WFS Summer 2014 Magazine

QuakerMatters Wilmington Friends School

Summer 2014

Commencement 2014 QUEST Big Ideas Speaker From the Archives: WFS Theatrical Productions, Part II Photos from China, Costa Rica & QuĂŠbec

QuakerMatters Wilmington Friends School

Summer 2014

From the Head of School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 For Alumni & Friends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 WFS Theater 1960s-1980s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Annual Accreditation Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Fahey to Head West Chester Friends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Campaign Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Commencement and The Class of 2014 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Spring/Early Summer News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 2014 QUEST Big Ideas Speaker, Anand Giridharadas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Class Notes & Spring Fling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 In Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 In Closing: May 18 Open House . . . . . . inside back cover

Our New Name, Because “Quaker Matters.”

Over the (even fairly recent) years, our magazine-style publication has gone through several names, from Friends School Bulletin to just the Bulletin to the Friends Alumni Magazine to just Friends.

QuakerMatters, the new name starting with this issue, is part of a coordinated effort to hold up, in as many settings as possible, what most distinguishes Wilmington Friends School and its graduates (as we hope the content of the magazine always has done).

Thank you for your continuing partnership as we work to represent Friends School’s identity good faith and good practice.

Professional photography by Billy Michels ’89, Elisa Komins Morris, Larry Kuhn, and Bill Lindsey Design/layout by Jacquelyn Quinn Dickey With thanks to the alumni, students, faculty, families, trustees, and staff of Wilmington Friends School for their contributions to the community effort of QuakerMatters magazine. Please send any comments or corrections to info@wilmingtonfriends.org.

Mission Statement Wilmington Friends, a Quaker school with high standards for academic achievement, challenges students to seek truth, to value justice and peace, and to act as creative, independent thinkers with a conscious responsibility to the good of all.

On the cover, graduates Ellie Anderson and Akili Dorsey-Bell; on this page, Bill Gordon happily receives his diploma from Bryan Garman.

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From the Head of School Dear Friends, If you have spent any time listening to the radio in recent months, you have heard Pharrell Williams’s blockbuster hit, “Happy,” more times than you can remember. Pharrell’s song may be overplayed, but even this widespread exposure cannot deny its ability to elicit joy, as it did in performance at our spring concerts and as the soundtrack to a memorable dance video by our lower school teachers. “Clap along,” Pharrell sings, “if you feel like happiness is the truth.”

As the school year came to an end, there was so much to clap about, so much to celebrate, at Friends School. We have a beautiful new Theater, gym, and atrium, about which we can be proud and which our entire community played an important role in building. We broke ground on our new field and track, which will open this fall. Many thanks to all who helped us celebrate this spring, and to all who made the new facilities possible. Please join us again on Homecoming weekend, when we will dedicate Violet’s Lobby, the Neff Gym, Groo’s Nook, and Christopher Mellor Field.

Clap along for our student-athletes, including our 2014 state champions in tennis. Clap for our student artists and musicians who broke new ground, from joining a street art show to creating instruments from recycled materials. Cheers for academic milestones from robotics to language study, and for service work, including our new Community Organic Garden at Bellevue State Park. Clap for Tim Dalby, who was recognized with a Presidential Award for Science and Math teachers, and for Brian Fahey, who will leave after 29 years of service to become the Head of School at West Chester Friends. And keep clapping for our 1:1 laptop program being recognized by Apple, and our leadership in global education earning an award from AFS Intercultural Programs USA. And most important for the summer issue of our magazine, please join all of us at School in clapping for the 70 seniors who on June 9 received the highest honor that we award, the Wilmington Friends School diploma.

They, and we, were inspired by commencement speaker Steve Pemberton, who reminded us that the happiness and hope in every story are the work of many authors, written in acts, large and small, of kindness, caring, and generosity of spirit.

In that spirit of community and with that sense of promise, as we celebrate the achievements of this spring and the past year, we boldly declare that we are not done yet. I know that I am looking forward to our work together in the coming months, before my departure at the end of December. And I look forward to clapping along with all of you in the many celebrations to come for this great School.

Bryan with Board of Trustees clerk Susan Kelley at the May 18 opening of the new Theater, gym, and atrium; and with happy graduate Roth Johnson.

In friendship and with gratitude,

Bryan Garman QuakerMatters

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FOR ALUMNI & FRIENDS

From the Alumni Association President Melissa Fagan Billitto ’87

2014 Alumni Awards Announced

Dear Friends,

Melissa Fagan Billitto ’87

On behalf of the Wilmington Friends Alumni Association, I want to add my congratulations to the Class of 2014. We are thrilled to welcome you to our alumni community, and we look forward to celebrating your future life milestones with you. Please keep in touch!

Many Friends alumni credit the School with instilling an enduring desire to serve and to be involved. The Quaker testimonies of stewardship, peace, integrity, community, equality, and simplicity guide our decisions long after we graduate. This definitely rings true for our 2014 Alumni Award recipients (see right and page 3), as well as the two alumni featured in the article on page 33.

Like so many Friends graduates, they have “let their lives speak,” and their work is transforming communities—both at home and abroad.

Each year, the Wilmington Friends School Alumni Board presents recognition in three categories, as representative of our graduates’ outstanding achievements and service. And certainly when it comes to “outstanding,” this year’s honorees are no exception. I am pleased to announce the following 2014 Alumni Award Recipients: Distinguished Alumnus Award: Peter Morrow ’59 Outstanding Service Award: Donald “Chick” W. Altmaier ’51 Young Alumna Award: Colleen Farrell ’04 We will celebrate our honorees on Friday, October 17, during the All Alumni and True Blue Donor reception. Our 2014 Alumni Award recipients are not the only people we will recognize that Friday evening and throughout Homecoming Weekend.

We will also honor Bill Neff, Violet Richman, and the Mellor family as we dedicate the new gym, the theater lobby, and the new turf field and track. In addition, we will have our Fourth Annual Alumni Art Show.

We hope you will join us! It promises to be a great evening and weekend—with so much going on, this year’s Homecoming is one not to miss. For a full schedule of events, see page 3, or go to our Homecoming 2014 website: www.wilmingtonfriends.org/ homecoming-2014.

Have a safe summer, and we hope to see you back on campus this fall.

Sincerely, Melissa Fagan Billitto ’87 2

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Each year, the Wilmington Friends School Alumni Association presents recognitions for outstanding achievements and service. As representatives of all Friends alumni, our honorees exemplify the best qualities of a Friends School graduate, including integrity, a commitment to serve others, and an active value of social justice.

Distinguished Alumnus— Peter Morrow ’59 Both the depth and breadth of Peter’s continuous service to and involvement in local and national non-profit organizations over the years highlight his commitment to Quaker philosophy and values.

Peter established his leadership within the non-profit community during his 34-year career at DuPont through management of the company’s global charitable giving program. His past leadership positions range from, locally, leading the Longwood Foundation, the Delaware Foundation for Physical Education, and the Delaware Tennis Association, to serving as Vice-Chair of the Innovative Schools Development Corporation, to chairing the Riverfront Development Corporation. At the national level, Peter chaired the Conference Board’s Contributions Council and served on the advisory boards of the American Red Cross, Jobs for America’s Graduates, and United Way of America, among others.

Currently, Peter leads the Welfare Foundation, which works to support local charities. The Foundation recently contributed to the expansion of the Nemours/Alfred I. DuPont Hospital for Children as well as to the Future of Friends Campaign here at School. A sample of Peter’s present community involvement also includes serving as President of the Community Service Building Corporation, Vice-Chair of the Wilmington Housing Partnership board, and member of the Community Service Foundation, Delaware Alliance for Nonprofit Advancement, and Delaware State Housing Partnership boards.

Peter was honored for his dedication to service with the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Professional Lifetime Achievement in Philanthropy Award and the Award for Community Service by Delaware Fair Lending Advocates. Through his work in urban development, education, health care, and athletics, Peter has touched the lives of many.

Outstanding Service Award—Donald W. Altmaier ’51 Donald, known to many as Chick, once advised the Wilmington Friends community, “Pursue your deep down desire. A little bit like the inward Quaker spirit, do what’s in your heart, and you’ll be right.” Actualizing his own advice throughout his life, Chick’s actions embody his deep love for Friends. He has served continuously as Class Agent “Pursue your deep down desire. for the Class of 1951 since A little bit like the inward graduation, keeping his class informed, connected, and, Quaker spirit, do what’s in your most importantly, loved. heart, and you’ll be right.”

Chick has filled numerous other leadership positions at Friends, as well, including serving as a member of the Board of Trustees and the Alumni Board, chairing the Annual Giving Campaign, acting as Treasurer of the Home and School Association, and clerking the Alumni Art Show. His involvement at Wilmington Friends School also includes volunteering for the Annual Fund and serving in the Elder-Child program as a mentor for a first grade student. Since retiring from the Alumni Board last year, Chick tirelessly continues to find ways to give back to, and share his love for, the Friends School community.

FOR ALUMNI & FRIENDS

HOMECOMING 2014 www.wilmingtonfriends.org/homecoming-2014

Chick’s dedication to service expands far beyond Friends. For seven years, he was the Associate Director of the Alumni Council at Princeton University, where he also is an alumni admission volunteer and is on his class reunion committee. He has been involved with the boards of Kennett Square’s Bayard Taylor Memorial Library, the Old Swedes Foundation, and Pennsbury Township. Chick is a former President of the Delaware Foundation for Physical Education, the Delaware Badminton Association, and the Delaware Tennis Association, which was instrumental in establishing tennis as a varsity sport in Delaware high schools and in building the first four tennis courts here at Friends.

Young Alumna of the Year— Colleen Farrell ’04 As both a Quaker and a former Marine, Colleen is often asked, “Why would a Quaker go into the military?” She says, “My response is always: ‘Wouldn’t you want someone with a conscience and with that kind of background to be in the military, making those kinds of decisions and leading others?’” Having attended Quaker schools since she was four years old, Colleen’s strong belief in and commitment to service

“‘Wouldn’t you want someone with a conscience...to be in the military, making those kinds of decisions and leading others?’”

Friday, October 17, 2014 11:30 am: 50th + Reunion and 1748 Society Luncheon To celebrate the Classes of 1964, 1959, 1954, 1949, 1944, 1939 & 1934 and all members of the 1748 Society.

The DuPont Country Club 4:00 pm: JV followed by Varsity (5:30 pm) Volleyball vs. Sanford West Gym 5:00 pm: Boys’ JV Soccer vs. Tatnall 6:00 pm: True Blue and All Alumni Reunion/ Awards Reception Featuring the Annual Alumni Art Show, with works by alumni celebrating reunions in 2014. The Awards Program will begin at 6:45 pm.

Middle/Upper School Library 8:00 pm: Dedication of New Facilities by Head of School Bryan Garman Featuring a special musical performance.

Theater

Saturday, October 18, 2014

led her to join the Marine Corps, for which she served as a Female Engagement Officer in Afghanistan. During her tour, she worked in villages to empower Afghani women and to build community trust. Colleen also managed several projects, such as building schools, training midwives, and promoting economic development by introducing micro-lending to women.

7:30 am: Homecoming Service Project (collection until early afternoon) Collection of non-perishable foods, personal hygiene and baby-care products, and new or gently used winter outerwear, blan-

Colleen’s strong desire to fight against injustice and to provide a voice to those unable to be heard continued upon her return to the United States. She was involved in filing an ACLU lawsuit against the Defense Department, challenging the policy prohibiting women from serving in Marine combat positions and demanding that women receive recognition for their work in Iraq and Afghanistan. The DOD has since changed its position on this issue, and Colleen has returned to civilian life, preparing to become a Physician Assistant.

8:30 am: Smith McMillan 5K Run/Walk MS/US Campus

of Caring.

10:30 am: Varsity Field Hockey vs. Tatnall 11:00 am: Self-guided tours of the Middle/Upper School Campus See the new facilities!

11:00 am: Melomanie Performance of Ultra Violet Theater 11:30 am: JV Field Hockey vs. Tatnall 11:30 am-1:30 pm: Lunch in the Homecoming Tent All welcome.

11:30 am-3:00 pm: Lower School Service Bake Sale 12:00-2:00 pm: Kids’ Corner 12:00 pm: Boys’ Varsity Soccer vs. Tatnall With dedication of Christopher C. Mellor Field.

2:30 pm: Varsity Football vs. Tatnall 8:00 pm: Upper School Homecoming Dance Evening: Off-campus reunion events for classes ending in 4 or 9, organized by class agents and volunteers Violet Richman and Bill Neff in the new facilities named in their honor. The Violet Lobby and Neff Gym, along with Groo’s Nook and Christopher C. Mellor Field, will be dedicated as part of Homecoming weekend 2014.

10:00 am: Meeting for Worship To honor current and past faculty/staff with 15 or more years of service to WFS. Middle/Upper Meeting Room

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FOR ALUMNI & FRIENDS

Alumni Families

Andy Aerenson ’81 and Caleb Aerenson ’14.

The Class of 2014 included, appropriately, 14 children of alumni:

Gray Flanagan Sharon Mulrooney Flanagan ’84

Caleb Aerenson Andy Aerenson ’81

Laura Gates Scott Gates ’80 Granddaughter of Deanne Morris Stevens ’59

Ellie Anderson Todd Anderson ’81 Granddaughter of Gail Porter Anderson ’56 Bobbie Atkins Andy Atkins ’76 Granddaughter of Mimi Cone Atkins ’52* Peyton Beard Lea Spruance Beard ’80 Step-granddaughter of Gretchen Vosters Spruance ’65 Gil Connolly Chip Connolly ’79 Grandson of Art Connolly ’55* Wesley Connors Carolyn Gates Connors ’81 Abigail Deardorff Jill Paul Deardorff ’76 Eliza Durham Andrew Durham ’77 Granddaughter of Harriet Frorer Durham ’42*

Jamie Harper Jeff Harper ’74 Delaney Lee Chris Lee ’82 Ellie McGinnis Julie Tattersall McGinnis ’82 Lindsay Thompson Alison Egan Thompson ’81 * deceased

Alumni with children newly enrolled for the 2014-15 school year: Anna Biggs ’83 Amy Curran Harper ’94 and Richard Harper ’91 Amanda Singleton Hay ’95 Michael Longwill ’82 Alisa Lippincott Morkides ’75 Catherine Weidwalt Stenta ’96 The enrollment of alumni children for 2014-15 is currently 98 students, approximately 13% of total enrollment.

Bobbie Atkins ’14 shakes hands with Commencement speaker Steve Pemberton.

Wesley Connors ’14, center with diploma, with family members, including mom Carolyn Gates Connors ’81 (third from the left); brothers Sullivan ’19 and Chad ’18; cousin and classmate Graham Haubert ’14; and cousins Patrick ’16 and Brendan ’18 Haubert.

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FOR ALUMNI & FRIENDS

Abby Deardorff ’14 receives her diploma from Rebecca Zug and Bryan Garman.

Gray Flanagan ’14 enters for Commencement, with classmates including Emma Hartley.

Delaney Lee ’14 and Gil Connolly ’14.

Scott Gates ’80 and Laura Gates ’14.

Ellie McGinnis ’14.

Eliza Durham ’14 applauds, with classmates Sonia Kumar and Kenji Endo.

(For a photo of Ellie Anderson ’14, please see the front cover.)

Jamie Harper ’14 receives his diploma.

Lindsay Thompson ’14 and Peyton Beard ’14.

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“A Passion for Production”: Friends School Theater, from the 1960s through the 1980s

By Terence Maguire, WFS Archivist

at Friends by Short in 1966, along with Anouilh’s Beckett. John Wyeth ’68, a playwright himself, recalls that, “When the curtain opened for Beckett, there was a great gasp from the audience.” The young man playing Henry II was in bed with a young lady— who was playing a “streetwalker.”

In the last half century, theater at Wilmington Friends School thrived as never before, gaining in quantity, variety, and, according to many, quality. The location of those presentations changed, beginning with a new auditorium-theater dedicated in 1962, and ending with the fire that destroyed that theater in 2012.

The present article will deal with about 30 years of that time, what might be called the Violet Richman era. And as Violet’s musical productions created great enthusiasm, intellectual challenge, and pure delight, other teachers/ directors, in the lower, middle, and upper schools, helped theater to flourish here, with both traditional and unconventional productions.

In addition to dramatic and comedic productions, Short combined with Music Director Ralph Guest to produce several musicals for Friends School.

In 1963, they produced Brigadoon and in 1965 Rogers and Hammerstein’s Carousel, starring Roland Woodward ’65 as Billy Bigelow and Patricia Wier ’65 as Julie Jordan. The program cover of that production was drawn by artist Andrew N. Wyeth ’66.

“Shorty” & Friends English teacher Ambrose Short taught Shakespeare and also produced some of his plays. He did so “in the round,” using not the original stage in what is now the Meeting Room, but the main floor itself—which, by the way, was also the school gym.

George Hempstead ’64, the highland dancer in the 1962 production of Henry IV, Part I, recalls, “We had an audience on four sides with an area about 15 or 18 feet square in the center for the actors. It was a challenge to keep moving, so as not to exclude any quadrant, and to speak up so all could hear.” He also recalls that James Lyon ’62, who played the fiery Hotspur, unexpectedly showed up on opening night with hair dyed bright red. Henry IV may have been the last play before the new auditorium opened.

