MFS Celebrates Paul Mecray ’56 and Largest Gift Commitment in the History of the School

The Moorestown Friends School community celebrated the largest major gift commitment in its 239-year history on Friday, September 20 – a $4 million combined outright and estate gift from Paul Mecray ’56.

In honor of Paul’s bequest, the School Committee (Board of Trustees) approved a resolution to rename the Head’s Residence “Mecray House,” located at 120 E. Main St. Faculty, staff, students, trustees, and friends of the school gathered to dedicate Mecray House and thank Paul for his generous commitment. Providing remarks were School Committee Clerk Ivy Brown ’89, Head of School Julia de la Torre, and former Head of School Larry Van Meter ’68.

“We are so grateful to Paul Mecray for this transformational gift and commitment to supporting Moorestown Friends School and generations of young people for years to come,” said Julia de la Torre. “Coming home to Mecray House each day will also be a wonderful reminder to me and my family of Paul’s generosity and his strong belief in letting your life speak and inspiring others to do the same.”

Paul Mecray was joined at the celebration by his wife Nell and several members of his family. He summarized his arrival at the school in Middle School from Haddonfield Friends School and spoke about the impact MFS had on his career. “I am very honored to be here and remember coming down Pages Lane 74 years ago as a 12-year-old, getting on the bus and very excited to be coming to a ’big school,’” said Paul.

At a time when there was great tumult in the United States, Paul quickly befriended a classmate, Jim Matlack, with whom he shared a passion for world events. They possessed divergent views about the Korean War in 1950, but their knowledge and views were impressive and former History Teacher G. Macculloch “Cully” Miller urged Paul and Jim to speak about the conflict to the entire student body from the perspectives of their opposing viewpoints, even though they were just 12 years old. “Mr. Miller would say ’We are going to teach you something about Quaker education – respect. You don’t always have to like the other person to be respectful,’” said Paul. Jim and Paul remained close friends and to attended Princeton University together.

Paul Mecray went on to work with world leaders, heads of government, and major figures in the Middle East throughout his career as a geologist, businessman, advisor, negotiator, and mediator, but frequently he found himself harkening back to his days at MFS. “Often during my career, my mind would flash back to September of 1950 when Cully Miller would say ’boys – the one thing I want you to learn beyond public speaking is to be respectful, be respectful to people with whom you agree and disagree.’”

Paul expressed hope that his gift would serve future generations in similar ways that it served him.

“MFS basically impacted my whole career and I owe a lot of it to people like [former Headmaster] Chester Reagan and Cully Miller, and others. It is a pleasure for me to be here and to see the young people that are here. I wish that my contribution will help Moorestown attract good teachers and provide good facilities and teach students what Quakers are so good at, which is teaching you to be respectful of each other.”

Paul shared earlier this year with Julia de la Torre and Director of Development Steve Zakroff that he was making an outright gift to the school of $50,000, and that he had arranged for a major gift from his estate in the amount of $3,950,000, to make for the total gift of $4 million. His intention is fort his generous bequest to be unrestricted, giving the School Committee the flexibility to utilize the funds to serve the best interests of the school.

About Mecray House

According to the minutes of the Oct. 15, 1935 meeting of the Moorestown Friends School Committee, it was reported that the property at 120 E. Main Street was being gifted to the school by J. Stogdell and May Stokes. Further, it was noted that “a house for the Principal” was to be constructed on the property, which would be given by Dr. S. Emlen and Lydia B. Stokes. Further, “Dr. Joseph Stokes, Samuel L. Matlack, and Alice S. Perkins were appointed [to] an advisory committee to work with Dr. and Mrs. Stokes on this project.” Headmaster Chester Reagan reported at the Sept. 28, 1936 School Committee Meeting that he and “his family are now located in their new home 120 E. Main Street.” Further, he shared that “A cordial invitation is extended to all members of both Monthly Meetings, who are interested, to call between 3:30 and 5:30 on First-day afternoon 10th month 18th.” All of the modern day Headmasters and Heads of Schools since Chester Reagan have lived in the Head’s Residence.

