will Frazier just began his second year in the MFA program in creative writing for poetry at New York University, where he is also teaching poetry workshops to undergraduate students. He’s currently working on his first book of poems.
’11
Ambler Goddin (C) 703-863-4804 lag9qy@viriginia.edu 10th Reunion: June 2021
Robert Amico has been working as a puppeteer and puppet artist for several Portland theaters. He most recently participated in the Portland Puppet Slam, performing a piece about ice fishing! Later this season, he will be a puppeteer for Oregon Children’s Theater’s production of “The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show.” Bailey Patrick is getting married in Atlanta this September to Joan Freihofer, a University of Georgia grad! Quent Fox married Emily Roznowski in June in Chicago. Charles Patton, Pen Agnew, and Wilson Pichardo were in attendance.
’12
Celeste Jones (C) 434-414-4696 jonescelesteh@gmail.com 10th Reunion: June 2022
David Maybank was living down in the U.S. Virgin Islands this past winter working on the Emergency Home Repairs project under FEMA. David is a general contractor responsible for coordinating 450 laborers and rebuilding around 2,750 roofs. David has 104
Robert Amico ’11 performing at the Portland Puppet Slam in Oregon.
Skip Fox ’71, Leany Pichardo ’13, Emily Roznowski, Quent Fox ’11, Charles Patton ’11, Frank Fox ’74, Wilson Pichardo ’11, and Pen Agnew ’11 celebrate the marriage of Emily and Quent.
Class of 2012 members Worth Smith, Zach Ashburn, Christian von Hassell, Tom Merrick, Riley Wilson, Willie MacDade, Quin Caslow, Matt Valcourt, and Jack Susanin ’11 met in Blowing Rock, N.C., for Labor Day weekend.
Armour Shaw ’12 and Johnny Bond ’12 at a street festival in Vienna, Austria.
been living on St. Thomas for a few months now and has been loving the Caribbean. Sara Kathryn Mayson graduated from Wake Forest law school this past spring. After graduation she moved to Lubbock, Texas, to clerk in the Northern District of Texas Bankruptcy Court. Marshall Weisiger returned to school and is studying to get her MBA from
Class of 2012 members Tom Merrick, Harrison Clement, Ben Taylor, Jack Blaine, Michael Vance, Chase Hughes, Celeste Jones, Elizabeth Buyck, Carly Lyerly, and Marion Williams gathered for dinner in Washington, D.C., this past summer.
the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Marion Williams moved to London this past summer to pursue a master’s degree in international business at Hult International Business School.
SUBMIT YOUR CLASS NOTES ONLINE! Just go to the homepage and click on “Alumni” and then “Submit A Class Note.” For help with passwords or login, please contact the Advancement Office.
Class of 2015 members Millie Waller, Peyton Schwartz, Sophie Holt, Natalie Wall, Morgan Lineberry, and Fleming Redd at UVA graduation.
Tennessee on Sunday. Unfortunately, the Town Tavern reported that “taps had run dry” due to an EHS reunion!
’13
Somer Glubiak sglubiak@gwu.edu 10th Reunion: June 2023
Stew Spurry ’16, former faculty member Bobby Watts, and Jay Forehand ’15 at VMI for Bobby’s 50th Reunion.
Hannah Gray is enrolled in the culinary arts program at the Cook Street School of Culinary Arts in Denver. Maggie Boozer is in her second year at Charleston School of Law in Charleston, S.C. Merrill Pischke officially became Merrill Coker on March 16 when she married Thomas Coker ’13 outside Charlotte, N.C. Emmy Ragsdale got engaged to Davis Kirby over Labor Day weekend! Armour Shaw and Johnny Bond took a trip to Europe this past spring and traveled through Vienna, Austria, and finished in Spain. They provided a picture (previous page) of the two of them in Vienna at a street festival. Johnny is currently living in Atlanta, Armour in New York City. Elizabeth Buyck moved from Charleston, S.C., to Washington this past summer. Members of the Class of 2012 reunited in Blowing Rock, N.C., at the home of Beau Wilson ’72 during Labor Day weekend. Attending were Riley Wilson, Tom Merrick, Willie MacDade, Worth Smith, Quinn Caslow, Christian von Hassell, Matt Valcourt, Zach Ashburn, and Jack Susanin ’11. Activities included hiking to Laurel Creek Falls on Saturday, and whitewater rafting on the Nolichucky River in
Sam Streed wrote and illustrated a new children’s book, “Alfred’s Book of Monsters,” released in August. The book will be featured in the first gallery show of the year in the Angie Newman Johnson Gallery at EHS.
’14
Cici Sobin (C) 703-999-1277 cici.sobin@gmail.com 10th Reunion: June 2024
Celeste Pritchard received her master’s degree in accounting from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on June 22. She will be moving to Washington in September as she begins her job as an auditor for Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited on its Fannie Mae auditing team.
’15
Presley Goode pgoode2@gmail.com Tyler Hartmeyer (C) 516-474-9843 tyler.hartmeyer@gmail.com Morgan Lineberry (C) 205-789-0447 morganlineberry12@gmail.com 5th Reunion: June 5-7, 2020
Ella Bickley worked for Aragón Exterior in Zaragoza, Spain, as a marketing intern this summer. Her internship was focused on marketing the Grenache/Garnacha wine variety to the United States, Europe, and Asia.
