This past COVID year marked the retirement of many long-time Hawaii Catholic school educators
By Anna Weaver
Hawaii Catholic Herald
Many longtime Catholic educators and staff retired in the last year or two but often didn’t get the send-off they might have had before COVID-19. To thank and honor them for their years of service, we are highlighting the responses we received from several of these dedicated educators and listing others who we learned about via their former schools.
Becky Kotake
Retired in 2021 after 40 years working in Hawaii Catholic schools
Where served
St. John the Baptist in Kalihi for six years as a kindergarten teacher. Maryknoll School in Honolulu for 34 years as a pre-K, kindergarten and first-grade teacher, division coordinator and professional development coordinator. Also worked for three years at Mother Rice Preschool in Honolulu.
Reason for retirement
It is the right time. During this blessed career, I’ve met the most amazing families. One such family has inspired me to move from working in the classroom to working outside the classroom with families who have lost their children to diseases and tragedies.
Miss the most about Catholic schools
I miss the children most of all! They are life-giving, joy giving, and God’s love is ever-present in their hearts, especially when they mess up! And I miss my dear friends. Together, we’ve lived through distance learning, endless sanitizing and forever days. I miss working and growing in a place where God’s love is ever present.
Greatest challenge
Teaching grandparents how to muddle through the ins and outs of distance learning, helping them “help” their grandchildren successfully learn via WebEx, and teaching them how to correctly spell Maryknoll — that’s been the greatest and also most hilarious of challenges! Our grandparents are the best!
Post-retirement plans
I hope to be of help to the non-profit, Let Grace In, dedicated to helping families move through the grieving process after losing a child to disease and tragedy.
Amytes F. Quiason
Retired in 2021 after working 30 years in Hawaii Catholic schools
Where served
Volunteered for two years and worked for 28 years at St. John’s Catholic Preschool in Mililani as a teacher’s aide, assistant teacher, head teacher and then director/head teacher.
Reason for retirement
I wanted to give more time to my family here in the U.S. and abroad as I have missed many family events due to the demands of my job. It is also a long-awaited respite.
Miss the most about Catholic schools
I will miss working with children as they give me a special purpose in teaching. There are some former students I have followed in their growing years in the same parish I am in. I have witnessed their Christian growth and development in their faith and personal lives and have seen the fruits of how an early childhood Catholic education can transform their hearts and minds to be leaven for their community as they mature.
Because of my Catholic Montessori school experiences, I believe I can share my educational experiences outside of the classroom setting. Montessori education is a holistic process and that is what makes it unique and cosmic.
Greatest challenge
The greatest challenge during my years at St. John’s Catholic Preschool as director and head teacher was balancing time between attending to my duties as administrator and giving extra time to assist children who needed more help. It just meant many long hours at work as well as extending the workload at home.
Post-retirement plans
I am currently involved in church ministry and making myself available for Montessori-related experiences. A Montessori teacher friend who left the country for her home in Japan has been giving Montessori Zoom classes to parents, teachers and school heads internationally and has been inviting me to present Montessori activities. I have enjoyed sharing Montessori demonstrations of activities. These are opportunities I want to be involved in as I can still share the Montessori philosophy outside of the classroom setting. I am greatly inspired to educate adults who are interested in Montessori.
Sally Mejia
Retired in 2020 after working 17-and-a-half years in Hawaii Catholic schools
Where served
I taught math at Sacred Hearts Academy and Holy Rosary College in the Philippines for three years. I immigrated to Hawaii and joined St. Theresa School in Honolulu, teaching eighth-grade homeroom, religion, literature, seventh and eighth-grade math, fifth grade, middle school math. I was also an advisor for the student council, yearbook, MathCounts and National Math Club.
I started as an eighth-grade homeroom teacher and taught religion, literature and seventh and eighth-grade math. I also taught fifth grade for a year, then eventually I was in charge to teach middle school mathematics until I retired. I was also advisor for the student council, yearbook, MathCounts and the National Math Club. I worked at St. Theresa for 17 years and 6 months because I was hired in the middle of the school year.
Reason for retirement
I retired because my husband and I planned to move back to the Philippines.
Miss the most about Catholic schools
In addition to the academic excellence, what I miss most are the activities that highlight Catholic identity like our Catholic Schools Week, Advent, Lent and Easter celebrations.
Greatest challenge
My greatest challenge was the scope of things that the students needed to learn in a short time. It was always my goal to finish the curriculum without rushing toward the end of the school year.
Post-retirement plans
I still volunteer in church, and I activated my real estate license, so I am now a realtor working at Coldwell Banker Realty.
Lynette Seto
Retired in 2020 after working in Hawaii Catholic schools for 12 years.
Where served
Worked as a kindergarten aide at St. Theresa School for 12 years.
Reason for retirement
I retired at the end of this past school year because, at age 70, I felt it was time to enjoy myself. I planned to travel, but with the current COVID situation, I will have to hold off on my travel plans for a while.
This is my second retirement as I retired from the Bank of Hawaii after 31 years in 2005. My dream was always to return to St. Theresa at some future point in my life. At first, I worked in the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa rectory office as the secretary. I stayed there for seven years until there was an opening as a kindergarten aide at the school.
Miss the most about Catholic schools
The thing I loved the best about being in the school was teaching the little children about our religious beliefs. I loved reading Bible stories to them — at their young age, they absorbed everything you tell them. It was also a blessing to have daily prayer and attend weekly Mass with them. It’s what I miss the most now. One of our annual events was to celebrate Saints Day — the children would come to school dressed as their favorite saint.
Greatest challenge
With 5-6-year-olds, you have to be careful of what you say and do because they believe everything you tell them and they will follow what you do. So you have to be good role models for them!
On the St. Theresa family
I went full circle in teaching at St. Theresa because I also attended there in the mid-1950s for kindergarten through the seventh grade before I went to and graduated from Maryknoll School.
The Catholic faith has always been a major part of my life from the time I was 5 years old until now. When I first started at St. Theresa School, I was not Catholic. But with the help and guidance of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, I was baptized when I was in third grade. My entire education was a Catholic faith-filled one, from St. Theresa School to Maryknoll School. A Catholic environment is all I know. I can’t imagine life without God in my life!
More long-time Catholic school faculty and staff
St. John Vianney School in Kailua, Oahu
- Caren Demeo, art teacher, retired in December 2020 after teaching at the school from 1984 until her retirement.
Maryknoll School in Honolulu, Oahu
- Cyndi Medeiros, high school administrative assistant and assistant to the principal, retired in 2021 after 30 years at the school.
- Gail Nakamura, business manager, retired in 2021 after 28 years at the school.
St. Catherine School in Kapaa, Kauai
- Patricia Doherty retired in 2021 after 15 years of service at the school.
St. Anthony Preschool in Wailuku, Maui
- Mary Kailihiwa, head teacher, retired in 2021 after 43 years of service at the preschool.
St. Elizabeth School in Aiea, Oahu
- Dominican Sister Bernarda Sindol, principal and former teacher, retired in 2020, after more than 50 years teaching in Catholic schools in Hawaii and San Francisco.
St. Joseph School in Hilo, Hawaii Island
- Susan Wehrsig, longtime teacher and interim head of school, retired in 2021 after around 40 years at the school.
Damien Memorial School in Kalihi, Oahu
- Raynard Suganuma, “Kumu Kai,” taught religion and coached sports at the school for 20 years.
Did we miss a teacher or staff member that retired from your Catholic school in the past two academic school years? Let us know by emailing aweaver@rcchawaii.org.
