Sundial Summer/Fall 2023

SUMMER/FALL 2023

SUNDIAL THE

The Ethel Walker School Magazine

THE SUNDIAL PUBLISHED BY

The Ethel Walker School 230 Bushy Hill Road, Simsbury, CT 06070 +1-860-408-4467 www.ethelwalker.org Dr. Meera Viswanathan, Head of School EDITORIAL BOARD

Gretchen Orschiedt, Assistant Head for Advancement Marion Paterson P’17, ‘19, Director of Alumnae Relations and Major Giving Isabelle Russell, Stewardship and Donor Relations Manager Tavia Lee-Goldstein, Director of Communications and Marketing CONTRIBUTORS

Liss Couch-Edwards ‘07, Melah L. ‘23, Tavia Lee-Goldstein, Brennan Maine ‘09, Gretchen Orschiedt, Marion Paterson P’17, ‘19, Natalie S. ‘23, Dr. Meera Viswanathan, Leila Howland Wetmore ‘82, P‘18 PHOTOGRAPHY

Ben Barker, Liss Couch-Edwards ‘07, Tom Kates, Patricia Krupnikoff P’23, Christopher Lawhorn, Tavia Lee-Goldstein, Brennan Maine ‘09, Spencer A. Sloan, Kimberly Harris Thacker P’24, ‘27, Stephen Wang ADDRESS CLASS NOTES TO

Advancement Office The Ethel Walker School 230 Bushy Hill Road, Simsbury, CT 06070 Or submit via email to: alumnae@ethelwalker.org DESIGN

John Johnson Art Direction & Design We make every attempt to publish accurate information. If you notice an error, please let us know so that we can fix it. Thank you.

The Ethel Walker School admits students of any race, color, religion, sexual orientation, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.

In This Issue

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Message from the Head of School

4

The Interactive Museum

6

Celebrating Excellence

8

111th Commencement Ceremony

12 Mountain Day 14 Margaret Huling Bonz Women of Distinction Speaker Series

16 Performing Arts

26 Athletics

40 Take Note

18 Visiting Writer Seminar

28 Financial Fluencies

57 EWSPA

20 Fall Family Weekend

30 Reunion

58 In Memoriam & In Sympathy

22 New Residence Hall Groundbreaking

34 Athletics Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

ON THE COVER:

24 Dogswood Day

36 2023-2024 Trustees

The Ethel Walker School 111th Commencement Celebration See story on page 8 SUMMER/FALL 2023

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FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL

Dear Walker’s Community, What a summer whirlwind! So much happening on campus and in the world in the last few weeks and months — most of all, I hope all of you are safe and enjoying some moments of respite and rest. In speaking with our faculty, staff, and administrators at the end of the school year, we stressed the importance of health and well-being and the need for everyone to pause and enjoy those things that bring us back to our selves and feel the ground beneath us.

It was an ambitious year at school with our students ending the year on a wonderfully joyous note. The senior prank was covering my entire office and Beaver Brook with thousands of colored Post-it notes including computer screens, every piece of furniture including drawers, and doors. Fortunately, they also cleaned up the prank and in the process supplied much of the school with a year’s supply of Post-it notes.

Of course, we have not been immune from all that is happening in the world and all that is happening in the throes of adolescent development. But the beautiful part is that we stayed the course and learned how to be better, to strive more nobly, and learn from one another.

We don’t get to pick our starting points, but we all have the privilege and responsibility of making choices along the way. We are proud of our students and all that they are doing in the classroom, on the playing fields and in the barn, in the community, and of course as they emerge in the world. The miracle that is education never fails to awe me.

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Our new residence hall

construction is moving apace with the foundations laid, the steel beams erected, and the building’s contours beginning to be evident. We are

doing work to upgrade some of our classrooms in the older lower section of Beaver Brook and getting ready to put in a massive new water tank that should supply the school amply for the next 50-75 years.

Eric and I traveled a fair bit once again this summer — first to Jordan, where our former student at King’s Academy, HRH Crown Prince Hussein, married Princess Rajwa in joyous countrywide festivities, to Los Angeles to see my remarkably resilient and determined mother, and then on a trip sponsored by Williams College where 25 alumni traveled on a small boat in Slovenia and Croatia to explore magical places including an underground limestone cavern named the "Grand Canyon," an unending cascade of stunning natural waterfalls, truly edenic, and of course swimming in the caerulean waters of

the Adriatic. We read, we feasted, and we listened and reflected on events from the distant past as well as more

recent, including the Homeland War, with Slovenes and Croats as well as our fellow travelers.

But much of the summer we

stayed close to our home in Rhode Island where my passion for gardening encompasses both cucumbers and dahlias and the rest, as I like to say,

i.e. my failures, make for wonderful compost! Maybe that’s the real lesson — that in the natural world, nothing is wasted and everything is linked. Even the things in life we view as failure or disappointment become the rich soil for future successful endeavors.

Hence every hour is golden if we view it as such.

May our paths cross soon in the coming year!

Meera Viswanathan Head of School

We don’t get to pick our starting points, but we all have the privilege and responsibility of making choices along the way. We are proud of our students and all that they are doing in the classroom, on the playing fields and in the barn, in the community, and of course as they emerge in the world.”

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The Ethel Walker School Opens Interactive Museum

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he Ethel Walker School Interactive Museum, located in Bell Library, is now open. This museum is unique because it is a “Please Touch” rather than a “Do Not Touch” space.

Although some artifacts are inaccessible in their display cases, there are special zones throughout the museum that are dedicated to community interaction. Clear signage indicates which areas are which.

The purpose for the tactile exhibitions, according to School Archivist Kim Harris Thacker P’24, ‘27, is two-fold: “In order to preserve artifacts and collections, museums are often not able to allow touching of artifacts. I want our museum to be fully accessible — at least as much as the

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physical space and safety and practicality will allow — to everyone. That is why anyone who visits will be able to touch items in the museum and experience the displays via the audio tour.

“In addition, I believe that history really comes to life for people when they can touch the things they read about. They become invested in the process of research and discovery.

This is invaluable to an institution like Walker’s, which places such emphasis on understanding principles of research, even in the sixth grade. I took my 6th grade humanities class mudlarking in the Farmington River so they could find old bottles and pieces of pretty porcelain that they could then

research. It was an incredible experience for the students and for me. When you combine artifacts and archives, all kinds of magic can happen.”

This topic of combining artifacts and archives in experiential learning is one which Kim addressed as speaker at the biannual New England Archivists Conference in Portsmouth, NH this spring. The museum at Walker’s and its contents were featured in her address to the gathered archivists.

Some of the museum’s contents include artifacts that Kim, and several colleagues who expressed interest in accompanying her, found in a woodland dump site on Walker’s grounds. These items relate to the School’s early history and include ink bottles, fountain pen nibs, jewelry, a pocket watch, a ceramic toothbrush, bottles of hand and face cream, porcelain and stoneware dishes, and much more.

Several of the items that Kim and others have found are on display in the museum.

Other items that are on display can be found in old library card catalog cabinets on the museum’s east wall. While Kim has kept one drawer filled with cards from the cataloging system and has included an explanation of how the system worked, half of the rest of the drawers contain copies of photos from throughout the School’s century-plus history.

Each photo is labeled, if only with the date. Visiting alumnae are encouraged to add what they know about the photos that pertain to the years they were at Walker’s by means of sticky note and pencil. The other half of the drawers contain impressions in white clay of permanent features of campus, such as building plaques or unique molding.

Thacker’s 7th grade classes created these impressions, and her 6th grade class made riddles and poems that accompany the impressions in their drawers and that can help those who examine the impressions to find their origins.

There are yearbooks to peruse, a typewriter to tap on, alumnae-authored books to read, a mid-18th century grandfather clock to admire, paper dolls to dress, and plenty more to see and touch. Two of Thacker’s favorite items are a pair of Heywood-Wakefield desks, manufactured in 1917, which was when Miss Walker’s School for Girls moved from Lakewood, New Jersey, to Simsbury and became The Ethel Walker School. Walker’s donated these desks to the Avon Historical Society in 1976 for the opening of the Pinegrove Schoolhouse, which coincided with the country’s bicentennial.

Earlier this winter, Avon Historical Society President Terri Wilson, who was a Spanish teacher at Walker’s in 1983 and is a proud Dial, re-donated these desks to Walker’s. Although she was not involved in the historical society in the ’70s, Wilson recognized the desks as having come from Walker’s because students carved “Suns” and “Dials” into the tops.

Wilson has since returned to Walker’s to see the desks on display in the museum and to chat with Kim and Head of School Dr. Meera Viswanathan. The three foresee many opportunities to work together in the future.

The Ethel Walker School Interactive Museum is open to community members who wish to visit. Students, faculty, staff, and administrators are free to enter the museum during regular library hours. Other community members can schedule a tour by emailing School Archivist Kim Harris Thacker P’24, ’27 at kthacker@ ethelwalker.org or scan the QR code at right.

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Celebrating Excellence

A Spotlight on Faculty Awards in the 2022-2023 School Year

Dr. Julia Sheldon P’20, ’23 Accepted to Homeward Bound STEMM Leadership Program Walker’s Science faculty member Dr. Julia Sheldon P‘20, ’23 has been accepted to the Homeward Bound STEMM Leadership Program, an extensive initiative that empowers women to more deeply explore the fields of science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM). The program consists of a one-year virtual leadership seminar beginning in April 2023, a culminating

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Walker’s faculty members embody an unwavering dedication to scholarship, teaching, transformative research, and community engagement. Their efforts inspire students, push the boundaries of learning, and make significant contributions to their fields. It is with great pride that we celebrate a few of the well-deserved recognitions earned by our faculty this year.

expedition to Antarctica in the winter of 2024-2025, and a continuing association with a growing international network of women in STEMM leadership, with a focus on addressing climate change. Homeward Bound was founded to create a global network of women with a background in STEMM who are leading the determination to solve our world’s greatest challenges. Their programs deliver unique leadership development that seeks to change the current leadership model by equipping STEMM women from around the world with the skills to lead for the greater good, to be inclusive, collaborative, legacy-minded, and trusted with assets.

Elisa Del Valle Honored with Ally Award at Sixth Annual Black Girl Magic Ball The Sixth Annual Black Girl Magic Ball honored Elisa Del Valle, Assistant Head for Student Life and Director of Social Justice and Inclusion, as an Esteemed Honoree at the Museum of the City of New York on Tuesday, March 21. The event, an “annual intergenerational celebration of Black Girls and Black Women through music, poetry, and a show like no other,” is curated and hosted by Mahogany L. Browne. Browne is the first-ever poet-in-residence at New York City’s Lincoln Center and was Walker’s Fall 2022 Visiting Writer. Elisa was honored for her work in Walker’s Ward and Williams Center for Equity and Justice. Accepting the award before a sold-out crowd, Elisa remarked, “I do this work because young people inspire me.” Proceeds from the event benefited Urban Word, an organization that empowers young people to use writing and spoken word as a tool for self-expression, activism, and personal growth.

Maureen Lamb Wins 2022 Society of Classical Studies Award for Excellence in Teaching Maureen Lamb, Latin Faculty, Dean of Educational Technology and Innovative Pedagogy, and Dean of Faculty, was honored with The Society of Classical Studies (SCS) Award for Excellence in Teaching at the K-12 Level. This award is given annually by the SCS to recognize and reward teachers who have made a significant contribution to the field of classics education. The award includes a prize and an invitation to attend the annual meeting of the SCS.

On Maureen’s work, the SCS says, “Maureen Lamb is a powerful, positive force both within her own classroom and within the field and has demonstrated her ability to continually expand her teaching toolkit while readily sharing her knowledge with others. In the interests of meeting student needs, she has changed her teaching practices, moving from traditional, grammar-translation methods to more reading-focused materials, and now to methods based on theories of Comprehensible Input and Second Language Acquisition. One student praised not only her ‘dynamic and engaging’ teaching style but also her integration of different digital resources and the inclusion of different perspectives of people from different backgrounds in their class readings. The student also praised Lamb’s ability to create a ‘tight-knit classroom community where students felt safe, respected, and able to be themselves authentically.’”

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Walker’s Celebrates 111th Commencement Ceremony

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Since The Ethel Walker School’s founding and its first Commencement ceremony in 1913, the Walker’s community has gathered on the circular lawn that faces Beaver Brook to send off the graduating class with life lessons, charges, prompts, and well wishes.

This year’s Commencement ceremony on May 28, 2023 greeted the community with clear skies, a mild breeze, and resplendent sunshine.

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he 2023 keynote speaker, Toan Huynh ’93, a trustee of the School and a distinguished leader in technology and finance, spoke about “finding your boat crew.” She referenced the different “boats” of communities that come to aid and champion you across the different phases of life.

Huynh emphasized the importance of not only the individual graduate, but of the collective support and “unwavering” network of “…parents, teachers, counselors, coaches, siblings, those who love you, and those who you love,” that stood beside the graduates along the way. She alluded

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to the success of the individual being a culmination of the efforts of family legacy, personal history, and community that fostered the environment for growth. Huynh left two charges for the Class of 2023: be open to where the winds and tides may carry your boat and maintain a strong ability to set boundaries in order to be effective in service to your goals.

Lastly, Huynh recommended taking time to be present and find joy and wonderment in the simplicity of life, a sentiment shared by a member of the English faculty, Scott Frey. “What will your practice be for noticing wonder?”

So, it goes without saying, having graduated from Walker's, you are now a part of a global, diverse, brave, fearless, connected community of strong, intelligent, and compassionate young women who are making their mark on the world. Lean on each other, stay connected, and never forget the friendships you have forged here.”

– Toan Huynh ’93

began Frey’s Baccalaureate address the evening preceding Commencement. He spoke directly to the graduates about “moments of wonder” not only “for the brightest days of spring,” but that “they have muscle” and are “a hand reaching out of the wilderness” during more turbulent days. Echoing Frey’s address, Student Body President Grace M. ’23 also spoke to the Class about the power of community in lifting one another in low times, challenges that raise you, and the value of friendship through small acts of thoughtfulness.

As Head of School, Dr. Meera Viswanathan concluded

the 2023 ceremony with words of encouragement. She presented to the senior class a gift from J. Steven Manolis, the spouse of former trustee Myrthia Moore ’79, a work of art in poster form with the names of each graduate printed beneath.

As expressed by the artist, the print features complementary colors of purple and yellow. The two individual colors become more magnificent because of their relationship, and act as a reminder that Walker’s community is “unified towards a common goal.” Viswanathan concluded that “growth is a process, and Suns and Dials will always have a home here.”

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October 20, 2022 was a perfect fall day for

Mountain Day! With classes canceled, students, faculty, and staff hiked Talcott Mountain and enjoyed fall foliage, stunning views of the Farmington Valley, and time together.

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ON CAMPUS

Not Just Survivable, But Beautiful Forging a Way for All to Flourish with Karenna Gore

Karenna Gore, founder and executive director of the Center for Earth Ethics at Union Theological Seminary in New York, was The Ethel Walker School’s 2022-2023 Margaret Huling Bonz Women of Distinction Speaker Series speaker. Named for former Head of School Margaret Huling Bonz, the series brings a distinguished woman visitor to campus each year to enrich the experience of students, faculty, and staff. Gore was part of two events on campus: first, a public moderated panel discussion on Tuesday, October 18, 2022 and then a private lecture delivered to just Walker’s students on Wednesday, October 19.

Gore founded the Center for Earth Ethics to address the issues at the intersection of faith, ethics, and ecology. In the public panel, Gore shared the stage with Dr. Julia Sheldon P’20, ’23, Science Faculty at The Ethel Walker School; Teresa Eickel, Executive Director of the Inter-Religious EcoJustice Network; Michael Olivieri, Food Manager for Gifts of Love, CT; and Dr. Cheryl Wilga, Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Education at the College of the Environment and Life Sciences, University of Rhode Island. The panel was moderated by Head of School Dr. Meera Viswanathan.

The panel covered a range of topics including justice, climate change, 14

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ecology, sustainability, human needs, oceans, food security, and faith, among others and also took questions from the public crowd.

In her address to students Gore emphasized how faith traditions the world over encourage care and stewardship of the planet and its resources. She shared a vision for reciprocity between humans and nature, saying, “The laws of nature are here to stay. Not only for our own protection, but for the foundation of love that surrounds us and holds us

in this land all the time. This is our home — our household — to share with other living beings and species that have as much right to it as we do. And true belonging brings its own kind of liberation. Making gentle the life of the world does not mean making it boring.

