Loomis Chaffee Spring 2017 Magazine by Loomis Chaffee

Spring 2017 VOLUME 79 |

NO. 2

Loomis Chaffee in South

rica

Junior Haleigh Stewart, junior Sarah Olender, freshman Olivia Malcolmson, junior Yuyang Zhang, sophomore Jedai Lapcharoenporn, sophomore Johnny Eyvazzedeh, and sophomore Mark Valadez take a stroll at Camps Bay in Cape Town on their first afternoon in South Africa in March during an International Education Program organized by the Alvord Center for Global & Environmental Studies and the Norton Family Center for the Common Good.

Spring 2017

A zebra in Krueger National Park, where the group spent two days.

Left: The travelers pose for a photo next to the famous statue in Nelson Mandela Square, Johannesburg: (back) English teacher Will Eggers, sophomore Jedai Lapcharoenporn, sophomore Johnny Eyvazzadeh, sophomore Mark Valadez, and English teacher Sally Knight; and (front) math teacher Isso Shimamoto, junior Sarah Olender, sophomore Melissa Scanlon, freshman Alexa Valadez, freshman Olivia Malcolmson, junior Yuyang Zhang, and junior Haleigh Stewart. Above: At Harpers House, a guesthouse in Cape Town, the Loomis visitors speak with members of the Goedgedacht Forum, an organization founded at the end of apartheid to foster reconciliation and democracy in South Africa through dialogue. Photos: The Alvord Center for Global & Environmental Studies

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Loomis Chaffee Magazine

Hidden Talents! Discover 12 surprising talents of Loomis Chaffee faculty members that have nothing to do with teaching.

Interview with Insider’s Guide Nana Mensah ’01 to Robotics The busy actor, writer, director, and producer talks about the ongoing process of building a career in theater and on screen.

DEPARTMENTS 4 5 21 23 52

FROM THE HEAD ISLAND NEWS FACULTY & STAFF NEWS PELICAN SPORTS OBJECT LESSON

54 CLASS NOTES 62 OBITUARIES 72 REFLECTIONS

Starting with a heap of parts and a wealth of brain power, the robotics team takes on the competition.

Alumni Authors Our annual update on published works by alumni writers

WEB EXTRAS web+

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

Loomis Chaffee SPRING 2017 Director of Strategic Communications & Marketing Lynn A. Petrillo ’86 Managing Editor Becky Purdy Design Director Patricia J. Cousins Class Notes Madison Neal Obituaries Christine Coyle Contributors Christine Coyle, sophomore Minna Gao, Manya Steinfeld, Karen Parsons, Lisa Salinetti Ross, Timothy Struthers ’85, Fred J. Kuo, Keller Glass, and Cara Woods

Submissions/Stories and News 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

ON THE COVER Nana Mensah ’01 Photo: Christine Jean Chambers 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.

facebook.com/loomischaffee twitter.com/loomischaffee user name: loomischaffee Instagram.com/loomischaffee Printed at Lane Press Burlington, VT Printed on 70# Sterling Matte, an SFI Sheet, Sustainable Forestry Initiative

Spring 2017

From the Head

Drawing the Line By Sheila Culbert

oomis Chaffee has approximately 680 students from across this country as well as around the world. Our students represent 45 different nations through citizenship and residency, and international students comprise 17 percent of our student body. In addition, we have almost 300 employees—faculty, administrators, and staff. In our cultural backgrounds, the colors of our skins, our religious and political persuasions, our sexual orientations, and our socioeconomic status, we are a microcosm of the wider world. This diversity is what, I believe, our Founders envisioned when they stipulated that the school should be open to applicants from all backgrounds and that we should eschew any political or religious test for either faculty or students. Our mission statement calls for us “to advance the development in spirit, mind, and body of boys and girls drawn from diverse cultural and social backgrounds and to inspire in them a commitment to the best self and the common good.” We hold all members of our community to a set of values and behaviors; we demand honesty and academic integrity, respect for others, and a commitment to the free expression of ideas and to the work of learning. Loomis as a school does not have a political stance. While the majority of both our students and our employees fall on the liberal end of the spectrum—not that unusual for educational institutions—we need not only to be open to different viewpoints but also to embrace rigorous debate about a multiplicity of ideas. There are 4

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Head of School Sheila Culbert with Hobbes in the Richmond Art Center. Photo: John Groo

legitimate policy differences on subjects such as health care, the role of the courts, immigration policy, the budget, and a range of other pertinent topics. We do our students a disservice if we are not seen to be actively encouraging these sorts of debates and arguments. The challenge that we face today with the current presidential administration, however, is far more than one of simple ideological debate. Let me outline four areas of equal concern for the school regarding the current administration. Personal Behavior. Much of the behavior that President Trump has exhibited would be unacceptable at Loomis. Lying and bullying would trigger disDRAWING THE LINE | continued 22

“We hold all members of our community to a set of values and behaviors; we demand honesty and academic integrity, respect for others, and a commitment to the free expression of ideas and to the work of learning.”

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This rendering provides a cut-away view from the east of the planned student center (main floor) and student organizations space (top floor) of what is now the William H. Loomis Dining Hall, with Grubbs Quadrangle to the north. Illustrations: Atkin Olshin Schade Architects

New Campus Center to Reflect, Enhance Community

Among the planned features of the campus center are:

onstruction will begin this spring on a new campus center that will include two intersecting dining halls, an enlarged servery, a student center, a campus café, the school bookstore, an innovation lab, a faculty lounge, and meeting and work space for student organizations. The $30 million project, which is slated for completion by the fall of 2018, will serve as the heart of the campus, where the school community will gather, eat meals, relax, teach and learn, brainstorm, buy books and Loomis Chaffee gear, sip coffee, converse, and enjoy the beauty of the surrounding quadrangles. Designed by Sam Olshin of Philadelphia’s Atkin Olshin Schade Architects with a Georgian aesthetic complementing the Island’s original buildings, the campus center will

• Two connected dining halls — one stretching north to south and the other extending east to west — with doors opening to a south-facing terrace on the Rockefeller Quadrangle that will accommodate outdoor dining during warm weather. • A large servery and kitchen with stations for various food and beverage choices and for easy flow of people. encompass and expand upon the footprint of the current dining halls. The Loomis Chaffee Board of Trustees authorized the project to move forward at the board’s January meeting. Newfield Construction of Hartford, Connecticut, is the construction manager.

• A student center that will occupy what is currently the William H. Loomis Dining Hall looking out onto Grubbs Quadrangle. A café, in the spirit of the SNUG, will open into the student center, which will include comfortable seating and areas for casual conversation and hanging out.

• A more visible and accessible bookstore on the main level overlooking the Meadows. • A faculty lounge on the northeast corner of the main level, near Taylor Hall. • Space on the floor above the student center for The Log, The Confluence, and other student publications and organizations to work and meet. • An innovation center where students can brainstorm, design, engineer, create, and experiment with their ideas. The center, which will stretch across most of the building’s lower level, will include a large, open, flexible makerspace; classrooms; a robotics area; and a digital lounge as well as access to the building’s loading dock for rolling out large projects. Spring 2017

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CAMPUS CENTER | continued from 5 • A student and faculty mailroom, storage space, bag drop areas for students entering the dining halls, and other useful features. Rockefeller Quadrangle also will be enhanced and re-landscaped as part of the campus center project. Changes will include a larger covered terrace in front of Brush Library, the south-facing terrace on the campus center, and a winding walkway that eventually will connect all three Island quadrangles. The project will eliminate the outdoor amphitheater next to the existing SNUG to make way for one of the new dining halls and the south-facing terrace. The campus center will complete a long-standing goal of the school to fully support the school community of 70 percent boarding students and 30 percent day students. “I think this is one of the most important transformations that has happened at the school since the merger [of Loomis and Chaffee] and [the advent of] girls boarding,” says Associate Head for External Relations Nathan Follansbee, who began working at Loomis in 1975. Together, completion of the campus center; of Richmond Hall, which opened in 2014; and of Cutler Hall, which opened last fall, is one of the most significant goals of Our Time Is Now: The Centennial Campaign for Loomis Chaffee, which concludes on June 30 of this year. The existing dining halls and servery have especially felt the impact of the increased boarding population. The new dining halls and serving area are expected to alleviate the crunch of the lunchtime rush, overcrowding at family-style dinners, and a criss-crossing flow around the serving lines at all meals. The intersection of the two new dining halls also will bring a more unified, community feel to meals, Nat notes, as opposed to the separation of the current Loomis

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Above: Mason Hall and Katharine Brush Library can be seen on either side of the planned campus center in this exterior rendering.

Left: Architect’s sketch of the planned innovation lab on the bottom level of the new campus center

and Wilbur dining halls. Each aspect of the new campus center is designed to enhance the community experience, from the welcoming feel of the student center and the dedicated space for student organizations to the more prominent bookstore and the creative atmosphere of an innovation center. Undertaking a 14-month construction project — one that unavoidably takes the existing dining hall and kitchen offline — while continuing to function as a school presents some challenges, administrators acknowledge. But plans are in motion to keep the community fed and the school running smoothly during the construction. Erickson Gymnasium will become the dining hall for the 2017–18 school year and the 2017 and 2018

summer programs, explains Associate Head of School Webster Trenchard. Specially designed kitchen trailers will be affixed to the outside of Erickson, a common practice for projects like this, Webb says. The Nee Room in Founders Hall will serve as the student lounge during the construction, and the bookstore will temporarily relocate to Founders Lounge. Without a SNUG grill, the bookstore will sell expanded snack offerings, Webb says. The mailroom, currently on the lower level of the dining hall building, will move to Brush Auditorium on the lower level of the Katharine Brush Library, which has access to a loading dock area. As much as possible, Webb says, the school is trying to minimize the impact of the construction project on students. The Class of 2018 in

particular anticipates the project with a bittersweet taste — the campus will be disrupted for their senior year, but the end result will be an enhanced community experience for the generations of students who will follow them. Webb says the school is sensitive to the effect on next year’s seniors in their final year at Loomis and is working with the Class of 2018 to make sure their year is special.

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Students in the Comparative Anatomy course study a model of a heart. Photo: John Groo

Comparing Anatomy to Discover Biological Links

tudents in the Comparative Anatomy term course on a January afternoon examined human heart models as teacher Elizabeth Bucceri ’07 reviewed a lesson about blood pressure, its significance, and ways to measure it in humans. Liz then directed the class to lab tables set up for a challenge: creating a rudimentary heart valve using common household items to control a flow of marbles, mimicking blood flow through the human heart. The circulatory system is one of several systems the course examines in humans and compares with other organisms. “It’s interesting and easier to understand anatomy when you study the connection between humans and other organisms,” Liz says. Liz was inspired to develop the course by a comparative anatomy class she enjoyed at Hamilton College, where she earned a bachelor’s degree with a dual major in biology and mathematics. She proposed the applied study of anatomy as an elective for the Loomis Science Department, and Department Head Betsy Conger encouraged her to develop the curriculum, which the school’s Curriculum Committee approved. The inaugural Comparative Anatomy term course was offered

at Loomis this winter, and students quickly filled the dozen available spaces. The course is running again this spring. Liz structured the course as an examination of systems from the outside to the inside, starting with the muscular and skeletal system and moving to the circulatory, respiratory, digestive, and excretory systems. She left some room for flexibility so the course can be tailored to students’ interests. For example, the students voted to determine the last system they would cover this winter, choosing the reproductive system over the nervous, immune, and endocrine systems. Liz continually evaluates the course by seeking students’ feedback and observing their reactions to the projects and labs. Many of the course activities involve competition as motivation for active learning. In the heart valve project, teams of two or three students were challenged to judiciously “purchase” raw materials. The total cost was factored into the final score for each team. The constructed valves underwent a stress test in which 50 marbles traveled through each team’s valve in both directions. Points were given to teams whose

construction withstood the marble test, and taken away from those whose valves failed. Liz pointed out to the class that “winning” wasn’t the real aim of the exercise; even when students made failed attempts, they learned. Dissection of preserved animal specimens is central to studying anatomy, and students in the course say dissection labs are some of the most interesting. In one lesson this winter, students worked in small groups to study an animal of their choosing. Each group completed a dissection of the animal for display and taught the rest of the class about their discoveries, including comparisons to humans and pigs. The final exam involved the study of an animal behavior linked to a part of its anatomy. Students created documentaries to report on their findings. Liz is pleased with how the course came together and encouraged by the students’ enthusiasm for the study of anatomy. She hopes the course will serve as inspiration for her students to continue their exploration of nature and the biological sciences.

Spring 2017

Island News

A Tale of Two Nations in the Nuclear Age

wo narratives define the current climate surrounding Iran’s nuclear program and the implications for the world, said Payam Mohseni, an expert in Iranian foreign and domestic policy and ideology who spoke on campus in February as part of the Bussel Family International Lecture Series. The narrative in the United States relates to U.S. national security and the security of the Middle East region, to which the United States is inextricably tied, explained Mr. Mohseni, director of the Iran Project and lecturer on Iranian and Middle East politics at Harvard’s Kennedy School. The Iranian narrative concerns its national sovereignty and its esteem in the Middle East and the world, he said. Mr. Mohseni’s visit to Loomis, presented by the lecture series and the Alvord Center for Global & Environmental Studies, included discussions with students during the day and the evening lecture, titled “The Iran Nuclear Deal: Challenges and Opportunities for America Moving Ahead.” A large group of students, faculty, and community members gathered in Gilchrist Auditorium for the lecture. During his presentation, Mr. Mohseni shared a cultural history of Iran and unpacked the history of Iran’s nuclear enrichment program. The motivation behind Iran’s nuclear capability is multi-faceted, he said. Having the advanced scientific ability and financial capacity to develop a nuclear energy program allows Iran to be energy independent, gives the country a measure of security, establishes a higher position for Iran in the Middle East and the world order, and is a source of national pride, he explained. Mr. Mohseni traced the history of Iran’s nuclear buildup from its inception prior to the Iran-Iraq war

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Payam Mohseni and Alec McCandless Photo: John Groo

How the United States navigates the relationship with Iran going forward has far-reaching consequences for the Middle East, the United States, and the world, stressed Mr. Mohseni, because the global order is based on a U.S. position of power. in 1980 until the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, under which Iran, the United States, China, and several western European nations sought to agree upon security measures and allow Iran a limited, peaceful nuclear energy development program.

Mohseni said. The Iranian perspective is largely influenced by cleric Ayatollah Khomeini’s issuance of a “fatwa,” a strong religious decree banning the use of nuclear weapons, “effectively ending any consideration of weapons development,” said Mr. Mohseni.

While the U.S. narrative emphasizes the risks posed by Iran’s possible access to nuclear weapons, Iranians are “perplexed” by this idea, Mr.

How the United States navigates this relationship going forward has far-reaching consequences for the Middle East, the United States, and

the world, stressed Mr. Mohseni, because the global order is based on a U.S. position of power. He argued that it makes more sense for the United States to cooperate with Iran and to give Iran a sense of self-determination, ensuring a measure of stability in the region and encouraging Iran to act in good faith into the future. After his lecture, Mr. Mohseni responded to questions from the audience, including queries about the fatwa as a nuclear weapons deterrent, Iran’s potential role in Middle East security if the country is allowed to continue developing nuclear energy, and Iran’s possible motivation for destabilizing the region. The day after his lecture, Mr. Mohseni visited an Arabic class and a Comparative Government class, and he spoke with students in the Alvord Center.

Island News

Study Traces School’s Carbon Footprint

At the school’s request, Jadora International, an industry-respected green energy company, conducted an analysis of the school’s energy usage and CO2 expenditure during the 2014–15 school year. The resulting Carbon Footprint Report from Jadora found that the school’s fossil fuel use is consistent with that of other organizations similar in size and nature to Loomis, says Jeffrey Dyreson, associate director of the Alvord Center for Global & Environmental Studies, who oversees sustainability initiatives and education on the Island.

Getting an accurate measurement of energy use helps the school better understand what it is doing well and where it needs to improve, explains Alvord Center Associate Director Jeffrey Dyreson, who oversees sustainability initiatives and education on the Island.

While the school is in good company, that doesn’t mean its carbon footprint is small. A school the size of Loomis consumes as much carbon-based energy in one year as 1,860 residential homes. The largest part of the school’s consumption, according to Jeff, is for heating, cooling, and transportation. Jadora’s report notes that Loomis’ energy comes mainly from electricity generated by fossil fuels, purchased from a local utility.

As part of the partnership with Jadora, Loomis received 3,000 metric tons of tropical carbon “offsets” generated from the Isangi REDD+ project, which preserves portions of the rain forest in Democratic Republic of Congo and generates oxygen from plantings to counter carbon emissions from other global sources. The Isangi REDD+ project provides education and alternative food and fuel sources in the DR Congo location.

Loomis has worked for many years to reduce its carbon footprint. Getting an accurate measurement of energy use helps the school better understand what it is doing well and where it needs to improve, Jeff explains. “It’s important that we look across all departments and facilities, consider how much of an investment in time and resources is required to sustain current efforts, and regularly measure the benefits of conservation initiatives,” he says.

Jeff also points to on-going activities directed at sustainability and energy conservation on campus, including the work of the student environmental proctors; an Independent Study project by senior Jason Liu looking at the feasibility of powering the school, at least in part, with solar energy; the school’s annual participation in the Green Cup Challenge; installation of a realtime energy monitoring system for many of Loomis’ buildings; annual Gilchrist Environmental Fellow-

oomis Chaffee wants to shrink the size of its carbon footprint, a measurement of fossil fuel use, and a report commissioned by the school will help to guide these efforts.

ships for projects on campus; installation of energy-conserving windows and insulation in faculty housing; and substitution of LED lighting in many campus fixtures. In addition, Alvord Center Global Educational programs that focus on sustainability, including travel to the Arctic Circle, Joshua Tree National Park, and Iceland, purchase carbon offsets to cover the emissions produced by transportation. “We will likely never be able to be completely ‘carbon neutral’ in the way we live and work here at Loomis,” Jeff says. “Institutions that claim to do so rely greatly on carbon offsets.” He added that offsets are not a big part of the school’s long-term plans because they are expensive and must be renewed each year.

