IN MEMORIAM

Penelope Perkins Wilson ’41

1923-2021

Penelope “Penny” Perkins Wilson arrived at Chatham Hall in the late 1930s. Born in the Bronx, New York City in 1923, Penny was the daughter of George W. Perkins and Linn Merck Perkins. Her father was the first ambassador to NATO. She was raised on the family’s farm in Cold Spring, New York. During her time at Chatham Hall, Penny was involved in the Riding Club and creating the School’s yearbook. Following graduation, Penny studied at Bennington College in Vermont where she became interested in architecture and particularly in restoring historic buildings. This passion was evident during her time serving on the Chatham Hall Board of Trustees, during which she was the chair of the Buildings and Ground Committee for many years. Penny served on the Board for a total of 26 years, under four heads of school. She was named a Trustee Emeritus in 2015. Penny’s support of Chatham Hall touched many areas of the campus. In fact, she is the Penny after which our beloved Penny Lane is named! Penny was an avid investor in the unglamorous aspects of facilities - boilers and facility infrastructure and the like. Over the years, she invested in dorm improvements, the creation of the Shaw Science Building, our kitchen and dining room renovation, the restoration of St. Mary’s Chapel, and a new facility dedicated especially for our maintenance team. She was a persistent voice in focusing School attention towards addressing deferred maintenance projects and a strong proponent of developing a Provision for Physical Plant Replacement, Repairs, and Special Maintenance fund and endowed funds for ongoing operations and maintenance. Penny knew that if these things were not attended to it would drain resources needed for students and faculty support. Penny was mother to five daughters, including Wendy Wilson O’Brien ’67, grandmother to 14, and greatgrandmother to 17. She had strong family connections to Chatham Hall including through her sister Anne Perkins Cabot ’47, cousins Serena Merck Hatch ’45 and the late Polly Wheeler Guth ’44, and Polly’s daughter Olga “Holly” Davidson ’70. Penny was also the godmother of Muffy Dent Stuart ’68. Throughout her lifetime she supported a variety of conservation and restoration projects, donated generously to both Chatham Hall and Bennington College, and was known as a philanthropic leader in myriad settings. Her generosity and achievements were honored with many awards throughout her life, including Chatham Hall’s Boyce Lineberger Award in 1992, Mildred Harrison Dent Award in 1999, and the Distinguished Alumnae Award in 2010. Penny’s legacy is truly vast. Chatham Hall has been indelibly changed by her devotion to it, and her memory will live on in all that she has made possible for the School. Chatham Hall sends its deepest condolences to the family of this amazing woman, and thanks Penny for all that she has given us.

in memoriam

The Chatham Hall community extends its deepest sympathy to the families and friends of the following alumnae and friends of the School who have recently passed away.

Dear Chatham Hall friends,

Penny Wilson was my shining example of an older, experienced Board member who says little in Board meetings, but knows a great deal. My technique of arriving a day early for Board meetings so I could walk the campus (it is a looong trip from New Mexico), resulted in me finding Penny also walking the campus. My questions shone a bright light on Dr. Lee’s original vision of the campus, the storage of all the full height stage backgrounds that we used when the Lee Library was our theater and, together, we found the Black Box Theater! No, it did not look like much, but when all the lumber and odd parts were cleared out, presto! Just as Penny said, there it was. — Povy La Farge Bigbee ’51, G’03, ’09, ’10, ’11

Elizabeth Zabriskie van Sand ’37

passed away on October 12, 2020. She is survived by her daughter Alexandra Kristensen-Caruso ’64.

Penelope Perkins Wilson ’41

passed away on February 10, 2021. She is survived by her daughter, Wendy Wilson O’Brien ’67, her sister Anne Perkins Cabot ’47, and her cousins Serena Merck Hatch ’45 and Olga Davidson ’70. She was predeceased by her cousin Polly Wheeler Guth ’44.

Jean Burch Falls ’42 passed away on March 29, 2020.

Mary Tiedeman Hoagland ’42 passed away on October 31, 2020.

Elaine Cruikshank Luckey ’44 passed away on January 12, 2021.

Lea Cumings Parson ’44 passed away on November 18, 2020. She is survived by her daughter Katharine Reynolds Chandler ’68 and her great niece Jane Francis ’13. She was predeceased by her sister Joan Cumings Francis ’50 and her daughter Susan Reynolds Walker ’65.

Marilyn Morss MacLeod ’45

passed away on December 14, 2020. She is survived by her cousin Marian Morris Aikman ’48, and she was predeceased by her sister Sylvia Morss Page ’44.

Helen Dempwolf Goodhue ’46 passed away on January 6, 2021.

Ann Thoron Hale ’46 passed away on November 25, 2020. She is survived by her cousin Ellen MacVeagh Rublee ’50.

Annette Shelden Dykema ’47

passed away on December 22, 2019. She was predeceased by her sisterin-law Mary Dykema McGuire ’37.

Louise Erdman Larsen ’47

passed away on October 25, 2020. She was predeceased by her cousin Joan Chickering Volberg ’51.

Katharine Kidde ’48 passed away on November 12, 2020.

Elizabeth Barney Fooks ’50

passed away on December 5, 2020.

Margaret Gammage Nicol ’50 passed away on November 21, 2020.

Phoebe Barnes Caner ’51

passed away on September 27, 2020.

Anne Allbright Smith ’51

passed away on November 7, 2020.

Joan Cass Adams ’53 passed away on November 18, 2020.

Elisabeth Mackay Lee

Johnsrud ’53 passed away on October 16, 2020.

Martha Moffitt Carlstrom ’57

passed away on November 21, 2020. She is survived by her sister Anne Moffitt ’60.

Nancy Heyward ’62 passed away on June 9, 2020. She was predeceased by her sister Candace Heyward ’68.

Rebecca Brown Hutcheson ’70

passed away on October 5, 2020. She is survived by her mother Susan Judd Brown ’46, her sister Ardon Brown Armstrong ’73, her cousins Elizabeth Blanton McHargue ’55, Frances Wallace Robertson ’73, and Anna Wallace ’08. She was predeceased by her cousin Sally Brittingham Wallace ’44.

Lyell Flagg LeBron ’86 passed away on November 5, 2020. She is survived by her sister Virginia Gray Flagg ’89.

Amanda Birdwell Hodges ’02 passed away on February 6, 2021.

Joel Dackman

passed away on July 6th, 2020. He is survived by his wife Paget Humphreys Dackman ’69.

Joan Gillings

passed away on February 18, 2021. She is survived by her daughter Susan Gillings Gross ’98 and her granddaughter Erin Casey Gwyn ’06.

Capt. Vasiliki “Bessie” Marinakos

passed away in January 2021. She is survived by her daughter Margaret-Sophia Perdersen ’18.

Dr. Frances Milam

Stoneburner passed away on March 6, 2021. She is survived by her daughter Sara Stoneburner ’76.

Dr. John Moore Stoneburner

passed away on October 27, 2020. He is survived by his daughter Sara Stoneburner ’76.