Longtime Osceola High Schol dean, coach and influence Charlene Lackey was remembered by hundreds of family and friends Wednesday night at the school. Lackey passed away April 10 at age 70. (Photo/Ken Jackson)
Most of the people who've made Osceola High School what it has been over the last few decades were in attendance at the OHS auditorium Wednesday night.
All except for one, although Charlene Lackey was definitely there in spirit.
Lackey, who had a mother-like lifting effect on students and co-workers alike in her time as a teacher, dean and coach — at least those were her “official” titles, but her influence ran much deeper — at Osceola from 1979 until her 2016 retirement, passed away at the age of 70 on April 10, and was remembered during a moving memorial.
Past OHS students, teachers and administrators – they all became friends or de-facto family after being around “Mrs. Lackey” – were among the hundreds in attendance.
Those who spoke, along with the photos shared and songs played Wednesday, were all specifically named in a notebook Lackey had kept, with strict instructions about the content of her service. Her own handwriting was even featured in the event program which named the speakers she wanted to take part.
Despite working at OHS for just three years over nearly two decades ago, former principal Gary Preisser appeared in the book … so of course he attended Wednesday. He led a rousing “Go Charlene!” cheer at Wednesday’s service that challenged any “Go Kowboys!” chant ever given over the years.
“Leave it to mom to find a way to continue bossing us around,” said Charlene’s daughter, Megan Shemenski, who shared the emcee duties with OHS alum and Lackey’s teaching cohort, Megan McKenna. “My greatest fear is not my Bible, but this book.”
Lackey’s own words even appeared in the book, with some of the wisdom – and wit – shared over the years in it for Wednesday’s attendees, such as: “I believe that I am here to help others.”
“Seek out someone that you need to touch base with, and do it now,” Shemenski read. “The whole ‘Ashes to Ashes’ thing really impressed me … besides, being cremated allows me, for once in my life, to be smaller than a size 2.”
While one of the names she went by was “the Mean Dean,” she worked her way into many people’s hearts by putting them first.
“It is because of her that I'm standing here 17 years into my own teaching career, still trying to give back in the fraction of what she gave me,” said OHS alum and current educator Krystle Singleton Bayliss. “In truth, it's because of Ms. Lackey any of us here are the people we are today.”
In the gym, Charlene’s remembered as a role model whose athletes reflected her discipline and tenacity.
“Coach Lackey laid the foundation for our volleyball program. Her impact didn’t end when she stepped off the court,” said current OHS volleyball coach Carrie Palmi. “For over two decades she remained one of the program’s biggest fans. Whether she was cheering from the stands during deep playoff runs, checking in on the players, or surprising me with flowers and gifts after big wins, her support was unwavering. She was a mentor and a friend.”
Charlene Elizabeth Shoop was born March 15, 1956 to William and Mary Shoop in Melbourne, although she grew up with her brother William and sisters Marlene and Darlene on St. Cloud’s “state streets” and attended St. Cloud High. During that time, while working at Disney to pay her way through degree work at UCF, she met Ray Lackey, who’d become her husband of nearly 50 years – and another omnipresent OHS figure and the football team's PA "voice of the Kowboys" at Markus Paul Stadium.
After a short stint at St. Cloud High – where she wasn’t hired permanently, allowing her to move on to the place everyone said Wednesday she was destined to be – her time at Osceola began when a school was truly an extension of many family’s living rooms.
And, she became like family to most of those who entered the OHS doors, either to learn, teach – or help her run the place.
She had a hand in nearly everything that went on there, as a PE teacher, dean of students, sponsor of the Keyettes service organization and for 16 years the Lady Kowboys girls volleyball coach. She worked through the school’s complete reconstruction in the 2010s, but a new building couldn’t change that her name and legacy will live on with all those who call themselves “Kowboys with a ‘K’,” who preface their best memories of Charlene with, “If it wasn’t for her …”
She is survived by Ray and Darlene, sons Matthew and Daniel, daughter Meagan and grandchildren Will, Landry, and Alex, Madison, Kennedy, Zachary, and Benjamin, Jack, Payton, and Lily, to whom she was “Gram”.
The Charlene Lackey Memorial Scholarship has been established through the Education Foundation Osceola County. Donations may be made online at www.foundationosceola.org, click Donate in the top right corner, then locate Charlene Lackey Memorial in the drop down menu or enter her name in the box below it to allocate funds correctly.