Illustration: IStock

web+ To read the Carbon Footprint Report from Jadora and to see live data on energy use in Loomis buildings, go to www.loomis chaffee.org/magazine. Spring 2017

Island News

Thoroughly Entertaining

old out audiences for Thoroughly Modern Millie in the Norris Ely Orchard Theater were tunefully transported to Jazz Age New York City in five colorful, captivating, high-energy performances put on by the Loomis Chaffee Theater & Dance Department in February. More than 55 students took part in the successful production, including actors and dancers, pit musicians, production team members, technical assistants, and art students who designed the show posters. Among faculty, Director David McCamish, Music Director Susan Chrzanowski, Choreographer Kate Loughlin, Assistant Director Kate Saxton, and Production Manager Candice Chirgotis were supported by many other faculty and staff members as well as professionals from the larger community. The LC Parents Association organized a pre-theater reception and luncheon before the Saturday matinee so that families could celebrate the show’s success and enjoy the performance together.

web+ To see a photo gallery from the production and to read the playbill, go to www.loomischaffee.org/magazine. Left: Two of Millie’s “stenog” colleagues (juniors Abigail Forrester and Sarah Gyurina) react to office antics. Above: Wise and glamorous jazz singer Muzzy Van Hossmere (sophomore Kimmy Tufton) enthralls her fans. Top: In the title number, Jimmy Smith (junior Noah Yoon), Mr. Trevor Graydon (sophomore Ryan Natcharian), and the other “moderns” make their first appearance. Photos: Anna Vdovenko

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Island News

Millie (junior Cameron Purdy) and her new acquaintances kick up their heels in the opening number.

Spring 2017

Island News

The faculty and student staff of the Writing Studio. Photo: Christine Coyle

Grab a Pencil: Writing Studio Opens as Resource for All

he school this winter launched the Writing Studio, staffed by Loomis students and faculty, which has quickly become a go-to resource for students seeking support and inspiration with writing assignments and projects. A key component of the school’s signature writing program, the Writing Studio includes a staff of 20 trained work-program and volunteer students who were recommended for the leadership role by their teachers. Seven faculty members round out the studio staff, including Sally Knight, director of writing initiatives; Karen Parsons, archivist and history teacher; and Jessica Hsieh ’08, English teacher and advisor to The Log. The Writing Studio, located in the Katharine Brush Library, is open during every class period and during peak study times in the evening. Studio staff provide support on a

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Studio staff members help students understand writing assignments, brainstorm, organize ideas, develop outlines, assemble known facts, cite resources, and polish drafts. variety of writing projects, including history, English, and philosophy writing assignments; college essays; science lab reports; student publication articles; applications for

fellowships and summer programs; and creative writing for contests. Writing Studio staff members help students understand writing assignments, brainstorm, organize ideas, develop outlines, assemble known facts, cite resources, and polish drafts. Essentially, they support students through all stages of the writing process. “Ultimately, the figurative pen is in the writer’s hand,” explains Jessica, who serves as the faculty Writing Studio coordinator. “The staff are there to ask questions to lead the writer down a more productive path.” The Writing Studio also assists small groups or whole classes prior to important writing assignments. The studio hosted an English Proficiency Test “party” on the day before the mechanics segment of the test, which is part of the required Writing Workshop program for sophomores.

“The feedback has been universally positive,” Jessica says, noting an increase in the number of community members seeking the studio’s counsel since its inception. “Great help with a balance of advice and suggestions to allow me as a writer to still express myself in the words I wanted,” commented one junior Writing Studio client on an anonymous survey. “Great feedback and recommendations. Really helped for me to gather all my thoughts together and come out with a plan,” a freshman client wrote. The Writing Studio is continuing to grow its library of resources and is working on adding teacher professional development initiatives focused on writing for the sciences and English as a non-native language.

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brilliant!

Tisch to Speak at Commencement

 In its annual Benefit Concert on February 25, the Loomis Chaffee Student Council raised $3,600 to benefit Billings Forge, which offers job opportunities, training, and food benefits to an underserved community in urban Hartford. The concert featured student and faculty musical performances and a show-stopping lip-sync by three current and former faculty members.

oomis Chaffee parent Steve Tisch, an Academy Award-winning producer and co-owner of the New York Giants football team, will speak at Commencement on May 28.

 The Loomis Chaffee Debate Society hosted its 35th annual Debate Association of New England Independent Schools tournament in January as 160 debate students from more than a dozen schools debated the issue of school vouchers for K-through-12 education. Among the 24 Loomis debaters, a quartet of seniors finished as the top advanced team in the tournament.

Steve is the only person with both an Oscar, as producer of Best Picture Forrest Gump in 1994, and a Super Bowl ring, as coowner and chairman of the Giants, Super Bowl winners in 2008 and 2012. For more than four decades, Steve has produced compelling stories in film and television, including the critically acclaimed television movie The Burning Bed starring Farrah Fawcett and the box office hit Risky Business, which helped launch Tom Cruise’s acting career. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, American History X, Snatch, The Pursuit of Happyness, Seven Pounds, The Back-Up Plan, and Southpaw are among Steve’s film credits. Untouchable, his current film project, will be released in 2018. Steve is a partner at Escape Artists Productions. Steve was named executive vice president of the Giants in 1991 when his father, Preston Robert Tisch, became 50 percent owner of the franchise. When his father died in 2005, Steve assumed the additional role of chairman of the organization. He was instrumental in the MetLife Stadium construction, completed in 2010, that positioned the New Jersey venue as the topgrossing stadium in the world in 2012, allowing it to host the Super Bowl in 2014. Steve and co-owner John Mara were named Best NFL Owners by Forbes in 2011. Steve contributes time and resources to a variety of arts, health, and education organizations. His charitable outreach has included support of Tel Aviv University’s television and film department, which was renamed The Steve Tisch School of Film and Television in his honor. His leadership gift to the David Geffen School of Medicine has supported concussion and brain injury research, prevention, and treatment through the UCLA Steve Tisch BrainSPORT Program. Steve serves on the boards of several prominent arts organizations as well as the Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke University.

 Nineteen Loomis student musicians were invited to participate in the Northern Region Music Festival, organized by the Connecticut Music Educators Association, in January at New Britain High School. The Loomis contingent included performers in the festival chorus, orchestra, and band. Five of these students also were selected to the Connecticut All-State Music Festival March 30–April 1.  Junior Allen Park earned second place in the Connecticut History Day regional competition at Manchester High School in February for his presentation on this year’s National History Day theme, “Taking a Stand in History.” Allen will compete at the statewide competition this spring.  Seven Loomis art students were honored this winter with 2017 Connecticut Regional Scholastic Art Awards, and the students’ award-winning art was exhibited at the University of Hartford’s Lincoln Theater. Senior Claudia Liu also received a Scholarship Award for a portfolio of her work.  Four students qualified for the American Invitational Mathematics Examination this year, based on their scores on preliminary exams for the competition. Only 5 percent of contestants advance to the national invitational exam.  Six student writers were honored in February with Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, presented by the Alliance for Young Artists and Writers, a nonprofit organization devoted to developing the artistic and literary talents of young people.  During the four-week Green Cup Challenge this winter, the Loomis community reduced electrical consumption in the dormitories by 15 percent compared to the same period last year. Batchelder and Taylor halls were the co-winners of the interdorm competition on campus. Both winning dorms reduced their electricity consumption by 30.5 percent compared to the same period last year.  It was a banner year for Loomis Model United Nations participants, who, receiving 22 honors, earned more awards than Loomis delegations have previously garnered at the annual conferences at Yale University in January and at Boston University in February.  Students and faculty members read aloud from their original writing at the LC Authors Out Loud event held during a Community Arts Celebration in the Richmond Art Center on January 10. The spoken word presentation was a collaborative effort by the Katharine Brush Library and the Visual Arts Department and was spearheaded by librarian Sarah Zimmermann ’97.

web+ To find out more about these and other brilliant accomplishments at Loomis, go to www.loomischaffee.org/magazine.

Steve’s daughter, Elizabeth Tisch, is a member of the Loomis Class of 2017.

Spring 2017

Island News

How Can Science Serve, or Harm, the Common Good?

“S

cience is power,” science teacher Neil Chaudhary ’05 said in a lecture to freshmen gathered in Gilchrist Auditorium this winter. And the unprecedented power of science knowledge in the hands of human beings bears great responsibility, Neil cautioned.

The lecture, which explored the relationship between science and the common good, invited the Freshman Seminar students to consider the role of humanity in the universe. The seminar is a required year-long course, facilitated by the Norton Family Center for the Common Good, in which the school’s youngest students learn to examine and discuss big questions, current events, and issues in their collective lives. Science has the power to do tremendous good, Neil said as he showed decades-old photographs of people suffering the effects of infectious diseases such as smallpox, which was eradicated with the invention of the vaccine. As scientists gained an understanding of humans and other organisms, we gained significant control over our ability to survive. The development of antibiotics and other medicines as well as surgical techniques have helped humans to harness the power of science to prolong life. Accordingly, the knowledge of science also can bring tremendous destruction, Neil said, and he projected photos from the United States’ unleashing of atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, resulting in massive destruction and a devastating toll on human and other life. “Humanity possesses the capacity to destroy itself,” Neil said, noting that scientists continue to develop bigger, stronger weapons as well as biological and chemical weapons.

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Neil Chaudhary in his classroom Photo: John Groo

Science has the power to do tremendous good, Neil said as he showed decadesold photographs of people suffering the effects of infectious diseases such as smallpox, which was eradicated with the invention of the vaccine. It is ironic, he noted, that the combination of hydrogen and nitrogen that make up the compound 2NH3, otherwise known as ammonia, used in manufacturing fertilizer, which supports life-sustaining food production, is also used in the manufacture of weapons large enough to destroy humankind. As human beings, he said, we can choose to direct the power of science for good or for bad, and we bear the responsibility of acting ethically in making those choices. Neil held up the example of physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, who

was among those who created the nuclear bombs dropped on Japan in 1945. Oppenheimer feared the destructive power he had created and spent the remainder of his life advocating for international control of nuclear power to avert nuclear proliferation. Neil cited additional examples of scientists who were either unaware of or unconcerned about the terrible consequences of their work. German chemist Fritz Haber, for instance, won a Nobel Prize for his process to synthesize ammonia for fertilization. He went on to develop the poisonous chlorine gas employed as a chemical

weapon in World War I. Neil also described unethical scientific experimentation on humans, such as the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment. Questions of the future will include such topics as genetic engineering and artificial intelligence, he said. “The future flows from the present,” Neil said, “and we control the present.” To do good in the present and ensure good into the future, he concluded, we must learn about science, learn about civics and history, inform ourselves with reliable sources, and take part in making informed choices of our leadership.

Inspired by the Legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.

oomis Chaffee’s MLK Week 2017, honoring the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., featured programming on topics inspired by Dr. King’s commitment to social justice, freedom, inclusion, and equality for all people. The week-long celebration began on Saturday, January 14, with a convocation by inspirational speaker Michael “Mykee” Fowlin. His riveting one-man act, “You Don’t Know Me Until You Know Me,” challenged his audience to look beyond appearances, listen, and try to understand each other’s viewpoints. On the following Monday, students paid tribute to Dr. King in a program organized by leaders of the student organization PRISM, People Rising In Support of Multiculturalism. The program included speeches, poetry readings, dance and vocal performances, and video excerpts from “Identity Project,” a series of recordings of the personal experiences and perspectives of Loomis students from different backgrounds. An open PRISM meeting on Tuesday brought together more than 50 students and several faculty members, who discussed whether the charge for social justice in today’s world needs a new leader like Dr. King. On Thursday, an evening Hot Topics discussion titled “Shades of Privilege” was hosted by students in PRISM and their faculty advisors, Elizabeth Parada and Lilian Hutchinson. Participants considered issues related to people’s perceptions of each other that are based on assumptions and external appearances and the rights and/or privileges granted or denied to individuals based on those assumptions. The event drew more than 75 students and a dozen faculty and staff members. The week’s events concluded with a Spoken Word & Poetry Café in the SNUG on Friday evening. The popular event featured writers and artists from the school community as well as individuals invited from the local community to share their words.

web+ To read more about the MLK Week events and to view pictures from the week, go to www.loomischaffee.org/magazine. Martin Luther King Jr. photograph by Marion S. Trikosko/Library of Congress

Spring 2017

Island News

Sophomores Mark Valadez and Ryan Natcharian in Quebec

Head’s Holiday in Quebec

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uebec City was the destination for 11 Loomis Chaffee voyageurs on a French language travel and cultural learning experience organized by the Alvord Center for Global & Environmental Studies during Head’s Holiday weekend February 2–6. Nine French language students and their chaperones, language teachers Sara Deveaux and Jackson Fleming, stayed with host families and spent the five-day excursion immersed in the French language while learning about French Canadian history and culture. Their adventures as a group in the city included the preparation of French Canadian cuisine under the direction of a professional chef,

exploration of Old Quebec center, a history lesson at the Musée de la Civilisation, a winter carnival that coincided with their visit, and a tour of a hotel made from ice. They also ventured outside the city to snowshoe, snow-tube, participate in sleddog rides, enjoy traditional music and dancing, and visit a sugar shack, where sap collected from maple trees is boiled into maple syrup.

web+ To visit the group’s travel blog and photo gallery, go to www.loomis chaffee.org/magazine.

Students take a sled dog ride. Photos:Alvord Center for Global & Environmental Studies

Island News

New Steinway Baby Grand Graces Founders Chapel

ounders Chapel, with its graceful architecture and excellent acoustics, has been a special venue for the Island community to enjoy music performances through the years, and the venerable space was further enhanced this winter by the addition of a Steinway baby grand piano, thanks to a bequest from a former Loomis Chaffee Trustee. The gift replaces the chapel piano that had been in place since the 1930s and, though it had been maintained and refurbished a couple of times, had outlived its practical use.

The new piano is part of a bequest from former Trustee Henry Ridgely Horsey ’43 and was given in honor of William C. Card, who taught music at Loomis from 1919 until 1947 and was Henry’s advisor. Mr. Card was an inspiration to many students during his years on the faculty, and Henry had spoken many times of his desire to make a gift to benefit the music program in memory of Mr. Card. Music faculty member James Rugen ’70 was one of the first musicians to play the new piano as he accompanied the Concert Choir in preparation for its Winter Concert.

James remarks that the old chapel piano had borne up remarkably well over more than 75 years of hard use. Unlike fine string instruments, pianos, no matter how good, do not improve with age because of the large number of moving parts, he explains.

more musicians on the stage, Sue explains. And the new instrument can be moved more smoothly into the garage for protection. In addition, the sound that comes from the piano is suited to the intimate space and acoustics of the chapel, she notes.

Music Department Head Susan Barone Chrzanowski says the new Steinway Model M is ideal for the chapel. With a slightly smaller stature than the previous Model B, which took up a large area of the stage when it was out of the piano’s “garage” under the organ pipes, the new piano makes room for

The baby grand was obtained from local piano restoration specialist Shawn Hoar, of Shawn’s Pianos in West Hartford, who planned to repurpose the old chapel piano.

Illustration: IStock

Spring 2017

Island News

COLLEEN FITZGERALD

Dancers, Musicians, Artists Visit the Island to Inspire and Teach

FRANCINE OZEREKO

FRANK OZEREKO

COLLEEN FITZGERALD: The dance artist and choreographer spent two days on the Island in January working with Dance Company II students on contemporary dance techniques and improvisational choreography. Originally from the Harford, Connecticut, area, Ms. Fitzgerald lives in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where she choreographs, performs, and teaches contemporary dance. Photo: John Groo

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FRANK AND FRANCINE OZEREKO: During a week-long stay at Loomis as Visiting Artists in January, the Ozerekos met with students in College-Level Advanced Placement Art to discuss the collection of their work on exhibit in the Sue and Eugene Mercy Jr. Gallery in the Richmond Art Center. The exhibition, Frank and Francine T. Ozereko: Together and Apart, featured a collection of ceramics, printmaking, and mixed media works created during their residency at

Ucross Foundation in Wyoming last year. Husband and wife artists, the Ozerekos, of Pelham, Massachusetts, each have enjoyed long professional careers, and they were inspired to collaborate on this exhibition by their Ucross experience. Photo: Patricia Cousins

Island News

TAMILA AZADALIYEVA AND PETER C. DZIALO

TAMILA AZADALIYEVA AND PETER C. DZIALO: The guest musicians presented a concert of classical music for cello and piano and conducted a master class for Chamber Music students at Loomis on January 10. Originally from Uzbekistan, Ms. Azadaliyeva has performed as a piano soloist and chamber musician in the United States, Italy, Spain, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan, and she has been a guest soloist with several orchestras, including the Hartford Symphony Orchestra. She teaches piano and coaches chamber music ensembles and maintains a private studio in West Hartford. Mr. Dzialo, a cellist from Connecticut, performs frequently at venues throughout New England. His recordings include an album of sonatas and short virtuoso pieces, and his most recent project features scordatura works by Bach and Kodaly. Ms. Azadaliyeva and Mr. Dzialo have recorded two albums together on the Lonely Peaks Records label. Their album Refurbishing the Soul was recorded in Founders Chapel and features works for cello and piano by Schubert, Haydn, and Popper and the first-ever recording of a cello sonata by Rhené-Baton. Photos: John Groo The Guest Musicians Series is made possible with support from the Stookins Lecture Fund.

PAULA WILLIAMS KOCHANEK

PAULA WILLIAMS KOCHANEK: Glass artist and educator Paula Williams Kochanek demonstrated techniques for working with glass to students in Ceramics II in December as the students prepared to create their own glass works during the winter term. The school recently acquired tools, supplies, a sand blaster, and a special kiln for glass in the Richmond Art Center. During her visit with the class, Ms. Kochanek covered safety measures when working with glass and procedures for using the high-temperature kiln and toxic solvents employed in glass design. She demonstrated methods for creating patterns on glass surfaces, for making a mosaic appearance of colored glass underneath a sheet of clear glass, and for drawing or painting on glass by manipulating finely ground glass, or “frit.” Ms. Kochanek studied commercial art at the Vesper George School of Art, and she began working with stained glass in the 1980s. Her professional career in package design took her all over the country, and the experiences influenced and inspired her art. In 2001, she decided to focus on her artwork and teaching. She has been involved with Snow Farm in Western Massachusetts for 11 years, teaching the art of fusing and slumping glass into large vessels and jewelry. Photo: John Groo

Spring 2017

Island News

A Century of Ice Hockey

n celebration of 100 years of ice hockey at Loomis Chaffee, graduates from multiple eras gathered at the Savage/Johnson Rink for an alumni game, the unveiling of a special banner marking the century milestone, and victorious girls and boys varsity hockey games against Hotchkiss. Between the girls’ 2-1 overtime win and the boys’ 5-2 victory, more than 35 alumni took the ice for a friendly co-ed game, overseen by retired faculty member and longtime boys varsity hockey coach James “Grim” Wilson. The alumni played to a 4-4 tie.

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After the alumni game, Grim, Director of Athletics Susan Cabot, hockey alumni representatives, and current varsity hockey coaches J.R. Zavisza and Liz Leyden and their teams gathered on the ice for a short ceremony. After a welcome from Sue, Grim shared some hockey memories through the years, and hockey alumni Ray D’Antonio ’53 and Nicole Morganthaler Lugli ’83 unveiled the banner marking a century of hockey at Loomis.

web+ To see more photos of alumni who attended the event, go to www. loomischaffee.org/magazine.

