NewsNotes A lu m n i P ro f i l e
John Hall ’68
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The Father He Never Knew
n December 2011, John Hall ’68 received a truly special Christmas gift: his first meeting with the biological father he never knew.
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John was adopted as an infant by Lydia and Francis Hall. John’s adoptive father, who died in 1999, was the CEO of electric guitar manufacturer Rickenbacker, a position John holds today. As John grew older, he became curious about his birth parents. His investigations came up empty until he discovered the name Gary Miller on a legal bill in his adoptive father’s records. John then tracked down Miller’s high school yearbook photos, which revealed a resemblance too close for coincidence.
1981 • Steve Farley is the assistant minority leader of the Arizona House of Representatives. In March, he announced his candidacy for State Senate, which will be decided during the November elections. Steve is “still doing large public art projects all over the country, including Salt Lake City, Phoenix, and Santa Clarita, CA.” During Alumni Weekend last October, Steve caught up with his former English teacher Lach MacDonald, who taught at Webb from 1956-1982. - 10 Michael Turner started a new commercial insurance brokerage in Las Vegas and Costa Mesa, CA: Miller United Insurance. His sons, Tyler and Jordan, are in business school at Loyola Marymount University. - 11
1982 • Many thanks to Jesse Albert for being a guest speaker at Sophomore Career Evening. Jesse talked with students about his work as a producer of film, television, and digital media. - 12 Bill Bauman is the proud dad of a VWS graduate. Brooke graduated in June and plans to attend Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX, this fall. - 13
1983 • Derek Deskey is enjoying life in Georgia. Last October, Derek and his son, Will, teamed up at a Northwestern University Sailing Team Alumni Regatta. “We were the youngest and oldest competing sailors
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John and Miller finally connected through the alumni office of Pomona College, of which Miller is an alumnus. On December 26, John flew to Hayden, Idaho, to meet his biological father face to face. John learned that his birth mother had been Miller’s high school sweetheart. When she became pregnant, she and Miller agreed that it was best to give the baby up for adoption. While Miller later had other children, he always wondered about his first son. Miller had all but given up hope of ever finding him when John’s note arrived from Pomona College. Sadly, John’s biological mother passed away in 2006, but John has made contact with her family. Although raised as an only child, he has learned that he has six biological siblings. John says he and Miller plan to stay in touch, making up for 61 years of lost time.
The Webb Magazine • Summer 2012
and placed fifth out of 11 boats. It’s been fun for me to carry on the family legacy of sailing. It was something that I was introduced to by my father starting at age 7. I also play a decent amount of team tennis (doubles) and even went to the USTA Georgia State Championships at the 4.0 level last May.” Derek is still working at Verizon in a finance role. He hopes to make it to the 30th next year. - 14 Taylor Stockdale caught up with Michael McDermott in Beijing in April. - 15