The Towers Magazine
Spring 2022
BENEDICTINE SCHOOLS OF RICHMOND
PRESIDENT Jesse Grapes
PRINCIPAL
Drew Mugford ’86
SAINT GERTRUDE HEAD OF SCHOOL
Amy Pickral ’95
DIRECTOR OF
COMMUNICATION, EDITOR
Kristina Kerns
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Mike Forster, Vic Dorr ’70
PHOTOGRAPHY
Kelly Lonergan, Wendell Powell Studios, Mike Forster, Glave and Holmes, Taylor and Parrish, The Parson Agency
16
12
22
STUDENT SPOTLIGHTS
Whether it’s hitting the hardwoods or the high notes, Kate Samson ’22 and Dayna Adeso ’22 make it happen. And they both plan to soon serve their country.
16 FACULTY FEATURE
Meghan Madel, Project-Based Design Teacher
22 A CENTURY OF SISTERHOOD
As we envision the next 100 years, we step back in time and take a look back on the successes of our past century.
32 COMMUNITY SNAPSHOTS
36
ALUMNAE HEADLINERS
Mary Clare Curtin ’12, Caroline Townsend Neal ’01, Evelyn McGill ’75, Sarah Shelton ’18, Beth Merwin ’72, and Katie Merwin ’00
42
HALL OF VALOR
Welcome to the Hall of Valor, a fitting gem to our new gym, and one that honors the service and sacrifice of Gators and Cadets of lore.
48 CIRCLING BACK
Flip the magazine and turn to page 44 for combined class notes for Benedictine and Saint Gertrude.
I am nearly at a loss to describe the emotions that swirled around this year’s Song Contest. All of us who have experienced this crown jewel of an event knows of the sisterhood it builds within the classes, of the joy found in winning (and the sadness in falling short), of the highs and lows of the practice sessions, and of the life-long memories Song Contest instills in each of us.
This year’s unofficial theme became that of triumph, as we returned to the Altria Theater from a threeyear absence, a void driven by the pandemic. That absence, however, fueled many questions about what lay ahead: Would we be able to pull it off this year? Would health regulations allow everyone to join us? Would the girls have to sing in masks again? After two years of anticipation, adjusted expectations, and a jumble of daily challenges, I gained the clarity to view this event with fresh eyes as I watched from the front row.
And my eyes saw…magnificence and beauty and unity and joy. Of course, the girls came through, erasing any doubt and answering all questions with a resounding “YES!” for Song Contest 2022. It could just as easily have been Song Contest 2002 or Song Contest 1962. Or one from any of the seven decades that have included this unique celebration.
How truly remarkable this yearly endeavor is. The commitment, the dedication, the perseverance, the risk, the grace, the exhilaration of all moving in the same direction, to the same beat, at the same time. Why does this arbitrary (and mandatory!) class project continue to resonate with teenage girls after over 70 years?
On its face, Song Contest is but four eight-minute performances that have taken months to organize, create, and perfect. Lesser schools would have phased out such a complex operation: the SGHS faculty chose to lean in rather than back off. What are these teachers putting in every winter? Supervising daily lunchtime committee meetings, approving themes, vetoing lyrics, overhearing a lot of unfinished grating harmonies, biting their tongue through impractical ideas, encouraging quiet voices to speak up, reminding over-exuberant girls to listen.
And let us not forget the complaining: about how high their harmony is, about where their spot in the line-up is, about how long practices are, about their classmates, about the other classes, about how much homework they still have.
Until suddenly, it somehow magically comes together, the girls light up, and they are hooked. It turns out, when you set your complaining to music, you make each other giggle. And between those giggles, you will find trouble-shooting social friction, mentoring burgeoning leaders, apologizing for harsh words during tense practices, forgiving and forgetting, learning to navigate and accept different personality types while appreciating what each of us brings to her team.
Make no mistake, despite the demure blazers, kilts, black flats, and white gloves, it is a full-scale competition. Families are divided. Audience members wearing the “wrong” colors are chastised. The tools: voices, bodies, hearts, and souls. The prizes: ten minutes of jumping while shrieking with your classmates on stage and a lifetime of bragging rights.
This year, the stage was proudly seized by four groups of young women who made the Altria hum. The senior class (Orange and White), juniors (Pink and Lime), sophomores (Lilac and Black) and freshmen
(Navy and Gold) each put on a magnificent performance under the leadership of their fellow classmates. As has always been the case, Song Contest is an opportunity for our students to take on a mantle of leadership in an opportunity that is as unique as it is challenging.
Our founding Benedictine Sisters believed that God wished us to live in community with each other. The work that goes into Song Contest certainly helps drive the communal spirit. All it takes for you to witness that unity of effort is to tour the school building during the week of Song Contest. The hallways, festooned with imagination and class color, scream of teamwork. The friendly rivalries between the classes are nearly tangible. And while Song Contest was absent during our school’s infancy, the communal spirit is something that has been at the center of Saint Gertrude life for the duration of its past one hundred years.
In this magazine, we celebrate our reaching the century mark as an institution that prepares and inspires the young women of the Richmond area to answer the challenges of their changing world. Certainly, the world in which Saint Gertrude High School resides has seen significant changes. And we will soon experience a massive and positive change when we relocate into the gorgeous building that will soon bear our name across its entryway.
Over the years, we have seen all sorts of changes. Uniforms change. Facilities change. School leadership changes. I have witnessed many of these changes over the last thirty years. Other alumnae go back much, much further. But I fully believe that such noted women would agree with my assessment when I state with absolute certainty that those attributes that define Saint Gertrude have remained unchanged over the years.
To the untrained (i.e., non-Saint Gertrude folk), Song Contest might be a bit of an odd thing that we do. To everyone in our community, however, it is something that we treasure for the rest of our lifetimes. This year’s return to normalcy is a tribute to our perseverance, our relevance, and our pride. As we embark on our next century, we shall welcome new Gators into the fold, knowing that their hearts will soon be filled with love as they embrace Song Contest and all things Saint Gertrude.
I wish to thank all of those who have made the past one hundred years so incredibly special, and I look forward to the wonderful things that lie ahead for our alma mater.
Reigning supreme at Song Contest for the second year in a row was the Class of Pink and Lime. Under the leadership of Grace Rooney and Madeleine Lang, these Gators brought down the house while performing back in the Altria Theater for the first time in three years. Will we see a three-peat next year? Way to go, Class of 2023!
On November 5, BSoR unveiled the Ed Mugford Hall of Valor in the McMurtrie-Reynolds Pavilion, commemorating all Benedictine and Saint Gertrude alumni, faculty, and staff who have faithfully served our country. Shown is Joan LaFratta Kolenich ’67, saluting the American flag during the singing of our National Anthem performed by Saint Gertrude’s honors ensemble choir.
The Sponsors and Sponsoring Officers tradition is certainly a deep-rooted favorite among students and alumni from both schools. Not only does this program provide a once-in-a-lifetime experience to students of both schools but helps build the everlasting bonds of brotherhood and sisterhood across generations.
Home is where the heart is, and there is snow place like home. With this snowy day rendering, it’s easy to visualize Saint Gertrude’s new school building in the winter.
What are you involved in at Saint Gertrude?
Honor Council (Secretary/Treasurer), Senior Class Historian, Varsity Basketball (9-12), Varsity Volleyball (10-12), JV Volleyball (9), Track (12), Visual Arts
I really love the connections that you make here, both with the students and the teachers. Since our class is so small, it has given us the opportunity to really come together. All of the teachers are really great, very approachable, and have always been there for me if I ever needed them. The size of the school helps us build strong connections; everyone is very close.
Obviously, the biggest advantage is that it takes away the distraction of boys. Our grade is really close and being allgirls helps us to connect and takes away the boy drama. On our senior class trip, we were able to bond on an even deeper level. If boys were on the trip, it would have had a different vibe.
The coaches are great, really supportive, and truly want you to succeed. I came from a middle school that was really big with over 20 people on my team. The teams here are a little bit smaller which allow you to connect more with your teammates and establish deeper connections with coaches.
I didn’t even get into basketball until my eighth-grade year. I was cut from the team in sixth grade, didn’t play in seventh grade, and finally joined an AAU team in eighth grade. My dad thinks I played basketball because I got so mad that I got cut from the team and my competitive nature was like “now I have to get good at this.” My freshman year is when I really got into it and joined four different teams. I was very surprised I made the varsity squad in ninth grade, but my competitive nature really drove me to be successful.
We are a really close team, and we take every opportunity to bond off the court. We went whitewater rafting at the beginning of the season and had dinner together before every game. I know I can count on them for anything at any time. The group of seniors are also close friends so having that strong bond off the court translates onto the court and is evident in the games.
I don’t come from a Navy family; my great grandpa was in the Navy but that’s really the only connection. At first, I didn’t think the Naval Academy was for me, but after talking with their basketball coaches, I became intrigued by the school and the athletic program. When I started researching the school and learning more about its values, I realized that it’s a lot like Saint Gertrude. There is a cool connection between the two schools, and I just knew it was going to be a great fit. Navy is a very challenging school, but I love a good challenge. And I know Saint Gertrude has prepared me for whatever lies ahead.
do you feel prepared to balance academics with playing D-1 athletics?
Saint Gertrude emphasizes that we are student-athletes, and the importance of being a student comes first. If I’m slacking off in a class, a coach will follow up to ensure that I am staying committed to my academics. The same is true at Navy. All my coaches thus far have done a great job of keeping me on track, and I know that will translate over when I’m at Navy. Saint Gertrude has prepared me for that balance and that I am always a student first before I am an athlete.
What advice would you give to someone who is thinking about playing at the collegiate level?
Go into the process with an open mind. It can be challenging sometimes, so keep your options open. It’s going to be a difficult process at times but keep your head up and rely on your support system. Find a coach or mentor you can rely on to help you navigate through these struggles.
What will you miss the most about Saint Gertrude?
I will miss the community here and all the friends I have made. I absolutely love the Little Sis/Big Sis Program, and it has helped me establish some lifelong connections. The connections here are like no other. While I know I will make friends in college, I also know that it will be nothing like Saint Gertrude.
What are you looking forward to as an alumna?
I’m really looking forward to coming back and visiting, and I cannot wait to tour the beautiful new school that’s being built. My little cousin is coming here next year, so I’m looking forward to visiting her. And I can’t wait to come back and watch practices and cheer them on in some games. It’s been cool to see some alumnae come back and watch our games. I was always excited to see alumnae come back and visit me, so I can’t wait to do the same.
When you hear the name Dayna Adeso, you immediately think of a soft-spoken, kind, young woman who exudes creativity. But there’s so much more to her than her incredible artistic talent. Dayna shares her love for nature by serving on the Gator Outdoor Recreation Program, sings beautifully in the school’s Honors Ensemble, thinks outside the box in Robotics, and even wishes to pursue a career as a military nurse. Dayna has a lot of beautiful layers, and it’s easy to see why she is adored by her classmates.
(Dayna did all the artwork that accompanies this article.)
Honors Ensemble, Chorus, Stuart Avenue Players, Gator Outdoor Recreation Program (GORP) VicePresident, Robotics Club President, and Yearbook
I like how welcoming the people (the teachers and the students) are…no matter the discipline, they are all welcoming from the beginning. I really like being surrounded by other people who have the same passions as me and are all trying to get better. At Saint Gertrude, I feel comfortable in my own skin and I’m able to express my talents in my own way. And people like me for just being me!
I like the creative aspect of building robotics and idea creation. You can be creative with art, with music, or with theater, but with the Robotics Club, it combines more disciplines of STEM. This past year, we started a robotics workshop where people can create their own projects and bring their own ideas to life. The Robotics Club provides an atmosphere for students from both schools to collaborate on team projects while also using their own imaginations to build individual projects.
Mrs. Madel, our yearbook teacher, saw some of my artwork and mentioned that something similar would be a great addition to the yearbook. Once the editors were on board with the idea, I knew I wanted to take my original doodles to the next level and challenge myself. I don’t take the visual art classes here at SGHS, so this was a way for me to push myself in a new way with my art.
I really do like helping people. I’m interested in biology and health-related topics. My family has a history of going into the nursing field, and I’ve always looked up to them for helping others in their profession. As far as the military aspect, I was quite influenced by some of my Benedictine friends. Seeing the BCP military atmosphere intrigued me, so I’ve decided to pursue the ROTC program at VCU.
I love having the ability to express myself. Coming from my middle school where I didn’t know anyone here to having people like me for me; I feel really good about that. At Saint Gertrude, I can be myself and don’t feel pressured to be someone I’m not. That acceptance has pushed me to achieve even greater things.
I will mainly miss my friends. I have met a ton of great people here from all different grades. I’ll miss the people who have really encouraged me to be myself, the teachers and my peers. The all-girls atmosphere encourages you to show your individuality and helps you establish some solid friendships. I just really like the people here; they don’t mind if you’re a little weird.
The one piece of advice I would give to an incoming freshman is to not be afraid to get out of your skin and to express yourself. It’s a nice community of welcoming people who are accepting of everyone.
Aunt: Tanyi “Precious” Orock Ojong ’18 (Class of Purple and White)
Sister: Ida Adeso ’21 (Class of Red and Blue)
Sister: Alexis Adeso ’25 (Class of Navy and Gold)
Brother: Achiri Adeso
We’ve all heard the descriptive phrase “Jill of all trades, master of none.” Saint Gertrude High School’s Meghan Madel, however, checks off on both sides: She is involved in so many distinct aspects of the school, and she performs in magnificent fashion across the board. In fact, Madel has become nearly indispensable from a wide range of vantage points.
Ostensibly, Madel is a Saint Gertrude teacher. In practice, she is much more than that. She fills an ever shifting and changing role, so today’s snapshot of her duties may look vastly different from how it will appear next year. In fact, her portfolio as the school year winds down may look vastly
different from when the year commenced. In her world, flexibility and adaptability of her vast skill set is key.
“She is incredibly versatile,” enthused Head of School Amy Pickral ’95. “She’s one of those people who can see the big picture yet doesn’t get lost in the details. Rather, she attends to those details and follows through on them.”
Madel is an energetic and positive light in the school. “Mrs. Madel made [yearbook] so interesting that I stuck with it [through senior year],” said Arden Neighbors ’22, who earned a spot as a yearbook editor this year. “She’s a teacher you can go to with anything, plus she makes me laugh. She always
has a smile on her face all the time — except when she has to correct us.”
A Baltimorean by birth, Madel grew up in Pennsylvania — York, to be specific. But she headed for the warmer climes offered by our fair commonwealth as she enrolled at Virginia Tech. As a Hokie, she earned her degree in horticulture and horticultural education, which might explain why she is so willing to get her hands dirty these days, though in a figurative way. She also dipped her fingers in the world of technology. “I had a work-study job that included having to learn HTML in order to put all of the horticulture documents on the Internet,” she said. “At the start, I hated computers, but as I worked more with them, I realized that I liked them; that I could figure things out and that I could learn from my mistakes.”
After graduation — and following a pair of teaching positions in the Baltimore region — Madel found herself in Northern Virginia working, in essence, as the technical director at the New School of NOVA. She moved to that bustling area with new husband Kurt Madel, a veteran of the United States Marine Corps and a fellow graduate of Virginia Tech. While the marriage was to thrive, the couple’s stay in the D.C. area was short-lived. “After 9-11, the anthrax scares, and the (D.C.-area) sniper, we questioned what we were doing in Northern Virginia,” she recalled.
They headed south when Kurt landed a new position in Richmond, so he, Meghan and baby Noah made the big move down I-95. The 2000s decade saw the family boom as Noah was joined by Michael (born in 2004), Ben (2005), and Timothy (2009).
In 2007, though, Saint Gertrude caught Madel’s eye via a bulletin board posting she saw following Mass at Saint Benedict’s. She applied for, and was hired to fill, the newly created technical integration specialist position at the school.
After working for Saint Gertrude for two years, however, the school had to take a back seat to family matters. Timothy, the couple’s fourth son, was born prematurely, necessitating a four-month stay in the hospital, primarily in the neonatal intensive care unit. In the fall of 2010, with Timothy out of the woods, Madel returned to school on a part-time basis. But her talents were such that scope-creep became inevitable. “Every year I picked up more duties,” recalled Madel. “There was lots of website work.”
It seemed she could never quite escape from the world of technology. Current BSoR Director of Technology Thomas Glass spent vast amounts of time working with Madel on a wide array of projects over the years, particularly when his sole focus was the one school. (Glass was the long-term IT director for Saint Gertrude, adding Benedictine College Prep in conjunction with the migration to Goochland.) “I love working with Meghan,” he enthused. “Now that our roles have changed, she is still so helpful in so many ways. I value her knowledge and appreciate how much she helps. She’s invaluable.”
