Nick '42 and Mary Scarpelli
By Al Falkner, Gonzaga Prep president, 2004-2017
If you walk down Prep's main hall to the gym and look up above the door you will see "Scarpelli Gymnasium," named after Nick Scarpelli when he retired in 1997, after an incredible career as a student, athlete, Prep Hall of Fame teacher-coach-administrator, parent, Hall of Fame referee, GSL baseball and softball coordinator, and member of the State Athletic Directors Hall of Fame. After he "retired" as athletic director in 1988, he returned as plant manager for nine years. He lived and believed in the power of a Gonzaga Prep education. His legacy is strong in our community. What is also strong, and often overlooked, is the strength and goodness of Mary Scarpelli, his wife of 67 years, who passed away in March at the age of 98.
When I started at Prep in 1974, my first mentor was Nick Scarpelli. My first friend was legendary history teacher and freshman football coach Ron Long.
Those two men had a profound influence on my sense of Prep and the Prep community. Vicki and I were not yet married (until 1976), but our many and wonderful times with Nick and Mary, and Ron and Judy, over the years helped us see what dedication to a mission and married life could be. Nick and Ron were so good at what they did, and Mary and Judy added so much depth, love and commitment that is needed in families that so profoundly share this dedication to Prep. Mary was an accomplished chemical lab technician at Kaiser Aluminum for 30 years. Judy Long was an incredible teacher in the Catholic grade schools. She and Vicki worked together at Assumption for many years. Their children went to Prep (or for their daughters, Holy Names, before Prep became co-ed), as did ours. Everything in their and our lives had more meaning because so much was touched by the amazing Prep community, through school events, graduations, weddings, baptisms, and even funerals.
Because they believe so strongly in the difference Prep can make in the life of a student, Mary and Nick established a scholarship in 1997. After Nick retired, he and Mary often attended games to watch their grandchildren (Jamison '04, Nicholas '12, and Caitlin '14) or support coaches or families they knew. After Nick passed away in 2011, Mary still came to games often and attended many of Prep's social gatherings like the Blue and White Ball and the Financial Aid Luncheon, where she loved to talk to the student recipients of the Scarpelli Scholarship. In 2014 we honored her with the Companions Award. The Nick and Mary Scarpelli Scholarship helps make sure that all students can attend the school that they loved—what a meaningful gift from two wonderfully dedicated people!
