Peter Culver
pculver928@gmail.com
Formmates Steve Crandall and Steve Moorhead celebrated their 66th birthdays at Pebble Beach, sparking an international golf benefit, with the help of Chris Blair ’71.
Complete with SPS Sparks regalia, Form of 1970 glimmer twins Steve Crandall (l.) and Steve Moorhead (r.), celebrated their 66th birthdays at Pebble Beach with Chris Blair ’71 (c.).
Tiff Wood
tiff.wood@milliman.com
Gregg Stone and I helped our boat capture first place at the 2018 Heineken Roeivierkamp Regatta in Amsterdam in March.
From Dennis Dixon: “I did some hiking in Wyoming (Wind River Range) last summer. No skiing in Wyoming (sorry, Scott) this winter, but I was able to get to Snowbird for four days to celebrate my 65th. Youngest daughter Deede joined me from California (as our birthday present to her for her 30th). Little Cottonwood Canyon is pretty cool.”
Mark Wheeler shares this news: “We are still in France, renovating our 1650s village house and wondering if it will ever be done. If you’ve read Peter Mayle’s A Year in Provence, you’ll have an idea what we’ve taken on, but our version would be ‘Two Years and Counting in Brittany.’ Never imagined we’d adjust so easily to the expat life, but it continues to be interesting and surprising, which at our age is a real plus. Happy to welcome any classmate who wants to wander off the normal tourist route and reminisce a bit.”
Formmates Chris Denison (l.) and Fred Stillman discussing their Form of 1971 50th Reunion gift at a winter retreat in Arizona.
Chris Denison and Fred Stillman escaped the late winter Nor’easters and joined up in Scottsdale, Ariz., for several enjoyable rounds of golf. Perhaps a Form of ’71 tournament would be in order at the 50th.
A message from John Howard: “Hugh Schmidt and his wife, Sonia, visited me and my husband, Steve Harris, last Labor Day weekend in Gray, Maine. We spent as much time on Chebeague Island as we could, but my brother, Rob Howard ’62, was there with his vocal Octet, so the cottages were full. The Concord Vocal Octet sang on our deck. We were joined on the porch by another CVO member, Helen, and of course their dogs, Mulder and Clouseau. It was terrific getting to know Sonia better, and the impromptu visit was the highlight of our summer.”
Dennis Dixon ’71 (l.) and youngest daughter Deede celebrated their 65th and 30th birthdays, together at Snowbird this winter.
John Howard ’71 and his husband, Steve Harris, hosted Hugh Schmidt ’71 and his wife, Sonia, and John’s brother, Rob ’62, and his vocal group, the Concord Vocal Octet, in Maine.
Gregg Stone ’71 (center), Tiff Wood ’71, and teammate Tom Darling, display their Heineken Roeivierkamp Regatta championship medals.
Katherine McMillan
katherine@comptonconsulting.com
I retired at the end of 2014 and now spend winters skiing in Aspen and summers on the coast of Massachusetts (Annisquam), with some interesting trips in the shoulder seasons – mostly outdoor adventures. My son is living in Los Angeles, working in the film industry at a management company, and my daughter is living in the Boston area, finishing the threshold program at Lesley. I look forward to seeing everyone in June!
Linda Holt Fairchild still lives in Marin, Calif., enjoying all the connections to Paulies. She is traveling with Katherine McMillan’s older brother, Bruce McMillan ’68, to Concord. She is not the slightest bit worried about the negative publicity about St. Paul’s School. She is a promoter, artist agent, and spreads goodwill wherever she goes. Her recent work includes promoting the extraordinary work of composer/pianist Peter Homans. In her church, St. Stephen’s Episcopal in Belvedere, Calif., she meets weekly with Paulies, where they plot and scheme to send the next generation to our beloved school.
Mike Prentice writes: “My one-person geological company started work in Papua New Guinea in 2017 on a project to map and understand coastal carbon resources, the aim being to preserve them. It was several weeks of tough going through swamps where all wildlife and plants were gigantic and the heat/humidity was off the scale. The picture I include is one of many villages (Batari) where we were put up by locals with too much ceremony. Reminded me of the one-and-done ‘hat-day’ at SPS. In January, my wife, Lynn, and I moved from Bloomington, Ind., to Montague, Mass., so I’m now only about 90 minutes from Concord, N.H. Does anybody live in Western Massachusetts, particularly the Connecticut River (so-called Pioneer) Valley? If so, please let me know. I’m really keen to network with you as I don’t think I’ve seen anyone from SPS for a decade.”
