Thacher Magazine: Fall 2017

The Magazine of The Thacher School • Fall 2017

THACHER

If at first you don’t succeed...

What we salvage from setbacks, failures, and the other unwanted ways that our best laid plans go awry.

CONTENTS 12

12 • Armchair Wandering

Brooke Wharton CdeP 2007 endures the longest, toughest horse race on Earth.

14 • “If at First You Don’t Succeed...”

Vicissitudes may not be within our control, but attitude is. Our feature section this issue explores the ins and outs of ups and downs, and how best to prepare for them.

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14 FRONT COVER As we devote this issue to thinking about failure and other difficulties, we could do worse than to begin with some wisdom from Auguste Rodin: “Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely.” Illustration: Leif Parsons.

ON & OFF CAMPUS

ALUMNI & COMMUNITY NEWS

01 • View From Olympus

30 • Gatherings

Michael Mulligan reminds us that some failures are more useful than others.

A recap of Reunion 2017 and The Next Peak capital campaign launch events.

03 • Readers Respond

34 • Class Notes, etc.

It’s true: Not everybody loves the Horse Program.

Alumni news, milestones, and news from faculty, staff, and friends.

04 • The Pergola

43 • In Memoriam

An assemblage of noteworthy School and community intelligence.

45 • The Best We Can Do Erin Blankenship CdeP 2000 takes the struggle for gender equity in sports to new heights.

VIEW FROM OLYMPUS…

Succeeding at Failure

There are two kinds of failure. One is preferable to the other.

THE FIRST IS WHEN YOU DO YOUR BEST AND FALL SHORT. Your great team goes to the finals, works its hardest, yet still loses to a better team. Or you study relentlessly for the bar, miss a critical question, and fail by one point. Granted, moments like these can disappoint mightily, even feel crushing—but they happen.

The second is the failure of not doing what you know you should do, or even worse, actively doing what you know is wrong. Breaking rules or laws? Hurting others? Willful acts of destruction? The possibilities are endless for this kind of failure.

Yet there is good news in this: Life is constructed so that the pain that accompanies failure forces us (those who are not sociopaths, at any rate) to confront who we are, how we think and act, and what we should be doing differently. Indeed, most of the pain we endure in life does not relent until we confront our weaknesses and move beyond them. So, unless one is a masochist, failure brings to our doorstep the right ingredients for us to move on into growth, freedom, and redemption. In short, we humans do not grow—or even need to grow—if we are ever comfortable with who we are. So it is up to each of us individually: Grow in wisdom, or just keep being punished by the Universe. As the old expression about karma (cause and effect) goes, “Do it right or do it over.”

Like all of you and every one of our dear Toads at Thacher at one point or another, I have experienced both kinds of failure. Here are some examples from my far-away youth: As a young wrestler for my prep school, I’d made my way to being the number 1 seed at the New England Class A Wrestling Tournament.

I’d trained for months, worked my hardest, gave it my all. And yet, I lost by a point to the Tabor Academy wrestler I had beaten in a dual meet two weeks earlier. I can’t ever forget this even now as an old goat! It did not help that I had contracted the 1971 version of norovirus the week before the tournament. Vomiting and diarrhea for a famished grappler who had already dropped weight is not helpful. All out of my control, but that didn’t take the sting out of losing. Or how about the time in college when I studied assiduously for a history exam and then failed to turn the

exam sheet over to see that there were yet more questions—all of which I could have answered easily. Argh! You have to be kidding. How could I have been so stupid! True, instead of an F on the exam, I got a C, but as far as I was concerned, it was a failure. The best response to these kinds of failures: Be more vigilant. Wash your hands. Study your exam sheet more carefully. But as I said earlier, this kind of failure is disappointing and often crushing, but is it not soul destroying.

Failure of the second kind is much harder to talk about from a personal perspective. But let me share another misstep of my youth. When I was 12, my dad bought a great old Willys rugged four-wheel drive Jeep.

I fell in love with that Jeep, never missed a chance to hop in when Dad was doing some chores or when there was any four-wheeling on the agenda. I studied how he drove it. And then it occurred to me that it would really be fun to drive that Jeep on my own—when there was nobody around. In short order, I was taking it into the field across the road for a little gear shifting practice—first and second gear doing the trick at the outset. And then, hey, why not take the ol’ Willys a mile up the road to see my pals, the Colby Boys? Surely they’d enjoy joining me as I took it through the paces. Up the road I went, and soon five of us were tasting a forbidden delight, me at the wheel puffed up and cocky. This success under my belt, I thought, why not go over and check out the old Yellow House and Mill and see if my fishing buddy Richard Welch was home? I pulled in and parked in front of the ancient sprawling horse chestnut tree. I hopped out merrily to see where Richard was, and wait, what was that noise? I turned to see that, having been left in neutral, the Willys had rolled backward, smashing its taillight against the tree, red glass now spread about the lawn. Adrenaline surged. A quick retreat.

I pulled into the garage, got out, snuck into the house and up to my room. From my window there, I saw my dad returning from work and watched, stomach lurching, as he spied the broken taillight. My brother was off in college, so he could not have been the criminal. But, ah yes, sister Kathy, a high school student, a new driver, no question: My dad pinned the alleged culprit: “Kathy, what happened to the Jeep?” ”Dad, what are you talking about?”

“Kathy, you know how important honesty is. Just tell me how you broke the taillight in the jeep?”

“I didn’t do this. I have no idea about this.”

Need I add more dialogue? Tears, remonstrations, and more pleas for honesty ensue.

Michael, upstairs in his room. Guilt hanging heavily. Competing voices: “Stick it out” v. “‘Fess up and come to the light.” My stomach tightens. They don’t even know I can drive (well, sort of drive). OK, best to just go underground. And I don’t really recall, but I think I did yell The Thacher School 1

UP FRONT… IT’S FITTING that an issue focused on setbacks and failures was nearing its final stages when the Thomas Fire roared into Ojai, upending our production schedule and so much more. All in all, we count ourselves lucky in that all we really lost was time. This was not the case for many of our friends and neighbors in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties, and our hearts are still with them as they recover and rebuild. Thacher was not so fortunate in 1910, when two days before Thanksgiving a heating stove ignited the redwood annex to the building then known as Upper School. Students and faculty fought the blaze by hand, but couldn’t stop the flames from consuming that building and the RoughHouse. Thankfully, nobody was injured in the event, but a major portion

of campus had been lost. Nevertheless, classes resumed the day after the fire. Mr. Thacher began the day by reading an excerpt from one of his favorite poems, Browning’s Rabbi Ben Ezra, a celebration of the paradoxical value of life’s setbacks: “welcome each rebuff that turns earth’s smoothness rough,” it goes, “Strive, and hold cheap the strain; Learn, nor account the pang; dare, never grudge the throe!” And today, it is hard to imagine Thacher without the Study Hall and Upper School, which both arose from the ashes of the 1910 fire. Likewise, in this issue, you’ll find stories of the transformative and redemptive potential of struggles and setbacks. We hope it doesn’t fail to entertain and inform.

— Christopher J. Land, Editor

VIEW FROM OLYMPUS… > CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

down from my room, “Kathy, just tell the truth!” That was indefensible, but here is the really humiliating thing: I don’t think I ever told my dad or my sister about this—a half-century secret. In fact, I don’t ever remember thinking about this while I was even with them as an adult. But to send your dad to his deathbed and never even bring this up? Failure number two locked in. So here I am so many years later, and I still think about a lie that I never corrected. The guilt, however faint, still lingers.

It is hard for us to face up to our most egregious failures because it is an indictment of our character. The light of truth is simply too glaring.

Yes, all of us make mistakes, every last one of us. And sometimes we correct them and sometimes we do not. Our real failures in life are not those where we fall short after we have done our best. Our real failures are those times where we knowingly do wrong and then fail to step up and face the consequences and address the wrong.

There is a beauty to Thacher where we actually, in our own sometimes backhanded way, celebrate failure. The first kind of failure is generally acknowledged and appreciated: “Hang in there, kid, and stay at it: You will find your success and the pride and confidence that go with it. It is all OK.” For the second kind of failure, however, there is no celebration in the short run. Indeed, for days, months, and sometimes years, we can feel only anger or bitterness at having been held accountable. We may try to blame others such as our parents, school, college, employer, spouse, or “the system” for what we did wrong. Some of us come to the light much faster than others. But the truth is that there is no grace until each of realizes that the world is to us as we are to ourselves. This is because the world delivers back to us what we bring to it. When we bring love, care, and light, we live in a world of love, care, and light. When we bring deceit, anger, and lies, we live surrounded by the same. When we muster the courage to face up to our error, accept the consequences (often deeply painful), and keep moving forward, it seems that sooner (or yes, sometimes later) good things grow out of this: We can live with ourselves comfortably. We do not have to stifle our nagging conscience. We earn the respect of those around us, both friends and critics. We learn that there is such a thing as redemption. And when we are redeemed, we 2 fall 2017

breathe more easily, we walk upon this Earth with greater ease, we become wiser. Yes, it is true that when we are forced—or finally choose— to confront our errors that some doors in our life close, but others then open and we walk in effortlessly. There is grace in this world, but it seems we must first open ourselves to experience it.

Thacher, if you have not noticed, is a place where there is a tight relationship between cause and effect. If you do not study, you flunk.

If you do not muck your horse, you get work crew. If you are late back to the dorm for check-in, you enjoy a 7 to 7. If you step across the big boundaries and break your social contract and lie, cheat, steal, bully, harass, get drunk or high (or help others do that), you go home—either for good or for a while. The whole world may not have boundaries on these behaviors, but we do. Thacher is a great place to learn about the value of working hard, having integrity, and doing your best. It is also a great place to learn that actions have consequences and yes, that failing is part of who we are as humans. It is a place that helps us build our best selves even as we sometimes discover our worst selves.

And here it occurs to me that there is a third kind of failure I might discuss: the failure to benefit from failure. This can happen in a couple of ways. For example, it happens when we don’t reflect on our failures and draw lessons from them. Less obviously, it can also happen when we structure our choices in order to avoid the risk of failure. In some ways, the Thacher program is constructed to minimize both of these types of failures by providing young people with opportunities to experiment, to struggle, and to recognize and embrace salutary failures.

But the bottom line is that while I hope all Thacher Toads experience failures of the first kind in their time here, I do not hope the same is true of the second kind. But if this is the path that a Toad takes, this is a good place and a good age to be. Better to learn lessons about honor, integrity, fairness, kindness, and truth here than at work, or in your marriage, where there is so much more at stake.

And yes, I owe my sister a call.

THACHER

The Magazine of The Thacher School Volume 11, Issue 2 Fall 2017

READERS RESPOND… Real News Dear Thacher Propaganda Dept., I read with great amusement and dismay the article Why We Ride. I decided to challenge this piece of propaganda. I don’t believe in “PC” or political correctness.

I graduated in 1961 after four years of horse propaganda. “Love the horse program.” “Love your horse,” etc., etc. Unfortunately, the horse program sucked. In our class over 50 percent of my classmates gave up their horse when given a choice. We were the proud members of the “mop and broom” club.

I never remember people hugging and kissing their horses. There was no joy or bonding in cleaning up horse shit. I remember riding my horse in the cold, rainy weather and being miserable.

I remember the stench of horse shit. I remember seeing my horse rolling in the mud after a rain storm. No, I didn’t love the horse program. It stunk! Jesse Kahle (a nice man) actually got up in an assembly and wept because the horse program was so hated.

I suggest you write all the members of the “Mop and Broom” club, classes 1960 and 1961, to get another point of view on horses. I dare you to print this letter and the results of your survey.

If you like “PC” I suggest you go to North Korea or watch the movie 1984. Are you afraid to admit that is article Why We Ride is biased? Go ahead and present another point of view. Thank God for freedom of speech and freedom of thought.

John Truog CdeP 1961 Editor’s note: No, we are not afraid to admit that Thacher magazine is biased in favor of a School we are proud to report about. At the same time, we commit to truth and balance and thank you for allowing us to air your contrarian perspective. That commitment to balance is the reason we presented a range of alumni experiences, not all positive, that we called “the good, the bad, and the ugly.” (p. 24) It is important to note, however, that today’s Riding Program bears little resemblance to the one you endured in the 1960s. Today, many students (not all, of course) do come to love their horses and the Horse Program.

And, as for a survey, we did survey the alumni body before creating this issue and that was the source of much of the “propaganda” we published.

Scent of the Sespe I just received your spring issue and opened it casually intending to glance through it, set it aside, and read it thoroughly later when I spotted at the bottom of page 7 the picture of two of your students sitting bareback on their horses in the Sespe. What really got my attention was the smell of Sespe water that seemed to come right out of that picture. That smell caused my imagination to feel a light breeze coming off the water. I have lived and played around that river most of my life.

More times than I can count I and friends have ridden down into that valley on a hot and dirty day and after taking the tack off the horses and stripping to bathing suits ridden into those cool waters and enjoyed watching the horses enjoy it perhaps more than we did…. Thanks for bringing back precious memories.

Michael Lawrence CdeP 1956

MIA DVMs Editor’s note: Dr. Carol J. McConnell CdeP 1981, chief veterinary officer for Nationwide Insurance) and others wrote to inform us that our feature on Thacher graduates working in veterinary medicine (CdeP to DVM) was far from complete, which is true. We included only those who responded to our survey. We’d love to hear from more of you next time!

EDITOR Christopher J. Land ASSISTANT EDITOR Natalie Selzer CdeP 2008 CLASS NOTES EDITOR Aaron Boydston ARCHIVIST Bonnie LaForge DESIGN Charles Hess, design director Lisa Lewis, designer PHOTOGRAPHY Peter Bohler, David Kepner CdeP 2007, Christopher Land, Joy Sawyer-Mulligan, Dana Vancisin, Carin Yates HEAD OF SCHOOL Michael K. Mulligan DIRECTOR OF ENROLLMENT AND PLANNING William P. McMahon DIRECTOR OF INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEMENT Jeffery D. Berndt

Thacher is published twice a year by The Thacher School, and is sent free of charge to alumni, parents, and friends of the School. Every effort is made to ensure that contents are accurate and complete. If there is an omission or an error, please accept our apologies and notify us at the address below.

Copyright © 2018 The Thacher School Third class postage is paid at the Oxnard Post Office.

POSTMASTER: Please send form 3579 to the following address.

Editor, Thacher Magazine 5025 Thacher Road Ojai, CA 93023 thacher.org thachermagazine@thacher.org 805-640-3201 x264 How to Submit Class Notes Online: blogs.thacher.org/classnotes E-mail: alumni@thacher.org Fax: 805-646-1956 (fax)

Thacher is printed by Ventura Printing using an environmentally friendly waterless printing process, soy-based inks, and recycled paper.

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THE PERGOLA… MURDER, MYSTERY, FARCE

In Dan Neidermyer’s Murder at Coppersmith Inn, nobody is quite who they say they are, the murderous playwithin-a-play at the heart of the plot might be something more than fiction, and audiences can be sure to expect the unexpected.

The Thacher Masquers pulled off a wonderful staging of this show and shared a fun, zany, highenergy production with the Thacher community.

4 FALL 2017

WHAT’D I MISS? YOUR TYPICAL HISTORY LESSON it was not. Students, faculty, and staff members recently had the distinct opportunity to enjoy the award-winning Broadway hit Hamilton: An American Musical at the Pantages Theater. This exciting excursion would not have happened without the help of Sandy Kenyon CdeP 1974, an entertainment reporter and movie critic for Channel 7 Eyewitness News in New York City, who made it possible for the School to obtain so many seats for this fantastic show. Big thanks also go to the numerous participants in last year’s auction whose financial support allowed us to extend this opportunity to our entire student body and residential faculty.

A FEW OF OUR FAVORITE THINGS EVERY EVENING, after a long day of hiking in the Sierra Nevada, members of Jason Carney’s backpacking group gathered at camp and took turns listing off the best things they had seen that day. Carney recalls the mention of items like “the late afternoon color of Golden Trout Creek; fiery sunrises and sunsets; the look on a student’s face after a first unexpectedly delightful bite of pasta after a long day; the powerful Kern River; alpine meadows; the joy of winning a hotly contested card game; seeing three red-tailed hawks flying effortlessly above as the group quietly rested with a Clif Bar, exhausted after having spent two hours reaching Cottonwood Pass at over 11,000 feet” and much more. There’s little doubt that adventurers on every trip this fall—whether they trekked through Yosemite, explored King’s Canyon, rode through the Sespe, or hiked in Sequoia—ended each day of EDTs with their very own “best of the wilderness” lists.

