In Memoriam

John Bass, 1968 Telesis

John Bass ’68

John Bass of Hailey, Idaho left this world peacefully, on his own terms, after deciding that he wouldn’t take the slow path that was offered by his pulmonary fibrosis. John’s passion for life was reflected in everything he did, from ski racing to car racing, climbing to cutting horses, and sharing his opinion on topics from beer to politics and geopolitics, often vociferously. All of this came from a heart that was bigger than the person. He will be missed by many from around the world, and asked that everyone celebrate in their own way then let him go. Donations in John’s memory may be made to the Alex Lowe Foundation, www.alexlowe.org.

Remembrance:

I have great memories of, football, lacrosse, and skiing with John. He always lived on the edge. He’ll be missed. – Jeff Baker

Robert Bosworth ’69

By Koren Bosworth with Adrienne Bosworth and Joey Bosworth On June 8, 2018, Rob Bosworth passed away at home in Juneau, after a long battle with Parkinson’s and its unpredictable symptoms. It is hard to summarize such a vibrant life, and wonderful man the wordsmith of the family. He is missed very much. Whenever he walked out the door, Rob liked to say, “We’re off, on the greatest adventure of our lives!” This set an amazing precedent for his 40+ years in Alaska. Rob’s adventures were diverse, from singing in operas and winning spelling bees, to flying planes and felling trees. He was a diligent advocate for wild spaces, subsistence lifestyles, and responsible resource management who worked for many years for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and later started the Southeast Alaska office of The Nature Conservancy. In his workshop, Rob created beautiful things for people to truly use: violins, tables, rowing sculls, cutting boards. He sang heartily and learned to play every instrument he met. Much of Rob’s time was spent in Gustavus, Alaska at the cabin he built in 1977. He spent long summers there raising his two children, making his sweetheart laugh, puttering with chainsaws, attending Friday cocktail hour, and walking new trails with old friends. Rob had a sharp wit to the end, surprising everyone with one-liners and a cappella renditions of old folk melodies even after he lost the ability to converse. Although Parkinson’s took so much from him, his twinkle was persistent, and he battled all symptoms with more graciousness than seemed possible. In the last few years in Juneau, he joined Rock Steady boxing, which introduced him to a jovial and courageous community of locals on their own journey with Parkinson’s. His wife Koren and his two children Joey and Adrienne are still traveling, laughing, and basking in all the gifts he left them.

Rob Bosworth, 1969 senior class photo from The Hill School Justin Gaines ’05

Justin Gaines ’05

By Whitney Gaines ’08 The way Justin Gaines saw himself is not the way the world saw him. He believed he was an outsider: someone tolerated but never accepted. Maybe he thought that because of his prosthetic leg, or his racial identity, or something else. Whatever the case, it was simply not true. The world saw Justin, rightly, as a leader, a community builder, a hero, an athlete, a friend, and someone magnanimous and endearing to a fault. Take, for example, his smile. He was a person with a million-watt smile, whose eyes sparkled with mischief and delight, who rightly earned that cliché that so often reads as meaningless. His smile lit the world and his gregariousness and determination made him an unstoppable force. There was not a physical activity he could not master, whether that was skiing, soccer, golf, rock climbing, or even fencing. There was not a single person he could not charm with his easy laugh and catching enthusiasm, or move with his eloquence and story. He achieved perfect coordination and social grace without seemingly breaking a sweat. He was, simply, incomparable. However, the disparity between how he saw himself and how the world saw him tore him apart. On July 7, the pain of our father’s suicide the previous summer, combined with this fractured sense of self, led him to make an irreparable mistake, and he ended his life.

Justin Gaines will be remembered for the way he was: charming, oftentimes combative, charitable, lost, altruistic, hurting, mischievous, and gregarious. He was a steadfast friend, a wonderful older brother, a caring son, and a man with unlimited potential. He is dearly missed.

Jean-Claude Pritchard

Former Faculty 1989-2013

By Liston Hills ’95 and Matt Olmstead ’95 If you happened to visit Colorado Academy at the tail end of the 80’s through the first 13 years of the new millennium, you would have been hard-pressed not to cross paths with Jean-Claude “J-C” Pritchard. Bouncing from Middle School math classes to the athletic fields, he often coached both Middle and Upper School seasons of soccer, conditioning, and lacrosse and taught multiple levels of Middle School math. In addition to these roles, he also planned and led mountain biking and back country skiing interims which helped rekindle the school’s focus on outdoor education.

