SILLS RETIRES by Mrs. Toni Wallace After 43 years of dedicated service to the Catholic Diocese, Art Teacher Roger Sills is setting his sights on a well-deserved retirement as well as spending more time with his wife Lisa, their children and grandchildren. Roger began his career in 1978 at Memorial High School. In the fall of 1982, he joined the staff at Mater Dei and served as a teacher and Art Department head for 38 years. During this time, he implemented the Feeder School Art Show. This recognized the talented works of the middle school students and then displayed them on the Mater Dei campus. He was also awarded the Lilly Grant that allowed him to merge history and art with his abstract paintings of historic bridges. More recently he was honored with the Innovative Teacher Award for implementing the use of 3D printers in his curriculum. In addition teaching Art, Computer Graphics and Drafting, Roger was also known for his extended coaching career. He coached both boys and girls basketball and served as an assistant baseball coach under Carl Voegel and Darin Knight which spanned twenty five years. Out of the classroom Roger’s quick wit and advisement were legendary, as well as his entrepreneurship. In his spare time, he could often be seen drawing up architectural designs for building desks or offering samples of his homemade cheese sauce. We extend a heartfelt thank you to Roger for all of his contributions to our students and MD community.
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During the last faculty meeting of the year, via Zoom, Principal Darin Knight surprised Roger with tributes from faculty and staff and his son Cory and daughter April.
Coach Sills had a tremendous impact on all seven of us senior basketball players in the Class of 1997. He believed in us when most people didn’t and he taught all the members of that team the value of putting team goals ahead of individual accomplishments. We will all be forever grateful to him for that. On a personal note, Roger has been a tremendous mentor to me as both a coach and teacher. It is hard to put into words how important his advice has been to me during my time at Mater Dei. I would have never guessed as an 18 year old in 1997 how good of friends we would become over the next 25 years. I’m extremely blessed to have played for him and worked with him. The Mater Dei community is blessed to have had him all these years and we all wish him the best in his retirement. Kurt Wilderman ‘97
