Financial Aid - Pingry School

PINGRY
THE PINGRY REVIEW
Financial Aid
Unlocking Opportunity
Retiring and Departing Faculty Members | Three Faculty Members Celebrate 25 Years at Pingry
2010 Stifel Award | Alumni Help in Haiti | Four Coaches are Honored | Reunion Photo Gallery
Athletics Hall of Fame Inductees | Architects Featured in Alumni Art Exhibition
SUMMER 2010
2010
the Pingry fund
Because of your contriBution
to the Pingry fund we can
continue to...
Honor TradiTion,
sTrengTHen our
CommuniTy, and
seCure our FuTure
THANK YOU
PINGRY
THE PINGRY REVIEW
Y
R
G
PIN
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Financial Aid:
Unlocking
Opportunity
Pingry’s financial aid
program provides
educational opportunities
for those who otherwise
could not afford to
attend the school. The
Review explains how the
program works and shares
testimonials from those
who have benefited.
est. 1861
13Enduring Generosity of Norbert A. Weldon ’35
A new endowed fund for financial aid, named in honor of Mr. Weldon, is the most recent of
the Weldon family’s numerous gifts to Pingry.
14 Saying Farewell to Faculty and Staff Members
Eleven members of Pingry’s faculty and staff retired or decided to pursue new opportunities at
the conclusion of the 2009-10 academic year.
22 Digital Display: Lower School Students Find New Ways to Create Art
The Short Hills Campus’ first student digital photography exhibition, representing the work
of fourth- and fifth-grade students, was on display this spring.
30 Reunion Photo Gallery
In May, alumni returned to Pingry for three days of activities, including the Fifty-Year Club
Luncheon, Clam Bake, and Class Parties.
42Athletics Hall of Fame Inductees
Thomas R. Ferry ’80, Jay Antonelli ’88, J. Owen Tully ’94, Coach William Ambrose*,
and the 1994-95 Boys’ Swimming Team were inducted on May 14, 2010. (* posthumously)
44Alumni Make Time to Help in Haiti
Dr. Sanjay Lalla ’85, P ’21, ’22, a plastic surgeon, and Marisa LaValette ’04, eager to
perform large-scale humanitarian work, traveled separately to Haiti to help the victims of the
January 2010 earthquake.
46 Career Progression on Display in “Young Architects Show”
For the first time, Pingry’s annual alumni art exhibition focused on architecture by displaying
the works of four alumni who are in college or who are in the early stages of their careers.
On the cover:
Financial aid is the “key” that opens the door
to knowledge for many Pingry students.
3 From the Headmaster
4 Sesquicentennial Kick-Off
6 Scene Around Campus
14 School News
27 Alumni News
48
49
67
68
69
Ask the Archivist
Class Notes
In Memoriam
Dictum Ultimum
Alumni Calendar
PINGRY
THE PINGRY REVIEW
The Pingry Review is the official magazine of The Pingry School, with the primary purpose of disseminating
alumni, school, faculty, and staff news and information. Comments can be sent to the editor at
The Pingry School, Martinsville Road, P.O. Box 366, Martinsville, NJ 08836 or [email protected].
Editorial Staff
Greg Waxberg ’96, Editor
Communications Writer
what’s
new
on our web site
The pingry.org homepage provides
links to new and expanded content.
News
Read about the clock tower renovation
and new roof project at the Martinsville
Campus, and see how the building’s
visual appeal will improve during the
coming months. The architectural
drawings illustrate the tower’s new
appearance.
Calendar
The 2010-2011 school calendar lists the
newest school events and activities, new
athletics events, dates for upcoming
alumni events, and parent activities.
All of the information can be easily
downloaded to mobile devices.
Pingry’s Grandparents
and Special Friends
The Lower School hosted a fun-filled
day for the students’ grandparents and
special friends on May 7, 2010. The
Multimedia Gallery contains a slide
show of the grandparents and friends
spending a day at school with the Lower
School students. This is a special day for
everyone, and the photographs capture
these priceless moments.
Alumni
Watch the slide show from Reunion
Weekend, which took place in May at
the Martinsville Campus. Events include
the Pen Pal Program, Fifty-Year Club
Luncheon, Alumni Luncheon Theatre,
Clam Bake, Athletics Hall of Fame
induction ceremony, Nelson L. Carr
Service Awards, and more. To purchase
any of the photos, click the “Peter
Chollick Photography Link” under the
“Alumni” section.
Find Us On Facebook and Twitter
For all the latest news, events, and
photos from the current school year,
Like our official all-school Facebook
Page (search Pages
for “The Pingry
School”; it is the
only one with the
Excellence & Honor
seal) and follow our
official all-school
Twitter page at @
thepingryschool!
Melanie Hoffmann P ’20
Director of Institutional Advancement
Mark J. Sullivan
Director of Strategic Communications
and Marketing
Board of Trustees, 2010-2011
John B. Brescher, Jr. ’65, P ’99
Chair
John W. Holman III ’79, P ’09, ’11, ’14
Vice Chair
Edward S. Atwater IV ’63
Treasurer
Ian S. Shrank ’71
Secretary
Alice F. Rooke P ’02, ’04
Assistant Secretary
Deborah J. Barker P ’12, ’16
Angela Burt-Murray P ’17, ’19
Kurt G. Conti P ’07, ’09, ’15
Holly Hegener Cummings P ’14, ’16
Jeffrey N. Edwards ’78, P ’12, ’14
Miriam T. Esteve P ’09, ’11, ’19
Kathleen M. Hugin P ’11, ’13
William D. Ju P ’09, ’11
Stuart M. Lederman ’78
Steven M. Lipper ’79, P ’09, ’12, ’14
Conor T. Mullett ’84, P ’14, ’15
Donald C. Mullins, Jr. P ’15, ’20
Terence M. O’Toole P ’05, ’08
Dan C. Roberts P ’99, ’02, ’09
Park B. Smith ’50 Henry G. Stifel III ’83
Denise E. Vanech P ’09
Audrey M. Wilf P ’02, ’04, ’13
Noreen C. Witte P ’13, ’16
Barry L. Zubrow P ’10
Honorary Trustees
Jacqueline Sullivan
Director of Alumni Relations and
Annual Giving
Design and Layout
Kristen Tinson
Associate Director of Alumni
Relations and Annual Giving
Photography
Maureen E. Maher
Communications Manager
Denise M. Brown-Allen P ’13
Upper School Director
Philip S. Cox
Middle School Director
John W. Pratt
Chief Financial Officer
Sara Boisvert
Director of Global Programs
Allison C. Brunhouse ’00
Director of Admission and Financial Aid
Lydia B. Geacintov P ’84, ’88
Director of Studies
Melanie P. Hoffmann P ’20
Director of Institutional Advancement
Gerry Vanasse P ’14
Director of Athletics
Quoc Vo
Director of Information Technology
Office of Alumni Relations
and Annual Giving
Miller Bugliari ’52, P ’86, ’90, ’97
Special Assistant to the Headmaster
Jacqueline Sullivan
Director of Alumni Relations and
Annual Giving
Brooke Alper
Associate Director of Alumni Relations
and Annual Giving Kristen Tinson
Associate Director of Alumni Relations
and Annual Giving
David M. Baldwin ’47, P ’75, ’76, ’78, ’81
Fred Bartenstein, Jr. P ’68, ’70, ’72, ’75
William S. Beinecke ’31, P ’61, ’64
John P. Bent, Jr. P ’80, ’82, ’84
Victoria Brooks P ’02, ’04
William V. Engel ’67
John W. Holman, Jr. ’55, P ’79 Henry H. Hoyt, Jr. ’45
Warren S. Kimber, Jr. ’52, P ’76, ’79
Stephan F. Newhouse ’65, P ’95, ’97, ’99
Norman B. Tomlinson, Jr. ’44
F. Helmut Weymar ’54
John C. Whitehead P ’73
TBD
Associate Director of The Parent Fund
Administration, 2010-2011
Sam Partridge ’92
Vice President
Nathaniel E. Conard P ’09, ’11
Headmaster
Theodore M. Corvino, Sr. P ’94, ’97, ’02
Assistant Headmaster-Short Hills
Lower School Director Jonathan D. Leef P ’15, ’18
Assistant Headmaster-Martinsville Laura K. Stoffel
Assistant Director of Alumni Relations
and Annual Giving
Yolanda G. Carden
Development Assistant
Pingry Alumni Association, 2010-2011
Steve Lipper ’79, P ’09, ’12, ’14
President
Alison Zoellner ’83, P ’16, ’18
Vice President
Norbert Weldon ’91
Vice President
Chip Korn ’89
Treasurer
Genesia Perlmutter Kamen ’79
Secretary
Ruby Window Creative Group, Inc.
www.rubywindow.com
Peter Chollick
Bruce Morrison ’64
Debbie Weisman
Terms Expiring in 2011
Jake Angell ’90
Todd Burrows ’90
David Freinberg ’74, P ’12, ’15
Allison Haltmaier ’80, P ’11, ’13
Cathleen Lazor ’88
H. David Rogers ’61
Kevin Schmidt ’98
Tracy Klingeman Stalzer ’84
Betsy Vreeland ’84, P ’11, ’12, ’15
Amy Warner ’78
Susan Barba Welch ’77, P ’06, ’09,
’11, ’13, ’16
Terms Expiring in 2012
Bradford Bonner ’93
John Campbell III ’86
Rebecca Frost ’94
Jane Hoffman ’94
Christian E. Hoffman ’94
Genesia Perlmutter Kamen ’79, P ’11, ’13
Conor Mullett ’84, P ’14, ’15
Samuel Partridge ’92
Peter Rosenbauer ’89
Mary Sarro-Waite ’01
William J. Silbey ’77
Gordon Sulcer ’61, P ’95, ’01
Katrina Welch ’06
Norbert Weldon ’91
Terms Expiring in 2013
Mark Bigos ’79
Anthony Bowes ’96
Kyle Coleman ’80
Nicole Daniele ’05
Thomas Diemar ’96
Lisa Fraites-Dworkin ’81
Jonathan Gibson ’88
Martha Graff ’84, P ’15, ’17
E. Lori Halivopoulos ’78
Robert Hough ’77
Peter Korn, Jr. ’89
Stuart Lederman ’78
Guy Leedom ’54
Steven Lipper ’79, P ’09, ’12, ’14
William Mennen ’85, P ’21, ’22
Katharine Outcalt ’87
Sean O’Donnell ’75, P ’05, ’10
Ronald Rice, Jr. ’86
Jonathan Robustelli ’90
Sandra Salter ’93
Jonathan Shelby ’74, P ’08, ’11
Alison Zoellner ’83, P ’16, ’18
Honorary Directors
John Geddes ’62, P ’95
Robert C. Hall ’54, P ’79
Henry G. Kreh ’44
A Letter from the Headmaster
doubled to $1,400, his successor, Charles Atwater, in his
Headmaster’s Report to the Board of Trustees in April
of 1970, wrote, “We have observed an increase in the
number of families that are filing for financial aid, a fact
which is a bit distressing since we may lose some good
applicants because of our limited funds for this purpose.”
Dear Members of the
Pingry Community,
Recently, I was looking through old minutes of meetings of
the Pingry Board of Trustees. In the minutes from February
15, 1956, I found that E. Laurence Springer, the legendary
headmaster who served from 1936 to 1961, was cited as saying
that “he doubted that tuition and fees could be raised continually.” At that time, Upper School tuition was $700 per
year. Fourteen years later, when Upper School tuition had
In this issue of The Review, among other things, we
take a look at the important issue of access to a Pingry
education, and the crucial role that financial aid plays
in delivering on our goal of ensuring that the best students for Pingry will continue to be able to afford to join
our community—or, once here, will be able to stay.
Also in this issue, we celebrate some of our colleagues
who are retiring from Pingry and three new members
of the Magistri Maxime Laudandi, recap a wonderful
Reunion Weekend, and continue our theme of sharing
stories of members of the Pingry community giving
back. Finally, I am thrilled that our class notes section
continues to grow with news of all the interesting things
that our alumni are engaged in—keep the news coming!
As always, we love your feedback and look forward to
seeing you on campus any time.
Sincerely,
Nathaniel E. Conard P ’09, ’11
3
summer 2010
Over the past several years, the global bumpy road
of the economy has brought into sharp relief the
fundamental challenge long faced by privately
funded schools and colleges: that of delivering
on our missions within the constraints of the real
economy. For many years, as anyone who has ever
faced a tuition bill knows, tuition increases have
outpaced overall inflation and median income
growth. There are many legitimate economic
drivers of this historical trend, and concern about
increasing tuitions and access to an independent
school education are not—as many might think—
a recent phenomenon.
Today, while the issue is not new, the scale of the
numbers involved has reached a level where we cannot
simply continue to bemoan the situation. In our most
recent strategic plan, one of the goals that we articulated was to “manage and steward our resources—
financial, physical, and human—to ensure that future
generations of Pingry students will have access to
opportunities even greater than those available to our
students today.” In pursuing this goal, we have begun
to address, in a thoughtful, strategic way, the long-term
financial sustainability of the independent school
model—at least as it applies to Pingry. And we are
making some headway. Our efforts at managing
expenses, including significant energy savings, have
enabled us to begin to moderate the rate of increase in
tuition. The trailing five-year compound growth rate
in Form VI tuition at Pingry, which peaked in 1984-85
at an astonishing 14.4 percent, is today at 5.1 percent,
the lowest it has been in nearly 50 years.
From One Master Teacher to Another: An
Account of The Pingry School’s Beginnings
Preliminary research into the Pingry archives has revealed this
letter from April 17, 1915, written by Jonathan Townley at age 82.
Mr. Townley founded a select classical school for boys in 1859,
and this letter describes his involvement in the establishment of
The Pingry School in 1861. These pages will be among the archival
treasures on display during the Sesquicentennial Celebration.
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the pingry review
Counting Down to an Event
150 Years in the Making
Sesquicentennial Kick-Off Celebration on
May 13, 2011, During Reunion Weekend
Preparations are underway for a kick-off celebration in honor of
Pingry’s Sesquicentennial. This celebratory kick-off will be the
first of many events, programs, and activities scheduled to take
place throughout the year, culminating in a spectacular gala
during Reunion Weekend in May 2012. Lynne Brum, 150th
Anniversary Coordinator, assures us that all alumni, parents,
past parents, grandparents, trustees, faculty, and students will
have ample opportunities to come together to celebrate, in
meaningful ways, this significant milestone.
Letters to the Editor
I would like to shed more light on [Miss Harriet Budd’s] role as
Head of the Lower School [Fall/Winter 2009]. There are three
living members of the Lower School who were there for six
years under [her] leadership: David Wilson ’39, George Lowden
’39, and me. We remember each teacher—Grades 1 and 2, Miss
Clayton and Miss Clifford (both grades were taught in the
same room); Grade 3, Miss Gibbons; Grade 4, Miss Prevost;
Grade 5, Mrs. Pearson; and Miss Budd in Grade 6. If we were
good ‘boys,’ Miss Budd would read us a story at the end of the
day. The day would start in the Harriet Budd room with Bible
readings and a hymn led by Mrs. Gibbons [at] the piano. Miss
Budd was in charge, and you had better behave.
- Former faculty member and Assistant Headmaster Ed Cissel ’39, P ’73
I attended my 60th reunion at the Martinsville Campus on May
14 and 15, 2010. Two days on campus were an exciting validation of Pingry life and culture as portrayed in The Pingry Review.
The Review is equal to or exceeds any similar publication in the
quality of content, photography, graphics, and layout. A vibrant
picture is painted of current students, faculty, and alumni, which
resonates loudly when actually wandering the building and
grounds during a reunion.
In the last issue, I particularly enjoyed the article on alumni
who have dedicated a good part of their lives to public service.
I was there when Admiral “Bull” Halsey returned to Pingry
at the end of World War II—what a great day that was!
Reading the Review and attending reunions occasionally gives
one a real sense of never having left. This year, I really got my
batteries charged thanks to the attending alumni, Headmaster
Nat Conard, faculty, staff, students, and the excellent background material provided by the Winter/Spring 2010 issue
and previous issues of The Pingry Review.
- Duane St. John ’50, USMC (Ret.)
Correction/Addendum to the article “Pingry Tennis
Courts Moving to Higher Ground” that appeared in
the Winter/Spring 2010 issue:
summer 2010
The Pingry School wishes to apologize to the Thomas family for
mistakenly omitting some important information in the article
regarding plans for the new tennis courts. The current tennis
courts are named for our distinguished alumnus, the late George
Comyns Thomas, Class of 1907, who was a Letter-in-Life recipient, a significant benefactor of The Pingry School during his
lifetime, and an accomplished tennis player. In fact, he was the
doubles partner for Dean Mathey, Class of 1908, at Wimbledon
in 1918 as they were waiting to be sent back home from World
War I. These facts were brought to light by Mr. Thomas’ son,
Edward “Ted” Thomas ’47, whom we also wish to thank for his
contribution to this article and for his and his family’s longstanding support of Pingry and our tennis program.
5
Scene Around Campus
The Drama and Music Departments presented
Stephen Sondheim’s musical thriller Sweeney Todd:
The Demon Barber of Fleet Street in
February 2010 in the Macrae Theatre at
the Martinsville Campus.
In honor of the Chinese New Year (the “Year of the Tiger,” which began on
February 14, 2010), the Short Hills Campus welcomed master puppeteer and
Beijing native Hua Hua Zhang on February 5, 2010. She performed her show
“East Meets West”—a blending of Chinese and American culture—with string
puppets, hand puppets, and rod puppets. To conclude the assembly, the students participated in the Chinese Dragon Dance to celebrate the New Year.
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the pingry review
The third annual Piano Potpourri took place on May 3, 2010, at the Short
Hills Campus. In addition to the Spring Concert, this assembly gives fourthand fifth-grade students an opportunity to share their keyboard talents with
the rest of the school; they perform a wide variety of music, from jazz to pop to
classical. Students audition for music teachers Tom Berdos and Patty Finn in
the early spring.
Katie Koestner, founder of Campus Outreach Services and a national
expert on student safety and teen relationship culture, spoke to students
on March 1, 2010, for the Second Annual Lecture sponsored by The
Gilbert Harry Carver ’79 Memorial Fund, which serves to open
dialogue on self-esteem and acceptance. The fund was established in
memory of Gibb Carver ’79 by his father Calvin and stepmother June
Carver, his sister Marcey Carver, his brother Calvin “Chip” Carver, Jr. ’77, P
’09, ’11, ’14, and Chip’s wife, former Trustee Anne DeLaney ’79, P ’09, ’11,
’14. Ms. Koestner addressed the community about respect and consent
in relationships, respect and safety on the Internet, and the permanence
of one’s online activity. She emphasized that online information can be
traced and retrieved.
Upper School students in the Drawing and Painting courses conceived of the idea to draw portraits
(each measuring about six feet by three feet) of 13 bearded faculty members and students; the drawings were showcased in the PSPA’s Spring Benefit in March 2010. From left: science faculty member
Jeff Jenkins, drawn by Vitor Oliveira ‘11; history faculty member John Raby P ‘95, drawn by Terdoo
Nwaoduh ‘10; and Visual Arts Department Chair Miles Boyd, drawn by Roxanne Oghaz ‘11.
Pingry hosted 42 students and faculty from the Lycée Jean Mermoz in Dakar, Senegal on April
22, 2010, at the Martinsville Campus; the visit was coordinated by Laye Thiam P ’01, ’03. The
Senegalese students and faculty visited Middle and Upper School classes as part of a two-week
tour of the United States. Pingry hopes to participate in an exchange with this school in the spring
of 2011.
7
summer 2010
The Drama Department and Middle
School presented Charles Strouse’s
musical Bye Bye Birdie in May
2010 in the Macrae Theatre at the
Martinsville Campus.
The annual “Grandparents’ and Special Friends’
Day” took place on May 7, 2010, at the Short Hills
Campus, with about 300 guests from across the
country and overseas. Photos from the event are
available for viewing at www.pingry.org.
The annual Spring Concert took place on May 14, 2010,
at the Short Hills Campus. Ensembles included the Handbell Choir, Grade 4 Band, Grade 5 Band, Grade 5 Chorus,
and Strings. Six fifth-grade pianists also performed
(individually) between each ensemble piece. The concert
program acknowledged the 35 students in the “1,000
Minutes Club”—those who have practiced at home for at
least 1,000 minutes during the academic year. A majority
of students accumulate 2,000 or 3,000 minutes.
8
the pingry review
Financial Aid
Unlocking Opportunity
The identities of those who benefit are confidential, but the significance of the financial aid
program at Pingry cannot be overstated. Pingry
has been awarding need-based financial aid
grants of varying amounts for decades to ensure
that families who cannot afford to pay full
tuition and other fees can still enroll their children at Pingry. As an indication of the program’s
growth over the years, 20 students were awarded
a total of $63,000 for the 1986-87 academic year.
For the 2010-11 academic year, it is estimated
that 151 students will be awarded a total of over
$3.3 million. The amount awarded has increased
every year, and the financial aid budget has
increased by over $1 million in the past three years
alone, largely to meet the growing demand for
financial aid from returning families.
However, the scope of financial aid is broader
than closing the gap between tuition and a family’s income. The program enables Pingry to have
socioeconomic diversity, which is an important
aspect of the school’s commitment to diversity.
Bringing together students of different backgrounds and experiences enriches the classroom
experience for everyone—including the faculty
members—and each of these students can share
his or her talents as an active member of the
Pingry community.
To date, the Pingry community (alumni, parents,
and friends of the school) has established 50
endowed funds for need-based financial aid; these
donors are committed to making a Pingry education available to qualified students.
9
summer 2010
Among these funds are the Miller
Bugliari ’52 Scholarship Endowment
Fund, which provides assistance to
qualified children and grandchildren of
Pingry alumni, and children of faculty
and staff, and The Frederick G. H.
Fayen II Scholarship Fund, which provides assistance to qualified children of
Pingry faculty and staff. The Bugliari
Fund was established in 2000 by a single donor who challenged the school
and its alumni and parents to raise a
total of $2.3 million in honor of Mr.
Bugliari for the benefit of legacy applicants. The Fayen Fund was established
by Dr. John Young P ’06, ’08, ’11
upon Mr. Fayen’s retirement in 2008
to honor Mr. Fayen and his passion for
educating the children of faculty and
staff (see “Fund Established in Honor
of Fred Fayen” in the Summer/Fall
2008 issue of The Pingry Review), with
the intention that others in the community will also support this Fund.
Examples of other significant financial
aid endowment funds established over
the years include the Dunphy Family
Scholarship Fund, the Edward Scott, Jr.
Scholarship Endowment Fund, and the
Percy H. Buchanan ’12 Scholarship
Endowment Fund. The Dunphy Family
Fund, established by Mr. and Mrs. T. J.
Dermot Dunphy in 1996, provides aid
for qualified African-American and
Hispanic students. The Edward Scott,
Jr. Fund, established by Mr. Daniel L.
Markovitz ’81 and named in honor of
the former Pingry track coach and faculty member, provides aid for qualified
students who are committed to track
and field, regardless of their competitive
level, and/or minority students, and/or
students from a poorer geographic
region of New Jersey, thereby helping
Pingry increase its socioeconomic
diversity. The Buchanan Fund, established by Peter Buchanan ’52 in memory of his father Percy H. Buchanan of
the Class of 1912, provides aid for any
qualified students in need, giving the
school the most flexibility.
Testimonials from those who have benefited from financial aid are, perhaps, the
most compelling evidence that Pingry’s
financial aid program is an integral
component of the school’s mission.
One graduate whose life was changed
is Sean O’Donnell ’75, P ’05, ’10,
because he would not otherwise have
been able to attend Pingry. He was a
talented soccer player, leading to rumors
both within and outside of the school
that he had been recruited on an athletic scholarship, but his aid, like all aid at
Pingry, was need-driven. “The financial
aid covered some of the standard charges such as tuition and books. The
other costs were covered by my parents’ sacrifices and the generosity of the
Pingry community. For example, instead
of having to pay for transportation to
Hillside from Union, I got rides to
school from other students and teachers,
and my parents picked me up or I got a
ride home from someone. My parents
sacrificed by driving cars longer than
they should have, and my father worked
a lot of overtime,” Mr. O’Donnell says.
Attending Pingry showed him that
“wealthy people are no different than
non-wealthy people and that class is a
function of respect, not one’s bank
account.” Mr. O’Donnell believes that,
if he had not attended Pingry, he probably would not have met his wife Mimi
(she attended Oak Knoll) or his closest
friend Greg McDermott ’75, and he
would not have attended the University
of Pennsylvania, received an M.B.A., or
owned a successful software company.
He also formed some immeasurably
valuable connections, such as working
on the 1994 Soccer World Cup with
Charlie Stillitano, Jr. ’77. “Lastly, I
would not have played for the greatest
high school soccer coach in the history
of the sport, Miller Bugliari ’52, who
became a friend and mentor since
the first day of pre-season,” he says.
Mr. O’Donnell credits his immense
gratitude to Pingry as one of the primary reasons for his active involvement as
an alumnus. “When you are given an
opportunity like going to Pingry, which
is outside of your expected life course,
you greatly appreciate it and want to
give back. I have stayed involved with
the school because of what I got from
my education, and I want others to
get the same benefits. I have been
fortunate in my career, and I could
afford to send my children Caitlin ’05
and Christian ’10 to Pingry, but, even
if that were not the case, I would have
made sacrifices and applied for financial aid so they could have the same
opportunities that I had,” he says.
Myth No. 1
Myth No. 2
Financial aid is offered as merit
scholarships, benefiting students
who display exceptional talents.
All financial aid grants are for full
tuition, so a family will not receive
any aid if they are able to pay even
a portion of the tuition.
Pingry
Even though some schools offer merit
scholarships in addition to or instead
of need-based financial aid, Pingry
does not offer merit aid. All of
Pingry’s financial aid is need-based.
Pingry
Financial aid grants are calculated to
meet a family’s need, which may be
all or part of a student’s tuition.
Grants vary in size depending on a
family’s situation, and many middleor upper middle-income families
receive partial tuition grants.
According to one Pingry graduate from
the 1970s, her parents’ primary objective was to ensure that their children
received the best possible education.
Her older brother was already enrolled
at Pingry, so, when the school opened
its doors to girls, her parents had a
clear understanding of what it would
mean for her to attend as well. The
extra help that Pingry provided made it
easier for her parents to send both children to Pingry at the same time. Today,
she continues to support the financial
aid program. “Everyone who is academically and otherwise talented, qualified,
and prepared deserves the opportunity
to attend Pingry. In these difficult economic times, it’s more important than
ever that Pingry continues to offer aid
to families with a wide range of financial needs,” she says.
In the words of a current
faculty member whose child
receives financial aid:
Because the tuition for independent
schools and colleges continues to rise
at a faster rate than many household
incomes, financial aid will make it possible for a Pingry education to remain
accessible to current and prospective
families who may have been able to
afford the tuition without assistance.
According to Headmaster Nat Conard
P ’09, ’11, that accessibility makes the
school stronger. “Socioeconomic diversity is important to classroom discussions so that students can learn from
the insights and experiences of their
classmates. Financial aid enables
Pingry to admit those students who
are best suited to Pingry’s mission, the
Pingry community, and, ultimately,
the global community,” he says.
“The Financial Aid Committee [was]
the single most important factor in my
Pingry career. Without [its] generosity,
my life would not have been changed,
and I would never have been heading
off to an Ivy League University.
“I have been impressed with the
school’s commitment to families, and
financial aid is one area where this is
especially true. Funding a current student, whose financial situation may
change, is not based on his or her
contributions to the community, but
on the fact that he or she is a member
of the community. Our financial aid
initiatives are an important way in
which Pingry creates a sense of community.” For this faculty member, being
a Pingry student is an integral part of
her child’s identity.
In the words of a financial
aid student: “Pingry changed
my life.”
