Alumni Awards Alumni News and Notes

Alumni Association Honors Dubinsky and Trulaske

John Dubinsky ’61 named Outstanding Alum, and Steve Trulaske ’75 honored for distinguished service to Burroughs.

Head of School Andy Abbott told students, faculty/ staff and guests during morning assembly on October 11 that they might not recognize the names of the two men on stage with him that morning. The reason, Abbott said, was that “both of these men, who have devoted their lives to having an impact on their communities, are remarkably humble.”

JOHN DUBINSKY ’61

Dubinsky, who received the Alumni Association’s 2018 Outstanding Alum Award, told the audience he had been an average student, an uneven athlete (he played soccer) and socially awkward. But, he said, “there was something very special about JBS for me, which made a difference in my life and whatever successes I have had.”

After earning a bachelor’s degree in political science and an MBA from Washington University in St. Louis, Dubinsky embarked on a long and impressive career in banking. He was hired by Mark Twain Bancshares in 1967, was elected president in 1975 and became CEO in 1986. He went on to serve as chairman, president and chief executive of Mercantile Bank, as well as president of Firstar Bank (now U.S. Bank). He’s currently CEO of the financial consulting firm, Westmoreland Associates, LLC; a director of Stifel Financial Corp.; and a director of Drury Hotels. He has also served on the boards of BJC HealthCare, Barnes Jewish Hospital, Washington University in St. Louis, Rise and the NPR Foundation.

Since the early 2000s, much of Dubinsky’s attention has focussed on turning St. Louis Midtown into a vibrant 200-acre hub of technology and biological science research, Cortex Innovation Community. Dubinsky’s involvement started with a conversation with Bill Danforth, former chancellor of Washington University in St. Louis. As Dubinsky told KETC Channel 9 last summer, Danforth wanted to revitalize the city with a biotech corridor, and he needed help building biotech facilities and securing acreage for the project. “He (Danforth) said, ‘I hear you have time on your hands, and you spent — his words — a distinguished career in banking. You’re focused on urban areas and real estate, and I’d like to see if you’d be willing to help me.’” Dubinsky said, “Yes, of course — but what am I to do?” Danforth’s response: “If I knew the answer to that, I wouldn’t need you!’”

Dubinsky helped Danforth secure backing from major institutions — including Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis University, University of Missouri St. Louis, BJC HealthCare and the Missouri Botanical Garden — to get Cortex Innovation Community off the ground. He also served as the project’s president and chief executive officer from 2003 to 2008 and chairman of the board of directors from 2008 to 2016.

Cortex now boasts 1.7 million square feet of space, representing $550 million of investment and 4,200 technology-related jobs. Its success has also helped spark growth in other neighborhoods. As Dubinsky noted in an interview with the St. Louis Business Journal last fall, $8 billion in development is occurring in the core of the city — and, he said, a lot more is currently in the works.

STEVE TRULASKE ’75

The second alum to be honored was Trulaske, who received the Alumni Association’s 2018 Distinguished Service Award for his exceptional and long-lasting support of Burroughs. In his October 11 introduction of Trulaske, Abbott talked about the old blue track around a muddy football field that he remembered on arriving at Burroughs in 2001. Trulaske, he said, led the charge to turf the field and renovate the track and has been integrally involved in every major addition the school has undertaken over the last 15 years. Trulaske’s initiatives, according to Abbott, have inspired others to contribute to upgrades on the Burroughs campus.

The 2018 outstanding alum, John Dubinsky ’61 (left), and distinguished service recipient, Steve Trulaske ’75, were honored at morning assembly on October 11.

In his speech at morning assembly, Trulaske connected the trajectory of his life with his Burroughs experience, specifically his ecology class, conversations about the Stop the Dam movement on behalf of the Meramec, and his friendship with a foreign exchange student.

Trulaske is now the third-generation owner of True Manufacturing, a commercial refrigeration company headquartered in O’Fallon, Missouri. Under his direction, True became the first U.S. company to use green refrigerants, despite the cost. Trulaske did it because it was “the right thing to do,” but it was also smart. It increased demand.

Trulaske’s other priority was growing the company into a global entity: True is now in more than 100 markets outside the United States. Trulaske traces this back to his studying in Germany during college and then re-connecting there with Michael Siebold ’75, the Burroughs exchange student during the 1974-75 school year.

Both Trulaske and Dubinsky were honored this year, Mr. Abbott said, for their “great vision, and great action” — and because they put those visions, and those energies, into making their communities better.

Alumni News and Notes

Don’t see your note? The notes, marriages, births and condolences on these alumni pages were received by December 1, 2018. If you don’t see your note, please check the next issue of the Reporter.

1940s

Mary “Molly” Felker Lunsford ’49 reports that she loves her new home in a Nashville, Tennessee, retirement community near her son. “Great Southern cooking,” she writes.

1950s

Black St. Louis, is in the Smithsonian Institution’s Anacostia Community Museum Library.”

Ginny Thym Clements ’52 and her husband, Neil, celebrated their 62nd anniversary in June 2018. “Lots of time spent at doctors’ offices, but we are relatively healthy,” she writes. “We love Arizona, and our four children and their spouses are here, too! We have seven grandchildren, one greatgrandchild and two more to enter the world in 2019.”

