Legacy

karnman88:

Yesterday, I found out that a teacher I had as a Senior in High School had passed away after fighting cancer for eleven months.

Mr. Pelletier was my A.P. European History teacher and a great one at that too. One of the greatest moments I had in my life happened in his class. We were holding a mock trial, trying to determine who started/expanded World War One. Germany, Austria, Serbia, and Russia all had a witness and a lawyer. I was the lawyer for Germany. The witness for Serbia came up and sat down. It was an old chair and he almost fell backwards. I then told him that “his chair was as stable as his country”. Everyone in the class laughed for a good minute. Everyone, including Mr. Pelletier.

It was more than a class. It was a family. We had running gags. We had nicknames. We knew each other. The Homecoming King and Queen were both from this class. We even allowed someone’s girlfriend to sit in on the class, even though she wasn’t technically signed up. It was a great class, and I’m glad it was the last class I had on the last day of my High School career.

But I feel a little bothered by the press his death has been receiving. Don’t get me wrong, it’s very positive. But it only focuses on his football coaching. He was a teacher. Yes, he did win an award last year for his coaching, but would he be getting this press if he wasn’t involved with sports? Or would he be just another face in the crowd?

I wish my story was being told, not just the one’s of the athletes. I wish they would talk about the impact he had on students off the field, too.

Really touching, man. Sorry for the loss…