Perspective Fall 2014 by University Liggett School

Perspective The Magazine for University Liggett School

Making an STUDENTS AND ALUMNI ARE WORKING TOGETHER TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Fall 2014

IMPACT

UNIVERSITY LIGGETT SCHOOL 1045 Cook Road Grosse Pointe Woods, MI 48236-2509 313.884.4444 uls.org facebook.com/universityliggett

HEAD OF SCHOOL

PERSPECTIVE – FALL 2014

Joseph P. Healey, Ph.D.

DIRECTOR OF MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS Michelle Franzen Martin

OFFICE OF ADVANCEMENT ASSOCIATE HEAD OF SCHOOL FOR ADVANCEMENT Kelley Hamilton ASSISTANT HEAD OF ADVANCEMENT Cressie Boggs ALUMNI AND PARENT RELATIONS MANAGER Katie Durno ANNUAL GIVING MANAGER Trisha Shapiro ADVANCEMENT SERVICES MANAGER Genevieve Valiot SPECIAL EVENTS MANAGER Shaye Campbell

Homecoming AT UNIVERSITY LIGGETT SCHOOL

COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER Rebecca Wall GRAPHIC ARTS DESIGNER Lee Ann Gusmano PERSPECTIVE DESIGN SERVICES Costello Design Group

University Liggett School is Michigan’s oldest, co-educational, pre-K through grade 12, independent day school. University Liggett School does not unlawfully discriminate against any person on the basis of religion, race, creed, color, national origin, sex, age, disability or any other protected class as provided by applicable law.

OCTOBER 18, 2014

In this school, our history spans almost a century and a half – five generations of students, teachers and coaches. And this history has nurtured deep and enduring friendships, roots that support a rich and varied history. We are the legacy of all this, and in our time we will shape the future as surely as this history has shaped us. The school is vibrant, alive, energized and confident. We have come through a challenging period and emerged stronger and more confident of ourselves and our future, and so in this issue we can explore the rich life of the community and share in the energy. I invite you to share our journey in this issue and to come and visit when you can. You are as surely here now as when you studied and played here. Do not be strangers.

Joseph P. Healey, Ph.D. Head of School

“I invite you to share our journey in this issue and to come and visit when you can. You are as surely here now as when you studied and played here.” - Joseph P. Healey, Ph.D. Head of School

Perspective Fall 2014

Contents 16

Features

9 10 20 26 28

Field of Dreams Making an Impact A Celebration Of Research On Their Toes A Director’s Dream

In Every Issue

4 15 16 19 31 37 60

Around Campus Perspective: Student Perspective: Parent Perspective: Advancement Perspective: Alumni Class Notes Perspective: Lens

The Magazine for University Liggett School • uls.org

AROUND CAMPUS

All-School Annual

Flag-Raising

Under bright blue skies, the Liggett community came together to celebrate the annual flag-raising ceremony on Sept. 3, 2014.

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AROUND CAMPUS

“We could have used a play that was already written, but this gave them an opportunity to really shape their understanding of history.” – Laura Deimel, fourth-grade teacher

Recreating History: Fourth-Graders

Write, Produce, Direct Their Own Play Fourth-graders took the school’s forwardfocused Curriculum for Understanding to a historic level – literally. They wrote, produced and directed their own play, called “The Road to Independence,” to explore and learn more about the American Revolution. The student-focused, project-based play allowed the two classes of fourthgraders to fully understand the American Revolution and how American government began.

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“The students took ownership of the entire project,” says fourth-grade teacher Laura Deimel. “They worked together to research and write the play, change it and add to it during the process, and determine what roles, on the stage and back stage, they each would take. They even built the scenery.” The students in Deimel’s class met with students in the other fourth-grade class, taught by Jaejoon Lee, and discussed how the play would evolve. They used Google Docs to add ideas, and those ideas were

further discussed using a SMARTBoard. One student suggested that Thomas Jefferson’s role be performed in a certain way. Another suggested that Patrick Henry be a part of the play. “It truly was their play,” says Deimel, whose intention was exactly that when she launched the project. “We could have used a play that was already written, but this gave them an opportunity to really shape their understanding of history.” The five-week project is an example of Liggett’s Curriculum for Under-

standing, which allows students to learn through experience. The Curriculum for Understanding allows students to apply their learning, absorb it, and then demonstrate what they have learned – both in the classroom and out. The project brought together many of the tenets of the Curriculum for Understanding, including creativity, teamwork and adaptability. “That’s the beauty of project-based learning – it keeps growing and evolving,” she says.

University Liggett School Annual Fund

Reaches Record Goal University Liggett School’s Annual Fund raised a record $1.3 million during the fiscal year ending June 30, 2014.

ing to make up the difference. The money helps to fund academic and extracurricular activities and enhance the learning and teaching experience for students and faculty.

At any independent or private school, tuition only covers a portion of the operating costs. Liggett’s Annual Fund provides important base-level fund-

“This was a recordbreaking year for us, and the generosity from the Liggett community shows how strongly people value the quality education that

Liggett provides,” says Kelley Hamilton, associate head of school for advancement. “We are grateful to everyone who made a gift to the Annual Fund, and we are proud that so many people are investing so strongly in our school.” Faculty and staff giving reached a record level as well – with 100 percent of all faculty and staff

participating in the Annual Fund. “Liggett’s faculty and staff are dedicated to our students and to the school,” Hamilton says. “We always say that Liggett is a school where every child is deeply cared for, and the overwhelming support from our faculty and staff in the Annual Fund truly demonstrates that.”

The 2014 Spring Raffle raised $60,784, with proceeds going toward technology, academic initiatives, building improvements, athletic raffle equipment and more. Prizes included a 2014 Jeep Wrangler Sport Unlimited, 4-door, 2 year lease, 2 015 courtesy of Ray Laethem Motor Village; David Yurman Papyrus sterling silver and diamond cuff and sterling silver and diamond earrings, courtesy of edmund t. AHEE jewelers; $2,500 cash, courtesy of Beline Obeid Realty; and one year of free gas, courtesy of Ali Ahmad Technology.

L I GGETT

U NI

ITY

And the winner is… Liggett!

“It was a pleasure being the chairperson for the Spring Raffle. It is such a fun way to raise money for our great school. The kids really get involved trying to win prizes and the adults all picture themselves driving that amazing Jeep all summer.” – Linda Leonard, Spring Raffle Chairperson

During the “Ice Cream Wars,” the winning classes were treated to an ice cream social.

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AROUND CAMPUS

Scholarship Remembers

Nicole Shammas University Liggett School sixthgrader Harisen Davis is the 2014-15 recipient of the Nicole Maria Shammas Memorial Scholarship at University Liggett School. Harisen Davis

The scholarship is awarded for three years (sixth through eighth grade) of Middle School. Recipients of the $1,000 scholarship must show an interest in the arts and academic promise. This is the 28th anniversary of the scholarship. The scholarship, part of the school’s endowment program, is made possible by a gift from the Shammas family of Grosse Pointe Woods and others who knew Nicole Shammas, a Liggett student who passed away when she was in Middle School.

Two Liggett Faculty Members Awarded

Bringing Back a Piece The antique weather vane and original gate from the Briarcliff campus, the former Middle School and Liggett School, will find a permanent home on University Liggett School’s campus. The weather vane and gate were moved in September from the Briarcliff property, which recently was sold, to the Cook Road campus where they will be installed permanently near the new athletic fields. The gate dates back to the original Liggett School on Burns Avenue in Detroit. It was moved in 1964

Prestigious NEH Grant

of Briarcliff

when the Liggett School relocated to Briarcliff. The weather vane dates back to the 18th century and became a part of the Briarcliff campus during one of the school’s antique shows. A family purchased the weather vane and donated it to the school, where it stood upon a concrete base for many years. Thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor, both historic pieces will join the original gate from Grosse Pointe University School, which also will be relocated near the new fields.

Two University Liggett School faculty members have received the highly competitive Summer Scholar grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Upper School teachers Jane Healey and Adam Hellebuyck were selected as a Summer Scholar from a national applicant pool to attend one of 17 NEH Landmarks of American History and Culture workshops. The NEH is a federal agency that each year supports summer study opportunities so that teachers can work with experts in humanities disciplines. Healey and Hellebuyck studied America’s Industrial Revolution at The Henry Ford.

Jane Healey

PERSPECTIVE

Adam Hellebuyck

Their experiences and research have helped them in shaping a 10th-grade course that looks at U.S. history through the lens of Detroit.

“I can’t describe it in words. I don’t even remember what the last out was, I was so excited.” – Gehrig Anglin, Freshman pitcher

A Grand-Slam Season

Liggett baseball team wins the state title for the third year in a row. It’s been a summer of honors for the Liggett baseball team. The team was honored in July by Grosse Pointe Woods Mayor Robert E. Novitke with an official congratulations proclamation for winning the 2014 Division 3 State Championship. The team also was honored at Comerica Park by the Detroit Tigers and the Ilitch family at a Tigers game in August. The team’s championship photo was displayed on Comerica Park’s scoreboard, with a message congratulating the Knights. The Knights defeated Decatur, 9-0, for the school’s third state title in four years – its first after being moved up to Division 3 last year. Liggett scored seven runs in the fifth inning of the June 14th title game. Liggett coach Dan Cimini was thrilled with the team’s performance on the field and in the batter’s box. “When I look at the scoreboard, this is gratifying,” Cimini says. “This is great.” Freshman pitcher Gehrig Anglin earned the victory. Cimini said he never thought twice about his decision to use the 14-year-old in the title game. “He’s an amazing kid,” Cimini says of Anglin. “He played a lot of baseball. He’s a 14-year-old but he pitches like a junior or senior.” After the game, Anglin was elated.

“I can’t describe it in words,” Anglin recalls. “I don’t even remember what the last out was, I was so excited.” The 2014 win puts the Knights in an elite category. For the first time in state history, the Knights played in four consecutive state championship games, winning three of them. For the 2014 season, the Knights were moved from Division 4 into Division 3, becoming the smallest Division 3 school in the state. The Knights finished their outstanding season with a 25-8 overall record. Cimini attributes the successful season to the extraordinary teamwork exhibited by the Knights, the players staying focused and coming ready to play each and every game, along with an aggressive offense and superb defense. He achieved his 300-career win during the quarterfinals when the Knights beat Clinton 7-3, with support from his three assistant coaches, Bob Conway, Steve Kathan and Glynn Conley. It was a record of 302-63 for Cimini in the 11 seasons as coach of the Knights. 2014 University Liggett School Knights state championship team members were: Adam Fiema, Anthony Simon, Patrick Broder, Ian Clark, Cole Zingas, Robert Kaiser, Nichols Azar, David Newman, Sean Fannon, Joseph Cipriano, Thomas Meyering, Theodore Wujek, Jackson Walkowiak, Connor McCarron, Jackson Benning, Mattthew Gushee and Gehrig Anglin.

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Congratulations, Class of 2014

The Class of 2014 went to the following colleges and universities this fall. The school name is followed by the number of students attending. Aurora University............................. 1 Kalamazoo College......................... 3 Baldwin Wallace University............. 1 Lake Forest College........................ 1 Bard College................................... 1 Loyola University Chicago............... 1 Barnard College.............................. 1 Miami University.............................. 3 Butler University.............................. 1 Michigan State University.............. 11 Calvin College................................. 1 University of Michigan................... 11

Cleveland State University.............. 1 University of Notre Dame............... 1 University of Dayton........................ 2 Oakland University.......................... 1 DePaul University............................ 2 Princeton University........................ 2 University of Detroit Mercy............. 1 Rollins College................................ 1 Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University................... 1 Savannah College of Art & Design............................... 1 Emory University............................. 1

University of South Carolina............ 1 George Washington University....... 1 University of Vermont...................... 1 Hampton University......................... 1 Wake Forest University.................... 1 High Point University....................... 1 Wayne State University................... 1 Hillsdale College............................. 1 Williams College.............................. 1 Indiana University............................ 1 Yale University................................. 2 John Carroll University.................... 1

CONSTRUCTION UPDATE AROUND CAMPUS

26 25,000 1 MILLION 26 PIECES OF EQUIPMENT OUTSIDE

25,000 YARDS OF SOIL WITHIN THE SITE TO BALANCE THE GRADE

OR ROUGHLY 1 MILLION 50-POUND BAGS OF DIRT

Field of

Dreams Two-phase project will bring state-of-the-art facilities to Liggett. University Liggett School is in the first phase of a two-phase athletics facilities project that will culminate with the construction of a new campus center adjacent to McCann Ice Arena. The first phase involves realigning and rebuilding the existing athletic fields, while the second portion will include the campus center along with a series of streetscape improvements to enhance the property’s aesthetics. For up-to-the-minute construction updates, visit uls.org/construction.

Throughout the summer, construction trucks were leveling dirt, hauling dirt and leveling more dirt to create the state of the art fields that the Knights will soon be practicing and competing on. So far, the crew has distributed more than 25,000 yards of soil within the site to balance the grade. That equates to roughly 1 million 50-pound bags of dirt you could buy at the local garden center. The summer’s heavy rains delayed the project a bit, but the construction continues to move forward. “We got four rainfalls over three inches and five over one inch since May,” says Jon Neville, associate head of school for finance and operations. “It has caused delays, but when the fields are finished, we will have a state-of-the-art playing surface.” During the summer, the existing parking lot was demolished to make way for the new parking lot on the east side of McCann Ice Arena. New drainage systems are being installed for field No. 1, which will

house the football, soccer and lacrosse fields. Near the end of August the old field house, which previously served as a kindergarten, was torn down. AstroTurf arrived the week after school began. Construction on the site began last spring with the replacement of the existing connections to the municipal storm sewers; laser-guided re-grading of the site; and installing a gravel base to assist with storm water drainage and providing onsite storm water storage. The existing athletic fields are being realigned and rebuilt, converting some fields from grass to artificial turf. A substructure and drainage system is being installed throughout the entire site to address drainage and water runoff. The new field design also allows the site to accept and retain a greater amount of rainfall than in its present condition, solving some of the problems.

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Making an

IMPACT

Liggett alumni and students are working together through mentoring and community projects. Katherine Andrecovich ’04 and Mackenzie Lukas ’15 have joined together to make the Detroit riverfront a better place. Andrecovich, an employee with the Detroit RiverFront Conservancy since 2013, and Lukas, who was an intern at the DRC this past summer, have been making an impact on the city by sprucing it up. They are just two of countless University Liggett School students and alumni who are making the world a better place through community and mentoring projects. “This riverfront project is so much more than just dollars and cents returns on investment for the city,” Andrecovich says. “With every mile we build, and every park we open, we are able to cultivate a more inviting and inclusive space for residents and visitors. The spaces

PERSPECTIVE

that we build enable us to foster a sense of ownership from the communities that are a part of our footprint.” Andrecovich, who was a self-described “techie,” in the theater program, played varsity softball and swam while at Liggett, says the Rivertown Detroit Association is a great example of how the community has answered the call to help the conservancy with improvements and engage those who live in the city. “Rivertown’s community has been extraordinarily welcoming and enthusiastic about the progress we are making, and has partnered with us on a variety of programs to help activate these spaces for their residents,” she says.

The Detroit RiverFront Conservancy works to develop 5.5 miles of the riverfront from the Ambassador Bridge to just east of the Belle Isle Bridge. This includes the construction of a continuous RiverWalk with plazas, pavilions and green space.

In addition to helping develop a beautiful riverfront walkway and park, Andrecovich also is playing a part in turning Liggett students into future leaders through an

unofficial mentoring role at the organization. Mackenzie Lukas, who has attended Liggett since pre-K3 and will graduate in June, spent her summer at the DRC learning the ropes and helping the group carry out its mission in whatever way possible. Lukas, who plays on Liggett’s varsity field hockey and varsity lacrosse teams and participates in the winter musical, primarily worked on planning and communicating DRC special events. “My biggest project this summer has been with Reading & Rhythm on the Riverfront, an early literacy program for children,” she says, explaining that she worked with childcare groups, local celebrities and parents to ensure that each day runs smoothly. Lukas, who had an interest in marketing, asked to be given marketing and communications responsibilities at the organization. “I searched local news websites every day to inform my coworkers of how the Detroit RiverFront Conservancy and its neighbors are being highlighted in the media,” she says. “I also wrote and uploaded photographs that I have taken for both our website and social media outlets to broadcast our mission of creating a beautiful place to relax and play in the city of Detroit.” Even though she doesn’t supervise Lukas on a daily basis, Andrecovich says it’s been a joy to have her on board. “Mackenzie has been a wonderful asset to our organization,” she says. “I have had a few opportunities to work with her throughout the summer, and she was a tremendous help. Even though her primary responsibility was to work on our extensive programming initia-

tives, she was able to seamlessly and enthusiastically jump into assignments benefiting our development team without missing a beat.” And working as a mentor is something that Andrecovich, who was in the Peace Corps for two years in Burkina Faso, says she enjoys it – especially when she’s working with current and former Liggett students. “From what I have a learned from coaching at Liggett, and now having an opportunity to work in a professional setting with a Liggett student, is that there is an inherent inquisitiveness and insatiable desire of wanting to contribute to something greater than themselves,” she says. “I think the two things go hand in hand and drive the students to better themselves and their communities.” Part of the reason is because Andrecovich feels it’s important to mentor students and recent graduates is because of her own experiences with teachers at Liggett. “I have always been close to my teachers at Liggett and have been fortunate enough to have Mark Myavec and Jim “With every mile we Schmidt as my most build, and every park influential mentors,” she says. “Mark was we open, we are able my homeroom advisor to cultivate a more and Mr. Schmidt was inviting and inclusive my softball coach (now I am his assistant). space for residents and Although they were my visitors. The spaces teachers in high school, that we build enable as an adult they have become my friends, us to foster a sense of and I have developed ownership from the

communities that are a part of our footprint.”

- Katherine Andrecovich ‘04

BEFORE

Riverfront Impact: Thanks to the work of people like Katherine Andrecovich ’04 and Mackenzie Lukas ’15, Detroit’s riverfront is making a powerful resurgence. Photos by Detroit RiverFront Conservancy.

AFTER

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AFTER

“Before I began my internship at the Detroit RiverFront Conservancy, my ARP project was about the relationships between social media outlets, businesses and adolescents.”

BEFORE

- Mackenzie Lukas ‘15

close relationships to both of them over the years. Though the geology and geometry lessons they taught me in high school have since faded over the past 10 years, they saw who I had the potential to be, long before I had even figured out who I was as a shy 14-year-old.”

when you do achieve your goals, you have people who share not only in the excitement of your accomplishment, but in the journey of faith they took with you to get you there.”

She says both having a mentor and being a mentor are learning opportunities.

Lukas enjoyed her experience at the DRC so much that she’s changed the focus of her Academic Research Project to align with what she’s been working then. (See related story on page 20.)

“Having a real mentor means you have to trust that they will always be loyal to the person you have the potential to be, and you have to have the humility to be able to take their advice, and self-confidence to drive yourself to the next level,” Andrecovich says. “Building this kind of relationship takes time, and it also means that

“Before I began my internship at the Detroit RiverFront Conservancy, my ARP project was about the relationships between social media outlets, businesses and adolescents,” she says. “This summer, I have learned that the marketing strategies and overall spending of time and money of nonprofit organizations

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differ greatly than for-profit businesses.” Lukas is considering appling to the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and hopes to study business when she graduates in the spring. For her part, Andrecovich says she’s proud to play a role in the revitalization of Detroit. “The work that the conservancy has done over the last 10 years has, quite literally, changed the face of the city, and has given a lot of people hope,” she says. “What we are building here is so much more than just a sidewalk; the RiverWalk is a living and palpable beacon for what this city can potentially to be, and to be able to play even a small role in that legacy is truly humbling.”

Become a mentor “Having a mentor is both a

Cutline for before/after photos privilege and a challenge,” Cutline for before/after photos saysfor Katherine Andrecovich. Cutline before/after photos “Being able to confide Cutline for before/after photos in Cutline for before/after photos someone about the kind of

person or professional you want to be is important, but having someone in your life that is constantly pushing you to reach your full potential can be exhausting, frustrating, exhilarating and rewarding.” Become a mentor to a Liggett student. For more information, contact Katie Durno at 313-884-4444, Ext. 414 or kdurno@uls.org.

“I’m lucky to call my passion my full-time job.” - Andrew Amine ‘13

Making an Andrew

Amine

IMPACT

Artist and storyteller Andrew Amine ‘13 is creating his dream career close to home. The aspiring filmmaker could study his craft in Los Angeles or New York, as would be expected, but chooses to do so here in the Detroit area. “I am very happy in Detroit right now,” says Amine, whose long-term goal is to make feature-length films that will take him wherever the action is. “Given my job, I have no reason to leave just yet.”

Amine views Detroit as a special place, one that plunged to its rock bottom and is only now beginning to climb toward recovery. The 19-yearold is excited to see the gears of Detroit’s economy beginning to turn again. He’s witnessing entrepreneurs from outside the city, along with Liggett alumni and locals, tap into the potential of Detroit and investing in it to create a better future. “It’s so exciting right now to be a part of the revitalization, to be a part of something that couldn’t happen anywhere else,” he says. “There’s obviously a long road ahead for Detroit to fulfill its potential, but watching it happen slowly but surely is an incredible sign of comeback.”

