Non-profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID PERMIT No. 13 Waterbury CT, 06708

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1 Non-profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID PERMIT No. 13 Waterbury CT, Alumni Office 565 Chase Parkway Waterbury, CT (203) Formerly St. Margaret s-mcternan School

2 The WINTER 2010 MAGPIE Alumni Profiles Library Re-Dedication Chase Archives

3 Contents Headmaster John D. Fixx Academic Dean Joseph A. Hadam Director of Development Krista L. Coletti Director of Alumni Relations Mathew A. Calabro 04 Director of Parent Relations Maureen Carleton Board of Trustees A Message from the Headmaster 1 Chase Today 2-4 The Re-Dedication of McTernan Centennial Library In Service of Country An Introduction to the McTernan History Book Officers Fern Z. Feldman, Chair Robert W. Garthwait, Jr. 78, Vice-Chair Judith Kellogg Rowley 53, Secretary Robert Mazaika, Treasurer Trustees Kevin Bennett Anne Briglia 76 Rick J. Errichetti John Haestad Ann Hodgman David Lewis Paul T. McGowan Priscilla Mulvaney Kelley Murdy Adrienne Parkmond John Pronovost Diana E. Smith 55 Margaret D. Smith 69 Dr. Marcia Tejeda Hiram Upson 46 Ex-Officio Members John D. Fixx, Headmaster Nora Mitchell Kenney 86, President, Parents Association Kelly Murtha Pelosi 91, President, Alumni Association Life Trustees Alcine Rippere Gager 35 Jane Punzelt Herfort 44 Nancy H. Camp 49 Alumni Association Board of Directors Alumni Day & Reunions Commencement Alumni Connections Alumni Profiles Class Notes The Chase Archives Q&A with Faculty Member Pascale Musto Front Cover Photo: Patrick O'Connor Design: Peapod Design Kelly Murtha Pelosi 91, President Marcia Lenkowski Moriarty 64, Vice President Mathew Calabro 04, Secretary Sally Adams O Connor 61, Treasurer Directors Jessica Capone 00 Heston Clapp 67 Emily Becker Fasano 95 Robert Fenn II 56 Martha Somers Henderson 62 Jennifer Behr LaCapra 97 Allison Pelosi 98 Marjorie Meyers Ross 52 Diana Smith 55 Matthew Titley 88

4 A Message from the Headmaster 1 A Message From John Fixx We educate tomorrow s leaders and inspire in each student a life-long passion for learning, personal achievement, and contribution to the community. For many of us, January means finding the energy to take down December s decorations and storing them away for another year; at the same time, we all give some thought to what we will need to retrieve from storage for the next holiday. Indeed, it is always encouraging and comforting to know that another celebration is just around the corner, and we at Chase are preparing for two grand up-coming celebrations. In 2012 Chase will be marking the 100th anniversary of one of its founding institutions, McTernan School, and in 2015 we will celebrate the 150th anniversary of Chase Collegiate. These milestones are tremendous, and serve as reminders that we are merely stewards of the School, preserving it for the next generation, and that we must be evermindful of our history, heritage and purpose. To this end, we are thrilled to have former Alumni Director, Robin Burns, onboard as our new School Archivist. She has been working fervently over the past several months to collect, classify and catalogue memorabilia from the School s past from turn-of-the-century Saint Margaret s financial ledgers to a leather McTernan football helmet from the 1940s. In May we had a remarkable turn-out of McTernan alumni for the re-dedication of the School s Headmaster Fixx handing out champagne to members of the Brass Circle Society on Alumni Day. Centennial Library, and the creation of the McTernan History Book, spearheaded by Chris Brooks 59, will codify the as-of-yet unwritten history of McTernan School for current and future generations. In the coming months we will be convening a committee to begin organizing the 150th anniversary of the School, which will celebrate Chase s unyielding dedication to education. Beginning with the Collegiate Institute for Young Ladies first class in 1865 and continuing on to our most recent graduates, the Class of 2010, the School has taught generations of students how to succeed. The story of young alumnus Cheruba Prabakar 00 is a shining example of how the School can change lives and set the stage for professional and personal achievements. Chase is entering one of the most exciting periods of its history, and with the continued steadfast devotion of our alumni and faculty we will continue to achieve the greatness that has defined us for so long and which will continue to define us for generations to come. John Fixx, Headmaster WINTER 2010

5 2 Chase Today Chase Today Chase Welcomes Jason Lewis and Jeff Terwin It is always difficult to say goodbye to those you cherish, and it was with much regret that the School recently bade farewell to Middle School Head John Carpenter and Upper School Head Greg MacGilpin, who both served Chase for several years with great distinction, garnering admiration and praise from all those whom they taught, mentored, and worked alongside. John, desiring to return to his hometown of St. Louis, Missouri, accepted a position as Head of the Middle School at Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School. Greg is pursuing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to serve as the headmaster of Costa Rica Country Day School, where he had taught earlier in his career. One of Chase s most wonderful attributes is its ability to attract the best and brightest, and it was with great enthusiasm that the School welcomed Mr. Jason Lewis as the new Head of Middle School and Dr. Jeffrey Terwin as the new Head of Upper School. A young Jason Lewis, bottom row and second from the left, at his school in Ontario. Jason Lewis While born in Vermont, Jason considers his home to be Northern Ontario. When he was three, his father, the headmaster at a small, independent school, felt that he was spending too little time with his family. My Dad quit his job and built us a small cabin on an island in Northern Ontario that my Mom, Dad, baby-sister and I moved to in For four years the Lewis family lived on Lake Temagami, approximately 300-miles north of Toronto. The nearest road was six miles by water, and the nearest major town was 80 miles to the south. Though a world away from their home in Vermont, a summer camp on Lake

6 3 Temagami had been in the Lewis family since 1933 and they were very familiar with the area. Jason attended a small, two-room, Kindergarten-through-Grade 8 school, administered by a local husband and wife. The school taught roughly 32 students at any one time, with each grade comprised of merely three or four children. Most of Jason s classmates were Ojibwe, one of whom is currently the Chief of the northern Ojibwe tribe, the Teme-Augama Anishanabi. The school was a mile across the lake from our island and I vividly remember that when the ice was too thin to take a snowmobile and too thick to travel by boat, my Dad would load me into a canoe and pull me across the lake. Despite the wonderfully enriching experience of living among the Ojibwe, Jason s parents were eager to provide him with a larger, more traditional educational setting for his formative years. They left Ontario and settled in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, where Jason would attend Cranbrook-Kingswood School and then Breck School in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His college career brought him to New York s Skidmore College, where he would obtain his Bachelor s Degree in Psychology and Physiology. I had just graduated from college and happened to take a position as a long-term substitute teacher, stepping-into a 7th Grade Life Science class. It was at that point that knew I was bound for a career in education. Despite the wonderfully enriching experience of living among the Ojibwe, Jason's parents were eager to provide him with a larger, more traditional educational setting for his formative years. After a brief stint in Boston, Jason began teaching at the Greenwich Country Day School, where he would remain for seven years, serving as a Biology teacher, the Educational Technology Coordinator, the 7th Grade Coordinator and the Chair of the Science Department. What I love the most about the Middle School years is the everyday chance to develop both the child and the learner. It is a challenging yet wonderful responsibility. Certain that he wanted to continue his formal education, Jason left Greenwich Country Day, matriculating to Stanford University in 2009 and graduating with a Master s of Arts in Education this past spring. While studying at Stanford, Jason eagerly pursued the Head of Middle School position at Chase. There are so many wonderful aspects of Chase, but what truly impressed me the most were the interactions I witnessed between the students and teachers. The faculty is made of up amazingly dedicated individuals, and is always striving to provide the best possible experience for the student. At Chase you find an unequivocally student-centered approach. Jason not only appreciates this individual attention from Chase s teachers, but he expects it from himself. During his first two months he invited each of the Middle School s advisory groups to his office to have a relaxed conversation about the School, classes and life in general. Jason is truly a scholar and holds dear to his heart a teaching mantra We need to make sure that we are addressing the needs of the specific child at the specific time. WINTER 2010

7 4 Chase Today Jeff Terwin Growing up in southeast Michigan, Jeff was originally interested in advertising, an ambition set aside when he was asked to teach a lab during his senior year at Michigan State University. I thought that I would be facilitating some discussions and proctoring tests, but I ended up leading one hour lectures and two hour labs each and every week. This was the first time that Jeff had been exposed to teaching and it ignited in him a passion for education. Even while enrolled in a PhD program at the University of Maryland, studying Marine, Estuarine and Environmental Science, he was unsatisfied simply sitting in a class, longing to stand at the front of one. I loved my classes and doing research - I did some extensive studies of blue crabs in the Chesapeake Bay - but I was also begging for opportunities to teach. Finally, they allowed me to take on a few sections of introductory statistics. Upper School Head Dr. Jeff Terwin and Middle School Head Mr. Jason Lewis on the South Porch. After obtaining his PhD, Jeff began his postdoctoral research at the University of Connecticut, studying invasive species in Long Island Sound. Despite his intensive research, and publishing a paper on the subject in 2003, he found himself continuously driving to Storrs to teach. Jeff began connecting with science teachers at various independent schools to assess if that would be the correct path for him. The response from these faculty members was universally positive! I knew then that teaching at an independent school was what I wanted to do. He applied to several open positions and ended up landing at Chicago s North Shore Country Day School teaching science and serving as the School s basketball and golf coach. Soon, Jeff became the Dean of Students and Director of Sustainability, all the while teaching the School s entire Biology series. I think one of the greatest goals we can work towards is an improvement of the already wonderful culture of collaboration here at Chase. To give you one example, in late-september, Tom Cayer, a Middle School social studies teacher, was leading his 6th Grade class in the building of a wigwam using authentic American Indian tools and techniques. Through the program our new Upper School English teacher, Monique Neal, who was teaching a course in American Indian literature, was able to take Tom up on his offer to visit his class. Together Monique and Tom were able to integrate their two courses and you had Upper School students reading American Indian poetry to the 6th Graders, and the 6th Graders were showing the Upper School students how to create an authentic birch bark wigwam. This example of collaboration also demonstrates the level of dedication and inventiveness inherent in the School s faculty. It s so valuable to have teachers who are willing to extend themselves for their students and students who are willing to make the most of those opportunities. One teacher, despite a full load of courses already, will be teaching an Independent Study Project (ISP) in which two students will study the work of Stephen King and this isn t unusual! Jeff is interested in exploring a Service Learning program, which will make involvement in the off-campus community more regular and codified. It would be wonderful to see a curriculum-based, student-centered, relevant and ongoing community service project undertaken. Always the scientist, Jeff would also like to add additional marine biology classes into the curriculum. THE MAGPIE

8 McTernan Centennial Library 5 The Re-Dedication of McTernan Centennial Library The atmosphere was one of excitement and nostalgia on May 1, 2010 as more than 85 alumni of McTernan School gathered in Chase s Centennial Library to honor its re-dedication as the McTernan Centennial Library. This group would mark the largest ever assemblage of McTernan alumni on the Chase Parkway campus. The School was honored and humbled to welcome back representatives of three of the four McTernan headmasters: Berkeley Hotchkiss, Jr. 56, the son of former headmaster Berkeley Hotchkiss, Sr. 18; Chris Ranft 59, the son of former headmaster Winston Ranft and former faculty member Christine Ranft; and Clayton Chip Spencer, headmaster of McTernan School from 1970 to 1972 and of St. Margaret s-mcternan School from 1972 to The family of Charles McTernan, founder and headmaster of McTernan School, reside in France and are planning on returning to Waterbury for the 100th Anniversary celebration in Jim Smith 63 delivering a keynote address, complete with McTernan songs, to his fellow alumni. Centennial Library was originally dedicated in March of In 1963, Frederick Kellogg 19, one of the McTernan School s first graduates, began a capital campaign aimed at raising $250,000 for a much-needed library building for Saint Margaret s School. The original building included a language laboratory, music listening room, specialized reading room and a small chapel. An art studio, which combines working space for sculpture, painting and drawing, is connected to the Library. In 2008, the Library underwent numerous upgrades, including new computers on the main floor, electrical and cabling system upgrades to support additional computers, and glass paneling on the second floor to isolate sound. The re-dedication of McTernan Centennial Library will ensure that the name McTernan lives on forever within the halls of the school it helped to create; and with spirits and champagne flutes raised high, Chuck led all those in attendance in a toast to the history of McTernan and future of Chase. Tim Beeble 68, Marc Chabot 71, Bruce Engelman 60, Dutch Barhydt 76 Clayton Spencer, Ben Jones 53, Jeff Greenberg 71 WINTER 2010