It took me the first four months of
school to make my first friends.
Eventually, I found my niche, and my
circle of friends grew. These friends
have opened my eyes to a side of life I
had never experienced. Economic differences between us were great, yet these
differences did not prevent friendships.
Pingry’s generosity in funding my education at this wonderful school has affected my life in the most positive ways.
If someone told me that, by the time
I graduate [from] high school, I would
run for student body president, win a
speech competition, start an Italian
Culture Club, become a peer leader,
graduate Cum Laude, shadow New York
City’s top neurosurgeon, and be accepted into The University of Pennsylvania,
I would have thought that person was
crazy. However, as incredible as that
last sentence sounds, I was able to do
all these things due to the selflessness
of the Pingry community, administration, and benevolent donors.
I have been given an opportunity that
few people in my situation could have
ever imagined. I was given access to a
world that resides in the dreams of
many and the realities of few. I was
able to fully partake in everything
that Pingry had to offer; I was never
excluded from any school activity due
to a financial concern, and I never felt
uncomfortable around my classmates.
My experience at Pingry has given me
an immense amount of classroom and
worldly knowledge.
I can say with absolute certainty that
Pingry allowed me to not only enjoy my
time, but to be extraordinary, and for
that no amount of thanks can compare
to what I have been blessed with.”
Three Prospective Students
Who Got Away
These students were among the most
qualified, dynamic, and impressive
applicants because of their character,
dedication to academics and extracurricular activities, and potential
11
Myth No. 4
Myth No. 5
Financial aid and racial diversity
are linked.
Financial aid is awarded only to
families whose income is below
a certain level.
Financial aid is awarded only
for certain grade levels.
Pingry
The school awards financial aid
for Kindergarten through Grade 12
so that a Pingry education is available at all grade levels regardless of
a family’s ability to pay.
Pingry
Racial diversity at Pingry is neither
a result nor a goal of financial aid.
In fact, the school’s goal is to decouple these dimensions of diversity.
There is racial diversity both among
the financial aid recipients and
among full-tuition paying families.
A family’s income is only one of
many factors considered during the
financial aid process. For example,
17 percent of financial aid grants
(26 awards out of 151) during the
2009-10 academic year were awarded to families who annually earn
more than $180,000.
Pingry
summer 2010
Myth No. 3
contributions to the Pingry community. They would have been assets to the
community, but the school was unable
to fund them because of constraints
on the financial aid budget.
“Powerful, in the classroom, on the
field, and across the campus … [she]
combines talent, determination, and
maturity to succeed. From the day she
enrolled, her enthusiasm for learning
and willingness to contribute have
defined her.” This is how an advisor
at the first student’s current school
described her. An outstanding and
energetic student, her numerous interests and talents include choral singing
(in school and as a member of the
New Jersey Youth Chorus), drama (in
school productions and in a summer
workshop), volleyball, diving, and
playing the piano. She is especially
dedicated to soccer (eight years) and
gymnastics (seven years) and excels in
gymnastics as a member of a nationally-ranked gymnastics team and as a
gymnastics teacher; like many Pingry
students, she balances a rigorous academic program with a demanding
schedule of practices and meets. She
was also selected to be principal
editor of her school’s yearbook and is
described as mature, focused, extremely
polite, and kind to and respectful of
others. Her English teacher praised her
as a “dedicated scholar.” She was eagerly looking forward to playing soccer at
Pingry and, having twice lived abroad,
to sharing her experiences and global
perspectives with the Pingry community, especially in class discussions.
The second student, an artist with a
passion for writing, impressed the
admission committee with his quiet
determination and demonstration of
high moral character. He has been
on the Honor Roll for 16 consecutive
semesters and plays basketball and
volleyball, yet is humble about his
many accomplishments. He received
his school’s Presidential Academic
Achievement Award and attended the
National Young Leaders Conference
in Washington, D.C. In his application essay, he revealed his insight into
Pingry’s Honor Code when he wrote
that, by allowing others to borrow one
of his most valuable possessions, he
“worked for the good and advantage of
others … which is [an example of]
selflessness [that] Pingry tries to instill
in its students.” When asked on the
application how he would see himself
contributing to the Pingry community,
he replied: “I see myself contributing
to the Pingry community by being an
example for others to follow. I try to
uphold morals such as being honest,
forgiving, and kind to others.”
An administrator at the third student’s
school praised this student as “beloved
by her teachers” because of her academic strengths and contributions to
class discussions with insightful, analytical, and reflective comments and
questions. Others describe her as
mature, poised, and focused. Outside
the classroom, she is a member of the
yearbook staff, plays clarinet in a band,
Myth No. 6
Financial aid is awarded only during
the initial admission process
because families are expected to pay
in full in subsequent years.
Pingry
The school considers every family’s
needs each year that they apply for
aid. To ensure that a Pingry education remains available, the school is
committed to supporting a family
for up to the full 13 years if neces-
has been an active participant in
school plays for three years, and plays
tennis and track. She has displayed
exemplary leadership skills as a member of her school’s student council,
serving as vice president and president
in consecutive years and twice attending the National Young Leaders
Conference in Washington, D.C. She
also was chosen to attend President
Obama’s inauguration. Demonstrating
her commitment to education, this
student attended a three-week summer
course on zoology at the Johns
Hopkins Center for Talented Youth.
She is also active in community service, having participated in a 5K
breast cancer walk and worked for the
Market Street Mission Project and
the Global Literacy Project’s Schoolto-School program in South Africa,
among other projects. At Pingry, she
had looked forward to playing tennis,
helping with the environment, and
helping to raise money for charities.
These students’ accomplishments,
their commitment to community
service, and their high moral values
help indicate how they and the
Pingry community would have
benefited if these applicants could
have been funded. For more information about supporting the financial aid program at Pingry, please
contact Melanie Hoffmann P ’20,
Director of Institutional Advancement,
at (908) 647-7058 or mhoffmann@
pingry.org.
sary, and current families receive
priority over prospective families for
financial aid. “We are committed to
ensuring that a student’s academic
experience is not affected if his or
her family’s financial situation
changes. For the 2009-10 academic
year, we had 45 current students
request financial aid for the first
time, and we were able to meet the
need of every family that qualified,”
says Director of Admission and
Financial Aid Allie Brunhouse ’00.
[ PHILANTHROPY ]
Enduring Generosity of Norbert A. Weldon ’35
The enduring generosity of one of
Pingry’s most loyal families has culminated in their largest gift ever to
the school—the newest endowed
fund for financial aid.
In June 2010, Mr. Norbert A. Weldon
’35 made a generous endowment
gift to the school for financial aid.
As a result of this gift, Norbert’s sons
Peter J. Weldon ’67 and William H.
Weldon IV ’72 and grandson Woody
Weldon ’91 suggested establishing
The Norbert A. Weldon ’35
Scholarship Endowment Fund in his
honor. This new Fund will provide
financial assistance to future generations of qualified Pingry Middle
School and Upper School students.
“We are truly honored to help in
the naming of this fund after my
grandfather, who was guided by the
Pingry Honor Code throughout his
life. Norbert’s many accomplishments have only been dwarfed by
his enduring love for his family and
friends. He has always been known
as a warm-hearted and caring individual with a sharp competitive
streak that was honed on the
playing fields of Pingry,” says
Mr. Weldon ’91.
As a long-time supporter of The
Pingry Fund and as a significant
contributor to the school over the
decades, Norbert has enjoyed a long
and distinguished history with
Pingry. In 1993, he received the
school’s Letter-in-Life Award, which
described him as a leader in his
industry who exemplifies decency
and integrity. The award honored
his lifetime of service to Pingry,
to his local community (especially
Westfield, New Jersey, where he
was named in the YMCA’s Book of
Honor for his civic contributions),
and to the country. He earned the
Distinguished Flying Cross as a First
Lieutenant in the Air Corp of the
U.S. Army in April 1944 for his
service in the Pacific during World
War II. In 1995, he was inducted
into Pingry’s Athletics Hall of Fame
to honor his achievements in football and track.
“Norbert Weldon is one of Pingry’s
finest. A consummate sportsman
and gentleman, Norbert epitomizes
‘excellence and honor.’ Whether
playing golf or just visiting, it is
always a pleasure to spend time with
Norb. This latest gift to Pingry is
another example of the lasting legacy that the Weldon family has established at the school,” says Special
Assistant to the Headmaster Miller
Bugliari ’52, P ’86, ’90, ’97.
For four generations, the Weldon
family has provided Pingry with
annual and endowed gifts, plus gifts
in kind for construction projects
from their company Weldon
Materials. One of these many gifts
in kind was construction material
for the school’s first turf field, The
John Taylor Babbitt ’07 Memorial
Field. The family has demonstrated
its devotion to Pingry not only
through funding and other similar
gifts, but also through the generations who have attended the school.
Norbert’s sons Peter and William
and grandson Woody graduated
from Pingry, in addition to Norbert’s
brothers William H. Weldon III ’27
and Robert F. Weldon ’30. The children of William H. Weldon IV ’72
have also attended the school—
William H. Weldon, Jr. ’09 and
Whitney Weldon, who will graduate
in 2011. In fact, Whitney will be a
member of the 150th graduating
class in May 2011, kicking off the
School’s Sesquicentennial celebration year.
Pingry is grateful to the Weldon
family for providing decades of generous support to the school. Their
contributions to The Pingry Fund
and financial aid funds, as well as
their other gifts, have enabled
Pingry to make great strides in its
efforts to provide current and future
students with outstanding facilities
and educational opportunities.
13
summer 2010
Prior to the establishment of this
fund, Norbert A. Weldon had already
supported other financial aid funds at
Pingry, including the Timothy C.
Cornwall ’64 Scholarship Endowment
Fund, the Pingry Alumni Association
Scholarship Endowment Fund,
the Vincent L. Lesneski Memorial
Scholarship Fund, and the Miller
Bugliari ’52 Scholarship Endowment
Fund.
From left: Jane Weldon, Norbert Weldon ‘35, Bill Weldon ‘72, Whitney Weldon ‘11, Thomas Weldon, and
Woody Weldon ‘91 at Reunion 2007
[ School News ]
Faculty and Staff News
At the conclusion of the 200910 academic year, eleven
members of Pingry’s faculty
and staff retired or decided
to pursue new opportunities.
The school wishes them well
for their future endeavors and
thanks them for their years of
service to the community.
Retiring and Departing Faculty and Staff
History faculty member
Jeffrey
Bartsch P ’17
is leaving
Pingry after
four years. He
also coached
Middle
School Boys’
Soccer and Ultimate Frisbee and
advised the Middle School Quiz
Bowl team. His family is moving to
Providence, Rhode Island to be closer to Boston, where his wife works.
Fanwood. She also wants to resume
her volunteering. What will she miss
most about Pingry? “As much as everything else changes, the kids don’t
change. They’re still wonderful and
funny,” she says.
Level Knowledge—and Receive an
Extraordinary Honor” in the Fall/
Winter 2009 issue of The Pingry
Review). “I’m happy about the fact that
I had a huge role in those two programs
while I worked at Pingry,” he says.
Associate
Director
of Alumni
Relations
and Annual
Giving Alison
Harle is leaving Pingry
after four
years to join
Greenwich Country Day School as
their Director of Alumni Relations.
She previously served as Pingry’s
Assistant Director of Annual Giving.
Ms. Harle managed many aspects
of The Pingry Fund and most
recently coordinated regional
events for alumni.
Following
nine years as
Pingry’s Dean
of Student
Life, Joan
Hearst is
leaving the
school to
work closer
to home at
Lacordaire Academy in Montclair,
New Jersey; this fall, she will
become the academy’s Director of
Admissions. Since 2001, she has
developed close relationships with
countless Pingry students and their
families, especially because she oversaw all academic and disciplinary
aspects of student life. “The beauty
of the nine years is that I know the
families very well now,” she says.
Barbara
Edwards is
14
the pingry review
retiring after
serving for
27 years as
Pingry’s Upper
School
Registrar. She
spent her
entire Pingry
career at the Martinsville Campus,
having joined the school after its move
from Hillside to Martinsville in 1983.
In addition to maintaining the Upper
School office’s efficient operations, she
was heavily involved in planning each
year’s Commencement exercises and
preparing students for PSAT testing,
and she provided support to the Upper
School Director. Mrs. Edwards and her
husband plan to spend about five
months each year in the Adirondacks,
where they own a house on a lake, and
the rest of the year at their home in
Tommie Hata working in the Darst Lab at
Rockefeller University, surrounded by models
of S.M.A.R.T. Team products designed by Pingry
students
Science faculty member Tommie Hata
is following his wife to the Washington,
D.C. area and will join the faculty of
the Sidwell Friends School, where he
will teach biology and start a molecular biology research course. His wife
Olga, a molecular biologist, will be
working for the National Institutes
of Health.
Mr. Hata spent eight years teaching
biology at Pingry. He also created the
course “Introduction to Scientific
Research” and coordinated Pingry’s
S.M.A.R.T. Team (for background
about the S.M.A.R.T. Team, see
“Science Students Pursue Graduate-
One of her main roles was serving as
faculty advisor to the Honor Board,
a committee of students and faculty
whose mission is to enhance the spirit
of the Honor Code and whose
responsibilities include mediation of
Honor Code violations. “I loved that
[role], because it felt like the class
that I taught,” she says. Students who
serve on the Honor Board have different leadership roles than other students because they are unable to talk
openly about their decisions, and Mrs.
Hearst emphasizes the importance of
listening to others’ opinions and leaving one’s emotions at the door.
Her favorite role at the school was
being an advisor. She also served on
the Dean’s Council with Pingry’s
nurses and school counselors, oversaw the Advisory Program for
Grades 9 to 12, planned class trips
for Grades 10 to 12, and co-chaired
the ISP Committee.
Social worker
Jean Knee is
retiring after
17 years at the
Short Hills
Campus,
where she
provided emotional and
moral support
and a safe haven for students, parents,
faculty, and staff. Through her training at Columbia University in family
therapy (a master’s degree in social
work), she was able to use her
Decisions course to give students the
skills and tools they would need to
successfully negotiate problems common to their age group. In Grade 3,
for the students entering Pingry, she
helped with the transition to a new
school and mentored them about the
complexity of friendships and the
principles of social fairness and honorable behavior. She continued with
these themes in fourth- and fifthgrade classes, always restructuring her
emphases to fit developmental changes and the needs of each group. She
wrote a workbook to allow students
to practice and internalize these
valuable skills in order to apply them
to life situations.
Mrs. Knee’s influence extended
beyond her Decisions classroom.
She coordinated the Lower School’s
assemblies and tried to ensure that
each child would see his or her heritage represented in an assembly every
year. With her input, administrators,
teachers, and parents devised clear
plans of action when faced with sensitive life events. In the aftermath of
Now that she is retiring and moving
to Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Mrs.
Knee wants to explore consulting
opportunities in the Boston area and
enjoy leisure time to pursue writing
and photography. “While I look forward to this new stage of life, I loved
my work and the meaningful relationships I developed over the years
with people at Pingry,” she says.
For 26 years,
history faculty
member
Madeline
Landau P ’91
has been
invigorated
by teaching
at Pingry (for
background
about Mrs. Landau’s Pingry career,
see “150 Combined Years of
Teaching,” The Pingry Review,
Commemorative Edition). “I have not
only taught, but also learned so much
from my students. I was also fortunate
to be mentored by some extraordinary
people including [former Headmaster]
John Hanly, [former Director of
Guidance] Annette Tomaino, and
[former History Department Chair,
Upper School Director, and Assistant
Headmaster] Joe LaValley, one of the
most gifted teachers I have ever
known,” she says.
In addition to her work with the
Awareness Society and Vital Signs
and as coordinator of the assemblies
for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day,
Veterans’ Day, and Holocaust
Remembrance, Mrs. Landau is especially proud of her accomplishments
as Chair of the history department
(1989 to 1998). She warmly remembers mentoring many young teachers
and watching them develop both
inside and outside the classroom.
She also remembers her interaction
with China. Because she wanted to
establish a “sister” relationship with
a top Chinese school, Mrs. Landau
initiated contact with the Chinese
government in the fall of 1987. In
the summer of 1988, at their invitation, she led a group of 39 Pingry students, three faculty, and four parents
to China to make that wish a reality.
They visited five cities. “It was a
unique experience for all of us, especially our stay in Shanghai, where
we were hosted by the Nanyang
Model Middle School, one of the
top schools in China. A contingent
of Pingry students visited that school
the following year, and a number of
their students visited us on different
occasions,” she says.
When she retires, Mrs. Landau and
her husband Peter will move to Park
City, Utah, where they are building
a ski-in/ski-out home right on the
ski slopes. They will be closer to
their family in Los Angeles, including daughter Hanny ’91. “Peter and I
also love to travel to all parts of the
world, so we just hope to have good
health and enjoy it all,” she says.
Associate
Director of
The Parent
Fund Tony
Obst P ’92,
’95, ’97, ’02,
’07 is leaving
Pingry. “I
came to
Pingry on a
mission to give back for my five kids
who benefited greatly here and paved
my way at Pingry. I am tremendously
gratified by the support of the parents, grandparents, faculty and staff,
and the fact that they have rallied for
Pingry and increased parent and faculty/staff participation in The Pingry
Fund in the face of tough economic
times,” Mr. Obst says.
15
summer 2010
“My role has always been to provide
a safe environment for families and
individuals, so we always used hypothetical scenarios from films and videos, as well as role-playing, to protect
students’ privacy and feelings of selfworth,” Mrs. Knee says. It was important to her that all children, including those who are shy, find a voice
in her classroom.
9/11, Mrs. Knee was a key figure
when the Pingry community was
forced to deal with shock, grief, and
lasting anxiety. Her training and
talents were also invaluable when
a young teacher died over Spring
Break, and she was called upon to
counsel and reassure students on
both campuses who struggled with
the sudden loss.
[ School News ]
History faculty member John Raby P ’95,
retiring after 21 years at Pingry, was
teaching at Caldwell High School
when he learned about an opening
in Pingry’s history department.
Teaching at Pingry would mean
that he could watch his son John
’95 advance through the school and
that he could share vacations with
him, so Mr. Raby joined the Pingry
faculty in the fall of 1989—but
decided that he would never be his
son’s teacher.
16
the pingry review
He has taught several of Pingry’s
history courses: European History,
AP European History, and the ninthgrade course that has evolved to its
current form as “World History 9”
(continuing for sophomores as
“World History 10”). He is pleased
not only with the current version of
the ninth-grade class, which includes
a close collaboration with Librarian
Eileen Hymas and significant library
research for the students, but also
with the overall history curriculum.
He hastens to emphasize that it is
difficult to name memorable students
because of what he considers an
“extraordinary student body,” but
does mention Morgan Foster ’10 and
Josephine LaCosta ’10, both of whom
proposed Civilization, a new interdisciplinary course that will be offered
as a history elective for the first time
in the fall of 2010.
Mr. Raby has also been the Head
Coach of the Boys’ Varsity Cross
Country Team since 1995; before
becoming the team’s head coach,
he was Ed Scott’s assistant coach in
1993 and 1994 while also coaching
Middle School cross country. “Before
I came to Pingry, I never conceived
of myself as a coach. I had advised
indoor-oriented extracurricular activities, but I was happy to get outdoors.
I decided that it would be a good idea
to coach by example, so I started
running seriously and entering races.
I wanted to put myself through the
same sort of regimen that I asked the
boys to do. One of the gifts that
Pingry has given me is that it taught
me how to coach—largely through
Ed Scott, Tim Grant, [Director of
Athletics] Gerry Vanasse, and Victor
Nazario,” Mr. Raby says. In 2008, he
ran the Boston Marathon and finished 88th in a field of about 800
men in his age group.
the Middle
School. He
has coached
swimming at
Pingry for 23
years, and, to
assist the
swimmers
who wanted
to play a fall
sport to prepare for the winter swimming season, he initiated the Water
Polo program (for Middle School and
Upper School), which he coached
for several years. Mr. Reichle also
coached the varsity softball team
for six years and freshman soccer
for four years.
“I like that cross country is outdoors.
There’s no bench, so the sport teaches
the lesson that life is about participation, not sitting and watching. It also
teaches persistence against adversity
and the idea that everyone can
improve. Not only can individuals
stand out, but they can also contribute to the progress of the group,” he
says. Mr. Raby feels strongly that cross
country teaches three other important life lessons—being tough without being cruel, being competitive
without being vicious, and being
brave without being violent. His cross
country teams have won numerous
championships over the past 15 years:
five Colonial Hills Conference championships, seven prep state championships, and three state championships
in Non-Public B.
In retirement, Mr. Reichle is looking
forward to having more time to play
in softball tournaments and focus on
his swimming; he has competed in
several marathon swims, including
the 28-mile swim around Manhattan.
He already has a few open water
swims on his calendar and will be
focusing on training for them.
Perhaps in a few years, Mr. Raby and
his wife Betty will settle in New
England, but for now he is looking
forward to spending time outdoors
gardening, camping, hiking, and
traveling.
Mathematics faculty member Bill
Reichle P ’00, who has been teaching
and coaching at Pingry since 1987, is
retiring from teaching, although he
will continue as the boys’ varsity
swimming coach.
Mr. Reichle has taught Pre-Algebra,
Algebra, and Math 2A, primarily in
“I have enjoyed teaching and coaching at Pingry. The parent involvement and the caliber of students are
the very best,” he says. For more
background about Mr. Reichle’s
Pingry career and coaching
accomplishments, refer to the
Commemorative, Fall/Winter 2009,
and Winter/Spring 2010 editions of
The Pingry Review.
English faculty member Dean Sluyter
P ’90, ’98 is moving to Los Angeles
to join the faculty of Milken
Community High School and marry
his fiancée Yaffa Lerea, a documentary film editor. Mr. Sluyter has been
sharing his passions for literature,
meditation, and enlightenment with
Pingry’s Upper School students since
1977, and he expects to share those
same passions with his new students
in California.
During his 33-year Pingry career,
he taught English 10 and American
Literature and created several
He played roles in several
Shakespearean plays presented
by the Drama Department and
sometimes played saxophone in
the jazz band.
Dean Sluyter P ’90, ’98 and his fiancée Yaffa Lerea
electives—Classic Cinema (an interdisciplinary course with the Art
Department), Acting and Public
Speaking, and Utopian Literature.
However, he is most proud of his
accomplishments with Literature
of Enlightenment and Mindful
Awareness. The former is an elective
for juniors and seniors who read
ancient and modern literary and
scriptural texts and participate in a
lab component that involves meditation techniques; Mr. Sluyter believes
that this course is the longest-running nonsectarian meditation-based
high school program in the United
States. Based on the success of
Literature of Enlightenment, he
established Mindful Awareness in
2002 to make the meditative practice
available to the entire Upper School
twice each week during the morning
break.
“The school has been open to
letting me develop these programs
and astute in recognizing when
I was doing something worthwhile,”
he says.
Mr. Sluyter is grateful that Pingry
has fostered not only his growth, but
also that of his two children, Day
Rosenberg ’90 and Tara Wings
Sluyter ’98. “I am deeply appreciative
of the incredible education that they
both received at Pingry, and for the
fact that the school has been very
supportive of my growth outside and
in the school,” he says.
New Positions
Ananya Chatterji
Upper School Academic Dean
Previously
the Assistant
Dean, Ms.
Chatterji will
develop academic policies
and serve
as a liaison
among parents, students, teachers, advisors,
and department chairs for academic
Ms. Chatterji will continue to
teach two math classes, serve as
a College Counselor, coordinate
the Independent Senior Program
(ISP), and assemble the Upper
School schedule during the summer.
She joined Pingry’s Technology
Department in 1996, has been teaching math since 1997, and became
a College Counselor in 2002.
Allie Brunhouse ’00
Director of Admission
Ms.
Brunhouse,
who joined
Pingry in
2007 as
Assistant
Director of
Admission
and
Coordinator of Financial Aid, is
looking forward to promoting the
Pingry experience so that prospective
students and their families can learn
about the opportunities available to
them. Among her responsibilities,
she will manage all aspects of the
admission cycle and financial aid
process on both campuses, work to
ensure that prospective families have
a positive experience as they navigate
the admission process, and develop
plans for marketing and advertising.
“I am passionate about Pingry, and
my goal is to ensure that families and
students who visit Pingry leave with
an excellent impression and an
understanding of who we are as a
school,” Ms. Brunhouse says. She
will also continue in her role as
Director of Financial Aid.
17
summer 2010
Mr. Sluyter also created The Pingry
Manual of Style to set the standard
for student writing in both the
Middle and Upper Schools; introduced desktop publishing in 1988;
taught the school’s first word-processing course; oversaw the design
and layout of The Pingry Record and
Vital Signs, among other publications; and edited and laid out the
Curriculum Guide. Years ago, he
served as an assistant cross-country
coach, an assistant track coach,
and the weight-training coach.
Outside Pingry, Mr. Sluyter has volunteered as a Buddhist chaplain for
the New Jersey Department of
Corrections at Northern State Prison
in Newark and at Mountainview
Youth Correctional Facility in
Annandale. He teaches weekend
seminars across the country about
meditation- and enlightenment-related topics and has published three
books: Cinema Nirvana:Enlightenment
Lessons from the Movies, The Zen
Commandments: Ten Suggestions for a
Life of Inner Freedom, and Why the
Chicken Crossed the Road & Other
Hidden Enlightenment Teachings. A
story of his is featured in the book
You Are Not Here and Other Works of
Buddhist Fiction, and he has written
a number of articles and film reviews
for various New Jersey newspapers as
well as Tricycle magazine.
issues. “I was immediately drawn to
the opportunity to bring my ideas
and vision to the Upper School
Advisory Program,” she says, and one
of her goals is to help guide students
through a comfortable, yet challenging, academic path at Pingry. She
will also collaborate with the new
Dean of Students on assemblies and
student wellness topics.
[ School News ]
Dale Seabury
Assistant Director of Admission and
Coordinator of Financial Aid
In her new
role, Mrs.
Seabury will
be involved
with the
daily operations of the
Martinsville
Campus
Admission Office: interviewing, communicating with prospective families
throughout the admission process,
and planning admission events. As
Coordinator of Financial Aid, she will
serve as the liaison between Pingry
and families who apply for financial
aid, and she will serve on Pingry’s
Financial Aid Committee.
Mrs. Seabury served as Pingry’s
Assistant Director of Athletics
and sixth-grade Physical Education
Ridie Markenson
attended
a school
(St. Andrew’s
School in
Delaware)
that has an
Honor Code.
She is looking forward
to working
with students
to help them navigate adolescence.
“Teaching students personal and
social responsibility is as important
as teaching them history and math,”
she says.
Mrs. Markenson, who previously
served as Head of the Upper School
at Morristown-Beard School, is
impressed by Pingry’s faculty and
the school’s longstanding commitment to both academic and personal excellence; in fact, she had also
As Dean of Students, Mrs. Markenson
will promote the health and safety
of Pingry’s students, and she will
serve as a liaison among parents,
students, teachers, advisors, and
department chairs for discipline.
She will also teach two sections
of ninth-grade English.
teacher for the past three years and
has been a member of the Middle
School Admission Committee for
the past two years. She is currently
working toward an M.B.A.
“My experience in the Athletics
Department has been valuable and
enjoyable, yet I’m thrilled to have
the opportunity to know and serve
Pingry in a different capacity.
Communicating Pingry’s character,
culture, and sense of community to
prospective families is an exciting
prospect for me,” Mrs. Seabury says.
