The engraved bricks on the long and winding Alum Pathway are almost as solid as the love Sally ADAMS Medland’66, Jane BARBER’62, Pixie BIGELOW Currie’62 and the Class of 1962 have for the late Nancy ADAMS MacDonnell’62 and their classmates. At the 2024 Reunion Decades Lunch, a brand-new bench was unveiled, bringing to this space renewed beauty and a legacy for a woman and graduating class who truly loved Branksome Hall.
Although she graduated in 1962, Nancy never truly left the school. Her deepest passion was for Branksome Hall—she had been a Prefect, parent, employee and Board member, using each unique position to inspire generations of women and create a better Branksome.
“Nancy ADAMS MacDonnell was our friend and our leader. She was always fuelled with high-octane, positive energy and a passion for Branksome,” says Pixie. “She was always ready to listen and offer help. She really cared.” As Head Girl from 1961–62, Nancy is credited by her classmates with uniting them in friendship and spirit.
It was no surprise that the Class of 1962 asked Principal Karen L. Jurjevich to be the first to sit on the new bench with Nancy’s sister, Sally ADAMS Medland’66. Karen, who assumed the role of Principal in 1998, worked closely with Nancy until her retirement in 2005. Much like Nancy, Karen is a natural leader who has dedicated so much of her life to Branksome Hall to make it the inclusive, world-renowned independent school that it is today. Nancy’s friends adore Karen for sharing Nancy’s beliefs and values, continuing to carry them on beyond her passing.
Sitting on the Alum Pathway, surrounded by chirping birds and sprawling greenery, the Class of 1962 hopes that this bench will serve as fertile ground for “lifelong, loving and supportive friendships for years to come.” May this beautiful memorial for Nancy and her late classmates serve as a reminder to all who visit it to, as Nancy would always say, “Keep well the road.”
