Mrs. Rachelle Gerson – Bennett ~ Former Faculty

Mrs. “Abby” Rachelle Gerson ~ Former Faculty 1957

Arrived ~ 8/23/1933

Departed ~ 3/5/2023

Lovingly written and submitted by her son Sidney Gerson ~ Class of 1972

Rachelle Musman Bennett 8/23/1933 – 3/5/2023

Mom was born in Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxemburg. She told us of her early life in Luxemburg and how she, being the youngest, and only daughter of four children, was spoilt rotten. One snowy day her three brothers, Jacques, Maurice, and Bernard were forced into taking her sledding. When they reached the bottom of the hill, she didn’t want to walk back up so she cried and screamed so loud and long, causing the neighbors to look out their windows, forcing her brothers to drag her back up the hill while she sat on the sled. Mom even had a dog that would meet her after school and carry her books home.

When she was around seven, the Nazis invaded Luxemburg and the family had to escape. They fled all the way to the South of France, sometimes finding a truck to take them and sometimes on foot. When they were on foot they had to watch for Nazi planes and had to jump in bushes to hide. After the dangerous trip our mom was hidden in a convent. She lived in the convent as a young catholic girl until a family was found to take her in. As Rachelle got on the bus to travel to this family, the Mother Superior gave her some Rosary Beads. Rachelle refused the beads saying “I am Jewish”. Mother Superior convinced her to take the rosary which turned out quite fortunate. The bus was stopped at a checkpoint, the Nazis were searching for Jews, Rachelle pulled out those rosary beads and started saying the prayers like a good little catholic girl!

She went on to Rodez, France, where she assumed the identity of a young French girl who had died, and lived as the daughter of the Catholic family. Of course, during this period, she was such a good student that she won an award which was signed and presented by a Nazi General and she accepted this award in front of a large assembly of students, their families, and of course Nazis.

After the war she burned the award along with other memorabilia she had accumulated because she wanted no memory of the traumatic years she had to endure. It was always hard for our mother to talk about this time in her life, although she was able to sit through two interviews recording her personal experience of the Holocaust.
Once I was driving her to a Holocaust Survivor’s event where she was supposed to be one of the speakers when she suddenly said “I cannot do this, turn around right now!” I tried talking to her and calm her down but I could see she was getting terrified so I stopped trying to convince her to go, and came up with an alternative plan. We went and ate Thai food and she felt better.

After the War, mom’s family immigrated to America. They sailed across the Atlantic on the Queen Elizabeth and started a new life in Brooklyn where our mom attended high school. In her high school year book she wrote that she wanted to live in the Orient. Mom went on to get a Batchelor’s Degree in Romance Languages from Brooklyn College. While at Brooklyn College, she went to a Jewish Mixer where she met our father, who had been born and raised in Thailand, the Orient! After college they were married and moved to Bangkok so our father could join his family’s business.

Mom became a teacher, and taught high school French, Latin, Math, and Chemistry at the International Children’s Center (now the International School of Bangkok.) Later she taught French at the Bangkok Pattana school where Suzanne and I both attended. In her first year of teaching, Mom had some belligerent students. She failed the ones who didn’t do their work, almost the whole class. The headmaster told her she couldn’t fail them. She said this was the grade they deserved. Then she worked with those students so they could bring their grades up. They all ended up getting B’s and A’s!

Our mom fully embraced life as an expat in Thailand and created a diverse community of friends. She joined charitable organizations such as the International Women’s Club, the American Women’s club and the Red Cross Society. When Temple Beth Elisheva was formed she became very involved with the temple’s Sisterhood. She also learned to play bridge and got so good that long time experienced players wanted to be her partner.

In Thailand Mom discovered her love of entertaining. She hosted dinners for the expat and Thai business communities. The formal evening Bar Mitzvah party she organized for me was one of biggest social events in Bangkok that year.

She gave me and Suzanne big birthday parties and made beautiful cakes for us. One year, my cake was a ship. Another birthday Mom used Suzanne’s favorite doll and made the cake around the doll to look like a beautiful gown and made a tiara that was edible! Our mom also liked making elaborate costumes for us for Purim and Halloween. I was always one of the three kings in the Bangkok Pattana School Christmas Play. I’m pretty sure it was because I always had a most spectacular costume!

