Farewells

These two long-time members of the EC family have built programs

that our staff and faculty will continue to grow in the years to come. We thank them for their dedication, leadership and many years of friendship.

Thank you

Anita Florence

Anita Florence’s teaching career has been one centered on faith. “Catholic education has been my passion for as long as I can remember.” When her daughter was ready to start school, Anita wanted her to attend a Catholic school but there was not one near their home in Gig Harbor. She started meeting with two other moms at her parish who also sought a Catholic school experience for their children. When they could not meet in person, they met on the phone. “One of the women added three-way calling so we could talk and plan every day. And not just talk but pray—we prayed together every day,” said Anita. In the fall of 1995, Holy Family School opened with 12 children. “We celebrated that we opened an independent Catholic school! Our parish was afraid of the challenges that a school might bring so our friends at the local Episcopal church let us use their facility. Today, the school is St. Nicholas Parish School, run by the archdiocese. This is one of the accomplishments I am most proud of over my entire lifetime,” said Anita.

It is this faith, dedication and kindness Anita has brought to her teaching. She began her teaching career working in the Options Program and will fi nish her career teaching in the Religious Studies Department. For 20 years she has also worked in parishes, as a Faith Formation Director at Our Lady of Sorrows in Snoqualmie and as the director of confi rmation at Mary, Queen of Peace in Sammamish. Catholic education has been her life’s work, “I love seeing students get excited about Bible stories. Even students who are not Christian appreciate the beauty of the stories. I am a storyteller at heart. I love to tell stories—and what better stories to tell than those from the Bible! Being able to share my passion with students is a true blessing, especially when I see that same passion coming back from them.”

Anita brought meditation and mindfulness into the middle school classroom and gave the students the tools to use it outside of the classroom as well. She built the curriculum for the middle school religion program. Eighth grade students learn Church history which Anita is most proud of because of how hard she worked to make the class interesting for all students.

In retirement, Anita and her husband will sell the home where they raised their two children and move to their lake property,“We will live in our cabin until our new cottage is built. We also plan to buy a travel trailer and do some traveling around the U.S. and Canada. I plan to spend a lot of time with my grandsons of course!” Anita says, “The best part of teaching has been getting to know my students and seeing them face-to-face on a daily basis—seeing them grow and mature and thrive. I am grateful that we will be able to fi nish the year together in the classroom and I am grateful that I will be able to see those smiles and hear their laughter. I am so happy I will be able to look them in their beautiful eyes and tell them what a blessing they have been to me as I bid them farewell!”

Thank youEastside Catholic has been the beneficiary of Randy Brown’s first retirement. Randy grew up in Yakima, Washington and graduated from West Valley High School in 1969 and then graduated from Central Washington University in 1973 with a major in mathematics and a minor in history. He soon began teaching eighth grade math in the Edmonds School District at Lynwood Junior High. Randy said, “That was in the days when teachers were laid off because of failed school levies, so after three years I got a Randy Brown job in Tacoma at Fife High School where I taught for 28 years before retiring in 2004.” Randy joined the EC faculty soon after and has been a faculty member for 17 years. As a geometry student in high school, he decided that teaching geometry was what he wanted to pursue, “In college I went through various majors, English literature, then history, then anthropology. Through it all I found that I loved math and that what I really wanted to do with it was to teach.” He has taught every secondary math class (except statistics) from seventh grade math to AP Calculus BC. Randy said, “I love the subject matter in Calculus but enjoy the energy and enthusiasm of ninth graders in Algebra as well, so I don’t really have a favorite class.” Turning 70 last November made Randy think more about retirement, “My two daughters, who are both teachers, have been telling me I’m crazy for not retiring sooner, but I love what I do and it was a hard choice even now to give it up. I love watching students grow from their ninth grade year to graduation. I have also enjoyed seeing them as adults, seeing how they have turned out. The students from my first year are now in their 50s!” Randy is looking forward to bike riding in retirement, “There is a beautiful ride from Orting to South Prairie along the White River with a view of Mount Rainier. I have seven grandchildren—all girls—and am looking forward to spending more time with them as well.” One of the joys of teaching for Randy is the daily class time with his students—the back and forth, impromptu moments, and engagement, “Remote teaching is not exactly how I saw my career ending, but it has been an interesting challenge. I feel sorry for the missed opportunities for the students. Things like Friday night football games, hanging out at lunch and trying to stay awake at assemblies are remembered long after that quiz in 3rd period.” As a teacher, he has been energized by students in the classroom, and EC students were blessed Randy chose them for his second career as a teacher.

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