Larry Boyle

"Some of my happy recollections: your patience and your warm smile, your eternal good cheer, my wonderment at your premature gray hair and the honor I felt at being co-captain under you...I went on to swim at Yale and the season was nearly seven months long-and we were expected to train in the summers, too. The psychological and physical preparation for that schedule was established at Deerfield."
-Phil (Flip) Stevens '59

"There are things in life that stay with us as more important than others. My time swimming for you at Deerfield was, for me, one of those. You had a way of getting more out of boys than they were perhaps aware they had to give. I was part of that swim team with pride."
-W. Brewster Ely '66

"He taught us that if we think we can do it, then we can. We went on to win the New Englands that year, in 1974... We went on to win the New Englands at Exeter in my junior year and at Mount Hermon in my senior year. I left with five New England records and was named All American at least ten times...I went on to swim in the '76 Olympic Trials and competed in many AAU US swimming and collegiate national championships...I even swam for a German team and completed several years in their national team championships. In all my swimming career, I was more influenced, as a swimmer and as a person, by Mr. Boyle than by any other person or coach I ever encountered. His gracious style of leadership, sportsmanship, dignity, confidence, and above all, class, is inspirational. My swimming experiences at Deerfield are some of the most cherished experiences in my life."
-Fritz Homans '76

"So many of us travel through life with varying degrees of success wondering if what we are doing is what we are meant to do with our lives. There can be no doubt that Mr. Boyle's fulfilled destiny was to be at Deerfield enriching the lives of so many young men and, more recently, women, whom he touched with his grace."
-John Chalfant '77

"In the crucible of the Deerfield swimming pool, you taught me that I could endure more pain and suffering than I thought was possible and that pain would make me a better swimmer (and a better person). You were right. More importantly, however, I was instilled with your philosophy to strive constantly to perform my best, to win with dignity and respect for opponents, and to never be satisfied with mediocrity."
-Seth Brewster '78

"In 1979, one of our divers was having a tough time executing a dive. Mr. Boyle had a suit on underneath his Deerfield polo shirt and green Deerfield sweatpants; he got on the board, executed the dive, turned to the diver and said, 'That's how it's done. Now do it."
-Dan Goss '79

"On a cold morning in late winter 1987, one man and a group of boys from Deerfield Academy stepped on a bus bound for Exeter to complete an unprecedented feat that had begun back in 1974: a 14th consecutive New England Preparatory School Swimming Championship. We had, after all, every reason to be confident. We had 'put our money in the bank' daily for several months, had happily swallowed the salt pills (which tasted awful), and the vitamin C pills (much better), and had tried our best not to 'burn the candle at both ends.' Most importantly, as the success of the three previous seasons, we seniors especially knew that we could 'trust the taper' and place our confidence in Mr. Boyle to lead us to final victory. I recall that the trials went well. I dropped two seconds off my previous best 200 freestyle in a time I would not equal until my senior year in college. After trials were over and we had finished our apple juice, we were sitting around with nothing to do until warm-ups, when one of the budding statisticians among us started thinking. After a few minutes of calculations with the seed-sheet for finals, he happily announced that we had mathematically eliminated every other team and had 'locked up' the championship. It seemed we had placed so many swimmers into the finals that even if we were to loaf and finish last, we would accumulate enough points to beat any other school. Not one to get carried away and ever the gentleman, Mr. Boyle took that news in stride and responded with seeming disinterest...but two hours later, after warm-ups, after we had dried off and put on those new green suits, at the conclusion of what would be for seniors our final team meeting, he said four words that have stuck with me ever since, and that I have recalled countless times when I was tempted to travel the easiest path in life: 'Finish up strong boys."
-Tom Graham '87

"Thank you for your daily insistence on excellence, your relentless focus on detail, your constant appeals for tenacity. I shall always carry them with me. In my days since graduation I have often applied the lessons that you taught us. On the swim team at Georgetown, I urged each teammate to personally strive for victory because our success was up to each one of them. Later at Citibank, I brought my team together for short pep talks every day before work, constantly reinforcing the basics and getting everyone on the same page. So, as you see, your lessons continue to bear fruit."
-Zal Devitre '93

"You were my diving coach for four years, my track coach for three years, and my Latin teacher for three years. You taught me to 'make haste slowly' and that 'one day out of the pool and one week in is better than one day in the pool and one week out.' These are rules to live by in the classroom, in the pool, and in life."
-Samantha Wolfe '93

Jim Marksbury

By Jessica Day, Deerfield Associate Editor

Jim Marksbury will be missed at Deerfield. He will be missed by fellow faculty members; he will be missed by administrative staff, and the staff of the Dining Hall, Physical Plant, and Athletic Department, for his innate ability to discuss almost any subject-from politics to football playoffs. Students who were the beneficiaries of his recent return to teaching will miss him as well. And multitudes of alumni will miss his deft touch on this publication and his lively presence at alumni events.

