We have had alumni from many different fields highlighted in our columns. CEO¹s of major companies, sports figures, actors actresses, doctors, attorneys, artists and many more. We have tried to bring you what we consider the most interesting facts we could accumulate. What we haven¹t done so far is to write about an alumna who has lived a full life outside the limelight. With this column we hope to rectify that oversight.

            The class of 1958, as I have pointed out before, has proved to be an exceptional class. We lived in ŒHappy Days.¹ We looked up to the Robert Youngs, the Loretta Youngs and the Mighty Joe Youngs and tried to emulate their life styles, well, maybe not so much the Joe Youngs.

            We sought to give back to society some of what we were given. Whether it be to serve in the armed forces or become teachers, firemen, policemen, whatever, we felt a had a debt to pay. And for the most part we were successful in our quest. Some more than others. One such alumna is Anna (Mohn) Gade S58.

            Anna scooted off the stage of the War Memorial Opera House in June of 1958 full of enthusiasm and a lust for higher learning. Right into the University of California at Berkeley where 4 years later she entered the work force with degree in hand.

            In 1965 Anna married classmate Dr. Warren E. Gade S58 and had one son, Robert, who is also a teacher, in Richmond, California.

            Anna started as a student teacher at Lincoln. She then went to Balboa High School and thence to Germany where she taught at the Army Dependents School. The Gades moved to Fresno where Anna taught at the junior high school level. 1978 Anna transferred to Fresno High School as an English teacher in what was to be, in today¹s vernacular, a real steal.

            Fresno High was in need of an Academic Decathlon teacher and Anna volunteered. She says "I just wanted to see what it was like". This trial period turned into a lifelong commitment.

            For those unfamiliar with the preparation and presentation associated with the coaching of subjects covered in the Academic Decathlon, we offer this analogy: You are a coach on a professional football team. Each year you change teams and must learn a new 3,000 page playbook and teach it to the new team. Mind-boggling? You betchum, Red Ryder.

            To quote an article in the Fresno Bee newspaper, "(Anna) ..says she's not the most competitive coach, but her focus has never wavered. The self-described lifelong learner says: ³I want them to learn as much as they can and realize the joy of intellectual pursuit.² Anna said the students and the ever-changing decathlon material kept her devoted to the event".

            One of Anna's former students, Alicia Estrada, who was on two of Anna's teams, and helped coach the 2003 team, is an English major at California State University, Fresno. She wants to be an English teacher like Anna and says of Anna, "You can communicate with her on a personal level. You can tell her anything. She¹s like a friend."

            A student and team member, Augie Muniz, says of Gade "She¹s a really good coach. She's motivated and she gets us going. We¹re all on task, and we all get our stuff done on time. She¹s a really good mentor."

            This year was Anna¹s last as a teacher and coach. She has retired and is headed to France for a visit.

            Of Anna's retirement, Jennifer Quinn, special projects coordinator of Fresno County says, "To lose one of our best coaches ...breaks my heart. She's irreplaceable."

            Alumni Association is proud of yet another unheralded alumna who's dedication to the youth of this country not only is praiseworthy but estimable.

            Do you know a Mustang who deserves recognition?

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