It means allowing for flourishing and growth.” She concluded her remarks with a charge to the students: “Please consider lending your special gifts to this great work, because it will be all the more beautiful with all of you in it.”

We often think of ethics as that fabric of values that weaves together the mutually beneficial interchange between people or social units.

Ms. Gore invites us to think about our relationship to the natural world and the warp and weft of that ethical relationship weave as well.”

– Dr. Meera Viswanathan, Head of School

Dr. Shelley Marks ’81, Trustee

Dr. LaToya Coffey ’92

Dr. Suzanne Piela P’22, ’28

Walker’s Women in the World Walker’s Women in the World is a virtual program showcasing the achievements and expertise of some of the remarkable women who make up The Ethel Walker School community. This year’s series included three events moderated and broadcast virtually. Members of the Walker’s alumnae community were invited to join via Zoom, and current Walker’s students had the opportunity to view a live stream of the conversations in Abra’s.

Surina Khan ’85

Teresa Younger, Trustee

Ashley Jackson ’99

Leah Wawro ’06

JANUARY 23, 2023

FEBRUARY 13, 2023

MARCH 27, 2023

Women’s Rights

Conflict Resolution

Featuring: Surina Khan ’85, CEO of Women’s Foundation CA, and Teresa Younger, Walker’s Trustee and President and CEO of Ms. Foundation for Women. Moderators: Walker’s student heads of Connecticut Women’s Education and Legal Fund (CWEALF) Molly T. ‘24 and Emerson E. ‘23.

Featuring: Ashley Jackson ’99, Co-Director and Co-Founder of the Center on Armed Groups, and Leah Wawro ’06, Director of Global Threats at Independent Diplomat.

Global Health Featuring: Dr. Shelley Marks ’81, Surgeon at Palo Alto Medical Foundation and Walker’s Trustee; Dr. LaToya Coffey ’92, Vice President of Product Development Strategy & Operations at Chinook Therapeutics, Inc.; and Dr. Suzanne Piela P’22, ’28, Walker’s Science faculty member.

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Arts PERFORMING

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Visiting Writer Seminar The Ethel Walker School Visiting Writer Seminar, now in its seventh year, is a semester-long course in which students have the rare and special opportunity to immerse themselves in a study of one writer’s works. Throughout the semester, students read a critical mass of texts by that writer, developing a deep and abiding knowledge of the writer’s style, form, and ideas. The course culminates with a visit by the author to Walker’s. Through master classes, writing workshops, and readings to the community, students are invited to ask the questions that only the author can answer. At the end of each semester, students in the Visiting Writer Seminar collaborate on a final project in which they conceptualize, lay out, design, and publish a class anthology of works inspired by the works of the visiting writer. This program is an example of the impact of our donor's Annual Fund gifts in action.

Fall 2022 Visiting Writer Mahogany L. Browne Written by Natalie S. ‘23 The Walker’s community welcomed distinguished author, playwright, educator, and first Poet-In-Residence at the Lincoln Center Mahogany L. Browne as our Fall 2022 Visiting Writer. Browne is the author of recent works Vinyl Moon, Chlorine Sky, I Remember Death by Its Proximity to What I Love, and Black Girl Magic. Mahogany L. Browne impacted everyone on campus, whether it was while visiting English classes, giving her all-school address, or performing Black Girl Magic at her reading on Friday night.

Fellow student in the Visiting Writer Seminar Grace M. ‘23 said, “The way that Mahogany connects with young women is so special. In every class she visited, she engaged and interacted with us. It was a very authentic visit. Throughout the week she was able to connect with students’ thoughts and emotions.

She made us feel that ‘we are enough and we belong here’ (Browne). She loved that we all found connections to various characters in her novels.” Another student in the Visiting Writer Seminar, Charlotte B. ‘23, said, “She’s so real.” Mahogany L. Browne taught us that imperfection is perfection, and by not focusing on perfection you connect with your audience more.” This proved to be true when Browne’s ability to go “off-script” with ease during her reading resulted in the audience being more engaged and hanging on to her every word.

Also, by not focusing on perfection, you can get your point across effectively. Browne mentioned this in class with the Visiting Writer Seminar: “I gotta say what I gotta say, and I’ll pick up the pieces later.”

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Browne makes sure her voice is heard through the art form of poetry. She stressed that poetry is her superpower.

Browne taught students how to utilize poetry to tell their story and advocate for topics they care about. Throughout the week, she facilitated writing workshops to give students the tools to make poetry their superpower. Whether they share their work or keep it private, students felt more confident taking risks in their writing and illustrating their feelings through the lens of poetry.

Spring Visiting Writer U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón Written by Melah L. ’23 As the flowers started to bloom, Walker’s welcomed Ada Limón to campus. She is the author of six books of poetry, including The Carrying, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry. Her fourth collection, Bright Dead Things, was nominated for the National Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award. Limón was also the host of the criticallyacclaimed poetry podcast The Slowdown. Ada Limón is the 24th Poet Laureate of the United States.

For the three months leading up to her visit, upper school English classes dove into Bright Dead Things, The Carrying, and her most recent collection, The Hurting Kind. Each of her collections highlights particular aspects of being a woman, grief, love, and nature. We quickly learned how poetry gives you an avenue to be vulnerable and honest. Limón mentioned in a Monday afternoon master class with the Visiting Writer Seminar that there are many poems in her collections she never intended for anyone to read. Specifically with The Carrying, she told us that she had written tons of pieces about battling insomnia, vertigo, and infertility. Eventually, Ada noticed there were common themes in each poem and that prompted her to create the collection. Since Limón wrote about personal experiences, she knew it was essential to do the work to be able to speak about the poems. She extended this advice to us, in terms of sharing our work, whether it be in class or sharing it with a wider audience. Just because we have been given an assignment, it is important to acknowledge what we do and do not feel comfortable talking about.

In the days after Ada Limón’s visit, the Visiting Writer Seminar was still in awe of her. While we learned very important things from Limón, we lingered on details that might seem mundane to some, like how much she hates the wind and that her favorite color is green. We loved picking up facts like this about her, which made us all the more grateful for this program.

Many of the Visiting Writer Seminar students connected with The Carrying because of Limón’s ability to be profoundly honest about things we usually only think about. She laughed with us about this aspect of her career because when Dr. Carla Hayden invited her to be Poet Laureate, she thought to herself, “Here I am, writing private poems,” which seems to contradict her new role as the most public poet in the nation.

We wondered together as a class if this was in fact part of her appeal: that in the act of writing to her experiences she is able to speak more specifically to the experiences of others.

As we learned in class, Ada Limón does not plan her readings and decides what poems to read based on the life experiences of her audience, which increased our anticipation

for it. She shared poems from the three collections we had been interpreting since January. Because of her reading, we were able to distinctly hear Ada’s need to have sound and truth work in harmony in each of her poems, which enhanced the audience’s connections to her work. This was evident from the cries and laughter heard throughout the reading.

At the end of her last day on campus, during the assembly, Limón emphasized a question she constantly asks herself: “How do I be for just a second?” Though it would have been nice for Ada to respond to the question during the address, it was not necessary. Her books give us all the answers we need. Each poem is a glimpse into a snippet of her life and they are all evidence that she values moments that typically go unnoticed. We can see this in “Oh Please, Let It Be Lightning” from Bright Dead Things where Limón highlights the excitement, anticipation, and liberation of her move from New York to Kentucky. It also appears in “How We See Each Other” in The Hurting Kind, which explores the true nature of femininity and its many facets. Ada told us that “noticing is a way of loving the world” and she chooses poetry to do so.

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Fall Family Weekend

Autumn in New England, and particularly in Simsbury, Connecticut, is nothing short of spectacular. The Ethel Walker School was proud to welcome parents and family members on campus the weekend of October 28, 2022 for Family Weekend. Guests had the opportunity to join their student for classes, watch the Halloween ride, listen to student performances, and socialize with other families.

Speaking at the Family Weekend Chapel, Middle School Student Council Secretary Catalina D. ‘27 shared her thoughts on family: “This is your community of friends, mentors, and supporters. And unlike your born family, you have a choice of who is a part of your chosen family. Whom you trust, whom you love, is entirely up to you.

"The Ethel Walker School is a chosen family. This school is a kinship of sorts. A community. It is a place where everyone is celebrated and where you know that you are championed — we stick together and show up for each other because we choose to — not because we have to.”

The weekend also saw the inaugural Walker’s Wicked Mile Fun Run. Bright and early on Saturday morning families donned Halloween costumes and ran (or walked) the one-mile course through Walker’s Woods. Prizes were awarded for place finishers, best costume, and spirit club participation.

The weekend concluded on the athletic fields with a fabulous barbeque hosted by the EWSPA. The barbeque featured live rock music and dance performances from Walker’s student artists and was the perfect setup to cheer on the varsity field hockey team and the varsity and JV soccer teams.

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A NEW HOME FOR A NEW ERA

Breaking Ground on Our Newest Residence Hall

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hile initial stages of construction began weeks before, The Ethel Walker School officially broke ground on a new three-story residence hall on Friday, April 28, 2023. The new residence hall, designed by Maryann Thompson Architects, will feature 36 dorm rooms and four faculty apartments and will open for the 20242025 school year. The new residence hall is part of The Ethel Walker School’s ongoing commitment to the environment and the stewardship of its local surroundings.

Walker's first all-electric building is designed with a focus on sustainability, with the exterior clad in Pika-Pika charred cedar wood, a roof adorned

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with succulents and other green vegetation, and solar panels that will provide 50 percent of the energy for the building. Rainwater collection will be utilized to provide gray water usage via chains and buried rain hogs that will capture rainfall. The building will also feature charging stations to provide power to electric vehicles and overhanging eaves to promote energy efficiency.

Speaking on the importance of the project, CEO and President of A.P. Construction Company Andrew B. Ashforth said, “To build a structure that often serves as a student’s first new home away from home has the chance to be magical… My vision for this work

is to be part of a team that builds a project that endures the test of time.”

The groundbreaking was attended by the entire School community, the Board of Trustees, local community members, and partners on the project.

Speakers included Head of School Dr. Meera Viswanathan, the Chair of the Board of Trustees Katharine “Kit” O’Brien Rohn ’82, and the lead architect on the project, Maryann Thompson.

The School’s Architecture Club and Sustainability Seminar students took a particularly active role in the day, meeting with members of the architecture and construction teams in advance and preparing remarks to introduce their peers to the project.

DESIGN WITH A FOCUS ON SUSTAINABILITY • Fire-treated wood exterior • Roof adorned with succulents and other green vegetation • Solar panels provide energy • Rainwater collection provides water • Charging stations provide power to electric vehicles

PROPOSED TIMELINE 2021-2022 Architecture planning and design 2022-2023 Groundbreaking 2023-2024 Construction 2024-2025 Grand opening!

Architecture Club Co-Head Cathy F. ’24 and Sustainability Seminar student Makayla N. ’25 spoke at the ceremony.

Viswanathan says, “We are thrilled to break ground on our new residence hall, which represents a significant investment in our students, providing them with a place to flourish organically. We believe this project will serve as a model for sustainable building practices, not only for our school community but for others as well. We’re excited to welcome 52 students and four faculty/staff families to their new home in 2024, and we can’t wait to see the positive impact this building will have.”

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Dogswood Day!

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On May 15, 2023 Dogswood Day was announced, classes were canceled, and Suns and Dials prepared for the most spirited day of the year. Congratulations to the Suns, whose flag will fly high on the flagpole until next year.

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AT H L E T I C S

Athletics are an integral part of the Walker’s experience. When young women train and compete, they rise to meet new challenges, step into leadership

Softball

Varsity Tennis Varsity Golf

Volleyball

Varsity Swimming

Riding

Varsity Squash

Varsity Basketball

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Yoga

roles, and emerge physically and intellectually stronger — as individuals and as team members. In the 2022-2023 season, each student athlete competed with passion, determination, and pride in the Walker’s name.

JV Soccer

Varsity Lacrosse

MS Lacrosse

Varsity Soccer

MS Basketball

Personal Fitness Varsity Skiing JV Basketball

Varsity Field Hockey

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Investing in the Future The Walker’s Capabilities Approach Program

By Dr. Meera Viswanathan, Head of School

Big news on the Walker’s Capabilities Approach Program front!

Fluency through their work learning to code in various classes beginning with the 9th grade Digital Citizenship Seminar (38 9th graders successfully completed the course last year with a total of 153 students thus far), 9th grade Physics, 10th grade Coding Seminar (45 Sophomores successfully completed the requirements for the Seminar last year with 102 students total to date), and continuing on in more advanced courses.

Financial Fluency was envisioned as a mastery of personal finance concepts, certification by the IRS as a legal tax preparer, and actual experience in investing money in the markets. Last year, Walker’s launched a pilot program in investment for our seniors, thanks to the largesse of an enthusiastic grandparent, in which each senior participated in an Investment Seminar organized by trustee Ann O’Hara P’21, ’23, herself a CEO, and implemented by Director of Development and Annual Giving Leila Wetmore ‘82, P’18 and Executive Director of Walker’s Capabilities Approach Program Dr. Ned Edwards P’07, ’10. This team brought in alumnae, parents, and supporters of the School who all were experts in the fields of business and finance. Each student having been exposed to the rudiments of investment was given $1,000 to invest and a choice of different kinds of investments from stocks, bonds, mutual funds, etc. The School opened the accounts for the students and the students, grouped together in portfolios, monitored how their investments were doing throughout the year, and we concluded in April with a gala cashing-out and recap.

Over the last five years, The Ethel Walker School has been developing the Walker’s Capabilities Approach Program, which is a multi-pronged approach to ensuring that all of our students realize their full potential as thinkers and doers both at school and in the world. Thanks to the E.E. Ford Foundation, Walker’s received a $250,000 matching grant to create and implement this initiative for our Upper School in 2019. Through this program, based on the work of the renowned Nobel laureate economistphilosopher Amartya Sen, students at Walker’s achieve functional mastery in a wide array of agencies (physical competencies), fluencies (cognitive competencies), and discoveries (experiential competencies). Over the course of the next two years, Walker’s expects to establish this program fully for all of our students in the Upper School as well as crafting a developmentally appropriate parallel program for our Middle School students.

With respect to agencies, all of our students in the Upper School now pass the rigorous Red Cross certification for swimming — this last year 179 received Red Cross certification (we do have a few students with medical exemptions). They also pass the Red Cross certification for first aid and CPR, and undertake a six-week self-defense course in their senior year as they ready themselves for college entry.

As part of the fluencies, all students learn Rhetorical Fluency, mastering the art of public speaking including effective delivery, the use of a microphone, and 2023 Senior Investment Seminar establishing contact with one’s audience Portfolio Results as of Conclusion culminating in their Senior Speeches of Spring 2023 Semester given before the entire school during $53,024 the senior year. Students in all academic classes were taught and graded on their $51,432 presentation skills. In the 2022-2023 $50,486 $50,000 school year, 48 seniors/PGs delivered their Senior Speeches to the entire school and the texts were assembled in our annual Senior Speeches volume as well as being recorded for our archives.

