Spartan magazine, Winter 2015

T H E

M A G A Z I N E

O F

Winter 2015

Celebrating 65 Years on The Hill

S T.

S T E P H E N’ S

E P I S C O P A L

S C H O O L

SNAPSHOT Construction of the Chapel, which was consecrated in 1953

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St. Stephen’s Episcopal School

CO NTEN TS P H OTOS COVER: Photo of Coach Christopher Boyle and the boys’ baseball team by Shirley Sherman

Winter 2015

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Spartan Magazine

2 Headlines 3 Sowing Seeds of Peace 4 Quality in Service Learning

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Roy Bellows’ metal work; Homecoming celebration; members of the Class of 2004 at Reunion

5 Middle School Microloans 6 Sundays on The Hill 7 Parents’ Association Report 8 Annual Giving Update Celebrating 65 Years on The Hill

10 Shirley Sherman: A Legacy of Love 14 The Early Days: An Insider’s View head of school Robert E. Kirkpatrick

16 Parents’ Days

editor

17 Spartan Sports

Anne Marie Becka

18 National Academic Achievements

class notes editor Lou Porter Bailey ’71

19 The Power of Language

design

20 Respess Celebrates 50th Year

Ellen Buckmaster, Bucko Design

21 State of the Arts

contributors Christine Aubrey Lou Porter Bailey ’71 Bea Baldwin Sherry Buchanan Chris Caselli ’82 Kim Coates Kristin Eitel The Rev. Todd FitzGerald Jenny Huth, Ph.D. Bob Kirkpatrick Brenda Lindfors ’80 Judy Matula Jon McCain Elizabeth Hansing Moon Marnie Near Kim Ballard Ray ’88 Nita Shuffler Morgan Stokes Sarah Todd Kathleen Wilson Victoria Woodruff

22 Homecoming Celebration 23 Athletics Leadership Program 24 Reunion 2014 26 Class Notes

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Spartan magazine is published twice a year for constituents of St. Stephen’s Episcopal School.

Copyright © 2015 St. Stephen’s Episcopal School

subscription information and address changes Judy Mullinix, jmullinix@sstx.org or 512.327.1213 x158

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H E ADL IN ES

Winter 2015

CELEBRATING 65 YEARS ON THE HILL Welcome to the winter 2015 edition of “Spartan” magazine, celebrating St. Stephen’s 65th anniversary. What a remarkable 65 years it has been! In these pages, we will take you back in time through images and narratives recalling our early days and then bring you forward to the richness of school life today.

As the historic $27 million Frame the Future campaign came to a close in January, we cannot help but reflect on the changes that the campus has undergone throughout the last decade. The Hill Project brought us a new Temple Upper School and Aragona Commons and expanded and remodeled Gunn Middle School with the Linda Douglass Addition. Frame the Future has been responsible for the addition of the Wycliff-Freeman dorm complex and 10 faculty residences, the Booth Student Center, Temple Dining Hall, Bowen Arts Studios, and Dell Pedestrian Green and drop-off area, along with a new Williams Admission Office in a remodeled space below Becker Library. In January we began construction of the new Fitness and Wellness Addition to the Middle School gym, the last of the Frame the Future projects.

The ultimate study in contrasts, relative to the look and scope of campus development, awaits visitors to the new student center board room or the new Admission Office. There you will find the many priceless black and white photographs taken of St. Stephen’s in its formative years by long-time member of our staff, Shirley Sherman, whose work is featured in this issue. Although different in many ways, campus today and our campus in the early 1950s have much in common—limestone structures, low walls and walkways, the Chapel located at the heart of the campus, the lovely live oak canopy, some of the best views in Austin, and acres of wild landscape as a buffer between the campus core and adjoining properties. Just as alumni have commented on “how different things look,” though, they also remark at how similar life feels in spite of all the physical changes.

You will see more “then and now” features in this issue. In the profile of Charlie Sumners ’59, a member of one of our founding families, you will gain insight into the vision that gave our school life 65 years ago. Sumners participated in our board of trustees retreat this past August, when his experiences at and perceptions of St. Stephen’s resonated across generational lines with those in attendance. In this issue you also will find articles about our campus-wide Peace Initiative, changes to our community service program that enhance the quality of service learning, and the Middle School’s Kiva loans program—all forms of outreach and campaigns for peace and justice that are consistent with Bishop Hines’ vision for our school. And, as always, we will share with you the very best of Spartan life through articles about our new leadership program in athletics, the state of our arts program and so much more.

Many thanks to all who have been so instrumental both in effecting the changes on campus and in developing the programs that we have come to appreciate, all while preserving the essence of the St. Stephen’s experience throughout the last 65 years on The Hill. Enjoy this look back, and ahead!

Faithfully,

Robert E. Kirkpatrick, Head of School

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I N COMMU N IT Y

SEWING SEEDS OF peace ON CAMPUS

Last fall the St. Stephen’s community embarked on a special yearlong initiative focused on peacemaking. This Peace Initiative was introduced during a special Chapel program in late September that coincided with the United Nations’ Day of Peace. During the Chapel service, students Robert Hartzell, Michelle Hull, Carol Lee Diallo, Lily Provenzano, Fernando Qin, and Kay McAnally spoke of their life experiences on issues ranging from prayer, education, advocacy, compassion and environmental stewardship.

“The speakers were eloquent and provocative,” said International Program Director Sarah Todd, “and included such phrases as ’assume things are done with good intention,’ ’peace through the filter of compassion’ and ’the importance of prayer as an instrument of calm and peace.’ We now move forward, guided by these student leaders, with hope that we can encourage everyone in the community to participate.”

Spartan Magazine

policy consultant to the United Nations. As director of Global Action to Prevent War (GAPW), a nonprofit network dedicated to reducing global conflict, Zuber works with the 194 member states of the United Nations to further a variety of efforts focused on world peace, human rights and social ethics. Throughout his four-day visit to St. Stephen’s, Zuber addressed the work being done by the United Nations to quell genocide, illicit weapons distribution and sexual violence.

During a Chapel talk to the Upper School in October, Zuber encouraged students to become effective peace-makers by sharpening their communication skills and growing their knowledge of the world. He also spoke extensively about cultivating “peace values,” including hospitality, fairness and kindness. “These are critical components to peace,” he explained. “When you open your door, you open your heart.”

“The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. is attributed with saying, ’Peace is not the mere absence of war, it is the presence of justice,’” Todd noted. “When there are profound inequities in society, peace is certainly compromised. This Peace Initiative is our effort to be involved in positive ways in creating the conditions that give rise to peace rather than conflict.”

Keep an eye on the St. Stephen’s website for updates about this school-wide initiative.

The Peace Initiative continues to resonate throughout campus.

Language instructors are working with partner schools across Europe on shared peace projects, art teachers are working on peace-themed student exhibits, and mindfulness meditation sessions are being offered on campus.

In addition, a special Peace Initiative logo was created by senior Cord Meyer that is on display in offices and buildings around the school.

“After his signs were created, Charles Warlick asked me to make one in French,” said art instructor Bea Baldwin. “I made that sign and then my advisory became interested and said we should have peace signs in many languages. The students came up with about 20 different languages that I made into Peace Initiative signs, which are now on display in the library.”

LEFT TO RIGHT: Nita Shuffler, Dr. Robert Zuber, senior Kay McAnally, Sarah Todd, junior Lily Provenzano and the Rev. Todd FitzGerald

A highlight of the Peace Initiative came in October with a special fourday visit by Robert Zuber, Ph.D., a social justice activist and longtime

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I N CO MMU N IT Y

Winter 2015

QUALITY over QUANTITY in service learning

“How was your service trip?” a dorm parent recently asked a student who had returned from a ministry to assist homeless people.

“I didn’t like it,” the student replied. “It forced me to get off The Hill and out of my little bubble.... It was good to go, but difficult.”

When this story was relayed to me, I counted it among the small victories that we have made in the implementation of new guidelines for service learning at St. Stephen’s. Our intention is to shift the emphasis from merely doing service work to participating in meaningful projects in which students learn about larger societal issues, experience firsthand the value of their work, and have an opportunity to reflect on their experience.

An intentional shift from community service to service learning means that their participation is part of a larger charitable effort to address a social problem such as poverty, environmental injustice or inadequate educational opportunities. Student experiences are much more substantial if they have a chance to investigate some of the complex societal issues that lead to these problems and work alongside organizations that are engaged in addressing them.

Beginning this academic year, Upper School students are required to complete 10 hours of service each year, which is down from 12 in previous years. This slight reduction is intended to support the effort to increase the quality of hours completed in place of a greater number of hours, as well as to provide time for research and reflection. In order for projects to be deemed high quality, the primary beneficiary should have a significant need to be addressed. Moreover, legitimate projects should expand students’ awareness of a societal issue and put them directly in contact with efforts to address that issue.

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The new program also includes a requirement that stipulates that each Upper School student must have at least one St. Stephen’s group experience. Not only does such a dynamic enhance relationships and experiences within our school community, it also increases the impact that we might have in the larger community. There is strength in numbers when Spartans serve together on projects that benefit the environment, those living in poverty or the elderly, and there are more opportunities for group reflection after the experience. Avenues for reflection are another important component to the didactic goals of the program.

Students are encouraged to discuss their experiences with their peers, and they are required to complete reflection questions annually about the different projects in which they participated.

Service learning is also expanding in the Middle School. Sixth graders recently engaged in an innovative service learning experience involving the study of micro loans (see following page). After curricular study in the classroom, students traveled to Mobile Loaves and Fishes for hands-on service work. Another way that service learning is expanding in the Middle School is with a new faculty team that meets regularly to discuss and coordinate the implementation of service learning. In addition, this team is planning a week-long summer program to extend the opportunities for experiential learning with our community partners.

The good news is that since it was established 65 years ago, St. Stephen’s has remained committed to developing students’ character. School founders were serious about developing the moral lives of students, as well as their intellectual, artistic and athletic sides. At least in the last 15 years, we have had a formal community service program that seeks to uphold our founders’ commitment to empowering students to make a difference in the world, as well as their efforts to build a school community that would inspire its members to be involved in the recovery of humans. It is my hope that more and more members of our community will find creative ways to reach out beyond The Hill, to stretch beyond our comfort zones and discover the joy of giving of ourselves to others in need.

— the rev. todd fitzgerald, school chaplain

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MIDDLE SCHOOL

MICROLOANS Thanks to math instructor Diane Butler, sixth graders are exploring traditional math skills through a not-sotraditional approach: microlending. Students are mastering complex concepts such as compound interest, discussing real-world financial matters, and empowering people around the world with $25 microloans through Kiva.org, a reputable microfinance nonprofit organization. The students explore possible recipients, determine credit risk through analysis of online material, and debate the merits of various lending strategies.

“Microfinance is a general term to describe financial services to low-income individuals or to those who do not have access to typical banking services,” according to the Kiva website. “Microfinance is also the idea that low-income individuals are capable of lifting themselves out of poverty if given access to financial services.”

Throughout the past two years, St. Stephen’s sixth graders have made $1,125 in loans— with funds provided as part of the curriculum—and have re-lent the original deposits several times. Their loans have gone to clients in 22 of the 79 countries where Kiva operates, including locations as diverse as Azerbaijan, Kenya, Tajikistan and Timor-Leste. The young entrepreneurs have earned seven of seven possible “social performance badges” offered by Kiva, focusing on topics like anti-poverty, entrepreneurship and more.

Not to be left out, English 6 has joined in the fun with special readings and discussions that enrich the project—a great co-curricular crossover between the two departments.

FRONT ROW: Ronik Gupta, Layla Metni, Gracie Goldreyer, Jada January, Amelia Hammond, Abbie Prewitt, Malika Chauhan; BACK ROW: Ian Chamoun, Elizabeth Luciano, Lauren Gill, Whitney Ball, Katie Hashman, Devlyn Hieber, Mary Grace Wieland

Service Learning in Action St. Stephen’s sixth graders recently engaged in an innovative service learning experience spearheaded by math teacher Diane Butler.

After studying financial literacy and collecting items for the homeless, math classes traveled by section to Mobile Loaves and Fishes to learn more about our partner ministry and the plight of the homeless in Austin.

Participants saw where eggs donated by Middle School advisories every week are stored, watched a compelling video message about the truck runs, learned about the new Community First! Program providing affordable housing to the chronically homeless, and discussed the parable of the sheep in Matthew 25, where we see that in serving those in need we are actually serving God. Students focused on how to respect the dignity of every human being. We were all very moved by this experience and thankful that we are able to support and partner with such an amazing organization.

—morgan stokes, middle school lay chaplain

“Even though I’m a kid, I can still help people around the world have the necessities for education and a way to support themselves,” said sixth grader Jessica Chatham, who has made dozens of Kiva loans with her father. “Plus, it’s fun!”

Chatham encourages all members of the St. Stephen’s community to join the school’s lending team: Friends of St. Stephen’s Episcopal School at www.kiva.org. If we can expand our team, we can expand our impact!

—victoria woodruff, middle school english instructor

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I N CO MMU N IT Y

Sundays on TheHill

The Golden Rule Buddhism Hurt not others with that which pains you.

Christianity Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Hinduism Treat others as you would yourself be treated.

Islam Do unto all men as you would wish to have done unto you.

Judaism Do unto all men as you would wish to have done unto you.

Native American Live in harmony, for we all are related.

Sacred Earth Do as you will, as long as you harm no one.

Winter 2015

Sunday on The Hill wouldn’t be “Sunday on The Hill” without our weekly worship service in the Chapel. Members of our residential community gather each week to share in a time of spiritual growth and reflection. This year, Sunday morning chapel programming has taken on new life as students assume important roles in shaping our time together.

At the start of the school year, the Rev. Todd FitzGerald, school chaplain, and Lay Chaplain Jim Crosby encouraged students to join them in making Sunday morning Chapel time even more meaningful by inviting dorms to volunteer to “host” a Sunday Chapel service. Father Todd, as he is known on campus, briefly outlined for everyone the four primary objectives of our Chapel Program: gather for spiritual growth; worship in the Episcopal tradition and celebrate our diversity; share biblical and personal stories that help us to consider virtues, values and principles; and raise issues that help us practice compassion and respect. He then opened the door for boarding students to create themed programs on a topic of their dorm’s choice.

