Loomis Chaffee Magazine Spring 2020

Ma g azine

Spring 2020 VOLUME 82 |

NO. 2

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Photo: Jessica Ravenelle

M A R T I N L U T H E R K I NG W E E K C ON VO C AT ION

Juniors Evan Petkis and Simone Moales sing ‘‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’’ as part of a Martin Luther King Week celebration in the Olcott Center.

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29 30 37 35 ON COVER: Sculptor Evelyn Longman sits on the porch of the Lincoln Memorial’s construction headquarters in 1917, in this photograph from her personal album. The artist, who helped create the memorial, later married Loomis Chaffee’s first headmaster, Nathaniel Horton Batchelder. Read more about her involvement in the Lincoln Memorial project, beginning on page 38. Photo: Loomis Chaffee Archives

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Loomis Chaffee Magazine Spring 2020

Contents Spr i ng 2 0 2 0

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Volum e 82

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N o. 2 EDITORIAL & DESIGN TEAM

F E AT U R E S

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Lynn A. Petrillo ’86

They

Director of Strategic Communications & Marketing

A narrative essay by junior Haven Low, selected as a runnerup in a New York Times essay contest for teenagers, reflects on her first day as a camp counselor for children who identify as transgender or gender non-conforming.

Graphic Novel

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Alumni Authors

This isn’t your father’s (or mother’s) comic book. An English term course explores the graphic novel as a literary form.

Yankee Magazine’s Amy Traverso ’89 shared a meal and conversation about food writing with students. Our annual listing of new publications by alumni accompanies the story.

Cassandra Hamer Graphic Designer

Christine Coyle

CONTRIBUTORS

Christine Coyle John Cunningham Heidi E.V. McCann ’93 Sophomore Brooke Barry Sophomore Kelly Eng Lisa Salinetti Ross Deidre Swords Paige Abrams SUBMISSIONS/STORIES & NEWS

Faculty Desks

Stopping by math teacher Stuart Remensnyder's desk offers many clues to his diverse interests and his love for teaching, immersive travel, and the outdoors.

D E PA R T M E N T S

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Managing Editor

Obituaries Editor

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Becky Purdy

From the Head Letter to the Editor Island News Faculty & Staff News Pelican Sports

38 Object Lesson 40 Class Notes 45 LC Gatherings 48 Obituaries 56 Reflections

WEB EXTRAS Look for this notation throughout the magazine for links to online extras, from podcasts and videos to photo galleries and expanded news coverage.

Alumni may contribute items of interest to: Loomis Chaffee Editors The Loomis Chaffee School 4 Batchelder Road Windsor, CT 06095 860.687.6811 magazine@loomis.org

facebook-square facebook.com/loomischaffee twitter-square twitter.com/loomischaffee instagram instagram.com/loomischaffee

Visit Loomis Chaffee online at www.loomischaffee.org for the latest school news, sports scores, and galleries of recent photos. You also will find direct links to all of our social networking communities.

For an online version of the magazine, go to www.loomischaffee.org/magazine.

Printed at Lane Press, Burlington, VT Printed on 70# Sterling Matte, an SFI Sheet, Sustainable Forestry Initiative

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Fr om t he Head

Great Teachers in a Time of Change It’s the middle of March 2020 and COVID19 is very much on the upswing in the United States. As a school, we have just made the heartbreaking decision to go virtual for the entire spring term. As I write this, students are on break, but when they “return to school” on March 26, it will be through a virtual online platform. We made this decision in light of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations and following in the footsteps of a number of our peer schools.

This massive adoption of online education will be one of the biggest nationwide experiments in education anywhere at any time. None of us knows quite how this will work or how successful it will be. What I do know is that Loomis Chaffee has always put a high value on the bond between faculty and students and that we will need to think creatively to transfer that model effectively to an online environment. Our success will very much depend upon our faculty—and there we are fortunate indeed. Our talented and caring teachers have always been at the heart of the Loomis experience, and I know that they will find innovative and creative ways to make our distance learning experiment successful.

This coming term is also Fred Seebeck’s last spring term at the school after a stellar career as an English teacher; swimming, diving, and track coach; dormitory faculty member; and advisor and mentor extraordinaire! Fred is one of those quintessential boarding school faculty members who, over the years, has had a significant impact on his students. He has made a positive difference in his students’ lives. He is the sort of teacher for whom we are celebrated—dedicated, professional, extremely erudite, and always caring.

He is, quite simply, the model.

Don Joffray, another legendary faculty member, died earlier this year. Unfortunately, I never got to know him—but I have heard plenty and I have an idea about what I missed.

My first encounter with Joff was through Steve Strogatz’s ’76 book, The Calculus of Friendship: What a Student Learned About Life While Corresponding about Math. A passage toward the end of the book seems particularly relevant today. Steve writes: “Now I also see that I did learn something profoundly mathematical, about how to live. From his hobbies to the way he faces the ups and downs in his life, Joff is brave about change. He rolls with it and tries to make peace with it…. The changes that calculus can tame, and the ones it cannot. He confronts them all, and not, like Zeno, with his mind alone but also with his heart.” Read the book, but you can also listen to a Radiolab podcast with Steve about his friendship with Don. A link to the podcast is available at www.loomischaffee.org/magazine.

Fred and Don were great school people— Fred still is! Great classroom teachers for sure, but also great in the dormitories and in athletics and in all those in between spaces where faculty-student interactions take place at a boarding school. Connecting with students on a deep level, Don served the school for 49 years, Fred for 38. Between them they taught and influenced thousands of Loomis alumni. I am often struck when I talk with alumni and current students and they tell me about the faculty who have made a difference in their lives, the list of faculty whom they mention is never just the same small handful of people.

Fred and Don, for sure, but scores of different names come up.

Great teachers care about learning, and they know what learning looks like. Great Continued on page 16

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Dear Editors: In your Winter 2020 edition, I was saddened to learn of the passing of two classmates, Lou Birenbaum ’71 and Dan Connelly ’71. I can’t honestly say I knew them very well (both were good scholars and athletes, kind and likeable), and we didn’t stay in touch after graduation, but I recall them with great affection. I thought I might share one particular memory I have of Dan. It’s a nice spring day, and about 15 of us are gathered in a classroom on the second floor of Founders. Out of the window we can see the dining hall across the Quad. We are in an English class taught by Harvey Knowles, discussing Hawthorne’s great novel The Scarlet Letter. As many will recall, Mr. Knowles was a superb teacher who skillfully employed the Socratic method. Around the table he went, challenging each of us to weigh in on the struggles and dilemmas faced by Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth. As good teachers do, he got everyone engaged — hands went up, students offered their two cents, some agreed, some disagreed.

Knowles would respond respectfully to each student’s comment and then pose a different question, shifting the discussion in a new direction. The air was radioactive with ideas and possibilities, and we lost track of time. By the time we were done it was 12:15 p.m., 15 minutes past the lunch hour. Mr. Knowles apologized for keeping us over the allotted time.

Whereupon one Dan Connelly, a day student from Windsor, said: “That’s okay. When the mind is fed, the stomach is content.”

They will be missed.

Phelps Gay ’71

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“Ne Cede Malis” Steers School in Pandemic

Teacher Maribel Blas-Rangel with students from Spanish Class

Spring term opened on March 26 with a new reality on the Island and around the world as COVID-19 continued to spread.

Instead of bustling walkways and hallways, the campus remained quiet except for a few teachers crossing paths — at least six feet apart — on their way to conduct online classes from their empty classrooms or offices. Other teachers, especially those who live off-campus, used their living rooms or kitchen tables as their remote teaching bases. Around the globe, students connected to their classes, teachers, and friends from their homes as the school community adjusted to a term of distance learning.

In the span of a few head-spinning weeks in March, the spring term had transformed from a much-anticipated trimester on campus to an unprecedented experiment in education from afar.

Although uncertain about what to expect and saddened by the loss of the spring’s many on-campus activities and senior traditions, the community also approached the distance learning experience with curiosity and appreciation for the sustaining strength of their Loomis connections.

When students left campus for March Break, the coronavirus crisis was just beginning in the United States. The school’s COVID-19 Task Force warned of a possible delayed or online start to the spring term, and students took their computers and books with them when they headed out for the break. March Break student trips to Italy and the Galapagos Islands and athletics team trips to California and Florida were canceled.

The task force continued to meet several times a week during the break, and with the pandemic and related public health crisis intensifying and with calls by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the state of Connecticut for social distancing, the school decided on March 16 to cancel on-campus classes for the spring term and shift to a full-term distance learning plan.

Teaching faculty revised their lesson plans during the break to adapt to distance teaching and learning, including both real-time class meetings via live video and less synchronous approaches. An academic program subcommittee of the COVID-19 Task Force

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designed an online class schedule for the spring term, taking into consideration that students would connect to the school from many time zones.

The Information Technology Department worked to enhance virtual connections among teachers, students, administrative faculty, and staff so that as many people as possible could access the school’s computer networks from their homes. IT staff also provided training for teachers to use the Zoom online meeting platform for virtual face-to-face classes.

The Communications Office worked with the school administration to keep the community informed of the school’s response to the crisis and published a COVID-19 Response webpage that will continue to be updated for students, teachers, parents, and alumni.

Advisors connected with their advisees on March 25 to help students prepare for the first day of classes. And spring term classes began at 8:30 a.m. EDT on March 26. Meanwhile, several committees were working to maintain Loomis Chaffee’s thriving community life and support students, faculty, and staff as they navigate life away from the Island.

In April, the school also made the difficult decisions to move Commencement 2020 to a later date and to postpone this summer’s Reunion Weekend until June 2021, when classes ending in 5s, 0s, 1s, and 6s will celebrate their reunions together on the Island.

In messages to the community, Head of School Sheila Culbert invoked the school’s motto, ne cede malis (do not give in to misfortune), as a rallying cry for the community as Pelicans pulled together, supported each other, worked to continue students’ Loomis Chaffee educational experience, and strove to protect and serve the common good through the crisis.

For the latest information and more details about the school’s response to COVID-19, visit www. loomischaffee.org/magazine.

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It’s Still Our Spoon

KENT DAY IS BACK Loomis Chaffee will once again play football against Kent School and five other Founders League opponents under a new conference arrangement that will begin in fall 2020.

The new league arrangement heralds the return of the Loomis-Kent football rivalry, a competitive tradition with a storied history. The two schools have not faced off on the gridiron for the last seven years while they were in separate football leagues, but the reconfiguration brings back the spirited rivalry. The Pelicans will play the Kent Lions in the final game of the fall season.

The Founders League, in existence for more than 30 years, is a multi-sport conference whose member schools contend for league titles in a number of sports although not all member schools field teams in all of the same sports. In the case of football, most member schools field teams, but in recent years those teams have not all played against each other. That will change now that football has been added as a Founders League sport.

Loomis Chaffee Director of Athletics Sue Cabot says she is excited about the change. “As a league we compete in a manner consistent with our schools’ shared commitment to academic excellence, integrity, and the personal growth of student-athletes,” she says.

Beginning in the fall, Loomis will play football against Founders League schools Avon Old Farms, Choate, Hotchkiss, Kent, Taft, and Trinity-Pawling.

The Pelicans also will play three out-of-conference games against Deerfield Academy, Phillips Andover Academy, and Phillips Exeter Academy.

“We’re very excited to have the opportunity to compete for a league championship moving forward,” says Jeff Moore, head coach of Loomis football. “It is great to be able to play a group of schools that share a rich tradition in football.”

Jeff and Sue, both of whom arrived at Loomis during the Kent Day hiatus, are looking forward to the renewed rivalry.

“Traditions and rivalries are inherent in competitive athletics, and it is exciting for our teams and important for our collective communities to bring back Kent Day,” Sue says. “I am hopeful that the Kent Day rivalry will exemplify a tradition of healthy competition, mutual respect, camaraderie, and unparalleled good sportsmanship between our two schools.”

“Traditions and rivalries are inherent in competitive athletics, and it is exciting for our teams and important for our collective communities to bring back Kent Day.” — Director of Athletics Sue Cabot

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Finding Your Wolf Pack

Soccer legend, activist, and author Abby Wambach spoke to the school community about “Belonging,” this year’s school theme, during a March convocation.

Abby Wambach. Photo: Cassandra Hamer

Iconic American soccer legend Abby Wambach visited the Island in March to speak to the school community on this year's theme of "Belonging" and to share wisdo she has gained through her storied career as an athlete, activist, and author.

A roar of appreciation filled the Olcott Center when the two-time Olympic gold medalist and World Cup champion entered the gym, bounded to the podium, and greeted the crowd with a casual, “What’s going on?” followed by an affectionate shout-out to her nephew, senior Ben Ritter.

Then, with an engaging combination of swagger and self-deprecation, Ms. Wambach related stories and lessons from her experiences as a soccer phenom and member of the U.S. women’s national soccer team from 2001 until her retirement in 2015, during which she became the most prolific scorer in international soccer history.

“What do you know? What do believe in?

What feels like home to you?” Ms. Wambach

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asked her audience. High school students are often told what to believe, she said. “You all need to figure out what you believe. … You are going to be tested throughout your life and every decision you make is relevant.”

Ms. Wambach spoke about the value of failures, the importance of team, the truths of leadership, and the challenges of standing up for one’s beliefs.

One of her anecdotes shed light on several of these lessons. At the 2015 Women’s World Cup, her coaches told her they were not going to start her in a crucial game. At the age of 35, she did not have the stamina and indestructibility of a 20-something player. Instead, her coaches said, she would come into the game from the bench as a “game-changer.” Despite being heartbroken, disappointed, and embarrassed, Ms. Wambach said she also knew that she could give her team the best chance to win by offering her full support as a bench player.

With her help, the team went on to win the World Cup. “Everything I needed to learn about leadership, I learned on that bench,” she reflected. “If you are a leader on the field and you don’t call yourself a leader on the bench, then you, in fact, aren’t a leader at all.”

Ms. Wombach urged students to find their “wolfpack” — teammates, friends, classmates, teachers, and adult mentors with whom to share challenges, dreams, and joy. They will leave their imprint and help “make you into what you want to be,” she said.

A compelling, vocal advocate for leveling the playing field for women in sports and elsewhere, Ms. Wambach also shared anecdotes from her career that pointed to the unfairness of female athletes earning less money than, and being treated as inferior to, their male counterparts. Players on the U.S. women’s national soccer team make less than the men’s national team players even though the women’s team generates more money for the sport and has had a more successful record than the men’s team, she noted.

Women often feel grateful, rather than deserving, when they achieve a measure of success in a male-dominated realm, Ms. Wambach said, drawing from her own experience. When she retired in 2015, she received a prestigious ESPY Icon Award for excellence in sports performance. Standing on the podium of the nationally televised ceremony alongside the two other recipients, Kobe Bryant and Peyton Manning, she felt gratitude more than any other emotion. Being grateful, she stressed, is “often the only emotion women are allowed to feel.”

And while all three athletes were celebrated for the same level of professional achievement, she walked away from the event to face a very different retirement than her male counterparts — especially in financial terms. This realization left her angry and confused, and she decided to do everything in her power upon her retirement to advance women in sports and in all areas of life.

After the convocation Ms. Wambach met with students in the school’s Longman Leadership learning community and with members of the girls and boys soccer teams and their coaches. Her visit to campus was part of the Robert P. Hubbard ’47 Speakers Series.

Ms. Wambach’s two books, Forward: A Memoir, published in 2017, and WOLFPACK: How to Come Together, Unleash Our Power, and Change the Game, published in 2019, were both New York Times bestsellers.

Abby Wambach and sophomore Mariapaula Gonzalez. Photo: Cassandra Hamer

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Chaffee ’69 Leadership Fund Created

Members of the Chaffee Class of 1969 at their 50th Reunion last summer: (front row) Sharon Leyhow, Perri

Orenstein Courtheoux, Anne Baker Lewis, Megan O’Neill, Merrill Bunce Hurst, Amy Silliman Avedisian, and

Carol Coe Fowler; (middle row) Kathy Duke Roby, Maureen Daly Hamm, Betsy Pelgrift Boak, Deborah Dunsmore

Fraser, Nan Booth, Kathryn Coe ’71, and Betty Sudarsky Bradley; and (back row) Sharon Smith, Wendy West

Nelson, Katrina Vernlund Hill, Eleanor Brushwood, Suzanne Nolan, Franci Vinal Farnsworth, Alice Vernlund

Ford, and Toni Simms Pollard.