About Paul M. Mecray ’56
Paul “Terry” Mulford Mecray, III, came to MFS from Haddonfield Friends School for Middle and Upper School. He was especially inspired by history teacher G. Macculloch “Cully” Miller, who brought the daily news to life by encouraging debate about the key issues of the day, including pros and cons about the Korean War, Senator Joe McCarthy, and each national election campaign. English teacher Jean Ricketts also made a significant impact on Paul. A scholar-athlete at MFS, he was also captain of the baseball team and played varsity soccer. He graduated as a member of the Class of 1956. After MFS, Paul attended Princeton University, where he discovered his passion for geology, captained the Ski Team, and continued to play soccer. Following his 1960 graduation with honors, he earned an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. Then he served in the Army Security Agency. For his first job, he joined Atlantic Refining Company, focusing on oil exploration, and later helping to negotiate the merger that created Atlantic Richfield.

In 1968, Paul joined Wellington Management Company, and spent 36 years in global energy research, with extensive travel to all of the world’s oil producing regions. His attention was primarily on the Middle East, Iran and Caspian countries, and he met many world figures, from Secretary of State Madeline Albright to Palestinian Liberation Organization chairman, Yasser Arafat, and former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

Paul helped with back-channel negotiations, working to mediate international disputes in the Middle East, which gave him the opportunity to use the lessons he learned at MFS on the world stage. He remembered how Cully Miller made sure his students understood both sides of each issue without leading them to a foregone conclusion. Their classes always represented both conservative and liberal viewpoints, many of which were heatedly debated, but always with respect for the opposite viewpoint. Paul has observed that “Every time I sat down with someone whose views were diametrically the opposite of my own, Cully’s smiling face would pop into my mind, quietly whispering to me, ’Listen to him, even if you might completely disagree, and then try to find some middle ground where both parties to this dispute might find room to negotiate.’”

After retiring from Wellington in 2003, he “unretired” shortly thereafter, and joined Tower Bridge Advisors, continuing his work in energy research, and managing individual portfolios. His other engagements have included serving as a trustee of Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church, and as a director of The Presbyterian Historical Society. He is a member and former president of the National Association of Petroleum Investment Analysts and The Financial Analysts of Philadelphia, and a former director of Swift Transportation Company.

As the Moorestown Friends 50th reunion of the Class of 1956 approached in 2006, Paul took the lead not only in spurring reunion attendance, but in encouraging his classmates to make a significant class gift. Paul decided to make Moorestown Friends a philanthropic priority after reflecting that even after studying at academically
elite institutions such as Princeton and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Cully Miller was probably the best teacher he had ever had – and that he and his classmates could make a bigger difference by becoming involved and supporting MFS than they could at their already well-endowed colleges.

The Class divided their reunion giving between support for the G. Macculloch “Cully” Miller Social Studies Endowment Fund and establishing the Class of 1956 Conversation Garden. The class united around an idea proposed by Paul, with his wife Nell, a master gardener and alumna of Springside School, for campus beautification. The Mecrays worked with MFS to design a plan for a Conversation Garden in the shaded area between the front of The West Building and Main Street. The gift of the garden, with seating, shrubs and perennial plantings, has served to greatly further the growing tradition of 50th reunion class gifts with subsequent classes.

Continuing the idea of making the outdoor spaces on campus more inviting, as part of the “Great Classrooms for Great Kids” campaign, the Mecrays made another major contribution, which the school recognized through the naming of The Mecray Courtyard. This space, given in memory of Paul’s parents and grandparents, lies between the main campus and the path to Hartman Hall. It features tables and benches, as well as perennial shrubs and plants, along the walkway between the tennis courts and the Field House.

Paul has lent his talents to the school as a member of the first Head’s Council, a leadership group that met annually with Head of School Larry Van Meter to provide advice and serve as a sounding board. As an international expert on the geopolitics of oil, he has also spoken to students at Moorestown Friends enrolled in 20th Century History, Economics, and Model United Nation classes. Paul’s outstanding success in his career both as a businessman and an unofficial peace negotiator, and his generosity toward MFS, and other institutions of importance to him, personify the qualities MFS seeks in its graduates, of “doing well and doing good.” In May 2016, Paul received the Alice Stokes Paul Alumni Association Award of Merit in recognition of his outstanding career achievements as a petroleum geologist, businessman and “diplomat without portfolio” in the Middle East, as well as for his dedication to Moorestown Friends School, and in particular, the beautification of the campus.