On Saturday, Sept. 29, the Austin High Band won their class at the Cap City Marching Contest hosted by LASA HS at Burger! After advancing to the finals competition, they placed 2nd overall and won 1st place overall in music performance. Congrats Maroon Band!
@AISDFineArts
Meet some current AHS students, administrators and PTSA members and enjoy some Kona Ice!
This story was printed in the Maroon on April 17, 2024. Written by Penn Smith, Franciso Sanchez-Celestino
Walking our halls today is eighty-four-year-old Roosevelt Nivens, a living legend here at Stephen F. Austin High School. With a remarkable tenure of 19 years as a coach and an additional four years as a substitute teacher, Nivens has left a mark on the hearts and minds of thousands within the Austin High community and beyond.
Nivens’ journey began in poverty, growing up in Muskogee, Oklahoma with his mother and five sisters. Despite humble beginnings, he found solace and mentorship in high school through basketball, forming a profound bond with his coach, who assumed the role of a surrogate father figure. This compassionate guidance inspired Nivens to pursue a career in coaching later in life.
Before his coaching career, Nivens earned a full scholarship to Langston University, where he excelled as a defensive tackle in football while also playing as a center for the basketball team and participating in track. “My experience as a student-athlete at Langston University was amazing, we were winners.” During Nivens’ time at Langstone University, the Langston Lions football team won three consecutive titles as champions of the Oklahoma Intercollegiate Conference in 1959, 1960, and 1961.
He said, “It helped me to become a coach, giving knowledge of the game. And built my character as a man, taught me how to get up when I fell down, and let me know I am important and loved.”
His collegiate years spanned from 1959 to 1963, a time marked by the pervasive grip of segregation, which denied him admission to the University of Oklahoma.
Following his college tenure as a student-athlete, Nivens transitioned into the educator role, a path unexpectedly accelerated by an injury to the head coach at Booker T. Washington High School in Idabel, Oklahoma. Thus, in his inaugural year as a teacher, Nivens found himself thrust into the role of head coach for the football team, a daunting challenge that he persevered in amidst much adversity. “It was very unexpected but there were already a few good athletes there, and we ended our season 5-5.” He was there for three years as the head coach for the football, basketball, and track teams.
His journey led him to Austin, Texas, where he embarked on coaching girls’ softball at Austin High, a program he initiated. His dedication and prowess soon saw him coaching all three levels of basketball, affectionately christening the team as “The Running Maroons.”
Nivens’ unwavering compassion and perseverance within the Austin High community culminated in a crowning honor, as the gymnasium was named after him in his honor. Overwhelmed with emotion upon receiving this honor, he fondly recalls the moment he learned of the gym’s dedication, prompting him to invite his entire family to witness the unveiling of the maroon-lettered tribute. So profound was his attachment to the gym that he chose it as the venue for his wedding to his second wife, Oleander Thomas, in 2021, a testament to the deep significance of Austin High in his life.
Today, Nivens continues to impact Austin High, sharing wisdom, spreading smiles, and leaving a remarkable legacy of compassion, perseverance, and loyalty in his wake. With plans to substitute for two more years before retiring, he remains an unwavering supporter of Austin High.
Our 55th Class Reunion is planned for August 3, 2024. Check back–more information to follow!!!
12/12/21: Coach Nivens was recently married in the AHS gym named after HIM!!! Please click on this link to see a most wonderful video of our beloved Coach.
https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/82-year-old-former-austin-high-school-coach-finds-loves-again-marries-in-gym-named-after-him/?fbclid=IwAR0EvMYQbRWSQPYOEoTLzOM9rCBTAE2dKi9lTXeZTrZ9FKgEvmjLUzxTOl4
LaFalco “Corkey” Robinson, longtime band director in the Austin school system, passed away on June 20, 2021, at the Lantana Lodge at Longhorn Village just outside of Austin, TX. Corkey was born to William Wallace and Geneva Walker Robinson on August 11, 1927 in Cooper, Texas, where he grew up and graduated from Cooper High School, playing saxophone in the high school band. When the school’s high school band director was drafted into the Armed Services, Corkey became director of the dance band, and began his career as a conductor at a very young age.