The response from our boarding community has been truly incredible. Last fall, three different dormitories sponsored a Sunday morning service. Marshall, Gregg AB and Freeman dormitories offered powerful services around the themes of peace, diversity and gratitude.

While each program was unique, all three services incorporated presenters’ individual talents and passions to deliver inspiring messages and important lessons. From joyful songs to personal testimonies to collective reflection, these student-led services have moved our community—often to tears!

While exploring peace, the girls of Marshall pointed out how the Golden Rule is found across cultures and religions. Together, we read from a specially designed handout how this common philosophy is articulated in Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Native American and Sacred Earth. At the conclusion of the ceremony, we were surprised to learn that the handout doubled as a door hanging. The girls invited us to place these signs on our doors to serve as a reminder of this universal rule as we enter and exit our campus homes and offices.

In a service celebrating diversity, a junior boy from Gregg AB explained miming, a strongly held tradition from his denomination through which individuals put on masks and mime their emotions to music to convey their feelings. The entire Chapel fell silent as he demonstrated this powerful tradition for our community.

In a different service, the girls of Freeman exhibited strength and grace as they gave heartfelt personal testimonies about the people and things for which they are most grateful. While guiding us through stories that included such difficult topics as illness and loss, they also offered several beautiful musical performances. Our hearts were indeed filled with gratitude as we watched the girls close their eyes, join hands and sing in unison.

Everyone who attends Sunday on The Hill is thrilled with the interest, faithfulness and dedication our students have brought to Sunday mornings this year. St. Stephen’s offers a full Eucharistic Service in the Chapel at 11 a.m. every Sunday that school is in session. We invite all members of the St. Stephen’s community to join us for this special time of worship and reflection.

— kristin eitel, associate director of alumni and donor relations

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ENRICHING COMMUNITY The St. Stephen’s Parents’ Association The St. Stephen’s Parents’ Association, more commonly known as the “PA,” is an organization of St. Stephen’s parents dedicated to supporting the mission of our school. Through the many activities and events planned each year, the PA strives to promote the welfare of the school’s students, as well as support students’ families and faculty and staff by enriching the academic, spiritual, social, extra-curricular, residential and family experience of our community.

To share a line from the school prayer, written in 2011 by students: “Seeing our life as a journey together, empower us to make a difference in the world with open minds, open hearts and open doors….” This sentiment speaks to something that is very palpable on our campus, and the PA strives to enrich this special culture.

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In addition to regular monthly meetings, the PA organizes a wide variety of activities, events and projects, including special student snack breaks, the annual parents’ fall potluck event, Friday morning coffee under the trees for parents, the Spring Swing gala, Make It Happen fundraising projects, and the faculty and staff appreciation breakfast, among others. All of these opportunities to engage with one another and with the larger school community are helpful to the school while enriching our own experiences as St. Stephen’s parents.

We invite you to explore the school’s website for more information about the PA. (Visit www.sstx.org and select “Parents’ Association” from the “My SSES” tab in the purple banner at the top of the page.)

In addition, please plan to join us at our next monthly PA meeting.

The meeting schedule is located online, along with links to the weekly “Spartan Week Ahead” newsletter, the Booster Club, Spring Swing, Make It Happen, parent volunteer opportunities — even helpful video tutorials for navigating the school website and setting up notifications for news and athletics. Please take a moment to review all this great information and get involved with the school PA in a way that suits your interests and family schedule.

— kim coates, parents’ association president 2014–15

Throughout the school year, the PA holds monthly meetings, which are generally the first Thursday morning of each month. During our monthly PA meetings this year, we have had the opportunity to hear from faculty, students and guest speakers about the topics that make our community so truly unique.

At the September meeting, seniors Michelle Hull and Julian Castaneda presented an array of ways that the founding mission of the Rev. John E. Hines lives on today through messages of acceptance, opportunity and tolerance. In October, we learned about the significance of this year’s “Peace Initiative” and the commitment of seniors Kay McAnally and Robert Hartzell in helping to bring concepts of peace to the school and wider community. In December, we had the opportunity to enjoy the exceptional talents of our Madrigals and further appreciate the diverse ways that St. Stephen’s serves to develop the minds and spirits of our students.

The Madrigals performed at the PA meeting in December, as well as several venues across Austin

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ANNUAL GIVIN G

Winter 2015

DEAR friends,

Since the Annual Giving kick-off breakfast in September, this year’s campaign has been characterized by great enthusiasm and recordbreaking participation. Annual Giving is the linchpin of As a St. Stephen’s alumna, I look forward to the fall because it signals both Reunion and the Annual Giving campaign. I love being with alumni who come back to campus and are amazed by how much the school has been transformed while staying true to its core values. And I love connecting with alumni from far and wide who reaffirm their relationship with the school through Annual Giving.

For me, Annual Giving is more than just making a gift to the school. You see, there is this thing called the Annual Report of Philanthropy. If you’ve seen it, then you know it lists the names of everybody who has made a gift to the school.

Because my name gets listed in the Annual Report, I use it to quickly and easily let people know that I am still here. My hope is that having my name in the report sends a message to my friends (especially the ones I don’t see often) that their friendships are still meaningful to me. It lets the teachers and staff know that because of all the grueling work they put me through, I did well in college and grad school. It lets my parents know that I still appreciate their gift of allowing me to attend—a message we hope will resonate with our daughter, Stirling, a member of the Class of 2016.

To be honest, not every moment at St. Stephen’s was easy. However, as I think back on my time at the school, I choose to remember the wonderful things. So when you see my name in the Annual Report, just know I’m raising my hand, waving at you to say “Hi, I’m still here, we share a meaningful connection, and you are the reason I’ve made this gift.” I’ll be looking to see if you’re waving back at me this year, too.

—kim ballard ray ’88 2014–15 annual giving alumni chair 8

St. Stephen’s Episcopal School

St. Stephen’s fundraising, because it helps close the financial gap between tuition and actual operating costs—about $2,500 per student. Contributions to Annual Giving are crucial to providing everything from basic necessities to many of the extras that make St. Stephen’s so unique. Many people may not realize that Annual Giving also provides financial aid to eligible students, enabling our student body to remain diverse and inclusive.

More than 85 dedicated parent volunteers have devoted their time and energy to making this year’s Annual Giving campaign a phenomenal success. Our goal is 100 percent participation. To date, an impressive 79 percent of St. Stephen’s parents have contributed.

Participation rates and dollars raised are up this year. And we’re not done yet; the campaign continues, so if you have not yet pledged or given, please consider doing so now!

Michael and I feel so fortunate to be part of the St. Stephen’s community, and we have been honored to serve as this year’s Annual Giving parent chairs. We believe that St. Stephen’s provides opportunities for growth and service that our freshman daughter, Grayson, would not have encountered elsewhere, and for that we are thankful. We support Annual Giving so that she and all other St. Stephen’s students can continue to thrive in this unique environment on a hill that nurtures not just the student or the athlete or the artist, but the whole person.

—judy and michael matula 2014-15 annual giving parent chairs

Spartan Magazine

Spirit of Gratitude

SPANS THE GLOBE This fall I had the privilege of traveling with International Program Director Sarah Todd to Taiwan, China and Japan. The purpose of our trip

was multifold: We interviewed potential boarding students, attended international school boarding fairs, met with St. Stephen’s parents and alumni, and conferred with colleagues from around the world.

From my many years of working in Advancement, I have learned that friendships and relationships are built on trust, respect and a deep appreciation of one another. Such was my experience in Asia. Sarah and I were welcomed with open arms everywhere we went. Parents were eager to hear about their children’s progress, former parents wanted to know what was going on at the school, and our young alumni were eager to hear news about former classmates, teachers and the Texas Longhorns. They each had their own memories of St. Stephen’s, but every one of them told us how much St. Stephen’s means to them, that they would not be who they are today without the experience of a St. Stephen’s education, and that the school had truly changed their lives.

Our Asian parents were just as profound in their enthusiasm and appreciation for and love of St. Stephen’s as our alumni.

They thanked us for the great care their children receive while far away from home and confirmed their support of St. Stephen’s.

More than 62 percent of them already had made a leadershiplevel gift to Annual Giving this year.

Annual Giving is important. In fact, it is our school’s No. 1 fundraising priority in meeting the needs of the yearly operating budget. Trust, respect and gratitude are universal traits—and they are the foundation of any gift. The generosity of our school community is truly a blessing to celebrate. The gifts you give make the real difference between a good school and a school that is truly special. Thank you for your support of Annual Giving and St. Stephen’s.

P H OTOS TOP TO BOTTOM: Shanghai parents; Tokyo alumni; Hong Kong parents

— sherry buchanan, director of annual giving

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65T H AN N IVERSARY

Love Winter 2015

A LEGACY

of

Never underestimate the treasures to be mined from an old, forgotten box.

Three years ago, former history teacher Laura Camp struck gold while rummaging through the school archive in the library. “I was just dumpster diving through old boxes,” she said. “I knew the archive contained materials from the early days of the school, but when I saw that envelope of negatives I knew I had found something special.”

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Camp had uncovered dozens of old 2x2inch negatives of photos taken by Shirley Sherman, one of the first staff members at St. Stephen’s. “Looking at her photographs, you get a sense of the kind of work she was doing to create a record of the school,” Camp said of the images of sporting events, dorm life, special campus programs, even student birthday parties and dances.

“Shirley was the official photographer for the school yearbook for the first five or six years,” said Christine Aubrey, director of Advancement. “All the images from the first years of ‘The Deacon’ were hers.”

Born in 1919, Sherman possessed a roughhewn spirit, no-nonsense personality and wickedly funny sense of humor. After graduating from The University of Texas at

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Austin in 1942, she joined the U.S. Army as a soldier in the Women’s Army Corps. “She was head of the secretarial pool during the U.S. Army’s occupation of Vienna during World War II,” said Aubrey, who believes Sherman bought her camera while stationed in Austria.

Following the war, Sherman worked as a counselor and photographer at Camp Mystic, located 100 miles west of Austin. “Bill Brewster gave a sermon at the camp one Sunday,” Aubrey said of the first head of school. “He recruited Shirley to be his secretary. She started work on the first day school opened in the fall of 1950.”

As secretary to the head of school, Sherman’s ’day job’ involved handling an immense amount of paperwork for the school, including typing exams, recording grades, distributing report cards, and coordinating communications among school staff, parents and trustees. She was also a member of the residential staff and lived on campus in a one-room apartment connected to Freeman dormitory. As a dorm parent, she served duty every third day and was required to attend all meals and daily snack time.

No doubt, her military experience helped prepare Sherman for the rigors of Spartan life. “Shirley was tough as nails,” Camp noted. “She was very selfsufficient and liked being alone. That being said, the school was everything to her.”

“St. Stephen’s was her entire life,” Aubrey concurred.

“Shirley was an educated woman who supported others her entire professional life. Luckily for us, she made it her business to witness and record school life.”

Sherman’s tenure at St. Stephen’s spanned an amazing 55 years. Her black-and-white photos of life on The Hill in the 1950s—those discovered by Camp in the school archives— are now on display in various shared meeting spaces across campus, including the Board Room in the student center, a dining hall meeting room and the Admission Office.

Sherman retired from St. Stephen’s in January 2008.

Thanks to her tremendous photography skills and dedication to St. Stephen’s, we can all gain insight into the early days of this school on a hill that she loved so deeply.

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65T H AN N IVERSARY

The original school administration building

A Glimpse of 1950s School Life “Sherman faced many personal challenges in her career at St. Stephen’s,” wrote Kathleen Wilson, former head librarian, in a profile of Shirley Sherman from 2000.

“Even answering the phone in her first years on the job was not easy.

“At that time, no telephone line ran to the school. The phone company, however, agreed to install a mobile phone in a car.

Ike Fowler, the school handyman and horse stable manager, towed an old junker to the phone company on 9th Street. Once the phone was installed and wired to the car’s horn, Fowler towed it back to school, where it was parked in front of the administration building. Whenever the horn honked, Sherman had to race outside to answer the call from the car.”

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Winter 2015

CAPTURING THE

Spartan Magazine

Essence

A talented artist and metal smith, Roy Bellows has a unique ability to create objects and structures that reflect the essential nature of places and ideas. His artistic expression can be found

in the distinctive entry gates, building signs and metal accents that grace the St. Stephen’s campus. That these pieces fit so seamlessly into the school environment and feel like such an authentic extension of the school itself is no accident, but rather a matter of careful consideration and design.

“Metal work is concerned with both form and function,” Bellows explained. “It is very practical, while also being a means of artistic expression. Sign making is largely about making shapes work together; the spacing between the letters and the type of font used are very important.

OF PLACE

the more private campus interior,” he said. “The open design creates a permeable boundary that establishes the school’s privacy while also reflecting its openness to and connection with the world.”

The parent of two St. Stephen’s graduates, Bellows is pleased that the signs he creates are meaningful to the school and that they play an important part in campus life. “I think there’s something of immortality in these signs,” he concluded. “They embody the school’s past, present and future. Their design and construction reflect the vision and values of the school’s founders, they celebrate the school’s existence, and they provide a lasting physical expression of what St. Stephen’s is all about.”

—brenda lindfors ’80, campaign and advancement coordinator

“Signs tell who we are, who we were and when we existed,” he continued. “They are important because they represent us, they express our values, and they commemorate our place and time in the world. What is more real than our name and our dates?"

In designing the signs that mark the school’s entrance and academic buildings, Bellows used a classic Roman font made of hand-forged letters placed in a natural limestone setting. This combination of formal and natural elements, as well as the use of stone and steel, perfectly reflects the ethos of St. Stephen’s.

When planning the design of the metal entry gates, Bellows asked himself what would best fit the space. “The road that leads into the school is lined with trees, so I created treelined, open-work panels divided down the center to mark the transition between the public space surrounding the school and

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65T H AN N IVERSARY

Winter 2015

Early AN INSIDER’S VIEW THE

DAYS:

“In the early days of St. Stephen’s, they were still building the school both physically and spiritually,” said the Rev. Charles Sumners Jr. ’59, who joined the student body in 1953 as a seventh grader. “From my perspective, because my dad and his friends were involved in starting the school, it was a shared enterprise.”

