Faculty member Courtney Jackson never got to meet her Aunt Adelaide. But it’s almost as if Aunt Adelaide comes alive this time of year. On December 11, Courtney told the story of Aunt Adelaide during Chapel Talks, initiated this fall as a way for members of the Loomis Chaffee community to share personal stories. The all-school theme this school year is the power of storytelling. 

“In 1931, a few months after she turned 4, Adelaide contracted polio. She got better, but the disease left its mark. She could no longer walk and couldn’t move the right side of her body at all.” Courtney told the audience in Founders Chapel. Adelaide used a wheelchair and lived with her parents into her adulthood. “In her 40s,” Courtney continued, “Adelaide developed arthritis in her left arm and hand, which she relied on completely. Then one day, facing aging parents and a complete loss of mobility, Adelaide exercised some of the autonomy she had left and passed away from an overdose. She was 49 years old.” 

Despite her physical limitations, Aunt Adelaide’s life had been a gift to many, as Courtney learned years later. And Aunt Adelaide’s life still is a gift to Courtney. 

Every year in the weeks before Christmas, Aunt Adelaide would respond to the letters local kids wrote to Santa. She used a manual typewriter, hitting the keys one by one with a wooden spoon because of her hand’s limited mobility. Courtney only found out about Adelaide’s stint as Santa through a conversation with her mother one day when Courtney was a child. Her mother wasn’t sure exactly how many letters Aunt Adelaide wrote or for how long she did it, only knowing that she stopped when her arthritis made it too painful to type. 

“Adelaide became someone I talked about at Christmas time with my mom and then someone I thought about more as the Christmas season neared, when I decided which gifts I would get people, and who I wanted to spend time with when I went home for winter break,” Courtney told the audience. “You could say she became the source of my Christmas spirit, guiding me to approach the season in the right way — to think of others and spread joy through kind gestures.” 

Courtney said she loves to give gifts — finding that special touch for someone — not just at Christmas but any time of the year. Surprising someone “because the surprise of being thought of in the absence of obligation usually makes people smile bigger and feel even more seen and special.” 

“Gift-giving,” she continued, “is often framed as being about buying things and can come with pressures and feel transactional as a result.” As she said, there are wish lists for holidays and birthdays and registries for wedding and baby showers.  

“Aunt Adelaide helps me think about gifts differently. ... Aunt Adelaide’s Santa letters were genuinely good gifts, because of the effort she made to pay attention to the kids in town. This is how she inspires me to pay attention to other people and to make doing so a habit in my daily life. I encourage all of you to engage in your own practice of paying attention and to remember that making people feel seen, even in small ways, is a wonderful gift that can spread joy and even some magic.  

“Aunt Adelaide’s stint as Santa also reminds me that we all have gifts of our own and that sharing them is a gift too. Because of her physical disabilities, people routinely underestimated Adelaide’s intellect and didn’t think she could do anything — that she didn’t have gifts and didn’t think she had anything to give. They just felt sorry for her. I like to think that Adelaide didn’t feel sorry for herself and knew that her gifts were worth sharing.” 

Courtney also brought up psychoanalyst Bonnie Buchele in her talk. 

“When thinking about getting a gift for someone, Dr. Buchele says that we benefit from pausing and asking, ‘What do I want to say with this gift?’ I would like to revise that and ask you, ‘What do you want to say with your gifts?’” In other words, what are your gifts? How might you share them? And what impact do you want them to have?" Courtney said. 

“Finally, Aunt Adelaide reminds me that people can be gifts. I never got to meet Aunt Adelaide, and there is still so much about her that remains a mystery, but she has served and will continue to serve as an inspiration for me. 

“Each year, a few days before Christmas, I watch the classic film — and my favorite Christmas movie — A Muppets Christmas Carol, which tells the story of Ebenezer Scrooge’s transformation from an ornery miser to a kinder, generous man … surrounded by muppets. At the end of the film, Michael Cain, who plays Scrooge, tells the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, ‘I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.’ Whenever I hear this line, I think of Aunt Adelaide: I will honor her spirit in my heart and try to keep it all the year.” 

Courtney left the crowd with a final message. 

“So whether you celebrate Christmas or not, I invite you to embrace Aunt Adelaide’s approach to gift-giving — to really think about the gifts you have, to share them with others, and to notice the gifts in them, too.” 

And then Courtney provided a tangible gift to those in attendance on top of the gift of her message.   

“I’ll even help you get started,” she said. “At the back of the chapel, there are cards, envelopes, and stamps. On your way out, you’re welcome to take one or a handful. And when you sit down to write, know that Aunt Adelaide will be smiling.”  

Here is how Courtney shares her gifts. She teaches English, is the Director of Gender & Sexuality, and is the head of Batchelder Hall. She came to Loomis in 2018 and was an assistant coach of varsity girls soccer from 2018–20 and an assistant coach of varsity girls basketball in the 2018–19 and 2019–20 seasons. She now devotes her time to all her other duties on campus. Courtney was named the associate director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) in 2021 and in 2024 took on a new role as director of gender & sexuality. When asked what she wants to say with her gifts and what impact she wants them to have, Courtney said, “I love people and love learning, so living in a residential academic context enables me to engage in both of those things actively and meaningfully. With loving people, I hope that I help my fellow Pelicans feel seen, valued, and appreciated. With loving learning, I hope I can spark curiosity, serve as a resource and thought partner, and help my students understand the importance of being a lifelong learner.”