SPRING 2015 WINteR 2015

Transcription

SPRING 2015 WINteR 2015
TH E
Winter 2015
SPRING 2015
From the Principal
Jim Meyer
A changing of the guard
Halfway through my first year as principal at St. Mary’s, a few
thoughts come to me as to why I’m so proud to be part of this
community and its rich legacy of educational excellence. I’ve
been a member of the St. Mary’s community for some time
now, and have seen it grow tremendously. Originally hailing
from Chicago, I lived in Scotland, Japan, and New Zealand,
before coming to St. Mary’s. I was hired to teach history and
help with the Advancement Department by Barbara Callaway,
whose daughter, Catherine Dauterman, incidentally, we recently
welcomed to the English department. Over the years, I’ve been
constantly inspired to work with such motivated individuals,
people who truly believe in the school and love teaching.
And to be honest, one need not search far for inspiration
at St. Mary’s. Just look at the history of the school: this
year St. Mary’s turns 150 years old, founded by young
women, nuns, who took a complete leap of faith.
They traveled 7,000 miles by stagecoach, train, and
ship through some of the roughest terrain and most
dangerous seas on earth, to start our school. Did they
imagine their school would last so long and come so
far? Was this the hope that got them through their
treacherous journey? I can’t fathom the faith, conviction,
courage, and sense of adventure held within them.
That sense of progress, that reaching to push the
boundaries of the known world, continues to fuel St. Mary’s
even today. Over the past ten alone, St. Mary’s has become
a veritable leader in global education, opening up seven
partner schools in China. Our boarding program has
become home to students from near and far, including
from countries like China, Mexico, Thailand, Rwanda,
Taiwan, and South Korea. People literally come from all
over because they know that at St. Mary’s the students
come first and the curriculum and adults, second. The
faculty and staff are imminently attentive and conscientious
that what they do is the best for the students. Though
St. Mary’s challenges her students to be the best that
they can be, throughout it all, the students are keenly
aware that the faculty and staff truly care for them.
My plan was to stay at St. Mary’s a couple of years, learn
how to fly fish and enjoy the beauty of southern Oregon
before moving back to the Midwest or going abroad to
teach. Instead, I fell in love with the school, its students,
and my colleagues. Twenty years later, I’m still here
and still absolutely love being at St. Mary’s and living
in our valley. Under Frank Phillip’s leadership, our
school is thriving. Frankly, I can’t imagine raising my
kids, or living, anywhere else. During my time here it’s
become apparent to me that St. Mary’s is a very special
school. Though I’ve only been here for a fraction of the
School’s history, I am constantly inspired by both the
impact of the past, as well as the promise of the future.
T HE
Messenger
INSIDE:
Celebrating our Sesquicentennial.......................................................... 3
Alumni Profile: Alexi Shean ‘12.............................................................. 4
Alumni Profile: Ellie Drosdick ‘06.......................................................... 6
Student Profile: Temple Holtzman ‘18.................................................. 8
A Gift From the Heart............................................................................ 10
Happenings Around Campus............................................................... 11
Athletics................................................................................................... 16
St. Mary’s: Did You Know?..................................................................... 18
Donor Gala and Annual Fund.............................................................. 20
Oldest Living St. Mary’s Alum............................................................... 22
Alumni Updates...................................................................................... 24
St. Mary’s School of Medford is located in the beautiful
Rogue Valley in southern Oregon.
St. Mary’s School is a co-ed, independent, Catholic, collegepreparatory school, teaching grades 6-12.
For more information see www.smschool.us.
Please send comments to [email protected] or call 541.773.7877.
Cover photo by Austin Peña ‘16
816 Black Oak Drive
Medford, OR 97504
541 773 7877
•
•
www.smschool.us
Our Mission
St. Mary’s School provides a community
in which intellectual curiosity and
academic excellence combine with
Catholic and democratic values to
inspire and prepare responsible local,
national, and global citizens.
Professional Excellence
St. Mary’s teachers inspire students to
achieve their potential in thought, word,
and deed. Creative and compassionate,
they provide a supportive community
that values excellence, integrity, and
diversity. Our teachers share a visible
enthusiasm for professionalism,
innovation, and scholarship.
Portrait of a Graduate
St. Mary’s School graduates students
who can use critical thinking and
knowledge to navigate with confidence
in diverse settings and show compassion
to others along the way. Our
students appreciate the cultures and
landscapes they encounter and lead
life guided by a true moral compass.
Board of Tr ustees
Eve Benton
Mirek Bobek
Christina Boccato ‘03
Kylie Clement
Dr. Charles Dibb
Mark Eberle
Jerry Eiler
Krissa Fernandes
Judy Gambee
Peter Grant
Eric Guyer ‘91
Jens Heyke
Rick Hood, Chair
Craig Johnson
Scott King
Frank Phillips
Nicole Sacks
Adrian Snyder
Father Mike Walker
Chuck Watson
Frank Phillips, Head of School
James Meyer, Upper School Head
Chris Johnson, Middle School Head
Rebecca Naumes Vega, Dir. of Admissions
Bethany Brown, Dir. of Advancement
1850
1855-1856
Jacksonville is incorporated.
Second Rogue Indian War.
From the President
Frank Phillips
A new beginning is just getting started
Our month of January takes its name,
aptly, from Janus, the liminal, tutelary
Roman god of doorways, gates and,
metaphorically, of new beginnings.
Janus had great perspective on things, particularly
because he sported two faces, one looking inwardly,
into the interior of the home or the walled city that he protected, and one
looking outward, into the wide world beyond, to see what was coming. In
temporal terms, Janus has one face directed back towards the past, and the
other peering forward into the future. As I write this, on the eve of a new year,
and in the year of St. Mary’s 150th anniversary, I find myself, Janus-like, looking
inside St. Mary’s as a small school in a small town, and looking outwards at our
growing internationalism and far-ranging, high achieving alumni. I find myself
regarding our past while looking forward to a new epoch for St. Mary’s School.
Our year began, as you can see from the beautiful
photos, with the student bodies of Sacred Heart Catholic
School and St. Mary’s School congregated in our gym,
the first time the student bodies of both schools have
been assembled since 1962 when the Black Oak Drive
campus opened, to rejoice in our shared history, our unity,
our accomplishments, our sense of purpose, and our
commitment to Catholic education in a Mass celebrated by
Archbishop Sample and several of our local priests. It was a
great time to look back and reflect upon the fine work done
by our St. Mary’s founders, trustees, clergy, nuns, teachers,
coaches, staff, and students over a century and a half.
This significant anniversary also provides a great impetus
for us to look forward and gird ourselves for the work to
ensure that,150 years hence, there exists an even better,
stronger version of St. Mary’s School. It’s fun to envision
a St. Mary’s School community, annō Domini 2165,
celebrating 300 years of greatness -- and commemorating
the work this generation and the coming ones will do
and will have done to make that celebration possible.
