Dr. David Leaf,’65, Chiropractor | Cheryl Potvin Hogan, ‘85, Attorney | John A. Toole (posthumously) ‘68, Educator/Coach | Dr. Richard Eaton Wardwell, ‘64 Engineer | Dr. Kevin B. Mercure, ‘93 Doctor/Educator | Richelle Ives-Archard, ’86 Healthcare management
Dr. David Leaf, ’65, Chiropractor
David was born on December 22, 1947, in San Antonio, Texas. His parents moved with him to Hudson Falls two years later, first living on main Street and then on North Oak Street.
He graduated from Hudson Falls in 1965 and lettered in track. After high school, he went to the State University at Albany. In 1971, he graduated from the Texas Chiropractic College as valedictorian.
After college, David first moved to Falmouth, Massachusetts, and practiced there for six years before opening three offices in southeastern Massachusetts. He has had a practice treating the general public in Plymouth, MA, since 1977. This year he is celebrating 50 years in practice. His goal has always been to teach people to take care of themselves.
Aligning with this goal David started studying applied kinesiology in 1971 and began teaching this in 1976. Since then, he has lectured throughout the United States and in Canada, France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Norway, Ukraine, Russia, Belgium, and Australia.
He started treating Olympic class athletes in the ‘80s and later members of the New England Patriots, A.C. Milan soccer players, and Paralympic athletes of Russia. These athletes have also included a 100-meter world record holder, players in the NFL, NBA, and NHL, and world champion powerlifters. For the last six years, he has been honored to lecture in Moscow at symposiums for neurologists in November and sports injury specialists in May.
David has authored two books, one on applied kinesiology and the other on muscle testing. In addition, he is currently working on an online learning course for professionals to improve the diagnosis and treatment of muscle injuries.
Cheryl Potvin Hogan, ‘85, Attorney
Cheryl Hogan was born on September 1, 1967 in Hudson Falls. She was the fifth of six children of Dr. Mitchell L. and Norma Potvin. While in high school, she served as a class officer and was active in Key Club and National Honor Society, as well as playing tennis, volleyball, and softball. She also maintained a number of close friendships that continue to this day. She graduated in 1985 and entered the College of the Holy Cross in September of that year.
She graduated cum laude from the College of the Holy Cross in 1989 with a bachelor’s degree in Spanish. After graduation, she joined the Jesuit Volunteer Corps (JVC). As a Jesuit volunteer, she served one year in North Philadelphia as a legal advocate for victims of domestic violence.
After her year of service in JVC, Cheryl enrolled at Albany Law School, where she was an Executive Editor of the Albany Law Review. She graduated magna cum laude from law school in 1993. After graduation, she joined the law firm of Hinman Straub in Albany. At Hinman Straub, Cheryl specializes in health insurance and became a shareholder of the firm. In 2008, The Legal Project awarded her the Stanley A. Rosen Memorial Award for Pro Bono Service to Victims of Domestic Violence.
Cheryl resides in Hudson Falls with her husband William. They are the parents of four children: Thomas, Benjamin, Daniel, and Eliza. She currently serves on the Distribution Committee of The Glens Falls Foundation and is on the Board of Directors of Operation Santa Claus and The Hudson Falls Free Library. She is also a former member of the Hudson Falls Central School Board of Education.
John A. Toole (posthumously) ‘68, Educator/Coach
John “Jack” A. Toole was born on March 15, 1950 in Glens Falls to John and Joan Toole. With James, Mary Jane, and Joanne, Jack is one of four children. He attended St. Mary’s in Hudson Falls, and graduated from Hudson Falls High School in 1968. In high school, Jack broke multiple records including the school record for the mile. His time of 4:16 minutes still stands today. He finished his high school career as New York State Runner Up in the Track Championship.
As a result of his high school success, Jack earned a full track and field scholarship to the University of Nebraska. At Nebraska, he ran against the top runners in the country and won two Big Eight Championships. In 1973, he graduated from college and began working at Granville Elementary where he taught 4th, 5th, and 6th grade for 35 years. During his career, Jack was nominated for the Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers, Honoring Our Nation’s Most Respected Teachers in 1998, 2002, 2004, and 2005.
