Kathleen Condell Herroon
February 2, 1951 - July 6, 2015
by Bailey Larson
With her infectious laugh, fierce intellect and passion for storytelling, Kathleen Condell Herroon was beloved by generations of Prep students and faculty.
Herroon worked at Flintridge Prep for 38 years (1975-2013). The inaugural recipient of the Class of 1987 award, she was 6th grade teacher, English teacher, English Department head, Senior Dean, Dean of Faculty and Director of Operations. Her late husband, Orra Herroon, served the Science Department in two eras, 1980-1984 and 1993-2011. Orra Herroon died June 14, 2013.
Headmaster Peter Bachmann said, “Kathi and I began at Prep in our 20s and spent the majority of our lives together. She was a great colleague, a deep friend, and I will miss her terribly.
“Kathi’s power to inspire affection among alums transcended generations, and those of us who worked with her remember her kindness, humor and deep affection for all things Prep.”
Prep’s Director of Communications Nicole Haims Trevor ’91 said, “She was lively and curious and my favorite teacher. She confronted students with their own assumptions in a way that was stimulating and exciting, and she did it all through literature. She treated us like questioning adults and taught us so much about writing and about life.”
For the past year, Max Hernandez ’15 helped Herroon around the house and delivered her mail. “She quickly became the person I would go to for advice,” he says. “She was the one who helped me navigate senior year. Her blunt advice was wise and well-crafted, something I expected from such an accomplished educator, but her personality was that of a youthful person. Kathi truly embodied what it means to live a fulfilled life.”
Her faculty colleagues remember precision, support, and a “calming voice of clarity,” says current English Department Chair Scott Meyers, whom Condell hired in 1985. “As my department chair, she taught me Prep; her collegial presence and her classroom persona demonstrated the school’s culture and values— who we are, what we care about as a community, our reverence for soulful, disciplined habits of mind. The community identity that flourishes today at Prep sprouted from the soil prepared in part by Kathi Condell Herroon’s values and diligence.”
Retired history teacher Bob Loughrie says, “She had a subtle toughness. There was no doubt about who was in charge, and we admired that. She made me a better teacher and I loved her dedication to teaching and to Prep. She was a great role model.”
Herroon was especially passionate about the American Identity class, which she founded with John Ruch, Peter Bachmann and Irwin Russo.
Russo remembers, “She brought a perspective on women’s rights and gave a memorable lecture on spatiality, on how men sprawl but women are encouraged to sit primly, rewarded for being tiny. She would demonstrate all the poses, men and women, and those ideas really stuck with the students.”
A flood of comments on Prep’s Alumni Facebook page attested to Herroon’s ability to connect with students.
Ken White ’87 said, “The first time I got something published I wrote and told her, because she taught me so much about writing and always encouraged me to believe I could write. She made a real difference.”
Lilliana Capa-Velez ’87 called her an “amazing teacher” and wrote, “I owe Ms. Condell the credit for challenging me to think outside the box and write, write, write.”
Brian Deacon ’90, wrote, “Mine is one of what must be literally thousands of lives that Ms. Condell touched, and I’m deeply grateful that I had a chance to tell her years ago what an influence she was on the person I’ve become. I still have the extremely tattered textbook from her class and will be reading again tonight my favorite story, which she taught. I am deeply sad. Ms. Condell winked at the poorly kept secret that English class is really just group therapy with someone else’s story as a proxy. And that we still have each other. “
Wendy Newton ’86 first met Kathi Condell in the early 80s and remained her friend for over 30 years. As a student, Newton found “a role model of generosity, humor, high standards and attention to detail. She connected with and cared deeply for her students, wishing not only to forward their academic careers but to offer guidance in the tragedies and comedies of their family dramas and romantic lives. In her classroom we had a mentor, a counselor and a community. Like many others, I continue to hear her grammar explanations. Telling stories, listening to stories and discussing stories for universal themes made her classroom an incubator in which I never felt alien.”
Newton recalls the Herroons’ home as a warm haven for people, pets and wildlife. “Kathi and Orra’s romance was the commitment after the end of the fairy tale, always together, always putting each other first. Her true interest in other people’s stories, and rooting for their happiness—everyone was remembered and cared about with motherly fondness and concern, right up to her last conversations"