St. Mary’s is, indeed, entering a new phase in a rapidly
changing world, but our core values endure. We will never
lose our heritage of Western civilization, or in E.D. Hirsch’s
phrase, our emphasis on “cultural literacy.” We will always
have our students explore, in Matthew Arnold’s memorable
words from his still-very-relevant 1869 essay Culture and
Anarchy, “the best that has been thought and said.” In
short, we will continue to produce kind, open-minded,
well-educated people of great moral character who will
do good in this world. That will never change. What will
change, however, will be the addition of new subject areas,
new techniques of instruction and assessment, and the
diversity of our student body. These changes will come with
a vigorous and clear-eyed response to the technology, the
Internet, the dizzying advances in the sciences, and rampant
globalization that call upon us to prepare our students for a
world unlike that of their parents when they were in school,
or unlike that even of students who went to St. Mary’s just
a decade ago. To that end, let me introduce two ambitious
initiatives we will be undertaking in the coming year:
•
A capital campaign to build a new student
commons and science/STEM center;
•
St. Mary’s 2.0, a seven-term school year, with an eighth
optional summer “flex term,” and a re-imagined,
re-engineered curriculum with a much wider selection
of engaging, relevant courses for our students.
Readers of The Messenger will be hearing much more
about these bold initiatives in coming editions.
For now, I’m happy to report that the spirit of St. Mary’s
has never been stronger. We have a great faculty, staff, and
student body; we have a strong, strategically-focused board
Continued on page 7
1865
Father Francois X Blanchet raises $2,139 (about $61k) for a school, and invites three nuns from the Sisters of the Holy
Names of Jesus and Mary in Portland to. St. Mary’s opens its doors to 12 boarding students, and 33 day students.
Celebrating our
Sesquicentennial
The student bodies of St. Mary’s School
and Sacred Heart School celebrated
a Sesquicentennial mass together
in the St. Mary’s gym. It was the first
time in the school’s history that they
had come together for a mass.
1868
Smallpox ravages the Rogue Valley. St. Mary’s temporarily closes so the sisters can nurse the ill. For two months the sisters
work night and day. One sister dies from fatigue two years later, and another bears scars of the disease for the rest of her life.
Alumni Profile
Alexi Shean ‘12
St. Mary’s: How it Truly Serves its Students.
St. Mary’s School. We all know it as a great academic school
that is also well rounded, winning multiple Oregonian Cups
and State Championships. Just walking around campus you
can see all of the plaques and trophies that show this. But what
about the students, how does this school shape them?
I am a member of the St. Mary’s class of 2012. After
graduation I attended Lewis and Clark College (LC) in
Portland, Oregon where I was the youngest person in the
graduating class of 2015. I was able to graduate in just
three years with a Bachelors degree in Chemistry while also
being pre-med. While at LC I was a member of both the
varsity volleyball and track and field teams. Unfortunately,
I sustained a career ending shoulder injury my first
year and was only able to play one year of volleyball.
I have had a lot of people ask me how I was able to
graduate in three years from a private liberal arts
college while participating in varsity collegiate athletics.
1871
1885
St. Mary’s grants its first academic degree to Ida Beach.
Medford is incorporated.
Miracle Network Hospitals (CMNH). My younger sister
Hallie (’19) is a Miracle Kid and my initial inspiration to
get involved with CMNH. When I learned of the community
service requirement at St. Mary’s I knew this would be the
perfect organization to work with to fulfill that requirement
and then I ran with it. At the end of my four years I had
completed over 500 hours of service, had organized my
own fundraisers, had become a member of the CMNH
Leadership Committee at our local CMNH, Rogue Regional
Medical Center, and got to serve as a spokesperson
for CMNH across the state during my senior year.
Were it not for the community service requirement
at St. Mary’s I may not have gotten as involved with
CMNH as I was. I say this because CMNH has had such
a profound impact on my life. Through the work with
CMNH I have been inspired to become a pediatrician.
The experiences I have had with CMNH have made
me who I am today and are my driving force for my
future career. Were it not for St. Mary’s pushing me to
go out and serve the community I could be heading
down an entirely different path in life and would not
have the passion I have today for pediatric medicine.
My response- TIME MANAGEMENT! I bring this up
because high school is such an important time in an
individual’s academic life because that is where a lot
of habits for the future are created. Having a rigorous
academic schedule in high school while participating
in athletics and community service instilled in me time
management skills that I have continued to use today.
I am very grateful for the academically rigorous schedule
I had at St. Mary’s. Being a science major in college is
not easy and I was continually surprised and grateful
during my academic endeavors at LC at just how strong
my educational background was. This was especially
evident to me with chemistry and math. I was able to
skip the first semester of chemistry and be the top of my
class in the second semester chemistry class. Then, with
math, I went to the first day of Calculus II only to learn
that I already knew everything we would be learning
for the year and was able to go straight into Linear
Algebra being the only first year student in my class!
However, above all else, I am most grateful for my
community service opportunities at St. Mary’s. St. Mary’s
is unique because of this requirement. Each student must
complete 100 hours of community service, 125 hours if
you are a member of the National Honor Society. Then,
during your senior year, you must write a paper and make
a presentation about that service. This determines who gets
the purple cords at graduation and who is awarded the
Mary Francis of Assisi Community Service Award. While at
St. Mary’s I completed my hours by working with Children’s
St. Mary’s is an amazing academic school and will prepare
its students well for college. But, most importantly,
St. Mary’s is a school that invests in its students. It is a
school that works hard to make them good PEOPLE and
excellent CITIZENS. St. Mary’s, through its Catholic values
at its core, has created an atmosphere of acceptance,
academic rigor, and extracurricular success. However, as
a product of St. Mary’s, what I feel St. Mary’s does the
best is teach its student’s high moral values and how to
be good people through the service of others. It is this
factor that I feel makes St. Mary’s unique and is what has
made me the person I am today. These core values that
I was able to learn while attending St. Mary’s have been
the key to my passion, my success, and my future career.
This is something that many people do not realize and
something I myself did not fully comprehend until recently.
I hope every student at St. Mary’s is able to look past
the requirement aspect of community service to see an
opportunity to help others and grow as a person because, if
they do, their life can be shaped for the better as mine has.
*Just before we went to press, Alexi wrote to tell
us that she has been accepted to Pacific Northwest
University of Health Sciences and Western University
of Health Sciences and has chosen to attend Western
University. She will be starting school in August, 2016.
