Class Notes

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Submit your Class Note at pingry.org/classnotes, or mail it to Greg Waxberg ‘96, Editor of The Pingry Review, The Pingry School, 131 Martinsville Road, Basking Ridge, NJ 07920.

1954

PETER THORNE writes, “On April 1, 2016, I began serving as a missionary in the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City, UT. It is the largest family history library in the world. There, I helped guests do research and fill out their family tree. The library closed in March 2020 due to COVID-19, but in January, a new virtual program began and I became a virtual genealogist. I now help people all over the world, using Zoom. The library reopened on July 7. It’s good to work with live people as well as on Zoom. If anyone would like help with their family tree, I would be glad to help. I live with my older son in Saratoga Springs, UT, where I manage a 20x80-foot garden for the family and neighbors. I’ve been blessed with five grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.”

Alumni in Literature

The late war correspondent and author RICHARD TREGASKIS ’34 is the subject of a new book, Ray E. Boomhower’s Richard Tregaskis: Reporting Under Fire from Guadalcanal to Vietnam (High Road Books, an imprint of the University of New Mexico Press). This book is the first to tell Mr. Tregaskis’ life story, concentrating on his reporting during World War II.

Fleet Admiral WILLIAM F. “BULL” HALSEY, JR., Class of 1900 is the subject of an article in the July 2021 issue of PROCEEDINGS, published by the U.S. Naval Institute. The article, Hit Hard, Hit Fast, Hit Often! (Halsey’s motto), by Commander Robert McFarlin of the U.S. Navy, offers five lessons for Naval leaders, based on Admiral Halsey’s five-star leadership: leaders plan ahead, leaders never stop learning, leaders build teams that win without them, leaders endure failure, and leaders know people matter most.

1960

ROB GIBBY, JR. P ’87 writes, “In late July, Joe Wortley asked me if I’d like to help officiate at the U.S. Senior Women’s Open golf tournament at the Brooklawn Country Club in Fairfield, CT. For more than 30 years, Joe has been officiating at Professional Golf Association major meets. He now has a team of seasoned pals who help keep score, and he asked me to be a ‘helper’s helper.’ I worked with Joe and his crew on Thursday and Friday of the fourday tournament. Complete with a fancy USGA shirt, hat, earphones, and a handheld computer, I (almost) looked like someone who knew what he was doing.

Joe described this competition as a ‘low-key event.’ He took me into a goodsize room filled with folks hovering over computers. It looked like Launch Central at Cape Canaveral! He explained to me that there were about 350 volunteers needed to run this event. The U.S. Men’s Open requires over 3,000! With each threesome of players, a scorer walks behind, recording every stroke. They enter the totals after each hole, which then would show up on my handheld computer. My job was to make sure they entered the strokes before the players started the next hole.

I watched diligently all day on Thursday and again on Friday. It wasn’t until the end of the day on Friday when the group, with the eventual winner, came down, that I finally had something to do! The walking scorer didn’t put in the scores! As the players were halfway up the next fairway, I hit the red

Rob Gibby, Jr. ’60, P ’87 and Joe Wortley ’60.

button and the airwaves erupted! The errant scorer turned in his numbers, and everything went on, smoothly!

Joe’s job was to work the scoreboard, which is now all done electronically. He told fun stories of the ‘old days’ when all of that was done by hand. All in all, it was a delightful experience, and I have Joe to thank for being a terrific host and enabling me to have a ‘peek behind the curtain.’”

CARL HAINES married Paula Burney on September 19, 2020, at the historic Trinity Episcopal Church in Portsmouth, VA. He writes, “The Reverend David Archibald ’61 performed the ceremony, making the occasion very special since David and I have been friends since first grade at Pingry over 70 years ago. Paula and I now reside in Marietta, GA for our retirement years and get to see my old friend Dave Speno ’60 and his wife. The Pingry ties remain strong.”

PETER WILEY writes, “I enjoyed a reunion—longtime coming—with Rusty Hyde this summer. Rusty is currently retired,

Rob Gibby ’60, Alan Gibby ’66, Miller Bugliari ’52, P ’86, ’90, ’97, GP ’20, ’24, and Bruce Smith ’69 at Pocono Lake Preserve in July.

