Catch Up With Honorary Alumni in the Class of 1862

Bruce Miller in 2002, the year he retired from Ravenscroft, and with Sofia Armstrong Cole ’11, Sean Kelly ’11 and Doreen Kelly at Christ Church in Raleigh in August 2023

Early in Bruce Miller’s 28-year career at Ravenscroft, he worked with students as a social studies and Latin teacher. He also served as an Upper School economics teacher, Director of Summer Programs, Director of Middle School, Director of Upper School and Assistant/Associate Headmaster — an impressive tenure that left many marks on the school. (“There were a few weeks between Heads of School when, apparently, I’m told, I was Headmaster,” he noted wryly.) He was inducted into the Class of 1862 upon his retirement in 2002.

He has kept up with his passion for history in the years since.

“After retirement from the school, I followed an interest in local history, for a time as a tour guide (on Segways!) as volunteer historian at Oakwood Cemetery,” he said. “I’ve had time to author six books on local history, three of them as co-author with the cemetery head.” His most recent book, “Bringing Them Home,” was published to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Raleigh’s first formal observance of Memorial Day and explores the stories of some of Oakwood Cemetery’s war dead.

He enjoys continued connections with the school, sharing memories of school events that took place during his tenure, coming to visit when former colleagues return to campus for special occasions and even giving today’s faculty and staff a lesson on the school’s history at downtown’s Christ Church last August. He was among the members of the Class of 1862 present at the awards celebration on May 3.

Cherie Fowler in 2006, the year she retired and was inducted into the Class of 1862, and coaching varsity volleyball in 2004

Cherie Fowler was a Physical Education teacher and department chair, coach and club advisor who worked at Ravenscroft from 1979 until her retirement in 2006. She was beloved among students and colleagues alike for her positive outlook and dedication to the community she served.

In reporting on her induction into the Class of 1862, Ravenscroft Magazine editors wrote, “Her vivacious spirit and commitment to excellence of mind and spirit is what sets her apart and makes her so deserving of this recognition.” But it wasn’t the only honor bestowed upon her in appreciation for her commitment to the school. In recognition of her impact as longtime advisor to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, in 2006 friends established an endowment in her honor that supports the FCA in perpetuity. She was inducted into the Ravenscroft Sports Hall of Fame as a coach in 2010.

Fowler passed away in 2021. Gretchen Presnell Hyde ’04 shared her memories of Fowler in a Ravenscroft Magazine feature, “Remembering a Motivator, Mentor and Role Model.”

In it, she remembers how “Coach Fowler exuded joy and sought out fun. Yet the depth of character she modeled and the lessons she helped students learn were lasting. She mastered the delicate balance in asking the right questions and pushing us from a place of love. Coach Fowler didn’t give anyone the easy way out, nor did she choose that route for herself. Instead, she sought what was right and honest and challenged others to pursue those paths as well.”

Barbara Jean Warren with daughter Melissa ’00 and Janie Smith Brooks ’98 at her 2007 induction into the Class of 1862 and on Ravenscroft’s campus in April 2023

Barbara Jean Warren — called “B.J.” by many of her colleagues — worked at Ravenscroft for nearly 35 years, first as an Upper School math teacher in the early days of the school’s North Raleigh campus (when she was still known as Miss Carver). She would go on to be chair of that department, an Academic Skills instructor, Director of Student Activities and the Upper School registrar. A passionate educator, she was the driving force behind the Senior Project and Off-Campus Week. “I loved the school, and I loved the school family,” she recalled. “I was proud to be a part of it.”

In her last role at Ravenscroft, she served as Director of Alumni Giving and Programs, which gave her the opportunity to reconnect with the decades of alumni who had once been her students.

Upon Warren’s induction into the Class of 1862 in 2007, Ravenscroft Magazine editors wrote, “No thank-you could be big enough to encompass all that [she] has meant to Ravenscroft.” Warren said that the honor “filled my heart, because one of the things that I still treasure is my connection to alumni. That this group, who had known me since I was a young teacher in my 20s, thought to recognize me this way meant so much!”

Warren shared that her retirement years have been busy with her two daughters, Elizabeth Warren Hamilton ’97 and Melissa Warren Dougher ’00 and their families — including two grandchildren “with lots of activities to keep up with.” She is also active in her church and enjoys having a house at the beach.

