FARGO — The St. John Paul II Catholic Schools will honor the following individuals and team on Saturday, Sept. 28, at the annual Hall of Fame and Mike and Karen Hofer Deacon Award Ceremony at Sts. Anne and Joachim Social Hall.
The St. John Paul II Catholic Schools Hall of Fame honors Sacred Heart Academy or Shanley High School alumni, teams, faculty or staff who during or after their time at SHA/SHS achieved a level of excellence deserving of recognition and who reflect honorably on the St. John Paul II Catholic Schools and its mission. Their accomplishments can be in athletics, fine arts, leadership, service, career or professional endeavors.
The 2018 Hall of Fame inductees are Lynn Casey, Neal Jacobson and the 1973 Deacon football team.
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Lynn Casey: graduated from Shanley in 1973. She will retire from Minneapolis-based Padilla in December after leading the award-winning communication company for 18 years. Casey chairs the University of Minnesota Foundation and serves on the boards of Minneapolis Institute of Art and Page, an international professional society.
Neal Jacobson: graduated from Shanley in 1959. He was on the National Honor Society, earned seven letters in basketball, track and cross country, and won the 880-yard run in school record time (59’). Jacobson was a helicopter pilot in Vietnam from 1966 to 1967 and flew 478 combat missions. He spent 41 years as a pilot in the Marine Corps, The Marine Reserves and the North Dakota Army National Guard. He was the first lead helicopter pilot for Lifeflight Merit Care of Fargo.
1973 state champion Deacon football team coached by Sid Cichy.
The recipients of the 2019 Mike & Karen Hofer Deacon Award are Msgr. Allan Nilles and Ronald Noesen.
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Msgr. Allan Nilles: graduated from Shanley in 1941 and was ordained a priest of the Fargo Diocese on June 11, 1949. He spent almost 70 years ministering to the needs of several generations of families and parishioners in eastern North Dakota. His assignments included serving 14 years as the Rector of St. Mary’s Cathedral in Fargo (1969-1983), five years as the Chancellor of the Diocese of Fargo (1955-1960) and 10 years as the Vicar General of the Diocese of Fargo (1960-1970). Nilles was well known throughout North Dakota for his musical talents. Nilles passed away on Oct. 31, 2018.
Ronald Noesen: started his career as physical education teacher in 1957. Over his 30-plus years at Shanley, he taught typing, business and drivers’ education. Noesen also served as football coach/assistant, track coach, and basketball coach. He ended his term (1989/1990) as athletic director and dean of students. Some of his proudest moments at Shanley include: founding of the Shanley Invitational Track and Field Meet in 1969, coaching the Shanley ND Class A State Indoor Track Meet title in 1974, and organizing the first Roger Maris Celerity Golf Tournament in 1984. The recipients of these awards will be honored at a banquet on Saturday, Sept. 28, at Sts. Anne & Joachim Social Hall.
Tickets may be purchased online at https://alumni.jp2schools.org/events .
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