Opposite: Family photo from Alexi’s college graduation. Parents
are Laura and Gerald Shean. Little sister Hallie (’19); This
page:Alexi acting as the Asante CMNH representative at an Asante
fundraiser golf tournaments; Athletics: volleyball and high jump at
Lewis and Clark College
1889
St. Mary’s closes for repairs, as well as to reassess the “spiritual succor” in the area.
Alumni Profile
Ellie Drosdick ‘06
For the past three months, every
day has been strikingly similar. I
wake up, make myself a cup of
tea, sit in front of my computer,
and tell my story. In order to
become a doctor, I will be forced
to talk about myself. A lot.
When I was 16, I got sick. Very sick. I had been in
and out of doctors’ offices for months, complaining
of a low immune system, fatigue, and my remarkable
ability to contract every illness I encountered. Each
doctor chalked it up to “depression,” and “adolescent
ennui.” While I may have also had a touch of
those things, they were missing something.
On top of a general personal statement that is sent
to all of the medical schools to which I am applying,
each medical school admissions committee asks
for 3-6 essays, tailored to their specific program.
Every one of them wants to hear a perfectly crafted,
buttoned-up tale about how I came to want to be a
doctor, and how every event in my life has led me in
one, steadfast direction. The truth is, however, my
life has been a series of detours, the most significant
of which started my Junior year at St. Mary’s.
I was admitted to the hospital with a 104.4 degree fever in
the middle of the night, and stayed for several days before
my doctor sauntered in and announced, “Well, we think you
are going to make it.” I had septic shock, which means that
a lethal bacteria (in this case, campylobacter) had entered
my bloodstream, and untreated, would have plummeted
me into multisystem organ failure, and subsequent death.
We still don’t know what landed me in the Intensive Care
Unit in November of that year, but doctors agree that
it is one of two things: Costa Rica (bad poultry? Eggs?),
or uncooked cookie dough. But really, who knows?
I left the hospital after a week-long stay, and my family
and I were under the impression that everything
would go back to normal. It didn’t. The struggles I’d
had before my illness had escalated were still present,
1891
A nearly unanimous petition is signed by the entire population of Jacksonville,
asking for the reopening of the school. St. Mary’s reopens its doors.
only they’d became much worse. My fatigue was so
bad that I could barely stay upright for more than an
hour, which became clear after I tried to go back to AP
Physics class the following Monday. My immune system,
already weak from the infection, was further decimated
by the broad spectrum antibiotics that had saved my
life. I was alive, but every moment was a struggle.
I was truly blessed to be at St. Mary’s during all of this. The
support I was given by the staff and students continues
to warm my heart, and without it, I wouldn’t be where I
am today. I was granted a general pass that allowed me to
enter and exit school at will, depending on my physical
condition each day. I was given leniency when it came
to assignments and exams. On the last day of school
my senior year, when everyone was signing yearbooks, I
was on my way to take my AP Calculus midterm, which I
had yet to complete. Earlier that semester, I had tried to
withdraw from Calculus, but Mr. St. Onge would not accept
my resignation. He had generously written me a letter
of recommendation for Loyola Marymount University,
and he told me that if I quit Calculus, then I wasn’t the
person he’d written about, and would rescind his letter.
I hated him for it at the time, but I still think about
his bold refusal to let me give up, and I am grateful.
I graduated from St. Mary’s in 2006, and unfortunately,
my health did not significantly improve until my
Junior year of college. After going from doctor to
doctor (I’ve met a lot of doctors), who told me
they didn’t know why my health wasn’t improving,
I turned to Eastern Medicine, and it saved me.
While I had wanted to be a doctor since I turned four,
I could not ignore how much Western Medicine had
failed me. Upon graduating from Loyola Marymount in
2010, I started a graduate program in Chinese Medicine,
which was mostly a study of acupuncture and herbs.
It was a wonderful experience, and I was successful
in my studies, but 2 years into the 4 year program, I
realized it wasn’t going to be enough. I don’t just want
to do Eastern or Western Medicine, I want to do both.
I want to practice integrative medicine, and I want to
help people who may not know about the benefits of
alternative modalities, before it is their last resort.
This Fall I will be starting a Master’s Program at
Georgetown University, in Complementary and Alternative
Medicine. It is a one-year Master’s program, and it
emphasizes evidence-based integrative medicine, to
teach future med students how to communicate with
traditional Western doctors about how and why Eastern
medicine works. I am beyond thrilled to be attending.
When I was 16, the plan was to finish high school as soon
as possible, finish college swiftly, and become a doctor
as quickly as I could. While my experiences have been
challenging, confronting, and overwhelming, I am grateful
for the detours I’ve taken. I feel that these struggles
have made me a more well-rounded individual, and will
ultimately make me a better doctor. So I will keep telling
my story, I will keep evaluating my path, detours and all,
and I will keep aspiring to be the person Mr. St. Onge
once thought I could be. I think I’m getting closer.
From the President
continued from page 2
of trustees; we have a new President-Principal leadership
model to take us into a new epoch; and we have great
support from our community. A private school is very
much like a private university. It takes dedicated alumni
and current students and their families who love the
institution to support it and make sure it endures for future
generations of students. This year, an unprecedented
97% of our currently enrolled families contributed to the
St. Mary’s Annual Fund by Christmas break! This kind
of enthusiastic support bodes well for the next phase of
St. Mary’s School, and so we can create and sustain the
type of environment for students that Pope Francis, from
an address he gave in Brazil in 2013, describes below:
“Our generation will show that it can rise to the promise
found in each young person when we know how to give
them space. This means that we have to create the material
and spiritual conditions for their full development; to
give them a solid basis on which to build their lives;
to guarantee their safety and their education to be
everything they can be; to pass on to them lasting values
that make life worth living; to give them a transcendent
horizon for their thirst for authentic happiness and
their creativity for the good; to give them the legacy of
a world worthy of human life; and to awaken in them
their greatest potential as builders of their own destiny,
sharing responsibility for the future of everyone.”
1906
1908
Mayor Reddy and a number of Medford’s leading
citizens ask for the school to be moved to Medford.
St. Mary’s moves to its first Medford property on 13th and Hollyenrollment is at 126, faculty at 6, the school is almost 50 years old.
Student Profile
Temple Holtzman ‘18
I have always loved working with children,
and it has been a long term dream of
mine to volunteer at an orphanage.
Because it is incredibly difficult to work in the foster care
system within the US, I set my sights on Africa. With the
help of my uncle, I was put in contact with an organization
that works in Rwanda called the Point Foundation. One
of the causes this organization supports is children who
were once in the orphanage. As the orphanages close and
children are rehomed, the Point Foundation steps in to
provide a home for those unable to care for themselves.
During my time in Gisenyi, I went to each of the four houses
supported by the Point Foundation, and visited with the
residents. The residents were about 15-25 years old and all
had severe mental or physical disabilities. Each house I went
to I was greeted at the gate with smiles, and brought inside
to catch a glimpse of their lives. Sometimes this took place
by showing me their drawings, miming what they did during
the day, or any other form of communication. None of the
persons with disabilities spoke English, but their enthusiasm
was more than enough to make our short visits worthwhile.