Hockey alumni and longtime coach James Wilson take center ice. Photo: Tom Honan

Faculty & Staff News

 Orchestra Director Kalena Bovell conducted the Chicago Sinfonietta on January 16 to a sold-out crowd of more than 2,400 people in Chicago Symphony Center. The Chicago Sinfonietta is an ensemble that prides itself on promoting diversity and inclusion as only 3 percent of minorities are represented in classical music today. To see a video of Kalena conducting at the concert, go to www. loomischaffee.org/magazine.  Attendees of the Community Arts Celebration and Mercy Gallery exhibit opening on January 10 in the Richmond Art Center were treated

to the unique blend of old time, bluegrass, jazz, and rock music of a faculty acoustic quartet, Beards of a Feather. The band features Director of Studies Timothy Lawrence on mandolin, fiddle, banjolin, and vocals; Director of the Alvord Center for Global & Environmental Studies Alexander McCandless on guitar; music teacher and Associate Director of Communications Keller Glass on guitar, harmonica, and vocals; and English Department Head John Morrell on guitar, banjo, and vocals.  Donald McKillop joined the Athletics Department this winter as assistant athletic director, head varsity baseball coach, and assis-

“Fretful Mickey” ceramic by Jennifer McCandless

tant football coach. A baseball and football standout and captain of both teams at Middlebury College, where he graduated in 2011, Donnie assistant coached baseball at Middlebury and assistant coached football at Springfield College and Amherst College. He also taught history and coached baseball, football, and basketball at Williston Northampton School from 2011 to 2014.  Artwork by Head of the Visual Arts Department Jennifer McCandless appears in two exhibitions this spring. “Fretful Mickey” is included in the Ceramic Innovations exhibition in the Davenport Gallery of the Wayne Art Center in Wayne, Pennsylvania through April 29. And Jen’s ceramic sculptural work is included in the Narrative Abstracts exhibition at Perspectives…The Gallery at Whitney Center in Hamden, Connecticut, through April 28.

the Bradley, Chaffee, and Loomis families until she died in 1857 at the age of 82. She is listed as a free person in Windsor census records from the 1830s although slavery was not officially outlawed in Connecticut until 1844. As Karen wrote in an article about Nancy Toney in Loomis Chaffee Magazine in 2008, “While many remember her as one of the last slaves in Connecticut, Toney’s story — like that of many 19th-century formerly enslaved African-Americans living in New England — is one of ambiguous freedom.”

web+ To read Karen’s article about Nancy Toney, go to www.loomis chaffee.org/magazine.

 Penn Fellow and economics teacher Mat Denunzio presented this winter at a conference sponsored by the Connecticut Association of Independent Schools Commission on Professional Development. Mat reported on a recent project in his Loomis economics class.

Kalena Bovell conducts the Loomis Chaffee Orchestra at the 2016 Winter Concert. Photo: John Groo

 Loomis Chaffee archivist and history teacher Karen Parsons presented a program in February at the Windsor Historical Society about Nancy Toney, an African-American woman who was born into slavery in Connecticut in the 18th century and lived with three generations of Spring 2017

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ciplinary action and might even result in separation from the school if the behavior continued. Assaulting women/girls would also result in disciplinary action. In The New York Times David Leonhardt wrote recently that the president “tells so many untruths that it’s time to leave behind the textual parsing over which are unwitting and which are deliberate — as well as the condescending notion that most of Trump’s supporters enjoy his lies.” A Wall Street Journal editorial pointed to his seemingly “endless stream of exaggerations, evidence-free accusations, implausible denials and other falsehoods,” and concluded that “if he doesn’t show more respect for the truth, most Americans may conclude he’s a fake President.” As educators, we need to point out to our students differences between policy and behavior and where the latter consistently fails to meet the standards of behavior expected at the school. Climate Change Denial. While the Trump administration challenges the veracity of the science behind climate change, Loomis embraces the accepted scientific view that climate change caused by human agency is a potential global catastrophe that requires our immediate attention. Consequently we have the Alvord Center for Global & Environmental Studies, we teach Environmental Science, and we work with our students to encourage sustainability. Teaching about increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels and anthropogenic climate change as opposed to the current presidential administration’s rejection of the evidence, is a little like evolution and creationism. We offer the former and not the latter. Islamophobia, Xenophobia, Racism, Sexism, and Homophobia. These attitudes are not new to our culture, but many of President Trump’s own statements and actions as president seem to be lending a new level of credibility to them, emboldening those who seek to exclude and discriminate. We do not have any students from the countries covered by the president’s travel ban, but we have experienced the chilling effect of the broad attacks on Islam and other countries. As I wrote above, we have students from all over the world, includ-

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“Loomis will continue to press for civil discourse, for respectful appropriate behavior, for the free exchange of ideas within a respectful environment that encourages listening and reasoned arguments. We will continue to champion evidencebased learning, critical thinking, and constructive debate. And we will return again and again to Mr. Batchelder’s aspiration that we are a school ‘where it is easy to be good and to be kind.’” ing Islamic countries and Mexico; we also enroll Muslim and Jewish students and employ Muslim and Jewish faculty. We have boys and girls, men and women, as well as individuals who identify as transgender; we have students and faculty who are heterosexual, bisexual, or gay. Many of them feel threatened in the current national environment. We consciously built a diverse, multicultural community because we believe that such diversity creates more and better learning opportunities. Our first headmaster, Nathaniel Horton Batchelder, wrote that he wanted many different types of minds in his school, “all of which, will sharpen through rubbing against the others.” For education to succeed, it needs to work within a nurturing environment. Attacks on the Media. President Trump and his surrogates habitually accuse legitimate media outlets not just of being biased but also of manufacturing fake news even as he circulates his

own “alternative facts.” We teach our students to be critical and skeptical readers. We encourage them to ask questions, to think about bias, to understand the difference between fact-based news (or evidence-based theories as in climate change) and opinion. We encourage them to seek out alternative views and to lean in to the discomfort of opinions that are different from their own. As we seek to nurture our students to be sophisticated consumers of media, we also teach them how to discern what are reliable sources and what are not. The New York Times, CNN, and BBC are all reliable sources of news. Certainly the first two have a liberal or at least slightly left of center bias, but that does not make them purveyors of fake news. It simply means that our students, if they use these sources, need to balance them with other sources with different leanings. The Trump administration appears to be increasingly at odds with both our mission and our values and thus poses an increasingly difficult challenge for us as an educational institution. Loomis will continue to press for civil discourse, for respectful appropriate behavior, for the free exchange of ideas within a respectful environment that encourages listening and reasoned arguments. We will continue to champion evidencebased learning, critical thinking, and constructive debate. And we will return again and again to Mr. Batchelder’s aspiration that we are a school “where it is easy to be good and to be kind.” Indeed, an alumnus recently sent me an article by Mr. Batchelder having underlined a statement that we both found particularly apt for the times in which we live: “To be cultured is to be courteous, to be reverent, to love the beautiful, to hold ardently worthy interests and opinions that one can make luminous to others, and to have a reciprocal open-mindedness and tolerance for opinions not one’s own.” 

Pelican Sports

ITâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S A DOUBLE Senior Madison Perry executes one of her near-flawless dives at Hedges Pool. Madison this winter repeated as the Division I New England diving individual champion and captured her fourth consecutive Founders League title. Photo: Tom Honan

Spring 2017

Pelican Sports

EQUESTRIAN 7th place at Interscholastic Equestrian Association Regionals Pictured: Sophomore Liam Scott

BOYS HOCKEY 13-9-2 Pictured: Junior Joey Cipollone All Photos: Tom Honan

GIRLS SWIMMING & DIVING 7-6 Founders League Team Champion Pictured: Junior Suzy Ryckman

WRESTLING 11-14 Pictured: Junior Ryan Durkin 24

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BOYS SWIMMING & DIVING 8-5 Founders League Team Champion Pictured: Sophomore C.J. Owen

GIRLS BASKETBALL 18-6 Founders League Championship New England Class B Semifinalist Pictured: Senior Dominique Leonidas

Pelican Sports

GIRLS ICE HOCKEY 22-4-1 Founders League Champion

BOYS SQUASH 9-7 3rd place at NE Class B Championship Pictured: Freshman Daniyal Athar

NE Division 1 Semifinalist Pictured: Senior Sharon Frankel

GIRLS SQUASH 10-10 4th place at NE Class B Championship Pictured: Senior Anika Bhargava

BOYS BASKETBALL 18-8 New England Class A Quarterfinalist Pictured: Junior Nelson Boachie-Yiadom

SKIING Girls 4th, Boys 7th at NE Class B Championship Pictured: Senior Sarah Mendelsohn Spring 2017

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Hidden Talents FACULTY MEMBERS WITH TALENTS THAT MIGHT SURPRISE YOU

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emember the time when, as a 6-yearold, you saw your first-grade teacher in the bread aisle at the grocery store, and it dawned on you that he didn’t live at your elementary school? How about the time when your middle school history teacher mentioned that she raced motor bikes on the weekend? Somehow, we grow up thinking that our teachers, for all their classroom

STORY BY

Becky Purdy

quirks and academic erudition, pursue one activity in their lives: teaching. Sure, they grade papers, answer emails, write lesson plans, perhaps even coach a sport or advise a club. But everything they do falls under the “faculty member” umbrella of interests, except maybe they get married over the summer or raise a family in their spare time. Attending a boarding school like Loomis Chaffee offers a broader view of faculty members’ lives since many of them live right alongside you. Still, the fact that they have outside interests, hobbies, projects, skills, pursuits that have nothing to do with teaching can come as a surprise. On the pages that follow, we lift the curtain on 12 talents enjoyed by Loomis faculty members that have no connection to their work as teachers, coaches, advisors, and administrators. Who would have guessed?

PORTRAITS BY

John Groo

Spring 2017

STEVE COLGATE — E N G L I S H T E A C H E R

Making Surfboards

uring a summer sabbatical in 2015, English teacher Steve Colgate traveled to York, Maine, to take a workshop at Grain Surfboards, which offers instruction in crafting wooden surfboards with sustainable materials and environmentally sensitive methods. Steve says he always has enjoyed building things, but his previous work was “rough,” created with power tools, as opposed to “fine woodworking” crafted with hand tools. “I wanted to learn some new skills that could be applied to other projects,” he says. “More importantly, though, I wanted to go back to being a beginner or novice to explore what it felt like to be instructed by true masters of a craft.” He sought to put himself in his English students’ shoes, learning something new to him in concept and skill. “I got that in spades at Grain,” he says, noting that he was initially self-conscious about the mistakes he made, which were plain to see on the wood in front of him. “Fortunately, I had some very caring, talented, and patient instructors, and they helped me grow more confident with each step in the process,” he says. The process of building a surfboard is complex and timeconsuming, Steve explains. Starting with planks of Eastern White Cedar and a supply of marine plywood, he constructs the inner structure, bonds it to the bottom of the board, and then builds up the sides of the board. Using hand planes and spoke shaves, he shapes the sides to make a flat surface on which to place the top of the board. Once constructed, the important work of smoothing and shaping the board begins, followed by “endless sanding.” When complete, the board 28

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receives his signature to show that it is one of a kind. The art of crafting a wooden surfboard gives each one special meaning, Steve says. “Every mistake that I made along the way is visible (to me at least), but those mistakes and

flaws gives these boards a soul,” he says. He seals a photograph of his family inside each board’s hollow core to remind him “that there is a piece of myself in each board.” So far, Steve has made four surfboards. A surfer himself, he

has ridden his creations. “Plenty of surfers a lot smarter than I have described what catching a wave feels like, but it means a lot more when the board I’m standing on came from my own hands,” he says.

NAOMI APPEL — S C I E N C E T E A C H E R

Specialty Baking

ustom cookie bouquets, wedding and specialevent cakes, cake pops, fancy cupcakes, elaborate gingerbread houses: All of these are part of science teacher Naomi Appel’s baking and decorating repertoire. Her creations always come out looking — and tasting — perfect, with meticulous detail and finesse. When Naomi was growing up, she loved to watch one of her neighbors make fancy cakes for weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, and other occasions. “I’ve always loved to do craft projects and to make things with my hands,” Naomi says, and she aspired to learn the art of specialty baking. One summer early in her Loomis career, Naomi decided to apprentice with a baker, and after making many inquiries, she was invited to do a summer internship with Jill Adams at The Cake Studio in Brooklyn, New York. Among the many skills she learned that fun summer were how to create and use real buttercream frosting, how to use fondant, and how to construct cake sculptures using Rice Krispie treats as the building blocks.

bouquets, and collections of farm animals, chemistry lab equipment, and other creatively themed cookies. A bouquet she created for Andrew’s 50th birthday featured cookies marked with different events that occurred in 1966, the year he was born. Naomi also has made wedding cakes for friends and others who have commissioned her talent. Her dream project, she says, is a “very elaborate

gingerbread house to enter into a gingerbread house competition.” She and a friend used to make fancy gingerbread houses every Christmas and decorate them down to tiny details such as fence railings and sugar windows. So far, between teaching chemistry and advanced biology, training for and running marathons, and chasing around her and Andrew’s young daughter, Emily, Naomi hasn’t found the time to design, build, and

decorate a competition-ready gingerbread house. She also hopes to learn how to create flowers out of gum paste or buttercream frosting, perhaps to landscape that dream gingerbread house some day.

Naomi’s favorite projects are cookie bouquets. She had received a cookie bouquet when she graduated from eighth grade but didn’t make one herself until about seven years ago, when she created a cookie bouquet for the birthday of her now-husband, Andrew Bartlett, a math teacher at Loomis. “He loves cookies, and I love art and baking, so it seemed to be a perfect idea,” she says. Since then she has made cookie bouquets for many people and occasions, including bouquets of heart cookies for Valentine’s Day, egg-shaped cookies for Easter, clusters of Halloween-themed cookies, dog-shaped cookie 29

EWEN ROSS — P H Y S I C S A N D A S T R O N O M Y T E A C H E R

Astrophotography

wen Ross has been photographing the stars for about four years, ever since he started teaching astronomy at Loomis. He looked at the textbook photographs and wondered about capturing these images. “At first I thought it would be easy, but as I got deeper and deeper into the hobby, I realized how difficult it was and how much equipment you needed for good, quality pictures,” he says. Ewen uses a Canon T3i with the filter removed and replaced by a clear piece of optical glass. He also uses the school’s Equatorial mount and 480-inch focal length ED refracting telescope.

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“I try to pick deep sky objects that will fill out the field of view of my setup, about 100 arc minutes across,” he explains. “Then I wait for a dark, clear night (no moon) and set up the telescope and camera.” During the course of about three hours, he takes between 100 and 200 photographs of long duration, each one lasting one to two minutes. Later, he stacks the pictures on top of each other using software called Pixnsight. Through the processing, which takes one to three hours, Ewen tries to reduce the “noise” and enhance the image. “I enjoy the challenge of taking the pictures in the first place,

and I enjoy the processing afterwards,” he says. “Mostly, however, I enjoy seeing how one photo barely shows anything, but when stacked with many other pictures, suddenly you can see so much more.” Working around his busy schedule as a Loomis faculty member, husband, and dad of two active children, Ewen aims to capture at least one or two high-quality images a year. When the pictures are completed, he uses them in astronomy class to show examples of different types of deep sky objects.

SHEILA CULBERT — H E A D O F S C H O O L

Glass Castings

f you stop by the Richmond Art Center on a random Sunday afternoon or early weekday morning, you might spot Head of School Sheila Culbert engrossed in her latest glass casting project. Although she started learning the medium just last fall, she has taken to it with enthusiasm and has created several colorful pieces that were exhibited in the Community Art Show this winter. Sheila first tried her hand at ceramics a couple of years ago, with some instruction from Head of the Visual Arts Department Jennifer McCandless, who is a sculptor and

potter. Sheila says she enjoyed playing with the clay, making pinch pots, trying to throw on the pottery wheel, and working with glazes. “I like making things, and it’s good to have an outlet,” she says. “I think it’s good for the soul.” The school last year acquired a glass kiln, and then-junior Jason Liu exhibited some of his glass work in a show at the RAC. Sheila saw the show and mentioned to Jason that he should teach her how to do it. That was all it took for Jason to accept responsibility for

the head of school’s instruction in the basics. “He’s taught me a number of different techniques,” Sheila says, and with guidance from Jen and a visiting artist who specialized in glass, both Sheila and Jason have taken to creating glass work on their own, often comparing notes and discussing new things they are trying. Sheila says she stops by the RAC when she is walking her dogs on campus or when she has other “snippets of time” to work on her latest glass project, and she tries to spend at least an hour at the studio on weekends. Unlike clay, which must

remain consistently wet when it is shaped, glass can be worked on a bit at a time, an aspect of the medium that Sheila prefers. “Jen has created this environment where artists know they are always welcome” at the RAC, Sheila says, noting that art students often spend time there outside of class time. “And then she’s kind enough to let amateurs in,” Sheila adds.

Senior Jason Liu and Sheila Culbert

Spring 2017

TIM LAWRENCE — D I R E C T O R O F S T U D I E S

Making Music

he musical instruments that Director of Studies Timothy Lawrence owns and plays spread across a room like a stringed menagerie: the fiddle, the mandolin, the banjo, the banjolin, the mandocello, and the bouzouki. He also plays a bit on the ukulele, and he is learning to play the oud, a Middle Eastern instrument in the lute family. Many of his 15 or so stringed instruments hang on the walls of Tim’s music room at home, where he can easily reach them and often does. Tim learned classical violin beginning at age 7 and eventually took a liking to folk, bluegrass, and Irish music. “I grew up a mile and a half from the biggest fiddle contest in Maine,” he says, referring to the annual East Benton Fiddlers Convention. Tim’s parents entered him 32

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in the contest when he was 10, and thus began a turn on the contest circuit, including highplacing finishes at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival in Colorado. As he grew up, Tim learned to play other instruments, and his passion for making music surged at college, where he met other musicians interested in bluegrass. When he was a freshman, he and his new musician friends formed a bluegrass band, the Cross County Ramblers, and to their surprise, the group started getting gigs. The Ramblers even played in Europe during the summers, “for beer and tips,” Tim demurs. More recently, Tim and three other musical Loomis faculty members formed a band that played at a Mercy Gallery art opening and at a faculty-staff event.

Tim also composes music, including collaborations with Loomis music teacher James Rugen ’70 on the “Loomis Chaffee Hymn” and “Where Rivers Rise and Fall,” the latter along with David Snyder ’80 in celebration of the school’s Centennial. A few years ago, a playwright friend asked Tim to compose music for one of her plays, which was produced at the Eugene O’Neill Theater in Waterford, Connecticut, and later was produced Off-Broadway. “When I was a kid, we always had music going in the house,” Tim recalls. His mother played the piano, and his father built her a harpsichord and clavichord. Tim’s brother, Quil, plays the guitar and the mandolin, and whenever they get together, the brothers play music. Every year on the day after Thanks-

giving at their parents’ home in Maine, neighbors and friends come over for a hootenanny and leftovers swap. Tim and his wife, Paige Bray, also have a musical home. When their sons, now in ninth and fifth grades, were younger, Tim used to play them to sleep every night. Now he still picks up an instrument most evenings and plays a little. “It’s a way to relax and keep my fingers nimble and keep my calluses,” he says. His sons are musically inclined as well. Music “is a language for me,” Tim says. “There have been times when I’ve traveled and not known the language, and music was my language.”

