At the end of September, John Adams High School lost a legendary, long-time member of its community. Renowned Adams science teacher Nevin E. Longenecker passed away on the morning of Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, at the age of 87. Longenecker began teaching at Adams in 1968, and would go on to teach there for a total of 55 years, educating tens of thousands of students. Many of his former students have pursued admirable careers, becoming doctors, chemists, physicists, lawyers and teachers, including eleven currently teaching at Adams. Longenecker took immense pride in his students’ success, and always had multi-page printouts on hand detailing their impressive careers that he was eager to give out to visitors and new students who found themselves in his classroom.

Born in West Milton, Ohio, in 1936, Longenecker grew up in a house with an outhouse and spent time during the summer picking cotton to help pay for boarding school, according to his obituary in The South Bend Tribune. Longenecker studied biology at Goshen College, where he met his wife, Lorna, and went on to earn two master’s degrees, in biology and natural science from Purdue University and Texas A&M respectively. Upon the completion of his second master’s degree, Longenecker and his wife moved to South Bend, where Longenecker began teaching first at Muessel Junior High School and then at Adams, where he continued to teach up through this past school year. At Adams, besides teaching a full schedule of honors biology, Longenecker spearheaded a highly-regarded, nationally recognized science research program.

Longenecker earned numerous awards over the course of his career. In 1980, he was named the Indiana State Biology Teacher of the Year; in 1984, he received the prestigious Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching, and in 1998 he was inducted into the South Bend Hall of Fame. Longenecker also received awards and recognition from renowned institutions such as NASA, The University of Chicago, The University of Notre Dame, and Indiana University.

Adams staff members are mourning the loss of their former co-worker. Matthew McQueen, the current head of the Science Department at Adams, says he will miss hearing Longenecker’s many anecdotes. “The stories he would share about his previous students and their projects… it was really neat to hear some of those,” McQueen said. “He’d been around so long.” Many of Longenecker’s former students, particularly those who were involved in his science research program, were also saddened to learn of his passing. “Mr. Longenecker was an extremely accomplished person in his own right, but he didn’t concern himself with personal accolades. The success of his students was always his top priority,” recalls Eavan Kelly, who graduated as valedictorian from John Adams in 2024 and was a student of Longenecker’s for four years. Kelly is now studying neuroscience at the University of Notre Dame. “He was a kind and generous person, and I’m grateful that we got to spend our last year at Adams together.”

The John Adams High School community will never forget the many contributions made by the legendary Mr. Nevin Longenecker. “Mr. Longenecker embodied everything good that the educational system has to offer,” said Mr. James Seitz, Adams’ principal and one of Longenecker’s former students, in an email he sent to the Adams community on Sept 27. “Mr. Longenecker taught his students the value of inquiry, hard work, determination, and kindness,” Seitz wrote. “The legacy of Mr. Longenecker will last in the community of John Adams High School forever.”