westminster school bulletin fall 2013

For Alumni, Parents & Friends ofWestminster School

Leading with Grit &Grace Since 1888

THE BULLETINFALL 2013

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John S. Armour ’76EmeritusPalos Verdes Estates, Calif.

Elisabeth M. Armstrong P’04, ’06, ’07Cherry Hills Village, Colo.

Beth Cuda Baker P’09, ’12, ’15New Canaan, Conn.

Susan Werner Berenson ’82Fairfield, Conn.

C. Andrew Brickman ’82Hinsdale, Ill.

Susanna S. Brown P’15Batesville, Va.

Trinette T. Cheng P’08, ’11, ’13Kowloon, Hong Kong

Abram Claude Jr. ’46 P’71, ’80, ’84, GP’02EmeritusNorth Salem, N.Y.

John A. Cosentino Jr. P’00 Simsbury, Conn.

John H. Davis P’05EmeritusLongmeadow, Mass.

Lori P. Durham P’13, ’15Denver, Colo.

William C. Egan III ’64, P’92, ’95, ’00, ’02 EmeritusSkillman, N.J.

Heather Frahm ’86Weston, Mass.

Joseph L. Gitterman III ’55,P’86, ’86, ’90EmeritusWashington Depot, Conn.

Robert T. Horsford ’89New York, N.Y.

David H. Hovey Jr. ’78, P’09, ’11, ’14Ex officioSimsbury, Conn.

Leigh A. Hovey P’09, ’11, ’14Ex officioSimsbury, Conn.

Moyahoena Ogilvie Johnson ’86Bloomfield, Conn.

Jeffrey E. Kelter P’12, ’14Locust Valley, N.Y.

Bernard L. Kohn Jr. ’66, P’92Bloomfield, Conn.

Seonyong Lee P’08, ’09, ’13Seoul, Korea

Jane Kessler Lennox ’88New Albany, Ohio

Andrew D. McCullough Jr. ’87Houston, Texas

S. Bradley Mell P’14, ’16Far Hills, N.J.

Charles B. Milliken P’77 EmeritusBloomfield, Conn.

T. Treadway Mink Jr. ’77, P’11Chairman of the BoardNew Canaan, Conn.

Franklin Montross IV P’16Bedford Hills, N.Y.

Anne K. Moran P’06, ’09, ’12Unionville, Pa.

John C. Niles ’81, P’14Marblehead, Mass.

J. Pierce O’Neil ’76, P’10, ’12 Rowayton, Conn.

William V.N. Philip P’06, ’09HeadmasterEx officio Simsbury, Conn.

C. Bradford Raymond ’85New York, N.Y.

John B. Ryan ’93Ex officioRye, N.Y.

Thomas D. Sargent II ’77, P’10West Hartford, Conn.

John Sherwin Jr. ’57, P’83, ’89EmeritusWaite Hill, Ohio

Samuel Thorne ’46, P’74, ’76EmeritusBedford, Mass.

Gregory F. Ugalde P’05, ’07,’10, ’12 Burlington, Conn.

Armistead C.G. Webster Ph.D.Hartford, Conn.

Sara L. Whiteley ’91West Chatham, Mass.

Hilary Neumann Zeller ’88Weston, Mass.

Published by:Westminster School 995 Hopmeadow St. Simsbury, CT 06070(860) 408-3000

This magazine is produced twice a year bythe Marketing & Communications Office.

Address Class Notes to:Beth Goldstein SoycherWestminster SchoolP.O. Box 337Simsbury, CT 06070-0377

Or submit via e-mail:[email protected]

To update contact information ONLY:[email protected]

Westminster School does not discriminateon the basis of race, color, creed, sex,national origin or sexual orientation inadministration of its education policies,admissions policies, scholarship and loanprograms, and athletic and other school-administered programs.

EDITORDarlene Skeels, Director of Publicationsand Communications [email protected]

DIRECTOR OF MARKETINGKen Mason

PHOTOGRAPHYRobert Benson, Richard Bergen, NewellGrant ’99, Steve Laschever, Ken Mason,Sam Matlick ’13, David Newman, ElaineNord, Darlene Skeels, Charles Stepinaand David Werner ’80

CLASS NOTES COORDINATORBeth Goldstein Soycher

DESIGNJohn Johnson Art Direction & DesignCollinsville, Conn.

On the cover, the gala celebration for Westminster’s 125th anniversary Sept. 28 included spectacular fireworks.

Above, a view of Memorial Hall on the day of the anniversary closing celebration.

WESTMINSTER BULLETINFALL 2013

TRUSTEES 2013-2014

WESTMINSTER | WINTER 2011 | BULLETINWESTMINSTER | FALL 2013 | BULLETIN

CelebrationConcludesPage . . . . . . . . . 11

Class NotesPage . . . . . . . . . . 68

Reunion2013Page . . . . . . . . . 36

ResidentialLifePage . . . . . . . . . 22

SupportingWestminsterPage . . . . . . . . . 54

Commencement2013Page. . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Classroom ofLifePage . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Hill HeadlinesPage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

insideHeadmaster’s Message . . . . . . . 2

Hill Headlines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Athletics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Anniversary Celebration Concludes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Residential Life Takes A

Dramatic Step Forward . . . . . 22

A Classroom of Life . . . . . . . . . . 30

Reunion 2013 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Commencement 2013 . . . . . . . . . 46

Supporting Westminster . . . . . . 54

Martlets on the Move . . . . . . . . . 64

Class Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

In Memoriam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Closing Thoughts . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

THE BULLETINFALL 2013

WESTMINSTER | FALL 2013 | BULLETIN

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Dear Members of the Westminster Community,

Following the gentle curve of Perkin Memorial Driveto the top of Williams Hill, one arrives in fall 2013 to finda magnificent new vista opening onto our campus, whichone visitor described as at once so different and yet sofamiliar. The expanded central campus space, namedBaxter Lawn, highlighted by two beautiful new studentand faculty residences, Gund House and Squibb House,honors the Tudor style preferred by ourfounder William Lee Cushing, when hemoved his school to Simsbury in 1900.This familiar architectural stylecomplements the open, inviting feelingoffered by the lawn which extendsuninterrupted to our main schoolbuilding, Cushing Hall, which gracefullyconnects the residential side of ourcampus to Commencement Lawn,surrounded by Armour AcademicCenter, Andrews Memorial Chapel andPratt House.

As students, faculty, alumni, parentsand trustees gathered for Westminster’sGala 125th Anniversary Celebrationover the last weekend in September, ourtransformed campus setting seemed tolook forward to a promising future for our wonderfulschool. Having participated in the celebrations thataccompanied our Centennial in 1988, then as a youngmember of this faculty, I cannot help but reflect upon thetransformation in our campus setting over the last 25years. The Centennial Celebration took place under a hugetent covering the quad surrounded by Memorial, Squibb,Andrews and Cushing, and decades of Westminster faithfulreturned for the occasion, which featured inspiring remarksfrom renowned historian David McCullough. This fall’scelebration occurred under a tent on CommencementLawn, a side of the campus now fully integrated into ourdaily routine, thanks to Armour Academic Center, andDavid Brooks was the featured speaker. Of course,fireworks concluded both celebrations, but those fireworksmoved from the fields on the west side of campus to thenewly opened eastern side of campus with spectatorsgazing over the new faculty residences extending along theroadway past Harrison Field and glimpsing in the distancea new softball field and the lights of Hovey Field. On thisanniversary occasion, just as the expanse of Baxter Lawnseems to extend a more welcoming greeting to visitors, ourentire campus embraces more confidently its magnificent200 acres.

That said, Westminster School has never been aboutfacilities. Instead, as highlighted by our mission and core

values and underscored by our motto of Grit & Grace,people have always been the distinguishing attribute of our community. It is among the people of our schoolcommunity that our ethos is nourished and cherished. In this context, it seems especially fitting that amid thistransformation in the physical setting of our campuscommunity, familiar faces continue to grace Williams Hill.In fact, Alan Brooks ’55 has served as director of our125th Anniversary, while at Commencement this past

spring, 20 faculty had completed 20 ormore years here on Williams Hill, and 13 members of our faculty were alumni.Our Board of Trustees, chaired by TreadMink ’77, P’11, too, includes manyfamiliar faces with 23 alumni, amongwhom you will find Susie WernerBerenson ’82 and David H. Hovey ’78,P’09, ’11,’14.

Considered from this perspective,continuity complements transformationat this time of our 125th Anniversary.Yes, Gund House and Squibb House arenew, but in their design, they affirm ourenduring commitment to student life.Offering less congested corridors, biggercommon spaces and integrated facultyapartments, these new residences reveal a

less institutional and more homelike setting for students.Similarly, Armour Academic Center eschews the proclivityof other academic institutions to build separate departmentbuildings and, instead, seamlessly gathers the academiccommunity in one space surrounding a central atrium withan adjacent library and art gallery. Finally, while providinga state-of-the-art synthetic field as a venue primarily forfield hockey, soccer and lacrosse, Hovey Field remainsforemost a locus for community gatherings, where studentscheer on their peers, much as they have done for decadesbut only at night ice hockey and basketball games. Inshort, just as familiar faces continue to complement ourcampus community, the new facilities themselves —intentionally — enhance our school’s ethos.

Jenny joins me in extending to you our best wishes atthis major milestone in Westminster history.

With Grit & Grace,

William V.N. Philip P’06, ’09Headmaster

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Hill HeadlinesHill Headlines

New Galleries OpenTwo venues to showcase the visual arts at Westminster opened this

fall named the Baxter Gallery and the Chapel Gallery. Both are located inexisting campus spaces that were converted into galleries.

Following the success of an alumni art show in May, the formerBaxter Study Hall located off the Armstrong Atrium in Armour AcademicCenter was transformed into the Baxter Gallery and opened with adisplay of 24 works of art from 12 artists, including George Bellows,Emma Lampert Cooper, William Cowing, George Gascoyne, Kurt T.Godiksen ’73, Cleve Gray, André Harvey, Jerry Powers, Emilio Rodriguez-Larrain, Frits Thaulow, Henry Emerson Tuttle 1910 and Claude Venard.The works of art are from Westminster’s permanent collection and havebeen previously housed in various spaces on campus. The artists, alumni,faculty and friends of the school donated them over the years.

Jenny Philip P’06, ’09 coordinated the installation of the exhibitionwhich includes oil and acrylic paintings, pen and ink drawings,lithographs, drypoint engravings and a bronze sculpture. “It is great tohighlight the arts in such a visible way,” she said. “We plan to havefuture exhibitions of alumni artists to coincide with reunion and hopeteachers might bring classes into the gallery for students to findinspiration from the artwork for assignments.”

A second gallery opened in the lower level of the AndrewsMemorial Chapel as a new multipurpose working gallery for students,faculty and other artists. The idea for the gallery, which is called the

Chapel Gallery, originated with art teacher John Sandoval P’13,’15, whoserves as its director. He made a proposal for its establishment anddesign, and upon approval of funding for the project, worked withmembers of the facilities staff on refurbishment of a former classroomand hallway into the gallery space. He also constructed special panels for hanging works of art.

The Chapel Gallery is faculty and student run and administered byWestminster’s Visual and Performing Arts Department. It features a small-works hall, a mixed-use space that accommodates small performances,visual arts, as well as digital and electronic media.

“It is the first dedicated, permanent place for exhibiting studentwork other than in the Hamilton Art Studios,” said John. “It promotes thepositive values of art education and aims to provide a platform for theexploration of innovative work and ideas. The design of the space offers a lot of versatility for exhibiting works in different media.” One of John’sgoals is to have the gallery utilize contemporary practices such as QRgraphics and short-throw projectors.

The first show in the new space was held Sept. 19 to Oct. 13 andfeatured works of five visual arts teachers including Whitney Barrett, RayGustafson, Kerry Kazokas, John Sandoval and Jane Toner P’02. Studentshows will soon follow and be timed to school events such as arts festivalsand Candlelight Service. “There is potential for visiting artists’ shows,themed shows, traveling shows, short film nights and coffee houses,”added John. “We also hope other academic departments can use it fordisplay of student work. There is even the opportunity to do some jointprogramming with the Archives, which is right next door to the gallery.”

Above, the Baxter Gallery featuresartwork from Westminster’spermanent collection. Jenny PhilipP’06, ’09, top right, coordinatedthe installation.

Left, the Chapel Gallery openedwith an exhibition of artworkfrom visual arts teachers includingJohn Sandoval P’13, ’15, center,who is the gallery’s director.


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A number of Westminster facultymembers assumed new administrativeappointments at the beginning of the 2013-2014 academic year.

Greg Marco P’08, ’11, the holder of theJohn Sherwin Jr. ’57 and W. Graham Cole Jr.Chair and who previously served as director of studies, now serves as dean of faculty,following the retirement of Dick Adams P’93 in June. A graduate of Colby College with aM.Ed. from the University of Maine, Greg wasappointed to the Westminster faculty in 1989.He has filled many roles in his long career atWestminster including teaching across thescience curriculum, chairing the ScienceDepartment, coaching, supervising dormitorycorridors and serving as director of studies.

Bill Sistare assumed the role of directorof studies following Greg’s move to the dean of faculty position. Having earned his B.A. atPomona College and his M.S. at the Universityof New Hampshire, Bill first arrived atWestminster in 1987 and taught until 1991.From 1991 until 1999, he served in a number of

leadership positions at Germantown FriendsSchool in Philadelphia, including ScienceDepartment chair, before returning toWestminster in the fall of 1999. At Westminster,in addition to teaching science, coaching,advising and serving on numerous schoolcommittees, he served as a dean of studentsfor 12 years. He also chaired the AcademicStudy Committee and served as co-director ofthe Westminster Teaching Initiative (WTI).

Scott Duddy was named director offinancial aid following Mitch Overbye’sassumption of new duties in the AdmissionsOffice. A graduate of Bates College, Scott wasappointed to the Westminster faculty in 2004.He has taught, coached, advised, lived oncorridor and served as associate director ofadmissions and assistant director of financial aid.

Two New Deans NamedIn the Deans’ Office, science teacher

Grant Gritzmacher and history teacher JessicaKeough are the new deans of students for the

Classes of 2016 and 2017 respectively. Theyassumed the positions formerly held by BillSistare and Peter Briggs ’71, P’01, ’05, ’07.Peter stepped down as a dean in June, afterserving a record of nearly three decades in theDeans’ Office. He continues to teach, coachand serve as an advisor.

Grant was appointed to the Westminsterfaculty in 2004, and has taught science, coachedswimming and diving, football and baseball, andserved as a corridor supervisor. He attendedthe Hopkins School in New Haven, Conn., andearned his B.A. from the University of Texas andhis M.A. from the University of Connecticut.

Jess was appointed to the faculty atWestminster in 2008. A graduate of TrinityCollege and currently pursuing a master’sdegree in liberal arts at Wesleyan University,she has served as associate director ofadmissions, taught history, served as a corridorsupervisor and coached field hockey, ice hockeyand lacrosse. In addition to attending TaborAcademy as a student, she also served on thefaculties at Hebron Academy and Pomfret School.

Faculty Members Assume New AppointmentsGreg Marco P’08, ’11 Bill Sistare Scott Duddy Grant Gritzmacher Jessica Keough

Broadway Performer Takes StageRory O’Malley, a film, television and musical theater actor, best known for his Tony Award-nominated

performance as Elder McKinley in the Broadway hit “The Book of Mormon,” gave a presentation at Westminster inApril that included singing “Twirler Girl,” “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay” and “Wheels of a Dream.”

He described how he knew at age 8 that he wanted to be an actor. “I had that ambition to follow my dream,”he said. “Having a dream is a gift. Lots of people go through life and don’t know their interests.”

Rory earned a B.A. in drama from the School of Drama at Carnegie Mellon University. He said he wished hehad taken classes other than those in drama in college. “It is really important to stray from your dream for a time,”he emphasized.

After talking about his career and taking some questions from the audience, he ended his presentation by saying,“This has been such a wonderful honor. Good luck to all of you. I’m so excited for what the future holds for you.” Rory O’Malley


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Teacher Named to AP Program Development Committee

The College Board hasnamed Betsy Heckman, head ofthe History Department atWestminster, as a member of theAdvanced Placement ProgramComparative Government andPolitics Development Committeefor the 2013-2014 academic year.The seven-member committee ismade up of distinguishedsecondary and postsecondaryfaculty who are responsible fordeveloping the AP ComparativeGovernment and Politics courseand examination.

Members of the committeerepresent a diversity ofknowledge and points of view intheir fields and, as a group, arethe authority when it comes tomaking subject-matter decisionsin the exam-construction process.The committees represent aunique collaboration betweenhigh school and collegeeducators. Once appointed,members will potentially serve onthe committee for up to four academic years.

Betsy, who has been a faculty member at Westminster since2004, has been a reader for the AP Government exam for six years.At Westminster, she holds the C. Hiram Upson Family Chair, teachesAP Comparative Government, serves as the dormitory head for EdgeHouse, advises the school’s Model United Nations program and isthe sports information director. She earned a Bachelor of Arts ininternational politics and economics from Middlebury College and aMaster of Arts in international relations from Yale University. Duringher academic career, she also studied abroad in Australia and atOxford University, completed the Middlebury Year Abroad in Franceand did a graduate internship in Scotland at the U.S. Consulate.

“I am honored to have been asked to serve on this committeeand have the opportunity to work alongside teachers and professorswho are incredibly knowledgeable about comparative government,”said Betsy. “Not only will this experience allow me to becomefamiliar with the AP exam creation process, but it will undoubtedlyimprove my understanding of the material and help me to enrich theclassroom experience for my students.”

Betsy Heckman

Students Earn NationalAcademic Recognition

Westminster Sixth Formers MaeMullen and Taite Puhala have been namedSemifinalists in the 59th annual NationalMerit Scholarship Program. Theseacademically talented students have anopportunity to continue in the competitionfor some 8,000 National Merit Scholarshipsworth about $35 million that will be offerednext spring. Semifinalists must fulfill severalrequirements to advance to the Finalist levelof the competition.

Mae, a day student from East Granby,Conn., serves as co-editor-in-chief of TheWestminster News; co-editor of TheMartlet; co-president of the EcoTeam; amember of Chamber Choir, Choral, Dramat,Westminster Belles and First Girls’ Track;and co-captain of First Girls’ Cross Country.She has been recognized as an AP Scholarwith Distinction.

Taite, a day student also from EastGranby, is the winner of this year’s BrianFord Writing Prize and has been selected asa reader for Westminster’s Friday Nights inGund Series. She is also president of TheMovement writing club, a writer for TheWestminster News, co-editor of The Martletand plays basketball. She has won the Johns Hopkins Creative MindsPoetry Prize, the Smith College High School Poetry Prize and has beenrecognized as an AP Scholar with Distinction.

Two other Sixth Formers, Anish Chadalavada, a day student fromSimsbury, and Rosalie Wetzel, a day student from North Granby, havebeen named Commended Students in the program. Commended Studentsare recognized for their exceptional academic promise demonstrated bytheir outstanding performance on the qualifying test used for programentry.

Approximately 1.5 million students took the 2012 PreliminarySAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) lastOctober and entered the National Merit Program, a nationwidecompetition for recognition and awards conducted by the National MeritScholarship Corporation. Approximately 16,000 of the high performerswere named Semifinalists and the other 34,000 high performers werenamed Commended Students.

In addition, Sixth Former Arismer Angeles, a boarding student fromthe Bronx, has earned honorable mention in the 2013-14 NationalHispanic Recognition Program (NHRP) by the College Board. This year,NHRP recognized about 5,300 Hispanic/Latino students selected from apool of more than 259,000 who took the 2012 PSAT/NMSQT/PAA.

Taite Puhala ’14

Mae Mullen ’14

“I am honored to have beenasked to serve on this

committee and have theopportunity to work

alongside teachers andprofessors who are incredibly

knowledgeable aboutcomparative government.”


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Award-winning poet Mark Doty visited Westminsterfor two days in April as the 13th Westminster Poet. Heinteracted with students in classroom settings and gave areading in the Werner Centennial Center. Students andteachers had studied his National Book Award-winning“Fire to Fire: New and Selected Poems” (2008) inpreparation for his stay.

Mark is the highly acclaimed author of 12 books ofpoetry and three memoirs, including The New York Timesbest-seller “Dog Years,” 2007, which won the AmericanLibrary Association’s Israel Fishman Nonfiction Award in2008.

During his reading in the Werner Centennial Center,Mark talked about what prompts him to write poems.“Poetry is a way of opening your life to somebody else,”he said. “Poets are most often moved to write whenovercome by sorrow or grief.” He ended by reading fromhis new book, “A Swarm, a Flock, a Host: A Compendiumof Creatures,” illustrated by Darren Waterston, anacclaimed painter known for his silhouettes of animals.

