Oshkosh Northwestern, WI
June 2 2007
Oshkosh teacher remembered for classroom work and commitment to
students
By Doug Zellmer
of The Northwestern
Seraph "Kappy" Kaprelian brought a lot to the table as a teacher in
the Oshkosh school district.
Kaprelian, 87, died May 6 and is not only remembered for his years of
teaching, but also his commitment to students and for a good sense of
humor. He taught math and science at South Park Junior High School
and then Oshkosh West High School.
He retired from the school district in 1985 and then spent several
years teaching math at Fox Valley Technical College.
"As far as his teaching, he was always the rock of the math
department at South Park," said William Holm, retired principal at
South Park. "He was cool, clam and collected. He was a fine teacher
and a fine gentleman."
John Sheehy, retired principal at Oshkosh West, said Kaprelian was
student council advisor at West "and the kids loved him."
"He had them going in all directions and they were very willing to
work for him," Sheehy said. "He was popular with the students and
staff."
Holm said Kaprelian had a good relationship with students at South
Park.
"Seraph was just a good solid supporter of most if not all activities
held at South Park," he said.
Kaprelian’s widow, Pat, said her husband was born in Turkey and was
three-years-old when his family immigrated to the United States in
1923 and settled in Racine. She said he was "very proud" of his
Christian-Armenian heritage.
"His parents survived the 1915 genocide by the Moslem Turks against
the Christian-Armenians," she said. "The entire village was uprooted
and forced to march. One thousand started on the march and only 50
people survived and among them were my husband’s parents. They ran
out of food and water during the march."