After graduating from Liggett, Amine secured a summer internship at The Work, a commercial video production company.

“Depending on the shoot, my role (at The Work) has varied from production assistant, to assistant camera (or AC), all the way up to A-Cam operator,” he says. “I have done some editorial work for clients as well, but my passion is being behind the camera and shooting.” He’s traveled across country and abroad to work on content for both web and television. Outside the office, he follows his passion for filmmaking and storytelling, working on side projects for his personal career goals. The film industry is capitalizing on Detroit’s unique atmosphere as well, Amine says, referring to the new “Batman” movie recently shot downtown. The collaborative process at work on film sets remind Amine of his experience with the Academic Research Project at Liggett. “I was fortunate enough to be a part of the initial pilot class for ARP,” he says. “The ARP class was a very open, forward-thinking group

of students who helped shape the groundwork of the course. The teachers were fantastic in the way that they guided us, but still allowed us to explore on our own.” The class often would bounce ideas off each other – something that was an invaluable part of the process.

“The collaborative workflow (used in the ARP class) is something that is very important in the production world, too, because whether a crew is five people or 75 people, everyone must work together to achieve a common goal,” he says. Amine’s ARP began as a study of chase scenes in James Bond movies. After careful examination of the various elements of the chases in each movie, he created a formula for the average chase scene. He put it all together in a short film with a chase scene containing the elements gleaned from the Bond films. “I loved every moment at Liggett and enjoyed my time being involved with the sports teams, thespian society, and student government,” he says. “I’m lucky to call my passion my full-time job.” ULS.ORG

Tori Wuthrich credits Liggett science department faculty member Kim Galea with connecting her to the NASA program. Based on her performance on the initial assignments, Wuthrich was chosen to continue to the second phase of the program, which included a week at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

MAKING AN IMPACT

Tori Wuthrich How many students, through the course of a summer program, get to research and design a mission to Mars?

the second phase of the program, which included a week at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Aspiring aerospace engineer and 2014 alum Tori Wuthrich had the opportunity when she was selected to participate in the NASA WISH program also known as the Women in STEM High School aerospace scholars.

After working for a week designing a Mars mission, Wuthrich and her peers presented their work to a panel of NASA engineers. She also toured NASA facilities, listened to guest speakers and talked with an astronaut based on the International Space Station.

Wuthrich credits Liggett science department faculty member Kim Galea with connecting her to the NASA program. Based on her performance on the initial assignments, Wuthrich was chosen to continue to

“I’ve always had a strong interest in math and science and applications to the aerospace field,” she says, explaining that during her junior year at Liggett she did a semester of independent study that had

PERSPECTIVE

her had her building and studying models of various types of bridges, then designing and implementing methods of analyzing the structural integrity of each one. She also spent a month completing her senior project at the Michigan Science Center in Detroit. At the end of the project she was offered a summer position as youth program educator. The aerospace engineering major at Massachusetts Institute of Technology is also on the student team at the MIT Space Propulsion Laboratory, working to send a CubeSat to Mars. (A CubeSat is a miniatur-

ized satellite for space research.) Her team is part of a program, Time Capsule to Mars, the world’s first student-led interplanetary mission. The goal is to design, launch and land intact on Mars a time capsule containing messages from people around the world. The messages will be in the form of text, still images, audio and video, serving as evidence of today’s human race to be discovered by future colonists of the red planet. At MIT, she is on the varsity volleyball team and enjoys running, cycling, hiking and competing in triathlons.

PERSPECTIVE: STUDENT

“It is true, then, that the profound difference in the Liggett experience can be found earlier in the alphabet. It is defined by the three ‘L’s’: Learning to Love to Learn.” - Jo Hummel ‘15

No Regrets For 12th-grader Jo Hummel applying to Liggett was the best decision she could make. By Jo Hummel ’15 It seemed a trifling matter at the time. Dashing off a few responses to prompts and handing off the envelope to be mailed hardly meant more (and likely meant less) to me than the contents of my next meal. Oblivious to the weightiness of my decision to apply to Liggett, I made the movements of the application process just as, I assumed, anyone else would: I hastened through a written application, braved a few hours test taking, then received an invitation to an on-campus interview. Steeling myself for an interrogation rather than an interview, I squared off my shoulders and brandished my chin in what must have been a crude attempt to mask my intimidation. I answered the questions posed with honesty and as carefully as possible, quipping afterwards to my mother that the interview had gone horribly. She fixated me with a doubtful, knowing look. I realize now that she had been stifling a grin. Days dragged out into weeks as my family awaited contact from University Liggett School. The phone call arrived one snowy day in February. My mother thrust the receiver into my hands, and on the other end, an entirely unfamiliar yet friendly voice cheerily informed me that I had earned – not won, he reminded me – an academic scholarship to Liggett.

Initially I had resisted the switch to Liggett, insisting to my parents that I should be allowed to continue to South with the friends I had had since kindergarten. “There are no decisions to be made yet,” they told me. However I was, without question, to begin my freshman year at Liggett. Academics have always taken precedence in my life; an insatiable hunger for knowledge coupled with an unquenchable thirst for deeper understanding have prompted me to seek nourishment beyond standard classroom learning since I was a young girl. When I first visited Liggett in eighth grade as a prospective student, I had been struck by the school’s obvious dedication to academic excellence. Upon enrollment as a freshman, I was afforded the opportunity to experience this dynamic firsthand. Having realized the futility in damming up the channels of open-mindedness, I opened the floodgates, fully prepared to drown ... and found myself awash with a queer certainty that I was at home. Where my mind had once hungered, at Liggett, it feasted. Curriculums designed to engage encouraged me to immerse myself deeper in my studies, to ask questions with abandon. And where I had once felt alone in my ventures for deeper understanding, at Liggett, I was surrounded by others who were genuinely invested in collective and individual learning. Many, to my astonishment, were as eager to engage in coursework and discussions as I was. As a result, my personal academic and intellectual standards were not met, but exceeded, and I subsequently learned to discourage myself from attempting to define my capacity, and instead to challenge it. The fundamentals of any formal education can generally be summarized by the three “R’s”: Readin’, Ritin’, and ‘Rithmatic. These criteria, as they are at virtually every school in the country, are met at Liggett; here, each student is wonderfully schooled in English literature and composition, modern and classic languages, math and science, history and humanities. What other schools, though, can boast that many – if not all – of its students share one scholarly, fundamental passion? It is true, then, that the profound difference in the Liggett experience can be found earlier in the alphabet. It is defined by the three “L’s”: Learning to Love to Learn.

Jo Hummel middle, on Halloween

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PERSPECTIVE: PARENT

‘What’s Next?‘ For Pahl and Christie Zinn, sending their three children to Liggett is more than just a family tradition. By L. Pahl Zinn ’87, Liggett parent of Kate ’18, Luke ’19 and Kendall ’21

Shortly after 3 a.m., the wind picked up and rain pounded the deck of the 30-foot sailboat Bazinga! The sudden gale had torn a seam in the foresail and the boat started lurching forward almost uncontrollably. The helmsman called for all hands on deck. For a “land-lover” like me, things were getting dicey. But we were in good hands. Through the pounding rain I could make out the 6-foot 3-inch frame of Liggett “Lifer” and classmate Dale Werkema ‘87. Affectionately nicknamed “Might Whitey” by our varsity baseball coach Glynn Conley ’59 GPUS, Dale was tethered to the lifeline as he sprawled across the foredeck working busily to swap out the damaged foresail.

pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees at the University of Michigan, and how it ultimately prepared him for a lengthy and successful legal career at one of Detroit’s prestigious law firms.

Several feet behind me at the helm was another lifelong friend and classmate, Michael Fozo, M.D., ’87. Mike’s face was barely visible through the rain, but his eyes remained locked on Dale. The crew’s carefully coordinated movements and teamwork helped Dale raise the new foresail and got Bazinga! back on course. As Dale made his way back to the cockpit and normalcy resumed, we halfheartedly joked “What’s next?”

Growing up with my siblings, Suzanne Z. Mueller ’82, and George H. Zinn III ’83, it went without Dad saying that Liggett was an opportunity to seize upon. Suzanne excelled at academics, played varsity tennis and honed her skills as an artist drawing many of the posters for the “ULS Players.” (“Fiddler on the Roof” is a family favorite which remains proudly on display at our Mom’s house.) Now in Seattle, she is married and raising her family while balancing her job as chief marketing officer for the largest residential real estate franchise in the Pacific Northwest.

Flash back to 1947: What came next for a young man from Highland Park, Mich., in the fall of 1947 was freshman year at Detroit University School. A typical day for George H. Zinn Jr., ’51 DUS, began at 5:30 a.m. when he would wake up to ride the school bus across town. He attended classes all day, practiced sports, mainly football, in the afternoon and returned home shortly after 7 p.m. with a knapsack full of homework. Dad rarely spoke, so when he did it was best to pay attention. He talked affectionately about his time at DUS and how it readied him for college football at the University of Illinois, how those long days taught him how to balance several jobs while

George also graduated at the top of his class and earned All-State honors for varsity ice hockey – two seasons in a row. An undiscovered thespian, he played one of the lead roles in the Liggett Players’ adaptation of “Mousetrap.” And he likely discovered his calling in finance as a student in Mrs. Remillet’s economics class. His unorthodox, but successful, method for picking stocks that semester was tops in her class. After working as a trader on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, George also moved to Seattle where he is raising his family. He holds an MBA from the University of Washington and runs the finance group at a Fortune 100 company.

PERSPECTIVE

“Growing up with my siblings, Suzanne Z. Mueller ’82, and George H. Zinn III ’83, it went without Dad saying that Liggett was an opportunity to seize upon.” - L. Pahl Zinn ’87

With two “cool” siblings ahead of me, I benefitted greatly from their worn textbooks and words of wisdom. I was a Proud Lake counselor, and fortunate to play three varsity sports – including football. The 1985 football team is a favorite. The 14 of us who took to the football field in the fall of 1985 never won a game together. But under patient tutelage of Coach Bob Newvine, we learned the same lesson that Dad learned 30 years ago on that same field. Effort and teamwork are what truly matter. If you give it your all for yourself and your teammates, you can come off the field with your head held high. When my wife and I relocated to Grosse Pointe and were deciding where to send our children to school, she knew my choice without asking. Our three children, Kate ’18, Luke ’19 and Kendall ’21, all attend Liggett and have begun their own Liggett experience. Regardless of whether they become a geologist (Dale), physician (Mike), an attorney (Dad), an educator (Mr. Connolly), a marketing executive (Suzanne), a finance executive (George) or whatever path they choose, Liggett will prepare them for what comes “next.”

Christie says: My husband, Pahl, and I have lived in Grosse Pointe most of our lives. Pahl attended University Liggett School from kindergarten through 12th grade, a true “Liggett Lifer.” We have three children currently attending Liggett – Kate ’18, Luke ’19 and Kendall ’21. Many people assume our children go to Liggett because their father, grandfather, aunt and uncle did. This is not the case. They began their educational paths at other

schools. When we began to realize their individual needs were not being met we began to look around at the area schools. Pahl never pushed me to send the kids to Liggett, wanting to do what was in their best interest. It quickly became clear that Liggett was what was in the best interest of our children. From the very start I realized this was a different school. It was obvious the teachers appreciate every student for who they are and understand every child is unique. The students at Liggett are not expected continued on next page

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PERSPECTIVE: PARENT

“My husband, Pahl, and I have lived in Grosse Pointe most of our lives. Pahl attended University Liggett School from kindergarten through 12th grade, a true ‘Liggett Lifer.’ We have three children currently attending Liggett - Kate ’18, Luke ’19 and Kendall ’21.” - Christie Zinn

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to fit in a certain mold but are encouraged to create their own. As you will hear from almost every child who visits Liggett as a prospective new student, my children knew they wanted to attend Liggett from their very first visit. It is an environment where kids feel valued and accepted. It is a place where it is “cool” to be smart. One of the things that stood out to us the most when we started in the Lower School was the life skills that were being taught. The teachers took the time at the end of every day to look every child in the eye, shake their hand and comment about their day. Some people would not put a lot of value in that, but we do.

PERSPECTIVE

This gives the children selfconfidence and teaches them leadership skills. The teachers make the child feel they are important and valued. When I walk the halls at school the students always look me in the eye and address me by name. What a great skill for them to take into the future! Liggett is the entire package. In addition to the quality education Liggett has to offer, it offers a miriad of other opportunities. The students are encouraged to explore music, arts and sports. If Liggett does not have an activity a student is interested in, they are able to create a club. The students create the school they want to attend. They are taught to respect each others’ interests and passions and celebrate the

successes of each child. There are not many schools where a child can decide to try a new sport in high school or where a jock can also be in the school play. Coincidentally our time at Liggett began the same year as Dr. Healey’s. Although we both wondered what that would mean for our children, we were quickly sold on the Curriculum for Understanding. Pahl and I are both attorneys. We want our children to question and use what they have learned to be creative and critical thinkers. Liggett is not teaching to a test and therefore the students have the freedom to explore, question and discover their passions.

We are excited to see what each of our children will choose for their Academic Research Project. I believe the skills they will acquire through the process of the Academic Research Project will help them succeed in college far more than any facts or formulas they will learn. In this digital age, there are not many answers they cannot find on the Internet. It is what they do with this information that will set them apart and help them succeed in the future. This is what sets Liggett apart from the other very fine schools in the area and why our children attend University Liggett School.

PERSPECTIVE: ADVANCEMENT

Celebrating

the Impact “This is a school where children are known, where excellence is celebrated and where students discover their passion.” - Kelley Hamilton Associate Head of School for Advancement

One of the joys of my job is that I get to see children blossom as students and as people at Liggett. I witness the progression from nervous first days to incredible accomplishments in academics, arts and athletics. This is a school where children are known, where excellence is celebrated and where students discover their passion. I’ve watched this evolution with my three daughters who are at Liggett. Addison started here a shy pre-kindergartener – so shy, in fact, she hid in her cubby the first few days of school, venturing out only to use the restroom! She soon recognized Liggett as a safe and nurturing community and, with the support of incredible teachers, joined in classroom activities. Today, Addison is an outgoing, friendly and happy second-grader. She has made deep friendships and memories while building a strong academic foundation. She loves going to school, and comes home excited by what she’s learned. My eighth-grader Alyssa was in fourth grade when she started at Liggett, and my 12th-grader Amanda was in eighth grade. Both have flourished with Liggett’s strong academic offerings and wonderful sense of community. Alyssa and Amanda are learning how to turn information into understanding. They are growing into smart, confident young women who are prepared to navigate today’s complex world. This community of educational excellence is built on a legacy of distinction and the contributions of many. Our students and faculty make an impact in the classroom through innovative teaching and learning experiences. Our alumni make an impact throughout the world in their contributions to their respective fields and back to the school through their generous giving. Our parents make an impact by volunteering their time and playing an active role in their children’s lives and school community. The school – with the contributions of many – is investing in academic programs, rebuilding our athletic fields and constructing a state-of-the-art campus center. I hope you join me in celebrating the impact that Liggett makes on our students and the greater community as we honor our traditions and embrace our exciting future. Best,

Kelley Hamilton Associate Head of School for Advancement

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ACADEMIC RESEARCH PROJECT

Liggett students and alumni discover new ideas and solve problems through the Academic Research Program. When Alec Josaitis entered the University of Michigan, he thought he knew what path he’d be taking. The 2013 University Liggett School alum thought he’d make his mark through engineering. But during his first year as a college student he realized he was enjoying his physics classes far more than his engineering classes. Alec Josaitis is helping to design a detector to measure spinning, polarized particles, known as synchrotron radiation, in the cosmos.

“I realized that the philosophy in the College of Engineering was a bit more vocational than I wanted,” he says. “The school is excellent for preparing you immediately for a job afterward, but I wanted something more academic. I found my physics classes were my most rewarding classes.” So he decided to transfer to the College of Literature, Science and the Arts and was accepted to the school’s honors program. Along with the switch came an exciting opportunity to conduct research for one of his professors, Jeff McMahon, as part of the McMahon Cosmology Lab – a research group that uses the tools of experimental physics to study the universe. His interest in research began at Liggett, where during his senior year he worked with GPS and GSM technologies. That high-level research, similar to that of upperlevel undergraduate or even master’s degree-level work, is part of Liggett’s Academic Research Program. The forward-focused Academic Research Program teaches students to develop and make complex research inquiries. It culminates with the Academic Research Project, which asks students to think about their own passions and interests and to pose and answer a relevant academic question. The project expands beyond the boundaries of the school – some students work with mentors at area universities, health systems and other organizations as well as conduct scholarly research online and off-site. For Josaitis, that meant understanding and embedding GPS and GSM technologies in a mobile tracking device. The project was largely based in fields of electrical engineering, product development, and machine-to-machine communication, with the outcome being the development of a functioning GPS tracking device for motor vehicles,

PERSPECTIVE

Alec Josaitis’ interest in research began at Liggett, where during his senior year he worked with GPS and GSM technologies. That high-level research, similar to that of upperlevel undergraduate or even master’s degree-level work, is part of Liggett’s Academic Research Program.

which will be powered by the vibrations of said vehicle’s engine.

wouldn’t have been possible without the skills he learned at Liggett, he says.

He received a one-year, temporary patent for his research.

“The Academic Research Project definitely provided me with a great foundation,” he says. “It gave me a lot of tools to know how to go about doing research. It gave me the confidence. I’m very comfortable looking stuff up on my own, the ARP gave me a mindset to approach research that perhaps others don’t have.”

“The work that our students are doing in the Academic Research Program is, in general, the type of work that most students will not encounter until late in their undergraduate careers,” says Associate Dean of Faculty Bart Bronk. “The level and depth of their sustained inquiry into important research questions is really uncharted territory for most high schoolers.” Two seniors in 2014 received national and local media attention for their projects – Tommy Fair, who had been researching how to improve the intuitiveness and precision of myoelectric control of prosthetic limbs, and Caitlin deRuiter, whose analysis of the women’s soccer league was published in The Seattle Times. They, along with their classmates, presented their findings at the ARP’s Celebration of Research event last May. Josaitis’ Academic Research Program experience has given him a strong advantage to excelling in college. Having the ability to do research and having the courage to walk up to his professor and ask to be a research assistant

In his work with the cosmology lab, he and fellow lab members develop, build and deploy instruments to measure the CMB and analyze data through to cosmological results. He specifically is focused on designing a novel detector for the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACTPol) in Chile. “The work has been incredibly fruitful and I’m excited about the academic opportunities this project has, and soon will, provide me,” he says. The Atacama Cosmology Telescope is an almost 20-foot telescope on Cerro Toco in the Atacama Desert in the north of Chile, near the Llano de Chajnantor Observatory. continued on next page

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It is designed to make high-resolution, microwave-wavelength surveys of the sky in order to study the cosmic microwave background radiation. At an altitude of 17,030 feet, it is one of the highest permanent, ground-based telescopes in the world. Josaitis is helping to design a detector to measure spinning, polarized particles, known as synchrotron radiation, in the cosmos. “Members of ACTPol may think they are detect“I think attending ing one thing, but it might Liggett made me realize actually be dust,” says that I prefer, and thrive, Joisaitis, also a member of in intimate academic U of M’s men’s glee club. environments. A lot of “You have to be very mindmy study habits have ful of what you’re detectcarried through. I have ing. I’m building a detector held my own against to find those so they know a very competitive what are good data and crowd.” bad data.” - Alec Josaitis ‘13

Josaitis says something like this hasn’t quite been built before, so they didn’t quite know what direction to go in. He says his first job was to come up with a proof of concept to see if one of the ideas would work. After several weeks of electroplating and gluing metal together, he was able to determine that one of his ideas will work.

“The next step is to actually build one,” he says. “My professor likes to joke that we’re building ‘a glorified arts and crafts project.’” While Josaitis has spent most of the summer building, he says the other component of physics is theory, which he hasn’t neglected. “I’ve been working on the theory on my own. I’ve been teaching myself out of textbooks,” he says. When Professor McMahon found out about Josaitis teaching himself theory, he was so impressed he rewarded the sophomore with a more visible role. “I’m in charge of designing what could be one of the final versions of the detector, rather than just building the prototype. It’s been extremely rewarding,” he says. Josaitis presented his findings to an international group of physicists at the end of July. He’s hoping to publish a paper about his work on the project as well. In addition to the actual research skills he learned at Liggett he says attending the school shaped him in other ways. He looks forward to the French classes he is signed up for this year, saying he was introduced to French at Liggett and realized last year that he missed learning a language. “I think attending Liggett made me realize that I prefer, and thrive, in intimate academic environments,” he says. “A lot of my study habits have carried through. I have held my own against a very competitive crowd.”