He entered The University of Texas at Austin in September 1944, where he played briefly in the Longhorn Band before entering the U.S. Navy in 1945. He attended the Navy School of Music, and was later assigned to a Navy dance band in the Pacific theater.
Following his discharge from the service in 1949, Corkey re-entered U. T. Austin in 1950 and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1953 and a Master’s degree in Music Education in 1956. Later that year, Corkey became the band and orchestra director at O. Henry Junior High School in Austin. Continue reading “Thank you LaFalco “Corkey” Robinson” »
We honor the life well-lived of Steve Warren, who passed peacefully on February 2, 2021 surrounded by family. He was born on May 2, 1947 in Columbia, Missouri to William S. and Betsy Avery Warren. After a brief time in Childress, Texas the family moved to Austin in 1950 where he attended Casis Elementary School, O. Henry Middle School and graduated from Austin High School.
Steve received his B.A. in English in 1969 from The University of Texas where he was also a catcher on the UT baseball team. After graduation, he enlisted in the Navy, flying F-8s in such places as Norfolk, Virginia, Beeville, Texas, Meridian, Mississippi and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba as well as on a Naval carrier in the Atlantic. After completing his active duty he returned to Austin where he earned an M.A. in Education from UT while continuing to serve in the Naval Reserves.
In 1978, he came full circle, teaching English first at O. Henry Middle School and then at Austin High School. Steve was also the tennis coach for many years earning the nickname “Coach”. He was a beloved educator and coach whose influence continues to resonate in his students’ lives. Steve was inducted into the Austin High School Hall of Honor and retired from teaching in 2000, as well as retiring that same year as Captain in the United States Navy. He then began his third career as screenwriter and playwright. Continue reading “Steve Warren” »
With everyone staying home and getting a little bored with family, maybe it is time to set up a Zoom meeting or send an email out to some of your friends from Austin High. Wouldn’t it be great to reminisce about teachers, football, band, red jackets, red dragons, watching the World Series in the cafeteria during lunch…In the past week, I have emailed the classes of 1950-1959 asking for updated emails and contact information to be added to our loyalforever website. Registration is free and once approved (our site is closed to the public) you will have access to email and telephone numbers for thousands of Alumni.
I’ve received an email from Jean Samples, class of 1958 and wanted to share it with you:
I know our alumni have stories of what they remember in high school (remember getting on the Red Jackets’ bus for the out of town games with so much food that Miss Herndon said we had to start eating as soon as the doors on the bus closed in order to finish everything before we got back to the school that night!? Remember the very careful measurements in the spring for our new red jackets — then when they were delivered in the fall right before the first game some of us— not me — who were more “ generously endowed” couldn’t button the top button? Remember wearing white socks over our hands when some folks forgot their gloves for the governor’s parade down Congress? Dancing at the Continental Club on South Congress?) And I’m sure most of us have neat “after graduation” stories — was anyone in NYC or at the Pentagon on 911??
Be a part of this vibrant body of alumni, if you don’t have an account, register here: https://www.loyalforever.com/wp-login.php?action=register
And if you would like to share a story, send it to me and I’ll post it online
As we move forward into 2020 we want to remember our classmates who died in 2019. The list below was compiled by Kaye LaGrone (class of 1964) and Ann Tucker Royal (class of 1958). I send my gratitude to them and to all who participate in keeping this database of AHS Alumni current.
Julie Sayers
Alumni Passings 2019
Class of 1960: Bill McWhorter died 20191208.
Class of 1958: Glenn Richard Dyess, died 20191227.
Class of 1945: Dorothy (Moody) Flanagan died 20191129.
Class of 1954: Sarah Alice Riley Bryce died 20191116.
Class of 1946: Robert James “Jim” Wucher died 20191116.
Class of 1946: Edward Wight died 20191107.
Class of 1956: Louise LaBauve Saxon, died 20191103.