Eventually, Madel’s efforts (and successes) were recognized, and her position transitioned into a full-time role. Over the
“She’s a teacher you can go to with anything, plus she makes me laugh.”
— ARDEN NEIGHBORS ’22 —
years, adaptability has been her watchword. Madel has worked in communications, with publications, taught a wide array of classes, served as yearbook coordinator...the list is seemingly endless.
Today, her role with Saint Gertrude includes:
• Technology teacher
Concepts in Coding
Project Based Design (the school’s most popular elective)
Digital Literacy
AP Computer Science
• Senior class moderator
• Website designer (BSoR, SGHS, and BCP)
• Academic tech support
Gradebooks
Network/printers
Teacher connectivity
• Yearbook advisor
Despite (or, perhaps, because of) the diversity of her schoolwork portfolio, Madel is enthusiastic about Saint Gertrude. “I really enjoy being in an all-girl environment,” she shared, noting that as a mother of four boys, she appreciates the occasional break. “But what I’m really excited about is getting the girls interested in technology. I like encouraging them to push through and try new things.”
Madel is held in the highest regard by her students, past and present. “She is very interactive,” said Erin Marks ’22, who learned Digital Video Design under Madel. “She made sure we were on track but ensured we had fun while doing so. Initially, I wasn’t that interested [in the course]. But she encouraged me, and in the end, it was a really cool course.”
Madel has encouraged her charges in other ways. For example, Audrey Lewis ’22, who took AP Computer Science under Madel, is planning on a career in technology. The senior plans to major in mechanical engineering while minoring in computer science. “Mrs. Madel is a thorough teacher,” she assessed. “And she wanted us to do well.”
Madel’s teaching philosophy revolves around effort and experimentation. She tends to arm her students with the knowledge to excel and the space in which to do so. There is no spoon-feeding in her world, and error IS an option, at least at first. “I like to drive home that your mistakes are the portals to discovery,” she said.
“She has an engaging and creative teaching style,” assessed Head of School Pickral. “She teaches the steps involved beautifully. She encourages creativity, is a warm and responsive teacher, and is incredibly bright.”
She’s also incredibly resourceful and driven to help. An example of those traits comes in the form of her service as
senior class moderator. A long-standing tradition has been for Saint Gertrude’s seniors to take a class trip to New York City, something that came to a screeching halt because of the pandemic. This year, Madel was determined to revive the sojourn. With class funds low (due to income generating activities restricted), a visit to the Big Apple was out of the question. “She worked hard and took our suggestions,” said class president Audrey Lewis. “She worked hard to make it affordable.”
Indeed, with the seniors’ input, Madel identified Nashville as the next best alternative. Madel experienced a bit of sticker shock when she first scoped out the trip but was driven to avoid having students priced out of the adventure. “Mrs. Madel got the price down,” stated senior Corinne Boyd. “She made it so everyone could make the trip.”
Added class vice president Julia Barrafato ’22: “It’s really important to be able to go someplace. The trip is a highlight of senior year.”
A personal highlight for Madel is how her relationship with the Benedictine Schools of Richmond extends well into the other side of the house via her sons. Noah graduated from Benedictine in 2019, and Ben is a junior this year. (Timothy has his high school days ahead of him.) Needless to say, Madel has had her share of Cadet-focused activities over the past decade, including commissionings, sporting events, proms, Figures, and — best of all — graduations.
While her sons have excelled at Benedictine, Madel’s educator heart is squarely with Saint Gertrude, where innovation is her byline. “She sees opportunities and is great at identifying them,” said Pickral. “She also knows how to streamline things. She came up with offerings such as project-based design, concepts in coding, and digital video design.”
It’s a safe bet that Madel will continue to produce unique and valued innovations for the students of Saint Gertrude. It’s also a safe bet that, when the need arises, she will be there for those ladies: to initiate, to lead, and to succeed.
“What I’m really excited about is getting the girls interested in technology. I like encouraging them to push through and try new things.”
— MEGHAN MADEL —
Egghead definition: Project-based design (PBD) is a student-centered pedagogy that involves a dynamic classroom accretion in which it is believed that students acquire a deeper proficiency through efficacious interrogation of existential botherations and dilemmas.
Saint Gertrude High School definition: Project-based learning (PBD) gives students the chance to take on real-life challenges while developing new skills to overcome them. And it is fun.
To those who think that STEM and girls do not mix, we send a welcoming invitation to check out Meghan Madel’s Project Based Design class: It combines innovation with technology. Best yet, it is the most highly requested elective at Saint Gertrude in this, its second year. “Teachers always give assigned projects,” noted Madel. “In this case, we’re learning the process that can be used in real-life scenarios.”
The class, which is offered on a one-semester basis, is meant to challenge the students’ thinking and their approach to solving problems. Students are set up in pairs or as trios and take on several challenges over the lifetime of the course. “It gives you creative freedom,” averred Maddie Winkelmann ’24, who took the course this past spring. “You get to use all sorts of machines.”
Among those machines are the 3-D printer, the Cricut (multi-faceted cutting and engraving tool), and several units of the Raspberry Pi (wirelessly connected microcomputer used for developing code), to name a few.
While the technology can be fun, it is the process — a process that replicates those used by engineers — itself that is at the heart of the class. Solutions are realized through brainstorming, high-level designing, project
planning, and executing to specification. In fact, many of the solutions the students derive are built around something as low-tech as the clever usage of Post-It Notes. Another solution was the design and build of a leather wallet that accommodates a Smart Phone.
Madel’s fingerprints are all over the place. “It is a very Meghan-like course,” noted Head of School Amy Pickral. “She teaches the steps involved beautifully...and evokes creativity.”
“Design thinking gives students a new way of viewing themselves as creators who are actively involved in the learning process,” noted Madel. “My mantra hangs on the wall of my classroom: ‘Mistakes are portals of discovery.’ It is essential for the girls to recognize that mistakes and failures are necessary components of the innovation process. Perfectionism among girls can be a problem in an academic environment. Failure and mistakes in design thinking helps to counter this.”
“I wanted to explore different types of skills,” said MaryFinan Mudd ’22, of her reason for signing up for Project Based Design. “The course has helped in finding solutions to life problems. Plus, Mrs. Madel is a great teacher, who makes the class fun.”
Mudd is not alone in that sentiment. “I chose [the course] because it seemed like fun and interactive,” said Corinne Boyd ’22. “I’ve been able to work with the 3-D printer, and that was really fun. Mrs. Madel is the best.”
Winkelmann’s team produced a solution for nighttime snoring: a bed with a built-in sensor that senses snoring and raises the transgressor’s head. Another real-life application that helped the school came last year when a group of students designed and built scale models of the study pods that will be a part of the new school building on the Goochland campus.
An additional benefit is seen off-campus. Madel and Carol Chase (former chemistry teacher at Saint Gertrude) partnered with the VCU School of Education and successfully applied for grants through the Saint Gertrude PTSO’s “Beyond the Classroom” grant. This funding has helped drive professional development for teachers (of all disciplines) in the arena of incorporating new concepts into their teaching. It has also helped Saint Gertrude secure a “Makerspace” experience at Build RVA, which is owned and operated by The Build Forward Foundation (a 501(c)(3) organization that provides low-cost access to tools, resources, and knowledge to help innovators through the incubation stage).
Meanwhile, the benefits of the Saint Gertrude class are both tangible and otherwise. Current student Abbey Crumley ’23 stated, “I’ve learned that solutions might be easier than you think.”
The students also learn that their teacher is making them learn through discovery. “[Mrs. Madel] will not do things for us, but points us in the right direction,” notes Winkelmann, “so that we can figure it out ourselves.”
According to the National Coalition of Girls’ Schools, “The world is desperately seeking to plug the leaky STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) pipeline from its shortage of women. Girls’ schools are leading the way in educating generations of research scientists, engineers, programmers, and inventors.”
With courses, such as Project Based Design, Saint Gertrude High School can certainly count itself among those helping to fill that pipeline.
“Design thinking gives students a new way of viewing themselves as creators who are actively involved in the learning process.”
— MEGHAN MADEL —
Saint Edith Academy, a boarding school for girls in Bristow, Virginia, was closed, and the high school department, consisting of four Benedictine Sisters, was transferred to Richmond. On September 12, Saint Gertrude High School opens with a faculty of three and an enrollment of eight students.
concludes with a student body of 26.
SSaint Gertrude High School marks its 100th year amid a flurry of activity, including the relocation of its physical plant from the Museum District to Goochland County. While the future of the school is bursting with potential, it is its past that formed what Saint Gertrude is today.
Saint Gertrude came to being shortly after the conclusion of the Great War (World War I). That year, 1922, came hot on the heels of America’s women finally realizing some level of emancipation, which they experienced with the enactment of the 19th Amendment that granted them the long sought-after right to vote.
1926
Rosemarie Simonpietre Beckstoffer is first fouryear graduate.
In 1922, Saint Edith Academy, a boarding school for girls in Bristow, Virginia, was closed, and the high school department, consisting of four Benedictine Sisters, was transferred to Richmond. Sister Gertrude Head, O.S.B. served as the first principal, from its founding until 1933. Together, she and a three-member faculty began the educational program that is now known as Saint Gertrude High School.
The founding junior class was comprised of exactly one student. Gertrude Ross was the young woman who, along with seven other young women (all underclassmen), took the brave step of entering something that was
1930s
Enrollment fluctuates as a result of the Great Depression.
1938
brand-new to Richmond: a Catholic school dedicated to the education and development of its students in a girlsonly environment.
Those eight young women were the pioneers, soon to be followed by a line that has wound its way to the century point: a line comprised of strong women who have gone on to do wonderous things, including sustaining one of the finest educational institutions, while creating legacies built on the lessons learned in this school.
Today, Saint Gertrude faithfully follows in the footsteps laid down 100 years ago. Just as in 1922, we are still dedicated to
SGHS introduces a formal athletic program that includes tennis, badminton, and archery.
1926 1930s 1938
1939
First student council is empaneled.
1939
So much has changed; yet so much has stayed the same.
providing superb, faith-based, and girlfocused educations to those who walk our hallways.
It is the aim of this section of The Towers to share some of those memories. We realize that space constrains us, and we will be able to merely scratch the surface of our rich history. But we do hope to spark some of that nostalgia and have you reaching back for your old yearbook to relive the wonderment that has always been beloved Saint Gertrude.
1942
Saint Gertrude joins the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools.
Saint Gertrude has always kept academic excellence at the forefront. In 1925, the school was accredited by the Virginia State Board of Education and then in 1942 by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (now called AdvancED). For many years, the school has held active memberships in the National Association of Independent Schools, National Catholic Education Association, Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, The National Coalition of Girls’ Schools, and Virginia Council for Private Education. In 1996, the U.S. Department of Education named Saint Gertrude High School a Blue-Ribbon School of Excellence. This is a national honor recognizing the top 250 schools in the United States. SGHS was named to Virginia Living’s Top High Schools and Colleges in 2014 and 2019.
1940s
The school adds, then drops, then adds again an eighth grade.
“I entered as a freshman in 1968, and excellence in academics was first and foremost for all students,” said Maureen Ryan Nay ’72 (who has also served as the school’s director of admission, in addition to being a parent and member of the board of trustees). “I have seen the academics become much stronger over the years, giving our girls opportunities — including my own — to attend the most competitive colleges and universities and be successful.”
Forget about computers or even television. One of the selling points of the school during the 1920s and 1930s (as seen in advertising from that period) was that the building had electricity. In 1922, the telephone (the kind with separate mouthpiece and receiver) was considered cutting-edge. Of course, Saint Gertrude had one of those new-fangled inventions (The original phone number was “Boulevard1164-J.”) and would go on to keep pace with other technological improvements that helped with the administration of the school, from manual typewriters to electric ones to word processors to ever-more powerful computers and their associated applications.
It has been only recently, however, that the classroom has seen such great strides in technical
1953
innovation. Today, each student has a laptop and is connected throughout the day. Each classroom is equipped with a “Smartboard,” and a cuttingedge MakerSpace is a favorite space in the school for innovation and student collaboration. In addition, several Gators may be found taking Advanced Placement Computer Science classes or as part of the Robotics Team.
Saint Gertrude High School has been at the heart of the Benedictine Sisters’ ministry since its foundation one hundred years ago. The Benedictine Sisters came to Richmond in 1868 to teach German immigrant children. In 1894 they sent sisters to Bristow, Virginia and started Saint Edith’s, a boarding academy for young girls. By the 1920s, it was evident that girls were not interested in going to school in rural Virginia and Saint Edith’s migrated to Richmond as Saint Gertrude High School for girls in 1922. Over its 100-year history the sisters have owned and staffed SGHS with great hope and pride in the wonderful young women who have graduated. Several graduates became Benedictine Sisters. As the SGHS community extended to include much of the Catholic population of Richmond, the sisters have rejoiced in the mutual support that continues to build and promote our faith and values. The recent incorporation of SGHS into the Benedictine Schools of Richmond is a further witness to the strength of the Benedictine charism and the promise of the future.
— SISTER CECILIA DWYER, OSB ’63— FORMER HEAD OF SCHOOL, 2019-2020
Saint Gertrude has always been (and will always be) a beehive of bustle. One area that has received continuous attention is the world of music, and the headliner, since 1953, has been Song Contest. Alumnae might be unable to recall a lot of things — their first-year algebra teacher or the time they beat Saint Catherine’s in basketball — but they will always, always, always remember the exultation and glee (or the heartbreak
and glum) when they heard their colors’ placement in Song Contest. Every single year.
1956 School facilities expansion project is completed thanks to generous donations.
1960s
The Tower (annual) and Shield (newspaper) begin publication.
The school’s Glee Club, with nearly 100 members, makes numerous television appearances.
1972
1956 1960s 1960s 1972
While Song Contest is certainly the crowning achievement (1966 excepted), it hardly stands alone in the pantheon of Saint Gertrude activities. Those activities have evolved over the century. In the early days, SGHS offered the Sodality of the Blessed Virgin Mary, its Catholic radio club, and the school newspaper.
Today’s Gators are active in Robotics Club, Model General Assembly, Gator Outdoor Recreation Program, and the World Languages Club — just to name a few.
Whether in the 1930s (Our Lady’s Committee, Paladin Round Table, Publicity Committee, Sodality), the 1980s (Herodotus Circle, The Green Shield, Sewing Club, Civinette) or today (Model Judiciary, Women for a Cause, Robotics, Belle Tones), one thing has not changed: Our driving desire to make this world a better place for all.
Of course, we owe everything to the Order that started our school. In short, were there no Benedictine Sisters, there would be no Saint Gertrude High School.
At its founding, the Sisters did it all. They taught, they tended to the financial side of things, they were the leaders of the school, even
1922-1933
Sister Gertrude Head, O.S.B.
1933-1935
Sister Aquinas Gude, O.S.B.
1935-1938
Sister Angela Bornemann, O.S.B.
1938-1943
Sister Antoinette Bliley, O.S.B.
1943-1961
Sister Xavier Dehner, O.S.B
1973
1975
1961-1975
Sister Anita Sherwood, O.S.B.
1975-1979
Sister Anthony Hopwood, O.S.B.
1979-1985
Sister Mary Ellen Black, O.S.B.
1985-2005
Sister Charlotte Lange, O.S.B. ’58
2005-2015
Mrs. Susan Walker
2015-2019
Mrs. Renata Rafferty
2019-2020
Sister Cecilia Dwyer, O.S.B. ’63
2020-PRESENT
Mrs. Amy Pickral ’95
1976
1981
Sister Celine Hendley O.S.B. celebrates golden jubilee as a sister.
though no detail was too minor for them to cover. Starting with a small presence, lay women started to assume more of the duties, including teaching. Still, it was a small trickle: the 1939 faculty included six Sisters (covering science, English, languages, history, and math), two priests (choir and religion) and two lay women (history and athletics).
Still, half a century ago, the number of Sisters stood at a robust 30. But, gradually, that trickle of lay personnel became more pronounced with the lay faculty eventually outnumbering Benedictine Sisters, mirroring a nationwide trend in the drop of vocations. Eventually, Sister Cecilia Dwyer, O.S.B. ’63 was the sole Benedictine Sister at the school, last serving as head of school during the 2019-20 school year.
Today, alas, there is not a single Sister on the school’s faculty. But these women are still very present and critical in several ways. Even though the order has consolidated in Bristol, Virginia, there is still an active and strong relationship between the school and its founding order. For example, check out Sister Mary Clark’s Twitter feed — it is chock-full of Saint Gertrude news and cheer. And Sister Charlotte Lange ’58 is a mainstay at Saint Gertrude events, and she serves as the chair of our capital campaign.
We all have our most cherished memories of our time at Saint Gertrude, and we all cherish the Sisters who made those memories happen.
1984
Civinette Club brings home five awards from the Annual Junior Civitan Convention.