Curiosity, Inquiry, Academic Research A year and a half of curiosity, inquiry and academic mastery come together each spring at the Celebration of Research. The event celebrates the passions and discoveries of 12th-graders who unveil their Academic Research Projects to the public. During the Celebration of Research event, 12th-graders share how they turned

PERSPECTIVE

curiosity and inquiry into academic mastery. The Academic Research Project is the cornerstone of Liggett’s Curriculum for Understanding and the culmination of a year and a half of research on a chosen topic. For their Academic Research Projects, students think about their own passions and interests, then pose and answer a relevant academic question. The project expands

beyond the boundaries of the school – some students work with mentors at area universities, health systems and other organizations as well as conduct scholarly research online and off site. Recent projects included looking at models of renewable energy for the city of Detroit examining treatments for multiple sclerosis and examining how “buy local” marketing campaigns can impact urban neighborhoods.

A CELEBRATION OF RESEARCH

Armaity

Minwalla With a love of music and a career goal of medicine, Armaity Minwalla, a 2013 alum, decided to combine the two for her Academic Research Project. That in turn led her to a summer internship at Wayne State University. And that in turn led her to the Detroit Medical Center. “I bounced ideas around for my ARP for a while and decided to turn my attention to mental health,” she says. “I don’t know my ultimate goal in medicine, but I do know I want to study medicine.” Through her ARP, Minwalla took the correlation between mental health and music and broke it down to study the relationship between music therapy and obsessivecompulsive disorder. “I wanted to do a fullblown study, but ended up doing a theoretical approach, using autism, depression epilepsy, attention deficit disorder and Alzheimer’s disease, and compared them to OCD on a molecular level,” she says. “In other words, what chemicals are involved and what does music do to those different proteins. My conclusions, based on the research, were that music therapy would help OCD, of course, it would need further testing to confirm.” With the experience of her ARP research to

assist her, Minwalla did an internship before her senior year at Liggett at Wayne State’s Department of Neurosurgery. She also did a second internship that summer through the department of psychiatry at the Detroit Medical Center. “I decided to look at music therapy and ADD and found the inspiration to study other disorders,” she says, adding that following her first year at the University of Michigan she wanted to get more research experience. So she decided to apply for an internship through Wayne State University’s Summer Undergraduate Research Experience, for which she was recommended by Dr. Vicki Diaz. “I’ve learned that everything involving research is at the molecular level, unless you are doing behavioral studies,” she says. Minwalla, now in her second year at U of M, says that both her internships and her ARP experience prepared her for her for working at Wayne State studying fetal alcohol syndrome, where she works in the labs of Dr. Alana Conti, where she also worked in preparation for her ARP, and under the mentorship of Dr. Laura Susick. At Wayne State, Minwalla was studying the studying the effects of fetal alcohol syndrome on mice. “We know in fetal

“It’s never over in research, and the ARP taught me that.” - Armaity Minwalla ‘13

alcohol syndrome there is extreme cell death. What we want to know is what’s behind that cell death,” she explains. Minwalla says she thinks it would have been a tougher adjustment in the lab without her ARP experience and her experience in general at Liggett. “Doing the ARP prepared me tremendously for what I’m doing now,” she says. “I had to go and make those initial connections and contacts, myself. It was ‘here’s a contact go seek them out.’ Nothing was done for you. There was no hand-holding,” she says about compiling the research for her ARP. She says having to approach professionals and ask for help at Liggett has made her comfortable and confident enough to talk to her superiors in the lab. “I can go up to my primary investigator and feel very comfortable talking to her. I feel very comfortable talk-

ing to people in general,” she says. In addition she says having to complete an ARP taught her time management skills and helped her develop a strong work ethic. “With the ARP I had deadlines to meet, but the ARP is also about learning how to talk to superiors, learning how to do research and learning that research is a huge project,” she says. “It’s never over in research, and the ARP taught me that.” While Minwalla is learning a lot, has enjoyed her time at Wayne State and is grateful to get the hands-on experience, she’s learned that research is secondary to her passion of helping women. “Right now I’m thinking OB/GYN,” she says. “As an OB/GYN you get to be there at every stage, working with women.”

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A CELEBRATION OF RESEARCH

Jenalyn

Pangborn Jenalyn Pangborn ’15 credits her mother – and the place that provided her help for dyslexia – for finding the perfect Academic Research Project.

Pangborn, a 12th-grader at University Liggett School, learned in fifth grade she was dyslexic. Dyslexia is a learning disorder characterized by difficulty reading due to problems identifying speech sounds learning how they relate to letters and words. “My family figured out I was dyslexic when my Lower School teacher suggested I get tested,” she says. “From the beginning I was a lower reader than most of the students. Dyslexia is a genetic disorder; some of my family members have it as well.”

A CELEBRATION OF RESEARCH

Caitlin deRuiter Caitlin deRuiter ‘14 spent an entire year researching the factors when she was a 12th-grader, that would determine the success of the fledgling National Women’s Soccer League. Her expertise and indepth understanding of the league was showcased in an article that ran in both the print and online editions of The Seattle Times. For her ARP project, deRuiter studied the NWSL, two previous failed women’s soccer leagues, other such leagues around the world, and had the opportunity to interview Val Ackerman, founder of the WNBA and current commissioner of the Big East Conference. Her article focused on the lessons the NWSL could learn as it endeavors to achieve long-term sustainability. 24

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Pangborn started getting tutored at the Reading and Language Arts Centers, RLAC, after her diagnosis. She was able to give back to the RLAC this summer by serving as a tutor as part of an internship. During the weeklong program, Pangborn learned how to tutor a child using the three-step drill of vowels and letters using flash cards. “You basically test the student to know all of the cards and their sounds. You teach them how to form words and sentences with the cards,” she says about the phonics drills used in every tutoring session. “RLAC was special to me because of the attention I got from the tutor (when I was a child). She was able to teach me so much more because I enjoyed going there.”

Pangborn says her ARP seeks to analyze what sensory or learning techniques help people with dyslexia and what components of these techniques help students improve their understanding of academic material. “I hope my project will make a difference in the community,” she says, noting that her mother, Jennifer Pangborn, encouraged her to pursue this course of study. “The lessons I learned in this project I want to pass on to other students and teachers, to help them teach or study more effectively. I find the research of dyslexia very interesting because no two dyslexics are the same. Someone can show signs of dysgraphia, which is difficulty writing, or show signs of dyslexia with math, or they could have dyslexia but they might not show many signs of it at all.”

“I decided to research this topic because I love soccer and have been playing soccer since I was 2 years old,” says deRuiter. “Soccer has always interested me and the ARP gave me a chance to really dive in and learn more about it.” Bart Bronk, Associate Dean of Faculty at Liggett, says deRuiter’s article demonstrates how the public engagement portion of the project can be something other than the ubiquitous PowerPoint presentation. In deRuiter’s case, her public engagement reached more than 330,000 print subscribers and countless others around the world via the newspaper’s website and social media reach. “Caitlin was very passionate about her topic and was willing to take risks in seeking publication,” Bronk says. “There was no guarantee that The Seattle Times – or any of the twenty-some papers to which she reached out, would run her story – and in such great detail, at that. But after reading it, the sports editor responded right away and was extremely complimentary.” This fall, deRuiter is at Aurora University in Illinois and plans to major in sports marketing and management – and, of course, play soccer on the university’s women’s team.

A CELEBRATION OF RESEARCH

J.T. Mestdagh On a bright, balmy Monday last spring, JT Mestdagh ‘14 set sail on Lake St. Clair with two experienced boaters and one of his teachers. The reason: to demonstrate the maneuverability, comfort and safety features of a pod-driven boat. Only in this case, the one doing the demonstration was not the adult boaters – it was Mestdagh, whose year-long Academic Research Project gave him expert-level insight into how the marine propulsion vessels (pod-driven boats) impact the boat’s recreational sales. “I’ve grown up around boats and I heard about these systems, so I wanted to learn how the system worked and I wanted to see how they affected the market,” says Mestdagh. “I knew that pod-driven boats were attracting people who wouldn’t ordinarily be boaters because of the

maneuverability and fuel efficiency.” Mestdagh spent a year and a half doing research for the Academic Research Project. His research included traveling to the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show to speak with the boat companies that offer the pod-driven technology and the corporations that manufacturer it. He also visited Holland, Mich.-based Tiara Yachts to tour the company’s factory. “This project enabled J.T. to combine his love for boats and his interests in engineering,” says Shernaz Minwalla, director of the Academic Research Project. “What started as curiosity in the mechanics of pod drives led to research in the business aspects as well energy efficiency, cost analysis, demographics and marketing.” Like other students in the Academic Research Program, Mestdagh worked closely with outside experts, including 2007 Liggett alum Jack Gray, a researcher for

Doblin Innovation Consultants in Chicago. “He spoke with Jack about types of questions to ask in field research that led to successful interviews with sales representatives and boating experts at boat shows,” Minwalla says. “He was then able to collect, organize, analyze and summarize the data to formulate succinct information for boat enthusiasts. The idea to demonstrate his understanding of the project through a sales pitch while maneuvering a boat with a pod-drive was brilliant.”

Last May, Mestdagh demonstrated his findings at the school’s Celebration of Research event, where he let the community try out a pod-driven system using a joystick simulator. In many ways, he transitioned his research skills into sales skills. One of the companies actually offered him a sales position at their headquarters, he says. But opted instead to get a head start on his college career during the summer by taking classes High Point University in North Carolina.

A CELEBRATION OF RESEARCH

Tommy Fair

In a quiet room off the physics lab at University Liggett School, Tommy Fair was at the forefront of technology, researching pattern- recognition control for prosthetics – a technology that is so new, it isn’t yet used by doctors. “It’s still in testing,” Fair, who graduated in 2014, says of his project. “Pattern recognition in an emerging technology. In my

research, I’ve been able to isolate the index finger using a prosthetic electrode.” Pattern-recognition control systems would allow amputees using prosthetic devices an opportunity to have greater dexterity, intuitiveness and control. Fair tested technology using a prosthetic electrode attached to his arm and through the use of computer programs that he wrote. ULS.ORG

ALUMNI PROFILE

As you walk into the newly opened Kercheval Dance Studio, you notice a bright open space, high ceilings and a beautifully decorated lobby. But what stands out the most is the bright, infectious smile and boundless energy of studio owner Tracy Halso Gap ‘06. Gap opened the Kercheval Dance Studio with her husband, Adam, over the summer. Opening the studio is a dream come true for the 26-year-old. “We found this space and we’ve been able to design it how we’ve always dreamed of,” she says.

Tracy Halso Gap ‘06 and her husband bring dance to Grosse Pointe’s Village.

“We want children to develop and learn and grow with us. We are just so excited to be here in the Village. We are so grateful for this opportunity.” - Tracy Halso Gap ‘06

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And after a chance encounter over the summer with Phill Moss, creative and performing arts department chair and Upper and Middle School drama teacher, Tracy will once again be walking the halls of Liggett and gracing the stage in the auditorium. In what Moss describes as a “winwin for everyone,” Tracy and Adam have signed on to work with the Liggett Players and students who will be in the school musical. Dubbed the “Triple Threat Troupe,” Tracy, who starred in “Once Upon A Mattress” and “Annie” while at Liggett, will spend about eight weeks working with Adam and the students to teach them the basics of dance and movement on stage.

Tracy jumped at the chance to give back to her school.” Both Moss and Tracy said they are excited about the partnership. “The ‘Triple Threat Troupe’ will allow students to gain valuable skills in musical theater dance styles while working to prepare a group musical theatre performance for individual event competition at the state theater festival,” Moss says. “The core skills learned in this activity will greatly enhance our musical theatre productions in school, while providing dancers the opportunity to continue to grow their skills under the watchful eye of a talented professional.” Adds Tracy: “We want to tie it all together for the students and turn them into real triple threat performers.” Her objective is to get the students comfortable with dance and moving on stage. She said her goal is to see the theater students perform a “dance-heavy” musical in the coming years. The husband and wife team also will be working with the Lower School students for the spring concert.

“Tracy was a key member of our theater group while at Liggett,” Moss says. “In addition to performance, Tracy also choreographed our productions and was one of the first students to take on such a leadership role in the shows.

Kercheval Dance is in the heart of the Village of Grosse Pointe, next to the St. John Providence Health System offices and facing the Neighborhood Club. The 3,500-square-foot space features two studios with special shock-absorbing sprung floors and professional lighting and sound systems, a large lobby and a study area for the older students. Each studio has a TV, which the Gaps plan to use as a teaching tool.

“When Tracy and I met it was a ‘no-brainer’ to look for ways of partnering on programming that would enhance the art program here at Liggett,” he adds. “As a loyal alum,

“We can film the students and stream it to the TV. We are trying to tap into all the different types of learning – visual, auditory, physical and verbal,” she says.

Tracy and Adam have signed on to work with the Liggett Players and students who will be in the school musical. Dubbed the “Triple Threat Troupe,” Tracy, who starred in “Once Upon A Mattress” and “Annie” while at Liggett, will spend about eight weeks working with Adam and the students to teach them the basics of dance and movement on stage.

Tracy says the exciting part of opening the studio was being able to really think about and design the space how they wanted it to be. They designed Studio A to be the size of a stage, with high ceilings. “We wanted it to be an expansive room,” she says. “We wanted to recreate the experience of being on stage, because all dancers dance differently when they get on a stage.” The lobby features a comfortable cozy area for parents and a study corner. “We included the study counter, because we know what it’s like to be an older student and spend long hours at the dance studio,” she says. “We really thought about how we could best serve our students.” The couple brings with them years of experience in dance performance and dance instruction. The duo has lived, studied and taught in cities around the country. After graduating from Oklahoma City University, which specializes in creating dance and musical theater performers who head to Broadway as a triple threat, Gap says she bounced around the country “like a gypsy.”

She spent time in New York City studying dance and auditioning followed by time as a dancer in Virginia, (where she and her husband were dance partners), Pennsylvania and Disney World, before she and Adam moved to Boston. Adam also danced for the Royal Caribbean International, the Bellagio in Las Vegas and the American Spirit dance Company. While in Boston, Adam earned his business degree. “After living in so many places we really found out what we wanted to do. It really gave us a taste of what’s out there. And we both knew we have a mutual love for children and dance,” she says. They also have a love for Grosse Pointe. “We realized we missed home,” she says. After they moved back from Boston last summer, they started looking for a studio location. “There were a lot of times we thought about starting a dance school in Boston,” she says. “But the community in Grosse Pointe is so special and unique. Parents really research what their kids

are involved in, and they want highquality. We want we give our students a high-quality dance education and a fun place for them to learn.” The studio offers classes in ballet, tap, jazz, hip-hop, lyrical and contemporary dance to students as young as age two. Tracy focuses on teaching the younger students, while Adam specializes in working with the teens and pre-teens. Classes also are available for adults, as well as plus fitness fusion, a workout for dancers or non-dancers and ballroom dance. There are special classes in tumbling, stretching and leaps and turns to build on gymnastics’ influence on dance. She says their dance school uses syllabus-guided instruction that lets students and parents track progress, milestones and set goals. “We want children to develop and learn and grow with us,” she says. “We are just so excited to be here in the Village. We are so grateful for this opportunity.”

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ALUMNI PROFILE

“Grosse Pointe may be a small town, but there was in fact diversity at Liggett that prepared me for what the world really is. That diversity was the most important facet to my education. Today, no matter where one lives, we work in a global environment, so to understand that others aren’t carbon copies of yourself, and understand is crucial.” - Mitch McCabe ‘89

Perspective: How did you get interested in documentary filmmaking?

Alum Mitch McCabe ‘89 is making an impact on both coasts and in Detroit. Michelle “Mitch” McCabe ‘89 has worked as an independent film and TV producer/director in both documentary and narrative content for more than 15 years, with films distributed around the world and shows appearing on HBO, NBC, ABC, Bravo, TNT, Showtime, PBS and Discovery. While she splits her time between Detroit, Brooklyn and Los Angeles, she recently decided to settle back in the Detroit area for a while. We were able to catch up with Mitch and ask her about filmmaking, being a female in the industry and sharing some of her favorite memories of Liggett.

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McCabe: I took a year off between high school and college to study photography and painting in Italy. The photography took over. In college, it was a natural combination of my passion for photography, journalism, writing and interest in social issues that led me to find my way into home in Harvard’s great Visual and Environmental Studies Department, which has a phenomenal documentary filmmaking program. For many years I went back and forth between documentary and narrative, scripted films (my first narrative feature, “This Corrosion” went “big” in Norway!), but since my HBO film in 2010, I’ve strictly worked in nonfiction. And within that, I go back and forth between the quickness of TV and slowness of features, as well as some advertising jobs. It’s been fun to use the non-fiction craft differently in all those areas … I meet people I’d never have a chance of knowing otherwise. I’ve been to almost every state. I love it!

Perspective: What were the biggest challenges entering the filmmaking business? McCabe: I’m not sure I knew I was entering the filmmaking business when I started. I just kind of sent off an out-of-sync VHS to Lincoln Center and Sundance like my teacher told me, and I got lucky. But by now, I’ve made dozens of shorts and two features that have gone to such venues. The biggest challenges are always a function of how great a team you are collaborating with, and oh, yeah, that thing. Money. No matter what sector you’re working in in entertainment, that is the biggest hurdle. It’s the only “art form” that is so expensive — except perhaps architecture, that’s expensive too. Maybe that’s why the mid-century Italian filmmakers like Antonioni were obsessed with featuring architecture in their films. Makes me long for my high school painting days.

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MOVIE QUESTIONS What is your favorite guilty pleasure movie? “Dumb and Dumber” What is your favorite summer blockbuster? Draw between “Jaws” and “Bridesmaids” What is your favorite independent movie? Such a huge category, I’ll have to split it up between documentary/foreign and indie-indie “Grizzly Man,” “*8 ½” and “Election”… although I should update for the last decade! What is the last movie you saw in the theater? Either “Boyhood” or “A Most Wanted Man” What is your favorite ‘80s movie? “Say Anything,” of course.

Perspective: What is your dream project? McCabe: To see my current project to the finishing line! But, big dream bucket-list project? All I can tell you is that it probably involves aerial shots and being able to license “Gimme Shelter” by the Stones, or any Stones, song, really. Perspective: What are you most proud of, in terms of the films you’ve made? McCabe: Honestly, that they get made, and they get seen. For those two things to happen is Herculean for anyone.

Perspective: Who do you model your filmmaking after and why? Is there a director you admire?

Perspective: How did Liggett prepare you for college? For life out in the “real world?”

McCabe: When it comes to directors, I wish there were more female role models. So I do try and support films by women, whether it be new Kathryn Bigelow or Nicole Holofcener films. That said, who can’t admire Steven Soderberg as a role model? Tackling every genre, always working, always pushing himself — I mean, “Magic Mike” and “Contagion” all in one year? He has a very Zen, head-down approach to his career, and he treats his crew incredibly well. That’s all admirable stuff!

McCabe: Grosse Pointe may be a small town, but there was in fact diversity at Liggett that prepared me for what the world really is. That diversity was the most important facet to my education. Today, no matter where one lives, we work in a global environment, so to understand that others aren’t carbon copies of yourself, and understand is crucial. In 2014, that must be all the more true when it comes to being part of the world, the work force, the cultural fabric. At Liggett, I lived in the arts wing, but played varsity lacrosse (I was only good at running and knocking over players!),

but tried out for theater (and quickly realized I had stage fright!), and grouped up with a few students from history class to join an anti-Apartheid student group at Wayne State University, Students Against War and Racism. It was a small school, but a diverse place where you could really motivate, learn and push your boundaries. When I got to Harvard, I admit I felt a bit blown out of the water at first (half the place seemed like they knew each other from New York or boarding school!), but I soon learned everyone felt out of place, no matter where they were from. It passed and college ended up being an incredible experience that I could not have prepared for without Liggett. ULS.ORG

3 4

Annual Fund Kickoff

September 4, 2014

1. Gary Spicer and Bruce Brigbauer ’60 GPUS; 2. Susie Bowen, Suzanne Doetsch and Robert Doetsch; 3. Dave and Lynn Galbenski; 4. Alumni and friends; 5. Pete Dow and Janie Dow ’51 CDS; 6. Dr. Joseph P. Healey and John Stroh III ‘78; 7. Anne Widlak ’70 and Alan Darr; 8. Pete Dow, William W. Shelden ’68 GPUS and Kelley Hamilton; 9. Julie Wesley, Rob Wesley and DeAnn Lukas ‘85; 10. Beth Wood ’89 and Doug Wood ’90; 11. Ben Warren ‘73, Wendy Jennings and Jody Jennings ’61 GPUS

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PERSPECTIVE: ALUMNI

An Exhilarating

and Wonderful Ride I am very excited to be writing you in my new position as the alumni and parent relations manager at University Liggett School. As you may know, I jumped into the job this past May – right before Reunion Weekend 2014, and it was sure a whirlwind way to take over the helm! But it was great fun and also a terrific way to meet lots and lots of our fantastic alumni.

