Cyndi Loza

Duane Gillies wouldn’t say he was a good student when he attended Sparks High School more than 50 years ago.

“I enjoyed high school so much that I forgot to study,” joked Gillies, 66, of Reno.

However, his commitment to the community and the school left a mark on Sparks High that needed to be recognized.

Gillies was among the four Sparks High School alumni honored at the school’s seventh annual Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Tuesday.

“I feel so proud,” said Gillies, a former Reno firefighter. “I was surprised to see the nomination.”

After graduating from Sparks in 1959, Gillies became a firefighter in 1964. During his career, he said, he hired the department’s first female firefighter, rescued a child who was near death and served as an operator, a captain and battalion chief.

Kenneth Tollefson, class of 1957, also was honored to be inducted to be in the Hall of Fame.

“I was humbled,” said Tollefson, 69, of San Diego. “I never expected I would be so honored.”

After graduating from Sparks High, Tollefson enlisted in the Nevada Air National Guard and was called into action for the Vietnam War. Through his service, he is a Bronze Star Vietnam War Veteran and a recipient of the Defense Distinguished Service medal, the nation’s highest peacetime defense award.

After retiring from the Air Force in 1992, Tollefson became the purchasing manager for the county of San Diego and designed, developed, named and implemented the county’s “BuyNet” system — an interactive Web site for suppliers interested in doing business with the county of San Diego.

Tollefson left the business in 2003.

Paul “Bud” Tholl, of the class of 1940, said his induction into the Hall of Fame was even more sweet because he got to share the honor with his late son and fellow inductee Paul “Pat” Arthur Tholl, class of 1967. Paul Arthur Tholl died in 2005.

“I feel so honored,” said Tholl, 86, of Hidden Valley. “Words can’t express how pleased I am.”

Pat Tholl’s recognition and award was accepted by his widow, Terry Tholl.

“Pat had a saying: ‘If this ain’t living, you can kick me off,’” said Terry Tholl. “He’d be very proud tonight.”

Traditionally, alumni and friends of alumni are nominated and selected for induction into the Hall of Fame on the basis of their contributions to the community and success based on their hard work and pursuit of education.

“The thing that I like most is when our students have the opportunity to see our alumni go on and succeed,” Principal Doug Parry said. “That makes for tremendous role modeling.”

Each person inducted was introduced by a student, who researched, wrote and read a short biography of the recipient.

“It was actually interesting because you got to learn about someone else and how they contributed to Sparks High School,” said Sandra Dominguez, 18, a senior at Sparks. “Even though there’s going to be obstacles, you have to push through and succeed.”