Pendleton Bogache writes, “A college classmate and I have recently launched the Studio Scoop, an online platform to review and rate fitness instructors in the D.C. area. We also touch on other areas like food, music, and athleisure. Right now, we are on Instagram and Facebook, but the majority of our content and following is on Instagram (@the_studio_scoop). We are in the process of building a website, which we ultimately want to be the nationwide fitness instructor version of Rate My Professors, while also including additional health and wellness content.”
’16
Kelsey Anderson (C) 703-624-6968 kelseymanderson4@gmail.com Andrew Karo (C) 804-592-9640 andrewkaro@utexas.edu Priscilla Barton-Metcalfe (C) 727-410-8746 pbarton3@jhu.edu 5th Reunion: June 2021
Our class has been busy this past summer interning and taking classes around the world! Hayley McGhee transferred to American University and will be interning on Capitol Hill this fall. Maura Kitchens graduated from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the spring and is now attending grad school there while working in nonprofit management. Porter Geer and Kelsey Anderson interned at Booz Allen Hamilton in Washington this summer. Elijah Blair-May interned at the federal Government Accountability Office. Annie Ullrich also worked in D.C. at Eastdil Secured, a commercial real estate brokerage firm, and got a full-time offer for after graduation! Téa Rankin-Williams co-founded a financial technology company and spent the summer living in New York building the company and developing the app. Zoe Ashburn interned at ASIS International in Old Town Alexandria. Sarah Thomas traveled to Israel and Palestine on a leadership trip with Trinity College to examine fresh perspectives and new cultures and bring that curiosity and tolerance back to Trinity. EHS
THE MAGAZINE OF EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL
105
CLASS NOTES
Maya Glenn served as a research assistant to Dr. Jennifer Nash in Northwestern University’s African American Studies and Gender & Sexuality Studies Departments in 2018-2019 and conducted research at the University of Michigan in summer 2019. Lydia Webster is starting a co-op position as an employment standards officer with the Ministry of Labour in British Columbia in the fall. Kathryn Lewis went to Budapest with KPMG and is interning with the company this winter. Maddie Eldridge interned for the Education and Labor Committee and interned at the Brand Guild, along with other EHS alums, this summer. She’s also interning for E! Entertainment this fall!
Class of 2019 members Tommy Reilly, Garrott Braswell, Colby Grover, Grace Moog, Mary Ives Giblin, and Charlie Stevenson at TCU.
’17
Halle Hughes (C) 904-322-2828 hughes.halle@me.com Liza-Banks Campagna (C) 202-650-7687 lizabankscampagna@gmail.com Stuart Greenspon (C) 703-622-3086 greenspons21@mail.wlu.edu Whit Goode (C) 804-971-2747 whitstackgoode@gmail.com 5th Reunion: June 2022
’18
Lexi Weger (C) 571-721-8585 lilweges33@gmail.com Erin Phillips erinphillips18@gmail.com 5th Reunion: June 2023
’19
Olivia Tucker olivia.tucker@yale.edu Lilly Whitner lfwhitner@gmail.com 5th Reunion: June 2024
Litchfield Ajavon writes, “I’ve been at School for the entire summer, working out and taking classes. While at practice today, prepping for my first college football game, I caught my first interception as a Notre Dame player! Go Irish. Go High School.” Natalie Block writes, “Cadet Basic Training, commonly referred to as ‘Beast,’ is seven weeks of required Army basic training 106
Litchfield Ajavon ’19 playing for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
Emma Cunningham-Bradshaw ’19 and James Dixon ’19 taking a drink from the Well before classes start at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
for future West Point cadets. This summer, I went through Beast as a right of passage to be accepted into the Corps of Cadets. Now as a plebe, I am one of the newest members of the Long Gray Line. While 0430 wake-ups, physical training every morning, memorizing knowledge, and maintaining morale were challenging, it is moments like our 12 Mile March Back to West Point that make being part of something greater than yourself surreal. While I had my hesitations going into summer training, as everyone else does, seven weeks later I’m assured the Army is where I’m meant to be.” Ellie Cummings writes, “This summer I met up with Elyse Farrell ’20 and Haley Dod ’20 in Paris after their exchange program in Sevilla!” Will Cory writes, “This summer I have been traveling with my family, visiting my EHS friends, and fellow alum Cole Wise and I took a class together at the University
Natalie Block ’19 (right) during basic training at West Point.
of Virginia to get a jumpstart on the academic year.” Parker Driscoll writes, “I’ve been mostly working, but I went and climbed a mountain out in northern Washington, which was probably the more notable event for me this summer.” Max Foulk writes, “EHS boys reconnected in Charlottesville a few weeks after graduation. It was sad to leave The Holy Hill, but I know we will have these friendships for the rest of life and continue to stay connected and a part of the EHS family.”
SUBMIT YOUR CLASS NOTES ONLINE! Just go to the homepage and click on “Alumni” and then “Submit A Class Note.” For help with passwords or login, please contact the Advancement Office.
Jett Lyerly ’19, George Eberle ’19, Sophie Singletary ’18, Katherine Schwartz ’19, and Colby Grover ’19 in Nantucket, Mass.
Haley Dod ’20, Elyse Farrell ’20, and Ellie Cummings ’19 in Paris.
Lindy Moss ’19 with teammate in her first game for the Babson women’s soccer team.
