9 minute read
Pat Hall: 32 Years
32 32
YEARS
BY LAURIE O’NEILL
Pat Hall
Nat, head of the Lower School and assistant head for faculty and professional development, calls his former colleague, Pat Hall, who retired in June after thirty-two years of serving as executive assistant to the head of school, “simply amazing,” and adds these adjectives to describe her: “kind, unselfish, patient, and humble.”
Pat’s colleagues echo Nat’s sentiments. She “was Fenn’s eyes and ears,” says Head of School Derek Boonisar. “There wasn’t anything she hadn’t heard, dealt with, or managed, whether it was life-changing information for better or worse, or anything in between.” Her position “was a hard one to be in,” he adds, “because the level of discretion has to be so high. Pat handled it all with a grace that generated everlasting trust and admiration.”
Jim Carter ’54 calls Pat “one of the unsung heroes of the School over the past several decades.” She has “done so much for Fenn over the years, making sure it ran smoothly.”
Pat served three headmasters after joining the School in 1989, having answered a newspaper ad. It was the first job she had ever gotten this way. Pat worked first with Walter Birge, then Jerry Ward for his full twenty-five-year tenure, and then Derek from his appointment in 2018 until her retirement.
When Walter was checking Pat’s references, he talked to her former employer, who, he says, “delivered a long encomium about her.” When Walter remarked that “there must be something about this person that’s not perfect,” the employer paused before replying, “Well…she works too hard.”
Pat became “a benevolent lion at my gate who could read situations perfectly,” Walter says. “If someone needed to get to me, she got them here, but most often she managed the situation herself with grace and skill.”
As important as being his treasured advisor who sometimes spared Fenn “from some idiotic idea of mine,” Pat became Walter’s “best friend,” he says. “And I will always value that.”
Jerry remains “deeply grateful for Pat’s unfailing loyalty, dedication, empathy, and superb work ethic,” he says. “I never could have done my work in the ways I sought without her at my side and in many cases showing me the way forward through thick and thin.”
Pat’s influence on the School “was immense,” Jerry adds. “So much of the life and vitality of Fenn was touched, guided, and in some cases shaped by Pat Hall.”
Pat “made what she did look so smooth and effortless. She managed a tidal wave of information, issues, and questions that tumbled her way every day,” notes Derek. “We all need people in our professional lives who are dependable and active listeners, people who make you feel better just by their presence first, and then by their wisdom and reassurance second. Pat is one of those people.”
Often Derek would walk over to work, he says, “thoughts turning in my head, saying to myself: ‘I just need to sit with Pat for ten minutes and everything will become clearer.’ Few people exude that type of support that is sometimes under high-stress conditions.”
In her role as executive assistant, Pat organized the daily schedule, Prize Day, and Graduation, interacted with Fenn faculty and staff, parents, students, alumni, and others on behalf of the head of school, and took minutes at Board of Trustees meetings. She became a veritable repository of information about the School and how it works.
Responsible for maintaining a professional and welcoming environment in the head’s office while overseeing the office staff, Pat exceeded those expectations, managing the staff with respect and understanding, embodying diplomacy,
Pat is one of those people.” – Head of School Derek Boonisar
tact, and prudence.
Lauri Wishner, manager of the Secondary School Counseling office, calls Pat “unflappable,” describes her as “dedicated and fiercely loyal to Fenn,” and says, “She is a consummate professional who treated everyone with respect.”
That fierce loyalty was illustrated in 2020, when Pat had been contemplating retirement. But Fenn had been dealing with COVID for a while, and she asked Derek for “permission to stay another year,” he says. “Let me think about that,” Derek replied, tongue in cheek, struck by Pat’s generous gesture. “Yeah, I think that can be arranged.”
Pat’s high level of organization, attention to detail, and regard for punctuality was put to the test when she would find the head’s office empty at a time that he was needed there. “It was sometimes humorous to see Pat rushing around campus, trying to track down Walter, or Jerry, and now perhaps Derek, to get him to an important meeting on time,” says Kirsten Gould, retired arts department chair and drama teacher. “She was impressively calm under the most stressful circumstances.”
