In Touch

IN TOUCH

50s

Steve ’56 and Charlotte Andrews

Mayhew ’59 are very proud of their granddaughter Kelly, who graduated in May with a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Her clinical education included training in Chicago, Maryland, and Indiana, and she plans to specialize in treating neurological impairments and diseases. Steve and Charlotte both wish good health and safety to all of their classmates. Living in Jacksonville, FL since 1978, Joanne Little Drenckpohl is so happy that her daughter Susan, grandchildren, and great grandson live very close by. She enjoys an active life and remembers very well her classmates.

60s After a 22-year career in teaching and a 17- year career in real estate, Bob Libby’s love for children and wildlife led to his creation of a book entitled Australian Animals and Their Animal Friends. Having resided in Australia for many years, Bob began to do photography as a hobby. He always had a passion for photographing animals and is dedicated to the preservation and protection of the natural world. He is now an award-winning photographer based on the sunny Gold Coast of Queensland, Australia, and is known for his lighting mastery and craftsman’s approach to the creative process. Here are a couple of his shots. The first one was taken at Stutzman’s Farm in Dover-Foxcroft in September, and the koala of course is from Australia.

http://boblibbyphotography.com

Susan Stitham ’61, along with classmates Lionel Bishop, Allen Patterson,

Diane Varnum Smith, Dorna Varnum

Zilinksy, and Tom Zilinsky attended a graveside service for their classmate Phil Trottier who passed away in June. They remembered Phil as a snappy dresser, smooth dancer, and a good friend with a big heart and a smile that lit up the room.

70s Randy Soileau ’74, a retired industrial engineer, enjoys painting portraits of people like Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, Albert Einstein, and John Lennon, to name a few. He displays his nearly 35 portraits

amid several flower and vegetable gardens on his Autumn Ave. lot. Prior to his current gallery, he would display messages utilizing the First Amendment to get his point across. “Let’s just say I’m an advocate for the working-class man, and I’m trying my best to make change,” says Soileau. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Maine’s Governor Janet Mills instituted an Economic Recovery Committee, charged with developing recommendations to mitigate the damage to Maine’s economy and to jumpstart a long-term economic recovery for the State. Co-Chair of that committee is Laurie Gagnon Lachance ’79, president of Thomas College in Waterville.

80s

After 26 years, 4 months and 13 days together, Sheila Bragg ’89 and Hayden Merrill ’86 eloped out on the ice of Sebec Lake on 2/29/20. Serving as witnesses were their two sons Mason ’17, and Carter ’22. Sherry French performed their simple ceremony while Mike Brown captured the moments in pictures as proof that they actually tied the knot after all these years!

Stutzman’s Farm Stand and Bakery September 2020

90s After 15 years of working in the community at our local PRYMCA and Center Theatre, as well as serving on numerous non-profit boards, Patrick Myers ’90 launched his campaign to become the Piscataquis County Commissioner for District 2 representing Atkinson, Bowerbank, Dover-Foxcroft, Medford, Orneville, and Sebec. A story this past summer was highlighted on our local TV stations of classmates and best friends Jen Carey Bickford ’91,

Samantha Smith Greenlaw ’92 and

Melanie Baird ’92. The Isleboro Crossing fundraiser is held annually to raise funds for Lifeflight of Maine, providing hundreds of small towns and villages in rural Maine with emergency medical flights. Since the fundraiser had to be “virtually” done this year, Jen and her classmates decided to swim across Sebec Lake for the cause. Congratulations to Kristin Stelmok ’95, English professor, on her selection for this year’s Transformative Teaching Award at Plymouth State University, where she has taught composition, literature, and women’s studies courses since 2007. She was a key developer of Cluster Composition and is a member of the PSU Cluster Pedagogy Learning Community. The foundations of this cluster learning include interdisciplinary and integration, project-based work that extends beyond the walls of the classroom, and open practices that foster access to knowledge and empower students to contribute to their wider communities and networks. Her composition classes are taught with theme-based sections focused on rock climbing, mountaineering, gender and culture, music, and sports and she hoped to have a section on comic books and graphic novels for this fall. Barry Costa ’96 is a self-employed artist and graphic designer in the Lewiston area. He graduated from Plymouth State College in 2001 with a BFA in graphic design and has been in the industry for 18 years. He is comfortable designing all types of media, including print or digital. He considers it a challenge to help his clients solve their design projects, first doing research and sketching his ideas out on paper before designing on the computer. His website can be found at https://barrycosta.com

Baby Bo Dennis

April 29, 2020, Bo Robert Dennis arrived! Bo’s parents Kelly Chase Dennis ’99 and her husband Peter received the call from birth mom at approximately 5:00 AM – go time! Kelly and Pete drove 22 hours straight to Iowa City. 2:15 AM Bo met his parents and they have been having fun together ever since! The family resides in Dover-Foxcroft. Cheyanne Baird ’99 and her husband Shane welcomed their first child this summer. Vivian Adeline Buker was born on June 26, 2020, in Cambridge, MA, near their home in Boston.

Miss Vivian

This Foxcroft Academy class ring was recently found in a house while doing some cleaning. It’s from the class of 1990 with the initials “MLN” inscribed on the inside. If it’s yours or you know who the rightful owner may be, contact Cathy Hall in the Alumni Office, (207) 564-6542

cathy.hall@foxcroftacademy.org

00s Andy Lizotte ’00 and his family have come home to roost. In June, the family, including daughter Parker, 8, daughter Faye, 5, and son Alonzo, 3, packed up and relocated to Dover-Foxcroft. They are happy to be here and enjoying the closeness of our small town community. On a beautiful September day, Emily Austin ’03 and Thomas Jordan were wed in Sutton, Alaska, where Emily is the principal of Sutton Elementary School. Emily’s mother Helen Fogler gave the bride away. A “local” wedding is being planned in Dover-Foxcroft sometime in the future.