MIMI DONEGAN — P S Y C H O L O G Y T E A C H E R , C U T L E R H A L L D O R M H E A D

Breeder of Labrador Retrievers

imi Donegan, a psychology teacher and the dorm head of Cutler Hall, has been a dog breeder for 30 years. She received her first Labrador retriever for her 21st birthday and has had labs ever since. She estimates

she has bred 20 litters of pups through the years. An average litter is six to eight puppies, so 20 litters amounts to 120 to 160 Donegan-bred puppies. The biggest litter was 15, and the smallest was three. If all goes well, Mimi and her husband,

Dean of Students Michael Donegan, and their daughters, senior Grace and sophomore Faith, will welcome another litter this summer. It’s never a given what color the puppies will be when they’re born. Although it is rare, all

three colors of Labrador — black, yellow, and chocolate — can even be born in the same litter, Mimi confirms. The Donegans currently have four dogs: a 12-year-old matriarch, a son and daughter who both are 4 years old, and a niece who is 3. Dog playtime on campus can be a canine family reunion since quite a few Donegan-bred labs have joined families of other faculty members through the years. “I’ve always loved animals,” Mimi says. “While going to graduate school, I lived with a couple who were professional handlers for dog shows. They were also breeders themselves of Labrador retrievers, Clumber spaniels, and Sussex spaniels. I learned so much from them.” Breeding is a lot of work, Mimi shares. “And unfortunately, not every puppy is going to make it through the birthing process. I don’t think I will ever get used to seeing these beautiful, perfect little puppies who go to puppy heaven so soon.” But the joys of breeding Labradors are many. Mimi says she most enjoys seeing her children and husband care for and play with the puppies. Mike is usually in charge of feeding time once the puppies start to eat kibble, and his high-pitched dinner call “Pup-pup-pup!” leads to a mini stampede of furry bodies.

Mimi and Mike Donegan

Having a litter of puppies in a dormitory of teenagers also is fun for all. When Mimi was head of Mason Hall, the Donegan dogs had four litters. “The students loved it and had lots of cuddling time with the puppies,” Mimi recalls. “It was wonderful socialization for the puppies as well.” The Cutler Hall girls may be in for their own puppy fest in the near future. Spring 2017

LIZ BUCCERI ’07 — S C I E N C E & M A T H T E A C H E R , P A L M E R H A L L D O R M H E A D

Crocheting Critt ers

iology and math teacher, coach, and dorm head Liz Bucceri’s ’07 repertoire of crocheted animals could fill a stuffed-animal zoo: elephants, octopi, bats, raccoons, and a kiwi, to name a few. Lately she crochets mostly stuffed animals like these, but she also has made hats, sweaters, and blankets. Liz’s mother taught her to knit when Liz was younger, and she decided to pick up crochet as well. “I like trying to master as many things as possible,” she notes. Her mother, however, does not crochet, so she told Liz she was on her own. Liz turned to books, online videos, and trial and error, and eventually 34

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she learned to crochet. “Let’s just say it wasn’t pretty at first,” she says. Liz particularly likes making stuffed animals — either by following a pattern or by developing her own — because they are short-term projects and because she makes them in pieces and then assembles them. “I usually do the most complicated part first and then leave the easier ones to the end,” she says. “The most enjoyable part is when it all comes together and finally becomes an animal.” She says she can make several crocheted animals in a few days, whereas a blanket would take her months to complete.

Liz, a self-declared “big crafter,” taps into her creative side with her projects. She also is learning to sew clothing, and she likes to draw. Although she is known on campus mostly for teaching, coaching swimming and water polo, and heading Palmer Hall, some of her students and many of the girls in Palmer know about her talent for crochet. Last year a couple of girls in the dorm asked her to teach them to crochet, and they had group crochet sessions together when she was on duty.

KEVIN HENDERSON — H I S T O R Y T E A C H E R STUART REMENSNYDER — M A T H T E A C H E R

Ice Hockey

WILL EGGERS — E N G L I S H T E A C H E R

f you see history teacher Kevin “Hendo” Henderson, math teacher Stuart Remensnyder, or English teacher Will Eggers walking a little stiffly on a Monday morning, Sunday night hockey is most likely to blame. All three teachers play in adult ice hockey leagues that include weekly games and minimal practice time — a recipe for fun and soreness. Like many of their colleagues who participate in pickup leagues, on organized sports teams, or in fitness clubs, these three weekend warriors say they are drawn to their hockey leagues for the camaraderie and the active, spirited break from their regular routine. “For 90 minutes every week, I have a time that I can devote to being fully in the moment,

Will Eggers, Stuart Remensnyder, and Kevin Henderson

formal, mixing up the teams and position assignments each time they get together, though they are not necessarily low-key. Rem also plays in a formal league, the UMASS Spring League, from March to May. He typically plays “I like the camaraderie of playing defense for his team, the Hatrick with a bunch of other like-mindSwayzes. ed guys, people who may have played before at a high level or All three of these teachers played those who are just starting out ice hockey when they were boys, learning the game when they but who like to come together were in elementary school and and have fun in a fairly relaxed environment,” Hendo adds. “It playing in youth programs and is also nice to have connections on school teams through high school. Hendo and Rem played outside of the LC community.” intramural hockey in college Will and Hendo both are goalies (and Rem played one season on and play in the same league, the his college team, at the coach’s South Windsor Beer League, urging), and they have played in though they play on different a variety of adult leagues since teams. Rem, who lives in Westcollege. Hendo played forward ern Massachusetts, plays in three until about 10 years ago when leagues at various times of the his mother-in-law found a bag of year. Two of the leagues are innot thinking about anything,” Will says. “It is a chance to be in the zone, to feel the connection between my teammates and myself as we … work together in a common goal.”

goalie equipment at a yard sale and one of his friends mentioned that his adult league team needed a goalie. Will played goalie through high school, but the wear and tear on his knees convinced him to hang up his skates for 23 years after he graduated. “I now wonder why I took so long to come back,” Will reflects. “I came back when my younger daughter decided to play and I agreed to coach.” All three teachers have coached hockey in various capacities. The threesome agrees that aching muscles, injuries, and time away from family and commitments are challenges, but tradeoffs they are willing to make for the enjoyment, bonding, and exercise that their hockey nights bring.

PATRICIA SASSER — D E A N O F S T U D E N T S

Community Service

ean of Students Patricia Sasser takes time out of her busy work and family life to volunteer in the Greater Hartford community. She serves on the board of directors of Grace Academy in Hartford, a tuition-free middle school for girls that aims to help break the cycle of urban poverty through education. She volunteers for the Windsor Library Association and with the Junior League of Hartford, and she recently completed a term on the Arts for Learning Connecticut board. She also serves as a class agent for her high school and as an alumni mentor for her college alma mater, University of Virginia. Patricia says her parents helped instill in her a communityoriented ethic. Her mother was a civil rights activist and U.S. diplomat who involved herself in the communities beyond the “embassy bubble” in each of the countries where they lived, Patricia says. “She wanted us to truly get to know the people, the communities, and the culture around us.” Her father, who came to the United States from Nigeria to pursue higher education and his career, served his community by sending resources to his village in Nigeria and helping family members back home and in the United States. Patricia herself began to engage fully in community service when she was working at ESPN, putting in long days during the network’s coverage of the National Basketball Association. “I was working 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. for the majority of the season, and I launched my own Take Back My Life campaign,” she recalls. Among several prongs of this personal campaign was a commitment to volunteering at a children’s 36

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museum in her community of Bristol, Connecticut. When she later moved to Northern Virginia, Patricia joined the Junior League of Washington, D.C., in part because the organization holds its members accountable, requiring volunteer hours at a variety of local nonprofits. “When I moved back to Connecticut in 2012, I was determined to continue my volunteer work because I believe it is important to give back to the community in which you live and to show my students and my son [who is now 8 years old] that it is something I value in my life and for which I make time,” she says. Patricia sees volunteering as more than an act of giving. “Through my volunteer work, I learn about the community around me, I meet interesting people, and I learn people’s and communities’ stories. I also grow from each experience in little and big ways,” she explains. Last winter she signed up to help with a Habitat for Humanity build. “Construction work is not something I have any experience with, and being outside in the winter is so not my thing,” she says, but she seized the chance to try something new and was glad she did. Many students in the classes Patricia has deaned know about her commitment to community service. “When students learn that I work, parent, and volunteer, they see that I am a person outside of being their dean,” she says. “They also wonder where I find the time, and I tell them that you make time for those things that are important to you. I also share my board work with my students because I want them to know that they do not have to wait to give back … until they have ‘made it.’”

KATHERINE POPADIN — L I B R A R I A N

Knitt ing

f you notice Kathie Popadin in the library or around campus wearing a knitted shawl or scarf or hat, exquisitely crafted and probably in grays and purples, you are likely admiring a Kathie Popadin original. A prolific knitter and pattern designer, Kathie also shares the art with family, friends, and colleagues. She taught her daughter and niece to knit, and she started the Knit Clinic at Loomis, where faculty and staff gather to learn, or re-learn, knitting techniques as part of the school’s wellness program. Kathie learned to knit nearly 50 years ago. Most of her female relatives knitted or crocheted or both, she says, so it seemed natural for her to learn. Her grandmother tried to teach her but knitted too quickly to demonstrate the motions for her

young granddaughter. So Kathie learned to knit at school, and her mother helped her along the way. Now those roles are reversed as her mother often asks for Kathie’s advice in deciphering a particularly difficult pattern or technique. Among Kathie’s creations, made mostly for family and friends, are sweaters, cardigans, hats, gloves, mittens, socks, scarves, shawls, blankets, ornaments, toys, baby booties, and even a bow-tie that she made for a faculty member known for his bow-tie collection. Kathie designs and sells patterns for baby booties, including booties that resemble daffodils, sunflowers, pumpkins, bees, ballet shoes, and Latvian braided mittens. “They are fun and quite intricate, and I enjoy the challenge of designing,” she says.

Like many knitters, Kathie finds it hard to resist buying yarn. She purchases much of her supply at Webs, a shop in Northampton, Massachusetts, that is known throughout New England for its yarn. She also buys “souvenir” yarn when she travels. “I absolutely love pure wool … and wool blends, with silk and cashmere,” she says. She has used exotic yarns as well, including a wool/possum blend from New Zealand. The most extravagant yarn, in feel and price, that she has is a qiviut/silk blend. Qiviut, she explains, is a fiber from the undercoat of a muskox. “I still haven’t found exactly the right project to use it on,” she adds. Although grays and purples are her go-to colors, she pushes herself to branch out on the color wheel, especially when knitting socks.

Kathie knits for about an hour a day on weekdays and for several hours on weekends. She says she derives personal satisfaction from both the process and the finished creation. “Knitting has been proven to relieve stress, boost memory, and improve motor function, and I’d have to say I find all those to be benefits to me,” she acknowledges. “I also find it to be extremely helpful to keep me focused when sitting through meetings or events as I do better when my hands are busy, much like other people doodle.” A few Loomis students realize that she knits, but most are surprised when they compliment her on a scarf or shawl she is wearing and she tells them that she made it herself.

Spring 2017

DANIEL REED — E N G L I S H T E A C H E R

Nature Photography

henever he hikes, canoes, backpacks, or travels, English teacher Daniel Reed brings his camera and scouts for wildlife and details from the natural world to capture on film or memory card. The hobby has been a lifelong pursuit, and his efforts have produced stunning images. Nature photography appeals to Dan for several reasons: It gets him outdoors, where he loves to spend time. The process is engrossing, which provides an escape from the bustle of everyday life. And it is of-themoment, which encourages him to slow down, appreciate his surroundings, and seize the moment. “An animal isn’t going to sit patiently while I get the exposure just right and snap a great photo,” he says. “Instead, a particular composition might only exist for a split-second, so I have to be ready.” Dan must practice patience as well. He once sat in a bush for four hours to get one photograph of a hummingbird. “This was big for me because I’m usually a go-go-go person,” he says. Dan learned the basics of photography at summer camp in New Hampshire when he was 10 years old. He took a few photography classes in high school, but mostly he has honed his skills by exploring and doing. He always has been drawn to nature as a subject, mostly wildlife and “macros,” extreme close-up photos of details in nature, such as a droplet of rain on a leaf or the texture of a tree’s bark. He owns a Canon EOS 40D camera and three lenses, including a telephoto zoom lens that he uses for wildlife photography. And because he loves taking long-exposure shots of 38

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moving water, he has a tripod to keep the camera steady. Although he is experienced in digital and film photography and processing, he says he has tended toward digital in recent years because he enjoys being able to adjust settings while he is taking the picture. He uses Photoshop software, he says,

“but only sparingly. I prefer to do all the work ‘on the ground’ as I take the photo rather than snap a quick shot and then change it into what I want later.” Students in Taylor Hall, where Dan lives, have seen his prints on the walls of his apartment, but most of his English students

didn’t realize he had a passion for nature photography until he exhibited some of his work in the Community Art Exhibit at the Richmond Art Center this winter. “I think that some students were surprised to see that an English teacher does things besides sitting and reading books,” he comments.

MADISON NEAL — S O C I A L M E D I A M A N A G E R

Fitness Guru

n workout parlance, HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training, and it’s Madison Neal’s sweet spot, a combination of cardiovascular training and muscle strengthening that alternates high-energy exercises with short rest breaks. The purpose of HIIT, Madison says, is “to effectively burn calories without running on a treadmill or straight weight lifting.” And it’s fun, especially when Madison and her cousin, Kim Davis, are leading the charge. Both are fitness enthusiasts, and since last fall, they have built a following of people seeking the energetic motivation and practical guidance of their selfdesigned fitness challenges, Be-

CuzitWorks (becuzfitness.com). Incorporating HIIT and other training, nutrition guidance, recipes, YouTube video workouts, weekly check-ins through an online forum or email, and virtual group workouts through Facebook Live, their fitness challenges aim to instruct and motivate. Madison also leads a weekly HIIT class on campus for Loomis faculty and staff. Madison and Kim, who is a certified trainer and mother of three, emphasize health and fitness, not size or weight or a fountain of youth. “Stop body shaming. Start body reclaiming,” their website declares. The pair started working out together after Madison graduated from college, and last fall they

decided to share their enthusiasm with others online. Their first offering, a 28-day Fall Back to Fitness Challenge attracted 84 participants. “I’ve always been pretty active, especially in high school. I was always involved in some kind of sport,” Madison says. In college, she liked going to the gym and working out. After college, as gym workouts become part of her routine, she became increasingly interested in the science and motivation factors behind the training. “It definitely has evolved into a passion for health and wellness and fitness,” she says.

“pop-up shop” workouts. They recently hosted a one-hour workout for parents at a local Boys & Girls Club, scheduled at a time when the parents’ children were involved in sports practices at the club. Madison, who ran track in high school, is an assistant coach of the Loomis girls track team this spring. To prepare, she began incorporating more agility work into her own training. She says she wanted to be ready just in case she needs to demonstrate a high jump approach or some other technique or drill that she hasn’t done in a few years.

Entrepreneurs as well as fitness gurus, Madison and Kim also have begun experimenting with Spring 2017

MERET NAHAS — D I R E C T O R O F A N N U A L F U N D L E A D E R S H I P G I V I N G

Calligraphy

eret Nahas picked up a calligraphy pen for the first time in August 2015, when she asked a former colleague to teach her the basics of the art form. “My initial thought was, ‘Maybe I could learn to label my spice jars in a pretty script,’” she says. Today, she is a sought-after calligrapher who letters wedding invitations, apparel logos, private labels, business and event chalkboards, and more. She is the “letterer” for Greenway Market and Sarah’s Coffee House in downtown Hartford, and she does the chalkboard calligraphy at Hartford Sweat yoga studio with weekly updates, announcements, and motivating quotes. Her Insta40

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gram account, @meretmakes, also has garnered her lots of customers. “It’s amazing to think that a little over a year ago was the first time I picked up a pointed pen and literally put the pen to paper,” says Meret, who works in the Loomis Development Office. “I began with the traditional form of calligraphy with the pointed dip pen. Since then, I’ve taught myself how to use brush pens, paintbrushes, and chalkboard markers.” The art form provides zen moments for Meret, and she says calligraphy entered her life when she personally needed to slow down. “Each stroke, whether up, down, or linear,

should be thoughtful and intentional, which forces my hand and mind to move very slowly,” she explains. “It might sound silly, but it’s a form of mental therapy in that it takes focus and attention when nothing else matters besides my pen and ink.” 

PURSUING HER PASSION An interview with Nana Mensah ’01 BY Christine Coyle PHOTOS BY Christine Jean Chambers

“I’m tired,” jokes Nana Mensah ’01, sipping coffee before a matinee performance of Man From Nebraska, an Off-Broadway production in which Nana played straight-talking London bartender Tamyra. The New York Times Critics’ Pick production, written by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Tracy Letts, directed by David Cromer, and featuring Tony Award-winning actor Reed Birney in the title role, had a two-month run at 2econd Stage Theater earlier this year. For her performance, Nana has been nominated for the 2017 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play. Nana’s fatigue comes as no surprise. The Ghanaian-American writer, director, actor, and producer with many credits to her name and many irons in the fire has been on a breathless career sprint in the decade since completing her bachelor’s degree at the University of Pennsylvania. “Look – there goes Kevin Kline,” says Nana, perking up as she gestures to a gentleman crossing 8th Avenue in front of the theater, where a Man From Nebraska poster covers the side of the building. “He’s starring in Present Laughter in the St. James [Theatre] right up the road from here. I see him around a lot,” adds Nana.

Spring 2017

Q: What is most rewarding In addition to Man From Neand most challenging about braska, Nana’s recent projects being a working actor on include the soon-to-be released stage and screen? film Queen of Glory, which she A: That’s easy: The most reappears in and directed; the warding feeling is doing that award-winning web series which you are passionate An African City, in which she about, and the most chalportrays Sade; and a lead role in lenging is the inconsistency the Obie Award-winning play of work (and pay). That said, I’ll Never Love Again (a chamber I will never forget I was griping about the latter to piece) by Claire Barron. Nana is a consultant friend, who also a principal at Cape Coast responded, “Well, at least Media, a production company you know what you would that is behind a forthcoming do for free.” It kind of took docuseries from the South me aback at first, but then African network KweséTV and I realized that there is something special/crazy a pilot for a series acquired by about pursuing your passion. AMC network. Were you to eliminate the Living in the city’s Lower East paycheck from most people’s Side with her husband, noveljobs, they would stop going to work — most are driven ist Karim Dimechkie, Nana is by payment as opposed to immersed in the bustle and flow passion. Conversely, I know of New York’s entertainment myriad artists who work and industry. An active member of live on little to no pay for the Screen Actors Guild, Nana years. And though they don’t attends numerous film previews always have the trappings of security (house, car, 401K), and regularly turns up at perforthey do seem to be living unmances and events to support apologetically purpose-filled her friends and colleagues. Maklives. I find that rewarding ing much-needed connections in and inspirational. So when the New York City theater scene the going gets tough, I try to comes with the territory. remember that there is value in knowing what you would Nana took time from her eightdo for free. show-per-week performance schedule to share her experiences with Loomis Chaffee Magazine.

