A SHORT BIOGRAPHY

(The following is adapted from the obituary I wrote for the San Marino Tribune. Thanks to Sandy Morris, Jeni Chih, Philip Peng and Kristen Keiles for speaking to me and helping fill in vital biographical details as well as offer their own testimonials).
CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING...

Paul E. Shickle was born in Bloomington, Illinois on August 29, 1927. He was the son of Eathel D. and Benjamin W. Shickel and younger brother of Elmo W. Shickle and Leora Z. Shickle.

From an early age, and throughout his life, he was an active and devout member of the Catholic community and this influenced his interest in studying the Classics. He attended Illinois State University on an academic scholarship and after graduating, joined the Brothers of Holy Cross and then enrolled at the Catholic University of America in Washington D.C. to get his masters in Classics and Library Sciences. Health issues cut his graduate career short but he moved to Louisville, KY and became an assistant professor of Spanish at the newly established Bellarmine College.

When the opportunity arose in the early 1950s to move to Los Angeles, Shickle ended up in the Pasadena area, landing a job working at Vroman's Bookstore. During his employment there, he came into contact with many of the local intelligensia, including physicist Edwin Hubble, educator/author Isabel Fisher and members of the Patton family. The good will he earned during his time at Vroman's helped him land a job teaching Latin and honor's English at San Marino High School in 1956.

In his early years at SMHS, Shickle was a contrast in professional and personal style. His first cohorts of students remember him for his intellectual rigor and strict disciplinary style yet also remarked on how, in contrast to the white shirt/dark tie conventions that dictated teacher fashion in that era, Shickle stood out with his penchant for colorful shirts - a splash of difference against a backdrop of conformity.

Shickle's professionalism and strong personality made him an ideal leader and he served as department chair for the high school's foreign language department for over 30 years. His fellow faculty remember him for his willingness to speak his mind, even in the face of administration authority. SMHS' French teacher Kristin Koiles remembered Shickle as, "a force to be reckoned with," and Spanish teacher Bob Lutz echoed similar sentiments, describing his old colleague as possessing a "feisty personality that came in handy for being an advocate for students and his faculty."

As the Latin teacher (Shickle also taught Spanish later), he was very active in the National Junior Classical League, a student organization devoted to the study and celebration of the Classics. Thanks to his devotion and leadership, San Marino boasted one of the most renown Latin programs in the state and the campus would host state-wide conventions numerous times during his years at the school. Shickle had one of the longest tenures for any teacher in the district, finally retiring in 1999 after 43 years of service.

Outside of school, Shickle had many other interests. He studied genealogy and spent much time tracing the history of his family name, back to its native Bavaria. He was also an avid book collector, especially first-edition; his Arcadia house was filled with thousands of books and periodicals he had amassed over the years. He was also a lover of animals, leaving behind a pug and three cats (all since adopted).

Paul is survived by a nephew Dan and 5 nieces Pat, Becky, Jennifer, Regina and Sherry but his parents and siblings had already passed on. However, in a sense, his immediate family were all the students he worked with over the years, serving not just as teacher but also role model, mentor, counselor and friend. Due to his many years at SMHS, he ended up teaching multiple generations of families and possessed a near encyclopedic memory of the many people he met over his years - not just students, but their families as well. For his many years of dedication, in 1994, he was awarded with both a outstanding teaching award from the state of California, but even prouder to accept a plaque from San Marino's Chinese Parents Association, thanking him for his many years of service to the community and its young people. Historian Nick Curry, who knew Shickle for many, many years, described him as, "dedicated, brilliant, did everything to bring out the best in his students."

One of his former students summed it up best. Not only did San Marino's Sandra Helm Morris have Shickle as a teacher for four years, soon after he arrived at SMHS, so did her younger brother, and so did her two sons a generation later. In speaking to his depth of caring and involvement in his students' lives and well-being, Morris said, "I never met another teacher like Mr. Shickle." That sentiment is undoubtedly shared by many. --Oliver Wang