Chemistry teacher retires after nearly 5 decades

As Skyline High’s school year winds down and students and staff part ways for summer break, they will also say good bye to a familiar face that has been around for almost five decades.

Garry Brown has been teaching chemistry for 47 years at the high school in Idaho Falls and is set to retire at the end of this school year.

Skyline High as most people know it today was built in the late 1960’s, but before the building even existed, Skyline was housed with Idaho Falls High School and that’s where Brown began his career.

Ask any student and they’ll probably tell you they dread the first day of a new school year.

Garry Brown has experienced a first day of school more than 40 times.

“You realize what things work and what things don’t work,” said Brown. “You try to remember the things that workedthe best and revise what didn’t seem to work.”

Year after year, Brown taught chemistry to hundreds of students.

“The quality of students has been very, very good so that’s one of the things that has kept me from burning out,” said Brown.

Brown’s been teaching at Skyline ever since the first day it was built.

And if you dig through all of the old yearbooks, you’ll find a picture of 23-year-old Garry Brown — one of his first faculty yearbook photos from 1967.

“Teachers, administrators, school and public employees feel very beat up in Idaho,” said Scott Miller, principal. “So for someone to continue with the profession and still want to work with kids, says a lot about Garry.”

Brown said he’ll miss everyone at school. His advice for graduating seniors and those entering education is to have hope and work hard.

“Just keep working as hard as you can because you can’t get ahead if you’re standing still,” said Brown.