HONORING RETIREES

years 53 Honoring Teaching Excellence

DIANE WALLACE

For 53 years, she bettered the lives of fourth grade boys.

Norfolk Academy celebrated a teaching legend on August 19, during a special ceremony for faculty and staff that recognized Diane Wallace, who taught more than 1,000 fourth grade boys during her 53 years of selfless service to the school.

The event was highlighted by an announcement honoring her contributions — the creation of the Diane Wallace Fund for Distinguished Teaching, which will foster teaching growth and reward faculty members who demonstrate her devotion. The inaugural award was given to Reggie Cole, who teaches fifth grade, serves as Executive Director of Breakthrough at Norfolk Academy, and coaches in the Academy’s football program.

Susan Wynne ’68, a past teacher and Trustee at the Academy, announced the fund. Her son, Trustee John O. Wynne Jr. ’94, was one of those fourth grade boys. Almost 40 years later, he still recalls Wallace’s daily spirit, enthusiasm, and dedication to making her students critical thinkers.

“Thank you for inspiring us to become better students and better people,” Mr. Wynne wrote in an email his mother read.

When Bo Friddell ’08 was in Wallace’s class, she promised to his father, Trustee Rusty Friddell ’69, that she had Bo’s back. During the year, Rusty Friddell came to realize what that meant. Bo wasn’t going to receive special treatment. But Wallace was going to ensure he learned from struggles and they would not deter him from success.

“On behalf of 1,000-plus boys, I want to thank you for having the back of each and every one,” Mr. Friddell said.

Mrs. Wallace started teaching at the Academy in 1967, retiring at the height of the pandemic in 2020. Headmaster Dennis Manning noted that remarkable length of service, also highlighting how she served not just students but teachers as well. Even in retirement, she continues to make a lasting impact on the school, he said.

“Diane’s example is an Olympian one and a model for us to consider in our own work lives,” he said. “What a life and what an example to emulate.”

Mr. Manning announced another tribute that will be on display at a later date: the Leadership classroom in the James B. Massey Jr. Leadership Center will be named in honor of Diane Wallace. ◆

Mike Connors is Digital and Social Media Specialist.

46 years

Mr. O. “Live long and prosper. ”

RICHARD OBERDORFER

In Norfolk Academy’s nearly 300-year history, few individuals have impacted the institution as much as Richard Oberdorfer. Affectionately known as Mr. O to generations of Norfolk Academy students and faculty, Oberdorfer’s presence, for 46 amazing years, reverberated throughout every inch of Norfolk Academy’s campus. He could be found on the sidelines of every home varsity football game wearing his signature hat; in the commentator’s chair at the annual Joy Fund basketball game; and in his intricately decorated Upper School classroom, every inch of which reflected his passion for history and film, especially sci-fi.

During his career, Mr. O selflessly dedicated his entire self, first to his students and second to the craft of teaching. From writing multiple versions of each test in order to embrace students of all learning styles to spending countless hours explaining topics to students who needed a little extra help, Mr. O did whatever it took to support his students in any way he could. In instances where many teachers would see the point of diminishing returns and move on, Mr. O still saw opportunities for improvement, and he dug deeper.

When not working directly with students, Mr. O was pursuing the perfection of his craft. He earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from Sewanee: The University of the South, and a master’s degree in history and a certificate in Latin American studies from University of Florida. Whether it be through his blog, which told European History through an engaging narrative format, or through the frequent use of video, music, and art in his lectures, Mr. O constantly experimented with ways to make his teaching more effective and more accessible to his students. Fun was always part of the equation — he dressed up annually as Santa for his “Yule Jewel,” a test that alumni might remember as a “gem” for its challenging questions.

By embracing every interaction with humility and often a touch of humor, Mr. O not only endeared himself to thousands of Norfolk Academy students, but he also changed many of their lives. At present count there are eight members of Norfolk Academy’s History and Social Science Department who either were taught directly by Mr. O or who moved through the department that he once chaired — eight members of the Norfolk Academy faculty who would not be where they are today without Mr. O’s guidance, patience, and unwavering confidence in them. He looked for ways to make every student feel a sense of belonging, serving as the first faculty advisor for the club that is now UNITID, focusing on celebrating and teaching about diversity.

While our Norfolk Academy community cannot expect to be so lucky as to have another Mr. O, generations of us are thankful for the impact that he had on our lives, and we should be comforted that Mr. O’s legacy at our school will “Live long and prosper.” ◆

years 41 “I coach math and I teach lacrosse. ”

TOM DUQUETTE

It might not be surprising to learn that the first question I asked Tom Duquette was about math. I was a young teacher in Virginia Beach Public Schools — passionate about getting students to learn and to love math, especially calculus. In my job interview, I forcefully demanded of Mr. Duquette, Math Department Chair: “What is Norfolk Academy’s commitment to its math program?”