For 33 years Jim worked to support the academy in one way or another-first as assistant to Headmaster David Pynchon and teacher of English, then as director of student activities, next as director of academic programming and chair of the Curriculum Committee. In 1982 he assumed the role for which he is perhaps most famous, that of alumni secretary and editor of Deerfield. In 1998 Jim returned to the classroom, teaching Deerfield's sophomores the joys of Shakespeare, Chaucer and Shelley. No matter what role Jim served in, he worked to support Deerfield, always firm in his basic belief that the academy's mission, and therefore his, was good. At this year's final School Meeting, Emily Lent, Class of 2002, paid tribute to Jim's work as a teacher. She said, "I will never forget those early-morning classes spent upstairs in the Arms Building reading Shakespeare and Chaucer and Shelley. Mr. Marksbury had a knack for modernizing these writers, for dusting them off and relating them to our 15-year-old lives. He was passionate about writing, both his and ours, and demanded that every piece we hand in to him be--and I quote-- 'lucid, concise, and engaging.' I have never forgotten those words and the way he chalked L, C, E-- his acronym for them--in big letters on the blackboard during our first class together."

What more can a teacher ask then to have one of his students affirm that they will "never forget" something he has endeavored to teach them?

Jim has made an impression upon Deerfield students since his earliest days at the academy, whether or not he was their teacher. He holds the distinction of creating the first-ever Deerfield Festival of the Arts with colleague Daniel Hodermarsky in 1970. In a recent interview for the Scroll, Jim named the festival as his most memorable Deerfield moment. An elaborate school-wide event, the festival helped to establish the arts on campus, and in fact the fine arts program itself. Jim was also responsible for organizing the first Deerfield prom and the first Casino Night, as well as orchestrating three mock political conventions, at which he arranged for Senator George McGovern to speak in 1976, and Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan to speak in 1980.

But perhaps the area in which Jim touched more lives than any other has been through his work in alumni relations. In his capacity as alumni secretary Jim literally traveled the world, arranging for Deerfield alumni to gather in various cities and towns, to come together under the auspices of the academy and to maintain their contacts with the school. Those he did not personally reach he nevertheless managed to bring closer to Deerfield, using the alumni magazine as his medium.

Deerfield flourished under Jim's editorship, winning 13 national awards and being named the best secondary school publication in the nation in 1990 by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education. Jim set out to publish a magazine worthy of Deerfield's heritage, and judging by the honors it has received and the compliments from colleagues, alumni, Deerfield parents, and the "general public," he succeeded.

I worked with Jim for only a fraction of his time at Deerfield but during that time he taught me a great deal. I have been the beneficiary of his expertise not only in alumni relations, but particularly in the publication of this magazine, and for that I will be forever grateful. Jim has also simply been fun to work with--I will never forget his sharp wit and wry sense of humor, and (as anyone who has met Jim even once will attest to), his impeccable fashion sense.

By the time this brief tribute appears in print, Jim will be settled in North Carolina--safely tucked away from the impending frigid blast of winter in New England, thereby already achieving one of his foremost retirement goals. He also plans to continue writing, both as a freelancer for Delta Airlines' Sky magazine and for other DEERFIELD MAGAZINE...perhaps he can even be persuaded to pen an occasional piece for his "alma mater..." Even so, Jim Marksbury will be missed at Deerfield.

Dick McKelvey

By Michael Perry '72, P'01, Director of Development

Over the past 30 years, I have had the unique pleasure of getting to know Dick McKelvey as a student, faculty colleague, coach, friend and mentor. I feel blessed and fortunate to have had a chance to get to know this kind, gentle man.

My first encounter with Dick was as a student in his class called Religious Ethics. We met in the Deerfield Room above the Memorial Building Lobby. The classroom was a configuration of chairs in a circle. Dick sat in the middle, slouched in his chair, smoking his pipe and making sense out of our comments. The most daunting challenge in his class was trying to understand one of the books he required us to read, The Secular City by Harvey Cox. To this day, I still have not been able to figure out that book. When I came back to Deerfield as a member of the faculty, I asked Dick about the book and he confirmed that he did not understand it either, but felt that it was an important book for its time.

