Mourning the Loss of Two Faculty Members

As our community collectively grieves, the school has made support for students and faculty a priority. Faculty were invited to gather to support one another and talk about grief and loss at meetings that were held from December 27 through January 6. Additional resources, including group and individual counseling sessions, were offered and helped to prepare faculty to support students upon their return from Winter Break.

Head of School Emily Raudenbush Gum hosted open office hours for students and families on January 5, and addressed faculty and students at a special School Meeting on January 6. In partnership with Brian Konik, Ph.D., Director of Counseling, the school has made additional counseling resources available for students. Throughout this week, students will meet regularly with their advisors and will have the ongoing support of the Student Success Team, which includes key members of the Dean of Students Office, the Academic Office, and the school’s counseling and health teams. This coming weekend, all students will remain on campus for a Community Weekend focused on health and wellness, which will include a moment of remembrance for both Mr. Trundy and Mr. Poole.

“This is a sad time for our community, yet I am confident in our collective abilities to support each other while also celebrating the important contributions that Mr. Trundy and Mr. Poole brought to our community,” Raudenbush Gum said. “By showing up for one another, we honor not only their memories, but also the years of commitment and service of these two respected and beloved faculty members.”

Born in Lewiston, Maine, Trundy lived and breathed baseball from a young age. He began his baseball career at the University of New Hampshire, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in physical education and biology, and coached baseball while earning his master’s degree in physical education and recreation at the University of Colorado. For 20 years, he coached baseball at Cony High School in Augusta, Maine, and received the Maine Public School’s Coach of the Year Award three times. He was inducted into the Maine Baseball Hall of Fame in 2013 and was a part-time scout for the Toronto Blue Jays.

Trundy will be remembered for his kindness, warmth, and humor, as well as his passion for teaching and coaching — both at Gunn and in the Cape Cod Baseball League, where he was the legendary head coach and “heartbeat” of the Falmouth Commodores for over 26 years. One of the longest tenured managers in the history of the league, he was named the recipient of the Mike Curran Manager of the Year Award by his peers four times — in 2004, 2016, 2019, and 2024 — and on November 17, 2024, was inducted into the Cape Cod Baseball League Hall of Fame.

“Known among faculty as a steady presence, Mr. Trundy was someone you could count on, and a good person to talk to,” Raudenbush Gum said. “He encouraged his students to be their best — to be respectful, to persevere, to be part of a team. His pre- and post-game talks were legendary, not because he dispensed tactical information, but because he helped players figure out what it meant to compete with honor and to win and lose with grace and humility.”

Raised in Chiang Mai, Thailand, Poole earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English at the University of Texas (Austin), where he rowed as a lightweight for Texas Crew. Prior to joining the faculty in 2016, he taught English to middle school students in Texas. Passionate about poetry, he encouraged his students to participate in the annual poetry recitation night in April, and was selected in 2019 to attend the Poetry Foundation’s annual Summer Poetry Teachers Institute in Chicago. He accompanied students annually to the NAIS People of Color Conference (PoCC) and Student Diversity Leadership Conference and was named the holder of The Wallace H. Rowe III Chair in Critical Expression from 2020-2023.

“Deeply thoughtful, Mr. Poole was known for helping students to leave this community as better writers and critical thinkers, and he was considered by some of our young alumni to be among the most formative faculty in their time here,” Raudenbush Gum said. “This is a sudden and profound loss for his family, his current and former students, those he coached, his colleagues and friends.” 

The school is working with the Trundy and Poole families on the ways that we will remember the lives of these community members and honor them here at Gunn. “What is exceptional about this community is that we show up for each other,” Raudenbush Gum. “As we go through this moment together, I encourage you to check in with each other, and to navigate the coming days with kindness and grace.”