Upper School Dean of Students
More Music by Faculty Member Tom Berdos is Published
Waterton Brass Music has published a composition by
music faculty member Tom Berdos. His Festive Prelude for
brass quintet (2 trumpets, horn, trombone, and tuba) was
composed for the 2010 Easter services at Hilltop Church
in Mendham, New Jersey, where he is music director. “Our choir sang an early Baroque motet, and I wanted
18
a brass prelude to match the style. I composed
the Festive Prelude for the instruments I knew we
would have available,” Mr. Berdos says. Waterton
Brass has also published Mr. Berdos’ Processional
for brass quartet and Chorale and Variation for
brass quintet.
the pingry review
Henry G. Stifel III Award is Presented to Jon Brenner ’10
Trustee Henry Stifel III ’83 returned to
the Martinsville Campus on April 26,
2010, to present Jon Brenner ’10 with
the annual Stifel Award. This honor
recognizes extraordinary members of
the Pingry community who have faced
and continue to face significant challenges in their lives while, at the same
time, helping others; their actions, in
the words of Headmaster Nat Conard
P ’09, ’11, instill in others “a sense of
hope and inspiration.”
Mr. Stifel was paralyzed in an automobile accident during his junior year at
Pingry, and part of the award description reads: “It shall be awarded to the
person who best exemplifies those
characteristics exhibited by Henry
G. Stifel III in the aftermath of his
accident and spinal injury: courage,
endurance, optimism, compassion,
and spirit.” Established in 1984, the
Stifel Award is regarded as one of the
highest honors given to a member
of the Pingry community. It also offers
a unique opportunity to single out a
special person who might otherwise
not be recognized. While in college at William & Mary,
Mr. Stifel participated in a research
project at Wright State University
in Ohio, working with pioneering
researcher Dr. Gerald Petrovsky to
develop a bicycle that uses electric
stimulation; these bicycles are now
widely used by paraplegics. For many
years, Mr. Stifel worked with the late
Upon returning to Pingry in April
to present this year’s award, Mr. Stifel
noted that everyone is vulnerable to
the unpredictability of life.
The character similarities between
Mr. Stifel and Mr. Brenner became
apparent when Norman LaValette, chair
of Pingry’s world languages department
and Mr. Brenner’s former advisor and
coach, told Mr. Brenner’s story. During
spring break in 2007, he was injured
during a collision with an AAU
(Amateur Athletic Union) basketball
teammate. He suffered a traumatic brain
injury when he fell to the court and was
rendered unconscious. The resulting
concussion and skull fracture led to a
large epidural hematoma—bleeding
between the brain and skull that can
cause a fatal increase in pressure on the
brain if not relieved immediately.
With the coordinated help of the
Pingry community, Mr. Brenner
caught up on all of his classes over the
summer, took his exams, and was back
on track with his sophomore classmates by the fall of 2007. He has since
returned to the basketball court, the
honor roll, track and field, the Blue
Key Club, and community service
with the ECLC special-needs school
in Chatham. As described by Mr.
LaValette during his remarks, Mr.
Brenner now looks at his remaining
challenges with a “rear-view mirror”
mentality: they continue “moving
farther behind and away from him—
despite the warning on the mirror that
they may be closer than they appear.”
He was accepted early at Williams
College, which he will attend in the
fall, and he credits a variety of people
at Pingry for their help throughout his
continued recovery: Glenn Friedman
’10, Randall Jordan ’10, Dan Muller ’10,
Will Pinke ’10, and Luke Pounder ’10;
faculty members Ananya Chatterji,
Joan Hearst, Madeline Landau P ’91,
Norm LaValette P ’04, Deirdre O’Mara,
John Raby P ’95, and Martha Torres;
and coaches Jason Murdock and
Vic Nazario P ’90, ’94.
Mr. Stifel, who completed all 13 years
of school at Pingry (including four years
at Short Hills Country Day School,
where he entered pre-Kindergarten in
1970), works in Manhattan for Morgan
Stanley.
Mr. Brenner’s life was saved by the
skill of a neurosurgeon and the
mechanical assistance of four plates
and eight screws that were needed to
close the fracture. After three hours
of brain surgery, his
challenges were only
beginning. The injury
had caused short- and
long-term memory
deficits, and he needed to relearn how to
speak and read. After
six months of cognitive, physical, and
occupational therapy,
he gradually returned
to classes at Pingry
and tried “to reinstate
First row: Trustee Henry Stifel III ’83. 2nd row: Jon Brenner ’10 surrounded by,
himself as quietly and from left, his mother Debbie, sister Allie, grandparent Linda Werbel, father
efficiently as possible.” Robert, and grandparents Sara Lavetan, JoAnn Werbel, and Robert Werbel
19
summer 2010
Before his accident, Mr. Stifel’s outlook on life resembled that of most of
today’s students: at times, he struggled
socially and academically, but he
anticipated college and a career in the
business world. Nearly nine months
after the accident, demonstrating
tremendous resolve, he returned to
Pingry in a wheelchair while continuing to undergo physical therapy and
countless hours of tutoring that
enabled him to graduate with his
class and attend college. He had to
learn new ways of functioning, both
physically and mentally, so he could
live independently.
Christopher Reeve and his late wife
Dana to raise awareness of and funds
for spinal cord injury research. He
continues to counsel and mentor
young people who have suffered paralyzing spinal cord injuries, and he
serves as Vice Chairman of the Board
of Directors for the Christopher &
Dana Reeve Foundation, an organization that began in 1982 as the Stifel
Paralysis Research Foundation
[ School News ]
A Quarter-Century at Pingry for Judy Lee,
Sue Marotto, and Michele Parvensky
These three faculty members
joined the school in the fall of 1985
and celebrated 25 years of teaching at Pingry during the 2009-10
academic year. The Pingry Alumni
Association honored them in May
as members of Magistri Maxime
Laudandi (“Masters Most Greatly
to be Praised”), teachers who
have dedicated 25 or more years
of service to Pingry.
In Judy Lee’s words, a “perfect storm”
brought her to Pingry. She had spent
over 10 years teaching math and
coaching field hockey at Roselle Park
High School—with a fervent desire to
coach high school swimming at some
point—when Roselle Park’s Director
of Athletics, Frank Antonelli P ’88,
left the school to become Pingry’s
Director of Athletics. Not long after
his arrival at Pingry, there were
openings for two math teachers, a
swimming coach, and an assistant
field hockey coach. Knowing of
Mrs. Lee’s experience and aspirations,
Mr. Antonelli was instrumental in
bringing her to Pingry.
20
After some more personnel changes,
she became the assistant swimming
coach and head field hockey coach.
Within a few years, the coaching
duties for swimming were re-structured, making Mrs. Lee head coach
of the girls’ swimming team while
she continued as head coach of the
field hockey team.
the pingry review
Since 1985, the field hockey team
has won four state championships,
11 county championships, and eight
Colonial Hills Conference championships. The girls’ swimming team has
also enjoyed numerous championships, including three state championships and three consecutive Colonial
Hills Conference championships.
While Mrs. Lee was head coach of
both the boys’ and girls’ swimming
teams, the boys’ team won two state
championships. In 2008, Mrs. Lee
received a Sports Award from the
who has taught at Pingry for at least
five years and made a significant
contribution to the life of the school
outside the classroom.
Mrs. Lee considers the people the
best part of the past 25 years at
Pingry, and she always feels pride
when former students return. “I like
when alumni come back to [work at]
Pingry because they enjoyed their
experience at the school and want
to contribute their time. That is very
satisfying,” she says.
Trustee and PAA President Steve Lipper ’79, P ’09,
’12, ’14 and Judy Lee
New Jersey State Interscholastic
Athletic Association (NJSIAA), and
she is a member of the New Jersey
Scholastic Coaches Association Hall
of Fame. Her other honors include
Star-Ledger State “Coach of the Year”
for field hockey and girls’ swimming,
Courier News All-Area “Coach of the
Year” for both sports, and National
Coach of the Year for field hockey.
Two of the teams she coached have
been inducted into Pingry’s Athletics
Hall of Fame: the 1988 Field
Hockey Team and the 1994-95
Boys’ Swimming Team.
In the classroom, she has taught
Geometry, Trigonometry, AP Calculus,
Math Analysis, and various levels of
Algebra, and she emphasizes problembased learning because it generates
discussions. “I try to give the students
preparatory assignments. Their homework leads them into the next day’s
lesson, so they are introduced to the
concepts before the formal lecture.
That preparation generates questions
before they learn the new material. I
like discussing homework and reminding the students to keep a concept
in the back of their minds because
it will come back later in the course
in another context,” Mrs. Lee says.
From 1992 to 1995, she held The
Edward G. Engel ’33 Chair for
Mathematics and Science. This award
is given to a faculty member in the
mathematics or science department
Health Department Chair Sue
Marotto has spent more than half of
her life at Pingry, having joined the
faculty three months after graduating
from Gettysburg College, where she
was inducted into the Athletics
Hall of Fame in 1995 (she earned a
master’s degree from Montclair State
College in 1989). Thanks to her summer softball coach’s connection to
Pingry’s former Director of Athletics
Frank Antonelli P ’88, Mrs. Marotto
applied to be a physical education/
health teacher and a coach for basketball and softball, the two sports
she played in college.
Seven years later, she was promoted to
chair of the health and physical education departments. In 1999, when
the Greig Fitness Center opened, the
departments split, and Mrs. Marotto
remained as chair of the health
department. One of her most important accomplishments as chair was
helping to establish Pingry’s Public
Access Defibrillation Program; AEDs
(automated external defibrillators)
that were purchased for Pingry in
2001 saved the life of former facilities
worker Hank Langowski in 2006.
“Helping to save Hank was a life-altering experience. I don’t think a day
goes by that I don’t think about him
and helping to save his life,” she says.
Mrs. Marotto oversees a health curriculum that has changed significantly in the past 25 years. When she
started teaching at Pingry, the health
courses were offered only in Grades 9
and 11 and focused mainly on education about sexuality, nutrition, and
an important part of the health curriculum. Bob, Jackie, Joy, and Joanne
make me a better teacher and a better
person,” Mrs. Marotto says.
Michele Parvensky has been teaching
Sue Marotto
drugs. She has since added health
courses for Grades 6 and 8, and the
topics now include Internet safety,
bullying, sexual assault, alcohol and
drug use, contraception and sexually
transmitted diseases, and eating disorders. The required health class for
Grade 10 is an advanced CPR/AED
certification course similar to the
certification provided for EMTs and
nurses (she has additional expertise
in this area because she is an EMT).
“It is a great feeling to teach CPR and
First Aid, knowing that I am enabling
the students to help someone. It’s very
important to me that I’m teaching
kids skills that they’re going to use
for the rest of their lives,” she says. As
an instructor for the American Heart
Association, Mrs. Marotto is also certified to teach CRP, AED, and First Aid
courses in school and outside school.
She is grateful for the support of her
husband Bob, who also teaches, and
her daughter Jackie, as well as the support of Pingry nurses and health teachers Joy Livak and Joanne Childs. “It is
an honor to work with two professional
and outstanding nurses who are such
These activities were based on Dr.
Parvensky’s interest in Indian culture,
an interest she developed while
attending graduate school in Utah.
Under Dr. Parvensky’s guidance,
Pingry students adopted two families
from Pine Ridge Reservation, raising
money to support them, collecting
clothing for them, and exchanging
letters with the families to facilitate
cultural learning. In addition,
Pingry held the popular Native
American Food Day each year, and
Dr. Parvensky published the monthly
newsletter Eyapaha (“herald” or “crier”
in Lakota) to present information and
perspective about Native Americans.
During the students’ visits to the reservation, they worked at Head Start,
refurbished houses, operated a soup
kitchen, and substituted as teachers in
the elementary school, to name a few
of their services. “It was an extremely
positive experience for the kids, and a
lot of work for me, but it was worth
it,” Dr. Parvensky says.
Her Pingry career has also been
enriched by other experiences outside
the classroom. She had the honor of
winning the McClelland Fellowship
for the top independent study project
among private school teachers in New
Jersey. “My research project involved
placing polymers on a watershed in
northern Utah in areas subject to erosion. These polymers held vegetation
in place and would enable the plants
to grow without being carried down
slope during times of erosion due to
In addition, she was one of 26 teachers out of several hundred applicants
to be accepted into the Woodrow
Wilson Institute for Environmental
Chemistry at Princeton University
in 1989. The workshop required four
weeks of coursework and lab work
with chemistry teachers from across
the United States who wanted to
develop lesson plans for a specific
environmental area; Dr. Parvensky
collaborated with a teacher from Iowa
on a soil chemistry unit. “It was an
honor and a privilege to be accepted
into the Institute. To be around such
top people is mind-boggling. Many of
the labs that were developed were on
the micro-scale level, so they were
perfect for me to use in labs,” she says.
Overall, working at Pingry has
enabled Dr. Parvensky to attend
chemistry conferences not only in
the U.S. and Canada, but also in
Budapest, Hungary, experiences that
were not available for her in the public school system where she used to
teach. “The fact that Pingry has paid
for me to go and learn with other
chemistry teachers, and have fun in
the process, is one of the primary reasons that I enjoy teaching here. These
conferences have taught me so many
new aspects of chemistry that I have
brought back to my classes and shared
with the department,” she says.
21
summer 2010
For the first 17 years of her Pingry
career, Mrs. Marotto coached three
sports each year. Her teams included
varsity softball (17 years), varsity
basketball (seven years), varsity field
hockey (one year), Middle School
basketball (10 years), Middle School
soccer (10 years), and Middle School
tennis (five years). She eventually
relinquished her coaching duties to
focus on her responsibilities with the
health department and its curriculum.
Chemistry and Honors Chemistry
for 25 years, as well as serving as an
assistant coach for Middle School
Track and Field for almost 15 years.
To raise the school’s consciousness
about Native Americans, she initiated
the Native American Club, served as
its advisor for many years, and took
students to Pine Ridge Reservation in
South Dakota for community service
during spring break.
rain or snow melting. I was way ahead
of highway departments who now use
these same types of polymers for hillsides on new highway construction,”
Dr. Parvensky says.
Dr. Michele Parvensky
[ School News ]
Digital Display
Lower School Students
Find New Ways to
Create Art
Flowers by Kartikeya Sharma, Grade 5
To foster the connections between
art, technology, and the world, and
to prompt students to talk about art,
Lower School faculty members
Lindsay Baydin and Susy Ferris
Rights organized the Short Hills
Campus’ first student digital photography exhibition. “Through Our
Eyes,” with about 70 digital photos
by fourth- and fifth-grade students,
was on display from April 19, 2010,
through the end of the school year.
22
Students were asked to take one
photograph outside of school, and, if
necessary, Pingry provided a camera
and any other necessary tools. “This
was a celebration of art and creativity,
and we wanted every child to be able
to participate,” Mrs. Ferris Rights says.
The photographs represented a range
of skill levels, and both teachers were
impressed by the sophistication of
the images; subjects included fruit,
animals, flowers, landscapes, still
lifes, sports, and landmarks.
the pingry review
The photographs were framed and
hung with the students’ comments
describing where and why they took
the pictures. In fact, some of the
comments revealed the students’
insights into photography—phrases
such as “I had the most perfect
angle,” “the tint of pink was just
right,” “the snow in the background
completed [the photo],” “the sun was
exactly on the landscape, making
the colors stand out,” and “the fruit
looked so pretty, and I wanted to give
Swaying Branches by Dylan Cheng, Grade 4
Masks of Many Faces by Giancarlo Castillo,
Grade 4
Yosemite by Natalie Lima, Grade 5
Swimming Bacon by Simone Allison, Grade 5
it a life of its own” indicated the
students’ deepening understanding
of the medium.
During the exhibit, the first-grade
students made sketches of the photos,
enabling the exhibit to act like “a little museum,” in Ms. Baydin’s words.
At the conclusion of the exhibit, each
student was allowed to keep his or her
framed photograph, which Mrs. Ferris
Rights and Ms. Baydin intended as a
gesture to legitimize the students as
artists; both of them remember having their work displayed for the first
time and wanted the students to feel
that same sense of accomplishment.
They have also created a Shutterfly
book to preserve the photos.
Big Ben by Graham Matthews, Grade 4
Ms. Baydin and Mrs. Ferris Rights
are grateful to Miles Boyd, chair
of Pingry’s visual arts department,
for helping to facilitate this show.
“Mr. Boyd was so exuberant about
the show’s success and the students’
efforts. All three of us have a common desire to see the community
participate in artistic endeavors.
We want to awaken people’s sense
of creativity on an ongoing basis,”
Ms. Baydin says.
Kiln Provides New Creative
Possibilities for Ceramics Students
“This kiln is a fantastic addition to the fine arts program,
and it is a wonderful memorial to Marvin and to his
own love for and dedication to the arts, particularly
ceramics,” said Headmaster
Nat Conard P ’09, ’11 during the dedication ceremony
on May 27, 2010, in the
Hostetter Arts Center.
To the left: Marvin Flowerman’s family. From left:
Marvin’s daughter Amy Cades, Gabrielle Weber (wife of
Marvin’s grandson Josh), Josh Flowerman, Zac Flowerman ’07, Marvin’s widow Libby, Marvin’s daughter-inlaw Margot Jackler, and Marvin’s son Paul Flowerman.
To the right: fine arts faculty member Rich Freiwald
with Lori and John Westerhold and their children Dylan
’10, Laura, and Tommy.
A long-time dream for Pingry’s fine arts
department has become a reality. Thanks
to the efforts of two Pingry families, a gas
kiln has been installed at the Martinsville
Campus. The kiln belonged to the late
Marvin Flowerman GP ’04 (Seth), ’07
(Zac) and was donated by his family, and
the building in which the kiln is housed
was donated by John and Lori Westerhold,
parents of Dylan Westerhold ’10.
Mr. Flowerman’s son, Paul Flowerman,
P ’04, ’07, witnessed the degree to which
his father treasured ceramics and sculpture. “Marvin Flowerman was a force of
nature who channeled his tremendous
energy, intellect, and passion into ceramic
creations. Every piece expressed elements
of his personality and physicality, and his
friends all over the world enjoyed having
his art in their homes and businesses,”
Mr. Flowerman says.
Pingry students will benefit from the
kiln’s “special effects” capabilities,
according to Mr. Freiwald, who supervised
the deconstruction and re-assembly of
the kiln when it was moved to Pingry
from Marvin Flowerman’s studio. “The
kiln makes the studio complete because,
until now, students could only use oxidation firing. Now, they can also use reduction firing,” he says. In oxidation firing,
sufficient oxygen in the kiln produces
more uniform colors. In reduction firing,
less oxygen is supplied to the kiln, resulting in a wider variety of colors.
“We have already seen some wonderful
results achieved with brilliant red copper
glazes. Pingry likely now has the premier
high school ceramics program of any public or private high school in New Jersey,”
Mr. Flowerman says.
Mr. Freiwald, speaking during the dedication ceremony, thanked the families “for
the opportunity to fill the new spaces,
where there was once nothing, with creative usefulness, goodness, and thoughtful beauty.”
A One-Man Pottery Studio
“What I like
about ceramics is
that it’s a very
expressive medium. There’s no
limit to what you
can do or try.
There’s always
something more to learn, and it satisfies my desire to do creative things,”
says the late Marvin Flowerman GP
’04, ’07 in Marvin Flowerman’s
Artistic Journey, a video that Seth
Flowerman ’04 filmed in 2003 as a
birthday present for his grandfather.
Marvin Flowerman’s fascination for
sculpture can be traced to the summer of 1962, when he visited the
home and studio of American sculptor Daniel Chester French (known for
many public monuments, including
the sculpture of Abraham Lincoln at
the Lincoln Memorial in Washington,
D.C.) and was intrigued by the number of skills that sculpting requires.
Upon returning home, he began six
years of private lessons with Long
Island sculptor John Terkin.
Decades later, after retiring in 1986
as the president of an international
trade business, Mr. Flowerman
resumed his studies of ceramics
and sculpture at Raritan Valley
Community College (formerly
Somerset County Community
College) and became an independent artist. He set up his own
ceramics studio in his Far Hills
home—including a wheel, an electric kiln, a raku kiln (for Japanesestyle raku pottery), and a gas kiln
—and made all of his own glazes.
“Marvin enjoyed the feel of materials
and was skillful in manipulating
them. The tactile component, where
he infused his strength and passion
into his artistic creations, made clay
his ideal medium,” says his son Paul
Flowerman P ’04, ’07.
23
summer 2010
The Flowerman family considered the
kiln a valuable centerpiece of Marvin
Flowerman’s studio. Fine arts faculty
member Rich Freiwald, who had met
Marvin Flowerman years ago at Raritan
Valley Community College, expressed
interest in the gas kiln and spoke with
Paul Flowerman for six months before
the project was able to move forward. The
family decided to give the kiln to Pingry
because Marvin Flowerman’s grandchildren attended the school and the family
wanted to strengthen what they call
“Pingry’s vibrant ceramics program.”
Funding for and construction of the
building happened fortuitously. When
Mr. Freiwald mentioned to his clayworking class that the Flowerman family had
donated a gas kiln, but that it needed to
be housed in a separate building, Dylan
Westerhold notified his parents, knowing
that his father had access to a construction crew. “With the burden of cost
removed for Pingry, the kiln project was
able to move forward, and a happy marriage of kiln and building became a reality. This is an example of how an individual person making an inquiry can
make an impact,” Mrs. Westerhold says.
Marvin Flowerman GP ’04, ’07:
[ School News ]
AthleticS Roundup: Winter 2009-2010 Season Results
Boys’ Basketball: 10-11
NJSIAA Non-Public A Tournament: Qualifiers
Skyland Conference All Conference Honors/Valley Division:
Scott Sowinski (1st team), Dan Keller (2nd team), Otis Osman
(Honorable Mention)
Skyland Conference/Valley Division: 3rd place
Courier News All Area: Dan Keller, Scott Sowinski
(Honorable Mentions)
Star-Ledger All Somerset: Scott Sowinski (All-underrated
team), Otis Osman (All-sixth-man team)
Girls’ Basketball: 21-4 (most victories in program history)
Skyland Conference/Valley Division: Champions
SCIAA Tournament: Advanced to quarter-finals
NJSIAA Non-Public A: Advanced to north semifinals
Skyland Conference Honors/Valley Division: Emily
Damstrom, Stephanie Hanchuk (1st team), Victoria Morgan
(2nd team), Tierney Griff (Honorable Mention)
Boys’ Fencing: 2-12
Courier News: Ranked 9th in Final Top 10
Courier News All Area: Emily Damstrom (2nd team),
Stephanie Hanchuk, Victoria Morgan (Honorable Mentions)
Star-Ledger All Somerset: Emily Damstrom (1st team),
Stephanie Hanchuk (3rd team)
Star-Ledger: Ranked 4th in Somerset County
Cetrulo Boys Relay Tournament: Sabre (19th out of 46),
Foil (42nd out of 46), Epee (20th out of 46). Overall, tied for
29th out of 46
NJSIAA District No. 2 Qualifier: Sabre (8th), Foil (8th),
Epee (9th). Overall 10th
Girls’ Fencing: 4-10
Santelli Girls Relay Tournament: Sabre (10th out of 46), Foil
(43rd out of 46), Epee (35th out of 46). Overall, 34th out of 46
NJSIAA District No. 2 Qualifier: Sabre (1st), Foil (10th), Epee
(8th). Overall 8th. Individuals: Susan Contess (Sabre, 4th),
Ashley Feng (Sabre, 5th), Diamond McClintock (Sabre, 7th)
NJSIAA Squad States: Sabre (7th)
NJSIAA Individual States: Susan Contess (Sabre, 12th),
Ashley Feng (Sabre, 19th)
Boys’ Ice Hockey: 20-4-1 (most victories in program history)
Skyland Conference: Champions
Skyland Cup: Finalists
NJISAA Prep Championship: Finalists
NJSIAA Non-Public A: Advanced to quarter-finals
New Jersey Devils “High School Player of the Month”:
Matt Beattie (February 2010)
Skyland Conference All Conference: Matt Beattie, Ryan Kiska,
Peter Martin (1st team), Rob Kiska, Brian Weiniger (2nd team)
Courier News All Area: Matt Beattie, Ryan Kiska (1st team),
Brian Weiniger, Peter Martin (2nd team), Rob Kiska, Andrew
LaFontaine, Pat Lackey (Honorable Mentions)
Star-Ledger: Ranked No. 9 in New Jersey
Star-Ledger All-Star/All Non-Public: Peter Martin (2nd team),
Ryan Kiska (2nd team), Matt Beattie (3rd team).
All Central Jersey: Peter Martin, Ryan Kiska, Matt Beattie
(1st team), Brian Weiniger (2nd team)
Star-Ledger Central Jersey “Player of the Year”: Ryan Kiska
Girls’ Ice Hockey: 1-13-1
WIHLMA: Hanna Beattie (3rd team)
Star-Ledger “Top Rookies”: Hanna Beattie, Amanda Hulse,
Rachel Lima, Nikki Witte
Boys’ Skiing
Freedom League: 8th place
GIRLs’ Skiing
Freedom League: 5th place
24
Boys’ Squash: 9-2 (Co-Ed: 8-0)
the pingry review
National Ranking: 10th
New Jersey State High School Championship Finalist:
Will Moore
New Jersey State High School Championship Semifinalists:
Michael Sankovich, Will Moore, David Kerr
U.S. Squash “Scholar-Athlete Awards”: David Kerr,
Avi Bhavnani, Shivan Bhavnani
Girls’ Squash: 5-6
National Ranking: 43rd
New Jersey State High School Championship Winner:
Chloe Blacker
U.S. Squash “Scholar-Athlete Awards”: Chloe Blacker,
Kristin Scillia
Boys’ Swimming: 15-0
NJSIAA Non-Public B: Champions
NJISAA Prep A: Champions
Big Blue Invitational: Champions
SCIAA Championship: 1st place
Skyland Conference Regular Season: Champions
Skyland Conference Tournament: Champions
Meet of Champions: Pingry swept all three relays (Brandon
Moy, James Ross, Calvin Jones, Nic Fink, Nick Gilligan)
Meet of Champions: Nic Fink, individual winner,
100-yard breaststroke
National Independent School Record: Nic Fink,
100-meter breaststroke, 1:03:37
Star-Ledger: Ranked 2nd in the state
News 12 New Jersey “Scholar Athlete of the Month”:
Nick Gilligan (February 2010)
Courier News: Ranked 1st in Final Top 10
Courier News All Area: Nic Fink, Nick Gilligan, Brandon Moy,
James Ross (1st team, 200-medley relay), Nic Fink (1st team,
200-Individual Medley), Brandon Moy (1st team, 50 freestyle),
Calvin Jones (1st team, 100 freestyle), Nic Fink, Calvin Jones,
Brandon Moy, James Ross (1st team, 200 freestyle relay; 1st
team, 400 freestyle relay), Calvin Jones (2nd team, 50 freestyle),
Nick Gilligan (2nd team, 100 breaststroke)
Courier News and Star-Ledger “Swimmer of the Year”:
Nic Fink
Star-Ledger All Non-Public Honors: Nic Fink (1st team,
100-yard breaststroke), James Ross, Calvin Jones, Brandon
Moy, Nic Fink (1st team, 200-yard freestyle relay; 1st team,
400-yard freestyle relay), Nick Gilligan, Nic Fink, James Ross,
Brandon Moy (1st team, 200-yard medley relay), Brandon Moy
(3rd team, 50-yard freestyle), James Ross (3rd team, 100-yard
butterfly)
Star-Ledger All Somerset Honors: Nic Fink (1st team, 100yard breaststroke), Brandon Moy (1st team, 50-yard freestyle),
James Ross (1st team, 100-yard freestyle), Nick Gilligan (1st
team, 100-yard backstroke), James Ross, Calvin Jones, Brandon
Moy, Nic Fink (1st team, 200-yard freestyle relay; 1st team,
400-yard freestyle relay), Nick Gilligan, Nic Fink, James Ross,
Brandon Moy (1st team, 200-yard medley relay), Calvin Jones
(2nd team, 50-yard freestyle), Alex Mango (2nd team, 200-yard
freestyle), Jon Ciriello (3rd team, 200-yard individual medley)
Team records: Nic Fink, Nick Gilligan, Brandon Moy, and
James Ross broke the meter record and yard record for the 200 medley relay, 200 free relay, and 400 free relay. Nic Fink
broke the record in the 200 freestyle, 100 freestyle, and 100 breaststroke.