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Short also produced Harvey, the tale of Elwood P. Dowd, whose constant stage companion is a 6-ft. invisible (or imagined?) rabbit.

Dowd—amiable, eccentric, and possibly insane—was played by Cleveland Morris ’65, certainly one of Friends School’s most influential graduates in the field of dramatics. After studying stage direction at Yale and in England, Morris was one of the founders of the Delaware Theater Company in 1978, and remained its Artistic Director until 1998, shaping its course and making it the most significant venue for theater in Delaware.

The Philadelphia Story, another great comedy made famous by the classic film with Katharine Hepburn, was produced

Often directors had only a single production, yet left a lasting impression. Don Wiest ’67 recalls that in Richard Searle’s 1967 production of Giraudoux’s The Madwoman of Chaillot, “He encouraged us to bring out those characters’ hilarious traits, making it great fun to act in that play.” Madwoman proved popular, being produced two more times, in 1974 and 1998. Art teacher Tom Orso had only one production, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. John DeCherney ’73, seen in the photo elevated on classmates’ shoulders, wrote, “I was type-cast as the smarmy and unctuous Bud Frump, the boss’ nephew.”

Decembers, Etc. Certain patterns of production from the first decade of the 20th C. continued into the 1960s. Friends’ earliest plays had been under the auspices of the Whittier Literary Society; eventually that was succeeded by the Whittier Council. The 1965 Carousel production, however, was the last under that leadership, during which time Cleveland Morris was Chairman of the Whittier Council. Starting with Violet Richman’s 1966 Folk Song, the major plays of each

year were produced by the Cultural Arts Departments until 1977. As was the case for the early 20th C., the school’s major plays took place in March, often right before spring break.

Similarly, the December break was preceded by holiday concerts, often including a short dramatic production. Violet Richman’s first production at Friends School was the December 1964 production of Gian-Carlo Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitor. This piece was produced again at Friends in 1969, 1984, and 1990.

The most important December theatrical tradition, for many of us, occurred from 1979-1985, with the production of the lower school plays written and directed by music teacher Boyd Holmes. In 1979, his first, involving the entire lower school, was Harry’s Quest. Each year until 1985, with the breathtakingly colorful and imaginative sets and costuming created by lower school art teacher Evelyn Spence Reeve and others, these massive productions enthralled the students; dazzled parents, faculty, and older students; and wrung quite a few tears from thousands of audience members. The entire lower school singing and signing “Silent Night,” along with their deaf and blind schoolmate Krista Caudill ’93; or the character of Nicholas, in the play of that name, silently extending to the audience an unopened present—these are images not easily forgotten. The last of these productions was Winsor McKay’s Little Nemo in Slumberland, which ended in raucous fashion, with fifth-grader and now WFS parent Chris Rowland ’95 getting a pie in the face (top right). Often Holmes’s songs, such as “Inquire Within,” “Build a Bridge” and “There Were Two Friends,” deeply reflected the values of our Quaker School.

A tradition that began in 1964 with Ambrose Short’s Harvey was the Senior Play. The Enchanted was presented in 1971, starring Tyrie Jenkins ’73 and directed by Fred Royal, who directed four other plays in the 1970s. However, it became a consistent institution under the

direction of English and drama teacher Beth West, who taught at Friends from 1976-88. She did at least 11 Senior Plays in those years. Most of West’s productions were comedies— You Can’t Take It With You in 1983, Noel Coward’s Hay Fever, 1984, for example.

However, they also included To Kill a Mockingbird, and a remarkable 1986 staging of Anouilh’s Antigone, in which John Curran ’86 as Creon and Jackie Christian ’86 as the title character gave fierce and riveting performances. West also helped with middle school productions led by Walter Uhlig and Marty Lassman, among others. Uhlig’s H.M.S. Pinafore, in 1987, was one of the most memorable of these massive productions, involving more than 140 students.

Violet After 12 years at Friends, Ralph Guest left in 1968 to begin the music program at Brandywine College. Director of the chorus as well as the band, he was generally considered the most important figure in Friends School music up to that point. Tragically, the very summer of his departure, he died suddenly of a cerebral hemorrhage. The entire Friends community grieved. Guest had always wished to present a complete version of Handel’s Messiah; and in his honor that December, it came to pass. And for many years to come, the music program right before December break concluded with the “Hallelujah Chorus” on the stage and audience members singing from their seats.

Though Guest’s loss was keenly felt, the music teacher who succeeded him as Cultural Arts Director proved to be widely regarded as the most demanding, original, and revered teacher in this field in Friends School history: Violet Richman.

Violet came to Friends in 1964, after working at Temple and Westtown. Within a few years, Violet had become a legendary producer and director of musicals, known well beyond the halls of Friends School. She produced at least 24 musicals (our records are not as complete as they might be), starting with that 1964 production of Amahl. Her first major musical was the 1966 Folk Song, which she had co-written. She did a number of musicals multiple times, but never in the same way.

According to Trina Tjersland ’75, one of her most successful protégés, “Violet saw different qualities within the characters she helped present.” Violet often used the term Yin/Yang, and her students remember it. Sometimes she even split the character into opposites, or multiples. In the 1981 production of Guys and Dolls, for example, the character of Niceley Johnson was paired with a Not-So-Nicely Johnson; in her 1968 production of Li’l Abner, Steve DeCherney ’70 played Dr. Von Brown, a government scientist, accompanied by 11 other scientists, whose names were colors from a Crayola box, including David Wyeth ’71 as Dr. Von Burnt Sienna. Violet tended to revise and modify the works she was producing, making them her own, and allowing her to accommodate the large numbers QuakerMatters

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young people responded to the compliment of her expectations. In fact, Robelen says she has a recurring nightmare that she is in a Violet Richman production and can’t remember her lines. Ellen Millick said that when she saw her first Violet Richman musical, West Side Story in 1969, “I wept. It was the most powerful thing I had ever seen.”

Violet Richman’s productions were not only polished and well executed but deeply thoughtful. In 1997, she herself said, “I would also put people in roles that others wouldn’t expect them to be in, as a kind of subtle (or not-so-subtle) message.”

involved in her production. Typically, even counting students with multiple roles, productions had more than 100 actors, dancers, or production people.

Why so many? Margaret Mullin MacKelcan ’71 denies having any talent for song or dance, but nonetheless was in several productions. She said of Violet’s work: “Everyone just wanted to be a part of it. It was a magical thing when it all came together.” Former Friends teacher, coach, and trustee Ellen Millick said that Violet “was the best person to handle large groups of kids, on the field or on stage,” that she’d ever seen. And speaking of coaches, Violet would ask Millick and Bob Tattersall to act as “talent scouts” for her, letting her know about unusually athletic an nimble “prospects” for her plays.

Athletics and the arts in most schools are at loggerheads, but not when Violet was in charge.

On three occasions, Violet produced revues with enigmatic names: Four for Nothing—Three to Go (1972), More Than Four (1978), and Two and Three Are Four (1983). Songs performed in 1978–again, by massive casts—were from

A Chorus Line, The Wiz, Company, and You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.

According to Christina Sum ’78, “the origin of the More Than Four title was a take-off from the opening lines of the Charlie Brown script. Violet changed it to four because it fit in with the number of plays we were riffing from.” Violet remembers that, in the earliest revue, John O’Brien ’72 was doing a song from Stop the World, I Want to Get Off called “Lumbered,” which…. is not about the timber industry. As O’Brien sang, five girls came out to dance with him—all obviously pregnant. According to Violet, Headmaster Charles Hutton braced himself for a flood of parents calls—but (magically?) none came in.

What made Violet different from, better than most others in her position? She was highly organized, according to Tjersland; she knew exactly what she wanted to accomplish well ahead of time and rehearsals were brisk and meaningful. As choral director, she had large numbers of kids working on music that she could then utilize in her productions. Laura Robelen ’75 recalls that rehearsals were “great fun, but there was no nonsense.”

She remembers Violet always standing up, never sitting, at the piano and filled with energy. She set the bar very high, and

Perhaps her favorite production was of Leonard Bernstein’s Mass.

Having seen the original at the Kennedy Center, Violet staged this work in 1974 and again in 1979. “She had a large part of the cast learning Latin liturgy,” recalls Tjersland. Robelen recently saw a production of Mass, and found that she remembered every word from almost 40 years earlier. A particularly memorable part of the 1974 Mass was a ballet solo by Denise Nix ’75. Nix left Friends, having fulfilled her graduation requirements, a year early to join the Dance Theatre of Harlem and then came back to graduate.

Leonard Bernstein was apparently grateful to learn of Violet’s two Mass productions (and perhaps her many productions of West Side Story and Wonderful Town); in 1974/9 he sent her personal telegrams.

She also received one from Senator Ted Kennedy. Indeed, Violet’s work was known well beyond Friends School!

Tjersland recalls that Violet’s “productions generally had a simple but striking setting. Everything about them was impressive.” Violet indicated in an interview for Friends magazine in spring 1998, that she could almost still hear the excited conversations she’d had with art teacher Cynthia Stan Mellow and her husband Emil Mellow, “as they tossed ideas for sets back and forth.”

Amy Hartzell, Tina Bethke, Alan McDonald, Leigh Goldman, Peter Baker, Julie, Bierlein, Melissa Fagan, Jon Norling, Kelly Bush, James Whitney, Tina Rubin, and David Reilly perform “One” from Violet Richman’s 1987 production of A Chorus Line.

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Annual Update on Accreditation MSA Wilmington Friends School is currently accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (MSA).

MSA is responsible for overseeing the programs of colleges and schools—both public and independent—in this part of the country. As part of the protocol we followed in gaining re-accreditation in 2008-09, we identified two elements of our program to develop more fully. We chose to focus on one area that is curricular, foreign language, and on one area that is co-curricular and mission-based, service.

According to Tjersland, a great many young people gained in confidence from Violet’s influence, not only on stage but in the classroom. “She was a wonderful advisor. She had a passion for production, and she made that passion available” to students.

A number of those students followed in Violet’s footsteps.

Tjersland greatly elevated Tower Hill’s drama program in her 26-year career there. Lauren Robelen was a theater major in college. Ted O’Brien ’79 went into acting and drama, as did George Bungy ’81, a remarkable dancer and instrumentalist.

(Sadly, both talented men died young.) Bungy’s 1981 performance as Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls featured a rendition of “Sit Down, You’re Rocking the Boat.” Applause was so exuberant and unceasing that he promptly did an encore. He even came back after graduation to help with some productions. For Dawn Padmore ’84, a professional opera and classical recitalist, a critical moment in her development as a singer occurred when Violet Richman convinced her to perform a solo, “What I Did for Love,” from the musical A Chorus Line. While accustomed to singing in choruses, she found the experience of that solo performance transforming. A Chorus Line itself, produced in 1987, was Violet’s last great musical, and few who saw it can ever forget it.

In 1991 Friends gave Violet a retirement party/celebration at the Delaware Theater Company. Among the celebrants was Nancy Layton Caffey ’70, who had played Eliza Doolittle in one of Violet’s earliest productions, My Fair Lady, 1970. At the party, Nancy was wearing the hat she wore as Eliza, 21 years earlier.

She kept the hat all those years, and like thousands of Friends School students, cherished the gifts of Violet Richman’s teaching: the joy of striving for excellence, a love of the arts, and “just plain old fun.”

Following MSA practices, we annually assess our French and Spanish students’ communication skills in our lower, middle, and upper school divisions using a nationally standardized test developed by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL). Our Chinese program is not assessed according to this protocol, as it came into being after these goals were set. Once again this year, our students exceeded the levels of achievement we originally set as goals to be achieved by 2016. In addition, we continue to focus on our students’ understanding of the cultures of people speaking their language of study. Our students’ scores on assessments of cultural understanding also have risen significantly since the goals were implemented in 2008.

Our second accreditation goal has been to increase our students’ appreciation for service, an important aspect of our Quaker mission-based program. According to the Middle States protocol, we assess our annual progress toward this goal in two ways: by tracking the number of service activities students are involved in at three grade levels (5th, 8th, and 12th) and by student responses to a survey about the value of service. This year’s results indicate that our students continue to recognize the importance of service, both in the high number of activities and in the results of the survey.

PAIS Two years ago, Wilmington Friends School gained membership in the Pennsylvania Association of Independent Schools (PAIS), a step that has been taken by several Delaware independent schools. We joined PAIS because it focuses solely on independent school education, in providing both accreditation and professional development programs, and because so many of our Quaker-colleague schools are in Philadelphia and belong to this organization as well. We will use the PAIS protocol for our next accreditation self-study, which begins this summer. Throughout the coming school year, groups of faculty, staff, and trustees will engage in a thorough review of all operations, facilities, and programs of the school and prepare a report to be submitted to PAIS by the spring of 2015. In the fall of 2015, a team of educators from PAIS schools will spend several days at Friends, meeting with various staff members, students, parents, and trustees; visiting classes; and reviewing school documents, policies, and publications. The visiting team will then submit a report to PAIS. A successful review of the report will lead to re-accreditation of Wilmington Friends by both PAIS and MSA.

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Fahey to Head West Chester Friends After 29 years as a teacher and coach at Wilmington Friends, Brian Fahey has accepted an appointment about 15 miles up the road, as Head of School at West Chester Friends. West Chester is a co-ed, age three through fifth grade school, founded in 1836 under the care of West Chester Monthly Meeting.

Among other recognitions during his time at Wilmington Friends, Brian received two MBNA Excellence in Education Grants and was recognized by students with the dedication of the 2002 yearbook. He is known well beyond Wilmington as a gifted teacher and reviewer of children’s literature. On a national level, Brian was appointed to the prestigious Newbery Award Selection Committee in 2010, and just recently was elected to the equally prestigious Caldecott Committee for 2016.

Brian arrived at Friends as an assistant coach while he was still in college, and started working as a full-time teacher in 1985. Back when fifth grade was housed on the middle/upper school campus, Brian taught fifth, eighth, and tenth grade at the same time, and then moved to lower school, where he taught first, third, third/fourth vertical, and, for about 20 years, fifth grade. He coached football, baseball, and field hockey in middle school; was interim head varsity field hockey coach for a year; and spent 20 years as head coach of the varsity boys’ basketball team. Again, Brian earned respect well beyond the Friends campus, serving as chair of the DIAA Boys’ Basketball State Tournament Committee and of the Delaware Basketball Hall of Fame Committee.

Alumni and current players and coaches gathered for a game in Brian’s honor on May 18; it was also the inaugural event in the new Neff Gym.

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In the Wilmington community, Brian has served as clerk of the Religious Education Committee at Wilmington Monthly Meeting, and as Secretary of the Board of Directors at Academia Antonia Alonso,

Brian reading aloud, as he often did, to his

a bilingual charter school opening this August.

In announcing the West Chester Friends appointment to the Wilmington Friends community, Bryan Garman wrote of Brian Fahey: “Brian always places students at the center of his practice, approaching his craft with a wonderful balance of humility and curiosity and encouraging students to grow into independent learners—We have all admired Brian for his ability to ask good questions, to audition new ideas, and to elicit the best in his students, whether they were traveling on the annual Chesapeake trip or discussing a novel that he was reading to the class.”

Brian Fahey’s own reflection on his Wilmington Friends career concluded, “I made great friends, learned a lot, and laughed a lot. I loved it all.”

A Truly Grand Opening— And We’re Not Done Yet Thanks to the many friends who celebrated, on campus and with good wishes from afar, the May 18 opening of the new Theater, the Violet Lobby, the Neff Gym, and the beautiful atrium and “Groo’s Nook” conference room.

The Lobby, named in honor of Violet Richman; the gym, named in honor of Bill Neff; and The Nook, named for Jane Rayner Groo ’40, will be officially dedicated Friday evening of Homecoming weekend.

Christopher C. Mellor Field will be dedicated on Homecoming Saturday.

Cary ’01 and Kyle ’04 Mellor joined their mother, Debbie, and an enthusiastic crowd of friends and alumni lacrosse players in breaking ground on the new field on May 31.

Just a little more than a month later, we broke ground again—as construction began on the new Global Learning Center.

We met fundraising targets to put up the walls and roof of the GLC, but we still need your help to finish the job, outfitting our new classrooms and doing the complementary renovations to the Library and third floor that will complete our re-founding of the middle/upper school campus.

Thanks to all who are investing so generously in The Future of Friends.

Above & left, the joyful celebration of the new Theater, gym, and atrium opening on May 18.

(For more photos, ing.”)

Bottom left, Lower School campers helped Bryan Garman with a preliminary groundbreaking for the new Global Learning Center on June 25.

Left, groundbreaking at Christopher C. Mellor Field, May 31: Bryan Garman with Cary ’01, Debbie, and Kyle ’04 Mellor.

(Deane Mellor ’07 was unable to attend.)

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The Class Of 2014

Front row: Emma Hilder, Olivia Saber, Rachel MacKelcan, Sophia Clark, Peyton Beard, Delaney Lee, Abigail Deardorff, Emma Hartley, Kierra Jenkins, Lindsay Thompson, Emily Freilich.

Second row: Bron Nadal Todd, Arthur (Gil) Connolly, Zachary Hinderhofer, Helen (Ellie) McGinnis, Akili Dorsey-Bell, Bevyn Mannke, Eliza Durham, Aisling Horan, Elena Veale, Emari Vieira-Gunn, Eleni Kalaitzoglou, Elizabeth (Ellie) Anderson, Maria Delzingaro, Sonia Kumar, Maria Rizzo, Julia Rhodes, Laura Gates, Matthew O’Brien, Kevin Roux.