A new endowment fund created by members of the Chaffee Class of 1969 will offer programs that educate and prepare current and future Loomis Chaffee female students in leadership skills and behaviors, empowering them to become effective leaders and to compete successfully in all walks of their lives.

Throughout the months before, during, and after their 50th Reunion in June 2019, many members of the class, including Betsy Pelgrift Boak, Betty Sudarsky Bradley, Perri Orenstein Courtheoux, and Franci Vinal Farnsworth, expressed their strong desire to establish this endowment fund. Fundraising chairs Betsy and Franci spent many hours working toward the goal of bringing this idea to fruition. As a result, the Chaffee ’69 Leadership Fund was established. The fund honors The Chaffee School name and supports the Chaffee Leadership Institute and its annual programs, which are designed to educate and empower female students in the skills of leadership.

The genesis of the idea for the fund came from the Longman Leadership Institute, a program that was established on campus in 2017. The institute aspires to teach and encourage young women at Loomis Chaffee to develop their leadership skills within the supportive on-campus community. During the program’s first year, 14 girls participated, of which 10 lived in Longman Hall and four

were day students. Currently in its third year, the institute’s members include 10 boarding girls and five sophomore day girls. Boarding students who wish to live in Longman and be a part of the institute must show their interest in the program’s goals through an application process.

Throughout the three years of the institute’s existence, the program has offered numerous opportunities for its members, including an outreach program directed toward sixththrough eighth-grade girls in the Windsor community called “The Let Girls Lead Initiative”; required reading and subsequent discussions of Strong Is the New Pretty: A Celebration of Girls Being Themselves, by Kate T. Parker, and other books; and attendance at “Lead Like a Girl: A Conference for Girls” in Princeton, New Jersey, which showcases girls’ creativity in science, technology, engineering, math, entrepreneurship, finance, and leadership — and inspires girls’ confidence in these fields.

The Chaffee Class of 1969 wished in part for the Chaffee ’69 Leadership Fund to help ensure the perpetuity of the school’s name, The Loomis Chaffee School, because of the rich history and legacies of both names, Loomis and Chaffee. The Chaffee School for Girls, which was named for the Founders’ mother, Abigail Sherwood Chaffee Loomis, opened in 1927 as a two-building, 40-acre campus on Windsor’s

Palisado Green. After decades of growth and prosperity, The Chaffee School was moved back onto the Island in 1970, retaining its separate identity with integration of classes available to only 11th- and 12th-grade men and women.

The two schools fully merged in 1972, and the new entity was called Loomis-Chaffee.

Girl boarding students were admitted for the first time in 1976. The former Chaffee School building on the Island became Chaffee Hall.

Eventually, the hyphen was dropped from the name, and The Loomis Chaffee School proudly retains this name today Beginning in the 2020–21 academic year, the Longman Leadership Institute will be renamed the Chaffee Leadership Institute to recognize its new source of funding, the Chaffee ’69 Leadership Fund. Faculty members Lillian Corman, Mimi and Michael Donegan, Anne Sher, and Michaela Chipman, all of whom are involved in the current Longman Leadership Institute, are excited and grateful that women from the Chaffee Class of 1969 believe in the mission of the institute and wished to establish an endowed fund that benefits the institute and attaches the Chaffee name to such a program.

As with all endowed funds, anyone can contribute to the Chaffee ’69 Leadership Fund at any time.

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Festering Adoration

The Addams Family’s Uncle Fester (senior Steele Citrone) sings to his true love, the moon, in this winter’s Norris Ely Orchard Theater production of the musical.

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THE

ADDAMS FAMILY the musical Macabre furnishings. Ghoulishly elegant attire. Creepy servants, including a helpful, though disembodied, hand.

And a family for whom spooky is the norm. Nothing quite compares to the Addams family, portrayed on the Norris Ely Orchard Theater stage this winter in musical and comedic splendor.

Photos: Anna Vdovenko

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Set in the family’s gothically sophisticated mansion, the Loomis Chaffee Theater & Dance Department’s production of The Addams Family featured the acting, voice, dance, and technical theater talents of a 20-student cast and 13-student crew as well as a live orchestra that included four students along with several professional musicians.

The show’s familiar characters encounter problems stemming from the lovestruck relationship of the family’s teenage daughter, Wednesday, and a “normal” boy from town. When Wednesday invites the boy’s family to dinner at her house, comical chaos ensues as cultures and personalities clash and mix-ups add to the hilarity.

The show, which played for full-house audiences, was directed by theater teacher David McCamish and choreographed by dance teacher Kate Loughlin. Production manager was Candice Chirgotis, head of the Theater and Dance Department, and music director was Melanie Guerin. A talented group of other faculty members and theater professionals provided crucial

assistance with the production.

The Loomis Chaffee Parents Association hosted a Theater Luncheon, complete with gothic-themed desserts, in Brush Library before the show’s Saturday matinee.

Music and lyrics for The Addams Family were written by Andrew Lippa, who visited Loomis and worked with performing arts students several years ago.

The book is by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice.

To browse a gallery of photos from the show, and view the playbill, go to www.loomischaffee.org/ magazine.

LEFT: There’s never a dull moment in the Addams family mansion.

MIDDLE: Lucas (sophomore Ben Radmore) and Wednesday (junior Rosalie Lyons) try to sort out their love-struck differences.

RIGHT: Morticia (junior Lana Breheney) tenderly snips off the top of a bouquet, to save the stems.

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LEFT: Uncle Fester (senior Steele Citrone) professes his love for the moon.

MIDDLE: Morticia and the ghostly ensemble RIGHT: Tension and romance intertwine for Morticia and Gomez (junior Bihan Zhang).

LEFT: Lucas braces against the expectations of his straight-laced parents (sophomore Aidan Cooper and senior Grace Kulas).

RIGHT: The aptly-named Lurch (junior Evan Petkis) holds a vial of truth serum.

Addams family ancestors watch over and comment on the unfolding crises.

Morticia, Gomez, and the ancestral chorus in the show’s opening number, “When You’re an Addams” Grandma (junior John Howley) dishes advice.

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Isl and Ne w s Great Teachers Continued from page 4 teachers care passionately about their subject matter, they have a sense of humor, they are kind, they understand that adolescents make mistakes. A great teacher understands when young people need an encouraging nod or word of support and when they need to be gently guided back into their lane.

I hope our virtual school won’t last for long—although as of this writing it is much too early to tell. I suspect that whatever happens, though, our model of teaching will change.

Some of the changes that we are forced to implement now will stay with us, some of the innovations that our faculty develop will be seen as better, and some of the interactions that we will foster will be just as life-changing as those conversations between Don Joffray and Steve Strogatz. Whatever happens, it will be our great faculty who will make the difference as we move into this brave new online world.

"A great teacher understands when young people need an encouraging nod or word of support and when they need to be gently guided back into their lane."

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Global & Environmental Certificate Program Expands

Student interest in pursuing a Global & Environmental Studies Certificate at Loomis Chaffee has grown since the program’s inception six years ago, prompting expansion of the program’s scope to reflect its popularity and continued evolution, according to Meg Blunden Stoecklin, associate director of the Alvord Center for Global & Environmental Studies.

The program, administered by the Alvord Center, recognizes coursework, extracurricular engagement, travel, and experiential learning focused on developing students’ understanding of world cultures and the environment. To earn the certificate, students must complete six or more courses (from at least two departments) with the Global & Environmental Studies designation, language study through the fourth-year level, participation in a travel program, a final capstone project or paper, and several other extracurricular and academic requirements.

New to the certificate program this year, the 34 enrolled seniors will create digital

portfolios to showcase their global learning experiences. With remote teaching and learning this spring, seniors may choose to complete additional reflective assignments for their digital portfolios, including videos about their current environments and reflections on segments of the Loomis Chaffee COVID-19 Speakers Series, or complete a capstone project that explores a global and/ or environmental topic in depth through research, reflective writing, scientific analysis, or even art.

In another program enhancement initiated this year, the Alvord Center collaborated with other centers and signature programs on campus to offer five senior seminars.

The topics addressed in the fall and winter included identity, citizenship and belonging, the environment and sustainability, and activism and intentionality. The large group of seniors was split into two cohorts for each seminar to ensure active, engaged, and collaborative learning.

Model Diplomacy

Loomis Chaffee’s Model United Nations organization enjoyed a record-breaking year with large numbers of individual awards recorded at each of the three 2019–20 season conferences.

Rachel Engelke, history teacher and Model U.N. faculty advisor, noted that the skills learned through participation at the conferences — debate, discussion, collaboration, team-building, innovation, creativity, and imagination — are all critical for current domestic policy discussions and global diplomacy.

The season kicked off in Lisbon, Portugal, as 12 experienced Model U.N. students represented Loomis at the Yale Model Government Europe Conference in November. Attended by 400 students representing 30 delegations from around the world, the conference simulated political and diplomatic interactions in the European Union. The Loomis team won the Outstanding Small Delegation award, the equivalent of second place among similar-sized teams. Six of the 12 students also

brought home individual awards.

In January, a contingent of 28 Loomis students participated in the Yale Model United Nations Conference in New Haven, Connecticut, where 14 Pelicans won individual awards, a record number for the school.

The Pelicans’ season concluded at the Boston Invitational Model United Nations Conference in February, with 19 delegates from the Island in attendance. In another record for the group, 11 of the Loomis delegates won individual awards at the Boston conference.

At all three conferences, junior Aidan Gillies earned “Best Delegate,” the top prize in each committee.

Rachel commended senior head delegates Maral Asik, Alice Chen, and Margarita Demkina for their guidance and mentoring of young and new delegates throughout the season, and she thanked her history colleagues Reem Aweida-Parsons and Kevin Guevara for helping to chaperone.

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Students Soak Up Financial Advice for the Near Future

Ariel Williams ’06. Photo: Christine Coyle

In a seminar series about personal finance, two young alumni spoke to Loomis Chaffee students this winter about their professional careers in finance-related industries and their personal experiences making a start in the working world.

Goldman Sachs Vice President Ariel Williams ’06 recounted her journey to becoming an investment professional and gave an overview of markets and investing fundamentals on an evening in January. And R.J. Paige ’13, who works as a business analyst for the National Football League in New York City, shared some of his early career experiences and offered advice for students about personal savings practices when he returned to the Island in February.

From Ellington, Connecticut, Ariel was a talented student, athlete, and dancer at Loomis, and she excelled at running, winning the individual title at the 2005 New England cross county championship. “You don’t realize how magical this place is when you’re here,” she said.

Ariel credits her liberal arts experience at Loomis and at Williams College, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in political science, for teaching her how to learn. She said she was not especially interested in business or finance in high school or college. She had many interests and didn’t really know what she wanted to do professionally.

After Williams, Ariel took a job doing public relations for Major League Baseball. While working toward a master’s degree in international affairs at Columbia University, she landed a summer internship at Goldman Sachs Financial Services Company, and the experience inspired her to pursue an M.B.A. at Columbia Business School and a career in finance.

She is now a vice president and chief operating officer of sports and entertainment business for Goldman Sachs in New York. Working in the investment business made her feel empowered, she said. “People take advice from me,” she explained. She also felt the career was an opportunity to make an impact as a woman and a person of color. “There are not a lot of people who look like me in my business,” she said.

Ariel offered practical investing advice for the students gathered in Hubbard Hall for her presentation. She also explained commonly-used terms in investment and described some common markets, the ways people and businesses invest in them, the difference between stocks and bonds, the reasons people choose one type of investment over another, and the relationship between risk and return.

The investment decisions you make should depend on how soon you think you will need access to the money, and your willingness to take on risk, Ariel noted. Her other advice for young people looking to start investing is to open an account with a low-cost brokerage firm like Fidelity or Vanguard, and to keep it simple when making investment choices.

“You should aim to have about six months to a year’s worth of expenses saved before you start investing,” she advised.

R.J. was a four-year student from West Hartford and a varsity athlete on the football, boys basketball, boys lacrosse, and boys track and field teams. He earned the Senior Varsity Athlete Award for boys in 2013 and was active in the campus community as a member of PRISM (People Rising in Support of Multiculturalism) and as a musician in the Jazz Improv Ensemble.

After earning a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University, where he was a linebacker on the school’s football team, R.J. leveraged a senior internship to secure a full-time position with the National Football League as a rotational analyst in the organization’s Strategic and Business Operations Division.

R.J. lives in New York City, where the high cost of living shocked him at first. “It hit my pocket hard,” making it a challenge to save money, he said. He offered a simple definition of savings: “money you don’t spend as soon as you get it, that you set aside, so when you do want to spend it, it’s available.” And he offered tips on setting savings goals.

R.J. also encouraged students to make connections with Loomis Chaffee alumni and in all their educational experiences and internships.

These connections, he said, will help them find opportunities in their field of interest.

The seminar series was organized by Loomis economics teachers Mat DeNunzio and Liz Leyden to help students expand their knowledge of personal finance basics before they head to college and enter the workforce.

Two additional speakers were scheduled to lead seminars during the spring term, but those events have been canceled because of the COVID-19 crisis.

The series was made possible with support from John Pearse ’58 and Sally Crowther Pearse ’58.

R.J. Paige ’13. Photo: Christine Coyle

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Island Visitors

Loomis Chaffee students worked with several visiting musicians during the winter term.

Atla DeChamplain Quartet

C Street Brass

The jazz musicians of Atla DeChamplain Quartet led a masterclass for students in the Jazz Improv Ensemble in December. The quartet, featuring vocalist Atla DeChamplain, Matt DeChamplain on piano, Matt Dwonsyk on bass, and guitarist Chris Morrison, also presented a community concert in Hubbard Performance Hall. “What I really like about jazz is that it doesn’t have to be perfect,” Ms. DeChamplain said during the concert. At the end of the one-hour performance, the professional musicians shared musical advice and joined in a jam session with the Jazz Improv Ensemble, directed by music teacher Ken Fischer. The quartet is based in Connecticut, where Atla and Matt grew up. The couple met in high school at the Greater Hartford Academy for the Arts.

The brass quintet C Street Brass presented a community concert in the Hubbard Performance Hall and led a masterclass for students in the Wind Ensemble in February. The quintet features trumpeters Scott Nadelson and John Ehrenburg, trombonists Gabriel Colby and Hakeem Bilal, and horn player John Carroll. “If you really love playing music, then we encourage you to play it live and write it yourself. The whole point of music is to share it with those around you, and it is even more meaningful to share it when it is your own,” said Mr. Nadelson, one of the founders of the group. “People in the audience want to hear you and want you to play well, so don’t be nervous — just embrace it and have fun with it.” At the end of the concert, the musicians shared advice with students about performing in front of large audiences, writing their own music, and trying new things. They also offered tips and thoughts about how to pursue a career in music. After the discussion, the group played some requested songs and some of their personal favorites. C Street Brass’s visit to the Island was made possible with the support from William and Mary Sand, both former Loomis Chaffee music teachers. Bill was Concert Band director, and Mary taught flute and coached a flute choir.

The Guest Musicians’ visits to the Island were made possible with support from the Stookins Lecture Fund.

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Cuatro Puntos A violinist with the Cuatro Puntos string ensemble presented a masterclass for Loomis Chaffee chamber music students in January. Aaron Packard worked with the Music Department’s afternoon intensive chamber music program on a Thursday afternoon. In the evening, the ensemble gave a public recital in Hubbard Performance Hall. The moving performance of “The Curve” by Iraqi composer Ameen Mokdad featured the string quartet accompanied by a dumbek — a hand drum from Middle Eastern and North African cultures — and with recitation of poetry in Arabic. Cuatro Puntos is a Hartford-based nonprofit arts organization dedicated to advancing social change and giving voice to the underserved through music composition, performance, and education. The musicians connect with audiences locally and worldwide by performing cross-cultural music that encompasses a variety of genres.

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Hartford Independent Chamber Orchestra The Hartford Independent Chamber Orchestra (HICO) woodwind quintet worked with music students in the Wind Ensemble in January as a follow-up to the group’s performance at Loomis Chaffee in the fall. The professional chamber musicians presented a brief recital for the ensemble then conducted masterclasses with students grouped by instrument.

