Albers, Wayne Dennis 1935-1996

ALBERS, SANDGREN

Posted By: Linda Ziemann, Volunteer (email)
Date: 5/5/2007 at 17:40:27

WAYNE ALBERS, 61, SCHOOL PRINCIPAL

Wayne Dennis Albers, 61, of West Brighton, the principle of St. John's Lutheran school in Castleton Corners, died Tuesday in St. Vincent's Medical Center of a heart attack.

Born in Struble, Iowa, Mr. Albers lived in Hicksville, L. I.; Fort Dodge, Iowa; Fort Myers, Florida; and Holyoke, Massachusetts, before moving to West Brighton in 1992.

An educator for 40 years, Mr. Albers had been principal for the past three years at St. John's Lutheran school, Castleton Corners.

During his tenure at the school, Mr. Albers helped improve test scores and the school budget. Under his direction, the school installed new roofs and landscaping and began planning a new library.

“He was hard-working and dedicated to the school, the church and his family,” said Dennis O'Connor, of West Brighton, whose two daughters had attended St. John's Lutheran school.

Mr. Alber's also secured a lease from the city on a tract of land near the school and he planned to transform it into a playground for the children and a community garden for neighbors. The money for this project is being raised through an annual gift fund created by Mr. Albers.

Eighth-grader, Perry Lindsay III, expressed his feelings for the principle in a poem during a memorial service yesterday. “Love is a feeling which you can get or give. It can give you life and make your bad days great. Mr. Albers said all these things to me,” he said.

Mr. Albers also began the process of accreditation for the school and helped provide a computer for every classroom.

In nominating Mr. Albers for the Patrick Daly Memorial Award, an honor bestowed annually on an Island educator, PTA head Marilyn Santornauro said: “He has dedicated his life to the education of children. His love for the students is ever present.”

During a PTA holiday Festival in 1993, Mr. Albers was quoted in the ADVANCE as saying: “I really enjoy seeing families get together. Events like this are fun, but they are also an intregal part of a child's education."

He graduated from the Concordia Teachers College in River Forest, Illinois, and earned graduate degrees from Queens College, and Drake University in Iowa.

Mr. Albers began his career in the summer of 1956 in Hicksville, where he was appointed to teach at Trinity Lutheran School there. During the seven years he was there, he taught the fifth and eighth grades, directed the youth program, taught confirmation classes and served a year as acting principal.

In 1963 Mr. Albers was appointed principal in St. Paul's Lutheran school, Fort Dodge. During his 12 years there, he also served on the private-school advisory committee for the governor of Iowa and helped pass the auxiliary services bill. The bill provided health benefits, special education funds, remedial courses and library and audiovisual materials for non-public school students.

He also served as president of the Iowa Association of Non-Public School Administrators. Mr. Albers ran the local youth program and established a youth coffeehouse, which was open seven days a week for informal counseling.

During this time, Mr. Albers also worked on the Board of Homes, helping low-income families get mortgages and money for home repairs. He was the president of the Lutheran Education Association. He also tutored young, unwed mothers.

In 1975, he moved to Fort Myers, where Mr. Albers served as principal of St. Michael's Lutheran school. He started a daycare program for children ages three to 10 and implemented a major reconstruction of the school.

He then moved to Holyoke in 1985 to accept a principle position in the First Lutheran Elementary School.

Mr. and Mrs. Albers had opened their doors to many foster children. During their time in Iowa, they cared for 27 foster babies.

Surviving are his wife, the former Jo Anne Sandgren; a son, Paul; three daughters, Kay Sees, Jeanne Therrien and Amy Gallo; his mother, Lucille Petersen; two brothers, Dale and Jerry Albers, and six grandchildren.

Funeral arrangements were by the Casey Funeral Home, Castleton Corners. A memorial service took place yesterday at St. John's Lutheran Church. Cremation was at Rosehill Crematory, Linden, N.J.

~Source: Obit received from his brother Dale Albers, Hinton, Iowa
~Date of birth: January 20, 1935
~Date of death: November 19, 1996, Staten Island, New York
~Burial at Resthaven Memory Gardens, rural LeMars, Iowa.

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