During Mark’s visit with English classes, studentsasked him about the origin and meaning of various poems and about hisinterest in writing. “Writing comes naturally from loving to read,” heexplained. In high school, he said he kept a notebook of ideas “swirlinginside of me” and “stumbled across poems” he liked. “The language ofpoetry gets beneath the surface of what it feels to be alive,” he added.At age 16 after meeting a poet and visiting a poetry center, he said hewas struck by how the poet lived and breathed poetry. “I felt like I wasinvited to join this community, and I did.”

Mark likes to write with no intentions in mind. “I write when I get achance and that can be on a napkin, at the airport or on my cellphone,”he said. “I write and see where it takes me. … When starting with animage or an experience, often the writer has a discovery, and hopefully,that energy is communicated to the reader.” With an increased readershipof his writing, he said he is proud people are taking his work seriously.

Mark’s poems have appeared in many magazines including TheAtlantic Monthly, The London Review of Books, Ploughshares, Poetry andThe New Yorker. Widelyanthologized, his poems appear in The Norton Anthology ofContemporary American Poetry andmany other collections.

“Because Mark Doty’s poetrycombines narrative accessibilitywith philosophical depth, his book‘Fire to Fire’ was a perfect text forhigh school students to explore,”said head of the English DepartmentMichael Cervas, the holder of theDonald H. Werner Chair in English.

“I’ve never had a more rewarding experience of teaching a book ofcontemporary poems in the two decades we’ve been doing this atWestminster.”

Mae Mullen ’14, who read “Fire to Fire” in Bryan Tawney’s P’15, ’17AP English 5 class, said, “In class with Mr. Doty, I liked how he explainedhis creative process, and hearing the poetry he read aloud also improvedmy understanding. I like his use of color imagery throughout his poetry.”

And Klara Lindstrom ’14, who was in Michael Cervas’ AP EnglishLanguage and Composition class, said that reading Mark’s poetry,changed her feelings about poetry. “I believed poetry was too ambiguous,difficult and complex,” she said. “After having read Mr. Doty’s poems, myopinion radically changed.”

Mark’s work has been honored by the National Book Critics CircleAward, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, a Whiting Writers Award, twoLambda Literary Awards and the PEN/Martha Albrand Award for FirstNonfiction. He is the only American poet to have received the T.S. EliotPrize in the U.K., and has received fellowships from the Guggenheim,

Ingram Merrill and Lila Wallace/Readers Digest foundations,and from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Mark was born in Maryville, Tenn., and studied atDrake University and Goddard College. He has spent muchof his adult life teaching in various colleges and universitiesas a visiting professor of creative writing. Currently, heteaches at Rutgers University and lives in New York City.

His Westminster visit was made possible throughsupport from the Ford-Goldfarb Fund, which wasestablished in 2005 by former trustee Maureen Ford-Goldfarb and her daughter Kirsten Ford ’00 to supportEnglish Department enrichment activities.

Mark Doty

Mark Doty Visits as 13th Westminster Poet

The Stanley CupVisits Westminster

Chicago Blackhawks player andWestminster School alumnus Ben Smith ’06brought the Stanley Cup, hockey’s most prizedtrophy, to Westminster July 16 for a veryspecial visit. Ben, who played hockey atWestminster for four years, gave brief remarksand posed for photos with hundreds of guestsand the trophy.

Playing right wing for the ChicagoBlackhawks, Ben was called up from the AHLteam to join the Blackhawks for Game 3 of theStanley Cup finals, making him officially part ofthe championship team. As is National HockeyLeague tradition, every member of the teamcan “host” the cup, and Ben chose to sharethis moment at Westminster.

The event took place in the ArmstrongAtrium of the Armour Academic Center. Guestsincluded players from the Northern Lights andthe Simsbury and Avon youth hockey programs;Mike Cavanaugh, the recently appointed headcoach for the University of Connecticut;Simsbury First Selectman Mary Glassman; andmembers of the Westminster community andthe news media. Ben elected to raisedonations for The One Fund Boston andWestminster Crossroads Learning Program inHartford by signing photos. The amount raisedwas $4,500.

In introducing Ben at the celebration,Director of Athletics Tim Joncas ’00 spokeabout Ben’s involvement in a variety of schoolactivities as a student at Westminster and

Boston College. “He cares deeply abouthis family, his schools, his friends andthe communities that he eithercurrently lives in or has lived in,” saidTim. “He does the right thing, putsothers before himself, looks to make apositive impact in all that he does, andhis eternal optimism and endlessenergy are refreshing to be around.Even standing here as a NCAAchampion, as a player in the NationalHockey League and as a Stanley CupChampion, Ben is still the humble,gracious, kind, caring man I met about11 years ago.”

In his remarks, Ben expressed appreciation to those in attendance,his former coaches and members of his family for their support. “I want tothank Bill Philip and the Westminster community for allowing me to dothis here,” he said. “It was a no-brainer to bring it back home, and it is sonice to be here. I’ve learned so many life lessons here that I use today.”He also talked about playing hockey at Westminster saying, “I came toWestminster and played four years under Tom Earl. For me, it was thefirst taste of real competitive ice hockey, and he gave me an opportunityto improve all aspects of my game right from the start, and he allowedme to improve my game and be a good teammate.”

Ben also thanked Scott Stevens P’07, ’09, ’12 and Tim Joncas, hisother former coaches, for being great role models and people. In closing,he added, “It has taken a lot of hard work to get where I am, but I knowthis moment here never would have been possible without the love andsupport of those around me.”


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Ben Smith ’06


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CommunityService Day

Westminster students and facultyfanned out to 19 locations in ConnecticutOct. 3 to perform volunteer work as a partof the school’s annual all-schoolCommunity Service Day.

They boarded vans and buses tospend the day helping others at the 4-HEducational Center in Bloomfield, CampChase in Burlington, the Valley YMCA inGranby, Camp Horizons in South Windham,Covenant Prep School in Hartford, FidelcoGuide Dog Foundation in Bloomfield,House of Bread in Hartford, ManchesterSoup Kitchen in Manchester, South ParkInn Homeless Shelter in Hartford, theUniversity of Hartford Magnet School inWest Hartford, the Farmington River,Foodshare Regional Market Warehouse inHartford, Simsbury Housing Authority, theDr. Joseph S. Renzulli Gifted and TalentedAcademy in Hartford, the Senior Center atEno Memorial Hall in Simsbury, SimsburyCommunity Farm, the Simsbury HistoricalSociety, Gifts of Love in Avon and a privatehome. Staff members also helped with acampus beautification project to plant2,000 daffodil bulbs along PerkinMemorial Drive.

At various locations, students andfaculty helped with outdoor fall cleanup,made and served lunches, bagged food,cleaned and organized interior and exteriorspaces, moved outdoor furniture andvisited with clients served by theorganizations they visited.

“Service to others is a habit of theheart which needs to be modeled in theformative years for all young people,” saidGloria Connell P’99, ’00, Westminster’sdirector of community service.“Westminster students and faculty takethe school’s core value of communityvery seriously and were very pleased tobe able to spend the day helping othersin the greater community.”


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Acclaimed singer and songwriter Dar Williamsvisited Westminster in April to give a concert in theWerner Centennial Center for a special Monday nightedition of the Friday Night Readings series. The studentperformer was Eliza Christman ’15, a young poet andsinger who performed an original song, and the facultyperformer was Grant Gritzmacher, a gifted musician whosang three songs he wrote.

During her performance, Dar talked about what inspired her to write each of the songs she sang. Thenext morning, she visited English classes and talked about her song-writing process. “You start in one placeand then go in a different direction,” she explained. “That is creativity. … I try to put myself in a place whereI can be creative, like a museum. I like to walk around visual art. … Lots of times, I will let the space soak inand let my mind wander and do its thing.”

Dar was the first singer-songwriter to visit Westminster under the auspices of the Friday Night Readingsseries. English teacher Michael Cervas, who coordinates the series, said, “Dar was the perfect choice for us.She’s so personable and funny, and her songs are so smart and wide-ranging. She established a great rapportwith the students, too, who engaged her in conversations about song writing, her life as a musician andparticular songs they had studied.”

Hundreds of walkers turned out for the 13th annual MS Walk inSimsbury April 21 hosted by Westminster School to raise funds to supportlife-changing programs and cutting-edge research. Shortly after sunrise,students and faculty began marking the route, setting up rest stops,coordinating parking and staffing registration tables. By 8 a.m., walkersbegan arriving at the Jackson Hockey Rink to register to walk withfriends, family members and teams.

The event officially kicked off at 9 a.m. with welcoming remarks byHeadmaster Bill Philip, Simsbury First Selectman Mary Glassman andState Representative John Hampton. Madison Caan ’13 then sang thenational anthem, and Cullen Matt ’13 talked about the walk and itssponsors. After a ribbon cutting at the starting line, everyone began thewalk into Simsbury and back.

Among the student volunteers was Ben Kleinschmidt ’14 who wasin charge of all of the rest stops as well as the crosswalk guards. He hadbeen involved in planning the walk with the MS Walk Committee. “Ithought this was a great leadership and community service opportunity,”said Ben. “It was good to help out a great cause.”

And Ellie Deveaux ’14, who has volunteered with the walk for thepast three years and was responsible for volunteer registration, met withfaculty and student volunteers a week before the walk to teach them howto register people and how to switch the registration tables over to lunchtables while the walk was taking place. Shetoo participated in MS committee meetingsevery few weeks. “Every year has been areally amazing experience, from learninghow to collect money from my classmates,to organizing students at 7 in the morning,to making the traditional balloon arch,” shesaid. “I look forward to helping run the walkagain next year!”

Ray and Laurie Ellsworth of Burlington said they selected the walk inSimsbury because it is so well organized. Laurie, who has MS, said, “If itwasn’t for research and drugs, I don’t think I would be walking.”

Terry Bridges ’83 was also one of the walkers. Diagnosed with MS in 2004, she decided to get involved with the MS Society in 2005 bystarting her own MS Walk team called Still S’Myelin. She and herchildren have walked every year since, and a few years ago, she joinedthe MS Walk Committee in Simsbury. “Because of the organization andhard work of the teachers and students at the school, the Simsbury site

works like a well-oiled machine, but I try tohelp out where I can, whether it be fundraising,getting sponsors or hanging up posters,” shesaid. “Walking at the Simsbury site isespecially nice for me since I lived atWestminster until I was 24 years old. It is like coming home!”

Westminster students, faculty and staffdonated approximately $5,000 to the walk.

MS Walk Supports Programs and Research

Dar WilliamsGives Concert

Dar Williams

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Spring Season OverviewSports Information Director Betsy Heckman takes a look back at some ofthe highlights of the spring athletics season.

SOFTBALLFirst Softball added another Western New England Championship, itsfifthin the last six years. The team completed the season with a 17-1 recordand was dominant in most of these games. The Martlets’ only loss wasagainst Choate, 2-1. The squad was able to get revenge in a big way,however, with an 11-1 victory over the Wild Boars in the finals of theWestern New England Tournament. Jordan Gowdy ’14 and RachelMonroe ’14 were named All-League in Western NewEngland, and Amanda Savino ’14 and Rachel Monroewere named Western New England All-Stars. Withall but two starting players returning next season,the Martlets will again be a powerhouse in NewEngland softball.

LACROSSEFirst Boys’ Lacrosse had some big wins including aspectacular two-week period when the team wongames against all of the major boys’ schools:Salisbury, Trinity-Pawling, Avon and Brunswick. Toprove how competitive the league is, seven of theteam’s 15 games were decided by a single goal, withmany contests decided inovertime. Alec Dunn ’13,Mark Ellis ’13, AidanKeohane ’13 and DannyO'Connell ’13 wereselected to representWestminster as WesternNew England All-Stars.

First Girls’ Lacrossehad some standouts of itsown. Mary French ’15 andEliza Christman ’15 werenamed Western NewEngland All-Stars, andEleni Tebano ’13 andLindsay Hanau ’13 werehonored as New EnglandAll-Stars.

GOLFThe First Golf team produced one of its bestseasons ever, compiling an impressive 22-1 record.Led by captain Jack Rubino ’13, its hopes for aperfect season were dashed in the final match,however, when the team had a bad day against agood Deerfield squad. The Martlets also finishedthird in the Founders League Tournament. With anumber of talented young players in the program,the Martlet golfers have a number of good seasonsahead of them.

125th Anniversary CelebrationDraws to a CloseCommemoration of Westminster’s 125th anniversary remained in

high gear during the spring with visits to campus by numerous

guest performers, an alumni art show and an alumni athletics panel.

A closing gala celebration and dedication of Gund House, Squibb

House and Baxter Lawn held Sept. 28 marked the formal end of the

yearlong celebration titled “Leading with Grit & Grace.” However,

since the Class of 2014 is the school’s 125th graduating class

(due to a one-year closing of the school in its early history),

anniversary decorations and materials will remain in use during

the 2013-2014 academic year.

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As a part of the 125th anniversary celebration,Westminster hosted a forum titled “21st-Century Athletes:Does Character Count?” in Mayfeaturing six Westminster alumniathletes who have excelled at thehighest levels in their sports oncollege and professional teams.

The panelists included RebeccaBrooks ’96, a former professionalbasketball and soccer player; KaraBrown ’96, a former professionalsoccer player; Tommy Cross ’08, acurrent professional hockey player;Doug Knight ’93, a former professional lacrosse player; Jeff Natale ’01, a former professional baseball player; andBrian Sanford ’06, a current professional football player.

Rebecca Lobo, a former Olympian, WNBA player andlegendary UConn basketball star, who currently servesas an analyst and commentator for ESPN, moderatedthe program, which was held in the Werner CentennialCenter.

Director of Athletics Tim Joncas ’00 opened theforum by welcoming everyone and saying about thepanelists: “They have led with grit and grace, both asstudents here on Williams Hill, at their respectivecolleges and universities, and in their careers. They areloyal, kind, caring, involved, balanced and responsiblemembers of their communities. They all foundgreatness in different athletic arenas, but what bindsthem all together is that their greatness always camefrom their goodness, something that we all learnedhere at Westminster.”

Lobo then led a discussion with the panelists thatcovered such topics as how sports build character, howthey learned to accept losses, the role of their parentsand coaches in their careers, dealing with the sportsculture, learning discipline, women in sports, thecommitment required of college and professional

athletes, off-season training and the benefits of playingmultiple sports. She also talked about her own experiences as an athlete.

In response to a question about what advice they wouldgive to current student athletes at Westminster, “Tommyreplied, “Enjoy the relationships in high school and collegeand be a good teammate.” Brian suggested, “Have anagenda and write down how you are going to achieve it. Ialways set a lot of goals.” Jeff reminded everyone to “makesure you work in grace with your grit,” while Kara advised,“Enjoy the moment and embrace it. I wish I had taken moresnapshots of those moments. …Sports can open so manydoors for you.” Rebecca encouraged those who are passionateabout sports to pursue them. “It shaped my collegeexperience and my friends,” she said. Lastly, Dougemphasized, “Make them tear the jersey off you. Play as long as you can.”

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WESTMINSTER | FALL 2013 | BULLETINWESTMINSTER | SPRING 2013 | BULLETIN

Rebecca Brooks ’96 Doug Knight ’93

Rebecca Lobo

Brian Sanford ’06

Kara Brown ’96 Jeff Natale ’01Tommy Cross ’08

Alumni Discuss Demands of Professional Athletic Careers

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Alumni Exhibit Works of ArtSeventeen Westminster alumni who are

distinguished regional, national andinternational artists exhibited their works of art at an alumni art show titled “Seven Decadesof Artistic Passion” in May in the ArmourAcademic Center. It was the first major alumniart show in the school’s history and was held as a part of the 125th anniversary celebration.

The artists spanned seven decades ofWestminster graduates and included Lee S.Anderson ’04, Jeffrey B. Bishop ’67, David W.Cowing ’73, the late Anne P. T. Culver ’76,Alexandra Boyden Donaghy ’82, George A.Elliott III ’47, the late Bryan Nash Gill ’80,Joseph L. Gitterman III ’55, Kurt T. Godiksen’73, Emily Bissell Laird ’79, David S. MaclayJr. ’64, Alec E. Richardson ’85, William B. Sillin ’73, Everett W. Sturman ’65, AnnF. Ulrich ’09, Anne C. Ward ’85 and Larry S. Wasiele ’75. Their works included44 paintings and four sculptures, and showed great breadth, depth and talent.

The exhibit opened May 3 with an evening reception and six of the artists inattendance. Alan Brooks ’55, P’89, ’91, ’96, director of the 125th anniversarycelebration, organized the show with the assistance of Jenny Philip P’06, ’09 andLeigh Hovey P’09, ’11, ’14.

“It was a great pleasure to work with our alumni artists and to show off theirenormous talent, which ranged over many styles and materials,” said Alan. “I amexcited to imagine what possibilities exist for other exhibits.”

The show was open to the public throughout May and was a special stop forthose visiting campus for reunion andcommencement. Because of its success, theschool has converted the space into theBaxter Gallery, where future alumni artexhibits are planned.

Will Sillin ’73

Kurt Godiksen ’73Rett Sturman ’65

Jeffrey Bishop ’67Larry Wasiele ’75Joe Gitterman ’55, P’86, ’86, ’90

The alumni art show opened May 3.


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Contributing to King MemorialAs a part of its anniversary celebration, the Westminster

School community contributed $1,500 to the Martin LutherKing Jr. in Connecticut Memorial Project, an effort led bySimsbury High School students to raise $100,000 to create apermanent memorial in Simsbury of Dr. Martin Luther KingJr. and the impact his time in the Simsbury community hadon his life.

The Simsbury High School students organizing theproject made a presentation to the Westminster community

in the spring, and Westminster students and facultyresponded by raising money through donations.

The memorial will be an outside educational exhibitthat will include glass panels representing King’s familyhistory, his journey to Simsbury, his time in Simsbury andwhy it was so important to his life, his going home to asegregated way of life and his subsequent legacy onmankind.

The Simsbury Historical Society will house the memorialon a prominent corner of its property in the heart ofSimsbury.

Tap legend Savion Glover, a TonyAward-winning hoofer, choreographerand producer, gave a performance forthe Westminster community in Marchas a part of the Graham Gund ’59Visiting Artist Series. Performing withhim were acclaimed tap dancersAyodele Casel and Marshall Davis Jr.

Savion’s numerous credits includethe Broadway shows “The Tap DanceKid,” “Black and Blue,” “Jelly’s LastJam” and “Bring in ’da Noise, Bring in’da Funk” and the films “Tap” withGregory Hines and Sammy Davis Jr.,“Bamboozled” by Spike Lee and“Happy Feet,” which hechoreographed. Savion has performedat The White House, nationally andinternationally and is the founder ofthe HooFeRz Club School for Tap inNewark, N.J.

Ayodele has workedprofessionally as an actorand tap dancer for morethan 16 years. Hailed by thelate great Gregory Hines as“one of the top young tapdancers in the world today,”she has performed at TheWhite House, Carnegie Hall,Radio City Music Hall,Madison Square Garden andoff-Broadway in “SavionGlover/Downtown: LiveCommunication.”

Marshall, who has been tappingsince he was 10 years old, was thewinner from Florida in the Tri-StarPictures Tap Day Contest, a promotionfor the movie “Tap,” and he won theStar Search Teen DanceChampionship. He performed in theTony-winning production of “Bring in’da Noise, Bring in ’da Funk.”

After an amazing performance, thethree dancers took questions from theaudience about their careers. Whenasked how often they practice, Savionreplied, “I am now rehearsing twotimes a week for three hours for aproduction. When I am not doing aproduction, I practice at home. My lifeis practice. I am a work in progress.”Similarly, Ayodele said, “Every minuteof the day is practice,” and Marshall

commented, “It is a way of life tryingto think of different things to domathematically and musically, andhopefully, it will work.”

WESTMINSTER | SPRING 2013 | BULLETIN

Acclaimed Tap Dancers Perform

Savion Glover, Ayodele Casel andMarshall Davis Jr.

Savion Gloverwith dancestudents.


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Westminster dedicated two new student and facultyresidences and the main lawn area of the campus in aceremony on Sept. 28 that was part of the 125th anniversaryclosing celebration. Headmaster Bill Philip welcomedeveryone, reminding them that 25 years earlier a tent hadcovered the same lawn for the school’s Centennialcelebration. “The intervening 25 years have beentransformative in our school’s history,” he said. “Crucial tothat transformation has been an extraordinary culture of

philanthropy undergirding advancement at WestminsterSchool.” He then expressed appreciation to the people andfamilies who made the facilities being dedicated possible.