On my first day, I toured the center and saw where
the PWDs spend most of their time during the week.
I was blown away by their craftsmanship. There were
sturdy flip flops made only out of cardboard and paper,
1920
The sisters create legal history by leading the successful movement to have the Oregon School Bill declared
unconstitutional. Precedent is set for Brown v. The Board of Education and Pierce v. The Society of Sisters
exquisite folders made from banana leaves, and many
beaded things, among others. The most surprising
was the knitting. There were maybe eight knitting
machines, and behind each one was someone working
it. The surprising part came in hearing that each
person behind the machines was blind. Looking at the
complex knitting contraptions, and then looking at the
beautiful sweaters, I would never have guessed it.
My favorite day by far was driving into the hills to find a
new location for a school. The difference between the town
and the hillside was massive. I was staying in a house that
could have electricity, running water, etc., but the hillside
consisted of entirely mud houses, few pumps for water,
and a lot of banana trees. As soon as I drove up, the entire
village was outside. There were 30 children, all trying to
see what was going on and the curiosity and excitement
was overwhelming. We live in a time of great technology,
and I am used to being able to Google something I don’t
know. However, for these children, I was likely one of
the first fair-skinned people they had ever seen. Their
knowledge of anything other than their lives is limited, yet
I was greeted with smiles and not a stereotype. They were
thrilled to take pictures, show me how they jump rope.
Throughout my entire trip, I was repeatedly met with
genuine kindness. Despite having grown up under poor
circumstances, not a single person I met was bitter or angry.
Because working with children is my passion, my hope is
to return to Rwanda and work in the primary and nursery
school with children ages 2-7. This coming year I am
fundraising to build another school in Gisenyi. Maybe
located on the mountain I visited. I wish to create a facility
that will have a lasting affect on the children who attend.
Education is something that many people take for granted,
yet it is of immeasurable importance for these children.
For many, their biggest dream is to attend school. Although
my visit to the nursery school was brief, it left a lasting
impression. The excitement on the children’s faces at
coming back to school from a break was contagious, and I
wholeheartedly look forward to volunteering with them.
Opposite page, clockwise from top: Showing the kids a picture that they had just posed for; carers with a child with disabilities; visiting a
house – residents singing. This page, top: looking for a new school location; above: a few of the 37 dresses.
1930
1947
Jack Smith is the first male to graduate from St. Mary’s.
St. Mary’s closes its boarding program.
A Gift From the Heart
It’s not often that one receives a gift such as one that was
received by St. Mary’s School just before Christmas. Our
Director of Advancement, Bethany Brown, and Principal,
Jim Meyer, were asked to meet Mrs. Ordal, mother of
Hailey ’16, in the chapel at noon on a Tuesday. Little
did they know, that Mrs. Ordal had in store for them…
A true labor of love, Mrs. Ordal handmade a St. Mary’s
150th Anniversary Altar Cloth for the Chapel as a gift and
thank you to the school upon her daughter’s graduation.
Included with the altar cloth was a
description written by Mrs. Ordal;
The inspirations for the cloth were the altar cloths of
St. Stephen’s Basilica in Budapest and of Karlskirche
in Vienna. St. Stephens Basilica was unfortunately hit
during the Allied Bombing raids during World War II
and left mostly in a state of disrepair during the years
of Communism. The Communists intimidated people
from going to church or expressing their faith via fears
of torture and death, but they could not purge God from
the hearts of the people. When Communism waivered,
and later fell, the church was restored. Karlskirche was
built in gratitude that one of plagues of Europe was
over. It was an altar cloth there that inspired the edging
along the sides of the St. Mary’s Anniversary altar cloth.
The SMS altar cloth is made of 100% Italian linen, in
honor of the home country of the chapel that inspired
the St. Mary’s Chapel. The crochet is of 100% cotton. A
partial antique pattern was used as inspiration for the
side edges however, the pattern was modified to make
it unique. The crocheted ends are completely newly
designed and created for the St. Mary’s Chapel only.
Embroidered on the linen are 5 crosses to represent
the wounds of Christ. The crosses are in the four
corners and midway on the front edge of the linen.
The cloth should be rolled and not folded, onto its
padded rod, then covered with its cloth bag. This
method of storage represents the Shroud of Jesus.
The cloth should be stored flat and not vertically.
This altar cloth is the result of over 300 hours of
handwork by Kathie Linn Ordal and is given to the
Chapel of St. Mary’s School on their 150th anniversary.
Thank you, Mrs. Ordal for this beautiful heirloom
gift. It will be enjoyed and cherished by the
St. Mary’s community for years to come.
1949
St. Mary’s becomes a parish school when it is purchased by Sacred Heart Parish
and officially assumes the name St. Mary’s School. Enrollment is over 300.
Happenings Around Campus
Hygiene for Local Youth
Our Interact Club has teamed up to assemble dental
hygiene kits for local youth. The Oregon Community
Foundation (OCF) provided materials for 300 kits and
Medford Rogue Rotary members Darren Ravassinpour
of Ravassipour Orthodontics, Mark Hageman, DDS, and
East Main Dental matched that number. Each kit contains
a toothbrush, toothpaste, 2-minute timer, and dental
floss. They’re all packed in a cool pencil box-like case,
complete with care instructions in English and Spanish.
The kits will be distributed free of charge at the
Head Start program in Central Point and through
the Maslow Project serving homeless youth in Jackson
County. Assembly of the kits took place on Wednesday,
April 15th at 12:30pm in the St. Mary’s gym.
1952
A second school is built on the same site to accommodate growing numbers.
KUA Jog A Thon
Last May, Kids Unlimited
Academy in Medford held
their first ever Jog-a-thon at
the St. Mary’s track. Over 75
St. Mary’s students mentor Kids
Unlimited students, so it was
a natural fit for our students
to participate in the Jog-athon. The day focused around
fitness, fun and mentorship
fun for both student bodies.
1960
1962
The parish separates the growing schools into two schools:
St. Mary’s High School, and Sacred Heart Elementary.
St. Mary’s High School moves to its current location on
Black Oak Drive. The school is almost 100 years old.
Jim Meyer sponsored Evan Koningsman ‘18 and Dyaln
Fecto ‘17 in their Confirmation into the Catholic church at
St. Anne’s Catholic Church in Grants Pass on May 16, 2015.
Lucas Hill ‘19 placed 1st in the 12-15 yr old Intermediate
Men’s Weapons Kata & 3rd in Fighting at the UFAF Chun
Kuk Do World Championships, which was held in Las Vegas
in July. He trains at Chip Wright’s Champion Karate.
