“He’s the one teacher I remember.”

“He gave me confidence in myself that I didn’t know I had. He believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself.”

“He was more than a teacher; he made [us] feel a sense of safety and like we belonged to part of a family.”

These are the words of Mary Stevenson, a Naperville Central graduate from 1989, Amy Lambertson Yager, Class of 1992 and Amber Weiss, Class of 2000, describing retiring choir director Curt Parry.

On May 17, over 80 Central alumni from the Classes of 1987-2014 gathered in the choir room. Nervous energy and excitement buzzed around as old friends were reunited for the first time in years. And what was the uniting force that brought people from across the country back to their old high school? Parry’s retirement.

That night, alumni got together to practice a song titled “Thank You,” that was to be performed the next evening at Parry’s last choir concert. Matt Colbert, Class of 1990, organized this performance.

Colbert was at a faculty meeting a few years ago when Central’s Dean of Student Activities, Lynne Nolan, told him that Parry was planning on retiring. At that time, Colbert wanted to do something special to honor Parry, but wasn’t sure what to do until he was approached by Parry’s son, Thomas, in January.

It was then that the idea to surprise Parry at his last choir concert was born. A Facebook group was created, and instantly, hundreds of people expressed their support for the song. These people were guided by their desire to honor such an influential teacher.

“[Parry] was a great teacher,” Beth Erickson Carver, Class of 1990, said. “He was very encouraging. He was fun and I think his students respected him, as you can tell from [how many alumni showed up.]”

Colbert was guided by his own personal connection to Parry. When he had Parry as a teacher, Colbert said something really difficult happened in his family, and said that Parry really helped him through it. Every day, Parry would ask, “How you doing, Matt?” And according to Colbert, that made all the difference.

In fact, when Colbert was deciding which career to pursue, Parry talked on the phone with him for three

hours convincing him to be a teacher. This advice has paid off and Colbert is now the choir director at Jefferson Junior High School.

Not only were alumni involved in this performance, but so were Parry’s sons. One of them, Nick, said that this performance meant a lot to his dad.

“So many people from different parts of the country [were at the concert,]” Nick said. “And all of them have kept music as a part of their life.”

This impact from Parry has also affected 1994 alumni, Bengi Selcukoglu.

“I work in [Informational Technology],” said Selcukoglu. “But music is a part of my life [because of Parry].”

Parry touched on a similar idea during his thank you speech after the alumni surprised him with their song.

“Just because I’m not going to be a teacher here does not mean I’m not going to still make music and enjoy music,” Parry said. “I hope that in some way I can still be a part of what continues here at Central. For those of you that have [graduated], I hope that music is still a part of your heart and a part of your lives and that you’ve done what I always told you to do which is to sing to your babies. With that said, remember, do not drink, do not smoke and don’t have sex with anyone. Ever.”

At this last comment, a line that Parry has repeated to his students every weekend for 30 years, the entire audience was moved to a tear-filled standing ovation.

Before the alumni sang “Thank you,” there was one more important song. Parry’s wife, Jan Parry, came on stage and sang “For Good” from the musical “Wicked” with her husband.

According to Yager, J. Parry was also a large part of Central’s choir program and referred to her as the nicest of people. Yager also recalled J. Parry’s gentle kindness and her big heart.

Both “For Good” and “Thank you,” were special for Parry’s retirement and many of the audience members started crying during these songs. These audience members ranged from members of the Central community to members of Central’s choir program. One such person was sophomore Emily Ware, a member of choir.

“I have a lot of friends who are graduating so I saw them all up there [with all the alumni] and I saw Mr. Parry and it was really hard not cry,” Ware said. “We had a surprise for him so I had to go up on stage and not look like a melting panda so, yeah, it was really emotional. It was really tough, but also, I’m really proud of all of [the current seniors]. Most of them have been in choir for four years and they’ve stuck with it and now they get to graduate with the man himself.”

Parry was touched by the performance, but managed to hold back tears. After the show, it took him an hour and fifteen minutes to talk to the line of people that formed, each person wanting to say one final thing to their retiring mentor.

“I am flattered and honored that people would take the time to come, some of them great distances, and just be there for that moment,” Parry said. “And for some of them, it was not just [Monday] night, but [the alumni] were here Sunday night rehearsing in [the choir room] without my knowledge. They were here two nights in a row to [prepare the song] and it might seem like a minor thing, but for them it was such a huge deal to come back in and share a [final] song with me because that’s what we had done for the hours and hours and hours we spent together.”

Rather than crying during the choir show, Parry described his experience as “analytical.”

“I was trying to just analyze and see [it,]” he said. “I wanted to take it in. I didn’t want it just to be a blur. I wanted to really have everything sink and be a memory for me.”

Although he says he will come back, Central may not be the same without Parry.

“Mr. Parry has been my teacher and my mentor and my best friend and he’s taught me so much about music and about life and I feel like a better person whenever I’m with him,” Ware said. “He has helped me through a lot of stuff and I’m proud of him. I’m proud of how much he’s done for NCHS.”

After all of this emotion, Parry took a moment to reflect on his past 30 years as not only a teacher, but also a friend, at Central.

“Maybe the word is overrated, but I think it’s a miracle to be in the position that I am [in] and to be able to work with individuals and share what we do,” Parry said. “Everybody doesn’t get this opportunity. People say trite things sometimes about educators and it’s wrong. It’s the best job.”