Girls’ Swimming: 10-5
NJSIAA Non-Public B: Champions
Skyland Conference Regular Season: 3rd place
Skyland Conference Tournament: 3rd place
Big Blue Invitational: Champions
NJISAA Prep A Championship: 3rd place
SCIAA Tournament: 5th place
Courier News: Ranked 5th in the top 10
Courier News All Area: Morgan Burke, Cailee Cassidy,
Regan Fink, Kathryn Kolb (2nd team, 200 freestyle relay); Alysia Tsui, Kate Leib (Honorable Mentions, 100 backstroke)
Star-Ledger: Ranked 9th in the state
Star-Ledger All Non-Public Honors: Cailee Cassidy, Kathryn
Kolb, Regan Fink, Morgan Burke (2nd team, 200 freestyle relay),
Kate Leib, Alysia Tsui, Regan Fink, Morgan Burke (2nd team, 400 freestyle relay), Alysia Tsui, Kate Leib, Cailee Cassidy,
Kathryn Kolb (3rd team, 200 medley relay)
Star-Ledger All Somerset Honors: Morgan Burke (2nd team,
100 freestyle), Alysia Tsui (2nd team, 100 backstroke), Kate Leib (3rd team, 500 freestyle), Regan Fink (3rd team, 100 breaststroke), Cailee Cassidy, Kathryn Kolb, Regan Fink,
Morgan Burke (3rd team, 200 freestyle relay)
Team records: Cailee Cassidy, Kathryn Kolb, Kate Leib, and
Alysia Tsui broke the yard record for the 200 medley relay.
Alysia Tsui broke the yard record for 100 fly, and Morgan Burke
broke the record for 100 free.
Boys’ Winter Track
Girls’ Winter Track
NJSIAA Non-Public B: Rob Hugin (1st place, 55-meter hurdles)
Star-Ledger All-Somerset: Terdoo Nwaoduh (2nd team,
400-meter event)
Wrestling: 2-12
25
Judy Lee: Star-Ledger State Coach of the Year for
girls swimming
John Magadini: Courier News Boys’ Ice Hockey
Coach of the Year
David White: Star-Ledger Somerset County Coach
of the Year for girls’ basketball
SCIAA—Somerset County Interscholastic Athletic Association
NJISAA—New Jersey Independent School Athletic Association
NJSIAA—New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association
WIHLMA—Women’s Ice Hockey League of the Mid-Atlantic
summer 2010
Congratulations to the following coaches
for earning “Coach of the Year” honors:
Pingry’s Sixth Inductee into the NJSCA Hall of Fame
Coach Tim Grant P ’03, ’06 has been inducted into
the New Jersey Scholastic Coaches Association
(NJSCA) Hall of Fame. He serves as Head Coach
of three Pingry teams: girls’ varsity track (20 years),
girls’ varsity cross country (14 years), and boys’ varsity
winter track (three years). The Star-Ledger selected
Coach Grant as “Coach of the Year” in 1999 for cross
country and in 2003 for track.
In dual meet events, his Pingry teams have a combined
record of 359-17 (194-12 for track and 165-5 for cross
country). The teams have won numerous conference,
county, and state championships—including track’s
seven consecutive state championships (Non-Public B)
from 2001 to 2007 and six prep state championships
between 1992 and 2004, as well as cross country’s four
state championships (Non-Public B) and nine prep state
championships. Many former Pingry track athletes have
continued their careers at the college level, and several
have since earned NCAA All-American honors.
Coach Grant lettered in track, cross country, and golf
before graduating from Ursinus College. He won a
gold medal in the Empire State Games and, during
his college career, posted personal-best times of 0:48.4
for the quarter-mile and 1:55.2 for the half-mile. He
became known for his ability to out-kick other longdistance runners by using his sprinting speed in the
closing stages of cross country races.
Vicki and Tim Grant P ’03, ’06
He is highly regarded for his ability to teach athletes
how to run well as a group instead of individually,
and the camaraderie on his teams fosters a sense of
unity. His goal is to develop life-long athletes who
enjoy running and its health and fitness benefits.
excellence. I am very pleased to see Tim receive
this honor, joining Miller Bugliari ’52, Judy Lee,
Bill Reichle, Manny Tramontana, and Mike Webster
as Pingry’s inductees into the New Jersey Scholastic
Coaches Association Hall of Fame,” says Gerry
Vanasse, Pingry’s Director of Athletics.
“This award reflects the widespread recognition
of Tim’s skills as a coach. He has elevated Pingry’s
track and field program to a position of sustained
Coach Grant joined the Pingry science faculty in
1984. His wife Vicki Grant chairs Pingry’s English
Department.
26
the pingry review
Platform tennis player Corey DeLaney ’12 was honored in Sports
Illustrated’s “Faces in the Crowd” in the March 15, 2010 issue.
She and her doubles partner, Nicki Ross, have won four junior
nationals titles in the U-12, U-14, and U-18 ages groups (in 2006,
2008, 2009, and 2010). Ms. DeLaney also plays varsity soccer
and lacrosse at Pingry. In addition, along with teammates Emily
Damstrom ’12, Maggie Morash ’12, and Melissa Murphy ’11, she
plays in a national-level soccer club, the Players Development
Academy, which promotes and develops youth soccer in New
Jersey. During the past several years, Ms. DeLaney’s team (for
U-16 girls) has played games and tournaments in 16 states; the
team was most recently ranked seventh in the country and first
in New Jersey.
[ alumni News ]
A Message from the PAA President
I had the opportunity to speak
with many alumni during Reunion
Weekend, as always, and some of
the conversations revolved around
the financial aid they received as
students. These alumni were so
grateful for the opportunity they
had to attend Pingry, and they were
keenly aware that their lives might
have turned out quite differently
if that door had not been opened
for them.
In one sense, all Pingry alumni
receive financial aid, as the cost
of a Pingry education is greater
than the tuition price. The balance
is made up mostly through the generosity of parents and alumni giving
to The Pingry Fund and the Pingry
Endowment. I encourage all alumni
to support Financial Aid at Pingry
so that others may benefit as we
all have.
We hope you enjoy the coverage
of Reunion Weekend in this issue.
The weekend is always great fun
for everyone involved. I had the
honor of presenting not one, but
two Nelson L. Carr Service Awards,
as we had two extraordinarily
deserving recipients. You can read
more about the award recipients
Sean O’Donnell ’75, P ’05, ’10
and Rob Gibby, Jr. ’60, P ’87.
Usually, the Pingry Alumni Association surprises
one graduate with the Nelson L. Carr Service
Award during Reunion Weekend. Named in
honor of Nelson L. Carr ’24, this award is presented annually to an alumnus or alumna who has
demonstrated faithful and dedicated service in
support of Pingry; Mr. Carr devoted almost 70
years of service to the school.
Trustee and PAA President Steve
Lipper ’79, P ’09, ’12, ’14 presenting
Sean O’Donnell ’75, P ’05, ’10 with the
2010 Nelson L. Carr Service Award
Special circumstances made this an unusual year,
resulting in two alumni being surprised—Sean
O’Donnell ’75, P ’05, ’10 on Friday evening after
the Athletics Hall of Fame induction ceremony,
and former Trustee and former PAA President
Rob Gibby, Jr. ’60, P ’87 on Saturday morning
during the Annual Meeting of the PAA.
Mr. O’Donnell, the President of Datacor, Inc, has been the Chair of Pingry’s
Athletics Hall of Fame Committee since 2003 and has been inducted into the
Hall three times, once as an individual and twice as a member of the 1972 and
1974 Boys’ Soccer Teams. In addition, he volunteers for Reunion and The Pingry
Fund, speaks at Career Day, co-chairs the Athletics Events Committee, serves
as a member of the PAA Board and Committees, serves on the Golf Committee,
is a Class Agent, and co-chaired the celebrations of the 500th and 700th career
victories for Boys’ Varsity Soccer Coach Miller Bugliari ’52, P ’86, ’90, ’97.
“It has been my honor and privilege to give back to the Pingry community,
which has done so much for my family and me. I can’t imagine what my life
would be like without Pingry. Receiving this award was a great surprise,” Mr.
O’Donnell says.
Celebrating his 50th reunion this year, Rob Gibby, who attended Pingry
for 12 years, was honored in the presence of many of his classmates. He is
President of GP Resources, a contract manufacturing company that produces
metal goods in China, and served as both President of the PAA and a Pingry
trustee from 1992 to 1996. Mr. Gibby currently serves as a volunteer for The
Pingry Fund and Reunion and as a Class Agent. In all, he has devoted over
50 years of service to the school.
Sincerely,
Steve Lipper ’79, P ’09, ’12, ’14
Former Trustee and former PAA
President Rob Gibby, Jr. ’60, P ’87
received the 2010 Nelson L. Carr
Service Award
“In addition to providing me with wonderful
guideposts for life, Pingry has also given me
wonderful memories. In 1953, as president of
the Lower School, I sat onstage with my father,
Robert Gibby ’31, who was PAA President, and
grandfather, Edgar Gibby, who was a trustee, for
the dedication of the new Hillside building. Most
recently, in 2007, I attended the Athletics Hall of
Fame induction ceremony for my son Todd ’87.
Pingry is a lifetime love, and it is a privilege to
be associated with the school,” he says.
27
summer 2010
As you make your plans for the fall,
please put on your calendar the
Alumnae and Alumni Soccer Games
in September and Homecoming in
October.
Two Alumni are Honored for Their
Service to Pingry
[ alumni News ]
A Car from 1930 Returns to Pingry, A Teacher Receives a
Reminder about His Legacy, and Other Reunion Events
The following pages of Reunion
photographs capture the numerous
events that took place from Thursday
to Saturday, May 13 to 15, and help
convey the festive atmosphere of the
weekend. In addition, The Pingry
Review wants to share some of the
stories behind the photos.
Thursday’s activities were devoted to
the Class of 1960 as they celebrated
the 50th anniversary of their Pingry
graduation. Members of the class
rode a school bus to the old Hillside
and Parker Road (Elizabeth)
Campuses for a tour led by Special
Assistant to the Headmaster Miller
Bugliari ’52, P ’86, ’90, ’97; the tour
proved to be nostalgic and emotional
for many of the alumni. Although
the exterior appears the same, the
interior of the Hillside Campus
was recently renovated by Kean
University. Among the similarities
and differences from when they
attended Pingry, the alumni saw the
same tiles in the hallways and on the
floors; athletic fields have become
parking lots; the swimming pool, the
only part of the building not to have
been renovated, is empty and forlorn;
and the Chapel, no longer containing the large arched windows that
allowed for morning light, is now an
auditorium with an expanded stage.
Classmates also gathered in the Fiske
Garden for a class picture.
28
the pingry review
“Visiting the Hillside Campus
reminded me of visiting the RMS
Queen Mary, now a relic in Long
Beach, California, years after sailing
aboard her last trans-Atlantic crossing out of New York Harbor in
1967. Here, various locations, brought
to life with Miller Bugliari’s recollections and stories and classmates’ reminiscences, triggered palpable memories of people, events, and associations from my formative years, awakening feelings of attachment and
longing,” writes Henry English ’60.
That evening’s Welcome Dinner,
hosted by Headmaster Nat Conard
P ’09, ’11 to kick-off the weekend,
was held in the intimate setting of
the Martinsville Campus’ newlyrenovated Carriage House.
On Friday morning in The Wilf
Family Commons in the Middle
School, the generations united when
members of the Class of 1960 met
their seventh-grade pen pals, with
whom they had been corresponding
during the school year. Middle School
Dean of Students Kooheli Chatterji
’93 encouraged the students to think
about the similarities and differences
between Pingry today and Pingry 50
years ago and about what the Class of
1960 has accomplished. Perhaps, she
suggested, the students could begin
visualizing what they would like to
be doing with their lives when they
return for Reunion many years from
now. Some of the seventh-grade students, accompanied by Latin faculty
member Margaret Kelleher ’01, presented a list of facts about Pingry and
the world in 1960 compared with
Pingry and the world in 2010. This
theme continued in advisory groups,
as the students and their pen pals
discussed Pingry then and now.
Later that morning, Science
Department Chair Chuck Coe P ’88,
history faculty member Madeline
Landau P ’91, and English
Department Chair Vicki Grant P ’03,
’06 welcomed alumni to their classrooms to observe and participate
in discussions with the students.
Mrs. Landau asked the students
to describe Marxist and Social
Darwinist interpretations of illustrations of working class people, while
Mrs. Grant’s students discussed
Ibsen’s play A Doll House. “It was
exhilarating to be a part of such an
open exchange of ideas. Both the
students and the alumni were actively
engaged in an intellectual discussion
of what constitutes human nature
and how each generation faces its
special challenges. It was a pleasure
to have such thoughtful guests. My
students loved having them in the
classroom, and I felt very proud to
be a member of this community,”
Mrs. Grant says.
The annual Fifty-Year Club
Luncheon, open to any alumni from
the Class of 1960 and earlier years,
was held on Friday afternoon to
induct the Class of 1960 into the
Fifty-Year Club. Along with remarks
by Board Chair Jack Brescher ’65, P
’99, Headmaster Nat Conard P ’09,
’11, and Trustee and PAA President
Steve Lipper ’79, P ’09, ’12, ’14, the
luncheon featured a performance
by The Buttondowns, led by Music
Department Chair Andrew Moore.
Judge Wertheimer ’60 gave the
Invocation, and Class Representatives
Don West ’60 and former Trustee Rob
Gibby ’60, P ’87 reminisced about
their classmates’ Pingry days and presented each of them with a certificate
and Pingry tie. Immediately after the
luncheon, the alumni gathered for a
unique class photo with Mr. Gibby’s
1930 Model A Ford Coupe.
Three other annual events took
place on Friday night: the Athletics
Hall of Fame induction ceremony
(see article on page 42), the Magistri
ceremony (see article on page 20), and
the presentation of the first of two
Nelson L. Carr Service Awards (see
article on page 27). The evening’s
festivities concluded with “Reminisce
Under the Big Top,” which was held
in the Hostetter Arts Center due to
the threat of inclement weather.
Mr. Lipper presented the second
Nelson L. Carr Service Award while
presiding over the Annual Meeting
of the Pingry Alumni Association
on Saturday morning in The Wilf
Family Commons—a meeting that
also included Mr. Bugliari’s report
about Alumni Relations and the
election of next year’s PAA officers
and directors. Mr. Conard delivered
his Headmaster’s State of the School
Report, covering such topics as
the Curriculum Review that is in
progress; guest speakers who have
addressed the students about ethical
issues; global and semester programs;
admissions, college admissions, financial aid, athletics, and the school’s
financial sustainability.
Another tradition returned on
Saturday afternoon in Hauser
Auditorium, as Drama Department
Chair Al Romano introduced
Alumni Luncheon Theater, a short
play written, directed, and performed by Pingry alumni. Actor
Gibson Knott ’93 wrote Inscription,
which takes place during reunion in
the hallway of an elite private school
in New Jersey; the wall is lined
with class and team photos from
past years. Actor Drew Cortese ’93
portrayed Paul Carson, an English
teacher in his early 60s who is eagerly
awaiting retirement in two years
because of what he considers his students’ apathetic and cynical approach
to education. He does not appreciate
the impact he has made until he
meets Rachel Bowman (performed
by Mr. Cortese’s fiancée Jeanine
Serralles), the widow of one of his
former students, Jim Franklin from
the Class of 1990, who had died in
a car accident three months before
the reunion. She has come specifically to give Mr. Carson a copy of her
late husband’s novel, dedicated to
him, and Mr. Carson is not only
touched, but also realizes that the
true impact of a teacher or a school
The centerpiece of the 1960 Class Photo was the
1930 Model A Ford Coupe that former Trustee and
former PAA President Rob Gibby ’60, P ’87 had driven
to Pingry as a student. Mr. Gibby, who loves cars
and loves working on cars, sold this car in 1961 to
Ric Schumann ’60. Nearly 40 years later, he began to
wonder what had happened to the car and placed
an advertisement in Street Scene, a specialty old car
magazine, to see if any of the readers knew anything
about its location.
He eventually heard from a man who thought he had
the car, and he later learned that the car was sitting
on a student may not be known for
many, many years.
The remainder of Saturday afternoon
was devoted to outdoor activities: the
Clam Bake, Lawn Bowling between
the Class of 1985 and Class of 1960
(the Class of 1960 won), and the
Alumnae and Alumni Lacrosse
Games on The John Taylor Babbitt
’07 Memorial Field. Reunion came
to a close on Saturday night with
parties for all classes ending in “0”
and “5”; the parties were held at
various locations in New Jersey
and Manhattan.
Those who attended Reunion also
had the opportunity to view the
Alumni Art Exhibition, in which
four young alumni architects displayed some of their projects. For
more about the exhibit, see the
article on page 46.
in a garage. Mr. Gibby re-purchased both the body—
which he always considered the most unique part of
the car—and the original parts. Because the previous
owner had transformed the car for a different purpose
and painted it red, Mr. Gibby painted it black and spent
seven years collecting all of the other parts that would
have been installed in the original car.
“What you see today is almost exactly what this car
looked like in 1960. My goal was to get it to Pingry for
Reunion. At this point, it’s not a matter of wanting to
drive it. It’s a matter of enjoying the car and having fun
with it as a hobby,” Mr. Gibby says.
29
summer 2010
[ alumni News ]
May 13-15, 2010
Photo Gallery
25th anniversary for the Class of 1985 and the 50th anniversary for the Class of 1960
30
the pingry review
1
1 The Class of 1960 visiting the space at the former
Hillside Campus that used to be the Chapel.
2 This conversation in the classroom of English
teacher Laura Gerard was one of several pen pal
discussions that took place in various classrooms.
Each group of students prepared a list of questions
for the alumni.
3 The Class of 1960 shaking hands with their sev-
2
enth-grade pen pals in the Wilf Family Commons
of the Carol and Park B. Smith ’50 Middle School.
Dave Speno ’60 and Rachel Jacob ’15 are in the
foreground.
4 Honorary Trustee Bill Beinecke ’31, P ’61, ’64
shaking hands with former PAA President and
former trustee Rob Gibby, Jr. ’60, P ’87 during
the Fifty-Year Club Luncheon. They are joined by
Special Assistant to the Headmaster Miller Bugliari
’52, P ’86, ’90, ’97 and Headmaster Nat Conard
P ’09, ’11.
31
summer 2010
3
4
[ alumni News ]
5
6
5 Paul Boyer ’60 visiting with Mary Kate Martinson
’11 and Kate O’Connor ’11 in the classroom of science
department chair Chuck Coe P ’88.
6 A literary discussion in the classroom of English
7
department chair Vicki Grant P ’03, ’06. From left:
Jake Aronwald ’12, Rob Kiska ’12, Peter Benton ’53,
Grace Putman ’12, and Freddy Elliot ’12.
7 Manton Martin ’35 and his wife Rosemarie Gift in
the gallery of the Hostetter Arts Center, looking at the
1935 Blue Book.
8 Dave Starkweather ’50 and Duane St. John ’50 in
the gallery of the Hostetter Arts Center.
9 The Class of 1960 photo taken with the 1930 Model
A Ford Coupe belonging to Rob Gibby, Jr. ’60, P ’87
(see story on page 29).
8
32
the pingry review
9
10
11
10 From left: Abigail Boozan, PAA Board Member
Genesia Perlmutter Kamen ’79, P ’11, ’13, Abigail
Boozan’s husband John Boozan ’75, Lee Shelley ’74,
Richard Sirois ’72, Lee Shelley’s wife Janet Shelley,
and Mark Bigos ’79.
11 Caitlin O’Donnell ’05 and Andrea McDermott
(wife of Greg McDermott ’75).
12 Ezra Jennings ’89, his wife Alix Jennings, and
David Crosby ’90.
12
13 Howard Danzig ’60, Michael Wyman ’60, and
John Sloboda ’60.
14 Collette Karnovsky ’98 (second from left) and
Neal Karnovsky ’95 (right) with their father Roy
Karnovsky and Neal’s fiancée Kristy Walsh (they
were wed on May 30, 2010) at the Headmaster’s
Reception.
15 Chuck ’90 and Laura Van Hise ’90, Ali Fritsche
Lipton ’90, and her husband Keith Lipton.
13
33
summer 2010
14
15
[ alumni News ]
16 17
16 From left: Varsity Swimming Head
Coaches Judy Lee and Bill Reichle P ’00 with
Athletics Hall of Fame inductees Chris
Franklin ’96, Neal Karnovsky ’95, Jimmy
Euwer ’97, Greg Franzone ’97, and Brian
Hirsch ’97 of the 1994-95 Boys’ Swimming
Team.
17 Steve Brisgel ’80, Brad Roth ’80, and
Cliff Broder ’80.
18
18 Julie Ann Aeuron ’05 and Jess Meyer ’05.
19 Bill Boozan ’73.
20 Drew Cortese ’93 and his fiancée
19
Jeanine Serralles performing the play
Inscription by Gibson Knott ’93 during
Alumni Luncheon Theater in Hauser
Auditorium.
21 Sitting, from left: Ric Schumann, Jr. ’60,
Jim Petrie III ’60, and John Welsh ’55.
Standing: Former trustee Gordy Sulcer ’61,
P ’95, ’01 and John Welsh’s wife Kay Welsh.
22 John Flack ’95 with his wife Amy and
20
34
the pingry review
21 22
sons Thomas and Ryan.
23
24 25
23 Alumni Lacrosse Team.
24 Trustee Park Smith ’50, GP ’06,
’08, ’09, ’10 and his wife Linda.
25 Greg McDermott ’75 and Sam
Partridge ’92.
26 Andy Faber ’75 won the raffle
27 Bruce Morrison ’64.
28 Jane Hoffman ’94 with
her daughter Claire and
Marisa O’Brien (wife of
Kevin O’Brien ’97).
26
29 Bart Wood ’60.
for a Pingry chair.
35
summer 2010
29
28
27
[ alumni News ]
30
31
32
30 Steve Wilson ’40, his
daughter Jill Fuller and his
granddaughters Beth and Katie
Fuller.
36
the pingry review
31 Jeff Roos ’00, Elizabeth
Vesely, Director of Admission
and Financial Aid Allie
Brunhouse ’00, and her husband Bif Brunhouse ’00.
32 Lawn Bowling with
members of the Class of 1960
and 1985.
33 Class of 1955.
33
34
35
34 Class of 1960.
35 Class of 1965.
36 Class of 1970.
37 Class of 1975.
36
37
summer 2010
37
38 Class of 1980.
39 Class of 1985.
40 Class of 1990.
41 Class of 1995.
42 Class of 2000.
43 Class of 2005.
38
39
38
the pingry review
40
41
42
39
summer 2010
43
[ alumni News ]
1
Alumni Events
Atlanta Reception
on March 7, 2010
1 Sitting, from left: Connor Seabrook ’76 with dog Sandy,
Stuart Truslow ’49, Helen Truslow, and Joe Carragher ’49
Standing, from left: Headmaster Nat Conard P ’09, ’11,
Special Assistant to the Headmaster Miller Bugliari ’52,
P ’86, ’90, ’97, George Ways ’67, Ric Schumann ’60,
Nancy Ways, Kathy Hendricks, Pete Hendricks ’62,
Francine Morrison, Doug Morrison ’62, Cynthia
Waterbury, John Olsen ’51, Wilma Olsen, Joe Helyar
’61, Chip Humphrey ’83, Janet Cady P ’07, Dr. Jeffrey
Davidson P ’07, Elizabeth Hampson ’00, Amy EhrlichPeskin ’80, Matt Cathey, Francis Schefer ’77, Cathy
Schefer, Courtney Walsh, James Walsh ’98, Grade 1 faculty member Heather Smith-Willis, Dave Waterbury
’85, Martha Seabrook, Susan Humphrey, Paulette
Carragher, and Scott Peskin
Vero Beach Reception
on March 8, 2010
2 Sitting, from left: Former trustee Henry Wood P ’80, ’84,
GP ’98, Dr. David Zenker P ’72, and John Walbridge P ’71
Standing, from left: Headmaster Nat Conard P ’09, ’11,
Carolyn Wood, Gail Malin, Director of Alumni Relations
and Annual Giving Jackie Sullivan, John Davis ’58,
Steve Brown ’62, Director of Institutional Advancement
Melanie Hoffmann P ’20, Mary Lou Davis, Joe Cornell
’58, Art Scutro ’60, Anke Cornell, Pamela Barefoot, Curtis
Booth, former staff member Elizabeth (Bandekow) Booth,
H. J. Toffey ’48, Jeanne Zenker, John Dugan P ’69, Barbara
Dugan, former Lower School staff member Nicki Doggett P
’89, Honorary Trustee Steve Newhouse ’65, P ’95, ’97, ’99,
Judy Newhouse, Mary Ellen Scutro, Jay Wood ’84, former
trustee Bob Malin P ’83, GP ’16, ’18, Betty Jacobsen, Pat
Waterbury, Steve Waterbury ’49, former trustee Freeman
Bunn ’53, P ’78, ’80, ’82, ’83, Sue Thomas, Anne Bunn,
Cynthia Campbell, Elizabeth Bugliari P ’86, ’90, ’97, and
former trustee Charlie Thomas P ’88, ’90, ’92
40
the pingry review
2
3
Boca Raton Reception
on March 9, 2010
3 From left: Steve Rothenberg ’86, Rick Murdoch
’64, Shari Solomon Cedar ’88, Geoffrey Liddy
’89, former Trustee Bob Pyle, Jr. ’56 P ’91, Dr.
Michael Lewis ’67, Drew Campbell ’90, Betsy
Lewis, Jane Engel P ’67, ’70, Janie Lewis, Honorary
Trustee John Bent, Jr. P ’80, ’82, ’84, Honorary
Trustee Bill Beinecke ’31, P ’61, ’64, Janet Bent,
Headmaster Nat Conard P ’09, ’11, Lauren Alpert
Morris ’92, Special Assistant to the Headmaster
Miller Bugliari ’52, P ’86, ’90, ’97, Barbara Wortley,
and her husband Joe Wortley, Jr. ’60
4
Princeton Area Reception
on February 18, 2010
4 Back row, from left: Dr. Bill Burks ’51, Board
Chair Jack Brescher ’65 P ’99, former Trustee Ted
Thomas ’47, Dr. Bill Prevost ’67, Headmaster Nat
Conard P ’09, ’11, Special Assistant to the
Headmaster Miller Bugliari ’52 P ’86, ’90, ’97, Ev
Pinneo ’44, Dr. Burks’ brother Bob Burks ’56, Kay
Pinneo, English faculty member John Murray ’65 P
’91, “Judge” Landis ’51, and former Assistant
Director of Development Bruce Woodger
London Reception
on June 22, 2010
5 Sitting, from left: Kirsten Bennett Horner ’89,
Brittany Wigmore ’03, and Gordon Seabright ’84
Standing, from left: Sean Kulkarni ’98, Pete
Rosenbauer ’89, Mike Paget ’94, Rich Paget ’87,
and Todd Tosti ’05
5
summer 2010
Front row, from left: Penny Thomas, Elwood Phares
II ’47, Jacqueline Phares, and Jen Landis
41
[ alumni News ]
Athletics Hall of Fame Inducts Three Players,
One Coach, and One Team
J. Owen Tully ’94, Jay Antonelli ’88, Thomas R. Ferry ’80, Coach William Ambrose*,
and the 1994-95 Boys’ Swimming Team
Every year, Pingry’s Hall of Fame
inducts new members during
Reunion Weekend. The event
honors former student athletes,
varsity coaches, and members
of the athletics staff who have
demonstrated leadership and
whose athletic accomplishments
at Pingry have been of the highest caliber.
