16 minute read
On to the Next Chapter: Ruth Duell
BY Christine Coyle | PHOTOS BY Cassandra Hamer
Ruth Duell
“Each one of you has the curiosity, the confidence, and the creativity to make your future chapters — whatever shape they may take — amazing,” Ruth Duell said in her farewell video message to students in May. Not coincidently, Ruth brought these very qualities, along with a notable addition — caring — to her many roles in the school community, including parent, teacher, administrator, dorm affiliate, faculty mentor, and cherished friend throughout her nearly 30 years at Loomis Chaffee.
“Be gentle with yourself, and make your default reaction kindness” was Ruth’s counsel for the senior class, many of whom were still coming to terms with the loss of their senior spring and Commencement traditions due to the COVID-19 pandemic and were worried about uncertain futures for themselves and their loved ones. Because of Loomis Chaffee’s campus closure during the pandemic crisis, Ruth shared her inspirational message as she had delivered her final spring term lessons, via computer from her home, an 1850s farmhouse on one-and-a-half acres in eastern Connecticut.
Though she values the peaceful existence and protection from the crisis that her rural home provides, Ruth expressed her deep appreciation and affection for the Island community of which she’s been a part for many years and says she will miss it a great deal.
In January of 1991, Ruth and her then-husband, John G. Clark, and the couple’s three children, Olivia Clark Dolce ’99, John H. Clark ’03, and Leila Clark Kitts ’08, who were aged 8 years, 5 years, and four months, respectively, joined the campus community when John was hired in Loomis’ Alumni/Development Office.
After spending a year settling her young family into their new home and daily activities, Ruth, who longed for the social engagement she enjoyed working in human services for many years, approached Dean of Faculty Alice Baxter to inquire about ways she could contribute to the school.
With Alice’s encouragement, Ruth drew upon her creativity and caring nature to expand a community service activity that was, according to Ruth, begun by former faculty member Kathy Sullivan for Palmer girls into an important community engagement program available to all students. The program offered a variety of extracurricular opportunities focused on helping underserved youth and the elderly, serving local human service organizations, and providing environmental stewardship.
“We hopped into vans … and went on all kinds of adventures with the kids,” Ruth reminisces.
The experience was valuable for all involved, according to Ruth: for the students in making connections in Greater Hartford as well as for local community members in spending time with young people from the school. Still popular with today’s Pelicans, the enduring community service program has broadened its scope under the Norton Family Center for the Common Good. Ruth and Kathy, longtime friends, remain in touch.
Ruth continued with the community service program for a couple of years and picked up teaching a section of the course Moral Development (now called Ethical Issues) as part of the Philosophy, Psychology, and Religion Department, and then she was selected by newly-appointed Director of Studies Ronald Marchetti to be assistant director of studies. As a member of the Academic Office for 15 years in a progressive role from assistant to associate to director of studies, Ruth was challenged to draw upon her curiosity and confidence.
“There were no computers — none!” she recalls. “We scheduled the whole school by hand, on paper — all the teachers, all the classes, all the students. … It was a huge Rubik’s cube.” Despite long hours and detailed work, Ruth enjoyed it, especially working closely with her office colleagues, including Ron, Beth Fitzsimmons, Carol Gordon, Lorna Giannuzzi, and others. In the mid 1990s, the biggest challenge for Ruth, Ron, and Kevin McAllister, former information technology director, was “bringing the school to computers,” Ruth says, and leading the faculty in the use of computers for recording grades and comments.
“It was a fun, crazy time. There was a lot of laughter of the sort of ‘laugh or go mad’ variety,” she quips.
Throughout her stint in the Academic Office, Ruth continued to teach in the Philosophy, Psychology, and Religion Department. When she eventually moved from her administrative role to full-time teaching, she picked up the Psychology of Loss class, formerly known as Death & Dying, a longtime standout course remembered by generations of Loomis Chaffee alumni for its impact. Many young alumni closely associate the class with Ruth and her nuanced, humanistic, and compassionate approach to considering loss, death, and dying from a number of perspectives. She is quick to point out that the course was begun by Duane Estes in the early 1970s, and taught in some form by several faculty, including Kathy Sullivan, David Newell, and Dom Failla, before she was passed the baton.
