In Memoriam
In Memory of Gail Simons
Gail Simons (middle), CATESOL Education Foundation board member for sponsorship, passed away after her brave journey with brain cancer. She was a sweet, unassuming, hard-working member of the Foundation reaching out and securing sponsorships. She was the first person to do this systematically beginning in 2011. Our foundation grew because of her volunteer work. The board members and sponsorship partners will miss her greatly.
In Memory of Dr. Lynne Diaz-Rico, A Great Educator
Dr. Lynne Díaz-Rico, CATESOL past president (2010-11), passed away on June 24, 2020 at her home in Redlands, California, after a short bout with pancreatic cancer. She was educated at University of Pittsburgh, and received her Doctorate of Education from Interamerican University in Puerto Rico.
Lynne was a professor at California State University, San Bernardino teaching in the College of Education’s Department of Teacher Education & Foundations for over thirty years. While at Cal State, Dr. Díaz-Rico founded a successful master’s program in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). Lynne was admired and respected by her students who indicated that she was an exceptional teacher who worked her students hard, but they learned from her. She helped them arrange successful teaching internships and stayed in touch long after they graduated. Lynne took on multiple leadership roles at the university and within her professional organizations. She mentored and advised many students at the masters and doctoral levels over the years. Dedicating much of her life to her students, Lynne mentored over 90 master’s theses for the M.A TESOL. She had a dynamic personality, full of wit and wisdom.
Lynne was a prolific author and focused on preparing teachers to teach English learners, including The Cross-Cultural Language and Academic Development Handbook: A Complete K-12 Reference Guide, with Kathryn Z. Weed, now in its sixth edition, and Strategies for Teaching English Learners. In addition to her professional duties as a writer and professor, Lynne was an avid reader and reviewer of books. She wrote, for example, two volumes on the history and folklore of the Serrano people, a project commissioned by the San Manuel tribe of Southern California. To understand a little more about her professionalism and dedication to her students, watch this YouTube video: Mapping the Socio-cognition of ILLC Curricula and Assessment.
Throughout her life, Lynne traveled extensively throughout the globe to deliver lectures and presentations. She presented at both TESOL and CATESOL annually over a number of years. A former stained glass artist, she was known for her curious mind and deep knowledge of topics such as visual art and craft, European history, Chinese philosophy, and United States Indigenous cultures.
As president of CATESOL in a time of financial difficulty, she brought in many new members by connecting with colleagues and colleagues of colleagues. She led the CATESOL Board of Directors through a challenging time with a strong hotel union who called for a strike during our annual conference.
In reflecting back on her contribution and participation in CATESOL, Lynne herself wrote:
At every CATESOL conference over the years, whether a local, regional, or the annual, I have reconnected with colleagues I rarely see in person (California is a big state!), made new friends, attended terrific presentations, and acquired new technology skills. I have my own favorite presenters that I seek out time and again--these have been my teachers over the years. I always try to contribute as well. This year I made my 50th CATESOL academic presentation. Many thanks to those colleagues who have supported me as I have grown and matured in this profession!
Dr. Lynne Diaz-Rico was a great educator, presenter and teacher. She will be sorely missed.
In Memory of Dr. Sumako Kimuzuka
Dr. Sumako Kimuzuka, or "Dr. Kimi," was our Founding Donor whose generous donation to CATESOL marked the beginning of the CATESOL Education Foundation. Some of these funds were used to cover the start up costs of the Foundation and have been used to support non-political events at CATESOL Conferences.
A 50-year resident of Pasadena, Dr. Kimi was dedicated to teaching and to her many students, friendly & outgoing, gracious, enthusiastic, appreciative, loved beauty, was always fashionable and kind. She graduated from Tsuda College, Japan; came to the US on a Fulbright scholarship in the early 50's; studied at Mills College, Oakland and Occidental College, LA; and completed her Doctorate of Education at University of California at Los Angeles, 1962. After that, she served as Associate Professor of Linguistics and was Emeritus Associate Professor at USC. A member of TESOL and CATESOL, she authored a textbook and numerous articles on Linguistics.
See article: Sumako Kimuzuka Pasadena Star-News
In Memory of
Gwendolyn “Tippy” Schwabe
On March 29, 2018, Gwendolyn T. Schwabe, known to all as Tippy, passed away peacefully at the age of 91 in Haverford, Pennsylvania, where she had been living in retirement. The TESOL profession in California has much to thank her for; in her roles as a Senior Lecturer in English/Linguistics at UC Davis and as a Past President of CATESOL, she was a source of support and inspiration to hundreds of international students, ESL teachers in training, and ESL professionals ranging from veterans down to new beginners.
A true role model, Tippy inspired others to become actively involved in CATESOL.“I seriously doubt that many people turned her down. She got us to say, ‘Yes, I can do that’ more than we ever even realized,” remembered Karen Dennis, one of the many past presidents of CATESOL who fondly remember Tippy’s influence in making them strong leaders, her continuous moral support of CATESOL, and her far-reaching ideas for strengthening the organization. “Tippy was a model for me in her leadership of CATESOL. I looked forward to seeing her at all the conferences and at TESOL too!” noted Sharon Seymour, another past president of CATESOL.
Kathleen Flynn, a recent past president of CATESOL, underscored how proactive Tippy was in attending CATESOL presentations and encouraging the presenters to continue with their research and make it available to others via CATESOL. As an example, at a presentation regarding a joint project between the Credit and Non-Credit ESL Divisions at Glendale Community College, she offered cogent advice and strategies that proved useful for a number of years.
June McKay, CATESOL President 1985-1986 and best of friends with Tippy for over 40 years, said that she and Tippy “shared a room at an uncountable number of CATESOL conferences and were equally dedicated to the betterment of our professional organization. Because we each worked with ESL students on UC campuses—she at Davis and I at Berkeley—we also served together on various state-wide committees.“
In her long career as a teacher trainer, TIppy has left a legion of ESL professionals and CATESOL supporters. Janet Lane, one of those she mentored, said, “Tippy was the best mentor a person could ever ask for. I well remember the day when I was a senior at UC Davis I “sat in her office and told her I could not take her pedagogy course because everyone else in the class had taught before and I felt extremely behind all the others. She encouraged me to continue and said, ‘You’ll probably be one of the best.’" Ellen Lange, who got her start in those same pedagogy classes and later became 2013 - 2014 CATESOL President, said she is forever grateful for Tippy’s ability to give careful, honest advice. “When I gave her the first write-up of a research project she had assigned me, Tippy promptly wrote on it with her pencil: ‘Did you outline this?’ That remark turned into a life-long lesson.”
After her retirement, Tippy created the Tippy Schwabe Grant at UC Davis through the CATESOL Education Foundation as a means to encourage graduate students to become actively involved in CATESOL through attending conferences, volunteering, and giving presentations. Jan Eyring, a professor at CSU—Fullerton, said that Tippy’s “donations to the Foundation for scholarships for students was the inspiration for a similar program at Cal State Fullerton.”
Indeed, as Gretchen Bitterlin, another Past President, so carefully observed, “Tippy was a CATESOL icon.”