Class of 1946: Maria del Socorro (Heflin) McCuiston died 20191102.
Class of 1953: Gerald Leroy Curry died/obit in AA-S on 1027.
Class of 1951: Joyce (Butler) Woods died 20191026.
Class of 1945: Cornelia (Lamb) Lemond died 20191023.
Class of 1942: Charles Edward Munson died 20191022.
Class of 1950: Joan Grace (Haag) Ponder died 20191014.
Class of: 1945: James (Jim) Paul Valdez died 20191010.
Class of 1961: Susan Ann “Susie” (Jewett) Valentine died 20191010.
Class of 1951: Mickey Nick Manos died 20191010.
Class of 1940: Jewell S. (Beard) Wentworth died 20191009.
Class of 1962: James Scott Erwin, known as Scott Erwin, died 20191005.
Class of 1947: Mickie Jean “Tiki” (Riley) Inks died 20191003.
Class of 1958: Ann Chiles Graham, died 20190924.
Class of 1948: Bayard Spence Wilson died 20190923.
Class of 1986: Matthew Rowland Cook died 20190830.
Class of 1949: Clarence Melvin “Mel” Stockton died 20190824.
Class of 1960: Salle Ann Dill diec 20190812.
Class of 1960: Aristedes Barrera died 20190808
Class of 1952: Janelle (Joseph) Glynn died 20190808.
Class of 1960: Tommy Joyce Williams died 20190806.
Class of 1965: Raymond Boyd Burdett died 20190801.
Class of 1935: Charles Frank Pelphrey, MD died 20190724.
Class of 1948: Patricia Ann (Cook) Moritz died 20190721.
Class of 1979: Steven Joseph Struhall died 20190717.
Class of 1956: Bridget (Hood) Anderson died 20190711.
Class of 1951: Marvin “Al” Baker, Jr. died 20190701.
Class of 1944: Billy Ballard died 20190630.
Class of 1971: Ralph Douglas Jones died 20190629.
Class of 1948: Alfred Hill Ogletree died 20190624.
Class of 1960: Alice (Marshall) Davis died 20190620.
Class of 1945: Bernice (Mobley) Mohle died 20190619.
Class of 1973: Suzanne Redwine Fischer died 20190616.
Class of 1949: Carolyn Ann (Smith) Royder died 20190615.
Class of 1963: Donald “Scotty” Thomas, Jr. died 20190613.
Class of 1953: Mary (Attal) Risica died 20190612.
Class of 1951: Joyce Elaine (Rydberg) Chaney died 20190609.
Class of 1962: Ann Christina “Tina” McGaughey died 20190607.
Class of 1950: Virginia Leafy (Fasel) McAngus died 20190605.
Class of 1989: Mark Kenneth Bohrer died 20190602.
Class of 1947: Norma Bee (Larson) Pugh died 20190530.
Class of 1954: Jerald Boyd “Jerry” Weide died 20190527.
Class of 1959: Bette (Nelson) Heinrich died 20190526.
Class of 1961: Bobby Franklin Parker died 20190523.
Class of 1944: Burford Lee “Cactus Bur” Westlund died 20190513.
Class of 1947: Andy Frank Wagner (b. 19250701) died 20190521.
Class of 1952: James N. Burke died 20190513.
Class of 1960: Wilford A. Lawrence died 20190509
Class of 1940: Mildred (Hamilton) Walston died 20190505.
Class of 1959: Daniel Faz Maldonado died 20190502.
Class of 1944: Georgia Maxine (Oyler) Childress died 20190501.
Class of 1959: Bette Nelson Heinrich died 20190525.
Class of 1958: Heinie D Pate died 20190506.
Class of 1947: Jiles Worley Jackson died 20190423.
Class of 1965: Ersalene Faye “Crickett” Chappell died 20190422.
Class of 1939: Marcella Hermine Clara (Damerau) Spiller died 20190414.
Class of 1958: Richard Page Keeton died 20190420.
