Polly Rucker

08/12/2026

Words are really not enough to convey what it feels like  to see and be in the Polly Rucker School library at STM. The library is beautiful  and welcoming. The dedication and blessing this morning was lovely. The room was full of people that my mom loved. Seeing so many faces from the past brought more than one tear to my eyes. Being a part of the STM family has been such a blessing. My mother started teaching at Stm in 1965 and taught until her death in 2011.  She was 40 years old when STM  opened and found themselves in dire need of an English teacher.  For the next 46 years she introduced hundreds of students to Shakespeare Beowulf, the Odyssey, Greek mythology, the dreaded term paper and sentence diagraming. She was tough and expected the best, but she taught with Love.

When you look at the pictures from today, you’ll see a rocking chair. Polly became a grandmother on Christmas Day of 1978 and the class of 79 gifted her with a rocking chair signed with all the students names. Appropriately it now sits in the library.

Thank you to everyone who donated to this beautiful library renovation. Thank you to all her friends and students who still love her. Through your love and generosity the memory of Polly Rucker lives on.❤️

08/09/2026

What an amazing sight! It’s the Polly Rucker School Library at St Thomas More! The blessing of the newly renovated library will be at 8am this Tuesday,August 11. Thanks to everyone who donated to make this new library so amazing. PAR is smiling down!❤️🙏❤️

07/18/2026

The Blessing of the Polly Rucker library will be on Aug 11 at 8am! I toured the library yesterday and once it's complete it is going to be such an amazing space for STM. I know PAR is smiling down and just feeling so honored to be remembered this way. For me, to know that while she is no longer personally introducing kids to the wonders of reading and the world of Shakespeare, Beowulf, the Odyssey, and Greek mythology; her name and her spirit will grace this library as new generations of students pick up books to read. She taught English Literature for over 50 years and inspired so many to love reading...including me! I want to thank STM for this honor, Karen de la Torre for her role, and all of you who donated to make this renovation possible. ❤️🙏📗📘❤️🙏

04/13/2026

St Thomas More celebrated 60 years of Catholic education Saturday night by honoring our prior Pastor, Msgr Bill Young! My mother, Polly Rucker, taught English at STM from the first day it opened in 1965 until her death in 2011. Over those 46 years,she introduced hundreds, maybe thousands, of students to Greek mythology, Beowulf, Shakespeare, the Iliad and the Odyssey…and term papers! She loved STM, her students and their families. It was my pleasure last night to kick off the fundraising for the library’s renovation and announce that the new library would be named in honor and memory of Polly Rucker! Wednesday was her 102nd birthday and I know she she was smiling down as paddle after paddle was raised with donations! ❤️❤️

05/25/2023

Today I had the honor of awarding the Polly Rucker Scholarship award to Georgia Hix! This scholarship started in 1994 after she’d been teaching for 29 years and “retired”. Retirement didn’t last long and she went on to teach for 46 years; even after the diocese couldn’t pay her anymore due to her age. She so loved STM, the parish and the school, and all the hundreds of students and their families that she taught and met. She was a tough teacher but never demanded more than she would expect of herself.

I’ve been able to give the award several times since she passed away and I love it when there is a connection. Like the years when Paige M. Padgett’s daughter or Nina M. Reagins’s daughter won. She’s been gone 11 years now so the students today won’t have known Mrs Rucker. But there was still a connection… Georgia’s great aunt lived across the street from the Ruckers and we’ve been friends for 30 plus years.

And so this closes a long chapter of my life that revolves around the school (58 years!), but the faith I gained and the friendships I made will stay with me. My mother’s mantra was “Love is reflected in Love”. I know that for the 300 or so people on this page … she did love each of you. Until next year…. Becky Edmondson ❤️❤️💒💒❤️❤️

05/16/2023

Here is one last photo album...this one from 1986..in celebration of her being awarded the Miriam Joseph Farrel award for Excellence in Catholic Education, there was a special Polly Rucker day. The pictures of the shuttle are there as part of the award sent the awardees to Florida for the Challenger launch.

05/16/2023

05/16/2023

As we bring this era to a close, I thought many of you might enjoy these photos from May of 1994. This was PAR's first retirement. Michael Cordua of Churascos catered the incredible party and it was a wonderful event. You'll see lots of familiar faces!

05/16/2023

It's the end of an era. Here's a page from the 2023 STM yearbook commemorating it! Time certainly marches on. My mother's taking that job in 1965 changed our lives, brought us into the Catholic church, and provided that early education base to two generations that is so necessary to be successful. So thank you to Sally York, a transplant from South Dakota and bridge partner who told her about the job opening and to Sr Lucia for hiring her. All of our lives have been enriched by the many friendships we made at STM. She relished each and every one of you.

For 58 years, from that first bell in September of 1965 to the dismissal bell on May 19,2023, someone in the Rucker family has roamed the halls of STM. Polly Rucker taught at STM from 1965-2011; five grandchildren attended from 1984-1997: Jennifer & Mark Edmondson; Jason, Bryan & Karen Maloch; and two great-grandchildren: Hailey Falk & Connor Edmondson from 2011—2023. Connor will graduate this week and attend St Thomas High School.