J. OWEN TULLY ’94
LEADER OF THREE TEAMS EARNED HONORS
AND SET STANDARDS
of the team. Owen also helped lead the
team to the NJSIAA State QuarterFinals in 1993 and 1994. In 1994, the
team was ranked 9th in the state.
Owen won three varsity letters for
lacrosse, and the team competed
in the NJSIAA State Tournament
all three years. In his junior year,
he was instrumental in leading
Pingry to victory in the State Prep
Championship. He served as the
team’s captain his senior year, earned
All-American honors, and was
named 1st Team All-State and 1st
Team All-Prep. He was a highlyrecruited Division I athlete.
After graduating from Pingry, Owen
played four years of varsity lacrosse
at Brown University and served as
an assistant coach for Pingry’s Boys’
Varsity Lacrosse Team in 1999
and 2001.
Dr. Owen Tully ’94 with, from left, his stepmother
Patti Tully, daughter Sophia Tully, son Jack Tully,
wife Dr. Amber Tully, and father John Tully
42
the pingry review
J. Owen Tully was a giant on the
football and lacrosse fields and on
the ice. At six feet, five inches,
Owen towered over most of the players in each sport he played. His former coaches describe him as a fierce,
relentless competitor who exhibited
consummate leadership qualities and
acted in a respectful and supportive
manner toward others.
A tackle and defensive end, Owen
won three varsity letters for football
and served as captain of the team his
senior year. The team finished 6-4
and competed in their first playoff
game in four years. He was named
1st Team All-Prep and 1st Team
All-County and was recruited to play
Division I and Division III football.
In ice hockey, Owen won four varsity
letters and served as assistant captain
* Posthumously
History faculty member and Boys’
Varsity Lacrosse Head Coach Mike
Webster named four of Dr. Tully’s attributes that distinguished him as an athlete: outstanding and diverse athletic
abilities, intelligence, dedication to personal improvement, and a will to win
that he also conveyed to players when he
coached. Dr. Tully expressed his gratitude
to Pingry for teaching him life lessons.
JAY ANTONELLI ’88
PINGRY’S FIRST INDIVIDUAL DISTRICT
WRESTLING CHAMP
Jay Antonelli ’88 with, from left, his mother Susan Antonelli, wife Ingrid Antonelli, father Frank
Antonelli (Pingry’s former Director of Athletics),
aunt Barbara Antonelli, and uncle Paul Antonelli
Jay Antonelli won two varsity letters
each in football and lacrosse, and
served as captain of the football team
his senior year. Yet his major achievements at Pingry were in wrestling, for
which he won four varsity letters.
As a sophomore, he was named
Pingry’s “Outstanding Wrestler of
the Year.” The following summer,
he represented New Jersey on a U.S.
Wrestling Team in Japan. During
his junior year, when he served as
co-captain, Pingry’s wrestling team
placed 1st in the Somerset County
Tournament, and he became district
champion in his weight class—the
first individual district wrestling
championship in Pingry history.
With Jay serving as captain during
his senior year, the team won the
Hun Invitational Tournament for
the third consecutive year and
placed second in the State District
Tournament. Having won 93 matches during high school, Jay amassed
what was, at the time, the secondhighest total in Pingry wresting
history. Jay won both the Michael
Jupka, Jr. ’76 Wrestling Award
and the Centennial Cup, which is
awarded to each graduating class’
most outstanding athlete.
After graduating from the U.S. Naval
Academy, Jay entered the Marine
Corps and served as Head Coach of
the Marine Corps Wrestling Team
from 1997 to 2004. He coached the
U.S. Greco Roman World Teams
in 2003, 2005, and 2007—the 2007
team was the first in U.S. history to
win a world team title. Jay was an
assistant coach for the 2000 Olympic
Games and Head Coach for the
2008 Olympic Games. He has
twice been named USA Wrestling
Greco-Roman “Coach of the Year.”
Fitness Education Department Chair
Joe Forte P ’00, Mr. Antonelli’s wrestling coach at Pingry, described Mr.
Antonelli as a natural-born leader
who was a “teammate first, competitor
second” and said his hard work in the
wrestling room was “legendary.”
Mr. Antonelli thanked Mr. Forte for
demonstrating how a person develops
leadership and credited Pingry’s Honor
Code for preparing him to be a coach
and a Marine.
THOMAS R. FERRY ’80
SET RECORDS FOR POINTS, GOALS,
AND ASSISTS IN LACROSSE
Tom Ferry
excelled as a
goalie for both
the soccer and
ice hockey teams,
and his accomplishments in
lacrosse were notable because of the
records he set in several categories.
He won two varsity letters for soccer
and was named 3rd Team All-State
during his senior year, when he
recorded 11 shutouts. In hockey, he
won three varsity letters and, also
during his senior year, Tom was
named “Most Valuable Player” of
the Princeton Day School State Ice
Hockey Tournament.
His honors at Pingry included the
Lacrosse Cup and the Centennial Cup,
which is awarded to each class’ most
outstanding athlete. Tom continued to
Special Assistant to the Headmaster and
Boys’ Varsity Soccer Head Coach Miller
Bugliari ’52, P ’86, ’90, ’97 praised
Mr. Ferry’s “diverse set of skills” that
extended far beyond serving as a goalie.
WILLIAM G. AMBROSE
CROSS COUNTRY AND FENCING COACH’S
TEAMS MADE HISTORY
Upon joining the
mathematics faculty in the fall
of 1965, the late
Coach Ambrose
was instrumental
in establishing
cross country and fencing at Pingry.
The cross country team, which was
formed that fall, was intended to prepare boys for winter athletics and
develop distance runners for spring
track. Fencing started as a club in the
1965-66 season and then expanded
to a varsity team.
The Italian News Tribune said the
1972-73 team was “perhaps the strongest high school epee team ever put
together in New Jersey,” while The
Pingry Review (June 1973) wrote of
Coach Ambrose: “The outstanding
success of fencing at Pingry is due in
great part to his skillful coaching,
insistence on detail, and his ability
to make champions out of good raw
material.”
In addition, many of Coach Ambrose’s
players won individual awards in both
sports and enjoyed successful college
and post-college careers.
Special Assistant to the Headmaster and
Boys’ Varsity Soccer Head Coach Miller
Bugliari ’52, P ’86, ’90, ’97 recalled the
late coach’s “amazing ability to rally people and generate publicity for his sports.”
Coach Ambrose’s son Dr. Will Ambrose,
Jr. ’73 accepted on his father’s behalf and
said that his father was a demanding
coach who connected with athletes on
an individual level and motivated them
to reach beyond their potential.
1994-95 BOYS’ SWIMMING TEAM
UNDEFEATED, WITH A RECORD OF 18-0,
AND A SEASON OF FIRSTS
Pingry’s first New Jersey State Parochial “B”
Championship
Pingry’s first Somerset County Championship
During 12 seasons as head coach of
the cross country team, from 1965
to 1976, Coach Ambrose amassed
a record of 100 wins, 53 losses, and
2 ties. The 1976 team was the most
successful cross country team in
Pingry’s history at the time.
He guided the fencing team through
the 1972-73 season, when the team
enjoyed the best season in Pingry
history with a record of 11 wins
and 1 loss. The 1972-73 team won
the Grand Slam in the New Jersey
Independent School Athletic
Association tournament by sweeping
all three weapon trophies and the
overall trophy—by doing so, Pingry
became the first private school in
history to win the Grand Slam in
two consecutive years.
43
Mathematics faculty member and
Girls’ Varsity Swimming Head Coach
Judy Lee said, in lauding the team, that
18 meets is a huge number of swim
meets in one season, making the undefeated record even more remarkable.
Mathematics faculty member and Boys’
Varsity Swimming Head Coach Bill
Reichle P ’00 said the boys loved to
compete as a team, and it showed
when they won Pingry’s first Somerset
County title in swimming.
summer 2010
As a member of the lacrosse team,
he set five school records in his
senior year: most points in one season (85, which is still the record);
total career points (113, which stood
for nine years), most goals in one
season (45, which stood for 11 years),
most assists in one season (40, which
stood for 23 years), and total career
assists (52, which stood for 12 years).
Tom was also the leading scorer in
the state that year. He won two varsity letters, was Pingry’s second
lacrosse All-American, and was
named 1st Team All-State.
play soccer and lacrosse at Cornell
University, where he won three varsity
letters for soccer. He was named “Red
Key Society Athlete of the Month”
and “Most Valuable Player” in the
1983 New York State Invitational for
Cornell’s varsity soccer team.
[ alumni News ]
Dr. Sanjay Lalla ’85, P ’21, ’22 with Haitian children
Dr. Lalla’s wife Gina with Haitian children
Alumni Make Time to Help in Haiti
Upon hearing of the devastation
caused by the magnitude 7.0 earthquake in Haiti on January 12, 2010,
two Pingry alumni decided to visit the
region in early February to do what
they could to assist with the recovery
effort. Although they made their trips
independently of each other, The
Pingry Review felt it would be appropriate to profile them simultaneously
because their efforts reflect the spirit
of Pingry’s Honor Code—working for
the common good, contributing to
the global community, and giving back
in order to help those less fortunate.
Their experiences and observations
help convey the severity of the earthquake’s aftermath.
Dr. Sanjay Lalla ’85, P ’21, ’22, a
44
the pingry review
board-certified plastic surgeon at St.
Barnabas Medical Center and Chief of
Plastic Surgery at Jersey City Medical
Center, and his wife Gina Lalla, a certified nurse practitioner and registered
nurse, participate in medical missions
almost every year, performing surgeries
mainly on children with cleft lips,
cleft palates, and other deformities.
Although the Lallas are members of
“Healing the Children” and have visited such locations as Thailand, Africa,
the Philippines, India, and South
America, their trip to Haiti marked
the first time that they experienced
the aftermath of an acute disaster.
“I was willing to do anything. We felt
like we should help. You can’t just
watch on TV and feel badly for the
victims—we knew that we could do
something,” says Dr. Lalla, who rearranged his schedule to accommodate
the six-day trip. Since only military
personnel and organizations such as
the Red Cross could fly into Port-auPrince, the Lallas flew to Santo
Domingo in the Dominican Republic
and drove for seven hours to the
Dominican Republic/Haiti border.
They worked at Good Samaritan
Hospital in Jimani in the Dominican
Republic, located about 90 minutes
from Port-au-Prince. The hospital
staff consisted of teams from across
the United States and around the
world, under the leadership of the
International Medical Alliance (IMA).
because they did not have proper
equipment, there was no anesthesiologist when they arrived, and the
supplies were disorganized. “People
improvised. They did what they could
do, the best they could do it, under
less-than-optimal circumstances,”
Mrs. Lalla says.
Despite these obstacles, Dr. Lalla completed 26 operations in four days, making a huge difference for the patients.
Speaking about both this trip to Haiti
and his overall medical missionary
“We could have walked into almost
any hospital, but it was a matter of
where you could sleep and how you
could eat,” Mrs. Lalla says. Dr. Lalla
was the only plastic surgeon at Good
Samaritan and operated mostly to close
large open wounds that resulted from
patients being stuck under rubble.
Good Samaritan was the only hospital
in the area, and it was set up with
makeshift operating areas and tents
that housed patients by age and sickness. Dr. Lalla and his wife made the
best of the challenging circumstances
Haitian children wearing tee-shirts that Pingry’s
Kindergarten students designed and created
for them
Marisa LaValette ’04 and her boyfriend Shane Young with Joel, a patient
whom Mr. Young treated during the entire month of their visit
work, he says, “We’re addicted to
these trips. You can change someone’s
life in 15 minutes.” Read about the
Lallas’ trip to Haiti on their blog:
www.drlallahaitirelief.blogspot.com.
Marisa LaValette ’04, who has long
wanted to do large-scale humanitarian
work abroad, and her boyfriend Shane
Young, a mountain climber who was
certified as a wilderness emergency
medical technician in late 2009,
spent four weeks volunteering at
CDTI (Centre de Diagnostique et de
Traitement Integre) Sacre Coeur
Hospital in Port-au-Prince. Like the
Lallas, they flew to Santo Domingo,
and an eight-hour bus ride took them
to Port-au-Prince.
Ms. LaValette distributed toiletries,
snacks, and water to the 80 in-patients
who were housed in tents on the hospital’s front lawn, and she played with
the children (who taught her to speak
basic Creole) and did arts and crafts
with them. For two weeks, she also
served as a translator for a team of
doctors and nurses from the Mexican
Navy who did not speak English.
When new teams of nurses, doctors,
and surgeons arrived to volunteer,
Ms. LaValette and Mr. Young helped
them assimilate.
“I was happy to do all the hard work
I did, because I realized I did all the
tasks that the medical people did not
have time to do. I also love to stress
to people how friendly and welcoming
the Haitian people are. They are a
people who I find to be ‘in a good
mood’ all the time, despite everything
that has happened to them. When you
meet a Haitian person, he or she is
more optimistic than the typical
American,” Ms. LaValette says. She
Marisa LaValette ’04 with doctors and nurses
from the Mexican Navy, for whom she served as
a translator
and Mr. Young stayed in a tent on the
front lawn of the Quisqueya Christian
School.
While they were in Haiti, they felt
four smaller earthquakes, and they
were busy at the hospital clinic for up
to 48 hours after each one to treat
crush injuries. These wounds resulted
from debris falling on people’s feet or
legs, causing skin damage and dislocations of bones.
Since returning from their trip, Ms.
LaValette has shared her experiences
with Clinton Township Middle
School, where her mother teaches—
the teachers collected 70 pounds of
supplies, while the students raised
money for TeacHaiti, an organization
started by Miquette Denie (a friend
of Ms. LaValette and a Haitian
native) that pays for Haitian students’
school fees, uniforms, and supplies.
Ms. LaValette and Mr. Young also
spoke at Georgetown University,
their alma mater, in mid-April, and
they were invited to speak at Blair
Academy in early May. They are
also helping Mr. Young’s high school
find a sister school in Haiti. Ms.
LaValette’s priority is finding a
way to help the 15 translators who
worked at the hospital secure visas to
study in the United States. Anyone
interested in helping with the relief
effort can contact Ms. LaValette at
[email protected].
45
summer 2010
They worked for Dr. Justine Crowley,
a pelvic orthopedic surgeon from
Colorado Springs who acted as the
hospital’s overall administrator. Mr.
Young was placed in charge of the hospital’s triage area, changing bandages,
taking vital signs, and diagnosing problems for hundreds of walk-in patients
each day, while Dr. Crowley treated
Ms. LaValette as her personal assistant,
putting her in charge of all supplies
and giving her the title “Child Life
Specialist” for about 20 children at the
hospital who were injured or waiting
for sick family members to recover.
Marisa LaValette ’04 doing arts and crafts with Haitian children
[ alumni News ]
Career Progression on Display in
Pingry’s “Young Architects Show”
For the first time, architecture
was the subject of Pingry’s
annual Alumni Art Exhibition
as four young alumni—either
still in school or recently graduated—displayed their project designs and models in the
Hostetter Arts Center Gallery
at the Martinsville Campus in
May 2010.
Fine Arts Department Chair Miles
Boyd invited them to participate.
“Alumni who are still in college have
rarely been showcased in the gallery,
but it made sense in this case because
our students could see what our alumni architects are doing at various stages of their academic careers. At some
point in the future, we will have a follow-up exhibit with alumni architects
who are established in the field,” Mr.
Boyd says. Most of the projects in this
exhibit were theoretical, although
based on real scenarios and capable
of being constructed.
46
the pingry review
When she graduated from Pingry,
Megan Sprenger ’00 knew that she
wanted to spend her career doing
something that was both creative
and technical. In 2005, she received
a B.F.A. in Photography from the
School of Visual Arts in New York,
where she had a rare opportunity to
photograph several projects by the
group 1100 Architects. “Architectural
photography seemed like a great fit
until I realized that I did not want to
spend my life documenting someone
else’s creations—I wanted to design
the spaces I was photographing,” she
says. At that point, Ms. Sprenger
pursued a Master’s degree in
Architecture at Rice University.
Her work in the exhibit was represented by drawings of four projects.
One project, San Juan International
Film Festival Headquarters, completed
in the spring of 2009, is a design for
film festival headquarters in San
Juan, Puerto Rico. The site already
contained a steel airplane hangar
from the 1940s, so part of the challenge was to adapt this relic as part
of the design (it was a challenge
because schools usually give students
a blank site as a starting point).
Almost all of the required spaces,
such as theaters, could fit inside the
hangar, but Ms. Sprenger imagined
that when the last piece was inserted,
all of the spaces would explode outward under pressure and slide across
the site. The most crucial pieces—
two indoor theaters and
gallery space—were allowed to return
to the hangar.
Projects by Andrew Werner ’04 from Carnegie
Mellon University’s “Design Awards”
stration. As the Student Director of
the School of Architecture’s handson Digital Fabrication Lab, he led
exploration into processes of 3-D
rapid prototyping. He also taught
architecture to high school students
as part of Carnegie Mellon’s
Architecture Explorations Saturday
Sequence program.
Andrew Werner ’04 received his
Bachelor of Architecture from
Carnegie Mellon University in 2009,
with a minor in Business Admini-
He is currently a Junior Designer
in the New York office of the architectural firm Kohn Pedersen Fox
Associates (KPF), where he worked as
a summer intern from 2004 to 2008
and where his tenure began with his
Pingry ISP. His project experience
includes large-scale, mixed-use buildings across North America and Asia,
from commercial high-rises to hotels,
casinos, and sports architecture.
The Center for Sustainable Landscapes, designed
by Andrew Werner ’04 as an expansion of
Pittsburgh’s Phipps Conservatory and Botanical
Gardens
Among the major design projects
from his semester-long design studios
at Carnegie Mellon, the Center for
Sustainable Landscapes is designed as
an expansion of Pittsburgh’s Phipps
Conservatory and Botanical Gardens.
“The Center serves as a hub for
research, events, administrative support, and horticultural education for
children and adults. Form and program—the building’s shape and the
spaces within the building—are orga-
Diagrams by Megan Sprenger ’00 that depict the explosion of required spaces in her design for the San Juan International Film Festival Headquarters
nized around a longitudinal atrium
that houses the building’s major
mechanical systems, turning the
entire area into an interactive display
and making the building a learning
tool unto itself,” Mr. Werner says
For the Phipps project, he and his
classmates worked with the client,
architects, and consultant team to
develop their own design. “At the end
of the semester, many of them served
as jurors on our final review panel.
The client used our ideas to help push
the real architects to develop a more
thoughtful design than they had initially proposed,” he says.
Mr. Werner also displayed his projects
from “Design Awards,” such as an
annex for the Frick Museum, a mobile
library unit, and a music performance
space. “Design Awards” is a contest at
Carnegie Mellon for which the top
designers in the class were nominated
in their fourth year to compete for a
limited number of cash and travel
scholarships; each student displayed
his or her work from the previous four
years of school. As a result of the
competition, Mr. Werner won The
Richard M. Gensert Memorial
Scholarship, given to students whose
design work expresses sensitive consideration of structural issues and
their relationship to architecture.
Ben Rosenthal ’05 completed a
three-week architecture program at
Amherst College in the summer of
2003 and Cornell University’s sixweek Summer College in 2004. Most
recently, he entered the Bachelor of
Architecture program at Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute and is currently
His work in the exhibit included
models for Integrated Lifestyle
Housing, designed in conjunction
with Rensselaer classmate David
Lynch, and a train station at the
Paseo de Chamartin in Madrid. The
housing proposal, as Mr. Rosenthal
explains, explores spatial manipulation of “universal areas” in architecture—those spaces that surround and
connect individual spaces, which
have specific functions and are usually smaller and more restricted than
the universal areas.
are interwoven through a series of
connecting spaces,” he says.
Melinda Zoephel ’08 was heavily
involved in theater and the fine arts
at Pingry, and she has completed her
second year in the five-year architecture program at Cornell University’s
College of Architecture, Art, and
Planning. For this exhibit, her display included a floor plan for a museum in Buffalo, New York, a model for
a pavilion, and wood block prints.
Hammondsport was Ms. Zoephel’s
final model from her first year. She
designed a building for the small
town of Hammondsport, New York,
basing the design on the grid of the
city and how the city shifts in relation to the adjacent mountain.
“In this proposal, universal areas will
be stretched, crossed, and linked to
re-define the ways that spaces attach
to each other. Using this organizational system, individual living units
A view of Hammondsport looking down at the
design. The mountain is at the top of the photo.
Integrated Lifestyle Housing designed by Ben
Rosenthal ’05
Madrid train station designed by Ben Rosenthal
’05. The station serves as a continuation of the
landscape through its use of natural curves, both
on the interior and exterior.
Filmmaker Steven Edell ’99,
who was featured in the 2009
Alumni Art Exhibition
(see “Announcing a New
Generation of Filmmakers” in
the Fall/Winter 2009 issue of
The Pingry Review), has won
additional awards for A Son’s
War: “Best Student Film” at the
Academy-qualifying USA Film
Festival in Dallas, Texas (May
2010), and “Best Student Film”
and “Best Cinematography” at
the 12th Annual California
Independent Film Festival in
Orinda, California (April
2010). The film chronicles the
fate of a family caught in the
turmoil of the Nazi occupation
of Prague.
47
summer 2010
“The recognition of my award highlights an ability to design architecture that may be theoretical, but
whose detailing suggests it could definitely be built. My projects were
never the most outlandish or extreme
proposals. They were intended to be
restrained and contextual and
respond to real issues with thoughtful, real solutions,” he says.
finishing his undergraduate thesis.
After graduating from Rensselaer this
year, he plans to continue working as
an architect to obtain his professional license. During the past few years,
Mr. Rosenthal has worked with some
of the most prestigious residential
architecture firms in New Jersey.
Ask the Archivist
8
1
2
10
9
11
6
5
4
3
12
7
Orchestra
We believe this photo was
taken in 1936. If you can
identify any students, please
contact Greg Waxberg ’96
at [email protected].
We plan to publish the
answers in the next issue.
48
the pingry review
Since the publication of the Fall/Winter
2009 issue of The Pingry Review, we
have heard from seven alumni who
either identified or attempted to identify the students in the photo on page
44. We want to thank Bill Hillbrant ’48,
Ted Thomas ’48, Dick Koth ’51, Frank
Mountcastle ’51, Pete Buchanan ’52,
Alan Embree ’52, and Pete Benton ’53.
Based on their input, these are the
names that we currently have available. If we receive additional names,
we will publish them in a future issue.
35
44
36
15
1
2
1. Denny Diebolt ’48?
2. John Thomas ’48
3. Richard Bull?
4. Sonny Lenheart?
5. Dick Corbet ’52
6. Scott Knoke ’52
7. Alan Embree ’52
8. Stan Wegryn ’48
9. Pete Buchanan ’52
10. Hans Walter?
11.
12. Bill Mackey ’50
13. Dave Weston?
14. John Vilett ’48
15. Bill Burks ’51
16. Dick Koth ’51
17. Frank Mountcastle ’51
41
29
30
25
47
46
40
39
28
27
26
45
38
37
3
16
17
4
5
18
6
7
31
32
8
18.
19.
20. Harold Switzgable ’48
21. Peter Jasper ’51 or Pete
Benton ’53?
22. Solyin Hunt?
23. Willison Gray ’50
24. Steve Waterbury ’49
25.
26. Jubb Corbet, Jr. ’50
27.
28.
29. Dick Hnat ’50
30. Harry Oleynick ’48
31. Henry Wheeler ’48
32. Al Strickler ’48
33.
33
34
48
49
20
19
43
42
21
9
22
10
23
11
24
12
13
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
41.
42. Miller Bugliari ’52
43. Harry Burks ’48
44. Jack Unkles ’48
45. Bill Hillbrant ’48
46. John Emerson ’48
47. Stewart West ’48
48.
49. John Howell ’48
14
ClassNotes
Share your news! Email your notes and photos to Associate Director of Alumni Relations
and Annual Giving Kristen Tinson at [email protected], or mail them to Kristen at
The Pingry School, P.O. Box 366, Martinsville Road, Martinsville, NJ 08836.
1934
Charles Halsey wrote: “I
talked with John Hanrahan
and Guy Mulford by phone
this winter and they are doing
well and sounded fine. They
both live a little far away to
make it back to any school
activities. Our class has dwindled to this group of hardy
souls, but we keep on going.”
1947
Dr. Richard Cruess wrote:
“Hi all. It has been a long
time since I submitted any
notes on my activities.
Briefly, I graduated with
an M.D. from Columbia
University, married a classmate, spent two years in the
Navy as a physician, trained
in orthopedics in Montréal
and at Columbia, followed
by a year of research training. My wife and I moved
to Montréal where we both
pursued academic careers
at McGill University. I was
Chair of Orthopedics and
she was the Medical Director
of our largest teaching hospital. From 1981 to 1995, I
served as Dean of Medicine
at McGill. At age 65, we
then took a sabbatical year
because of the preparation
that I had enjoyed. My best
to all surviving classmates.”
1950
Duane St. John wrote: “We
had four classmates attend
our reunion, representing
the Class of 1950. In addition to Nancy and me from
Destin, Florida, we had Dot
and Dave Starkweather
from Biddeford, Maine; Linda
and [trustee] Park Smith
GP ’06, ’08, ’09, ’10 (New
York City), suffering from
jet lag, came from India; and
Joan and [former trustee]
Jubb Corbet, Jr. P ’77, ’78
from their temporary abode
in Westfield, N.J. This was
our 60th Reunion, and we
really raided the raw bar at
the reception, the clam bake
(including a whole lobster),
and the final dinner at the
Red Oak Grille. We all had
plenty of time for storytelling—both personal and
about our days at Pingry.
Dave Starkweather still plays
27 holes of golf, and Dot is
very busy with her artwork.
Jubb and Joan spend a great
deal of time in the Bahamas
and escorting their granddaughter around the world to
participate in championship
sailing races. Park and Linda
are still at the helm of Park
B. Smith Ltd. in New York
City where he also enjoys a
glass of wine at his restaurant,
Veritas. For my part, I am on
the board of Opportunity,
Inc., an organization to help
homeless women with children and families get back
on their feet. I manage the
volunteer meals program to
assure they get a fulfilling
dinner each night. Nancy
continues to volunteer at
Henderson Beach State
Recreation Area in Destin
where she founded the volunteer program. Please keep the
alumni office apprised of your
current email and personal
address. We look forward to
seeing more classmates at
our 65th Reunion in 2015.”
49
summer 2010
Frank “Jack” Binns wrote:
“As a prelim, a quick synopsis
of my career. I managed to
survive MIT and graduated in
1951. I then spent 5 1/2 years
in the Air Force. During that
time, the USAF sent me to
Columbia University where I
got my masters degree. Upon
discharge, I eventually went
to work for M&C Nuclear
in Attleboro, Massachusetts.
This later became a part of
Texas Instruments. I worked
there for 33 years, ending up
as a manager of several tool
groups. In 1990, TI gave me
an offer I couldn’t refuse, so
I took an early retirement. I
then kept myself busy doing
volunteer work for the local
Council on Aging and continued pursuing sports, music,
and computer technology.
I also held many positions
in our local Universalist
Church. I used to go camping, sailing, skiing, golfing,
and bowling, and I played
softball in my younger years.
I continued to play a passable
game of tennis until three
years ago. I got interested in
computers when they first
appeared and have maintained my interest ever since.
My second wife Claudia is
an accomplished pianist and
was active in The Chaminade
Opera Group and The
Norton Singers, local opera
and Broadway show performance groups.
I finally succumbed and
joined the group as treasurer
and as a member of their
board of directors. I learned
to sing bass and appeared
in several operas, Broadway
shows, dinner dances, oratorios, and senior shows. I also
sang in the church choir. My
second back operation 2 1/2
years ago resulted in a damaged nerve, leaving me basically with one good leg and
one partially paralyzed leg.
This ended most of my physical activities. My beard is
grey, but my hair is still dark.
