Shared stories, reflections and memories of how Tim and Mike helped shape our lives…
R E F L E C T I O N S
by: Susan Silver
It seems like yesterday when both my daughter and son had Mr. Cerutti as their gifted teacher at Parkway Central. I would frequently hear that he was the best teacher who always raised the bar high to challenge them. As my daughter's softball coach, I watched him both on the field and in the dugout doing his part. He was constantly rooting on the team and promoting teamwork. In both of his roles as teacher and coach, he was always a good listener showing support and kindness. Even if the team or individuals weren't doing great, he would be by their side as they got through the rough time. When they were doing well, he would be celebrating with them. You could always tell by the smile on his face how much he loved teaching and coaching these kids. I will never forget his smile. A few years back my daughter and I had the opportunity to go out to lunch with Mr. Cerutti and his wife Barbara. The bond which my daughter and Mr. Cerutti shared was so clear as they reminisced about different games or classes. Barbara and I also chatted about the wonderful times we had watching the games and what a wonderful mentor and coach Mr. Cerutti was to so many kids. I have been in the school system for many years and in my opinion Mr. Cerutti is a legend. He is loved by so many students and parents. He earned so much respect over the years and he stayed in touch with kids even after they left high school. I remember Barbara and Tim hosting parties or having get-togethers at their home for many kids when they were in town from college. I always thought that was another thing which the Cerutti's did which showed their kind spirit. Both Tim and Barbara, who were both in the school system, always cared about students and it was clear they cared about and loved each other and their family.
R E F L E C T I O N S
by: Tammy Tow
Dear Tim, I don't even know where to start...25 years of friendship is a lot to try and summarize in a letter.... I always enjoy the time we spend together...I love the stories you tell about your former students, then ones you adored and the ones about Tony...the ones about having nuns as teachers and working with nuns. (I can't imagine) I love how you always give your honest opinion/advice...and how you do so eloquently...I know you have had to tell me things that you knew I wasn't going to like to hear, but needed to hear it anyway....I knew you were right...I always appreciated that...I think you helped teach me to stand up for what I believed in and voice my own opinion (I am still learning how to say it nicely, I haven't mastered that yet). I love the book, Illusions...I am so glad you introduced me to it. I love teaching gifted...I am so glad you encouraged me to get my certification and just jump in...I was really nervous about teaching gifted and I will never forget you said, "Tammy, they are just kids! and you love teaching kids..." And, you were right again... I would never have been brave enough to go to Chicago with 40+ kids by myself.. I am so glad you went with me...it was good to have one responsible adult there...LOL! Camp is probably one of my most fond memories. I loved staying up late and listening to everyone's stories and laughing so hard my face hurt the next day. I will never forget the time you came back from the cave and you had bat guano on your shoulder. I still have the picture in my classroom. I loved dressing up for Halloween with our team...Wizard of Oz and Charlie Brown...we had a lot of fun...and you were right again when you said, "we are going to be the best team" I loved how you always made a point to say something positive during our team meetings or parent conferences. If you haven't noticed, I have said "love" repeatedly throughout this note...and that is no coincidence...I love you very much, Tim...I am proud to call you my friend....my mentor...
Love, Tammy Tow
R E F L E C T I O N S
By: Andi Blaylock
Mr. Cerutti (it feels weird to call him Mike!) was my Principal at River Bend Elementary in the late 70’s.
I still remember - to this day as a 50 year old adult - when he pulled me and a few classmates aside when we were heard making fun of another student. He told us bullying others was a reflection of how we felt about ourselves, not anything about that person. What profound words well ahead of his time! I didn’t know he had passed but he has had an impact on me all these years later.
R E F L E C T I O N S
By Jamie Buckwald
The "living toast" I surprised your dad with when I was a senior in high school - we went out to lunch and came back and he saw all the cars lined up on your street, wondering who was throwing a party. A true celebration fitting of his lasting impact followed - people gathered at your place, some he had not seen in years, others who wrote in and contributed stories/photos. That could be a fun book to look through with him now if you can find it.
Writing on your basement wall "Jamie Poz said hi to the house" (what an eloquent message!!)
