Individuals gathered at Lancaster St. Mary School on Monday, Jan. 27 to celebrate a member of the community who received the Carlton Rider Distinguished Alumni Award.
Lancaster Fisher Catholic (FC) High School teacher Cathy Henry was this year’s recipient.
The Carlton Rider Distinguished Alumni Award was established to recognize St. Mary School alumni who make a positive impact in their communities. Award recipients are recognized for unselfishly offering their talents and gifts to their local communities and parishes through their profession, volunteer efforts and service to the Church and Catholic education. They are also honored for their love and practice of the Catholic faith by drawing others into the Church through example and invitation.
In a nomination for the award, it was written that “Miss Henry has devoted her entire life to supporting Catholic education in our community. She began as a first grader at St. Mary in 1957, graduating eighth grade in 1969. She attended Bishop Fenwick (now St. Mary) prior to moving to Fisher Catholic High School during the middle of her junior year at Bishop Fenwick in the winter of 1971. She was a part of the second class to graduate from the new Fisher Catholic High School in 1973.
“She went off to college at Ohio University, where she majored in mathematics. After graduation she was offered a job at FC and returned to begin her teaching career at FC in 1977. During her tenure at FC, she has taught everything from Geometry, Algebra I to Advanced Calculus.
“In addition to her classroom work, she began coaching girls’ athletics in 1977 when she coached the Lady Irish basketball team. She went on to coach not only girls JV (junior varsity) and varsity basketball but also coached track and softball. Miss Henry doesn’t stop there; she is always around the building helping tutor, collect ticket money at sporting events, work concessions, and I have even seen her sweeping floors.
“In addition, she can always be found helping pass out lunches at the annual Alumni Golf Outing, too. Miss Cathy Henry has truly devoted her life to our Catholic community and has been a positive role model, mentor and friend to so many young people that have passed through both St. Mary and Fisher Catholic.”
She was recognized by the school’s principal, Dr. Sally Lozada.
“Though I’ve never been a student in her classroom, I have certainly been a student of and witness to Cathy’s servant leadership, pure devotion to this beloved school and commitment to its students, alumni and success for decades to come.
“If you have ever stacked chairs under Cathy’s direction following an event in the Main Gym, it doesn’t take but a few minutes to learn that those chairs better be stacked in piles of 15, never dragged across the floor and neatly placed where they belong, precisely far enough away from the wall to not cause marks or damage. Some quickly step away from this task and its expectations, even trivializing it to excessive and unnecessary rules for simple chair removal.
“It took a 40-year-old graduate from another high school for me to truly understand the meaning behind those chairs and Cathy’s expectations. Our helper that evening explained that if only his old high school had cared enough about their new gym and new furniture to think beyond hiring a bunch of teenagers to take care of things (like putting away chairs after an event), that gym would still look as good as ours at FC,” Lozada said.
One of Henry’s lessons noted was how she sets an expectation of care for Fisher Catholic through investing, loving and nurturing.
“As a former student of Miss Henry, I can personally attest to the incredible teacher and role model she is. She has devoted countless hours to helping the students in her care, and she is truly deserving of this award,” said Kayla Elrich, principal at St. Mary.
Staff, students, alumni, families and friends extended their gratitude to Henry. They were grateful to be part of her legacy, established through how she models, teaches and lives.