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$56,597

$56,541

$57,038

$54,074

JAN 2023

FEB 2023

MAR 2023

APR 2023

We are proud to report that 48 Seniors Sustainability (of both the internal and invested $48,000 and realized an aggregate external landscapes), a Self-Selected 14% increase on their investments ($7,038), Capability, International Experience, and the better than many professional money offer of a paid internship in the summer after managers! What was of special significance graduation is also emergent. 45 students beyond monetary gains was first and foremost completed the Sustenance and Sustainability their realization of the importance of financial seminar as sophomores, with 95 students Ann O'Hara P’21, ’23 investment and their enthusiasm and interest to date, 12 students participated in the in it spawned by the program. The seniors at Climate Change course this year. With the the end made several cogent observations, pandemic in the rearview mirror, we are attesting to the intelligence and quickness of now able to once again travel abroad with Walker’s students to grasp complex ideas and our students and this past year two students systems. First, they noted that we had stressed took advantage of another pilot international the importance of 1) diversification of portfolios, student exchange program with King’s 2) the need to hold onto investments for a Academy in Amman, Jordan for a semester longer period of time to realize substantial and a year respectively, while two students gains given the vagaries of the markets, rather from King’s Academy spent the same periods than see them as an equivalent of "house of time at Walker’s with great joy in the flipping," and 3) since we needed to cash in experience all around. Going forward, we are Leila Wetmore ’82, P’18 their investments in order to fund next year’s looking to expand the range of schools with class, what we do to both show them how they whom we exchange students (and hopefully could invest on their own beginning in college faculty as well!) to include schools in Asia, and also how they could educate themselves Europe, Africa, and Latin America. better about how to analyze corporate and Our Self-Selected Capability — ranging shareholder reports. That they could articulate from the science of art restoration, to rock all of this, in and of itself, demonstrates both climbing, to noodle making — which had been their acuity and the success of this nascent implemented through our Junior Project program. You will be happy to know that we have program is now realized through our Lacuna listened and responded to each of their concerns. program (weeklong winter intersession) But the truly exciting news is how our in which each senior demonstrates their Dr. Ned Edwards P’07, ’10 Capability by teaching other students with Board of Trustees has responded to this opportunity. Agreeing with our students that additional support provided by our longer term investment is key, we are now expanding alumnae and faculty. this pilot to begin in the sophomore year and culminate As noted, we are looking forward to the full in the senior year, allowing for a three-year experience establishment of our Walker’s Capabilities Approach Program in which students will have the opportunity to buy and in the next two years. We would love your support and sell at several points. They have agreed that in order to expertise as we strive to accomplish this. fund three years of classes in this investment process, If we could offer our graduating students the option the necessary additional funds will be derived from of a paid internship next summer, it would be thrilling. If our endowment. In other words, we will be the only you or your company would be interested in hiring one of secondary school in the country (maybe the world?) to our students with these marvelous capabilities (including claim that our students manage a small portion of the expertise in social media!), we would love to hear from you.

School’s endowment. How is that for a first?

These could be in-person positions or remote. We would Girls are natural investors — they are receptive, love to offer many options, recognizing that not every student engaged, shrewd, and desire to win! What we want to and position are matched. do is not only educate all Walker’s students to realize the We could always use financial support to defray the power of markets and their ability to achieve financial costs of trainers for the various capabilities, international success at even a young age, but have our students travel for those on financial aid, etc. And if there are ways we inspire a generation of girls to do the same. could harness your expertise to exchange and expand our Our Discoveries segment of the Walker’s Capabilities program, please do let us know.

Approach Program, consisting of Sustenance and Walker’s women do… and so do Walker’s girls!

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Reunion 2023 Celebrating Lifelong Connections

R

eunion weekend kicked off with beautiful weather on Friday as alumnae arrived on campus, DIALing up the SUNny atmosphere which would carry through the whole weekend — despite the rainstorms! Upon arrival, alumnae had the chance to take a history walk and visit The Ethel Walker School Interactive Museum with School Archivist Kimberly Harris Thacker P’24, ‘27, or to

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In celebration of sisterhood and friendship,

The Ethel Walker School held its annual Reunion the weekend of April 21-April 23, 2023. The weekend honored graduates from class years ending in “3” and “8” who came together to reconnect, reminisce, and create new memories.

Led by tri-chairs Bobbie Gerstell Bennett ’53, Ashley Lickle O’Neil ’78, and Paige WilliamsMenard ’13, the weekend was filled with activities, discussions, and festivities.

join the annual alumnae ride at the barn. The whole School community gathered in Ferguson Theatre for the Athletics Hall of Fame inaugural ceremony and reception, followed by our Walker’s Women in the World alumnae panel on Sustenance and Sustainability. The 50th reunion class enjoyed the Golden Hours Dinner hosted by Head of School Dr. Meera

Viswanathan, with entertainment by the string ensemble and the Grapes, while in Beaver Brook Circle all other classes gathered for a festive array of food trucks and were entertained by our African Drumming group.

In addition to our wonderful musicians, other opportunities to connect with current students included the Women of Color and LGBTQ

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student/alumnae conversations, and the chance to welcome the Class of 2023 as they were inducted into the Alumnae Association during Reunion Chapel. Dr. Natalie Foreman-Wynn ’98 was our Chapel speaker and delivered memorable remarks to young and old: “The world can be scary, but we are ferocious. It changes, but we are steadfast. Do not be afraid to fight

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for what you believe in. And when, or if, you find that fear has immobilized you, reach out and we will tap in.

Walker’s Wildcats, Suns, Dials — we are everywhere…The spirits of all who came before you are celebrating every step of your journey no matter how small. Never forget the values or principles you learned while at Walker’s. Uphold them and let them

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guide you, and they will keep you in your darkest times. Nothing but golden hours!”

We celebrated former trustee and current member of the Athletics Hall of Fame Committee Susan S. Ford ’63, recipient of this year’s Margot Treman Rose ’80 Distinguished Alumnae Award. Susan has demonstrated remarkable service to her profession,

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her community and her School. A nationally recognized coach and leader in lacrosse, Susan has also held over 40 volunteer roles for Walker’s in the 60 years since her graduation!

In her State of the School address, Head of School Dr. Meera Viswanathan offered insight into both the School’s progress since she became Head of School in 2017 and her vision for future initiatives as part of the Campus Master Plan. Other weekend highlights included master classes, an alumnae art exhibit in the Letitia McClure Potter ’55, P’85 Gallery, a Pickleball tournament, and of course our awards banquet, Ba-Na-Na dance party, and Piano Bar.

2023 National Reunion Tri-Chairs Bobbie Gerstell Bennett ’53 Ashley Lickle O’Neil ’78 Paige Williams-Menard ’13

Master Classes

It’s Okay to Talk About Money!

Financial Fluency for Women Led by Silvia Manent ’08, Trustee Ann O’Hara P’21, ’23, and Assistant Head for Advancement Gretchen Orschiedt Let the Games Begin: Playing in Latin Led by award-winning faculty member Maureen Lamb Understanding World Religions Through Art Led by Dr. Meera Viswanathan and Dr. Ned Edwards P’07, ’10 Continuous Movement for Non-Dancers Led by Trustee Ximena Eleta de Sierra ’83

Alumnae Artists

M.J. Levy Dickson ’68 Barbara Sanders ’68 Vaune Hatch ’78 Susan Josephson Horgan ’78 Katharine Swibold ’78

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Reunion Awards MARGOT TREMAN ROSE ’80 DISTINGUISHED ALUMNAE AWARD

The Margot Treman Rose 1980 Distinguished Alumnae Award is The Ethel Walker School’s highest honor. It is presented to graduates of the School who best exemplify Margot Rose’s attributes, ensuring that her work, dedication and influence will be remembered now and always. When awarded, it honors alumnae who, by their devotion and talent, elevate the work of their profession, influence their community, or give extraordinary service to their School.

Many congratulations to our 2023 recipient: Susan S. Ford ’63!

SUNDIAL BOWL

Awarded each year to the class with the largest percentage of classmates registered for Reunion Weekend.

This year, we had a tie! A double hooray sunray to the classes of 1973 and 1978!

LONG DISTANCE AWARD

Presented each year to the attendee who, based on their home address, lives farthest away from Simsbury, CT. This year’s recipient was Olivia Heminway Pettit ‘78 who traveled 4,044 miles from Pistoia, Italy!

THE ELIZABETH NASH MUENCH ’55 TRAY

Awarded annually to the Reunion Class(es) that have achieved the highest level of participation in the Annual Fund for Walker’s

by Reunion Weekend.

Congratulations to the Class of 1953!

THE CLASS OF 1944 BOWL

Established in 1994 and awarded to the Reunion Class that raises a gift to the Annual Fund for Walker’s between $50,000 and $74,999.

Hooray sunray to the class of 1963!

THE TERESE TREMAN WILLIAMS ’55 BOWL

Established in 2000 in recognition of Former Trustee Terese Treman Williams’ remarkable, generous, and dedicated achievements on behalf of Walker’s. The bowl is awarded to the Reunion Class that raises a gift to the Annual Fund for Walker’s between $75,000 and $99,999. This bowl was not awarded this year.

THE GATES FAMILY BOWL

Established in 2002 by Sarah Gates Colley ’75, Trustee Emerita, in honor of her parents, John and Christine Gates, and her family’s longstanding relationship with The Ethel Walker School.

The bowl is awarded to the Reunion Class that raises a gift of $100,000 or more.

Congratulations and thank you to the class of 1983!

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A Legacy of Excellence:

Walker’s Holds Athletics Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Constance Lavino Bell 1948

Nancy Van Voorhees Barrett 1924

Brunhilde Grassi Ryan 1929

“One thing about athletics is that it is a gathering place for all kinds… I didn’t know it then, but this opportunity that I had on these particular grounds on this campus at this particular school set me up to think big and to be proud of who I am and those I represent.” ­ Sydney Satchell ’10

The Ethel Walker School Athletics Hall of Fame welcomed its inaugural inductees on Friday, April 21, 2023, at a ceremony held in Ferguson Theatre during Reunion Weekend 2023.

The four inductees were Nancy Van Voorhees Barrett ‘24, Brunhilde Grassi Ryan ‘29, Deborah Verry ‘29, and Constance Lavino Bell ‘48, P’72, ’75, GP’12, 14.

The Ethel Walker School Athletics Hall of Fame was established to honor those who have made significant contributions to the athletics program as student-athletes, coaches, teams, or contributors, and who have demonstrated a consistent commitment to honoring their sport.

These individuals represent the high standards and values of the School and have brought distinction to Walker’s athletics program. The nominating committee included Interim Director of Athletics John Monagan, Director of Alumnae Relations Marion Paterson P’17, ’19, Jenny Belknap ‘90, Meg Filoon ‘81, Susan S. Ford ‘63, Samara Khalique Grove ‘00, Sydney Satchell ‘10, and

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Deborah Verry 1929

Susan P. Storer ‘71. Ford commented to the audience of alumnae, current students, and faculty on the committee’s work, “The selection committee felt very strongly about going back in our history to find the roots of who we are and where our traditions come from, and these four women represent that. So, you are standing on their shoulders.”

All of the inductees made significant contributions to Walker’s athletics program during their time at the School and beyond.

Nancy Van Voorhees Barrett, who graduated in 1924, participated in track, field hockey, basketball, and tennis during her time at Walker’s and became the youngest member of the first women's Olympic track team. Brunhilde Grassi Ryan, who graduated in 1929, was a standout in field hockey, track, apparatus, and basketball.

Deborah Verry, also a 1929 graduate, excelled in tennis, skiing, field hockey, and track. Constance Lavino Bell, who graduated in 1948, was a star in riding, field hockey, tennis,

Head of School Dr. Meera Viswanathan, Susan P. Storer ‘71, Sydney Satchell ‘10, Ellie Bell ‘12, Susan S. Ford ‘63, Meg Filoon ‘83, Chair of the Board of Trustees Katharine “Kit” O’Brien Rohn ’82.

Athletics Hall of Fame Committee member Sydney Satchell ‘10 addressing students and alumnae.

The family of inductee Nancy Van Voorhees Barrett, Class of 1924, posing with her photo in the Athletics Hall of Fame, located in the Centennial Center.

and basketball. The families of inductees Nancy Van Voorhees Barrett ‘24 and Constance Lavino Bell ‘48, P’72, ’75, GP’12, ’14 were honored guests at the induction ceremony.

The ceremony featured several speakers, including Dar Reimer Barrett ’79, Interim Director of Athletics John Monagan, Athletics Hall of Fame Committee members Susan S. Ford ’63 and Sydney Satchell ’10, as well as Head of School Dr. Meera Viswanathan. Speaking at the event, Viswanathan commented, “Recognizing those who have had success both during their time at Walker’s and in their accomplishments beyond this campus is a true moment of pride for all of us.” The event was a celebration of the School’s commitment to athletics and the individuals who have helped to make the program a success over the years.

The inaugural induction ceremony marked the beginning of a permanent annual Athletics Hall of Fame at the School, which previously celebrated a Centennial Athletics Hall of Fame during the 2010-2011 academic year.

This new annual event will allow the school to continue to honor its outstanding athletes for years to come.

To learn more about The Ethel Walker School Athletics Hall of Fame and to submit a nomination form for our 2024 ceremony, scan the QR code at right.

Interim Director of Athletics John Monagan presenting at the ceremony.

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2023-2024 BOARD OF TRUSTEES

KATHARINE O’BRIEN ROHN ’82 CHAIR Conservation and Education Nonprofit Leader Darien, CT DR. SHELLEY MARKS ’81 VICE CHAIR Surgeon, Palo Alto Medical Foundation San Francisco, CA MICHAELYNN WARE P’28, ‘29 SECRETARY Vice President, Legal Operations and Intellectual Property, Otis Elevator Co. Farmington, CT THOMAS REGAN P’13 TREASURER Partner, Brown Rudnick LLP Avon, CT ALEXANDRA BADGER AIRTH ’83 Director, Mars Foundation Board Newport Beach, CA MARGOT CAMPBELL BOGERT ’60 Trustee Emerita Board of Trustees, The Frick Collection and World Scout Committee Bedford Hills, NY CHRISTOPHER L. BRIGHAM Principal, Updike, Kelly & Spellacy, P.C West Hartford, CT ELIZABETH ROCKWELL CESARE Trustee Emerita Former Head, King Low Heywood Thomas School Norwalk, CT KEVIN CHESSEN P’17 Co-Founder, BTIG San Francisco, CA MARY LOU COBB Principal Consultant and Founder, Cobb Education Consulting Founder, The Cobb School West Simsbury, CT

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SARAH GATES COLLEY ’75 Trustee Emerita Volunteer Hobe Sound, FL DR. ELEANOR DAUGHERTY P’26 Vice President for Student Affairs, Georgetown University Simsbury, CT MARGARET G. DAVIS P’26 Owner, Sienna Mountain Ranch Petaluma, CA HARRIET BLEES DEWEY ’60, P’86, GP’21 Educator and Philanthropist Ridgefield, CT LEANDER ALTIFOIS DOLPHIN ’95, P’24 Managing Partner, Shipman & Goodwin, LLP Hartford, CT JEAN MOORE EDWARDS ’69 Owner, Moore Ranch Vineyards Saint Helena, CA XIMENA E. ELETA DE SIERRA ’83 Nonprofit Arts Foundation Leader Panama City, Panama TOAN C. HUYNH ’93 Independent Director, Bankers Financial Corporation New York, NY CYNTHIA KIRKLAND KELLOGG ’60 Conservationist, Nonprofit Leader, and Philanthropist Hanahan, SC BARBARA THOMAS KENNEDY ‘69 Manager, Standard Enterprises, Inc. Charlottesville, VA CHARLOTTE WEIDLEIN LENZNER ’05 Co-Chair, Alumnae Board Sr. Director, Business Development & Corporate Partnerships, Global Citizen Bronxville, NY

ANN O’HARA P’21,’23 President, Huhtamaki North America Ann Arbor, MI LETITIA MCCLURE POTTER ’55, P’85 Trustee Emerita Volunteer Greenwich, CT ALVARO RODRIGUEZ P’24 Director, Enterprise Project Management Office,

OhioHealth

Westerville, OH EMMA SIMON ’89 Managing Director, Marketing, Virtus Investment West Hartford, CT BETH STRAPP P’18, ’21 Senior Vice President, Berkeley Healthcare Financial Lines Granby, CT KELLY LEE TANG P’27 Senior Director of Research, Drucker Institute New York, NY JAMIAH TAPPIN ’00 Director, Health & Racial Equity, Grantmaking, Health Resources in Action Boston, MA DR. EMILIANA VEGAS ’85 Professor of Practice, Harvard Graduate School of Education Harvard University Washington, DC TERESA C. YOUNGER CEO and President, Ms. Foundation for Women Brooklyn, NY

NEW TRUSTEES

MARGARET G. DAVIS P’26 Owner, Sienna Mountain Ranch Petaluma, CA Margaret graduated from the University of Southern California with a BA in Cinema and Television. Over the last 18 years, she has developed and managed a world class equestrian center at Sienna Mountain Ranch in Petaluma, CA. She was previously a trustee at Sonoma Country Day School. Margaret is often to be found at the barn, where she herself rides, as does her daughter Ainsley, a member of Walker’s Class of 2026.

BARBARA “BARBEE” THOMAS KENNEDY ‘69 Manager, Standard Enterprises, Inc. Charlottesville, VA Barbee earned a bachelor’s degree in French from Duke University with a concentration in languages, and then pursued a career in the computer industry, where she held various positions in IBM mainframe programming, project management, and systems programming for Trust Company of Georgia in Atlanta, and later, Marriott Corporation in Bethesda, Maryland. As she raised her two children, Barbee managed the financial operations of the family LED lighting business based in Charlottesville, Virginia, her home for the past 37 years. She has also been a long time volunteer for Meals on Wheels. She was a rider at Walker’s and is an enthusiastic supporter of our current riding program.

