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Explo: Mourning the Loss of One of Our Own

It is with great sorrow that we share the news that Alex Rothwell, an Explo alum, has passed.

For the past two summers, Alex attended both Explo at St. Mark's and Explo at Wellesley. His mother reports that he left Explo this summer with tremendous enthusiasm — and was already planning the courses he would take next summer.

Alex was an important member of the Explo community, and we convey our deepest sympathy to his parents, Susan and Jim Rothwell, as well as his brother Zachary, who attended Explo at St. Mark's this summer.

Below, with the blessing of his family, we're reprinting Alex's obituary as it appears on WestportNow.com:


Alexander Falcon Rothwell of Westport and Remsenburg, N.Y., died unexpectedly on Aug. 12. He was 13.

He was the son of Susan and Jim Rothwell and brother of Zachary. A family obituary said: “Joyous, singular soul, fearless explorer, adventurous spirit, fiery and sensitive, impulsive tinkerer, brilliant mathematician, science Olympian, voracious fantasy reader, Clash of Clans addict, ocean lover, prodigious builder of all things, and reluctant paddle board champion, Alex’s blazing smile lit the way." 

“His death devastates those he touched, yet our hearts overflow with the utmost pride in his life — in his intelligence, his wit, his energy, his beauty, and his unwavering faith in his ideas.”

A celebration of Alex’s life will be held Saturday, Aug. 24, at 11 a.m. at the Unitarian Church in Westport.

In lieu of flowers, the family asked consider making a small donation in Alex’s honor to Oceana, a cause that Alex cared about, at https://act.oceana.org/donate/d-donate.