HawkStrong: alumnus reflects on life as a veteran, teacher, and coach
As Jon Thostenson begins the next phase of his life, having recently moved into the Beaumont Commons retirement community in Dearborn, he looks back fondly on his time as a teacher, coach, soldier -- and student at HFC.
“I’ve led a very blessed life,” said Thostenson.
Born in Oakland Hospital in Dearborn, Thostenson, who was adopted, is the eldest of four children and the only son. He grew up in south Dearborn Heights and attended Lowrey High School (now Lowrey School) in the Dearborn Public Schools. He was bussed into Lowrey from what is now Dearborn Heights School District 7.
“There were some wonderful teachers at Lowrey who had such a positive influence on my life,” he said. “I lived in a poor area of Dearborn Heights that didn’t have a high school back then, yet we had great parents. We jumped at the chance to attend Lowrey.”
Serving in Vietnam
After graduating from Lowrey in 1967, Thostenson began his education at HFC (then Henry Ford Community College) but was drafted. He spent two years in the U.S. Army in Vietnam, serving with the 1st Cavalry Division.
“We were on the front lines. I was never in a firefight, thank God. There were instances where things got pretty hairy. We were in the jungle every day and on guard at night,” recalled Thostenson. “We would jump out of helicopters and land in rice paddy fields, where we’d pull leeches off our bodies. You can’t shower for weeks sometimes, in the jungle. It’s eye-opening. We were afraid. Fear was the one constant companion in Vietnam. In that environment, you might meet people who are true heroes and others you never want to see again – that’s a fact.”
During his tour in Vietnam, Thostenson and seven of his fellow soldiers contracted malaria, a mosquito-borne infectious disease. They were Medevac-ed to a field hospital in Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam. One soldier died enroute.
“I dropped to 115 lbs. and we found out a couple weeks later that I was allergic to quinine (the drug used to treat malaria),” he said. “The doctor told me I wouldn’t be going back to the front because I’d contract malaria again, and since I was allergic to quinine, I couldn't be treated. He didn't send me home, but he did recommend I get transferred to a rear unit. It was no picnic in the rear, but at least I wasn’t on the front line again.”
Coming home on the Freedom Bird in the fall of 1970 was a great day for Thostenson. He arrived around 3:00 a.m. and knocked on the front door of his parents’ house. His mother answered the door. She was elated and cried tears of joy and relief upon seeing him standing there in full military dress uniform.
“The moment was so powerful, because that was true love,” recalled Thostenson. “I was aware of how much this woman suffered when I went off to war… how much all women suffer when their sons and loved ones go off to war. In that moment, I knew that I was completely and totally loved.”
Attending HFC and EMU on the G.I. Bill
While he was in the hospital recovering from malaria, Thostenson wondered what he would do with his life.
“I thought about all the teachers and coaches who inspired me,” he said. “I decided I wanted to be a teacher and a coach. I didn’t know if I was smart enough to do it, but I was willing to give it a try.”
Thostenson had some trouble readjusting to civilian life, but the late Gene Rigotti, a counselor at Lowrey and later at HFC, helped him.
“(Rigotti) kept pushing me along, getting me to stay the course, encouraging me to stick with it. He was a just wonderful guy. We kept in touch until he died several years ago,” he said. “The reason I went to HFC when I got back from Vietnam was that it was local and I had the Rigotti connection. Everyone kept saying, ‘You have a lot of ties at the College, so you should go there.’ The campus is beautiful. The professors were really helpful. I may have been older than most students, but I was very comfortable there. I liked it. It also allowed me to work and to coach.”
Thostenson studied general education at HFC, then transferred to Eastern Michigan University. There, he earned his bachelor’s degree in education with a major in history and political science. He also completed some graduate work at EMU. Fortunately for Thostenson, the G.I. Bill paid for the majority of his college education.
Yes, you are smart enough
Thostenson said HFC prepared him for EMU “without question. I didn’t have a lot of confidence in my abilities. Gene Rigotti really helped me. EMU advisors told me many people with HFC ties transfer there. I just wish the College was a 4-year school, because I would never have left there. I couldn’t have asked for a better transition. I was very fortunate.”
Throughout his career, students would approach Thostenson for advice about college.
“All the years I taught, students – especially guys – would say, ‘I’m not smart enough to go to college.’ I told them that wasn’t true. I’d recommend HFC because it would get them ready and help them transfer to a four-year school or start a career. I mean, you could see the College from Dearborn High School or Fordson High School! That was a good selling point! You just can’t go wrong at HFC. I was a good advertisement for the College. I recommended HFC to a lot of my students. They would come back to me and rave about it! Without a doubt, HFC provides people with a great education.”
Teaching and coaching career
Thostenson was a teacher for 33 years, all in Dearborn. This included his pre-student teaching, which was at Divine Child High School and his student teaching at Lowrey. He began his teaching career at St. Alphonsus High School, where he remained for 4½ years. He spent the next 28½ years in the Dearborn Public Schools. For his first two years in Dearborn, he started teaching – of all places – at Lowrey.
For 26 years, Thostenson coached football and basketball. His coaching career began by coaching eighth grade basketball at Divine Child for three years. Then he moved on to the freshman basketball team at Allen Park High School.
“Norm Schultz – from my Lowrey days who later finished his career at Edsel Ford High School – was my baseball coach at Lowrey and an important part of my life. Longtime Fordson basketball coach John McIntyre helped me in many ways in becoming a head coach,” said Thostenson. “That was the luckiest thing in my life: To be able to get into teaching and coaching.”
Thostenson coached the varsity football team at Annapolis High School in Dearborn Heights. He coached varsity basketball at St. Alphonsus, Clarenceville High School in Livonia, and Fordson.
“Being the head coach of the varsity basketball team at Fordson for four years was one of the highlights of my entire coaching career,” said Thostenson.
For 10 years, he coached the freshman basketball team at DHS. He also served as the assistant coach for the DHS varsity girls basketball team.
“That was a tremendous experience. For 25 years, I coached boys. Coaching girls was a whole different thing. I enjoyed it. The girls were so receptive. It was a great way to culminate my coaching career,” he said.
In 2012, Thostenson retired from teaching, specifically DHS, where he spent his final 17 years. He remained active in the community by subbing and volunteering at various Dearborn athletic events until the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.
True community at Beaumont Commons
Recently, he moved into Beaumont Commons. And he is very happy there.
“I didn’t want to move up north, I didn’t want to move to Florida,” he said. “I toured this place four different times with four different friends. Nobody could find anything wrong with it. It has everything. The food here is tremendous. It’s spacious and so well kept. It has the friendliest people in the world. You just can’t fake that.”
He spends his days at Beaumont Commons working out four days a week, helping with veterans groups, and reading in the library.
“It’s probably the best kept secret in Dearborn for older people,” he said.
Some of his former colleagues are now neighbors. It’s not uncommon for Thostenson to run into former students. In fact, he stays in touch with many of his students, including Fouad Zaban, Fordson’s varsity football coach.
“Any good I did was because of the students. I can’t express that enough,” said Thostenson. “I was so blessed to make it out of Vietnam in one piece and have this wonderful career teaching and coaching. How lucky can a person be?”