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Chagrin Falls Alumni Association

Keeping Tiger Pride Alive

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STEVEN VAN NORT

Class of 1958
Football, Basketball, Track

Regarded by his coaches and peers as one of the best to ever wear a Tiger football uniform, Steve was a superb all-around athlete at CFHS. Captain of his football and basketball teams during his senior year, he was also the leading scorer on both teams. In track and field, he was a state qualifier in hurdles. Steve was an All-Ohio pick at halfback while at CFHS. At Amherst College, he was named to the All-New England football team in 1961. He also excelled in rugby, playing at Stanford University and in Australia.

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WILLIAM HENRY ROBINSON

Class of 1931
Track, Football, Basketball

“Rompin’ Bill” earned his nickname on the gridiron where his many spectacular runs as a Tiger halfback and kick returner left fans gasping and defenders grasping. It is, however, in track and field that we are reminded of his superb athleticism. His long jump (21-21/2) has stood as a CFHS record for 60 years. In the spring of his senior year, Bill won a state championship in the 100 yard dash and placed second in the 220 yard dash. He also ran on the Tiger 880 yard relay team, which placed third in the state. He was an All-County football selection, playing on Ted Gurney’s 1930 undefeated team. In addition to his prowess in football and track, Bill lettered four years in basketball.

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KENNETH ROBERT LAUTERER

Class of 1956
Basketball, Football, Baseball

Ken was graduated as CFHS’s most prolific record holder in basketball. During his three years of varsity play he established records for most points in a high school career (867), most points in a single season (618), most points in a single game (36 twice), and best scoring average per game (23.0). He was an All Conference, All-County, and All-Ohio selection his senior year. Co-Captain and MVP of the Tigers’ 1955-1956 state semi-finalist team (21-6), Ken’s leadership qualities were further illustrated by his winning the Rotary Club Gold Book Award for scholarship and sportsmanship. He also played baseball and was selected as an All-County end in football. Ken was a two year letterman in basketball at Ohio Wesleyan College.

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ELWOOD J. “BUS” NELISSE

Class of 1926
Football, Basketball, Baseball, Track

Bus was Chagrin Falls’ most dominant athlete during the 1920’s. He was awarded four letters each in football, basketball, and track, and one in baseball. He is best remembered as the Tigers’ first state champion when he won the mile run in Columbus in 1925, his junior year. He also earned a first in football, playing on CFHS’s 1924 team, the first to win a County championship. The 1925 team also placed first in the county. Bus was captain of the Tigers’ basketball team during his sophomore, junior, and senior years. He played on several semi pro basketball teams after graduation. He was offered a track scholarship to Ohio State University.

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THEODORE C. GURNEY

Coach
Football, Basketball, Baseball, and Track

An outstanding athlete at Baldwin-Wallace College, Ted arrived in Chagrin Falls in 1926 and began a career in Chagrin Falls Schools which spanned 40 years. For many of those years, he mentored athletics, serving as a coach in football, basketball, baseball, and track. His 1930 football team was undefeated, scoring 239 points to its opponents’ 34. During his tenure as a coach, his players earned many team and individual honors. While at Baldwin Wallace, Ted was named All-Ohio tackle. He earned 10 letters total. In 1977, he was inducted into the Baldwin-Wallace College Athletic Hall of Fame. After leaving the coaching ranks, Ted served CFHS as its principal and athletic director until his retirement in 1966. Two years later, Gurney Elementary School was named in his honor.

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ROBERT JAMES SHUTTS

Class of 1964
Football, Basketball, and Baseball

Bob exemplified the term “winner” during his athletic career at CFHS. At times he was nearly perfect, pitching three no-hitters and playing four years of football, never losing a game. He played varsity football for three years, leading the Tigers from the quarterback position during the final two seasons of the 29-game win streak. In basketball, he was his team’s MVP during his junior and senior years. Bob earned All-Conference honors in football, basketball and baseball. He won a baseball scholarship to Northwestern University, where he pitched a no-hitter against Illinois in 1968. He played baseball for three years in the Washington Senators’ organization.