Third row: Luke Morgan-Scott, Myles McDevitt, Molly Marcus, Roberta (Bobbie) Atkins, Nicole Mangan, Caroline Grover, Danielle Kuller, Quinn McNeill, Grayton Downing, Caroline Ehman, Christopher Damon, William (Bill) Gordon, James (Jamie) Harper, Forrest Narwold.

Fourth row: James Sepelyak, Daniel Shaw, David Gobris, Roth Johnson, Zachary Falcon, Graham Haubert, Tate Muratori-Levit, James (Jamie) Martelli-Raben, Ryan Dubowy, Gregory Szumel, James (Jack) Kempner, Ryan Beneck.

(Kenji) Endo, William Beardell, Caleb Aerenson, Joseph Woodward, Wesley Connors, Mitchell Juers, Daniel Getty.

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2014 Commencement Speaker Steve Pemberton A ward of the state for much of his childhood, including a decade spent in an abusive foster home, Steve Pemberton has made opportunity, access, and equality pillars of his personal and professional life. He is recognized nationally as a leader on matters of diversity and inclusion and their importance to the growth of the American economy. A graduate of Boston College, Steve Pemberton is chief diversity officer and divisional vice president for Walgreens. In that role, he directs activities to help serve diverse markets and populations, including customers in medically underserved areas and food deserts. He also strengthens relationships with diverse suppliers and communities.

Pemberton’s memoir, A Chance in the World: An Orphan Boy, a Mysterious Past, and How He Found a Place Called Home, chronicles his path through foster care and his determined search for his biological family. The book and Pemberton’s life have been hailed as “true testaments of faith, fortitude, and forgiveness.”

Excerpts from the Commencement Address The magnificence of today is that, no matter who you are, we all serve as background to your foreground, Friends Class of 2014. No words or pearls of wisdom can ever trump all that is assembled here, and that is the way it should be.

What you will remember is that this was the last time you were assembled like this. You will remember that teacher who went that extra step for you, the coach who believed you could be better. You will remember your mother’s embrace, your father’s chest swelling with pride, a grandparent’s smile. You will remember the way your younger brother or sister gazed up at you. You will remember the person you wished could be here.

You’ll look back at these years that bonded you together, and you’ll want do it all over again because time will have taught you that you can’t replicate these years and you certainly can’t replicate the people you met here. Because when all is said and done and you look down the runway of your life, you’ll know that those are the things that truly mattered. So even though we call this a day of new beginnings, it is also a day of “returnings,” because for the rest of your life, you will return to the lessons you learned here.

Being here is more important to me than words can convey.

The most pressing thought on me the day of my high school graduation was, where were my mother and father? What had happened to them? And why weren’t they here? So you provide me windows into what could have been and for that I am grateful. And I hope you will understand—and can forgive me—for jumping into some of your family photos.

Now this is supposed to be the part where I share with you the profound wisdom of all the life lessons I have learned.

The problem is, I don’t know a whole lot. Like most of us, I am still trying to understand this walk through the garden of life. And so the best thing I can do is share with you some of the things I learned along the way—and am still learning, offered to you now in a series of snippets and thoughts and a quick story. Because I really can’t tell you anything, just some things I want to ask you to consider.

UÊ i>À ÞÊiÛiÀÞÊÃÕVViÃÃvÕ Ê«iÀÃ ÊÞ Õ½ Ê iiÌÊ` `ÊÃ iÌ }ÊÌ iÞÊ didn’t want to do in order to get to where they needed to go.

UÊ7 i ÊÞ ÕÊ}iÌÊ>Ê i Ì]ÊV> Ê>Ê}À> `«>Ài ÌÊ ÀÊ> Êi `iÀÊ> `Ê take them to lunch. Ask them to tell you their story. Be sure to record it. When you listen back, you will hear the story of the world, of America. You will also hear your own.

UÊ i>À ÞÊiÛiÀÞÊÜii ÊÞ ÕÊÜ ÊLiÊV vÀ Ìi`ÊLÞÊ> ÊiÌ V> ÊV Vi]Ê sometimes big, sometimes small. It is possible that you might be torn as to what is the right thing to do—when in doubt, imagine going back to that lunch meeting with your grandparent or elder and having to explain to them the choice you made.

UÊ7 iÊ ÌÊ ÃÊ vÌi ÊÃ> `ÊÌ >ÌÊ}Ài>ÌÊ `ÃÊÌ Ê> i]ÊÌ iÊy «ÊÃ `iÊ of that coin is that one of those minds is redundant. Surrounding yourself only with people who look like you and think like you robs you of one of nature’s greatest gifts to humanity: diversity.

UÊ9 ÕÊÃ Õ `Ê > iÊÃÕÀiÊÌ >ÌÊÌ ÃiÊÞ ÕÊV> ʺ i>`iÀ»Ê >ÛiÊi>À i`Ê that honor with their actions not their title. I have a theory that one of the reasons whales end up stranded on the beach is because they are following those guys up front who swear they know where they are going.

UÊ/ iÊ}Ài>ÌiÃÌÊ«À à iÀÃÊ vÊ> Ê>ÀiÊÌ iÊÜ À`Ã]ʺ ÊV Õ `Ê >ÛiÊLii »Ê or “I should have done.” With every fiber of your being, and all the strength you can muster, take every risk necessary so that you will never have to say those words.

UÊ/ iÊÌÜ Ê ÃÌÊ« ÜiÀvÕ Êi Ì ÃÊ ÊÌ iÊ Õ > ÊV ` Ì Ê>ÀiÊ love and regret. But they share something in common: you have very little say over either. But one of those emotions is God’s creation and the other is ours. I’ll let you figure out which one works better.

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UÊ ÊÌiV }ÞÊ >ÃÊiÛiÀÊLii Ê Ûi Ìi`ÊÌ >ÌÊV> Êv>ÃÌ v ÀÜ>À`Ê the process of self-discovery and finding your way.

UÊ/ iÀiÊÜ>ÃÊ>ÊL ÞÊ ViÊÜ Êv ÀÊ i>À ÞÊiÛiÀÞÊ`>ÞÊ vÊ ÃÊV `hood was told he was dumb, ugly, and broken. Today that boy stands humbly before you as your commencement speaker, still deeply perplexed that anybody with good vision would dare call him ugly. So I’ve learned to be careful about making judgments and predictions about someone else.

UÊ vÊÞ ÕÊÃiiÊ>ÊÌÕÀÌ iÊà ÌÌ }Ê Ê>Êvi ViÊ« ÃÌÊ­ ÀÊ> Þ iÊi ÃiÊÃÌÕV Ê in a tough situation), there are only two possible questions: how did it get there, and what can I do to help it get down?

UÊ-«i> }Ê vÊÃiÀÛ Vi]Ê> `Ê} Û }Ê>ÌÌi Ì ÊÌ ÊÜ >ÌÊ ÃÊÌÀÕ ÞÊ important, I am very hopeful that a Friends graduate will get Facebook to put a “don’t care” button on its site.

UÊ ÊÌ iÊ `ÃÌÊ vÊ>Ê` vwVÕ ÌÊV ` `]Ê iÊÌ >ÌÊ Ê` `Ê ÌÊ>Ã Ê for and I did not create, I was once given a box of books by a stranger, a woman who was a neighbor and who had seen me reading outside. The coming years would bring greater storms, but every now and then, I would find a new box of books on the front porch. And so I knew two things: 1) she had been there and 2) she thought I mattered. I poured myself into those books; they gave me sanctuary and a vision of a life beyond the foster home. In other words, they saved me. Some three decades later I was able to find this kind woman and thank her for her extraordinary gift. She is a humble person who bears none of the titles that we so often believe define success, but she will forever be one of the heroines of my life.

UÊ,i i LiÀÊÌ >ÌÊÞ ÕÊV> iÊ Ì ÊÌ iÊÜ À `Ê>ÃÊ> Ê iÀ Ì ÀÊLÕÌÊ you will most be measured by that which you dare to build.

UÊ iÊ vÊÕÃÊ Ê iÊ ÕÀÊÃÌ ÀÞ°Ê/ >̽ÃÊ « ÀÌ> ÌÊLiV>ÕÃiÊ ÌÊ means that we all have a story and whatever that story is, you don’t know it just by looking at us.

UÊ Ê iÌÊ>ÊÜ > Ê ViÊÜ Ê Ê i` >Ìi ÞÊ iÜÊÜ>ÃÊ >} V> °Ê Our second conversation she asked me what my last name was and I told her that it was Pemberton and one day it would be her name, too. Sixteen years later it remains the boldest thing I’ve ever said and the wisest decision I’ve ever made.

UÊ ÊÜ> ÌÊÌ Ê>à ÊÞ ÕÊÌ ÊLiÊ«>Ì i ÌÊÜ Ì ÊÞ ÕÀÊ«>Ài ÌÃÆÊÌ iÊÃ Õ `Ê of your little feet entering their world brought them the greatest joy they have ever known; and now those same feet have lengthened into the purposeful strides of a young adult, strides that will now take you away. They are excited as you embark on your own journey of self-discovery, but they are privately wondering what they’re going to do without the daily rhythm you have brought to their lives. Remember that you are their greatest joy, their greatest achievement, the absolute best contribution they make to the world.

Every graduating class has a task, a charge with which they are entrusted and yours is this: to remind America what has made her great. You will have to remind her that it was not the pursuit of material things, the embrace of the superficial or the false god of celebrity. It was the pursuit of freedom, the relentless desire to innovate, the unyielding desire to challenge traditional borders and boundaries, the belief that a better day was ahead. It was because words like values, courage, service, integrity, and fairness were not idealistic notions but principles that guided our lives. It was community. It was family—a sense that we are all in this together. What you have learned here at Friends uniquely qualifies you to complete this assignment and I trust you, graduates of the Class of 2014, will complete your task in true Friends fashion—by letting your lives speak.

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The Class Of 2014 Listed with college choice, service project/agency, and senior exploration topic.

Caleb Aerenson

University of Denver Service: WFS Dominican Republic Trip Exploration: Hiking/ maintaining Appalachian Trail

Elizabeth Anderson

Elon University Service: Camp Barnes Exploration: Photography

Conner Armstrong

Elon University Service: Teaching martial arts Exploration: Energy auditing/

Roberta Atkins

Pennsylvania State University, University Park Service: Tick Tock Early Childhood Center Exploration: Healthy cooking and exercise

Peyton Beard Service: Brandywine Zoo Exploration: Teaching art

William Beardell

University of Delaware Service: Wilmington Youth Rowing Association Exploration: Music composition/recording

Ryan Beneck

University of Delaware (Honors Program) Service: WFS Dominican Republic Trip Exploration: Life without a car, Bellingham WA

Ian Brooks

Boston University Service: Sacred Heart Village Exploration: Hospitality administration, Anguilla

Sophia Clark

Cornell University Service: Wilmington Youth Rowing Association Exploration: Cultural immersion/historical study, Dubai

Chase Conley

Tufts University Service: Water Wise Exploration: Sports television production

Thomas Connelly

University of Pennsylvania Service: Ludido game room (France) Exploration: Career in medicine

Arthur (Gil) Connolly

Caroline Ehman

Wesley Connors

Service: WFS Dominican Republic Trip Exploration: Cultural immersion, Germany

Bates College Service: Food Bank of Delaware Exploration: Training for college athletics Roanoke College Service: WFS Dominican Republic Trip Exploration: Hiking/ maintaining Appalachian Trail

Christopher Damon

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Honors Program) Service: MS Society ship/economics research

Abigail Deardorff

The George Washington University Service: Faithful Friends Exploration: Cultural immersion/environmental study, Belize

Maria Delzingaro

Marist College Service: WFS Dominican Republic Trip Exploration: Career in marketing

Akili Dorsey-Bell Service: WFS Dominican Republic Trip Exploration: Yoga

Constança Eiras

AFS student from Portugal Exploration: Cultural immersion, Southern California

Colvin Kenji Endo

Brown University Service: Service Trip to Ghana Exploration: Career in green architecture

Zachary Falcon

Miami University, Oxford Service: Food Bank of Delaware conferences and internship

James Gray Flanagan

University of Delaware Service: Food Bank of Delaware Exploration: Developing a small business plan

Emily Freilich

Pomona College Service: Coverdale Farm Exploration: Environmental purchasing, legislative action

Laura Gates

Grayton Downing

Haverford College Service: Safety Town Exploration: Career in medicine

Pennsylvania State University, University Park Service: Center for the Creative Arts Exploration: Art/animation for new WFS Theater

Ryan Dubowy

Daniel Getty

University of Pittsburgh Service: Ronald McDonald House Exploration: Music composition/recording

Eliza Durham

Pace University, New York City Service: St. Michael’s School and Nursery

Berklee College of Music Service: Food Bank of Delaware Exploration: Orchestral music

David Gobris

Sarah Lawrence College Service: WFS Dominican Republic Trip Exploration: Cooking

William Gordon

Hamilton College, NY Service: Compassionate Care Hospice Exploration: Career in physical therapy

Caroline Grover

University of Maryland, College Park Service: Boys and Girls Clubs of Delaware Exploration: Healthy cooking and exercise

James Harper

Ursinus College Service: Camp Possibilities Exploration: Well-being for student-athletes

Emma Hartley

Gap year, then Northwestern University Service: Service trip to Fiji Exploration: Competitive riding/ caring for horses

Graham Haubert

University of Virginia Service: WFS Dominican Republic Trip Exploration: Golf and First Tee of DE service

Emma Hilder

Gap year, then University in the UK Service: Guardian Angel Child Care Exploration: Anthropology and the Amish

Zachary Hinderhofer

University of Delaware Service: Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Exploration: Radio station internship

Aisling Horan

University of Delaware Service: Forgotten Cats Exploration: Quilting and simplicity

Kierra Jenkins

North Carolina A&T State University Service: New Castle County Courthouse Exploration: Career as public guardian for disabled adults

Roth Johnson

University of Colorado at Boulder Service: Jalonga service in the Dominican Republic Exploration: Financial invest-

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Mitchell Juers

University of Delaware Service: Gilpin Hall Exploration: Observational/

Eleni Kalaitzoglou

University of Delaware Service: WFS Dominican Republic Trip Exploration: Work with personal trainer

James (Jack) Kempner Service: Jalonga service in the Dominican Republic

Danielle Kuller Ursinus College

Pennsylvania State University, University Park Service: Camp Possibilities Exploration: Cultural immersion/historical study, Dubai

Molly Marcus

Brandeis University Service: Compassionate Care Hospice Exploration: Career in commercial art

James Martelli-Raben Duke University

Exploration: Golf and First Tee of DE service

Myles McDevitt

Exploration: Career in elementary education

Connecticut College Service: WFS Dominican Republic Trip

Sonia Kumar

Physical Therapy

University of Pennsylvania Service: Saturday Breakfast Club Exploration: Career in web site design

Delaney Lee

Clemson University Service: Safety Town Exploration: Cultural immersion, Paris and London

Rachel MacKelcan

Merrimack College Service: WFS Dominican Republic Trip Exploration: Wilmington Facebook page

Nicole Mangan

Wake Forest University Service: Tick Tock Early Learning Center Exploration: Healthy cooking and exercise

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Bevyn Mannke

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Helen (Ellie) McGinnis

Duke University Service: Delaware Association for the Blind/Camp Sunnybrook Exploration: Creative writing

Quinn McNeill

New York University Service: WFS Dominican Republic Trip Exploration: Career in museum educational programming

Jesse Miller

Johns Hopkins University Service: Fort Mott State Park Exploration: Musical performance

Luke Morgan-Scott

Harvard College Service: Service trip to Benin Exploration: Songwriting

Tate Muratori-Levit

Ursinus College Service: Saturday Breakfast Club Exploration: Healthy cooking and exercise

Forrest Narwold

High Point University Service: Food Bank of Delaware business

Matthew O’Brien

Northeastern University Exploration: Photojournalism

Julia Rhodes

Georgetown University Service: Teach for America Camp Exploration: Political campaign

Maria Rizzo

University of Delaware Service: Rockwood Castle County Police

Kevin Roux

Marist College Service: Open Net Foundation Exploration: Construction at Camp Arrowhead

Olivia Saber

New York University Service: Faithful Friends

Matthew Schmittle

University of Delaware (Honors Program) Service: Camp Possibilities Exploration: Newark Bike Project

James Sepelyak

Drexel University Service: Hagley Exploration: Sewing and quilting

Daniel Shaw

Cornell University Service: Therapeutic Riding Center and teaching

Gregory Szumel

Williams College Service: Jalonga service in the Dominican Republic Exploration: Career in service, Sunday Breakfast Mission

Lindsay Thompson

Gettysburg College Service: Sacred Heart Village Exploration: Cultural immersion, Southern California

Bron Nadal Todd

Lynchburg College Service: Hagley Exploration: Career in modeling/fashion photography

Elena Veale

Haverford College Service: Camp Possibilities Exploration: Camp Possibilities administration

Emari Vieira-Gunn

University of Delaware Service: Guardian Angel Child Care Exploration: Career in elementary education

Joseph Woodward

University of Delaware Service: WFS Dominican Republic Trip Exploration: Blacksmithing

2014 Final Assembly Final Assembly on June 9 included musical presentations by the Chamber Singers, with senior soloists, and by a quartet of senior instrumentalists who played Dave Brubeck’s “Take Five.” The ensemble included Chase Conley, Dan Getty, David Gobris, and Roth John-

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of “Take Five” and Brubeck’s insights about creativity to describe the Class of 2014.