Lewis “Snow” Holding in an undated photo and with Ravenscroft President Grover Smith at the December 1984 “mortgage-burning” ceremony

Along with his brother Robert Holding Jr., Lewis “Snow” Holding was one of the most pivotal figures in Ravenscroft’s transition to an independent school in the late 1960s. Issuing a challenge grant to other parents at the Tucker Street primary school where Ravenscroft began, the brothers secured funding to purchase the tract of land where the campus now stands. After Robert Holding stepped down as board chair in 1974 due to poor health, Snow Holding assumed the role and shepherded the school until 1987.

The Holding brothers were titans of business in North Carolina. Snow Holding served as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of First Citizens Bank, guiding the growth of the company for more than 50 years. He brought that same acumen to his leadership of Ravenscroft’s board and the numerous other nonprofit organizations he supported.

Barbara Jean Warren remembered both brothers fondly. “Whenever the faculty and staff had a new idea, they’d tell Robert Holding, ‘What would make everyone happy would be …’ and it would happen!” she said. “Snow Holding was more by the book but also agreed that whatever made students and their families happy — and therefore positioned our students and our school for success — was the thing to do. He would direct the school to make sure every student had the supplies they needed, including Ravenscroft-branded notebooks filled with lined paper for their schoolwork.”

Holding was honored with membership in the Class of 1862 in May 2009. He passed away in August of that same year.

Fran Pugh receiving her Class of 1862 Award from Kelly at Commencement in May 2009 and with family at the March 2023 Legacy Breakfast

Fran Pugh and her husband, the late V. Watson “Doc” Pugh Jr. ’38, were among the Tucker Street parents the Holding brothers approached in their work to establish Ravenscroft as an independent school. The couple’s horse farm, Tara Farm, borders the tract of land their funding helped secure, and Fran Pugh joined the new school’s board of trustees at its founding — a position she still holds today, nearly 55 years later, as a board vice president. Over the years, she has served on the trustee committees for finance, development, and buildings and grounds.

Pugh’s induction into the Class of 1862 took place during the 2009 Commencement exercises, on the eve of her 40th year on the board. The Summer 2009 article in Ravenscroft Magazine noted her “vision, leadership … and unrelenting dedication” to the school. Her reminder that school leadership must always “do it for the kids” has been a rallying cry for the many fundraising campaigns and strategic plans the board has overseen during her extraordinary tenure.

In a Fall 2015 story about her family’s philanthropic commitment to the school, she said, “My passion is my family, my horses and Ravenscroft. It’s that simple.”

As Pugh’s commitment to Ravenscroft endures, her family’s long connection with the school continues to grow: this past March, Pugh attended the Office of Alumni Engagement’s Legacy Breakfast with her daughter, Holly Pugh Johnson ’78, grandson Carl Johnson ’10 and great-grandson Carl Johnson ’36 — marking four generations of Ravens in the Pugh family.

Martha Janes in a photo from the 2010-11 yearbook and in a recent photo showcasing azaleas in bloom

Martha Janes came to Ravenscroft to serve as the school nurse in 1975. While a flurry of construction between 1970 and 1974 had allowed students and teachers to move out of the campus’s prefabricated trailers, Janes used one as her nurse’s office until 2001, when the Seby B. Jones Health Center opened.

Through those years and right up until her retirement in 2017, after an astonishing 42 years of service, Janes watched Ravenscroft — and her many student charges — grow and thrive. During the school’s 150th anniversary celebration in 2012-13, Janes reflected on the school’s growth and her care for its students. Today, she recalls with fondness how the “children brought energy and excitement to each day. But when they entered my office with an illness, injury, broken bone, loose tooth or sadness, I was glad to be there to help or console them.”

In response to her years of care, Ravenscroft alumni inducted her into the Class of 1862 in 2015. It’s a connection she still treasures.

“It has been a pleasure over the years while shopping, at a doctor’s office or while on vacation out of town to suddenly hear ‘Hi, Nurse Janes!’ and then spend some time catching up with what they are doing now,” she said.

In retirement, she has served as the pianist and choir director at Youngsville Baptist Church for many years. “I enjoy spending time with my son, Kevin ’85. I love taking care of flowers and plants brought from my old homeplace in Charlottesville, Virginia,” she added.