9 6 McTernan Centennial Library Chuck Kellogg 45 fondly recalls his time at McTernan in his keynote address. Alumni friends and staff raise their glasses to McTernan. The Library s new plaque, donated by Rob Fenn 56. Sandy Larkin 59 unveils his gift to the School, a painting of McTernan School by Rett Sturman 61. Headmaster John Fixx, Berkeley Hotchkiss, Jr. 56 (son of Headmaster Berkeley Hotchkiss 18), Former Headmaster Clayton Spencer, Chris Ranft 59 (son of Headmaster Winston Ranft) THE MAGPIE

10 In Service of Country 7 In Service of Country The Connecticut Legislative Office Building. The Department of Defense. The USS Denver. Each is a grand representation of American policy, both foreign and domestic. Most people would consider these more tourist attractions than places of work, but for three Chase alumni these locations are their cubicles and corner offices. The School has a long and eminent list of alumni who have chosen to dedicate themselves to the service of the United States in the civil and uniformed services. Here are the stories of three such alumni: Connecticut State Representative Betsy Ritter 69, 38th Assembly District of Waterford and Montville; Captain Promotable Geoff Bartlett 01, United States Army, and 1st Lieutenant Rob Patenge 04, United States Marine Corps. Betsy Ritter 69 The Connecticut Legislative Office Building on Capitol Avenue in Hartford is stunning. It s not an old or historic structure; a glass ceiling covers a large, marble floored atrium. It truly conveys the influence exercised by those who work there, including Betsy Ritter, within the offices of the Committee on Public Health. Betsy was first elected as a State Representative in 2004 and has served four terms in the State Legislature. On November 2, 2010, Betsy was re-elected to a fifth term by the citizens of Connecticut s 38 th District.

11 8 In Service of Country continued 8 I was always interested in issues of civil rights and social justice, says Betsy, who was consistently most passionate about her social science and history courses while at Saint Margaret s School, and was a longtime member of the School s debate team. During the turbulent era of the 1960s, these academic interests often manifested themselves outside the classroom, and Betsy found herself ardently engaged in American political culture; she worked for Eugene McCarthy s presidential campaign in After college, Betsy married, obtained her M.B.A. and lived in Florida and Virginia. It wasn t until she and her husband had their two daughters, Carrie and Bess, that she re-settled in the northeast. Having friends in Waterville, the Ritter family settled there, eager to set their roots in this beautiful Connecticut town. In 1990, very soon after moving to Waterville, Betsy first entered public service, being elected as the Registrar of Voters. She held that role for three and a half years, before being appointed to the post of Town Treasurer, which she held for five years. She was then elected Tax Collector in 1998 and was re-elected in Halfway through her second term, however, Betsy was encouraged to run for the State House of Representatives and was elected in November of 2004, eager to bring change to Hartford. Betsy speaking at a press conference regarding a new prescription drug bill I came in here gung-ho to take all the money out of the electoral process, but soon found myself outside the room because I was too strident in my positions. As with all careers where teamwork and consensus-building play a central role, Betsy decided to soften her stance on some issues and stand strong on others, all the while never compromising her true beliefs or commitment to her constituents. Halfway through her second term, however, Betsy was encouraged to run for the House of Representatives and was elected in November of 2004, eager to bring change to Hartford. Indeed, almost immediately she began devoting herself most passionately to the issue of health care, and she currently serves as the House Chair on the Committee of Public Health. The goal, of course, is to bring about better care at lower costs. The question is how do you do that? Two of the most fundamental ideas are increased access to primary care and prevention, especially prevention of diabetes, which accounts for 20% of today s healthcare costs. There s also insurance reform and exchanges. Aside from healthcare, Betsy has seen some interesting bills passed during her time in the House. Every year there s some wacky stuff! One example is the so called Pickle Bill that guarantees farmers and farm stands the right to sell acidified foods, such as relishes and salsas, which were banned due to health concerns. Between the serious bills and quirky ones, Betsy observes, public service is the hardest and most rewarding thing I have ever done.

12 9 Geoff Bartlett 01 This fall, Geoff Bartlett will be pinning on the rank of Captain in the U.S. Army and receiving a Meritorious Service Medal. He already holds a Joint Commendation Medal and was recently nominated for his organization s highest honor, the Warrant Officer Ronald P. Bucca Award for Excellence in Counter-Terrorism. Geoff served as a member of Operation Iraqi Freedom, in and around Baghdad from December 2008 to May 2009, and will possibly be heading to Afghanistan in the spring. I knew from an early age that I wanted to serve my country, says Geoff, who comes from a long line of American servicemen. Members of his family have honorably served in every American conflict since the Civil War, so Geoff s decision to join the United States Army was in keeping with a family tradition of service. Chalk it up to the 1980 s television program G.I. Joe, or the stories I heard from and about my grandfathers and other relatives. While at Chase, Geoff applied to a collection of service academies, including West Point, the Air Force Academy and the Virginia Military Institute, but decided to matriculate at The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina. The traditions and the Spartan toughness were unmatched among the other academies. I wanted the toughest. In my travels I have met [Citadel] graduates all over the world, in the hallways of the Pentagon, the Middle East, Central Europe, and all over the United States. The reaction is always the same it s like you ve known each other for your entire lives. Geoff receiving recognition as a finalist for the Ronald P. Bucca Award Geoff describes his time at The Citadel, or El Cid, as the students affectionately call it, as life-changing. I lost 30 pounds my knob year [the El Cid term for freshman year] before I even made it to Christmas furlough. When I arrived at the train station in Southbury, my mother walked right past me because she didn t recognize me. This hardship and deprivation has proven well worth it, Geoff says, especially when he sees his work in counter-terrorism benefit the country. Though he can t be specific, given the nature of his work, Geoff confides that a specific action that he took raised the security posture of some of our forward assets, and prevented an imminent attack. Even though our enemies will never stop, it felt great to know that I did something that protected our citizens. This dedication to the United States and deep sense of public responsibility were not only outgrowths of his family history, but of his studies at Chase, as well. I have always been an avid reader and I find history and culture enthralling. I especially credit Mr. Michael Colligan with instilling in me an appreciation for America s history and explaining that it s each citizen s duty to preserve our democratic system. This hardship and deprivation has proven well worth it, Geoff says,especially when he sees his work in counter-terrorism benefit the country. Outside of his official responsibilities, Geoff is very involved in the Wounded Warrior Project, an organization that aids severely wounded American veterans. He helps at auctions and golf tournaments, the proceeds of which go to help wounded veterans. A great time with good friends for an excellent cause. WINTER 2010

13 10 In Service of Country continued Rob Patenge 04 As a 1st Lt. Rob commands a platoon of 50 Marines, a responsibility he says few in the private sector can understand. The USS Denver is an Austin-class amphibious transport dock sailing the western Pacific; aboard ship is Rob Patenge, 1st Lt. in the U.S. Marine Corps. Unlike Geoff, who had decided during childhood to join the armed services, Rob made the decision during his sophomore year of college. An Economics major at Pennsylvania s Carnegie Mellon University, Rob was initially interested in heading to Wall Street. I wasn t the LeBron James of my major, but I was competitive enough to expect good news from any company I gave my resume to. It was actually a job fair that led Rob to join the Marines, though through an unconventional set of circumstances. During an interview, the representative from one of the large Wall Street banking houses interrupted their discussion three times to check her Blackberry; fed-up with this lack of respect, Rob walked out of the interview and into a recruiting office and has, as he says, been in this racket ever since. Although his arrival in the Marines was rather sudden, Rob immediately developed an unyielding dedication to the Corps and its values of Honor, Courage and Commitment. Nobody endures the five selection phases and Officers Candidate School because of whim. In my life, I have never experienced a place where integrity and perseverance are tested so relentlessly and where the consequences of failure are so absolute. Every directive I pass to my Marines is an order enforced by military law. Along with the responsibility of leading troops, Rob is also charged with instructing them. Teaching and mentoring my Marines both on the job and in life is the most rewarding part of my job. One day I might be teaching one of my sections how to gain high ground in an urban environment, the next day how to register the birth of a baby with the government. He attributes part of his success as a leader to his experiences at Chase, especially with science teacher Richard Behan, Mr. Behan s Advanced Placement Physics was the first class I ever took that blew my mind, a testament to the college-style rigor of the class. And I earned a 5 on the AP exam [the highest possible score], which was solidly reflected in my generous B grade. Rob at his home in Litchfield Most important, however, was Rob s experience in Chase s Public Speaking class. Standing in front of a group of people (in my case, ) on a daily basis teaching or commanding largely relies on eloquence and virtuosity. Rob suggested that if the School no longer offers Public Speaking to re-instate it immediately. In fact, the program is not only still in existence; it has grown to become a distinguishing component of a Chase experience. Geoff mentioned that the freedoms and qualities of life we enjoy are never far from extinction and each generation must have leaders that are willing to step up in all walks of life. Betsy Ritter echoed these sentiments, stating that it s so important that we have lots of people interested in order to keep our system alive, healthy and well. Should these three Chase graduates provide any indication, it would seem that we are in very good hands. THE MAGPIE

14 An Introduction to the McTernan History Book continued 11 An Introduction to the McTernan History Book An Interview with Chris Brooks 59 In 1910, a gentleman named Charles Clare McTernan was hired by Frederick Starkweather Chase, a Waterbury brass manufacturer, to tutor his two sons and two other boys in Latin. Two years later Mr. McTernan founded his eponymous School in a rented building on the corner of Cooke and Grove streets. Ninety-seven years later the idea to write and publish a history of McTernan School was first proposed in a meeting of the then-fledgling McTernan 100th Anniversary Steering Committee; Chris Brooks, McTernan School Class of 1959, was tapped to lead the production. Chris was kind enough to sit down and answer a few questions about the Book and its creation. From 1912 to 1945 Mr. McTernan saw his initial handful of boys grow to a student body of 60; McTernan School had indeed developed into an invaluable part of the Greater Waterbury community. When he retired in 1945, Mr. McTernan was able to hand a thriving school, complete with an exceptional academic philosophy, to Mr. Berkeley Hotchkiss, who would lead the School through the post-war era. - taken from the McTernan History Book. The rise of McTernan School seems to parallel the rise of Waterbury as a major industrial center. Is there a connection between the two? I think it would be fair to say that there would have been no McTernan School had Waterbury not developed as a truly global manufacturing base at the turn of the century. The prosperity of the brass companies led to a boom in solid middle class families who wanted to send their sons to the country s elite prep schools. Mr. McTernan realized that what Waterbury needed was an independent school that could prepare boys for the rigor of high school and college. Fortunately, Mr. McTernan wasn t the only one who felt this way and was able to find funding and guidance from several community leaders. What was the inspiration behind the History Book? There were several principal motivations behind the Book. The primary reason, of course, is to make sure that the history and stories are remembered and preserved. The history of McTernan School is truly fascinating and wonderful, and this is one of the great opportunities to finally codify it for the future generations. We also thought that a history book would be a great piece to distribute to McTernan alumni to honor and commemorate the School s centennial. Personally, my greatest motivation was to demonstrate that McTernan is still very, very much alive within the culture of Chase. From the public speaking program that was championed by Christine Ranft to the portraits of the McTernan headmasters hanging on the Garthwait Dining Room walls, the history and traditions of McTernan School are ever-present. That s not something easily detected by those who haven t been to the School since their graduation, but I ve had the pleasure of being very connected over the years; my brother and I both went to McTernan, of course, but my three sisters all went to Saint Margaret s, my two daughters are both St. Margaret s-mcternan graduates, and I served as a Trustee for several years during the 1980s and 1990s.

