MERCERSBURG ACADEMY SUMMER 2019
CONTE SUMMER 2019
Did You Know? At the end of the 2018-2019 school year, four longtime faculty members retired from Mercersburg Academy. We thank them for their combined 153 years of service to the school. Read more
FEATURES
about them in this issue.
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36 Disruption + Education = Innovation
Reimagining what the future of education looks like
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Rutherford Legacy Honoring Debbie and Frank Rutherford ’70 for their combined 85 years of service to the school » Chip Vink ʼ73: Honoring a Truly Admirable Man » Paul Galey: Trusted Colleague and Friend
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Farm to Ford Eating locally in Mercersburg’s dining hall
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NTS
Editor: Megan Mallory Contributors: Eliza DuBose ’20, Dylan Gantt ’21, Amy Marathe, Tyler Miller, Lee Owen, Zally Price, Susan Rahauser P ʼ05, ʼ07, ʼ12, Jillian Wilkerson Design: Mid-Atlantic Media Cover Art: Tristan Chace Head of School: Katherine M. Titus P ’20, ’23 Director of Strategic Marketing and Communications: Amy Marathe Associate Head of School for External Relations: Quentin McDowell Mercersburg Academy magazine is published by the Office of Strategic Marketing and Communications. Magazine correspondence: mallorym@mercersburg.edu Class Notes correspondence: classnotes@mercersburg.edu Alumni correspondence/change of address: alumni@mercersburg.edu 800-588-2550 Read us online: mercersburg.edu/magazine © Copyright 2019 Mercersburg Academy. All rights reserved. No content from this publication may be reproduced or reprinted in any form without the express written consent of Mercersburg Academy. Mercersburg Academy abides by both the spirit and the letter of the law in all its employment and admission policies. The school does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, or national or ethnic origin.
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Look for this image throughout the magazine to indicate additional photos, videos, and other content online at mercersburg.edu/magazine.
DEPARTMENTS 2 Head of School
10 A Mercersburg Moment
3 Calendar
12 Class Stats
4 Social Media
13 Campus Life
5 Living the Values
News Briefs / Irving-Marshall Recap / Commencement / Athletics
28 Alumni Life Reunion Weekend 2019
54 Class Notes 76 From the Archives
SUMMER 2019
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FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL
Welcome Change
A
s you read through this summer’s magazine, you will see threads of change–change we celebrate in our history and change we see on the horizon. The Greek philosopher Heraclitus is quoted as saying “change is the only constant in life,” and that is certainly true for
Mercersburg Academy. I have enjoyed learning about our history, specifically as it relates to the leadership of our previous six heads of school. As we celebrated our 125th anniversary in recent editions of the magazine, we shared some of that history with you. For this edition of the magazine, I’d like to highlight the leadership of Bill Fowle (1961-1972). Fowle was headmaster during a time of significant change in the larger world and at Mercersburg, overseeing both racial and gender integration on campus. During the 2019-2020 academic year, we will celebrate the 50th anniversary of coeducation, the 55th year of racial integration, and the 30th anniversary of the Black Student Union.
These Mercersburg stories–from the bold and courageous to the challenges and failures–make up the beautiful mosaic of our amazing school.
Bill Fowle was also at the helm in the spring of 1969 during the now infamous Chapel Walkout, which ended required Chapel services at the school. In fact, during Reunion Weekend this June, one of my favorite programs was imagined and created by the Class of 1969, as they returned for their 50th reunion. They staged a Chapel Walk-In, symbolically walking from in front of the Burgin Center for the Arts (which was then Boone Hall and where they gathered as a school after the Walkout) up to the Irvine Memorial Chapel, through the front doors of the Chapel, returning to the front-row pews where they reminisced about that event (see photo below). What a gift to hear their stories and gain a stronger and more accurate understanding of their experience! This year we will celebrate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion as our school theme, reflecting back on racial and gender integration on campus. As I look to the horizon and consider the curricular changes that are imminent across all levels of education, and which we hope Mercersburg will lead in the coming years, I am proud of our faculty and students and the courage they are showing as we reimagine our curriculum for a complex, changing world. Bold leadership throughout our history has been an important cornerstone of our success, but with change also comes inevitable challenges and possible failures. We will learn from our mistakes and continue to make Mercersburg the best possible school for today’s students, while anticipating the needs of a world that none of us can predict. I hope you enjoy reading about our past and our future, while also catching up on current happenings at your alma mater. These Mercersburg stories–from the bold and courageous to the challenges and failures–make up the beautiful mosaic of our amazing school.
Katherine M. Titus P ’20, ’23 Head of School
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Calendar Athletics—Most Varsity Teams vs. Blair Saturday, October 12 Fall Admission Open House Monday, October 14
Family and Alumni Weekend
Stony Batter Presents Our Town Saturday, October 19 Simon Theatre, Burgin Center for the Arts
NOVEMBER
OCTOBER 18-20
Mercersburg Invitational Swim Meet November 2-3
AUGUST
Athletics—Most Varsity Teams vs. Hun Sunday, November 3 Fall Dance Concert Saturday, November 9 Simon Theatre, Burgin Center for the Arts
Summer Faculty Institute August 12-16
SEPTEMBER
M.J. Hegar, author of Shoot Like a Girl, speaks on campus Monday, November 11
Stony Batter Presents Schoolhouse Rock Live! Jr. September 27-29 Hale Studio Theatre, Burgin Center for the Arts
OCTOBER
Fall Pops Concert Saturday, November 16 Simon Theatre, Burgin Center for the Arts
Fall Board of Regents Meetings October 10-12
DECEMBER
Stony Batter Presents Our Town October 11-13 Simon Theatre, Burgin Center for the Arts
Convocation SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1 Irvine Memorial Chapel
Christmas Candlelight Service Sunday, December 15 Irvine Memorial Chapel Winter Admission Open House Monday, December 16
WINTER 2020 Look for the next issue of Mercersburg Academy magazine to arrive in your mailbox! SUMMER 2019
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SOCIAL MEDIA
/mercersburgacademy
Eight students and a number of faculty volunteered their time February 24-26 helping to manage ski and snowshoe courses for the Special Olympics Maryland (SOMD) Winter Games at nearby Whitetail Ski Resort.
CMYK / .eps
@mercersburg
To celebrate the end of the spring term, Dorm Dean Laura Patterson arranged a puppy playdate for the boys in Tippetts Hall.
@mercersburg
Members of the senior class sported their chosen colleges and universities in celebration of National College Decision Day. We congratulate them on their acceptances!
/mercersburg1893
Congratulations to the Blue Storm Robotics Team, which took third place in the OnStage category and held on to a second-place ranking in the Rapidly Manufactured Robot Challenge competition at the RoboCup International Competition in Sydney, Australia!
During the advisory period May 2, students and faculty led sessions on life skills such as cooking, changing a flat tire, sewing, handling personal finances, and more.
@katietitushos
Watch a recap video of Reunion Weekend 2019.
End-of-year employee celebration included high-level softball. Champ team! #dontquityourdayjobs
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Living the
VALUES
During the Spring Dance Concert in May, Ella Jane Reinhard ’19 performed the piece “The Path of Here and Now,” choreographed by Denise Dalton, director of dance.
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LIVING THE VALUES
MERCERSBURG’S CORE VALUES IN ACTION
L
“
iving the Values” is a new section that highlights individuals in our community—students, alumni, faculty, staff, parents, and friends—who are living Mercersburg’s values as outlined in our strategic design: lofty ideals, great faith, noble integrity, and a ceaseless devotion to a mighty task. In this
issue, we highlight six phenomenal women as we look toward the coming year and two important anniversaries in the Academy’s history: the 50th anniversary of women returning as students and the 30th anniversary of the formation of the Black Student Union.
for more about these women
#LoftyIdeals ELIZA DUBOSE ’20 Drawing on her skills as a Writing Center Fellow and an editor for the arts section of The Mercersburg News, Eliza DuBose ’20 interviewed the three alumni and the faculty member featured on the facing page. Of the experience, she says, “It was really incredible to be able to talk to women who are doing things with their lives that are impacting people and companies in big ways. They are doing things that are so important, and they are doing it because they believe in it.” DuBose could easily be describing herself. In addition to her writing skills, she is incredibly active on campus—a campus where she chose to start over and redefine herself after the tragic loss of her twin sister when she was 13. Her passion for helping people led her to do a voter registration drive this year, which she hopes to improve upon next year. “I have always been interested in social justice,” DuBose says, “and in motivating people to do things to better the communities around them.”
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LIVING THE VALUES
#GreatFaith
#MightyTask
#NobleIntegrity
CARLA LOPEZ ’97
TONYA RUTHERFORD ’90
AMY JONES SATROM ’98
At 7 years old, Carla Lopez had written several books for publication on the family fridge about the topic of vertebrate biology, her passion in life. It was this passion that she carried to Mercersburg and on to college. But somewhere along the way, while volunteering to help combat the AIDS crisis, Lopez found herself more interested in studying the “human type of vertebrate because it was so strange and complicated and interesting.” She now works for the International Rescue Committee in New York. “[My team and I] use design and behavioral science to counter world problems,” she says. Specifically, she promotes better public health for refugees and people in rural areas around the world.
When Tonya Rutherford was young, she planned to serve as a judge by day, moonlight as a television news broadcaster by night, and spend the weekends as a hairdresser. When Rutherford arrived at Mercersburg, she made up 50 percent of the school’s black female population. She felt the campus needed a space where students of African descent could be themselves and help to educate the community about racial issues. To that end, she proposed the creation of a Black Student Union. Thirty years later, Rutherford is a successful lawyer in Washington, D.C., and Mercersburg’s BSU is still going strong.
Amy Jones Satrom came to Mercersburg as a Lenfest Scholar, looking to challenge herself as a competitive swimmer. She quickly rose to several leadership positions during her time at the school, including the Irving Society president. After graduation, she went on to become one of the first female brigade commanders at the U.S. Naval Academy, and following a superlative career in the U.S. military, she now works as vice president of operations at 23andMe (and is a member of Mercersburg’s Board of Regents). She and her family live in Mountain View, California.
#CeaselessDevotion ALLISON STEPHENS When her high-school friends predicted that she would one day be a teacher, Allison Stephens scoffed. Today, Stephens has been a faculty member at Mercersburg Academy for 32 years. She is among the most recognizable faces on campus, with her graying hair and often colorful outfits. Perhaps what makes her most recognizable, however, is her role as a voice for social justice. She advises not only the Women’s Activist Club but also the Rainbow Alliance, and is in the process of creating the Activism Springboard class in which students will take a close look at effective and ethical activism. Stephens and her husband, fellow faculty member Dave Holzwarth ’78, have two children (Wynn Holzwarth ’11 and Zack Holzwarth ’13).
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LIVING THE VALUES
#Leadership PATRICE MCGLOIN ’19 When Patrice McGloin addressed the Class of 2019 at Commencement as one of the Nevin Orators, she said, “Mercersburg taught us and dared us to take the time to not only listen to the unconventional story, but to actually make one of our own.” McGloin wrote her own Mercersburg story by pursuing as many experiences as possible: editor for the Blue Review, dorm prefect, Marshall Society vice president, two-year captain of the volleyball team, Writing Center Fellow, book club president, contributor to The Mercersburg News (she helped start a multicultural column in the student newspaper), and president of the Black Student Union. McGloin’s next steps will take her to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as one of 75 Morehead-Cain Scholars from around the world. “Part of the Morehead-Cain is an outdoor leadership summer,” she says. “So, I’m spending a month rock climbing in Wyoming this summer, and I never would have done that if I hadn’t tried something new at Mercersburg.” That “something new” was climbing through Mercersburg Outdoor Education, and McGloin is quick to encourage all new students to take a chance and step outside their comfort zone: “If you go into this experience thinking, ‘I’m going to try something new every chance I can, and see who I become because of it,’ you will find yourself changed by the time you leave Mercersburg and also a lot happier with who you are starting to become.”
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MERCERSBURG ACADEMY MAGAZINE
2019 Prospective Family Open Houses Monday, October 14 | Monday, December 16 Learn more and register at mercersburg.edu/openhouse
Dear readers,
NEW LOOK!
We hope you enjoy the new Mercersburg Academy magazine! In redesigning, we have tried to stay true to what you love about each issue, while also ensuring that the look and feel reflect our growing and changing community. After you finish this issue, we’d love to hear from you! What do you think of our new look? Do you have story ideas to suggest? Contact me, editor of Mercersburg Academy magazine, at mallorym@mercersburg.edu. I look forward to hearing from you! Sincerely, Megan Mallory Editor
SUMMER 2019
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A MERCERSBURG MOMENT Austin Curwen, instructor with Mercersburg Outdoor Education, poses with the mountain biking crew during a rare moment out of the saddle on an afternoon practice ride over Mercersburg’s back campus single track.
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A SNAPSHOT
2019-2020 INCOMING STUDENTS
728 Grade 9: Grade 10: Grade 11: Postgrad:
240
Applicants
Accepted Students (33% rate)
88 26 23 14
26
125
Boarding
16
Korea 3
1 Pennsylvania
2
China
5 New Jersey 2 Maryland 3 Virginia
16 states plus D.C. and 20 countries from 5 continents Top states represented: Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, New Jersey
MERCERSBURG ACADEMY MAGAZINE
Female
Day Students
88 Male
Germany
4 West Virginia
12
63
Legacy
Top countries represented: 1
151
Admitted Students
17
Siblings of current students
76
18
Siblings of alumni
Receiving Financial Aid
94
% of students who interview at Mercersburg Academy complete an application
Stony Batter Players, Mercersburg’s student theatre company, gave three performances of Chicago: High School Edition in February. Casey Nguyen ’19, who played Billy, is pictured here (center) with the Merry Murderesses dance ensemble.
CampusLIFE NEWS BRIEFS p14
»
IRVING-MARSHALL p18
»
ATHLETICS p20
»
COMMENCEMENT p24
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CAMPUS LIFE
Recognizing Cum Laude 2019 Mercersburg Academy inducted 23 new members into its chapter of the Cum Laude Society for the 2018-2019 academic year. Mercersburg is one of 382 secondary schools across the country with a chapter of the Cum Laude Society, which recognizes excellence in academic work. Cum Laude Society inductees include (front row, L-R) Thomas Yonke ’19, Ellie Wilkie ’19, Evelyn Oh ’19, Leah McConnell ’19, Joseph Lieber ’19, Teak Romtrairut ’19, Allen Kim ’19, Seth Hodges ’19, Elizabeth Cantacuzene ’19; (second row) Priscilla Zhang ’19, Ben Hedstrom ’19, Jason Fang ’19, Johnny Nguyen ’19, Quan Tran ’19, Allen Kim ’19; (back row) Sophia Divone ’19, Alex Dicke ’19, Katie Brennan ’19, Kamryn Bacchus-Larode ’19, Patrice McGloin ’19, Brent Ditzler ’19, Tag Curwen ’19. (Not pictured: Cherie Sio ’19)
Mercersburg Community Supports Relay For Life More than 300 people from Mercersburg and surrounding areas participated in the Relay For Life of Mercersburg in February. The event took place in the Hale Field House on campus and raised close to $30,000 for the American Cancer Society. The money raised came from online fundraising, corporate sponsorships, and dayof-event sales and donations, plus $5,500 in in-kind donations. To kick off the event, 22 teams met for the opening ceremony and the Academy’s school minister, Rev. Will Whitmore, gave an opening prayer. Several speakers then shared their personal stories of fighting and surviving cancer. Many activities kept the Relay moving throughout the day, including a Zumba and
Hargrove (Mercersburg Academy’s former community-relations liaison), Barb Hornbaker (Mercersburg Hair Studio), Stacey Keyser (Choice Collision), Cherry Laye (Orrstown Bank), and Kayla Statler (Summit Health). James
Pound class, games for children, and the luminary
Buchanan High School’s National Honor Society
ceremony—which is a Relay For Life tradition. The
helped with the food station, reception, and T-shirt
lights are turned down and the crowd settles in and
distribution, while the Academy’s Community
listens to speakers who have lost a family member
Engagement team helped to decorate the Hale
or friend to cancer. A list of names is read of people
Field House in the theme of the popular board game
in our community who lost their lives to cancer and
Candy Land. The team also helped with the basket
those who are fighting cancer.
raffle and making sure the music and technology
The event was organized by co-chairs Linda
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From left: Mercersburg Academy students Priscilla Zhang ’19, Maria Weimer ’19, Grace Neville ’19, Tiffany McGhie ’19, and Caroline He ’19 participating in the Relay For Life.
MERCERSBURG ACADEMY MAGAZINE
functioned properly.
Community Engagement students Rebecca Feng ’20 and Megan McGregor ’20 volunteering during the Relay For Life.
CAMPUS LIFE
Above: Franklin Williams ’22 explores one of the informational booths offered by the Rutherford Health and Wellness Center during lunch. Right: Faculty member Jim Malone leads an afternoon yoga workshop.
Students Participate in Health and Wellness Day Instead of the usual class schedule on February 13, students took time to learn about healthy habits and engage in restorative activities as part of Mercersburg Academy’s Health and Wellness Day. “Our goal was to provide our students with an opportunity to learn more about the various issues they confront on a daily basis as it relates to their health and well being,” says Chris Howes, assistant head of school for student life and culture. During the morning, students attended meetings based on their grade. Seniors participated in a workshop on healthy relationships, 11th-graders embarked on leadership training, and students in ninth and 10th grades rotated between a session with the College Counseling Office on developing positive habits and a session with guest speaker George Brown on the dangers of vaping, juuling, and using e-cigarettes. Brown is a representative from an agency called Freedom from Chemical Dependency who was on campus throughout the week to work with Mercersburg’s 10th-grade Human Development classes. During lunch that day, staff members from the Academy’s Rutherford Health and Wellness Center offered informational booths about the dangers of vaping, juuling, and using e-cigarettes. To round out the day, students participated in a rejuvenating afternoon activity of their choice from a list of options, ranging from coloring and doodling and playing bocce ball to participating in ceramic classes, meditation workshops, yoga, and more. “We hope students left the day with more knowledge about the healthy choices they face and how to make more informed decisions,” says Howes. “More importantly, we wanted students to
Our goal was to provide our students with an opportunity to learn more about the various issues they confront on a daily basis as it relates to their health and well being.
leave the day feeling recharged.”
