The granddads of St. Mary’s school
‘These men exemplify all the qualities that we want our students to have — they are hardworking, honest, kind, generous, loving, unselfish, loyal — and such great examples of men of Christ.’
Few things in life rival the special love from a granddad — except maybe the love of eight granddads — all at one time.
That’s the enviable position of staff and students at St. Mary’s School. They have a group of men from St. Mary’s Catholic Church who visit the school to do needed repairs, projects and cleanup. The program has been at the school since the mid-1980s, when the school was still run by Daughters of Charity.
Mike Colvin is the newest member of the group, joining about eight months ago. He could hardly wait for the day when he was retired from full-time work and he could become one of the granddads.
“I kept telling those guys as soon as I retired I was going to join,” he said. “It’s good for the school. The people at the school love us. They just thank us over and over again. I’ve been wanting to do it for about three years now. … It’s one of the best things I’ve done.”
“The granddads serve as the most wonderful role models to our students,” said Christa Jackson, director of admissions and advancement at St. Mary’s Catholic School. “These men exemplify all the qualities that we want our students to have — they are hardworking, honest, kind, generous, loving, unselfish, loyal — and such great examples of men of Christ.”
“The students have firsthand experience watching the heart that these men have for service to others. They could be out playing golf or fishing or meeting friends for breakfast, but they are instead dedicated to reaching beyond themselves to help others. Having them in our building means that our students have the opportunity to be blessed by another generation, and bringing these generations together is a priceless gift.”
The granddads show up to the school every Monday morning and work for at least a couple of hours. They have a workroom that also serves as a storage space for the school. All of the tools are donated or spare tools that they have brought. They have their own mailbox with the teachers’ mailboxes. If someone needs something fixed or done in their room, the granddads will find a note in their mailbox requesting help.
They check all of the emergency lights on a regular basis, build picnic equipment, remove old television sets from the walls and so on and so on.
“Anything we can make easier for the people at the school we do,” Colvin said.
Jackson, who has worked at the school since 1995, said that she and others at the school have tried to estimate the amount of money the granddads save them each year because of all of the work that they do.
“They give us well over 400 man hours a year to our school, so if they made only $15 an hour, that would make $6,000 a year that we save through their dedication and love for St. Mary’s,” Jackson said. “But that doesn’t begin to measure what they are worth to us. There is no dollar amount that can be placed on what they mean to us — they are priceless.”
Frank Curti has been one of the granddads since the mid to late 1990s. His father-in-law, Marty Wacker, already was in the program when he joined. His brotherin-law, Steve Wacker, is in the group with Curti now as well. Other active members of the group include Larry Marvin, Gary Smith, Larry Heller, Ed Brady, Jim Hudson and Colvin.
“The kids love us and the teachers love us,” Curti said. “So it’s really great to go in every Monday.”
Some of the men who have been part of the granddads have actually had grandchildren there or who had attended there at some point. But having a family member at the school is not a prerequisite to join.
“They call it the granddads because it’s just a bunch of elderly gentlemen,” Curti said, smiling. Curti is 74 years young. Colvin is just the tender age of 63.
Curti is quick with a funny story about things the granddads have done or things that have happened in the program. But he is completely serious when it comes to the work that the men do. Curti — and the rest of them — are unshakably devoted to taking care of the school and helping the staff and students.
They see it as part of living out their Christian faith — donating their time and talents to a group that can use and that needs their help.
“It’s all intertwined,” Curti said. “It makes your faith stronger and it keeps you involved with the kids and the school and the teachers.”
There is a plaque that hangs on Curti’s den wall. And it means the world to him — because it’s a reminder to keep doing what he does. It is a testament to a philosophy that he and his fellow St. Mary’s granddads live by — to serve others. It was presented to him in 1997 by his fellow Knights of Columbus, who help support the granddads’ work at the school.
“For God so loved that world, that he gave us Frank Curti to help the children.”
“I believe that, just as the granddads bless our students, our children have the same effect on them,” Jackson said. “For most of them it has been a long time since they have been around little ones, and I think our students, with their childhood innocence and joy, are a breath of fresh air to the granddads. … We need the granddads, and they realize what a gift they are sharing with us each week.”