CHESHIRE ACADEMY
HALL OF FAME
Celebrating years of success and achievement
Cheshire Academy is pleased to announce
2026 Hall of Fame
Inductees
Congratulations 2026 Cheshire Academy Hall of Fame Inductees. We’re thrilled to announce the 2026 inductees to the Cheshire Academy Hall of Fame, a celebration of years of success and achievement!
2005 Girls' Basketball Team
James Van Der Beek ’95
David Jepson ’59
Tara Lynch ’18
Chip Namias ’73
Colonel Paul Ingram ’44
Richard Levy ’64
The Kevin Slaughter Memorial Athletic Hall of Fame
In the spring of 1986, Kevin Dennis Slaughter, soccer coach, dorm parent, and math teacher at Cheshire Academy, brought the concept of an Athletic Hall of Fame to the Alumni Office. An avid proponent of the benefits of athletics in a young person’s life, he was very impressed with the rich athletic history at the Academy. Kevin served as chairman of the committee to design the Hall of Fame’s criteria and started research on prospective members. Tragically, in August of that year, he drowned in a scuba diving accident. Shortly thereafter, it was decided to name the Hall of Fame in the memory of this special young educator.
Read the names of our inductees beginning in 1987 below.
1987
Robert A. Chumbook ’51
Henry C. Cashen, III ’57
Thomas H. Silvanic ’66
1988
Joseph P. Della-Corte ’63
Robert Burg ’64
Robert H. Murphy ’67
Patrick K. McCaskey ’68
1989
William C. Zilly ’37
Edmund A. Gallucci ’59
Ronald C. Hanson ’64
Lendward Simpson, Jr. ’68
Spencer D. Moseley ’39
1990
Theodore R. Willis ’65
Harry B. Benninghoff ’50
John J. Yudkin ’75
1991
Dennis Alitz ’61
Daniel F. Begin ’51
George M. Wallace, Jr. ’46
John L. Zilly ’41
1992
Charles Klemovich ’42
Lew Goetz ’52
John LoRicco ’77
Hilary Renz ’67
Christopher ’68 & Michael Kita ’67
1993
Ronald J. Aliciene ’68
Christopher G. Erskine ’68
Thomas Fagan ’68
William Banker ’53
Peter Perreault ’58
Robert Dawson ’73
1994
Frank Shields ’30(D)
John J. White ’38
Michael Lardner ’67
Bevan Dupre ’69
Tom LoRicco ’74
1995
Fred Linehan ’27
John Panelli ’45
John Orton ’50
Robert Young ’70
1996
Richard Field ’36
Thomas Henderson ’51
John Mankowich ’61
Frank Motter ’61
1997
Alan Foster ’67
Hugh Barber ’37
Maria Onofrio Amendola ’82
James P. Collins ‘77
Dennis Buckley ’62
1998
David Markin ’48
George Stavnitski ’53
Paul Wagner ’63
Teodardo Risquez ’68
1999
Cary Palulis ’64
Tom Collins ‘74
Jose Millares ‘79
Lynn Alfonsi Flynn ’89
2000
Dan Zailskas ’65
Werner Seel ‘50
2001
Harry Stotz ‘51
Mel Shaftel ‘61
Charlie Rehor ‘71
Mike Belfonti ‘76
Alex Bell ‘76
2002
Frank Wisinski ’52
Howie Dickenman ’65
Thomas “Toby” Slocum ’91
2011
1960 Undefeated Football Team
2012
Stewart Lindsay
Timothy Onofrio ’77
Gail Murphy Otis ’90
Frank Quayle ’65
Tom Scheer ’61
2013
Arthur Lee Green ’90
Talya Vexler Nesbitt ’98
2014
Jose Caldera ’69
Barry Davis ’74
Arthur Leibowitz ’64
Richard McGowan ’64
Jorge Vidal Boscio ’79
2015
Amy Solomon Dupre ’80
Bridget Thornton ’05
James Elliman ’85
Kyle Pavlick ’95
1964 Undefeated Football Team
2016
Joaltham “JoJo” Outlaw ’91
Irwin Novack ’66
Maria Ferras ’06
Ken Ferriter ’81
2017
Harry Carpenter ’46
Adam Prince ’92
Ricky Greer ’97
Johann Harms
2018
Robert LoRicco ’78
Deron Rippey ’93
Chad Nelson ’93
Nare Diawara ’03
2019
Cody Keith ’11 (inducted Oct 19, 2019)
Glen Kelly
Class of 2008 Bowl Game Winners