“There are lots of opportunities to head back to campus and we hope you make plans to join us at some of our fun gatherings.” - Katie Durno Alumni and Parent Relations Manager

Having worked here as the special events manager for the past 2 ½ years, I am not new to Liggett. And while I’m not an alum myself, I have been very familiar with the place as my husband, Craig Durno ’84, and his brother Geoff and sister Amy went to school here. My mother-in-law, Eleanor Hawkins Durno, is also a GPUS ‘55 alum and former Trustee of the school. So I’ve heard all about the place for years (and have more than a few University Liggett School coffee mugs kicking around my kitchen). I should mention that my boys are here too – in 10th and 7th grade – and they are enjoying the fabulous education they are getting and the wonderful friends they have met in their classes and on their sports teams. It’s truly a family affair and we’re lucky to be here. As always, there is a ton going on around here and fall is especially event rich! There are lots of opportunities to head back to campus and we hope you make plans to join us at some of these fun gatherings: • Alumni Athletic Hall of Fame Induction: Friday, Oct. 17. This year’s inductees include George Haggarty, GPUS ’59, Harris Brown, GPUS ’66, Marty Wittmer, ’83 and Monica Paul Dennis,’92. If you know any of these fine athletes, please make plans to cheer them on at this touching and wonderful ceremony. • Homecoming 2014: Saturday, Oct. 18. This annual event features tons of fun for the whole family, including bounce houses, face-painting, arts, crafts, an Alumni Cook Tent (Hosted by the Alumni Board of Governors) with hot dogs and treats, the Logo Store (great place to pick-up University Liggett School “swag”) and then, of course, football kickoff at 1 p.m. • Liggett Knight: Friday, Nov. 14. This is our annual fall fundraiser, and it’s a lovely and entertaining evening and we have lots of terrific and unique items up for bid. We will also raffle off a Cartier Tank Solo watch. Invitations were sent to all local alumni and you can visit www.uls.org/liggettknight for more information or to purchase tickets online. We’d love to see you there! The past few years have been a really exciting time here at University Liggett School. As alumni, you should feel very proud of your alma mater as classrooms are full, sports teams are successful and progress is being made on all fronts (inside and out). The momentum and vibe here is exhilarating and wonderful to be a part of. Please feel free to contact me at any time via email, telephone or old-fashioned paper letter if you need anything or have ideas and suggestions for me. In the meantime, I look forward to seeing you soon at some of the fun events that are rapidly approaching. Sincerely,

Katie Durno Alumni and Parent Relations Manager P.S. Please feel free to pop by for a visit anytime. I love visitors and always appreciate updates that are “live and in person.” Even better, I keep candy and treats at my desk!

ULS.ORG

Alumni and friends reconnected in May during Alumni Weekend. 1. Beth Wood ’89; 2. John Mozena ’89, Eric Sensenbrenner ’85, Bob Scoville ’89, Paul Brigolin ’89, Eugene Gargaro ’89; 3. Alumni cocktail reception in full swing; 4. Art Getz ’67 GPUS; 5. Bill Walker ’59 GPUS, Sharon Walker, Sheila Chaps; 6. William Dahling Jr. ’74, William Dahling, Nena Dahling ’50 CDS, Cressie Boggs; 7. Dana Warnez ’89, Elizabeth Garant ’89, Jeff Prus ’89, Karen Auge ’89, Beth Wood ’89 and Hedi O’Connor ’89; 8. Dianne Rentschler ’54 CDS, Dr. Joseph P. Healey, Lynne Bloy ’54 CDS, Susan King ’54 CDS and Lauren Chapman ’54 CDS; 9. GPUS class of 1964; 10. Tracy Tompkins Skupien ’89 and Gail Howe ’89; 11. Laura Jelineck ’89 and Kendall Meade ‘89; 12. Windy White ’84, Gray Foster Jessiman ’84, Laurie Evans Bonds ’84, Merritt Meade Loughran ’84 and Cynthia Rockwell ’84.

Alumni Weekend

May 15-17, 2014

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ULS.ORG

Distinguished Alumni Award

William W. Shelden Jr. ‘68 GPUS

A lasting and meaningful impact

1. William W. Shelden Jr. ’68 GPUS and Dr. Joseph P. Healey 2. Russ Glenn, Elizabeth Jamett, Anne Serratos, William W. Shelden Jr. ’68 GPUS, Vanessa Rivera, Shernaz Minwalla, David Backhurst and Beth Beckmann 3. Board of Trustees President John W. Stroh III ’78 with William W. Shelden Jr. ’68 GPUS

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University Liggett School honored community leader William W. Shelden Jr. with its top honor, the Distinguished Alumni Award, in May.

10th-graders that has become an annual event, as well as venture grants for faculty members to pursue unique professional development experiences.

Shelden, a 1968 alum of Grosse Pointe University school (one of University Liggett School’s predecessor schools), was recognized for his longtime commitment and service to the school. He spent many years on the school’s Board of Trustees, including serving as board president from 1991-93.

“Bill’s service to the school has made a lasting and meaningful impact on the ways in which our faculty teach and the ways in which our students learn,” says Head of School Joseph P. Healey. “We are grateful for his commitment to our school’s mission, and we are proud to recognize him as one of our most distinguished alumni.”

His vision and inspiration also has led to programs that further enrich student and faculty experiences. They include a Washington, D.C., trip for

Shelden and his wife, Sally, have three children, Jeffrey, Kristin and Andrew, all of whom are University Liggett School alumni.

Alumni Regional Events

VERO BEACH, FLORIDA

Andrew Barr GPUS ’55, Palmer Heenan DUS ’39, Betsy Fox ’78, Kiki Fox ’10, Dr. Joseph P. Healey, Karen Campbell, Bill Campbell ’72 and Lollie Stone Heenan ’54 GPUS; Dick Sutherland DUS ’51, Allen Graham GPUS ’55 and Andrew Barr GPUS ’55; Mary Anne Gargaro and Dr. Joseph P. Healey

SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA

Nancy Vonoeyen, Colin Barr ’84, Megan Barr and David Vonoeyen; Kelley Hamilton and Elizabeth Phillips ’01; Henry Ford III ’98, Emily Ford, Bill Dahling Jr. ’74

Alumni Weekend 2015 SAVE THE DATE! MAY 14-16, 2015 Distinguished Alumni Award reception, alumni cocktail reception and more! Watch for more details in Knightline News, our monthly alumni e-newsletter, and in the next issue of Perspective magazine. For more details, contact Katie Durno at 313.884.4444, Ext. 414 or kdurno@uls.org.

Leadership

Circle Reception May 20, 2014

1. Kris Mestdagh and Kelley Hamilton 2. Dr. Clyde Wu, Marianne Edicott, Dr. Joseph P. Healey and Helen Wu

Alumni Soccer Game August 24, 2014

Alumni Weekend Alumni Lacrosse Game

Alumni Weekend 1964 GPUS Alumni Tour

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CLASS NOTES

Class

Notes 1938

Liggett Class Secretary: Jean Downer Hodges 429 Barclay Road Grosse Pointe Farms, MI 48236-2813 trhjdh@sbcglobal.net

1939

Liggett Class Secretary: Mary Louise Goodson Drennen 106 Merriweather Road Grosse Pointe Farms, MI 48236-3623 mldrennen@comcast.net

1940 75th Reunion! Liggett Class Secretary: Constance Haberkorn Nichols 336 Kendal Drive Kennett Square, PA 19348-2337 nichols17@verizon.net

1943

Shirley wants to hear from all you! Please send paper/mail updates to her at her home in Holly. Or, if you want to send electronic updates (and photos!) you can forward that information to her son, Bill Underdown, at bill@shorelinerealtors.com.

DUS Class Secretary: William Wilson 6257 Telegraph Rd., Apt. 235 Bloomfield Hills, MI 48301-1649 wwwilson2@aol.com

1948

CDS Class Secretary: Susanne M. Kemp Bartlett 262 Mount Vernon Grosse Pointe Farms, MI 48236-3437 sooze262@aol.com

1944

Liggett Class Secretary: Roberta Mackey Rigger 830 West 40th Street, At. 304 Baltimore, MD 21211-2125 rmrigger@aol.com CDS Class Secretary: Lydia Kerr Lee 1030 Arbor Lane, Apt. 103 Northfield, IL 60093-3356 jlee2424@gmail.com

Liggett Class Secretary: Norah Moncrieff Williams 502 Glen Arbor Lane Grosse Pointe Woods, MI 48236-1506 JackandNorah@wowway.com CDS Class Secretary: Constance Woodall Fisher 1485 Kingswood Terrace

1949

Liggett Class Secretary: Ann Bolton Opperthauser 41140 Fox Run Road #610 Novi, MI 48377-4845

1945 70th Reunion!

1950 65th Reunion!

DUS Class Secretary: William Klingbeil P.O. 1406 Mt. Dora, FL 32756-1406

DUS Class Secretary: Albert M. Mackey, Jr. 276 LaSalle Place Grosse Pointe Farms, MI 48236-3107 AMM276las@aol.com

1941

1946

1951

Liggett Class Secretary: Jane Kilner Denny 125 E. Gilman Street Madison, WI 53703-1407 Hawkhill@comcast.net

1942

DUS Class Secretary: Robert M. Tonge 5 Greylock Rd. Waterville, ME 04901-5442 rmtonge@myfairpoint.com

Liggett Class Secretary: Betsy Stanton 1570 East Ave., Apt. 112 Rochester, NY 14610 585-244-8134 bstanton@rochester.rr.com

1947

CDS Class Secretary: Shirley Jerome McKee 9820 Oakhurst Holly, MI 48442-8610

DUS Class Secretary: William J. Cudlip II 284 McKinley Avenue Grosse Pointe Farms, MI 48236-3460 cudlipwj@hotmail.com

Liggett Class Secretary: Barbara Allen Esler 43422 W. Oaks Drive #322 Novi, MI 48377-3300 CDS Class Secretary: Jane Ottaway Dow 191 Ridge Road Grosse Pointe Farms, MI 48236-3554 janeodow@gmail.com DUS Class Secretary: Edmund R. Sutherland 216 Ridge Road Grosse Pointe Farms, MI 48236-3538

ULS.ORG

CLASS NOTES

Jane Ottaway Dow: Some happy news was the June graduation from University Liggett School of William Yates, ’14, grandson of Dick and Paula Southerland and Jane Ann Ottaway Dow, (Ania ’14), our granddaughter. Cynthia Wheelock Willis: I spent three weeks in California with Sue and my son’s family, David, Trey and Kule. Sue and I went one week to Ashland, Oregon for the Shakespeare Festival. We saw six plays in five days and stayed at a wonderful B&B and enjoyed our time together. After the whirlwind weeks with Sue, I spent a week in Santa Rosa with David, Trey and Kyle. Their life is equally busy but more athletic. Kyle’s little league team was in the playoffs where they ended up second, which was great. Trey was finishing up her school year, teaching second grade. David has become a landlord with condos to manage and maintain. Weather wise, our summer here has been lousy – cool, humid, foggy and lots of rain. Hopefully, it will change soon and I can get out for some golf.

1952

Liggett Class Secretary: Kay Jordan Phillips 14421 N. Ibsen Drive, Apt. A Fountain Hills, AZ 85268-2102

1954

Liggett Class Secretary: Valerie Oppenheim Hart 6849 S Clayton Street Mount Dora, FL 32757-7024 vhartcook@comcast.net

1955 60th Reunion!

Liggett Class Secretary: Gael Webster McFarland 212 20th Avenue Indian Rocks Beach, FL 33785-3840 gaelstan@gmail.com Reporting done by Guest Secretary, Sue Laurence Wehmeier.

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Ann Woodruff Ford, Ann Hartzell and Jane Weaver Reuther, three members of ’55 GPUS, met for lunch in Grosse Pointe this past summer.

I have sad news to report. Two of our most outstanding class members have passed away June Goodwillie Butterfield and Anne Hardy Merritt. June was the beauty queen of our class. She was not only beautiful on the outside but also on the inside. She is survived by her Husband Bill who has since relocated to Holland, Michigan. Anne, our class athlete, struggled with a debilitating lung disease for years. She was an amazing person to have known. Anne and her husband Gerry died within months of each other, and the family held a memorial service for both of them last December. Several years ago our class had a reunion near Anne, in St. Thomas, Illinois. At that time we were able to visit both Anne and Gerry in their Winnetka home. June and Anne were outstanding members of the class of 1955 and they will be sorely missed. Our sympathy goes out to both of their families as Anne and June were such special women. Gael Webster Macfarland, our class secretary, is a miracle woman. She has had a heart pump for several years but is able to have almost a normal life. She recently sold her antique business and is now designing greeting cards. I email and talk to Gael weekly and she never fails to inspire me to be a better person. She reports that she is trying to simplify her lifestyle by giving up some of her activities. She and her husband Stan are planning to fly to Detroit this fall for a family visit. Jean and I plan to meet up with her at that time. Jean Doelle, our world traveler, will be going on another adventure trip next year. This time she will be traveling to Costa Rica. Several years ago, while visiting Antarctica, she had to climb

down the side of her ship to get to land! Jean is now our only classmate living in the Detroit area. She really enjoys being a docent at the DIA and has been doing this for more than 25 years. Many of her trips are done under the auspices of the DIA and therefore are very unique and one-ofa-kind. Patricia Bisceglia is our working woman and has been editing a local magazine, “The Foothill Quarterly” for the past fifteen years. She has more than fifty clients who advertise in her magazine that goes to more than 25,000 homes in the La Crescenta, California area which is part of Los Angeles County. One of the unique aspects of the magazine is that the cover is always a photo of one of Patricia’s grandchildren who all love the attention that they get for appearing in the magazine. Patricia is involved in the arts as she is taking a music appreciation and an art drawing class. She is also active in her spiritual church and a local political club. Last year she took a cruise to Mexico with her son and his family and next year they are planning a trip to Alaska. Pam Bell is living in Cincinnati in a retirement complex. She is surrounded by many friends and enjoys her surroundings. This past year has been a difficult one as Pam broke her back which requires a long recovery period. But she is now up and about and flew to Arizona this spring to visit her daughter Susie. She is looking forward to coming to Michigan for our 60th reunion in 2015. Julie Thompson Merriman divides her time between her farm, Willow Brook, in Foster, Rhode Island and

her Seabrook home on John’s Island, South Carolina. Julie arrived at Liggett her senior year. Her mother was a Liggett graduate and Julie commuted from Grosse Isle. It is interesting to note that the class of 1955 has really gotten to know Julie since we started to have yearly gettogethers at class member’s homes. Several years back she hosted the class at her picturesque Seabrook home where we all happily discovered the local southern cuisine. Vivian Michel Hiedeman, our class brain, is teaching one class at the local university which she truly enjoys: Reading Knowledge of German to Art History Ph.D. students. When I talk with Vivian or receive her emails it seems as if she is the most physically active member of our class. Her daughter and grandchildren live in Seattle and she frequently visits them. This past June she was delighted to have her family travel to North Carolina where they spent time with her at the beach. Joan Allen Korda owns Brookside Antiques in Bridford, Vermont. She has been on the board of the Vermont Antique Dealers Association for 32 years and is very involved with the Middlebury Museum. This summer has been especially busy for her as there were three graduations and a wedding to attend – besides hosting numerous guests. Having never been without a dog in her home Joan adopted a dog from Greece a year ago. According to her, Josephina is the best dog she has ever owned. This past spring I (Sue Laurence Wehmeier) was fortunate to be able to explore the upper part of the French Briard Canal on a small six passenger barge. I cruised the canal in early May so I was able to experience spring for the first time in more than 20 years. Because I have lived on the coast in Palos Verdes, California, where we have Riviera type climate, I had not seen an actual Michigan type spring for more than 20 years. The canal banks were full of amazing wild flowers and everything was very green unlike what I see in California. After the barge trip my husband and I spent a week enjoying southern Brittany. I plan to attend our 60th reunion this year, and I hope to

see a large turnout of members of the Liggett Class of 1955. GPUS Secretary: Jane Weaver Reuther 81 Lewiston Road Grosse Pointe Farms, MI 48236 jnb7@comcast.net Susan Gillis Snow is still enjoying life in Oregon. Golf and Bridge are her major passions as well as travel to other beautiful locations in the West. A highlight for her this past summer was a fabulous family week with perfect weather on San Juan Island off the coast of Washington. Her brother Charlie caught a large Salmon and they observed the Orcas frolicking about. Her “children:” Louise, Mike (who lives near Susan),Charlie who lives in Washington, David (Ohio), and Peter (Chicago) are all involved in interesting jobs and hobbies. Since they share a love for nature and outdoor sporting interests, they get together as often as they can.

1956

Liggett Class Secretary: Joanne Streit Stewart 5 Debeaufain Drive Bluffton, SC 29909-2500 danaws@sc.rr.com Marcia Ward Dove: I have four children and six grandchildren. I have lived in Sarasota, Florida for 17 years after living Minnesota and Michigan. I am retired now, after a lifetime of working in real estate and the health care industry. I have been pursuing art for these 17 years and travel when I can. The art avenues are in clay, stone sculpture, and photography. I should also say, “learning the Mac computer” as well. My third daughter and grandson live with me. My grandson is 8 and the love of my life. He is currently on the cover of “Family Magazine” for September. He is very athletic, but talented as well, so our life is very busy. I have a friend that I take travel journeys with. We are going to Nantucket and Boston in September. Oddly, we met in college and we both married others. But we still remember the law library! Life has been good!

Barbara Stone Rosen: I’m still living in Sun City, Palm Desert, California. Life is good here as I am involved in the Computer Club, Tennis, and work out in the gym. We just returned recently from a riverboat and land trip to Eastern Europe. I was a story book come to life for me. I volunteer at Eisenhower Hospital, Tutor 2nd grade in reading, and when the BNP Tennis comes to Indian Wells every March, I volunteer in special events. It is a great group of women that get together every year and work on projects to help make the players enjoy their off time. I have been involved with this since 2006. Gretchen Wolff Schupp: The spring of 2013 I had my left knee replaced (replacing the replacement) and most excitedly – it bends after nine years. The right knee will be done in January 2014 and I sure hope that it turns out as well. As for activities – I’ve kept active with the church and love every minute of it. My son, Olds keeps saying “I thought you retired” but I don’t think that will happen – sitting in a chair is not my objective. Joanne Streit Stewart: We are still enjoying the Sun City life in South Carolina. We just formed a Sun City Masters Swim Team and have participated in two swim meets, The State meet in Florence, SC and one in Greensboro, SC. The next meet will be in Mt. Pleasant, SC on August 22-24. It has been fun being one of the charter members. I also swim with the Synchronettes and our show theme for the March show will be “Swim Around The Clock.” Marian Dekeyser Baal has been substitute teaching and trying to keep up with her five children and seven grandchildren. She has been married to her husband David for 54 years. I talked to Jean Dodds Mitchill and once she resolves a few health issues she wants to return to England and Scotland. Sally Glass Ruud lives in Port Angeles, Washington. She has had health issues, but enjoys visiting with her three children, and nine grandchildren.

ULS.ORG

CLASS NOTES

1958

Liggett Class Secretary: Lois Dickinson Hutchison 135 Cochise Drive Sedona, AZ 86351-7928 hutchlovl@earthlink.net

Jim Stewart ’57, and his wife Katie Williams Stewart ’58, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary along with their three daughters and other family members on Nantucket.

GPUS Class Secretaries: Lylas Good Mogk, MD 1000 Yorkshire Grosse Pointe Park, MI 48230-1432 lmogk@aol.com George Jerome 40 Edgemere Road Grosse Pointe Farms, MI 48236-3709 ggjsr@aol.com

1957

Liggett Class Secretary: Diane Bedford Svenonius 736 Silver Spring Avenue Silver Spring, MD 20910-4661 dbsvenonius@msn.com Julia Lathrop Scandrett writes: “Not much news here... after a brutal winter and a late spring, we’re in the midst of summer, accompanied by severe thunderstorms. Thank goodness for the pool! My granddaughter is enjoying a week of ‘Grrl Scout’ camp, with next week Art Camp at our local museum. Daughter Maggie, who was at our reunion a few years ago, has a new job teaching 7th grade; one she very much wanted. Love and best wishes to all.” Diane Bedford Svenonius reports: “I had a summer visit from son Peter and family, including granddaughter Elsa who was born last December. This was a rare treat as they live in northern Norway, above the Arctic Circle. They continued on to California to visit with friends and family. Although I inherited mom’s “black thumb” I seem to be

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mostly involved in garden-related pursuits these days, writing materials for the county Master Gardener demonstration gardens, “growing my own” in a community plot, and helping organize local garden club events. I’ve also become addicted to “Massive Open Online Courses” (MOOCs) in the humanities. Unlike Liggett, you can skip all the tests and quizzes if you want.” GPUS Class Secretary: Wendy Krag 170 Merriweather Grosse Pointe Farms, MI 48236 gigipab@comcast.net Jim Stewart, ’57, and his wife Katie Williams Stewart, ’58, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary along with their three daughters and other family members on Nantucket. John Scherer is exploring the virtues of downsizing and getting back to a much simpler life style. Wendy Colby Krag: My son Brace, from New Jersey, celebrated his 30th class reunion at Liggett in May. Bob and Sue Wenzlaff are still in Santa Anna California. He retired in 2005 but still substitutes occasionally at Fullerton College where he taught for 38 years. Bob and Sue attended our 50th reunion in Grosse Pointe and they have fond memories of the weekend.

