in memoriam…
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Valley. This involved borrowing a horse trailer to take the horses from the School to my house in Mission Canyon, where we spent the night. Bright and early next morning, we rode up Rattle Snake Canyon, crossing the San Marcos Pass Road near the summit and continuing on El Camino Cielo. The views were spectacular and seismic oil exploration was in full swing in the Santa Barbara Channel. Huge “Old Faithful”like plumes of water would appear from time to time in the Channel as we continued on our way to the trail that led us down to the Valley floor. By that time the horses and we were dead tired so, at dusk, on the last stretch of road to Paul’s ranch, his Dad drove down to meet us in his Mercer Raceabout—spirits were lifted no end! Peter Farrand ’53 shared: What I remember most about Paul is that he threw me the first curve ball I ever faced—Two Gun groveling on the ground in fear of cranial damage while the ump said “Strike one.” And we played a lot of tennis together; he was always better but the games were always fun.
FRIENDS PATRICIA LOWREY HOOPER Patricia Rose Lowrey Hooper, a generous supporter of The Thacher School and wife of the late John Hooper ‘34, died peacefully on June 3, 2010, at the Sequoias in Portola Valley, Calif., at the age of 87. She is survived by her older sister, Helen Virginia Brown; younger brother, Charles Lowrey; children: John Charles Hooper, Margo Hooper Blair, Lawrence David Hooper, and Helen Hooper McCloskey; and grandchildren: Alexandra Blair ’98, Alden Blair ‘01, Hannah Hooper ’00, Nate Hooper, and Rachel Hooper.
MICHAEL GREENE CdeP 1962 Michael A. Greene passed away while riding his mountain bike in Mammoth Lakes, Calif., on June 22, 2010, when he suffered a heart attack. He was 65 years old. Michael was born in Los Angeles on Jan. 27, 1945. He was the son of Dorothy and Irving, who owned a furniture store, and younger brother of Marcia. Maxwell Greene ’01 shared the following obituary for his father: Michael loved Thacher. He developed his love of horses and the outdoors while there. He was a student of Marvin Shagam and Jack Huyler, Jesse Kahle and Fred Lamb. His mother, Dorothy, donated furniture for and decorated the first Alumni Room. He was a member of the Silver Dollar Club. Michael loved horse camping while at Thacher, and always remembered the landscape of the Los Padres Forest, which he revisited during a horse camping trip with his son, Max ‘01 in 2001. After graduating from Thacher, Mike went on to Cal Berkeley, where he learned about social justice and law. He became a lawyer and practiced in Los Angeles at the same firm, Greenberg Glusker, for 37 years. His dedication to social causes was admirable, and he was on the Board of Directors at the Western Center on Law and Poverty (wclp.org) and involved with the ACLU. Still keeping with his outdoor nature, he continued to ride horses like Scarlet and Chico, backpack, ski, hike, and ride his mountain bike. He loved his dogs over the years, from Sidney to Eddie, Bear, Rusty, and Dover. He was an astounding, outstanding, and simply wonderful man. The best part about being around Michael was that one always knew how he felt. He was loving, caring, joyful, and proud. Michael was a flame that lit the way for us all, and he led well. He is survived by his mother, Dorothy, his sister, Marcia, his children Sara, Josh, Max ‘01, and Maggie; his wife, Beth, and his stepsons, Michael and Richard. Andrew Kerr ’62 sent this e-mail message to the Alumni Office on June 24, 2010: I had known Mike since the early ‘50s, since we both went to Silver Pines Camp, which was run by Newt Chase and was a prep experience for Thacher. Mike was a congenial classmate at Thacher and afterwards was an exceptionally loyal and contributing member of our class.
44 FALL 48 fall 2010 2009
ELEANOR SMITH LAND Eleanor Smith Land, beloved wife of Christopher Land (Director of Communications, English teacher), and mother of Alexandra, Douglas CdeP 2008, Carson ’11, and Beatrice ’14, died peacefully at home in Ojai on June 14, 2010, after a two-year journey with cancer. Eleanor didn’t let her illness prevent her from staying involved with Thacher, whether soliciting auction donations from Ojai’s merchants, stopping by the Dining Hall for lunch on Wednesdays, or passing out orange slices to her son’s lacrosse team. Memorial services were held in Ojai and in Eleanor’s home town of Winnetka, Illinois.
OLGA IGNON Olga Ignon, librarian at Thacher from 19591966 and wife of Gui Marcel Ignon, faculty member from 1951-1963, passed away on November 7, 2010. She is survived by her loving children and grandchildren including sons Alexander, Roger CdeP 1962, and Lance CdeP 1974, and granddaughter Madeleine CdeP 2005.