Longtime Geggie Elementary School physical education teacher Pat Grimshaw’s final day of school is Friday.
The 34-year teaching veteran is retiring from the only school he has ever taught at, and where he was able to make an impact in the classroom, on the athletic field and throughout the Eureka community.
“(Grimshaw) is constantly planning events and activities and ways to get the community involved,” Geggie Elementary Principal Dan Hannon said. “I jokingly call him the mayor of Geggie because he knows everyone in the community.”
Grimshaw, 57, of Eureka started his teaching career as a student teacher in 1989, and he became a full-time physical education teacher at Geggie in 1990. His official final day with the Rockwood School District will be Tuesday, May 28, according to Board of Education documents.
The school and city communities made sure Grimshaw knew how much he was appreciated at the conclusion of an annual event he helped start in 2011.
Grimshaw has helped organize the Geggie 5K run for more than a decade and watched the event grow from 200 participants to 750 this year.
The race was held April 27 at the elementary school.
The City of Eureka issued a proclamation that April 27, 2024 shall be known as Pat Grimshaw Day.
After the race, teachers ushered Grimshaw into the gym under the guise of watching a farewell video. Instead, community members, students and Rockwood staff surprised Grimshaw with a retirement celebration.
Mayor Sean Flower proclaimed April 27 to be Pat Grimshaw Day during the celebration.
The proclamation said Grimshaw “has spent countless hours encouraging our youth to set goals and work hard to reach them.”
The proclamation highlighted some of Grimshaw’s accomplishments, including being named the 2015 Rockwood Teacher of the Year, winning the John Kadler Award for assistant coach and being inducted into the St. Louis Football Coaches Hall of Fame in 2019.
The proclamation also praised Grimshaw’s work as a member of the Eureka-Pacific Elks and Knights of Columbus to support the community, including organizing the annual Eureka-Pacific Elks Hoop Shoot Contest. He also raised money for the Bequette Foundation, which honors late fifth-grade teacher Marlene Bequette, by helping coordinate the Kids Night Out program at Geggie.
“That was quite a surprise,” Grimshaw said. “Eureka is a wonderful community, and Geggie is just a microcosm of Eureka. I love this school. I love this community. I love being a citizen of Eureka.”
In the classroom
Grimshaw said he did not intend to become a teacher when he began attending Northeast Missouri State University, now Truman State, in Kirksville.
“Originally, I thought I was going to be a businessman,” he said. “Halfway through that degree, I realized that my passion was in teaching and coaching, so I made that switch. I grew up with a big family and that’s how we entertained ourselves, playing sports. It was a nice transition to make my career in that.”
Grimshaw graduated with a degree in physical education in 1990. He earned his master’s degree in education from Southwest Baptist University in 1996.
Grimshaw said he and two other P.E. teachers – Rachel Fonke and Michael Bianca – instruct up to 650 students every year at Geggie.
He said the students are one of the main reasons he has been in education for so long.
“I remember looking at a research study, and it’s true, they said kids smile 400 times a day compared to adults smiling 40 times a day,” he said. “That’s definitely something that’s kept me in education because the smiles every day, and the laughter and the enthusiasm when they come in here. It hasn’t changed one bit over the years.”
Hannon said the students look up to Grimshaw and gym class is a highlight for many students.
“The biggest question of the day that we get, as they pass by Mr. Grimshaw (during student drop off) is ‘What are we doing in P.E. today?’” Hannon said.
The Geggie 5K began as a fundraiser for the Girls on the Run program and to prepare participants for that group’s St. Louis 5K race.
Grimshaw said the Geggie 5K raises funds to pay for students to attend the St. Louis race. However, the event now also raises funds for other school programs, such as buying equipment for an archery team and purchasing an outdoor sound system.
“We can provide so many more opportunities and experiences for our students because of the race,” Grimshaw said.
On the field
Grimshaw’s reach in Rockwood was not limited to elementary students.
He has coached football, wrestling and the girls track team at Eureka High School.
“Once I started having babies, I had to get out of (coaching) all three sports,” Grimshaw said. “I had the best of both worlds because I had such enthusiasm at the elementary school with those kids coming into the gym every day, and then with my high school athletes, you’re dealing with kids who want to be there.”
Jake Sumner, Eureka High’s head football coach, said he played for Grimshaw as a Wildcat, and Sumner currently works with Grimshaw, who is the football team’s senior offensive analyst.
Grimshaw was the Wildcats’ running back coach and the offensive coordinator before transitioning into his current position.
“He’s like family to me,” said Sumner, who graduated from Eureka High in 2002. “He’s such a good man and great for the kids at Eureka High School. We want him around as long as we can have him. He’s a good mentor to me and many guys on our coaching staff.”
Sumner said Grimshaw also has run the high school’s Junior Wildcat Summer Camp for 32 years. The two-week camp introduces young athletes to the high school and prepares them for fall sports. Sumner said about 200 students participate in the camp every year.
“So many times in this world people aren’t always patient,” Sumner said. “We’re in an impatient world that always wants everything right now, and one of (Grimshaw’s) best qualities is his patience and his care to try to bring the best out of somebody.”
Grimshaw said the most rewarding part of coaching student-athletes is forging lifelong relationships. He especially appreciates teaching students at Geggie and then reconnecting with them when they are teenagers at Eureka High.
“Having your former players come back and just being able to reminisce about games and old stories, lessons they learned through the experience, that’s probably the most rewarding thing,” he said.
At home
Grimshaw’s home life also is wrapped up in Rockwood.
Grimshaw said he and his wife, Debbie, have three daughters, Katie Flower, Ellie Grimshaw and Annie Grimshaw. Grimshaw said he coached all three of his daughters in track at Eureka High, and they also attended Geggie.
He said he met Debbie because they both worked in the district. Debbie was a teacher at Eureka High before retiring a couple of years ago.
“I met (Debbie) because of my being able to teach here at Geggie,” Grimshaw said. “She was a head soccer coach and math teacher, and I ran into her in the hallway.”
And though he will no longer be at Geggie, he will continue to teach children in the city and help athletes at Eureka High.
He said he will work part-time as a physical education teacher at Most Sacred Heart Catholic School in Eureka. He said he’s been a member of the Most Sacred Heart Catholic Parish since the early 2000s.
He also plans to continue coaching Eureka High football and track.
Grimshaw said he decided to live and work in Eureka because of its strong community.
“The love that is poured out in the community for whatever people need – I couldn’t think of a better place to raise my family than in Eureka, specifically in Geggie,” he said. “Even though I’m leaving, I know these relationships will stay with me.”