Class of 1972 - 50th Reunion Book

CLASS OF 1972

50th Reunion Book Presented on Alumni Weekend 2022

May 2022

Dear Members of the Class of 1972, Congratulations on celebrating your 50th Reunion this spring both virtually and in person here at Moorestown Friends School. I am deeply grateful for your continued dedication to your classmates and to the school. It is clear from reviewing some of the messages shared in this Reunion Book that your classmates and your time at Moorestown Friends have had a lasting impact on your lives. I would like to especially recognize Paul Harrison, Betsy Dunn Ross and Bill Shelley for the many hours they have invested in planning for this important milestone.

I would like to thank you for your generosity in establishing the Class of 1972 Endowment in memory of your classmates who have passed away. Together, your gifts will help to provide permanent annual resources for student counseling services at MFS. I appreciate your commitment to support the mental health and wellbeing of today’s students.

I understand that your class was the first to experience Senior Projects. You may not know that it has become an important tradition at the school. I have had numerous alumni share how their Senior Project experiences helped set them on the path to their careers. What a terrific legacy from your class that endures to this day!

I look forward to seeing you at your Zoom Reunion and your in-person gathering on campus during Alumni Weekend.

Warmly,

Julia de la Torre Head of School

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Craig Attix Spouse/Partner: None Children, Name/Age: None (unless you count 26 years' worth of students) Profession/Employer: Multiple The Bancroft School - Taught Industrial Arts and Employment skills to handicapped students (ages 16-21) for 26 years.

Partner in small home renovations/addition/decks 19761997.

Lumber Yard (Haddonfield Lumber and Peter Lumber Co.) managing hardware sales/purchasing and building material sales 1997-Present.

Education: B.A. Psychology 1976; Certified Vocational Evaluator 1980; Master of Arts in Teaching Industrial Education 1986.

Organizations/Associations: South Jersey Coastal Fly Anglers; Ray Nierle South Jersey Trout Unlimited Activities/Interests/Hobbies: Fly Fishing; Deep Sea Fishing; Target Shooting - not hunting; Woodworking all types; Home Building; Maine & New England Travel: Annual trips to Maine and Cape Cod; 1984 2 weeks touring England doing Masters research; 2 trips to Grand Bahama Island - Fly Fishing for Bonefish and Tarpon.

Fondest MFS Memory: Too many! Many lifelong friendships; Jerry Delamater (8th Grade English) bringing movies to my house to watch and tutoring me while I recovered from spine fusion; soccer matches with Herm Magee as a coach; Moorestown United Soccer Club; summer employment on MFS Maintenance with Harry Stevenson and Warren Shelley (“What would Warren say?”).

Influential MFS Faculty Member or Coach and Why: Jerry Delamater (8th Grade English) Taught an insecure, wisecracking juvenile how to be more mature and self-confident, all while patiently dealing with my wisecracks in class.

Herm Magee (Varsity Soccer) Only coach who treated players as if they were more mature than we were.

Not fast to criticize, which meant when he ever called out “Attixy!” I knew I had better get it in gear.

Warren Shelley (“Shop” and Driver’s Ed.) Quiet, reserved, but a thinker. When he spoke, I knew to listen and reflect.

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Craig Attix Life Reflections, Thoughts, and Perspectives: I am just self-aware enough to know I don’t have anything earth-shattering to share. I often remind myself, “it is better to be silent and thought a fool than to open one’s mouth and remove all doubt.” I was blessed that my parents sacrificed so much so that I could go to MFS. It helped me develop as a person and afforded me chances to develop friendships that (despite time and distance) remain strong today.

Since Leaving MFS…Oh, so many things! 26 years teaching handicapped students ages 16-21. My best friend and I had a summer deck-building business. And, on those too few occasions when I could get to Maine to see my mom and work on her house, the Lord blessed me with fly fishing opportunities that fill my memory.

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Steven Benner Spouse: Beverly Sanders, now a professor of computer science at the University of Florida Children: Daniel, now 30 years old Employers: Presently at the non-profit Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution Presently at the biotech company Firebird Biomolecular Sciences LLC Education: Yale, B.S. 1976 Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa, Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry Yale, M.S. 1976, Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry Harvard, Ph.D., Chemistry, Professional Academic: Director and Distinguished Fellow: Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution, 2005Director: The Westheimer Institute of Science and Technology, 2006President, Firebird Biosciences Inc. 2001-present V. T. and Louise Jackson Distinguished Professor, University of Florida, 2004-2005 Professor, Division of Biochemistry, Dept. Chemistry, University of Florida, 1997-2005 Professor, Anatomy & Cell Biology, College of Medicine, University of Florida, 1997-2005 Professor, Bio-organic Chemistry, ETH Zurich, 1993-1996 Associate Professor, Bio-organic Chemistry, ETH Zurich, 1986-1993 Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, Harvard University, 1982-86 Junior Fellow, Harvard Society of Fellows, 1980-82 Xerox Fellow, Harvard University, 1979-1980 Professional: Founder, Sulfonics Inc. 1994 (acquired by EraGen in 1999) Founder, EraGen Biosciences (1999) (acquired by Luminex in 2011) Founder, Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution (2001) Founder, Firebird Biomolecular Sciences LLC (2003) Founder, Firebird Diagnostics LLC (2018) Founder, Sentinall (2015) Technology Contributor, Alantos (2005) (acquired by Amgen in 2009)

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Steven Benner Books: Life, the Universe and the Scientific Method (2009) 320 pages Redesigning the Molecules of Life. Springer (1987) 175 pages Research Areas: Technology: DNA sequence analysis, bioinformatics, infectious disease diagnostics, personalized treatment of cancers, dynamic combinatorial chemistry for therapy development, point of care diagnostics.

Science: Chemical genetics, synthetic biology, paleogenetics, planetary biology, astrobiology, origin of life, search for extraterrestrial life.

Travel: Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Great Britain, Grenada, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Korea, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Peru, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, Uruguay, Vatican, and all 50 US states, including 20 by bicycle.

Influential MFS Faculty: Barbara Irvin, Neil Hartman, Richard Tyre, John Caughey, Ruth Sawyer, Jean Ricketts, Patricia Gray, Grace Kennedy, Leo Strom, Cully Miller

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Virginia Atkinson Bishop Where have the decades gone? It is indeed strange to see and still use things I had back in high school and realize they are a half-century old. Not that I have used it but I still have the blue kilt from field hockey/lacrosse days that is in the bottom of a trunk…almost an antique and not sure why I still keep it.

Since my family moved out of Moorestown before I graduated, I had very few encounters with classmates or MFS. I spent four years at Lafayette with Jane T. and had two surprising meetings with Debra years later when she worked there in Alumni Affairs. Betsy did arrange a wonderful summer afternoon chat that had to be twenty years ago. I often wondered when attending new meetings or places if I would encounter anyone from our class. But alas it never happened.

After college and graduate school, I married Craig whom I met at Lafayette. We moved to his hometown of Scotch Plains where we raised our two sons. We are now grandparents of five, two are now in college.

So I don’t know about the rest of you, but that makes me “officially” old.

I have often reflected back to those days at Moorestown Friends, listened to others over the years, and compared our stories of high school days. Yes different and sometimes similar. Perhaps my memories aren’t quite accurate but over the years they have probably helped shape my decisions or at the very least made fun tales to tell. So to share a few: Wasn’t it amazing that Cyndee in her winning senior speech talked about the environmental impact paper diapers would have on the future…or how Steve somehow talked Lewis Funeral Home to let him “borrow” a coffin for one of his many creative ad campaigns…or how versatile the class had to be as Ms. Brudon would borrow tennis players like Emma Lou right off the courts to fill out the roster for the lacrosse game…or how to decide if one should attend the national peace rally in Washington D.C. or remain on campus for school work and sports game…or when I hear the Beatles song “Here Comes The Sun” and remember how an aerobic dance was created for us (I don’t recall the steps)...

I do think of those days and am always hopeful that we will meet up soon.

Until then, Ginger Atkinson Bishop

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Lorrie Smith Carter Spouse: Robert Calvin Carter Children: Shannon Keller (42), Susan Baum (36), and David M. Carter (37) Present profession: Technical Writer, Johnson ControlsHitachi Air Conditioning Education: MA Languages and Literature, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT; BA English and French, SMU, Dallas, TX 75275; Secondary Teaching Certification, English and French, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX Organizations: Member, christchurchplano.org Activities, Interests, Hobbies: The Baum Shelter (Susan and Seth’s Non-profit Animal Shelter), Chris and Shannon’s property development, Swimming, Golf, and adding step numbers on my Fitbit Travel: Prefer to drive Fondest MFS Memory: Painting the Meeting House in art class, walking to Meeting and participating in Meeting, French and Latin classes, and the Mock Political Convention.

Influential MFS Faculty Member: Mr. and Mrs. Caughey – they opened my eyes to the world of missions Life Reflections, Thoughts, and Perspectives: Quaker values of pacifism and tolerance have shaped my thoughts and perspectives throughout my life.

Since leaving MFS: My personal relationship with Christ along with the values of tolerance and pacifism that I learned to appreciate at MFS have led me throughout my life in this fallen world. I carry the values, and the Lord leads me to great moments of joy and happiness, is present with me during times of tribulation, and supports me when I fall.

