Three Faculty and Staff Members Retire with a Combined 68 Years of Service

As the 2021-2022 school year closes, Gill St. Bernard’s says farewell to three admired members of our community as they celebrate their retirement: Lower and Middle School Nurse Laura Barback, Lower School Administrative Assistant Nancy Stober, and Upper School Science Department Chair John Taeschler.

Laura Barback

During her 27 years of loyal service to the Gill St. Bernard’s community, Laura Barback (P ’01, ’05) has kept the health and safety of our most precious gifts, our children, in the forefront of her mind. She began her tenure as a lower school substitute nurse in 1994 when Gill's lower grades were still located in Stronghold on the Bernardsville campus. By 2001, she had taken over the position of Upper School Nurse full time. Five years later, she transitioned into her role as the Lower and Middle School Nurse, and for the next sixteen years, she lovingly cared for our youngest students with skill and compassion. In recognition of her commitment, lower and middle school students created “Mrs. Barback Day” and presented her with balloons, flowers, and her favorite meal—fish and chips—in the cafeteria. Mrs. Barback will kick off her retirement with a long-awaited trip home to England to celebrate her mother’s 90th birthday with friends, extended family, and her two children, Christopher ’01 and Lily ’05.

Nancy Stober

Nancy Stober shifted from a corporate career at AT&T to become Gill St. Bernard’s Lower School Administrative Assistant in 2001, and she never looked back. The dedicated mother of two describes the Gill community as a large family, and she does not think of her twenty-plus years on campus as a job. When not keeping the lower school office and its employees on time and on task, Mrs. Stober can be found in the theater, assisting with the Lower School musicals and sharing her love of community theater with everyone around her. While she will miss the day-to-day routine and the comradery with Gill colleagues, she has enthusiastically mapped out long-awaited road trips up and down the East Coast to visit her children and grandchildren and to reconnect with longtime friends.

John Taeschler

Since joining Gill St. Bernards in 2002, John Taeschler, Upper School Science Department Chair, has shared his passion for STEM topics with two decades of upper school students. The veteran teacher drew upon his Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science from Rutgers University to tackle a range of exciting classes such as AP Chemistry, Biomedical Ethics, Nutritional Science, and Animal Science. Outside of the classroom, he leveraged his Masters of Education in Computer Science Education from St. Peter’s College to advise the Robotics Club. In retirement, Mr. Taeschler looks forward to spending more time with his wife and two sons.

Congratulations to all and thank you for your longstanding impact on GSB! You will be missed!