David McLean Appleton

it´s an autumn night 2022 and I was thinking back on my life at the Englewood School for Boys and my teachers there. I googled Mr. Appleton to see if his name popped up. And so it did under these sad circumstances. Getting towards the end of my own time here on earth and it´s so bittersweet for the mind to journey back to happier times.

Dear Mrs. Appleton,

I was so sorry to read about Mr. Appleton’s passing. For seven years at Kent Place, he introduced me to Catullus and Vergil, Ovid and Lucretius, Caesar and Cicero. He even helped me get two years of Greek under my belt before going to college and majoring in Classics. His classroom, with its columns and pictures of Greece and Rome, overflowed with the inventiveness that he brought to his teaching. I will always remember doing a puppet show for the school in...

What a wonderful teacher -- so patient with our consternation at the "shocking" parts of Catullus, so committed to making Latin fun (even the gerundive).

Vale, Signore Appletonio. Thanks for everything.

Susie,
So sorry to hear this news. My thoughts are with you, old friend.

Jack Staub

Mr. A. was my first employer, hiring me as "groundskeeper" with the comment, "Well, if you like getting dirty, you've come to the right place." My first summer was devoted to restoring the tennis court, which was completely overgrown with weeds and bushes. A most benevolent taskmaster, he promoted me to "houseboy" and held out the prospect of eventual advancement to "majordomo." Always cheerful and quirky, he and Mrs. A are Webster's alternate definition of the noun "adult." Both were...

The world has lost a truly loving gentleman. My condolences to all who loved him.

Mr. Appleton was, and still is, one of my favorite teachers of all time. As silly as it may sound, he made Latin fun. When I left Kent Place and went on to Morristown HS, I switched to Spanish...My Spanish teacher called me aside after our first test and told me that I "technically" failed - because I had conjugated all of my verbs in Latin, not Spanish. He said I must have had a very impressive Latin teacher for it to have stayed so fresh in my mind, and I assured him that Mr. Appleton...