BULLETIN | WINTER 2017 55
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Hugh Jeremy Packard, a teacher and administrator at Choate Rosemary Hall for
17 years, died December 25, 2016 in Plains Township, Pa. He was 78. The son of Choate faculty members Hubert S. Packard and Anita F. Packard, Jere was born in New Haven and grew up on the Choate campus. His mother was one of the first women appointed to the faculty of what was then an all-boys’ school. He entered School in 1949 as a first former. In his six years at School, he lettered in football, hockey and lacrosse (co-captain); was President of his fifth and sixth form classes, was on the Honor Committee and the Student Council, was in the Cum Laude Society, and won the School Seal Prize. His classmates voted him “Most Respected” and “Most Influential.”
AFTER EARNING DEGREES FROM WILLIAMS AND COLUMBIA, Jere served in the Marine Corps Reserve. He taught at Hotchkiss for two years and Eton (England) for two years before joining the Choate faculty in 1964. He taught history, and was head of the History Department from 1972 to 1974, and was form dean from 1972 to 1975 until he was appointed Head of Choate by Principal of Choate
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Rosemary Hall Charles F. Dey. He also coached football, ice hockey, and lacrosse. In 1980, Vice Principal Chas Twichell wrote, “Though Jere’s administrative duties prevent him from teaching more than one or two courses now, his colleagues still turn to him for advice, counsel, and technical assistance. He so radiates integrity, experience, and understanding of teen-aged boys that we all say ‘Let’s ask Jere’ when a particularly tough disciplinary action arises.” “A towering presence in the lives of Choate students and faculty for more than two decades,” recalled former Dean of Faculty Ed Maddox, “Jere was a teacher, coach, house adviser, and administrator, a role model and friend to students and colleagues alike. He and I entered the Deans Office together in 1972, sharing a small office in Hill House. He was a master at balancing discipline and discretion, and had the good judgment and instinct when to use which.” Jere left Choate in 1981 to become headmaster of Ridley College School in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada, and received an honorary Doctor of Sacred Letters degree from Wycliffe College, University of Toronto. From 1990 until 2007, he was President of Wyoming Seminary College Preparatory School in Kingston, Pa. During his 17-year tenure at Sem, Jere taught AP European history, founded the school’s Teaching Intern Program and worked to increase the number of courses and AP classes offered as well as financial aid. He also took a leadership
role in expanding the school’s English as a Second Language program, founding and expanding the Performing Arts Institute and summer programs, building and renovating facilities at both Lower and Upper Schools, quadrupling the school’s endowment and the development of 10 new athletic programs. He was active in the community, serving in leadership positions with the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce and Leadership Wilkes-Barre, The United Way of Luzerne County, the Luzerne County Historical and Geological Society, Jewish Family Services, the Greater Wyoming Valley Audubon Society and the Wyoming Valley Torch Club. He also served as president of the Pennsylvania Association of Independent Schools and on the executive board of the Association of Delaware Valley Independent Schools. He was an adjunct professor of history at Misericordia and Wilkes Universities, and chair of the Luzerne County Board of Elections. He enjoyed birdwatching, growing vegetables, and his beloved dogs. He had a working farm in Vermont, and would travel there as often as he could to oversee its operation. At Choate, the Pratt-Packard Declamation Contest was established in 2001 to honor Jere and the late drama teacher E. Stanley Pratt. He leaves his wife, Ingrid Cronin; five children, including Eliza Packard ’83 and Seth Packard ’84; and three grandchildren. A memorial service was held January 14 in the Kirby Center for Creative Arts at Wyoming Seminary’s Upper School campus in Kingston.
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