THE FUTURE IN FOCUS: BOARD NAMES BLOSSOM BEATTY PIDDUCK THE NINTH HEAD OF SCHOOL ON OCTOBER 9, THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES and the succession committee officially announced their unanimous decision to tap Blossom Beatty Pidduck CdeP 1992 as the next head of The Thacher School. She will succeed Michael K. Mulligan, head of school since 1993, who will retire on June 30, 2018, at the conclusion of the 2017–18 academic year. In her 15 years at the School, Blossom has taught in the English Department, served as the department chair, worked as dean of faculty, led Extra-Day Trips, and served as the director of studies and the assistant head of school. Blossom was one of the main architects and champions of the interdisciplinary xBlock program, which provides a formal space for teachers to innovate and experiment with different curriculums and teaching methods—just one of the many ways she has provided an inspiring vision for the School. As the succession committee noted, “Blossom is a collaborative leader, an extraordinary communicator, and a gifted teacher with a lightning-quick mind and a bountiful sense of humor. In Blossom, we have a fearless forward thinker with large measures of open-mindedness, creativity, infectious energy, and optimism to lead the next generation of Thacher faculty and students.” She will assume her new post on July 1, 2018. “For now,” wrote board chair Cabot Brown CdeP 1979, “expect Michael and Joy to continue the important work they have undertaken for so many years of making Thacher the best school it can be. The best they can do is not yet done.” Find out more about the search at www.thacher.org/headofschool.

Eli Graff ‘19 (above) supervises a meal; (below) when Eve Spalding ‘20 was hobbled by leg pain on her Sierra EDT, Jesse VanNewkirk ‘19 rushed ahead to drop his pack and returned to carry Eve the remaining half-mile to camp.

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THE PERGOLA…

OUTSIDE OUTLOOKS VISITING SCHOLARS, ARTISTS, AND EXPERTS SPARK NEW IDEAS AND INSPIRATION.

TROY CARTER is the founder, chairman, and CEO of entertainment management company Atom Factory, as well as a digital and social entrepreneur. As a part of the McCloskey Speaker Series, Carter delivered a lecture that drew on his deep experience navigating the music industry, including his work with big name talents like Grammy Award–winner Lady Gaga.

His wisdom, insight, and passion drew a standing ovation from the Thacher community.

AMER F. AHMED is a speaker, facilitator, and consultant who interweaves social justice, diversity and inclusion, and intercultural frameworks to cultivate rich and meaningful dialogue with his audiences. He recently spoke at Thacher, delivering a thought-provoking and meaningful talk titled “Addressing Islamophobia: Dispelling Myths to Break Down Barriers.”

6 FALL 2017

SANDY KENYON CdeP 1974 is a Thacher alumnus and entertainment reporter and movie critic for Channel 7 Eyewitness News in New York City. Drawing on his many years of experience covering the arts, during an allSchool lecture Kenyon offered deep insight and new context for enjoying and understanding Hamilton within the wider history of musical theater. He also sat down with a smaller group of students to share his knowledge of the world of broadcast journalism.

DR. RICHARD N. HAASS has served as president of the Council on Foreign Relations for the last 15 years. Prior to that, he worked at the highest levels of U.S. government, including serving as assistant secretary of state under Colin Powell and becoming the most senior member of the Bush administration to advise against invading Iraq in 2003. His illuminating talk explored many of the same topics as his most recent book, A World in Disarray: American Foreign Policy and the Crisis of the Old Order (2017).

ERIN BLANKENSHIP CdeP 2000 is a regional adviser on conflict and security for humanitarian organizations in Syria, Iraq, and Palestine and the co-founder of Equal Playing Field (EPF), a global initiative to challenge gender inequality in sports and develop women’s soccer at grassroots and elite levels. She presented to the Thacher community about EPF’s recent accomplishment: fielding two teams of women from more than 20 countries to play a Guinness World Record–breaking soccer match (the highest ever played) atop Mount Kilimanjaro.

VIRGINIA INVERNIZZI is currently the resident director at SYA Spain and formerly taught at Mount Holyoke College and then Deerfield Academy. During her trimester serving as an Anacapa Scholar here at Thacher, Dr. Invernizzi taught an advanced Spanish class, offered up her skills and expertise in the Horse Program and in the ceramics studio, and became a valued member of the Thacher community. She will be missed!

THE THOMAS FIRE “TRULY, I CAN HARDLY BELIEVE that we endured last night without losing our campus,” wrote Head of School Michael Mulligan from campus, the morning after he stood with firefighters on the worst night of Thacher’s multi-day siege by the ferocious Thomas Fire. “This was due to two factors: the fantastic fire crews from throughout the West who took a stand here and to the miraculous shift in winds that made their backfires possible. There’s no end of thanks we at Thacher give to the fire crews.” Fire is a natural element of our chaparral ecosystem, but its unwelcome visits to campus over the years have been blessedly infrequent.

Mr. Thacher and his campus were devastated by fires in 1895 and 1910.

And many alumni will remember the Wheeler and Christmas Fires. The most recent alarm was in 2006, when the School was evacuated as a result of the Day Fire, which fouled the air and threatened us but did not come near. Our history has led to a tradition of fire preparedness at Thacher. We review and update our procedures, conduct regular drills, and keep our brush cleared to maintain strong defensive perimeters.

And thanks to the wisdom of some on our board, we have extensive water storage resources to help us fight fire. Indeed, these reserves played a critical role in protecting not only our campus, but our neighbors too, as crews filled their trucks here to protect other structures in the East End. This overall caution and preparedness allowed us to evacuate students, faculty, staff, and horses without incident long before the mandatory evacuation orders came. Many of our neighbors have not been so fortunate and our hearts go out to the families and schools who have suffered profound damage and loss.

Once the danger of fire had passed, a major campus cleanup was required to remove downed branches and debris brought by high winds, and to clean up the ash that coverened everything, including (above) the Toad outside the Head of School’s home. Joy SawyerMulligan was among the few who returned to campus after the evacuation to provide support and guidance to the fire teams protecting Casa de Piedra.

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THE PERGOLA…

SCOREBOARDS Girls’ Cross Country After failing last year to qualify for the postseason, the girls’ cross country team, led by captains Caroline DelVecchio ’19 and Lily Harding ’19, bounced back in a big way in 2017. They came into the season with their sights set on one goal: qualify to compete in the state championships. The team worked extremely hard and ran well throughout the fall; by the end of the season, they’d earned a spot competing in the CIF Southern Section Finals for Division V, meaning they were one step closer to their goal. The runners brought their best to the course, with almost every girl on the team finishing the competition with a personal record and three athletes breaking 20 minutes—an impressive feat on all fronts. Their efforts earned them fourth place and a spot at states. Heading into this final, major test of the season, the team knew they faced a tough battle, with three of their four top runners unable to compete that day. The girls once again rallied, however, ultimately running hard and placing 11th—far higher than they’d expected, given the circumstances. Yes, this team did exactly what they set out to do and then some. And as they look toward next season (they won’t be losing any runners from this strong roster), they’re feeling confident that the team has set itself up for even more success.

Most Valuable Player: Tess Edwards ’19 Most Improved Player: Barkley Bennett ’20

Boys’ Cross Country Thirteen varsity runners, including one freshman, assembled this fall to carry on the boys’ cross country team’s tradition of excellence. They entered the season ranked third in the CIF Southern Section, having lost no one from an excellent squad that finished sixth in the state last year. Everyone improved greatly during the season to become an even better team. The first important race was the Tri-County Athletic Association (TCAA) meet #1, where the boys finished second of 11 schools and were the best Division 5 team by a wide margin. TCAA Meet #2, was another successful afternoon—the boys finished third of 11. The team finished second of 11 again in the TCAA Championships at Lake Casitas, going through to post-season competition easily. In the Sectional Prelims the team ran relaxed, finished first in their heat of 17 teams (also first place out of 52 teams in three heats combined), and qualified for 8 FALL 2017

the Southern Section Finals. Seven days later, they won the Southern Section Championship out of about 130 schools (with a Top 5 cumulative time of 80:06, very fast) to qualify for the State Championships for the 10th time in the last 11 years. This was the second Thacher cross country team to win the Southern Section Championship. (In 2012, the girls’ cross country team won the Southern Section Championship and then went on to place second in California.) In Fresno, on the Saturday after Thanksgiving Day, the boys duplicated the 2012 girls’ achievement with an impressive second-place finish in the State Championship! Thacher was the fastest team of the day by 18 seconds, but lost by a hair on cross country scoring.

of. They learned to live and play as a team, in victory and in defeat. The tournament was a major turning point for them— they lost only two games after that day—and the team ended up making the playoffs after finishing the season with a 6-8 season record and a 5-7 league record. The first-round game of CIF playoffs took the team on a six-hour journey by bus to Mammoth High School. Though the team ultimately lost 29-31—an impressive result in the sport of volleyball—they battled up until the very final moment in what proved to be a fantastic game. Over post-game pizza, the team and coaches agreed that the Toads could not be better poised to dominate next season.

Most Valuable Player(s): Colin Kirkpatrick ’19 and Ford Shaper ’19 (the lead “Two Pack”) Most Improved Novice Runner: Chris Robinson ’18 Most Improved Veteran Runner(s): Winslow Atkeson ’20 and Toby Arculli ’20

Most Valuable Player: Libby Galgon ’19 and Chrissy St. George ’20 Most Improved Player: Amya Bolden ’20 Best Teammate: Jessica Donohue ’19

Girls’ Varsity Tennis The girls’ varsity tennis team, led by the excellent leadership of captains Béa Pierrepont ’18, Olivia de Polo ’18, and Kelly Oh ’18, played very well all season long and ultimately tied for second in the league and qualified for postseason play. They fell to Valencia in the first round of CIF playoffs, but wrapped with a solid 7-3 league record and 9-3 season record. Highlights included a win against Foothill that avenged an earlier season loss; senior Mary Yan’s exciting win in a singles match against Foothill that clinched the overall win for Thacher; and senior Maddy Waltemath’s impressive win in a singles match against Carpinteria.

Most Valuable Player: Béa Pierrepont ’18 Most Improved Player: Margaret Phipps ’19 Most Valuable Teammate: Béa Pierrepont ’18

Girls’ Varsity Volleyball The girls’ varsity volleyball team started the season 0-6—a rough beginning for a young team with a new coach. But the team, led by captains Libby Galgon ’19, Devon Roberts ’19, and Paiton Gleeson ’18, soon rose to the occasion and took home a second-place trophy at the Santa Paula tournament, which gave the team a glimpse of what they were truly capable

Football This was a year of challenge and growth for Thacher football. A steep learning curve—the team was reliant on a lot of young players—combined with a very challenging schedule meant that they didn’t quite find their footing until midway through the season, after which they played better and better with each passing week. The turnaround was aided by the leadership of captains Adam Marcelo ’18 and Elias Ceseña ’18 and seniors Peter Conte, Grayson Hodge, and Francisco Zamora—all of whom modeled an infectious resilience in the face of adversity for the younger players. Despite a winless season, the final game against rival Cate was a big highlight.

They traveled there to play a very good, very big team and competed heroically in what the coaches described as one of the most memorable games in the program’s history. Ceseña made a thrilling, extraordinary catch to put them up 28-27 with under four minutes to go. Though they couldn’t quite hang on for the win, the coaches were extremely proud of the effort and perseverance that the team displayed—during that game and throughout the season.

Most Valuable Player: Elias Ceseña ’18 Most Improved Player: Jackson Hollins ’20 Most Inspirational Player: Peter Conte ’18

NUMERACY

THERE ARE THREE BOXES, one containing two white marbles, one containing two black marbles and one containing exactly one of each color. The boxes have labels—WW, BW, BB—but all three boxes are mislabeled. You may take one marble at a time out of any box (without looking inside) and by this process of sampling determine the contents of the three boxes. What is the smallest number of drawings needed to do this?

Send your responses to thachermagazine@thacher.org.

ANSWER FOR PUZZLE FROM SPRING 2017 Puzzle master Kurt Meyer has determined that Gordon Chamberlain CdeP 1956 was the first to submit a correct response for last issue’s puzzle. You may find his answer online at www.thacher.org/magazine/fall2017.

The Thacher School 9

THE PERGOLA… BLURB & SQUIB EXHIBITION John Aaron CdeP 1971 (right) recently completed work on a glazed ceramic relief sculpture meant to memorialize and honor those who lost their lives in the 2015 shooting at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston. The piece, which was commissioned by Lowcountry Freedom Reigns Festival, an annual Charleston event focused on issues of contemporary justice, and the International African American Museum in Charleston, took over 500 hours to complete and is now in Charleston for display.

RECOGNITION Ellen Adams CdeP 2005 (right, below) was recently selected as the nonfiction winner in the Ploughshares 2017 Emerging Writer’s Contest for her essay “The Something I Am Telling You.” The nonfiction judge said: “It left me feeling more alive than when I started, jolted into attention at the strangeness and fleetingness of life.” The piece will be featured in the Winter 2017-18 issue of the literary journal Ploughshares.

BOOK Jim Levy CdeP 1958 published two books this year. Rowdy’s Boy is a memoir about his childhood and youth that includes a chapter about his four years at Thacher. Mar Egeo is a book of memoirs and fiction inspired by his travels in Ghana, Kenya, Ethiopia, Italy, Spain, Greece, Mexico, Belize, and other places. All of his books are available on Amazon and can be found on his author’s page there.

“An important lesson I learned in my twenties, a lesson that should not be so secret if you substitute my I for your I, is that I cannot solve other people’s problems.

What they did keep secret, though, at the chalkboard, with their chalking, is that it can, in fact, be unfeasible for me to solve my own. Like a tumor, for example.”

—from The Something I Am Telling You, by Ellen Adams

10 FALL 2017

FROM THE ARCHIVES 125… 100… 50… 25… 10... YEARS AGO AT THACHER

TWIN PEEKS

A Backward Glance Through the Pages of CdeP Publications 125 years 1891 1892: In the school year 1892–93, “the ten boys were of varied age (ranging from twelve to nineteen), background and type… about half were residents of California; the others from the East.

Parents at first sent two kind to this school: frail boys and problem boys. But Mr. Thacher took great pains to overcome the fallacious impression that he was running a sanitarium and in these early years he admitted fractious sons of Easterners partly because he wanted Eastern boys per se and partly because he found it an interesting challenge. This raw material gave Mr. Thacher more experience in a few years than he might have achieved over a long period. He soon learned how to deal with all kinds.” Sherman Thacher and his School, 80-81.

100 years 1916 1917: “With America’s entry in the world war, military training has played a more important part among the school activities ...It was decided … to drop recess baseball and to adopt infantry drill in its stead. Under the direction of Mr. Cawley, … the School and Faculty were divided into eight squads which constituted the Thacher Company.” El Archivero ,1918.

75 years 1941 1942: “It is in the little things, perhaps, that the war shows its effect most significantly. The school menu has suffered changes: bacon is almost unknown, butter is a rarity, sugar is rationed and Tuesdays are a voluntary meatless day. Rubber air-mattresses are unobtainable, it is difficult to find flashlight batteries for camping trips, there is no Ojai Valley Tennis Tournament and no games with distant schools. There are fewer teachers ... These are all symptoms of the fact that our nation is engaged in the most colossal war of all time and that, although eventual victory appears sure, the road ahead is still hard and calls for still more profound changes in the life of our nation and perhaps of The Thacher School.” El Archivero, 1943.

50 years 1966 1967: “The world around us is going through a period of tremendous social upheaval which closely approximates that of a revolution. There is no question that the repercussions of the upheaval … lap over onto our campus. The Marijuana problem, the strong reaction to authority, the dress, the haircuts and the questions asked in class… It’s hard for a faculty trained ten to thirty years ago to forget its own lessons and to replace them with the new facts and concepts of our times…” David C. Twichell, Headmaster, in Thacher magazine, Fall 1967.

25 years 1991 1992: “The sun is beating down on my neck and shoulders unceasingly. As if that was not torture enough, six afternoons a week I’m out on the roads of Ojai running cross country. One thing for sure is that I’m not a runner by mind nor body … I ended the season gaining more than I had ever expected… I found myself a self-pride that no other sport had been able to instill in me. Best of all, I discovered quite a capable runner.” “The making of an (almost) runner” by Ysette Reynolds, The Thacher Notes, September 1992.

10 years 2006 “From what we are told, The Thacher Notes used to be a thriving center for the School’s news and goings on. But for the past however many years it has been, well, nothing … Its formerly hallowed name flutters around, teasing the school with hope for an interesting read. It is our wish that what lies under this letter is just that: a return to glory… This first issue is just that, the first glorious stretches, the wonderfully furtive gesture, from something long waiting to be heard. Enjoy.” “Letter from the Editors” by Jack Eastburn & Holden Miller, The Thacher Notes, November 2007.

Little evidence remains of the student-built shacks that served as hubs of weekend social activity until the last of them were removed in the 1960s.

But the recent Thomas Fire gave up some secrets when it exposed a couple of old masonry hearths along the Horn Canyon trail, including this one, just below the fourth crossing.

“I should mention the ‘shacks,’ which a few responsible boys were permitted to build up in Thacher Canyon—very rough structures with walls and a roof (perhaps a chimney) in which one could live ‘a free life’ on weekends. Not quite camping, but almost as primitive.”

—F. Barreda Sherman CdeP 1911

5 years 2011 “There was a fire on our trail the day before we left. We didn’t know about it until we got there and found the trail closed. We made up a new route from scratch—only to find that the trails had changed significantly since the maps were made! This created a difficult but sort of fun adventure feel to start out our trip.” (Aaron Snyder, faculty) “Fall Extra-Day Trips: In Their Own Words,” Headline News, Friday, September 14, 2012. Thacher Website.