ALVARO “AL” RODRIGUEZ P’24 Director, Enterprise Project Management Office, OhioHealth Westerville, OH Alvaro earned a BS in Management and Engineering for Manufacturing from the University of Connecticut, and a Master of Business Operational Excellence from The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business where he was also certified as a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt. He is currently Director, Enterprise Project Management Office at OhioHealth.

Previous positions include Global Director at Vertiv, Principal Project Manager at American Electric Power, and Senior Project Manager at Siemens, managing oil and gas projects in the UK, Europe, and Asia. Al’s daughter Averi is a member of Walker’s Class of 2024.

KELLY LEE TANG P’27 Senior Director of Research, Drucker Institute New York, NY Kelly graduated from Stanford University and has an MBA from Harvard University.

She is Senior Director of Research for the Drucker Institute, leading research and development for their company ranking system.

She has expertise in ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) investing, sustainability investing, and asset management.

Previously, she worked at S&P Global in their indices division, where she designed the S&P/Drucker Institute Corporate Effectiveness Index. She has written for The Wall Street Journal, The Journal of Alternative Investments, and Harvard Law School’s Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation.

Kelly’s daughter Morgan is a member of Walker’s Class of 2027.

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TAKE NOTE

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The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Ruth Cummings Mead

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Your class needs a correspondent!

Contact Director of Alumnae Relations Marion Paterson P’17, ’19 at mpaterson@ethelwalker.org if you are interested.

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Carol Grady Andrews The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

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Adrianne Massie Hill

Adrianne Massie Hill writes: Our class

should receive an award for being the most faithful! Thanks to each of you for your emails, calls, and conversations. It’s not an illusion that I feel that we remain connected even after many years have passed. These are certainly not the easiest, for many in our class are struggling with illness themselves, illness in their families, and among friends. For those of us in Miss Hunt’s English class, I do remember reading Hugh Walpole’s book entitled Fortitude, which was translated as “grace under pressure.” I think that the last few years have required fortitude.

From Geneva I received a lovely email from Clarina Schwarzenbach Firmenich: her time is divided between Geneva and Verbier in both summer and winter. Her companion, Dusan Sidjanski, shares the 96 years of my husband, Mal, and consequently, Clarina and Dusan have cut back on their skiing time in the mountains but enjoy an interesting life in Geneva.

I’ve had two great telephone conversations with Linen Miller Greenough who lives in Sheridan, WY, where she and her husband, Doug, manage an active cattle ranch. Linen has children, grandchildren and greatgrandchildren who also live on the ranch.

A brave horsewoman, as is Sara Cavanagh Schwartz, Linen recently had a bad accident with a new horse she was training as she was seated in a cart. She did survive completely, decided to sell the particular pair of horses, and is now keeping company with a new set of four-legged friends, alpaca. She has plans to use the alpaca wool for weaving and knitting — Linen spins and weaves! Linen loves her life “on the range.” We chuckled a little thinking of our upbringing in Short Hills, NJ for Linen, and I, in Rye, NY, and here we are in completely different parts of the country.

Kiki Judd called me a few months ago from

Larkspur, CA, where she has lived for many years. We had a long visit on the phone.

After graduating from Stanford University in 1960, Kiki has had a very active residential real estate practice in Larkspur and the surrounding Bay area. Kiki and I met when we were only eight or nine as our parents were friends, and I visited with the Judds one summer in Canada. Kiki’s father was an ophthalmologist in Omaha, and all I wanted for Christmas that year was a pair of glasses!

Santa saw that I did see our ophthalmologist

Susie Kleinhans Gilbertson The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

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Your class needs a correspondent!

Contact Director of Alumnae Relations Marion Paterson P’17, ’19 at mpaterson@ethelwalker.org if you are interested.

1955

Tisha McClure Potter The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

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Jeannie Ballentine Riegel ‘53, P’83 visiting her daughter Whitney Riegel ‘83 in Norwalk, CT with neighbors, Hooey Stewart Wilks ‘82 and Leila Howland Wetmore ‘82, P’18

in Rye, and I did receive a pair of glasses for Christmas (but I think that the prescription might have been a plain one)!

Dorothy Doubleday Massey and I have

had a couple of great conversations. She and her excellent bookstore in Santa Fe, NM survived very restrictive COVID requirements.

Dorothy’s store serves the community not only as a fine business, but also as a community center with lectures by authors and others plus gatherings of all kinds. I did listen in to the very graceful interview that Dorothy had with Joyce Carol Oates, a favorite writer, and at the same time reread one of my favorite books, 5,000 Nights at the Opera, in which Dorothy is mentioned with accolades; she was Rudolf Bing’s right hand in the early ’60s. He was a rather incredible General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera during one of the richest periods of that company.

Phoebe Haffner Andrew and I keep in

touch as we share many special mutual friends in Seattle. Phoebe had to jump through some hoops to reach her summer home on Saltspring Island in British Columbia as visitors, even residents, had to abide by the Canadian COVID restrictions. She prevailed and enjoyed a fine holiday there with friends and family. Phoebe and the Hills maintain a masked existence still; we continue to hear tales of those who have been vaccinated but succumbed to the virus. We feel we can’t take any chances.

Sara Cavanagh Schwartz sent a really

interesting email, and as I mentioned in my note about Linen, Sara remains a very active person in the horse world. Sara wrote: “Our homebred thoroughbreds have turned two, and hopefully the filly, Save Me a Dance, will run this fall and the colt, Rod N Reel will run next year. I am still working as the editor of The Horse of Delaware Valley, which has suddenly taken off as an online newspaper.

After switching from a printed monthly due to the cost of printing, it took a while for advertisers to realize their ads online do well, but recently we luckily have been swamped with ads. Fingers crossed this continues. I continue to be able to walk a mile daily with my beloved Doberman Astra despite having some nerve damage in my left leg following a back operation that means I use a cane.

My son, Frank, lives with me and takes great care of me, the horses, our dogs, and cats.

The snowdrops are out, and daffodils are coming up so looking forward to spring and the beginning of point-to-point races and

steeplechasing.” What really fascinated me (as one who wielded hockey and lacrosse sticks in school and college, followed by golf and tennis) is that Linen and Sara are very brave and enterprising in their worlds which include animals.

In the late summer I received a call from Barbara Bidwell Manuel who lives in Orleans, MA. Her call was good news in that she told me that shortly thereafter she was planning a trip to New York and wanted to confirm Serena Rhinelander Stewart’s telephone number. Late last year I was in New York for the celebration of a good friend’s life, and tried twice to reach Serena on the phone without success. I knew that Serena was ill as we had been on the phone several times in recent months. I could not reach her. Barbara saved the day, as she was able to arrange a visit with Serena, a short one, but it was comforting to know that at least one of us had made contact. Serena and I spoke often on the phone, and both of us hoped that we could make one last trip to School to “catch up,” but neither of us was able to do that.

The late Serena Rhinelander Stewart had an extensive career in architecture both in Sun Valley and in New York, but what was most interesting to me was her around the world sailing adventure which she undertook from “scratch!” She was a longtime dedicated volunteer at Hope Lodge in New York which provides free lodging for patients undergoing treatment for cancer along with one caregiver.

The Lodge in New York is one of several under the auspices of the American Cancer Society.

Mal and I had several delightful visits with her in Atlanta and in New York. She was a spirited friend for sure and hosted a group of our class at her apartment just a few years ago.

Among her other talents was her expertise in needlepoint. She will be missed. Serena passed away on August 10, 2022.

Gail Sheppard Moloney sent a thoughtful

note about her several travels during the year.

Gail has three daughters who are scattered in the United States and in England. She visits each one regularly. Gail spends her winters in Vero Beach, where we spent a lovely evening together with Gigi Pearson Smithers and her husband Kip a few years ago. Gail spends the summers in Greenwich. Thank you, Gail, for keeping in touch. Gail writes, “A point of interest is that I have seen Meera twice in one week here in Florida this winter. The first time was with Missy Turnbull Geddes.

We went to a cocktail party down in Hobe

Sound that was being given for School. The second time was at a very small lunch here in Vero Beach a few days later. Meera is one of the most fantastic women I have ever met. The School is expanding in the most incredible and wonderful way, due to the out-of-this-world gift made to the School.

Another point of interest is that we had a Vassar roommates’ reunion in Hobe Sound in February. Always so much fun!! Our next one is planned for October in Washington, DC. Phoebe has promised to come to that one.

There are six of us, all going strong. We have three from Walker’s, two from Farmington, and one from Garrison Forest. Six of us, but only one husband left!! I have two darling grandchildren visiting right now: Jackson is 20, and Jordan is 19.

Gigi Pearson Smithers is my personal

scrapbook album adviser! During one of our telephone conversations, I happened to mention that I was struggling to figure out how to arrange the letters, photographs, and mementos that I had carefully NOT done throughout the many years that I have been married. I did arrange albums for our two sons, for my husband’s family and for my husband, Mal, but the Massie items and those of our own are many and continue to be in boxes in my closet! Dear Gigi not only advised me but sent some lovely albums and inserts that she had which got me going! Gigi and her husband, Kip, live year-round in Vero Beach.

Gigi, I know that I thanked you, but I really am grateful for your help.

Just a few days ago a note was received from Lee Mullowney Story’s daughter, Elizabeth.

Lee died of natural causes on January 28 of this year in San Diego, where she had lived for many years.

Barbara Richards Pitney and the Hills

share a mutual friend in Bernardsville, NJ, and she wrote with some recent news about our friend. Barbara has an active travel agency near her home in New Jersey and sent an interesting note about it. “Travel is crazy! I have never seen anything like it. Few and far between rooms available anywhere in Europe now through September. Hunger never takes a vacation, so Curbing Hunger gets creative to raise awareness for much needed donations; one way is to have a Can-Test contest. This is the construction of something out of cans (I made a tree of life) and after the judging, blue ribbons and one fantastic gold can for first prize, the cans are put on the shelves in

SUMMER/FALL 2023

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TAKE NOTE

the county food bank. My front hall is the work room as I tackle the challenge, and am reminded every day that the deadline is approaching.” Barbara mentioned in her note that her sister, Betty Richards Tripp ’54, has moved to Stone Ridge in Mystic, CT. She doesn’t get to New Jersey and so Barbara and her daughter and husband take turns visiting her in Mystic.

Missy Turnbull Geddes sent a very

thoughtful email about her present involvement at School. She has been involved in a program entitled the Capabilities Approach Program which is about discovering the full potential and expanding the horizon of each of the students. “It gives them confidence in fields that are out of the normal range of what a school curriculum could offer. For example, through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program in Hartford, the girls study and pass an IRS training program which allows them to prepare personal income tax returns for low income families in the area. This is real work in the real world. They also do some personal investing of money and learn about the workings of the stock market. This is just one example of how the students, in conjunction with organizations in the area, are exposed to hands-on experience in various fields of interest. It is a program that is being copied by some of the most prestigious co-ed schools as well, but we implemented it first!” I think that some of us would have greatly enjoyed such an opportunity.

Finally, news from the home front. As all of us have been affected by COVID and its restrictions, my husband, Mal, and I have really clipped our traveling wings as he is now 96 years young, in good health for the most part, but has been troubled with heart troubles for the last couple of years. Upon the advice of his doctor, we have stayed close to home, masked whenever we go out, and definitely staying away from crowds, including gatherings here at Lenbrook where we live, and participation at our beloved Cathedral of St. Philip as singers. Although it sounds like a dry diet, we are really very comfortable with room service dinner every night, and have appreciated large chunks of time to read, to watch great movies on Netflix, PBS, and movies on Comcast which we had never seen! Please stay well! That is my wish for each of you.

40

THE SUNDIAL

1957

Sandra “Sandy” Lipson Sears The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

1958

Barbara “Barbie” Welles Bartlett The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

1959

Elena Miller Shoch The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Margot Adams Goodwin writes: “I have

been happily living on Cape Cod since 1989 with my husband. After joining the Osterville Garden Club, I became a flower show judge and loved exhibiting both horticulture and floral designs. I learned to create sailor’s valentines TWENTY years ago and have exhibited at several museums here on the Cape. I am blessed with four children and four grandchildren.”

1960

Phyllis Richard Fritts The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

From Ellen Corroon Petersen, “A few months ago I went to a wonderful memorial service for Nanno Carpenter Bienstock, with all sorts of photographs and charming testimonials from her sweet and articulate grandchildren as well as her stalwart sons who took such loving care of her when she needed it. It was a joyful occasion that made me really sad. I miss her. I finally got COVID. Fortunately I was in Brooklyn at the time so had excellent care from my son Max and his wife Radhika. When we bought the house in

December 2021, one of the selling brokers was Ashley Banker, Bea Vander Poel Banker’s daughter. However did we figure that out?

It’s a small world. I do love having a pied-àterre in NYC and love our pretty and quiet Brooklyn neighborhood. I’ve signed up for an art class where we go to different museums and art galleries all over the city. Also, I am still going to a dude ranch in Arizona in early April with Max, Radhika and Finn (age eight). He loves it as much as I do. I have two granddaughters — one at Bard and one at Tulane where the whole family will gather at Jazz Fest in late April to celebrate my 80th, including their older brother who attends Stanford. I recently judged at the Philadelphia Flower Show and my major interests are still all things gardening. I guess my quiet life is not so quiet! Love to all.

Christy Hoffman Brown is still volunteering at Memorial Sloan Kettering in NYC but without her two therapy dogs who have passed on. She keeps in close contact with Clara Perkins Stites who lives in the Kendal Life Care Facility in Kennett Square, PA.

Caryl Van Ranst Dearing can’t believe

we have joined the “’80s” club. Still living on Martha’s Vineyard and enjoying life, full of volunteering, knitting, mahjong, and canasta which keeps the brain working. Their three children are frequently in the area so they see them and their grandchildren. She says, “Summer will soon be here when the island gets crazy. Happy Spring to all!”

Patty Connors Warrender writes,

“Spending winters here near Vero Beach, FL on Hutchinson Island, one mile from the National Navy Seal Museum, and loving it. I had spinal surgery 18 months ago, so living on one floor has been a godsend. Our house, on the side of a mountain in VA, has fabulous views but stairs everywhere which is not great at this stage in life. I had a wonderful evening at “EWS in Hobe Sound” and dinner with Abra Prentice Wilkin and Jim Wilkin afterwards. I got to sit next to Meera at dinner which was a delight. We go to Montana for five weeks in the summer to a wonderful area near Bozeman with amazing fishing for Anthony. I can’t see well enough to tie flies or spot fish but love the walking and scenery.

I have driven out a couple of times with our dogs, taking my time and using only rural roads for several hundred miles past a sea of cornfields, neat farmsteads and hardly a soul on the road. I just absorb the beauty. I will do the Badlands this summer during daylight. I have two grandkids with good jobs — one is in

medical hazardous waste and the other is an engineer designing parts for new machines — with whom we love spending time. Anthony and I have been traveling a lot to make up for COVID. This year is a special trip to Italy in May. Stay well all!”

Ali Mestre de Bidondo sends her news:

“Great to hear from old friends and hope to have the opportunity of seeing you all next time there is some kind of reunion. Living in Argentina does not make it easy as it is a long trip to be planned in advance after sorting out all the tremendous difficulties this country is experiencing. Fortunately I am well with mild things that everybody reaching 80 has.

My two daughters also are fine. One is single and lives 10 minutes away and the other lives in a beautiful city called Tandil which is a four-hour drive from Buenos Aires with her husband and my four grandsons. We all get together with my extended family in our summer (Jan/Feb) in Punta del Este, Uruguay where we have the house my parents built.

At times there are 35 of us living together there. It’s great fun. Now we are about to take a Disney cruise — invited by my brother Eduardo — during Easter week, which he picked so all the kids in the northern and southern hemisphere could be there during the school holiday. There are 56 family members going and we are all excited with the idea of all of us spending a week together!

attend School as it is today. Jennifer Grant, the late Marcha Metzger Grant’s daughter and my goddaughter, spent almost a year in Chicago with her new husband who is a film set designer. She is a stewardess on a private jet owned by an industrialist flying the world with two weeks on and two off. I chat with

Merry “Nipper” Bragonier Bouscaren and Marilyn Hodges Wilmerding. Nipper and I share the breathlessness of COPD and rue all those years of smoking. Remember we were the first class allowed to smoke in Cluett? This is my last year as a trustee of the Taft School but I still remain involved with several Chicago organizations including Northwestern Memorial Hospital and the Lincoln Park Zoo. I continue to collect majolica which is gradually easing some books off the shelves. I turned 80 last July and celebrated comparatively quietly at our beloved Lake Geneva, WI house with just Jim and my three kids — heaven! Cheers to all.”