Linda Weingarden Roth: I’m happy to say there’s nothing much going on at my house, but a whole lot of painting of the fine art variety, not home maintenance. Since April, I’ve been having an enlightening learning experience closely studying the gestural art of Richard Schmid, a very talented American, Alla Prima painter and first rate author of the best art books I’ve ever read – Alla Prima II and the Alla Prima II Companion. The man speaks my language. In the fall, I’m looking forward to studying one-on-one with Todd Burroughs, a young painter who paints as well as John Singer Sargent, and honing my own figurative painting skills at the open studio sessions at the Birmingham Bloomfield Art Association. Until then, it’s a head a day in between swims in the lake, cycling with my lovely new knee and an occasional lunch with Allison. I am having a most pleasant and productive summer working, playing and making plans for the future, taking my camera out to the crowds, sneaking candid shots of strangers, painting their heads for the experience and hanging them on my wall to measure progress. I’ve completely changed over my studio to oils and portraiture – and as soon as the remodeling business slows down, Ellis will build me another gallery wall and move the eyesore of an electrical outlet from an existing wall – if I’m lucky – you know what they say about the shoemaker’s family. It doesn’t matter; Ellis is happily NOT retired. I am revved up over my new calling and having finally become an official breast cancer survivor, five years last April. And yes, Ellis and I are planning Mexico in December after Allison and I enjoy a sleepover in Grand Rapids for Art Prize. St. Pete’s Beach is also on our agenda for late February/early March IF we don’t go somewhere more exotic for our 55th anniversary – like Fresno. I do need hugs from son John and family more than I need exotic.

Wendy’s passing was the one black cloud over my sunny landscape. I loved her dry humor and down-to-earth, no nonsense views. She always made me laugh. She made me think. She touched the lives of everyone who knew her. She was courageous in her battle and died with dignity. She is at peace, but her passing left me sad and our class poorer. We lost a dynamic human being when Wendy Martin Blair moved on. Hugs and good health to you all, Linda Martha Friedricks-Glass: I took my daughter, son-in-law and two grandchildren (12 and 9) to Israel for two weeks at the beginning of June. Everything was beautiful, peaceful and fascinating at that time. How quickly things have changed! My husband’s Alzheimer’s is a challenge. He is still humorous and cheery; but he has no memory. I am working everyday and grateful for my career as well as the diversion it provides me. During the summer months, I go out to Quogue in the Hamptons for a little R & R. So, all in all, things are good. We lost a true friend with Wendy’s passing. She loved everyone in our class at Liggett. She fought so valiantly for a number of years and never complained about all her pain or the sickness she experienced from the treatments. I loved our phone conversations and will miss them and her funny comments. She was a really terrific person. Lois Dickinson Hutchison: Denis and I and Charcoal (can you guess what color lab she is?) visited several national park and other interesting places in June. We toured Cedar Breaks NP in Utah on the first day. The next two days we spent at the Homestead in Midway, Utah. Besides being a lovely place that allows dogs, there is a giant caldera on the property that has been made accessible for swimming. The incoming stream of water is heated by the earth more than 60 feet below. It’s the only indoor place in the States where they certify scuba divers. Next we headed to Yellowstone NP and a visit with our friends from Michigan who spend a month there every summer. What a glorious place. We only saw 3/4 of the park so we want to go there again. The scenery is

awesome and the animals are plentiful. To the south of Yellowstone is Grand Teton NP and that was out next stop. More awesome views, but fewer animals to be seen. The only moose we saw were those wandering around the streams and yards in Jackson Hole and the adjacent areas. After a few days there we headed for Flaming Gorge, a National Rec. Area, where they have dammed up the Green River. There is some lovely scenery where the red earth colors the banks of the gorge giving it its name. While exploring the Red Canyon area, the dog took off after a raccoon. Unfortunately she jumped out through the car window when the car was moving. The rest of the evening was consumed by a visit to a vet some miles south through 9 switchbacks and the trip back to Gorge area. Nothing was broken but she was hurting. On our way to Moab, Utah, home of Arches NP, we had a tire blowout on the top of a mountain on what was the scenic approach to Moab. Sunday afternoon is not the best time to have a problem with a tire and the top of the mountain is not the best place. We were on our way in an hour or so, thanks to Denis’ handiwork, but we were limited to going 50 mph for a maximum distance of 50 miles on our spare. We spent the night in Grand Junction, CO before heading out on our new tires to Moab. Approaching Moab by driving along the Colorado River is lovely especially when the temperature outside is 100 degrees. Arches NP is awesome. There are stories written in the stone monuments, I’m sure. Heading for home, we drove through Monument Valley, where more arches and vistas abound. Our life is Sedona is like a permanent vacation. I hike and play tennis year round. We are still active in our massage therapy business. It’s fun to stay in touch with you all via Facebook. I know Mary Warren Eick is in Canada for the summer. You can see views of her house and the area on Facebook. Allison and I talked at Wendy’s memorial service. She is a busy lady. She and Sandy see each other. Best wishes to you all. Lois Dickinson Hutchison—so many sons! Sandy Loynd Roney-Hayes: Have little new to report. I’m still working,

doing outside projects. We do see Allison – seeing her today! She is making some beautiful jewelry! I’m all excited about picking up a necklace today! Sue Kreis Champine: I don’t even have a rocking chair—they make me sort of dizzy. Quick trip to Bemidji, MN in May for grandson’s graduation from college and while there stopped for couple nights at granddaughter’s house which we hadn’t seen since she moved in, then on to Wisconsin for one night with son and wife. Social groups fizzle out during the summer. Dance club resumes in September and so does my quilt group. Almost forgot granddaughter and daughter came for three days so I could sew pillow covers with zippers that fit the six floor pillows granddaughter uses in her kindergarten room. See I told you it was the same old stuff. Birgit Dahlen Hopkes: Really not much to report. Hank’s company G-5 is in for a 1,000 hour check on the airframe and an engine modification so we’ve been a bit stranded. Flying commercial is such a drag with all of that security stuff and awful terminal restaurants. And after the Cannes Festival we left our Feedship in the Mediterranean overlooking the untimely absence of our comfortable transportation to be able to return to that 185’ of delights and do the Adriatic thing. Oh well, there’s always next year so we’ll just have to suffer thru another hot, humid Houston summer. Ta Ta ! Birgit Martha Sanford: Mary Eick and Mary Foley (AKA Mimi) are planning to visit me this autumn. Asheville is lovely in every season. Currently our swimming pool is open, I love watching the kids splash. They want to stay in until their fingers are,”pruney.” My sons Michael and Peter are taking their sons to the Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes in Michigan. We went there when they were young. I’m thankful that I able to wheel myself around and enjoy being outdoors once again. I’ve decided that having neuropathy is an adventure. I’d rather be rolling down a sand dune. Enough whining. I forgot to mention that I live in a mini-

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CLASS NOTES

1959 Donna Sisk Carl ’58 with her daughters Robin and Paula.

United Nations, I have neighbors from Korea, Goa, India, El Savador, China and Mexico, and lots of people who are from these parts, as well. We range in age from a six-week-old, to over 70+ Best wishes, Martha. (The one in Asheville.) Donna Sisk Carl: The photo is of me with my two daughters, Robin and Paula. We were at Paula’s son, Austin’s graduation open house. He will be going to Huntington University in the fall. Four grandchildren have graduated from college, five are still in college, one in high school and one in elementary school. This has been a spring and summer of ‘grandchildren events’ – a wedding, a college graduation, two high school graduations and the open houses, and the wedding reception (April wedding in Michigan followed by July wedding reception in Wisconsin). We are certainly blessed by our family! We remain well and keep quite busy. We had a major ‘re-do’ of the main floor of our house over the past few months – everything painted (needed scaffolding due to high ceilings), furniture stored in garage, old carpet up and new carpet down, new window treatments, etc. We are finally back to normal. Our next trip is two Viking River Cruises (back to back) so we go north from Paris and then back to Paris then we go south and fly home from Marseille. The end of February and the whole month of March we’ll be on a Princess Cruise that begins in Buenos Aires and finishes in Los Angeles – so another long adventure for us. My best to all the members of Liggett’s Class of 1958 GPUS Class Secretary: Suzie Sisman Decker 77 Muskoka Road Grosse Pointe Farms, MI 48236-3009 SUZIESIS@AOL.COM

PERSPECTIVE

GPUS Class Secretary: Robin Duke Harris Russell 2 Flagler Drive Rye, NY 10580-1848 rdhr@fivewindsworkshop.com

1960 55th Reunion! Liggett Class Secretary: Anne Wrigley Molesky 6649 Hawaiian Avenue Boynton Beach, FL 33437 561-413-3744 248-225-8922 tomjmolesky@gmail.com

GPUS Class Secretary: Alice Gage Schultes 722 Sunningdale Dr. Grosse Pointe Woods, MI 48236 alice1gs@hotmail.com

1961

GPUS Class Secretary: Marion Polizzi Shanle 21 North Duval Road Grosse Pointe Shores, MI 48236-1108 mjshanle@gmail.com

1962

GPUS Class Secretary: Susan Adams White 58 Waterway Court The Woodlands, TX 77380-2641 suwhite11@aol.com Well, what a momentous year for all of us, or at least for most!! Who ever would have thought we would be 70! Think I am going with 70 is the new 60! At any rate, Happy Birthday to the Class of 1962, and it really is quite a gift as not everyone gets to do this, so let’s be all we can be! Not too much news this issue, as I guess we are all out working on doing our bucket lists! Talked to Carol Johnson Carlson and she is doing very well in Sarasota. Her Mom, Ann Barrett Johnson, just turned 92 and Carol sees her frequently as well! Rosalie Morrison Kogan sent me an email and said that they are looking forward to the completion of a new home they are building at Rehobeth Beach and they are excited that it will

be a wonderful place for them and their family to get together in the coming years. Congratulations and hope it’s done soon! Brooke Harrington sent “news from the north!” “My wife and I have begun the process of donating the bulk of our research materials on the Balkans to the Aga Khan Documentation Center at the MIT Libraries in Cambridge, Mass. The extensive collection of photographs, drawings and papers made over the last 25 years as well as collected books, articles, and drawings will be available to others to see and use in their archives. In the meantime, for the next 10 years, they continue to build a website balkanarchitecture.org that illustrates the variety of vernacular and traditional architecture of this region of the world.” What a great thing for you and Judith to do Brooke. Well done and thanks for sharing! Penny Langston Alexander said “I don’t have a lot of news but did sell one of our businesses last fall so am not working as much as before. My mother died in May of 2013 one month shy of her 98th birthday. She had lived in her home in Williamsburg, VA until a few weeks before her death but had been in declining health for several years. We all miss her. My adult children are in Tulsa and Des Moines, IA and doing fine. Bob and I have ten grandchildren between us, ages 9-24. Life is busy for us and we like it that way. Our last reunion was wonderful and I have great memories from it! Best to all. From Bliss Caulkins Clark “The WorldFlower Show” was magical. The Indian and Pakistani delegates cohosted a picnic, united in a common love of flowers! Can you believe fourteen days in Ireland with no rain? Bliss also said that Happy Endicott Rands is doing great! Wonderful news!! My news, or excitement I should say, is we had a huge flood in our house in Colorado, so that has occupied a lot of my time, but I can happily report that it is all put back together and we had a wonderful time there this summer with our children, and our grandson Thomas (11)! Again, Happy Birthday, and I will look forward to hearing from lots more of you! - Susan E. White, Class Secretary, ‘62 GPUS.

with jungle orchids, known as “epiphyllums,” which I propagate and grow for our local Epi Society. The rewards are gorgeous flowers in April and May. As always, I enjoy the lifestyle of this beautiful paradise of southern California.” Renate Schmidt Latimer chimes in with “Hi from the incipient granny! Can’t wait to have a grandchild in December and go for walks in Central Park, explore museums, hike in Austria, and share endless books.”

Leslie Rein Krystowiak ’63 GPUS, John Golanty ’63 GPUS, Sandy Georgeson Moisides ’63 GPUS, and Linda Heller ’63 GPUS.

Susan Lenz Gilbert ’63 GPUS, and Dena Wright Testa.

1963

many are dealing with and that our time will come. Our four grandchildren are a joy and we continue to enjoy our travels, Central America this winter and Africa in April. We love western NC. Ya’all come down, or up.”

Liggett Class Secretaries: Sharon Litsky 2000 California Street #402 San Francisco, CA 94109-4302 sharonlitsky@sbcglobal.net Gail Sake Niskar 30030 High Valley Road Farmington Hills, MI 48331-2143 galeml@aol.com Joanie Willens Abraham relays “I have been thoroughly enjoying my life on the west coast of Michigan. The people are extraordinary to be around and it’s a marvelous community of semi-retired professionals from Chicago who enjoy giving back to the community. I have been working with the students in the high school teaching them how to use social media for marketing and branding businesses, which is what I teach online at Parsons in New York City. The students love reporting on the community and having a voice! I am living with Larry Ebel formerly of Birmingham MI. Larry’s decorating skills pour out daily, making life colorful and interesting. I still have one foot in New York which I try and maintain because of the work and the people I was involved with in Fashion and Media.” Susan Heavner Becker adds that she is “Happy, healthy, busy and very grateful as we know the troubles

Gloria Shenkman Cohen shares that “I now spend my winters in Los Angeles I sold my Florida home after my husband passed away. Both of my children and my three grandchildren live in L.A. so it was an easy move. I still spend a lot of time in Michigan. It was great to have Sharon [Litsky] come and spend a day with me and Ellen [Kuschinski Castleman]. I see Ellen often. Travel has been limited as the world is a little difficult now. Enjoying L.A. Always so much to see and do. Here is a funny little gossip .... I have been dating my prom date! His wife passed away and we have reconnected!!! Anyone coming to L.A. contact me. My parents will celebrate their 74th wedding anniversary in September. Still enjoying the pictures from our reunion. It was so much fun. Let’s not wait 10 more years to do it again.” Patricia Frank contributes that “My work with a local Kumeyaay Band of California Indians continues; fundraising, natural resources preservation, and agriculture activities. I’ve been working on a long-term personal project: editing my Grandfather’s memoirs of trips to Europe in the 1950s with my Grandmother. My garden is packed

Carla Hoffman Levin reports that “Michael and I are very happy. We have two young grandchildren and one more on the way and are very involved with them. I continue to work part-time as a psychotherapist. We enjoy foreign travel and recently visited Viet Nam and Laos. I send my love to all.” Sharon Litsky relates that “The summer has been a special one with lots of fun family time with John’s kids and grandkids (five of them from ages six to 12) from London and Arlington VA here in San Francisco with overlapping visits. A favorite activity with each family is their day of making and decorating cookies with me, the “Nana”. We seem to make a total mess of the kitchen but it’s worth the laughter. John and I are spending lots of summer weekends at our home in the Sonoma wine country to get away from these gray and cold “summer days” in San Francisco. We’re preparing for a long weekend in Carmel with a group of friends who travel together once a year. And we’re going to Poland at the end of October for the official opening of the new Jewish Museum which has been built on the site of the Warsaw Ghetto. Gail Sake Niskar says that she is “doing very well and in the home stretch with my therapy. I thank everyone who has kept me in their thoughts and prayers. It has been a year plus since our reunion, and I wish we could do it all over again. What a very special time it was. Don’t forget, we are doing it again for our 55th!” Jenifer (“Jeffie”) Hughes Parker writes that “Life continues to be good to us. We have sold our house in

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CLASS NOTES

Nova Scotia, so now can really enjoy our motor home more, and explore the USA. South Carolina is still our home base. I am expecting grandchild number four in October.” Tamara Salisbury states that “I have had a busy time this year having started a job as Food Coordinator at my Church April 1. I prepare and serve meals every Wednesday evening for families who are coming for activities and to develop an opportunity for fellowship for the rest of the congregation. I really love this job. It is like having a holiday dinner every week, using someone else’s money and getting paid too. I also plan for and serve at special events such as Fall Kick-off, special receptions and funerals. It is a September to May job so I have the summer off.” “I traveled to several places this summer. I went to South Carolina to see my sister; California to see my son, daughter-in-law and grandson; to Alabama to see one of my grandsons graduate from Robot Camp at the Space Center in Huntsville; and finally to Kentucky to see my daughter, son-in law, four grandchildren, four cats and a dog. None of the visits were restful so I’m glad to be back home. I have already started to gear up for all the activities at church come September. “I send my best wishes to everyone and hope things are as good as they can be for us dear aging women.” Joan Caplan Simon relays that she “Just returned from a great trip to Scandinavia and spent 3 days in St. Petersburg which has always been a dream of mine and it didn’t disappoint. Our daughter Laura was with us for a week in Stockholm which was such fun. Jack and I are looking forward to living in Rome for two weeks in September. I’ve been reading about Detroit and its revival. It sounds positive.” A bit of Song Trivia: Do any of our classmates remember this song from one of our Father-Daughter Banquets to the tune of Ain’t She Sweet? (By the way, I have no idea who wrote all of our songs but if I’m not mistaken, Karen Jones Stutz did almost all the work!) AIN’T SHE SWEET Ain’t we glad? That we have such a perfect dad

PERSPECTIVE

He’s never mad You’ll never see him sad That’s our dad! He’s our pop And he twists like a spinning top He’s not a flop, he’s’ the cream of the crop, That’s our dad! Just cast a glance at his perfection And you will see no need for correction So then we’ll cast a loving peek And take a look at that physique His bones may creak Like a precious antique That’s our dad!

Farms Golf and Country Club for our mini-reunion July 30. John is mostly retired and has taken up the guitar again, learning the Blues. He has recently played at the House of Blues in Chicago, where he and his wife Jaye live. They are the proud grandparents of Ruby Golanty, their first! Leslie has retired from DTE, but has taken up a new passion, cake decorating! They are not only beautiful, but delicious! This year I had the pleasure of tasting two of her creations at wedding showers I helped host. Linda has retired from banking and teaching and is now helping with classes on fly fishing!

GPUS Class Secretaries: Sandy Georgeson Moisides 17 Colonial Road Grosse Pointe Shores, MI 48236-1719 sanmoi@comcast.net

Sandy Georgeson Moisides: If you remember, our senior play was “My Sister Eileen.” As Eileen, I got to kiss the naval officer, played by Stan Bryant. Flash forward 51 years. At my brother Monty Georgeson’s, ‘64, GPUS, 50th reunion, I learned that Stan Bryant had actually gone to Annapolis and is a naval officer, Rear Admiral Stan Bryant. This time I got to kiss a real naval officer!

Bill Randall 503 Devonshire Ln Aurora, OH 44202-8594 wrrandall@windstream.net Albert B. Blixt, is co-author of a new book “Leading Innovation and Change: The Guide for Chief Student Affairs Officers on Shaping the Future.” The book is a combination of organizational theory, practical advice from the experts and provides the practical insights needed to shape the future. Blixt is the managing partner at New Campus Dynamics. He and his wife, Jill celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary in May and are still living in Ann Arbor. They continue to marvel at the accomplishments of their children and grandchildren. Blixt is still active as a consultant on organizational change, primarily working with colleges and universities. Work is continuing, although more slowly, on a book about his father and the history of auto racing in the 1930s and’ 40s. He is very happy that his dad will be inducted into the Michigan Motor Sports Hall of Fame in November. Bill Randall is fully retired now and loving the freedom. He is in the process of buying a Corvette so he and Shirley can start their road trip across the U.S. Returning to Michigan is definitely on the agenda. Leslie Rein Krystowiak, John Golanty, Sandy Georgeson Moisides and Linda Heller got together at Birchwood

Susan Lenz Gilbert and her husband Geoff live in Galien, MI, where Susan has been very active with the League of Women Voters. This summer she and Geoff visited Dena Wright Testa and her husband David at the Testas’ beautiful summer home in North Haven Island in Maine.

1964

Liggett Class Secretary: Karolyn A. Krieghoff Sewell 2046 Camino de los Robles Menlo Park, CA 94025-5917 ksewell7@comcast.net GPUS Class Secretary: William B. Canfield III 1334 Merrie Ridge Road McLean, VA 22101-1827 canfieldwilliam@gmail.com

1965 50th Reunion! Liggett Class Secretary: Eugenie Corey Wagner 604 Cressfield Lane Ann Arbor, MI 48103-3105 eugeniewagner@gmail.com

1966

Liggett Class Secretary: Dr. Susan Stuckey Thoms 4937 Fairway Ridge Circle West Bloomfield, MI 48323-3321 sthoms@umich.edu Eve Goeddel: I continue to enjoy retirement in Jacksonville, Fla. We are very lucky to have our older son and daughter-in-law and almost twoyear-old grandson, Cooper, around the corner. Our younger son and daughter-in-law have relocated to the Ft. Lauderdale area, about five hours south of us. We are getting ready to go to our cottage in northern Michigan for the month of August ... always a long trek, but worth it to spend some time with our “summer friends.” I am lucky enough to still be playing tennis and golf in addition to volunteering at Mayo Clinic. Susan Stuckey Thoms: My University of Michigan clinic just moved into a new building and it has been a very difficult adjustment for this old gal. It is almost as bad as learning the electronic medical record. I keep thinking I should retire, but it just never seems to happen. I had the good fortune to take a couple really nice trips this year. In January, we went to the Galapagos Island (fabulous and very interesting), and in June we relaxed for a week on the Mediterranean near Toulon, France.