Mark Berry ’19, Brandon Straub, and Julia Messenger ’19 before performing in “A Capitol Fourth Celebration” in Washington.
Mary Ives Giblin went Delta Delta Delta at Texas Christian University with Colby Grover. Lindsey Harrison writes, “This summer I worked at Camp Kieve in Nobleboro, Maine! I really enjoyed returning to the camp that my brothers both went to for eight years, as well as working alongside Miles Thompson ’18! One of the camp directors even mentioned that Kieve and Episcopal used to have a lot of connections years ago!”
Alexanne Penton received her private pilot’s license this summer. Katherine Schwartz writes, “The Singletary family gathered EHS friends in Nantucket, Mass., one night in August. We celebrated Sophie Singletary ’18 becoming an official member of the Princeton Class of 2023!” Leo McCray writes, “For most of my summer, I was working with Carson Arp in Vienna, Austria, for his stepmother’s IB revision camp.” Carter Anderson writes, “This summer I traveled to Spain with my family and had a good time. Apart from that, I spent the summer working as an intern at a property management company in Raleigh, N.C., and learned a lot about that industry.” Tyler Bryan writes, “This summer I took classes and did well in those, and now the fall semester has started and so far so good! I’ve started to practice already for lacrosse.” Mei Kuo writes, “This summer I went to Freiburg, Germany, and attended a
Goethe-Institut program for three weeks. Every weekday, we would have class for four hours and would explore the city during the afternoons. On the weekends, we had the freedom of going out into the city all day. The experience was memorable, and I met so many people from around the world that just made my summer so much more fun.” Gabin Lee participated in “an introduction to American culture and New York City for international students at NYU and learned how to use the NYC subway.” Payton Leeby writes, “This summer I worked as a marketing intern at Beeline software company! I learned a lot about the business world and how human relations and people skills play a major role in the marketing side of business.” Gray Shiverick writes, “I am having so much fun playing volleyball at the collegiate level, but I could never be where I am without my amazing EHS coaches that set me up for success.” Sidney Lewis writes, “This summer was full of adventures. I participated in a six-week program at the University of Maryland, where I was able to take a few classes and make a lot of new friends. Although that took up a majority of my summer, I was able to spend time with my family for the last few weeks of summer. On August 26, I officially started college and I am really enjoying it so far!” Ben Korkowski writes, “I am enjoying the University of Virginia and the start of classes with my new roommate, Carson Becker, Woodberry Forest Class of 2019. If any of you are in the Charlottesville area this fall, please let me know to catch up. And if you don’t make it to Charlottesville, I’ll see you in Alexandria when we burn the forest.” Mark Berry writes, “I spent June in rehearsals and performing in an off-Broadway theatre, working with industry performers and specialists to put together a showcase. As soon as I got back from New York City, I went into rehearsals for the PBS “A Capitol Fourth Celebration,” singing in the choir alongside Julia Messenger ’18. For the rest of the summer, I visited family and worked on getting ready for college.”
EHS
THE MAGAZINE OF EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL
107
CLASS NOTES
Marriages
Births
John Marshall Stevens ’90 to Brandie Forsythe on June 8, 2019.
Samuel McDowell Love to Craig and Sarah Brown Love ’00 on June 22, 2019.
John Hastings Hobart, IV to John and Anne Womble Hobart ’06 on February 13, 2019.
Samford Boone Swift to Austin and Anne Perry Swift ’00 on April 24, 2019.
Edward Jenner Wood, V to Emily and Jenner Wood ’06 on January 29, 2019.
Scarlett Marie and Wesley Scott to Chad and Lauren Sims Polak ’01 on December 23, 2018.
Maxwell Stuart Bent, Jr. to Max and Holly Casey Bent ’06 on April 1, 2019.
William Alexander Nisbet ’01 to Eloise Repeczky on August 10, 2019. Robert James Varipapa ’05 to Lindsey DeGeorge on June 1, 2019. Keith Chamberlin Plum ’06 to Alli Quinn on June 28, 2019. Julie Ann Zambie ’07 to Alan Williams on May 18, 2019. Claire Kathleen Schmitt ’07 to Ian Virga on June 22, 2019. Jessica Christine Alfaro ’07 to Gene Murphy on June 29, 2019. Marguerite Cremin Kleinheinz ’08 to Matt Stoner on April 27, 2019. Kathryn Clay Dunnan ’08 to Grover Maxwell on May 18, 2019. Carly Rebekka Linthicum ’09 to Steven Blue on July 6, 2019. Claiborne Alexander Livingston Smith ’09 to Claire Chewning on June 15, 2019. Walter Alexander Helm ’09 to Emily Patterson on September 14, 2019. Capt. Beirne Carter Hutcheson ’10 to Capt. Clare Moser on July 13, 2019. Sarah Greear Cauthen ’10 to Ben McCormick on July 6, 2019.
Michael Clarke Hobgood to Jayme and Holt Hobgood ’01 on May 6, 2019. Spencer Mathews Corrigan to Frank and Alden Koste Corrigan ’03 on May 20, 2019. Benjamin Arlo MacEwen to Michael MacEwen and Daphne Clyburn ’03 on June 29, 2019. Blalock “Lock” Armstrong Murray to Gray ’03 and Sally Mebane Murray ’03 on April 14, 2019. Mary Maxwell Hartley to Stuart ’03 and Laura Davidson Hartley ’03 on November 27, 2018. Charles Carter Daigh to Alex and Alston Armfield Daigh ’05 on March 20, 2019.
