Larry Gnagey leaves lasting impression on Mahomet community

By FRED KRONER

fred@mahometnews.com

Imagine.

Imagine transferring to a new high school as a senior.

Imagine going out for the football team and, by the first game, being chosen as one of the team’s two co-captains.

Imagine school starting and elections are held for class officers and being voted in as Senior Class President.

Imagine yet another election and this time being voted in as Student Body President.

For most, that sounds like a dream.

For Larry Gnagey, that was reality.

The affable Gnagey was a fixture in the Mahomet-Seymour school district for parts of five decades, first as a student and later as the popular band and chorus instructor, followed by an equally-long stint as an adored elementary-school principal.

Gnagey, 91, died on Friday (July 2) in Jonesboro, Ark.

He first arrived in Mahomet in the summer of 1947, a transfer from the Lena school district. The move was prompted by the hiring of his father, Lelo, as the superintendent of schools in Mahomet.

That fall, Mahomet was resurrecting its football program after a two-decade layoff and organized a six-man team.

In the season-opener at Colfax (Sept. 11, 1947), the 170-pound Gnagey scored a touchdown on a 60-yard touchdown run. It was the longest scoring play in the game, which Mahomet won.

About a month later (Oct. 9), he scored three touchdowns in a 38-13 win at St. Joseph.

In basketball, he was the team’s third-leading scorer. During the spring, he excelled in the 100-yard dash and in throwing the discus for the track and field team.

That was merely a prelude to the impact he would make in the school district.

Gnagey had a continuous decades-long association with M-S, starting in 1961 when he found ways for band and chorus to be an enjoyable experience for his students.

“He was my band teacher from fifth grade on,” said Becky Kuhns Burkland, a 1977 M-S graduate. “He made band and chorus fun and you wanted to do well for him.

“I remember he looked at my hands in fifth grade and said I had the fingers to play the sax. He was protective of his ‘band kids.’ He left an impact on me just with his sense of humor, smile and caring attitude. You could talk to him about anything. He was truly the best.”

Gnagey entered the administrative realm in Mahomet-Seymour starting with the 1977-78 school year. He was the principal at the Fifth-Grade Center and later took over as principal at Sangamon Elementary School, from where he retired in 1991.

In those roles, he connected with thousands of students during his tenure. Among those he influenced is current Middletown Prairie principal Ryan Martin, a M-S graduate in 1997.

“Mr. Gnagey impacted me way more than I ever knew at 5 and 6 years old,” Martin said. “I went to the old Sangamon School (on Main Street), where he was the principal, for kindergarten and first grade.

“I don’t remember him as a disciplinarian, teacher evaluator, curriculum leader, schedule coordinator or the multiple tasks that an administrator completes during the school year. I remember him as a person.

“I remember him for his interactions with the students. I remember the genuine relationships he built with the people around me. I remember his smile.”

Gnagey was a consummate storyteller.

“I definitely remember his storytelling at lunch time,” Martin continued. “To this day I can picture Mr. Gnagey in the cafeteria telling us a story about a French fry that fell off the tray.

“This particular French fry walked right out of Sangamon School and had many adventures. It puts a smile on my face as I think about Mr. Gnagey. At 5 and 6 years old, I had no idea that I was going to become an elementary school principal.

“However, I do know once I became one that I wanted to have the same impact on the students as Mr. Gnagey did.”

Larry Gnagey was married for almost 71 years to the former Regina Roberts, a high school cheerleader in Mahomet whom he met after transferring to the school as a senior.

The couple had two children, both M-S graduates, Julie (deceased) and Nevin, who lives in Jonesboro, Ark., with his wife, Cheryl. Regina Gnagey also lives in Jonesboro.

In compiling information for his father’s obituary, Nevin wrote:

“Larry’s life is best defined by his love for family and people, especially children,” Nevin said. “He also had a great love for music.

“From an early age, he taught himself to play various musical instruments, excelling as a tuba and piano player.”

His former students often referred to him as “Mr. G” but as they reflect now and marvel at his kindness, grace and guidance, it could just as easily have been as “Mr. Gee.”

“Larry was a guy who was always happy and I believe loved everyone,” said Bill Murphy, a 1973 M-S graduate. “I first met Larry when I started band practice. What patience he must have had.

“Much to the chagrin of my friends, I’ve become a punster, which I attribute to Larry’s guidance throughout school.”

Gnagey wasn’t opposed to pranks or practical jokes. Murphy remembers one time when one was directed at the band teacher.

“One of Larry’s favorite songs was, ‘I Saw the Light,’” Murphy recalled. “We played this in Studio Band and the look on Larry’s face when (classmate) Jonathan Sivier and I walked up to the audience and sat by Regina to play that song was priceless.”

Gnagey had a special knack with students. Another 1973 graduate, Emily Moon Kroner, remembers a meeting between her, her mother and Mr. Gnagey.