Carol Miedema in 1987, when she was Director of Lower School, and in 2017 holding her Class of 1862 Award with Alumni Council president Scott Manning ’03 and Kelly

Carol Miedema began her career at Ravenscroft in 1979, working as a developmental learning specialist. In the years that followed, she taught several grades in the Lower School and served as director of the division from 1981 to 1988. In 2000, she was recognized with the Distinguished Faculty Award. From 2008 until her retirement in 2017, she put her expertise in developmental readiness to good use as Associate Director of Admission for Lower School.

“My favorite thing about working at Ravenscroft was the people, the relationships and teamwork,” she said. “And, personally, having my children receive an amazing pre-college experience, not only academically but in fine arts, sports, leadership — it was second to none!”

Miedema shared that she learned she was being recognized with the Class of 1862 Award while traveling with a friend: “We stopped to have lunch. In a booth, with my phone on the seat, ‘Ravenscroft’ or ‘Doreen Kelly’ popped up [on the screen]. Typically I wouldn’t answer during lunch with a friend, but this call must be important!” The news Kelly was sharing, she remembered, left her “almost speechless — and very honored.”

Today, Miedema continues to work with families and their children through her consulting business. She enjoys “spending time with my children — Gretchen ’87, Jared ’93 and Seth ’93 — and their families whenever possible! I’m looking forward to the May 3 gathering and celebrating Doreen, [Distinguished Alumni Award recipient] Margaret Mahood Mills ’76 and [Athletic Hall of Fame Award recipient] Greg Long, with whom I spent many years, as well as seeing many friends, current and past.”

Michelle Piette during her recent retirement travels and with Alumni Council president Scott Manning ’03 and Kelly following her induction in 2017

During her 31 years at Ravenscroft, Michelle Piette — affectionately known as “Coach P” to students — taught Lower School P.E. and served as Assistant Athletic Director and Head Athletic Trainer. Along the way, she pioneered Ravenscroft’s athletics trainer and sports medicine programs and taught related Upper School science electives that inspired many of her students to follow in her footsteps. In recognition of her many contributions to the school, Piette received both the Helton Award and the Lichtin Award.

She retired in 2017. In the story covering her induction into the Class of 1862, Ravenscroft Magazine reported, “Of her many legacies, one of her greatest is that her successor [Sofia Armstrong Cole ’11] is one of her former students — a Ravenscroft lifer who started off as a student under her guidance and later chose to pursue athletic training as a career.”

“My induction into the Class of 1862 was humbling, heartwarming and the greatest honor I have ever received!” Piette said. “I am a Raven for life and very proud to be a part of the family!”

While she now lives in Appleton, Wisconsin, Coach P is never far from Ravenscroft or the community she served. In 2021, an anonymous gift to the school dedicated the media room in the new Olander Center for Student Life at the A.E. Finley Center in her honor. She said she is enjoying retirement, “spending time with my family and friends and working out daily at the YMCA as well as sitting on their board. And I am traveling!”

Phil Higginson with the 2010 Middle School girls lacrosse team and with Kelly upon his Class of 1862 induction in 2023

Phil Higginson led the Office of Institutional Advancement at Ravenscroft from 2002 to 2023. In that role, he oversaw annual fundraising for the Fund For Ravenscroft, executed four major fundraising initiatives — including the five-year, $15M Embrace Possibility campaign — and established more than 70 family endowment funds that will support Ravenscroft in perpetuity.

In addition to his work in philanthropy, Higginson at various times worked directly with students as a coach of both boys and girls lacrosse and as the sponsor of an Upper School club focused on business entrepreneurship. Quoting his fellow Class of 1862 member Fran Pugh, with whom he worked closely for more than 20 years, Higginson said of the many ways he served Ravenscroft, “It’s all about the kids. I loved coaching, doing carpool and reading ‘My Father’s Dragon’ to [daughter] Laura ’10’s kindergarten class.”

Higginson was recognized with the Class of 1862 Award in 2023. He called it “truly one of the most meaningful moments in my career.”

Since stepping down from his role at Ravenscroft, Higginson has joined Independent School Management as a consultant to private and independent schools around the world. “My areas of concentration are governance, strategic planning, strategic financial planning and fundraising,” he explained. “I am tremendously grateful for all that I learned at Ravenscroft and the five other schools that I worked for. I feel fortunate that I can continue this work by supporting schools’ leadership as they strive to advance their programs on behalf of their students and teachers.”