Noël–or Noey–Congdon and her husband Tom suffered the ultimate tragedy when their daughter Natasha fell to her death on Fall Trip in 1978. Former Head of School Chris Babbs wrote this about Noey: “She somehow transformed her personal grief into a mission to save the school and insure its survival in keeping with the best definition of the school’s mission. And she succeeded in doing that…It has for me remained the best model of leadership in action that I have ever encountered. For that the school, and I, have forever been in her debt.” Noey served as CRMS Trustee for 9 years from 1978 to 1987, chairing the Board for 6 of those years.

Tom succeeded Noey and served 9 years on the CRMS Board from 1989 to 1998. Along with Todger Anderson and Caleb Gates, Tom founded the CRMS Foundation, the school’s permanent endowment. Tom and Noey seeded the foundation with an initial gift of $160,000. In establishing the foundation, Tom had concerns over how the school had historically managed its resources and insisted that this be its own separate entity from the school and managed by its own Board. Today, through investments and contributions, the CRMS Foundation now oversees an endowment of more than $35,000,000 that will furnish the school resources in perpetuity.

Obituary

Born September 13, 1926 in Duluth Minnesota, Tom Congdon developed an abiding love for Colorado and the City of Denver where he prospered as a businessman and philanthropist. After luring his beloved Noël Robbins west from New York City, Tom and Noël raised 3 daughters in Denver and Aspen – Chelsea, Natasha and Lucy.

A graduate of the Hill School of Pennsylvania (1944), Tom enlisted in the US Navy at age 17 and subsequently earned degrees at Yale University(1950) and Harvard Business School (1952). His career in mineral exploration began with Climax Molybdenum Company and grew into several business partnerships including CoCa Mines which developed silver and gold mines in the western US and Canada. Tom also steered a small family-held oil and gas company, St. Mary Parish Land Company, to become a thriving publicly-traded company 30 years later, now known as SM Energy.

Tom enjoyed sailing, travel, art, music, philanthropy and dabbled in cooking and watercolor all of which he shared eagerly with his wife and family. Tom and Noël together contributed generously to the growth of some of Denver’s proudest projects and programs including development of historic Larimer Square, the Denver Art Museum, Denver Symphony, Denver Scholarship Foundation, Colorado Public Radio as well as the Aspen Music Festival and School and Colorado Rocky Mountain School. A colorful storyteller, Tom published his memoir in 2018 to share with his grandchildren who delighted him. He was inducted into the Colorado Business Hall of Fame benefiting Junior Achievement Colorado on January 31, 2019.