Paula Burney, The Reverend David Archibald ’61, and Carl Haines ’60. Rusty Hyde ’60 and Peter Wiley ’60.

50th Anniversary of a First Race

Fifty years ago, on July 3, 1971, race car driver MARK DONOHUE, JR. ’55 won his first race, for Team Penske (formed by Roger Penske). His victory came in the Schaefer 500 at Pocono Raceway, but it didn’t come without drama. According to an article on IndyCar.com, Pocono Raceway resembled the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but there was a significant difference. When the caution flag was displayed at Indy, drivers were instructed to maintain the gap between themselves and their competitors. At Pocono, cars bunched up before the pit lane was opened, which eliminated any advantage of having a big lead. Mr. Donohue lost the lead to Joe Leonard with nine laps remaining, but he regained his momentum and overtook Leonard for a final time with six laps left, scoring the victory by 1.688 seconds. Mr. Donohue won the Indianapolis 500 for the first time in 1972 and posthumously received Pingry’s Letter-In-Life Award in 1976.

Memorabilia of Mark Donohue, Jr. ’55, donated to Pingry by avid motorsports collector John Gabrial. The items are (clockwise from top left): a press photo of Mr. Donohue’s 1971 AMC Javelin; a 1972 issue of Sports Illustrated with Mr. Donohue on the cover; a 1973 Indy 500 ticket with a picture of Mr. Donohue; and a 1972 Indy 500 postcard.

Class Notes

living near Bellingham, WA. We spent a day reminiscing about our years at Pingry and talking about life after Pingry. The glory days of our Pingry friendship were all about the honor of being members of Miller Bugliari’s first soccer team. Little did we know that Coach was a world-class prankster when we pulled a few on him. After Pingry, we spent a summer together at L’università di Perugia per Stranieri in this beautiful Umbrian hill town. I came back at the end of the summer. Rusty stayed, studying Italian and Spanish in Perugia and Barcelona. He returned to Dartmouth and went on to teach Italian and Spanish literature at Dartmouth before becoming a successful carpenter and contractor. It was a wonderful way to renew our long friendship.”

Thoughts on Ginger Manley’s Book DISARMED

By Rob Gibby, Jr. ’60, P ’87

In September 1949, on the advice of teacher Roy Shrewsbury, a mother in Ocean Grove, NJ put her eight-year-old son on a train, bound for Elizabeth, NJ. So began John Manley’s time as a Pingry student. After getting off the train in Elizabeth, John walked to the Lower School building on Westminster Avenue. He reversed the trip at the end of every day! After the first year, when School officials found out about John’s daily trek to school, he moved in with a relative in Summit and came to school on the bus. After a very distinguished athletic career, John graduated in 1960.

The Class of 1960 was unable to have their 60th Reunion due to COVID-19. Instead, about 20 members started a monthly Zoom meeting. One at a time, each attendee recounted their “60 years in 60 minutes.” Given his remarkable athletic abilities and competitive spirit, John was on track to become a jet fighter pilot in the late ’60s. A tragic accident resulted in the loss of his left hand. His life took an abrupt turn, as there was no place for a one-handed fighter pilot. However, John continued to compete and succeed—athletically and in life. His wife of 50 years, Ginger, wrote a wonderful book called DISARMED that chronicles his adventures.

They met on a train in Europe and knew within a week that they were “meant to be.” After raising two children, they are busy crisscrossing the U.S., visiting family and friends and competing in golf tournaments. John went on to be a competitive golfer, skier, fly fisherman, pilot, marksman, taxi driver, car salesman, labor lawyer, and eventually a judge. He is still active as a labor litigator.

He played competitive doubles tennis and, to “psych out” the other team, he would take off his prosthesis and hang it on the net. As his opponents were wondering how a one-handed person could serve a tennis ball, John would burn them with an ace!

DISARMED is a heartwarming tale of this remarkable Pingry graduate turning adversity into opportunity.

