An independent day school serving grades K-12 | St. Paul, MN

Class Notes

Class Notes are a great place to read about the accomplishments and happenings in the lives of your old friends and classmates. Read class notes from the latest issue of SPA Magazine below or visit the Class Notes Archive to read notes from previous issues. To submit a class note, please complete the online submission form.

Winter 2023

1945

Jean West was inducted into the St. Paul Academy and Summit School Athletics Hall of Fame on Saturday, September 10

1947

Stan Shepard was inducted into the St. Paul Academy and Summit School Athletics Hall of Fame on Saturday, September 10.

1949

Jean Ambler was inducted into the St. Paul Academy and Summit School Athletics Hall of Fame on Saturday, September 10.

1950

Mark Paper was featured on the Carlson School of Management website honoring his extraordinary 60-year career as CEO of Lewis & Bolt Nut.

1953

Ann Luyten Dieperink was inducted into the St. Paul Academy and Summit School Athletics Hall of Fame on Saturday, September 10.

1958

Addison Woodward was an Amy Klobuchar delegate in the Presidential primary. Here he is pictured with Senator Klobuchar and Congresswoman Robin Kelly in Chicago.
 

1966

Held in conjunction with the Mr. Baseball and Ms. Softball Awards and the Minnesota All Sports Alliance, Mike Brown was honored on June 19, 2022 at Target Field as the recipient of the 2022 Mr. Baseball Lifetime Achievement Award which recognizes one in appreciation for their years of service and dedication to youth baseball.

1967

Mary Clark’s book, Madeline Island Bear, a novella of stories from her years at Summit School and growing up on the island has been published and distributed by Fulton Books.

1968

Some local members of the St. Paul Academy Class of 1968 met for dinner with Tom Verhey as he stopped during his drive from Flathead County Montana to his home in Charlotte, South Carolina. Guests included: Joe Benson, Bill Levin, Jim Vaughan, Greg Pierce, Jim Kamman, Tom Verhey, Doug McMillan and Bill Sjoholm.
 

1970

On July 17, 2022 a long planned memorial for Peter Stryker took place at Big Bay Town Park on Madeline Island. St. Paul Academy and Summit School alumnus in attendance were Jim Stryker ’66, Ginny Stryker Brodeen ’71, Jeff Greenman ’72, Gates Blodgett, Bob Adair and Charlie Greenman. Peter was remembered with stories and reflections and his humor and strong spirit are greatly missed.

1972

Mystie and Chuck Brackett have picked up a new hobby in 2021 and are now avid pickleball players and play three times a week with a group of players ranging from 50-83 years old. 

1975

Over the summer Litton Field Jr and his wife Anne completed the Northwest Passage, by ship, going from Greenland to Nome, Alaska.

1987

Founded in 2016, Michael Schloff created Maplewoodshop to help all children develop life skills through woodworking. Since 2017, the company has worked with over 120 schools and camps nationwide helping thousands of children discover the intelligence in their hands. Schloff also invented a workbench that enables any school table to be turned into a woodworking table. The company is now endorsed by the regional Carpenters Union to provide pathways into the trades.

Kristen Hoeschler O’Brien chaired the September 24, 2022 VocalEssence Gala and invited some of her and Terry O’Brien’s (’85) classmates to help celebrate! Pictured left to right: Rob Mairs, Brad Brunell, Scott Smith ’85, Kate Smith, Mary Brunell, Kristen Hoeschler O’Brien, Craig Smith, Merritt Clapp-Smith and Laura O’Brien Smith (mom to Alec Smith ’27)

1990

Tony Sanneh was announced as a member of the 2022 Athletics Hall of Fame Class at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Sanneh was recognized with this honor after his impressive soccer career at the collegiate and professional level.

1996

Andrew Youn's organization, One Acre Fund, was recently announced as the Grand Prize recipient of The New York Times' opinion columnist Nicholas Kristof's yearly holiday giving initiative. The $100,000 prize will go towards One Acre's work to support farmers in Kenya, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Burundi and other countries to boost harvests.

1997

St. Paul Academy and Summit School alumni/ae in Washington, D.C. met up on July 28, 2022 for a tour of the National Portrait Gallery hosted by D.C. Regional Captains: Rhys Conlon ’97 and Charlie Dickinson ’99.

2001

Tiffany Clark is being featured in an exhibition at the University of Minnesota: A Picture Gallery of the Soul, a group exhibition of over 100 Black American artists whose practice incorporates the photographic medium. Sampling a range of photographic expressions from traditional photography to mixed media and conceptual art and spanning a timeframe that includes the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries, the exhibition honors, celebrates, investigates, and interprets Black history, culture, and politics in the United States.

2002

Cack Wilhelm was recently named to the Fortune 40 Under 40 list after becoming a top investor in the data infrastructure space. She has led investments in data platforms Monte Carlo and Obsidian Security, as well as joined data software firm Cribl’s $200 million Series C round.

2008

SPA alums gathered in Palm Springs in April 2022 to celebrate the marriage of Jessie Garretson to Nat Magee. Alumni/ae guests included: Austin Lilly, Dorothy Goldie ’73, Matt Wolff, Jessie Garretson, Lexi Nisita, Louise Parker, Kenzie O’Keefe, Kelly Walters and Karin Obaid ’09.

2010

A mini SPA reunion took place on September 10, 2022 in downtown Minneapolis to celebrate the engagement of Hannah Mack to Alec Simpson. Guests: Bob Mast ’76, Derek Schaible ’07, Ethan Mack ’07, Eric Severson, faculty; Hannah Mack, Isabelle McCormick, Anne Klus, retired faculty; Steven Qian.

2018

Sabrina Rucker was named one of the top innovators under 25 by Minne Inno. Minne Inno has compiled a list showcasing 10 innovators aged 25 and younger who have already distinguished themselves in Minnesota. The selections range from young venture capitalists to founders, CEOs and small-business owners. Those on the list were chosen based on nominations received from the community and Minne Inno’s editorial selection process. Despite their young age, these leaders in the local startup scene are advancing their respective fields into the future.

Emilia Topp-Johnson is part of a team of science researchers at Summit Station in Greenland; an extreme location that sits at 10,000 feet above sea level in the middle of the Greenland ice sheet. Emilia is one of only 5 people “overwintering” there and is the youngest person ever to overwinter at any of the NSF polar research stations. Her duties involve gathering field data for a variety of research institutions (including NASA).