MIKE VOOS, 46,
WHO TAUGHT IN THE DISTRICT FOR 11 YEARS,
DIED SUNDAY Jan 14th 2001 OF A HEART ATTACK.
by ALEX BRANCH, The Wichita Eagle
ROSE HILL - Mike Voos would budget himself $20 a week in lunch money.
Not for his lunch, but for the occasional penniless student he'd see standing in
the Rose Hill High School cafeteria. The social studies teacher would sidle up,
slip that student a couple of bucks and point to the lunch line.
"He'd never let a student go without getting a meal," said Mr. Voos' wife, Kathy.
"That was his rule."
Students and teachers grieved Tuesday for the man they said put his students
above everything but his family. Mr. Voos, 46, died of a heart attack Sunday.
Funeral services are set for 1 p.m. Thursday at First United Methodist Church,
330 N. Broadway Ave., Wichita.
"It was a shock," said Rose Hill superintendent Jit Milner. "Everyone here had
the utmost respect for Mike. It will be extremely hard to ever replace him."
The teacher and coach spent 11 years teaching in the district. But students ,
who returned Tuesday from a three-day weekend, said he did a lot more than
just teach.
"He was the teacher who would stop you in the halls and ask you how your
day was going," said Andrew Ricke, a sophomore in Mr. Voos' world
geography class last semester. "He was a great teacher. Everyone liked him."
And Mr. Voos liked all his students, Kathy Voos said. His goal each year was to
get every student in his class participating in his lecture.
One evening a few weeks ago, Mr. Voos rushed in the front door and headed
straight to the family computer.
He'd just found out that he would have a deaf student in his class this
semester. He pulled up a Web site on sign language.
"He wanted to be able to at least say 'hi' to her when she got there," said Mr.
Voos' son, Jason.
Kathy Voos said she has already heard from countless students and former
students who called after hearing of her husband's death.
Mr. Voos, whom she met in the seventh grade in Russell, where they both grew
up, always wanted to be a teacher, she said. Before coming to Rose Hill in
1990, he taught history in Pratt.
Principal Randal Chickadonz said Tuesday that students are still struggling
with the suddenness of Mr. Voos' death.
"He was just very well liked," Chickadonz said. "As a teacher, he put the
students' interests first."
He did that by getting involved with them outside the classroom, Chickadonz
said. Mr. Voos was an assistant coach on the football team until two years ago.
He coached girls basketball last year, and this year took charge of the school
golf team.
He also served on several school committees, such as the curriculum council.
On Monday, Chickadonz walked down the hall to Mr. Voos' classroom and
gathered some personal items to give to the family.
He came upon a piece of paper on which Mr. Voos had written a short
explanation of his teaching philosophy. It read, "I believe the influence I can
have on shaping a young person's life is the greatest attraction that teaching
has to offer."
That sums up the way Mr. Voos approached his job, Chickadonz said.
"That's why he was so good at it," Chickadonz said. "He loved teaching. We're
all really going to miss him."
Copyright (c) 2001 The Wichita Eagle
in his honor!
K-state
purple!
service or would just
care to hear it again
here it is I want
Brother who passed
weeks later from the
same heart condition .
We miss and love you
both your in our
thought prayers and
hearts always! Both
who two of the
greatest men I have
known and Uncle Al
you've got to be so
proud of all your kids !
DADS BOOK TIPS
FOR THE BEGININ
TEACHER! check
back ! this page is
getting finished!
the last letter Dad left for me to
find like he knew what we didn't.
Those of you who knew him I think
might get comfort or maybe a
song might mean more to you it
does me now. Love you Dad,
thanks for looking out after us all!
after several years of trials and tribulations.
he is like his mom--
very loving, independent,
caring, and giving.
we three have had to work very hard at making this
work but what has been accomplished is very strong.
i just heard my favorite song
by garth brooks--the river.
i am going to end this with his words---
“a dream is like a river,
ever changing as it flows,
and the dreamer’s just a vessel
that must follow where it goes.
trying to learn from what’s behind you, never knowing
what’s in store,
makes each day a constant battle
just to stay between the shores---
i will never reach my destination
if i never try,
so i will sail my vessel
till the river runs dry.”
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