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The following information was put together by contributions from members following the passing of Evelyn Copeland.  Since we were unable to find a detailed obituary, this biographical data is published thanks to members who knew and remember her.  Place your cursor over individual photos at the bottom to read captions.

Evelyn Copeland

Evelyn Copeland was born on January 18, 1917 and passed away on Friday, June 7, 2013 at the age of 96. She was a resident of Southbury, Connecticut. She retired from Fairfield Public Schools in June of 1974, some 39 years ago.  She may very well be our longest living retiree.  Evelyn served as the K-12 Consultant later Department Chairperson of English/Language Arts for the district. She was a bit ahead of the curve as she is the first woman in the district to have reported to work wearing  slacks. While employed she was honored by her Alma Mater, Bates College in Maine  (graduated 1939) with an Honorary Doctorate degree.   She was also President of the New England Association of Teachers of English for a number of years, and she has published numerous articles.
From 2010 issue of her Alma Mater magazine, "Bates Magazine", a piece submitted  3 years ago (at the age of 93) surely demonstrates her mastery of the art of writing:
Evelyn Copeland, who moved back to Connecticut, shared a poetic account of the recent meteor shower viewed from their patio: “The kind of night Lorenzo describes in The Merchant of Venice: ‘The floor of heaven is thick inlaid with patines of bright gold. There’s not the smallest orb which thou behold’st but in its motion like a cherub sings.’ It was reassuring to find the starlit sky of my childhood on the farm still operating flawlessly. Add to all that the meteors whizzing by. One huge flaming disc barely missed the chimney. Did I actually hear the sizzling swoosh? Or was that a memory from the fireworks at the Talcott Mountain Music Festival last summer? I could imagine the Magi and the shepherds making their way to Bethlehem on such a night.”…
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Carol Jennings has located the following obituary for Evelyn, written by a very close friend of hers.  It appeared in the June 27, 2013 issue of the Minuteman Newspaper. Many thanks, Carol:
"Evelyn M. Copeland, 96, died on June 7, 2013.  She had lived in Southbury, CT for many years where she continued to enjoy life and, of course, write.  We knew her as both teacher and friend, and we loved her.  Many of us attended her 90^th birthday party and book signing many years ago.  Ev dedicated this book to us, her children.  Her extraordinary teaching and generous spirit were a gift to us, and we are grateful.  When comes such another?"
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The following information, submitted by Pat Shiner, is a true tribute to this very special lady. Photos as well, were submitted by Pat. Thanks, Pat:
Did you know that she (Evelyn) had written 5 books? But a Brown Bird Sang, 1993, life in her Florida "hideaway."  Lonesome Glee. 1996, "an elixir of the heart, distilled from wonder and beauty" a"must for bird watchers".  Very Nearly Me, 2004, Adventures of an Anglophile,  Ev's year in Great Britain spent photographing and visiting places associated with the literature she taught and loved.  Susie, 2006, the life of Ev's mother in rural Connecticut at the turn of the century.  Dancing On My Desk, 2007, the story of her teaching career. Of course I have all of them! She was very special to me; I'd known her for 50 years. Luckily I visited her just a month before she left us and called the night of the massive stroke from which she never regained consciousness.  One last thought from a former student who now lives in Seattle: "The world without Evelyn Copeland will not be the same.  I'm grateful that we were blessed to know and treasure her and to be treasured by her."    Pat Shiner, former French teacher (33 years) at Ludlowe and then Warde. 
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The following warm and wonderful account of his longtime friendship with “Ev” was submitted by Ken Mills.  Thanks, Ken:
"Ev was my mentor when I first came to Fairfield in 1964.  Her continual encouragement when I was very naive really kept me in teaching for 37 years at Ludlowe and later FHS.    Since 1964 Ev and I shared a wonderful friendship; for me she was exciting to be around. I doubt that I would have stayed in teaching if it had not been for her influence.  She was one of a handful of people in my life that were most important to me. Claire Martin and I would attend English conferences with her through-out New England. She would always make a wisecrack as we entered the main session late.  She always had a great sense of humor.  I remember that she held monthly dramatic readings at her home, performed by those attending.  Ev and I really did a masterful job with our performance of The Lion in Winter.  It is still talked about by those that were there!    I also had the great privilege of traveling to Europe several times with Ev.  Our most unique trip was a barge cruise through Holland.

When she finally took early retirement she had her RV period; she traveled around the USA with her friend Mac doing "birding". She eventually sold her house, and she and Mac moved to Florida and lived on what looked like a swamp. She got rid of the house on wheels.  As time went on, Fla. wore thin and she moved to Heritage Village in Southbury, Ct.  Since she had finally returned to Ct, we would go out to dinner in the Southbury area on a fairly regular basis.  After Mac got sick and moved in with relatives in Texas, Ev sold her condo and moved up the hill to the Watermark which was right above Heritage Village.  I visited her there several times a year.  My last visit was Dec 2012.  She will be missed."
Best, Ken Mills
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Dr. Joseph Zapatowski  sent this tribute:

Ev Copeland was a good friend and esteemed colleague and I shall miss her.

