Alumni

This year we are excited to honor Michelle Neal, or Teacher Shelley as her students at A Child Becomes call her. Shelley is the Founder and Director of A Child Becomes preschool here in West Seattle. She has been preparing West Seattle’s youngest learners for Kindergarten for the last 30+ years and is a strong partner with our school. She is also a dedicated member of this parish with four grown children, who all attended Holy Rosary School.  One of her children is currently a teacher at our school!   

Shelley‘s faith is a model for all of us.  Shelley and her husband travel to South Africa and support building preschools in the rural Eastern Cape through their nonprofit, Reach for South Africa (reachforsa.org). She is supporting one of our students in the school going through RCIA.  She gives of her time to bring the gift of music to our school students, playing the flute at our school Mass each week.  Shelley truly exemplifies living her faith daily.  When we told Shelley that we had selected her, what she said perfectly represents who she is.  She said her mother always told her:   Faith is a gift.  If you have been fortunate enough to have received this gift, then you must share it with others.”  Thank you Shelley, for sharing your many gifts with Holy Rosary School and for your ongoing commitment to our community. 

Holy Rosary School would like to present this year’s award to Darrin and Kimberly Tish. The Tish family has long been a part of the Holy Rosary School community. Darrin is an alumni, as was his mother Betty, who was in the last graduating class of Holy Rosary High School. Darrin’s grandfather, Irvin Iverson, was very involved with the establishment of the Father Mallahan Endowment Fund. Three of their four children have graduated from our school, with their youngest attending now.

Anna Horton, HRS Principal, shares that what stands out to me most about the Tish family are the many, many tasks they take on behind the scenes, often without notice or fanfare, but just to ensure that staff and students are supported and that the needs of our school are met. Right now I can even hear Kimberly’s kind words that she says every time I see her- whatever you need, just let me know.

The Holy Rosary School staff is profoundly grateful for the support we have received from our spectacular school families during this tremendously challenging COVID-19 affected school year.  Your care, concern, commitment, and partnership has been unparalleled.  We would not be where we are today without every student, parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, cousin, or caregiver….all of our families.  In what has been one of the toughest school year in decades, you have in a very special way made possible this great Catholic School education.  We simply would not be where we are today without each and every one of you.  

Sue spent her entire life connected to and dedicated to Catholic education. She herself attended Catholic Schools, attending St. Paul grade school, Forest Ridge High School, and then Seattle University. Sue dedicated countless summers during youth working at Catholic summer camps, and often shares her fond memories of those days. You may have been lucky enough to listen to Sue break out in a camp song or two! Sue even met her dear husband Joseph one summer while working at Camp Gallagher.

Sue joined the Holy Rosary Community as a young bride and mother when all five of her children attended our beloved school. Sue was a very active volunteer from the beginning and continued doing so throughout the time all of her children attended school. In fact, when her youngest CJ was born, she did not skip a beat when it came to her volunteer responsibilities. She just brought CJ to school with her, dropped him off in then Principal Kris Brown’s office, and went about her duties volunteering in the classroom and on the playground.

Sue later joined the Holy Rosary Staff as a Kindergarten aide and then became our devoted teacher librarian where she has served our community for the last 26 years, earning her Master’s Degree along the way.

Something truly noteworthy: Mrs. Harris has actually read most of the books in our library, always proving to be a fabulous resource for all things related to Children’s literature.

After her children graduated, Sue began an annual senior high reunion where 8th grade alumni gather together each year, and she still continues this tradition today. What an incredible tradition and opportunity for graduating seniors to come back together and reminisce on their grade school days before going their separate ways.

Sue has always been and continues to be a teacher leader. Whether it is accreditation, media literacy, and technology or as a CYO boys’ basketball coach, Sue is always found in a leadership role, both at the school and in the larger Archdiocese. Sue is a founding member of the Catholic Archdiocese Librarian’s Consortium.

The award has changed to be defined as someone who has done great service to the school, has supported its ideals, and is nominated by several people in the Holy Rosary community. We are proud to announce the first recipient of the award, Todd Waltier. Todd could be a member of the school staff, he is seen so often around its halls.  On his days off from being a commercial airplane pilot, he is most often seen on the playground, a weekly, if not more often 11-year long recess monitor, rain or shine, helping our staff watch over the safety of our kids, commiserating with young ones over scrapes, or disagreements.  He has reached out with a friendly smile to kids of all grades, which you can tell by how often he is greeted.  He has subbed for recess duty countless times for parents or staff when he was available, chaperoned on field trips, and his daughters’ teachers always know that he is available to help out whenever needed.  He has changed lightbulbs in the school gym, set up heavy tables for events, he has done the things that are not always seen by others, but have impacted and supported the school for 11 years.

Marianne attended Holy Rosary School with her siblings, Kindergarten through 8th grade. Many of you may know her parents, Joseph and Sue Harris. Following Holy Rosary, Marianne excelled while attending Holy Names Academy for high school. She attended the University of Portland, graduating with a degree in Theology. Then continued her studies at Providence College, earning her Masters in Education. Marianne returned to the Pacific Northwest to attend Seattle University where she received her Doctorate in Education. Currently, Marianne is the Religion Teacher at Holy Names Academy and Assistant Campus Minister. Marianne is a board member for Shirts Across America, which provide young people experiences to become leaders as they build homes in communities affected by poverty and natural disasters.

David attended Holy Rosary School and participated as an altar server from 4th grade on. While attending high school at Seattle Preparatory School, he stayed involved in altar serving and later became a Sacristan. One of David’s many accomplishments while at Seattle Prep was designing the cover for the school’s yearbook.