Comprising a roster of premier Hartford-based musicians, including Loomis instrumental instructors Cathryn Cummings on horn and Ling-Fei Kang on oboe, HICO is dedicated to the promotion of contemporary music. Joining Cathryn and Ling-Fei to complete the quintet were Allison Hughes on flute, Alexander Kollias on clarinet, and Mason Adamson on bassoon. HICO champions the music of local, living composers. Having commissioned and performed numerous pieces by Connecticut composers, HICO engages audiences in Greater Hartford and beyond with programming aimed at broadening musical perspectives.

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For more information about each of the Guest Musician groups, visit www.loomischaffee.org/magazine.

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Violinist Aaron Packard of Cuatro Puntos listens to student chamber musicians on the Hubbard stage.

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C Street Brass musicians work with the Wind Ensemble.

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The Atla DeChamplain Quartet performs in Hubbard.

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Members of the Hartford Independent Chamber Orchestra take a break during a masterclass.

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Sibling Synergy

Alumnae sisters connected their Loomis Chaffee and Miss Porter’s School students through a creative collaboration.

Stacy-Ann Rowe ’97 and Terry Rowe-Bailey ’03 Photo: Jessica Ravenelle

TOP: Accompanied by their teachers, the writers and artists meet in the Richmond Art Center. Photos: Jessica Ravenelle BOTTOM LEFT: Miss Porter’s student Mia Tollis, with Ro, displays her novela cover, designed by freshman Teymour Saghri.

BOTTOM RIGHT: Molly Andrews of Miss Porter’s School meets the Loomis student designers of her novela covers, senior Portia Inzone and freshman Anni Johnson.

Sisters and teachers Stacy-Ann Rowe ’97 and Terry RoweBailey ’03 brought together the creative talents of their students this winter to collaborate on the cover designs for original Spanish-language novels.

Stacy-Ann, who goes by “Ro,” teaches Digital Arts & Media Design at Loomis Chaffee, and Terry, who goes by “Ro B,” teaches Spanish at Miss Porter’s School in nearby Farmington, Connecticut. Together they came up with the idea of having Ro’s art students create book covers for the narrative novelas that Ro B’s Spanish III students are writing this year.

Each of the 10 budding digital designers in Ro’s class was assigned a Miss Porter’s novela writer as a “client.” The student designers conducted “creative briefs” via email with their clients and then designed the fronts and backs of the book covers according to the writers’ specifications. The Loomis designers had the first six weeks of winter term to complete their assignment.

At a reception in February in the Richmond Art Center, the Loomis art students unveiled their book cover designs for the Miss Porter’s novela writers, who traveled to Windsor for the event.

“I am so thrilled with my students’ work,” Ro said. “They really did a great job.” Her students had the real-world experience of working to meet a client’s expectations and using good time-management skills in order to keep to a production schedule.

Ro B was equally impressed with both the Loomis designs and her students’ work. The novelas, complete with their cover designs, will be finished at the end of the school year.

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Photographs of hands, selections from an art collection owned by the school, served as muses for contemplating the experience of being young in the student-curated exhibit “ Youth” earlier this year.

The Hands of “Youth” The four senior curators, Brandon Alvarado, Eric Guaman, Margaret Kanyoko, and Kristin Santana, chose photographs from a collection donated to the school in October 2018 by Christian Buhl ’84. The photographs were part of the larger Buhl Collection, which was assembled by Christian’s father, philanthropist Henry Buhl, and included more than 1,000 artistic representations of hands. The elder Buhl gave some of the Buhl Collection to Christian, who donated a trove of photographs from the collection to Loomis Chaffee.

“As we launch into adulthood, we embark on a journey where innocence is lost, morphing into responsibility. We hope that those who come to our show identify themselves within these pieces and recall their experiences,” the students wrote in their curators’ statement.

For “Youth,” displayed in the Richmond Art Center’s Sue and Eugene Mercy Jr. Gallery, the student curators selected photography from the collection to express the exhibit’s theme and arranged the selections to represent important stages of youth.

Three of the student curators, Eric Guaman, Brandon Alvarado, and Kristin Santana, with Jennifer McCandless, head of the Visual Arts Department. Photo: Jessica Ravenelle

THE TALK ON CAMPUS

Loomis Chaffee’s conversation series continued on campus during the winter term with discussions of a range of topics. The series is organized by the Norton Family Center for the Common Good in partnership with other on-campus groups.

BASKETBALL AND POLITICS “Basketball is playing a big role on the international stage,” Greg Collucci, senior manager for global basketball development for the National Basketball Association, told students gathered for a “Basketball and Politics” discussion in January. Mr. Collucci offered an overview of some of the NBA initiatives to “grow the game” through education and promotions, including elite training academies and Junior NBA leagues for boys and girls ages 6–13 around the world. “Basketball is a uniting force,” he said. “Once the game starts, religion and politics … go out the window.” Rock Battistoni, who coaches Loomis Chaffee’s boys varsity basketball team and played basketball with Mr. Collucci at George Washington University, joined in the evening’s discussion.

ASIAN AMERICAN IDENTITY More than 100 community members gathered for a conversation about Asian American identity during a community free period in January. The event included a short video on the topic of the “model minority,” which points to a misperception that all Asian Americans are successful and make high incomes because they are pushed to work hard and are eager to please and, as such, are models for other minority groups in the United States and other western societies. The event also featured small-group discussion and a panel of students who shared their thoughts and experiences as Asian Americans.

RACISIM IN THE JUSTICE SYSTEM As part of the school’s MLK Week programming in January, the student multicultural organization People Rising In Support of Multiculturalism (PRISM) hosted a student-led Hot Topic discussion about systemic racism in the justice system. The discussion was a follow-up to a convocation address by guest speaker Ricky Kidd, a black man who spent 23 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit.

LOOMIS CHAFFEE TRADITIONS Peer counselors, junior and senior mentors to freshmen, hosted a discussion in February for the ninth-grade class on the topic of Loomis Chaffee traditions.

Intended as a low-stress, mainly social event, the peer counselors, their faculty advisors from the Counseling Office, and freshmen played a game and then broke into small groups to talk about current campus traditions and how to maintain their relevance.

GERRYMANDERING Mathematics Department Head Joseph Cleary and math teacher Stuart Remensnyder presented “The Mathematics of Gerrymandering” in February during a community free period. Joe and Stu showed how mathematics is used to fashion voting districts that are favorable to a particular political party, thus unfairly influencing election outcomes and resulting in a lopsided balance of power. Stu and Joe also led the nearly 100 students who joined the discussion in a simple math exercise to explain how gerrymandering works.

CONSERVATISM An open discussion about conservatism followed a visit to campus by conservative writer David French in late February. The forum encouraged conversation about what conservativism means and how holding conservative views affects living and learning at Loomis Chaffee.

DRUM CIRCLE At the beginning of the winter-term testing week in early March, students and faculty gathered for a community drum circle in Hubbard Performance Hall to promote social engagement and reduce stress. Led by Elliot Wallace, who teaches percussion at Loomis Chaffee, the event was organized during a community free period.

To watch a video about the drum circle, visit www.loomischaffee.org/magazine.

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Echoing MLK’s Words, Speaker Declares “Free at Last” Convocation speaker Ricky Kidd, who spent 23 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, shared his story of resilience in January as part of Loomis Chaffee’s week of programming honoring Martin Luther King Jr.’s life and legacy.

Mr. Kidd spoke to the school community about his enduring choice to act with intention — to “hold the pen” in composing his life story — rather than succumbing to despair or accepting the narrative that other people might think his life should follow.

“I am Ricky Kidd and I am ‘Free at Last,’” he said pointing at the phrase printed on the T-shirt he wore for the event.

At the beginning of his talk, Mr. Kidd noted that wrongfully imprisoned individuals represent 2–5 percent of the current prison population — or about 150,000 people — and less than 1 percent of those will be exonerated. “That needs to change,” he said.

In March of 1997, in a turn of events he never imagined would happen to him, Mr. Kidd was convicted of murder, sentenced to life without parole, and processed into one of Missouri’s roughest maximum-security prisons. He spent more than two decades in jail before he was exonerated and released in August 2019. His book of poems, Vivid Expressions: A Journey Inside the Mind of the Innocent, published while he was imprisoned, sheds light on some of what he experienced.

To overcome the endless frustration with incarceration and the justice system, the loneliness, the feelings of abandonment, and the dehumanizing treatment he endured, Mr. Kidd said he leaned on his faith, his writing, his personal conviction, his commitment to helping others, and his devotion to his daughter, born five months into his captivity.

Told repeatedly by fellow inmates, correctional officers, lawyers, and others that he would spend the rest of his life in prison, he refused to accept this fate. He rejected taking part in gang activity or drug dealing,

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choosing instead to find positive outlets for channeling his energy. He led mentoring programs, taught financial literacy to other inmates, trained guide-dogs, became a spiritual leader, and wrote and staged theater productions in the correctional facility.

“I was forced to become the light, illuminating everything in sight. I was forced to become the oxygen if ever I was to breathe again,” Mr. Kidd said, quoting a passage from one of his poems.

He also persevered in proving his innocence. After many years of self-advocation, of reaching out to investigators, lawyers, and lawmakers, he was able to convince an investigator to help get his case in front of a judge. The bureaucratic process that followed also took several years, concluding with his release last August.

Mr. Kidd said he hopes his story will inspire others to work together to enact change, and always to pursue their dreams. “Dr. Martin Luther King had a dream. We can help carry on his, and … we get to live out his dream and create our very own. What’s your dream?” he asked, and then encouraged his audience to “be intentional, believe in yourself, and be free at last.”

After his address, Mr. Kidd answered questions from the all-school audience. Students discussed the convocation in advisory groups as part of the morning’s program.

MLK Week events continued later in the week with student performances of music, dance, and spoken-word poetry at a community assembly in honor of Dr. King, emceed by student leaders of the multicultural organization PRISM; a student-led Hot Topics community discussion, “Just Mercy: Current Issues in Our Criminal Justice System”; and a Poetry Slam featuring a slate of talented students and local artists, including Kassidi Jones ’14, performing spoken-word poetry.

MLK Week was coordinated by the school’s Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion.

“I was forced to become the light, illuminating everything in sight. I was forced to become the oxygen if ever I was to breathe again.” — Ricky Kidd

TOP OF PAGE: Ricky Kidd speaks with students during a break in the convocation program.

Photo: Christine Coyle TOP: Kassidi Jones ’14 presents a spoken-word poem. Photo: sophomore Lisa Chang MIDDLE: Juniors Talia Mayo, Luke Struthers, and Emma Kane lead a Musical Revue cast performance of "Brand New Day" from The Wiz during a community assembly in honor of Dr. King. Photo: Jessica Ravenelle BOTTOM: Dance Company performs during the community assembly in honor of Dr. King.

Photo: Jessica Ravenelle

The Importance of Independent Thought A conservative writer discussed the role of independent thought and bipartisan pursuit of justice in the country’s “increasingly diverse culture with divergent ideas about what is right and true.”

Junior Andrew Wu, junior Bihan Zhang, and senior Aarman Pannu react to a funny moment in David French’s convocation talk. Photos: Jessica Ravenelle

Conservative journalist David French spoke on this year’s school theme of “Belonging” at an all-school convocation in February, urging respect for and encouragement of independent thought and individual expression so that society can seek justice and nurture community.

Mr. French shared some of what he has learned about independent thought and tolerance in his educational and professional life, which brought him from his home in rural Kentucky to Harvard Law School, followed by a career in law and the military, and eventually to working as a conservative writer.

Convocation speaker David French

Reflecting on his experiences with politics, culture, and religion, Mr. French said he noticed that he and others tended to remain in intolerable situations because they feared the ramifications of independence and change. It is important to establish independence of thought early in life and to learn to be open to ideas that may run contrary to one’s experience, he said, noting that the pressure to conform is strong in high school but grows even more powerful afterwards. “Timidity is habit-forming, but so is courage,” he remarked.

He looked forward to leaving his small Christian university in Tennessee to attend Harvard Law School to engage in academic discourse with some of the smartest people in the United States, he said, even though he knew most of them would likely disagree with his conservative views. But instead of receiving invitations to engage in discourse among his Harvard Law classmates, he received aggressively negative responses to a pro-life information flyer he circulated on campus.

This kind of angry, hate-filled, “shout down” happens across the spectrum of experiences and viewpoints when people feel threatened, he said. Though Mr. French made many friends at Harvard despite their opposing political ideologies, his initial response to being shouted down was to “talk louder,” which he now regrets and tries to keep in check. He cautioned his Loomis Chaffee listeners against responding too often with anger to disagreements because it shuts down engagement and limits independence. There is more power in being reasonable, he said, so that when it matters and you are truly outraged, people will pay attention.

Mr. French shared what he called “glimmers of hope,” examples of people forming bipartisan coalitions across vastly different backgrounds to seek justice as a community.

“In an increasingly diverse culture with divergent ideas about what is right and true,” he said, scaling back our anger, seeking justice together, respecting our shared humanity, and acknowledging that we are not always right will enable us to live in shared fellowship, Mr. French concluded.

On the evening before the convocation, Mr. French shared dinner and conversation with students in the Young Republicans Club and the Shultz Fellowship, a student-led, nonpartisan political discussion club named for former U.S. Secretary of State George P. Shultz ’38. After the convocation, Mr. French continued the discussion with students and faculty, including students in two sections of the 10th-grade Best Self Seminars.

Mr. French is senior editor of The Dispatch, a conservative politics, policy, and culture media company, and a columnist for Time. He was formerly a senior writer for National Review. He has served as a senior counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice and the Alliance Defending Freedom. As a member of the U.S. Army Reserve, he deployed to Iraq in 2007, where he served as a squadron judge advocate and was awarded the Bronze Star. His new book, Divided We Fall, is set for release later this year.

His visit to campus was part of the Robert P. Hubbard ’47 Speakers Series.

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Let the Students Produce Sun Shine Adaptation of Twelve Angry Men In a foray into experimental theater, five students presented an unconventional interpretation of the play Twelve Angry Men in February with direction from English teacher Miles Morgan.

The courtroom drama by Reginald Rose was adapted by Miles and retitled 12 AM in America. Staged in the Scanlan Campus Center’s third-floor Lyons Den, the production was the first for Stage II, an initiative of Loomis Chaffee’s Theater & Dance Department.

The five students who signed up for Stage II had limited theater experience and, according to Miles, didn’t think of themselves as “theater kids.” They wondered about the legitimacy of a performance by inexperienced actors on a non-conventional stage. But the process brought them to the realization that theater can be anything they imagine and apply themselves to create.

“Even the night before the first show, I had no idea if what we made together was even ‘theater,’” reflects freshman cast member Nathan Ko. “Turns out, it was not only theater, but a story that communicated clearly with the audience. … We had fun throughout the whole process and made a piece of theater.”

In addition to Nathan, the cast included senior Anya Sastry, junior Manisha Bakshi, and freshman Catie Colton. Junior Isabel Ruppel served as stage manager and assistant director.

Miles says he chose to adapt Twelve Angry Men because “it felt comfortable in a sea of discomfort with the experimental nature of the project, [and was] malleable and symbolic.” Modifying the 12 adult characters into four teenagers posed a challenge, “but the voices of the play are so ‘everyman’ that they lend themselves to being condensed,” he says.

The idea for Stage II — small-scale theater as an afterschool activity — came to fruition this year as an addition to the theater productions already offered at Loomis. Each year, students audition in large numbers for roles in Norris Ely Orchard Theater signature productions, including the fall play and winter musical, which led Miles and others to ask, “What else could theater look like at Loomis?” Candice Chirgotis, head of the Theater & Dance Department, says Miles was a good fit to direct this production. He has experience acting in and leading school theatrical productions, and he has helped with productions at Loomis since arriving in the fall of 2018.

Miles says he looks forward to seeing more student and faculty involvement in future unconventional productions around the Island.

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With students bedecked in beachy attire and bright yellow sunglasses and a veritable farmer’s market of climate-friendly activities in the campus center, Loomis Chaffee marked the official launch of the school’s new solar array with a Solar Fest on January 13.

Students, faculty, and staff tasted honey from the Loomis bee hive, tried out a shredyour-own-plastics device, played a recycling game, took a sustainable resolution survey, learned how to contact government officials about climate action, and found out about other environment- and sustainability-related activities on campus. Students who had donated to a campus tree-planting fund earned permission to wear beach-themed attire for the day, with yellow sunglasses indicating their waiver from the dress code.

