RE Log - Spring 2024

SPRING 2024 Ransom Everglades LOG 65 Harold E. Kendall ’54 Harold “Hal” Ernest Kendall Jr. passed away at his home on Sunday, Dec. 17, as the sun rose over Biscayne Bay, and with his two daughters by his side. He was 87. He was born on June 25, 1936, in Cleveland, Ohio, the eldest son of Elizabeth Valborg Harrold and Harold Ernest Kendall Sr. He married Layne Lucas in 1983, and together they had two daughters. A lifelong resident of South Florida, Hal attended elementary school in the Redland and graduated in 1954 from the Ransom School, where he was a mainstay on the swimming team. He served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees from 1972 to 1974. During his tenure, the board decided to study the feasibility, requirements, needs and goals of coeducation. In March 1974, the Ransom School and the Everglades School for Girls announced the merger that produced Ransom Everglades School. Hal earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from Stanford University in 1958. While there, he joined the Navy ROTC and later became an officer in the U.S. Navy. He served on the USS MILLS, patrolling the North Atlantic Radar Barrier. Hal returned home to work for South Florida Growers Association, Inc., his father’s farming and marketing company that specialized in avocado and Persian lime production and sales. During the 1950s and ’60s, “Kendall” limes were the dominant brand found in supermarkets throughout the eastern United States. Kendall designed and built the pectin peel plant that produced the finest pectin peel in the country. The product was highly sought after by both European and U.S. food producers. In 1973, he attended Harvard University School of Business Administration and continued to be a member of the Harvard Business School Club of South Florida. An avid yachtsman, he loved sailing on Casco Bay, Maine, and powerboating on Biscayne Bay. Wayfarer , a 55-foot Chris-Craft Roamer, was often chock full of friends enjoying Hal’s famous strawberry daiquiri mix on their way to Stiltsville. When he became a father, Hal downsized to a Mako outboard, Grace & Meredith , which proved an excellent ice-cream- fetching and water- tubing vessel. Kendall enjoyed flying his twin engine Piper Apache to The Bahamas for work or a weekend escape. As a member of the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club from 1964 until his death, Hal was honored to serve beside his friends as an officer and then commodore. He donated trophies for several sailing regattas, including the Lime Cup. Since 1973, the boat with the best two-day average of the regatta has been awarded the Harold E. Kendall Jr. Lime Cup Overall Trophy. Hal was also a member of the leadership boards of the Savings and Loan Association, Florida Lime & Avocado Administrative committee, Rotary Club of Homestead, Bath Club, Bachelor’s Club, Mere Point Yacht Club and Plymouth Congregational Church. He is survived by his two daughters, Grace Elizabeth Kendall ’03 of Manhattan and Meredith Layne Kendall ’05 of Brooklyn. Albert Blackwell “Blackie” Stieglitz ’54 Beloved husband, father, grandfather and uncle, “Blackie” Stieglitz died peacefully on February 14, following a battle with pancreatic cancer. Blackie was the proud patriarch of one of Ransom Everglades’ first three-generation families (see story on page 20). Born in Warrenton, Va., he moved to South Florida in the early 1950s to attend the Adirondack-Florida (later renamed Ransom Everglades) School. After graduating from the University of Miami with a degree in government, he volunteered for the United States Air Force. During his time on active duty, he was deployed to Clark Air Base in the Philippines and ultimately rose to the rank of captain. Following his honorable discharge from the Air Force, Blackie returned to the University of Miami to attend law school, and upon his graduation began a legal career that spanned more than 50 years, focusing on medical malpractice and product liability defense. Highly regarded for his legal expertise, he was elected to leadership positions in a number of professional organizations, including President of the Dade County Defense Bar, chairman of numerous committees of the American Bar Association and Defense Research Institute, member of the Executive Committee of the International Association of Defense Counsel and the Defense Research Institute, and member of the Board of Directors of the Florida Defense Lawyers Association and the Defense Research Institute. He was an active participant in the local community, including through his membership in the Riviera Country Club, the Bankers Club, the Bath Club, the Beach Colony Club, the Cotillion Club of Miami, and the Committee of 100 of Miami Beach, as well as through his service for many years on the vestry of St. Thomas Episcopal Church and as President of the Coconut Grove Rotary Club. An insatiable consumer of spy novels, a notorious skeptic of posted speed limits, a talented painter and pianist, and a great lover of travel, history, politics, dinner dances, and dry vodka martinis, Blackie was at his happiest when he was with family and friends, especially on holidays and at other celebrations. Long since predeceased by his two older brothers, Blackie served as the unofficial patriarch of his extended Stieglitz family and was an irreplaceable font of family history and tradition. In recent years, he found enormous joy in spending time with his four grandchildren, who laughed uproariously at stories and jokes he told in his unforgettable Virginia accent. Blackie is survived by his wife and dance partner of 51 years, Rosemary “Mimi” Stieglitz ’63, and their two sons and their families: Albert (“B.J.”) Stieglitz ’96 and Amanda J. Stieglitz and their daughters Caroline and Elizabeth of Chevy Chase, Md., and John Stieglitz’98 and Amanda Z. Stieglitz and their children Robbie Stieglitz ’28 and Emma Stieglitz.