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Mercersburg Welcomes Guest Speakers To kick off the school’s 2018-2019 Monday Evening Lecture Series, Hakeem Rahim gave the Ammerman Family Lecture at Mercersburg Academy in October in the Burgin Center for the Arts’ Simon Theatre. An internationally recognized mental health
and at California’s Folsom Prison with those
speaker, educator, and advocate, Rahim began
who “live at the margins.” His dedication to
speaking openly in 2012 about his 19-year
finding a place for all in our society brought
journey with bipolar disorder; he was diagnosed
him to the Boyle Heights community of East
while an undergraduate at Harvard University.
Los Angeles, where he served as pastor of
While addressing the misconceptions and
Dolores Mission Church (then the poorest
stigma of mental illness head-on, Rahim has
parish in the city), from 1986 through 1992. In
testified before the U.S. Senate, addressed law-
1988, he and parish and community members
enforcement personnel, and over the years has
started what became Homeboy Industries,
spoken to more than 30,000 students about
which is the largest gang intervention, rehab,
his recovery with a goal of reaching those with
and re-entry program in the world.
mental illness and their family members. Hakeem Rahim
Invited speakers in 2019-2020 will address the theme for the upcoming school year of
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The Ammerman Family Lecture Series brings to the community speakers of national
Phillip H. ’38, Charles B. ’41, and David S. ’42.
renown who have important perspectives
The endowment supports annual speakers “on
on the significant issues of the day and the
topics related to fundamental human values—
capacity to help young people understand the
those principles which direct a person’s
relevance of such issues to their lives. Endowed
decisions and actions because they clarify
in 1999, the series was made possible through
what is ‘right’ and ‘wrong.’”
the generosity of Regent Emeritus Andrew R.
In addition to the Monday Evening Lecture
Ammerman ’68 and his mother, the late Mrs.
Series, Lauren Markham, author of the book The
Josephine Ammerman, in memory of Andrew’s
Far Away Brothers, and Erika L. Sánchez, author
father, H. Max Ammerman, and his brother, Stephen C. Ammerman. In December, Father Gregory Boyle, author of the New York Times best seller Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion, delivered the Schaff Lecture on Ethics and Morals in the Irvine Memorial Chapel. Boyle, founder of Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles, California, has dedicated his
Diversity, Equity,
life to helping that city’s most marginalized
and Inclusion.
is a Los Angeles native and Jesuit priest. He was
MERCERSBURG ACADEMY MAGAZINE
The Schaff Family Endowment was funded by and is in honor of Schaff brothers
individuals find a place in society’s ranks. Boyle transformed by his work in Bolivia and Mexico
Gregory Boyle
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William “Bill” Kissick Appointed Chief Development Officer Head of School Katie Titus announces the appointment of William “Bill” Kissick as Mercersburg Academy’s chief development officer. Kissick comes to Mercersburg from St. Paul’s School in Concord, New Hampshire. Kissick joined St. Paul’s School Erika L. Sánchez
of I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter, both spoke at school meetings in April in the Irvine Memorial Chapel. These books, along with Boyle’s Tattoos on the Heart, were all 2018 summer-reading selections at Mercersburg Academy. The daughter of Mexican immigrants, Sánchez is a 2017-2019 Princeton Arts Fellow and a recent recipient of the 21st Century Award from the Chicago Public Library Foundation and a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Poetry. Her young-adult novel explores the pressures, expectations, and stereotypes of growing up in a Mexican-American home. Markham is an authority on international refugee issues and Central American and child migration in the United States, as well as environmental issues and urban education and education policy. Her book is a true story of identical twins who, at age 17, traded El Salvador’s gang violence for the trials of life as undocumented immigrants in Oakland, California. Lauren Markham
in August 2006 to direct its first comprehensive campaign in more than 30 years. Promoted to director of alumni and development in 2011, and to chief advancement officer in 2016, he led a large team to build the school’s alumni and parent community and raise funds in support of the school. Kissick also helped staff the Development and the Trustee and Governance Committees of the St. Paul’s Board of Trustees. In 2014, he and his team were instrumental in completing “The Campaign for St. Paul’s School,” which raised $178 million a full year ahead of its timeline. Prior to St. Paul’s School, Kissick spent more than 30 years working in the alumni and development field, having served as associate dean for development and external relations at the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth, as director of capital gifts at Deerfield Academy, and in the major gifts offices at Dartmouth College and St. Lawrence University. He has led or worked on four separate campaigns, and got his start in annual giving and alumni relations at Denison University and the William Penn Charter School. Kissick graduated from Penn Charter and holds a bachelor’s degree from Denison and a master’s degree in business administration from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. “We are thrilled that Bill is joining the Mercersburg family,” Titus says. “Bill has a proven record of being an effective fundraiser and educational leader. I was immediately struck by Bill’s thoughtfulness, humility, and clarity of purpose. “We take pride in our advancement program’s historic success. We know well that the Mercersburg family engages in our mission in ways that differentiate our school. As we look to the future, we will rely on this engagement even more, and we want to make sure that we have the right team in place to support these ambitious goals. Bill will play a critical role in helping to lead this team forward.”
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IRVING-MARSHALL FINAL SCORE Irving 650
Marshall 1350
he John Marshall Literary Society outlasted the rival Washington Irving Literary Society for the fourth year in a row. Marshall’s Elizabeth Heidecker ’19 earned first place at Declamation for her performance of a piece she wrote, “Suburbia.” Her teammate Grace Bennett ’19 placed second (for Sarah Vowell’s “Shooting Dad”), and Irving’s Ike Hearon ’19 took third (for Duncan Macmillan’s “Every Brilliant Thing”). Irving’s quintet of Hearon, Carmen Martinez ’20, Will Maurer ’20, Katie Owens ’19, and Ellie Wilkie ’19 was chosen as the strongest overall Declamation team. Daphne Valen ’19 (Irving) and Hunter Roberts ’19 (Marshall) served as this year’s society presidents. 18
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WEEK 2019
February 24—28, 2019
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Varsity Athletics Notes
For the first time this year, the Department of Athletics selected Athletic Leadership Award winners (Sam Barnes ’19/football, Mandolin Nguyen ’19/girls’ swimming, and Meghan Scott ’19/girls’ lacrosse) and Excellence in Coaching Award recipients (Betsy Cunningham/girls’ cross country, Katy Brake/girls’ JV basketball, and Eric Hicks/boys’ tennis). The boys’ and girls’ soccer teams both notched double figures in victories and earned Independent-Parochial School League titles; in addition, the boys’ team reached the semifinals of the Pennsylvania Independent Schools State Tournament (defeating top-seeded Episcopal Academy along the way). Ford Blaylock ’19 broke a 20-year-old school record by swimming the boys’ 500-yard freestyle in 4:22.30 at the Eastern Interscholastic Swimming and Diving Championships; Mercersburg’s boys placed fifth and its girls were sixth. Sophia Divone ’19 swept the girls’ 1600m and 3200m at the MAPL Outdoor Track & Field Championships for the third straight year. She graduated as the holder of eight school records (six indoor, two outdoor). Other indoor track & field school records were set by James Colwell ’20 (boys’ 55m hurdles and 60m hurdles), Annie Klaff ’20 (girls’ long jump) and Tomisin Salako ’20 (girls’ shot put), as well as the girls’ 4x400m relay team (Divone, Klaff, Susan Concordia ’22, and Chioma Oparaji ’20).
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Aakash Koduru ’20 won MAPL titles in the boys’ 1600m (indoor) and 3200m (outdoor). The boys’ and girls’ lacrosse teams captured league championships in the inaugural season of the Crossroads Lacrosse League; both teams defeated local rival St. James in their respective league title games. The girls’ team qualified for the PAISAA State Tournament for the first time in program history, defeating host Shipley in a first-round contest. Mercersburg and Madeira established the M Cup, a yearlong multisport competition between the Blue Storm and Snails girls’ teams (similar in format to the Centennial Cup contested each year between the Storm boys and Kiski). Mercersburg won both trophies this year. Emma Hicks ’19 (girls’ tennis/squash/outdoor track & field) and Alex Wood ’19 (boys’ cross country/indoor track & field/outdoor track & field) became the 32nd and 33rd Mercersburg athletes to earn the maximum 12 varsity letters during their athletic careers. New varsity head coaches for the 2019-2020 academic year will
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include Andy Brown (football), Ryan Tyree (squash), Matt Jacobs (baseball), and Tim Kerr (boys’ lacrosse). Mercersburg’s Class of 2019 includes 21 student-athletes who officially announced commitments to continue their athletic careers at the college level. They include Jill Ahlgren (girls’ lacrosse/field hockey, Gettysburg College), Garrett Ammons (football, Gettysburg College), Sam Barnes (wrestling, Bucknell University), Andrea Bentoglio (boys’ soccer, State University of New York at New Paltz), Ford Blaylock (boys’ swimming, U.S. Military Academy at West Point/Army), JJ Chou (boys’ basketball, Chapman University), Tag Curwen (boys’ swimming, Pomona College), Brent Ditzler (boys’ soccer, Worcester Polytechnic Institute), Emma Hicks (girls’ tennis, University of Rochester), Morgan Krepp (girls’ swimming, U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis/Navy), Noah Litzinger (football, Worcester Polytechnic Institute), Tiffany McGhie (girls’ basketball, Canisius College), Sam Morgan (boys’ soccer, West Virginia University), Mandolin Nguyen (girls’ swimming, Army), Hugh Robey (boys’ swimming, Navy), Thomas Russell (baseball, Navy), McGee Schnarrs (football, Susquehanna University), Colby Walker (boys’ soccer, Catholic University of America), Ryan Wiley (football, Trinity [Conn.] College), Eli Williams (boys’ swimming, Navy), and Alex Wood (boys’ cross country/track & field, Rhodes College).
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126th Commencement
Honoring the Class of May 25, 2019
S
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BY THE NUMBERS › 120 graduates, representing 17 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and 16 nations › Members of the graduating class will matriculate at 86 different colleges and universities › Most popular college choices: The United States Naval Academy at Annapolis (seven matriculations); College of William & Mary and University of California, Los Angeles (four matriculations apiece); Pennsylvania State University, Purdue University, University of Colorado at Boulder, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia University (three each) › Valedictorian: Sophia Divone ’19, Great Falls, Virginia › Salutatorian: Jason Fang ’19, Taipei, Taiwan › Nevin Orators: Patrice McGloin ’19, Washington, D.C., and Thomas Yonke ’19, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania › Senior Class President: Hunter Roberts ’19, North Tustin, California › Class Marshals: Ben Hedstrom ’19, Norwell, Massachusetts, and Julia Tilden ’19, Cody, Wyoming › Commencement speaker: Magdalena Kala ’09 › Baccalaureate speaker: Frank Rutherford ’70, P ’03, ’06, ’06
Mercersburg is an extraordinary place that has allowed me and all of you to explore various interests without limitations on who you should or can be. Cherish that spirit of exploration as you go through the next stage of your life. Follow the jungle gym of your curiosity and see where it takes you. Magdalena Kala ’09
—Magdalena Kala ’09, Commencement speaker
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CAMPUS LIFE
When I was 12 or 13, a coach of mine recited the quote, “A river cuts through rock not because of its power but because of its persistence.” Class of 2019: I’m confident that we will cut through rock, not by the loudness or forcefulness of our voices, but through our intellectual dexterity, strong character, and unwavering resilience. —Sophia Divone ’19, valedictorian
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CAMPUS LIFE
S 2 1 1
4
3
2
126th Commencement
5 5
9
8
6
11
4
1
5 2
3
5
6
8 7
10 12
9 10
11
12
4
CLASS OF 2019 LEGACY GRADUATES 1. Quinton Reed, son of Susan Lyles-Reed ’88 and Eric Reed ’88 2. Olivia Keller, daughter of Beth Spurry ’89 and granddaughter of Chris Spurry ’66 3. Ben Hedstrom, son of Rick Hedstrom ’86, grandson of the late Richard Hedstrom ’54, and great-grandson of the late Oscar Hedstrom ’27 4. Mary DiLalla, daughter of Ann Marks DiLalla ’82 and Richard DiLalla ’82 5. Maddie Schaner, daughter of P.J. Schaner ’86 and Julie Gilmer Schaner ’87 and granddaughter of J. David Gilmer ’62 6. Jake Furigay, son of Paul Furigay ’85 7. Ike Hearon, grandson of Nick Coyne ’50 and stepgreat-grandson of the late George Manley (1913) 8. Grant Henne, son of Beth Ann Baxter ’84 9. Sam Barnes, son of Susannah McNear ’91 10. Matilda Zimmerman, daughter of Stephen Zimmerman ’88 11. Elizabeth Heidecker, granddaughter of Dennis Byrne ’57 12. Rose Olsen, daughter of Molly Hall ’79 and stepdaughter of Brent Copenhaver ’79
for photos, videos, and more SUMMER 2019
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ALUMNI LIFE
June 6-9, 2019 From Thursday, June 6, to Sunday, June 9, classes ending in 4 and 9 held their five-year reunions, and more than 800 alumni, faculty, staff, and friends of Mercersburg gathered on campus to celebrate their connection to each other and to the school.
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MERCERSBURG ACADEMY MAGAZINE
Alumni LIFE
SUMMER 2019
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ALUMNI LIFE
“A Life of Perseverance: Picking Ourselves Up Off the Mat” with Keynote Speaker Col. (ret) Robert Naething ’74, P ’01 (see recording online)
“The Lowe Down” with NBC Sports anchor Rebecca Lowe ’99 and Director of Athletics Rick Hendrickson P ’03, ’06, ’19 (see recording online)
Congratulations to 1979 for nabbing this year’s Class Cup for best class tent on the quad!
For a recap video of the weekend, a complete photo gallery, and additional video and photo content, visit mercersburg.edu/reunionweekend.
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MERCERSBURG ACADEMY MAGAZINE
ALUMNI LIFE
AT A GLANCE:
839 Total Attendees:
Fifty years after the Chapel Walkout, members of the Class of ’69 led a Chapel Walk-In as part of Reunion Weekend. The event featured eyewitness accounts of those who were there and a look at the event’s legacy.
Eddie Kang ’99 “Don’t Forget the Magic” Art Show
Car Show on the Quad
Class Tent Contest
Farthest Distance Traveled to Mercersburg:
10,143 miles (Sigrid Wilson ’09 from Australia)
Wine Tasting at Knob Hall Winery with Dick Seibert ’69, P ’09, ’11
Power of Place Talk with James Snyder ’69, P ’05 (see recording online)
Family Time on the Quad
Antietam Battlefield Tour with Jeff Driscoll ’68
Number of Alumni Children Who Attended:
Corepower Yoga Sculpt Class with Jenn Brailler ’09
74
Robotics Presentation with Rachel Rosa ’14
Innovation in Education SUMMER 2019 Discussion Panel
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ALUMNI LIFE
REUNION GIVING TO THE 2018-2019 ANNUAL FUND
HONORED DURING REUNION WEEKEND
CLASS OF 1954 $6,950 (18 percent participation) CLASS OF 1959 $80,234 (21 percent participation) CLASS OF 1964 $60,992 (29 percent participation) CLASS OF 1969 $47,899 (30 percent participation) CLASS OF 1974 $313,762 (30 percent participation) CLASS OF 1979 $100,092 (34 percent participation)
The Alumni Council honored an exceptional group of faculty and staff for their service to Mercersburg. Pictured from left are Laurence “Mitch” Mitchell (8 years, security); Debbie Rutherford P ’03, ’06, ’06 (42 years, associate head of school); Frank Rutherford ’70, P ’03, ’06, ’06 (43 years, science faculty); Chip Vink ’73, P ’94, ’99, (39 years, English faculty); Bonnie Miller (12 years, administrative staff); Head of School Katie Titus P ’20, ’23; Paul Galey P ’00, ’02 (29 years, counseling and religion faculty); Jeff Zeis (40 years, buildings and grounds); and Alumni Council Vice President Sassan Shaool ’91.
