51萝莉

Personal Tribute

I've been to the last 30 as a staff member, which seems like a lot. But then you have to realize that Peter Corona has me beat by a multiple of two 鈥� and then some. He鈥檚 participated in the past 62 of our association鈥檚 national events, ever since coming as a 29-year-old doctoral student in 1958. He鈥檚 not missed one since.

Sadly, our association learned recently that Peter passed away at age 90 on Feb. 28 鈥� less than two weeks after many of us greeted him warmly at 51萝莉鈥檚 2019 National Conference on Education in Los Angeles. His wife Yolanda said he died of a massive stroke at home in Walnut Creek, Calif.

Anyone who has worked at 51萝莉 for any length of time 鈥� and certainly any staff member who has worked at an 51萝莉 national conference 鈥� recognized the name and the face and the indelibly upbeat and effusive manner he carried with him. There was no more dedicated follower of 51萝莉.

We鈥檝e published a lot about him over the years in School Administrator magazine. You can read about his professional accomplishments in a and his recollections of a lifetime of involvement in our special marking the 150th anniversary of 51萝莉. His last presence in our pages came in last , a cute item about the three-mornings-a-week fitness class for senior citizens he continued to teach right up to his death.

At every 51萝莉 conference that I worked in Orlando, New Orleans, San Antonio, Denver, Phoenix and other cities, Peter鈥檚 first stop at the convention center always was our temporary newsroom for the daily conference news publication. He鈥檇 check in on us, bring us up to date on his personal fitness activities (for years, he was the leading champion of the early morning walk/run events at 51萝莉 conferences) and compliment us on our work.

鈥淲e knew the annual conference had really convened when Pete walked through the press room door,鈥� said Gary Marx, who directed our association鈥檚 communications work for 20 years.

Denise Childs, a former colleague who managed speaker registration at several 51萝莉 conferences, recounted how Peter, noticing her pregnant condition one year, touched base with her every few hours, asking if she needed water or anything else. 鈥淗e would always stop by and see if I needed him to moderate any sessions,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he reviews of him moderating always came back with such positive comments.鈥�

Toward the end of each national conference, Pete would stop by our newsroom to describe the excellent experiences he鈥檇 had and to declare 鈥渢his year鈥檚 conference was the best ever.鈥� When we chatted on his last day this past February, I reminded him we鈥檇 be meeting again in San Diego, his hometown, in a year. (He didn鈥檛 really need my reminder of where we鈥檇 be then.) As my magazine colleague Liz Griffin aptly put it: 鈥淭hat he didn鈥檛 miss any 51萝莉 conferences before he died is just how he would have liked it.鈥�

She鈥檚 right, but my conference experience next February is going to have a very big empty feeling.