15 12 An Introduction to the McTernan History Book continued What kind of documents are you drawing upon during your research? When I began the project I spent a solid month going through the Archives to locate any and all McTernan documents. I pored over photographs, student report cards, school handbooks and class lists. I read through the minutes from the Board of Trustees, an appraisal of the McTernan physical plant and several donated copies of the McTernan Mirror. The Committee and I also went through some modern publications like The Magpie to pull out any material, and listened to the oral histories that many McTernan alumni have given here at the School. The Committee was also instrumental in helping to locate a lot of this material, especially from external sources. They all helped dig for information at the Mattatuck Museum, the Silas Bronson Library, the Waterbury Republican- American newspaper, and local historical societies. The School s former Archivist Rosemary Franzen was simply a fountain of information, and I was able to draw a lot on a short history of McTernan done by John Stephen 70. There is so much to write about, how have you decided to present it within the book? The majority of the Book is segmented by headmaster similar to how American History is often divided by presidential administrations. McTernan s four headmasters were transformative figures; each was a veritable legend in his own time, and so how better to understand the development of the School than by understanding the men leading those developments? The cover of the McTernan History Book We also have a section on McTernan s Buildings and Grounds and one on McTernan s History and Traditions; we have Headmaster Biographies, an Introduction to Waterbury, Student Recollections, lists of students and teachers, and a Timeline of Significant Events, which I felt was important in order to set the stage, so to speak. What has been the most challenging aspect of the book s production? [Laughter] It was really just one big challenge! If I had to choose the most difficult part, it would have to be the accumulation of the information. Many of McTernan s early records were unfortunately destroyed during the Hurricane of 1938, and others were lost as a result of some flooding. So, you really had to dig to find the information you were looking for. You would have a narrative laid out but then you would have to go back to find documents that filled-in the holes, and then you had to go back and make sure you didn t miss anything. Likewise, since there were no yearbooks or complete class lists it s been a real challenge to make sure that we have all the alumni listed correctly. THE MAGPIE

16 13 Have other alumni been involved with the book s production? Absolutely. Of course, the Thomson brothers deserve the greatest recognition; Schuyler 61, Peter 65 and Alex 70 have graciously donated the cost of the Book and really made this whole thing possible. Mat Calabro 04 has done some great work with the writing, and Charley Monagan 64 has provided brilliant guidance and expertise throughout the process, in addition to having written an amazing introduction. The McTernan 100th Anniversary Committee has also been indispensible for their efforts gathering information, relocating alumni and helping me make some tough decisions; I d like to thank Hi Upson 46, Judy Rowley 53, Gus Hampson 55, Rob Fenn 56, Peter North 58, Sandy Larkin 59. Both Berkeley Hotchkiss, Jr. 56 and Chris Ranft 59 donated some excellent pictures that their fathers had taken while they were headmasters. Finally, earlier this year we had several focus groups with McTernan alumni to go through class lists, identify alumni in pictures and share their thoughts about what they would like to see in a history book about McTernan School. Is it too late for a McTernan alumnus to help out? It s never too late. We re always looking for pictures and memorabilia for use in the Book. If anyone happens to have anything they d like to loan or donate to the School, we d love to have it. When will the book be released? We re set for a May release date. McTernan s four headmasters were transformative figures; each was a veritable legend in his own time, and so how better to understand the development of the School than by understanding the men leading those developments? Chris Brooks 59 speaking at the dedication of the McTernan Centennial Library.

17 14 Alumni Day and Reunions Alumni Day and Reunions Kelly Murtha Pelosi 91 Cheers! DeDe Chirgwin Brown 70 raises her glass with classmate Suzy Mink 70 and Ginny Chittenden Pierpont 46 Ben Jones 53, Peter North 56 and Sandy Larkin 59 make their way to the South Porch Rocky Carroll 61, flanked by the Brooks brothers, Chris 59 and David 56 Charlotte Watson 61, Tara Upreti 59, Lynn Wesnofske 59 and Ray Wesnofske THE MAGPIE

18 15 Latin major Schuyler Thomson 61 speaks with Latin teacher Bill Bingham (middle) and Academic Dean Joe Hadam (left) Board of Trustees Chair Fern Feldman with Diana Smith 55, 2010 recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award Barry Huber 68 with brother Craig Huber 63, and Craig s wife, Linda Sally Adams O Connor 61 presents Chase s Professional Achievement Award to close friend Dr. Tara Sharma Upreti 59 Maryellen Holden, Debbie Somers Atkins 85, ReRe Villano 85, Kristin Owen Kite 85 Classmates Sandy Larkin 59 and Chris Ranft 59 40th Reunion classmates Gayle Gaumer 70, DeDe Chirgwin Brown 70, Linda Burbank 70, Suzy Mink 70, Jessica Lunan 70 WINTER 2010

19 16 Commencement Commencement Accomplished Alumnae Shares Advice Now that you have survived the transition to college, what s next? asked Cheruba Prabakar 00. I want to tell you a story about the thrill of exploration and the value of investing time and effort into the things you enjoy the most. Some of us already have a career path in mind, and for the rest, don t worry, you ll get there. Apart from preparing for our standardized exams, working hard to maintain our GPA, and seeking the best internships in our chosen field, most of us have a passion something unrelated to what we do for a living. For some it has to do with sports, others music, others travel - for me, it was the thrill of outer space. When I was at Chase I attended Space Academy in Alabama and after I returned I thought about dropping the idea of becoming a doctor and becoming an engineer or perhaps an astronaut. I eventually chose medicine, but my love for NASA did not die. During college I entered a national competition along with some engineer friends at Smith that would let us fly an experiment on NASA s KC-135, which simulates weightlessness. We were ecstatic when we were selected. Floating around the cabin totally weightless was an amazing feeling and probably one of the coolest experiences I ve had thus far. I later enrolled in medical school, and figured I was giving up NASA for good. But during my 4th year, I found out that NASA had an elective just for medical students and I found a way to fit it into my schedule. I spent a whole month in Houston, working on a medical project for one of the upcoming space missions. I got to do all this simply because I was proactive and nurtured my interest. Cheruba delivering her remarks on the South Porch. Commencement Speaker Dr. Cheruba Prabakar 00 is a graduate of Smith College and the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. Cheruba is currently completing her residency in OB/GYN at North Shore Hospital in Long Island, NY. [For more on Cheruba s story, please turn to page 25.] The Young Women of the Class of THE MAGPIE

20 17 Sydney Parkmond 10, who is continuing her academic career at Smith College, was elected by the Upper School faculty to deliver the Senior Address at Commencement. Following are excerpts from her remarks: The greatest benefit of our small environment and more importantly of our small class is we all know each other, okay that can be good and bad! The good part of knowing each other is we have all connected on some level; we have all had the experience of each other. We can all name something that each other likes. This may seem insignificant to some but if we truly think about it, it is the most important thing that we all long for.to be known and to be acknowledged for who we are. I like to think of our class in terms of a quilt. Lives, like quilts, are pieced together by many experiences, creating patterns of meaning. Each one of us represents a square in our 2010 Chase quilt; woven together by experiences, trials, tribulations, good times and not so good times but forever connected with our own story. As squares on our quilt, we are alike yet we are different; each square uniquely designed and properly fitted together. Once that quilt is sown together it is beautiful, it tells a story, and it provides warmth and comfort. Several 2010 graduates have family members who are also alumni, which is truly indicative of Chase s commitment to its student and their families. Fathers and Sons: Bob Garthwait 78, Bobby Garthwait 10, Tad Sendzimir 66, Yuri Sendzimir 10 Father and Daughters: Alyssa Yerger 07, Robert Yerger 78, Kirsten Yerger 10, Michael Colligan Alumni and Development Office Interns: Anita Shah 10 and Nakia Mulley 10 Graduate John Moller 10 attempted to dry-off after participating in the 3rd annual post-commencement swim in the pond. WINTER 2010

21 18 Commencement continued Class of 2010 Bentley University Hartwick College Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Bowdoin College Hobart and William Smith Colleges Sacred Heart University (2) Castleton State College Keene State College Saint Mary s College Central Connecticut State University Lehigh University (2) Smith College College of Charleston Loyola University Maryland Springfield College College of the Holy Cross Marist College St. Lawrence University Cornell University (2) McDaniel College Suffolk University Drexel University Messiah College Susquehanna University Emerson College Northeastern University (2) Tufts University Fairfield University (3) Pratt Institute University of Connecticut (2) Gettysburg College Providence College University of Hartford Hamilton College Quinnipiac University Wesleyan University THE MAGPIE

22 Alumni Connections 19 Alumni Connections Chase s annual Alumni Soccer Game, organized by John Salvatore 89 and Chase teacher Karl Schwoerke Top Row: Brian Boyd 03, John Monagan 03, John Costa 05, Jon Michaud 06, Jason Luria 04, Stephen Behr 08, Drew Havely 06, Chris Rokosky 09, Matt Monagan 05, Scudder Baggett 07, Connor Mulvaney 09, Michael Moulthrop 08, Jake McCandless 09, Max Schadler 08, Mike DellaCamera 09, Jeff McHugh 08, Nat Fixx 11, Sam Dowling 09, Mark Salvatore 91, Ryan Jessell 01, Jeremy Bailey 01, Bryan Rosengrant 00, Athletic Director Matt Lawlor Bottom Row: Hunter Schwoerke 12, Keiran Schwoerke 07, Jon Risk 06, Nick Stoilov 10, John Salvatore 89 and Son, Karl Schwoerke The fifth annual softball game between Chase faculty and staff and the Camp Highlander Counselors Career Day Oct Top Row: Eric Hadam 09, Andrew Hadam 05, Scott Temple, Cheryl Tokarski, Jim Wigren, Jeff McHugh 08, Jason Lewis, Nate Fitch 11, Jim Lazor 12, Kristin Tokarski 11, Chaela Branciforte 14, Reid Delaney 12, Riley Streit 12, Paul Malaspina 12 Bottom Row: Steve Carleton, Steve Behr 08, Adam Angibeau 09, Bill Bianchi Little League Baseball Assistant Regional Director Patrick Holden 00, Enst & Young Accountant Marnie D Uva Zalewski 95, Attorney and Lobbyist Josh Hughes 92 WINTER 2010

23 20 Alumni Connections continued Fall 09 Declamation Judges Former Middle School Head John Carpenter, Peter North 58, Judy Rowley 53, Lincoln Fitch 10, Hi Upson 46 Spring 10 Declamation Judges Tom Brayton III 81, Emma Paine 08, Janet Suhr Henderson 60, Dr. Ian Shuttler P 12, Steve Minkler P 13 THE MAGPIE

24 21 New York City Alumni Gathering: Tremendous thanks to Alison Ferrara Chase 57 for hosting us in the City this year! Ann Gygax with Carl Erwich 02 and John Chipko 02 Classmates Mat Calabro 04, Karen Squires 04, Will Mayo 04, with Robin Burns Volunteer Thank You Breakfast at Woodbury s Mill House Antiques, courtesy of William and Diana Hildreth P Sue and Jim Nardozzi 86 P 20 speak with fellow parents Kevin Bennett P and Mary Ellen D Amico P Former School librarian Sally Ziegler speaks with Board of Trustees Chair Fern Feldman, while Chris Brooks 59 talks with fellow alumnus Rick Errichetti 82 WINTER 2010

25 22 Alumni Connections continued Linky s Place Dedication: On 2010 the School s new pavilion, Linky s Place, had its ceremonial opening. Built at the site of the Saint Margaret s School Senior House, Linky s Place serves as a perfect location for teachers to hold outdoor classes, students to work collaboratively, and the School to host gatherings. Trustees Diana Smith 55 and Bob Mazaika GP Students, alumni, faculty members and Trustees gather to cut the ribbon. THE MAGPIE

