Fall 2025 Edition
Editors: Peggy Bliss ’74, Anne Allen McGrath ’73

"...celebrating and facilitating interaction among alumnae and perpetuating Abbot's spirit within the Andover Community"

Abbot is evident throughout Andover today. Students may not know the full history, but they know the name, are curious about its legacy, and enthusiastically give Abbot new life today. 

One way they know about Abbot is through dorm clusters. Did you know that back in the early 70s, PA started experimenting with dorm clusters to emulate the smaller-scale, more nurturing and supportive residential community that was fundamental to what we who attended Abbot loved so much about our time there?

Now, PA’s dorm clusters are a huge part of students’ lives. Clusters throw all kinds of events, hold competitions, and even run Cluster Olympics, complete with opening ceremonies. The clusters help students feel at home and connected. Abbot is more than a name of a cluster. It’s a community spirit directly inspired by the Abbot experience we remember.

The results are in, and we’ve taken a first stab at analyzing the findings.  We are in the process of refining them now and will be sharing the final report with a larger group in February as part of the Abbot Academy All-Classes Gathering.  

Suffice it to say, the consensus is: the Abbot spirit lives on and makes Andover better than it would have been without it.  Its impact is lasting and profound.  

Our thanks to all who participated.  

Though decades separate their years at Abbot, they are kindred spirits. In July, Edith Wilson ’73 ventured a few hours south to Scotts Valley, California, to meet Julie at her 300-acre ranch.  That’s an extraordinary 135 years of Abbot memories and experiences between them.

Both Julie and Edie are bi-coastal travelers: one west-to-east, the other east-to-west.  But each brought her own distinct blend  of intelligence and fierce determination to Abbot. Julie’s lifelong passion is long-distance horse trail riding.  She has completed more than 20 Tevis Cup Ride competitions—the oldest modern-day endurance ride–which require participants to cover 100 miles in a single day.  

 At 101, Julie is the oldest living Abbot alumna.  We’re proud to say she recently reconnected with the A@A community through this newsletter.

What is Julie’s secret to a long and healthy life?  “I always wake up happy.”

By the way: Julie and her husband’s daughter is another Abbot grad: Barbara Suhr White ’65.  Her grandmother Abbie Mae Bunker graduated in the early 1900s. Rumor has it that Andover Magazine will soon publish a full feature story on Julie’s life.

Click here to read Edie’s lovely write-up of Julie’s life.

With the Abbot blue officially part of Andover’s visual identity, the captains of the current field hockey team weighed in on what the color means to them. 

Field hockey had been played at Abbot since the early 1900s and was one of several teams that transitioned from Abbot to Andover in the fall of 1973. Those who played at Abbot have fond memories of walking through the woods to the Abbot field. Now, the field sits within a stadium, and as you step through its concrete tunnel, the first thing you see is the “A” at midfield—outlined in the familiar Abbot blue.

The physical differences are many, but what hasn’t changed is a sense of camaraderie and appreciation. The current team is a close-knit community; every week players express their gratitude, a process that builds team chemistry and trust. They’ve created the camaraderie that those of us at Abbot cherished and continue to this day.

According to the current team captains, the Abbot blue on their uniforms serves as a constant reminder of those who played field hockey before them. It reminds them to continue traditions and be thankful that they can follow in the footsteps of those who came before them. The Abbot blue honors the dedication to women’s sports that started at Abbot and continues at Andover.  

And Congratulations to the 2025 PAFH team for winning the NEPSAC Championship on Sunday November 16th, to cap off an undefeated 19-0 season (38 consecutive wins between last season and this one). That’s certainly something to be grateful for.

Click here to read more about what they said, as well as comments from Kelly McCarthy ’19, a more recent Andover graduate and field hockey player.

From Lori Goodman Seegers ’73:

I’m one of many Abbot grads who still remembers and craves the Bondes’ food—especially chicken croquettes, Danish pastries, and popovers. But I don’t exactly recall the chicken pot pie from the “From the Abbot Kitchens Cookbook 1968/1970.”  

Truth be told: my main memory as a dining hall gatekeeper (1970-72) was ensuring only Andover boys with late Abbot classes (usually Ginny Powell’s art studio) were allowed to dine with us. Being a tad boy crazy, I might have been distracted and forgotten what was being served.  