At its founding, Saint Gertrude called Stuart Avenue its home, and the school continued to operate solely in the original building until new additions were added in 1956, 1972 and, most recently, in 2005. The garden upgrade of the 1980s provided a place of spiritual respite. In 2013-2014, Saint
co-existing with the Benedictine Cadets, sharing their facilities until the new Saint Gertrude building is complete. Even a casual glance at the work-in-progress shows that it will be a magnificent, world-class facility. At just over 50,000 square feet, the building will have dedicated spaces for the liturgy, the sacraments, guest lecture opportunities, and community gathering via the Chapel, Great Hall and Grand Terrace. The new school building overlooks the James River and will be a dominant visual for those traveling northbound on state highway 288. Until the River Road campus is complete, we will continue to use the Outdoor Athletic Center while taking advantage of some of the state-of-the-art facilities on the BSoR campus, such as the McMurtrieReynolds Pavilion (which opened in the fall of 2020).
“Benedictine and Saint Gertrude being on the same campus has allowed me to become closer with the Cadets and helps us recreate the bond that the two schools once had with each other,” said Molly Sproull ’22
Gertrude High School opened a new Outdoor Athletic Center that includes fields for soccer, field hockey, lacrosse, softball, a walking path, and tennis courts. The Center also includes a field house that includes a classroom especially structured for science students, who can study the wetlands on the property.
Following the school’s relocation to Goochland, the Gators are (temporarily)
1987
Richmond is paralyzed by snowstorm. SGHS stays open.
1990
One of the seismic changes that America has seen during the life of Saint Gertrude High School has been the extreme change in how women are viewed and how they are valued for their contributions.
Certainly, women have always been a key component of the workforce, with those roles becoming more critical during World War II. But a young woman of the 1920s would find it nearly
1996
The THT and SADD groups had a record number of members.
SGHS receives national BlueRibbon School designation.
comprehend the role that women have earned in today’s world. Rare was the SGHS student of the 1920s who had her eye on attending college and making a deep career run. Society’s expectations had her focused on the domestic front.
She would be shocked to learn that women outnumber men on U.S. college campuses and that they earn the lion’s share of graduate degrees (including numbering greater than half of the positions in both medical and law schools).
Today’s Saint Gertrude mirrors these societal changes, with an emphasis on college preparation and life as independent and free-thinking women of
impact. “Thinking back on decadesworth of alums in my family, and how they were able to succeed in leadership roles across a wide spectrum of careers, I believe Saint Gertrude gave them the strength of character to take risks and to succeed,” said Ryan Nay. “And they give back to the community — something they most certainly learn at Saint Gertrude.”
At the time of the school’s founding, athletics were far from anyone’s mind. In fact, society frowned upon the idea of women running about and was horrified at the idea of them participating in contact sport. As the 1920s unfolded, however, women’s basketball took off, fueled in large part by major wins on the women’s liberation front.
Some alumnae may recall the days when the Gator archery team filled the sky with arrows on their way to the targets. Still others may recall the horsemanship team, both from the 1930s and 1940s. Less fondly recalled were the one-piece “dresses” that
the Gert-Roos), before settling into our current roles as the Gators, in the 1990s.
Sister Charlotte Lange, principal of SGHS, receives honorary doctoral degrees from Marymount University and Belmont Abbey College.
our basketball team donned until the late 1970s.
Many of us recall when our sports teams were nicknamed the Gerties, as well as the subsequent (begun in 1979) Kangaroos (also known as
2004
2005
The long hours spent on the fields and in the gym may have been exhausting then, but they are appreciated now. “When I look back on my days at Saint Gertrude, I know every practice and game had an impact on the development of the person I am today,” said Mary Kathleen (Puccinelli) Loving ’97, who played four years of field hockey, basketball, and softball for the Gators. “When thinking back to my first few weeks of high school, I don’t recall being a ‘scared freshman” because I already had my friends from field hockey.”
Indeed, Loving would go on to play field hockey for
2006
Today, 70 percent of the student body are members of at least one of the 18 teams that Saint Gertrude fields (over 12 sports). These teams range from basketball, a long-time mainstay, to the relatively new sport of volleyball (started in 2006).
Founded 11 years prior to the birth of Saint Gertrude High School, Benedictine College Preparatory has always played a role in certain aspects of Gator life. Through the years, the schools have been strongly supportive of one another.
For example, in 1949, Saint Gertrude started to make good use of Benedictine’s brand-new gym and continued doing so until the Stuart Avenue gym was opened in 1972. In a true show of unity, we opened our doors to hosting Cadet classes following the fire that ravished the Benedictine main building in 1986.
For many years, Gators took classes with Cadets on both Sheppard Street and Stuart Avenue. Benedictine teacher Joe Arnold fondly remembers the joint AP English course he taught. “The class had 12 girls and eight boys,” he recalled. “I thought I’d died and gone to heaven.” The past is prologue:
today there are a handful of classes (in particular, some specialized AP courses) that are comprised of students from both schools.
Even after Benedictine moved away from the Museum District, the relationship endured, though the distance made it somewhat more trying. With the creation of the Benedictine Schools of Richmond umbrella and with our relocation to the Goochland campus, the two schools have realized a togetherness at a heretofore unseen level.
“Coming out to Benedictine and the schools being brought back together has been so great. My family is a part of Benedictine, so I’ve just always wanted Saint Gertrude to have that relationship back. I feel like we have that back now, and things are just better. I’m really excited for the future of both schools, and I’m so glad we can get a lot of those joint traditions back,” says Nan Kerner ’21.
There is style, and there is Gator Style. While the hairstyles of our students have remained on pace with those of greater American society, the Saint Gertrude uniforms have been trendsetters in the world of high fashion for Gators over the years.
Just kidding. It is quite true that Gators have spent many decades decked out in those uniforms. And while you are likely to hear the fellas complaining about their Benedictine duds, the ladies seem uniform in their appreciation for them. “It makes things easy,” said Aubrey Cuevas ’24. “You don’t have to pick out what you’re going to wear the night before.”
Reagan Griffith ’25 concurred, saying, “They’re pretty comfortable. I like the green skirt much better than the gray that they used to wear.”
Griffith might be surprised to learn that there have been five significant changes to the uniform — either in color, style, or both — since Saint Gertrude first adopted uniforms in the 1950s. Of special note is the much-derided brown uniform coats that were included in the mix for a single year (1961) before being ditched for their ugliness.
Even graduates express affinity for their school-days attire. “I love uniforms,” said Mandy Rentschler ’97, the current dean of girls. “I would have been happy
to wear them for another 13 years after graduating.”
Head of School Amy Pickral ’95 piped in: “I was super-sad when I went to college (UVA). Picking clothes seemed like such a waste of time.”
Speaking of style, we’d be remiss if we avoided mentioning two other related topics. The “Gertie-Do” is a hairstyle that has survived the test of time. It consists chiefly of piling one’s locks atop one’s cranium in a pile. Another aspect of fashion that has become a school trademark is that of class colors. Started in 1947, they adorn this section of the magazine, in addition to defining the various classes.
During its early years, Saint Gertrude drew exclusively from the City of Richmond’s Roman Catholic families. Early class rosters included names that belied a school population that was heavily peppered with daughters of European Catholic heritage. Those first rosters included names such as Pietri, Shea, Colavita, and Carreras.
But the school would extend its reach, and Saint Gertrude was ahead of society’s curve, welcoming its first Black student through its doors in the 1950s. While the growth in representation of people of color was slow to take off, SGHS did became home to a greater mix of such students. Margie Shibley Gray ’77, who was a powerful presence at Saint Gertrude for decades, notes that “We have also been strong in our socio-economic diversity, as well as our geographic diversity across RVA.”
2020
While we are rightfully proud of how Saint Gertrude has grown over the years, we are even prouder of the women who once graced the school’s halls. And, while we can look back with fondness, we look forward with anticipation.
No doubt, big changes are afoot, particularly with the temporary move to the existing facilities in Goochland and with the impending move to the gorgeous building that is rising on the grounds of the Benedictine Schools of Richmond.
Today, Saint Gertrude is proud to comprise a student population that is reflective of the greater Richmond metropolitan area, including a total of 20 percent that is of color. These young women include students who are Black, Latina, and Asian American, as well as those who have a Middle Eastern background. Likewise, we welcome a full 36 percent of students who are of a faith other than Roman Catholic. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, that number approached 50 percent.
So, while our ranks might include the Caramuccis, the Munros, and the McCalls, they also proudly include the Gomezes, the Pavans, and the Lims.
2020
2021
“Our family is third or fourth generation Benedictine and Saint Gertrude alumni on both sides!” enthused Denise Ouellette Reardon ’82.” We are very excited about the beautiful new Saint Gertrude school building, the extraordinary gymnasium, and the great promise they portend for the future of our schools and our community founded by the Benedictine (monks and sisters). We look for great things in the next 100 years!”
While we will soon be ensconced in one of the finest facilities in the state, we acknowledge that location change is not to be confused with mission change. We shall always be a school that provides a superior learning environment and spiritual experience for the young women of the Richmond area — one that will continue to nurture and ready them for success in the future.
2022
All that’s unique about Saint Gertrude – our values, traditions, diversity, the unity of sisterhood, and so much more – forms a powerful combination of advantages that help our students grow, thrive, and lead, and ultimately prepare students for life beyond our walls. The five, or rather six, alumnae featured on the following pages are doing just that –succeeding, leading, and serving the world at large in their own, unique ways.
Mary Clare Curtin had flown only once before traveling from Virginia to Colorado in the summer of 2012 to enroll at the United States Air Force Academy. Today only birds spend more time aloft. Or so it seems. Curtin, a pilot, and a captain in the Air Force, flies the C-17A Globemaster, a massive four-engine jet aircraft that typically performs tactical, strategic, and humanitarian airlift missions. She estimates that over the past four years she has flown C-17s into “over a hundred different airfields in about 40 countries all over the world.” Some of her recent missions literally made headlines. Curtin flew into Afghanistan on four occasions during last summer’s evacuation of non-combatants from Kabul. She was the pilot and aircraft commander of a C-17 that delivered Marines and materiel necessary to secure the airfield and removed more than 1,000 people. As the aircraft commander, Curtin was required to be in the pilot’s seat for every takeoff and landing. Time on the ground in Kabul was tense and “extremely volatile,” she said. But it was not without moments of cultural pride. Many of her outward-bound passengers were Afghani civilians. Said Curtin: “I got a lot of confused looks from the passengers – especially when I would give orders to my male crew members.” Other moments were profoundly poignant. Curtin recalled speaking with an Afghani man who volunteered to serve as the liaison and translator between Curtin’s crew and the other evacuees – most of whom spoke no English. The man told Curtin that had he and his family not been able to flee, they “without a doubt would have been killed by the Taliban.” Curtin said her four years at Saint Gertrude prepared her well for the Air Force Academy and subsequent active duty. Her years at Saint Gertrude, she said, “pushed me in a way I had never experienced before.”
Caroline Townsend Neal, an energetic woman with a deep desire to help the less fortunate, wasn’t entirely content as a stay-at-home mom. She soothed her restless spirit by reaching out to children other than her own – specifically, children adrift in the local foster care system. Neal, a former social worker, founded Worthdays, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit endeavor, soon after the birth in 2006 of her third child. Her intent was to encourage children in foster care to feel worthy, important, and deserving of respect. What better way to enhance a child’s self-esteem, Neal said, than by acknowledgement on a birthday? Or Christmas? Or Valentine’s Day? Neal was in many respects born for the position she now occupies. She has seen life from a diverse – she prefers the word “unique” – perspective. She grew up on Oregon Hill. She attended Richmond Public schools in addition to Saint Benedict’s and Saint Gertrude. Her parents, she said, became foster parents while she was still a child. Neal has watched with pride and delight as Worthdays has flourished. She said she initially feared the hill would prove too steep; that Richmonders wouldn’t see – or wouldn’t want to see – the grim, gray realities with which foster children often are required to cope. And indeed, this seemed to be the case. But then she began to seek assistance on social media and the Worthdays website. A transformation she describes as “absolutely incredible” took place. Now, she said, needs are met and requests filled almost as soon as they are posted. Her SGHS 2001 classmates are among those doing the responding. Even classmates with whom she wasn’t particularly close “are supporting us in a big way,” she said. Neal wears many hats during a Worthdays workday. She serves not only as the organization’s executive director but also as its fundraiser and social media coordinator.
Evelyn McGill was a sophomore at Saint Gertrude when her father died in 1973. She made a vow to herself soon thereafter. Never, she said, would she do anything to create additional pain for her mother, Rachel. Never would she make her mother anything less than proud of her. Never would she lose sight of the Catholic values her mother worked so diligently to instill in her. “Mom did so much for me,” McGill said. “I wanted to say, ‘Thank you’. I decided to do it by being the best person I could possibly be.” Consider it done. Before Rachel passed away in 2020, she saw her daughter earn graduate degrees from Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech, serve for 12 years as a deputy chief of administration in the Richmond police department and subsequently become the executive director of the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission (VWC). McGill has held the latter position for the past decade. “All I’ve ever wanted is to make Mom proud of me,” she said. “I always believed that with following the Lord, and with the foundation Mom created in my heart and soul, I could pretty much do anything I set out to do.” McGill said her goal at the VWC is to create “the best and most effective” state agency in the country – and I believe we’re on our way to doing that.” So, apparently, do its staff members. The VWC was chosen in 2021 as a top workplace in Virginia and in 2022 as a Top Workplace USA. McGill said “we” is the pronoun of choice at the VWC. “We’re a team,” she said. “We work as a team. When you’re a team, the team’s success is everyone’s success.” McGill was Saint Gertrude’s commencement speaker in 2020 and currently serves as a Benedictine Schools of Richmond Foundation board member. She and her husband have two sons and three grandsons.
Sarah Shelton graduated from Virginia Tech with a double degree in marketing and French and two minors: philosophy, politics, and economics and international business. But the lessons that resonate most are those learned last spring during a three-week study-abroad visit to the East African town of Rilima, Rwanda. “We met some of the most selfless and kind people,” Shelton said. “They taught us, truly, what happiness, hard work, and gratitude look like. I can’t fully express the impact the community had on me.” So touched were Shelton and her 11 traveling companions that they worked throughout the 2021 spring semester on an in-depth project to empower the women of Rilima by introducing them to the rudiments of entrepreneurship. The United States Embassy in Kigali, Rwanda’s capital city, rewarded the group’s efforts with a $10,000 grant. Shelton and three other Virginia Tech students returned to Rilima in March to guide and advise the women who will serve as the program’s leaders. The 15-week program will seek to introduce 30 or so local women to the concepts of business development and entrepreneurship – thereby supplying them with weapons with which to fight entrenched gender inequality. Shelton said she hopes the program “will maybe make a fraction of the impact on the community that the community has made on us.” Workshops will teach, through storytelling, skills such as decision-making and leadership. Seed funding will be offered at the end of the program. Shelton is no stranger to the concept of extending a helping hand. She said her parents “showed me ways to give back to others – not just in our community but around the world – by encouraging me from a young age to participate in service.” Her time at Saint Gertrude, she said, affected her in a similar way. Shelton intends, ultimately, to attend law school. Her likely areas of focus: international human rights and public international law.
Children learn by watching. Katie Merwin learned by watching her mother, Beth Merwin, already a respected and decorated nurse, pursue a doctorate degree in health services organization and research at Virginia Commonwealth University in the late 1980s. Said Beth: “From the time Katie was born, my career was a big part of our lives. She was three when I started work on my PhD. When she was in kindergarten, she’d seen enough to be able to tell me: ‘Don’t ever expect me to ever write a dissertation.’” Beth, undeterred, continued her climb toward the nursing profession’s highest peaks. Today she is a dean and professor at the University of TexasArlington’s College of Nursing and Health Innovation. She is a consulting professor at Duke and a professor emerita at the University of Virginia. Katie kept her promise. She never wrote a dissertation. She did, however, contribute to a remarkable double dose of family achievement by graduating from Barry University’s School of Law and subsequently becoming a partner in the West Palm Beach offices of the Florida-based firm of Cole, Scott and Kissane. Her areas of practice include civil rights law and commercial litigation. Beth said she has “no words to describe how proud I am” of Katie’s success. Katie said her mother was, and is, an exemplary role model. “Seeing a strong, career-oriented woman build a happy and fulfilling life –that’s my normal,” Katie said. Both women said Saint Gertrude helped point them in the proper direction. Beth said the school “gave us the opportunity to lead…the opportunity to participate. The culture at Saint Gertrude was one that built confidence.” The nuns, lay faculty, and older students, she said, sent a very strong message: ‘You can do anything.’” Katie needed only two words to describe the impact of her Saint Gertrude experience. She called it “very empowering.”