Pierce Alston Thornton to Honour Alston Thornton ’06 on February 28, 2019. Shepherd Andrew Reavis to Sarah and Will Reavis ’06 on February 2, 2019. Julia Gamble Oswald to Wilson and Katheryn Grover Oswald ’07 on April 27, 2019. Henry Liam Dinnerstein to Jed and Annabel Rose Dinnerstein ’07 on July 20, 2019. Katherine Laws Wylie to Nick and Jane Arnold Wylie ’07 on March 6, 2019. Leslie Jane “Janie” Hooker to Cahill and Trina Brady Hooker ’08 on September 15, 2019.
Freya Eugenié Mixon to Ali Kittle and Chris Mixon ’05 on May 7, 2019. Roman James Morse to Brian Morse and Alexandra Varipapa ’05 on November 28, 2018. Goodwyn Rhett Waters to Ned and Margaret vonWerssowetz Waters ’06 on July 1, 2019. Ann Condon Murray to Billy and Frances deSaussure Murray ’06 on May 16, 2019.
108
SUBMIT YOUR CLASS NOTES ONLINE! Just go to the homepage and click on “Alumni” and then “Submit A Class Note.” For help with passwords or login, please contact the Advancement Office.
In Memoriam John Paddock Sisson ’44
The Rev. Dr. Peyton Gardner Craighill ’47
Mr. Sisson was a member of the Blackford Literary Society and the varsity football and basketball teams. After Episcopal, he entered the U.S. Army and became a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne. Mr. Sisson received a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Duke University. He worked briefly in the business training program at General Electric, then devoted the rest of his career to public service. Mr. Sisson played a role in the civil rights movement, becoming a member of the Louisiana Advisory Committee and establishing and directing various Catholic organizations focused on human relations and interracial justice. In the 1990s, he became an advocate for research on traumatic brain injuries, establishing a robust research blog and receiving recognition from Florida State University. Mr. Sisson is survived by his daughter and three grandchildren.
Rev. Craighill was a monitor and editor in chief of the Chronicle. He also was a member of the varsity track team, the Fairfax Literary Society, the Missionary Society, the choir, and glee club. In 1946, he won the Whittle Prize, and the following year he received the Declaimer’s Medal, the Reading at Sight Prize, and the Boyd Taylor Cummings Medal. After Episcopal, Rev. Craighill graduated from Yale University and later earned his master’s of divinity from Virginia Theological Seminary. He was ordained a deacon and a priest at St. James Church in Lothian, Md., in 1954; his upbringing in a family doing mission work in China influenced his life of ministry. Rev. Craighill was a missionary in Okinawa, Japan. He also worked for the Episcopal Church Center in New York and served as the associate dean of the School of Theology at the University of the South: Sewanee. He was the chaplain and religion teacher at the Episcopal Academy in Merion, Pa., from 1983-88. Rev. Craighill then led a program to prepare vocational deacons for service and later served as a chaplain at a maximum-security prison. In 2008, he moved with his wife to a retirement community in Lexington and became involved in Grace Episcopal Church and its community. Rev. Craighill was predeceased by his brother, Dr. Lloyd Rutherford Craighill, Jr. ’44. He is survived by his wife, Mary, as well as two children, a grandchild, and many more extended family members, including great-nephew Charles Hunter Craighill ’15.
of Tallahassee, Fla., died April 23, 2019.
The Rt. Rev. Bishop Robert “Bob” Whitridge Estill ’45 of Raleigh, N.C., died October 9, 2019.
At EHS, Bishop Estill was a member of the Blackford Literary Society, Missionary Society, Chronicle and Whispers boards, and the choir. He was alternate captain of the JV football team and played on the varsity basketball team. After Episcopal, Bishop Estill served in the U.S. Navy during World War II on a destroyer in the Pacific Ocean and was discharged in 1946. He received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Kentucky and his Bachelor of Divinity at Episcopal Divinity School. Bishop Estill served in churches in eastern Kentucky, Lexington, and Louisville as well as at St. Albans in Washington, D.C. He was a faculty member at Virginia Theological Seminary and then rector of St. Michael’s and All Angels in Dallas, Texas. He also attended Sewanee: The University of the South, where he earned his Master’s of Sacred Theology in 1960, Doctor of Ministry in 1979, and Doctor of Divinity in 1984. Bishop Estill was elected bishop coadjutor of North Carolina in 1980 and became the bishop of North Carolina in 1983. He served through his retirement in 1994. Bishop Estill is survived by his wife, Joyce; three children, including Robert Whitridge Estill Jr. ’75; six grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
of Lexington, Va., died June 3, 2019.
Lt. Col. Christian Vandegrift Holland Jr. ’48 of Myrtle Beach, S.C., died July 5, 2019.