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DONALD L. BULLOCK

Class of 1953

A student of deep and varied interests, Don Bullock’s list of achievements stretch from the halls of Chagrin Falls High School to the far reaches of outer space. While still a student at CFHS, he visited the United Nations with the Junior Council on World Affairs, being among the first group from the United States to visit the Soviet Legation Headquarters. An early fascination with chemistry and his love of the great outdoors, steered him to the forestry program at Michigan Technological University, where he earned a degree in physics in 1957. By 1963, he had acquired an M.S. in Applied Physics and Ph.D. in Physics, both from UCLA. Currently, Don is Chief Scientist for Lasers and Optics in the Space and Defense Sector of TRW, Inc. He has been with TRW since 1961. His innovative, technical accomplishments have served to advance our country’s defense and space programs. In 1972, he independently designed the optical resonator for the first high-power chemical laser, the Baseline Demonstration Laser (BDL). He has 16 publications and several patents. In 1989, Don was awarded the TRW Chairman’s Award for Innovation, recognizing his performance enhancing contributions, and laser weapon systems. In 1990, he was elected to TRW’s Space and Defense Technical Fellows Program.

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STUART D. ROOT

Class of 1950

Stuart Root has acquired a lot since graduating from Chagrin Falls High School in 1950. Known for his sense of humor and love of classical music, he was graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University in 1955 with a B.A. in Philosophy. After earning his law degree form Columbia Law School in 1960, he became actively involved in designing the legal structure for the largest real estate acquisition in Manhattan since Rockefeller Center. His client was the Bowery Savings Bank, one of the largest savings institutions in the world at that time. In 1968-69, he served as an advisor for the Ginny Mae program, and by 1970 became the legal architect for a new federal agency known as Freddie Mac (the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation). The subsequent Fannie Mae program, along with Freddie Mac and Ginny Mae, are now approaching $1 trillion in total outstanding volume. Freddie Mac is widely regarded as the most profitable of all government enterprises, attributed, in large part, to Stuart’s work as outside counsel during its formative years (1970-75). From 1981 through 1983, he was President and Vice Chairman of the Bowery Savings Bank in New York City. He as the Executive Director of the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation from 1987-89. Remaining true to some of his earliest passions, he is Chairman of the Board for the Harlem School of Arts.

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EDMUND M. KAGY

Class of 1948

It was almost as if Ed Kagy’s life was by design. Senior Class President and quarterback of Chagrin Falls High School’s 1947 undefeated, untied football team, his yearbook class prophecy read, “will someday own his own advertising agency.” Currently vice chairman and senior partner in Liggett-Stashower, Ed is a 40-year veteran of graphic design. He has won numerous awards including Best of Show from the Art Directors Club of Cleveland and two Best of Cleveland Advertising Awards from the Cleveland Advertising Club. He was a founder of the Cleveland Society of Communicating Arts. Prior to starting his commercial art career at Fawn Art Studio in 1952, Ed was a staff sergeant in the United States Army. He served in Thule, Greenland during the Korean War. In 1957, he joined Lang, Fisher and Strashower as assistant art director. He became principal owner in 1967. Today, Liggett-Stashower is a $70 million agency, employing 140 people. Ed has generously served his hometown as a member of many civic organizations and as speaker at many community functions. He designed and produced “This Is Your Life” brochures honoring several Chagrin Falls citizens. For 15 years, he and his wife, Bobbie, have hosted American Field Service students.

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WILLIAM STANTON

Class of 1936

Standing tall among his classmates, the splendid young actor had an uncommon wit which would carry him to even greater heights. Multi-talented Will Stanton appeared in football games, track meets, and operettas during his years at Chagrin Falls High School. Since then, he has appeared in Reader’s Digest, Saturday Evening Post, and the New Yorker. Chagrin’s most prolific writer moved with his family to Chagrin Falls before he had reached school age. Growing up in Chagrin Falls during the Depression, he always remembered the kindness and understanding of its people during those difficult times. One of his three books, “Golden Evenings of Summer.” was based, in part, upon his memories of Chagrin Falls. An episode from the book was made into a Walt Disney movie, “Charlie and the Angel,” starring Fred MacMurray. Will’s humorous stories and poems have been published in many magazines including Atlantic, Life, Look, McCall’s, Redbook, and Good Housekeeping. A 1941 graduate of Princeton University, he now lives in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

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CHARLES A. HUBAY

Class of 1936

 As a youth in Chagrin Falls Schools, Charles Hubay made his rounds with a violin in his hand. Remembered for his compassion towards others as well as his immense talents, the brilliant young musician became a surgeon, professor, and medical researcher of special distinction. Graduated from the former Adelbert College and the medical school at Western Reserve University, he joined the full time faculty at University Hospitals in 1950 and remained there throughout his career. Dr. Hubay authored more than 150 research papers. His work included studies of organ transplantation and rejection, and the treatment of advanced breast cancer. He served as president of the Cleveland Surgical Society, Case Western Reserve University of Medicine Alumni Association, and the Central Surgical Association. He was a guest editor of the American Journal of Surgery. Dr. Hubay never forgot the inspiration provided by his music teachers, Albert Freeman and Zoe Long Fouts. He established for the Fouts-Freeman-Hubay Award, which is presented each year at Chagrin Falls High School to the outstanding senior in the field of music. Born in Chagrin Falls in 1918, Dr. Hubay died at home in South Russell in 1991.