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Q: Which of your roles — writing or acting — are you most passionate about?

Q: What excites you about your role in Man from Nebraska?

A: I think doing both keeps me sane. The difference is in creative control. When I’m acting, I am interpreting someone else’s work, and when I write, I’m in control. I really started writing when I started to feel I was losing some measure of control in my acting, like I had ideas I wanted to express. I think the balance of the two now helps keep me sane.

A: God, where to begin? First off, I am totally in love with the creative team and cast — Pulitzer Prize winner Tracy Letts [who also wrote August: Osage County] and Tony winner Reed Birney [who also has appeared in The Humans on Broadway, House of Cards on Netflix, and The Blacklist on NBC] are titans of American storytelling. And director David Cromer is a genius. Literally. He won the MacArthur Genius Award. So I’m in very good company. As far as my role, my character, Tamyra, is just a delight to play. She’s complex and wry and whipsmart and full of life. I love the way she sees the world.

I love the “solitary-ness” of writing — when there aren’t too many cooks in the kitchen. I also love that sense of personal satisfaction when you reach a vital moment of creation. Still, writing is also stressful because you have no one else to rely on in the process. It’s a great time to be a writer. There is a fervent need to explore different voices and avenues to tell their stories, and I’m very excited to be a part of it. The writing skills I developed as a student at Loomis have served me well in my education and my work. My husband, who writes novels, is also really impressed with Loomis’ program and commitment to writing education.

I deeply admire Tracy Letts, who despite his hugely successful careers both as an actor and playwright, remains grounded, approachable, and generous. He is uncompromising in his roles, meaning he won’t act in any of the plays he’s written. I admire that Tracy is so able to keep others’ opinions in perspective, claiming that although he was pleased that opening night reviews of Man From Nebraska were complimentary, it matters more to him that he is pleased with the show’s outcome. That kind of thinking seems really wise to me.

Q: Were you involved in theater performances at Loomis? A: I was very much involved in NEO [Norris Ely Orchard Theater] life at Loomis under Brian Kosanovich. I can say my fondest memories of the Island involve the NEO. [Brian was director of the Theater and Dance Department at Loomis Chaffee from 1995 until 2013. Nana remains in touch with him and was delighted to see him at a performance of Man From Nebraska.] Q: What stands out in your memory about performing on the NEO stage? A: I think the thing that stands out the most about performing at Loomis is the absolutely terrifying stage fright that would engulf me before a performance. Every time I signed up to do a play, I thought it would get better the more I performed. Fifteen years later, I can tell you that it doesn’t. Q: Do you ever wish you had a “do-over” for a performance (or class) on the Island? A: Not really. I mean, I wish I had taken driver’s ed while I was at Loomis. I still don’t know how to drive.

Q: Do you keep in touch with your Loomis Chaffee connections, and are any of them in the entertainment business? A: I see Sharina Martin ’02, Gleennia Napper ’99, and Denaka Perry ’01 quite often. Once every couple years I run into Betty Gilpin ’04 somewhere, who is a delight. Sharina is a very talented actress who took a slightly different path than I did. After attending Northwestern, she quickly began a successful career in the Chicago theater scene. I was so jealous watching her career take off there while I was suffering here in New York trying to earn a living. And, of course, Betty is killing it right now starring in G.L.O.W. on Netflix, which I cannot wait to see. You have to check out the promos. [G.L.O.W. is a comedy about an all-female wrestling group starring Alison Brie and set to air in June 2017.] It was a connection to Katherine Waterston ’99 that led to my getting involved with Flea Theater [an experimental, semi-professional Off-Off-Broadway company] where I was a “bat” [lingo for novice] in their nonequity ensemble. It was a great training ground … in a genuine downtown theater experience. You really need to set aside your ego working in that kind of environment. It was a great jumping-off point for me.

Q: What do you envision as your next step? A: After Nebraska, I go right into rehearsals for a new play called Nollywood Dreams at the Cherry Lane Theater. From there, we shall see. As they say, “work begets work,” so I’m hoping something great will land in my lap soon thereafter. I will also be focusing on writing more scripts and putting my voice out there to tell more great stories. 

Spring 2017

Science teacher and robotics coach Ewen Ross

RO B OTI C S AN INSIDER’S GUIDE TO A

COMPETITION

PHOTOGRAPHED BY JOHN GROO

the robotics lab in the basement of Kravis Hall on many a fall and winter afternoon, a dedicated group of students builds a machine that tosses balls into a basket. As music plays in the background, the students collaborate on different aspects of the project. They fabricate plastic elements with a 3-D printer, write code, assemble tubes and wires, secure robot parts with screws, evaluate, and test. “The robotics team fosters an environment where creativity, innovation, and a willingness to ‘get dirty’ thrive,” says science teacher Ewen Ross, who has coached the robotics team, known as HAX Robotics, for 15 years. “The students are learning many of the skills and mental attitudes that engineers use on a daily basis.” The team effort culminates in robotics competitions, where the Loomis robot, remotely steered by a team member, tries to outdo other teams’ robots in completing tasks, such as picking up balls and placing them in baskets. Dozens and sometimes hundreds of schools convene for the competitions, which can last several days. This year’s successful season concluded in March. “We were finalists in both championship events and won the … design award in one and the Rockwell-Collins Innovate award in the other,” Ewen says.

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Sophomore Lochlan Davies-Guest and senior Jason Liu work on a cap ball lifting mechanism.

Left: Senior Ifteda Ahmed-Syed and sophomore Louis Chen collaborate on the engineering notebook.

Below: Jason Liu celebrates after this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s robot, Baller, scores during a practice session.

Above: Sophomore Rishi Basu, freshman Adam McDonagh, Lochlan DaviesGuest and Louis Chen prepare the robot for a practice session.

Left: Freshman Aarman Pannu, junior Rosie Park, and junior Anil Anderson discuss the merits of a particular robot design. Spring 2017

Jason Liu explains the strengths and weaknesses of the robots in the next match to Anil Anderson, junior Max Mossberg, and Lochlan Davies-Guest.

Above: Lochlan Davies-Guest and senior Kevin Xia reflect on their performance in a qualification match. Right: Junior Mahek Pannu grins after a HAX Robotics win in a qualification match.

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Ewen Ross, a volunteer referee, confers with the head referee following a qualification match.

The Loomis team discusses its choices for creating an alliance with other teams for the finals.

Spring 2017

The team confers around the pit area at the Connecticut Championship.

During the playoffs at the Connecticut Championship, Rishi Basu, Kevin Xia, and Lochlan Davies-Guest focus on the red ball that the robot has launched into the high goal.

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The team celebrates after winning a semifinal round at the Connecticut Championship.

Above: Freshman Aarman Pannu gets ready to watch the finals. Left: The drive team, Lochlan Davies-Guest, Kevin Xia, and Rishi Basu, psyche themselves up for the impending final of the Connecticut Championship. Spring 2017

HAX Robotics highfives the referees and judges after receiving the PTC Design award at the Connecticut Championship.

The finalist alliance of HAX Robotics, Singularity Technology, and RoboEpic gathers after the conclusion of the Connecticut Championship.

web+ To see more photos and a video, go to www.loomischaffee.org/magazine.

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Alumni Authors

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

John Foster ’51 A Gesture of Words: Poetry Forms and Formulas Zane Hickcox Kotker ’52 Goodnight, Ladies: A Novella Paul B. Phillips ’53 Along the Way: Short Stories: Humor and Challenges John T. Paoletti ’57 Michelangelo’s David: Florentine History and Civic Identity Paul J. Schwartz ’63 The Rosendale Suite

K. Heidi Fishman ’80 Tutti’s Promise: A novel based on a family’s true story of courage and hope during the Holocaust Chris Vola ’03 How to Find a Flock (collection of short stories)

Spring 2017

Object Lesson

On the Trail with Evelyn Longman

Henry Bacon and Evelyn Longman (back row, left and center) and fellow tourists pause for a photo after driving through a giant sequoia tree in Mariposa Grove, California. Photos: Loomis Chaffee Archives

esearchers delight in pursuing a trail of historical evidence, doggedly advancing towards a clearer view of the past. I recently found myself in the Archives on a different sort of trail, this time following two early 20th-century artists on their vacation in the American West. A collection of stunning black-andwhite photographs documents sculptor Evelyn Longman and architect Henry Bacon as they made their way through Yosemite Valley and the Grand Canyon. The year was 1914, two years before the federal government established the National Park Service. The Grand Canyon’s famed Hermit Trail beckoned the pair and made for one of the most memorable experiences of their western sojourn. Longman and Bacon left New York on April 26, 1914, traveling by train to San Francisco, the site of the future Panama Pacific International Exposition. Bacon’s

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“Following Longman and Bacon through the western wilderness in more than 140 photographs, one can see that traversing the Hermit Trail transformed their experience.” design for the Lincoln Memorial, his last major work, had been selected the previous year, and Longman’s commissions included celebrated work at the U.S. Naval Academy. Six years later, she would move her studio to the Loomis campus after marrying Nathaniel Batchelder, the school’s first head-

master. For the exposition, Longman and Bacon collaborated on the Court of Four Seasons. Bacon designed architectural features, and Longman sculpted the court’s center fountain, an homage to Ceres, the goddess of agriculture, set upon a large pedestal circled by female figures identical to those later cast as the “Dancing Muses” now flanking the exterior north door of Loomis Chaffee’s Longman Hall. Once at the exposition’s location — still a muddy construction site bustling with laborers and horse-drawn equipment — Bacon and Longman oversaw production of their designs made in staff, a temporary material composed of burlap fiber and plaster. After a week’s work, the duo hopped on a Santa Fe Rail car bound for Yosemite Valley. A photo captioned “Ready for the First Trail” shows Longman on the front porch of Yosemite’s Oak Cottage, lifting her long, full skirt’s hem to reveal pants underneath,

Object Lesson

a sartorial choice allowing her to conform to the era’s gender roles and to ride horseback on the trail to Yosemite Falls. Later, Bacon and Longman joined a horse-drawn carriage of tourists in fancy dress for a trip to Mariposa Grove, a forest of giant sequoias. Another image shows the carriage load emerging from one of the “tunnel trees,” ancient sequoias into which pass-throughs had been cut by pioneering entrepreneurs. For a fee, one could be driven through the tree and pose for a professional photograph, printed as a picture postcard ready for mailing. After another eastern-bound leg on the Santa Fe Railroad, Longman and Bacon arrived at the Grand Canyon. Their first days included typical touristy activities: visiting the Hopi House, a Santa Fe Railsponsored showplace for native people’s craft production, and photographing each other perched on rocky outcrops at the canyon’s rim. On May 17, a seemingly more genuine adventure began. Riding a pair of mules named Rasmus and Kickapoo and accompanied by a guide and a cook named Slim, Longman and Bacon descended into the canyon on the Hermit Trail, a challenging seven-mile winding and sometimes steep path rumored to have been constructed by 19th-century horse thieves and improved by the Santa Fe Railroad just a few years before this visit. The trip to the canyon’s floor offered breathtaking scenery and a night’s stopover at the Hermit Camp; Bacon’s hand-drawn map of the camp buildings survives along with photos of the tarp-covered tent platforms. The next morning at sunrise, their guide led a mile-and-a-half hike down to the Colorado River. There they lingered, taking more photos at the river’s edge before breaking camp and beginning their ascent around noon. Following Longman and Bacon through the western wilderness in more than 140 photographs, one can see that traversing the Hermit Trail transformed their experience. In these images, they appear less posed, less awed by the majestic landscape. I imagine they felt subsumed by the centuries-old geological tableau surrounding them. Their cast mates in this scene set — the flowing river waters, the cactus,

Henry Bacon prepares to depart the Hermit Camp, an overnight stop in the Grand Canyon.

Longman and Bacon relax on the banks of the Colorado River after their early morning hike to the floor of the Grand Canyon.

Longman stops to enjoy a moment on the Hermit Trail.

Slim, Rasmus, and Kickapoo — they, too, were less visitors than characters in a story that has little feel of beginning or end. One image in particular, captioned “The Walk Down the Trail,” offers a clear view of Longman in this landscape, joy discovered along the way. 

Karen Parsons is archivist and teaches history.

web+ To see a gallery of photos from Longman’s journey, go to www.loomischaffee.org ⁄ magazine.

Spring 2017

Class Notes

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Class Notes

“Ever-lastingly proud graduate of Chaffee and probably the oldest living alumna still in excellent health and enjoying life! I will be 94 years old in August 2017,” writes Nan Christensen Carmon. “A reasonably healthy and active 95-year-old,” writes John Benson. “I count my blessings. Loomis instilled the joy of learning and confidence in the future. I still enjoy the gorgeous photography of the expanded campus.”

Steele A. Taylor writes, “Sold my business. Retired. Serve on seven boards.”

Bob Beizer reports, “I’m enjoying life in Washington, D.C., and Savannah, Ga. Grateful to serve on the Board of the Washington Bach Consort.” Bill Meyers remembers Tom Wilson’s recounting of his childhood experience at Camp Waya Awi, where he, too, “was

50th-Plus Newsletter Discontinued

ince 1982, the 50th-Plus Newsletter has shared personal and professional information from Loomis and Chaffee alumni who had already celebrated their 50th Reunions. Those alumni and alumnae wrote to the editor of the newsletter on postcards that the school provided with each mailing, and the editor compiled all of the shared news in two or three editions annually. The Alumni/Development Office has been fortunate to have had three superb editors over the years. The late Fred Kent ’20 founded and handled the newsletter from 1982 until 1992; the late Paul Young ’39 continued the tradition from 1992 until 2011; and Gary Gates ’55 has successfully managed the 50th-Plus Newsletter from 2011 until this year. Ever conscious of our resources, we have decided to discontinue the newsletter. We have found that providing staff support for the process, production, and distribution of the newsletter has become increasingly challenging over the last two years. However, we do appreciate immensely the goals behind the 50th-Plus Newsletter: to share information and to foster goodwill among our graduates in the Loomis and Chaffee years. To that end, as we observe trends with the Class Notes section of this magazine, we hope and expect that alumni in the 50th-Plus group will continue to send their news to the school for Loomis Chaffee Magazine. Sharing such news within these pages will provide a boost to this popular section of the magazine. Newsletter editor Gary Gates has assured us that he is very comfortable with our decision, and we thank him and his predecessors for their excellent work on behalf of our school. —Nat Follansbee Associate Head of School for External Relations

fortunate enough to have spent several memorable summers at this camp located in remote but picturesque Rangeley, Maine. In addition to enjoying all that ‘The Vacationland’ had to offer, Camp Way Awi specialized in providing individualized instruction. It was this tutorial assistance which gave me the strength and perseverance to successfully tackle my reading disability. Not until many years later, I learned of others in our Loomis class, Johnny Thompson, Dexter Smith, Stan Hayward, Tom Wilson, who like

me were either staff members or students at Camp Waya Awi. At Loomis, Rose Adams tutored me two to three times a week. Through Rose’s dedication, I learned the techniques and discipline for conquering the obstacles associated with my disability. To my surprise about six years ago, the minister at my church asked me if I would read once a week to a disabled member who had suffered a serious stroke. I now have been reading to him for several years. How ironic for me to be reading to someone else after all the

CHAFFEE BOOK CLUB Save the Date | Wednesday, May 3 6 p.m. dinner followed by discussion Burton Room, Athletics Complex Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver Discussion leaders: Jeff Dyreson, science teacher and director of environmental/sustainability initiatives, and Gratia Lee, science teacher and director of sustainable agriculture

The winter 2017 Chaffee Book Club took place on February 8 with discussion of Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel The Complete Persepolis. It was the book club’s first foray into the graphic novel format. Head of the Modern and Classical Languages Department Rachel Nisselson and two of her students facilitated the conversation. Participants were: (front) Jenefer Carey Berall ’59, Flo Ransom Schroeter ’71, Evelyn Smith ’50, Mims Brooks Butterworth ’36, Betsy Mallory MacDermid ’66, senior Emily Patrick, and Rachel Nisselson; and (back) senior Ramal Rauf, Anne Schneider McNulty ’72, Sue Fisher Shepard ’62, Priscilla Ransom Marks ’66, Jane Torrey ’67, Beverley Earle ’68, and Kate Butterworth de Valdez ’67. Spring 2017

Class Notes

problems I had as a youngster, all thanks to Rose, Camp Waya Awi, and (of course) Loomis. I have carried Loomis with me throughout life’s journey. It continues to pay dividends to this very day.”

M S O C I E T Y

Evelyn Smith ’50 Benefits Loomis Chaffee Through Gift Annuity Program

his winter Evelyn Smith ’50 became the school’s most recent donor to the gift annuity program.

“As a Chaffee student in a school of academic rigor, I found a caring atmosphere with opportunities for leadership and meaningful relationships among and between faculty and students,” Evie reflects. “When I returned to the school as assistant to the headmistress of Chaffee in 1963 and until my retirement in 1997 from The Loomis Chaffee School, the same beliefs and values prevailed.

Today, in my 20th year of retirement, I realize more than ever the influence the school has had on my entire life. Many of my deepest friendships and most meaningful relationships originated in my years at The Loomis Chaffee School.” Evie has been a conscientious donor to the Annual Fund since her graduation in 1950. At this point in her life, she decided that she wanted to make a more substantial gift, and she loved the fact that the school could invest her money while offering her fixed quarterly income payments for life. Loomis Chaffee is grateful for her investment.

