By Lydia Petroff

The OHS Foundation Hall of Fame is proud to recognize and display the accomplishments of over 100 former Pirates, including the seven newest honorees representing the Class of 2020/2021. Meet the newest Hall of Fame’s inductees who will be presented at the Oceanside High Hall of Fame ceremony on October 9, 2021 outdoors on the high school campus at 10AM.

ACADEMICS

Oscar Ramos Class of 1997

Oscar Ramos grew up in Oceanside’s Posole neighborhood and attended Laurel Elementary, Jefferson Jr. High, and Oceanside High School, where he was the Class of 1997 Co-Salutatorian. Oscar’s parents, who were undocumented immigrants from Mexico, stressed the importance of education as the key to success. Their influence led to Oscar’s decision to become a teacher. After graduating from Harvard in 2001 with a history degree and a teaching credential, Oscar moved to Morocco, where he taught for four years in the American school community. Oscar returned to San Diego in 2005 to complete his Master’s at UC San Diego, and joined the faculty at The Preuss School, UC San Diego, from 2007 to 2019. For five years, he led the Social Studies department at Preuss, which is a charter school for low-income children who will be the first in their families to graduate from a 4-year college. Newsweek named Preuss the #1 Transformational School in the US from 2011 to 2013, and US News and World Report consistently ranks Preuss the #1 high school in San Diego County. Oscar loves teaching young people who aspire to transform their lives through higher education. Oscar’s students have graduated from every Ivy League school, every UC and CSU campus, and such prestigious schools as Stanford, Georgetown, Swarthmore, Holy Cross, Trinity, and USC. They have gone on to become doctors, lawyers, entrepreneurs, members of the armed forces, actors, political and social activists, congressional staffers, artists, medical researchers, and most importantly, teachers.

ARTS

Patrick Bagley of Class of 1974

Patrick Bagley was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1956, but the family soon moved so his father, Larry Bagley, could take a job in the Oceanside City Planning Department. Larry would work his way to become City Manager and later serve three terms as Mayor. Pat’s mother earned a degree in education and for decades taught Oceanside’s young. Politics and learning were a household staple. Pat and his two older brothers, Will and Kevin, and a younger sister, Lisa, grew up surrounded by books, magazines, newspapers and news programs; lively discussions around the dinner table about world, national and local events were common. Pat’s father had this quirk: he would often watch the evening news with pen and paper and do quick sketches of the people on TV. Assuming everyone’s father did the same and that it was just something people do, Pat started drawing. He was known to friends and teachers at OHS as a talented and clever artist. Later, at Brigham Young University, he would incorporate politics into his art and become the staff cartoonist for the student newspaper. In fact, the first cartoon he drew for The Daily Universe was reprinted in Time Magazine. Pat was hired by The Salt Lake Tribune in 1979 and for the next 40 years would produce 12,000 cartoons and become an institution in Utah politics. He’s won several major awards, including the Herblock Prize, and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. He has two adult children, Miles and Alec, daughters-in-law, Karina and Sarah, and a grandson, Ulysses. Kate Hahn is his life-companion and muse.

ATHLETICS

Ramona (Rieke) Newton of Class of 1909

Ramona Rieke was born in 1890 in Pomona, California, to Frederick William and Kunigande Elizabeth Horst Rieke. With three older sisters and one brother, the household was full of life. The Rieke women were strong and determined and their legacy as stalwart feminists was the stuff of legend in the succeeding generations. She attended Oceanside High School. About those early days, she wrote: “Oceanside began a new life for me. As a member of Oceanside’s first germ of a High School, I joined fifteen or sixteen girls with one teacher for the first year. Eventually there was a principal (and teachers for music, German/Latin, history, math, and English). We dearly loved our faculty and school. The girls had a basketball team and were the champions of the county we had to buy our suits that were made of wool bloomers and a full skirt reaching below our knees. Our loyalty was magnificent. I guess because we helped create the first High School in Oceanside. So I became one of five girls who composed the first graduating class from Oceanside High School. I will never cease being grateful to my family and the community who gave not money but of their time and interest.” She graduated from San Diego Normal School (now SDSU) and began her career of elementary education—teaching in schools in the Los Angeles City School System. Reflective of her love of nature, she spent the summers in the Southern Sierras with family and friends. She was involved in various organizations including a retired teachers club, her church, and local Women’s Club. She died in March of 1986.

