PALLIUM THE MAGAZINE OF CANTERBURY SCHOOL The Fourth Centennial Issue: 1990-2015 VOL. 33, NO. 2
Students solve math problems using graphing calculators in 2007.
Canterbury Core A Society of Alumni Initiative
We are all Saints and we are more than 5,000 strong. We are part of a powerful and lifelong community of alumni. Whether you are across town or across the globe, Canterbury Core offers you a variety of ways to connect with your Society of Alumni. Just as important, it provides you with real opportunities to personally benefit from your alumni network. And whether you have a great deal of time or not very much, there are options that fit your lifestyle, schedule, needs, and interests.
Explore our volunteer opportunities and find your inspiration to become a member of Canterbury Core. WWW.CBURY.ORG/CORE For more information contact: Jennifer Loprinzo Director of Alumni and Parent Relations 800.526.1710 | jloprinzo@cbury.org
REUNION
ADMISSIONS
Reconnect with your classmates and become involved in planning your most memorable celebration yet! Provide a strong link between prospective students and the School simply by sharing your knowledge and experiences.
REGIONAL NETWORK
ATHLETIC & AFFINITY GROUPS
CAREER DEVELOPMENT
Whether you are a well-established professional or just beginning your career, you can help fellow Saints in their employment pursuits.
From the hill and beyond, establish a Canterbury presence for alumni in your region and around the world.
Go beyond the traditional class structure and interact with those with shared interests or similar Canterbury memories and experiences.
PALLIUM Vol. 33, No. 2
2016-2017
Editors: Marc Vanasse ’73, Lou Mandler Designer: Marc Vanasse ’73 Photographers: Marc Vanasse ’73, John McKeith, Heidi Johnson, John Vicchiola, Richard Freeda Cover photo: Top-bottom: Josh Stowell ’09, Ashley Gangi ’08, Nneoma Nwaigwe ’08, and Kaitlin Badolato ’08 solve math problems using graphing calculators. Photo by John McKeith, 2007.
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Canterbury’s Trustees: 1990-2015
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The Right Man for the Right Time: 1990-2015
By Lou Mandler For the entire fourth quarter century, the Board of Trustees worked closely with headmaster Tom Sheehy to significantly transform all areas of school life. By Marc Vanasse ’73 Thomas J. Sheehy III, Canterbury’s fifth headmaster, led the School from its 75th anniversary through its centennial celebration. During this time, he, with the help of the Board of Trustees and generous donors, improved and expanded facilities, strengthened the academic, athletic, and spiritual programs, hired the best possible faculty, and built a larger endowment.
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The Faculty: 1990-2015
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Canterbury’s Campus: 1990-2015
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The Student Body: 1990-2015
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Student Life at Canterbury: 1990-2015
By Wright Danenbarger This installment of the history of the Canterbury faculty focuses on the teachers who have served the School for more than twenty years and those close to the mark. By Bryan Kiefer In Canterbury’s fourth quarter century, successful fundraising and thoughtful planning led to construction and renovated spaces that retained the architectural vision of Nelson and Raphael Hume and transformed the campus. By Lou Mandler During this time, the School sees a major shift in the composition of the student population. By Kathy Bolster and Lou Mandler In its fourth quarter century, Canterbury underwent not only a tremendous physical transformation but also numerous changes to the daily routine of students.
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Athletics at Canterbury: 1990-2015
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Rachel E. Stone Installed as Canterbury’s Sixth Head
By Lou Mandler Additional offerings, a myriad of new facilities, and a greater number of talented student athletes raise the School’s sports profile. Faculty, students, trustees, and friends of the School gather to celebrate the investiture of the first female head of school.
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Canterbury Athletics Hall of Fame Inductions
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Benefit Auction
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Class Notes
Eight individuals, two teams, and one coach added to Canterbury’s Athletics Hall of Fame. The benefit auction is a highly anticipated part of fall Parents’ Weekend. Thanks to the generous support of our parent community, the proceeds sustain programs that directly support our students and faculty. All while having a night full of goodwill and enthusiasm for Canterbury. News, events, obituaries.
Corrections: PALLIUM Vol, 33, No. 1. In the Varsity Wrestling photo, Brian Neff ’73 was incorrectly identified as Craig Neff ’75. Laurn Michael ’01, not Clare Fitzpatrick ’09, was the first female Canterbury basketball player to score 1,000 career points. The Class of 1963, not the Class of 1964, established the James K. Breene Latin graduation award
OUR MISSION
Founded in 1915 and guided by our Catholic heritage, Canterbury is a college preparatory, coeducational boarding and day school for students in grades 9-12. The School prides itself on creating a community based on its Five Values—Honesty, Respect, Compassion, Spirituality, and Self Reliance—in which students and faculty forge lasting bonds and every student experiences a broad and challenging program in a small school setting. The School’s educational environment fosters academic rigor, athletic development, artistic enrichment, spiritual growth and strives to ensure a superior experience that prepares students for leading colleges and universities, and for life. With its rigorous and humane approach to students, both in and out of the classroom, Canterbury’s program inculcates vital intellectual and ethical habits of mind. The School sees all students as individuals, encourages them as necessary, challenges them as appropriate, and inspires them to become moral leaders in a complex, secular world.
How to Reach Us
The Pallium encourages its readers to communicate with the School. Mail: Pallium Editor, Canterbury School, 101 Aspetuck Avenue, New Milford, CT 06776 E-Mail: pallium@cbury.org Fax: (available 24 hours a day): 860-350-4425 Call: 860-210-3800 (Switchboard) 1-800-526-1710 www.cbury.org Canterbury School, founded in 1915 by Roman Catholic laymen, is a coeducational, boarding and day school of approximately 320 students, grades 9-12, PG. The Roman Catholic commitment of the School remains central. Canterbury School is a non-profit institution that seeks and admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin, and does not discriminate in the administration of its programs and policies.
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By Lou Mandler
Canterbury’s Trustees 1990-2015 For the entire fourth quarter century, the Board of Trustees worked closely with headmaster Tom Sheehy to significantly transform all areas of school life.
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n 1990, Canterbury’s Board of Trustees consisted of twentythree members, four of whom were women. During the next twenty-five years, fifty additional individuals served on the Board. While it is impossible to give proper credit in this space to all trustees of the last quarter century, a few individuals who made significant contributions of their time and treasure during this time must be mentioned. Fifth headmaster Tom Sheehy worked with the Board for the entire quarter century, and he commented that during this period, members of the Board became more actively involved and more generous. All four presidents, he said, were crucial leaders and supporters of the School; they all loved and were committed to Canterbury. A consequence of the advent of technology during this time is that school history is no longer preserved in letters as it had been in the past. With the majority of communication done via emails which have not been saved, research does not yield the personal, quotable exchanges that existed in previous years.
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In 2010, Tom Sheehy poses with the Board presidents he worked with during his tenure: Bill O’Connor ’57, Hope Carter, Bob Steers ’71, and John Duffy ’59.
Fifth headmaster Tom Sheehy worked with the Board for the entire quarter century, and he commented that during this period, members of the Board became more actively involved and more generous. All four presidents, he said, were crucial leaders and supporters of the School… As mentioned in the previous issue, John Duffy ’59, after whom Duffy House was named, funded the Edward J. Duffy Family Art Center. As president in 1990, he led the search for the fifth Canterbury headmaster, and he and Tom worked closely in Tom’s first years. He served as a trustee from 1981-1992, as president from 1982 to 1992, and he returned to the Board in 1998 to serve until 2006. Afterwards, he continued to be a resource and mentor. The Board of Trustees, in awarding John the Canterbury Medal, cited his “vision, vigor, and enthusiasm” and expressed appreciation “for showing us what Canterbury could be and will become…” John and Anne Duffy’s children Hilary ’87 and Kevin ’91 are Canterbury graduates. Hope Carter joined the Board in 1985, served as president from 1992 to 1998, and remained on the Board until 2002. The former South House was renamed Carter House in 1998 in recognition of her many contributions. As mentioned elsewhere in this issue, Hope was the inspiration and mainstay of two Canterbury service programs—to Haiti and Lourdes. A window in the Chapel is dedicated to the memory of her late husband, John. When she received the Canterbury Medal, Tom Sheehy commented, “Hope is a truly remarkable woman whose works are a testament to her strong faith. With vision and tireless energy, she accomplishes great good for a great many.” Six Carter children: Charlotte ’86, Ann ’87, Kate ’88, Kerry Sheedy ’88, Elizabeth ’91, and Richard ’95 are Canterbury graduates as well as three grandchildren: Billy ’09, Doug ’10, and Peter ’15 Bergner. Bill O’Connor ’57 became a Board member in 1996 and replaced Hope as president in 1998, continuing in that position until 2007 but remaining on the Board until 2014. Bill was a wise mentor and leader, and his largesse is reflected in the restoration of the Chapel of Our Lady’s west window and the “porch” of the chapel; the sacristy is dedicated to him. In June of 2016, the Head of School’s house was named O’Connor House in his honor. “Canterbury is an infinitely better school because of the diligent, generous, and far-sighted leadership of Bill O’Connor… He is every Headmaster’s ideal Board president,” remarked Tom Sheehy upon awarding Bill the Canterbury Medal. Bob Steers ’71 joined the Board in 2002 and became president in 2007. The many Steers family connections to Canterbury are mentioned in the student body article in this issue. Bob has devoted his leadership to increasing the School’s endowment, improving the campus, and raising the admission standards. He and his wife Lauren took an active role in the renovation of Steele Hall in 2009 and funded the Steers Admission Center. In 2014, he spearheaded a campus upgrade, and Lauren led the refurbishing planning and execution. Bob and Lauren’s son JP graduated from Canterbury in 2011. Trustee John O’Neill ’57 has the singular status of being the only member who was on the Board in 1990 when Tom Sheehy became Head and who was still a member when Tom retired in the spring of 2016. Having joined the Board in 1986, John is in his thirty-first year on Canterbury’s Board of Trustees, the longest tenure in Canterbury’s history after founder Henry O. Havemeyer. He has played a key role with all four Board chairs, serving as vice president from 1992-2007. As chairman of
the development committee, he has been crucially important in guiding the School’s financial progress. Among other roles, he chaired the Capital Fund Raising Committee of 1997. In 1994, John was a major voice in the creation of the Canterbury Medal program which recognizes “an individual, group, family, or class in recognition of outstanding service to the School.” When he received the Medal, his Canterbury classmate Bill O’Connor remarked, “John’s commitment has been unfailing and has resulted in the strengthening of the School and the transformation of its financial profile. His enthusiasm has motivated us all, and his candor, intelligence, and sense of humor have made working with him a special pleasure.” John’s son Eric is a 1989 Canterbury graduate. Other trustees also took on significant leadership roles and contributed much to the School. Steve Hume ’43, son of founding headmaster Nelson Hume, provided important legal advice, and his love of music inspired his donation of the new chapel organ and the Stephen ’43 and Lacy Hume Music Center. In addition, he was instrumental in establishing the Carillon Society, which honors and thanks graduates and friends who have made provisions for Trustees who have received the Canterbury Medal 1990-2015 John Duffy ’59 (1994) Denis Coleman ’63 (1995) Stephen N. Hume ’43 (1997) Hope Carter (1998) Jim Briggs ’56 (2002) Donn Dolce ’63 (2003) Peter Carney ’49 (2004) Charles O. Coudert ’49 (2004) Paul Heffernan ’49 (2004) Brock Saxe ’58 (2005) Don Reed ’58 (2006) Charley Clarke ’47 (2006) Bill O’Connor ’57 (2007) John O’Neill ’57 (2009) Dick Dillon ’51 (2011) John Donovan ’59 (2011) 3
Canterbury in their estate plan. Dr. Mike Sheehy ’56 (19882005) contributed to the music program through his generosity in funding the L. Michael Sheehy ’56 Choral Classroom. As chair of the Education Committee, his expertise and guidance resulted in Canterbury incorporating an educational consultant into the academic program to work with students with learning differences. He also consulted on Canterbury’s guidance program. Mike was Director of Silver Hill Hospital in New Canaan, CT, at the time. Donn Dolce ’63 (1987-2007), was Board vice president during the 1991-1992 term. Donn’s good spirits and enthusiasm for Canterbury were instrumental in involving other alumni in the School and in encouraging prospective students. Dick Dillon ’51 (1982-1986; 19931995), like Mike Sheehy, was an early advocate for understanding students with learning differences. He and his wife Phyllis hosted a reception for alumni and friends in their Vero Beach home for many years. Their son Bill ’84 is a Canterbury graduate. John Donovan ’59 (2002–present) began serving as co-vice president of the Board with Steve Dyott, in 2007; he became sole vice president in 2010 and continues in that role in 2016. The student life article in this issue mentions the Montana Leadership program which John and his wife Dana have sponsored each August since 2005. Steve Dyott (2000-2010) served as co-vice president from 2007 to 2010. All five of Steve and Madalyn Dyott’s children are Canterbury graduates: Christine ’01, Stephen ’04, Katharine ’06, Alison ’10, and Sarah ’14. Trustees Mario Gabelli (19901993) and Fay Vincent Jr. (20022008) made significant contributions to Canterbury during their tenures on the Board. Gabelli played a lead role in securing the E.L. Wiegand grant for the renovation of the E. L. Weigand Science Room in 1994. Mario Gabelli’s son Matthew ’89 is a Canterbury graduate. Fay Vincent Jr.’s contributions to Canterbury resulted in naming the Fay Vincent 4
Sr. Officials Room in the Athletic Center and the Fay Vincent Sr. Football Field. Fay Vincent Sr. had refereed many games at Canterbury. He also endowed a speaker series that bears his name. The previous centennial PALLIUM mentioned trustees and benefactors Denis Coleman ’63, Peter Carney ’49, and Charlie Clarke ’47. Peter’s son Ed ’79 and Charlie’s daughter Jay ’84 both became Board members; Jay continues to serve in 2016. Gerard Smith’s ’64 service of thirty years (1974-1979; 1984-2009) rivals that of John O’Neill’s. The
Smith family’s many connections to Canterbury are discussed in the student body article in this issue. As Canterbury began its seventyfifth year, the student body and the physical plant had grown dramatically. The School’s new head, Tom Sheehy, in concert with the Board of Trustees, faced significant challenges in continuing the School’s trajectory of growth. Many of the challenges centered on and emanated from the School’s financial footings. The 1990-1991 school year began with a budget deficit ($254,000), a long-term
Jim Briggs ’56 The Briggs family perhaps has more Canterbury connections than any other family in the history of the School. Their association began in the 1920s when Jim’s father, Walter O. Briggs Jr. ’30, entered the School. The second generation graduates of the Briggs family were Jim, Basil “Mickey” ’54, and Walter III ’52. Jim was not only a Jim Briggs and wife Mary Lou on the occasion graduate, but a teacher and coach at of Jim receiving the Canterbury Medal in Canterbury from 1960 2002. to 1967. He then returned to Williams College, his alma mater, as a coach, chiefly as head baseball coach. The third generation of the Briggs family includes Walter O. Briggs IV ’75, Grace Briggs Carwile ’79, Basil “Mac” Briggs Jr. ’77, Larry Fisher ’76, CT Fisher ’72, and Dana Parkinson ’89. And, truly unusual, some of the Briggs family are fourth generation Canterbury graduates: Walter Briggs V ’04, Cam Roffe ’12, Katie Roffe ’15, Cam Murray ’14, and John ’17 Murray. Jim Briggs joined Canterbury’s Board in 1993 and remains a member in 2016. As a trustee, he has played a significant role in development efforts and involving graduates and friends in the School. Jim spearheaded the recent formation of the Society of Alumni and organized the commemoration of the Trustee Emeriti. His family was a benefactor when the Alumni Memorial Gymnasium was built, and Jim and his wife Mary Lou were major donors and consultants on the restoration of the chaplain’s residence. Jim’s Williams classmate, Fay Vincent Jr., said of Jim, “Intensely loyal to his family, friends, schools and beloved Tigers, Jim Briggs never disappoints.”
debt ($650,000), financial aid over budget ($500,000), faculty salaries below the median for peer schools, a long list of deferred maintenance, and a need for faculty housing and additional plant improvements. The endowment was only $1.3 million, below that of Canterbury’s peer schools. The progress made in meeting these challenges over the next twenty-five years, which included bringing the endowment to $30 million, was the result of a dedicated and generous Board of Trustees combined with the fundraising efforts and leadership of Tom Sheehy. In addition to financial concerns, the Board also oversaw, encouraged, and in some instances, led improvements to the program and curriculum. A top priority had to be cost control before a few other issues could be addressed. As one trustee put it in February of 1993, “Our approach to maintenance will be one of patch-and-pray for the immediate future, as long as the problem with the deficit persists.” In the September 1994 meeting, the School’s auditor pointed out that there had been “a remarkable turnaround in the School’s financial picture from last year to this.” In the September 1996 Board meeting, the Board learned that the longterm debt had been eliminated, and that the fiscal year had ended with a budget surplus. Because of the importance of tuition income to the School’s financial health, enrollment was always a topic of concern at Board meetings. For the 1990-1991 school year, tuition was $16,700 for boarders and $10,350 for day students. In 2015-2016, these figures have risen to $53,900 and $41,900. Despite concerns about a demographic “trough,” by 1995, with a first-time enrollment number of 330, the School could report to the Board that “School enrollment is at capacity.” In 1996, as part of the long-range plan, the trustees agreed that enrollment should remain around 330 in view of facility capacities. As stated by a Finance Committee member in 2008, “Enrollment is the single biggest
Several seismic changes affected the educational landscape during this period, and trustees supported or led initiatives to adapt to these changes. The School instituted an English as a Second Language program in 1990 to accommodate international students.
factor impacting our ability to meet our overall budget assumptions.” Fortuitously, beginning in 1999, enrollment climbed beyond 330 for the next fourteen years. Tuition income during this time was an important factor in the School’s improved financial profile. The School administration and the trustees initiated several strategies during this time to improve Canterbury’s financial profile. They embarked on capital campaigns in 1997, 2006, and 2012; all these campaigns began with a quiet phase and went public months later. In 2000, the School hired its first Director of Planned Giving, Jim Sweeney. With increased emphasis on annual giving, in May 1998, the Development Committee reported that “The annual fund did well for the School in the middle of a capital campaign.” After 2000, the annual fund broke records for several consecutive years. Between 1993 and 1995, the School applied for and received grants from the Wiegand Foundation, the Connelly Foundation, the Copley Foundation, the Ellen Knowles Harcourt Foundation, and the Gladys Brooks Foundation. Beginning in May of 1991, the Board began discussing how best to address some of the pressing needs such as faculty salaries and
housing. The trustees expressed a commitment to bring faculty salaries to a level comparable to those of other schools in the area. An additional across-the-board raise of $1,500 was voted in for the 19951996 year. By 1997, faculty salaries were at the median level of similar schools, but the Board determined to increase salaries by 8.5% each year until they were at the 50th percentile. This was accomplished by 2002; unfortunately, cost constraints were again necessary in 2013, and salaries were frozen that year to rebound to a standard increase the following year. The School began to address the lack of sufficient faculty housing in 1996, when the budget included a sum for three new faculty houses, and construction began that fall. As mentioned in the campus article, trustee Bill Staudt ’60 took an active role in planning these houses. In subsequent years, the Board approved joint or full purchases of houses near the School, and in time, faculty housing was further augmented by the construction of South House with its three faculty apartments and the conversion of the Hickory House garage into a faculty apartment. However, in 2000, the School was still short of housing and was forced to rent two Canterbury School Trustee Emeriti Daniel Altobello ’59 John S. Burke ’41 Hope E. Carter Roderick Clarke ’46 Denis Coleman ’63 Donn Dolce ’63 John P. Duffy ’59 Carlton Hayes May D. Hume Stephen N. Hume ’43 Hubert McDonnell William B. O’Connor ’57 Kevin E. Sheehan ’62 L. Michael Sheehy ’56 Richard Joyce Smith
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apartments off campus for faculty. The Rod Clarke house and the John and Mary Lou Coffin house later became available to be added to the supply of faculty housing. Recognizing that planning for the future was essential, the Board formed a Long-Range Planning Committee in 1995. In February of 1996, Jim Rogers of Butler Rogers Baskett presented a preliminary long-range facility plan, and in May of 1996, Rudy Richardson of Ran Associates presented a technology plan. In September of 1996, the Board accepted the long-range plan, written by Lou Mandler and incorporating information from various groups. The plan included the School’s first formal mission statement, the result of work by a faculty committee and advice from consultant Gregory Floyd. The Board adopted some revisions to the mission statement in 2010, partially to incorporate the Five Values—spirituality, self-reliance, honesty, respect, compassion— which had been articulated in 2000 by a faculty committee consisting of dorm heads and director of admission Patrick Finn. During this quarter century, the Board periodically established priorities for adding to or improving Canterbury’s facilities. The priorities changed with time and with unexpected but welcome donations from benefactors. Facility needs expressed early in the 1990s included a student center and a new admission office building. New squash courts and faculty housing were listed next. Later, the need to upgrade the athletic facilities became paramount, and construction began on the athletic facility in 1998. The Old Schoolhouse had not been mentioned in the early 1990s priorities, but Tom Sheehy and the Board soon recognized the importance of rescuing this historic building from its deteriorated state, and it was renovated in 1998. In May 2000, the Board listed the following facility priorities: 1. expand and upgrade Havemeyer and Carmody; 2. renovate and enlarge Steele Hall, 3. build 6
John O’Neill ’57, left, and Dick Dillon ’51 at Dick’s Canterbury Medal dinner in January 2011.
a new dorm, 4. renovate the former wrestling area and old gym which would house a new music center. The Board minutes express the reason for the first priority: “Renovation of Havemeyer and Carmody will create a more communal environment and more appropriate updated living spaces and serve students better by adding faculty supervision, creating a new common room and entryway, shortening the hallways, upgrading bathrooms and student rooms, and enhancing marketing appeal to prospective male boarders.” In May of 2005, the priorities had changed somewhat. Now the priorities were the renovation and expansion of Steele Hall, a new dorm, expansion of the visual arts facility in Duffy, renovating the Old Gym to a multi-purpose performance space, renovations and additions to Havemeyer and Carmody, new tennis courts, upgrades to the Head’s house, and modest renovations to Hume. As the campus article in this issue reports, much of the above was accomplished by 2015 with the exception of upgrades to the Head’s house, the expansion of the visual arts facility, the renovation and addition to Havemeyer and
Carmody, and renovations to Hume. However, also accomplished towards the end of Tom Sheehy’s tenure were projects not listed—a new pool, turf field, and softball field. Several seismic changes affected the educational landscape during this period, and trustees supported or led initiatives to adapt to these changes. The School instituted an English as a Second Language program in 1990 to accommodate those international students whose English limited their ability to achieve maximum academic success. By 2015, this program had shrunk dramatically because international students arrived at Canterbury proficient in English. Students with learning differences began to receive attention in the early 1990s. No longer were learning differences ascribed to a lack of intelligence. After support from Dick Dillon in the 1980s, in 1991, with the guidance of Dr. Michael Sheehy ’56, the School secured an educational psychologist who met with some students oneon-one to help them compensate for their specific learning differences and succeed at the level of their, often high, intelligence. Harassment and abuse became
Trustees, former and current, gathered for a photo in the Steers Admission Center at the dedication of Steele Hall in October 2009. Seated, l-r: Nicole D’Amour Schneider ’93, Board president Bob Steers ’71, Jay Clarke ’84. Middle row, l-r: Chad Burhance ’87, former Board president Bill O’Connor ’57, Dorothy Alpert ’78, Charley Clarke ’47, Tom Sheehy, Gerry Smith ’64, Peter Carney ’49, Dan Altobello ’59. Back row, l-r: John Donovan ’59, Kit Carmody ’57, John Hughes ’72, Jim Briggs ’56, Kevin Sheehan ’62, Rosemary Sinnott, John O’Neill ’57, Steve Dyott, Ed Carney ’79, John Duffy ’59, Toby Smith ’56.
legal and social issues during this time. In 1994, the School’s administration worked with the School’s attorney, Bill Franklin, to write a formal harassment policy to be included in the faculty handbook. The Board adopted this policy and, in 1996, an additional policy on dealing with child abuse. Technology exploded both in the social and academic spheres. In 1992, the Board began discussing the need for an educational computer system. Subsequent to the Ran technology plan being presented to the Board in March of 1996, by February of 1997, a new computer room was equipped and campus wiring was in progress. By January of 1998, email and voicemail were in place. By February of 2000, fifteen of forty-five teachers had laptops. In September 2006, Mark Pigott ’72 challenged the School
to “lead the charge in technology in independent education,” and with his support, by January 2007, SMARTBoards existed in every classroom. Cell phones, iPads, and a web-based academic platform were fully integrated into the academic routine by 2015. The Development Office began using Facebook in its nascent days to reach out to graduates, and by 2013, the Office of Admission was using social media to keep applicants current with campus events. Canterbury’s Board of Trustees regularly expressed interest in the academic caliber of Canterbury’s education and its relationship to the college list. Minutes from a Board meeting in 1993 contains the statement, “The Board does not want to micro-manage School affairs, but we would all like to know the curriculum better than
we do.” As part of the effort to keep the Board informed, meetings of trustees with students and faculty became a regular feature of the program for Board meetings, and trustees were urged to visit classes when on campus for meetings. In 2016, the Board of Trustees had twenty members. The number of women had already increased from four to seven; Dorothy Alpert ’78 had already served for fourteen years, longer than any female trustee except May Hume. Three members, Douglas Famigletti ’90, Karen Becker Casey ’91, and Nicole D’Amour Schneider ’93 represented the 1990-2015 student era. Led by president Bob Steers ’71, trustees continued to work with sixth Head of School Rachel Stone to plan for and support Canterbury’s continued status as the premier Catholic independent school. 7
By Marc Vanasse ’73
The Right Man for the Right Time 1990-2015 Thomas J. Sheehy III, Canterbury’s fifth headmaster, led the School from its 75th anniversary through its centennial celebration. During this time, with the help of the Board of Trustees and generous donors, he improved and expanded facilities, strengthened the academic, athletic, and spiritual programs, hired the best possible faculty, and built a larger endowment.
Headmasters Walter Sheehan, Jack Reydel, and Rod Clarke ’46.
In July 1990, Tom Sheehy became Canterbury’s fifth headmaster. He sits at the desk used by all of his predecessors.
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n the summer of 1989, Tom and Betsy Sheehy took stock of their situation on Long Island, where Tom was headmaster of the Old Westbury School of the Holy Child. They agreed that they did not want to live on Long Island indefinitely and that they would like to return to a boarding school. Knowing of Canterbury and being attracted to its Catholic foundation, its size, and its location, they took a road trip to New Milford and thought, “Wouldn’t it be nice if…” A few months later, Tom picked up a copy of Education Week and, in thumbing through it, saw the ad for Canterbury’s headmaster position. He and Betsy agreed he would call Gregory Floyd, who was directing the search. Coincidentally, Gregory called Tom the next morning. On December 18, 1989, after a sixmonth nationwide search, and a sequence of application letters and interviews, the Board of Trustees voted unanimously to appoint Thomas J. Sheehy III the fifth headmaster of Canterbury School. He was chosen from a field of sixty-eight candidates. Retiring head Rod Clarke ’46 affirmed the choice of Sheehy, saying, “Tom’s religious and academic values match Canterbury’s traditions exactly. His warmth and concern assure his steady guidance as pater familias of this exceptional community. Tom is the right man, and this is the right time. We are much blessed.” John Duffy ’59, president of the Board of Trustees from 19831992, commented on why the search committee had selected Sheehy. “Tom has a fervent interest in young people, an appreciation for a talented faculty, a strong commitment to high educational standards, and a life informed by the teachings of the Catholic Church.” In an article about Tom and Betsy for the May 2016 Tabard, faculty member Bryan Kiefer
On December 18, 1989, after a sixmonth nationwide search, and a sequence of application letters and interviews, the Board of Trustees voted unanimously to appoint Thomas J. Sheehy III the fifth headmaster of Canterbury School. He was chosen from a field of sixty-eight candidates.
Shortly after Tom Sheehy arrived at Canterbury, Canterbury celebrated its 75th anniversary. He is flanked by Sargent Shriver ’34 and Tom Gerety ’64.
wrote, “The eldest of ten children, Thomas J. Sheehy III was born to be a headmaster.” From a young age, Tom learned to take responsibility and assume leadership. After graduating from Loyola School in Manhattan and Bowdoin College, Tom began his career in education in 1969 as a teacher, coach, and dorm parent at The Cranwell School in Lenox, MA. While there, he taught American History, a senior elective in the Civil War and Reconstruction, Latin 1-5, and Greek Literature in Translation. In addition, he was associate athletic director, a member of the Admissions Committee, and program director of the Cranwell Summer Camp. On the athletic fields, he occasionally found his teams vying against Canterbury. As Cranwell’s Varsity Soccer coach, he came up against John Coffin, who led Varsity Soccer at Canterbury for many years. He also did battle on the lacrosse field against Canterbury’s Charlie Huntington. In addition, Tom mentored faculty member Frank Bice ’77 in j.v. basketball and varsity lacrosse, and coached j.v. soccer and squash. When Cranwell closed in 1975, the Sheehys moved to Tabor Academy in Marion, MA. At Tabor, Tom taught Latin 3 and 4, American History, Classical Studies (Ancient Greek/Roman History), Greek Literature in Translation, Civil War and Reconstruction, Populist and Progressive Eras in American History, and Greek 1, 2, and 3. As he had at Cranwell, he directed Tabor’s summer program for five years. In 1976, he earned an M.A. in Classics from Pennsylvania State University and a Certificate in Business Administration from C.W. Post College in 1987. In 1983, he became headmaster of the School of the Holy Child in Old Westbury, NY. Tom’s connection to Canterbury dates to the early 1960s. His parents, Dr. Thomas J. Sheehy Jr., an ob-gyn, and Dr. Adelaide T. Sheehy, a pediatrician whose professional name was Dr. Scanlon, recommended Canterbury to their friends, the Rafuse family, who were looking for a Catholic boarding school for their sons, Chip ’65, Andrew ’69. “I first visited Canterbury in the fall of 1961 with Chip’s parents to see Chip,”
Tom commented. In an ironic twist of fate, while growing up in Roslyn, NY, Tom lived in Canterbury Woods, 1 Canterbury Lane from 1952–1969. On January 5, 1990, Tom addressed Canterbury’s students and faculty at the morning meeting. “My wife Betsy and I are thrilled at the opportunity to return to a boarding school environment,” remarked Tom. “It has been a special part of our lives and it is something we look forward to returning to.” Commenting on the day he spent on campus during the search process, Tom said, “By the end of the day, my wife and I were overwhelmed with the atmosphere we felt here, an atmosphere of family, community, genuineness, and caring. That is important to us.” Tom Sheehy’s arrival, in July 1990, coincided precisely with the start of the School’s fourth quarter century. In October of the same year, he and Betsy hosted the grand 75th anniversary celebration on campus. Sargent Shriver ’34 served as emcee, Tom Gerety ’64 delivered the keynote address, and Fr. Michael Duffy ’51, a Maryknoller, celebrated Mass in what is now Pigott Arena. The highly successful event presaged
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Tom addresses students at the annual spring faculty and Sixth Form dinner in May 2014.
the transformation of Canterbury under Tom’s leadership for the next twenty-six years. From his first months on the job, trustees, faculty, students, and parents recognized that Tom possessed an aspirational vision for Canterbury and its mission. Tom sought to improve and expand Canterbury’s facilities, strengthen the academic, athletic, and spiritual programs, hire the best possible faculty, and build a larger endowment. Tom’s vision focused on excellence in all things Canterbury. In his fall 1992 PALLIUM essay, he stated: “I find myself enthusiastically envisioning how Canterbury will launch its academic program full throttle into the nineties and position itself in the vanguard of secondary schools. Such a direction is not only commendable but it is also necessary.” In his remarks at the Canterbury Medal dinner honoring Tom and Betsy on May 13, 2016, Bryan Kiefer, business manager and director of development during the Sheehy years, recalled the early days of Tom’s headship. “When Tom and Betsy arrived in 1990, Canterbury faced some real challenges. The endowment was meager, we were in debt, campus 10
“I find myself enthusiastically envisioning how Canterbury will launch its academic program full throttle into the nineties and position itself in the vanguard of secondary schools. Such a direction is not only commendable but it is also necessary.” –Tom Sheehy, fall 1992 facilities needed upgrading, and teachers were paid at the 20th percentile of peer schools.” He went on to say, “In his time at Canterbury, Tom spearheaded fundraising efforts that raised more than $100 million—that’s a lot of cabbage and it’s not an exaggeration!” One of Tom’s first acts to strengthen the academic program was to adjust student academic requirements to accomplish two goals: to enable all students to take
five core courses every semester, thus strengthening their transcripts, and to require all students to take theology every year. The previous requirement for a major theology course in the Third Form year and then again in the Fifth Form year had caused some toplevel students to omit a science course in their Fifth Form year. Today, students participate in the theology curriculum every year by taking a minor course. The course offerings have also been strengthened with more AP courses. AP Economics, AP World History, AP Music Theory, AP Physics, and AP Statistics are among the options for current students that were not available twenty-five years ago. The renovation of all four science labs and the addition of the E.L. Wiegand Science Lecture Room have supported a forward-looking science curriculum. Early in his tenure, Tom worked with technology director Rob Roffe to place Canterbury in the forefront of the technological age. He encouraged Canterbury to harness the full power of technology to advance and promote the School, make communication among teachers and students more efficient, and improve the classroom experience for its students. This initiative included adding a school-wide email system, the School’s first website, a campus-wide wireless network, SMARTBoards in all classrooms, and additional and networked computers in the college, business, admission, advancement, and technology offices. Despite the added technology on campus, Tom believed that in the classroom, “We have a moral obligation to insure that technological advancement enhances but does not detract from our primary goal: to maintain the personal touch of the teacher. We must urge educators to pursue excellence in all areas of their interactions with students.” Tom knew that excellent facilities attract and keep excellent students and faculty. Plant improvements began with the much-needed renovation of the Old Schoolhouse.