She helped make our Fairfield Public schools the quality schools they are today and were before and during my tenure in Fairfield.

I remember well the board of education meeting when Ev was called upon to explain a new English course she introduced which she chose to call "Witches, Warlocks and Weirdoes".  She did a terrific job to allay the fears of those who felt we were going to somehow invoke the occult and she did so as only Ev could!

Evelyn Copeland was a published author with several books to her credit.  I have several of them in my library.

 I have many fond memories of Ev along with other staff aboard Recess I and Recess II as we sailed the waters of Long Island Sound on the many excursions we embarked on to refresh the soul and mind. She was a good friend to many and will be missed, but, even more importantly, Ev will be remembered.

 Joseph S. Zapytowski  (former Superintendent, Fairfield Public Schools)

I attended quite a few proms in high school and afterwards. In the spring of 1961 I attended the junior prom at Roger Ludlowe with Darlene Cooper, just as pictured here at Ludlowe!:

Here's the story from the Fairfield Citizen, Wednesday, May 29, 2019 :

Prom season has hit Fairfield County once again. As Fairfield Ludlowe High School readies itself for its senior prom this weekend, let’s take a look at one of the items in the Fairfield Museum’s Creating Community exhibition: the May 19, 1962 issue of The Saturday Evening Post. The cover of that weekly publication featured the painting Prom Dates in Parking Lot by Ben Kimberly Prins, which depicts the 1961 junior prom at the building that is now Fairfield Ludlowe High School.

Roger Ludlowe High School was founded in 1923 in what is now Tomlinson Middle School, before relocating in 1963 to the structure pictured in Prins’ artwork. Prins took a few liberties, most notably placing the prom-goers of “antiquated Roger Ludlowe High School at the nearby, glitteringly modern Mill Plain Junior High” two years early. He even changed the middle school’s name to the high school’s in his illustration. In this way, the 1962 cover simultaneously offers a rare glimpse of the original building and a vision of what was to come. Couples park in front of wide glass doors, tall windows and a well-trimmed traffic circle. A piece of modern art sits above the name of the school, elegantly displayed in script against the textured stone wall. The ballroom where Prins’ students dance beneath streamers is today the school library.

As per tradition, the gentlemen attended the evening in white dinner jackets, while the ladies were escorted in a variety of colored dresses. Before prom even began in the gymnasium, students had dinner and another, shorter dance at a host club or hotel. Instead of a DJ, students experienced a live band playing contemporary hits. The night was replete with festivities. Yet, not every Roger Ludlowe dance was so elegant. Alumni fondly remember informal dances in the cafeteria, made possible as long as someone brought a record player.

After a decline in student enrollment in the mid-1980s, the Fairfield Board of Education decided to merge its two high schools into one. Roger Ludlowe High School closed in 1987, an event featured in The New York Times alongside its final junior prom. The school’s prom traditions have since gone the way of its Flying Tigers (whose football team went undefeated in 1961), but survive through newer incarnations. Today, an after-party at the Circle Diner is a favorite post-prom activity, marked by school-organized raffles and food on the house. In the vein of the cafeteria dance, one contender for this year’s Ludlowe senior prank was a “school dance during school.” Some of the details in Prins’ image survive as well. The same piece of modern art featured in his painting never left its place on the right wall, and it can be seen today, still just outside a glass doorway.

The Saturday Evening Post cover was published when Fairfield was beginning to emerge as a cultural epicenter and a favorite settling place of New York’s upper working class. For the students of 1961, it was an honor to have been depicted in this way and to represent their town. The cover is a document of the students’ personal culture, a record of the fun and friendships that they experienced together, and the sense of community that is still an important part of high school in Fairfield today.

Reminder of my first great party and many.many pleasant evenings playing poker with Bob Maynes, Don Bennet, Peter Rawson, Mike Kundrath and Bill House:

My soccer cooach:

Constantine Vanghele ( ret. from Fairfield High 1990)
Constantine Vanghele, passed away peacefully on June 27, 2014, surrounded by his loving family. He was 91 years old. Born on May 8, 1923, to Pandu and Vasila Vangheli in Korce, Albania, his mother died when he was a boy and was raised by his father and stepmother, Konstandina. He lived there until 1943, before relocating to Greece, Germany, Austria, and Italy, where he attended the University of Rome, graduating in 1949. He arrived in the United States on May 4, 1949 from Italy and settled in Bridgeport, CT. From 1950-1980, he studied various foreign languages and became fluent in eight different languages, attending the Institute of World Affairs in Salisbury, Middlebury College, the University of Connecticut, River College in New Hampshire, the University of Massachusetts, the University of Bridgeport, University of Barcelona in Spain, Fairfield University, and the University of Perugia, Italy. In 1951, Constantine was employed by Radio Free Europe, as a translator, speaker, and script writer at the Albanian Desk in New York City. From 1954-1961, he worked for the National Committee for a Free Albania, a political organization with the aim to liberate Albania from the Communist regime. Beginning in 1961 and for 29 years, Constantine was a teacher of foreign languages, at Andrew Warde High School in Fairfield, where he was also the school's soccer coach for many seasons.