Meet the Author:  Chuck Stillman

Memorial Page for Mr. Stillman

            What you hold in your hands is the work of a Bishop Garrigan teacher who has bled the black and gold for over 20 years.

            “I was just reading some books, and a lot of them were on the ABC’s,” Chuck Stillman said.  “I was reading one that was the ABC’s of Iowa, and got to thinking why not just do the ABC’s of Seton, or even expand it to Bishop Garrigan Schools as a whole?”

            Stillman did his research and left no stone or activity uncovered in his ABC’s of Bishop Garrigan Schools.  From cheerleading to Pride Club, Stillman’s work is chockfull of the events that help make the private schools their own.

            The compilation is even more significant for Stillman, because he has been suffering with his third recurrence of colon cancer.

            “I just went in with the standpoint that if I was going to do this, I needed to get it done now, or it was never going to get done,” Stillman said.

            The whole school system has come together to help raise funds for Stillman’s medical expenses with a quilt being raffled off on Feb. 15.  Tickets can be purchased by sending checks to Seton Grade School in Algona before the raffle drawing.

            “We didn’t give him a choice,” said Mary Foth, fifth and sixth grade teacher at Seton Elementary.  “The whole Bishop Garrigan School System came together for this.  One of the teacher’s wives here made the quilt.”

            Foth feels the work is a “nice little summary” of all the activities found in the Bishop Garrigan Schools.  “It mentions everything in a lighthearted way,” Foth said.  “I know he worked really hard on it.  He sees things in very entertaining ways.”

            “He is an excellent teacher of language arts and reading,” said Mary Boisjolie, one of Stillman’s friends.  “I’ve been after him for years to write a book, telling his students to ask him when he was going to write a book.  I guess he finally got tired of hearing that and finally did it.”

            Boisjolie praised Stillman for continuing his teaching as he fights the cancer.  “He’s still continuing to teach, even as he gets chemo treatments on a regular basis,” Boisjolie said.  “I admire him so much for that.  I’m just not sure that I could do that.  He has been a real good friend of mine for a long time.”

            According to Stillman, the work in getting the book together was a several month long process.  “I had the idea in my head for several months before finally sitting down to write it,” Stillman said.  “As for writing, it took me two or three weeks to write it, and even after that, I was still in the process of adding things.”

            Stillman believes the book is an excellent reflection of the educational opportunities offered at Bishop Garrigan Schools.  “I’m really proud of this work,” Stillman said.  “I hope I didn’t leave too much out of it.  I thought it would be a great place to put this work in the Catholic Education Week tabloid we publich, because it is so inclusive of what we do have here and what we have to offer students in our school systems.”

            “If there is anyone who has lived the statement of Bishop Garrigan, Chuck is it,” Foth said.  “He has taught her at Bishop Garrigan Schools for so long.  He is kind of a legend.”

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