At the groundbreaking for the renovation and expansion of Steele Hall. L-r: Tom Sheehy, Mike Steele ’75, Joan Steele, Ed Steele ’41, Bob Steers ’71, President of the Board of Trustees. It was dedicated in October 2009.
The construction of the Athletic Center, South House dormitory, and the William W. Higgins ’53 Aquatic Center soon followed, as did the addition of three faculty homes on Circle Drive and a renovation and expansion of Steele Hall. The Music Department gained the L. Michael Sheehy ’56 Choral Classroom in the old squash courts and the Stephen ’43 and Lacey Hume Music Center in the old gym. The Briggs and Wheelock families and other members of the Class of 1956 spearheaded the renovation and expansion of the original chapel into the chaplain’s residence. In addition, eight new tennis courts, the turf Sheehy Family Field, and a new softball field graced the campus. Crew, girls’ ice hockey, and water polo, now part of Canterbury’s athletic program, did not exist before Tom’s arrival. Tom’s comment on the role of athletics for adolescents, “I believe in athletics in the context of the School, not at the expense of the School,” is indicative of his holistic attitude towards the School program. With each addition or renovation, the School was fortunate to have the support and leadership of the Board of Trustees and participation from magnanimous graduates, parents, and friends. Through the financial generosity of members of the Board, the 20142015 school year saw campus improvements that included the renovation of the 1924 basketball court and upgrades to the Duffy, Sheehan, Carter, Havemeyer, and Carmody common rooms. The Hume Hall foyer and upper hallway, Steele Hall student center, the Brodie Room, and some exterior walks and patios also saw updates. Lauren Steers, wife of Board President Bob Steers, spearheaded the improvement project, with Lou Mandler assisting.
Tom’s concerted effort to recruit faculty couples, both of whom are invested in the Schoo, created a more welcoming and stable environment in the dormitories and in school life. He instinctively believed in the importance of family. In the 2015–2016 school year, thirteen couples worked at Canterbury. The construction of the Circle Drive houses and the spacious faculty apartments in the new South House helped make it possible to create a profile of faculty families who are committed to the School’s mission. In addition, Canterbury provided financial support through joint ownership ventures to dorm faculty who desired to purchase a home. The resulting dorm apartment vacancies enabled the School to provide more housing for married faculty members. These endeavors successfully bolstered the School’s efforts to enhance faculty living conditions in order to retain talented teachers and thus stabilize the faculty. During Tom’s tenure, the student body grew considerably. In 1990– 1991, his first year, enrollment stood at 301. Six years later, Canterbury’s enrollment reached 330 students. In 2002–2003, the student body reached an all-time high: 357. The Office of Admission established another enrollment record in 2006– 2007 with 369 students. Through the remainder of Tom’s headship, total enrollment numbers averaged in the mid-350s. As Asian students became a consistent 15% of the student body, Tom realized that Canterbury needed to reach out to the alumni and parents of its burgeoning Asian constituency, and Tom began traveling to that part of the world in 1994 with then director of development Peter O’Donnell ’70. They visited Japan, Korea, and Hong Kong. Most of their work was admission focused, but they also opened the doors to development. Over the years, Tom has visited those countries plus Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and, in March 2016, mainland China. While Betsy didn’t join him on
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Tom’s concerted effort to recruit faculty couples, both of whom are invested in the School, created a more welcoming and stable environment in the dormitories and in school life. He instinctively believed in the importance of family. Tom Sheehy conducts the weekly faculty meeting in Steele Hall Lecture Room in fall 2009.
Tom and Betsy Sheehy with members of the Korean Alumni Association in March 2010.
every trip, she was his partner on most of them, especially the trips to Seoul, Korea. Additional travel partners included Marc Vanasse ’73, Bryan Kiefer, Keith Holton, and Glenn Schwitter. During his tenure, he and Betsy regularly visited the numerous Korean families during March break, and established firm relationships with the families. To show their loyalty to the Sheehys and Canterbury, the Korean parents formed the Korean Alumni Association. “While we were always treated well, our warmest and most delightful visits were to Korea,” says Tom, “especially since most of our Asian alumni lived in Korea. The parents always treated us like royalty, and over the years we established close relationships with many of them and their children. I think especially of Hyung Tae Kim ’97, an advisee of mine whom I consider a good friend. Our final dinner with alumni, students, and parents was an emotional and special evening, one which we will never forget.” He adds, “While the trips were long and arduous, they were 12
always worthwhile and left Betsy and me with a deep appreciation for these families who entrust their children to us half-way around the world.” To accommodate the needs of a larger student body and an increasingly complicated educational landscape, Tom expanded the administration, adding the positions of dean of the school, dean of the faculty, and academic dean, and increased staffing in the business, advancement, academic, college, and admission offices. The larger student body during the Sheehy years also seemed to undergo a cultural change. JP Mandler, the only current faculty member to have worked for Walter Sheehan, Jack Reydel, Rod Clarke ’46, and Tom Sheehy, commented, “Students as a whole seemed less rebellious during Tom’s years. This was undoubtedly partially due to the more conservative culture at large, but also to Tom’s steady hand.” To rectify the claim that students were bored on the weekends, Tom led a concerted effort to expand the slate of weekend activities. He appointed a director of activities, who planned and coordinated the program. Faculty, assigned to teams, chaperoned or supervised the activities. Sunday afternoon
offerings added more weekend options for students. With healthy weekend activity choices, came less student mischief. Raising the money necessary to realize all the building projects mentioned above came as a result of a great collaboration between then director of development Bryan Kiefer, headmaster Tom Sheehy, and the Board. “In that first year the office consisted of Tom Morris ’85, Alyce Pollock, Michele Voytek and me—just four of us to build the annual fund, raise capital and endowment gifts, develop alumni relations, host reunions, and inaugurate a planned giving program,” said Kiefer. “Trustee John O’Neill ’57 led the Board’s Development Committee with an unwavering focus on results, inspiring all of us with his ferocious commitment.” For the next eighteen years, Tom and Bryan travelled the world, a process made enjoyable by Tom’s immense stamina, steady good humor, enjoyment of good food and conversation,
“Tom was an available, present, school-centered Head. Students and faculty can count on seeing him and Betsy at art shows, concerts, and athletic contests. He knew who played what position in soccer, basketball, lacrosse; who the outstanding artists and musicians were.” –JP Mandler, from his remarks at the Sheehys’ Cantebury Medal Dinner in May 2016
Tom Sheehy presides over an administrators’ meeting. Clockwise: JP Mandler, dean of the school; Kathy Bolster, director of studies; Peter LaVigne, dean of students; Ted Bent, business manager; Dave Wilson, director of athletics; Lou Mandler, dean of faculty; Keith Holton, director of admission.
Tom Sheehy, Bryan Kiefer, and Walter Crump ’51 at Reunion 2006.
and an unremitting commitment to Canterbury. Call it “development” or call it “advancement,” one of the main jobs of a headmaster is raising funds. In his twenty-six years as Headmaster, Tom raised more than $100 million and in the process transformed the School. He did this by building deep, enduring relationships with our trustees, graduates, parents, and friends, as stated earlier. These forwardthinking individuals immediately sensed Tom’s abiding commitment to Canterbury’s students, faculty and mission, and appreciated his basic decency and rock-solid
values. They responded with their financial support, service on the Board of Trustees, and enthusiasm for the Canterbury community. Tom built a foundation that future Canterbury leaders can build upon. Each project was designed to attract the best students and faculty to Canterbury, to educate our students in the finest possible facilities, and to create a campus with a distinct architectural heritage. The direction of a school draws on many components besides curriculum and facilities— the faculty, the student body, the governing body, and the founding principles. When asked
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At the opening of an art exhibition, Tom Sheehy admires student work with Shane Sellar ’15.
Tom Sheehy poses with Hannah Krin ’16 and Emily Martino ’17 at the pre-prom event last May.
what he believed to be the most significant change he made when he became head, Tom was quick to respond, “In the spiritual component of the School. When I came, there was no expectation of Sunday Mass attendance for faculty. I required faculty on duty in the dorms on Saturday night to be at Mass Sunday morning. We developed a solid and more diverse theology curriculum.” In shepherding the spiritual culture of the School, Tom never lost sight of the School’s original mission—to be Catholic and to be independent. A May 1995 communication to parents from Tom includes a statement which captures the philosophy which students, parents, and faculty see reflected in Canterbury’s culture: “We 14
strive to be an example to students of all religions as they develop their own sense of faith, the important role faith plays in one’s life, and the impact it can have on humanity.” By 2016, Tom was one of the longest serving Connecticut Heads, and from his perspective at the end of his twenty-six years as a Head, he commented on the trends or changes he observed in the leadership and governance of other schools. “Because of the demands of the financial aspect of private education, my sense is that schools have become more attuned to the importance of marketing than to their mission. In some instances, they have adapted their mission to marketing,” Tom commented. “I have made many good friends at other schools over twenty-six years, and the ones I value the most are those who see the mission of the School as being the primary motive,” he continued. During his years as Head, Tom was a leader in the independent school world by chairing four Visiting Committees for NEASC evaluations; serving on the boards of Ridgefield Academy, Woodhall School, Rumsey Hall School, and Loyola School; and on the CAIS Executive Committee. JP Mandler’s words at the 2016 Medal Dinner so eloquently offer a portrait of Tom the school man. “Tom was an available, present, school-centered Head. Students and faculty can count on seeing him and Betsy at art shows, concerts, and athletic contests. He knew who played what position in soccer, basketball, lacrosse; who the outstanding artists and musicians were. He more than once rushed back from a NYC trustee meeting so he and Betsy could attend the Men of Canterbury pageant put on by Women of Canterbury. While he relied on Betsy to tell him whether someone sings on key, he was a supporter of the arts; while he was a passionate coach of lacrosse and soccer, he wasn’t just a jock headmaster; he valued the strong academic teacher, the student scholar, and counted teaching Latin 4 as one of his most pleasurable
activities.” “As you go through each day, each year, what brings you the most satisfaction as you execute your role as Head?” Tom was asked. “The kids,” he replied quickly. “I was most at home with the kids. I loved interacting with them.” Tom expanded the number of school meetings per week from one to four, and he ran each meeting. This was yet another venue for him to interact with students and for them to get to know him and his expectations for each one of them and for the School. When necessary, Tom used the meetings to talk to the students about difficult issues, usually related to disciplinary matters. Again, they understood where he stood on school policies, and he always urged them to make “good choices.” Tom also had advisees and regularly served as college counselor to a handful of students. An avid supporter of athletics, Tom also coached soccer, basketball, squash, and lacrosse during his teaching career. At Canterbury, he served as a boys’ varsity lacrosse assistant coach under head coach Patrick Finn for several seasons in the early 1990s. In addition, Tom assisted current lax head coach Chris Roberts for one or two seasons after Tom’s son
Tom expanded the number of school meetings per week, from one to four, and he ran each meeting. This was yet another venue for him to interact with students and for them to get to know him and his expectations for each one of them and for the School.
Tom Sheehy at a school meeting.
Patrick graduated from Canterbury. In his final year as headmaster, Tom helped head coach Lindsay Mulhern with girls’ varsity lax. It is worth noting that Tom coached Paddy McCarthy ’94 and Rich Carter ’95 at Canterbury, and Dave Wilson at Tabor Academy. All three would later return to work at the School: Paddy as a history teacher, associate director of athletics, dorm parent, and baseball, football, golf, lax, and ice hockey coach; Rich as an admission officer, dorm parent, and a water polo, swim, and lacrosse coach; and Dave as athletic director and wrestling and lacrosse coach. “All in all, I was involved with lacrosse for about thirty-four years,” says Tom. One’s life work can follow a specific plan or respond to influences along the way. In Tom’s case, Betsy was an early influence. When they married, she was in education, and he thought he would try it as well. It became the perfect choice. “Betsy and I have been dedicated to children,” he said. “We are at Canterbury because of our love of kids. Our hope is that the next leaders of the School will respect what we have done and maintain the momentum.” Given that the decision to explore Canterbury and finally settle here was made with Betsy,
After having helped coach a Girls’ Varsity Lacrosse practice, Tom watches a baseball game.
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Tom and Betsy were not just a physical presence nor a force that improved the program and facilities of the School. More profound was Tom and Betsy’s influence on the school’s culture. Their personal qualities created a community which appreciates that teenagers “aren’t done yet.” In student disciplinary matters, Tom’s objectivity was a cornerstone of his captaincy. Tom was asked to comment on how Betsy affected his role at Canterbury. “She has been my greatest critic and greatest supporter,” he said. “She was absolutely committed to the mission of the School, and I couldn’t have asked for a better partner in this mission. Betsy was so invested in the School. Our tenures at our previous schools were six, eight, and seven years. That says something about what we both found here.” Betsy joined the admission staff in 1991 and played an active role in the efforts of that office to recruit Canterbury students and families. Her admission colleague Tricia Harrington said of Betsy, “During her twenty-five years in the Office of Admission, Betsy was a breath of fresh air. Her warm and friendly approach with prospective families, along with her knowledge of all Canterbury could offer, allowed her to enroll some of our most successful students.” Camille Gangi, another of Betsy’s admission colleagues, stated, “Personally, 16
Tom and Betsy make their way to a confirmation ceremony.
as a friend and member of our Admission team, Betsy’s laughter and positive attitude is irreplaceable. Her presence in the office with family dogs Fletcher or Tippet in tow would brighten the room and leave it better off than when she arrived. We miss her every day.” Besides going to school events with Tom, Betsy walked the campus every morning with a dog or two in tow. These walks often stoked her passion for things to look right, and she was apt to report later, “The shades in Hume are crooked again!” or, “We have to do something about those ugly garbage containers!” Betsy was also a regular at lunch, and if she was at your table, she chatted with you about your children if you had them, your dog if you had one, your classes, your team, your life. Betsy is “The Real McCoy” who gives the straight scoop and is as generous with her opinions and advice as she is with her affection. The faculty have witnessed Tom’s statement that Betsy is both
his greatest critic and greatest supporter. They’ve heard the “Tom!” in a tone that would be followed by a rousing commentary on what he should do or what he did that he shouldn’t have done. And they’ve heard Betsy’s praise for how well he handled another situation. Underneath is a firm sense of loyalty and love, both for Tom and the School. When Tom arrived at Canterbury, JP Mandler was dean of the school. Working closely on so many school matters, they became friends quickly, and their friendship endures to this day. Speaking at the Canterbury Medal that honored Tom and Betsy on May 13, 2016, JP said of his friend, “During the early years of Tom’s headship I kept being surprised at how similarly we thought and how similarly we interacted with students. This similarity might have been partially due to our being born within six months of one another, our growing up Catholic in the ’50s, and our similar experiences in boarding and day schools; whatever the cause, our relationship has made the last twenty-six years professionally and personally rewarding for me. Over the years, Tom and I have collaborated on matters of curriculum, faculty supervision and support, and student discipline. We also cotaught an Irish Studies course, and as teachers of Latin language and literature, we still talk shop together.” Asked to riff on his friendship with JP and Lou Mandler, Tom said, “Where does one begin? JP was dean of the school when I arrived and Lou was on a Klingenstein Grant. JP and I hit it off right away with our love for the Classics, our common sense of humor and our commitment to kids. As headmaster it is difficult to make deep friendships with fellow faculty and staff. Both Lou and JP were exceptions from the start. Another issue one faces as Head is finding someone other than one’s spouse whom you can bounce things off and get objective input. JP was one with whom I could absolutely trust
Lou and JP Mandler with Tom and Betsy Sheehy at the celebration of Tom’s 20th year as headmaster. The event took place at the Union League Club in NYC on January 28, 2010.
and confide in. Betsy and Lou discovered that same relationship and thus the two couples began, nurtured, and sustained a friendship that has only become deeper as the years have passed. There are jokes that JP and I have shared that the punch line is sufficient to make us laugh—now that’s a close friend.” “Tom’s sense of family, rooted in being the oldest of ten, father to four, and grandfather to ten has positively affected the way he has led Canterbury,” said JP Mandler. “His leadership has clearly communicated that we are in the business of serving God’s children. That each child, regardless of the intellectual, athletic, and personal abilities is inherently worthy of respect. He reminded us not to forget that the kid who has failed to turn in his homework for the fourth day in a row is nevertheless a child of God. We needed to be reminded of that often, and Tom did so often.” JP continues, “Tom’s essential parenting skills came through most obviously in times of crisis, especially at times of institutional stress. The deaths of students Nick DiTullio and Vin Nelson, faculty members Don Gowan and Algis Stankus-Saulaitis, grounds head Mike Onorato, and chef Rodney Crosley were all untimely. Afterwards, Tom called the community together to pray for and mourn our loss. He reminded us that we can go to God for strength and to one another for support. And he again and again reminded us of the great human qualities of the people we’d lost. When we lost Rodney Crosley one August, it was Betsy who spoke in memory of Rodney at the opening faculty dinner.” Tom and Betsy were not just a physical presence nor a force that improved the program and facilities of the School. More profound was Tom and Betsy’s influence on the School’s culture. Their personal qualities created a community which appreciates that teenagers “aren’t done yet.” In student disciplinary matters, Tom’s objectivity was a cornerstone of his captaincy. In all student and faculty conundrums he faced, he always made sure he had all the facts before making a judgment or coming to a decision. And in those decisions, a few principles guided him: what’s best for the kids, what’s the right thing to do? Tom had an unerring moral compass, fashioned by his parents and strengthened by the Jesuits, whereby he approached any decision.
By example, Tom and Betsy created a Canterbury community that appreciates all those who join in the School’s work. For instance, Shannon Greene, Canterbury’s dining hall manager, came to the School twenty-one years ago when she was just twenty-four. At that time, Shannon had come from a school where she wasn’t allowed to touch the silver. After serving numerous special dinners in Steele Hall and in the Sheehy house, Shannon recounts feeling like part of the Sheehy extended family, sitting in the kitchen chatting with Sheehy children, stepping over the dog and throwing him bits of steak, rejoicing with the arrival of grandchildren, feeling completely at ease because of the down-toearth style and warmth of Tom and Betsy. The inimitable Leila Stepankiw, Canterbury’s long-serving and nononsense, yet endearing athletic equipment manager, said of her friend Tom, “No one can dispute that Tom had a great impact on Canterbury in his twenty-six years as headmaster. I was lucky enough to watch that success for the entirety of his tenure; however, I was blessed to see him in more than just that role. I can’t count how many times I walked into his office, sat down and either laughed, cried, or complained. He would laugh with me, pass the Kleenex, and give me a hug, or disagree with some of my rants. No matter what, he always treated me with respect and kindness. He is a true
Tom Sheehy greets a guest on grandparents day.
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The Sheehy family. L-r: T.J. ’92, Molly ’98, Tom, Betsy, Sara, and Patrick ’04. Photo was taken on the occasion of Tom and Betsy receiving the Canterbury Medal.
friend and a father figure. For that, I am eternally grateful.” “Tom made sure that the community knew his door was always open to discuss the goings on at the school,” said Kim Tester, Canterbury’s Fine Arts Chair, who co-chaired two school accreditation processes and led the academic committee for eight years. “You may not have always agreed with him all of the time but there was no doubt that he had the best interest of the School in mind. He had an opinion and wasn’t afraid to express it. I appreciated his role and understood that decisions are not made in a black and white arena. If I had questions or concerns about a situation I didn’t hesitate to ask and he didn’t hesitate to give an answer. As headmaster, he cared deeply for the Canterbury community and expressed this love in umpteen ways over the twenty-one years I served with him.” Three of Tom and Betsy’s four children are Canterbury graduates: T.J. ’92, Molly ’98, and Patrick ’04. All three were athletes who made marked contributions to the School’s athletic program. T.J. was on the cross country, varsity basketball, and varsity lacrosse teams; Molly was a standout lacrosse player and went on to play in college; Patrick excelled both in varsity soccer and varsity lacrosse. 18
Today T.J. lives in Greenwich. He has three children. Molly and John Reilly ’96 live in New Canaan with their three children, and Patrick lives in Jackson, WY, where he was married in October to Jessica Wilson. Daughter Sara had already graduated from high school when the Sheehys came to Canterbury. Sara and Jim Finnerty live in the Buffalo area with their four children. To relax and recharge from the responsibilities of the school year, Tom and Betsy spent two to three weeks each August on Martha’s Vineyard. According to Tom, Betsy’s family has been going to the Vineyard since 1929 to enjoy time with family, a tradition Tom and Betsy and their children continue. When Tom arrived at Canterbury, playing a round of golf was not among his leisure time activities. Trustee John O’Neill ’57 is responsible for getting him involved in golf, because he thought it was the best way for Tom to cultivate the many alumni he would visit in Florida and elsewhere. “I have been fortunate to play some great courses over the years but have yet to play enough to become a consistent player,” said Tom, adding, “I am still not any good though I do have good rounds every once in awhile.” At the school meeting of May 1, 2015, Tom announced to faculty
and students that he and Betsy would retire at the end of the 2015– 2016 school year, which coincided with the School’s centennial celebrations. In the announcement to the full Canterbury constituency, Tom thanked the faculty and administration, the Board of Trustees, loyal graduates, committed parents, and so many outstanding students for all that had been accomplished during his tenure. In particular, he thanked Betsy, of whom he wrote, “Among those who have played crucial roles during my tenure, none is more important than my wife Betsy. She has weathered each storm, celebrated each success and always been a sage and honest sounding board for any issue that arose. As possibly the longest serving member of the Admission Office, she has thoroughly invested her time in ensuring that we attract the best and brightest students to Canterbury. At the same time, she never wavered in her commitment to raise our four children who, as adults, incorporate the Five Values that Canterbury espouses.” He went on to thank the “extraordinary group of trustees” that had provided him guidance and support during his tenure. “I am most grateful,” he wrote, “for the leadership and guidance of the individuals who have served as Board presidents during my headship: John Duffy ’59, Hope Carter, Bill O’Connor ’57, and Bob Steers ’71. So many trustees have committed their time, treasure, and wisdom to ensure that Canterbury will continue its upward trajectory. Each trustee has always acted in the best interests of the School, its faculty and students, to ensure that we, as a community, remain vibrant and committed to carrying our mission.” During their final year at Canterbury, Tom and Betsy embarked on their “farewell tour,” an opportunity for them to thank supporters for their loyalty to the school on the hill. Of course, it was also a chance for many graduates and friends
of Canterbury to thank Tom and Betsy for their steady stewardship of the School. Receptions took place in Rye (NY), Chicago, Rumford (PA), Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Atlanta, New York City, Palm Beach, Vero Beach, New Canaan, China and Korea, Rumson (NJ), and Cincinnati. In addition, in December of 2015, TABS (The Association of Boarding Schools) honored Tom during their conference in Boston, and Canterbury’s Society of Alumni feted Tom and Betsy at an event in New York. A spring Parents’ Weekend 2016 reception, the Canterbury Medal Dinner, and reunion weekend also served as occasions for members of the Canterbury family to thank Tom and Betsy for all they had done for the School and to wish them the best in their retirement. In 1994, Canterbury’s trustees inaugurated the Canterbury Medal, an award that recognizes the efforts of those individuals who have demonstrated unparalleled devotion to the School and honors their extraordinary efforts to advance the School’s mission. In its first year, Canterbury honored Richard Joyce Smith, John Duffy ’59, Walter Sheehan, and Nelson Hume. Twenty-two years after the Medal’s founding, Tom and Betsy received Medals. The invitation to the Medal Dinner stated: “In Tom’s 26 years at Canterbury, he and Betsy have remained dedicated to the unique mission and excellent education that has been Canterbury’s hallmark since its founding. Tom’s headship has been marked by his humanitarian qualities of compassion and fairness and his level-headed governance.” Today, Tom and Betsy are still settling into their new residence in Beacon Falls, CT. “Downsizing is a challenge, but Betsy and I have time to figure out where everything will go,” says Tom. “We have felt free to get up and go and not be constrained by the strictures of a Sept.–June calendar. We absolutely enjoyed driving out to Jackson, WY, for
In the spring of 2016, Tom Sheehy and Board president Bob Steers ’71, former Board president Bill O’Connor ’57, and trustee John O’Neill ’57 chat after a cermony to name the head’s residence O’Connor House.
Patrick’s wedding last fall. This past October we spent more than a week on the Vineyard, something we could never do while we were working. We look forward to spending more time with our family and grandchildren. We walk our dog Tippet every day and are getting to know the Naugatuck Valley bit by bit.” He adds, “We do miss the community of Canterbury but did get a fix a few months ago when we watched the boys’ soccer team hand Cheshire a defeat. It was great to chat with a few parents who were at the game and then get together with the team post game.” When I asked Tom to enumerate his proudest achievements as headmaster, he replied, “A good number of facilities were added; we introduced crew, women’s hockey, water polo, and expanded our squash program. We increased faculty salaries among competitor schools from the 22nd percentile to the 50th, and our enrollment hit new records exceeding 360. We improved and strengthened the curriculum and expanded our community service program. And, of course, our endowment grew from $1.3 million to more than $30 million. We also expanded our alumni outreach and increased annual giving.” A little known
Tom Sheehy and Rachel Stone, Canterbury’s sixth head.
fact is that more than half of today’s 5,314 alumni graduated during Tom’s twenty-six years as headmaster. “After all is said and done, perhaps my greatest accomplishment was serving Canterbury for twenty-six years and building a community comprised of great kids, great faculty, and great staff—a community that today is strong and vibrant.” Parts of this story were taken from a PALLIUM article by Lou Mandler and her Medal Dinner talk.
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By Wright Danenbarger
The Faculty 1990-2015 This installment of the history of the Canterbury faculty focuses on the teachers who have served the School for more than twenty years and those close to the mark.
A
reader of the previous three articles on the history of Canterbury School’s faculty in these commemorative PALLIUMS has surely noted that all these men and women are tied together by their commitment to and love of the School. They are what might be described more informally as “all in.” The Canterbury faculty of these pages have not only worked here but they have also lived here, fallen in love here, married here, raised families here, and sometimes sent the next generation of their families here to do the same. A unifying theme of the people mentioned here is how they have identified with the place where they work. Many employers strive for this symbiosis, but what my vantage as the author of Canterbury School’s 100-year history of its teachers has taught me is that the ethos of the place works to cement that elusive relationship. Head Tom Sheehy and the Board of Trustees worked together during this time to create better financial and living conditions for the faculty, contributing to a stable and committed faculty. They raised faculty salaries, expanded and improved faculty housing, 20
and committed more funds to professional development both in the budget and in the form of the Duffy Grant for faculty travel. Tom Sheehy’s belief in the importance of family in the community played a role in increasing the number of faculty couples who both worked at the school. In 19721973, John and Kim Niles were the first married couple to be faculty members. Not until 1977-1978 was another married couple part of the faculty, when Lou Mandler joined JP on the roles. In 2015-2016, there were thirteen married couples on the faculty. As I wrote in the article that chronicled Canterbury’s first faculty assembled according to founder Nelson Hume’s vision, it is in fact hard to distinguish between the two terms “school” and “faculty.” If you want to talk about the evolution of the School, the evolution of the faculty is at the core of the School’s development. This final commemorative piece focuses on those individuals who have served Canterbury for more than twenty years with mention of additional faculty members who have come close to that targeted mark and who have contributed much to
The Canterbury faculty of these pages have not only worked here but they have also lived here, fallen in love here, married here, raised families here, and sometimes sent the next generation of their families here to do the same. A unifying theme of the people mentioned here is how they have identified with the place where they work. the School. Faculty members are grouped according to the decade in which they were hired, and when viewed this way, each group represents a distinct evolutionary leap in the institutional history of the last twenty-five years. Hired in the ’70s With this as my task, how fortunate I am to have as my first subject Canterbury’s longest-ever tenured faculty member: Jean-Paul Mandler, now in his 46th year. In 1970, Walter Sheehan heard that Assumption Prep School in Worcester, MA, was closing, and he sent Jules Viau to the school to see if there were any prospective faculty members for Canterbury. Jules returned and reported to Walter that he should talk to JP Mandler, and the rest is history. After arriving at Canterbury in 1970, JP has served five of Canterbury’s six Heads, missing only founding head Nelson Hume. He was the first of a decade of hires who left a deep mark on the School. The long-tenured hires of this period have institutional significance; they carry with them and thus represent the quintessence of the place. As evidence of this, let’s start by
JP Mandler chats with a student in 1972.
JP Mandler teaches AP English in Old Schoolhouse Seminar Room in 2004.
listing JP’s roles at Canterbury these past forty-five years (in random order): English teacher, English Department Chair, Latin teacher, French teacher, yearbook advisor, drama coach, director of studies, director of technology, dean of the school, dean of faculty, lacrosse, soccer, hockey, and squash coach, and dorm parent in North (Duffy), Carmody, and Havemeyer Houses. He chaired two NEASC evaluations and during Guy Simonelli’s time as dean of students, JP monitored the Discipline Committee, a role he continues today. He is the face and voice of the School at awards ceremonies and graduation. JP, as much as any faculty member in the School’s 100 years, lends the institution gravitas. He taught AP English literature so well and for so long that the course practically became named for him—everyone referred to it as “AP JP.” Two professional development funds begun in this period enabled JP to deepen his knowledge of two of his favorite literary figures: a grant in the 1980s to study Yeats in Ireland and a Duffy Grant in 2012 to explore the Thomas Hardy country. In this, his 46th year, he
teaches three levels of Latin and continues to counsel a number of Sixth Form college advisees. Tom ’91 and Christy Cook ’90 were so affected by his teaching and mentoring that when they established an endowment, they named it after him rather than themselves. Asked about their decision to do so, Tom Cook described his experience of JP as a teacher who built passion for a topic by exuding it himself: “I don’t think that my writing poetry in high school was a socially acceptable thing to do, but Mr. Mandler had a great way of saying that there is nothing wrong with loving a subject.” I find these words echoed in recently retired headmaster Tom Sheehy’s words in a 2011 PALLIUM article commemorating JP’s forty years of service to the School: “Being an educator is a true calling. Committing oneself to a single mission for forty years is incredible. JP Mandler has served Canterbury for all those years, always putting the School’s mission and the students first. He is passionate about his craft and totally committed to his students. He is a master teacher and a role
model for us all.” One example of JP’s ability to forge relationships with students is his with Korean student Mina Kim, the valedictorian of the Class of 2012, who called JP her “American grandfather.” Marc Vanasse ’73 spoke at length about his forty-year relationship with JP, beginning with his experience as a student in JP’s French II class in 1970, “He quickly proved to be a skilled and patient teacher for a student like me for whom a second language did not come easily. Two years later, while a student in his survey of drama course, I began the most important educational journey of my life: how to write well. He prepared me very well to take on the writing challenges of college work.” A few years later, Marc became a faculty colleague of JP’s and commented of that time, “As Chair of the English Department, he mentored me, a neophyte English teacher. Again, his wisdom, encouragement, and patience proved invaluable to my Canterbury career.” Marc went on to say, “Those who know JP know that he revels in a humorous anecdote and a good story, even if he’s heard it a hundred times. A good joke or funny story will elicit his unmistakable laughter, a cross between a cackle and a good belly laugh. I owe him a tremendous debt of gratitude.” In the larger independent educational world, JP served on the Curriculum Committee for the Archdiocese of Hartford for three years, and he served on and was Chair of the Professional Development Commission of the Connecticut Association of Independent Schools. Given this high, deserved praise, it comes as little surprise that Canterbury’s senior master is married to Lou Mandler, another ’70s hire. They met at Middlebury College’s Bread Loaf School of English where JP’s summer studies were financed by Canterbury and where Lou, a Montana native, arrived from teaching in Idaho. Lou’s long tenure saw her fill many of the School’s vital roles. 21
JP Mandler, as much as any faculty member in the School’s 100 years, lends the institution gravitas. He taught AP English literature so well and for so long that the course practically became named for him—everyone referred to it as “AP JP.”
