Charles Juricich, former educator, Piner counselor dies at 91

Longtime Santa Rosa teacher and counselor Charles Juricich had a way of bringing alive history that his students still remember a half-century later.

“He was a pretty remarkable guy,” said friend and colleague Richard Hunt. “He loved to teach history, he loved to read, he loved to fish. He did all things a man should do to enjoy his life.”

Juricich died of natural causes Oct. 31 at age 91.

He was born in San Francisco and graduated from Mission High School before joining the Army Air Force during World War II.

After the war, he returned to San Francisco and graduated with honors in history from UC Berkeley in 1949. The next year, he married his wife, Ursula, and the pair moved to Santa Rosa.

He began his teaching career at Santa Rosa Junior High in 1951, working there for 3½ years before moving to what was then called Herbert Slater Junior High. He taught history there for 12 years, then moved to Piner High School when it opened. He remained there as a counselor until he retired in 1983.

His students remember him as an animated, memorable teacher who brought ancient history to life with re-enactments, stories and jokes.

Ann Dubell of Santa Rosa remembers his acting out scenes from ancient Rome when she took his class in the mid-1960s.

“He was one of those teachers who, if you had him, you remembered him,” she said. “I imagine he got people excited about history who hadn’t thought about it before.”

Rob Proctor of Santa Rosa remembers Juricich beginning his ninth-grade world history class by teaching about the dinosaurs.

“He pretended, I recall, that he was alive then,” Proctor said with a chuckle. From there, Juricich’s class took students all the way to World War II.

“I remember how he managed to squeeze an incredible amount into a short time,” Proctor said.

Friends recalled Juricich as a good-humored, quirky man who was quick to laugh at himself, be it for his singing ability or a potluck mix-up over baked beans that became legend among Piner teachers. He also loved puns, said Hunt, who for a while taught a class that adjoined Juricich’s.

While teaching, Hunt once overheard Juricich in the next room telling his students about Sir Frances Bacon. “He culminated his little biography by saying (Bacon) became ill and was taken to the hospital,” he said. “Then there was a significant pause. He ended with … ‘and Bacon was not cured.’”

Once he became a counselor at Piner High School, Juricich dedicated himself to helping students get the scholarships they needed to afford college, said Lee Torliatt of Santa Rosa, who taught social science at the school.

“He worked extremely hard to get scholarships for kids. He took great pride in that,” he said.

Juricich was part of a close-knit group of teachers at Piner that stayed in touch long after they left the school, Torliatt said.

“There was a really great spirit at Piner and I think he had a lot to do with that.”

In addition to being a passionate teacher and fly fisherman, Juricich loved opera and was a great storyteller, his wife Ursula Juricich said. “He was loyal, just a decent person,” she added.

He’s survived by his wife; son, David; daughter-in-law Lissa Juricich; and three grandchildren.

A memorial Mass was held Tuesday in his honor.