CLASS NOTES
From left: Katie Clapp Sonin ’89, Violet, Alicja Trout ’89, Udo, and Viggo
with Halloween costumes. She met up with Larisa Mendez-Pinate in Salem and spent time visiting Eileen Williams and taking in the Halloween festivities. Recently, Katie read a story with her boys where the main character is worried she’s going to get shipped off to boarding school. They had lots of questions, including wondering whether it really was punishment to go to boarding school. • We are sad to report the death of our classmate, Thomas George, on 1/5/16. Less than two years ago, he became the personal face of the ice bucket challenge, as he was diagnosed with ALS. Tom and his wife, Rebecca Brown George, were examples of bravery and truly lived their lives to the fullest following the diagnosis, creating powerful memories by traveling to Australia, Hawaii, Iceland, England, the Caribbean, and places in the U.S. Tom is very much missed.
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Northfield Mount Hermon Robbianne Mackin robbianne.mackin@gmail.com • Travis Lea travislea@gmail.com • Kristin Steele kaste@conncoll.edu • Toryn Kimberley Stark torynk@yahoo.com
From Kristin: I have been on campus many times since reunion, most recently returning for Christmas Vespers. It’s always great to see so many of our wonderful teachers. Among those that I had a chance to visit were Carol and Nelson Lebo, and Sandy Messer. A big bonus was sitting up front next to Sheila Heffernon with my mother. Definitely one of the best Vespers services I’ve seen. If you’ve thought about attending, do it! • Matt Walker writes, “After living in Thailand for over a decade, I moved back to the States in 2013 with my wife and two daughters. We started in Los Angeles and now are in the Phoenix area. Still working from home for a tech research/ consulting company. It’s great to be back in the U.S. — we’re all loving it and are planning a cross-country road trip this summer. Thuan Nguyen lives nearby, and we’ve hung out a couple of times. The NMH Connect app tells me lots of other alums live in the area. Living overseas made it all too easy to lose connec-
tions, and I’m looking forward to rekindling those.” • Mimy von Schreiner-Valenti had a wonderful time at the 25th: “I loved seeing everyone but especially loved seeing my MerrillKeep girls: Dawn Fitzgerald (she came with her lovely husband, Jeff, and their two darling kids), Anne Comstock (her first reunion!), Lila Javan (who is cancer-free and looks amazing!), Najoh Tita-Reid (who’s living in London with her two adorable kids and husband), and Michelle Matteo (who had a little girl almost two years ago to add to their two older boys). And although she wasn’t able to make reunion, I had a wonderful visit afterward with Jen Gardner Reuss, who is living in a fabulous house in Andover with her amazing, adorable kids and still killing it in marketing!” On a sad note, Mimy’s mother, Mary Cookson von Schreiner ’57, passed away in April 2015 from complications following open heart surgery. Mimy sends thanks to the many of you who have extended sympathies and reached out to her. • I had a blast at reunion, too, with Abby Lechthaler, Brendan Pack, and Kate Toland and her husband, J.J., whom we consider to be an honorary member of the class of ’90! • Personally, I am still selling luxury real estate in Naples, Fla., with my business partner of 14 years, Kate, and the newest addition to our team: my husband of 20 years, John. He retired last year from a very successful and lucrative career in banking to help us grow our business even more. We have two boys: Jack (12) and Will (9). Both are healthy and happy. We are blessed. • I do so hope all of you who missed the 25th will make it to the 30th! It was really a great time, and a huge thanks to Kristin and Heagen and Danny and Toryn for all their hard work. • I hope everyone starts planning now for the 30th. Let’s not wait. There should be many minireunions over the next few years! Send in pictures and write-ups about each gathering, so we can all join in on the fun.
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Northfield Mount Hermon Dairo Moreno demoreno@post.harvard.edu
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Northfield Mount Hermon Jennifer Sadula De Vore devorejr@msn.com • Ini Obot iniobot@yahoo.com • Cate Steele Hartzell cate.hartzell@gmail.com
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Northfield Mount Hermon Susannah Sprong Cahillane coloradocahillanes@mac.com
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Northfield Mount Hermon Carol Koldis Foote carol.foote@gmail.com • Dan Furlong furlongtime@gmail.com
Greetings, class of 1994! We hope 2016 is treating you well. • Jeremy Bohrer earned his
master’s in mathematics last summer and is, for the time being, teaching undergrad math classes at Iowa State University. • Christina Lamb Sidell moved back to Boston (renting in Needham, looking to buy somewhere) last fall and is working for the market research firm 451 Research. Her son, Quinn, has settled in nicely at his new school, and husband, Philip Sidell, continues to work for Cengage Learning as head of mobile application development. They are all splitting their time between Boston and Vermont. Christina just returned from another sailing adventure with Oceans of Hope, a global voyage to change perceptions of multiple sclerosis, in Barcelona, where she had an amazing time. She also works two blocks from Anne Miner Jarek but never sees her and thinks that is funny. Christina also encourages the class to please get your gifts in or she will be forced to come and visit you!
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Northfield Mount Hermon Please send news to: nmhnotes@nmhschool.org
From Erin Sprong Murrell: After a very fun and memorable 20th reunion, the class of ’95 is back in action! I want to send a big thanks to Ralph Bledsoe ’79, our class parent, for rallying the troops and making the time to come visit with us last June. I also want to thank everyone who sent in a submission. Keep them coming! • Jim Dillon kicked off a truly memorable reunion weekend by celebrating his 39th birthday in Holyoke, Mass., with Erin Sprong Murrell, Cameron Murrell, and their two boys, Oliver (10) and Oscar (8). Cam is currently the lead fabricator at 42 Design Fab, where he spends his days listening to podcasts and inventing ways to make cool stuff. Erin was thrilled to represent the class of ’95 in the NMH alumni boat at the 51st Head of the Charles. • Sarah Sheridan is in New Jersey working as a speech/language pathologist in inpatient rehabilitation, helping adults after brain injuries and strokes. She has two daughters, Eleanor (5) and Winifred (3). • Keely Isaak Meehan is living and dancing in Seattle with her husband, Mike. Keely had a daughter, Ada Louise, in February 2015. “She fills my days with laughter and light,” says Keely. • Nick Vida is in the Los Angeles area building solar operations for Direct Energy Solar in California. He is the director of regional operations and spent his year opening three new offices. He is building new teams through 2016. “So any Hoggers can holler at your buddy here. No super-cute kid for me yet, but life is good,” Nick writes. • Mark Labouchere is living in Atlanta, Ga., with wife Andrea and two kids: Adeline (5) and Luke (2). Mark works at The Westminster Schools — a large independent day school — teaching history and economics. He also coaches lacrosse and is the technology integration specialist for the upper school. • Ben Schuman moved from Denver in 2013 and is now in Pensacola, Fla.,
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