Lou Mandler in 1983.
JP and Lou Mandler in 2011.
A rare Westerner in the prep school constellation, she taught at New Milford High School for two years but then began working for director of studies Rod Clarke ’46 by filling out grade books and report cards by hand at home for $2.00 an hour. Eventually, this led to a faculty position as registrar in 1977. After a few years’ hiatus, Lou began her Canterbury teaching career in 1981. Lou’s thirty-five years on the faculty were marked by a very wide variety of positions that spoke to her versatility and value to the School. It seems she did everything short of being Head. Many graduates recall Lou as an English teacher, head of Duffy (North) House, and English Chair. Many also think of her as dean of faculty, the academic dean, or perhaps the director of studies. But these are just the high profile jobs, as many of her most valuable contributions to Canterbury have been somewhat behind the scenes. Lou has chaired or served on numerous committees that give the School direction: she chaired the original Coeducation Committee in the 1980s, the Calendar Committee, and the Academic Committee, and she served on the faculty committee which gave input to the Head search in 1990, the Guidance Advisory Board, the Safety Committee, and the Centennial Steering Committee. She was advisor to the Honor Society for several years, and wrote the School’s strategic plans in 1996 and 2011. She worked with Kathy Bolster and Marc Vanasse ’73 in upgrading two different versions of Canterbury’s website. If you have been around Canterbury for a while, you have been witness to the notable upgrades to the School’s facilities, and Lou had a hand in quite a few of those too. She was the School’s liaison to the architects who renovated The Old Schoolhouse and Steele Hall. She participated in the planning for South House and the campus upgrade in 2015. During Tom Sheehy’s tenure, Lou and Betsy Sheehy oversaw most aspects of the 22
School’s appearance. I think it’s safe to say that if you have noticed Canterbury’s general evolution into the modern school it is today, you have been party to Lou’s work. Always eager to expand her own experience and knowledge, Lou received several fellowships during her career—a Geraldine R. Dodge seminar with Wellesley’s Peggy McIntosh, a National Endowment for the Humanities award to study Native American Literature, and a year-long Klingenstein grant from Columbia University’s Teachers’ College. She has published articles on Ernest Hemingway in The Hemingway Review and in Montana: The Magazine of Western History and has written and published a memoir, This Storied Land (2004). When Lou retired in 2016, trustee Jay Clarke ’84 spoke about her relationships with Lou, first as her student and then as a trustee who worked with Lou as the faculty liaison to the Education Committee: “In her classroom teaching, Lou approached literature in a way that was expansive, interdisciplinary, and historically relevant… For the first time, in her classes I felt I had something to add, and I did because she listened and she
welcomed critical thinking… Lou unlocked in me the joy in and the possibility of an intellectual path.” Three of JP and Lou’s children are Canterbury graduates—Ned ’91, Anne ’94, and Christian ’99. Daughter Crystal transferred to The Gunnery for her last two years to establish an identity away from her very visible Canterbury parents. A fitting coda to her long Saints tenure are the very words you are reading right now—Lou is a driving force behind these four commemorative PALLIUMS. As I write these words, I realize that Lou Mandler is one in a line of dedicated faculty who have acted as school historian and de facto school archivist. Much like Edward Carmody, Edward Mack, and Kathy Bolster, whose School histories I have relied upon so often, Lou did not set out to chronicle our story because she was told to but rather out of sense that it is a story that should be told. Perhaps it was inevitable then that Marc Vanasse ’73, another ’70s hire, has also become synonymous with School history and tradition. I think it may also be fair to say that no one in School history can lay claim to be more of a Saints lifer than Marc. He arrived in New Milford in 1960 as a five-yearold, the son of Teri and language teacher Gerry Vanasse, whom I wrote about in the previous edition of this commemorative set. Marc lived in Havemeyer House as a teenager and served as a proctor in Carmody House. He attended Canterbury and then came back to work at the School as an intern upon graduating from college in 1977. Since then, Marc has also served as an English teacher, Head of Ingleside House and dorm parent in Sheehan House, director of studies, director of the work program, assistant coach in football, and faculty advisor to the Carillon, Tabard, and Cantuarian (recognize the lengthy list?). For nine years Marc directed the School’s drama program, producing such notable productions as You Can’t Take it With You, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, and
Marc Vanasse ’73 in 1985.
Marc Vanasse in Lourdes, France, in 2012.
his last, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Marc’s evolution as the School photographer began in the 1980s when Steve Reynolds ’78, PALLIUM editor at the time, needed some photos for the magazine. Marc’s early cover photo of students under the blossoming trees north of the chapel presaged a major role for Marc and his camera, recording Canterbury events for publication and posterity. His photography has been part of several shows: the 2015 Centennial Art Show, a 2000 art faculty show, and his own shows on Haiti, Lourdes, and a winter 2015 show. Of his photographic skill, Andrew Smith ’59 commented, “His photography is first rate. I remember a picture of a cow he exhibited in his one-man show in Duffy Gallery in 2015. It was an Avedon-class image, and I wish I had had the money to buy it and pass it off as my own.” Marc’s innate visual talent led to an interest in film and two courses in film studies which he taught for many years. These days, Marc teaches photography and as director of publications produces topflight PALLIUMS. In the words
of Andrew Smith, “Not since Gutenberg, has one man been so intimately associated with a publication. You can’t say enough about Marc’s contribution to the PALLIUM. He turned it into a firstclass magazine.” Marc also writes copious content for Canterbury’s newly revamped website. For many years, he was the official keeper of the Canterbury seal and logo. Like his fellow ’70s hires, JP and Lou Mandler, Marc is a rich source for information about what this place has been as the School moves into its second century. Peter O’Donnell ’70 came to Canterbury to work in the nascent development office in 1975. A champion wrestler as a Canterbury student, he also assisted Don Robert in the wrestling program, helped coach football, and taught history. Peter left the School in 1986, returned in 1991, and left again in 1995. Another graduate who was hired in the ’70s bears mention here for his twenty years—and multiple roles!—on the faculty: Fran Foley ’64. Fran returned to Canterbury as the director of admission in 1979 and later transitioned to dean of students. He was clearly a student 23
Peter O’Donnell ’70.
Fran Foley ’64.
favorite, as a coach and, eventually, a math teacher who had two yearbooks dedicated to him, in 1991 and 1999. Faculty colleague JP Mandler said of Fran, “He was an upbeat sort of fellow. He always had a good word and a smile for everyone. He was a good person to have around because of his positive attitude about the School and about kids.” Fran left Canterbury in 1999 to become the Head of St. Gregory’s School in Loudonville, NY, a Catholic K-8 school, Four of Fran and Clare’s children graduated from Canterbury—Megan ’91, Fran ’93, Sarah ’95, and Caroline ’99. 24
Hired in the ’80s As Canterbury transitioned into the 1980s, the School began to take a new approach to hiring quality faculty. Certainly it had succeeded by looking far and wide for its teachers and providing those men and women housing. But local talent also presented a deep reservoir of educators that could not be overlooked. How else to account for the sudden arrival, in quick succession, of Bev Lee, Sandy Behan, Sylvia Hierro, and Kathy Bolster? Although not found in the local pool of residents, Guy Simonelli and Bryan Kiefer were hired in the ’80s, not as the typical at the time “just out of college” young bloods, but, like Bev, Sandy, Sylvia, and Kathy, as mature professionals. Bev Lee ushered in the period of the 1980s. Bev was already a Canterbury parent to two (soon to be three) Saints—Laura ’80, Amy ’82, and Jen ’84 (a faculty member from 1993-2015)—and as mentioned in the previous issue, she had been working as a volunteer girls’ squash coach starting in the previous winter season. Her skill at coaching coupled with her doctorate in veterinary medicine made her a perfect fit for two of the School’s needs that year: science teacher and girls’ athletic director. Bev immediately started teaching both biology and chemistry. Since Canterbury had become coed in 1971, the girls’ sports program was still catching up to that of the boys, and Bev was instrumental to that project. What really stands out to me is the way her students talked about her as a teacher. Students who were interviewed about her for a 2014 PALLIUM article used adjectives to describe her that almost seem contradictory: fun, compelling, and tough. Frankly, though, I can’t come up with three better adjectives to describe a perfect learning environment. During her tenure at Canterbury, Dr. Lee was the teacher of honors science courses—Honors Biology, Honors Chemistry, AP Chemistry. She also taught popular electives such as Microbiology and Anthropology.
Bev coached tennis and squash and after moving on from the Athletic Department, she advised the Canterbury School Honor Society. Bev retired in 2016. She maintains her interest and talent in athletics with plenty of hours of golf. One year after Bev Lee arrived, in 1981, headmaster Rod Clarke hired Guy Simonelli after meeting him in theology classes at St. Joseph’s College in West Hartford. In his thirty-four years at Canterbury, Guy was perhaps best known as a linchpin of the Theology Department; after teaching for a few years, he became chair of the department and coordinated many of the programs that complemented and arose from the spiritual grounding of its curriculum. Guy introduced Walk for Hope, the Crop Walk, Oxfam Day, Urban Plunge, and Midnight Run—all programs that graduates recall as well as anything that they were involved in here. Encouraged by trustee Hope Carter, he became involved with the Lourdes Pilgrimage in 1995, its second year, and continued to participate through 2016. For many years, he
Bev Lee.
Guy and Viv Simonelli.
also directed a summer Elderhostel program on campus. Guy was, at one time or another, director of guidance, dean of students, transportation director, and coordinator of community service. He was dorm head of Carmody House and a eucharistic minister. His multiple roles really make him more of a throwback to the older generation of faculty mentioned in the previous phase of faculty hires, and, in fact, a faithful reader of this series of articles will see in Guy a kind of archetypal Canterbury faculty member. Thus, it should come as no surprise to all who know him that he received the yearbook dedication three times—in 1992, 2002, and 2010—because, as the dedications themselves affirm, he was the kind of teacher that really became involved in the lives of his students. Especially in courses such as Human Relations, he tended to inspire students to look at once inward at themselves and outward at how the self they saw might make a difference in the larger world. However, he is probably most remembered as a compassionate adult who was always willing to give students time. Neighbor and colleague Julio Omaña commented about Guy, “Whenever someone needs something, Guy is always there to help. Whether it is driving a team to an away game, or helping to run a Pizza and Prayer, or running the clock at a hockey game. You name it, Guy is ready to say ’yes!’ He is my model for my willingness to help out in the Canterbury community.” Guy retired in 2016, and he and his wife Viv continue to live in their Marwick Manor home. Their four children—David ’89, Joan ’91, Michael ’92, and Mark ’99—are all Canterbury graduates. Guy’s wife Viv still works as assistant to dean of students Peter LaVigne. Just one year later, in 1982, the School hired two more local teachers: Sandy Behan and Sylvia Hierro. Sandy arrived in the middle of the fall to replace a teacher who left suddenly. She had just moved back to Connecticut from Samoa where she had taught after teaching for some years in Germany. She was as worldly a faculty member as the School might hope to hire and quickly assumed a central position in the Science Department. Sandy did stints in Carmody House and as a track coach, but she is much better known as the Science Chair and faculty advisor to the institutionally vibrant Women of Canterbury. Nasir Naqvi ’90 commented on her influence on him as a student in her
Especially in courses such as Human Relations, Guy Simonelli tended to inspire students to look at once inward at themselves and outward at how the self they saw might make a difference in the larger world. However, he is probably most remembered as a compassionate adult who was always willing to give students time. science classes: “Sandy Behan was an inspiring biology teacher who knew how to impart a sense of wonder and excitement about the natural world. I suspect it was her own curiosity about the brain and behavior that led her to develop and teach a class on neuroscience to high school seniors. It was a risky thing to do, especially when the field was so young (back then, they weren’t even teaching neuroscience to college students). However, in my case, the risk paid off. Sandy really sparked my curiosity in this area, leading me to major in neuroscience in college, and ultimately to pursue an MD and a PhD in neuroscience. Now, I am a psychiatrist studying the neural basis of addiction, and I have Sandy Behan to thank for that.” Sandy’s interest in education for young women first took expression at Canterbury when she was part of the formation of the Coeducation Committee in 1984. She and Lou Mandler, the chair of that committee, partnered in other ventures as well. They co-taught a Women’s Studies course for a time 25
Sandy Behan.
until Sandy became its solo teacher. Sandy formed Women of Canterbury to replace the Girls’ League of the 1970s, and so, both inside the classroom and out, Sandy saw to it that Canterbury’s female population was both well supported and well educated about issues that pertained particularly to them. Sandy has been the longtime AP Bio instructor and her yearbook dedication of 1998 notes her love of teaching students in the field, too. This skill dovetails nicely with her work as the coordinator of the Montana Leadership Program, conceived and hosted by trustee John Donovan ’59 and his wife Dana. Sandy and her husband Dick have traveled with twelve students to the Donovans’ home near Glacier Park since 2005. The program there entwines ecology study with leadership skills developed through outdoor experiences in the Park. Sandy became a certified counselor while teaching at Canterbury and has been invaluable in that role and as a member of the Guidance Advisory Board. She has organized and guided a student group of peer counselors for several years. Today, of current department chairs, she is the longest serving. In 1982, Sherman resident Sylvia Hierro joined the faculty to teach studio art. Unusual for independent school hires, she had a degree in education and a Master’s in art, specializing in ceramics. She came to
Sylvia Hierro.
26
Kim Tester.
Sandy has been the longtime AP Bio instructor and her yearbook dedication of 1998 notes her love of teaching students in the field, too. This skill dovetails nicely with her work as the coordinator of the Montana Leadership Program, a program conceived and hosted by trustee John Donovan ’59 and his wife Dana. Canterbury as an experienced teacher. One of Sylvia’s first acts as Chair of the Fine Arts Department was to introduce a sequential path for students to progress through the art program. For the first time, students were expected to begin their art career in Introduction to Art, a pre-requisite to other courses such as Drawing and Painting. Other pre-requisites were established for other advanced courses. During Sylvia’s time at Canterbury, she worked with trustee John Duffy in planning the expanded Duffy Art Center in Duffy (North) House. As longtime art colleague Kim Tester relates, “Sylvia was an exceptional role model both for other faculty and for students. Her excitement in making art was contagious. Her spontaneity and positive energy were infectious. She always found the good in what students did and worked with them as a team, not as an authoritative figure.” Sylvia retired from teaching in 2005 but has continued to create her own art, participating in a show by art faculty in 2000 and creating her own show in Duffy Gallery in 2004. Her daughter Dalia is an ’86 graduate. A year later, in 1983, Canterbury
hired two more local women to longtime and ongoing faculty positions: Kim Tester and Kathy Bolster. Now safe in its knowledge that great teachers could be plucked from their local backyard, Canterbury found Kim Tester, a resident of nearby Roxbury. In her early tenure, she worked part-time with Sylvia Hierro in what is now the Green Room (Hume 208) but what was then the School’s studio art classroom. Working with Sylvia, Kim designed much of the visual arts curriculum that Canterbury takes for granted today but which did not exist until the 1980s. Kim became full time in 1986-87, but then left to start a framing business out of her home after the spring of 1988. Teaching, as for all the men and women I have written about, was in her blood, and she missed it. Kim rekindled the adjunct position she had once held at Western Connecticut State University, and also added a part-time position at Naugatuck Community College. But when art teacher Michael Hennessey left in 1995, Tom Sheehy gave her a call and she returned full time. From there, Kim added yearbook advisor and, in 2000, Chair of the Fine Arts Department to her responsibilities. Much like many of the faculty mentioned above, she has served in many other roles. Because of her organizational and leadership skills, Kim was named co-coordinator of the 2005-2006 NEASC Self Study Accreditation process and is currently co-chair of the 2016-2017 accreditation process. She has led the Sixth Form Internship Project, chaired the Academic Committee (2009-2016), and served as interim dean of faculty (2006-2007). An artist herself, Kim has shown her art in numerous shows around the country including a 2015 show at Canterbury to mark her twentyfifth year at the School. Kim’s specialization is in printmaking; her MFA degree was with a printmaking major and a drawing minor. She has shepherded numerous Canterbury students through AP Art and acceptance to such schools
Kathy Bolster.
as the Rhode Island School of Design, Parsons School of Art and Design, and Savannah College of Art and Design. In the larger independent school world, Kim has served on NEASC committees to evaluate Exeter School and Kent School. The other member of the 1983 hiring class still working at Canterbury is New Milford resident Kathy Bolster. Kathy was hired as an assistant to school librarian Genie Slone, and she replaced Genie as sole librarian in 1986. Her warmth, quiet sense of fun, and appreciation for the vagaries of the teenage years made the library a welcoming haven, especially for (but not only) theater students. By 1997, she was teaching computer science classes. Kathy and I were both drafted in the year 2002 to work with Lou Mandler as academic counselors; Kathy was so good at
helping students find success in their studies that she succeeded Lou as the director of studies in 2007. She left that position in 2012 when her technology expertise filled a much needed role in the Technology Department, where she has been the point person for our vital educational management systems, Podium and now Veracross. Kathy has also been a major contributor to the various renditions of Canterbury’s website and advisor of the yearbook for several years. Kathy made a significant contribution when she authored Canterbury School: The First Ninety Years. 1915-2005. As a member of the community, Kathy has quietly been a champion volunteer. When the School was desperate for a volleyball coach, Kathy volunteered despite her lack of experience. She and her husband John are regular officials at 27
28
Bryan Kiefer.
Maddie Dreeke.
the fall Cross-Country Invitational, and they both contribute time to Canterbury’s theater program. Kathy can be counted on to heed a call for drivers to away games. The examples of both Kim and Kathy, as with many of our ’80s hires, demonstrate the value of having faculty members who, precisely because they work outside the residential program, can fill valuable roles that have moved the School forward as it finished its first century. Both Bolster sons, Chris ’04 and Ian ’07, are Canterbury graduates, and son Chris carries on the educational family bent by teaching English and directing theater at Avon Old Farms. Ian continues the family involvement with theater in a career in stage and film production. With that in mind, we come to Bryan Kiefer. Bryan had owned a construction company in San Francisco, and he arrived at Canterbury in June 1987 with his wife Judy and three young sons, twins Jesse ’99 and Matthew ’99 and Jacob. Tragically, Judy died in January 1999. Bryan married Nancy McLaughlin in June 2003, gaining two Saints stepsons, Chris ’01 and Kevin ’04.
Initially hired as business manager, he was “drafted” as director of development in 1995, and from 1995-1997, he was both business manager and director of development, moving to full time director of development in 1997. During that time he worked with trustees Steve Hume ’43 and Charles Coudert ’49 to establish the Carillon Society, Canterbury’s Planned Giving program. As no one would ever mistake Kiefer for a one-trick pony, he also became Canterbury’s second AP Economics teacher, after Gina Finn, in the mid’90s. He also taught Old Testament and American History in those early years as an administrator. He stepped down from development in the summer of 2013, and now in his thirtieth year, he teaches AP Macro Economics, AP European History, and edifies and amuses our Third Formers in Foundations of Civilization. He received the yearbook dedication in 2015. Bryan is noted for his delight in conversation on almost any topic and as longtime colleague Marc Vanasse says, “His witty repartee, sometimes irreverent, is often on display at table in the dining room and in his classroom; it is what has
come to define him. On a serious note, he takes his seat in the front row of the chapel at Sunday Mass and sings the hymns in a powerful bass.” Bryan Kiefer is thus both an endpoint and a touchstone for Canterbury School’s hires of the 1980s. He may not have lived in a dorm or coached but, like his ’80s cohorts, he seems to have touched just about every other aspect of the School very much to its benefit and continuing evolution. What we learn by observing the faculty from Bev Lee to Bryan Kiefer is that the “triple threat” faculty model is a malleable term and sometimes needs to be so for a boarding school to have great teachers and the flexibility to flourish in the modern prep school ecosystem. Hired in the ’90s When Tom Sheehy was appointed Canterbury’s fifth headmaster in 1990, he brought with him a sensibility that had always informed the ethos at the School but which he used to strengthen the faculty: a focus on family. Married couples had always lived together on campus and raised families here, but it wasn’t until
Fr. Sebastian Leonard, O.S.B. When Sebastian Leonard, O.S.B. retired in the fall of 2015, he had been the longest-serving Canterbury chaplain. Son of Irish-born parents, Sebastian began his path towards the priesthood in Indianapolis and attended both high school and college at nearby St. Meinrad Archabbey. He took his “first vows” in 1952 as a Benedictine monk and was ordained on May 3, 1957. He later earned his M.A. in European History at Georgetown University and a D.Phil. in European History at Oxford University in 1968. Between 1968 and 1995, Sebastian taught at St. Meinrad and also served as assistant pastor at St. David’s Catholic Church in Davie, FL, for ten years. He arrived on campus in the fall of 1995, not sure this would be his cup of tea. “I did not unpack for the first semester,” he recalled later. Between 1995 and 2015, he came to love Canterbury students (and they him), and established close relationships with many faculty and staff colleagues. For several years, Sebastian taught theology and European History at Canterbury. As chaplain, he offered daily Mass, baptized and confirmed students, and delivered well thought-out homilies as part of Sunday Mass. His homilies were increasingly adapted to Canterbury students although he never adjusted to gum chewing in the chapel. Always an avid reader, he was without doubt the most prolific donor of “already read” books to Copley Library. When it came time to retire and Sebastian said his last Canterbury Mass on September 20, 2015, students and faculty alike shed tears as they bid their long-serving chaplain goodbye.
John and Kim Niles worked at Canterbury together in 1972–1973 that both partners in a married couple became Canterbury faculty members. This did not happen again until Lou Mandler joined JP as a faculty member in 1977. Tom Sheehy welcomed married couples if both could make excellent contributions to the School. The next section highlights faculty members who have either been at the School for twenty years or come close to that mark. Tom began his tenure by hiring Madeleine Dreeke to teach in the English and Fine Arts Departments. Her background in professional
Fr. Ron Gliatta served as chaplain from 1992-1995.
When Tom Sheehy was appointed Canterbury’s fifth headmaster in 1990, he brought with him a sensibility that had always informed the ethos at the School but which he used to strengthen the faculty: a focus on family.
theater and her husband Robin’s background in technical theater were a perfect fit for the drama program’s twice-yearly shows. Mattie and Robin’s contacts have brought professionals in to work with Canterbury students in costume, lighting, and sound on productions over the years. Amy McKenna Omaña ’86 may have arrived to the Admission Office unmarried in 1991, but in a couple of years, she married language teacher Julio Omaña. Amy soon moved to teach theology; she initiated the Nicaragua service trip in 2005 and continues to lead it in 2016. Julio has been Chair of the Language Department and originated the Canterbury-San Cayetano Spanish exchange program for students. Amy and Julio have two children, Brendan ’19 and Abby ’20. In 1992, Fr. Ron Gliatta joined the faculty. In addition to his oncampus duties as resident chaplain, he conducted off-campus Sixth Form retreats, and in the early 1990s organized a faculty trip to Italy. In 1993, the School hired another graduate, Jen Lee ’84, the daughter of the above-mentioned Bev Lee, who soon married French teacher Corey Chandler, and they, too, raised two children here, Kinsey ’14 and Robin. Jen was the classic triple threat in her years here; she coached soccer and 29
Rob and Cammy Roffe with Cam and Katie.
Julio and Amy Omaña.
squash (her specialty), lived in three different dorms, and taught chemistry with diligence and compassion. Jen and Corey left Canterbury in 2015. The litany of married couples is not to exclude a great school man such a Bob Potter, who joined the English Department in 1993. Bob, too, has been a loyal triple threat, coaching golf, hockey, and baseball; teaching underform and elective English courses; and doing yeoman dorm service in Sheehan House. In fact, as I look back over the 100 years of faculty I see more than a few single individuals who perhaps have as their forebear Alex Hume. Canterbury not only has always welcomed family and nurtured and relied upon family—it also acts as family for single faculty. Alex Hume and his heirs on the hill were single and childless only in the strict sense. Misi Babington, hired in 1998 as an athletic trainer, 30
could attest to this, as can I. Just two years later, in 1995, the School hired Cammy and Rob Roffe to work in the Science and Technology Departments, respectively. They also raised two children on campus who graduated Saints, Cam ’12 and Katie ’14. Cammy, daughter of trustee Jim Briggs ’56, has been another triple threat faculty member. She is a veteran field hockey coach and also coaches girls ice hockey. She has been a dorm parent in several dorms and specializes in offering science elective courses. Rob has been a dorm parent, advisor, computer teacher, and academic technology coordinator. Alec Braley, also hired in 1995, went about the Canterbury family program in his own unique way: he married a Canterbury parent, Karen Mayo, mother of Rebecca ’94, Kristy ’97, and Joe ’00. Besides teaching an
array of history courses, Alec has coached basketball and water polo. Math teacher Jack McCabe also arrived in 1995 as the Chair of the Mathematics Department. Sometimes called “Uncle Jack” by students, he left for what he thought were greener pastures in 1999 but returned to Canterbury the following year, retiring in 2014. Dave Overthrow, a resident of New Milford, became fulltime at Canterbury in 1998 after teaching guitar lessons to Canterbury students for several years. Dave was the very first director of music and in that role, has overseen both the choral and the instrumental programs. He has played an important role in both the development of the program and expansion of the music facilities. As a professional musician, he has written and published several instructional books on bass guitars. In 1997, the School needed a
Seated, l-r: Jim Shea, Lou Mandler, JP Mandler, Kathy Bolster, Jules Viau. Standing, l-r: Marc Vanasse ’73, Sylvia Hierro, Julio Omaña, Amy McKenna Omaña ’86, Bob Potter, Jen Lee Chandler ’84, Kim Tester, Tracy Garcia-LaVigne, Peter LaVigne, Bev Lee, Guy Simonelli, Sandy Behan. The photo was taken in 2008.
Boys’ Varsity Hockey coach and found Peter LaVigne who has served the School in many roles through the years—as both boys’ and girls’ ice hockey coach, as theology and English teacher, as interim dean of faculty and as longtime dean of students. The next year, the School hired his wife Tracy to join him in the English Department. She has since moved to teach in the Theology Department; she has been head of Duffy House for many years, and she is a very successful and passionate coach of cross country and track. Although they had one child at the time of their arrival, Ali ’14, four more LaVignes arrived in quick succession, Mary ’16, Jonah ’17, Grace, and then Lily. Dave Wilson also came in 1997 to serve as athletic director, and his wife Ellen joined the Language Department in 2003. As noted in the athletic article in this
issue, Dave was a very successful wrestling coach in addition to carrying out his responsibilities as athletic director. Ellen initiated and led several service trips to Puerto Rico and assisted in producing the yearbook for several years. She also worked with Marc Vanasse in school photography. The Wilsons graduated three Saints: Shane ’12. Jenna ’14, and John ’16. They left Canterbury in 2016. In 1998, Marija and Algis Stankus-Saulaitis were hired and filled positions in the English Department and Copley Library. Marija and Algis served important roles in the residential life program. They were co-heads of Hickory Hearth until 2008. That summer, Algis suddenly passed away, and since then Marija has managed Sheehan House. She also is the guru of Canterbury’s Writing Center. Chris Roberts was also hired in 1998 as an admission
assistant. He soon moved to the Math Department and has been the varsity lacrosse coach since the departure of Patrick Finn in 2002. Sue Chepren arrived on campus in 1999 to coach girls ice hockey and teach math, and Chris and Sue married two years later. They have two sons, Ryan and Tyler. I also arrived in 1999 to teach English, and after living in Hickory Hearth House for several years, now live in the Merryall district of New Milford. Thinking back to Nelson Hume’s first faculty hire, thus, not only brings this series of histories full circle, it reminds us of what has allowed Canterbury to persist and thrive over its first century: community. It attracts great teachers and retains them through this dynamic. Hume would be thrilled to see what his vision has wrought.
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By Bryan Kiefer
Canterbury’s Campus 1990-2015
In Canterbury’s fourth quarter century, successful fundraising and thoughtful planning led to construction and renovated spaces that retained the architectural vision of Nelson and Raphael Hume and transformed the campus.
F
rom 1965–1990, Canterbury added several important buildings on campus, including Hume Hall, Carmody House, an enclosed rink, Steele Hall, and a field house. However, when Tom Sheehy arrived as Canterbury’s fifth headmaster in the summer of 1990, it was evident that not enough funds had been available to maintain or upgrade campus facilities. The Old Schoolhouse, originally constructed with inexpensive materials, was in a state of disrepair. The hockey rink had no bathrooms, the weight room was shoehorned into the basement of the Old Gym, and the wrestling team practiced upstairs in the former basketball court, where paint and plaster were peeling from the walls. Nelson Hume’s pride when it was built in 1924—the swimming pool—was shabby and outdated. In the Old Schoolhouse, the music classroom consisted of a few pre-fabricated practice cubicles in the wing formerly used for the study hall and later, the library. On the first floor of Nelson Hume Hall, science labs were out of date. The glorious stained glass windows of the Chapel of Our Lady, some of them sixty years old, were showing dangerous signs of deterioration, and the chapel’s Hook & Hastings pipe organ was no longer dependable. Signs of deferred maintenance were abundant everywhere on campus—in the dorms, academic buildings, and 32
South House, the first dorm built exclusively for girls, opened in September of 2007. The architecture echoes that of the three lower-campus dorms.
sports facilities. Added to the needs of the facilities, every underground oil tank on campus was pastdue for removal. The list seemed endless and the costs staggering. Meanwhile, Canterbury faced budget woes as student enrollment fell under the pressure of a demographic trough that reduced the number of 14-18-year-olds applying to prep schools. The endowment was just $1.3 million, and even after the recently completed capital campaign,
the School still owed $650,000 in interest-only debt taken on during the campaign, and another $450,000 in short-term operating debt. Faculty salaries were at the 20th percentile of peer schools. In short, Tom faced the same challenges as his predecessors: the need for financial resources to provide adequate and attractive facilities to serve existing students and to bring new students to Canterbury. In responding to these challenges, he and the Board, with
In 1996, Canterbury adopted a Long-Range Strategic Plan and a Master Facilities Plan. Together, these plans focused on three core goals: to attract, retain, and develop a first-class faculty and student body; to modernize existing facilities and add new facilities to serve and attract students and faculty; and to foster an environment that promotes high student and faculty morale and encourages intellectual, spiritual, and moral health. the support of generous benefactors, transformed the campus and set the stage for a successful start to Canterbury’s second century. Having participated in this history as business manager (1987-1995), director of development (1995-2013), and teacher (2013-present), I am aware of the painstaking planning and often agonizing financial budgeting behind even the most mundane campus improvements. During Tom’s twenty-six years as headmaster, he and the Board addressed routine maintenance and minor projects too numerous to list but which included painting apartments, hallways and buildings; replacing many doors, locksets, light fixtures, smoke alarms, boilers, windows, and old appliances; renovating many faculty apartments and common rooms; installing siding, gutters, roofs, tiles, and carpets; repairing flashing, masonry, plaster, plumbing fixtures, and everything else that was broken. They also purchased furniture, vehicles, and equipment of all kinds and a large array of computer hardware. All this was necessary to keep Canterbury running. In the campus transformation leading up to the School’s centennial, for the first time since Nelson Hume’s tenure, in any construction or renovation, architects and the School maintained or created a unified look to the campus. Architect Robert Dell Vuyosovich (known as “Bobby Vee”) of the firm Butler Rogers Baskett (BRB) was the major influence in planning and executing the unification of the campus architecture; he was the primary designer involved in the renovation of the Old Schoolhouse and Steele Hall and of the construction of the Athletic Center, South House, and the Higgins Aquatic Center The first major project completed on Tom’s watch was the construction and equipping of the E.L.Wiegand Science Laboratory on the first floor of Hume Hall, formerly rooms 105 and 106. Through the good offices of then-trustee Mario Gabelli, parent of Matthew ’89, the E.L. Wiegand Foundation provided a challenge grant of $73,051 to purchase the new lab’s cabinets and equipment. The Class of 1963, as part of its 30th reunion celebration, raised the $53,031 necessary to meet the challenge and pay for the cost of construction. At the time of its dedication on May 20, 1994, the lab marked the beginning of a new era in science education at Canterbury, integrating up-to-date computer and video technology with modern lab equipment and innovative course design. The electrophoresis equipment for separating DNA samples for individual identification enabled Chair Sandy Behan to teach Biotechnology. After five years with Tom at the helm, Canterbury was beginning to establish a firmer financial footing. The lingering campaign debt had been paid off thanks to a challenge gift from Board president John Duffy ’59 (in honor of whom North House was renamed in 1992); enrollment had recovered; the endowment was gradually increasing; fundraising had
accelerated; and several nagging items of deferred maintenance had been addressed. It was time to start planning for the future. In 1996, Canterbury adopted a Long-Range Strategic Plan and a Master Facilities Plan. Together, these plans focused on three core goals: to attract, retain, and develop a first-class faculty and student body; to modernize existing facilities, and add new facilities to serve and attract students and faculty; and to foster an environment that promotes high student and faculty morale and encourages intellectual, spiritual, and moral health. The Master Facilities Plan, prepared by BRB, called for the construction of a new athletic center to link the field house and the rink, the renovation of the Old Schoolhouse, the conversion of the Old Chapel into a chaplain’s residence, the addition of new faculty housing, and adding an extension to Carmody and Havemeyer Houses to create larger and more centrally located common rooms and a faculty apartment in each dorm to accommodate single faculty members. The latter plans were never executed. Also during this time, the School commissioned a master landscape plan. Although the plan was not completely executed, it emphasized the importance of maintaining the hillside grove of trees above Sheehan, the trees lining the road to the lower campus, and the alley of trees from Hickory Hearth to Carter House. As a measure of the plan’s importance, the trustees acted on several high priorities. On December 16, 1996, Canterbury broke ground on three colonialstyle, four-bedroom faculty houses north of Steele Hall to be built by T&M Construction of Torrington, CT. Trustee Bill Staudt ’60 served as a consultant on this project. In connection with this construction, Canterbury extended the existing dead-end road leading to the former Huntington and Hebert houses into a horseshoe-shaped through street called Circle Drive. The School also installed the fiber 33
optic backbone of what was to become a major ongoing investment in technology infrastructure, and built a 60-space parking lot on Elkington Farm Road east of the headmaster’s house for use by day students and by local residents who use Canterbury’s rink, pool, and other athletic facilities. To address the continued shortage of faculty housing, in 1997 and 1998, Canterbury co-purchased two houses on nearby Marwick Manor with senior faculty members under an arrangement that provides Canterbury with a right of first refusal to purchase the faculty share. Rod Clarke’s house on Elkington Farm Road, known today as Clarke House, through his estate plan, is now a faculty residence. To provide more dorm coverage and convert unused space into a faculty apartment, Canterbury transformed the three-car Hickory Hearth garage into a faculty apartment. The flexible design of the apartment allows it to be converted easily to comfortable en suite housing for four students, although that has never been necessary. In the summer of 2000, Canterbury purchased 30 Canterbury Road, a two-story home immediately adjacent to the north end of the upper playing fields. The School also purchased a two-bedroom cottage, complete with in-ground pool, at 16 Marwick Manor. Beginning in the spring of 1997, the chapel’s stained glass windows were fully restored. The process included removing and transporting the stained glass to the factory of Hiemer Studios in Clifton, NJ, while new heavy duty, double layer anodized window frames were installed and the outer layers were glazed in clear plate glass. When the stained glass was fully rehabilitated, it was returned to campus and installed in the inner layer of the new window frame. The result was aesthetically pleasing but, more important, the double-glazed windows were robust enough to protect the stained glass for at least another century. By 2012, Canterbury restored all but the Deveraux stained glass window on the main floor of the chapel, including both windows in the sanctuary and both windows in the sacristy. They are arguably Canterbury’s most distinguished architectural feature. Other improvements to the chapel during this time included padded kneelers donated by Robert Martin in honor of his late wife Gilda and the new organ donated by Stephen Hume ’43. Encouraged by successful fundraising and the growth of the endowment, Canterbury’s trustees issued tax-exempt bonds to finance several critical projects. After months of planning, during the summer of 1998, the Old Schoolhouse was gutted and renovated, and construction
A much-needed renovation of the Old Schoolhouse was completed by the opening of school in 1998. It houses English, history, and language classrooms and offices along with the dean of students office.
