School gets first 4th generation student

Student follows Tiger family footsteps

By Patty Gabriel

On a fall day in 1931, Mary Eileen Henry entered the doors of Holy Family High School having no inclination of the history she was beginning for her family. Seventy-six years later her legacy at Holy Family continues as her great-granddaughter, Katie Dickerson, enters the building each morning.  Katie is Holy Family’s first fourth generation student.

Mary Eileen was a member of Blessed Virgin Mary Sodality, Delta Delta Literary Club, Pep Club, and the women’s basketball team. She was a cast member of the Elitch Theater Company’s “Cherry Blossom” and a member of Thimblette, which was a needlework guild.  She graduated from Holy Family in 1935.

Twenty-two years later, Marlene Burns, Mary Eileen’s daughter, entered as a freshman at Holy Family. Marlene followed her mother’s example by becoming very involved in the school.  Marlene was also a member of Sodality, Pep Club and Thimblette.  She added Mission Club, Vista Staff, Chorus, Red Cross and class officer to her Holy Family history, graduating in 1957.
Maureen Flanagan, Marlene’s daughter, began considering her choice of high schools in early 1979. Maureen was living in Lakewood at the time.  Her home was midway between Bishop Machebeuf High and Holy Family.  The choice was not clear until a neighbor decided to attend Holy Family and she began thinking about how much it would mean to attend the same school as her mom and grandmother. That history was the nudge Maureen needed to make her decision.
As a Holy Family student, Maureen was a member of the Math League and National Honor Society.  She was also a senior Student Council officer, graduating in 1983.

These three women created footsteps as Holy Family students that might have been intimidating to try to fill by later generations.  But not so for Katie Dickerson, Maureen Flanagan’s daughter.  Katie started at Holy Family, which had relocated from its original northwest Denver site to Broomfield in 1999, as a freshman in 2006. As a Broomfield resident, it was a natural choice, especially since she and her mom and dad live only minutes away. The family legacy was a bonus.
Katie is a visible member of the Holy Family High School community.  She is a Student Council officer and serves as a student ambassador of the “Faces of Holy Family” hospitality project.  She can be seen at special events conducting tours for visitors and greeting guests. She also assists with the set up and clean up of such events.

“We, at Holy Family, can’t help but thank Mr. and Mrs. Henry, Mary Eileen’s, parents for sending her our way,” said principal Mike Gabriel. “Her first step into our community has made a 77-year impression.”