Treats, snacks, and sustainability-themed door prizes also drew celebrants to the Solar Fest, held during a community free period.

The event was organized by the Alvord Center for Global & Environmental Studies and several student-led organizations.

Clockwise from top left: junior Isabel Ruppel, junior Manisha Bakshi, freshman Nathan Ko, freshman Catie Colton, and senior Anya Sastry. Photo: Miles Morgan

“Turns out, it was not only theater, but a story that communicated clearly with the audience. … We had fun throughout the whole process and made a piece of theater.”

— Freshman Nathan Ko

Environmental proctors junior Alejandro Rincón, junior Ben Boonpiti, junior Jake Lotreck, and senior Neala Sweeney enjoy the Solar Fest. Photo: Christine Coyle To see a gallery of photos from the Solar Fest, visit www. loomischaffee.org/magazine.

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THAT’S ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT! BATTLE OF THE ROBOTS

MUSIC FESTIVAL

The robotics team, HAX Robotics, placed sixth overall out of 24 teams at the 2020 Connecticut State Championship in February, held just a mile from campus at Windsor High School. HAX also earned the Think Award, the second-most prestigious award at the competition, for the team’s written documentation of the underlying science and mathematics of the robot design, game strategies, successes, and opportunities for improvement. The team began working in the fall to design, build, and program a robot that could move and stack “stones” in competitions. The team’s outstanding performance in a competition in January qualified HAX Robotics for the state championship tournament, where the team advanced to the semifinals.

Twenty Loomis Chaffee students performed in the Connecticut Northern Region Music Festival in January. Selected by audition, the students rehearsed challenging music selections for two days under the leadership of nationally-known conductors then performed the selections at a culminating concert. Loomis was represented in the regional chorus, orchestra, and band ensembles.

OUTSTANDING ARTISTS Five Loomis Chaffee art students earned recognition in the 2020 Connecticut Regional Scholastic Art Awards in January. Sponsored by the Connecticut Art Education Association, the awards honor the creative efforts of students in grades seven to 12 in public, private, and parochial schools across the state. Earning Gold Keys were senior Mia Griffiths in the ceramics and glass category, junior Joy Liu in painting, and junior Haven Low in photography. Earning honorable mention were senior Valerie Chu in ceramics and glass and junior Audrey Zhang in painting.

WRITING AWARDS Six student writers received awards for their original works of poetry and prose in the 2020 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards for the Connecticut region. Senior Eleanor Peters won two Gold Keys, one Silver Key, and an American Voices Medal, the latter awarded to one writer from each region. Senior Christina Stone received a Gold Key and an Honorable Mention. Also earning awards were juniors Krishnapriya Rajaram, Isabel Ruppel, and Stephanie Zhang; and sophomore Jenny Pan. The awards are administered by the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers.

“SPACE” EDITION OF THE LOOM The Loom, the school’s student-led literary publication, released its online edition in December 2019 featuring a collection of original creative writing and artwork by students on the theme of “Space.” Published twice during the school year — a themed digital edition in the fall and a general print edition in spring — The Loom celebrates the interconnectedness of the literary and visual arts. Students are invited to submit their work for inclusion, and student staff members and faculty advisor Kate Saxton review the submissions in a selection process that seeks to publish a variety of voices and styles.

NATIONAL CHOIR Junior Brett Donshik was selected by audition to participate in the National Association for Music Educators 2019 All-National Honors Ensemble Mixed Choir in Orlando, Florida, in November. Along with high school students from across the United States and abroad, Brett rehearsed and performed as a bass vocalist with the mixed choir during the three-day music festival.

TEACHING CHILDREN ABOUT HOMELESSNESS A group of students engaged school-aged children on the topic of homelessness at a Paddington Bear-themed event at the Windsor Public Library in January. The Be Homeful Project, organized by the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness, seeks to educate young people about homelessness in a stigma-free way using Paddington, the much-loved character from children’s literature, as an approachable point of reference. At the free, walk-in event, members of the public library staff read Paddington Bear stories to a group of local children ranging in age from 5 to 9 years. Afterwards, students in Loomis’ Pelican Service Organization engaged the young attendees in an educational craft project.

GENETIC ENGINEERING Senior Danny Cui participated in the International Genetically Engineered Machine Competition Giant Jamboree in Boston in November, a celebration of more than a year of work with his team of 16 high school students in the United States and China. The team worked on the problem of bacterial soft rot in potatoes. Danny and his team won a gold medal and a nomination for Best Integrated Human Practices, which recognized their work to put their scientific research into practice and translate it into usable information for the public and farmers. The competition was sponsored by iBowu, a Chinese company that writes modeling software for research and academic projects.

To find out more about Danny’s research and view his team’s presentation, visit www.loomischaffee.org/magazine.

For a link to The Loom’s “Space” Fall 2019 edition, visit www.loomischaffee.org/magazine.

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SHIFTING CONCUSSION CULTURE

DEBATE EXCELLENCE

Loomis Chaffee winter sports teams participated in a campaign to change the wider sports culture surrounding concussions through a program with the Headway Foundation, a nonprofit organization that promotes sports safety and concussion awareness. Over the course of 10 days, Headway worked with Loomis athletes, coaches, and members of the Athletics Department to share proper ways to prevent, report, and spot concussions as well as resources that athletes can use to help cope with and recover from head injuries. The effort was part of Headway’s “New Tough” campaign, which challenges athletes to report concussion symptoms as soon as they are experienced, provide help and support to other brain-injured teammates, and play the game within the rules in order to prevent injuries.

The Loomis Chaffee Debate Society continued to enjoy success at area competitions during the winter term, extending a trend that the debaters began in the fall. Both experienced and novice Pelican debaters earned awards at a variety of tournaments. With strong showings at November and December tournaments, seniors Maral Asik, Eleanor Peters, and Clara Chen; and juniors Victoria Cha and Aiden Gillies earned berths in the state debate finals, originally scheduled for late March but postponed because of COVID-19 concerns. The Debate Society also hosted its 38th annual Loomis Chaffee Debate Tournament in January, attracting 180 debaters from 14 schools from around the Northeast. Students debated both sides of the resolution: “Resolved, that the United States should adopt a program of reparations to redress the harms caused by historic, systemic racist policies, including slavery.”

To see what Loomis athletes had to say about helping to shift concussion culture, visit www.loomischaffee.org/magazine.

PORTRAIT OF NANCY TONEY

CLIMATE RALLY Pelican climate activists rallied at the Connecticut state capitol in December 2019, the second Hartford rally at which a cadre of Loomis students mustered this school year. Twenty-five Loomis Chaffee students and two faculty members participated in the December rally along with hundreds of other young people, demanding a meeting with Governor Ned Lamont, a seat for youth on the Governor’s Council on Climate Change, a ban on new fossil fuel plant construction in the state, efficient and transparent management of the state’s energy efficiency fund, and mandatory climate education in Connecticut’s public schools. While at the capitol, the Loomis cohort also met with Paul Mounds ’03, who served at the time as the governor’s chief operating officer and later was named the governor’s chief of staff. They discussed the planned Killingly Gas Plant and other issues of concern to Loomis’ student-led Climate Activism Club.

Members of the school community gathered in February for “Nancy Toney: A Portrait of Strength, a Portal into the Past,” an examination of the life of Ms. Toney, a 19th-century African American woman who lived in Windsor and whose personal history is connected with Loomis Chaffee’s Founders.

History teacher and school archivist Karen Parsons led the presentation, which considered a portrait of Ms. Toney painted by Founder Osbert Loomis. Karen’s presentation was a collaboration by the Archives and Loomis’ Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in honor of Black History Month.

For more information and for a podcast on the topic, visit www.loomischaffee.org/magazine.

Browse a gallery of photos from the event at www.loomischaffee.org/ magazine.

FACULTY & STAF F NEWS Science teachers Erica Gerace and David Samuels welcomed daughter Evelyn Sloan Samuels on January 30. She joins big sister Emilia.

Admission associate and head boys basketball coach Rock Battistoni reunited with his college teammate Greg Collucci this winter when Mr. Collucci spoke at Loomis

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Chaffee about basketball and global politics.

Mr. Collucci, who played basketball with Rock at George Washington University, is senior manager for global basketball development for the National Basketball Association.

Nine faculty members attended the 2019 People of Color Conference in Seattle, Washington, in December. The conference,

organized by the National Association of Independent Schools, featured speakers, workshops, and activities focused on leadership, professional development, and networking for people of color and allies of all backgrounds in independent schools. Six Loomis Chaffee students also participated in the conference, which included a portion designed specifically for students.

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After the final buzzer, the boys varsity basketball team and coaches celebrate their Class A New England Championship.

PE LICA N SP O RT S

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VARSITY RECORDS BOYS BASKETBALL 20-6 New England Class A Champion Founders League Champion

GIRLS BASKETBALL 16-11 New England Class A Semifinalist

CO-ED EQUESTRIAN 3 shows BOYS ICE HOCKEY 16-7-4 New England Large-School Champion

GIRLS ICE HOCKEY 19-7-1 New England Elite Eight Semifinalist

CO-ED SKIING New England Class B, 13th Place (boys), 9th Place (girls)

BOYS SQUASH 6-14 GIRLS SQUASH 5-13 New England Class D, 2nd Place

BOYS SWIMMING & DIVING 9-2 Founders League Champion New England Division I, 4th Place

GIRLS SWIMMING & DIVING 7-3 Founders League, 3rd Place New England Division I, 5th Place

WRESTLING 15-5 New England Class A, 5th Place New England Championship, 18th Place

1 Senior Sky Hanley

6 Freshman Brandon Kim

2 Sophomore Nick Guenther

7 Senior Mathieu Schneider

3 Sophomore Sophia Testa 4 Freshman Nathan Amani-Luiru 5 Junior Cooper Raposo

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8 Freshman Daisy Xu 9 Sophomore Maren Livingstone 10 Freshman Zoe Santilli

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Springtime on Founders Circle.

Photo: Jessica Ravenelle

Share a meaningful life experience, in 600 words or fewer.

Photo: Lynn Petrillo

This essay by junior Haven Low was selected as a runner-up in a New York Times personal narrative essay contest for teenagers, which drew 8,000 entries from around the world. Haven’s essay was one of eight runners-up in the contest, which prompted entrants to write about a meaningful life experience in no more than 600 words. Basing their criteria on the kinds of powerful personal narratives that appear regularly in the New York Times columns “Modern Love,” “Lives,” and “Rites of Passage,” the contest judges chose 35 finalists, from which they selected eight winners, eight runners-up, and 19 honorable mentions.

" They" by junior Haven Low

The dewy grass and decomposing concrete crunch under my feet as I trudge to the first morning of my job as a camp counselor. I sport an official t-shirt, an unflattering, eye-catching garment, reluctantly thrown atop of a bathing suit. All I want to do is hide. I am extremely self-conscious about my physical shape. At 16, I have grown out of my girlhood but not yet into my womanhood. I exist somewhere in between? I feel like an imposter in this brightly colored cloak of responsibility.

It takes all of my will to stop from turning around and retreating to the comfort of my bedroom.

Suddenly, I think of the campers set to arrive for their first day together, all of whom identify as transgender or gender non-conforming. If I am this uncomfortable in my gender-conforming body, how must they feel?

Surely these second graders won’t care how I look in a bathing suit, I think.

This realization gives me courage and a renewed sense of purpose. In the midst of their own struggles to reconcile gender with anatomy, they won’t think to judge my appearance. Or will they notice my own insecurities?

As I turn the corner, with clammy hands and a knot in my stomach, the director greets me with a warm smile that calms my fears and leaves me mostly forgetful of my earlier doubts.

In the final moments before campers arrive, we promptly cover the driveway with colorful chalk streaks and the words “Welcome to camp!” I chew my nails as I wait for the chaos to begin.

Despite the nerves churning in my stomach, the world seems so peaceful and the birds chirp through the early morning wind. Will these kids accept me? Will they like me? Again the concrete crumbles as cheerful parents in minivans pull up, smudging our colorful chalk designs. One by one, I

observe and greet each camper. Each child brings a story, an identity, of their own. There is the gentle boy who feels most comfortable in skirts striped with pinks and purples. There is the rowdy boy, born female, who runs circles throughout the crowd. There are the identical twins standing shyly together — identical, yet one is a boy and one is a girl. They keep coming.

I suddenly understand I have the responsibility of creating an environment where the kids all feel accepted and comfortable. They walk a complicated path and deserve all of the love and support I can give them. Placing my preconceptions and self-doubt in my backpack, I approach a shy kid with a rock-and-roll haircut and rainbow leggings. I have absolutely no idea how they identify. Luckily, their suburban mom with frizzy curls and a cup of pungent coffee in hand reads my mind and answers my question.

“This is Quinn,” she says. “They are gender non-conforming.”

I am barely prepared for this. They are a singular person, I think, knowing it will take effort to remember the correct pronoun. Quinn looks me in the eye, and an impish grin spreads across their face. I smile in return. I am astonished that at the age of seven, Quinn understands their identity and is not afraid to show it to the world.

They, without a doubt, embody self-acceptance, despite living in a world where far too many people equate them with being foreign and freakish.

I realize how much I can learn from these kids as I walk my own path of self-discovery. Taking a breath, I settle into myself and my excitement.

Without hesitation, Quinn grabs my hand and drags me towards a week full of self-exploration, expansion, and discovery.

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GRAPHIC NOVEL

by CHRISTINE COYLE

Alumni may be familiar with MAD Magazine’s biting satirical comics, which included the double-crossing antics of “Spy vs. Spy,” whose wordless, black-and-white panels were meant to be a sendup of Cold War espionage. And some, perhaps, took pleasure in the subversive nature of reading comics because wise and learned adults discouraged young people from “wasting time” on them and their ilk in favor of respected works of literature and the classics.

Over time, comics came of age, and writers and artists embraced this evolved literary form as graphic novels, with a unique and expanded storytelling ability through the use of visuals, as compared to text alone. The oeuvre has grown quickly and has entered into the cultural and academic mainstream — including as an English elective at Loomis Chaffee.

Team-taught by Timothy Lawrence and Will Eggers for the last five years, the 10-week term course English IV: Graphic Novel examines the history and structural composition of comics, their evolution into the literary art form known as the graphic novel, and the cultural significance of the graphic novel.

So, what’s the difference between comics and graphic novels?

And why study the graphic novel as a literary exercise?

There is a fine line between the two, according to Tim and Will, just as a fine line exists between “literary” fiction, like Shakespeare, and popular fiction.

The term “graphic novel” is often associated with serialized comic books, but in this class Will Eggers and Timothy Lawrence teamthe graphic novel texts are teach the Graphic Novel course. Photo: Jessica Ravenelle complete, original stories, not segments of a longer story as one might find in a comic. Tim and Will explain that graphic novels use sequential art panels to frame story segments and employ audio, gestural, spatial, or linguistic modes to help tell the story. The stories they portray unfold across a specific period of time and space. Beyond comic books, graphic

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novels provide more sustained, deeper exploration of character and themes across a range of complex emotional and philosophical topics.

The genre presents many rich opportunities for interdisciplinary and multicultural analyses with the added element of a visual “voice” to convey meaning.

Students in the class examine graphic narratives of fiction and nonfiction and learn interpretive methods and a “visual vocabulary” from which they may draw their analyses. Throughout the term, students progressively build their visual storytelling skills through drawing exercises in sketchbooks and in-class exercises on whiteboards. For a final project, each student conceives, develops, writes, and illustrates an eight-panel graphic short story using some of the narrative techniques covered in class.

Graphic Novel is an English Department course, not a Visual Arts class, and students are not required to have any experience in art or drawing to take the course. In fact, Tim notes, some of the most exceptional student final projects employ only rudimentary drawings for visuals. “The ideas are more important than the actual drawings,” he explains.

At the beginning of the term, students read and discuss Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art, by Scott McCloud, which provides a “tool kit” for students to look at some of the meaningful graphic communication found in the novels, according to Tim and Will.