From Rob Houghton: “Dear SPS formmates, I continue to live in Acton, Mass., with my wife, Carrie. My son is a senior at Hamilton College and my daughter lives and works in Brooklyn, N.Y., like every other hip millennial. In 2012, after a 34-year career as a middle school teacher, division head, and school administrator, I returned to my first love and started my own fine art photography business. Since then, I have enjoyed making art and hustling my work at various galleries. My website: www.robhoughtonphotography.com. I also continue my lifelong interest in education and today’s youth by helping to run a small nonprofit for at-risk youth in Upstate New York called The Triangle Fund (www.trianglefund.org).”
Joel Backon submitted this formnote: “I started my second marriage three years ago. Now we have one more teacher in the family. Both my wife, Judy, and I have been teaching for 25 years and both of us had other careers prior to education. We are grandparents to a pair of two-year olds, and that keeps us very busy on the weekends. My life at Choate is not very mysterious to classmates, although I will say that New England boarding schools are nothing like what we experienced back in 1973. Yes, we still teach, coach, and advise, but that model is dying a slow death in favor of specialists, particularly in athletics. Today, education is all about risk management, diversity, and inclusion. I’m starting to think about retirement, so will be looking for advice at reunion. We want to travel more to experience the world – last summer we cruised through the Panama Canal. What an experience.”
David Melody is an instructor at Portland State University. He facilitates The Private Eye workshops and conference presentations. He is also a writer, whose short stories have appeared in numerous literary journals, and a gallery-exhibiting photographer, whose work has been published in Smithsonian, and Populi magazines, Grassroots Development, and other journals. He adds, “By the end of this year, my wife and I will have relocated to Mexico.”
Jim Brooke writes: “I watched my formmates tapping their feet, waiting for the grandchildren to appear. So, being an impatient Yankee, I decided to do it myself – with wife Pen Soy. Baby George was born May 1, 2016 (baby commie!). There once was a George Brooke line at St. Paul’s, so maybe George Soy Brooke will follow in their footsteps. Hello to one and all from Kyiv, Ukraine, where I have founded and edit the Ukraine Business Journal (www.theubj.com).
In response to Rob Deans’s inquiry as to what Q Belk was doing in New Zealand, Q writes: “We’re living, studying, and working in New Zealand, far from the cacophony in the U.S. I’m farming, as you can see by the attached photo, attempting fine wool with a small mob of eighty Merinos, and cropping. What do I know about farming (fertilizer, seed, shearing, fencing, machinery, and a hundred other things)? Not much, but more than a year ago, when we decided to tackle this property. Sherry is the primary fundraiser on the South Island for early childhood care through the Plunkett Society. Jonah ’10 is getting a masters in neuroscience at the University of Otago and finished 22nd in the Coast to Coast, a 243-kilometer bike-run-kayak race across the South Island. Anna ’13 will be starting an oceanography masters at Berkeley, and New Zealand is taking very good care of us. Come visit.”
Seeding is one of the many tasks Q Belk ’73 and his wife, Sherry, undertake regularly on their farm in New Zealand.
An update from Jeremy Wintersteen: “I bought a snowmobile in January, which has made getting groceries up to my house a lot easier. In previous winters, I have been using a backpack, sled, and snowshoes to cover the half-mile uphill from my truck, so this new acquisition makes the trip quite a bit faster and more convenient. I still prefer walking, but it’s nice to have the option to ride, especially in the dark.”
The view from the Vermont home of Jeremy Wintersteen ’73, where a recent snowmobile purchase has made grocery transportation a less harrowing endeavor.
Ben Dewey sends in this note: “Submitting notes has not been my thing, but there are two films that I worked on that are coming out shortly. The first I’m excited about, Super Troopers 2, and the second less so, I Feel Pretty, with Amy Schumer. Both films are set to debut on April 20, 2018. I was the line producer and production manager for ST2 and the production supervisor for I Feel Pretty. I hope to be able to attend the reunion.”
A message from Alex Kulch: “For the last year, my wife, Judy, our 16-year-old cat, Sea-Sea, and I have been living the life. Last May, after a year and a half of research and searching, we purchased a 50-foot, 30-ton, 610-horsepower diesel motor yacht. Since then, we have moved aboard full-time, and have been cruising the East Coast Intercoastal waterway. By the time we get to reunion, we will have traveled some 5,000 miles. It has been quite the adventure. The nature of this life has us always thinking and planning, but we never really know where or when we are going, nor what is going to happen next. We’ve met amazing people, had astounding experiences, and were pretty sure we were going to die on at least a half dozen occasions. Also, try this while spending days/weeks at a stretch with just your partner – no TV, no Internet, no one else. (Note: The cat was a fine idea.) Before that, we were very involved with our local Episcopal church on Eastern Long Island. I did two stints on the vestry and was on the search committee for a new rector (an almost two-year process). However, my pesky insistence on adherence to the social justice provision of the Baptismal Covenant didn’t endear me to a goodly part of the congregation. Suffice it to say, we are very much involved with topics such as undeclared wars of aggression, the neo-fascist state, gun violence – you know, what passes for normal these days. As fine a time as we have on the water, sometimes you just have to get out on the street (I suspect they were happy to see me get on the boat). Other than that, nothing much new. Really looking forward to seeing you all at SPS.”