The Thacher School 11

ARMCHAIR WANDERING…

600 Miles.30 Ponies.

8 Days.

How I Survived the Longest and Toughest Horse Race on Earth.

HAVE YOU HEARD OF THE

Mongol Derby? No? Neither have most people, despite the fact that it is the world’s longest horse race, run Pony Express–style across more than 600 miles of Mongolian steppe, desert, and mountain passes. Taking their cue from Chinggis Khaan’s postal system, the race organizers allot each rider 10 days and approximately 30 Mongolian ponies to cover the 1,000-kilometer course. The exact route of the unmarked course, which changes every year, is a closely guarded secret until race day. I hadn’t been able to get it out of my mind since I heard about it about five years ago, when Katherine Bechtel CdeP 2003 raced it. I knew that this was something I would do one day, assuming I could get accepted. I just couldn’t resist traveling, horses, and competition all rolled into one.

Despite my parents’ best attempts to dissuade me, I paid the entry fee and began a training program that addressed core strength, endurance, good ol’ fashioned saddle time, and mental toughness. I had input from a few great mentors, including Cam Schryver’s observations of the behaviors of the ponies and a college cycling friend’s reminder: Mentally prepare for the worst.

My first priority was to finish the race, and I would have counted that as a success. I really wanted to win, but I tried to be realistic, too; I didn’t know whom I would be competing against. I didn’t want to finish the race feeling like I had left anything on the table. I also wanted to interact with the locals as FALL2017 2012 1200fall

By Brooke Wharton CdeP 2007

much as I could while still remaining competitive; otherwise, I might as well have been doing this race somewhere that didn’t present a cultural opportunity.

Training went without a hitch and one brisk early August morning I awoke for the start of MD 17. I positioned myself at the front of the start line on a serious-minded black pony as other riders warmed up their mounts, some getting thrown before the race even started. My steed got me out near the front quickly after the start gun, and after about a minute I was prepared to settle back into a nice lope ahead of most of the field, but he had other plans. We wrestled, trying to decide on a pace; not being an endurance rider, I was quite concerned that we were going to run out of steam and get passed by more conservative riders. But after unsuccessfully attempting to slow down I decided we were going to waste more energy fighting than running, so I let him thunder on unchecked. If he wanted to run off with me, well, we were in a race, weren’t we? There also weren’t any fences to run into, just marmot holes, but I’d be better off not thinking about those because you couldn’t do anything to avoid hitting them. And if your horse does sink a leg into one, you are better off letting him have his head and hope he recovers his balance. That little black horse was a powerhouse, too. He would gallop flat-out until he got tired, about 10 kilometers, slow down to a working lope, and as he caught his breath he’d speed right back up.

It wasn’t long before I was in the lead with another girl and only three riders in sight behind us as far as we could see. We made our first navigational error, going up one valley too soon, and quickly realized that they had recommended routes for a reason. We scaled a steep rocky face to get across a pass and back onto the road we were supposed to be following. We ended up in a bunch of six all coming into the first checkpoint together, none of us terribly sure just how much rest to give the horses so their heart rates came down for the mandatory vet checks. But I knew as I handed that horse over he would probably be one of the best horses I had the entire race, and he was.

The rest of that day was relatively uneventful. I made it to two more checkpoints on some pretty good horses. There was a group of about 10 of us sleeping at the third checkpoint that night, with one rider ahead who had ridden on and everyone else scattered who-knew-where behind us. The next morning dawned freezing, with a cutting wind, incessant rain, and race hold just for the 10 riders at the third checkpoint—there was no way to reach the other ones scattered around us. Finally, they let us go into conditions that hadn’t improved. Despite the weather, I was feeling good and fully anticipated hitting four checkpoints a day, if not five. Until I met Pedro. Pedro was my third horse on this dreary day and the herders had recommended him. He started out fine, though I knew he wasn’t going to be a champ—the best ones

bolted from the checkpoints as soon as you gave them a heading. If they didn’t run out of the stations then, you knew they weren’t going to get any more motivated as you went.

This little fellow loped a while before needing to trot. When he had caught his breath I tried to impress upon him that we really needed to get somewhere. He slowed even more until he broke to a walk—the most plodding, unambitious walk I’ve ever encountered in anything with a pulse. It was so bad that it was faster to get off and drag him behind me. So we walked.

And walked. And walked some more. Ten and a half miles we walked. My ETA went from 5:00pm to 7:30pm. This horse was my all-time low of the race, sloshing through mud, dragging him, drenched, cold, and watching other riders happily lope on by. The only thing that really kept me going was the brooding knowledge that I had a very definitive end to this pony, and every step I took brought me one step closer to our parting of ways. Onwards we trudged as I did my best to stay positive, thinking about how no horse would be worse than Pedro. Also, that there was a warm urtuu (yurt) waiting for me and I would be the first to settle in for the night so I could choose a nice cozy spot next to the stove to sleep.

Over the next few days I picked off racers ahead of me—sometimes riding in groups, sometimes solo—working my way from 20th to hover around 10th by day four. At that point I found myself leapfrogging with a group of three other riders. They finally got ahead of me for good at the end of that day and it took two days of hard solo riding, bolstered by thoughts of my friends and family back home cheering me on, to catch up with them. We awoke at the usual 5:30 the next morning to start race prep, and the competitiveness picked right back up. Two riders had

to stay for 20 minutes after the race start that morning; we had also caught one who had been dropped from the lead and wasn’t terribly keen on pushing for the win, and two of us were gung-ho to go. The three of us without a time penalty formed a loose alliance and rode off to try and put as much distance as we could between us and the other two. We managed to leave the next two checkpoints as the other two were arriving, but they must have had a blistering quick changeover because they caught us within half an hour of leaving the third checkpoint that day. We played an uneasy game of cat-and-mouse for a while, one or two riders occasionally getting ahead only to get reeled back in, when finally the lone man in the group suggested we all stop flogging ourselves and agree to cross the line together. We knew we were too far behind to catch the people ahead of us, barring any accidents, but we also knew no one was within a couple of checkpoints behind us. So we settled into a much more pleasant pace and I quickly discovered that the two riders who weren’t keen on me (and the feeling had been mutual) were in fact fantastic people. We were all just equally competitive and they had been as irked that I kept catching and passing them as I had been that they’d managed to pull ahead of me. We rode in camaraderie the rest of that day and half of the next. We all started the race as strangers and competitors and crossed the finish line tied for sixth as lifelong friends and teammates.

I subsequently slept for a day and a half; I didn’t have any idea how much I had taxed myself to do this race, but it took almost a week before I felt back to normal. Really, though, it was kind of like an extreme EDT, right? And just like an EDT, I’d do it all again in a heartbeat! CdeP takes on MD18—who’s with me?

Top left: Of this herder and his son Brooke notes: “They were so proud of their ponies, and this guy just loved his son!” Top right: The five comrades crossing the finish line together. Above: Brooke in Mongolian eagle huntress mode.

The Thacher School 13

IF AT FIRST YOU DON’T 14 spring 2017

IS IT TRUE THAT THACHER WAS FOUNDED BY ACCIDENT, AND BY A FAILURE? That happens to be the view LeRoy McKim Makepeace takes in his biography of our founder, Sherman Thacher and His School. Young Sherman Thacher and his brothers struggled to find their footing as young men. It was only after failing first at business and then at law that Sherman made his way to the West Coast. As Makepeace writes, “He had graduated from Yale College four years before and now had no job, almost no money, no purpose, and apparently no interesting future. To him, the journey to California led down a blind road with no opportunity at its end.” This is all in a chapter called “Escape from Failure.”

Because he lacked direction or employment of his own, Sherman was his family’s logical candidate to care for his ailing younger brother, George, by conveying him to the ostensibly salubrious climate of the Ojai Valley. Sherman’s older brother William, who lent Sherman money so he could purchase the acreage of Casa de Piedra, had foundered in similar ways and discovered his calling only after false starts in medical school and then divinity school.

Many also know that Sherman’s plan A was to become a citrus farmer and his plan B of introducing young people to “out-of-door life and study” was necessitated by the unexpected delay between planting and that first cash crop. “Escape from Failure” is, however, not the last chapter in Makepeace’s biography of our founder. Which goes to show that the difference between failure and success sometimes depends on where you stop telling the story. And, fortunately for us, Sherman’s story does not end with his arrival in California, nor with the death of George.

In the following pages, we tackle the topic of struggle and failure, surveying the roles they play in the history and everyday life of Thacher, and in the life stories of some in our extended community.

Primary photography by Peter Bohler.

Illustrations by Lief Parsons.

SUCC EED.. .

The Thacher School 15

SCHOOL OF HARD KNOCKS What kind of an educational institution wants its students to 16 fall 2017

fail?

N

ot long ago, failure was enjoying a moment. There was a book,

Fail Fast, Fail Often: How Losing Can Help You Win. There were slogans and industry buzzwords, like “fail forward” and “fail first.” We all know, however, that failure isn’t the end goal. Motivational mantras aside, nobody would celebrate an unsuccessful NASA launch or a bankrupt business, though we might learn a lot from either. Celebrating failure is really just a way of reminding us that fear can get in the way of success, that each misstep has something to teach us if we are prepared to learn from it, and that if we can condition ourselves to embrace risk and accept that failures happen, we allow ourselves a better shot at eventual—and even repeated—success.

Thacher faculty and students have long been fluent in this rhetoric of failure. Before we called them “carefully calibrated challenges,” there was just life at Thacher, where students knew they could reasonably expect to get bucked from a horse or caught in a freak spring snow in the Sierra at least once. We still cultivate this openness today, and we look for it in applicants. From the moment prospective students visit campus, the admission team makes it clear: “If you come to Thacher,” Bill McMahon promises, “we’re going to ask you to take on a set of challenges you have not done before…. to step out of your comfort zone and take risks.

This is how we create an environment in which students can learn and grow and become their best selves.”

But encouraging risk-taking and celebrating struggle is not enough on its own. There are plenty of failures that are destructive to motivation, ones that weaken a sense of self and dampen curiosity. Some hard knocks are too hard and counterproductive to growth. Not only must these knocks come in manageable doses, they also must happen in a supportive environment where they are framed constructively. Think encouraging peers and wise, caring adults. Think growth mindset. Often that is the difference between the student who learns from a mistake and the one who retreats from it.

This has long been ingrained in our School culture. “When I think of the qualities that I most admire in a Thacher student,” says Blossom Beatty Pidduck, Thacher’s assistant head of school, “the first thing I think of is an adventurous spirit. And in a classroom that often manifests itself in a willingness to try something different, to be creative, to test out something new.” And it was Sherman Day Thacher who, back in 1921, wrote that it was important to “stop occasionally and consider whether some radically different way might not produce better results.”

Along those lines, Thacher makes an effort to practice what it preaches by taking risks with its programs, by institutionalizing a sense of experimentation and discovery in order to move its programs forward. This is the point of our sabbatical and professional development programs. It is why every other year we conduct rigorous student and parent surveys to show us where there is opportunity to improve, to try something new. It’s what inspired the xBlock program. These experimental, no-credit courses allow our faculty to test drive new topics, new pedagogies, amounting to low-stakes experiments that incubate curricular innovation and professional development. The same attitudes toward risk, struggle, failure, and growth are also at the core of the way our coaches coach and our advisors advise. They inform the Outdoor and Horse Programs here, which, many would argue, are the original locus of our carefully calibrated challenges.

This willing exposure to risk is counterintuitive and takes effort, the ongoing cultivation of a mindset. It could be that this is the most valuable lesson taught by the school of hard knocks: You can’t prevent failure; you can’t remove the fear of it, but you can learn to make peace with the fear of failure, and sometimes, to become energized by it.

In The Best We Can Do, a new film about the Thacher experience (you can find it at thacher.org/magazine/fall2017), musician and composer James Newton Howard CdeP 1969 notes that more than once he took on challenges that he felt unprepared for—that terrified him—whether that was joining a band, making a record, or scoring his first film. Each time, a fear of coming up short threatened to hold him back, but a willingness to take the risk prevailed. “I don’t think anybody can expect fear to not exist, or self doubt to not exist,” he says, “but I think one gets to the point where you accept it as a companion. Just something that is going to be ever present. And in some cases it can be a tremendous motivator.”

The school that can foster an environment in which failure is not dreaded but understood as a part of the process will offer its students a better shot at confidence, resilience, and fulfillment. And they, in turn, become the adults who, when faced with difficult situations, stand the best chance of rising to the challenge or salvaging what opportunities may follow from failures and setbacks.

Does Thacher succeed at doing this? We are bound to fall short here and there, but the stories on the following pages give us hope that we are doing something right.

By Christopher Land

“Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.”

—Samuel Beckett, Worstword Ho, 1983

The Thacher School 17

Falling Among Friends Four Thacher Students Experience the Benefits of Struggle

By Bo Manson MARY MARY YAN ’18 stands at the base of Banjo Cave crag. The chatter of teammates and the clink of harness buckles echo off the sandstone of this familiar campus climbing location. Top ropes hang from the fixed anchors 25 feet above. Mary completes a safety knot to back up the figure eight follow through she has tied to secure a rope to her harness. When she feels a tug on the rope, she smiles at her partner and says, “That’s me.”

Mary’s partner inserts a bight of the rope into his belay device, checks his locking carabiner, and responds: “On belay.”

“Climbing,” says Mary.

“Climb on,” her partner replies, and Mary reaches for her first hold.

Follow Thacher climbers into the hills for an afternoon of top-roping, and you’ll hear this familiar call-and-response repeated many times along the base of the crag. With this simple verbal exchange, a climber and her belay partner state their commitment to each

other’s safety. No Thacher climber will leave the ground without first completing this formal confirmation.

Rock climbing is, by definition, risky. All of us who climb—whether we’re raw beginners, advanced veterans or instructors—enter a dangerous world when we step onto the rock.

Climbing challenges us to confront our physical abilities as well as our fears. Mary was initially drawn to the climbing program “because of the novelty of it,” she says. “I’d played soccer and basketball before, but rock climbing was something that I had never even dreamed of doing.” Mary knew that the sport would be difficult, especially given her admitted fear of heights. “I hoped that I would be able to get stronger and more comfortable in my own body through climbing.”

Climbing success rarely comes easily, and it didn’t for Mary. “When I watched the upperclassmen and instructors climb it didn’t seem super hard, but actually getting on the rock myself and having to trust my feet was a lot

more challenging than I’d expected.” Mary struggled to adjust to the sport’s physical and mental demands. “When I couldn’t climb to the top of the easiest climb on the gym wall, I felt awful about myself. Everyone else, even the other new climbers, seemed to be able to do it with ease. That was the moment when I doubted myself the most.” Mary was discovering what hundreds of Thacher climbers before her also came to realize: that success often requires moments of failure along the way.

Through working out with the team and practicing her technique, Mary’s strength increased and her hand and foot placement improved. “I began to feel a lot more confident once I was able to reach the top of the climbs that I’d struggled so much with at the beginning of the season.”

Thacher’s climbing program embodies the School’s broader goal to push students beyond their comfort zones. It challenges them to look past their perceived limitations and to reassess their abilities. “I’m endlessly grateful for the

Spotted by Fiona McLaughlin ‘19, Mary Yan tackles a bouldering challenge at Jameson Rock. Facing page, Vincent Langan humors our photographer in the library.

Next spread: Adam Marcelo (left), and teammates Elias Ceseña ‘18, and Bjorn Lynge ‘18. Facing: Daisy retrieves Shorty from Carp.

18 fall 2017

climbing program,” says Mary, “because it gave me the opportunity to see myself get better at something that I never thought I would be able to do. Despite all the difficult moments and little failures, I wouldn’t trade my climbing experience at Thacher for the world.”

“On belay” is no casual pleasantry between friends. It’s a formal declaration from one climber to another of his willingness to take responsibility for his partner’s health and well-being. The risks in climbing are legitimate, the responsibilities are profound. The failures can be formidable, but the ultimate success is often transformational.

Thacher’s climbing program mirrors the risk-taking that Thacher students are asked to embrace with their academics, horses, camping, and residential life. Challenges, however, are not an end unto themselves but rather a means to opportunities for authentic selfdiscovery. Falling off a dime-sized edge 20 feet up with only a teammate’s competent belay between you and the hard ground below amounts to a failure that offers real physical consequences. The failures that Thacher students confront in their classes may not risk bodily injury, but they can be equally traumatic and transformational.

