Walter Dale Bauer and Judith Webster Bauer
THE WILLARD J. WRIGHT ’32 DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD June 13, 2013
Walter Dale Bauer and Judith Webster Bauer Fifty years at Lakeside! Dale and Judy Bauer revel deservedly in this golden milestone, so rare in any of life’s endeavors. For every Lakesider who knows and loves them, though, it’s the strength of their contributions to and connections with every part of the school’s community—not the length of their service—that merits heartfelt celebration. Dale and Judy drove cross country to join Lakeside in 1963, Dale to teach in the Middle School and Judy to be the school nurse in those days when the school still had boarders. Over the next five decades and the tenures of five heads of school, their separate roles at the school have deepened; expanded; changed; explored all aspects of Lakeside’s mission; and supported, selflessly and very thoughtfully, every responsibility, initiative, or exigency the school has faced. Dale’s work touched every part of Lakeside’s academic and student-centered purposes, from those early years of teaching algebra and English to 7th and 8th graders to instructing 10th-grade geometry; being a quarter-time Upper School director “in charge of everything but academics” and directing the Lakeside Educational Enrichment Program (LEEP) in the early 1970s; coaching cross-country; leading outdoor trips; then reinventing himself in the mid-1980s as Lakeside’s photography teacher and becoming faculty dean from then until the mid-1990s; playing an instrumental part in planning Lakeside’s firstclass arts building, the Pigott Family Arts Center; and shepherding his photography students to many statewide awards. Judy’s nursing ended when the infirmary closed and their two children were born, but she really never stopped working for Lakeside as she joined the Parents Association and ever since has been one of its staunchest volunteers—class rep, Rummage co-chair, president (and thus a former Lakeside trustee!), and longtime historian. Rejoining Lakeside’s staff in 1984, Judy coordinated facilities and transportation, juggling details and minutiae of bus service, room use, and campus rentals, all the while making herself indispensable in keeping Lakeside’s incredibly complex calendar and campus logistics on target to the minute. Dale and Judy have lived in three separate houses close to campus and both have moved offices or classrooms many times over the years, physical moves that added to their wise perspectives on the school. More important, both Dale and Judy have brought their attributes of adaptability, resourcefulness, creativity, and generous diligence to best use on Lakeside’s behalf, witnessing and participating in the school’s transformation over the past half-century. Both are blessed with an approach to life that matches soundness and stability with venturesomeness and eagerness to take on new challenges. Both model for students and colleagues a self-deprecating, absolutely dependable, tireless, and altruistic dedication to completing tasks and solving problems. Both have always understood intuitively and intellectually what independent schools can mean for their students and for the adults who teach, guide, and nurture these young people: rewarding, lifelong relationships and love of learning and doing. For 50 golden years, Dale Bauer and Judy Bauer have given heart and soul to Lakeside School, to its great good fortune and abiding welfare, and today we honor Dale and Judy with the Willard J. Wright ’32 Distinguished Service Award to recognize how deeply indebted we are, and always will be, to these two wonderful people.
Walter Dale Bauer and Judith Webster Bauer Fifty years at Lakeside! Dale and Judy Bauer revel deservedly in this golden milestone, so rare in any of life’s endeavors. For every Lakesider who knows and loves them, though, it’s the strength of their contributions to and connections with every part of the school’s community—not the length of their service—that merits heartfelt celebration. Dale and Judy drove cross country to join Lakeside in 1963, Dale to teach in the Middle School and Judy to be the school nurse in those days when the school still had boarders. Over the next five decades and the tenures of five heads of school, their separate roles at the school have deepened; expanded; changed; explored all aspects of Lakeside’s mission; and supported, selflessly and very thoughtfully, every responsibility, initiative, or exigency the school has faced. Dale’s work touched every part of Lakeside’s academic and student-centered purposes, from those early years of teaching algebra and English to 7th and 8th graders to instructing 10th-grade geometry; being a quarter-time Upper School director “in charge of everything but academics” and directing the Lakeside Educational Enrichment Program (LEEP) in the early 1970s; coaching cross-country; leading outdoor trips; then reinventing himself in the mid-1980s as Lakeside’s photography teacher and becoming faculty dean from then until the mid-1990s; playing an instrumental part in planning Lakeside’s firstclass arts building, the Pigott Family Arts Center; and shepherding his photography students to many statewide awards. Judy’s nursing ended when the infirmary closed and their two children were born, but she really never stopped working for Lakeside as she joined the Parents Association and ever since has been one of its staunchest volunteers—class rep, Rummage co-chair, president (and thus a former Lakeside trustee!), and longtime historian. Rejoining Lakeside’s staff in 1984, Judy coordinated facilities and transportation, juggling details and minutiae of bus service, room use, and campus rentals, all the while making herself indispensable in keeping Lakeside’s incredibly complex calendar and campus logistics on target to the minute. Dale and Judy have lived in three separate houses close to campus and both have moved offices or classrooms many times over the years, physical moves that added to their wise perspectives on the school. More important, both Dale and Judy have brought their attributes of adaptability, resourcefulness, creativity, and generous diligence to best use on Lakeside’s behalf, witnessing and participating in the school’s transformation over the past half-century. Both are blessed with an approach to life that matches soundness and stability with venturesomeness and eagerness to take on new challenges. Both model for students and colleagues a self-deprecating, absolutely dependable, tireless, and altruistic dedication to completing tasks and solving problems. Both have always understood intuitively and intellectually what independent schools can mean for their students and for the adults who teach, guide, and nurture these young people: rewarding, lifelong relationships and love of learning and doing. For 50 golden years, Dale Bauer and Judy Bauer have given heart and soul to Lakeside School, to its great good fortune and abiding welfare, and today we honor Dale and Judy with the Willard J. Wright ’32 Distinguished Service Award to recognize how deeply indebted we are, and always will be, to these two wonderful people.
