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SPOTLIGHT
FAREWELL
With the end of the school year we celebrated the incredible careers of four outstanding educators who combined, have more than a century of service at Dowling Catholic High School. We are grateful to Judy Chamat, Ron Gray, Jeff Morris and Tracy Sandbothe for their many years of service and tremendous contributions.
JUDY CHAMAT
Judy Chamat has retired after more than 35 years at Dowling Catholic. As a longtime member of the World Languages Department, she taught Spanish and French as well as English and humanities during her tenure. She also served as a moderator of the International Club and led the Walk for the Cure, an initiative established in memory of a DCHS student to raise money for diabetes.
She began her teaching career after earning a bachelor’s degree from Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri, where she majored in Spanish and French and minored in Italian. She went on to earn a master’s degree in Spanish from Drake University.
Prior to DCHS she taught in Nevada, Iowa, in the Des Moines and West Des Moines school districts, and at Drake University. She also spent two years working overseas with the Aramco Oil Company located in Saudi Arabia. This experience provided her with a very unique opportunity to teach French and Spanish to students from around the world whose parents’ work brought them to Saudi Arabia.
She joined the DCHS faculty in January of 1985 where she completed the duration of her teaching career.
“My 35 years at Dowling Catholic hold very special memories of people and events,” said Chamat. “Receiving emails from former students and teaching the children of former students has been heartwarming. I will miss the DCHS family. I am grateful for the many blessings in my life that have come from DCHS.” In retirement she looks forward to spending time with her family and hopes to stay connected with those in the DCHS community.
Ron Gray ‘73 has retired after serving for 43 years as a faculty member in the Social Studies Department. It was a chance encounter with his high school wrestling coach, Bob Darrah, that led him to return to his alma mater. Gray left the state on a wrestling scholarship to attend Blackhawk Junior College in Moline and then Illinois State University. A series of events led him back to Des Moines and Drake University where he returned to finish his degree.
It was while helping with the Drake wrestling team that he ran into Darrah. When Darrah learned he was studying to become a teacher he invited him to help with the Dowling wrestling team. Gray showed up at Dowling the following Monday for practice and began a career that would span more than four decades.
He did his student teaching at Dowling and joined the social studies department following graduation. He was involved with the Dowling wrestling program for 29 years, serving for 12 years as an assistant coach with Darrah and then as head coach when he retired. His teams achieved five state championships and six dual state championships. Gray was inducted into the Dowling Athletic Hall of Fame and the National Wrestling Hall of Fame for his lifetime service to wrestling. He went on to coach boys and girls golf, leading the teams to nine state championships, and will continue to coach both teams
in retirement.
“It has been a distinct honor and privilege to have the good fortune to be part of something very special, Dowling
RON GRAY
Catholic High School, for 48 years (43 years on staff, four as a student, and one year as a student teacher and volunteer coach),” said Gray. “I will miss the daily interaction with the students the most. I will also miss my colleagues - past, present and those I had as students. It has been a great ride!” and had the pleasure of coaching with too many great people to name. He also coached one year of varsity football under Matt Dillon, one year of sophomore football with Larry Weier, and spent 15 years with the girls track team coaching the throwers. He began coaching boys golf five years ago and will continue to coach in retirement.
“It is difficult to put into words my feelings concerning Dowling Catholic High School,” said Morris. “It has been a big part of my life. I have met many great people who I have called my friends. The students and staff here have been wonderful and have taught me to be a better person. For that I am thankful. I will thoroughly miss being part of the Dowling faculty. They are the best! My only regret is that I have never won the raffle at the annual auction.” Sandbothe was involved with many clubs during her tenure at Dowling Catholic. She served as the original moderator of the Video Game Club and was also involved with the Hyperstream Tech Club, sophomore Quest Retreat, SOS Club and Christmas Baskets where she served as the committee chair.
She has many fond memories of teaching but notes that one of her proudest accomplishments is serving as the co-moderator for the Guatemala service trip which was incredibly fulfilling for a number of reasons. She enjoyed watching the students experience another culture and making a difference for a local family by building them a home.
In retirement, she looks forward to spending time outdoors hiking, biking, gardening and kayaking. Her hope for her former students is that they will always remember to be kind and go out and explore the world.
JEFF MORRIS
Jeff Morris ‘78 has retired after serving for 25 years in the Business Education Department. Morris graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1982 with a degree in accounting and worked for several years in the financial services industry. He went on to earn a master’s degree in education from Drake University and began his teaching career at Spalding Catholic High School. He returned to his alma mater to teach in 1996.
His many contributions at DCHS include the introduction of a financial literacy class 23 years ago and the free income tax preparation he has offered through his accounting classes for the last 24 years. He also served as a Kairos leader and participated in service trips to the Yucatan and Brazil.
He began his coaching career in 1982 with the Catholic Football League (CFL). He joined Dowling Catholic’s freshman football coaching staff in 1987 under head coach Bob Nizzi Tracy Sandbothe has retired after spending 18 years as a faculty member in both the world languages and business education departments. She began her career in the business sector after earning a bachelor’s degree in Spanish from Iowa State University and a master’s in teaching from Drury University located in Springfield, Missouri. Her teaching career began at Dowling Catholic