Riley O’Sullivan ‘15 was names Ashland Rotary Student
of the Month for March 2015.
John Healy ‘21, aka The American Dashan, represented
St. Mary’s School in The Fifth Class US West Coast National
Speech Contest in Chinese language and won the First Prize
in this High School only contest in Santa Clara, California.
Contestants from the San Francisco Consular District which
includes Northern California and the States of Nevada,
Oregon, Washington, and Alaska competed.
Maddy Schwartz ‘15 and Ally Waldron ‘15 entered a five
minute film (“Free Fall”) in the Launch program and won
first place! “Our film was screened at the Ashland Street
Cinema along with other Launch winners and even with
films from animators like Pixar. It was so rewarding and
exciting seeing our movie up on the big screen and being
able to meet other filmmakers.”
“The film involved seven kids under the age of nine and
we filmed everything over a weekend. Maddy and I didn’t
think the footage we got would make be able to tell a
cohesive story, but in the end it turned out pretty cute. We
both had a great experience with the festival and we are
already writing out the script for our next film entry.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y89tM3k70CY
Congratulations to Denten Edwards ‘15 for selection to
the East Shrine Team. He will be representing St. Mary’s
School at the 2014-2015 Shrine All-Star Football Game on
August 1st.
Ashley Rietman ‘17 and Genna Dorrell ‘11 each earned a
trip to the East Coast next summer, where they will tour
Philadelphia, New York, Washington D.C. and other points
of interest. Both students competed in the United Nations
Educational Pilgrimage for Youth contest through the
Order of Odd Fellows. The students were required to
complete an essay, give a speech, and interview about
“Which program of the United Nations is most beneficial to
the youth of the world and why?”
1971
Sacred Heart Parish can’t afford to continue running St. Mary’s High School and makes the decision to close its doors. A “Save
St. Mary’s Committee” is formed, and St. Mary’s is incorporated as the first independent Catholic school in the State of Oregon.
Hancock Field Station
This was the 19th year that our
7th graders have travelled to the
Hancock Field Station in eastern
Oregon. Our students spent about
5 hours a day for two days learning
about geology, paleontology,
and arid lands ecology.
For the rest of the day, they
participated in team-building
activities, learned how to use
a compass, and learned about
(and trying to catch!) reptiles
and amphibians around camp.
1972
St. Mary’s establishes itself as a Class 2A powerhouse in major sports winning many state
championships in football, baseball, basketball, and track between 1971 and 1985
Middle School Art Week
The middle school students had a wonderful Art Week
last spring! The week was focused on gaining inspiration
from artists in residence, celebrating the power of making
art and sharing student art work. Student activities
included decorating the campus, face painting, a large
group color wheel, a field trip to the Rogue Gallery and
Art Center, a Middle School Art Festival, a scavenger
hunt, and a potluck. During Art Week, St. Mary’s School
shined with excitement for creative expression. It was
a truly beautiful week for the whole community!
At h l e t i c s
1985
The school encounters declining enrollment and financial hardship. Barbara Callaway is appointed by the Board and charged
her with re-dedicating the school to academic rigor and high quality college preparation. AP classes grow to 21 offered.
Athletics
Volleyball
The crusader volleyball team ended their season with
an overall record of 13-14, which landed them in the
first round of the state tournament where they were
defeated by Vale District 84 High School. Players
recognized with league honors are as follows:
1st Team All League Mackenzie Addington
‘17 (Defensive Player of the Year), Madi
Christensen ‘17 and Ashley Rietmann ‘17.
2nd Team All League Sarah Thisted ‘16
Honorable Mention All League Emily
Johnson ‘16 and Hallie Shean ‘19
Football
Our football team ended their season with an overall record
of 4-5. Many of our players made the All Conference Teams:
1st Team Offense: Tanner Smith ‘16, Bryce
Bramscher ‘17, Nick VanValkenberg ‘16; Defense:
Tanner Smith ‘16, Nick VanValkenberg ‘16
2nd Team Offense: Thys Kuitert ‘17, Ryan Trask
‘17, Thomas Cox ‘17, Kyle Cahn ‘18; Defense:
Graeden Bird ‘16, Ben Robinson ‘17, Kele Eaton
‘16, Jake Reynolds ‘19, Kyle Cahn ‘18
Honorable Mention Offense: Ty Mulholland ‘16
Cross Country
This season our girls cross country
team won the crown of state
title. Marissa Dobry ‘16 took the
individual crown in 18 minutes, 39
seconds, followed by her teamates,
Emma Bennion ‘19 (9th, 20:04),
Lindsey Gurr ‘18 (20th, 21:13 ),
Madeline Volk ‘16 (27th, 21:30)
and Meg Vasey ‘16 (28th 21:40).
The boys team also competed at the
state meet and finished 12th overall,
lead by excellent performances by
Evan Koenigsman ‘18 and Tyler
Cochran ‘18. Longtime St. Mary’s
coach, Joe Volk was awarded the
District 6 Coach of the Year.
Honorable Mention All League Austin
Pena ‘16, Eli Conway ‘16, Weston
Grant ‘17 and Ryan Trask ‘17
Soccer
Our girls team also dominated
the All League selections.
Both the boys (15-3 overall record)
and girls soccer (14-3-1 overall record)
teams made it all the way to the state
semi-finals this fall. The Crusaders
lead the OSAA Boys Soccer Special
District 5 All League Selections with
naming the following players:
2nd Team All League Sara Klott
‘18, Allie Buccino ‘16, Sabrina
Miller ‘16 and Emily Elmore ‘16
1st Team All League Hunter Rothfus
‘16 and Alex Robertson ‘16
Honorable Mention All League
Emily Riehlman ‘16
2nd Team All League Bryce Parsons
‘16 and Justin Hawkins ‘16
1st Team All League MaryBeth Barnum
‘16 (Conference Player of the Year),
Ellie Hough ‘16 and Ibixia Alvarez ‘19
1985
1987
Current staff member Chako Hill is hired.
A fire severely damages Sacred Heart School, and the
7th and 8th grades are moved to the St. Mary’s campus.
1992
With the approval of Archbishop Levada, a 6th grade is added to St. Mary’s.
70%
Thanks to our no-cut sports
policy, nearly ¾ of St. Mary’s
students participate in
a team sport. St. Mary’s
athletics has won 5 out of 8
Oregonian Cup Awards.
100%
2015 SAT Performance
St. Mary’s Average
Oregon Average
United States Average
Verbal
Math
Writing
Combined
603
565
601
1769
523
522
499
1544
497
513
487
1497
Writing well promises
success in college
and in career.
The entire class of 2015 was
accepted to a college or
university.