On November 5, the Benedictine Schools of Richmond held an opening ceremony for the Ed Mugford Hall of Valor in the McMurtrie-Reynolds Pavilion.
The
Benedictine and Saint
our nation. “Given our school’s commitment to the military, as seen in the long list of Cadets who have gone on to serve,” said Mike Forster (Benedictine teacher and former captain in the Army), “it is only fitting for these fine men and women to be acknowledged in such a superb fashion.”
The Hall of Valor also honors Benedictine Schools of Richmond faculty and staff, past and present, who have served.
“In the last six years on this campus, we’ve done 42 million dollars of capital development,” said BSoR President Jesse Grapes, during the unveiling ceremony for the hall. “And if you haven’t seen, we are building the best all-girls school in the country just behind this building. But in all of that development, it is this room behind me that I care the most about.”
Many Benedictine and Saint Gertrude alumni attended the November event, including retired and active-duty military members. Rear Admiral Allie Coetzee Leslie (SGHS ’81) and Brigadier General Norvell “Van” Coots
THall of Valor is housed in the room at the entrance to the pavilion and commemorates hundreds of veterans who are graduates of Gertrude who so honorably served(BHS ’76) spoke during the event, sharing about how much the schools helped them with their life paths and how much of an honor it was for them to be there for the opening of the Hall of Valor. “It was very inspiring, listening to the alumni of Benedictine and Saint Gertrude talk about their experience in the military,” said Elias Breeden ’22 (captain in the Corps of Cadets). “The experience they had here really set them up to be successful in life.”
Reminiscing on her time, Rear Adm. Leslie said, “Looking back, I can really see how my attendance at Saint Gertrude and the fantastic opportunities I had as a Gertie Girl provided me the solid foundation physically, mentally, and morally to face the challenges I have encountered.”
The Hall of Valor has had close to 1000 applications for it, which has created a
time-consuming task for the Veterans Committee to ensure the accuracy of the database that stores service information on each eligible veteran. It is important that every medal and award each person has received is included. So far, over 60 shadow boxes with medals have been mounted on the walls of the hall, with hopes to add several more in the future. The shadow boxes display the most significant medals that each person has earned during his or her time in the military.
There is also a touch-screen display that has all the database information in it, so visitors can look up anyone they know who has served in the armed forces and is a graduate of Benedictine or Saint Gertrude. “This is a never-ending thing,” said Staff Sergeant Bryan Greene (Hall of Valor project manager) “As time goes on, it will continue to get bigger and bigger.”
In the middle of the room stands a statue of Blessed Servant of God Frank Parater ’16 saluting with his right hand and holding a Bible in his left. “Seeing that statue of Frank Parater standing there saluting and holding a Bible in his other hand is powerful,” said Benedictine teacher (U.S. Army) Major Richard Ramos.
The Hall of Valor honors each veteran, divided into four specific categories and each represented by a notable from ancient and recent Catholic history:
“Sacrifice” is represented by Servant of God Father Vincent R. Capodanno, a Navy Chaplain killed in Vietnam. Father Capodanno displayed selfless action, during heavy fighting, after a North Vietnamese ambush, when he rushed, under fire, to tend to a wounded Marine and a wounded Navy Corpsman, he was awarded the Medal of Honor
“The honor for those people who did serve our nation is well deserved, and there needed to be a way for Benedictine and Saint Gertrude to recognize those people...so we are here today to recognize those people who served our country and served our schools well throughout their lives.”
— US ARMY COLONEL PERSSE K. “BUDDY” DEVERELL ’60 (CHAIR OF BSOR VETERANS COMMITTEE)
(posthumously). This mosaic wall honors all those missing in action (MIA), killed in action (KIA), or prisoners of war (POW).
“Valor” is represented by Saint Joan of Arc. The peasant girl, not much older than our students, who, upon hearing the voices of Saints and Angels, took up the sword and the banner of France. She girded herself in the full armor of God and defeated a large English Army during the 100 Years War. Ultimately, she died a martyr’s death, but her faith did not waiver, and she remained strong in the face of her own death. This wall is dedicated to honoring anyone who has earned a medal for valor in the military.
“Perseverance” is represented by Saint Sebastian, who joined the Roman Army with the goals of assisting and protecting those soldiers who were Christian during the time of the
persecutions, while converting more to the faith. This wall honors those who have served 20 or more years in the military.
“Humility” is exemplified by Saint Martin of Tours, a Roman soldier of Hungarian heritage. While serving in the Roman Cavalry, Martin had a vision in which Christ spoke to him after his encounter with an unclothed beggar. Because of his deepening faith, he refused to fight anymore and left the military. Upon
his leaving, he dedicated his life to religious studies and eventually became the Bishop of Tours. He died while out visiting some of his smaller parishes, sharing his humble presence with his priests and their parishioners, and was originally buried in a cemetery for the poor. It is humility that reminds every leader that they, too, are sometimes followers. This mosaic honors anyone who served in the military and then went on to work at Benedictine or Saint Gertrude for five years or more.
An excerpt from Brigadier General Van Coots’ speech at the unveiling:
“For us, the Cappa is made up of these four all important values: sacrifice, valor, perseverance, and humility. For us, this Hall of Valor becomes the Cappella, or chapel that houses the cape. And as our students transit through it, to and from the gym, it is not our goal to turn them into soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, or space force guardians, although should
they choose service to the nation there is certainly nothing wrong with that. But it is our goal to instill in them these values, as we work to graduate men and women of character, the future leaders of our society. Our goal is to serve as an inspiration, as a cause for reflection, and as a point of reference on the moral compass of life.
And so those of us who are faculty here, those of us who serve on the board, and equally importantly, those of us who have been where they are, as Benedictine Cadets, or Saint Gertrude Gators, those of us who are honored here on these four walls, we all take up the Cappa, the cape, and serve as companions on our students’ journey to adulthood. We then become the keepers of the cape, the Capellanus. And by the way, Capellanus became the Latin root for the word Chaplain, one
who accompanies us on our spiritual journey. In the old Jewish tradition, when someone would leave the village heading off to studies, or for work, or to find their way in life, someone else from the village would accompany them, at least part of the way, so that they would never walk into the unknown alone.”
The hope is that this Hall of Valor serves as a source of inspiration for future generations. Added Rear Adm. Leslie: “This Hall is a beautiful way for us to recognize and truly honor our graduates who served our Great Nation through military service – in the past, present, and for many years to come.”
We invite you to visit campus to commemorate, remember, and honor all our Cadets and Gators who have served our nation so bravely and faithfully.
And we encourage you to add an alumni veteran to our database at: benedictineschools.org/community/ hall-of-valor. If you have submitted your application into the database and need to edit or add more information, please email SSG Bryan Greene at bgreene@ benedictinecollegeprep.org.
After you circle back in time on this page, flip the magazine and turn to page 44 for combined class notes for Benedictine and Saint Gertrude and Hall of Valor article.
The Towers Magazine
Spring 2022
BENEDICTINE SCHOOLS OF RICHMOND
PRESIDENT Jesse Grapes
PRINCIPAL
Drew Mugford ’86
BENEDICTINE HEAD OF SCHOOL
Del Smith ’01
DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATION, EDITOR
Kristina Kerns
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Mike Forster, Vic Dorr ’70, Tyler Craig ’22, Ethan Altovilla ’22, Hunter Cheely ’22
PHOTOGRAPHY
Wendell Powell Studios, Kelly Lonergan, Mike Forster, Richmond Times Dispatch, Christos
Rubis ’23, Agata
Schoenborn of Palmate Productions
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Meet two of the busiest young men we’ve ever encountered. Kobi Onyiuke ’22 is heading off to Notre Dame, while Clint Ellison ’24 has found that the sky is (not) the limit.
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The loss of long-time band leaders Tim MacLeod and Tom Shuff came as a shock to the Cadets, but the two men have left a legacy that shall endure.
Highlighting nine Benedictine graduates who have faithfully returned to their alma mater, serving as full-time teachers, coaches, and mentors.
Dr. William McKenna ’07, Nigel Williams ’12, Joe Webber ’62, Clayton Navarre ’10, and Mark Weber ’79
After you read the combined class notes for Saint Gertrude and Benedictine, be sure to flip the magazine and check out the news from our sister school.
Rare is the opportunity to work at the place of your choice. Rarer still, is the chance to work at the very place that is the source of one’s most cherished memories.
Over the past 12 months I have enjoyed re-immersing myself in all things Benedictine although, as any alum can tell you, you never really stop being a Cadet—some piece of our school remains with you for life. Returning to my alma mater a full two decades after graduating and to be given the chance to help lead the school comes with its own unique set of challenges. My experience as a Benedictine Cadet was amazing. The teachable moments, successes on the field of play, brotherhoods formed, coaches, mentors, and true sense of community and culture were the backbone of my educational experience.
Like your favorite restaurant in college or destination as a child, some things are better left a great memory. That is, what your experience was may have brightened over time, while the place that played the host to those memories may have dimmed. I, therefore, had reservations about returning to Benedictine and the impact it would have on my remembrance of a place I held so dear.
I remember the exact moment I decided that Benedictine was where I wanted to attend high school. When I was an eighth grader, I was the starting center on the varsity football team at Huguenot Academy. We played Benedictine on a Friday night under the lights. I can still remember the large green bus backing down the hill and the team exiting the bus fully dressed, ready to take care of the task at hand. The Benedictine football team was disciplined, well-coached, and beat us handedly. I had to be a part of it.
It was one of the most momentous decisions I have made, and it was one of the best. I am certain that every high school, whether public or private, serves to educate and to build character. Likewise, the Benedictine experience is not every young man’s cup of tea. Those who are drawn to the school, however, undertake a transformation—of mind and spirit—that endures for the rest of their lives, just like the relationships that are born at our school. Any alumnus reading this piece knows exactly what I mean.
The school has undergone significant changes since I was a Cadet—adding “College Preparatory” to the name, moving to the new campus, losing tremendous leaders (such as Father Adrian)—that one might call the school unrecognizable from those days of my youth. One only needs to spend a day on campus, however, to see how little the school has changed. Culture and community are embedded in the Rule of St. Benedict and continue to be foundational elements of a Benedictine College Preparatory education.
As you will see in this edition of The Towers, in addition to myself, many alumni and alumnae of Benedictine and Saint Gertrude have returned to serve their communities at the Benedictine Schools of Richmond. The likes of Barry Gibrall and Bill Doran have been serving their alma mater for over 20 years. In the same vein, Michael Kaplan, Daniel Gill, and Matt Murrer have returned to serve in teaching and coaching capacities. Benedictine men, returning to their alma mater to mold Benedictine men. I cannot think of a better testament to a school’s mission than having our own coming back to serve it. The roster of those returnees, which is included with that article, is most impressive. Even more impressive is the way that the current Cadets gravitate toward these teachers and coaches, eager to learn of “the old days,” which, to my mind, just do not seem that long ago.
I am convinced that this considerable number of returnees did not happen by accident. Great educators return to their alma mater because the experience they had was so impactful they desire to offer those same opportunities to a new generation of students. I am happy to report that Benedictine is still developing young men of conscious, discipline, and achievement.
The 2021-22 school year has seen Benedictine return to our pre-2020 state. Our community is alive and well. Fans have been invited back into the stands, and our events have been executed without restrictions. The scene at our homecoming celebration reinforced how strong the Benedictine culture is and how important our community remains to so many families and alumni across the world.
Our Cadets, faculty and staff have all been accommodating of the coordinate program we have developed with Saint Gertrude. Yes, at times, things seem a bit tight in the building. And, yes, it seems odd to see girls in the building. But the Cadets have been uncomplaining, and they have been gentlemen. Despite any distraction, our students continue to thrive in the classroom, in their club activities, and in their athletics. Most importantly, our Cadets have remained in the classroom with all learning done via an in-person mode of instruction. Benedictine is stronger than ever!
Anyone associated with the school, however, knows that we will never be content to rest on our laurels. We seek improvement in every aspect of the school and have a laser focus on making our Cadets’ experiences life-altering. When I took the position of head of school, I did so with the understanding that I was to do more than tread water. I take the challenge of improvement quite seriously and have driven that point home to my fellow Benedictine teachers and staff members. Not to make it a better place to work, but to make it a better place for our students to learn and thrive (while having a bit of fun).
I would like to invite all my fellow alumni to view their alma mater in a similar fashion. My goal is, should one of them come to visit the school, that the place where he burnished such wonderful memories is even better than how he remembers it.
GO CADETS! Sincerely,
Del Smith ’01, BCP Head of School
On October 20, BSoR hosted the inaugural Hunt and Gather, a benefit to raise funds for BSoR’s new outdoor leadership program, which introduces students to new activities such as fishing and hiking and proper sportsmanship. Shown from left to right are four Cadets who participated in the morning bird hunt: Ethan Altovilla ’22, Maddock Wigg ’21, Gage Gunderson ’22, Aaron Grapes ’22.
Benedictine athletics focuses on competing with honor and integrity, and we seek to honor God through our actions in practice and in competitions and let the gifts He has given us shine through. To pray is to raise one’s mind and heart to God, and like many Cadets, Dylan Faniel ’22 takes extra time before each game to spend an intimate moment with God. Dylan is a First Team All-State and First Team All-Metro defensive end and will play football at West Point USMA next year.
In keeping with a long tradition at Benedictine, Cadets begin every school day in formation with the entire corps. The first order of business is an accountability report from the company commander, followed by the playing of reveille where Cadets salute the flag as it is raised.
We were honored to be invited to play a role in the March 29 ceremony that honored Virginia’s Vietnam War veterans. A contingent of twenty-two seniors and juniors headed to the Virginia War Memorial for the event, which was hosted by Governor Youngkin. The Cadets helped the governor distribute recognition packets to more than 100 veterans of that conflict. “It meant the world to me, because these veterans weren’t properly welcomed after the war,” said Cadet Major Bo Dortch. “It was really special.”
Kobi Onyiuke ’22 is the definition of a wellbalanced act. With a 4.75 GPA and on track to play football at Notre Dame, it’s clear that Kobi is a leader in the classroom, on the field, and amongst his fellow Cadets. The only question is… how does he do it all?
Key Club President, Football, Emmaus Club, Spanish Club, Battle of the Brains
I try to create a schedule for myself and stay disciplined to not let distractions get to me. I try to follow the same routine and just try as hard as I can to be my very best. My routine helps me stay focused which helps me stay driven towards my goals.
I joined the Key Club my freshman year, and I enjoyed doing a lot of the service projects with my friends, but I didn’t see the deeper meaning behind any of it yet. Now as the president of the Key Club, I have been able to see and understand why we do what we do. The projects we have done with Project Warm, highway clean-up, Children’s Hospital, Richmond Marathon, etc. have shown me a lot more about the service aspect that we all need to bring to the community. It has helped me realize how generous Benedictine is and how we are putting our Christian faith into action. Key Club has opened my mind to service.
It’s important to me because it’s a part of my Christian commitment, and I enjoy the feel-good feeling you get when you help someone else out when you don’t expect anything in return. Especially when I have been fortunate enough to be blessed in many ways, the ability to give back to other people is probably the best thing I could ever imagine.
I’ve had this conversation with a few of my fellow Cadets already, and I just try to encourage them to get out of their comfort zone and do something for someone else. Doing something that is a little difficult or giving of your time to help another person makes you feel amazing. It makes you feel like a better person.
What I’ve loved most is the brotherhood that we have made, and that goes further than the fact that we are best friends. We have created an environment of competition, love, and strength, and we all support each other in every aspect – whether we are on the field, in the classroom, out of school, or whatever we do. We always support each other in everything we do, and that’s been the best part for me.
I’ve been blessed to be able to play football at Notre Dame where I plan to study health or neuroscience. After that, I plan to pursue a career in the medical field.
Notre Dame, like Benedictine, has a commitment to the Catholic faith. Surrounded by people with similar morals helped make my decision for me. Also, Notre Dame is a really good all-around school – football, academics, faith, and future job opportunities. All of that played into my decision making.
Someone who was really there for me my freshman and sophomore year was Coach Fogarty. He was one of the first persons to believe in me that I would accomplish my dreams of going to and playing for Notre Dame. He kept pushing me to go after my dreams, and even though he passed away, I still feel his presence to this day.
While only a sophomore, Clint Ellison ’24 knows exactly where he wants to be in twenty years. And he treats every day at Benedictine as a stepping stone towards achieving that goal. Step 1: Graduate as valedictorian and earn rank of battalion commander Step 2: Attend Air Force Academy Step 3: Have a successful career as a military pilot.
