Each year the Santa Barbara High School (SBHS) ASB class and Alumni Board choose five Wall of Fame inductees who have made exemplary contributions in the categories of the arts; athletics; business; community contributions; education; politics; or science.
The honorees provide students and the community with a vision of the lasting legacies of Santa Barbara High School. The following outstanding Dons will take their place among the other Wall of Fame alumni pictured in the school’s main hall.
Geraldine Wheldon Jones (’46) attended the University of California Santa Barbara Teacher College. Her first teaching position was at Hope School. In 1952 McCalls Magazine sponsored a search for excellent educators and Jones was named the first National Teacher of the Year.
She spent most of her career teaching kindergarten at Monte Vista Elementary School.
In 2014 she was recognized in a local salute to teachers by the Santa Barbara County Education Office for her contributions to and longevity in the local education community. Jones passed away in 2017.
John Osborne (’53) played basketball and baseball at SBHS. He attended Santa Barbara City College and UCSB where he graduated with a degree in physical education.
After college Osborne signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers with whome he played for three seasons.
Osborne found a home as a teacher and coach, working at San Marcos High School and Alan Hancock College, where he eventually became athletic director.
Osborne has received numerous awards and accolades, most recently, the Allan Hancock College baseball field was named after him.
Sharon Keinath Henning (’74) is a third-generation Don. At SBHS she was on the Junior and Senior Class Councils, in Marching Band and Concert Band, worked on costumes for theater productions, and was on the yearbook staff.
Henning attended SBCC, worked at Franklin, Harding and Roosevelt elementary schools, and in the SBHS Counseling Office.
Henning has been a board member for the SBHS Alumni Association for 22 years and goes above and beyond her role of director of memberships as the founder of the All Dons Reunion and Co-Founder of the Alumni Band.
Every Friday she archives the historical record of the school and maintains the Alumni Association’s collection of memorabilia. Sharon volunteers for many community events including at our local Visitor Center.
Catherine Ramak (’81) attended UCSB and San Francisco State University, majoring in journalism. After internships in the city, she returned to Santa Barbara and, for some 30 years, had one of the most recognizable voices in Santa Barbara.
Ramak is part of the long-running “Gary and Catherine in the Morning” show on KLITE 101.7, keeping listeners informed, entertained and connected to their community.
Ramak is also known as a “champion for nonprofits,” volunteering thousands of hours as an emcee/moderator and auctioneer at countless events, helping to bring significant exposure and millions of dollars to local agencies.
Cria Gregory (’96) is currently the chief of the Epidemiology Branch in the Coronavirus and Other Respiratory Viruses Division at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Gregory’s love of science was established at SBHS, where she was valedictorian of her class. Gregory earned a Bachelor’s from UC Berkeley and a doctorate from Emory University.
Gregory spent more than a decade as an epidemiologist working internationally and domestically on maternal and child nutrition. She has supported multiple public health responses including H1N1 pandemic influenza, Ebola, the Haiti earthquake, vaping-associated lung injury, unaccompanied children migrants, and COVID-19.
In the CDC’s COVID-19 response Gregory led the development and dissemination of national guidance on COVID-19 mitigation.