Saturday’s induction ceremony for the National Teachers Hall of Fame culminated a week’s worth of activities celebrating this year’s class, including the annual rededication of the National Memorial to Fallen Educators, which took place inside the Visser Hall atrium Saturday morning.
Receiving recognition Saturday were:
*Tom Dickey, a teacher from Omaha, Nebraska, who died after breaking up a fight
*Douglas Greenhalgh, a band director from Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, who was killed in a bus crash
*Jason Hughes, a teacher from Gainesville, Georgia, who died after am accident
*Diane Peterson, a teacher from San Jose, California, who was stabbed to death
Dickey’s wife, Thea, said Dickey’s love for others was active by choice. She also says her husband had a major impact on the students he knew — and the ones he didn’t. An example came from a letter one student in his school wrote after Dickey died.
0:18 – 3380-Dickey Student testimony
Kansas House 60th District Representative Mark Schreiber referenced the death of Dan Marburger, an Iowa principal who was killed by a 17-year-old student in January 2024. Just two days before the shooting, Marburger had a conversation with his son about the prospect of a school shooting and how to respond.
0:43 – 3895-Schreiber Marburger
The rededication draws attention to the four educators honored Saturday and more than 10 others that will be added to the memorial over the next year, following the successful 12 for 12 fundraising campaign to install and engrave two granite tablets at the memorial with the other three tablets now full:
*Annie Louise Keller (IL), 25: Died saving students from a tornado (1927).
*Diane Peterson (CA), 26: English teacher killed at school (1978).
*Christopher J. Trakimas (PA), 61: Boiler mechanic killed in a workplace explosion (2016).
*Nohema Graber (IA), 66: Spanish teacher killed by students (2021).
*Dan Marburger (IA), 56: Principal killed during a school shooting (2024).
*Ryan Lantz (WV), 52: Journalism teacher killed in a parking lot accident (2024).
*Kevin Garrison (NE), 56: Maintenance supervisor killed in a construction incident (2024).
*Richard Aspinwall (GA), 39: Math teacher killed in a school shooting (2024).
*Cristina Irimie (GA), 52: Math teacher killed in a school shooting (2024).
*Leah Seneng (CA), 60: Art teacher who died from a rabid bat bite sustained on campus (2024).
*Erin M. West (WI), 42: Teacher killed in a school shooting (2024).
*Carol Mendiola Mooers (AK), 48: School counselor killed in a plane crash while traveling with students (2025).
More information about the National Memorial to Fallen Educators is available online at nthf.org.
