Listen to Episode 60 on Jam.ai here
It was easy to spot him in the crowd – signature hat on his head, making it possible for me to point out his presence every opportunity I could. It was an unprecedented thing to be able to say to a group – “I’m honored to introduce to you Hillbrook’s original student, Richerd Cancilla.” Richerd would stand, wave, a warm, slightly wry smile crossing his face.
He was Hillbrook’s first student, a young child – ward of the state – who joined the school at 3 years old and grew up on our campus, attending what was then called The Children’s Country School through 8th grade and then continuing to live on campus as he attended Los Gatos High School until his graduation. After leaving Hillbrook, he attended UC Berkeley, double-majoring in Electrical Engineering and Music, and then entered a career that included short stints at General Electric and Lockheed’s Engineering and Space Division, and then a 30-year career at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Complex. After retiring, Richerd remained active in the community, participating in the choir at his church and figure skating into his early 90s. Indeed, he was still doing jumps on the ice well into his 80s!
I had the privilege to meet Richerd early in my tenure at Hillbrook, and he remained a fixture at school events throughout the past 15 years, particularly the Musical and 8th grade Promotion. He even joined a few Grandparents and Special Friends Days during the years, serving as a special friend for some children who did not have someone in attendance. In 2013, the Board of Trustees created an award – the Richerd Cancilla Award, that is given at Promotion and is Hillbrook’s highest honor to a volunteer member of our community. It was a testament to the lifetime commitment he made to and connection he had with the school.
Being with Richerd on campus, I was always struck by how much the campus, the school, and the community meant to him. He was soft-spoken and would watch the children running around, and he would smile, knowing that the school he loved was still an amazing place for a child to be nurtured and to grow. One of my favorite quotes from Richerd was in former teacher and school historian Paul DiMarco’s wonderful history of the school, “As the Twig is Bent,” “Coming back is like coming home cause it’s just a very good comfortable feeling. Feels so good sometimes I like to just stay here and take it all in just pretend that I never left.”
Richerd passed away last Friday at 93 years old. You will be missed, Richerd, but you will not be forgotten. There will always be a part of you on our campus, a place that still, for so many of us just like it did for you, feels like coming home.