“We’re calling an audible today,” Will says before the start of a Monday morning class — the day after the NFL Superbowl — as he and Tim draw figures on the whiteboards around the room. That day’s class discussion focuses on Asterios Polyp, a graphic novel by David Mazzuchelli. The novel’s main character, Asterios, is a university professor and professional architect of Mediterranean descent who is in the midst of a divorce and who struggles with mid-life regret. According to Tim, Mr. Mazzuchelli uses Greek mythology, concepts of philosophy, and elements of architectural design in his illustrations to develop character and add deeper meaning to the story. The figures the teachers draw on the white boards at the beginning of class represent common mythological and philosophical characters and ideas, and correlate with those in Asterios Polyp. They serve as “lenses” for interpreting the novel, and as cues for class discussion, Tim says.

The discussion around the Harkness table looks to an outside observer like any other English literature analysis — except that instead of just reading passages of text to support their opinions and insights, individuals in the group discussion share their thoughts about deeper meanings that are expressed both visually and in text on the novel’s

In a frame from senior Cheri Chen’s end-of-term project, Cheri and her mother converse via text message.

pages. As the students discover, graphic novels convey meaning through artwork within and outside the art panels; in the positioning and spacing of panels; in design elements such as the line, texture, and color of illustrations; in the white or negative space on the pages; and even in the font used to print text.

During an animated discussion of Asterios Polyp, senior Clarke Thrasher points to the solid blue lines and perfectly formed shapes in the panels depicting Asterios, who is an architect with steadfast opinions. By contrast, panels containing the character Hana, Asterios’s wife, are made with crisscrossed red lines to form her less well-defined, softer shape, and represent her more malleable opinions.

Tim and Will join in the classroom interaction, encouraging the students in their thought processes, interjecting their own opinions, throwing out questions for the group to consider, and engaging in spirited academic debate with each other.

Everyone seated around the table takes the opportunity to closely examine the book’s pages and consider each other’s interpretations in uncovering possible clues to the novel’s meaning.

“It is a re-telling of the story of Orpheus from Greek mythology,”

For a final project, each student conceives, develops, writes, and illustrates an eight-panel graphic short story using some of the narrative techniques covered in class.

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TOP & BOTTOM Pages from senior Tomas Ascoli’s graphic short story, which takes a self-deprecating look at his college process.

Tim affirms as the group teases out this conclusion. Tim and Will describe Asterios Polyp as the graphic novel equivalent to James Joyce’s Ulysses.

Both instructors share an affinity for the genre, and they enjoy seeing their students come to appreciate the novels. In addition, Tim and Will say they love the rare opportunity for professional collaboration in the classroom. Collaboration benefits the teachers professionally, Tim says, but also helps students by modeling intellectual discourse and idea sharing, especially when the teachers don’t agree with each other.

“We really encourage the students to reach, stretch, be playful, and to be wrong sometimes,” Will says. Teaching the class with Tim for the past five years “has been a wonderful experience personally and professionally,” he adds.

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In addition to Understanding Comics, and Asterios Polyp, the class studies Maus, by Art Spiegelman; The Arrival, by Shaun Tan; and Fun Home: A Tragicomic, by Alison Bechdel. The students read Maus, a biographical story of a Polish Jew living through the Holocaust, published in book form in 1986, because it helped establish the credibility of the graphic novel in literature by showing what the form had to offer in covering serious topics. The Arrival uses the graphic form to eloquently express the immigrant experience without any narration or dialogue — a moving effect that simulates being unable to communicate in a foreign land. And Fun Home mixes literary references, provides readers with a window into what it’s like to come of age as a person who identities as LGBTQ+, and offers insights into the author’s nuanced relationship with her father.

The unconventional genre of the graphic novel warrants some unconventional lesson plans. In one such lesson, as the class studies The Arrival, which has no text at all, students show up at Chaffee 102 and are informed that they must communicate without any words in class that day. The students draw pictures, follow visual cues, and collaborate with classmates to decipher the assignment. They come to appreciate how to communicate wordlessly, Tim says.

In other lessons, every student takes a turn at “owning” a novel — being the discussion leader for one of the all-class reads during the term. Each student must prepare for the lesson as a teacher would, with thoughts and ideas ready to introduce to spur dialogue, Tim explains. In the classroom, both teachers have collected a library of graphic novels to supplement those available to students in Katharine Brush Library.

In an exercise Tim and Will call “Grab Bag,” each student chooses a graphic novel from the classroom collection, reads it, and then gives a five-minute description to the rest of the class.

In one lesson, as the class studies The Arrival, which has no text at all, students show up at Chaffee 102 and are informed that they must communicate without using any words in class that day.

A two-page spread of Cheri’s graphic short story, which tells a touching, nuanced story about her relationship with her mother.

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The course has grown in popularity since it was introduced in 2015– 16, and class alumni help spread the word of their positive experiences.

“I came to class with absolutely no knowledge about graphic novels. I chose it primarily because I love art,” comments senior Cheri Chen, who took the class this fall. “I really enjoyed the books. All the small details — the color usage, the shadow and light contrast — I felt like I was putting together a puzzle when I read a book. I still read Asterios Polyp from time to time, and I often find something new and interesting when I read it again.”

Cheri wrote her final project about her relationship with her mother and their differences in opinion and values. In her panels she symbolizes one’s love for a mother as a “legless crab” that becomes hidden deep in the day-to-day of living, but still endures.

Senior Tomas Ascoli, who also took the course in the fall, had previously read some graphic novels for fun, and he admits that he thought the class would require less writing than a typical English course. That was not entirely the case, he says. There were plenty of assignments that required “writing,” many of which included drawing to help tell the story.

Tomas says he especially enjoyed reading Asterios Polyp.

Hee Won “Ashley” Chung ’19 took the Graphic Novel course in her senior year and now studies computer science at Brown University. A talented artist, Ashley has been a fan of comics since she was a child and drew her own comics as a hobby. The class gave her the tools to become a better artist, she says, and she enjoyed the structure of the course.

“We had to keep a sketchbook, and we were allowed to doodle in class, as well as being encouraged to fearlessly put down our ideas. Doing homework for this class did not feel like ‘schoolwork,’ necessarily, but it felt like a continuation of my artistic endeavors and hobbies. Overall, I really enjoyed this course, and I think it really helped me grow as an artist,” Ashley reflects.

Reading Understanding Comics as a senior in high school introduced Ashley to concepts that gave her an edge in coursework for a global anime class she took at Brown, she said. This spring Ashley is taking courses in visual arts and Japanese literature in addition to her computer science classes. She also uses her design skills working at the Brown Daily Herald newspaper and at one of the university’s arts and culture publications.

Through the Graphic Novel class, excitement about this literary genre is reaching the next generation of readers at Loomis. Like explorers following a map to buried treasure, Tim and Will are passionate in their quest to unearth meaningful clues woven into the panels of graphic novels, and their enthusiasm is contagious.

The title page of Tomas’s project

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ALUMNI AUTHOR

Amy Traverso Story and Photos by CHRISTINE COYLE

Amy Traverso ’89, cookbook author and senior food editor at Yankee Magazine, returned to the Island in January to share her professional writing experiences with students at a “Dinner and a Draft” event organized by Loomis Chaffee Writing Initiatives.

Amy shared a meal with a dozen student writing enthusiasts — many of whom are involved in student publications and other on-campus writing initiatives — and several faculty members, including Jessica Hsieh ’09, English teacher and faculty advisor to The Log; Karen Parsons, history teacher and Loomis Chaffee archivist; and Kate Saxton, English teacher and director of Writing Initiatives. After dinner, Amy led the group in a writing exercise.

“I didn’t think of myself as a writer when I was at Loomis,” Amy told the students, but she said that writing across the curriculum at Loomis established a strong basis for her advanced study and professional writing career.

Amy realized that writing was one of her strengths when she was in college and helped her college professors with research papers. She took the advice of a publishing professional to enroll in Columbia University’s respected summer publishing course. After landing an editorial assistant job at Boston Magazine, she seized the opportunity to shadow the publication’s restaurant critic and discovered a passion for food writing.

To support themselves financially, food writers should

For a link to a Hartford Courant story about Amy’s visit to Loomis Chaffee, to view a gallery of photos from her visit, and to find out more about Amy’s work with Yankee Magazine, visit www.loomischaffee.org/magazine.

be able to cook, write for print and the web, style food, and appear at ease on camera, Amy told the students. An entrepreneurial bent and an established social media presence also are important, she said.

“And you need to learn how to write a ‘blurb,’” Amy added, introducing the group’s writing exercise for the evening. A blurb is a short, descriptive paragraph used to describe or critique food. The challenge in writing a blurb, she said, is to “come up with new and fresh ways to describe your senses.”

Amy passed around samples of locally-sourced cheese and biscuits — a common subject for her writing at Yankee Magazine — and asked the students to taste a sample then write blurbs.

In addition to her editorial role at Yankee Magazine, Amy is the author of The Apple Lover’s Cookbook, published in 2011, which was a finalist for the Julia Child Award for best first-time author. Amy also co-hosts “Weekends with Yankee,” which airs on public television stations nationwide. She has served as food editor at Boston Magazine and associate food editor at Sunset Magazine, and her work has been published in The Boston Globe, Salon.com, and Travel & Leisure magazine. She has appeared on The Martha Stewart Show, Throwdown with Bobby Flay, Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares, and other television shows. Amy lives in the Boston area and returns often to Windsor to visit her family.

Recent Books

by ALUMNI WRITERS These books have been published or have been brought to our attention in the last year. The editors ask alumni to send updates and corrections to magazine@loomis.org for inclusion in this annual list.

Ralph Sawyer ’63 Assassin’s Quandary: An Intrepid Healer in Early China Alex Kuo ’57 Mao’s Kisses: A Novel of June 4, 1989 Stephen Paul Sayers ’84 The Immortal Force

Trace Peterson ’96 Since I Moved In (poetry collection, new and revised edition) Ralph Sawyer ’63 Solitary Subversives David Pratt ’76 Two Plays: “The Snow Queen” and “November Door”

David London ’86 Pet Peeves: A Comic Strip About How Family Life Can Get Pretty Hairy

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S

tuart Remensnyder's desk acoutrements are as varied and eclectic as his interests, which range from his discipline of mathematics and his innovative teaching methods to his expertise as a mountaineer and his love for ice hockey. And don't be fooled by the clutter; there is rhyme and reason to the layers of papers and objects. As with Stu's approach to teaching, if you trust what may seem like chaos initially, it

Faculty Desks

won't be long before everything makes sense, as his students over the years attest. Stu, or "Rem" as many call him, has taught at Loomis Chaffee since 1986, with several stints away to teach abroad, work as a mountaineering guide around the world, and co-own a mountaineering and trekking company. In addition to teaching math, Rem has coached five sports at various levels and contributed in many other roles in the Loomis Chaffee community.

STU REMENSNYDER

Mugs from Canada conjure memories of 2011–12, when Stu and his family lived in the Frenchspeaking area of Bathurst, New Brunswick.

Notes from Stu's children and students decorate his bulletin board.

Precalculus and Calculus books contain Stu's notations for his courses.

M&Ms are used in statistics and precalculus classes to practice sampling methods in a delicious and fun way. Stu believes in keeping his students well-fed.

A Peruvian chair made in the city of Cusco features a traditional Incan symbol called a “Tumi.”

In an article for SYA Spain that hangs in his office, Stu reflected on living in Zaragoza with his wife, Nicole, and their two young children.

PHOTOGR APHS BY

J E S S I C A R AV E N E L L E

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O bject Le sson

In April 1917, Evelyn Longman and others involved in the project check on the Piccirilli Brothers’ work on carving the Lincoln statue.

To see more photographs of the project from Longman’s personal albums, visit www.loomischaffee. org/magazine.

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O bject Le sson

Evelyn Longman’s Work on the Lincoln Memorial Story by KAREN PARSONS

Sculptor Evelyn Beatrice Longman rarely gave press interviews, but in April 1921 she sat with The Hartford Courant and offered enthusiastic, unguarded statements on her career and life as the newly married wife of Loomis’ headmaster, Nathaniel Batchelder.

She commented directly on only one project, a monument still under construction. “There is one piece of work of which I can frankly say that I am proud … and that is the interior of the Lincoln Memorial. I did a part of that work.”

Interest in honoring Abraham Lincoln with a national monument began in 1867, two years after his assassination. The idea lay mostly in abeyance until 1910, when Congress established the Lincoln Memorial Commission. Within four years, the committee selected the site; the architect, Henry Bacon; and the sculptor, Daniel Chester French.

Workers laid the building’s cornerstone on Lincoln’s birthday in 1915. America’s entrance into World War I slowed construction and, around the time of the war’s armistice in November 1918, Daniel Chester French entrusted Bronx-based marble cutters, the Piccirilli Brothers, to carve the massive seated Lincoln figure. The memorial’s dedication took place on Memorial Day in 1922.

Evelyn Longman carves details of sculptural wreaths on the interior of the Lincoln Memorial in the fall of 1917.

Bacon celebrated his selection by the committee in a note to his friend and colleague Evelyn Longman: “Dear Trixina — Yesterday this piece of news appeared in the paper and isn’t it splendid! HOORAY — Rejoice with me.” French asked for Longman’s advice in June 1916 as he revised a small-scale model of the statue. “Dear Beatrice, Listen to me! I need you … because you are a sculptor. Now, I have sawed Lincoln in two and I have been trying him with different lengths of body and I find I can’t decide which is best by myself.

In fact, as I have said, I need your critical eye to help me to a decision.”

Fifty-two photographs in Longman’s personal albums fully document her extensive 10-year involvement with the Lincoln Memorial; most details are notably absent from histories of the memorial. Deemed integral to the project by Bacon and French, she made numerous visits to the memorial’s construction site between 1915 and 1918 and viewed the carved Lincoln statue in process at Piccirilli’s workshop. In one playful photo, Longman sports a fishing pole at the memorial’s Tidal Basin; the caption reads, “No Fish.” Along the edges of another photograph of Longman, Bacon, French, and Mary French, the artist’s wife, is written, “Wash-

ington, April 2, 1917, On this day President’s message to Congress — about declaration of war with Germany.” Unnamed workmen and planning committee members; Mr. Wooley, the site superintendent; and Robert Todd Lincoln, son of the former president, also appear in these images.

Longman’s tangible “part” can be found in her albums too. Photographed in her working clothes, Longman carved sculptural wreath ornaments in the memorial’s interior during the fall of 1917. The popular national women’s magazine Good Housekeeping had earlier observed, “By sheer force of ability, Miss Longman has won her enviable place in American art, and she has gone into it ‘all over.’” Longman offered no comments to the press about her Lincoln Memorial work or her collaboration with Bacon and French, two of America’s most respected artists. In 1919, Longman became the first female sculptor inducted into the National Academy of Design, the second woman overall, an accomplishment she chose to downplay in her Courant interview. Instead, Longman’s career reflections seem more in line with a photo showing her sitting on the porch of the memorial’s wooden-shack construction headquarters. The caption reads: “Ready for work.”

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Photo: Jessica Photo: JessicaRavenelle Ravenelle

CL ES ClASaSssNO NoT tes

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Cl ass Not e s

1943 “I could not help but notice that Class Notes in the summer 2019 issue began with the Class of 1947,” writes Bill Gehron. “So I thought I’d put in a plug for my Class of 1943.” Bill notes that his book Ramble: A Memoir, published in 2010, devotes pages 107 to 125 to his time at Loomis. “A great school — and your magazine shows it continues to be,” he adds.

1949 Albert Hurwit reports on the performance of his Symphony No. 1, “Remembrance,” by the Palm Beach Symphony with guest conductor Michael Lankester on January 31.

The symphony, which was awarded first place in the American Composer Competition in 2009, was inspired by the history of Albert’s ancestors, who fled from Russia to the United States at the turn of the 20th century. “Its story is timeless,” Albert notes. “For centuries, the persecution of various ethnic groups has forced younger generations to separate from their elders in order to seek safety and freedom in foreign lands, and that story continues today.”

1950 Dick Murphy sends this update from Leisure World of Maryland, an active retirement community in Silver Spring, Md., where he and his wife, Luda, have lived for the last 13 years. “Fortunately, we are blessed with good health and still able to travel,” he writes. “In 2016, we took a Rhine River cruise from Basel, Switzerland, to Amsterdam, the Netherlands, after spending a week in Switzerland. In 2018, we took a 10-day Tauck trip to Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, and Quebec City.

