Mark Warren ’75, Susan Lee ’70, Lois Larkey ’65 and Miriam “Mims” Butterworth ’40 lauded for service to CC

Photo: Jon Crispin / Mark Warren ’75 receives the Connecticut College Alumni Tribute Award from Rae Koshetz, president of the Alumni Association Board of Directors.

Mark Warren ’75 didn’t hesitate when he stepped to the podium in Palmer Auditorium.

“I give to this College,” he said, “because I love this College.” His family has strong CC ties dating back three generations, and Warren said he hopes his young son will also be a Camel one day.

Warren was one of four alumni volunteers honored by the Alumni Association Board of Directors during an at-times emotional ceremony on Saturday, June 4.

Susan Lee ’70, Lois Larkey ’65 and Miriam “Mims” Butterworth ’40, as well as Warren, were honored for their contributions to the Connecticut College community.

Rae Downes Koshetz ’67, president of the association, introduced the recipients and presented them with their awards.

Mark Warren ’75 was given the Alumni Tribute Award, which was established in 1986 to honor alumni for outstanding service to CC.

Warren’s volunteer commitments include serving as reunion chair, class agent chair and regional volunteer. In the past he has also served as vice president of the Executive Board of the Alumni Association and as a member of both the Forum and Reunion Committee and the Young Alumni Committee.

Warren has been involved with the College and its alumni by hosting a brunch for his former classmates and organizing the annual Arbo softball game.

Warren said he attended CC during a time of transition, when coeducation was in its infancy and men were the minority on campus. Sports programs grew, and the College became the “thriving and bustling place” it is today.

Warren said he looks forward to the growth of CC through new facilities and academic centers.

Susan Lee ’70 received the Agnes Berkeley Leahy Award, which was established to honor the memory of Agnes Berkeley Leahy ’21. Leahy was twice president of the Alumni Association and a member of the Board of Trustees for 10 years. The award is given in honor of outstanding service demonstrated by continued interest in the Alumni Association and sustained participation in the activities of a class, club or the Board of Directors.

Lee, who was unable to attend the awards ceremony, was lauded for wearing many different hats as a volunteer and for her leadership. She currently serves as class agent and class president, but her service to CC dates back to 1970 when she took on the roles of class treasurer and class agent chair. She previously served on the Board of Directors and has also held positions as a student internship liaison, an alumni admission representative and a reunion chair.

Lee’s classmate, Barbara Herman ’70, accepted the award in her absence.

Lois Ann Larkey ’65 was honored with the Goss Award, which was established by Cassandra Goss Simonds ’55 and is given to alumni for enthusiastic participation in programs and activities that have made a significant contribution to the CC community.

Larkey’s past volunteer work spans a wide range of activities, including terms as a regional and a class officer. She is a former planned giving agent, alumni admission representative, reunion committee member and class agent chair. She now serves as class president and is on the reunion planning team.

Larkey remembered her time as a student fondly, saying she visited New London schools as a volunteer to help teach students to read. She credited her professors for their teaching abilities, but also for the life lessons they taught outside the classroom. She shared a piece of advice she received from Helen Mulvey, May Buckley Sadowski Professor Emeritus of History. It was delivered over a cup of hot chocolate in the College Center at Crozier-Williams.

“She said, ‘You need to cherish your relationships. The people you love, you need to tell them.’”

Photo: Jon Crispin / Miriam "Mims" Butterworth '40 GP'05 addresses the crowd in Palmer Auditorium after receiving the Harriet B. Lawrence Award.

Mims Butterworth ’40 GP’05 received the Harriet B. Lawrence Award, created in honor of Harriet Buescher Lawrence ’34 in 1992. The award recognizes achievements in creating or inspiring notable changes for the good of society through direct service or other material or social means.

Butterworth’s involvement began while she was an undergraduate at CC. She was a German language major, and at the age of 20, spent the summer of 1938 in Germany on a scholarship. Observing the rise of Nazism changed her life, she said, and she has traveled extensively worldwide since then to participate in peace vigils and demonstrations.

Butterworth taught at the Ethel Walker School and at Loomis Chaffee before serving as president of the Hartford College for Women, now part of the University of Hartford, from 1979-1980. Long active in politics, she founded the Caucus of Connecticut Democrats and was a delegate to the 1968 Democratic National Convention.

At Connecticut College, Butterworth is a planned giving agent. She served as class president and is a former class agent and forum member. She also served as a member of the Alumni Association Board of Directors, which was then called the Alumni Association Executive Board.

Butterworth noted that her CC experience was a turning point in her life.

“It was a very valuable four years for me,” she said, “and I have been forever grateful.”