Jim Skerl Ignatius gathering.jpg

Jim Skerl, on his last day teaching at St. Ignatius High School earlier this month, is surrounded by the students who loved him. (Photo courtesy of St. Ignatius High School)

(Photo courtesy of St. Ignatius High School)

CLEVELAND, OHIO -- Jim Skerl's squad had more members than Chuck Kyle's football team at St. Ignatius High School -- and it also had a better record.

Skerl's view of life was that you never lose when you help someone else. He was the theology teacher at the school who started the St. Joseph of Arimathea Pallbearer Society. It's open to only upperclassmen and more than 300 students each year take part.

What is it?

When someone dies and that person doesn't have many friends or family, pallbearers are needed. Skerl decided St. Ignatius would supply them, just as Joseph of Arimathea along with Nicodemus claimed the body of Jesus after he died on the cross. The entire story is in John 19:38-42.

What kind of man is able to convince high school kids to attend funerals and be pallbearers for strangers? To Skerl, it was just putting feet to your faith. It was living the gospel of Jesus.

Word spread to funeral homes that St. Ignatius would supply pallbearers. The requests came in, several hundred per year. More and more kids signed up.

Think about it. No one cheers for the pallbearers at a funeral. Most people don't even know their names. That's how Jim Skerl liked it. You work for God, not for the applause of the living.

Skerl died Thursday of pancreatic cancer at the age of 58. The former theology teacher at St. Ignatius would be a bit embarrassed by all the attention coming his way.

"You could just sense the Holy Spirit in Jim," said Dan Galla, a friend and theology teacher at St. Ignatius. He then told a story from his rookie year as a teacher at the school. Galla was upset with a few students, and began talking to them in the hallway. Talking loud. Real loud.

When the kids left, Skerl came over and quietly told Galla, "We don't do it that way here." That was it. No one else knew, just Galla and the veteran teacher. The point was that your point can indeed be correct, but you can make it the wrong way.

Twenty-one years later and still teaching at the school, Galla never forgot those words from Skerl.

Jim Skerl graduated from St. Ignatius High in 1974 and returned as a teacher whose gentle nature and positive attitude made him a beloved figure. The school said this in a release: "Jim's positive influence on the lives of thousands of St. Ignatius students over the years is immeasurable. He was a teacher to his colleagues and friends as well."

THE GAS STATION STORY

Marty Dybicz first met Skerl at an old Sohio station in the early 1970s -- he's not quite sure of the year.

Skerl was 6-foot-4 and a good basketball player at St. Ignatius who scored 20 points in the 1974 City Championship game at the old Cleveland Arena.

But on this day, he was washing the windshield and filling up the gas in Dybicz's car.

"I just remember him smiling and having a great attitude through it all," said Dybicz. The details are a bit complicated, but the people in the car with Dybicz knew Skerl and his family, and that was how the connection was first made. The two men really became friends in 1979 when they were rookie teachers at St. Ignatius, both in theology.

Dybicz believes the gas station story reveals much about Skerl's character -- about doing small jobs as if they were a big deal. And doing them with a positive attitude.

In that case, he wasn't just working for a minimum wage at Sohio, he was working for God.

THE SUNDAY NIGHT MEALS

Another ministry started by Skerl was practiced on Sunday nights: feeding the homeless. He asked for volunteers from among the students. A few signed up, then more and more.

The night began with prayers, then vans were loaded with food and taken to places where the homeless could be found, such as under bridges.

"There was always prayer before and after," said Dybicz. "Sometimes, there are service groups that become political. They are for liberals or conservatives or whatever. Jim never allowed that. You worked for Christ."

Skerl was involved in several other ministries, including "Friends With L'Arche." That was a program where students spent time, ate meals and prayed with adults who have disabilities. Galla mentioned that these are "Corporal Acts of Mercy," based on Matthew, Chapter 25:31-46. It's about Jesus saying that "whatever you did for the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me."

Skerl was single most of his life until he married Kym in 2006. While he had no biological children, it seems there are thousands of sons who claim him as one of their spiritual fathers.

LAST LESSONS

Skerl was diagnosed with cancer in February of 2013. He had major surgery, massive chemotherapy. He even had one clean scan early this summer, but then the cancer returned. He taught classes until three weeks ago. Oct. 3 was his last day.

Galla and Dybicz talked about how Skerl never showed any major depression about his condition. He never seemed to fall into the trap of asking "Why me?" He seemed to know that question is something that can never really be answered.

Rather, he lived each day with a heart of gratitude. He also planned his own funeral with two of his friends. The two teachers said Skerl didn't want his family to feel any burden about taking care of the final details. He picked everything from the songs to the casket.

"A simple pine box," said Dybicz.

The pallbearers? You can be sure that thousands want that job.