Last summer, we spent two delightful weeks in Baden-Baden, Germany, a charming town known for its mineral baths and outstanding

’50

cultural institutions.” He adds, “I still have fond memories of Loomis and am grateful for the superb education I received there.”

1957 George O. Schneller IV turns 80 this year and still teaches one or two math courses each semester. “It’s Calc III this semester,” he writes.

“This week I show them one of my favorites: power series e^(iπ) + 1 = 0.”

ABOVE: Dick Murphy ’50.

1962 Our condolences go out to Alison Schuchard Forbes on the loss of her husband, Jim, who passed away on September 17, 2019, after a 12year battle with cancer. “He will be missed as a husband, father of three, grandfather of nine, physician, and friend to many,” she writes.

CHAFFEE BOOK CLUB

1963 Stephen Dahl has written a new book, Harry and the Madman: A Mayhem & Murder Mystery, part of the Harry Saybrook Mysteries series. The independently published book is available in paperback or on Kindle.

1975 Bob Bannon and his wife, Lisa, spent two weeks in Australia and New Zealand at the end of last year, taking the opportunity to travel Down Under when they picked up daughter Shelby Bannon ’15 at the end of her college senior spring semester in Sydney, Australia.

The winter gathering of the Chaffee Book Club on February 19 was led by a duo of English teachers, Kate Saxton and Jessica Hsieh ’08, who facilitated discussion of Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. With good food, stimulating conversation, and Chaffee camaraderie, it was another successful event.

Attendees included: (front) Sue Fisher Shepard ’62, Katie Cox Reynolds ’45, Jenefer Carey Berall ’59, Anne Schneider McNulty ’72, Priscilla Ransom Marks ’66, Betsy Mallory MacDermid ’66, Beverley Earle ’68, and Lynn Hayden Wadhams ’61; and (back) discussion leaders Kate Saxton and Jessica Hsieh ’08, Jane Torrey ’67, Kate Butterworth Valdez ’67, and Kathy Kerrigan ’68.

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Cl ass Not e s

’75

’79 LEFT: Bob Bannon '75 and daughter Shelby Bannon '15 in Sydney, Australia RIGHT: Penelope, granddaughter of Gary M. Morin '79

’81

ABOVE: Mary-Ellen Barrett Evans '81

1979

1981

After 27 years with the National Institutes of Health’s Office of the Director as a policy analyst and subject matter expert on accessibility information and communication technology, Gary M. Morin has been selected to serve as the Section 508 coordinator of the National Cancer Institute, one of the National Institutes of Health’s and the country’s premier research institutions and research funders. Gary will help ensure that all digital content and other information and communication technology is accessible to people with disabilities, including both employees and members of the public.

“I’m incredibly excited to start this new stage of my career,” Gary writes. “On the home front, I continue to celebrate my granddaughter Penelope (Penny), who’ll be 3 this May.”

San Diego Deputy District Attorney Mary-Ellen Barrett Evans was one of nine prosecutors nationwide recently chosen to serve on the National District Attorney Association National Human Trafficking Advisory Board.

The group will assist Tanzanian prosecutors by providing strategic and legislative guidance. “I am very humbled and excited to work with the Tanzanian prosecutors for the benefit of the victims and survivors of trafficking in Tanzania and in the United States,” Mary-Ellen shares.

1980 After 30 years in banking and financial services, Alan Klibanoff retired in July 2019 to become a full-time professor of finance at Grand Canyon University. The change gives Alan more time to spend with his 2-yearold granddaughter, train for marathons and Ironman triathlon events, and enjoy summers in California. Alan was looking forward to returning to the Island this year for his 40th Reunion, now postponed to 2021.

SUBMIT A CLASS NOTE

Send your news to us!

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1996 A new and revised edition of Since I Moved In, a book of poems by Trace Peterson, who was known as Timothy Peterson at Loomis Chaffee, was published in 2019 by Chax Press.

The new edition features an introduction by poet and critic Joy Ladin.

2008 Patrick Meggers shares the happy news of his marriage to Katherine Gent on August 31, 2019, in Newport, R.I. The couple lives in Stamford, Conn., and Pat recently started a new job in New York City with DAZN.

Email the Class Notes editor at magazine@loomis.org to share news with classmates and friends. High-resolution photographs are welcome; please clearly identify all people.

Michael Petroni contributed to the series “Polluter’s Paradise,” published by ProPublica, about the growth of the petrochemical industry in Louisiana and the inadequacy of the state’s environmental regulatory response. Michael helped the reporting team to model potential toxic releases from planned petrochemical manufacturing facilities. Michael is a Ph.D. candidate in environmental and natural resources policy at SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry.

For a link to the ProPublica series, visit www.loomischaffee.org/magazine.

2012 Taylor Low and Stephen Picard ’13 were wed on September 28, 2019, in Longmeadow, Mass.

“Having met in Phyllis Grinspan’s sophomore year English class, Stephen and I had the pleasure of sharing our special day with some of our fellow Loomis alums,” Taylor writes. The couple live in Longmeadow.

’72

Class of 1972 friends Bill Foley, Chris Wallace, Carlo Cella, and Dave Flynn gathered at Loomis Chaffee on February 1 for the boys varsity hockey game against Andover, a 4-1 win for the Pelicans. “We might not have been the youngest Pelican fans in the crowd, but we were certainly among the most enthusiastic,” Chris says.

’04

2015 For news of Shelby Bannon, read her father’s class note under the Class of 1975.

Zoe Mindell Abrams ’04 and her husband, David, show off their adorable newborn daughter, Deborah Leah Abrams, who was born on January 24 in Philadelphia, Pa., and joins big sister Evie, 2.

’12

Fellow Pelicans helped to celebrate the wedding of Taylor Low ’12 and Stephen Picard ’13 on September 28, 2019, in Longmeadow, Mass.: Peter Falsey ’12, Zachary King ’12, Stephen, Taylor, Molly Pitegoff ’12, and Luke Stone ’12.

Attending but not pictured were Jamol Lettman ’12 and Vijay Mansukhani ’12.

loomischaffee.org

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SAVE THE DATE

June 2nd & 3rd CAN WE COUNT YOU IN?

Your gifts help provide an exceptional experience for all current and future Pelicans.

STAY ENGAGED UPCOMING EVENTS

Franci Vinal Farnsworth ’69 I wanted to do something special in honor of my 50th Chaffee Reunion. I wanted to be able to give at a leadership level, and giving a Charitable Gift Annuity (CGA) was the best way for me to do so.

I had learned about the concept of a CGA partly from my mother, who had contributed one to her alma mater. I am now taking a part of my inheritance from my mother and gifting it to Loomis Chaffee in a similar way. Giving a CGA allows me to move assets that were making very little interest, continue to receive a revenue stream during my lifetime, and feel good that Loomis Chaffee will receive the contribution someday.

I am thrilled that my CGA will play a part in the establishment of The Chaffee ’69 Leadership Fund, which was established by members of my class on the occasion of our 50th Reunion in 2019. I owe more to Chaffee than I do to my college: As a student at Chaffee, I felt validated and comfortable with myself as a girl who loved to learn. I was surrounded by classmates and friends who appreciated academic discussions. As a student at Chaffee, I learned how to write. I am so happy to commit to a gift that will someday help current Loomis Chaffee female students.

interested in gift planning?

Join The John Metcalf Taylor Society

For more information, please contact Associate Director of Development Heidi E.V. McCann ’93 at 860.687.6273 or heidi_mccann@loomis.org. www.loomischaffee.giftplans.org

44 44

Loomis Chaffee Magazine Winter 2020 2018 Loomis Chaffee Magazine Winter Summer 2018

SUNDAY, MAY 31 PELICANS AT THE BALLPARK Hartford Yard Goats vs. N.H. Fisher Cats 1:10 p.m. game Dunkin' Donuts Park SATURDAY, JULY 11 PELICANS AT THE BALLPARK Hartford Yard Goats vs. Harrisburg Senators 6:10 p.m. game Dunkin' Donuts Park SATURDAY, AUGUST 1 PELICANS AT THE BALLPARK Boston Red Sox vs. New York Yankees 4:05 p.m. game Fenway Park As this publication goes to press, these events are still scheduled to take place. To check on the events, find out more, or register, visit www.loomischaffee.org/alumni or email michelle_carr@loomis.org.

STAY IN TOUCH CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA

facebook-square twitter-square linkedin

Page name: Loomis Chaffee Alumni Tweet to and follow @LC_AlumniNet Go to LinkedIn and search for “Loomis Chaffee alumni.”

LC Gatherings

Due to COVID-19 and the closure of Loomis Chaffee’s campus for the spring trimester, we have postponed Reunion Weekend until June 2021.

Mark your calendars now for

June 11-13, 2021

1

when we will celebrate classes ending in 5s and 0s and in 1s and 6s and will have double the fun!

2

Check www.loomischaffee.org/reunion for additional information throughout the year.

Questions? Call 860.687.6813.

3

Boston Reception

1 Host Anne Stetson ’80, Head of School Sheila Culbert, and Associate Head for External Relations Nat Follansbee

December 11 St. Botolph Club

2 Valerie Van Vleck ’86, Jonathan Kelly ’81, and Suzanne Smore ’86 3 Bill Bogle IV ’75, P ’12, ’14 and Will Bogle V ’12

5

4

6

Winter Brunch for Young Alumni

4 Derek Pang ’16 and Andrew Donshik ’18 5 Alex Scott ’17, faculty member Elizabeth Parada, and Evan McDonagh ’17

January 8 Scanlan Campus Center, Loomis Chaffee

7 6 Michelle Fickett ’19, Quincy Williams ’19, and Dean of Students Jake Leyden 7 John Leahy ’17, Ben Kallus ’17, and Brendan Nelson ’17

9

8

Leadership Reception January 31 Knickerbocker Club, NYC

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8 Jamie Widdoes ’72; Caitlin Dourney; Carol Earle P ’08, ’09; Dexter Earle ’60, P ’08, ’09; and Tyler Earle ’09 9 Liz and David Boutry P ’22

11

10 Alex Gropper ’10 and Heather Reisner ’10 11 Associate Head for External Relations Nat Follansbee, Head of School Sheila Culbert, and host Bill Loomis ’67, P ’03

loomischaffee.org

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A lumni G at her i ngs

13

12

14

Head’s Holiday in NYC February 6 District Social

Philanthropy Day 2020 was an overwhelming success, thanks to the

12 Brett Rodriguez ’90, Candace Arrington ’03, Karline Moeller ’03, and Michael Blum ’03

alumni, parents, faculty, staff, students, and friends of Loomis Chaffee who gave a total of

14 Hadley Merrill ’13, Rob Nightingale ’13, Doug Gorman ’13, Becky Siegel ’13, and Lauren Yue ’13

1,218

13 Alumni gather at District Social to celebrate the tradition of Head’s Holiday.

$317,929

to the Annual Fund on February 27.

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This remarkable effort, exceeding the school’s goal of 1,000 donors in 24 hours, secured a gift of $100,000 from the Bussel family.

15 To all who gave and give, thank you for your continuing support and for making this year’s Philanthropy Day a success.

Thank You! 46

Loomis Chaffee Magazine Spring 2020

19

17

18

Hartford Reception February 6 Scanlan Campus Center, Loomis Chaffee

15 Susan Lahrmann P ’02, ’04, Jeffrey Lahrmann ’04, and Philip Lahrmann P ’02, ’04 16 Skip Alford ’64, GP ’20, ’23, Nancy Alford GP ’20, ’23, Jan Manocchio Hickcox ’66, and Curt Hickcox ’64

17 Agnes Rismay P ’19, Christine Farrell P ’12, ’14, ’17, ’20, and Megan Farrell ’12 18 Susie Lotreck P ’17, ’20, Blanca Jaramillo P ’21, and Fernando Rincon P ’21 19 Martha Paluch Prou ’04 and Matthieu Prou

Alumni G at her i ngs 20

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20 Grace Lyons ’19 and Doug Lyons ’82, P ’16, ’19 21 Anthony Calabrese, Barbara Wehr Calabrese ’85, and Associate Head for External Relations Nat Follansbee

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22 Alumni and parents gathered at the University Club of Chicago.

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23 Chairman of the Board of Trustees Duncan MacLean ’90, Associate Head for External Relations Nat Follansbee, Head of School Sheila Culbert, hosts Scott Pearson and Diana Farrell ’83, and former Chairman of the Board Christopher Norton ’75, P ’04, ’05, ’07, ’10

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24 Diane Berman P ’23, Roman Schweizer P ’23, Pepper Schweizer P ’23, and Mark Berman P ’23 25 Jonathan Connelly ’02, Patrick Casey ’02, Isabel Yordan ’03, and Bryan Carey ’91

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Chicago Reception

D.C. Reception

February 12 University Club of Chicago

February 19 At the home of Diana Farrell ’83 and Scott Pearson

JOIN LC Connect Loomis Chaffee’s alumni engagement platform

LC Connect is an online community and resource for alumni that makes it easier than ever for Pelicans to stay connected to each other and with the school.

LC Connect is an opt-in networking platform, powered by Graduway, that enables alumni to: Find and re-engage with fellow alumni through the online directory and groups Expand professional connections through mentorship opportunities and a job board

Stay up to date with Loomis Chaffee news and activities through an alumni events board and the school’s social media channels Have on-the-go access through the LC Connect mobile app

Register at www.loomischaffeealumni.org LC Connect replaces Loomis Chaffee’s Evertrue app and Career Network, upgrading the alumni experience by providing several resources in one platform.

Photo: Jessica Ravenelle

ua r ies OObit B IT UA RIE S

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Loomis Chaffee Magazine Winter 2020

1937 Faith Haviland Duffy, on January 11 at the Duncaster Retirement Community in Bloomfield, Conn.

A four-year Chaffee School student from West Hartford, Conn., Faith was voted “Senior Who Did the Most for Chaffee.” After graduation, Faith attended Smith College. In her youth, Faith was active in Girl Scouts and earned the Golden Eaglet award. She was married to David Everett Duffy for 68 years until his death in 2010. Predeceased by her siblings, Anne Haviland Taylor ’36, Phyllis Hildebrandt, and Girard Haviland, Faith was survived by her three children, Martha D. Ramsey, Marston “Sandy” Duffy, Kent Haviland Duffy, and their spouses; her two grandchildren; her two great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.

A celebration of her life was held on January 24 at the Duncaster Retirement Community.

1942 Edward Perry Phillips, on April 4, 2019. A three-year student from Southport, Conn., Ned, as he was known, was active in the Nautical Club, Student Council, and several theater productions, and he served as president of the Glee Club.

He was active in soccer, where he served as team captain; basketball; track; skiing; and club hockey.

After graduation, Ned attended Trinity College before enlisting in the U.S. Army during World War II, where he served with the 320th Engineers Division behind enemy lines in France and Belgium. Soon after his return from war, Ned married Dawn Louise Ives Brindle from New York City. Acting on his affinity for the theater, Ned moved with his young family to Skaneateles, N.Y., where he pursued acting roles in the summer stock theater. He continued working in theater at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City and later moved to, Los Angeles,

Calif. where he embarked on a career in advertising. On a whim, the family moved to Honolulu, Hawaii, where they lived for four years on a stretch of beach in the tiny village of Waimanalo. According to the family obituary, that was “where Ned was happiest.” After working in advertising for The Honolulu Star Bulletin, Ned and his family returned to Southport, Conn., and he commuted daily to Madison Avenue in New York City. There, he enjoyed roles as an advertising executive with Family Circle Magazine and the New York Times organization. In the late 1960s Ned purchased land on the southeast side of Block Island that included a retail space on which he established The Glass Onion, a gift shop stocked with interesting items found on his many global travels. Block Island remained a special place for Ned throughout his life, especially on summer weekends away from the city. He later purchased the former Shamrock Hotel on a hill above the harbor and was inspired by his wife, Dawn, to establish a space there for artists and art galleries. Ned is remembered by his family for his sense of humor, his dedication to his family, and his love of adventure. Preceded in death by Dawn, his wife of 66 years in 2011, Ned was survived by his four children, Brook Phillips Lacour, Edward Perry Phillips Jr., Julie Phillips Warburton, and Jeffrey Taunter Phillips, and their spouses; his seven grandchildren; and his two great-grandchildren.

was captain of the wrestling team.