Mentoring young faculty was another role that Ruth embraced and enjoyed. She welcomed the opportunity to grow her own teaching skills working alongside the newly-minted faculty with whom she was partnered. Among them, Manya Steinfeld taught closely with Ruth for the first two years of Manya’s teaching career before accepting a new assignment last summer at an international school in Germany.
“Ruth … has had the single biggest impact on my development as a teacher,” Manya wrote in a letter to the school about Ruth’s mentorship. “I will be forever grateful for the thoughtfulness Ruth put into our relationship and the hours she dedicated to giving me confidence not only in planning lessons but also in front of a class. … As a teacher, Ruth always puts her students first and would spend many hours finding ways to make sure her students could engage with the material and apply it to their own lives. She touched so many students (and colleagues) with her authenticity and genuine love. It takes a special person to be able to teach Psychology of Loss, and Ruth did it in such a beautiful and open manner. She shared so much about herself and created space for her students to feel safe to explore such an intense and personal topic.”
Ron also lauds Ruth’s dedication to her students and her colleagues.
“Ruth, throughout her long and loyal service to Loomis Chaffee, has been a brilliant and sensitive member of the faculty. Her commitment to
students, their development and success, has been her consistent goal in every role she has had in the community. I wish her every joy in retirement,” comments Ron, who retired in 2013.
While many things at Loomis Chaffee have changed over the years, an important constant, according to Ruth, has been the school’s dedication to enrolling young people from a range of backgrounds and experiences and its mission to instill in students a commitment to the common good. “The spirit of the school — a spirit of compassion and caring — remains the same,” she says.
Of all her roles, Ruth says she most enjoyed her interactions with students. Even as director of studies, Ruth relished reading through student files and marveling at their fascinating personal stories. She says she loved being a dorm affiliate in Harman Hall and serving as an academic advisor to countless boys and girls over the years, and, by staying in touch with many, she now admires the accomplished adults so many of them have become. Ruth says she is grateful for all that Loomis has meant to her and her family. She acknowledges the many and varied professional and personal growth opportunities she enjoyed and the wonderful upbringing and education her three children were afforded as members of the school community. She thanks Alice Baxter, former Head of School John Ratté, and former Associate Head of School Aaron “Woody” Hess for their patience and for helping her establish her career. For fear of missing someone, Ruth says she won’t even try to name all of her friends and colleagues who played important roles in life on the Island, and she says she will remain connected to the school through them all.
In retirement, Ruth says she will try to follow her own advice to the Class of 2020 and draw on confidence, curiosity, and creativity as her next chapters take shape. In addition to spending more time with her children, their spouses, and her soon-to-be seven grandchildren, Ruth says she plans to build on her friendships old and new and “put myself where my mouth is” — in the care of others and service to the community.
Fred Seebeck
Fred Seebeck retired in June after having engaged, inspired, mentored, and befriended countless individuals throughout his 37 years as a treasured member of the Loomis Chaffee community and an integral part of life on the Island.
Fred’s tenure at Loomis was bookended by two phenomenal disruptions of nature. In 1984, during his first year of teaching, spring flood waters rose so high that the campus truly became an island. Fred recalls that he and fellow faculty member James “Grim” Wilson were holed up in Flagg Hall with several boys who were unable to evacuate. The waters were so high that to get dinner in town one night, he, Grim, and the students paddled in canoes over the causeway to the school vans parked beyond floodwaters at the public library. They returned at nightfall and paddled back to the dorm with a full moon in the sky and nearby streetlights aglow.
“It was gorgeous. Like paddling around Venice at night,” Fred remembered, having made a mental note of that special moment. Fortunately, that year, a long-term crisis was averted — although final exams had to be canceled — as the floodwaters receded within 48 hours.