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The renovation of the stained glass windows of the Chapel of Our Lady was made possible because of the generosity of the following: Hendrick Vietor, Walter Burke and family, William and Margaret DiTullio, John and Elisa Nelson, Hope Carter, Jim Rowland ’43, Steve Hume ’43, Paul Heffernan ’49, Brock ’58 and Barbara Saxe, Bob and Gilda Martin and family, Virginia Martiska and family, Algis and Marija Stankus-Saulaitis, the trustees, and former Board President Bill O’Connor ’57, who financed the restoration of the magnificent West Window. was begun on a new athletic center and several smaller projects including a new roof for Carter House and an upgrade of Duffy House. Underscoring Canterbury’s commitment to academic excellence, the renovation of the Old Schoolhouse was the first major project undertaken at Canterbury since the construction of the field house in 1986. This project was also the first designed and supervised by Bobby Vee. Construction work was completed by S. Carpenter Construction of Bristol, CT, the same firm that had previously built Steele Hall and the field house. Throughout September 1998, students attended English and history classes in trailers parked in the upper Sheehan House parking lot. Blessed and re-dedicated on October 8, 1998, the “new” Old Schoolhouse retained the charm, warmth, and distinct architectural features (wainscoting, transoms, wood framed blackboards, and large wood framed windows) of the original building while consolidating the English, History and Language Departments in one building; providing separate department offices and seventeen classrooms of various sizes; adding an elevator and handicap access; furnishing classrooms with
both traditional desks and chairs and non-traditional tables; and updating technology to reflect new developments in learning. Twin cupolas, envisioned by Edmund B. Caldwell in his original design of the building but never installed, were added to the south and north wings of the newly renovated building. Three classrooms, one of which features a massive Harkness-style seminar table, replaced the large music room in the north wing of the building. The center of music education on campus moved to the new Stephen ’43 and Lacey Hume Music Center in the original locker room space in the Old Gym. Two months prior to the ribbon cutting for the Old Schoolhouse, Canterbury broke ground for a new athletic center in August 1998. The 24,000-square-foot stone structure connected the existing rink and field house and housed the Ade Fitness Center, the Saxe/Castellini Squash courts, the James B. Lee ’71 Varsity Team Room, the Fay Vincent Sr. Officials Room (the football field was also named for Mr. Vincent, a former Canterbury referee and father of Fay Vincent Jr.), an enlarged trainers facility, the Gilbane Family Athletic Director’s Office, a wrestling room, and an open atrium lobby from which to watch the activity in the rink and field house while enjoying a bit of food from the School’s snack bar. With the construction of the Athletic Center, Canterbury returned to the architectural scheme of the upper campus originally envisioned by Nelson and Raphael Hume. Like the Chapel of Our Lady (1928) and the adjacent Old Gymnasium (1924), the Athletic Center was constructed of granite quarried in Roxbury, CT. In similar English Collegiate Gothic style, the design of the Athletic Center echoes the tall granite walls, limestone trimmed windows and doors, high-pitched gables, and irregularly placed entrances of these older buildings. Only in the standing seam metal roof did the Athletic Center depart from its slate-roofed predecessors. A large school logo features
Science chair Sandy Behan conducts class in the E.L. Wiegand Science Lecture Room, formerly Hume Room 107, which opened in 1999.
dramatically in the design of the lobby. The Class of 2007 donated a victory bell, to be rung whenever Canterbury wins an athletic competition, which is located to the right of the entrance plaza. The building, by all accounts, is a spectacular success, aesthetically and practically. In the words of Tom Sheehy during the September 24, 1999, dedication, the Athletic Center “enhances Canterbury’s program in an area where contemporary expectations are very high, and thus increases our attractiveness to top-quality students and faculty. It’s a first-rate facility.” As a bonus, excavated earth from the athletic center was used to create a new athletic field in the horse pasture to the east of the building along Elkington Farm Road. Put into use as a utility field in spring of 2001, it was subsequently updated in 2014 into a much-needed softball diamond. During this extraordinary burst of construction, other campus projects took shape. In May 1999, with fresh financial support from the E.L. Wiegand Foundation, Hume Room 107 was converted to the E.L. Wiegand Science Lecture Room. The room can accommodate more than thirty, making it suitable for combined classes or occasional meetings. In subsequent years, culminating with the renovation of the physics lab in the summer of 2011, every lab in Hume Hall was gutted and completely remodeled, refurnished, and re-equipped. Led by the generous support of trustees Jim Briggs ’56, Joe Wheelock ’56, Web Wheelock ’56, and additional members of the Class of 1956, the Old Chapel was converted into a beautiful new 1,700-square-feet chaplain’s residence in 1999. Completed in November, it was dedicated to all Canterbury’s resident chaplains; each is listed on a bronze plaque outside the front door of this oldest building on campus. The residence includes a large living room with cathedral ceiling and fireplace, an oratory located in the fireproof stone room built years before for the campus movie projector, a guest room, master suite, and an office. Built in the 1920s, the Old Chapel’s stained glass windows were preserved and used throughout the renovated building. In Jim Briggs’s words, he supported this project “to revitalize a historic centerpiece of the Canterbury campus, which had fallen into great disrepair. At the same time, in the name of the Class of 1956, we wanted to honor the fine chaplains who have served Canterbury’s students so faithfully.” 35
In similar English Collegiate Gothic style, the design of the Athletic Center echoes the tall granite walls, limestone trimmed windows and doors, high-pitched gables, and irregularly placed entrances of these older buildings. Only in the standing seam metal roof did the Athletic Center depart from its slateroofed predecessors.
An early photo of the construction of Steele Hall.
The Athletic Center opened in September 1999. It joined the hockey rink and field house and added several major facilities to the sports program.
A year later, with financial support from the family of Vincent DiTullio ’00, who collapsed in a basketball game during his Third Form year and died shortly afterwards, a remembrance garden was established immediately adjacent to the chaplain’s residence. A low granite wall faces a cenotaph and a statue of the Virgin Mary in front of a weeping birch tree surrounded by a ring of plantings. A quote by A.E. Housman is engraved on the cenotaph: “Like 36
the winds through the woods,/ through him the gale of life blew high” and a short poem by Web Wheelock ’56 graces a plaque in the garden: “Then tarry here awhile,/ Reflecting on the way,/We wait for you ahead.” To replace the music center that was located previously in the Old Schoolhouse, trustee Steve Hume ’43 provided funds to construct the Stephen ’43 and Lacey Hume Music Center in the lower level of the Old Gymnasium.
Complete with a MIDI lab in the Alumni Memorial Gym, soundproof practice rooms, a recording studio, and small performance spaces, it provides a significant upgrade over the previous facility. Steve also donated funds to establish the Stephen ’43 and Lacey Hume Music Fund to permanently endow music education and performance at Canterbury. To further enhance Canterbury’s music program, trustees L. Michael Sheehy ’56, William B. O’Connor ’57, and Stephen N. Hume ’43 provided funds to convert the two old squash courts in the Old Gym into a new choral classroom. Designed by Bobby Vee and dedicated in August 2001, the L. Michael Sheehy ’56 Choral Classroom has a 24-foot peaked ceiling, oak floors, built-in choral risers, and acoustic baffles. The classroom is used both for choral classes and as a venue for concerts. Bruce and Kathy Weinstein, parents of Livia ’00 and Robert ’98, provided the lead gift with support from Bob Birmingham ’62, then owner and president of Steinway & Sons, for a grand piano for the room. In Mike’s words, “I was
The oldest building on campus, used for a myriad of purposes since the School’s founding, was renovated and enlarged into a residence for the chaplain in 1999. Led by the Briggs and Wheelock families, the Class of 1956 funded the project.
The L. Michael Sheehy ’56 Choral Classroom, formerly squash courts, opened in September 2001.
aware that the choral program had generated a lot of interest from the students and was contributing to the intellectual life of the School. With the goal of developing a state-of-the-art vocal program to establish a special niche within the educational community, I agreed to endow the enrichment of music technology and the music library; the performance of concerts, master classes, tours, and recording appearances; and provision of financial aid to particularly deserving students. And I agreed to take the lead in funding this new classroom.” In October 2002, a major renovation of the ice hockey rink was completed. This work included new compressors, Zamboni, Crystaplex board system, interior walls, dehumidifier system, sound system, and freshly painted bleachers. Ever intent on making “the best ice in New England,” rink manager Mike Onorato worked with a crew to install pipes for a new ice bed. Largely accomplished, the 1996 Strategic Plan was updated by the 2002 Strategic Plan. The key facility priorities of this new plan included the expansion and renovation of Robert Markey Steele
double rooms, the dorm features a two-story central atrium style common room, wide hallways, central air conditioning, a huge west-facing window, a kitchen and laundry room, and an expansive western terrace dedicated to C.T. Fisher ’72 who was killed in the Pan Am Flight 103 terrorist attack over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988. South House also includes three spacious faculty apartments with four, three and two bedrooms. Designed to attract and retain well-qualified faculty, these apartments also encourage studentfaculty interaction and facilitate easy supervision. Again designed by BRB’s Vuyosovich and built by S. Carpenter Construction, the new dorm is in the English Arts and Crafts style pioneered by the English architect Charles F.A. Voysey, championed by Nelson and Raphael Hume and used in the design and construction of Sheehan, Duffy, and Carter Houses. The new dorm’s timber-framed entry, broad stucco surfaces, high pitch roof, and asymmetrical gables and chimneys echo the three older lower campus dorms and more distantly, the stucco buildings of the chaplain’s residence and the
’72 Hall; the construction of South House, a new dormitory for girls; a major investment in technology; new tennis courts; and a long list of minor projects. Meanwhile, the “quiet” phase of fundraising for Canterbury’s capital campaign In Pursuit of Excellence began. The campaign went public in October 2007 and ultimately raised more than $53 million. The next large step forward for Canterbury’s campus was led by Mark Pigott ’72, then Chairman and CEO of PACCAR Inc., whose fortuitous return to campus for the Class of 1972’s 30th reunion in 2002 sparked enthusiasm and funding of several much-needed campus facilities. Firmly believing in the need for a new dormitory for girls, Mark enlisted the financial support of his uncle Jim Pigott ’54 and engaged the loyalty and generosity of his classmates who decided to name the new dorm South House. Located south of Carter House on the location of the old hockey rink, this beautiful new dorm directly addresses the high expectations of families regarding safe and attractive accommodations for their daughters. Housing thirty-two students in sixteen single and eight
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Old Schoolhouse. In this way, South House sustains the attractive and unified architectural fabric of Canterbury’s lower campus and builds upon the School’s historic legacy. Classmates Mark Pigott, Mike Seaman, trustees John Hughes and Peter McGowan, and John Sheehan, Walter Sheehan’s nephew, joined Tom Sheehy to break ground for the first dorm ever built for girls on July 15, 2006. Tom commented, “This dream becomes a reality today because of the lead gifts and enthusiastic participation of Mark Pigott and his uncle Jim, and the financial support of the Class of 1972. Canterbury thanks them for their generosity, vision, and most importantly their belief in our future as the preeminent Catholic boarding school in America.” Added Mark Pigott, “I have two daughters, and the decision to dedicate this dorm for girls is especially pleasing. I am so proud that my classmates have led the fundraising efforts to build this new dormitory, the first since Carmody opened in 1968.” The dorm was blessed and dedicated during the Class of 1972’s 35th Reunion in June 2007, and was ready for occupancy on the first day of school the following September. With construction on South House underway, on March 31, 2007, Judy Higgins and Tom Sheehy broke ground on the new aquatic center to be named in memory of Judy’s late husband, William W. Higgins ’53. A former Canterbury trustee and father of six who spent his career at Chase Manhattan Bank, Bill was a varsity swimmer and captain of the 1952-1953 swim team. When he died in August 2005, Bill left a $5 million bequest for Canterbury with instructions that it be used to build a new swimming facility. “Bill wanted to return something meaningful to Canterbury for the education and love of swimming that blossomed for him during his years at the School,” said Judy Higgins. “He hoped that the new facility would be a centerpiece of the campus and would attract outstanding scholar38
Mark Pigott ’72 As Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of PACCAR Inc., Mark Pigott’s enthusiasm for and investment in Canterbury exerted a transforming influence on the physical campus and the athletic and academic programs of the School. The basketball court of the Alumni Memorial Gymnasium was renamed Pigott Arena in honor of a major gift from Jim and Mark Pigott in December 2002. The support of the Pigotts continued with substantial gifts to the new South House. As mentioned elsewhere in this issue, Mark also provided the funds for new tennis courts, the School’s first crew shells, and ten ergs. He paid for the design of the new backstop, dugouts, and drainage for the baseball field. In the academic arena, Mark was responsible for the School installing SMARTBoards in classrooms and ensuring the School was technologically up to date. In 2006, he sponsored four faculty members—JP Mandler, John Chepren, Rob Roffe, and Kathy Bolster—to travel to Washington State to see technology in action at Microsoft, Boeing, and PACCAR corporations and to see SMARTBoards in operation in a classroom in Bellevue. He made gifts to the endowment in honor of his brother Doug ’74 and Tom Sheehy. Mark received the Canterbury Medal on October 12, 2007. At the occasion of the awarding of the Medal at the Union League Club in New York City, Canterbury classmate Mike Seaman ’72 said of Mark, “Mark’s generosity is about his true dedication to making Canterbury a better place. Mark is demanding of excellence at his business and is striving for excellence for Canterbury. In part because of Mark’s vision, I don’t think the School has ever looked so good and felt so proud.” As the 2011 graduation speaker, Mark’s concluding words illustrate what he himself has done, “Take advantage of your opportunities. Travel, learn from other cultures, be artsy and scientific, keep your passions alive, and give back.”
athletes, swimmers, to the School’s beautiful campus.” The William W. Higgins ’53 Aquatic Center is located on the site of the old pool and connected to the Old Gym and Alumni Gymnasium. Vuyosovich again designed a building to blend with the School’s original architecture. Like the Chapel, the Old Gym, and the recently constructed Athletic Center, the Higgins Aquatic Center was constructed of granite from the Roxbury quarry. The design builds upon the architectural legacy established by the Humes of rendering the School’s more public and ceremonial structures in timeworn stone, and once again echoes
the Collegiate Gothic features of those previous buildings. The Aquatic Center consists of an eight-lane, 25-yard pool complete with diving board, varying in depth from seven to twelve feet; four locker rooms; a small parking lot; an exterior plaza outside the main entrance that serves as a reception area for public events; and the dramatic Victor J. Mill ’61 Mezzanine, which accommodates 200 spectators. The office of the director of aquatics, located off the pool deck, was named in honor of Bill’s teammate Ed Speno ’54. The pool, one of the finest prep school venues in New England, serves Canterbury’s water polo,
The William W. Higgins ’53 Aquatic Center was dedicated in November 2008. Today, it is one of the finest prep school venues of its kind in New England.
The chemistry room was remodeled, refurnished, and re-equipped in 2004.
diving, and swimming squads. With many members of the Higgins family and Bill’s teammates and classmates in attendance, the new facility was blessed and dedicated on November 1, 2008. Ed Speno addressed Bill’s family: “Judy, what you, Bill, and your family have done for Canterbury and the Town of New Milford with the building of this beautiful and functional aquatic center will add value to the School and benefit everybody who uses it for competitive or leisure purposes.” In the busy summer of 2007, construction began on a new baseball backstop that also incorporates team seating in two enclosed dugouts. This innovative design was spotted at a baseball field in Washington State by Mark Pigott ’72, who funded the design of the project. Trustee Kevin Sheehan ’62, son of Canterbury’s second headmaster and a Canterbury and Williams College baseball pitcher of note, funded the construction of the project, and the Kevin E. Sheehan ’62 Baseball Field is named in his honor. During that same summer, on August 9, 2007, Canterbury broke
ground on eight new tennis courts, an adjacent parking lot for fifty cars, and an entrance plaza with built-in seating. Located immediately north of the Health Center, the new tennis courts were the gift of Mark Pigott ’72, who graciously named the center court in honor of his classmate Michael Reardon and the entrance plaza in honor of Ronald E. Seaman ’47, a Canterbury tennis captain and the father of Mark’s classmate Mike Seaman. A court is also named for Alex Fanjul ’69 and his son Nico ’04. Completed in the fall of 2008, the tennis courts were inaugurated during the 2009 season. Robert Markey Steele ’72 Hall had served Canterbury well since opening in 1984. Years had passed, however, and the School had grown in size and program. On September 26, 2008, Bob Steele’s parents Ed ’41 and Joan, his brother Mike ’75, Board President Bob Steers ’71, and Tom Sheehy broke ground on an ambitious project to expand and renovate the building. Clad in Roxbury granite, it was another step, guided by BRB architect Vuyosovich, in coordinating the architectural appearance of the nearby buildings of the Athletic Center, William W. Higgins ’53 Aquatic Center, the Old Gym, and the Chapel of Our Lady. Less than one year after breaking ground, the expanded and renovated building was opened to student use in time for the 2009–2010 academic year. The building was dedicated at a special celebration on October 2, 2009, attended by the Steele family, trustees, and many members of the Canterbury community. The goal of this major project was to attract new students and serve existing students with an eye-catching and more efficient new admissions center, a dramatically renovated David Casey Copley ’70 Library, a student center, new administrative offices, and an expanded 400-seat dining room, which opens to a south-facing terrace perfect for both casual dining and special events. The 39
gift of Lauren J. and Robert H. ’71 Steers, the Steers Admissions Center significantly improves a family’s first impression of Canterbury. The space contains a large, welllighted reception area that features a high-peaked ceiling, a large window facing east, and additional offices for the admissions staff. The Admissions Center is directly connected to the corner office of the head of school, making it easy for the Head to pop in and chat with prospective families. The renovated and expanded David Casey Copley ’70 Library remains the hub of Canterbury’s academic life. Renovations included a new computer lab, a seminar room, offices for the technology department, a large centrally located circulation desk, multiple computer work stations, and dramatic new architectural features which make the room appropriate for special dinners and receptions as well as for academic work. The new physical space allows the true work of the library to be accomplished: working collaboratively with faculty to support the development of students’ information literacy skills, on-line research, and integrating the use of emerging technologies into the curriculum. In his letter to the Canterbury community in the fall of 2010, Board president Bob Steers hailed Canterbury’s success in completing the goals of the 2002 Strategic Plan, which included a transformation of campus facilities to enhance student life. Funded by the successful capital campaign In Pursuit of Excellence, Bob stated that “The capstone of our $28 million facilities transformation program was the opening of the expanded and renovated Robert Markey Steele ’72 Hall. Steele Hall, our new dormitory South House, the William W. Higgins ’53 Aquatic Center, our new tennis courts and baseball diamond, and additional improvements to Canterbury’s campus serve our students and faculty better than ever before and make a stunning impression on visiting families.” 40
The Steers Admission Center, a major addition to the renovation and expansion of Steele Hall in 2009, significantly enhanced a family’s first impression of Canterbury. L-r: Bob Steers ’71, president of the Board of Trustees, JP Steers ’11, Charlie Steers ’44, Peggy Steers, Macy Steers ’04 (son of Bill ’75), Lauren Steers.
Eight new tennis courts, the gift of Mark Pigott ’72, were used for the first time in the spring of 2009. They are located immediately north of the Health Center.
The School then embarked on formulating a new strategic plan, involving administration, faculty, parent, student, and trustee perspectives in its creation. In 2011, Bob Steers announced the adoption of the 2011 Strategic Plan, which included the facility goals of installing an artificial turf field for lacrosse and field hockey and creating a new softball diamond. He stated that a capital campaign was in the planning stages to fund these and other priorities, a campaign that was publicly
announced as The Canterbury Moment at a centennial gala kickoff event in New York City on November 20, 2015. Acting quickly on two of the plan’s highest priorities, in April 5, 2014, Canterbury dedicated the new Sheehy Family Field (see page 77) in honor of Tom and Betsy Sheehy’s many contributions to Canterbury, and also the new, as yet unnamed, softball field. Trustee John O’Neill ’57 served as master of ceremonies for the occasion and saluted the Mulheren and Becker
Groundbreaking for the expansion and renovation of Robert Markey Steele ’72 Hall, September 8, 2008. Front row, l-r: trustee Jay Clarke ’84, headmaster Tom Sheehy, Mike Steele ’75, Joan Steele, Ed Steele ’41, Board president Bob Steers ’71, trustee Dorothy Alpert ’78. Back row, l-r: former Board president and trustee Bill O’Connor ’57, trustee Jim Briggs ’56, former trustee Steve Dyott, architect Bobby Vuyosovich, trustee John O’Neill ’57.
The growth of Canterbury’s campus is not just a sign of remarkable progress, but also an expression of our commitment to considering carefully all that this very special place can—and ought—to be. Future students and faculty will come to know Canterbury, in part, through the campus we develop and build today. Nelson Hume chose our campus well, and Canterbury’s subsequent leaders have stewarded their inheritance wisely.
The new softball field was ready for use in the spring of 2014. It replaced the diamond previously located behind Sheehan House.
families, whose generosity made both of the fields possible, and who selflessly chose to name the turf field in honor of the Sheehy family. Trustee Karen Becker Casey ’91 and Dakota Woodham ’03, daughter of trustee Nancy Mulheren, spoke eloquently of Tom’s positive impact on a generation of students. John O’Neill talked about the strategic importance of the new fields in helping attract new student-athletes and providing marquee facilities for competition. At the centennial celebration in June 2015, the Canterbury community rejoiced in its shared accomplishments. From leasing three buildings on the eleven-acre campus of the defunct Ingleside School for girls, Canterbury’s campus had grown to include 150 acres, extensive playing fields, and more than twenty-five buildings. The growth of Canterbury’s campus is not just a sign of remarkable progress, but also an expression of our commitment to considering carefully all that this very special place can—and ought—to be. Future students and faculty will come to know
Canterbury, in part, through the campus we develop and build today. Nelson Hume chose our campus well, and Canterbury’s subsequent leaders have stewarded their inheritance wisely. Schools like Canterbury are comprised of people and places, and if our shared history tells us one thing for certain, it is that the need to maintain, repair, renovate, and build is a never-ending endeavor.
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By Lou Mandler
The Student Body 1990-2015 During this time, the School sees a major shift in the composition of the student population.
On the occasion of the first meeting of The Society of Alumni in October 2014, the following members gathered for a photo. Front row, l-r: Rich Owens ’82, Nolly Portillo Pastore ’96, Renata Gagnon Kennedy ’00, Rob Maloney ’95. Back row, l-r: Peter Tucker ’78 (president), John Niles ’68, Patricia Sordoni Rasmussen ’92, Macy Steers ’04, Will Finn ’07, Jim Briggs ’56. The following officers were unable to be in the photo: Bill Meara ’97, Mike Foley ’67, Gerren Scoon ’04, Liz Leonard Evangelista ’94, John Gaffney ’90, and Victoria Bundonis Rovin ’81.
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f the 301 students who comprised Canterbury’s student population in September 1990, 66% were boarders, one-third of whom were female. In the total population of both boarders and day students, 61% were male and 39% female. One of the goals of the 1996 Long-Range Plan was to reach a 50/50 male/female ratio. In 2015, the School had made progress towards that goal although it had not been realized. Since 2005–2006, female students have consistently been 40% or more of the student body with a high of 46% reached in 2008-2009. The School also set a goal of maintaining a primarily boarding identity; that goal has been met. Although in some years the boarding population slipped below 60%, the 2015–2016 year opened with a boarding population of 69%. By June 2015, 840 of the graduates between 1991 and 2015 were female compared to 415 from the previous decades. Coeducation affects not only the culture of the current student body but the increasing number of female graduates also positively affects the School’s admission and advancement efforts. Following Caitlin Kuhn ’05, daughter of Sheila O’Connor Kuhn ’76, and Robert ’05 and David ’06 Martin, sons of Nancy Mygatt ’78, several children of female alumnae have enrolled in the School. Five of the fourteen current members of the Society of Alumni Executive Committee are female as are five of the twenty Canterbury trustees. As noted later in this article, female graduates have been notable benefactors of the School. In addition to the day/boarding and male/female ratio, other factors created an increasingly diverse student body. First headmaster Nelson Hume had begun welcoming students from Latin America, and the School continued to do so in the next decades. In the last quarter century, Canterbury’s international students
In the last quarter century, Canterbury’s international students came not only from Latin America but also from Germany, Spain, France, Russia, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Finland, and China. The total percent of these students ranged from 8% to 18% during these years. Children of Alumni 1992. Front row, l-r: Sarah Matt ’94 (Nick ’63), Sarah C. Foley ’95 (Fran ’64), Kate Schofield ’96 (Bill ’61), Catherine Molanphy ’93 (Frank ’59), Emily Smith ’93 (Joe ’64). Back row, l-r: Fran Foley ’93 (Fran ’64), Celia von Bernuth ’93 (Rudy ’62), Kiley Garraghan ’95 (Abel ’61), Sarah G. Foley ’95 (Frank ’62), Chris Seherr-Thoss ’95 (Henry ’65), Tim Sheehan ’94 (Kevin ’62).
Children of alumni in 1983. Front row, l-r: Seth Nesbitt ’86 (Mike ’54), Jim Kerrigan ’85 (Richard ’45). Second row, l-r:
The Gilmores: Mallory ’04, Steve ’75, Stephanie ’02. Hailey is Class of 2011. Their grandmother is Rozanne Hume Edmundson, daughter of founding headmaster Nelson Hume.
came not only from Latin America but also from Germany, Spain, France, Russia, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Finland, and China. The total percent of these students ranged from 8% to 18% during these years. For some years, Korean students made up a majority of Canterbury’s international population, and the students and their families were so invested in the School that they formed a Korean Alumni Association. Tom and Betsy Sheehy’s annual visits to Korea helped to cement this relationship. As 2015 approached, Chinese students began to outnumber Korean students. While the bulk of the domestic student body continued to hail from New England, New York, and New Jersey, other student addresses
included Illinois, California, Florida, Georgia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. The School has a long association with programs which sponsor talented students who would not otherwise have the opportunity for an independent school education. Among these programs are New Jersey Seeds, A Better Chance, Prep for Prep, Wight Foundation, San Miguel Academy, Boys Club, and CitySquash. In each of the last two years, Canterbury has enrolled a student from Right to Dream, an African football (soccer) academy. Drawing talented students from all corners of America and the world with their individual strengths, perspectives, and cultures has enriched the experience of all Cantuarians and the School’s program. Seidu Shamsudeen ’18 and Mohammed Zakyi ’17 from Right to Dream have formed the core players on the Boys’ Varsity Soccer team. In the academic sphere, Michelle Spell was the first African-American valedictorian in 2003, the following year Sung Eun Kim from Korea was valedictorian, and Matthew Goodrich led his class academically in 2005. A notable group of students are those who represent Canterbury’s rich history through family loyalty and connections to the School. The remarkable four generations from the Briggs family are discussed in the trustee article in 43
The Smith family has had three generations graduate from Canterbury. Pictured here is, l-r: Courtland ’01, Bernice L. Smith, Gerard “Chopper” ’04, Hugh ’72, Chata, Margaret ’06. Hugh’s father, Gerard C. Smith graduated from Canterbury in 1930.
Students from this era have demonstrated a commendatory willingness to remain involved in Canterbury by participating in alumni affairs or becoming members of the Board of Trustees.
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this issue. During the 1990-2015 years, several students were the third generation of a family’s connection with Canterbury. Due first mention are the descendants of Nelson Hume. Stephanie ’02, Mallory ’04, and Hailey ’11 Gilmore are Nelson’s great-granddaughters, granddaughters of Rozanne Hume Edmundson, grandnieces of Michael ’41, Stephen ’43, and David ’45 Hume, and daughters of Stephen Gilmore ’75. Tim Sheehan ’94, is the grandson of second headmaster Walter Sheehan and son of Kevin Sheehan ’62. Two current students are descendants of early benefactors. Nelle Carmody ’18 is the daughter of Chris (Kit) Carmody ’57 and granddaughter of Guerin Carmody ’28. Great-uncle Francis Carmody ’25 was president of the Board of Trustees for many years, and great-grandfather Terence Carmody was a founding trustee. Erika Lowman ’17 is the daughter of Peter Lowman ’73, and the greatgranddaughter of former trustee and benefactor James A. Farrell ’19. Elizabeth Lowman ’10 is Erika’s cousin. Additional third generation students during this period were: JP Steers ’11, and his cousins Macy ’04 and George Walker ’09 Steers. JP is the son of Board president Bob Steers ’71, and Macy and Walker are sons of Bill ’75. All three are grandsons of Charlie Steers ’44. Celia von Bernuth ’93 is the daughter of Rudy von Bernuth ’62 and the grandniece of fourth headmaster Roderick Clarke ’46 and Tyler Clarke ’43. Several other Clarke family graduates are mentioned in the previous issue. Mark ’05 and Tom ’08 Nailor are the nephews of Michael ’74 and Sheffield ’68 Halsey and the grandsons of Sheffield Halsey Sr. ’37. Courtland ’01, Gerard ’04, and Margaret ’06 Smith are the children of Hugh ’72 and grandchildren of former trustee Gerard C. Smith ’31. Their
Drawing talented students from all corners of America and the world with their individual strengths, perspectives, and cultures has enriched the experience of all Cantuarians and the School’s program. Michelle Spell ’03, the first African-American Canterbury student to be class valedictorian.