Nancy Aitken Vanier ’52 has moved to Versailles, Kentucky.

Frank Gladney ’53 writes that in 2011, he and his wife, Barbara, relocated from Illinois to California to be closer to their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Frank taught Slavic languages at the University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign from 1963 to 2006.

Anne Scholz Allen Hacker ’54 enjoys living in Jacksonville, Florida, where she is a Jacksonville Jaguars, Symphony Pops and local dinner theatre season-ticket holder.

The Classics Department offers a robust travel that a spring break trip (offered two of three years) and a trip to Greece (offered every third year).

Alums in the News

Photograph courtesy of Chris Lee

ABOVE: While on a national book tour for her essay collection, My Squirrel Days, Ellie Kemper ’98 stopped in St. Louis on October 13 for a sold-out event at St. Louis County Library Headquarters. She asked Head of School Andy Abbott to moderate the event.

Former JBS teammates Foye Oluokun ’13 (at left in photo) and Ezekiel Elliott ’13, now NFL players with the Atlanta Falcons and Dallas Cowboys, respectively, faced off against each other the weekend before Thanksgiving. After the game, they swapped jerseys.

Another former JBS football star, Jake Bain ’18, was profiled in The New York Times about his Indiana State University athletic career as well as his LGBTQ+ activism.

In early December, Lior Melnick ’08 and his a cappella group, Six13, released “Bohemian Chanukah,” a holiday cover of a Queen classic, which went viral. It had 3 million+ views in its first week and was quickly named as one of Billboard’s eight best Hanukkah songs.

Photograph courtesy of the Dallas Cowboys

Rufus Cadigan ’64 writes, “A play I wrote with my friend Ted Bacino called The Shakespeare Conspiracy was produced off-Broadway last spring. My wife, Carolyn, and I got a kick out of the opening evening.”

Judy Oliver Lovelace’64 writes, “Our son, Jeff, and his family returned from three years in Paraguay, where he was a director for the Peace Corps. They have settled back into their house in Virginia, and Jeff has started a new job as finance director for the Bureau of Indian Affairs.”

Helen Ross ’64 works part time as a landscape gardener in McLean, Virginia.

Scott Johnson ’65 reports that his family’s cabin in Colorado survived the Spring Creek Fire, which consumed 108,000+ acres. “Thanks to first responders and the Red Cross,” writes Scott.

Charles Lowenhaupt ’65 reports that his new book, The Wise Inheritor’s Guide to Freedom from Wealth, was published by Praeger.

1970s

David Kohl ’70 writes, “After 33 years of education and then 33 years of practicing medicine, I’m ready to have fun. I figure the universe owes me 33 years.”

James Maxeiner ’70, associate director of the Center for International and Comparative Law at the University of Baltimore, recently published a book, Failures of American Methods of Lawmaking in Historical and Comparative Perspectives, through Cambridge University Press.

Sue Morrison Rapp ’54 reports that all is well. “I am now a very happy great-grandmother,” she writes.

Wildlife and pet photographer Barbara von Hoffman ’54 leads safaris in Africa every year. A few years ago, one of her images won the Nature’s Best Photography Windland Smith International Award. “There were 16 winners out of more than 20,000 submissions. Big celebration at the Smithsonian in D.C.!” Barbara writes.

At 79, Colleen Ryan ’57 still teaches statistics (part time) and is working on the third edition of her statistics book.

Jean MacBryde Swenson ’57 moved to a retirement community in Davis, California, to be closer to her son.

Pamela Morris Clark ’58 closed her medical practice in January 2018. “It was actually easier starting my own practice than closing it down after more than 30 years,” she writes. “So far, all the family is in the New York area. Bridget, the oldest granddaughter, graduated a year ago from SUNY New Paltz and is working toward a master’s degree in social work; Kayleigh is heading off to Sarah Lawrence College with grants and scholarships; and Jillian is starting high school. My husband, Doug, retired a year before I did. We have a lot of stuff to thin out — over 30 years in one house.”

Judith Lorenz Tisdale ’58 reports that she enjoyed her class’s 60th reunion, visiting with classmates from California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Ohio, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky and Kansas. “We were duly impressed with the new STAR building and the party,” she writes.

Earl Buchholz Jr. ’59 enjoys retirement in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.

1960s

Wade Kennedy’62 lives in Baltimore, Maryland, and is principal of Tax Experience, LLC. He writes, “My daughter, Cary, came in second in the primary for governor of Colorado. She is still very busy advocating for education reform and funding.”

Ellen Walz Svenson ’63 is moving to Mari de Villa Senior Living Community in St. Louis. Several alums (above) gathered recently in Washington, D.C., for a mini-reunion. From left are Coco and Jim Stein ’73, Nancy Kopman Rubenstein ’81, Ned Rubenstein ’73, Boo Morse ’73 and Jim ’73 and Amy Moscowitz.

Michael Nelson ’74 writes, “Now that the last of our seven kids is in college, we are heading off to do missionary work.”

After 18 years with the World Initiative for Soy in Human Health at the American Soybean Association, Jim Hershey ’75 has accepted the position of chief of party for a USDA-funded project to increase freshwater aquaculture in Cambodia. He and his wife, Nancy, will move to Phnom Penh.