One Thanksgiving dinner that she hosted, mom made pilgrim costumes for Suzanne and me and we had to meet the guests at the gate and walk them to the party around the pool. She gave me some money and bought (confiscated) my small sampan boat and had it converted into a Viking ship where she set up the buffet dinner.

Mom was an excellent cook. In Bangkok, she made an agreement with our cook, SomSee. For every Thai dish SomSee would teach her, Mom would teach SomSee a European dish. Years later, before there were any Asian markets in the USA, Suzanne and I would go over to Mom’s house to make curry pastes. We would decide what curry paste we were going to make, buy almost every ingredient we needed at the grocery store, make a few substitutions, and Mom would whip it up in the blender. They tasted so authentic.

In Thailand our best friends were the Isaacs. No, not Jewish! One year Hanukah would be celebrated at our house and Christmas at theirs and vice versa the next year. Because of this, Christmas became very important to our mother and us. One year here in America mom decided she was going to put on a very fancy Christmas dinner. She skinned a goose in one piece, breaded the goose, sewed the skin back together and stuffed it with her homemade stuffing. The goose and the stuffed skin were baked together so when the main course was brought out it looked like there were two geese at the table! The goose fat from the skin sure made the stuffing taste great but she said she would never do that again!

Thailand was where Mom’s love for gardening began. Our house sat on an acre of land and she completely transformed the grounds into lush tropical gardens. She spent hours every week in the garden nurturing the fauna, and there were flowers of all colors with bougainvillea hedges, frangipani trees, roses, jasmine, orchids and also beautiful shade trees around the pool. She was always trying to chase our barking deer away for the fresh bougainvillea buds, boy did those deer like the tender buds!

Our mom had a great sense of humor and enjoyed joking around. Once, when she came to help me for two weeks after I had back surgery, I discovered something about her sense of humor I never suspected. The movie Spaceballs was coming on TV and I told Mom she probably would not like it. She asked me what was Spaceballs and told her it was a movie by Mell Brooks. Whereupon she completely surprised me “I love Mel Brooks, Blazing Saddles is Dolph and my favorite movie, Dolph and I watch it every month”!

One time in Thailand, we boated out to an island with a large group of friends. Mom contributed hard boiled eggs for lunch. Since we were on a beach everyone decided to have fun and use their heads to crack the eggs. Mom came up and asked to use my head, I said yes and suddenly I had raw egg all over me. Everyone laughed and laughed. After I washed up, she brought another egg over and I said NO, I would crack it myself and I had egg all over me again! She insisted it was a mistake but I know better.

Another time, in Brooklyn, Mom and Suzanne were walking home from the Subway. They passed a pizza place where music was blaring out into the street. Mom put down her packages and started dancing. Of course, Suzanne was very embarrassed, but our mom just had fun.

A little known fact about our mom was that she was a jock! She could run like the wind; she played golf quite well and she was on a dive team when she was a teenager. One day, when a group of us kids were water skiing in Pattaya, our mothers decided to learn how to ski also. Mom’s first try she was up and skiing. Then she let go of the rope. When asked why she let go of the rope she replied “I don’t know how to ski yet”!
This went on for a few times so we had to fix this. Her next try all the children in the boat started yelling hold on, hold on, hold on… and she finally did hold on. A couple of weeks later she was on a slalom ski.

A few years after her first marriage ended, Mom was in synagogue in Bangkok and she kept hearing a beeping noise. She looked over and realized the noise was coming from the gentleman she was sitting next to. Adolph Bennett’s hearing aid was making noises and he kept putting his finger to his ear. So she thought it was just like in the movies, he must be a secret agent man! They talked after the service and he asked her out and a romance was kindled. At the time, he was stationed in Laos so they managed a long-distance relationship. Several months later after Dolph was stationed back in Thailand, they were married and shortly thereafter moved to Annandale Virginia.

