Dick and Gloria Gedrose created the Jeff Gedrose '84 Financial Aid Fund to honor the memory of their son.
In memory of Richard "Dick" Gedrose, 1943-2021
Perhaps no name is more synonymous with Jesuit High School than Dick Gedrose. Dick graduated from Jesuit High School in 1961 and attended college at Gonzaga University. After graduating from Gonzaga, Dick's first teaching job was at Brookings Harbor High School, where he taught social studies. After two years in Brookings, he was hired at Regis High School in Stayton, Oregon, where he taught for another two years. Moving back to Portland, Dick spent one year at Jackson High School before finally taking a position at his alma mater. "I was really looking for a school where I could experience community and a sense of belonging, and I found it at Jesuit High School," says Dick.
For the next 35 years, Dick served Jesuit in almost every capacity. In addition to teaching history from 1970 to 1974, he was an assistant coach in football and track. From 1975 until 1983, he served as athletic director and vice principal. In the spring of 1983, Dick became principal before moving into the president's job in 1998 until his retirement in 2005.
Over the years Dick taught classes, graded papers, coached athletes, advised students, attended hundreds of athletic events, supervised innumerable students in JUG, proctored the cafeteria, chaired faculty meetings, listened to concerned parents and raised funds for Jesuit High School.
When asked about memories of his time at Jesuit, Dick shared three key events. First, he mentioned his help in writing the Profile of a Jesuit Graduate at Graduation. As the presence of Jesuits declined in the 1980s, Jesuit needed to clarify its goals and objectives as a Catholic, Jesuit high school. Since then, every Jesuit student has studied the Profile and is expected to live up to its expectations.
Second, Dick faced the challenge of keeping the school a "Jesuit" and "Catholic" high school as new employees were lay faculty, not Jesuit priests. Under his direction, Jesuit's Campus Ministry and Christian Service departments became central parts of the school's mission.
Third, Dick, along with Fr. Bill Hayes, S.J. and others, orchestrated the transition from an all-boys school of 37 years to a co-educational environment in 1993. At the time, the change was fraught with controversy and required patience and commitment. Today, it is hard to imagine Jesuit without young women.
In 2001, Dick's son Jeff, a 1984 graduate of Jesuit High School, died of leukemia. Jeff loved Jesuit and played soccer and ran track. Shortly after, Dick and his wife, Gloria, created the Jeff Gedrose '84 Financial Aid Fund. "Jeff valued his years at Jesuit very much and we wanted to create something in his memory," says Dick. "Our hope was that future students would benefit from the income generated by Jeff's fund." Every year, Jeff's family, friends and Jesuit classmates choose to honor his life by contributing to the fund.
Endowments such as the Jeff Gedrose '84 Financial Aid Fund ensure that Jesuit will continue its mission of forming "women and men for others." For information on how you may contribute to this fund, join the Fr. William Hayes, S.J. Legacy Club and/or create a fund in your own family name, please contact Diane Salzman at 503-291-5497 or development@jesuitportland.org.