I must admit there is not as
much of it as there used to
be. Between my wife and me,
we have five children, seven
grandchildren, and four greatgrandchildren. My wife is
not a native New Englander
either, but we both feel this
is where we belong. I still
remember the speech Clark
Lum gave in front of the
school assembly. The only
worse presentation was mine.
I’ll never forget the days we
had in the Lumpmobile. My
best to all who have managed to survive this great
experience called life.”
at the Institute for Advanced
Study in Princeton and at
Oxford University studying
medical professionalism. We
fully expected to write up
our experiences and then
retire. This was not to be,
as professionalism became
of extreme importance to
medicine. Current healthcare
systems pose threats to professionalism, and the medical
profession has not fully met
all of the public’s expectations. One of the solutions has been the explicit
teaching and evaluating of
professionalism that is now
a requirement for undergraduate and postgraduate medical
education. Consequently,
15 years later, to our great
surprise, we are still working
full-time and extremely busy.
We have a heavy teaching
load at McGill, have lectured
throughout the world, and
have written a substantial
amount on the subject.
One of the joys of our present situation is that we are
working with much younger
colleagues who inspire us
every day. We are extremely
fortunate in that we remain
healthy in spite of some
medical conditions that have
been largely corrected or
controlled. Our two children
and four grandchildren—all
of whom are in Canada—
appear to be doing well. I
keep up with Bill Hanaway
and Suzanne Hoyt, the
widow of [former trustee]
Charles (Buddy) Hoyt P
’71. Bill, who apparently is
not a great communicator
to alumni magazines, is well.
He has had a distinguished
career at the University of
Pennsylvania as one of the
United States’ preeminent
scholars on Iran and Persian
culture. I continue to believe
that Pingry was a primary
element in my own personal
growth and development.
Many people look to other
parts of their education as the
most important, but, to me,
Pingry was where I learned to
think and synthesize material. When I went to university, the transition was easy
1951
Dr. William Burks wrote:
“I was not able to attend
Reunion this year. God
willing, I will attend our
60th Reunion in 2011. We
greatly enjoyed hosting the
Princeton-Pingry reception in April 2010—a good
chance not only to see old
friends, but also to see the
Pingry school administration,
which turned out in force.”
Colonel Donald Kaiserman
wrote: “Following retirement
and a move to Virginia, I’ve
had the opportunity to be
actively involved in many
military/veteran services
organizations. I’ve held key
leadership positions in the
Richmond Chapter of the
Military Officers Association
of America (two-term
president), and I am currently 1st V.P. of the Virginia
Council of MOAA Chapters,
Legislative Chair of the Joint
Leadership Council (JLC),
which represents 23 veteran
services organizations with
some 260,000 members, and a
member of the Ft. Lee Retiree
Council and the Virginia War
Memorial Military Advisory
Council. While these positions keep me very active, I
fully enjoy what we achieve
for our military community
in the Commonwealth.”
1952
50
the pingry review
Dick Corbet enjoyed getting
together and catching up with
Miller Bugliari P ’86, ’90,
’97 and Phil Burrows ’55, P
’90 down at the shore on a
hot, sunny day in June 2010.
Miller Bugliari P ’86, ’90,
’97 was thrilled to be heading
to South Africa this summer for the World Cup.
1953
Fred Duffy wrote: “Still
selling real estate—mostly
commercial and adult com-
munities. I spend my winters
on Marco Island, Florida.
I serve on the St. Mary’s
parish building committee, I’m the treasurer of the
church, and I’m active as
a trustee of the Southern
Ocean County Hospital in
Manahawkin, N.J. I lost my
wife Marcia in December
2008 and have been dating a
neighbor and friend of both
Marcia and me. My health
seems good and I stay busy.”
Jon Murphy wrote: “Long
retired, like many—and also
like many, not really retired.
I am shy a leg, but still play
golf. I carve wood and make
woodturnings on a lathe. I last
handled a sailboat a few years
ago, before I forgot to ‘take all
my possessions home’ from the
hospital—forgot that leg. I am
the musical director of a small
harp ensemble (Celtic harp,
not orchestral) and a player.
Making instruments (including
said harp) and playing them.
To my mind, the old voice is
gone, but, at a harp ensemble
‘gig’ the other night, the audience said ‘there is the singer’
(we’d been there before).
Obviously, their standards
weren’t very high, but it was
a pleasant moment. Haven’t
changed, still indecisive. Made
harps and a lute, and a Scot’s
mandora, and a psaltery, and
a mountain dulcimer—can’t
decide which to play when,
or whether to turn a bowl or
a goblet on the lathe. Here’s
to all you lads of our time;
we were the last in the old
building and the first in the
new, and we’ll be the best of
all—not necessarily in specific
awards or rewards, but we
reserve the privilege of defining our own ‘letter in life.’”
Society. On May 15, 2010,
the chorus participated in
the Atlantic Division for
a competition in the MidAtlantic District, and we won
the ‘Most Improved Chorus’
award as well as first place
in the small (AA) chorus
category. Nancy is also busy
as a choral director for two
groups. One is at the Holiday
City South adult community
in Toms River. The other,
the Lakewood Maennerchor,
sings in German.”
1955
Eric Hall Anderson wrote:
“In our day, back in the ’50s,
we never heard about a 55th
Reunion. Today, thanks to
modern medicine and luck,
there are enough of us around
to have one. That’s what the
Class of 1955 did this May.
Present at the 50-Year Club
Luncheon were Bob Wegryn
P ’79, ’80, ’85 and his wife
Roberta, and Chick Martin
and his wife Ann. They had
to leave immediately afterward to continue on their trip
together to parts unknown.
On Saturday, Jack O’Brien
and I joined Phil Burrows P
’90 and Miller Bugliari ’52, P
’86, ’90, ’97 for lunch under
the tent at the clambake.
The conversation was—not
surprisingly—about cars. Jack
said, over and over again,
‘The weather is perfect!’”
Phil Burrows P ’90 enjoyed
catching up with old friends
during the clam bake at his
55th Reunion. He said the
food was great, and the company was even better. He still
believes the Honor Code is the
most important part of Pingry.
Dr. Richard Weiss GP ’17 presented a three-day “Navigation
Rules” course at the United
States Coast Guard Auxiliary
5th Northern District Spring
Conference in March 2010.
The conference took place
in York, Pennsylvania.
John Welsh wrote about
Reunion: “The Saturday night
dinner included Eric Hall
Anderson, Pim Goodbody,
Jr., Lester Hopton, Jr.,
Jack O’Brien and his wife
Ruth, Dick Welch and Marti
Sullivan, my wife Kay, and
me. We celebrated the class
that graduated with a huge
sigh of relief from E. Laurence
Springer, Casmir France, and
the Pingry community. We
toasted to our classmates who
survive today, to those we
have lost, and to those we
have lost contact with over
the last 55 years. We enjoyed
the stories and lore which
have been greatly embellished
with time. The dinner was
1954
Peter Thorne wrote: “I’m a
semi-retired CPA with a small
practice. For fun, I sing with
the “Chorus of the Atlantic,”
one of two choruses of the
Red Bank Area Chapter of
the Barbershop Harmony
Dr. Richard Weiss ’55, GP ’17 and Rear Admiral Cari Thomas
excellent, and the countryside
and campus beautiful and a far
cry from Parker Road. Thank
you, Pingry, the Reunion
staff, and all those who were
there for us over these years.”
John and Eric wish to thank
Associate Director of Alumni
Relations and Annual Giving
Kristen Tinson and Director of
Alumni Relations and Annual
Giving Jackie Sullivan for
organizing a very good time
for them and their classmates.
1957
Chuck Klein wrote: “This
fall I started studying for my
certificate to teach elementary
grades. It’s an online program
that can be accomplished at
your own pace. I have been
substituting in the Mesa,
Arizona school district for
three years and decided I
would like to teach school
because I enjoyed that experience so much. Also, it is a
great way to keep my brain
challenged. I have two grandkids in college—one playing
football for Murray State in
Kentucky and a granddaughter
on the pom-pom team at the
University of Tennessee in the
fall of 2010. Why is everyone
getting old, but not us? We
go to Poland every year to
work with a recovery counselor who is administering a
Christian recovery program.”
Kuala Lumpur, India, Oman,
the Red Sea, Jordan, Egypt,
and Athens. We then flew to
Damascus in Syria, drove to
Amman in Jordan, then over
Allenby Bridge into Israel,
where we joined our church
group for eight days in Israel.
It was the trip of a lifetime!
We’d go back to Syria in a
heartbeat. We’re now on the
road to Virginia to see our
new granddaughter, then
on to Cleveland and Kansas
City. We will have then seen
all 13 grands—the best!”
Dr. Tom Corbin wrote: “I
have had a good bit of fun
doing backyard astronomy
since retiring almost 10 years
ago from the U.S. Naval
Observatory, where I was head
of the Cataloging Division.”
Tom finished observing the
“Herschel 400” in early 2010,
having started in early 2008.
The “Herschel 400” are 400 of
about 2,500 deep-sky objects
(such as star clusters, galaxies,
and nebulae) that Sir William
Herschel observed and catalogued over 200 years ago in
an attempt to understand the
structure of the universe; The
Astronomical League maintains this catalogue. These
objects are always present and
in the same position relative
to the stars. The main challenge to amateurs observing
Herschel’s list is that any
particular object is visible
From left: Mike Monier ’58, the late Bill Hetfield ’58, P ’01, and John Voorhees
’58 at Reunion in 2009
only during certain months
each year, and some parts of
the sky, Virgo and Leo for
example, are loaded with
galaxies. Thus, it is difficult
to observe all the objects in
the course of just one year,
and most observers need two
or more years to complete
the list. These challenges are
more complicated because of
the light-polluted skies in the
eastern United States—artificial light causes the night sky
to be so bright that, in some
1958
Stewart Brown wrote:
“Judy and I just finished a
two-month trip out of the
country—a cruise ship repositioning from Hong Kong to
Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore,
Dr. Tom Corbin ’58 at the U.S. Naval Observatory’s Open House on April 4, 2009.
His telescope was one of 22 in the field that day, and about 9,000 people attended
the event. A sun filter at the front end of his telescope enables people to look
directly at the sun.
John Voorhees wrote: “The
photo above was taken at
Reunion in 2009. Mike
Monier, the late Bill Hetfield
P ’01, and I were great friends
for many, many years. The
significance of this picture
is that, on the inside page of
our 1958 yearbook, there is
a photo showing us pitching
quarters against the wall at the
old Elizabeth campus, with a
few of our classmates watching, with the title of ‘King
Coin (me) and His Court.’ We
pitched quarters to see who
could get their coin closest to
the wall, and the closest coin
51
summer 2010
Jim Urner and his wife
Sherry have returned from
an eight-day cruise in the
Galapagos. Jim says it was on
their “bucket list.” He also
wrote, “If you haven’t seen the
movie, do, and if you haven’t
visited this pristine environment, it is a must while we
can all still climb and hike.”
urban areas, almost no stars
are visible to the naked eye.
The more light pollution there
is, the more difficult it is to see
these faint objects. Tom lives
in Chevy Chase, Maryland,
so he drives to a park about a
half-hour north of his house
for what he calls “reasonable
observing.” Tom was also
active in the International
Year of Astronomy (IYA) in
2009, participating in several
events at which he showed
a total of over 800 members
of the public astronomical
objects through his telescope.
Reunion. Read more about his
service to Pingry on page 27.
would win all the coins that
were pitched. Sophomoric,
but FUN! We wanted to replicate the quarter pitching at
Reunion, so I brought a couple
of rolls of quarters, and we
amused ourselves and many
of the current students and
faculty for a few minutes with
great laughs and a fun time.
Great friendships, fun times,
and lifetime memories. Look
at our faces—that says it all.”
Carl Haines and Jeff Ruddy
wrote: “As co-chairmen of the
reunion for the Class of 1960,
we would like to thank Miller
Bugliari ’52, Jackie Sullivan,
and Kristen Tinson from the
Alumni and Development
Offices for their invaluable
help in putting together such
a successful 50th Reunion for
our class. On behalf of our
class, thank you for your hard
work and efforts in creating
such a memorable event.”
1959
David Gelber, an awardwinning journalist and producer for CBS’ 60 Minutes,
received the 2010 Letter-inLife Award during Pingry’s
Commencement ceremony
on June 13. This award is
the most prestigious honor
that the Pingry Alumni
Association bestows upon a
Pingry alumnus. “This means
so much to me,” David says,
“at least as much as any
honor I’ve ever received for
my work as a journalist.”
The full text of his citation
will be published in the next
issue of The Pingry Review.
1960
52
the pingry review
Larry Clayton wrote: “I was
in Miami early in May 2010
to continue work on a book
on the air war over the Bay of
Pigs, April 1961. I interviewed
one of the UDT Cuban exiles
who went in on the day of
the landing, April 17. For
all you guys who did military
duty, or did service in CIA,
this is a fascinating story
of CIA hubris, presidential
failure, honor, and commitment. Alabama Air National
Guardsmen were heavily
involved training the exile
pilots in the B-26 which were
used during the invasion.
That’s how I got involved,
since they were stationed just
up the road in Birmingham
from Tuscaloosa, where I
live. Four were killed flying
combat missions, although
the U. S. denied any par-
Dr. John Collins ’60 and his wife Heike
ticipation and made Adlai
Stevenson, then Kennedy’s
rep at the U.N., look like
a fool. Sigh. Plus ça change,
plus c’est la même chose…”
Dr. John Collins wrote: “It
was great to reconnect with
our class. Unfortunately, there
was not enough time to talk
with everyone. I believe that
this was a first step to keeping
up with friends. Thank you
Carl Haines and Jeff Ruddy
for your efforts to get as
many classmates back for the
reunion. The Hillside campus
tour was amazing and the
renovations were sensational.”
Howard Danzig wrote: “After
graduating from Pingry, I spent
the summer in Africa and then
attended Dartmouth College,
where I majored in government and skiing. I went to the
University of Michigan Law
School and then began a legal
career in New Jersey. I lived
for 20 years in Short Hills
and, for the past 17 years, in
Harding Township. For many
years, we also had a house in
Vermont. My wife Linda and I
have three children and seven
grandchildren between us.
The kids live in New Jersey,
Oregon, and California. In
2000, I was diagnosed with
lymphoma and began a long,
slow move toward retirement.
I’m almost there, and my
lymphoma has been dormant. I’m looking forward to
a complete retirement soon
in a warm climate. I collaborated with the late Jim
Boskey in making the N.J.
Supreme Court aware of joint
custody in divorce cases. Bill
Wertheimer officiated at
my marriage to Linda—it
might have been the best
thing he has done. It’s hard to
believe that we are all older
than the old men who were
such great teachers when we
were young and at Pingry.”
Henry English wrote: “At
our recent 50th Reunion, I
thoroughly enjoyed reconnecting with my classmates,
some of whom I hadn’t seen
since graduation. One of the
highlights of the wonderful
three days was the tour of
the Hillside, Parker Road,
and Westminster Avenue
campuses, led by Miller
Bugliari ’52. I am a filmmaker living in New York
with my wife Marquis. We
have two children, Emily
25 and Alexander 21.”
Rob Gibby P ’87 was one
of the 2010 recipients of the
Nelson L. Carr Service Award,
along with Sean O’Donnell
’75, P ’05, ’10. Rob received
this distinguished award
during Reunion Weekend
while celebrating his 50th
Dave Hixson wrote: “My
wife Bobbie and I live in a
Chicago suburb, and being
‘early retired’ leaves plenty
of time for part-time teaching, walking, and skiing in
the Southeastern Wisconsin
Alps (don’t look for these on a
map). I am teaching Business
Law courses at a couple of
community colleges with, I
imagine, much the same satisfaction that Socrates got from
tutoring Plato (although the
comparison ends there). I am
torn between a fervent desire
to live forever and the recognition that, if I don’t die fairly
soon, I may run out of money.”
Jay Hughes wrote: “I am happily married to my second wife
Jacqueline Merrill and we live
in Aspen, Colorado—where I
have come to love our mountains. We have 10 children
between us and 10 grandchildren. I am retired from a
law practice that took me all
over the world. I am also the
author of two books published
by Bloomberg Press: Family
Wealth—Keeping It in the
Family: How Family Members
and Their Advisers Preserve
Human, Intellectual, and
Financial Assets for Generations
and Family: The Compact
Among Generations: Answers
and Insights from a Lifetime
of Helping Families Flourish. I
am working with the boards
of various family organizations and am a member of the
Board of Prescott College.”
Peter Johannsen wrote:
“I really enjoyed our 50th
Reunion. The best part of the
weekend was the Saturday
afternoon lawn bowling, in
which the Class of 1960 blew
away the 25th Reunion class.
But, that was to be expected
because—as Don West pointed out to our opponents—
‘This is now all we do.’”
Bill Low thought Reunion was
great, and he looks forward to
returning to campus for alumni
events now that he is retired
and living on the East Coast.
Ernie May wrote: “Reunion
was terrific! Since I didn’t submit a biography, let me offer a
super brief overview: Harvard
B.A. ’64 (music), study with
Nadia Boulanger in Paris
(’64-’66), Ph.D. Princeton
’75 (musicology), director of
music at several churches,
music department chair for
12 years at UMass/Amherst,
now Professor of Music and
Secretary (head) of the Faculty
Senate at UMass for the past
10 years. I seem to have made
a career of mid-level academic
administration! Along the
way, two marriages, seven
children, seven grandchildren,
and second homes in Vineyard
Haven, Massachusetts and
Fairlee, Vermont. Not
retiring yet—very much
enjoying what I do.”
Jim Petrie and his wife
Patricia are looking to
move from Memphis back
east—well, at least as far as
Nashville—but will probably stay in Tennessee
where the taxes are low
and the living is good!
Dr. John Sloboda wrote: “My
wife June and I have been
married for over 40 years. The
‘children’ have morphed into
adults, married, and, for the
moment, settled down—our
daughter and her husband in
Santa Fe, our son and his wife
in New York. I’ve started to
think about the next stage—
retirement—but I’m still
reluctant to let go of this one.
I’ve discovered that working
daily with younger colleagues
and avoiding mirrors helps
keep such thoughts at bay.”
David Speno wrote: “My
wife Lynn and I had a great
time at the 50th Reunion. It
was very good to see so many
former classmates and catch
up on old and new times.
Stayed at the home of my
good friend Jerry Dempsey
’59. We visited Ellis Island
and the Statue of Liberty
(never did that growing up)
and also climbed the 300-plus
steps to the crown—it was a
fabulous and moving experience at both venues. Visited
with my soon-to-be-101-yearold across-the-street-neighbor
after touring my old home in
Summit. Have to say that, for
an old man, Miller Bugliari
’52 looks great! The other
highlight of the reunion was
visiting with my seventh-grade
pen pals. The future looks
bright after conversing with
these young Pingry students.”
Bart Wood wrote: “Our 50th
Reunion was terrific. All
those wondering whether to
attend theirs should just DO
IT. The school looks great
and is in very good hands.”
Peter Wood wrote: “My
classmates doubtless remember me as the skinny kid who
drew cartoons for the school
newspaper, played guitar
with the Five Counts, and
occasionally cleared the bar
as a pole vaulter. While my
athleticism in later life has
been limited to a bit of skiing and hiking, the art and
music have remained central.
Shortly after my retirement
in 2001, I began teaching
part-time at Essex Art Center,
a non-profit in Lawrence,
Massachusetts. I have taught
pre-teens through octogenarians how to work with clay,
my preferred medium since
the 1970s when I built a kiln
on the property of a friend in
Ipswich. I have recently scaled
back my teaching to one
weekly class of adult regulars
who have become like family.”
Mike Wyman works fulltime developing computer
software for TLO in Boca
Raton, Florida. He lives
in Boca full-time with his
wife of 45 years, the former
Kathy Mongan. During the
summer—thanks to telecommuting—they spend
half their time in Asheville,
North Carolina. Mike and
Kathy have two children:
son Gregory is a programmer
living in Fort Lauderdale,
and daughter Stacia is a
postdoctoral fellow at the
Fred Hutchinson Cancer
Research Center in Seattle.
1961
The Class of 1960 graciously
invited the Class of 1961 to
attend their 50th Reunion
Party at the Beacon Hill Club
in Summit. It was a great party
with lots of old friends from
1960. In attendance from ’61
were Dave Archibald, Liz and
Don Meyer, Linda and Bob
Popper, Barbara and Gordy
Sulcer P ’95, ’01, and Nancy
and Dave Rogers. All agreed
that the Class of 1960 should
be extended an invitation
to our own 50th Reunion.
Gordy Sulcer P ’95, ’01
wrote: “Back in early April,
Barb and I had dinner with
Pam and Jock Lockwood in
their new home in Sarasota,
Florida. They love it down
there and don’t miss the
Chicago winters. Jock is a
sales manager with the Bosch
Corporation and travels
extensively. Later in May at
the Reunion at Pingry, we ran
into Pete Hilgendorff and
his wife Patricia. Pete is still
practicing law in Morristown
and living in Basking Ridge.
He says he looks forward
to our 50th Reunion coming up in May 2011.”
1962
Harry Moser wrote: “I
am working full-time on
‘Re-Shoring: Bringing
Manufacturing Jobs Back to
the U.S.’ See https://www.
ntma.org/eweb/dynamicpage.
aspx?webcode=RSPF and
http://cbs2chicago.com/
video/[email protected]. I would love to hear
from any other alumni who
share my passion for restoring
U.S. manufacturing. Email me
at [email protected].”
1963
The artistry of Peter Corbin
was on display from June 7 to
September 25, 2010, at the
Cascapedia River Museum in
Quebec to help celebrate the
museum’s 10th anniversary.
The exhibit, Three Rivers—
One Artist’s View, showcased
Peter’s tribute to the Grand
Cascapedia, Moisie, and
Restigouche Rivers, consisting
of new oil paintings, graphite drawings, photography,
and written reflections on
these three rivers that he has
painted, photographed, and
fished for over 35 years. Peter’s
other work is on public display
at The National Art Museum
53
summer 2010
Ted Mook wrote: “I retired
in July 1999 and moved
from Illinois to Memphis,
Tennessee for three years
until my wife completed her
work as a flight attendant/
trainer at Northwest Airlines.
We then retired to Land O’
Lakes, Florida where we now
reside. I enjoy bridge, golf,
boating, travel, and church
activities. We’ve seen most
of the United States and
toured the ancient sites of
Egypt, Greece, Italy, England,
France, and Germany that
were so much expounded
upon by Mr. Buffum in
Ancient History class and
by Mr. Weiler in Modern
History. Besides our three
children, we also enjoy our
grandson Andy and our three
granddaughters Katie, Emily,
and Molly. We see them as
much as possible. After all,
that is what retirement is.”
Alfred Moore wrote: “Several
weeks ago I attended a dinner put on by Sangerfest (a
men’s singing group in the
Boston area). While there, I
ran into Chris Milton, my old
classmate (I sat next to him in
chapel for years). Thanks to
Mr. DuBourg for those longago chorus sessions.”
1968
A Run Upstream by Peter Corbin ’63 (2010, oil on canvas, 20 x 30 inches), the featured painting in the exhibition
Three Rivers—One Artist’s View at the Cascapedia River Museum in Quebec
of Sport, The Leigh Yawkey
Woodson Art Museum, The
American Museum of Fly
Fishing, and The Catskill Fly
Fishing Center and Museum.
He was also featured in the
Summer 2010 issue of the
Atlantic Salmon Journal.
Steve Roehm wrote: “I just
returned from hiking in Peru
for seven days with my wife
Diane. Great weather and
fantastic hiking in the Andes
Mountains at altitudes ranging from 10,000 to 15,000
feet. Salkantay Pass was
magnificent, as was Machu
Picchu—but I have to admit,
the altitude was a bit of a
challenge for folks like us
coming from sea level.”
Bruce Laing retired on July 31,
2010, after nearly 25 years with
Chubb Ins. Co. He and his
wife just built a house at Penn
National, a golfing community
in Fayetteville, Pennsylvania,
20 miles west of Gettysburg.
Bruce does not golf, but reports,
“I look good in the clubhouse
wearing pastel colored pants.”
Doug Smith recently traveled to China to accompany
San Antonio’s mayor to the
Shanghai World Expo. His son
Jonathan also just graduated
from Northwestern University.
Joe Monier traveled with his
brothers Michael Monier ’58
and David Monier ’56 on
their annual trip to the fishing mecca of Islamorada in
the Florida Keys. They caught
lots of fish and even managed
to have a cocktail or two. Guy Fisher wrote: “Sorry
I missed Reunion. Lib
(yup, the same gal I dated
while at Pingry) and I celebrated our 40th on the
Amalfi coast, so we weren’t
able to attend. I hope you
all had a grand time!”
1965
54
the pingry review
1964
Bill Hanger and his wife
Nancy spent a month
in Australia earlier this
year. April found them on
Sanibel Island, Florida with
their younger daughter and
three granddaughters. In
June, they visited Banff and
Jasper National Parks in
the Canadian Rockies with
their elder daughter and
family. Bill agrees that “Ah
yes, retirement suits us.”
Karl Fenske and Barbara Franz
competed in American Zofingen, a
duathlon with 85 miles of hard biking
and 20 miles of trail running. They
both won in their age groups.
Karl Fenske wrote: “Divorced
(at last), traveling a lot doing
triathlons, and still practicing
law. Kids are mostly out of
college. Life is grand, ain’t it?”
Gilbert Klein left Media
General at the end of 2007
and spent 2008 touring
the United States for the
National Press Club, organizing forums on the future of
journalism. He now has his
own media consulting business and recently celebrated
Peter Epstein’s 60th birthday with a small contingent
from the class: Chris Downs,
Evan Johnson, Hans Bonn,
and Bruce Merrifield.
1969
1966
Bruce Schundler wrote: “Sara and I are working again this
summer as seasonal Park Rangers for the National Park Service.
Sara will be at the Statue of Liberty, and I’ll be half a mile away at Ellis Island! So
if you’ve never been to either of these amazing places, why not come visit us this
summer? We’d love to see you!”
Craig Davis wrote: “I’ve been
staying connected through
Facebook and Linked In with
some of the 1969 members
who I was able to reconnect with at last year’s 40th
Reunion. Bruce Conway
and I stay in touch with
joke emails and political
quips. Also, I have done some
work with Forbes and The
New York Times over the last
six months, and I’m trying to
get a golf photo book off the
ground that would get me back
to New Jersey a few times and
elsewhere on the East Coast.”
Larch Fidler is Chair of
the English Department at
Morristown-Beard School.
He is working with his faculty to create a Middle and
Upper School curriculum
that nurtures the sequential
development of skills in
reading, writing, and thinking through a seven-year
program. In this context,
he is collaborating with the
History Department to create a ninth-grade Humanities
program. Larch seeks to
nurture the integration of
technology within an English
classroom, particularly with
respect to the development
of writing. He also explores
the ways in which an understanding of brain function
helps students to learn complex ideas in multiple ways.
Larch lives in Morristown
and enjoys music, ballet,
and theater in New York.
1970
Peter Arbes P ’04, ’08 sent in
his perspectives on the “unofficial” June 19 Pingry Reunion
of the Class of 1970: “I want
to echo the comments offered
by my co-organizer, Bruce
Crawford, on our recent
reunion dinner, and I would
be remiss if I did not acknowledge the effort and hard work
Bruce put into locating our
Dr. Alan Berkower wrote: “I
enjoyed renewing friendships
with Pingry classmates at both
the official and follow-up 40th
Reunions. My wife and I live
on Long Island with our two
middle school-aged daughters.
My two older daughters work
in the New York City Parks
Department as a city planner
and as a teacher. I have three
grandchildren. Besides my
career as an otolaryngologist/
head and neck surgeon (I am
an associate professor at New
York Medical College and
operate at Montefiore Medical
Center in the Bronx), I try
to keep up with my girls’ ice
skating competitions, music
recitals, and school functions.
In my free time, I also ice
skate, swim, and bike ride.