1967

Liggett Class Secretary: Jani DuCharme Gunsaulus 74 Essex Road Ipswich, MA 01938-2548 Janniguns2@gmail.com Bethine Whitney, GPUS ‘67: Beth cochaired Planned Parenthood luncheon last spring. Gloria Steenham was the speaker for 900 attendees: she is also chairing the Holiday Mart next Fall all in Grosse Pointe. Dr. and Mrs. Henry P. (Phil) Williams III: Son Phillips, 28, married Andreea Ursu on Super Bowl Sunday of this year. Officiating the ceremony, with a license from the judge, yours truly. When the Iron Curtain fell, she, at the age of seven, and her family left Romania. She was a classmate of daughter Margaret, 30, in graduate school (The Fletcher,

also my grad school). She is now a diplomat and the two of them are heading to Rio to work at the Consulate there for two years in late October. Margaret was engaged in July in Florence, Italy to her beau of 3 1/2 yrs. He is Florentine and has been working in New York City for eight years. They met in NYC. Margaret returned last fall from Tunisia where she worked for 15 months during some turbulent times. Grad school summers she worked with Palestinian refugees in the West Bank. She is no stranger to turbulence in the world beginning with her early childhood in Istanbul. Like her father, she has worked in a number of foreign languages. Marilyn, wife of 43 years, plays tennis, swims almost daily, has a Bible Study, takes care of the elderly and homeless dogs as well as our three dogs, two horses and two donkeys here at LionsGate “farmlette.” Dad continues to ride horses, play racquet sports, swim, sell real estate, cut a lot of grass and lecture on the Middle East and the American Revolution and the Early Republic. I am a past president of the State Society, Sons of the American Revolution, a National Board member of the English-Speaking Union, a Board member of 18 years of The American Friends of Turkey, a member of the local Antique Car Club (a genetic attachment you may recall) and I sing in our Church Choir. I will be teaching a course “Turkey in Turmoil” at UVa., continuing education program this fall. I have been invited to create a course from scratch, which I have been working on for 10 months plus most of my adult life, titled, “Turkey and America, East and West – Where the Twain Meet” and will teach it at Koc University in Istanbul second semester 2015. With any luck, it might turn into a book which I can proscribe for those of you who now have sleeping disorders. As I have failed to ever return for any Alum function, with Jani’s prompting, I shall make every effort to be at our 50th. See you there. Phil Kathy Duff Rines: GPUS ’67, Kathy continues to divide her time among Bloomfield Hills, New York City and Hanover, NH. Her older daughter, Jackie, is heading to UCLA to begin her MFA in studio art. Her younger daughter, Ellie, has a small art exhibition space in the NYC Meatpacking District, and is also associated with an art gallery on Madison Ave. Kathy continues to work

with as a trustee with museums ….so all three Rines are involved in the art world.

1968

Liggett Class Secretary: Joni Welch Hollinger 229 South Quincy Street Hinsdale, IL 60521-3949 tfvinc@aol.com

1969

GPUS Class Secretary: Rev. Meredith B. Jackson 500 Deepwoods Drive Valley Grande, AL 36701-0404 jaypbsig@sprintmail.com

1970 45th Reunion!

Liggett Class Secretary: Renee R. McDuffee 480 Lodge Drive Detroit, MI 48214 renee.mcduffee@36thdistrictcourt.org Dianne Seeber’s mother Nadine passed away on Aug. 11 in California. Dianne’s parents had moved to the Irvine, CA from Grosse Pointe Farms to be closer to Dianne and her son Chapman. Dianne’s father Bob preceded her mother in death. There will be a Memorial Service in Grosse Pointe in the fall. GPUS Class Secretary: Pricilla Mead 461 South York Street Denver, CO 80209-2724 ulsclass1970@gmail.com Stefan Moberg: At the moment I am probably setting a new Nordic stage directing record, by doing three productions in six countries – simultaneously! The largest is a big youth theatre project involving five semi-professional groups from Denmark, Finland, Norway, Iceland and the Faroe Islands. During winter and spring I have travelled between these countries, helping the young participants to develop scenes, songs and dance acts on the common theme of “individuality” – ones they chose themselves. All work is done in their own languages. All the groups met in Denmark during Easter, and after that worked with local leaders.

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Stefan Moberg ’70 GPUS

July 1st we all met again on Iceland to put together a show. It premiered in Akureyri on Northern Iceland a few days ago, at the big Hof Concert house there, with 71 young people between 13 and 20 years old on stage! Now it is touring the Nordic countries, while I am back in Stockholm, rehearsing two summer plays at the same time. One outdoor farce opening on Aug. 10, and one quite grim little peace for a summer theatre festival, opening on Aug. 22. My oldest son Mattias is an actor and worked in Stockholm City theatre this last season. A year and a half ago he became a father to a lovely little girl named Edith. Five months later my daughter also gave me an equally lovely little granddaughter named Emma. My second oldest son, Jarl, has an honest profession selling cold cuts and other delicacies in a food store, but can’t keep away from the stage either, so he is spending part of his summer vacations acting in an amateur play. My youngest, Josef, left yesterday for Barcelona, where he will start a three week backpacking tour of Europe with a friend, before coming home to start a three year professional education in – of all things – theatre production! Next week my daughter Jorunn, who lives in London for more than seven years, will come here, bringing Emma, so the young cousins can hang out and I can bask a bit in the glory of having two granddaughters present! That’s pretty much it. In September I will be honorary guest at a Baltic Theatre festival in Estonia, and then start planning for a production early next year. My warmest regards! 46

PERSPECTIVE

Getting together in NYC for a girlfriend catch up lunch are Kathryn (McGraw) Berry, Lise Moran and Cilla Mead GPUS ‘70.

Pricilla Mead: Went to New York City for a tribute to actor uncle Taylor Mead, ‘41. While in the Big Apple she also enjoyed a girlfriend catch up lunch with Kathryn (McGraw) Berry, Lise Moran and whom attended GPUS in 1970. Lise Moran: I graduated from Plymouth State University in New Hampshire (Concord campus) on May 17, 2014 with a M.A. in Historic Preservation. It is a wonderful program with classes in Cultural Property Law, Methods and Documentation, Planning, Archeology, American Architectural History and Sustainability and Historic Preservation, to name a few with field trips in NH and Maine. I am looking into projects that will help restore historic buildings in NH and VT.

George Silvas: ULS East has a thriving book group now. John Chapman, Ilene Rosin and I and our friends meet semi-regularly to talk about books, eat great food and reminisce about ULS – to the confusion of those same friends. Me; I stumble along as a contract programmer, trying to reverse the entropy of the universe. My children have cleared the hurdle of college. Melanie is going on and working towards a Ph.D. at UCSF in micro/molecular biology and George (G3) is now working at BU having garnered a BS/MS in math and BS in classic languages at BU. They’re both quite the swots. Cheryl, my wife, passed away last summer, so I stumble along. Not much else to report. My best friend, Linda, and I are looking forward to a camping trip down to D.C. late this summer where we will pester Kirk Renaud a bit too. I’m living on Cape Cod now where there is always a cool breeze. To my class of ‘71 I send greetings and blessings. Love, George George, I’m sure we would all like to send you our sympathy and affection. - Shanda

Class Secretary: Shanda Rumble 851 Westchester Way Birmingham, MI 48009-2917 shanshome@yahoo.com

Ilene Rosin: I still live in Arlington, MA. although the rest of my family is scattered around the world. My son Sam is in Chicago and my daughter Ellerly is in Ethiopia with the Peace Corps. One of the reasons I’ve stayed is that I can’t leave the book group George mentioned; I look forward to our monthly get-togethers to drink, eat and talk about books, in that order. When I’m not scrambling to finish our assigned book, I work for a healthy policy research group in Cambridge, the best part of which is that I can ride my bike to my office. I’m especially grateful to have reconnected with friends who convinced me to get up at an ungodly hour during the week to swim in Walden Pond; I attribute whatever sanity I have to these morning excursions.

No more pencils no more books no more teacher’s dirty looks....Oh, I’ll bet you have a pencil. Hoping the best for us all in the ups and downs of life. Once again (sorry) send e-mails to shanshome@yahoo and you will receive alerts on submissions for The Perspective. Should you prefer to be left alone....that’s fine too. Let’s see what our beloved classmates are up to these days. – Shanda Rumble

Jane Peabody: At this moment, I’m in Lexington, KY at the National Pony Finals with 15 horses, four students, the dog and assorted equipment etc. etc. My life as a ringmaster of a traveling circus continues! Students continue their winning ways, the boat spends too much time at the dock, otherwise life is good. Hope to hear from more elite members, anyone visiting south Florida is welcome to reconnect.

1971

Mike Getz: Our third grandchild was born July 20. Son Mike’s wife Sabrina had a little boy named Sampson Christopher Getz (aka Sammy Man) so Kathy and I now have two grandsons and one granddaughter. All good, unfortunately two of them live in New York City and one of them lives in Chicago so I can’t see them often enough. Be well. Vicki Heller: I closed my gynecology practice a year ago, after exhausting my platinum status at the opposite end of the stethoscope (or IV tubing, whatever.) The silver lining is that I still work a physician’s hours – you know, dusk to dawn and vice versa – at my clay/ceramic studio and am happy as a clam. I teach medical students and serve on committees that tell other MD’s what to do, without having to do it myself, and I never have to deal with inane insurance companies again – although Comcast comes in a close second. I put a sign on my belly that says, “Sorry, inventory depleted.” My passport has a few more stamps on it, I visit our kids in Texas and Baltimore, attend concerts and theater in New York City, and bicycle in Maine. Also, I have time to play house: I get to cook dinner from scratch again, not so bad as a hobby, and every night is date-night – except when hubby is not around: then I continue my lifelong love affair with “clay”.

1972

Class Secretary: Kevin Granger 943 Hidden Lane Grosse Pointe Woods, MI 48236-1522 mikevric@comcast.net

1973

Class Secretary: Anne K. Galyean 160 South Beach Road Hobe Sound, FL 33455 dragonannie@gmail.com

1974

Class Secretary: Sara Hendrie Sessions 972 N. Brys Drive Grosse Pointe Woods, MI 48236-1670 sessions9@comcast.net

1975 30th Reunion!

Wendy Colby Krag ’57, and her son Brace, ’84.

Danne Bullock ’87, with her family, at the Great Wall of China

1976 Class Secretary: Rev. Carol Gregg Stratton P.O. Box 90974 Durham, NC 27708-0974 greggandstratton@gmail.com

1979

1985 30th Reunion!

Class Secretary: Catherine Sphire Shell 185 Ridge Road Grosse Pointe Farms, MI 48236-3554 jwshell185@me.com

1987

1980 35th Reunion! Class Secretary: Roxane Lie P.O. Box 130 Wilsonville, Oregon 97070-0130 rml2vizsla2002@yahoo.com

1982 Class Secretary: Michael Ottaway 252 Cloverly Road Grosse Pointe Farms, MI 48236-3304 Michael_Ottaway@ml.com

1984 Class Secretary: Lawrence Paolucci 1898 Kenmore Drive Grosse Pointe Woods, MI 48236-1982 lpaolucci@wcpc.us

Class Secretary: Eva Dodds 6196 Eastmoor Rd. Bloomfield Hills, MI 48301-1440 evamdodds@aol.com Danne (Bullock) Johnson, professor of law, taught international securities law in Tianjin China. Her children joined her for 38 days and her husband, Reginald, joined them for the last 10 days. They toured and enjoyed Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Guilin, Shanghai, Tianjin, and Beijing (the Great Wall pictured). Prior to this trip Danne received the Constance Baker Motley Research Professorship at Oklahoma City University School of Law. She will be working on issues involving civil procedure. Congrats to Danne! William Middlebrooks writes about his business launch in Detroit and visit to ULS: “September 15th, I launch the Detroit branch of my entertainment company at The Magic Stick. I am excited to finally return to Detroit and hopefully contribute something positive ULS.ORG

CLASS NOTES

to the City in terms of tax dollars, quality entertainment options for consumers and new opportunities for the creative community to realize their musical dreams. I went by the school last year when I was in town and saw Wally (was good to see him), along with a couple of the teachers that happen to still be at the school...Also had a great sit down with the Athletic Director. I am really hoping we can do something to get that gym looking better though. I am still heavily involved with basketball and youth so that is a passion of mine.”

for treating and managing these individuals. I have two who are transitioning from male to female in our male prison right now, using hormone therapy. Ray is still a manager with McKesson and he loves it. About six months ago, he started an intensive workout program, and he’s all muscled these days. Guess I better get my soft, flabby butt to the gym. I hope everyone is doing well!” Renee Mordecki LaVigne writes: My son Jared and I went to Scotland and Ireland for two weeks. A mom and son trip before he starts high school.

1988 Elizabeth Weiner: “The Weiner Family is just as busy as ever. Rachel just turned 16 and is getting around in her VW Bug pretty well. She was a hostess at Corky and Lenny’s in Cleveland over the summer, which is owned by her uncle. She’s in the choir, the honors program at school, and she’s about to have her (belated) sweet sixteen party. Anna (13) and Sam (9) went to Jewish camp in San Francisco this summer. Anna is in the National Honor Society as an officer this year, she is a second degree black belt, and she took care of her little brother when they were home over the summer. Rachel picked up Sam from a friend’s house yesterday, with Anna in the front, and it was so odd to see them all coming down the road! Sam will get back into his soccer team next week when school starts (we start very early in Missouri – August 12 this year), and he’s continuing with Hebrew School and Religious School. As an 8th grader, Anna still has Religious School to attend, but she was Bat Mitzvahed last December, so Hebrew School is done for her. Ray and I are plugging along in our jobs. I’m still a Correctional Psychologist, and while I’ve continued with the serious self-harmers and suicidal inmates, I’m also specializing in managing transgendered inmates these days. I’m going to a federal symposium in September to be a part of a nationwide group that is tasked with coming up with some more effective plans

PERSPECTIVE

Class Secretary: Joy Brzuchowski Nichols 2688 Amberley Road Bloomfield Hills, MI 48301-2655 umpilots@aol.com

1989

Class Secretaries: Dike Ajiri 3031 Old Glenview Road Wilmette, IL 60091-2908 dajiri@yahoo.com

1990 25th Reunion! Class Secretaries: Brooke Hohmeyer Kemler 621 Arlene Court Fowlerville, MI 48836-9356 brookemler@hotmail.com

Dr. Sreedhar “Steve” Samudrala 9143 Concord Hunt Circle Brentwood, TN 37027-8762 DrSam@AFDclinics.com

1991

Class Secretaries: Natasha Moulton-Levy 13595 Julia Manor Way Westfriendship, MD 21794-9220 teklaml@aol.com Samina Qureshi 2016 Norwood Grosse Pointe Woods, MI 48236-1746 Saminaq1@yahoo.com

1992

Class Secretaries: Lila LaHood 1624 Vallejo Street, Apt. 2 San Francisco, CA 94123-5115 lilalahood@gmail.com Anne Hildebrandt Tranchida 521 Lakeland Grosse Pointe, MI 48230 arh1214@aol.com

1993

Class Secretary: Carrie Birgbauer Friedberg 16 Onyx Street Larkspur, CA 94939 cbirgbauer@me.com Autwan Fuller: Tidbit wise, my photography business is doing well: delaunfullerphotography.com. Tameka Golden Morey Strong, and Kania Kennedy are also here in Atlanta. I’m the proud Godfather to Tameka’s first born and overall life is beyond excellent. Lisa Ducharme Elwell: All is good here in London, keeping busy with Evan my 5-year-old, Edward my 2 ½-yearold and part-time work at Fidelity International. I’m looking forward to quick trip home to Grosse Pointe in August. If anyone is ever in London please look me up!

1994

Class Secretary: Peter Brown 5605 Trousdale Drive Brentwood, TN 37027-4308 pbrown@gpjco.com Peter Brown is currently the Executive Director of G7 Entertainment Marketing in Nashville, TN. He, his wife Angie and son Truman welcomed Robert Charles Brown to the family on November 5, 2013. Ali Bararsani is currently employed by Newmark Grubb Knight Frank (the real estate brokerage arm of Cantor Fitzgerald). Recent accolades include a $39.3M ‘off market’ transaction which entailed the sale of a mid-rise Class A

office building on Wilshire Boulevard in West Los Angeles. Steve LoGrasso, who recently got engaged, is still living in Miami trading bonds and mixing beats. Nikki Metcalfe Barnes says: I am living in Toronto with my husband, Jason and our 2 girls – Natalie and Jessica. They keep us very busy as competitive dancers and gymnasts. I am a Special Education Teacher for the Toronto District School Board. Sameer Patel is a radiologist living in Los Angeles and recently married Mary Orellana on June 6th.

1995 20th Reunion! 1996

Class Secretaries: Jennifer Silverton 445 West Baraga Avenue, #4 Marquette, MI 49855-4558 jsilvers@nmu.edu Rachel Calderon Young 2217 Flint Ridge Road Edmond, OK 73003 rachel_calderon@hotmail.com

1997

Class Secretary: Peter Birgbauer 124 East 85th, Apartment 5F New York City, NY 10028 pbirgbauer@gmail.com

2000 15th Reunion!

Class Secretary: Celeste Hubbard 1611 N. Formosa Avenue, Apt. 414 Los Angeles, CA 90046-3299 celesteyhubbard@yahoo.com

2001

Class Secretary: Christal Phillips christalphillips@gmail.com

2003

Class Secretary: Brandon Celestin 615 Griswold Street Detroit, MI 48226 Brandon.celestin@gmail.com Nicholas Boehmke and wife Elisa welcomed baby girl Tatum into the family last September 4. Tatum was born a healthy 7lbs5oz. The beautiful family lives in Nashville, TN.

Liggett Alumni at Carrie Birgbauer’s wedding, from left, Amy Shanle ‘93, Beth Paul ‘93, Carrie Birgbauer ‘93, Lauren Gargaro Grace ’93 and Shannon Byrne ‘93

Lizzy Warren Thiel and husband Rob Thiel of Austin, TX welcomed twins Holton John and Hudson Charles into the family on May 27. Hudson was born first at 5lbs7oz. Holton was born 1 hour later at 6lbs1oz. Latia Howard YoungFountain and her husband Brandon YoungFountain of Chicago, IL welcomed baby girl Lylah into the family on April 5. Lylah was born healthy at 5lbs13oz.

2004

Class Secretaries: Rachel Costello 2 M Street, NE, Apt. 623 Washington DC, 20003 rachelncostello@gmail.com Carly Croskey 180 Country Club Drive Grosse Pointe Farms, MI 48236-2902 cacroskey@gmail.com Meghan Doletzky 1111 Beech Street Wilmington, DE 19805-4207 m.t.doletzky@gmail.com

2005 10th Reunion! Class Secretaries: Caitlin Costello 800 Cadieux Road Grosse Pointe, MI 48230-1232 caitlinbcostello@gmail.com Kimberly M. Dickinson 2809 Boston Street, Apt. 337 Baltimore, MD 21224-4849 kmdickinson87@gmail.com

Tennis-playing alumni at Carrie Birgbauer Friedberg’s wedding. Left to right, Bruce Birgbauer, Peter Monroe, Beth VanElslander Wood, Doug Wood, Shannon Byrne, Carrie Birgbauer, Bob Wood, Peter Birgbauer, John Birgbauer, George Haggerty. Front row, Kate Frederick Webber and Lauren Gargaro Grace Latia Howard Youngfountain ’03 with her daughter Lylah Youngfountain.

Ashten Wallace Johnson and her husband are proud to announce the arrival of their first child, Robert William Johnson. Robert came into the world on February 1. He weighed 8 pounds, 8 ounces and was 21 inches long at birth. Katherine A. Boccaccio is a Grosse Point native is currently living and working in New York City. Boccaccio works in finance in the Big Apple. “As a family we are very passionate about the school thanks to a house full of alumni – four children, plus our dad, John Boccaccio, GPUS. We are not at

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CLASS NOTES

Stone Hazlett ‘06

a loss for organizations to be involved with in New York City, but I seem to always want to spend more time working with everyone at ULS.”

2006

Class Secretary: Alyssa Bronikowski 1221 N. Dearborn #211N Chicago, IL 60610-8376 Alyssa.bronikowski@gmail.com

beret to infill into enemy locations, remove the problem then vacate the area. My specialty is that I also call in close air support from fixed wing, rotary wing and drone aircraft. Since the last issue, I have deployed twice, one rotation with a special forces group in Afghanistan in 2013 where I was awarded the commendation medal for excellent service as a deployed combat controller and also was awarded the combat action medal. During that deployment I conducted over 100 combat missions with special operations units. My second deployment was this year with a navy seal team. That of which most details can not be disclosed. I returned early May and plan on deploying again late this year. GO KNIGHTS! Congratulations to Marcia Mc Dade on receiving her Master of Social Work degree and limited license with a specialization in school social work from the University of Michigan!