He also thanked Graham Gund ’59 and John Prokos ofGund Partnership who designed the new residences; theconstruction manager Bartlett Brainard Eacott represented bypresident Jim Eacott and Steve Andrea, the project manager;trustee emeritus Joe Gitterman ’55 for his leadership workon the Construction Committee; Nancy Spencer forcoordinating faculty moves; Business Manager Tom Earl foroverseeing the project; and Assistant Business Manager CarolKirsch and Director of Student Life Tony Griffith for all oftheir work on the project.

“At this morning’s dedication, we celebrate threelegendary Westminster names: Baxter, Squibb and Gund,”announced Bill. “Henceforth, the lawn we are gathered on,this central campus space surrounded by our student andfaculty residences, will be called Baxter Lawn. The rocknaming this space, located at the turn in the roadway, honorsCharles “Wing” Baxter Jr. ’37, P’79, Westminster Trustee1952 to 1976, whose benefaction through the AndrewsFoundation continues to enrich the lives of faculty and

New Facilities Dedicated

Maxine Smith ’14


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students. The Andrews-Baxter Family deserves recognition as one of the most generous philanthropists in our school’shistory. Responsible for underwriting Westminster when our school’s viability was in question, this family supportedWestminster’s students and faculty in every possible manner.”

In the 1950s and 1960s, the Andrews-Baxter familybuilt two central Westminster facilities that only recentlyhave been replaced: Andrews House and Baxter AcademicCenter. They also made Andrews Memorial Chapel possible.“Much of what is Westminster School rests on thefoundation of this family’s generosity,” said Bill, who thenasked Charlie ’79 and Lisa Baxter to rise for everyone’sgrateful applause.

“Squibb House honors a Westminster School legend,”Bill continued. “S. Harris “Squibby” Squibb H’80 and hiswife, Peggy, inspired so many Westminster students duringSquibby’s tenure on our faculty, extending from 1948 until1980. For Mr. Squibb, the secret to being a successful andmeaningful member of the faculty at Westminster wascaptured in his admonition to his faculty colleagues, ‘just bethere.’ As another colleague put it, ‘he stood for mannersand gentleness.’”

For 23 years, Squibby and Peggy lived in what wasinitially called Westminster House and was named SquibbHouse during a moving ceremony at commencement in1980. “Many members of our school community feel verygratified that this family name will continue to grace thebeautiful new student and faculty residence oppositeCromwell,” said Bill, who asked members of the Squibbfamily in attendance, including Steve Squibb ’63 and Andrew Squibb ’97, to stand for recognition.

“Gund House honors our campus master planner,Graham Gund ’59,” explained Bill. “The genius, and I use

Graham Gund ’59

Lisa and Charlie ’79 Baxter

Wanda and Steve Squibb ’63, and Andrew ’97 andBrianne Squibb with their children, Jocelyn and Asher.


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the word genius intentionally, of Graham Gund’s vision forour campus master plan is to reveal the natural elegance ofour campus. So much that we enjoy today is the product ofhis insight and design — Werner Centennial Center in 1989,Perkin Memorial Drive in 1995, Edge House in 1996,renovated Memorial in 1997, Kohn Squash Pavilion in 2000,Sherwin Health and Athletic Center in 2003, ArmourAcademic Center in 2009 and now Squibb and Gund housesin 2013.

“Graham Gund’s vision has transformed our campussetting. In the process, he embraced our commitment toenvironmental sustainability and adhered to the touchstoneof our mission and core values, building facilities thatenhanced our community, highlighted by the homelike, lesscongested, more community-oriented student and facultyresidences. … Westminster is about people, but the magic ofGraham Gund’s vision and design are that they enhance thehuman experience for students and faculty who live, learnand teach here.”

Maxine Smith ’14, who is from Manila, Philippines, and is the daughter of Richard Smith ’79 and the great-granddaughter of Moreau Stoddard ’24, then spoke aboutbeing among the first students to live in Gund House. “I think we are blessed with these new dorms,” she said.“On behalf of all the Westminster students and faculty, bothpresent and future, a big thank you to everyone who madethese fantastic new dorms possible!”

In his remarks, Graham Gund talked about how recentbuilding projects have presented opportunities to strengthenthe architectural identity of the campus. “It has been a verygratifying experience to have played a part in helping toshape the campus over the last 25 years,” he said. “Thesenew dorms and faculty houses are the next major step inmore clearly defining what the Westminster campus is. Itsunique character is now stronger than ever. When you arriveat the top of the hill, you know you are in a special place.”

Following the dedication ceremony, Squibb House andGund House were open for tours.

WESTMINSTER | FALL 2013 | BULLETINWESTMINSTER | FALL 2013 | BULLETINWESTMINSTER | SPRING 2013 | BULLETIN

Celebrating the Journey

Westminster put an exclamation point on the yearlongcelebration of its 125th anniversary Sept. 28 with a galacelebration attended by nearly 400 people that was held

under two festive tents on Commencement Lawn.

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“I welcome you to this remarkablemilestone in Westminster School’shistory: the gala celebration of its 125thanniversary,” said Chairman of theBoard of Trustees Tread Mink ’77,P’11. “It is an evening where alumni,faculty, parents, staff and even students— who are out on Baxter Lawnenjoying their own festivities — havecome together as a community to markthe closing of a fantastic yearlonganniversary celebration with the theme“Leading with Grit and Grace.”

Among the guests were formerheadmasters Don Werner P’79, ’82 andGraham Cole H’09, former chairs ofthe Board of Trustees reaching back 45years, members of the Williams HillSociety, trustees, alumni, parents, faculty and staff.

One of the highlights of the evening was the awardingof the Alan F. Brooks ’55 Distinguished Alumni Award toTrustee Moy Ogilvie Johnson ’86 for her service toWestminster. (Please see related story on page 55.) Thekeynote speaker was New York Times columnist and best-selling author David Brooks, who had given an earlierpresentation during the day to students and faculty about his career and life lessons he has learned along the way.

“It has been a pleasure to be here all day and meet thestudents and to meet so many of you in the last couple of

hours,” said David. “I love the phrase,grit and grace.” He spoke about why itis great to see schools like Westminsterfighting against so many trends intoday’s culture. He also talked aboutthe competitive environment childrenface today and the disadvantages of notmaintaining a “priority of self.” “Thecompetition has become so fierce thatit has put intense pressure on kidswithout institutional help to developthe other side of their lives,” he said.He cited two skills young men andwomen should have. “We want themto have the special skills — the reading,writing and math — but I have seen ithere all day, we certainly want them tohave morals, values and character.” He

talked about how character is formed and how that hashappened in different ways in history.

He also pointed to a shift from a culture of self-effacement to one of self-achievement. With a rise in self-confidence and a desire for fame, he said teachers, coaches,colleges and schools can sometimes offer an occasionalreminder to students that they are not the “greatest thing.”“Sometimes it is just the teacher who gives students an innerstrength,” he continued. “When you see some of the teachershere and see great teachers and great institutions, thesentence ‘the message is in the person’ rings true. It is not


Tread Mink ’77, P’11


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what is in the curriculum but what is in the people and theway they get imitated.”

Following his talk, Sara Whiteley ’91, a trustee and anhonorary chair of the 125th Anniversary Committee,introduced the premiere of a 15-minute video of alumnireflections.

“We have enjoyed an absolutely spectacular anniversaryyear, capped by this very special gala evening,” saidHeadmaster Bill Philip in closing. “During our 125thcelebration, Westminster School has not hidden its lightunder a bushel, but instead shined it far and wide. What anexciting moment for this school to which so many of us havededicated our lives.”

Following dinner, those in attendance, along withstudents, faculty and staff, gathered by Armour AcademicCenter to watch a magnificent fireworks display light up thesky over the campus.

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Residential Life Takes ADramatic Step Forward

The quality of residential life at Westminster has been transformed thanks to the completion of a

$22 million project this past summer that included building two new state-of-the-art student and

faculty residences to replace Squibb House and Andrews House and creating an expanded main

lawn area of the campus. The project was part of the school’s master plan to modernize residential

living on campus. Construction began in March 2012, following the surprise announcement of a

$10 million gift from an anonymous donor in 2011, the second largest in the school’s history,

and additional generous support provided by alumni, parents and friends of the school.

A view of the new Squibb House.


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The new residences were designed by Graham Gund ’59, president of GundPartnership, an award-winning architecture firm in Cambridge, Mass. Hedeveloped the school’s master plan and has designed numerous buildings oncampus, including Werner Centennial Center, Edge House, Sherwin Health andAthletic Center, Kohn Squash Pavilion and Armour Academic Center.

Some of the key features of the project included:

• Building two 31,405-square-foot student and faculty residences, one for girlsnamed Gund House, in honor of Graham Gund for his extraordinary visionas the school’s master planner, and one for boys named Squibb House, inhonor of former faculty member S. Harris “Squibby” Squibb H’80 whoserved with distinction on the faculty from 1948 to 1980. Each of theresidences has 31 student rooms — 13 single and 18 double rooms — and four faculty apartments (ranging from one to four bedrooms).

• Building a carriage house that has five indoor parking garages for faculty onthe lower level and a three-bedroom faculty apartment on the upper level.

• Building two smaller carriage houses that include two indoor parking garagesfor faculty on the lower level and a one-bedroom apartment on the upper level.

• Reshaping Perkin Memorial Drive, the main entrance road to campus, andother campus roads.

• Expanding and renovating the main lawn area of the campus.

• Demolishing Andrews House and the former Squibb House and three olderfaculty residences.

• Constructing a modular faculty home to replace the former Wyckoff House.

“Maintaining a consistent architectural vocabulary has resulted in a more cohesive place,

one that is truly unique to Westminster.”


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State-of-the-Art Student and Faculty HousingThe design of the two new student and faculty residences is in keeping with the

Tudor-style architecture of the campus which keys off Cushing Hall. Each of thebuildings has a grand central staircase and two wings to create a vibrant living andlearning community. Student bedrooms, which are singles or doubles, are clusteredaround a shared common room with an adjacent pantry that includes a refrigeratorand a microwave. And because close integration of students and faculty is a keycomponent of residential life at Westminster, faculty residences are located on eachwing and have studies that open into the student lounges. The faculty apartmentsfeature their own entrances, gas fireplaces and spacious kitchens. A large studentrecreation area, a storage area and laundry facilities are located on the lowest level.

While the new residences resemble Edge House, which was built in 1996 as aprototype in the first phase in the residential master plan, they are larger andincorporate updated materials and new features suggested by students and faculty.“When we began planning in 2012, I met with former faculty who used to live in EdgeHouse and with students who were current residents, and we talked about ways wecould take the current structure and improve it,” said Tony Griffith, director of studentlife at Westminster, who participated in the planning for the new residences. “GrahamGund also met with students living in Edge House and asked them about what theywould like to improve. So while the new residences look a lot like Edge House, insidethe buildings, there are upgrades in technology and infrastructure that became availableduring the last 15 years.”

“The scale, massing and materials of the new residences are influenced by CushingHall, which has served as the touchstone for new buildings over the past 25 years,”said Graham Gund at the dedication of the new facilities. “Maintaining a consistentarchitectural vocabulary has resulted in a more cohesive place, one that is truly uniqueto Westminster. Having visible faculty houses mixed in with the dorms, creates asmaller scale and sends a positive statement about the closeness between faculty andstudents, a hallmark of Westminster.”

Top left, a view of Gund House on the right and Edge House on the left.Bottom left, the central staircase of Squibb House and, above, the entryway of Gund House.


26

He also talked about how a more homogeneous look to the buildings reflects the importance of community atWestminster. “The more residentially scaled buildings helpstudents to feel more comfortable in their environment andadd to the experience of living on campus, which is sointegral to the school’s mission. The design of the interior ofthe buildings is modeled after a large English country house.Walking in the front door you enter into a large hall with thestair winding around it and the living room beyond. Thestudent living areas are broken down into two smallerneighborhoods on each floor, connected to a facultyapartment.”

Energy Star-Rated Design Once again, Westminster is on the vanguard of

integrating sustainable features into new construction withthe use of geothermal heating and cooling and Energy Star

equipment. The new residences are heated and cooled with a geothermal heat exchange system involving 18 wells thatare 500 feet deep and located in the green areas near thebuildings. Each student room has its own control for heatingand cooling. The geothermal system is similar to the one inArmour Academic Center, which has been a successfulbenchmark case study that has helped other institutions andcorporations in New England pursue the use of geothermalenergy.

Other green features include water conservationmeasures, recycling systems, automatic lighting sensors andan abundance of large windows to reduce the need forartificial light. Because of the buildings’ Energy Star-rateddesign, Westminster is eligible for a rebate of more than$130,000 from Connecticut Light and Power. Each of thetwo buildings also has an elevator and is ADA accessible.

Left, students in the largerecreation area in the lowerlevel of Squibb House.

Opposite page, top, the largest of three carriage houses has fiveindoor parking garages on the lower level and athree-bedroom facultyapartment on the upper level.

Left, a common room in Gund House and, right, its adjacent pantry.

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Meeting Parking and Storage NeedsDue to the need for covered parking and storage for

faculty and their families, construction of three carriagehouses was incorporated into the project. They featureindoor parking garages on the lower level and a facultyapartment on the upper level. Their design complements thelarger new student and faculty residences, and the integrationof larger and smaller buildings on the site creates a village-like setting.

An Expansive LawnWhat people will first notice about the project when

they arrive at the top of Perkin Memorial Drive is theexpansive shape and new landscaping of the main lawn area.The lawn area is now known as Baxter Lawn after Charles“Wing” Baxter Jr. ’37, P’79, a Westminster trustee from1952 to 1976 whose benefaction through the AndrewsFoundation continues to enrich the lives of faculty andstudents. Now surrounded by curved roads, the lawn is no

A student room in Gund House. Students in a group meeting and study area in Gund House.

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longer a quadrangle. The newly shaped lawn was regradedand reseeded and features new lighting. And to establish amore uniform look to the campus, all of the new buildingsand other buildings facing the lawn area, including EdgeHouse, Memorial Hall, Milliken House, the old gym andCushing Hall, now follow a coordinated color scheme.

“In the past, buildings on campus had evolved into amore urban rectilinear plan with straight roads and 90-degree corners,” explained Graham. “Today the campus hasthe beginning of a curved road system that reflects a morerelaxed character that emphasizes its pastoral setting.Westminster’s new buildings and landscape have cometogether to unify the campus in an exciting way.”

Demolition WorkIn order to make room for the new student and faculty

residences, a number of campus buildings had to bedemolished. The first building to come down was WyckoffHouse, a faculty residence, which was located where the newSquibb House now stands. A new modular home to replaceit, also called Wyckoff House, was built near other facultyhomes on campus. Similarly West Cottage and a nearbyolder faculty home, which were located where Gund Houseis now, were taken down early in the project. Lastly, theformer Squibb House and Andrews House, which were builtin 1949 and 1953 respectively and were replaced by the new

student and faculty residences, were taken down followingtheir use during the 2012-2013 academic year.

Managing the ProjectWestminster’s Construction Committee, which has

managed major building projects on campus for many years,

Visiting Gund House during construction are Trustee EmeritusJoe Gitterman, John Prokos and Graham Gund of GundPartnership, Steve Andrea of Bartlett Brainard Eacott Inc.,Business Manager Tom Earl and Plant Manager Duane Stagg.

The newly shaped Baxter Lawn was regraded and features new lighting. The design of the new student and faculty residencesis in keeping with the Tudor-style architecture of the campus which keys off of Cushing Hall.


29

shepherded the complex project through its planning andconstruction phases during weekly, daylong meetings.Committee members included Business Manager Tom EarlP’93, ’98, ’03, ’07, who chairs the committee, TrusteeEmeritus Joe Gitterman ’55, P’86, ’86, ’90, Plant ManagerDuane Stagg, Steve Andrea of Bartlett Brainard Eacott Inc.,Director of Residential Life Tony Griffith,Assistant Business Manager Carol Kirschand architect Christine Verbitzki of GundPartnership.

“We started off the planning processwith all of those people at the table and alot of value engineering happened earlyon,” said Tom Earl. “We tried todetermine the most efficient andeconomical way to accomplish what thearchitectural plans wanted to achieve.There were also conference calls anddiscussions with the architect betweenmeetings. It is a really good group, withevery member bringing a differentperspective and feeling comfortable tochallenge one another.” The committeealso worked with a variety of consultants on mechanicalissues, the geothermal heating and cooling system, lighting,sound, site work and landscaping.

The project was more complicated than other recentWestminster building projects because there were so manydifferent types of sub-projects built into it. “There wasdemolition of small homes, building of small homes, buildingtwo new dormitories, moving roads, repaving roads,extensive landscaping, and demolition of Squibb House andAndrews House,” added Tom. “It was also challenging to doit around a functioning school with faculty and studentsliving close by. We talked about safety every week.”

“The committee has worked together on so manyprojects over the years that it functions on a very high level,”said Joe Gitterman. “This was fortunate because frombeginning to end, the window of opportunity to get theproject completed was not at all large. Helping to get the jobdone on time were an unexpected early start and mild winter

temperatures. Importantly, each committeemember brings a needed differentperspective and expertise to the table.While the two large buildings are virtuallyidentical, the total number of units, rooms,doors, HVAC units, shades, lights, piecesof furniture, etc., was enormously largerthan any other project to date and added agreat deal to the workload involved. Thedouble demolitions were also very difficultbecause little was known about theconstruction and materials in Squibb andAndrews. In addition, there was a greatdeal of improvement made to the school’sinfrastructure as part of this project, andbeing underground, it is not usuallyappreciated or thought of as part of any

project. Tom’s leadership with Carol, as his able assistant,were again critical to being able to reach our goals for thehighest quality our budget could buy and finishing on timeand under budget. For me personally, again it has been anhonor and privilege to work with this group.”

“I think this was on a scale with the building of the Armour Academic Center in terms of being atransformational project,” summarized Tom. “It keeps us very competitive with other schools that are doing lots of residential building, and it keeps us moving toward the final vision of the school’s master plan.”

“It keeps us very competitivewith other schools that are

doing lots of residentialbuilding, and it keeps usmoving toward the final

vision of the school’smaster plan.”

Gund House at dusk.

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Two thirds of Westminster’s students make their home-away-from-home on Williams Hill living in one of the school’s six student and facultyresidences — Memorial Hall, Milliken House, the new Squibb House,Edge House, Gund House or Cushing Hall. They live on a corridor withother students and faculty members who serve as corridor supervisors.One of the hallmarks of corridor life at Westminster is that it is a verydynamic learning environment. Corridors are places where important lifeskills are learned and lasting friendships are formed.

Educating the Whole ChildTony Griffith, Westminster’s director of student life, who was a

corridor supervisor at Westminster for 12 years and also serves as headof the Mathematics Department and coaches soccer, says the residentialexperience at Westminster is about educating the whole child. “It is myjob to make sure we are doing everything that we can to ensureresidential life, like academics and the afternoon program, plays asignificant role in the life of our community,” he said. “When things gowell in the classroom, the students are productive and have work to do atnight; and if things are going well in the afternoon program, the studentsare exercised and able to focus; and if things are going well in thedormitory, the students are getting sleep and they have a safe place torelax and get their work done and a ‘family’ to come home to. We valueeach of these three essential components of life at Westminster.”

Faculty corridor supervisors check in with the students on theircorridors throughout the day. It can be as quick as asking students howtheir day is going, to making sure that everyone is where they aresupposed to be, to engaging in long conversations about a personalmatter or an issue related to school life. “Students and faculty certainlyget to know each other in so many different ways,” said Mary PatGritzmacher, a corridor supervisor in Squibb House, who also serves as a

A Classroomof Life

Top of page, corridor supervisor Mary PatGritzmacher with students in Squibb Houseand, above, Director of Student Life TonyGriffith.


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history teacher and associate director ofcollege counseling. “Living together andsharing space together is a great part ofcommunity.”

Making an Impact on LivesAs a corridor supervisor in Milliken

House, Tim Joncas ’00, who also serves asdirector of athletics, associate director ofadmissions and coaches hockey, often drawson his own experience as a boarding student atWestminster for three years. “I think serving asa corridor supervisor is a unique opportunity tomake an impact on kids’ lives, every minute ofevery day,” he said. “We are doing our verybest to produce responsible citizens who aregoing to go out into society and do really goodthings and not just settle for the status quo.When alumni come back for reunions and talkabout all of the wonderful things they aredoing or the initiatives they brought to theircollege campus because of a conversation youhad with them in the dorm until midnight onenight, that is one of the major benefits of thisexperience. Our rewards come in thank yous, hugs and smiles.”