A year later year Dolph was stationed in Kenya for three years. In Nairobi Mom continued creating beautiful gardens. She immediately was out in the garden with the gardener trimming and planting native species of flowering plants and turning her garden into a colorful portrait. Our mom again involved herself in many charitable organizations and the Jewish community. She and Dolph had many fancy parties and she enjoyed showing off her garden to her guests. She was happy to learn about several parts of Africa when she was able to accompany Dolph on some of his work trips.

Dolph’s next post was in Washington DC. Mom again became involved in clubs and charitable organizations. She was the President of the Falls Church women’s club for three years. She belonged to the sisterhood at Temple Rodef Shalom, and served for a year as President. She earned her Master Gardening Certification. She was proud of the garden she nurtured at her home in Falls Church, gave tours of her garden and taught at her gardening club. She could not have had this wonderful garden with out the help of her former son-in-law David who faithfully came over weekly to help her in the garden and mow the lawn. After mom got her companion dog Muffy, David also brought along special treats for Muffy.

One thing Mom used the flowers from her garden for was creating flower arrangements. She would trim her plants and create beautiful center pieces and other arrangements for the parties she had. Mom became so good at arranging flowers she started a business making bouquets and arrangements for weddings and celebrations. Waking up at 4 AM to help her take all the flowers to a church for a wedding was so much fun!

A joy for Mom of living back in the US, was being able to spend time with extended family, including her own mother and brothers.

Another big privilege of living in the US was being Nanny to one of the joys of her life, her grandson Aaron. She got to spend a lot of time with him and watch Aaron grow from his babyhood to an outstanding man. Mom also enjoyed the times she spent with Dolph’s grandchildren.

I would like to thank Keith for the support he gave Suzanne during the past year and most importantly, I wish to thank my sister Suzanne deeply for the loving care she took of our wonderful mom.

Thank you for gathering with us here today to honor our mother. We will miss her guidance, humor, and love

Please send pictures (old and new), anecdotes, articles, stories, and tributes to isbeings at gmail dot com or visit us on Facebook at ISBeings

Kevin M. Haverty ~ Director of Development

Kevin Haverty ~ Director of Development (1993-1996)

Arrived ~ 4/29/1952

Departed ~ 8/30/2009

KEVIN HAVERTY OBITUARY
Kevin M. Haverty Westminster, VT formerly Leominster; 57 Westminster, VT Kevin M. Haverty, 57 of Tory Hill Road, died at his home on Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009 following a long illness.

Mr. Haverty was born in Chelsea, MA, April 29, 1952, the son of Leo and Phyllis (Bourgoin) Haverty. He graduated from Leominster High School, Leominster, MA, received his bachelor’s degree from Providence College and his two master’s degrees from Keene State College, Keene, NH.

Mr. Haverty’s career in education went in many directions. He was at Thayer Jr. and Sr. High School in Winchester, NH for six years, where he taught English, Social Studies, Basketball, and Soccer, he was Guidance Counselor and Assistant Principal in Athens, Greece, as Assistant Principal at Bellows Falls Union High School, Westminster, VT, as Development Director in Bangkok, Thailand, as H.S. Principal in Israel, as H.S. Principal and Deputy Director in Prague, Czech Republic. Mr. Haverty was Director of The American International School in Vienna, Austria. He served overseas schools for 16 years.

Upon returning to the United States in 2006, he worked at the Chesterfield Elementary School as part time Assistant Principal. He continued on as a Guidance Counselor and Admissions Director at the Virtual Learning Academy, Charter School in Exeter, NH.

On Aug 13, 1983 in Walpole, NH, he married Lori Walters who survives. He also leaves a son, Tarek Haverty of Alstead, NH; his parents, Leo J. Haverty of Leominster, MA and Phyllis Deneen of Fitchburg, MA and a brother, Brian Haverty of Lunenburg, MA. He was predeceased by a daughter, Allison.

There will be calling hours Friday evening, Sept. 4, 2009 from 6:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M. at the Fenton & Hennessey Funeral Home, Bellows Falls, VT. A memorial service will be at 11:00 A.M. on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2009 at the Unitarian Church, Walpole, NH. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Home Healthcare, Hospice and Community Services, PO Box 564, Keene, NH 03431 or the Melanoma Research Foundation, 170 Township Line Road, Building B., Hillsborough, NJ 08844

Published by Sentinel & Enterprise on Sep. 2, 2009.

