‘MR. LAS PLUMAS’ IS REMEMBERED
Former Oroville, LP teacher, coach Joe High dies after battle with dementia
OROVILLE » They called him “Mr. Las Plumas” and nothing delighted Joe High more than attending a high school sporting event or visiting with former students.
High, a former teacher at Oroville and Las Plumas High schools and coach, died Nov. 13, 2020. He was 89.
High’s longtime friend Ray Sehorn said it was impossible to go anywhere to eat in town without former students “coming over and lining up” to say hello and “tell him what a difference he made in their lives.”
“Joe just saw the good in everybody and brought out the
good in everybody. That’s a rarity. He never dwelled on the negative just always looked for the good. Kind, thoughtful and appreciative, so appreciative for so much, that’s the kind of guy Joe was,” Sehorn said.
High’s wife, Olivia “Claire” High, a romantic suspense writer who dedicated all 12 of her books to her husband, said when they would get ready to go Christmas shopping, she’d remind him not to chat too long with the former students she knew they’d run into.
“He was very sociable, gregarious and outgoing and if I didn’t tell him to be brief the shopping would take us three times as long. He was so genuine. When Joe talked to you whether it was 10 seconds or 10 minutes, he was really paying attention to just you that whole time. He was compassionate and just wanted to be helpful especially to his students. Everybody was important to Joe and he treated everybody that way,” she said.
When COVID-19 canceled athletics and limited face- to- face interaction, High, who was battling dementia, began to take a turn for the worse.
An illustrious career
High began his teaching career at Oroville but in 1962 moved to the newly opened Las Plumas High School where he taught vocational business classes and served as the Business Department chairman from 1961 until his retirement in 1993.
High, a 1949 Oroville High graduate and athlete, attended Yuba College. While earning his associate’s degree in accounting, High played baseball for the college; the Oroville American Legion championship team of 1949; and, for the semi-pro Oroville Nuggets in 1950 and 1951.
In 1951 High left his
hometown to serve in the Navy during the Korean Conflict on the USS Chourre stationed in Guam.
While stationed in Guam, High met his future wife. Olivia “Claire” Brown had moved to the island with her family when her father took a civilian job at Naval Base Guam. Her mother worked the Navy Exchange, the base’s department-type store.
The Brown family returned to Oroville and High’s service was nearly complete. Claire went to high school and High returned home and started college at Chico State. He and Claire started dating in 1956 and got married on June 22, 1957.
The couple was married for 63 years. They had four daughters Kathleen, Kari Suzanne, Michelle and Erica. Kari Suzanne died from childhood leukemia in 1966. She was 5-years- old. High never stopped grieving for her
igh was on his way to a career in accounting when, hitchhiking back to Oroville after visiting his mom in Southern California, fate interceded.
“The man who picked Joe up was a teacher. And by the time Joe got out of his car, he’d decided he was going to be a teacher, not an accountant. It was good that man picked him up. You never know how what you say or do will affect another person. Joe used to say that was a good thing to keep in mind especially if you were a teacher,” Claire said.
Numerous honors
High went on to earn his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business Education in 1958 at Chico State where he played first base for the Wildcats. He also earned his secondary teaching credential and Master’s Degrees from Chico State. In 1976 High was awarded a Future Business Leaders of America Grant to Oregon State University and earned a second Master’s Degree in vocational education.
High coached basket
ball and tennis at both local high schools in addition to coaching baseball at Las Plumas. He won several league championships as a tennis coach and was honored as the Lion of the Year (1971), Teacher of the Year (1993) and received the Coaches Award for dedicated service in 2004. In 1996 High was inducted into the Northern California Sports Hall of Fame and in 2012 into the Oroville Union School District Hall of Fame. High is credited with conceiving the idea for the district hall of fame in 2008.
In 2018, High nominated Angel Shamblin, a former student and current Chico State softball coach, for induction into the OUHSD Hall of Fame. When the two met with Sehorn, the hall of fame chairman, Shamblin was “shocked” when High showed her all the articles about her that he’d saved through the years.
“Mr. High was an enthusiastic, great teacher. He always wanted to know what was going on in your life… (But) I was unaware that he was keeping in touch with how I was doing with coaching throughout the years. Just pretty cool when you have a former teacher who checks into your life and sees how you’re doing,” said Shamblin.
Michael “Mick” Passmore, another OUHSD Hall of Famer who was nominated by High, remembers playing baseball and basketball at Las Plumas and the positivity High always brought to the field. After graduation, Passmore said seeing High at reunions and other events meant a lot to him.
“It was a fun time,” Passmore said. “I carried his positive attitude I think throughout the rest of my time, not just in school, but I enjoy the way he inter
acted with people and was very supportive. And I hope part of the things I’ve done is related to that.”
From the athletic field to the classroom, High made a lifelong impact on his students.
Paula Blaney, the executive assistant to Oroville High School District superintendent, took accounting, typing and computer classes with High from her sophomore through her junior year. Her father, Guy Hill, had also been one of High’s students.
“The skills I learned from him gave me a great foundation. I never went to college but what I learned in his classes gave me the foundation I needed for all the jobs I’ve had. I used to tease him that everything I know, I learned from him. He was the kindest man and I’ll always be grateful to him.”