Alumna, Denver Matriarch Keeps Learning
Alumna Sheila O’Connor ‘52 Sevier has strong roots in Denver -- her great grandfather founded Mullen High School and her uncle, Denver architect James Sudler, was one of Graland’s first students in the 1920s. Now a mother of 10 with 10 grandchildren, Sheila has many very clear and wonderful memories of her years at Graland, which she attended from kindergarten to sixth grade.
Alumna Sheila O’Connor ‘52 Sevier has strong roots in Denver -- her great grandfather founded Mullen High School and her uncle, Denver architect James Sudler, was one of Graland’s first students in the 1920s. Now a mother of 10 with 10 grandchildren, Sheila has many very clear and wonderful memories of her years at Graland, which she attended from kindergarten to sixth grade.
“I can still remember where I sat in each classroom, how the hallways looked, and my classmates,” she says. “I had such marvelous teachers -- Chet Preisser, Mrs. Ruth Gorham and Mrs. Barbara Kobler Nunn,” to name a few. There was Bicycle Day, when she and her brother Tim O’Connor ‘49 rode to school, and Pioneer Day when they celebrated Colorado history. She took naps by the fish pond and watched students ride a donkey around the playground.
“We learned to knit, crochet and cross stitch in third grade, and I still have some of those projects,” she says. “The Second World War was going on, and life was much simpler. We didn’t have a lot of gadgets.”
But they did have pocket knives. Sheila recalls a recess game called, “Mumbley Peg,” during which children threw knives into the ground from increasingly taller heights to stay in the competition. No one ever got hurt, she says.
With her playground years behind her, Sheila is now connected to Graland in a new way thanks to her granddaughter, Olivia Sevier, and the fourth grade service project with special needs buddies. Olivia, 7, is a high-functioning Down syndrome student at Park Hill Elementary.
“I raised eight boys and two girls, and life was crazy,” Sheila says, “but none of my kids ever had the challenges that Olivia has. It has been a real learning experience for me.”
Through the special buddy program, Olivia is matched to a Graland fourth grader for activities that occur throughout the year, like bowling and art projects. Buddies share unique bonds that cultivate compassion and promote acceptance of others. The program will culminate in the Sam Loewi Unified Neighborhood Games, a Special Olympics-style event on Friday, May 6, at Graland.
“Olivia is very fun and she is always smiling,” says her buddy, Sophie Alijani, Grade 4. “I admire her kindness and her persistence because she has overcome a lot.”
These days, Sheila not only heads her large clan, she also serves on numerous boards connected to her family such as Kent Denver, the JK Mullen Foundation and Little Sisters of the Poor retirement home. She works part-time at the family business, an insurance agency she helped start in 1960. One of her favorite past-times is volunteering at the Museum of Nature and Science, where she works in the temporary exhibits. Each new exhibit means 6-8 hours of training for the volunteers.
“That’s the thing about Graland, it made me want to always keep learning,” she says.
Graland Country Day School
Graland Country Day School is a private school in Denver, Colorado, serving students in preschool, kindergarten, elementary, and middle school. Founded in Denver in 1927, Graland incorporates a rich, experiential learning approach in a traditional classroom setting, emphasizing the development of globally and socially conscious leaders who excel academically.