Green Trails camp and meeting you!!! and Eddie Spaghetti and for once in my life actually getting to make it to home base because of Cerutti rules
the Random Acts of Kindness Club at PCMS - learning how to make being kind cool, in a nerdy kind of way - tootsie rolls always make me think of that club and of your dad
His wedding gift to me was a weekly letter for the first year after my marriage - Mike and I loved reading each one, and I have them all saved. Some contained stories from the past, others quips of advice, and most were also just real time reflections of his life, the joy he took in the extra "free" time with your mom. I will treasure them always. Mike still talks about "Cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon" and the reference your dad made to him specifically, in terms of time, what matters, which is spending meaningful time as a family because it all goes by so fast
Playing Play it Again Jukebox with you and your parents - and my surprising amount of random knowledge of one-off one hit wonders from the 60s/70s thanks to my parents making me listen to oldies my entire childhood
The holiday reunions your dad would host at your house - staying for hours catching up with people I had not seen in years and meeting new people for the first time
His grading system for the gifted classes was its own classification - it made it impossible to phone it in or to be lazy and lean back on some fancy words without having a real grasp of the question being asked. I also lived for his "extra credit" questions which were usually hilarious and random and impossible
I remember one of the debates I got assigned in one of those classes was on the death penalty and it was the first time I remember really immersing myself in taking a position on something so controversial and complicated, and sorting through my Very Big Middle School Feelings as I tried to empathize with the position I had been assigned which was pro death penalty
the books. All of the wonderful books we read that he introduced me to. And the top 10 lists he would write in big posters in his classrooms - similar to the ones for Color Wars at camp and which team won. He made a love of literacy cool (again in a nerdy way - and introduced me to Watership Down and the Bridge to Terabithia and Princess Bride (which remains my favorite movie of all time due to the "As you wish" sentiment he often expressed) and the Hobbit and 1984 and Atlas Shrugged and big, giant, complex thoughts and ideas that he never made us too small to take on. he introduced me to "illusions" by richard bach and to flip randomly to various pages in the book when I was feeling lost, and it never fails to lead me to some insight. It also contained my motto "Happiness is a choice" - at least I think that came from Illusions, but perhaps your dad lifted that up himself to amplify it. that has become a guiding star for how to live my life and really shook me when the full scope of it landed. that being an optimist, being happy, is hard. it's an active, deliberate decision you make, not a resting state of sentiment. There have been moments when the easy choice would have been the opposite. And whether at work, navigating this global pandemic, or in relationships, leaning into this choice to be happy has helped me lead a purposeful life. Mike and I mentioned it in our vows. If one phrase could define me I think that would be it, and your dad introduced me to it. His impact on my life is hard to quantify and continues to be felt despite the years between when he last taught me in a classroom.
we had also often joked about an imaginary wedding - which probably in 2020 would not fly!! - but which at the time was fun and silly and sweet. All I remember is a rainbow cat I think was somehow involved??
his sense of humor, his empathy, his ability to talk to kids without condescension. his laugh, deep and real and frequent. his embrace of the unconventional. his talent for looking out for the little guy or girl. his intolerance of bullshit. his heart. he will forever be the best teacher i ever had, counting all college professors.
R E F L E C T I O N S
By: Mary Mann
What can I say about Tim Cerutti?!! I met Timmy in 1970. My friend Debbie and I attended many baseball games and he was the pitcher and my future husband was the catcher. What a battery!! I mainly went to home games but sometimes I would skip class with Debbie and go to some of the away games. Timmy was an outstanding pitcher! He had a great arm but the best glove because he always borrowed mine. Steve only went to Harris for two years but their friendship lasted to the day is Steve died and Timmy and I are still friends. We don’t see each other much but when we do we don’t skip a beat. There are hugs, and talking only coming up for a short breath. Timmy was in her wedding in October 1973. After the ceremony he gave me such a big hug he tore my wedding dress at the shoulders. He’s lucky I wasn’t a fussy bride, and enjoyed the hug more than the dress. I got to watch Timmy and Steve play softball for years which was always enjoyable. I think he had his own glove by then, but who knows the way he lost things. Tim, Chuck and Steve would get together every year for the shoot out downtown. I think they enjoyed the basketball but enjoyed being together even more. Now I would see Timmy every year for the rules meeting for high school softball. Sometime Steve would be there and sometimes Susie but it was something I look forward to every season only because I knew I would get to see Timmy. He could’ve ran those meetings because he was so knowledgeable of the sport but what he should’ve have done was given clinics to the coaches because he was such an outstanding coach! He knew the sport but he knew how to treat his players to get the most out of them and he respected the game and his players which was very important! Something I just thought of was when Steve and I were on our honey moon, Tim and my friend Debbie went into our flat and put rice in our bed and fill the bathtub with balloons up to the ceiling. They also decorated with streamers but the rice and the balloons were more of an inconvenience but funny. We always had a great time with the two of them. Timmy was the best memory of Harris! The baseball field where we had to clear the glass in the rocks before they played, volleyball in the gym and sitting in the cafeteria playing spades and just talking.