Written communication
matters in nearly every walk
of life. We teach students
the steps to write well, and
that writing is a means of
self expression. We teach
our students to express
themselves in clear, direct,
organized, and accurate
language.
2007
After 68 years, St. Mary’s reopens its boarding program and welcomes Chinese,
South Korean, Thai, and students from several other countries to its campus.
17.5

The average class size is
15-20 students
37

Number of clubs
and organizations
at St. Mary’s
70%
Nearly ¾ of our
faculty hold
advanced degrees
41%
There are 472 students in the 2015-16
St. Mary’s student body. Nearly half of them
receive finanical aid.
24
Number of AP classes offered at St. Mary’s
Art History
Biology
Calculus AB
Calculus BC
Chemistry
Chinese Language
Comparative
Government
Computer Science
English Literature
Environmental Science
German Language
Macro Economics
Micro Economics
Physics I
Physics II
Physics: Mechanics
Psychology
Spanish Language
Spanish Literature
Statistics
Studio Art
U.S. Government
U.S. History
World History
Last year, St. Mary’s had 23 AP Scholars;
12 AP Scholars with Honors and 17 AP
Scholars with Distinction. In the spring of
2015 AP tests were taken by 151 St. Mary’s
students
6.4M
$
College Counseling
St. Mary’s begins building a solid path to
college the first day your child walks through
our doors. St. Mary’s average SAT scores are
270 and 300 points higher than North and
South Medford high schools, respectively.
The class of 2015 had
76 graduates
who earned
over $6.4 million in
college scholarships
and grants.
2008
St. Mary’s School partners with the Chinese Ministry of Education to open the first Confucius Classroom at
a secondary school in the United States, allowing excellence in Mandarin education in the Rogue Valley.
St. Mary’s
donor gala
A speical thank you to all
those who have given to the
St. Mary’s Annual Fund.
Your contributions of
money, time, and in-kind
gifts support the school in
more ways than you can
ever imagine. Without
you, we would be unable
to realize our mission to
create global citizens.
Thank you.
2012
As a pioneer in international education, St. Mary’s opens
its first branch campus in China, St. Mary’s-Shanghai.
St. Mary’s Annual Fund
When you give a gift to the St. Mary’s Annual
Fund you support MANY worthy activities.
What does Phil Fund?
Financial aid
We’ve awarded over $1.1M to 40% of
the student body this year alone!
Springerim
Robotics Teams
Mock Trial
Brain Bowl
St. Mary’s Chapel
Technology equipment
Science Equipment
Physical Education Equipment
Model UN
Math Team
Geography Bee
St. Mary’s Garden
Art Supplies
Faculty Professional Development
Facility Upgrades
Featured project for 2015-16
This year, with your help, we can re-finish the Multi
Purpose Room into a Makerspace, which will provide
hands-on, creative ways to encourage students to
design, experiment, build, and invent as they deeply
engage in science, engineering, and tinkering.
This will be the space where our students will
gather to make robots, collaborate on photography,
create digital art, music, movies, and games with
computers and mixers, and engineer new projects.
It’s become apparent that our students need this space.
And it will only happen with your support. Please keep the
Makerspace in mind when making your contribution to
the St. Mary’s Annual Fund, and let’s get started creating!
All the St. Mary’s faculty and staff are Phil!
They contributed over $30,000 within the first week of school!
Be Phil. Give a gift today.
give online at smschool.us/phil or call 541-773-7877.
2013
2014
St. Mary’s opens three more branch campuses in China,
St. Mary’s-Pinghu, St. Mary’s-Wuhan and St. Mary’s-Shunde.
St. Mary’s opens its fifth school
in China, St. Mary’s-Guiyang.
Jack Rentz: Oldest Living Alum
by Sophia Palosaari ‘06
at the same time “Do you want to tell it?” Helen continues
with the air of someone who knows the story well: “He was
very small, and the three boys [his friends] were always in
some mischief, and they went up on the third floor, and
they found a laundry chute, and they decided to throw
Jack down the laundry chute. Course they got caught…”
Jack picks up here: “Sister Superior looked down, and I
looked up and she thought I was one of the grade students,
not the high school and she called me in for picking
on the grade school, and I got the hands whacked”.
“Did you really get your hands whacked?” I ask.
“Oh yeah!” he says laughing, “Oh yeah, no problem!” That’s
when he says he learned the most important lesson he ever
received from St. Mary’s: “Don’t argue with the nuns.”
It can be difficult to confront the national history we all
share. As I personally experienced recently, when one of
St. Mary’s own sat down with me to recount some memories
of his time both at St. Mary’s and beyond, soldier’s stories can
be especially hard to hear. While writing this article, I found
myself reflecting on the importance of remembering these
people, and their lives, if only so that history not be repeated.
Jack Rentz sits across from me, his baseball cap politely resting
on one knee. This is a man who was schooled by nuns - he
knows to take his cap off indoors and will do so again later
when I show him the St. Mary’s Chapel. On his cap are
printed the words WWII and Korea Veteran. Between these,
lies a golden star - an indicator of the bronze star of valour
he received while serving. Jack is a veteran of the US Marine
Corps. He’s also an alumn, or, would have been had he not
been called away to service in the summer of 1943, during one
of the bloodiest times our country had seen to date, WWII.
“All of us were aware of the fact that a lot of us were
leaving sooner or later,” he says. “At the young age of 17
you’re indestructible, at least that’s the way a 17 year old
looks at it. So thinking about it, going into the service was
a big thrill. It was a new adventure. And it takes awhile,
one moment of the first shot, and you realize it isn’t.”
Beside him, sitting demurely, is his wife Helen, to whom he’s
been married for 68 years. An elegant woman, Helen provides
support throughout the interview which ranges through some
difficult memories. Having raised four children together in the
Catholic faith—three of whom attended St. Mary’s (Kathy ‘67,
Linda ‘69, Jim, and John ‘75)—it’s apparent they are finely
tuned to one another, often completing each other’s sentences.
Our interview begins with Jack’s time
at St. Mary’s before the war:
“He was very small….” his wife offers. They speak over each
other for a second, the easy back and forth plain. Then,
He recalls too, the music of his time, and another instance of
trouble with the nuns: “Oh the bands, well all the bands were
the big bands of that time, jitterbugging was in. In fact, we even
had dances at the old school up on the top floor. Yup! Almost
got kicked out of school for that one too! I don’t know if you
remember the jitterbug, but they had what they call pecking.”
I stand and apparently do the Charleston “Like this?” I ask.
“No, no” the couple say kindly. “You have to peck! This gal
and I were pecking and… “Rentz!” he recalls one of the
nuns yelling and whistles. “My folks had to come down and
get me on that one, that was a moral [transgression].”