At Benedictine, I am in student government and involved in the Color Guard and have commanded a few Color Guard events. I am also involved in Key Club which is a fantastic volunteering organization where we have volunteered with Project Warm and the Richmond Marathon and adopted a local highway to clean up. I’m also on the rugby team and run track and cross country. Outside of school, I am working on my pilot’s license through the Civil Air Patrol. I recently achieved the rank of captain and was therefore accepted into the flight academy. It’s basically a ten-day program where at the end you are able to solo power a plane. I have my glider’s pilot license already and am working towards my power pilot license.
I knew I wanted to get involved in flying from a very young age, as well as the military. So, when you blend the two together, I decided I want to be a military pilot. I reached out to the liaison for the Air Force Academy to see what I needed to do during my high school years to help me get into the Academy, and he recommended the Civil Air Patrol as a great extracurricular activity. He also told me how they can help fund earning my pilot’s license (which is very expensive). It’s been a really great experience the past two years.
It’s an auxiliary of the United States Air Force, and the volunteers there have three missions: emergency services to help find missing planes and people; cadet leadership programs, and aerospace to help people get their pilot’s license.
My grandfather once told me, “The two best days in your life are the day you were born and the day you figure out why.” I just feel like I want to do something more than just make money; I want to do something that has a purpose to it and make a difference, and I feel like the military is the best way to do that.
There are some senior role models here who I look up to and have helped set the example of where I want to be one day. Also, the teachers here are always supporting you and giving you opportunities to make something of yourself. Especially
for people who have the goal of a career in the military, Benedictine is that cornerstone, the first step in your career. With drill competitions, speech contest, platoon contest, and the hierarchy of the military leadership program, Benedictine is preparing you to be successful at the next level and an allaround good leader (in the military or not).
I have made friends who are going to last a lifetime. I came here not knowing anyone and I was a little concerned about that. But after these two years, I’ve already made some really good friends and I have a feeling we are going to be friends for a really long time. The amazing community here has been such a big part for me, especially the running and even rugby community. Even not being the most athletic person, athletics are really great here. Sports provide such a great community while learning leadership skills and building relationships.
Faith is a really big thing for me. Having the opportunity to go to Mass every week at school and be around fellow believers really helps you get through the good times and the bad. To be supported by like-minded people and teachers with a strong faith is helpful.
I have the goal of becoming a battalion commander. It’s really competitive and there’s no guarantee of anything, but I try really hard to hopefully earn that rank one day. At Benedictine, you have to prove yourself. Nothing is handed to you, and everything is based on merit and how hard you work.
The Cadets Bid Farewell to their Musical Giant
And his eyes are growing old
But his blood runs through My instrument
And his song is in my soul — My life has been a poor attempt
To imitate the man I’m just a living legacy
To the leader of the band.”
— DAN FOGELBERG —Dan Fogelberg’s 1981 hit song (it reached number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 chart) was written as a tribute to his father. The song could just as aptly be played as a panegyric to Tim MacLeod. Of course, the lovely verse would have to be accompanied by bagpipes, and MacLeod’s students, both past and present, would be more than happy to give it a try.
We share that heaven’s angelic harps have recently found themselves joined with music of a less ethereal tone. That is because MacLeod, we hope and pray, has joined the celestial orchestra. And when it came to music, MacLeod lived and breathed the bagpipes: he was a member — and a founder — of several piping bands, including the Benedictine Pipe and Drum Corps. Rare were the times when you saw the man without a set of pipes, and even rarer were the times when you failed to hear the dulcet tones those pipes sent forth whenever he stepped foot on campus.
MacLeod was no one-trick pony, however. Exceeding his love of music was the love he had for those students whom he introduced to his world of distinctly Scottish music. “People should know how much he loved his students,” said Clarke Sawyer ’22, a current piper in the band. “He always told us we’re the kids he never had.”
MacLeod led a full life. After serving in the United States Marine Corps, he worked in law enforcement and security management, spending over a decade in the field. Concurrently, he began to branch out with his musical talent, and, in the summer of 2001, he launched Saint Andrew’s Legion Pipes & Drums.
He served as president of that organization — a non-profit that performed and taught — for more than 20 years. Additionally, he founded and served as president of The
Pipes of Argyll, a personal business that provided piper music for weddings, funerals, and special events throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia.
While both ventures would be adjudged to be successful, by any measure, there is no doubt that MacLeod derived his greatest joy from his work at Benedictine. And the students derived joy from him. “I knew him all four years [I’ve been at Benedictine],” said senior piper Eric Caylor. “I really got to know him during the trip to France [at the end of freshman year]. He did some really cool stuff, like standing on a cliff overlooking a town while playing ‘Amazing Grace.’ It was bad ass.
“He was a good man; a family man who treated us like family.”
The Benedictine community is known for taking pride in the things that make it different and such a special place. On their own, however, these differentiators fall short of being unique. An all-male high school? There are plenty of those. Catholic? Ditto. Throw in the military aspect? Not unique.
By our count, there are a total of five Catholic, all-male, military day schools in the entire United States. But Benedictine has one thing that none of those five do: a pipe and drum band. And the school can thank one man, in particular, for that distinction: Tim MacLeod.
The Cadet Pipe and Drum Corps began in 2012. The nexus of its birth came in the form of a previous-year performance at the school by the Saint Andrew’s Legion Pipes and Drums Corps, of which MacLeod was the leader. At that point, Benedictine was, in essence, lacking any kind of band, which made its parade appearances less than impressive.
Jesse Grapes, then the headmaster of Benedictine, held (and still holds) a fondness for the pipes. That admiration stems, in part, from his early days in the United States Marine Corps. “Near the end of basic training, we went on a 25-mile march,” he recalled. “As we
neared the one-mile-to-go mark, we heard the sound of bagpipes. As we approached the sound, we saw a single player, in full regalia playing for us.
“Everyone got psyched. Guys who were just dragging were suddenly running. It was a beautiful sight.”
Grapes also knew that bagpipes and piper bands had played an inspirational role in military history. (As an aside, Grapes’s alma mater — Carnegie Mellon — is the only major U.S. college to offer bagpiping as a major.) Could the school he now led address its dearth of music by creating a pipe and drum band from scratch?
Here are some of the challenges he faced:
• Convince school administration that he could start up a band where none existed.
• Convince high school boys that playing bagpipes is somehow cool.
• Convince high school boys that wearing kilts is somehow cool.
• Convince other people in the building that the screeching, harrowing sound emitted by beginning pipers was just a temporary thing.
Grapes recalled (in his eulogy at MacLeod’s funeral): An idea was born…we would show the Cadets, on a big screen in the old gym, the clip of William Wallace’s
With his shock of red hair, ferocious beard and the body build of a ravenous Grizzly, MacLeod had an appearance that might unnerve a first-time acquaintance. But there was much more to this book than the cover. Beneath that rugged exterior beat a heart driven by love, a spirit sworn to dedication, and a temperament that was tough as the Scottish hills.
“We joked that he was a stunt double from the movie ‘Braveheart,’” said senior piper Joe Covington. “When I first
met him, I was really intimidated by his scary, Scottish look. Then I got to know him: He’s just a teddy bear.
“But he had a huge impact on my life. I started out thinking that bagpipes were weird, and the band was weird. But I fell in love with the instrument, because Mr. MacLeod taught me the science of it, as well as the art and culture behind it.”
The benefits cut both ways. As MacLeod taught his students, he filled any quiet time by discussing important non-musical matters. “I talk a lot about faith with my students,” he said. “Being at the school has helped my faith, as well. Not only do the students mature, but we do, as well.”
speech to the Scottish freedom fighters at the battle of Falkirk. Then, Tim would give a speech to the entire corps titled “The Bagpipe Is a Weapon.” What happened next is one of the more poignant memories of my time at Benedictine. Tim strolled in front of the Cadets like Achilles to the Trojans. He gave one of the more memorable and inspirational speeches I’ve ever heard…and upon its conclusion, all the Cadets jumped to their feet and started cheering and roaring like a pack of Highland banshees. And with that, the Benedictine Pipes and Drums were born.
MacLeod had a partner in this venture. Thomas Shuff, who claims he took up piping as part of a “mid-life crisis,” helped him start the Pipe and Drum Corps and was with him throughout. “Tim was the driving force behind the band,” Shuff recalled. “We met while members of the Saint Andrew’s Legion Pipes and Drums...I admired his passion for music that we shared.”
That first year, Shuff and MacLeod were able to recruit five pipers and five drummers. Things took off from that slender start. During the early years, Keith Lainhart joined to help with lessons and leadership in the drum area. A lifelong drummer, Lainhart knew MacLeod due to his son’s participation as a piper for Saint Andrews. “I was basically drafted into that group by the drummers,” he reminisced, noting that MacLeod would soon draft him into his Benedictine adventure.
Likewise, Betty Goodman threw her expertise in drumming into the cause. Lainhart and Goodman are still with the program, as are a sizable number of Cadets. Today, the band is hale and robust, with 16 Cadets piping at various levels of expertise. Tyler Smith ’13 went on to pipe at the Virginia Military Institute. One current Benedictine piper (Joe Covington ’22) has even gone commercial, with his Edinburgh Pipes of Richmond (with a business card that reads: “For all your bagpiping needs”).
The band’s demand reaches well beyond keeping the marching Corps of Cadets in step. In addition to all military functions, the Benedictine Pipes and Drums have appeared at the Virginia War Memorial (Memorial Day and Veterans Day), at the Hanover Scottish Festival, at various and sundry Saint Patrick’s Day events, and at the raising of R.J. Smith’s giant U.S. flag (at the intersection of Route 288 and I-95), to name but a few.
That band, however, gave no greater performance — none more pronounced nor more heartfelt — than when it played a final hurrah for Tim MacLeod, at his funeral. This kilted crew showed that they embody his legacy: and that legacy is certain to thrive well into the future. Their work is a distinctly Benedictine trademark, one that is owed to the man who has left them rich in talent, though poorer at his passing.
“...I admired his passion for music that we shared.”
— THOMAS SHUFF —
What began with an esophageal cancer diagnosis in June of this year took a turn for the worse in a hurry, as the disease spread to other parts of MacLeod’s body. He lost mobility as the cancer spread to his right leg, with his femur eventually disintegrating. By November, it spread to the point where “it felt like a frag grenade in my back,” MacLeod said.
Nevertheless, MacLeod trooped on as a good former Marine would. He attended and played at Benedictine’s Homecoming football game (though he needed suspenders to hold up his kilt, his weight loss had been so severe) and paid a visit to a special morning formation of the Corps of Cadets at the McMurtrie-Reynolds Pavilion. “I got hit by the entire battleship, not just a bullet,” he said, shortly before his death.
On a chilly winter day as MacLeod’s condition turned for the worse, a couple of vans made the trip from RVA to Tappahannock, where MacLeod was staying at a friend’s house. The vans unloaded a score of Benedictine musicians, both current and recently graduated. The group, joined by some members of other piping organizations, played a slate of MacLeod’s favorite piping tunes as MacLeod watched from the home’s front porch. “Think about that,” noted Head Football Coach Greg Lilly, who helped escort the group. “When I’m in that position guys aren’t coming back to run football plays for me. And they won’t come back to write articles for you. (Lilly was talking to a journalism teacher.)
“He was able to get some comfort from the guys who he trained, and they were able to bring some joy to him using the tools they’d learned from Tim. That’s a remarkable gift.”
Throughout MacLeod’s fight in the hospital, many Cadets and faculty visited him, staying by his side, constantly keeping him comfortable. Tyler Craig, a bass drummer in the band and the commander of Band Company, made tee shirts for each of the Benedictine Pipe and Drum and Clan MacLeod (Timothy’s family pipe and drum band) members. “Mr. MacLeod was special to me,” said Craig. “Though I know he’s in a better place, I know he is still beside me and will stay by my side.”
Timothy MacLeod left us on Monday, January 17, 2022.
While it might be dramatic or touching to state the entire school was rocked by his passing, stating so would be less than accurate. The fact is, many Cadets had little in the way of interactions with the man. Those who did, however, were absolutely devastated.
In his waning days, MacLeod showed a toughness that mirrored the persona that he carried throughout his time at Benedictine. “It’s been a hard road,” he said, a couple of weeks prior to his passing.
He had been received in the Catholic Church over the Advent Season, and MacLeod’s funeral Mass was attended by the entire Corps of Cadets, who welcomed friends and family members.
The following song was played at the conclusion of that Mass.
WANDER MY FRIENDS
Wander my friends, wander with me
Like the mist on the green mountain, moving eternally
Despite our weariness
We’ll follow the road
Over hill and valleys
To the end of the journey
Come on my friends and sing with me
Fill the night with joy and sport
Here’s a toast to the friends who have gone from us
Like the mist of the green mountain,
Gone forever
“When I first met him, I was really intimidated by his scary, Scottish look. Then I got to know him: He’s just a teddy bear.”
— JOE COVINGTON ’22 —
With that, the body of the great man departed the Cadets, to be seen never again, though the teachings and experiences he shared with them will surely remain and manifest themselves in their later lives.
In a chat before his passing, MacLeod stated that he had accepted his near-term destiny. “My only wish is that it’s a happy death, as Saint Francis and Saint Anthony said,” he shared.
“I know where I’m going. I’m one with God.”
Tyler Craig ’22 and Ethan Altovilla ’22 contributed to this article.
Still reeling from the death of Timothy MacLeod, things only got more difficult for the Benedictine community and its band, in particular. On Monday, March 21, the Cadets were hit with another loss of a faculty member. MR. TOM SHUFF , a teacher in Benedictine’s Pipes and Drums and a man known to help the school in any way he could, passed away from pneumonia late the night before. At his passing, Shuff was surrounded by his loving wife, Annette, and other family members and friends.
Having suffered a stroke following a band function, Shuff seemed to be recovering while in the intensive care unit at St. Mary’s hospital. Unlike MacLeod’s case, Shuff’s passing came quickly, stunning the Benedictine community.
The Cadets took the news hard. “I was in shock when I found out Monday morning,” said Cadet Chris Jones ’22, who is a member of the band and serves as the Corps of Cadets’ sergeant major. “Honestly, I am still shocked. I just saw him a couple of days ago. Now, I’ll never see him again. That’s crazy.”
Shuff had a decade-long relationship with Benedictine. It started when MacLeod invited him to join the effort to start what became the Pipes and Drums Band. Through
high times and low, Shuff was there for the boys in the band. While MacLeod was the band’s leader, Shuff was its backbone, tending to details that were well behind the scenes but vital to the band’s success. While MacLeod was a larger-than-life figure who could bluster with the best of them, Shuff was a quiet and steadying presence. MacLeod was yin; Shuff was yang.
He was no life-long bagpiper, taking up the pipes well into adulthood. “I had a mid-life crisis,” he once shared. “But I had no desire to ride motorcycles or jump out of an airplane. So, I took up the bagpipes.”
When pressed as to why he had not started earlier, a chuckling Shuff noted, “When in college, polite people don’t play bagpipes.”
Polite people also focus on the tasks ahead of them, and Shuff did just that. He only wanted the best for his students but knew he had to drive them for them to realize their potential. He would always tell them to practice, and when the students came back the next day without practicing, he would be an unhappy camper. Any correction, however, always came from a place of love. “I would lose count how many times Mr. Shuff had yelled at me during class,” said
Pipe Major Joe Covington ’22. “But I knew he yelled at us because he wanted to see us in his position at a younger age.”
Shuff was a man of many musical talents: He was also proficient with several types of saxophones, the clarinet, and the bassoon. He also enjoyed playing the small bagpipes, a version more suited to indoor use and for training purposes.
He had a great dedication to the Cadets of Benedictine. Later, that dedication would extend to the newly arrived Saint Gertrude crew. When the COVID pandemic hit, many classes were conducted remotely by teachers who still reported to school. Band classes (and practices) were logically cancelled. That freed up Shuff, who along with fellow band teacher Keith Lainhart, volunteered to help in whatever way they could. And they did help, particularly in the area of building maintenance: painting, fixing, and cleaning wherever anything needed a paint roller, a wrench, or a scrub brush. “Tom Shuff was a wonderful example of Saint Benedict,” stated President of Benedictine Schools of Richmond Jesse Grapes. “No matter how bad the job was, Tom would always volunteer to get it done, just to keep our students in school.”
When the Cadets finally returned, there was another entire school that had joined Benedictine, and that meant a lot of
mouths to feed. As Shuff’s classes were held during first and second periods, that meant he had most of the morning and all the afternoon free. He and Lainhart volunteered to assist Chef Alan in the dining facility. Between the three of them and Mrs. Sherese Johnson, nearly 500 students had a solid lunch experience every single school day. “He was generous and thoughtful,” said Lainhart. “He liked to joke with the Cadets and the Gators, telling them that the meat that day was racoon or possum or squirrel.”
“He was a very genuine and warm man,” said Mrs. Johnson. “We had some good laughs — and that is needed in this busy kitchen.” Part of that sense of humor included his “quality checks” that he would site whenever Chef caught him sampling Shuff’s much-beloved breads.