Head of Upper School Rebecca Zug paid tribute to this year’s AFS students, senior Constança Eiras from Portugal and junior Monika Rodiqi from Kosovo. grades 9-12 received commendations for service and leadership that had a positive and lasting effect on the School. The commendations were presented by Clerk of Business Meeting Tommy Rhodes ’15 and Clerk of Agenda Martha O’Brien ’15, who also served as ushers for Commencement.

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Maria Rizzo and Kenji Endo were chosen by fellow members of the Class of 2014 to speak at Final Assembly.

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Julia Rhodes received the John Marshall

Award, given to the graduating senior considered to have done the most for Friends School. Julia is pictured with Bryan Garman.

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With Head of Upper School Rebecca Zug are the recipients of the Charles W. Bush, Class of 1900, Award, honoring juniors who “most clearly demonstrate the school’s ideals of character, scholarship, and service”: Jimmy Carney, Steven Ly, and Meera Kohli.

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The Howard W. Starkweather, Jr., Class of 1944, Award is presented to graduating seniors who have demonstrated an outstanding commitment to community service. This year’s Starkweather Award was presented to Bevyn Mannke and Peyton Beard, who between them invested more than 1,000 hours of community service during their high school years.

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Meg Gehret Erskine ’83—Friends parent, parent of alumna, and just retired member of the Board of Trustees—with Chase Conley ’14, recipient of the Amanda Spackman Gehret, Class of 1951, Memorial Mathematics Award. The recognition goes to the upper school student “who manifests outstanding mathematical achievement through development of ability and commitment to the experience of the whole class.”

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Biddy Hukill Schreppler ’76 with Conor Ganse ’15 and Meera Kohli ’15, recipients of the Robert P. Hukill, Class of 1939, Science Award. The Science Department Award recognizes “the spirit of innovation and creativity, particularly in the applied sciences,” and is presented to juniors who develop practical solutions to common problems and demonstrate leadership and potential in the sciences.

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Anna and Luke Wales congratulated Kenji Endo, recipient of the Eden Wales Freedman, Class of 1999, English Award. The English Department presents the award to a junior or senior who “makes generous and positive contributions to his/her English classes; who demonstrates intellectual curiosity, ability, and skill in both literary analysis and writing; and who demonstrates an understanding of and appreciation for literature as an art.”

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The Upper School Foreign Language Award is given to students who demonstrate “both a distinctive

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who are mentors to classmates. Students recognized further demonstrate, “cultural openness and empathy, and value opportunities for personal connections with cultures and communities representing the target language.” This year’s recipients of the Foreign Language Award were Hannah Caspar-Johnson ’15 and Luke Morgan-Scott ’14.

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Emari Vieira-Gunn was among the senior soloists in the Chamber Singers’ performance.

The “Take Five” senior ensemble.

Tommy Rhodes ’15 and Martha O’Brien ’15 presented the commendations for student service and leadership.

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Each year, the Jordan Wales ’97 History Award is presented to an upper school student who has “achieved a distinctive level of mastery of skills in historical research, analysis and interpretation, debate, and writing, while acting as a leader in the classroom and demonstrating an awareness of societal issues and consequences related to historical events. The Department recognizes the student’s achievements and contributions at Wilmington Friends, and also the student’s promise in future study of history and application of its lessons toward the common good.”

Pictured with Anna and Luke Wales are History Award recipients Julia Rhodes ’14 and Ellie McGinnis ’14.

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Andy Wyeth ’66 represented his family in the presentation of the Wyeth Brothers Visual Arts Award and Performing Arts Award. (10) Andy, center, is pictured with 2014 Visual Arts Award recipients Maria Rizzo ’14 and Kenji Endo ’14, upper school art teacher Cynthia Stan Mellow and visual arts department chair Teal Rickerman.

(11) The Wyeth Brothers Performing Arts Award, recognizing students “who have made substantial contributions to the artistic life of the school community,” was presented to Chase Conley ’14 and Molly Marcus ’14.

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Newly minted Alumni Class Agents Maria Rizzo, Bevyn Mannke, Kenji Endo, and Peyton Beard.

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Head of School Transition On May 9, 2014, Board of Trustees clerk Susan Kelley announced that Bryan Garman, Head of Wilmington Friends School for the past eight years, would be leaving at the end of the 2014 calendar year to become Head of School at Sidwell Friends in Washington, DC. An excerpt from Susan’s letter on behalf of the Board: “Together, during the past eight years, we have moved our School into a new era—from the creation of the nationally recognized QUEST center to the implementation of the awardwinning laptop program; from introducing classes in Chinese language and culture, to expanding the Spanish program, to becoming a leader in School Year Abroad; from becoming the first Delaware school and first Quaker school to receive a Malone Foundation grant to emerging from a terrible fire with a beautiful new theater, gym, and atrium. And we have launched the largest capital campaign ever for an independent day school in Delaware. Perhaps most important, the work of the last decade has given us a strong foundation and a sense of momentum in moving forward—we are well positioned to begin immediately with an open, rigorous, and global search for our next Head of School. We will find a person who will help us to continue to move forward while keeping our Quaker values at the forefront of all that we do.”

“Perhaps most important, the work of the last decade has given us a strong foundation and a sense of momentum in moving forward—we are well positioned to begin immediately with an open, rigorous, and global search for our next Head of School.”

Trustee, parent, and newly minted parent of alumnus Susan Janes-Johnson is clerking the Head Search Committee, which is working with consultant Jake Dresden of Carney, Sandoe & Associates. Carney Sandoe is the leading search firm in independent education, and Jake Dresden has helped WFS with two previous senior administrative searches. He is also familiar with Quaker education more broadly; Jake is a graduate of Westtown and started his teaching career at Abington Friends before spending 21 years at Penn Charter. He was also a head of school for 20 years. Jake held on-campus sessions to hear from the Friends community on June 4, and then gathered additional input via an online survey.

The input from various constituencies, along with general and distinguishing information about the School, informed the Head of School Position Description, an 11-page document now posted on the School web site. That document (cover and excerpt at right) can be downloaded, and other updates about the search process found, at www.wilmingtonfriends.org/ head-search-update. In addition, members of the School community are welcome to email the Search Committee at searchcommitee@wilmingtonfriends.org.

With sincere thanks to all who have participated, and who will participate, in the search process.

Founded in 1748, Wilmington Friends School is a Quaker School that embraces the idea of uncovering and valuing “that of God” in everyone. Friends is a welcoming community for families of all religions and spiritual traditions. Since its inception, the school has offered an academic program characterized by its depth; students at Friends think deeply and creatively and care about their classmates, their families, and their communities. Inspired by the Quaker idea of “continuing revelation,” constituents of the Friends community are constantly seeking the revelation of truth through pursuit, experiThough Friends’ history and traditions have established a school peace, integrity, community, equality, and service, the school is also innovative, modern, and never complacent. Friends offers a truly global education, providing students with the option of pursuing an

tion with the American Field Service Exchange. Friends follows a truly global approach at all grade levels, and students prepare to succeed and lead in their connected, 21st century world.

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After eight years of inspiring, forward-thinking leadership, current Head of School Bryan Garman will be leaving Wilmington Friends new Head. The school now seeks a strong and capable leader who motivated community of learners.

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News from Spring (and Early Summer) 2014 Early Spring Food Drive—Thank You! Right before Friends dismissed for spring break, the School hosted a drive for the Food Bank of Delaware. We collected 338 pounds of food, not including a load that Upper School Dean for Students Lynn Puritz-Fine and students delivered before the “official” drive. Belated but very genuine thanks to all who participated.

HOBY Leadership at WFS For the second year, Bevyn Mannke ’14 hosted a workshop through the Hugh O’Brien Youth (HOBY) Leadership program. Bevyn helped to organize a HOBY Community Leadership Workshop at Friends last spring, and it was so successful that she was given the opportunity to lead the program this year. The 2014 conference at Friends included 50-some freshmen from New Castle County schools, including WFS representative Margaret Sullivan ’17. Activities included team building, a high school leadership panel, career speakers, and service.

Middle School Diversity Conference Also in March, 10 seventh and eighth grade students attended a regional diversity conference hosted by the Haverford School. Karen Horikawa and Amanda McMillan-Williams chaperoned eighth graders Maia Bryson, Hareena Houston, Izze Rios, Pen Trainer, and Mia Wilson; and seventh graders Michael McKenzie, Ali Miller, Bianca Ramsey, Mary Stewart, and Addie Trudel.

24-Concert Streak Senior Chase Conley participated in his 24th Informal Concert at Friends this spring. The Performing Arts Department hosts two Informal Concerts per year, an opportunity for students, faculty/staff, and their families to perform for each other in a relaxed, recital setting. To close out his Informal Concert career, Chase played the sax on “Lean on Me,” in an ensemble featuring all of the music teachers at Friends.

Sixth Graders in Honors Choir Seven Friends sixth graders were chosen for this year’s American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) Children’s Honor Choir: Oriana Ballotta Garman, Miles McCoy, Lucien McKean, Rachael Miller, Libby Schoolar, Casey Tyler, and Zoe Wishengrad.

Water Day The “Charity: Water” and Peace and Ecology committees hosted the second annual Wilmington Friends Water Day to highlight the importance of water in both social and ecological contexts. The “Charity: Water” committee, clerked by seniors Kenji Endo and Ellie McGinnis and advised by English Department chair Katy Kenney, raised a total of $4,671 this year, enough to help 233 people get access to clean water and sanitation.

Mural Project at DCCA An upper school committee, clerked by senior Bevyn Mannke with faculty advisor Cynthia Stan Mellow, launched a “Before I Die” mural project at Friends this year. The committee’s project was displayed in partnership with the Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts (DCCA), and was recognized at a special opening event. The mural was incorporated into a DCCA exhibit called “Wilmington Trap Stars: A Street Art Exhibit,” which focused on themes of equality and allowing everyone’s voice to be heard.

(See photo above.)

WFS Art at DE Art Museum

Chase Conley ’14 with Friends music teachers Christopher Verry, Genevieve and Sara Gaines (sorry, we caught Sara with her eyes closed).

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The Delaware Lahore Delhi Partnership for Peace and the Delaware Art Museum co-sponsored a program called “A South Asia Festival: India & Pakistan” on April 6. Friends was among six Delaware high schools to participate in the Festival through a student art competition with a South Asia theme. Works by Friends seniors Constança Eiras and Lindsay

Thompson and juniors Wyatt Thompson and Molly Harper were chosen for display.

Day of Silence On April 11, led by the upper school Gay Straight Alliance committee, Friends participated in the National Day of Silence, which calls attention to “the silencing effect of anti-LGBT bullying and harassment in schools.” Students and faculty participated in two ways: by wearing a rainbow ribbon and remaining silent for the day, or, for those who had obligations that would not allow them to be silent, by wearing a lavender ribbon to show support for the effort. Seniors Mitchell Juers and Molly Marcus co-clerked the GSA committee, and Director of College Guidance Kathleen Martin was the faculty advisor.

Organic Garden at Bellevue The Wilmington Friends School Organic Garden at Bellevue State Park got off to a great start with the first spring planting day on April 12. Volunteers included parents and students from all three divisions of the School. Friends families, faculty, and staff will continue to work the garden, which was designed by upper school students, through the summer; most of the food grown will be donated to charity. Middle school science teacher and service clerk Carlos Charriez is coordinating the project, with help from Friends parent Joanne McGeoch, who works at Greener Partners, and from the University of Delaware Cooperative Extension. (See photo, opposite.)

National Merit Scholar News Congratulations to Ellie McGinnis ’14, named a National Merit Scholar Finalist, and Sonia Kumar ’14, who was selected as a winner of the AstraZeneca Scholarship through the National Merit Scholar Program. Ellie will attend Duke next

Middle School “Flags for America” year, and Sonia will attend the University of Pennsylvania. Congratulations also to Evan Martinez ’15, who has been honored by the College Board in the National Hispanic Recognition Program.

Eighth graders undertake an interdisciplinary study of the American Identity in their history and English classes. This spring in Visual Arts, they also designed a national symbol to reflect their understanding of and perspective on the country’s past, present, and hopes for the future.

Earth Day Service On Earth Day, members of the upper school Service Committee helped with maintenance work at the Wilmington and Brandywine Cemetery. Students cleaned the chapel, roadside, and outer area of the grounds. Participating with their faculty advisor, upper school Spanish teacher and service coordinator Behnaz Varamini, were senior Greg Szumel; sophomores Patrick Haubert, Maddie Ireland, Tommy Manley, Kate Mraz, Lizbee Orth, and Natalie Szumel; and freshmen Jayna Jones, Alyssa Nathan, and Margaret Sullivan.

Youth Volunteer Service Award On April 23, Peyton Beard ’14, daughter of Lea Spruance Beard ’80, received the 2014 Governor’s Youth Volunteer Service Award. The award recognizes the efforts of young Delawareans who “best exemplify the spirit of volunteerism throughout the state.” The commendation specifically cited Peyton’s efforts to educate her Peyton Beard ’14 receives the peers and the broader comYouth Volunteer Service Award munity about Ehlers-Danlos from Lt. Governor Matt Denn.

Syndrome (EDS). Peyton was diagnosed with the condition at the age of 15. In addition to her advocacy for EDS awareness, Peyton made valentine gifts for the pediatric unit where she herself had been hospitalized. She is also an active volunteer at the Brandywine Zoo, where she has contributed 350 hours of service and became a docent. Peyton was also commended for her work collecting more than 100 used cell phones for the HOPE Phone Drive at Friends, and for her volunteer service at the Ronald McDonald House.

Aaron Brick and Ryan Fischer things: freedom, peace, diversity, and ambition.”

Henry Tucker and Max Okolo wanted to represent “accepinhabited continents coming together in the circle of the U.S., with the green and blue representing “fresh and new surroundings.”

Klara Lenges and Marley Morton used the idea of motion, both the eagle and the “swooping lines to indicate free movement,” to represent freedom.

Leah Johnson and Victoria Schroeder chose a tree as part of their design “to show the country’s growth” from its colonial past to its present role of international leadership.

At a time that was difficult for the Biden family, she said, “The school’s kindness and support were the glue that really helped cement us together. The environment was safe and nurturing.

The dedicated staff interacted wonderfully with students and parents. It made a big difference for our family.” She added that the three Biden children, “have lived, because of the Friends School experience, to let their lives speak.”

Lower School Family Science Night Lower school science specialist Tim Dalby, recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Teaching, organized the first Family Science Night at lower school this May. In addition to family activities, parents had an opportunity to hear directly from students about work on display for the Science Expo.

Volunteers at the April planting day at the WFS Organic Garden at Bellevue State Park.

Jill Biden, Ph.D., Celebrates Quaker Education and WFS On April 24, representatives from Quaker schools across the country joined together at the Arch Street Meeting House in Philadelphia for a celebration of 325 years of Friends education in the United States. Jill Biden—former WFS parent and grandparent (and current Sidwell Friends grandparent), longtime educator, and wife of Vice President Joe Biden—offered a moving tribute to Wilmington Friends and its influence on her family.

At the water wheel activity on Lower School Family Science Night.

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SPRING/SUMMER NEWS 2014

Journalism Award Congratulations to Jodi Lessner ’16, one of two statewide winners in this year’s National Federation of Press Women (NFPW) High School Communication Contest.

Royal Delegation Visit A Nigerian royal delegation visited WFS on May 21, as part of the Sister Cities program. Upper school students had a chance to see, and even be part of, press interviews and formal and informal welcomes and conversations, including discussion about efforts to rescue the schoolgirls kidnapped by the Boko Haram terrorist group.

IB Visual Arts and Visual Arts Major Exhibition An April reception highlighted this year’s exhibition by IB Visual Arts HLA Year 2 and Visual Arts Major students. Cynthia Stan Mellow teaches the upper school visual arts courses at Friends. All of the exhibiting student-artists were seniors.

The IB HLA2 students were Sophia Clark, Abigail Deardorff, Maria Delzingaro, Kenji Endo, Laura Gates, Emma Hilder, Aisling Horan, Eleni Kalaitzoglou, Bevyn Mannke, Maria Rizzo, and Olivia Saber. The Visual Arts Major students were Peyton Beard, Zachary Falcon, Lindsay Thompson, and Constança Eiras.

Rebecca Zug presents a gift to visitors from Nigeria.

Fourth Grade Greek & Roman Day Fourth grade classes studied ancient Greece and Rome this spring, and for their culminating activity, they were divided into four city-states. After designing a banner to their city-states, students marched to the “big” gym where each group performed a play based on a story of Greek or Roman figures. They then participated in athletic events such as races, throwing and catching contests, and other activities designed by Coach Mike McKenzie.

National Events for Student-Athletes Will Beardell ’14, Sophia Clark ’14, Cat Clark ’16, and Caroline Wren ’16 all qualified to compete at the 2014 U.S. Rowing Youth National Championships in Rancho Cordova, California. Congratulations also to Dani Nathan ’19 who is headed to Minnesota this summer with her team, the U13 Brandywine Blitz, for Junior Nationals in volleyball.