1964

BRUCE MORRISON writes, “In 2014, members of the Class of 1964 banded together to raise the money to dedicate and name a Pingry classroom in honor of our classmate Bill Little (read more in the September 2014 issue of The Pingry Review). Following Pingry, Bill attended West Point and graduated in 1968. He was shipped to Vietnam and was killed in action November 11, 1969. A few months ago, his West Point roommate, Army Reserve Major General (Ret.) William Raines, contacted Bill’s sister, Alison Little ’82, about a project he was working on to honor Bill’s heroism, an article in the West Point Association of Graduates’ memorial magazine, TAPS (read the article at pingry.org/extras). She put him in touch with Bob Weissman, Doug Smith, and me to learn more about Bill’s time at Pingry. In the process, we developed a ‘joint operation’ between Bill’s Pingry classmates and his West Point classmates—Major General Raines is Chairman-Emeritus of the Charles H. Coolidge National Medal of Honor Heritage Center, which has started a campaign of providing families and friends the opportunity to buy a Brick of Honor and inscribe it to honor a fallen friend or loved one. Our joint effort raised $7,150 for a 12x12-inch brick in Bill’s honor. The brick was installed at the Heritage Center in a ceremony over Memorial Day Weekend.”

The Charles H. Coolidge National Medal of Honor Heritage Center focuses on protecting and preserving the heritage of the country’s highest military award for valor and serving as a tribute to all Medal of Honor recipients. The Center’s mission centers around

This Brick of Honor at the Charles H. Coolidge National Medal of Honor Heritage Center honors the memory of Bill Little ’64.

its collaboration with the Medal of Honor Society and its Character Development Program to educate the next generation of Americans about the six character traits that embody the Medal of Honor: Patriotism, Citizenship, Courage, Integrity, Sacrifice, and Commitment.

1965

CHRIS HOFFMAN has had his book The Hoop and the Tree: A Compass for Finding a Deeper Relationship With All Life published in a 20th anniversary edition. Read more on page 56.

1968

DR. JOHN STIBRAVY has written Counseling Sudden Cardiac Arrest Survivors. Read more on page 56.

1972

STEVE NAUGHTON writes, “What happens when you get six football teammates together? Four hours of laughs, hugs, and great memories. As senior statesmen approaching our 50th year, believe us, it happens fast— our advice to others is that when you stand shoulder-to-shoulder with your brothers, you will never be divided. The bond just gets stronger. Also very fortunate to connect with former Pingry teacher and coach Thomas Johnson ’59, who inspired us in many ways.”

1980

MARK WILF, Chair of the Board of Trustees of The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA), led a JFNA Solidarity Mission to Israel after the cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. “Following those difficult two weeks, on top of the 15 months when we were unable to visit Israel due to quarantine restrictions, I was so proud to be leading a group of 22 leaders from the Federation system on this special solidarity mission in order to assess the situation on the ground and show our unwavering support for Israel and its people,” Mark said in a news release. The mission included meetings with senior government officials who “were eager to hear from us what’s happening in the U.S. and to get our perspectives on how we can work together to redirect the global conversation about Israel—how we can bring the conversation back to facts and away from incendiary rhetoric that leads to antisemitism.”

John Maher ’72, Dr. Bobby Cunningham ’72, Eric Fowler ’72, Greg Hewett ’72, Jack Van Wagner ’72, and Dr. Steve Naughton ’72.

Assistant Director of Operations and Coach Paul Sykes, Molly Campbell, and Jamie Campbell ’85. Jay Wood ‘84, with 400 soccer wins.

1984

JAY WOOD earned his 400th victory as Head Coach of the Boys’ Varsity Soccer Team at St. Christopher’s School in Richmond, VA. The victory came in March when the team played its final game of a delayed mini-season. Fall 2021 was Jay’s 31st season as the team’s head coach.

1985

JAMIE CAMPBELL writes, “Had a chance to come back to campus this summer for a girls lacrosse tournament with my daughter, Molly. Shout-out to Coach Paul Sykes for giving my family a sneak peek at my senior class picture and a quick tour of the Athletics Center.”

