Palm Valley School Alumni

Palm Valley School knows how important it is to connect our community at this time. We are putting together a weekly e-blast called 'The Biz Spotlight' that will promote local businesses and fundraise for the school! If you or someone you know would like to share your business with current Palm Valley families, alumni and community members, please click the link below and fill out your business information. Alumni, please consider supporting PVS by donating a percentage of the sales generated from the e-blast back to the school. Thank you for your willingness to support our students and community! https://forms.gle/NBHMXk42ikHTqxUE8

It is with sadness that we inform you of the passing of PVS 'Lifer' and alum, Ryan Lighthill. Ryan and his siblings attended our school from Kindergarten - 12th grade and created lasting memories with many of you reading this post. His mom, Anja Gilmour, who worked in the PVS Business Office for years, along with his step-father, Alastair Gilmour, a devoted PVS faculty member, have shared the story of his recent life (see below). His family would like to invite you to his vir...tual Celebration of Life on Saturday, August 22. https://www.facebook.com/events/297978381314798 From mom, Anja - "It is with the worst unimaginable grief and agony I have ever felt in my life to let everyone know about the unexpected death of my son, Ryan Lighthill, who lived and worked in Denver. Ryan passed on early Monday morning on July 20, 2020. Alastair and I were just hours away from arriving to spend time with him after having had a third shoulder surgery, this one being a complete reconstruction, at which time two serious infections were found. Ryan was 33 years old who loved sports and excelled in many of them. He was also an incredible musician and at the age of 3, he would sit in our rocking chair with his little cassette tape and earphones listening to the Phantom of the Opera, remembering the entire score and singing it with his beautiful little voice. I will never forget the day his Dad and I took him to see this musical and being terrified he would belt out in song during the performance! Ryan was a building engineer, employed with a large worldwide company based in Denver and had just recently moved out of the city to a home with a large yard so Moe, his 12 year old German Shepherd mix, who he had since Moe was 2 weeks old, could spend his remaining years "romping" in the large grass backyard. Moe will come home with me and Alastair as he has always been a part of our family. Ryan's brother, Jonathan Lighthill, his wife, Dana Lighthill and my Mom and step-dad, Shannon, have joined us to help with all the needed details that have to be done and I wouldn't be able to do this without them. His step-brother, Selby Lighthill, is also a great emotional support from afar, and with whom Ryan had a special relationship. Alastair, who treated Ryan as he was his own son and who Ryan loved very much, has been my rock as well and is helping me to try and stay on course through this difficult time. Our hearts are breaking and there are no words to express the depth of loss we are feeling. I love you Ryan and miss you terribly and wished I had one more day to just hold you in my arms. Rest in peace my beautiful son." You will be missed, Ryan, and always remembered by your PVS family.

Yes, this student in the Marywood Country Day School Uniform went on to graduate from Palm Valley School in 2016, then the University of Arizona this year and is now pursuing a doctorate in linguistics with a fellowship award allowing him to focus on indigenous language reclamation. Max Mulé was 14 when he first became aware of the global language crisis, with so many languages and the attached cultures on the edge of extinction. He has already written grammar lessons and a p...ronunciation guide for the Native American language he is currently researching and hopes, despite the current Covid-19 pandemic complicating interviews with at-risk community elders, to continue to engage in work to keep endangered languages alive. "The idea of a language falling out of use is horrifying, because it’s damaging to people’s identities and to the community," Mulé stated. Congratulations, Max! See more

We are saddened to share the passing of a remarkable former Palm Valley School Board member, Judith Davis. She became involved at PVS while raising her grandson, Parker Garland (pictured here in kindergarten). Our warmest condolences go to Mama Judy's family and friends. https://www.mtexpress.com//article_e31d286c-b00a-11ea-8e39

On this day we pay homage to one of Palm Valley School's most incredible alumni, the singer/songwriter, pioneering female music producer Bobbie Gentry, (known at PVS as Bobbie Myers) who often wrote songs about those who were marginalized in society. Classmates of Gentry (PVS Class of 1960) at the last PVS reunion mentioned she would play and sing songs with schoolmates at lunch and other events. She was also the yearbook editor and active in student government and drama. Her... unforgettable song, Ode to Billie Joe, which she stated was about "basic indifference, the casualness of people in moments of tragedy", begins thusly: It was the third of June, another sleepy, dusty Delta day I was out choppin' cotton, and my brother was balin' hay And at dinner time we stopped and walked back to the house to eat And mama hollered out the back door, y'all, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNB8AKMdqiQ See more

The Move, the Merger, so many Palm Valley School memories, Tom Hernandez, who worked at the school for over forty years, was there for it all. Hernandez died on April 11, 2020, from cancer. PVS yearbooks were dedicated in honor of him in 1998 and 2006. Our sincerest condolences are with his wife Jessie, who also worked at the school for many years, as well as his children, Tommy (PVS Class of 1995) and Vanessa (PVS Class of 1999). Sympathy cards can be sent to: Jessie Hernand...ez, 81285 Avenida Blanca, Indio, CA 92201. The family requests that donations made in memory of Hernandez go to organizations involved in cancer research. Mr. Tom, as so many knew him, is memorialized by former colleagues and students in the latest issue of the PVS alumni newsletter. During these difficult days, may both the good memories of the past and our hope for better days in the future help us all feel more united. Feel free to add your memories in the comments! #FirebirdFamily https://drive.google.com//1oQSXcd6tszdsm8PsjpS8AwiLP9/view