Blue-Gold Buddy Program Bill Gordon ’14 was the Friends representative in this year’s Blue Gold All Star Football game, and also participated in the Buddy Program, attending events through the spring with Todd Evans, also a class of 2014 graduate (Concord High School). Bill will continue his football career at Hamilton College (New York).

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Among the student-artists who presented work to family and friends, top to bottom, were Lindsay Thompson, pictured with mom Alison Egan Thompson ’81; Kenji Endo with his parents, WFS Trustee Russ Endo and Victoria Kong; Maria Delzingaro, pictured with her father, Michael; and Olivia Saber with parents Janine and Jim and sisters Alexandra and Kate.

SPRING/SUMMER NEWS 2014

Second Annual Spring Into Service 5K (Plus) The middle school was joined by the fifth grade for the second annual Spring Into Service 5K Run & Walk. Students on the advisory committee selected Faithful Friends as this year’s event beneficiary. Prior to the race, there was a collection of “entry fee” donations of dog and cat food and peanut butter.

Students participated as runners, walkers, and race workers. Middle School teachers John Hanson and Carlos Charriez, with help from parent Liz Baldwin, coordinated all of the pre- and post-race activities.

Friends graduate Jon Clifton ’80 also lent his professional race organizer talents to the event.

In addition to the 5K, middle school continued other ongoing service partnerships, including eighth grade volunteer work with Lutheran Community Services and seventh grade stewardship projects outside of school. Among the lower school service projects this spring, third grade hosted a bake sale—complete with paw-print cookies and a student-designed board game in which a tiger had to escape from poachers—to benefit a charity protecting endangered species.

And they’re off.

Middle school teachers John Hanson and Carlos Charriez, with race director Jon Clifton ’80 behind, give instructions to 5th-8th grade participants in the 5K.

Lower School Art As always, lower school was the scene of many magical creations, with the exploration of different techniques and subjects in visual arts—from dream catchers to Wyeth-style architectural drawings, from nature studies to Eric Carle-inspired creations to the exploration of positive and negative space in different media.

In addition, this year, lower school art teacher Teal Rickerman, with assistance from Laura Gates ’14, produced the first set for the new Theater. The three-panel backdrop was on display at the opening event on May 18.

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SPRING/SUMMER NEWS 2014

Lower School Grandparents & Special Friends Day On May 9, lower school students were visibly excited to welcome grandparents and special friends to campus. Students performed musical pieces from their spring concerts, helped to guide visitors through classroom activities, and settled in admirably for brief times of shared Meeting for Worship.

Students also showed off Science Expo exhibits, like the third grade “maglev trains� (pictured second row, right), designed to use magnets to transport weights safely and efficiently. With thanks to all of our guests and to everyone at school who made the event possible, it was a wonderful celebration of community.

Fifth graders visited the Capitol on their overnight trip to Washington, DC, and met with Senator Chris Coons and Congressman John Carney, both Friends parents.

spring picnic.

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SPRING/SUMMER NEWS 2014

Spring Concerts Congratulations again to the Performing Arts Department for its ingenuity and agility during the Theater construction project—including the spring concert season. (In addition to the events pictured, there were also middle school choral, and upper school choral and instrumental concerts, all creatively staged in the lower school Meeting Room.)

We look forward to the third-twelfth grade performances in the Theater in 2014-2015.

The third, fourth, and fifth grade concert included a new component this spring. The fifth graders, as part of their study of the Chesapeake Bay watershed and of water in general, had undertaken a service project to raise money for Waves 4 Water, a global organization that provides clean drinking water.

They also, as part of their design technology unit in science, made working wind, string, and percussion musical instruments, using PVC pipe scraps from the Theater construction, cardboard boxes, repurposed metal containers, and various other materials. The ever-creative Chris Verry, director of instrumental music, wrote a composition that was performed at the concert using the “recycled”instruments.

As Head of Lower School Annette Hearing wrote the next day, “It was such a wonderful example of the cross curricular work that distinguishes our lower school program. The undertaking was interesting, challenging, and involved working to solve real world problems. The remainder of the concert was wonderful as well—full of energy, enthusiasm, and lovely music!” True of all the concerts; thank you again, Performing Arts Department.

Above, clockwise from top left: at the ELC/pre-k “spring sing;” members of the band and choir (dancing as well as singing and playing) at the third, fourth, ments made from recycled materials, including scraps from the upper campus construction site cert; Christopher Verry conducts at the middle school instrumental concert.

Students introduced panelists, each representing a different Colloquium at Friends, organized by Scott Rhodewalt.

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Members of the girls’ track team joined the after-school Girls on the Run Club for a practice in early May.

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SPRING/SUMMER NEWS 2014

QUEST Big Ideas Speaker Anand Giridharadas When upper school teacher Scott Rhodewalt suggested inviting Anand Giridharadas to be this year’s QUEST Big Ideas Speaker, Head of School Bryan Garman could not help but smile. Anand had been a student of Bryan’s at Sidwell Friends School, where, Bryan said, it was already clear that Anand would become “a public intellectual.”

The forecast held. Anand is an author and New York Times columnist, writing for its art pages and global edition, and he is the author of two books. He has appeared regularly on television and radio, including on CNN, MSNBC, NPR, and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. He has lectured at Harvard, Stanford, the University of Michigan, the Sydney Opera House, the United Nations, the Asia Society, PopTech, and Google. He has been honored by the Society of Publishers in Asia, the South Asian Journalists Association, and the Indo-American Society. In 2011, he was named a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute.

Anand’s first book, India Calling: An Intimate Portrait of a Nation’s Remaking, was the focus of his morning talk on April 2 at the multi-school India-Pakistan educational series.

Scott Rhodewalt’s Global Peace and Justice students participate in that program each year. Scott is also a board member of the series sponsor, the Delaware Lahore Delhi Partnership for Peace, which co-sponsored Anand’s visit.

Friends students also had a chance to talk with Anand during a QUEST Lunch & Learn the same day.

In the evening presentation at Friends, Anand focused on his new book, published this spring, The True American: Murder and Mercy in Texas. (The 2009 WFS QUEST speaker, Eboo Patel, reviewed Anand’s book for the Washington Post this May.) The book is about a Bangladeshi, Muslim immigrant’s campaign to spare from the death penalty the white supremacist who had tried to kill him—and who had killed two other men of South Asian ancestry in a shooting spree he claimed was revenge for 9/11.

Anand started his remarks by thanking Bryan Garman—whom he still called “Mr. Anand’s evening speaking event Garman”—and noting that Bryan’s name at school was followed by a could be found at the back of India Callvery popular book signing; he is ing. “I’ve had a lot of teachers,” Anand pictured with Steven Ly ’15. said, “all of their names are not there.” He said that Bryan and one other high school teacher had steered him, “from a career in math and science and future wealth to a love of the humanities.” He also noted that the Friends audience was attending the world premiere of The True American, copies of which had been delivered from the publisher while Anand was traveling back from Burma; he had not seen the book until he arrived at school.

Anand recalled feeling “punched in the stomach,” reading a newspaper story about a man who was to be executed in Texas in July 2011 and how one of his victims was campaigning, indeed suing, to stop the execution.

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The death row inmate was Mark Stroman, who had gone to three gas stations and shot three “brownfaced clerks” in the head and neck, killing two and critically wounding the third, Rais Bhuiyan, who lost sight in one eye but survived.

Bhuiyan was a devout Muslim immigrant from Bangladesh where he had been an Air Force officer. After a period of medical, economic, and personal struggle, about 10 years after the shooting, Bhuiyan went on a pilgrimage to Mecca. He spent a year thinking about how to “make good” on what he felt he owed God for saving his life. Bhuiyan was pained by the tension between his adopted country and Islam, and decided an act of meaning would be, in the name of his religion, to publicly forgive the man who shot him and to fight for his life.

In relaying the basic story and sharing readings from the book, Anand said he hoped it would provide a “jumping off point” for a larger conversation about what it means to be an American today. He hoped it would raise bigger issues about “how these two men were made”— the immigrant who eventually became an IT professional, earning a six-figure salary, and the child of American poverty and family dissolution who only became self-aware, and also found God, when he was on death row, away from all the negative influences in his life.

Anand suggested five big questions for the reader’s and audience’s consideration. First, to consider the role immigrants play both in changing a country and in making it more itself, how immigration is in some ways restorative to national identity, especially in a nation where even most native-born citizens are the descendants of immigrants. Second, the “special nature” of poverty in America, “poverty multiplied by solitude,” in contrast to the social connections in other impoverished places in the world. Third, the transformation of the American family. Fourth, how problems created by poverty and the transformation of the family have fallen through the ideological “cracks” of left/right politics, a duality Anand distilled to, “The left cares but is unwilling to judge; the right is willing to judge but doesn’t care.” He added, “Some mix of judgment and care is involved in helping people.” For the final “big question,” Anand suggested that we ask, “if opportunity structures are changing in a way that it is better to come to America than to be born here.”

Anand concluded by answering questions, including senior Myles McDevitt’s question about how the two books, India Calling and The True American, fit together thematically. Anand described the two books as “in dialogue with each other” in many ways, including how they address the “arc toward individualism,” and how an extreme emphasis on either communalism or individualism wastes human potential. He hoped that one thematic question the books together would pose is, “what’s the right place to stop on that arc?”

SPRING/SUMMER NEWS 2014

Upper School Spring Play

Spring Sports

In the last major production before the completion of the new Theater, the Performing Arts Department presented The Hound of the Baskervilles: A Comic Thriller Starring Shirley Holmes and Jennie Watson.

Tennis State Champions and Player of the Year

The technically impressive staging was executed by a cast and crew of more than 40 students. History teacher Donald Morton ’94 and Performing Arts teacher Christopher Verry directed. Thanks, as always, to our dedicated and generous parent volunteers.

Friends junior Annie Jaskulski was a repeat champion at first singles and earned Player of the Year honors. Annie was undefeated again this year (15-0 regular season, first seed in the tournament) and dropped only one set on her way to a second title.

Annie had some friends to celebrate with this year, as sophomore Joslyn Gardner and freshman Alicia Thompson (daughter of Alison Egan Two-time state champion and Delaware Thompson ’81) took the Player of the Year Annie Jaskulski ’15. state championship at second doubles. Alicia and Joslyn posted an 11-1 regular season record, earning the second seed in the tournament.

More Tennis

Joslyn Gardner ’16 as Jennie Watson and Bron Nadal Todd ’14 as Sir Henry Baskerville.

Gil Connolly ’14 earned laughs and fans in his largely improvised role as Barrymore, the butler.

After a regular season record of 9-6, highlighted by two 3-2 wins over conference rival Tatnall, the Quaker girls’ tennis team State champs Joslyn Gardner ’16 came on even stronger in the tournament and Alicia Thompson ’17. to finish third in the state (for the third straight year), led by those championships at first singles and second doubles. The first doubles team of sophomores Charlotte Donoho and Olivia Garber reached the quarterfinals.

Seniors on the 2014 boys’ tennis team were Jamie MartelliJack Kempner, who was a state and Myles McDevitt, who made tournament for the second year

The boys’ team also had a 9-6 season; and with apologies to our neighbors down the hill, we have to mention a 5-0 win vs. athletic powerhouse (900+ boys) Salesianum. 3-2 wins vs. Archmere and Charter weren’t bad either. The boys finished a strong fifth in the state: senior Jack Kempner was a semi-finalist at second singles, and senior Myles McDevitt and eighth grader Ryan Chompre were semi-finalists at first doubles; sophomore Drew Felter was a quarterfinalist at third singles, and junior Ben Fischer and sophomore Drew Pittenger were quarterfinalists at second doubles.

Captains: Jack Kempner ’14, Meera Kohli ’15, Joslyn Gardner ’16 Coaches: Jack Rowell, Missy Veghte, Ken Dill

Girls’ Soccer

Quaker soccer had another DISC championship season (8-0 in conference, 12-3 overall), earning the #4 seed and first-round bye in the state tournament, Division II. Friends had to beat its closest conference rival, Sanford, for a third time in the quarterfinal of the tournament, and did so impressively, 2-0. The Quakers then took #1 seed Archmere through regulation and two overtimes, before losing 1-2 on penalty kicks in the semis.

Aisling Horan ’14 as Shirley Holmes in a production distinguished by creative lighting and set projections.

First Team All State and First Team All Conference: Shannon Skibicki ’15 and Izzy Martelli-Raben ’15 QuakerMatters

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SPRING/SUMMER NEWS 2014 Second Team All State, First Team All Conference: Danielle Kuller ’14 Third Team All State, First Team All Conference: Hana Arai ’15 First Team All Conference: Meg Flanagan ’17 Second Team All Conference: Eleni Kalaitzoglou ’14, Elena Veale ’14, and eighth graders Maggie Martelli-Raben and Sloan Maas Rick Sheppard was named Delaware’s Assistant Coach of the Year.

Captains: Eleni Kalaitzoglou ’14, Danielle Kuller ’14, and Elena Veale ’14 Head Coach: Scott Clothier

Girls’ lacrosse was recognized with eight All-Conference honors.

First Team: Grayton Downing ’14, Meryl Gatti ’15, Brooke Winfield ’15, and Jane Yeatman ’15 Second team: Molly Harper ’15, Martha O’Brien ’15, and Margo Tschantz ’15 Honorable Mention: Blair Atkins ’17 Captain: Grayton Downing ’14 Head Coach: Jessica Franklin

The Quakers celebrate the OT goal by Conner Armstrong ’14 that resulted in a 9-8 win vs. St. Andrew’s.

This year’s captain and lone senior on the team, Grayton Downing ’14, will continue her lacrosse career at Haverford.

Boys’ Lacrosse

The soccer team huddles before tournament.

Danielle Kuller ’14 will continue her soccer career at Ursinus.

Girls’ Lacrosse A lot to celebrate: After going 6-9 in each of the previous three seasons, Quaker girls’ lacrosse improved to 11-4 in 2014; beat Tower Hill (16-15 on April 22 at Tower Hill) for the first time since 2000; and earned a share of the Independent Conference title for the first time since 1993. There was a little heartbreak as Friends lost a tiebreaker for a spot in the eight-team state tournament; and all four of the regular season losses were to tournament teams and, as one reporter said, “maddeningly close” (three by one goal and one by two goals). But it was an incredible season, and as the team thanks its lone senior and captain, there is a lot to look forward to.

The Quakers celebrate junior Meryl Gatti’s (literally) last second goal that gave Friends a hard-fought win against Tower Hill.

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After losing eight seniors to graduation in 2013, including two All Americans and five All-State honorees, boys’ lacrosse faced a rebuilding year with one of the hardest schedules in the state. The Quakers earned an impressive six wins, including two vs. tournament bound teams (10-4 vs. DMA and 7-3 vs. Polytech) and a great OT victory over conference rival St. Andrew’s.

First Team All Conference: Jimmy Carney ’15 and Jakob Katzen ’16 Second Team All Conference: Conner Armstrong ’14 and Tommy Rhodes ’15 Captains: Conner Armstrong ’14, Wesley Connors ’14, Jimmy Carney ’15, and Tommy Rhodes ’15.

Head Coach: Jake Rashkind

Baseball A tough year in the win-loss column for baseball was highlighted by very satisfying conference wins over Sanford and St. Andrew’s (twice), and some outstanding individual performances even in tough games. With no seniors on the team, Quaker baseball is looking forward to a bright future.

All Conference First Team: Jake Erskine ’15, shortstop All Conference Second Team: Scott Davis ’15, utility Captains: Conor Ganse ’15, Jake Erskine ’15, and Scott Davis ’15 Head Coach: Mike August Jake Erskine ’15 (son of Meg Gehret Erskine ’83) will be among the team leaders to return next year.

Among the strong returning core for Friends next year, Logan O’Brien ’15 (#52, son of Matt O’Brien ’81), Jimmy Carney ’15 (#10, son of Tracey Quillen Carney ’80), standout goalie Jakob Katzen ’16, and defensive leader Tommy Rhodes (#43).

FACULTY/STAFF NEWS

Miller Leaves Great Legacy in Quaker Wrestling After 21 years, Coach Gregg Miller has retired from coaching the upper school wrestling team at Friends, and longtime assistant Donald Morton ’94 has been appointed as his successor. Coach Miller took over a struggling program of two wrestlers, and—more than 150 dual match wins later—turned it into one of the most successful programs in the DISC and in the state of Delaware.

The 2014 Quaker baseball team.

Track & Field In the state meet, the Friends girls’ team posted six top-10 finishes: 4x200m and 4x800m relays, both 10th; Bobbie Atkins ’14, 5th in the 200m; Rachel MacKelcan ’14, 5th in the shot put; Quinn McNeill ’14, 6th in long jump; and Emily Freilich ’14, 10th in the 1600m. The boys had four top-10 finishes, including a breakout performance by the 4x100m relay to earn a team point in 8th place; 10th for the 4x200m; and for Thomas Connelly ’14, 4th place in the 1600m and 7th in the 800m.