Gift Annuity sample rates (single life): Age 65

4.7%

Age 70

5.1%

Age 75

5.8%

Age 80

6.8%

Age 85

7.8%

To learn more about the school’s charitable gift annuity program and other planned giving opportunities, please contact: Timothy G. Struthers ’85 Chief Philanthropic Officer 860.687.6221 or tim_struthers@loomis.org Heidi E.V. McCann ’93 Associate Director of Development 860.687.6802 or heidi_mccann@loomis.org

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Ted Swain returned to Steamboat Springs, Colo., after 25 years of law practice, followed by seven years as president and CEO of a paper manufacturing company. George Schneller writes, “Hope to come to the 60th Reunion, but it’s up in the air due to Kaci’s health ‘adventures.’ Major back surgery last April and hip replacement this winter have put her on the ‘Injury Reserve List’ for now. I’m still teaching Calculus I this semester and probably a summer course; unsure about that. If we can come, we will.” James M. Kelly writes, “I finally retired after 25 years practicing neurology and the most recent 12 years very part time as consultant to social security disability. Now enjoying oil painting, puttering, and two young grandchildren.” Deborah Savitt First writes, “My dad Bill Savitt often said, ‘Time marches on…’ and yes, but he inspired me in many other ways — to being involved in community and philanthropy. So onward. Still working in PR and continue to bike PMC for Jimmy Fund. Ride with son Rich ’86 to train on his POMG Bike Tours of Vermont. Keeps us going!”

ENGAGE with Loomis Chaffee

R EUNION

JOIN THE LOOMIS CHAFFEE CAREER NETWORK Get Advice — Give Advice Connect with younger alumni as a mentor. Get advice from seasoned alumni through: Career conversations Mock interviews Resume critiques The network is completely private and only accessible to those in the community. Joining is easy using

www.loomischaffee.org/careernetwork

ATTEND YOUR REUNION

CONNECT THROUGH ExCEL

Reunion 2017 is June 16–18. Classes ending in 2s and 7s — it’s your year!

What is ExCEL?

Come home, celebrate, and reconnect with classmates, friends, and faculty at Reunion 2017. Enjoy presentations and events for alumni, family-friendly activities, live music provided by bands Soul of Boston and Honey Train, delicious food and drink, and much more. Be sure to receive electronic updates by sharing your email address with the school. Update your information and find out more about the weekend at www.loomischaffee.org/reunion or call 860.687.6815.

ATTEND A BASEBALL GAME WITH ALUMNI BOSTON RED SOX at Fenway Park 7:10 p.m. on Saturday, May 13 HARTFORD YARD GOATS at Dunkin’ Donuts Park 1:35 p.m. on Sunday, July 16 NEW YORK YANKEES at Yankee Stadium 1:05 p.m. on Sunday, August 13 More details to come on all three games.

The ExCEL network helps students to explore their passions and interests through experiential learning opportunities. Alumni and parents make it happen. Here’s how: Provide an internship or shadowing opportunity at your place of work Be a guest speaker for a class Participate in a career panel Talk one to one with a student in person or via Skype to discuss your career For more information, contact Fred J. Kuo, director of experiential learning, at fred_kuo@loomis.org or 860.687.6091. www.loomischaffee.org/excel

SUBMIT A CLASS NOTE SEND YOUR NEWS TO US! Email Alumni Newsnotes Editor Madison Neal at magazine@loomis.org to share news with classmates and friends. High-resolution photographs are welcome; please clearly identify all people. Spring 2017

| Annual Fund

Class Notes

There’s Still Time to Participate in our Centennial Campaign DID YOU KNOW? Every gift to the Annual Fund counts toward our comprehensive campaign, Our Time Is Now: The Centennial Campaign for Loomis Chaffee. On June 30, we will conclude this historic campaign as well as our Annual Fund year. We are striving for an Annual Fund record of $4.4 million, and every gift will bring us closer to this goal. Please help us break the Annual Fund record AND be a part of the final year of Our Time Is Now.

“Your support makes it possible for us to be more generous with our financial aid. It makes it possible for us to be more generous with our faculty salaries. It makes the difference between being good and being excellent.” —Sheila Culbert, Head of School

www.loomischaffee.org/giving

The Annual Fund is important because it makes everything that Loomis Chaffee does possible.

“Life is good here in the socialist paradise that is currently Alberta,” writes Marshall Hoke. John Conley reports he is “still working as a Superior Court judge in Orange County, Calif., with no immediate plans to retire!”

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“Can’t believe reunion No. 45 approaches! Looking forward to seeing everyone there,” writes Anne Shortliffe.

K. Heidi Fishman writes, “After almost five years of international research and writing, I have completed Tutti’s Promise. The novel will be published by MB Publishing on April 24, Yom Hoshoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day). Filled with photos and documents, my novel is based on

my mother’s and her family’s true story of survival during the Holocaust in the Netherlands. MB Publishing has an LC connection as well: Jim Catler ’77 is Margie Blumberg’s (the MB of MB Publishing) longtime partner! I found my way to her through Jim because he had interviewed my mother in 1975 as a volunteer for the Greater Hartford Jewish Historical Society. I contacted Jim, without knowing the connection to MB Publishing, because my mother thought that she had given him her yellow star — the one she was forced to wear as a child

during the war. As it turns out, she had not given him her star, but — happily — Tutti’s Promise found a publishing home! The book is appropriate for ages 10 to adult, and I wrote it with middle-grade history students in mind.”

Santina Bolowich writes, “My husband and I downsized to a condo in the city after 30 years of living in a house either in the ‘burbs’ or the country. We are totally digging being urbanites. Life is good on the 12th floor,

Class Notes

’79

’91 ’82

Eddy Goehring ’79 and his wife have a 6-month-old daughter, Yutaka Veronica. Eddy is an associate professor of musicology at Western University in Canada, and continues to publish.

Kate Goehring ’82 is an actor in New York City, where she recently won a Broadway World/Raleigh Award for Best Principal Actress in Wit and did an episode of Mr. Robot. Kate is also a grant writer for nonprofits, where she writes for Global Citizen and the American Liver Foundation.

’06

’03

After completing a rotational program at J.P. Morgan Chase in 2014, Leonard Borriello ’03 left to backpack the world for two years, traveling through Europe, Oceana, and Asia. Upon completion of his trip in 2016, he started a full-time M.B.A. program at University of Connecticut on a full academic scholarship as a graduate assistant, focusing on business analytics and compliance. Len was recently awarded a General Electric Fellowship to research foreign currency fluctuations and will intern this summer with Bank of America in its Global Corporate Compliance program in order to further enhance his regulatory experience.

Alexandra Arnold ’06 married Matthew Cashman on November 24, 2016, in New York. Fellow Pelicans Allegra Thompson ’06 and Liz Goss ’06 flew East to join the “Thankswedding” festivities.

Tucker Braddock ’91 recently climbed Sydney’s Harbour Bridge with his daughter for her 15th birthday. “I noticed a fellow climber had LC lacrosse shorts on. Turns out Britt ’08, Brett ’10, Corey ’10, and Michael ’14 Giacco were in the same group of 14 climbers with their dad. It was a wonderful place to meet. I wanted to share that Pelicans are everywhere!”

’09

Pliceliany “Plicy” Perez ’09 and Eric Sun ’09 went their separate ways after graduating from Loomis Chaffee. Plicy moved to New York City, where she attended college at NYU and later began medical school at Columbia University, and Eric left for Providence, where he attended Brown University. At the start of her fourth year of medical school, Plicy was shocked and excited to learn that Eric was a member of the first-year class of medical students at Columbia. Seven years after their high school graduation, they now work together at the Columbia-Harlem Homeless Medical Partnership, a student-run clinic dedicated to serving the homeless and uninsured patients of New York City out of the basement of St. Mary’s Church in Harlem.

’09

Hannah Cashmon Dent ’09 married Anthony Dent on September 17, 2016, in Harwich, Mass. Friends and classmates joined the couple for the special day. Pictured, all from the Class of 2009, are: Elizabeth McGuinn, Linnea Fulton, Erin O’Connor, Catherine Flint, Jacob Zachs, Catherine Ingram, Andrea McClave, Ross MacGillivray, Nina Walker, Hannah, Anthony, Sarah Dombrowski, Alexa Mouta, Tucker Williams, Nicholas Togneri, and Edward Scadden. Spring 2017

Class Notes

walking everywhere, and living responsibly with a small carbon footprint.” Bob Danos writes, “I am in my 23rd year of running the same summer camps that I attended as a kid. Mondamin for boys and Green Cove for girls, in the Blue Ridge mountains of North Carolina, are 96 years old, and we were recently named in the Top Five Camps in the U.S. by Outside magazine. I taught briefly post-Tulane, but then this opportunity came open, and now it’s my family’s home. I’ve had the children of classmates Jeff Bilezikian and Sarah Conrad Smythe here, which was great! The reunion will be during the peak of my season as always, but I wish the whole ’87 class a happy 30th Reunion.” Andrew Kurian reports, “I’m still coaching my boys in hockey in Darien and catching up with old interns Jeff Bogino ’99, Whitney Bull ’00, and Patrick Wacker ’05.”

loomischaffee.org

Kathryn Wilder Guarini writes, “I’m still living in Westchester, N.Y., with my husband, Michael, and our three kids Emma (14), Matthew (11), and Tyler (6). I’ve worked at IBM for 17 years, first in research, then development, later business. I’m midway through a year off from work to spend extra time with the family and am enjoying every minute!

Jenny Rushlow shares, “I was recently honored as a Lawyer of the Year in Massachusetts for a climate change case I argued and won at the Supreme Court here.”

Fashion designer Michael Halpern was featured in a February 17 New York Times article titled “The Young Design Star to Watch.” Here’s an excerpt: “His standout Central Saint Martins MA show last year won him his dream job

designing couture for Atelier Versace as a consultant; he already counts Beyoncé as a fan; he has an impressive list of stockists, including Bergdorfs and matchesfashion.com; and he’s accomplished all this before he’s even staged his first official show, which will take place this weekend in London. After graduating with a women’s wear degree from Parsons in 2010, Halpern went on to hold design jobs at both J. Mendel and Oscar de la Renta, where he honed classical skills of plissé, draping and hand-pleating.” Ari Sussman was inducted into Dartmouth College’s Wearers of Green in a ceremony after the Dartmouth-Harvard homecoming football game on October 29, 2016. Wearers of Green, Dartmouth’s version of a Hall of Fame, honors students, alumni, and coaches who have excelled in their respective sports, either as players earning top awards, alumni playing at the top levels, or coaches at a higher level, such as a national or Olympic team. Ari, a lacrosse standout, was one of 17 who were in-

ducted to the Wearers of Green last fall. Inductees participated in the Dartmouth Night Parade and were recognized at halftime of the football game. After graduation from Dartmouth in 2010, Ari played for Major League Lacrosse teams the Rochester Rattlers (2011) and the Boston Cannons (2013–14). He also competed on the Israeli National Team in 2014. It was these post-graduation accomplishments that led to Ari’s induction this fall.

Justine JohnsonMakuch is pleased to announce that she passed the bar exam and is a lawyer at the NYC firm of Chadbourne and Park. 

Class Notes

LC Gatherings The San Francisco reception, hosted by Chris and Soojin Lee, parents of Elizabeth ’14, James ’16, and Julianna ’19, at Epic Roasthouse on March 9 Hosts Maki Koike Jacobs and Rick Jacobs ’93 at the Los Angeles reception, March 7 at the Walter Maciel Gallery

Mischa Lassow ’09, Director of Annual Fund Leadership Giving Meret Nahas, and Catherine Monahon ’08 at the San Francisco reception

Alumni at the Head’s Holiday reception at PS 450 in New York City on February 1

Head of School Sheila Culbert and Trustee Jamie Widdoes ’72 at the Los Angeles reception Bryce Loomis ’16, Vanessa Young ’16, and Maddie Ash ’16 at the January 31 reception in Washington, D.C., hosted by parents of alumni Stevie and Gardner Gillespie ’63

Duncan MacLean ’90, who hosted with his wife, Brooke, at the Chicago reception on March 21

Emma Gwyn ’15, Pat Cody ’16, and science teacher Neil Chaudhary ’05 at the Young Alumni Brunch on campus January 14

Spring 2017

ituaries

Obituaries

loomischaffee.org

Obituaries

Lawrence Mason Baldwin, on November 11, 2016, peacefully in Peabody, Mass. A four-year student from West Hartford, Conn., Larry was involved with Glee Club and Loomis Follies. He was active in junior football, junior basketball, tennis, cross country, soccer, and wrestling. After Loomis, Ted earned a bachelor’s degree from Trinity College and served in a number of managerial roles at United Technologies for 40 years until retirement. Larry and his wife of 68 years, Joanne Thornton Baldwin, lived in West Hartford, Simsbury, and Stonington, Conn., and Fort Pierce, Fla. During his lifetime, Larry enjoyed many varied hobbies and activities and remained sharp and energetic even after he’d reached 100 years of age. Larry flew private aircraft for many years and enjoyed tennis, golf, and skiing. Well into his 80s Larry went cruising with Joanne on their 34-foot sloop out of Stonington. He took up repairing furniture and making Nantucket lightship baskets in the workshop in Brooksby Village retirement community, where, until his final days, he enjoyed playing the piano most evenings before dinner. His son, Ted Baldwin ’70, wrote to inform the school of his father’s passing and said that as a devoted Loomis alumnus, Larry was very proud to attend his 80th Reunion in 2013, and to have the school acknowledge his attendance in publications. “Dad always considered his Loomis experience, education, classmates, and other connections to be among the most important aspects of his life,” wrote Ted. Larry remained connected to the school as an alumni volunteer and as a member of the Common Good Society. Larry was survived by his wife, Joanne; his three children, Priscilla Baldwin Moffitt, Betsy Baldwin Levick, and Ted Baldwin ’70, and their spouses; five grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; extended family; and many devoted friends. The family has requested that donations be made in his name to The Loomis Chaffee School or to a charity of the donor’s choice. A memorial service will be held at a later date.

F. Irving Walsh Jr., on November 8, 2016, at his home in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif. A five-year student from Plainfield, N.J., Irv was involved in Glee Club, Table Tennis Club, Dramatics, Choir, and Student Council, and he served as vice president of the Endowment Fund Working Committee and on Senior Committee and Batchelder Dorm Committee. He was active in Ludlow junior and senior football, hockey, tennis, track, swimming, and golf. Irv was voted “cutest” by the Class of 1937. After Loomis, Irv earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Princeton University in 1941. He was an enlisted U.S. Navy veteran who served under the famous Arleigh “31 Knot” Burke in Washington, D.C., and then deployed on the battleship U.S.S. Maryland in the Pacific Fleet. Irv retired as a lieutenant commander in 1946. A California resident since 1969, Irv served his community in a number of ways, including as president of the Jack Kramer Tennis Club, president of Rolling Hills Board of Realtors, and director of the San Pedro Peninsula Hospital. Over the years Irv remained connected to Loomis Chaffee as a class agent, as a member of the John Metcalf Taylor Society, and through regular contact with classmates and alumni into his 90s. Predeceased by his brother Gordon H. Walsh ’43, Irv was survived by his devoted wife, Helen, and extended family members. Services were held at Rolling Hills Covenant Church in Rancho Palos Verdes on November 17, 2016. Arthur Zachary Hirsch Jr., on August 7, 2015, in Prescott, Ariz. A two-year student from New Rochelle, N.Y., Zach was involved in theater productions and Chess Club and was president of the Stamp Club and Badminton Club. He served on the boards of The Log, Loomiscellany, and The Handbook. He was president of the Loomis Chapter of the “Roosevelt for King” Club. Zach was active in senior football, basketball, baseball, and track. After Loomis, Zach served in the armed forces and went on to become director of the Boy Scouts of America prior to retirement. He was active in his community through Rotary Club and the Prescott Center for the Arts. Zach enjoyed stamp collecting, travel, music, photography, and taking

part in theater productions. Predeceased by his wife Mary Stanley Smith and his brother Charles Hirsch ’41, Zach was survived by his children, Sharon Kate Hirsch, Hilary Ascani, and Derry Hirsch; his grandson; and his brother Harold Hirsch ’44. A celebration of his life was held on September 5, 2015, at the Prescott Center for the Arts. The ceremony featured a full color guard, military salute, piper, and presentation from the Boy Scouts of America. Philip Hayward Brown Jr., on October 29, 2015. A four-year student from Hartsdale, N.Y., Phil was involved in French Club, Squash Club, Glee Club, Rifle Club, Debating Club, and Dramatics. He was active in senior football, tennis, hockey, boxing, and wrestling. Phil enjoyed a long career with CPC International, a global supplier of aerosol products, propellants, and specialty gasses. His work with the company took him to India, Argentina, Pakistan, and Hong Kong. Phil and his wife of 60 years, Lucette Marie Rossat, retired in Ste-Agathe, in the Lac Brûlé community of Quebec, Canada. Preceded in death by Lucette and his son Philip Hayward Brown III, Phil was survived by three children, Judy Clarke, Katherine Carlisle, and Patrick Brown, and their spouses; eight grandchildren; and many nieces, nephews, and cousins. Thomas Clark Jackson, on November 16, 2016. A two-year student from Plandome, N.Y., Tom was involved with Press Club, Ping Pong Club, Nautical Club, and Music Club, and he served on the boards of Loomiscellaney and The Log. He also served on the Reception Committee, Mason Dormitory Committee, and Founders Dormitory Committee. Tom was active in senior football, squash, senior basketball, and track. He attended Williams College and earned a bachelor’s degree in 1942 from Rutgers University. There, Tom was a member of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, excelled on the swim team, and presented the first of many jazz radio shows, “Vintage Jazz.” He served in the U.S. Army 15th Air Force as a sergeant during World War II. Afterwards, Tom worked as an advertising salesman in New York for Fawcett Spring 2017

Obituaries

and Ziff-Davis publishing companies. He married Elizabeth Boulton of Haddonfield, N.J., on January 21, 1946, and the couple moved to Rowayton, Conn., where they raised four children. Tom was active as head of the Tom Thumb Tent in the Circus Fans of America and as an usher at the United Church in Rowayton. He continued his radio shows under the names of Jack the Bear in “Jazz From the Edge of Town,” and Stalebread Schwartz in “Jazz from the Berkshires.” He established his own advertising agency and became a freelance salesman. Tom remained active swimming and officiating at swim meets. On August 22, 2003, Tom married Anne Nichols “Jiggsie” Jackson and moved to Duncaster retirement community in Bloomfield, Conn., where he was well known for his genial good humor and encyclopedic knowledge of baseball and Dixieland jazz. He was survived by his wife, Anne Nichols Jackson, and his children Andy, Sally, and Tim. A gathering in Tom’s honor was held at Duncaster on November 21, 2016. Austin Ross, on October 8, 2016, in Madison, Conn. A three-year student from Hartford, Barney, as he was known, was involved in the Nautical Club and Advisory Committee. He was active in cross country, track, fencing, soccer, and boxing. While attending Harvard University he joined the U.S. Navy and served in Annapolis, Md., as a radio technician. After World War II, he finished his degree in engineering at Harvard in 1947. Barney worked for a division of Time/Life Magazine for 25 years. He was an avid swimmer, runner, sailor, and ham radio operator, and he 64

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loved history, jazz, and travel. Barney leaves behind his wife of 70 years, Nancy Gorton; his children, Timothy and Martha; his son-in-law, Robert R. King; and four grandchildren.