At EHS, Lt. Col. Holland was a monitor and waiter as well as a member of the varsity football and baseball teams, the centennial basketball team, and the track team. In 2009, he was honored as part of the state champion 1947 varsity football team inducted into the EHS Hall of Fame. He was also a member of the choir, E Club, and Memorial A.C. After Episcopal, Lt. Col. Holland attended Virginia Military Institute. He was a sales manager for Ethyl Corp. and served in the Korean War with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Upon his return from the war, he served for 28 years in the Army Reserve and retired as a lieutenant colonel in civil affairs. After retiring, he became active in real estate and formed American Custom Homes in Myrtle Beach. EHS
THE MAGAZINE OF EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL
109
IN MEMORIAM
Lt. Col. Holland was predeceased by his father, Christian Vandegrift Holland Class of 1917; uncles Edward Holland Jr. Class of 1915, Nathaniel Littleton Holland Class of 1924, William Whitaker Holland Class of 1926, and Charles Everett Holland Class of 1930; and cousins Edward Holland III ’46 and Griffin Holland Jr. Class of 1927. He is survived by his wife, Sugar, as well as two daughters, three grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, five nephews, and several cousins.
Edwin “Ned” Parker Conquest Jr. ’49 of Richmond, Va., died May 28, 2019.
Mr. Conquest was a member of the Honor Committee, varsity football and track teams, Missionary Society, choir, grins and grimaces, and hop committee. He was a senior monitor and president of the Fairfax Literary Society. Mr. Conquest won the Johns Prize in 1946, 1947, and 1948; the Wilmer Memorial Junior Prize in 1946; the Declaimer’s Medal in 1948 and 1949; the Declaiming Prize in 1948; and the Laird Prize in 1948. After Episcopal, Mr. Conquest graduated from Princeton University and was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford University, where he received both his B.A. and M.A. in English. He then served in the Army ROTC, from which he was honorably discharged in 1957. Mr. Conquest studied under Dr. Albert Schweitzer in Africa, received an LL.B. degree from Harvard Law School, and practiced law in New York City for three years. He returned to Princeton for his Ph.D. in English literature and taught at Georgetown University until his retirement in 1974. Mr. Conquest is a published author; his first book was released in 1969. Mr. Conquest was preceded in death by his parents and other EHS relatives, including Charles Tennant Class of 1897, David Tennant Bryan Class of 1925, John Stuart Bryan Jr. Class of 1928, and John Stewart Bryan III ’56. He is survived by his brother, Dr. Henry Fairfax Conquest ’46.
Dr. James Kelly Dixon II ’51
of Greenville, S.C., died June 15, 2019. At EHS, Dr. Dixon was a senior monitor, a cheerleader, waiter, and schoolroom keeper. He was president and treasurer of the Fairfax Literary Society and a member of the Whispers and Chronicle boards. Dr. Dixon received several prizes during his time in high school, including the Johns Prize in 1949, the Whittle Prize and the Harvard Club Prize in 1950, and the Declaimer’s Medal 110
and the Whittle Prize (for a second year) in 1951. He was also a member of the wrestling and track teams. After Episcopal, Dr. Dixon graduated from the University of Alabama and Harvard Medical School. He did his medical internship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, residency at Universal Hospital in Birmingham, Ala., and senior residency at Grady Hospital in Atlanta. Dr. Dixon moved to Greenville, S.C., in 1966 to join a medical practice and was a fellow of the American College of Physicians. Dr. Dixon is predeceased by a daughter and two brothers, Cassius Bailey Dixon ’49 and Capt. Brewer Dixon Jr ’46. He is survived by his wife, Nancie, and two children, four grandchildren, and many extended family members, including Norman Wood Dixon ’75, John Clay Dixon ’80, John Clay Dixon Jr. ’15, Colin Stevens Dixon ’17, Martha Isabelle Dixon ’18, and Lucy Magill Dixon ’21.
Benjamin Huger II ’52
of Colorado Springs, Colo., died June 19, 2019. At Episcopal, Mr. Huger was a member of the E Club, Egypt, and Blackford Literary Society. He played on the football and JV basketball teams and was a coach for the Greenway baseball team. After Episcopal, Mr. Huger received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia and then held a long career in brokerage, working for firms such as General Electric and UBS Financial. Mr. Huger was preceded in death by his father, Scott Shipp Huger Class of 1918. He is survived by his wife, Judy, as well as a daughter, sons Benjamin Huger III ’81 and Scott Shipp Huger II ’86, a brother, and six grandchildren.
Robert “Bob” Elijah Mason III ’52 of Charlotte, N.C., died July 3, 2019.
Mr. Mason was a member of the Missionary Society, press club, choir, dramatics, Blackford Literary Society, and the soccer and JV football teams. He was a coach for Greenway baseball and the business manager of Whispers and the Chronicle. After Episcopal, he received his bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He was commissioned in 1956 to the Navy as an ensign and served in Korea after the war and taught at the Korean Naval Academy. He then returned to the United States to serve as an officer of the Admiral’s Procurement Security Board at the Bureau of Personnel in Washington, D.C. Following his service, Mr. Mason went to work for his family’s business, Robert E. Mason & Co., in Charlotte. He received
a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Clemson University and an executive business degree from the Babcock School of Business at Wake Forest University. He returned to Charlotte and continued working for Robert E. Mason & Co. Mr. Mason served on Episcopal’s Board of Trustees from 1979-82. Mr. Mason is survived by his wife, Esten, as well as sons Robert Elijah Mason IV ’77 and Dr. John Bohannon Mason ’79; a daughter; nine grandchildren, including Weldon Bevens Walker ’13 and Ann Matheson Mason ’15; nephew Arnold Wright III ’86; and cousin John Crosland Jr. ’47.