Alex Kulch ’73 aboard his 50-foot motor yacht where he lives with his wife, Judy, and cat, Sea-Sea.
Pen Soy, wife of Jim Brooke ’73, and their son, George, who was born on May 1, 2016.
Locals from the village of Batari in Papua, New Guinea, welcomed Mike Prentice ’73 during his work to map local costal carbon resources.
Carl Lovejoy
clovejoy2@gmail.com
Tom Painchaud ’74 and I participated in the Eighth Annual 1883 Black Ice Pond Hockey Tournament, held February 9-11, 2018, at White Park in Concord, N.H. Black Ice Pond Hockey’s mission is to maintain and expand ice skating opportunities locally and celebrate the rich hockey heritage in Concord. The tournament’s name acknowledges the School’s rightful place in hockey history when, on November 17, 1883, the SPS community gathered on the Lower School Pond to witness the first organized game ever played in the United States. Unfortunately, our team has not yet lived up to the aforementioned “rich heritage,” as we are still in search of our first win.
Carl Lovejoy ’75 (l.) and Tom Painchaud ’74, fresh off the ice at the Eighth Annual 1883 Black Ice Pond Hockey Tournament in Concord, N.H.
1975 Formmates (l. to r.) Carl Lovejoy, Jim Waterbury, and Bill Laverack at the Millville Dinner in New York in January.
Dorien Nunez writes: “I am now taking it Easy in the Big Easy (New Orleans). The state bird of Louisiana is the brown pelican, which is why the pro basketball team is now the Pelicans. Since our football team is the Saints, you might say we are an SPS-friendly place. I am very active with an alumni group of New England Prep Schools, formed by Ben Karp ’08. In addition, I serve on the board of the Harvard Club of Louisiana and as the Liaison of the Harvard Business School Alumni Association. Professionally, my Wall Street career (which I started while a student at SPS, when I got a job as a Wall Street messenger through the efforts of SPS teachers and board members) includes advising pension funds (frequently with J.P. Aubrey ’99), endowments, investment firms, and hedge funds. I continue to champion gender and ethnic diversity in the investment industry in a variety of ways. Always interested in talking with any investment-industry Paulie and in helping when I can. My love of Latin, math, astronomy, saxophone, pro basketball, and rooting against all teams from New England continues. My ice skating ability hasn’t improved one bit.
The last few years have had several challenges. In 2014, I was diagnosed with liver and kidney failure that was the manifestation of the heart failure I was actually experiencing. That led to a serious conversation about needing a heart transplant or having a permanent defibrillator in my chest but, fortunately, after nine months of shutting down my business and getting great care, I have had a full recovery (no transplant, no defibrillator needed), and business gets better each passing day. My second shock came on Thanksgiving Day in 2016, when I learned my 30-year old daughter (Asia Nunez, 3/24/86-11/25/16 ) had died from natural causes after struggling with lupus and other related illnesses from the age of 12. The overwhelming sadness and grief endured is something I hope most people don’t or won’t ever have to experience. I know others have had their own challenges in their lives (we now spend most of our time in a city that endured Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, yet continues to grow better and stronger), and after grieving for a long while, I’m happy to say I find strength and hope in a lot of little things each day. Even though New Orleans is too far away to spend time at SPS or with many of the other northeast Paulies, they do serve beignets 24 hours a day in NOLA and there’s always jazz playing somewhere, so we’re always ready to welcome good company. Contact me if in New Orleans. As the natives say, ‘Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler.’”
Dorien Nunez ’75 with his daughter, Asia, who died in November of 2016.
Twig Mowatt writes: “You know me, always looking for an excuse to talk about dog rescue. As you astute Horae readers know, I co-founded and help run an animal rescue group called All Sato Rescue, which is based in Puerto Rico. Ever since hurricane Maria hit, we have been doing nonstop relief/emergency work, including raising funds to charter two planes to bring more than 250 dogs and cats into Worcester, Mass., to find loving homes in New England. Every single one has been adopted. No matter what you hear in the news, the situation in Puerto Rico continues to be deplorable, disgraceful, and unrelenting, thanks to that idiot in the White House. The only good thing to come out of this is that the Puerto Ricans fleeing the island to start new lives in Florida may shift that state to blue. That was a digression. Oops. Anyway, in addition to these special charters, we send between 30 and 50 dogs and cats off the island every week to our network of shelter partners. Anne Latchis has one of my dogs. And many of my dear friends/formmates have supported these relief efforts. Could not do it without them.”
