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A TRIBUTE TO MRS. PAT CRUISE
written by: Kenneth Farr, Class of 2006
Mrs. Pat Cruise began her journey at St. David of Wales Catholic School when her granddaughter, Kimberly Grant, enrolled in Kindergarten. Mrs. Cruise supported her daughter (Kimberly’s Mom) and granddaughter Kimberly her entire time at St. David. During her time as a grandparent at St. David, Mrs. Cruise volunteered to assist the librarian at the time. At one point, she accepted the opportunity to become the sole librarian, and continued to volunteer her time.
When Kimberly graduated eighth grade and went to Saint Mary’s College High School, Mrs. Cruise did not let her granddaughter’s absence stop her from continuing to serve the St. David of Wales Catholic School students in the library. For 20 straight years, she spent 10-15 hours each week (many times, even more!) organizing books, adding books, updating books, and maintaining the school’s library software. Each student in grades Kindergarten through Eighth would have the opportunity once a week to visit the library and check out two books. This system remained consistent for all 20 years Mrs. Cruise volunteered, and served as an incredible resource for students, especially those in the upper grades who would rely on this resource to complete research reports and projects.
During the 2015-2016 school year, the administration at St. David of Wales Catholic School held a surprise All School assembly for Mrs. Cruise. With the student body, faculty, and staff present, everyone surprised her with a short ceremony officially naming the library after her for her 20 years of volunteer service (and for so much more!) To this day, when you visit campus, you will see a plaque above the school library that reads Pat Cruise Library.
In addition to her 20 years of service volunteering in the library, Mrs. Cruise would often attend St. David student’s extracurricular events, including sports! Many faculty and staff members could count on Mrs. Cruise’s emails acknowledging “life happenings” of alumni, prior St. David community members, and others. When she wasn’t sending updates, she was closing the library to travel to various countries around the world with her traveling groups.
Mrs. Cruise will be missed, and those who had the honor of spending time with her in the Pat Cruise Library or playing a sport while she watched in the stands will forever remember her care and support. Rest In Peace, Mrs. Cruise.
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