Category Archives: Education

Ruby Fukiko Nakahara, chemistry teacher, succumbs to Covid-19

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Ruby Fukiko Nakahara, a former high school chemistry teacher who worked in Hawaii, California, and Germany, succumbed to Covid-19 on Feb. 3, 2021. Photo credit: Legacy.com.

With great sadness we report that Covid-19 has claimed the life of Ruby Fukiko Nakahara, a former high school chemistry teacher originally from Hawaii. She succumbed to the disease on Feb. 3, 2021. She was 83 years old.

Ruby, whose grandparents were Japanese immigrants, was born in Honolulu in 1937 She was raised in Hawaii in the days before statehood was declared in 1959. Her mother died when she was just 12 years old, and Ruby was raised by an aunt.

As a young woman, Ruby graduated from McKinley High School in Oahu. Following her graduation, she put herself through college, earning a Master’s degree in Chemistry and a teaching credential from the University of Hawaii. Later she earned a scholarship to Oregon State University in Corvallis, where she earned a second Master’s degree.

Once she earned her degree, Ruby taught for several years at a junior high school in Kaimuki, a small, quaint neighborhood in Honolulu. When she was 24 years old, she relocated to Palo Alto, California, where she was able to find a better teaching position at Palo Alto High School in Palo alto, California. In 1970, Ruby accepted a position to teach children in a US military base in Kaiser-Slautern, Germany. There she met Masaru Nakahara, who was working as an engineer for Hughes Aircraft. The pair were married in a small ceremony in Basil Switzerland.

Two years later, the couple returned to the United States, landing first in Massachusetts and then settling in Southern California. Over the next five decades, the veteran teacher did some substitute teaching, but health problems prevented her from going back to the classroom full-time.

Sadly, Ruby Fukiko Nakahara succumbed to Covid-19 on Feb. 3, 2021. Her ashes will be scatteredin Hawaii when travel restrictions are loosened. To read more about her, see this online obituary.

PE teacher, veteran, and pro basketball player Robert Mulvihill

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Beloved physical education teacher Robert Mulvihill of New Jersey was also a former professional basketball player and military veteran. Photo credit: St. Peter’s Preparatory School.

Over the last few years, I have read many stories about classroom teachers who are also talented athletes. One of these was Robert Mulvihill, a high school teacher who was also a professional basketball player.

Robert was born on March 9, 1924, in Washington, DC. As a youngster, he earned a scholarship to attend Gonzaga College High School, a private Catholic school located in the capital city. There he played basketball, and was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame. Following his high school graduation in 1942, Robert enrolled at Fordham University in the Bronx, New York. While there, he played college basketball. When World War II erupted, Robert enlisted in the US Marine Corps, and he also transferred to the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York. Later Robert returned to Fordham, where he completed the requirements for his degree in 1948. He was named an All American for 1947-1948, and he was also inducted into the Fordham’s Hall of Fame.

After college, Robert played professional basketball for Wisconsin’s Oshkosh All-Stars as part of the National Basketball League. He did this during the 1948-1949 season. As an All-Star, he played 34 games and averaged 0.9 points per game. Unfortunately, an ankle injury ended his stint with the All-Stars, although he later spent a season playing for Torrington Howards in the East Coast League.

When he concluded his career as a professional basketball player in 1952, Robert relocated to Clifton, New Jersey. There he taught physical education, math, and English at St. Peter’s Preparatory School, a private all-male Jesuit school in Jersey City, New Jersey. There he earned the nickname “The Legend of Prep.” In addition, he ran a summer camp and a tour company that took children on field trips in the summers. Before his retirement in 1989, Robert’s career at the school spanned 37 years.

The former educator passed away on May 17, 2016, in Manasquan, New Jersey. He was 92 years old. To read this Chalkboard Champion’s obituary, see this post on northjersey.com.

 

Katheryn Pourcho: Indiana’s 2020 State Teacher of the Year

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Congratulations to Katheryn Pourcho, an elementary school art teacher from Danville, Indiana, who has been named her state’s 2020 Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: Linked In.

Congratulations are in order for Katheryn Pourcho, an elementary school art teacher from Danville, Indiana, who has been named her state’s 2020 Teacher of the Year.

Katheryn teaches Pre-K, Kindergarten, first grade, and second grade at Danville North Elementary School. In the classroom, she has a reputation for being imaginative, animated, and inspiring, and she is known for infusing her experiences as a professional artist into her instructional practices. Her curriculum develops a healthy balance between individual responsibility and team-oriented relationships. She makes frequent use of collaborative projects, and her students learn through multi-media storytelling and immersive experiences.

In addition to her work in the classroom during the school year, Katheryn provides art experiences in the summers for her students and for children abroad in countries such as Nicaragua, Lebanon, and Thailand. She has done this work for the past nine years.

Katheryn earned her Bachelor’s degree in Visual Art Education in 2011 from Ball State University. She studied oil painting under artists CW Mundy, Pam Newell, and Thomas Kegler. She also painted in residency at La Romita School of Art in central Italy. In 2016, she received the Lily Endowment Teacher Creativity Fellowship to study theology and plein air painting, creating art in the footsteps of Vincent Van Gogh.

To learn more about Katheryn Pourcho, see the article about her published on the CCSSO Teacher of the Year website.