1993

STEPHANIE LIM CAPELLO is President-Elect of the Villanova University Alumni Association and will begin her twoyear term in June 2022. She is Director of Admissions, Sales, Marketing and Business Development for ESF, Inc., based in Bryn Mawr. Founded in 1982, ESF operates a portfolio of more than 40 nationally recognized day, sports, residential, and pre-college camps in multiple states with partners such as The Philadelphia 76ers, Arsenal Soccer,

Class Notes

Michael Blanchard ’96 and Thomas Diemar ‘96, P ‘24 at the Somerset Lake and Game Club on June 28.

Dr. Purvi Parikh ’00 was honored by the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin. Brooklyn Nets, The Philadelphia Phillies, Yale University, Villanova University, University of Pennsylvania, and more.

1994

DAN KELLNER was a coach at the Tokyo Olympics. He serves as the coach for Marcus Mepstead, a foil fencer from Great Britain who won an individual silver medal at the 2019 World Championships. Dan was a member of the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team who finished his competitive career ranked 10th in the world.

2000

PAUL W. DOWNS won an Emmy Award. Read more on page 56.

DR. PURVI PARIKH was named the “Most Distinguished Young Physician 2020-21” by the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin. She received the honor in July. An allergist and immunologist who is one of the COVID-19 vaccine trial researchers (read more in the Summer 2021 issue), she is a frequent guest in the national media.

Claire Medoway Feldman and Jack Medoway Feldman.

KRISTIN CURLEY

Dr. Bess Rowen ’05 is the author of a new book.

2003

BRAD FELDMAN (Pingry lifer) and Melissa Medoway welcomed Claire Medoway Feldman and Jack Medoway Feldman on March 4.

2005

DR. BESS ROWEN has written The Lines Between the Lines: How Stage Directions Affect Embodiment. Read more on page 56.

2006

DR. SARA MOURADIAN has been named an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering at the University of Washington, effective next March. She received all three of her degrees at MIT, including a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and is currently working as an Intelligence Community Postdoctoral Fellow at UC Berkeley. Sara

Advocating for Women’s Wellness

MARISA LaVALETTE ’04, a San Francisco–based wellnesspreneur, is the Founder of Attune + Align for women’s wellness, combining astrology, yoga, meditation, and holistic nutrition in a community setting. She was the featured speaker for the Pingry Alumnae Committee’s recent virtual event, leading AstroYoga, her approach to teaching astrology and yoga—subject matter that sparked her interest when she was a student in Cathy Everett’s fifth-grade social studies class. “Mrs. Everett taught us Greek mythology,” she recalls. “These lessons set me off on the lifelong journey of asking the questions, ‘Where do we come from?’ ‘What am I supposed to do while I am here?’ ‘What happens after?’ These questions led me to my career paths in astrology, yoga, and Ayurveda.”

In her work, Ms. LaValette’s clients have goals for their health, career, and relationships and have assignments for reflection and personal growth between sessions. “It’s a ‘life coaching’ session that leverages astrology as the framework against which the client can track progress over time,” she says. “The conversations revolve around self-discovery, mindfulness, self-awareness, and discovery of dharma—one’s divine purpose.” She teaches from various spiritual perspectives because “there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to self-discovery.”

She describes the motivation for her work as political. “In my 20s, I was very concerned by the limiting boxes society tried to squeeze me into, and society’s perspective of what women should do with their lives and bodies seems to only have become more restrictive since then. My spiritual and wellness practices caused me to develop a mindset for self-determination and put me in the driver’s seat of my own life.”

Tune in to Ms. LaValette’s Attune + Align podcast on Spotify for inspiring stories of women aligning their lives with their highest purpose.

specializes in quantum information science and technology (QIST).

2012

PATRICK LACKEY, former Big Blue ice hockey captain, is a freelance filmmaker and Founder and Creative Director of SNIP Studios, a longform production company. He became a freelance filmmaker after working for the production company that produces the behind-the-scenes documentaries Quest for the Stanley Cup and Road to the NHL Winter Classic. Most recently, Patrick was Story Producer for the NHL and ESPN+ on the 2021 season of Quest for the Stanley Cup (he worked on the series in 2018 and 2019, as Associate Producer and Assistant Editor,

Patrick Lackey ’12 was Story Producer for the 2021 season of this documentary.

