Class Notes

ALUMNI SOCIETY OF CLASS NOTES

Christopher “Toby” Smith

After 31 years in North Florida (Ponte Vedra), Toby and Mimi have abandoned the pleasures of Florida and returned to residence in Southport, Connecticut, for the final innings of what has been a great ball game. Mimi continues as a master baker and renaissance mother. Toby remains in the practice of law in Connecticut and New York and is honored by continuing requests for legal advice. He wonders about subsequent generations’ ability to manage the complex world with a plethora of moving parts/challenges that he did not face in the ’50s and ’60s. He attaches himself firmly to any one of the stars that he sees that give evidence of this talent. Toby has five children, 12 grandchildren (but only two girls), and the possibility of seeing a few more greats around the corner! Memory still intact, he recalls the election of Fernando Arguellas y Sanchez as our Class President. Also, Toby felt he could not write a note to the Class of ’56 without thanking roommate and best friend James Rodney Briggs ’56 for his constant and gigantic contribution to Canterbury over the past 65 years. Albert Coles

Albie is living in American Samoa.

1958

Antonio Vinals

Antonio celebrated Christmas with his family in Mauritius, where he swam with dolphins and enjoyed great tennis and golf. Happy new year from Antonio!

1959

John Duffy

John is still chugging along and hopes the rest of the ’59ers are healthy and well!

1960

Sean Sloane

Sean was honored by the United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA) in 2020 with the George Bacso Lifetime Achievement Award and was inducted into the South Jersey Tennis Hall of Fame in 2021.

1961

William Schofield

Bill retired in December 2021 from Residential Resources, Inc., a company he started in 1982 with the able assistance of his attorney, classmate, and longtime friend Paul Shea ’61. In addition to selling his company last year, Bill married Randi Ziter of Putney, Vermont, on Columbus Day 2021. Bill and Randi live in an old house (c.1776) in Jaffrey, New Hampshire, with their Labradoodle Ella. Bill has two adult daughters—Amanda Jenkins ’94 and Kate Frerichs ’96—who graduated from Canterbury.

1963

Peter Swift

Peter’s painting entitled “Eight Wood Screws” was acquired by the Seven Bridges Foundation, a private museum in Greenwich, Connecticut, and is now part of the museum’s permanent collection. His work is often exhibited at the Touchstone Gallery on 901 New York Avenue NW in Washington, DC.

1965

Daniel LaChance

One of Dan and Phyllis’s most memorable trips of many in 2021 was attending the Old Guard Reunion and Homecoming in October. They felt that gathering with classmates and spouses, guests, staff, and other alumni was very special and heartfelt. Another related highlight was visiting Dan’s school on St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Antilles School, where he attended for a year before transferring to Canterbury. Dan and Phyllis were blessed to meet and chat with the new Antilles Head of School. Willard “Lee” Beaulac

Lee continues to direct operations at Beaulac Associates LLC, a consulting company based in Rochester, New York, dedicated to modernizing nonprofit delivery systems in U.S. territories in the Caribbean region, particularly providing support for post-natural disaster small/ micro-business operations. Lee and wife Margaret announced the arrival of their fifth grandchild, Ludo Au.

1968

Paul Rowan, Jr.

Paul and Wendy recently moved from Northern California to Oklahoma to be near family and to take advantage of the strong sellers’ market in California. Wendy’s only sibling, sister Hattie, has lived in Oklahoma City for decades.

Michael Carretta

Michael had a great time in September for the 50th reunion of Canterbury’s greatest class, 1971. They set the record for the largest gathering for a 50th reunion. After 37 years in Tranquility, New Jersey, he moved to Bluffton, South Carolina. Come and visit!

1972

Michael Seaman

Michael is very excited for his 50th reunion for the class of 1972 this coming October. He is very proud of the fact that he has seven wonderful, delightful grandchildren. He feels it is a joy to be able to return them to their parents after having a great day with them. Michael says it is great to see that Canterbury is thriving! John Ringstad

John and Mimi’s youngest daughter Tess is graduating from Baltimore’s Mount de Sales Academy this Spring and will be joining her sister Kate on the field hockey team at Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry, New York.

John Sargeant

John is now the exclusive fashion stylist for his first grandchild, Gia Amor Sargeant. Edward Spaeth

Ed is sad to share the news that Michael G. Schneider ’76 passed on November 28, 2021, in Panama City, Florida. Mike was his first cousin and the last of five family members to graduate from Canterbury. He had been suffering from several ailments for years and moved to Florida just a couple of months ago. He is predeceased by Edward’s brother, Donald ’65, and will be greatly missed by his brother Edwin ’68 and Edward’s other brother Peter ’70. Edward hopes all of his schoolmates are well and enjoying life.