Jason Curry ’91
Tanasia Hoffler ’09
2020
Jonathon Marks ’00
Jen Leedham ’05
Basketball 1989-90 Team
Coach Casson
2021
Richard Ferraro ’71
Ray Homan ’81
David Sherman ’91
Johannah Leedham ’06
2022
Jessica Vicente ’92
Malik Golden ’12
2023
1973 Varsity Men’s Undefeated Track Team
Brent Oakes ’93
2024
Emma L. Gawronski ’14
2025
1964 Track Team
Shakir Saunders ’07
2026
2005 Girls’ Basketball Team
2005 Girls' Basketball Team
More information to come.
The D. Robert Gardiner Arts & Letters Hall of Fame
The Arts and Letters Hall of Fame was established to recognize Cheshire Academy Alumni who have achieved the highest standard of success in their respective fields of artistic expression both at Cheshire Academy and in their professional field. Recipients must have made an active positive contribution in Arts and Letters while at Cheshire Academy, be considered a leader in the arts and have had significant influence within their profession.
Read the names of our inductees beginning in 2018 below.
Andrew Fezza ’72
David Jepson ’59
Kenneth Campbell ’65
Bellamy Forrest ’94
Mark Kurlansky ’66
Matthew Nicholson ’06
Scott Ruderman ’09
Julie Montero (Robles ’07)
Rick McGowan ’64
James Van Der Beek ’95 (posthumous)
James Van Der Beek '95
James Van Der Beek ’95 (1977–2026) was an alumnus of Cheshire Academy and a recipient of the prestigious Cheshire Town Scholar award in 1991. As a student, he demonstrated remarkable drive and discipline — commuting to Manhattan for theater rehearsals after classes and returning late at night to complete his schoolwork — all while graduating second in his class.
Van Der Beek rose to international fame with his starring role as Dawson Leery in Dawson’s Creek (1998–2003) and his memorable portrayal of quarterback “Mox” Moxon in Varsity Blues (1999), going on to earn critical praise for his self-satirizing turn in Don’t Trust the B— in Apartment 23. His career began while still a CA student, with a New York Times-lauded performance in Edward Albee’s Finding the Sun on the New York City stage.
Van Der Beek remained deeply connected to Cheshire Academy throughout his life, returning to campus in 2017 to work with theater students and address the student body, and delivering a virtual address to the Class of 2020. Prior to his passing, he had accepted an invitation to be inducted into the Academy’s D. Robert Gardiner Arts & Letters Alumni Hall of Fame — an honor to be bestowed posthumously during Reunion 2026.
Chip Namias '73
Bio coming soon!
The Outstanding Young Alumni Award
Tara Lynch ’18
Tara Lynch is an Edward R. Murrow Award-winning and Emmy-nominated reporter with WJZ in Baltimore, MD.
Before her time in Baltimore, Tara worked at News 4 (WIVB/WNLO) in Buffalo, NY. where she reported on several national stories, including the Tops Markets mass shooting and severe winter storms, as well as Buffalo Bills and Sabres coverage.
Prior to her time in Buffalo, Tara worked at WETM in Elmira, NY, where she anchored 18 News at Noon and reported for the evening newscasts. She also has experience as a producer and digital content creator.
Tara was a Park Scholar and graduated summa cum laude from the Roy H. Park School of Communications at Ithaca College. She also has a certificate in weather forecasting from Pennsylvania State University.
