and worked with him for six hours to show him how to set things up. “I then began meeting incredible teachers, many with whom I’ve built friendships,” Jurkovic said. “Teachers like Sam Ashmun, Karen Horowitz, Libby Gee and Mary Decker, who also helped me at her home with the sequence sheets, just to name a few. I could list so many more! You can choose to rise or sink to any occasion or situation, depending on who’s around you. The work culture at Bryden was such that you wanted to continually maximize your abilities and potential.” Teaching was great fun for Jurkovic. In addition to being an exceptional teacher and playing nerf football and kickball with students on the playground from his very first day, he invited former students to join him for lunch once they entered third grade. Looking back, he recalls how many hours the students, mostly girls, would save him by putting stickers and stamps on papers and helping him set up his room. And, about a dozen students chose to come back to his classroom for their senior projects because of their interests in education. Because of the relationships he built, Jurkovic was often invited to and attended students’ bar and bat mitzvahs, recalling terrific parties and how he saw parents in a different light! It's a continuation of these relationships that makes him stand out from the crowd today, five years after retiring. He and his wife, Pat, also a retired school teacher (they Clockwise from left to right: Casey Heiser (Beachwood High School when her aunt, Sharon Weisman, was inducted in the Gallery Hall of Success); Stacey Snider Cohen and Craig Cohen (Panini’s on Coventry); Jurkovic’s wife, Pat; Emily Cala and Alexandra Somogyi (High School Graduation) were introduced by Nancy Herrick, another Beachwood elementary school teacher), spend their days traveling and absorbing all that Cleveland has to offer. With the help of social media, Jurkovic stays in touch with many of his former students. “Facebook and social media opened the doors for communications,” he said. “When I signed up for Facebook, Mary Decker was my first friend. After that, I got a friend request from Susie Geraci, who lives in Florida and was in my second class. She asked if I remembered her, if I had her class picture, and if I would post it. “I posted the picture and the next day 15 additional students sent me friend requests. I then posted additional class pictures and invited anyone from my past, from any circle of life, to feel free to contact me. This ballooned and I was reunited with students who now live all over the country – from New York to California and Florida to Colorado – as well as many who settled down right here in Ohio.” Jurkovic shared stories about students from his first class, who are now 42 years old. He also taught children of former students, including Julie Shaw and her daughter Paige Safenovitz; Twilla Simson and her son, Evan; and Adrienne Lynum and her daughter Kayla Corlew. Addi- tionally, he taught Stacey Snider Cohen and Craig Cohen, who were in the same class, and are now married to each other. The first time Jurkovic met with a former student’s family while traveling was in the 90s. Irina Holz was a former student who had moved back to Switzerland, and he met with part of her family after communicating via email. “I loved the family,” he said. “Pat and I stayed the night in their lovely Swiss home and they treated us like royalty.” Having traveled through all the states except Alaska, Jurkovic has met with students from all over the country – about 50 from out of state and about 140 more who live in and around Cleveland – many of whom carry fond memories of their second-grade class: kickball, chewing bubble gum in the classroom, stories from Jurkovic's past, Halloween celebrations, including scary masks and other surprises in their desks. Continued on page 9 Tocombamaria Murphy, Samantha Noland and Michelle Miller (BHS 20-year reunion) Damon Smith (San Clemente Pier, CA) May 2015 n Beachwood Buzz 9