Hugh Silbaugh

Hugh Silbaugh

Putney VT — Hugh Silbaugh age 61, of Putney, Vermont. Teacher, educational leader and mentor, telemark skier, mountain biker, outdoorsman, reader, winner of games and solver of puzzles, devoted husband and father, brother, uncle, and cousin, friend and role model to the many lives he shaped.

Teaching for Hugh started as an act of rebellion, turned into an act of love, and became an act of faith. Hugh was a life-long independent school teacher and administrator, notably at Crossroads School in Santa Monica, The Putney School, Milton Academy, and since 2007 at Northfield Mount Hermon School. Hugh was one of the founding Program Directors in 2012 of the Independent School Teaching Residency (ISTAR) Master's Program at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, also known as the Penn Fellows Program. Hugh was a member of the ISTAR faculty for ten years, where he taught and mentored hundreds of Penn Fellows as they launched their teaching careers. This work reflected his deep commitment to mentoring new teachers.

He earned his bachelor's degree in English at Amherst College, a master's degree in education from UCLA, and a second master's degree from the Harvard School of Education.

Loving husband to Cor Trowbridge, devoted father to Jay and Harry Silbaugh, faithful brother to Kate Silbaugh, trusted brother-in-law to Daniel Jurayj, Jamie and Laura Trowbridge, Bea Trowbridge Sanders, Phil Trowbridge and Laura Bonk, and Dylan Sanders, and the uncle-who-has-the-most-fun to ten loving nieces and nephews. Beloved son of the late Jane and Hugh Silbaugh and brother of the late Harriet Silbaugh.

Hugh is survived by an adoring extended family and countless students and teachers at schools across the country who were influenced by his passion for the craft of teaching, his love of Shakespeare, poetry, experiential education, and singing, and his belief in the people around him and their goodness.

There will be a service to celebrate Hugh's life in early summer of 2022. In lieu of flowers, please send donations in Hugh's memory to support financial aid at the Independent School Teaching Residency Master's Program at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education: http://givingpages.upenn.edu/celebratingHughSilbaugh

The immediate family will gather on Saturday, January 22, at 2PM for a service constrained by covid gathering limits. All are welcome to join that service by livestream: https://vimeo.com/event/1733727