Twig Mowatt ’75 in Puerto Rico, helping to organize charter planes to bring rescue animals to the U.S.
Spencer Fulweiler
fulweilers@me.com
Chester Irons submitted this note: “My memories of Nicky Deans, who died in March, are many and varied. Growing up together on Long Island, along with classmates Valerie Minton Webster and Russell Smith, Nicky was the fun guy to be around. He was exceedingly smart, quick-witted, and always up for a bit of an adventure. Nicky was a good guy who had your back. I will miss him very much.”
Alison Zetterquist ’76 gets by with a little help from her friends during her milestone birthday celebration. (L. to r.) Claire Callewaert, Alison, Liz Robbins ’79, and Anne Benning ’79.
Arthur Bingham
binghama@nyprivfin.com
Tiffany and Jon Sweet are so excited that their son, Harrison, will enter St. Paul’s School as a Fifth Former in the fall.
Liz Robbins
lizrobbins325@gmail.com
Starting with old news: I saw Charlie Andrews at the Head of the Charles last October. Charlie flew out from California to compete, with his wife, kids, mother, and nephew in attendance. Great weather and a fun day. Also at the HoC was Anne Waskiewicz Benning, whose husband, Greg, won his masters sculls event for the seventh year in a row. Anne traveled to the north and south islands of New Zealand in December to meet her daughter, Claire, who was finishing up a semester abroad.
I had dinner recently with Anne and Chris Dillenbeck Wood, who has been doing her share of traveling; a bike trip to France in September, Phoenix in January, Naples on and off through the winter, (with her friend David Crane) a 62-mile bike ride to raise money for hungry children in Florida (where she ran into Amy Matthews Feins), and a trip to Haiti in early February to visit an elementary school built by her church.
Bill Martin has come a long way from stamping visas in Pakistan and living in countries ending in “stan,” and currently has a plum posting with the U.S. Embassy in Berlin, where he and wife Laurel and their two children are enjoying travels to Prague and elsewhere in Europe.
Sandy Douglas left his position as president of Coca-Cola North America and is now CEO of Staples.
George Schwab hosted a fun dinner at the Yale Club with David Scully, where there was much reminiscing about our times at SPS. Remember their Chapel skits with Alec Timpson and Paul Spivey? Paul writes: “I’ve got three boys, or rather they have me. Up until a few years ago, I had two serious ballet dancers and a scrappy wrestler. Now I have two deeply involved in musical theater and a lacrosse jock. As we are in our fifties, my wife, who worked long and hard as a school principal, decided to give up administrative work in favor of returning to the classroom for hands-on work with kids. For the past 10 years, I’ve worked at an executive search firm, helping people get jobs – jobs I want. Oh, well. Life is basically good with the natural ebbs and flows. Had lots of fun at SPS. Sorry to see the School go through such difficult times. In the end, I know it will be a better place. I’m in New York and would love to have a get-together of 79ers.”
Unspoken Code, the latest film by Jen Schwerin, premiered at the Chicago Feminist Film Festival in Chicago in March.
Andy Kendall spearheaded a leadership initiative to identify and develop methods to source, prepare and deliver more regionally produced food during the inaugural New England Farm to Campus Summit in February, attended by 25 schools. Those of you who are frequent posters on Facebook (Dave Ross, Sarah Davidson O’Leary, Lili Cassels-Brown, Dede Moubayed, Helen Knox Keilholtz, Eugene O’Brien), keep em’ coming. Those of you who aren’t, please friend me so I can add you to the St. Paul’s School Form of 1979 Facebook page.
Sarah Bankson Newton writes: “I attended the 10th anniversary celebration for the Bishop Walker School at the Washington National Cathedral. It was amazing, and I feel like I am home when I walk into that building. Among those in attendance were Tony Parker ’64 and Sam Reid ’81, former faculty member Preston Hannibal and his wife, Sandi, Maria Walker (widow of former faculty member The Rt. Rev. John T. Walker), former faculty member Judy Hall Howard, and Head of Bishop Walker School James Woody.”
A handful of Paulies attended the 10th anniversary celebration for the Bishop Walker School at the Washington National Cathedral (l. to r.): Preston Hannibal (former faculty) and Sandi Hannibal, Sarah Bankson Newton ’79, Maria Walker (widow of former faculty Rt. Rev. John T. Walker), Tony Parker ’64, James Woody (head of Bishop Walker School), and Sam Reid ’81.