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Louise Marie Spencer Lindsay ~ F-Faculty 1969 – 1974

Louise Lindsay ~ F-Faculty

Departed ~ 4/6/2022

Lovingly submitted by her son, Ken Lindsay.

Happy Mother’s Day Louise. Thanks for all your helpful guidance and good intentions.

Miss Louise (12/3/1932 — 4/6/2022)

On Wednesday evening, shortly before Easter, the nighttime caregiver telephoned to say that Miss Louise had taken her last breath and the Good Lord has called her home. Louise’s last word that I heard was “yes” when we said “you’ll probably be seeing God soon” and Louise responded immediately and clearly “yes”.

Wednesday was a good day for Louise. She had extended visits from two priests and received the last rites. The daytime caregiver sang to her and held her hand, rubbed lotion on her feet and read from The Little Prince, one of Louise’s favorite books. We talked to her several times and the last one she seemed much more at peace. Her breath was calm, not labored.

Born Louise Marie Spencer in Kansas City to Florence Bjorkman Spencer and Francis Edward Spencer, Louise was half pure Swedish and half Anglo-American mix. She grew up in the Great Depression and World War Two which led her to being a fiscal and political conservative. As the Republican party became more partisan and extreme, and abandoned traditional conservative values, Louise migrated towards the Democrats and reluctantly supported them for the last several elections in which she voted.

Louise was an extremely intelligent woman and excelled in school. She went to University of Missouri in Columbia and was a member of the Chi Omega Sorority. Her sisters sought her help with studies and school work to such an extent that apparently it attracted some disapproval from University authorities, the details of which are lost in the murky depths of time.

Louise met Bob Lindsay at a football game between Mizzou and KU (Bob’s alma mater). They fell in love immediately and were married before too long. For many years Bob carried a picture in his wallet of the two of them after a Chi Omega song and dance review, with Bob standing next to Louise looking dazzled and shy, and Louise kicking her leg high in the air, wearing a chorus line costume and a smile as big as Montana. Louise gave life to two boys, Gary (died from covid 2020) and Ken (still kicking, as Bob often said). She is survived by her younger brother Steve, and many cousins, nieces and nephews. In her last few months, one of the caregivers discovered that Louise enjoyed watching NASCAR racing and NFL football, which was completely unknown to the rest of the family. It does make sense though since Louise and Bob met at a football game, and brother Steve is a hotrod enthusiast from way back and still enjoys racing motorcycles as he approaches his 80th birthday.

In 1969 Bob received an assignment to work for Goodyear Thailand, and so the family moved to Bangkok where the boys went to high school, Louise taught high school science, and Bob managed the manufacturing of tires. After Thailand Bob was assigned to Northern Ireland and then South Africa. Louise and Bob lived together in those two places while the boys attended college. After Louise and Bob moved back to the States and retired, they did a variety of interesting and beneficial activities. Notably Louise earned her private pilot license and instrument rating for flying small airplanes, and they participated for several years in the church’s Kairos prison outreach program. In Kairos they prepared and served special meals to the inmates, and talked with them offering counsel to help them improve their lives and be ready to do well outside when they were released.

Louise was very musical and played piano (Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin et al.), flute and ukulele, popular due to Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn. When the boys reached an age to be interested in playing music, Louise enrolled them with a single mom piano teacher, in keeping with her lifelong support of motherhood and especially single mothers. She supported the March of Dimes and various women’s shelters throughout her life.

It was in science and education that Louise found her lifetime avocation, earning a Masters degree in Botany from University of Kansas and a teaching certificate from Kansas State Teachers College. She taught high school science for several decades, first in Oskaloosa Kansas, International School Bangkok, and ending at Bishop Flaget in Chillicothe Ohio. In South Africa where regulations prevented her from teaching with American credentials, she did various other education related activities including appearing on a television science show with Dr. Christiaan Barnard, inventor of human heart transplants.