CLASS OF 1984 $28,449 (23 percent participation) CLASS OF 1989 $64,730 (22 percent participation) CLASS OF 1994 $34,113 (31 percent participation) CLASS OF 1999 $32,061 (39 percent participation) CLASS OF 2004 $4,385 (19 percent participation)
Alumni Council Medal for Distinguished Achievement Robert Hunter ’59
Alumni Council Medal for Distinguished Service Joseph Huber ’64
Alumni Council Prize for Achievement Masroor Ahmed ’99
Alumni Council Prize for Service Beatrice Lloyd ’94
Class of ’32 Award Steven Guttman ’64
CLASS OF 2009 $30,964 (28 percent participation) CLASS OF 2014 $15,955 (29 percent participation)
Total Reunion Donors....508 Total Reunion Annual Fund Dollars Raised.....$844,546 Total Reunion Dollars Raised..............................$1,614,501
Class of ’32 Award James Snyder ’69, P ’05
As of June 30, 2019
Young Alumni Leadership Award Magdalena Kala ’09
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MERCERSBURG ACADEMY MAGAZINE
ALUMNI ALUMNILIFE LIFE
LC LOYALTY CLUB
Row 1 (L-R): Tom Heefner ’57, Tom Steiger ’66, Ed Neff ’59, Bob Hunter ’59, Bob Sze ’59, Alan Brody ’64, Allen Jaggard ’64; Row 2: Jere Keefer ’65, Eli Swetland ’65, Larry Himes ’64, Jim Powers ’64, Charlie Coates ’63, Dick Abrams ’64, Stew Borger ’64, Tom Day ’64; Not pictured, but in attendance: Harold Brake ’54, Doug Bressler ’68, John Butterfield ’56, Jeff Driscoll ’68, Rob Hanawalt Jr. ’67, Ken Johnson ’67, Ted Judt ’67, Doug Miller ’68, Jeffrey Ott ’68, Ed Schmidt ’49, Bill Tutt ’59, Wirt Winebrenner Jr. ’54
CLASS OF 1964
’64
Row 1 (L-R): Phil Dunmire, Head of School Katie Titus, Joe Huber, Larry Himes; Row 2: Tom Day, Alan Brody, Allen Jaggard, Ed Sehon, Jim Powers; Not pictured, but in attendance: Dick Abrams, Stew Borger, Dick Cass
AT A GLANCE: Faculty, Staff, and Alumni Programming Participants:
’69
65
’74
CLASS OF 1969
Row 1 (L-R): Tom Potterfield Jr., James Snyder, Dean Taylor, Rick Fleck, Bill Garofalo, Jim Steiger; Row 2: Chuck Barger III, Gary Daniels; Row 3: James Cassell, Andy Wolf, Bill Gridley, Joseph Hunt, Bruce Walker, James Sawyer, Ken Raffel, Harry Apfelbaum; Row 3: Andy Austin, Wick Merchant III, Chuck Wysor, Jim McClure, David Kellman, Russell Moore, Scott Finer, Tim Flanagan; Row 4: Jim Perdue, Dave Hawbaker, George Heindel, Rich Freedman, James Reibman, Dick Seibert Jr., Jim Bell Jr., Chuck Grice Jr.; Row 5: Peter Mallory (former faculty), Jeff Hodes, John Brink, Granville Smith Jr., Paul Bisset, Bruce Krebs, Burke Hayes, John Groh II; Not pictured, but in attendance: Dave Barensfeld, Robert Lehrman
Reunion Committee Volunteers:
139
CLASS OF 1974
Row 1 (L-R): Vince Nacrelli, Chris Fry Tarbox, Lance Grove; Row 2: Rick Lansdale IV; Row 3: Tony Tito '75, Tom Rahauser, Bob Wineland; Not pictured, but in attendance: Mark Binford, Mike Browning, Rich Grace Jr., Liz Fulton Jones, Bob Naething, Deborah Simon
Oldest Returning Alum: Ed Schmidt
’49
CLASS OF 1979
’79
Row 1 (L-R): Laura Tostevin Sacchi, Cindy Dray Ensor, Molly Jones Mancini, Carol Furnary Casparian, Deirdre Marshall, Molly Hall; Row 2: Brooke Kinney, Gretchen Decker Jones, Robin Tatum Currin, Lacy Rice III, Brent Copenhaver; Row 3: Amy Buchanan, Karen McDowell Marston, John Kline, Sam Jones, Matt Highley; Row 4: Daryl Workman Keeler, Rob Marston, John Rodgers Jr., Rohel Pascual; Row 5: John Russo, Skip Lyshon, Bill Carnahan III, Doug Corwin Jr.; Row 6: Andy Curtis, Todd Deckman, Greg Wagner; Not pictured, but in attendance: Bill Allen, Lynn Tchobanoglous Anderson, Jim Carbone, Don Devine Jr., Rob Johnson, Jay Tindall
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ALUMNI LIFE
’84 CLASS OF 1984
Row 1 (L-R): Jim Laingen, Holly Celio Rouffy, Scott Kemp, Chase Vokrot Poffenberger, Alice Huffman Birch, Betsy Rider-Williams, Andrea White Hosbein; Row 2: Janet Shaffer, Kurt Nielsen, Marion Sullivan, Bill Suggs Jr.; Row 3: Jorge Vargas, Pat Flanagan, George Thompson, Andrew McCabe, Sandy Jones Reese, Tom Evans; Row 4: Jose Alonso III, Tom Hornbaker, Dean Hill, Brian Wagner, Lee Keizler, Ralph France III, Jeff Reese; Not pictured, but in attendance: Wendy Hager, Ann Quinn, Paul Romness
’94 CLASS OF 1994
Row 1 (L-R): Chilton Isaacs, Bebe Lloyd, Katie Lasky, Meg Gilbert Beck, Laura Peterson Deligio, Kelly McAdoo Morariu, Kathryn Clark Furtado; Row 2: Eli Swetland Jr., Tom Williams, Traci Ruohomaki, Chris Jones, MacKinlay Himes, Aaron DeLashmutt, Elizabeth Jordan Lawrence, Keith Pulley, Ricardo Benitez, Drew Young; Row 3: Kirk Preston, Giulio Scarzella, Jeff Becker, Tae Lee, John Malcolm, Ben Graham, Matt Beatty, Tim Gocke, Adam Baugh; Not pictured, but in attendance: Rob Jefferson, Nathan Vink, Brian Moore, Beth Porter
’89 CLASS OF 1989
Row 1 (L-R): Jon Trichter, Julie Curtis, Jennifer Mayo Burrough, Nita Jayakumar, Ashley Himes Kranich; Row 2: Jamie Carstensen, Ames Prentiss, Leo Najera, Alex Pollinger, Russ Brady; Row 3: Richard Chen, Brian Foster, Marc Furigay, Greg Oberfield, Ben Tutt, Chris Eldridge; Row 4: Steve Thompson, Erica Anderson, Will Byrd, Geoff McInroy, Jeff Rix; Not pictured, but in attendance: Beth Spurry, Jake Beck III, Becky Halterman Bloom, Michelle Carey Jenkins, Matt Wootton
AT A GLANCE: Most Attendees
1999 (51 classmates)
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MERCERSBURG ACADEMY MAGAZINE
’99 CLASS OF 1999 Row 1 (L-R): Colleen Corcoran Yates, Ingrid Herr-Paul Ashley, Cara Fraver, Irene Papoutsis Mulkerin, Denah Marano D’Annunzio, Adam Brewer; Row 2: Heather Rosetta-Harper Page, Jennifer Barr Weiss, Catherine Wahl, Lauren Molen Adams, Sylvia Saracino Koodrich, Jenn Flanagan Bradley; Row 3: Aly Woodward Jacobsen, Molly Messick, Alexandra Goerl Rickeman, Aaron Chiu, Isaac Brody, Patrick Koch, Andy Choi, Erin McCartney Rozniakowski; Row 4: Jasen Wright, Patty Rennert, Julie Kaufman Nussdorfer, Rache Baird Brand; Row 5: Flynn Corson, Savina Rendina Cupps, Katharina Kolsdorf Thal, Jessica Malarik Fair, Tiffany Myers, Greg Rohman, Lars Teigelack, Edward Brown Jr.; Row 6: Ben Smith, Jonathan Palmer, Rebecca Lowe, Matt Danziger, Andrew Danziger, Eric Kass IV, Masroor Ahmed, Luke Swetland; Row 7: Matt Kranchick, Tom Dugan, Kareem Wright, Jaime Pradera-Velasco, Cameron Saunders, A.J. Johnson; Not pictured, but in attendance: Cassie Hubbard Hill, Eddie Kang, Nathan Richards III, Eric Sheffield, Heath Vink
ALUMNI LIFE
CLASS OF 2004
Row 1 (L-R): Katie Keller White, Sarah Olwell Kibildis, Erica Adam Nemeroff, Jennifer Saracino, Eva Miller; Row 2: Bryn Crossan Kibler, Maggie Gindlesperger, Andy Gottlieb, Harry Kline; Row 3: Alexander Lavery, Brandy Bosta Colbert, Christina Turchi, Nick Mellott, Ryan Ostrow; Row 4: Alex Lowe, Graham Zifferer, Will Gridley, Kenny Walker
’04 Highest Annual Fund Participation:
1999
’09
(58 donors or 39%)
CLASS OF 2009
Row 1 (L-R): Ashley Irving, Kristy Xu, Maddy Stoken, Ashton Vattelana, Kim Smith Shafer, Annie Birney; Row 2: Rob Kurtz, Lena Finucane, Alicia Furnary Amato, Rachael Porter, Marielle Collins, Sam Richardson; Row 3: Tad Holzapfel, Sigrid Wilson, Anika Kempe, Mark Herring, Ronald MacDonald; Row 4: Evan Pavloff, David Liu, Lucia Rowe, Jenn Brallier, Nitish Verma; Row 5: Mike Dodson, Andrew Buehler, Chris Hyun, Tyler Wilcox; Row 6: James Gotoff, McArthur Gill, Trevor Smith, David Hill IV, T.J. Kernan; Not pictured, but in attendance: Jack Oliphant
Largest Annual Fund Class Gift:
1974 ($313,762)
’14 CLASS OF 2014
Row 1 (L-R): Kenny Guerrero, Charlotte Rhoad, Melanie Rankin, Madison Nordyke, Natalie Burkardt, Liz Stern-Green, Rachel Rosa, Chantel Yague, Madelena Collins; Row 2: Kevin Duda, Andrew Peterson, Alex York, Payton Lissette, Zoe Alpert, Syd Godbey, Grace Caroline Wiener, Delaney Taylor, Meghan Peterson, Shelby Smith; Row 3: Tony Yim, Ben Barrows, Jack Flanagan, Johnny Mancini, Brad McGhee; Row 4: Josh Parham, Gun Ho Ro, Caldwell Butler, Dikachi Osaji, Seun Kuye, Lisa Grosser, Megan Burke, Trustin Riley; Row 5: Justin Kyner, Brad Wastler, Wes Fulton, Mike Collins, MacKenzie Brink, Max Lissette, Amara Onyewuchi; Not pictured, but in attendance: Jayson Brown, Shahmeer Hussain, Peter Katsarakes, Caitlin Cremins, Tawfiq Abdul-Karim, Kyle Hawbaker, Jordan Hotz, Timi Tijani
Save the Date!
Reunion Weekend 2020 June 4-7 SUMMER 2019
35
Disruption
+ Education
= INNOVATION
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MERCERSBURG ACADEMY MAGAZINE
By Megan Mallory
To disrupt—verb—1. to break apart, to throw into disorder; 2. to interrupt the normal course or unity of To educate—verb—1. to train by formal instruction and supervised practice especially in a skill, trade, or profession; 2. to develop mentally, morally, or aesthetically especially by instruction; 3. to persuade or condition to feel, believe, or act in a desired way
he field of education is ripe for disruption, but what
life, was one of the next to share her image: “I see lots of students
does that mean? And what does it look like? On a warm
working on projects that are vastly different from each other in
spring day this past April, six Mercersburg faculty
the same room and becoming experts in that area to the point
members came together around a table on the fourth
where when you talk to them, they’re teaching you about what
floor of Irvine Hall. Their goal? To explore the very
they’re working on. They’re the ones who know it best. Teachers
essence of what it means to reshape—to disrupt—education.
become more of a guide rather than a person who’s in charge of
As Mercersburg begins to put our new strategic design into
the message.”
place and adjust our internal structure to better meet the school’s
Other voices in this conversation included Leah
current needs, each of these individuals has a hand in shaping
Rockwell ’97, who is assuming the new role of dean of
what education at Mercersburg looks like in the future.
experiential programming; Quentin McDowell, associate
John David Bennett, dean of curricular innovation, began the conversation with a simple question: What images do you see whenever you think about disruptive education or disruption in the classroom? Jennifer Miller Smith ’97, who is stepping into the role
head of school for external relations; and Michael Conklin, who is stepping into the role of director of college counseling. Over the course of the next hour in Irvine 4R, the roundtable participants spurred each other on with high-level questions ranging from how we redefine the concept of a transcript to how
of dean of academics beginning in the 2019-2020 school year,
the boarding-school day could be restructured to better support
responded first: “The image that comes to mind is one where the
the learning process. Snippets of their conversation appear
students are doing the majority of the activity in the classroom.
throughout the pages of this story.
I definitely don’t see rows of students with a teacher writing something on the board.” At the time of this discussion, Smith and Bennett had
As the hour concluded, Rockwell summed up the general consensus of the group: “What I keep hearing from all of us is that if we’re going to do this the way we want to do it, it’s a giant
been hosting a series of open breakfast conversations with
exercise in vulnerability. It’s setting aside the way in which I
fellow faculty members about movements, principles, and
know myself to be an expert on this thing and letting the birds in
best practices in contemporary education.
the nest take over. I’m on the tree. It’s being willing to set aside
Julia Stojak Maurer ’90, associate head of school for school
the ego and be vulnerable with the students.”
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37
We have thousands upon thousands of committed, interested, and Watch video of the roundtable in action
desiring-to-be-engaged alumni and parents and past parents who have expertise in areas that we wouldn’t even begin to understand or know. How do we continue to facilitate, as immediate educators, the relationships that students can develop with those outside of our walls? —Quentin McDowell, associate head of school for external relations
ALUMNI: INNOVATORS IN EDUCATION AND BEYOND What is disruption in education? For Ethan
Keiser ’10, it’s a way to rethink how technology integrates with the traditional classroom. “I
academic journey, and LEON has helped them self-reflect and develop their metacognition and non-cognitive skills, which ultimately makes them better learners, and that’s the goal.” While StudyTree does not reveal exactly
believe it starts with a new kind of relationship
which colleges and universities are using this
between the public and private sector, and
technology, Keiser does point to one school as
from there, it’s when value is generated that
an example, citing that in just one month, 1,200
previously could not have been accessed by
students sent 50,000 messages back and forth
either one of them.”
with LEON. “Our technology is like giving every Keiser is the founder and
Disrupting the structure of the school day...
student their own personal coach, yet to hire a
CEO of StudyTree, a technology
personal coach for every student is impossible,”
that aims to improve the
Keiser says.
outcomes of college students
Keiser is also quick to point out that
by connecting them with
StudyTree helps with soft skills. “It is a real
artificial intelligence that can
coach that can improve confidence levels,” he
a boarding school is a 24-hour-a-day job
coach them if they are having
says. “We can measure confidence levels, and
trouble or falling behind in
we can improve them, and that has a direct
and lifestyle, but then that doesn’t apply
a particular class. “We built
correlation to grades. This technology can
structurally sometimes. But it should. We’re
this artificial persona or
improve academic outcomes by improving the
coach that is embedded into
person and making the person a better learner
the classroom and tracks a
and improving their executive functioning.”
It’s funny because we’ll say that a job at
a learning lifestyle, not a school, and I think that the more we shift into that adoption
student’s performance, reaches
This supportive coaching approach is not
out to them, checks in with
necessarily specific to education. It can redefine
of looking at life that way, the easier it
them weekly, and if they start
any area where learning is happening, and
will be for everyone.
to struggle, they can have a
that’s exactly how Keiser and his company hope
conversation with this artificial
to grow. “I believe this is the future where every
persona,” says Keiser.
employee can have their own coach, helping
—Leah Rockwell ʼ97, Dean of Experiential Programming
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MERCERSBURG ACADEMY MAGAZINE
The name of this AI coach? LEON, and LEON is
them along the way for entry-level roles,” he says. “Can we build a technology that can
effective. “We can show a 6 percent increase in
analyze performance data within the context of
outcomes when our technology is embedding
whatever goal we are trying to reach, and can
into the classroom,” says Keiser. “This means
we build an engaging coach to support humans
more students are going to pass the class,
in those roles? It’s a huge value-add to many
more students are going to continue with their
different people.”
As Keiser explains it, if students stay in college and if employers can keep their
future operating environments they will face.” As Curtis explains, the Air Force wants
employees and grow their skills, the individuals
to move to a model where it can provide its
flourish and the institutions flourish—both
servicemen and -women with access to training
socially and economically.
and learning at any point and from anywhere. If an airman is sitting on a plane traveling from one point to another and has the time, that person can go online and take a course that interests
As Julie Curtis ’89 thinks about being
them. “It is more competency-based learning,
disruptive and innovative, she is reminded of
less rote memorization,” says Curtis. “You jump
this saying: The pace of change has never been
into the curriculum at the level at which you can
this fast, and it will never be this slow again.
handle it rather than it being prescriptive and
Curtis thinks of disruption as the process
assuming everyone’s competency is at the same
of introducing a new way of doing something
level. However you learn best—maybe by having
into the market, and this introduction causes
an instructor teach you or taking your own
everything to shift. For instance, Amazon
coursework and listening to it or maybe by using
disrupted the book industry by changing how
virtual reality—you’re going to have access to
people buy and read books, and this affected
that subject matter in that format.”
not only bookstores, but the paper industry and retail stores as well. For her part, Curtis has founded Connected
To successfully create this new learning ecosystem, Curtis says it is imperative to ask what the future of these various careers will look
Alliances, a company that provides a managed
like. “We need to build training and learning
service for complex problem solving to break
that supports both the environment we are
through the United States Department of
in today, but also evolves to the future,” she
Defense’s cumbersome bureaucracy. By starting
says. She cites an example where the role of Air
with a clear problem statement, defining
Force maintainers may one day be replaced by
a future state, and creating an operational
robots: “Perhaps today we start incorporating
implementation plan, her company facilitates
software and robotic repair into the learning
the DoD’s use of and collaboration with
environment, so Air Force maintainers are
innovative small businesses to deliver solutions
able to maintain robots and not just airplanes.
in the government market. “I’m actually trying
Given the pace of change, every investment or
to disrupt the defense industrial base—how we
program needs to meet two criteria: provide a
work in the Department of Defense market,”
value immediately and support reaching the
says Curtis. “Right now the DoD has a real
defined future state.”
challenge with innovating and getting those
Julie Curtis ʼ89
Curtis is so passionate about disruption
ideas into the organization because of budgeting
and innovation that she spoke at a panel on this
processes and bureaucracy.”
topic at Reunion Weekend 2019. “The innovation
One of the challenges that Curtis’ company
Ethan Keiser ʼ10
process we are taking to the DoD is applicable to
is helping to solve deals with continuing
anything,” says Curtis. “It is not hard to do, and
education in the Air Force. “Education is really
it definitely helps gain the organizational buy-in,
changing,” says Curtis. “One of the things we’re
as well as keeps the organization focused and
working on with the Air Force is its continuum
invested in those programs that align to the
of learning and how it’s changing how the Air
defined future state. This is something we can
Force teaches airmen. We need to be teaching
do at Mercersburg; it is exciting to think about
airmen differently because the way we teach and
all the great possibilities for Mercersburg and
the way they learn is not preparing them for the
what our future state might look like.” Mark Limbach ʼ70
SUMMER 2019
39
the scalability issue, meaning how to provide meaningful, individualized feedback when dealing with large numbers of students. “You can’t talk about disruption in education without talking about the internet—the way it has been able to open up any number of applications for webbased tools to enhance outcomes, improve
“The biggest challenge is how to scale true learning more effectively in the modern, postsecondary classroom and in lifelong learning and how to provide more meaningful assessment,” says Limbach. “Let’s break
outcomes, make the instructor’s job easier, and
free from this multiple-choice model that is
generate better results,” says Mark Limbach ’70.
suitable in a very rare number of disciplines and
Limbach is the CEO of Peerceptiv, a
replace it with much, much more meaningful
research-validated peer assessment that allows
assessment where students are continuing the
students to upload an assignment to a cloud-
learning process while doing the assessment.”
based platform, and then students become
When looking toward Peerceptiv’s future,
instructors to each other, reviewing and offering
Limbach says higher education will continue
feedback on each other’s assignments based on
to be the focus, but in light of lifelong learning
a teacher-created rubric. Students are assessed
and the growth of credentialing, digital badging,
on the accuracy, specificity, and helpfulness of
and corporate development, Limbach sees areas
their reviews.
where Peerceptiv can have a positive effect. “There’s just no
Digital badging is a mark of accomplishment,
Meeting students where they are…
opportunity in many classrooms
skill, quality, and interest in a particular area,
to assign the kinds of high-
and once someone earns a digital badge, they
impact writing and other kinds
display that badge in such places as LinkedIn,
of assignments,” says Limbach.
increasing their marketability.
