This year, two women made powerful statements of support for GFS and the particular kind of Quaker education it provides through bequests to the school. They are Joan Cannady Countryman ’58 and the late Christine Hopkins ’73, and we honor their generosity and dedication to GFS.

Marching to the Beat of Her Own Drum

 

Christine Hopkins passed away on October 1, 2024, after a short but devastating illness. Her brother, Tom Hopkins ’81, is the executor of her estate; the two siblings remained close all their lives, and he faithfully sat by her bedside in her final months. During those last conversations, they spoke fondly of GFS and the values the school instilled in them.

“The deep Quaker heritage—the ethic and the idea of trying to live a life of meaning, fighting for peace and justice, sitting quietly in Meeting for Worship—all of that was deeply embedded in Christine and me,” Tom said.

Christine was a consistent and committed donor to GFS over the years, and Tom knew that she planned to leave a generous gift to the school after her death, along with a number of other organizations. 

“She wanted to give to organizations that she thought were important for the planet and would continue to do good into the future, and to honor places that had contributed to her life,” he said. “She included social justice organizations, like the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the United Negro College Fund, because the longstanding Quaker fight for Black people on this continent got deep in our bones at GFS.”

In a 2005 letter to a classmate, Christine elucidated the many reasons why she considered GFS “one of the most important charitable gifts that I make each and every year.”

“Schools like GFS are extremely rare and so crucial to sustaining democracy in our society…every GFS student goes on to create ripples of impact, influence, and resource, whether subtle or private in their families or in more publicly seen ways,” she wrote. 

Tom feels strongly that his sister’s gift to GFS will help maintain the legacy of the school as both a high-level academic institution and a place that helps children cultivate empathy and compassion.

 

“These students will one day be powerful people in the world, and we need powerful people to have the best—not the worst—ethics,” he said.

After graduating from GFS, Christine attended Harvard University for two years, and then completed her bachelor's and master’s degrees in dance therapy at Sarah Lawrence College. She pursued a career in dance therapy, often working with elderly populations, and also became a skilled West African drummer.

“The three words I used for Christine are: ‘drummer, dancer, dynamo’—she lived so intensely,” said Tom. “She was also a deep feminist, and someone who always embodied the Quaker value of ‘bearing witness.’ She always called it like she saw it, for better or worse.”

Every GFS student goes on to create ripples of impact, influence, and resource, whether subtle or private in their families or in more publicly seen ways. —Christine Hopkins '73

Tom recalls how they connected over a love of music. In the '80s, she would take him to see bands in Greenwich Village, and his love of the keyboard, an instrument he still plays today, began with noodling around on her electric piano. Even as Christine moved around the country and Tom settled into his career as a university professor, they always kept in touch, hiking and sailing together in Maine and catching up via monthly phone calls. 

They also both attended GFS reunions and kept in contact with classmates and teachers. Maintaining their connection to GFS remained important to them, even as the decades passed. For Tom and Christine, the school was like family.

“I wrote a little song for GFS a few years ago called ‘GFS: The Trunk of My Tree,’ Tom said. “And I would say that was true for both Christine and me. It’s a place where we have very deep roots.”

An Intrepid Trailblazer 

Joan Cannady Countryman ’58 P’81 ’82 has been part of GFS’ story for nearly 80 years. She currently serves on GFS' School Committee, and recently, she decided to make provisions in her will for GFS, which will continue her already impactful legacy.

Countryman’s journey at GFS began in 1948, when her parents enrolled her as a third grader. She was one of the school’s first Black students, and one of its first Black graduates

“When I got to GFS, there was an explosion of wonderful things for me,” Countryman said, noting a special fondness for the Friends Free Library as a young reader with an endless appetite for books. “I can still remember the wonderful librarians, the questions they asked and things they showed me.”

Countryman received her B.A. degree in mathematics from Sarah Lawrence College in 1962, followed by a Master of Urban Studies degree from Yale University in 1966. She attended the London School of Economics at the University of London as a Fulbright scholar the following year.

Back in the States, she organized with the Northern Student Movement and worked for the School District of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania. In 1970, she returned to GFS; over the course of 23 years, she served as a math teacher, department head, Assistant Head for Academic Planning, and Director of Studies. Her children, Matthew J. Countryman ’81 and Rachel Countryman ’82, were both lifers at GFS. 

 

During her tenure at GFS, Countryman influenced the lives of many students, some of whom still reach out to her on social media to say how her teaching helped them discover a love of—or, at least a decent proficiency in—math. 

“As a teacher at GFS, I saw myself as part of a good group of people who I admired a great deal,” she said. “We all worked together and looked for ways to do the best we could for the students.”

Countryman advanced her career in school administration, including holding the position of Head of Lincoln School in Providence, Rhode Island, until her retirement in 2005. Her retirement plans were derailed when she was invited by Oprah Winfrey to work as a consultant and Interim Head of the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa. 

“When you get a phone call from Oprah, that changes things,” Countryman said, laughing. 

Countryman has served two times on the GFS School Committee, first from 2009 through 2018, and again from 2020 through the present. She has dedicated her time and energy to numerous other boards and projects, a life centered on education, advocacy, and social justice.

These days, Countryman and her husband, Ed Jakmauh, live in Philadelphia, enjoying retirement; both are working on their memoirs. As conversations arose about their estate planning, she knew GFS would be part of their allocations.

“There was no question that GFS would be included,” she said. “I’m pleased to be able to make a lasting statement of how central GFS is to who I am."

 

The school’s commitment to Germantown, the neighborhood where she was born and raised, and the engagement with the broader community, resonated with Countryman.

“One of the reasons I'm pleased to be able to help in this campaign is that, when I look at what the school has done with the campus, it’s like a magical transformation of what it used to be,” she said, noting the many trees, outdoor play spaces, and the new dining hall in the former Boys’ Gym.

Although Countryman is not in Germantown as frequently as she once was, her emotional connection to the school remains strong.

“GFS is always in my heart.” 

 

One of the most profound ways that our community supports GFS is by making a planned gift and joining the Open Door Society. Including the school in one's estate plans is like shining a light down the path toward a thriving future. For more information about planned giving, please call us at 215-951-2340 or email Hannah Henderson ’91, Chief Advancement Officer, at hhenderson@germantownfriends.org.