Rene R. Mendoza

Rene, my dear friend. I think of you often and miss you terribly.

I wrote Mr.Mendoza a poem today. I attended his celebration of life that was held at Franklin High school. I remember I cried myself to sleep when I first heard he passed, now almost 6 years ago. I´ve copied and pasted my poem here. If anyone reads this, I call him courage. I call myself warmth. He will always be my favorite teacher. He´s the reason I teach high school now. I hope I made him proud. courage 10-27-15 Warmth has a story about courage. A teacher she had just twice. Courage...

Today I had an interview for a home instruction program. Part of an interview was to write a few paragraphs about a teacher that made a difference in our lives. I thought long and hard and like angel wings coming into my heart the memory of you came to me. I remember that when I moved from N.D. to CA I was a sophmore and placed in your freshmen history class. I was the new girl with no friends and no connection to anyone. You joked about my N.D. roots . What you didn't know is that it was a...

Mr. Mendoza... Words can't express how amazing of a man he was. He was one of my favorite teachers my sophomore year of HS at Franklin. Mr. Mendoza always referred to me and two classmates as "flash dance" because we were on the dance team and we always found a reason to dance during class. My junior year we needed letters of recommendation in order to continue dancing. I remember running to his class to ask him for mine. He wrote it, it was amazing. I'm not sure if I could ever thank him...

Mr. Mendoza was an incredible teacher and friend. I was fortunate enough to have him for Honors World Geography my freshman year of high school. On the first day of class, I thought I made a horrible mistake. He was tough, strict, hard, and blunt, but by far he was the best teacher at Franklin High School that I ever had. He was and forever will be my favorite teacher at Franklin High School. I never had a teacher that made sure all of his students completed their work. I never had a...

I am so sorry to hear of this news. Mr. Mendoza was one of my more influential teachers in high school. He took on the daunting task of organizing the first Filipino Club in our school and was so supportive in everything we wanted to do. Thank you, Mr. Mendoza for all your patience but most especially, for your friendship. Thank you also for taking the time from your busy schedule for coming to our 25th HS reunion. It was truly nice to see you again after all these years. Little did I...

In high school, every graduating class is assigned an staff adviser. No one wanted to take on the incoming group so Mr. Mendoza accepted the responsibility. His commitment to our group lasted a lifetime as he made it a priority to come to our 25th class reunion. In high school he was like a caring uncle who was cool but stern in guiding my peers and I. When he looked at you, you knew that he wanted you to feel empowered to live the best life possible. Those who were not part of the popular...

Rene was my partner in the fight to expand EL services at FHS, and I will be forever grateful that fate landed me in his company. He taught me to treasure every day, to laugh even when you're angry, and that 1 person can fill such great space in the world! He will always be missed deeply, but so will his impact on the world always be felt.

Rene was the most beautiful person and chose to live life to the fullest. All of us are better having known and loved him. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family at this difficult time. Rest in peace my dear friend.