26 Alumni Profiles 23 Eric Ciaramella 04 Eric Ciaramella 04 describes his first trip out of the United States as being equivalent to a child thrown into the deep end of the pool. Rather than wetting his feet with a long weekend in Montreal or a family vacation to the Bahamas, Eric s first glimpse of foreign soil was a three-foot deposit of snow outside of the Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg. It was during his freshman year at Chase, in the spring of 2001, that Eric was invited on a church-led trip to Russia with the goal of delivering gifts and funds to an orphanage. The trip itself was fraught with ups and downs I remember, as a 15 year old, the joy of discovering a certain Russian chocolate, brimming with vodka. Equally vivid a memory was the horror I felt when presented with a particular Russian delicacy, pickled cow tongue but his journey to Russia instilled in Eric a nearly insatiable passion for traveling to foreign lands and learning foreign languages. Anywhere else my zeal for different cultures would have gone unnoticed or unfulfilled, but at Chase there were few limitations to what I could pursue. My initial interest in traveling to Russia was a direct result of our Russian segment in Jim Wigren s World Cultures course. Though reading Crime and Punishment may have encouraged some students to avoid Russia, it was the stark difference between Raskolnikov s life and my own that made me want to travel there. Upon returning from his trip, Eric immediately set to work learning Russian. Chase s art teacher, Rusty Brockman, had been studying Russian for years and was rather proficient, so I asked if he could teach me. It was this first, informal brush with Russian that would end up dictating so much of Eric s academic future. He would later major in Russian and East European Studies at Yale and, at the graduate level, at Harvard. In addition to his Russian independent study at Chase, Eric enrolled in Spanish, French and Greek, and he took a distance learning course in Norwegian, moderated by college counselor Tina Segalla Grant. In his junior year, he traveled with the School to Spain, and in his senior year, to Italy. Upon his graduation from Chase, Eric entered his freshman year at Yale. Wasting no time, he immediately enrolled in Russian, Italian and Arabic. In a way, Yale really allowed me to access the rest of the world from my backyard. He soon developed a knack for promoting unique language studies among his college friends, convincing two people to accompany him to Tunisia for a summer-long intensive Arabic course, and to Turkey for a several-week foray into the Turkish language. After he returned to Connecticut, he became a research assistant for a professor of Middle Eastern Politics at Yale and friends with a Yale linguistics professor, with whom he would later travel to Ukraine in order to help document the endangered Crimean Tatar language. Eric with Alison George 04 in Bilbao, Spain. During his four college summers, only one was not spent abroad. For the summer of 2007 Eric had accepted a job at the U.S. Justice Department s Office of Special Investigations, a branch that was first established to investigate Nazi war criminals, but has since expanded to include modern cases of genocide in Europe, Africa and Asia. It was here that he found the first practical application of his language skills outside of academics and traveling. The world-wide scope of the office s investigations required the use of foreign records and newspapers, work that was normally contracted out to other translation services. Eric, believing this to be a waste of time, offered to do some of the translating personally, and soon found himself working with documents in Russian, French, Swedish, Danish

27 24 Alumni Profiles continued Anywhere else my zeal for different cultures would have gone unnoticed or unfulfilled, but at Chase there were few limitations. and Serbian. Following his graduation from Yale, Eric entered a two-year Master s program at Harvard in, what else, Russian studies. It was at Harvard, during the first year of his program, that he achieved his record of languages simultaneously studied. There were four in total: Russian, Uzbek, Serbo-Croatian, and Welsh (which he described as taking for geographical diversity ). During the second year of his program, he wasn t simply taking languages; he was teaching them as well. It was at this point that Eric, having been hired to teach an introductory Russian course to both undergraduates and graduate students, fully developed his appreciation for all of his language teachers. I always knew that Mrs. Maryellen Holden was a fantastic teacher, but until I stood in front of a class, I didn t understand just how impressive and effective she really was. In total Eric has visited approximately 28 countries (he admits losing count), and although while traveling he doesn t always know a country s national language, he is often able to get by on the languages he does know. In the summer of 2005, Eric traveled through Central and Eastern Europe with friend Mat Calabro 04. While in Poland, Eric and Mat were frantically attempting to decipher the bus schedule in order to get to the Warsaw Uprising museum before it closed. A Polish man who did speak English was able to relay their predicament to a kind, middle-aged Polish woman who spoke no English whatsoever. Undeterred by the language barrier, the woman offered to lead Eric and Mat to the museum herself. As they were walking, Eric asked the woman if she spoke German; she didn t. He asked her if she spoke French or Italian; she didn t. Then he asked her if she spoke Russian; Of course! she said, allowing Eric and her to easily converse, and for Eric and Mat to thank her profusely for her help. Stuck in a similar situation several years later, Eric was attempting to cross the Turkish-Bulgarian border. The border agents spoke no English and he spoke no Bulgarian. He asked if they spoke French; no. Russian; no. Serbian; no. German; Of course! Despite all the places he has been and all the stories he has heard, Eric recalls four salient images that have remained with him, that guide and inspire his passion for other cultures. I recall a sea of anxious Palestinians at the border crossing between Jordan and Israel. I recall U.N. refugee tents hastily pitched outside of Tbilisi, Georgia. I recall the bullet holes in the walls of Warsaw buildings, and the profound silence and sorrow that permeated Auschwitz and Birkenau. I recall the first-hand accounts of people being targeted by snipers in the streets of downtown Sarajevo, Bosnia. It s those moments, he confesses, that make him want to do his part to alleviate the current strife of so many, and help prevent future generations from enduring similar suffering by helping to open up international communication and cross-cultural understanding. In that same vein, he offers some advice to Chase students and alumni alike: I encourage everyone to travel extensively, either through a study abroad program or just on your own. In fact, go somewhere outside of your comfort zone, go somewhere where English isn t spoken. And when deciding where to go or what language to study, don t be too concerned about a language s immediate, practical application; you never know when a language will come in handy trust me. Oh, and one of his most amusing travel stories? Last month he attempted to pay his check in Croatian kunas. He was in an Alabama coffee shop. THE MAGPIE

28 25 Cheruba Prabakar 00 At the age of 29 Cheruba Prabakar 00 has already emigrated from India, graduated from Smith College and the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, flown in zero-gravity with NASA, delivered more than 500 babies, married her sweetheart and given the Commencement Address at her alma mater, Chase. Her accomplishments are tremendous, and so is her story. In 1996, Cheruba received a package in her hometown of Madurai, India. Enclosed was a St. Margaret s-mcternan School application sent to her by Michael Colligan, the then-head of the Upper School. Though 8,000 miles from her home, Cheruba had been aware of the School through a family connection; her uncle and aunt lived on Country Club Road in Waterbury, and her cousin, Augustus Jayaraj 96, had attended the School through the eighth grade. Very soon after submitting her application Cheruba spoke with Mr. Colligan, who had the pleasure of informing her that she had been accepted to the School. Immediately, Cheruba, her mother and her sister made preparations to re-locate from India to the United States (her father was tragically killed in an automobile accident years earlier). A mere ten days before the start of the school year, the Prabakars arrived in Waterbury, moving in with their family on Country Club Road before finding an apartment of their own on Park Road. One of the largest concerns for Cheruba and her family was how they would be able to afford a Chase education. Remarkably, that same year, the newly established Kellogg Foundation Scholarship would be awarding funding to a student for the very first time and, unbeknownst to Cheruba, Mr. Colligan had already submitted her name for contention. Over the next few months, Cheruba would became very close to Scholarship benefactors Judy Kellogg Rowley 53 and Cynthia Kellogg Skipp 47, both of whom would provide her with guidance and support for years to come. Cheruba s arrival in Waterbury would mark the first time that she had been outside of India and yet, despite being away from everything that she had ever known, Cheruba took to the School straightaway, plunging headlong into Chase s academics and athletics with her characteristic thoughtfulness, excitement and vigor. Having always been passionate about the sciences, Cheruba became an immediate fixture in the classrooms of Ann Gygax and Dick Behan. Regular and Advanced Placement Biology, Regular and Advanced Placement Chemistry, Physics and Advanced Placement Calculus are among the many courses in which she excelled. Cheruba and her husband Sanjay. Though the sciences may have been her favorite group of classes, Cheruba recalls that her Spanish and English courses were some of the most important of her Chase career. Enrolling in Maryellen Holden s Spanish I her freshman year, Cheruba would continue taking the language until she graduated. Señora Holden taught me the language so well that despite having never taken another Spanish class I can still proficiently converse with my Spanish speaking patients today, a decade later. Likewise, Cheruba credits her senior year English course, Essay Writing, taught by Martha Jane Echols, with both teaching her how to write and instilling in her a love for writing. Because of Dr. Echols I have a passion for writing to this day. As she entered her final year at Chase, Cheruba began searching for her ideal college. Her grades and test scores ensured that she had her choice of schools, and her list included the usual, ivy-covered subjects. Missing from the list, WINTER 2010

29 26 Alumni Profiles continued The team prepared for an entire year for their three hour flight and combined 15 minutes of zero-gravity. however, was the alma mater of Cynthia Kellogg Skipp, Smith College. I didn t really consider Smith initially, admits Cheruba, because I wasn t sure I wanted to be at an all-female school. Mrs. Skipp, a fiercely proud Smithie, was undeterred by Cheruba s hesitation, and they both went up for a tour. I fell in love with Smith! It had all the aspects of Chase that were so wonderful. She applied to the school and was accepted Early Decision. Now in college, Cheruba attempted to decide what course of study to pursue. In my heart of hearts I always knew I wanted to be a doctor, but I also loved NASA and space. Fortunately, Smith s small size and close interdepartmental cooperation allowed for Cheruba to take classes in both the biological sciences and engineering, something that would have been impossible at a larger university. She pursued both disciplines before her interest in the brain eventually steered her towards a major in neuroscience. Her passion for space never dissipated however, and in her senior year of college she was able to join a team of Smith engineering students who were entering a nation-wide NASA-sponsored competition. Each team would have to draft a proposal for an experiment that needed to take place in zero-gravity. Smith s team planned to test the properties of particular liquid mechanical lubricants that would be needed on the International Space Station. Despite stiff competition from countless larger universities throughout the country, Smith was selected by NASA as one of the teams that would be able to personally test their experiment in zero-gravity on NASA s KC-135 plane. The team prepared for an entire year for their three hour flight and combined 15 minutes of zero-gravity. It was the coolest experience of my life! Cheruba graduated from Smith in 2004 but decided to take a year off before entering medical school. I worked at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, part of Harvard Medical School, for a year studying sleep apnea, which went hand-in-hand with my interest in the human brain and my neuroscience background. After a year at Beth Israel I applied to UConn s School of Medicine and was accepted soon after. Cheruba describes her time at medical school as the best four years of her life. Your entire academic career, you re working toward one goal to get into medical school! Now that I had been accepted, I was able to settle down with a wonderful group of friends and enjoy myself - while doing all my work, of course! A mere nine years after graduating from Chase, Dr. Cheruba Prabakar began her residency in OB/GYN at North Shore Hospital in Long Island, NY. When asked how many babies she has delivered, she remarks, humbly, at least 500, and a set of twins! Soon after taking up her post at North Shore, Cheruba was asked to serve as the speaker at Chase s 142nd Commencement on June 11th, [For more on Cheruba s Commencement speech, please see page 10.] Cheruba was married on September 18th, 2010 to Sanjay Heyakumar. In attendance at their wedding were Judy Rowley and the son of the late Cynthia Skipp, who passed away in 2009 a fitting tribute to the Kelloggs whose support and guidance helped Cheruba along the way to achieving her remarkable ambitions. THE MAGPIE

30 Class Notes 27 Class Notes 1937 Ruth Hargreaves Backhurst at 90 years old is still enjoying life thanks to her two great-grans, Decklan and Griffin Johnstons. She hopes that her classmates are as blessed as she is and wishes them luck. She writes, Love to all and to one great school Betsy Barber Sanderson and her husband Sandy are still happily enjoying life at Kendal, a CCRC in Hanover, N.H. Though Sandy has increasing Parkinson s and is housed in the Health Center there. Betsy still plays tennis three times a week but no more skiing. There are plenty of meetings and committees here and a wonderful opportunity to participate in ILEAD classes (Institute for Lifelong Education at Dartmouth) all year long, she writes. In June, Betsy attended her 65th reunion at Wellesley, along with 34 others Susanne Earls Carr was at St. Margaret s, briefly, before moving to Washington, D.C. She writes, Though my stay was only a year, it was such an interesting, unforgettable time: the era of U.S. involvement in WWII, when Miss Edell was Head. According to Ronnie Strickler Fritter the highlight of 2009 was Alumni Day at what she states is dear old SMS. She writes, I was totally stunned to get the Fairbanks Award along with Ruth Boardman Wilson and Joe Jane Punzelt Herfort. There were six of us who came back, including Mimi Camp Niederman, Elizabeth Smith Benson and Emily Estes Whalen. It was a gorgeous campus and a beautiful day. Sorry you missed it! 1945 Unfortunately, Jessie Faber Waterhouse could not be at the 65th reunion due to a combination of age and arthritis. Still, she does manage some volunteer work with Save the Children (an international charity) and Friends of the Elderly (a charity that runs care homes and home visits). For the rest of her time, her 15 grandchildren keep her occupied. She also has a one-yearold, half-american great-grandson she has yet to meet! She writes, But if any more intrepid 45ers or their children come this way, I look forward to giving them a warm welcome. Elizabeth Brown Gordon has a career in teaching, and because of this background she is now involved in the Headstart Program and is tutoring in a school for children with learning disabilities. As one gets older, life is not as full of different things, it seems Carol Hayes-Christiansen wrote this from Chautauqua, NY where she spent the summer away from the heat of Gainesville, FL. There is a nine week program there that she attended. It is a program of religion, arts, education and recreation. Carol took a river cruise on the Seine with her sister from Paris to Normandy and back to Paris. Carol writes, It Ruth Hargreaves Backhurst WINTER 2010