James Jeremiah “Jerry” Slade ’52
of Jacksonville, Fla., died February 1, 2019. Mr. Slade was a member of the Blackford Literary Society, missionary society, Egypt, dramatics, and the winter and spring track teams. After Episcopal, Mr. Slade received his bachelor’s degree from the Sewanee: The University of the South. He worked for Surgical Supply Company for 19 years and then moved into to the hospitality industry, where he became president of Pinehurst, Inc., a resort development company. He transitioned to real estate and then a brokerage before retiring. Mr. Slade was active in his community and served on several local boards. Mr. Slade was predeceased by his uncle, Frank Leslie Watson Jr. ’34. He is survived by his wife, Sarah, as well as three children, three grandchildren, a brother, and many more extended family.
The Hon. Larry Barkley Creson Jr. ’54
of Memphis, Tenn., died July 2, 2019.
Mr. Creson was a member of the soccer, football, and baseball teams. He was a monitor, a cheerleader, and an artist for the Chronicle and Whispers. He also served on the hop committee. After Episcopal, Mr. Creson received both his bachelor’s and juris doctor degrees from Vanderbilt University and the Vanderbilt University Law School. He also served in the Air National Guard. Mr. Creson practiced law for 14 years before being appointed as an administrative law judge in Memphis, Tenn., working with the Social Security office and hearing disability cases. He served in that role for 42 years, retiring in 2017. Mr. Creson is survived by his wife, Elaine, as well as two daughters, three stepchildren, and many grandchildren, great-grandchildren, step-grandchildren, and other extended family members.
Nathaniel Holmes “Nat” Morison III ’54 of Middleburg, Va., died October 10, 2019.
At EHS, Mr. Morison was a monitor, cheerleader, and vice president of the Wilmer Literary Society. He was a member of E Club, the Chronicle board, press club, Missionary Society, and Fairfax Literary Society, and he received the Whittle Prize in 1952 and 1953. Mr. Morison played on the soccer and Greenway baseball teams and managed the winter track team. After Episcopal, Mr. Morison graduated from the University of Virginia and returned to Welbourne, his family’s farm in Middleburg. He ran the farm for the next 60 years. He also served in the vestry at Trinity Episcopal Church in Upperville and founded the Goose Creek Jazz and Ragtime Society. Mr. Morison is preceded in death by his great-grandfather, John Southgate Lemmon Class of 1857; his father, Nathaniel Holmes Morison Jr. Class of 1927; uncles Duval Holladay Tyler Class of 1920, Southgate Lemmon Morison Class of 1922, and Floyd Morison Harris Class of 1926; and cousin Sewall Truax Tyler ’55. He is survived by his wife, Sherry; son Nathaniel Ames Morison ’88 and two daughters; brother George Harris Morison ’62; three grandsons; four nephews, including George Southgate Morison ’90 and Cameron Dulany Morison ’01; and a niece and many more extended family.
Henry Lee Carter ’55
of Orange, Va., died May 31, 2019. Mr. Carter was a member of the varsity baseball, JV football, and soccer teams. He was chairman of press club and a member of E Club, Missionary Society, Blackford Literary Society, and Egypt. After Episcopal, Mr. Carter graduated from the University of Virginia and the Washington & Lee University School of Law. He practiced law in Virginia for more than 56 years and during that time served as the commonwealth’s attorney for nine years. Mr. Carter was active in the legal community in Orange. He was also a dedicated Friend of Bill for 37 years. He served as the chairman of the Orange County Democratic Committee from 1974-97. Mr. Carter was predeceased by his wife, Judy. He is survived by his sister, five children, and nine grandchildren.
EHS
THE MAGAZINE OF EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL
111
IN MEMORIAM
Stuart Thomas Saunders Jr. ’60
of Bryn Mawr, Pa., died April 25, 2019. Mr. Saunders was a member of the Missionary Society, dramatics, hop committee, E Club, Advisory Board, and Whispers Board. He was the head monitor, secretary of the Wilmer Literary Society, head waiter, and president of choir and glee club. He also received the Rinehart Medal for Athletic Worth, the Buchanan Award, and the W.A.R. Goodwin Memorial Bowl. Mr. Saunders was captain of the varsity football team, co-captain of the varsity wrestling team, and alternate captain of the varsity track team, and he earned all-metropolitan and all-state honors in football. He was inducted into the EHS Athletics Hall of Fame in 2012. After Episcopal, Mr. Saunders graduated from the University of North Carolina and received his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law. A lifelong lawyer, he began his career with the Philadelphia firm Dechert, Price, and Rhoads, became a law partner at Saunders & Treadway in Washington, D.C., and in 1981 was elected senior vice president and general counsel of Farmers Bank in Wilmington, Del. Mr. Saunders is survived by his wife, Susanna, and two sons, three grandchildren, a sister, two brothers, and cousins Dr. Jesse Thornhill Davidson III ’68, Laura Davidson Hartley ’03, and Jesse Thornhill Davidson IV ’04.
Fred Carrington Cole Jr. ’61
of Lexington, Va., died August 1, 2018. At EHS, Mr. Cole was a member of E Club, student’s committee, choir, glee club, Missionary society, dramatics, science club, the Whispers and Chronicle boards, and Blackford Literary Society. He was a member of the varsity football and varsity track teams and managed the varsity soccer team. Mr. Cole had one brother, Robert Grey Cole ’63.
