“Dean was an incredible person, generous, kind, a philanthropist and a humanist. What he did for Moses Brown will impact generations of kids.” A self-described lifelong learner and voracious reader, Dean traced those traits to his days at MB. “Moses Brown instilled in me a commitment to the pursuit of excellence,” he said. “The Jones/ Woodman clan has been a proud part of MB for five generations going back to the mid-1800s. Moses Brown was a fabulous educational and cultural springboard for me. At MB I developed an even greater thirst for knowledge and for continuing education that has never left me, and for which I will be forever grateful.” Throughout the end of his life, Dean read five or six books simultaneously (mostly history, biography, or Shakespeare-related), usually completing at least two volumes weekly.
IN MEMORIAM
Dean Woodman We honor the five-generation legacy of Dean Woodman ’46 P’78 The Moses Brown School community is saddened to share that Dean Woodman ’46 passed away in California in December. Dean, the fourth of five generations to attend Moses Brown, was the great-grandson of former headmaster Augustine Jones ’1854 and the largest donor to the school in MB history. Please join us in holding Jane Woodman and the rest of Dean’s family in the Light.
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Dean not only read at MB — he also played baseball, ran track, served on the Mosaic board and captained the cross-country team. But Dean said that MB’s most lasting impact on him was its focus on personal integrity and liberal arts. “‘For the Honor of Truth’ and ‘The Pursuit of Excellence’ are tenets that I have carried with me throughout my life,” he once commented. Moses Brown fostered in Dean a spirit of inquiry and an ability to apply factual knowledge to solve real-world problems creatively which he embraced his entire life. Dean graduated from Amherst in 1950, then served in the Naval Air Corps, and enjoyed a distinguished career as an investment banker. Known as “Woody” during his youth, “Deano” during his business career and “Woody” once again in retirement, Dean was one of the leading financial architects of numerous corporate financings, mergers and acquisitions. His career spanned over 60 years and he especially enjoyed providing advice to fledgling entrepreneurs. Perhaps his most meaningful investment, though, was in his son Nick’s fledgling startup, GoPro. CUPOLA