This past spring, Jessica Redmond ’04 earned her medical assistant certificate from Eastern Maine Community College. Due to COVID-19, Puritan Medical Products in Guilford expanded their facility due to increased demand for testing swabs. They opened a plant in Burnham, where Greg Perry ’04 signed on as the Technician Supervisor. Previously working as a media sales planner for Nascar, Adam Conway ’06 is now the Coordinator of Advertising Strategy and Planning for the PGA tour in Daytona Beach. He resides in Bunnell, FL. Hannah Holmbom ’06 is a professional photographer in Amherst, NH, which she says is more than a job, a dream, or a lifestyle. She said, “It’s my way of making sense of everything that exists around me, and because of that, I produce with my heart.” She says her down-to-earth personality and personable approach to interacting with individuals creates a very relaxing environment and allows for creativity.

May’d Fit is a women-owned small busi- County Soil and Water Conservation Disness and startup that is a brand new cloth- trict as the new stream restoration project ing alterations experience. Technology manager. Emily will assist with the implemeets tailoring! Create a profile, provide mentation of stream restoration and aquatic photos, then place your order for the al- organism passage projects through the terations. Using algorithms and a sizing Maine Aquatic Connectivity Restoration database, May’d Fit will ensure your gar- Project, a program that provides financial ments are altered perfectly to fit your body. and technical assistance to private landYou’ll receive a pre-paid shipping label, owners to upgrade road-stream crossings, send it off, and you’ll such as culvert upgrades. have it back in 5-7 A 2019 graduate of Case Western Reserve days. Owner of this University, Anna Sedlackova ’15 coninnovation: Wendy tinued on to receive her Master’s Degree Qiu ’08. Visit the in computer science in 2020. She recently website at www.maydfit.com began a job at Apple as a AI/ML software 10s Monica Miles Stevens ’13 is very Nate Feleke ’15, a 2020 graduate of Colby-Sawyer College with his nursing proud of her big sister Paige Miles degree, is participatMartin ’10 in her educational and pro- ing in a 12-month fessional accomplishments. In August of nurse residency pro2019 Paige received her doctorate in bio- gram at Johns Hopmedical science and can now officially be kins Hospital with called Dr. Martin. She and her husband a focus on compeKyle have two daughters: Brynn and Cec- Dr. Paige Miles Martin tency-based critiily Eleanor who was born last May. and family cal care curriculum Cassie Curtis Larlee ’12, daughter of while also orienting Holly Guyotte Bell ’84 and the late Mi- on the Cardiovascular Surgical Intensive chael Curtis ’84, was married to Jordan Care Unit. Cardiac abnormalities piqued Larlee at a lakeside location on Sebec Lake in September. Cassie is also the granddaughter of Joe and Bonnie Gerry Guyotte ’63. Very excited to be starting her Master of Environmental Management program at the Yale School of Environment, Yangshengjing “UB” Qiu ’14 graduated from the College of William and Mary in 2016 with a BS in psychology and environmental science and policy. She is presently Cassie Curtis Larlee and her employed by Interface as a Sustainability husband Jordan Leader for North Asia. Emily Higgins Dickison ’14, daughter of Trisha and Rob Higgins ’88, a 2018 graduate of Unity College with a BA in wildlife biology, has served as a research assistant on the black bear study with the Maine Collaborative Black Bear Research Unit. She also has experience working with the Maine Natural Areas Program, Baxter State Park Scientific Forest Management Area and the USDA Forest Service. Emily Higgins Dickison She was recently hired by the Piscataquis engineer. Nate’s interest early on in nursing school and he had a summer internship, a senior clinical rotation, and a senior nurse practicum in cardiovascular and cardiothoracic surgical units. Those experiences have led him to his goal of becoming a critical care nurse. This spring, three members of the Class of 2017 received degrees or certificates from Eastern Maine Community College. Maci Poulin, Early Childhood Associates Degree, Abbi Bourget (with honors), Medical Radiography Associates Degree, and Dylan Stevens: Electrician’s Technical Certificate. Congratulations to all! With the help of the Jim Brown and Shirley Gammon Horizon Scholarships, Brianna Adkins ’17 twice participated in the Kode with Klossy program held in New York City. Last summer Estee Lauder partnered with some Kode with Klossy alums to create learning experiences and opportunities to empower young women. Brianna was chosen to be part of an Estee Lauder commercial for Rebellious Rose lipstick. She and four other Kode with Klossy alums were chosen to participate in the product launch. Brianna will graduate from Pace University in 2021 with a BA in communication studies. This past spring, Emily Curtis ’18 wrote a feature article for the Scout Cambridge, a hyperlocal, bi-monthly magazine that is distributed for free throughout the city of Cambridge, MA. Her story consisted of interviews with students from local universities like Harvard, Tufts, and MIT, reflecting on the difficult transition to life off-campus and online classes due to the pandemic. You can read the full story at https://scout-

cambridge.com/online-classes

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Retiring, getting married, new children or grandchildren or a change in career? Email Cathy Hall cathy.hall@foxcroftacademy.org or call 207.564.6542 You can also submit your notes on line through our website.