If more free time appears, I
may even try fencing again!”
Peter Blanchard III, whose
previous writing focused on
large-scale conservation studies, has written a new book,
We Were an Island: The Maine
Life of Art and Nan Kellam.
As a work of non-fiction, the
book recounts the story of this
couple who married in 1935,
moved to an uninhabited
island off the coast of Maine
in 1949, and lived there until
1985, when Art Kellam passed
away. In the summer of 1987,
while volunteering with the
Maine Chapter of the Nature
Conservancy, Peter met Nan
Kellam on Placentia Island.
To write his book about these
local legends, Peter used
journals, the manuscript of
the couple’s unfinished book,
letters, and photos. He is
involved in the restoration
of Greenwood Gardens, a
historic public garden in New
Jersey, and he serves on the
boards of Orion Magazine,
the Frick Collection, and
Maine Coast Heritage Trust.
Peter lives on the Upper
West Side of Manhattan and
in Somesville, Maine with
his wife Sofia, 7-year-old son
Theo, and two Welch corgis—
Major Andre and Doodles.
Dr. Don Brunnquell wrote:
“My career has veered from
child clinical psychology
(degree from the University
of Minnesota in 1981) to bioethics, and I have worked for
almost 15 years as the Director
of the Office of Bioethics
at Children’s Hospitals and
Clinics of Minnesota—a job
I still hold and enjoy almost
every day. Education, policy,
and direct consultation with
families and staff are the bulk
of the work, in addition to
chairing the IRB (Institutional
Review Board) and the less
glamorous task of compliance with CMS (Center
for Medicare and Medicaid
Services) and JCAHO (Joint
Commission for Accreditation
of Health Care Organizations)
ethics rules. I’ve been married
for 30 years to Sally Scoggin,
whom I met at Lawrence in
Appleton, Wisconsin, where
we both graduated. It has
been a great 30 years—actually, almost 40 since we met,
but that’s a long story. Sally
is an employment attorney
at Briggs and Morgan, an
established Twin Cities firm.
We have two boys: Mike is 24
and started medical school at
the University of Minnesota
in August 2010, and Will just
graduated from Bates. My passions—in addition to work
and the boys—are music (I
play with a folkie-type string
band called Stealin’ Home),
poetry (reading and some writing), fantasy baseball, cross
country skiing, and a great
mixture of music and theater
in the Twin Cities. We’d
love to see anyone who passes
through the Twin Cities—
give an e-holler or call!”
55
summer 2010
Jonno Alcaro wrote: “Nanette
and I and our nine-year-old
daughter Marion relocated to
Charlottesville, Virginia in
late July 2010. We bought a
great place and will welcome
any classmates/friends who just
want to get away to a slower
pace and some country relaxation! My new cell number is
(434) 906-9300, and my email
is still [email protected].”
classmates. His persistence and
ingenuity in hunting down
‘his prey’ was remarkable. He
even managed to find our own
Mr. Rogers, who took time out
from his duties as President
Obama’s unofficial advisor
on social issues to decline our
invitation. A special thank
you to Bill Maass who brought
what might be the only surviving copy of the 1970 Pingry
yearbook in order to show
everyone how much hair was
lost and weight gained in the
last 40 years (except, of course,
for Bruce, who looked like
he stepped out of some 1970s
time machine). Bill, what
were you thinking? Finally,
we were all thrilled and honored to have been joined by
Elizabeth and Miller Bugliari
’52. It was a special treat for
us to reminisce with Miller,
who embodies all the good
that we remember about the
school and our time there. As
you can see from the group
photograph (see page 37), not
only was Miller willing to be
‘seen’ with the Class of 1970,
but he also had the ‘courage’
to take a picture with us.”
Bruce Crawford sent in his
perspectives on the Reunion
for the Class of 1970: “At
Martinsville, there are probably not too many people who
spend time thinking about
the Class of 1970. Over the
past 40 years, we have likely
distinguished ourselves as the
class that, on average, contributed the least amount of
money to the school. We have
probably also done the best
job of avoiding each and every
request to provide information
about ourselves. Some have
perfected the art of clandestine
living. Having been alumni in
absentia for such a long time,
the school likely wrote us off
as one of those lost classes—
and as somewhat of a hopeless
case. This perspective was
confirmed when I dropped by
the Hillside Campus in 1977.
A woman in the administrative office said lunch was still
underway and walked me
down to the cafeteria. While I
was looking around for familiar faces, she found a seat for
me at [former Pingry football
coach] George Christow’s
table. The first thing he said
was ‘you’re only here because
you want a free lunch.’ He was
serious. As could be expected,
most of us have kept in touch
with only a few classmates
and don’t maintain an active
relationship with the school.
However, when we found
out that only five from our
class attended Pingry’s official
Reunion Weekend on May 15,
something seemed seriously
out of balance. Consequently,
a small group created a substitute event—motivated in part
by the belief that we didn’t
have a lot of opportunities
left for a major gathering. We
found our classmates through
considerable networking
and extensive web searches.
Clearly, all of the work was
worth it, and those who
attended really enjoyed the
evening. In fact, it was quite
memorable. Who would have
thought that Pingry’s most
rebellious class would actually
show up in large numbers?
Further, who would have predicted that Richard Lowish
would travel in from London,
Charlie Cox from Minnesota,
Rob Monroe from Michigan,
and John Spagnolo from
North Carolina? Chris Klem
hiked in from Massachusetts,
and Brad Seaman journeyed
from Pennsylvania. We missed
a few who had to cancel due
to circumstances beyond their
control, including John Ford,
Jon Hill, Cliff Nelson, Tom
Fowler, and Nick Pearson.
We also regret that Myke
Connell had to go searching
for his horse at 2:00 a.m. that
Sunday morning. Allegedly,
it was the same horse he had
brought along to trash Arbes’
country club. However, better things lie ahead. Mark
Biedron has offered to host
our next major event in June
2012, which will collectively commemorate our 60th
56
the pingry review
1970
Bill Maass submitted a photo of the five members of the Class
of 1970 who attended their 40th Reunion at Pingry on May 15.
Sitting, from left: Rich Engel and Rob Monroe. Standing, from left: Bill, Dr. Stu
Homer P ’07, ’11, ’13, and Dr. Alan Berkower.
birthdays. As an incentive
to attend, he will set aside
a case of Lafite Rothschild
1961, which goes for a mere
$36,000. We will insist that
all who couldn’t make it this
time plan to attend, especially
Marano, whose aging girlfriend
will be 31 by then. We hope
to have a great turnout for
that event and look forward
to seeing everyone again.”
1971
Gil Barno wrote: “I retired
from Boston law in 1989
because it all started to
look the same. Moved to
Columbus, Ohio and fell
into a non-profit gig that
has become my life, helping
dropouts get back into the
game. Best move I ever made.
No money in it, but I partook
enough of the money grab
in Boston. Besides, money
can’t buy goose bumps.”
Peter Mindnich wrote: “I
am still living with my family in Southern California on
the Palos Verdes Peninsula,
having moved out here from
Chicago in 1991. After retiring from a 30-year career on
Wall Street, I am working
toward my Masters in Social
Work at USC. I am enjoying the opportunity to learn
new things, stay busy, and
prepare for my second career.
I plan to combine my previous business experience with
the social work degree and
provide services to the military veteran population upon
graduation in December 2011.
I have also enjoyed being able
to see Tim Gustafson, who is
an English professor at USC
and lives 25 yards from the
School of Social Work. We
enjoyed watching a few World
Cup games together this summer! I am also grateful to be
able to see Oliver Mading
periodically as he runs a large
regional food services company
and lives in Palm Desert with
his wife. Who would have
thought all three of us would
be living in California!”
1972
Dr. Ian Alexander accepted
a post as Clinical Professor
and Vice-Chairman in the
Department of Orthopaedic
Surgery at The Ohio State
University in June 2010.
His daughter is a senior
resident in Obstetrics and
Gynecology at Ohio State,
and his son started medical
school there in August 2010. Dr. Joe Costabile just
finished his term as
President of the Vascular
Society of New Jersey. 1973
Dr. David Reisner wrote: “I
am still active in commercializing nanotechnology products
in companies I founded and
ran in 1996 (Inframat, US
Nanocorp). Our family recently did volunteer work in Haiti.
My oldest daughter graduated
from Wesleyan, my son is at
Dartmouth, and my youngest daughter is at Choate.”
1975
Mark Fury wrote: “Travel
kept me from the 35th
Reunion, but that week I
reconnected with Todd
Grundy for the first time in
years, and we celebrated our
class together in Philadelphia.
Todd is a grandfather and
is doing well with systems
management, while I am an
old country lawyer practicing
criminal defense in Burlington
County and South Central
New Jersey—won three
murder trials in a row.”
Sean O’Donnell, Chair of
the Pingry Athletics Hall of
Fame Committee, enjoyed
seeing his classmates over
Reunion Weekend for their
35th Reunion. Sean was
honored to be one of the
2010 Nelson L. Carr Service
Award recipients, along with
Rob Gibby ’60, P ’87. Sean
and his wife Mimi are proud
parents of a new Pingry graduate—Christian O’Donnell
’10, who is heading off to
Lafayette College this fall.
Their daughter Caitlin
O’Donnell ’05 is living and
working in Washington,
D.C. Read more about
Sean’s award on page 27.
1978
Gordon Bloom really enjoyed
teaching at Princeton during the 2009-10 academic
year and almost made it to
Pingry for a visit. His course
at Princeton was called
Social Entrepreneurship
Collaboratory (SE Lab),
which provided undergraduate and graduate students
with the opportunity to
design and develop innovative social ventures.
1979
Steve Lipper P ’09, ’12, ’14
wrote: “Six of us ’79ers—Jon
Younghans, Chuck Connant,
Kim (Warendorf) Prey wrote:
“I was sorry to miss our 30th
Reunion in May 2009. I was
on my first medical mission trip in Nicaragua during that time. Over the past
year, Genesia Perlmutter
Kamen P ’11, ’13 has been
trying to convince me to
write in about my adventures
as well as join Facebook. My
kids have forbidden me from
Facebook, so here is the scoop
on my travels. I have recently
returned from my second
trip to Nicaragua. I work as
an operating room nurse at
Johns Hopkins Hospital in
Baltimore. I traveled with a
team of doctors and nurses
from the Baltimore area to
a very rural area two hours
outside of Managua. We
performed 58 surgeries over
the course of five days. The
majority of these surgeries
involved facial abnormalities—including cleft lips and
palates—ear deformities, and
burn sequelae. The patients
ranged in age from six months
to 67 years old, and their
medical care was provided
free of charge to them. Some
of these patients traveled for
several days to reach our location. We provide the necessary supplies for the mission
through donations and funds
raised throughout the year.
We have developed a wonder-
ful relationship with a hospital
in Managua that helps to
coordinate the missions as well
as provide necessary followup for the patients whom we
treat. My first two trips have
been phenomenal experiences,
and I look forward to continuing this type of work. On the
home front, I am surrounded
by college students. My son
Tim will be a junior at Wake
Forest this fall. My twin
daughters (no, they are not
identical) will be freshmen
this fall—Molly is off to the
University of Vermont, and
Katie is off to the University
of Virginia. My husband Jim is
also back in college. He is pursuing a master’s in teaching at
Loyola University after retiring
from T. Rowe Price. It is busy,
but fun, here in Baltimore,
and I would love to hear
from my 1979 classmates!”
1980
Mark Diamond wrote: “I
had a great time seeing everyone from 1980 at the 30th
Reunion! I refuse to believe
it’s been 30 years. How did we
all become so responsible? For
those whom I didn’t see, I’m
living just outside of Boston
(Arlington, Massachusetts)
with my wife Laura, an architect, and our daughter Rafaela,
who just turned eight. I’m
working as an airline consultant and, in my spare time,
messing around with a couple
of old, cranky sports cars. I
know this sounds like every
other alumni note, but I would
truly welcome a visit from anyone from our class who is passing through the Boston area!”
Susan Quinn had a very nice
time seeing everyone at her
recent 30th Reunion. She is
the Library Director for the
Ocean County Library System,
which has 21 locations at the
beautiful New Jersey Shore.
Susan encourages everyone
to stop by her libraries for
that perfect summer read and
great programs for children
and families when vacationing “down the shore!” (Yes,
they have Dani Shapiro’s
new book, Devotion, as well
as her other books, too!)
Brad Roth wrote: “Since
1997, I have been teaching political science and law
at Wayne State University
in Detroit and writing (and
recently, to my surprise, blogging) on theoretical issues in
international law. Mentoring
students is the best part of
my job, and it reminds me
of the mentorship that I
received from great Pingry
teachers. I keep in touch
with many alumni—some
folks who were my best
friends in the old days, but
also a surprising number who
have only become my good
friends in the years since.”
David Thalheimer is
running for the Howard
County, Maryland Board
of Education and wrote: “I
appreciate the high-quality
education I received at Pingry
and want to help raise the
quality of the public system for everyone else.”
1981
Chris Campbell wrote: “Boy
time flies. It seems like yesterday we were graduating; now
our kids are moving on. Jack
will be a senior at Dickinson.
He’s now in Beijing interning
for JFP Holdings. Lisa will be
a sophomore at Lehigh, and
George will graduate from
Summit High School in the
spring of 2011. I hope everyone has a great summer.”
57
summer 2010
Genesia Perlmutter Kamen
P ’11, ’13 had a great time
in June at the annual Pingry
Golf Outing. She enjoyed
playing with Kyle Coleman
’80, current parent Menekse
Robinson P ’09, ’11, and
Pingry faculty member and
coach Judy Lee. Genesia
also continues to serve as
Secretary on the Pingry
Alumni Association Board.
Kris Rollenhagen, Mark
Bigos, Genesia Perlmutter
Kamen P ’11, ’13, and
me—came out to enjoy the
Friday night reception of
Reunion Weekend. It was
easy to just come on out to
school and join in the fun.
We decided we didn’t have to
wait five years to get together
and catch up. It was great
seeing everyone again and
swapping stories about updates
of other classmates. Jon and I
then saw each other the next
weekend when our families
went to the Middle School’s
production of Bye Bye Birdie,
which brought back memories
of the last time Pingry did this
production during our era!”
Dr. Ed Fernandez wrote:
“Anyone with kids graduating from high school this
year? My son Eddie is going
to Lehigh and it would be
awesome to hook up. Let
me know—my email is
[email protected].”
Daniel Markovitz wrote:
“Lynn Brody and I continue
our bi-coastal life. Lynn is an
interventional radiologist at
Memorial Sloan-Kettering
Cancer Center in New York,
and I’m a productivity and
time management consultant
wherever my clients are. We
split our time between New
York and Corte Madera,
California, which provides us
with a wonderful lifestyle—if
a bit too much familiarity
with United Airlines seating
configurations. Classmates
or Pingry alumni coming through San Francisco
are welcome to visit.”
1982
Jonathan Karp has been
named the new publisher for
Simon & Schuster’s flagship
imprint. He had been publisher and editor-in-chief of
TWELVE Books since 2005. 1984
Geordy Mahr wrote: “In
May 2010, I ran into David
Eisenbud ’85 by chance at
a diner in Scotch Plains, N.J.
We only had 15 minutes to
catch up, but it was a flurry
of reminiscing about Pingry
classmates and our present
lives. I live with my wife
and three boys in Fanwood,
N.J., and Dave now lives
with his wife and two girls
in Toronto, Canada. I liked
Dave at Pingry, and he seemed
to be the same friendly,
genuine person today.”
Rick Reiken, director of the
graduate program in writing
at Emerson College, published
his third novel Day For Night
in April 2010. The book,
featuring nearly a dozen narrators from across the United
States and the Middle East,
is structured around dual
protagonists and concerns
the intricate unraveling of a
family’s mysterious past. Rick
appeared on NPR’s Weekend
Edition Saturday on May 8,
2010, and explained that the
novel is about connection
and the way that people are
interconnected, whether they
know it or not. Day For Night
was a Boston Globe “Pick of
the Week” in May 2010 and
an Indie Next List selection
for May 2010. The London
Daily Telegraph cited Rick as
one of the “10 rising literary
stars of 2010.” Rick’s previous novels are Lost Legends
of New Jersey and The Odd
Sea. For more information:
FrederickReiken.com.
1986
1985
Kathy Apruzzese
Sherbrooke wrote: “So sorry
to have missed Reunion. It
has been way too long. After
the successful acquisition of
the company I started almost
15 years ago, I have recently
stepped out of my company
and off the grid for a muchneeded break. I love having
more time with our two boys,
Henry (9) and George (6),
and am looking forward to a
summer on the beach up here
in Cohasset, Massachusetts.
I’m also planning to see Pam
Ostroff Intrater for a few
days when she is stateside
from Singapore. I don’t know
what will be next for me professionally, but hope I might
cross paths with more of you
somewhere, somehow.”
Newark Mayor Cory Booker and
Ron Rice ’86
Ron Rice wrote: “I was just
re-elected to the Newark
Municipal Council with
Mayor Cory Booker. I was first
elected as a member of the
Booker Team for Newark in
2006, and on May 11, 2010,
I was re-elected for a second
four-year term as West Ward
Councilman. Won by a 3-to-1
margin and won every district in the ward, the biggest
margin of victory for the ward
councilman in over 15 years.
For more information, you can
access www.ron-rice.com.”
58
the pingry review
1984
Rick Reiken read excerpts from and signed copies of Day For Night at the Livingston Mall Barnes and Noble in Livingston, New Jersey
on May 13, 2010. Front row, from left: Martha (Ryan) Graff P ’15, ’17, Betsy Lucas Vreeland P ’11, ’12, ’15, Wendy Reiken-Waldron ’87,
Rick Reiken, Rick’s wife Cailin Reiken, and Genesia Perlmutter Kamen ’79, P ’11, ’13. Back row, from left: Sue (Brody) Thomas, Jon Dressner ’83,
Edie (McLaughlin) Nussbaumer, Howard Herman, and David Stanton ’80.
Alden Pace Lazor with big brothers Wyatt and Cooper
1988
BIRTHS
Cathleen (Pace) Lazor and
her husband Peter are pleased
to announce the birth of their
daughter Alden Pace Lazor.
Alden was born on March 6,
2010, and weighed 8 pounds,
3 ounces. She joins big brothers Wyatt and Cooper.
1989
Chris Bender is a film
producer and president of
Benderspink Productions.
He is in New York filming a
remake of the movie Arthur.
Michelle Lerner wrote: “I
am pregnant—my first pregnancy at 38! My partner Gray
and I have been together for
17 years now (which makes
me feel very old). I do legal
and policy work for several
nonprofits, mostly focusing
Kathryn Elise Fay
family resides in Atlanta,
Georgia, and Chandra is a
trial attorney for the EEOC
(U.S. Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission).
doing anything else these days
other than spending additional
time fly fishing. I wish everyone the very best and hope
to see many of you soon.”
Peter Rosenbauer and
his wife Michelle welcomed their first daughter,
Maggie, on July 18, 2009.
John Raby wrote: “Great
to see so many of my fellow classmates at the 20th
Reunion and friends from all
classes at the Alumni Lacrosse
Game. Together with my wife
Jennifer and son Liam, we
call Newport, Rhode Island
home-base now and urge any
Pingry alumni who are coming to town to let us know in
advance so we can point them
to the best parts of Newport
and the Ocean State.”
BIRTHS
Chandra (Cain) Davis and
George Davis announce
the arrival of their second
child, Brielle Cain Davis,
on April 15, 2010 (tax
day). Three-year-old big
brother Carter loves his
new baby sister! The Davis
1990
Anthony Bugliari is
excited that the next generation of his family will be
attending Pingry. His son
William, the oldest of his
four children, will be enrolling in Grade 3 this fall.
David Curtis wrote: “I
wanted to send a quick hello
to my class, as I was on the
West Coast the night of our
reunion. Life is going very
well for my family and me
these days. My wife Karen and
I are parents to two wonderful children: a three-yearold daughter, Katie, and a
10-month-old son, Alexander.
In addition to being a proud
father, work these days keeps
me very busy managing the
global Internet consolidation for Inverness Medical. I
have found a job that I love,
working with some very good
people, and couldn’t imagine
BIRTHS
Ben Fay and his wife Kristen
became delighted first-time
parents when Kathryn Elise
was born on November 4,
2009. Kate and her parents live
south of San Francisco in Palo
Alto. Earlier this year, Pete
Ackerman flew out from New
York to meet the little princess.
1991
Christopher Krantz enjoyed
playing in the annual Pingry
Golf Outing on June 14 at
Morris County Golf Club with
his good friends Ryan Saniuk
’90, Sam Partridge ’92, and
59
summer 2010
Brielle Cain Davis and Carter Davis
on environmental law and
humane feral cat management policy (a shift from a
decade of work as a legal aid
lawyer focusing on welfare
and disability law). I started
a local cat rescue and TrapNeuter-Return organization in
my hometown of Mt. Olive,
which is about a half-hour
north of Pingry. Since midAugust of 2009, we have handled over 150 cats and kittens.
Our web site is www.mtolivetnr.org. If you live in or near
New Jersey and are interested
in adopting or fostering a cat
or kitten, please email me at
[email protected].
Pingry faculty member and
golf coach Joe Forte P ’00.
During their senior years,
Christopher, Sam, and Ryan
were successive captains of
the ’90, ’91, and ’92 Pingry
golf teams. This marked the
20th anniversary of the season
they played in spots 1, 2, and
3 together on the Pingry golf
team. One of the highlights
of their day at the outing
was Coach Forte’s slam-dunk
from 155 yards for an eagle
on the 16th hole, a shot that
helped them win the top
prize with a score of 58.
BIRTHS
Jon Bowden wrote: “My wife
Denise and I welcomed our
son, Wyeth Robert Bowden,
into the world in June 2009. It
was a long labor, but we were
ultimately able to have a
home birth as we envisioned.
In addition, after a year-anda-half of playing at festivals,
my film The Full Picture
opened in San Francisco
theaters in June 2010.”
Dr. Sandra Lee, her husband James, and big sister
Winnie welcomed Wallace
Jason Chun into the world on
April 11, 2010. He weighed
7 pounds, 7 ounces and
measured 19 inches long.
1992
60
Nicole (Fargnoli) Gerhardt
wrote: “Scott ’90 and I are
beginning the summer in our
new home in Madison, N.J.
After moving around the
country for the past few years,
we’re looking forward to settling down! Jack is having a
great time making friends with
all of the kids in the neighborhood and celebrated his 4th
birthday in August 2010. We’d
love to catch up with any
Pingry friends in the area—
you can find us on Facebook.”
Tim Lear wrote: “My daughter
Hyla (3) attended Pingry’s day
camp this summer, learning
how to swim and, on rainy
days, watching old SAC videos of Mike Breheney ’92
(bartending as Sam Malone
in Cheers) and Andrew
Goldstein ’92 (cross-dressing
as Pat in ‘It’s Pat’ or as Cindy
Crawford in a Pepsi commercial). Hyla’s brother James just
celebrated his second birthday
and was excited to spend the
summer months making train
noises and knocking things
over. If any members of the
class of ’92 visit Martinsville,
stop by the Upper School
Office—I’d love to catch up.”
Gautam Malhotra wrote:
“I’m now triple boarded
somehow: PM&R (Physical
Medicine & Rehabilitation),
Neuromuscular Medicine,
& Electrodiagnostic
medicine. Oh, we’re also
pregnant and it’s going to
be a girl! Yippeee!!!”
Chris Pearlman wrote: “I
have made the move out to
the suburbs with my wife
Laura and our two boys,
Padraig (4) and Malachy (3),
having recently bought a
house in Westchester (Pelham,
Michael Zigmont ’92 and his daughter Penelope Simone Zigmont
N.Y.). I work for Van Wagner
Sports and Entertainment,
overseeing our Media and
Properties group. I am fortunate to have two other Pingry
alumni in the Sports Group
here: Amanda Pagoulatos
’05 and Scott Bissinger
’08 (our uber-intern).” BIRTHS
Michael Zigmont wrote:
“My wife Margot gave birth
to our first child on June
28, 2010, a 7 pound, 4
ounce girl. We named her
Penelope Simone Zigmont.
We’re thrilled! Pingry Class
of 2028? We’ll see!”
WEDDINGS
Vanessa Motto and Michael
Rosenthal were married
on November 7, 2009, in
Atlantic City, N.J. In attendance were matron of honor
Shelby Luke Rideout and
her parents—former Pingry
French teacher “Madame
Jodi” and Jim Luke.
1993
Mary Moan is the new head
coach of the women’s golf
team at Bradley University.
She’s looking forward to this
next phase of her career and
especially helping young athletes reach their athletic and
academic goals—Go Braves!
the pingry review
Emily Yorke Schauers wrote:
“For the past four years, I have
been living in Little Rock,
Arkansas working as an engineer for Verizon Wireless. It
has been a long year of single
parenting, as my husband
was deployed to Afghanistan,
where he flew the Russianmade AN-32 with the Afghan
National Army. He returned
home safe on May 22, 2010.
Our sons Andrew (5) and
Matthew (2) were happy to
see their daddy—me, too! Life
is back to normal for us now.”
1994
Wyeth Robert Bowden
Wallace Jason Chun
Jane (Shivers) Hoffman and
Christian Hoffman and their
two daughters, Avery (2) and
Claire (1), will be relocating
to Wayne, Pennsylvania from
Westfield, N.J. in mid-September 2010. Christian will
be working in Philadelphia,
Brooke Allyn Slavitt
leading the Northeast Region
for Aon’s Financial Services
Group. They are excited
for this new adventure and
would love to hear from any
classmates living in the area!
BIRTHS
Joshua Slavitt and his wife
Nicole welcomed their first
baby girl, Brooke Allyn
Slavitt, on November 6, 2009.
Kristina and Neal Karnovsky ’95
N.J. Neal is a Director at
Cowen and Company, where
he specializes in Mergers &
Acquisitions for life sciences
companies. Kristy is a Vice
President of Institutional
Sales at FactSet, a financial
software firm. Neal and Kristy
live in midtown Manhattan.
1996
Greg Waxberg continues to enjoy his freelance
writing, especially feature
articles for Classical Singer,
a monthly magazine that
provides resources, advice,
1997
John Crowley-Delman
wrote: “I am teaching history at a little place called
The Pingry School in
Martinsville, N.J. I also traveled to Morocco with my sister
Catherine Crowley-Delman
’98, over winter break.
We learned that you don’t
quite understand the meaning of the word ‘labyrinth’
until you’ve navigated the
medina of Fez or Marrakesh
on an empty stomach.”
Diana (Wiss) Tebbe, husband Nelson, and big sister
Clementine welcomed
the arrival of Waitsfield
Tebbe in October 2009.
1995
BIRTHS
Kirstin (Rowan) Kelly and
her husband Tim were expecting their first child this July. WEDDINGS
Amy Murnick McKeag ’94 and Mark McKeag
Corey Simonson just finished his first season as Head
Coach of the Milton Academy
boys’ lacrosse team, earning a 9-6 record. He missed
one game to attend his college roommate’s wedding in
Sonoma, California. At the
same wedding were David
Greig ’98 and Matt Margolis
’99. Corey, David, and Matt
have a distinct bond—they
were successive captains of
the lacrosse teams at both
Pingry and Amherst. 61
summer 2010
WEDDINGS
Amy Murnick McKeag is
still living in Boston and
doing well. She enjoys being
a newlywed to her wonderful
husband Mark, and she loves
her new job as the Brand
Manager of Veggie Patch, a
vegetarian line of products.
Neal Karnovsky married
Kristina Walsh on May 30,
2010, at the Pleasantdale
Chateau in West Orange,
and inspiration for singers
throughout their careers. He
also writes program notes for
opera companies, including
San Francisco Opera and
Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Ling, a Buddhist Monastery
in upstate New York. Finally,
some alumni may be interested
to know that, at Pingry, I
will be teaching Literature
of Enlightenment, facilitating the Mindful Awareness
meditation program, and, with
guidance from Pat Lionetti
and Mike Richardson, working with [faculty member]
Jason Murdock to oversee the
Peer Leadership program.”