For all the “trouble” Jack got in, he remembers the nuns
fondly: “The nuns were patient, particularly with me. We
came up from California and we first lived in Klamath
Falls. California had a satisfactory, that was the grade,
there was nothing else, all students got satisfactory.
Whether you were flunking or not, you got satisfactory on
your report card, and I was one of those that I was really
flunking... A nun in Klamath Falls, Sister Bertha Marie
started helping me to catch up with everybody else. I’ve
often thought of her. She was a marvelous teacher.”
The wife interjects “And the nuns here
were the same, [weren’t] they?”
“Oh yeah.” He says. “And they picked up where she left off.”
At this point in the interview, Jack begins
speaking about his service.
“I was going to be a senior. I enlisted when I was 17, but
the next day after taking the oath, I turned 18. And on
the 19th birthday I was in combat. I was with the 2nd and 4th
Marine Division, but I’m ahead of myself. When I enlisted,
the reason was because I didn’t want to go in the Army
and live in a foxhole. So I joined the Navy. We took our
training at Farragut, Idaho. After the basic training you
put in for schools that you wanted to go to, and I’d always
wanted to be with the Aviation, naturally. The first draft
after graduation from basic I went over [to the enlistment
Ca m p u s N e w s
2015
St. Mary’s School continues to internationalize, opening two new branch
campuses in China, St. Mary’s-Zhengzhou and St. Mary’s-Yangshe.
registry] and they had 50 names on it, and they were all
assigned to hospitals, to [Medical] Corps School. Well, my
name was on it, but I was able to avoid that draft because I
happened to have pneumonia and I was in the hospital. I
came back thinking “Well, I won’t have to worry about it.”
“I got put back in it again.
“We went to Corps School...and I was sent to Camp
Pendleton, in California. It was a huge big marine base,
and I was working in the hospital there. I was there a
very short time and I was transferred to the Marines.
I was sent to Elliot to start my Marine training.
“I ended up in a foxhole anyway.
“So I served with the 2nd and 4th Marine divisions during the
war. The 2nd Marine Division was the invasion of Saipan. And
the 4th Marine division was a sister island of Tinian. I was with
a squad and we administered aid as quickly as possible. When
we left the United States, we all had our big red patches on our
helmets and everything. We stuck out like a sore thumb. And
they took all of those away in Hawaii, and we dressed just like a
Marine, because it didn’t take the Japanese long to know that
if you killed one [Medical] Corpsman, several Marines, more
than several, would die before you could get aid to them.
“To give you an example, in Oita, one of the first islands
that the Marines invaded, there was a mistake in the tides
and the boats that we had at that time, they took water all
the way up to the shore. Well, the tide was out, and they hit
the reef. They had to wade ashore for 200 yards. And they
just chopped them to pieces. Twenty corpsman lost their
lives on that day, it was that bad. They were just waiting for
them. So this is what they did. I was with a combat unit, and
we secured an island, and we went on patrols to find the
holdouts that were living in caves. The people of Saipan
were convinced that the Marines would eat the kids.
His eyes glisten as he continues: “So momma
with her kids would throw them off the cliffs
and she would jump after them.”
“But after the island was secured-secured means walked
across the island; it doesn’t mean that all resistance [is
subdued], there’s still some hiding out, well, the civilians
were starting to come in.” He stops now, unable to go on,
takes a moment and continues: “And in Saipan there were
buildings in there and two of us were assigned to take care of
the children, and so we were building mosquito proof little
cribs to put them in and the mothers would fight us because
they were sure we would take them out and eat them. But
we finally succeeded, and we had our own nursery there.”
Here, Jack is more moved than at any other
point in the interview: “It was nice.”
He continues, “That was a long time ago. The 4 Marine
division, I was assigned was an evacuation unit. The wounded
would be brought to our spot and there we would administer
whatever was necessary to get them to a ship and a hospital.
th
“Tinian was the smallest...beachhead that the Marines had
ever made, it was 50 yards wide. What we were doing….
is we made the enemy think we would land the full force
there. And so they brought their people to stop them there,
and actually the whole fleet, the rest of the [troops] came
in from the city side of the island. And they had just a small
contingency guarding that 50 yards because they didn’t think
nobody could land on 50 yards. But the Marines did. My ship,
my boat missed the beach and in Tinian it’s unusual, but
the land comes right up and then there’s a cliff! And there
is no sand, no nothing, there’s just a cliff. We got off of the
cliff and I got mixed up and got lost, and I was by myself on
the shore. That’s when. He stops, again overcome, his wife
continues: “ He went underneath a hill, and every time he
tried to get out, there was Japanese on the side and they
would shoot at him. And finally he heard this Marine on top
say “Ok, Corpsman! Get out of there!” and he did, so that’s
why he’s here today. And so we’ve been married 68 years.
And I’m proud of it, I was awarded the bronze star, with a
V for Valour on that Tinian when I caught up with them.”
The wife resumes, and they begin to finish each other’s
sentences: “They called him back to Korea, you know”
He picks up: “We had two daughters and they called me back”
“they needed Corpsman so bad that….” she says.
He points out the blue on his hat: “This is a United Nation’s
ribbon. And I was with the United Nations on that one.”
“He served on a hospital ship over in Korea…” she continues.
“....over in Piyeson Harbour”
She picks up: “And he came back paralyzed, so we thank
the Lord every day because they kept saying [mobility] was
going to come back and right now he has a 52% disability,
but he can walk. The only thing he could use [when he
came back] was his right arm, and move his head.”
His story ends simply: “They flew me back”.
There is a long moment before anyone speaks again.
In a world of Hollywood glamorization of violence,
it’s easy to forget that for so many, these stories were
not fiction, they were about one’s own survival.
After the war, Jack didn’t just survive, he thrived. He would
go on to work as a salesman for Gerber Products Company
for 27 years until his retirement. His flock would grow to
include children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.
I finally ask my last question, noting he’s lived three times as
long as I have: “What are your hopes for the next 150 years?”
“I won’t make it” He says with a small laugh.
“We don’t know that” I say smiling back.
“Well, we have twenty great grandchildren, and two more
on the way, so we’re hoping St. Mary’s is here for our
future generations, and I think of my daughters, and
granddaughters who graduated through here. There’s
no better type of education. Keep goin’ St. Mary’s”
As to their hopes for the world?
“Peace.”
Alumni News
2015
St. Mary’s School turns 150 years old!
Alumni News
Cassandra Carothers ‘11, Brown
University class of ‘15 was an All
American Scholar for 2013. The
criteria for selection to the AllAmerican Scholar Team are some of
the most stringent in all of college
athletics. The minimum cumulative
GPA is 3.50.
Sarah Ramsay ‘14, was awarded a
full scholarship to the 2015 Summer
Foreign Language and Areas Studies
(FLAS) Fellowship for the study of
Chinese at the University of Oregon.