“as in all my classes, I feel I can do better.” More to conjugate verbs I thought I could do in my to the point, “I’ve learned that I’m capable of sleep. To this day, the thought of that exam way more than I think. I’ve learned how to petrifies me.” properly study. I still psych myself out in basiVincent cannot pinpoint an exact moment cally every subject. Nevertheless, I am learning when the tides in French shifted, but during something new every day not just about myself the spring trimester he realized, “it behooved in French, but in every subject.” me to get more help from Ms. Halsey and Challenges carefully designed by thoughtbeyond.” He reached out to his brother and ful teachers lead students to just such other French students. He made comprehendmoments of self-discovery. Thacher students, ing the current material a priority, while accepting that he also had to review past mate- both in their classes and on their sports teams, often confront difficulties that can feel overrial in order to improve. “It was difficult and whelming. Few Thacher teams have confronted time consuming but vital if I were to succeed.” more challenge and greater disappointment in According to Vincent, “Success is a funny a single season than this fall’s football team. word.” He definitely feels like he has improved (and Ms. Halsey wholeheartedly agrees), but

VINCENT KATHERINE HALSEY initially found firstyear French student Vincent Langan ’20 to be “pretty much French-inept.” Looking back on last year’s French 1 class with Ms. Halsey, Vincent agrees. “My previous French instruction was nowhere near the caliber and level of rigor I confronted at Thacher.” Vincent struggled with both the verbal and written work Ms. Halsey assigned. “I felt butterflies in the bottom of my stomach. Not the type of butterflies I feel when I am about to play a soccer game or go on the stage, but the butterflies that tell you, ‘This is inexplicably difficult.’” He worried that he would fall behind his classmates.

Fortunately, by mid-winter Vincent had gained a bit of traction and was beginning to feel more confident. His apparent improvement, however, ended with the term exam. “I simply forgot everything I knew. I struggled The Thacher School 19

ADAM HEADING INTO THEIR SEASON, both the coaches and returning players knew that this would be a tough year for Thacher football.

With only five returning seniors and a schedule full of challenging opponents, everyone would have to commit his best effort in order to experience any success. This would be a tall order for a team that Coach Snyder described as “shockingly inexperienced.”

Captain Adam Marcelo ’18 fully recognized these challenges. “As seniors we had big shoes to fill.” He also appreciated Coach Hooper’s commitment to a challenging schedule. “If we were to play smaller schools with inexperienced teams, we would not learn that much.” Of course, Adam wanted to win, but he also wanted to learn and grow both on and off the field. Adam believes that “too often people just focus on the win-loss column.”

Coach Snyder and Adam agree that through much of the season the team struggled to work together. According to Adam, “We missed tackles, argued before and after plays, and just had bad team chemistry.” “It was

20 fall 2017

frustrating,” reported Coach Snyder, “and it felt desperate. As coaches, we feared that the younger players were absorbing a culture that permitted lazy, mistake-filled play.”

Week after week, however, this young team and their coaches didn’t focus on their frustrations. Instead, they simply showed up for practice day in and day out determined to improve. And slowly, steadily, they did improve.

Looking back on the season, Adam believes that it wasn’t until their final game that they put together what he considers “a full game of football.” Coach Snyder concurs: “In spite of our winless record, our last game really marked the season as a success. That game showed that we had grown an enormous amount over the course of the season. We had fulfilled our potential. Our younger players now understood what it takes to play your very best on a football field, to come together as a team, and to know you gave it everything you had. We can build on this. We are proud of our seniors for their leadership and for our entire team for their achievement. It’s rare that a loss

can feel this good.”

Adam has also come to understand that true success requires more than simply winning. “Though we finished without a win, none of that mattered. As a team in the final game of the season, we truly played a full game.

Everyone stopped thinking about the reactions of our classmates and instead focused on a true team victory, one in which we played together, played hard, and played for each other. I learned the most from any of the 10 seasons I’ve played football. I learned to be a leader, and as a team we came together in the end to have our own definition of victory, which I think felt even better.”

Thacher’s teachers and coaches value the relationship between authentic challenge and truly meaningful success. Sherman Day Thacher clearly appreciated this fundamental teaching tool. In fact, he introduced quite possibly the most effective teachers ever employed by his school. He knew well that “there’s something about the outside of a horse,” and fortunately we’ve never lost sight of that fact.

DAISY YEAR IN AND YEAR OUT, Thacher’s Horse Program supplies students with daily challenges, possible failures, and profound successes. Like the majority of her classmates, Daisy Lawrence ’20 had never been around horses before heading west to Ojai. She was nervous about caring for a horse, and she admits, “I was also very scared.” She had anticipated riding as “a very individual thing where I would be alone in my struggle with the horse.”

Even before the fall riding season began, “I was already hoping for when it would all be over.”

Daisy sums up her first trimester of riding with one word: rough. “I remember standing every day in the middle of the road with a hoof pick in hand, waiting for my brother [George ’19] to come sauntering down from his dorm and then begging him to pick my horse’s hooves for me.” Besides fearing Shorty, Daisy feared her own insecurities. “Our instructors taught us that our horses will mirror our emotions, and one of my greatest struggles was dealing with that truth. I was so scared of picking hooves and controlling Shorty because I struggled with commanding my own emotions.”

Looking back, Daisy understands the essence

of the challenge she confronted: “I had to learn to stand up tall when I was around my horse and to make him know that he couldn’t walk into my personal space and control me.”

During much of her freshman year, Daisy felt “simply overwhelmed with every little thing [she] didn’t know about horses and riding.” She now understands how her fears prompted her to overlook a key component of the riding program: her relationship with Shorty. “That relationship, I learned as I became more comfortable and confident in the saddle, was pivotal in my growth and success in the program.” For Daisy, “a lot of feeling comfortable and confident really had to do with trust.” As with many Thacher riders, Daisy struggled to trust her horse. Whether instructed to canter across the muddy Gymkhana Field (a request that for Daisy “spelt disaster”) or asked to execute a 180-degree turn on a narrow trail (one of Mr. Swan’s favorite exercises, usually on the side of a cliff), Daisy slowly came to realize, “You have to trust that your horse knows where to put its feet, you have to trust that your horse knows when something is right or wrong.” Trusting

Shorty allowed Daisy to become confident and comfortable with him. From then on, “I was able to fully appreciate all of the little things about him, and also all the little ways he made me grow as a person.”

“I came to Thacher shy and unconfident,” admits Daisy. “After spending a year with my horse, I am a completely different person.

Shorty taught me perseverance, and that, at the seemingly darkest moments, you have to persevere the hardest. I have learned to be confident, not just when I am at the barns, but also when I am in the classroom or interacting with people. A horse can see right through you if you aren’t confident, so I learned to show up at the barns each day with my head held high and my shoulders back, and I guess that just carried into everything else I was doing. I have also learned to assert myself. It is easy to be passive and let your horse walk over you and not listen to you, but to develop a real bond with your horse, to have your horse’s actions reflect your desires, that takes a strong assertive person. If someone had told me in the fall that I would be riding after freshman year, I would have told them they were mistaken. But here I am.”

About the author: Since 1988, Bo Manson has been helping students find and expand their limits in the English classroom, in the woodshop, and on various climbing routes and boulders around campus.

The Thacher School 21

Failing Forward Alumni Stories about Struggles, Setbacks, Detours, and What They Teach Us

Understanding What The World Is Telling You Jeff Lee CdeP 1996 “IN OUR BUSINESS most investors make a bet and hope it works out.” In other words, failure is a predictable part of a venture capitalist’s line of work; Jeff is in the business of putting money behind people and ideas, knowing full well that the majority of them will not be successful. His secret sauce?

Being able to work with companies that have yet to truly break out, and helping them unlock their full potential.

How did he get here and find his “super power?” It was when he was asked to join the board of a legacy portfolio company that he really found this skill set—the ability to diagnose a company’s situation, determine the right course of action, and help them plot a path towards success. “I was added to the board of a company that had been in our portfolio for 15 years,” says Jeff. “This was a company that hadn’t died, but also hadn’t figured out how to get to an exit.” When personal differences among the leadership threatened the whole operation, Jeff stepped in to keep the peace long enough to drive a sale. “We had a potential buyer who was very interested,” says Jeff. “They came in and did a lot of work on the deal, but ultimately backed out.” Along came another potential buyer, but they too lost interest. “Finally, a third buyer came along and I was able to keep everybody together long enough to complete a transaction and generate liquidity for investors.”

It wasn’t always this obvious for Jeff.

Despite being at a world class global venture firm, he started out by struggling to follow the path that most venture capitalists pursue: trying to find and chase down the “hot” deal.

“I realized that there’s more than one way to succeed and make money as a VC, and that it’s not just about finding the great deal. You can win just as big as an investor by fixing the problems that all early stage companies have.”

For Jeff, that moment is when he learned to “understand what the world is 22 fall 2017

telling you.” The result has been a shift in focus. These days, rather than chasing down the deal of the day, Jeff is more likely to be building longer term relationships with entrepreneurs and helping companies in the portfolio that may be struggling to realize their value. “In a lot of ways, my skill set is the ability to help these companies—and the people who run them—figure out how to get to the next level.” It’s a focus that sometimes means stepping into somebody else’s mess, but the work is rewarding.

“You persevere,” says Jeff. “You try other angles to figure out how you win, and you keep doing that until you figure it out.”

Jeff works for DCM Ventures, a global venture capital firm with offices in Silicon Valley, Beijing, and Tokyo. Jeff serves on the Thacher Board of Trustees along with his partner, DCM co-founder David Chao CdeP 1984.

Beyond Mt. Disappointment: Going the Distances Kyle Montes CdeP 2011 WHEN KYLE HEADED OUT from the Mt. Wilson parking lot and began snaking his way through the San Gabriel Mountains one day last July, he felt confident that he could survive this 50-kilometer (31-mile) test of his physical and mental fitness. Just the summer prior, he’d signed up for a 50-mile version of this race—inauspiciously named the Mt. Disappointment Endurance Run—and found himself among the finishers. And between 2016 and 2017, he’d successfully completed four different marathons and a number of 50-mile races in cities around California.

There was a time, not too long ago, when he wasn’t so comfortable navigating trails and trekking long distances. “I remember my first Thacher EDT at Golden Trout, how the bus slowly navigated the winding climb toward the Cottonwood Lakes parking lot,” he recalls. “I felt nervous about my new hiking boots and the possibility of getting blisters, and about any chafing I might get from my

brand new hiking backpack, which I had just picked up from Thacher’s Camp Supply.”

Nonetheless, Kyle liked the outdoors—he’d gotten comfortable sleeping in a tent during annual car camping trips with his parents— and soon grew more confident as he marched along, able to keep pace with the rest of the group despite never having hiked with such a heavy load on his back before. Most of all, he recalls being pleasantly surprised that all the classmates he was getting to know on this trip seemed like such nice, good people to share the trail with.

Though Kyle had come far in the past several years, things took an unfortunate turn on the Mt. Disappointment course. He was slowing down, and by the time he reached the mile-21 checkpoint, he’d missed the cutoff time. There it was: his first Did Not Finish (DNF). “As soon as I got cut, my brain tried to figure out what went wrong.” Was it a distracted mind? Lack of sleep the night before?

Not enough time recuperating since his last big race? His mind bounced around, trying to solve the riddle of his disappointment.

When he and the other DNF runners started to talk amongst themselves, Kyle noticed something. They, like him, had successfully completed longer, harder races in the past, too. “I found comfort in the shared misery of other runners that were cut along with me, who were also ready to tell of the Ironman races and ultra-marathons they had finished.” Connecting with his fellow runners—and realizing that ups and downs were an inevitable part of the long-distance running game, something to overcome, rather than to avoid altogether—helped him to see things in a new light.

“I walked away from the 2017 Mt. Disappointment race with a newfound respect for a course that I thought I conquered the year before when I finished all 50 kilometers and more,” said Kyle. “Ultimately, I recuperated from that loss and bounced back to finish two more marathons in 2017.”

Kyle lives in California, where he runs regularly and looks forward to serving in the U.S. military.

From Nobody with Nothing to Person with Purpose Marian Huntington CdeP 1982 IN 2004, MARIAN was a communication studies professor at California’s Sonoma State University, where she’d been teaching students how to professionally and accurately report the news for nine years. Then, suddenly, one day she was the news—drastic budget cuts to state universities resulted in major layoffs at the school. She was among them. “Overnight, I went from being a professor with a purpose to a nobody with nothing,” Marian recalls thinking. After the layoff, she set to work reconsidering the trajectory of her career. “I decided I would like to work in the nonprofit sector, helping children and teens living in poverty.” Despite this clear vision, however, Marian’s lack of experience in the field kept her from landing a job at any of the nonprofits where she interviewed. Things stagnated.

It was around this same time that her 6-year-old son, Robert, began taking karate classes at a local studio in their hometown of Novato, California. He loved it, and soon Marian decided to join in the fun. During her classes in the studio, she remembers kids stopping by regularly. “They would press their noses against the window, wanting to come in and join us,” remembers Marian. “They would tug at their parent’s shirt and point inside. Sometimes, the parents would lead the children in to sign up for classes. But many times, the parents would look at the cost of the classes posted outside, shake their heads, and reluctantly lead their children away.”

For Marian, this was the lightbulb moment that changed everything. In 2005, she launched NovatoSpirit, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that helps raise funds to help kids participate in activities like karate, dance, and soccer in Novato, with a special focus on the most vulnerable and underserved members of the community. Many kids apply to the program because they want to move around and have fun; many more are referred by doc-

tors, mental-health specialists, social workers, and court-appointed special advocates because they are struggling with asthma, obesity, depression, PTSD, and other health issues. A number of the children they serve are homeless.

Above all else, Marian has focused on collaborating with instructors who are patient, compassionate, inspirational, and able to instill optimism and feelings of strength in every type of kid in the program. “Through movement, through constant encouragement, I hope to offer children a glimpse of their best selves so that they can embody and feel their fullest potential,” says Marian. “My work with NovatoSpirit has connected me with some exceptional children and an inspirational community of parents, coaches, donors, child advocates, and community members. My life is very rich now, and I’m grateful that life decided to challenge me with unemployment, so that I was forced to reinvent myself and my purpose.”

It would seem that she has done just that—just recently, she was nominated to the Marin County Women’s Hall of Fame for

her nonprofit work with NovatoSpirit and her advocacy for poor families and immigrants living in her community.

Marian continues to practice karate, helping to teach the NovatoSpirit kids. In addition, she’s a recent graduate of the Novato Police Department’s Community Academy, a member of the Advisory Committee for the Novato Unified School District, and serves on the Board of the Marin Interfaith Council.

Singing in the Road Nicholas Cunningham CdeP 1946 SOMETIMES, THE DETOURS we encounter in life are both figurative and literal, as Nicholas Cunningham can attest to after one particularly memorable night on the side of the road in Nigeria, singing the most American songs he knew at the top of his lungs.

To start at the beginning: He’d been doing consultant work in the country for several years at that point, working with the federal The Thacher School 23

minister of health, Dr. Olikoye Ransome Kuti, a pediatrician whom Nicholas describes as “extremely well-known throughout the country for his outstanding medical skills and his uncompromising integrity.” They’d first met back when Dr. Kuti was the first Nigerian-born chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Lagos; they’d continued to work together and, indeed, it was usually Dr. Kuti or one of his drivers who picked Nicholas up from the airport when he traveled to the country.

This time, however, Nicholas had missed his original flight and didn’t arrive until well after 11 p.m. There was no one available to meet him. So, he set about trying to hail a taxi. One after another, the drivers insisted on exorbitant fees, until, after sitting on the ground with his bags for around 30 minutes, a driver agreed to a fair price. His feeling of relief would only last so long, however, as the driver started out on what Nicholas knew was not the usual route. And, just as Nicholas had feared, the “shortcut to avoid construction” soon hit a snag. At a roadblock manned by drunken soldiers, he was asked to exit the vehicle with all of his bags. “What have you brought us from America?” they demanded.

Tired, irritated, and in no mood for a shakedown, Nicholas took an unexpectedly bold tack. “I’ve brought you a little song,” he said before he started in on Sigmund Romberg’s “Golden Days,” sung at full volume. He followed with “Home on the Range,” Dizzy Gillespie’s “Swing Low Sweet Cadillac,” and several others until finally a sergeant strolled over. The cab driver explained that Nicholas was headed for Dr. Ransome Kuti’s compound. After a brief discussion in Yoruba, the sergeant said, “Get out of here.” They did just that.

“My heart was pounding and I realized how scared I’d been,” recalls Nick. “But you never know what you’ll do in a crisis until the moment you’re in it. Whether it was the initiative that I’d seized or the mention of Ransome Kuti, I don’t know, but under such circumstances, it’s best to use anything you’ve got!”

Nicholas divides his time with his psychiatrist wife, Cathryn, between the Upper West Side of Manhattan and the same upstate farm on Lake Otsego 24 fall 2017

where he lived while at Thacher, writing about international maternal and child primary care and playing regular quartets...string and tennis!

A Setback and Life Goes On Jim Levy CdeP 1958 AT THE AGE OF 45, Jim Levy started to see strange, tiny black dots when he looked up at the blue skies of North Carolina. Later, at Duke Eye Center, surgeons would attempt to fix what turned out to be a detached retina by “pulling it up and stapling it in place,” as Jim describes it. The procedure did not go as planned. “It scarred and slipped down and they tried again,” says Jim. “In the course of three more operations, they removed the lens and didn’t put it back.” Then, a preventative operation on his other eye went badly too, and he found himself with no vision in his right eye and limited, often blurred vision in his left, which continues to this day.