31 28 Class Notes Sydney Webber Eddison was a wonderful trip, highlighted inadvertently by my sister and me walking probably eight miles or so from the center of Paris back to our ship as we were too hesitant to use the subway and did not know what bus to take. When we got back to the ship and were thinking about what we could have done, we realized we could have taken a bus to the Eiffel Tower, and walked to our ship from there. Too soon old, too late smart, I'm afraid. Otherwise, Carol s life in Gainesville continues much as it has been- handbell and singing choirs at the church, golf, volunteering in the church office once a week, and taking in many of the University of Florida sports, especially volleyball, football, basketball and baseball Beverly Siliciano Starr is doing the usual things a 77 year old does. She is involved with her family, grandchildren and great granddaughter. Beverly writes, It is wonderful to have a baby back in our lives! Beverly and her husband live in Venice, FL during the winter and come back north to Charlestown, RI for the summer. She has been very active with Hospice and has had some amazing experiences with people at the last stages of their lives--there is no nonsense--all is true and very touching. Beverly s favorite patient was a 100 plus gentleman who would regale her with stories of the past. He was awarded the Croix de Guerre from France for serving in the First World War on French soil. Beverly writes, Would love to see anyone travelling anywhere near us-- we're in the phone book and have lots of room for visitors! Sydney Webber Eddison has a new gardening book out. She s proud to announce this book made the bestseller list on Amazon.com s gardening section: Gardening for a Lifetime: How to Garden Wiser as You Grow Older. Jeanne dubois Gordon is still working as a professional guide at Winterthur Museum and has been for more than 38 years, with the occasional tour in French (Wellesley major). For Jeanne family is of major importance especially because her grandson-in-law, who s a cancer patient, is seriously ill. Jeanne volunteers as a lector (lay reader) and choir member at her church.she spends part of her winters in the Cayman Islands and part of her summers in Maine, with annual visits. In May 2009, she saw her 16th visit to Paris bookending her third canal barging cruise. Jeanne and her husband have traveled a lot, but have no major trips planned this year. trips planned this year. Dalia D. Bobelis Dalia D. Bobelis is sorry she missed her reunion, but she was in Lithuania for several months. She is now back in St. Petersburg for good; Dalia and her husband are closer to their children. She writes, I would love to hear from anyone. We spent 17 years in Lithuania and we have moved back to warmer weather- beaches and cruises are in the future. THE MAGPIE

32 29 David Burke s book Writers in Paris, Literary Lives in the City of Light, published by Counterpoint Press, Berkeley, in 2008, is coming out in paperback this spring. On the 17th of June, he spoke at the Oliver Wolcott Library in Litchfield, and at R.J. Julia Bookshop in Madison, CT, on June 25th. Marguerite Somers Patsy Lyons still lives in the house they ve had for over 40 years, and they are still able to manage it. Their youngest child is 44, which doesn t seem possible to either of them Susanne Widtman Max will be 78 in May! Can t believe it, she says. Susanne continues to enjoy exchanging Christmas cards with many of her classmates, and is still boating on Chesapeake Bay, where it snowed for 2 weeks in February Mrs. Mike Chamberlin says hello to all, and she is delighted to be in the Chase Collegiate area again. Her retirement is far, far more active than her working life. She describes it as Busy, busy Marilyn Gordon Vosburgh has been very busy. She is still working one day a week where she has been for 28 years. Marilyn and her husband stay close to their family here, in Connecticut, and they are enjoying their 20 month old great-grandson, Devon. He is so much fun Patricia Stern Penn is currently living in Chicago, a great second city. She continues to do a lot of traveling to faraway places... Australia, China, Vietnam, Israel (and many countries in between). Last year she spent a month traveling around Spain in the fall and went to Turkey for three weeks in the spring. I am now concentrating on shorter distances and staying closer to home, writes Patricia. This spring she spent a month in NYC attending theater, concerts, dance, lectures and catching upattending theater, concerts, dance, lectures and catching up with old friends and new restaurants. On the 27th of February, Evvy Woods Dahlin and her husband, Roland celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with a crowd of family and friends at a local restaurant. Even in retirement they continue to enjoy living together, and they rejoice that their children and grandchildren are nearby. Their hobbies are attending performing arts productions in Houston and traveling abroad, primarily to Europe. In May, they toured Normandy under the guidance of a former classmate of Roland s who is a professor of military history at U.T. In addition to touring the beaches made famous by the Allied invasion on June 6, 1944, they visited such places as the Museum of Peace in Caen, Mt. Saint Michel, and the tomb of William the Conqueror. Evvy and Roland send greetings and best wishes to everyone in the Class of 1954 if you re ever in Houston, give them a call! Marguerite Somers Patsy Lyons WINTER 2010

33 30 Class Notes Class of 1955 at their 55th reunion. Top Row: Alice Gordon Stewart, Betty Jane Schwering Berberian Bottom Row: Diana Smith, Bonnie Bristol Leavenworth, Anne Warner Webb Allie Woodward Funnel visited Bibby (Bock) Ditlev-Simonsen in Florida in March, and had a lively 54 get-together with Betsey Pender, who came down from Jacksonville. She has also had close contact with June Lawrence Palmer during her Cape vacation. Unfortunately it was only Allie and Anne Hetzel Nalwalk at their 55th! She says It was a good day, notwithstanding- the school was in fine shape. I especially enjoyed the tour with John Fixx Alice Gordon Stewart writes, My aunt, Edith Neftel Warren 32, died nine years ago and left me some money which I used to buy 75 acres of land behind us. The building committee for the Granby Public Library had just asked her for a site for the new library which would end up behind their house and next door to her son John s house. Alice agreed to give them what they needed and there will be a reading or meeting room named for her. Alice s aunt loved to read. Alice writes, I know she would be thrilled to know that she had some part in building a library. I am pleased to be able to honor her in this way. Diana Smith writes, There were but five members of the Class of 1955 who made it back on the 1st of May for our 55th reunion, but we made up in warmth and enjoyment for numbers: Alice Gordon Stewart and husband Fred, Bonnie Bristol Leavenworth and husband Dick, Betty Jane Schwering Berberian and husband Jon, Anne Warner Webb and myself. It was a glorious, mellow day and, thanks to an early and warm spring in New England, the wisteria was in full glory two weeks earlier than usual, so they all got to enjoy it for Alumni Day. After a nostalgic day at the school, they all adjourned to Diana s Woodbury home and they had lots more conversation over dinner. It was wonderful to be together, and everyone's school personality is intact, writes Diana. A couple of weeks later Diana had a good catch-up telephone conversation with Mary Piggott Johnsen in Downie, CA. Mary is still piloting her local school tennis team around to tournaments, her three sons are well, and grandchildren Greta in Fairbanks and Jake in Hawaii with the Army are flourishing. Bonnie Bristol Leavenworth Bonnie Bristol Leavenworth and her husband are grandparents again! Samuel Frederiwas born June 3. Wendy Leavenworth Halpert 93 and Michael Samuel Halpert are the proud parents. Wendy has 2 sons and Sara Lynn Leavenworth Renda 87 has 2 sons. Bonnie and her husband love having the opportunity to care for their grandsons since both of their daughters live in Watertown. Our 55th reunion was great fun although we had a small turnout. Diana Smith received the Distinguished Alumna Award and hosted their class to a delicious dinner. Alice Gordon Stewart and her husband, Fred; Betty Jane Schwering Berberian and her husband Jon, Anne Warner Webb; Diana Smith and Bonnie Bristol Leavenworth attended the festivities THE MAGPIE

34 31 at Chase, writes Bonnie. In spring of 2008, Diane Warren Valigorsky went to the fascinating country of China. Also in July of 2008, their eldest son got married in Bromont, Canada. It was a great family get together. In 2010, Diane went on a riverboat cruise from Nuremburg to Budapest with her husband s brother and his wife, who were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. She writes, Sorry we were not in Connecticut on Alumni Day. Hope you all enjoyed the day! Mary Roach Sawyer spends almost six months a year in Arizona, south of Tucson. The main reason behind this is because Mary s daughter and her husband live in Tucson with Mary s granddaughter. Betty Jane Schwering-Berberian Betty Jane Schwering-Berberian is still keeping up with music lessons as she continues to teach at home. She is the Vice President of the Chopin Club, which is one of the oldest music clubs in the U.S. She is also helping her son, John, with his career as a portrait artist, by traveling to Art Festivals, museums, etc. Anne Warner Webb and her husband David are proud grandparents of two new grandsons, twin boys, born to their son and his wife this past December. The two, now more than ever, feel connected to the war in Afghanistan because their daughter Margery s husband, a reservist, has been deployed there. His field is civil affairs As Lou Butler Douglas begins her third year as Director of Admissions at Woodland School, she is grateful each day for a great job and the supportive place in which she works. Lou adds, I guess one of these days I should consider retirement, but I am nowhere near that point just yet. Lou comes east from time to time to visit her son, Chris, and her two grandsons, Sam (7) and Andrew (3). She plans to visit in spring 2011 around reunion time in hopes of catching up with some of her Chase (SMS) friends. In the meantime, Class of 1956, I hope all is well in your world. I miss you all and please know I would love to see you should any of you travel to California, writes Lou. A beloved young teacher and wrestling coach at McTernan School, Tom Tooker spent his career in education at independent schools in Arizona and New Mexico where he served a variety of positions, including Head of Middle School and Director of Admissions. Mr. Tooker s whereabouts were unknown until recently when the Alumni Office at Chase tracked him down with the help of Berkeley Hotchkiss 56. He and his wife, now living in New Mexico, are enjoying a peaceful retirement caring for a number of animals and raising exotic birds. WINTER 2010

35 32 Class Notes Mr. Tooker 1957 Margaret Adams writes, Key West is fabulous in the summer, without the crowds and honky-tonk. Her son and grandson were just there visiting and they enjoyed a wonderful snorkel and dolphin watching outing, in the beautiful clear waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Margie visited Alison Ferrara Chase on Sanibel Island this past spring. Margaret writes, She looks fabulous, has a great spirit, and got me up at 5:30 am to go shelling on the beach at sunrise. Margaret and Alison had many great story-telling times about their years at SMS. Gloria Stevenson and Margaret , and they are hoping to get together with each other and any others around the NYC area. Margaret headed back to Sewickley this summer to enjoy five little ones by her 2 daughters. Margaret writes, Keep well everyone, until I see you in 2017, or maybe we should shoot for 2012! Penny Heaven Mahar writes Thank goodness for ! It is a wonderful way to stay in touch. Penny hears from Anne Abbott Hobson, Carolyn Couch Rhoades, Ginny, Angie, and Sally quite regularly... She is hoping that they will get together in the fall for lunch. Toby Hall enjoyed returning for the McTernan Library Dedication festivities in May. Toby writes, It was a real pleasure to see a number of my McTernan contemporaries, including classmate Tim Largay, many of whom I had not seen since graduation. I was greatly impressed by the show of McTernan spirit evident at the dedication, fostered by Peter North, Jim Smith, and others. A well done to John Fixx, Robin Burns, and all the Chase staff who did the work. Toby thinks it's a good sign, and he hopes that news of it will inspire more McTernan alumni of the class of 57 and vicinity to return to future reunions. It was a particular pleasure for Toby to encounter his teacher, Rod Brown, and his wife Sara. Sally Shoop Vaun has little news of her own, but she and her husband did get a Birman kitten after her two Himalayans died this past winter. The mother cat was 19 1/2 years old and her daughter was 18. The kitten is keeping them laughing with her antics and keeps their poor adopted stray cat on her toes. Sally is still the Regent of the Salisbury Arsenal Chapter NSDAR, Secretary to the Norfolk Community Association and Norfolk Historical Association, which keeps her busy. She went down to Florida to see her mother in Ponte Vedra Beach and while there she saw Lucinda Clarke Jordan; Sally is hoping to see Lucinda again sometime this summer when she is up north Lucinda Conger was elected to the Roll of Honor of the National Society of Colonial Dames of America in Maryland. She achieved membership in 2004 through her ancestor, Gurdon Saltonstall, who was a Colonial governor of Connecticut. Since then, she has been on the Board of the Maryland Society, member of the Finance Committee, Colonial State Registrar, New Members Chair, Directory chair, and co-chair of the Washington Committee. Chip Damiani played with his 60's era rock band, THE REMAINS, at the Woodstock Fair, Labor Day weekend. Sally Smith Hempstead writes, Hi Guys, I have sold my house and moved on. My new address is 389 Massachusetts Ave., U1B, Arlington, MA I am two miles from my daughter in the center of town and THE MAGPIE

