The Wheatley School Alumni Association Newsletter # 227

Spotlight on Three 1970 Graduates, with lots of photos

Material Wanted

The Wheatley School Alumni Association Newsletter is always happy to receive biographies, memories, and photos of Wheatley Administrators, Faculty, Staff and students. Think about your teachers, your classmates, your friends, or even yourself.

The East Williston School District

The East Williston Union Free School District, located in affluent Old Westbury on Long Island, was named the second most expensive school district in America.

It came in fourth place on the Niche.com list of “2025 Best School Districts in America,” but was determined to be the second most expensive by GOBankingRates, with a pre-tax income of $513,459 required to live there without any financial discomfort.

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In Old Westbury, annual necessities expenditures for a family come out to $256,730, including a property tax bill of $42,048.

What living in the EWSD costs

Graduates

1960 - Barbara Frankfort Patrick - “Life is a continual journey of re-engineering one’s self. I have recently moved from the East Coast to the West Coast, namely, Seattle, Washington. If there are any classmates in the area who might enjoy seeing a fellow 1960 Wildcat, please let Art know (ARTENGORON@GMAIL.COM). I would love some insight that would help guide me to a fulfilling and exciting new adventure … one in which I can enjoy fellow artists of all the senses.”

1970 - Gregory Fitzpatrick - “As the kids would say, it’s been a minute since I updated you on my adventures. I took a ferry ⛴️ from Puttgarden Germany to Denmark. I spent a brief amount of time there but did visit Copenhagen and venture to the Little Mermaid (Hans Christian Anderson’s story) . The Kronborg castle (Hamlet’s Castle ) in Elsinore should be on your “must see” list. Portions of the castle were rebuilt due to a fire, but the chapel portion is original. For someone who worked in a cabinet/ door & window/ millwork shop, the chapel was a treat to visit . I am now in Norway, on Lofoten Island. I got above the Arctic 🥶 Circle and up to the Nordkapp.

1970 - Robin Halpern - “A solo exhibition of my recent paintings, Reigning Color, opens on 9/12/25 in the Catskills Mountains @ Longyear Gallery.

In addition to my career as a psychotherapist, I’ve been an artist for many decades and these two passions have always informed one another.

I recall my Wheatley art classes, which were my faves. Aaron Kuriloff influenced me as a budding young artist. Here are two paintings from the new series.

Robin Halpern - Artist

1970 - Pam Panzarino Hyde - “Hi Art, After the death of Phyllis Orlins Trigg (1971), who was one of my best friends, this past summer, I took to writing this ‘pre-obit’ of my life. I hope that the words are interesting, but I think that the photos are even more so, especially those of the off-the-grid home my second husband and I built in Taos.

I currently live full-time smack in the middle of St. Petersburg, Florida, five miles to downtown/Tampa Bay and five miles to the Gulf of Mexico. My husband, Bill, and I use our e-bikes instead of a car. We’ve actually gotten lost twice driving to the airport, as we drive so infrequently!

My pre-children life was highlighted with a junior year abroad on the Stanford overseas program in Florence, Italy, as an art history/biology major. Then came a first marriage and two kids. Raising kids was indelibly special in many powerful and personal ways.

The post-children phase of my life has been doing adventures with my second husband, Bill, a PhD in economics from the U. of Chicago, though below he looks like Farmer John.

We met on the first day of a commercial canoe trip on the White River in CO, in which I had a near-fatal accident, got mauled by a German Shepard guard dog on the way home from the hospital, and my father died suddenly in my car from a heart attack while doing errands for me after my surgery. Bill and I have not been separated since.

Among our “together” adventures, as if the above wasn’t enough: designing/building an off-the-grid, 240 square-foot, eco-friendly cob tower home in Taos, NM;

two years teaching elementary school in Venezuela; creating a multi-lingual Montessori preschool for gifted children (English/Spanish/sign language); circumnavigating Spain and Portugal on bicycles (not e-bikes); writing comedy for a political parody troupe in Colorado; writing and directing six large musical productions for local theater; and falling in love with New Zealand while biking; and playing pickleball. Within the past three years, we have twice qualified for the National Senior Olympics in mixed doubles pickleball;

gone on a ketamine psychedelic weekend retreat in Nashville; and I taught nursing and GED at two different junior colleges.

Oh, yes, and grandchildren…OMG, I LOVE that part! The oldest, who attended our preschool for 3 years, just started college!

Recently, I adapted the book The Widow Road Map, by Kate Seidman, into a multi-media play that I directed; it is called Forever Loved-Alive Again. It’s first production was this past spring in St. Petersburg. We plan to bring it to various venues this coming winter.

Lastly, as part of the performing duo my husband and I named “the Junior-Seniors@ PLAY,” I create and produce new monthly variety shows that we perform twice a month at Meals-on-Wheels Neighborly Cafes at two local senior centers. This effort by Bill is one for the history books, as he was one of the very first people in the country, if not the world, diagnosed with severe dyslexia by Doctor Samuel Orton himself! Below are photos from the most recent show, dancing to Shoot the Moon’s “Shut Up and Dance with Me,” our favorite song after our first dance song together, “Runaround Sue.”

Fan Mail

1960 (Barbara Frankfort Patrick) - “Thank you, Art, for your continuing dedication to all us Wildcats.”

1966 (Susan Berger Jones) - “Thanks for all you do for the Wheatley Alumni.”

1970 (Pam Panzarino Hyde) - “Thanks for creating and continuing the Wheatley connection for the many generations of its graduates.”

The Official Notices

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In the first 24 or so hours after publication, the Wheatley School Alumni Newsletter # 225 was viewed 4,188 times and was liked six times. In all, 4,812 email addresses received Newsletter # 225. August 2025 ended with 4,812 subscribers and The Wheatley School Alumni Association Newsletter having been accessed approximately 24,000 times.

The Usual Words of Wisdom

Thanks to our fabulous Webmaster, Keith Aufhauser (Class of 1963), you can regale yourself with the first 225 Wheatley School Alumni Association Newsletters (and much other Wheatley data and arcana) at

The Wheatley School Alumni Association Website

Also thanks to Keith is our search engine, prominently displayed on our home page: type in a word or phrase and, wow!, you’ll find every place it exists in all previous Newsletters and other on-site material.

I edit all submissions, even material in quotes, for clarity and concision, without any indication thereof. I cannot and do not vouch for the accuracy of what people tell me, as TWSAA does not have a New Yorker type fact-checking department.

We welcome any and all text and photos relevant to The Wheatley School, 11 Bacon Road, Old Westbury, NY 11568, and the people who administered, taught, worked, and/or studied there. Art Engoron, Class of 1967

Closing

That’s it for The Wheatley School Alumni Association Newsletter # 227. Please send me your autobiography before someone else sends me your obituary.

Art

Arthur Fredericks Engoron, Class of 1967

ARTENGORON@GMAIL.COM

WWW.WHEATLEYALUMNI.ORG

646-872-4833