A Lasting Legacy: Celebrating the Retirement of Stew and Dede Frost

By David Sturdevant, Career & College Counselor

Not many people have the opportunity to make an impact in the lives of multiple generations in the same locale, but that's just what the Frosts have done here at Fryeburg Academy over the past forty years. It's hard to believe it's been that long since Stew Frost and Dede House arrived at FA as first-year teachers.

Stew grew up in Pittsfield, Maine, and attended Maine Central Institute, another Maine town academy. Dede grew up in Buxton and went to Bonny Eagle High School. Stew went on to UMO and earned a BA in Computer Science with a minor in math, while Dede earned a double major at the University of Maine at Farmington in Elementary Education and Special Education.

Stew worked as a computer operator at Ciambro Corporation in Pittsfield for 18 months. In 1986, Headmaster Harry True hired him to teach math and Dede to teach special education. The rest, as they say, is history. Four years later, they got married. Interestingly, Mr. True also hired Bob Pulito in 1986, and Bob is retiring this year.

Stew and Dede quickly became involved in the life of the Academy. Each had competed in varsity athletics in high school, and Dede had played varsity field hockey in college. Stew has been involved in coaching Varsity and JV baseball for over  20 years, and Dede has coached JV Lacrosse, JV and Varsity Softball, and JV and Varsity Field Hockey; she has coached field hockey every year she has been at the Academy!

They also both lived in and/or have served duty in several dorms: Alumni Hall, Hastings Hall, Frye Hall, and Chase Hall. Stew has been on the Hastings Hall duty team for the last 38 years! That is a lot of dorm duty! They also lived in Evans House, and for many years now they have lived in the Abraham Bradley House on Pine Street. In fact, they have lived on the FA campus for their entire married life!

They both list being able to raise their children on the FA campus as one of their highlights. Stew says that it was “a privilege to watch our children grow up on campus, be part of the FA community, and graduate from the Academy.” Similarly, Dede adds, “It has been such a blessing to watch them grow into amazing student athletes and remarkable young women and to see them graduate from this special place.”

Dede is the cofounder and the director of the Pequawket Valley Alternative School, which she and David Sturdevant started in the early 1990's. The school is based on principles  of experiential learning, and Dede counts as a highlight the traveling community service work that she and the students participate in every year throughout the Eastern US.

Both Dede and Stew have contributed to the Academy in other ways, as well, as club advisors, FATA board members,  and committee members. It's safe to say, though, that they will be remembered and appreciated mostly for their dedication and good work in the Alternative School, the math classroom,  as coaches, and as caring dorm parents.

The Frosts will be moving back to Dede's Buxton home to live with her parents and "make their lives a bit easier." They look forward to spending more time with their daughters, Bailey '11 and Makayla '14, and their grandchildren, Laney Bretton and Huck Roland. They also look forward to visiting  FA for athletic events and more. As Dede says, "Our fabulous journey here will be very hard to leave behind.” It's hard to describe the impact this couple has had on hundreds of students' lives over the past forty years, and the Frosts can know that they have indeed made a difference! They will be missed here at FA.