Tim’s wife, Colleen, who teaches history and coaches field hockey,also sees tremendous value in the informal conversations that happenwith students on their corridor. “It is about sharing,” she said. “Sharingour stories and experiences with them makes them feel comfortableenough to give back in ways that we can help them or talk them throughsituations. Spending that extra time really talking with kids can make ahuge difference, and they need that to grow. One year, I had a girl on mycorridor who I taught, was my advisee and I coached, so we always jokedabout how she could never escape me. She is one of those students withwhom I have this lasting relationship, who comes back to visit and whoseparents stay in touch.”

Colleen also thinks corridor life offers great teaching moments sincestudents she teaches in her history classes often live on her corridor.“There are times when we have been talking about some subject matterin class and then a student stops by to see me to talk about a paper orreview for a test. There is definitely a lot of learning that goes on beyondthe classroom and in the dorms.”

Nancy Urner-Berry ’81 and Scott Berry P’11, ’16 elected to returnto corridor life this year after 20 years living in a faculty home on campus.Nancy is the dormitory head for Gund House, and their daughterKatherine is a Fourth Former.

“It was time for a change,” emphasized Scott, who teaches science,serves as assistant athletic director and coaches soccer. “I have been veryfortunate during my 42 years at Westminster to have been able to change

where I have lived, what I have coached and what I havetaught. We have come full circle.” Scott previously was acorridor supervisor for 20 years while living in MemorialHall, Andrews House and Milliken House. “I think the keyis omnipresence,” he stressed. “Harris Squibb, alongtime faculty member and athletic director and mymentor in many ways, used that word a lot.” Scott alsolikes the fact that corridor life is a way for students tosee faculty members in a different light. “They see you inthe classroom, on the athletic field, at the dinner tableand on the corridor. I always come back to the phrasethat teaching in a private boarding school is not a job buta way of life.”

“For me, I hadn’t spent as many years in dorms asScott, and I was anxious to get back to that kind ofinteraction with students,” said Nancy, who teachesscience and math, serves as a director of theWestminster Teaching Initiative and coaches hockey. Shehad been a day student at Westminster when she was a

Milliken House corridor supervisor Tim Joncas ’00 meets with corridor prefectsZac Hamilton ’14 and Mario Benicky ’14.

Gund House dormitory head Nancy Urner-Berry ’81 and Scott Berry in theirfaculty apartment with their daughter Katherine ’16.


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student. “I want our apartment in Gund Houseto be a ‘home away from home’ for the girlsresiding on our corridor,” she said. “They alsoshould expect to see us hanging out in thecommon rooms. There are a lot of adultsavailable for them in the dormitory to talk with,and they certainly should be able to find one ofus at any time if needed.”

Leadership Role Models A major part of making the residential life

experience rewarding for students on a corridorfalls on the shoulders of corridor prefects whoare the Sixth Formers assigned to everycorridor to work with the corridor supervisor to plan activities and provide leadership rolemodels for younger students. “Fifth Formers letme know in the spring if they are interested inbeing a corridor prefect the next year, and thenwe meet on a regular basis to talk aboutleadership,” said Tony. “Being a corridorprefect can be one of the most significant leadership roles atWestminster, especially if they are working with Third Formers. It is thebest opportunity to have a significant impact on the life of the students,the corridor and the school.”

Mary Pat says that if she needs feedback about how well things aregoing on her corridor or if she needs suggestions, she turns to a corridorprefect first. “They are instrumental in being a link with the students andthe eyes and ears for us,” she said.

As a corridor prefect in Milliken House, Angelo Hunt ’14 says helooks forward to being a positive influence on new Third Form students.“I’ve admired a few Sixth Formers from the past two years and aspire tohave the same influence on younger students as they had on me,” hesaid. “Whether its playing games in the common room or making sure

everyone is getting their work done during study hall, I want everyone toleave the year knowing they had fun.”

Yvonne Pruitt ’14, who lived in Milliken House, Cushing Hall andEdge House during her first three years at Westminster and now servesas a corridor prefect in Gund House, credits corridor prefects with helpingher adjust to life in the dormitories. “I’m looking forward to providingguidance to my peers just as my dorm prefects have done for me all of mytime here,” she said.

Building RelationshipsTony works closely with corridor supervisors and corridor prefects to

keep everything running smoothly and to resolve any issues that mightcome up. “We all have this central question,” he said. “How do we worktogether to make this experience as rewarding and beneficial as possible

Students in Squibb House enjoy hot dogs and hamburgers during a “feed.”

Corridor prefect Yvonne Pruitt ’14, far left, talks with students on her corridor.


33

for the students? If there are things we need to talkabout or information to convey, there are weeklycorridor meetings and weekly corridor ‘feeds,’ which is a Westminster term for providing food.”

The importance of the corridor feeds in buildingcamaraderie cannot be underestimated. “Withteenagers, the easiest way to bring them together iswith food, and once you have them together, you canhave conversations, and it breaks down some of thosewalls,” said Lee Huguley, a corridor supervisor in EdgeHouse, an English teacher, a form dean, and a coachof football and track. “They see us in less of a positionof authority and more in terms of being someone in aposition to provide support.” Lee says a favorite dishfor feeds is Westy dip, a combination of creamcheese, salsa and cheddar cheese. He also likes toorder pizza or takeout food from Chipotle, or even takethe girls on his corridor out for ice cream. “The feedsare an important piece,” he said. “They do a lot forinteraction in the dorms.”

It is the close interaction with students thatLee likes most about his role as a corridor supervisor. “The fact that I canopen my door and walk down the hallway and know that I am going tohave a positive interaction makes for a great living environment,” he said.“It really doesn’t feel like work. It is fun.”

The spouses and children of corridor supervisors also make manyvaluable contributions to life on the corridor. “My wife doesn’t work here,but she feels very committed to the girls in the dorm,” said Lee. “It is thesmall things, like using our kitchen to bake cookies or seeing our twodaughters when they get the chance to put their sneakers on and visit inthe hallway, that make a difference.”

“When students see us interacting with our own children, we areproviding a good model for them, which adds credibility to our teachings,”added Grant Gritzmacher, a corridor supervisor in Squibb House, a scienceteacher, a form dean and a coach of swimming and diving, and baseball.“You have to create an environment built on respect and trust.”

Opportunity for Growth in Multiple AreasStudents have the opportunity to grow in many areas as a result of

their boarding experience. “They develop the ability to be responsible andto take care of themselves with the support of the Sixth Formers and thefaculty,” Tony explained. “They learn how to clean their own room andhow to live with eight to 15 of their peers and get along. The differencebetween this and a college dormitory is really the deliberate support ofthe faculty and the Sixth Formers on each corridor. Essentially, this isanother classroom, a classroom of life that occurs every evening oncampus.”

Betsy Heckman, who serves as the dormitory head of Edge House,head of the History Department and sports information director,underscores the independence students learn from their boardingexperience. “They have to learn how to manage their time,” she said.“They have to figure out how to balance interacting with their peers andgetting their work done. That means when they go to college, they havealready jumped through that hoop, and they know right away that theystill have to do work even though they can go hang out with their friendsif they want to. That is huge.” She also thinks important life skills are

Brian Kelleher ’15, playing the guitar, and Miller Guth ’16enjoy some free time in Squibb House.

A cinnamon bun feed in Edge House.

Corridor and Head Prefect Pierce Cote ’14, second from left, chats with studentsin Memorial Hall.


34

taught. “Developing skills about how to respect people and their spaceand how to live with people who are from very different backgroundshelps build the character piece.”

Learning to live away from home and with roommates are keyelements of the residential experience. “For homesickness, I just tell anew student to give it a couple of weeks,” said Betsy. “I also make surethey are not staying in their room alone. If a conflict with a roommatecomes up, I try to get them to talk with each other rather than everybodyelse. I also try to have them figure out what is worth getting upset aboutand what is not. There are certain things that you need to learn to livewith and others that you need to talk about. There is usually a lot ofmediating in the conversation and coming up with compromises.”

“It is good training for college, marriage or a first apartment,” added Nancy.

Thiele Schroeder ’14, a boarding student from Dayton, Ohio, saysthat it was difficult living away from home at first. “The two things thatgot me through it were my dorm parents and my roommate. My dormparents in all three dorms have come to be the faculty with whom I amclosest because of their involvement in the dorm. As for contributing toeducation, having teachers easily accessible and having your classmateslive with you are definitely benefits. Studying for tests or getting classnotes that you miss are much easier when you can just walk down thehall and get help.”

Thiele likes serving as a corridor prefect this year in Edge House.“The corridor prefects all my years living in the dorms have been reallyinfluential on me, so I am hoping to have the same effect on the Thirdand Fourth Form girls this year,” she said. “ I am looking forward tohelping them with anything, whether it be homework or a social issue.”

As a corridor prefect in Memorial Hall, Head Prefect Pierce Cote ’14likes the ability to be around his friends all of the time. “I create a greaterrelationship with kids from all grades and the teachers in my dorm,” he

said. “A dorm is like a family, and everybody looks out for each other.While it gets crazy at times, I couldn’t imagine school without it.” He alsosays that when he was a new student three years ago, his corridorprefects helped him adjust. “I still stay in touch with them today, and Icould go to them for anything.”

Megan Walsh ’14, who serves as a corridor prefect in Edge Houseon a hallway of Third Formers, says, “What I like most about living in thedorms is that you are constantly surrounded by your friends, and even ifthere is someone on your hall who you really don’t know, you becomeclose because you see them so much.”

Above, Edge House dormitory head Betsy Heckman, far right, holds a corridor meeting that includes faculty member Peter Doucette P’16, left, who serves as a corridor affiliate.

Corridor supervisor Lee Huguley with students in Edge House.


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Strong Ties Between Boarding and Day StudentsWith the strong involvement between boarding students and

day students at Westminster, it is not surprising that they oftenspend time visiting one another before or after school and onweekends to enjoy the best of both worlds.

Taggart Corriveau ’16, a day student from Newington, Conn.,usually visits friends in the dormitories every day, either before orafter sports practices and games. “If I am there for a day off ofpractice or a game, usually, we spend time in the common roomaround the Xbox, while other times I find myself doing homeworkwith others or just listening to music,” he said. He also staysovernight two or three times a month. “I like staying in the dormsbecause it allows you to become a lot closer with the kids who youdon’t see outside of school,” he said. “Being involved with dorm lifeallows you to build friendships with kids from different states andcountries.” He has also invited boarding students to stay over at hishome in Newington. “At my house, we often watch hockey gamesand do some homework or study,” he said. “I think one thingboarding students like about getting off campus is being able tohave a home-cooked meal.”

Similarly, Zack Orzech ’16, a day student from Avon, Conn., visits theresidence halls almost every day, and often stays over with friends whenthere are school dances. “I like how I’m with my friends,” he said. “And ifyou do not know a kid well, it gives you a good opportunity to get to knowhim better. It has enriched my experience by kind of living two differenttypes of lives while at a private school, one being a day student andalways going home and getting my work done instantly and the otherbeing a boarder, which is fun since you’re always with your friends, and it makes the work more enjoyable.” Zach has reciprocated by invitingboarding students to visit his home for dinner and to relax.

Madeleine Percival ’15, a day student from West Hartford, usuallyvisits the dormitories every day after school, both before and after sports,and stays on campus until check-in for boarding students. “I just hang outwith my friends in their rooms and go to dinner with them,” she said. “Ifwe are in the same classes, we sometimes do homework or study

together. We also get ready together when there are dances.” She staysover occasionally on the weekends and enjoys ordering from BrooksideBagels or going to brunch with her friends Sunday mornings. “Stayingovernight and being more involved in dormitory life has allowed me tomake friends that I wouldn’t have been able to make if I just went homeright after school or had spent the entire day in Armour AcademicCenter,” said Madeleine. “I’ve been able to build stronger friendships byspending more time in the dorms.” While she has had boarding studentsstay over at her home, she says it is more common for them to come overfor dinner or for her parents to take them out. “I’ve also gone home withsome of the boarders for weekends,” she added.

Reinforcing Core ValuesLee sees Westminster’s core values of community, character,

balance and involvement being reinforced constantly in corridor life. “Thecommunity piece is huge,” he said. “That iswhat we talk about a lot, just being nice to oneanother even though it sounds basic. Thenbalance and involvement are important piecestoo. I give Westminster students credit for howthey are able to balance their lives.”

And Grant says he has heard firsthandfrom alumni about the long-term benefits ofresidential life in building character. “I think ourkids are more comfortable with each other asdorm mates than they probably will be withanyone else in their academic careers, even incollege,” he said. “I am always amazed at howcommitted Westminster alumni are to theirhigh school experience when they come backto visit. Many of them say their boarding schoolexperience was more important to the buildingof their character and person than their collegeexperience. Certainly, our residential programhas a lot to do with that.”

Corridor prefects Thiele Schroeder ’14, second from left, and Megan Walsh ’14,third from left, with other students in Edge House.

Corridor supervisor Grant Gritzmacher, center, talks with studentsin Squibb House.

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Reunion

37

Alumni from 13 classes, ranging

from the Class of 1948 to the Class

of 2008, returned to Westminster

May 3-5 for reunion 2013. A number

of alumni traveled long distances to

the event, including seven from

California, two from Washington

and one from Turkey.2013


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50th Reunion DinnerBill and Jenny Philip hosted a dinner for the Class of

1963 in Hinman Reading Room. Guests included Larry andAnn Gilman P’78, ’80, Dick Adams P’93, formerHeadmaster Don Werner P’79, ’82, Geoffrey WilbrahamP’76 and Morgan Shipway ’61, P’12. Many members of theclass got up and spoke eloquently and fondly aboutWestminster and the teachers who had meant so much tothem, including the Gilmans. They also remarked about howmeaningful it was to get together with their classmates again.

Members of the reunion committee included LoftusJestin, John Gundersdorf, John Lavieri, Toby Levy andSpike Richey.

The weekend began Friday evening with a reception forthe opening of an alumni art show titled “Seven Decades ofArtistic Passion” featuring 17 Westminster alumni who aredistinguished artists. (Please see related story on page 13.)Class dinners were then held at various homes andrestaurants in Simsbury.

In other highlights, the Class of 1948, which was backfor its 65th reunion, boasted 100 percent participation in theAnnual Fund, and the Class of 2008 surpassed its 60 percentparticipation goal.

Saturday’s busy schedule kicked off with a headmaster’scoffee at Pratt House hosted by the Multicultural Student

Union and international students. Alumni then learned abouthow Westminster is positioning itself for the future at apresentation about the school’s recent strategic planningactivities given by Director of Development Maggie PinneyP’01, ’11 and Director of Marketing Ken Mason P’11, ’12,’16, which was held in the Gund Reading Room. This wasfollowed by a “Meet the Martlets” panel discussionmoderated by Peter Newman ’80, P’16 with six studentpanelists — Eliza Worcester ’13, John FitzPatrick ’13, AlliDevins ’13, Alastair Smith ’13, Alex Colon ’13 and Hieu Do’15 — who answered questions and talked about why theyhad selected Westminster, their life on the Hill as students,

39

the college search process and the importance of schooltraditions.

The third presentation of the morning was given byJohn Prokos of Gund Partnership, who provided an updateon the school’s master plan and its guiding principles. Healso discussed the work of the school’s ConstructionCommittee, the major features of Armour Academic Centerand the new student and faculty residences project.

In his headmaster’s address, Bill Philip welcomedeveryone back to campus saying, “A big welcome to a veryactive year, our 125th anniversary year. Thank you formaking the trip here.” He said that many were probably

surprised by some of the changes to the campus since theirlast visit. “As much as this school’s physical capacity haschanged, what makes it special is the same,” he emphasized.“At the end of the day, this school is about people.” He thentalked about some highlights from the year in Westminster’sadmissions, college admissions and the annual fund, andresponded to questions.

In Andrews Memorial Chapel, John Ryan ’93 led theinduction of the Class of 2013 into the Westminster AlumniAssociation. “On behalf of the Westminster AlumniAssociation, I thank you for your leadership, congratulateyou on your achievements, and introduce you and welcome


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45th Reunion DinnerThe Class of 1968 had an amazing 75 percent turnout

for reunion thanks to Porter Berry spearheading an emailcampaign to reach out to members of the class. “There werefive of us on the reunion committee, and we simply brokethe class into segments with each person havingresponsibility for his segment,” he explained. “It was an easyjob because we genuinely like each other and are very happyto see each other and, as importantly, each other’s families.”Porter’s wife also developed a video of the class, which wasshown at the class’s Friday dinner at the Simsbury Inn.

Hunter Smith surprised everyone at the dinner bybringing life-size portraits of each member of the class. “Ihad remembered how the photos had been on the name tagsfrom years back for another reunion,” he explained. “Mywife had told me how she had done blow-ups for one of herbrother’s birthdays some time ago, and I thought it would befun to do it for the reunion. I gave the yearbook to a printerfriend of mine who scanned and printed the pictures at face-size on some heavy stock. After that, my wife and I cut themout and stuck them on tongue depressors.” At the dinner, theclass posed for photos with the yearbook photos. There wereeven yearbook photos of classmates who had died, so theywere also in the pictures from the evening.

Now that members of the Class of 1968 are fresh offtheir 45th reunion, they have decided to stay in more regularcontact by celebrating each other’s birthdays with emails and

phone calls. “I think that as we enter the autumn of ourlives, the importance of the relationships that we had atWestminster has come full circle,” said Porter. The class isalso looking forward to its 50th reunion. “We will have 100percent of our classmates return,” he said. “We will sing theschool fight song better, and as hard as this may be tobelieve, we will have more fun at the 50th than we had atthe 45th.”

Members of the reunion committee included BillAnlyan, Porter Berry, Tim Cottrell, Doug Griffin, JakeHorne and Hunter Smith.

you to the Alumni Association,” he said. “In short, yourepresent and embody the grit and grace that Westminsterstands for.” He also expressed appreciation to the alumni inattendance: “For those of us a bit more seasoned, on behalfof the Alumni Association and the Board of Trustees, Iwelcome you back to campus and cannot thank you enoughfor what you do to support Westminster.”

Alan Brooks ’55 then led the memorial service for 18alumni who had died in the past year, and Heather Frew ’13and Morgan Rubin ’13 sang “Pie Jesu.”

After leaving the chapel, alumni gathered behind theirclass banners for the grand march across campus. With

bagpipers leading the way, they then walked around thequad to Commencement Lawn for class photos and lunchunder the reunion tent.

Ellen Gutierrez ’93 and Catherine Schneider ’93, whowere back for their 20th reunion, enjoyed catching up at theluncheon. The two had lived on the same corridor. “It is aperfect day to be back on campus,” said Ellen. “I feel likethe campus grew, but I do not know why,” added Catherine.

Bob Patrick ’63 traveled all of the way from Turkey forhis 50th reunion. “Simsbury doesn’t look anything like it didin 1963 when it was a sleepy little place,” he recalled. Hesaid he was struck by the “stunning view” of the Farmington


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25th Reunion DinnerThe Class of 1988 held its reunion dinner at

Sanger House, the faculty home of Amy and ScottStevens P’07, ’09, ’12. During drinks on the deck, Joe Goldsmith ’88 held court by regaling everyonewith funny stories about dorm life. The class alsoenjoyed spending time with beloved faculty membersand their spouses including Tally and Peter Briggs ’71,P’01, ’05, ’07, Mary and Todd Eckerson P’09, ’11,’16,and Scott Berry and Nancy Urner-Berry ’81, P’11, ’16.

Members of the reunion committee included JohnBryan, Chris Hannigan, Jane Kessler Lennox, AndyLogan, Edie Josephson Owen, Sarah Rutledge,Elizabeth Wilde, David Wilkins and Hilary Neumann Zeller.

Valley from Pratt House and was impressed by the designand function of the campus. He particularly liked theopenness in the new buildings.

Jocelyn Kurosky Vallieres ’73, who was among the firstclass of female students, had not been on campus in a whileand was surprised by the new buildings. “It is what youwant to see,” she said. “Things change and grow for thebetter. It is extremely impressive.” When asked about anyspecial recollection of that first year of female students oncampus, she replied, “As I always knew, the female elementwould be a very positive one.”

Steve Walker ’58 said he loved coming back to campusand recalled the closeness with the faculty and how many ofthe faculty had become his friends.

Geof Sargent ’68, who has returned every five years forreunions, said he couldn’t get over the Armour AcademicCenter. “You come back and see wonderful structures andsee what they do for the students. … The planning that hasgone into the campus over the last three decades isremarkably successful. It almost makes me want to comeback.”