Sung Eun Kim ’04, the first Asian Canterbury student to be class valedictorian.
Class of 2005 valedictorian Matthew Goodrich.
cousin Simon Smith ’97, son of Dana ’65, is also third generation. Sophie Menges ’17 is a greatgranddaughter of Gerard C. Smith ’31 and a granddaughter of former trustee Gerard Smith ’64. The entire Smith family was mentioned in the previous issue. Richard Carter ’95 was the last of the six Carters, children of John and trustee and Board president Hope Carter, to graduate from Canterbury. His five siblings were Charlotte ’86, Ann ’87, Kate ’88, Kerry Sheedy ’88, and Elizabeth ’91. Trustee Stephen Dyott’s five children graduated during this quarter century: Christine ’01, Stephen ’04, Katharine ’06, Allison ’10, and Sarah ’14. The Healy family from Connecticut has the record for the most children from one family to attend during these years: Dane ’03, Clancy ’09, Rory ’10, Sullivan ’13, Roisin ’15, and Callahan ’18. Albeit some of the Buzaids are cousins rather than siblings, their number merits mentioning: Alexander ’05, Brendan ’08, Samantha ’08, Jake ’09, Hillary ’10, and Zach ’11, children of Scott Buzaid ’80, Jeffrey Buzaid, and Jay Buzaid. Students from this era have demonstrated a commendatory willingness to remain involved in Canterbury by participating in alumni affairs or becoming members of the Board of Trustees. Three students of this era are 45
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Tom ’08 and brother Mark ’05 Nailor. Their grandfather, Sheffield Halsey, graduated from Canterbury in 1937.
Members of the second generation of the Buzaid family. L-r: Zach ’11, Samantha ’08, Alexandra ’05, Hillary ’10, Jake ’09.
The Dyotts. L-r: Sarah ’14, Allison ’10, Katharine ’06, Steve ’04, Christine ’01.
The O’Garas, Canterbury’s first triplets, at their graduation in 2012. John, Krista, and Robert.
Robert Martin ’05, the first son of a Canterbury alumna to graduate, with parents Garth ’77 and Nancy ’78.
Caitlin Kuhn ’05, the first daughter of a Canterbury alumna to graduate, with mom Sheila ’76 and aunts Sharon ’83 and Denise ’79.
More than half of Canterbury’s alumni graduated from the School between 1990 and 2015. Canterbury’s future will soon rest in their hands.
The Healys. Roisin ’15, Sullivan ’13, Clancy ’09, Rory ’10, Dane ’03. (Missing: Callahan ’18.)
currently serving on Canterbury’s Board: Nicole D’Amour Schneider ’93, Karen Casey Becker ’91, and Doug Famigletti ’90. Other students are current members of the Executive Committee of the Society of Alumni: secretary John Gaffney ’90, Patricia Sordoni Rasmussen ’92, Rob Maloney ’95, Nolly Portillo Pastore ’96, William O’Meara ’97, Sarah Knup O’Leary ’98, Renata Gagnon Kennedy ’00, Macy Steers Jr ’04, and William Finn ’07. In 2010, Patricia Castellini Headley ’91 and her sister Elizabeth Castellini Robinson ’85 established the Patricia Castellini Headley ’91 and Elizabeth Castellini Robinson ’85 Scholarship Fund. Kenneth Mard III ’99 and his mother Liz
established a fund for Canterbury’s theater program, the Kenneth C. Mard Jr. Endowment for the Dramatic Arts, in 2011. Tom ’91 and Christine ’90 Cook established the JP Mandler Scholarship Fund. Other funds established during this time arose from tragedy. In July 1999, Giuseppe “Joe” Leto ’97 succumbed to heat exhaustion and died during basic training maneuvers with the United States Marine Corps after his commanding officer improperly marched his charges. Joe had been an active participant on Canterbury’s football, wrestling, and lacrosse teams, and he had captained the wrestling team. Canterbury’s “Run for Joe” raises
Student Graduates: 1991-2015
scholarship funds for a Canterbury student. On March 5, 1998, Third Former Nicholas J. DiTullio died after collapsing days earlier during a Canterbury basketball game. His family and friends established the Nicholas J. DiTullio ’01 Scholarship Fund. On June 27, 1997, Vincent Nelson ’00 died in a drowning accident in Lake Lillinonah in Brookfield, CT. The Vincent Nelson ’00 Scholarship Fund was established by his family and friends in 2000. Some members of this era’s student body deserve mention for other reasons. Canterbury’s first set of triplets, Krista, Robert, and John O’Gara, graduated in 2012. After Hilton McAuliffe ’01 became a student, and his father, John McAuliffe, became a trustee, Hilton’s cousin Paris Hilton attended Canterbury for a time. More than half of Canterbury’s alumni graduated from the School between 1990 and 2015. Canterbury’s future will soon rest in their hands. That so many have already given back to the School through establishing funds, serving on the Board, participating in the Society of Alumni, and maintaining an interest in Canterbury bodes well for Canterbury to flourish in the years to come. Cantuaria Floriat!
The data for this chart and the chart in each of the three previous issues have been determined by counting the names in each class list in the 2009 Alumni Directory.
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By Kathy Bolster and Lou Mandler
Student Life at Canterbury 1990-2015
In its fourth quarter century, Canterbury underwent not only a tremendous physical transformation but also numerous changes to the daily routine of students.
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n September 8, 1990, newly appointed fifth headmaster, Tom Sheehy, welcomed students and parents to Canterbury’s campus. The Third Form totaled fifty-three students, an increase of thirteen from the previous year and the largest Third Form in the School’s history to date [Canterbury Tales, Oct. 1990]. In the world, NASA launched the Hubble Space Telescope, capable of taking high resolution images outside the earth’s atmosphere, and the World Wide Web publicly debuted as an Internet service. After decades of tension, relations between the United States and the USSR eased with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. To celebrate its 75th anniversary, Canterbury held a convocation, including a Mass by Fr. Michael Duffy ’51, MM, on October 6 in what is now Pigott Arena. To begin the celebration, a brass quartet played Cantuaria Floreat. Patricia Sordoni ’92 read a letter from President George H.W. Bush congratulating the School on its accomplishments, and president of the student council Brian Delaney ’91 spoke on behalf of the student body. David Hume ’45, son of founding headmaster Nelson Hume, presented the School with the papal certificate Nelson Hume had received in 1938. Peter Tacy, head of the Connecticut Association 48
Brian Delaney ’91, president of the student council and Patricia Sordoni Rasmussen ’92, student council representative, meet with Sargent Shriver ’34 at the headmaster’s home on the morning of the 75th anniversary celebration on October 6, 1990.
James Vavrek ’09 solves a math equation on a SMARTBoard.
of Independent Schools (CAIS), spoke about the active role Walter Sheehan had played in creating CAIS. Sargent Shriver ’34 served as master of ceremonies while Tom Gerety ’64 delivered the keynote address. To cap off the day, guests gathered under a large tent near the football field for lunch. During Tom Sheehy’s years, the campus underwent an impressive physical transformation as a result of renovation and construction projects. Although changes to student routines were gradual, by 2015, the community service program had been expanded, the retreat program became more organized, academics had been strengthened, several new traditions had been instituted, and new annual events had been added to the school calendar. Even the daily routine of students was different in 2015 from what it had been in 1990. Several student activities of the past became less central to the fabric of the School while new organizations flourished. The advent of the Internet and social media ushered in a culture in which the cell phone and laptop became crucial accessories for everyday and academic life. COMMUNITY SERVICE A commitment to community service remained a cornerstone at Canterbury School. Weekly visits to the New Milford Nursing Home, begun in the 1970s, continued. For several years, Mary Holton organized a fashion show featuring faculty children for Village Crest residents. The community service program became more active during Mary’s time as assistant dean of students and director of community service (2002-2013). She initiated a yearly tag sale, first in the Old Gym and then in Pigott Arena. Students helped organize and tag clothing and household items and, on the day of the sale, greeted customers and handled transactions. Proceeds went to charities supported by Canterbury. Among other projects, she also created a mentoring program in which students traveled once a week to a local elementary school and spent an hour one-on-one with young students who would benefit from an older role model. Twenty-two students traveled to Coahoma, MS, to work alongside prospective homeowners through the Habitat for Humanity program in 1991. Lisa Staudt ’92 spearheaded this venture; faculty members Bill and Kathy Olsen, Cindy Martin, Fr. Roch Ciandella, O.F.M., Steve Falcone, and retired faculty member Jean Hebert accompanied the students. The town cleanup day began in 1995, with volunteers from the School raking leaves on the village green as well as at the Children’s Center and the Richmond
Jen Tolli ’99 and Seamus Tyson ’97 get some help bagging leaves from friends at the Children’s Center of New Milford.
Senior Center. “For three hours, students and faculty supervisors (and retired faculty members Jean Hebert, Gilda Martin, and Gerry Vanasse) raked and bagged leaves, planted bulbs, swept, and otherwise tidied up the Village Green and areas around the Richmond Senior Center, New Milford Public Library, and Children’s Center.” [Canterbury Tales, Dec. 1996)] The Sixth Form adopted this project when the School decided that each Form would participate in a community service class project. Form projects have included such diverse activities as blood drives, fundraising for such charities as Hoops for Heart, and pulling weeds on the varsity baseball field. In 1993, Canterbury began its association with the Special Olympics Winter Games program. During January and February, Canterbury students helped coach Special Olympians for participation in the alpine skiing events. Students raised money for CT’s Special Olympics by plunging into the cold water of nearby Lake Quassy. The program, called Penguin Plunge, raised $1,600 in pledges in 2007, its first year, and continues today as a winter service event under community service director Keiko Mathewson. The concept of a “dress-down” day was introduced during this period to raise money for charities. Students pay a fee, usually $5, to attend classes out of dress code. The Women of Canterbury, under Sandy Behan’s direction, raised money this way for breast cancer research, and another dressdown day in 2003 raised funds for Midnight Run, a program that distributes food and clothing to New York City’s homeless. Coach EJ Soifersmith instituted the volleyball pink-out game in 2010 to raise money for breast cancer research. The team sold baked goods, raffled prizes, ran games between sets, and wore pink, as did those who attended. The volleyball pink-out is an event that students look forward to each year and one that has been used as a model by other teams for fundraising. 49
Each year since Rod Clarke’s headmastership, just prior to Thanksgiving break, the Canterbury community has participated in a Fast Day, originally organized by Guy Simonelli as part of Oxfam. Rather than conducting a more traditional fundraising event, participating in the Fast Day enables the students to experience firsthand, albeit only for one day, what it feels like to be hungry. The Fast Day ends with a Thanksgiving dinner, an expression of gratitude for all that the Canterbury community has. Today, Fast Day is supervised by Keiko Mathewson and the dean of students office, and the dining hall staff serves a lunch of grilled cheese, broth, and vegetables. The simple fare reminds students of the abundance of choices available to them, and the money saved by serving a simple meal is donated to Oxfam. Canterbury’s community service has extended beyond campus activities. Two tragic events of this new millennium were the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against the World Trade Center and Pentagon, and the tsunami of 2004 off the coast of Indonesia. On 9/11, a special school meeting was held, and counselors were available to students. Students and faculty attended a special commemorative service on the one year anniversary. The shock and enormity of these events bonded the School, as students, staff, and faculty found comfort in attending Mass, in fundraising efforts both organized and impromptu, and in each other. Students raised more than $2,000 for tsunami victims by holding a donut sale and baked goods sale; they also sponsored a dress down day and sold Tsunami Relief bracelets. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated the Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama coastlines, killing at least 1,836 people and causing $81 billion in damage, making it one of the costliest natural disasters in U.S. history. As reported in the October 20, 2005 Tabard, “The Canterbury community continues in its efforts 50
The first students to attend a Lourdes pilgrimage, June 1994. L-r: Mike Diforio ’94, Rob Maloney ’95, Jeff Nelson ’94, Greg Bard ’95, Patrick Wood ’95, Matt Michaud ’94. (Missing: Juan Herrerra ’94)
Students volunteer in Nicaragua, March 2010. Front row, l-r: Amy McKenna Omaña ’86 (chaperone), Hillary Buzaid ’10, Sydney Putnam ’10, Victoria Morini ’10, Karlyn Bochicchio ’10. Back row, l-r: Jack McCabe (chaperone), Doug Cushnie ’08, Freddy Hernandez ’10, Meg Carlin ’10, Quinn O’Brien ’10, Chris Wiatr ’11, Sam Nessetta ’11, Alan Chamorro ’80.
to contribute to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. With encouragement from the assistant dean of students, Ms. Holton, many students have taken it upon themselves to donate and even start their own campaigns to raise money to give to the Katrina relief effort… The most popular relief effort offered by the School is Sheehan’s Stock-a-Pallooza-Thon-Fest, a concert headed by Sixth Formers Conor O’Rourke ’06 and A.J. Ferrer ’06.” In March 2005, faculty member Amy McKenna Omaña ’86 organized a service trip to Cusmapa, Nicaragua. She led eleven students and faculty members Mary Holton and Bryan Kiefer to Familia Padre Fabretto, group
homes for impoverished Nicaraguan children, where they performed such tasks as painting classroom buildings and planting saplings while also interacting with the children of Cusmapa. In 2016, Amy continues to lead this March service trip to Fabretto. Former Board president and trustee emeritus Hope Carter has been instrumental in two separate service trips—to Haiti and to Lourdes—the latter of which observed its twenty-third consecutive year in 2016. In 1993, she, with eight Canterbury students and four faculty members—Fr. Ron Gliatta, Marc Vanasse ’73, and Bill and Kathy Olsen—attended World Youth Day in Denver, CO. In more than 103-degree heat, the students and faculty witnessed Pope John Paul II celebrate Mass, an event attended by more than 500,000 people. This event planted the seed of the first trip to Lourdes the following summer, organized by Hope. During the winter of 1993, Hope Carter proposed to Marc Vanasse that Canterbury faculty and students participate in a Lourdes pilgrimage in the summer of 1994. He agreed, and the following June, seven Canterbury boys, accompanied by Marc, Hope, and Kate Carter ’88 went on the four-day trip to Lourdes. At that time, Canterbury joined with Portsmouth Abbey to assist the thousands of malades who travel to Lourdes. Canterbury and Portsmouth continued to join forces for several years. At one point, the number of participants from different groups, of which Canterbury was one, grew too large—seventy-plus—and the pilgrimage broke into three one-week trips with Canterbury participating for a week in August. The Lourdes project has been very much a Carter family affair. Matriarch Hope has been the chief organizer and sponsor; children Kate ’88 and Rich ’95 and grandson Doug Bergner ’10 have all been involved. Our Lady’s Pilgrimage, as it is called today, coincides with the French National Pilgrimage in August. The Feast of the
The first student trip to Haiti, March 2005. Front row, l-r: Guy Simonelli, Viv Simonelli, Trevor Fanning, Marc Vanasse ’73. Back row, l-r: Rich Carter ’95, Chris Jeyes ’06, Conor O’Rourke ’06, Patrick Sheehy ’04.
Assumption, a major Marian feast day, always falls in that week. Marc has been on all pilgrimages but one and Guy Simonelli has been on all but two. Other faculty members who have participated include Mary Holton, Julio Omaña, Jack McCabe, and Viv Simonelli. The Haiti trips also began with Hope Carter asking Marc Vanasse if he’d like to go to Haiti. Again, Marc accepted, and he went in 1999 with a small group of adults which included Kate Carter. The following year, Marc and Guy, Viv, and Joan Simonelli ’91 visited Haiti to evaluate whether they would feel comfortable bringing students to the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. By 2005, they felt ready to take a few students, and Chris Jeyes ’06, Conor O’Rourke ’06, and Patrick Sheehy ’04 were the first students to go with Hope and Rich Carter, Guy and Viv Simonelli, Marc Vanasse, and faculty member Trevor Fanning. Up to seven Canterbury students went on each Haiti service trip, which continued each March through 2013. Mary Holton and Algis
Stankus-Saulaitis were additional faculty members who went in other years. In Haiti, the group worked with the Project Pierre Toussaint, a school for the street boys of Cap Haitien, the country’s second largest city, located on the northern coast. They also spent time at The Azile, a facility that accepts children and adults who have been abandoned by their families. Conor O’Rourke found the Haiti experience so profound that he later went independently and spent several months there. Retreats continued as part of the cycle of Canterbury’s spiritual life. During this period, a retreat program consisting of an annual retreat for each Form was instituted. In 2002, Third Formers participated in an on-campus retreat, where the students enjoyed a series of games and reflections based on the theme of community and responsibility. Fourth Formers attended an offcampus program at the Mt. Alvernia Retreat Center in Wappingers Falls, NY, where their theme was maturity and identity. Fifth and Sixth Formers had half-day on-campus 51
Students enjoy a group activity during an off-campus retreat. L-r: Danielle Yocano ’04, Jennifer Yu ’04, Nicole Magnoli ’04, Laura Vangor ’04.
events where they had time to reflect on topics such as reconciliation, hope, growth, change, and expectations. For the first time, sacristans assisted in the program. In subsequent years, Third Formers spend a half day at New Milford’s Lovers Leap Park, Fourth Formers participate in Walk-A-Mile (buying non-perishables at a local supermarket and walking their purchases to the New Milford Food Bank), Fifth Formers hold a dinner retreat with a speaker and reflective exercises while Sixth Formers participate in small group meetings addressing transition. The Theology Department, during chair Trevor Bonat’s tenure in 2008, organized the first off-campus Emmaus retreat for interested Fifth and Sixth Formers with faculty and sacristans participating. The Emmaus Retreats, based on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, continue to be held during one weekend each year. The Theology Department has also instituted Pizza and Prayer and participated in the Kennedy Project, a program in which volunteers make rosaries from colored twine. The completed rosaries are then distributed to hospitals and MRI centers and are a source of comfort for those needing a non-metallic object to hold during the scanning process. ACADEMICS The curriculum continued to expand throughout the 1990s. By 2015, Canterbury offered sixteen AP courses and seventeen Honors sections in the 2014-2015 Academic Guide. Departments provided more electives based on the interests and expertise of the faculty such as Medieval War and Romance Literature in the English Department, Theater Workshop in the Fine Arts, WWII: The War in the Pacific in History, and World Religions in Theology. The History Department recognized the growing global community by offering electives in The History of Asia and The History of Africa. [The Tabard. December 17, 1992] The Science Department offered Anthropology, Oceanography, and minor courses in West African Civilization and Psychology of the Brain. In 1996, drawing from Tom Sheehy’s interest in Irish History and JP Mandler’s interest in Irish Literature, an interdisciplinary Irish Studies course was born. Sandy Behan complemented the course with Biogeology of Ireland. Since 1995, Environmental Studies, a class inaugurated by Sandy Behan and taught 52
today by Cammy Roffe, has been part of the science curriculum. As part of the class, students collect data for the State of Connecticut’s Project Search. “Twice in the fall and twice in the spring students conduct a series of physical, chemical, and biological tests on the East Aspetuck River in New Milford.” [Canterbury Tales, June 2003] The Theology Department undertook a curriculum evaluation and introduced a more valuesbased content while retaining scripture and church history courses. World Religions became a popular Sixth Form elective. Latin has continued while German was dropped in the early ’90s. The advent of technology brought new computer classes by 1991: Computer Science, Computer Literacy, and Computers in the Laboratory. In 1991, the PET computers were laid to rest and replaced by the shortlived Apple IIc clones, the Laser 128s. [The Tabard. October 19, 1991] Unable to equip an entire lab with the more expensive Apple IIc computers, technology director Paul Cauchon purchased enough Laser 128 computers for the computer classroom (Hume 209), hoping that within several years the School would be able to provide better state-of-the-art technology. Unfortunately, although the Lasers were relatively stable with only one person using them, they did not do well in a classroom setting. By 2002, the department revised the curriculum to reflect two threads, a multimedia thread and a programming thread. Design Basics and Multimedia (Tools and Design) were in the first thread while C Programming and JAVA were in the programming thread. By the fall of 2008, all classrooms had SMARTBoards, thanks to the generosity of Mark Pigott ’72. He also enabled the School to purchase Dell laptop computers for teachers to coordinate information on their computers with the SMARTBoards. With the new academic platform, teachers entered assignments, grades, attendance, and course content information online for
Director of Jazz Studies Dave Overthrow leads students in a concert in 2012.
students to access. By October 2000, the campus was wireless. Chorale became part of the academic curriculum during Rod Clarke’s headship, but instrumental courses were not part of the curriculum until the 1990s. Dave
The Theology Department, during chair Trevor Bonat’s tenure in 2008, organized the first off-campus Emmaus retreat for interested Fifth and Sixth Formers with faculty and sacristans participating. The Emmaus Retreats, based on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, continue to be held during one weekend each year.
Overthrow, who had taught music lessons and conducted the Jazz Ensemble part-time, joined the faculty full-time in 1998. Tom Sheehy wished to develop the music program and expand the offerings in the Fine Arts Department. Today, students may enroll in classes such as Music Theory, Improvisation, The History of Rock, and Computer Music, as well as strictly performance classes such as the Jazz Ensemble. In addition, there are numerous performing instrumental and vocal groups. Director Cecile HansonGaj organized the Canterbury Madrigals in the fall of 1994. The select singing group became known as the Octet under director Kris Johnson and as the Schola Cantorum under director John Shackelford. Instrumental groups have included the Orchestra, the Chamber Ensemble, and the Rock Band. The program benefitted from newly created space for music in the L. Michael Sheehy ’56 Choral Classroom and Stephen ’43 and Lacey Hume Music Center, both of which were supported by trustees interested in the arts. Lou Mandler revitalized the Sixth
In 2008, Cofer Black ’68 talks to Capstone students about counterterrorism.
Form Project application process by “enlarging the role the Curriculum Committee plays in advising Sixth Formers who undertake projects.” [The Tabard. May 7, 1999] Students interested in completing a Sixth Form Project must submit a proposal, which is then refined through the input of the Academic Committee. Each student secures a faculty sponsor to oversee his or her project. An off-campus sponsor must be willing to report on the student’s work. At the conclusion of the project, students make presentations to the Curriculum Committee and interested guests, at which time the students also defend their work. Today, Kim Tester is the overseer of Sixth Form Projects. A curriculum innovation in 2008 was a “capstone” experience for all Sixth Formers. Rotated each year through the different departments, the intent was to give Sixth Formers a “real world” experience by bringing in speakers on a chosen theme and assigning material that was topical, contemporary, and interdisciplinary. History, twice, offered a course on the Presidential election; science focused on energy, and English discussed “Literature 53
February and March. Today, Canterbury students go to Spain first, in August and September, and the Spanish students come to Canterbury in October and November. An exchange has occurred every year except one since 2008, and participants have ranged from one to seven. Some students who have participated in the exchange have skipped a level of language. Some have chosen to study abroad in Spain during their college years.
Canterbury Spanish exchange students with their hosts. Felipe Siebrecht ’12, Toni Mora, Sam Haddy ’13, Pablo Casasnovas, Lydia Molina, Mason Page ’12, Nacho Fornaris, Carlos Remartinez, Carmen Planas, Joe Najm ’12, Lindsey Marra ’12, Tom Harrison ’12 photographed in Palma de Mallorca on March 17, 2011.
C.A.R.E.S. (1996-1997). Front row, l-r: Heather Williams ’97, Nadia Amin ’97, Brian Meehan ’78 (advisor), Scott Urquhart ’98, Alexandra Greene ’99, Ryan Campbell ’97, Eric Kaul ’98, Osato Ogbahan ’98, Ronda Jack ’97, Jawad Saeed ’97, Dante Goldsmith ’97. Back row, l-r: Jonathan Stacey-Lewis ’99, Crawford Madar ’97, Julianne Pellerin ’97, Andrea Thomas ’97, Sherrianne Thane ’97.
Since You Were Born.” The capstone course was offered through 2014. In 2008, Julio Omaña began sponsoring a Spanish exchange program with Colegio San Cayetano, a K-12 Catholic day school in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. It began when Tracy Aristide, an English teacher at San Cayetano, contacted former Holy Cross classmate and Canterbury faculty member Alison Hawkins to ask if Canterbury would be interested in an exchange. Tracy visited Canterbury in the winter of 2008, presented in Spanish classes, and the exchange was born. In the first year, six Canterbury students—Joe Najm ’12, Mason Page ’12, Sam Haddy ’13, Felipe Siebrecht ’12, Tom Harrison ’12, and Lindsay Marra ’12—hosted Spanish students in September and October and traveled to Spain in 54
STUDENT ACTIVITIES In keeping with the normal course of history, student activities at Canterbury underwent many changes during the last years of its first one hundred years. Publications such as The Tabard and the Carillon were not the central activities they once were, although they have survived. The number of clubs waned with Women of Canterbury being the most robust and active organization throughout this period. The theater program thrived under the direction of Madeline Dreeke, and weekend activities became more numerous with the appointment of a student activities director—a position held by Derek Richardson since 2002. More frequent school meetings allowed time for enrichment programs for students during those gatherings. In October of 1993, several interested faculty and students formed the Canterbury Association for Racial Equality (C.A.R.E.). The members’ goals were to establish cultural awareness, to act as a support group for diversity on campus, and to foster an opendoor policy toward all students. [The Tabard. October 23, 1993] In its early years, C.A.R.E. raised money to sponsor children in different parts of the world through organizations such as Save the Children. In 1998, the club broadened its scope and became C.A.R.E.S., the Canterbury Association for Racial and Social Equality. C.A.R.E.S. later changed its name to the Diversity Committee, which is no longer active.
Co-presidents Ida Jenkins ’02 and Colleen Cook ’02, guest speaker Chrissy Rubin ’84, and Women of Canterbury advisor Sandy Behan.
Librarian Algis Stankus-Saulaitis advised the School’s Amnesty International chapter in 1998. The student members of Amnesty sponsored petition-signing events in the dining hall and wrote “letters of conscience” to help political prisoners. With the untimely death of Algis in the summer of 2008, the chapter unfortunately dissolved. When Sandy Behan founded the Environmental Club in 1989, it organized a recycling project among other activities. By the fall of 1993, it continued the recycling program as well as organizing a roadside cleanup of part of nearby Route 202. However, it is one of the organizations that has become fairly inactive, perhaps a victim of more demands on student time. As an example of a student establishing a club after finding a faculty advisor, Vincent Vartabedian ’11 founded the Cheese Club, a unique addition to student groups. Members and advisor Wright Danenbarger gathered after school meetings several times a month to sample domestic and international cheeses. Women of Canterbury, the brainchild of faculty member Sandy Behan, has held weekly meetings every year since the inception of the organization in 1991. Its mission statement reads in part that it “seeks to develop leadership potential in young women and
instill an appreciation of the role women can play in local and global communities.” It also serves as a support for all female students. In addition, the group organizes yearly events such as the Sixth Form Girls’ Dinner in May, “lockins” in the Brodie Room and Pigott Arena, and the annual Women of Canterbury dinner in April. Since the first dinner on April 19, 1999, it has featured such speakers as Mia Farrow, humorist author and professor Regina Barreca, and Connecticut Secretary of Treasure Denise Nappier. A feature of each
Hei-Shin Ra ’93 and Philip Lee ’93 prepare a traditional Korean meal during International Week .
dinner is naming a Woman of Canterbury for the year. Founder Sandy Behan was the first Woman named, followed the next year by Lou Mandler and, in the centennial year, Patricia Sordoni ’92. In 1991, several events recognized twenty years of coeducation at Canterbury. In February, the Canterbury drama department performed scenes from The Diary of Anne Frank, Joan of Lorraine, and The Heiress, featuring strong roles for female students. Recollections of the transition from an all-boys school to a coeducational one by Marc Vanasse, a speech by English teacher Lou Ventura on the topic of coeducation, and excerpts read from The Tabard by students Mary Shaughnessy ’92 and Julian Montague ’92, commemorated this anniversary. In 1992, more than 65% of the Sixth Form participated in the Big Brother/Big Sister Program. Little Sister Yadilis Lewis ’96 had this to say about her Big Sister Gina Jean-Baptiste ’93, “When I arrived, Gina showed me around and introduced me to new people. Every time I see her she asks me how I’m doing. She even called me during the summer.” This program continues today. In response to the increased international diversity of the student body, International Days were instituted in the early 1990s. As part of the observance, students dressed in native costume, cooked national cuisine for lunch, opened school meeting with a prayer in their language, and explained the symbolism of their national flag. For many years during International Week, the flags for as many as thirty-four countries hung in the dining room. In 2002, international student advisor Algis StankusSaulaitis said of International Days, “International Days serve two functions: to celebrate the presence and the cultures of our international students and to remind the rest of our students of the many languages and cultures alive and well outside the United States.” During the opening week of 55
school, Canterbury began to offer Form adventures. In 2005-2006, the Third Form competed in activities such as whistling through saltines, building the group pyramid, and untangling the human knot. Fourth Formers went to Bear Mountain for canoe racing and raft building, and the Fifth Form travelled to Lake Compounce, an amusement park. Sixth Formers spent the day at New Milford Tennis & Swim Club. Throughout the ’90s, the weekend activities program continued to offer entertainment for the student population. In April of 1991, through the efforts of faculty member Chrissy Rubin ’84, Livingston Taylor, musician, singer, and songwriter, performed at Canterbury. Frank Runyeon, soap actor and divinity student, performed a one-act, one-person play, Afraid, based on the Gospel of Mark. [The Tabard 3/7/1994] Best-selling author Dominick Dunne ’44 returned to campus in February 1994 to talk about his recent assignment for Vanity Fair, the coverage of the Menendez brothers’ trial. Navy band Rhode Island Sounds played in early 1994, and alternative group Angry Salad performed for the students in 1995. For several years, naturalist “Wildman Steve” Brill identified and described various edible plants around campus for science classes. After 2000 and the creation of the position of student activities director, some weekend events became standard for every weekend. Derek Richardson originated the downtown shuttle, whereby students could shop at local stores such as Walmart and eateries such as Dunkin’ Donuts, and he continued the Sunday afternoon bus to the Danbury Mall. Additional yearly events Derek began or organized include the winter black light dance, the fall spirit week, and the spring trip to Six Flags. Some memorable events include the haunted house in Carter House basement, which features student actors, field house fun night with inflatable obstacle courses, a hypnotist, the Blizzard of Bucks 56
Author Dominick Dunne ’44 enjoys a light moment with Elisabeth Baker ’94, “Tabard” co-editor and Ryan Tuohy ’95, “Tabard” writer. Dunne spent a day visiting English classes in February 1994.