BUSINESS

Alan Ruden of Class of 1968

Alan Ruden was born in Boulder, Colorado. The family moved to Oceanside when his father accepted a job with the city. Alan attended K-12 schools in Oceanside, was a good student and excelled in basketball. He was an All-Conference guard, 4 times MVP and 2-time Defensive Player of the Year. His play continued at MiraCosta where he set a scoring record that still stands. Linfield University in McMinnville, Oregon, awarded Alan a basketball scholarship in 1970. He graduated with a business administration degree, married Judy Hermens (also from Linfield) and moved to Oceanside. Here Alan worked for a mining company, and they welcomed a son. The family returned to McMinnville in 1978 where Alan worked as a general contractor and land developer, building some high-end homes and buying land for a subdivision. As Alan grew his business, the family added five more children. Alan’s new designs energized the building community, and he helped lead the Planning Commission. He also served eight years on the City Council, served as President of the Builders Board, was on the Chamber of Commerce Board, and is currently on the Habitat for Humanity Board. During this time, Alan began to mix small homes, duplexes, bungalows and townhomes with his trademark large homes. “Civility and Livability” defined his building as he worked to address the diverse housing needs of McMinnville. His projects also include principles from “Great Neighborhoods” such as parks, open spaces, natural features, and pedestrian and bike routes. Alan currently has 322 housing units in planning and building stages. He continues to reside in McMinnville with Judy, and they enjoy their twenty-two grandchildren.

BUSINESS

Douglas Avis of Class of 1964

Douglas “Doug” Avis was born and raised in Oceanside. He attended St. Mary’s elementary school before entering
Oceanside High School. Doug was the quarterback of the 1963 OHS Pirate football team that won the school’s first state CIF championship. In his senior year Doug served as student body president. He was a City of Oceanside lifeguard and also spent time as a lifeguard on Camp Pendleton where he often surfed at Trestles. Doug attended Mira Costa College and received his Bachelor of Arts degree from San Diego State University in 1969. Early in his career Doug taught at the Carlsbad Army Navy Academy and owned an insurance agency in Oceanside. He founded Benchmark Pacific, a land investment company in 1980. His company developed numerous housing projects in Carlsbad, which continue to set a high standard for livable communities. Doug was proud of his work with the City of San Marcos and state officials to site a new university, CSU San Marcos-on land that was formerly the Prohoroff poultry farm. He served as an Oceanside Planning Commissioner and City Councilmember, was chairman of Carlsbad’s first Housing Commission, spent four years as an Encinitas Planning Commissioner and was a founding member and chairman of the Carlsbad Village Association. Doug was a supporter of the OHS football team and the annual S.A.B.R.E. Awards. He passed away on April 14, 2019 at home in Encinitas. He is survived by his wife Lori, children Tracie and Jake, and two grandsons. He is also survived by his sister, Kathy Green.

COMMUNITY SERVICE

Glenda (Bedwell) Kimbrel of Class of 1968

“I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.” Jesus Christ. – John 13:15
After graduating from OHS I attended MiraCosta College and UC Santa Barbara receiving my Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology. I received my Master’s Degree in Counseling & my Pupil Personnel Credential from SDSU and also my Marriage, Family & Child Counseling License from the State of California. I worked with the San Diego Municipal Court System, County Welfare Department and the County Juvenile Probation Department. In 1974, I began my work as a Counselor/Child Abuse Investigator with the Oceanside Police Department. In 1986, I was hired with the OUSD as a Counselor, starting at El Camino High School; then in 1990, I came home to OHS, until retiring in 2006. The Lord has guided me in every aspect of my life. I served on the Del Oro Hills Community Church Leadership Board and I am currently an active member of New Song Community Church. In 1986, I joined the OHS Foundation and have been working on different committees and holding various offices. What motivates me is my faith and love for Jesus Christ. To “lead like Jesus” has been my desire in all that I do. God has given me the most precious family with Pat, our son Beau, his wife Tiffany, and our two grandchildren, Mariah and Luke. My parents, Doc and Alicia Bedwell, were guiding lights in my life and my sister, Gloria Carranza, has always been an inspirational support. I am truly grateful for the life the Lord has blessed me with.

PUBLIC SERVICE

Theodore J. Porter of Class of 1968

We moved to Oceanside in 1959 when my father became the program director of KUDE 1320AM. As a teenager, I worked at the Mayfair Market where I enjoyed helping people. While attending MiraCosta Junior College, I would talk to Oceanside Firefighters while they shopped for daily supplies. It was during this time that I became interested in firefighting as a career. Carlsbad still had a volunteer firefighter program, which I joined in 1969. San Diego offered me a job and I began my career at the downtown Station One. This was a big city fire department with 21 firefighters on duty, but my heart was still with Oceanside. In 1973 I became a firefighter with the Oceanside Fire Department. Many changes were coming to the fire service at that time. Dr. Thatcher started an EMT class for OFD when the fire department had taken over the ambulance service. In 1975 a federal grant was given to Oceanside to send ten firefighters to UCSD for paramedic level training; I was one of those firefighters. After completion I was on the crew that placed the first Mobile Intensive Care Unit (MICU) in service in the county. In 1985 I was promoted to fire engineer, and was active in training and testing new fire engineers. I also worked on the design of new fire stations and new apparatus, fire demonstrations, open houses, and volunteered my time at elementary schools. In 2005 I received the Service Award from our Fire Chief. Today I enjoy spending time with my wife Elise, my daughter and son, and our
four grandchildren.