Red Bank Catholic Retirees Stay Committed to School, Students and Each Other

By Sophia Wiener

Last year, the three recipients of the Sister Joanmarie McDonnell Financial Award received a combined $2,000 toward their senior year fees at Red Bank Catholic (RBC). The application for the award asks students why they chose to attend RBC and what they have gotten out of the experience so far; it’s an award for Caseys by Caseys. The people donating the money and reading the applications are the very same teachers and staff who spent so many years guiding RBC students.

In retirement, they want to continue to help. Even if it means reading a few more essays.

The idea started small; a casual way for friends to stay in touch. In 2023, Debbie Hemschoot and Pat Hendricks, both long-time members of Red Bank Catholic’s guidance department, were retiring and discussed setting up a regular breakfast date to stay in touch. They invited Pat Rooney, a long-time guidance secretary who had retired in 2012, and Ann Gonzalez, a former tuition supervisor.

From there, the group grew. New members would suggest other people to get in touch with, Hemschoot would send out a text, and the group would expand. They’ve been meeting at Felicia’s Kitchen in Little Silver for going on two years now, sitting at a long chain of tables that, if the crowd is big enough, spans the entire restaurant. The crew – all women – greet each other warmly and somewhat rowdily, dine on a pre-planned menu, and share updates on life and health. Photos of grandchildren are eagerly shared. And a humble plastic yellow box is set out at each breakfast, stickered with glittering shamrocks and topped with a picture of Sister Joanmarie.

Ask any of the women, and they all agree on one thing: McDonnell was “a legend.” She was “the lifeblood of the school.” She was at the school for over 40 years. She ran RBC’s LIFE Club (Living in Faith Effectively) with Sisters Marge Scarpone and Regina Callahan, the school’s remaining sisters. They led students in gathering food and clothing donations and raising money for local charities. They went to every basketball or baseball game, every play, every activity the students held.

The sentiment is that McDonnell didn’t simply teach religion, but authentically showed how she “lived her faith,” and students responded strongly to that. 

After decades of service, both Callahan and Scarpone aren’t eager to leave anytime soon. Callahan, the only current staff member who attends the breakfast, said, “I’ve been there for 42 years, and if I could stay another 42 years, I would.”

The sentiment is common: Out of the over two dozen members present for the December breakfast, five are RBC graduates.

Kathy Kelly and Patty Valente, two of those graduates, have known each other for a long time; Kelly was Valente’s gym teacher in her early years of teaching. Valente’s reason for returning to RBC is specific: heartfelt gratitude. “I thought I owed RBC something,” she said. “I had a lot of trouble. I was dyslexic as a kid. (At RBC), for the first time in my life, someone told me I wasn’t stupid.”

She credits former staff members Mary Carmody and Mary Walton for having a positive impact on her. “We put the (scholarship) money together so students can have the same opportunity,” Valente said.

Cathy Urich, who graduated in 1962, said she wanted her children to go to RBC; her husband was already a coach there, so it was the obvious choice. “I loved my four years (in high school) there. I loved teaching there,” Urich said.

She also loved getting up to mischief with her fellow teachers. “Me in particular, I’m old. I can get away with it.”

Overwhelmingly, the retirees look at their time at RBC as something truly special. Faith plays a role in that. Jeannine Guarillo, a former math teacher, attended Catholic school as a child. It was important to her to be able to pray in class and teach students not just math but “how to be a good person.” 

Hemschoot started at Red Bank Catholic as the school nurse. But when her husband died in 9/11, she needed a less stressful occupation. “But they weren’t going to let me go,” Hemschoot said. “I had been there for 13 years. I taught health for a year. Then I worked in the main office for a while, then the guidance office.” She still helps out at the guidance office occasionally.

The emphasis placed on relationships made all the difference.

Said club member Carold Jordan, “We didn’t make a lot of money. We didn’t have a lot of benefits. But you can’t put a price tag on what we had.”

The article originally appeared in the January 9 – 15, 2025 print edition of The Two River Times.