Honoring a man of Grace

GLENDALE — Roosevelt Middle School students and staff gathered Friday for a somber ceremony dedicating the campus gym and sports field to former counselor Ron Grace, who was among the 25 people killed in the 2008 Metrolink train crash in Chatsworth.

Grace, who died one year ago today, worked at the middle school for 23 years as a coach, history teacher and counselor. He wore many hats, including husband, father, brother and mentor, but one of the roles he most enjoyed was being a sportsman, friends and family said.

In between classes and after school, Grace often played sports with students on campus. With those memories in mind, school officials honored his legacy by dedicating the gym and field as the “Roosevelt Middle School Ron Grace Sports Complex.”

“In dedicating the Ron Grace Sports Complex, we are keeping him in our thoughts and in our lives here at Roosevelt,” math teacher Dominique Bonelli said. “We may be walking across the grass field and remember seeing Mr. Grace quarterback the teacher team in the Turkey Bowl. We may envision him umpiring a game during lunchtime intramurals . . . whatever way we keep him in our thoughts, Mr. Grace loved sports and we loved him.”

Grace’s wife, Janice, his sons, Brian and Andrew, and close friends and family were greeted with loud applause from hundreds of students.

His sister, Lorraine Grace, said she was touched by the ceremony. “This is just such an honor for him,” she said. “You know you think that after a year has gone by the pain would be gone. You keep waiting for it to go.”

Students and staff also participated in a moment of silence to honor victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

“It’s a day of reflection, remembrance and a day of celebration of life,” school Principal Lynn Marso said.

On Sept. 12, 2008, Metrolink 111 ran a red light and collided with a southbound Union Pacific freighter, killing 25 passengers and injuring 135 others. Grace was on the train commuting from school to his home in Simi Valley.

While the investigation into the cause of the crash is ongoing, National Transportation Safety Board officials have focused on engineer error.

The Metrolink engineer, La Crescenta resident Robert Sanchez, sent a text message 22 seconds before the commuter train crashed head-on with the Union Pacific freighter. Sanchez was killed in the crash.

Investigators have said Sanchez could have been distracted and may have not seen the red light. Metrolink has since called for having two engineers on board. Injured passengers and family members of those who died have been filing lawsuits against the Southern California Regional Rail Authority and Metrolink, seeking punitive, compensatory damages.

“The manner of his loss at the hands of another’s inattention to duty reminds us all to be attentive in all that we do,” said Joylene Wagner, member of the Glendale Unified School District Board of Education.

A large plaque with an inscription about Grace will be mounted inside the gym.

His family was given a city proclamation dedicated to Grace and a small commemorative plaque with the inscription, which included: “If ever there is a tomorrow when we are not together, there is something you must always remember: You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is even if we are apart, I will always be with you.”

The plaque will give future students and staff members the opportunity to know “that there was a man of Grace” on campus, Wagner said.

Grace counseled Wagner’s children when they attended the school.

“He was a steadfast, calming presence, whose smile and voice and manner brought peace, even in the midst of a middle school filled with middle school students and middle school problems of all sorts,” she said. “He was a calm in the middle of a middle school storm.”

School counselor Lucy Cerda worked closely with Grace for eight years.

“I truly miss him and wish he was with us today, but I know he is always here guiding and helping us through each day,” she said.

Grace believed in giving all students a chance to succeed, Cerda said.

“Whether you knew him for 23 years or 23 seconds, you could not help but be affected by his sincerity, devotion and general affection for his profession and for people,” she said.