Louise taught chemistry, biology, earth science and IPS (Introductory Physical Science) which was hands down her favorite subject. IPS introduced students to many basic physical properties of the world including length, area and volume; weight and mass; thermal expansion and contraction of solids, liquids and gases, among many other topics. Louise’s favorite lab experiment was the “black box” wherein every team of 3 or 4 students was given a closed cardboard box containing various physical objects, and by shaking, weighing and other interactions, students were to develop theories about the types of objects contained in the box, e.g. pencil vs. ball point pen, metal nuts and bolts vs. wooden shapes etc. One experiment involved discovering the empty space contained in sand by measuring the volume of sand and the volume of a certain amount of water, and then pouring the water into the sand and measuring the “lost” volume that comprises the empty spaces between the grains of sand. One year all of the students came up with a radically abnormal measure of the lost volume (typically 30 to 40%). Ever the scientist, Louise took the sample of sand under a microscope and discovered that the sand contained grains of a wide range of sizes, and so the smaller grains filled in what would have been the standard empty space to be filled by water in the normal sample where all sand grains are approximately the same size. At home, Louise applied these principles to educating the boys, e.g. the best way to dissolve all the granules in jello is by stirring, not in a circle but a figure 8, a trick she learned in her grad school biology lab. Her teaching led to Ken working at NASA, and Gary passing the final selection rounds to be on the Jeopardy show shortly before his death.

Many of Louise’s students went on to perform high level jobs in Business, Military, Government and Academia and generally credited Louise with teaching them analytical skills and critical thinking.

Louise had a wry and subtle sense of humor, but generally avoided telling jokes in keeping with her oft stated maxim “if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all”, an expression of Robert Heinlein’s observation that much of what is considered humor is actually hurtful and negative. She did have a few gems that she told over the years like when the boys were in the final years of high school “Just when they get big enough to start being useful, they go off to college”, and as Chinese culture was making inroads into American culture in the 1960s and 1970s “Confucius say: spank little boy every day. You not know why but little boy knows why.” A good expression of her sophisticated wit is “What is the difference between Heaven and Hell? In Heaven the French are the cooks, the British are the police, the Italians are the lovers, the Swiss are the civil servants and the Germans are the engineers. In Hell, the British are the cooks, the French are the civil servants, the Swiss are the lovers, the Italians are the engineers and the Germans are the police.”

Louise liked musical theatre (popular in the 1960s and 1970s e.g. My Fair Lady, Camelot, Sound of Music, Mary Poppins, Oliver, Oklahoma, The Music Man, and the musical review Up With People (“If more people were for people, all people everywhere, there’d be a lot less people to worry about and a lot more people who care”). She also enjoyed cultural and political satire like the songs of Tom Lehrer and Allan Sherman, and watched the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour with the family. Recently she liked watching Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert.

We will have a memorial for Louise at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Chillicothe, time and date to be announced later. The Lindsay family would like to thank National Church Residences who managed the care for Louise and Bob for the past several years, and especially all the caregivers, hospice and nursing staff, including Yvonne Beverly, Deb Bachor, Robin Brushart, Tammy Diaz, Sondra Dunham, Linda Rogers-Flores, Michelle Goode, McKayla Harrison, Michelle Hines, Pastor Aaron Hines, Tara Hollis, Alisha Jenkins, Marjorie McFarland, Rebekah McCarty, Sherry Mitchell, Amy Monday, Tangi Rider, Sarah Wicker, Amanda, Billy and Katie. Thanks are also due to St. Paul’s Church, Father Michael Ralph, Father Paul Daggett, Deacon Craig and Gary Haslop.

Where flies this feather

Where flies this feather
That is my mother’s soul
As she unfolds the journey
Into her next life?

Will she meet Jesus?
Yes of course.
And maybe the Mary’s,
Saints and Apostles.

Perhaps even Buddha,
The Little Prince
And other spirit guides
That she knew of or not
In this lifetime.

Wherever her path takes her
I’m sure it will be some place good.