Students seem to be focusing more
“At Mercersburg, students
“You aren’t going to have 1,000 subject-
get lots of great feedback, but
matter experts reviewing thousands of
that isn’t the case everywhere.
applications for people looking to assess a
have in the past. They get a lot of their
Mercersburg is an exceptional
competency like project management,” says
interactions through social media. If we
learning situation, and there
Limbach. “A much more cost-effective way to do
aren’t a lot of schools out there
it is through research-validated peer assessment
doing that.”
that offers the same level of reliability and
on themselves as individuals than they
want to increase appropriate collaboration and communication, it’s something we’re going to have to work for actively because the way people are living their lives right now is not necessarily going in that direction. —Jennifer Miller Smith ’97, Dean of Academics
The project that ultimately
it allows for the participants themselves to
began in 2012 at the University
participate in the learning process.
of Pittsburgh. The SWoRD
MERCERSBURG ACADEMY MAGAZINE
“We feel that real learning takes place
(Scaffolded Writing and
when it is collaborative and engaging. You
Reviewing in the Discipline)
know what engaged learning is not. It is not
research project demonstrated
sitting quietly in a classroom and then taking
that when students critique
a multiple-choice test. Technology and the
their peers, learning outcomes
internet give us a lot of tools to collaborate
improve for everyone—both
in ways that were unfathomable just a few
for the reviewer and the one
years back, so we are really looking forward
being reviewed. Peerceptiv was
to continuing to bring that forward not just
originally developed as a tool that would be
in the traditional higher-education classroom,
balanced between K-12 and higher education.
but in lifelong learning in ways that close that
In terms of demand, however, higher education
skills gap that you read about all the time.”
had a much more pressing need for solving
40
validity as an expert does, and not only that,
developed into Peerceptiv
Rachel Mallory, associate director of college counseling, meets with students as part of the traditions task force.
PUTTING THEORY INTO PRACTICE AT MERCERSBURG As Julie Maurer ’90 thinks of it in her
dived deeply into the following areas: academic program audit; diversity, equity, and inclusion; time (daily, weekly, yearly); traditions (Irving-
position as associate head of school for school
Marshall Week); policies (substance abuse);
life, disruption is about questioning the way
policies (technology use); policies (minor
we have always taught our students: “We’ve
infractions); and self study for Middle States
just been in this schoolroom model for so long
accreditation.
without taking a step back and asking, ‘Is this
“There’s a lot of good work being done
the best way to work with our students? Is it the
right now, and as it all starts to converge, it will
best way to teach and to educate?’ Disruption is
lead to positive growth for the school,” says
questioning that norm.”
Maurer. “What I like is that there are so many
This concept of disrupting—or thinking
voices involved. If a person wants to be involved
about Mercersburg’s curriculum in a different
in those conversations and wants to have a
way—is not entirely new to the school.
voice, there’s a place for that to happen.”
Rethinking how students learn is part of the
Those voices include alumni as well. The
idea behind MAPS (Mercersburg’s Advanced
school welcomes involvement from the alumni
Program for Global Studies) and Springboard,
community as it continues to explore what
Mercersburg’s senior capstone programs
education at Mercersburg should look like. As
that build on the principles of Challenge-
Maurer says, “There’s lots of space for people
Based Learning. MAPS, a two-year program,
to contribute.” That involvement can take
requires a senior research project, includes
the form of feedback panels, consultants, or
an international travel experience, and
mentors, and it can require as much or as little
pairs students with at least one professional
time as someone feels comfortable giving—
consultant outside of the campus community.
whether that be an hour, a day, or an ongoing
Springboard is a one-year seminar with course
relationship with a program like MAPS.
offerings that seek to address real-world problems. “We’ve been doing this innovative work in
“One of the things that we are going to do very deliberately is to keep the institution’s core
It strikes me that those who compete on a team or those who travel on a robotics trip have both earned the right to be there and have elected to be there. They’ve made a choice. They’ve said, “This is a priority of mine, and so I am going to work at becoming as qualified as I can be to make the varsity team or to qualify for RoboCup.” And as a teacher, what you do in those moments is that if they care enough about it, you provide a space and the time to remove all other distractions. —Michael Conklin, Director of College Counseling
values at the heart of everything we do,” says
pockets of the school really successfully,” says
Maurer. “We are not looking for the essence of
Maurer. “It’s just about scaling that up to all of
Mercersburg to change. The world is changing
our programs and thinking about our schedule
faster than ever before, and we want to be
and timing differently.”
emerging leaders in the field of education and
To that end, many conversations are
Sometimes the teacher just needs to get out of the way...
train our students to be emerging leaders. We
happening across campus right now as
are being thoughtful, purposeful, and deliberate
Mercersburg looks to take these next steps.
while also being keenly aware that schools
During the months of April and May, for
have to change and adapt to prepare their
instance, the school invited students, faculty,
students for the world they are heading out
and staff to take part in task force discussions.
into. We are doing this with great care and great
These task forces were charged with reviewing
intentionality, and we hope that at the end of
various areas of the school program and offering
this, the model we put forward will be one that
recommendations on possible actions and
others will strive to emulate and replicate.”
future questions to explore. The task forces
SUMMER 2019
41
Legacy
rutherford By Lee Owen
n June, during what was her final official appearance at a meeting of the Mercersburg faculty, Debbie Rutherford—42 years after being hired at the school as a Spanish teacher, and more than 20 years after becoming the first person in the Academy’s history to hold the title of associate head of school—asked her fellow teachers and administrators if anyone knew the Spanish word for “retirement.”
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SUMMER 2019
43
A hand went up. The answer was correctly given: “jubilación.” Of course, there are mixed emotions as Debbie and her husband, Frank Rutherford ’70—who technically is one year ahead of her in years of service to the Mercersburg faculty, with 43 years—retire from the school in summer 2019. “We love this school,” Debbie said after acknowledging the celebratory inference of the Spanish translation of the word. “If we had 25 years left in our careers, there’s no way we’d be leaving. But we’re looking forward to this next chapter.” Frank Rutherford, a three-year student at Mercersburg and a holder of three school records in track & field (in the 120-yard high hurdles, the 330-yard intermediate hurdles, and as a member of the 480-yard shuttle hurdle relay team), first arrived at Mercersburg as
Artwork created by Selina Xue ʼ20 to honor the Rutherfords
a 10th-grade student from Richmond, Virginia. He went on to earn a bachelor’s degree from Lebanon Valley College and a master’s from the University of Delaware before returning to his high-school alma mater to join the science department in 1976. A year later, Deborah Gruppe, from Muncie, Indiana, was finishing her master’s at Middlebury College after graduating from Saint Mary’s College in her home state. The only person from Mercersburg she had met to that point was Walter Burgin ’53, then the Academy’s headmaster, who had offered her a position as a Spanish teacher in July, less than two months before the start of the 1977-1978 academic year.
“Being from Indiana, I was not very familiar with boarding schools,” Debbie remembers. “But my boyfriend at the time, who I thought I was going to marry, was going to medical school at the University of Pittsburgh. So Pennsylvania seemed like a pretty good spot … but, at Mercersburg—and this is one thing that hasn’t changed—when you come in as a younger faculty member, you get tapped to do a lot of different things.”
One of the biggest things with both Debbie and Frank is that they are so consistent in being keepers of culture. Debbie and Frank really embody
what it means to truly love an institution and to put that place in front of oneself. —Leah Rockwell ’97, Dean of Experiential Programming
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MERCERSBURG ACADEMY MAGAZINE
Debbie Gruppe and Frank Rutherford suddenly found themselves on the Discipline Committee (generally speaking, the equivalent of today’s Conduct Review Committee at the school). As a friendship formed over discussions and time together (as well as sledding down the Chapel hill), a romance blossomed. Frank and Debbie were married in 1979, and sons Matt ’03 and Paul ’06 were born in 1982 and 1988, respectively. (Stephon Fullerton ’06, the Rutherfords’ foster son who graduated from Mercersburg the same year as Paul, would later join the Rutherford family, just as he became part of the school’s family as an alumnus.)
Frankly, there are few places on Mercersburg’s campus that do not bear the imprint of the Rutherfords’ impact. Debbie Rutherford is known for her caring nature as a teacher, adviser, counselor, dormitory dean, and eventually assistant head of school and associate head of school, but she also coached the 1978 Mercersburg girls’ tennis team to a perfect 10-0 record (with fellow faculty stalwart Bo Burbank).
Debbie has served under three of the seven
“Frank cares about his students immensely,
heads of school in the Academy’s 126-year history:
and they can tell, but he also expects great things
Burgin, Douglas Hale, and current Head of School
from them; he expects them to think and he
Katie Titus. She also had the benefit of observing
expects them to try and he’s going to make them
and working closely with Jackie Powell, a true
work for the answer,” says Jennifer Miller Smith
pioneer as a female administrator who preceded
’97, the head of the science department and the
her as assistant head of the school. When Powell
school’s incoming academic dean. “But [students]
retired in 1991, Debbie Rutherford stepped into
know that it comes from a place of caring about
her role.
their success and their growth.”
“I’ve found that Mercersburg is a community where you can constantly learn and grow,” Debbie says. “Mr. Burgin was a planner, and he asked me a couple years before Jackie retired if I would be interested in being assistant head of the school. And I had the benefit of growing and learning and doing all the different things I was able to do along the way.” “When thinking about being the first female head of school at Mercersburg Academy, I think about Jackie Powell and Debbie Rutherford,” says Titus, who has just completed
Ultimately, why did Frank decide
[Frank and Debbie] both enjoy
to return to Mercersburg to teach? As
comes out in their work and in
while I was a student here, I felt I could
life so much, and I think that
their teaching. They wouldn’t have done this for as long as
they have if they didn’t love it. —Nikki Walker, Science Faculty
he told the student body at a school meeting in May, “I came back to repay a debt. The way the faculty treated me do the same for other students.” So it’s fitting that the school’s recently renovated Health Center has been officially christened the Rutherford Health and Wellness Center, in celebration of the holistic impact the couple has had on so many students and community members. The building reopened in fall 2018 after its first full
her third year at the Academy.
renovation in 100 years, and will bear
“Mercersburg was ready for a
the Rutherfords’ name in perpetuity.
female head of school because they’ve seen and engaged with female leadership for a long time.” Frank Rutherford, for decades a key member of the science
“They both enjoy life so much, and I think that comes out in their work and in their teaching,” says faculty member Nikki Walker, who has taught alongside Frank in the science
department and a decorated athlete as a student and a legendary coach
department and worked with him for many years in the school’s track &
(of track & field and cross country, but also in basketball, swimming,
field program. “They wouldn’t have done this for as long as they have if
and field hockey), also held positions as the school registrar and director
they didn’t love it.”
of instructional technology, and led student trips to places as varied as
“One of the biggest things with both Debbie and Frank is that
the Canadian Arctic, India, and Costa Rica. In the latter country, he has
they are so consistent in being keepers of culture,” says Leah Rockwell
served as a member of the board of trustees for the Cloud Forest School,
’97, who has worked closely with Debbie as a dormitory dean and the
where Mercersburg students travel on a regular basis to do service
school’s director of global programs (and is stepping into the new role
work, and he will return to this position during retirement. Frank
of dean of experiential programming). “Debbie and Frank really embody
has also helped organize an annual summer trip to Costa Rica for
what it means to truly love an institution and to put that place in front
students with a focus on tropical biology, giving participants invaluable
of oneself.”
hands-on experience in the field in a rich and diverse scientific and cultural environment.
SUMMER 2019
45
Honoring A TRULY ADMIRABLE MAN
By Dylan Gantt ’21
A
student, an athlete, an alumnus, a teacher, a coach, a mentor, a role model: these are all descriptions of Chip Vink ’73, P ’94, ’99, whom I have had the opportunity to get to know very well over
the course of this school year as one of his English students and a member of the tennis team. Mr. Vink grew up in Mercersburg and remained a day student throughout his time at the Academy. He graduated as a member of Cum Laude in 1973, and immediately following graduation, he spent a year at the Felsted School in England, made possible through an ESU scholarship (Mercersburg had a partnership with the English-Speaking Union at the time). As a high-schooler looking toward a STEM career, he didn’t focus his studies on literature to a great extent. However, his teachers at Mercersburg and at Franklin & Marshall College empowered him to realize his true passion for English literature, which is the major he eventually pursued. He also received a master of arts degree from Middlebury College. After a brief and unfulfilling period in the corporate world, Mr. Vink began working at a high school in Williamsport, Maryland, where he taught English and coached football and track & field. It was there he received a call from Walter Burgin ’53, the headmaster of Mercersburg at the time, offering him a position as an English teacher and football and squash coach, beginning in the fall of 1980. Although intimidated by the idea of teaching and coaching alongside some of his high-school teachers, Mr. Vink was enthralled by the roles that he would assume and the community where he would return. Mercersburg has been a place of great importance to Mr. Vink. In both a figurative and literal sense, Mr. Vink “felt quite at home when [he] returned to teach and coach.” While at the school, Mr. Vink has served as the boys’ head squash coach, the head JV tennis coach, the head of the English department, a college counselor, a Marshall Society adviser, an adviser to the Blue Review, the chair of the Conduct Review Committee, a member of the Faculty Council, director of admission (1989 to 2000), the Mary Keeler Lawrence Distinguished Teaching Chair (2007 to 2014), the Regenstein Chair in British Literature (2014 to retirement), and much more. As a result of holding all of these roles, Mr. Vink has learned a great many things regarding his duties as a role model and mentor for others, among them that “teaching and coaching are fundamentally making connections, intellectual and emotional, and providing a framework for enabling a student to grow.” He attests to the pleasures that he has received
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Mr. Vink has dedicated so much to the school, and we are all indebted to him for his hard work and congeniality as a teacher, coach, friend, and mentor.
during his time here: reading wonderful literature, sharing his passion for literature with students, and coaching sports that he greatly enjoys. As part of teaching, Mr. Vink has become a strong and powerful motivator for students and has had a significant impact on the students who have been a part of his classes. After living at Mercersburg as both a student and a faculty member, Mr. Vink acknowledges the dedicated faculty and students who sacrifice a lot in and consequently benefit greatly from attending the school. Mr. Vink relates that he will miss “guiding and coaching a varsity squash team the most. I have been passionately involved in squash in one way or another since my 11th-grade year at Mercersburg, and I channeled my passion for playing into coaching when I returned as a teacher. I’ll certainly miss the team camaraderie with the players, and I’ve made a lot of great friends in the coaching world that I will miss as well.” Mr. Vink’s dedication to his students and his players is powerful, and it is felt in his connection with each of them. As a 10th-grader, I have had the honor of having Mr. Vink as my English teacher and tennis coach. When I received news that Mr. Vink was retiring, I was sad but still joyful that I could be a member of one of his classes in his final year. He is always focused on making the student experience the best it can be, from playing “Mercersburg Trivia” to discussing the impacts of the Mueller investigation in class. In my opinion, one of his greatest talents is his ability to run on tangents all day long. No matter what our class is doing or discussing, Mr. Vink can always take a conversation and run with it. We might be discussing Frankenstein, and the next thing we know, we are talking about the Space Race of the 1960s. I have thoroughly enjoyed having Mr. Vink as a teacher and coach this year. Mr. Vink has dedicated so much to the school, and we are all indebted to him for his hard work and congeniality as a teacher, coach, friend, and mentor. In retirement, Mr. Vink plans to fulfill his aspirations in the realms of poetry, tennis, squash, golf, reading, and spending time with his family, including his wife, Debbie, and sons, Nathan ’94 and Heath ’99. As for one of his wishes during retirement, he says, “If my grandchildren continue to like me, I hope to get more involved in their lives.” A truly admirable man: This is Chip Vink.
Editor’s Note: Dylan Gantt ’21, of Atlanta, Georgia, is a Writing Center Fellow and a member of the varsity boys’ swim team and tennis team. During his free time, he enjoys playing table tennis in the Simon Student Center, as well as hanging out with his friends. His goals include a career in aeronautical engineering and political science. His sister, Courtney Gantt ’18, and mother, Lorelle Pottick Gantt ’76, are both alumnae of the school.
SUMMER 2019
47
PAUL GALEY:
Trusted Colleague and Friend By Susan Rahauser, Director of Student Counseling Services
P
aul Galey came to Mercersburg Academy 29 years ago to become our third school minister and a religion teacher. I was immediately struck by Paul’s warmth and friendliness and how he could make others feel special and appreciated. These qualities have not wavered, and almost
three decades later, I am honored to call Paul a dear friend. As an ordained Christian minister, one might say Paul more closely epitomizes the Buddhist teachings of loving-kindness. This is a rare gift— one that Paul comes by naturally, but also wisely cultivates in his life. He is that unique minister, teacher, coach, counselor, and trusted colleague and friend who can be present with and for others. One always feels better after being in Paul’s presence, as if a big hug were given and received.