In addition, the DIAA posts the top 25 performances for the year in each event: Thomas Connelly’14 — 7th in 1600m, 4th in 3200m Quinn McNeill ’14— 14th in long jump Rachel MacKelcan ’14— 18th in shot put Bobbie Atkins ’14— 22nd in 200m Captains: Bobbie Atkins ’14, Thomas Connelly ’14, Kenji Endo ’14, and Quinn McNeill ’14 Head Coach: Paul Nemeth

Over the years, Gregg has had numerous wrestlers earn All-State and All-DISC honors and even more earn Academic All-State honors. One of the many highlights of Coach Miller’s career came in 20122013, when the team earned its first trip to the Delaware State Dual Meet Championships and advanced to the semifinals. It was this same season that the WFS team earned both the State of Delaware’s Academic All State Team of the Year and the William H. Laurelli Team Sportsmanship Award.

But his wrestlers would tell you that Coach Miller’s greatest achievements are not measured in wins or awards but in his ability to connect and develop strong relationships with his student-athletes. As Gregg wrote to his wrestlers past and present in announcing his decision, “Thanks for all the memories, frustrations, wins, close losses, and most importantly, the laughs. Respect All, Fear None.”

Welcome (back) to Cat and Tina The Alumni/Development Office is very pleased to welcome Catherine (Cat) Wiedwald Stenta ’96 and Cristina (Tina) DiSabatino to our staff.

Cat is the new Administrative and Operational Assistant in the Development Office. Previously, Cat spent nine years as the Community Relations and Events Manager at Trail Creek Outfitters in Glen Mills, PA. Deeply committed to non-profit work, Cat has been a volunteer for the Hamorton Woods Association, The Land Conservancy for Southern Chester County, the Wilmington Friends School Alumni Board, Stroud Water Research Center, Greenwood Elementary School, and Fairville Friends School. A graduate of Wilmington Friends, Cat is “thrilled” to be returning to her alma mater.

Tina is also returning to Wilmington Friends, where she was previously an Associate Teacher at lower school and a volunteer in the Development Office.

Tina is our new Director of Alumni Programs and Giving. A graduate of George School, with professional experience on the advancement teams at both George and Westtown Schools, Tina has a deep understanding of and passion for Quaker education. Tina also serves on the Board of Directors of Serviam Academy. program this year; pictured with coaches Paul Nemeth and Warren Wood are Rachel MacKelcan, Kenji Endo, Quinn McNeill, Bobbie Atkins, Thomas Connelly who will continue his cross country and track career at the University of Pennsylvania, and Emily Frielich.

Please join us in welcoming Tina and Cat back to Friends.

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June Trips

to China, Costa Rica, and Québec In early summer news, there were three school trips in June, taking middle school students to China and Québec and upper school students on a service and Spanish immersion trip to Costa Rica.

Left & above: The Québec trip combined language, historical, and cultural study with an environmental stewardship project.

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Left & above: Middle school students displayed a little Quaker spirit on the Great Wall of China and visited other cultural, historical, and culinary landmarks.

Below: On the Costa Rica service trip, students improved facilities at a community center in a small village, with time out to join the celebration of the Ticos’ World Cup soccer success and for a swim under a waterfall.

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CLASS NOTES

1945

Bob Donaghy (See 1995.)

1949—Reunion Year

Many thanks to John Beckley and Mason Marston Daley for organizing this fall’s reunion. Don’t miss any reunion information!

Please make sure your email address is up to date with the Alumni Office (302.576.2032 or alumni@wilmingtonfriends.org).

1951

John R. Griffith was named a member of the 2014 Health Care Hall of Fame by Modern Healthcare. He was recognized for helping healthcare organizations improve their performance and for his widely used textbook, The Well-Managed Healthcare Organization.

John is a professor of Health Management and Policy at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor.

Charles Tjersland received a lifetime achievement award from the Middle Atlantic Society of Orthodontists.

1954—Reunion Year

Thank you to Faith Poole Greeley for leading the class get-together for the 60th reunion this fall. Then both get the reunion year text where there are organizers…Don’t miss any reunion information! Please make sure your email address is up to date with the Alumni Office (302.576.2032 or alumni@wilmingtonfriends. org).

1958

Elisa Stroud Poole ’59 and Dick Poole have been collecting art since 1963. In March, they generously donated 100 pieces from their collection to be auctioned at a fundraiser to benefit Habitat for Humanity of New Castle County.

1959 —Reunion Year

We are still seeking volunteers to help organize the 55th Reunion. If you might be interested, or for more information about what is involved, please contact the Alumni Office at 302.576.2032, or email alumni@wilmington friends.org.

Elisa Stroud Poole (See 1958.)

1952

Fred Pardee wrote to let us know that the 7th annual Florida Reunion of the Class of 1952 was held on St. Patrick’s Day. It was hosted

by Vi and Lew Doughton in Punta Gorda.

Attendees included: Elizabeth and Bob Hodge, Mary and John Nice, Diane and Barry Smith, Laura and Fred Pardee, and Rufus Jones.

Many thanks to the Doughtons for hosting!

1962

Betty Hirschland Munro shared this note with us: “We moved back to Barnard, Vermont in June 2014. We leave our ‘children’ and eight grandchildren in northeast Ohio. Barnard is familiar to us as I visited my grandparents in the same village each summer. Don has always loved the area . . . so much so that he remained a Vermont resident when we moved to Ohio to help with grandchildren. He attended Town Meetings in March and voted at Town Hall! From snow to snow we go!”

1964—Reunion Year

At the Class of 1952 Florida Reunion: Lew Doughton ’52, Bob Hodge ’52, John Nice ’52, Barry Smith ’52, Fred Pardee ’52, and Rufus Jones ’52.

Walter Stapleton received the 2014 American Inns of Court Professionalism Award for the Third Circuit. Walt was first appointed to the federal bench—the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware—in 1970; he was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals in 1985, and took senior status in 1999.

1953

Marilyn Crum Cooper-Harper spent Easter in Maryland with her daughter, youngest son, her brother’s oldest son, and their families. They are scattered in different states and enjoyed the time together.

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Marianne Johns Cook continues to live in Wayne, Pennsylvania, keeping busy with her tutoring business, family, and friends. She recently has enjoyed catching up with some members of the Class of ’64 and is looking forward to celebrating the 50th reunion this fall.

1970

Roy Wilkinson ran for President of his Machinist’s Union District and also finished his second term as a Trustee at Cascadia Community College last September. He will miss being part of the higher education system.

1974—Reunion Year

Thank you to Meg Adams Hunter and Dorothy Connolly Mraz for planning the 40th Reunion for the Class of ’74. Don’t miss any Reunion information! Please make sure your email address is up to date with the Alumni Office (302.576.2032 or alumni@wilmingtonfriends.org).

1975

David Siebert sent us this note: “Sometimes the lights are all shining on me. Other times I can barely ski!”

David Siebert ’75 at Copper Mountain in Colorado.

1978

Marci Lobel wrote: “As the G7 world leaders met in The Hague this Spring, another important G7 meeting was held in Washington DC. As seen in the photo below, the WFS G7 included (front row L to R) Carol Longacre, Sue Finger, and (back row L to R) Marci Lobel, Ellen Rudawsky Stevens, Beth Ann Wahl Kolpen, Alice Zino, and Val McKinley Daugherty, all of whom returned after 35+ years to the locale of their Senior Class Trip for a weekend of touring, reminiscing, and fun! Although the cherry blossoms didn’t open and their visit with Eleanor Roosevelt was amid pouring rain (see photo), a great time was had by all!

Unfortunately, Joan Pearce Snyder and Amy Gibbs Heller were unable to attend; Barack and Michelle also called at the last minute to say they couldn’t make it. Special thanks to classmate Rich Diver for his generous help with G7 transportation.”

Thank you to Leslie Kirkman Reed, Pamela Perkins Young, and David Ellis for coordinating the 50th Class Reunion. They have an exciting weekend planned, with dinner on Saturday evening at Greenville Country Club.

Don’t miss any Reunion information! Please make sure your email address is up to date with the Alumni Office (302.576.2032 or alumni@wilmingtonfriends.org).

1969—Reunion Year

The Class of 1969 will be celebrating its 45th Reunion at Vicmead Hunt Club the evening of Saturday, October 18th. Many thanks to Nancy Reese for organizing this event. Don’t miss any Reunion information! Please make sure your email address is up to date with the Alumni Office (302.576.2032 or alumni@ wilmingtonfriends.org).

Members of the Class of 1978 reunite in Washington DC (see names in Marci’s class note).

Opposite: Members of the Class of 1978 with a statue of Eleanor Roosevelt, during the “WFS G7” in Washington, DC.

CLASS NOTES

Attention Car Enthusiasts!

How many of you enjoy antique or classic cars?

More specifically, how many of you still own the car you drove in high school?

Steve Johnson ’79 recently contacted the alumni office to let us know that his beloved 1967 Ford Mustang convertible is in the final stages of a complete restoration. See the photos from Steve’s yearbook page (taken by classmate Skip Stong* in Alapocas Woods) and from Steve’s daughter’s graduation announcement last year showing a similar pose in the same car 34 years later.

Steve recalled, “Bob Quillen*, Rob Heaton, Matt Hendricks, and I would arrange to arrive at school early and line up our vintage Mustangs in a row a couple times a year (occasionally Carol Quillen would join in with her Dad’s early 70s Mustang convertible, as would Greg Taylor with his late 70s Mustang II).”

Steve really wants to bring his Mustang to WFS for Homecoming weekend 2014 and the Class of 1979’s 35th reunion. However, Steve is hoping not to be “just some old guy in an old car” hanging out in the parking lot; he wants company! The alumni office has agreed to reserve a portion of the parking lot for a little car reminiscing at Homecoming on Saturday October 18. If you have a classic/vintage or just “really nice” car that you wouldn’t mind letting the WFS community admire, please contact Steve to coordinate a little WFS car show. Steve can be reached at SJohnson@ FLJDCPA.com or 305.335.1752. *deceased

Andy and Jocelyn Connect the Dots

by Keiko Endo ’12, Alumni Office Intern “I was always involved in stuff at Friends— committees, clerking—more than just going to class. Community involvement has always been a part of my DNA,” said Andy Aerenson ’81. “Friends School gave me the opportunities to learn how to do that. Friends is what made it a part of my life. I think that a bigger school wouldn’t have given me the chance to test out the process.” The desire to serve and to be involved in the community inspired Friends alumni and current trustees Andy Aerenson ’81 and Jocelyn Sutton Stewart ’82 to help found the board of a recently launched social venture, “popdot signs & graphics” (known most frequently as just “popdot”).

a printing business. The new project received a federal grant; Barclays assisted in branding; and popdot was born. popdot provides its fulltime workers with benefits and teaches them essential business skills.

These employees are responsible for producing products such as posters, banners, window and floor graphics, and car wraps. “popdot does social good, but business people often don’t care about that unless the quality of the product is good and the price is right,”Andy remarked. “With popdot, there’s no downside.

Quality and price are critical to this project working.”

Andy’s relationpopdot bridges the business and ship with West End popdot bridges the Neighborhood House business and nonnon-profit sectors, serving as has been 15 years in profit sectors, serving a sign printing company that the making. Andy as a sign printing company that strives strives to empower former foster represented West End as an attorney when to empower former care youth. the organization foster care youth. purchased houses as This for-profit venture a part of its affordable housing and foster care is jointly owned by the non-profit West End programs. Through his lawyer-client relationNeighborhood House and the Sir Speedy ship with Executive Director Paul Calistro, Wilmington printing company with which it a friendship developed, sparking a long colshares space and printing facilities. laboration between the two. When West End started Bright Spot Ventures, Calistro asked West End’s services fulfill many niches needed Andy to help and to be part of the first board by the local community, including providing of directors. popdot is Andy’s latest business means to improve the quality of life of youth venture collaboration with West End. in Delaware’s foster care system through its Life Lines Program. Jocelyn, who runs the Both Andy and Jocelyn point to the influence community relations investment team at of their Friends education in their current Barclays, notes that her relationship with West involvement in social ventures such as popdot.

End started in 2000, the same year Life Lines Jocelyn said, “Friends does a great job of prowas launched. Barclays’ community relations viding a global education and perspective on program partnered with Life Lines to teach the world. You’re always looking at the world foster kids financial literacy and basic life through that lens, seeing if you can you make skills. a difference.” She added, “Friends education is different and unique. It teaches you more However, it soon became clear that even with than just numbers and literacy. It teaches you the resources provided by Life Lines, former how to be a good person in the community.” foster children were still struggling to acquire and hold down jobs. Upon reaching legal In addition to emphasizing the importance of adulthood and emancipation from the system, community involvement, Friends has helped individuals formerly in foster care oftentimes develop connections within Wilmington. Andy encounter difficulties finding jobs and become observed, “The connection between popdot homeless due to lack of assistance when develand Friends comes from multiple avenues. oping into independent young adults. “Instead Friends used Sir Speedy as its printer. Then Sir of getting a birthday cake on their 18th birthSpeedy started its involvement with popdot, day, these kids find their bags packed on the and Jocelyn and I joined popdot’s board. I front porch,” Jocelyn said. was even talking to Lou Salvadori [parent of alumni and assistant coach] the other day, With the aid of Barclays, West End developed and he mentioned how United Electric Supply, the Bright Spot Ventures program to help where he works, started using popdot because facilitate the transition. As Jocelyn explained, it’s the right thing to do.”

“The idea was for Barclays to fund small businesses where the kids could work while “The value in popdot is that it parallels the learning transferrable business skills. Through Friends School mission so well,” Andy conemployment with these businesses, the kids cludes. Together, popdot, with Friends Andy gain basic skills and work experience in a and Jocelyn, shows how entities and people caring environment. Though they can still can gather their talents together to address be fired, they receive more support than they an existing resource gap in the community. would at an average workplace.” Bright Spot Through uniting for-profits and non-profits, initiatives, such as the Cool Spring Farmers foster kids and investors, lawyers and busiMarket, were so successful that the Barclaysnesses, a community ethos is formed that West End partnership was inspired to establish helps to connect the dots.

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CLASS NOTES

1979—Reunion Year

Thank You to Our Alumni Career Track Speakers

Many thanks to Nancy Magness for hosting the 35th Reunion for the Class of 1979. Don’t miss any reunion information! Please make sure your email address is up to date with the Alumni Office (302.576.2032 or alumni@ wilmingtonfriends.org).

Tamara Cox DeFer ’80 updated us about Jean Casadevall Cherney’s son, Ted, who is a member of the University of Delaware’s a cappella group, Vocal Point. The group was this year’s ICCA South Semifinal Champion, qualifying for the international final in New York City. The ICCA competition is familiar to fans of the hit movie Pitch Perfect.

1981

Martha A. Lemons Sherrill (See Wayne Lemons, “In Memory.”)

1984—Reunion Year

Thanks to Susie Tattersall Davis for planning the Class of ’84 Reunion in October. Don’t miss any Reunion information! Please make sure your email address is up to date with the Alumni Office (302.576.2032 or alumni@ wilmingtonfriends.org).

David Lemons (See Wayne Lemons, “In Memory.”)

1988

Achee Stevenson (See 2001.)

1989—Reunion Year

Toni Blye (See Nola Blye, “In Memory.”)

Thank you to Kim Massih Dolan for leading the coordination of the 25th Reunion for the Class of ’89. Don’t miss any Reunion information! Please make sure your email address is up to date with the Alumni Office (302.576.2032 or alumni@wilmingtonfriends. org).

1992

Rob Donaghy (See 1995.)

1994—Reunion Year

Amy Curran Harper is looking for some help in organizing a reunion for the Class of ’94 this fall. Don’t miss any Reunion information!

Please make sure your email address is up to date with the Alumni Office (302.576.2032 or alumni@wilmingtonfriends.org).

1995

Joe Jeffery has been accepted to the Ed.D. program in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven.

He is currently a teacher and the English department coordinator at Central High School in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Charlie Donaghy and Sara Sprowls were married at the Vicmead Hunt Club, Wilmington, on September 21, 2013. Charlie, a Dickinson College grad, is a Web Developer with the DuPont Co. Sara graduated from Penn State 34

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During the past school year, the alumni office arranged for “career track” programs through the upper school Lunch & Learn program.

Alumni participants made brief presentations and answered students’ questions about college, graduate school, and career experiences.

Thanks to all who participated, including (in order of appearance):

Rob ’92, Alice, Sara, Charlie ’95, and Bob ’45 at Charlie Donaghy’s wedding last September.

University and the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. She is practicing in nearby Pennsylvania. The couple lives in Wilmington. Charlie’s brother, Rob ’92, served as best man. Father of the groom is Bob ’45.

1997

Andrew Dalton (See 2001.)

1999—Reunion Year

Thank you to Katie Wolf Martinenza for organizing what we know will be a great event for her class in October. Don’t miss any Reunion information! Please make sure your email address is up to date with the Alumni Office (302.576.2032 or alumni@wilmingtonfriends. org).

Nicole Donnelly (See 2001.)

2000

Thomas Smith (See 2001.)

2001

Joe Barakat ’08—Chemistry Beth Hopkins Denenberg ’02— Biology & Genetics Jon Culver ’07—Technology Carrie Hopkins ’08—Math Josh Zimmerman ’11—Technology Ben Altman ’06—Math Reity O’Brien ’08—English and Activism Reunion information! Please make sure your email address is up to date with the Alumni Office (302.576.2032 or alumni@wilmington friends.org).

Stephanie Bonnes married Andrew Stinson in a Quaker self-uniting ceremony at Springton Manor Farm in Glenmoore, Pennsylvania, on June 15, 2013. They started dating while living in South Africa in 2006 and have since traveled to 12 different countries together. Stephanie is currently in her second year of a Ph.D. program in Sociology at the University of Colorado, Boulder, where her research focuses on military sexual violence and violence against women. Her husband, Drew, works as the International Workshops Coordinator for the American Political Science Association.