1976

Miguel Rovira

Miguel’s family had a lot happening in 2021. His father, Miguel Ernesto Rovira, passed away on April 16, 2021. His health started failing in early 2021 after a car accident, and he was unable to regain his health. Miguel’s oldest daughter, Victoria Rovira, married Josh Pruett on December 17, 2021, in Puerto Rico. He asks Jeff Mulhall ’76 and Bill Haxo ’76 to “keep in touch and hope to ski together this ski season in Salt Lake City,” where he resides. Miguel is looking forward to his 50th Reunion.

Timothy Farrell

Tim and Michael Woods ’12 (nephew of Tim’s classmate Ed Carney) recently connected at the Kiva Club, Tim’s squash club in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Stephen Knoblock

Steve is finally retiring after 30 years as a Test Pilot and is ready to spend more time with his grandkids and volunteer diving at the Georgia Aquarium. Victoria “Veek” (Greenspan) Newton

Vicki has been living in Austin, Texas, for more than 25 years, working in IT and Operations for a variety of high tech companies. She’s currently at Nokia. She and her husband Jack are enjoying an active empty-nester lifestyle with their dogs, Noodle and Banjo. Their daughter Alexandra recently passed the Massachusetts Bar and is working for a firm in Boston. Their son Emmett works as a Software Engineer in Austin. Veek stays in touch with Regina Dalton ’80 and Ann Cuddy Thomsen ’78, her BFFs from her Canterbury days!

1981

Joseph Novella

Class of ’81 40-year reunion golf outing, left to right: Joe Novella, Matt Glaser, John Ivimey, Tony Walters, Nell (Lennon) Williams, John Harding, Kathy (Leonard) Murray, B.J. Landers, Matt Lahvis, Victoria Bundonis Rovin, and Annie deVeer. John Harding

John and Susan welcomed their first grandchild, Rowan Lynn Harding, on September 1, 2021.

Selkirk “Tony” Walters

Tony continues to lead the New York State Unified Court System’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion, an office tasked with oversight of more than 300 courthouses and 14,000 employees across New York State. He was also recently named to the Executive Committee of Canterbury’s Society of Alumni. Finally, Tony sends an enthusiastic shout-out to the Class of ’81, especially those who attended and made the 40th reunion absolutely amazing.

1982

Benjamin Bristol

Ben is doing well, working as a doctor, a medical examiner, and having fun with his girlfriend Maria in his free time. He lives in Pleasantville, New York.

Michael Kelley

Mike has operated a construction conglomerate for the last 30 years. He stays in touch with many Canterbury

1981

Victoria Bundonis Rovin

Just before the pandemic hit, Victoria moved to Guilford, Connecticut, where she continues to do voiceovers and longs for the return of live theater. Her 40th Canterbury reunion on campus in June, dinners with ’81ers, pre-reunion Zooms, and lively post-reunion text chains have been a happy highlight in these crazy times. classmates and says he meets wonderful alumni through the School. He loved Canterbury and the people who attended there, and he considers them his closest friends. Always a Saint!

Joseph Kovacs

Joe, an author and award-winning journalist who grew up on the hill above the New Milford Green, released his fourth book on January 25, 2022. Titled Reaching God Speed: Unlocking the Secret Broadcast Revealing the Mystery of Everything, the book explains how everything we experience in life is based on the Bible. Perhaps best known for his Shocked by the Bible series, Joe has run newsrooms at network TV and radio stations across America and was an editor for the Budapest Business Journal in Hungary. He now lives in South Florida with his wife, Adrienne.

Jennifer Michels

Jennifer is a sixth-grade teacher at Chicago City Day School, although she has moved to Saugatuck, Michigan. Her daughter Holly, who lives in Denver, was married last year and is due with a baby girl this June. Her son Chaz has moved back to Chicago.

1986

Kimberly (Gallup) Bracken

Kimberly lives in Melbourne, Australia, with her three children. She has lived in Australia for 10 years now and, apart from being in the most locked-down city in the world, she loves living Down Under. Kimberly’s eldest daughter, Abigail, is starting ninth grade, the same year Kimberly started at Canterbury. Her daughter is an accomplished state swimmer and hopes to make the Australian National Swim Team. Kimberly also has nine-year-old twins (Isla and William) who are starting fourth grade. They, too, are very involved in sports and play Netball and Australian Rules Football. One day Kimberly would love to travel back to the U.S., show her children the beautiful Canterbury campus, and reconnect with some of her old classmates at a reunion.

1988

Alana (Henry) Kagan

Alana and her family have moved to Seattle, Washington, from Los Angeles and are enjoying their new home in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.

