Tribute to a Legendary KO Teacher

Beloved KO faculty member, Dick Caley, passed away on December 17. Known by many as simply “Caley,” he began his lifelong relationship with our school as a member of the great class of 1962 and returned in 1970 to begin a 37-year science alongside his beloved wife, Carol.

After graduating from Kingswood, he matriculated to Amherst College, where he captained the baseball team and was a member of Alpha Delta Phi. Following Amherst, he attended UConn, where he met the love of his life, Carol. Rejoining Kingswwod in 1970 as a biology and photography teacher, he was later named the science department chair. According to his obituary, “Dick was beyond just a teacher; he invested his entire life in learning and sharing that knowledge with everyone around him. Although that knowledge, humorously, was not always based in fact, the skill with which it was conveyed left any recipient confident in the answer.”

Caley led a rich, full life, creating a recreational animal farm on his land in Granby. An active community member, Caley played tennis and golf, volunteered at a local charity, Waste Not Want Not, and supported the Granby Land Trust. A free-hand oil painter with no small talent, he also enjoyed working with stained glass.

But his true devotion and life’s passion was caring for his wife, Carol. After she was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s Disease, the Caleys retired from teaching in 2007. Determined that AD not rob any more families of their loved ones and their memories, the Caley children decided to raise money for AD research by founding the non-profit Jog Your Memory annual 5K and two-mile walk in Needham, MA, in 2014. For the past nine years, Dick served as a board member of the organization. He was a steadfast partner and caregiver to Carol, never missing a day of seeing her in person or via Facetime during the past seven years while she was in a full-care facility.

Those who knew him as a classmate, teacher, and friend will remember Caley for his humor, enthusiasm, dedication, and amiability. He will be greatly missed, and our deepest sympathies go out to Carol, his children (Josh Caley ’91, Jessica Caley Rice ’94), son-in-law (Bob Rice ’93),  grandchildren, and all of his many friends in the Kingswood Oxford School community.

Center photo: Caley with his Kingswood Class of 62 classmates at a reunion in October