game show, and theme dances based on time of year. Tom Callinan, a local folk singer, appeared at morning meeting for many years to celebrate Earth Day. Additional popular and recurring school meeting programs included the Birds of Prey program featuring live owls, vultures, and hawks and another program which brought live wolves into Maguire Auditorium. Science chair Sandy Behan arranged these programs. In 2004, a donation from Fay Vincent Jr., a former trustee, Williams College classmate of Jim Briggs ’56, and son of former Canterbury referee Fay Vincent Sr., made possible the Fay Vincent Jr. Speaker Series. Mark Mathabane, author of Kaffir Boy, debuted the program on February 11, 2005, followed in subsequent years by such speakers as historian Thomas Fleming; Darryl Hunt, subject of the film The Trials of Darryl Hunt; and Canterbury’s own Frank Bice ’77. As Gerry Vanasse and other faculty members had done in the ’60s, faculty arranged cultural trips for students to Europe and elsewhere. During the March 1991 break, John Zehner and Andy Menzie took students to England
and Scotland, and Jim Pettyjohn took international students to Washington D.C. and Philadelphia. After the re-election of Bill Clinton in November 1996, faculty members Patrick Finn and John Gaffney ’90 organized a trip to Washington, D.C., to attend the inauguration. In March of 1997, a group of Irish Studies students traveled to England, Ireland, and Wales accompanied by Biogeology of Ireland teacher Sandy Behan and her husband Dick. Sandy escorted another group of eleven students to Florence and Rome in 1998. Corey Chandler organized trips to France. In March of 1998, Julio and Amy Omaña chaperoned a group of students to Spain, and again in 2005, Julio Omaña and Fanny Vera de Viacava travelled to Spain during March break with students from Spanish 4 classes. In 2010, Ellen Wilson and Jen Lee Chandler ’84 took students to Italy, Greece, and Turkey. On January 16, 1991, the United States engaged in “Operation Desert Storm” with the objective of liberating Kuwait from Iraq. A survey conducted through English classes revealed that the overwhelming majority of
In 2004, a donation from Fay Vincent Jr., a former trustee, Williams College classmate of Jim Briggs ’56, and son of former Canterbury referee Fay Vincent Sr., made possible the Fay Vincent Jr. Speaker Series. students responding (81% of 204 respondents) favored the United States’ actions. The Tabard 1992 Presidential poll highlighted how closely the student body was split between candidates Bill Clinton (48%) and George Bush (46%). A poll published in the December 19, 1991, The Tabard reflected dissatisfaction with the student government. In an almost unanimous criticism, students responded that they did not feel that the government was an effective leadership organization and needed top-to-bottom reform. The dissatisfaction led to the dissolution of a student governing body for two years. In 1993, a student election was held, and Mike Diforio ’94 became student body president. The newly formed government helped organize the Parents’ Weekend pep-rally and bonfire and collected money to remember the needy at Thanksgiving. [The Tabard 12/17/1993] The student
government sometimes worked in conjunction with the Community Service Committee to organize events, and it was largely this student committee, along with a volunteer parents’ group, that was responsible for the return of the prom. After a twelve-year hiatus, Canterbury held a prom on Friday, April 23, 1993. Faculty member Gilda Martin helped organize the event. Three years later, in 1996, dean of students Margie Jenkins organized the first on-campus prom after more than thirty years. It was held in an elegantly decorated tent on the lawn behind Sheehan House. After several proms at the Fox Hill Inn in Brookfield, the prom was held in 1998 aboard a ship which cruised the Connecticut River with 180 students in attendance. The dining hall served an after-prom breakfast, from 2 a.m. until 3 a.m., after the students had returned to campus. Today, the prom is the major social event of
Parents capture the moments as students enjoy the May 2011 pre-prom gathering in front of the athletic center.
the spring. The Tabard continued to win awards from the American Scholastic Press Association in the early 1990s. In the opinion of the judges from the American Scholastic Press Association, The Tabard is “an outstanding overall example of a scholastic publication in format, content and presentation.” [Canterbury Tales, June 1991] However, throughout most of the ’90s, The Tabard was published a maximum of four times per year. In the late ’90s, the future of The Tabard seemed uncertain as publication dropped to only two times per year, and, in the 2000– 2001 school year, no Tabards were published at all. The next year, The Tabard resumed publishing four issues a year. By 2014, besides a greatly abbreviated and erratic publication schedule, content in The Tabard seemed to avoid weighty issues and instead focused on student interest pieces. Perhaps a victim of the technological age and increased and varied demands on student time, The Tabard, although surviving, has not been the thorough and reliable source of school history it was in the past. The Carillon, Canterbury’s literary magazine, also suffered from decreased student involvement in publications. After disappearing for at least two years, the Carillon made an end-of-theyear appearance in 1992. During the next five years, the Carillon published at least one issue per year. In 2003–2004, the Carillon came full circle, back to its roots, by announcing that the spring issue would dedicate itself to works of short fiction, an effort spearheaded by Chris Bolster ’04. This harked back to the Carillon’s predecessor, The Canterbury Quarterly, which produced student literature, and its ancestor, The Quill, which published news, essays, and literature, primarily from Dr. Hume’s classes. During the 2003–2004 year, editors of the Carillon celebrated the publication of each of the magazine’s issues with an evening of poetry reading by contributors and additional 57
In 2000, the English Department conceived of a plan to work with the Dreekes to bring Shakespeare to the whole community. Each fall since 2000, they have produced one of Shakespeare’s plays, and all English classes, in all Forms, study the play while it is in rehearsal… First trip to Montana, August 2005. Front row, l-r: Sandy Behan, (chaperone), George Kershaw ’06. Back row, l-r: Margaret Smith ’06, Cory Perkins ’06, Isabelle Jenkins ’06, Ricky Ritacco ’06, Brittany Whitmore ’06, David Martin ’06, Morgan Hopkins ’06, Dick Behan (chaperoine) , Kasey Nagle ’06, Katharine Dyott ’06, Aubrey Nolan ’06, Cammy Roffe (chaperone).
volunteers. Trustee John Donovan ’59 and his wife Dana created a unique offcampus experience for students in 2005. Working in concert with faculty member Sandy Behan and her husband Dick and faculty member Cammy Roffe, they invited twelve student leaders to their home in Montana’s Rocky Mountains for some “experiential learning.” Every August since then, the Donovans and the Behans have directed a ten-day program for students, which includes instruction in geology, forest fires, rivers, and bears. These programs have had an effect on the School beyond the twelve students involved each year. In 2006, Canterbury Tales reported, “In an attempt to increase school pride and student participation in events, Sixth Formers who attended the first Canterbury Montana Leadership Program last summer created Canterbury True Blue… teams will compete in activities that include all aspects of school life.” As a result of the pleasure students derived from playing volleyball while on the Montana trip, John and Dana donated to Canterbury a sand volleyball court, located between Duffy House and the Health Center. The court continues to be used today, especially during spring afternoons and weekends. Madeline Dreeke arrived at Canterbury in the fall of 1990 to teach English and direct the drama program. As the longest-serving drama director, she has established a thriving program that has embraced a broad array of student actors. Students become involved in every aspect of the production. Maddie introduced the role of student stage manager, and students take an active part in all technical aspects of each production. Maddie’s husband Robin teaches students how to build and paint sets, and both Dreekes’ connections with theater professionals enable “techies” to work with lighting and sound specialists. In 2000, the English Department conceived of a plan to work with the Dreekes to bring Shakespeare to the whole community. Each fall since 2000, they have produced one of Shakespeare’s plays, and all English classes, in all Forms, study the play while it is in rehearsal; by production time, the entire school has read the play, and actors and crew have visited classes to answer questions about plot and production techniques. Productions have included Merry Wives of Windsor, Love’s Labors Lost, 58
Twelfth Night, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Between 2000 and 2008, the Dreekes sponsored a theater trip to London during each March break. Limited to no more than a dozen serious students of theater, students took classes at The Globe Theatre in London and additional acting schools, such as the London Academy of the Performing Arts or East 15 Acting School. The spring musical productions have included Guys and Dolls, Pirates of Penzance, The Music Man, Once Upon a Mattress, and Anything Goes. The Halleran Endowment for the Dramatic Arts and the The Kenneth C. Mard Jr. Endowment for the Dramatic Arts have enabled the theater program to involve professional advisors in productions and produce performances with visually stunning sets and costumes. Converting Hume 208 from a classroom to a Green Room helped the department operate more efficiently. The vibrancy of Canterbury’s theater program and the expertise of both Maddie and Robin have produced more than a few graduates who have forged careers in theater. To mention several: Matt Goodrich ’05, who went on to earn an MFA in acting from Cal Arts, has understudied roles in
The cast of “Lend Me a Tenor. (1998) ” Front row, l-r: Dan Burmester ’00, Kelly Swanson ’99, Patrick Devlin ’00. Back row, l-r: Jamie Evans ’01, Natasha Mulla ’00, Peter Steele ’99, Jen Demetrio ’99, Jon Maloney ’00.
Ryan Dunn ’07 and Matt Goodrich ’05 in “Taming of the Shrew” (2004).
two Broadway plays. Patrick Zeller ’95, based in California, also has an MFA and works steadily in film and on stage. Katie Heidbreder ’07 did musicals in dinner theaters in New York and Baltimore for several years and is now working on the Conan O’Brien show. Tim Sheehan ’94, Dan Burmester ’00, Jon Maloney ’00, and Ian Bolster ’07 have careers in technical
theater or television production. During this period, the daily lives and routines of students changed in significant ways partially because of the introduction of new technologies. Although for some years email and Internet access had been available on a limited basis to faculty, it wasn’t until the school year of 1997–1998, under Rob Roffe, that email and voicemail
became available to students. Fears that Y2K, or the Millennium Bug, would wreak havoc in computers around the globe proved to be unfounded. Mark Zuckerberg launched Facebook, a social media and networking service, in 2004, and, by 2007, with the introduction of the iPhone, mobile phones proliferated. The Tabard in 2007 called it the “New Obsession” and wrote, “Facebook is the most advanced social website around. There is no other site that allows you to meet new people, communicate with friends, and share pictures and interests while still having complete control over your privacy and information.” The top ten gifts on a Canterbury student’s wish list in December of 2007 included digital items in the first five spots: 1. iPod Touch, 2. iPhone, 3. Sidekick cell phone, 4. digital camera, and 5. MacBook. As noted elsewhere in this issue, Mark Pigott ’72 contributed significantly to bringing Canterbury into the technological age. However, the increasing pace of the introduction of new technology has posed challenges to Canterbury. Katie Kostner, of Campus Outreach Services, twice came to campus to talk about the legal implications of social media, particularly through cell phones and Facebook. Internet bullying became a discipline issue. Faculty had to institute policies to prevent cell phone use in the classroom, they had to become alert to Internet plagiarism, and they had to teach students about reliable vs. unreliable sources when using the Internet for research. Rather than calling parents once a week, or even once a day, students could report a test or quiz grade minutes after receiving it. Students learned to check for their assignments on the academic platform, where they could also find their attendance record and some class content. In 2016, students used ID cards to do their laundry and enter their dormitories. It quickly became apparent that with expanded offerings and a growing fine arts program, it was necessary to find more time 59
The 96th commencement exercises of Canterbury School, 2013.
in the daily schedule for students to participate. At the request of Lou Mandler, director of studies, faculty member Jen Lee Chandler ’84 attended a weeklong summer institute in 1997, “Scheduling without Conflict,” sponsored by ISM (Independent School Management). Canterbury incorporated many of the scheduling ideas Jen brought back from the institute. The new class schedule was introduced at the beginning of the 1997–1998 school year. With an earlier start to the day at 7:45 a.m., the schedule also eliminated the need for separate winter and spring schedules and built in more time for students to seek and receive extra help. [The Tabard. October 17, 1997] With some changes, such as a revamped start time of 8:15 a.m., this schedule remained in effect through 2015–2016. With the advent of Tom Sheehy’s headship, the format of School meetings changed with the new school year, now scheduled every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, with an extra help period afterwards. [The Tabard 10/27/90] In an effort to give student leaders greater visibility, Tom conducted morning meetings jointly with the student government president. Sacristans opened the meeting with a prayer, followed by faculty announcements and any business Tom needed to conduct. When faculty announcements concluded, Tom turned the floor over to the student government president who presided over student announcements. The school meeting became an important community event where students announced birthdays, game scores, and invitations to meetings. The Tabard’s first issue of the 1994–1995 school year announced in its headline, “New Improvements for a New Year.” To the delight of students, the dining hall staff added a pasta bar, Belgian waffle maker, and a fruit 60
stand. Additional changes included the relocation of daytime study halls from Hume Hall to a newly glassed-in section of the library. Finally, the parking lot by the Old Gym was paved. Dean of students Margie Jenkins (1993–2006) effected a significant change in the lives of many residential students when she mandated that underformers stay in their dormitories after evening study hall rather than leave the dorms to visit other dorms or, as had been a habit of some, to gather in the woods or fields to smoke, kibitz, or worse. No longer would young students pick up a tobacco habit by socializing in the woods at 9:30 at night. Margie also made the woods out of bounds at any time during the day. In keeping with the nation-wide movement, smoking eventually was banned for both faculty and students throughout the campus. Tom Sheehy’s tenure saw
the introduction of several new traditions and events. He was directly responsible for some while others were conceived in concert with other departments. Very early in his headship, Tom felt that Canterbury’s graduation ceremony had become too lengthy because of the number of awards presented. He suggested creating a separate event, an honors assembly, just prior to graduation at which underform academic awards and awards for leadership in school activities would be presented. Thus, the Honors Assembly began and continues to be held on the Thursday before graduation. To formalize the occasion and to mimic an aspect of graduation, the entire faculty process in and sit on the stage of Maguire Auditorium during the ceremony. Speeches by the outgoing and incoming student body presidents and musical numbers by the Schola Cantorum are part of the event. The bookend event, the opening school meeting on the first Saturday of September (Schola Brevis), was also formalized by having faculty process in and sit on the stage. In 1999, graduation was held outdoors—on the Duffy/Sheehan lawn—for the first time, rather than in Pigott Arena. Tom also introduced a student valedictory address as part of the graduation ceremony. An additional graduation tradition begun during the Sheehy years was the faculty/student handshake. As the faculty recess from the graduation ceremony, they line up beneath Sheehan wall; the graduates follow and shake each faculty member’s hand as a personal parting gesture. The bookended gesture occurs at the Sixth Form dinner in September after which the faculty and Sixth Formers shake as a personal beginning to the year. Tom added speakers as part of the May Sixth Form dinner. These speakers included faculty alumni including Marc Vanasse ’73, Brian Meehan ’78, and Paddy McCarthy ’94; senior faculty members including Wright Danenbarger, JP Mandler, and Kim Tester; or a
Sacristans 2007-2008. Front row, l-r: Christie Dachille, Adam Bessel, Nneoma Nwaigwe, Jaime Bonner, Aleka Woods, Anderson McMaster. Back row, l-r: Fr. Sebastian Leonard, O.S.B., Ashley Gangi, Brendan Buzaid, Anne Esther Saint Eloi, Greg Passineau, Greg Szkop, Kerri Waegelein, Tom Sheehy.
In an effort to give student leaders greater visibility, Tom [Sheehy] conducted morning meetings jointly with the student government president. Sacristans opened the meeting with a prayer, followed by faculty announcements and any business Tom needed to conduct. graduate such as Macy Steers ’04. In concert with the Advancement Office (then Development), Grandparents Day began during this period when students’ grandparents would visit classes and enjoy with their grandchildren a spring day in early May. The then director of studies Mary Lou Coffin initiated the first Honor Society Dinner in 1992 and that event has occurred since. College counselor Ellen Toole started the May College
Fair in the early 1990s, an event that has continued to draw more than 120 college representatives. During the course of 100 years at Canterbury, many changes have occurred: first, an increasingly diverse male population, followed by co-education and globalization; new and expanded buildings; and programs broadened to meet the world in the new millennium. From Catherine Molanphy’s valedictory speech in 1993, “To many, the word ’community’ may sound like just another long, abstract, misused word, but to me the word represents something real and wonderful, people who live together just for the sake of being in each other’s presence… [a]nd to all of you witnessing the rites of passage of these men and women… please never forget that we who descend this hill for the last time in our high school careers are not the same children you carted up here four years ago. We each have altered one another irrevocably.” [Canterbury Tales, June 1993] For 100 years, the Canterbury community has forged lasting bonds, creating young men and women capable of being moral leaders in an increasingly complex world. 61
By Lou Mandler
Athletics at Canterbury 1990-2015
Additional offerings, a myriad of new facilities, and a greater number of talented student athletes and coaches raise the School’s sports profile.
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school’s athletic program requires three basic elements on which to build—facilities for practice and games, student athletes, and coaches. The quarter century from 1990 to 2015 saw profound changes in all three areas. Canterbury’s athletic facilities have necessarily undergone periodic changes throughout its first century. Under Nelson Hume’s years as Head, the initial three sports—football, hockey, and baseball—required no indoor facilities although hockey’s success was very dependent on winter weather. Building the gym in 1924 made it possible to add basketball, squash, and swimming to the program. During Walter Sheehan’s years, replacing the apple orchard with athletic fields, constructing the Alumni Memorial Gymnasium, and adding and improving tennis courts further enhanced the growth of the athletic program. The addition of the indoor rink during Jack Reydel’s tenure was the beginning of the “hockey dynasty.” During Rod Clarke’s time, the new fieldhouse added practice and game spaces for volleyball and j.v. and thirds teams for a larger and coeducational student body. Tom Sheehy’s years as Head spanned exactly the fourth quarter 62
Head field hockey coach Cammy Roffe gives her team advice during half time in the fall of 2011.
of Canterbury’s existence, and during that time, the athletic facilities saw dramatic additions and improvements that contributed to the program. In 1999, the Athletic Center opened. It included the Saxe-Castellini international size squash courts, enabling the squash teams to become viable once again after periods when they had lapsed. Wrestling teams had been successful in the “old gym,” but the new wrestling room provided grapplers superior practice and meet space. The construction of
the William W. Higgins ’53 Aquatic Center revitalized the swimming program. The Sheehy Family Field with its turf surface enhanced the experience of the field hockey and lacrosse teams. The softball team now plays on a new field. The contributions of alumni and parents made it possible for Canterbury to acquire the shells and launch boats necessary to initiate a crew program on the Housatonic River. Excellent athletic facilities have certainly played a role in attracting talented student athletes. However,
Because parents and student athletes are paying more attention to athletics when choosing schools, schools are also paying more attention to athletics. Gone are the days when schools created teams with the scholars who attended the schools. Today, schools are hiring coaches who have collegiate playing experience… changes in independent schools and in the culture at large in the past decades have also affected the student athlete population. Paddy McCarthy ’94, current associate director of athletics, is in the unique position of having been involved in Canterbury’s athletic program during most of the fourth quarter century—first as a student and then as a coach and athletic administrator. In speaking with him about the changes in the athletic landscape, he commented, “Today, Canterbury faces much larger challenges in competing with other schools.” Some of the reasons for this originate in the increased emphasis on one sport at a young age and a more intense interest in sports in general. The contemporary phenomena of young athletes specializing in one sport and parents being very involved in their children’s athletic futures have affected how parents and students choose an independent school. No longer do they evaluate only the academics, location, student life, or values of a prospective school. Talented, ambitious athletes and their parents are very conscious of how a school’s program will promote the career of the student athlete.
The 1991-1992 Girls’ Varsity Basketball team. Front row, l-r: Laurie Winter ’92, Patricia Sordoni ’92, Megan McLaughlin ’92. Middle row, l-r: Emily Smith ’93, Joanna Szlifsz ’93, Maria Patino ’93, Alexandra West ’93. Back row, l-r: coach Jim Pettyjohn, Ebony Grisom ’93, Courtney Prial ’92, Becky Mayo ’94, Jennifer Lautiger ’94, Stephanie Stagl ’94.
Because of specialization, Paddy remarked that the three-sport athlete is rare today. “Now we have two-sport athletes,” he said. The serious hockey or basketball player wants to prep for their main (winter) season in the fall so a hockey player might also play lacrosse or baseball but not football or soccer. A swimmer whose goal is to join a collegiate swim team follows a year-round program. This, in turn, has affected the threesport requirement at prep schools. Many schools, including Canterbury, have loosened the requirement because of specialization. Because parents and student athletes are paying more attention to athletics when choosing schools, schools are also paying more attention to athletics. Gone are the days when schools created teams with the scholars who attended the schools. Today, schools are hiring coaches who have collegiate playing experience, and these coaches are expected to recruit players to make their teams successful. Recruiting means much more than chatting with prospective students and parents in the Office of Admission. It involves hours and days traveling to showcases and other competitions, speaking with parents and students on the phone, and watching videos of student performances. Thus, gone too are the days when three-season coaches like John Coffin, Jim Shea, Jules Viau, and Jean Hebert coached teams with success for twenty or more years without leaving campus except for away games. Long-tenured, three-season coaches are not 63
the standard. At Canterbury today, Cammy Roffe is the only female coach with a comparable coaching tenure; sixteen of her twenty-two years have been with varsity field hockey. On the male side, Bob Potter continues to coach golf in his 24th year after having also been a hockey coach for many years; Chris Roberts has been involved with lacrosse for eighteen years; Paddy McCarthy has worked with the hockey teams for seventeen years. Peter LaVigne came to Canterbury in 1997 as the boys’ varsity hockey coach. His administrative roles forced a hiatus of some years from coaching, but he returned to the girls’ varsity hockey team in 2013. Athletic director and wrestling coach Dave Wilson had coached a successful wrestling team for nineteen years at the end of his tenure in the spring of 2016. Specialization has also affected college admission and that, in turn, has affected student populations. College hockey coaches in particular are generally not interested in recruiting 18-year-olds. Recently, Paddy
Dave Wilson: Athletic Director and Wrestling Coach Dave Wilson unknowingly began his Canterbury connection when he was a student at Tabor Academy and played lacrosse for coach Tom Sheehy. After graduating from Bowdoin, Dave began his independent school career at The Hackley School in New York State in 1986, where he was the head wrestling and lacrosse coach for three years. From Hackley, Dave went to Gettysburg College as head wrestling coach at that Division III college. In 1997, Dave came to Canterbury as athletic director. In his nineteen years at Canterbury, Dave coached lacrosse and a highly successful wrestling team. He was active in NEPSAC at the executive level and in the Western New England Wrestling Association, serving as president for ten years; he was named New England Wrestling Coach of the year in 2011 and 2016. As athletic director, Dave worked with Canterbury’s coaches to host numerous tournaments and championship events including four New England Cross Country Championships, four New England Swim Championships, five WNEISWA Championships, the annual Cross-Country Invitational, the Girls’ Hockey Tournament (later named the Mike Onorato Holiday Tournament), and the Girls’ Holiday Basketball Tournament. Arguably the most ambitious and far-reaching event was the Rumble on the Hill Wrestling Tournament which brought twenty teams and 360 wrestlers to the fieldhouse for the biggest prep tournament outside of the Prep New Englands. Dave and Ellen’s three children—Shane ’11, Jenna ’13 , and John ’16—are Canterbury graduates. Dave left Canterbury in the spring of 2016 to serve as AD at the Episcopal School in Dallas, TX. 64
was advocating for a 19-year-old hockey player with a Division III college coach, and the coach commented, “I look only at twenty year olds.” The specialized hockey player knows this, and part of the college admission plan is often for the student to repeat a year in high school in order to be at the magic age when it comes time to apply to college. Paddy further remarked, “Once, most college freshmen athletes were 18 or 19. Now they are often 20 or 21.” He hastened to add that this is not true of all sports. The post-graduate student has been part of the prep school population for decades. Walter Sheehan himself was a post-grad at Deerfield Academy and went on to a stellar basketball career at Williams College. Given today’s climate and the college coaches’ emphasis on birth dates of recruited athletes, post-graduates are apt to continue to be part of the School’s population. In this much-changed landscape since 1990, the top admits on the college admission list of most prep schools includes student athletes. Top-notch, recruited athletes affect a school’s college list much more than was true in the past. Canterbury is one of the 170 members of the New England Prep School Athletic Conference (NEPSAC) which sets guidelines for member schools. For example, an athlete who has turned twenty
Specialization has also affected college admission and that, in turn, has affected student populations. College hockey coaches in particular are generally not interested in recruiting 18-yearolds.
before the start of a school year may not participate on a NEPSAC team. And NEPSAC schools cannot sanction sponsoring students to participate in club teams outside of the school’s athletic program. Thus, if a talented hockey player wants to play for a local club team in the fall, the NEPSAC school cannot provide transportation for the student or accompany the student to the events. A member school’s win/loss record against other NEPSAC schools is what determines a member school’s eligibility for participating in a Western New England or All New England tournament. While doing research for this article, I found discrepant scores in different sources; the yearbook might list one season record while Canterbury Tales or the athletic office records listed a different season score. The difference is that one is the record of all games played, including games against non-member schools, while the other is the NEPSAC record. It wasn’t always indicated which season record was reported. FALL SPORTS Football Football earns first mention as a fall sport not only because it was the original and only fall sport in 1915 but also because of its winning record in taking the long view of Canterbury’s sport history. Only wrestling has had a better win percentage during the last quarter century. The sport also brings to mind the memorable coaching traditions of George Stirnweiss in the 1940s, Roger DesRoches in the 1950s and 1960s, and Jack Karpoe in the 1980s. Coach Kevin McCarthy was at Canterbury for only three years, but in his second year, 1995, he coached the team to a New England Class B Championship. The championship game against Salisbury featured a 53-yard touchdown run by Tab Howard ’96, a 47-yard touchdown pass from Ron Mongeau ’97 to Derek Bowers ’96 and a 34-yard field goal kicked by Jason Fogelson ’97. The victory was sealed with another touchdown pass from Mongeau to Bowers.
In 2003, Canterbury’s Varsity Football team claimed the title of Class B New England champions.
Tom Taylor: Coach and Teacher Tom Taylor, father of Tom ’87 and Chris ’89 and grandfather of Eli ’19, joined the Canterbury faculty as a history teacher and basketball coach in 1991. In the next eighteen years, Tom served the school in various capacities— as history teacher, varsity basketball coach, varsity football coach, and associate admission director. His course on the Vietnam War was popular with Sixth Formers; he also taught a course in business. The 2008 yearbook was dedicated to Tom for his “commitment, generosity, and loyalty” to Canterbury. The dedication said in part: “In his five years as head coach of Saints varsity football he has led his team to a 34-8-1 record, three bowl appearances, and a Colonial League Championship. In his four years as head coach of boys’ basketball, his team won the Tri-state Championship and qualified for the Northeast Tournament.” After a few years hiatus when Tom worked for his alma mater Marist College and in Florida, he returned to Canterbury in 2015 to take over the football team again. Tom retired at the end of the 2016 season after a career as a singularly dedicated and passionate coach.
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At the end of Canterbury’s first century, boys soccer completed the 2015 season with a 12-3-2 record under coach Sean Ganow who was named All-Star Coach. The team lost to South Kent in the quarter- finals. Goalie Andrew Bortey ’16 and Mohammed Zakyi ’17 were named All-State players. Andrew is currently playing goalie for the Yale varsity team. Zakyi is headed to Div. I University of Michigan.
to Buckingham Browne and Nichols. That year Rory Foley ’07 and Mike Okunfolami ’07 were named All New England All-Stars. In 2008, Gilbert Parson ’08 and Chris Chamberlin ’08 were named to the All New England Team. Notable players in successive seasons include Anthony Naser, Colonial Lineman in 2010, and Troy Williams ’12, All-New England All-Star in 2012. Trevardo Williams ’09 went on to play for UConn for four seasons, ending his career by setting a team record of 30.5 sacks. In 2012, he was a unanimous choice for the All Big East Conference. Trevardo embarked on a professional career and was fourth-round draft pick by the Houston Texans in 2013. Subsequently, he spent time with the Washington Redskins and Toronto Argonauts, but his career was cut short by injury. Boys’ Soccer During the 1970s and 1980s, under the tutelage of John Coffin, boys’ soccer had many successful seasons, and in the fall of 1990, with coaches Charlie Huntington and Bill Dunham, the team again had a successful season. The popularity of soccer during this time is substantiated by the fact that there were four levels of boys’ soccer teams that year in contrast
to today’s two teams. The 1990s included two very successful teams; in 1995, coached by Andy Menzie and Chris Hollander ’86, the team went to the New England Soccer Tournament for the first time in Canterbury history. Three years later, under coach Jan Flaska, they played in the Class B championship game and lost to Noble and Greenough 4-1. The soccer program then embarked on a period of lackluster records, enlivened by the outstanding play of some individual students. In 2000, Dana Myjak ’01 was a New England All-Star and the MVP of the All-State Game. Patrick Sheehy ’04 was the starting goalie for the team from 2000 to 2003 and was named to the All New England Team as goalie in ’01, ’02, and ’03 and All-State his Sixth Form year. He established a record for the most career saves by a varsity goalie. Pat Phalen ’11 was Connecticut Prep All-State in 2010. At the end of Canterbury’s first century, boys’ soccer completed the 2015 season with a 12-3-2 record under coach Sean Ganow who was named All-Star Coach. The team lost to South Kent in the quarterfinals. Goalie Andrew Bortey ’16 and Mohammed Zakyi ’17 were named All-State players. Andrew is currently playing goalie for the Yale varsity team. Zakyi is headed to Div. I University of Michigan.
Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete Awards In 1997, Doug Chernovetz took over the coaching and had four winning seasons out of six. Notable players during those years were Michael Hennessy ’03 and Guy Smith ’02 who were New England All Stars in 2001. In 2003, Tom Taylor coached the team to its second Class B New England championship in a game against New Hampton. The following six years were all winning seasons with assistant coach Ken Parsons taking over the team in 2009. During these years, the team was undefeated in 2006, the first time in twenty-six years, and they were Colonial League Champions. In the Class B Bowl the team lost 66
The National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame has chapters throughout the United States. Connecticut has four chapters: Northern Connecticut, Fairfield Country, New Haven, and New London. The Northern Connecticut Chapter includes all the public schools in the Central Connecticut Conference, the NCCC, the Pequot League, and prep schools in the area. Each chapter gives Scholar Athlete Awards based on character, leadership, academics, and football skills. Awardees in each chapter are considered for National Scholar Athlete Awards. Canterbury has had six Football Foundation Scholar-Athletes since 1992:
Julian Montague Tab Howard Guy Smith Ollie Burns David Whitmore Michael Grady
1992 1996 2001 2004 2009 2011
I, in 2005. Brianne was inducted into Canterbury’s Athletics Hall of Fame in 2016. In 2002, under coach Steve Abbott, the girls’ soccer team was Small School Champions of WNEPSSA with a 7-1-1 record. Top scorers on the team were Lilly Bertz ’03, Nicole Baker, and Madeleine Abbott ’06. Madeleine had a stellar individual career in soccer. In 2004, she broke the single season scoring record with twenty-six points. In 2005, she was named to the State All-Star Prep Team and finished her career with the most points ever scored: 68. The following year, Jen Kiarsis ’08 was also named to the State Prep All-State Team, and in 2007, under coach Scott Willmen, girls’ soccer went to the Class C New England Tournament with a 7-7-1 record. This was their last winning season until the beginning of the second century in 2016.
hockey struggled to become a viable competitor, turning in only one winning season until 2005, although in 1999 the team had an 8-8 record and went to the New England Tournament where they lost to Kimball Union Academy. In 2005, Cammy Roffe coached the team to the Class C Western New England Championship with a 103-2 record. They went to the New England Tournament as the #5 seed but lost to Bancroft in the first round. Margaret Smith ’06 of that team was named a WNESFH AllStar. Between 2005 and 2015, field hockey went to the New Englands five times as Western New England Class C champions, and turned in eight winning seasons. In 2011, the 9-1-1 record was the best in the team’s history. Stacie DeGrazia ’12 and Antonia Commichau, a oneyear student from Germany, of that team were named WNEPSSA All-Stars. In 2014, the team was Western New England Small School Champions and were seeded #1 in the Class C Tournament, but they lost to Dana Hall in overtime. Their season record of 12-5 exceeded the 2011 record to become the best in Canterbury history. Sam McDermott ’13 and Audrey Duquette ’13 were named Western New England All-Stars. In 2015, the girls were Western New England Champions again and lost to Brewster in the quarter finals. Mary LaVigne ’16 and Hannah Krin ’16 were Western New England All Stars. In the fall of 2016, the team again went to the New England Tournament as the #5 seed, and for the first time in School history, not only won in the quarter finals over Newton Country Day School, but went on to vanquish Ethel Walker in the semi-finals and win over New Hampton to become New England Class C Champions on Saturday, November 19, 2016. Sara Bouwman ’17 was a crucial scorer in all three games, and Emily Martino ’17, Anna Orlando ’17, and Ariella Haas ’18 added assists.
Field Hockey As noted in the third issue of the Centennial PALLIUM, field
Water Polo In the fall of 1993, when Tom Sheehy discovered that faculty
The 2005 Varsity Field Hockey team. First row, l-r: Alexis Haut ’06, Sarah Izzo ’06, Margaret Smith ’06, Tara St. Amand ’06. Middle row, l-r: Brianna Carusillo ’08, Adrianna Spinella ’07, Brittany Whitmore ’06, Maggie Jenkins ’06, Adaline Melford ’06, Lexie Routh ’06, Carolyn Malloy ’06, Kaitlin Badalato ’08. Back row, l-r: coach Sue Roberts, James Quigley ’06 (mgr.), Caitlin Garzi ’06, Jessica Sansone ’08, Kerri Waegelein ’08, Trista Johnson ’09, Clare Fitzpatrick ’09, Amanda LaPorta ’07, Jillian Tondreau ’07, Briana Berg ’08, Kelly McGuire ’08, Cory Perkins ’06, coach Cammy Roffe.