BIRTHS
Andrew Wilkinson wrote:
“On December 13, 2009, my
wife Emily and I welcomed
our son, Asher Thomas. We
are thrilled with him and
enjoying every minute!”
1999
Jessica Dee wrote: “In April
2010, I finally got engaged to
my boyfriend of nine years,
Donald Sawyer. We plan to
get married in May 2011 in
Newport, Rhode Island.” Casey Hannon ’97 and Kristin Hannon
Sarah Dee was engaged to
Eric Miller on April 23, 2010,
while on a trip to Scottsdale,
Arizona. They will be married next spring. Some of the
WEDDINGS
Casey Hannon married
Kristin D’Onofrio on June 20,
2009, at St. Frances Cabrini
Church in Ocean City, N.J.
They spent their honeymoon
in France. Casey is a Vice
President at J.P. Morgan
Private Bank in New York,
and Kristin is a second-grade
teacher in Westfield, N.J.
They live in Guttenberg, N.J.
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1998
the pingry review
Jillian Burgess has been
working in Hong Kong for six
months designing a new business, exhibition, and convention center in Zhuhai, China.
Joshua Levin, in collaboration with Andrew Gruel,
launched The GoodEater
Collaborative on June 1,
2010—an online platform for
food executives, chefs, farmers, and the public to write
about, discuss, and debate
issues in food sustainability. The GEC can be found
at www.GoodEater.org.
Kevin Schmidt finished 11th
in the Northern New Jersey
Trap Shooting Competition.
He then took a two-week
trip to South Africa with
some college friends to watch
group play of the World
Cup in Johannesburg. Laura Yorke wrote: “This
summer, I attended the
Phillips Exeter Academy
Humanities Institute in
Exeter, New Hampshire
where I studied the Harkness
Discussion Method. Also this
summer, I worked as the head
Chef at Palden Padma Samye
Asher Thomas Wilkinson
Pingry friends who will be in
attendance are Ajay Sarkaria,
Brie Corbin, Dana Seeley,
and Mike Zeiler. The couple
recently moved into their
new house in South Orange.
Eric works for a hedge fund
in Manhattan, while Sarah
is working for her family
business in Union, N.J.
Caroline Diemar wrote:
“Hello everyone! I was
inspired to write a class note
after a great time at Reunion
Weekend. As always, the
seafood buffet was delicious,
and watching my brothers
Thomas ’96 and Charlie
’02 ‘play’ in the guys’ alumni
lacrosse game was loads of
fun. I plan to get myself out
on the field next year for the
girls’ alumni lacrosse game—
hopefully I can recruit some
of my fellow classmates to
join me as well! I’m living
in New Haven, Connecticut
and working for the Yale
Child Study Center’s Trauma
Clinic. We work very closely
with the New Haven Police
Department and accompany
them to the sites of traumatic
events that involve children—
it’s a very exciting job, and
I love every minute of it.”
Dana Seeley ’99, Ajay Sarkaria ’99, Katie Roberts ’02, and Julian Scurci ’99
enjoyed some black-tie partying and dancing at the 23rd annual “Denver Polo
Classic” in June 2010. Julian and Ajay are members of The Denver Active 20-30
Children’s Foundation, an all-male service organization made up of professionals
in their 20s and 30s that raises over $1 million annually (primarily through the
three-day “Denver Polo Classic”) to benefit non-profit organizations that support
at-risk youth in Denver, Colorado. The “Denver Polo Classic” is the largest charity
polo tournament in the country. For more information: www.da2030.com.
Nick Sarro-Waite wrote:
“Still best friends after over
10 years, Katie Scott Old,
Devon Graham, Kelly
Florentino, Matthew
Margolis, David Fahey,
Dan Buell, and I got
together for a dinner party
at the Graham family
home in Connecticut.”
2000
Andrew Greig enjoyed playing in the Pingry Golf Outing
on June 14 at Morris County
Country Club with his brother
David ’98, father Tom Greig
P ’94, ’98, ’00, and father inlaw Bill Washychyn P ’00.
Lauren (Washychyn) Greig
ran in the Boston Marathon
in April 2010 and finished
Sam Haverstick and his
wife Casey live in London
and are expecting a baby
boy in October 2010.
Lauren Kovacs graduated
from UMDNJ-Robert Wood
Johnson Medical School in
May 2010 and began her
residency in Obstetrics and
Gynecology at Saint Barnabas
Medical Center in Livingston,
New Jersey in July 2010. In
April 2010, Lauren spent a
month in Costa Rica studying Spanish and working in
clinics and hospitals. She and
her husband Chris Horch
enjoyed catching up with
people at the 10th Reunion.
Jessica V. Merkel-Keller
graduated from UMDNJRobert Wood Johnson
Medical School with
Distinction in Medical
Education. Jessica will
continue her training in
Obstetrics and Gynecology
with plans to continue in
Gynecologic Oncology at
Montefiore-Einstein Medical
Center in New York. On
May 15, 2010, at New York’s
One if by Land Two if by
Sea, Jessica was engaged to
her fellow medical school
classmate, David J. Sinopoli.
Rich Myers met up with fellow alum Dave Alchus during a recent business trip to
Austin, and they reminisced
over steaks at the old Austin
standby Stransky, Quick
and Gallagher. Rich reports
that Dave is doing well and
says “Austin is fabulous!”
Arianna Papasikos wrote:
“I am extremely sad and
disappointed that I was not
able to attend Reunion.
I was at a wedding that
weekend. I hope everyone
had a wonderful time, and
I missed not being able to
hang out with everyone!”
63
summer 2010
Keith Castaldo and his wife
Elissa recently moved to the
Capitol Hill neighborhood of
Washington D.C. Keith is
working for Congressman Bill
Pascrell, who represents New
Jersey’s Eighth District. Keith is
the Congressman’s Economic
Policy Advisor and Counsel, and
he also advises Congressman
Pascrell on finance and tax policy, as well as on his work for the
Committee on Ways and Means.
with a time of 3:20:34, which
placed her 569th out of the
9,468 women who ran. She
enjoyed the race—her third
marathon in the past two
years—and is looking forward
to running in the Chicago
Marathon this fall. For training, she ran the Covered
Bridges Half Marathon in
Woodstock, Vermont on June
6 and, with a time of 1:34.14,
placed 92nd out of nearly
2,000 runners and third for
her age group. Her husband
Andrew Greig was there to
cheer her on and take pictures.
From left: Matt Margolis ’99, Devon Graham ’99, David Fahey ’99, Nick
Sarro-Waite ’99, Katherine Scott Old ’99, Dan Buell ’99, and Kelly Sheridan
Florentino ’99
Lauren (Washychyn) Greig ’00, in the green shirt, running in the Boston Marathon
Dr. Purvi Parikh is finishing her residency in Internal
Medicine at the prestigious
Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.
She is going to be pursuing
a further specialization in
Allergy, Immunology and
Rheumatology in July 2011 at
Montefiore-Einstein Medical
Center in New York. She was
recently awarded the resident
research award for her work
on H1N1 and asthma by the
American Thoracic Society.
Jeff Roos is engaged to be
married to Elizabeth Vesely in
September 2010 in New Jersey. Nicole Scillia is working for
a criminal judge in Newark,
N.J. She is having a wonderful experience and highly
recommends doing a clerkship after law school.
James Skiba recently graduated from medical school and
is doing his residency at the
University of Michigan.
64
2001
the pingry review
Army Reserve Private Keri
Brown has graduated from
Basic Combat Training at Fort
Sill in Lawton, Oklahoma.
Her job training took place at
Fort Bragg in North Carolina.
Jon DeCola was Pingry’s first
guest curator for an exhibit
in the Hostetter Arts Center
Gallery when he assembled
a show in April 2010 that
showcased young artists from
New York. Three of his works
were included. Jon lives in
New York and is pursuing a
career as a photographer.
Daniel Scher ’02 and Lauren Jacobwitz
Jonathan Jacobs graduated in May 2010 from
Fordham University School
of Law with an LL.M. in
International Law and Justice.
This follows the J.D. he
earned in 2008 from Boston
University School of Law.
WEDDINGS
Margaret Kelleher married
Gavin Millard on December
5, 2009. Ellis Kelleher ’04,
Erin Murphy, and Hannah
Bloom were all in the bridal
party. Also in attendance
were Kevin Kurylak ’05 and
current Pingry faculty members Laura Mila, Kristine
Spano, Susan Forrester
P ’96, and Pat Egan.
Margaret and Gavin live in
Somerville, N.J. Margaret
continues to teach Latin in
the Pingry Middle School.
2002
Proud father Mark Scher sent
in news that Daniel Jonathan
Scher and Lauren Michelle
Jacobwitz were to be married
at Pleasantdale Chateau in
West Orange, NJ on June 25,
2010. Daniel graduated from
Cornell with a degree in biology and is a medical student
at Georgetown University.
He will receive his M.D.
degree in May 2011. Lauren
graduated from Newark
Academy and received her
undergraduate degree in
neuroscience and behavioral
biology from Emory. She is
a research assistant at the
Lombardi Comprehensive
Cancer Center at Georgetown
University, where she works
on Ewing’s Sarcoma research
and drug development. She
will be attending medical
school at Georgetown beginning in August 2010. Lauren
and Danny were introduced
by their mutual friend Jessica
Magidson—one of Lauren’s
bridesmaids. Daniel honored
his Pingry friends by selecting Adam Sandelovsky and
Matthew Strangfeld as his
best men and Ian Halvorsen,
Travis Lan, and Michael
Hilzenrath as his groomsmen.
2003
Sonia Alam graduated in
May 2010 from Columbia
University with an M.P.H. in
Sociomedical Sciences and
moved to the San Francisco
Bay Area in June to start her
Ph.D. in Medical Sociology
at UCSF. Sonia wrote: “I am
thrilled to be moving to the
West Coast and excited to
begin my doctoral studies. I
intend to teach masculinity
studies and medical sociology to undergraduates upon
completion of my degree.”
David Cronheim wrote:
“I graduated from Cornell
Law School in May 2010.
In July, I sat for the Florida
and New Jersey Bar Exams,
and I will join the firm
of Norris, McLaughlin
& Marcus in September.
During the winter months,
I am the North American
Resorts and Destinations
Editor for www.Ultimate-Ski.
com, the largest snowsports
web site in England.”
Marisa Fershing just
graduated from Stanford
Law School and is now
studying for the California
Bar Exam. She will begin
a new position at Milbank
Tweed in January 2011.
2004
Marissa Drell just graduated
from Brandeis University
with an M.A. in social/
developmental psychology.
Jodie Francis ’06
the music industry. She is
also looking to expand upon
her independent work in
photography and design,
and she is confident that
her experience working for
the New Brunswick Office
of Information Technology
and interning at Atlantic
Records and Warner Music
Group will help her toward
reaching these goals! Jason Levinn ’04 with his parents Steven and Karen and sister Sarah Levinn ’07
Jill Kehoe wrote: “I still love
teaching science and coaching
JV girls’ soccer and softball at
Pingry. I had a great time at
the annual Pingry Golf Outing
on June 14, and I plan to practice a lot this summer (when
I’m not visiting my new nephew, Sean Michael Kehoe).”
Katie Lawrence is still working at Barclays in rates sales.
She ran the Disney Marathon
in January 2010 and will be
running the New York City
Marathon in November 2010.
Andrew Werner’s architectural design work was featured
in the “Pingry Alumni Art
Exhibition: The Architecture
Show” that was held in the
Hostetter Arts Center Gallery
(see article on page 46). Since
graduating from Carnegie
Mellon University, he has
been back at work as a Junior
Designer at Kohn Pedersen
Fox Associates (KPF) in New
2005
Becky Ng graduated from
the University of Michigan
with a B.A. in Sociology
and minor in Spanish. She is
working as a research assistant
and wet lab manager for two
laboratories at the Institute
for Social Research in Ann
Arbor, Michigan. She will be
attending Emory University
for her Master’s in Public
Health in the fall of 2010.
Sarah Tarplin will be
attending the Georgetown
University School of
Medicine as a member
of their class of 2014.
2006
Jonathan Bregman wrote:
“I graduated from Yale with
a degree in Ethics, Politics
& Economics and celebrated
the waning ‘unbearable lightness’ of a student’s lifestyle
with a summer’s trek through
Europe. In May 2010, the Yale
Symphony Orchestra—for
which I served as principal violist—was invited to
Turkey to perform a concert
Tommy Strackhouse graduated from Boston University
in May 2010 and planned to
play soccer in Switzerland.
Jonathan Bregman ’06
series with famed pianist
Idil Biret. I will be moving
to New York City to accept
a position with Goldman
Sachs in their Investment
Banking Division and to
pursue amateur studies in classical music on weekends.”
Jodie Francis recently graduated cum laude from Rutgers
University with a B.A. in
psychology and minors in
music and cognitive science.
She is heading to North
Carolina to pursue an M.A.
in Management from Wake
Forest University. She hopes
to return to the Northeast
with a fresh, perhaps more
Southern, perspective and
to seek a position in either
the technological field or
Jeremy Teicher graduated
cum laude from Dartmouth
College in June 2010. He was
awarded the Lombard Public
Service Fellowship and is now
living in Senegal where he’s
working to produce a series of
short documentaries on female
education and empowerment.
These films, meant for use as
inspirational tools, will focus
on a group of young women
who have successfully overcome the social and economic
barriers to complete their high
school educations. Jeremy
has been working closely
with the Women’s Health
Education and Prevention
Strategic Alliance on this
project and divides his time
between Dakar, Senegal (for
filming) and Hanover, New
Hampshire (for research and
editing). Before he graduated from Dartmouth, Jeremy
wrote and directed Foursquare
Day, a short comedy film
65
summer 2010
Jason Levinn recently
received his Masters in
Environmental Management
from Duke University’s
Nicholas School of the
Environment and will be
starting work as a consultant
at Booz Allen Hamilton in
Washington, D.C., working on
contracts with the Department
of Energy and the General
Services Administration.
York. Andrew first joined
KPF during his senior year
ISP at Pingry and has been
with the firm ever since.
set in Grade 5 with a cast of
nearly 20 young actors. Jeremy
majored in English and Film
and minored in Theater.
After the Fellowship ends,
Jeremy hopes to return to the
more narrative side of film
and continue to make music
videos, short films, and hopefully—partnered with Max
Cooper ’06—direct his first
feature. Jeremy and Max look
forward to heading west to try
to make it big in Los Angeles.
Rob Tilson graduated from
Boston College in May
2010. He traveled in Europe
with some Pingry friends
before starting his new job at
Gabelli Asset Management
(GAMCO) at the end of June.
2007
Caitlin Demkin spent the
fall semester of her junior
year studying in Rome. Upon
returning to Amherst College,
Caitlin completed her third
season playing squash for the
Lord Jeffs. Caitlin was named a
2009-2010 Scholar-Athlete by
the Women’s College Squash
Association, and she has also
received 2009-2010 NESCAC
(New England Small College
Athletic Conference)
Winter All Academic
Honors. Caitlin’s coach,
Tom Carmean, has called
her a “fiery competitor,” and
she has helped the Amherst
women’s squash team earn a
ranking of 13th in the nation
for the 2009-2010 season.
66
the pingry review
Caroline Kwon, a rising
senior at Wellesley College,
ran her first Boston Marathon
on April 19, 2010.
2008
Hallie Bianco had a great time
in Rome this summer studying
archeology and ancient history
with 25 classmates from The
College of the Holy Cross.
Martha Gross, a rising junior
at Massachusetts Institute
of Technology, competed
in the NCAA Division III
Championships in Berea,
Ohio on May 27-29, 2010,
and achieved her second
All American status with a
second-place showing in the
4x400 meter relay. She completed her leg in a personalbest time of 56.4 seconds.
Eric Hynes wrote: “It was
great coaching alongside
Miller Bugliari ’52, Grant
Schonberg, and Matt
Fechter ’09 at the Pingry
soccer camp in June. Coach
Bugliari brought in some
great trainers to coach the
players. The team is definitely going to have a great
season this fall, led by Matt
Sheeleigh ’11 and Randy
Falk ’11. I’m entering my
junior year at Gettysburg
College, and I am very
excited to have Andrew
LaFontaine ’10 joining the
team. I will also be studying abroad in Australia
in the spring of 2011.”
Caroline Pinke is now the
president of the Princeton
Figure Skating Club, and she
performed in their spring skating show on April 23, 2010.
Darina Shtrakhman, a rising junior at the University
of Pennsylvania, received
The John Thouron Prize and
studied at Pembroke College,
Cambridge University for
eight weeks this summer. The
prize, awarded to a total of
nine undergraduate students
from Harvard, Yale, and Penn,
is designed to give students an
understanding of shared and
differing aspects of British and
American culture. Darina is
also the Campus News Editor
for The Daily Pennsylvanian,
Penn’s student newspaper.
Sarah Strackhouse, a rising
junior at Lehigh University
and a member of the women’s
soccer team, is a new sports
writer for the university’s
student-run newspaper, The
Brown and White. On March
23, 2010, she published
an article about that day’s
game between Lehigh’s
men’s lacrosse team and the
Army Black Knights. The
article included an interview
with Lehigh’s team captain,
Richard Bradley ’07.
Jessica Westerman, a rising
junior at Princeton University,
is majoring in English with a
minor in American Studies.
She is the project coordinator for Princeton Young
Achievers, an after-school
tutoring program for underprivileged elementary-aged
children at the Pannell Center
in Princeton Township. She
was appointed to the position after volunteering with
the program for a year. She
schedules student tutors’ daily
visits to Pannell and joins
them once each week to help
the children with homework,
studying, and enrichment.
2009
Caroline Albanese and
Katherine Sheeleigh ’07
are members of the Harvard
women’s soccer team,
winners of the 2009 Ivy
League Championship.
Will Stamatis wrote: “College
was great this year! New York
City is an amazing place to
go to school, and I ended the
year by going to the other
Colombia (the country).
I’m (as usual) playing soccer
this summer for two teams, the
CJ Spartans and PDA Cruyff.
The soccer camp went really
well. I coached alongside my
current college coach, Kevin
Anderson, and had a great
time. There is a lot of talent
in the current Pingry soccer
team—the boys below me
have greatly matured both
as players and people, and
there are some very skilled
new members as well.”
ClassNotes
Share your news! Email your notes and
photos to Associate Director of Alumni
Relations and Annual Giving Kristen Tinson
at [email protected], or mail them to
Kristen atThe Pingry School, P.O. Box 366,
Martinsville Road, Martinsville, NJ 08836.
[ in memoriam ]
Macdonald Halsey ’36
George W. Wilmot III ’42
Peter Boles O’Brien ’56
March 23, 2010, age 91, Bedford, Mass.
January 11, 2010, age 87, Jensen Beach, Fla.
March 3, 2010, age 73, Greenwich, Conn.
Mr. Halsey graduated
from Princeton
University and later
served as a
Lieutenant in the
U.S. Navy. He served
as the fifth Head of School at Kent
Place School in Summit, N.J. from
1965 to 1980, and he served a term
as President of the New Jersey
Association of Independent Schools.
Survivors include his son Woodruff
and daughter Comfort.
Mr. Wilmot, who
served in the U.S.
Coast Guard during
World War II, was a
landscape contractor
and owned Spooky
Brook Herbary in East Millstone, N.J.
Survivors include his wife of 28 years,
Laverne, daughters Marna and Amy,
and sons Robert, Arthur, and G.
William.
Mr. O’Brien is survived by his wife of
51 years, Gayle, their
four children
Timothy, Kerrie,
Laurie, and Peter, Jr.,
and 10 grandchildren.
Henry Melville Hicks, Jr. ’48
April 30, 2010, age 80, Larchmont, N.Y.
Harvey Leland Bryant ’40
November 16, 2002, age 82, Pelsor, Ark.
Martin J. Corcoran, Jr. ’40
May 22, 2004, age 82, Tyler, Tex.
Mr. Corcoran attended
Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute and Lehigh
University, where he
received a B.S. in
engineering. He served
in the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers
from 1942 to 1946 and then worked as
an engineer for Texas Instruments.
Survivors include his wife Betty and
daughter Marcia.
Dr. Myles C. Morrison, Jr. ’41
April 5, 2010, age 86, Hackettstown, N.J.
Richard Wagner Ley ’48
March 31, 2010, age 80, Portland, Ore.
Mr. Ley served in the
U.S. Army from 1951
to 1953, attended San
José State University,
and worked first in
sales and then for
over 30 years in real estate. Survivors
include his wife Pat, brothers Darwin
and Robert, and eight children, John,
Colleen, Suzanne, Teresa, Harris,
Tim, Jeff, and Terry.
Robert E. Randall ’50
February 21, 2010, age 77, Tampa, Fla.
Mr. Randall is survived by his brother, sons, daughters, and several
grandchildren.
February 20, 2010, age 67, Clayton, N.Y.
Mr. Foster graduated
from Colgate
University and
received an M.B.A.
from Boston
University. He also
served in the U.S. Navy. In addition
to his career as a financial consultant, he served as Chair of the Board
of Trustees of Clarkson University
and served on the boards of many
foundations and task forces. In 2008,
he was inducted into Pingry’s
Athletics Hall of Fame as a member
of the 1958 Golf Team. Survivors
include his wife Judith, brother
Henry, sister Susan, son Benjamin,
and daughter Katharine.
James Mergott ’65
April 15, 2008, age 61, Spicer, Minn.
Mr. Mergott graduated from
Lawrence University with a B.A. in
religion. He taught civics and sociology and coached football at Helena
Senior High School, then spent
almost 30 years as an executive with
Sears. Survivors include his wife of
39 years, Taya, brother Wayne, sister
Jan, and sons Dustin and Jason.
67
summer 2010
Dr. Morrison attended Princeton
University and earned his M.D. degree
at the University of Rochester. He
also served as a Lieutenant in the U.S.
Navy Reserve. From 1954 to 2009, he
was affiliated with Morristown
Memorial Hospital, including serving
as Chair of the Department of
Obstetrics and Gynecology. Survivors
include his wife of 59 years, Pat, and
five children.
Mr. Hicks graduated from
Washington and Lee University and
received his law degree from New
York University. A veteran of the
Korean War, he served in the U.S.
Marine Corps from 1952 to 1956. He
spent his career as an attorney in
Manhattan. Survivors include his
daughter Ruthmarie and sister Gail.
Everett G. “Rett” Foster ’60
[ dictum ultimum ]
By John Green ’60
At last, the long-anticipated weekend had arrived. For the Class of
1960, our 50th Reunion was upon
us. Since graduating from the
Hillside Campus, I had often
thought about this event, particularly as I read in The Pingry Review
of other classes returning to campus. Foremost in my mind was the
anticipation of seeing classmates,
some of whom I had not seen since
that June evening. How much had
they changed? What professions
had they chosen? These were only
two of the questions that I pondered as I drove to New Jersey from
my home in Washington, D.C.
68
the pingry review
The breakfast on Friday was an ideal
format to meet returning old Blues,
beginning two days of reminiscing
and embellishing stories from classrooms and athletic fields. I think most
of my classmates would agree that,
despite the graying or loss of hair and
the addition of a few pounds, there
was little difficulty in identifying one
another. I was pleased to see how
many spouses joined their husbands in
our festivities. In addition to adding to
our knowledge of how our classmates
spent the last 50 years, they proved to
be “good sports,” enduring endless
tales of their spouses’ teenage years.
Friday’s events also allowed us to
attend classes and to recognize that
girls are a vital part of today’s Pingry.
We were also amazed by the facilities
and resources that are available for
today’s students. Having embarked
on a second career teaching sixthgrade students, I was fascinated as
John Green ’60 with his pen pals in the classroom of Latin faculty member Margaret Kelleher ’01
I witnessed how Middle and Upper
School teachers engaged and challenged their students.
Many of the tales that were told
involved our former teachers—men
like Albie Booth, Herbert Hahn, Ernie
“The Shark” Shawcross, Tony “The
Count” du Bourg, and Mr. Les. While
we were saddened that so many of
these men had passed away and could
not share this event with us, our senior
class was blessed as the first year of
teaching and coaching by the one
and only Miller Bugliari ’52. Each
of us who went on our senior trip to
Bermuda recalls the “guidance” that
Miller furnished on this memorable
excursion. We were grateful for his
presence at a number of events at our
reunion and continue to marvel at his
memory of our shared experiences.
Several members of the Class of l961,
who will celebrate their 50th Reunion
next year, joined us at our class party
at the Beacon Hill Club. They have
invited us to join them for their
celebration next May.
On behalf of my classmates, I want to
extend our gratitude to those individuals who helped make this special weekend possible. First, many thanks are due
to Jeff Ruddy ’60 and Carl Haines ’60
for their tireless efforts to coordinate
and organize all the events. We also
want to thank the staff of the Alumni
and Development Office—particularly
Kristen Tinson—the Alumni
Association, Headmaster Nat Conard,
and Pingry’s faculty, staff, and students.
We are sorry that several members
of our class were unable to attend
our 50th Reunion. They were truly
missed, and we earnestly hope that
they will be able to join us in May
2020 for our 60th Reunion. In the
meantime, I look forward to spending
more time with my Pingry classmates,
renewing our friendships, and reliving
some of the memorable experiences
we share from our past.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
SAVE THE DATE
Friday, May 13, 2011
Sesquicentennial Kick-Off Celebration
during Reunion Weekend 2011
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
pingry
alumni September 11, 2010
December 2, 2010
9:00 a.m.
Miller Bugliari ’52 World Cup Field
Martinsville Campus
7:00 p.m.
Session 73
Alumnae Soccer Game
Alumni Soccer Game
calendar of upcoming eventsl
11:00 a.m.
Miller Bugliari ’52 World Cup Field
Martinsville Campus
September 30, 2010
Young Alumni
Holiday Party
December 18, 2010
Alumni/ae Squash Game
1:00 p.m.
Drew University
Alumnae Networking
Reception
January 20, 2011
October 9, 2010
March 6, 2011
Time and Location TBA
Homecoming
12:30 p.m.
Martinsville Campus
October 27, 2010
Washington, D.C. College
Luncheon
12:00 p.m.
Clyde’s of Georgetown
Washington, D.C.
Reception
New York City Reception
Time and Location TBA
Naples Reception
Time and Location TBA
March 7, 2011
Delray Beach Reception
Time and Location TBA
March 8, 2011
Vero Beach Reception
Time and Location TBA
6:30 p.m.
Cosmos Club
November 26, 2010
Alumni/ae Ice Hockey
Game
Alumni Class Notes
Send us your latest news!
8:00 p.m.
Beacon Hill Club
Do you have a new job? New baby? Just married? Recently
moved? Or any updates to share with your classmates?
We are collecting class notes and photos for the next issue of The Pingry Review. Mail them to Kristen Tinson
at The Pingry School, P.O. Box 366, Martinsville Road,
Martinsville, NJ 08836 or email them to
Kristen at [email protected].
For more information about News and Events,
please visit www.pingry.org/alumni/newsevents.html.
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TM
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Visit us online: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Dates are subject to change. Check www.pingry.org for any updates.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
For volunteer opportunities or any additional questions:
Contact for the ’30s and ’40s
Jackie Sullivan
Director of Alumni Relations and Annual Giving
[email protected]
Contact for the ’50s and ’60s
Kristen Tinson
Associate Director of Alumni Relations and Annual Giving
[email protected]
Contact for the ’70s and ’80s
Brooke Alper
Associate Director of Alumni Relations and Annual Giving
[email protected]
Contact for the ’90s and ’00s
Laura Stoffel
Assistant Director of Alumni Relations and Annual Giving
[email protected]
Or call the Alumni and Development Office at 800-994-ALUM (2586).
www.pingry.org
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Save The Date
Homecoming
October 9, 2010
Join us! Homecoming at the
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