Page 64 - Alumni Horae: Vol. 93, No. 3 Spring 2013

several marathons. He served as presi-
dent of Be Active North Carolina, a
nonprofit organization that promotes
healthy lifestyles.
Mr. Sargent is survived by his wife,
Janet Wages Sargent; three sons, George
“Trip” Sargent, Matthew Manning, and
David Sargent; his daughter, Kimberly
Hurtado; four grandchildren; and three
siblings, Fordie Madeira, Nancy Green,
and Wendy Anderson.
1963
Lawrence Billingsley
of Clinton, Conn., died on Dec. 5, 2012,
following a long illness. He was 67.
Born to Howard and Marge Billingsley
in San Antonio, Texas, he grew up in New
Hampshire and Maine and attended New
London High School before enrolling at
St. Paul’s School as a Third Former. During
his time at St. Paul’s, he played in the band,
was a member of the Cadmean Literary
Society, the John Winant Political Society,
and Le Cercle Français. He played football,
basketball, and baseball.
Mr. Billingsley was proud to be from a
small New Hampshire town and deter-
mined to make something of himself.
He spent several summers working as a
grocery store clerk in his father’s store.
After graduating from St. Paul’s, he went
on to receive his bachelor’s degree from
Yale before moving to Connecticut and
marrying the late Francis Burns. He became
a successful businessman and spent sev-
eral years working on Wall Street as a
senior software salesman for IBM.
In his free time, Mr. Billingsley enjoyed
sailing the waters of Massachusetts, Con-
necticut, and Rhode Island with his son,
Ben. At the age of 65, he became interested
in painting after taking a watercolor course
from a local artist. He joined the Madison
Art Society, the Essex Art Association, and
the Lyme Art Association and participated
in the Madison Art Society’s plein air paint-
ing group and winter studio painting.
Though he discovered his passion for
painting late in life, he became a prolific
and accomplished artist, who was featured
in an article in INK magazine. His work
is part of collections in the United States
and Europe.
Mr. Billingsley is survived by his loving
wife, Lisabeth Billingsley; his sons, Todd
and Benjamin; two grandchildren; and his
brother, Rob.
1978
Elizabeth “Beth” Walling
Alexander Welliver
producer of inde-
pendent films, in-
cluding Big Night,
Joe Gould’s Secret,
The Imposters, and
The Mudge Boy ,
died on October 23,
2012, at her home
in Los Angeles
after a four-year
battle with breast cancer. She was 52.
She was born in Philadelphia on March
29, 1960, and grew up on the campus of the
Groton School in Groton, Mass., where
her father, Charles, was on the faculty for
48 years. Ms. Alexander entered SPS as a
Fourth Former in 1975, intent on charting
her own path. “She wanted autonomy more
than anything,” said her husband, Titus
Welliver. She looked at all the schools, he
said, and was drawn to St. Paul’s for what
she called its “crackling energy.”
Ms. Alexander, who was known to most
by her maiden name, seized that energy
and gave it back with gusto. In her three
years, she participated in the full sweep
of what life at Millville had to offer –
varsity lacrosse, JV field hockey, club
squash, theatre, dorm leadership, Art
Association, the Palmedian Society, the
Shavian Society, and, dearest to her heart,
the debate team, headed by Lawrence
Katzenbach, her favorite teacher, accord-
ing to her husband.
“When we argued,” Mr. Welliver said,
“I would say, ‘This is life right now; we’re
not on the St. Paul’s debate team.’” Lisa
Henriques Hughes ’78 recalled how ser-
iously Ms. Alexander took her debating
and how meticulously she prepared. “She
was equally convincing on either side of
the argument. Debating was as intense
for her as any varsity sport.”
Topher Dow ’77 remembers Ms. Alex-
ander for her infectious spunk. “I vividly
recall that Beth was one of the ones at
SPS who somehow gave me confidence to
stand before a crowd, to speak fearlessly,
to hold my own among my peers.”
Throughout her life, Ms. Alexander was
widely known for her quick, sharp mind.
Writing after her death, a friend recalled
that she could do The New York Times
Sunday crossword puzzle in half an hour,
in pen.
Ms. Alexander was an undeniable pres-
ence wherever she went. “Beth was a light-
house,” her husband said at her memorial
service. “She would illuminate already
well-lit rooms.”
Ms. Alexander graduated from Yale Uni-
versity and, following a brief period clerk-
ing at a law office, which soured her on
an early desire to be lawyer, turned to the
world of entertainment. She became an
assistant to director Herbert Ross, eventu-
ally working her way to producing partner.
Ms. Alexander earned her first film
credit as associate producer on Ross’s
1995 comedy Boys on the Side, starring
Whoopi Goldberg, Mary Stuart Master-
son, and Drew Barrymore. She worked on
several films with Stanley Tucci, including
Big Night in 1996, The Imposters in 1998,
and Joe Gould’s Secret in 2000. She was
also producer of the 2003 film The Mudge
Boy, starring Emile Hirsch.
“She was a hands-on producer,” said
Mr. Welliver. “She knew everyone’s name
and what everything cost. She knew how
to delegate, but, in the process of delegat-
ing, she knew what she was delegating,
and if it wasn’t being done well, she would
jump in and do it herself.”
She was renowned for her list making.
“She had ‘sub to-do’ things on her lists,”
Mr. Welliver said. “I would look at them
and think ‘that’s Mandarin,’ but she taught
me how to create doable lists that would
help me accomplish my share of what
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