The team also went to the New Englands in 2016, losing again to South Kent in the quarter-finals. Girls’ Soccer Coming off the 1989 championship season, girls’ soccer struggled to replicate that team’s prowess. However, in 1990, team captain Kelly Bulkley ’92 earned a spot on the All-Select Team, and coach Michael Hennessey commented, “Kelly was probably the best sweeper in the League.” Two years later, Hennessey had equal praise for Steph Stagl ’94. “She is the toughest fullback I’ve ever coached,” he said. However, girls’ soccer was about to enter a long stretch of losing seasons, relieved only by the 2001 and 2002 seasons. In 2001, Brianne Baker ’02 was named to the All-State team. She was a three-time WNE player. After Canterbury, Brianne played for four years on the Yale varsity team which won the Ivy League Championship, Division
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Cammy Roffe: Coach and Teacher Cammy Roffe, daughter of Jim Briggs ’56 and mother of Cam ’12 and Katie ’15, arrived at Canterbury in 1995 as a science teacher, dorm parent, and three season coach. In her college years at Middlebury, Cammy played Women’s Varsity Ice Hockey for three years, becoming a member of the team in the second year of the varsity program. She captained the team in her senior year. Cammy also played field hockey for a year and club women’s rugby for four years. As a senior, she received the Hazeltine Klevenow Cup as the top female scholar athlete of the senior class. Cammy began her Canterbury coaching career assisting with the j.v. field hockey and varsity ice hockey teams, moving soon to coach the varsity field hockey team. By 2016, Cammy had coached varsity field hockey for sixteen (nonconsecutive) years, and led a spring riding program for several years, and is currently j.v. girls ice hockey coach as well as varsity field hockey coach. Her husband Rob is Canterbury’s academic technology coordinator.
member Conrad Tuerk had played water polo all through high school and club in college, he asked Conrad if he would be interested in putting together a team and coaching it. Conrad accepted, and the water polo program was born. Not, at that time, one of New England prep school’s most popular sports, the team was a club team until going varsity in 2004. In its initial years, Rich Carter ’95 was according to Tuerk, “an exceptional water polo player” scoring 13 of 20 points in a 2015 victory over Wilbraham-Monson in 1994. Alec Braley took over the coaching duties in 1998, and in the first year as a varsity sport, the team posted a 5-3 record. Conor O’Rourke ’06 led the scoring with 26 goals and goalie Ian Goodwin ’06 finished his career with a 5.2 GAA, a school record. Over the next ten years, until 2014, the team had three winning seasons. Perhaps the most remarkable water polo story in Canterbury’s history is that of Chris DeNunzio ’11. Chris decided to try water polo as his fall required sport in his Fourth Form year. He fell in love with the sport and played a crucial role on coach Alec Braley’s team. Chris went on to play at Washington & Jefferson College and in 2015, he was the recipient of the Collegiate Water Polo Association’s 68
Abby Jones ’14
Men’s Varsity Scholar Athlete of the Year. He had been a 2014 All-American Honorable Mention selection of the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches. Cross-Country Walter Burke continued working his magic with the cross-country team, including an undefeated season in 1992, until the end of his career in the 1994-95 school year.
For his many years of coaching winning cross-country teams, Walter was inducted into Canterbury’s Athletics Hall of Fame in the fall of 2016. When Chris Hyson took on coaching the team in 1997, the team once again began a winning streak, with seven winning seasons out of nine. Student athletes leading the teams to victory during those years included Michelle Palazzo ’99, Max Bertz ’02, Keita Chikuski ’04, and Joe Lapke ’07. A later stand-out runner was Hythem Al-Mulla ’14 who won the New England All-Star Meet in 2012. The girls’ cross-country teams were either non-existent or so small that they did not post season records from 1990 through 1999. In 2000, the girls’ team posted a 9-5 record. In 2002, Kelly McMurray ’04 placed first in eight of nine Canterbury meets. When Tracy Garcia-LaVigne took over the crosscountry program in 2005, the girls’ teams began to be a force to be reckoned with, posting winning records in seven of the next ten seasons. Talented Abby Jones ’14 enhanced the 2012 and 2013 team, and Third Former Anna Oeser ’18 won seven straight meets in 2014, the beginning of a spectacular career for Anna. She earned back-to-back All New England championships in 2015 and 2016.
Hockey Players in Canterbury’s Athletics Hall of Fame After graduating from Canterbury in 1990, Michael Dunham played goalie for the University of Maine hockey team where he won fourteen games as a freshman, and two years later had a 211-1 record. He went to the 1992, 1994, and 2002 Olympics where the United States team captured a silver medal. He was named to the NCAA East First All-American Team and the Hockey East First All-Star Team in 1992-93 when he won an NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Championship with the Black Bears. Dunham played in the NHL for ten seasons, retiring with a 2.74 goals against average and a .908 save percentage. He played for the New York Islanders, the New Jersey Devils, the Nashville Predators, the New York Rangers, and the Atlanta Thrashers. Mike is currently the goaltending coach of the New York Islanders. He was inducted into Canterbury’s Athletics Hall of Fame in 2015. Classmate Jacques Joubert ’90 was inducted into Canterbury’s Athletics Hall of Fame in 2016. After Canterbury, Jacques played on the Boston University team where he was captain in his senior year. The team won the Triple Crown and an NCAA Championship. Joubert was inducted into the BU Hall of Fame in 2011.
Mike Dunham ’90
Jacques Joubert ’90
WINTER SPORTS Boys’ Hockey A 2003 Tabard article referred to boys’ hockey as “The Power House of C’Bury Sports.” The team was co-champions of the League that year, burnishing the hockey teams’ already illustrious history. Legendary coach Charlie Huntington had guided the team to many victories after the completion of the enclosed rink in 1976. Charlie continued to coach the team through the 1993 season. In his last year with the team, its record was 26-6-1, and the team qualified for the playoffs. Olympic goalie Mike Dunham ’90, and “exceptional goaltender” Brian Whalen ’91 were two of the many players who benefitted from Charlie’s tutelage. The “Canterbury hockey dynasty” continued to 2005. During the period from 1991 to 2005, they had thirteen winning seasons, were New England Champions in 1994, the first ever won by Canterbury, and again in 1997; Hockey West champions in 2002; co-champions of the League in 2003; and Hockey West champions in 2005. The latter victories were accomplished with coach Peter LaVigne. The New England Tournament in hockey has expanded to three tournaments in order to represent the best hockey teams in a field of 61 schools. The Saints today compete for a spot in the Elite 8 New England Tournament or a spot in the Small School New England Tournament. Many Canterbury hockey players went on to play in college; among the notable players of this era were Andrew Eaton ’02 MVP of the New
Mike Onorato: Rink Manager Extraordinaire
A discussion of the hockey program would not be complete without mentioning the contributions of rink manager, Zamboni operator, head groundskeeper, and all-around hockey supporter Mike Onorato. Each winter, Canterbury’s rink was a second home to Mike and his wife Debbie. Mike devoted himself to making the “best ice in Connecticut,” to keeping the old Zamboni repaired until it wore out, to skate sharpening, reffing hockey games, and supporting anyone who needed it. He led the efforts to clear the rink roof of heavy snow one winter when it nearly buckled from the extraordinary weight. His strong work ethic, his magnanimous spirit, and his ready smile earned him legions of friends. When he died as a result of a hang gliding accident in 2007, hundreds of students, faculty, staff, and townspeople gathered to honor this beloved Cantuarian.
England Prep Hockey Conference (West), James Sixsmith ’03 who won the Ed Hunt Trophy for a combination of playing ability, competitive spirit, and rule-abiding play, and Jamie Fritsch ’04 and Carter Lee ’04 of the All New 69
The 1992-1993 Girls’ Varsity Hockey team. Front row, l-r: Taryn Smith ’93, Dawn Hurley ’95, Michelle Almeida ’95, Meg Maloney ’93, Meredith DiCiucis ’93, Noriko Fukushima ’93, Karen Nepomuceno ’96. Back row, l-r: Jennifer Lambert ’94, Melissa Houck ’94, Patricia Chun ’94, Joanna Montague ’94, Sarah C. Foley ’95, Vanessa Mebus ’94, Liz Baker ’94, Danielle Marchione ’95, coach Cindy Martin.
England Team. Sixsmith became captain of his Holy Cross team. Nic Pierog ’11 went on to play on the Clarkson University varsity team. In 2014, under coach Paddy McCarthy ’94, the team went to the New England Small School Tournament and lost in the quarter finals, but Christian Short ’14 went on to be the First Team goalie at the Western New England All-Star game. Shane Sellar ’14 of that team is playing on the Dartmouth varsity squad. Girls’ Hockey Giving up coaching the boys’ team did not mean Charlie Huntington gave up hockey. He then assisted coach Cindy Martin with the fledgling girls’ hockey team which began as a club team in 1991 and became a varsity team in 1993. Although the girls’ teams had several notable players such as goalie Heather Williams ’97, Stacy Burns ’99, and Lyndsey Bennett ’00 in their early years as a varsity team, they did not have a winning season until 2003 when they earned a 12-9-2 record with coach Suzanne Chepren (later Roberts). That year they won the Princeton Day Tournament for the first of three consecutive years. In 2004, the team bettered their 2003 record with a record of 1770
7-1. Coach Chepren was the 2004 Vincent J. Reilly Coach of the Year. The girls’ hockey program benefitted from the successful recruiting of coach John Ettore from 2008–2010. Between 2010 and 2016, the team went to the New England Tournament four times. In 2010, their first appearance ever in the Tournament, the team was the #5 seed; they lost in the quarter finals. In 2011, they lost in the semi- finals. Ellie Haines ’13, Leigh Getz ’11, and Sara Sokol ’11 were named to the All New England team. In 2015, the team went to the Tournament as the #6 seed under coach Peter LaVigne. As Canterbury’s second century began in the winter of 2016, the team was the #5 seed, and Maddie Blauth ’16 and Maura White ’16 were named New England All-Stars. Boys’ Basketball While beginning this quarter century with a winning record in 1991, not until 1997 did Canterbury’s boys’ basketball again have a winning team. Sprinkled throughout the next fifteen years were: the successful teams of 2000 when they went to the Class B New England Tournament, and Dan Murphy ’00 was named to the All New England First Team
and the Player of the Year in the Conference; the 2002 team with Guy Smith ’02 who finished his career with 1,485 points and Keshaun Horne ’02 who was named to the All Tri-State Team; the 2006 and 2007 teams featuring Jeremy Shannon ’06 of the Tri-State First Team and Matt Chisick ’07 First Team All-League. In 2011, coach Don Gowan took his team to the Class B New England Tournament where they lost to the #1 seed Suffield. The following year, they again went to the Tournament. Tragically, Coach Gowan died unexpectedly that spring. The Don K. Gowan III Basketball Award was established in his name. Basketball ended the 2014-15 year spectacularly as New England Class B Champions under coach Keith Rado. The team won twenty-two games in the 2015 season. Team member Temar Robinson Hermelijn ’15 was named First Team AllDivision; Brandon Aughburns ’15 was named Third Team AllDivision and went on to play at Hampton College. Girls’ Basketball Girls’ basketball also started the quarter century auspiciously by winning the New England Small Schools Tournament in 1991 under coach Jim Pettyjohn. Team member Patricia Sordoni ’92 was chosen the WNEGPSAA Most Valuable Player and voted the MVP of the Tournament. She broke four Canterbury basketball records that season. The girls again went to the New England Tournament in 1996 under coach Alec Braley. Although the team’s record for 2001 was 10-10, captain Lauren Michael ’01 ended her season with 1,103 career points, the first Canterbury girl to attain the 1,000-point mark. In 2007, the girls began a seven-year winning streak under coach Sarah Ferland, and in 2009, they were Class C New England Champions. Outstanding players during these years included Clare Fitzpatrick ’09 who finished her career with 1,521 points, the most scored in the school history, male or female. Clare went on to play basketball at
The 2008-2009 championship Girls’ Varsity Basketball team. Front row, l-r: Kelsey Nagle ’09, Clare Fitzpatrick ’09, Marley Silverman ’09. Middle row, l-r: Krista O’Gara ’12, Caitlin Cass ’07, Meg Carlin ’10, Mackenzie Watt ’10. Back row, l-r: Coach Bill Shaw, Tim O’Keeffe ’10 (mgr.), Quinn O’Brien ’10, Riley O’Brien ’08, Vanessa Roberts ’09, Ariana Della Torre ’10, Elyssa Vincent ’10, coach Sarah Ferland.
The 2004-2005 Varsity Wrestling team. Front row, l-r: Brian Koelher ’07, Scott McLean ’05, Jared Carusillo ’06, Michael Diaz ’08, Ken Gaye ’06, Thomas Mescall ’08. Middle row, l-r: Ricky Ritacco ’06, John Hayes ’05, Roman Massi ’05, Chris Cocce ’07, Tim Aldrich ’07, Nawin Bhasaeng-Uriaporn ’08, Michael Kaesmann ’08, Robert Martin ’05, Ryan Voloshin ’06, Michael DeFruscio ’07, William Elwell ’08 (mgr.). Back row, l-r: Coach Dave Wilson, Morgan Naczi ’07, (mgr.), Dan Lyons ’05, Chris Aldrich ’07, TJ Prete ’06, Yovanny Henao ’05, James Pratt ’05, Chris Chizzonite ’05, coach Mike Goodale.
Cornell, then became an assistant basketball coach at Yale and is now an assistant coach at the Air Force Academy. Her Canterbury record was broken in 2012 by Krista O’Gara ’12 who finished her career by scoring 1,637 points. Wrestling Although wrestling has not enjoyed the marquee draw of hockey, wrestling has been the winningest team of any winter sport in the past two decades. Following in the winning pattern of coach
Don Robert’s teams, wrestling won 71% of their meets from 1990 to 2016, and they produced numerous WNEISWA champions and some All-American wrestlers. In 2011, the team consisted of forty wrestlers, the largest number in school history. Dave Wilson, coach from 1998 to 2016, is profiled earlier in this article. Outstanding wrestlers during these years include: 1997: Dante Goldsmith ’87 (22-1) placed first in state competition. 2000: Third Former Anthony Hayes was a WNEISWA champion
Clare Fitzpatrick ’09 is currently an assistant basketball coach at the Air Force Academy.
and voted outstanding wrestler. The following year, Hayes again took first place at the WNEISWA Tournament. 2003: Ryan Naczi ’05 placed first at the Western New England Tournament and received the Peraino Award. He took first place at the New England Championships. At Prep Nationals, he placed 8th and was named a Prep All American, the first wrestler to do so since 1970. His 2004 season record was 37-3. 2005: Jason Lapham ’05 and Naczi were WNEISWA Champions; Lapham was a New England Champion. At the National Prep Wrestling Tournament, Lapham placed 4th and earned All-American status. 2006: Craig Field ’06 placed 8th at Prep Nationals to earn Prep AllAmerican honors. 2009: Robert Butts ’09 earned championships at WNEISWA for two consecutive years, was a New England Champion, and finished his career with 125 wins, a school record. 2012: Kenny Jordan ’15 took a first at WNEISWA and again in 2015. 2014: Skylar LaManna ’15, Canterbury’s first female wrestler to qualify for the New Englands and 71
The 2000-1001 Varsity Volleyball team. First row, l-r: Gordon Brown ’03 (mgr.), Elizabeth Kimma ’01, Melissa Iapaluccio ’01, Lauren Mascia ’01, Brianne Baker ’02, Varick O’Dea 02 (mgr.). Back row, l-r: Coach Roberto Vilches, Danielle Nettleton ’04, Nozomi Kanemitsu ’01, Christine Dyott ’01, Ida Jenkins ’02, Caroline Schulman ’02, coach Brian Rice.
the fourth female in tournament history, took a first at Phillips Andover Girls’ Wrestling Tournament.
Boys’ Squash Boys’ squash again did not exist for a few years in the early 1990s, and after it was reformed, it struggled to be competitive for several years. At last, in 2004, under coach Jen Lee Chandler ’84, a former Canterbury and Cornell University squash player, the team had winning seasons until 2011 with only one exception. The CitySquash admission program, supported by the Castellini family, brought talented New York CitySquash players to Canterbury, and the addition of these players contributed to the success of the squash teams. Chris Fernandez ’11, a CitySquash student, was undefeated in the 2009 season and went on to become a New England Champion. The following year Chris finished his career as a four-time All New England player, a two-time champion and a 74-6 career record. He went on to play on the St. Lawrence varsity squash team. Freddy Hernandez ’10 went on to play at Franklin & Marshall. In 2012, Raheem Logan ’12 came in first at the Class B New England tournament. He went on to play squash at Wesleyan University. Girls’ Squash Sad to say, girls’ squash has not had a winning season since 1987. However, since 1990, some individual players have achieved outstanding records. Jessica Mitchell ’03 placed second at the New England Tournament for three successive years, and in 2011, Maggie Wiatr ’11 and Savannah Hardwick ’11 placed first in the Class C New England Tournament. Swimming Throughout the 1990s the swimming program sometimes combined boys and girls into one team and rarely had winning records. During 72
that time, a standout individual swimmer was Rich Carter ’95 who broke three school records as a Third Former. In 2006, a female swimmer, Kara Oulighan ’07, “broke more individual and relay swimming records (nine) in one season than any other swimmer—male or female—in Canterbury history.” In March of 2007, girls’ swimming won the Division III Western New England title and they duplicated that feat the following year. However, it wasn’t until the Higgins Aquatic Center opened in 2008 that the swimming program began to be a consistently competitive team. Coach Sarah Bednar arrived in 2012 and provided a competitive spark to the program. In 2013, the boys were the Class C New England Champions. Kyle Winters ’14 was voted MVP at the New Englands as a Fifth Former. In 2014, the girls were New England Division III Champions, and Chesi Piccolo ’16 was the New England Diving Champion. The following year Annabelle McCullough ’18 was the New England Champion in the 100 back and third in the 500 free. Jenna Joyal ’16 was the Class C New England diving champion, and Aaron Gattenoni ’15 was the New England Champion in the 50 free. Volleyball Beth Menzie had coached a highly successful volleyball team through the 1980s, and in recognition of her talent as a coach, she coached one of the WNEPSA All-Star teams in 1994 after guiding her team to a 9-3 season. In March of 2001, Brian Rice coached the team to a Western New England Championship; the team lost in the New England finals to Governor Dummer. In 2009, volleyball was moved to the more competitive fall season and beginning in that year, under coach Elyse Soifersmith, the team went to the Class B New England Tournament for four successive years. During these years several players earned All New England status: Sally Mensching ’10 in 2009, Jessica Troilo ’11 in 2010, Krista O’Gara ’12 and Ashley
Hugh Donovan ’92
Peter Milliman ’97
Hugh Donovan ’92 went on to play lacrosse at Bucknell University and captained the most successful men’s lacrosse team in the program history, the 1996 squad that finished 12-0, captured the Patriot League title and earned a No. 9 national rank. Considered to be one of the top defensemen ever to play for Bucknell, he was inducted into the Bucknell University Hall of Fame in 2011. After Bucknell, Donovan entered a professional lacrosse career. He was head coach at Hartford Community College in Bel Air, MD, for four seasons, compiling a record of 37-29 and earning bids to the Region XX Championships in all four seasons. Hugh was a two-time NJCAA Region XX Coaches’ Association Coach of the Year in 2012 and 2013. In 2015, Donovan became head men’s lacrosse coach at Immaculata University in Pennsylvania. He currently serves as the director of the Mid-Atlantic region for the Brine National Lacrosse Classic.
After Canterbury, Peter Milliman ’97 went to Gettysburg College, where he was a three-time Division III All-America. He helped his team there to two NCAA Division III championship games. He played for four years with the Rochester Rattlers and helped the team to a 2008 Major League Lacrosse championship. Peter was assistant coach at RIT, a Division III program. He spent four years as the head coach of Pfeiffer University which reached the Conference Carolinas championship game for two consecutive years. Milliman then became part of Princeton’s coaching staff before becoming associate head coach of men’s lacrosse at Cornell where he is today.
Burdick in 2011, Jenna Wilson ’13 and Annelise Gilbert ’13 in 2012. In the fall of 2014, the team did not have a winning record but players Tanner Tardie ’15 and Lulu Nwokeafor-Laz ’15 were named All New England players. Mimi Datillo ’19, Coco Booth ’19, and Lilly Hoeniger ’18 earned All New England honors in the fall of 2015. SPRING SPORTS Boys’ Lacrosse Boys’ lacrosse began the 1990s under coach Patrick Finn with an undefeated season and a Division I Championship in 1991, which garnered them a Hall of Fame induction in 2016. According to a Tabard writer, the championship game against Westminster (1615 sudden death) was “probably the most exciting, heart-stopping lacrosse game ever played at Canterbury.” Several players from
The 1991 undefeated Div I lacrosse championship team. First row, l-r: Dennis Sullivan ’92, Todd Salmini ’92, Mike Simonelli ’92, Jim Flynn ’92, Julian Montague ’92. Middle row, l-r: Keith Bogardus ’94 (mgr.), T.J. Sheehy ’92, Dave Cornell ’91, Anthony Costello ’91, Eric Trach ’91, Brian Whalen ’91, Ross Moscatelli ’91. Back row, l-r: Peter Farrell ’85 (coach), John Scherzer ’92, Kevin Imm ’92, Keith Healy ’92, Dylan Ade ’91, Jackson Buttles ’92, Hugh Donovan ’92, Keith Gentile ’91, Patrick Finn (coach), Joan Simonelli ’91 (mgr.). (Missing: Christian Holm ’91, Marc Altenhoff ’91, Sam Connelly ’91.)
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The 2014-2015 NEPSAC Class B championship team. First row, l-r: Shane Perley ’15, JJ Dunn ’15, Shawn Montague ’16, Ryan Johannes ’16, Temar Robinson Hermelijn ’15, Koree Hargraves ’15, Keith Rado ’17. Back row, l-r: coach Wright Danenbarger, Anthony Perkins ’18, Angel Santos ’15, Cody Bernard ’17, Alex Peterson ’15, Branden Aughburns ’15, Jacob Singer ’15, Seamus Oeser ’16, Callahan Healy ’18, coach Keith Rado, Sarah Levy ’15 (mgr.).
the 1991 team went on to play in college: Ross Moscatelli ’91 at Duke, Jackson Buttles ’92 at Wesleyan, Mark Brown ’91 at Lynchburg, TJ Sheehy ’92 at Bowdoin, Captain Brian Whelan ’91 at Towson, Mike Simonelli ’92 at St. Michael’s, David Cornell ’91 at Gettysberg, and Anthony Costello ’91 at St. Michael’s. The following year was also a winning season and in describing the game against rival T-P, the Tabard reported, “Defensively, the Saints were impeccable. Hugh “Huga Huga” Donovan ’92 played with superb vision, immense power, and exuberating intensity. He provided the team with face-offs, clears, and all around solid defense.” Canterbury won the game 13-10. Frank Radin ’94 went on to play at the University of Maryland where he was named an All-American in 1998. In 1999, Ryan Radonis ’99 was named to the All-American Lacrosse team, but the program suffered several years of losing seasons in the early 2000s. Patrick Sheehy was one of the stand-out players from 2001–2004. He was First Team Western New England in 2004 and played for the All New England team at the Vail, CO Shootout in the summers of 2003 and 2004. The New England team won the championship for the U-19 division in 2004. Chris Roberts, who had played for the Princeton varsity team, assumed head coaching duties in 2003, and he continued in that role in 2016. Things perked up in 2008 as the program began seven years of winning seasons. In 2008, the boys placed second in Division II, losing in overtime in the championship game. Billy Bergner ’09 won the William LaBelle Award for the Most Outstanding Offensive Player with fifty goals and twenty-five assists and was named Offensive Player of the Year and AllAmerican. The boys were again Class B WNE Champs in 2014 with Noah Rak ’14 and Casey Fuller ’14 named All-American. Girls’ Lacrosse After some early successful seasons, girls lacrosse struggled mightily throughout the first decade of the 2000s. However, in 1994, Kelly Rotnem ’95 scored a record 83 goals in the season, and she finished her career the next year with the most career goals (155), most career points (170), 74
most goals in a season (93 in 1994) and most points in a season (84 in 1994). Kelly went on to play at St. Lawrence University. Two years later, Molly Sheehy ’98 finished her season with the top career assists (46), top assists in a season (21), and second in career points (120). That year Jen Tolli ’98 was a WNEPSWLA All Star. She was the first Canterbury female to be named a lacrosse All-American. Jen was inducted into the Canterbury Athletics Hall of Fame in 2016. In 2006, Madeleine Abbott ’06 surpassed Molly’s career points by scoring a career 121. Madeleine was named to the WNE All-Star team for two consecutive years. At last, in 2012, the girls’ team began to win again when they won the most games (8) since 1999. This record was surpassed in 2013 with twelve wins. Samantha McDermott ’13 finished her career with a record all-time points of 189. Under coach Lindsay Mulhern, the girls won the WNE Division II Championship in 2014 after an undefeated 13-0 season. Hannah Krin ’16 and Maddie Finnen ’16 were named All New England All-Stars. 2015 was another successful season: 123. Maddie Finnen ’16 and Maddi Blauth ’16 were all named to the All New England team. Sarah Bouwman ’17 was named AllAmerican in 2016. Baseball Fortune did not shine on the baseball program from 1990 to 2015. During that time the teams enjoyed only four winning seasons, three of them from 2007 to 2009 under coach Jeff Johnson. Players who contributed to the teams’ successes included several who were named to the All-League team: Mike Korevec ’07 in 2007, James Sixsmith ’03, and John Lovetere ’09 in 2008, and Lovetere and Tom Hartnett ’10 in 2009. Outstanding players prior to those years included Anthony Marotta ’94 whose record as a pitcher in 1994 was 7-1-1, the same year Joe Fitzgerald ’95 was at the top of the list for best defensive first baseman in the league. In 2004, Billy Manley
’04 was named first team AllStar catcher for the Connatonic League. Todd Mathewson assumed the coaching responsibilities of baseball in 2014, and by the end of Canterbury’s first century, the team had eked out a winning season, and prospects for the future were promising. Softball During the last quarter of Canterbury’s first century, softball was one of the most successful spring teams, male or female. The program began the 1990s with an eight-year winning streak, ending in 2002, winning again in 2003. The team began another winning streak in 2008, sustained for five years through 2012. Pitcher Sarah Ullman ’95 was named to the SNEPSSA All-Star team for four consecutive years. Captain Julie Pellerin ’97 was also a memorable pitcher. In 2000, Lyndsey Bennett ’00 was the MVP of the WNEPSWA All-Star softball game. That year’s pitcher, Alison Grant ’01, turned in an 11-3 record. In 1999, The Tabard reported that “Girls’ Varsity Softball is the only team this year to make it to a championship game for the New England playoffs.” They lost in the championship game to Westover. In 2006, the team went to the New Englands and lost in the semi-finals to Kingswood-Oxford. Four years later, under coach Ken Parson, they again went to the Western New England Tournament and lost in the semi-finals to the eventual champion, Berkshire (6-5). Finally, in 2011, Parson and the team won the Western New England Championship in a 3-2 victory over Suffield. Devan Embelton ’13, Jen Morgan ’11, and pitcher Justine Valentino ’11 were key in the victory. In 2012, softball again went to the Western New England Tournament, losing in the semi-final round. Crew Because of Canterbury’s proximity to the Housatonic River, crew had been suggested to Walter Sheehan years before, but he did not pursue it, perhaps because
The 2011 Varsity Softball New England Champions. Front row, l-r: Alyssa Halpin ’14, Taylor Jendras ’13, Devan Embleton ’13, Jen Morgan ’11, Justine Valentine ’12, Savannah Hardwick ’11, Kyra Koncar ’11. Back row, l-r: coach Julio Omaña, Dom Sawaia ’11 (mgr.), Olivia Hoess ’11, Jessica Troilo ’11, Carolyn Valentine ’11, Krista O’Gara ’12, Kathleen Cass ’11, Joe Cuccia ’12 (mgr.), coach Ken Parson. (Missing: Victoria Pucci ’12.)
At the blessing of a new crew shell. L-r: George-Ann Gowan (mother of Don K. Gowan III), Cam Murray ’14, Peter Berry ’13, Nick Ekholm ’13, Wade Jones ’15, Claire O’Keeffe ’13.
crew requires investing in shells and launch boats. Crew began in the fall of 2003 as a club sport and became a varsity sport in spring 2007 under the guidance of founding coach Tim O’Keefe. Thanks to the generosity of alumni such as Mark Pigott ’72, by 2007 Canterbury owned six shells, the last one a gift in honor of Peter B. Smith ’52. Mark Pigott also donated ten ergs for the crew team to use for conditioning. The following year, the program acquired two launch boats given by the class of 1962 and named for two alumni who died in the Vietnam War—Charles L. Bergevin ’62 and Paul M. McGrath ’62. Later shells were contributed by Dr. Mary Ellen Brademas in honor of Mac (Basil) Briggs ’77 and by Dr. Mary Tavener Holmes, mother of Peter Berry ’13, in honor of Don Gowan. In crew’s second and third years as a varsity sport, 2008 and 2009, the boys first boat qualified for the New Englands; in 2009 the girls’ first boat qualified as well. 75
Golf After 1990, golf continued its mostly winning ways, with the period from 1997 through 2009 a particularly successful time. Fran Foley was the coach during the beginning of this time to be succeeded by Peter LaVigne in 1999 and by Bob Potter several years later. The 1998 record of 14-1, “the best record in recent memory,” was topped by the 17-4 record of 2009. Individual players who excelled included Axel Klinghammer, a oneyear student from Germany, in 1999 who came in 18th out of 200 at the Kingswood-Oxford tournament; Steve Baker ’03 who was a top 15 finisher at Kingswood in 2003; Marty Schnurr ’04 who was in a three-way tie for the Division I New England Champion in 2002; and Chris Wiatr ’11 who, in successive years of 2010 and 2011, finished in a three-way tie at the Kingswood Tournament. In 2011, he finished second on the tie-breaker. In Chris’s last ten consecutive events in 2011, he was the medalist with the low individual score. He went on to captain the UConn golf team in his senior year. In 2003 Jake Hawvermale ’05 made a hole-inone on the 6th hole at Quaker Hill. Tennis When Jules Viau retired in 1992, part of his legacy was thirty-seven years as the boys’s tennis coach and 300 wins over those years. Things have not been the same since, perhaps partially due to the popularity of lacrosse. The boys did have a winning season in 2006, but otherwise, the teams have generally not been competitive. Girls’ tennis is a somewhat different story. Under coach Bev Lee, they turned in several winning seasons in the early ’90s and performed over .500 again in 2005, 2009, and 2013. In 2013, the girls qualified for Class C New Englands after a 9-5 season. Track With the exception of the 2013 Girls’ New England Class C Championship, the story of Canterbury’s track program from 1990 to 2015 is mostly one of 76
Chris Wiatr ’11 signs to play golf at UConn. He went on to captain the Huskies golf team in his Sixth Form year.
Oreese Hoyes ’08 was a New England champion in the 100m and 200m, setting a Division III New England record.
individual athletes. Sarah G. Foley ’95 was the girls’ track star of the 1990s. She placed first in the 100m hurdles at the New England Class B Championships in 1994 and replicated that feat the following year, adding a first in the 300m intermediate hurdles. Nearly ten years later, in 2003, Lilly Bertz ’03, 2015 Athletics Hall of Famer, finished her four-year track career with a total of 523 team points. She set the pole vault records in eleven track facilities and the Connecticut high school pole vault record with an 11'3" vault. She was a three-time New England champion and a two-time defending Junior Olympic pole vault champion. In another ten years, Abby Jones ’14 would be the champion high jumper at the New England Class C Championships, and the following year she would again place first in the high jump and the 300m hurdles. The girls’ team won the 2014 New England Championship. Ezra Holmes ’14 and Temar Robinson Hermelijn ’15 were also New England Champions in 2014 in the high jump and triple jump respectively. In 2015, Fakrat Alapa ’15 was the Class C New England Champion in the triple jump. As Canterbury’s first century closed, Anna Oeser ’18, who is mentioned in the cross-country section, was also a rising track star. In 2006, Richard Johnson ’06 won the 100m at the Division III New Englands. In 2007, at the conclusion of the first winning season for boys since 1990, Oreese Hoyes ’08 was a New England champion in the 100m and the 200m, setting a Division III New England record. Joshua Henry ’10 was the New England Class C Champion in the triple jump in 2010, setting a school record of 44.82'. In 2015, Temar Robinson Hermelyn was the Class C New England Champion in high jump and second in the triple jump. As Canterbury begins its second century, it is well equipped to continue and further strengthen its proud athletic history. The most recent sports facility updates, the Sheehy Family Field with its turf surface, the softball field, and the tennis courts have updated the outdoor playing fields as the earlier addition of the Athletic Center updated the indoor facilities.
