Alumni News & Notes

teach for 5 additional years. While education was of high importance to Richard, he also enjoyed many hobbies, including gardening, traveling, reading, puzzle solving and volunteering. He and his wife, Margie, traveled frequently all across the United States and to 15 foreign countries. Volunteering was very close to his heart. He spent time volunteering with multiple organizations in Colorado, Iowa, Indiana and Maryland. He worked to support various organizations and spent many years serving positions such as treasurer, vice president and president with organizations like The United Fund in Kalona, The Council of Mid-Prairie Churches, Kalona Public Library and Kalona Public Library Foundation, The Kalona Garden Club, College Mennonite Church in Indiana and Men’s Fellowship.

Richard remains a great mentor for his selfless service and caring heart. He served many important roles throughout his lifetime that impacted countless lives in a wonderful way.

Richard “Dick” Oyer died at the age of 91 on Sunday, February 19, 2023. As a child, Richard grew up on a dairy farm near Fisher, Illinois, and attended a rural school for the first eight years of his education. He then attended Fisher High School and graduated in 1949 as valedictorian. After completing high school, Richard then continued his education at Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina, and graduated Magna Cum Laude. Education clearly played an important role in Richard’s life, because he then earned his master’s degree from the University of Colorado in 1959 and took additional graduate hours at the University of Iowa Teacher’s College, Columbia University and the University of Redlands in California.

While pursuing his educational career, Richard served in the U.S. Army as a non-combatant from 1953-1955. He was married to Margaret “Margie” Yoder on August 16, 1958 in Denver, Colorado. He was hired by Kalona Public Schools in August of 1955 as a high school and junior high math teacher. When Mid-Prairie officially began in 1957, he then became a math teacher at Mid-Prairie. From 1957-1992, Richard taught math at the junior high and high school levels. After teaching for a total of 37 years in Kalona, he then continued to substitute

Check your answers below for the fall 2022 trivia questions:

What is the official name of Mid-Prairie’s mascot? Herschel the Hawk

Who is the longest serving current Mid-Prairie employee? Cindy Malichky, Assistant Business Manager

Which Mid-Prairie sports have won a state title throughout district history?

Girls Cross Country - 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021

Boys Cross Country - 2016

Girls Basketball - 2002

Boys Track - 2008

Girls Track - 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022

Baseball - 2004

How many attendance centers / options does Mid-Prairie currently have?

7 - East Elementary, West Elementary, Middle School, High School, Home School Education Center, Alternative Learning Center, Virtual Academy

How many square miles does the Mid-Prairie district cover?

215 square miles of gently rolling landscape in southeastern Iowa