Along with teaching, Jack coached football and track for 46 years. Throughout his career, he coached at Hudson Falls High School, Granville High School, and he helped coach various players and runners from other school districts including Glens Falls and Queensbury. In the 1990s, he was also the head coach of the Glens Falls Greenjackets. Jack has had a decorated coaching career by winning numerous football championships and producing various championship runners. In 2015, he was inducted into the Greenjackets Hall of Fame.
What made Jack’s coaching special was not only the success of championships or by using his analytic techniques, rather it was special because of his strong influence on the players he coached and coaches he worked with. “Coach Toole” was special in that he cared and had so much passion for the game and the players he coached. He provided guidance on and off the field to his players, and cared not only about bringing out the best of their abilities but also about being the most successful in life they could be, no matter where life took them.
Accompanying all of his success, Jack married his wife of 27 years, Maria in 1991. He is the father of three children: Alexa, Christopher, and Ryan. Jack strove to be the best husband and father to his children that he could be. He was once asked what he was most proud of in life and without hesitation, he responded with, “I am most proud of my wife and my children.”
On October 20, 2018, Jack passed away after a courageous battle with cancer. Jack’s memory lives on in the family that survives him, and all those whose lives he touched in teaching and coaching in the most special way.
Dr. Richard Eaton Wardwell, ‘64 Engineer
The Glens Falls Hospital welcomed Richard Wardwell into this world on March 1, 1947. One month later he, his parents, and big sister, Beth, moved into a country farmhouse at the corner of Sanford Ridge and Vaughn Road where Richard lived for the next 21 years. He was educated in the Hudson Falls School District, starting in 1951 with Miss Rinfret’s kindergarten class, and finishing in 1964, graduating high school with an unremarkable record as he was mostly interested in skiing at Hickory Hill in the winter, and playing on Lake George in the summer.
After high school, Richard majored in Civil Engineering at the University of Vermont, graduating with a B.S. in 1968 while working school beaks at Rist-Frost Engineers. After college, he joined the Navy, where he trained as a Naval Flight Officer stationed at Maryland’s Patuxent River Naval Air Station tracking Russian submarines over the North Atlantic.
Discharged as a Lieutenant in 1972 and armed with VA benefits, Richard pursued graduate studies at the University of Maine (M.S. 1973) and Colorado State University (Ph.D. 1981), specializing in geotechnical and groundwater engineering. During the subsequent 28 years of experience, Dr. Wardwell started in academia, but then served as an engineering consultant evaluating earthwork stability and solid & hazardous waste disposal design, remediation, and reclamation.
While practicing in Maine, Richard was appointed by the Governor to serve on the Board of Environmental Protection (BEP) – a seven citizen panel tasked to assess the environmental impact associated with permit applications, appeals, and rulemaking that came before the State’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). He held this position for five years and as its chair for the last two.
Based on Dr. Wardwell’s engineering and adjudicatory experience, in 2005 he was selected to serve as a full-time technical judge for the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel (ASLBP) of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to adjudicate licenses challenged by outside parties regarding nuclear reactor operation and control of radioactive materials. During his 14 years on the ASLBP, Richard volunteered at food kitchens in Washington D.C., and for the Open Door Mission in Glens Falls.
In 2019, Richard retired to Lake George but continued volunteering at the Open Door Mission, gleaning excess groceries for food kitchens and pantries in Warren County. His spare time has been spent sprucing up his Lake George cottage, skiing, and maintaining his aviation skills as an FAA licensed commercial pilot and certificated flight instructor. Richard realizes he has been blessed to enjoy these activities and, especially to share life experiences with sons, Ethan of Bangor, ME, and Duncan of Richmond, VT, and with daughter-in-law, Amy, and two grandsons, Quinn and Alex.
Dr. Kevin B. Mercure, ‘93 Doctor/Educator
Kevin B. Mercure was born on April 4, 1975, to the Honorable Thomas and Theresa Mercure. He grew up on Clark Street in Hudson Falls with his siblings Kelly, Thomas, Michael, and Katie. The Mercure family still lives on Clark Street today.