James Carey Cook, on March 3, 2016, in Greensboro, Vt., a few weeks before his 92nd birthday. A one-year Honor Roll student from New Brunswick, N.J., Jim was involved in the Radio Club, the Music Club, Dramatics, the Stagehands Union, and Cercle Français. Jim was a laboratory assistant and was active in club soccer, first fencing team, club tennis, and track. Jim entered Yale University in September 1941 but left for active service in the U.S. Army in 1943. He served with an ordinance maintenance company in England, France, and Germany in the last months of World War II. Following the war, Jim returned to Yale, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in 1947. After spending three years at Pratt & Whitney’s Aircraft Division, Jim earned an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. His professional experience was varied and challenging, including work as a business researcher at Arthur D. Little Inc. Consulting; a project manager and senior staff analyst at Raytheon; and a partner in a consulting firm. At age 70, Jim retired to Greensboro, Vt., where he resided in a farmhouse purchased by his grandfather just prior to the turn of the 20th century. There, he was active in many community organizations and served on the village’s Zoning Review Board. Jim enjoyed skiing, sailing, singing, traveling to France, doing genealogic research, boat building, and airplane modeling, and especially participating in community theater, where,

in his last decade, he had many starring roles. While his first two marriages ended in divorce, Jim was happily married to Rosann Hickey in 2008. Predeceased by his brother Paul Cook II, Jim was survived by his children, James M., Stephanie, Holly, Roger, and Malcom; five grandchildren; his brothers Andrew and Philip; and many extended family members. A memorial service was planned at the Greensboro United Church of Christ and interment was to be in the family plot in the Village Cemetery.

Sebastian DiMauro, on December 22, 2016. A four-year student originally from Wilson, Conn., Sam, as he was known, was involved in the Darwin Club, Athletic Council, and Grounds Committee, and he served as president of the Chess Club and as concert master of the Concert Orchestra. Sam was active in Allyn club soccer and baseball, Allyn senior football, All-Club softball, and track, and he was a team manager of basketball. He was a two-year Honor Roll student and earned a Commencement Prize for music in 1942. After Loomis, Sam spent one year at Trinity College in Hartford before being drafted into the U.S. Army in 1943. He served as a surgical technician on the medical staff of a U.S. Army troop ship serving in the Atlantic and Pacific theaters. He was later commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army Transportation Corps. After World War II, Sam earned a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University in 1948 and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School in 1950. He enjoyed a long career in retailing, starting with G. Fox & Company, and he later worked with Allied

Stores and Federated Department Stores, and he retired from Macy’s in 1987. Sam is survived by his wife, Elizabeth Zito DiMauro; his children, Luann DiMauro and Damon C. DiMauro ’79, and their spouses; and extended family members, including nephew Keith Robert St. Germain ’96 and niece Beth K. Gilligan ’97. A memorial service was held on December 29, 2016, at First Church in Wethersfield, Conn. Richard L. Deane, on October 28, 2016, surrounded by family at his home in Denver, Colo. A three-year student from Riverside, Conn., Dick was involved with the Camera Club, Ping Pong Club, Student Council, and Glee Club. He served on the Committee of Review, Founders Committee, Endowment Fund Committee, and Spring Dance Committee, and he was cast in dramatic and musical productions. Dick was active in senior football, first hockey, and first tennis. After graduation Dick enlisted in the U.S. Navy shortly before the end of World War II. He returned to earn a bachelor’s degree from Williams College. He went to work briefly in Texas, where he met and married Zyla Watson Deane, his wife of nearly 61 years. After a time at G.M. Motors Holding, Dick opened a Buick dealership in Denver in 1959. Deane Buick became Deane Automotive by the time he retired in 1994. Committed to civic engagement, Dick worked to improve Denver’s environment and business climate and helped create opportunities for children and youth. He was particularly passionate about early childhood education and development. Dick served on a number of continued 66

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FORMER TRUSTEE George C. Hastings ’45

in West Hartford that helps children and families overcome challenges and build fulfilling lives. Hastings House, a shelter for boys in Wolcott, Conn., is named to honor George’s contribution as one of the original founders of The Bridge as well as a longtime board member and friend. His involvement also included membership in The Country Club of Farmington, The University Club, The Old Guard, The Hartford Civitan Club, and the Appalachian Mountain Club.

ormer faculty member and Loomis Chaffee Trustee George C. Hastings ’45 died on January 27. George served as a Trustee of the school from 1976 through 1983, and he was a faculty member and wrestling coach from 1949 through 1951. A four-year Honor Roll student from West Hartford, Conn., George was awarded the Thomas Warham Loomis Memorial Prize for highest scholarship in the senior class at Commencement. He was involved in the Political Club, Chess Club, Student Council, and Fall Dance Committee, and he served as business manager of The Log. George was active in sports, serving as captain of Allyn intermediate football and lettering in first wresting, where he also served as captain. Following Commencement, George earned a bachelor’s degree at Yale University, where he was on the wrestling team and served as team captain. After Yale, he joined the faculty at Loomis, teaching English and Latin and coaching wrestling. He was a member of Loomis’ John Metcalf Taylor Society. George served in the U.S. Army infantry for two years before attending Yale Law School. While earning a law degree, George was involved with the Yale Law Journal and served as assistant coach of Yale’s wrestling team. George went on to clerk for U.S. District Court Judge John P. Anderson in New Haven, Conn. He enjoyed a long and successful career in the practice of law with the Hartford firm of Robinson & Cole, where he worked for 35 years and where he eventually retired as a partner in 1995. A strong proponent of equality and social justice, George gave of his time and lent his profes-

George traveled extensively around the world, including as an ordinary seaman on an oil tanker at age 18, and he attended horse racing meets in 15 different countries. He also enjoyed hiking, golf, poker, bridge, gin rummy, and duckpin bowling.

George C. Hastings ’45

sional expertise to numerous organizations that serve the community. In addition to serving on the Loomis Chaffee Board of Trustees, George served as a member of the Wethersfield Zoning Board of Appeals, as vice chairman of the West Hartford Board of Education, as a member of the U.S. Department of Justice Selective Service Hearing Officer, as president of the Capital Area Foundation for Equal Justice (now Greater Hartford Legal Aid Foundation), as director of Statewide Legal Services, as director and president of the Bedford Street Housing Corpora-

Photo: Loomis Chaffee Archives

tion, as a member of the Policy Advisory Committee of Donaghue Medical Research Foundation, as director and president of the Center for First Amendment Rights, and as director of the American Civil Liberties Union Connecticut Chapter. George was an adjunct professor of procedure and equity at University of Connecticut Law School, and he served on the WALKS Foundation, which supports underserved students in Greater Hartford. Since its inception nearly 50 years ago, George was actively involved in The Bridge Family Center, a comprehensive nonprofit organization

Preceded in death by his three siblings, including Edward W. Hastings ’48 and John A. Hastings ’51, George was survived by his wife, Laura; his children, John, Lucinda, and Juliet, and their spouses; two step-children, John Pfarr and Maria Williams; four grandchildren; three step-grandchildren; and his former wife, Ada Hastings. A memorial gathering and reception were held at the Farmington Country Club in Connecticut on February 11.

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business and nonprofit boards, including the Denver Chamber of Commerce, Mile High United Way, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Denver, and The Clayton Foundation. In addition, he served on the Denver Planning Board, the Denver Urban Renewal Authority, the Stapleton Redevelopment Foundation, and the Winter Park Board of Trustees. Dick enjoyed hiking in the Rocky Mountains and was an avid fly-fisherman and skier. Passionate about the Denver Broncos NFL team and politics, Dick was also fond of travel; was a skillful player of dominos, gin rummy, and poker; had an impressive jazz collection; enjoyed evenings at the symphony and theatre; and appreciated classic and contemporary art. Dick is survived by his wife, Zyla; his three children, Kate, James, and Meg, and their spouses; three grandchildren; and many extended family members. Philip Jerome Koehler Sr., on October 7, 2016, in Shannondell, Pa. A three-year student from Oxford, Conn., Philip was involved in the Ping Pong Club and The Log. He served on the Fire Fighting Squad, Grounds Committee, Nominating Committee, and Endowment Fund Committee, and he was chairman of the Batchelder Dormitory Committee. Philip lettered in first soccer and served as captain of Allyn junior football, Allyn junior basketball, and Allyn intermediate basketball teams. Philip graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., and went on to serve on the U.S. Navy Seal UTD Team 3. He retired from Uniform Tubes in Collegeville, Penn., after 66

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having attained the position of vice president of sales and marketing. Preceded in death by his son Philip J. Koehler Jr. and his brother Edwin H. Koehler Jr. ’43, Philip was survived by his wife, Virginia Goldmark Koehler; his children Edwin Koehler and Carolyn Wettstein; seven grandchildren; and extended family members. A memorial service was held at Joseph Levine and Sons Memorial Chapel in Broomall, Pa. Jeremiah K. Reilly, on January 15, peacefully at home. A one-year student from Hamden, Conn., Jerry was involved in the Ping Pong Club and served on Hallowee’en Night Patrol and the Senior Dining Hall Committee. He was active in first team football, first team wrestling, and golf. Jerry was elected “Best Natured” by his classmates. After Loomis, he spent two years at Kenyon College, leaving to pursue a career in entertainment in New York City. A talented tap dancer, Jerry was cast in a revival of Where’s Charley alongside Ray Bolger. After the show’s successful previews in Boston at the Shubert Theater, Jerry was drafted into the U.S. Army for the Korean War effort and, sadly, missed the Broadway run of the show. Jerry married Ann Crotty in 1951, settled in Hamden, Conn., and began night school at Yale University studying business. Jerry took the industrial engineer test and passed despite not having a degree, and, thus, began his career at Safety Car Heating & Lighting, H.B. Ives, and Neucor. Jerry’s work history included roles as a management consultant for Booz Allen Hamilton in New York City; vice president of acquisitions for Beech Nut Squibb; president of

Table Talk Pies in Worcester, Mass.; and president of Ward Baking Company in New York City. With Jerry’s career moves, the family lived in Ridgefield, Conn., and Sudbury, Mass., before settling in Princeton, N.J., in 1973. There, Jerry turned to entrepreneurship, and in 1975 opened Halo Farm Inc., a micro-dairy specializing in beverages and ice cream. He later expanded the business to include Halo Pubs and Halo Fete. Possessed of a “keen intelligence, a vibrant wit, and a kind generous soul,” according to the family’s obituary, Jerry was also an avid tennis player. At one time, he held a No. 1 ranking in the Men’s 45 and Over category in the USTA Middle States. Jerry was survived by his four children, Kathleen Reilly Arnold, Brian Reilly, Mary Clare Mooney, and Eileen Reilly, and their spouses; his five grandchildren; and his one greatgrandson. A memorial service was held at St. Paul’s Church in Princeton on January 28. William Clark Wilkins II, on October 15, 2016, peacefully in Solomons, Md. A two-year Honor Roll student from Windsor, Conn., Bill was involved in the Chess Club, Le Cercle Français, and Wolcott Senior Debate. He served on the Scholarship Committee and as a library supervisor. Bill was team manager of Wolcott soccer, and was active in tennis, senior wrestling, and junior baseball. After Loomis, Bill received a bachelor’s degree from Oberlin College and an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of Business at University of Pennsylvania. Bill retired after 27 years from the United States Customs Headquarters in Washington, D.C. He became a Certified Public

Accountant and retired from a national accounting firm after 25 years. He and his wife were members of St. Thomas Episcopal Church of McLean, Va., and St. Peter’s Church in Solomons, Md. Bill was survived by his wife, Dorothy Wilkins; his three children; and his six grandchildren. A private memorial service and inurnment were planned.

Richard P. Litter, on July 25, 2016, in Altamonte Springs, Florida. A four-year student from Windsor, Conn., Dick was involved with the Photography Club, Fizz Club, Political Club, Science Club, and Student Council. He served on the Sophomore Reception Committee, the Senior Nominating Committee, and the Advertising Board of Loomiscellany. Dick was active in intermediate football, second basketball, and senior baseball. Preceded in death by his brother Donald P Litter ’47, Dick was survived by his wife, Lila; two daughters, Tina Litter and Julie Shelton; two granddaughters; his brother John H. Litter Jr. ’45; and his nephew Robert J. Litter ’73.

Arnold Lowell Case, on November 1, 2016, after a long illness, and surrounded by family. A four-year student from West Hartford, Conn., Arnie was involved in the Jazz Club, the Political Club, Le Cercle Français, and the Foreign Policy Association. He served on the Senior Dayboy Committee and the Ethics Committee and was a delegate to U.N. Model Assembly. He was active in senior football, senior basketball, and first team golf. He attended Yale University and the George

Obituaries

Washington University School of Medicine. Arnie served as a captain in the U.S. Army Medical Corps, and he was highlyregarded in his profession as a progressive obstetrician gynecologist. Arnie trained many physicians and nurse practitioners at Hartford Hospital in laparoscopic surgery and championed community-based care for women. Though he suffered physically from multiple sclerosis, Arnie maintained his personal charm, sense of humor, and ability to sing. He will be remembered as a gentle person and good listener who genuinely cared for the wellbeing of others. Arnie was survived by his wife, Ann Magnuson Case; and his four children, Elizabeth Dolmanisth, Amy Rosenfield, Sarah Case ’91, and Daniel Case, and their spouses. He also leaves his brother Richard Case ’54, and wife Harriet; 10 grandchildren; and many extended family members, including nephews Andrew Case ’83, William T. Case ’86, and David M. Case ’89 and grand-niece Jacy L. Case ’18. A service was held at Congregation Beth Israel in West Hartford on November 4, 2016, followed by burial in Beth Israel Cemetery in Avon, Conn. Gail Bliss Allen, on August 22, 2016, with her family at her side. Gail was active as the Glee Club secretary and as art editor of the Chaffee School yearbook, The Epilogue. According to The Epilogue in 1953, Gail enjoyed playing hockey, skiing, and skating and was noted for being a “math genius.” Gail earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Middlebury College in 1957, and she went on to enjoy a long career as a computer programmer in California’s emerging Silicon Valley, working with a number of technology organizations, including NASA, Recom Tech, Hewlett Packard, IBM, General Electric, and Lockheed Martin. Her son, Caleb Allen, described Gail as “tough, tenacious, and resilient … a one-of-a-kind personality,” who raised her children as a single mother and forged a career in technology at an unusual time for women to do so. Mr. Allen said his mother helped pave the way for women in technology industries. She leaves her two sons, Caleb and Garth H. Allen; and her grandson.

H. Crane Miller, on July 20, 2016, peacefully in his sleep, in Mitchellville, Md. A one-year student from Manchester, Conn., Crane was involved in the Ski Club, Model Club, Radio Club, Glee Club, Stagehands Union, and Barbell Club. He served as president of the Rifle Club, as a medical aide, and as a typist for The Log. Crane lettered in first team rifle, was active in Allyn tennis and baseball, served as manager of first team football, and was on the track team. After Loomis, Crane earned a bachelor’s degree from Williams College and was a member of the University of Virginia Law School Class of 1960. Crane’s career began in the Office of General Counsel at the Department of the Navy. He eventually became an associate member of the Bar of Virginia and was a member of the Bar of the District of Columbia. Crane’s long career as an environmental lawyer specializing in the law of the oceans and natural disasters included 25 years in federal legal practice and more than 25 years in private law practice. Throughout his career, Crane enjoyed interesting roles, including with the Smithsonian Institution, the U.S. Senate Council on Oceans and Atmosphere, and Schaefer & Roland, an environmental engineering firm. He retired in 2006 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He and his wife, Jane Lincoln Miller, were married for 59 years and raised a family of five children together. Crane enjoyed his volunteer work at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., where he was an active member of the church community. Honored as “Crab of the Year” in 1985, Crane was a longtime member of the College of Crustaceans and was given the honorific title of “Imperial Crab” upon his passing. Crane enjoyed woodworking, and in retirement he became engaged in birding, racing model sailboats, and designing picture frames for residents at the Collington Retirement Community. Predeceased by his brother, Cyrus C. Miller II ’50, Crane was survived by his sister, Marcia Miller Spencer ’56.

Lee Richard Hausser, on October 15, 2016, a few days before his 80th birthday. A four-year student from West Hartford, Conn., Lee was involved in the Stamp Club, Photography Club, French Club, and Glee Club, and he was cast in The Mikado. He served as chairman of the Senior Reception and Sports committees. Lee lettered in first team soccer and was involved in Allyn intermediate basketball, tennis, and senior baseball. He was named to the Honor Roll in 1951–52. After Loomis, Lee earned a bachelor’s degree from Hamilton College. A lifelong resident of West Hartford, Lee spent much of his working life as an experienced and highly-regarded insurance adjuster, specializing in property claims for the Middlesex Mutual Assurance Company. For many years in retirement, Lee enjoyed travel to exotic places throughout the world. He climbed mountains, explored rain forests, toured on safaris, rode on dog-sledding trips, and enjoyed scuba diving. Lee was an expert collector of antique U.S. Naval firearms. Although he had no immediate family, he leaves his adopted family, Jim and Ann Martin of Stamford and Essex, Conn., with whom he spent many happy times and for whom he served as a loving “uncle” to their children and grandchildren. William H. Rusher Jr., on December 4, 2016, with his family by his side. Originally from Washington, D.C., Bill attended Loomis and completed his high school degree at Wilkins High School in San Francisco after relocating to California with his family. Bill earned a bachelor’s degree at University of California at Santa Barbara. Afterwards, he served in the National Guard, and, for a time, followed in his father’s footsteps working in the insurance industry for New York Life. Bill, according to the family obituary, “had a long fascination with people, particularly their potential and motivations,” and he eventually started his own executive search and consulting business in 1977. He enjoyed a long and highly successful career in the executive search field with Rusher Loscavia, the consulting company he founded, and as an investor and entrepreneurial advisor to many business leadSpring 2017

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ers. Bill was committed to serving his community, especially in aid of at-risk children and families. He served on many boards and chaired fundraising activities for a number of charitable organizations. A mentor and friend to many in his community, Bill also greatly enjoyed golf as a social and athletic pastime. Predeceased by his father, William H. Rusher ’29, and his uncle John D. Rusher Jr. ’25, Bill was survived by his wife, Jacqueline Keppy Rusher; his four children, William Humphrey Rusher III, Stephen Keppy Rusher, Samantha Hobson Rusher, and Jennifer Dailey Rusher; three grandchildren: and cousin John D. Rusher III ’55. A memorial celebrating Bill’s life was held on February 4 at Lafayette Veterans’ Memorial Center in Lafayette, Calif.