Sumners’ father and namesake was a member of the founding board of trustees. As rector of St. David’s Episcopal Church in Austin, he was close friends with the Rt. Rev. John E. Hines, St. Stephen’s founder. “When Bishop Hines wanted to start the school, he went to my dad and asked him to help raise money,” Sumners explained. “As far as I know, almost anything John Hines thought was a good idea, he would go along with. My father liked his enthusiasm and thought Hines was a visionary.”

Bishop Hines and the Rev. Charles Sumners Sr. were joined in their efforts to build St. Stephen’s by the Rt. Rev. Scott Field Bailey, who served as rector of All Saints Church in Austin before being elected Bishop Suffragan of the Diocese of Texas and later Bishop of the Diocese of West Texas. “Bailey was a constant supporter of Hines and good friends with my parents,” Sumners said of the father of Scott Bailey ’70 and father-in-law of Lou Porter Bailey ’71, director of alumni relations and planned giving. “The Diocese was smaller then, so we all knew each other pretty well.”

“St. Stephen’s was unique in the sense that it was not only a spiritual center for students, but it offered excellent classes and teachers, a great education — if you took advantage of it.

“My brother Robert was the brains of the family,” he said of Robert Sumners ’66. “He won the Bishop medal his senior year.

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St. Stephen’s Episcopal School

“Unfortunately, at the time, I was more interested in athletics than academics,” he confessed. As a captain of both the football and baseball teams, Sumners saw his role primarily as “encourager-inchief.” “I wasn’t as good at finding ways for kids to blow off steam as my brother Thomas, though,” Sumners said of Thomas Sumners ’63, who was at the groundbreaking for the school in 1949. “He really knew how to build school spirit.”

A day student for his first three years, Sumners became a boarding student in 10th grade, when a slot opened up in the dorms. “It was harder to be a day student back then,” he said. “We went to classes on Saturdays so I didn’t have time to make friends in town, and I couldn’t participate in the evening activities at school. I found it was better to be a boarder.”

Much like St. Stephen’s today, students formed close relationships with members of the faculty and staff, who also served as dorm parents, coaches and advisors. “It was good to be under their wing,” he explained, recounting an event that forever altered his definition of success. During his senior year, Sumners and a close friend both wanted to run for student body president. The chaplain pulled Sumners aside and asked if it might be better to serve on the student council with his friend as vice president than to try to “knock him off ” as president. After personal reflection, Sumners chose to run as vice president so that his friend could run unopposed as president.

The son of a minister, Sumners found great solace in the St. Stephen’s Chapel. “The Chapel was a special place for me; I would often go there when I was troubled,” he explained. “During a practice early in my senior year, I got angry about a busted play. I threw my helmet down, and said, ’It’s going to be just like last year,’ when we had lost all our games. Later that night, Coach [Edward] Hooker came by the dorm to talk with me. He said that if I was going to have that kind of attitude then he didn’t want me on the team. I couldn’t believe it; I thought I was a pretty good player. I went to the Chapel to spend some time in prayer and eventually got my head straight.

Spartan Magazine

P H OTOS RIGHT TO LEFT: The Chapel was built in 1953, the year Charles Sumners enrolled at St. Stephen’s; The Rev. Charles Sumners Sr. and son Thomas with the Rev. William Brewster at the school groundbreaking on St. Stephen’s Day, Dec. 26, 1949

“At the time, I had no idea that the experience of attending St. Stephen’s would resonate with me as it has,” said Sumners, who followed his father into the ministry and currently serves as interim rector of Grace Episcopal Church in Cuero, Texas. For the last few years, he also has been producing a documentary about Bishop Hines. “The year 2015 is the 50th anniversary of his installation as Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church,” explained Sumners, who hopes the completed documentary will be made available by the Church. “The video will be about his life. It’s a labor of love in a lot of ways — much like St. Stephen’s was for Hines.

“As students, we were told that St. Stephen’s was a unique educational endeavor, and it was,” he noted. “A co-educational boarding school, it was the first of its kind in the South. Sixtyfive years have passed, and it is still a special place.”

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SPARTAN LIFE

Winter 2015

SPARTAN Life

EVENTS CLUBS CULTURE CELEBRATIONS AWARDS TALENT SPORTS HOLIDAYS ACHIEVEMENTS SUCCESS

Parents’ Days Inviting parents to join students on campus for a day has proven to be such an endearing event that St. Stephen’s now holds two Parents’ Days every October. In addition to classroom visits, which give parents the unique opportunity to experience the very best of St. Stephen’s alongside their children, parents have the chance to learn more about the school and to meet one-onone with their children’s advisors.

Following Middle School Parents’ Day on Oct. 23, parents gathered for the Parents’ Association’s third annual tent party and potluck. The following day, after Upper School Parents’ Day came to a close, the school community kicked off Homecoming with a spirit-filled pep rally and carnival followed by a big win by the Spartan football team.

P H OTOS CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Neeraj, Ronik (6th) and Tanima Gupta; Shanna Prewitt-Hines, Abbie Prewitt (6th) and Ben Hines; Courtney and Zack (9th) Jones; Luke (6th) and Marnie Near

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St. Stephen’s Episcopal School

Spartan Magazine

Reaching New Heights At 5 feet 3 inches tall, sophomore Margaret Rogers towers over her classmates. Her peers are not unusually small; it’s just that Rogers spends much of her time at a height of 32 feet.

Rogers is a competitive diver who discovered her love of the sport at the age of 9, when she started diving with a local club. She fell in love with the sport and began officially training in the fourth grade. Her favorite events involve diving from the 10-meter platform. “That’s the highest one,” she said with a grin.

“Diving is scary at first,” Rogers admitted, “but then you conquer your fears — and that is always fun. Plus, you make a lot of friends, both on the team and at meets.”

Despite her petite size, Rogers’ talent is immense. To date, she has won 12 national diving medals. She placed third in synchronized platform diving at the Junior National Diving Championships in 2014 and earned first place honors at the winter Southwest Preparatory Conference last year.

For someone who spends so much time in the air, Rogers is remarkably well-grounded. Not only has she figured out how to balance 20-plus hours of diving practice each week with her schoolwork, but she has remained an honors student throughout her time at St. Stephen’s. “I like being busy,” she explained. “Doing so many things has taught me how to manage my time.”

Looking ahead, Rogers hopes to compete in more international diving meets, qualify for the 2016 Olympic diving trials, and attend a college with a top-ranked diving program. She also hopes to use her athletic experience to help others. Her ambition is to be a doctor who works with young athletes.

“I know what it’s like to be an athlete and to be injured,” she said. “Whatever I can do best to help people, that’s what I want to do.”

When Rogers sets her mind to something, the sky is the limit. It will be exciting to see what she achieves next.

—brenda lindfors ’80, campaign and advancement coordinator

Reaching New Heights

Spartan volleyball and field hockey teams celebrate the volleyball team SPC win

Spartan Volleyball Team Claims SPC Championship For the fourth time in five years, the St. Stephen’s varsity volleyball team claimed the Southwest Preparatory Conference’s Division I Championship, scoring a 3-2 win over The Woodlands’ John Cooper School in the SPC championship match in Dallas.

Leading to the title, the Spartans won four matches against Episcopal School of Dallas and then a five-set challenge against Houston Kincaid in the semifinals. The 2014 victors previously won the SPC Championship in 2010, 2011 and 2012.

The team’s spirit was boosted, no doubt, by the ladies’ field hockey team, which won two of three at SPC, including a shoot-out victory over St. Andrews. Way to go, ladies!

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SPARTAN LIFE

Winter 2015

Seniors Receive National Merit Honors Twenty-one seniors from St. Stephen’s Episcopal School were recognized for outstanding academic achievement by the National Merit Scholarship Corp.

Among them, 10 members of the Class of 2015 were named National Merit Scholar Semifinalists and 11 were honored as Commended students.

St. Stephen’s National Merit Scholar Semifinalists include Catherine Canby, Robert Hartzell, Kelly Hoover, Antonio Matta, Cord Meyer, Sam Norwood, Nikhil Prabala, Carson Rogge, John Sullivan and Benjamin Warren. These talented seniors have an opportunity to compete for National Merit Scholarships worth approximately $33 million.

St. Stephen’s National Merit Scholar Commended students include Lily Beveridge, Isaac Feldman, Chloe Hooks, William Hooks, Eden Keig, Kevin Lee, Matthew Rice, Cole Thompson, Martha Torres, Cody Treybig and Hailey Wozniak. These students placed among the top 5 percent of the more than 1.5 million students who took the 2013 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.

“Our National Merit Scholarship honorees are models of student achievement on our campus,” said Head of School Robert Kirkpatrick. “In addition to their great academic accomplishments, they are fine athletes, musicians and artists, and leaders in student government. We could not be more proud of them.”

P H OTO S TOP (Left to right): Front row: William Hooks, Chloe Hooks, Catherine Canby, Martha Torres, Cole Thompson, Hailey Wozniak, Kelly Hoover, Matthew Rice, Carson Rogge, Eden Keig. Back row: Cord Meyer, John Sullivan, Isaac Feldman, Sam Norwood, Ben Warren, Antonio Matta, Robert Hartzell, Lily Beveridge. Not pictured: Nikhil Prabala, Kevin Lee and Cody Treybig BOTTOM (Left to right): Sebastian Prieto, Martha Torres, Andrew Alvarez, Ana Georgina Garza, Miles Grossenbacher, Chase Doggett, Carson Rogge and Will Dooley

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St. Stephen’s Episcopal School

National Hispanic Recognition Program Award Winners St. Stephen’s is pleased to announce the College Board’s National Hispanic Recognition Program (NHRP) award honorees from the Class of 2015. Each year NHRP honors 5,000 of the highest-scoring Hispanic/Latino students nationwide from among more than 250,000 Hispanic/Latino juniors who take the PSAT/NMSQT. This year, St. Stephen’s senior honorees include Andrew Alvarez, Chase Doggett, Will Dooley, Ana Georgina Garza, Miles Grossenbacher, Sebastian Prieto, Carson Rogge and Martha Torres.

Congratulations to these outstanding students. The St. Stephen’s community is honored and enriched by their academic excellence.

Spartan Magazine

Puzzle Master Mesmerizes at World Cubing Competition St. Stephen’s junior Ryan Przybocki ’16 rocked the World Cubing Association competition in San Antonio last October, solving the traditional Rubik’s cube (3x3x3) in record time and claiming four additional medals.

Przybocki’s blindfolded solve time of 1:29.77 (1 min., 29 sec.) broke the state record. He is now ranked No. 1 in Texas and No. 19 in the country for 3x3x3 Blindfolded.

His other wins at the event included: 2x2x2 Cube: First place, average time 3.60 seconds 3x3x3 Rubik’s Cube: Second place, average time 13.67 sec One-Handed 3x3x3 Rubik’s Cube: Third place, average time 28.45 seconds Margarita Lopez, Marcelina Rodriguez, Jenny Huth, Ernestina Cruz, and Juana Villegas-Carillo

The Power of Language Five years ago, I traveled to Argentina and returned home with a deep desire to learn Spanish. I had visited Spanish-speaking countries before, but a humbling experience at a bakery in Buenos Aires— barely able to complete a basic pastry-for-cash transaction—made me determined to master the language. Spanish is a beautiful language, but my primary reason for learning Spanish was to be able to communicate with others. Hispanics are the fastest-growing population group in Texas, and demographers project that Hispanics will become the state’s largest ethnic group in fewer than 10 years. Therefore, I approached learning Spanish as a way to connect more with the people around me. I hoped that a second language also would make my world a little bigger.

This summer, after five years of once-a-week classes and a two-week academic stint in Mexico, I finally felt my Spanish was good enough to put to use. I had begun looking for volunteer opportunities in Austin when it suddenly occurred to me that I did not need to leave St. Stephen’s campus to help others gain the power of knowing a second language!

Throughout the years, I have gotten to know some of my wonderful colleagues who keep our buildings clean and our grounds gorgeous. Since I started taking Spanish classes, they have always been kind enough to speak Spanish with me. I figured that it was my turn to give back and share my knowledge of English with anyone who had the desire to learn. Many of our housekeeping and maintenance staff members are bilingual, but I did find a small group who jumped at the opportunity to take an English class on our campus. Every Tuesday afternoon we meet in my classroom to explore English vocabulary and learn English verb conjugations. At this point, we are just practicing small phrases and learning about English at the sentence level, but the women I teach are great students with a real desire to learn — which is all that it takes to be successful.

Language is power, and it is an honor for me to help empower some of the people who do the hardest work on our campus.

Pyraminx (pyramid shape): Third place, average time 7.64 seconds

In addition to the titles listed above, Przybocki holds the Texas state record and the No. 12 spot nationally for solving the Skewb (a Rubik’s cube with angled corners). Woot!

—jenny huth, ph.d., english department chair

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SPARTAN LIFE

Winter 2015

Kathryn Respess Celebrates 50th Year at St. Stephen’s

PHOTOS TOP: Hugh Randolph and Birgit Enstrom with Ellen Osborne Ray ’86, executive chair of the board; BOTTOM: Campaign Director Hayden Blood with David and Melissa Rubin

Trustees Host Community Coffee Break The St. Stephen’s board of trustees helped kick off Parents’ Days this year by hosting a special community coffee break on Thursday, Oct. 23. Parents and faculty alike joined trustees on the back deck of the Middle School to enjoy a hot cup of joe and lively conversation.

“The trustees are interested in sharing our perspectives as parents, alumni and friends of the school with the St. Stephen’s community,” said Ellen Osborne Ray ’86, executive chair of the board. “We are especially delighted to meet new parents, who are so excited to be here and who want to know what’s next for their children.”

Parents’ Days give families the unique opportunity to experience the very best of St. Stephen’s alongside their students. In addition to visiting classes and participating in different school programs, parents attend a special morning Chapel service and enjoy lunch in the dining hall with their kids.

“The morning coffee reception is just one of the many ways our trustees engage with the school community,” said Head of School Bob Kirkpatrick. “They want to be visible in the community and to help enhance the St. Stephen’s experience for our parents, as well as their children.”

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St. Stephen’s Episcopal School

Kathryn Respess is celebrating her golden anniversary at St. Stephen’s this year. The beloved history instructor and dorm parent, who joined the faculty in 1965, remains a perennial favorite among students and staff.

