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Chagrin Falls Alumni Association

Keeping Tiger Pride Alive

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SUZANNE SUTTON WRIGHT

Chagrin Falls Alumni Hall of Fame
Class of 1962

This former Blossom Time Queen blossomed into one of our state’s best educators. In 1997, Suzanne became Ohio’s first recipient of the Adapted Physical Education Teacher of the Year Award. In 1994, she received the Outstanding Special Educator Award from the Northwest Ohio Special Education Regional Resource Center. Suzanne has been instrumental in curriculum development in adapted aquatics. She is a graduate of Bowling Green State University, where she is a part-time instructor. She is also co-founder of Wood Lane Travel, which offers recreational activities for students with special needs.

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NANCY VECCHIARELLI

Chagrin Falls Alumni Hall of Fame
Class of 1968

Nancy Vecchiarelli’s leadership abilities were recognized early in life, and they have continued to serve her well. In April of 1998, federal judges appointed her as a United States Magistrate Judge, Northern District of Ohio. From 1986 until her new appointment, she served as Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Miami University (Ohio) in 1972, she was graduated fourth in her class from the University of Cincinnati College of Law in 1977. Some of Nancy’s earliest triumphs took place on athletic fields, then inhabited by mostly boys. An excellent all-around athlete, she was a 4-time Women’s Golf Club Champion at Aurora Country Club.

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MARGARET ENGEL

Chagrin Falls Alumni Hall of Fame
Class of 1969

The breadth, depth, and sheer quality of Peggy Engel’s literary works were recognized long before this former majorette marched to Washington. A 1973 honors graduate of the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism, she won several awards for investigative reporting for the Lorain (Ohio) Journal and the Des Moines Register. She was the youngest person to win a Nieman Fellowship to Harvard Univand ersity, where she studied law and occupational health at Harvard Law School, Harvard Medical School, and M. I. T. In 1981, Peggy joined the Washington Post, where she was a reporter and editor. Her work was nominated four times for a Pulitzer Prize. An adjunct journalism professor at Georgetown University, she has been published in magazines such as Esquire, Ladies Home Journal, and Glamour. She has appeared on the Today Show Larry King, As the executive director of the Alicia Patterson Foundation, she guides a program that awards fellowships to some of the country’s best reporters, editors, and photographers. Among her books is “Ballpark Vacations,” a guide to America’s exceptional baseball parks. Her investigative reporting for this project included her husband, two children, 25,000 miles, and nearly 100 major and minor league ballparks.

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KATHARIN ALCORN KELKER

Chagrin Falls Alumni Hall of Fame
Class of 1961

Co-Valedictorian of her class, Kathy remembers Dale Richmond’s Senior Government Day as one of her most influential experiences at Chagrin Falls High School. She became active in student government at Hiram College, where she became the first female senator elected. Enroute to an M.S. degree in special education from Eastern Montana College in 1980 and an Ed.D. in adult and higher education from Montana State University in 1993, Dr. Kelker has influenced thousands of families. She is Executive Director and Co-Founder of Parents, Let’s Unite For Kids (PLUK), a parent training and information center which, since 1984, has imparted information about assistive technology to consumers and professionals in the education, rehabilitation and medical fields. Kathy is the author of Taking Charge: A Handbook for Parents of Children with Emotional Handicaps. She has received several awards for her work, including the Development Disabilities Service Award for her significant contributions to the quality of life for the disabled citizens of her state, and the Professional of the Year Award from the Montana Chapter of the Council for Exceptional Children.

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RALPH QUESINBERRY

Teacher, Coach, AD

The accolades were many for “Quiz” during his career as a teacher, coach, and athletic director at CFHS. In 1972, he was named National Athletic Director of the year. He is a member of the Ohio High School Athletic Directors Hall of Fame, the Ohio High School Football Coaches Hall of Fame, and the Ohio High School Track and Cross Country Coaches Hall of Fame. His 1947 and 1961 football teams were undefeated. He also coached basketball, track, golf, baseball, and swimming. During his 35 years in Chagrin Falls Schools, Ralph impacted the lives of just about anyone with whom he came in contact. His gym classes became legendary – the unforgettable voice ordering the seemingly impossible tasks. For many a Chagrin youth, Coach’s “basic training” became a lasting memory. Following his retirement in 1980, Ralph L. Quesinberry Gymnasium was named in his honor.