This year, Fred spent his final term at Loomis Chaffee holed up in the confines of River Cottage and Chaffee Hall as the state of Connecticut issued stay-at-home orders and the campus was closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Each class day this spring, Fred donned one of his signature ties and walked from River Cottage, his campus home, to Chaffee Hall, where he taught English students from his empty classroom via Zoom video conference. He admits it was a bizarre and melancholy time, especially having to keep socially distant from other residential faculty families who remained on campus. While he shared the seniors’ disappointment of missing their spring term on campus and its associated rites of passage, Fred’s sanguine message to the students — delivered via a video interview with junior Aidan Gillies, the incoming Student Council president — was that the pandemic and resulting separation of the community should serve as a reminder to “make the most of our moments together” at Loomis and beyond, and to make an effort to “consciously appreciate” the special times.
Being isolated at home and following social distancing measures was “like a dress rehearsal for retirement,” Fred says, explaining that he has lived in a residential academic community for his whole adult life so far, beginning when he attended Brown University as an undergraduate. Loomis Chaffee’s community spirit is what Fred says he will miss most — especially the shared meals, stimulating environment, lively exchange of ideas, and daily social interactions that are part of life on the Island. He also will miss the collegiality of the faculty and staff.
“You get to know people best when you’re rolling up your sleeves together,” Fred acknowledges.
After graduating from Brown, Fred had a short stint of teaching at St. George’s School in Rhode Island before taking an admissions associate role at Loomis in order to coach water polo, a sport not offered at St. George’s. He began teaching English full-time at Loomis during his third year on the Island.
A respected presence on the English Department faculty, Fred inspired and engaged students in courses across grade levels, including in the senior electives Satire and Literature of the Sea. He says the old adage, “I teach students, not English” is timeworn, but remains true.
He equates the experience of a teacher or coach with that of a music conductor trying to draw out the sound of one musical instrument so it may be heard clearly playing along with the rest of the orchestra.
Fred’s characteristic teaching preparation included making notes on an index card or Post-it note before every class. “You want to know where you’re headed [in the class discussion] but be ready to extemporize,” he explains.
In addition to teaching English, Fred’s roles at Loomis have included, at various times, serving as English Department head, a dean of students, an admission associate, a dorm head in Batchelder and Taylor halls, an affiliate in Flagg and Warham halls, a trusted and valued advisor to students, and a faculty advisor to the Student Council.
He also served on the Head of School Search Committee to find a successor to John Ratté, who departed in 1996 and was succeeded by Russell Weigel. “Everyone hated to see John Ratté retire, and finding his successor was no easy task,” Fred says, noting that he appreciated the sense of responsibility and commitment to the task that the search team members shared.
But perhaps Fred’s most rewarding role has been the one for which he came to Loomis in the first place — coaching swimmers, divers, and water polo players. “Seebs” as he was affectionally known by his team, was a fixture in Hedges Pool during the fall and winter seasons every year since his first at Loomis. Later in his career, Fred also coached the distance runners on the girls track and field
team, which he enjoyed and says further challenged him to adapt and grow his coaching skills.
“I love the process of teaching and coaching,” Fred says.
With Fred as head coach, the boys swimming and diving team consistently ranked among the top teams of the New England Prep School Swimming Association and won 18 Founders League titles. Fred recalls a highlight from the team’s winter 2019-20 season: “At our final home meet of the season, and my coaching career, a number of our boys were geared up in the hopes of setting new records in several events. The 200-meter medley relay team [of senior Min Jun Jung; juniors Matt Ryckman and Kai Sheng Tham; and sophomore Trent Hieber] broke that record by nearly two seconds, a stunning improvement. Then, our team of Kai Sheng, [freshman] Kaeden Freston, [senior] Mac Pahl, and Min Jun bettered our school record in the 200-meter freestyle relay. To conclude the day, the kids threw me in the pool, a tried and tested swimming tradition!”