Please send pictures (old and new), anecdotes, articles, stories, and tributes to isbeings at gmail dot com

Bernice “Bea” Scheible

Bernice Bea Scheible ~ F. Faculty 1962 – 1966

Departed ~ 6/28/2020

Bernice “Bea” Scheible
February 28, 1920 – June 28, 2020

Mrs. Bernice “Bea” Elaine Scheible, daughter of the late Mildred Evaline “Eva” and John Myers, was born on February 28th, 1920 in Mulberry Grove, Illinois. She was the ninth out of ten children. Bea graduated from Mulberry Grove High School in 1936 at the age of 16, and continued her higher education at the University of Illinois, class of 1941, with a degree in Education.

In 1946, while working at the University of Illnois’ Department of Education, she met a dashing young man, Lt. Colonel Wilbur Roy Scheible, affectionately known as “Scheib,” who was attending the University for his Masters in Electrical Engineering. They were married on June 22, 1947 and blessed with four children, William (Bill), Mark, Jane and Eric. Bea and Scheib celebrated 54 years of marriage before his death in 2001.

Bea truly embraced life to the absolute fullest and enjoyed traveling and seeing the world. In 1962, the family was transferred to Bangkok, Thailand. During her 4 years in Thailand, the family explored most of Southeast Asia and grew to love the country as their second home. With her teaching credential, Bea became a teacher at the International School of Bangkok (62-66). Upon returning to the States, she settled in Saratoga, California, where she taught at both Saratoga High and Los Gatos High Schools. After retiring from the school district, Bea and Scheib, continued their love of travel and traveled the world including China, New Zealand, Australia, the UK and Europe.

Bea had the ability to light up the room wherever she was and always had a big smile on her face. She gave the best hugs in the world and was a dedicated Friend, Sister, Wife, Mother, Grandmother and Great Grandmother. She enjoyed cooking, music, reading, holidays and lots of family gatherings.

She will be deeply missed and cherished in the lives of her 4 children, William (Bill) Scheible, Mark Scheible, Jane Thomas (Scheible) and Eric Scheible, her Daughter-in-laws, Jill, Kathy and Rita along with her 10 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren, with 2 more on the way.

The family would like to thank the staff of the Terraces of Los Gatos for the incredible care that they gave Bea during her 14 years of living at the Terraces

Please send pictures (old and new), anecdotes, articles, stories, and tributes to isbeings at gmail dot com

Mr. Dempsey Wesley Morgan ~ ISB Faculty 1959-1961

 

Mr. Dempsey Wesley Morgan ~ ISB Faculty 1959-61

Departed ~ 4/11/2013

MR. DEMPSEY WESLEY MORGAN’S OBITUARY

Dempsey Wesley Morgan Jr., Tuskegee Airman, 93, of Roanoke, Virginia passed away on Thursday, April 11, 2013, following an extended illness. A native of Detroit, Michigan, he was born on March 1, 1920, the son of the late Dempsey Matthew and Pope Morgan.The impossible tasks of attempting to place the global experiences and influences of First Lieutenant Dempsey Morgan into a few words or even a few pages is an impossible one. First Lieutenant Morgan is most famously known in recent years for his stellar performances as a member of the 332nd Fighter Group and 100th Fighter Squadron of the Historic Tuskegee Airman. During his four years of service he received numerous citations including the Certificate of Valor, Bronze Star, Air Medal with Four Oak Leaf Clusters and Distinguished Flying Cross. He was also given a license to fly commercial planes upon leaving the military, but was unable to do so because of discrimination. In 2006, he was awarded a doctorate in Public Service from Tuskegee University. A year later, President George W. Bush awarded the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor to the surviving Tuskegee Airmen. Upon his acceptance of the Bahai Faith after leaving the military he was determined to spread the message of peace and did so with his wife, Adrienne for the next 40 years abroad in Asia, Africa and Central America before returning to America for health reasons. Here he continued to teach the principals of the Bahai Faith until his passing. In his words: ?I fear no man, only God and I said the 23 Psalm every morning and thanked God every evening. He is survived by his wife; three daughters and several grandchildren.

