Beloved art and digital photography teacher Stephen John McCue passed away on Jan. 4 at the age of 47 after suffering from a rare form of lung cancer. McCue was diagnosed last February, but chose to continue teaching as much as possible because of his love for his students.
According to senior Sarah Menard, a student in his Advanced Art class, McCue “always felt better after coming to school,” even in the midst of battling a devastating illness. During his absence, substitute art teacher Diana Vanry periodically filled in for him, and is currently teaching art classes.
The school will hold McCue’s memorial service on Jan. 26 at 1 p.m. in the McAfee Center for friends, family and students alike to attend. At the service, the science department plans to place a thousand origami paper cranes made by teachers and students as a symbol of hope. In Japanese culture, a thousand origami paper cranes are thought to be able to grant one wish.
McCue was born in Belleville, Ontario, Canada on Jan. 16, 1965. He graduated from Leigh High School in San Jose, and earned his Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts as well as his teaching credential from San Jose State University. Spanish teacher Gina Rodriguez met McCue at the same teaching credential program. Before his 15-year teaching career at the school, McCue worked as a photographer and a graphic designer at Creative Publications in Mountain View for several years.
Art students spoke of McCue’s special way of starting his classes with an art demonstration.
“Those art demos would be my favorite part of the class,” said junior Emily Che. “All the kids would gather as close as they can to him while he would make us smile and laugh about the stories of his past.”
Menard said that his stories were so compelling that “he would say that the situation was problematic because everyone just wanted to hear the story rather than watch him paint.”
McCue was also known for indulging in his love for Cher, an American singer and actress, his blue plaid shirts and Apple products, Menard said. According to senior Sanjna Verma, McCue even started working at the Apple store before the first iPhone came out and had met former CEO Steve Jobs. He also put photographs of Cher all over his walls to call his office and classroom a “Cher shrine.”
“Everyone knew he loved Cher, which I find to be the best quirk about him,” senior Kellie Baker said. “He’d love her so much and he’d always say ‘Oh my Cher’ instead of ‘Oh my God’ and ‘Cher-licious.’”
According to ceramics teacher Leah Aguayo, McCue kept his classroom and office at school immaculate.
“We were such opposites. His desk said it all. Clean, organized, nothing out of place,” said Aguayo.
Aguayo added that McCue liked eating ice cream, pumpkin pie and dark chocolate, and enjoyed the days when his hair “laid perfectly across his head.”
“He loved perfection and we loved him for it,” Aguayo said.
As a teacher, students found McCue to be dedicated, patient, kind and most of all, inspiring. One of his idiosyncrasies was “proclaiming everything ‘juicy’ or ‘meaty’ or ‘delicious,’” Menard said.
“He was not only a teacher, but a mentor, a confidant and a dear friend,” Baker said. “Through each of [my] problems, Mr. McCue was there to listen and make sure I was always okay. It is rare to connect with a teacher the way I and so many other students did.”
Aguayo said that McCue was “a friend that is always there for you and would always take the time to listen to you.” One of her most cherished times with McCue was lunchtime at school.
“On any given day our art office would be a gathering place for faculty at lunch. We laughed so hard every day, and then the bell would ring and we'd all go back to our classes,” Aguayo said. “It was very special. One of the last things he said to me was that he was going to miss our lunches together.”
Another friend and colleague of McCue, health teacher Amy Obenour, said that McCue fought all the way to the end, trying to stay as healthy as he could to make it to school as many days as he could for his students.
“Up to his last days, he still was thinking about all of them and wanted them to know that he tried his best to last as long as he could,” Obenour said. “His influence in all students lives is profound and will continue to spread as his students go out into the world. I will miss him terribly. Our school has suffered a profound loss.”
