Homage to Jack Sproule
By Jessica Pagan
A
Vietnam veteran , a whiz with numbers , a gardener , cat lover , an astute lover of random bits of knowledge and an all-around kind and empathetic human are all quintessential Jack Sproule . Jack has been a devoted educator for 50 years working at Yeshiva University , Manhattan School of Music and Sarah Lawrence College prior to his arrival at Saint David ’ s School in 2002 .
I met Jack 13 years ago when he interviewed me for a position at Saint David ’ s School . He quickly calmed my nervousness and anxiousness with his comfortable style of quick wit banter . Unbeknownst to me at the time , it would be the beginning of a wonderful relationship where I was able to flourish under his tutelage . Jack ’ s thoughtfulness knows no bounds . Every Chinese New Year , he would bring numerous colleagues a shiny red envelope filled with $ 1 symbolizing good luck for the year ahead . A few memories that stand out are when he wore his Scottish kilt to the benefit gala , when he dressed as twins with Peter Martin , and when he donned a pirate outfit for our recent Halloween celebration . Jack was present at many milestone moments in my life : my marriage , baby shower , and the introduction of my daughter , Gabriella . I can only hope that we will continue this journey outside of Saint David ’ s . While Jack was amazing at many things , technology certainly was not his forte ! I will certainly miss his questions and frustration over missing emails , lost excel data and password resets . I will miss hearing the stories about his house upstate adjacent to a Christmas-tree farm and neighbors who dressed Miss Piggy from the Muppets show . Mostly , I will miss his personality , filled with constant wonder , delight and happiness .
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