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duty dean and was the JV baseball coach for a couple seasons. When we had all-school meetings called community gatherings, where seniors
As he embarks on retirement at the end of the 2018-2019 school year, Pa ul will be missed beyond measure as a talented colleague and beloved friend, but we are grateful he will
continue coaching golf and living in Mercersburg.
spoke to the community in the Irvine Memorial Chapel, Paul was the person behind the scenes who helped students prepare for those talks. Paul also gave freely to the school and the community outside our campus as a member of the Mercersburg Rotary Club. All the while, he was able to put his family first. Without a doubt, Paul is and has always been a devoted husband, father, and grandfather. I can only imagine how many lives Paul has touched with his loving-kindness, his hopeful outlook, and his sense of devotion to family, Mercersburg Academy, and others outside our community. This is likely why he has been asked to preside over wedding ceremonies for numerous couples, especially Mercersburg graduates in the Irvine Memorial Chapel and all over the United States. Paul is able to recall with remarkable sharpness school history, people’s names, dates, and memorable experiences within our community. Not only that, he’s
Back when Paul, his wife, Marcia, and their children Michael ʼ00
flexible and spontaneous, clever and fierce, like any great jazz tune.
and Bethany ʼ02 arrived in 1990, they fit right in like they had been here
Who knew he was a music major in college and would be a talented
for years. I was a young mother, working only part-time at Mercersburg
percussionist for so many school musicals and Community Chorus
Academy, and a member of what was then called the counseling staff.
concerts? He was also in a small jazz group on campus called the Blue
We were a group of teachers who gave dedicated time to listening to
Chair. If you want him to sing, he can do that, too, and has been a key
students who were struggling in some way. Associate Head of School
member of the Factet.
Debbie Rutherford headed this team, and for years we met every Friday
And finally, Paul is quick to laugh at appropriately funny elements
morning in Debbie’s office. As the school minister, Paul was part of this
of life with his deep and recognizable chuckle. Even with the loss of his
team and was consistently a voice of reason and compassion. I looked
beloved wife, Marcia (in October 2018), who also worked steadfastly at
forward to these meetings each week, listening for Paul’s words of
Mercersburg Academy for more than 25 years as a Health Center staff
unrelenting hope in others, a quality that is and has been of deep value
member, Paul has soldiered on during this difficult time of grief. It is his
to Mercersburg Academy. Our group became a tightly knit team, and my
essential nature to contribute to making someone or something better,
relationship with Paul has only grown over the years. We also got
even if he has to put aside some of his own struggles.
to know and love Paul in the community by way of his wise and
As he embarks on retirement at the end of the 2018-2019 school
relatable Sunday morning sermons and school meeting remarks
year, Paul will be missed beyond measure as a talented colleague and
that he intentionally geared toward young growing minds.
beloved friend, but we are grateful he will continue coaching golf and
In the 2000-2001 academic year, Paul shifted his duties from
living in Mercersburg. Thank you, Paul, for teaching us so much about
school minister to full-time teacher of religion and golf coach. Paul has
living and growing with your loving-kindness, your deep devotion, and
been responsible for nearly all of the religion curriculum at Mercersburg
your shining hope.
and has literally taught classes in every single academic building on campus. When the associate director of counseling position opened in 2004, Paul stepped into this role with the ease and compassionate presence he brings to all he does. He has remained a steady counselor in
Editor’s Note: Susan Rahauser was appointed director of counseling in
our department ever since. As an example of his strong leadership skills,
1999. She oversees the human development program for 10th-grade students
Paul helped organize and launch a peer-counseling program that we
and often contributes to school committees on such topics as residential
maintained for several years.
life, curriculum, and citizenship. In 2006, she received the Ammerman
Beyond that, Paul has been a supporter of students in the arts and
Distinguished Teaching Award for Religious and Interdisciplinary Studies.
sports events on campus and has chaired initiatives within the school,
She and her husband, fellow faculty member Tom Rahauser ’74, have three
like the residential life program review in 2008-2009. He’s also been a
children: Eric ’05, Tim ’07, and Laura ’12.
SUMMER 2019
49
n
Farm to Ford n By Amy Marathe
Locally sourced and organic foods are showing up on the tables in Ford Hall n Monday night, October 22, 2018, students streamed into Ford Hall like they typically do–chatting with friends, standing in line at the salad bar, or carrying trays of food to their assigned tables. But something wasn’t “typical” that night.
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To celebrate the recent partnership with South Mountain Creamery, a familyowned dairy farm and ice cream parlor in Middletown, Maryland, the school invited co-owners Abby and Tony Brusco to dine with students and faculty for a “Meet the Farmer” night. Will Willis, director of environmental initiatives, introduced the Bruscos and made sure the students were aware that the dinner that night was made entirely from locally sourced and organic food, including the school’s famous pretzel pie. Little did the students know that the desire to incorporate more local foods in the dining hall menu started about two years ago with Maria Kimsey, associate head of school for finance and operations. Kimsey began reaching out to local farms as part of the school’s commitment— and as a personal passion—to provide locally sourced food for its students, faculty, and staff. “The goal is to completely transform what’s being served in the dining hall, and what better way to do that than to reach out to our local community?” says Kimsey. “Food service is a priority for the school, and we plan to focus the next three to five years on building more relationships with local farms.” Kimsey worked alongside the school’s then-director of dining services, Jim Butler, and current director Jeff Gray to locate the farms that not only met Mercersburg’s requirements but also satisfied the standards of the school’s dining contractor, SAGE Dining Services. While the school is free to choose the farms with which it wishes to partner, SAGE requires an extensive background check for farms and must obtain information such as recent health inspections, methods of delivery, temperatures in the delivery trucks, and locations where meat is processed. The school’s minimum requirements were that each farm be located within 60 miles of campus, the farm must produce its products directly on-site, and the farm must practice responsible farming. “We walk the farms, meet the growers, pet the cows, and taste the produce before we commit to a farm,” says Gray. “SAGE is extremely supportive of our efforts to bring in locally sourced and organic foods. They encourage us to use local suppliers and would prefer all of the schools they work with do the same.” South Mountain Creamery met all of the requirements and started sending milk, half-andhalf, ice cream, and eggs to the school in early September 2018. The school is currently working with the farm on other types of food, such as ice cream by the pint that will be sold in the True Blue Café. And while the school enjoys food like farmfresh omelettes and chocolate ice cream, there is a wider message to partnering with a local farm— the environmental impact.
“We can control the environmental impact by offering locally sourced food and encouraging our students to think about where their food comes from,” Willis says. “Have they thought about the difference between an egg that travels 1,000 miles compared to 60 miles? The hope is that we can open the door for students to connect more to agriculture and provide nutrition education, so that when they leave Mercersburg they will hopefully support a local farm near their colleges or homes.” “Our goal is to make healthy, local, and nutritious products accessible to everyone,” says Lanie Swanhart, director of marketing and tourism for South Mountain Creamery. “We put an importance on our consumers knowing where their food comes from and strive to be as transparent as possible. Working with schools such as Mercersburg Academy allows us to connect youth with the source of their food and learn just how great local tastes!” Following the successful establishment of the partnership with South Mountain Creamery, the Academy partnered with a second farm, Tuscarora Organic Growers, in October 2018. Tuscarora Organic Growers is a local cooperative with 50 membergrowers and more than a dozen nonmember-growers. The warehouse and offices are located near Maddensville, Pennsylvania, which is less than 30 miles from the Academy. Many of the farms in the co-op are located in seven counties in south-central Pennsylvania. Each farm is organic-certified and diverse. Some farmers have been growing organic goods since the 1970s, while others are new-generation farmers. The co-op currently supplies the school with a variety of spring mixes and potatoes, along with watermelon radishes, green kohlrabi, baby carrot roots, and more. “Tuscarora’s growers, who are the owners of our co-op, combine and coordinate their efforts to grow a variety of organic products,” says David Earle, general manager for Tuscarora Organic Growers. “We are 100 percent organic and pride ourselves on the quality and freshness of our fruits and vegetables.” As with South Mountain Creamery, sustainability was important to the school when choosing Tuscarora Organic Growers.
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The goal is to completely transform what's being served in the dining hall, and what better way to do that than to reach out to our local community?
Abby and Tony Brusco, co-owners of South Mountain Creamery
The produce is picked and packed at each farm and brought to the main warehouse once or twice a week for distribution. “We bring the products in from the fields to match our sales orders,” Earle says. “What you receive on Tuesday and Friday mornings came from our growers’ fields on Monday and Thursday. Not only do the fruits and vegetables taste better, but the model means less transportation and no chemicals, which is better for our environment too. “We are excited about providing Mercersburg Academy with our foods, so that the students will be able to be a part of our organic, local, sustainable agriculture model.” An advantage in choosing local farms is also safety. For example, in April 2019 there was a nationwide salmonella outbreak in romaine lettuce. “It’s not a 100 percent guarantee that we wouldn’t be affected by a salmonella outbreak, but the odds are in our favor,” says Gray. “Our school was never in danger when that outbreak happened because we knew where our lettuce was coming from. By working with local farms, I can pick up the phone and talk directly to the farmer to get answers. That’s not the case when a crop comes from California. That produce is picked and then goes straight to a distribution plant where it sits and waits to then be shipped to the Southeast or the Northwest. Every time that produce is moved, it has the potential of being contaminated.” Clarissa Thompson ’20 says she has noticed the increased effort to bring in more organic and locally sourced food. “Something that would
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be beneficial to the students is if there was a chart or list made accessible to them, on which all the dairy, meat, and produce served are listed along with whether or not the product is organic and/or locally sourced,” says Thompson. “This would allow the students to make more informed decisions when choosing what to eat as there are health benefits that come from consuming fresh and organic foods.” “We think this is an important initiative on so many levels,” says Julia Getty P ’21. “We tried to teach our daughter, Clara, healthy habits growing up, and we crossed our fingers when she left home that those lessons would stick. Miraculously, they seem to have taken root, and we’ve watched them really come to fruition over the last year. We’re positive that having these local and organic options in the dining hall has contributed to her making healthy choices when she has the freedom to choose anything she wants.” “Our rural community is just one of the many reasons parents choose Mercersburg as a place for their child’s education,” says Head of School Katie Titus. “Not only is it a safe place to learn, but we feel it’s our duty to leverage the local resources we have here. Our goal is to invite more partners like South Mountain Creamery and Tuscarora Organic Growers onto our campus so our students can meet the people who provide their food, and to give our students access to a farm that they may not have at home.” The school is currently working with several other farms. Coming
Farm students during the 1989-1990 school year worked on a special project: raising cattle to send overseas.
A School Farm
soon are beef and pork from Clear Ridge Farms; lettuce, squash, and other greens from Help From Above Farms; and produce from New Morning Farms, which specializes in certified organic vegetables, berries, and herbs. The school plans to host more “Meet the Farmer” nights and schedule time to bring students to the farms to see how agriculture production works in person. But one thing is abundantly clear: The new dining hall shift in food service is working. One couldn’t help but smile as pretzel pie, made with South Mountain Creamery salted caramel ice cream, was served on that Monday in October.
Our goal is to invite more partners like South Mountain Creamery and Tuscarora Organic Growers onto our campus so our students can meet the people who provide their food and to give our students access to a farm that they may not have at home.
In One Hundred Years of Life, a book published in 1993 about Mercersburg Academy’s first century, emeritus faculty member Neil Carstensen expresses the following sentiment: “Just to know that the Academy cares enough to maintain a farm is important to some students—and to the local community as well.” In 1975, the school purchased neighboring farmland to form a Farm Club. Students would spend a few hours a week feeding animals like sheep, goats, and cows, tending to the garden, painting fences, and working corn and alfalfa crops. It’s not clear if the farm’s produce was used in the dining hall, but there is record that in the mid-1990s, the farm raised cattle to send overseas for other countries to breed cows and to produce milk. The farm also provided a space for students to learn how to work as a team. Many students enjoyed the farm as a break from classes while spending time getting their hands dirty and working with the animals. While there have been rumors of expanding the garden by the Masinter Outdoor Education Center and even rumors of bringing back the farm, that notion is not currently in future plans. Clarissa Thompson ’20 would be interested in expanding the gardening PGA (performance group activity). “I think more students should learn the fundamentals of growing food and cultivating a garden,” she says. Director of Dining Services Jeff Gray is also open to the idea, but would prefer the school start with one type of food. “We purchased 28,000 pounds of potatoes last school year,” says Gray. “Let’s focus on one thing and make it ours. I think the students would get a kick out of knowing that their French fries were made with Mercersburg Academy potatoes!”
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Jesse Zhang ’20 earned a National Gold Key in the 2019 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards for his photograph “Into the Light.” Zhang, of Beijing, China, also received a Regional Gold Key and Honorable Mention for an essay and another photograph, respectively. A total of 20 works by Mercersburg students earned recognition at the national or regional levels.
Class
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MERCERSBURG ACADEMY MAGAZINE
Weddings
CLASS NOTES
Jenn Hendrickson ’03 married Brian Walsh January 19, 2019, in the Irvine Memorial Chapel.
Katherine Blanchard ’11 married Davis Whittle December 1, 2018, in Columbia, South Carolina. Pictured from L to R: Georgia Baker ’11, Mackenzie Kyner ’11, Davis, Katherine, and Liza Rizzo ’11.
Philip Bryant ’08 married Jacquelyn Vickers October 20, 2018, at Butternut Farm Golf Club in Stow, Massachusetts. Ashley Doughty ’04 married Brett Harless August 18, 2018, at Duke University Chapel in Durham, North Carolina.
Tamara Filipovic ’05 married Brenan J. Hornseth at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., January 8, 2018. Melissa Martin ’89 married Kenneth Atherton Jr. June 9, 2018, in Lemasters, Pennsylvania. Pamela Scorza ’01 married Gustavo Bianchotti April 22, 2017.
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Larry Sheridan has been inducted into the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association Hall of Fame.
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Submit class notes via email to classnotes@mercersburg.edu or online at mercersburg.edu/ classnotes. The submission deadline for the next issue is October 1, 2019. Submission does not guarantee publication. Mercersburg reserves the right to edit submissions for space or content, and is not responsible for more than reasonable editing or fact-checking. When submitting a photo, please provide the highest-quality version possible, and include the names of all persons pictured and their Mercersburg class years. Due to size and quality considerations, some images may not be suitable for print.
’55 65th Seventy-two years and counting! 1947 classmates Charlie Moore and Will Allen visited together in La Quinta, California, in January. They were roommates during both years at Mercersburg. Charlie was captain of the track & field team, and Will was captain of the cross country team. “It was a fun meeting,” shares Charlie. “Lots of catching up!”
’49 John Shillingford Jr. resides in Milton, Massachusetts, and has been a widower since the passing of his wife, Prentiss, in November 2010. John has two children: 37-year-old Amelia, a nurse practitioner in Bellows Falls, Vermont, and 35-year-old Harry, a managing director of Cowen Prime Services in San Francisco.
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Jack Sheaffer retired this spring, closing his store 70th Bikes, Etc. in Milford, Delaware, after 32 years in th business. Jack and his store were featured in 55the Delaware State News in early March.
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Ed Saeger ’47 (front, seated) celebrated his 90th birthday in September 2018 with a family reunion at his home in Canandaigua, NewthYork. Bob Saeger ’79 and family came from London, and Rich Saeger ’82 and family visited from Irvine, California.
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ALUMNI RETURN TO MERCERSBURG TO SPEAK WITH STUDENTS Six alumni returned to Mercersburg in January to share their expertise and connect with current students. As part of a speaker series surrounding the topic of immigration, a school meeting on January 11 spotlighted a panel discussion on immigration in the United Ed Neff ’59 and his wife, Jeanne (far right), recently hosted a Mercersburg gathering at their retirement community, Willow Valley, near Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Attendees included Pat and Bim Pickett ’62, Sylvia Davenport P ’81, ’83, ’86, Alice and John th Colton ’60, and Linda and Hank Spire ’60.
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States with three alumni as panelists and history faculty member David Bell as the moderator. The panel included attorneys Aaron Chiu ’99 and Joshua Bratter ’91, P ’21, as well as Ann Fegley Rodriguez ’97, a legal assistant. Chiu is an attorney with past experience in the field of immigration law and is currently an attorney-adviser with the U.S. Social Security Administration. Bratter has a national immigration law
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Donald Toan’s wife, Linda, passed away February 19, 2019.
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minors and humanitarian relief. This immigration series began with school meetings led by Alex Nowrasteh (a senior immigration-policy analyst at the Cato Institute’s Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity) and Rod Hissong (co-owner of Mercer Vu Farms in Mercersburg,
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which employs more than 170 agricultural workers locally), followed by student discussion sessions on the topic. As part of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Nancy Franke ’02, Maggie Goff ’10,
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Lou Prevost has been elected to the Wellsboro, Pennsylvania, borough council.
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Franke works in the field of criminal justice and discussed inequalities in mass incarceration; Goff is an economic and social policy research analyst and addressed the core principles of King’s legacy of radical love; and Rutherford is an attorney and spoke about the power of storytelling (learn more about Rutherford in the “Living the Values” section of this issue). In total, the day’s activities included 28 workshops (led by students, faculty, and alumni), exploring diversity, equity, inclusion, and
James Reibman shares that after Mercersburg, 40th he read English and Classics at the University of Pennsylvania and earned a Ph.D. from the University of Edinburgh. As an academic, he has written or lectured on the Age of Johnson,th 35 the Scottish Enlightenment, law and literature, psychiatrist and cultural critic Frederic Wertham, violence in society, and the Greco-Roman world, among other areas. He still works as anth 30 adjunct professor and is also a proud father and grandfather. One of his daughters is a lawyer living in Rhode Island, and the other, who lives in London, is a historian of food and culture 25inth Ancient Rome. Each daughter is the mother of two young boys.
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10th Photo at left: Alumni panelists with Head of School Katie Titus and faculty member David Bell; Top right: Nancy Franke ’02; Bottom right: Maggie Goff ’10
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1970 classmates (L to R) Frank Rutherford, Paul Mellott, Pete Flanagan, and Jim Dake. Paul writes, “To our classmates from ’70: Pete, Frank, Jim and I met in Philadelphia in late January to start th the planning of our 50th Reunion. We respectfully request that you save the dates of June 4-7, 2020, to join us for an interesting program and a deserved celebration of our transformative experience at the ’Burg.”
