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st. lawrence university magazine | fall 2014
SPORTS
and the scarlet and brown
of their St. Lawrence bonds.
But the true secret ingredi-
ent may be the knowledge
that retirement is a time to
retire only from your profes-
sional life, allowing you to
redirect your energy in new
ways.
n
Shayla Witherell, a skier
herself, is St. Lawrence’s
assistant director of donor
relations. Her reflections on
studying in France appear
on page 18.
her interests in hiking and
alpine flowers, and John
have established a nature
trail and created signage
identifying local flora. Pat
recently completed a term as
president of the local library
board, whose main project
this year is the completion
of the new Breckenridge
Library.
The Taylors make fitness
and healthy eating a prior-
ity. They look forward to
their five daughters’ and
their families’ visits, and get
out on the trails with them
regardless of the season.
Despite a few replacement
hips and knees that tempo-
rarily slowed them down,
the Ferrys and Taylors rarely
stop for long. Their recipes
for staying active share the
white of mountain snows
internationally to compete
in Europe eight times and in
Canada in the Nordic World
Masters. They enjoy encoun-
tering new people as much as
they do skiing.
“We are not couch pota-
toes!” proclaims John, just
after completing a bicycle
tour of Colorado with their
daughter and son-in-law.
“Home is a place to eat din-
ner and rest a while before
setting out again.”
Nestled in Summit County,
Colorado, they have no
excuses not to get out, with
endless miles of hiking and
biking trails and numerous
opportunities to volunteer
for their community. John
is past president of several
organizations, including the
State Invasive Weed Advi-
sory Board. Pat, combining
volunteer ski patrollers at
Whiteface Mountain and co-
chairs of the first Whiteface
Giant Slalom.
After retiring from General
Motors and Electronic Data
Systems respectively, John and
Pat have lived for 22 years
in Colorado, which, along
with Utah in Pat’s opinion,
“has the best snow conditions
in the world.” They are in a
position to judge; as frequent
travelers, they seek out excel-
lent skiing and hiking locales
around the world. During
the season, they are on the ski
trails up to five times a week,
and particularly enjoy back-
country hut trips that involve
Nordic skiing at up to 12,000
feet in the Rockies. They
started competing locally in
Nordic competitions before
branching out nationally and
the bottom of an Olympic
course in Innsbruck, Austria,
and realized she was OK.
After a career in banking
(Bob) and teaching (Doris)
in Rhode Island, where they
also owned a retail store, they
retired to Fort Myers Beach,
Florida. But during visits with
their daughter, who shares
their love of skiing and had
moved to Colorado, they
became ski instructors. Doris
taught at Breckenridge for 10
years and Bob at Breckenridge
for eight and Copper Moun-
tain for 12. “I could help la-
dies who were terrified like I’d
been,” Doris explains. They
ski in Colorado for up to 35
days a year, continuing to
teach close family and friends
and getting together with
friends who call themselves
the “Over the Hill Gang.”
When they aren’t skiing,
they stay busy playing tennis,
biking, kayaking, sailing and
dancing. They have competed
in Senior Olympics tennis, in
mixed doubles. “God provides
us with the strength and in-
spiration to stay active,” Doris
says, but they also couldn’t
do it without encouragement
from each other. A mentor,
who was still competing in
tennis when he was 100,
proved to them that “We
don’t need to accept limita-
tions at any age,” Bob says.
“People need to keep going
and using their minds and
talents after they retire.”
John Taylor, 77, and
Pat, 75, would agree. Their
love of skiing from an early
age brought them together;
they met in 1958 at first aid
training for the Snow Bowl’s
ski patrol. They have been
ing her physical education
requirement. “I didn’t like
skiing,” she says, “but when
Bob fell in love with it, I real-
ized I needed to learn to like
it too because I did not want
to sit in the lodge.” Slowly
gaining confidence, Doris
finally conquered her fear in
the 1970s when she reached
that recipe includes equal parts
of love and encouragement
from each other, starting from
their time at St. Lawrence, plus
a large dose of fresh powder
and cool mountain air.
Bob, who is 82, and Doris,
79, learned to ski at St. Law-
rence. Doris found herself at
the Snow Bowl fearfully meet-
Skiers for Life
Carlisle Pledge Supports NewWomen’s Basketball Locker Room
Two Laurentian couples have found
one secret to longevity.
By Shayla Snyder Witherell ’11
By Joe Keniston ’05, M’07
Bob and Doris Ferry (opposite
page) and John and Pat Taylor
have in common a six-decade-
long dedication to skiing—and
apparently to favorite apparel
colors as well.
f there is a secret
recipe for staying
physically active well
into your seventh
decade and beyond,
at least two Laurentian couples
have perfected it. For Bob ’59
and Doris Kloppenburg Ferry
’56 and John ’59 and Pat Lin-
deroth Taylor ’61, it seems that
“People need to keep going and
using their
minds and talents
after they retire.”
Bob Ferry
I
hanks to Preston Carlisle ‘52,
the Saints women’s basket-
ball program will unveil a
new locker room this year.
Carlisle, a North Country attorney,
made a commitment of $100,000 to
the room, and has challenged other
alumni and Laurentians to support
this and other athletics projects.
“Preston has been exceptionally
generous toward our department’s needs for nearly two
decades,” said St. Lawrence Director of Athletics Margie
Strait M’73. “He has helped fund renovations to Burkman
T
Gymnasium and the Appleton Golf Course clubhouse,
and he supported ongoing program enhancements for
our student-athletes, including the Senior Student-
Athlete Awards Dinner”
Carlisle was the recipient of the 2014 Scarlet and Brown
Award, given annually by the Athletics Department to
a member of the St. Lawrence University network who
supports the mission of the department as it pertains to
academic and athletic success as well as student-athlete
development and experience.
“Preston and Joan have a strong presence in the
North Country,” added Strait. “We are fortunate to call
him a friend.”