36 33 across the street from a lovely pond and park. It doesn't get better than this. Sally misses all her Connecticut friends, but she says all are welcome to visit anytime. Poetry continues to be an important part of Janet Suhr Henderson s life. She has helped to edit Common Ground Review ( has two self-published books, has won contest awards, and has a workshop group. She has been volunteering two days a week with a 1st grade class in a Hartford School that keeps her happily occupied as does a variety of church activities. She of course is also very preoccupied with five grandchildren, who are now at the ages where they re busy with school and sport activities. She still enjoys her tradition with her family of a vacation in New Harbor, Maine each July. Last May she and husband, Dick, had a memorable trip to Denmark prompted by the 150th anniversary celebration of a family foundation. Carol Costello 1960 Carol Costello continues to travel as time permits her. Recently she has visited Paris and is planning to travel to Ireland this summer. Also a commuter between Connecticut and Florida, Carol owns a condo in Sarasota. In her spare time, she tends the gardens at her church and serves on the Vestry. At home, her interests center on houseplants and outdoor gardening. Exercise is limited to long daily walks followed by dinners with her friends. She writes, Cooking has become a thing of the past! Wendy Horton was very sorry not to be joining everyone at SMS for her 50th Reunion. It had been on her calendar for the past year, but her son and daughter-in-law invited them to go on a vacation in San Diego along with their two precious grandchildren that encompassed the day of the reunion (the only time her son could go!) Wendy states how David and she are still in Williamstown, 49 years later, and still enjoying it. She invites her classmates to come and visit sometime and writes, We d welcome any or all of you there s something for everyone! Both of their sons are married. Erin & Christian live in Seattle and the Hortons love visiting there. Amy and Alan are in Minneapolis with their two little ones, Andre and Alessandra, and naturally Wendy and David get out there often for maximum grandparent time! Sadly unable to attend her 50th Reunion in May, Sandi Lee Pepin sends along the following: I have had three primary jobs out of the home in the past 50 years quite varied, but always in the business world first in Hospital Personnel work, then in Hotel and Restaurant Banquet Sales and finally in Mortgage Banking talk about variety! I was married for 37 years to a truly special man who lost his 20 year battle with cancer in Together we had three amazing children who now have families of their own. I have four grandchildren who are the most precious of gifts. I Class of 1960 at their 50th reunion Bottom Row: Judy Campbell, Natalie Bram, Chica Purpus Camargo, Janet Suhr Henderson, Lorraine Fox Prior 2nd Row: Carol Costell 3rd Row: Marie Birnbaum, Marjorie Mooney Hodges, Elizabeth House Scarritt 4th Row: Faith Kazanjian Stewart, Nancy Shanklin Matthews, Linda Reybine Ellis, Elaine Dickley Daniluk 5th Row: Rosann Santoro Krodel, Rosemary Culhane Sinnott, Gretchen Backes Vercauteren, Marylyn Mulvey, Susan Belfanti Crittenden. WINTER 2010

37 34 Class Notes Pictured above seated on the left is Sue Hessel, Tara Sharma Upreti, Susan Colloty Rianhard, standing Charlotte (Bunny) Watson '61, and Robbin Reynolds. was just a baby of 16 when I graduated, but I am so grateful for the Saint Margaret s School education and the experiences which helped me grow. Faith Kazanjian Stewart currently has two grandsons. One is named Connor and is ten years old; the other is Ryan and is five years old. Faith vacations in California, Maine and Cape Cod. Gretchen Backes Vercauteren retired in 1998 after 30 years with American Airlines at Boston s Logan Airport, where she held several positions over the years, the last being a gate agent. During the past 12 years, she has worked part-time for several antique, gift, and craft shops to help support her expensive hobby of horseback riding. In addition, she works at the riding stable three days a week in exchange for rough board for her horse. Her husband, Bob, has two children. He has both a daughter and a son who are middle aged. Both children are married. Bob retired on the 28th of February and now the two enjoy a home with two dogs in New Hampshire. They have two grandchildren, ages seven and nine. Their granddaughter rides horseback as well, which Gretchen jokingly states is her fault. Both Ted and Nancy Shanklin Matthews are happily retired. They love the time they have to visit family, garden, hike, and work with their beautiful dreary house, Susie. (photo sent). During the last year, they traveled to Italy, San Francisco, and Washington State, where they were able to reconnect with Linda Reybine Ellis Charlotte Watson had a wonderful trip to school with Tara Sharma Upreti 59 and very much enjoyed catching up with old friends from the classes of 1959 and At the same time, Charlotte s "roomie,"-- Sally Adams O Connor-- and she decided that they wanted to make sure their Class of 1961 reunion - number 50 next year - is at least as well done as it has been the last two years. She writes, You will be hearing from us soon so save the dates for 2011! The rest of Charlotte s year has been taken up with writing, singing, painting, swimming, Taiji, some travel for fun and her herbal clients. It has also been a joy for her to work on enlarging the Shenandoah Chapter of the Herb Society of America. - ºShe is also pleased to be helping raise funds for the Educare School that Tara Sharma Upreti and Prakash Upreti sponsor outside of Kathmandu. Please her fhcbw@shentel.net if you would like information. Eleanor Hubbard White continues painting and has spent the long Vineyard winter working on a series focused on an ox named José. He was rescued as a calf from a dinner table fate and is now a marvelous 3,500 lb. model. The work was shown in Marfa, Texas, in March, and was exhibited on Martha's Vineyard this summer. On Eleanor s personal side of life, her husband continues as an architect with several exciting commissions, while their son, Hubbard, is discovering his passion at Harvard's Career Discovery Program in Landscape Architecture Ann Darlene Johnson Kupferberg is in the process of moving to Leesburg, Florida where she will be 5 minutes from the beautiful Lake Harris and finally can get some serious boating time done! She will be on contract to her school until the end of December, flying up every other week to Baltimore. THE MAGPIE

38 35 Frances Lovering Rounds and her husband, Bill, continue to love retirement and San Francisco. They don't miss snowy winters one bit! Her daughter, Anne, works for Cambridge University Press in NY City, which gives Frances an excuse to go east, to see Anne and Frances sister, Sarah Johnson 67, in Connecticut. Frances writes, I so enjoyed meeting John Fixx at the home of Dick and Michele Goss in February In June of 2009 Diana Nichols Vagneur traveled to Greece for her niece s wedding. She had a fabulous time and shares: The food was wonderful, and I ate everything, though some of the other yanks were a little squeamish. Most of my family are more interested in the sun and beach thank I am, so I would swim for a while, then explore the Island. One of the more interesting things about the Island were all the wind turbines on every ridge and mountaintop. At home, Diana keeps busy making pottery, volunteering for the Division of Wildlife, Habitat for Humanity, and serving as an English tutor to a gal - from Mexico In June of 2007, Susan Cain McBeth retired from teaching English and Language Arts for the Windsor, Connecticut public schools. She enjoyed 37 years of teaching and misses the classroom very much. Earlier in her career, she worked with Nedra Gusenburg, currently a teacher at Chase, and she states, one of the finest teachers I know. Her family is looking forward to the marriage of Susan and Robert s daughter, Molly, in the spring of She writes, Best wishes to all my classmates of the class of SMS 65, especially Ethel Davis, Christy Kinney McCann, and Caroline Zilboorg 66. On June 20th Anne Makepeace s new documentary, Rain in Dry Land, was released as part of World Refugee Day. The film was aired on over 90 PBS station across the country. Variety s John Anderson called the film rigorously intimate and disarmingly affectionate... Makepeace s movie never fails to be cinematic; it almost feels that the film is blessed. To see clips and additional info please visit John Wayne, his wife, Jennifer, Dylan and Emily currently 17 and 14 respectively...and their Airedale, Zouk, did in fact make the six month, 15,000 km safari through Argentina that they had been threatening to undertake. His family is still intact after the journey, which they now fondly call a combination of The Great Race and Survivor, that had neither the million dollar prize or the ability to send someone home if they became unbearable. They now reside in Quebec where the kids attend Bishop's College School, a grade 7-12 preparatory school. We are saddened to announce that Pamela Perkins Vaughan passed away on May 30, Her funeral was held in Pelham Manor, NY on June 17, Caroline Zilboorg is still in Brittany, still happy-- and now a grandmother! Her first grandchild was born in April 2010 to her second son, Toby, and his Italian Caroline Zilborg WINTER 2010

39 36 Class Notes Nancy Legge wife, Chiara; her granddaughter's name is Adriana and her parents, who live in Paris, are determined that she will grow up speaking English, Italian and French: lucky little girl. Caroline is still teaching English in Rennes, the regional capitol, and still has a little holiday cottage to rent, 'Le Petit Lapin' ( ), where she'd be happy to welcome any members of the Chase family travelling in France. She still writes, too; her critical edition of the American poet H.D.'s novel, Bid Me to Live, is due out from the University of Florida Press in Deborah Bien Jensen is happy to announce the birth of her first grandchild, Miss Shelby Pearl Stewart. She is of course perfect and Deborah was happy to be in Colorado for her birth in March. Deborah s daughter, Jocelyn, lives in Gunnison, CO and her son, Robert, is in LA so she is seriously considering transferring her merry widowhood further west. She loved being in touch with everyone at Reunion time and hopes they do it again! Deborah sends best wishes to everyone! Ann Sullivan received an award for 'superior achievement at Harvard Vanguard for significant contributions to the advance of Harvard Vanguard's commitment to its customers, community and work environment'. This is called a diamond award and is given with a monetary stipend, as well, for excellent service on the job; it is given to about 25 people at her office, which has about employees. Ann writes, Otherwise, life has been fairly quiet although having a 17 year old makes life interesting; there are times when I come home to anywhere from 2-4 teens in the house. Nancy Legge and her family are still in California. Toby (21) is at University of California Santa Cruz and Melanie (17) is a senior at Drew in San Francisco. Nancy just returned from an amazing year in Zaragoza, Spain through a program called School Year Abroad. Toby is pursuing photography with a passion. Nancy is in her studio as much as possible. The photo is still showing with Donna Seager Gallery in San Rafael ( -- if you are interested in what Nancy has been up to.) She saw Pam Steel about a year ago in Boston, just before Melanie left for Spain. They had dinner at Pam s wonderful Back Bay apartment with a view of the Charles Jaquelin Smith Dennehy worked around the corner from the school for 31 years at Timex in Middlebury, CT as an accountant. She has just moved to Amsterdam, The Netherlands to work for Timex Group BV, the parent company, as Vice President of Global Accounting. Jaquelin writes, Amsterdam is a marvelous place though I am not doing much better with my Dutch than I did with my French when I was at SMS. My very limited success with French was only possible with the assistance and extreme patience of Miss Fairbanks. The only hard part for Jaquelin relocating was leaving her son, David Dennehy, who is the athletic director at St. Paul's Catholic High School in Bristol, CT (he graduated from the Marvelwood School '91, Washington College '95 and George Washington University '05), her daughter-in-law, Stefanie, and most especially her two and half year old grandson, Jack. Jaquelin was a boarder at SMS and she has always appreciated the self-reliance and personal responsibility that she learned she writes. If she can be of any help to any alumni visiting Amsterdam feel free to contact her at jdennehy@timexgroup.com THE MAGPIE