Cary McHenry Stewart ’62
of Baltimore, Md., died July 29, 2019. At EHS, Mr. Stewart was head monitor, assistant head waiter, and captain of the varsity wrestling team. He was a member of the honor committee, advisory board, hop committee, E Club, choir, glee club, Missionary Society, Blackford Literary Society, and the varsity football and 112
track teams. He received the Charles Morton Stewart III ’52 Award for wrestling. After Episcopal, Mr. Stewart graduated from the University of Virginia. In 2005, he was inducted into the Episcopal High School Hall of Fame for wrestling. Mr. Stewart was preceded in death by his father, Charles Morton Stewart Jr. Class of 1920, and brothers Charles Morton Stewart III ’52 and Cornelius Van Leuven Stewart ’54. He is survived by his wife, Bette, and his brother Warren Emerson Stewart ’63 and nephew McHenry Chapman Stewart ’94.
Marshall Prince Washburn ’69
of Spartansburg, S.C., died September 14, 2019. At Episcopal, Mr. Washburn was a monitor, a waiter, president of E Club, and a member of the Wilmer Literary Society and Fairfax Literary Society. He also played varsity football, varsity basketball, and varsity tennis, received the junior basketball award in 1967, and was on the High List in 1968. After Episcopal, Mr. Washburn attended Washington & Lee University. He began working with Deering Milliken textiles in 1973 and became a manager of the finishing plant in 1976. While continuing to work for Milliken, Mr. Washburn received his MBA from the University of South Carolina in 1981. He retired in 2010. Mr. Washburn was preceded in death by his grandfather, Dabney Lancaster Class of 1908. He is survived by his wife, Rebecca; two brothers, including William Crane Washburn Jr. ’62; son Marshall Prince Washburn Jr. ’05; a daughter and granddaughter; and cousin Blair Dabney Buck ’66.
McClellan Eugene “Gene” Fellows ’70 of Cincinnati died January 30, 2017.
Mr. Fellows was a member of the Wilmer Literary Society, Missionary Society, Pendleton Hall Committee, dramatics, Blackford Literary Society, and Chapel Committee. He played on the varsity soccer, baseball, and JV football teams. He was also a waiter. After Episcopal, Mr. Fellows graduated with a bachelor’s from Oklahoma State University. He became a research assistant at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland and then worked for Cargill in Memphis, Tenn. Mr. Fellows also worked as a commercial artist. Mr. Fellows is survived by two daughters.
Joseph Jenkins “Joe” Gilchrist ’71
of Charleston, S.C., died August 7, 2019. At EHS, Mr. Gilchrist was a member of the Wilmer Literary Society, choir, E Club, and the executive board of grins and grimaces. He was the president of the Athletic Advisory Board, a monitor, chairman of the Laverge Room, and a head waiter. Mr. Gilchrist played on the varsity football and varsity lacrosse teams and was captain of the JV soccer team. After Episcopal, Mr. Gilchrist graduated from the University of Virginia. He was a financial advisor for more than 39 years, as a partner at JC Bradford and Company and also as a managing director at Raymond James, Inc. Mr. Gilchrist was predeceased by his father, Charles Pierson Gilchrist Jr. ’41. He is survived by his wife, Marion, and four children, brother Dr. Charles Pierson Gilchrist III ’67, niece Stewart Gilchrist Jones ’00, nephews Charles Pierson Gilchrist IV ’02 and Christopher Harrison Gadsden Gilchrist ’04, and many other extended family members.
Lt. Cmdr. George Kirby Freeman III ’72 of Raleigh, N.C., died February 27, 2018.
At Episcopal, Lt. Cmdr. Freeman was a member of the Missionary Society and computer club. He played on the wrestling, lacrosse, and cake football teams. Lt. Cmdr. Freeman withdrew from EHS in 1971, graduated from Goldsboro High School in North Carolina, and attended college at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. He entered the U.S. Marine Corps and became an aviator. He then joined the U.S. Navy and trained pilots and air crew. Following his military service, Lt. Cmdr. Freeman continued flying for the federal government and then for UPS. Freeman is survived by his parents and three siblings.
Deane Hart Hundley ’72
of Tappahannock, Va., died October 22, 2017. Mr. Hundley was a member of the choir, glee club, Wilmer Literary Society, and the manager of the junior football team. He transferred from EHS and graduated from Christchurch School. After Episcopal, Mr. Hundley graduated from Virginia Tech and held a career in education and development. Mr. Hundley is survived by three siblings, including Henry Burgwyn Hundley ’69, as well as three nephews and two great-nieces.
William Charles “Charlie” McKamy III ’72 of Pensacola, Fla., died April 21, 2019.
Mr. McKamy was a monitor and usher. He was a member of the student curriculum committee, E Club, Blackford Lounge Committee, and the varsity football and baseball teams. After Episcopal, Mr. McKamy graduated from Washington & Lee University and then worked on his family’s farm in Chatham, Miss., before moving to Pensacola. Mr. McKamy was predeceased by EHS relative Burrell Otho McGee ’52. He is survived by his sisters, a niece, nephew, and great-nephew.