From left: Chris and Shannon Keller; Robert (hiding) and I in the foreground; Seth and Susan Baum

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Katharine Darlington Spouse/Partner: Happily divorced Children, Name/Age: Two daughters; love ‘em truly!

Profession/Employer: Work in Mental Health Education: RN, BSN, MBA Activities/Interests/Hobbies: Dabble in real estate (fasten your seat belt).

Travel: Can’t wait to travel again! Looking forward to visiting Cornwall, UK this year.

Fondest MFS Memory: Swimming in the Rancocas Creek, welllll after dark, with very good MFS friends and guitar serenades.

Influential MFS Faculty Member or Coach and Why: My lifelong interest in all things biological, started in Middle School.

Life Reflections, Thoughts and Perspectives: How very privileged we were! I hope we’ve paid back.

Since Leaving MFS…Oh what a ride, mostly good. Worked in healthcare: nursing, education, business development. But the most fun and most works were a dozen years of breeding alpaca on my family farm, as well as designing textile products. Have enjoyed writing magazine articles and some work on a memoir! (Relax, you’re not in it.) These days, loving being close to family and enjoying coastal living.

Come visit!

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Thomas Evans Even though I am retired and have more free time, I am amazed how busy I have been. How did our lives become so busy? As I look back, I took a very different path than all my friends from high school. I was fortunate that my grandparents could support me and my brother. I loved growing up with my grandparents and gan (grandmother) was my mom when I was little. The move to New Jersey was quite an adjustment for me. But, I had a good childhood. One of my personality traits was that I became very independent early on.

Anne Paul heaped praise upon me at MFS. In 7th grade I realized that education was a ticket to potentially getting a good job doing something that you like and being successful. I have been fortunate that I made some good choices, although at the time I really didn't realize how important some of these future decisions would be.

I had a fair number of soccer scholarships from different Universities when I was a senior at MFS. But, growing up in small private Quaker schools, I just didn't feel at home at a big University. I always loved the outdoors and animals and was fortunate to be able to go to Flying Moose Lodge in Maine for 5 summers. Harry Price thought that Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana would be a good fit for me, so I wrote my letter for admission to Earlham. If I hadn't got into Earlham, I don't know where I would be now. Earlham was a great fit for me as it was a small college. I knew some of my freshman classmates and it had a similar feel to Friends schools. Earlham was good academically and was a good place to grow up socially. I majored in Biology and had a really great set of about 30 friends that were interested in some form of biology, and they are still some of my best friends today. I played varsity soccer at Earlham for 4 years. At Earlham, I worked as a biology tutor, in the campus Post Office, and the Natural History Museum. I enjoyed it all. I graduated on time with a degree in biology.

In 1975 I ended up getting a commercial fishing job fishing for salmon in Ketchikan Alaska. When I drove out west for the first time and saw the Rockies in Alberta Canada, I told myself that I am going to live west of the Rockies. So, I kept on fishing, mostly in southeast Alaska.

I had always wanted to get a Master’s Degree and was able to earn it at Humboldt State University.

During that time, I worked seasonally with the National Park Service from 1980-1985 - North Cascades National Park, Denali National Park (1982), and Lake Clark National Park (1986). From 1987-1989, I worked seasonally with Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station on a habitat fragmentation study out of Laramie Wyoming (Forest Service Research Station); spotted owl population study with the Redwood Sciences Lab (Forest Service Research Lab) in Six Rivers National Forest in 11

Thomas Evans northern California, and seabird research at Johnston Atoll U.S Fish and Wildlife Service (Hawaiian Islands Complex). I finished my Master’s degree in Natural Resources - Wildlife Biology - studying American Avocets (a shorebird) and then started my tenure with the Marine Mammals Management and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Anchorage, Alaska. For my first job they gave me $300K and told me to design, carry out, analyze, and publish a report on a population study of Sea Otters in the Aleutian Islands Archipelago. After 3 years, I applied for a permanent position and ended up getting the Assistant Polar Bear Biologist position. In that capacity, I worked there for another 17 years and then 8 yrs. working as a wildlife biologist for the Office of Subsistence Management. I published numerous scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals and in general have been very successful.

Retirement is good, although I am wondering if I can do everything I want before I croak or get too old.

Anyhow having fun!

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Paul Harrison Spouse: Jeanne F. Abboud. We were married at her home in Illinois in August of 1983. Jeanne has enjoyed a fine career as a graphic designer with a specialty in book design. She started out at Little Brown and Co. but when we decided to have children she became a freelancer and has enjoyed working from home ever since.

Children: Sam Abboud Harrison, born in 1988, with daughterin-law, Emily, live in Durango, CO. and Nina Abboud Harrison born in 1993 lives in Bozeman, MT. Profession: I earned my B.A. in history and an M.S. in education- “Comprehensive Social Studies” at Pennsylvania.

After five years of studying in West Philadelphia, I took a one-year position at Middlesex School in Concord, MA. It is a co-ed residential and day school for grades 9-12. Like MFS, it is a small community with small classes and required athletics.

I performed many functions while at the School; however, the heart of my job for the first 35 years was teaching history (U.S., Western Civ., Russian, Chinese, Holocaust Studies, and Current World Issues) and coaching soccer. I coached the boys’ varsity for 14 years and the girls’ varsity for 18 years. I also did a five-year stint as a dean and a five-year stint as Head of the Social Science Division. My final 9 years were spent with the Development Office as a Senior Advancement Officer, traveling the country, reconnecting with alumni, and raising money for both a substantial capital campaign and the Annual Fund.

Organizations/Associations: Soccer was and continues to be a big part of my life. In my early years of coaching, I earned an “A” license from the United States Soccer Federation and ran a summer soccer camp for 19 years. I continued to play after college and now find myself in the O-63 league! I have played with some of my teammates for over 30 years! In retirement, I have taken up refereeing as a way of giving back to the game and atoning for some of my occasional bouts of overheated rhetoric directed at clearly incompetent officials!

Travel: Teachers do not make a great deal of money, and travel is extremely important if one is to understand the world. So, much of my travel combined travel, soccer, and teaching. Jeanne and I led Middlesex trips with students, teachers, and parents to the U.S.S.R. in 1985 and the P.R.C. in 1986.

Unfortunately, we felt like rich tourists who had nothing to offer our hosts. Thus, I decided that we should travel with either a chorus or a soccer team so that we would have something to offer and a vehicle for creating shared experiences. This resulted in trips with Middlesex teams to Germany, China, Norway, Bulgaria, Canada, and Ireland. Family trips have included visits to England, France, Italy, Spain, Morocco, and Lebanon.

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Paul Harrison Hobbies: Painting our home, bicycling, cross-country skiing, hiking, and many hours in the garden.

Fondest MFS Memory: So many! I’ll never forget Bill Shelley and I greeting Richard Ransome as he hopped out of his car on Pages Lane on the first day of 7th grade. We introduced ourselves, and informed him that he was in our homeroom and he responded with a loud and assertive, “Hot Dawg”! We never let him forget it. Coach Mike Bacon, acting as a first base coach, was so excited that I had reached first base that he neglected to tell me the first baseman still had the ball…tagged out – a life lesson. With our property adjacent to the School, it was sort of like being at a boarding school, especially after the six MacColl girls moved in next door. Between their kitchen and the Barn, we had a veritable teen center! And everyone was so well behaved. And of course, for many summers I was employed by the School as a painting and grounds crew. One day at break time several of us were exclaiming our excitement about the upcoming Stones concert for which we had tickets. Warren Shelley and Harry Stevenson looked on with wry skepticism at which point Warren said, “Yup. I’ve heard they are pretty good at whatever it is that they do.”

Influencers: Bob Johnson, Mr. J. is high up on the list. He was a well-organized and demanding coach and teacher. He was our gym teacher and he was my U.S. History teacher, and after Herm Magee retired Bob became the head soccer coach our sophomore year. A lot had changed since junior high, but Bob insisted on hair that didn’t cover our ears, eyes, or collars. We had to accept his vision of the team and sacrifice our personal desires to those of the team. He was holding us to expectations and standards when all around us it seemed as though standards were being blown up. I didn’t necessarily agree with him, but I respected him a great deal. And then there was Mrs. Ricketts—what a lovely human being and marvelous teacher. I also think how lucky we were to have an English Department that created an entirely new approach, taking advantage of a trimester system to give us many, many options to pursue. How many high school students, then or now, devote a trimester to Existentialism?!!!

Reflections: MFS and the Meeting gave me a foundation from which I could explore the world— conclusion- we are all made of the same stuff. People should be whom they want to be, and we must strive to fight wars we can win: clean air, clean water, food, clothing, employment, and a little something for retirement. We must be good humans.

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Steven Hortegas Spouse/Partner: Lori Hortegas Children, Name/Age: Abby: 28, Olivia: 26, Eliza: 24, Kate: 22 As I think about Moorestown Friends, I realize how it helped me crawl out of my shell - and foreshadow future careers.

Mrs. Hedges’ English class helped launch SJH Advertising.

Palmatier’s music class built the confidence for the highschmaltz Stevedores combo. Meeting has given me the opportunity to sharpen my faith. And our off-campus work quarter got me to Lewis Funeral Home next door.

