LAGUNA NIGUEL : Educator Recalled at Groundbreaking

He might have been the only high school principal in all of South County for nearly 37 years, but former Capistrano Union High School students and teachers say the late John S. Malcom was also the best.

On Tuesday, many of Malcom’s former students and colleagues, including his two surviving daughters, gathered on a Laguna Niguel coastal plateau off Charles Road to celebrate the groundbreaking of the 22nd Capistrano Unified School District elementary school, which will be named in honor of Malcom.

“Dad inspired so many young people to continue their education,” said Marjorie Weatherholt, the youngest daughter of Malcom and a 1941 graduate of the former San Juan Capistrano high school. “This would be a very proud day for him.”

Born in Compton in 1889, Malcom earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at USC, where he also served as captain of the football team in 1910 and president of the student body in 1912.

In 1920, Malcom arrived in San Juan Capistrano to become the first principal of Capo Union High School, which closed in 1965. Serra Continuation High School opened about 10 years ago on what was formerly the Capo Union High campus.

At the time of Malcom’s tenure, the rural high school was the only one in all of South County. The next closest high school was in Tustin. During his first year at the school, there were only two teachers, including himself, and one small temporary building for the 16 students.

“Every student who graduated during those first few years had taken at least one course from Mr. Malcom,” his late daughter, Maryem De Mesa, wrote in the book “Recuerdos de San Juan Capistrano.” “They were taught far more than history or Spanish. They learned love of country, the challenge of the future and the pleasure of accomplishment. An A from Mr. Malcom was indeed a prized achievement.”

By the time Malcom retired in 1957 as acting superintendent of the Capistrano Union High School District, the campus had several Spanish-style buildings and more than 300 students.

Malcom died in 1963 of a ruptured blood vessel in the brain.

Mary Elise Rogers was one of Malcom’s students, although she knew her “austere” looking principal in a slightly different manner than most. She was the eldest child of San Juan rancher Carl Hankey, whose family and the Malcoms were close. Around the Hankey homestead, Malcom was known as “Uncle Jack.”

“I only called him Uncle Jack in high school class once,” Rogers recalled, laughing. “I almost died.”

Despite Malcom’s strict demeanor, his students knew his door was always open if they needed help, said Rogers’ husband, Thierry, who graduated in the class of 1937. “He was respected by everyone, even the people he got after,” he said.

In his 1957 retirement letter, Malcom wrote of the growth he saw coming for the school district. While many on Tuesday said he would have been “awed” by the changes that have taken place, he probably would not have been totally shocked that enrollment in the district has climbed to more than 30,000 students. In the next five years, the district enrollment is expected to reach 40,154 students, with 18 new schools planned.