Her expertise, experience, and “common sense” made Pat an invaluable partner in the work of the Fenn Board of Trustees, says former chair Jim Kitendaugh P’97 ’05. “She was a great listener and a superb collaborator, willing to consider my suggestions and perhaps more important, serving as a gentle but firm guide whenever I would raise an idea that was impractical or inadvisable. My trust in her judgment and commitment was absolute.”
Former board chair Mary-Wren vanderWilden calls Pat “a magician at organizing all of the details of making a school and a board run in a timely manner, with a calmness that is Zen-like. She made me look good all of the time and then stood back and let me take the credit.” Pat, she adds, “is a class act, possessing everything I prize in someone: integrity, modesty, kindness, and a terrific sense of humor.”
Yet another past board chair, Kevin Parke, says that “Every organization has one person who is on top of everything. At Fenn that has been Pat Hall,” who, he adds, “combined toughness with humility. She organized so much for the Fenn community, and everything was flawlessly executed.”
As well as being remarkably proficient in her work, Pat was a wise and empathetic listener and counselor for her many friends on the faculty and staff. A constant stream of them made their way to her office, “some who needed help and others who just wanted to stop by and plop down in that burgundy-colored chair next to the mini fridge,” says Derek.
Among those frequent visitors was faculty member and former Middle School Head Tricia McCarthy. “Everyone respected Pat. Some might have considered her to be ‘She Who Must Be Obeyed’,” Tricia says. “We all joked about her being the one who actually kept the school running, but it bears saying that every good joke contains a kernel of truth.”
Marilyn Schmalenberger was working in the front office when Pat arrived at Fenn. “She quickly grew to be the pillar that supported all of the other offices,” says Marilyn. “She got along with everyone—teachers, parents, students, and co-workers, gaining the respect and trust of all of us at Fenn.”
some cases shaped by Pat Hall.” – Headmaster Emeritus, Jerry Ward
Pat would “give up weekends and vacation time without hesitation” if she were needed at the School, says Marilyn. “She was a key organizer of events that at first looked to be impossible for Fenn to hold, such as large memorial services, and was able, with sensitivity and support, to accommodate the wishes of the family and the crowds that attended.”
Pat is known to shy away from the limelight and would have preferred playing a behind the scenes role unless it was necessary for her to be in front of an audience, as it was at graduation, when she aided the Head of School. Marilyn once pushed Pat onto the stage for an event and paid the consequences.
“She has never forgiven me for talking her into volunteering to help out at the annual Parents Association auction fundraiser and dinner during her first year at Fenn,” Marilyn recalls. “When she found out that our role was to pose as ‘Vanna Whites,’ complete with tiaras, curly blond wigs, and elbow-length white gloves so we could display the auction items to the crowd, it was the first time I got ‘The Look’ from Pat. Be thankful if you never received ‘The Look’.”
Beneath Pat’s professional demeanor are a keen sense of humor and a love of having fun. During Walter’s administration at Fenn, she and Marilyn would lie in wait by the window in the latter’s second floor office in W.W. Fenn with loaded water pistols “and blast any unsuspecting employee trying to enter the building during sweltering summer days,” Marilyn says. “She made coming to Fenn every day a joy.”
As of last fall Pat was coming into Fenn about once a month to work with her successor, Erika Vardaro, which illustrates that many former Fenn folks are still connected to the School in some way. She has been giving more time to two groups about which she is passionate: FastFriends Greyhound Adoption and Greyhound Friends, Inc., small non-profits that are dedicated to saving racetrack greyhounds, placing them in responsible, loving homes, and educating the public about the breed. Her two beloved greyhounds, Lucas and Sox, are thrilled to have her around more.
Seeing friends more often has been a joy for Pat, as has been spending time with her significant other of five years, Ed, doing more reading, gardening, and traveling, such as to greyhound owner gatherings in Delaware and Pennsylvania, and simply sitting on the beach of her pondside home.
That Pat has left her mark on Fenn is undeniable. She “has been in so many ways, seen and unseen, at the center of Fenn, working tirelessly to serve the School,” says Jerry.
Jim Kitendaugh heartily agrees: “It is not an exaggeration to say that Pat is loved by everyone at Fenn. When people talk about the legacy of an institution, it would not be an exaggeration, either, to say that she is just such a central figure in the history of The Fenn School.”
Laurie O’Neill is a freelance writer and former teacher and writer/editor at Fenn. She lives in Concord.