42

1948 – Bob Kling, Johns Winship and Al Redway 1953 – Gordon Carrigan, Gurney Thompson and Jerry Smith

1958 – John Stratton, Shep Wild, Steven Walker and Ted Reboul

1963 – John Gundersdorf, Jerry Miller, Durbin Hunter, Bob Patrick, John Lavieri, Tony Islan, Spike Richey, Toby Levy and Loftus Jestin


43

1968 – Front row, Jock Tate, Gordon Book, John Tucker, Doug Griffin, Peter Dailey, Charles duPont, Paul Tobey, Porter Berry,John Golia, Tim Cottrell and Tom Remley

Back row, Al Floyd, Pat Lee, Bill Anlyan, Keith Barrand, Steve Kane, Al Dorr, Tom Hilliard, Jim Hoyt, Charlie White, Fran Lee,Geofrey Sargent, Ridgely Beale and Ty Goss

Not in photo: Hunter Smith, Walter Teagle, Bill Baer, Jake Horne, Doug O’Connor and Rob Haymes

1973 – Front row, Richard Stout, EugeneAtwood, Jocelyn Kurosky Vallieres, André

Kazanjian and John Hart

Back row, John McGrath, William Sillin, LeeCarlson, Michael Cady, Silas Witherbee,

Henry Merriman and Bentley Boger

1978 – Front row, the late Bryan NashGill ’80 (honorary ’78), Michael Hanley,Deirdre Duffy Donohue, Mark Wallace,Tyler Yeomans Madden, Tyger Nicholasand Steve Polk

Back row, Jonathan Falk, Tim Armour,Larry Wagner, Chuck Buffum, JockDanforth, Lithgow Osborne and Phil Ohler

Not in photo: Jane Porterfield Pastorand Chas Gill

Hats were provided by Allen Steeberwho could not attend.


44

1993 – Front row, Matt Schwarz, Justin Scott, Alya Stoffer, Alison Klimek Power, Alison FrenchNathan, Julie Madsen Zarou, Lee Carstensen Genung and Elizabeth Doenges Winkler

Back row, John Ryan, Dara Baur Hall, Erin Hynes Naspo, Ellen Gutierrez, Catherine Friedman Schneider,Jill Adams, Ebony Roundtree and Cathy Lamenzo

Not in photo: Ryan Naujoks, Doug Prezzano, Jamie Childs, Ted Childs, Coren Caisse Moore, ElizabethWilliams Boguniecki, Robin Beaulieu Ellef, Jeff Forbes, Andrew Black, Missy Hathaway McKenzie,Wendy Trainer Kerr, James Kerr, Tyler Hill and Demond Simmons

1983 – Front row, Leslie Kirschner, Rick Gould, Woods Fairbanksand Liz Crawford Van Duyne

Back row, Wendy Seiglaff Baker, Heidi Eysenbach Rayden, LeeBriggs Couch and Penny Neal Whitlock

Not in photo: Doug Burdett, Charley DeLana, Betsy Rodney Herz,Terry Bridges Carlson and Brian O’Neil

1988 – Front row, Andrew Logan, Anne Wareck, Helen HopkinsKellogg, Joe Goldsmith and Lisa Douglass-Doe

Back row, Hilary Neumann Zeller, Elizabeth Wilde, Matt Pezzulich,Robin Asbury Miller, Pete Seidenberg, David Wilkins andAnnette Davis


45

1998 – Tim Gerges, Sandy Bryant, Mike Innesand Elliot Dickson

2003 – Front row, Steve Bartram, Sean Sullivan, Meredith Beck, Mike Moriarty, Brenda Gutierrez Bird and Ken Reeves

Back row, Dorothy Stancill, Kim Sullivan, Adrienne Bowler Greenwalt,Jen Weisbrich, Jules Stafford, Rob Lautensack and Dan Roper

2008 – Front row, George Payne, Emma Overton, Sarah Bingham, Emma Beck, Sarah Shanfield, Charlie Lent, Daley O’Herron, BaileySpalding, Courtney Kirsch, Lizzie Pike, Cameron Keady, Marianne Specker and Anne Hoyt

Middle row, Khadijah Ahmed, Courtney Stafford, Caitlin Hodson, Lisa Cavazuti, Kelly Cheng, Nina Bartram, Kate Sullivan and Dorothy Brown

Back row, Kevin Garcia-Ramirez, Jordan Dewey, Eric Phillips, Andrew Heinemann, Jamie Renwick, Bobby Fitzgerald, Andy Polio, AndrewNitkin, Renzie Chipman, Ryan Tocci, Lindsey Thomson, Scott Morell, Sarah Marco, Evan Schreier, Emily Cranshaw, Ali Crone and JordanOhanesian

46

Commencement2013

Westminster celebrated the graduation of 103 students in the

Class of 2013 at commencement exercises May 25. Despite the rainy

and cool weather, hundreds of family members and friends were in

attendance to recognize the many accomplishments of the graduates.

“This morning’s commencement ceremony culminates another

remarkable year in this school’s long history,” said Headmaster Bill

Philip in welcoming everyone. “One hundred twenty-five years is an

impressive milestone. Throughout the past year, we have intentionally

celebrated academics, athletics, service and the arts.” He then

recognized a number of individual and group accomplishments during

the year, saying, “Simply put, we have much to celebrate.”


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Salutatory AddressIn his Salutatory Address, Head

Prefect Gage Kennie ’13, talked aboutthe legacy of the Class of 2013. “It’sdifficult to think that Westminster willgo on without us,” he said. “Asuccession of new Sixth Form classeswill take our place and fill our roles;however, to feed our egos we will leaveWestminster believing that these futurestudents will be successful because ofus. The many forms to follow us will be successful in part because of theexamples we set, the positive changeswe made and the traditions we haveboth followed and those we started. We have played our role in shapingWestminster and participated in theschool’s eternal evolution.”

Outstanding Scholar AddressIn presenting the Outstanding

Scholar Award to Molly Mullen ’13,Headmaster Philip described her as atrue scholar. “Her innate curiosity andappetite for learning are infectious,”he said. “The questions she raises pushher classmates to more deeply considerthe issues at hand. Whether in thequantitative subjects or the humanities,our recipient is lauded for herintelligence as well as her demeanor.”During Molly’s three years atWestminster, her coursework wasrigorous. She was named a Finalist inthe 2013 National Merit ScholarshipProgram competition, was recognizedas an AP Scholar with Distinction andachieved Summa Cum Laude on theNational Latin Exam. She also was thewinner of the Brian Ford Writing Prize, served as co-editor-in-chief ofthe The Westminster News, as co-editor of the The Martlet and editeda special 50-year retrospective issue of The Martlet.

In Molly’s Outstanding Scholar Address at the ceremony, shetalked about Westminster’s mascot, the Martlet and the importance ofMartlets seeing themselves more gently and to “stop seeing themselvesat all.” “As a true Martlet, you’ll sometimes have to be the bird at thefront of the ‘V,’ the one who softens the wind for those behind,” shesaid. “Lead by example and you’ll ease the way for others. Whetherit’s stress before a race or the way people are treated, it takes courageto fly against a harsh cultural current. Know that every beat of yourwings makes the trip easier for the flock following you — and a flockwill follow. Be a drop of the right sort and you can change the balanceof an ocean.” She ended by saying, “So, Martlets, as we prepare to fly

Gage Kennie ’13

Molly Mullen ’13


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from the nest into the winds of the world, remember: catch updrafts, have aperspective and a sense of humor, because perhaps someday, we will behappy to remember even this. Support your flock, because we are bound toothers and by every kindness we birth our future. And have the courage tofly in front, to be a drop of change, because what is any ocean but amultitude of drops? Remember your story: you are a Martlet. Fly high, fly together, fly free.”

Keynote AddressThe keynote speaker was longtime

faculty member Dick Adams P’93 whowas retiring at the end of the academicyear after 43 years teaching, coaching,advising, supervising dormitorycorridors, serving as dean of studentsand dean of faculty, and advising theJohn Hay Society. “These positions,though, hardly capture what is sospecial about Dick Adams,” saidHeadmaster Philip. “He is theembodiment of grit and grace. Alwaysbalanced, thoughtful, resilient, wise,compassionate, considerate, kind andloyal, he has taught and continues toteach colleagues and students alike manylessons. Personally, the occasions when Ihave turned to him for advice arecountless.”

Dick began his address by saying, “Everyone should have to give agraduation speech sometime in his or her life. It forces one to look back athis own graduation and decide what is important — what advice you wouldgive others.” He then spoke about some lessons he learned his first year incollege and encouraged the graduates, “Don’t be afraid to question youropinions, your political views, what you might major in or do with your life.It is O.K. to be uncomfortable.” He also told them the greatest gift theyhave is time. “It is now time to step off the treadmill, not to step off and donothing, not to step off at all, but to jump off into a world full of choicesand discovery. That is what your next four years should really be about.”

In closing he said, “I imagine that most of us, you and me both — if weare honest with ourselves — are somewhat scared of what’s ahead. We havegrown comfortable with life at Westminster and the prospect of changing —of becoming ‘first years’ all over again — is daunting. But both you and Ihave failed if we are not ready to leave. If the truth be known, I am equallyscared by what is ahead of me; after all, I have defined myself for 43 yearsas a teacher and now that definition is no longer applicable. But just as youare ready, so am I. It is time to take a big jump together.”

Presentation of Awards and DiplomasFollowing the remarks, numerous prizes were awarded including two

with new names. The Fourth Form Bowl was renamed the Adams Bowl, inhonor of longtime faculty members Dick and Barbara Adams, and theMathematics Prize was renamed the Joyce Wilson Prize for Excellence inMathematics, after retiring faculty member and math teacher Joyce Wilson.

Headmaster Philip and Chairman of the Westminster Board of TrusteesTread Mink ’77, P’11 then presented diplomas to members of the class.

Dick Adams P’93


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In closing Headmaster Philip congratulated the graduates and said,“I wish you all the best as you look forward to the new challengeswhich await you in the years ahead.”

The Class of 2013 then participated in the Westminster traditionof passing their diplomas. While this usually takes place on the SixthForm Lawn, it was held in the Armstrong Atrium of the ArmourAcademic Center due to the rain. The graduates formed a circle andpassed the diplomas they received randomly during the commencementceremony until they received their own diploma. They then stepped outof the circle signifying their graduation.

THE WALTER EDGE JR. ’35MASTER CHAIRThis chair is awarded every fiveyears to a “distinguished teacherwhose performance sets astandard of excellence for others.” Mark de Kanter ’91

THE SWAYZE AWARDPresented annually in honor ofdistinguished alumnus, trusteeand former Chairman of the Boardof Trustees Townsend Swayze ’55,this award is given to a memberof the faculty for outstandingcontributions to the life of theschool. Scott Duddy

THE O’BRIEN AWARD This award is presented annually in honor of Marianna and the late JunieO’Brien P’81, who devoted their lives in service to young people and toschools. It recognizes a member of the faculty who has, over the courseof the year, been especially selfless and generous with time and care inthe nurture and support of students and whose extraordinary, ongoingpersonal commitment to young people sets an example to theWestminster community.Todd L. Eckerson P’09, ’11, ’16

TWENTY-YEAR SERVICE PINSJon C. Deveaux P’14, ’16Raymond G. GustafsonJoyce M. Wilson


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F A C U L T Y P R I Z E S S T U D E N T P R I Z E S

GRETCHEN HUPFEL ’82 ART PURCHASE PRIZEMargaret A. Garrison ’13

COWING ART AWARDKayla A. Foley ’13

THE LEWIS J. POWERSPHOTOGRAPHY AWARDSamuel H. Matlick ’13

EXCELLENCE IN DANCEAlexandra L. Colon ’13Julie D. LeBlanc ’13

EDWARD SCULL JR. ’71AWARD FOR EXCELLENCEIN ARCHITECTUREWilliam M. Schmidt ’13Andrew J. Weinschreider ’13

EXCELLENCE IN SCIENCERonald M.H. Yeung ’13

EXCELLENCE IN PHYSICSCurtiss T. Brackett ’13

EXCELLENCE IN BIOLOGYMolly R. Mullen ’13

JOYCE WILSON PRIZE FOR EXCELLENCE INMATHEMATICSZicheng Huang ’13

EXCELLENCE INECONOMICSAlexander C. Dunn ’13Cullen H. Matt ’13

CLASS OF 1941 PETERMARS MEMORIAL HISTORY PRIZEHansong Li ’13

U.S. HISTORY ESSAY PRIZEKlara A. Lindstrom ’14

DRAMATIC AWARD FORSERVICE ANDACHIEVEMENT IN ACTINGMadison J. Caan ’13

DESIGN AWARD FORSERVICE ANDACHIEVEMENT INTECHNICAL SUPPORTCharles M. Beck ’13

J. LAWRENCE GILMANAWARD FOR ACHIEVEMENTIN MUSIC ANDPARTICIPATION IN MUSICALACTIVITIES Morgan A. Rubin ’13

GORDON MCKINLEYAWARD FOR EXCELLENCEIN ENGLISHMolly R. Mullen ’13

CRITCHELL RIMINGTONCREATIVE WRITING AWARDJohn G. Rubino ’13

BURDETT PRIZE FOREXCELLENCE IN THE STUDYOF FRENCHHansong Li ’13

RICHARD P. HOPLEYEXCELLENCE IN LATINPRIZEMolly R. Mullen ’13

MONCADA PRIZE FOREXCELLENCE IN SPANISHBridget M. Gorham ’13

CHINESE PRIZEKarlie K. Werdmölder ’13

SIXTH FORM PRIZES FORGENERAL SCHOLARSHIPThird in the Sixth Form Hansong Li ’13

Second in the Sixth Form Bridget M. Gorham ’13

First in the Sixth Form Molly R. Mullen ’13


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BUTLER BOWL This award is presented by the faculty to amember of the Third Form for character andleadership. Paige L. Capistran ’16

ADAMS BOWL This award is presented annually to a member of the Fourth Form whobest embodies the qualities of Richard and Barbara Adams, who gavedevoted service to Westminster for more than 40 years, showingoutstanding personalqualities and concern for thecommunity and unwaveringdedication to students.Barbara served on the facultyfrom 1995-2011, and Dickserved on the faculty from1970-2013.Hieu S. Do ’15Duncan R. Kellogg ’15

WILBRAHAM BOWLThis award is presented annually to a member of the Fifth Form who bestembodies the qualities of Geoffrey Wilbraham, who gave distinguishedand loyal service toWestminster from 1958 to1994: high personalstandards, consistent respectfor others, unswervingcommitment to the commongood, steady insistence onfair play and abiding humandecency. Yvonne J. Pruitt ’14

BRIAN T. BRUYETTE ’77 SENIOR ATHLETIC AWARD This award is given annually to the Sixth Form boy and girl who bestexemplify excellence inathletics and whocontributed to the characterof the team. It is given inmemory of Brian T. Bruyette’77, who in his enthusiasm,sportsmanship, effort andskills, represented all that isbest in this school. Eleni M. Tebano ’13Vincenzo Gisonti ’13

RICHARD K. LEBLOND IIHONOR AWARDThis award is given annually toa member of the Sixth Formwho exemplifies dedication toacademics and loyalty to theschool.Ronald M.H. Yeung ’13

PAUL WINSHIP ’35ALUMNI BOOK PRIZE This book prize is awarded to aSixth Former who has made anunusual commitment in bothbreadth and depth to theschool’s programs andactivities. Eleni M. Tebano ’13

OUTSTANDING SCHOLAR AWARDThis award is presented to the Sixth Former who, in the opinion of thefaculty, is the outstanding scholar of the class. The award is notnecessarily determined by rank in class but is based, rather, on theattributes of the true scholar: curiosity, imagination, power to associatenew observations with priorexperience, thoroughness,appetite for ideas rather thanfor grades as an end inthemselves and the ability tomove easily in the realm ofconcepts. Molly R. Mullen ’13

KEYES BOWL Established by the Class of1966 and recognized as theschool’s most prestigiouscommencement award, theKeyes Bowl is presentedannually to a member of theSixth Form and recognizes thequalities of loyalty, courage,leadership and humility. Ryan M. Strange ’13

S T U D E N T P R I Z E S


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Hayley Curran Ahouse St. Lawrence University

Christopher Lee Albanese Amherst College

Danielle Marie Amiot Washington and Lee University

Asante Barton Asiedu Lehigh University

Christian Barral-ArtetaSt. Lawrence University

Charles Mackay Beck Colby College

Julia Emily Benson Colgate University

Curtis Trenwith Brackett Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Madison Janelle Caan Skidmore College

Clayborne KnickerbockerCadieux St. Lawrence University

Miguel Nicolás Castelló yTickell University of Richmond

Herbert Cheng III Boston College

Kasi Chonpimai Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Alexandra Luisa Colon Seton Hall University

Emma Bryn Conlon Southern Methodist University

Sydney Daniels Harvard University

Iris Kay Dayton University of South Carolina

Cara Jane Dealy Tulane University

Allison Rebecca Devins Union College

Alexander Carey Dunn Dartmouth College

Brenton Gavin Durham University of Virginia

Marissa Milly Eklund University of Connecticut

Mark Tashawn Ellis Stony Brook University

John Ryan FitzPatrick University of Notre Dame

Kayla Aspen Foley Boston College

Nia Nikol Francis Union College

Keye Cody Frank Union College

Anne Hutchins French Hobart and William SmithColleges

Heather Lillian Frew Marymount Manhattan College

Margaret Ahl Garrison Wake Forest University

Yianni Gavalas Saint Anselm College

Vincenzo Gisonti Gap Year

Bridget Marie Gorham Boston College

Charlotte Lewis Gould Colgate University

Michela Sarah Gozzi Providence College

Francis James Guiliano College of William and Mary

David John Hallisey Gap Year

Lindsay Lee Hanau Washington and Lee University

Kristopher AnthonyHargraves Dominican College

Ethan Matthew Holdaway Trinity College

Sarah Baldwin Holmes Miami University, Ohio

Zicheng Huang Vassar College

Gardner Russell Imhoff St. Lawrence University

Connor Andrew Janson Union College

Charles Joseph Januszewski Wake Forest University

Gregory Charles Jarvis Georgetown University

Gage Aaron Kennie St. Lawrence University

Aidan Power Keohane Trinity College

William Joseph Lammey Fairfield University

Andrew Gerard Leach Kenyon College

Julie Desmond LeBlanc Wake Forest University

Jane Haiyon Lee Cornell University

Hansong Li University of Chicago

Haley Callison Lowenstein Colorado College

Samuel Harris Matlick Hamilton College

Cullen Hamilton Matt Colgate University

William Hawley Mayer St. Lawrence University

Owen Elliot McDonough Boston College

Skyler Nykolette McGeachy-Campbell Emory University

Preston Lowry Miller Dickinson College

Charles Xavier Morin Hamilton College

Ryan Paul Mowery Connecticut College

Molly Roberts Mullen Yale University

Kevin Antonio Murray II State University of New YorkCollege at Cortland

Ryan Nardi Bowdoin College

Dana Julia Niland Boston College

Daniel O'Connell Villanova University

William Dodson O’Donnell The George WashingtonUniversity

Thomas M. Orchard Hobart and William SmithColleges

Sean Thomas Orlando Trinity College

Dong Ho Park New York University

Daniel N. Parsons Bentley University

Caitlin Rose Pittorie Northeastern University

Andrew Harold Poling Bucknell University

Caitlin Elizabeth GarfieldPooley Boston College

Madeline Wilson Purdy Bucknell University

Alexandra MacVeigh Regan Hamilton College

Sydney Grace Rivers Wake Forest University

Ashlee Amber Robinson Providence College

Shani Morgan Rosenstock American University

Morgan Anna Rubin Emory University

John Gerald Rubino University of Denver

Stanley Spencer Sandoval Columbia University

William Morrill SchmidtWilliams College

Haley Gardner Schopp Franklin and Marshall College

Emily Linen Sirbaugh Sewanee: The University of theSouth

Alastair Maben OldfieldSmith Colby College

Daniel Joseph Snyder Gap Year

Reiner William Sprenker ESU/Providence College

Doychin Vasilev Stavrev University of Richmond

Ryan Martin Strange Bowdoin College

Eleni Marie Tebano Dartmouth College

Alemante Tedla Columbia University

Eda Tepebag Lehigh University

Laura Reynolds Tingley Bucknell University

Alexander Harris Tomashoff Lafayette College

Andrew John Weinschreider Bucknell University

Karlie Kirsten Werdmölder University of Florida

Eliza Lee Worcester University of Richmond

Gary Yang Brandeis University

Evan Rowcliffe Yenor Elon University

Ronald Man Ho Yeung Georgetown University

Noah Collins Zempsky Rice University

C O L L E G E M A T R I C U L A T I O N


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The Lawn CeremonyFollowing Westminster tradition, the evening

before commencement, members of the Class of 2013brought members of the Class of 2014 onto the SixthForm Lawn during the Lawn Ceremony. After theirclassmates had been pulled onto the lawn, the currentmembers of the Prefect Board pulled on EllieDeveaux, the new junior prefect, and Pierce Cote, the

new head prefect. Other members of the Prefect Boardfor 2013-2014 include Riley Bitterli, Meggie Gresham,Zac Hamilton, Mike McNally, Travis Percy, YvonnePruitt and Thiele Schroeder.