She graduated as valedictorian from Cheshire Academy in 2018.
Hailing from Cheshire, Conn., but born in Buffalo, Tara enjoys playing and watching sports, especially her beloved Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres.
The Alumni Achievement Award
Pat McCaskey ’68
Richard Levy ’64
Richard Levy '64
Richard C. Levy, founder and president of Richard C. Levy & Associates, has had a 45+ year career as an independent toy and game inventor. His first toy Starbird (Milton Bradley) and first game Adverteasing (Cadaco) each sold more than 1 million units, however, his greatest success to date came when he partnered in the licensing and development of animatronic Furby (Tiger/Hasbro), which has sold to date more than 70 million units worldwide in 12 languages.
Richard’s toys, games, and premiums have been licensed to more than 60 companies, including Hasbro, Mattel, Proctor & Gamble, General Foods, Ralston-Purina, and Disney,
He has written 12 books among them the critically acclaimed Toy & Game Inventor’s Handbook, which Forbes recognized in 2016 as one of the 33 Best Books recommended by Shark Tank entrepreneurs.
He has been a speaker for such organizations as The Licensing Executive Society, the National Science Foundation, IBM’s Inventor Dinner, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Wharton’s Entrepreneurship Conference, among other university business schools.
Richard has donated truckloads of toys and games, in addition to financial support to the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Children’s Cancer Fund and the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine. He and his wife Sheryl were honored by The Pap Corps in 2019 for their generosity and work to advance cancer research.
The Distinguished Alumni Service Award
Michael Bozzuto ’75
Richard Levy ’64
Colonel Paul Ingram '44
Colonel Paul Ingram is a member of the 1944 Cheshire Academy graduating class. While a student at Cheshire Academy, Col. Ingram was a four-sport varsity athlete, competing on the baseball, football, baseball, and track teams. A letter-winner in both basketball and baseball, Col. Ingram was also awarded the Griffiths Cup, one of the highest honors bestowed upon a Cheshire Academy graduating student. Following his graduation from CA, Col. Ingram enrolled at West Point, where he graduated as a member of the class of 1950. Col. Ingram saw extensive service in combat following his graduation from West Point, fighting in both the Korean and Vietnam wars. Col. Ingram was granted many awards during his military career, but the shining accomplishment is the Silver Star he was awarded during the Vietnam War. The third highest honor for valor in combat, Col. Ingram was awarded the Silver Star for his actions on August 19, 1957.
In addition to his service to America, Col. Ingram has provided many years of service to Cheshire Academy. Colonel Ingram has been the benefactor of the Col. Paul and Joan Ingram scholarship, awarded to students with parents who serve in the military and/or law enforcement. For many years, Col. Ingram has given guest lectures in the History Department, spanning topics from the American Civil War to post-Vietnam America. He is also a member of the Harwood Society at Cheshire Academy.
David Jepson '59
David Jepson, a member of the Cheshire Academy class of 1959, is being posthumously awarded the Cheshire Academy Distinguished Alumni Service Award after a lifetime of service and care to CA. As a student at Cheshire Academy, David was a member of the fencing and tennis teams, as well as the yearbook staff. David, a renowned architect and member of the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects, was a principal and founder at JCJ Architecture, a firm with offices around the country. Though David retired in 2011, he was still an instrumental member of the firm, helping guide the transition into a 100% employee-owned firm; a shift rooted in the firm’s culture of collaboration and transparency.
A true son of CA, David was an influential figure for many years within the Cheshire Academy community. Serving on the Board of Trustees from 2004-2019, and then continuing as a Trustee Emeritus until 2025, David played a crucial part in navigating the direction of Cheshire Academy for over 20 years. Along with his time commitments to CA, David was a loyal and generous benefactor of the institution, and was pivotal in imagining the modern iteration of this campus. Like Col. Ingram, David is also a member of the Harwood Society at Cheshire Academy.
