There are others who are writing fitting tributes to Curt. Many of them knew him much better and longer than I did. My connections to Curt were through the Golden Apple. There is, as in many groups, a special kinship among the ten of us who entered into the Golden Apple Fellowship together. We only had a little time with Curt. He attend the first few meetings in May after he received his award. By summer, he had found out about the disease that was attacking his body. In October, WTTW taped the awards presentation ceremony. Curt was already too sick to attend. The president of Mt. Carmel accepted the award on his behalf. There was a table full of his proud family. I remember going over to meet all of them at the end of the evening. Everyone was sad that Curt had been unable to attend but still hopeful that he would respond to treatment and recover.
I don't recall when this group picture was taken. It must have been May or the beginning of June. That is Curt in the back row, second from the left. He was a big man, full of humor and life. Others will write better tributes but I have a few memories that I want to record here--small photographs of a man who will always be part of our Golden Apple Class of 2013.
Curt had a sharp sense of humor that was always in play. The last text message I got from Curt mentioned it. He and I were the only two GA winners from Catholic schools this year. He wrote me, "You could have used to have another Catholic guy there to lighten the place up." Curt's humor was often dry and ironic. In a video done by Mt. Carmel students after he won the award, he was asked why he had stayed at Mt. Carmel so many years. I am sure the student expected a speech about the value of Catholic education. Instead, Curt said, "Because I can't get a better job. I have all kinds of these little insufficiencies that keep me from really getting a better job so I'm kind of stuck here." It wasn't true of course. He loved Mt. Carmel. Curt had graduated from the school in 1979, he student taught there, then spent his entire career as a science teacher and coach for the Caravan.
This video was done by Mt. Carmel students. Curt's humor is on display.
A few of us were coming out of class at Northwestern a couple of weeks ago. Right outside of the Annenberg Hall, I saw a young man with a Mt. Carmel shirt. I called over to him and asked if he knew Coach E. "Coach E? He's my mentor!" It seems like you could stop almost anyone with a brown Caravan shirt and he would tell you the same thing. It is indicative of the position Curt held in the hearts of the students that the banner on the Mt. Carmel website now says "Lead like Coach E." Good advice.
There was an article about Curt in the Southtown Star a few weeks ago. Curt must have been asked whether he ever asks himself, "Why me?" in reference to the disease. Curt is quoted as responding, "Why me? Why not me?" Curt told me that he believed that what happened to you is not what defined you as a person. You were defined by how you responded to what happens. He was not unrealistic about the disease. He told the newspaper, "“I have maybe nine months left, but I think we can push that envelope a bit." That was in April. He did not have that long left but he was ready for the end. Mt. Carmel had asked Curt to be the commencement speaker on May 25th. Curt was already too sick for that.
I was part of the Purple Stride Walk to raise funds for research in combating pancreatic cancer. Thanks to the generosity of some wonderful friends and members of the Golden Apple, I was able to raise over $700. Because of the money I brought to the march, Curt's family asked me to carry one of the signs identifying the group as "Coach E's Odd Squad." I had the opportunity to walk the 5K path with Curt's brother. He told me that the Ehrenstroms are a large family (I think he said eight siblings but I may have that wrong.) I told him that I am from a family of nine kids so I understood. About a week before the march, they managed to get all of the family together at one time. Anyone from a large family knows how hard that is. Curt enjoyed it but got very tired after about an hour. He was disappointed but he couldn't stay any longer. The family knew from this just how sick he was.
"Teaching was all he ever wanted to do," his brother told me. "And coaching." Curt's brother paused as we walked along the lakefront. "Poor Curty," he said--the only time there was an expression of sadness on this otherwise hopeful day. "He was at the peak with the Golden Apple and then this happened."
The nine of us Golden Apple winners from 2013 who meet every Thursday admit to each other occasionally that we wonder how we were selected. We see so many other excellent teachers. None of us ever wonder why Curt was chosen. He combined three of the characteristics that make for a great teacher, I think. First, he cared about kids more than anything. The story is told that Frank Lenti, athletic director at Mt. Carmel, asked Curt to coach football. Curt told him that he had never played or coached the sport. Frank said he didn't care about that. Frank could tell that Curt knew how to work with young men. Curt went on to become the head sophomore football coach and an important part of the legendary Mt. Carmel football program.
Second, Curt approached the world and his students with a sense of humor that showed his love for life and people. He always had a soft touch. His wit and irony could take the tension out of a tough situation. In March of this year, he said, "“You talk about making plans? I don’t buy green bananas.”
Finally, he was a man of deep faith and principles. I am not talking about being religious, although Catholicism was a part of his life. I am talking about faith that allows us to trust that the world is a good place even when we have come up against an insurmountable obstacle. I see in Curt hope that what we do in the years of our lives is meaningful. He was the kind of man who could combine principles with realism. He told a reporter, "“Everybody asks me if I’m mad. What’s the point in that? Better me than my wife. What are you going to do? It just happens. It’s part of life."
So today, we will join hundreds of people at the Mt. Carmel Convocation Center to say goodbye to Curt. I know how proud all of the Carmelites are of him. Everyone who is associated with Catholic education should know and tell his story as an example of the best of what we do. I can say with confidence, speaking for the Golden Apple family, that Curt was exactly the kind of teacher for whom the award was created and intended. Excellent as a teacher. Excellent as a man. Lead like Coach E, for certain.
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