Dick and Barbara Adams P’93, Greg Marco P’08,’11 and Joyce Wilson were also brought onto thelawn as honorary members of the Class of 2013.


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R New Trustees Join BoardFour new trustees were elected to the Westminster Board of Trustees at

its September meeting.

Bernhard L. Kohn Jr. ’66, P’92 returns to the board after serving from1987-1995 and from 1997-2002. Buz has also served as a WestminsterFellow. As a Westminster student, he played soccer, basketball and tennisand was a member of the chess and debate clubs. He and his wife, Carol,live in Bloomfield, Conn., and are the parents of Ben ’92, who is a formertrustee, and Liz. Buz, who earned a bachelor’s degree in economics fromthe University of Hartford, is vice president of Merrill Lynch in Hartford.He has served on the boards of Renbrook School and the WadsworthAtheneum, and as the campaign chair for the Hartford Jewish Federation.

Jane Kessler Lennox ’88 is a Realtor with New Albany Realty in NewAlbany, Ohio, where she lives with her husband, Tom, and their threechildren, Charlotte, Liza and Thomas. While at Westminster, Jane playedfield hockey and was a member of the swim team, Black and Gold, and theSpanish club. Following Westminster, she earned a bachelor’s degree inhistory from Hamilton College. She has served on the Executive Committeeof the Westminster Alumni Association and on her class’s 10th and 25threunion committees. She also is a board member of the Rocky Fork Huntand Country Club, a past president and current board member of theNationwide Children’s Hospital TWIG III, is a past active member andcurrent sustaining board member of the Childhood League Center, and aformer board member of the Ballet Met.

Franklin Montross IV P’16 is chairman and CEO of Gen ReCorporation in Stamford, Conn. Tad and his wife, Laura Lee, live inBedford Hills, N.Y., and have three children, Whit, Scott and Nina ’16. Agraduate of St. Paul’s School, Tad earned his bachelor’s degree in economicsfrom Harvard University. He has served on the executive committees of St.John’s University School of Risk Management and The Institutes, as vicechairman of the Reinsurance Association of America and as a boardmember of Bedford Golf and Tennis Club.

Thomas D. Sargent II ’77, P’10 and his wife, Sarael and their threechildren, Elizabeth, William ’10 and Christopher, live in West Hartford.Tom is a principal and chief investment officer of Bradley, Foster andSargent in Hartford. While attending Westminster, Tom played football andlacrosse. He was also a class officer, member of The News and the JohnHay Society and Vestry. Following Westminster, Tom earned a B.A. ineconomics and history from Union College and an M.B.A. from the AmosTuck School of Business Administration at Dartmouth College. He was amember of the Executive Committee of the Westminster AlumniAssociation from 1987-1990, was the committee chair for his 20th reunionand a committee member for his 25th reunion. He is a trustee of the ColtBequest, a member of the Board of Governors at Hartford Hospital and isthe chairman of the Investment Committee at Renbrook School. Previously,he was the vice chairman of Literacy Volunteers of Greater Hartford and atrustee at Renbrook School.

Bernhard L. Kohn Jr. ’66, P’92

Jane Kessler Lennox ’88

Franklin Montross IV P’16

Thomas D. Sargent II ’77, P’10


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Trustee Moy Ogilvie Johnson ’86 waspresented with the Alan F. Brooks ’55Distinguished Alumni Award at the 125thAnniversary Gala on Sept. 28 in recognitionof her service to Westminster School.

The Class of 1966 established the awardin 2011 to annually honor a Westminsteralumnus or alumna and named it after AlanBrooks ’55, P’89, ’91, ’96, who has had alifelong involvement with the school and wasits first recipient.

“This award honors annually a graduatewho embodies Westminster’s core values andwho exemplifies in thought, word and deedthe school’s mission, the final statement ofwhich reads ‘to live with intelligence andcharacter and to commit to a life of servicebeyond self,’” said Alan in presenting theaward to Moy. “A perfect fit for tonight’shonoree. As a 14-year-old London-bornapplicant to Westminster, our recipient, aspart of the applications process, submitted a paper on theshort story ‘Prelude’ by Albert Halper. The candidate chosefor the paper’s theme: ‘Fight for something you want tochange.’ The theme was a prelude in itself as Moy hasdevoted herself ever since to working for change where itwas needed.”

Following Moy’s successful years at Westminster, shegraduated from Bowdoin College and Boston UniversitySchool of Law. Prior to law school, she worked for twoyears at the Institute for Responsive Education, a nonprofitorganization advocating for parental and communityinvolvement in education.

Today, Moy is a partner in the law firm of McCarterand English in Hartford, where her areas of practice includebusiness litigation, product liability and toxic torts matters.She handles cases in state and federal courts.

Moy is a member of the Federal Grievance Committeefor the United States District Court for Connecticut, whichhandles attorney discipline matters in the Connecticut federalcourts. She also sits on the Board of Directors for theChildren’s Law Center, the Hartford Youth ScholarsFoundation and the Executive Committee of LawyersCollaborative for Diversity. In addition, she handles variouspro bono matters for Lawyers for Children and other legalaid organizations.

In 2005, the Hartford Business Journal selected Moy asa 40 Under Forty award recipient. The award honors youngprofessionals who have demonstrated skill and talent in theirfields and made significant contributions to theircommunities. She has also received the Connecticut LawTribune’s New Leaders of the Law Impact Award. And in2010, she was selected as one of Connecticut Law Tribune’s2010 Women in the Law: High Achiever’s Yearbook.

Moy has tutored at elementary and high schools inHartford and served as a big sister in the Big Brothers BigSisters program. Her little sister in that program graduatedlast year from Westminster. Among Moy’s other work, sheserves as an alumni interviewer for Bowdoin College, as afellow of the Connecticut Bar Foundation, and a member ofthe Advisory Board of the WALKS Foundation andnumerous other associations, foundations and committees.

“Moy has brought this same kind of commitment toWestminster,” emphasized Alan. “Like some of our very bestboard members, Moy first put in her hours for her school asa phone caller, a panelist, a reunion committee member, aclass agent and as an Executive Committee member of theAlumni Association. Now a trustee for the past 10 years, sheis a member and former chair of the Faculty and StudentCommittee and also sits on the Committee on Trustees.Although I can’t be sure where the WestminsterDistinguished Alumni Award will rank with Moy’s otheraccolades, of this I am certain: as this award honors her, she does even greater honor to it.”

“I am absolutely honored to be the recipient of thisaward, and I thank the committee,” said Moy. “There is nodoubt that of all the honors and the accolades I havereceived, this is absolutely the most important one and themost meaningful. It is inconceivable that I would be standingbefore you here today. There is not a doubt that the staff andfaculty and my experiences at Westminster have helped toturn me into the person who I am. I will be forever gratefulto Westminster for the life-changing effect of being a part ofthe Westminster family. Alan Brooks was a mentor, a coachand a constant presence while I was at Westminster, and forme to receive an award that has his name on it, makes it allthe more meaningful.”

Moy Ogilvie Johnson ’86 Receives Alumni Award

Moy Ogilvie Johnson ’86


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Third Annual Alumnae Lacrosse Game

There was another wonderfulgathering of Westminster alumnae forthe third annual Girls’ LacrosseAlumnae game May 18. “We hadsome new alumnae join us this year,and we rallied for four spirited, 10-minute quarters," said longtimeWestminster lacrosse coach (1999-2010) Kathleen Devaney H’02. “It isalways impressive to watch the athletictalent in our alumnae, but moreimportantly, it was great to be in thecompany of such good women. It wasalso great to see the parents of thealumnae who have made attending theevent a tradition. After the game, wetook photos to commemorate the event and then headed to the tent to eat, hydrate and catch up with one another.Though the exercise leaves you drained, the company, as always, is wonderfully energizing.”

A Day for Alumnae and Alumni Lacrosse

Annual David Hovey Alumni Lacrosse GameThe 20th annual David Hovey Alumni Lacrosse game May 18 again brought a fun afternoon of skill and

competition to Hovey Field. It was great to see former faculty member and First Lacrosse coach Dennis Daly P’01,’04 who returned to coach the group, one that was plagued by various graduations and players missing in order toplay in the NCAA tournament. While the alumni squad was a little thin, what they lacked in numbers, they madeup for in grit and even a little trash talk. Peter Christman ’05 led the way in those two areas at both ends of thefield, and the Colorado College crew of Taylor Paul ’11, Carson Christman ’08 and Jack Kreitler ’10 joined him.

“In the end, the current Martlets prevailed 10-3 with their waves of fresh middies and some excellent play atclose defense,” said First Boys’ Lacrosse coach Peter Newman ’80, P’16. “As always, this is a wonderful chance forour players to meet alumni with whom they share a strong commitment and tradition.”


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Front row, Kate Philip ’06, Alie Philip ’09, Bill and Jenny Philip P’06, ’09, Evan Stewart ’70, P’11,Charlotte Stewart ’11, Caroline Reigeluth ’07 and Doug Reigeluth P’99, ’02, ’07

Middle row, Sue Chrzanowski, faculty member David Chrzanowski, Maggi Warner ’05, Cam Scott ’06, Peter Christman ’05 and C.C. Webster ’05

Top row, Ashley Clark ’01, David Yanofsky ’05, Pete Melief ’05, Mike Dadlani ’05 and Dave Werner ’80, P’10, ’11, ’16

1888: New York CityWestminster faithful gathered at Yankee Stadium July 9 to cheer onthe New York Yankees vs. the Kansas City Royals.

1888: ChicagoWestminster alumniand parents boardedthe Gypsy Spirit July10 for a cruise along

the Chicago River and returned toLake Michigan to watch thefireworks from Navy Pier.

Front row, Kevin Matzke ’84, JacquelineGriesdorn-Matzke ’85, Kelli Wilson, JoeMiller ’99, Newell Grant ’99, Rob Isham’03, Hilary Sargent ’07, John Johnson’98, Jenna Redline, Raquel Jex andTom White ’93

Back row, Kate Hastings Bahnemann ’00,Peter Bahnemann, Dan Farrelly ’99,Audra Deiana, Brian Hamilton ’04, SeanBosack ’86 and Headmaster Bill Philip


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Brian Dow ’03, Will Egan ’95, Bob Strandberg ’82and Carter Agar ’91

Kristin Runco ’00, Kelley Drake ’00 andChrissy Miller Corcoran ’00

Barry Williams ’62, Heather Wright Vickery ’02and Brian Vickery

Doug ’93 and Caroline Prezzano, Will ’95 and Ali Egan,and CJ MacDonald ’98

1888: BostonA fun and spiritedWestminster groupgathered at Fenway ParkJune 25 to watch the RedSox host the Colorado

Rockies. Despite scorching temperatures,it was a fun evening!

Left to right, Erica Massina, Craig Poler P’14,’16, Maddy Gordon, Kimberly McLeod, BenRoberts ’00, Caroline Scott ’09, Emily Egan’02, Sara Whiteley ’91 and Allen Potts ’02

1888: San FranciscoThirty-five alumni and parents gathered May 30 at the Olympic Club in San Francisco for areception with Headmaster Bill Philip. Hosts Doug ’93 and Caroline Prezzano welcomed all inattendance, where casual conversation was complemented by an update on the school.


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1888: Manhasset, N.Y.Trustee Jeff Kelter P’12, ’14 hosted an afternoon of golf and dinner for more than50 alumni and parents at Deepdale Golf Club in Manhasset, N.Y., on July 16.

1888: Charlestown, R.ITrustee John Cosentino P’00 hosted an afternoon ofgolf and cocktails at the Shelter Harbor Golf Club inCharlestown, R.I., on July 23 for alumni and parents.


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One Year Out CookoutThirty-eight members of the Class of 2012 returned to campus for the seventh annual One Year

Out Cookout, celebrating their first reunion. Joined by faculty members and their families, the classenjoyed a Kane’s barbecue and some good conversation at Pratt House, before everyone headed overto watch the Lawn Ceremony.

Hamilton College and Colgate UniversityCarry and Fred Matt P’13 and David Lemire ’86

graciously hosted a dinner gathering for Westminsteralumni who are currently attending Hamilton Collegeand Colgate University.

St. Lawrence UniversityYoung alumni attending St. Lawrence University

had dinner together in Canton, N.Y., in April.

Front row, Emma Pinney ’11, Caitlin Fabbri ’11 andNora Edmonds ’11

Back row, David Lemire ’86, Peter Michailidis ’10,Tom McKeown ’11, Foster Baker ’09, Shelby Cranshaw ’12and Gordon Santry ’12. Not pictured is Sophie Harris ’11.

Front row, Amanda Boulier ’11 and Maddie Garnett ’10;middle row, Ashley Jeffress ’09, Emily Moran ’12 andSteph Werner ’11; and back row, Jordan Dewey ’08,Stephen Buskey ’09, Win Hotchkiss ’10, John Enright ’09,Mike Hom ’11, Corinne Werner ’10, Cory Latour ’12 andPhil Sandler ’11. Not pictured are Carmen MacDonald ’11,Davey Hovey ’09 and Tommy Hovey ’11.

Front row, Emilio Audi, Colin Cross, Chris Izmirlian, Emily Moran, Rachel Kennedy, Libby Kelter, Jake Cahill, Jake Medina, Lauren Darnis, Atesha Gifford, Chris Terry, Marquez Cummings, Marissa Mason and Darby Drake

Back row, Andy Michailidis, Evan Neugold, Ellie Baker, Jeff Smolens, Cory Latour, Dillon Tiner, Will Stevens, Michael LeBlanc, Randy Doyle, Ravi Bhardwaj, Shelby Cranshaw, Hadley DesMeules and Abby Woodhouse

The Korean Parents Association ofWestminster School hosted its annualNew Students Welcome Dinner at theSeoul Club on July 19. Current parentsand students welcomed parents andstudents who were new to Westminsterthis fall.

Dr. Sang Duck Lee and Hyun JooP’12, ’14, ’17 became the co-presidentsof the association, following theleadership of Sean and Eunice LeeP’08, ’09, ’13, who the group thankedfor their endless efforts and asked fortheir continuing support. A new bannerfor the association was also unveiled.


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Sixth Form DinnerPeter Christman ’05 was the guest speaker at the

Sixth Form Dinner held May 17 in the dining hall.Other alumni in attendance were Peter Hunter ’05,Chris Santoro ’05 and Jakub Mleczko ’00.

The class agents for the Class of 2013 wereannounced as Charlie Beck, Madison Caan, Alli Devins,John FitzPatrick, CullenMatt, Madeline Purdy, WillSchmidt, Alastair Smith,Ryan Strange, EleniTebano, Eliza Worcesterand Ronald Yeung.Members of the class alsoplaced items in a timecapsule to be opened attheir fifth reunion in 2018.

Sean Lee P’08, ’09, ’13

Sean Han ’14

Dominica Park ’14

Sean and Eunice Lee P’08, ’09, ’13 and Hyun Jooand Sang Duck Lee P’12, ’14, ’17

Korean Parents Association

Members of the Sixth Formenjoy handcrafted SaranacRoot Beer with customizedlabels donated by Fred andCarrie Matt P’13.


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Each year, as a part of Westminster’s YoungAlumni Program, the Fifth Reunion Committee ispresented with a challenge from the DevelopmentOffice to achieve a 60 percent participation rate in theAnnual Fund in honor of the class’s return to campusin May.

“It’s more than a goal,” said Newell Grant ’99,associate director of major gifts. “It’s a mission. If theyaccomplish that mission, an anonymous donor willmake a gift to support a specific program, project orfund on campus. The goal is more about participationthan dollars raised.”

Newell says members of the Fifth ReunionCommittee enthusiastically accept the mission as theyrally their classmates to return for reunion. But the realchallenge generally turns out to be tracking down thoseclassmates, making contact with them, re-engagingthem with Westminster and asking them to make a gift in honor of their reunion to reach the 60 percentparticipation goal.

“Pulling out all the stops, the class ends up makingit, and after the dust settles from its reunion, thecommittee is presented with a slate of programs towhich it can channel financial support,” added Newell.“With a few exceptions, the committee almost alwayschooses to help enhance the financial aid budget. Asthe committee reviews such funding choices as a travelgrant for a faculty member, refurbishing a few commonrooms, increasing the guest speakers’ fund or supportingphysical projects on campus, they recognize the growingneed for additional support in the financial aid area.The Admissions Office and the director of financial aidare always thankful for the consideration andawareness these young alumni have for their almamater.”

Members of the Class of 2009 are already busyplanning their fifth reunion for next May. “We lookforward to welcoming them back to Williams Hill andaccomplishing yet another great year in the YoungAlumni Program!” said Newell.

Parent ReceptionA reception for Hartford-area parents hosted by

Denise and Chad Alfeld P’16 was held Sept. 17 atRosedale Farms and Vineyards in Simsbury.

Fifth Year Reunion Committee On a Mission

The Class of 2009


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Parents Establish Scholarship FundIn addition to their support of the Annual Fund, parents

of the Class of 2013 raised nearly $50,000 to establish theClass of 2013 Scholarship Fund. This fund addresses an areaof significant need at Westminster: providing necessarysupport for students who are unable to afford some of thecosts essential to a successful and happy experience onWilliams Hill.

The overall costs of attending a top independent schoolgo well beyond tuition. The fund was established to assistfamilies with essential needs at Westminster, whether it be

helping a student purchase necessary clothing (blazers, pants,skirts, shoes), athletic gear (lacrosse sticks, cleats, etc.) orcovering the cost of registering for the PSAT, SAT and APtests, or perhaps arranging a critical tutorial in a subject. Itwill also help students with necessary transportation duringschool breaks.

“As a community, we are determined to continue tomake this experience possible for many talented young menand women representing a wide range of socio-economicbackgrounds,” said Scott Duddy, director of financial aid.

Honoring and Creating LegaciesThe Emeriti Faculty Award was established in 2013 from charitable gifts in honor of long-standing

Westminster faculty who dedicated their lives to teaching, coaching and mentoring. It will annually recognize acurrent faculty member who exhibits all of the best traits of Westminster’s iconic teachers whom the awardhonors. The award supplements professional development grants provided by the school, as the nextgeneration of teachers develop their craft and create new Westminster legacies.

The Emeriti Faculty Award offers an opportunity for alumni, parents and friends to make gifts in honorof Westminster faculty. For further information, please contact Maggie Pinney, director of development, at860-408-3051 or [email protected].


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Refocusing Not RetiringWestminster trustee emeritus William C. Egan III ’64, P’92, ’95,

’00, ’02 is best known for his distinguished corporate career but his recentcalling is a lifesaving mission. After Bill’s retirement from Johnson &Johnson as executive vice president of consumer products worldwide andwork with a number of entrepreneurial businesses, he was recruited tohelp establish the nonprofit Institute for EthnoMedicine, located inJackson Hole, Wyo., where he serves as the chairman of its board ofdirectors. The Institute is an innovative nonprofit research organizationthat searches for new cures to diseases by studying patterns of wellnessand disease among indigenous peoples.

A major research initiative of the Institute is to find and fight thecauses of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis(ALS), often referred to as Lou Gehrig’sdisease, and other neurodegenerativediseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. In association with a global consortium ofscientists and universities, the Institute isaccelerating the potential development oftwo new drugs for patients suffering fromthese diseases.

“The FDA is willing to work with us,”said Bill. “They know the terminal nature ofthese diseases. We are creating hope forpatients, and I am simply a facilitator. I tellthe story and ask for money.”

The Institute is not Bill’s first serviceto others. After graduating fromWestminster and Trinity College, he begana career on Wall Street — a career thatwas not long lived. “Wall Street was notmy calling,” he said. “I entered the PeaceCorps and liked the appeal of being part ofsomething new. Originally, I was to go toChile, but I ended up in a new communitydevelopment program in Honduras where Iorganized a fishing cooperative.”

