1991 – Dorothy Scanlon
Dorothy Scanlon was a kindergarten teacher in Lakewood for 46 years. She began her career in Lakewood in 1928, and taught at Taft, McKinley, Roosevelt and Garfield Elementary schools until her retirement in 1974. A graduate of Lakewood High School, Ethel also was an alumna of Garfield, where she eventually would teach. She earned her B.A. at Western Reserve University and did post-graduate work at both Western Reserve and the University of Wisconsin. Ethel was known as an enthusiastic and hard worker. She was honored as the Garfield School Teacher of the Year and was a recipient of the Lakewood PTA Teacher Honor Award. As a colleague stated, “It would be a blessing to the education profession if all teachers could bring to their teaching the many fine attributes that Dorothy Scanlon has brought to her classes through all these years.”
1991 – Agnes Riley
Agnes Riley, a graduate of St. Colman’s school, began her secretarial work for the Lakewood Board of Education in 1954 and retired in 1974. She spent those 20 years at Franklin School work for four principals: Sylvia Kleinsmith, William Vejdovec, George Anderson and Carolyn Ezzo. Agnes was very enthusiastic about her work and always displayed great pride in Franklin School. One administrator recalled that “she made the work of each principal a little less difficult.” Agnes also volunteered at Lakewood Hospital, and was awarded a watch for 5,000 hours of service there. She was proud of her four sons Jack, Tom, Bob and Jim.
1992 – Seymour Slater
Before coming to Lakewood, Seymour taught at Cherry Valley, Honolulu and Andover schools. He accepted a teaching position at Emerson in 1927 and in 1931 was assigned to Lakewood High to teach English and be adviser to the High Times. He attended Oberlin College and earned his M.A. at Western Reserve University. He also did post-graduate work at Honolulu University, Columbia University and The Ohio State University.
By 1966, Seymour completed 39 years of teaching in the Lakewood schools. Under his leadership, the High Times won national, state and local awards, and many students were encouraged to pursue a career in journalism.
1992 – Lillian Smith
Lillian was a model of efficiency in her job as secretary. She began her secretarial work for the Lakewood Board of Education in 1947 and retired in 1973. During her 26 years of service, she worked for three principals at Lakewood High School (Mahlon Povenmire, Kimball Howes and Gene Myslenski). In both 1973 and 1975 she was asked to complete the school term when the principal’s secretary was on leave of absence. She managed the principal’s office with decorum, dilligency and distinction, and was a true professional that displayed great pride in Lakewood High School.
1993 – Cilda Smith
Cilda taught mathematics for 39 years, and was chairperson of the department when she retired in 1956. Devotion to both her subject and her students led to the long-famous “Dawn Patrol” – the 7 a.m. class in math that she instituted to help students prepare for college board examinations. After retirement until her passing in May of 1958, she tutored students at Oberlin College.
Her former students described her as a dedicated, outstanding educator. A student from the class of ’45 said, “Cilda was one of the two or three finest teachers in the state. She can make things so simple.” Another student, ’55, remembered that “her patrol started at 7 in the morning. What a dedicated lady. Military tough.”
1993 – Ralph Rood
Ralph had taught for thirteen years before coming to Lakewood in 1943. He retired in 1970 after being a science teacher at the high school for 27 years. Ralph was in charge of the maintenance and care of the greenhouse and garden located where the vocational building stands today. He was a respected educator and always was ready to help his students and fellow staff members. Ralph, a graduate of the University of Minnesota, served as department chairman of the biological sciences division at LHS, and was responsible for photography for athletics and student activities. He also served as an American Field Service volunteer and helped AFS students to produce quality slide programs.
1993 – Carolyn Ezzo Sprague
After graduating from The Ohio State University and spending five years teaching in Columbus, Carolyn came to the Lakewood Schools in 1956. She taught kindergarten at Roosevelt Elementary for eleven years. Carolyn was a dedicated, enthusiastic and hardworking teacher. She was a Martha Holden Jennings Scholar in 1966, earned the Jennings Leadership Award in 1975 and was listed in Who’s Who of American Women, 1977. She participated in the IDEA Fellows Administrator Program in 1978. Carolyn also was a part-time instructor at Baldwin-Wallace College.
