Click here to Wish Ann Mell well as she retires

After 44 years of supporting students as they grew as athletes and leaders, Ann Mell is retiring.  Starting at Kingswood in 1981, she has served in a multitude of roles over the years and touched the lives of generations of students. In recognition of the broad impact she had over the years, the Cranbrook Kingswood Alumni Association inducted her as an Honorary Alum in 2022.

Go to the Alumni Welcome Page 
Go to the Reunion Information Page   

Click here to leave condolences or memories of Janet Kapala

The life of longtime instrumental music instructor Janet Kapala will be celebrated on Saturday June 7 at 10:00 a.m., at a service at Christ Church Cranbrook. Janet taught at Cranbrook from 1977 to 2016, working with band students from their earliest beginnings at Brookside through prize winning solo and ensemble performances as upper school musicians.

Click here to share your well-wishes with Mr. Gabriel as he departs Cranbrook

After 15 years of connecting with CK students through music, Jim Gabriel, Cranbrook’s beloved choir director, is departing, as he sets off to achieve his longtime goal of composing and performing his own music. From leading winter and spring concerts to coaching soloists in the school musical, he has been a guiding presence to us both on and off the stage. While he will miss the students, faculty, and everyday moments, he says the concerts and connections made along the way will always be special to him. Truly, he has shaped a community through song, and his legacy will live long within the music he has created with us.

On Friday, April 25 Crane Clarion alumni and faculty advisors came together to surprise English Teacher and newspaper advisor Jordan Rossen in celebration of his 10th year teaching at Cranbrook Schools. It was a great celebration and brought together current and past Crane Clarion reporters and advisors. Mr. Rossen's colleague Dr. Gania Barlow was on hand, as was former faculty member and current Crane Clarion advisor David Watson. Ric Bowdy came from northern Michigan. Crane Clarion alumni from recent classes got together to catch up with Mr. Rossen and each other.

Architect Dirk Denison, ’75, always puts people at the center of his work
Award-winning architect Dirk Denison was part of the Cranbrook family even before he was born. His parents met and fell in love there, and over the course of the next seven decades, scores of other family members walked its halls. Dirk’s own journey began just down the road at Christ Church, where he attended nursery school before starting at Brookside, on his way to becoming a Cranbrook “lifer.”

Visit the reunion page of the website to get all the latest and to register.
Or use this link to go directly to the event registration: https://cranbrook.myschoolapp.com/podium/default.aspx?t=36644&rid=52002
Special pricing for weekend meal tickets is in effect through May 31. 

The classes of 1945,  1950, 1955, 1960, 1965, 1970, 1975, 1980, 1985, 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2020  will be celebrating milestone reunions. Alumni in milestone classes - visit the dropdown menu for your reunion by clicking on your class year (above) or scroll to your class year at the bottom right of this page. We will be updating these class pages weekly with the most recent registration information for your class. Make sure your name is on the list!

As Reunion draws near, we enter a season that is both joyful and reflective—celebrating the accomplishments of our distinguished alumni, honoring retiring faculty, and remembering the beloved teachers and administrators we have lost over the past year. In that spirit, we invite alumni from around the world to visit our Sharing Pages: dedicated spaces where you can post messages of congratulations, gratitude, and remembrance. Whether you are celebrating our 2025 Distinguished Alumni, extending well wishes to retiring faculty, or sharing memories of those who left a lasting mark on our community, your reflections help keep the Cranbrook Kingswood spirit alive.

Shana C. Waterman, ’90, brings art of storytelling to life

Film and television producer Shana C. Waterman has spent her career creating storytelling content that audiences love, working behind the scenes to bring series like Glee and House to screens around the world. Storytelling has been her passion since childhood, when she discovered joy both on stage and behind the scenes at the annual Brookside chapels.

Milestone classes ending in 5 and 0 are beginning to buzz about their upcoming milestone reunions coming up this June 6-7-8, and that includes the class of 1945! Kingswood classmates Gretchen Markle Thams and Marjorie Smith Hendrick, both from the class of '45 got together to talk about their upcoming 80th reunion. At their reunion meeting they reminisced about classmates and their Kingswood days together, and made plans to show off campus to family members that weekend.

Dr. Barbara Bowen Oberg ‘60, renowned early American historian, editor, and scholar died at Connecticut Hospice in Branford on September 14, 2024.

This fall alumni returned to the classroom, sharing their skills and experiences. Ellen Levy '75 joined Mike German's Creative Non-Fiction class to talk about her newly published work "A Book About Ray," and Robb Aikens '85 spent the day speaking to John Twedt's anatomy classes about his work as a physical therapist.