From Mimi Gardner Gates, “Dear ’60 pals.

Mimi here. To celebrate being octogenarians, Tania Whitman Stepanian, her husband Michael, and I fly fish as often as we can. Our favorite adventure is fly fishing for trout and coho salmon in Bristol Bay, AK in late August.

My Bill Gates, Sr. passed away in September, 2020 and a new generation of Gates greatgrands began in February 2023 with a darling little girl named Leila. Hooray!”

Dinny Jones Bush writes, “I am glad to have

Mimi Moore Rosenwald writes, “All good

From Abra Prentice Wilkin comes, “Our 9th decade brings loss, sadness, and change but also some mellowness in slowing down and appreciating one another and the little things in life more. We are wintering in Hobe Sound, FL where there are lots of EWS alums.

Sarah Gates Colley ’75 and I hosted a reception for Meera in January which was lots of fun. Cynnie Kirkland Kellogg, who has joined the Walker’s Board, and Patty Connors Warrender were there. Alita Weaver Reed is bravely carrying on with rehab and therapy after a stroke and loves getting news of EWS, wishing she could

From Susan Shierling Riegel Harding, “It was just yesterday that I turned 80, but I‘ll be 82 in August! 81 just melted away somehow.

Daughter Tatiana turned 60 in January which was much harder for me than watching my own years fly by. She has a very successful career as a film editor. She and her wife Vero have completed a swimming pool and both enjoy working from home. I gave up driving 6 months before COVID hit and it was one of my better decisions. I am blessed with friends in a great little community here in San Diego that watches out for each other. I am also lucky that I can stay in my one story house within walking distance of the village. I am busy with gardening, bridge, audiobooks, the Old Globe Theatre in Balboa Park, Zoom classes and a trainer two times a week. I went back East for my sister Janie Shierling Walsh ’61’s 80th.

She and Bill have a large extended family. I have a guest cottage and would love to have visitors!”

made it to 80 after a few blips, but all is well.

Have done a lot of traveling in the past years — Bahamas — we are still in Harbour Island, where I spend all spring before returning to Fenwick, CT for the summer with my daughter Jen and two grandchildren. Jen has taken over my VJB Educational Consulting Co., although I still manage to be involved. I bought a wonderful old farm in Weston, VT during COVID and love it there, especially skiing in the winter except when it’s icy! Love to all.”

with me and my clan. So glad to have moved back to Long Island to be near two of my four kids and five of my nine grands.”

Phyllis Richard Fritts sends greetings to the

Class of ’60 as we ease gracefully and with gratitude into our 80s. COVID may have put a stutter into our stride but we hopefully are able to begin to get out into the world again.

Guy and I were grounded in Vero Beach, FL which was a lucky thing. My golf game actually improved which is almost a miracle!

Last June we finally got to take the much postponed Rhine River cruise. We did it with our two sons and daughter-in-law, as it was my 80th birthday celebration. As all of our family has settled on the West Coast and we are in Florida, it was a much needed reunion after two years. Also, it was a celebration of life as our older son James and his wife Didi had narrowly escaped death when their house in Seattle, with them and their dogs in it, was destroyed and moved 20 feet off of its foundation in a mudslide in January of 2022.

They lost everything, were injured and thieves stole what was left in the debris while they were hospitalized. Mimi Gardner Gates was truly marvelous in putting me in touch with the best psychological counselor for them. Now they are living full time in their vacation house on the Big Island in Hawaii while both are working in jobs based in Seattle thanks to the internet.

It has definitely been a reminder to enjoy every day. Best love to you all.

1961

Your class needs a correspondent!

Contact Director of Alumnae Relations Marion Paterson P’17, ’19 at mpaterson@ethelwalker.org if you are interested.

1962

Sage Dunlap Chase The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

1963 1964

Your class needs a correspondent!

Contact Director of Alumnae Relations Marion Paterson P’17, ’19 at mpaterson@ethelwalker.org if you are interested.

SUMMER/FALL 2023

41

TAKE NOTE

1965

Sarah Elting Doering The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

1966 1967

Your class needs a correspondent!

Contact Director of Alumnae Relations Marion Paterson P’17, ’19 at mpaterson@ethelwalker.org if you are interested.

1968

Kimberley “Kim” Smith Niles The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

1969

Gurukirn Kaur Khalsa The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Wendy French Nolan ‘67 with Susan Nichols Ferriere ‘69 in the Adirondacks

Class of 1967’s Julie Lange Peyton, Cathy Nimick, and Dia Wasley Chigas in Dorset, VT

to sign 23 small executive actions on climate change, and possibly best of all, now have 16 and counting environmental nonprofits and eco-justice groups speaking with one voice to the legislature. Walker’s recently had a panel discussion on climate change when Karenna Gore came to speak — grateful the school is empowering the students with information.

We are also supporting the NO MOW MAY movement, which started in Atherton, WI three years ago and has shown through research to create a three-fold increase in bee species and a five-fold increase in the number of bees in lawns that aren’t mowed for just one month. Here is a picture of our lawn sign — email me if you want to know more!”

from being a thug to a purrfect gentleman, and is now Sir William Billington. Otherwise, all is peaceful here in Naples, FL where we managed to escape the wrath of hurricane Ian.”

Lisa Elkinton Barr shares, “I am the board chair of Yew Dell Botanical Gardens in Crestwood, KY. Love learning about plants.

Happy grandmother of twin 12-year-olds, a ten- and eight-year-old. Still married to my ophthalmologist husband who is slowing down his practice. Love to travel!”

Mally Cox-Chapman’s news is, “I retired

in March of 2021 from my work advising arts and environmental funders, but I wasn’t ready to stop the work. Three of us gathered as a small funding group called SOS, Save our State, by which we do everything we can think of to lower the carbon footprint of Connecticut. At the end of three years, we will roll out our successes and failures to the other New England states. While some of our goals may be too ambitious, we have secured 40 electric school buses in underserved towns (we need 2,000), have convinced the Governor 42

THE SUNDIAL

Laurie Cherbonnier Nielsen says “I have

multi-generational news, as my mother has been living with us since COVID began. We celebrated her 101st birthday at my daughter Emily’s new house outside of Wilmington, DE, as she is still very much up and at ’em and raring to go. My daughter Genevieve is graduating from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business in June and plans to celebrate with a balloon ride over Sonoma, with us in it. My last trip in a balloon ended in a dismembered Sonoran cactus and a crash landing. My feral tuxedo cat rescue, Big Bad Bill, has graduated

Susan Nichols Ferriere writes, “Our

COVID was not “captivity” since we were invited to live with dear friends in the Adirondacks virtually forever as The Plague raged and so experienced one of the happiest times imaginable, proving that beautiful things can evolve from hard times.

The attached photo (from 2021 since I have sent no news recently) reflects this as we enjoyed these times together, now a tradition, including with our host’s cousin, Wendy French Nolan ’67, who also happens to be a dear friend from Walker’s days. In 2022, we began to travel again — from Southern California to various European destinations — and appreciated every moment as never before. A necessary apartment redo has had us here in NYC since late October but wanderlust is ever-present along with cherished time upstate. For those who are considering a visit to NYC, our beloved City has definitely recaptured its renowned vibe.

Classmates Anne Williamson and Lisa Elkinton Barr have recently visited and we love nothing more than celebrating minireunions. We hope to see many more of you very soon!”

Jan Muller Finn sent in, “Paul and I safely came through the dark COVID tunnel.

Despite the uncertain political and medical surroundings here in Charleston, we were very fortunate that the temperate weather allowed us to venture outside for long walks along the beaches and through the

parks. I honestly believe that such access was our saving grace. Our three children, located respectively in Cleveland, Denver and New York City, faced much tougher circumstances but emerged in good health and spirits. We had cooking contests and other “games” to maintain contact with each other during the months of isolation.

Most importantly, the COVID gloom was banished by three wonderful family events.

Our son Tyler had another healthy baby girl.

Audrey was born in June 2021, in fact on my son’s own birthday! Our daughter Ashleigh was married in September 2021 and had a healthy baby boy, Wyatt, in October 2022!

The Finn clan is expanding as we now have three grandchildren and we all were able to gather together to celebrate this past Christmas in Steamboat Springs. Paul and I continue to love the Charleston area although we have definitely witnessed an influx of people moving here. Paul has picked up the ubiquitous sport of pickleball and loves it.

I opted for tennis and I’m playing in two competitive leagues. I have met a wonderful group of women who have lived all over the United States and pursued a wide variety of careers. Our three children are faring well. Courtenay moved from Cleveland to Newport Beach! She now is the chief curator of the recently opened Orange County Museum of Art. Ashleigh just returned to work as the head librarian at the Graland School in Denver. Tyler practices law at the firm Sussman Godfrey in the city. Wishing everyone best wishes and good health.”

Katharine Goodbody shares, “My second

Gurukirn Kaur Khalsa ’69’s son, Har Rai Singh and daughter-in-law Shiva Shakti at their wedding cloths) that had just come in from India.

The wedding party members were dressed in matching peach-colored outfits and turbans. Har Rai Singh and Shiva Shakti were beautiful, making their way around the main altar stage four times, as the Ragis sang the traditional hymns. As they finished the fourth round, we showered them with flower petals, and the ceremony was complete. After a year of hard work in preparation, it was a mother’s dream come true.”

We are going to check up on them in May to make sure they’re ok! Planning my 50th college reunion as I’m sure many of you are.

Still subbing for Kodaly music in the springs, have rejoined the National Kodaly board, train dogs in agility and Nosework, help out in behavior modification at the local dog shelter, am a CASA advocate and sing in a small choir that I have belonged to since 1980. My life is full and I am happy.”

Ginger Bevis Littleton shares, “I’m still

kicking around in Colorado Springs. Grandma to four-year-old and nine-month-old boys and step-grandma to 2nd and 4th grade boys whose family is living in Spain for the year.

are doing well and enjoying life in Glenview, with summer weekends in Wisconsin. I go twice a year to see Gina and my four young grandchildren in Switzerland (soon to be five!), and once a year to see Daniel and

Ginger Bevis Littleton ’69 with her five-year-old rescue, Cody

Bill and Katy Murphy Ingle ’69 in front of the Duomo in Florence

Katy Murphy Ingle sent in that “Bill and I

grandchild, a grandson, was born in February.

He joins my granddaughter Hasna (his cousin).

I am enjoying being a grandmother very much! They both are in the Boston area so within reasonably easy weekend visiting from New Haven. I am still working as an attorney for the Connecticut Innocence Project and continue to enjoy my work.”

Gurukirn Kaur Khalsa says, “Friday, 11/11/22, was an auspicious day for our family, as our youngest son, Har Rai Singh was marrying his fiancée, Shiva Shakti. The celebration was a blend of Indian and American traditions.

It started out with Har Rai Singh riding a prancing white horse down the street to the Gurdwara, accompanied by the beat of the dhol and Bangra music. All of the wedding guests, including me, danced around them.

When we entered the Gurdwara, it was decorated in lovely flowers and peach colors with special ramalas (embroidered altar

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TAKE NOTE his family in San Diego — two adult stepgrandchildren. Last fall we took a side trip to Tuscany and Florence, where I showed Bill where I had spent my Stanford halfyear abroad. These past few years I have had a hip replacement, stayed active in our church (despite the lockdown), painted more and more watercolors (my website is still ingledesign.com), and put together four digital family albums (printed in Switzerland) for the whole family, each customized to the person.

It was a huge project that took a year and a half, but well worth it. I hope everyone is fine and send greetings to the whole class!”

Jane Shanholt Sacasa shares “Gurukirn

Kaur Khalsa and I enjoyed a marvelous lunch in February hosted by Mary Earl Eversole and her husband, Harry Eversole, at Mary’s beautiful new house in Rio Verde, AZ. We all had a good time and hope to get together again at the next Reunion. My husband Orlando and I also spent some vacation time in the Napa Valley, San Francisco, and Sedona.

It was wonderful to escape the cold, gray weather in New York.”

Barbara Burke Valk states: "Not too much

to report. My husband and I escaped COVID infection thus far and have started to carefully step out to travel. I still work very part-time at the Pequot Library in Southport, and daughter Joanna and husband Anthony work

and live happily in New York City. Seventy was a big milestone, and we are grateful for good health. It is an enriching but wistful time. Best to all, Barbara."

Lindsey Hulburd Walker writes “I

moved to Charleston/Mount Pleasant, SC last summer from Carmel, CA. It was a bit emotional as I had lived in Carmel for 35 years raising my two kids there and running my photography business — so many friendships, bonds made and connections with the community. But a new adventure is invigorating and, more importantly, I am near my daughter, son-in-law and grandson, Cole, and other extended family. It is an absolutely beautiful part of the world here...filled with romanticism and calm. The marshes and bird life are just as described in Where The Crawdads Sing: “Marsh is a space of light, where grass grows in water, and water flows to the sky.... and long legged birds lift with unexpected grace.” So...my camera is active!! :-) Loving the friendliness of the south! Best to ‘y’all’!”

Lindsey Hulburd Walker ’69’s grandson, Cole, at the Isle of Palms beach

1970

1971

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Gail Chandler Gaston

Cynthia “Cynny” Smith Evanisko

Marie “Betsy” Ballenger The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Deborah “Debbie” Seaman The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Betsy Ballenger says, “My time is

Mary Earl Eversole ‘69, Jane Shanholt Sacasa ‘69, and Gurukirn Kaur Khalsa ‘69 at Mary’s new house in Rio Verde, AZ 44

THE SUNDIAL

completely consumed by running Cat Action Team, a non-profit, all-volunteer cat welfare group in central Virginia. Also, recent knee surgery has slowed me down. I had arthroscopic surgery 40 years ago, but it’s a little harder to bounce back at our exalted age. My big 7-0 was on the Ides of March. I can add that Liza Felder turned 70 on March 2 and continues to live in Dallas. She helps run the local dog park in her neighborhood.

This is handy, as she has had a succession of Wheaten Terriers (Paddington, Percy, Pellinore and, now, Petunia) who take full advantage of their daily visits there.”

interest in social justice work has led her to a part-time position working for the Episcopal Diocese of Maine as director of St. Elizabeth’s Jubilee Center, running a non-food essentials pantry serving a growing population of recent asylum seekers in Portland.

Patty Phelps Eddy writes, “We are just

Sarah Coburn Borgeson ’71 and Betsy Hanson Lawlor ’71 in Portland, ME, June 23, 2022

Sarah Coburn Borgeson moved to

Portland, ME two years ago to be closer to her two daughters and her grandchildren. As she said, “It was a COVID-related move.” Sarah’s son Bowen (and his wife and three children) recently moved from The Hill School to Woodberry Forest School in Virginia; Bowen teaches History and coaches baseball. Sarah’s

back from a 2+ week road trip to get a change of scenery. By late February the urge to leave Maine is intense. We’re simply tired of snow, plowing, sanding, parkas, boots, and winter gear. We did a big loop down to South Carolina and returned via North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky and Pennsylvania. Our road trip adventures have their origins during COVID. To keep from going crazy staying in one place, we started taking day trips, then extended field trips around the state. We are hooked on this venture now as the car lets you go to odd places and to stop to see what is up here and there. We have more adventures planned for Maine this year and now that Canada’s border has re-opened we will head across there this fall. Our two girls are in good places. Our oldest, a mariner, is the Harbor Master of Rockland harbor (the second largest harbor in Maine). It’s a big job planning maintenance along the harbor front and the fishing pier, working with the cruise ships and the general public that sail in, and overseeing several festivals. She’s a mother ‘juggling many balls in the air’. Our second

daughter is in her first year of law school at age 34. She had been a social worker with Preble Street in Portland, which works with the homeless and addicted. After a few years of this she feels she can be more helpful by representing this population legally. It’s been incredibly hard to return to school and go into law but she’s hanging in there. Two more years to go! I was in one of our quirky but cool bookstores and came across classmate Aki Busch’s latest book, Everything Else is Bric-a-Brac, Notes on Home. What a delightful, thoughtful read. I have been handing the book out to friends I know would appreciate her thoughts and observations. The book reminds me of E.B. White’s Essays of E.B. White”.