2007

Class Secretaries: Catherine Watson Catherine.V.Watson@gmail.com Sabra Morman Sabramorman@yahoo.com

2008 Lindsay Brownell: After two and a half years working for Google in Ann Arbor, I left in August 2013 to attend MIT for my master’s degree in science writing. I completed a summer internship at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg, Germany as part of that degree, and will graduate in September, 2014 (after a requisite month of traveling around Europe). After that, I’ll be moving back to Boston to job hunt and try my hand at freelance writing. Stone Hazlett: I have been a part of special forces unit call CCT, or otherwise known as Combat Controllers, in the United States Air Force. My training is equivalent to that of a Navy Seal or Green Beret. My main job is alike to a Seal or Green

PERSPECTIVE

Class Secretaries: Maria Russo mariarusso90@comcast.net Laura Hicks laura.hicks10@gmail.com

2009

Class Secretary: Bianca Aviolo 4884 Kensington Detroit, MI 48224 Bianca@thesecondguess.com Akshay Verma: I moved from Ann Arbor to East Lansing to attend Michigan State’s College of Veterinary Medicine in August. I graduated with an honors Bachelor of Science degree from U of M where I wrote a thesis called, “Bulldog Nose Job: The Death of the Biological Dog in American

Culture and Why Veterinarians Should Care.” It explored the genetic disorders that result from purebred dog breeding and the cultural forces that perpetuate the practice despite significant scientific and welfare concerns.

2010 5th Reunion! Class Secretary: Mary Grech marygrech22@gmail.com

Danielle Broadnax graduated from Spelman College in May. She graduated Cum Laude. Devante Melton, graduated from the Culinary Institute with degrees in pastry and management. He is working for the Chef Jean-Georges in New York at one of his newer restaurants, The Inn at Pound Ridge, and is doing very well.

2012

Class Secretary: Katherine Parthum parthumk@msu.edu

2013

Class Secretary: Armaity Minwalla arminwal@umich.edu Peter Hopkins: This summer Peter has been living in Los Angeles, CA, where he is involved in two internships in the film industry. One is at Universal Studios in the production finance department. The other is with a production company called Disruption Entertainment, which is owned by Producer Mary Parent who has produced many films including Godzilla, Noah, and Pacific Rim. These internships have solidified the fact that Peter wants to keep pursuing a career as either a producer or talent agent in the film industry. His goal for next summer is to go back to California and intern at talent agency. Ashley Rahi: This summer Ashley had an internship at Beaumont Hospital’s Children’s Rehabilitation Center, located inside the Neighborhood Club of Grosse Pointe. During her internship, she observed and learned firsthand from highly trained pediatric

Justin Mazza ‘10, was married on June 21, 2014, to Margot Valladon of La Rochelle, France.

From left: Jaco Mazza ‘13, Susie Stefani ‘12, Devante Melton ‘10, Andrew Milenius ‘10, Ian Fitzgerald ‘10, Sophie Mair ‘10, K.C. Van Elslander ‘10, Abigail Boll and Casey Mazza ‘15. In the back ground on the right is Sean Diaz ‘13 all attended Justin Mazza’s wedding.

physical, occupational, and speech therapists. She was also able to help run the pediatric summer group, which provided children with disabilities the opportunity to receive additional therapy in a fun group setting. This coming year, she will be starting her second year at Oakland University and taking various biology, psychology, Spanish, philosophy, and multiple honors classes. Armaity Minwalla: Armaity has decided to declare herself a Women’s Studies major focusing on women’s health while continuing on her premedicine track. Armaity has also

gained new leadership positions in various organizations at the University of Michigan. She is the Women’s Glee Club Alumnae Relations Chair. She will also be a mentor for freshmen in the Health Science Scholars Program as well as a mentor for the South Asian Awareness Network. The organization Lean In at the University of Michigan, which was founded by Armaity and twenty other young women, reached a huge milestone this summer when Lean In founder and Facebook COO, Sheryl Sandberg, invited Armaity and the rest of the executive board to dinner to talk about the organization’s successes. Armaity could not be happier to start her second year at the University of Michigan and continue taking every opportunity that comes her way. Emma Bandos: During Emma’s freshman year she was enrolled in the art foundations program. All of the art students have to take core art classes to pursue any of the majors provided by the Frostic School of Art. She went to art lectures and exhibits; and even went on a trip to Grand Rapids and another to New York. She had such a great time getting to know all of the art students and seeing a wide variety of different types of art. She has also participated in many clubs including CAB, Volunteering with Kids, and towards the end of the year NAEA/MAEA. CAB is the Campus Activities Board; which plans and hosts on-campus activities like movies, comedians, and concerts. With Volunteering with Kids, she volunteered at the local Kalamazoo Boys and Girls Club almost every Friday. They provide a craft and a meal for the kids, that the children otherwise would not receive. NAEA/MAEA is the National and Michigan Art Education Association. She planned events for the fall to provide art to the kids in the community. Towards the end of the year she interviewed to become a part of the art education program. Having been accepted into this program, she is really excited to return back to Western this fall and begin her studies to become an art teacher. Victoria Chochla: Victoria spent May and June in Ann Arbor taking classes during spring term. This summer, Victoria also conducted research alongside Dr. Helen Kang Morgan, MD, Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Raymond De Vries, Ph.D., Professor of the Bio-

Ethics Program at the University. The two professors explored the prevalence of cheating, pressure and stress in undergraduate premedical students. Victoria’s research duties included reading and coding interviews previously-conducted by the professors, creating excerpts when instances of cheating arose, conducting weekly meetings with the researchers where she presented her findings, and mastering Dedoose 5.0.11, a web application for mixed research methods. The skills she learned by participating in Liggett’s Academic Research Program her junior and senior year. She found that her teachers, Shernaz Minwalla and Andy Knote, helped her in conducting research at the university level. In her volunteer position at the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology (PHO) Victoria interacted with and comforted young patients and their families. She plans to continue volunteering during the remainder of her time at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Victoria has also maintained her love for tennis that she developed on the courts of University Liggett School. Last summer, she founded a tennis clinic in Mała Wieś, Poland called, “Klinika Tenisa Victorii,” with the objective of teaching tennis to Polish children. This August, she traveled to Poland to hold her second-annual tennis clinic. This year’s clinic was as successful— if not more successful—than last year’s. Eighteen eager students participated, sponsorships were formed with U.S. companies such as CustomInk and Bobble, and the clinic received donations from tennis-loving philanthropists. Andrew Amine: Andrew is working full time with Detroit-based production company The Work. Since the beginning of the summer he has worked on commercial shoots in Detroit, San Francisco, and New York City, amongst others. He has also helped create pitch pieces for potential jobs by utilizing his production knowhow and using connections made during his time at Liggett. When Andrew isn’t working or traveling, he can be found hanging out with friends and family, enjoying their company before many head back to school in the fall. In addition to his professional commercial work, he still

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CLASS NOTES

pursues his passion of photography, much of which can be viewed on his website, andrewamine.com. Andrew will continue his job full time in the fall, hoping to expand upon his personal career with new short films. Colleen Klimek: In her wildest dreams, Colleen never imagined she would accomplish all that she has in one year. She went from possibly not being able to continue her first semester of school due to a health issue to ending the first semester with a 4.0; something that she never thought would be attainable with her 17 credit schedule of honors classes. This year she was also head the head design and photography editor of the Olivet College’s newspaper “The ECHO”. It was an honor to be the first freshman editor ever. She was named to allacademic all-team scholars, dean’s list both semesters, a 3.9 cumulative GPA, introduction into an elite academic honors society as a freshman and being named as a resident advisor for the 2014-15 school year. Summer was packed with many hours officiating girls softball and working as a camp counselor at her local day camp. She was honored to work many high end softball tournaments including the JO state Qualifier and States. The greatest success this summer was the news from Eber & Wein Publishing. As of September 1st, she will officially be a published poet. She would not have received any of these awards without the ongoing support of the teachers at Liggett while in high school. Taniesha Williams: Taniesha has been spending her summer working at Wayne State University’s Math Corps, a six-week tutoring and mentorship program for middle and high school students in Detroit. As a college instructor, Taniesha’s daily responsibilities revolve around managing a team of ten seventhgrade students and seven high school students, who serve as teaching and program assistants. Math Corps helps reinforce concepts that the students learn throughout the school year as well as offering Discovery Classes in which students are taught college-level Calculus (by Wayne State professors) at a middle school comprehension level. By the end of the program, her

PERSPECTIVE

students have a working vocabulary of partial sums, summations, and limits— an impressive skill that she remembers learning from her seventh grade year in Math Corps. Over the course of the program, Taniesha has seen an amazing growth in her kids’ confidence in their mathematical abilities, with the tremendous help and dedication of her teaching assistants. Even if it’s mastering a single concept or moving on to eight and ninth-grade material, she and the rest of her staff, try to instill in her students the importance of any type of progress on the bumpy road to success.

2014

Class Secretary: Margot Alpert mealpert@gmail.com

In Memoriam James Willard Grace, ’36 DUS, 96 quietly passed away April 28, 2014, in Harbor Springs, Michigan while reading the newspaper following his morning exercise class. A lifelong resident of Grosse Pointe, Michigan he moved to Emmet County three years ago to be close to his daughter Susan G.. Glass and her husband Charles F. He was born April 10, 1918, the son of Edward R. and Lorraine Hill Grace of Grosse Pointe and graduated from Detroit University School in 1936. He attended the University of Michigan where he was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. He joined the United States Marine Corps during WW II serving as Captain in Guam until he returned to San Diego where he met and married Lucy Day Bell his wife of 63 years. He returned to the University of Michigan Law School graduating in 1947 and then entered the private practice of law before founding Grace Motor Sales, a Lincoln Mercury Dealership in Detroit, with his brother Edward R. Grace Jr. (Ted). He remained in the automotive business until his retirement in 2005 at age 87.

Mr. Grace was predeceased by his wife and his son James W. Jr. ( Mary Olszewski ) In addition to his daughter Susan he is survived by three grandsons: Charles F. Glass, Jr. (Meghann Donahue) of Hastings on Hudson, New York, D. Carter Glass (Lisa Ellis, MD) of Norwich, Vermont and William J. Glass (Veronica Liu) of New York City, and four great grandchildren: Ella, Wyatt, Colin and Caroline. Mr. Grace was a past member of the Country Club of Detroit and a member of the Waweatonong Club and the Grosse Pointe Senior Men’s Club where he enjoyed the company and respect of members young and old for his life-long love of community and scholarship. Memorial contributions may be made to the William L. Clements Library at the University of Michigan, 909 South University Avenue, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Arrangements were made through Schiller Funeral Home of Harbor Springs. Online messages of condolence may be made at stonefuneralhomeinc.com. Theodore Robinson Hodges Jr., ’40 DUS, 92, passed away Saturday, July 5, 2014. He was born Dec. 10, 1921, into a long-standing Detroit family, graduated from Detroit University School and attended Williams University. After serving in World War II, he graduated from Lehigh University in 1948 with a degree in business administration. During his four years in the military, Mr. Hodges was in the U.S. Army Transportation Corps and saw action in North Africa and South America followed by two years in Le Havre, France. He was involved with moving troops and material in and out of the country. He was proud he was honorably discharged as a captain in the U.S. Army. After his discharge from the Army, Mr. Hodges was employed by Ford Motor Co. for 10 years as a buyer. He spent the next 25 years at American Natural Resources Co. and its affiliates. There he worked with all stages of construction of the company’s headquarters building at One Woodward Avenue in downtown Detroit. He enjoyed his variety of contacts from lunching at Stouffer’s Restaurant with the president of

the company to visiting with the workers doing the digging at the construction sites. Mr. Hodges’ lifelong interests included baseball, tennis and flying remote control airplanes. As a stellar baseball pitcher, he caught the attention of the Detroit Tigers and was offered an opportunity to try out with the team. He also loved spending time near the water. He especially loved his time at the family cottage on Lake Erie. Mr. Hodges’ greatest success story was his 67-year marriage to Jean Downer Hodges, ’38, their four children, seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Donations may be made to Elmwood Historic Cemetery and Foundation at elmwoodhistoriccemetery.org. Donald G. Blain MD, FACS, ’41 DUS, of St. Clair Shores, Mich., born in 1924, died May 20, 2014. His parents were Dr. and Mrs. Alexander W. Blain of Grosse Pointe, Mich. Dr. Alexander W. Blain founded the Blain Clinic in 1911 and the Alexander Blain (Teaching) Hospital in 1924 which had complete residencies is general surgery and internal medicine. He was Professor of Clinical Surgery at Wayne. The hospital was named after his father who joined the Union Army in Detroit as a sharp shooter later becoming head of the Detroit Department of Parks and Boulevards and Elmwood Cemetery. Don married Grace Carpenter in 1955, Honor Student and Valedictorian of her Class at Frederick, Md., High School, and also graduated from the Church Home Hospital School of Nursing in Baltimore. She was horsewoman and civic leader, who survives him along with son Ian Donald (Donna) Blain and daughters Elizabeth Ann Johnson (Charles, JR.) and Patricia Droneberg Blain and grandson Eric Johnson. They lived on Balfour and Lake Court in Grosse Pointe, Jefferson in St. Clair Shores, and Blain Island, Waterford, Mich. as well as Lewistown, Mont. and Cody, Wyo. Don attended the Detroit University School (now University Liggett), The Hill School, Princeton, and Wayne Medical School, and taught at Wake Forest

Medical School. He was also on the faculty of Northwest College in Powell, Wyo. He served as a Captain in the U.S. Air Force, and was a Medical Officer to the 121st Fighter Squadron during the Korean War. He was Assistant Director of the Alexander Blain Hospital. He became President of the Macomb County Medical Society, also the Michigan Branch of the American Urological Association, and founded the Oakland Macomb County Professional Standards Review Organization representing all their doctors for quality in medicine. He was the Admissions Chairman of the American Association of Clinical Urologists. He was one of six Urologists in Michigan in the International Society of Urology in 1985. He lectured in the U.S., Europe and South America. He belonged to the Alpine Club in Westcliffe, Colo., the Detroit Club, the Detroit Racquet Club, the Grosse Pointe Hunt Club (board), the Country Club of Detroit, the Metamora Hunt, The Metamora Club, the Princeton Clubs of Michigan and New York, the Sedgefield Hunt in Greensboro, N.C., and the Annapolis Roads Club in Maryland. He was President of the Detroit Science Museum Society (to bring a Natural Science Museum to Detroit). He served on the Boards of the Alexander Blain Hospital, West Park Hospital in Cody, Wyo., the Detroit Surgical Association, the Grosse Pointe Hunt Club, the Michigan Doctors Political Action Committee (Secretary Treasurer), the University Liggett School Alumni Board, the St. Andrews Society, the Grosse Pointe Senior Men’s Club (of 800), Historian, and the Grosse Pointe Rotary Foundation-President. In the West, he was President of Rotary in Lewistown, Mont. He reviewed Montana hospitals for Continuing Medical Education Accreditation. In Wyoming, he served on the boards of West Park Hospital, the Wyoming Center for the Book, the Park County Libraries, the Cody Chamber of Commerce, the Park County Yellowstone Regional Airport, and was appointed to the State of

Wyoming Workman’s Compensation Medical Commission, working until 2004. He was appointed Vice Chairman the Park County Republican Committee, and for six years, was Commander of the American Legion in Cody. While there, he was Treasurer of the National Coalition against Legalized Gambling and a registered lobbyist which kept commercial gambling out of Wyoming. St. Joseph Hospital (Now Ford) in Mount Clemens gave him the Lifetime Achievement Award. He was also head of Urology for the Henry Ford Hospital Hall Road Satellite. He was an Honorary Life Member of the Nature Conservancy. He was in Who’s Who in the Midwest and in Who’s Who in Medicine and Health Care. His fraternities were Gamma Delta Psi and Nu Sigma Nu. At 79, he was first in the 25-meter freestyle swim in the State of Wyoming Senior Olympics (class 7579). He gave the principle address at the 150th Anniversary of the founding of the Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore. He played varsity basketball at age 14. He was an avid fox hunter with horse and hound (fox not killed) and enjoyed motorcycling, power boating, ice boating and flying (soloed in 1945), literature, poetry and photography. He requested no funeral. His ashes will be in the family plot in Elmwood Cemetery in Detroit. Any remembrance may be made to a local Humane Society. John Watkins, ’41 DUS, of Leland died on April 6, after a brief illness. John was born in Detroit on March 20, 1923. He graduated from Detroit University School, received a B.A. from Princeton University and an MBA from the University of Michigan. He was among the first Chartered Financial Analysts (CFA) in the country. He served in the US Army in World War II and flew in Korea during the Korean Conflict. John lived in Grosse Pointe and worked for Detroit Bank and Trust Co. until 1977 when he

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CLASS NOTES

David (Maureen) of Brevard, N.C and Leland, as well as seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. A memorial service was held in Leland this summer. Memorial contributions may be made to The Leelanau Conservancy P.O. Box 1007 Leland, MI 49654, ShareCare of Leelanau 7401 E. Duck Lake Rd, Lake Leelanau, MI 49653 or to an organization of your choice.

John Watkins ’41 DUS

moved to Leland and opened an investment counseling firm. He officially retired in 2003. John was an avid golfer who loved playing with longtime friends and family. He was a fixture at Men’s day at the Leland Country Club until he was almost ninety. He may be remembered most by his curse “Oh John!”, when he dubbed a short chip. He learned to downhill ski in the 1940’s and enjoyed it for much of his life. He also played tennis regularly well into his eighties. For over thirty years John was a regular at the International Coffee Club of Leland enjoying discussions and camaraderie of friends. He enjoyed the NMC International Affairs Forum and the Economic Club of Traverse City as well as the Old Town Playhouse. Throughout his life John was active in the communities he was a part of; he was president of the Leland Country Club, a founding member of ShareCare, a long time Treasurer of the Leland Community Improvement Association, and an early supporter of the Leelanau Conservancy. He was an avid sports fan who followed Detroit sports, the Michigan Wolverines and his beloved Princeton Tigers. He enjoyed intelligent discussion with friends and family, having a keen interest in many things. Later in life, he was fortunate to find a good friend and companion in Ann Studer of Lake Leelanau who helped keep him active and well fed. John is predeceased by his wife of 53 years, Jean H. Watkins. He is survived by his three sons, Warren (Ann) of Leland, John, Jr. (Shelley) of Leland and

PERSPECTIVE

Mary Langs Holekamp, ’51 CDS, 79, of Port Huron, Mich., formerly of Webster Groves, died peacefully at home on Sunday, Jan. 12, 2014. Mrs. Holekamp graduated from Grosse Pointe Country Day School and attended Sweet Briar College. A native of Michigan, her dream of marrying the love of her life and lifelong companion Malcolm (Mack) brought her to Webster Groves in 1953. When asked if she was from Webster Groves, she would reply, “I got here as soon as I could.” She and her husband brought up their four children on Gray Avenue in their home of 42 years, with all of the neighborhood children playing in their backyard. Mrs. Holekamp was an avid reader, gardener, botanist and gourmet cook. She shared her love of literature with her grandsons, who remember their dear Grandmary reading entire series of books to them. She served as president of the Webster Groves Herb Society, the St. Louis Herb Society, the Midwest Boxwood Society, and was a board member of the American Boxwood Society. At the time of her retirement, she was the longest serving volunteer of the Missouri Botanical Garden. Many enjoyed her articulate and enthusiastic tours of the Japanese Garden, the English Garden, the Henry Shaw home and Herb Garden. Mrs. Holekamp was an ardent campaigner for her favorite candidate, her husband, who served five terms as Webster Groves City Councilman and ran for Missouri’s 3rd District U.S. Congress twice. Mrs. Holekamp served as Republican Committeewoman for Jefferson Township for many years. She had a firm belief that people were put on this earth to make the world a better place. All who knew Mrs. Holekamp were recipients of her gifts;

whether it was a Noble Fir holiday bough, a meal served in her home, or brought to the door; she was always present in a time of need. Hundreds of Webster children learned to swim with Mrs. Holekamp’s kind instruction, as a supervisor for lifeguards and swimming instructors at the Webster pool. She taught cooking at John Burroughs School and took great pride in her star pupil, Danny Meyer, who is now one of the world’s foremost restaurateurs. Her life’s favorite meal was the one she shared, with her husband, at Danny Meyer’s Union Square Cafe in New York City. Mrs. Holekamp enjoyed her travels with her family, reading aloud the details regarding places of historical, botanical, or cultural interest along the route, or singing humorous folk tunes through the less fascinating terrain. When touring France with Mack and Stark, the native Frenchmen thought she was French, because she spoke French with the accent and fluency of a native. On their small sailboat, Mr. and Mrs. Holekamp enjoyed making the journey from their home on Lake Huron to their son Stark’s home in Ft. Lauderdale via the Great Lakes, the Erie Canal, the Hudson River, the Atlantic, Chesapeake Bay and the Intracoastal Waterway. Mrs. Holekamp is survived by her husband; children Lee, Stark, Elizabeth (Edgar Boyles) and Linda; grandsons Weston Boyles and Morgan Boyles; sister Patricia (Jay Fitzgerald); brother John W. Langs Jr. (Claire); sister-in-law Jennie Burst, brother-in-law Edward (Ann Tammany) Holekamp and sister-in-law Carol Langs Elden. She was preceded in death by brothers Stark Langs and Edward (Dottie) Langs. Aunt Mary to many nieces and nephews, she extended her mothering wings to the entire flock of her children’s friends. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in Mrs. Holekamp’s name to either the Missouri Botanical Garden, www.missouribotanicalgarden.org, or to the Rios to Rivers Organization, www.riostorivers.org. Elizabeth Stroh Jackson ‘51 CDS, age 80, died peacefully Monday, Feb. 10, 2014, at her home in New York City in the presence of her family and

caregivers. She was 80. Bettina, as she was known all her life, was born June 10, 1933, in Detroit, to Mary Louise (nee Suddards) and John W. Stroh. Raised in Grosse Pointe Farms, she attended Grosse Pointe Country Day School, the Masters School in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., and Bennett College in Millbrook, N.Y. On Dec. 29, 1956, she married Daniel Dold Jackson of Grosse Ile. The couple lived in Cleveland, then Rye, N.Y., before returning to Grosse Pointe Farms. The couple separated in 1974 and five years later, Mrs. Jackson moved to Hilton Head, S.C., and six years later to Savannah, Ga. In Savannah, she pursued her passions for dog walking, tennis, travel, photography and architecture. She was a longtime member of St. John’s Episcopal Church and volunteered as a museum docent at The Telfair Academy of Art and Sciences. Her frequent trips abroad were often coupled with courses and seminars in art and architecture. In 2004, Mrs. Jackson relocated to the upper east side of New York City where she lived with her black Lab, Blue. While in New York, she continued to travel abroad and was a devoted member of St. James Episcopal Church. Her family said Mrs. Jackson adored life, was grateful, humble, kind and optimistic. She loved to laugh and try new things and did many of these with her children and grandchildren. In 2010, Mrs. Jackson was afflicted with a rare neurodegenerative disease. She was interested in science and medicine and wished to become an anatomical gift and was enrolled in the brain donation program at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. Mrs. Jackson’s family encourages people to register and become brain donors to help researchers gain information about debilitating neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. Mrs. Jackson is survived by her children, Laird (Edward Cherry) of New York; Faye of Los Angeles, and Daniel Jr. (Jacky); beloved grandchildren, Devon and Ayden of Carmel, Ind.; brothers, John W. Stroh Jr. and Tony M. Stroh and numerous nieces and nephews.