1992

Patricia (Sordoni) Rasmussen

Patricia ran into Alex Vetter ’89 at a basketball tournament at the Hill School in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. She felt it was so great to catch up after 30 years! Patricia sends a big shout out to Coach Brian Baudinet, Canterbury School’s Boys’ Basketball Coach. Go Saints! Elise (Godinez) Kern

Elise was hired by Aromyx as Senior Vice President of Data and Insights. Aromyx is a Silicon Valley company applying biotechnology and data science to capture unique taste and smell sensory data. They work with retailers and consumer goods companies to objectively measure taste and smell data and leverage it for insights on consumer perceptions and preferences.

2007

Monique Gallant

In the spring of 2021, Monique Gallant completed a Master of Science in Emergency Management degree from the Massachusetts Maritime Academy. Last fall, she accepted a position with the Federal Emergency Management Agency as an Emergency Management Specialist in the Recovery Division of Region 10. She looks forward to helping communities recover from disasters and to traveling throughout Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Alaska!

1983

Michelle French-Fiske

Michelle married on September 27, 2021, on Manzanita Beach, Oregon. She had a small family wedding with her almost-17-year-old son, Presley, walking her down the sandy beach.

Gregory Szkop Gregory (third from the left, front) was surrounded by his Canterbury brothers at his wedding to Janie Jannitto Szkop on August 28, 2021. Left to right: Anderson McMaster ’08, Kurt Garceau ’06, Billy Cummings ’09, Pasha Kozhokin ’07, Warren Garceau ’06, Robert DiNicola ’07, and Jared Garceau ’08.

Samantha Buzaid

Samantha relocated to Los Angeles and started a new job as the Head of Real Estate Operations for an international hospitality and amenity management company. Kate (Briscoe) Collins

Kate and her husband Chris were thrilled to welcome their first child, Christopher Chip Sheldon Collins, Jr., on September 14, 2021. They are looking forward to relocating from Seattle back to the east coast in 2022 to be closer to family and friends. Ashley Gangi-Petit

Ashley married Zachary Petit on April 16, 2020, and received her Ph.D. in English Literature from the University of Connecticut last December.

Nicole (Gangi) O’Connell

Nikki married Philip O’Connell on October 23, 2021, at The Chapel of Our Lady. They were thrilled to return to campus and celebrate with family and friends.

Keeshia (Laus) and Joseph Cimaglia Keeshia married Joseph in Key West, Florida, on July 10, 2021. Alongside them are members of the Canterbury Class of 2010—Hillary Buzaid, Holly Fraser, Ariana Della Torre, Lauren Granchelli, Tannaz Sedghi, and Sydney Putnam.

2012

Josef Najm From high school sweethearts to marriage—Josef and Taylor Garre, who met through mutual friend Lindsey Marra ’12 more than 10 years ago, officially tied the knot on October 23, 2021! The wedding party included many friends and family from Canterbury—Nadia Najm ’08, Alyssa Najm ’10, Krista O’Gara ’12, Seth Menghi ’12, Sean Owens ’12, Ryan Healy ’12, and Peter Berry ’13. Also in attendance were Canterbury alumni Feng Ye ’12, Thomas Harrison ’12, Mason Page ’12, Bobby O’Gara ’12, John O’Gara ’12, Mike Balcom ’12, and, of course, Lindsey Marra ’12! Josef was also recently named to the Executive Committee of Canterbury’s Society of Alumni.

Ashley (Bonner) Kindschi

Ashley and her husband Steven welcomed their first child, Charlotte Catherine Kindschi, on September 25, 2021.

2013

Megan Schroeder

Meghan is living in McKinney, Texas, and married Chase Johnson in 2020.

2014

Victoria (Rio) Myers

Victoria married Daniel Keller Myers on October 3, 2021, in Cape May, New Jersey. Grace (Mannix) Barney ’14 was her Matron of Honor.

2018

Riley Burns Riley was selected to represent Quinnipiac University’s Athletic Training program by receiving an internship with the Carolina Panthers for the 2022-2023 NFL season. Riley is one of two students awarded an NFL opportunity through this Semester Away clinical offering. In his specific program, Riley has worked with various Quinnipiac teams ranging from Cross Country, Track & Field, Acrobatics and Tumbling, Men’s Soccer, and Women’s Basketball, and participated in an NCAA Division 1 Football preseason experience at the University of Colorado in Boulder. Riley is currently performing student Athletic Training duties at Cheshire Academy for the remainder of the 2021-22 academic year. He is expected to graduate from Quinnipiac in May 2023.

2021

Lida Coco

Lida won the All-Rookie Team All-Conference NE10 and Third Team All-Conference NE10 for Field Hockey at Bentley University. Way to go, Lida!