Alumni Connecti N - St. Vincent-St. Mary High School

Alumni Alley
Happy 90th Birthday
Mary Elizabeth Dies V36
Liz Raines VM80 writes…..
Mary Elizabeth Dies turned 90 years old on February 19,
2008. She, like her 7 siblings, was raised in West Akron and
graduated from St. Vincent Grade School. All of the Dies
children then went on to graduate from St. Vincent High
School; Mary Elizabeth was a member of the Class of 1936.
Mary Elizabeth very fondly remembers her years at St. V,
saying that back then, she loved going to the football games to
watch the legendary Eddie Wentz coach The Fighting Irish. At
the time, St. V's fiercest rival was West High School, and this
was a game not to be missed. Her brothers, Bernie, Jerry, Bill,
and Jim, played sports for the Irish, with Jerry especially
excelling in basketball.
Mary Elizabeth also recalls many close friends from the
Class of 1936, including Mary Frances Bedell, Janet Frey, Mary
Metzler, and Mary Williams, and that the entire student body
was required to attend daily Mass and learn Latin, a language
that she and many others found challenging and difficult to
master. Most coursework was taught by priests and the
Immaculate Heart of Mary Sisters.
After graduation, Mary Elizabeth worked for many years,
retiring in 1978 with 37 years of service at the Downtown
Akron office of Dr. Dornan, an orthopedic surgeon at
St. Thomas Hospital. In retirement, Mary Elizabeth remained
very active by playing bridge, bowling in leagues, caring for
her mother, continuing to dote on her many nieces and
nephews as she had all their lives, and somehow even finding
time to generously volunteer at The Village at St. Edward’s, a
Catholic residential and nursing facility located in Fairlawn,
Ohio. In fact, Mary Elizabeth volunteered there for about
20 years.
It was only fitting then, when Mary Elizabeth herself
required some assistance with daily activities, that she move
into The Village at St. Edward's, where she has lived for about
10 years. She now enjoys watching the Cavaliers (particularly
LeBron James), Indians, and Browns, and follows Irish sports
through the Beacon Journal, which she reads every morning.
She also really looks forward to getting the STVM Alumni
Connection, which she likes to carefully browse through so
that she can stay abreast of the latest "Irish happenings." Mary
Elizabeth is truly proud that her beloved alma mater has
continued, over so many decades, to educate and inspire
young people in the tradition of the Catholic Church.
COME HOME
FOR
HOMECOMING
Back Row: Tim Rickus, Chuck Brunn, Rob Sunday Middle Row: Karen Royle
Layne, Eileen Walter Moats, Candi Kraus Weber, Teresa Schmidt Rickus, Molly
Zahn Friess Front Row: Teresa Kelly Pastor, Trish Palumbo Schlosser, Steve
Large, Toni Roncone Henterly
Reflections on the
Fellowship of Alumni
A Commitment to Community
Tim Rickus VM80 writes….
Reflecting back on 2007, my thoughts take me back to
Showcase, A ROMAN HOLIDAY. A wonderful evening with
so much hard work done by so many volunteers with a lot of
planning and great execution by our chairpersons Jerry Kelly
and Jennifer Ringer, the evening was a great success. It raised a
significant amount of money, keeping private education alive.
However what caught my attention was so many of my VM80
classmates whose children now attend private school,
participated so enthusiastically in the evening.
I think the importance and value of STVM lies in the
community and fellowship of all of the alumni dating back
ten, twenty, thirty, and more years. The basic community that
we experience when we are born is in our families. For me, the
community in the St. Vincent-St. Mary’s family has been an
extension of my own family life. As I looked out at all the
people from my own class of 1980, still heavily involved in
promoting all the benefits of Catholic education, I realized
how important commitment to community is.
I am very proud to raise my family within this community
of such proud tradition and great promise. As I so often state
to anyone who will listen, and to a few who don’t, Catholic
education has made a great positive difference in my life, my
family’s life, and of those classmates and members of the
St. Vincent-St. Mary community.
September 26, 2008
Alumni Reunion Night
ALL ST. MARY, ST. VINCENT AND ST. VINCENT-ST. MARY GRADUATES
ARE INVITED TO ATTEND
16