TRIBUTE TO FR. WALLY SIDNEY, SJ

RJHS President 1995-2006

By Charisse Broderick King DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS

On April 20, 2023, Fr. Wally Sidney, SJ passed away at the age of 75 in his native St. Louis. Succeeding Fr. Ralph Houlihan, SJ, Fr. Sidney served as the second president of Regis Jesuit High School, which had officially separated from Regis University in 1979.

During his tenure, Wally, as he preferred to be called, oversaw several key enhancements to the campus that had moved to its new location only five years prior to his arrival. Under his leadership, in the summer of 1996, the school purchased an additional 35 acres of land adjacent to the initial 27 originally donated by Dick ’54 and Dorothy Campbell. The pool with its original “bubble” cover was added to campus in time for the 2000 Boys Swim and Dive season where the Raiders secured their fifth straight State title.

Wally’s most enduring legacy at Regis Jesuit, however, will be the establishment of the Girls Division in 2003. Wally and the Board of Trustees saw the opportunity to strive for the magis in response to a request from parents seeking a Catholic education for their daughters. With the support of the Archdiocese of Denver, they moved to open a second division of the school that would offer the same high quality, single-gender educational experience to young women as the school had offered young men and would respond to “a genuine need for the Church in Denver” for more spaces for girls in Catholic high schools. On the cusp of its 20th anniversary, Wally would be proud of how the Girls Division has flourished.

Wally will long be remembered for the kindness, joyfulness and quiet leadership with which he guided Regis Jesuit through a time of great change and growth.

Read the complete tribute to Wally including reflections and memories from his RJ colleagues at » regisjesuit.com/RememberingWallySidney