TOM DICKEY

Class of 1999 - Distinguished Teacher
​Inducted in 2018

Tom was awarded posthumously with the Distinguished Teacher Award at the SHSAA Hall of Fame in 2018.

Tom Dickey, a 1999 SHS graduate who taught at South from 2015 until his untimely death in November of 2017.

When Tom was little, his family traveled to the White House to receive the Great American Family Award presented by then-first lady Nancy Reagan. The award recognized the tight-knit family headed then by hardworking single mother Gladys Dickey.

Tragedy struck just a few years later when Gladys Dickey died of cancer. The four brothers bounced between homes, but Tom went on to become a lauded student leader and volunteer who was a finalist for the Boys & Girls Club National Youth of the Year Award in 1998.

Tom’s teaching career included time at Omaha North and MCC. In 2015, he returned to SHS to head the industrial technology, family and consumer science programs. His big interest became the new Robotics Program. He also successfully launched a spring fashion show and pushed through a BYO device policy to South, letting students use their own laptops or tablets in the classroom. Principal Cano stated, “I don’t think that ‘I can’t do something’ or ‘That’s not possible’ was even in his lexicon.”

Tom was also very active and supportive of the Alumni Association. He was a fixture at the annual spaghetti feed and came to every board meeting, keeping us updated on school news.  
His positive, upbeat personality was totally infectious. He left a legacy that inspires us all.

Tom is survived by his wife, Thea; children, Caleb and Julia; three brothers; and other family.