But it is because of his acts of generosity and self-sacrifice that so many students held Tom Shuff in such high regard while he was still with us. The Cadets, however, know that he is not truly gone, and never will be truly gone. They know he is standing right next to us, along with Mr. Tim MacLeod and Mr. John Fogarty.
It is well established that the Benedictine Pipe and Drum Band dons kilts for all performances, including parades (which can result in a wee bit of discomfort on wintry days).
What is less well known are the details about the specifics of the uniform. Why is the kilt made in that particular pattern and in those colors? What are some of the accessories to the kilt? Who the heck came up with the idea in the first place?
Let’s take that last question first. The kilt, as we know it today, was derived from a fulllength garment that was worn in Gaelic lands from the 16th century. During the 1720s an Englishman, Thomas Rawlinson, thought that garment was too unwieldy for the workers in his Scottish charcoal and pig iron operations. He is credited by many with creating the current version, which caught on with a local clan. Soon, the fashion spread throughout Scotland and beyond.
The pattern and colors that adorn the kilts of the Benedictine band is called the “MacLean of Duart Hunting Tartan.” According to the good people who are members of Clan MacLean, their hunting tartan is the oldest recorded tartan in Scotland and is normally worn in more casual settings.
It should be noted that from 1746 until 1782, because of its association with rebellious factions, wearing of the tartan was banned by law, and violators faced a prison sentence of up to six months.
Finally, some of the adornments are quite fetching, including:
• A belt (usually with an embossed buckle)
• A jacket (of various traditional designs)
• A kilt pin
• A sgian-dubh (In Gaelic, “a black knife,” which is a small, sheathed knife worn in the top of the hose)
• A pair of ghillie brogues (shoes)
• A ghillie shirt (also known as Jacobean or Jacobite)
During one of his last visits to Tim MacLeod, Benedictine Schools of Richmond Principal Drew Mugford ’86 asked the man whether there was anything he wished Mugford to pass along to the Cadets. MacLeod indicated that he had a few words of encouragement for them:
TO THE CADETS IN THE PIPE AND DRUM BAND:
I BROUGHT YOU TO THE DANCE, NOW DANCE THE BEST YOU CAN.
TO ALL CADETS:
LIVE EVERY DAY LIKE IT’S YOUR LAST, BUT ALSO LIVE EVERY DAY LIKE IT’S GOD’S.
A MAN THAT DOESN’T MAKE HIS BED CAN’T DO ANYTHING.
FINALLY:
I WANT THE BOYS TO KNOW I WAS PROUDEST OF THEM IN FRANCE (AT THE NORMANDY ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATION) AND I TOOK PRIDE KNOWING THE BOYS WERE PIPING LIKE THE PIPES THAT HAD SOUNDED THERE YEARS BEFORE, AND THE MEN IN UNIFORM WERE ABLE TO HEAR THEM AGAIN.
Most accurately, they constitute the backbone of Benedictine. Once part of the Corps, they now form the core of the school’s staff and faculty. The place seemingly teems with former Cadets who now bear the titles of teacher, or coach, or administrator (or in some cases, a couple of those appellations).
The draw of the place is, seemingly, undeniable. For some, it is irresistible.
A full dozen graduates of Benedictine are currently working at the school, toiling away for the institution that they once haunted as Cadets. Some are full-time administrators; others are full-time teachers; some hold other full-time jobs while coaching athletic teams. Currently, they are giving back to the place by developing today’s Cadets into men of conscience, discipline, and achievement. Another dozen plus are helping by filling the ranks of the assistant-coaching cadre across several sports, including our
Mwildly successful wrestling, baseball, and football teams.
They come with their own back stories, many featuring a circuitous route home to their alma mater, others taking a more direct path. And while their tales may vary greatly, one thing holds true: They love what they do and are singularly focused on driving the Cadets’ success.
“I absolutely love what I do, and I get paid to do what I love! How great is that?” exclaimed Bill Doran ’92. “I am constantly trying to figure out new analogies, new strategies, and new ideas on how to convey the truths of our beautiful Faith.”
Doran is the longest-tenured faculty member, having spent the past 22 years devoted to, currently, teaching theology, philosophy, and Latin, as well as leading the Cadet tennis team and the choir.
He has also taught ethics and led the JV soccer team, as well as serving as the school’s dean. Of note, current head of school Del Smith and senior English teacher Michael Kaplan toiled under Doran in a since-eliminated advanced physical education class.
Walking away from any encounter with Doran leaves you with an idea of the passion he holds for helping guide his Cadets. “I still have a desire to go further each year, not only with more material covered, but also in terms of depth of understanding and comprehension for the boys,” he said. “I want to find a way to make these boys better spiritually every year through what we teach them. I feel like if I ever lose that fire, or that desire to find new ways, then that’s when I’ll know it’s time to retire.”
Call them the boomerangs; the chickens who came home to roost. Call them our prodigal sons, but absent that whole “prodigal” part.
BENEDICTINE GRADUATES WHO WORK FULL TIME AT THE SCHOOL
VINNIE BELVISO ’07
Leadership teacher, strength and conditioning coach
WILLIAM DORAN ’92
Theology teacher, tennis coach, choirmaster
BARRY GIBRALL ’64
Poetry teacher, founder of The Coach’s Club, “Voice of the Cadets”
DANIEL GILL ’11
History teacher, varsity soccer coach, assistant athletic director
MICHAEL KAPLAN ’01
English teacher, head of transportation
DREW MUGFORD ’86
Principal, varsity golf coach
MATT MURRER ’03
Math teacher, varsity basketball coach
DEL SMITH ’01 Head of school, math teacher
MAURICIO ACOSTA ’17
Spanish teacher, soccer coach
Saint Gertrude High School
BENEDICTINE GRADUATES WHO ARE ASSISTANT COACHES AT THEIR ALMA MATER
SOCCER
Patrick Gill ’02
BASKETBALL
TJ Murrer ’06
Joe Caferella ’01
WRESTLING
Brady Biller ’17
John Paul Curtin ’11
Lance Long ’06
Ralph Toomey ’13
Trevor Thoma ’16
Joshua Yost ’19
FOOTBALL VARSITY
Nigel Williams ’12
Savino Padrone ’07
FOOTBALL JV
Xavier Cash ’13
Rashad Stallings ’11
FOOTBALL MIDDIES
Scott Wilson ’80
Troy Flinn ’81
Steve Pancham ’82
BASEBALL
John Carpin ’85
Brian Toland ’92
Brock Carter ’20
Ben Toland ’21
Matt Smith ’83
While Doran’s tenure is impressive, it is closely mirrored by that of Barry Gibrall ’64, who, since 2000, has been right at home in the “Home of the Cadets” (currently teaching his Survey of Literature class while serving as the “Voice of the Cadets” and as founder of The Coach’s Club). “I’m a Benedictine guy,” said Gibrall. “And I was a Benedictine guy even in grade school.”
Gibrall was wooed away from an extraordinarily successful career in public school by Father Adrian. “I told him that I would be taking a substantial
pay cut to come here,” Gibrall recalled. “Father Adrian looked at me, and I realized I wasn’t going to argue with him on that point.”
While Doran and Gibrall have been haunting the halls of their alma mater for great lengths of time, three other grads just started doing so this year: Matt Murrer ’03 and Vinnie Belviso ’07, as well as Mauricio Acosta ’17 (see accompanying article).
Murrer is teaching math during school hours and working on revitalizing the Cadet basketball team in the evenings. His efforts have already borne fruit, as the Big Green hardwood crew wrapped up its first season under Murrer with an impressive record of 21-5, while making a return visit to the state playoffs. The upside for Cadet hoops is limitless.
If you notice that Cadets are bigger, faster, and stronger, you can credit Belviso. Following his service with the
U.S. Coast Guard, he has taken the reins of BSoR’s strength and conditioning program, in addition to teaching Benedictine leadership courses. A typical day after the final school bell is sounded finds Belviso working with both Cadets and Gators in the weight room, on the track, and across the football field. His workouts are structured and time-tested.
One who took his sweet time in coming back to the nest is Drew Mugford ’86. Following an illustrious career in the automotive industry, Mugford was enticed to hang his hat at Benedictine, initially as a teacher before ascending to the position of principal of the Benedictine Schools of Richmond (both Benedictine College Preparatory and Saint Gertrude High School). Mugford bleeds green, having served as battalion commander during his senior year as a Cadet. “Everyone thought I’d come back to Benedictine and teach,” said Mugford. “It only took me 30 years to find my way.”
Mugford spent those three decades by graduating from the University of Virginia before embarking on a career in the automotive world, initially as a salesman and, ultimately, as a co-owner of a dealership. He was due for a change. “I prayed in my truck for God to help me change the course of my life and to do his will,” he shared. “I am thrilled to have this opportunity to give back in this way.”
Smith ’01 is in his first year as head of school. It is widely believed that he is the first-ever graduate to take the reins of the place, a remarkable accomplishment given the 111 years of Benedictine. He stated that, while a Cadet, he could have envisioned himself returning to Benedictine, but as a football coach
(he was a two-year captain of the Benedictine gridiron gang), rather than as the school’s top dog.
Last year, Smith joined the staff as a math teacher and as the dean of boys. With then-Head of School Mike Bussman departing at the end of last school year, Smith was tapped to take the reins of alma mater. “I love it,” he enthused. “I love working with the boys and enjoy developing rapport with them. There are a lot of commonalities in managing a roster of 100 players and a school of 300 boys.”
Smith readily acknowledges that things are different from when he was a Cadet. “Today, students face all of the outside pressures that social media and the
Internet add to young people’s lives,” he noted. “There are a lot more distractions than we had.”
After 16 years as a coach (including as the head coach at West Virginia Wesleyan and two high schools) as well as a teacher (economics, math, and geography), he did land back at his old stomping grounds. He chose Benedictine over other options. “I came back because of what my experience did for me,” he stated. “The mentors that were in my life, and continue to be, I hold in high regard. I needed this place, and I was surrounded by people who had firm compassion and high standards.”
Smith is joined by classmate Michael Kaplan ’01, who is now an English
On occasion, you might hear Benedictine being accused of being a small world. Well, there might be something to that. Let’s take a look at the faculty and staff to identify some smallworld connections. Everyone listed below is a Benedictine alum.
• MICHAEL KAPLAN ’01 was the very first student to enter a classroom in which BILL DORAN ’92 was teaching.
• Head soccer coach DANIEL GILL ’11 and assistant GILL ’02 are brothers.
• Ditto in basketball, where head coach MATT MURRER ’03 is helped by brother TJ MURRER ’06 .
• MICHAEL KAPLAN and DEL SMITH (’01) were classmates.
• DREW MUGFORD ’86 and MAURICIO ACOSTA ’17 were both battalion commanders.
• VINNIE BELVISO ’07 and SAVINO PADRONE ’07 attended both Our Lady of Lourdes and Benedictine together.
• Middies coaches SCOTT WILSON ’80 and STEVE PANCHAM ’82 were teammates on the VMI football team.
• DEL SMITH ’01 was the sports editor during BARRY GIBRALL’S ’64 first year teaching the journalism course that resurrected the New Chevron student newspaper.
• NIGEL WILLIAMS ’12 , JP CURTIN ’11 , RALPH TOOMEY ’13 , and XAVIER CASH ’13 were teammates on Benedictine’s 2010 football team (with a record of 4-6, it was Coach Lilly’s only losing season).
• Most interesting: Current Cadets are being taught by former Cadets (such as BILL DORAN ) who report to a former Cadet (Head of School DEL SMITH ) who reports to a former Cadet (Principal DREW MUGFORD ).
teacher at his alma mater. Kaplan took a more circuitous route than most, having made a successful run in the business world, specializing in operations management at industry stars such as Target (where he worked in distribution) and Tenneco (where he focused on manufacturing).
Despite his climb of the corporate ladder, “I always knew I wanted to teach,” he stated. Finding support from his wife, Sarah, Kaplan’s job search lasted exactly one day. Former co-worker David Long, who was teaching at Benedictine, let Kaplan know Long was being deployed with his United States Marine unit and that the school was looking for someone to take over his English classes. “It was serendipity,” remarked Kaplan, who wound up filling Long’s boots.
He has found nothing but joy since the switch. “I see a bit of myself and my classmates in today’s students,” he noted. “It may be a little selfish, but you get to relive some of your youth through them. At the first sponsors event I attended, I went back 20 years.
Like Kaplan, Daniel Gill ’11 showed little inclination to return once he’d torched that graduation-day stogie. A senior private, who is one of the school’s finest history teachers, indicated that he was a less-than stellar student. “All I cared about was sports,” he said. “So, I did as little as possible.”
Still, he had an affection for the school. “I really enjoyed going here and have great friends from here,” said Gill. “I loved it, but the idea of coming back here to teach never crossed my mind.”
(Leading the Cadet soccer program and serving as the school’s assistant athletic director also hadn’t crossed Gill’s mind.)
After playing soccer and, presumably, attending classes at Mount Saint Mary (which discontinued its soccer program) and Longwood, Gill found himself
right back where he started, a mere five years after graduating. But there were big differences, including the building location change from Sheppard Street and an adjustment to the school’s name. Gill also noted, “The Catholicism has gotten much stronger.”
That assessment was noted by one of its theology teachers. “The most striking thing, and this is more striking than the move or the name change,”
stated Doran, “is the attitude of the school toward its Catholic identity and heritage...Jesse’s (Grapes, BCP’s headmaster, now BSoR’s president) greatest contribution to the school is how he single handedly restored our Catholic identity to its rightful place. We are Catholic first.”
Smith was quick to point out another major component that has resisted change. “Benedictine is still a great community,” he said. “It felt that way when I was here as a student. The culture of family is still incredibly evident here. It took 111 years to create, and it’s still here.”
Gibrall is succinct in his assessment: “You can’t explain Benedictine: You can learn and have fun at the same time.
“What’s special?” asked Kaplan, rhetorically. “Since my time here, the boys here have not changed.
“Benedictine is not a place; Benedictine is the boys and the men we grow to be.”
“...The culture of family is still incredibly evident here. It took 111 years to create, and it’s still here.”
— DEL SMITH ’01— HEAD OF SCHOOL, MATH TEACHER
MAURICIO ACOSTA is a Benedictine graduate (’17) who teaches at Saint Gertrude.
CAROLINE REARDON is a Saint Gertrude graduate (’15) who teaches at Benedictine.
What in the name of Sam Hill is going on here? Have we entered some bizarro world where up is down and down is up? Well, as the saying goes, “if the shoe fits, wear it.” In this case, SGHS needed a Spanish teacher, while Benedictine needed a social studies teacher.
Saint Gertrude in ’82. Three sisters (Mary Catherine ’10, Clair ’11, and Bridget ’12) are all SGHS alumnae.
Acosta, on the other hand, was the first of his family to attend Benedictine, though he made the most of that opportunity, earning selection as battalion commander his senior year.
Reardon hadn’t set her sights on teaching at Richmond’s only single-sex, Catholic schools. “The summer after I graduated (2019), Jesse (Grapes) told me a position in history was open,” she shared. “We went back and forth, but I was excited, since I’d been around Benedictine so long. I thought, ‘If I can do it there, I can teach anywhere.’”
Now in her third year at Benedictine, Reardon has also found herself learning more about the school that moved from Sheppard Street prior to her junior year. “The brotherhood makes more sense to me now,” she shared. “You see the closeness.
“Seeing the schools together, now, you see the closeness between the schools and between the students and their teachers. Those relationships are important for both schools.”
Acosta found the transition to an all-girls environment to be a big adjustment. “It’s different to be in an all-girls atmosphere,” he stated. “How do they learn? What biases do I have to lose in order to teach them?
Reardon ’15 was a recent graduate of James Madison University and was fully credentialed to take on the teaching of history to the Cadets. They are believed to be the first teachers to toil at their profession full-time at their sibling schools.
Having Reardon at Benedictine is no stretch, as her family tree is well-stocked with graduates of the school. Her father, Stephen, is a member of the Class of ’80, and her brother Gregory graduated from Benedictine in ’09. Uncles, cousins, and other, more-distant, relatives gaze from their portraits that adorn the class composites along the Benedictine corridors. Denise, Caroline’s mother, graduated from
Acosta also caught the eye of the schools’ president when the two of them were meeting with potential supporters of Benedictine’s Corporate Internship Program. Acosta had become certified as a Spanish interpreter while at Randolph-Macon College.
“With guys, you can be a drill sergeant, but with girls I started with a firm, but not heavy hand, because I knew the hard line would not work. But I had no hesitancy in taking the position and went with the flow. Plus, I have lots of Saint Gertrude friends (concurrent classmates) who gave me good advice on what I could expect at the school.”