Class Notes

Michael Arrom ’13 at AmericaFest.

BEN ZUCKER so in 2021 he took a step up to be the Story Producer.) He writes, “This has been the highlight of my career so far because being Story Producer was literally my dream job when I graduated from college. I modeled my senior thesis project—a docuseries that tracked my Tufts University hockey team throughout the season—after Quest for the Stanley Cup.” As the Story Producer working alongside an editor in post-production, Patrick’s primary responsibility was to determine which footage, moments, and stories to include in each episode. Check ESPN+ for all seven uncensored episodes.

2013

Keyboardist MICHAEL ARROM performed at the Rose Bowl’s 95th Annual AmericaFest fireworks show on July 4. He was one of two bands performing on the main stage in preparation for the night’s main event—he presented all-original music that he produced with his collaborator, Haylee Joe.

Ice hockey player HANNA BEATTIE re-signed with the Connecticut Whale, a team within the National Women’s Hockey League, for the 2021-22 season. It will be her fifth season playing professional hockey with the team. “Hanna is a dependable defender that we can count on in any situation. Her ability to read plays and join the rush for an extra layer of attack is a huge asset to the way we play as a team,” said Whale assistant coach Laura Brennan in a June news release. “We look forward to having her return as a veteran leader to the Pod this season!”

2014

ANNA BUTRICO is co-author of Risk: A User’s Guide. Read more on page 56.

AIGNER MIZZELLE is making her Broadway debut in Douglas Lyons’ new family comedy Chicken & Biscuits. The limited engagement runs through January 2, 2022.

2016

NIA GOODING, a graduate of Dartmouth College who majored in Government, was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship this spring. Specifically, she received a research/ study grant to travel to Kosovo. According to a Dartmouth announcement, Nia first traveled to Kosovo in the summer of 2019 to conduct policy research with the Kosovo Ministry of Health and the nonprofit Action for Mothers of Children—and her Fulbright research will build on that work, focusing on why so many Kosovar mothers give birth by cesarean section.

“Maternal and child health is an important topic to me as a Black woman, because so many Black mothers in the U.S. disproportionately suffer from high rates of morbidity and mortality compared to other women. I want to do my part to help Kosovo’s mothers and children be as healthy and safe as possible in the same way that I want to work to help those in my own community,” Nia said in the article. At Dartmouth, she became interested in global health and public policy, and she plans to pursue law school and a master’s degree in Global Health Law.

Jennifer Korn ’17 outside the Olympic Stadium.

2017

JENNIFER KORN attended the Tokyo Olympics on a freelance assignment with Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS), focusing on coverage of judo, gymnastics, and handball. Established by the International Olympic Committee, OBS serves as the permanent host broadcaster for the Games and provides the international feed from all events to networks around the world. Jennifer became a freelancer for OBS thanks to a guest speaker in one of her Sports Journalism classes at USC.

MATTHEW PEACOCK, a graduate of Williams College who majored in History and Chinese, was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship and is an English Teaching Assistant (ETA) with Fulbright Taiwan. The Fulbright ETA Program helps to improve the teaching of the English language in Taiwan’s schools.

2018

ALEXIS ELLIOT, Chair of the Women’s Initiative in Leadership at Harvard College’s Institute of Politics, co-moderated a panel discussion with U.S. Representative and Assistant Speaker of the House Katherine M. Clark (D–Mass.) at the John F. Kennedy Junior Forum on September 16.

2020

MADI PILLA, NATALIA RAMIREZ, OLA WEBER, and SOPHIA CAVALIERE ’21, former members of the Girls’ Varsity Soccer Team at Pingry, were featured in an article by Columbia University Athletics in early October, spotlighting Pingry as a “pipeline” that continues to spark the Columbia women’s soccer program.

Alexis Elliot ’18, right, with U.S. Representative Katherine M. Clark and co-moderator Alexander Park.