When asked why she has stayed at St. Stephen’s for so many years, Respess replied: “As so many of my colleagues would say, ’It’s the people.’ Among those who were a significant influence on me were Allen and Elizabeth Becker, Dean and Bert Towner, Sam Todd, David Hoster, and Chris Hines. They showed me what this community, at its best, can be—and their influence was crucial. It has been a great 50 years.”

“Mrs. Respess is such an integral part of life at this school,” said Brenda Lindfors ’80, campaign and advancement coordinator, who studied with Respess as a Middle School student. “She shared her extensive knowledge about Texas flora and fauna with us as we prepared for the eighth grade field trip to Big Bend, and she inspired my curiosity about different people and cultures in her social studies class. I always enjoy her exuberant Ride of the Valkyries, which is a favorite St. Stephen’s spring tradition.”

Please join the full school community in congratulating Respess on her 50 wonderful years at St. Stephen’s. We thank you for your strong guidance and sweet spirit!

Spartan Magazine

Here’s an overview of the state of the arts today:

21|

The number of years Helm Fine Arts Center has been open.

State of the Arts at St. Stephen’s There are many ways to describe and measure the state of an arts program. We can count the number of classes, teachers, students, college majors or professional artists that come out of our programs. We can count awards, commendations, contests, AllState participants, Carnegie Hall visits and international tours. All of these things are good and indicate a healthy program. But what I like to examine is the way the arts program at St. Stephen’s serves the school’s mission of educating the whole child.

Our objective, as expressed in the Fine Arts mission statement, is to activate the creative sensibilities of every member of the community. We realize our objective by recognizing the universal value of creativity and by integrating the arts completely into the life of the school community—by promoting positive awareness of self in the context of our community experience, celebrating our diverse cultural heritage, and nourishing each student’s unique artistic expression.

This beautiful facility was dedicated in the fall of 1993 to an overwhelmingly enthusiastic response both from the school and the larger artistic community. An award-winning architectural project, the Helm holds a 400-seat intimate theater venue, as well as rehearsal spaces and classrooms.

The building served as a visible statement that St. Stephen’s was committed to arts as a vital part of educating the whole child. Within its first year, the building was filled, new programs in dance and instrumental music had outgrown their spaces, and we added Helm Phase II to the master plan.

Buildings don’t make the program, but they allow great teachers and eager students to do wonderful things together!

75|

The percentage of students in both Middle School and Upper School who participate in an arts class, ensemble or theatrical production in any given year.

Whether students aspire to attend Julliard or simply want to try out the tuba, we have offerings for everyone. In addition, 250 students take private lessons in music, dance, art and theatre. Many students take advantage of multiple opportunities, as they contribute their time and talents to the vibrant artistic life of the school.

37|

The number of full- and part-time artist-teachers on our faculty.

These professional educators are also performing and exhibiting artists. Their association with the larger arts community provides great connections for students throughout the year: a class visit from a cast member of a Broadway musical might be followed by an orchestra rehearsal with the conductor of the Austin Symphony Orchestra, a critique session with a renowned film director or a field trip to an alumnus’ east Austin gallery.

40|

The number of full- and half-credit classes that Upper School students have to choose from in music, theatre, dance, filmmaking and visual arts.

Classes in graphic design and digital imaging fulfill the need for students to be digitally literate, although almost all classes make use of technology. Sophisticated theatrical equipment, a music composition lab, and the latest cameras and video editing software enable students to learn to use the most current tools in these fields.

85|

The number of 6th, 7th and 8th grade students who participate in choir, band or orchestra.

Almost half of the Middle School student body participates in these ensembles, and many continue throughout Upper School. In addition, 75 Middle School students participate in after-school theatrical productions. These students jump right into the school year during pre-season musical theatre camp to get started with the first event of the year, the Middle School musical, and continue to delight us throughout the year. So how do these numbers add up? The arts are alive and well at St. Stephen’s! Our students are finding their creative voices and pursuing their passions through their numerous encounters with the arts. Classes and classrooms are full. Every day is filled with new discoveries, delights and even sometimes disappointments, as students and teachers work together to solve creative problems.

—elizabeth hansing moon, fine arts department chair

sstx.org

21

SPARTAN LIFE

Winter 2015

Spartan Block Party: St. Stephen’s Homecoming Celebration On Oct. 24, St. Stephen’s Episcopal School students, faculty and families gathered to celebrate Homecoming and show their school spirit. The festivities began with an energetic pep rally.

As fans gathered in Clayton Gym, the Thunder Drumline welcomed them with a rousing performance. School cheerleaders invigorated the crowd by tossing out candy, Spartan spirit wear and temporary tattoos. Homecoming T-shirts, designed by members of student government and calling for the home team to “Crush the Cru,” sold out in a matter of minutes!

St. Stephen’s students enjoyed the gorgeous fall day indulging in their favorite carnival foods.

They played carnival games, danced to popular music, posed in the photo booth, competed in ping pong and 3x3 volleyball tournaments, built class floats for the Homecoming parade, and enjoyed a BBQ dinner.

Highlights of the night were wins for the Spartans against rival St. Andrew’s in both varsity field hockey and varsity football. St. Stephen’s varsity field hockey team defended their home field on Senior Night with a 3-0 win. Sophomore Delia Stephens scored the first goal on a broken corner, followed by Anneka Brink scoring from a shot in open field play. Stephens scored the third goal in the second half, and the Spartans sustained their lead for the remainder of the game.

Seven seniors were recognized after the game for their contributions to the field hockey program at St. Stephen’s, including: Kelly Hoover, Savannah Brilliant, Shandy Maccow, Anneka Brink, Anne Shea, Carson Smith and Grace Stewart.

Immediately following the field hockey game, the Spartan varsity football team took to the gridiron to face the Crusaders in football. St. Stephen’s was proud to welcome our friends from Marbridge, a group home for adults with cognitive impairments, to join the team in pregame preparations. Halftime festivities included the Fourth Annual Homecoming Parade, and this year’s golf-cart floats continued the tradition of keeping it creative, informal and wacky.

After a quick start for the Spartans, who took the lead 7-0, junior Uzoma Akunebu returned a 20-yard fumble recovery to advance the team to 14-0. The Spartans held the lead for the remainder of the night, securing a 41-19 victory. Defensive highlights included junior Gray Sutton forcing two fumbles and senior Enzo Monaco forcing another and playing within the St. Andrew’s backfield all night. Seniors Taylor Brown and Grant Owens carried the load for the offense, combining for three touchdowns. Brown finished the night with 101 yards rushing and 265 yards through the air. Owens led Spartan receivers with 187 yards on nine receptions. Junior Nicolas Griscom added two field goals of 37 and 32 yards, respectively. Way to go Spartans!

—marnie near, st. stephen’s booster club chair

PHOTOS TOP: Spartans and Crusaders during St. Stephen’s Homecoming game; MIDDLE: Griffin Foster, Deanthony Owens, Wyatt Gill as Martin the Spartan, Brittany Adams, Lee Trahan; BOTTOM: (Front row) Emily Young, Peyton Murphy, Mary Grace Wieland, Amelia Hammond, Nina Mosler; (Back row) Jake Chappelear, Beck Arnow, Tristan Nguyen

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St. Stephen’s Episcopal School

Spartan Magazine

Teaching Spartan Athletes to Become Leaders on and off the Field

Construction Begins on New Fitness and Wellness Addition Thanks to the generous support of the St. Stephen’s community and friends of the school, construction has begun on the Fitness and Wellness Addition.

The addition, which is scheduled to open September 2015, will provide much-needed space and resources to support our comprehensive athletics offerings, including physical fitness, training and rehabilitation programs. Most importantly, the new space will help students develop skills and habits to support a lifelong commitment to healthy living.

During the 2013–14 school year, a recurring topic discussed among the athletic staff was how we can enhance leadership opportunities for our athletes while keeping our focus on St. Stephen’s core values. In particular, we wanted to help students develop a "sense of service as a part of one’s rule of life.” With this core value in mind, this year the St. Stephen’s athletic department has intentionally added more formalized programming that connects our vision of leadership with service. As a result, all varsity teams at St. Stephen’s now engage in one meaningful service project during their season.

Team-building and service initiatives work well together on their own, but we also wanted to add ways to build leadership opportunities into our program. Therefore, we have asked that student athletes come to their coaches and athletic administrators with ideas and initiatives that they wish to pursue. The results this fall have been a blessing to everyone involved.

The field hockey and volleyball teams joined forces to raise money for Play 4 the Cure. Part of the National Foundation for Cancer Research, Play 4 the Cure is dedicated to raising funds in support of cancer research through sporting events. Players from both teams worked together to organize bake sales, design uniforms to be worn during contests, and educate the student body. The event raised some significant money, but more importantly, student involvement gave each player the sense that she can make a difference in our society.

The football team partnered with Marbridge House, a vibrant residential community of more than 240 adults with intellectual disabilities. After working with Marbridge last year, players wanted to continue to build on that previously established relationship. We invited the Marbridge community to our Homecoming game against St. Andrew’s, where they spoke to our players before the game and were recognized at halftime. We also hosted a football clinic for our athletes and theirs to play alongside one another. Many of our players have expressed the desire to continue their relationships with members of the Marbridge community after they graduate from St. Stephen’s.

The cross country team also has continued to strengthen its relationship with Breakthrough Austin, a program that enables low-income students to become first-generation college graduates. Cross country team members created a program called “Get Fit” in which they devote countless hours working with the Breakthrough students in the summer during an intense six-week program and on occasional weekends throughout the year. The friendships that are created between Breakthrough students and our cross country team are truly special.

The most daunting task for both athletic administrators and coaches has been to allow control of the planning and implementation of these programs to be handled primarily by our student-athletes. It is difficult to resist taking over critical parts of the implementation of service-learning projects, but without giving up control the adults face the risk of not allowing for organic leadership to emerge. We have found that each stumble along the way provides an opportunity for learning how to identify a problem, and involvement in the process from beginning to end has allowed our students to experience the full value within each program they are working with. I am excited to see how the program evolves as we engage in more partnerships throughout the school year.

—jon mccain, director of athletics

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ALUMN I N EWS

Winter 2015

Reunion 2014 During Reunion weekend, held October 17–19, 2014, we were blessed with beautiful weather and lots of alumni at both on- and off-campus events to celebrate all reunion years.

This year, rather than separate parties for each class that had already celebrated their 50th Reunion, we hosted a Spartan Pioneer dinner on Friday night at Lupe Tortilla restaurant not far from campus. Spartan Pioneers are those alumni who paved the way for future generations of Spartans. It was a fun event, and we plan to have it in future years. Some classes in these years had their own parties as well. You cannot have too many reunion parties!

Another special part of our 2014 Reunion was a celebration and dedication of the new St. Stephen’s Admissions office, which is named for Barbara and George Williams ’56. They made their gift in honor of Dean Towner, a member of the first faculty and a beloved administrator.

Our Reunion reception and dinner on The Hill continues to be a popular event among alumni. The view of the Hill Country as seen past the arms of the Brewster Memorial Cross is spectacular. The location has proven to be an excellent place to visit with old friends and enjoy good food and drink.

This year’s Reunion will be held October Oct. 16–18, 2015.

Everyone is invited to celebrate every year, but our special year classes next year will be the classes of 2010, 2005, 2000, 1995, 1990, 1985, 1980, 1975, 1970, 1965, 1960 and 1955. Please plan to join us!

— lou porter bailey ’71, director of alumni relations and planned giving

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St. Stephen’s Episcopal School

P H OTOS TOP: Christina Lowery ’89, Catherine McKay ’88 and Jonathan Quander ’89; BOTTOM: Marci Henna, Louis Henna ’64, Bonnie Wulff, Bart Wulff ’64, and Lee McBride Mackey ’64

Spartan Magazine

PH OTO S LEFT: Tex Duncan and Marti Beard-Duncan ’94 with their son, Tad; ABOVE: The Class of 1969: Josh Harrison, Vicky Williams Harrison, Mary Bachman Burke, Andy MacLellan, Anne Johnson Moultrie and Mike Childers Parten

P H OTOS CLOCKWISE: Members of the Class of 1979: Stanton Dossett, David Blackburn, Mark Cooper, Laurel Burns Stuckey, Carroll Lively Reeser, Susan Parker Wise, Lisa Rhodes, Stephen Long, Steve Pais; Mike Albert ’81, Jerry Buttrey ’54 and Philip Doig ’81; Laura Scanlan Cho ’89 and husband Kenneth Cho with their daughters, Callie and Eliza, and niece, Lida, Nancy Scanlan ’59, Wilson Scanlan ’94 and wife Jenna with their sons, Jack and Hank

ALUMN I N EWS

Winter 2015

Class Notes I went to The Hill with my brother Chris Hines ’58

1951

1954

WILL BREWSTER

MIKE HINES

scheduled activities. Just retracing our collective

wmbrew34@comcast.net

mjhines1@cox.net

footsteps was an event; our legacy is secure. The

for a short refresher visit, but didn’t get to any of the

campus is exceptional, just as is and was the Class of ’54.”

1952

Jerry Buttrey recently took a short trip to Cuba, where he has been taking small donations to a couple of hospitals

FRED HELDENFELS

for more than 20 years. His periodic appearances

fheldenfels@gmail.com

have resulted in close friendships at the William Soler Pediatric Hospital and the AIDS sanitarium, Los Cocos.