“I reacted in predictable ways,” says Jim. “Anger—briefly. Humility—having joined the ranks of the ‘handicapped.’ Depression—that lasted about six months. As I learned to drive, read, write, and even play basketball with one eye, I came to accept the situation.”

Looking back, he has said that the misfortune with his eyes helped him grow, to be more productive, more compassionate, more grateful, but he also says that it didn’t change the ups and downs of his life. He says, “I got a better job and helped my children through college. My wife and I divorced. I traveled in foreign countries and had adventures. I tried to kill myself. My wife and I were reunited and are approaching our 46th year. I have a cataract in my good eye. I have published seven books. I am 77.”

Jim Levy lives in northern New Mexico outside a small Hispanic village with writer Phaedra Greenwood. He gets up at 4 in the morning, writes books, and takes long naps.

Fighting an Invisible Foe Reuben Haller CdeP 1974 REUBEN REMEMBERS his years at Thacher fondly. “I had friends, served as student chairman, and enjoyed athletics,” he recalls. “I achieved enough to gain acceptance to Harvard, which seemed at the time the pinnacle of college status.” Things were going well for him—but trouble was brewing at home. His parents were going through an ugly divorce and his mother fell into a deep depression.

Though at first he believed he would be insulated from his family’s difficulties while he was away at school, he soon realized just how much it was impacting him.

“By October of my freshman year at Harvard, I was depressed, isolated, and hardly engaged in class,” Reuben says. “ I was at the nation’s most prestigious college and unable to figure out why I was dysfunctional and in so much pain.”

At the time, he did not recognize depression as an illness and received little support— the university didn’t notice, and his parents were far away, dealing with their own challenges. Overcome with deep feelings of shame and self-blame, he ultimately dropped out.

It took six years of struggle before Reuben finally went in search of support and healing.

“Aided by family, psychiatry, and community, I started on the road to mental health. I found my way.” Today, 30 years later, he has a “beautiful family,” a career he loves, and a good life.

His struggles with depression are gone.

“I learned later that many generations in my family have struggled with depression,” says Reuben. “It can strike anyone, even high achievers. Those afflicted often cannot recognize their illness, or disguise it due to shame or stigma. Mental illness can be invisible and hard to detect. Watch out for signs, often subtle, that things are not OK.” He concludes: “Take care of each other.”

Reuben Haller lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with his wife and two teenaged sons. He is a variety performer and musician, and clowned with The Big Apple Circus for 16 years.

The Seed of a Calling Jordana Munk Martin CdeP 1990 WHEN JORDANA WAS PREGNANT with her second son, things appeared, in every way, to progress normally and easily. “After the first trimester, most of us hope for the best and make no preparation for the worst,” says Jordana. “I was no different. And in the final week, I looked forward to bringing home a new brother to our son, then 5 years old.”

Then, she received devastating news: The baby she was carrying, her son, had died. It seemed to come without warning. “I had a belly the size of Wyoming, colorful imaginings of this person’s future, and every cell of my body was abloom with impending motherhood,” she remembers. But now, the doctor

was asking her how she wanted to proceed; she was expected to make a decision quickly.

She thought about the inner resources she would need to summon in order to perform the arduous task of childbirth under such difficult circumstances.

“Babies are conductors,” says Jordana.

“They call us into action. They make us heroic and keep us curious and ignite our compassion. This baby, though not living, was no different.”

She continues: “Our son summoned the loving attention of a community, he drew people toward us in friendship, he inspired flares of collective creativity, just as live babies do. He revealed me to myself: From the single moment I held him, I newly saw myself as brave.”

Out of the challenge and heartbreak of this experience, Jordana felt herself opened

up to listening more deeply and keeping people company who were in the midst of the most difficult and challenging moments. In the loss, she found “the seed of a calling.” One year later, she went on to found a program, now in its eighth year, that supports artists as they ask themselves deep questions in order to move forward with their work.

“I never imagined this loss, but—like every child—my second son altered my life and continues to directly shape who I am.”

Jordana Munk Martin lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband, Ross Martin, and their sons Dash ’21 and Theodore. In 2010 she founded the Artist In Residence program at the Textile Arts Center, as well as the TATTER Blue Library, a textile research library, also in Brooklyn.

The Thacher School 25

24 spring 2017

Rebounding Reinventing a Life After Losses

By Casey Pieretti P ,20

WHEN I WAS 14, waiting for my father to bring home my younger brother on a Saturday morning, a 25-year-old man and his two friends were driving down a back street at over 80 mph. The driver, who had a blood alcohol level of over 3.8 (more than four times the legal limit), ran a stop sign just as my father and brother were entering the same intersection and there was a wreck. The result of that wreck was my father and brother were killed on that morning. It was nearly three years before I was even able to talk about that day. After a while I was able to talk about it and I would tell people about what had happened.

And then there was another wreck.

I had played basketball for three years in high school and by my senior year I was the starting point guard and team captain. But I hadn’t fully applied myself to the sport and it didn’t work out for me to play in college. So I ended up attending [college] in Los Angeles where it turned out that my roommate was a basketball player from the area.

He took me around to the local street games and I learned a whole new style of play. I also matured as an athlete and became far faster and stronger than I was in high school.

With these new skills I went home for the summer and was playing on my old playground with my high school friend who was playing in college. He told me he thought I could be a walk-on player. I went with it, I transferred, and was told if I made the team I would get a scholarship. I pushed myself harder than before and within a month of playing with the team I was given a full ride. Once my spot on the team was secure I felt as though I was really back and I began playing with even more intensity. It paid off; before the first game I was moved to starting point guard.

Two weeks before our season began, I was hit by another drunk

driver, damaging both my legs and causing me to lose my right leg below the knee. With it went my scholarship and basketball dreams.

But this time I wasn’t crushed, because I had learned some valuable lessons from finally dealing with the loss of my father and brother. I decided right there in the hospital that I wouldn’t be wasting any time. I was going to move forward with my new life immediately.

Despite the fact that at this point I was unable to walk or get myself out of my bed, I knew that sports had always kept me moving, so I decided I would become a triathlete. I didn’t know anything about prosthetics or what my remaining leg would be able to do, but I told everyone in the hospital about my plans. No one believed me, not even my own mother. But I set out a plan around small, reachable goals.

Within a year I ran a mile in the seven minute range. Within two years I raced in my first triathlon and beat over 50 people. A year later I was beating people in my own age group.

As a way of cross-training, I took up in-line skating, which allowed me to regain a fluidity of motion I was missing with my prosthetics. Soon I had new goals and new dreams. I ended up skating for team Rollerblade and participating in a three-month cross-country skate to help kids who had lost limbs gain access to better prosthetics. Racking up 30 to 40 miles a day, we would also put on performances. The tricks we developed for those shows led me next to stunt work in the film industry.

My first big break was working for Vic Armstrong on Starship Troopers. I’m the guy whose leg was chewed off by a giant insect. What really allowed me to make a mark was that I was able to design a realistic looking leg that would release upon command. In addition to doing the stunts, I found that I had a knack for devising new ways of solving design problems, especially when it came to prostheses.

Eventually, the prosthetist who had supplied me for 15-plus years retired without passing along his craft to anyone. However, I had paid attention every time he made me a new leg and I was able to take over making the key components of his design. Today, I make this equipment for myself and others. One of my passions, like setting up the limb bank for children, is to help other amputees afford and acquire the best possible prosthetics. I do this individually with people I know or meet and I try to help the amputee community as a whole move forward and have become an advocate for consumer-driven prosthetics.

As I look back on my experiences, it occurs to me that I naturally have a different perspective on most situations, which has helped me at every turn. I don’t think this came from the trauma in my life, but I do think it is accentuated by how I dealt with the trauma. I think I have learned to overcome difficult situations and that process has pushed me to embrace thinking in a different way, solving problems in a different way. When I visit my daughter Luca at Thacher, I see a new generation applying the advances in technology in such exciting ways. Thacher combines high achievement with the heart and soul of community which makes for fantastic adults. To me this winning combination will create better conditions throughout the world.

The Thacher School 27

Experimentation. Iteration. Trial and error. Improvisation. Repetition. There are many paths to progress, but most lead through at least one of these. And a school’s business is to open up the spaces—both physical and metaphysical—for its students to take the risks and do the work of growing.

00 spring 2017

The Thacher School 01

PHOTO/ILLUSTRATION CREDIT HERE

GATHERINGS…

The Next Peak

Campaign Launch Events Around the Country TO CELEBRATE THE LAUNCH OF THE NEXT PEAK CAPITAL CAMPAIGN and the many, many people who make our community so remarkable, Thacher hosted a series of gatherings that included local premieres of The Best We Can Do, a short film created by Lauren Cerre and Tyler Manson, both CdeP 2001. These events also featured remarks by Head of School Michael Mulligan, wine tasting courtesy of vintners in Thacher’s own community, and the red carpet photo opps displayed on this page. For more photos of these events and more information about the capital campaign, visit thacher.org/nextpeak.

Step and Repeat: On the red carpet at the Los Angeles event were Harriet and Bobby Perry P ‘83 (top left) and (below) a quartet from CdeP 2004: Catherine Wittinghill Illingworth, Liz Craver Carlitz, Jennie Tucker, and Ali Arastu. At the New York event were (near left top) Karleanne Rogers P ‘09 ‘12 ‘15 and Honorary Campaign Chair Dan Yih P ‘10 ‘12 ‘15 and (below) Sebastian Paulsson and Campaign Co-Chair Sarah Shaikh CdeP 2003. Above, at the Ojai event, are Campaign Co-Chair Newlin Hastings CdeP 1970 and campaign committee member Emily Williamson Hancock CdeP 1983 P ‘10 ‘12 ‘13. At the San Francisco event (immediately above) are Robert and Robin Wilder P ‘15, Campaign Chair Janie Caroll Richardson CdeP 1983, and campaign committee member Weston Richardson CdeP 1980 P ‘15 ‘17.

30 2017 00 FALL spring /summer 2007

Welcoming the Twos and Sevens Reunion Weekend, June 2017 THE CLASS OF 1967, which was celebrating its 50th reunion, was the first to show up, promptly saddling up for an overnight at Patton’s Cabin, before returning to campus. The rest of our alumni—representing every single 2 and 7 class from 1952 to 2012— arrived on Friday for a full slate of campus activities. In the afternoon the 50th Reunion Luncheon and Tour brought folks together in the Library Courtyard, where they received their coveted hats. And the 50th Reunion Horseback Ride, open to everyone, brought alumni out to the barns, fields, and trails that they once knew so well. The evening continued with a cocktail party for members of the Boot Hill Legacy Society and class barbecues. Friday closed with dessert, drinks, and live music on the Pergola. Saturday brought with it brunch, horseback riding, trapshooting, campus tours, lectures, and a co-ed soccer game during the daytime hours.

In the classroom, alumni were generous enough to lend their insight and expertise to the following lectures: • Teens, Parents, Schools, and Thacher: What We Know That Eludes Others (Head of School Michael Mulligan) • Thacher’s First 125 Years: Community and Campus Leadership (John Taylor CdeP 1965) • How NASA and the NFL are Transforming Cancer and Autoimmune Disease Care (Dr. Andrew Holman CdeP 1977) • National Security Threats and Challenges and the Trump Administration (Dr. John Lenczowski CdeP 1967) • “The Greater Good”: A Conversation About Nonprofit Board Service and How Thacher Alumni Can Serve (Gretchen Milligan P ’00, ’02; Phil Pillsbury CdeP 1967; Bob Johnson CdeP 1967; and Guadalupe Nickell CdeP 1992) Out at the trapshooting range, it was a record-breaking day with 67 alumni and guests shooting on 15 squads of trap. Steve Kanaly P ’96 ’99 and Chris Van Son P ’15 ’16 oversaw the range. Quinn Hacker CdeP 2007 had the highest trap round of the day with 23/25 and the class of 1977 earned the highest class team score with 72/125 thanks to members Peter Downey, Tim Bowman, Bill Arnold, Tom Crozier, and Steve Hills. Student assistants and Brian Golbère P ’19 were also on hand to help.

In the evening, everyone made their way down to the Upper Field around dusk for the traditional Alumni Banquet. Mike Voevodsky CdeP 1982 served as emcee for the night while the following alumni gave memorable class toasts: Clint Pooley CdeP 1952, Roger Coates CdeP 1957, Skip Porter CdeP 1962, Phil Pillsbury CdeP 1967, Jim Moffitt CdeP 1972, Steve Hills CdeP 1977, Sophia Julien O’Neal CdeP 1982, Jenn Crittenden CdeP 1987, Marcus Stokes CdeP 1992, Kate Smith CdeP 1997, Jane Kwett CdeP 2002, Brooke Wharton CdeP 2007, Margot Hughan CdeP 2012.

The entire gathering also gave an impressive, and heartfelt, standing ovation to Cam and Lori Schryver in honor of their impending retirement after almost 30 years as the heart and soul of Thacher’s Horse Program.

Sunday meant more brunch and horseback riding, along with the Memorial Service led

by Reverend D. Andrew Kille CdeP 1967. The attendees, perched in the enclave of the Outdoor Chapel overlooking the Ojai Valley, listened as he spoke of stories—stories of our own lives, of the lives of others, and of our communities—and the ways that they give meaning and shape to our lives.

Joy and Michael (top) welcome reunioners to a gathering in their backyard. The Ojai Valley came through yet again by providing a spectactular backdrop for the Alumni Banquet.

The Thacher School 01

GATHERINGS…

Class Photos

Reunion 2017

CdeP 1952

32 FALL 2017

CdeP 1957

CdeP 1962

CdeP 1967

CdeP 1972

CdeP 1977

CdeP 1982

CdeP 1987

CdeP 1992

CdeP 1997

CdeP 2002

CdeP 2007

CdeP 2012 The Thacher School 33

CLASS NOTES…

* 1946

*1948

1955

INDICATES REUNION YEAR

^

CORRESPONDING PHOTO ABOVE

NICK CUNNINGHAM writes, “According to G. K. Chesterton, in his book Heretics, strong men are alone and worried while weak men depend on others and have hope. My father, like Theodore Roosevelt, was sent west to become stronger, as was my asthmatic brother TY ’39 and my troubled, second brother LARRY ’42. They told my parents that I should go too; I did and made my first friend, TOM SIMONS ’46. I also came back East stronger. Thank you, Thacher!”

Charlotte. They also took a trip to South America in October 2016. Will, an army veteran, is retired from a 40-year international business career and Linda, a former Pan American stewardess and a model, is retired from nursing. They are members of St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church in Waxhaw.

Note: News of William Strong's passing in December reached us too late to include in this issue's In Memoriam section; it will be included next issue.

1959

SANDY WALKER is “continuing architecture for my 60th year at a rather slow pace. Still see SAM WRIGHT, PETER DUNNE, and ELLIOT HAYNE. Kay and I share four of my grandchildren. One doctor, one film maker, one Fulbright scholar in Turkey, and one making very good Keenan wine; while in Brooklyn, I have two high school boys and their mom who has a new novel, Manhattan Beach, to follow her Pulitzer effort, A Visit From the Goon Squad. All is good and I am looking forward to reunion.”

^

ALAN GALLAWAY updates, “I moved my 48-foot trawler from northern Nicaragua to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, this June. Trip was 1,400 miles and took seven days. We stopped in Ixtapa for two days to get a break.” MITCHELL LATHROP visited with schoolmates BOB VOIT ’57 and BILL VOIT in the spring. DAVID LAYLIN shares, “I continue participating in scientific exchange programs with Iran.

Aside from the direct benefits to both countries, this is important ‘track two’ diplomacy—at a time when the U.S. and Iran badly need some. In July, I was the only American ecologist at the international SDS (sand and dust storm) Conference in Tehran and have been invited to stay for three weeks in October to visit a number of sites that present serious water/land management challenges.”

^

^

1958

JIM LEVY reports, “I have published two books this year: Rowdy’s Boy, a memoir about my childhood and youth that includes a chapter about my four years at Thacher; and Mar Egeo, a book of memoirs and fiction about my travels in Ghana, Kenya, Ethiopia, Italy, Spain, Greece, Mexico, Belize and other places.” WILLIAM STRONG and Linda celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on June 3, 2017.

Their daughters, Abigail and Elizabeth, hosted a celebration dinner and dancing in their honor at The Ballantyne Hotel, in

^

34 FALL 2017

^

ROBERT GALLAWAY writes, “What are the odds of meeting the first African American to be accepted and graduate from Thacher? First, you need to get prostate cancer. Then, you have to decide on proton beam therapy at Loma Linda University Hospital. Then, you have to get half naked in a dressing room, before therapy, and meet ‘Bert.’

You ask Bert, ‘Where are you from?’ He says, ‘Washington, D.C., some other cities, and Ojai.’ I say, ‘Have you ever heard of The Thacher School?’ He says, ‘I was the first African American to be accepted and graduate from Thacher.’ It turns out that BERT HAMMOND ’69 and I both had the same favorite teacher: Fred Lamb. We were fortunate to meet each other and promised that we will come to our 60th and 50th Reunions in 2019.” HARRY WYETH says, “Hello down there in Ojai. I had the thought that just maybe Thacher folks might enjoy a sweet photo of my horse from our local paper, The Union, here in Grass Valley, Calif.