 

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Michael “Mike” Pearson ~ F-Faculty

Mike Pearson ~ F-Faculty

Departed ~ circa 4/8/2020

Posted by Harold Albert:

It is with great sadness that I report the passing of former ISB science teacher Michael Pearson. Mike, who taught at ISB from 1988-1991, was a wonderful teacher who was perhaps best known as one of the finalists in the U.S. Teacher in Space program. He later moved to other international schools including the International School of Kuala Lumpur, American School in Japan, and IS Beijing. More recently he served as a national spokesperson for Early-Stage Alzheimer’s Disease research and treatment advocacy. May he rest in peace.

Antoinette LeBris Maynard ~ F-Faculty

Antoinette Maynard ~ F-Faculty 1968 – 1969

Departed ~ 12/15/2018

Antoinette LeBris Maynard

September 9, 1923-December 15, 2018

Antoinette Françoise LeBris was born in Paris, France on September 9, 1923 to René and Lucie LeBris, who owned and operated a small hotel with café on the ground floor and room upstairs. Her sister Nicole was 18 months older. Unfortunately, due to complications from nerve gas exposure in World War I, René passed away in 1925. The young girls were sent to live with Lucie’s parents on a farm in Liernolles, France. Lucie arranged for Antoinette to be looked after by a “nurse” who also assisted the local Catholic priest and was a town scribe reading and writing letters for villagers.

On a vacation in Normandy, Lucie had met a woman, named Eugenie, who had learned English from British soldiers in WWI. She offered Eugenie a job at the hotel as a housekeeper and translator, which proved providential. After the American Impressionist Maurice Prendergast’s death in 1924, his brother Charles and friends came to stay at Lucie’s hotel on a memory tour of the places in Europe that Maurice had painted. Eugenie drove them around and Charles became quite smitten, but she refused to return to America with him. After corresponding with each other, Eugenie finally agreed and became Eugenie Prendergast living in Westport, CT.

When Antoinette was 12, she and Nicole went to Paris to live with their mother. Antoinette had been practicing her English by writing letters to the Prendergasts. After the death of a close friend and fellow artist who had a heart attack and died when Charles told him a joke, Charles became very melancholy. Antoinette’s letters and their cute mistakes made him laugh again, so they invited her to come visit for a summer. But she still had one year of school and her Baccalaureate to pass. Lucie said if they invited her again after finishing her school, she could go to America. Thus, in 1939, 15 year old Antoinette boarded a ship bound for New York to see the World’s Fair.

1939 was a big year in Europe with the start of the Second World War and Antoinette’s ship was sunk in Marseilles stranding her in the US. The Prendergasts took responsibility for her, helped her get winter clothes from their friends in New York’s Garment District, and got her into a private school to learn fluent English and finish her education American style. It was there that she met her best friend for life, Carol Ann Crotty, who had learned French in Switzerland while being treated for tuberculosis of the bones.

During the war, there were many people who stepped up to help stranded Europeans in America. After graduating from high school, Antoinette received a full scholarship to Sweet Briar College in Virginia. When she graduated from Sweet Briar, she was offered a job in the Pentagon working with maps and military movements. There she met a Naval Officer named Paul John Maynard.

Paul and Antoinette were married in 1945 and in 1948 their first daughter, Elizabeth (Libby) was born. Lucie had come to live with the young family in 1952. In 1954 daughter Carol was born. The family moved from Morrison Street in NW Washington to Western Avenue two blocks from Connecticut Avenue and the Chevy Chase Circle. About that time, with Lucie taking care of the girls, Antoinette started working at the Library of Congress as a descriptive cataloger in the Romance languages. She loved working with people from many countries and diverse cuisines as one of her passions was cooking. She led the Library Cooking Club for many years.

In 1960, Paul joined the US Agency for International Development as a Program Officer. His first assignment was Vientiane, Laos. So, the family packed up and rented the house. Paul went ahead first with the rest to follow. Unfortunately, the day he arrived in Bangkok, Thailand, the three Lao Princes decided to have a civil war, so he couldn’t make it to his post. The family also couldn’t join him, so they made the best of living in the house with minimal furniture, etc., for a year. Finally in 1961, the State Department allowed them to travel to Bangkok. On the way, they stopped in Paris, Rome, Athens, Cairo, and Colombo, Sri Lanka.