1953

1955 C H A R L E N E M O O R E M A RT I N

cma92837@aol.com

His visits to friends and bookstores aid his preparation for

Martin Taylor wrote that “really when you get to be

a Cuban history class he gives annually to seniors.

our age, there is not that much activity to account for. My brother Mack Taylor and I met in Los Angeles

E D NA N O E L H E L D E N F E L S

Mary Ingalls Waddell wrote that “at age 78, two

earlier this month and spent the weekend visiting

years short of 80, it’s time for me to get philosophical.

and enjoying the southern California weather. Marcia

Dale and Bob Scott visited the Getty Museum in Los

My classmates at Bancroft, St. Stephen’s, Dana Hall

and I went to Atlanta to spend Thanksgiving with

Angeles recently.

and Wellesley have a lot in common. Some people

our daughter Saralee, husband Daniel, and their two

fheldenfels@gmail.com

have passed on to life eternal; their work on earth is

children, and Mack came to Houston to spend Christmas with us and our daughter Carol, husband Mike and

Jo Kurth Jagoda and Bill Jagoda reported that their

completed. Those who remain here with us are either

daughters are in their mid-50s (!), are well and happy,

hiding out, are in nursing homes or assisted living, are

and grandchildren, aged 23 to 26, are all doing well

limping along (my category) or are achieving great

at whatever they are up to. One grandson is teaching

things, such as sculpting a statue for the town square

sustainable farming to elementary school children and

like my father’s 90-year-old great uncle Benny. I often lie

a bit of time volunteering at our church, St. Martin’s.

the other is eking out a living as a professional classical

in bed at night thinking of my grandmother’s Alzheimer’s

Daughter Carol and I will be driving to Austin to visit

violinist. Both granddaughters are into organic farming,

disease: I take the number 100, subtract seven, subtract

cousin Gretchen Shartle next week, and I do hope to

landscaping and yoga. They are spread out from

seven and so on. Next, I take the number 20, subtract

have enough time to visit St. Stephen’s before returning

California to New England.

three, subtract three and so on. Finally, I name the

to Houston.”

their two children. I am retired from the translation and interpreting business and have closed my office. I continue to accept a few, very limited assignments with a few long-time clients. Both Marcia and I spend quite

contiguous states where the boundaries touch on my Hildegarde Brewster Bird was sorry to have missed

state, Rhode Island. Whew. Made it. Then I pray that I

Reunion this year. She is also very proud of her

might be useful in some way as a Christian in a world

granddaughter, Elizabeth Bird ’10, who is working part

with countless problems.”

time as an athletic trainer at St. Stephen’s this year.

“She is a neat person!” Elizabeth is the daughter of

Mike Hines noted that “our 60th has come and gone.

Patty and Tad Bird ’79.

We probably all have reflected, if only briefly, on

Colin Phipps and Andre Derdeyn recently were hunting in the far northwest part of the United States. Both were well and glad to get together.

Mack Taylor wrote, “I’m a geologist and retired despite my best efforts to the contrary. I’m working with the University of Nevada to expand their Center for Research

that. As far as reunions were concerned, I can report

in Exploration Geology and trying to develop it into a

on only a part of the weekend: the Friday ’Pioneer

more international institution. On an irregular basis, I

Dinner,’ sponsored graciously by the school to honor

also mentor graduate students and recent graduates

those who blazed the trail. Our class was (I think) the

in geology.”

"earliest" represented there that evening, and we had three stalwarts: Allen and Ruth Doty Killam, Margaret

Keith Dunbar Hollins said, “It has been a rough year. My

and Ben Agnor and myself. For those with a nose for

new husband (four years) died of cancer some months

numbers, that amounted to just over 20 percent of our graduating class still living. (I don’t mean to slight those who were classmates and didn’t make the final year, but the records aren’t complete enough to make the calculation.) It was indeed an enjoyable evening; we Bob and Dale Scott ’53

26

St. Stephen’s Episcopal School

missed those of you who couldn’t be there. Saturday

ago and then my sister with dementia and a bad heart ... both had me in a blue funk for a while. But now I am appreciating life so much more. My health is good for now. My energy level is fine. My three boys are the best, and my daughters-in-law are cherished friends. I’ve been to graduations of grandchildren at The University of Washington, Yale, Georgetown and The University of

Spartan Magazine

Alabama — with more to come. I have been working a

1956

“August: Osage County” has just been released on CD. It

bit with Planned Parenthood; Tennessee is as backward

E L L E N M C C O R Q U O DA L E M A RT I N

was recorded by LA Theatre Works, edited from five live

as Texas. I still do a little work with antiques and

EMcCorq@aol.com

performances presented in LA in July of this year. Five of the original cast, including Deanna, participated. “I

decorating. I get way too much mail from retirement homes ... sound awful! I’ve gotten long-term health

Bob McDougald has been working away. “I am currently

care so that I can stay in my 100-year-old farm house

in Tunisia. Next work stop is back to Kurdistan.”

’til the good Lord gathers me and then I will go to medical research. Until then, I’m going to see the world

have not yet heard it, but am told good things. You can find it at www.latw.org. It will also be on NPR stations and streaming at some point.” You probably remember that Deanna won a Tony Award for Best Leading Actress

as best I can. I still miss Eleanor Altman ’54 and think

1957

in a Play in 2008 for “August: Osage County,” appearing

about all my St. Stephen’s chums. St. Stephen’s was

RUTH WILSON WIT TEN

and the original London cast. “I was finally able to meet

such a special time. I wish I remembered the scholastic

Ruthwitten@aol.com

Lou Bailey ’71 and her husband, Scott Bailey ’70,

parts better than the plane crash, sculling, crackers

in the original Chicago cast, the original Broadway cast,

when they came to see ’Death Tax,’ the play I did at

and milk, bell ringing, washing all those windows,

John Price just completed his eighth annual stint as

Lookingglass Theatre in Chicago this fall. Our time

track, Nancy Hines beating me every single time, and

chaplain-in-residence to the FBI Academy at Quantico,

together was all too short, but fun!” (Lou said that the

Mr. Kimball getting so mad at me for all the trips to

Va. He reported that it was the usual fun, together

play was fantastic and Deanna was excellent!)

the dentist to get my braces tightened. At any rate,

with doing counseling, holding chapel services in the

I’m enormously grateful for my time with all of you. I

Academy Chapel to which anyone in attendance had to

sincerely send my very best to each of you.”

pass through three security checkpoints, two of which required top secret clearances! Talk about Top Sacred!

Bartel Morgan wrote that “Beverly and I are still

1959 TOM ROMBERG

tromberg@me.com

chugging along, feeling our age, slowing down, but

Ruth Wilson Witten sent “Greetings from the Midwest.

enjoying life. We married off both grandchildren last

I recently made my second trip to Haiti to join in the

year, Sarah on the West Coast (Calif.) and Evan on the

inaugural festivities for the new school our diocese

living in bush camps and seeing every animal and

East Coast (N.Y.). We may never get on an airplane

helped to build in Mithon, St. Andre School. We also

bird imaginable. It was an exciting and fantastic trip.

again. This has been a medical year for the Morgans:

help with a Lessons and Lunches program that pays

I decided that I wanted to see elephants in the wild

Beverly got her left shoulder replaced to match the

tuition and lunch for a year for one student for about

before I die, and earlier this year I realized I’d better get

right. With both knees replaced a decade ago, now

$150. Amazing what can be done for so little in a place

with it. Go! If you haven’t been or want to do a safari,

she better fits her AOL handle of ’bionicmom.’ She is

that needs so much. It is marvelous to see the hope in

don’t wait.”

now recovering from cataract surgery in both eyes. I

the eyes of children and their parents in a place that

have dodged the scalpel since 2002. Our middle son,

has been so badly governed for so long. The Episcopal

Sam, has been clean and sober for two-and-a-half

Church presence is a hopeful and heartwarming promise

years and has gotten on the active waiting list for a

for the future that I hope we can sustain. The people of

liver transplant. We are really proud of him and are

Haiti certainly deserve it.”

enjoying having the old Sam back. Our children and

Jane Stieren Lacy has “just returned from Safari in Zambia — two weeks in South Luangwa National Park,

Tom Romberg wrote that “Peggy and I had lunch with Robin Kennedy a couple of weeks ago. She is in good health, having recovered from brain surgery.

John Kennedy was gone for the weekend to hear his daughter sing in an opera! We were in Corpus Christi following our D1 scholarship softball pitcher sophomore

grandchildren are the joy of our lives, even though we

Sara Sanborn Todd wrote that husband Sam Todd ’58

don’t get as much time with them as we’d like. Our God

couldn’t fit a Reunion trip into his schedule working for

with my son and his friend in our ’sport boat’ J70 class

and our church and our friends there remain the center

the Episcopal Diocese of Texas. Sara is still limping on a

in Houston. We built character and learned a few things

of our everyday life. I miss all you guys. Remember me

broken hip. She said, “Sometimes I feel like somebody’s

against eight boats. We won one, came in second in

when you sing ’The St. James Infirmary’ at the next

voodoo doll!”

another and found out what the back of the fleet looked

granddaughter who has had a fine fall season. I sailed

like, too. Art and Linda Kelly came to the Houston Yacht

Reunion.”

Club to visit after the racing on Saturday. They are in Charlene Moore Martin reported that “the last year

1958

has been doctor time for me. I broke the ball in my

J. P. B RYA N

shoulder. Then later I became so unsteady that I could

BryanJ@teai.com OR andrea@thebryanmuseum.com

not walk. Now I can walk, but I wouldn’t challenge

good spirits, having sold one of their "hurricane" houses and working on making the other one more livable. We enjoyed our catching up.”

Last year, after over a decade of studying in the doctoral

anyone to a foot race. I am just glad to be up and

Celia Jones said she is “still living and painting in Dixon,

around. I think of my classmates often and hope all is

N.M. Also, I am attending UNM at Taos and need seven

Philosophy, Ross Goodell finally completed his practical

well with them.”

more hours to graduate — am finally getting my B.A.

treatise and received the non-academic doctor of

this spring!”

spiritual science degree. “One up-shot of that was I have

program of Peace Theological Seminary and College of

now completed my first novel, a teen fantasy adventure, Deanna Dunagan reported that the audio production of

which I am preparing to publish, ’Harmonies of Magic.’”

sstx.org

27

ALUMN I N EWS

Winter 2015

The class is talking about having a get-together in South

lectures and training have focused on voting rights

Patricia Morrison and Eckie Wyatt-Brown Malick

Texas at Robin’s ranch in February or early March. She

and American Indian human rights issues.

’60. We would love to hear from other alumni when they are in the area. My husband and I keep

has room for all of us, and we are thinking about a threeday weekend so as to have more time to catch up. Class

Sarah Ford Terrey wrote that her play "Georgia & Me,"

pretty busy with our work, six children between

of 1959 members should contact Tom at tromberg@onr.

which premiered at the 2011 Mid-Town International

us along with their respective partners, and eight

com if you are interested in going.

Theater Festival, has evolved into a richer script and

grandchildren. There is never enough time to do all

a more developed performance. They are also adding

one would like, but we try!”

1960

a new layer to the story — the use of projections!

These performances were in conjunction with the

Richard Fullerton told us that their “son, Colin, is

PAT FAT T E R B L A C K

Sokolow Dance Theater Ensemble in December 2014.

studying for his master’s degree in classical guitar

ggpat77@gmail.com

For more information about Sarah and her play,

performance at good ol’ UT, just down the road from

please see www.georgia-and-me.com.

St. Stephen’s, and it would be perfectly ok with his

Pat Black traveled most of the summer. In June, it was across the pond to Ireland to sing with the Berkshire

ol’ parents if someone reading this would hire him to either play it for them or teach them how to play

Choral Festival outside of Dublin. The group enjoyed

1962

many day trips to various cathedrals and castles in

D AV I D S A N D E R S

personable as hell to boot…. I’m headed off to ol’

the area. In October, she had a glorious tour of Italy

rdavidsanders@msn.com

Virginny in a couple of days to film a little role on

it themselves, because he’s real good at all that and

an independent feature called ’Coming Through the

from Bologna to Rome with KMFA, Austin’s Classical music station. Special highlights were mini-concerts in

Sue Leverton wrote that “Jake and I are busily buying

Rye,’ for which I am growing copious amounts of

five different locations. And her traveling companions

our first warm clothes in many years. We head for

hair, as it takes place in the late ’60s and they want

were “multo sympatico.” A week later, she left for her

Antarctica in December. I can hardly remember the

to make sure I’ll have sideburns. I already HAVE the

50th Stanford reunion in Palo Alto. “It was so good to

last time I bought long underwear.”

suckers because I only leave the late ’60s under extreme duress, but one does what one has to do for

reconnect with dear vintage friends.” She then traveled down to San Diego to relax with another friend in the

Aline McAshan Gaubert told us that “the purpose

art.…Best to all, especially the surviving dinosaurs

high desert. She was sorry to have missed Reunion on

of life now is to help bring up our two young

from ’63.”

The Hill.

grandchildren in Jacksonville, Fla.” John ’Mo’ Hines has had one knee replaced and the other one will be replaced soon. He is totally retired

1961

1963

S T E V E J O L LY

JULIA CAUTHORN

stevejolly@mindspring.com

julia@texancapital.com

Bob and Mary Pillatt Felter “welcomed our third

Rue Winterbotham Ziegler noted that “this is my

1964

adorable granddaughter, Lauren, on June 23. We teased

sixth year as a professor in cultural anthropology

Would you like to be your class’s rep? We need

our son — he now has three college tuitions, three

at the University of San Francisco, a private Jesuit

one. Please contact lbailey@sstx.org.

weddings and three cars ahead of him. I told him to

institution founded in 1855. Last year I received the

start talking elopement now. As grandparents, we drive

Faculty Service Award from the University’s College

Thanks go to Joiner Cartwright for the many years

65 miles one way to get to the sports activities of the

of Arts and Sciences. I teach up to six courses each

he has served as Class Representative for the great

girls, ages 9 and 7. Lucky the family is ’close!’ In July we

year, mostly in the graduate International Studies

class of 1964. He is stepping down from the job;

vacationed in Wisconsin, Minn., and Manitoba, Canada.

Program. My students are from all over the world,

please contact Lou Bailey at lbailey@sstx.org if you

We saw a former business partner in Milwaukee, toured

and I learn as much from them as I hope they learn

would like to step up and take on this fun activity.

Taleisin (Frank Lloyd Wright’s home), the U.S. Hockey

from me. Most of them are in mid-career and have

Hall of Fame and the beautiful Cathedral of St. Paul,

had interesting professional lives. I especially enjoy

Rocky McAshan enjoyed visiting with Rosanne

and enjoyed festivities in Minneapolis during the All-

supervising graduate students during their fieldwork

Harrison Pollard, Louis Henna and Toby Sackton

Star Game. Bob and I were in New York in November

and thesis preparation. This summer we were back in

at the Saturday night Reunion dinner.

for Rotary-U.N. Day and a N.Y. Philharmonic concert

Uganda, East Africa, (where we used to live) to meet

at Lincoln Center. I am editor of the District 7620 RI

with my former students there. We also travelled

Jill Matthews Wilkinson reported that “our

Foundation newsletter, and I write media materials for

through Ethiopia, where one of my current students

class’s 50th Reunion was wonderful. We had three

the Annapolis Rotary Club public relations committee.

at USF has been conducting her research.

organized events: a lovely Friday night dinner

now, which means that Maria and he will spend more time in New Zealand!

given by Marci and Louis Henna in their home,

We are very close to eliminating polio around the world, thanks to RI donations, the Gates Foundation, and the

“My husband, Professor Emeritus John Ziegler, and

the Saturday night dinner at St. Stephen’s, and a

World Health Organization.”

