In Memorium

In Memoriam

Gloria Vanderbilt ‘39

Gloria Vanderbilt, prominent society figure, fashion executive, and author died on June 17, 2019 at 95. She attended Green Vale along with her cousins Barklie Henry, Jr. ‘36 and Gertrude Whitney Conner ‘39, while living at her aunt’s Old Westbury estate. The great-greatgranddaughter of the 19th-century railroad and steamship magnate Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, she was America’s most famous non-Hollywood child in the Roaring Twenties and Depression years. Raised in New York City and Long Island during a fraught though affluent childhood, Ms. Vanderbilt later expanded her reputation as a painter, a fashion model, a poet, a playwright and an actress. She was romantically involved with Errol Flynn, Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly, Howard Hughes and Marlon Brando. 1933 GVS school photo by Beidler-Viken Photography

In the mid-1970s, when denim jeans were cut mostly for men, the clothing manufacturer Mohan Murjani signed Ms. Vanderbilt to market jeans for women with her signature on the back pocket. Gloria Vanderbilt jeans soon became a $100 million-a-year business, with other apparel and perfume added later. According to The New York Times in 1979, “The marketing of Gloria Vanderbilt jeans is one of the most dramatic American business success stories of the decade. The key to its success was the marriage of a great name, Vanderbilt, to jeans, which began as the uniform of student demonstrators of the ‘60s and developed into the fashion phenomenon of the ‘70s.”

Following the closing of her fashion business and the death of her fourth husband, Wyatt Cooper, Ms. Vanderbilt devoted herself to writing, publishing multiple novels, articles, and extensive memoirs.

Thomas “Tom” Moore Bancroft, Jr. died peacefully at his home in Muttontown, NY, on October 7, 2019 at the age of 89. He attended Green Vale through 7th Grade and later became a GVS parent and trustee from 1972-1996. During his lengthy time on the Board, he served on numerous committees, notably overseeing the rebuilding of the middle school building following the 1982 fire. After Green Vale, Tom attended The Slade School, Middlesex School, and Princeton University. He served as a naval intelligence officer in the Korean War. He later became CEO of Mount Vernon Mills, a textile company based in Baltimore. For over 20 years, Tom and his late brother Bill successfully bred and raced thoroughbreds under the racing partnership Pen-Y-Bryn Farm. The cornerstone of their breeding efforts was Hall of Fame thoroughbred Damascus, who was Horse of the Year in 1967. Tom served as a director of Victaulic Corporation, a producer of mechanical pipe joining solutions, for over 50 years. He was also a trustee of Middlesex School for nearly 50 years, starting in 1972, and was president of the board from 1980 until 1985. His many Green Vale relatives include his children, Muffie Bancroft Murray ‘67, Jennifer Bancroft Kelter ‘79, Thomas Moore Bancroft III ‘81, John Spain Bancroft ‘85, Townsend Woodward Bancroft ‘93 and James Cryder Bancroft ‘03 and step-children Christopher Boal Wiedemann ‘85 and Annie Wiedemann Churchill ‘86, and 4 grandchildren.

Thomas Moore Bancroft, Jr. ‘44

With Frank Sinatra in 1954

Jesse Dougherty recalls Tom’s words to him upon assuming the role of Head of School: “Jesse, generations have gone through this school and done incredibly well. There is something magical about Green Vale. Just don’t mess it up.” In the years that followed, Jesse and Tom continued to meet every few months for lunch where Tom would insist on each having ice cream for dessert.