RE Log - Spring 2020

66 Ransom Everglades LOG SPRING 2020 In Loving Memory Blanche Tyler August supported Ransom Everglades for decades, leaving a long and distinguished legacy of volunteer leadership and service as a trustee, parent, grandparent and loyal friend when she passed away Jan. 31, 2020. Blanche was introduced to Ransom Everglades in the early ’70s with the arrival of children Lisa August ’76 and Jack August ’77 , and she immersed herself in volunteerism through the Ransom Everglades Parents’ Association (REPA). During her daughter’s junior year, she served as president of REPA. During her son’s senior year, she was invited to join the school’s governing board of trustees, a role she held from 1976-84, and again from 1995-2000. In 1981-83, she served as chair of the board, guiding RE’s trustees as they began developing a long-range plan that would eventually result in the construction of the Anderson gymnasium. “Blanche was beamingly proud of her RE affiliation, and always found time to support what mattered to her: the continued success of RE,” Head of School Penny Townsend said. “We will forever remember her graciousness and kindness. She was part of a special group of Ransom Everglades women.” Blanche, grandmother to Samantha Goodman ’00 and Zak Goodman ’00 , served as Ransom Everglades’ first Grandparent Chair in 1994-95. She was a close friend to the late Dan Leslie Bowden, attending all of his holiday readings, including his last at a senior care home in Kendall in 2017. She made a point to attend the 2018 Holiday Party at Ransom Everglades, which included the groundbreaking for the new STEM Center. Blanche, a graduate of Miami Beach High and the University of Miami who majored in psychology and business management, was well-known throughout Miami. Active in animal welfare causes, she also served as a patron and board member of the Miami Museum of Science and volunteer at the visitor’s information desk with Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. Blanche is survived by her children Dale Genet (Lenny Genet, deceased), Lisa August (Ken Anderson) and Jack August; grandchildren Zak Goodman, Samantha Goodman (Jordan Ray) and Ali Genet (Rob Neumann); and three great-grandchildren. A Legacy of Volunteer Leadership Blanche August served RE as a trustee, parent and grandparent Blanche August and her grandson, Zak Goodman ’00 Penny Stamps, Sue Miller, Dan Leslie Bowden, Blanche August and Susan Jones, December 8, 2011.