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While visiting Honolulu in February 2019, Scott Cummings ’71 was able to spend some time with classmate Bob Bonham ’71 (picture left). Bob generously provided a brief tour of the islands th in his own plane. Scott also had the good fortune to catch up with classmate Bill Christ ’71 in early March (pictured right). Although Bill lives in New York City, he was one of the lead actors in the play The Whistleblower, which took the stage in Denver (where Scott lives) at the Denver Performing Arts Center. Scott has already started some early momentum for the Class of 1971 50th Reunion, th happening on campus in June 2021. Scott is encouraging any and all classmates to join him on the reunion planning committee. Contact Scott at shc@agileasset.com if you are interested!
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50th 65th Tom Guirola is living in El Salvador, where hethhas 45 been working in land development. He is hoping to see many of his friends and classmates in June 60th 2020 at their 50th reunion.
Meck Award from Lancaster Theological Seminary for excellence in ministry.
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Tom Hadzor and his wife, Susan Ross, welcomed 35th a new grandson, Hunter Ross, November 26, 2018.
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Patricia Seltzer-Wagoner’s mother, Geneva, 20th passed away October 6, 2018. Ginny was also the widow of Jack Seltzer ’41. th
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Frank Kling writes, “I accepted early retirement to dedicate my time and financial resources toward identifying and purchasing habitat in Colombia 30th for flora and fauna at risk of extinction. The first project was to acquire nesting and feeding habitat for the critically endangered yellow-eared parrot. Extensive habitat loss had reduced the parrot 25th population to just 81 individuals. We moved with alacrity to acquire and preserve in perpetuity 10.062 acres of cloud forest in Colombia’s Andes Mountains, where less than 5 percent of the 20th yellow-eared parrot’s native forest survives. Working in conjunction with other NGOs, a total of 16.715 acres were acquired. Colombian NGO ProAves is responsible for managing 15 thisth expansive natural reserve on the western flank of the Central Andes of Colombia. Visitors are always welcome!”
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After finishing overseeing the demolition/remediation of the old Denver airport for the last 17 years, Doug Mendelson ’72 retired to Salida, Colorado. He enjoys whitewater kayaking (the Arkansas River flows through town), snowboarding (pictured here with classmate Peter Lebowitz in March), dirt biking, cycling, and many th other outdoor activities. He invites any classmate to come down and join him. He says, “Do it while you still can!”
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Lindsay Tanton, partner of Sheaffer Reese and former Mercersburg marketing and 55th communications staff member (2005–2012), passed away January 15, 2019.
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Eric James is an executive director at Morgan Stanley in New York City and recently met 45th up with fellow Morgan Stanley staffer Lane deCordova ’12 to swap Mercersburg stories over lunch.
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Misti Morningstar Lucente ran the 2019 Walt Disney World 5K in January. After suffering th a0 debilitating car accident that left her in a th 25 coma for two months during her senior year at Mercersburg, Misti hopes this race is the first of many more to come.
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L to R: Alison Garner Louie ʼ84, Irmgard Diorio ʼ83, and Rachel Bowman ʼ84 got together for an impromptu lunch in Atlanta, Georgia, this past January.
Pictured are brothers Jonathan Mathers ’89 (left) and Ben Graham ’94 with their sister, Erin (second from left), and Ben’s wife, Brigid. “Had a great time catching up with Jonathan this past summer,” says Ben.
1983 classmates Sue Blaschak Mironov and John Palmer bumped into each other while vacationing in Antigua, Guatemala, in March 2019.
Eric Reed’s mother, Kathleen, passed away October 11, 2018. She was also the mother of Emily Reed Rash ’90 and the grandmother of Quinton ’19 and Mason ’21. Steve Pessagno’s father, Charles, passed away October 14, 2018.
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L-R: Stuart Titus, senior associate director of college counseling; Steven Zhang ’11; and Quentin McDowell, associate head of school for external relations
Jenna Heller is internal communications manager at AgResearch, a Crown Research Institute in New Zealand focusing on the pastoral agriculture industry. “I always said I wanted to do something related to science, writing, and government ... and here I am!” says Jenna. “Over the last couple of years, I’ve had several poems and short stories published in journals in the U.S., the U.K., New Zealand, and Australia. Recent work can be found in Star 82 Review, Popshot, Takahē, and The Haunted Traveler. I have just completed a middle-grade novel and am searching for an agent.”
STEVEN ZHANG ’11 PRESIDING OVER INTER MILAN
Douglas Moffet is senior trader for Open Door Capital Advisers in San Francisco, where he oversees trading in North America and Asia. Douglas spends his weekends traveling back and forth between California and his home in Bozeman, Montana.
history. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania; at Mercersburg, he was a
Steven Zhang ’11 has been appointed president of Inter Milan (officially Football Club Internazionale Milano), which is one of the world’s most popular professional soccer teams. Inter Milan has won 18 league championships in Serie A, Italy’s top soccer league. The squad has three UEFA Champions League titles (with its most recent coming in 2010), and is the only club in the 20-team Serie A to never have been relegated to a lower-division league. Zhang has served on Inter’s board of directors for the past two years; his father, Zhang Jingdong, is chairman of Suning Holdings Group, which has held a majority stake in the club since 2016. At age 26, Zhang is the youngest of the 21 club presidents in Inter’s 110-year member of the Cum Laude Society, sang in the Octet and the Chorale, played tennis, and was involved in robotics and Stony Batter Players. Zhang’s sister, Serena ’22, is a member of the 10th-grade class at Mercersburg.
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45th Mercersburg Borough Council Member and Academy Assistant Director of Athletics Paul Sipes (right) presents Dr. Michael Pedersen ’95 with the James Buchanan Public Service Award at the Mercersburg Historical Society dinner in April. Michael received th the award for his contributions to beautify the borough square last summer with flower baskets he cared for throughout the season. He also received a citation from the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for his efforts. Michael is the owner of Brownstone Chiropractic in Mercersburg.
Pictured standing at center is Andrew Choi ’99 flanked by his wife, Jean, and brother, Alex ’03. Also pictured are Andy and Jean’s three daughters—Isabella, Olivia, and Alina—and his parents, Byung and Sang-Youl. Andy is co-director of Cardiac CT and MRI and an assistant professor of medicine and radiology at George Washington University.
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International Baccalaureate program. Marco adds, “It is hard to believe the Class of ’90 will be celebrating 30 years in 2020. I have such fond memories of our school and time together. I would like to say hello to so many who were so close in the Class of ’90 and that special crew of ’89. Best always!”
30th Michelle Koontz Carson recently accepted a position as lead litigation counsel for 25th Universal Health Services of Delaware Inc., the management company for UHS Inc. UHS is a Fortune 500 company based in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, that operates more than 300 20th acute and behavioral health care facilities. Geoffrey Moorhead’s mother, Susan, passed away July 12, 2018. 15th Marco Santoro shares that he and Kimberly were recently married at their Catholic church, St. Stephen’s, in Winter Springs, Florida. Their son Antonio is 17 and just completed his junior year at Winter Springs High School, where he is enjoying the
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’91 Janelle Denny Cwik shares that she and her husband, Chris, moved to Florissant, Colorado, in September and are both working in solar energy: she as a consultant for Powur and he in inspections with ION Solar. “Chris and I celebrated our ninth anniversary on the Fourth of July in Telluride,” shares Janelle. “I also traveled to Jackson Hole, Yellowstone, Montana, North Dakota, and Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. Only three states remain, and this patriot will have visited all 50! Back in my home state of Colorado, we ventured to Crested Butte, Aspen, Summit County, Breckenridge, Copper Mountain, and Vail. Delighted to be home, drinking up all of this natural beauty in the mountains.”
Russ Spinney and his wife, Nicole, recently relocated to Santa Barbara, California. Russ works at the Thacher School in Ojai, and his book, Feelings Materialized: Emotions, Bodies, and Things in Germany, 1500-1950, will be published later this year by Berghahn Press. For the book, Russ co-wrote the introduction, co-edited the chapters from 15 different scholars across a range of disciplines in German studies, and wrote a stand-alone chapter on emotions and anti-Semitic practice in the Weimar Republic, 10th based on his postdoctoral research.
’92 5th Charles Koontz is currently living in Santa Cruz, California, with his wife, Julie, and three children. He his time between developing th 0splits utility-scale solar and energy storage projects and launching a life sciences startup focused on low-cost, high-sensitivity protein detection. He says, “If you are in the Bay Area, look me up, and we can go for a run or a mountainbike ride!”
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Blake Chaney II’s father, Blake, passed away October 8, 2018.
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Jon Wesner ʼ99 shares, “When skydiving, it’s natural to share things that have had a positive impact in our lives, which is how Sam Carrasco ʼ06 and I made the Mercersburg connection in Perris, California.”
James Barnes has accepted a position with Primerica as director of enterprise architecture,th 20 and he and his family have moved to the Atlanta area.
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Creator’s Corner LOUISA ON THE FRONT LINES: LOUISA MAY ALCOTT IN THE CIVIL WAR By Samantha Lumby Seiple ’85
CHASING CORAL A Film Featuring Jim Porter ’65 This documentary describes the devastating effects of climate change on coral reefs, Jim Porter’s research specialty. As chief scientific adviser and a principal
Louisa May Alcott is best known as the author of Little Women, but
cast member, Jim contributed his expertise to
during the Civil War, she held a different role when she served as a
the creation of Chasing Coral, including a series of
nurse at the Union Hotel Hospital in Georgetown in Washington, D.C.
underwater photographs he took that provides a
In her latest book, Louisa on the Front Lines, Samantha Lumby Seiple
before and after glimpse of the coral reefs off
dives deeply into Alcott’s role as a nurse and its influence on her life
Discovery Bay, Jamaica.
and writing. Seiple’s work published in February from Seal Press.
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40th 2001 classmates Heidi Anderes Hollier, Ashley Frankel Way, and Kristin Sell met up in Denver on December 13, 2018.
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20th Michael Galey, a partner with Fisher Phillips in Philadelphia, has been chosen as a legal “Client 15th Service All-Star” by BTI Consulting Group. Alec Harris served as a guest panelist for the bTech Conference 2018 at George Washington University, speaking with students about cryptocurrency, secure communications, and leveraging a liberal arts education in the business tech world. Dianna Lora has moved to Malmo, Sweden, to pursue her gaming career. “I started working at Massive Entertainment prepping to get the game The Division 2 ready to launch,” shares Dianna. “It is a fantastic—and challenging—time.”
’02 Nancy Franke has begun a Ph.D. program in social work at the University of Maryland Baltimore. She spent the last six years working with the Goldring Reentry Initiative and will continue to focus on issues of mass incarceration
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and prisoner reentry in her doctoral program while splitting her time between Philadelphia and Baltimore. Tyler Jones and his family recently relocated to Asheville, North Carolina, after Tyler completed his fellowship in pediatric emergency medicine. Tyler works in the ER at Mission Hospital, Asheville’s large regional health system, and his wife, Rachel, a family physician, works for Mission in a new direct primary care clinic. As head coach, Jake Rauchbach is leading the Open Men’s Basketball Team for the 15th European Maccabi Games this summer in Budapest, Hungary. Jake lives and works in Israel, where he is the owner and founder of MindRight Pro, a high-performance coaching program geared toward statistically improving a player’s game in order to unlock a player’s full potential over the long term.
’03 Linsey Sluk Butler and her family live in Liberty, Missouri, where she teaches online. Mercer Smith Kung and her husband, James, live in Renton, Washington, where Mercer has worked for Northwestern Mutual since 2010 and has launched a new investment operations department in its downtown Seattle office. Mercer shares that she recently hosted Ali Reingold ’03 during a Seattle visit to perform stand-up comedy.
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This past September David Cline ’02 and his wife, Bethany, celebrated their two-year wedding anniversary in Bermuda. They took a little piece of Mercersburg with them.
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Marissa Franklin is currently living in Huajuapan de León, Mexico, where she teaches ESL at the 45th Universidad Tecnológica de la Mixteca. Marissa also has her own travel business, which has been growing for the past five years. th
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Mika White has moved back to Japan and30 founded a company specializing in marketing Japanese tourism destinations to travelers from the U.K., U.S., France, and Germany. She is also 25th expanding her business to include exporting Japanese crafts and products and is currently in search of a trusted distributor in the U.S. th
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’05 15th Tammy McBeth Armstrong and her husband, Michael, welcomed a daughter, Vivian, in June 2017. Tammy was recently promoted to team leader of customer service analytics at Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield in Des Moines, Iowa, and launched “Bright Lights Big Data,” a podcast with her husband about analytics, urban planning, and local government.
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Adam Bratrude ’04 and faculty member Dan Walker at the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia, where Mercersburg held an event in April.
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Pictured are Mercersburg staff and faculty members Amy and Rick Hendrickson, Graham Zifferer ’04 with his parents, Carolyn (seated) and Mort, and Graham’s girlfriend, Liz Walker, at a York, Pennsylvania, alumni and parent event in September 2018.
Pam Aquino ’06 met with Nick Schulkin ’17 in her Salesforce office to talk about life and work in New York City.
60th Aaron Moss graduated from West Virginia University College of Law in 2015 and was awarded a post-graduate fellowship to advocate for the civil rights of incarcerated individuals in solitary confinement. His post-graduate fellowship work was featured in The Nation. Currently, Aaron works as a federal public defender for the Northern District of West Virginia.
’06 Josh Edgin retired from Major League Baseball in January. Josh pitched for the New York Mets for six seasons, making 177 major-league appearances as a left-handed reliever. Josh has accepted a position at Scotland Campus School in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, where he is helping to start the school’s wrestling program and assisting with its baseball program. Hilary Gridley is the co-founder of after words, a free online resource that explores career paths open to English majors and shows how studying English can prepare one for the demands of life after college. “While our interviews are focused on English majors, we think their advice and lessons learned will be valuable for any liberal arts students,” says Hilary. Visit afterwordsproject.com and follow on Instagram @afterwordsproject. Lauren Lesko has been working as a senior accountant for WithumSmith+Brown since earning her MBA from Hood College. Now that she has passed her CPA exams, she is looking forward to having more time to enjoy Philadelphia and catch up with other alumni in the area.
’07 55 Diego, Alex Krill recently moved to San California, where he is working with Vector Solutions. He is interested in connecting with other Mercersburg alumni in Southern California. th
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Matteo Scammell performed with the Philadelphia Theatre Company in Lynn Nottage’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play Sweat at the Suzanne th Roberts Theatre in September 45 and October 2018. Sarah-Jane Weisberg’s father, Michael, passed away December 29, 2018.
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’08 Fleet White accompanied John35 McCain’s 106-yearold mother, Roberta McCain, during a memorial service for the late senator at the U.S. Capitol on August 31, 2018. Fleet was selected to help Mrs. th 30because McCain, who was in a wheelchair, he is serving in the U.S. Navy’s Senate Liaison Office, where John McCain served as a Navy captain. th
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’09 Mark Destro is assistant men’s lacrosse coach at 20th Methodist University in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Together with a few of his fellow Marines, Captain Trey Gregory helped save the lives 15th of several senior citizens at a public housing complex fire in Washington, D.C., in September 2018.
Even on the other side of the world, the Class of 2009 bond holds strong. Ranee Cheung ’09 and Ed Michaelsen ’09 connected in Hong Kong where they are both living.
Ashley Irving’s mother, Ann McLean, passed away November 4, 2018. Michael Reddy’s father, Charles, passed away December 6, 2018. Ashton Vattelana recently moved to the Allentown, Pennsylvania, area, leaving her biotech job for a position as barn manager at Scottfield Stables.
’10 10th Sammy Schadt graduated from medical school in May and will begin residency training in 5th ophthalmology in Miami in July 2020. Lorraine Simonis graduated from the University of Virginia Law School and is clerking for Chiefth 0 Judge Lavenski Smith of the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in Little Rock, Arkansas. She passed the Pennsylvania bar and is planning to move to Philadelphia in August 2019.
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Laken Lynch ’11 (pictured second from right) was recently admitted to the Franklin County (Pennsylvania) Bar Association. She was introduced by the Honorable Shawn Meyers ’86 (pictured far right) and is planning to open a child advocacy practice in Chambersburg upon completion of her clerkship in September 2019.
’11 After working at Facebook for two and a half years, Ryan Ma is joining Lyft as a product designer in San Francisco. Chris Weller recently completed and installed the world’s largest 3D-printed structure for the OneC1TY neighborhood in Nashville. Measuring 20 feet tall by 42 feet wide, the creation was unveiled at the 2018 International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Chattanooga,
After spending time traveling last summer with Seth Noorbakhsh ’13 (and even meeting up with Alex Baur ’14 in Budapest), Mac Williams ’13 shares that he has started medical school at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University. Pictured from left are Mac, Alex, and Seth.
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Tennessee-based Branch Technology, of which Chris is co-founder, also manufactured the hanging 3D sculpture gardens recently installed at the Field Museum Stanley Hall in Chicago. Consisting of four 3D-printed structures suspended from the ceiling, the largest “plant cloud” stretches 35 feet.
’12 Shelley LaMotte recently taught ESL in Thailand and Vietnam and is now traveling throughout Asia and South America.
2012 classmates Lane deCordova and David Bowes met up in Aspen, Colorado, over the holidays.
Han Lee is currently living in San Francisco. He left McKinsey & Company and has been working on Project Wild Lime, a stealth food tech startup with an August 2019 launch. Mikaela Orbon recently left Atmospheric Plasma Solutions in Cary, North Carolina, and has accepted a position as a data scientist for Hi Fidelity Genetics in nearby Durham. Abby Ryland recently moved to Philadelphia, where she’s working as an employee benefits consultant after finishing her MPH at Tufts University in 2018. She is looking forward to
This past February alums connected in Dupont Circle in Washington, D.C., to celebrate Syd Godbey ’14’s birthday. Front row (L to R): Syd, Claire Sabol ’11. Back row (L to R): Charlotte Rhoad ’14, Zoe Alpert ’14, Payton Lissette ’14, Miranda Lang ’13.
