Tiskilwa High School
"1961" Graduate
Mardell Keener
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On the left is my graduation picture
On the right is a more recent photo
Address 313 Wheaton Avenue
City Champaign
State Illinois
Zip Code 61820
Phone 217-359-6121
Email kkeener@parkland.cc.il.us
Information about me:
I haven't been back in Tiskilwa much in recent years. My parents both died in the 1970s, and my uncle Burton Borge died two years ago. My mother's death in 1972 was especially difficult to accept. I'm sure many of you remember her. My aunt Madelon Borge still lives in Tiskilwa and is doing well--I saw her just a few weeks ago. My brother Rick and his wife Joan live in Princeton, and both are retired.
I might mention Lillian Reynolds. our math teacher for three of our years at THS. I remained in contact with her after she attended our 25th reunion alumni dinner in 1986. and I visited her in Rock Island several times before she died in 1991. She began teaching at THS when my mother was in high school in the 1920s.
It was sad for the town of Tiskilwa that THS closed a few years ago. Rick and I had established a scholarship at THS in our mother's name after she died, and we had it transferred to Princeton when THS closed. I went to the first PHS graduation that included Tiskilwa students, and I was pleased to see that the graduates who had attended Tiskilwa were allowed to wear purple and gold tassels on their mortarboards. (1 still remember vividly that when we were freshmen and sophomores, our basketball teams beat Princeton in the sectional tournaments!)
But now, on to the requested autobiographical information!
I graduated from Augustana College in 1965 and completed a master's degree in English at the University oflllinois in 1967. Since then, I've had a very satisfying and interesting career as a community college English teacher and administrator. After teaching at Spoon River College in Canton, IL 1967- 70, I accepted a position at Parkland College in Champaign, IL, and I've been here ever since.
At Parkland, I have taught some English classes most years, but rve had administrative assignments in
addition to teaching during nearly all of the years I've been here. During the past ten years, I served as .
director of International Studies and Programs for four years, and as Humanities Department chair for
six years.
Two weeks ago, I officially retired as a full-tirne employee of Parkland College. I am taking the next six months off to recover from the stress of too many 55-60-hour work weeks and to see how I like being retired. I may start teaching again half-tirne in January 2002--but then again, I may not, if being retired is just too seductive. This is actually an interesting situation to be in, since I have been convinced for most of my life that I would not live long enough to retire
My hobby in recent years has been leading Parkland-sponsored tours abroad during our spring break and in the summer. Groups of 15-40 people have made 17 Parkland-sponsored trips abroad in the past 10 years whi~h two colleagues and I have shared responsibility for leading. We've been to exotic destinatioIi's like Turkey and Morocco as well as to Westem and Eastern European countries and to Russia. Trips I'll lead in 2002 tentatively include a London Theatre Week in March and a two-week tour to Peru in early summer. (If you'd like to be added to our Tours Abroad mailing list, please email me at kkeener@parkland. cc. il. us )
My partner for the past 10 years is Kristi Mercer, a librarian in the Illinois Geological Survey Library located on the University of Illinois campus. Our household includes a big white Northern dog named Beau and a mouthy tan and black cat named Squeaker .