Students might get the thought that relationships with horses can last a long time. I think that I may be the only member of my class of 1959 that still owns a horse! Hope you like the photo.”

1961

1962

CHRIS FERRER is “staying active with business and my growing family. One son is in Jacksonville, with his wife and two children, where they just managed to avoid the floods.

My other son, with his wife and two children, is outside of Boston. In addition, I spend time volunteering with our local office of Community Emergency Response Team (the Office of Emergency Management offshoot) and as part of our ham radio team.”

DON PORTER reports, “Michael Ehrhardt suffered a stroke in 2005 and another, more severe one, in February 2017. He is recovering under the loving care of his sister, Gena, and her family at their home in Georgia.” RICH LOOK visited Michael and reports: “His speech was good enough to

Photos (L to R): Alan Gallaway ’55 on his trawler; Bob Voit ’57, Mitch Lathrop ’55, and Bill Voit ’55; Will Strong ’58 and Linda celebrated their 50th anniversary at The Ballantyne Hotel in North Carolina; A chance encounter between Bert Hammond ’69 and Robert Gallaway ’59 while getting cancer treatment; Harry Wyeth ’59 is visited by 100-year-old, longtime Grass Valley resident Clara King (photo credit: The Union); Rich Look ’62 and Michael Ehrhardt ’62 visiting after Michael’s stroke.

MILESTONES MARRIAGES & ENGAGEMENTS understand the gist, with the occasional phrase clear as a bell. He has full mobility with his right side which means he will be able to play a keyboard with that hand and arm at some point in the future, although it will be frustrating given the level at which he used to play. The guy has guts and gumption I must say. It was very emotional for both of us to meet in person for the first time in many years, although we’ve been corresponding a lot since our 50th reunion until his stroke earlier this year. His family is wonderful and he is their main project. They’ve pooled their Social Security checks and all live together!” MICHAEL EHRHARDT says, “Greetings to all. Thanks for kind thoughts and wishes given after my stroke in February.

The left side is useless, so I am searching for right-handed configurations of etudes by Chopin and Leopold Godowsky.

With luck and hard work, the outpatient rehab will help me walk again. I enjoyed my visit with Rich Look and his lovely wife, Cassandra, in August, after not seeing Rich for 17 years. I also want to thank Mike Milligan for sending me the reunion video. It was great to hear all your greetings to me.” HANS LINDGREN recently recruited three of his grandchildren to help him display his Thacher pride. Arvid, Erik, and Olle Holm are sons of Hans’s daughter, Kajsa.

MARSH MILLIGAN ’69 and Gretchen will visit Hans and Anna in the summer at their home in Kullavik, Sweden.

1

^

2

^

1967

*1968

^

BOB KENDIG writes, “I have a photo of the Van de Graaff generator incident referred to by Rick Bisaccia in the letter posted on page 3 of the Spring 2017 magazine. The person touching the generator is JON HALL and looking on are CHAD BROWN, BOB JOHNSON, and HARVEY KASLOW— all of the class of ’67. Don’t know who took the picture.”

DYKE MESSLER and TRAV NEWTON say, “We hope our classmates will join us for our 50th reunion: June 8-10, 2018.

We are planning on getting together on Wednesday, June 6, and we would appreciate input about the idea of having an outdoor barbecue on June 7 at the School. On June 8 is the luncheon in the Library courtyard and, that evening, CdeP 1968 are invited to dine at the Mulligans. We are also seeking suggestions and volunteers for Saturday morning presentations on June 9. Additionally, we have been asked to craft the Sunday memorial service. Please let us know if you would like to contribute in that endeavor. Contact Dyke or, if you are near Ojai, Trav. We hope that some of our former teachers will join us.”

Read and submit class notes online at blogs.thacher.org/classnotes

3

4

DAISY MOORE ’87 married Joshua Julian on April 9, 2017, in Topanga Canyon, Calif. “We had a beautiful ceremony with my kids, Taj (16) and Anya (13), and Joshua’s daughter, Ema (13)—and a wonderful celebration ... including MIRIAM DEQUADROS ’88 who introduced us.” (photo 1) SHANNON HASTINGS ’99 married Joshua Higa at the Outdoor Chapel in April 2017. “We had a record number of Toads in attendance and Mully led us in a rousing rendition of The Banquet Song on the dance floor. Josh even wore his official ‘TSO’ patch (Thacher Significant Other). It meant so much to have a true Thacher wedding.” (photo 2) CLAIRE KENDRICK ’99 married Brian Pettus on July 29, 2017, in Calistoga, Calif. Attending were JAMIE LEWIS (née Abou-Samra), SHAUNA WEISBURST (née Nyborg), ERIN LEE (née Hoppin), BENJAMIN WALLACE, JAIME BURNS-FRANCE ’97, ELIZABETH WALLACE ’96, CHARLES KENDRICK ’94, STEPHEN KENDRICK ’67, JOHN BARKAN ’67, trustees emeritae Katherine Lewis and Liz Moffitt, and Thacher parents Mary and Terry Vogt (LISA VOGT ’97). (photo 3) BETSY BRADFORD ’02 married John Peretti on July 3, 2017, in her home town, Lake Tahoe, Calif. “There was a lively Thacher bunch at the party.”

Photo L to R: ANDREW POOLE, Jess Milligan, Melinda Poole, Ben Johnson, LAUREL PETERSON, ELLIOT PERKINS ’93, KAY BRADFORD ’05, SARAH PERKINS ’97, NEWIE HASTINGS ’70, BETSY BRADFORD, HILL HASTINGS ’66, John Peretti, MATT SPILLE, MARSHALL MILLIGAN ’69, SHANNON HASTINGS HIGA ’99, Gretchen Milligan, KACEY PERKINS TIFT ’95, CLAIRE MILLIGAN, LAURA NEVILLE, JAMIE HASTINGS. (photo 4) The Thacher School 35

CLASS NOTES…

1971

1972

JOHN AARON shares, “I was commissioned to create a tribute to the Emanuel Nine of the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, S.C. It is a memorial to the people who lost their lives when a self-professed white supremacist gunned them down during their Bible study at the church on June 17, 2015. The piece was created in Thacher’s ceramics studio, thanks to Mr. Mulligan, Mr. Haggard, Ms. Hooker, Dr. Land, Dr. and Ms. Swift, Aaron Boydston, and Dawn Marley, who not only arranged for this project to happen, but provided me with housing in the Anacapa House and on campus as a visiting scholar.” More on page 10 and at blogs.thacher.org/ classnotes.

JOHN BUSTERUD shares, “I retired from PG&E last fall after 31 years as managing counsel and senior director where I was fortunate to work on a number of emerging environmental issues, including climate change regulation. This spring, I was elected to the board of the California Council for Environmental and Economic Balance and, in June, Governor Brown appointed me to the California Veterans Board, a seven-member body that advocates on behalf of veterans.

In addition to these public service opportunities, I’m looking forward to spending more time with family and friends and catching up with the Class of 1972!” BILL DAWSON says, “I voluntarily removed myself from the corporate gene pool, retiring in July as CFO from Adamas Pharmaceuticals—a winwin for all concerned. I continue to serve on a few boards of directors in an effort to stay somewhat relevant. My wife, Becky, and I look forward to traveling more—Ireland and Scotland with Leslie and ALAN SILBERGH next spring—and lowering our golfing handicaps (higher than they should be). Sons WILS ’09 and PARKER ’13 are both launched and thriving. Come visit in Tiburon!”

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1974

36 FALL 2017

GEORGE ARNOLD notes, “I have been working in the social investment arena in New Zealand—which has been very interesting. If anyone is interested in exploring some of the furthest reaches of Thacher’s diaspora, we would welcome visitors!” REUBEN HALLER is pleased to announce, “I produced my first CD of all original songs, called Stomp Your Feet! Clap Your Hands! I’ve performed these Appalachian inspired songs for years in schools and libraries all over Georgia. The music appeals to kids and adults; half the songs are sung, half are instrumentals. It’s also a family affair; my wife and two sons sing and play on the album. I play fiddle, mandolin, spoons, and sing all the leads. Take a listen at CD Baby!” LANCE IGNON reports, “My family and I moved this summer to L.A., where I’m working at USC as head of strategic initiatives and communication for the Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. It fulfills my dream of always wanting to go back to college.”

*1978 1979

1982

^

GRANT FLETCHER says, “Greeting from the Fletchers.

Still working in the EMS/lifesaving business and managing commercial real estate. My kids are great. Jamie is at Tufts grad school for nutrition/corporate marketing, post UCLA. Katie graduated Yale, taking a job in D.C. in health management. Corie is in Paris, a year abroad with USC. Going broke... Traveling when time... Hope all’s well!”

PHIL SMITH writes, “I enjoyed a pirate village. Possibly funded by the same Jewish pirates that informed the British and helped siege and capture New York’s Manhattan Island.

Friends of Captain Henry Morgan himself, 1654-1674. Who has heard of Abraham Cohen Henriques and his brother Moses? Who wants to go on a magical history tour?”

REY BALDERAS reports, “I have been running with several communities in the Dallas, Texas, metroplex. It is enjoyable to train, share life experiences, and discuss the politics of the day while spending hours on the road. I qualified for the Boston 2018 Marathon so I will begin preparing in December 2017. A new venture for me has been pacing the fall marathon group for the Dallas Running Club. Investing in fellow runners allows me to exercise my mentoring skills with multi-generation people. Speaking of mentoring, my daughter receives much fatherly mentoring and she is now a sophomore at East Texas Baptist University.”

JOHN HERZOG shares, “Connecting with classmates at our 35th reunion was a 2017 highlight. I also had the good fortune of qualifying for the Ironman 70.3 world championships in Chattanooga, Tenn. It was very humbling to be surrounded by some of the fastest triathletes in the world—4,500 athletes from over 40 countries. Although I was soundly schooled by the competition, it was a wonderful race experience. Starting with an up-current swim in the Tennessee River, the bike course then took us into Georgia and back, and we finished on a beautiful run course along and across the river. Unforgettable!” MARIAN HUNTINGTON updates, “My son, Robert, just started his first year at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, so we’re experiencing the eerie quiet of the ‘empty nest.’ Through my nonprofit, NovatoSpirit, I’m now serving 75 children that live in poverty, with athletic scholarships to after-school sports like karate, dance, and soccer. They are doing very well, despite their considerable challenges. I have been nominated for the Marin Women’s Hall of Fame for this work. Not sure I deserve this lofty nomination, but I am very grateful, and the publicity will enable me to help more kids. Warm wishes to all!” [More on page 23.] MICHAEL VOEVODSKY writes, “I enjoyed the summer off, starting with Reunion. My carefree summer came to an end when I started an assignment with

^

Photos (L to R): Hans Lindgren ’62 with three of his grandchildren in Kullavik, Sweden; CdeP 1967 “learning” with a Van de Graaff generator; Becky and Bill Dawson ’72 in Tiburon, Calif.; Grant Fletcher ’78 with his three daughters; John Herzog ’82 in Chattanooga, Tenn., for the Ironman 70.3; Alex ’81 and Katie ’83 Calhoun with their kids, Natalie and Walker.

5

a super regional ice cream company here in Holland, Mich.— Hudsonville Ice Cream—which has led me to a new hot ice cream brand called Halo Top. I’ve eaten more ice cream in the past five weeks than I have in the past six years. It’s not medical devices, advanced antennas, or space borne optics— but it is fun. My 25th B-school reunion in Boston was like a Thacher gathering. It was great to see RANDY BESSOLO ’83, EVE STACEY ’83, CABOT BROWN ’79, STEVE HILLS ’77, and Stephen Hauge’s twin brother John Hauge.”

*1983

1986

MARRIAGES & ENGAGEMENTS

6

^

KATIE BALLOU CALHOUN says, “I will soon raise a glass to 15 years at Calhoun & Company Communications—a PR, marketing, and digital media agency for the wine and spirits industry. Daughter Natalie is the environmental manager of King’s Canyon and Sequoia National Parks, living at 7,000 feet, and hoping—among many projects—to add a compost program that bears will ignore. Son Walker is at sea level—a marine biologist—and most recently studying oyster larvae growth with pH and acidification changes in our warming ocean waters. ALEX ’81 and I welcome visitors to our empty nest in San Francisco!

TOM HALE is “settling in to the Bay Area! After six years in Texas, the Hale family—Anna (11), Ivy (11), Julia (14)—have returned to the Golden State. Calling all Toads in the Bay Area! In August, we dropped JULIA in Ojai—soon to be CdeP 2021—to enjoy a few years at the House of Stone polishing her riding skills and learning from Thacher luminaries like Peter Robinson.” SAMANTHA HARTLEY says, “Great to see everyone at the Next Peak event here in San Francisco.

Cate is starting sixth grade and enjoying her dance classes and time on the soccer fields all over the bay area with her Aftershocks team. We moved to a new apartment on Sacramento Street. We are still in boxes but the place will be great once we get settled in.” JULIE HUNTINGTON DE POLO reports, “I was recently hired by a fellow Toad, MARY EVERETT BOURKE ’81, to work at the arts boarding school Oxbow, in Napa. (Thanks to former Thacher staff Mimi Van Son for recommending me!) I joined Mary in pouring our respective wines at the San Francisco Next Peak gathering—what an amazing turnout of Toads of all ages.

Great fun to catch up with fellow classmates HEIDI EVANS GIRARDONI and PAUL BRESSIE. Daughter SYDNEY ’17 is double-majoring in nursing and Spanish at University of Portland. Daughter OLIVIA ’18 is hard at work on those college apps with expert guidance by the Thacher college counseling staff. Bittersweet that this is our last year! On your next trip to Napa, please be sure to reach out!” SARAH O’BRIEN reflects, “It is hard to believe that it has been five years since we have moved our family from San Francisco

^

MILESTONES

7

CONTINUED

EMERY MITCHEM ’03 and Dorsey Hoadley-Kilbourn were married on July 1, 2017, “in the wood by a river just outside Portland, Ore. We have been gallivanting about the Pacific Northwest nature. JOHN BABBOTT and WILLIAM JOHNSON were amongst my groomsmen.”

VIRGINIA DAWSON ’04 married Armin Drake in Lake Forest, Ill., at the Onwentsia Club, on September 17, 2016. “We had a handful of my fellow CdeP 2004s there to help us celebrate!” Pictured L to R: SABRINA LEE, JENNIE TUCKER, MATT MAYNE, VIRGINIA DAWSON DRAKE, PETER OBERNDORF, JULIA ROBINSON, and Armin Drake. (photo 5) KAY BRADFORD ’05 married Rob Collier on her birthday, September 3, 2017, in her hometown of Lake Tahoe, Calif. “There were many toads in attendance, including my bridesman GABE YETTE, KIRSTY MARK POORE, CHANDLER PEASE BERKMAN, ED CAHILL, SAM FELTON, CONNER SCHRYVER, BARRETT BROWN, BEN SKYEBABBOTT, T.J. BERMANT, ELLIOT PERKINS ’93, NEWLIN HASTINGS ’70, JAMIE HASTINGS ’02, BETSY BRADFORD PERETTI ’02, DAVID KEPNER ’07, KACEY PERKINSTIFT ’95, SARAH PERKINS ’97, SHANNON HIGA ’99, and HILL HASTINGS ’66—who did not make the photo.” (photo 6) KATHRYN PADGETT ’07 and REDGIE COLLINS ’07 got married on August 19, 2017, in Tahoe, Calif.

“We started dating during our senior year at Thacher and have been together ever since.” (photo 7)

The Thacher School 37

CLASS NOTES…

to Santa Barbara. Pierce (10) and Ronan (8) are enjoying Crane Country Day School as fifth and third graders, respectively. We miss the city and getting together with our San Francisco classmates and their families. Please feel free to stop by and visit us if you are in Southern California. We had a wonderful summer visiting brother PETER ’88 and his family in Maine.” CAROLYN REED KIRKPATRICK shares, “Doug and I attended the Next Peak gathering in Ojai and enjoyed catching up with so many Thacher friends including classmate SARAH O’BRIEN and family, and former teacher Betty Saunders. Our older son, LIAM ’17, graduated from Thacher in June, and our younger son, COLIN ’19, is now a junior. We are currently living in Ojai, and would love to hang out with Toads passing through the valley!”

1994

^

*1988 1989

1990

^

CINDY CASTAÑEDA and classmates went out for a minireunion dinner at Tosca’s in San Francisco in September. “We can’t wait to see everyone at the 30th this June!” JAIME ARAUJO says, “The impromptu get-together coinciding with Cindy’s visit to town was so fun!”

NOAH WYLE shares, “Dropping my son, OWEN ’21, off at Thacher to begin his freshman year was like traveling backward through time. The 28 years since our ‘first days’ seemed to evaporate the moment we drove through the gates. We are thrilled to extend our family’s relationship to Thacher to the next generation!”