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30th AnnaBeth Thomas ’15 (pictured at left with four-year roommate Sarabeth Henne ’15 at the candlelight service last December) just finished her senior year at Austin College, where she is double majoring in chemistry and environmental studies, has received th the Barry Goldwater Scholarship, and has traveled to Nepal and Iceland for research trips. “My time in Nepal really shaped my ultimate desire to do sustainability research, because I found that accessible renewable energy sources are also desperately needed in developing countries,” says AnnaBeth, who plans to pursue a Ph.D. in chemistry. th
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’13 Harvey Gross graduated with a degree in international business from Maastricht University and is a partner at Apollo Ventures, a venture capital firm investing in early-stage biotechnology companies in Europe and the U.S. During the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference this past January in San Francisco, he served as a panelist and discussed investing and the future of personalized medicine. He has moved to New York City and is looking forward to connecting with his Mercersburg friends in the area.
’14 Jayson Brown’s father, James, passed away April 14, 2019. Melanie Rankin is pursuing a master’s degree in strategic design at Furman University, partnered with Miami Ad School in Atlanta, Georgia.
Max Furigay will be enrolling in a Ph.D. program 0th at the University of Pennsylvania this fall with a full scholarship. He is pursuing a degree in advanced bioorganic chemical synthesis and is excited to move closer to the ’Burg.
’16 As a member of the William Smith College squash team, Gabby Fraser received All-Liberty League first-team honors for the second straight year. She was also named the 2019 Arthur Ashe Jr. Women’s Squash Athlete of the Year by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education. The Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar Awards recognize outstanding minority men and women who have distinguished themselves in their academic and athletic pursuits and who demonstrate a commitment to community service and student leadership. Gabby earned this recognition for the second straight year.
Mercersburg Director of Summer and External Programs Coleman Weibley bumped into Arturs Tomsons ’18 in Paris in December, where Coleman was traveling for Mercersburg and Arturs is studying at the American University of Paris. “While walking on the crowded streets between meetings, I heard a familiar voice scream, ‘No way!’” says Coleman. “It was Arturs Tomsons recognizing my Mercersburg blue.”
’17 Last summer, Jacky Lu interned at Framestore in Chicago and had the opportunity to work on a variety of production tasks, including special effects for a Capital One commercial. Jackie is majoring in digital media design at the University of Pennsylvania.
Faculty/Staff/Friends Faculty emeritus Jim Applebaum has been appointed moderator of the long-standing essays discussion group at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Johns Hopkins University. Barbara Hendrickson, mother of faculty member Rick Hendrickson, mother-in-law of staff member Amy Hendrickson, and grandmother of Jennifer Hendrickson Walsh ’03, Rachael Hendrickson Lynch ’06, and Gabriel Hendrickson ’19, passed away December 6, 2018. Elton Shelly, father of staff member Carol Ecton and Academy driver from 1992 to 2006, passed away January 1, 2019.
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Births/Adoptions
Maddie Deupree Banta ’06 and her husband Lee Banta ’06 welcomed a son, Henry Hyde IV, April 16, 2019.
Joy Mullins Byrne ’10 and her husband, Sam, welcomed a daughter, Charlotte Margaret, October 25, 2018.
Asia Walker Castro ’09 and her husband, Joey, welcomed a son, Joey “LJ” José Castro II, February 18, 2019.
Andy Danziger ’99 and his wife, Melissa, welcomed a daughter, Evelyn Mackenzie, July 13, 2018.
Alex Maulucci ’04 and his wife, Laura, welcomed a daughter, Molly Eldora Maulucci, April 1, 2019. Molly joins big brother, Mason.
Eric James ’84 and his husband, Dan Guller, adopted their first child, Elijah Andrew, in February 2018.
Heidi Anderes Hollier ’01 and her husband, Kent, welcomed a daughter, Tilly Dupré, October 24, 2018.
Ben Smith ’99 and his wife, Samantha, welcomed a daughter, Sutton Lilly, November 10, 2018. Lilly joins big brother, Felix.
Tyler Jones ’02 and his wife, Rachel Hines, welcomed a daughter, Liora Ruth, August 29, 2018. Liora joins big brother, Herman (Manny) Elias.
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CLASS NOTES
Erica Adam Nemeroff ʼ04 and her husband, Scott, welcomed a son, Casen Joseph, March 15, 2019. Casen joins big sister, Mackenzie.
Linsey Sluk Butler ’03 and her husband, Tyler, welcomed a son, Micah, April 15, 2018. Micah joins big sister, Nora, and stepsisters, Abby and Sydney.
Leigh Swiger Moynihan ’06 and her husband, Greg, welcomed a daughter, Fiona Lenore, January 29, 2018. Fiona joins big brother, Iain.
Tiffany Tseng Mielke ’07 and her husband, Aaron, welcomed a son, Leonidas Michael, October 4, 2018.
Katie Vickers ’06 and her husband, Albert Quesada, welcomed a boy, London James, October 29, 2018.
Xio Villagomez ’10 and her partner, Diego Lagunas, welcomed a son, Diego, October 3, 2018. Diego joins big sister, Lilliana.
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Avy Wong ’01 and her husband, Kayser Lynn, welcomed a daughter, Kayley, February 27, 2019.
Josh Grahe ’01 and his wife, Yasmin, welcomed a son, Ayan, December 22, 2018.
Medora Hartz Westcott ’06 and her husband, Jeffrey, welcomed a daughter, Margaret Wynnifred “Wynnie,” March 29, 2019.
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Roger Loewi, March 23, 2016.
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Charles E. Hough, December 30, 2018. Charles graduated from Penn State University and Jefferson Medical College. He served in the U.S. Army Medical Corps during World War II as a surgeon on troop transport ships sailing between New York and Europe. He had a private medical practice in Johnsonburg, then worked for Pfizer as director of medical services before joining Schering-Plough Corporation as associate director of antibiotic clinical research. He is survived by two daughters and three grandchildren.
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Lewis H. Acker Sr., April 27, 2018. John C. Gillis, August 20, 2018. John graduated from the University of Michigan. He served in the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II. He worked in the wood products and boating industries, serving as a plant manager for Hyde-Murphy Company, Chris-Craft Corporation, and Hatteras Yachts, and later worked as a stockbroker. He is survived by two children, two grandchildren, and two great-grandsons.
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David B. Clapp Jr., January 3, 2019. Dave graduated from Princeton University. He was a U.S. Army veteran of World War II, receiving the Bronze Star Medal and two battle stars for his service on a mission to Tibet and China. Dave worked for Air Reduction Company, eventually becoming national head of marketing, before starting his own company, Carbonic Products, Inc. He is survived by three children, nine grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren.
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Marshall B. Patterson, June 14, 2015. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army Air Corps. He is survived by his wife, Pauline; two children; three grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.
run his family’s business, Rosenau Brothers Inc., and later moved to Colorado, where he became one of the founders of Snowmass Village. William A. Schneider Jr., October 13, 2018.
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Robert W. Bennett, May 15, 2018. He graduated cum laude from Princeton University. He served as a U.S. Air Force navigator in the South Pacific during World War II. After several years as an FBI agent, he entered the private sector, working for Ford Motor Company, Colgate-Palmolive, and Celanese Corporation before becoming vice president of human relations for ChesebroughPond’s. He is survived by his wife, Dorothy; three children, including R. William Bennett Jr. ’74; nine grandchildren; and 12 great-grandchildren. Charles G. Fickes Jr., November 27, 2018. Charles graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School. He served in the U.S. Army Air Force as a radar specialist in England during World War II. He joined the Henry and Rocky insurance agency as a salesman, eventually becoming owner and president, then later taught insurance courses at the Harrisburg campus of Penn State University. He is survived by two children; three grandchildren, including Bethany R. Hartman Van Schoick ’99; and six great-grandchildren. Thomas H. Price Jr., March 15, 2019. He graduated from Dartmouth College. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II as executive officer of the USS Wiseman. He spent his career with the U.S. Veterans Administration in the Philippines, eventually becoming director of the Manila regional office and attaché for veterans’ affairs at the American embassy. He also served on President-elect Reagan’s transition team. He is preceded in death by brothers Robert H. Price ’42 and George A. Price ’44. He is survived by two children, four grandchildren, and five siblings, including Richard F. Price ’49. Gary Rosenau, April 19, 2018. Gary studied at Syracuse University, and served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. For many years, he helped
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Robert P. McNeal, November 19, 2018. Bob graduated from the University of Miami. He was a U.S. Army veteran of World War II, and returned to the armed services after completing his degree, eventually retiring as a senior master sergeant with the U.S. Air Force Defense Supply Agency. He was stationed throughout Europe, and also served in Korea. He is survived by four cousins. William T. Reber, December 1, 2018. Bill graduated from Babson College. He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II, building runways on Terceira Island in the Azores with the 92nd Engineering Division. He spent his entire working career in Baltimore, mainly in construction and real estate. He was preceded in death by his father, James B. Reber (1910), and is survived by his wife, Susan, and three stepdaughters.
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Samuel W. Barrick, April 11, 2019. He graduated from Gettysburg College and the University of Maryland School of Law. He served as a navigator in the U.S. Air Force in the European theater during World War II. During his career, he was elected state’s attorney and later state senator for Frederick County, Maryland, then judge of the circuit courts of Frederick and Montgomery counties. He was preceded in death by his father, Harry W. Barrick (1911). He is survived by his wife, Joan; three children, including Paul W. Barrick ’70; six grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. Gilbert Evans, February 18, 2018. Gil graduated from the University of Michigan. He served as a fighter pilot in the U.S. Army Air Force during World War II. Gil worked as a freelance artist for
such companies as Grumman Aircraft, Doubleday, and Grolier, where he became vice president and creative art director. He is survived by his wife, Eleanor, and a son and stepdaughter.
operational and marketing roles, culminating in the position of senior director of marketing at AARP. He is survived by three children and 10 grandchildren.
C. Gilbert James Jr., January 5, 2018. Gib attended Kenyon College, the University of Arizona, and Youngstown College. He served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army during World War II. He and his brother established and operated several businesses, including Forge Industries Inc. and James & Sons Insurance Company. He was a volunteer and supporter of numerous community organizations, and received many awards for his service, including an honorary degree from Youngstown State University. He is survived by three children and four grandsons.
J. Herbert Fithian, September 6, 2018. Herb served in the U.S. Army infantry during World War II, earning a Purple Heart. He loved to travel, and was known in his community for helping those in need. He and his daughter established the Forman S. Acton Educational Foundation, funded by and named in memory of his lifelong friend, to benefit worthy students in Salem, New Jersey. Herb and his wife, Katsy, had three children, six grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren.
John Leonard, January 2, 2019. Jack graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He volunteered as an ambulance driver for American Field Services during World War II. He worked in the construction industry in Washington and Alaska, eventually retiring as senior vice president of engineering for Morrison-Knudsen Corporation. He is survived by his second wife, Helen; two daughters; four grandchildren; and one great-grandchild. Thomas C. Marshall Jr., February 12, 2019. Tom studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology before entering the U.S. Army. His career focused on tourism, but his larger impact came from his philanthropy. He and his family donated land and a Victorian-era home built by his grandparents to the state of Delaware for Auburn Valley State Park. Tom was founding director of the Friends of Auburn Heights Preserve and founder of the historic Wilmington & Western Railroad. He was known among collectors as an authority on Stanley Steamers. He was a regent emeritus at Mercersburg. He is survived by his wife, Ruth.
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Clifton W. Fichtner, March 3, 2019. He graduated from Harvard University, and was a U.S. Navy veteran. He had a long career in a variety of
Leighton H. Peebles Jr., January 18, 2019. Larry graduated from Union College and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was a U.S. Army veteran of World War II, serving in the Signal Corps and as a translator in the European theater. He spent the first part of his career as a research lab chemist in private industry, and retired as an evaluator at the Office of Naval Research. He was the third president of The Adhesion Society, which created the Peebles Award for graduate student research in his honor. He is survived by his wife, Jeanne; three children; nine grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.
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David D. Stueck Jr., January 29, 2018. David graduated from Princeton University. He served on a destroyer escort in the U.S. Navy in World War II. During his career, he worked in the defense, automotive, and sporting goods industries, most recently as owner of Kapo Machine Corporation. He is preceded in death by his uncle, George H. Stueck ’27, and is survived by his wife, Grace; three daughters; and four grandchildren.
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Henry P. Bridges Jr., March 20, 2018. Henry graduated from Davidson College and Union
Theological Seminary, and studied organ in Paris for a year under composer Jean Langlais. He founded the Community School of the Arts in Charlotte, North Carolina. Henry received numerous awards for his professional and philanthropic work, including the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the highest honor bestowed by the governor of North Carolina, and honorary doctorates from Davidson College and Queens University. He is survived by two children and four grandchildren. James K. Hershberger, March 20, 2019. Jim graduated from Juniata College. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army Air Corps, serving as a medic in the Philippines during World War II. Jim was a farmer throughout his life, and also owned and operated Hershberger Chevrolet Olds Inc. for 35 years. He is preceded in death by his brother, Rex W. Hershberger ’46, and is survived by his wife, Doris; three children; nine grandchildren; and 14 great-grandchildren. John H. Stitely Jr., April 7, 2019. Jack graduated from Washington & Jefferson College. A talented musician, he played in Jimmy Andrews’ orchestra, served in the U.S. Army band at Fort Monroe, Virginia, and played in The Gentlemen of Note band. He was associated with Cumberland Brewing Company, was a technical writer at Allegany Ballistics Lab, and retired from human resources at Sacred Heart Hospital. He is survived by his sister and two nieces.
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Harper T. Bressler, November 17, 2018. Harper served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War, and retired from the Navy Reserve as a lieutenant commander. He later retired as a business system analyst after working for Ohio Bell, New Jersey Bell, and AT&T. He is survived by two children, six grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren. James McCormack, September 9, 2018. He graduated from the University of Michigan, and served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. He served as corporate vice president, secretary,
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and treasurer of Wilmac Corporation and as administrator of Colonial Manor Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. He is preceded in death by his brother, Webster J. McCormack ’44. He is survived by his wife, Janet; three children; five grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and niece, Patricia J. McCormack Dodd ’73, and grand-nephew, Andrew J. Reynolds ’09.
multi-location business, and later bought and sold other businesses. He was president of the Camp Hill Shopping Center Retailers Association and very involved in other community organizations. Ken is survived by his wife, Katherine (“Kitty”); four sons, including John Stark ’68; seven grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
colonel, and was aide to the commander of military operations in Vietnam. Bill retired from the Army after 28 years, having also served as post commander in Seoul, Korea, and received Purple Heart Medals, Legion of Merit awards, and Bronze Star Medals. He is survived by his wife, Marie-Claire; three daughters; and two grandchildren.
Kenneth Stark Jr., February 17, 2019. Ken graduated from Washington and Lee University, and served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy Reserve. He joined Stark Bros., the men’s clothing store started by his father, building it into a
William Steinberg, October 20, 2018. Bill graduated from West Point and went as a second lieutenant directly into the Korean War, where his service earned him a Silver Star. He later served two tours in the Vietnam War as a lieutenant
John F. Straubel, August 21, 2018. John graduated from Northwestern University, and served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War. He founded and ran Straubel Communications, a Bay Area public relations agency. He traveled widely, enjoyed sailing, and supported the Boys and Girls Club of the Peninsula for many years. He is survived by a sister.
Harry R. Hughes
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arry R. Hughes ’44, who served as governor of the state of Maryland from 1979 to 1987, died March 13 at age 92 in Denton, Maryland. As governor, Hughes fought fiercely for the protection of the Chesapeake Bay, and brought stability to Maryland’s state government following a number of corruption scandals under previous administrations. His two terms as governor coincided with the gubernatorial tenure of Richard “Dick” Thornburgh ’50 in Pennsylvania, meaning that the neighboring states’ chief executives were
both Mercersburg alumni during an eight-year span in the 1970s and 1980s. After attending Mercersburg, Hughes joined the Navy during World War II and later earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland and a law degree from George Washington University. He also briefly played baseball in the New York Yankees’ minor-league system. Hughes was married to Patricia Donoho for almost 60 years; she passed away in 2010. Hughes served in the Maryland Senate and was named the state’s first secretary of transportation in 1971; he held the position until his gubernatorial run. Following his time in office, he practiced law and was president of the Harry R. Hughes Center for Agro-Ecology, a research facility for the University of Maryland named in his honor in 2006. Hughes received environmental awards from the Maryland League of Conservation Voters, the Scenic Rivers Land Trust, the Maryland Bar Foundation, and 1000 Friends of Maryland. Hughes is survived by two daughters and a grandson.
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William C. Baldwin, December 4, 2018. Bill attended Bucknell University, and was the retired president and part owner of Independent Expositions, Ltd., and Reber-Friel Company. He is survived by three children, including Edwin D. Baldwin ’76, four grandchildren, and one great-grandson.
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Robert W. Bess Jr., September 30, 2012. Robert graduated from Potomac State College, West Virginia University, and the Medical College of Virginia. He was associated with Potomac Valley Hospital, where he was on the medical staff for 53 years, including 43 years as medical director. He also taught at WVU School of Medicine, was team physician for a number of high schools and colleges, worked as a medical examiner for the Federal Aviation Administration, and served on several boards of directors. He is survived by his wife, Constance (“Connie”); six children; 10 grandchildren; and one great-grandchild. Austin C. Lynn, August 11, 2018. Austin graduated from Arizona State University. He worked as a cost accountant for U.S. Steel and Goodyear Aerospace, then started his own
insurance business, A.C. & L. Agency. He is survived by four children, 12 grandchildren, and 24 great-grandchildren. Rodney J. Minner, June 2, 2018. Rodney graduated from Muhlenberg College and the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine. He was a U.S. Air Force veteran. He practiced dentistry in Catasauqua for more than 40 years, and was active in several community organizations. He is survived by four children and five grandchildren. Samuel Round, October 2, 2018. Charles W. Tether, July 7, 2016. Chick was the owner of Benjamin Bros. True Value Hardware. He served in the National Guard. He also served as chief of the Demarest (New Jersey) Fire Department, and was one of the founding members and former captain of the Demarest Ambulance Squad. He is survived by two children, two grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.
