When Ryan Ratzlaff received the Beverly C. Allen ’73 Endowed Scholarship, he knew it would help him achieve his goal of earning his graduate degree in special education from Avila. But it wasn’t until he met Bob De Yong, the scholarship’s benefactor and member of the Avila Heritage Society, that he learned about the legacy of special education he was continuing.
“When we started talking about what I was currently doing and my goals within education, his eyes lit up when I told him the population of kids I work with,” said Ryan, who is planning to graduate this fall with his Master of Education degree. “He told me it was very similar to what he had experienced during his time as a teacher. He knew the job and the responsibilities it entails, but also the challenges teachers face in special education.”
Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Robert Nelson Spencer De Yong, better known as Bob, spent the majority of his life teaching children with special needs in Kansas City public schools. Along with his dear sister and Avila alumna Amy De Yong ’81, Bob spent more than four decades helping students develop emotional and independent living skills. The two were inspired by Beverly, who served as a mentor to the pair.
“Bob devoted his life to the education of children with special needs—I sometimes referred to both Amy and him as missionaries,” Beverly said. “When he told me he was establishing a scholarship in my name to support special education teachers, I was touched by the recognition but not surprised he never stopped advocating for the education of special needs students.”
At the end of his career, Bob and Amy worked together for two years at the Kansas City Middle School of the Arts and Bob taught learning-disabled children. When Amy passed away in 2015, Bob decided to honor their shared mentor and established a permanent endowed fund to support scholarships to graduate students studying special education in their shared mentor’s name.
Ryan, who currently teaches high school students with emotional behavior disturbances for KVC Niles in Kansas City, Missouri, said it was an honor to meet the man behind the scholarship.
“It was awesome to meet Bob and to learn about the legacy of Ms. Allen and his sister, Amy,” he said. “It was a pleasure to get to meet him and hear stories from his teaching days. He knew the challenges you face as a teacher and I could tell he valued special education in the same way I do.”
Bob passed away on September 20. However, thanks to his commitment to special education, his legacy lives on with the scholarship he endowed to support future teachers.