Cynny Smith Evanisko says, “My husband,

Mike, and I are traveling a great deal to far off places as well as spending time at our homes in Hilton Head Island, SC and Winchester, MA. We’ve had many fun adventures with our daughter Libby, her husband Mick, and our four grandkids. Last June, I helped organize a 50th reunion of the Winchester A Better Chance Program; it was so gratifying to see how rich the lives of our ABC students have been. (You may recall that Donna Williams and Casey Ward† were referred to Walker’s through National A Better Chance.) On a sad note, my father died July 17, 2022, at the age of 96. He was sharp, witty, and charming until the end. His was a life well lived.”

Marty Hedgpeth is enjoying retirement and

living life to the fullest. As she said in a recent letter, “Retirement is all about quality, not quantity; options, not obligations, and time as a gift, not a grind.” This January she went from being a one dog person (her Golden named

Cynny Smith Evanisko ’71 with husband Mike, daughter Libby, son-in-law Mick, and grandkids Jackson (13), Hudson (10), Molly (13), and Connor (10), March 5, 2023

Pam Scott Volkmann ’72 and Marty Hedgpeth ’71 in Montana, July 2022 SUMMER/FALL 2023

45

TAKE NOTE Ghillie) to two dogs and a cat when she adopted the pets of a friend who passed away.

Last July, Marty surprised Walker’s roommate Pam Scott Volkmann ’72 with a visit to Montana. The surprise was initiated by Pam’s husband. She spent time with them in their home in Missoula and house at Flathead Lake.

Marty is still busy with some priestly activities like weddings, funerals, and an occasional church service. She continues to serve on the Board of the Charlotte Bilingual Preschool; she finds this interesting and rewarding. Her Dad turned 95 last September; he is doing well.

Chaille Cullinan Hutcheson says, “I,

too, turned 70 and continue to thrive here in Houston. Although I am, sadly, a widow I am fortunate to have my three adult children living here in Houston as well as my four granddaughters. I continue to run my home and office organization business, and participate in a couple of nonprofits for which I have a great passion. I continue to ski in the winters and spend my summers on Galveston Bay. Last summer our tiny yacht club hosted a women’s Olympic qualifier Laser regatta when China bowed out at the “last minute” because of COVID. It was incredible to host these spectacular female athletes and their coaches from all over the world and watch them compete at this elite level. Life continues to thrill me.”

Northwest Coast, totaling 10,000 miles of touring. Both trips included lots of visiting with family and friends. You can follow their adventures from the trip east by reading their blog at lawlorvan.com. They have not yet written about the Pacific Northwest trip because they were too busy trying to figure out their next move. After 19 years in St. Louis, as of March 15, they will be splitting time between North Harbor Drive in Chicago, IL and South Haven, MI.

Susan Kinnear Neul writes, “I’m in the

process of building a house in a little town called Becket in the Berkshires. It’s been a fun project. Other than that, I stay busy by keeping my German Shepherd well exercised and out of trouble. And I visit my daughters a fair bit and do fun stuff with them.

Kerry O’Keefe writes, “I am living in

Albuquerque (it has been three years), and doing some drawing and painting, offering

Betsy Hanson Lawlor, husband Eddie and faithful dog Nikki have been on the move!

They took two massive van trips in 2022, one to the Northeast Coast and one to the

Kerry O’Keefe ’71’s daughter, Grace Canzano

Christine Lloyd Schick ’71’s daughter Camilla and grandson Noah, December 2022 various healing services, currently studying Vedic Palmistry and quietly living my life!

My daughter, Grace, 31, lives in Tacoma, WA, where she works remotely as a manager for a computer startup company while pursuing her online MSW from Rutgers. My son, Gus, has assumed leadership of G&G Projects, formerly his dad’s painting and restoration company, operating in the Princeton, NJ/ metro New York area. I am wonderfully in touch with my kids and their dad, thanks to the marvels of technology and the occasional visit. I anticipate going east at some point this year; I just haven’t figured out when.

Life is rich, interesting, and full of assorted challenges in this complex outpost of ABQ that some natives still refer to as the wild, wild West. I am wishing everyone health and happiness.”

Jane Orndahl reports from New Canaan,

CT, that she and her family are doing fine. “I am still working at JPMorgan Chase. Alexa is teaching art at the King School, and Niki graduated from DePaul in Chicago and has relocated to LA to work in the film editing field.” Jane got together for dinner last fall with Debbie Seaman and Libby Grant.

Debbie, in turn, says she had tea in March with Charlotte Smart Rogan, who lives down the road in Southport, CT.

Christine Lloyd Schick wrote an email in

Susan Kinnear Neul ’71 with daughters Stacy and Stephanie in Seattle, November 2022 46

THE SUNDIAL

early March saying, “I am a ‘Cross-Atlantic Grandmother.’ We spend time each year getting together with our American family members in England or in Washington, DC. Our daughter Camilla and her husband Nick had a baby boy in April of 2021, and they are

Beryn Frank Harty ’72 with her husband Rick on their post-COVID travels expecting their second child this May. I’m just back from the States, but I will return again in May for the baby’s arrival. I just got to see an incredible scan of the baby at nearly seven months gestation — totally amazing!”

A.K. Shingle lives on the Big Island of

Hawaii with her husband Tim. Recently she wrote, “I am a volunteer mediator with West Hawaii Mediation Center and do restorative justice cases. I’m involved in Hawaiian language, belong to a hula halau, paddle a one-man canoe, sing in the community choir, do bird banding on Moloka’i with the Nature Conservancy, plant native trees with different groups and I play tennis!” My Adult 65 & Over 8.0 Women’s team finished third in the 2022 USTA League National Invitational held in Arizona in February 2023.

Mark and Aimee Gilleaudeau Lundy ‘72 with Rick and Beryn Frank Harty ‘72

1972

Aimee Gilleaudeau Lundy The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Barklie Eliot says “I came out of two years of

COVID with a new left hip, a grandson, and a newfound appreciation of the everyday. To celebrate my return to normal, I went to my 50th reunion at Walker’s. Seeing everyone was exhausting but fun, and I was very impressed by the school facilities and programs.”

Tory Eyre Whipple writes: “Life is good, and I count my blessings every day. Jack and Carey and I are still happily living in Atlanta. We had a wonderful 70th birthday party for me last December at the Atlanta Athletic Club. I am still swatting the tennis ball around, working out every day and have a newfound love of bridge. I took it up to keep my brain active once I stopped working, and I found it truly is a game I love. My siblings are all healthy and happy, and we have gone on several European river cruises and are going to do one in Alaska this July. In September, Jack and I will be going on a cruise and spending time in Paris — believe it or not, I have never been there. I hope my French from Mme. Lefaivre comes back to me.”

Beryn Frank Harty writes, “Like so many

of us, my husband and I went on pretty strict lockdown in March of 2020. Living on a warm, waterfront, and sparsely populated Florida Key, however, allowed us a much more pleasant COVID isolation period than many. Also, my pal and classmate, Aimee Gilleaudeau Lundy and her husband Mark rented next door to us for a while in the winters of 2021 and 2022, which was wonderful! Come summer of 2022, after being able to be vaccinated and boosted, we finally started the traveling which we had been promising ourselves for many years. We visited England, Scotland and Norway in June, then Italy with Aimee and Mark in September, and Australia and New Zealand plus Komodo Island and Bali in Indonesia for December 2022 – January 2023. We’re off again in a few weeks for a cruise to Fiji, Samoa, Pago Pago, and multiple stops in French Polynesia (e.g., Papeete and Bora Bora) which will then be followed by five days each in Kauai, Maui, Oahu, Molokai and Big Island, Hawaii. If all goes well, we’ll stop and see my Walker’s roomie and classmate, Cynthia AndersonBarker on our way home. Whew!’

Aimee Gilleaudeau Lundy

Barklie Eliot ’72 (left) with Sarah House Denby ’72 outside Beaver Brook at their 50th reunion

writes “Mark and I were all set for a five week trip to the Mediterranean which was scheduled to begin on March 25, 2020.

Unfortunately, COVID destroyed those plans.

Beryn Frank Harty called and suggested we go into isolation at the house next door to her and Rick in the Florida Keys for January — March of 2021. With this fabulous plan in effect, we decided it would be the perfect time to renovate the first floor of the house.

My project manager was a former Girl Scout

SUMMER/FALL 2023

47

TAKE NOTE Eden Brown brought her poodle, Juno, with

whom I fell in love. I am now the proud owner of one of Juno’s puppies! In late October I drove to Eden’s where we had a wonderful four days together. I’m still playing so much tennis and hope to be able to keep playing. Just a little frustrating playing against women in their 30s and 40s who have working knees!’

Regina “Reggie” Scruggs reports that

Regina Scruggs ‘72 is a lifelong “Star Trek” fan! She got acquainted with Captain Kirk himself, William Shatner, at a convention in Houston, January 2023. We should all look so good as Mr. Shatner at age 91! of mine so we had total trust in being away (in fact, this October, I will officiate her wedding!). Beryn and I took many fivemile walks together, sometimes joined by our husbands. This worked so well that in February and March of 2022, we returned to the Keys again next door to Beryn and Rick while the second floor was renovated.

I have started traveling again. Last September I spent 12 days in Scotland with a group of women. I arrived two days after the Queen’s death and saw her cortege pass. The trip was fabulous, and I have made many new lifelong friends. At the end of the trip, I flew to Rome, meeting up with Mark, Beryn, and Rick. What a fantastic three weeks we had!

In May, I am planning on a nine-day trip to the Lake District in Northern England with all women again.

Our 50th reunion was a blast! With all of us in one dorm, with a kitchen and a karaoke machine (thank you, Dee!), we had such an incredible time! We won the Sun Dial Bowl for the highest percentage of people returning.

48

THE SUNDIAL

she was grateful to get out of Texas in 2022 after two and a half years staying home during COVID. The 50th Reunion with her Walker’s classmates in June was so much fun!

She hadn’t been on campus for 20 years, and marveled at all the changes. In July, Reggie also traveled to Allentown, PA, to visit her brother Chuck’s home for the first time.

The family reunion also included her sister Sheila, three of Chuck’s children, and six of his grandchildren. The Scruggs gang hopes to make the gathering an annual event. October saw Reggie in Los Angeles, where she stayed with classmate Cynthia Anderson-Barker.

The trip highlights for devoted film fan Reggie were when she and Cynthia visited the new Academy Museum, then taking in a concert by the LA Philharmonic saluting John Williams on his 90th birthday.

1973

Your class needs a correspondent!

Contact Director of Alumnae Relations Marion Paterson P’17, ’19 at mpaterson@ethelwalker.org if you are interested.

1976

Nita Koutsoukos The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

1977

Juliet “Julie” Ward Flood The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

1978

Katharine Swibold The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

1979

Karen Polcer Bdera The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

1974

Vanessa Guerrini-Maraldi Wilcox The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

1975

Doris “Veda” Pendleton The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Karen Baldwin ’79 with husband Dan Nathanson at their wedding

This from Karen Baldwin: I am still living in Charleston, SC and got married to Dan Nathanson on April 26, 2021. My son Zachary and daughter Olivia both live in NYC. This from Nora Goodhue Barton Cascella: Hello from the Outlier! On the career front, I am now the Intake Manager at RVNAhealth based in Ridgefield, CT. We provide home health care, hospice and palliative care, community wellness programs, outpatient therapy and private nurse and aide services to over 35 towns in western Connecticut. I’ve been there almost three years after having spent six years managing a nearby Hospice Inpatient Center. On the family front, all five sons are hatched and matched, and the eight grandchildren span from 21 to almost three: four boys and four girls so far. My youngest son is a newlywed, so there are dreams of more! Bob and I don’t have any retirement plans on the horizon, but traveling more and catching up with the boys and their families keeps us busy. We also live near my almost 91-year-old mother who is an inspiration with her daily Zoom exercise classes, card playing, and stair climbing!

Sending best wishes to the Class of ’79.

This from Vicky Daniels: I’m a nonpracticing lawyer working at the University of Delaware as their Chief Supplier Diversity Officer. I have two children, and four grandchildren. The oldest grandchild is 15 and the youngest is four months. I live in Bear, DE and lead a pretty low-key life. I love smooth jazz and country music, and I enjoy watching The Chosen, Yellowstone, and Ted Lasso. Between spending time with my new Boobala and work, my days are packed. Life is good!

Karen Polcer Bdera ’79 with husband Nick at her brother Ben’s wedding This from Lela Schaus Philip: Lots of news since a year ago… I am now a grandmother — twice! Both of my sons have had little baby girls who live close by, so I am lucky enough to see them often. I left my teaching job after 15 years teaching art, and now paint on my own, doing commissions for wedding invitations and house portraits.

This from Arabella Wattles Teal: If you could convey my heartfelt thanks to my Walker’s friends for the many expressions of sympathy and support on social media when my beloved 18½ year old dog died in December, I’d be grateful.

And, from class correspondent Karen Polcer Bdera: Since last we spoke, I have done one New York City Marathon in 2021, and plan on doing another this coming November (I had to take last year off from marathoning, as my youngest brother Ben decided that Marathon Weekend would be a terrific time to get married). But at least Nick and I got to spend a week in New Orleans to celebrate with family.

Nick and I have, at last, resumed our travels to Aruba.

This from Angelia Heughan: We welcomed my grandson (James Christopher) September 2020, and started our move to North Carolina to our newly built home. I stayed in Maryland and worked for a few months but decided that I didn’t want to miss out on any aspect of “Jace” growing up. So, I am now fully retired and loving life back home in NC!! Three generations living here and traveling as far and as often as we can!! 60+ feels great!!!

This from Dana Carter Lange: My life teaching Mah-Jongg has become a full-time best job on earth. In March I was invited to teach at the Lyford Cay Club in the Bahamas.

After the fifth day of classes I discovered that one of my students was also a Walker’s girl.

Vivien Carrera-Justiz Brown ’84 and I had a great time discussing teachers we had in common like Mary Nell.

Vivien Carrera-Justiz Brown ’84 on left, Dana Carter Lange ’79 on right

Lela Schaus Philip ’79 with her grandbabies SUMMER/FALL 2023

49

TAKE NOTE

1980

Jennifer “Jennie” Hetzler The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Deana Washburn shares: “I was thrilled to

attend the June 3rd wedding of the daughter of my dear friend and Cluett roommate Sarah-Jane McCarthy ‘80, P’21. Also joining in the celebration for Julia Markoe and Jonathan Bertulis-Fernandes (who met at St. Andrew’s University in Scotland) was the grandmother of the bride Lucy Rosenberry Jones ’59, P’80, GP’21 and sister of the bride and co-maid of honor Lucia-Hope McCarthy ‘21. A big Hooray Sunray for the mother of the bride who helped bring her daughter’s vision of a rustic, romantic country western wedding to life.

Among Sarah’s assignments: procuring the mismatched vintage china for the wedding dinner and transporting it some 900 miles from her home in Minnesota to the scenic ranch in Cody, Wyoming where friends and family gathered from around the globe.”

The Class of ‘82 has kept the reunion spirit alive since June of 2022 by gathering in person and virtually throughout the country. Here is a group gathered in Darien, CT hosted by Lee Gowen Marine ‘82.

1981

1982

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Veronica “Roni” Leger

Deana Washburn '80 (left) joined three generations of a Walker's legacy family at a wedding this summer: Lucia-Hope McCarthy ’21, Sarah-Jane McCarthy ’80, P’21, and Lucy Rosenberry Jones ’59, P’80, GP’21 50

THE SUNDIAL

Cynthia Vega

Together in the city! L to R: Ini Consuegra Cummins ’83, Diana Aixala ’82, Garrett Handley Dee ’83, and Hooey Stewart Wilks ’82

1989

1983 1984

Marsha Davis

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Your class needs a correspondent!

Contact Director of Alumnae Relations Marion Paterson P’17, ’19 at mpaterson@ethelwalker.org if you are interested.

1985

Fiona Cox de Kerckhove and Preeti Pathela got together in New York City when Fiona Cox de Kerckhove ’89 and Preeti Pathela ’89

Elizabeth Porter Giddings The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Esther Pryor The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Surina Khan writes: “I’m living in Sea Ranch,

CA which is on The Sonoma Coast about three hours north of San Francisco. I am still leading Women’s Foundation California, in my ninth year as CEO.”