David attended the University of Notre Dame, graduating with a degree in computer engineering in 2006; he also received the Outstanding CPEG (Computer Engineering) Award as a senior.

David continues his involvement in Holy Rosary Parish through participation as a Sacristan and devoting his efforts to revitalizing Holy Rosary’s Young Adult group. He is also involved with AMICI (The Fulcrum Foundation’s Young Professionals Organization) where he serves as Service Co-Chair for the 2014-2015 Amici Board. As part of the AMICI program, David is heavily involved in activities that provide hands-on support to several local Catholic schools.

Currently, David serves as an FLL mentor for the LEGO robotics program at Holy Rosary School.

Virginia Hoyt was born and raised in West Seattle and was a Holy Rosary parish member from an early age. She graduated in 1941 in the second graduating class of Holy Rosary’s all girl high school. She was a senior class officer and a member of the yearbook staff. After graduating, she married, raised four sons, and worked as a secretary in the labor union industry. After retirement and some years of travel, she returned back to West Seattle and lived just a fewblocks away from Holy Rosary. Her granddaughter, Aimee Wickler, currently attends Holy Rosary and her grandson, Adam Wickler, graduated from Holy Rosary last year and currently attends Kennedy Catholic High School. Virginia is so proud that her grandchildren have had the opportunity to share in the same Catholic school education at Holy Rosary as she did so many years ago.

Virginia Hoyt (Class of 1941) – Distinguished Alumni

Virginia Hoyt was born and raised in West Seattle and was a Holy Rosary parish member from an early age. She graduated in 1941 in the second graduating class of Holy Rosary’s all girl high school. She was a senior class officer and a member of the yearbook staff. After graduating, she married, raised four sons, and worked as a secretary in the labor union industry. After retirement and some years of travel, she returned back to West Seattle and lived just a fewblocks away from Holy Rosary. Her granddaughter, Aimee Wickler, currently attends Holy Rosary and her grandson, Adam Wickler, graduated from Holy Rosary last year and currently attends Kennedy Catholic High School. Virginia is so proud that her grandchildren have had the opportunity to share in the same Catholic school education at Holy Rosary as she did so many years ago.

Father Jerry Mccluskey (Class of 1952) – Distinguished Alumni

Father Jerry McCloskey was born in Seattle, WA, on April 25, 1938 and lived in West Seattle until the age of fifteen. He was baptized at Holy Rosary Church on May 15, 1938 and attended Holy Rosary Grade School from 1944 until his graduation in 1952. After graduating from O’Dea High School, Father McCloskey entered the seminary, attending both St. Edward’s and St. Thomas Seminaries. He was ordained a priest in the Archdiocese of Seattle in 1964.

Father McCloskey has served in many parishes throughout the Archdiocese of Seattle including St. Patrick’s Seattle, Sacred Heart Bellevue, St. Francis of Assisi in Burien, Our Lady of Sorrows in Snoqualmie, Mt. Virgin and St. Paul in Seattle and St. Gabriel in Port Orchard. He has been “retired” since 2003.

Father McCloskey’s blog offers wonderful evidence of his life in West Seattle and Holy Rosary: families, images, stories, teachers, report cards, and celebrations. This blog reminds us of the expression “the more things change, the more they remain the same”. Visitwww.jerrymc.com.

Rose Egge, though only 27, is a tremendous example of what it means to live with grace and to serve others. After graduating from Holy Rosary in 2000, she completed her education at education at Bishop Blanchet High School and Seattle University, where she received her BA in Journalism in 2008. She earned a Masters degree from the University of Washington in Digital Media in 2011. At only 25 years old, doctors discovered a cancerous tumor on her spine. Faced with this scary diagnosis and aggressive chemotherapy, Rose started a blog . Her open and honest writing about her experience has served as a deep comfort to others battling cancer and as a deep inspiration to us all. In addition to using her journalism skills to reach out and share her story, she also started a non-profit organization, Thrive Through Cancer, while undergoing treatment. Thrive Through Cancer’s mission is “Helping young adults fight cancer today and live amazing lives tomorrow.” Learn more at thrivethroughcancer.org.

Maxine “Dolly” Hass – First Graduating Class

Jim Farris – Class of 1944

Jim Farris graduated from Holy Rosary Elementary School in 1944. Jim has been a lifelong member of our parish, supporting our mass services as a Lector and Eucharistic Minister. He has 5 children who attended Holy Rosary School. Jim was actively involved at the school during the time his children attended. Jim believes that Catholic education cultivates values that serve as the foundation for the mind and spirit. We are grateful for his commitment to our parish and school.

Jan Ittes – Class of 1966

Chairperson and CEO of Atlas Supply, Inc., Jan Ittes remains an active volunteer at Holy Rosary. She chaired Holy Rosary’s Endowment Fund, which has grown to over $1 million in scholarship assistance. She served on the parish and school’s Capital Campaign Committee, and is currently an extraordinary minister of the Eucharist and a member of the Renovation Committee for the former convent building. All three of her children graduated from Holy Rosary and Catholic high schools.

Marie Miller – Class of 1943

Owner and co-founder of the popular Husky Deli, Marie Miller and her husband have sacrificed to send all nine of their children through Holy Rosary School and on to Catholic high schools. One is now a priest and another returned to teach at Holy Rosary School. Miller has remained active in the parish and school and has served on many commissions. Today, many of her grandchildren attend the school.