Class of 2012
Hannah Fung-Wiener’s poem, Pact, won this year’s Mary Barnard Academy of American Poets Prize at Reed College. FungWeiner wrote Pact for her creative writing class using this list of 10 nouns: brick, chair, artichoke, branch, pine, shrapnel, paper, avocado, corn, and iguana.
Class of 2014
Lily Mae Oppenheim travelled to London, England last May to work with record producer Steve Brown (Laura Mvula, Rumor) and talent manager Kwame Kwaten. Lily will return to London to complete her album in the fall. Lily played to a full house at The Firefly Music Festival, one of the premier music festivals in the country.
Former Faculty
Liz and Les Clifford are retiring after a forty-year career in education, which included teaching at Solebury School for one year. As the reality of their retirement settled in, they both have reflected, with gratitude, on the rewards of a very fulfilling lifetime spent teaching English and Math. Additionally, Les looks back on his time spent coaching basketball, baseball and soccer as having been important parts of his career, while Liz points to many positive experiences with her literary magazine and yearbook staffs. They will continue to reside in their current home in Pittsfield, MA.
Births
Brittany Korn Winfeld ’02 and her husband Matthew are the proud parents of Hunter Winfeld. Hunter was born February 19, 2014.
Bruce Friedman ’75 is a grandfather. Lucian Augustus Coppola Cage was born in Santa Monica, CA on July 1, 2014. Jim Sienkiewicz, former faculty member, and his wife are the proud parents of Ixchel Maria Sienkiewicz, born on June 22, 2014.
Deaths
Jeffrey Hamilton ’74 9/16/1956 – 6/24/2014 Jeff was born in IdarOberstein, Germany, but he was a lifelong resident of the New Hope-Solebury area. After graduating from Solebury School, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in social anthropology at Stan-
ford University. At 19, Jeff left America to live with the Mbuti pygmies in the Ituri Rainforest in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, formerly called Zaire. His experiences were recorded in his book, Going Native, which he published under the pen name of J.J. Bone. His second published book was How to Self Publish or Perish. Jeff owned and operated The Marquis of Debris, a estate cleanout company. His annual barn sale was a highly anticipated Bucks County event and was eagerly attended by area residents, collectors, and bargain hunters. He was a man of many interests. He loved to cook and was known for his outdoor lamb and pig roasts. He had a “perfect pitch” palette, and could identify all the ingredients in any complicated dish he tasted. He enjoyed travel, and spoke both French and Swahili. Barbara Montagu Johnstone ’55 3/23/1937 – 4/22/2014 Barbara Montagu Johnstone, daughter of the late Ashley and Marjorie Montagu, died April 22, 2014. Barbara was born in New York and attended Bradford Junior College after graduating from Solebury School. She traveled extensively in Europe with Robin Johnstone, whom she married in 1963. In 1962 she worked as a personal secretary to the director of the photo lab at Life magazine. She moved to the South of France and lived there from 1970 to 1978. During that period she worked for Paul Gallico, founder of the Golden Gloves and renowned author of many books about animals, as well as Lili and The Poseidon Adventure, both of which were made into successful movies. She returned to the United States and moved to Los Angeles, where she worked for the president of an independent film distribution company. In 1992 she returned to care for her parents. She was a staunch advocate for animal rights both in Princeton and Los Angeles. In recognition of her efforts, she was awarded the Certificate of Merit from Animal Press in 1992. Judith Goldstein Joseph ’60 8/16/1943 – 2/21/2014 Judith passed away on February 21, 2014 after a long, brave struggle against Lou Gehrig’s disease (A.L.S.). Judith was a graduate of University of Pennsylvania (B.A.), Drexel University (M.S.L.S.) and the Rutgers
School of Law (J.D.) She worked as a librarian at the Library of Congress and LaSalle University. After graduating from law school, she worked as an attorney in private practice with her husband in Philadelphia. During that time, she helped found Women Against Abuse, an organization which started Philadelphia’s first shelter for battered women. She moved to Vermont in 1991 where her career continued to flourish. She worked at a shelter for victims of domestic violence, Women Helping Battered Women, in Burlington and then became a deputy State’s Attorney in Franklin County, prosecuting crimes of domestic violence and sexual assault. Later she became coordinator for the state-wide Vermont Network against Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence. Her life was devoted to her family and serving the interests of human dignity, peace, and justice. She was a life-long member of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), and served as co-President of the Jane Addams Peace Association (JAPA) for three years until November, 2013. In the last two years, she worked as a volunteer attorney at the Vermont Refugee Resettlement Center. Betty Blackburn Tjossem 3/13/1933 – 4/20/2014 Betty Louise Blackburn Tjossem passed away peacefully on Easter Sunday, April 20th, 2014. She was 81. Betty was born in Santa Monica, CA, on March 13, 1933. After graduating in 1951 from Roslyn High School on Long Island, NY, Betty enrolled at what is now the State University of New York at New Paltz, where she received a BS in Education in 1964. She married Albert Beard and raised her children in New Paltz, where she began her teaching career in the public schools in 1965. Betty pursued graduate study, receiving the first Master of Arts degree offered by SUNY New Paltz in English Literature in 1969. She went on to teach at Beacon High School, Beacon, NY. Betty taught for two years at Ulster Academy in Kingston, followed by a nine-year stint at Oakwood Friends School, in Poughkeepsie, NY, where she met Norm Tjossem. In 1983, Betty and Norm moved to Bucks County, PA, where she continued teaching at Solebury School until her retirement in 1999. In addition to a rich career as an English teacher, Betty was a pianist, church organist, singer-songwriter, modern dancer, yoga instructor, world traveler, member of the Religious Society of Friends, and strong role model for hundreds of adolescents.