The team’s record-setting performance was a fitting capstone for Fred’s long and successful coaching career, and he is grateful for the dedicated and passionate team of swimmers he coached this year and in many years past.
Edward Pond and Fred have coached together in Hedges Pool for decades. Ed, who also teaches science, was an assistant coach to Fred’s swim teams for many years, and Fred served as assistant coach for Ed’s boys water polo teams.
Ed reflects, “I am immensely grateful for the time we shared; for the collaborative efforts that inspired so many boys to engage, thrive, and grow as athletes, students, and people; for the friendship that anchored our work together; and for the wonderful memories and many laughs.” The teams never wanted their seasons to end, Ed says. “After working so diligently in preparation for that culminating game or race, the boys, having finished the journey, wanted only to stay a while longer at the summit with their teammates. Fred’s gift for guiding these expeditions was evident in the smiles, tears, and words the boys shared.”
Fred’s many longtime friends at Loomis include Associate Director of Studies Robert DeConinck, the head coach of the girls swim team for the last 22 years. The DeConincks — Bob, his wife Virginia, and their sons, Christopher ’07 and Jacob ’07 — have lived and worked alongside Fred in the classroom, the pool, and all aspects of residential life since Bob joined the faculty in 1998. They count Fred among their family members.
“I have had the good fortune to have had Fred coach both my sons and teach one of them,” Bob wrote in a tribute to Fred. “The lessons they learned from Fred about sportsmanship, hard work, and team have carried them far in life. He is a scholar, a gentleman, and a lifelong friend. I know he is looking forward to the next phase of his life, to live his best self and continue in his service to others. Fred never puts himself before others, and I do hope that he is a little more selfish now that he doesn’t have his ‘boys’ to worry about and care for. I look forward to continuing to help Fred with some projects at his beloved Rhode Island home as well as some more beer and wings at some of our favorite taverns. But most of all, even though I will miss seeing him around campus, I look forward to continuing our long friendship, and Fred will always have a place setting at our Thanksgiving table.”
Indeed, Fred has many plans for retirement, including continuing his passionate following of Major League Baseball’s Boston Red Sox. He has fond memories of crowding into the Batchelder social room with all the boys in the dorm to watch the Red Sox play the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2004 World Series — and their loud and hearty celebration when the Red Sox won the championship for the first time since 1918.
Before the pandemic, Fred had plans to travel this summer to see his beloved Red Sox take on his family’s hometown baseball heroes — the Chicago Cubs — at Wrigley Field with his brother and nephews.
“I’m an outlier in the family,” he sheepishly admits. Born in New Jersey, Fred and his family moved to Chicago when he entered high school. He didn’t become a Boston fan until the early 1990s. His family members remain die-hard Chicago fans.
Fred also plans to devote some of his time in retirement to working with organizations that support veterans and environmental preservation, continuing a longstanding commitment to community service. Fred led an effort to save leftover uneaten meals that had been prepared for Loomis student athletes and deliver them to a Hartford shelter after Saturday meets during the fall and winter terms. When Fred and former faculty member Isso Shimamoto, who coached girls water polo and boys swimming, started making the deliveries, they enlisted the help of student athletes and used Fred’s car to make the trip to Hartford and back. Fred said he switched to using school vans when something with a pungent odor spilled in his car, but the tradition continued through his last winter season. He hopes the meals delivery will carry on in his absence.
A lifelong learner, Fred intends to continue his personal growth by pursing continuing education courses that interest him, including perhaps a class on the writing of William Faulkner or a World War II history course. He has close access to several colleges from his home in Rhode Island, which is where Fred will settle, trading his views of the Farmington and Connecticut rivers for the coastal inlets and salt marshlands of the Ocean State.
He also looks forward to returning to the Island to visit everyone when, as he puts it, “real school” returns post-pandemic.
To read a story about the long coaching collaboration between Ed Pond and Fred, visit www.loomischaffee. org/magazine.
