Charles C. Cabot Jr. ’48 June 11, 1930 – September 9, 2003
My thoughts about our dear friend Priscilla When I first arrived at Milton in 1960, having been a member of the Great Britain Lacrosse team, Priscilla and Dolly were among the first members of the faculty to become my friends. That friendship never stopped growing and really has continued until now. One of my earliest memories of Priscilla was the time she thought I ought to become more American, so she made me a pair of Bermuda shorts, tailored to perfection. Whilst we were working together as members of the Girls’ School faculty, which was a very close group of ladies who held each other in great respect, I was lucky to know Priscilla as part of the phys ed department and as an organizer of major school events. I never ceased to be amazed at her organizing power and her attention to the smallest details, such as umbrellas. Nothing was forgotten and, in consequence, everything went flawlessly.
I know she is looking down on us—probably having a cigarette after finishing 18 with Miss Sullivan and preparing for a marathon cribbage game with Phyllis Bourne. I feel she might repeat the words she wrote in Debby Black Drain’s Milton yearbook in 1966:
66 Milton Magazine
When Priscilla, Dolly and Alice Gregg retired and built their home on Randolph Avenue, they shared it with many. Dolly died six months after they moved in and, since then, many of the old faculty have stayed there. My 50th birthday and retirement party were there. Perhaps Priscilla’s bravest and kindest and most loving gesture was to allow Sue and me to live with her for eight months while I underwent chemotherapy. I think all three of us were amazed at how well we managed and how much fun we had.Her kindness is one I shall never forget, and it cemented our 43-year friendship forever. Priscilla was a great and loving person who had always another friend to her dog—Muffin being a great favorite. Priscilla was fun, competitive and loving and she will be sorely missed. Barbara Isherwood Girls’ School Faculty Emerita Milton Academy Master Teacher
“Remember to keep everything balanced.” Godspeed, Miss Bailey. Jeanne-Marie Boylan ‘67
C
harles C. Cabot was a trustee at Milton Academy from 1977 to 1989, while Jerry Pieh led the Academy as headmaster, and during a period of growth both for the faculty and the student body. During this time, as well, the Girls’ School and the Boys’ School were steadily integrated to form a coeducational school. “Charlie Cabot brought to his service as a trustee the unusual combination of a highly organized, lawyerly mind and a highly developed sense of mission,” Jerry Pieh remembers. “He was committed to social justice and the welfare of all kinds of people. Charlie was comfortable with people— talking with them, listening to them.” Having survived a terrible accident and multiple surgeries, Charlie was grounded as a person; he was broad-minded, and acted with an awareness that he had a responsibility
beyond his own well-being. Charlie engaged with problems and with organizations and their related missions. He was a member of the Conservation Law Foundation 1970 to 2003, and the chair of its board of trustees from 1991 to 2003. Charlie was also a trustee at the Neighborhood House School in Dorchester, Massachusetts, from 1995 to 2003, and the president of its board from 1997 to 2003. Aware of the multicultural face of the state and the nation, Charlie believed in diversifying the Academy while retaining the traditional values of school, including the combination of intellect and character. “Charlie was a wise and steady force on the board,” says Jerry. “He was caring, bright and committed— perhaps not the most visible trustee—but one on whom you could always count, someone who delivered.”