I’ve also realized how incomplete my attempt at expressing my faith, even at an expressive Quaker school, was when I read Psalm 23 in Meeting at the Facing Bench when I was about to leave MFS. I read from the old King James version (which Mrs. Rickets heralded for its literary style), The Lord is my shepherd…I may have finished the psalm, but I never finished feeling that was limp.

Four years ago, I was challenged in a class I was co-leading on, of all things, Psalm 23…with the late-inlife question asked, Who really is your shepherd? That hit me.

And now, I am facilitating another Bible study at a nursing home in Bellingham, WA on the New Testament book of John. This week is both the start of Lent, leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion and the reading of John 10 where John quotes Jesus as saying, “I am the good shepherd. I lay down my life for the sheep.” This week’s reading in some ways is giving me the prod to finish what I started 50 years ago, and so after much time to think, yes, Jesus Christ is my true shepherd, the one I want to follow more faithfully (I have a long way to go) for the rest of my life. (I'd love to hear if anyone has gone through a similar journey.)

Those careers foreshadowed by MFS? After graduating from Wheaton College near Chicago, among a few others…

- nine years (first job) at the Bible Study Hour radio ministry on Spruce Street (with Dr. James Montgomery Boice) - twelve years at a communications and marketing firm in Bellingham as a market research specialist - seven as a funeral director for one of the agency's clients (“You probably don’t want to do this, but we have a funeral director position open…” - I wanted to), and

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Steven Hortegas - ongoing gigs playing piano at weddings, funerals, churches…and what I especially have loved, that high schmaltz music, this time at Lynden, WA community events with my older, expert jazz saxophonist and retired pastor friend (I can hear the music now, “I see friends shaking hands, saying How do you do, What they’re really saying is…I love you”).

- I still serve as a community connector at Molina Healthcare, helping connect low-income members, often with mental health and chronic health issues, sometimes homeless, to resources such as housing. I now get to help keep people out of the funeral home.

I migrated to the Pacific Northwest in my later 30s - for a job that fizzled (the clash of East Coast meets the Pacific NW-coast was resounding), but I met my future wife, Lori, there three days after I started working (then it took three years to propose after being single so long). I am so glad I did! (I met her just in time, she was looking at school teaching jobs in Philly!). We just celebrated our 30th (growing sweeter I should get it right by our 50th) at the Olympic National Park Rainforest. We stayed at the grand old Lake Quinault Lodge if any have been there, with most of our four daughters and their spouses. Our fourth and her husband just moved to Charleston!

Lori told me recently I needed a hobby, and even came up with a blog idea, Interesting People Interviews, so please take a look-it’s still fresh… IPInterviews.com.

Thanks, MFS. I am beginning to realize, as I write this and reminisce, what an impact you, my friends, teachers, and administrators have made, and yes, are still making, on my life!

The Hotegas Family “so far.”

Lori and Steve, 30th Anniversary, Olympic Peninsula Beach

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Nancy Ohler Hunn Spouse/Partner: James M. Hunn Children, Name/Age: N/A Profession/Employer: Retired - Government Accountability Office Education: M.A. and M.L.S. Vanderbilt University Activities/Interests/Hobbies: Travel, Antiques, Chinese and Japanese Art Travel: Norway, Finland, South America, Denmark, Europe, Japan Fondest MFS Memory: Making funny faces at Steve Hortegas.

Influential MFS Faculty Member or Coach and Why: Mr. Hartman, his C.O. status in WWII Life Reflections, Thoughts and Perspectives: Had a wonderful life with husband of 42 years.

Since Leaving MFS…Lived in Japan in my twenties. Taught at Friends School in Tokyo. Learned Japanese.

This influenced my life.

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Elizabeth Knisely Long time no see. Here’s a little bit of my post-high school story. I’ve been lucky. I’ve worked and traveled widely. I’ve been healthy and had everything I need and enough of everything I’ve really wanted. I didn’t ever expect to be 50 years past MFS graduation and thought Medicare was for old people. Hah! I live in Sebastopol CA with my husband, fortunate to be near our children and grandchildren, all of us in Sonoma County.

My husband and I left Madison WI in 1987 with a 3-year-old son and a new baby girl when he took a job in Santa Rosa.

Real estate prices here then and now are no joke, but we bought a house in ‘89 and 33 years later, here we are, same place. I retired from a 20-year public school teaching career in 2013 and my husband retired a few years later, but it wasn’t till our first grandchild was born that I felt the wheel turn. Add the pandemic. I feel old and not old.

Our son owns and runs a restaurant called Fern Bar here in Sebastopol and our daughter is out-earning the rest of us in sales analytics work. The year they both finally held jobs with full benefits opened the doorway to our retirements and some terrific trips to Greece, Spain, the Yucatan, Baja, the Grenadines, Kauai, Guatemala, and occasionally back to the East Coast to see friends. We nearly made it to China where we have a nephew but the imminent birth of our first grandbaby and then the onset of COVID-19 cut all travel plans to zero.

We’ve only ventured down to Longboat Key, FL these last two years, where my brother Jon and his wife have a place and near Bradenton where my in-laws live.

For the past several years, I’ve been pursuing a dream I had as my teaching career wound down. I’m studying with several teachers and doing botanical drawing in colored pencil and graphite. It’s a perfect fit for me, blending my undergraduate degrees in art and horticulture. I’ve had work in several Bay Area shows, most recently at the UC Berkeley Botanical Garden, and in a publication of works by members of the American Society of Botanical Artists.

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Elizabeth Knisely One additional thing to mention is that after the last reunion, Kat Darlington, Ann Zeichner and I started getting together from time to time. We’re only a few hours apart, N/S of San Francisco.

If plans hold, we’ll all be together for the online reunion. I’m looking forward to it and wish you all health and the best luck as we climb out of the pandemic and back to doing more of the things that make life great.

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Charles Martin Spouse/Partner: Rose Martin Children, Name/Age: Chuck, 36; Nicole, 32 Profession/Employer: Senior Engineer (Retired) Exelon Education: BSE Chemical Engineering, 1976, University of Pennsylvania Organizations/Associations: American Nuclear Society, Vibration Institute Activities/Interests/Hobbies: Surfing, Skiing, Computer Gaming, Finance Travel: Hawaii, England, Canada, Caribbean, Japan, Hong Kong Fondest MFS Memory: The class (1972) doing an Alka-Seltzer commercial in the cafeteria for Steve Hortegas.

Influential MFS Faculty Member or Coach and Why: Mr. Hedges, Mr. Greca - Wrestling Coaches - learning perseverance, determination, how to never give up - valuable life lessons.

Life Reflections, Thoughts and Perspectives: Retired, enjoying grandchildren.

Since Leaving MFS…Joined the Navy, saw the world. Pursued a career in Nuclear Power.

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Melanie Oliviero Over the past 50 years I have had the great good fortune to spend time with and learn from diverse communities worldwide. In many cultures when introducing yourself, the custom is to tell who you are and where you come from.

I say that I grew up in a multiethnic, multigenerational home; all my grandparents emigrated from other countries. I explain that my native New Yorker parents refused to view their JewishItalian alliance as problematic. I tell them that I came of age in a Quaker community during the tumultuous era of civil rights and the war in Vietnam in the United States. All three generations of my family were introduced to the pacifism of Quakers who lived their values. That I have been an advocate of social justice all my life stems from these roots.

I trace my awareness of Indigenous people to Miss Sweigert’s Third Grade class. An ‘elderly’ man visited the class (Chester Regan was probably younger then than we are now!). He told us about an injustice taking place on the traditional land of the Seneca people. The U.S. government was building a dam on the Alleghany River seizing homes and submerging the centuries’ old longhouse and burial ground. We took our pencils and wide-ruled paper and wrote letters to protest.

As I designed an undergraduate major in the newly founded Kirkland College -- an experiment in 60’s era self-directed study for women -- language, culture and Native rights emerged as my academic concentration.

Kirkland eventually merged with Harrie Price’s beloved (formerly all-male) Hamilton. But for its 10 vibrant years it offered course evaluations, no grades in interdisciplinary divisions. Students were encouraged to seek learning experiences – experiential or conventionally academic – in other places. I took linguistics courses at Columbia one summer and in 1975, my conviction that Canada was a more civilized place – especially its embrace of multiculturalism and its open door for evaders of the U.S. draft – I spent a term as a visiting student at McGIll University. I consolidated my sociolinguistic studies (and received credit for researching jazz musicians in Montreal).

In 1976 the only higher education institution to offer a graduate degree in Sociolinguistics was Georgetown University. My Ph.D. and M.S. studies became the first of three stints living in the Washington, D.C. area. For my dissertation on writing systems of Indigenous languages in relation to tribal sovereignty, I reviewed a 1964 U.S. Federal Appellant Court decision that went against the Seneca Nation of Indians versus the United States of America on that dam project we learned of as third graders.

My advocacy of Indigenous rights carried me through a dozen more years, including back to Philly to head the Indian Rights Association, founded 1882. When the bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution provided an opportunity to highlight the sovereignty of Indian Nations, my work transitioned into a global Comparative 21

Melanie Oliviero Constitutionalism Project. I have continued to support the rights of disenfranchised peoples across the globe ever since from different platforms. I have run nonprofit organizations, advised and served as a grantmaker in private philanthropy and public foreign aid, and collaborated with journalists worldwide.

Much of what I do is foster strategic alliances across community, donor, private sector, and government to advance human rights and social justice.

