2019

Robert Houghton “Bob” Weall

Class of 1945

Robert Weall participated in football and track at Stonington High School. He was a co-captain of the football team and earned three letters, and was a key performer on the 1942 ECC Champion team that was ranked second in Connecticut. As a member of the track team, he was part of state championships in 1942 and 1944, and the ECC championship in 1944. He was a member of the ECC champion 4x880 relay team and also earned all-ECC and all-state in the high jump.

He played football at Boston College and graduated with a B.S. in History and Government. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy during World War II and after college served in the U.S. Army for 22 years including during the Korea and Vietnam wars, retiring as a lieutenant colonel. After his retirement from the army, he earned master’s degrees in History and Urban Affairs from Southern Connecticut State University. He worked for the Town of Stonington as the Community Development Director, and was involved in the building of the Pawcatuck Neighborhood Center and upgrading the Stonington Town Docks.

Keelin Linehan

Class of 2002

Keelin Linehan earned All-ECC honors in tennis during all four of her years at SHS. She was a semi-finalist in the ECC tournament as a freshman, when she was undefeated in regular season play at number two singles; won the ECC and Eastern Connecticut singles titles as a sophomore; and was an ECC tournament finalist as a junior and senior. She also earned All-State status as a senior, when she was a finalist in the state singles tournament. She also participated in crew and lacrosse, which were then club teams, was co-president of the National Art Honor Society, and a member of Student Government, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, and was a Peer Mediator.

She played number one singles for Pratt Institute, where she earned a BFA in 2006. She was the Hudson Valley Women’s Singles Champion in 2002 and 2003 and the Hudson Valley Player of the Year in 2002. She is the Director of Accounts and Operations for the multi-service media company Velocity Made Good.

Justin Hedde

Class of 2002

Justin Hedde participated in soccer, basketball, baseball, and golf while at SHS, and was captain of the soccer and baseball teams as a senior. The Bears were ECC champions in soccer in 1999, 2000, and 2001, and he earned All-ECC honors in each of those seasons. He earned All-State honors in soccer as a senior, when he was also named the MVP of the baseball team. He was a member of the National Honor Society and received the Yale Book Award as well as awards for Sculpture and Advanced Placement Three-Dimensional Art.

He graduated summa cum laude from the University of Florida with a Bachelor of Design in Architecture, and earned a Master’s Degree in Architecture from Yale University. He is an Associate Principal with Centerbrook Architects.

Heather Buck

Class of 2008

Heather Buck played basketball at SHS, earning All-ECC and All-State honors each of her four years, and had career totals of 2205 points, 1406 rebounds, and 331 blocked shots. SHS won the Class M Championship in 2006 and were runners-up in 2005. She was the Eastern Connecticut Conference Tournament Most Outstanding Player as a sophomore and senior, and was the Connecticut High School Coaches Association Player of the Year in 2008. She was named the Connecticut Girls Basketball Gatorade Player of the Year in 2007 and 2008.

She played basketball at the University of Connecticut, where she was a part of three NCAA championship teams and was named UConn’s Outstanding Senior Scholar-Athlete in 2013. She is a nurse at the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, and was inducted into the Connecticut Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018.

Frank Turek

Contributor

Frank Turek served as director of the Stonington Community Center for 38 years, and also contributed to the town in numerous other ways. He was a co-founder of Stonington’s Pee-Wee Football program, started the Stonington Junior Basketball League, was involved in the Stonington Little League and named an honorary member of the Pawcatuck Little League, helped start the SHS soccer program, served on the Stonington Board of Selectmen in 1971-72, served twelve years on the Stonington Board of Education, was a member of the Stonington High School Athletic Boosters, served two years as president of the Pawcatuck Lions Club, was a member of the Stonington Recreation Commission, served on the Stonington Tricentennial Scholarship Committee, and was a member of the Stonington Fire Department and the Harley P. Chase Post, VFW in Pawcatuck. The SHS Class of 1968 dedicated their yearbook to him and the Class of 1984 named him “Citizen of the Year.”

He was a veteran of World War II, serving with the Adjutant General’s office in Washington, D.C. and Greenland. He retired from the Air Force reserves with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and was a member of the New London unit until 1971. He served in the Connecticut House of Representatives for over eight years. He was a member of the House Internship Committee; the Education, Human Services, and Health committees; and the State Task Force on Camping.

Team

Badminton State Champions: 1957, 1958, 1961

Coach Florence Thavenet led the Stonington High School Badminton Team to three CIAC championships. Eleanor Rose, Eleanor Powers, Nancy Linderson, and Patty Meringolo were the team members in 1957 and 1958. In 1957 they defeated Norwich Free Academy, Williams Memorial Institute, New London High School, and Fitch High School to win the championship, and in 1958, they defeated Norwich Free Academy, Fitch High School, New London High School, and Waterford High School. The 1961 team consisted of Linda Smith, Gail Chesbro, Alice Flagg, and JoAnna Blanda. They defeated Waterford High School, New London High School, Fitch High School, and St. Bernard High School, and tied Norwich Free Academy on their way to the championship.

Team

1955 Football Team

The 1955 SHS Football Team, led by head coach Woody Douville and assistants Arthur Carlin and George McKenna, had an overall record of 8-1 and were the undefeated champions of the Eastern Connecticut Conference. They had wins over Woodrow Wilson (Middletown, CT), Fitch, St. Mary’s (New Haven, CT), Plainville, Putnam, Killingly, and Westerly twice, on Armistice Day and Thanksgiving. Their only loss came at the hands of St. Raphael (Pawtucket), the unbeaten Rhode Island Class B champion. In the course of the season, the offense gained 3,183 yards, scoring 199 points, and held the opposition to 1,267 yards and 59 points.