Edward Breen Miller ’75
of Harwood, Md., died October 5, 2019. Mr. Miller was chairman of the Energy Conservation Committee and a member of the varsity football, lacrosse, and winter track teams. After Episcopal, Mr. Miller became a farmer on his family’s Fox Hall Farm in Anne Arundel County, Md., growing tobacco and produce. He then worked for 20 years as a long-haul truck driver and later as a supervisor at Maryland Environmental Services at the Ridgley Landfill, where he also mentored co-workers. Mr. Miller is survived by his two children, two siblings, two grandchildren, a niece, and other extended family.
EHS
THE MAGAZINE OF EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL
113
Chapel B Y GI L B E R T AM ASON ’20
Figure Out WHO YOU ARE When the new year opened, a senior gave some advice to incoming students – including his sister. “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” Many of you have probably read this Dr. Seuss classic when you were children. Every year at my camp it was read on our last night, and I know that there have been a bunch of graduation speeches that quote this book. Also, I have certainly heard my fair share of “take advantage of the opportunities at Episcopal” chapel talks. But as I think about the last few years, I have realized that even though this book or these types of messages might sound cliché, they are still true. Let’s go back a bit. Before coming to EHS, my world was very small. I had lived in two houses and an apartment, all within a two-mile radius. I attended one of four elementary schools and the only junior high in my town, Mountain Brook, Ala., which fed into the only high school. Since I am a repeat freshman, I attended ninth grade, part one, at Mountain Brook Junior High, and I found that I was not challenging myself. I would show up to school having just finished my math and science homework and speed reading though my English and history assignments. When the last period of school came around, I would get on one of the two
school buses the city owned and ride for 25 minutes to the high school for varsity wrestling practice. Before hitting the mats, I would walk into a locker room full of wrestlers, only to be met by one big cloud of vapor and being reminded, repeatedly, that I was a freshman. At this point in my life, my older sister was in her third year at Episcopal, but most important, I discovered that a lot of the people I looked up to were graduates of EHS. With this in mind, I applied to Episcopal, where my parents constantly reminded me that I could not carry on the academic habits that I had developed at Mountain Brook. At home, I was just
getting by, but my parents wanted much more for me. Three years later, I couldn’t be more thankful for the opportunity to be here. You may not know it yet, but this place definitely has its ups and downs. And yet, it’s wonderful. On the weekends, you can go to pro hockey games or movies with your friends, or you can just hang out on dorm with people from all over the world. Anyone can drive past the monuments in D.C., but Episcopal’s Washington Program has helped me understand them. I’ve met and worked with famous chefs and worldclass musicians, and been inspired by speakers of many different backgrounds.
Gilbert Amason ’20 after the Woodberry game with his sister Emmie ’23, mother Virginia, and father Bert. His sister Edith ’17 is at Sewanee: The University of the South. 114
Teacher Hugh Koeze (yellow jacket) led the Outdoor Leadership Program on a soggy but fun overnight trip to the Three Rivers Wilderness.
Talk Similar to the Washington Program, service opportunities have helped me understand the world both around and beyond DC. Also, you can try a new sport ... like Ultimate Frisbee. Right, Mr. Rauth?! Your teachers care about your education, but also, they care about you. Over the last few years, I’ve found that I have never and will never fit into the mold of the “EHS Student.” During my freshman year, my fellow classmates called me “coach Amason,” “dorm dad,” and even “Mr. Amason.” I hated it. How could I not? Being told you don’t exactly “fit in” never feels good. It makes you wonder, “What have I done to come across this way?” Eventually, I realized that I was never going to be the kid they wanted. I couldn’t stop myself from yelling “hello” across the chapel quad, from stopping to talk to everyone (and to have a serious conversation about how they’re doing), and from listening intently to speakers. I was never going to fall asleep in Pendleton or skip class. If I had first free, I was still going to wake up and eat breakfast. That’s just who I am. And that’s cool! I have had the time to start figuring out who I am because of Episcopal. There is no “mold.” There is no one way to be here. There is no one way to act. We each get to define that for ourselves. Even if you aren’t just starting here, you have the resources to figure out who you are, too. It will not be easy, but as the
late President John F. Kennedy said, “We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.” Although the decade ends in a few months, and we won’t be going to the moon, we should all aspire to push ourselves out of our comfort zones. Episcopal gives us many opportunities to find out who we are and to understand how to apply ourselves in different situations. It is not always going to be perfect, but you are in charge of your experience here. You have all the resources you need to take advantage of the opportunities at Episcopal. So when you are feeling down, remember … You’re off to great places …
Gilbert Amason ’20 is from Mountain Brook, Ala., a suburb of Birmingham. He’s a member of the student Vestry and played varsity football this fall. His younger sister, Emmie ’23, started at EHS this year. His older sister, Edith ’17, is at Sewanne: The University of the South.
WHY FAITH MATTERS AT EHS
Change Service Requested
FALL 2019
|
EPISCOPAL GOES TO WAR
EHS |
|
1200 North Quaker Lane Alexandria, VA 22302 703-933-3000 1-877-EHS-1839 www.episcopalhighschool.org
Non-Profit Org. US Postage PAID Alexandria, VA Permit No. 105
MUST-SEE TV FROM ALADDIN FREEMAN ’94
EPISCOPAL’S EVOLVING CAMPUS WHY COMMUNITY IS KEY
T H E M A G A Z I N E O F E P I S C O PA L H I G H S C H O O L
|
FALL 2019
Conceptual rendering of a new quad to be built at the western end of campus.