I have retained a foothold in academia, teaching from my graduate study years. Twenty-five years ago I joined the New School for Social Research in its pioneering online adult education faculty. Drawing upon my practitioner experience I teach online courses on civil society strengthening and periodically on international human rights and private sector engagement in schools of law and business.

My brother, Jamie (’68), took a job in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1978 and has made his life in Canada as an arts-in-education storyteller and musician.

After our mom died in 2009 (she outlived our dad by 25 years) and my globetrotting ways allowed me to be based anywhere, I relocated to Winnipeg where I am increasingly involved in Indigenous rights domestically. Canada may not be the peacekeeping multicultural society my 20-year-old self perceived it to be, but it is still discernibly more inclusive and civil than the United States.

I have not forsaken my cross-border venturing, albeit suspended during COVID. I routinely meet up with our AFS exchange student classmate from Brazil, Joyce Sholl, in Brazil, Canada or third countries. My MFS third trimester senior project to master French in France with our former teacher, Pat Messing, has also proven an enduring friendship.

In honor of our Mom, Jamie and I offer an annual theatre award to MFS to send two seniors to Broadway to see a show on her.

The throughline of my past 50 years is seeking to apply the Quaker principle of living an examined life among friends and in the community.

Melanie and Beth Oliviero (parent and high school English and Drama teacher, 1969-1975), at the Taj Mahal, Agra, India, 2000 (“Mrs. O.” age 82) Joyce Sholl and Melanie Oliviero at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, Winnipeg, Manitoba, October 2018

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Philip Robeson Spouse/Partner: Joanne Children, Name/Age: Kristen, 41; Tim, 37 Profession/Employer: Currently retired. Previously owner/President of Integrity Marine in Margate, N.J. Education: B.S. Finance, Susquehanna University Activities/Interests/Hobbies: Traveling in our RV. Maintaining and using our Corvettes.

Travel: Extensive lower 48 travel in our motorhome.

Life Reflections, Thoughts and Perspectives: Take advantage of any opportunity you can and enjoy life because you never know when the end may come. I was involved in a very serious head-on collision 5 years ago, not my fault, and lucky to be here.

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Elizabeth Dunn Ross When I graduated from MFS, I felt like a door had opened, finally, to new life experiences. After 12 years in the same place, I was ready for a change of scene! I was happy to let the wind beneath my wings carry me from place to place and job to job, always learning and growing personally and professionally.

Over the next 10 years, I had 13 addresses! I was expert at moving, and had few possessions. I attended colleges in NY, PA, Salzburg Austria, and Heidelberg Germany; and I had jobs in NJ, MN, TX, and CA. In December 1976, West Chester State College awarded me a BA in German Studies. I also played LAX for WCSC; we never lost. ☺ In summer 1977, Alex MacColl recruited me to serve as Admissions Director and Coach. As a student, even after 12 years, I didn’t really understand how unusual Quaker education truly is. How could I, with no other experience? But my knowledge and understanding solidified over those two years working there as I represented MFS to organizations and prospective families. And, increasingly since then, I have come to value the privilege it was. Probably weekly something triggers an echo of appreciation.

I became a travel agent in 1979, and over the next three years I worked for a start up travel agency in Minneapolis; on the travel desk at Exxon in Houston; and for a mom and pop agency in San Francisco, where I was assigned the vacation-planning role. It was great fun living in San Francisco. And once I became certified as a Tour Guide/Escort, a passion was ignited. I had found my niche!

In 1982 I landed in Washington DC where I spent the next 35 years.

It wasn’t the end of my wanderlust, but I did settle in. There, in 1985, I earned an MA in Recreation with a focus on Tourism (UMD), and my Thesis was published in a prestigious research journal! There I became a businesswoman. There I married my first husband, Stu Ross, in 1989. And there my daughter, Christy, was born in 1991. ☺ My company, Betsy Ross Tours, provided comprehensive destination services to recreation, leisure, and education groups planning to visit the greater Washington, DC region for sightseeing.

I LOVED it! I enjoyed working with group leaders, bus companies and drivers, restaurateurs and hoteliers, attractions, theaters and tour guides to entertain and educate my pre-formed groups.

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Elizabeth Dunn Ross My market consisted of school groups, museum groups, senior citizen groups both domestic and international, bank travel clubs, and special interest groups. Though I had never taken a single business course, I met payroll for 2-3 inside staff, and issued 40+ 1099s most years, and grew my company into a solid small business. I also participated in trade organizations locally, regionally and nationally.

Romanian architects comprised my most interesting group ever because they had little interest in DC sites but rather wanted most to see the unusual 3D “S” shaped office buildings across the Potomac River in Rosslyn, VA. Blind middle schoolers were my most challenging tour ever. And my most difficult day was September 11, 2001 when Washington went into lockdown while my group was in line to tour The White House. That event essentially killed my business, and I sold it in 2004, retired, and learned to golf.

God got ahold of my heart in 2006, and I earned another MA in 2009, this time in Christian Counseling and Discipleship. Though employment never materialized, I have been able to use my knowledge and skills in daily life and in my church, serving both as a Stephen Minister and as a leader in Women’s Ministries.

In 2012, I discovered Southern Maryland, and in 2014 bought a cottage in Calvert County along the Western Shore of the Chesapeake Bay. It is directly across from the mouth of the Choptank River, which provided the setting for Michener’s epic, Chesapeake. It is amazing to sit safely on the porch and watch storms blow across the Bay to the Eastern Shore! Christy had graduated college and turned our DC house into a “group home” with her friends, so I pretty much resided at the Bay for a couple years. Then Mom took a bad turn (Dad had died in 2011) and I ended up in Vero Beach, FL. I tell her, “I’m SO glad you retired to Vero Beach, FL and not Minot, SD!” You know God has his hand in the midst when needs are met seamlessly. I bought a wonderful but “long unloved” ranch style house for my birthday in 2016, relocated, and sold my DC house. Now 5+ years in and recently remarried to a retired UMC pastor, I love my snowbird life!

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Elizabeth Dunn Ross While at MFS, the athletic field is where I felt a sense of competence, and Floss Brudon had the greatest formative impact on me. I spent more time with Miss Brudon than I did with my mother!

Cully Miller was another personal favorite, and for some reason, we danced The Charleston on stage while I worked there. Polly Caughey taught us Sentence Diagraming in 5th Grade, and her one-liner “Work hard to be lazy” stuck. English teachers Jean Ricketts, Carolyn Hedges and Dick Tyre underscored the need for good grammar and proper word use, and I’m known as a Grammar- and Word-Nerd. ☺ I love learning, and thinking – I attribute my lifelong love of learning and my ability to think outside the box to my time at MFS. Christy and I shared some extraordinary travel experiences! We canoed the Shenandoah River; rafted the Middle Fork of the Salmon River; camped in the Galapagos: assisted in a Malawi village primary school; went on safari in Zambia; road tripped through Portugal; and spent a long weekend in 2020 at the rustic but luxurious Primland, VA. Our most harrowing travel experience was our emergency evacuation from Egypt during the Arab Spring of 2011.

On my Senior Page, I asked questions. Over the last 50 years, the answers have appeared, then receded, changing, elusive; life is not concrete, or finite, or linear. Except the years flow in numerical sequence, if you live… And I’ve been living A Wonderful Life! I’m grateful. Even when I didn’t know it, God had His Hand on my head, leading me here and there for His good purpose. Psalm 139 says it all. Praise God for His faithfulness.

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John Scattergood Classmates, Half a century ago we ventured from the protection and confines of high school. Most of our class transitioned to institutions of higher learning. In my case, I headed north to attend RPI and study engineering.

College was a dramatic transition. Whether it be from a Quaker high school to ROTC, a prosperous Philadelphia suburb to an economically decaying industrial revolution city, or from basketball to ice hockey - there was change. These new surroundings had a remarkable impact on my being; however, they paled in comparison to the cognitive discipline imparted from the rigorous study of applied mathematics. Upon graduation, a work/study fellowship awaited at UCLA in Los Angeles.

In the late 1970s, Los Angeles was experiencing rapid real estate price escalation (sound familiar?). Upon completing my studies remaining in Los Angeles was not an option as the city was unaffordable.

I moved to Michigan to work for an automobile manufacturer. There I made a mistake and allowed someone into my life that I later regretted. In 1980 oil prices escalated, automobile sales diminished and I moved to Houston, Texas to work for an oil company.

In 1986 oil prices plummeted and 170,000 jobs (including mine) evaporated in Houston. I left Houston to work for a small munitions manufacturer near Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1989 people were dancing atop the Berlin Wall, the demand for my employer’s products diminished (a good development) and I was on the road again.

This transition took me to LaGrange, Georgia where I currently reside. In 2001 I left the corporate world to initiate a high tech startup company. The startup failed and I returned to the job market. I retired in 2016.

What have I learned?

If you live in a locale dependent upon a single industry - rent your domicile.

Never assume as much mortgage debt as the banks will allow.

401K plans are an outstanding means to prepare for retirement.

Get a versatile education; you never know where life will take you.

Communication skills are paramount to success.

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John Scattergood Ignorance is enormously costly.

People will take advantage of you but only if you allow it.

Economic success results from knowing what the market wants and knowing where your skills and aspirations fit in that market.

Be careful who you marry. It is the most important decision of your life.