Thomas S. Hemenway III, on December 20, 2016, at his Sebastopol, Calif., home due to complications from pancreatic cancer. A student from Geneva, Ill., Toby, as he was known, earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Tufts University in 1974. Afterwards, he “worked for many years as a researcher in genetics and immunology, first in academic laboratories including Harvard and the University of Washington in Seattle, and then at Immunex, a major medical biotech company,” according to Toby’s personal website. With a keen interest in gardening, ecology, and evolution, as well as in construction and energy systems, he became fascinated with “permaculture,” a set of design principles for the development of sustainable, self-supporting agricultural ecosystems, which represented a combination of Toby’s interests. While living 68

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in Seattle, Wash., during the 1990s, Toby became a leader in the permaculture movement through his writing, teaching, and advocacy. In Seattle, according to his website, Toby served as editor of Permaculture Activist, a periodical devoted to sustainable agriculture design. After relocating to Portland, Ore., in 2004, Toby became involved in urban sustainability. Toby’s clear and concise how-to book, Gaia’s Garden — A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture, published in 2009 by Chelsea Green Publishing, was named as one of the 10 best gardening books of 2010 by The Washington Post and has sold more than 250,000 copies. Toby’s second book, The Permaculture City: Regenerative Design for Urban, Suburban, and Town Resilience, was published in 2015. Predeceased by his uncle, Reginald T. Wheeler Jr., Toby was survived by his wife, Kiel Hemenway; his sister Ann Hemenway; and his brother David Hemenway. Toby was a member of the John Taylor Metcalf Society.

Richard J. Rapaport, on October 18, 2016, in Marin County, Calif. He suffered from Lewy-body dementia, myasthenia gravis, and emphysema. Originally from West Hartford, Conn., Richard was active on the varsity track team and was president of the Model United Nations. Richard’s classmate John McArthur ’70 shared a fond remembrance of Richard: “Even those who knew him at Loomis likely were not aware of his deep musical talent, his high-powered speed boat and fondness for waterskiing and sailing, his casual and ironic sense of humor, and his deep devotion to European and world history. The last interest led

to Richard’s role as president of the Model U.N., held in our senior year at Aetna’s headquarters in Hartford. Mark Wawro ’70, Andy Weinstein ’70, and I staged a walkout as the outraged Mongolian delegation in order to protest the numbingly bourgeoisie affectations of the entire program. We stormed out mouthing as many neoMarxist platitudes as we could muster … . Richard, standing at the podium before hundreds of clueless student ‘delegates’ representing the world’s nations, stayed calm in the middle of our storm and overrode our objections with supreme selfassurance. It now also can be disclosed that Richard was a prime mover in assembling the striking automotive sculpture ‘Kill Kent’ appearing on page 36 of the 1970 Loomiscellany.” After Loomis, Richard earned a bachelor’s degree from Hobart College, where he served as editor-in-chief of the student newspaper. Richard enjoyed a long and celebrated writing and journalism career based in San Francisco, Calif., where he lived for more than 40 years. He spent several years as a staff writer for Forbes A$AP covering the digital economy, and he was one of the first writers for Wired Magazine from its inception in 1993. Richard was sought-after as a public relations writer and speech writer for corporate executives, and his opinion pieces, covering a variety of topics from history, politics, and foreign relations to sports and digital media, appeared in publications throughout the country, including in The Hartford Courant. A published author, Richard’s book credits include his contributions to City Building: Nine Planning Principles for the 21st Century in 2010 and California Moderne and the Mid-Century Dream in 2014. Not long after

being diagnosed with Lewybody syndrome, Richard wrote an article titled “Stricken with the disease that devastated Robin Williams,” which was published in The San Francisco Chronicle on December 30, 2015. In his remembrance John notes that Richard was surrounded by his many West Coast friends in his last days, and that he “preserved his independent voice to the end.” Richard was survived by his mother, Sylvia Rappaport; his sister Emily Rappaport; and his partner Kathryn Thyret. A memorial service was held on October 23, 2016, in West Hartford and was attended by Richard’s Loomis classmates John McArthur, Mark Wawro, Andrew Weinstein, and David Yerkes. C. Thad Graham, on December 15, 2016. Originally from Glastonbury, Conn., Thad was a four-year student at Loomis Chaffee. “Spends Most Time in the Nee Room” was the superlative designation given to Thad by his class. Thad worked for 21 years as a courier with QMS, a delivery service in Washington, D.C. “After 21 years at QMS, we will miss his wit and wry smile,” said Mark Gross, owner and president of QMS. With great affection for cats, Thad gave homes to and cared for several homeless or feral animals and encouraged others to adopt them as pets. A funeral service was held on December 19, 2016, at Our Lady of Mercy Church in Potomac, Md

Obituaries

Martha Magauran Lysik, unexpectedly, on December 29, 2016. A one-year student from Enfield, Conn., Marty played as a freshman on the 1988 girls varsity ice hockey team alongside her sister Maureen Magauran ’88, who was a senior at the time. That year, the girls ice hockey team had a near-perfect season and took home the Noble and Greenough Invitational Championship title, the Founders League title, the Western New England Championship title, and the New England Girls Hockey Championship title. Maureen spoke of her relationship with her sister at a service at St. Andrew’s Church, the content of which was printed in The Block Island Times on January 8, 2017. “Marty was one of the ‘five little ones’ in our large family of 12 siblings,” Maureen recalled. “She was also one of the ‘three little ones,’ being the youngest with the twins Claire and Jim. I always felt protective of her although she could certainly hold her own. She was a force on the ice hockey rink and loved to challenge me when I played goalie and she wanted to score. Even though my mother told me I should let her score, I told Marty that I tried harder with her because she was my sister. I had a lot of respect for her and her abilities. And when we played, she’d always be saying something to me, to tease me, to get me to laugh, to get me to play with her.” Marty attended Enfield Montessori School and St. Bernard’s School in Enfield, Conn. In addition to Loomis, Marty attended Kylemore Abby in Connemara, Galway, Ireland; graduated from Fermi High School in Enfield; and attended Salve Regina College in Newport, R.I. Marty was a strong athlete who played ice hockey with the Connecticut Polar Bears; with a men’s team in Syracuse, N.Y.; and in Europe. She also was an excellent soccer player. Marty spent many summers working on Block Island, R.I., where she eventually settled at the age of 24 with her husband, Paul Hemingway, and raised their two children. In 2012, Marty married Rick Lysik. As an emergency medical technician, Marty was a member of the Block Island Rescue Squad and served as captain for two years. Her commitment to the Block Island community included helping deliver baskets to older residents as a member of the Ladies Auxiliary and teaching religious education classes at St. Andrew’s Catholic Church.

Marty and Rick co-owned and managed the Club Soda restaurant and bar, a welcoming gathering place in the island community. Marty will be long remembered for her generosity and for the understanding and kindness which she shared with everyone. Marty was survived by Rick; her three children, Kathleen, Seamus, and Ella Lysik; her mother; her 11 siblings, Brendan Magauran, John Magauran, Thomas Magauran, Raymond Magauran, Edward Magauran, James Magauran ’90, Muriel Benton, Nancy Magauran, Mary Magauran, Maureen Magauran ’88, Claire Magauran ’90, and their spouses; and many extended family members. A Mass of Christian burial was celebrated on January 2 at St. Andrew’s Catholic Church, followed by interment in Island Cemetery, Block Island, R.I.

Former Faculty Allen Richard Beebe, a beloved member of the Loomis Chaffee community, peacefully at home on January 7. Al will be remembered as an extraordinary history teacher, and during his Loomis tenure from 1955 until 1997, Al served as assistant dean, head varsity baseball coach, assistant coach of JV softball, and coach for Wolcott Club

Patrick Kennedy-Nolle, on December 29, 2016. A threeyear student from Bedford, N.Y, Patrick was inducted into the Cum Laude Society in 2012, was a National Merit Commended Student, and earned an Advanced Placement Award. He was also honored by the Loomis Mathematics Department in 2011–12. Patrick was involved in the Debate Society and Ultimate Frisbee Club. He was a resident in Flagg, Longman, and Warham halls, and he served as a student volunteer for the Alumni/Development Phone-athon. He leaves his parents, Christopher S. Nolle and Sharon D. Kennedy; his siblings, Warren and Sinclair Kennedy-Nolle; and his grandmothers, Ann Guida and Sandra Nolle. A Mass was celebrated on January 10 at Sacred Heart Church in Hartsdale, N.Y., with interment at St. Aloysius Cemetery in Livingston Manor, N.Y.

Allen Richard Beebe Photo: Loomis Chaffee Archives

football, basketball, and baseball, among other roles. Originally from Lewes, Del., Al attended The Hill School in Pottstown, Pa., and after graduating Phi Beta Kappa, he served in the U.S. Army from 1944 until 1946 in Japan and Germany through the end of World War II. Before enlisting in the Army, Al spent time as a lifeguard at Rehoboth Beach, Del. In 1951, Al earned a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University, where he also lettered in baseball. His distinguished career as a baseball player included pitching for Princeton against future President George H.W. Bush’s team at Yale University. Later, Al pitched in the semipro DelMarVa leagues. In 2000, Al was inducted into the Eastern Shore Baseball Hall of Fame. Al furthered his education in 1970, earning a master’s degree at Trinity College. Dedicated to education, Al spent 43 years in teaching, first at Westminster School in Simsbury, Conn., before joining the faculty at Loomis Chaffee. While on sabbatical in 1974, Al traveled to England Spring 2017

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and created a treasure trove of oral history interviews with World War I veterans. Al coached his baseball teams to five New England Prep School League titles, leading some major league scouts to recognize his 1977 team as the best in New England. Loomis’ popular and competitive club basketball championship trophy is named in Al’s honor. He retired from teaching in 1997. Al enjoyed fishing, particularly with his best friend, former faculty member Samuel W. “Stevie” Stevenson, and a number of other interests and pastimes, including canoeing, fox terriers, Princeton University athletics, cultivating his fig tree, dining out, and throwing parties. He also enjoyed a “good Manhattan,” according to the family’s obituary. An avid reader and assigner of books, Al believed firmly in lifelong learning. Mark Williams, Loomis Chaffee history teacher and a longtime friend and colleague, confirmed Al’s great love of reading and good books. “All the time I knew him and worked with him as a teacher, he impressed me with how much his teaching was informed by massive quantities of reading on the subjects he taught, and beyond. And many years after his retirement, just a few weeks before he passed away, he was telling me he had read nearly 100 books over the past year. This new insight he poured into his teaching and interaction with young people, not only while he taught at Loomis Chaffee, but even when, in retirement, he came to visit my classes and accompany my field trips, always eager to join in the conversations with students. Given one of my main goals has always been to get people to think outside of the box, it is surprising that I did not insist that Al come even more often than he did. For the History Department he provided a perspective that was unique, and for that, priceless,” wrote Mark in remembrance of Al. Current Loomis Chaffee History, Philosophy, Religious Studies & Social Science Department Head Rachel Engleke wrote, “Al retired a couple of years before I came to Loomis in the fall of 2000, but I very quickly learned who he was. … He was the kind of guy whose legend and legacy permeated History Department meetings, lunch table conversations, and anecdotes around the copy machine. Al remained in Windsor after retirement and therefore was an unofficial ‘emeritus’ faculty member who livened up a party with his presence, always 70

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quick with a story or a funny joke. I remember with great fondness spending many an afternoon or evening with Al, [history teacher] Kevin ‘Hendo’ Henderson, former French teacher David Goff, former history teacher Bert Thurber, among others, as he welcomed us to his home for a barbecue or perhaps to show us one of his favorite New England watering holes. He and I bonded, in particular, over his interest in Russian, and I recall that for many years he was involved in the Russian immigrant community in Hartford. Al was larger than life. As a young teacher just a few years into her career, I feel very fortunate to have known him.” Al is survived by his friend and former wife, Barbara Engel Beebe, of Friendship, Maine; their three children, Susan A. Beebe ’74, Will A. Beebe ’76, and Loomis Chaffee Director of Advancement Services & Operations Seth N. Beebe ’78, and their spouses; and his two grandchildren. A memorial service in Founders Chapel and a reception took place on the Island on March 18. William Eaton, on December 9, 2016, just shy of his 83rd birthday, in Norway, Maine, surrounded by family. Born in Weymouth, Mass., Bill played football, basketball, baseball, and track at Hingham High School. At Springfield College, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in 1951 and master’s degree in 1955, he competed on the football, wrestling, and track teams. While at Springfield College, Bill met his wife of nearly 61 years, Marilyn Fatzinger Eaton. Bill served one year in the U. S. Air Force before embarking on a long career in teaching and coaching beginning at Shady Side Academy in Pittsburgh, Pa., and followed by Schenectady High School in Schenectady, N.Y., Pulaski High School in New Britain, Conn., (where he was inducted into the New Britain Hall of Fame), and for more than 30 years at Loomis Chaffee. Through his coaching and teaching, Bill was an inspiration to a great number of his students, athletes, and colleagues. “He was the best coach I ever worked with,” said Chuck “Bruno” Vernon, Bill’s longtime coaching colleague at Loomis. Bruno recalled that Bill had a huge following of dedicated student athletes. According to Bruno, Bill, who coached football among other sports at

Loomis, had the unique capacity to get the most out of his teams which, in many seasons, were not comprised of highly skilled players. Bill was a wealth of “sweat wisdom,” which, according to Bruno, he shared liberally with his players. Bill’s sage advice included, “Don’t be the last kid to the ball!” “Bring your feet with you!” and “If you can’t get by the second kid, don’t try to go by the first!” Bill’s “kids played harder than anyone,” added Bruno. Alex D. Funderburg ’81 shared this remembrance: “When I arrived at Loomis Chaffee in 1978 for early football practice, Bill Eaton was one of the very first people I met. He greeted me with his characteristic warm smile and long, piercing gaze. Fifteen years old and arriving from my home in Illinois, I was pretty nervous. But Bill’s soft-spoken manner immediately put me at ease. I thought, ‘Wow, what a nice guy!’ Of course, not two hours later, Coach Eaton was on the practice field screaming and in a foul mood. He was running my new teammates and me into the dirt in the hot, late August afternoon sun. Several returning players had clearly not followed the recommended summer

William Eaton

Photo: Loomis Chaffee Archives

conditioning program, and he was going to whip us into shape. I thought, ‘Wow, this guy is tough!’ Last fall, I had the opportunity to have dinner with Bill and Marilyn Eaton along with several members of their family. Bill’s piercing gaze and warm smile were just the same as when we first met 38 years earlier. The conversation at dinner was almost exclusively about the kids the

Obituaries

Eatons had coached, mentored, and taught over the decades. The dedication and love they had for all the students who had come through Loomis Chaffee were evident. Our conversation brought into focus what Coach Eaton meant to me — he was someone you did not want to disappoint, not just because he demanded your best, but because he truly cared about you. He was always the first to tell you when you weren’t doing your best, but he was always quick to pick you up when you struggled, and he genuinely shared in your triumphs. So my first two impressions of Bill Eaton were both correct — he was a tough guy with a huge heart who measured his life’s success in the successes of the countless kids who were lucky enough to call him coach or teacher.” Bill was active in retirement in Norway, Maine, where he volunteered as a wrestling coach at Oxford Hills High School, served in the Kiwanis Club, and helped at the library. He enjoyed working his land at the “farm” looking over Lake Pennessewassee, fishing and canoeing in the lake, and playing golf at Norway Country Club. Bill is survived by his wife, Marilyn; his four children, Donna L. Bown ’75, Deborah Lumbert ’76, Dianne L. Eaton ’78, and Henry W. Eaton ’81, a former Loomis faculty member; 10 grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. A celebration of life service was held at Chandler Funeral Home in South Paris, Maine, on December 27, 2016.

Joseph B. Beidler, on October 31, 2016, at home. Joe served during World War II as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy aboard a mine sweeper. Passionate about football and baseball, Joe was both a player and a coach. He served as assistant coach to Ralph Erickson in varsity football and baseball at Loomis in the 1950s and 1960s. Over the years, Joe’s nickname became simply “Coach.” His coaching career spanned nearly four decades. In addition to Loomis, he coached at his alma mater, Trinity College; Weaver High School in Hartford: and Conard High School in West Hartford. He retired to Vero Beach, Fla., with Ruth, his wife of 74 years. There, they enjoyed golf, bridge, square dancing, and pool. He volunteered for the L.A. Dodgers at spring training and, according to the family’s obituary, relished being the driver who talked “game” all the way to the airport. Joe is survived by his wife, Ruth; his three children, Nancee Beidler, JoAnn Schaaf, and Robert Beidler; his four grandchildren; and his great-grandchild. A celebration honoring Coach Beidler’s life is planned at Trinity College Chapel at a later date.

More News The Alumni Office has learned of the passing of George Allen ’43 on February 26, 2015; James Scarborough Dissell ’43 on March 8, 2014; Richard Carson Kline ’44 on December 4, 2016; Donald J. Moore ’47 on November 3, 2015; Richard W. Hungerford ’48 on February 18, 2017; Sanford Hewitt Russell ’50 on February 21, 2017; William Alfred Schaffer ’52 on February 2, 2017; Malcolm Lathrop Johnson ’55 on February 8, 2017; Norma-Rae D’Esopo Wachs ’56 on February 5, 2017; Kendall Burford ’58 on January 14, 2017; Douglas Fox ’58 on February 28, 2017; Albert Graham Lee IV ’62 on December 24, 2016; Thomas Arthur Lawton ’67 on August 19, 2015; Robert B. Vogel ’68 on January 25, 2017; Susan B. Howe ’68 on February 16, 2017; William Alfred Wechsler ’74 on January 15, 2017; Ellen Grace Norton ’85 on February 22, 2017; Kenneth L. Greene ’89 on September 16, 2016; John Cannon ’96 on February 10, 2017; and former staff member Ana Rodrigues Louro on February 24, 2017. More information, as available, will be printed in future editions. 

Spring 2017

Re ections

THEN: Rockefeller Quadrangle in 1927

Photo: Loomis Chaffee Archives

Rockefeller Quad The Rockefeller Quadrangle, a key element of the campus master plan welcoming The Chaffee School to the Island and incorporating the construction of the Katharine Brush Library, the Wilbur Dining Hall, and Chaffee Hall, honors former Trustee Winthrop Rockefeller ’31. Dedicated in 1971, this quad also has served as the core of Loomis Chaffee’s residential facilities expansion, beginning with the opening of Carter Dorm in 1986. During the school’s earliest years, students enrolled in the Agricultural Program raised vegetables on this site. Signed photograph of Winthrop Rockefeller ’31 Photo: Loomis Chaffee Archives

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Campus Center

Rockefeller Quad

Cutler Hall

Carter Hall Kravis Hall

FALL 2018 Architectural rendering of the planned campus center overlays 1927 aerial photo. Rendering by Atkin Olshin Schade Architects Photo and rendering combined by Patricia Cousins

Brush Library

Clark Center for Science & Mathematics

he Loomis Chaffee School atchelder Road indsor Connecticut CH NG S R IC R

Non ro t rganization .S. Postage Paid Loomis Chaffee School S

Sophomore Molly Henderson practicing the viola in Founders Lounge. Photo: John Groo