40 37 Rebecca Elizabeth and Austin William Thanks to Facebook, Sheryn Carew has reconnected with Señora Rahausen. The two chatted on the phone the day after the huge earthquake in Chile. Señora Rahausen s far family is fine. Pictured above, Sheryn s great niece and great nephew (grandchildren to Sue Carew McCarthy 71), Rebecca Elizabeth and Austin William, who are the joys of her family s life Barbara Wynne Secor just returned from a fabulous trip to Santorini, Greece where she attended the wedding of Elpini Velezis 93 and James Corcoran. Also present were Secor Upson 93, Vicky Markova '93, Chauncey Julius Upson 94, and Joseph Secor-Taddia 07. Bobbie is still working at Post University, teaching and working in the admissions office. She writes, Alumni Day '10 was fabulous - I volunteered to work the day with Heston Clapp 67 and enjoyed seeing so many friends, especially all the McTernan alums who returned for the Library Dedication. Diana Le Maire Squibb celebrated her 60th birthday with family and friends at a surprise party. Suzie Guernsey Funnell was tracked down and attended the party! Suzie and Diana have known each other since they were five years old. Diana is still living in South Florida and spending part of the summer in Essex, Massachusetts. Diana writes, It is nice not to have to shovel snow and scrape the ice off of the windshield anymore. Life is good and I hope to see all my classmates at our next big reunion. Lisa Aschman Bethune s son, Alex, is 18 years old and went off to the University of Rhode Island in September. How time flies! 1970 Jessica Lunan is very excited to announce that her middle child, Sara, is getting married next fall. Her son, James is on the Dean's list at Saint Michael's College, VT, and her daughter, Amanda, is getting her master s from Pacific University in Portland, OR. Jessica went camping in the Redwoods with her, James, and her sister Lucinda's family in August Glorious! Ruth Worrall Stark is still working for the professional association for social workers in the UK managing their operations in Scotland. She continues as the IFSW (International Federation of Social Workers) Convenor of the Human Rights Commission and through this she travels to interesting places and gets involved in interesting ethical dilemmas! Ruth was sorry she missed the class reunion in May, but work commitments meant that she had been travelling in Hong Kong and Malta and then in July went to Russia for ten days for her nephew's wedding celebrations. John, Ruth s husband is now retired. They have three Alex Bethune Barbara Wynne Secor WINTER 2010

41 38 Class Notes Class of 1970 at their 40th reunion Gayle Gaumer, DeDe Chirgwin Brown, Linda Burbank, Suzy Mink, Jessica Lunan Photo of Diana Squibb holding her 22 month old granddaughter, Jocelyn, with my son, Andrew and his wife, Brianne. grandchildren and their eldest daughter, Justine, is happily-settled with Kevin about 20 miles outside of Edinburgh. Their son, Colin, after four gap years is now entering his third year at Stirling University and is happily settled with Arwen, a philosopher and ballet teacher in Edinburgh. Ruth writes, I would love to see any old St. Margaret s friends in Edinburgh - we have plenty of spare space and we are a five minute walk from Princes Street and the center of the city. For Gayle Gaumer, the past five years have been a rollercoaster. Her father died in Her middle child, Ryan Wilson, married in Her husband died after a four month illness in Her daughter married last summer. Her first grandchild was born 9/24/09 to Ryan. All of this occurred in fewer than 36 months. She writes, I m still trying to assimilate it all. I m going to try to attend the reunion, but these days I make no promises. Immediately following his graduation from Bowdoin College, Henry Johnson moved to Florida, teaching and coaching at a private day school for two years before obtaining his law degree (J.D.) and Masters Degree in Education (MS Ed.) from the University of Miami. In 1984, Henry opened his own practice, Henry Johnson & Associates, P.A., which specializes in Real Estate, Construction, Condominium and Homeowner Association law. In his spare time, Henry interviews Bowdoin applicants in Southwest Florida, is the captain of a local 4.0 tennis team, and serves as an adjunct professor at Lorenzo Walker Institute of Technology. Henry has two children, Erin, age 25, and Andrew, age 22, both of whom graduated from Bates College. Henry shares, My two years at McTernan School, from 1968 to 1970, were great years. The excellent education and extracurricular opportunities afforded to me at McTernan were excellent, and I so very fondly look upon my time on Columbia Boulevard. This past May, Susan Smyth- Luce s family celebrated Matt Luce 03 earning his master's degree in International Affairs from George Washington University. Matt started a new job with Defense Group, Inc. in D.C. three days after graduation. Pictured are Nate Luce 05, Daniel Peter Smyth-Temple 16, Matt Luce 03 and Susan Smyth-Luce Susan Smyth-Luce 1973 Robinsunne published her third book this year. It is another picture book: Chang E: The Lady of the Moon, about the Chinese moon goddess. Her other publications include Nannee, and The Great Library ATC Swap Joan Barnhardt Cagginello has some exciting news! Her daughter Missy A. Cagginello, was married to THE MAGPIE

42 39 Brock T. Dubin this past July 10th! They were married at the Lauralton Hall Chapel in Milford - Missy is an alum of Lauralton Hall as is Brock's mom, Barbara D'Addario Dubin and his aunt, Janet D'Addario. The reception was held at the Great River Golf Club. Missy and Brock enjoyed a honeymoon in Greece. Sharon Tarr Edelson traveled from Florida to attend the wedding! On the 16th of July, a mini reunion of the Saint Margaret-McTernan class of 1974 took place at the home of Joan Barnhardt Cagginello in Milford. Sharon Tarr Edelson was upvisiting from Florida to attend Joan s daughter s wedding. In addition to Joan and Sharon the group included Kim Carroll Bielecki, Hope Grey Sim, Karen Rigopoulos and Mina Bergland. The girls had a wonderful dinner and a great opportunity to catch up on their careers, families and many fond and funny memories of Saint Margaret-McTernan Kim Marlor has recently been travelling, which was one of the main reasons she could not come to the school reunion. In March of 2009 she travelled to Egypt, and later in June of 2010 she took a trip to Greece. She writes, Sorry I couldn t make it this year. It conflicted with the last week of coaching and the girls tournament competition. It would have been fun too! I had a great time talking with Hilda Cadenas at the last reunion In 2008, Marianna Cleminshaw McCoy s family settled in nicely in Northern California. They moved to California from Michigan for her husband's job and they love it out there. Marianna writes, The snow was awesome this past year and skiing was wonderful. In fact some areas in Tahoe have so much snow that they were still selling tickets for July skiing. If anyone is coming out to the Bay area or Tahoe, please let us know. We're only 2 hours from both. Hope to hear from more people from the Class of Robin Summers and her family are all well in PA. Her kids are growing up and being adult-like. Robin and her husband have one entering his senior year at Menlo, and another as a junior at Shippensburg. The youngest is at the Lehigh Valley School for the Performing Arts. Robin writes, My husband is still the rock that I cling to as I start on my next professional goal getting my doctorate (go figure!). Robin keeps track of a few people on Facebook and enjoys the prospect of an approaching trip to Turkey to help her daughter with her new little son, which makes the total grandchildren up to three Todd Renz and his family in Austria Robin Summers WINTER 2010

43 40 Class Notes Katey Long Holtgrave will be running the New York Marathon on November 7, She is looking forward to the experience! 1985 Nancy Smerekanicz Class of 1985 at their 25th reunion Bottom Row: Kristin Owen Kite, Debbie Somers Atkins, Cherie Villano Top Row: Richard Woundy, Todd Bednarek, Andy Bhargava Nancy Smerekanicz Nancy Smerekanicz was among 220 educators selected from 1600 international applicants for a fullscholarship to the Honeywell Educators at Space Academy in Huntsville, AL. Nancy took part in astronaut-style training and simulations, as well as activities designed to promote life-long learning in a classroom setting. Nancy adds, I participated in two simulated Space Shuttle Missions. My first job was Mission Specialist and my second was Space Station Scientist. The mission experience was realistic, exciting and challenging! Nancy writes, My time at Space Academy was out of this world! 1983 Anna Carbonaro Ficeto was nominated and confirmed by the General Assembly to a four-year term as a Commissioner of the Department of Public Utility Control. Anna s brother, Sal Carbonaro 92, welcomed his son, Eamon John (his third child), in January and graduated from his Cardiology Fellowship in May. He and his family reside in Silver Spring, Maryland, and Sal is stationed at Walter Reed Medical Hospital. Kara Sullivan s children Kara Sullivan writes, Hello to all of my classmates and friends from SMT (Chase)! Kara lives in New Hampshire with her family. She teaches high school English at Oyster River High School in Durham, NH and often thinks of her two English teachers, both of whom inspired her in different ways: Dr. Echols and Mr. Herger. She has enclosed a recent picture of her children. Sadie (8), Silas (6) and Cooper (21 months). Kara hopes all is well Due to a great job opportunity for Tara Gesseck Doubman s husband, they are moving to Switzerland for 2 years! They will be living near Zurich and are looking forward to exploring this part of Europe. Their three girls (Maggie - 11, Emma - 9, Lyn - 6) will attend an international school and they all hope to learn THE MAGPIE

44 41 German quickly. Tara s and Jay s plan is to return to their home in Winchester, MA when Jay's assignment is complete. Home is still doubman@verizon.net. Janet Ryan Cappelletti and husband, David, announced the birth of their son, Ryan David Cappelletti, born August 12th. Janet and her husband live in Middlebury. support Volunteer Services Oversees, she has set up the following site: tracyfeliciani Ryan David Cappelletti 1989 Mac Hampson and his wife, Jennifer, announced the birth of their baby girl, Adlelynn Renee, born on July 10, 2010 at 8lbs., 4oz. In September 2010, Tracy Feliciani participated in a Charity Challenge. She will be summiting Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in Africa, to raise funds and awareness for some of East Africa's most pressing issues: HIV/AIDS, education, and economic opportunity through the work of Volunteer Service Overseas. Tracy completed one training climb in Colorado where she summited two 14,000 foot peaks, Greys and Torres. If anyone is interested learning more about her trek or making a donation to Chris Licht Chris Licht is back at work after suffering a subarachnoid brain hemorrhage in late-april while in D.C. He had great care in the hospital, where his job as Executive Producer of MSNBC's "Morning Joe" came in handy. The Vice President (a friend of the show) stepped-in and got the doctor who treated him for his aneurysm to take his case. By the way, this is not exactly the way he would recommend reconnecting with old friends, but it was a happy side-effect. Chris is happy to have made a full recovery! Work-wise, Jennifer Heller continues to be employed at Telecom New Zealand Ltd as an internal communications manager and workshop facilitator specializing in change facilitation and introducing new thinking. Outside of work, Jennifer participates in a creative writing program, which is helping her create a writing rhythm and structure as well as putting her in contact with other local writers. With continued effort and focus, she should have a full draft of her novel done by the end of the year. She'll certainly let you know if any of her new writing gets published. She'd love to hear from any of her old friends. Look Jennifer up on Facebook. Tracy Feliciani 1987 Alumni Day Memory Margie Chamberlain Davis, Marge Warner Christie and Joan Rocky Sally S Vaun at Alumni Day in WINTER 2010

45 42 Class Notes Brandon Nappi s daughters Sophia and Ellie Alexis Blackmer Ackerman has a beautiful daughter named Melia who will be two in June and a second baby due this summer. She received tenure in 2008 as a professor of Biology at Sacramento City College, and she loves the college and her colleagues. She writes, I am lucky to teach the classes that are right up my alleyanimal biology and ornithology. Have a great time at the reunion! 1992 On the 1st of September, Kate McAllister opened her own business... River City Art Center and Gallery in Collinsville, CT. It will be a working studio, with classes for all ages and a gallery with monthly showings. You can find Kate on the web at or on Facebook at River City Art Center Brandon Nappi graduated last May with his Doctorate in Ministry degree. His dissertation explored Christian-Buddhist dialogue and the role of meditation in the spiritual life. He teaches meditation and spirituality at Holy Family Passionist Retreat Center in West Hartford. Brandon lives in Middlebury with his wife, Susan, and daughters, Sophia and Ellie. This summer, Elpini Velezis married James Corcoran in Santorini, Greece. Also, present at the wedding was Barbara Wynne Secor 68, Secor Upson '93, Vicky Markova '93, Chauncey Julius Upson '94, and Joseph Secor- Taddia '07, who is pictured below with the bride. Joseph Secor-Taddia Audrey Beth Stein s memoir Map was named a 2010 Lambda Literary Award Finalist. She travelled down to NYC at the end of May for the awards ceremony and a reading (unexpectedly staying in Janis Joplin's old apartment) and also travelled to New Orleans for a reading and panel discussion as part of the Saints and Sinners Literary Festival. Now Audrey is back in Cambridge MA continuing to promote the memoir, working on a couple of new book projects, and looking for a home for her novel. Jackie Watts married Richard Wager on the 14th of August 2009 in Nyack, NY. They live with Rich s daughter Kelsy in Rockland County, New York. THE MAGPIE