And so it goes.

John

Photo taken of me at a Washington D.C. protest rally. I’m espousing my objections to the Obama administration’s claims that their “stimulus” was beneficially impacting the country. In reality, President Obama’s “stimulus” was little more than a pretext to expand government influence on the economy. Many left leaning economists would dispute that position but the data indicate otherwise.

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William Shelley Spouse/Partner: Darby Fleetwood-Shelley Children, Name/Age: Scott - 30; Lauren - 23 Profession/Employer: Attorney - Phila. Office Managing Partner - Gordon & Rees Education: J.D. Organizations/Associations: Member, American Law Institute; U.S. Supreme Court Historical Society Activities/Interests/Hobbies: Reading, hiking, walking Travel: Europe several times and Vietnam to adopt our daughter.

Fondest MFS Memory: My dad’s retirement dinner in the East Meeting which he shared with Harry Price.

Influential MFS Faculty Member or Coach and Why: Bob Johnston - with him every day - taught me hard work.

Life Reflections, Thoughts and Perspectives: MFS gave me a moral compass and desire to excel.

Since Leaving MFS… I was transformed from a fun-loving lunk-head jock into a serious student and eventually a hard-working litigation lawyer. Currently serve as OMP for Phila. office of Gordon Rees, a national firm based in San Francisco.

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Emma Melchior Simpson 50 years have gone by in the blink of an eye. At the same time, MFS seems so long ago that it seems like a different lifetime.

I left Moorestown friends and went to Earlham College along with Tom Evans. My senior project at MFS in which I followed around Anne Rosenberg‘s father who was a surgeon helped to give me a clear vision of where I wanted to go in life. I arrived at college incredibly motivated to do well so that I could go to medical school as I couldn’t imagine not being a doctor.

I spent two years at Rutgers Medical School in Piscataway New Jersey and then transferred to the University of Penn where I graduated in 1980. I did an internship followed by a radiology residency and then a fellowship and finished my training at Penn in 1985.

I met my husband Paul Simpson when he was playing softball with my cousin Ross Wright. We started dating in July of 1981 right after the end of my internship when I finally had time to breathe. We were married the following June and will celebrate our 40th anniversary next June. We were married at the Moorestown monthly meeting house where my parents had been married as well as my grandparents and possibly generations before that and now my son was married.

My first job was at the hospital in Mount Holly which has changed names multiple times. I left after five years there and we moved to the Pennsylvania side where we live in Haverford. I spend most of my clinical time working at Bryn Mawr Hospital reading mammograms, MRIs, and doing breast biopsies. It is incredibly satisfying work.

Of course the best part of life has been the things my husband and I have done together including raising our children. Our oldest son, Owen was born in 1985. He is a computer software guy working with a start up company who currently lives in North Jersey with his wife, Cassandra, who we adore, and their charming 18-month-old daughter, Edie.

Eric was born in 1988 and is more like my husband. He is a gifted writer and musician. He is a virtuoso violinist and spent a few years as a music critic in New York’s classical music scene. He has turned me into an opera fanatic. He is currently finishing up his MBA which he hopes will help him reach his career goal of managing a major opera company someday.

I am sad to think of our classmates that have passed away. Gail MacColl was an especially important friend in my formative years. The first time I met her was in August before she and her family started at 30

Emma Melchior Simpson MFS. I was having a pajama party for my birthday at my house and my parents said I should invite the daughter of the new headmaster. I wasn’t thrilled with that idea because I thought she would be a miss goody two shoes and would tell her father if we misbehaved. I was clearly very wrong about that. She was brilliant, a gifted writer, a renegade and a good friend. I have never met anyone about whom I would say, "She reminds me of Gail." She was one of a kind.

Miss Brudon had the most profound influence on me of all of our teachers. There was the joy of sports that she gave us and she taught us the importance of team work which I have found tremendously meaningful throughout life. Isaac Green taught me to write and Greg Godfrey's Biology class led to my love of Biology.

I look forward to seeing all of you and sharing stories.

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Karen Engle Stevens During my time at Moorestown Friends School, I had some gifted and caring teachers, who tried just a little harder to reach more deeply, encourage, and to positively reinforce.

Going beyond the subject matter, they awakened the mind, teaching simultaneously belief in one's self.

One of these “Gifted Teachers” showed me that I was special, because at my young age, I could identify a common thread of hidden meaning, running through a work of literature, and bring it into the foreground, finding examples and evidence to support my theory. (It is worth noting that this was an ability, which had to be dug for, as it was well buried within me.)

I used this ability, (which is a sure way not to forget it), through my 2 undergraduate degrees in Humanities and Education, then again for my Master of Education. As many times as allowed, and sometimes when forbidden, I carried a theme across the curriculum in my own Philadelphia Public, Elementary School classroom to give my students an immersive learning experience. The senses were involved, while learning styles met and mingled with subject areas. What I got was better retention, stronger interest levels, more commitment between student and teacher, some genuine joy in discovery, all of which strengthened the ground on which we walked and watered the seeds, which were planted by the teacher and also by the students.

A few mornings ago, in a half waking state, it came to me that there was an essay to write; a thought which might or might not inspire me to write it and that, if I did, my offering would have to be different. I am a poet, an artist, a teacher, and most of all … a gardener, inspired by the art of nature, its teachings, and its poetry. This running theme meanders through my entire life like a winding river. Sometimes the river is narrow, sometimes wide, rough or calm, yet always curving back toward itself before traveling onward. The “River of Gardening” has never yet run dry.

The people here and gone are along the banks of my river's journey. Beauty and fear, hope and hopelessness, sickness and health, births and deaths, my interests, my skills, my evolving beliefs, my ever developing passions and talents … all are present as the river runs beside them with its uniting flow of gardening.

I would like you to know me better, so I seek to go beyond a list of my credentials to my story and how it fits into a common theme, tying my life together. This writing will be too different and too long, and probably too late for the book, but at least there is a record of me in my words.

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Karen Engle Stevens If a love, a compelling urge, a spiritual bond, and a passion for gardening has a genetic component, then mine comes to me honestly from a long line of Quaker gardeners. My mother's Isle of Skye Scots and her father's Danes ,with their prosperous wheat farm, are there also, but my father's Quaker family has influenced my “River of Gardening” the most.

For my traditional Quaker ancestors, all about person and home had to be plain … Yet, not quite all. An outlet lay in the worship of God through nature and in the garden. My people were gentlemen and lady farmers with estates called “Olney”, “Birdfield”, “Compten”, and many more. They traveled the world and identified trees, shrubs, and flowers from the backs of elephants, bringing their acquired flora home on steamships to their estate, which today is called, “The Morris Arboretum”. As founders and CEOs of “Friends Hospital”, they cured all manner of mental illnesses and distresses by instituting extensive networks of paths running through banks of azaleas, dogwoods, rhododendron and flowering cherry. They founded the nation's first zoological garden and captured the beauty of nature in writings and paintings.

My grandfather, in his humble way, could have been called, “Redman Holly Seed” for his love of rooting holly clippings and planting fledgling trees absolutely everywhere he went. He also bred several American chestnut trees in his Haddonfield yard, one of which survives, blight free, to this day.

Maybe it began for me when my mother tucked a daily hibiscus into my hair, in Puerto Rico, where I was born. My parents and I were consigned to a mission in the hill country during the Korean War, where they sought to be useful and to do good works. My father had alternative service to perform for his conscientious objector status and among other assignments, he was active in the sugar cane fields and with driving the cane laden trucks to town. Maybe my connection to the earth came from those same fields, or was it from the bananas and oranges we picked right from the trees? My first word was “sapo” so maybe it was the humble “toad,” that called my attention to the fascination of nature.

We returned to the U.S. and to Jim Wilson's grandmother's house, which we rented until our father could build us a log home, downstream, on the same Rancocas River. The relatives and friends, their flowers and homes, were intertwined in my mind's awakening. My mother helped me to plant my first flowers, which were giant, multi colored zinnias. She let her phosphate rich laundry water out of the kitchen window, into the zinnia bed and the zinnias grew to remarkable size. In addition, their cut blooms performed the miracle of rooting themselves in an old Madeira bottle to look gorgeous all through the winter. I have come to believe that early gardening success is important in becoming a future tender of the earth.

We took nature walks with my little sister in her stroller and Clare Stokes by my side. Mrs. Frake, down the road, piled purple and white phlox into our arms. Jack Cadbury had an orchid green house and would take me on a tour. To this day, I love the smell of a greenhouse and absolutely all orchids, which I attempt to keep alive in my old Victorian Orangerie. Tessa Cadbury shared her grove of lily of the valley with us in the

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Karen Engle Stevens spring. Then there was the Cadbury artesian fountain, all covered in sweet peas at the bottom of the wide cement steps. The Burtons had Whitesbog and we our nursery school in the Elizabeth White house, where they lived. The first commercial blueberry bushes lined the driveway. We walked the sandy roads of the cranberry bogs, swam in the reservoirs, planted seeds in pie shaped wedges of a brick garden, and were invited to pick exactly ten daffodils from the clumps, which edged our playground. I still remember the yellow glow of spring and the heady scent of daffodils filling our old Plymouth, as my mother transported the nursery school group home.

