RE Log - Fall 2021

FALL 2021 Ransom Everglades LOG 71 “ He was never afraid to try something new – the perfect messenger for so many of us, with the perfect message: try earnestly, think deeply and never stop learning.” – Catherine Holshouser ’77 the Class of 1980. The Stokes family ate dinner with the boarding students. On weekends, Stokes painted the boundary lines on the football field, drained the pool and shuttled students to the movies. In the summer, he ran the popular day camp. He was the go-to guy for just about everything. In the classroom, he was a passionate history and economics teacher with a sarcastic wit and irrev- erent, progressive outlook. As a coach, whether on the football field, the track or basketball court, he recognized each player’s potential and fused the young athletes into cohesive teams whose bonds endured for decades. His home was a gathering place for students and his teams, often a dinner- time and even overnight extension of the school. He had a genuine interest in and concern for his students, pushing them to think for themselves and to discover nature and the outdoors. He developed a weeklong wilderness program in the Everglades for ninth graders, a de- manding and often life-changing rite of passage that developed in to the current Outward Bound annual trip. “Most of the things kids learn in school are for a grade and they don’t really matter,” Stokes said in a 1985 Miami Herald article about the program. Alone in the Everglades, “if you burn breakfast, it matters. If you get lost, it matters. There is a real consequence to every action.” He also, at various times, ran the school’s summer camp, served as athletic direc- tor, chaired the social sciences depart- ment and directed the school’s experi- ential learning program. He also helped found the RE Athletic Hall of Fame. “He was what we affectionately refer to as a ‘triple threat,’” Townsend wrote, “fully engaged in academics, athletics and student life … Mike did it all, he did it willingly, and he did it with heart.” He retired in 2010 and maintained relationships with countless colleagues and former students, ranging in age from their 20s to their 70s. He turned his focus to his young grandchildren, Sophie and Jake, sharing history books and New York Times articles and his love for clas- sical music. He taught them how to use a pocketknife and build model wooden boats and embrace the outdoors. As they aged, his students more fully realized Stokes’ lasting impact. “He encouraged us to experiment, to create and sharpen our own particular style, to think critically, to try new things,” Doris Aschman ’77 said. Catherine Holshouser ’77 recalled Stokes’ endur- ing sense of wonder, noting: “He was never afraid to try something new – the perfect messenger for so many of us, with the perfect message: try earnestly, think deeply and never stop learning.” Stokes is survived by his ex-wife, Judith Penny Stokes of Kendall, with whom he remained good friends; daughter Mikki Stokes Feinberg ’80 , Early Childhood director at Temple Judea in Coral Gables; son-in-law Lee Feinberg, who took daily care of Stokes as his health declined in recent years; and his two beloved grand- children, Sophie Feinberg and Jacob Feinberg, all of Coral Gables. Services will be private. Donations may be made in Stokes’ memory to the Michael Stokes Outward Bound Endowment Fund at Ransom Everglades (https://www.ran - someverglades.org/mike-stokes-endow- ment-for-outward-bound) or Temple Judea’s Margaux Early Childhood School Fund. Maurice Ferré ’79 , Mike Stokes, Anthony Rolle ’79 and Darlene Rolle Phil Lord ’93 , Mike Stokes