Meanwhile, Reardon also gets to see the Cadets, warts and all, on a daily basis. Their antics keep her on her toes as well as provide her with a source of mirth, particularly for her former Saint Gertrude classmates. “My friends tell me I can’t stop teaching here,” she said. “Because they love my stories.”
“How do they learn? What biases do I have to lose in order to teach them?”
— MAURICIO ACOSTA —
Cadets can be found in leadership positions throughout the country and around the globe who are impactful agents for change in their homes and in their communities. The five Benedictine alumni featured on the following pages are certainly no exception – each living out his own passion and serving God faithfully no matter the path taken.
When reduced to its simplest terms, Dr. William McKenna’s job description as a clinical/forensic psychologist is essentially this: to see, to listen, and to understand. But not to judge. Never to judge. McKenna’s multi-faceted practice includes service at Virginia’s only facility for sexually violent predators (the Virginia Center for Behavioral Rehabilitation). Yes, he said, the individuals with whom he works there “have done some horrible things. But that doesn’t mean they have lost their worth in God’s eyes.” He said his Catholic faith has helped mold his personal and professional belief that each individual has “inherent worth and dignity.” His goal when conducting forensic evaluations of sex offenders, he said, “is helping the courts understand not only how someone became an offender, but also – and more importantly – how we can help this individual learn to control his urges and actions.” McKenna, admitted in multiple Virginia courts as a clinical/forensic psychology expert, said most – if not all – of his patients share a common denominator: the desire to be heard, seen, and appreciated. He pointed to Genesis 16:13: “Hagar says to the Lord, ‘You are the God who sees me.’ This is the deepest longing from not only a theological but also a psychological point of view level: to be seen and heard by another.” The teachings and philosophy of Saint Benedict are woven into the fabric of McKenna’s being. He attended Belmont Abbey after graduating from Benedictine in 2007. Benedictine, he said, provided him with “self-discipline and attention to detail that has been vital in my life.” He said Belmont Abbey “taught me how to think for myself, and that the pursuit of knowledge is a life-long venture.” He said he is who he is today because of his Benedictine and Belmont Abbey education. That statement is literally true. McKenna met his wife, Laura, at Belmont Abbey. They have two young daughters.
Nigel Williams painted a portrait of success, figuratively speaking, as a standout football player at Benedictine and Virginia Tech. Today his artistic endeavors are entirely literal. Williams enjoys drawing with pen and ink and currently is exploring acrylic pour painting, a technique in which acrylic paint is blended with a liquid medium and then poured onto a surface such as a canvas or smooth, flat piece of wood. The artist creates striking and unpredictable patterns by lifting and tilting the flat surface or by otherwise encouraging the paint’s tendency to flow. So enthusiastic is Williams about the psychological benefits of art that he and Elizabeth Scolaro, his former instructor at Benedictine, conducted night classes at the Bon Air Correctional Center until the pandemic got in the way. Williams even visited Kenya before the pandemic began to howl to meet with native teachers and exchange thoughts on art instruction and technique. Art, he said, is not only a mode of self-expression but also a wonderful emotional outlet for teens and adults who find themselves mired in reality that is less than ideal. He said the adolescent males with whom he dealt at the Bon Air Correctional Center seemed to not only appreciate but also enjoy the sessions. “It was something they could control,” he said. “It was a release, almost; an escape.” Williams knows the feeling. He said more than a few of his Virginia Tech teammates sought an after-hours release from the rigors and regimentation of major college football. For some, it was music. For others, it was singing. “For me,” he said, “it was art.” Williams, a wealth manager with Agili, a financial planning firm, was signed by the Buffalo Bills as a non-drafted free agent in 2017 and by the Arizona Cardinals in 2018. He joined Benedictine coach Greg Lilly’s staff as an assistant coach prior to the 2019 season.
Joe Webber, an irrepressible 78-year-old, describes himself as “a master juggler” of time and tasks. Who can argue? Over the past 40-plus years, Webber has filled more roles than the most versatile Broadway understudy: Marine, college administrator, cattle farmer, and Catholic deacon. He also is one half of an enduring marriage, a father of three, and a grandfather of 16. “We all share the same 24 hours every day,” Webber said. “But setting priorities, properly using time, strong faith, and God’s grace will invariably pay huge dividends.” Webber knows a thing or two about time and commitment. He and his wife, Saint Gertrude alumna Kay Meyer ’62, have been married for 55 years. He was a Marine (active duty and reserve) for 30 years and an educator/administrator for 40. He has been a deacon at St. Joseph’s Church in Cumby, TX, for nine years. He has been a cattle farmer for four decades. Webber retired – well, sort of – in 2006 after serving for 24 years at Texas A&M-Commerce. He spent the last 18 of those years as the school’s dean of students. The passage of time, he said, has taught him “how to take care of business – and that includes God’s business.” His time as a deacon, he said, “has been an honor, a privilege, and more than a little humbling. After all – you don’t say no to Jesus.” Webber grew up in Richmond, and his home on West Grace Street was only a block or so from where the statue of Robert E. Lee once stood. “I was a city boy,” Webber said. Today he is anything but. He runs 70 head of Angus/Brahma hybrid cattle on his farm near Cumby. Benedictine, Webber said, was the seedbed in which his work ethic took root. Father Adrian and football coach Bobby Ross, he said, “played no small part.”
Clayton Navarre grew accustomed to serving stuffed sandwiches and other savory dishes in his Fan District restaurant. At the moment, however, he is serving something else: proud defiance in the face of a pandemic that hit Richmond-area restaurants –his included – very hard. Navarre closed Poor Boys, his three-year-old New Orleans-style eatery, last September. Though Poor Boys survived the worst of the pandemic, Navarre said the rough ride prompted him to “explore all options.” Ultimately, he chose to turn the page. He said he hopes to open another restaurant in the near future. He is searching, he said, for the proper partners and a choice location. Navarre is a self-made restaurateur who has climbed the ladder one rung at a time. He recalls a lesson he learned while working as a cook at Glory Days, another local establishment: “I needed to have a second shirt in my car on Burger Night, because I was going to sweat through my first shirt.” He still sweats the details. “I take great pride when food goes out in a timely manner and not only looks great but also tastes great,” he said. Navarre, who played football at Benedictine under coach Greg Lilly, said he treats restaurant work and life in general as a team sport. “We need to have the whole team working together to push out a good product,” he said. “No team, no accomplishments.” Navarre’s ties to Benedictine helped keep Poor Boys afloat. He expressed gratitude for the hundreds of dollars of food purchased during a Benedictine homecoming. He saluted former Cadets “who I hadn’t seen in years but who would show up to say, ‘Hi,’ have a drink with me and order food to go.” Those experiences, he said, were significant not only from a business but also from a personal standpoint. “They showed me that (Benedictine) green really does get into your blood.”
Mark Weber didn’t invent the concept of perpetual motion. But he might have perfected it. After more than 30 years as a conspicuously successful executive and innovator in the field of information technology, Weber experienced an epiphany of sorts. “I realized that, ‘You know what? I don’t need to do this anymore,’” he said. “So, when I turned 55, I basically drew a line in the sand, said ‘That’s it,’ and started to look for other ways to contribute.” He found what he was seeking at Catholic University in Washington, D.C. There, he built and now directs a sales-oriented academic program that offers three classes and a sales degree. His intent, he said, was to improve the professional prospects of college students who typically stumble into sales careers almost by accident. But he didn’t stop there. Indeed, Weber seldom stops. He said he sits on “a few tech boards” and assists “several other companies” in advisory capacities. He plays golf, pickleball, and tennis. He and his wife, Kathy, have raised five children, two of whom were adopted from Russia. En route, Weber coached his children’s sports teams – in all, more than 35 teams in four sports. At one point, he said, he was coaching a son’s junior varsity high school baseball team while also directing a multi-billion-dollar tech firm with thousands of employees. How did he do it? He laughed. “I got up early,” he said. “Oh – and I have a wonderful wife.” There is about Weber a proper but affable air that seems at odds with his status as a mover and shaker in the IT world. Benedictine, he said, is to some extent responsible. The school “expected a lot of us,” he said. “They expected high character. They expected morality. Basically, they expected us to be gentlemen.” Weber served as Benedictine’s battalion executive officer in 1978-79.
1 In November, Madelyn Wolf Stumpf ’40 celebrated her 99th Birthday. It was particularly special in that she was able to celebrate with her SGHS fourth generation great-granddaughter. Pictured are Lydia Stumpf, Class of 2025, her great-grandmother, Madelyn Wolf Stumpf, Class of 1940, her grandmother, Cathy Moore Stumpf, Class of 1967, her aunt, Robin Stumpf Owings, Class of 1989, her grandfather, Frank J Stumpf, Jr, Benedictine Class of 1965, and her father, Adam Stumpf, Benedictine Class of 1991. Madelyn Stumpf passed away this past May after a full and joyous life.
2 From Luis Morales: I don’t have words to describe the joy I felt when (the Class of ’56) got together again. At right is a photo of us — a treasure to keep. So many years have passed, but I will never forget (I pray!) the great times we had at Benedictine. Thanks again to all who made it so special...Johnny Williams for the Mass and words; Jack, Jean, and Lori Hanky for the idea, planning, and hosting; Jesse Grapes for coming to support us; and, of course, all of you who were able to come and enjoy.
According to Donne Storino, Club ’62 (Class of 1962) is planning its 60th reunion set for June 7. The plan is to have the get together at the new pavilion/gym.
3 John Custer tells us he is staying busy. “Although I have semi-retired from my industrial automation business as owner/president of Willow Technical Services Inc. I was recently privileged to be asked to coordinate the installation, startup, debug, and commissioning of a special robotic-system in support of the Boeing V-22 Osprey tilt rotor aircraft. My prayerful thoughts and many thanks to Father Leo Frierson for his very inspirational teaching of physics and electronics. My Best Regards to all BHS & SGHS Alumni!
1963
Bruce McDonald has shared a class update:
The Class of ’63 needs a new class representative, preferably someone who lives in the area. Duties are:
• Strive to make the Benedictine Schools of Richmond one of your personal philanthropic priorities and give or pledge to annual giving (Father Adrian Education Fund, Sister Charlotte Lange Education Fund, Coach’s Club, Parater Day of Giving) and advancement events.
• Maintain and update contact information on your class list; send updates to the advancement office for our database.
• Assist the advancement office in identifying prospects.
• Act as an advocate for the Benedictine Schools of Richmond to your classmates by promoting our efforts and by sending out communication as directed by the director of alumni engagement and the senior advancement officer.
• Attend Benedictine Schools of Richmond’s advancement events.
• Attend bi-annual class representative meetings.
1964
4 The class of ’64 gathered at Mary Jo Kelly’s house for a Holiday lunch, and Cookie Giannini sent along a pic. Pictured, front row: Pegi Owen Einig, Cookie Giannini, Linda Simon Bannister. Back row: Yolanda Angelini Sweeney, Gloria Atino Sisson, Frances Gudell Kusterer, Gail MacCallum Burke, Mary Ellen Daffron, Betty Dowdle Spencer, Jackie Oley Dowdy Mary Jo Kelly, Barbara Powell Smith.
1965
Kathleen Guinn shared some sad news: “My beloved husband of 52 years, Dr. Stephen L. Guinn, died on September 1, 2021, after a hard-fought battle with a rare cancer. He is greatly missed by me and by our daughter, Shanan L. Guinn.
Submitting a class note has never been easier. benedictineschools.org/class-notes
5 Claire Chancey Wilcox announced that her book, “The Seven Days: Making Sense of the Bible’s Structure,” was published on December 15, 2021. Sample reading, hardback, paperback, and e-book editions are now available online at Amazon.com, Barnes and Nobel, and WestBow Press.
6 Rick V. Morrow is BSoR’s newest bus driver, proudly shuttling the Cadets, teams, coaches, and staff to and from various athletic matches and other events. Here is a picture of Rick and his passengers on a trip to the Virginia War Memorial on March 29 for a ceremony commemorating the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War. Leading the Cadets on this trip were Col. Walker and Maj. Ramos, joined by guests Brother Robert, OSB from the Abbey and Mr. Scott Duprey ’69, a substitute teacher at BSoR. At the commemoration ceremony, Rick and Scott were honored by Governor Youngkin and his cabinet along with many other Vietnam era vets, for their service to the USA during this time in our nation’s history. The event was capped off by an exquisite lunch at Mission Barbeque!
1970
7 Richard Ranger and his wife Catherine have been serving as missionary faculty at Uganda Christian University in Mukono, Uganda, since last June and plan to continue to serve there through September of 2024. They live in a small duplex apartment on UCU’s lovely campus (https://ucu.ac.ug) where they are awakened every morning by the songs of birds in the guava tree just outside their window. Richard serves as a visiting
lecturer in UCU’s Schools of Law and Business. Catherine has been hosting students from UCU’s School of Agriculture who are using their garden as a laboratory to study cultivation of food crops for their Community Agriculture course. Richard is also serving as a coordinator for a project involving Engineering students from UCU and his alma mater Dartmouth College. The Rangers had never planned to become missionaries. Several years of hosting UCU Law students in their former Washington DC home led to an invitation to consider serving at the university and to their unexpected, challenging, and joyous second career in Uganda.
8 Vic Dorr attended the tribute to Father Adrian and shared: “What a magnificent tribute to Father Adrian. I was prepared for a dignified but somber experience, but I was pleasantly surprised. Dignified? Yes. Somber? Certainly not. It was happy, energetic, and affectionate — everything a celebration of life should be. It was a privilege to be there.” Vic is shown here with Abbot Placid Solari and Donnie Ross.
1 David Kellor Scott married Angela Liscio Scott in 1980. They will be celebrating their 42nd anniversary, Sept. 27, 2022. They have two amazingly accomplished daughters, a wonderful son-in-law, and three adorable grandchildren. Angela is a retired organist, Social Worker & music teacher. David is still enjoying working and has his own business, Carolina CommonWealth Forest Products. They have resided in Henderson, NC since 1983. They are both members of St. James Catholic Church in Henderson, NC. 1974
Ann Kohtz shared that sad news that her mother Florence Colosimo passed away on Saturday March 19, 2022, at her home in Dumfries, Virginia. Both her sister, Marie Colosimo, and Ann were with her when she passed. Her mom was 96 years old and had been active up until the week
before she passed. She was preceded in death by her husband of 70 years.
2 Like many of his fellow Cadets, Paul Kitchen is a proud vet. He tells us: I went to my commissioning reunion two weeks ago and ran into Chris Bannon ’75 who is also a product of the “Officer and Gentlemen” Naval Aviator Commissioning program.
1976
Eugene Caine ’76 and Brenda Caine would like to announce the engagement of their daughter Kelly to Zach Shupe. A September 2022 wedding is planned. Kelly is the Granddaughter of LTC Tracy M. Caine, former Commandant of Cadets and faculty member.
3 Luke Bryan has a song about “sending your prayers up and your roots down deep.” This SGHS group, from the class of 1976, knows the power of prayer and OFTEN honors their 50 years of friendship. They gathered this past December, at the Powhatan home of Patty Harvey Lewis, for a Christmas wreath-making workshop, festive food, and lots of laughter celebrating their brave and beautiful lives
together. The day was a huge success and shared with a family member or friend. Continuing to embrace our roots keeps this group grounded in love, period.
R. Wiltshire notes that his Graffiti’s Ink Gallery Tattoo & Piercings has been in business for 20 years. He now owns two shops. 1980
4 Eddie Whitlock and his wife MaryAlice are pleased to announce the birth of two new grandchildren, which increases their family to three children and four grandchildren. Eddie continues his practice of law with his two eldest children. He recently published his second book, entitled “Preserving Liberty and Keeping the American Republic”, with dedications to former Benedictine Teachers E. Michael Jarrett and Coach E. H. “Buster” Lammay. 1981
Dr. Victor Bernet (BHS ’81) served as the President of the American Thyroid Association for the 2020-2021 governance year. The ATA consists of 1,700+ physician and scientist members from 43 countries,
who are dedicated to improving care for patients with thyroid disease and thyroid cancer. Vic was recently promoted to Professor of Medicine for the Mayo Clinic School of Medicine. Since 2012, Vic has served as the Chair of the Division of Endocrinology at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, which U.S. News & World Report just ranked in the top 30 in the country for endocrine and diabetes care. Vic continues to live in Ponte Vedra Beach with his wife Alicia (SGHS ’82), who works as a speech-language pathologist. Their kids Abbie and Caroline are both in Miami, while Jackson lives close by.
Mark Smith is still the chief cattleman at Markley Farms in Crozier, selling organic, antibiotic-free, grass-fed beef. (www. markleyfarmsllc.com). Mark has also opened Smith Business Consulting, LLC, a full-service business consulting company that specializes in sales and customerservice systems as well as valuation, efficiency, and production service solutions gained from over 40 years of experience in sales and manufacturing.
