Staff/Teachers

Onalee McGraw, Ph. D.

Director of Religious Education

Dr. Onalee McGraw with husband Bill, and son, Fr. Steve

Dr. McGraw is co-founder and current director of the Educational Guidance Institute, a non-profit educational organization founded to present the philosophical learning theory and curriculum implementation principles underlying the "Whole Person" approach to teaching youth about chastity and marriage. EGI has developed a marriage education program called Love and Life at the Movies, featuring lesson plans from classic films.

Dr. McGraw has been married to her husband, Bill, since 1963 and they have three children (one a priest in this diocese!) and 15 grandchildren.

She holds a B.A from Whittier College in Whittier, California, an M.A. in Catechetics from Notre Dame Institute, Arlington VA, and a Ph. D. in Political Science from Georgetown University, Washington D.C.

Julie is a retired Master Firefighter/Paramedic from Chesterfield County, VA where she was assigned to Engine 82. In 1993 she was elected to the Board of Trustees of Women in the Fire Service, an international organization providing education resources and advocacy for women firefighters and held the organizations seat on the Congressional Fire Service Institute Advisory Board. She assisted with the Federal Emergency Management Agency/United States Fire Administration publication Many Faces, One Purpose, writing the Peer Mediation section and was a participant in the 1999 Blue Ribbon Panel review of the USFA established by FEMA. She is a founding member of the National Fire-Rescue Diversity Coalition and recipient of the NFRDC Leadership Award, February 1999.

Julie and her Christendom College professor husband, Bill, have been married for 36 years and have both been members of the Dominican Laity for 33 years. Julie is currently the sub-moderator of Our Lady of Guadalupe Chapter of the Dominican Laity here at St. John’s. They have four children, ten grandchildren, two dogs, a cat and a bird. In her spare time, you can usually find Julie down at her friend’s stable mucking out stalls or exercising the horses.

Julia Austin

Youth Choir Director

Boys Schola Director

The music director of St. John’s Church since September 2006, Julia Austin is not only the director of the St. John’s adult choir but she also directs the Boys Schola and the Youth Choir. She is a native of Alabama where she received her BA in music from the University of Montevallo and played the oboe with the Montgomery Symphony Orchestra for three years. She is completing a Master of Music in Sacred Music, concentrating in choral conducting, at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

Randall L. DeClue

Seventh Grade

Lori and I have been married for 24 years and have 8 children ages 7 to 22.

I graduated from the “Angelicum” University in Rome—”Magna Cum Laude” in 1980. Yes, I can still speak some Italian. I have worked for Seton Home Study School as Director of Admissions and Director of Marketing and for the past three years, my brother Ron and I own and operate a class ”A” licensed construction company called “Mt. Carmel Construction”.

Kris and Greg Stafira

Kindergarten

Assistant Children’s Choir Director

Greg and Kris Stafira have been teaching Sunday School together for 5 years and have been married for 15. They met at JMU where they both earned BS degrees. Greg went on to earn a Masters degree at GMU. The Stafiras moved to Front Royal two years ago and love living in the mountains. Greg commutes to IBM in Fairfax each day. Kris, a former kindergarten teacher at All Saints in Manassas, now stays home to homeschool their two children. Greg and Kris are also leaders in Cub Scouts and Girl Scouts, which makes for a very busy calendar.

Tom and Valerie Von Fange

Fifth Grade

Tom and Valerie Von Fange have been married for four years and have five children between the two of them. Tom is a Protestant convert and an ex-minister. Valerie is a cradle Catholic. Tom is owner of Antique Tables Made Daily (located in Sperryville) and Valerie supports the operations side of his business. Valerie is also a songwriter/musician/music teacher. She performs at local retirement homes, festivals, concerts/dances and restaurants. Both Tom and Valerie have Bachelor Degrees, Tom in Industrial Arts and Valerie in Business. They both have experience teaching in public schools and Valerie has also taught CCD, history, geometry, and swimming. Their teaching style is rich in faith, discipline and fun! They love teaching their fifth grade class this year-- what a terrific group of kids!! For R&R, they enjoy water sports such as skiing and waverunning and Tom is an avid surfer when the surf is up.

Father Christopher J. Pollard

Eighth Grade

Bishop Thomas Welsh ordained me in 1998 and everything else is a blur.

I love to discuss History and Religion and my favorite recreation is golfing. My favorite Saints are St. Joseph , St. Joan of Arc, St. Clare, and St. Theresa of Lisieux. My favorite devotions are the Rosary and the Divine Mercy Chaplet.

Mary Ellen Smith

Third Grade

Many years ago, I, Mary Ellen Smith, was born and raised in the Finger Lakes region of New York State, one of four children. I graduated from St. Alphonsus Grade School and Holy Family High School in Auburn, New York. I received my B.A. degree from the College of New Rochelle and my M.S. in Education from New York State University in Cortland, N.Y.

Mrs. Smith (back row, center) with the Junior Legion of Mary.

The Religious Education Department

I taught Kindergarten and the Primary Grades in N.Y. state for several years. After spending a year at Grailville, an institute to prepare lay women for their place in the church and in the world, I taught at St. Leo’s Parochial School in Detroit. This is where I met my husband of 48 years. After our first child was born, my teaching was limited to CCD classes, as we were raising our children.

When my children were grown, I returned to work, but this time as a caseworker for Ontario County, New York, working with Foster Care and Adoption, but continued to teach CCD until I retired and we moved to Front Royal in 1998. I have been teaching in our CCD program since I moved here.

As a parent of seven and grandparent of twenty-five, I believe that parents are the primary educators of their children. I also believe that children benefit greatly from hearing the truths of their faith from other adults and from learning to listen and share with their peers in a classroom. I teach CCD because I love working with children. My only regret is that one hour a week is so little time to get to know each child and so little time for him/her to absorb all the information. That is why I give homework and expect the student to spend some quality time with his/her parents in reviewing the lesson.