Br. Stephen Markham

Stephen Markham was formed by the Franciscan Sisters of Dubuque, who ran every school he attended from grades 1 through 12. It was a thorough and loving education. But the moment that lodged deepest in his memory came during eighth grade, when a serious illness forced him home. He was tutored under the guidance of Sister Verina, whose kindness and personal attention reached him during a vulnerable time. Watching her, he thought: I want to be a teacher. I intend to be a teacher.

Later, he came across a De La Salle Christian Brothers advertisement in a local paper. It read simply: "All Brothers, all Teachers." That phrase unlocked something. Br. Stephen entered the De La Salle Brothers and has spent 59 years giving thanks for that decision.

One story from his teaching years at Beckman Catholic High School in Dyersville, Iowa, has stayed with him. One of his finest students — a young man named Ray — failed to appear at graduation. Br. Stephen left Dyersville not long after. The following Christmas, Ray tracked him down by phone and arranged a meeting.

Ray told him what had happened: he'd panicked on graduation day, hitchhiked across the country, gotten into unhealthy behaviors, and eventually enrolled at a university the following fall. One day, zoned out in a psychology class, a phrase flashed into his mind: "Let us remember we are in God's holy presence." He recognized it immediately — it came from Br. Stephen's religion class. Standing on the far side of the country from everything he had known, Ray realized he hadn't done one thing since leaving Dyersville to remind himself that he lived in God's presence. He committed to attending Sunday Mass again, at least as a starting point.

Br. Stephen visited Ray in California a decade later. He was teaching biology at a Catholic school.