Marion Dubbs P'54
Through a Retained Life Estate, Marion Dubbs P'54
Funded Paul D. Dubbs '54 Scholarship

Marion Dubbs P’54 remembers the moment she knew it was time to send her son, Paul, to Exeter. “It was during back-to-school night for parents at Paul’s high school,” she recalls. “One of Paul’s teachers told me he asked too many questions. She didn’t have time to answer him, and she was afraid the other students would follow his example and start asking questions, too! That night, my husband and I decided to send Paul to summer school at Exeter, to see how he liked it there.”

And how did Paul Dubbs ’54 like Exeter? “He adored it,” says Marion. “He could ask as many questions as he wanted, and so could all the other students around the table.” In his subsequent two years at Exeter, Paul enjoyed history and science, played trumpet in the Academy orchestra and band, and ran club track. He also had his sights set on Harvard and a career in medicine.

That dream was threatened when Paul’s father, Harry Dubbs, then a first violinist in the Boston Symphony Orchestra, died from complications of a heart attack during Paul’s first year at Exeter. “I asked the school for a tuition loan,” says Marion, “but Exeter replied, ‘No, Mrs. Dubbs, it will be our privilege to give Paul a full scholarship.’ Exeter was so good to us during that time.”

Paul Dubbs did go on to Harvard and a career in medicine, becoming a successful ophthalmologist and eye surgeon. After Paul had been in practice for a few years, he and Marion established the Harry L. Dubbs Music Fund in memory of his father, to provide music lessons for scholarship students. “Exeter had given to us,” says Marion, “and now it was time to give something back.”

Tragically, in 1981, at nearly the same age as his father, Paul was also struck by a serious heart attack. Deprived of oxygen for 10 minutes, he suffered brain damage and was forced to give up his medical practice. Thanks in large part to Marion’s determined efforts, Paul has made tremendous progress over the years and lives independently in Westwood, Massachusetts.

His Exeter career recently inspired Marion to make a generous gift through unusual means. “Through a retained life estate, I’ve given my Brookline condominium to two schools Paul loves: Harvard and Exeter,” she explains. “I remain in my home during my lifetime. After my death, the property will be sold and, at Exeter, the proceeds will establish the Paul David Dubbs M.D. ’54 Scholarship Fund, to support financial aid students with aptitude in the natural sciences.”

Through the Paul Dubbs Scholarship Fund, the legacy of this talented young doctor will continue at PEA, helping students to achieve their highest ambitions. The legacy of a devoted mother will also endure, in the progress of her son and in the generosity of her gift to Exeter.

Chris Wronsky
Director of Planned Giving
Phillips Exeter Academy
20 Main Street
Exeter, NH 03833
(603) 777-3594 Fax (603) 777-4201