Maynard Sandberg was a founding member of and the first president of the Minot Catholic Schools Board of Regents, along with serving as a member of the Minot Catholic Schools Foundation Board of Directors and a former Corporate Board and School Board member. In honor and memory of his late wife, Jeanne, Maynard has provided numerous scholarships to students attending Bishop Ryan High School.
Maynard worked as an agent for Great West Life and has lived in the Minot community for over four decades. Music has always been an important part of his life, and Bishop Ryan's music rooms are named after the Sandbergs in honor of their many contributions to that department. An avid sports fan, Maynard is a constant spectator at Bishop Ryan, Minot State, and Minot High sporting events, and he continues to serve on many community organizations, working to build a better Minot.
Father Kenneth Wald has been an influence in numerous western North Dakota communities throughout his 50-plus years in the priesthood. A graduate of St. Mary's High School, he attended St. John's University for two years and St. Paul's Seminary for the next six, graduating in 1957. That same year, he was ordained by Bishop Hillary Hacker, and his longtime affiliation and support of the Minot Catholic Schools began with his first parish assignment at St. Leo's.
A staunch supporter, sponsor and benefactor of Catholic education in Minot, Fr. Wald founded the scholarship program "Retired Priests and Friends," which has dispersed thousands of tuition dollars to families of incoming sixth graders and new families to the Minot Catholic Schools. This program is one of his many successful efforts in ensuring accessibility and support of Catholic education for all children.
Charles and Madge Westlie were community leaders and philanthropists, and the Minot Catholic Schools was just one of the many recipients of their generosity.
A commercial pilot and flight instructor, Chuck trained pilots for the Army Air Corps during World War II. After the war ended, he served in the Army/Air Force for 18 months. Upon returning to Minot, he went to work in the family automobile business, Westlie Motor Company, until his retirement in the 1980s.
Charles and Madge were stellar members of the Minot business community and the Minot Catholic Schools family, both serving on numerous boards throughout their lives Their charitable giving touched many people, and their warmth, kindness, compassion, and courtesy toward all set them apart.
They were married for 66 years until Madge's death in 2010. Charles passed away in 2011.
Four orders of religious women have taught in the Minot Catholic Schools: the Benedictines, the Franciscans, the School Sisters of Notre Dame, and the Ursulines.
The Franciscan Sisters of Ohio came to Minot in 1911 to staff the community hospital. In 1916, they were replaced by the Franciscan Sisters from Stella Niagara, NY, who were the first to teach in Minot when St. Leo's School opened in 1926.
The Benedictine Sisters of Sacred Heart Monastery, now of Richardton, ND, replaced the Franciscan in 1942, remaining until 1983. Four Benedictine Sisters from Bismarck's Annunciation Monastery taught at Bishop Ryan between 1968 and 1987.
The Ursuline Order of Sisters of Belleville, IL, was hired to staff Bishop Ryan when it opened in 1958. Nineteen Ursulines taught at Bishop Ryan, the last of them leaving in 1986.
Four members of the School Sisters of Notre Dame from Mankato, MN, taught at Bishop Ryan and Little Flower from 1980 to 1986. 1987 was the first year where there were no religious women teaching at the Minot Catholic Schools.
Even though these holy women no longer teach, their names still echo in the hallways and classrooms, leaving an indelible mark on the history of the Minot Catholic Schools.
Reverend Robert A. Williams · Inducted in 2011
The Reverend Robert Williams was named assistant pastor at St. Leo’s Church in 1960, and during his tenure, he also served as principal of St. Leo’s until 1970, when he succeeded Father Blaine Cook as head administrator at Bishop Ryan.
An innovative educator, Reverend Williams worked closely with veteran North Dakota educator E.S. Killie, compiling a comprehensive set of teacher reference materials and student learning aids known as “Project North Dakota.” The set was used extensively by North Dakota teachers and students for many years.
A true visionary for Catholic education, Reverend Williams established the Bishop Ryan High School Foundation, which exists today as a primary fundraising tool for the school. Countless students have benefited from the millions of dollars raised by the foundation through trust funds and scholarships.
Reverend Williams left Bishop Ryan in 1976, upon being reassigned to Max, ND, and later to New England, ND. Even after leaving Minot, Reverend Williams remained on the Bishop Ryan Foundation Board until shortly before his death in 1998.
Patrick Jones has not only been a stalwart of Minot’s business scene for over four decades, but a true steward of Catholic education in the city as well. A 1966 graduate of Bishop Ryan, Pat has served on virtually every board, committee, and organization that the school has engaged in through the years, including the School Board, the Foundation Board, the Corporate Board, and the Monsignor Hogan Heritage Society Board of Regents. His list of civic organizations is extensive, and his steady guiding hand has proven instrumental in the success of those organizations as well as with Catholic education.
He and wife Mary Kay, also a 1966 Bishop Ryan graduate, have worked behind the scenes constantly and consistently to increase access to, and the affordability of, a Catholic education for any family or student who desires it.
Pat and Mary Kay have three sons, Chris, Erick and Matt, who are all graduates of Bishop Ryan.
After graduating cum laude from Gonzaga University as it’s youngest graduate at the age of 16 and achieving the rank of army sergeant during overseas action in World War I, young John Hogan completed his philosophy and theology courses and chose an assignment with the Diocese of Bismarck that would keep him in Minot for his whole priesthood and the remainder of his life.
