Mary "Mema" Reppert to be Inducted into BHS Alumni and Friends Hall of Fame Class of 2015
By Connect-Bridgeport Staff on October 07, 2015 via Connect-Bridgeport.com
Editor’s Note: The Bridgeport High School Alumni and Friends Foundation have announced the 2015 Hall of Fame Class. The banquet honoring individuals will be Oct. 31 with the social hour starting at 6 p.m. and the program starting at 7 p.m. Tickets are $30 and can be obtained by contacting Fay Jamison at 304-842-6510 or Cookie Compton at 304-677-2005. The event is at the Bridgeport Conference Center. Below is the third of four biographies of the honorees for this year.
The late Mary A. Reppert was born July 19, 1922 in Evanston, Illinois. Shortly after her birth, her family moved to Englewood, New Jersey, where she was raised and thereafter graduated from Dwight Morrow High School in 1940.
From 1940 to 1944, Reppert attended college at Randolph Macon Women’s College in Lynchburg, Va., which led to the meeting of her husband Stephen E. Reppert at Princeton University. They were married December 23, 1943.
They took up a brief residence in Flemington before permanently relocating to Bridgeport. Here, they raised three girls and two boys: Susan, Sally, Janie, Stephen and Clifton, respectively.
In the early 1970s, Reppert took a teaching position at Bridgeport Senior High School. This was the beginning of a long and meaningful career. As a biology teacher, she helped in the educational development of many children who otherwise would have had little interest in learning.
As many students have testified, her style and method of teaching influenced them in choosing to pursue their future careers. She was instrumental in the creation of the Shop for Tots Christmas gift program for underprivileged children who attended Johnson and Simpson elementary schools. This program is still in effect today.
Reppert, known by "Mema" from hundreds of students, was employed by the Harrison County Board of Education and stationed at BHS for 19 years. She retired in 1989, but substituted until her passing in March of 1998.
Out of the classroom, she dedicated herself to activities with the students, such as Student Council and the annual senior plays, but of paramount importance was her commitment in supporting the football team.
Reppert’s funeral was one of the rare occasions when the school declared a day off for students and faculty in order for them to pay their respects to their beloved teacher, mentor and friend.
“We’re so very pleased with this year’s honorees,” said Alumni and Friends President Darletta Stout. “What’s impressive is that the group as whole is certainly highly educated, but they’re more noted for what they’ve given back to their communities either here or where they’ve been. The impact they’ve made in Bridgeport and beyond is a testament to the high school and the individuals that are being recognized.”
