Farewell to Greenhill Legends

Alfred Hoak and Kathrin Peterson

On Friday, May 20, Greenhill will honor Legends who retired during the year, and the past few years that were engulfed by the pandemic. A Legend is someone who has dedicated 25 or more years working at Greenhill.

The list of Legends being celebrated is, Letha Boulware-Tait, Pam Giraudon, Herman Card, Roger Charlebois ‘71, Pam Carroll-Hopkins, Henry Paolissi, and Peggy Norvell Turlington ’75.

Boulware-Tait served as the Lower School Office Coordinator for thirty years. Card was a PE teacher and a Middle School Basketball Coach for twenty-eight years.

Charlebois was a Lower School Science teacher for 32 years. His daughter, Middle School Science Teacher Sharon Charlebois, currently works at Greenhill. Giraudon was a Middle School Spanish Teacher for 29 years.

Carroll-Hopkins was an Assistant College Counselor for 28 years. Turlington was a Middle School History Teacher for 25 years.

Paolissi, the only legend to retire this year, was a math teacher, improv teacher and junior varsity volleyball coach.

“I started off teaching fourth-grade math,” said Paolissi. “Then I moved to fifth grade. Then from fifth grade, I moved to sixth grade. All that time I taught mathematics.”

During his time teaching math, he was also a Boys Junior Varsity Volleyball coach, under former Boys Varsity Volleyball Head and Middle School Spanish Teacher Keith Nannie.

“I stopped coaching for several reasons,” he said. “One my mom was sick at that time and needed all my attention, so I could not travel. I quit coaching not because I wanted to, but because I had to.”

Paolissi would teach the kids the fundamentals and Nannie would fine-tune their skills.

“At some point in middle school I started to become interested in the theater, so I started to become the assistant director for the musicals,” said Paolissi. “At the same time, I became interested in improv.”

Paolissi would teach the kids the fundamentals and Nannie would fine-tune their skills.

“I quit coaching not because I wanted to, but because I had to,” Paolissi said. “For about 15 years, I coached, I assistant directed, I sponsored the improv troupe and I taught math.”

He was at Greenhill for about 12 to 14 hours a day.

He stopped teaching math six years ago, and that is when he made the full transition to the Marshall Performing Arts Center.

“It is not that I am leaving Greenhill and it is not that I am retiring per se for me,” said Paolissi. “I do not want to retire, but I think there comes a time in your life when you know it is time to move on. I think this is the time for me to move on.”