“Our commitment is as strong as the people we work with,” he said. In one pithy sentence, he revealed the essence of Academy’s educational approach, not just to math, but to every subject: The people and the relationships come first. I came aboard.

Since then, I’ve come to appreciate how much of that answer revealed about Tom himself. He’s persuasive — he wins the day, on the field and off, often with the element of surprise. He doesn’t waste words — he gets to the heart of matters with very few of them. He cares deeply about people and builds friendships that span decades. There’s no doubt he loves math, and he believes in coaching students to love it too. I saw that firsthand when we team-taught an AB calculus class. As he’s often said, “I coach math and I teach lacrosse.”

Tom truly is the consummate teacher-coach. Lacrosse, even with all of his outstanding seasons coaching the Bulldogs, is just one piece of his story. In the span of his four decades at Academy, he has brought his values to bear on all aspects of the school’s program. He was hired by J.B. Massey, who clearly recognized Tom’s rare combination of intellectual and coaching brilliance even when he was just a few years out of University of Virginia, and he worked under John Tucker and Dennis Manning. Tom has had a special relationship with each headmaster, founded upon their appreciation for his integrity and creativity.

Just a few things that Tom has shaped and guided: He helped build the Senior Speech Program, modeled upon one at his alma mater, Gilman School in Baltimore. He helped organize and direct the Upper School Seminar Days. That gave him the idea for the annual All-School Seminar Days, involving every student in grades 1–12 in discussions, artistic performances, and art activities inspired by a children’s book. He started the Alumni Seminars, kept them going on Zoom through the pandemic, and will continue to lead them this year.

An avid reader with hundreds of volumes on his iPad, Tom crossed the aisle to earn fans for his English classes. In his leadership of the math department, he was a pathbreaker too, one who could always see the value of reinventing and improving.

So many stories — I haven’t even touched on his countless years as grill master at Field Day or his expedition to bike the Lewis & Clark Trail. I’ll take a lesson from Tom and cut to the chase: I could not have had a better, or more committed, colleague and friend. ◆

years36

Storyteller Extraordinaire

TOY SAVAGE ’71

As student or teacher, Toy Dixon Savage III has impacted the campus of Norfolk Academy in every decade since he entered the Little Red Schoolhouse on North Shore Road as a second grader in 1960. After graduating in 1971, he traveled north to complete his undergraduate work at Princeton. Eleven years later, after teaching at the Gilman School in Baltimore, earning a law degree in Charlottesville, and plying the legal trade for a while at his father’s firm in Norfolk, he made his way back to Wesleyan Drive. In his 36 years as a faculty member, Toy Savage served as a teacher, coach, administrator, and the school’s official historian. His blog, “The Savage Chronicles,” explored Academy through the lens of history, tradition, and the school’s signature aspect, teacher-student relationships.

While Toy is the author of Norfolk’s Academy: The Heart of Tidewater — and rumor has it that Volume II is in the development stage — he is also the author of many other, more important works. He has had a hand in composing a significant portion of “the teenage story” of thousands of Academy students over the better part of the past four decades.

As are all great teachers of history, Toy is a storyteller extraordinaire, mesmerizing his charges with stories about Egyptian kings they would never find in textbooks. While I daresay that few of his students remember when Hammurabi wrote his code, I would bet that every one remembers pacing the front fields to measure the size of the Great Pyramid’s footprint.

His students also remember his myriad small kindnesses, the “Attaboys” and “That’s OKs” that signaled grace or approval or whatever was needed at the time to set an adolescent heart at ease. Savage has always brought to his classroom consideration and kindness, and, by example, he has taught civility as thoroughly as any other subject.

Toy’s company is as highly valued by colleagues as by generations of adoring students. His mind, full of the knowledge that earned him distinction at Princeton and UVA Law School, is also the repository of reams of minutiae, through which he riffles effortlessly to find just the detail that would fit any occasion. To those of us who worked beside him, he served as listener, advisor, mentor, and golf partner. Friendship is his stock-in-trade. He has always considered the feelings and needs of others before his own.

Toy’s influence on Norfolk Academy and on those of us who have walked its halls for the past half- century or so is inestimable. So is that degree to which he will be missed. ◆

Tommy Hudgins Jr. ’72 is Associate Director of College Counseling.