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Willis Hartman, January 25, 2019. “Wooz” graduated from Ursinus College and Villanova University. He was a U.S. Navy veteran of the Korean War. He taught chemistry and coached football and wrestling at Milton Hershey School. He is preceded in death by his brother, James R. Hartman ’48, and is survived by his wife, Barbara; three children; and three grandchildren. Richard Koffman, June 6, 2018. Richard was preceded in death by a brother, Burton Koffman ’43, and is survived by his wife, Sara; three children; and six grandchildren. Stanley P. Silverblatt, August 25, 2018. Stanley graduated from the University of Pittsburgh Medical School, and completed his residency at the Pittsburgh Medical Center, Presbyterian Hospital. He then entered the U.S. Public Health Service as a heart disease control officer for the state of Connecticut. He later worked as
a resident physician at the Diplomat Hotel in Hollywood, Florida, and eventually wrote a book about the experience called Hotel Doctor. He is survived by three children, four grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. Charles K. Wagner, January 2, 2016. Charles was the vice president for engineering and maintenance at Avtex Fibers. He is survived by four children, nine grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren.
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John D. Adams, January 10, 2019. John graduated from Duke University. He served in the medical corps in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War. He was an electrical engineer for Pratt & Whitney, then later was employed in management at Duke’s School of Physiology and Pharmacology and at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and as a quality engineer at Data General. He ended his career working for a Malaysian company to design an uninterruptible power supply. He is survived by his second wife, Loretta; two children; a stepson; and three grandchildren. Alan S. Christner Jr., March 1, 2019. Gordon Follett, August 5, 2018. Gordon graduated from Swathmore College. He worked for Bethlehem Steel, specializing in large steel bridge construction, then took a sales and marketing position with a California company that manufactured products used in steel construction. He eventually retired from the California State University System, where he oversaw construction projects on its 22 campuses, and formed a consulting company. He is survived by his wife, Catherine; two daughters; and one granddaughter.
Charles graduated from the University of Minnesota and its medical school, and completed an internal medicine fellowship at the Mayo Clinic. He served in the U.S. Air Force as a medical officer in Spain. He practiced with the Gould Medical Group, patterned after the Mayo Clinic, until his retirement, after which he served as the group’s assistant medical director for physician recruiting. He is survived by his wife, Suzanne; three children; four grandchildren; and one great-grandchild. Ben DiIorio, October 9, 2018. Ben graduated from Wesleyan University. In the mid-1960s, he opened Golden Valley Gun Club in California, where he was an instructor to many stars of the era, including one of his best friends, Robert Stack, as well as Bing Crosby, William Shatner, Gene Barry, and Blake Edwards. He also started Pacific Aloha Tours. He is survived by five children and six grandchildren. Constantine L. Manos, December 24, 2017. Demas L. McVay Jr., April 1, 2019. Demas is survived by two daughters, two granddaughters, and a brother, Lee McVay ’60.
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Carl P. Flanagan Jr., September 14, 2018. Pat graduated from Washington and Lee University. He served in the Army for more than 20 years, and completed his military career in the Eighteenth Airborne Corps. After his retirement, he worked for the Cumberland County Tax Office in North Carolina and volunteered with several organizations, including the Airborne and Special Operations Museum. He was preceded in death by his father, Carl P. Flanagan ’24, and is survived by two sons, including Carl P. Flanagan III ’71, and four grandchildren.
Leopoldo Pellon, October 12, 2012.
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Charles Van Nuys Allen, January 19, 2019.
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Paul I. Detwiler Jr., October 11, 2018. Paul graduated from Gettysburg College. He was a
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captain in the U.S. Air Force. He was an owner of New Enterprise Stone & Lime Co., Inc., and worked there for more than 55 years. He is survived by his wife, Patricia; five children; 17 grandchildren, including Carolyn E. Detwiler Speicher ’04; and two great-grandchildren. John Baker Roach Long Jr., January 4, 2019. John is survived by his wife, Olive; two sons; and two grandchildren.
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Dino S. Colombo, November 18, 2017. Dino graduated from West Virginia University and the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine. He was a dentist in Clarksburg for nearly 50 years. His passion was volunteering at the Susan Dew Hoff Memorial Clinic, where he was the medical director and dentist for 13 years and treated thousands of patients for free. He is survived by two sons, five grandchildren, and a great-granddaughter. John P. Galliker, January 10, 2018. John was preceded in death by his father, Louis G. Galliker ’27, and uncle, William M. Galliker ’26. He is survived by his brother, Louis G. Galliker ’52. Richard C. Hedstrom, September 28, 2018. Richard was preceded in death by his father, Oscar G. Hedstrom ’27. He is survived by two children, including Richard A. Hedstrom ’86, and five grandchildren, including Benjamin M. Hedstrom ’19. Terence M. Tannehill, March 30, 2013.
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John T. Collister, August 9, 2018. John graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. He was a U.S. Navy veteran. He worked for Pan American Airways as an operations manager. He is survived by his sister. William P. Turpin IV, December 14, 2018. Bill
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graduated from the University of Tennessee. He served in the U.S. Army infantry in Vietnam, receiving the Combat Infantryman Badge, and also was stationed in Saudi Arabia, Germany, and Hong Kong. Bill sold life insurance for Northwestern Mutual Life and Aqua Cats for American Sail, and later operated a bed and breakfast. He is survived by his second wife, Ann; two daughters; and four grandsons.
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Charles A. Coffey, September 19, 2018. Charles retired from Shenango Inc. as vice president of sales and service after 33 years, then later went to work for RAMM Metals as a sales executive for 10 years. He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth; three children; and two grandchildren. Richard S. Cunningham, October 13, 2018. Dick graduated from Youngstown State University and the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science. Dick was president of the R. Cunningham Funeral Home and Crematory, Inc., for 45 years, and served on the board of directors of Jameson Memorial Hospital and several community organizations. He is survived by his wife, Leilani (“Lonnie”); five children; seven grandchildren; and one great-grandson. Paul K. Dober, May 4, 2018. Paul was a stockbroker in the New Haven area for more than 40 years. He is survived by two children and four grandchildren.
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David E. Gichner, September 14, 2018. David is survived by his second wife, Carol; four children; 11 grandchildren; and cousin, Kenneth E. Margolius ’81.
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C. James Kutz, August 19, 2018. Jim graduated from Allegheny College and Widener University
Law School. He was an officer in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War. He practiced family law with his brother for 30 years, then became an ordained minister in the United Methodist Church. He is survived by his daughter and his companion. John K. Lawrence, December 20, 2017. John graduated from Harvard University and Northeastern University. He was emeritus professor of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at California State University, Northridge. John was a former Mercersburg Board of Regents member and benefactor of the Mary Keeler Lawrence Distinguished Teaching Chair and the Flora T. Keeler Fund. He is preceded in death by his brother, James T. Lawrence ’62, and is survived by his wife, Barbara; one son; and two grandsons. Henry E. York, November 19, 2014.
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Frank W. Lloyd III, October 31, 2018. Frank graduated from Williams College, the University of Michigan, and Harvard Law School, where he was an editor of the law review. He was a retired partner of the law firm Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky, and Popeo, specializing in telecommunications law. He was co-author of a four-volume treatise on telecommunications regulation, wrote a monthly column and several law review articles, and served as co-chair of the Federal Communications Bar Association’s Cable Practice Committee. He is survived by his second wife, Elizabeth (“Betsy”); five children; and five grandchildren.
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Charles Duhe, September 18, 2018. Charles graduated from Louisiana State University. He was a member of the Louisiana National Guard. He worked as a sugar cane farmer in Louisiana, and later founded Superior Hydraulics, heading its sales division. After retirement, he studied
naturopathy, and opened a practice known as The Re-think Tank. He is survived by his wife, Marilyn; three children; and seven grandchildren.
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Stewart R. Crane, December 21, 2018. Stewart graduated from Rollins College. He was a certified public accountant and partner with Price Waterhouse. He was a member of the group that located the Orlando Magic basketball team in Florida. He was preceded in death by his father, Robert F. Crane ’32, and uncle, Radford R. Crane ’28. He is survived by his wife, Joanne; two daughters; and six grandchildren.
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Robert A. Bruce Jr., April 17, 2018. Bob graduated from Wabash College and the Medical University of South Carolina, and completed a residency and fellowship at Ohio State University. He was the founding partner of Midwest Retina. He is survived by his wife, Toni; two daughters; two stepchildren; and nine grandchildren.
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David E. Weir, January 30, 2019. Dave graduated from Princeton University, then entered the U.S. Marine Corps. He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with Combat Valor as a platoon commander in the Vietnam War, and later served as an instructor, leaving the Marine Corps at the rank of captain. He retired from his career as an actuary. He is survived by his wife, Maureen; three children; four grandchildren; and brother, Michael R. Weir ’65.
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Michael C. Crawford, September 7, 2018. Mike graduated from Duke University and the University of South Carolina. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, and had a successful
career in real estate. Mike was a benefactor of the James B. Crawford II ’38 Memorial Scholarship Fund at Mercersburg. He is preceded in death by his father, James B. Crawford ’38, and uncle, Ronald F. Crawford ’36. He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth (“Betsy”); two sons; four grandchildren; a brother, James B. Crawford ’63; and niece, Addie Crawford ’07, and nephew, J.B. Crawford ’09. Peter Shyburgh, June 1, 2018. He was a former store manager with the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.
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Robert E. Browning, August 31, 2018. Robert graduated from Gettysburg College and Temple University. He was a U.S. Army veteran. He was preceded in death by his father, Donald M. Browning ’43; uncles, Robert E. Browning ’38 and John R. Browning ’47; and great-grandfather, Cheston H. Browning (1912). He is survived by his wife, Jeannie; 10 children; 24 grandchildren; one great-granddaughter; uncle, Thomas D. Browning ’48; and cousins, Cheston H. Browning ’61, Michael T. Browning ’74, and Willard S. Browning ’88.
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Robert W. Brode, January 26, 2019. Bob attended Ohio State University and served in the U.S. Army from 1967 to 1970. Along with his cousin, George Brode ’65, he co-owned the W.M. Brode Company where he engineered, built, and repaired bridges across the U.S. The company was founded by his great-grandfather in 1887. He was preceded in death by his father, Robert M. Brode ’38, and is survived by his wife, Louise; a daughter, Elizabeth H. Brode Diachun ’95; two grandchildren; and cousins George Brode ’65 and John C. Myers ’65. Levis W. Minford, July 14, 2018.
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Harold D. Allen, January 31, 2019. Harold graduated from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and North Carolina State University. He had a successful engineering career in St. Louis. He was preceded in death by his grandfather, Earl L. Douglass (1909); uncle, Elisha P. Douglass ’35; and brother, Earl D. Allen ’68. He is survived by his second wife, Debra Ackerson; two daughters; two stepdaughters; five grandchildren; brother Ethan E. Allen ’70; and his former wife. Michael K. Cahalan, March 9, 2019. Michael graduated from Harvard University and Temple University School of Medicine. He served on the faculty of the University of California, San Francisco, as chief of anesthesia for pediatric and adult cardiac surgery and the University of Utah School of Medicine as professor and chair of the Department of Anesthesiology. Michael’s research interest involved transesophageal echocardiography, and he used the first equipment brought to the U.S. in 1980 demonstrating the utility of this technology. He is survived by a brother, Thomas Cahalan ’65, and his wife, Marianne. Robert Day, August 29, 2018. Robert is survived by his wife, Elizabeth (“Bjo”); two sons; two grandchildren; and brother, Thomas R. Day ’64.
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Darwin P. Bromley, January 2, 2019. Darwin graduated from Northwestern School of Law and worked in Chicago as a lawyer, but his true love was for board and card games. With his brother and others, he formed Mayfair Games, designing and developing several popular games, and was among the first to bring Euro-style games to the U.S. market. He also received several adult scouting awards, including the District Award of Merit and the Wood Badge. He is survived by his wife, Trella; five children; and brother, William H. Bromley ’72.
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David M. Patt, September 26, 2018. David graduated from the University of Pittsburgh. He is survived by his wife, Betsy; three children; two grandchildren; and nieces, Samantha K. Patt Kozak ’92 and Rachel E. Ansert ’94.
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John T. Robertson, March 15, 2019. John graduated from Ursinus College, and spent his career in the banking industry, starting as a teller for National Central Bank and retiring as head of managed assets for Metro Bank. He is survived by his wife, Alys; one son; two grandsons; his father; and his brother, David G. Robertson ’75. Stewart J. Tabakin, July 17, 2014. Before he went to college, Stewart studied in Paris and worked for the International Herald Tribune. He later graduated from Ohio State University. He founded Marathon Messengers, Boston’s first business messenger service, growing it from two couriers to more than 70 when he sold it after nearly 30 years. He served on the boards of directors of Provincetown Art Association and Museum and the Armory Art Center. He is survived by his brother, Thomas S. Tabakin ’69; and his partner, Salvatore Fiumara.
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Thomas F. Lansdale, January 15, 2019. Thomas graduated from Harvard University and Case Western Reserve Medical School. He was recruited to Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, whose general medicine and primary care training programs became the largest of their kind under his leadership. He then became chair of the Department of Medicine at Greater Baltimore Medical Center, where he oversaw the development of Gilchrist, a leading center for palliative and hospice care. He also worked with Health Care for the Homeless in Baltimore. He is survived by his daughter and his mother, as well as two brothers, former faculty
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member Rick Lansdale ’74 and Page Lansdale ’76. Jackson C. Sewell Jr., June 28, 2018. Jackson was a PGA club professional, caddied for his wife and other players on the LPGA tour, and worked in his family’s clothing business and as a carpenter and wood worker. In his spare time, he volunteered at schools and coached Little League baseball and lacrosse. He is survived by his wife, Laurie; a son; and his mother.
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Robert O. Butler Jr., December 8, 2018. Robert graduated from West Chester University and Fuller Theological Seminary. He was a senior minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA) denomination, serving churches in Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Alabama, and Mississippi. He is survived by his wife, Jennifer, and three daughters.
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Jonathan R. Davis, October 22, 2016. Jonathan worked for Humana Insurance Company for 20 years. He is survived by his wife, Kendra; one son; and his father.
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Christina LaCerda, August 18, 2018. Christina graduated from Oberlin College and Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine. After a brief stay in the Pacific Northwest, she settled in
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Marianne R. Taylor, April 6, 2019. Marianne graduated from Susquehanna University. She is survived by two children; a grandmother; cousin, Michael R. Galligan ’90; and former husband.
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Alton K. Chafin Jr., October 5, 2018. Alton worked at North Carolina Port of Wilmington for 18 years. He was the vice president of ILA Local 1766, and loved listening to Bob Dylan. He is survived by his parents, two sisters, and several nieces and nephews.
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David C. Schoen, January 3, 2019. David graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His career in engineering and management included work on the Pegasus Rocket at Orbital Sciences, development of low earth orbit satellite systems, and engineering and product management for a wide range of projects at Inmarsat. He is survived by his wife, Moira; two sons; and his father.
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the Bay Area and joined the San Francisco SPCA team. She is survived by her husband, Scott; one daughter; and three siblings, Erika C. LaCerda ’83, Robert A. LaCerda ’84, and Kenneth J. LaCerda ’90.
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John C. Nelson, September 3, 2018. John studied science at Hagerstown Community College. He is survived by his mother, three sisters, five nephews, and his maternal grandparents.
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’08
Anna L. Hunka, April 6, 2019. Anna was blessed with a beautiful voice and the ability to perform. She is survived by her husband, Paul Dyhrman; her mother (former staff member Karen Hunka) and father; three brothers, Josh ’02, Jake ’03, and Trevor ’07; and several cousins, including Matt Spencer ’06 and Anne Spencer ’08.
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Former Faculty
Dr. Richard Crutchfield, former faculty member (1963–1967), August 15, 2018. Dr. Philip L. Garrett, former faculty member (1952–1955 and 1956–1963), November 6, 2018.
“As an educator, I believe thoroughly in the enrichment of life and I hold that the purpose of education is not in making a living, but to make a life.”
Do your Mercersburg experiences, friends, and faculty hold a special place in your heart? Capturing the spirit of that legacy through an estate commitment and membership in the Marshall & Irving Alliance makes a true impact on the Mercersburg of today and tomorrow. Learn about the potential tax advantages of supporting Mercersburg by naming the school as a beneficiary of a new or existing life-insurance policy, your tax-deferred retirement plan, or your will. For more information or to share your current estate plan with Mercersburg, contact Carolyn Griffin Yeager P ʼ20, ʼ21, chief advancement engagement officer, at yeagerc@mercersburg.edu or 717-328-6219, or visit mercersburg.edu/plannedgiving.
–Dr. William Mann Irvine
SUMMER 2019
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FROM THE ARCHIVES
Kindly remember that this is only Commencement Day— the begin ning and not the ending of our educational work. In ascending a mountain, every step taken is the end of the road passed over and the starting point of the step that follows it on our weary way toward the summit. —Mary Martin (1890), Salutatory Speech, Mercersburg College
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Commencement 1890
ev. Henry Harbaugh sat on the steps of Old Main Hall in 1865 and envisioned classical education returning to Seminary Hill. Together with the Potomac Synod of the German Reformed Church, they opened Mercersburg College, and
Rev. Harbaugh became the first president of the Board of Trustees of Mercersburg College, the same governing body that oversees the Academy to this day. Mercersburg was founded as a coeducational college in 1865, and there were five original professors, three of whom were female. The enrollment of women in the school ebbed and flowed over the next two decades, but by the early 1880s, the school was nearly 50 percent coed. By the time Mary Martin delivered her speech, the school was struggling with enrollment and rising debt, which caused a shift away from the college model and into a preparatory school for boys in 1893. The Academy remained coed for its first four years before the last of those early female students left in 1897, ushering in seven decades of an all-male student body. This year we celebrate the 50th year since the revival of coeducation at Mercersburg.
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MERCERSBURG ACADEMY MAGAZINE
From the Archives Top: This archival photograph shows Mercersburg College students from the late 1880s. While we can’t be sure Mary Martin is pictured here, we are certain that some of these students were her classmates. Right: Mary Martin’s diploma is one of the many treasures housed in the school’s archives.
Aaron Zheng ’19 performed as part of the Jazz Band during the Spring Pops Concert in April. Mercersburg’s Magalia and Octet also took the stage that night.
100 Academy Drive Mercersburg, Pennsylvania 17236-1524
Permit #93
MERCERSBURG ACADEMY
Save the Date! FAMILY and
October 20 Family and Alumni Weekend
October 18-20, 2019
FAMILY �and mercersburg.edu/faw October 20