During World War II, Art served in the U.S. Army as a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division, rising in rank to lieutenant. He enjoyed a lifelong career working in small businesses and finished his career as chief executive officer of Viking Cases, a company that manufactures custom shipping cases. He was a longtime member of the Suncoast Porsche Club and the BMW Club, and he was an instructor at High Performance Driving Schools for more than 20 years. Preceded in death by his wife, Shirley Beebe Stemler, Art was survived by his three children, Robert D. Stemler, Bruce S. Stemler, and Kimberly Stemler Strickland; his three grandchildren; his two great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.

1945 John Merrow Washburn Jr., on December 8, 2019, in Mystic, Conn. A four-year student from West Hartford, Conn., Jack, as he was known, served on the Sophomore Reception Committee, the Executive Committee of the Endowment Fund, Student Council, the Junto Committee, the Advisory Committee, and as president of the Chess Club. He was involved in Military Drill and in theater productions. Jack was captain of the tennis team, earning two varsity letters, and was active in football and hockey. He earned the Lt. Martin Harold Johnson Memorial Prize at Commencement. Jack earned a bachelor’s degree at Williams College and a master’s degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology before serving in the U.S. Navy.

He enjoyed a long and successful career at the Merrow Machine Company, a family-owned manufacturer of industrial sewing machines, where he served as president before retiring in 2005. Jack and his wife, Barbara, raised their two children and enjoyed travel,

Arthur Wheeler Stemler, on December 1, 2019, in Tampa, Fla. A four-year student from Douglaston, N.Y., Art was involved in the French Club, Glee Club, rifle team, and Athletic Council, and he was cast in theater productions.

He was active in football, basketball, baseball, and track, and he was captain of the wrestling team.

Art earned a bachelor’s degree at Wesleyan University, where he

sailing, and spending time with family and friends on the coast at Groton Long Point, Conn. In 1995, they made their home on the Connecticut shoreline. Jack was a member of the Ram Island Yacht Club, Mason’s Island Yacht Club, Off Soundings Club, and Hartford Tennis Club, and he served on the board of directors of Hartford Steam Boiler and the YMCA of Hartford. He was a member of the John Metcalf Taylor Society. Jack is remembered by his family for his friendly nature and warm smile. He was survived

by Barbara, his wife of 61 years; his two children, John “Jay” M. Washburn III ’77 and Sarah Washburn ’78, and their spouses; his five grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews, including Brad Washburn ’82. A celebration of John’s life was planned for a later date.

1948 David E. Gyger, on July 30, 2019, in Sydney, Australia. A four-year student from Portland, Maine, David was involved in the Glee Club and Choir, and he was cast in several school theater productions. He served in leadership roles as editor-in-chief of The Log, president of the Executive Committee of the Publications Association, a Loomis representative for the Hartford Tuberculosis Association, and president of the Stamp Club. He was active in track and lettered in soccer, and he earned the Andrew de Wolf Brass Prize at Commencement. David continued to pursue his interest and talent for journalistic writing at Amherst College, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in 1952. He volunteered for military service and trained as a Morse Code operator.

David’s desire to see the world was sparked by his military experience, and after communicating with Australian soldiers in Korea, he traveled to Melbourne, Australia, in 1956 to pursue a journalism caloomischaffee.org

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reer. He spent seven years as editor of The Riverina Express in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, then joined the staff of The Australian in Canberra in 1966. There, he met Alison Jones, who was a student and English lecturer at the Australian National University. The two were married in 1967, and they relocated to Sydney. Exposed to the symphony and opera from an early age, David was a lifelong classical music aficionado and, beginning in 1971, served for four years as a Sydney-based music critic for The Australian — during the time of the opening of Sydney’s renowned opera house in 1973. He established himself as a respected music reviewer and critic. In 1978, David was invited by the Australian Opera to create a new in-house monthly news publication, but after two initial issues he parted ways with the organization and partnered with his wife to publish an independent opera newspaper.

David and Alison published Opera Australia with comprehensive coverage of professional opera from across the country for three decades, ending its run in 2007.

David was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for service to the arts and the community in 2009, and he and Alison continued to enjoy international travel and opera performances. Even as he became limited in mobility, David enjoyed attending occasional concerts and opera performances until the last few months of his life.

According to the family obituary, David “possessed a quirky sense of humor and a deeply ingrained sense of compassion, … [and] although, like many journalists, he had early ambitions to be a novelist, he found his true calling as a generous and articulate listener — responding to, reflecting on and encouraging the work of others.”

David was survived by his wife, Alison; his three children, Elliott, Helen, and Andrew; and his three grandchildren. A memorial service was held in Macquarie Park Crematorium, North Ryde, Sydney, on August 3, 2019.

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1949 Charles A. Steggerda, on March 1, 2019, following a brief illness. A four-year student from Windsor, Conn., Charles was involved in the Rifle Club, Radio Club, Darwin Club, Science Club, and Chess Club, and he earned a Rensselaer Medal at Commencement. He was active in soccer, tennis, skiing, and badminton.

Charles earned a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and his professional pursuits included specializing in the development of techniques and circuitry for the precision timing of events. In the late 1960s, Charles developed an event timer to detect single photons and time them accurately. It was used to measure the distance from the Earth to the moon with extraordinary precision after the NASA Apollo 11 astronauts left a retroreflector on the surface of the moon. In the 1970s, Charles developed circuitry used to make precision measurements of the differential progression of time as a function of altitude. Because of the possibility of variation with latitude, Charles traveled to Thule, Greenland, and to Christ Church, New Zealand, as well as to Patuxent Naval Air Station to carry out these measurements. His experiments helped confirm Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity and enabled the existence of current GPS technology. In the 1980s, Charles extended his precision timing work with photons to allow a delayed random choice of aspects of the measurement, enabling an exquisite new test of the “spooky” features of quantum mechanics. Afterwards, Charles moved his research from the Physics Department of the University of Maryland to Honeywell, where he continued his work in the context of satellite and airborne laser ranging systems. Scottish dancing, hiking, and travel with his wife, Anne, were among Charles’s favorite pastimes. Predeceased by

Loomis Chaffee Magazine Winter 2020

Anne, Charles was survived by his niece, Lynn Taylor; his nephew, Cyrus Taylor; and many friends.

Funeral services were held at Mount Zion United Methodist Church in Highland, Md., on March 7, 2019.

1952 Faith Eaton Dennis, on March 18, 2019, in Avon, Conn. A three-year Chaffee School student from Collinsville, Conn., where she was a lifelong resident, Faith was involved in the French Club, Glee Club, Chiel business staff, and school theater productions.

She graduated from Canton High School and Bryant College and became the personal secretary for the lieutenant governor of Connecticut from 1975 until 1979. In 1993, Faith was inducted into the Connecticut State Hall of Fame for duckpin bowling. She was survived by her son, Leigh E. Dennis; her granddaughter, Sarah Dennis; her great-grandson, Taylor Dennis; and several nieces and nephews.

An informal graveside service was held on April 19, 2019, at Village Cemetery in Collinsville.

George Brewer Thomas, on October 20, 2019, in North Canton, Ohio. A three-year student from West Hartford, Conn., George was involved in the Ski Club and Radio Club and was active in football, soccer, track, and hockey.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in 1956 from Earlham College, a master’s degree in divinity from Harvard University, and a master’s in business administration from Case Western Reserve University.

George dedicated his life to helping others. He was an ordained minister of the Congregational Church; served as executive director of the Canton, Ohio, chapter of the American Red Cross; and was executive director of Stark County United Way. Committed to serving the community, George volunteered with numerous

organizations, including the Boy Scouts of America, and he served as commodore of the Coast Guard Auxiliary. His favorite pastimes included sailing and reading, and he was an avid marathon runner. He was a member of the John Metcalf Taylor Society. Preceded in death by his wife, Lois Eva (Farrell) Thomas, George was survived by his two children, Kristine Keppel and George Thomas, and their spouses; his four grandchildren; his two great-grandchildren; and several extended family members.

1955 Herbert C. Hallas, on December 30, 2019, in Farmingdale, N.Y. A four-year student from Windsor, Conn., Herb was active in the Press Club, Political Club, Glee Club, Chess Club, Foreign Policy Association, and Chapel and Assembly Committee, and he was on the Honor Roll for 1953–54. He earned varsity letters in football and baseball and was active in basketball. Herb earned a bachelor’s degree from Yale University, where he played running back on the varsity football team. In 1958 he returned a punt against University of Pennsylvania for 94 yards, which, at the time of his passing, remained the Yale and Ivy League record for an individual punt return. Herb earned a master’s degree from Wesleyan University and a juris doctorate from the University of Connecticut School of Law, where he was the recipient of the American Jurisprudence Award for excellent achievement in the study of constitutional law. After serving for six months in the U.S. Army, Herb worked as managing editor of The Windsor News-Weekly, a local news publication, and then as editor of The Connecticut State Journal, a statewide monthly magazine covering state and local government and politics. In 1967, he began a 21-year career as a social studies teacher at Simsbury High School in Simsbury, Conn.

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There, he created and developed the curriculum for courses in law, Russian studies, and contemporary issues, and he coached the freshman football team. In 1988, Herb and his family moved to Malone in northern New York state, where he taught U.S. history, government, and economics at Chateaugay High School. While there, Herb served as president of the Franklin County Historical and Museum Society. Admitted to the bar in Connecticut in 1986 and New York in 1990, Herb practiced law until his retirement in 1999 and subsequent move to Farming­ dale, N.Y., on Long Island. Herb’s proclivity for teaching, history, and the law came together in his writing. His five books included William Almon Wheeler: Political Star of the North Country, published by SUNY Press in 2013; Going Up South: Historical Gleanings from New York State’s North Country, published by Rivulet Ferry Press in 2016; Guardians of the Record: The Origins of Official Court Reporting and the Shorthand Writers Who Made It Possible, published by Rivulet Ferry Press in 2017; A History of Windsor: As Seen Through the Pages of The News-Weekly, published by Rivulet Ferry Press in 2018; and From A Through Z in Connecticut Courtrooms, a law text for high school students. In addition, Herb’s articles have been published in Franklin Historical Review, New York History Review, The New York History Blog, and his own blog. Herb was survived by his wife, Barbara Hallas; his son, Edmond Hallas, and Edmond’s spouse, Danielle Hallas; his brother, Henry C. Hallas ’59, and Henry’s spouse, Louise Hallas; his nieces, Katherine Hallas Stahl ’87 and Elizabeth M. Hallas ’90; and his three grandchildren.

1957 Charles L. Fidlar, on December 14, 2019, at his home in Norfolk, Conn., with family by his side. A four-year student from Windsor, Conn., Charles, who was a gifted

musician and talented vocalist and violinist, was a student leader for several music-related organizations across campus. He served as concertmaster for the Combined Preparatory School Orchestra, president of the Glee Club, and music librarian of the Orchestra.

He was involved in several musical productions and earned a Music Prize at Commencement. An athlete as well, Charles was active in football, wrestling, baseball, tennis, and track. After Commencement, he studied at Cornell University and New England Conservatory of Music, and he earned a doctorate in music conducting from Stanford University. He spent 17 years in the San Francisco Bay area before moving back to Norfolk, Conn. Charles enjoyed an extraordinary career and a number of professional accomplishments as a director and performer, including serving as founder and director of the West Bank Singers in West Hartford, music director for Gilbert and Sullivan principal comedian Martyn Green, choral director at Brown University, a member of the American Bach Soloists in San Francisco, and an assistant conductor of the San Francisco Symphony Chorus. He also taught choral music for many years at Northwestern Regional High School in Winsted, Conn., where he shared his love of music with generations of young singers.

According to the family obituary, “an enthusiasm for adventure truly defined Charles’s spirit,” in his work and his life. His adventurous experiences began at age 16, when he completed a cross-country bike ride through the western United States to Vancouver, Canada.

He climbed California’s Mount Whitney in his 40s and drove solo cross-country a few times, and during his lifetime engaged in running, canoeing, rowing crew, boxing, playing squash, and “intense” badminton competitions.

Charles is remembered for his “endlessly curious soul, … [his] passion for adventure, … and his admiration of persistence,” which he instilled into his children,

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grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. He remained connected to Loomis Chaffee throughout his life and served as a volunteer for his 50th and 60th reunions. In November 2016, Charles returned to the Island as a guest musician to conduct a masterclass with student vocalists in the Loomis Chaffee Chamber Singers. In a letter to the students following his visit, Charles wrote: “What is not so self-evident, when one is young, is how singing is a lifelong activity, an opportunity to encounter and create major artistic and philosophical cultural creations from the dawn of singing to the newest compositions, and to fall in love with the repertoire. Like any love, one has to ‘stick with it,’ so to speak.” He cherished the many friends he made on his life trajectory, including high school and college buddies. Charles married Marilyn Sharp Davidson ’57, who was his high school sweetheart.

Charles was survived by Marilyn; his sister Karyl Fidlar Brod; his daughter Marilyn Fidlar Rodriguez and her husband, James; his son Will Fidlar; his step-daughter Elsa Davidson and her husband, Ali Bahrampour; his three grandchildren; his two great-grandchildren; and many extended family members and friends. A memorial service was held at Church of Christ Congregational in Norfolk on January 2.

1960 Former faculty member Bancroft Farrar Greene, on December 22, 2019, after several years of declining health. A two-year student from West Hartford, Conn., “Bank,” as he was known, was involved in Student Council, the Glee Club, the Loomistakes, the United Nations Model Assembly, the Foreign Policy Association, and the Northfield Religious Conference, and he served as president of Junto and co-editor of Loomiscellany. He made the Honor Roll in 1958–59 and was active in foot-

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ball, tennis, rifle, and wrestling.

Bank earned a bachelor’s degree at Amherst College, a master’s degree in education from Yale University, and a master’s degree and doctorate from Union Presbytery Seminary in Richmond, Va. He became a certified pastoral counselor and lifelong educator, serving as headmaster at schools in Ohio, Louisiana, and Virginia. A cousin of former Head of School Fred Torrey, Bank taught history and served as assistant head of school at Loomis Chaffee from 1969 until 1974. A concern for children’s mental health and for the most vulnerable members of society inspired Bank’s dedicated involvement with organizations that supported children and families involved in substance abuse, and a prison ministry. He expressed an affinity for classical music and antique Ford automobiles, and throughout his life enjoyed summers in Jaffrey, N.H., “where his great-great-greatgrandfather was called to be the first settled minister in 1782,” according to the family obituary.

Bank remained connected to Loomis Chaffee as a class agent and Reunion volunteer for many years and was a member of Common Good Society and John Metcalf Taylor Society. He is remembered as a “supportive and caring husband, a joyful, spirited father, … a grandfather who loved games, and a warm, loyal friend.” Bank was survived by his wife of 55 years, Susan Van der Eb Greene; his two sons, William Ainsworth Greene and Christiaan Van der Eb Greene, and their spouses; and his four grandchildren. A memorial service was held at the Brandermill Church, Midlothian, Va., on January 25.

1972 Donald D. Munro IV, on November 21, 2019, in the company of his family in Rockville, Md. A

Loomis Chaffee Magazine Winter 2020

four-year student from Windsor Locks, Conn., Donald was involved in the Astronomy Club, Outward Bound Program, and rifle team. He was active in soccer.

After earning a bachelor’s degree from Westminster College and a master’s degree from University of Maryland, Donald served in the U.S. Army as an infantry officer.

He settled in Germantown, Md., and became a group manager at BAE Systems technology company. He enjoyed genealogical study and took part in archaeological fieldwork at Ancestral Pueblo sites in New Mexico. Donald was survived by his wife, Young Nan Munro; his siblings, Cait Munro Upton and Andrew Munro ’77; and extended family members.

A service was held on November 25, 2019, at Pumphreys Colonial Funeral Home followed by interment at Norbeck Memorial Park in Rockville, Md.

Oceanographic Research Institute in Massachusetts. Barbara lived intermittently on Vieques for 47 years and was a founding member of the Vieques Conservation and Historical Trust, where she worked to protect Mosquito Bay, the last surviving, largest, and most famous of Puerto Rico’s bio-luminescent bays. Barbara was survived by Jeffrey W. Baker, her husband of 65 years; her four children, Rebekah McGuire, Deborah A. Baker ’77, Jennifer D. Baker ’79, and Jonathan J. Baker ’84, and their spouses; her brother, John Bernache; and her 10 grandchildren.

