39
Chris Chapin
shares: “The
funeral (burial service and Holy
Eucharist) for
Pete Wylie
was
held July 3 at Pohick Episcopal
Church in Lorton, Va. More than
100 came to the service, includ-
ing 18 Navy flag officers. Judge
Tony Schall
was our form
representative for the occasion.
Pete was a Navy captain, and his
wife, Clair, is retired as a Navy
commander. The Navy tradi-
tion runs deep in the family, as
Pete’s father was an admiral.
At the service, Pete and Clair’s
son, Peter Jr., was the reader,
and their daughter, Jamie, spoke
words of remembrance. She
spoke extensively of Peter’s
love of music (he was in the
Glee Club at SPS). She began by
saying that, while Peter was “a
logical, sensible Navy type,
underneath all of that was the
soul of a rock and roller.” She
then told the congregation that
Pete had been the lead singer,
replete with tambourine, for his
band, The Shades (and yes, they
wore them) at the 1964 World’s
Fair in New York. This was only
two years after graduation.
Jamie closed with mention of
a delightful habit of Pete’s. At
the end of services at Pohick, as
elsewhere, when the rector said
“Go in peace to love and serve
the Lord,” the congregational
reply was always, of course,
“Thanks be to God,” but Pete
would always add, respectfully,
but audibly, “Beat Army.”
Piero Fenci
brings us up
to date: “Ever since
Ellerbe
Cole
graced us with his pres-
ence last year in the deep-east
Texas piney woods, my inter-
est in good old St. Paul’s has
been piqued. I’ve been toiling
away in the salt mines of the
state university system here in
Texas for 40 years, and I’m still
going strong. I’m a professor of
art at Stephen F. Austin State
University in Nacogdoches,
the oldest town in Texas. The
university has 13,000 students,
and we have a robust gradu-
ate program in the School of
Fine Arts. I’m head of the ce-
ramics area, which means the
discipline of making art out of
clay, whether it be functional
pottery, decorative vessels,
or sculpture. Ten years ago,
I spearheaded the first pro-
gram in the history of Northern
Mexican universities in the
discipline of contemporary
ceramic art. At Yale my major
was Latin-American studies,
and my minor art, so it has all
come full circle. My efforts have
been successful beyond my
wildest dreams. The university
where all this has happened is
la Universidad Autonoma de
Chihuahua, the State Univer-
sity of Chihuahua, the biggest
state in Mexico, just south of El
Paso. Two years ago, the state
art museum of Chihuahua gave
me a solo exhibition, the first
of an American in the history
of the museum. The exhibition
was the highlight of my career.
A year later, I was named Texas
Master by the Houston Center
for the Contemporary Crafts,
the fourth craftsperson ever to
receive the award, and the first
ceramist. Along with the award,
I was given a solo exhibition at
the center, which is in the arts
district of Houston, right down
the street from the Museum of
Fine Arts. This honor meant
the world to me and I feel so
fortunate. I’ve decided the key
to success is to outlive the com-
petition – no kidding.”
1964
Rick Bastian
rbastian@blackhawkbank.com
Ray Payson
writes: “As of
February, I have been senior
warden at St. Michael’s Epis-
copal Church in Bristol, R.I.
Come visit!”
1965
David Parshall
dparshall@peifunds.com
Our 50th reunion plans con-
tinue to advance. As of mid-
September, 66 people, including
30 spouses, have reservations
for our pre-reunion gather-
ing at the Mount Washington
Hotel. Some will be making
their first appearance among
us in 50 years. Plans for golf,
tennis, bridge, and other ac-
tivities are underway. Specifics
to follow.
Bill Matthews ’61
,
former faculty member and the
School’s Twelfth Rector, will be
joining us for dinner there on
Thursday evening, along with
his wife, Marcia. Anniversary
Weekend, commencing on Fri-
day, May 29, will include the
usual events that have been
part of the schedule for many
years. In addition, there will be
a traditional choral Evensong,
honoring the Form of 1965, in
the New Chapel on Friday be-
fore our dinner with the Rector
in the Upper. A 50th-reunion
Halcyon-Shattuck boat race is
in the works for Saturday af-
ternoon.
Peter Twining
has led
the dinner planning (along with
Bob Coxe
,
Bob Lievens, John
Rice
,
and
Eric Saunders
) at
the Mount Washington and the
Bedford Village Inn on Saturday.
Master emcee
Nat Prentice
will regale us then with memo-
rable tales from the past. If you
haven’t reserved a room at the
Mount Washington, I encour-
age you to do so.
Rick Bill-
ings
(rdbusmc@aol.com) can
provide reservation details. He
and
Randy Morgan
are jointly
heading up overall reunion
planning. More comprehensive
information about the reunion
will be forthcoming. I have had
the great pleasure of seeing
a number of formmates over
the past few years, including
Charlie Bohlen
and
Neil Mal-
loy
, whom I hadn’t seen since
1965. Not surprisingly, we easily
and readily picked up where we
left off nearly 50 years ago. We
remain an extraordinarily bril-
liant, handsome, energetic, and
generous group, bound together
intimately and profoundly by
our life together in the 1960s.
You and your spouses will find
yourselves in good company at
our reunion, and I look forward
to seeing everyone there.
1968 formmates Jim Robinson,
Jonathan McCall, and Mike
Morgan met in Rhode Island
this summer.
Tom Shortall ’68 and formmate
Ben Maguire in Nice, France.