When I did return to work at Deerfield, Dick was one of the first to welcome me back. Since I began work in the Alumni Office in the summer, the pace of life on campus was slow. However, I soon learned that one of the most important events of each day took place at 4:00 P.M. every afternoon at the Old Deerfield Elementary School. It was then that "Blue-Sky League Basketball" was played and Dick was a central figure. There was always a large group ready to play, which also included most of Dick's children. Dick would arrive on his bike, a thermos of iced tea in hand, ready to shoot his patented hook shot. I remembered playing against Dick back in 1971 as a student, and he was still as formidable.. .although he tended to drift further and further to the perimeter as the summers passed.

During the winter season, Dick worked with me coaching the varsity basketball team. While we formed one of the tallest coaching duos in the prep school ranks, Dick's knowledge of the game and ability to teach players the subtleties of it were the real assets. There were great moments shared on the courts, such as beating NMH on a shot at the buzzer, but it was the time spent simply talking with him and getting his input and thoughts that were the most valuable and memorable for me; Dick has a remarkable ability to break down a situation and put it in the right context. He also knows kids quite well and the intricacies of human relations. His compassion was always clearly evident.

Still, when I think about Dick, I also remember his ability to laugh at himself. One year after a game at Avon Old Farms, Dick was driving one of the vans and was to follow me out of Avon back to Deerfield. Unfortunately, we got separated and Dick got lost. The players in his van quickly dubbed him "Rand McKelvey" for his navigational abilities. Before the players could tell me the story, Dick laughingly retold it to me in detail. Dick also had a penchant for confusing names, which led to some interesting conversations where I thought he was talking about one person only to learn it was another.

While basketball was a shared endeavor, baseball is his passion. I have watched in delight as Dick has published four books on baseball. To sit and watch a baseball game with him is a true education. All the intricacies and nuances of the game are second nature to him. Even though he stopped coaching baseball a few years ago, you could always find Dick in his folding chair sitting, watching, and analyzing games at Headmaster's Field.

Dick and his wife Joan will be missed around the campus. However, I have a sense that I will see Dick perched in the stands at future basketball games or sitting along the first base line at a baseball game, continuing to dissect the games and always willing to share his thoughts.

Roland Young

By Wanda Henry, Assistant Dean of the Faculty and Math Teacher

During the final school meeting of the year several students stood on stage to read tributes they had written for departing faculty. Caitlin Dalton '02 moved many in the audience to tears with her words about Roland Young: "Three years ago, I sat with a group of sophomores and juniors in Algebra II. Although a diverse group of math inclined and non-math inclined, we were as tight as a math class can get. And, of course, a tribute to this closeness is to recognize our teacher. Mr. Young always knows what is important in life. He is undoubtedly the wisest man I have ever known. A friend of mine comments on a physical characteristic of Mr. Young, the wrinkles around his eyes. She calls them his happy wrinkles. They attest to his care and kindness and the pure joy he has brought Deerfield. For 38 years, Mr. Young has been smiling; he has been laughing with everyone; and he has been cherishing every conversation, every word, every Algebra II class. He has been involved with countless acts of service, and he has truly been a presence here. I watch in awe and can only hope to grow up to have happy wrinkles and to experience the joy of life he enjoys. For Deerfield Academy, I pray for nothing more than Mr. Young's tradition of kindness and gentleness to be carried on. Thank you, Mr. Young, you are a symbol of humility and wisdom."

Of course, I wept as Caitlin Dalton gave her farewell to Roland at the school meeting, but I found it odd to hear her highlight the crinkles around Roland's eyes when he smiles because, in truth, a mention of Roland's name or a chance encounter with the man himself makes all of us smile through our own wrinkles. Over the years, I have found that his students quickly address his warmth whenever they discuss him, and the same is true for faculty members. "Oh, Mr. Young...he just makes me feel so good inside. I like talking to him because I walk away calm, and my problems do not seem to matter quite as much anymore." "Roland has such great perspective on the world. Talking to him is like a few minutes with a Zen master." "He makes me see the world in terms of all that is good."