I live in San Francisco during the week and return to

brunch Sunday at Texas French Bread sponsored

our home in the Napa Valley for long weekends. Last

by Stephen and Jill Wilkinson. Bill Forbes, Liz

Since retiring from federal service, John Dulles has

spring we met with Florence Owens Dodington ’61

Shepperd Pittman, Tom Flory and Scott Shelton

enjoyed pursuing his consulting business. Recent

and her husband who have a second home in San

came to Louis’s party but could not attend the

Francisco. We also have been treated to visits by

28

St. Stephen’s Episcopal School

Spartan Magazine

other events. The farthest-flung attendees were Toby

I’m president of the board of Front Steps, the nonprofit

Sackton and his wife, Marsha, from Mass., Marilyn

that runs the city’s homeless shelter for men and

Foster Clark of Baltimore, Virginia Gallaher Maurer of

provides housing for those who have been homeless.

Fla., Bayard Breeding of Colo., Lee McBride Mackey

I’m learning a lot about the complexities of this issue.

and her husband from Calif. (Please forgive me if I’ve

And I’m fighting for truth and justice, as always.

My two boys are both gainfully employed, one in

overlooked someone.) It was great fun, and I thought there was a special camaraderie among us.”

Class of 1977 fishing trip

Florida and one here in Austin. No grandchildren yet.

Clarke Heidrick has a big write-up in a recent alumni

live between trips far and wide. Present at the bash

magazine; he was instrumental in getting Austin’s

were David Barnett, Virginia Hamilton, Jan Goodloe,

hospital district, Central Health, formed and up and

Candy Miller, Pat Means King and Helen Thompson.

running, and in getting the deal put together for a new

A few weeks later some of us reconvened when Joann

medical school in Austin. It is impossible to keep up

Sullivan came to town—Pat Means King, James

with him. We are looking forward to a time when Rick

Collins, Candy Miller, Robert Sumners and myself,

Perry is no longer governor.

and Helen Thompson, who enjoyed plotting the 50th The Mackeys Bayard Breeding “enjoyed the Class Reunion,

Reunion coming up in a couple of years.

“My brother David McFarland ’70 and his family are living in the D.C. area. He is now a professor at U. of Maryland. They have a son.”

and kudos to Louis Henna and Jill Matthews for

Charlie Campbell couldn’t make the lunch, but E. Osborne ’62 returned from Fort had aDuncan good excuse: "I recently

sponsoring the gatherings! It was so good to see so

Campbell, K.Y., where I worked with the 101st Air

Mark Bode wrote, “My son and I bought Leona

many folks at the Reunion and to catch up on the

Assault Division as they prepared to deploy to Liberia

Helmsley’s old estate next to the ocean in Gulf Stream,

latest news. My gardening season here is drawing to a

to help contain the Ebola pandemic in western Africa.

Fla., 15 miles south of Palm Beach in 1997 and have

close but the hoop house project is coming along, and

They are going to execute a very difficult mission in an

been here ever since. I was disabled from about 1993

the neighborhood folks enjoy the fresh produce. I am

extremely challenging interagency, intergovernmental,

to 1999, but my health came back and I went back to

pleased that Denver is so active in the Urban Farming

nongovernmental and multinational environment."

doing financial planning for business-owner clients. I

movement. A recent trip to Vail was a major fun day. I recommend Vail to all, especially in the summer.”

then became disabled again in 2008 and am practicing Candy Miller has moved into her little cottage on her

again. Craig married a great girl from Paraguay

remaining 40 acres and travels to California as often

about four years ago, and they live on one side of the

as she can.

compound and I live with two golden retrievers on the other — thus, my health returning. Seven different

1967

wives will kill a man (trust me) so at last I found the mystery of good health for me: dogs, no women; Bill

R A N D Y PA RT E N

O’Reilly and Fox News by 8 p.m. with ’warm milk’ at 11

jrparten@parten.com

p.m. Since most men my age are dead anyway and 100 percent of men my age who have had seven wives are

Toby Sackton, Louis Henna and Robert McAshan

1968

dead (except for me, knock on wood), I guess I’ll settle for ’warm milk.’

ROB HENDERSON

1965

robhenderson49@aol.com

“I was elected to the Vanderbilt University baseball Hall of Fame this past year. I got to see all my baseball

PAT B O O K E R

Nancy Scanlan and Betty Brocky Brown wrote, ’59 “I continue to(Bachman) work on myOsborne ’62 buddies again after 40 years. We won Vanderbilt’s first

patter78703@yahoo.com

publishing business and market the services of

two SEC championships in 1973 and 1974. My pitching

construction-related companies to government

records (career ’saves’ and career ’ERA’) have gone with

agencies and others. Our daughter, Heather, is happily

the wind finally as Vanderbilt has had the best college

married to a comfortably busy opera singer, Jeremy

baseball program in the nation the past 6 or 7 years,

HELEN THOMPSON

J. Moore. She is thriving as an engineer at Lloyd’s

and 80 percent of their pitchers end up getting drafted.

Helent17@aol.com

Registry Quality Assurance (LRQA). They work out

Hey, it was Coach Bob Foster and St. Stephen’s that

Helen Miller still maintains a web page for the class

of their New York home and travel around the world

gave me my first chance in 1966, and I’ll forever always

at www.postoakfarm.com/SSSLink.htm.

either for his singing engagements or her LRQA-

be grateful. Perhaps if they put on a ’masters alumni

related business. I hope to see you all at our 50th.”

baseball game’ I can come back and throw an inning.”

her engagement to Ira Kaplan, also an avid bicyclist

John McFarland has been “riding the oil and gas

Robert Henderson reported that “Leilani and I are

(in fact, they met on a cycling tour). Our classmates

boom in Texas with my oil and gas practice and having

living in Arlington again, across the river from D.C.,

celebrated at a going-away party for Austinite Kaplan

fun writing my blog, www.oilandgaslawyerblog.com.

and taking a serious look at retirement. Well, she is

as he and Ann set off for Albuquerque, where they will

I’m serving on the St. Stephen’s endowment board.

taking a look at retirement. I’m not sure I do well with

1966

Ann Gateley surprised us with the announcement of

sstx.org

29

ALUMN I N EWS

Winter 2015

we are both ready for a change and looking forward to our new life in the mountains. We leave two married sons in the United States and a grandchild on the way.

We will be back to visit. I have stayed in touch with Josh Harrison and Andy MacLellan and will never forget them or St. Stephen’s or all the wonderful people that made St. Stephen’s so good.”

Empty-Nesters Cycle Across Provence Carolyn Long and seven other members of the St. Stephen’s community recently spent six days cycling, exploring, eating and drinking their way through vineyards and lavender fields in Provence, France. “Between these four couples, I counted 63 student years, four former trustees, six past Annual Giving (AG) chairs, and four former parent alumni AG chairs,” Long noted. (left to right) Doug Brothers and Lynne Rupp, Carolyn and Jack Long, Scott and Kacy O’Hare

1970 ELLEN JOCKUSCH

ejockusch@gmail.com

Ted Wright Family

Anna Beth Payne is looking forward to joining Semester

market demand on New Orleans in the coming decades;

at Sea for the spring 2015 voyage around the world.

and joined city officials, nonprofit leaders and other

She’ll be working as one of the psychologists aboard

local stakeholders in breakout sessions to identify key

ship.

issues for the teams to address in the coming months.

The teams met again in New Orleans in mid-December

Ted Wright is in his third year as director of the

to present their initial findings from a seven-week Design

University of California Irvine’s Campus-wide Honors

Research phase, which will include mappings, interviews

Program and his 21st year as a professor in the

and other analyses of existing conditions. Even though

department of cognitive sciences. He said that CHP is

Jim and his husband, David, will be in New York for a bit

an excellent program and might well be a good fit for

longer, they have bought a house in New Orleans, where

top St. Stephen’s students looking toward the West

Jim will move his architecture practice.

Coast. Ted also teaches one course in an introduction unstructured time and will try to keep up with something

to psychology sequence that is required for all majors in

Don Wreden was named senior vice president for

in education for as long as they will let me hang around.

either psychology or in psychology and social behavior,

patient experience at Sutter Health, a position he

Since 2007, I have been at Northern Virginia Community

as well as a seminar on positive psychology. He also

started in January. He finds it very exciting to be able

College, helping find resources through federal and

teaches graduate-level courses and, with a colleague,

to bring the perspectives of patients into all the clinical

other grants. Our daughters are doing well. Rachel,

oversees an active lab that conducts research involving

and operational functions of one of the largest health

33, is a cop in Falls Church (next jurisdiction west from

human attention, perception and movement. Ted has

care systems in the country. Also, he will be the national

Arlington) and Diana, 30, is a firefighter in Prince William

been married for 38 years and has two amazing adult

chairman of the American Medical Group Association

County (three jurisdictions west).

daughters. Last year, he and his wife, Nina, bought three

board of directors in 2015. He said, “My goal is to

acres in the mountains east of Irvine, where they have

leverage these opportunities I have been given to make a

Molly Dougherty told us that her “father died in

planted dozens of fruit trees, put in a garden, and are

real difference in health care in our country. The time is

February. He was almost 99, and his mind was sharp

planning for a new house.

now, and I feel blessed.”

until the end! The past few months I’ve been helping my husband, Richard ’Kip’ Pells, promote his new book,

Rudy Green was one of 67 former Yale players selected

’War Babies: The Generation That Changed America.’ It’s

1971

about the generation born during World War II, between

K AT H RY N M I L L E R A N D E R S O N

most famous stadium, the Yale Bowl. Rudy and his wife,

1939 and 1945, a neglected and highly influential group.

zjmiller1513@gmail.com

Joyce, went to New Haven the weekend of Nov. 15, 2014,

to an all-era team spanning the life of college football’s

for the celebration of the stadium’s 100th anniversary,

It’s a fun read!”

Jim Dart of the New Orleans-based design firm DARCH

for the honoring of the all-era team and to watch the

will lead one of three teams as part of the Van Alen

Yale-Princeton football game. The football team from his

Institute and the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority

senior year season (1974) also gathered to celebrate a

JOSH HARRISON

future ground competition in New Orleans. His team will

40-year “mini-reunion,” so it was a very special weekend

JHarrisonLaw@aol.com

explore policy as a design tool, considering alternative

indeed.

1969

property, development, legal and fiscal structures to Rick Sutton wrote that “the teachers and students from

reconsider the city’s established design policies in the

Stanley Johnson’s daughter, Katherine LaFosse,

my years in the late 60’s have been in my thoughts and

context of its collective post-Katrina capital of ideas.

graduated from the University of Arizona Rogers College

prayers often throughout the years. It was an incredibly

To get their work started, the teams gathered for a

of Law in May 2014. She was senior research editor of the

formative experience. My wife, Sandra, and I will be

workshop co-sponsored by the U.S. Green Building

Arizona Law Review.

moving to Central America in a couple of weeks to

Council on the opportunities and challenges of vacant

have fun with coffee and cattle. I retired from industrial

land reuse; heard presentations from the futures team

marketing, and Sandra retired from UPS in Florida, so

on the impact of changes in population, sea level and

30

St. Stephen’s Episcopal School

Spartan Magazine

Kathryn Miller Anderson reported that the class had

Kathy Gamble Pilugin said she was two weeks away

1977

a great mini reunion at Jennifer and Fred Myers’ Hill

from moving to her new home in St. Paul, Minn. “Brrrr!”

R O B E RT E T T I N G E R

Country house in the fall. Lots of people attended.

Check out her website at www.expatalien.com.

robert@ettlaw.com

1972

1975

MARGOT CLARKE

M A RY B R A N D T

time this spring. These will make for a total of nine

margotclarke@austin.rr.com

mary.l.brandt@gmail.com.

grandkids so far, with three more who are steps. The

L I Z F O S T E R LU C Z Y C K I

S Y LV I A M C I N T Y R E - C R O O K

oldest grandchild is 12, and oldest step grandchild is

lfoster@mail.smu.edu

sycrook1@cox.net.

... wait for it ... 23! That’s what I get for marrying well. I

Darrell David said, “John Foster ’74 and Willie

Viola Canales told us that her first book of poetry, “The

undergoing post-surgical radiation for prostate cancer.

Goffney ’74 stayed with me over Reunion weekend. We

Little Devil and the Rose,” is just out. “I’ll be spending

As Steve Lawlis said when I told him: ’That’s too young!’

had lots of great conversations about life during and

a week in San Miguel de Allende in November visiting

But that is the way of life. I intend to embrace each day,

since our time at St. Stephen’s, but what I’ll remember

schools reading ‘El Gusano de Tequila,’ the Spanish

however many there may be. It is fun to see the old

most is that every time I turned around, Willie was

translation of my novel, ‘The Tequila Worm.’”

Spartans sharing parts of their lives on Facebook. What

David Bryce said, “We have had lots going on in my family. Three daughters were pregnant at the same

am truly blessed with family and friends. I am currently

ironing another shirt before going out to school .... even for the hike in the gulch!”

a bunch we are.”

Both kids of John and Barbette Bratt Cooper are having wonderful college experiences! Blake Cooper ’12 is

1978

Alex Coke has “been keeping busy in Amsterdam, and

a junior at Hendrix College in Conway, Ark. Wesley

Would you like to be your class’s rep? We need one.

2015 looks to be even better. I’ve been working with free

Cooper ’14 is a freshman at Champlain College in

Please contact lbailey@sstx.org.

jazz pioneer Burton Greene and the Steve Galloway Big

Burlington, Vt. John and Barbette are working to pay for

Band. Recent gigs have taken me to Paris, France, and

tuition and enjoying being empty nesters!

Bochum, Germany, but I’ve done relatively little touring.

