DELPHOS — Four Delphos St. John’s alumni will be inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame at a ceremony at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church on Nov. 29.
Brother Nick Renner, Joe Bonifas, Mary Beth Will and Richard Scherger were chosen out of around 70 nominees by the Delphos St. John’s Hall of Fame Committee, made up of 12 alumni.
There are four categories alumni are inducted into — professional achievement, arts and athletic achievement, service to mankind, and service to St. John’s.
Renner, a 1961 graduate of Delphos St. John’s, was inducted based on his service to mankind. Born in Landeck, Renner’s first inkling of a religious life was in third or fourth grade when Brother Hotz of the Brothers of the Holy Cross visited his class.
In the fall of 1962, he left for the seminary of the Society of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood. He found his niche, and in 2015 celebrated more than 50 years as a member of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood, living at St. Charles in Carthagena.
Renner is also the chairman of the Mercer Soil and Water Conservation District Board of Supervisors and a consultant with The Ohio State University. He’s also working in Tanzania, Haiti, Jamaica and Guatemala helping to feed people as well as teaching them to use the resources they have to improve their lives.
His research and advocacy in soil and water conservation has led to him receive numerous awards, including the 2013 Archbishop O’Hara Advocacy Award for Rural Ministry from the National Catholic Rural Life Conference.
Joe Bonifas, inducted for arts and athletic achievement, graduated Delphos St. John’s in 1971. He earned his bachelor’s degree in art education in 1975 and a master of arts in 1981. He began teaching at Shawnee in 1975, and continued to teach art at Shawnee for 35 years.
Bonifas’ contributions to education and the arts have been recognized on a variety of different levels. In 1982-83, he was chosen by Shawnee’s superintendent as a “Martha Holden Jennings Scholar” for his excellence in teaching. Members of the Ohio Art Education Association selected Bonifas as the “Outstanding Art Instructor of Northwest Ohio” in 2006. In 2013, Bonifas received a lifetime achievement award from The Arts Advocacy Collaborative of West Central Ohio for his creations of art locally and nationally.
Mary Beth Will was nominated for her service to St. John’s. At St. John’s, Will taught music for three years, and became part of the school’s liturgy committee. As a liturgist, Will was responsible for music, wedding music, funerals, choir, ordering items for worship and more.
Richard Scherger will be inducted for the final category, professional achievement. A 1959 graduate of Delphos St. John’s, Scherger went on to attend Xavier University in Cincinnati where he received his bachelor’s degree in psychology in 1963, and his master’s degree in school and clinical psychology in 1966.
“The teachers at St. John’s trained me to compete successfully in the world outside our little community,” Scherger said. “I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to have grown up in Delphos and have my primary education at Delphos St. John’s.”
Scherger began his career as a school psychologist with Lima schools and stayed for 36 years. Early in his career, he served as the psychologist for the three Lima Catholic elementary schools, St. Charles, St. Gerard and St. Rose, and for Delphos and Wapakoneta schools in the evenings and on Saturdays.
Scherger was on the medical staff of St. Rita’s Medical Center for 25 years and completed diagnostic, psychological evaluations on both the adult and adolescence psychiatric units. As a further commitment to St. Rita’s, Scherger served on the development council beginning in 1979 and was chairman of the committee for 10 years. In 2003, he received the St. Rita’s Mercy Club Award for his humanitarian service in the community.
The induction ceremony will be held Nov. 29 starting with a Mass at 11:30 a.m. at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church. A free brunch will be served in the All Saints Building at St. John’s School beginning at 1 p.m., immediately followed by the induction ceremony.
The event is free and open to the public, but reservations are required to attend the brunch. Reservations can be mailed to Hall of Fame, P.O. Box 112, Delphos, OH 45833. Include name, number attending and contact information. You can also contact Bob Ebbeskotte at [email protected] or 419-692-0752.
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