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We are sad to report that faculty emeritus member Alanson (Alan) Sturgis Jr. died on Saturday, December 12, in New Hampshire. He was 96 years old.
 
Dick Gill's words when he shared the news with us were well chosen: "Alan was a wonderful spirit, a dedicated and beloved teacher, and a treasured colleague."
 
Alan was a World War II Army veteran; he earned a Purple Heart in Guam in August 1944 after being badly wounded by the same artillery round that killed his sergeant and radio operator. When the war ended, Alan returned to his family's long-standing homestead in Portsmouth, N.H., and worked on a farm briefly. He soon decided that he would like to try teaching. Jack Sindall, principal of the Browne & Nichols Lower School at the time, hired Alan to teach math in 1946. He would do so at B&N, and then BB&N, for the next 34 years, retiring in 1980.
 
In a 2010 Bulletin profile of Alan, alumna Kristen Quigley Coe '79 described the impact he had on his students: "He was a terrific teacher in all endeavors; he had high and clear expectations and prodded students to elevate their game to meet what he saw in you. He provided for me what I hope my own children will find: a connection with a teacher who helps you emerge into the best version of yourself."
 
Perhaps his greatest impact on the school, however, was his direction of the Bivouac program from 1952 to 1979. Just one year after Bivouac was initiated at Spruce Ledge, Maine, by Gibby Graves '27, Alan joined him as co-director. The two men would head the program for the next 20 years until Gibby retired in 1974. (Alan is at far right in the photo below, Gibby is next to him.) Alan continued directing Bivouac for the next five years, which included the move to Chesham, N.H., in 1975, as well as the first several years of girls participating in the program (separate programs for boys and girls were held until 1980).


 
In the 2010 Bulletin profile, Pam Powell '78 recalled how Alan "loved sharing his quiet passion for the outdoors and his clear idea of how to do things right. He made us more comfortable in nature, showing that sitting by the campfire listening to the porcupines gnawing, or going on Solo, didn't have to be misery. He taught by example, caring about small things that mattered."
 
Caring is a word that describes Alan perfectly. He cared quietly and deeply for his students, for the environment, for his 302-year-old family homestead, for his four children, and especially for his beloved wife of 67 years, Anne, who passed away in 2009 after a long battle with Alzheimer's.