Debbie Russell Yarbrough writes: “My

daughter, Emily, blessed us with our first grandchild on November 11, 2022. Her name is Sloane River Rose and we moved to Jacksonville, FL to be closer to her and two of our other adult children. We are loving our new city and being close to family.”

1988

Carolyn “Carrie” Pouch The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Wendy Walker ’85’s new book, What Remains, was just published on June 13!

Fiona was over from London for the Walker’s Alumnae Board meeting! Fiona also got to see classmate Emma Simon for dinner in Simsbury.

1990

Amanda Pitman The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

1991 Sarah Keefer

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

1992

Whitley Ram Schoeny The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

1986

1993

Tahra Makinson Sanders The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Augusta “Mimi” Morrison Harrison The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

1987 Lori Stewart

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Debbie Russell Yarbrough ’87 with husband and new granddaughter

SUMMER/FALL 2023

51

TAKE NOTE

1994

Philippa “Pip” Eschauzier Earl The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

1995

Nicole Lewenson Shargel The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

1996

Your class needs a correspondent!

Contact Director of Alumnae Relations Marion Paterson P’17, ’19 at mpaterson@ethelwalker.org if you are interested.

1997

Alicia Benedetto The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Karen Crowe

Caitlin Turner Laffan ‘02 and family in the Adirondacks, 2022

2000

2002

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Allison Quigley

2001

Alicia Little Hodge The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Holly Jackson

Brittany Coons Noble writes, “It was great seeing Holly Jackson and Margaret Schwartz in NYC this past December when

my husband and I visited with our children (Nico, 10 and Nora, 8). I get to see Tori Saferin ’04 often and Holly, Tori, Nisreen Bayazid ’04 and I got together for brunch over the summer with the kids and had a great time.

Holly and I also had the best time at reunion

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

1998

Brooke Berescik-Johns The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

1999

Vivienne Felix The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

52

THE SUNDIAL

Holly Guzman ’02’s son Benjamin in Melissa & Doug’s catalog

Holly Jackson ’02 with daughter Florence

specializes in custom, innovative aseptic machines for small-batch pharmaceutical filling (among other things). I also work on the side doing consulting. I’m still happily married to Patrick who works for Daimler selling Mercedes coach buses. We live in East Haddam and spend our free time disc golfing and hiking! My parents live close by and we are lucky to have them in our lives — mama Turner is always in the garden and dad is bravely battling cancer; thankfully in remission. If anyone wants to catch up, send me a note at caitlin.laffan@gmail.com.”

Kristen Wesoly Woodworth is the owner Kristen Wesoly Woodworth ’02 working on a medivac helicopter this past June where we slept in Cluett and reconnected with Melissa Scully and Holly Guzman and fabulous women from other classes. We hope to see more of the class of 2002 at our 25th in a few years! As for me, I am in my 17th year at Amica Insurance and just accepted a new role as Assistant Vice President of Life Operations with the Amica Life company.

Holly Guzman is now working at Melissa &

Doug as Marketing Director and has recently launched the company’s first professional women’s group. She has also worked on the company’s first consumer facing catalog, which hit mailboxes in March just in time for spring and Easter shopping. Her son Benjamin was included in the spring catalog.

Holly Jackson writes, “Hi classmates! It’s

been a while but it was great to catch up with a few of you at our 20 year reunion last June.

I’m still living in NYC with my husband, our two cats and the most recent addition to our family, Florence, who was born in October 2021. Hope to connect with more Walker’s alums at future events in the city!”

Emily Rosen Stone reports: “I gave birth to

my second daughter Willow Borbon Charlene Stone on 11/19/2022. Big sister Madison (age 7) and parents are over the moon!”

Caitlin Turner Laffan says, “Hey everybody!

Having two awesome boys in school — Cale (age 12) and Reed (age 9), I am back to work in Marketing at Colanar, Inc. Colanar

of Optimum Times Farm in Tolland, CT. She continues to event with her Irish sport horse imports: Bonmahon Blue Moon and Bonmahon Inspire. She is married to David, who works as a physician assistant and has an 11-year-old son, Liam Charles. After 16 years as an emergency room nurse, Kristen took a job on a medivac helicopter as a flight nurse with Lifenet of New York in Albany.

2003

Your class needs a correspondent!

Contact Director of Alumnae Relations Marion Paterson P’17, ’19 at mpaterson@ethelwalker.org if you are interested.

Joanna Szymanski writes, “2020 was a

big year: I married the love of my life, Ryan McDonald. I also started my private practice for telehealth counseling called Healing Dialogue, which I am grateful to be doing full time.”

2004

Your class needs a correspondent!

Contact Director of Alumnae Relations Marion Paterson P’17, ’19 at mpaterson@ethelwalker.org if you are interested.

2005

Emma Bedford-Jack

Emily Rosen Stone ’02’s daughter, Willow Stone, after just being born

Joanna Szymanski ’03 and husband Ryan McDonald at their wedding

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

SUMMER/FALL 2023

53

TAKE NOTE

2006 Ebony Moses

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Marielle Vigneau-Britt The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Alle Shane The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

2007

Emily Casey Talbot The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Jeanette Pelizzon The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Liss Couch-Edwards writes, “Hi! I’m

working at Walker’s as the Graphic Designer and Digital Media Manager. I’m surrounded by family with my husband John and my dad both working here as well! John and I welcomed our second child, Charlie, in May and our daughter Penner (three years old) is very excited to be a big sister :) I hung out with some of you at a reunion last year and it was awesome! Hoping a bunch of you come out for our 20th!”

Perry Shusterman Jha says, “Hi All! I’m

still living in Brooklyn, NY, and I got married in October! This past year I was elevated to partner at my law firm Meirowitz & Wasserberg. I have been traveling all over the country representing clients that have been diagnosed with asbestos-related diseases.”

Emily Pintauro Jones writes, “Hi everyone!!

I am still living in Charlotte, NC and work for a financial company in talent acquisition for them. Adding to the girl/baby train 54

THE SUNDIAL

announcements, my husband and I just had a baby girl named Palmer, so we are just beginning our parenting journey and loving every minute of it! I was also at the 15 year reunion and had so much fun catching up with everyone. Hoping to also make it to our 20th!”

Jeanette Pelizzon writes, “In the last year,

I moved to San Diego, got back into surfing, "foster failed" and adopted my three-legged dog named Bob. Then I got wild and bought a beach bungalow-type house from the 1950s that I am starting to renovate. I went on a dive trip to Tahiti and swam with humpback whales, dove with sharks and had a blast.

This year, I am headed to hike the Tour du Mont Blanc and go back to French Polynesia to dive again. I work for myself as a UX designer, and this year I hope to hire some people and create a design agency situation but am still sussing out what I want that to look like. I don’t have Instagram on my phone but if you would like to see amazingly cute dog photos shoot me a text at 860-280-4212.

Emily Casey Talbot and I also started doing eight-minute catch up calls every few weeks (she can provide the article on why) and it has been so fun to catch up this way and stay involved in each other’s lives. Let either of us know if you want to start one too :) If any alumnae are ever in the SD area, be sure to reach out!”

Mallory Moore Schowe says, “Hi! I am

still living in sunny Florida and just had my daughter on December 11, 2022, Giada Grace Schowe. Matt and I love being parents! I am currently working for MarineMax Vacations specializing in group getaways to the British Virgin Islands on our Aquila Power Catamarans! If you’re ever looking to vacation in the BVI, I’m your girl! I was also at the 15 year reunion! We had a blast! Hoping to see you all at the 20th!”

Bristol EMS and bought my own apartment. I have two cats, my babies. I’m also working for Northeast Fire out of Winsted as a fire medic.

I’m loving the single way of life, haven’t found anyone cool enough to keep up with me. If you ever have an emergency or need to call 911, ask for me!”

Emily Van Gemeren says, “I married my

husband Brendan at our farm in October.

Liss’ dad married us which was very special! We live in Collinsville by the river.

I am in my 10th year working at Flyleaf Publishing where I train teachers how to use our literacy curriculum. I spend all my other time caring for the horses boarded at our farm, including the #1 man in my life, Minnow (don’t tell Brendan!) and competing in Eventing. Minnow and I competed at Bromont in Canada, fulfilling a lifelong goal of mine. Bromont was the same weekend as our reunion and I was sad to miss seeing everyone!”

2008

Kathleen Kirby The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

2009 Caitlin Moss

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Justine Stone Shagi writes, “I’m living

in Darien, CT and had my daughter, Lillian (‘Lil’) last August! I am still head of investor relations for SS&C, but am able to work from home mostly which makes working mom life easier. She’s very cute and we’re having a good time being parents so far — 6 months have flown by! I had planned to go to the reunion but my husband’s grandma had just died and I was about seven months pregnant… next time! I’m down for an NYC meet up anytime and also very jealous of Emily and Jeanette’s eight-minute calls!”

Samantha Staubitz says “Hey everyone! I

just got promoted to paramedic supervisor for

Justine Stone Shagi ’07's daughter Lillian

2010

2013

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Stephanie Schwartz and her now husband

Paige Williams-Menard

Marianne Pettit Watt

Ameena Makhdoomi

were engaged in August, 2022, and married in Boca Raton, FL in May of 2023.

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

2011

2014

Kelsey Ballard The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Olivia Aker

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

2012

Taryn Anderson

Jordana “Monet” Clarke The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Stephanie Schwartz ’10 and her new husband

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Stephanie Sponzo ’14 pictured at the start and end of her Appalachian Trail thru-hike SUMMER/FALL 2023

55

TAKE NOTE Brittany Camacho The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Artemis Talvat The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Lisa Volg The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Stephanie Sponzo writes, “I recently

completed a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail, a 2,200 mile long footpath that begins in Georgia and ends in Maine. It took me six months and two days, hiking and living in the woods just about every day. This is a dream that began at Walker’s (admittedly, I have fond memories of trying to discreetly read Wild

by Cheryl Strayed under my desk during Mr. Groff’s AP English class). I began on March 19th in Amicalola Falls Park in Georgia, and summited on September 21st at Baxter Peak on Katahdin Mountain, the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail.”

2017

2020

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

2018

2021 2022

Idabelle Paterson

Caroline Strapp The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Brianna Vega

Your class needs a correspondent!

Contact Director of Alumnae Relations Marion Paterson P’17, ’19 at mpaterson@ethelwalker.org if you are interested.

2019

Katherine Dunn The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Walker’s Is On the Road Again!

2015

Emily Mauldin The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

Talia Basch The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

2016 Georgia Paul

The contact information for our class correspondents has been removed to protect their privacy but we want to hear from you! Please send your news to alumnae@ethelwalker.org.

56

THE SUNDIAL

This past year we traveled to a number of locations including London, Florida, California, Minnesota, DC, and New York. Alumnae got together in small groups in their home regions as well. Pictured here, when Head of School Dr. Meera Viswanathan and Assistant Head for Advancement Gretchen Orschiedt traveled to London in March, left to right: Fernanda Gilligan Jess ’96, Emily Sappington ’06, Elliott Glynn ’22, Ruthann Owers ’80, Shiyi Fei ’17, Head of School Dr. Meera Viswanathan, Lucille de Zalduondo Briance ’71 (host), Marie Längstizi, Karen Kennedy Carr ’08, (behind the camera: Assistant Head for Advancement Gretchen Orschiedt).

Please watch for notifications of upcoming travel and events, and let us know where and when you get together. We love photos and news!

E W S PA

Hello Walker’s Families!

What a year it was for the 2022-2023 EWSPA (The Ethel Walker School Parents Association)! We enjoyed being active during the entire school year, especially as we finally returned to a somewhat normal calendar of events as the pandemic wound down. Getting back on campus in person was a great way to meet new families and get the year started.

Beginning in August, parent volunteers, committee chairs, and executive officers embraced some changes in the structure of our group.

Patricia Krupnikoff P’23 and Toby Bolden Hudson P’24 became the first EWSPA Co-Presidents during this school year and spent all year planning events, meeting with families, and supporting Walker’s students.

Another big achievement this year included expanding our roles to include more diversity and encouraging all parents to participate in monthly meetings called “Window into Walkers,” held both in person and virtually. These meetings, created by prior EWSPA President Beth Strapp P’18, ‘21 in the fall of 2020, allowed families to get a glimpse into life at Walker’s, including recaps of recent EWSPA events, hearing from current students presenting about various aspects of achievements at Walker’s, and faculty presenting about curricular changes and innovations.

These meetings brought together families from the Upper and Middle Schools, boarding and international students, as well as day students. Many thanks go out to our amazing Walker’s liaisons, Dean of Students Nishette Isaac and Director of Communications and Marketing Tavia LeeGoldstein, who helped manage these monthly meetings so that families near and far could attend.

Lastly, it has been wonderful to see so many fathers turn up in positions on our board and within the EWSPA this year.

Whether they are parent representatives serving the Middle School like incoming Co-President Tom Miller P’28, ‘29 and Daryl Vallez P’27 or leading the Arts and Athletics focus of the Engagement Committee at athletic tailgates like Ty Martinelli P’25, ‘27, we have seen a surge in commitment to the EWSPA from our dads!

Even if you think you do not have enough time to join us, please join a committee, become a parent rep or offer to be a member of the Executive Board. We are excited to see ALL family members get involved in the EWSPA. Thank you all so much for everything our families do here for the students at Walker’s. Your time is so valuable and your attention is always appreciated.

We look forward to another engaging year in 2023-2024 with Toby Bolden Hudson P'24 and Tom Miller P'28, '29 at the helm!

Patricia Krupnikoff P’23 and Toby Bolden Hudson P’24 Co-Presidents, 2023 EWSPA SUMMER/FALL 2023

57

IN MEMORIAM Alumnae of The Ethel Walker School Note: Names included here are of those known to us as deceased since our last magazine went to print — between January 1, 2021 and June 30, 2023.

1937 Elizabeth Hubbard Stott Sister: Charlotte Hubbard Fries ’43* Cousin: Elizabeth Hubbard Cook ’44 Daughters: Janet Stott ’66 and Sarah Stott ’70 1939 Mary Bushnell Pearce Henry 1940 Harriet Wells Bailey 1943 Penelope Witbeck Pease 1943 Joan Woodford Russo Mother: Julia Smith Woodford ’19* Aunt: Margaret Woodford Paradise ’18* Sister: Ann Woodford Coffin ’47* 1943 Ronni Gustave Solbert 1944 Alice Headley Chandler Sisters: Martha Headley Johnston ’29* and Alma Headley Haggin ’30* Niece: Alma Haggin Ethington ’58 1944 Lynda Scheerer Stokes Granddaughter: Cary Tiernan Butterfield ’01 1944 Lucy Holliday Wick Daughter: Ruth Wick Brooke ’79 1945 Jean Reddy Armour Great-niece: Elizabeth Ridgley ’22 1945 Beatrice Weeks Bast Sister: Frances Weeks Lawrence ’34* 1945 Margaret Auger Kennerly Sister: Ann Auger Frisbie ’43* 1945 Payne Payson Whitney Middleton Sister: Lorinda Payson de Roulet ’47 Niece: Whitney de Roulet Bullock ’70 Cousin: Sandra Butler Heise ’67 1945 Joan Markle Moore Sister: Isabel Markle Guinee ’51* Cousin: Marian Markle Pool ’45 1945 Heloise Bacon Power 1945 Hollis McLaughlin Shank Sister: Patricia McLaughlin Jackson ’42* 1945 Jane Cunningham Warriner Sister: Anne Cunningham McClure ’40* Niece: Wells Downey Hamilton ’66

58

THE SUNDIAL

1945 Sally Whiteley Sister: Ann Whiteley Childs ’37* Sister-in-law: Patricia Crooks Whiteley ’40* 1945 Julia Jackson Young 1946 Gertrude Mertens Goff Sisters: Ellen Mertens Brown ’47* and Jennifer Mertens Brock ’49

1950 Kirby Smith Graham 1950 Merloyd Ludington Lawrence Mother: Mary Macy Ludington ’28* 1950 Rosamond Horton Lownes Sister-in-law: Carol Large Calhoun ’55 1950 Alice Guion Ardrey Wirth

1946 Pamela Kelley Hull

1951 Pamela Jones Baader

1946 Millicent Fox Mailliard Sisters: Josephine Fox Reed ’50* and Dorothy Fox Elicker ’51 Daughter: Julia Mailliard Nelson ’76

