A Legacy for the Class of 2019

The 2019 Sixth-Form Parents’ and Grandparents’ Gift Committee with their sons

Parents of the class of 2019 knew that more than sixty members of the class would be the first boys to live in Hanes Hall in more than forty years.

An immediate highlight of the dorm, which was completely renovated and repurposed after the William H. White, Jr. Library moved to the Walker Building, was the new commons room, located in the former reading room of the library. The renovated space featured a full-service kitchen, a massive video screen, and four smaller screens that can be used for both study and video game sessions.

David and Elizabeth Perdue saw right away how much their son, Gus, loved living on the new dorm and spending time in the commons room. They also knew from their son Jack ’17 how much it means to boys to have places where they can gather and relax with friends.

“It is a space unlike anything else on the Woodberry campus,” Elizabeth said. “The size, location, and configuration drew all of the sixthform boys there for a range of activities. The boys felt like it was theirs, and they had earned it. Countless stories of working, playing, watching sports, cooking, and spending time together came out of that room. By the end of the year, it was clear it was a great success.”

Since their sons were the first to live in the new Hanes Hall, the class of 2019 parents and grandparents choose to name the stunning space the Class of 2019 Commons.

“Dorm life and roommates played such a big part of both our sons’ lives at Woodberry,” David said. “The tradition of moving up through the various dormitories through the years marks the journey through the Woodberry experience. Fourth-form year in Walker seems especially memorable for both our sons and their friends and families.”

Rick de Alessandrini, co-chair of the Sixth-Form Parents’ and Grandparents’ Gift Committee, said when announcing the successful gift on Amici Night that Woodberry inspires boys to embrace the common values found in societies throughout the world, especially virtue, discipline, humor, and friendship. He said he’s seen those virtues play out in his son Giulio’s seven years as part of the Woodberry family, first as a sports camper and then as a student.

“Woodberry Forest School takes young boys and, within the bounds of the honor system, shapes them into honorable young men. In speaking with parents, the overwhelming majority, if not all, feel their boys have grown into gentlemen they are proud of,” he said.

Boys who spent so many hours in the Class of 2019 Commons during its first year will always look back on it fondly.

“The Hanes Hall Commons brings us together in many ways,” said Ford Asherman, a member of the class of 2019 from Houston who lived on the dorm. “You can play ping-pong or watch games all together. And you can come together to study at night because there are great spaces to work as a group on projects.”

When Tom Pendleton walks into an office, faculty home, or dorm to take care of whatever has gone wrong — maybe it’s something simple, like a leaking faucet, or something challenging, like repeated power outages — he conveys the impression that there’s nothing he’d rather be doing than solving that problem. His cheerful smile and easy laugh make everyone he comes in contact with happy that Tom was a part of their day.

For the past fifteen years, Tom has kept campus pipes clear and school buildings humming. And though he’s maintained both of Woodberry’s swimming pools for years, he only took a swim once, and that dip was unintentional. “I was vacuuming and I stepped over the corner, but I missed,” he chuckles. A wet uniform was the only ill effect; Tom seems happy just to have a story to tell.

Tom’s good humor and devotion to his work made him the 2019 recipient of the Frank S. Walker Award, given to the staff member who has best advanced the spirit of unselfishness exemplified by Frank S. Walker of the Class of 1903. Tom received the award a few weeks before his retirement from the school’s staff.

Now a resident of Madison, Tom grew up in Orange and attended Orange County High School. He didn’t graduate, though, and in his forties found himself alongside teenagers in a GED course. “I just wanted to know I got it,” Tom says of his motivation to get a diploma. Before coming to Woodberry, Tom held various jobs, including making doors at a steel mill, maintaining machines at Rochester Corporation, and working in construction.

Tom joined the staff at Woodberry in 2003. He left briefly in 2005 to start his own business; the failure of his tractor-trailer may have been unfortunate for Tom, but it was lucky for Woodberry. With support from the school, he completed a four-year apprenticeship and earned credentials in plumbing, electrical, HVAC, and carpentry work. A natural teacher, Tom became the “go-to guy when new guys started — he had a way of explaining things that anyone could understand,” said John Rose, maintenance manager. “He showed me the campus and how everything worked fourteen years ago when I started.”

“His smile and laugh will be missed around the shop,” says Gene Lewis, director of facilities. “He’s a great worker with a do-all-you-can-for-Woodberry outlook.” Tom enjoyed his coworkers as much as they enjoyed him. Known as “Pops” around the shop, he says the time spent visiting with the crew in the shop was his favorite part of working at Woodberry. “Woodberry is a good place to work. Everybody gets along,” Tom says.

In his retirement, Tom plans to travel, fish, and camp. He’ll get together often with his four children, eight grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren, all of whom have stayed in the area. His wife, Kathy, a Madison county school bus driver who previously worked for Woodberry’s housekeeping department, also has some ideas for putting Tom’s expertise and free time to use. Tom grins with his signature twinkle: “I have a honey-do list about six months long.”