These are my memories! Sent with love and prayers, MaryMann
R E F L E C T I O N S
by the wonderful Doug Lewin
Outside of family, there is no one that has had a bigger influence on my life than you. My love for reading, my intellectual curiosity, the reason I became a teacher, the way I taught, and my way of interacting with children, all trace back to you. Your sixth grade class was a revelation. The Hobbit, Watership Down, Illusions, still some of the best books I've ever read. I still remember like it was yesterday how you taught us about irony by playing Billy Joel's Piano Man ("they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar and say man what are you doing here"). Your classroom was one open door after another, portals of discovery constantly arising, followed by intellectual and social discovery leading to the next. The spirit of camaraderie in that classroom is something I still look to create in social and intellectual interactions to this day. Luckily for me, my interactions with you didn't stop after sixth grade. I still thank my lucky stars I got to be a camp counselor, and later a teacher at Green Trails Summer Day Camp, working with you. Added up, I think it might've been nearly a decade of summers working with you and I loved every minute. As a middle school and then high school counselor I watched -- studied -- how you masterfully worked with kids. You always heard them fully and they felt heard. And loved. Every one of them. You may have gotten angry, it's hard to imagine a human being that doesn't ever get angry, but I never remember you getting angry. You loved what you did and it showed. I wanted that. I wanted that inner joy and deep satisfaction you had which came from teaching and learning from kids. I unconsciously copied you. Your way is imprinted deeply in me and I'm extremely grateful for that.
I also remember the trips we took out of St. Louis, driving on one occasion, at least, to Elephant Rocks and on another to a minor league baseball game. I treasured those times. I still remember you saying as we got close "We're almost halfway" whenever we'd ask how far away we were. When we pulled into the parking lot having arrived, you announced with that devilish grin you displayed when you had successfully set us up, "We're now halfway." And when we said but we're here, you said: "We still have to go back." We all groaned but you were deeply satisfied and laughed the laugh only one with deep contentment with the world can laugh. It was a laugh I heard from you often. All these years later I can still hear it and see the look on your face.
I also vividly remember your prowess at Trivial Pursuit. I marveled at you. Speaking of that devil grin, you would often, when there was a particularly difficult question and a new player, ask the number of the card. Upon hearing it you would quickly and authoritatively declare the answer leaving the newcomer to wonder if you had actually memorized all the cards. It was plausible because you were that good and you knew it. But man you hated that pink Arts and Entertainment category. If all you needed was orange, i.e., sports-- and that was your strategy, get the other five, then get orange-- it was over. I used to love talking sports with you. Your knowledge of Cardinals baseball was encyclopedic.
As a counselor, I'd sit by your side--you on a chair, me on a milk crate-- and pick your brain about Cardinals history and current teams (mostly history, it was the early 90's, not exactly a banner period of Cardinals baseball) while the kids played bombardment, a perennial favorite of all the campers, including young Max Sherzer. When one team got too far ahead, we'd break off our conversation to join the losing team to even the scales. You loved a close bombardment game like it was a great movie. That love of life was infectious; everyone around you felt it.
I remember the moment I wanted to become a teacher. It was in your classroom. I don't teach in schools anymore but I am a mentor for others and a teacher in many ways. Your influence is an undeniable and deep part of who I have become. I will be forever grateful.
The Sycamore and the Softball: Coach Tim Cerutti’s Life of Love
— By the talented Kate Wylie
Kate Wylie (she/they) is a poet from St. Louis, Missouri and 2023 Pacific University M.F.A. graduate. Wylie reads fiction for The New Southern Fugitives and serves the community as Assistant Professor at Webster University and Literary Obituaries Editor at Northwest Review.
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