46 Stephanie So Frenza Stephanie So Frenza is a specialty pharmaceutical sales representative for Warner Chilcott. She and her husband, Michael, reside in Connecticut On the 27th of March, Jennifer Quinn married Jason Eichner at the Saybrook Point Inn in Old Saybrook. Jennifer s sister, Kendel Quinn Lambe 92, was the matron of honor. Also in attendance was Laurel Miller Pirelli 92. Jennifer and Jason met through mutual friends and were married almost a year to the day from their engagement E.J. Yerzak is currently in his second year working at the federal courthouse in Hartford as a law clerk for the Hon. Albert S. Dabrowski, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge. He also recently had the opportunity to visit his fiancée s family in Krakow, Poland for two weeks this past summer. He couldn't speak the language, but he writes, The food was amazing! On the 2nd of July, Jennifer Henaghan Esposito welcomed a daughter, Allegra Rose Esposito, to her family. Class of 1995 at their 15th reunion Jack Baker, D.J. Haddad, Marissa DeVito Haddad, Ted Demirs, Lonny Madeux, Maureen Cayer Hodge, Emily Becker Fasano, Krista O'Brien Hayes, Matt Danyliw The picture above is of Marnie D'Uva Zalewski and Marissa DeVito Haddad and their sons Braydon Zalewski and Dylan Haddad. Allegra Rose Esposito After graduating from Skidmore College with a degree in American Studies, Dan Carroll, went on to receive his masters in secondary education from the University of Bridgeport and his Master of Arts in educational administration from the University of Notre Dame. In 2002 Dan began teaching history and Jennifer Quinn WINTER 2010

47 44 Class Notes Class of 2005 at their 5th reunion Top Row: Samantha Gati, Ashley Pappas, Ian Sieller, Brandon Franson, Nate Luce Bottom Row: Kim Ramsey, Katie McHugh, Keneisha Sinclair, Nicole Gillis coaching soccer, basketball and baseball at Sacred Heart High School. For the academic year Dan served as the interim principal at St. Paul s Catholic High School in Bristol, CT. Dan then returned to Sacred Heart as the Vice-Principal and Athletic Director for one year before taking up the Athletic Director post at Housatonic Valley Regional High School in Falls Village, CT. Dan is married to his wife, Shabana Roberto McCarthy will be leaving for Rome to begin his four year theology studies to enter the priesthood Matt Geraghty released his fourth CD entitled 'Departures' featuring 12 new compositions with musicians from Poland, India, Brazil, Russia and Armenia. Matt played at the Blue Note Jazz Club in early October 2010 in New York City. Jeffrey Bussmann is the new Development Assistant for The Institute of Contemporary Art at The University of Pennsylvania. He is also currently earning a master's degree in Arts Administration at Drexel University. Earlier this year he began writing Post-Nonprofalyptic, a blog about visual art in and around Philadelphia and the Mid-Atlantic region. ( blogspot.com). After seven years of working for The Taft School, Lindsay Tarasuk Aroesty and her husband moved to Pittsburgh. She is now working in development for the Pittsburgh Foundation and she is enjoying getting to know a new city In New York during the 2010 Strawberry One-Act Festival, Ryan Bair and a handful of his close friends took part in a play called Hearts Gamble. They won Best Play, in addition to his cast mate Sean winning Best Actor, so they've began working on making the oneact a full-length play. The play will be produced by the Riant Theatre and put on in an official Off-Broadway house later this year. Jessica Capone has completed massage therapy school at the Connecticut Center for Massage Therapy and will be practicing in the local area with rental space and traveling to houses and offices. In May 2009, Liz Sadler Colley and her husband moved from New York City to El Dorado Hills, California. She left her job as senior designer for Harper s Bazaar, and is now working from her home as a graphic designer for her own design business, Liz Colley Design 2002 Frank DiCocco recently moved to West Palm Beach, Florida. He is coaching football at Dwyer High School (which won the state championship last season and finished the season ranked number 4 in the nation). In addition, he has also launched an educational website, as part of his coaching influence. He writes, It is designed to be a resource for young men; it outlines what it means to be a "real man" in today's society. This is something that so many of our young people struggle with figuring out. Anyway, the website address is THE MAGPIE

48 Rob Patenge is a 1st Lt. in the Marine Corps. He graduated from The Basic School and Infantry Officer Course at Quantico VA. While in IOC, Rob s Platoon was joined for three weeks by a Platoon of 2LT s from the Royal Marines. They enjoyed training together and comparing notes on their respective experiences. Rob discovered that they had some friends in common dating back to when he attended Eaton House School and the Westminster Cathedral Choir School in London. In October, Rob and Luther drove Rob s 1966 Ford Mustang from Litchfield to MCB Twentynine Palms, CA. Rob is currently serving aboard the USS Denver as the infantry element of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit Kevin Lownds is a first-year law student at Georgetown University and he expects to go into public policy upon graduation. This past summer, he worked as a law clerk at Families Against Mandatory Minimums, an organization which specializes in fairer criminal sentencing practices. In May, Luther Patenge graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh with a Bachelors Degree in Fine Arts and prepared himself to be a video game designer. (Please see ). In support of this objective, he was a delegate at the Game Developers Conferences in San Francisco and Austin, TX where he was able to network with video game developers from around the world and work at getting his name known amongst potential employers and colleagues. He has recruited a small team to develop a video game that will potentially be delivered via the Steam video gaming platform Patrick Ferguson graduated from Salve Regina University this past May with his Bachelors of Science in Nursing. He is currently working as an RN in the Surgical ICU at St. Raphael s Hospital in New Haven, CT. Patrick has also continued volunteering as an EMT in Oxford,CT. On June 3rd Lauren Hefferon was honored to serve as a keynote speaker at the 13th annual Connecitcut Young Writers Competition. Lauren, a recent graduate of Yale, was the 2003 state prose champion. The competition highlights works of poetry and prose submitted by teenagers from throughout the State, of which there were nearly 800 this year Lorna Mulvaney just returned from a fantastic semester in Glasgow, Scotland where she ate haggis, toured multiple whisky distilleries, and heard endless bagpiping music! During the semester, she continued her theatre and business studies and explored the famous sights of Europe. Back in CT for the summer, Lorna spent June working for the International Festival of Arts and Ideas, and will complete her final year at GWU in the spring of Glenn VanMoffaert graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics of Operations Research and a minor in Financial Technology. He has wrestled all four years at RPI, captaining the team for the past two. This past summer Glenn interned in New York City for Mitsui Commodity Risk Management working in energy derivatives trading. Lorna Mulvaney at the top of a Scottish hill, overlooking Loch Lomond In December 2010, WINTER 2010

49 46 Class Notes Jonathan Brinnier Scudder Baggett just finished his junior year at Daniel Webster College, majoring in Aviation Flight Operations. On June 4th, he received his commercial certificate for single engine and multi-engine land airplanes. He ventured to Alaska in August to train for his private pilot certificate for a single engine float plane. In November 2009, Jonathan Brinnier celebrated his mother s 35th wedding anniversary in Maui, Hawaii Ethan Bodnar is entering his junior year at the Hartford Art School, where he is studying graphic design. This summer he interned at co:lab, a design studio and branding company in Hartford, Connecticut. In the winter, he put together and curated an exhibit at the Silpe Gallery at the Hartford Art School based on his published book, Creative Grab Bag. Ethan recently started working as the designer and organizing team member for TEDxBloomington, a conference about the wisdom of play that is being held in Bloomington, Indiana in May In the fall Ethan spoke at the AIGA National Design Conference in Memphis on the main-stage for an audience of around 1,500 attendees. To see Ethan's work and read his blog, please visit This past summer Ross Brennan interned on the Board of Economic Development for the City of Torrington, CT and he is studying abroad in Cairo, Egypt for his fall semester Mike Zazzaro and Adam Angibeau worked all summer, along with taking eight hours of night classes a week in order to get their real estate licenses. After 60 hours of required classes, they passed the state exam and became certified real estate agents. In Memoriam Richard W. Hyde '31 Eleanor Parsons Mitchell '32 Jane Rectanus DeBlois '33 Louis F. Laun '34 Lucy Valentine Broman '36 Emmabelle Bonner Innes '37 Dorothy Hess Spears '39 Mary Chittenden Zonino '43 Nancy Kernan Lezotte '43 Anne Morson Williams '45 Jean Granniss Whittemore '45 John D. Dibble '45 John P. Campbell '45 Jane Anderson Conroy '51 Mary Kinsey '60 Jane Linn Gardner-Rad '61 J. Brian McAloon '61 Peg Erlanger '64 Pamela Perkins Vaughan '65 Michael J. Richards '70 Jane Siegert Sutherland '04 THE MAGPIE

50 Preserving the Past for the Future 47 Preserving the Past for the Future Archives hold the collective memory of the School and ensure that the past is remembered correctly. What was the tuition at McTernan School in ? How many young women graduated in the Class of 1866? Why is wisteria growing on the South Porch? What were the terms of the Saint Margaret s honor code in 1966? When did Annie LaPorta join the dining services staff? Answers to these and countless other questions are being uncovered as interest in the School s archival collection grows in advance of the two major anniversaries on the horizon: McTernan School s 100th anniversary in 2012 and the 150th anniversary of our founding school, Collegiate Institute for Young Ladies, in Why are the Archives important? By preserving School records and information of permanent historical value, that is, records about the intellectual, social, cultural, and visual history of the School from its beginnings in 1865 to the present, the Archives serve as the institutional memory of Chase. An early-saint Margaret s School band. Do you have materials from your days at the School that you would be willing to offer to the Archives? The Archives serve alumni by preserving a record of student life, both individual and collective, at the School. Personal materials, such as letters, diaries, scrapbooks, photographs, films, video and audio recordings, shed light on the general life of students at the School and help tell the story of student life during a given era. A team of volunteers, representing all segments of the School community, is currently concentrating on a new Archives Project. Building on the early efforts and dedication of former Archivist Rosemary Franzen, this new group will endeavor to: formulate policy and procedures that will ensure the collection and preservation of archival materials provide educational opportunities through archival exhibits and presentations provide adequate facilities for the retention and preservation of archival records Committee members include: Archivist Robin Burns, Alumni Director Mat Calabro 04, history teacher Michael Colligan, Bobbie Munger 51, Peter North 58, Emma Paine 08, Judy Kellogg Rowley 53, and Sheree Ruck P 07, 09, Krista Coletti, John Fixx

51 48 Preserving the Past for the Future continued Simultaneously, efforts are underway to collect, organize and categorize all the School records of enduring historical value. An exhilarating yet somewhat daunting task is being made much easier thanks to the enthusiasm of loyal volunteers Emma Paine 08 and former Library Assistant Sally Ziegler. Additional expertise is offered by Peter North 58 and Judy Kellogg Rowley 53 who recently attended, along with Archivist Robin Burns, a week-long seminar for non-professionals on Archives in the School. To donate items or volunteer your services to this exciting project, please contact Robin Burns at phone number or rburns@chas .org. Materials should be mailed to: Robin Burns, Archivist Chase Collegiate School 565 Chase Parkway Waterbury, CT Yearbooks Needed for Archives The McTernan School football team of THE MAGPIE

52 Faculty Q&A 49 An Interview with Pascale Musto 85 Pascale Musto 85 attended Salve Regina University. Having served as a teacher and Community and Equity Coordinator at Portsmouth Abbey, Concord Academy and Millbrook School, Pascale returns to Chase to teach Upper School history and serve as the Dean of Students. As a student what brought you to Chase? I was entering Middle School and my Mom wanted to me look at Chase. I can remember being driven to the School in my coat and tie, really not wanting to be there. My visit was so wonderful, though, that as soon as I got home I told my Mom that I couldn t wait to start! What was your favorite class? Public Speaking. Without the Public Speaking requirement I truly would not be who or where I am today. You attended the University of Connecticut but you didn t graduate from there, right? My Dad died of a heart attack when he was 56 years old. I was a sophomore in college, but being the oldest son in a traditional Italian Catholic family, I left school to run the family business. That s a tremendous responsibility for a 20 year-old. What kind of business? It was a wholesale flower farm; my Dad died on Saturday and I was sitting at his desk on Monday. I was able to manage because an injury earlier in my life taught me to overcome difficulty. What type of injury? One snowy day I went outside, slipped, and broke several vertebrae and fractured my skull. You seem to think of your injury as an awakening. Why? Well, for several months I was placed into a halo cervical brace, which made people treat me very differently, either because they saw me as being disabled, or as simply being outside of the norm. In fact, the people that I appreciated most were those who treated me the same after the injury as they did beforehand. The whole experience made me understand what it was like to be looked upon as different. That experience led to much of the work you ve done at other schools. That s right. At various schools I served as the Community and Equity Coordinator, under the Dean of Students Office. Pascale in his new Upper School classroom. Are you excited to be back at Chase? I am very excited to give back to the School that has given so much to me. As the Dean of Students, I hope to foster and nurture a healthy school culture.