Former faculty

Barbara Bernache-Baker, on January 8, peacefully at her home on the Island of Vieques, Puerto Rico. Barbara taught biology at Loomis Chaffee from 1973 to 1990. Born in Hartford, Conn., Barbara earned a bachelor’s degree from Trinity College; master’s degrees from Wesleyan University and University of Leyden, Netherlands; and a doctorate from University of San Francisco. She carried out research for Harvard University at the Woods Hole

Donald Marshall Joffray Sr., a keen mathematician, talented musician and craftsman, avid sportsman, and esteemed member of the Loomis Chaffee faculty and community, on February 21, in Old Lyme, Conn. Born in Richmond, Va., Don grew up in Longmeadow, Mass., and spent most of his adult life as a resident faculty on the Loomis Chaffee campus, where he paddled daily in the rivers and biked the Meadows.

Don graduated from Wilbraham Academy in 1946 and earned a bachelor’s degree in math from Wesleyan University in 1950.

He was a member of Wesleyan’s undefeated football team for two consecutive years and competed in basketball and track. He joined the Loomis Chaffee community

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shortly after graduating from Wesleyan. He took time away to serve in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War as a lieutenant junior grade on the destroyer ship USS Norris from 1952 until 1955. While in the Navy, he met the love of his life, Suzanne Clum. Don and Sue shared 64 years of marriage and raised three boys. Don was a major influence on his three sons’ lives and opened the doors to many of their interests. For 49 years as a member of the school community, “Joff,” as he was known on campus, was a respected and especially engaging math teacher, Darwin Club and Jazz Club advisor, dorm parent, and football, wrestling, and track coach. He enjoyed remaining in contact with his former students after Commencement and continuing to grow and learn from them as they experienced life as adults. Don’s former student, Steven H. Strogatz ’76, now a professor of applied mathematics at Cornell University, wrote The Calculus of Friendship: What a Teacher and Student Learned About Life While Corresponding About Math, published in 2009, which details Don and Steven’s 30-year correspondence on their shared love of calculus, and other life lessons learned. In the book’s forward Steven wrote, “… [W]hen I was just starting my career as a professor, … our correspondence began to flourish. The pattern was always the same: Mr. Joffray would write to ask for help with a problem that had stumped him, typically a question raised by one of his seniors in the most advanced math class at the school. When one of these letters arrived in the mail, I stopped whatever I was doing to see if I could help. For one thing, they posed fascinating little excursions off the beaten track of calculus.

But maybe more importantly, they gave me a chance to explain math to someone who loved learning it, the best student any teacher could have, someone with perfect preparation and an evident sense of delight and gratitude.” Steven recently wrote, “Like many other [Loomis Chaffee] students, I will

always cherish my memories of Mr. Joffray. He was a dear mentor, inspiration, and friend.” A lifelong learner, Don was a self-taught jazz musician, woodworker, and artist, and he was an avid birdwatcher and sailor. His woodworking projects included constructing nest boxes and osprey platforms that still are in use today, and he built a cabin over the water in Deer Isle, Maine. Don’s art projects included woodcarvings and illustrations of wildlife, many of which are on display in the homes of his family and friends. A true waterman, Don’s sporting pastimes included surfing, windsurfing, sailing, and kayaking on the waters of Long Island Sound, Hanalei Bay, and Penobscot Bay. In 1969, Don won the national championship in C-1 slalom canoeing and went on to compete in the World Championships in France, and his yacht-racing endeavors included a trans-Atlantic race with his father-in-law on the Kialoa.

According to the family obituary, Don loved to “soar the thermals in his sailplane with the red-tailed hawks over western Connecticut.” He enjoyed teaching young people to sail during summers at West Hill Aquatic Camp. Don’s Math Department colleague Barry Moran shared this remembrance: “Don Joffray influenced me more than anyone else during my formative years of teaching. From the start, Joff ’s one-of-a-kind teaching style impressed and inspired me. In the classroom, he emphasized concepts and enhanced understanding with clear expositions, artistic diagrams, and even moments of theatrics. He was equally likely to display his unabashed love of good mathematics at the blackboard or at the Loomis Dining Hall lunch table.

Simply put, Joff lived in a world that prompted and sometimes demanded mathematical description.

Like a number of my colleagues, I have a folder full of treasured letters, written and illustrated by Joff, that describe mathematical problems inspired by events like

a cross country ski jaunt, the flight of a snowy egret, or the momentary panic of a painter as his ladder slides down the side of a house. Whatever success I had in teaching was due in no small part to Don. I was fortunate to know him as a friend and mentor.”

In 1999, Don and Sue retired by the coast in Old Lyme, Conn.

They supported the local music scene for many years, spending Wednesday nights at the Mystic Steak Loft, where Don played jazz piano as a solo act and with local bands. Preceded in death by his son Donald Marshall Joffray Jr. ’75, Don was survived by his wife, Sue; his son Rexford Joffray ’76 and Rexford’s wife, Deborah; his son Jeffrey Joffray ’85 and Jeffrey’s wife, Jennifer; and his five grandchildren, including Jesse Joffray ’14 and Kalina Joffray ’15. A memorial service at Loomis Chaffee was planned for a later date. Gifts may be made in Don’s memory to the Donald Marshall Joffray Sr. Fund at Loomis Chaffee.

Gwendolyn Pierce, on January 30, after a six-year battle with cancer, in Carpinteria, Calif., with her husband by her side. Known as Wendy McAllister when she was a resident faculty member, admission associate, and parent at Loomis Chaffee from 1983 until 2001, Gwendolyn was a native of California, loved the water, and was a champion backstroke

swimmer and water polo player in high school. Trained in modern and ballet dance, she channeled her talent and experience into choreography for school musicals, dance recitals, and fitness classes, and she performed in Disney parades. After high school, Gwendolyn earned a degree at Pasadena City College and continued her education at University of Southern California and University of Connecticut. After service in the Peace Corps in Paraguay, Gwendolyn settled in Connecticut, where she called Loomis Chaffee home for 19 years. She returned to California in 2001 to join the Cate School faculty in Carpinteria.

According to those who knew her, Gwendolyn’s life and work were devoted to young people’s growth and education, and she was uniquely able to connect with teenagers by recognizing their individuality and treating them with kindness and respect. First at Loomis Chaffee and then at Cate School for 19 years, Gwendolyn immersed herself in the demands of boarding school life across her many roles, including as a school administrator, admissions faculty, dorm parent, academic advisor, choreographer, and fitness instructor. According to the family obituary, “Everything Gwendolyn touched — her succulent garden, a basket of goodies for a student’s birthday, the choreography for a flash mob — was infused with grace, meticulous attention to detail, and a desire to make life better.” Gwendolyn met Corey Welles in California, and the two were married in 2003. The couple shared an adventurous spirit and an affinity for the natural world.

They enjoyed working together in their garden, which was known for its impressive collection of succulent plants and was featured in a Carpinteria garden tour. Gwendolyn was devoted to her family and enjoyed the time they were able to spend together.

She especially delighted in the weddings of her two daughters.

Gwendolyn was survived by her husband, Corey; her daughter

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Rachel McAllister Sadler ’99 and Rachel’s husband, Henry; her daughter Lauren McAllister ’01 and Lauren’s husband, Paul Hendrick; her many loved ones; and her countless friends, current and former colleagues, current and former students, and alumni of both Loomis Chaffee and the Cate School. A celebration of Gwendolyn’s life took place on March 21 at the Cate School.

Walter Rabetz, on November 4, 2019, unexpectedly from complications resulting from treatment for non-Hodgkins lymphoma, after 25 years of living successfully with heart disease. Born in Europe during the Holocaust, Walter came to America at age 9 and quickly assimilated into the culture and learned to speak English. He attended Brooklyn College for two years, left to serve in the military, and then returned to earn his bachelor’s degree in economics.

Inspired by Marilyn, his artist wife and partner of 57 years, Walter became an art photographer and earned a master’s degree in fine art from the Rhode Island School of Design, where he studied with the renowned photography teachers Harry Callahan and Aaron Siskind. Walter and Marilyn both taught in the Visual Arts Department at Loomis Chaffee for more than 37 years and remained connected to the school community in retirement, returning regularly to campus for alumni functions and arts receptions.

Walter’s tenure at the school included teaching photography, printmaking, and ceramics, and he served as Visual Arts Department head and as co-director of the Sue and Eugene Mercy Jr. Gallery. As a resident faculty member, Walter was affiliated with Batchelder Hall for most of his years on the Island.

A beloved teacher, Walter is as well-remembered for his intuitive and inspirational basketball coaching as he is for his art instruction.

He coached boys JV basketball teams for 20 years and club basketball for many years afterwards.

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According to the family obituary, “Walter brought his whole self to teaching and basketball and art.

He was an out-of-the-box thinker in life, in art, and in basketball. … He was a game coach in the truest sense as he could and would abandon all prepared plans for a game and respond to the moment — in the moment.” An extraordinarily creative artist, Walter’s work was recognized for its variety and uniqueness. His work has been shown in countless art exhibitions and has been printed in more than 30 books of photography and poetry, including many that he and Marilyn published together.

Up until the last days of his life, Walter made photographs, was planning his next books, and wrote poetry. According to the family, “Walter truly loved Loomis Chaffee, its mission, and all it stood for.” He was survived by his wife, Marilyn: his daughter, Samantha Rabetz Healy ’89, and her husband, Patrick; his two granddaughters, Abigail and Eleanor; and his many former students, colleagues, and extended Loomis Chaffee family. Seth Beebe ’78 coached girls basketball at the same time as Walter coached boys, and he played alongside Walter in countless pickup games on campus. Seth says he continues to honor Walter’s basketball legacy as a coach and a lover of the game.

At a memorial service held on November 14, 2019, at Temple Israel of Northern Westchester in Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y., Seth said, “Walter was, in the 1980s and 1990s, the maestro of Erickson Gym at [The] Loomis Chaffee School, whether he was conducting his junior varsity boys basketball teams, orchestrating the frequent pickup games, or dissecting the action afterwards from the front row. The musical analogy even holds when it comes to the JV play calling, as Beethoven was not only a great composer, but an extremely effective half-court play for Walter’s teams.

Walter loved to play mind games, trying to take full advantage of his opponents’ weaknesses. ‘Beetho-

Loomis Chaffee Magazine Spring 2020

ven!’ would soon be followed by ‘Williston!’ The Williston team would be struck dumb by the fact that Loomis had a play especially designed for them. Of course, that was not the case, for the Williston play became the Choate play and then became the Deerfield play depending on that day’s opponents. There is a seminal book on basketball, Heaven is a Playground.

If heaven is a playground (and I’d like to believe it is), then Walter has got next.” Three friends from the Class of 1972, Palmer Davis, Larry Richmond, and Laurence Waltman, spoke of the great impact Walter had on their learning and their lives when he began teaching at Loomis in 1970. Palmer, who was inspired by Walter to be an artist and teach photography himself, said, “[Walter] regarded his young photographers not as adolescents in need of molding, but as fully conscious human beings with something valuable to say. He freed us from fear and self-doubt so that we were able to really explore creatively. Walter wasn’t just teaching the art of photography. He was teaching the art of life. … [As an adult] I’ll never forget the day Walter came to speak at one of my classes in the International Center of Photography. As I watched my students being captivated by his poignant photographs, … [I] was back at Loomis, being enlightened by Walter’s exuberant presence — one we will always feel — in his photographs, his books, his writings, and in our hearts.”

After Walter and Marilyn retired to Westchester, N.Y., Palmer, Larry, and Laurence regularly attended cultural events in and around the area with Walter and Marilyn, Laurence recounted at the memorial service. Together the group visited museums, art spaces, or events and then shared a meal while engaged in lively and enjoyable discussions about art, politics, and life. Laurence noted that Walter continued to expand

his knowledge and experience in photography throughout his life and embraced smartphone technology and social media for composing, editing, and sharing his work. According to Laurence, Walter’s inspirational photos were “spiritual and poetic” and had the power to transport people. “Walter, we will forever miss your [art], your warmth, your passion, your love of life, your generosity, and your amazing, contagious smile,” Larry wrote in a letter to inform the school of Walter’s passing.

“The Rabetzes dedicated their entire professional life to [The] Loomis Chaffee School and its students, and their impact was enormous. Words cannot express how profound an effect Walter had on my life. I was going in the wrong direction at the wrong time, but Walter took an interest in me.

He believed in me from the day we met and throughout life’s journey. He never lost track and was always curious, insightful, caring, and funny whenever we talked or spent time together. [He] was a giant in the world of photography, … and a great ambassador for Loomis Chaffee.”

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donation of plants and pies to the club’s annual sale. Preceded in death by her husband, Walter, Marilyn was survived by her four children, Walter B. Spencer III ’71, Mary L. Spencer, Sarah S. Spencer Strickland ’74, and Katherine M. Spencer Donovan ’79, and their spouses; and her three grandchildren, including August S. Donovan ’18 and sophomore Cooper L. Donovan. The family held a private interment at the Old West Cemetery in Manchester, Conn.

Former Staff

Marilyn Eliza Lincoln Spencer, on November 5, 2019, surrounded by her children. Marilyn was a graduate of Dexter High School and the Sister’s Hospital School of Nursing in Waterville, Maine. Marilyn devoted her life to nurturing the people and natural world around her. She married Walter B. Spencer Jr. in 1952, and together they raised their family of four children. A cornerstone member of the Loomis Chaffee community for more than 25 years, Marilyn was responsible for elevating the Health Center director position to the level of faculty, and during her tenure in the role, she was a tireless advocate for supporting students’ physical and emotional well-being through education and therapy. She was a founding member of the Independent School Health Association. “As the daughter of florists, Marilyn was possessed of a green thumb and was passionate about her garden as a source of enjoyment and for her own well-being,” according to the family obituary. She is remembered for keeping artful arrangements of fresh flowers in her indoor living spaces. In retirement, Marilyn nurtured her love of art as a volunteer at the Portland Museum of Art and by spending time on her own painting.

She devoted many volunteer hours in fundraising for the restoration of the historic McLellan House in Portland, Maine, through cookbook sales. A longtime member of the Longfellow Garden Club, Marilyn contributed to Portland beautification through the

Raymond Frost, on May 29, 2019, in Windsor, Conn. Raymond was born in Hartford to James M. and Emma Hoskins DeMay Frost. He worked in the Physical Plant as a custodial engineer for more than 30 years. Seth Beebe ’78 remembers him as “a gentle giant known for his prodigious strength.” Raymond was survived by members of his extended Frost and DeMay families. A memorial service was held on Saturday, November 16, 2019, at Carmon Funeral Home in Windsor.

More News The Alumni Office has learned of the passing of Jolyon Simeon Tucker ’43 on May 8, 2018; Jean M. Bishop Helliesen ’44 on February 16, 2020; S. Blaisdell Wight ’47 on July 3, 2019; Mary Faith Parker Donaldson ’49 on January 23, 2020; Alice Ford Ferraina ’53 on January 28, 2020; John Everton Davison ’58 on February 9, 2020; Harold A. Sykes III ’58 on July 13, 2019; David G. Ahern ’60 on February 5, 2020; Dwight M. Harris ’61 on January 2, 2020; Cynthia Mather Winter ’61 on February 10, 2018; Dennis A. Knurek ’63 on January 23, 2020; Jamie Lee Martin ’05 on January 26, 2020; John Michael Greiner ’09 on December 25, 2019; former Loomis Chaffee Trustee Mathew Bender IV on February 23, 2020; and former faculty member David Robert Lusby Simpson on January 24, 2020.

More information, as available, will be printed in future editions. loomischaffee.org

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R ef l ect ions

A Winter’s Game Uniforms change, protective gear advances, and the rules evolve through the years, but the game of ice hockey still retains its key elements: ice, a puck, sticks, and a joyful intensity that manifests itself in both fierce play and unbridled celebration, the one often leading to the other.

THEN (above) A boys hockey game in 1978.

Photo: 1978 Loomiscellany NOW (opposite page): The 2020 boys varsity hockey team and coaches celebrate their New England large-school championship in the New England Prep School Athletic Council's Martin/ Earl Tournament, which was contested at Trinity College. Photo: Dave Arnold

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Loomis Chaffee Magazine Winter 2020

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Loomis Chaffee Magazine Winter 2020

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