We had a magical trail through the woods from our house to Clare's house, going down a hill to a mystical brook and up the hill on the other side. There were magenta whirligigs twirling from the tall swamp maples and patches of flowering arbutus and pixie moss. Mounds of the greenest shade moss covered the low areas. An occasional spotting thrill of a lady slipper could happen in spring, and we were early taught the cardinal sin of picking or transplanting.

Our family moved to our “New Land” downstream and I grew up some more, gardening in the sand. A mystery vine emerged from the earth, climbed into the trees, and then we had orange pumpkins hanging overhead. I remained inspired by gardening miracles, large and small.

One day, yet a while in the works, my father followed his “Flying Spot Microscope” to Carl Zeiss Optical Works in Oberkochen, Germany. His wife and 3 daughters were transplanted once more, learning the language and the culture as quickly as they could. All through 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grades, I tended my crudely terraced hillside garden at the back of the yard, planting my American seeds sent for from the backs of comic books, and they thrived in German soil. A gentle mountain rose directly in back of us. We roamed the meadows and the woods, picking wild flowers and harvesting fall beech nuts with our friends.

Uprooted to the U.S. once more, I had my gardens to carry me through the trials and triumphs of High School. I sought the layers of hidden mulch under pine needles and oak leaves, planned for marigolds and tomatoes and built garden structures. My sisters and I performed the hot and grueling work of commercial blueberry picking as a summer job earning our “spending money”. When it came time to graduate, I made a decision to sew my own graduation gown, underestimating the time it would take me, and ending up madly sewing away in the car on the way to Moorestown Friends. (I wasn't driving.) My lateness caused me to miss being in that most beautiful of graduation pictures and having to make do with the last bouquet of roses, all crushed at the bottom of the box. It is a haunting regret.

I have been married twice; neither time to a gardener. (I sometimes wonder how that happened?) My two sons are my human gardens. My students past and present are also gardens. I have taken many of my children into the woods of the Wissahickon and the food producing coop garden, deep within the Awbury Arboretum. Sometimes, there was rain and mud and trouble with parents. My children and I have grown lettuce and herbs under grow lights all winter at home and in the classroom and we have worked the soil together in spring, summer, and fall. I have tried to plant the seeds of knowledge, patience and 34

Karen Engle Stevens independent thought into their minds, hoping for growth in fertile ground.

Gardening has welcomed me, bonded me, and compelled me throughout the U.S. and in other countries as well. One of our lakeside cottages up in Maine looks handsome in red geraniums, fragrant purple petunias, and lots of cobalt blue lobelia, accented by old farm pieces and a bright red pump. The other Maine home, an A-frame, has a full border of milkweed and daylilies along the water's edge. Butterflies love it there.

My Key West home had a garden all done up in bougainvillea, coconut palms, a rubber tree, bromeliads, ferns, and an orchid or two on trees and in pots. My advice about Key West gardening is to understand that shovels are useless and that all planting is done with a pickax or on top of the ground. Wear shoes and socks to confuse the fire ants, which gather innocently on feet and ankles, then release their fiery sting, in unison, on pheromone cue.

The “Patrick House” in Naples, Florida, was owned by a man named Patrick, who really knew his way around landscaping. “After the last hurricane,” he said, “I went looking for everything that was still standing and that's what I planted.” Thanks to his foresight, I inherited a lush, green lawn, foxtail palms, birds of paradise, an apricot trumpet vine outside the kitchen window, and a jasmine hedge, to name just a few of Patrick's plantings.

Our duplex, which we have painted pink, is three blocks from the gulf, at Delnor-Wiggins State Park, in Naples, Florida. It was a bank-owned property and required a violation of stacked up brush and logs, from power line cuts, to be removed before the house could be purchased. I feared snakes, have never been so filthy in my life, but got the piles cleared, just as the inspector arrived. I kept my eyes on the prize: two giant banyans on the ocean side of the house, of which I would now be steward.

Planting lots of citrus in Port Charlotte around my rental property seemed the thing to do. The soil was a strange coral powder, punctuated by chunks of fossilized coral, along with tiny bits of organic material. I can only hope that the trees received enough water to survive.

In Philadelphia, a Victorian House and Garden Museum is one block away from me. Willingly, I have thrown myself into every aspect of “Victorian” gardening during three seasons of the year, even creating a fairy garden complete with fairies, elves, and their dwellings, hidden along with a white pebble, meandering pathway. A team of us reconstituted the waterfall and garden pool feature, where an old friend's ashes are sprinkled. Eleven years of acting in the “Murder Mysteries” and carving the giant Jack o' Lanterns led to my chosen role of a garden chair.

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Karen Engle Stevens My husband and I have raised our boys in a very large 1859 house with extensive grounds and gardens and operated a bed and breakfast for years. Interesting people from all over the world strolled the lawns and walkways, exclaiming over the pool and iris beds; the irises, whose individual portraits I now paint, as their colors resonate in different lights.

How does one ever leave a too large house, when dogwood groves were planted from seed, true rose scented Wyck House Colonial roses come up where they will, my spring flowering array of bulbs, lilac scented breezes, the fragrant herb garden and the 3 evergreen holly trees? Then there is our old friend, “Tulip Poplar”. He predates the house and has recently taken tenth place in size, of all of the identified tulip poplars, in the entire state of Pennsylvania. To keep him company, I have added a circle of red metal chairs, a red porch glider, and small red tables under the spread of his tall wide branches. We invite friends and family to sit and relax, picnic, and sometimes have concerts. If it is cold, we build a camp fire.

If hot, we swim and drip dry. “Tulip Poplar” loves the companionship, especially the music. How do I ever leave him?

The truth is, I do leave. I leave to travel to my gardens and other scenic places. Nearly every week, I go to my sister and my little log cabin store in the heart of Medford Lakes, N.J. There we garden, maintain, and plant the land of what has become a small public park. We have added benches for passersby, who wish to relax or to eat their ice cream in a charming and natural setting. Our little cabin shaped library, with its backdrop of rose of sharon, is popular with adults and children alike. My sister and I plant rhododendrons, azaleas, lots of daffodils, mums, and so much more. We are known for our red zinnias, (of course), so we package the seed heads with planting instructions, then share the cheer with neighbors, friends, customers, and anyone else, who is interested and might like to plant a garden.

My meandering river of “tending the earth” will hopefully babble along for many more adventures and years to come.

Picture 1: From L to R, Son Cris, me (Karen Stevens), Son Jeff Picture 2: The side yard with house and pool, Philadelphia Picture 3: Sister and my little cabin store, the Painted Turtle Picture 4: The carriage house decked out in Colonial Roses

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Clare Stokes MFS standout memories: Riding the Fort Dix public service bus in kindergarten and first grade, sitting next to uniformed army guys and noticing my little shins at the edge of the seat next to their huge knees.

Marjie and me running around the corners of the meeting house to hide from Bill Shelley. (We were little, and he was scarey older boy.)

Miss Brudon so fun and excellent throughout, like kindergarten and first grade through varsity hockey and lacrosse!

More kindergarten memories: Mrs. Hess actually sleeping flat on her back! Quig being most entertaining but always getting in trouble, jealousy of Karmae's and Lisa's dresses with so many petticoats that the skirts were nearly horizontal!

Bill Shelley sitting behind me in third grade whispering and throwing spit balls.

A big chunk of ceiling falling on a desk in fifth grade while we were at lunch.

The first Earth Day, singing around a fire.

Lunchtime sitting on the grass in the sun with Debbie and Karen and Kate and Pa. I was so proud once playing lacrosse wing defense against Donna Zucchi that I could match the pace of her running legs and keep up with her!

MFS sending busloads to DC for Moratorium against Vietnam war. Our bus broke down, so we all hitchhiked.

Mr. Hartman covered ALL of the blackboard space with a long intriguing story of equations. He put his chalky finger up to his chin in his posturing to pose the next question; then he finished the class with a white stripe from his chin along his nose while wondering why we were laughing.

I am still upset that Charlie Henninghousen could push a thumbtack into David Cleaver's back. I saw it.

Mount Holyoke College one year only, summer school University of Colorado, a year off with jobs winding resistors, bank teller, Hawaiian Punch factory, a trip to Holland, NYU Film School B.F.A. 1976 (Joel Coen 37

Clare Stokes was in my first film class). Jobs in New York: opaquer for feature cartoon and assistant editor on "Last of the Blue Devils" (available on YouTube).

Married at 22 for 1.5 years during which time I got to wreck a new Porsche, drive a better Porsche on the track at Lime Rock and learned that I should not have let off the gas while cornering with the previous one. I had a stroke and grand mal seizure due to birth control pills. I ran away from him; physical abuse.

Pound Ridge NY and Croton on Hudson. I then got to live in a little loft on Fulton St. My room had 2 ft. thick walls; it had been a safe for a speakeasy. I could see the ships of South Street Seaport.

Then I moved to Interlaken NY to live with and marry my husband, Roger Papke. He was getting his PhD in Neuroscience and Behavior at Cornell. We met at NYU. We lived nine years there, in the upstairs of an Italianate house built in 1835, with an ancient orchard in the back, up between the two longest Finger Lakes. We had our first child, Thaddeus, born Christmas Day 1980, at home in a terrific blizzard, with a midwife certified in England and Wales but illegal in NY. I landed a job raising houseflies and stable flies, and studying their pupal parasitoids. I got to go to the abattoir to collect fresh blood (i.e. standing under the cow that just got a bolt in the head and hoisted up and its throat slit) for feeding the stable flies. I got to tour a dozen dairies weekly and sometimes chicken farms, wearing big rubber boots and coveralls, armed with a trowel to search for maggots. I learned that grade B milk comes from dairies with algae in their milk lines and goes to powdered milk. I saw how chickens live (and die) in cages packed in really tight with a gutter with eggs rolling down. I got to be quite expert at identifying the tiny Pteromalid wasps.