1951 Rosalee Barnes McCullough Sister: Margot Barnes Goodwin ’63 Daughter: Melissa McCullough McDonald ’74

1946 Anne Buffinton O’Brien Stepdaughter: Elizabeth O’Brien Paxton ’73

1951 Blyth Gilmour Patel

1947 Diana Wanger Anderson Sisters: Stephanie Wanger Guest ’61 and Shelley Wanger ’66 Daughter: Cynthia Anderson-Barker ’72 1947 Shirley McKeever Tanner 1948 Susan Gay Hammons 1948 Nancy Cooper Young-Williams

Sister-in-law: Sally Young Gevalt ’38* Daughter: Elizabeth Milliken Kufta ’70 1949 Carol Robb Blount 1949 Karin Chapman Bond 1949 Valerie Thomas Hartshorne 1949 Anne Legare Sister: Alberta Legare Roesch ’47* 1949 Joan Reynolds Linclau Daughter: Alison Howard ’70 1949 Shirley Follansbee Reineman Sister: Judith Follansbee Lynch ’52* Cousins: Nancy Burchfield Denney ’48, Mary Burchfield Pivirotto ’51 and Jennifer Pivirotto Altieri ’88

1950 Audrey Fentress Gorter Aunt: Emily Fentress Ott ’28* Sister: Mary Fentress Grumhaus ’57 Daughter: Mary Gorter Krey ’77 Cousins: Mary Tullis Kinnear ’47*, Former Trustee; Anne Addington ’55*; Lynn Fentress Underhill ’56*; Katherine Wood McIver ’63*; Sarah Wood Blumenstein ’65; Wendy Hodgkins DeLorey ’83, P’20; Elisabeth Dodd Callahan ’84; Elinor Addington Jannotta ’87; Brooke DeLorey ’20

1952 Lisbeth Gamble Nichols Mother: Ann Babcock Hart ’29* 1952 Mary Hutchinson Robert 1953 Adrienne Hurley Benkert Sister: Joan Hurley Neely ’58 1953 Helen Frost Hale Sister: Carol Frost Paine ’55* Cousin: Constance Chambers Clement ’30* 1953 Suzanne Patterson Mother: Suzanne Welch Patterson ’29* 1953 Nancy Redpath 1953 Lynn Beadle Sinclair Niece: Katharine Beadle Eikenberry ’75 1954 Patricia Hecker Crompton 1954 Frances Davis Johnstone Sister: Priscilla Davis ’52* 1955 Lynn Thurston Brountas 1955 Natalie Fesenmyer Emery 1955 Sarah Schutt Harrison Sisters: Caroline Schutt Brown ’56* and Katherine Schutt Streitwieser ’59* Cousins: Elizabeth Carpenter du Pont ’57*, Carroll Morgan Carpenter ’59, Anne Carpenter Bienstock ’60* 1955 Sarah Penny Paull Thorson Sister: Mary Paull Riley ’52* 1955 Barbara Lehrman Weinberg Sister: Lois Lehrman Grass ’49* Niece: Elizabeth Grass Weese ’74 Great-niece: Emily Weese ’99 1956 Llyssa Hudgins Helgesson Deveney

1956 Mary Josephine Laflin Field Sister: June Laflin Oliver ’60* 1956 Huldah Lashar Aunt: Amelia Lashar Houghton ’36*

IN SYMPATHY Friends and Relatives of The Ethel Walker School Community

Edward P. Connors, brother of Former Trustee Marie Connors Sulger Roberts ’49, P’84 and Uncle of Sarah Sulger Anderson ’84

Robert Rhett Austell, Jr., Father of Former Trustee Elizabeth Austell Straight ’68

William Carroll Coyne, Jr., Former Trustee; Father of Christina Coyne Hearon ’86 and Mary Coyne ’82; Uncle of Wendy Smith ’87; Great-Uncle of Katherine Flanagan Shoss ’97 and Nancy Flanagan ’93

1956 Lee Mullowney Story

Francis Badon, Grandfather of Leila Cancellieri, Walker's Staff

David Hunt Crandall, Father of Anne Crandall Campbell ’78

1958 Emily Trowbridge Noyes

Paul H. Bartlett, Husband of Barbara Welles Bartlett ’58

James Crown, Son of Renée Schine Crown ’46

1956 Cynthia Mead Sargent 1956 Serena Rhinelander Stewart

1958 Christine Willcox Spencer Mother: Christine Long Willcox ’33* 1958 Elisabeth Bartlett Sturges

Eliesiel Alverio, Grandfather of Elisa del Valle, Walker's Faculty

Vincent Campbell Banker, Husband of Beverly Vander Poel Banker ’60, P’82 and Stepfather of Billings Day Cay ’82

Carl deGersdorff III, Son of Susan Kleinhans Gilbertson ’53 and Nephew of Cotheal Kleinhans Linnell ’61 George Meyer Dill, Father of Gretchen Dill Levine ’79

1959 Winifred Baker Mackall Mother-in-law: Grace Rowe Mackall ’29* Aunt: Elizabeth Prosser Richards ’38*

Richard H. Bennett, Father of Lily Bennett ’25 Josephine Berescik, Grandmother of Brooke Berescik-Johns ’98 and Caroline Olesh ’15

Ann Smith Earley, Mother of Kendall AlfordMadden ’67

1959 Lynn Weaver Tidman

Ann Bliss, Former Walker's Faculty

1960 Mary Sampsell Hallberg Sister: Miranda Sampsell Donnelley ’61

Thomas Clarkson Taylor Brokaw, Husband of Margaretta Bredin Brokaw ’66

Edward H. Eckelmeyer III, Father of Kirsten Eckelmeyer ’94

1962 Valerie Vidal Hewitt Mother: Katherine Roberts Vidal ’36*

Robin Lynn Brooks, Sister of Leslie Brooks ’70 and Karen Brooks ’72, P’03; Aunt of Liza Burke Bates ’03

1963 Suzanne Schroeder Chapman 1963 Mary Azima French Jackson Mother: Mary Mathes Jackson ’36* Aunt: Ruth Mathes Gerrity ’41* 1966 Arria Weir Sands Aunt: Cynthia Elmslie Weir ’32* Cousin: Vivien Weir Russe ’63 1967 Ann Struthers Coburn

1967 Tricia Fitzgerald Hammer 1975 Nyoka Browno Woods 1979 Stephanie Stockwell Cadigan Sister: Alexandra Stockwell Simis ’82 1980 Mary Amanda Mortimer Hall Sister: Dorothy Hall ’78 Sister-in-law: Leila Howland Wetmore ’82 Niece: Eliza Wetmore ’18 2000 Sara Jacob

Brian Patrick Burns, Stepfather of Suzanne Fairchild Kovner ’86, Samantha Fairchild Storkerson ’89 and Serena Fairchild Sheldon ’92 Margaret Mary Cameron-Carey, Mother of Heather Carey ’13 Louanna O. Carlin, Mother of Alison Carlin Carrabba ’86 George Thomas Carofino, Grandfather of Ana Alicia Hunt ’22 Edward Willis Carter, Father of Dana Carter Lange ’79 Sybil Chan, Grandmother of Andrea Coggins Toivakka ’06

Ralph Charles Economu, Father of Stephanie Economu ’77 and Karyn Economu Castro ’78 Dorothy Ann Egan, Former Walker's Faculty Daniel Ellsberg, Husband of Patricia Marx Ellsberg ’55; Brother-in-law of Jacqueline Marx Barnett ’51; Cousin of Marlene Marx Twaddell ’56 Monroe Moe B. England, Father of Elizabeth England ’81 John F. Erdmann II, Husband of Tanis Higgins Erdmann ’55 P. Wesley Foster, Jr., Husband of Betty Flanders Foster ’53 Stephen R. Gaddis, Father of Laurel Gaddis ’18 James Pinchot Gaston, Husband of Former Trustee Gail Chandler Gaston ’70; Son of Rosamund Pinchot Gaston ’23*; Son-in-law of Frances Robertson Chandler ’44*

Bruce Chandler, Husband of Jenny Stewart Chandler ’55, Brother-in-law of Frances Stewart Ingraham ’58 and Uncle of Gail Chandler Gaston ’70

Vera Converse Gibbons, Mother of Christine Gibbons Roberts ’78 and Vera Gibbons ’85

Allen Gordon Clarke, Jr., Former Walker's Business Manager

George Washington Gowen, Father of Cynthia Gowen Crawford ’79 and Lee Gowen ‘82

Michael Cohen, Brother of Former Trustees Amy Paul P’16,’18, Walker's Staff, and Shayna Cohen Luciani ’93, P’20,’21; Uncle of Chloe Silverman ’15, Georgia Paul ’16, Holly Paul ’18, Julia Luciani ’20 and Claudia Luciani ’21

Francis S. Gilligan, Father of Fernanda Gilligan Jess ’96

Robert Daniel Gray, Husband of Carol Crow Gray ’61, Son-in-law of Barbara Godwin Crow ’36*, Brother-in-law of Virginia Crow Mills ’65*

SUMMER/FALL 2023

59

Karen Hansen, Former Walker's Faculty Lee J. Hanson, Jr., Grandfather of Sophie Greggains ’21 John Winslow Hincks, Grandfather of Abby Reynolds ’13 and Win Reynolds ’15 Elaine Hofheimer, Mother of Shannen Hofheimer, Walker's Faculty Steven Hofheimer, Father of Shannen Hofheimer, Walker's Faculty Neville Vivian Hughes, Husband of Diana Montgomery Hughes ’61 Lisa Mestayer Hussey, Mother of Allyson Hussey ’23 Christopher Ingraham, Husband of Frances Stewart Ingraham ’58 and Brother-in-law of Jenny Stewart Chandler ’55 Charles Endler Johnson, Brother of Sarah Johnson ’78 and Uncle of Annie Lufkin ’10 Martin Jolly, Grandfather of Stella Jolly ’28 Michael A. Kelly, Husband of Sarah Brand Kelly ’79 and Nephew-in-law of Elizabeth Nash Muench ’55 Michael P. Kelly, Sr., Brother of Mary Ann Kelly MacDonald ’79 Robert Clarke Legler, Former Trustee and Father of Holly Legler Cortes ’91 Raymond L. Leidel, Brother and Brother-inlaw of Walker's Staff members Bryan* and Lisa Rathbun; Uncle of Etta Rathbun ’23 Michael Heaton Leonard, Former Walker's Faculty and Father of Katharine Leonard ’93 Devon Ashley Lester, Daughter of Katherine Kent Rich ’91 William Cauffiel Lickle, Former Trustee; Father of Sydney Lickle Jordan ’70, Ashley Lickle O’Neil ’78 and Former Trustee Kemble Lickle O’Donnell ’79; Brother-inlaw of Nancy Kitchell Lickle ’53*, Victoria Kitchell ’57 and Former Trustee Leslie Kitchell Bullock ’62*

Fulton Platt Rockwell, Brother of Trustee Emerita Elizabeth Rockwell Cesare

Archibald McClure, Husband of Anne Cunningham McClure ’40, P’66*, Brother-in-law of Jane Cunningham Warriner ’45* and Stepfather of Wells Downey Hamilton ’66

Eugene Rosenberg, Father of Pia Rosenberg Toro P’24 and Grandfather of Maddison Toro ’24

David G. McCullough, Sr., Husband of Rosalee Barnes McCullough ’51, P’74*; Father of Melissa McCullough McDonald ’74, and Brother-in-law of Margot Barnes Goodwin ’63 John F. McDermott, Husband of Frances Aldrich Maher ’60; Brother-in-law of Abigail Aldrich Record ’62 and Rosalie Aldrich West ’67 Diane Blum McLellan, Mother of Elaine Morgan Smith ’90 Mary Wilshire Mead, Mother of Former Trustee Mary Mead-Hagen ’72 and Sisterin-law of Ruth Cummings Mead ’47 Barbara Lawes Mercer, Mother of Deborah Mercer Ribas ’75 and Marilyn Mercer Bell ’78 Rosemary Brady Monagan, Grandmother of John Monagan, Walker's Faculty Dora Moncada, Former Walker's Faculty Donal Clare O’Brien III, Brother of Board of Trustees Chair Katharine O’Brien Rohn ’82 and Caroline O’Brien Thomas ’84; Son of Former Trustee Katharine O’Brien, P’82, ’84 Francis James O’Hara, III, Father of Trustee Ann O’Hara P’21, ’23; Grandfather of Janet Hedges ’21 and Jordan Hedges ’23 Carolyn Preble Olmstead, Former Walker's Faculty Alexandra Bullock Olsen, Daughter of Whitney de Roulet Bullock ’70; Granddaughter of Former Trustee Lorinda Payson de Roulet ’45, P’70; and Great-niece of Payne Whitney Payson Middleton ’45* Giorgio Alberto Pinton, Former Walker's Faculty

Mildred Loomis, Mother of Kathryn Loomis Harris ’72 and Cousin of Pamela Spinney Duncan ’76

Philip Childs Potter, Jr., Husband of Trustee Emerita Letitia McClure Potter ’55, P’85 and Father of Clarissa Potter ’85

Madeline MacAlpine, Mother of Laurie MacAlpine P’08, Walker's Faculty and Grandmother of Lucca Troutman ’08

Jennifer A. Radice, Sister of Susan Kostick ’81

Cynthia Vansittart Mackay, Mother of Tania Whitman Stepanian ’60

Hilary Matalon, Mother of Linda Matalon

Truppman ’77 and Grandmother of Rachel Matalon ’04

60

Julien Lachicotte McCall, Former Trustee and Father of Former Trustee Alison McCall ’72

THE SUNDIAL

Diana Ramírez, Mother of Paulina Struck ’27 Bryan Rathbun, Walker's Staff; Husband of Lisa Rathbun P’23, Walker's Staff; and Father of Etta Rathbun ’23 Elena Alejandro Rivera, Grandmother of Helen Malave, Walker's Staff

Stockton Rush, Brother of Deborah Rush ’77 and Uncle of Isabel Rush ’19 Carter Smith, Father of Cynthia Smith Evanisko ’71 Thomas G. Soper, Husband of Joan Enders Todd Soper ’53 Peter G. Sparks, Husband of Margaret Holley ’62 Elizabeth Thacher Speers, Sister of Thomas G. Speers III P’16, former Walker's Staff; Sister-in-law of Bessie C. Speers P’16, former Head of School; Aunt of Eleanor Speers ’16 David W. Stewart, Father of Hooey Stewart Wilks ’82 Hooker Talcott, Jr., Husband of Jane McCurrach Talcott ’54 Byron Joseph Treado III, Father of Justin Treado, Walker's Staff Mark Robert von Sternberg, Husband of Haydee Diaz-Camacho von Sternberg ’64 Francis Xavier Wallace III, Father-in-law of Beth McGuinness ’88 Mary Ray Weidlein, Grandmother of Trustee Charlotte Weidlein Lenzner ’05 Caroline Wheaton, Mother of Mei Wheaton ’14 Patricia Watts Whitehead, Mother of Patricia Whitehead-Mobley ’73, Julia Whitehead ’74, Katherine Whitehead Getty ’75; Elizabeth Whitehead ’77 and Helen Whitehead Salafia ’82 Joseph Hill Williams, Husband of Former Trustee Terese Treman Williams ’55, P’80, Stepfather of Former Trustee Margot Treman Rose ’80, Brother-in-law of Pauline Bolton Williams ’42* and Uncle of Nina Williams ’70 John Francis Wisely Jr., Husband of Gwendolyn Wood Wisely ’96 Emily Mendillo Wood, Mother of Leila Wood Stuhr ’85 Jennifer Wright, Sister of Former Trustee Kelly O’Connor Pasciucco ’79 *Deceased

The Annual Fund for Walker’s is a fundamental component of the School’s operating budget. Since 1911, philanthropy has supported Walker’s mission and commitment to prepare girls to make a difference in our world.

Your gift to Walker's ensures this generation of students benefit from an environment designed for them to excel.

By investing in girls education at Walker's, you participate in something essential, directly benefiting the experience of faculty and students. With you, our girls can accomplish so much!

Girls Education is Important!

Please contact Leila Howland Wetmore ‘82, P’18 with questions about giving at lwetmore@ethelwalker.org or +1-860-408-4250.

Ways to Give: Online: www.ethelwalker.org/support By mail: Annual Fund for Walker’s The Ethel Walker School 230 Bushy Hill Road Simsbury, CT 06070 By phone: +1-860-408-4250

NONPROFIT ORG U.S. POSTAGE PAID HARTFORD, CT PERMIT NO. 1382

230 Bushy Hill Road • Simsbury, CT 06070