stay connected... in Davis Hall in McKeen Hall, plus the talking circle and the Abbot Tea, which were held on the third floor of Abbot Hall (where we used to have chapel). There, they have one of the old benches we used to sit on, as well as a picture of Abbot girls attending chapel. There were two films shown that were thoughtprovoking. On Thursday afternoon we viewed Regular Guys, a film about the Andover experience, directed by Kevin Rafferty ’65. On Saturday afternoon The Girls of Abbot: A Memoir, a film by Charlie Stuart ’62, was screened. Along with the class-facilitated discussions, these provided many talking points during the entire weekend.
PHILLIPS Ely “Terry” Kahn 243 West 60th St., Apt. 7D New York NY 10023 917-575-1514 ejkahn3@gmail.com
A few months ago, in the book of essays published in conjunction with our 50th Reunion, Mark Carnevale wrote that he reluctantly had begun attending these events 40 years earlier, at the insistence of wife Penny. “Working with classmates (many of whom I hardly knew at PA) has proved interesting and fun, and even educational,” he observed, also noting, “No grandkids (we’re still too young).” A reunion cochair and catalyst for the success of our mid-June gathering (you can see the pleased look on his face in the photo shot by Tom Hafkenschiel), Mark unexpectedly and shockingly died two months later. He was indeed too young. Many of us shared the e-mail chain initiated by close friend Don Shepard and Penny and Mark’s daughter Cassie; we were able to follow the tragic progress of what initially had been assessed as an infection to the eventual diagnosis of cancer of his brain stem and Mark’s passing on Aug. 24. Online tributes quickly followed from Mac McCabe, Doug Pirnie, Jud Brown, Ben Jerman, Joe Magruder, and Nick Marble, among others. Particularly eloquent was Ralph Swanson, who commented following news of the diagnosis: “Mark is one of the most enthusiastic and dedicated members of our class whom I’ve been privileged to know. He made coming to reunions—or even joining the planning committee—something I actually looked forward to. He certainly did not disappoint in displaying these qualities this time around. He has the sense of humor and earnest interest in what he was doing that one must have to organize people successfully and get them to do, willingly and enthusiastically, what they might otherwise have just as well skipped. That is a talent I wish I had... . He is just a really good man.” I was one of those who, as he wrote in our reunion book, Mark did not know well at Andover. Nor have we had much contact since. So I asked
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Penny if she could share her thoughts on Mark’s connection to our class and our school, and its importance to him. “Mark always treasured the time he was able to spend with friends old and new at the PA reunions,” Penny responded. “His goal in working on the reunions was to make each one a terrific experience for his classmates. He was delighted each time someone who was at their first reunion would tell him that they wouldn’t miss another one! It was the highest compliment they could give him. “He and his friends on the reunion committee would spend hours with each other on the phone and via e-mail as they planned out all the details,” she added. “There was a lot of fun and laughter as they prepared for the reunions. One of his most cherished possessions was his book of the committee’s compiled ‘Andoverlys’—the many different phrases that they created (to replace ‘sincerely’) before their signatures: ‘Andoverly, Mark.’ The 50th Reunion was very important to him, and he didn’t want to miss a single minute of it. He was so glad to be with everyone and to enjoy the activities that the committee and all the volunteers put so much effort into. He reported back that, with the exception of Tunket [Spaulding]’s wrist injury, the 50th Reunion was a complete success!” Ave atque vale, Mark Carnevale. Now, and again at our 55th, you will be missed and remembered. There is no easy transition from the above, but the story of Hope and Mike Hudner’s renewal of their marriage vows last summer brings—forgive the pun—hope. Hope is waging a courageous fight against a brain cancer first discovered last winter. Her radiation therapy has taken a toll that, several months later, she’s begun recovering from. Hope and Mike had been planning for some time to renew their vows, and—with daughter Bay’s assistance—set the date for July 11, with a reception to follow, themed around Hope’s favorite song from their courtship era, “Midnight at the Oasis.” “We set up a big tent,” Mike told me, “that could have been something you’d have seen on the Silk Road—cushions, lots of color, and of course, a band. A friend mentioned she knew Maria Muldaur, who made the song a hit, and that perhaps she could come and perform. Amazingly, it turned out she’d be in the Northeast and would do that. So, without telling Hope, we arranged for the bandleader, when he announced the song, to explain that their singer wasn’t available and to ask if anyone in the audience could perform it. Everyone went silent with embarrassment, knowing how important the moment was. Then Maria rose from the crowd and said, ‘I can.’ Hope’s jaw dropped two feet.” Muldaur sang three songs, fireworks ended the evening (which was attended by, among many others, Greg Richards and Geoffrey Davis ’66, who had introduced the couple in the early ’70s), and now Hope’s health is returning. Some other quick notes: Charlie Sheldon reports that he’s “taken up scribbling tales while at sea or between trips ashore,” and that his first effort—which was briefly available on amazon.
com—is being revised. “It’s now part of a full novel that is, in turn, part of three full novels, and I’m still working on them,” Charlie updated us. “Will be probably until I am dead. It’s a good way to spend time.” Peter Constantineau celebrated his latest birthday with an eight-mile trip up and down New Hampshire’s Mount Moosilauke, by— show-off—bike. Ed Samp has final fundraising totals for our reunion-year efforts: 120 donors (58 percent participation) giving $813,461. Very well done. And speaking of fundraising, Konnie “Yank” Yankopolus completed his cross-country bike ride to raise $200,000 (and awareness) for stem cell research (read all about it at www.cycleforstemcells. com). Kit Meade joined Yank on the 106-mile leg from Indiana to Ohio. Finally, another sad note: Scott Keller passed away on July 7 in Cocoa, Fla. An avid skier and outdoorsman, Scott lived in Aspen, Colo., most of his adult life. In its obit, the Aspen Times noted, “A true animal lover, Scott was happiest with four dogs in the yard or on the porch overlooking Snowmass Creek.” A nice image to be remembered by.
1966 50th REUNION June 9–12, 2016
ABBOT
Blake Hazzard Allen 481 School St. Rumney NH 03266 603-786-9089 603-359-0870 (cell) blakemanallen@gmail.com pakistan.partnership@gmail.com
Writing on a crisp September day for the winter 2016 issue, with planning under way for our 50th Reunion, thanks to you all for contributions to ensure a customized AA ’66 experience. That also entails a committee of intrepid classmates who offered to undertake programming responsibilities. As of September, it consisted of Blake Hazzard Allen, Lizzie Compton, Karen Fuller, Marcia Watson Goldberg, Peigi Donaghy Huseby, Beth Humstone, Bethe Moulton, Pinky Rock Noll, Lucy Thomson, Barbara Corwin Timken, and Ruth Sisson Weiner. However, the group remains fluid and open. Please feel free to join and participate at any time, including the reunion dates, June 9–12. As we work with Andover partner Judy Davis and PA ’66 counterparts, Ruth Weiner’s tagline of “Abbot@Andover” encapsulates class feedback. With student interest as a catalyst, partially spurred by the vitality of girls’ leadership dialogues, the development of the Abbot Academy Engagement Initiative (AAEI) serves as a similar all-Abbot locus. AAEI provides a fresh perspective on dual historic roots, the long-term impact of the 1973 merger, and the multifaceted institutional continuity of the rich