 |
|
|
|
Bobbie Stenblom
Capri School mourns teacher's death
By Moryt Milo
Bobbie
Stenblom's unexpected death came as a shock to her family,
friends, co-workers and students at Capri Elementary School.
Although the 65-year-old educator was re-diagnosed with
cancer last fall, it was a fatal heart attack, after a routine
hernia operation, which caught everyone off guard and led to her
death March 16.
"At the
memorial service, the priest at St. Lucy's Catholic Church called
her the glue that held her family together," Capri Elementary
School Principal Debbi Garcia said. "She was also the soul of our
school."
During
her 27 years of helping the school as a parent and later working
for the Campbell Union School District (CUSD), Stenblom
continually looked for creative ways to keep her students
motivated.
Co-worker and Capri Elementary School secretary Melanie
Lawler remembers Stenblom's unwavering sense of dedication and
love for children.
Lawler
knew Stenblom for more than 14 years and recalls the first time
she met Stenblom during one of the school's Halloween festivals.
Stenblom was dressed as a clown, handing out prizes and candy and
selling balloons, she said. She always had a smile.
Stenblom also continually looked for ways to support the
school, even if it meant digging into her own pockets to defray
costs.
"This
was who she was," CUSD Director of Technology Gerry Davis said.
"Her heart and soul were in everything."
Davis,
a former principal at Capri Elementary School, said his initial
memories of Stenblom were of her standing outside of Safeway
supermarket on Winchester Boulevard collecting grocery receipts
from the shoppers leaving the store. It was part of a promotional
program with Safeway supermarkets to help put Apple computers into
schools.
"Capri
School was the first school in the nation to get an Apple computer
because of Bobbie's efforts," Davis said. "She also stood outside
Safeway selling hotdogs and condiments. She split the proceeds
with Safeway, and used her share to purchase software for the
school's computers."
At the
time of her death she was collecting old ink cartridges. She
planned to give the cartridges to a recycling plant and use the
funds to purchase items for the computer lab.
In her
computer lab, she created student incentives in the accelerated
reader program. Every time a student read a book and took a short
quiz demonstrating his or her comprehension of the material, the
student received a ticket for a monthly drawing. Each month a
number was picked out of a jar, and a student received the basket
of goodies sitting on Stenblom's desk, computer aide Linda
Andrianos said.
The
basket contained an assortment of items: a stuffed animal, candy,
small toys, a book and other goodies. Stenblom purchased the
treats with her own money.
Andrianos was bereaved by her mentor's death. To deal with
the pain and honor her life, she made a photo collage in the shape
of a heart with the saying, "Forever in our hearts, Bobbie
Stenblom."
The
makeshift memorial sits at the entrance to the computer lab as a
reminder of how it began and ''the guiding light who made it
happen.
On
April 20, Stenblom will be memorialized when the school plants a
redwood tree in her name for Earth Day. The students will also
paint a mural on the outside wall of the computer lab, in her
memory.
"If
anyone is going to heaven it's going to be Bobbie," Garcia said.
"She is that top angel who brought everyone unconditional love."
Stenblom is survived by husband, Wally Stenblom, of
Campbell; children, Elizabeth and Debra, of San Jose and Michael,
of Campbell; and two brothers and two sisters. Donations in
Stenblom's name can be made to the American Cancer Society, 1715
Bascom Ave., Campbell, CA 95008.
|
| |
|
Campbell,
California
.gif){kind=small}
