Three Sisters Gate Dedicated

The high stone wall that encloses the South Street side of Westover is now graced by a new, black iron gate — complete with three gold-painted Tudor roses — that allows passersby a glimpse into the School’s Senior Garden, one of the most beautiful corners of the campus.

During the 2022 Reunion in May, a group of alumnae and other members of Westover’s community gathered for the dedication of the Three Sisters Gate, made possible by a gift from the outgoing Trustee President, Starr White Snead ’69, in memory of her sisters — Muffy White Dwyer ’72 and Cassandra White Sweeney ’76, P’12 — and to honor their family’s legacy of service to Westover.

At the dedication, Associate Head of School Ben Hildebrand noted that the new gate replaced the original green wooden gate that had stood for more than a century, but which had fallen into “a state of disrepair” before being dismantled several years ago.

When Starr’s classmates were considering a 50th Reunion class gift in 2019, a new gate for Senior Garden was one of several proposals suggested. Ultimately, another project was chosen. But the gate proposal had given Starr an idea of how to celebrate her sisters as part of their family’s legacy at Westover. Starr was also inspired by a recent gift she had made to Wheaton College — where she, Muffy, and Candy had attended — to set up the Three Sisters Scholarship Fund there. “That’s where the idea of the Three Sisters Gate came from.” And, as a longtime resident of Charleston, South Carolina, Starr had been struck by the beauty of the many wrought-iron gates that grace the city’s neighborhoods.

Over the next several years of the pandemic, the design and construction of the gate evolved before it was installed in the spring of 2022. “What I love the most about the new gate,” Starr said, “is that the garden is one of the prettiest parts of the campus, but it’s one that nobody ever had seen from the outside because of the original gate and the stone wall. Now you can see how lovely it is.”

At the dedication, classmates of Muffy and Candy spoke of the impact they had within their classes’ Westover experiences. In her remarks, Annie DiSesa McHugh ’72 praised Muffy’s creativity, artistry, and leadership skills. “We remember Muffy’s beautiful smile … and the fact that she was maybe a little more mature than the rest of us. She remained a loyal friend and was a champion of Westover.”

Inspired by Muffy’s love of art and art history, her enduring legacy at Westover includes a fund established by her husband’s law partners following her death in 1989. Every four years, the fund underwrites the Muffy White Dwyer Arts Day, a day-long program for the entire school community that celebrates either the performing arts or studio arts. The next Muffy White Dwyer Arts Day will be held during the 2022-2023 academic year.

In her remarks about her classmate Candy, Governor Kristin Hartley Leithiser ’76 said, “When I think of Candy … I think of grace — the grace that is seen in elegance of movement, the grace that is seen in courteous good will toward others, the grace bestowed in blessings from above.” Kristin also reflected on the example Candy offered through her courage and eloquence in the face of the cancer which took her life in 2017.

Candy’s daughter, Keelin Sweeney ’12, noted that her mother “was a lifelong educator,” so that it was significant “to have her memorialized at Westover, her favorite place in the entire world — besides, perhaps, a beach,” she added with a laugh. In her mother’s frequent visits to Westover — both as a parent and as a Trustee — Keelin witnessed “the really special connection I got to watch my mom develop with all of my friends … she was kind of all of our moms.” After the dedication, Starr noted that Candy’s commitment to supporting families at Westover led her to establish The Mary Griscom Holmes 1919 Scholarship Fund — named in memory of their grandmother — to support families who have two or more students attending Westover simultaneously.

In her remarks, outgoing Head of School Julie Faulstich said, “Starr has been a transformative Board Chair for the School, and I know that, way before that, she has been endlessly dedicated for what is best for the students here through all the work that she has done and all the relationships she has formed,” both as a Westover volunteer and as a consultant to independent schools for almost five decades.

In addition to Keelin and their grandmother, the three sisters’ legacy alumnae include their late mother, Anne Holmes White ’47, and two aunts, Cuchi White Boni ’47 and the late Mimsey Holmes Smith ’50. As Kristin noted, “It is in this gate that the spirit of family and Westover melds and lingers.” Though she was speaking of Candy, Kristin may have also summed up the impact that all three sisters and the other members of the family have had at Westover:

“How like Candy a gate is. Like her arms, open; like her heart, open; … welcoming everyone in with grace and love.”

To learn more about how you can leave a legacy by supporting a capital or endowed project at Westover, contact Mary Risner, Chief Development Officer, at [email protected]