Erin DeCou is the Executive Director of Neighborhood Bike Works, a non-profit in Philadelphia. She works with local youth to provide educational, recreational, and careerbuilding opportunities. Erin’s efforts have been featured in the press, including an article kindly shared by class agent Jaclyn Mraz, who wrote, “Erin’s work embodies the core values we were taught at Friends School, of service and giving back to the community.” Read more about the Bike Works program at www. neighborhoodbikeworks.org.

Melissa Donnelly married Lee Schmeer on December 14, 2013 in Christ Church, Barbados. In attendance were Melissa’s sisters, Nicole Donnelly ’99 and Melinda Donnelly ’06, as well as Thomas Smith ’00, Andrew Dalton ’97, and Achee Stevenson ’88.

2003

Tim Christman (See 2004.)

Zac Darvish-Rouhani (See 2004.)

2004—Reunion Year

Thanks to Stephanie Bonnes and Abby Hughes-Strange for planning a 10th Reunion for their class this year. Don’t miss any

Melissa Donnelly ’01 with husband Lee Schmeer, and with sisters (and wedding party members) Melinda ’06 and Nicole ’99 at Melissa’s wedding in December 2013.

CLASS NOTES

From South Africa

By Niki Wengimann ’11 I studied through the School for International Training on the Multiculturalism and Human Rights program of 22 American students. When I first heard the words “multiculturalism” and “human rights,” I was reminded of my Friends School education that brought a level of awareness to community issues; the program sounded like a perfect fit for my sociology and history studies at Hamilton College and On the top of Table Mountain, view of Cape Town. my personal interests.

The first few days were spent in Johannesburg and Pretoria; we visited the Supreme Court, the apartheid museum, and a local township where both Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu stayed. Upon arrival in Cape Town, we immediately began studying isiXhosa, one of the eleven national languages. Between homestays, we took trips, including excursions to some of the tourist must-see attractions in South Africa. We visited the Cape of Good Hope, Boulder Beach, did a game drive in the Eastern Cape, and visited a winery in Stellenbosch. We also climbed Table Mountain, and visited Camps Bay and Muizenburg beaches.

Many alumni joined the celebration at the wedding of Stephanie Bonnes ’04. From left to right: Erin Aliquo ’05, Mat Levin ’04, Colleen Farrell ’04 (co-maid of honor), Stephanie, Tim Christman ’03, Laura Director ’04 (bridesmaid), David Nazari ’04, Jeff Palmer ’04, Abby HughesStrange ’04 (co-maid of honor), Joe Hartnett ’04, Zac Darvish-Rouhani ’03, and Meredith Seitz ’05 (bridesmaid).

2005

Erin Aliquo (See 2004.)

Stephanie Bonnes ’04 and husband Drew Stinson at their wedding in June 2013.

Meredith Seitz (See 2004.)

2006

See the great additional photo (below) from the Young Alumni Party in December 2013 (more photos were included in the spring issue of the magazine).

Left to right: Chris Collie ’06, Jennifer Rosenberg ’06 and Alumni party in December.

Melinda Donnelly (See 2001.)

2008

Emma Finkelman was selected to be a NYC Teaching Fellow.

Sara Geoghegan and friend Pat Jackish set off on the Pacific Crest Trail this spring for a 2,655 mile hike from

I had four homestays: Langa, Tshabo, Stellenbosch, and Bo Kaap. Langa was a black township 20 minutes outside of Cape Town. It was one of the first black established townships and remains the smallest around Cape Town. Tshabo was a black rural village on the Eastern Cape. Both black areas were Xhosa.

Stellenbosch is a wealthy wine region about an hour outside of Cape Town. I stayed with a white upper middle class Afrikaner family.

Bo Kaap is a “colored” (mixed race), predominantly Muslim neighborhood in Cape Town.

It is located on a hill overlooking the city bowl of Cape Town. The four homestays were a key Niki with her Langa host family. component to the experiential learning that my program emphasized. With four unique experiences, we learned the narratives of different communities during and postapartheid. Some of their challenges and privileges have stayed the same even in the new democracy.

The last month of the program consisted of an independent study project where we each did a social analysis on a topic of our choosing. Throughout this period, I interned at the Quaker Peace Centre, a small NGO established in 1988 that has programs in township schools emphasizing non-violence and peaceful conflict resolution. Although much of my intern duties included filing and organizing papers, I was still able to learn of the small Quaker influence during apartheid. Very few Quakers were present during apartheid, but Nelson Mandela and other political leaders of both the black and white sides of the conflict recognized Quaker activism and commitment to achieving a resolution through non-violent discussion and mediation.

It was interesting to consider similarities and differences between South Africa and the U.S. in terms of their racial histories, such as the effects of legal limitations on the physical and economic mobility of certain racial groups and the distinctive challenges and opportunities that have come in the South African transition from minority to majority rule. I spent time in South Africa at a crucial time in the country: the nation is still mourning the recent passing of Nelson Mandela; this year marks the 20th anniversary of the new democracy; the presidential election took place in May; and the Oscar Pistorius murder trial began. The constitution of the new democracy created equality for all social groups, but the physical, emotional, and economic separation continues to exist today. The “rainbow nation” recognizes the multicultural makeup and history of South Africa, but hostility among groups leads to continued discrimination, violence, and crime.

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CLASS NOTES tion! Please make sure your email address is up to date with the Alumni Office (302.576.2032 or alumni@wilmington friends.org).

Lindsay Schmittle continues to grow her business, Gingerly Press, a handset letterpress design studio producing high quality cards and prints from antique wood and metal type.

2010

Trail.

Canada to Mexico. Sara and Pat met in Italy last summer, where they were both working as au pairs and decided to plan the adventure after reading the book Wild. Follow Sara’s journey or send her a note at http://bringyourownbandaids.weebly.com

2009—Reunion Year

Somya Chhajlani graduated with B.S. in Environmental Engineering from Georgia Tech and is enjoying life in Long Island, NY, where he is working as an Environmental Engineer at the NY State Department of Environmental Conservation. Somya is continuing his Quaker experience as a member of Conscience Bay Friends Meeting in Long Island.

Many thanks to Elizabeth Connolly for helping to get her class together this year in celebration of 5 years. Don’t miss any Reunion informa-

Troy Beneck continues to garner honors, following his record setting (most wins ever in singles and doubles) tennis career at the University of Delaware.

This summer, Troy was featured on the cover and with a great article in NetPlay, the official magazine of USTA Middle States.

Sam Finkelman has been named a Fulbright Scholar. (Hot off the presses; details to follow in our next issue.)

Ryan McGeehan will be pursuing his Ph.D. at the University of Chicago beginning in the fall.

Greg Miraglia graduated from Haverford College this spring. He received the Loewy Award, named after the founder of the biology department, for excellence in senior research and thesis in his major concentration of studies. Greg has also been named as an

Troy Beneck ’10 earned the cover photo on the current issue of the USTA Middle States magazine.

honor scholarship recipient at Vanderbilt Law School, and will begin his studies there this fall. He plans to focus on Biotech Law. Marcelle Rice graduated with honors from Pratt Institute with a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Design. She is living in Brooklyn and working in New York City for Cubify, a division of 3-D Systems, makers of 3-D printers and scanners, as Marketing Coordinator, doing both design and marketing work.

Spring Fling 2014 We had a beautiful day for the Fourth Annual Spring Fling on Saturday, May 31. The event started with the groundbreaking ceremony for Christopher C. Mellor Field.

Debbie, Cary ’01, and Kyle ’04 Mellor were on hand, along with many friends and supporters. (Deane Mellor ’07 was unable to attend.) Following the ground breaking, lacrosse alumni and current players joined for spirited men’s and women’s games. Many thanks to all the players, officials, coaches and also to Mark Raphaelson ’80 of Johnnie’s Dog House for the delicious lunch.

Front Row: Coach Lee Powers, Steven Matter ’23 and friend, Herb Matter ’91, Will Gatti ’17, Aidan McCarron ’17, Ryan Kirkpatrick ’17, Ty Moyer ’16.

Cary ’01, Debbie, and Kyle ’04 Mellor, at the groundof Chris Mellor.

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Back Row(s): Coach Jake Rashkind, Coach Lou Salvadori, Ref. (and parent of alumnus) Greg Rodowsky, Coach Bryan Radacosky-Pentoney ’09, Ref. Mike Wilbur ’74, Steve Wilkinson ’90, Conner Armstrong ’14, Quinn Kirkpatrick ’16, Brett Tracy ’13, Patrick Pearce ’15, Jimmy Carney ’15, Chris Palmer ’13, Wes Connors ’14, Tommy Rhodes ’15, Ben Hanson ’13, Jeff Hollingsworth ’15, Sean Kirkpatrick ’13, Sam Carney ’13, Dan Carbone ’11, Coach Ray Carbone, Jakob Katzen ’16, Owen Ganse ’17.

CLASS NOTES Sarah Tufano and Ryan McGeehan both recently graduated from Duke, earning Phi Kappa Beta honors. Sarah is headed to law school at the University of Pennsylvania this fall.

2012

Derek Bednarski is taking a year off from his studies at Tulane University. After working with AmeriCorps around the United States in disaster relief efforts, Derek is now in the Philippines working with the US-based non-profit All Hands, which provides volunteer support to communities in need around the world.

Laurel Brown is double majoring in Math and Psychology at the University of Rochester.

This summer, she has a data analysis internship at Enroll America in DC, and she will study abroad in London for the fall semester.

Julian deOliveira transferred to the University of Delaware from Lehigh University. He has declared a double major in International Business and Finance and is part of the Career Services Ambassadors and a member of the executive board of ALPFA (Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting). When we heard from Julian, he was looking forward to summer travel to Brazil to visit family and to “experience” the World Cup. In the fall, he will be going to Granada, Spain, to study for 16 weeks with a program through UD. (See photo.)

This summer, Virginia DeWees will be working at her school, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, as a Writing Colleague for a summer bridge program for incoming first-years from inner-city areas. The program helps students to gain confidence in writing at the college level.

Keiko Endo is enjoying interning in the Alumni/Development Office here at Friends, where she continues to develop her interest in the non-profit sector.

Duncan Hobbs was selected to participate in the new Mortara Undergraduate Research Fellows Program (MURFS) at Georgetown University. The program gives undergraduate students in the School of Foreign Service an opportunity to partner with professors as research assistants and co-authors.

John Miraglia is attending Haverford College, where he is majoring in Philosophy. John is a pitcher on Haverford’s varsity baseball team, which advanced to the NCAA tournament this year. John is also a featured writer for an international music review website, thissongslaps.com.

Daniel Potter has declared a double major in Music and Math at Williams College. When we heard from Daniel, he was looking forward to spending a good part of the summer in Arezzo, Italy, singing opera in a program run by Oberlin Conservancy, followed by a week-long choral conducting workshop on the Oberlin campus. In the fall, Daniel will be studying in Milan, Italy, through IES Abroad’s “Milan - Music: Tradition and Innovation” program.

2014

Constança Eiras (See 2013, “Where You Are Now.”)

Follow Friends on social media.

Facebook LinkedIn Twitter Pinterest Julian deOliveira ’12 and the ALPFA group during the Accounting

Alumnae lacrosse moms and daughters enjoyed being Front Row: Jane Yeatman ’15, Meryl Gatti ’15, Martha O’Brien ’15, Margo Shannon ’17, Charlotte Strine ’16.

Middle Row: Megan Venetianer ’08, Ellie Kelsey ’09, Perrin Downing ’09, Sarah Newbold ’12, Coach Jessica Franklin.

Newbold ’78 .

Back Row: Martha Poorman Tschantz ’85, Cat Wiedwald Stenta ’96, Nina Porter Pigeon Pollard Graham ’93, Marion Rothbart Newbold ’78.

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CLASS NOTES

Class of 2013—Where Are You Now Bowman Benge is studying History at the United States Air Force Academy. He wrote, “As I approach the one-year mark of being at USAFA and in the Air Force, I can definitely say this first year has collectively been the hardest year of my life mentally, physically, and emotionally. I also do not think I have ever had a longer year, with only about four weeks total of vacation since June, unless you want to call basic training a vacation from school, during which I got put to work by a guy who actually will be a Navy SEAL. But I can also say that this has been the best year of my life and that I truly have learned a lot about myself. I have had some of the best role models, peers, and leaders, who are also some of the best human beings that I have ever met; most of them are younger than 22. I have also gotten the chance to be mentored by people like my sponsor dad, who was a USAFA ’67 grad, a cargo plane pilot in Vietnam who had to land his plane with a burning engine 12 times in his 12-month deployment, a private pilot for a Saudi princess, and is an extremely humble and personable guy. I could not make this stuff up. I set out to be challenged. I definitely am, and I know that I am better for it.” When looking back on his time at Friends, Bowman said he especially appreciates the athletic experiences that were available to him.

Ryan Broussard attends the University of Delaware, where he has his own radio show and was a manager for the UD men’s basketball team. Ryan is also on the executive board of the NAACP and is a Diversity Enrichment leader at UD. He wrote, “Friends taught me how to network, to cherish and build relationships, and to be a leader. Friends also taught me how to earn success and how service is at the root of a community.”

Sam Carney is studying Finance and Accounting at Clemson University.

Catherine Curran attends Haverford College.

She sent this note: “After attending a Quaker school for 14 years, I have found that all the values Friends instilled in me, such as leadership, respect, and responsibility, are in play every day while at college. One of the reasons I love my college is the fact that it stresses the same ideas as Friends. Thanks to Friends, I feel more aware of global and ethical issues than others. While some of my classmates at college hate the idea of fostering discussions that cover difficult topics, my experience at Friends has made me eager to share my ideas and to hear those expressed by others.”

Jimmy Curran is majoring in Ecology and Creative Writing at Susquehanna University.

Francisco Eiras is majoring in Engineering at IST (Instituto Superior Técnico) in Portugal.

His sister, Constança Eiras ’14 also attended Friends as an AFS student in 2013-14. Francisco wrote, “I think Friends was a major contributor to the global vision I now have. I mean, I was only there for one year (my AFS year), but it opened my vision to the world in so many different ways. For example, it enlightened me to the meaning of Quakerism, and it helped me understand what leadership is all about. The teachers were the main engine in this change, being very helpful and supportive in all occasions. Basically, Friends

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helped me to become a better person, in life as well as academically.”

Meredith Erskine attends the University of Richmond, and was planning to be back working in Wilmington this summer. She is a member of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority and participated in community service this past semester. Her service included activities such as walking sheltered dogs and helping kids whose parents or guardians are dealing with court suits. She shared, “Friends definitely encouraged me to think about others as much as possible. This was highlighted the most throughout my schooling experience with the 50 hours of community service requirement, which helped me to put my life into perspective and understand the world outside of my bubble.” Meredith added: “My favorite memory at Friends School would have to be my last day of 8th grade.This day showed me how close our community was as a whole. A Meeting for Worship was held during which people shared memories and stories of events happening as early as pre-k. People shared stories of times when they interacted with a kid that they had never reached out to before. It showed that although at Friends you do have your close-knit friends, you are truly friends with everybody. My favorite part of Friends was the close community that was built between not only the students, but with the faculty and staff as well.”

Alexandra Gallicchio attends Wake Forest University.

Katie Halpern is enjoying New York University and is a writer for the school newspaper.

She attended and reported on the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week. Katie met designer Carmen Marc Valco, Vanessa Williams, and Katie Couric with her back stage access.

in an art/technology start-up. After traveling through Italy, she plans to attend Bowdoin College in Maine as an English and Romance Languages double major. She wrote, “I have carried the Quaker SPICES with me throughout my travels, and the more years I live, the more I see their value. Going to Friends exposed me to the goodness of Quakerism and living by values—something that I will cherish for the rest of my life.”

Zach Lessner is studying at the University of Maryland.

Leah O’Brien is a Women’s Studies major at Vassar College. She shared, “In school, for a while I wondered what in the world ‘SPICES’ meant, but I’m learning that the values instilled by the Society of Friends are invaluable. One of the other things I’m so privileged to look back on is the lower school art program.” Leah looks forward to serving the Vassar community as the incoming Treasurer of her dorm and the incoming VP of the ceramics club.

Brett Tracy is studying Economics and Finance and has transferred to the University of Miami.

Dwyer Tschantz just finished up a gap year playing junior hockey for the Indiana Ice. “It has been a really fun year living with a billet family in Indianapolis and playing on a team with a lot of great people with amazing fans.”

Dwyer helped his team to win the USHL finals in May and then was drafted into the NHL by the St. Louis Blues in June. This season, Dwyer had 24 goals, including a team high six game winners, and 20 assists. His 44 points ranked third on the team. The Blues have his professional rights, but first, Dwyer will play Division I hockey at Cornell University, where he will enroll this fall.

Lucy Yeatman is studying Math at Penn State University with a concentration in Actuarial Sciences.

Katie Halpern ’13 with Katie Couric at Fashion Week in NYC.

Ben Hanson is on the Indiana Hoosiers men’s club lacrosse team that qualified for the national championship tournament in California.

Emily Horwitz attends Amherst College, where she is enjoying being a member of the field hockey team. In looking back at her time at Friends, Emily noted, “My experience at Friends helped me realize that I don’t need to conform. This has made me more comfortable in my own skin and has helped me make some really great friends this year.”

