Cemetery walk connects sixth graders to Jarvis namesake

On Thursday, Oct. 16, sixth graders walked to the Mohawk Cemetery where they visited the cenotaph of Gregory B. Jarvis, the man for whom Gregory B. Jarvis Middle School is named. A cenotaph is a monument to someone who is buried elsewhere.

Jarvis graduated from Mohawk Central School in 1962. He went on to become an electrical engineer with Hughes Aircraft and was chosen as the payload specialist aboard the NASA Space Shuttle Challenger. He died on January 28, 1986 when the Challenger exploded, just 73 seconds after liftoff. His body was recovered during a salvage of the space shuttle. He was cremated and his remains were scattered over the ocean.

On a beautiful fall day, the Jarvis Middle School teachers took the opportunity to take the sixth grade class on a short walk to the Mohawk Cemetery—where Jarvis' image and dates of birth and death are displayed on a rose-colored granite stone.

This was a revelation for the students. Most are just 11 years old and too young to make a connection to Gregory Jarvis. For them, the Challenger disaster is a line in a history book and Jarvis is the name of their school. In fact, many of their parents were very young or not yet born in 1986.

The walk to the cemetery was a chance to connect the students to an important person and a significant event for our community and our nation. When they look up and see "Gregory B. Jarvis" on the side of their school building, they will have a deeper understanding and sense of pride.