After a year in Bangkok, the family was finally allowed to go to Vientiane. Meanwhile, at 40 years old, Antoinette became pregnant with her son, Philip. Paul insisted that they had to go back to the States for Philip to be born, in case he wanted to be President. The family spent 1963-64 in Washington, while Paul returned to Bangkok to start the Southeast Asian office of ARPA (Advanced Research Projects Agency) before the Vietnam war.

Reunited once again in Bangkok, the family stayed there until 1969. Antoinette taught French and History at the International School of Bangkok, and later at the American School of Vientiane. As the Vietnam war wound down, Paul transferred back to USAID and was stationed in Laos again. After Paul retired in 1977, the family lived in Bangkok for a year before returning to Washington.

Antoinette was welcomed back to the Library of Congress.. In the intervening time, computers had become common and in order to do her job, she had to master the Library’s system, which she conquered! She loved working at the Library of Congress and all the wonderful friends she had there. Her goal was to retire at 80 years old.

Unfortunately, Paul suffered a stroke in 2000 and the three children decided it would be best to move Paul and Antoinette close to Carol near Erie, PA. Paul died in 2003 from Alzheimer’s disease. For the first time in her life, Antoinette lived alone in her house, even though it was 100 yards from Carol’s house, she was unhappy alone. She found a wonderful independent living facility on Connecticut Avenue in Chevy Chase, MD where she had many friends.

She stayed for several years, until it was determined that her memory was degrading and she moved to a nursing facility near Philip in McLean, VA. Carol moved to Asheville, NC in 2012 and found a facility with a special memory care unit where Antoinette was content living in her happy memories until she passed December 15, 2018 with Philip by her side.

Antoinette will be remembered as a charming and gracious person. She cared deeply for her family and worked hard to provide the best life for them, and in turn, was proud of their accomplishments. She especially loved her grandchildren and delighted in them.

Antoinette was preceded in death by Ren­é and Lucie LeBris, Paul Maynard, sister Nicole and brother-in-law Stanilas de Gozdawa Godlewski. She is survived by daughters Libby and Carol, son Philip, grandchildren Kayleigh Ross, Alyssa Maynard, Claire (Chris) Barber-Stetson, and Nick (Ridhi) Barber, and great granddaughter Zoë Stetson
.
Antoinette’s ashes will be inurned with Paul’s at Arlington National Cemetery at a later date and a memorial ceremony will be held in Washington, DC.

A Little French Village”

Made By:Antoinette LeBris (Maynard)

A Little French Village

Essay written by Antoinette LeBris (Maynard) describing her home village in France, the effects of World War II on it, and her longing to see it again.

Date:October 22, 1940

Dimensions:

10 1/2 x 8 in. (26.7 x 20.3 cm)
Classification:Prendergast
Credit Line:Williams College Museum of Art, Prendergast Archive and Study Center, Gift of Mrs. Charles Prendergast
Object number:A.1.697

David (or whomever receives this),

I came across your site isbeings.org while searching for information on
my erstwhile French teacher from ISB, Antoinette Maynard. (I attended
ISB from 1968 to 1970, would have been in the class of 1972 had I not
left, and took French from Antoinette for two years.) My family later
stayed in touch with the Maynards in Washington until Antoinette moved to Erie to be near Carol.

The memorial to her on your site was quite a find – I learned many
things about Antoinette which I did not know and I appreciate you
putting it up. She was an incredible woman. As I only spent two years
at ISB, I don’t remember any classmates (or at least none that I could
find on the site). I do remember a number of teachers, who, strangely,
do not appear: Mr. Abe for Algebra, Mr. Jackson for Geometry (from
Grosse Pointe, MI), and Ms. Zender (possible ?) for English.

Thanks for creating/maintaining the site.

Regards,
Floyd Mitman

Please send pictures (old and new), anecdotes, articles, stories and tributes to isbeings at gmail.com

Herman Schon ~ F-Faculty

Herman Schon ~ F-Faculty ~ 1964 – 1984

Departed 2/18/1984

Robbed and murdered en route to Chiang Mai.

Please send pictures (old and new), anecdotes, articles, stories and tributes to isbeings at gmail.com