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THEODORE C. GURNEY

Coach
Football, Basketball, Baseball, and Track

An outstanding athlete at Baldwin-Wallace College, Ted arrived in Chagrin Falls in 1926 and began a career in Chagrin Falls Schools which spanned 40 years. For many of those years, he mentored athletics, serving as a coach in football, basketball, baseball, and track. His 1930 football team was undefeated, scoring 239 points to its opponents’ 34. During his tenure as a coach, his players earned many team and individual honors. While at Baldwin Wallace, Ted was named All-Ohio tackle. He earned 10 letters total. In 1977, he was inducted into the Baldwin-Wallace College Athletic Hall of Fame. After leaving the coaching ranks, Ted served CFHS as its principal and athletic director until his retirement in 1966. Two years later, Gurney Elementary School was named in his honor.

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ROBERT JAMES SHUTTS

Class of 1964
Football, Basketball, and Baseball

Bob exemplified the term “winner” during his athletic career at CFHS. At times he was nearly perfect, pitching three no-hitters and playing four years of football, never losing a game. He played varsity football for three years, leading the Tigers from the quarterback position during the final two seasons of the 29-game win streak. In basketball, he was his team’s MVP during his junior and senior years. Bob earned All-Conference honors in football, basketball and baseball. He won a baseball scholarship to Northwestern University, where he pitched a no-hitter against Illinois in 1968. He played baseball for three years in the Washington Senators’ organization.

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HELEN ver DUIN PALIT

Class of 1966

Before graduating from Chagrin Falls High School, Helen ver Duin delivered food as a carhop and waitress. Today, she is recognized as a worldwide authority in non-profit food distribution. A third generation social-service worker, Helen ver Duin Palit operates on the premise that there is enough extra food in every city to feed every person. She is the founder and executive director of City Harvest, a nonprofit organization that provided millions of free meals to hungry and homeless people in New York City since its inception in 1982. New York City’s Mayor Edward Koch said of her program, “It is an extraordinarily simple yet brilliant idea.” The world is now taking notice of this Chagrin grad’s innovative concepts. Each day, numerous large cities with programs patterned after City Harvest, collect thousands of unused food from restaurants, supermarkets, caterers, and corporate dining rooms, and then distribute it to soup kitchens, senior citizen centers, drug rehabilitation centers, and any other agencies that feed the poor. Helen has appeared on television in the U.S., Canada, and Japan. President Bush recognized her as his Fourth Point of Light in his ‘Thousand Points of Light’ National Community service Program in 1989. She has been featured in Business Week, Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Family Circle, Weekly Reader, New York Times, and Christian Science Monitor. A graduate of Texas Tech University, Helen was awarded Iona College’s Doctorate of Humanitarian Letters in 1987.

Email Us:

If you have an updated address, phone number, or email, then please include that in the message area below.

    Contact Info:

    alumni@chagrinschools.org

    440.247.4387

     


    CFAA Alumni Director:

    Brian McKenna '88

    Office Manager:

    Jana Young ‘82

    Find Us:

    Chagrin Falls Alumni Association

    400 East Washington Street
    Chagrin Falls, OH 44022

    We invite you to join the growing numbers of volunteers who are helping to ensure a bright future for the CFAA and Chagrin Falls Schools. Whether it is through your time or resources, all of us appreciate your generous gifts. To become more involved, contact the Alumni Association. We look forward to your comments, questions, and suggestions. Don’t forget that we appreciate your help in making the CFAA run successfully with the donation of your annual dues of $20 or more.