RE Log - Fall 2021

70 Ransom Everglades LOG FALL 2021 In Loving By Patty Shillington ’77 Michael Henry Stokes, a teacher, coach and outdoorsman who dedicated his life to generations of students at Ransom Everglades School, died of natural causes at home on September 14, in the comfort of his favorite chair, in his hometown of Miami. He was 81. “His impact on our school was outsized,” Ransom Everglades Head of School Penny Townsend wrote in an announcement of Stokes’ death. Born July 6, 1940, he was the son of Kermit and Beatrice Stokes. His father was a mechanic in charge of the county’s buses; his mother stayed at home, doting on her only child. “Papa grew up in a house near Coral Way,” Stokes’ grand- daughter, Sophie Feinberg, a young journalist, wrote in a recent piece in Atrium Magazine: True Florida Stories. “… His Miami was canoeing with the Boy Scouts and later, the Eagle Scouts. Big football games at the Orange Bowl … Time on the water with the Coconut Grove Sailing Club.” Handsome, popular, athletic and bookish, Stokes met Judith Penny, his future wife, at Shenandoah Junior High. They sang in the church choir togeth- er. At Miami High School, Stokes was the brainy president of the Key Club. A TEACHER AND A GENTLEMAN Mike Stokes leaves a legacy of dedication and selflessness He threw the discus and shot put for the track team. As a senior in 1958, he topped 20,000 entrants to win the Miami Herald’s 14th annual essay contest, earning a scholarship to the University of Miami, where he studied political science and graduated in three years. In 1962, he started teaching at Ransom School, and there he would stay for 48 years – a model of intelligence and integrity, compassion and fun – influencing two generations-plus of students from across South Florida. Newly married and, at first, only a few years older than his oldest students, Stokes lived with his wife in a cam- pus bungalow, where they raised their daughter, Michele (“Mikki”), who attend- ed Ransom Everglades as a member of “ He encouraged us to experiment, to create and sharpen our own particular style, to think critically, to try new things.” – Doris Aschman ’77 Mem y