BrewsterConnections - Brewster Academy

Bill Moore writes: “Karen and I are still doing well,
living in sunny Ft. Lauderdale. I’ve changed jobs and
am now the director of quality for a turbine engine
shop. We overhaul engines for 747s and DC10s.”
Rhonda (Valade) Vappi is back in the business of
helping people, working at Northern Human Services
in the Human Resources department. “My daughter
is finished with school and is a licensed massage
therapist. Our son Dan is going into 10th grade and
working to become an engineer. All is good!”
1985
Andy Russell just moved to Florida and has a
condo in St. Thomas. “I plan to spend the warmer
months back in Vermont and Maine. I still run a
manufacturing company, and when I’m not traveling
to one of my factories, I’m working via the internet.”
1986
Julie (Konheim) Abt and husband Jon have three
children: Austin, Jordon, and Dylan. They live in
Highland Park, Illinois, where Julie is a stay-at-home
mom.
Nina Assimakopoulos and her children, Ibana, 16,
and Isaac, 12, live in Bowling Green, Ohio, where
she is a flute professor at Bowling Green State
University. “I still enjoy running and watching my
kids swim in meets. I have accomplished many of the
life dreams I had as a student at Brewster, including
producing a CD recording, getting a Fulbright
scholarship to study flute in Germany, and remaining
physically fit.”
Jon Brown lives in Penfield, New York. He heads up
the interactive group for an advertising agency and
is president of a local mountain bike club. His wife
Mio teaches arts at a local college, sons Avery and
Ciaran are in college, and daughter Amy is in high
school.
Chris Butler lives in Plymouth, Massachusetts,
with his wife Michelle and their son Ryan, 7. He is
a U.S. Army veteran, holds a master’s in criminal
justice from Curry College, and is a sergeant with
the Plymouth police department. With his family,
he enjoys traveling and spending time on their boat
around Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard.
Recollections
Experienced Alumni Recall
Their Brewster Days
Mary Roberts Goodrich ’41
Alton, New Hampshire
In June Mary attended her 70th reunion at
Brewster
“There were about 100 students when I
came in my freshman year. Most were from
Wolfeboro, only my family – five brothers
and sisters – came over from Alton. My
older brother Leslie was 16 when my twin
brother Preston and I enrolled. Leslie had an
International pickup truck, which he drove
over in. We all had farm chores to do so as
soon as classes were over, we’d all drive
directly home.”
When asked to compare today’s Brewster campus
with that of the late 1930s, Mary laughed.
Eliot Assimakopoulos lives in Niskayuna, New York,
with his five children. He is the global sales director
for GE Digital Energy’s Smart Substation business.
He also is the commercial leader for GE’s Microgrid
Solution. He was a captain in the U.S. Marine Corps,
is a graduate of Virginia Military Institute, and holds
an MBA from American Intercontinental University.
Liddie (Kimball) Hayes, Betsy (Lurie) Ross, and Geraldine
Griffin at their 25th Reunion dinner in June.
Alex Dexter is still commercial fishing and recently
appeared on the TV show, “Lobster Wars.” “I’ve
captained my boat for 11 years. I’ve been married for
21 years, and my wife and I worked with the Disney
Channel for four years. No children, just one spoiled
rotten dog and one nameless cat.”
Mike Farraher and wife Allison welcomed their first
child in January, daughter Calabrese.
Steve Frothingham lives in Colorado with
his children Andrew, 16, and Elizabeth, 13.
“After a few years with The Associated
Press, I returned to my cycling passion
(and the Rockies) three years ago. I’m
editor of VeloNews.com, a bike racing
website and magazine in Boulder.”
Shon Greenblatt grew tired of Los
“There was just the one building, the
Academic Building. No gym, no library, no
tennis courts, but we did have an ice rink,
toboggan track, and fields for football and
hockey. The day students ate their lunches in
the locker rooms in the basement.”
“A large group of students enjoyed skiing,
and my brother usually carried skies in his
pickup while the Thurrell brothers often
drove their high-sided truck, filled with a
goodly amount of hay for the other skiers
to sit on, and would drive over to the
Ossipee slope. More often they’d go to the
Abenaki Ski slopes where there was a rope
tow available so as to make the skiing more
enjoyable. Our coaches often spent more
time keeping the tow running than they did
coaching. It was fun to watch the boys and all
were good sports.”
A favorite memory: The annual spring dance
held at the Wolfeboro Casino near the lake.
“The students all chipped in and did the
decorations and the refreshments.”
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