Longtime Torrance educator Timothy Scully died on Saturday, Dec. 13, leaving behind a legacy of compassion, curiosity, courage and his mantra to never stop learning, according to his wife, Margaret Scully.
“Tim believed every student needed to feel valued and accepted,” Scully said. “He knew their names, that they knew what was bothering them. They knew what was going on in their home life. They knew that he had an open door and they could come into his office and talk with him.”
The couple first met in 1974 and dated for six years before getting married on May 3, 1980.
“When he finally proposed, he came into the house and he lifted me and put me on the counter and he said, ‘you’re it,’” Scully said.
The Scullys have two kids, Jason and Sean, and two grandchildren, Timothy and Rose.
Scully said that her husband left her with a respect for education, 45 years of love and humor and 21 non-fiction books she’s been instructed to read.
“He was a teacher,” she said. “His true life’s passion was education. He devoted himself to education and he was an award-winning principal.”
Timothy Scully was an educator in the Torrance Unified School District for 35 years, serving as principal of North High School for ten years after teaching English and Thanatology at West High School. And, in 2001, he was awarded California state principal of the year in 2001.
Scully said that her husband was beloved by students and he knew the names of every one of the 2,000 students in his school. She said that they could not go anywhere in public without a current or former student recognizing him.
“We couldn’t go anywhere without him being recognized,” she said. “Dinners, shopping, and sporting events were constantly interrupted by a former student saying, ‘hi, Mr. Scully!’”
His son, Jason Anderson, spoke of a time where he and his family attended a local haunted house.
“In one room, two zombies were chained in a cage, and the walls pushed us closer and closer to them,” he said. “Just as we were prompted to escape to the next room, one of the zombies looked up and said, ‘hi, Mr. Scully!’ And yes, even through the dark lighting and stage makeup, Tim recognized her.”
Following his father’s death, Anderson said this incident really stuck with him.
“No matter how bleak things seem, and no matter how big the obstacles you face, live the kind of life where even the scariest creatures recognize you, wave and smile, and call out your name with a friendly hello,” he said.
Margaret Scully said that teaching was not just a job for her husband, but it was a calling, and that was evident in the impact he had on North High School where he implemented numerous programs including a human relations commission, yearly diversity conventions and bi-monthly diversity retreats to foster understanding between the different cultures within the student body.
Because of these efforts, he was recognized with the John Anson Ford Award for the Enhancement of Human Dignity by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.
Other programs he implemented included the #10 Tin Can Band, a steel drum band, and the ROTC.
“Tim believed every student needed to feel valued and accepted at North,” Timothy’s former secretary Pam said in a letter to Scully. “My fondest memories were when he implemented programs that provided a niche for students that didn’t have a place on campus. I saw the most incorrigible students stand a little taller.”
Scully also said that her husband would stay hours after any football game, school dance or any other event until every single student had been picked up by a parent.
The student’s love for their principal was evident in their actions, Scully said, noting a time in 2000 when students dedicated months to drinking Mountain Dew cans in order to win $10,000 that they then donated to cancer research after Timothy was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a rare form of bone marrow cancer. An additional $5,000 was donated by Toyota Motor Sales.
A 2000 photo of former North High School principal Timothy Scully being honored by his students with a total of $15,000 being donated towards cancer research in light of his multiple myeloma diagnosis. (Photo courtesy of Jason Anderson)The school held an assembly to honor their principal after winning the money. Him and his Margaret drove up in a limousine and spoke to the students – the first time they had seen him since he took leave to undergo chemotherapy.
“I want to tell you how thrilled I am to be back here, even if it is just for one day,” he said during the assembly, adding that the worst part of his illness is not seeing his students. “You have become heroes to my wife and me.”
Timothy received a double stem cell transplant and lived for 25 years following his diagnosis, something incredibly rare, according to Margaret.
“It’s kind of a death sentence,” she said. “But, he fought like the devil. He lived 25 years after his diagnosis and he lived them fully.”
Scully said her husband was forced to take an early retirement from TUSD in 2004 due to his health, but never stopped educating, going on to educate teachers at Loyola Marymount and USC.
“He respected ideas, questions and honest dialogue,” she said. “He loved a good debate.”
Scully said that her husband always said goodbye by saying, “we’ll have more fun,” and that is how she is saying goodbye now.
“I will love you forever, Tim,” she said in her eulogy. “Adios sweetheart. We’ll have more fun.”
A celebration of life will be held at the Scully home in Ventura Sunday, March 22 at 1:30 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the City of Hope to fund cancer research.
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