South San Antonio Independent School District issued the following announcement.
When you meet Linda and Ricardo Santillan, get ready to become a member of their family on the spot. They have been educators at the South San Antonio Independent School District for more than 70 years of combined service as teacher and coach.
“We were just going to go kind of quietly,” said Linda Santillan, who has taught at Athens Elementary School for the majority of her career until the campus closed.
The Santillans had planned to retire in July, but with the pandemic and virtual learning, they decided to stay and teach from home. Everything changed when Coach Santillan was diagnosed with Wegener’s Immune Disease.
“It was best for us healthwise,” Mrs. Santillan said. “It comes to a point where you have to put yourself first and my kids told us it’s time to put yourself first.”
The Santillans officially retire Friday and they say they’re grateful for the many relationships they have formed through their careers with faculty and former students.
“We’re still very close to a lot of our ex-students...we’ve been to some of their weddings, gone to some of their graduations,” Mrs. Santillan said.
Coach Santillan recalls many times he celebrated a student’s soccer game triumph with a special ritual.
“When they scored a goal, I called their names on the speakers and they would get so excited,” Coach Santillan said. “I’m going to miss all the little faces.”
While Coach Santillan wants his students to engage in athletic activities, he wants them to remember what matters most.
“Remember, school is first,” he said.
The Santillans say they won’t be able to travel right now, so they will focus their free time on favorite activities like going for walks in their neighborhood and spending more time with family.
“I’m going back to being an avid reader,” Mrs. Santillan said. “I’m going to start reading for me.”
Coach Santillan says his schedule will slow down as well.
“We’re going to get up a little bit later than five o’clock in the morning, Coach Santillan said. “We’re not going to do that anymore.”
As the retirement chapter begins, Mrs. Santillan is letting a higher power guide them.
“We’re going to take it one day at a time the way God gives it to us,” she said.
The Santillans are grateful for the years they had at Athens, Price, Five Palms and Dwight during their careers.
”I will always be grateful to Mr. Carranza for letting us come back home and letting us retire where we started,” Mrs. Santillan said. “You will always have a special place in our heart and in our memories.”
Athens Principal Joseph Carranza says there will definitely be a void when he goes to work early Monday morning.
“They are right behind me at 6:46 a.m. and every morning it’s pure sunshine coming through that door,” Carranza said. “Each and every day they come in smiling.”
While the Santillans enjoy retirement, they’ll still reap the benefits of a lifetime of positive bonds with their South San ISD family.
“They’re so much in love, they care about one another and they treat everybody as part of their family,” Carranza said. “They are so beloved.”
Original source can be found here.
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