Alumni Showcase: 1993

Melissa Biegler Wilcox, 1993 St. Patrick School Alumni 

Graduating from Saint Patrick’s schools in 1993, Melissa Biegler Wilcox is one of our present day parishioners with her own children now in St. Pats school. In 7th grade Fr. Brethour was Melissa’s religion teacher & track coach. Ever since, she hasn’t been able to stop running. Literally to this day, she is running on teams for Market to Market for Nebraska & Iowa. 

However, after graduating high school Melissa entered the Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Los Angeles due to the presence of religious sisters in the school at that time. After years of what she calls receiving more than what she ever gave, she returned home after coming to peace that this was not God’s will for her. Since her return to McCook, she met Kyle Wilcox & they are married & now have 3 children: Oliver who is going into 7th grade at St Pats, Anthony (4th grade) & Isabella (2nd grade).
 

Melissa has been active in St. Patrick parish by serving through the Parish Council, teaching 7th/8th grade CCD, & donating her talents toward St Pat’s G.I.F.T. Gala. She also works at McCook hospital as a nurse serving the emergency department, med-surg, & labor & delivery departments. Presently she is also an entrepreneur in the cheesecake business starting what will be known as Bella Sassa’s Cheesecakes. 

When asked what Melissa’s favorite memory of St. Pats was, she said the 8th grade trip as well as making lifelong friendships which she still cherishes today. She will also always remember Father Brethour running along the students during track practice. 

Alumni Showcase: 2007 

Emily Wood, 2007 St. Patrick School Alumni 

George W. Bush was President of the United States in 2007. That same year, Emily Wood graduated from St. Patrick’s school. She followed an educational path after her days at St. Patrick which most students go on. She graduated high school from McCook High and then graduated from McCook Community College and went on to UNK. What transpired after UNK is somewhat unusual for most St. Patrick graduates. She went to law school at UNL. Once she graduated from law school and passed the bar, she returned to McCook to work alongside her father, Paul Wood, for Colfer, Wood, Lyons, and Wood as an Associate Attorney. 

Emily stays busy in and out of the private office working on wills, LLC’s, power of attorney documents, and traveling as a guardian ad litem. She is also the Deputy County Attorney for Red Willow County. In her spare time, she loves to read. She told me that one of her top memories of her time at St. Pat’s was having two lockers since she was in a class of only eight! She took her love of books and quickly turned her second locker into a “library” and would loan out books to her classmates! Another activity she does in her spare time is coaching the McCook High School Mock Trial team. 

I asked Emily what other memories she had of St. Pat’s and she said she loved seeing her grandma at school mass every single day. Emily’s grandma is 91 now and is still a familiar face at the church. I’ve known Emily for several years and one thing I know about her is she is very proud of her family and McCook. So, her next favorite memory didn’t surprise me when she told me Mr. Spomer, her band instructor was also her dad’s band instructor! 

Lastly, I asked Emily what she thought of the 8th grade trip and if her class went to Lincoln like students do now. She said they went to Lincoln and she fondly remembers one Marian sister because she had the best sense of humor. Emily said she made her laugh so hard at one point she was almost crying. She had so much fun, that the next summer, she attended a camp with the sisters in Waverly.