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GORDON D. NICHOLS

Class of 1924

The enduring appeal of Chagrin Falls is due, in large part, to the inspired efforts of citizens such as Gordon Nichols. The breadth of his influence is unparalleled. He was born in Chagrin Falls in 1906 and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Adelbert College of Western Reserve University, where he earned a master’s degree in law. He conducted a private practice until 1937 when he became a corporate lawyer for Oglebay Norton Steamship Company in Cleveland. Gordon was mayor of Chagrin Falls from 1940 until 1950. He later served as president of the Chagrin Falls Board of Education, and, in 1967, the high school library was named for him. He was a founder of the Chagrin Valley Recreation Center and served that organization for 42 years. The recreation building on the high school grounds also bears his name. An actor earlier in his life, he was active in the Chagrin Valley Little Theatre for 50 years. Twice president of the Chagrin Valley Chamber of Commerce, he was, in 1975, named director for life of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce. Following his retirement from Oglebay Norton, Gordon commuted to Mason City, Iowa to further his education in yet another discipline —auctioneering. This skill he used for fundraising events for volunteer organizations in his community. He died in Chagrin Falls in 1990.

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MARGARET S. TERPENNING

Class of 1970

Margaret Terpenning’s love of learning was surpassed only by her love of people. Remembered for her warm heart as well as her unbridled determination, she was graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Denison University in 1973. She earned her medical degree from the University of Michigan in 1978, where she also completed a fellowship in the Division of Geriatric Medicine. From 1982 until 1984, she studied infectious diseases through another fellowship at UCLA and the Wadsworth VA Medical Center in Los Angeles. Dr. Terpenning has lectured across the United States on various aspects of medical care for the elderly. Her studies of infectious diseases in the elderly have been published in the leading medical journals. In 1984, she was appointed Assistant Clinical Professor of Geriatrics and Internal Medicine at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Since 1988, she has been Assistant Professor, Division of Geriatric Medicine, at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. She also serves as Clinical Director, Geriatric Research Education at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and as Assistant Research Scientist at the Institute of Gerontology. In 1991, she was elected to the American College of Physicians Fellows Program. 

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HELEN ver DUIN PALIT

Class of 1966

Before graduating from Chagrin Falls High School, Helen ver Duin delivered food as a carhop and waitress. Today, she is recognized as a worldwide authority in non-profit food distribution. A third generation social-service worker, Helen ver Duin Palit operates on the premise that there is enough extra food in every city to feed every person. She is the founder and executive director of City Harvest, a nonprofit organization that provided millions of free meals to hungry and homeless people in New York City since its inception in 1982. New York City’s Mayor Edward Koch said of her program, “It is an extraordinarily simple yet brilliant idea.” The world is now taking notice of this Chagrin grad’s innovative concepts. Each day, numerous large cities with programs patterned after City Harvest, collect thousands of unused food from restaurants, supermarkets, caterers, and corporate dining rooms, and then distribute it to soup kitchens, senior citizen centers, drug rehabilitation centers, and any other agencies that feed the poor. Helen has appeared on television in the U.S., Canada, and Japan. President Bush recognized her as his Fourth Point of Light in his ‘Thousand Points of Light’ National Community service Program in 1989. She has been featured in Business Week, Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Family Circle, Weekly Reader, New York Times, and Christian Science Monitor. A graduate of Texas Tech University, Helen was awarded Iona College’s Doctorate of Humanitarian Letters in 1987.

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If you have an updated address, phone number, or email, then please include that in the message area below.

    Contact Info:

    alumni@chagrinschools.org

    440.247.4387

     


    CFAA Alumni Director:

    Brian McKenna '88

    Office Manager:

    Jana Young ‘82

    Find Us:

    Chagrin Falls Alumni Association

    400 East Washington Street
    Chagrin Falls, OH 44022

    We invite you to join the growing numbers of volunteers who are helping to ensure a bright future for the CFAA and Chagrin Falls Schools. Whether it is through your time or resources, all of us appreciate your generous gifts. To become more involved, contact the Alumni Association. We look forward to your comments, questions, and suggestions. Don’t forget that we appreciate your help in making the CFAA run successfully with the donation of your annual dues of $20 or more.