Fiona Iyer is spending a gap year in South Africa and Argentina. While in South Africa, she was at a social entrepreneurship program and then travelled to Buenos Aires to work

Dwyer Tschantz ’13 and his hockey team, Championship).

IN MEMORY Charles Henry Gant, Jr. ’37, age 94, died peacefully on May 14, 2014, surrounded by his family. Charles was a graduate of Wilmington Friends School and Rutgers University.

Following graduation, Charles was proudly a part of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and a veteran of World War II. During WWII, he participated in the invasion of Europe on “D-Day.” He was ranked as 1st Lieutenant and also awarded a Bronze Medal for his act of Bravery in Action during the Battle of the Bulge. After serving, Charles worked for Delfi American Corp in Wilmington, from which he retired as Vice President of Sales.

Charles was a member of St. Mary Anne’s Episcopal Church in North East, MD, where he was a past senior warden. He enjoyed fishing and bird watching. Among birders he was affectionately known as “Broadwing Charlie.” He was member of the Audubon Society, the Cape May Bird Observatory, the Hawk Mountain Sanctuary Association, the Cecil Bird Club, and the Harford Bird Club.

Charles was also a volunteer guide at Ashland Nature Center, Fair Hill Nature Center, and Elk Neck State Park.

Charles is survived by his wife of 67 years and the love of his life, Jane Hickman Gant; his three children, Robert Hickman Gant ’66 (Candy Davis), Susan Gant Harris ’67 (James Dick Harris), and William Stewart Gant ’71 (Nancy Fay); six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his brother, Richard Roys Gant ’41 and brother-in-law and best friend, Robert E. Hickman.

Suzanne Merrick ’39 of Stonegates Retirement Community in Wilmington passed away on April 16, 2014 at the age of 93. Known at Friends as Sue and to others as Sis, she graduated from Wilmington Friends School and Edgewood Park Junior College and was employed as an executive secretary by the DuPont Company for more than 37 years; she retired in 1979. Suzanne was a member of Trinity Episcopal Church and the University & Whist Club of Wilmington. Sue was an active alumna and great supporter of Wilmington Friends.

Philip Cresson Garrett II ’45 died peacefully on June 6, 2013 in Naples, Florida. He was 85. Dr. Garrett graduated from Wilmington Friends School and attended Haverford College before entering Veterinary School. He began his veterinary career in New Jersey, but soon brought his skills to the U.S. Army Veterinary Corps, where he served as a First Lieutenant during the Korean War, overseeing the inspection of food destined for American troops, a role that permitted him to utilize his professional experience in the service of his country while staying true to the conscientious moral tenets of his Quaker faith. Dr. Garrett subsequently established his own veterinary practice in 1972, specializing in herd health and reproductive medicine in dairy cattle.

Dr. Garrett was an influential member of the Central New Jersey Veterinary Medical Association, where he served as SecretaryTreasurer, Vice President, and ultimately President. Active throughout his life in his local community, he served the Township of East Amwell, New Jersey in many capacities. After retiring to Mt. Washington, he continued his lifelong tradition of community service. Build-

ing on his work with dairy cattle, Dr. Garrett also became a breeder of Holstein, Brown Swiss, and Angus cattle and was a member of the New Jersey Holstein Association.

He is survived by four children, their mother, nine grandchildren, and his companion of the last 22 years, Judith. His brother, Donald P. Garrett ’53 and his sister, Shirley, predeceased him.

Shirley Simonton Bancroft ’47 (Sis to everyone), age 84, died on May 13, 2014 at the Country House in Wilmington, surrounded by loving family, including her devoted husband of 52 years, Lewis (Lew), after a long battle with pulmonary fibrosis. Her family generously designated Wilmington Friends School as a recipient of memorial donations.

Sis was born in Wilmington and graduated from Wilmington Friends School (K-12), Lasell Junior College, and Syracuse University (BS). She worked briefly in New York City and then in Wilmington for DuPont’s Textile Fibers Department.

In 1953, Sis married a Naval Officer, Ralph Foster, and spent several years at Yale University while Ralph earned his Ph.D. They had three children. Ralph died of leukemia in 1958.

In 1962, Sis married Lew, who had three children, and proceeded to even up the gender balance by having two more boys. She was very active in tennis, paddle tennis, squash racquets, golf and skiing. She won the first ladies’ putting contest at Wilmington Country Club and became the first woman president of the Friends School Alumni Association. Her brothers were also Friends School alumni, Fagan H. Simonton, Jr. ’43, and William K. Simonton ’39.

Her children are Donald Foster ’72 (Shelly), twins Fay Foster Felty ’75 (Jeff) and Patty Foster Fosselman ’75 (Bruce), Thomas “Ned” Bancroft ’81 (Bonnie), and Jay Bancroft ’84 (Lanie). Her step-children are Steve Bancroft (Mary Alice), Ellen Bancroft, and Betsey Bancroft Wu (Yue). Sis is also survived by 12 grandchildren.

The Rev. Donald Roderick Welles, Jr. ’53, age 79, was born peacefully into eternal life on June 16, 2014 at home, surrounded by family. A native Delawarean, Rod attended Wilmington Friends School and graduated from the Hotchkiss School. Rod received his B.A. from Yale University and his Master of Divinity from Episcopal Theological School in Cambridge, MA. Following seminary, Rod taught English and religion at St. Paul’s School in Concord, NH, after which he was head of the upper school of Portledge School in Locust Valley, NY. He also served as head of Sewanee Academy in Sewanee, TN, and head of the Arlington Schools in College Park, GA. After returning to Wilmington, Rod worked first for Independent School Management and then for Friendship House, Inc. Rod believed there were three essential relationships in life: one’s relationship to God, one’s relationship to other persons, and one’s relationship to God’s creation. Expressing these relationships was the hallmark of his ministry as a priest, as an educator, as a racism awareness trainer, and as a minister to the homeless. Rod is survived by his beloved wife of 40 years, Sue; two children; and three grandchildren.

Dr. Susan Smith Arpad ’55 died on April 7, 2014, from multiple myeloma, an incurable bone marrow cancer. She was 76. Susan received her bachelor’s degree from Smith College, her master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Delaware, concluding her studies in 1974.

After brief history teaching positions at Wesley College and George Mason University, Susan became a professor of popular culture at Bowling Green State University in 1975.

In 1982, at the request of Governor Richard Celeste, she founded the first Women’s Studies program in the state of Ohio, among the first in the nation. In 1986, she became the Chair of the Women’s Studies Department at California State University, Fresno (CSUF), one of the largest such departments in the nation.

During her academic career, she published several books and many articles, including Make a Joyful Noise Unto the Lord: Hymns as a Reflection of Victorian Social Attitudes (1978) and Sam Curd’s Diary: The Diary of a True Woman (1984), as well as many book reviews in Choice and other journals.

Upon retiring from CSUF in 1999, Susan became very active in Habitat for Humanity in the Central Valley of California, obtaining federal grants to build farmworker and other low-income family housing. During this time, she directed the first Habitat for Humanity Women’s Build, where women construct an entire house with their newly acquired skills.

In 2004, upon moving with her husband Joe to Wadsworth, Ohio, she began another career as a community organizer and volunteer grant writer for local non-profits.

Susan married Dr. Joseph Arpad in 1977.

They have two sons, Alexander (Nicole Armstrong), Phoenix, AZ, and Monty, Mesa, AZ. She is survived by three sisters, Kay Smith Schauer ’52, Palo Alto, CA, Sally Smith Lambert ’57, Delmar, MD, and Mary Smith Farnell ’60, Seaford, DE, and many nieces and nephews.

Arthur Guild Connolly, Jr. ’55 died at the age of 76 on March 25, 2014 at his home in Wilmington. He had a rare and aggressive form of lymphoma, which he fought with great courage and strength for nearly three years. His family was with him when he died peacefully.

Art was born in Wilmington, the oldest of six children. He attended Wilmington Friends School from kindergarten through tenth grade and graduated from Archmere Academy, the same year he met his wife of 54 years, Joan McDowell Connolly.

Art was an excellent athlete who excelled in football, basketball, baseball, and tennis.

He possessed both a fierce competitive spirit and good sportsmanship, qualities which also served him well in his three battles with cancer. He desperately wanted to go 3-0 versus cancer, but finished with a 2-1 record.

Art was a competitive runner and biker who competed in hundreds of races until 2013.

Even after being diagnosed with cancer, he continued to run and bike and completed a successful duathlon in 2012.

Art graduated from Georgetown University in 1959, and received his J.D. from Georgetown Law School in 1962. He practiced law with Connolly, Bove, Lodge, and Hutz LLP, a firm founded by his father, from 1962 until 2012 QuakerMatters

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IN MEMORY when he became Emeritus Counsel with Connolly Gallagher LLP, a firm co-founded by his son, Chip.

Art was known locally, regionally, and nationally as an outstanding litigator. He was a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, a past President of the Delaware State Bar Association, and a past Chair of the Delaware Board of Bar Examiners. His professional contributions also included service on the Advisory Committee, United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit; Board of Directors, Delaware Volunteer Legal Services; Fellow, American Bar Foundation; Member, Code of Judicial Conduct Committee of the Supreme Court of Delaware; and Member, Board of Professional Responsibility of the Supreme Court of Delaware. He was also an Adjunct Professor of Trial Practice at Widener University School of Law. He received the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware Service Award and the Delaware Bar Association’s Distinguished Pro Bono Award.

Art’s many contributions to the community include serving as past Chair of the State Public Integrity Commission and as a Member of the Board of Trustees at both Wilmington Friends School and Archmere Academy. He was a founding Board Member and past Chairman of Cancer Care Connection. Art was also a Director of the Laffey-McHugh Foundation beginning in 1967 and served as President from 1998 until his death. Art and Joan were recognized by Children and Families First of Delaware with the 2000 J. Thompson Brown award for their longstanding dedication to helping children in our state.

Art often said that he derived more satisfaction from his pro bono work, helping those in need, than he did from his corporate practice.

He was a fan and supporter of underdogs and had great respect for those who had faced and overcome adversity.

Art’s favorite times were spent with his loving family and his many friends. He was always eager to help others and had no real desire for merit or recognition. His kindness, intelligence, and quick wit will be sorely missed by all who knew him.

Art is survived by his wife of 54 years, Joan, their three children and spouses, and seven grandchildren: Arthur G. Connolly III (Chip) ’79 and Katy Connolly and their children Elizabeth ’09, Caroline ’12, and Gil ’14 of Wilmington; Amy Connolly Doherty ’80 and Michael Doherty and their children Megan and Katherine of Aspen, Colorado; and Michael ’84 and Ashley Connolly and their children James and Win of Aspen, Colorado. He is also survived by his five siblings and their spouses: Dr. Ronald G. Connolly ’57 (Sieglinde) of Lafayette, CA; Dr. Christopher G. Connolly ’59 (Marjie Liner) Liner of Sudbury, MA; Gerardine C. Disabatino (Mauro) of Aspen, CO; Mary C. Braun (Wilson) of Wilmington; and Thomas A. Connolly (Nouchine) of New York City. He is also survived and beloved by many nieces and nephews.

Cynthia Kinahan Dustin ’56 passed away on April 9, 2014. She is survived by her devoted husband of 50 years, David R. Dustin, Sr.; two sons, a daughter, seven grandchildren, extended family, and a large circle of friends.

Mrs. Dustin was a graduate of the University

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of Maryland and received her Master’s degree from the University of Delaware. She was a devoted member of Eastern Shore Chapel Episcopal Church and served for many years on the Alter Guild. She was talented with needlework and enjoyed playing bridge.

Bonnie Woodworth ’66: We recently learned from her friends in California of Bonnie’s unexpected death. As relayed by one of her Stanford University classmates, “Bonnie always spoke highly of Friends School.”

Bonnie passed away just days shy of her 66th birthday. She grew up in Wilmington and moved to the Bay Area in the mid-1960s to attend Stanford University. She loved Northern California so much that she made it her home, moving to San Francisco where she worked in retail for more than 30 years, both in sales and as a Director of direct marketing, with major companies that included The Emporium, Macy’s, and I. Magnin. Bonnie enjoyed life to the fullest, especially when attending live musical and theater performances in both San Francisco and Carmel. She was an avid supporter of many performing arts organizations, particularly the San Francisco Opera, the San Francisco Symphony, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Smuin Ballet, and the Carmel Bach Festival. Bonnie also served for several years on the board of what is now called the Museum of Performance and Design (MPD), formerly known as the Performing Arts Library & Museum (PALM). She enjoyed sharing good food and wines with her friends and cultivated an encyclopedic knowledge of wine from rich California and European heritages. She was a devout “foodie,” delighting in the bountiful offerings of Bay Area eateries and was always excited to share her discoveries with friends. Her love of all things California eventually made her fall in love with Carmel and, at the time of her death, she was in the process of planning her retirement in the Carmel area. She was very much loved and will be sorely missed by her friends.

Charles D. Jefferson Sr. ’74 passed away unexpectedly on April 17, 2014 in Vero Beach, Florida. Charlie was a longtime resident of Wintergreen, Virginia, and had recently moved to Vero Beach to be closer to his mother and the natural beauty of the beach. Charlie attended the University of Miami. He is survived by his mother, Naomi L. Jefferson, his two children, and his brother and sister-inlaw. He was predeceased by his father, Edward G. Jefferson, and by his brothers, Edward Graham Jefferson, Jr. ’72 and Peter Love Jefferson.

Fredrick (Eric) Carl Herrick Zumsteg ’96 died suddenly on April 13, 2014. He was born to Norma Herrick Zumsteg and Dr. Fredrick (Rick) C. Zumsteg, Jr. in 1978 in Wilmington, DE. He married the love of his life, Elizangela (Liza) N. Marchena Zumsteg on May 2, 2009 in a fairytale wedding celebrated on Eagle Beach, Aruba, Liza’s native island.

Eric graduated from the University of MaineOrono where he was a Presidential Scholar in 2001. Eric had been pursuing an MBA at University of Delaware, Lerner School of Business. Eric spent his career in business with PFPC, Global Investment Servicing (GIS) which is now a part of BNY Mellon. He was a

manager in investment servicing. He was also an Eagle Scout.

In addition to his wife, and parents, Eric is survived by a very close extended family, and at the time of his death, he and Liza were expecting a baby in June.

In his short 35 years, Eric packed several lifetimes of interests and activities including: worldwide travel, skiing, photography, music, science, astronomy, gourmet cooking, and loving and training his miniature pinscher, Neister, who learned to take commands in two languages. Eric possessed a keen intellect, natural curiosity, love of reading and an uncanny ability to recognize hundreds of popular tunes with only a few notes for his hint. His love of music ranged from popular to classical. Eric’s infectious grin, warm personality, wry humor and acceptance of people with great openness were witnessed by all who had the privilege to meet him.

Many people commented on his classic good looks. Eric truly cared about people, loved to develop his staff and enjoyed discourse on subjects from the esoteric to the completely practical.

Friend of Friends Nola C. Blye, former Wilmington Friends School Trustee, died on February 2, 2014.

She had retired from Cheney State University, where she served as Dean of Mathematics and Acting Provost, after 32 years. Nola was a woman of many accomplishments and interests; in addition the Friends Board, she was also District Governor for Toastmasters International. She is survived by her daughter, Toinette (Toni) Blye ’89; a sister; her beloved Chihuahua, Teddy; and countless family and friends.

E. Wayne Lemons, age 83, a former Trustee of Wilmington Friends, died peacefully and surrounded by his family, on June 10, 2014.

Wayne was born and grew up in Gravelly, Arkansas, and received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Arkansas. He began his career as assistant professor of Entomology at the University, before joining the Agricultural Chemicals Department of Hercules. He retired in 1990 as Director of International Marketing. In 1991, Wayne was appointed by Governor Michael Castle as Director of the Delaware State Lottery. In this capacity, he served a term as President of the Multi-State Lottery Association, and he was on the board of the National Association of State and Provincial Lotteries. Wayne continued to serve as Lottery Director for Governors Carper, Minner, and Markell. He retired in September 2011.

Wayne was a long-term member of both Westminster Presbyterian Church, where he served as Deacon and Head Usher, and Greenville Country Club, where he served on the board.

He also served on the board of Burton House.

Wayne is survived by his wife, Janet; daughter, Martha A. Lemons Sherrill ’81 (Sinclair); son, David W. Lemons ’84; two grandchildren; and two brothers.

IN CLOSING

From Our Family Album, May 18 With thanks to everyone who attended the Community Open House, celebrating the new Theater, gym, and atrium—and to everyone who made these beautiful new facilities possible.

(Photos by Elisa Komins Morris)

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101 School Road Wilmington, DE 19803 www.wilmingtonfriends.org

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HOMECOMING 2014 Celebrate with Friends Friday, October 17Saturday, October 18 For more information about Homecoming events, please email Special Events Coordinator Stacy Gatti, sgatti@ wilmingtonfriends.org; or visit www.wilmingtonfriends.org/ homecoming-2014 For class reunion information, please contact Director of Alumni Programs and Giving Tina DiSabatino, tdisabatino@ wilmingtonfriends. org.

Or call the Alumni/ 302.576.2975.

See you in October!

Artwork top left by Kenji Endo ’14 QuakerMatters