Class of 1953: W. L. “Pat” Smith died 20190414.
Class of 1949: Robert Ash “Bob” Pennybacker died 20190408.
Class of 1955: Dr. Vernon eugene (Gene) Grove died 20190405.
Class of 1956: Johnny L. Voudouris died 20190403.
Class of 1951: Samuel Christopher Spiller died 20190402.
Class of 1958: Joseph Reid died 20190411.
Class of 1943: Jack Nolan Miller died 20190331.
Class of 1940: Margaret Ann (Cuthbertson) Quadlander died 20190330.
Class of 1941: Gardina Frances Holubec died 20190324.
Class of 1944: Helen Irene “Mutti” (Thoresen) Mathias died 20190323.
Class of 1952: Wallace Wilmer Archie “Wally” Thieme died 20190323.
Class of 1949: Richard Swearingen Gracy, Jr. died 20190323.
Class of 1974: Thatcher Warren Freund died 20190319.
Class of 1960: William “Bill” Mitchell Allen died 20190317.
Class of 1952: Howard Smith “Smitty” Johnson died 20190315.
Class of 1946: Billie Janice McLaren Fickel died 20190311.
Class of 1944: Peyton Osborne “P.O.” Abbott died 20190307.
Class of 1952: Jean Harling (Crawford) Kennedy died 20190305.
Class of 1966: Lynn Paul Gastinger [AHS1966] died 20190303.
Class of 1958: Mary Reagan Birdwell Brill died 20190303.
Class of 1950: William August “Bill” Felsing, Jr. died 20190224.
Class of 1960: Judy Adams Grant died 20190221.
Class of 1951: Lynwood Curtis Krause died 20190220.
Class of 1951: Carl Moore died 20190218.
Class of 1968: Mary Elizabeth “Beth” (Brice) Jones died 20190215.
Class of 1958: Beverley Sue (Ward) Stengel died 20190214.
Class of 1948: Marvin Chester Schroeder died 20190205.
Class of 1952: Buell Townsend died 20190202.
Class of 1946: Jeanne (Latham) Ragsdale died 20190129.
Class of 1944: William D. “Bill” Gaston died 20190126.
Class of 1969: Wilbert W. “Hen” Washington.
Class of 1962: Joel Saegert died 20190124.
Class of 1960: Stanley Thawley died 20190122.
Class of 1953: Frances (Brown) Allen died 20190118.
Class of 1960: Bronson Schultz died 20190115.
Class of 1943: Pauline (Hausmann) Burton died 20190114.
Class of 1947: Barbara Inez (Foster) Brawner died 20190112.
Class of 1987: Denise (Marez-Perez) Spangler died 20190110.
Class of 1957: Carol Jean (Patterson) Niemann died 20190107.
Class of 1957: Margaret Suzanne “Sue” (Cocke) Robinson died 20190105.
Class of 1948: Jo Ann “Kandy” (Canady) Fischer died 20190102.
What is Dedication Day?
Held each spring, Dedication Day is observed as an anniversary celebration of the 1976 dedication of the Lakeside Campus. We consider Dedication Day to be the “official birthday” of the school. Distinguished Alumni and Honored Faculty are inducted into the Hall of Honor , AHS alumni Veterans are honored, and select Seniors are inducted into the Maroon Society.
The purpose of Dedication Day is to “tie the new school to the old and the past to the present.” When the school was moved to its present lakeside location – in 1975 – students created a movement known as the Hall of Honor Student Steering Committee. The work of the student committee resulted in an annual observance – Dedication Day, and a reason for an annual observance – The Austin High School Hall of Honor, a roll call of distinguished and meritorious Maroons.
Dedication Day events include an archival display, an honoree induction ceremony, and the Grand Assembly. In the Grand Assembly, more than 200 former students, teachers and community guests join over 2000 students and 200 staff members for the coming together of Austin High past, present and future.
Interested in receiving an invitation for Dedication Day? ADD YOUR NAME TO THE INVITATION LIST HERE Continue reading “What is Dedication Day?” »