Roland Wallace Young arrived at Deerfield in 1964 with his wife Martha and his six-month-old daughter Gretchen. Longtime Deerfield coach and history teacher Art Williams encouraged this Wheaton College alumnus and UMass graduate student to come up the Valley for a bit of soccer coaching. At that time, Mr. Boyden needed coaches for the system of 15 boys soccer teams. In today's Deerfield lexicon, we might call Roland an athletic intern, though he would also qualify as a teaching fellow because he soon assumed the role of helping Mrs. Boyden with her classes. During Mrs. Boyden's last decade of teaching, her eyesight had declined to the point where she could not grade her students' papers. Roland assisted her with this chore and sat through her classes to offer aid when she asked. He marveled at her memory, as he recalled that she knew each boy from his voice and his seat location. Curious about the legend of Helen Childs Boyden, I once asked Roland what she was like. "She loved her boys, but it was tough love. Mrs. Boyden had high expectations and no patience for slackers. Still, she cared about her students, and they knew it. Somehow, she got them to work harder than they thought they could work."

Roland took Mrs. Boyden's example to heart. He assimilated into his teaching that same adherence to high standards. In his 38 years of teaching mathematics at Deerfield, he has not lowered the high bar his mentor set. Roland's students would characterize him as gentle and loving, but they know his care will not give them a point above their rightful average. This last year, one of my advisees proclaimed to me, "Oh, I love Mr. Young. He is the nicest man alive. I know I am failing his class but I tell my mother that math is just so hard. I feel more sorry for him because he cares so much about me. How could I let Mr. Young down?" (Failure, of course, is a relative term in a teenager's life. This girl was never in danger of failing.) Roland tended to his students with remarkable patience. Again and again, faculty in the Mathematics Department saw him huddled in a corner with a student. His attitude was always calm. With his voice hushed, they worked through the problems, and at the end, Roland finished with bantering and a bit of a chuckle so that each one left him smiling, no matter how much they had struggled.

With Roland's departure, a generational shift has occurred in the Mathematics Department. Just two years ago, we bid farewell to the Czar Peter Hindle and Bob and Vicki Hammond. With the leave-taking of these four mathematical giants, the academy has lost a significant amount of history in a short time. Quick calculations sum their teaching years to a total of 143. Each of these teachers gave us a direct link to Helen and Frank Boyden and our Deerfield heritage. Our classrooms and the math office notice their loss in more than years and connections but also in the dedication and life service of each individual. Arithmetically, we mathematicians find our average age dropping, as we become one of the younger departments on campus. Our senior department member goes from an arrival in 1965 to 1979. Where numbers count that represents a large difference. Frankly, as I become one of the older members of the department with all my 41 years of age, I worry how I will fare without Roland's steady presence and grace. To imagine the math office next year is difficult--Roland's mentorship and guidance have meant so much to us.

During Roland's recent retirement party, again and again math teachers stood up to say good-bye to Roland and Martha, and they each sat down with tears running down their faces. Several years ago, I described a teaching candidate to the Dean of the Faculty Rich Bonanno as "a young Roland Young." That same man, now a former Deerfield teacher, Matt Lisa, came back from Andover to toast Roland. Choking back his tears, he declared that characterization of him the highest compliment he has ever received.

Also at the retirement party, Mathematics Teacher Sheryl Cabral stood to toast Roland and Martha. She remembered the quilt Martha had made for her son at his birth and remarked on how apt it seemed that Martha's handiwork keeps her children warm. In fact, Martha has made blankets and quilts for many faculty children over the years, and in her humble way, she has extended to us her warmth and care. The Young family has made their presence felt on campus but their style has quiet dignity. Gretchen Young came to teach on the faculty in the early 1990s, and she and Roland may represent the only father-daughter teaching combination at Deerfield. Currently, Gretchen coordinates the study-abroad program in Africa for Brattleboro's Experiment in International Living. In noticing the emotions on display at the Roland's party, Meera Viswanathan remarked, "the Mathematics Department has soul." And Roland carries our collective soul deep inside him. Though a mathematics teacher for 37 years and varsity soccer coach for 21, Roland is first and foremost a Christian. His faith sustains him, and he has told me that his faith tests him constantly. When we all notice the twinkle in his eye and the warmth of his smile, Roland believes we see the love of Jesus Christ. In my farewell toast, I said, "Roland makes everyone feel peace, peace and love. He may be the only person I know who cares about my soul. He has told me that he prays for me. I need your prayers now, Roland, especially now as you leave. We will pray for you too, as you and Martha take off on this new journey in life. Go gently, my friend.

As published in the Summer 2002 issue of Deerfield, the publication of Deerfield Academy's Alumni Office.