She has also been accepted to the
CIEE summer accelerated Chinese
program in Shanghai this Summer.
Ben Kline ‘09 graduated from West
Point on May 23rd and is commissioned
as a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States
Army.
Emma Werner ‘15 received a gold
medal for her performance in the
National German Exam.
Ellen Nastassia Drosdick ‘06 was
accepted to Georgetown University.
She plans to get her masters in
Physiology and Bio physics.
Tia Khachitpat ‘06 is graduating
from Baylor University with a Masters
in Social Work.
Nic Patella ‘98 was the speaker at
last year’s graduation ceremony. Nic
currently works for the World Bank on
infrastructure projects in Nepal,
Bhutan, India, and Bangladesh.
Riley Parsons ‘12 and Marco
Ciccone received the $5000 grand
prize in the first annual CIE Business
Plan Pitch Competition. Riley is
currently attending Santa Clara
University.
Mia Harrie ‘13 Will be traveling to
Beijing to attend Minzu University of
China for two months this coming
summer. As this is an intensive
language program, Mia has made a
pledge to speak only Chinese while
there. Enough scholarship was given to
her so that the trip will be almost free
of charge.
Rachel Morey ‘06 married Prescott
Garner on October 10, 2015 at the
St. Mary’s School Chapel.
April Strickland ‘98, who is currently
a visiting assistant professor in the
Department of Sociology and
Anthropology at Bowdoin College, is
fresh off work on Belief, a seven-part
documentary for Oprah Winfrey that
debuted October 18. Strickland was
the senior researcher for the
documentary, which offers intimate
portraits of belief systems across the
world. “Over the course of three years,
we shot in 33 countries and six
continents,” says Strickland. “I worked
on the project from its conception in
pre-production to its completion.”
Dick Iven ‘46 and his wife Charlotte,
just celebrated their 60th anniversary.
They live in Cottage Grove, OR.
Priyanka Samra ‘08 is competing in
the Miss Oregon USA pageant in
Gresham this November She is an
advocate and is raising awareness for
Habitat for Humanity and Unique
Home.
Mary Stallings ‘10, Jim Meyer
(holding Mary’s baby Benjamin),
Rachel Bennion ‘15, Sarah Bennion ‘15
and her fiancé Chris Keenan.
Jerry ‘62 and Pat (O’Hara) ‘62
Higgins (who met during their junior
year at St. Mary’s) recently celebrated
their 50th wedding anniversary with
their family in Ireland. They report
that they are now both retired from
teaching and live in the mountains
near Klamath Falls.
to teach an outdoor education
curriculum that she had written.
Named the St. Mary’s student of
the year in 2003, Katie went on to
attend the University of Oregon
where she earned an environmental
studies degree. She later earned
a master’s degree in education at
Southern Oregon University.
Rich Zielony, father of Amanda
(Zielony) Smith ‘98, Maren (Zielony)
Schultz ‘00, Kristen (Zielony) Ashurex
‘01 and Kathryn Zielony ‘04, passed
away on May 10, 2015.
Art Eaton, grandfather of Mary
Eaton ‘13 passed away on June 10,
2015.
Stephanie O’Dell ‘65, passed away
on July 16, 2015.
Barbara Gentry, mother of
Alexander Gentry ‘10 passed away on
September 29, 2015.
Claire Crawley ‘07 and David
Delgado ‘07, St. Mary’s high school
sweethearts, were married on June 20,
2015 at Roxy Ann Winery in Medford.
St. Mary’s friends and family in
attendance were: Anne Lise Delgado
‘16, Joseph Delgado ‘10, Michael
Delgado ‘06, Jessica (Grant) Heiner
‘02, Collin Grant ‘05, Austin Grant ‘06,
Keenan Grant ‘10, Weston Grant ‘18,
Chris Sutton ‘07, Robert Boggess ‘07,
Thomas Watson ‘07, Sophia Cooper
‘20, Danielle Shubat ‘10
Obituaries
Bruce Hough, father of Christie
(Governor) Montelongo ‘97, Neil
Governor ‘00 and Scott Governor,
passed away on November 16, 2015.
Carole Gerdes ‘61, passed away on
July 22, 2015.
Craig Garfield ‘74, brother of Karol
Mrocezek ‘70 and Brad Garfield ‘71,
lost his courageous battle with ALS
(Lou Gehrig’s Disease) on July 19,
2015.
Edward Kelly ‘53 passed away on
June 10, 2015.
Joan Molatore, mother of Tonya
(Molatore) Alger ‘97, Tyler Molatore
‘97 and Luke Molatore ‘96, passed
away on September 4, 2015.
Katie was a science teacher at Hedrick
Middle School, and had plans to
return to Honduras next summer
Toni Adams Bianchini ‘61 passed
away on March 30, 2015. Toni, is
survived by her husband, Larry
Bianchini and their children: daughter,
Denise and son, Mark. Toni was an
example of courage, inspiration, and
LOL sense of humor.
Paula George, mother of Nicholas
Pierce ‘01, and Sam George (who
attended St. Mary’s with the class of
2006), passed away on December 21,
2015.
Bob Gervais, father of Matt Gervais
‘10, passed away on December 7, 2015.
Dorothea Batchelder, grandmother
of Melissa Grice ‘03 and Michelle
Teeters ‘01, passed away on September
13, 2015.
Edward Fogel ‘58 passed away on
October 25, 2015.
Katie MacDiarmid ‘03, passed on
December 19, 2015 from a tragic auto
accident in northern California en
route to a rock-climbing expedition in
Bishop. She was a beloved student,
classmate and friend to all who knew
her.
Rudolph Driscoll, father of Cooper
Driscoll ‘20, passed away on July 21,
2015.
Laval Meunier ‘56 passed away on
July 13, 2015.
Merilyn Clizer, grandmother of
Elizabeth (Boggess) Bunn ‘05, Robert
Boggess ‘07 and Silas Boggess ‘09,
passed away on November 7, 2015.
Polly Arnold, grandmother of Lillie
Shepherd ‘16, passed away on May 28,
2015.
Larry Walker, father of Brad Walker
‘85 and longtime St. Mary’s football
coach, athletic director, teacher and
onetime principal passed away on
December 29, 2015. Walker was 17427-1 at St. Mary’s from 1967 to 1985,
earning state crowns in 1969, ‘70, ‘78,
‘79, ‘81, ‘82 and ‘83. His teams once
reeled off 76 straight regular-season
victories over a nine-year period before
Yoncalla ended the streak, 17-10, at
Spiegelberg Stadium Oct. 7, 1983.
Jim Gregg ‘82 who played for Coach
Walker said, “He had a calm way about
him. Before a game he would pump
you up to play your best. By the time
we left the tunnel we were all ready
to play. He was a great motivator.”
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