I was in Austin for December and presented my Child’s

Kimberlie Birdwell wrote, “I’m sorry I missed Reunion this year. I have had a busy year. I am still living in beautiful Bozeman, Mont. Winter arrived with a

Christmas in Wales program Sunday afternoon, Dec. 21

1976

at the First Presbyterian Church, among other things.”

K I M FA I R E Y

my little Ruby (my Australian shepherd) this year. I am

kim.fairey@gmail.com

taking time off from teaching Pilates, but I still practice

Facebook page: St. Stephen’s Episcopal School Class

daily. I visit Austin at least once a year to see my family.

of 1976.

Life is good!”

1973

vengeance! I enjoy riding my horse, Lucky. Sadly, I lost

DOUG ANDERSON

dlalaw@hotmail.com

Lissa Burnette Rabon wrote that “newly certified in the field of equine facilitated learning and healing,

1979

Erle Hoppe has been “living on the 16th story of a high

I have been traveling around the Southwest mainly,

C A R R O L L L I V E LY R E E S E R

rise in Houston’s museum district. I’ve been working

training horses for wheelchair clients and helping horses

carroll@reeser.net

on a small family-owned oil company operating on our

understand their new jobs as support for PTSD and trauma

ranch in the Permian basin. I have really enjoyed working

survivors. It’s really rewarding, and I have met so many

Lisa Rhodes reported that “Trisha Ryan and I were

closely with my brother, Mark Hoppe ’76 and sister, Ann

amazing folks. I keep trying to stay in the Dripping Springs

married on Tilghman Island, Md., on Sept. 9, 2014. It

Hoppe Gardner ’77. My triplet daughters are 28, and I’m

area but I am called to travel, which is fine with me.”

was a lagniappe that N.C. approved gay marriage a little

expecting a second grandchild in June!”

over a month later.”

Chris Smith reported being “so sorry that I missed

1974

our 35th reunion and seeing everyone who attended.

ANN RHODES MCMEANS

Carol and I had lunch with Susan Parker Wise and her

armcmeans@gmail.com

daughter, Marietta, several months ago while they were touring colleges in the Southeast. Was so nice to catch

John Williams said, “I have spent 90 percent of my

up with them both and know that there is interest from

adult life in Mexico, mostly in Mexico City. I returned to

Austin in the SEC. If anyone is passing through, please

Austin after the death of my mother in the summer of

contact me.”

2009 and restored her house here and now use it as a home base. I live between here and homes in Oaxaca and San Miguel de Allende. I spend most of my time

1980

playing the harpsichord, running, gardening, traveling

MILES WRIGHT

and following Mexican real estate.”

miles@veatchwright.com

Lisa Rhodes ’79 and Trisha Ryan

sstx.org

31

ALUMN I N EWS

Winter 2015

1981

for Christmas. This plan worked out so well, we’re going

1988

CHARLOTTE STUCKEY BRIGHAM

to do it again next year! Also, please keep your eye out

MARK ROWE

charlotteesbrigham@yahoo.com

for the November 2014 issue of Texas Monthly. I was

markrowe@henna.com

E R I C A P E T E R S S TA F F O R D

featured in there as a Texas Top-Producer in the Oil and

Erica.Stafford@bvcpa.com

Gas Industry! I was nominated by the president of the

Catherine McKay was “happy to report that I’m resident

American Association of Professional Landmen and, to

in Austin now, wishing I could see more of my Spartan

my surprise, I made the cut.”

friends, but I’ll get to it in time. I enjoyed seeing Maria

Erica Peters Stafford reported, “Your perennial class

Bergh ’89 and Gavin Phipps ’89 at their 25th reunion.

co-rep is still working for an accounting firm in Houston.

The firm recently added a new audit client to their list –

Claire Smith was “excited to share with my fellow

And my 10-year-old loved poring through the old

St. Stephen’s! So I got to tell my colleagues on the audit

alumni that this month marks 20 years since I opened

yearbooks, especially when he found the pic of Uncle

to keep an eye out for Seňor Philip Doig on campus. I

my first restaurant in Houston, the Daily Review. I

Tom Romberg in the 1959 yearbook! I am still with Shell,

saw Wendy White Naughton ’82 in Chicago in July. We

sold Daily Review in 2000 and moved to Chicago and

kids are 10 and 8 now, and we are doing great.”

took a road trip over to Culver, Ind., where my daughter

Connecticut with my husband, Russell Murrell, then

goes to summer camp. Our daughters are both 11. My

back to Houston in 2003 and opened my second

4-year-old is otherwise keeping me busy.”

restaurant, Shade, in the Houston Heights. December

1989

will mark the 5th anniversary of the opening of my third

L AU R A S C A N L A N C H O

restaurant, Canopy, in Montrose. We are expanding at

lcho@vervelabs.com

1982

Canopy and adding a coffee shop and barista counter, as

WENDY WHITE NAUGHTON

well as a new location and identity for our bar service,

Jenny Cook was happy to report that she’s pretty much

wendy.naughton@gmail.com

called the woodbar! Come and see me if you live in

finished kicking cancer’s ass and has happily resumed

or visit Houston. www.shadeheights.com and www.

planning her wedding to G.A. Purcell ’91. “It’s been a

Kimberly Reid Seals reported being excited to start on

canopyhouston.com.” Claire has hosted alumni parties

tough year, but thank God I had G.A.!”

a new career path. “I just began my training to become

at both Shade and Canopy; they are both fantastic!

a certified instructor in DDP Yoga. It feels great to hear one of my kids tell someone that his mom can do better push-ups than anyone in his gym class.”

1984 S U Z A N N E C A N TA R I N O P F E I F F E R

1983 L AU R A M E A R S M I R E C K I

llynnmir@aol.com

1990 JOSEPH FRISZ

friszman@yahoo.com

SuzannePfeiffer@austin.rr.com

Carolyn Cohagan has “recently moved back to Austin,

1985

where I’ve started Girls with Pens, an organization offering creative writing workshops for girls 9 to 17.

L I B B I E WA L K E R A N S E L L

I’m excited to be back in Austin, although it has, um,

libbieansell@gmail.com

changed a bit in the 23 years that I’ve been away.”

When we have taken long trips in the past, it was no

1986

1991

fun trying to catch up on work when we returned. So

E M I LY H U M M E L

LIZ FLEMING POWELL

small four- and five-day trips, coupled with the fact that

emhumm76@yahoo.com

lz.powell@gmail.com

Briggs Donaldson wrote, “Since I was going to turn 50 in July, I decided last year to take a bunch of small trips this year instead of taking one big trip for my birthday.

we took most of these trips during holiday weekends, resulted in a much less stressful return to the office.

“We went to Las Vegas for New Year’s for my first 50th

Emily Hummel reported, “Your class rep has switched to decaf.” Editor’s note: We’re not sure anyone will

1992

notice a difference….

MONIKA POWE NELSON

birthday party. Houston was second, Austin was third, and Scottsdale was fourth. We were able to see Jenny

giantmonsterprincess@gmail.com

Weinacht on the trip to Scottsdale, and we toured her

1987

Ryan Northington wrote that “Rebecca and I are still

gallery and bought a painting from her as well! Then

C AT H E R I N E H O E Y R A N DA L L

living in Haverford, Pa., just outside of Philadelphia,

we went to Las Vegas again for my fifth birthday party,

randallwe@aol.com

raising our four kids, ages 13 to 3 (two boys and two girls). We were all in Austin last spring and took the

Montreal for my sixth for pleasure and the Landmen’s Annual Convention, Denver for my seventh, Fort Worth

Lisa Prentice Hughes said she continues to live in

opportunity to visit campus. I had not been there in so

for my eighth, New Orleans for the ninth, and Dallas,

Louisville, Colo., with her husband, two daughters

long that I drove all the way to the end of Bunny Run.

Fort Worth, Houston and Austin all for my 10th, then

and their dog. She is busy with her kids’ activities,

I had no idea that the school entrance was no longer

Lubbock and Lajitas were our November parties. We

volunteering and substitute teaching. Occasionally, she

there. My kids were not impressed with my navigation,

ended the year with a bang in Pebble Beach, Calif., with

runs into Elizabeth Henna around town, which is fun.

but everyone was impressed by the campus and all the

my mother and brother and his wife and four children

They continue to love the Colorado mountains and are

new facilities. On the professional side, I recently left

looking forward to skiing and snowboarding this winter.

the private equity firm where I have been for the past 13

32

St. Stephen’s Episcopal School

Spartan Magazine

years to join SupplyOne Inc. as its chief financial officer

wine with my girlfriend at her winery. It’s Oregon;

and could not be more excited about the opportunity.”

that’s what we do. And yes, I have actually met every major cast member of the show Grimm around town,

It’s a busy time for Sara Moore McEachern and her

and I almost ran over Kyle McLachlan while they were

family. They moved back to Austin in November and

filming a Portlandia episode at my neighbors’ house.”

welcomed their third child in December.

Rhea Benbow Thomas lives in McKinney, Texas, with Rana Afeiche wrote, “You know, Monika, you are right!

This is a monumental year with most of us turning 40.

her two boys, Donny, 17, and Remy, 12. She’s blog The Shimul Family

After I turned 40 in April and received my 10-year service

agency in Addison, Texas, and senior managing editor

pin from Grand Prairie ISD, where I still enjoy my job as

and Catherine Cook Weiss has offered to take over.”

school psychologist, I celebrated both milestones by

Thank you, Catherine, for becoming the Class Rep for

taking a cruise to Alaska and Canada — two places that

this wonderful class.

until this summer had been on my bucket list. During our passage through the Tracy Arm Fjord, we spotted

manager at Splash Media Group, a social media/digital for an online publication, wayvs.

Beth Cockerham Mack and her husband, Stephen, live in Austin. Beth is an attorney with IBM, and Stephen is

humpback whales. I also spied a black bear by the side

1995

of the road eating plants. It was incredible; everyone

RHEA BENBOW THOMAS

should do this at least once in his/her lifetime!”

rheabt@gmail.com

an attorney with the Texas Public Utility Commission.

They have two sons, Owen, 3, and Henry, 1, and are expecting a baby girl in April.

Scott Thomas lives in Arlington, Texas, and has two

semack77@gmail.com

boys, Donny, 17, and Remy, 12. He is an attorney and

not too much to say. My three boys are keeping me busy,

SETH ALLEY

works as a hearing officer for the Texas Workforce

and Nathaniel and I bought a national parks annual

sethalley@msn.com

Commission.

pass earlier this year that we have been using like crazy.

A N N S T R AU S E R PA L M E R

We’ve been to Olympic National Park, Padre Island

annstrauser@hotmail.com

National Seashore, Rocky Mountain National Park,

H AW K I N S L I

Grand Teton, Yellowstone and Haleakala so far; we plan

hli3@yahoo.com

to go to Big Bend, Carlsbad Caverns, Petrified Forest and the Grand Canyon before the year is out. We’ve had

Josh Beckham and his wife, Ashley, have a 4-year-old

a great time hiking and watching the wildlife. The park

son, William, who attends the University of Texas Child

pass is the best $80 we spent this year.”

Development Center. Josh is assistant director for faculty and external relations for the Freshman Research

CALENDAR

BETH COCKERHAM MACK

Monika Powe Nelson reported that “as for me, there’s

Spring 2015 Campus Events FEBRUARY 21 Spring Swing Gala

Initiative in the College of Natural Sciences at UT Austin.

MARCH 9-20 Spring Break

mainly on restaurant and food brands, and my clients

Seth Alley reported that he is a practicing chiropractic

include Taco Cabana and Stubb’s Legendary Bar-B-Q. I

physician in Portland, Ore., specializing in sports

MARCH 21 School Night at the Observatory

most recently traveled to NYC to help ring the NASDAQ

medicine, internal medicine, nutrition and general

morning bell for my client, Fiesta Restaurant Group.

wellness. “I operate a multidisciplinary practice that

It was great to see our team on the Times Square

includes massage therapists, acupuncturists and

jumbotron. I’ve been married for almost three years now

naturopathic physicians. I work with three ballet

and love it. My husband, Stephen, and I have lots of fun

companies, women’s roller derby teams, and Dan

living in Dallas and travel as much as we can. I’d love to

McLoughlin of the Dan Plan as his personal chiropractor.

see any Spartans living in or visiting Dallas.”

I was named to Portland Monthly’s Top Doctors List this

Mary-Kate Smithers Jeffries is “vice president at an amazing smallish PR firm in downtown Dallas. We focus

year and am hoping to repeat the honor next year. I

1993

also sit on the investigative branch of the state board of chiropractic to look into any violations by or allegations

DAV I S B A L D W I N

against doctors in Oregon. The last fellow Spartan I saw

rdbaldwin@mac.com

in Portland was Josh Beckham, who came out in 2008 to run the Hood to Coast race and was featured in the

1994

documentary "Hood to Coast," which is an awesome movie if you’re into running. I think seeing Josh on the

G R E T C H E N C O N N A L LY D O Y L E

big screen would be fun. I am not married and am doing

gconnally@gmail.com

my part to control overpopulation by not having any children, so there’s not much to report there. When I

Thanks to Gretchen Doyle for her excellent years of

am not in my clinic, which is rare, I am either playing

service as your class rep. Gretchen wrote, “I’ve decided

golf, cheering for the Timbers soccer team, or making

APRIL 3-6 Easter Holiday Break APRIL 10 Grandparents Day APRIL 19 Towner Piano Recital MAY 22 5 PM Baccalaureate MAY 23 9:30 AM Upper School Graduation MAY 29 8:30 AM Middle School Closing Ceremony JULY 26 School Night at the Observatory For more information about calendar events, visit www.sstx.org/MySSES.

to pass the reins of the Class Rep on to someone else,

sstx.org

33

ALUMN I N EWS

Winter 2015

1997 CAMERON BEESLEY

leardsfool@gmail.com

Cristina Hidrobo has expanded her private practice to full time and has begun to run therapy as well as The Chan Family

supervision groups. Her husband Daniel Young ’98 continues to manage every aspect of food and beverage

Shimul Kothari Ray and her husband, Jason, have been

at the AT&T Conference Center. Their kids are doing

in Northern Virginia almost 14 years, which is so hard

great, getting bigger and sweeter every day!

to believe! They have two boys, Austin, 8, and Dylan, 5, who are growing up so fast. They enjoyed supporting the

Baylee Wilkins Vasquez ’00 with her son, Roman

Washington Nationals baseball team this season and

1998

Baylee Wilkins Vasquez reported that “in March we

attended many games together.