“When I was in fourth grade, we met with him to help decide what instrument I would play in band,” Kroner said. “At the time, I was interested in bass clarinet, but he convinced my mother French Horn would improve my lung capacity because I was asthmatic.

“In retrospect, I realized he was seeking a student that would commit to the French Horn, which can be a difficult slot to fill.”

She used a school-issued E-flat mellophone from fifth grade through eighth grade. She was the last student to use that particular instrument.

“Mr. G had it hung from the ceiling and planted a philodendron in the bell,” Kroner said. “It was used as a plant hanger the rest of my time in school because it was such an old instrument.”

Gnagey graduated from the University of Illinois, where he marched in the band. He was a tuba player in the Fifth Army Band, stationed in Highland Park.

He would take advantage of opportunities to perform, even informally.

“He played tuba in summer concerts on the north steps of what is now the junior high school, when he could get enough people to play,” Kroner said.

She remembers how Gnagey would create a light-hearted feeling at the outset of chorus practice.

“He would say, ‘We’re going to sing this song Acapulco (as in the Mexican city, instead of acapella or unaccompanied),” Kroner said, “and it made everyone laugh.

“He was my music and choral teacher through school. He was a very important teacher to me.”

For 1978 M-S graduate Becky Bull Kuhns, the Gnageys were first neighbors in Colony Grove before he later became her teacher.

“One thing that stands out for me was that he gave me a never-ending hall pass to go to the music room anytime I wanted,” Kuhns said. “He would intentionally not date it so I could use it over and over.

“If a teacher caught on and kept it, he just wrote me a new one.”

As she began thinking about college, Gnagey provided guidance.

“I credit Mr. G for my love of music,” Kuhns said. “He even worked hard to find me a career I could do to stay in music.

“It was a new field at the time, music therapy.”

She started on that pathway at Illinois State University, but didn’t finish the program. However, when she and her husband Dave began having children, it was important where they lived.

“Wanting my kids to have the same wonderful childhood I had, we bought the family home,” Becky Kuhns said. “I was devastated when he retired from teaching before my senior year of high school.

“But my loss was my kids’ gain as he became the Sangamon School principal. They could not have chosen anyone better.”

When Gnagey retired from the M-S district, he and his wife moved to Loda. Kuhns was part of a spectacular sendoff tribute.

“Several of us had a farewell party at my house on Colony Grove,” she said, “complete with a Marching Band parade to his house.”

The parade featured Marching Band members from the 1970s.

“And we played the school song,” Kuhns said. “Mr. G was definitely ‘that’ teacher that inspired me the most and will always have a special place in my heart.”

Former M-S students aren’t the only ones showing their admiration for Gnagey. Former M-S teachers echoed many of the same sentiments.

“When I began teaching, I considered him a model for my own teaching style,” said Mike Tilford, a history teacher who was on the high school faculty the last eight years that Gnagey served as band and chorus director at M-S. “He respected every student and they knew he cared for them.

“I think all teachers could benefit from the example he set. He was especially talented in relating to students of all ages as demonstrated by the outstanding job he did as an elementary principal.”

Former Sangamon Elementary school teacher Donna Kirkwood said, “Larry was a very special person and dear friend. I am sure he will be in heaven telling the children one of his BIG DOG tales. He so loved puns.”

Former M-S Spanish teacher Sue Arbuckle added, “this man was my kids’ hero before they ever knew what a hero was.

“Larry Gnagey could make you laugh at his Big Dog jokes or he could make you feel special just by placing a hand on your shoulder.

“He had an infectious smile and a slow drawl that will forever live in our hearts.”

Nevin Gnagey talked about his father’s heart in the obituary he penned.

“Larry influenced thousands of kids over the years with a philosophy that there is no such thing as a bad kid,” Nevin said. “His kindness and goodness were evident, as he not only taught and directed, but also encouraged and included.

“Perhaps his greatest legacy is storytelling. From books and stories about his grandchildren to stories written for a local museum to lunchtime storytelling at school, Mr. G and Big Dog, Baby, Frog, and Bunny lit up the eyes and imaginations of countless readers and listeners.

“There was always a point to the story, and usually it was about being kind and treating others just as you would like to be treated.”

Linda Cekander Miller, a 1976 M-S graduate, will second that assertion and confirm it is based on truth.

“Mr. G was always kind and encouraging,” she said, “and he told great stories.”

Per the wishes of Larry and Regina, no services are planned for Mr. Gnagey, but the family asks that everyone feel free to say a prayer, have a happy thought about his life and smile.

Memorials can be sent to the Middletown Prairie Elementary School, 1301 S. Bulldog Drive, Mahomet, IL, 61853, or the Flo and Phil Jones Hospice House, 1148 E. Matthews Avenue, Jonesboro, AR, 72401.