By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Larry Sattler repaired more than leaky pipes and squeaky doors at St. Aloysius School and Parish in Bowling Green. For 21 years, he fixed crummy days for students. He played pranks and filled in for roles in drama class. He made kids feel special when they got to help set up for school events.
On Friday evening, as he was riding bike near his home on a country road outside Bloomdale, Sattler, 54, was struck . The circumstances remain under investigation by the Wood County Sheriff’s Office.*
The loss has broken hearts at St Aloysius, where Sattler was director of maintenance.
“He loved to make people laugh,” said Principal Andrea Puhl, who had worked with Sattler for 11 of his 21 years at St. Aloysius. “Everybody just loved him.”
Sattler often brought levity to school days.
“He’d bring in a live turkey on Thanksgiving. He’d bring in a groundhog on Groundhog Day,” Puhl said. And he’d bring in baby chicks around Easter. “You never knew what he was going to do.”
Sattler often brought his dog, Rosie, to school with him.
“We’re missing her presence in the building today, too,” Puhl said on Monday morning.
Students did not consider it a chore to help Sattler with projects at the school.
“The kids were always happy if they got to work with Mr. Sattler,” Puhl said. “He spoiled them when they helped.”
Many young adults returned multiple summers at the school to help Sattler with maintenance projects.
“They are just devastated,” Puhl said.
Denise Foos, business manager for St. Aloysius, often went to lunch with Sattler at “11:30 on the dot.” She said Sattler believed in living a simple life and loved riding his bicycle on country roads around his home.
“He didn’t have high aspirations. But he was a happy guy. Happy with his life, happy with his job,” Foos said.
Sattler, who graduated from Eastwood High School, was a bachelor. He had eight siblings, and many nephews and nieces who he also spoiled.
“Our kids here were a big part of his family,” Puhl said.
“He was wonderful to the kids and the teachers,” Foos said.
Sattler was also known for his mischievous streak. “He had a little bit of a sarcastic sense of humor,” Foos said.
He particularly loved when April Fool’s Day fell on a school day. He would come to school armed with an empty mustard bottle with a string in it that streamed out when he pointed and squeezed it toward students.
“He loved to see them jump,” Foos said. “He was always doing stuff like that.”.
Comments left by parents and students on Facebook tell of great sadness over losing Sattler.
One recalled Sattler being a “riot” to work with. Another remembered that when asked each morning how he was, Sattler would always respond, “simply splendid.”
One parent noted that Sattler was so much more than his job title. He “made students feel welcome when they were new, provided a listening ear, and guided students to make good choices both in school and on the playground. He was a super hero of sorts to my son who knew he could always save the day one way or another.”
One mom recalled that days after her husband’s death, she called the school, distraught because she didn’t know how to tie her son’s tie for graduation. “Larry stepped right up and tied it for him and I have never forgotten that kind gesture. Everyone loved him,” she wrote.
Another parent said Sattler frequently brought goodies into the office, and helped wherever needed. He “went out of his way to put air in my flat tire without hesitation, and put together my boys’ bikes for Christmas when I was in complete panic mode.”
One person shared a photo showing Sattler filling a role in drama class one day. The picture shows him standing in “as a grumpy old miner when a student was absent in exchange for middle school laborers to help him set up tables. Easy trade and look at the smiles.”
Another parent talked about how upset her sons were about Sattler’s death. “They told me cute stories about him, such as how he had a big candy jar he kept on his desk and how he would bring in his dog to school sometimes. The best story they told was how he was great at his job because he couldn’t smell very well, so it was ok when he had to clean up a mess because he couldn’t smell it. He will be greatly missed.”
And one father told a story showing Sattler’s more mischievous side. “About six years ago, my boys and I were helping with Mardi Gras setup. One of my sons wondered why Mrs. Szabo was at school so much, but he’d never seen her get there or leave, and we explained that there was a secret tunnel from Mrs. Szabo’s house to school. That setup day, Larry took us to the basement of the church to pick stuff up, and I gave him a wink, said ‘Mr. Sattler, is the tunnel to Mrs. Szabo’s house down here.’ He did. not. miss. a. beat., and said ‘Yeah, cmon, let me show you guys!’ He takes us over by the furnace, points to one of the runs that goes through the church, and helpfully explains that the left one goes to Mrs. Szabo’s house, and the one on the far right goes to the Courthouse. The boys’ eyes were the size of dinner plates. A few years later, when they learned the sad truth (no tunnel) they were even more in awe of Mr. Sattler. Our kids just loved the man, and I know he loved all of our kids.”
According to the sheriff’s office on Tuesday morning, Derek Jones, of Jerry City, hit Sattler. It is still unknown if Sattler was riding his bicycle or lying in the road when he was hit. Jones turned around and drove back to the scene. A neighbor called 911, and Jones stayed on the scene and talked with Wood County Sheriff’s Office deputies.*
*This has been updated with the latest information from the sheriff’s office.
