www.andover.edu/classnotes PHILLIPS Gordon Baird 27 Fort Hill Ave. Gloucester, MA 01930 978-283-0390 Gordon@rampartsfarm.com
Dear John Barclay, “It is with a heavy heart that I tell you that Kit Rawson made it over his last hill today just before noon, Aug. 3, after suffering a major heart attack on Sunday afternoon, July 30. He was calm and peaceful and in no pain. The three of us were holding his hands and sending him in peace. Please let others know and I will keep you informed as we make plans. The Andover gang is amazingly close after nearly 50 years and I have met a number of you. I appreciate the support I have been getting and know that Kit will be with you in spirit at the reunion.” —Kathy Rawson “There is no real or distinctive ‘I met Kit…’ story for me. Somehow when I got to Andover I was destined to meet classmates who were willing to break rules. Kit seemed like that kind of guy to me, for some reason. So I recall smoking cigarettes and later a little pot. We seemed to gravitate to a similar attitude of challenging whatever we were supposed to challenge on any given day. If we were angry young men, I would be hard pressed today to answer what for. But it seemed that way. We played football together and for a long while I thought that is why Peter McKee, our housemaster and coach, liked Kit so much. It was later on that I really came to appreciate that it was Kit’s intellect and his gift for math and science that made Peter McKee think so very much of Kit. Peter McKee was an amazing judge of character and ability. In January of 1969 I was in New York for the month. The pretense was for study. But it was really a last escape for me. I spent much of that month with old Andover classmates who were at Columbia. A lot of extracurricular activity at the time. A lot of laughter. And a major dose of Kit’s endless curiosity and energy. Between Peter Quinlan’s recent photos and the memories I have of Kit from those old days, a few things keep coming back to me. Kit’s posture. In every image, be it photographic or burned into memory, he is leaning forward. He is leaning into the frame. And smiling broadly. Always. There is a kinetic energy about this. And just to make certain…I churn through memories of walking. To commons for a meal…to chapel for another kind of meal. To classes. To Saint John The Divine for sunrise. To a distant place to grab a meal while on a bike ride. Kit’s gait was one of complete enjoyment of the journey. Or maybe just the activity itself. He had what some might call a “spring in his step.” I thought it more of a bounce. A real bounce. This guy had energy and joy to burn. And places to go. And miles and miles and miles to ride. For the last year Kit had been planning a long bike ride…from
Ft. Lauderdale to Andover… finishing at GW on June 7, 2018. This of course, the opening day of our 50th Reunion. Peter Quinlan plans to join in Richmond. John Buchanan and Skip Jensen have both suggested joining the peloton in Norfolk CT. There was so much going on inside Kit’s head it is a wonder he could keep contained. Unsurprisingly, we only got exposed to a fragment of that. Few problems in this world were beyond his capabilities. The loss is huge. And the gaping hole left behind will be lasting. If I can do anything to help fill up that hole it will have to be to adopt a little more of the energy and a little more of the excitement that Kit will leave to us to manage. As I wrote to Kathy, I will always have a powerful memory of Kit pedaling up the steepest grade I’d ever encountered as if it was a Sunday afternoon ride around the block. Quinlan warned me of this. As Kathy and I pushed our bikes a few hundred yards behind, we looked up as he disappeared over the rise around a sweeping right hand curve…” —John Barclay Although I’ve never contributed to Andover magazine, I always look forward to receiving it and reading about my classmates. I live in Honolulu and I cross paths with Rich Proctor from time to time. I plan to attend our 50th Reunion next year. Anyway, I may be late to the party regarding Sherman Drake stories, but I have one very distinct memory of him. He was my geometry teacher and our class was held on (I think) the third floor of one of the smaller buildings near the Commons. I thought he was a good and enthusiastic teacher, but he had high expectations of his students (do your homework, follow the discussion, etc.) One day (late afternoon, early evening) he, for some reason that I don’t recall, became infuriated with Mike Copley and proceeded to grab Mike’s textbook and throw it out the window. Other than the ensuing silence in the classroom, I don’t remember much of what subsequently transpired. Presumably Mike retrieved his textbook after class ended. I have many fond memories of my experience at Andover, but this one has always stuck in my mind (perhaps because I came from a small town in central Ohio where teachers didn’t do this sort of thing). What an eye opener. Hope to see everyone next year at the 50th. —Henry “Hank” O’Neill It took Stan Crock a while to figure out how to edit a Wikipedia entry, “but I finally updated Scooter Libby’s entry. It now reflects not only that he was reinstated to the bar, but also the Disciplinary Counsel’s finding that there was credible evidence to support his assertion of innocence. The update is in the entry for Scooter Libby and the entry for United States v. Libby. I included my conflict of interest disclosure, that I had worked briefly for the defense team a decade ago and have known Scooter for decades.”
1969 ABBOT Sheila Donald Millington 5271 West Boniwood Turn Clinton, MD 20735 smilling192112@yahoo.com 301-868-1631
I am happy to bring news from our class. Looking forward to hearing from many of you in the future. The News for this period is a bit lacking; as a matter of fact, I’ve only received one update. Is it possible, there was no call for news issued? I certainly hope not! However, if that is the case, I apologize and I will glean what I can from Facebook. You can send updates that would have been sent, had you received a reminder, and they will be placed in the next issue. Jennifer Cecere continues her public art display. This time during August, 2017 in Bellport, NY. The display is titled Summer Whites. This was our only submission! Information may still be obtained from info@marqueeprojects.org. Katrina Moulton Wollenberg went to Italy, as seen on Facebook. Perhaps, in our next issue, she can provide highlights of her trip. Lindsay Whitcomb indicated on Facebook “I’m doing very well according to docs, even if I do have a few unpleasant issues. New haircut feels great. I’m so glad to have enough hair to cut! And I asked Bob if he would buy me a Timex watch because every time I look at it I’m reminded of how strong I am. I remember how John Cameron Swayze used to pitch for them with “It takes a licking and keeps on ticking” And so do I!” Yeah Lindsay! I (Sheila Donald Millington) am proud to announce the marriage of my oldest son. He held out for a long time!
PHILLIPS Hugh Kelleher 12 Atwood St. Newburyport, MA 01950 617-448-8073 hughkelleher1@gmail.com DATELINE: Anchorage, Alaska… Caught the last
train of the season to Denali National Park with one of my brothers, Neil, who looks like Johnny Carson and just might be as funny. He played several really stupid jokes on me, most of which are too embarrassing to mention in these pages. Now I am at a conference of the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials, on whose board of directors I serve. This is my third visit to the 49th state, the first having been in the summer of 1970, when a friend and I were nearly murdered just down the street from my current hotel. (The guy subsequently burned the house down.) Alaska back then was filled with some very weird dudes. That’s another story. Suffice to say that this trip has been a bit less dramatic, and much more congenial. Andover | Winter 2018
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