By: Krissy Hetherington
Image courtesy of Katelynn Alvarez (Redwood Yearbook staff)
Rod Crismore, long time campus supervisor at Redwood, lost his battle with cancer on the evening of Friday, January 10th, 2020.
Everyday, he came to school with a bright face greeting every kid and connecting with many across campus over his many years here at Redwood High School.
“He was such a happy, positive and strong man, even on his bad days he would always keep a smile.”
Monique Villa, ’20
Rod’s sense of humor stood out to many students including Villa, “I will never forget that he was such a jokester, he would always be making someone laugh. I will never forget the talks, jokes, and advice he would give me, I am thankful that I meet Rod Crismore. He made a big impact on many students’ lives, not just students but Redwood High School.”
“Rod was one of the very few people on campus that I could come to when I was having any problems within and outside of school and just knew how to make every student feel welcomed on Redwood’s campus with his positive aura.”
Dean Scholl, ’18
Dean Scholl said “Right before I graduated VCIS I came back to talk to him with my friend Rachel and he cried a little bit and told me how proud he was of the both of us and told us both that he knew we were going to do amazing things with our lives.”
Rod was the type of person that truly believed in the good here at Redwood, “he put his hopes in every student [at Redwood]. He never judged anyone and just made sure that everyone on campus was walking with a smile or positive attitude. He took his time to understand students and their stories rather than judge them based off first approach,” added Scholl.
“Through our talks, he’d share a lot about himself but the one thing he would always talk about everyday was how great his wife was and how much he missed her…he would say, ‘if my time ever comes at least I could be up there with her again,’ so I know that he is happy up there with his wife.”
Alexia Lopez, ’20
Lopez emphasized that Rod was there for every student whether it was a good day or bad day, “waiting in his golf cart ready to offer some advice.”
His presence on campus was a universal comfort to anyone who needed it.
“He would always make the effort to say “Hi” to each and every student to walk past him…for a lot of students it’s the little things like that that would make their days. If someone would ever ask him how his day was he’d always respond with ‘every day is a great day.’
“He was a [fixture] at Redwood, he was always around even before I started at Redwood and that was 11 years ago.”
Mr. Lor, Redwood Assistant Principal
What stood out to Mr. Lor was the fact that Rod was just able to get kids to open up with him about the personal stuff other people on campus just couldn’t do.
When former Visalia Unified School District (VUSD) Superintendent, Todd Oto, started as Principal at Sequoia High School in 2004 Rod was already working there.
“You look at him, this big guy with tattoos all over his arms and think ‘Oh boy this is a tough character’ but as soon as I started talking to him I found out well he has that exterior to be tough if he needs to be but in the main, he’s a pussycat.”
Todd Oto, former VUSD Superintendent
The two got along together for years and Oto was quick to notice Rod’s connection with students, “He meets you where you’re at…Rod was very reasonable, if a kid was worked up, Rod would start there, and break it down.”
“Real” is what many can say about Rod. He was always honest and transparent in the sense that he knew exactly what to say.
This comes from his background previously “working in counseling and corrections for the prison system for awhile,” according to Oto.
“This prepared him to work with kids, not that they are tough but they come at you in a raw form, they always let you know how they were feeling…that’s what made him a great campus supervisor, he could diffuse things, he understood just by the feelings of groups of kids, what the temper of the campus was and he would always let us know so we could all work it out.”
Rod made the transition to Redwood in 2006 and Oto remembers how happy he felt on this campus, “It helped his heart to know he was at a place where people enjoyed to be.”
“The greatest thing about Rod was his age and life full of experiences, he knew a little bit of everything…that’s one thing I’ll miss the most, just talking about any facet of the job and life.”
Mr. Marroquin, Redwood Assistant Principal
Although Rod and Mr. Marroquin had spent just a few years together, Marroquin reflects on their many conversations about baseball and memories. He was also quick to appreciate the energy Rod brought.
“What makes Redwood unique is that we have a great percentage of teachers and staff [members] that make genuine relationships with kids…the relationships he had went deep…being here so long he’s seen what choices can have impact on kids ad their futures so he was quick to remind a kid how their good or bad choice would dictate their future.”
Upon Mr. Shin’s arrival to Redwood spring of 2015, he was quick to read into Rod, “I could tell he cared about every kid here, every staff member here. He didn’t view this as a job just to get a paycheck but instead as his second home and he felt like their grandpa or their dad to the people he worked with. He wanted people to feel safe and secure and involved and belonged.”
His passing over break was hard to fully grasp for many students as just over a week has concluded of the second semester.
“I do believe we will see the impact over time, he was a steady presence here that kids could go to with problems…he worked well with every type of student, whether they were at-risk with behavior issues or your top student, just anyone who came across his path.” said Mr Shin.
“He was the type of person that could get along with all students, he didn’t have prejudices, he didn’t judge and was there to work with kids and make their experiences better at Redwood. And that impact is going to be very hard to replace.”
Mr. Shin, Principal of Redwood High School
These are just a few stories shared by those touched by Rod’s light. Please feel free to comment about personal experiences and memories reflecting on Rod Crismore’s impact in all walks of life.
Rod was a good guy. He called me “Mr Miller” every time I saw him. And every time I said, “Rod, you can call me Nick.” and he would say, “Okay, Mr Miller.”
That always made me smile.
Rod was super good with kids and was always helpful. He will be missed.
He was a great person! I went to redwood when he first started working there. I remember he would hang out in Vista and I would be late lol he would be nice enough to open the door and he wouldn’t yell at me, he would talk to me like a human being. He was nice and sweet. It’s sad to know that he is now gone. Condolences to his family.