ALUMN I N EWS
Summer 2016
Thomas Ulmer Sumners ’99 Thomas (Tom) Ulmer Sumners, son of Pam Ulmer Sumners Bowers and the Rev. Charles A. Sumners III, died on March 13, 2016. He was born on Feb. 25, 1981, in Ft. Worth, Texas, and attended St. Philip’s Episcopal School and Moreno Junior High in Beeville, Texas, and St. Stephen’s Episcopal School and Anderson High School in Austin, Texas. He graduated from Full Sail Academy in Orlando, Fla., with an associate’s degree in Recording Engineering. He is survived by his mother, Pam Ulmer Sumners Bowers, and her husband, the Rev. Thomas D. Bowers, of Morehead City, N.C.; and his father, the Rev. Charles A. Sumners III, and his wife, Robin Woods Sumners, of Cuero, Texas; and his brother, Charles A. Sumners IV, of Pflugerville, Texas. He is also survived by aunts and uncles Thomas Woodward Sumners, Paula Sumners, Robert Mings Sumners, Tina Sumners and Susan Sumners; and cousins Thomas Woodward Sumners II, Matthew Sumners, Mary Peyton Sumners and Christina Sumners. He was pre-deceased by his aunt, Thomasina Ulmer Rettberg, and his grandparents, the Reverend Charles A. Sumners, Virginia Mings Sumners, Thomas Porter Ulmer and Alice Palmer Ulmer. He is missed by his many family members and friends. A memorial service was held on April 9, 2016, in the St. Stephen’s Episcopal School Chapel. Jack Andrew Hollon, Former St. Stephen’s Teacher Jack Andrew Hollon of Wimberley, Texas, passed away on Nov. 17, 2015. After an automobile accident, he was taken quickly and without pain, surrounded by family and friends. Jack lived a full, generous and remarkable life. Born on Feb. 28, 1937, in Wellington, Texas, the eldest son of James and Margaret Hollon, Jack grew up on a farm near Princeton, Texas. When he was 14 years old, he and his family moved to a ranch near Wimberley on the Blanco River. By the time Jack graduated from San Marcos High School, he had fallen in love with the Hill Country. Jack graduated magna cum laude from Rice University in 1960 with a mechanical engineering degree. After serving as an artillery officer in the U.S. Marine Corps for two years, he was awarded a grant to study advanced mathematics and earned a master’s degree from The University of Texas in 1967. He had a gifted analytical mind, and he shared his passion for learning with hundreds of students during a celebrated career in teaching: Burnet High School (one year), St. Stephen’s Episcopal School in Austin (five years), Albuquerque Academy (four years), St. Mark’s School of Texas in Dallas (15 years as math chair), and Wimberley High School (two years). He was a founding board member of the Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District and the Texas Land Trust Council, founding and sustaining board member of the Wimberley Valley Watershed Association, and member of Citizens
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Alliance for Responsible Development. A lifelong naturalist, he felt a deep connection with the world and its people. He faced life’s challenges with strength, honesty and dedication, but he seldom spoke of his accomplishments, preferring to serve others and his community. Jack is survived by his brothers, Jerry Hollon and Mike Hollon; daughter Suzanne Hollon; son Matt Hollon; beloved companion Dorothy Knight; sisters-in-law Sandi Hollon and Lynda Hollon; son-in-law Russell Strahan; daughter-in-law Teri Sperry; granddaughters Lauren Funes and Christine Strahan; grandson Sam Hollon; grandson-in-law Hector Funes II; great-grandson Hector Funes III; nephews Andy Hollon, Brett Hollon and Tom Lane; and nieces Kim Earley and Lesley Moreno and their families. Daniel Grace, Former St. Stephen’s Teacher and Facilities Manager Daniel Harold Grace, 83, of Corpus Christi, Texas, passed away on Jan. 26, 2016, in Corpus Christi. Born at home a few miles west of Austin to the Rev. Arthur D. Grace and Lena Grace, he lived most of his life in Texas. Daniel started working at a young age, dropping out of school to help support his family at the end of World War II. As a teenager, he built his family a new home out of stone, complete with plumbing and electrical, by himself. Dan entered the U.S. Navy during the Korean conflict. He was awarded a place in the first class of 50 candidates for officer school after Korea, was sent to West Point Prep for his GED, studied engineering at Purdue, and was commissioned as an engineering officer on a destroyer.
After service in the Navy, Dan worked as a paving and street contractor in Westlake Hills, but his fascination with how things work led him to explore a number of other businesses. He taught at St. Stephen's Episcopal School while in charge of the campus facilities. Dan eventually moved to Wimberley, where he created Olde Towne Plaza and had a number of businesses, including a hobby shop and a handful of flower shops in the area. He also made art pieces of carved wood and stained glass. Following his retirement, Dan moved to Corpus Christi, where he met and married the last love of his life, Bell Tucker Dudley Grace ’54. Dan was loving and proud of his two children, Randall P. Grace and wife Gayla of Bossier City, La., and Lisa Grace Wright and husband John Wills of Corpus Christi, Texas. He is also survived by his brother, Phillip Bruce Grace of Bertram, Texas, as well as his many loving grandchildren, a few nieces, nephews, and other friends. He was preceded in death by wife Margrit, and brother Arthur Ross Grace.