JA R E D H O C K E M A

moved back to Austin after living in Salt Lake City for

jhockema@mac.com

the past six years. I married my longtime boyfriend,

Stephen Driver is working as assistant district attorney in Houston. He has been married 14 years to his wife,

Sergio Vasquez, on May 31 in a small ceremony at Travis County Courthouse. Only our parents were present, and

Ashlie, who is choir director at their church. He and

1999

Ashlie have three kids, Maddie, 11, Travis, 9, and Elise,

BECKY HOLLIS DIFFEN

decided to make his grand appearance early! Roman

6. All of their kids are in Scouts and Stephen is the cub

Becky@beckyanddaniel.com

Xavier Vasquez was born at 8:57 a.m., coming in at 5 lb.

master for his son’s pack.

Don’t forget to join the Class of ’99’s Facebook group.

14 oz. and 18.5 inches long. We are over the moon."

almost 3-year-old daughter after living in New York City

2000

for 12 years. She is thrilled to be back in Austin.

2001

TRACEY HERMAN SHABABO

JULIET FRERKING

traceyshababo@gmail.com.

frerking@gmail.com

Isabel Hidrobo has moved back to Austin with her

Ben Chan, his wife, Joan, and their daughters, Lexi and

we surprised them the day before. On Oct. 21, our son

Laney, are doing great. “We really enjoy the fall foliage

Melissa Stratton Potapova reported, “We moved to

up here in the D.C. area. The weather is crisp, and the

London in the fall of 2013 and are still loving it here.

leaves have fiery color. In late September we braved

We’ve all adapted well, and our soon-to-be-3-year-old,

Disney World for a week and Lexi, our oldest daughter,

Eleanora, sounds British already. Seasons are also a

got to meet all the princesses as well as trick or treat

novel concept. I’m working as general counsel with a

during Mickey’s "Not so Scary Halloween Party." Lexi

group of closely held investments and a related startup

Kean Tonetti and her original central Austin carpool

really likes to dote on her little sister Laney who is now

company back in Texas, so I’m getting pretty good at

reunited at Martha Todd’s lovely wedding in September.

6 months old.

calculating time zones for conference calls across the

The other carpoolers were Maria Murphy-Mayberry,

United States from here. The fun part about living in

Catherine Herring, and Monica Santis.

After living and working in Manhattan for eight years,

London: everyone wants to come visit, so we’ve had a

Brad Parker traded being a senior creative engineer

steady stream of family and friends. Come over, the tea

on Park Avenue for a new role as director of front end

is great!”

2002 KEAN TONETTI

stonetti@gmail.com

development for W2O in Austin, Texas.

Tracey Herman Shababo moved with her family to

1996

the East Bay in California in July. Tracey is the registrar at Circus Center, a circus arts training facility in San

ELIZABETH ANNE SYKES RAINS

Francisco while her husband Ben pursues his Ph.D. at

earains_lpc@yahoo.com

Berkeley. Their daughter, July, is a talkative toddler who

SHANNON POWERS FLAHIVE

loves swimming and terrorizing the family cat. Tracey

spowers1@austin.rr.com

hasn’t been on the flying trapeze yet, but is gaining

Martha Todd’s Wedding

proficiency on the tight wire.

Billie Waite Pennington is “in my sixth year teaching physics and coaching field hockey at St. Stephen’s.

Kwasi Agbottah and his wife, Elizabeth, are still

Pierce, my 1-and-a-half-year-old son, may be one of

preschool teachers in east Austin, part of a church

the youngest St. Stephen’s students, as he attends the

called Ecclesia Austin, which meets downtown. They still

daycare on campus, which is great!”

enjoy riding Cap Metro.

34

St. Stephen’s Episcopal School

2003 WYNN MYERS

wynnmyers@gmail.com

Spartan Magazine

2004

studies on governance and security issues with the hope

2009

BRIAN KAUFMAN

of serving in the federal government after graduation.

J. J. B O T H A

brian.r.kaufman@gmail.com

johannbboth@gmail.com

Selina Strasburger reported that she just moved to

C H A N TA L S T R A S B U R G E R

Kevin Malone married Amy Wolf in November 2014. The

London. While she was sad to say goodbye to Singapore,

chantal.strasburger@gmail.com

couple met as undergraduates at Washington University

she is excited for the adventure ahead. She’s still

and currently reside in New York, N.Y. Praveen Narra, Anil Ali, Daniel Butschek, Sarah Cooper, Tara Grant Schetzel, and Mallory Malone ’06 attended the wedding.

working for the same advertising agency (BBH) and is loving being in a new city. “Come visit!”

Frances Kelley Ozaki enjoyed dinner with International

2005 R A C H E L K AT Z

Program director Sarah Todd during her recent school trip to Japan.

2010 C A R L O T TA G A R Z A

carlotta.garza@gmail.com O M A R YA G H I

omaryaghi2@gmail.com RYA N N Y O U N G

rpk228@gmail.com

rhy9@cornell.edu

Matt Blankenship is living in Los Angeles, working as a

Matt Vale said, “I have begun a master’s degree in

songwriter and performer in his group Disco Dust and

systematic theology at Notre Dame, and I am engaged

his solo project, The Sometimes Island. He also works at

to be married to an extraordinary young woman from

a music academy and is learning to write code for app

Hungary and Salzburg, who is thankfully far smarter

development.

and more organized than I am.”

Brianna Livsey and James McDonough were married

After graduating from Boston College in May, Maxine

in March 2014 in Austin and recently bought a house in

Olefsky returned to Texas to begin her master’s

North Austin. “I am working as an academic counselor with UT Athletics and actually now work with Lennie

Frances Kelley Ozaki, Yukihiko Ozaki and Sarah Todd

Waite ’04 — small world!”

program. She graduated with a B.S. in biology and a minor in theology from BC. She moved to Houston and is getting her master of public health degree in biostatistics at the University of Texas Health Science

Kathleen Ayres is living in Asheville, N.C. “It’s like

2007

Austin, but much smaller and with four seasons.” She is

ANNE BUCKTHAL

living in Houston and being much closer to her family

volunteering in the local community theatre, fostering a

anne.buckthal@gmail.com

in Austin, as well as enjoying the warmer weather.

cat, doing some freelance copyediting, and has jewelry

COLE ARLEDGE

on consignment in a local antique shop.

2006 S E L I NA S T R A S B E R G E R

selina.strasburger@gmail.com SARAH CROMWELL

sarahhcromwell@gmail.com

cole.arledge@gmail.com

Center School of Public Health. She’s been enjoying

Madeline Buckthal “graduated from SMU in May 2014 with a bachelor in psychology and cultural anthropology. I am now pursuing my masters in

2008 AMANDA KUSHNER

counseling from SMU and hoping to become a licensed professional counselor specializing in adolescents.”

amandakkushner@gmail.com

Max Daniller-Varghese is currently a Ph.D. student in

Amanda has set up a Facebook group for the class

geology at UT Austin.

called: St. Stephen’s Class of 2008.

Allie Cordell recently started her M.A. in global affairs at Yale’s Jackson Institute. She will focus her master’s

2011 L I N D S AY R E D M A N

llredman@go.olemiss.edu G R AY T W O M B LY

Twombly.Gray@gmail.com H E N RY S I K E S

WHSikes1@gmail.com A L I A YA H G I

ayaghi@stanford.edu

Chi Wei Liu reported that he is currently “one-eighth of a DDS. I hope everyone and everything at St. Stephen’s is going fine.”

Geoffrey Livsey ’11, Mark Livsey, Jim McDonough, Brianna Livsey McDonough ’05, Melissa Livsey and Caitlin Livsey ’08

sstx.org

35

ALUMN I N EWS

Winter 2015

2012

Dallmann-Jones. Both books deal with the need to shift

Amann; nephews Werner Campbell and Carl Campbell;

HELEN ELIZABETH OLD

from a curriculum-centered approach to learning to a

cousins Brent Blaylock, Jo Blaylock and Mo Sandel; and

helenelizabeth1@me.com

student-centered approach. Actually, that was what I

numerous extended family members and friends.

CAROLINE PRINGLE

was doing back in the 1960s and 1970s at St. Stephen’s.”

caroline.pringle@yale.edu

Robert Rankin White ’60

JA K E P O L I T T E

jake.politte@rocketmail.com

IN MEMORIAM

Y O S UA A D I YA S A

yosua.adiyasa@hotmail.com

Robert Rankin White, Ph.D., age 72, noted writer and historian of the early Taos Art Colony, died on July 17, 2014, after a lengthy struggle with Parkinson’s Disease.

Larry Dent ’63

White lived in his historic home near the University of

John Laurence Dent, publisher and editor, age 68, died

New Mexico with wonderful caregivers, family, neighbors

on May 7, 2013, in Toronto. He was predeceased by

and cats. He served in the U.S. Army in Vietnam, after

parents Charles H. and Mary Dent, brother Charles Dent,

which he returned home and worked on an advanced

JA M E S C A R T E R

and partner Leo Goldsmith. He is survived by former

degree in hydrology. He lived and worked in Santa Fe

jamestevecarter@gmail.com

wife Nikki Smith and daughter Sabrina Dent. He died

before moving to Albuquerque, where he worked for the

LISA NORDHAUSER

peacefully after a long illness under the compassionate

American Geological Survey. Following his passion for

lisa.nordhauser@gmail.com

care of Fairfield Residential Home.

the art of New Mexico, at age 50 he completed his Ph.D.

2013

in American studies from the University of New Mexico.

Terry Lovell Smith ’61

He published numerous articles, three books and was a

Terry Lovell Smith of Austin, Texas, passed away on July

noted speaker on the Taos Art Colony. He also served as

JA C K LY N H O R T O N

20, 2014, at the age of 71. She was born in Houston to

president of the Historical Society of New Mexico. White

jaclynlhorton@gmail.com

parents Vivian (Sandel) and Hollis Lovell. Her funeral

is survived by his sister, Eleanor White Viebig, and his

NAT H A N G O L D B E R G

service took place on July 24, 2014. Terry is survived

brother-in-law, Richard Viebig, of Houston; nieces Peggi

nathangoldberg@college.harvard.edu

by her husband of 23 years, Ronny L. Smith; daughter

Bloomquist and Tracy Broyles; and numerous cousins

McKenna Kuhr; sons Jerry Smith and his wife, Jennifer,

and other loving family members and friends.

2014

Jamie Molina has started her first year at Emerson

and Greg Smith and his wife, Kerri; grandchildren

College in Boston. She couldn’t make Reunion this

Sommer Lynn Smith, Parker Smith and Peyton Smith;

year because her family was in Boston with her for her

sister Hollisa Hahn; nieces Debbie Jacks and Kerry

parents’ weekend at Emerson!

FORMER FACULTY

Alumni News Submissions Join Your Classmates Online

Lawrence Becker reported, “I was sorry to miss most of

Alumni are contacted by their class rep several times a

the Reunion, but I did get to go to Fred Myers’ gathering

year for news and information. For assistance contacting

Like us on Facebook at:

on Friday evening and had several good sharing

your class rep or to submit news directly, please contact

www.facebook.com/StStephensAlumni

conversations with a small group of alumni there. It

Alumni Director Lou Porter Bailey ’71 at 512.327.1213 x112 or

Join our St. Stephen’s Episcopal School

was a full weekend. Earlier in September I attended a

lbailey@sstx.org. To find your rep online, please visit the

Alumni Facebook group at www.facebook.com/

three-day seminar on integrative medicine and mental

Alumni page at www.sstx.org/alumni. If you do not use

groups/8735891587/

health in San Antonio. There were over 300 attendees

email and would like to get in touch with your rep, please

and me — as educator and freedom fighter in the war

call Lou Bailey for the rep’s mailing address and phone

Chat with us on Twitter at:

on autism. It was an amazing experience of sharing and

number. We welcome high resolution photographs with

twitter.com/ststephenschool

learning. I went to a follow up seminar in Houston on

your Class Notes news summary. When you send a high

December 6th. The learning never ends. I continue to

resolution photo, please always identify everyone in the

Connect with us on LinkedIn at:

be a resource for parents and grandparents who have

photo, make sure we can see all faces clearly, and make

www.linkedin.com – St. Stephen’s

received a diagnosis of autism for one of their children.

sure to send a JPG format in the largest size possible (at

Episcopal School Alumni

least 900 pixels; 3" wide at 300 dpi).

Check out our YouTube Channel at:

“I have been helping Jim Hullihan, producer of Live Out Loud, a multi-media presentation he takes to schools

Printed submissions may be mailed to:

across the country to help students take control of their

Spartan magazine

learning and make a difference in their communities.

St. Stephen’s Episcopal School

I’ve seen the presentation five times in the Austin area.

6500 St. Stephen’s Drive

Another project I’m involved in, along with several other

Austin, TX 78746

educators, is to help sponsor the publication of two new books on education: ’Educating for Human Greatness’ by Lynn Stoddard and ’Fixing Public Education’ by Anthony

36

St. Stephen’s Episcopal School

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www.youtube.com/user/ststephensaustin

Have you received any emails from the alumni office recently? If not, we may not have a current email address for you. Please send your current email address to lbailey@sstx.org so you won’t miss invitations to fun events and news about your classmates. Thanks!

ANNU GIVIN AL G

The gifts you give make the real difference between a good school and a school that is truly special.

You selected St. Stephen’s Episcopal School because you recognize the importance of an

outstanding educational experience, both in the classroom and beyond. A major ingredient to St. Stephen’s success is the generosity of the full school community during the Annual Giving campaign.

With Annual Giving, every gift counts and is an important investment in this extraordinary school on a hill.

Your participation matters. If you make one gift to St. Stephen’s this year, please consider Annual Giving, First! www.sstx.org/givenow

6500 St. Stephen’s Drive Austin, Texas 78746

If you receive multiple copies of this publication or have updated address information to share with us, please send an email to jmullinix@sstx.org. Thank you!

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SNAPSHOT Modern-day image of Brewster and the Chapel by Adam Long ’09

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