class notes
Mountain-NMH page on Facebook. I spent a few evenings with Toby Green. After graduating from the 2-year Wooden Boat Restoration program at IYRS in Newport RI, Toby has embarked on his new career—building and restoring classic vessels, including a 16-foot Haven 12½ designed by Joel White, which is scheduled to be launched in early June ’12. As to Toby’s future, Russian multibillionaire Vladimir Denishovich O’Casey has hired him to manage an impressive project, a “spirit of tradition” replica of the Titanic, full-scale and constructed entirely of wood. Vlad’s grandfather had been an ironmonger in Belfast, Northern Ireland, working for famed shipbuilders Harland and Wolff during the construction of the Titanic. Always saddened by the loss of life in April of 1912, his grandfather often wondered aloud if they shouldn’t have just: “used wood…like in the old days.” Mr. Denishovich O’Casey intends construction to start by the 100th anniversary of the tragic maiden voyage.** Toby also caught me up with what Tanis Williams has been up to recently. After many years as a labor and delivery nurse at the hospital in Blue Hill ME, Tanis has turned what had been a passionate hobby into a successful business venture. She has been hand-dying yarn for her personal knitting use in sweaters and socks for friends and enemies alike. She has now offered the public access to her artistic vision by opening a shop for knitting supplies and instruction called String Theory. Her success in the business has been remarkable and her customer base is growing (both through in-person walk-in and significant online sales). She has also recently undertaken the creation of the newest World Wide AIDS Quilt, a memorial quilt with a life-size likeness of every confirmed victim of the disease in the many colors of the rainbow, symbolizing inclusive support to all creatures great and small. The RI-sized quilt is scheduled to be launched from the International Space Station in late ’15, or as soon as Richard Branson develops rockets capable of launching the impressive payload. Tanis will accompany separate panels into low earth orbit, where she’ll stitch the component parts together during the 1st recorded instance of a fiber artist EVA (Extra Vehicular Activity), ensuring her
Andy Hewitt ’82, Jonathan Huston ’82, and Dairo Moreno ’91 with the NMH SpCal group at the Parade of Lights in LA harbor.
inclusion in the Guinness Book of World Records.** Kelly Armor is the education and folk art director at the Erie Art Museum. “I’ve figured out ways to bring music and storytelling into the tours I give to local students. I am most proud of Old Songs, New Opportunities, which is a job-training program that teaches former refugee women (in Erie) to work in local day-care centers and how to use their indigenous songs in American settings. I’m so happy to work for a museum that allows me to do this sort of thing. Whenever I’m in the NYC area, I get together with Melissa Ray.”
**These class notes are not intended to be entirely factual.
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NMH
ALLYSON GOODWIN 45 Mount Hermon Rd Gill MA 01354-8801 agoodwin@nmhschool.org ANGELA LAMBERT 249 Islington Street, Unit #10 Portsmouth NH 03801 drangela@mac.com
Michael “Link” Linkovich and wife Francine celebrated their 14th anniversary last Oct. Link now works in Ft Lauderdale FL as inpatient supervisor for rehabilitation services at North Shore Medical Center-FMC Campus. He oversees the physical and occupational therapists, speech therapists/pathologists, rehab techs, and support staff, and treats patients. Link writes, “I have been in touch regularly with the greatest coach and mentor, Dick Peller, and with Pete Leinbach, as well as Freddy Maguire, Todd Everett ’85, and John Coan; miss all my NMH friends and family. Would love to hear from them anytime. NMH is always close to my heart and often on my mind. The experience touched me deeply; I cannot express or put it into words.” Patti Dame Rohrmeier and family visited her in-laws in Bavaria last Aug, just in time to enjoy the local volksfests. She still works for Pfizer in NYC and is busy with sons Max (4) and Luke (2). Vinay Navani is a tax accountant and financial advisor
Laura Shaver Watt ’83, Toby Brothers ’83, and Jessica Aguilera-Steinert ’83 in London in ’11.
living in NJ and writes that eldest son Samir is attending the Pennington School, where NMH alumna and former faculty member Stephanie “Penny” Gillis Townsend ’75 is head of school. Vinay writes: “Her husband Mike, who was one of the most influential teachers of my NMH days, teaches English there as well. We spend more time at school events talking about NMH than we do about Pennington.” Vinay shared sad news that Chirag Shah passed away in Nov. Chirag was board-certified in family practice and lived and worked in Johnson City TN. Vera Heidolph has been living in San Diego for 7 years as a small-animal vet. In her free time, she volunteers performing spays and neuters for cats and dogs in need. Vera is starting her own mobile veterinary practice next year, which will focus on spays, neuters, and dentals. She started running marathons to raise funds for PETA in ’10 and now has self-described marathon fever. She ran the Miami marathon and the Negril Reggae marathon (10k) in Dec. Sister Karin Heidolph-Bremner ’77, Claire Johnson-Hurry, and several friends joined the spectator crowd for both the Miami and Negril races. Lulu Lason Cannon writes: “Our daughter ran cross-country for her high school as well as played on a travel lacrosse team this summer and fall. Our son is playing AAA hockey, and as usual we are traveling all over to watch. He plays lacrosse as well. I am in awe watching them do their thing, since I ran track, did gymnastics, played soccer and field hockey. Never ran longer than a 5K or played lacrosse competitively. In fact, during my junior year at NMH was the first time I had seen lacrosse. My husband played hockey and lacrosse. One of the highlights for our family was meeting former Red Wing Steve Yzerman at a lacrosse tournament in Chicago and Red Wing Nicklas Lindstrom at a hockey game, where his son’s team played our son’s team. I am still teaching spinning, total body conditioning, and boot camp. Tons of fun. Facebook has been a great vehicle to reconnect with NMH friends. I feel like I am in touch with them daily.” Freddy Maguire writes that son Liam just finished with football and is now on to snowboarding.
TC Connor ’83, Allyson Goodwin ’83, Jim Husson ’83, and Marggie Slichter ’84 at an NMH event in Boston.
spring 2012 I class notes I 87