As Canterbury begins its second century, it is well equipped to continue and further strengthen its proud athletic history. The recently revitalized soccer, baseball, and basketball teams demonstrate the recruiting efforts of the coaches of those teams. The ice hockey, field hockey, and men and women’s lacrosse programs continue to be very competitive, and we trust that volleyball will regain its former luster as one of the most successful teams in history. Canterbury is adapting to the new athletic landscape while retaining its commitment to academic excellence and its values-based culture.
The Sheehy Family Field. In the distance is the new softball field.
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RACHEL E. STONE Sixth Head of School
Faculty, students, trustees, and friends gather to celebrate the installation of Canterbury’s first female head of school.
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It is with great pride and an enormous sense of responsibility that I accept the charges bestowed upon me as Canterbury’s sixth head of school. In partnership with the broader Canterbury family, I pledge to carry forward the good work that sustains and advances this School. To join the Canterbury family is to become a member of a community united by love for this place, this experience, and the countless people with whom we cross paths along the way. If you take a moment to consider that this shared affection for Canterbury is spread across the country and around the globe, the collective and enduring impact our School has made is breathtaking, isn’t it? RACHEL STONE SIXTH HEAD OF SCHOOL
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Rachel Stone.
September 16, 2016 Pigott Arena 4:00 P.M. 78
Reception in David C. Copley ’70 Library Music by the Western Connecticut State University Brass + the Canterbury School Chorale
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I know Mrs. Stone expects the best from each of us. Let us deliver on that expectation. Why? Because this is a Canterbury moment. Even more, as the one hundredth graduating class in our School’s history, this is our moment… to shine!
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TITO JIMENEZ ’17 STUDENT BODY PRESIDENT
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Rachel is warm, inviting, and unassuming. She has lived the life we lead. Rachel is an academic champion, balancing innovation with a regard for tradition. Rachel serves as a catalyst for all of us to do great work in the years ahead.
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SUZANNE ROBERTS DEAN OF ACADEMICS
Trustees Matt Dwyer ’71, Keith Angel ’75, and John O’Neill ’57.
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Rachel, the opportunities before you today are most exciting. We ask you to push our institutional capabilities and ambitions; motivate the intellectual, physical, and spiritual growth of our students; and develop the talents of our faculty.
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ROBERT H. STEERS ’71 PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Rachel Stone.
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Cullen, Jim, Rachel, and Kip Stone.
Fourth Formers Laila Kelly, Nikki DeCola, Kasey Celniker, Max Cotier, and Jacob Finkel-Hozer enjoy the spirit of Canterbury history in the making.
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Friend of the school Bob Martin and former trustee and Board president John Duffy ’59.
Ann Cuddy Thomsen ’78 with classmates Lisa Cortina and trustee Dorothy Alpert.
Doug Bergner ’10 with his grandmother Hope Carter, former Board president.
Trustee Nell Lennon Williams ’81 and Vicky Omeltchenko ’79.
Former Blair Academy dean of academics Sam Bacon, Carlton Tucker ’73, Peter Tucker ’78, president of the Canterbury Society of Alumni.
New Milford mayor David Gronbach and David Sullivan ’77.
Norman Noel ’74 converses with retired faculty member Jules Viau.
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Eight individuals, two teams, and one coach added to Canterbury’s Athletics Hall of Fame.
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JJ Gilbane, John Gilbane ’74, Julie Schwerzmann Gilbane ’74.
Brianne N. Baker ’02, director of athletics Jim Stone.
Elle Joubert, Jacques ’90 and Liz Rubin ’90 Joubert.
Charlie Coudert ’49 receives his Hall of Fame plaque.
2016 INDUCTION CLASS October 8 Copley Library Individual Athletes Charles F. Sweeny ’28 (posthumously) (Golf) Charles O. Coudert ’49 (Football) Robert F. Spagnola ’73 (Wrestling) Bob Spagnola ’73 and wife Gina.
John D. Gilbane ’74 (Lacrosse) Christopher G. Adams ’77 (Cross-Country, Track & Field) Jacques P. Joubert ’90 (Ice Hockey) Jennifer Tolli ’98 (Lacrosse) Brianne N. Baker ’02 (Soccer) Coach Walter J. Burke Jr. (Cross-Country) Teams 1980 Varsity Football 1991 Boys’ Varsity Lacrosse
Walter Burke, Jim Stone.
Ross Moscatelli ’91 speaks on behalf of his 1991 Boys’ Varsity Lacrosse teammates. L-r: Brian Whalen ’91, Dylan Ade ’91, Eric Trach ’91, Sam Connelly ’91, Jim Flynn ’92, Michael Simonelli ’92.
Chris Adams ’77.
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Members of the undefeated 1980 Varsity Football team. L-r: Ken Rigney ’82, Chuck Frydenborg ’82, Tom Esposito ’80 (non-member), Tony Walters ’81, Peter Leonard ’81, Joel Steensen ’81, Tom Cahill ’81, Ed Dunn ’81, BJ Landers ’81, Jeff Jayson ’82, Curt Cannata ’82.
Football players welcome teammate Mike McCabe ’81.
Paul Haire ’73, John McDonnell ’74, Michael Burke ’78, Scott Kelly ’74.
Kevin Burke ’79, Nicole Vanasse Burke ’75, Walter Burke, Liz Burke, Maureen Burke Mester ’83, Sean Burke ’78, Kathleen Burke King ’82, Spencer King.
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Allyson Ade, wife of Dylan ’91, with sons Matthew and Sean.
Pat Filan ’74 peruses a 1974 issue of “The Tabard”, the school newspaper.
Chris Adams ’77 and his mom, Sally.
Mal Cleary ’75 and Tom Martiska ’76 congratulate their Canterbury cross-country coach Walter Burke.
Peter Leonard ’81 and son Peter.
Dean of students Peter LaVigne, Jacques Joubert ’90.
Thomas Peer, husband of Elaine Mullen Peer ’77, head of school Rachel Stone, president of the Society of Alumni Peter Tucker ’78.
Loretta Costello, mother of the late Anthony Costello ’91, who was a member of the undefeated 1991 Boys’ Varsity Lacrosse team, John Burke, faculty member Frank Bice ’77.
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Going, Going, Gone The benefit auction is a highly anticipated part of fall Parents’ Weekend. Thanks to the generous support of our parent community, the proceeds sustain programs that directly benefit our students and faculty. All while having a night full of goodwill and enthusiasm for Canterbury.
Cathy Heller.
Stephen Dowler and Mara Dowler, Tim Helmig and Laura Helmig.
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Vlad Papov, Lisa Moisan, Carol Papov, Sue Sheehy.
Faculty Chris Roberts, George Trach.
Ann Fisher and Director of Advancement Glenn Schwitter, Nancy Hawley, auction co-chair.
Trustee Dan Kaiser.
Philippa Poli.
Alison Chace.
Amy and Matt Hoeniger.
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Angela Toner, Susie Bonvouloir, Andrew Toner, Damian Bonvouloir.
Chris Brown.
Genine and Michael McCormick, MaryAnn Garcia and Vincent Garcia.
Tony Capanna.
Frank Poli.
Kevin Hamilton.
Faculty member Keiko Mathewson.
Head of School Rachel Stone thanks guests for their generosity.
James McArdle.
Dan and Kelly Anne Murphy, Michael and Deborah Grissmer.
Ivan Baquerizo.
Maria Dolores Soto and Juan Caripidis.
Trustee Nicole D’Amour Schneider ’93 and husband Todd.
Jacqueline Cassidy and Mark Cavaliere.
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CLASSNOTES
Duchess Harris ’87, Macalaster Professor, Writes about Other Black Female NASA Engineers featured in Movie Tells story of her grandmother and others who helped U.S. win space race. In 1943, Duchess Harris’s grandmother began working at NASA. She was one of 11 black women mathematicians hired when there were no more qualified white men—many were off to war—nor white women available to work on beating the Soviet Union in the space race. Few knew they were there. But astronaut John Glenn did. He sought them out to verify others’ calculations. They were that good. Their story is told in the movie Hidden Figures, starring Janelle Monae, Taraji P. Henson and Octavia Spencer. Harris, a professor and chair of American studies at Macalester College in St. Paul, has written a book about how those black women resisted racism and sexism to support their families and, she said, “to advance a country where they were not full citizens.” That book, which is aimed at middle-school students, is called Hidden Human Computers: The Black Women of NASA. Harris’s grandmother, Miriam Daniel Mann, died two years before Harris was born, but Harris grew up with the stories. We talked with her about these “human computers” and how their work only now is coming to light. Q: Describe the work done by your grandmother and the 10 other women. A: They worked with slide rules doing the calculations to measure the distance and arc for the astronauts’ return. The most fascinating issue was not getting them there; it was their return to Earth [such as hitting the right re-entry trajectory]. Were they going to be able to come back safely? Q: They had human computers double-check the work of the electronic computers? A: Yes, times have changed. Q: You write that when a heavy workload caused black computers to be brought over to work with their white counterparts, they noted that everyone worked together well. Can racism become a nonissue when people with the same skills work toward the same goal? Or does it just get set aside in the service of the job? A: For people who just wanted to get the work done, they could put racism aside. What a lot of people don’t understand about the segregated South is that NASA was not allowed to put the racism aside. [By law, NASA had to provide segregated cafeterias, work areas, bathrooms.]… Eventually, that led to the difference between white
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Reprinted with permission of Star Tribune. Written by Kim Ode.
feminism and black feminism. When the war ended, the white men came back and were able to get good jobs. White women went to the suburbs and were able to stay home. When black men came back from the war, they didn’t have an easy time getting jobs and weren’t able to use their GI Bills to get homes in the suburbs. So, my grandmother kept working at NASA until 1966 because the family needed the money. The black women never left. Q: How did the stories of what your grandmother accomplished become real for you? A: In college, I really started understanding what segregation was, not just socially, but legally. NASA saw that it was in their best interest that no one knew, so the women had a separate entrance and worked in a separate building and had separate bathrooms. Some white computers never knew there were black computers doing the same work. I said to my mother, “This makes no sense.” She said the government wanted to beat the Russians so much, they did whatever they could. Q: You wrote about how your grandmother removed the “Coloreds” sign from the segregated cafeteria, only to have it reappear the next day. A: She did, but when you see the movie, Kevin Costner [who plays the head of a NASA division] is given credit for taking the sign down. [In the movie, it’s a bathroom sign.] My godmother saw an early screening and called. When she asked, “Are you sitting down?” I thought, “Oh, no.” That’s one reason I’m in collaboration with the BBC as part of an online educational project. They’ve showcased my digital archives on their website. I’m an academic, so I want historical accuracy. Q: You’ve written, with Sue Bradford Edwards, another book for middle-schoolers, Black Lives Matter, about the growth and history of that movement. Is there an intersection of the messages in each of these books? A: The intersection is that it’s important for people to know that we have done everything, but people also need to know what the obstacles have been. And that everyone wasn’t brought along for the journey. For my family, my grandfather was a college professor, my grandmother had a college degree. I’m third-generation, college-educated and still in my 40s. What is that if not the black elite? For me to act as if it isn’t is disrespectful for black people who didn’t have those opportunities. Q: Are you frustrated that it’s taken so long for this story to come to light? A: I am an optimist, and I’m just delighted that it’s all happening. I understand why it took so long. My life actually parallels my grandmother’s life. I mean, it’s taken this long for a black woman to write the story that this even happened. We need to liberate all of this. Without the humanities, this story could not be celebrated.
HOMECOMING • OCTOBER 8, 2017
Members of Walter Burke’s cross-country teams honors him upon his being inducted into the Canterbury Athletics Hall of Fame. L-r: Tom Martiska ’76, Joe Viau ’79, Chris Adams ’77, Chris Omeltchenko ’78, Harmon Moats ’75, Walter Burke, Mal Cleary ’75, Kevin Burke ’79, Sean Burke ’78.
Dylan ’91 and Allyson Ade with their sons Sean and Matthew.
Ed Coleman ’74 and Bill O’Connor ’75.
Tom Adams ’74 and classmate Norm Noel look at wrestling team photos from the early 1970s.
George Malhame ’74, Society of Alumni executive committee member, and Dick Gilbane ’69.
Melody Bitkoff, director of annual giving, presents Pat Filan ’74 with the Homecoming raffle prize.
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NEW YORK CITY ALUMNI CHRISTMAS PARTY • DECEMBER 14 • UNION LEAGUE CLUB CLASSNOTES
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Maria Sacco, head of school Rachel Stone, Greg Sacco ’60.
Board president Bob Steers ’71, trustee Mike Carretta ’71, Tony Hume ’71, Michael Seaman ’72.
TC Burke ’77, Will Finn ’07, Society of Alumni executive committee member, George Malhame ’74, Society of Alumni executive committee member, JP Steers ’11.
Fiona Forsyth ’11, Elizabeth Dooley ’10, Briana Berg ’08, Kaley Gibson ’08, faculty member Keiko Mathewson.
Tom Shea ’86, Garvin Hammer ’85, Andy Staib ’86, Kathryn Harvey ’83, Chrissy Rubin ’84, Victoria Doyle ’83.
Raheem Logan ’12, Chris Fernandez ’11, faculty member Amy McKenna Omaña ’86, Freddy Hernandez ’10.
BOSTON ALUMNI CHRISTMAS PARTY • DECEMBER 11 • HARVARD CLUB
Jack Ryan ’71, Steve Coleman ’71, trustee Matt Dwyer ’71, Pat McCarthy ’71.
Michael Burke ’78, Chris Doyle ’67.
Joanna Martiska Woodworth ’77, Carol Lovell Carmody.
Head of school Rachel Stone receives a Red Sox jersey from former trustee and faculty member Bob O’Connor ’76.
Charles R. Huntington Alumni Hockey Game
January 27, 2017
Front row, l-r: Matt Mulhern ’95, Warren Garceau ’06, Jack Ryan ’71, Kurt Garceau ’06, Linus Cooke ’74, Billy Cummings ’09, Jared Garceau ’08, Jamer Breene ’74, Bob Werber ’72, Paddy McCarthy ’94, Mike Polsonetti. Back row, l-r: Niall Cahill ’11, Carolyn Valentine ’11, Ashley Bonner ’11, Greg Szkop ’08, Anthony DiRienzo ’12, Dom Sawaia ’11, Ryan Melvin ’12, Scott Casley ’12, Bernie Rissmiller ’09, Emmett Ryan ’14, James Starr ’98, James Affenito ’14, Leigh Getz ’11.
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CLASSNOTES OBITUARIES Edward C. Steele ’41 Edward C. Steele, Hobe Sound FL, died on December 22, 2016. He was born in Buffalo, NY, on August 17, 1922. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in 1947. Between 1943 and 1946, he served in the U.S. Army and was honorably discharged with the rank of sergeant. He served in both European and Pacific Theaters. His working career was spent primarily as CEO of the Red Wing Company and its subsidiaries. During his sixteen-year tenure as CEO the company had an unbroken annual record of increasing sales and net profits. Red Wing was a leading private label supplier to the grocery chain store industry. Products included: jams, jellies, ketchup, mayonnaise and salad dressings, peanut butter and other specialties. In 1977, he sold the Red Wing Company to RHM Ltd, a major London-based food processor. Past offices and directorships include President and Director of the following: The Red Wing Company, The American Preserve Company, The General Preserve Company, National Preservers Association, Brooks Memorial Hospital and The New York State Canners and Freezers Association. Additionally, he served as a director of the M&T Trust Company of New York, R. Markey and Sons Inc., and Hanover Brands. His past and recent club memberships include The Jupiter Island Club, Seminole Golf Club, Ekwanok Country Club, Everglades Club, The Brook, Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, National Golf Links of America, Southampton Club, The Honors Course, as well as past President of the United States Seniors Golf Association, past Commodore of the Hobe Sound Yacht Club and past President of The Lost Tree Club. In the early 1980s, Ed lent his financial support to the construction of Robert Markey Steele ’72 Hall in honor of his son, Robert, who died in June 1973 of injuries sustained in a bicycle accident. The building opened in January 1984 and contained administrative offices, the dining room, and the David C. Copley ’70 Library. In 2008, Ed made a major gift toward the expansion and renovation of Steele Hall. Since it opened, the building has been the nucleus of school life. Ed was known to many as a man of character, honesty, humor, and generosity. He was modest and kind in both public and private matters. Joan M. Steele, his wife of sixty-six years, and their four children: Edward L. Steele, Anne L. Steele, Susan S. Jennings and Michael C. Steele ’75 survive him. Nine grandchildren, Jenna S. Scanlan, Brooke S. Ricketts, Miles P. Skinner, John B. Hayes III, Andrew S. Hayes, Caitlin C. Hayes, Charlotte M. Steele, Lily C. Steele and Frances J. Steele and three great-grandchildren also survive him. Their son Robert M. Steele ’72 pre-deceased him. Charles R.C. Steers Jr. ’44 Charles R.C. Steers Jr. ’44 of Rye, NY, died on June 22, 2016. Charlie was born in New York City and grew up in Byram, CT. He was a member of the Class of 1950 at Yale University. Charlie proudly served in the U.S. Army in the Pacific from 1944-1946 and in Europe during the Korean War from 1950-1951. After thirty years of service as a vice president at Russell, Burdsall & Ward, he retired in 1978. He finished his career at Travel Anywhere in the commercial travel industry. Charlie has an extensive history in public service having served as trustee, treasurer, and chairman of the executive committee at United Hospital in Port Chester, NY. In addition, he served for many years as vice chairman of the Westchester Classic golf tournament. He was a long time member and former president of the Apawamis Club, the American Yacht Club, the Onteora Club, and the United States Seniors Golf Association.
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Charlie’s wife Peggy, sons Robert ’71 and William ’75, grandchildren William “Macy” ’04, George “Walker” ’09, and John Philip “JP” ’11, cousin Jose M. Ferrer III ’57 survive him. Two cousins, Jose M. Ferrer ’30 and Melchor G. Ferrer ’35, predeceased him. W. Gresham O’Malley III ’50 William Gresham O’Malley III, of Villanova, a Philadelphia businessman and volunteer civic leader, died Sunday, Oct. 16, 2016. Known as “Gresh,” he was born in Philadelphia, the fourth of eight children. He graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1954. While there, he pledged Zeta Psi fraternity and served two terms as its president. His career began at Philadelphia businesses such as L.D. Caulk Co., Cities Service Oil Co., and Provident National Bank. In 1967, he joined Montgomery Scott & Co., and two years later became a partner. In 1971, the firm merged with Janney, Battles & E.W. Clark Inc. to form Janney, Montgomery Scott Inc. Gresh served as senior vice-president and secretary of the merged company and on its executive committee until retiring in 1999. He was a member of the American Stock Exchange and of the stock exchanges in New York, Philadelphia, and Boston. A “pillar” of the Philadelphia business community, Gresh “led organizations in the city with his business acumen, wisdom, integrity and long-term judgment,” his family said in a tribute. He sat on the board of directors of the National Securities Clearing Corp. in New York; the Transportation Mutual Insurance Co. in Boston, and the Quaker City Insurance Co. in Philadelphia. He also served as a trustee of Magee Rehabilitation Hospital and Episcopal Hospital. From 1971 until just before his death, he was trustee to the Ardrossan Estate in Villanova. Mr. O’Malley donated funds to many charities and educational institutions, including St. Malachy School and St. Martin de Porres School, both in Philadelphia. He read widely and was familiar with poetry, art, drama, and history. Near the end of his life, he recited Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s Evangeline from his hospital bed, and listened intently while others read to him once he could no longer speak. A devout Catholic, he had been active for forty years in St. Katharine of Siena Church in Wayne. “His faith permeated who he was and his priorities. [In business] he had to make decisions that were not very popular, but he stuck to his guns because it was the right thing to do,” his sister said. Gresh married Joan Tyler Montgomery Wheeler in 1964. The couple had three children. Besides his wife and sister, children Inez B., William Gresham IV, and Andrew W.; four grandchildren; a brother; and another sister survive him. His brother Shaun F. O’Malley ‘52, a former Canterbury trustee, predeceased him. Anton J. Asman ’52 Anton “Tony” Asman of Marlborough, formerly of New Haven, CT, died on Wednesday, January 11, 2017. After graduating from Canterbury, Tony went on to Georgetown University, where he played soccer. He later graduated from Providence College, where he was an accomplished pitcher for its baseball team. Tony owned and operated The Executive restaurant in Old Saybrook, CT, for several years. He was also a bartender for many years at The Wharf in Madison, CT, and at the New Haven Lawn Club. He was a member of Immaculate Conception parish in Marlborough. Tony was an easy going, fun loving, loyal friend, and an avid sportsman. He was known around town a “Coach Gramps” as he was an assistant coach with his son for Marlborough Girls’ Softball. He was also a spring training coaching assistant for the
University of New Haven baseball team. His son, Eric, two grandchildren, a stepson, Warren Pratt, and wife Patty, and many nieces and nephews survive him. Five sisters and two brothers predeceased him. Manuel G. Pereyo ’52 Manuel G. Pereyo ’52 died on October 27, 2016, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. “I am sure he would want his friends to remember his lively conversations and ability to remember places, names, events, and activities in great detail,” said Betina Castellvi, his daughter-in-law. “He would strike up a conversation with anybody and had the uncanny ability to find some special connection with the person.” His wife Aixa Gomez, two children, and brother Luis Pereyo ’49 survive him. Philip A. Faix Jr. ’54 Philip A Faix Jr. ’54 died on September 22, 2016. He was born in Philadelphia and was the second child of Dr. and Mrs. Philip A. Faix. After graduating from Canterbury, Phil went on to graduate from Yale University and Georgetown University Law Center. He had a passion for literature, music, the Pittsburgh Steelers. He served in the Air Force from 1962 to 1966. Phil was married to Noreen Schaefer-Faix for twenty-five years. His three children survive him. Mark E. Tredennick ’58 Mark E. Tredennick ’58 of Austin, TX, died on June 30, 2016. He graduated from the University of Texas in Austin. In 1965, he married Lynne Buskirk in Midland, TX, and together they had three children. Mark served in the U.S. Marine Corps as a pilot during the Vietnam War and later for Trans World Airlines. He loved to ask probing questions, have deep talks, and had a great sense of humor. He also enjoyed the outdoors and taking his grandchildren on adventures in the woods. The most important thing to him was his family. He was a man of high integrity and served others well and was involved with Kairos Prison Ministry and Mobile Loaves and Fished in the Austin area. His wife, three children, ten grandchildren, four sisters and brother survive him. Guy M. Sava ’61 Guy M. Sava ’61 died on October 13, 2016. He was a retired neurosurgeon who loved to travel and spend time with his family. Guy’s wife, Rose, three children, and eight grandchildren survive him. Richard P. Largay ’65 Richard P. Largay, of Cummaquid, MA, died on April 26, 2016. Born in Waterbury, CT., the son of John and Catherine Largay, he was a graduate of Menlo College (CA), and the University of the Pacific Law School. While he grew up in Connecticut, he spent every summer on Cape Cod, first at Old Silver Beach Village in North Falmouth and later in Osterville. After law school he returned to the Cape and established a law practice in Hyannis. A highly respected lawyer, he was a significant part of the Cape’s legal, business, and civic communities for more than thirty-five years. A generous man, he donated much of his time and talent to civic organizations such as The Barnstable Land Trust, The Cotuit Kettleers, The Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, and Three Bays Preservation where he served as president. He was a member of the Beach Club in Craigville, the Oyster Harbors Club, and the Wianno Yacht Club where he served as Commodore. Richard was a gifted writer, speaker, photographer, sailor, and
fisherman who had an abiding love of Cape Cod and the water. Throughout the summer months, he could be found competing in a sailboat race or fishing for bluefin tuna offshore. He was a good athlete, a sports enthusiast, and a big fan of all of Boston’s professional sports teams, particularly the Red Sox. March Madness was one of his favorite times of the year. He was a man of integrity, without pretense, who was gentle, kind, and thoughtful, with a wonderful sense of humor. He could and would regale you with stories about fishing, sailing or the latest book he had read. His interests were wide ranging. You could count on him as a true friend who always was there to help with limitless generosity. He will be very much missed by all who knew him. He was one of eight children and the favorite uncle of sixteen nieces and nephews. His parents, sister Elizabeth Largay Terenzi ’74, brothers Robert and George ’62, uncle Vincent P. Largay ’49, and two nephews predeceased him. Brother Timothy L. Largay ’61, cousins Paul J. Largay ’75, Vincent B. Largay Jr. ’75, Ann Largay Jeninngs ’83, Harry W. Largay ’65, and godchild Amanda K. Jenkins ’94 survive him. Kenneth S. Nesdale ’65 Kenneth S. Nesdale ’65 died on November 18, 2016. He was a long time resident of New York City. He spent his childhood in Larchmont, NY, where he developed a life-long love for Long Island Sound, sailing, tennis, and gardening. Ken always spoke fondly of his Canterbury classmates, cherished time there, and looked forward to attending reunions. He often spoke highly of the education he received at Canterbury. In 1970, Ken obtained a BA in English and Political Science from Fordham University. He maintained an active interest in history, politics and writing throughout his life and based his career on these interests. He began his career as a legislative assistant for the State of New York under State Senator Anthony B. Gioffre and as a public relations aide to Assemblyman Richard E. Mannix. Ken shifted from politics to the business world where he used his writing skills beginning as a direct mail copywriter and then as an editor of business and professional books at Prentice-Hall, Inc. He moved on to Tiffany & Co., NY, as a corporate communications specialist. Ken became a contributing editor for Export Magazine and developed a column that focused on international commercial conditions including barter and trade. From there he became a proposal development writer/manager creating business proposals for prospective government and commercial clients. In retirement, Ken followed his life-long passion and was in the midst of writing a novel. He also took a series of history courses to feed his fascination with historical events and how these events shaped the world today. Ken is survived by his siblings: John S. Nesdale of New Rochelle, NY, Linda C. Nesdale of Darien, CT and Richard S. Nesdale of Encinitas, CA and brother-in-law Gary D. Bernhardy of Darien, CT and sister-in-law Robin C. Nesdale. He is also survived by his nephew Shane Nesdale of Mamaroneck, NY and niece Leah Nesdale of New Rochelle, NY. Barry S. Patterson ’70 Barry S. Patterson ’70 of Harwinton, CT, died on Saturday, October 1, 2016. He was the husband of Susan (Kozlak) Patterson and the son of Leonore Patterson and the late Irving Patterson. Barry was the president and CEO of The Patterson Oil Company. He loved to sail, work in his vegetable garden, watch hockey games, and especially spend time with his family. In addition to his wife and mother, three sons and a daughter survive him.
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CLASSNOTES OBITUARIES John Dana Smith ’65 John Dana Smith, Dana to all who knew him, passed away suddenly at home on the morning of September 5th, 2016, sitting by his pond under his favorite tree on Prosperity Farm in Vero Beach, FL. He is survived by Mardie, his loving wife of forty-two years; his children: Hannah Walsh and her husband Brian, Simon B. Smith ’97 and his wife Alex; his sister Barbara Skjelfjord; and grandchildren Jed, Owen, and Abigail Walsh. Dana arrived at Canterbury after having graduated from St. David’s School in New York City. Both schools remained very important to him through all of his years. Dana served in the U.S. Army with distinction and bravery as a combat engineer in the conflict in Vietnam, declining a battlefield commission during his tour after deciding he would return to civilian life. His civilian life included a contract as a bodyguard to the Prince of Morocco, a harrowing extended exploration of the Australian Outback, and a hunting safari across the Kenyan countryside. These adventures provided countless stories and legends that thrilled people for years, from kids around cub scout campfires, youth soccer teams he coached, and his children and their friends all throughout their lives. He married Mardie in 1974 and they began their lives and family on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. After several years, the stars aligned for a move to full time life in East Hampton, NY. Here he began a long and successful career as a trusted and beloved financial adviser. He was a long-standing member of The Devon Yacht Club, where he was able to resume his childhood love of sailboat racing. It was also on the bays and harbors of the East End where his love of hunting, shooting, and the breeding and training of Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers truly blossomed. These passions would remain deeply important to him and Mardie for decades, growing even more with their move to Vero Beach Florida in 2008. His deep sense of honor and integrity was a beacon and a rock for so many people whose lives he touched. He was a mentor, a friend, a spiritual adviser, a confidant, and a source of wisdom to all of his friends and family, and sometimes even virtual strangers. His family and friends will all miss his humor, his wit, his compassion, his love, and his advice on Paleo living. In addition to his wife and son, cousins John T. Smith ’60, Gerard L. Smith ’64, Hugh M. Smith ’72, Courtland C. Smith Stevens ’01, Gerard C. Smith II ’04, and Margaret R. Smith ’06 survive him. Gregory B. Smith ’30, his father; Gregory B. Smith Jr. ’63, his brother; Gerard C. Smith ’31, his uncle; and Brendan Shanley ’67, a cousin, pre-deceased him. Stephen B. Epifano ’67 Stephen B. Epifano, a lifetime resident of Fairfield, CT, died on July 3, 2016. After graduating from Canterbury, he attended Babson College. He was an accomplished builder and a vice president at E&F Construction Company in Bridgeport, a commercial building company co-founded by his grandfather, Philip Epifano Sr., in 1922. He then pursued a career in residential building and founded SBE Builders in 1989. Four children, three grandchildren, two nephews, and a brother, Edward F. Epifano ’66 survive him. Craig M. Speight ’83 Craig M. Speight ’83 died on December 14, 2016. He loved to travel and had friends all over the world. Those who knew Craig describe him as a kind and generous man. He grew up on New York City and Bermuda and also lived in Florida and California. Two sons, and a sister and a brother survive him.
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Pamela J. Quoka Pettinella ’03 Pamela J. Quoka ’03, of Oxford, CT, died on May 15, 2016. She was the manager of Pettinella Painting and Maintenance Services of Oxford and had previously worked at Oxford Paint and Hardware. A talented artist, Pamela excelled in faux finishes and interior painting. She loved cars and animals and enjoyed snowmobiling. Her husband, Jared Pettinella, two stepchildren, and several aunts, uncles, and cousins survive her.
Paddle Tennis Tournament Makes a Comeback
An enthusastic group of graduates turned out for a Paddle Tennis tournament at the Manursing Island Club, Rye, NY, on January 26, 2017. Front row, l-r: Anthony George ’78, Michael Burke ’78, Jed Dolce ’01. Middle row, l-r: Frank Taubner ’92, Billy Griffin ’72, director of advancement Glenn Schwitter, Rob Santangelo ’78, Elaine Mullen Peer ’77, Rob Everett ’77, Mari Everett, Peter Sinnott ’85, Tom Shea ’86, Thomas Peer, Alec Woodworth ’11. Back row, l-r: Ed Perley ’76, Bill O’Connor ’75, Stephanie D’Alton Barrett ’76, Peter Tucker ’78 (Society of Alumni president), George Malhame ’74 (Society of Alumni executive committee member), Doug Bergner ’10, Linus Cooke ’74, Jamer Breene ’74, Frank Clemens ’58, Pat Filan ’74, head of school Rachel Stone, president of the Board of Trustees Bob Steers ’71, trustee Doug Famigletti ’90, Matt Heissan ’89, Emmett Brown ’88, director of athletics Jim Stone.
Tournament winners Linus Cooke ’74 and classmate Jamer Breene.
Whether it’s been five or 50 years, return to the hill for Reunion 2017 and relive all that was at the core of your Canterbury experience…friends, faculty, fun, and a lifelong feeling of community.
WWW.CBURY.ORG/REUNION2017 Daytime Programs • Evening Social Events • Alumni Awards and Recognition • Family Fun • Recreational Activities • Special Celebrations for 25th and 50th Reunion Classes
REGISTRATION OPENS APRIL 1 On-campus lodging in the dorms will be available, as well as our Little Saints Camp to help with your childcare needs. Please visit website for list of area hotel accommodations.
Questions? Contact advancement@cbury.org or 800-526-1710 Reunion 2017 is just the start! Explore the many ways to renew your core connections to your classmates and Canterbury School. WWW.CBURY.ORG/CORE
101 Aspetuck Avenue New Milford, Connecticut 06776-2825
PARENTS OF GRADUATES: If this publication is addressed to your son or daughter and he or she no longer maintains a permanent address at your home, please notify the alumni office of his or her new mailing address (800-526-1710 or trice@cbury.org). Thank you.
MARC VANASSE ’73
www.cbury.org
These students received scrolls from head of school Rachel Stone to recognize their induction into the Canterbury Honor Society on February 16, 2017. Front row, l-r: Rachel Stone, Nikhil Trevedi, Aidan (Sung Min) Yoo, Kelly (Yiwei) Hu, Daniel Seitz, Mary Grace Cordtz. Back row, l-r: Steve (Seung Won Park), Benjamin Affenito, Ryan Marks, Matthew Howard, John Dowler, Cameron Mecca, Honor Society advisor Bryan Kiefer.