We had a lot of friends and rode Triumph motorcycles.

Roger's post-doc was at the Salk Institute in La Jolla CA. We timed our second child, Maryanne, to be born in our home in NY with the midwife we trusted. When she was 6 weeks old we set out across country in a Bluebird Schoolbus (Christmastime 1987). It was great timing for Roger's career, as nicotinic and glutamate receptors were first cloned and described there then. Jonas Salk and his wife Francois Gilot were active there then. As for California? My entomology jobs took me toward the desert, where it is way so bright and dry! I did get a day off for oil painting each week. What I especially miss is the awesome ocean, taking a boogie board and flippers--you could not get past the breakers without them--and then riding the waves back in, with sea lions surfing in the waves next to you. Otherwise, California felt like another planet!

So after a lot of interviews, and Roger cut off his ponytail, he got a job at The University of Florida. He started in June 1993 and has been full professor since 1999. I was pregnant with our third child when we moved (with movers this time) directly to our house that we are still in, Gainesville FL. Theodore was born in a birthing center with a midwife. It felt like going out to a motel to have our baby there.

I worked in the UF Entomology Department with termites and bacteria, got some basic lab skills, then ended up in the Roger Papke lab in the Pharmacology Dept. I'm still there supporting my husband's work since 1996. It has been fun, as jobs go, with a lot of freedom to investigate and learn. I've been able to 38

Clare Stokes join in the international comradery of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor field. I never felt monomaniacal enough to pursue a science PhD. [Okay, if you are curious, in a nutshell, every couple of weeks I do a surgery on a fat frog (Xenopus laevis) full of oocytes. I remove some and sew her back up. The oocytes are unfertilized eggs, like a factory ready to make a new frog, but the only information they get is messenger RNA (transcribed in a test tube from cloned DNA) that encodes for the human brain nicotinic acetylcholine receptors with which we inject them. The receptors we study are ion channels naturally in the membranes of neurons and closed at rest. The inside of the neurons has a different balance of ions and a negative charge compared to the outside. When the natural agonist acetylcholine binds to the receptor, the protein changes shape and the channel opens. We can measure and see the current change when this happens.] Our current NIH grant has two more years, as I understand it. Then we plan to retire, and it is way up in the air where we go then. We enjoy our home; it is beautiful here, but I do still yearn for snow and cross-country skiing. Our garage is full of a variety of motorcycles. Mine is a 2012 white Ducati Monster with a red frame.

My mom and dad have passed on sort of recently. My dad went on to be pretty famous in the solo sailing world, most notably in the 1980 BOC round-the-world race. He wrote a book, The Mooneshine Logs. My mom responded with long-distance running, including NY and Boston marathons, and for one year gained the title "Fastest woman over 70 to run up Mt. Washington"! They moved to Maine. Both of my sisters, Agnes and Rachel, are in Maine; my brother Whitall is in California, and my brother Arthur is in Scotland.

But the really big news of my life is meeting Jesus, the big change of running toward the name of Jesus Christ instead of running away from it. I am convinced that He is the only way and the truth and the life.

Here I made a rough path experience of my spiritual journey: http://plaza.ufl.edu/clear/clear/Start.html I suddenly KNEW that the holy bible is true, every word!

"And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart." I got there through an Episcopal Church. I immediately went to look at Quaker doctrines.

I saw that George Fox was a strong biblical believer.

He said that the light of Christ was available to every man.

However, it easily slipped to "the light of Christ is in every man." Then the whole reason for the suffering of Jesus, and the sacrifice of God Himself because He loves us so much! was disregarded. I urge you! He is real!

He is real!

Here is a painting I did of pine trees in our backyard.

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Noel Susskind I wasn’t at MFS long, but I appreciate the lifetime of learning it started me on.

How hearing makes a difference.

I learned American sign language, to join the Philly deaf and then Covid came. ‘Zoom’ is hard to use. I still prefer using my voice and a hearing aid.

I still do engineering and building energy conservation to pay the bills.

I was lucky enough in 2010 to join a 3 person engineering firm and I have since become a one-man band. I learned firsthand about supply and demand and this is my solution. No layoffs now.

To be clear, I set records for job search. 10 permanent jobs. Usually bad timing. For your information, worked in Chicago, rural PA, suburban DC, south jersey (three times), Florida, Atlanta, and Ohio. Now all my engineering is in DC and I teleconference a lot.

By the way, I am single again. It may not be long, however, before I am hitched again.

I must say that I miss a couple of great classmates. Peter Stebbins was one, and Michael Pearson, both whom I loved hanging with when we were young and healthy.

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Michelle Thompson After graduating from MFS, I attended American International College in Springfield, Massachusetts. I earned a degree in elementary education and became a classroom teacher. While teaching I attended Rowan University, where I earned a Master’s degree in Reading. I taught in Camden, NJ, Washington, DC, and Chesterfield, VA as a classroom teacher then reading specialist until my retirement in June 2014.

Along the way I married and had three children, who are all thankfully grown and pursuing their own careers. I am also the grandmother of two children. During my time in Virginia, I had the opportunity to raise chickens and rabbits and grow a vegetable garden each summer. Retirement has been a great experience. I volunteered in an after-school homework program for several years. Prior to covid-19 I spent time traveling up and down the east coast from Martha’s Vineyard to West Palm Beach, Florida as well as Dallas, Tx and San Diego, Ca.

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James Wilson Spouse/Partner: Sarah (Sally) Wilson Children, Name/Age: Beverly 38, Emily 35, David 31, Brianna 28, Hannah 18 Profession/Employer: Property Management/Self Education: MFS Organizations/Associations: Past - Moorestown Improvement Assoc., Community House Trustee, MFS School Committee.

Present - MFS Property Committee.

Activities/Interests/Hobbies: Ice Boating, Skiing, Hiking, Sailing, Canoeing Travel: Canoeing Okeefinokee, Allagash, Colorado Rafting, Hiking NH, WY, FLA, VT, NY Fondest MFS Memory: Daughter Hannah’s Graduation from MFS 2021!

Influential MFS Faculty Member or Coach and Why: Grace Kennedy Blackburn, Ruth Sawyer both sparked my love of Math.

Life Reflections, Thoughts and Perspectives: The class of 1972 graduated many angels.

With Mark Miller at the 45th Class Reunion.

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Ann Zeichner Spouse/Partner: Paul Larango Children, Name/Age: Jackson Larango - 27 Profession/Employer: Hi tech exec, now exec search Education: B.A. English Rutgers U. New Brunswick Organizations/Associations: Bring Me A Book Foundation Activities/Interests/Hobbies: Airedale Terriers, Hiking, Mentoring Travel: Throughout Europe and parts of Asia - Mexico - Western US and Canada Fondest MFS Memory: Maypole in 1st or 2nd grade Influential MFS Faculty Member or Coach and Why: Keith Wallauer welcomed me in 11th grade. Helped me find my place.

Life Reflections, Thoughts and Perspectives: Be where you are, in the moment. By now, we have all been through hell and enjoyed pure bliss. All the preparing, planning, worrying and excitement about the future might be a north star of sorts. Yet life happens as it will, daily. Enjoy every moment.

Since Leaving MFS…Travelled to Europe via Iceland, made jewelry, earned a degree in English @ Rutgers in New Brunswick with a semester @ University of Wisconsin, Madison living with Liz Knisely and others. Started a tech career as a tech writer, moved to marketing, then tech sales in N.Y. Progressed into management, moved to L.A. where I met my now husband Paul. We married, moved to Northern CA and had our only child Jackson who is now 27. (Small world: Katie Henderson, daughter of Barbara Caldwell, was among Jackson’s favorite high school teachers).

Fortunately Jackson visits often as he lives in the area and is also in tech.

Ann with Katharine Darlington and Liz Knisely

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Ann Zeichner My career progressed as I became CEO of a turnaround tech company, ran sales and marketing for several, and moved to tech exec head hunting during Jackson’s high school years. Still actively doing executive search. I also serve on the board of Bring Me a Book Foundation. Paul and I look forward to travelling more as we age, as well as gardening and reading.

Ann with son Jackson and husband Paul

Ann with her dog Ruby

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Additional Members of the Class of 1972

Robert Andreola

Kate Bregman

Jane Ransome Bromley

Lisa Vittese Clark

David Cleaver

Karmae Cipriotti Fahr

Eileen Riviello Giardino

Peter Hohage

John Holt

Jane Taylor Janiszewski

George Johnson

Roman Koropeckyl

Rob Nobel

Lee Novich

Not Pictured

Debra Harding Lamb

Curtis Leroy 44

Additional Members of the Class of 1972

Louis Pearlman

Richard Ransome

Brian Roberts

Joyce Sholl

Jonathan Shreter

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Joel Schwartz

In Memoriam As we come together to renew friendships and recall our days at Moorestown Friends, we remember our deceased classmates. Although some of their biographies are unwritten here, we celebrate their lives. We know their stories and they enrich the fifty-year history of the class of 1972.

