Peter Greer ’58; ’81 (Hon.); P’94 can still remember the day Kendra Stearns O’Donnell accepted the principalship of Exeter. “She walked onto the Assembly Hall stage in this wonderful red dress, and I can recall thinking that she seemed to radiate such vitality.” Appropriate, then, that a “surge of red,” as Peter calls it, is central in the stained glass window that now bears her name. Thanks to the generosity of Betsy and Stan Phelps ’52, on May 1, the Tan Lane window of the recently renovated Phillips Church was officially named in honor of Mrs. O’Donnell, Exeter’s 12th principal.
For Kendra, an artist in her own right, the naming of the Tan Lane window is “a great honor. Phillips Church is very precious to me,” she adds; “I always felt welcome and connected to the community when I attended baccalaureate, meditation and other events there. Many of my fondest memories as principal go back to things that happened in the church.”
As for Phelps, whose philanthropy made the much-needed church renovation possible, the decision to name the window for his friend Kendra just came naturally. “I wanted to dedicate the window to recognize Kendra’s outstanding contributions to the Academy,” he says. “She’ll go down as one of the best in the school’s history.”
Meanwhile, the window, which was designed by Boston-based artist Michelle Honig-Szwarc, and which Peter Greer calls “the artistic highlight of the renovated church,” will continue to achieve what the committee that selected it hoped it would: “...to inspire at the first viewing and reward at repeated viewings...to stand with dignity and power over time...” Just like its new namesake.
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