1996 – Robert Ralls
During his 22 years at Lakewood High School, Bob established a reputation as a teacher of high standards and exemplary behavior. He motivated his students to appreciate industrial arts through the development of skills and attitudes towards the work. His early responsibilities were teaching woodwork, driver education and vocational diversified classes. Bob began his teaching career in the Willoughby-Eastlake School District. He was a firm believer in discipline and fair play. He retired in 1978 after 30 years of service in education.
Bob was the first director of the West Shore Vocational District, which includes Lakewood, Rocky River, Fairview, Westlake and Bay Village. He developed a citizens’ partnership board to assist and help develop a close cooperation between businesses and the West Shore Vocational program. Bob also was an assistant coach for varsity football and track and aided in conducting the sports eligibility process.
1997 – Irma Saukkonen Simmer
After completing six years in another school district, Irma came to Lakewood in 1944. She was assigned to Harding Junior High and then to Lakewood High School. She taught home economics and mathematics.
Irma was valedictorian of her senior class at Maple Heights High School, and went on to Kent State University and the College of Wooster. While with the schools, she ran the epitome of a top-managed food service program, which included a balanced diet, colorful display of food and homemade rolls and pies. Outside of school, she volunteered for the Red Cross, teaching nutrition classes to adults during WWII. Irma also presented a workshop on food service management at Baldwin-Wallace College.
1997 – Robert Rice
Bob had taught five years prior to coming to Lakewood in 1958. Bob was assigned to Harding Junior High School, where he spent the next 25 years teaching instrumental, general and vocal music and where he served as choir director. He also was the assistant band director at Lakewood High School. A grad of Grove City College, Bob also taught music in several Lakewood elementary schools. He also was a member of the United States Army Band, and was a certified professional piano tuner. He was named a Martha Holden Jennings Scholar, and competed in band and orchestra contests in Ohio.
2000 – Sylvia Genovese Soss
Sylvia could be called a Renaissance person. An avid reader, author, painter and seamstress, Sylvia shared her many interests with her students for 33 years in Lakewood. The Bowling Green State University alumna began in Lakewood at Madison School and then taught language arts and social studies at Harding Middle School.
Sylvia was an inspiration to her students and her colleagues – her work was honored several times. She was named Madison School PTA Teacher of the Year for 1993, and she was named best elementary teacher by Bowling Green in 1961. She also was a Martha Holden Jennings Scholar for 1965-66. Sylvia also authored a series of articles for educational journals, and she wrote the social studies book “Teaching Strategies for Elementary School Social Studies.”
2010 – Emil Sors
Emil Sors was born in Buffalo, New York . His father was transferred to Cleveland in 1941, prompting Emil‟s family to take up residence in Lakewood. He later attended St. Charles College in Columbus, Ohio followed by two years of service in the U.S. Army and a few years of travel and work. Mr. Sors then enrolled in the Graduate School of English Literature at John Carroll University.
Certified in English and Latin, Emil started his teaching career at a junior high school in Parma. When an offer came to teach English and Latin at Emerson Jr. High School in Lakewood, Emil knew he‟d found his career home. In 1970 when the new LHS building opened, Emil began teaching English and Latin to high school students.
During most of his years at Lakewood High, Emil was the only Latin teacher, so it was common for him to have students for two, three or even four years. Mr. Sors thoroughly enjoyed watching his students develop during his teaching tenure. And as this quote from Beth (Ebright) Ramsey, LHS ‟83, conveys, his students have lasting impressions of him as their teacher.
“Not only did he make a dead language seem fun and relevant but he had a way of mak-ing the students feel important. We were addressed as Master and Miss and he was al-ways available for extra help, which I needed more than once. It was a tough class and the expectation was that everyone would do well. I think most of us tried to meet that expectation and succeeded, because of him. He is the one teacher who stands out to me some 20 years later. I have great memories of laughing and having fun learning in one of the hardest classes that I took at LHS. As a parent now, I hope that my kids have at least one teacher who makes the kind of impression on them that Mr. Sors did for me. I am still proud to say that I took Latin in high school.”