FELICITY HOWE ARNOLD updates, “This summer JUSTIN, the kids, and I moved from Northern Virginia to my hometown of Boulder, Colo., and we couldn’t be happier! Come visit if you find yourself in the area.” OAK STRAWBRIDGE writes, “All is well back in D.C. after a great visit to California in August. My daughters, Elise (14) and Westie (12), made their first visit to Thacher followed by an amazing trip kayaking and hiking around the Channel Islands.

I can’t believe I missed this beautiful national park while at school!” DAVID VAN SLYKE is, “Looking for other bronze/ silver league StarCraft II players for achievement hunting.”

^

^

1991

38 FALL 2017

^

WINFIELD HAN updates, “Vivian and I welcomed our daughter into the world in 2016. We recently brushed aside any concern for safety to get a pretty kick-butt photo of Maddie on a horse—wearing a Thacher T-shirt, no less!

Future Toad, class of 2034! We currently live in West LA but are planning on moving to Oak Park, Calif., later this year— marking my return to Ventura County after many, many years away.”

COLLIN DOWNEY and Irene welcomed their second child in September 2016. “Just 6 months old, Liam hiked the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage with his family on an April trip to Japan when we were all blessed with an incredible, full bloom Sakura in Japan’s old capital, Kyoto. Malani is now a middle schooler, and all of a sudden everything '80s, '90s, and old like me is cool again.” MARY EVERETT CONARROE reports, “Another year in Bakersfield down, another to go, and another very exciting March Madness. The Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners (go Runners!) were the first ever 8 seed to make it to the NIT semifinals—my husband is the first assistant. I can wholeheartedly say Caleb (7), Cooper (4), and I have fully assimilated to the Bakersfield life. We even turned down a job as head coach at CSU Monterey Bay for another year here. I’m still working as a home health physical therapist and thankful for a job that allows me to fly around the country watching basketball.” RIKA HOWE writes, “Snowbella Farm now has a grand arena for our equestrian daughters, Adelaide (11) and Josephine (9), and we have hosted mounted meetings for Fiesta Pony Club. I now teach full time at a local elementary school.

NATE continues as a senior scientist at Southwest Research Institute, but finds time to swim Escape from Alcatraz a few times a year.” KENYON PHILLIPS shares, “On September 11 in New York City, I produced and starred in a sold-out concert version of The Who’s Tommy at Joe’s Pub—the musical outpost of the Public Theater (Hamilton, Hair, A Chorus Line)—where I am an artist in residence.

The show featured plenty of Broadway royalty, including Tony winner Cady Huffman (The Producers), Erik Liberman (currently starring in War Paint with Patti LuPone), and Cheryl Freeman, who originated the role of the Acid Queen in the Broadway production of The Who’s Tommy over 20 years ago.” DERMOND THOMAS received one of the first bikes from The 1854 Cycling Company by BRANDALE RANDOLPH.

^

*1998 1999

LOUISA FOOTMAN reports, “I continue to serve as the lead mental health clinician at The SEED School of Maryland, a public boarding school in Baltimore, Md. Looking forward to seeing everyone at Reunion this June! Exciting news: My husband and I will have a baby boy in tow!”

KIP DONATH was elected for a five-year term to the Council on Foreign Relations. Kip received his PhD from UC San Diego and has been the lead analyst for Egypt at the U.S. State Department for the last few years. SARAH BRUSS GABRIELSON reports, “I am back to school in a master of public health program here in Maine. I just

^

Photos (L to R): Sarah O’Brien’s ’86 boys, Pierce and Ronan, at Marshall Point Light House near the home of Peter O’Brien ’88; Kirkpatricks at 2017 Thacher graduation (L to R): Colin ’19, Doug ’86, Marcia and Don (Doug’s parents), Carolyn ’86, Liam ’17, and Susan and Don Reed (Faculty 1970-1985); CdeP 1988, back L to R: Adam Clammer, Jaime Araujo Bezian, Hilary Swift, Cindy Castañeda, Victor Wykoff, Christine Johnson, Miriam deQuadros; front: Erik Landsness; Oak Strawbridge ’90 with daughters Elise and Westie at the Thacher Outdoor Chapel; Winfield Han’s ’91 daughter, Maddie; Kenyon Phillips ’94 in New York City at J oe’s Pub; Dermond Thomas ’94 and Brandale Randolph ’94 with Brandale’s son, Josiah.

MILESTONES love learning! Additionally, Jeremy, Neil (11), Ezra (9), and I welcomed a 16-year-old exchange student from Germany into our family this year. She is a wonderful addition to our family and I finally have a girl!” ELIZA GREGORY shares, “RYAN MEYER ’98, Ainsley, our dog Poppy, and I moved to Woodland, Calif., this summer. What on earth is Woodland and why would one live there, you ask? It’s a small town, just north of Davis, where Ryan is leading a research center focused on community and citizen science. I am now commuting back to S.F. (womp womp) to continue working on my project with the Asian Art Museum which goes on display April 5. Come to the opening if you’re in the area!

Ainsley just started kindergarten and is resisting following rules—except when there is a materialistic prize for doing so.

We hope everyone is doing well! Come visit! XO”

2002

*2003 2005

MARRIAGES & ENGAGEMENTS

8

ANNA REESER ’07 married CJ on April 29, 2017. “We wed under oak trees in Ojai, and fellow alumnae ELIZABETH WOOLF-WILLIS and JULIA BOSSON were my bridesmaids! CJ and I met in college at UC Berkeley and currently live in Seattle, Wash.” (photo 8) KAITLIN BOND ’09 married Thomas Ward on June 25, 2016, beach-side in Cayucos, Calif., with a small celebration including family and friends from Scotland and the U.S. Toads in attendance were ALISON ESPINOSA-SETCHKO, ELIZA CHILDS, ALEXANDRA MONTAGUE and NICK WILDER. “We met as scuba dive instructors in Fiji and are now enjoying married life in New Zealand.” (photo 9)

^

JANE KWETT enjoyed Labor Day weekend together with CHARLOTTE LORD, ANDREW POOLE, and HILARY FERRIS WHITE at Lake Tahoe. “Our families all came together for wake boarding, swimming, and board games over the weekend.”

CHRIS CAHILL updates, “We moved from D.C. to Redwood City and are completely surprised to be loving living in the suburbs. Looking forward to seeing more Toads in the near future.”

9

ELLEN ADAMS was recently selected Ploughshares’ emerging writer in nonfiction (see page 10). “In the next few months, my writing will be published by Black Warrior Review, Kenyon Review Online, Southern Humanities Review, and The Carolina Quarterly. I live and work in Seattle, where I’m revising a novel and developing a book-length work of nonfiction. I’ve also been enjoying catching up with some Pacific Northwest Toads!” REBEKAH MCFARLAND writes, “Lots of changes this year! I am busy but happy working as an archivist for the Sisters of the Living Word in Arlington Heights, Ill.; volunteering regularly as a book conservation assistant at Chicago’s Newberry Library; running my own bookbinding business, McFarland Book Repair; and making journals for my relatively new Etsy shop, LyranJournals. On top of all that, our garden this year provided us with the majority of our needed produce which, combined with our new compost bin, helped us to continue learning about how to live responsibly on the planet even while living in Chicago.”

CONTINUED

10

IONA HUGHAN ’10 married Tyler Popa in San Francisco on July 1, 2017. “Many Toads in attendance, including the Mullys, who stole the show on the dance floor! Also, my maid of honor was my sister, MARGOT HUGHAN ’12!” (photo 10) EUNICE RUIZ ’10 and KYLE GRIFFITH ’11 are engaged and will be married next summer at Thacher, “where we met and fell in love. We hope to be joined by our Thacher friends and family as we begin our new journey.” (photo 11)

11

The Thacher School 39

CLASS NOTES…

Photos (L to R): Sarah Bruss Gabrielson ’99 and her family; CdeP 2002 Charlotte Lord, Andrew Poole, Hilary Ferris White and Jane Kwett at Lake Tahoe; Rachel Rex ’14 at the North Fork Mid-Sierra Loggers Jamboree.

MILESTONES

2007

2010

2012

*2013 2014

BIRTHS

REDGIE COLLINS announces, “KATHRYN PADGETT and I started dating during our senior year at Thacher—just after fall EDTs—and got married in August 2017. We live together in San Francisco where Kathryn works for Saha Global, an NGO that focuses on clean water treatment in Northern Ghana, while I am an attorney for California Trout, a nonprofit water conservation organization.”

ALEX MACMILLAN is living in Greensboro, N.C., working for a nonprofit, Working America, that focuses on raising wages, expanding access to healthcare, and improving education for working families. MICHAEL STENOVEC reports, “After six years in the Midwest, I’m excited to return to California this fall to begin a PhD in political science at UCLA.”

WINFIELD HAN ’91 and wife Vivian welcomed their daughter, Madelyn Sue-Kyo Han, into the world on March 11, 2016. “She’s pretty cute despite being cursed with my looks instead of my wife’s.” (photo 1)

1

KATHRYN COX BONNEY ’96 and her husband, Steven, announce the birth of their son, Robert Joseph Bonney—born June 16, 2017, at home in St. Louis, Mo. (photo 2)

JOE BELL says, “I am currently finishing my undergraduate degree at Ole Miss and will be working in Los Angeles starting in January 2018. I look forward to being back in California and enjoying the sunshine in the New Year!”

JESSE GATES began a master’s of architecture at Southern California Institute of Architecture.

LANEY MCGAHEY’S leadership accomplishments— especially in her captaincy in rowing—were lauded in the Columbia Spectator. See blogs.thacher.org/classnotes for more info.

2

^

RACHEL REX finished up her junior year at Johns Hopkins in engineering and entered the Ladies Axe Throw at the North Fork Mid-Sierra Loggers Jamboree, winning third place out of over 30 women from around the state!

3

HOW TO SUBMIT DIGITAL PHOTOS:

and place, and suggest a caption.

4

TWO WAYS TO SUBMIT PHOTOS: 1. Email digital files as attachments to alumni@thacher.org.

2. Mail prints or digital discs to: The Thacher School Alumni Office 5025 Thacher Road, Ojai, CA 93023

40 FALL 2017

DEVON TARASEVIC DIEBEL ’00 and James were “excited to welcome our third son, William Renwick Diebel, to our family on July 18, 2017! Big brothers Henry (3.5) and Charlie (2) are loving Baby William, as are we!” (photo 3) KATHERINE FRYKMAN BROWNE ’04 and Olin joyously announce, “We welcomed our second son, Anders Karl Browne, on September 26, 2017.”

TAYLOR MEDINA ’04 and his wife, Kathleen, welcomed their baby girl, Madison Grace Medina, on August 30, 2017. “We three are doing well and living in North Hollywood, Calif.” (photo 4)

• Shoot using your camera’s best photo setting.

• Files should be 200k or larger.

• Save photos as JPEG files.

• Identify every person in the photo, state time We can accept good old-fashioned prints as well.

Unfortunately, we cannot accept photocopies or images from magazines or newspapers.

COLLIN DOWNEY ’93, Irene, and Malani welcomed their son and baby brother, Liam Bodhi, into this world on September 2, 2016.

5

DEIRDRE HERBERT GRIFFITH ’06 and Vance welcomed Delaney MacLean Griffith on July 23, 2017, in Jackson, Wyo. “Our other daughter, Lilah, is taking well to being a big sister and turns 2 years old in October.” (photo 5)

FACULTY, STAFF & FRIENDS…

Top row L to R: Seth Boyd, Edgar Arceo, AJ Yates. Middle row: Iona (Hughan) Popa, Richard Winters, Tyler Popa. Bottom row: Gina Greene, Matt Balano, Renee Hawkins.

Bottom: The Sullivan family, Courtney, Tim and sons Beckett and Cooper in the living room of one of the four new faculty homes.

NEW FACES This year we welcomed a relatively large cohort of talented, thoughtful, and expert educators to our fulltime faculty. Edgar Arceo, a 2015 graduate of Kenyon College and Thacher’s first Fisher Fellow, is teaching psychology and Spanish. Matt Balano, director of diversity and inclusion and assistant dean of students, comes to Thacher from St. Ignatius College Preparatory, where he spend the past 16 teaching English and leading that institution’s work toward equity and inclusion. Matt is the proud father of incoming Thacher freshman Marcus Balano. Dr. Seth Boyd, who teaches English, comes to Thacher from The Hill School in Pennsylvania. He, wife Melanie Berner, and son Arlo are thrilled to be at Thacher. Dr. Gina Greene has joined the history department and will work with students in the Writing Center. She comes to campus with her husband, Jake, and two young children, Luke and Greta. Renee Hawkins has arrived to fill a new position: director of educational technology and library services. After 22 years on the East Coast, she and her husband, Russell, are excited to begin a new adventure with us. A familiar face among the new ones is Iona (Hughan) Popa CdeP 2010. Iona teaches English and coaches volleyball. She is joined by her new husband, Tyler Popa, who is working in the Admission Office and helping with the athletics program. Speaking of familiar faces, Richard Winters, has returned to campus with his wife, Cheryl. Richard, well established in the horsemanship world as a top clinician, has taken over as director of the Horse Program. Many will remember him from a few years back when he spend 10 years with us as “Artist in Residence.” New to the Admission Office is AJ Yates, who comes to us from Flintridge Preparatory School. Joining AJ are wife Carin, who teaches photography and takes photos for the Communications Office, and daughters, Sydney ’19 and Jordan. Read more about these folks at thacher.org/magazine/fall2018.

FOUR NEW HOMES Thanks to a generous gift from the parents of the Class of 2016, as well as several other alumni and parents, four faculty families now occupy new homes along Perimeter Road. The lucky families are Tim Sullivan (English teacher, lacrosse coach, Upper School dorm head) and Courtney Sullivan, plus sons Cooper and Beckett; Kurt Meyer (math, programming, and robotics teacher; advisor to the EAC) and Alice (interim dean of studies, psychology teacher);

Richard Winters (director of the Horse Program) and Cheryl, who co-heads Christian Fellowship with Richard; Jeff Berndt (director of institutional advancement) and Kristen (freshman girl advisor), plus Tyler ’20, Eric ’21, and Kendall. See photos of the new houses at thacher.org/magazine/fall2018.

The Thacher School 41

FACULTY, STAFF & FRIENDS…

We welcome new trustees (l-r): Mark Robinson (Christopher ’18, Matthew ’21), Cristina SP Hudson (Xavier ’19), Brian Smallwood CdeP 1983, and Stefanie Warren CdeP 1996

SABBATICALS

BOARD OF TRUSTEES: WELCOME AND THANKS! As we welcome four new board members (see photo), we extend our deepest gratitude to the dedicated and generous trustees who stepped down. John Gates CdeP 1975 served on the board from 2008 to 2017 and during most of those years led the Buildings and Grounds Committee as chair. Under his leadership, Thacher’s campus was transformed with projects that included the Milligan Center, Thacher Commons, Lower School, Hill Dormitory, Casa Dormitory, and planning for the new dining hall, the C + T Center, and the Hills Building renovation. He also served on the Development and Executive committees. Phil Pillsbury CdeP 1967 first served the board as Parent Association Chair in 2007 and in 2008 he joined the board, where he has served on several committees, including Buildings and Grounds, Program, Personnel, and the Executive Committee. In recent years, his work as chair of the Audit and Risk committee has helped make Thacher students and the School itself safer and more secure. Sarah Lavender Smith CdeP 1986 has served the board since 2008 and served on the Governance, Development, Buildings and Grounds, Executive, and Program Committees. Most recently she co-chaired the Campaign Leadership Committee behind getting the current campaign off to its very successful start. Karen and Sedge Dienst served as Parents Association Chairs during the 2016–17 school year and continued the high level of communication between the School and parents, especially working to welcome new families. They also continued the tradition of class gatherings during Big Gymkhana, and we thank them for their work with the parent community. Thacher cannot continue to thrive without the wisdom, talents, and generosity of its board and we thank these volunteers for their work over the years and the example of stewardship and engagement they set for our students.

CONTINUING EDUCATION Aaron Snyder completed his master’s of arts in private school leadership from the Klingenstein Center at Columbia University.

42 FALL 2017

With Aaron and Theana Snyder (and their three children) back from their sabbatical in Zaragoza, Spain, the torch passed to Blossom and Brian Pidduck. They, along with daughters Daisy and Addie, spent the fall in New York City before shifting to winter accommodations in Colorado, where they plan to get in plenty of backcountry skiing. Blossom writes, “Our fall in New York City was truly remarkable, an opportunity for all of us to live outside our comfort zones. The girls attended Public School 9 on the Upper West Side, a bit of a change from the Monica Ros idyll that had previously defined their educational experience.

Brian turned his explorer’s heart to the five boroughs, running and biking his way through nearly every corner of that vast metropolis. I had the opportunity to visit schools all over New York and New England, an exploration of my own that would be impossible in the course of my normal work schedule. We spent hours in Central Park, our favorite piece of the city, and particularly enjoyed our weekly trips to the Natural History Museum and the Met.”

