Stapelfeld plans low-key farewell

On Friday, June 10, retiring Hudson High School principal John Stapelfeld will lace up his running shoes for a jog around the Morgan Bowl with many of the people whose lives he has touched:  current and former students, coworkers and others.

He insists that this  “Race for the Final Bell,” a 3.1-mile fun run/walk to raise money for the Joseph Leo Mulready Scholarship Fund, will be his only farewell party.

“I’ve never been too outgoing,” he says frankly, “and I don’t like the idea of a dinner, even if only two people come.”

Athletic Director Luis Macedo suggested the race as a way to raise money for the scholarship fund, and Stapelfeld, who has helped with its funding in the past, wholeheartedly agreed.

And a few weeks after he’s finished that last lap, Stapelfeld – who served the district for 40 years and as HHS principal for 32 years – will move on to the next phase of his life.  He retires June 30.

“Age has caught up with me,” says the 70-year-old, who planned to retire three times in the past but changed his mind.  “I would like to have some good years left when I retire.”

He adds he has plenty of confidence in his successor, Shrewsbury High School Principal Brian Regan.

“We need new ideas at the school, and Brian has a good track record and relates very well to students,” Stapelfeld said.

Over his more than three decades at the high school, Stapelfeld said he has lived through many ups and downs.  “Friction between personnel” at some of the schools troubled him, he said.

And at one time, so did his school’s reputation.

“There was a time when Hudson was considered a blue-collar school and the kids thought that the elite schools were beyond them,” he said.

 “But I’m very pleased that within the last 15 years Hudson High School students have gone on to almost any college they wanted,” he said. “They are as talented as any student in the area.” 

He’s proud that Hudson High School students took a total of more than 400 Advanced Placement tests this year in 13 subjects. 

“I also like the fact that many of our students will automatically step forward when you ask them to do something,” he said.

The schools’ athletic achievements are another source of pride.  The softball team won the state Division 2 title in softball last year and three years ago. The ice hockey team won the CMass title for two years in a row, and the football team played in the Super Bowl.

 “We’ve had a very strong athletic program, yet we’ve still been able to sustain a no-cut policy,” Stapelfeld said.

Athletics – both as a participant and a spectator – will be a big part of Stapelfeld’s retirement.

He’s looking forward to spending lots of time at his grandchildren’s ice hockey games.  His grandson Daniel and granddaughter Catherine both play for the Hudson High team.   He also plans to attend more softball games, another sport he enjoys.

Stapelfeld, who has run many Boston Marathons, will head to Los Angeles in September for the Disneyland Half-Marathon, then on to Lisbon and Germany next spring for other half-marathons.

“I have a lot of things I want to do,” he said. “I’d like to say I’m still a distance runner but now I’m a distance jogger.”