If anyone wondered what impact Dot Negropontes had on the community of Olds, they only needed to attend the celebration of her life, held May 25 at the Community Learning Campus (CLC), one of the legacies she left behind.
The floor of the CLC gym was packed. The overflow crowd took up about half of the south bleachers and a quarter or so of the north bleachers. Vehicles filled parking lots and overflow vehicles were parked along the road skirting the south end of Olds High School.
Dorothy Gail ìDotî Negropontes, a former teacher, principal, Chinook's Edge School Division official and CLC executive director, was born July 3, 1954. She passed away May 15, 2017.
Left to cherish her memory are her husband Teddy, son John and ìdaughter from another motherî Morningstar Bloom.
During her career, Negropontes rose from teacher to Olds High School principal, the first-ever …cole Deer Meadow School principal, as well as Chinook's Edge School Division official.
She also steered creation of the CLC and served as its executive director.
Olds College vice-president of academic and research Jason Dewling served as MC for the evening. He said Dot worked with Olds College on three different occasions and during that time, she ìquickly became one of the most treasured colleagues and friends,î he said.
ìOn behalf of friends and associates, we extend our deepest condolences to Teddy, John, Morningstar and the rest of the family,î he added.
Dewling also noted the crowd.
ìAs you can see by the size of this audience, Dot's impact was tremendous,î he said.
ìTonight we gather to bring some comfort to those of her family and friends who are deeply impacted by her passing.î
Dewling described Dot as ìa gentle, kind, loving person with a deep sense of spirit, devoted to her family, her profession and her community; a lady who we were all so very privileged to have known.î
Dot's cousin, Gloria Ulry, gave tribute to her.
Ulry noted that in their 40s, she and Dot made a pact that when their time came to pass away, one would make sure the other ìlooked good;î well groomed.
ìWe also said if I go first she'd give my tribute and if she went first I'd give hers. I did not guess it would be so soon,î Ulry said with great emotion.
Ulry recalled many amusing and memorable times they had together.
One time, Dot had a terrible cold, but did not want to miss a party. So she created a ìtoilet pendantî featuring a roll of toilet paper, which she accessed frequently to deal with her illness.
ìShe took a tissue off the roll around her neck so she could enjoy the party while wearing a unique fashion accessory,î Ulry said, as she and Raelynn Notely wore those accessories on stage.
ìI'd like to thank Ted and John for allowing me to be part of Dot's journey,î Ulry said with great emotion.
Lissa Steele, a colleague of Dot's for more than 20 years, gave tribute from a professional's perspective.
Dot was her principal at …cole Deer Meadow School. She hired Steele as director of curriculum and instruction in the Chinook's Edge School Division central office.
ìShe was my principal, she was my supervisor, my guide, my mentor and my friend,î Steele said.
Steele said Dot's leadership skills and all-around ability came to the fore during her time at Deer Meadow.
ìWithin a couple of years, because of her leadership, she was able to build Deer Meadow into one of the top five middle schools in North America,î Steele said. ìAnd while doing that, she was also running ñ and a founding member ñ of the Alberta Middle School Association.î
Steele noted Dot persuaded her to follow in her footsteps and obtain a master's degree and doctorate.
ìThat lady could sell sand to the Sahara Desert,î she said.
Dot also had a great sense of humour.
Steele recalled how during a speaking engagement, Dot persuaded her to include the word ìchitî (which means ìreceiptî) in her speech.
ìTaking on her challenge, I used it somewhere. And when I did, the entire table of them stood up, led by Dot, and clapped ñ standing ovation,î Steele said.
ìThe other 800 people in the room had no idea why that weird table was standing and clapping. But I looked at her and I just remember her laughing like crazy.î
Steele recalled another time when Dot pointed out publicly that she (Steele) had been speaking into a light, not a mike, when addressing a crowd.
Steele praised Dot's work to help create the CLC.
She said with the help of all those involved, Dot created ìa revisioning of what high school could look like.
ìShe's a model of who I strive to be. Through her leadership, she's really left a legacy in the educational community and will be missed,î Steele said.
Dot and Teddy's son John gave the last tribute on behalf of immediate family members.
ìI can honestly say there's nothing in this world that mom loved more than my dad and I. And knowing that made it easy to share her with everyone else and everything else that she loved too,î he said.
ìIt's hard to imagine a world without Dot Negropontes. But fortunately, we don't really have to; her story is all of our stories. And she lives on in the lives of all of us. Everyone here that she touched (and all those in attendance) are her legacy.î
During the evening, there were two musical performances. The Richardson Family sang Amazing Grace. Also, Jason and Katie Leussink sang If We Hold on Together.
A video of Anonymous Good, a project Dot successfully spearheaded a couple of years ago to get the community to post at least 5,000 good deeds, was shown.
Before the event began, screens up on stage showed photos from Dot's life, including many pictures of friends, family and colleagues.
As those photos flashed by, they were accompanied by many songs, including a version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow from the movie 50 First Dates. Other songs included Thank You For Being a Friend, Let It Be, and Turn, Turn Turn by The Byrds.
"It's hard to imagine a world without Dot Negropontes. But fortunately, we don't really have to; her story is all of our stories. And she lives on in the lives of all of us."TEDDY AND DOT NEGROPONTES'SSON JOHN