Bill spent two years in Honduras, andthen extended his service an additional ninemonths, so he could train others to carrythe program forward. Joining him for thelast months of his service was his newbride, Pauline, who was the first non-volunteer to be accepted by the PeaceCorps. Pauline’s and Bill’s fathers were childhood friends. The couple metwhen Pauline was a freshman at Smith College and Bill was a senior atTrinity.

“As a wedding gift, I built her a house in Honduras,” recalled Bill. “It took half of my pay and was a primitive home with an outdoor showerand outhouse, but it was a happy life for a young couple.”

When his Peace Corps volunteer mission was complete, the couplereturned to the U.S., and Bill earned an M.B.A. from NorthwesternUniversity’s Kellogg School of Management. He then began his corporatecareer, which included chairmanship, directorship and presidential

positions with such companies as Johnson &Johnson, Church and Dwight, Inc., MatrixxInitiatives and Commerce Clearinghouse, Inc.,among others.

Bill says that his interest in business wasnot found at Westminster. “I was so young,” he explained. “The greatesttakeaway was the concept of Grit and Grace, which carried me forward. It was a match, an alignment of who I was, and I found a link with it.”

He recalls faculty member Ron Michelini’s toughness and lessonsfrom former headmaster Don Werner, who at that time was a basketballcoach and English teacher. “We were a small school, but we were tough

competitors,” said Bill. “We were graciousand conscious of being good sports —losers or winners. Those core elementshave served me well. They helped shape acharacter I could not have articulated backthen.”

Bill also remembers having a lot offun and enjoyed sports. He played varsityfootball and basketball, and competed intrack and field. He also was active in theJohn Hay Society and the yearbook.

A 17-year trustee of WestminsterSchool, Bill served as chairman of theCommittee on Trustees and the StrategicPlanning Committee and a member of theCentennial Campaign Committee, theExecutive Committee and the DevelopmentCommittee. He also led the searchcommittee that selected Westminster’seighth headmaster, Bill Philip, in 2010.

Four Egan children have attendedWestminster: Kate ’92, Will ’95, Tim ’00and Emily ’02. “I did not encourage any ofthem,” he said. “They chose it and foundgreat friendships, and teachers who werementors for life away from home.”

While longtime residents of Skillman,N.J., the Egans’ family life today iscentered in Wyoming. What most wouldthink of as “retirement” is nowhere in Bill’sfuture. “No one retires; they refocus,” hesaid. “Fishing is what took us to Wyoming,

and we still do it today. He was a founder of WorldCast Anglers, a fly-fishing outfitting company in Jackson Hole with 45 guides. “We createfly-fishing adventures by taking visitors out on the river to fish, float andlearn about wildlife in Wyoming, Montana, Utah and Idaho,” heexplained.

On Father’s Day of this year, the Egans’ youngest son, Tim ’00,became a father, and the entire family celebrated the birth of a newgranddaughter following six straight grandsons. More recently, Bill andPauline welcomed their ninth grandchild and, once again, increased theodds of having another generation of Egans at Westminster.

Bill, far left, with a giant grouper while serving inthe Peace Corps.

Bill ’64 and Pauline Egan P’92, ’95, ’00, ’02


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Creating Landscape Art From Natural Materials Landscape artist Nancy Winship Milliken ’80 creates sculptures that layer time, weather and materials. Currently,

she has work on display at Milton Academy in Massachusetts in a group show called Connections/Conexiones, and atowering 72-foot-high lighthouse sculpture on display outdoors at Boston’s Christian Science Plaza as part of the BostonSculptors’ show Convergence.

The lighthouse, which is illuminated at night, was crafted on-site with local wool, sisal, rope, scaffolding and fishnet— all materials of New England industry. “It creates shadows,” said Nancy. “Its light and airy materials are in contrast tothe solid buildings of the beautiful plaza.”

Her outdoor installations, whether in remote farmland or in the city, reveal the actions of wind,rain and sun as they transform her shapes and materials. She combines industrial materials, such assteel, with ephemeral, organic materials, such as wool, wax and honey, chosen for their inherentbeauty and animate nature. She works in the landscape as well as indoors, sometimes bringing thehuman element in with set design for theater.

Documentation is a large part of Nancy’s art. She photographs the pieces during construction,exhibition and dismantling. “Seeing it in person, you experience the light, texture and smell of apiece,” she said. “Photography changes it to a two-dimensional object. Rain, fog or sun comingthrough a work can animate it. You can get up at 5:30 a.m. to catch a foggy morning, or catchmoments of sun coming through the work later in the day.”

While at Westminster, Nancy played lacrosse, soccer and field hockey, and participated inswimming and dance. As a student, she said her focus was directed more to science than art, andshe majored in health education at the University of Vermont. She returned to school to earn aMaster of Fine Arts from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in 2008. “I still use thesciences today as an artist,” she added. “I’m always discovering.”

Nancy and her husband, Andrew Milliken, were both closelyconnected to Westminster as children, and both attended elementaryschool at Renbrook School. Nancy’s father is Westminster alumnusand former faculty member Johns Winship ’48. Andrew is the son of trustee emeritus Charlie Milliken P’77, and the grandson ofWestminster’s fourth headmaster, Arthur Milliken. Andrew’s sister isSue Milliken ’77. The couple met through mutual Renbrook friendson an evening out after Nancy’s return from UVM.

Nancy and Andrew first settled in Rhode Island, where Nancytaught at the Westerly YMCA and then coached field hockey andlacrosse as the couple raised their children. They relocated toAmherst, Mass., in 2000, and Nancy began teaching at HartsbrookSchool. It was there that she had her first experience working withwool. “At Hartsbrook, we raised sheep, chickens and goats, and Itaught a ‘Sheep to Shawl,’ program which takes students through the process of transforming wool into a sweater or tapestry.”

Curious about shearing, she followed a local hand shearer for a spring season, and learnedabout the different breeds of sheep and farming practices. Since wool is a primary material in herart, she relies on local suppliers to provide her with the wool she needs. “It’s backbreaking work,”she said. “I only sheared one sheep on my own. I’m in cahoots with a great shearer who deliversbags of wool that are bigger than me. Many times I will visit the farms and talk with the farmers,which is an important part of my work and informs my art practice.”

Nancy recently completed an installation in New Zealand, which has the highest sheeppopulation density in the world. She created what she describes as her own “residency,” finding afarm family willing to have her art created in their pasture. “I went with no tools except for a penand knife, and used found materials,” she said. “I lived and ate on the farm. Visitors came everyday. The landscape was beautiful and inspirational.”

Nancy hopes her next travels will take her to Peru to create an urban installation,incorporating cob, an adobe-like building material used for cottages composed of earth, hay andclay. Her work will be displayed in 2014 in the show Vision/Visones at Museo Convento de SantoDomingo, Qorikancha, The Temple of the Sun, in Cuzco, Peru. For additional information about herwork, visit www.nancymilliken.com.

Nancy Winship Milliken ’80


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New York City attorney Barry Deonarine ’86 never knows how hisday will begin. As both a practicing attorney and a television legalanalyst, Barry often finds himself called to the studio or courthouselocation on short notice for spur-of-the-moment commentary on Americanlegal cases of interest to international audiences.

Assigned as a defense attorney in the highly publicized New Yorkchild abuse case of Nixzmary Brown in 2008, Barry was interviewedabout the verdict by Spanish language television networks, includingUnivision, Telemundo and CNN en Español. What followed were requeststo provide commentary for other cases, including the “sleeper cell” ofRussian spies discovered in the U.S., the assault charges brought againstformer director of the International Monetary Fund Dominique Strauss-Kahn and, most recently, the bombings that took place during the BostonMarathon. The international interest generated by these cases has led toBarry being interviewed by news outlets in Peru, Colombia and Mexico.

While Barry honed his Spanish language skills at Westminster, hewas already fluent in the language when he arrived on campus. Barryattended public schools in Hempstead, Long Island, a suburban buteconomically depressed area with a large Central American population.Classes were taught in both English and Spanish. “It was a bilingualeducation with bilingual teachers,” said Barry. “Both languages werecombined in the classroom.”

Among his high school instructors was former Westminster teacherJohn Romano. When Barry expressed an interest in becoming anattorney, he found nothing but encouragement from John. “He told me, ‘If you have a dream like that, you should be someplace where you candevelop your abilities,’” Barry recalled. “The concept of boarding schoolwas foreign to me, and I was 15 years old.” He remembers thinking, “AmI supposed to commute from New York every day?” when John first toldhim about a school in Simsbury, Conn., that could help him reach hisgoals.

John arranged a visit to Westminster for Barry, and Barry joined theWestminster community in his Fifth Form year with the full support of hisparents, immigrants to the U.S. from Trinidad and Tobago who had notattended college. “The school made it possible with a yearly financial aid

package,” explained Barry. “I thank God everyday for the opportunity I was given. It was theformative experience of my life. Without theschool’s generosity and willingness to assistsomeone whose family did not have theresources, I would not have been exposed to the values and experience Westminster offered.”

Barry fondly remembers faculty member Jose Ilzarbe. “Every night,he gave us writing assignments in Spanish,” explained Barry. “He helpedme take my Spanish language foundation to another level. It was animmersion experience, not just in the language but in life itself. Anyonewho was his student knows what I am talking about.”

Barry also recalls the impact made upon him by Larry Gilman, ToddEckerson, Tuck Ganzenmuller and Fritz Zeller. “To me, they were giants ofintellect, character and sportsmanship,” said Barry. “I use the values theyimparted to me in my interactions with people every day.”

As a student at Westminster, Barry was editor of The WestminsterNews and president of the debate club, earned numerous academicawards and prizes, and was named a National Merit Scholar andOutstanding Scholar of the Class of 1986. He also played basketball andbaseball — on lower teams, he emphasized. “I was a student-athlete.Student with a capital ‘S’ and athlete with a little ‘a,’” he chuckled.

Barry went on to study English and American literature at HarvardUniversity, where he wrote for the Harvard Independent and participatedin a public service program working with children in the inner city. AtHarvard, he lived in the same dormitory as Brad Raymond ’85, who livedacross the hall at Westminster during Barry’s Fifth Form year. The tworemain friends today. “The friendships you develop at Westminster arelifelong,” emphasized Barry.

After graduating from Stanford Law School in 1993, Barry returnedto New York to serve as an assistant district attorney in Nassau Countyand was assigned to the Hempstead courthouse, just blocks from hischildhood home. He went on to work for a major Midtown corporate lawfirm, where he had served as a summer associate, but he missed being inthe courtroom and dealing with real people. “As an English major, I

always need to be near a good story,” he said. In 1997, Barrystarted his own criminal defense practice and, today, has anoffice in the financial district.

Though busy with legal cases and his role as a mediaanalyst, Barry teaches English to members of his large Spanish-speaking church in Queens and speaks to youth groups about theimportance of education and going to college.

“By recognizing the value of diversity and giving financialassistance to students of limited means, Westminster has beenequipping its students to appreciate and thrive in diverseenvironments,” said Barry. “Westminster opened a world to me Iwould never have known had I remained in my community. Theworld is more interconnected than ever before, and there is aglobal conversation going on between different nations andcultures. My experience at Westminster gave me the tools to bea participant in this conversation. When resources are madeavailable to people of different socioeconomic backgrounds,great things happen.”

Gaining Tools for a Global Conversation

Barry Deonarine ’86


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Nationally acclaimed interior designer Alexandra LiftonMisczynski ’90 spends much of her time crisscrossing the globe tosource materials for her Los Angeles-based design firm Atelier AM, co-owned with her architect husband, Michael, and named one ofArchitectural Digest’s 2012 AD100. Atelier AM’s work is presented in their new book, “Interiors Atelier AM,” which showcases a selection ofresidences designed by the couple — each exhibiting the firm’s skill at mixing furniture and objects with backgrounds.

“The book serves as a way to present our portfolio to new clients,”said Alex. After being approached by publishers, Alex and Michaelreturned to past clients to secure permission to feature their homes in the book, some up to three years after the completion of their originalprojects. Though most wished to remain anonymous, they welcomed Alex and Michael, and photographer Francois Halard into their homes. “Our clients were lovely and supportive,” said Alex.

Atelier AM’s beautiful yet livable style incorporates concealedstorage in trunks and baskets to help maintain clean, unclutteredsurfaces. Alex employs the same technique in her own home to concealthe belongings of her own children. “It’s an easy way to live withoutclutter,” she said. “It makes you feel happy when your house lookspretty.”

With projects ongoing in Malibu, Montecito, Beverly Hills, New YorkCity, Aspen and Seattle, both Alex and Michael travel extensively forconsultations and to source material for their projects. From biweeklytrips to New York City, to overseas ventures to Verona marble yards andAntwerp furniture houses, the couple searches for items for currentprojects and chooses inspirational pieces for future use.

Alex got her start in the business at a young age, inspired by hermother, who was also a designer in the family’s hometown of Bedford,N.Y. “I worked for her as early as grade school, folding fabrics,” explainedAlex. While she says that much of her training came from growing up inthe business, Alex studied art and architecture in Florence while an arthistory major at Hamilton College and continued her studies at theFashion Institute of Technology of theState University of New York.

After interning at fabric housesand studios in New York, Alex was hiredby renowned designer Naomi Leff. “Shewas an amazing mentor and incredibleinspiration,” said Alex. “She gave memany opportunities.”

Alex met her husband, Michael,while in New York working for differentdesigners in the late 1990s. They shareda common client. Alex relocated withMichael to the West Coast when hereturned home to California. “I was the

least likely person ever to move to California,”she said.

As a Westminster student, Alex playedvarsity squash, tennis and field hockey. Shealso served as business manager for TheWestminster News and did volunteer work with the National Student Campaign Against Hunger.

“It was one of the best experiences I can remember,” she said. “Igot my independence and learned to manage myself. All good things.”Though Alex says that the concept of boarding school is less prevalent on the West Coast, she would absolutely consider the possibility of aWestminster education for the couple’s two children, now ages 5 and 8.

Inspired by Design at an Early Age

Alexandra Lifton Misczynski ’90 with her husband, Michael


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Bruce Burdett P’70, ’83Bruce E. Burdett, proud Westminster teacher for 37 years

(1951-1988), died April 7 in New London, N.H. During histenure, he taught French, Spanish, German and Russian andwas chairman of the Language Department. He was alsoholder of the John R. Gow Senior Master Chair. The Frenchprize, awarded each year at commencement, carries his name,noting that he was “one of Westminster’s legendary teachersand finest human beings ... a passionate and exacting teacherof both French and Russian.” He also taught at theDartmouth and Phillips Exeter Academy summer programs.

Born June 3, 1923, Bruce grew up in West Springfield andChatham, Mass. During World War II, he served as a staffsergeant in the Third Army, 188th Combat Engineer Battalionin Europe and during the Battle of the Bulge.

He graduated from Middlebury College, where he playedon the basketball, tennis and track teams, and where he methis future wife, Peg. He then earned a master’s degree inEnglish from Brown University.

A man of many interests, he was an accomplishedwoodworker whose projects included superb fishing lures,duck decoys, furniture, his Bristol Bluefish fishing boat, and inhis late 60s, a barn in New Hampshire. He loved to garden,

I N M E M O R I A M

R E M E M B R A N C E S

“In 1955, during an assembly on danceweekend, my date was sitting in the back rowswith the faculty. As the rest of us were dealingwith matters of the weekend, Mr. Burdettturned to my date, leaned over and asked, ‘Doyou like to fish?’ Classic Bruce, whimsical andwarm. Bruce entered Westminster with ourThird Form class. I sat in both his French andEnglish classes. In later years, he oftenremembered, with generous appreciation, thatafter one of those early classes, I suggestedthat he keep a calendar to better track ourassignments. (What an insufferable little boy, Imust have been.) One of Bruce’s manyendearing tricks was to locate a student’s little-known town, and to quietly work it into a classdiscussion, much to the astonishment of thestudent — who could not believe anyone knewabout his hometown neighborhood. Our SixthForm year, Bruce and Peggy (whom we were allin love with) lived on an adjoining hall. His son,

little Bruce, age 2 or so, would come in andplay with little cars on my desk.

“When Bruce retired, he gave acompelling commencement address, describinghis extraordinarily moving experience duringWorld War II. He was among the first U.S.soldiers to liberate the surviving prisoners ofAuschwitz. During his years at Westminster,we had never heard him talk about hiswartime life.

“A few years ago, much to my dismay,Bruce signed up for a course I was giving atDartmouth’s Institute for Lifelong Education.The tables were turned, from student toteacher, teacher to student. Hecharacteristically told no one of our longhistory, until the last class. He then roastedme, passing out yearbook pictures and selectedquotes of a Sixth Former. His retired life inNew Hampshire was rich and happy. Heparticipated in many Dartmouth adult coursesand served his town on a number ofcommittees. Among other projects, he

nurtured bluebirds, sending out birdhouseconstruction guidelines on the Internet. Everyone of the returning classes of 1951-1988 hadone overwhelming request: they wished to seeand visit with Bruce Burdett.” —Townsend Swayze ’55

� � �

“I’m sure anyone who was atWestminster in the four decades between1950 and 1990 has some noteworthy memoryof Bruce Burdett. Mine was on the basketballcourt. As a growing adolescent tryingdesperately to coordinate a gangly body, I wasworked over pretty well by Bruce on thebasketball court, getting instructed in the fineart of playing center. At times, it must haveseemed like a hopeless cause to Bruce.Certainly it brought me a fair amount offrustration. Bruce, after all, was 2 or 3 inchestaller and a good deal stronger than I. But weboth persisted, and I was the better person for it.”—Alan Brooks ’55, P’89, ’91, ’96


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read and write. He was a sponsor of prisoners both inConnecticut and New Hampshire. He was a beekeeper and atrainer of Labrador retrievers.

A lifelong learner, Bruce took classes at Dartmouth’sILEAD program, making new friends and keeping current withcontemporary trends. He was a fan of Robert Frost andJoseph Conrad, The Dixie Chicks and Zooey Deschanel, andGustav Mahler and Larry David.

During retirement, he served for 23 years on the Sunapee

Conservation Commission. He was the founder of the NewHampshire Bluebird Conspiracy, which oversaw theestablishment of nearly 2,000 bluebird houses (many of whichhe built himself, others were built by inmates in the stateprison system) throughout New Hampshire and Vermont,helping that species re-establish a firm foothold in its nativehabitat.

Bruce loved Westminster. He considered his colleaguesand countless students there his lifelong friends. He enjoyed

“Bruce was like a second father to me inthat he went out of his way to build a verypersonal relationship. It started out by askingme, and several others in our French class, towork with him outside the classroom and meetin his house. He always made us feel at home,and being a poor French student, I felt verymuch appreciated and supported.

“Most extraordinarily, however, was ourinterest in hunting. It started by making duckdecoys in the school shop. Bruce immediatelyworked with me on how to construct them andput them to use. I was allowed to bring a gunto school and hunted with him on many earlymornings along the Farmington River. This didnot make my football coaches very happy, sinceI got up well before daylight, hunted untilbreakfast, and then arrived in class and footballpractice a little weary. But we had a great timetogether and had some very successful hunts.Also included were Crozer Fox ’60 and JackGow ’60, so we had a bit of a troika. Evenafter the hunting season, we would go out to

the school dump and hunt crows using an owldecoy and squawking loudly on our crow callsto bring them in.

“Bruce had an incredibly curious andfertile mind and was always thinking aboutother things to get involved with, whether itwas a new language, beehives, hunting,fishing or sky gazing. Most importantly, he wasa person this young student looked up to as aboy far away from home.” —Charles Day Dilks ’59

� � �

“Upon meeting Bruce Burdett, one sensedimmediately that he was a ‘man for allseasons’ — his interests were broad and everwidening. For example, there came a point inhis life (1965-1975) when Bruce committed hisfree time and considerable social talents to theConnecticut Prison Association’s VolunteerSponsor Program. The role of a sponsor in thisprogram has one function: to provide a prisonerwith friendly human contact with someonefrom the outside.

“One can only imagine what a sponsorcan do to help a 40-year-old man who hasspent 23 years in a cell and hasn’t had a visitorin seven years! Thus a sponsor is expected tocommit to regular visits — once every twoweeks. In so doing, a sponsor helps to build theprisoner’s morale.

“During his career as a sponsor, Brucehad been assigned men, who, in the opinion ofan Association Board, would be able to formmeaningful relationships with him; and therewere three — all of whom were alcoholics andmurderers. However, one had ‘kicked the habit’and when freed, he became the director ofAlcoholics Anonymous at the prison andcontinued to have success ‘on the outside.’