Father Hogan was assigned to St. Leo’s parish in 1923, and three years later, he teamed with Father Joseph Raith to open St. Leo’s School. By 1929, the school was expanded to twelve grades; Father Hogan was principal and then superintendent, presiding over the high school throughout its 29-year history. He was a teacher, the basketball and drama coach, and parish pastor following Father Raith’s retirement in 1941. He set records with the school’s basketball teams, going 167-41 in his 10-year coaching career and winning state championships in 1938, 1939 and 1943.
In the community, Father Hogan was named Minot’s first recreation commissioner, earned the Boy Scouts Silver Award, and under his leadership, a fund drive was started that, among other things, led to the construction of Little Flower Church and School—the second Catholic parish in Minot.
Father Hogan was invested as a monsignor in 1949 under the direction of Pope Pius XII. He died February 12, 1959, less than two weeks after his 65th birthday.
The youngest of seven children in the Thomas and Grace Murphy family, Grace attended St. Leo’s Catholic School for twelve years, graduating in 1950. She started her 30-year career with The Minot Daily News in 1956, playing the roles of reporter, editor, and librarian, and she graduated from Minot State University in 1959 with a degree in history.
Grace married Thomas Fisher in 1967, and in the late 1980’s, she joined him at Thompson-Larson Funeral Home where they worked together until Tom’s death in 1996.
Grace’s involvement with Catholic education in Minot continued as she served on Bishop Ryan boards and committees including the Bishop Ryan Foundation Board, presidency of the Hogan Heritage Society Board of Regents, and the Bishop Ryan Strategic Planning Committee. Grace also established the Tom and Grace Fisher Memorial Scholarship, benefiting many Bishop Ryan students over the years.
Grace also has served with the MSU Board of Regents and the Minot Symphony Association. An accomplished author and historian, Grace has penned and published many books, profiles, essays, and obituaries.
Dick and Irene Feist’s commitment to Catholic education began when they enrolled their oldest son at Little Flower Elementary School. Involvement in the school and church soon became part of their everyday life, and they became constant supporters of the Minot Catholic community.
Irene devoted her time supporting the Parent-Teacher Organization, the Confraternity of Christian Mothers, and the room mothers. Dick was a founding member of the Bishop Ryan Catholic School Board of Regents, along with serving as a member of the Bishop Ryan Foundation Board of Directors and as an Honorary Chair on the Bishop Ryan Growing Our Faith, Our Family, Our Future Capital Campaign.
Dick has also been active in the business community of Minot as President of Minot Sash and Door. He dedicated time and talent to the St. Joseph’s Hospital Board of Directors for 12 years and to the Sacred Heart Corporation for nine years. Dick is the founding member of the St. Joseph’s Community Health Foundation. He also served on the church council, is a lifetime member of the Knights of Columbus, and has been honored as a Fourth Degree Knight.
Dick and Irene’s eight children, Michael, Marilyn, Myron, Mark, Marlene, Maynard, Marvin and Mary, are all alumni of Little Flower Elementary School and Bishop Ryan High School.
The Hall of Fame display in the main hallway of Bishop Ryan was donated in memory of Irene, who passed away in 2004.
After graduating from Minot State Teachers College in the spring of 1959, Joyce Anderson began her teaching career in Great Falls, Montana, before returning to Minot to teach in the Minot Public School system, and then, Bishop Ryan High School. For 34 years, Joyce taught Physical Education, Health, and Home Economics classes at BRHS. Beyond the classroom, Joyce coached cheerleading squads, pom-pom squads, and track, led the BRHS Pep Club, and advised the Girls Athletic Association (GAA). For the last 13 years of her teaching career, Joyce developed young servant leaders through the BRHS Student Council. During her career, Joyce received various awards such as the 1994 North Dakota Distinguished High School Catholic Education Award and the 1999 Warren E. Shull National Association of Student Councils Advisor of the Year Award. Joyce retired from formal teaching in 2002, but she continues to serve Bishop Ryan through the Hogan Heritage Society Board of Regents. Joyce and her husband, Don, have four children, Julie, Jodi, Scott and Judy, and 11 grandchildren.
Edith Schall’s lifelong dream was to become a teacher, and after completing her degree at Minot State Teachers College, she began teaching at St. Leo’s Elementary School, starting a 46-year career in Catholic education in Minot. Edith taught a second and third grade combination class for ten years before starting the kindergarten program at St. Leo’s in the Fall of 1973. While at St. Leo’s, Edith was also instrumental in starting the Little Lions Learning Center Preschool Program in the Fall of 1988. Edith returned to teaching kindergarten exclusively upon starting North Dakota’s first full-day program, and she taught that class until her retirement in 2007. Edith also played a role in starting the Kids Club, a free after-school program that consisted of supervised enrichment and recreational activities two days each week. Edith’s husband, Richard, and their children, Don and Diane, were often found helping with the special projects in Edith’s classroom.
Gordy Eggert’s history with Bishop Ryan started in 1967 when Fr. Blaine Cook was looking for a bus driver and handyman, and for the next 42 years, Gordy was the glue that held the campus together. He was a carpenter by trade and a tinkerer by nature, and through his wisdom and training, Gordy tackled projects big and small around the school campus. For many years, Gordy was also the man behind the Bishop Ryan Work Study Program, working with students after school and during the summer to keep things running while the students earned money to help pay off their tuitions. Gordy, his wife, Joyce, and their five children, Steve, Jerry, Jodi, Chuck and Bill, unselfishly counted Bishop Ryan and its faculty, staff and students as part of their family for many years.