Kevin has always felt that his four years at Hudson Falls High School were some of the best years of his life. He was president of his class – all four years – and president of the National Honor Society. He played the French horn in the band and was chosen to participate in the All-County Band Festival. He was in the drama club and was active at St. Mary’s/St. Paul’s Church in Hudson Falls serving on the Parish Council. Kevin was also very successful as a varsity athlete. He was a pole vaulter on the Tigers Championship Track teams in 1990, 1991, and 1992. He also played quarterback on the 1991 Tigers football team that beat Glens Falls to keep the Jug in Hudson Falls. On the Tigers 1992 varsity football team, he was a co-captain.
In 1993, after graduating from Hudson Falls High School, as salutatorian, Kevin entered the Siena College/Albany Medical College program in Art, Humanities, and Medicine. He graduated from Siena College summa cum laude in 1997 and won the St. Francis Medal. During his time at Siena, Kevin was involved with extensive service projects which included working on an Apache reservation in Arizona, in soup kitchens in Philadelphia, and working with victims of child abuse near Thunder Bay, Canada. He then graduated from Albany Medical College in 2001 after winning the Albert Yunich Award in Gastroenterology and thereafter completed a three-year internship and residency in Internal Medicine at Wake Forest University in 2004. He completed a three-year fellowship in gastroenterology and hepatology at Albany Medical Center in 2007 and is currently board certified in gastroenterology by the American Board of Internal Medicine.
Dr. Kevin Mercure has had an active gastroenterology practice for the past 14 years. He is currently an assistant professor of medicine and gastroenterology at the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine in Roanoke, Virginia. He supervises residents and treats patients throughout Southwest Virginia.
Kevin has two children, Jack and Mary. Kevin is active with the Boy Scouts of America. His hobbies include running, hiking, and mountain biking.
Richelle Ives-Archard, ’86 Healthcare management
Richelle Ives–Archard was born October 23, 1968, in North Bend, Oregon to Richard and Jean Ives while her dad was serving in the Air Force. In 1969 the family moved back to Hudson Falls. Richelle attended Burgoyne Avenue Elementary School then Hudson Falls Junior and Senior High Schools. She graduated in 1986. Her brothers, James and Timothy Ives, also graduated from Hudson Falls Schools. During her time in high school, she worked as a dietary aide at Fort Hudson Nursing Home as well as several full-time summer babysitting jobs.
Richelle attended Adirondack Community College for a semester after graduation. At that time she was unsure of a career path and decided to work full-time as a certified nurse’s aide at Fort Hudson Nursing Home. After several years at Fort Hudson, she decided to take a new path and worked as a commercial line underwriter for the United Community Insurance Company/The Lawrence Group in Glens Falls, New York. After several years the insurance company closed and Richelle decided to follow her heart and enrolled in the nursing program at Adirondack Community College. She graduated in 2000 with an Associate’s Degree in nursing.
Richelle worked at the Glens Falls Hospital as a Registered Nurse until 2004 when she took some time away from nursing to be at home with her two children. At that time she worked at the Glens Falls Family YMCA in the childcare room, fitness room, and as a preschool aide. From 2011 to 2013 Richelle worked as a Registered Nurse for Community, Work & Independence, Inc. In 2013 she took a position as the director of the assisted living program at Adirondack Manor, then in 2016 moved on to be the Director of the assisted living program at The Terrace at the Glen at Hiland Meadows.
While working full-time Richelle earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing, a Master’s Degree in Nursing Leadership and Management, and a Master’s Degree in Business specializing in Healthcare Management.
Richelle is currently working as Director of the Terrace at the Glen at Hiland Meadows, and also assists the Executive Director of the Glen. During the summer of 2021, the Glen started construction of a Memory Care center on-site and Richelle has been involved with the planning and development of this program.
Richelle is certified in assisted living nursing and is a member of the American Assisted Living Nurses Association and is also involved in the Alzheimer’s Association, The Adirondack Rural Health Network, and the Long Term Care Council.
She lives in Queensbury, New York with her husband Peter and her two children Emilee and Zachary.