FACULTY TRAVEL In June, Jake Jacobsen traveled to Cambodia for three weeks with 10 students. The trip was part of the international summer travel component of the new Marvin Shagam Program for Ethics and Global Citizenship.

Developed in partnership with Where There Be Dragons, the trip explored the theme of “Cambodia: A New Generation” and exposed the travelers to people and places that offer an educational look into that country’s past, present, and future. Former faculty member Donald Okpalugo was also on the trip.

Juan Sánchez and Molly Perry CdeP 1985 traveled with 12 students to Costa Rica for a trip that integrated sustainability education, Spanish language skills development, and cultural immersion. Students stayed with host families; participated in daily Spanish lessons; visited both sustainable and traditional cacao, sugar cane, and coffee operations; and spent time at a permaculture farm and sustainability education center, among other sustainability-focused opportunities and initiatives.

IN MEMORIAM… DUNCAN V. PATTY CdeP 1938 Duncan Victor Patty—born in Santa Monica, Calif., in 1920—went to spend eternity with his Lord on December 25, 2015.

After spending his childhood in Ohio, Duncan’s family moved back to California where he attended Thacher until they moved north in 1937. At Stanford University, Duncan pursued a major in petroleum engineering and played water polo until he left school in 1940 to work at Lockheed Aircraft in the war effort. After enlisting in the Naval Air Corp, Duncan met Charlotte Maree Wilson and they married in 1945 in Florida. Duncan flew for the Naval Air Transport Service to bases in South America and, after the war ended, returned to Stanford where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Tau Beta Pi. In 1961—after 14 years in the oil industry in Oklahoma—Duncan moved back to California and took a position with Tejon Ranch Co. He worked for the ranch for 24 years developing their oil and mineral resources, retiring as vice president.

Duncan and Charlotte moved to Auburn in 1985. They spent 30 wonderful years traveling to all seven continents and enjoying their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Duncan served in their church and the community and many philanthropic causes. His generosity, kindness, and enthusiasm for life will be remembered and missed by all who knew him.

Predeceased by his children Jeffrey Patty and Liza Spates, Duncan is survived by his wife of 71 years, Charlotte Patty; children David Patty and Pamela Tweet; his daughter in law; 13 grandchildren; and 12 great-grandchildren.

EDMUND COFFIN CdeP 1939 Edmund “Ned” Coffin died April 18, 2016. Born in New York, Ned attended Thacher for two years, graduated from Yale, and attended language school for the Navy. His military career included Naval intelligence and serving aboard the U.S.S. Bennington. After receiving a Harvard MBA in 1948, Ned worked with the Pond’s Extract Company in Brazil, the Mutual Security Agency in D.C., and Willys Overland in Asia, Africa, and Europe. He married Violet Bodman in 1950.

In 1963—with Africa newly decolonized—Ned established a chicken farm in Nigeria but returned to the U.S. after businesses were nationalized. In 1974, Ned and Vi moved to Strafford, Vt.—captivated by its lovely valley. Ned started a wind energy company, developed affordable housing projects, and transitioned into Vi’s full-time political partner when she became the state Democratic party chair. He was instrumental in building a voter database and helped to recruit state legislature candidates. They enjoyed getting to know new communities and Ned was a treasured mentor for many politicians.

Ned was a friend, a mentor, a comfort, a counselor and kibitzer to many; and a devoted, active member of the United Church of Strafford. Ned and Vi started a program that brought writers, political activists, environmentalists, and educators to speak in Strafford. Ned contributed generously to arts programs and delighted in the Dartmouth Osher Lifelong Learning institute.

Ned was enthusiastic and curious to the end.

He is survived by his sister, Margot Lindsay; children Judy, Doug, Tad, Cris, and Andy; 13 grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.

RUSSELL D. L. WIRTH JR. CdeP 1947 Russell Wirth, born in Wisconsin, passed away peacefully August 9, 2013, in Arizona. At Thacher, “Rusty” was known for his exuberant enthusiasm for everything he undertook and he excelled in the classroom, which earned him “all privileges.” He graduated from Yale—Phi Beta Kappa—and earned a master’s from Johns Hopkins. In 1958, Russell

married Alice Guion Ardrey (they divorced in 1971).

Russell’s business career included: personal aide, U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee; coordinator with President Eisenhower; personal assistant, Blyth & Co.; loan officer, Latin America U.S. Development Loan Fund; co-founder and president, Saint-Phalle, Spalding & Wirth; executive vice president, International Investment Co.; investment officer, Chase International Investment Co.; assistant to president David Rockefeller, Chase Manhattan Bank; co-founder and president, Puerto Rican Financial Group; co-founder, Sun Oil and Hemisphere Oil; founder and partner, Tishman Realty and Construction; founder, Wirth and Company International Investment Bankers.

In the U.S. military, Russell served as 2nd Lieutenant, Marine Corps Reserve; Major, Army Special Forces (Airborne); and the Reserve and National Guard. His awards included: Decorated Silver Star; Bronze Star; Purple Heart; U.N. Korean War medal with three battle stars; U.S. and Korean Presidential unit citations; and Distinguished Service. Russell was also a marathon runner and champion triathlete. He placed fourth in Iron Man World Triathlon Championship and was a member of the U.S. winning team at World Triathlon Championship in 1995.

Russell is survived by son Russell D.L. Wirth III; daughter Mary Elizabeth Wirth; sister Mary Rogers Littell; and brother Harry McMahon Wirth.

JOHN B. REIMER CdeP 1950 John Berend Reimer passed away May 28, 2017.

John will be missed by his wife, Stephanie; sister, Margot Warters; daughter Margaret; sons Jeff, John, and Jim; numerous grandchildren; and many cousins. He was raised in Ojai, where he attended Saint Thomas Aquinas School and Thacher. He attended Bowdoin College and graduated from UC Berkeley before enlisting in the Army. John studied Russian linguistics at the Army Language School in Monterey, Calif., and was stationed in Germany. After his military service, John completed a career in public service as a computer specialist.

John was a very quiet man with a wonderful sense of humor. He was noted for his extreme kindness. He loved adventure, travel, and enjoyed living in remote places where he could experience the outdoors. He was passionate about books and read voraciously. He also loved animals of all kinds, especially horses and cats. He enjoyed exploring his ranch in Northern California with his cats Magellan and Cabot—named for two of his favorite explorers.

John learned to love the outdoors while a student at Thacher. He enjoyed the Horse Program, especially riding gymkhana. Archivero notes, “During his stay at Thacher, John has established himself as one of the gymkhana stars to come out of the school.” He excelled in all phases of horse activities. Notably his grandmother, Margaret Clark Hunt, directed Thacher’s horse program from 1908 to 1943.

THOMAS H. MAY CdeP 1952 Thomas Henry “Tom” May passed away on May 25, 2017, in Oakville, Calif.

Tom—son of the late Ernest and Sophie May— was born in Wilmington, Del., on May 30, 1933.

Before he graduated from Thacher, his camera was considered ubiquitous around campus and he was an avid “A” camper, often racking up many miles on horse Rowena. Tom received a BA in geology from Williams College in Massachusetts. After college, he moved to the Ojai Valley to teach biology at Thacher for five years and lived in Santa Barbara, where he soon met The Thacher School 43

IN MEMORIAM… his future lifelong partner and wife, Martha Ullmann. The couple married November 17, 1962, and soon moved to Oakville, Calif., to start a vineyard named “Martha’s Vineyard.” Working closely with the Joe Heitz family, he provided the foundational grape juice which became a world-recognized iconic wine called Heitz Cellars Martha’s Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon.

Tom is survived by his wife, Martha; their three children Henry May, Laura Everett, and Richard May; and alumnae granddaughters Hailey CdeP 2012, Hannah CdeP 2014, and Annie CdeP 2017.

JOHN F. H. PURCELL CdeP 1958 John Purcell died peacefully on September 8, 2017, after a long battle with cancer. Of all the academic institutions with which he was involved, John spoke most fondly of Thacher, the school that nurtured his love of nature, tennis, and academia.

He was known to have “a rare love of snakes and other creeping creatures,” as Archivero notes, and he “intends to become a naturalist or biologist.”

Sure enough, John earned a bachelor’s in biology at Harvard. John went on to earn a PhD in political science at UCLA and became a tenured professor at California State University. He broadened his area of study to Latin America during a sabbatical in Mexico City and was awarded a fellowship for study at the Woodrow Wilson Institute. Later, after becoming disenchanted with academics, John pursued a career in investment banking.

He led one of the first emerging markets research groups as a managing director at Salomon Brothers. Among his fondest achievements was a “debt for nature” swap between Sweden and Costa Rica. Following his retirement, John continued his lifelong passion for environmental causes. He received a second PhD in marine biology at the University of Miami and acted as a dedicated director for several conservation organizations including the Nature Conservancy of New Mexico and the Friends of the Everglades.

John is survived by his loving wife, Jan Dillow; daughters Alexandra Purcell CdeP 2014, and Johanna Purcell Himes; son Christopher Purcell; brother Deneys Purcell CdeP 1967; two granddaughters; and several nieces and nephews.

THEODORE MCKAY CdeP 1962 Surfing legend Ted McKay left Thacher in a green convertible with cool jazz on the radio and promptly embarked on a life of service to his community. With a master’s degree in special education from California State University at Los Angeles, and a stable of eight horses in Zuma Canyon (Malibu), he and his wife, Pamela McKay, offered equine therapy services to special needs students in the Las Virgenes district schools, to disadvantaged inner-city youth, and to disabled students at Harmony Center, a private special education school. Ted was a wrangler, a bus driver, a stall mucker, a teacher, and chairman of the Special Education Department at Calabasas High School.

He was a humble man—a revered member of the community, a long-time member of S.G.I. Buddhism, and a principal at the USC Reading Center. The McKays raised three children (Tanya, Philip, and Briar) on their ranch, along with all those horses, dogs, cats, chickens, rabbits, et al. They hunted with hounds (West Hills Hunt), ran with the Trancas Riders and Ropers, and loved camping with family and friends (’59 Airstream).

As Ted started slowly slipping into Parkinson’s disease 14 years ago, he and Pam noticed that the more he worked with his horses the more he kept the 44 FALL 2017

symptoms at bay and peace in his mind and heart. His last mount, Red, was of particular assistance (pictured). On June 3, 2017, Theodore Aitken McKay— jazz lover, humanist, horseman and loving husband and father—died peacefully in Malibu with his family close by.

JAMES A. HENDERSON CdeP 1978 James Alexander “Jim” Henderson passed away July 21, 2017. Born in Washington, he grew up in Kent Woodlands, Calif., and went to St. Anselm’s School, The Thacher School, The Urban School of San Francisco, and graduated from San Francisco State University.

Married for 27 years to the love of his life, Mindy Fenton Henderson, Jim was enthusiastically supportive of his children while sharing his generous energy with all. An empathetic, attentive listener, Jim exemplified compassion for others, nature appreciation, honoring the elderly, and genuine kindness infused with humor. He cherished Lake Tahoe and loved to take family and friends out on his boat. Jim’s expert, classically graceful skiing was a regular sight on black diamond runs and he also enjoyed backpacking, fly-fishing, and tennis. Jim was passionate about music and favored The Grateful Dead.

He was a member of the Bohemian Club, the California Tennis Club, the Lagunitas Country Club, and served on the Pilchuck Glass School board.

An entrepreneur, Jim founded three visionary companies that revolutionized the lighting design world. Jim’s core nature was the spiritual essence of light—expressed by lighting the world with boundary-pushing colored glass, innovative art, and his warm spirit.

Diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s in 2011, Jim faced his struggle with grace and courage. He is survived by his wife, Mindy Henderson; their children, Tierney Henderson, Whit Henderson, and Veronica Henderson; his mother, Cathy Morshead; his father, Hendy Henderson CdeP 1949; siblings Chuck Henderson CdeP 1976, Joan Henderson, Elena Keating, and Mark Henderson; and 10 nieces and nephews.

JAVIER F. ARANGO CdeP 1981 Javier Arango died in a plane crash on April 23, 2017, in Paso Robles, Calif.

A renowned authority on, and collector of, World War I aircraft, Javier was flying an Appleby Nieuport 28 replica that went down shortly after departure.

After graduating Thacher—where he excelled at math and history—Javier studied the history of science at Harvard and received a BA and then an MBA. He was an investment consultant and avid pilot in Los Angeles. Javier began collecting WWI aircraft because he thought knowledge of the unique aircraft was limited. Beginning in the 1970s with the construction of a Fokker Dr.I triplane, Javier focused his efforts on three successful lines of planes: Fokker, Sopwith, and Nieuport. Years later, Air & Space magazine said he had “one of the world’s finest private collections of World War I aircraft.”

Javier was a board member emeritus of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and served on Thacher’s board from 1995 to 2004. “Javier was a dedicated alumnus, an outstanding trustee, and a great supporter of Thacher,” recounts Michael Mulligan. “He was kind, generous, and exceptionally thoughtful. He loved and respected Thacher. As a student, he was extremely responsible, conscientious, and caring. And it was no surprise that he brought these very same qualities to his work on the board. We are heartbroken for his family, our School, and his community that he is no longer with us.”

Javier leaves behind his wife, Antonieta Monaldi, and sons, Andres and Javier.

THE BEST WE CAN DO… THE STEEP PITCH TO A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD IN JUNE 2017, 32 ELITE FEMALE ATHLETES CLIMBED UP MOUNT KILIMANJARO TO SET A WORLD RECORD FOR THE HIGHEST ELEVATION REGULATION SOCCER MATCH (AT 5,714 METERS).

ONE OF THE PLAYERS, AN ORGANIZER OF THE EVENT, WAS ERIN BLANKENSHIP CdeP 2000.

…

those goals we would have a game but not the record for a FIFA match, which was critical to us and the statement we intended to make. But the next day they arrived via four porters who raced them up to us, and we carried them the rest of the way to the summit for our game.

WHY IS SPORT SO IMPORTANT TO YOU?

WHAT ARE YOU DOING WHEN YOU ARE NOT ORGANIZING SOCCER MATCHES ON MOUNTAINTOPS? My day job, the one that pays me, is as the regional analyst covering Syria, Iraq, and Palestine for the International NGO Safety Organisation. I monitor and assess conflict and security dynamics in order to advise humanitarian organizations on safety and access so that they can implement their programs. For non-work I play soccer, surf, climb, snowboard, and travel as much as my time allows.

WHERE DID THIS IDEA COME FROM? Like many great ideas, this one started at 3 in the morning. I got a phone call from my friend Laura.

She told me she wanted to play a soccer match on top of Kilimanjaro with a group of all women; what did I think? I told her I was absolutely in, but that it should be more than just a kick-about. This was an opportunity to have real impact that we shouldn’t pass up. The “why?” was simple. We were just done—tired of the systematic, structural inequalities that women have to put up with all the time, let alone in sport; tired of the misogyny at work; tired of being told “no,” “not yet,” “someday,” and “be satisfied.”

WHAT RECORDS DID YOU BREAK? We actually set a lot of world records. But it turns out you have to pay $5,000 every time you apply for one through Guinness, so we had to focus on just the one. Unofficially, we set the record for the most countries represented in a women’s professional standard game. By far. We also set

the record for the biggest age range of players in a FIFA match; my 15-year-old niece Grace, who had just made the top club league in her state, was replaced by 55-year-old Petra Landers, who played for Germany in the first World Cup.

WHAT HURDLES DID YOU AND YOUR COLLABORATORS HAVE TO SURMOUNT TO PULL THIS OFF? The biggest challenge to this event was how much time and effort it took. All of us already have full-time jobs, or are full-time students; some are already moms, others already run soccer academies and charities. We were all busy, and we all lived in different countries across six continents.

Then there was the sheer logistical challenge of getting 65 people from 24 countries to the top of Kilimanjaro at the same time. The biggest challenge, ironically, was finding funding support for a project that, among other things, is about highlighting how little investment there is in women’s sport. This was as grassroots as you can possibly imagine.

WAS THERE A MOMENT WHEN IT SEEMED LIKE IT MIGHT NOT HAPPEN? Two days before our match, halfway up the mountain, we still didn’t have our FIFA-approved, specially made goals. Without

Sport has been just about everything to me. I started playing soccer and competitively swimming as a 4 year old and I have never looked back, continuing to add sports along the way. On the one hand it is everything sport teaches you— self-respect, self-efficacy, teamwork, leadership, discipline, a sense of community and shared goals, what it means to really work for something, how to win, the value of failure and how to move on from it, the idea of merit-based advancement— all those things that become integral to you as a human being, you as a functioning member of human society. Sport has the power to develop and transform individuals and society in a way that not much else can—and it’s one of the last places where, for the most part, talent and hard work can and will win out over privilege, prejudice, and discrimination. Read more and view video at http://equalplayingfield.com.

Erin (above) wearing the number 20 jersey on Kilimanjaro and (below on right) with fellow organizer Laura Youngson.

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Barely a month after the Thomas Fire threatened campus, the hills are already showing signs of healing and the first green shoots of regenerating chaparral are making their appearance. Drone photography: David Kepner CdeP 2007

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