Despite having only vague memories of the dishes, I greatly enjoy recreating them… and improving on them if I can. So, here’s my fancier chicken pot pie update, with credit to the New York Times, Alison Roman, and my own fiddling around. 

Click here for the original Bonde recipe.

Click here for my updated recipe. Please read the whole recipe before making it, and don’t forget (as I did in the photo above) to add slits for venting.

The Abbot@Andover Committee invites alumni, families, and friends of Andover to a

Lessons & Carols Service 
with a
Pre-Service Reception

Hosted by
Head of School Raynard S. Kington, MD, PhD, P’24, ’27 and
Peter T. Daniolos, MD, P’24, ’27

Sunday, December 14, 2025
3 — 5:30 p.m.

The Abbot@Andover Committee of Alumni Council is pleased to honor the legacy of Abbot Academy and its spirit in the current music program at Andover by gathering in advance of the Candlelight Lessons and Carols Service. Rooted in the tradition of King's College in Cambridge, England, this festive service is inspired by and reflects the people and musical community at Phillips Academy.

3 p.m.  —  Pre-Service Reception 
Light Refreshments
Phelps House
189 Main Street
Andover

4:30 p.m.  —  Lessons and Carols Service
Cochran Chapel
2 Chapel Avenue
Andover

Organized by the Abbot@Andover Committee

Abbot Academy alumnae are invited to an

Abbot Academy All-Classes Gathering

Join us virtually for an evening of connection and community, whether you’re hoping to make a new friend or reconnect with an old one. Breakout rooms will offer space to gather by decade or by individual class year, so bring your favorite snack and drink for a relaxed “virtual tiffin” as we stroll down memory lane together.

We’ll begin the evening with a 30-minute presentation from Anne Allen McGrath ’73 and Peggy Bliss ’74 of the Abbot@Andover Committee of Alumni Council. Anne and Peggy will share preliminary insights from the recently circulated Abbot Spirit survey featured in the Abbot@Andover newsletter.

Wednesday, February 18, 2026
7–7:30 p.m. ET – Presentation from Anne Allen McGrath ’73 and
Peggy Bliss ’74 
7:30–8:30 p.m. ET – Breakout rooms will open 

Hosted Virtually

We hope you’re able to join us for Abbot Day on Friday, June 5, 2026. All Abbot alumnae, regardless of class year, are welcome back to the Abbot campus to celebrate your legacy at Andover. The day begins with tiffin and casual time to reconnect, film screenings of “Dream It, Do It: The Abbot Academy Fund’s First Fifty Years” and “The Girls of Abbot – a Memoir”, lunch, afternoon programming, class photos and dinner—all on the picturesque Abbot campus. 

Classes ending in 1s and 6s are warmly invited to join us for Reunion Weekend festivities from Friday, June 5 – Sunday, June 7. We are actively seeking reunion planners from Abbot classes 1951, 1956, and 1961. The Office of Alumni Engagement works with Abbot class planning committees on any class-specific activities that would be meaningful to their class.  This planning takes place independently from the PA classes of the same year though collaboration with your PA counterparts to plan joint events is always welcome.   

Preparations have begun and we look forward to having you join us for the celebration.  If you are a 1 or a 6 and are interested in joining your Reunion Planning Committee, please contact us at reunions@andover.edu.

Thank you and we are looking forward to seeing you in June!

Warmly,
Megan McGuinn, Director of Class-Based Engagement
Paige McKay, Coordinator, Class Based-Engagement

Our goal is to make this newsletter relevant and engaging to all who care about Abbot’s legacy at Andover.  If you have story ideas, questions, or suggestions of any kind, please reach out to us.  Please share what you know or would like to know.

Click here to contact us. 

Abbot@Andover Committee

Co-Chairs: Faith Barnes ’74 & Lynne A. Langlois Hunter ’90

Committee Members
Peggy Bliss ’74, Martha Mason Denzel ’62, Betsy Bruns Eaton ’62,
Dara Donahue Hogan ’83, Audrey MacLean ’53, Priscilla A. Martel ’74,
Anne Allen McGrath ’73, Rosemary B. Nicolosi ’75, Lori Goodman Seegers ’73, P’05, Cynthia I. Sorensen ’63, Holly Robertson Taylor ’59, Pamela A. Yameen ’75