Dixon Cathrall

John Ellis

Washington Georgia

Stephanie Hodson

Gail MacColl Jarrett

Cindy Kale

Elise Mannella

Mark Miller

Mark Pawluk

Mike Pearson

Charles Robinson

Peter Stebbins

Mychael Wagner

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In Memoriam Remembering Washington Georgia Washington carried himself with pride and confidence. I remember an assembly during which a black and white member of the Class of ‘71 attempted to shine a light on institutional racism by having the black classmate stand in silence while the white classmate read a definition of “negro” from the dictionary. After the assembly Washington smashed his hand through a window in anger. At the time, many thought his reaction was a bit over the top. Sadly, I did not take the time to reach out to him and explore his feelings, and that he is no longer with us so that we might reflect with him about his experience.

Paul Harrison Remembering Stephanie Hodson Stephanie Hodson and I became friends in grade school. When her family moved away, we kept in touch; mostly writing letters, including aerogram letters on her summer visits to family in England.

Somewhere around when we were 13, she introduced me to a friend of hers in NY, Liz. Our contact continued sporadically until the Hodsons returned to MFS late in our high school years. I vividly recall traveling into Philly with Stephanie to see the movie M.A.S.H. in 1970. With both of us having older brothers, the war in Vietnam and the draft were oppressively real. We were blown away by the movie.

After it ended, we just sat in our seats. As people filtered away, another crowd came to see the next show. And so we stayed and watched the film again. As we went our separate ways after school, I headed to Kirkland College, where I befriended a transfer student in my second year. Her name is Liz. We knew immediately who each other was and have been close friends ever since. Stephanie is part of our story.

Melanie Beth Oliviero Remembering Gail MacColl Jarrett I am sad to think of our classmates that have passed away. Gail MacColl was an especially important friend in my formative years. The first time I met her was in August before she and her family started at MFS. I was having a pajama party for my birthday at my house and my parents said I should invite the daughter of the new headmaster. I wasn’t thrilled with that idea because I thought she would be a miss goody two shoes and would tell her father if we misbehaved. I was clearly very wrong about that. She was brilliant, a gifted writer, a renegade and a good friend. I have never met anyone about whom I would say, "She reminds me of Gail." She was one of a kind.

Emma Melchior Simpson Gail MacColl Jarrett was a genuine oner, fiercely intelligent, fiercely competitive, fiercely independent.

To many she could be intimidating. When she walked into a room, her big personality at once ...

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In Memoriam drew and dominated. She was unabashedly opinionated but at the same time open to contrary views, as long as they were expressed intelligently. Gail did not suffer fools gladly, yet she was also kind and loved people. She held strong leftwing views and had a profound sense of social justice, to the advancement of which she was devoted. Gail was one of the most remarkable individuals many of us had the fortune to know.

Roman Koropeckyj Remembering Elise Mannella As many of you may remember at the time I reported in 2018 that Elisa Mannella had passed away, Elise fought a long battle with pancreatic cancer, to which she finally succumbed. Elise had a quite amazing career after leaving Moorestown Friends School. She graduated from Simmons in Boston and later obtained a Masters in Fine Arts from Tufts. Elise loved the arts and was involved in professional fundraising for arts organizations her entire career. She also worked for Boston’s University’s development office for a period of time and worked as a part-time fundraiser for the Boston Center for the Arts. Not surprisingly, her hobbies included oil painting, wood sculpture, writing, producing radio drama and coverage of the arts. She was a strong, dynamic person her entire life to the end. She was happy to correct me on the wine selection for our 40th Reunion at my home in Moorestown! Never bashful, always smart. She remains deeply missed.

Bill Shelley Remembering Mark Miller Our classmate, Mark Miller, passed away in December, 2019. He was a graduate of Tulane Law School and when he moved back to the South Jersey area, he devoted his entire career to public serviceoriented matters, starting with employment at the ACLU and then for many years for the Community Health Law Project where he represented the disabled for about 35 years. I think we all remember Mark as a quiet, gentle person but once engaged someone with a good sense of humor. I would run into Mark only rarely in court and we would have brief discussions on how each of us was doing. As in high school, he was always glad to see you. He just kept on, in his own quiet way, devoting himself to those who needed his help the most. It was a distinguished career.

Bill Shelley Remembering Mark Pawluk Mark Pawluk and I entered MFS the same year, Second Grade. Because his sister, Monica, and my brother, Jamie, were in the same class, we had further interactions over the years. When college scouting season came around, Mark and I took a road trip together to Clinton, NY. I had applied early decision to, and been accepted by, Kirkland College, the coordinate woman’s school to Hamilton ...

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In Memoriam College. Mark was still exploring schools, including Hamilton. We learned how few gas stations there are along the NE Extension to the Pennsylvania Turnpike en route to Scranton, PA. Luckily the fumes lasted until we found one. An early lesson in being prepared!

Melanie Beth Oliviero Remembering Mike Pearson This is a difficult remembrance to write. Mike died on December 31, 1984, almost 38 years ago. I am saddened to think about how much Mike missed out on.

During his years at MFS, Mike lived with his parents on Covered Bridge Road in Cherry Hill. I remember him being on the wrestling team at some point and remember him as a class “cut-up” like a few others of us ☺. Mike always had a big grin ready and was always prepared to participate in whatever mischief we were getting into. I would not say that he was a leader but he was always part of the group and we were always happy to have him there. He rarely had an unkind word to say about anyone. I remember him sitting in class with his long curly reddish brown hair - - I always thought he looked like a springer spaniel! Mike loved sports cars and, of course, the Grateful Dead.

Mike’s great honor in high school was being elected President of the Breakfast Club. It seems a little silly now but that was no small honor then and we loved Mike for his leadership on what was a fun event for us during our Senior Year.

I have no details about Mike’s life after MFS (there was no Facebook in the 1980’s) but if others do, I hope they will share those thoughts with the group. Mike will always remain a high school boy for me, a good guy, warmhearted and fun loving whose life ended far too early - - a fact which we survivors now more fully appreciate.

Bill Shelley Excerpt from 50th Reunion Bio of Noel Susskind: I must say that I miss a couple great classmates.

Peter Stebbins was one, and Michael Pearson, both who I loved hanging with when we were young and healthy.

Noel Susskind Remembering Charles Robinson Was there ever such a kind, tender, soft spoken and just cool person as Charles? If he were with us now I’d love to explore with him what it was like to be a black student at MFS in the 70’s.

He had what I recall as a “gentle swagger.” I’m sorry that we lost touch and that I never knew him as an ...

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In Memoriam adult. He was a gentleman. And, as with Washington, I will always wonder what the MFS experience was really like for him. I’m hoping there are classmates that can fill in our understanding of some of his life after MFS. Paul Harrison Remembering Peter Stebbins Excerpt from 50th Reunion Bio of Noel Susskind: I must say that I miss a couple great classmates.

Peter Stebbins was one, and Michael Pearson, both who I loved hanging with when we were young and healthy.

Noel Susskind “Stebs” joined us late, tenth grade as I remember. Who will ever forget the epic party he threw in Merchantville complete with an in-ground trampoline? Overnights at his house were amazing as his mother, Paula, was a fabulous cook and the breakfasts were superb. Peter loved life, he loved to laugh, he loved cars-especially the Triumph TR-3 he restored, he was a devoted Phila. Eagles fan, and of course, he loved the Grateful Dead. Senior year he was also our number one soccer fan. The picture in the yearbook of Peter standing on top of his white van is testimony to his devotion to the team as he even traveled to away matches. Peter and I stayed in touch during college and reconnected after one of our reunions. We met up for golf in Virginia on several occasions. He met his wife, Jean, in rehab and they enjoyed a number of years of sobriety together. Tragically, he succumbed to his demons.

Paul Harrison Remembering Mychael “Myke” Wagner Remembered for his intensity and spirited approach to life. He loved a good joke, practical and otherwise. His essence was on full display on the basketball court where he was a fierce competitor, went hard to the boards and was always an inside threat. There was always a mischievousness to Myke and a twinkle in his eye.

Paul Harrison

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1972 Through the Years

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1972 Through the Years

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The Class of 1972

Front Row (L to R): Emma Lou Melchior, Steven Hortegas, Joel Schwartz, Eileen Riviello, Steven Benner, Joyce Sholl, Michael Pearson, Melanie Oliviero Second Row: Kate Bregman, Lisa Vittese, Charles Martin, Ann Zeichner, Noel Susskind, Karmae Cipriotti, James Wilson Third Row: Ginger Atkinson, Paul Harrison, Debbie Harding, Jane Taylor, Mark Miller, Roman Koropeckyj, Lee Novich, Jane Ransome Fourth Row: Mark Pawluk, Charles Robinson, Betsy Dunn, Lorrie Smith, Peter Stebbins, Clare Stokes Fifth Row: Elizabeth Knisely, Robert Nobel, Craig Attix, Thomas Evans, Cyndee Kale Sixth Row: Lou Pearlman, Myke Wagner, Elise Mannella, George Johnson, John Scattergood Top Row: Robert Andreola, Philip Robeson, Nancy Ohler, Peter Hohage, William Shelley Not Pictured: Karen Engle

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