Farewell and Godspeed to John and Nancy Ocwieja

John and Nancy Ocwieja have made significant, positive contributions to their community, and their legacy will continue long after their impending move to Colorado to be near their grandchildren.

By Roberta Ludtke

Forty years ago, a young couple graduated from MSU and made their home in Stockbridge. Since then, John and Nancy Ocwieja have made significant, positive contributions to their community, and their legacy will continue long after their impending move to Colorado to be near their grandchildren.

While Nancy taught elementary school in Stockbridge and John worked as an administrator in the prison system, they raised their three daughters, Regina, Sarah, and Karen.

The friendships John and Nancy made will last, as will their mark in making this a better community.

To John and Nancy, you two will be sorely missed. Below are words of appreciation from a few of the many lives you have touched:

Nancy has served as volunteer and board member of Stockbridge Community Outreach for more than a decade and as Board Chair for the past two years. Her tenure as Board Chair has been one of constant change and decision making; from staff changes to policy reviews to the ongoing hunt for a new location. Nancy’s leadership style is approachable and while she managed to keep the 12-member board on task, she always did so in an atmosphere of camaraderie. She has been a vibrant and active force within Outreach, and though we wish her and John the best in this next chapter of their lives, their absence will certainly be felt here and throughout the community.

–Karen Smith, Outreach Program Director

Some community members sit back and wish their town or city provided certain services.
Then there are those who make it happen. Nancy Ocwieja is one of those people. From the
time she joined the Stockbridge Area Arts Council board, she embraced their mission
of promoting and providing the arts in our community and schools. Nancy has been a vital member of the board serving as a liaison with our contributors and helping plan and execute all the artistic endeavors and programs. That kind of person is hard to replace. The Stockbridge Area Arts Council thanks Nancy for her service to our community. She will be greatly
missed as a member of our board and as a friend.

—Vicky Woolcock, member SAAC

All of members of the Stockbridge Lions take a turn and are involved and connected. But our Club will soon feel a huge loss, the impending absence of John and Nancy Ocwieja.

These two folks have contributed throughout their 20-year-plus membership in the Lions, tackling many of our annual good works like the Easter Egg Hunt, high school scholarships, White Cane, Day in the Village, All Clubs Day BBQ, Club Christmas Auction (to raise money for OutReach Families at Christmas). They have played integral roles in Lions Bingo on Monday nights, Lions Club monthly meetings, first Tuesday dinner meetings, and third Tuesday board meetings.

In so many other ways, too numerous to mention, John and Nancy will be greatly missed. We shall miss their good humor, caring gestures, positive attitude, commitment to community, and the list goes on. It’s what makes bidding them good-bye and good luck feel a little bittersweet. So long John and Nancy and THANKS for EVERYTHING!

— Lyn St. Dennis, member Stockbridge Lions

John Ocwieja was a member of the Stockbridge Board of Education that interviewed me for the district superintendent position in 1994. Once I was hired, John was among the first to press forward to establish a strategic agenda to meet the district’s immediate and long-range needs.

In 1995, along with Darwin Snyder, John was a convincing proponent to repair the district’s failing roofs. In 1999 John showed strong leadership for positioning the district to consolidate and improve our elementary buildings. He was a stalwart in participating in the many public meetings necessary to monitor and accomplish both tasks.

John was a very active School Board member. He stayed in touch with staff and district needs and always advocated for improvement from an informed position. He was a reliable member of the Finance and Policy Committees. I relied on John because he had a rare ability to quickly understood complex financial issues and would fairly explore all sides of policy questions before taking a position.

What I liked about John the most was his ability to see people and situations clearly. His unique sense of humor made many long meetings more endurable. As a School Board member, John was a very good public servant, always capable and selflessly concerned for the best interests of the school district without concern for personal recognition.

–Bruce Brown, retired Superintendent of Stockbridge Community Schools

We both had the privilege of working with Nancy as an elementary teacher. One of her best qualities as a teacher was the fact that she cared deeply about her students. She worked very hard to meet the needs of each child by using a variety of skills that she had developed during her career. Nancy was someone that the other teachers looked to as a leader in the building. When Heritage Elementary was getting ready to open Nancy was chosen to establish the model classroom for other teachers to see. Always willing to serve on numerous committees to help the elementary program improve and meet the new challenges in the education of children. Beyond the regular school day, she took part and gave her time to the PTO activities and projects. Having raised her three children in the district, it was really important to her to contribute, however, she could.

After retirement, Nancy and husband John continued to serve our community volunteering in a number of areas. Just an example of the type of people they are.

— Retired principal Don Porter and teacher Bob Roberts, Stockbridge Community Schools

For many years John and Nancy have been an integral part of the Waterloo Farm Museum. John, as a board member and our current treasurer, worked with other volunteers to organize and assist in the daunting task of updating the inventory of the Farm Museum, thereby bringing the Waterloo Area Historical Society into the 21st century.

Nancy has co-chaired the Garden Committee, along with Carol Strahler and several garden clubs that, through back-breaking hours and hours cleaned and put in new beautiful flowers and shrubs. As one of the Museum’s Education Program presenters, Nancy, dressed as Mrs. Realy, brought her love of teaching to the children who visit the Farm in the spring and fall.

John and Nancy are always willing to jump in wherever there is a need. The above-listed accomplishments are just a few of the volunteer positions they have held over the years. They will be missed by the museum and by all who know them.

— Arlene Kaiser, Private Events Coordinator, Waterloo Area Historical Society