“Bruce’s successful sponsoree, known as‘Lexie,’ visited Westminster and courageouslydealt with many questions in a matter-of-factway about his earlier life. Inevitably thequestion concerning his most serious crimearose, and he responded, ‘In a drunken rage, I murdered my mother.’ Silence prevailed.” —Larry Gilman P’78, ’80


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teaching, coaching, running forestry, raising chickens, rabbitsand pheasants and even climbing the water tower in themiddle of the night to paint over graffiti before students couldview their work in the morning. He followed Westminster’sgrowth with pride and remained in touch with many membersof that extended family.

Bruce’s wife, Peg, who served on the English Departmentfaculty, predeceased him by five years. “The collective legacythat both Bruce and Peg Burdett had on Westminster during

their many years of service remains a vital part of thiscommunity,” said Headmaster Bill Philip.

Bruce leaves three children, Carol and her husband, DanaGuay, of Southwick, Mass.; Douglas ’83 and his wife, Sarah,of Greenwich, Conn.; and Bruce ’70 and his wife, Jeanne, ofBristol, R.I.; and seven grandchildren, Bryan and Sheila Guay;Charlie, John and Lucy Burdett; and Erin and Kirstin Burdett.At the end, he stated firmly that his was a life of almostunfathomable good fortune.

“As a Fourth Former, I was tasked withwriting a biology report on invertebrates.(Thanks Mr. Berry!) Choosing the honeybee ishow I met our ‘Towering Mr. Burdett.’ Hesignificantly guided my adolescent years andearly adult life.

“He stood heads and shoulders above usyoung boys, yet the ‘Friendly Giant’ was alwaysreachable. Mr. Burdett and his wife, Peg, bothmade time for me without reserve. Theirgenerosity and accessibility meant the world. Itshaped my management style at its core! Ofcourse, Mr. Burdett’s worldly grin generallyaccompanied his open door/open home policy!

“Then we must consider his confidentgrasp of life and its ‘fear-not’ lessons to usyoung men. A photo in the 1973 yearbookshows his huge ‘paw’ single handedly holdingenough bees (held in his bare hand) to make apound of honey! Amazing confidence and aresilient sense of adventure were hisquintessential hallmarks.

“Bruce taught me so much about growingup and being responsible. One more chapter ofhis influence featured the ‘Green MountainBoys.’ Despite my living on a farm with anattentive and instructing father, Mr. Burdetttaught all of us Green Mountain Boys how toplant a tree or bush and ensure its growth. Tothis day when I plant, he is standing tall nearbyreminding me to create a moat for containingthe water. ‘Remember,’ he said, ‘young startupsneed all the help and assistance you canoffer.’” —John Ripley ’75

� � �

“When I heard that Bruce Burdett died, Inot only mourned the loss of my French teacherat Westminster but a man who I had shared aspecial experience with one sunny morning inthe spring of 1973. It was memorable becausemore than just a teacher; on that day, he wasmy friend.

“I was just 16 years old at the time andquite intimidated by Mr. Burdett’s wealth ofknowledge and impressive physique. To behonest, I was a bit scared of the guy. Heseemed huge and to have this gentle giant takeme under his wing and share this adventurewith just him was truly awesome. It issomething I will never forget. It wasn’t until Iheard about his passing that I regret I neverthanked him for the experience of sharing hispassion of beekeeping with me.” —Rick Ford ’75

To read Rick Ford’s full story about beekeepingwith Bruce titled “In Search of a Swarm with Monsieur Burdett,”please go towww.westminster-school.org/MonsieurBurdett


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Mike Jackson Sr. ’49, P’75, ’82, GP’04, ’08

Longtime Westminster faculty member and Westminstergraduate Mike Jackson Sr. ’49 died July 6 in South Carolina.He resided in West Falmouth, Mass.; Isle of Palms, S.C.; andHopetown, Abaco, Bahamas.

Mike was born in Boston, Mass., and followinggraduation from Westminster, earned his bachelor’s degree atHarvard University in 1953 and his master’s degree inmathematics from Trinity College. While a student atWestminster, he played first team football, hockey andbaseball. He also was a member of John Hay for seven yearsand served as vice president his Sixth Form year.

Mike was appointed to the Westminster faculty in 1953and served for 41 years, teaching math and physics, with atwo-year break from 1970 to 1972 to work at the newlyfounded Westledge School. He also coached football, hockeyand baseball, and maintained the hockey rink.

Mike is remembered by many for his gentle, caring andsupportive manner in reaching out to students, his bow ties,his trumpet, the ice cream cone he always enjoyed at lunch,driving the Zamboni, his classroom and his commitment tolower team interscholastic athletics.

I N M E M O R I A M

R E M E M B R A N C E S

“Mike was my general science teacher inthe Second Form. Two things have stuck in mymind from his class. He taught us the workingsof the internal combustion engine. You know,intake, compression, ignition and exhaust. If hecaught one of us chewing gum in class, hewould make us spit it out in the palm of ourhand, place our hand on our head and rub thegum into our hair.

“In the days when the only hockey rink wehad (except for the pond) was behind the gym,Mike used to supervise setting up the boardsand then waited for the first significant snow,so we could flood the rink and start building upice for the season. Then when a snowfallcovered the rink, I remember Mike using aheavy-duty snow blower to clear the rink. Thatwas the first time I had seen a snow blower!” —Patrick Ellis ’61

� � �

“Mr. Jackson will always hold a very specialplace in my heart. The life lessons he impartedto me will forever remain cherished memoriesof my Westminster experience: countlessconversations at Cushing Hall before dinner —he always arrived early — that usuallycontinued over dinner, learning how to drive aZamboni under his watchful eye, seekingadvice from a truly wise advisor and realizingthat I really enjoyed math. They go on and on.There truly was no other like Mr. Jackson.” —Aishling Watterson Peterson ’89

� � �

“I considered Mike to be one of a numberof masters who epitomized all that was trulygreat about Westminster while I was a studentthere. And I suppose it’s only natural, when youreach a certain age, to realize that, suddenly,so many of the teachers who have made suchan impact, are no longer with us.

“Mike was a magnetic figure on WilliamsHill. A big smile for literally everyone, and a

great sense of humor. And who could ever forgethis ubiquitous Bug-Eyed Sprite? (a car that Istill covet to this day.) But the greatest impactMike had on me was as a math teacher. Istruggled with math my entire academic career.So I was ecstatic in my Sixth Form year, whenmy math requirement for graduation wascomplete. I was home free! But elation wasshort-lived. Mike gathered about six or sevenSixth Formers (to protect the innocent, I won’treveal the names). He told us that we would bein big trouble in college if we took a year offfrom math. Thus began the course weimmediately christened ‘Math for Dummies.’He invented this course — for us! It was aneclectic overview of algebra, geometry and atouch of trigonometry. Where Math forDummies differed, was in the instruction.Unlike any math teacher I’ve had, before orafter, Mike connected literally every proof orequation to some practical purpose. One examplestays with me: the Parabolic Equation. Mikespent more time teaching us the ‘why’ of the


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“Personally, I remember the warm welcome that Mikeextended to me as a young member of the faculty in the early1980s,” said Headmaster Bill Philip. “His commitment to thebreadth of our program and to our students inspired me andcontinues to do so, as I know it does my faculty colleagues.”

The hockey rink was named the Jackson Rink in May1996 in honor of Mike’s retirement from Westminster. At thetime of his retirement, he was the senior master, and had been

for eight years, and the holder of the John Gow Chair. Morerecently, he was a Westminster Fellow. The award given in thefall, winter and spring to the lower team with the best seasonbears his name.

Mike was a lifelong sailor, and won the Sears Cup, thenational youth triple-handed championship. He also was amember of the Chapoquoit Yacht Club and the HopetownSailing Club. Known for his prowess in the workshop, he built

equation than the ‘how.’ For me, the revelationwas the practical application of the math: radar,headlights, satellite dishes. Knowing the reasonfor the math actually made it easier to do thecalculations. Mike made math enjoyable! Fastforward to freshman year in college. Of course,I had a math requirement: trigonometry. I didn’tenjoy it, didn’t understand it, have never usedit. But I passed it. And undoubtedly the reasonwas Mike’s Math for Dummies. I still findmyself relying on principles that Mike Jacksontaught when, against better judgment, I amforced to grapple with a math issue.” —Richard Bondy ’67

� � �

“From Mike I learned geometry and howto properly flood the hockey rinks when thiswas done by hand. I also learned howwonderful a few cups of hot chocolate couldtaste in the middle of the night after floodingthe rinks on the graveyard shift.” —John Pomeroy ’61

� � �

“Mike was one of those souls whorepresented the spirit of Westminster sovery well during all those years he was partof the community. He was both a classroomteacher of mine in the late ’50s and acolleague when I joined the faculty back in1967. One thing I remember most aboutMike: you always knew where you stoodwith him! Because I was a basketball playerand coach, he never could bring himself toappreciate the sport — this in spite of thefact that during the four years I was astudent, I often did ‘graveyard shifts’ icingthe old hockey rink behind Pettee Gym. Ithink he was grateful for the effort, butactually I am not entirely sure! He was‘hockey’ through and through.

"Mike was a good man — and a verygood school man! Westminster was a betterplace because of his presence. While it hasbeen a long time since I have spoken withhim, I know his loss is a blow to theWestminster community. He made a huge

difference in the lives of many young menand women.” —Charley Zimmer ’59

� � �

“There is no way to count how valuableMike was to the development of the ethos ofWestminster School. Over the years, so manyfaculty have been kind and committed toWestminster students, but I suspect that nonesurpassed Mike’s dedication to developing day-to-day, personal relationships, so often atlunchtime, with so many students, and manyfaculty as well.

“Kindness, yes, and craftsmanship arehow I will remember Mike best. As mostcampus folks probably know, our family hasenjoyed living in the house he built on campus.One day Mike was bicycling by on a post-retirement visit to campus. I caught his eye andinvited him in for a quick tour of the house hebuilt and which we had recently occupied afterthe Gilmans’ retirement. It was a great


85

pleasure, to accompany him as he remarked ondetails of its design, and to appreciate him forthe great pleasure we had had in living in hishouse, a house that would not have existedwithout his foresight, dedication, generosityand talent.

“The memories he fostered and thekindness that defined his life will surely live onlong after these sad days.” —Pam McDonald P’96, ’04

� � �

“As a student, I just loved Mike’s mathclasses. Deb Payne ’81 reminded me recentlyof the trimester course we took in which thegoal was to prove that 1+1 did not equal 2 (wecould not remember exactly what we did provethough). It was all very interesting, as well asentertaining, and I went to Middlebury withevery intention of being a math major (until Itook linear algebra and hated the theoreticalside of mathematics).

“As a new teacher, Mike provided lots ofsupport as I taught mostly math my first coupleof years. I also remember him banging outcomments on those little pieces of paper (akacomment forms) on his old typewriter. And Imean literally banging, because he had to hitthe keys so hard!” —Nancy Urner Berry ’81, P’11, ’16

� � �

“Personally, I could not have passedcalculus without his consistent care andpatience. Uncle Mike will always beWestminster to me.” —Gardie Jackson ’87

� � �

“Mr. Jackson was a big part of theGitterman Family experience at Westminster.He was there when my father attended, taughtPaul, Tom and me, and survived to tell the tale.” —Vicky Gitterman Leonard ’90

three cars, a gyrocopter, an amphibious airplane, two housesand three boats.

He is survived by his wife, Gail Sargent Jackson; his sister,Phyllis Mills of New York City; his brother, Tim ’65 ofDedham, Mass.; his four children and two step children,Linda Silvers of Petaluma, Calif.; Jenny Jackson of Hopedale,Mass.; Michael Jackson Jr. ’75 of Southborough, Mass.;

Tim Jackson ’82 of West Falmouth, Mass.; Wayne Sargent ofOrlando, Fla.; and Debbie Hankinson of Mount Pleasant, S.C.He was the grandfather of Nathaniel ’04, Samuel ’08, Libby,Abigail, Geoffrey, Bryan, Tyler and Landon.


88

PuttingDown

Markers toMake Our

Way Adapted from a chapel talk

given Sept. 17, 2013, by 125th Anniversary

Director Alan Brooks ’55,P’89, ’91, ’96

Closing Thoughts

With all that has been written aboutWestminster in the local papers, in our own literature,and on the banners about campus and in town, eventhe most casual visitor to the school must realizesomething has been going on here this past year: an important milestone was reached. A milestone can be anything that marks a significant event in anorganization, a nation, a person’s life or thedevelopment of knowledge in a particular field. Theidea of milestones is an old one. When the ancientRomans built roads across Europe, they placed specialstones at the sides of the roadways at regularintervals. Travelers could use these stones to marktheir way.

Westminster’s 125th anniversary year milestonehas provided the school an opportunity to honor itspast. But just as those Roman stones also served tomark the traveler’s progress and direction,Westminster, likewise, has spent this past yearassessing its progress and determining the direction it wants to take in the future.

Many years ago, when I began traveling forWestminster, I was sitting in O’Hare Airport inChicago on a Friday evening waiting for my flight toHartford. While I was waiting, a delay notice wasposted for my flight. Several of us gathered at theagent’s desk. The seasoned flyers among us knew theexact times — even perhaps the gates — for theflights on other airlines that evening. We knew if wewere quick about it, we could probably grab anavailable seat elsewhere. The agent carefullyexplained that the incoming flight had been delayedby weather west of Chicago but was now on its way.She expected it to arrive within an hour and couldthen be on its way to Hartford in about 30 minutesmore. I began to relax. But a tired voice from the rearasked, “Where is the plane now?” The agentconsulted her monitor and confidently answered thatit had just taken off from Kansas City. Some peopledrifted off. I held pat; Kansas City is less than an hourfrom Chicago. But the same voice persisted. “Andwhere is it going?” Again, the agent looked up theinformation and without thinking, quickly answered,“To Dallas, then Chicago.” I took a deep breath,picked up my bag and, like most of my fellowtravelers, started the long walk to the competition.

“Where is it now?” and “Where is it going?”need not apply only to airlines. These are the veryquestions Westminster has been asking itself. Theseare the questions that fit the human experience. LikeWestminster, we each have to put down markers tomake our way. We should ask ourselves: How do wego about answering these same questions? How dowe measure our progress? How do we know we'regoing in the right direction? I don’t pretend to have allthe answers, but I would like to throw out a fewsuggestions — having spent nearly 56 years atWestminster — that you might want to consider asyou journey on.

To begin with, this is your journey. There is anold Irish proverb that says you have to do your owngrowing, no matter how tall your grandfather was.You have to assume responsibility for your journeyhere. No one else can. Take ownership of your life atWestminster. You have to put down your ownmarkers. And while you’re at it, put them out a ways.Stretch yourself. Frankly, it is better that you reach outfar and fall short, than to reach short and make it. Noone stumbles lying down. When you do stumble, andyou will, don’t blame others. Don’t be a whiner.Again, you are in charge of you. Take theconsequences and move on.

But that does not mean you should rush it. Inyour journey, direction is more important than speed.Learn your strengths and weaknesses. Work withinyourself. Pace yourself. There is a story about theFinnish sculler named Karpinnen at the 1980Olympics. An Olympic sculling event — in this case, ashell for a single person with a pair of oars — covers2,000 meters or roughly 1-1/4 miles and is measuredin 500-meter increments. It is one of the mostgrueling and painful events an athlete can endure.Karpinnen was a great sculler who knew himself, hisstrengths and his limitations as an athlete.

He rowed the first 500 meters in 1:42 and wasdead last, his competitors nowhere in sight. He hadno way to know how far behind he was. Still herowed as he knew how, measuring his effort. In thenext 500 meters, he rowed in the same time of 1:42and at the halfway mark was fifth, well behind theWest German leader. As other rowers began to tire,Karpinnen rowed his third 500 meters in the exact


time again of 1:42. He was now third, closing in on the second-placesculler. With 250 meters to go, Karpinnen passed him and, in the finalfew strokes of the race, pulled past the West German to win the Olympicgold. His time for the last 500 meters was 1:42! Karpinnen knew himselfso well as an athlete that he could row each 500 meters in identicaltimes and cross the finish, having given all he had but done so withinhimself. Only at the end did he measure himself against the others. Hekept his composure even when he was nearly last at the halfway mark.

So don’t worry if you haven’t gotten off to as fast a start as someothers. Don’t measure yourself by what they have accomplished in themidst of the journey. Learn from your mistakes, maximize your talents,know yourself. Keep moving forward. You have time. The journey reallynever ends.

Unlike Karpinnen, however, you are not making the journey alone. Infact, your journey will be far less satisfying and successful if you try to goit alone. We take on our individualism through our interaction with others.Relationships make us human. Our humanity is shaped by ourassociations — with the people with whom we live, work and play. We need the society of others in order to develop as individuals and toflourish. A world without human contact, without emotions, is a worldwithout value, and a world without value is one in which humans cannotthrive.

Westminster is a deeply relational, networked and values-drivenplace. Our individual identities become embedded here. By our activeparticipation and commitment to Westminster, webecome more fully dimensional people. We areempowered not by our individual freedoms but bythe freedom to live and work together with others.

So, like Westminster, we hope to make ourway on the road by taking responsibility for ourtrip, confronting obstacles straight on, recognizingour strengths and weaknesses, knowing ourselves;and we do so while interacting with our fellowtravelers, working together to make the journeynot just more enjoyable and enriching, butmeaningful.

But in what direction should we go? Wheneach of us decided to become a member of thisschool, we entered into a social contract.Westminster is a collection of these contracts,promises, each one an act of will and intelligenceand anticipation that makes Westminster, anysociety for that matter, coherent. Westminster isheld together by an immensely intricate web ofthese individual promises. If we don’t hold to ourpromises, if we adopt an orthodoxy of self-interest, we become separated from others and from our school. Ifindividuals within the school can’t be counted on, the whole structure canbegin to wobble. Keeping to our promises forms the basic trust that is theglue of this place and unites past, present and future generations.

How do we fulfill that promise? We do so by embracing the corevalues — community, character, balance and involvement — and byliving the motto, by grit and grace, of the school to which we have madethat promise. I hope even our newest members of the Westminstercommunity have begun to grasp what grit and grace means. Someexamples that have stuck with me over the years include:

• Students and teachers in 2004 getting out on a Saturday toshovel the football field after a Friday snowstorm so the FirstTeam could play its game.

• The Westminster day student at CVS who wiped the snow off hiscar, then did the same for a woman he didn’t know, refusingpayment from her.

• The blood drive started by the Class of 2003 that became theTawney effort and which many students and faculty take part inevery year.

• The Sixth Former in 2008, when teams were planning their springtrips, who organized a Habitat for Humanity trip and got otherstudents involved.

• In spring 1984, a classmate who spoke in chapel to the schoolwith great sensitivity and understanding about his mother’salcoholism.

• The football captain in 1995 who played heroically in the finalgame against Suffield, losing the game in the last moments, thenconsoled some of his teammates and later offered to help thecoach’s wife set up a postgame meal for the team.

• The student in 2005, learning of an older alumnus he did notknow who had become immobilized from a bad fall, whovolunteered during his vacation to drive this man around to do his errands.

So grit and grace is much more than aslogan; it is a way of life. It is that promise wemake to each other and to the school when wechose to be a member of Westminster. Fulfillingthat promise is the direction in which we shouldall be moving. And in so doing, as we go frommarker to marker in our journey, what is trulyspecial is not what we are getting by reachingthose markers, our goals, but what we arebecoming: full human beings living lives beyondthe ordinary, with character and intelligence, inservice to others.

Today, you are making new friends,renewing old friendships and heading off to newclasses, in the throes of a new school year, a newjourney. The thing you need to know is that whatyou do today, the way you live your life today, ishelping shape the pattern for the rest of your life.

If you start now, even in little ways, livingwith grit and grace, you will most definitely bejourneying in the right direction. So when yourfriend is about to do something that could get himor her into trouble, what will you do? When the

work is hard, will you cheat? When you get that big victory, will yougloat? When someone belittles another, what will you say? When theschool needs you, will you step up? The manner in which you respond tothat which is immediate, and real and today are acts of not just doing butof becoming.

Have a great school year. But, once in awhile, as you walk by one ofthe many signs of grit and grace on the campus, stop and think aboutwhat that means, and ask yourself, “How’s the journey going?”

Westminster is a deeplyrelational, networked and

values-driven place.Our individual identitiesbecome embedded here.

By our active participationand commitment

to Westminster, webecome more fullydimensional people.

www.Westminster-School.org

995 Hopmeadow StreetSimsbury CT 06070

Non-Profit Org.U.S. PostagePAIDHartford, CTPermit No. 751

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