Born October 18, 1963 in New York City, he immediately fell in love with skiing and team sports. Splitting time between New York City and Douglas Hill, Maine, J-C was happiest when outdoors and on the move. In the summers, he attended Camp O-ATKA on Lake Sebago in Maine, a place so important to him that he later returned as an adult and headed the Senior Unit.

When J-C reached his teenage years, his love of skiing led him to Gould Academy in Bethel, Maine. There he excelled on the snow, the soccer and lacrosse fields, and on the tennis courts. Upon graduating, J-C attended Stony Brook University in New York where he played lacrosse and started down a path that would lead to teaching. J-C’s time at Colorado Academy ran from 1989 to 2013. During that time, he influenced countless students in the Middle School, in the outdoors, and on the athletic fields. When asked, his former students and players remember J-C for his ability to motivate his students and players, his passion for physical fitness and activity, and his unwillingness to settle for anything less than excellence. These traits delivered to the School three State 3A Soccer Championships in ’98, ’99, and ’12, ended a nearly 25-year championship drought, and established the CA boys soccer program as the team to beat.

J-C is also remembered for his decadeslong devotion to the Loveland Ski Patrol. Nearly every weekend of the ski season, J-C could be found on the slopes of the ski area volunteering his time and medical expertise. Jean-Claude Pritchard is survived by his wife, Debra, his children, Gage ‘09 and Eliza ‘16, and his mother, Joan Morford. For additional information or to make a contribution to the family, please contact Liston Hills (listonhills@gmail.com) or Matt Olmstead (mattyolmstead@yahoo.com). Condolence notes may be sent to the Pritchard Family at 4040 Swanson Way #209, Castle Rock, CO 80109

J-C Pritchard holding the Colorado State Championship Soccer trophy in 2012.

CA Alumni Association

Upcoming Dates 2018-2019

Friday, November 23, 2018 Alumni Happy Hour Friday, November 30, 2018 Alumni Ice Skating Party 5:30–9:00 p.m., Denver Country Club

Wednesday, December 19, 2018 College Alumni Lunch 12:30 p.m., Campus Center Tuesday, January 22, 2019 Eli Saslow ’00, Rising Out of Hatred 5:30 p.m., Campus Center, light supper served and lecture This is CA’s annual Speak Out Event. Thursday, February 7, 2019 Grad School Night 5:30–8:30 p.m., CA Campus Friday, May 24, 2019 Giant Relay Day BBQ Lunch, Carnival, The Race, Alumni-Faculty Party, Alumni-Varsity-Faculty Games Saturday & Sunday, Reunion Weekend May 25-26, 2019 1969, 1979, 1989, 1994, 1999, 2009, 2014 Check the Alumni Homepage for the latest information on new Alumni Events. All updates are sent electronically, so give your email address to the Alumni Office by contacting Sue Burleigh at sue.burleigh@coloradaoacademy.org or 303-914-2584.

Alumni Association Board 2018-2019

Taken at the Board Retreat on September 29, 2018, First Row (L to R): Lisa Harrison Ellsworth ’79, Kelly Young Campbell ’98, Elsa Woolley ’11, Ashley Peterson ’06, Georgia Grey ’08, Myles McGinnis ’08, Head of School Mike Davis. Second Row: Board Chair David Jones ’95, Eric Hopfenbeck ’10, Ryan Koch ’96, Brian Fisher ’02, Alex Barton ’97, Ben Hock ’07, Zach Tucker ’01, Katie Cordes ’03, Aimée Nieuwenhuizen ’06, Austin Carpenter ’05, Jared Harding ’97. Not Pictured: VJ Brown ’11, Courtney Engle ’08, Karl Koch ’05, Lorenzo Pardo ’08, Max Shaw ’08, Gordon Smith ’79, Nicole Sisk Wiechecki ’01, Jenn Zinn ’95.

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Remember CA’s early computers?

Look closely, and you will see that this early CA computer was made by a company that’s still managed to stay in business—Apple. In the mid-1980s, CA introduced computers in all three divisions. The Lower School principal announced a new Computer Lab complete with “ten new Apple IIe computers networked by a hard disc Corvus system. The new lab will give us a rare opportunity to explore suitable computer curriculum and software for our own particular needs.” What a difference 35 years has made at CA!