Kevin Proffitt provided the following update:
First off...hope everyone and their families are well.
Here’s a little bit about me: I’m still teaching middle-school math at Falling Creek Middle School (25th year). I’ve got 30+ total years teaching...so, I’m ready to hang up the chalk and eraser! I’m also in my 20th year of coaching softball at Randolph-Macon College
My oldest son, Jackson, 28, is engaged and getting married in September 2022. Our youngest son, Kipp, graduated from LaSalle University in Philadelphia...He’s working and trying to figure it all out. I’ve been married for 30 years to my beautiful wife, Tammy! I am the “poster boy” for “marrying up.” She’s absolutely the best!
5 George Lacy got married on Aug 3, 2021, to Cindy. “We were married at our home in Duck NC.” Congratulations to the happy couple.
Michael Solari is retiring from the FBI on July 31, after 27 years. He will be staying in Las Vegas.
Devlin Harris has been married to Debbie Harris since 2012. Devlin retired in 2021 from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.
Jeff Nichols passed along a brief update: I do not have much to report; the family is doing well, business is good, and I am very blessed. Both Benedictine and St. Gertrude had the most donors, and we won the tent again, great job. This is a big year for the Class of 1982: we are having our 40th reunion and looking forward to seeing some old friends.
Cheers all and hope to see you at our 40th reunion.
6 Sandy Thompson has been heating up the circuit, having finished a 10th full Ironman triathlon. That event includes finishing a 2.4-mile swim, a 122-mile bike ride and a 26.2 (marathon) run consecutively within designated cutoff times, for a total of 140.6 miles. The race day is 17 hours. Sandy has finished 10 full (140.6 mile) events and 22 half (70.3 mile) events. We’re tired just thinking about it.
7 Harold E. Harris, Jr. ’84: Here’s what I’ve been up to for the last several years — please visit https://www. frombasketballtobowties.com. We are doing some incredible things and the support from the six organizations (Benedictine is one of them listed on our site) and we would love to launch a book signing and speaking engagement to raise money for our Benedictine family and serve others through our story and journey. We look forward to hearing back from you.
Michael A. Toler’s article “Archives and Archival Documents in the Study of Islamic Religious Architecture,” co-written with his colleague Matt Saba, was published in the volume Religious Architecture of Islam: Volume I, edited by H. U. Khan and K. Moore, and published by Brepols.
Michael is co-director of Archnet.org, the largest open-access library on the built environment of Muslim societies. He oversaw the re-development of the site that launched in October 2021.
James Harenchar has a son (Jack) graduating from the Douglas Freeman Leadership program in June 2022 and a daughter (Kate) loving her experience at SGHS class of 2024.
Chip Finley shared: Over the last year my older son Dean deployed and redeployed to/from Poland (just before the Russian attack on Ukraine), and my younger son Ryan graduated from UVA and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army Reserves and started his first post college job in NYC. I deployed to the Middle East, and my older son and his wife Lauren made Lisa and I grandparents for the first time. Welcome, Lena Ann Finley.
8 Curi, an advisory firm for physicians and medical practices, today announced the appointment of Steve DeBiasi as Chief Executive Officer of Curi Advisory, the company’s recently launched practice advisory business. In this role, DeBiasi will join and lead a high-caliber team within Curi’s newest business unit, which is dedicated to helping independent physician
practice leaders protect, optimize, and grow their businesses.
Steve will join Curi from EmergeOrtho, one of the five largest orthopedic practices in the U.S., where he serves in dual roles as CEO of the practice’s Wilmington and Triad regions. He took the helm of Curi Advisory in April 2022 after nearly fifteen years with EmergeOrtho. Prior to his current role, he also served as CEO of OrthoWilmington, formerly Wilmington Orthopedic Group, which merged to create EmergeOrtho in 2016.
1 Pete Bassett (BCP - Class of 82) and Dione Bassett (SGHS - Class of 91) have a graduating Gator! Kerri Bassett will be attending the University of South Carolina and studying sports management.
Kristen Schilling tells us she relocated to her family’s farmhouse in Blackstone, Virginia. Her husband is retiring from active duty with the US Army after 26 years. She is also excited to have accepted a position as a first-grade teacher at Amelia Academy.
2 While pursuing graduate studies in social justice through Harvard University’s Extension School, Kelly Geary has expanded her service work at UMOM, the largest homeless shelter in Phoenix, to deliver more customized job readiness programs to help economically marginalized people connect to better paying jobs.
Ed Maynes reports that he earned his Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Virginia Commonwealth University in May 2021.
On February 12, 2020, John Shisler and his wife, Rebecca Shisler, celebrated the birth of their first child, Avelynne Hope Shisler.
3 Erin Wais-Hennen had a son, Arthur, last October. He joins his older sister Anita (5 years old). Erin continues to work as an online adjunct faculty member at Grand Canyon University, while finishing her master’s degree in Learning Design and Technology from Purdue University.
Thornton Wesley ’99 and Nicole Fischer Wesley celebrated the birth of their first son, Bryson Fischer Wesley, on October 12, 2021. Master Bryson enjoys watching football; going on walks with his mother; and, playing with his toys and dog, Garvey.
Will Kay sends his love to the Kastelberg family and ask that we keep all that Bill did for his school and community at the front of our thoughts.
4 A few months into the pandemic, Steven McDonnough relocated to Ghana to establish an agriculturally based NGO, ProFarms Gateway, which helps to develop the local agricultural value chain through education, capacity development, and agri-ecotourism. Steven also recently married his wife, Naomi, and had his first son, Love.
In 2021, Watson Stelly ’03 had two huge life events: He and his wife, Ashley, welcomed their third child into the world, and he finally won his first fantasy football championship. His win came in the 20th season of a league founded in the halls on Sheppard Street in 2002 and still comprised of Benedictine alumni. Current members include Matt Seay ’04, Drew Bahen ’04, Sam Dibert ’04, John Meacham ’04, Joey Shutt ’04, Thomas Bahen ’07, Christian Dibert ’07, Patrick Dibert ’07, Nick Puccinelli ’07*, and Brian Genest ’04**.
*Has never won a championship **Won one championship that was later vacated
5 Ian Puckett has had some major events in his life. He has been married to Colleen Mackenzie Gwin Puckett (SGHS alum ’07) since June 15, 2013. The pair have been blessed with daughter Addison Marie Puckett, who was born March 25, 2017. Ian is also an account manager for Sherwin-Williams Industrial Woods division (M.L. Campbell).
Cristin O’Brien ’06 and Nick Puccinelli ’07 are getting married May 21, 2022, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church. The bridal party includes Caroline Gerloff Parsons ’06, Sarah Kate Traynham Shepherd ’06,
Chelsea Rekowski VandeMark ’06, Emily Cupps Sak ’06, Bianca Puccinelli ’13, Paul Puccinelli ’04, Zachary Morgan ’07, Jeffrey Gill ’07, Jonathan Bowden ’07, William Carter ’08.
6 In the spring of 2021 Jordan McKenzie and her husband, Mark McKenzie, purchased their first home in Richmond. They then welcomed their daughter, Sadie Leigh Lewis McKenzie, on October 21, 2021!
7 Stacey Ellis (Tibbs) and hubby, Sean, welcomed their second son, Lucas Edward Ellis, to the world on October 8, 2021. Their first son Bradley (2.5 years old) loves his new role as big brother!
8 Jennifer Fischer got married on July 9, 2021, to Jason Fischer. The two combined families to include Jennifer’s son, James, and Jason’s daughter, Ava. They also just had their son, Robbie, on March 24 of this year.
9 Georgene Wood and her husband Joe welcomed their baby girl Vivien Frances Wood on November 9, 2021.
10 Anna Giovannetti Duhaime class of 2008 and her husband, Zach, welcomed their first son, Joseph, on December 26, 2021. Anna’s dad, Deacon Charlie Giovannetti, baptized Joseph at Our Lady of Lourdes in Arlington, VA.
2010
1 Christy Orlando and her husband welcomed a baby girl, the first one in his family in over 60 years. She is the first grandchild for Benedictine alum Jim Eliasek.
2 Emily Smith recently graduated from the Bon Secours Memorial School of Nursing, in Richmond. We wish her well as she pursues her career in the medical field.
3 Patrick R. Meehan Jr. married Valerie M Bolton on 2-22-22 at 2:22 pm. Good luck “two” you both.
Francis Azari announced he’s joined the team at Central Virginia Realty as a realtor. His home inspection business, Azari Precision Home Inspections, continues to blossom as well.
Melissa Dougher (Trittipoe) ’10 and her husband Joshua Dougher welcomed their son, Owen Paul, in July 2021.
4 Katie Irvine Wadey ’10 married Bryan Thomas Wadey II on October 10, 2020, at St. Bede Catholic Church in Williamsburg, VA. A reception was held following the ceremony at The Williamsburg Inn.
5 Kevin Gill ’10 and Katie Beth Bennett were married on December 18, 2021, at Saint Bridget Catholic Church in Richmond. The reception was held at The Commonwealth Club in downtown Richmond. Groomsmen included Jeffrey Gill ’07, Michael Pilot ’10, Eric Meyer ’10, Patrick Cunningham ’10, Teddy Kozak ’10, and Luke Snead ’10.
Thomas McFadden reports: The Class of 2012 was busy getting married this past year! Weddings included:
Colton and Brayton Konvicka 7
Hunter and Leah Morgan 8
Austin and Lauren Meyer 9
Sam and Haley Slough 10
John and Elizabeth Mosier 11
Alec and Jenna Walker 12
In addition to all the weddings, the following got engaged:
Victor Shaheen and Hannah Burton
Michael Logan and Meghan Gallagher
Michael Davey and Caitlin Francis Adam Donohoe and Emily Powell (They got married recently, we’ve learned.)
David and Baily Geary welcomed their new baby girl to the world, Annie Caroline Geary. 13
Nic and Sami moved the Ortiz Clan back to Virginia where Nic took command of his Army company. 14
Travis Kerner got his Chiropractic Doctorate and practices down in Florida. Give him a call if you’re ever in Miami and need your back cracked!
Sam Johnson passed his CPA and is currently studying for his CFA.
It’s been great reconnecting with a lot of the guys from 2012 over the last few months. Looking forward to seeing everyone for our 10-year this fall!
15 Caleb Marchetti has some big news:
• He married Haley B. Feather
June 12, 2021
• The couple moved from Richmond to White Stone for new jobs. Caleb — Docks of the Bay, Haley — 6th Grade Teacher at Lancaster Middle School.
2013/15
16 Garrett Enroughty ’13 and Quinlan Firment ’15 are set to marry on August 6, 2022, in Richmond, Virginia.
1 Noah Chetelat provided an update: I have been at Fort Hood for three years, as a DRAGON in 1-82 Field Artillery, 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division. I have served as Battalion Ammunition Officer, Battery Fire Direction Officer (with Charlie ROCK Battery) and am now coming to the end of my time as Battalion S2 (Intelligence Officer). In June, I will be promoted to Captain, and move on to Fort Huachuca, AZ for the Military Intelligence Captain’s Career Course, and then on to my next post (not yet chosen).
(Pictured are two of my high-speed intelligence analysts — far left and front right — and my predecessor and close friend in the back, as well as his dog
Submitting a class note has never been easier. Scan here to be featured in the next issue of The Towers.
Eddie, and a squared-away trooper in the foreground).
and Matthew met as juniors in college at Virginia Tech in 2018. They now live in the Museum District with their cat, Teddy.
2 Colleen (Geary) McClelland married Tanner McClelland on November 12, 2021, in northern Virginia. Colleen currently works as a quality control analyst in the microbiology department at AstraZeneca and will reside in Frederick, Maryland with her husband.
3 Mariah Craddock ’15 married Matthew Atkins on December 4, 2021, at St. Bridget’s Catholic Church. Mariah
4 Julian Johnson reports: I went to Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia and studied industrial design, which is essentially everything in the design world except fashion. I became fascinated by making products like electronic devices, kitchen ware, medical devices, everything! I then became accustomed to marine design and mechanical exploration design, which is basically the design process of boats and space craft. I am now a mechanical engineer and designer at Huntington Ingalls Industries in Newport News, Va. In other words, I design battleships and aircraft carriers for a living! It is very exciting, I love what I do, and I would not change it for the world!
P.S. The photo is of Nova and I, my best friend. I adopted her in my sophomore year of college, and she’s been with me through everything!
7 Anna Turner started teaching second grade in Richmond Public Schools this year. She is living in an apartment very near the old Stuart Ave. building with her rescue pup, Gertie.
5 Donaven Tennyson is currently living in lower Manhattan, NY working for McKinsey & Co as a consultant. Outside of corporate life, he has spent most of his free time traveling around the world, visiting some of the most amazing places. He also tries to stay active by working out at Equinox or participating in basketball leagues, but that has been a challenge at most.
6 James Redfearn, upon graduation, enlisted into the Virginia National Guard in 2017, and is currently serving as an MP. He is also a full-time law enforcement officer for the New Kent County Sheriff’s Office in Virginia.
Havens Clark, SGHS class of 2016, is getting married this June 18, 2022, to Richard Howell. Havens and Richard met as undergraduates at Georgetown University. Havens’ bridesmaids will include four Gertie girls: Annabelle Bugay, Madelyn Little, Willow Clark, and Cici Clark.
We extend our deepest sympathies to the friends and family of the following members of the Benedictine Schools of Richmond community who have recently passed away.
Michael J. Lazzuri ’62
5/27/2021
Stephen J. Woodard ’01
5/30/2021
William H. Perrin ’48
6/7/2021
Paul C. Link ’84
6/11/2021
Robert B. Rosemond ’61
6/15/2021
Tiffany A. Andrews ’06
6/26/2021
Roberta Clark Boswell ’60
7/27/2021
Michael E. Welsh ’68
7/28/2021
Roberta Terrell Pizzini ’58
8/2/2021
Jeremy D. Roberts ’93
8/4/2021
Richard D. Goodman, Sr. ’48
8/5/2021
Frank D. Marrin ’53
8/7/2021
Rebecca M. Daisey ’82
8/25/2021
Gordon T. Reardon, Sr. ’61
9/1/2021
Frederick S. Bassett ’54
9/5/2021
David W. O’Bryan ’60
9/6/2021
Louis R. Martin ’51
9/9/2021
Lawrence W. Oleska ’10
9/9/2021
Grace S. Ryan ’42
9/17/2021
Christopher S. Massei, Jr. ’58
9/30/2021
John H. Elam ’51
10/9/2021
Owen T. Merwin, Jr. ’62 10/23/2021
Michael W. Matzuk, Jr. ’74 11/5/2021
Catherine Harrell Allen ’59 11/14/2021
John H. Rose II, ’54 11/22/2021
Artis R. Mills, IV ’05 11/24/2021
James J. Smith ’68 11/24/2021
Linda Hoffman Bash ’66
11/27/2021
Gerry F. Booker ’60 11/29/2021
Patricia Bahen Sylvia ’55
12/5/2021
Miles E. King, Jr. ’52 12/6/2021
Laen Higgins Heberle ’57 12/7/2021
Scott A. Harris ’82 12/14/2021
Trudy Shilling Moyles ’57 12/28/2021
Lisbeth A. Schlieckert ’66 12/30/2021
Otto J. Gragnani ’62
1/8/2022
Timothy B. MacLeod 1/18/2022
Rev. Patrick J. White 1/19/2022
Rose Marie Miller Wingo ’48 1/19/2022
Phyllis Bucker Meredith ’62 1/25/2022
Umberto Joseph Balducci, III ’55 1/25/2022
Rev. Charles W. Williams, Jr. ’69 1/27/2022
Domenick D’Adamo, Jr. ’37 1/29/2022
Robert A. Lane ’71 2/2/2022
Peter O. Miller ’59 2/6/2022
Charlene Hudson Cole ’54 2/7/2022
Joseph G. Wallmeyer ’65 2/7/2022
Suzanne Showman Forehand ’61 2/16/2022
Rhea E. Saltz, Jr. ’73 2/24/2022
William F. Kastelberg, V ’05 2/25/2022
James V. Mowery ’57 3/7/2022
Thomas D. Shuff 3/20/2022
Arthur G. Toler, Jr. ’51 3/20/2022
Thomas W. Hotze, Jr. ’55 3/22/2022
These notices were received as of April 21, 2022. Please contact the Advancement Office at advancement@ benedictineschools.org if there is any incomplete information or to submit a condolence.
As usual, the BSoR school year is chock-full of great activities. Here is a smattering of some of the events that may be of keen interest to our graduates.
August 26
Campaign for Saint Gertrude: Public Launch Party
October 21 Hunt and Gather
October 22
Homecoming
February 7 Parater Day of Giving
March 3 Song Contest
April 1 Envision
May 6 Boxing Smoker