Charles Hazen Pingree, ’51 CDS, of Fort Wayne, died on Saturday, March 1, 2014. Hazen was a true gentleman and a seeker of knowledge. These attributes were reflected in everything he did throughout his life until the day he passed away. Born Aug. 27, 1933, in Detroit, Mich., he was a son of Gilbert Bissell and Elizabeth Davis Pingree. He was the great grandson of the former progressive Michigan Governor and Detroit Mayor, Hazen S. Pingree. He attended the Detroit University School and spent his summers sailing with his father on their boat the Red Head on the Great Lakes. Hazen went on to win the Canada’s Cup, a prominent sailing race in 1972. He attended Duke University where he was a member of the Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity and majored in mechanical engineering. He furthered his studies as a graduate student at the University of Michigan. Hazen spent his professional life as an engineer until he retired at age 70. He finished his career as a sales manager for the European and Asian regions for Textron, where he pursued his passion for traveling. As a voracious reader, Hazen read six books a month, with no exceptions, throughout his life. Hazen was fascinated with archeology and later studied the subject at Wayne State University. Hazen was formerly married to Patricia Dockson of Detroit, Mich., with whom he had a daughter, Carolyn Davis Pingree of Englewood, N.J. He married Barbara O’Beirne of Norwood, Mass. in 1978. They have two daughters, Elizabeth Bissell Pingree and Catherine Harrison Pingree, both of Chicago, Ill. He lived the last years of his life with his wife, Barbara and dog, Annie in their home in Fort Wayne. He loved to make biannual drives to the couple’s second home in Cape Cod, Mass., where his body will return for final resting. Hazen was a loving husband, dedicated father, and loyal friend. He will be missed dearly. Memorial contributions may be sent to the Allen County Public Library, 900 Library Plaza, Fort Wayne, IN 46802; the Fort Wayne Museum of Art, 311 East Main St., Fort Wayne, IN 46802; or Detroit Historical Society, 5401 Woodward Ave., Detroit, MI 48202. www.klaehnfahlmelton.com. Lawrence Delong Buhl Jr.,’52 DUS Age 80 of Harbor Springs, Michigan, died Monday, July 21, peacefully in his

sleep. He was born July 17, 1934 at his home in Grosse Pointe Farms, MI to Lawrence D. Buhl and Cora Peck Buhl. Mr. Buhl was the last of his generation from a family with historical ties to Detroit dating back to the early 1800’s. He worked for the Buhl Land Company and carried on his family tradition of dedication to Detroit. Larry was past President of the Detroit Zoological Society for close to 25 years, also Board member for the College of Creative Studies, Boys Club and Leader Dog for the Blind. In the early 1980’s, Larry shifted his focus to northern Michigan. He served as Chairman for McLaren Northern Michigan Hospital for over 25 years. In addition to the Hospital, he was President of Harbor Hall, and served on many local Boards and Associations that shaped this wonderful resort community. In 2012, Larry was honored with the Harbor Springs “Citizen of the Year”. To his family and friends, Mr. Buhl will be remembered as a respected person of the community. His passions, which have been passed on to so many, include land preservation, hunting, fishing and motor sports. Mr. Buhl is survived by his wife of 58 years, Fay FitzSimons Buhl; children, Larry and Amy Buhl, David and Mia Buhl, Robbie and Becky Buhl, Tom and Lindsey Buhl, along with grandchildren Amanda, Maddie, Lawson, Teddy, Tessa, Carly, Quinn, Jeffrey, William, Elise and Christian Buhl. He is predeceased by his siblings, Cora Barbour, Anne Mitchell, and Mary Surdam. Donations may be made to the Detroit Zoological Society, 8450 W. 10 Mile Rd, Royal Oak, MI 48067 and McLaren Northern Michigan Hospital at 416 Connable, Petoskey, MI 49770. Online condolences may be made at stonefuneralhomeinc.com. Gordon Birgbauer, ’53 DUS, passed away Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2014. James Vernor Davis, Jr., GPUS ‘62, 69, of Grosse Pointe, passed away December 9, 2013. He was born to the late James Vernor Davis Sr. and Elizabeth (Betty) Merrell Davis. He was born June 6, 1944. He married Beau Jones Davis on April 18th, 1987. Married for 26 years, lived together in Chicago, Apple Valley Lake in Howard, OH and Tucson. Jim was a true gentleman who had a strong code of ethics for family. He always thought

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CLASS NOTES

Michigan; Matthew Parks and wife Leigh of Burlington, Vermont; Jonathan Parks and wife Laura of Silver Spring, MD. Donations may be sent to Po’Pay Society, 520 Los Pandos Road, Taos, NM 87571

Rip Odell ‘68, with Jeff Hodges

more about other people than himself. He very much enjoyed making people laugh. Jim was a boatman and water activities were his passion. He loved to fish both rod and fly. He also enjoyed playing bridge, telling stories, was an avid volunteer, and playing with his grandchildren. He became a father by marriage and by love and sadly he leaves daughter Kathryn Jones Ebert, married to Chris Allen Ebert, and daughter Barbara Collier Rosenberg, married to Glenn Alan Rosenberg. He is survived by grandchildren; Elizabeth Ebert, Tanner Rosenberg, Jessica Ebert and Daniel Ebert. He was loved by all. His siblings are Marilyn Elizabeth Gilbert and the late Howard Vernor Davis. Donations may be sent to Harcourt Parrish, 100 College Park Street, Gambler, OH 43022. Stephen Parks, GPUS ‘62, 69, Taos art gallery owner, actor and writer Steve Parks died Saturday, August 31, 2013 after a brief illness. He left behind a devoted family who will miss him terribly, colleagues who valued him for his wit and insight but, for the art world here, a void that will not heal for a very long time. Parks will be remembered for his compassion, the largeness of his heart and his ability to make everyone around him feel like they were worth something. He is survived by his wife, Joni Tickel, son Dylan Parks, wife Liz, and their daughters, Lily and Josie of New York; son William Grafton of Taos; siblings Melissa Parks Carothers of Grand Marais, Michigan; Andrew Parks and wife Rosie of Royal Oaks,

PERSPECTIVE

Ripley Scotten Odell, ‘68, died peacefully at home on May 16, 2014 at the age of 64. Beloved husband of Kathy Schuman. Rip embraced all of life’s great bounty with curiosity, boundless enthusiasm and humor, qualities also evident in his wonderful photography. Always focused on the positive, he approached each day with eager anticipation, and lived them all to the fullest, never complaining about life’s setbacks. His great warmth, kindness and generosity made him a dear friend to many and inspired all who had the great fortune to know him. His spirit lives on in our hearts. Remembering Rip By Jeff Hodges It was early September in 1958 that I remember walking into the 3rd grade classroom at Grosse Pointe University School. I was 8 years old. I was the new kid and, of course, I was feeling a little lonely and nervous. I’m not exactly sure if that lasted more than an hour or two, because this skinny red-haired kid with glasses also, decided that I was cool enough to be his friend. That was Rip (Not Rick!) Odell. From then on, we became and remain friends forever. Present tense absolutely intended. We played sports together. We went to dancing class together. We tricked and treated together, and we even forced our parents to become good friends. We pretty much did everything together. Here’s a quick story of our metaphorical magic. We were 10 or 11 and on the same team in midget football. I was the quarterback and he was the tight end. We practiced a “play” where he would run as fast as he could straight down the field, and I would try to throw him the ball. Worked great in practice with nobody trying to get you—Right? Then we decided to use it in an actual game the very first time we had the ball. Well, I went back to pass and four or five opposing players came running right at me. I looked down the field to find Rip, but I couldn’t see him or anything else for that matter. I only felt this growing fear that I would be killed. So, the moment

before these players all converged on me, I threw the ball blindly as far as I possibly could, and a moment later I was on the ground, not seeing or knowing that my friend, Rip, in full glide, had caught the ball and run for a touchdown! As usual, Rip had made me look good when I had no idea of what was happening. Rip was an expert at making others look good and feel good. Instead of talking about himself, he would fire question after question at whoever he was chatting with, until he pretty much knew their life story, or at least the parts he was interested in. If you hadn’t been grilled by Rip, you hadn’t been grilled period. He didn’t need a hot light. He WAS the hot light! He used this experience and finesse with people to create unique songs and take the kind of pictures and portraits that only Ripley Scotten Odell could ever have taken. He wouldn’t like it if I got too pretentious, but his array of photographs and their unique depth, are as good as anyone’s, I believe. And then along came Kathy, the love of his life. He tried hard to resist her and keep his own self image intact but it was to no avail. Another fallen idol— Thank God. The more Rip was with Kathy, the more he appreciated her and the more he fell in love with her. On a trip to Florida a few months ago, he quietly texted me, and I quote:-“Kathy is looking so hot!” It was fantastic to see him fall so deeply in love and he definitely realized how lucky he was. Thank you, Kathy, for making our friend feel so much goodness. I don’t believe in “Death” as death per se. I do believe the energy remains intact, not just in memory and thought. When people say “so and so” is “Gone’ or “passed,” that implies that they’re somewhere else—doesn’t it? The morning after Rip had died, I had the clearest image of him laughing at me, as I walked like a stiff old man from my bed to the bathroom. Keep on laughing, Ripper. It’s so good to hear. I love you and I will see you anon. NYAAHH!! William Hartnup, Jr.,’72, a 59-year-old Port Sanilac resident, was killed in an auto accident in July while driving his motorcycle in Lexington Township.

In Focus Liggett alum accepts Teach for America position Elizabeth Palmer has been accepted into Teach For America’s 2014 teaching corps. Palmer, a 2007 alum, is in New York with Teach For America. She joined the organization from the Parthenon Group, where she was a consultant. “I believe that education inequity is the greatest injustice in the United States today, but it is one that we can fix if we dedicate enough talent and resources,” she says. “I decided to join Teach For America because I want to gain first-hand experience working to achieve transformational outcomes for my students.”

Hicks with twins

Palmer is joining a diverse group of individuals dedicated to addressing gaps in education. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, by the time they reach fourth grade, students eligible for free and reduced lunch are almost two years behind in reading and a year and a half behind in math when compared to their higher income peers.

Liggett Merit Scholars Liggett Merit Scholars who graduated in 2014 have been accepted to top colleges across the country. Wearing a T-shirt to show their selected colleges for fall 2014 include Mostafa Shanta, Yale; Nicholas Wu, Princeton; Cole Zingas, University of Michigan; Max Smith, Hillsdale; and Anna Rose Canzano, Yale. The Liggett Merit Scholarship program attracts metro Detroit’s best and brightest students to attend Liggett on full- and half-tuition scholarships for four years. The highly competitive scholarships, based on academic achievement, teacher recommendations, interviews, writing samples, test scores and overall potential impact on the Liggett community, draw applicants from throughout the region.

Grant twins enjoy life after Liggett Twins and 1995 Liggett alumni Juli and Joe Grant both have been leading busy lives. Joe and his family have been living in Spain since 2008 and works for Ericsson España in finance and accounting. In his free time, Joe plays recreationalleague basketball in Madrid, with a group of guys that have been together for more than 20 years. Meanwhile, Juli has lived in Chicago for the past 10 years and is currently a business development manager for Forbes Technical Consulting. “I’m always happy when I crossed paths with fellow graduates here in Chicago, such as Kara Feemster and Josh Moulton (both 1996 grads), to name a couple,” she says.

Kalamazoo College’s Mark Ghafari receives MIAA’s Al Deal Scholar-Athlete Award Kalamazoo College’s Mark Ghafari, a 2010 alum, is the recipient of the 2013-14 Albert L. Deal ScholarAthlete Award, which recognizes a senior male athlete who excelled in academics and athletics, as well as displayed outstanding leadership in his community. Ghafari was a four-year varsity letter winner in men’s basketball for Kalamazoo during his career. A shooting guard, Ghafari scored

1,444 points during his career, including a 24.0 scoring average in his senior year that ranked him seventh among NCAA Division III players. He finished fifth on Kalamazoo’s all-time career scoring list. He led the MIAA in scoring during the 2013-14 season, averaging 19.5 points per contest in league play, becoming the first Hornet to win the conference scoring title in 23 years. He set a school record for points in a game with a 46-point performance against Alma, and set another school mark

Photo Courtesy of Kalamazoo College (Mark Bialek)

by making 23 free throws in a game against DePaul. A three-year captain for the Hornets, Ghafari was a two-time All-MIAA first team selection and was selected to the d3hoops.com All-Great Lakes Region third team this past season. Ghafari graduated from Kalamazoo College in June with a degree in economics. ULS.ORG

We are thankful CY CIRC GA

Legacy Circle

to the many alumni who have made a gift to University Liggett School in their will. Please consider joining others by doing the same.

By including University Liggett School in your last will and testament, you are joining other generous alumni, parents and friends who are making an impact on the lives of others. Thoughtful estate planning helps to shape superior academic experiences, nurture outstanding teachers and enable talented and motivated students to attend the school.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;I get a lot of requests for alumni donations, having three degrees from three different institutions. I appreciate the education I received at all those places, but I feel most deeply attached to Liggett because it is where I grew up, where I had the closest friends, and because as a scholar looking back, I profoundly appreciate the quality of the Liggett faculty as well as their personal care and guidance through the rough times of adolescence. I feel privileged to be able to give back to Liggett and her traditions, and to contribute to her future.â&#x20AC;? - Dr. Karin Christina Ryding â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;60

Individuals who have included the school in their estate plans are recognized as members of The Legacy Circle. For more information on how to include the school in your will, please contact Cressie Boggs at 313.884.4444, Ext. 413 or cboggs@uls.org. www.uls.org/plannedgiving

ALUMNI PROFILE

Virginia Marie Low, “Virgie.”

‘I Can Do Better’ Multitalented alumna Virginia Low Paine made an impact on the 20th century. History proves the fact that women have long influenced American prosperity. Virginia Low Paine, a 1911 alum of Detroit Home and Day School, contributed her fair share – and then some. Paine played tennis and left guard in basketball, and she excelled academically, earning a legacy of the “Greatest Genius,” according to her senior yearbook, Rivista. Her wit and competitive nature came together in the game of chess, says Philip Langford, a former Liggett track and field coach who did extensive research on the alum. “In 1911, she challenged a Detroit University School student in chess and whipped him three games in five, which ended up being the only games won by the guys,” Langford says. “She had a real ‘anything you can do, I can do better’ attitude. And she proved it.” Early on, Paine showed a blossoming talent in poetry writing, and Rivista featured her nature poem “Beddgelert.” After graduation, Paine attended Wellesley College, the prestigious women’s liberal arts college in Massachusetts, and, as noted in The Harvard Alumni Bulletin Issue 17, married Harvard alumnus Frank Cabot Paine 1915. Frank Cabot Paine, the youngest son of Civil War major general Charles Jackson Paine, went on to become a “noted yachtsman, naval architect, and founder of the boatbuilding firm of Burgess, Swasey & Paine,” according to the Weston (Mass.) Historical Society, which also notes that his yacht Yankee set the all-time record for speed over a 30-mile America’s Cup course. The couple had one daughter. Yet Paine had additional interests, it seems. Each year from 1922 to 1925, she applied to and was granted admission as a special student at Radcliffe College, a women’s college that merged with Harvard University in 1999 and boasts such noted alumnae as Caroline Kennedy, Helen Keller, Gertrude Stein and Margaret Atwood.

Paine’s chosen field of study was zoology, according to school records, and she put her knowledge to good work. She published a scientific paper about starfish in The American Naturalist in 1926, and one about the lateral nerve line of catfish in National Academy of Sciences in 1931. A fascination for aquatic-based pursuits lives on in the family line, even though Paine spoke little of her own achievements in the field. “She did not speak much about her biological work, but hugely encouraged me in mine,” says Hal Whitehead, a biology research professor at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, who happens to be Paine’s grandson. “I don’t think there are many research papers by women in this area in the 1920s, and they were in excellent journals.” Sharp-witted well into her later years, Paine relished lively discourse and often would invite renowned philosophers to her home to discuss and debate a variety of topics. Indeed, she was “persistent, feisty and very intelligent,” says Whitehead. Yet Paine appeared to be a deeply spiritual woman, too. In 1933, she published a narrative poem as a book called So Loved The World, an account of the birth of Christ that, according to a Detroit Free Press book review, she wrote during a sea voyage from Italy. An overwhelmingly positive review, the article shared that “in the majestic simplicity of the poem’s style there is a warm humanity and reverent dignity.” What lessons from Paine’s life can University Liggett School students and alumni learn? Life, perhaps, is all about the pursuit of opportunities. “There is an age-old saying that if you put your mind to it you can do it,” Langford says. “There are no limitations if you work hard to express your talents. If [Paine] could do all this in the era she did it, women today can to it, too. They may not have nearly the hurdles to overcome that she had,” he said. “And apparently she had fun doing it.” Virginia Low Paine died in 1987 at the age of 94.

ULS.ORG

PERSPECTIVE: LENS

A rainy first day of school didn’t dampen the spirits of these Lower School students who looked out the window – and looked forward to the start of classes.

PERSPECTIVE

LIGGETT

the ‘Knight’ is ours Plan to attend Liggett Knight, University Liggett School’s fall fundraising gala that raises money for things such as technology and academic initiatives, building improvements, athletic equipment and more. For more information or to purchase tickets, contact Shaye Campbell at scampbell@uls.org or 313.884.4444, Ext. 418 or visit www.uls.org/liggettknight.

PLAN TO ATTEND! NOVEMBER 14, 2014 6 P.M. @ THE DETROIT ATHLETIC CLUB

University Liggett School 2014-2015 Board of Trustees Connie Ahee

Louana Ghafari

Thomas Robinson

Charles E. Becker

Jason Patrick Hall

A. Paul Schaap

Lisa D. Black ’77 Treasurer

Joseph P. Healey

Joseph J. Shannon

Gloria Butler Miller

Atanas Ilitch

Jeffrey Smith

Gretchen Knoell

Shema Spivey

Lila LaHood ‘92

John W. Stroh III ’78 President

William R. Chapin Shauna Ryder Diggs James A. Fitzgerald ’56 (GPUS) Secretary Henry Ford III ‘98

James T. Mestdagh Matthew Moroun ‘91 Scott A. Reilly

Beth Van Elslander Wood ‘89

David M. Wu ’83 Vice President Cynthia Ford Honorary Trustee Mrs. Ruth R. Glancy Honorary Trustee William W. Shelden, Jr. Honorary Trustee

Anne Widlak

2014-2015 Alumni Board of Governors Alice Wrigley Baetz, ‘64 LIG

Michael Fozo ‘87

Booth Platt ‘96

Carrie Birgbauer ‘93*

Page Heenan ‘82

Samina Qureshi ‘91

Pahl Zinn ‘87 President

Elizabeth Renick Bracher ‘87

Thomas Henry ‘61 GPUS*

William Canfield ‘64 GPUS*

Latia Howard ‘03*

Jane Weaver Reuther ‘55 GPUS

Anne Hildebrandt Tranchida‘92

Ellen Renick Durand ‘79

Abigail McIntyre ‘91

*Regional representative

Robin Harris Russell ‘59 GPUS*

Beth Van Elslander Wood ‘89

Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Permit #2439 Detroit, MI

UNIVERSITY LIGGETT SCHOOL 1045 Cook Road, Grosse Pointe Woods, MI 48236-2509

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