William L. Chamberlin – 50th Reunion Essay

William L. Chamberlin

304 Dover Road

Westwood, Massachusetts 02090

wlchamberlin@gmail.com

781-789-6466

Spouse(s): Jenny Chamberlin (1977, d.2017)

Child(ren): Sarah (1978); Sam (1979)

Grandchild(ren): Elsa Fesenmyer (2010); Robert Fesenmyer (2012)

Education: Yale BA (1969); University of Massachusetts M.Ed (1981)

Career: Teacher, coach, administrator Noble and Greenough School (1971-2007); Education consultant (2007-2015)

Avocations: Family, community, homes, travel, outdoors

College: Morse

“A life well lived?” Yes, I believe I have for the years since June 1969. I had always thought I wanted to be a teacher and in 1969 did not want to fall right into the traditional New England independent school world from which I had come. But after a couple of early false starts, I did wind up in the world at Noble and Greenough School in Dedham, Massachusetts. I thought I would be there for three years to gain experience. But I retired from Noble in 2007 after 37 years.

Why did I stay so long? Because each year I was able to take on a new challenge, and halfway through my tenure I essentially changed careers when I became the school’s business manager and assistant head. The school and its community became a better place each year both for those who went to school there and for those who worked there.

And the second reason was that it was a great place to raise a family. Jenny and I married and had two children who grew up living at the school. We had opportunities to travel and explore and to develop a second home on a remote Maine island, a place which remains the touchstone for our family now spread across the country.

I grew to truly appreciate the joy and stability of our lives which included spending a wonderful year living in Australia and a variety of other explorations of our country and the world.

That stability also provided a much-needed base for Jenny to undertake a 20-plus year treatment for metastatic breast cancer. She was able, by and large, to enjoy life, family, and work immensely until the disease finally got the upper hand in September 2017.

As the school where I worked was and is a continually better place, so too, Yale is a better place than it was in 1969. The Yale from which my daughter graduated in 2000 was a much different and better environment than the one we knew.

Everything in life is in continual change mode. I believe and support that with the caveat that we always have the wisdom to embrace the new while preserving the best values and traditions of our heritage. My hope and plan is to happily continue doing that in my retirement years.