An occasional look at former Loomis Chaffee community members whose work helped shape the school. This one is about F. Evelyn Smith ’50, who died on January 2. Many of the quotes used in the article were gathered from what Evie wrote on the 75th anniversary of the school in 1990, from her 1997 retirement, and from a 2007 Senior Project by a Loomis Chaffee student. In the final years of her life, Evie resided at Seabury, a senior living community in Bloomfield, Conn. Evie's obituary. 

In many ways, Evie Smith was a part of the school even before enrolling as a student, then returning for 34 years as a teacher and administrator.  

Evie’s affiliation began in 1932, the year of her birth, when her brother Don ’35 was a freshman, she said in 1990 on the 75th anniversary of Loomis Chaffee. 

Evie remembered going to football and track meets at a young age, at times watching atop her father’s shoulders. Her brother and Skip Batchelder ’35 were friends from elementary school, and the Batchelders became friends of the family. Skip’s father, Nathaniel Horton Batchelder, was the first headmaster of Loomis. Skip’s mother, Gwendolen — Mr. B’s first wife — died when Skip was an infant. Mr. B’s second wife was the renowned sculptor Evelyn Longman Batchelder. 

Evie Smith had many memories from the 1930s of “Mr. and Mrs. B — two amazing people. I have a picture I drew when I was 6 which I said at the time was ‘Mrs. B at the gateway of her studio,’” she said. Evie also recalled seeing Mrs. B up on a ladder in her studio, sculpting “one of her magnificent works.” 

Evie's family occasionally was invited to dinner at the Head’s House. “I will never forget the night that I discovered that the butler came into the dining room as soon as Mrs. B pushed the button on the floor near her foot,” she said.  

In 1946, Evie was among the 100 or so local girls who took the entrance test for The Chaffee School. Sixteen were accepted to the school, located on Palisado Avenue, bringing Chaffee’s enrollment to 64. Theirs was a tight-knit community with traditions, such as the school’s eight teachers gathering for coffee in the living room of the head of school, Florence Sellers. The sterling silver coffee pot with cups on a tray spoke of a different era. A student would bring the tray into the room and place it in front of Mrs. Sellers. “If you don’t think that was a scary job!” Evie wrote. “Many a student dreamt of tripping and spilling all over the Chaffee House living room rug — or even worse, all over the teachers!” 

Evie returned to The Chaffee School in 1963 as assistant to Head of School Barbara Erickson. Evie had many roles over the next 34 years, including after Chaffee and Loomis merged. She was dean of girls, keeper of the school calendar, coordinator of the parents association, and faculty representative to the alumni association. 

At a retirement celebration in 1997, Evie recalled initially rejecting the idea of working at her old school. But Mrs. Erickson convinced her to come for an interview — all expenses paid for the January weekend. It was a season in New England that would not lure many from Florida, where Evie was working. Except Evie was a skier. “The main reason I came,” she said, “was because the skiing conditions were unusually good that weekend. What skier would ever give up an opportunity like that?”  

Evie was back home for many years to come. Aaron “Woody” Hess, a now-retired associate head of school, worked with Evie starting in 1982. In a tribute at Evie’s retirement celebration, Woody said she had “uncommon common sense. More than anything else, Ev has a passion for doing things right. This is the hallmark of the woman. This and resourcefulness.”  

Woody also said that Evie was a “positive role model for young women,” blending “playfulness and a recognition that life is serious business.”   

When news of Evie’s death reached the Loomis Chaffee community, there were many fond remembrances. One especially poignant one came from Mary Collins ’79, who said that Evie once did something she will never forget. Evie was Mary’s advisor. Mary had been at the school six weeks, she said, when her father died of cancer and her mother survived a cancer scare. 

“One day a few months after my father's funeral, I found myself just overcome with emotions that I had not yet expressed,” Mary said. “I didn't know where to go or where to turn, but Dean Smith had always shown me a friendly face so I went to her office.” 

Mary sat down, and tears kept coming. Evie picked up the phone, telling the secretary to cancel everything on her schedule that morning. Evie just sat there with her. 

“I will never forget she stopped for me that day and recognized my emotional needs and my humanity," Mary said. “We became close after that.” Mary celebrated her 18th birthday at Evie’s cottage at West Hill Lake in the northwest corner of Connecticut. Evie and Mary’s mother became good friends. Now, as a professor at Central Connecticut State University, Mary said she is known for having an open door for those who need to talk. “I am just paying it forward, and it was Dean Evelyn Smith who showed me the way,” Mary said. 

Evie always seemed to find her way, meet the next challenge. 

“I am not the type of person who could have stayed in one place for 34 years — and I really haven’t,” she said at the retirement celebration. “I stayed, but the place changed. That’s one of the beauties of this place. Many people in this room have recognized doors which have opened for them; the opportunities for faculty and staff growth and development is incredible. ... I encourage the young people in the room to keep your eyes open and take advantage of the possibilities. Take the risks. Don’t ever become bored.” 

Evie, who had a bachelor's degree from Skidmore and a master's degree from Trinity, never became bored. Lifelong learners are like that. 

For a 2007 Senior Project on Chaffee, then-senior Laura Chilson interviewed Evie extensively. By then, Evie had been retired for a decade, and enjoying every minute. 

“Because I was so tied and so dedicated to what I was doing [while working at Loomis Chaffee] … there were so many things in the outside world that I had not been able to do,” Evie recalled. “So, the last 10 years I have been doing [things]. I've traveled like a bandit: China, lots of elder hostels, navigated the waterways of Holland. I've taken about one big trip every year. Then I have this summer place [West Hill Lake] where a lot of people come, and I've gotten into the leadership out there of the Lake Association. I've been active in the Alumni Association here. There's just an untold amount of things you can do. I'm taking an art course right now. And I took painting lessons, watercolor lessons, for the fun of it. ... These doors open up. You've just got to know to walk through them. Or you could sit on our fanny, you know, and not go any place if that's what you want to do. But if you want to move … things are there."