Mary Ann's Lessons for a Lifetime

I have many OGOs in my life but probably my first and foremost is Mary Ann Sunyoger.

I first met Mary Ann when I was about 9 or 10 when she had moved into my sister's neighborhood. My first impression was how beautiful and classy she was! She was also an English teacher at Catholic Central High School where I later attended.

My freshman year I walked into her class nervous because I had heard rumors about her being a "hard" teacher. We were instructed to get a 5 subject college ruled notebook. Boy, did she make sure we filled it up! Grammar, vocabulary, sentence structure, everything from an intro college class we learned at 14. She told us to always keep our notebook because you never know when you might need it.

During our senior year term paper project, Mrs. Sunyoger left on maternity leave. Since she was such a dedicated teacher, she still found time to read and grade them from home! I was helping my sister with her three boys at the time because my brother-in-law became very sick. However, Mrs. Sunyoger always checked in on me, his progress, and gave me a little slack on finishing my paper!

After graduating high school, I attended our local community college. To my luck and surprise, I found out she was teaching English 101 there. I immediately transferred to her class and took my high school notebook with me. She was right - you never knew when you might need it! I was so well-prepared from high school that it was the easiest A of my life. In fact, I still have it to this day.

Over the past 40 years, Mary Ann has been a constant presence in my life. She has helped me celebrate happy times and prayed with me through sad times. She always asks about my now-grown children and how they are.

I look up to her for all she has accomplished. She is a dedicated wife, mother, and awesome grandmother. Since her early days as a high school teacher, she has earned her doctorate, published a book, and is a a professor at the Franciscan University. Her love of life and faith shows in all that she does and she had touched hundreds of lives. The Ohio Valley is blessed that she has never left!