In Honor of a Man of Character
Chester Carl Ambrose
A Life to Celebrate
So a milestone has been past. Dad's celebrating a new part of his journey
with THE STORYTELLER of all time..., as we remember the
Storyteller Man of Rancho Bernardo.
A big thank you to all of you who have kept his memory alive in all of your hearts. Mom is now making our Dad proud, as she has a NEW LapTop iMac...and can visit the internet whenever she wants...
Not bad for 81 years young. Soon she'll be doing the "E-Mail" thing... So watch out world...she'e now caught up with the 21st Century
Visit: Celebration of Chet's Life section and read Brian's "Words of Love"
The Heart of the Storytelling Man of Rancho Bernardo
by: Nancy Casey
The season of retirement revived a passion for Chet Ambrose, a former school principal and member at RBCPC.
Patti Hunter, head of the RBCPC Preschool, recently shared: “I honestly don’t know what brought Chet to my door. One day he simply arrived, introduced himself and said he wanted to tell stories to the children. He completed all the necessary paperwork, fingerprinting, etc. and returned the next week to tell stories.”“Whenever Chet would tell the story ‘Yellow Behind the Ears,’ he would howl. If children saw him around town, all they needed to do was mentioned the title and he would howl to their delight,” said a Preschool staff member.
Over the years, he expanded his repertoire of stories, but from the first day his connection with the children was strong. It’s true…he offered to tell stories when at the time he only had a few in his collection. His love for children and his heart for a good story led him on. Committing to a regular story hour inspired his hunt for more good tales to share. He took courses in storytelling and connected with other tellers to hone his craft.
Pastor Bruce’s recent sermon entitled “What’s In Your Hand?” challenged us to consider the resources we already have and how God could use what we offer up to Him. This is what Chet has done over and over…I know this, because he’s my Dad and I’ve watched for years how he spends his love. I have seen the magic his storytelling has for over a group of children.
Chet’s heart spilled out into the community as well, where he told stories to over 300 elementary students a week and several times at the RBCPC Community Easter Egg Hunt. He also shared with adult audiences in many settings.
It’s been a joy to read letters from both students and parents. One mom wrote: “When my son was a preschooler I would ask him about his day at preschool and he usually didn’t give me much information, but on the days when you came to his class, he would talk all the way home about the wonderful stories that he had heard that day. I remember him saying, ‘I hope Mr. Ambrose is coming today.’”
Another mom said, “Chet was more than about stories; he was about connections and relationships. He was bigger than life because of the uniqueness of his stories. My children just love him.”
This year, when health issues made it impossible for Chet to return to the classroom, he came up with a wonderful idea. He decided to record a collection of some of the favorite stories shared with the children through the years. A few of our church members have lovingly transferred those recordings to CD format. The collections are being sold through the preschool or by email at kmoehlig@rbcpc.org. All proceeds go towards books for the RBCPC Preschool children…another gift from my Dad’s heart.
By Nancy Casey {Chet's Daughter)
Chester (Chet) Ambrose, affectionately known as “The Storyteller of Rancho Bernardo” to children throughout Northern San Diego, peacefully passed away July 23, 2007 after a year long battle with cancer. He was 77 years old.
Born in Chalfont Borough, PA, Chet was the youngest of five brothers. After graduating from Slippery Rock College and serving in the military, he moved to California and married his sweetheart, Patricia (Pat). Together they raised a daughter and two sons.
Chet retired from Los Angeles Unified School District after 35 years as a teacher and elementary school principal. He and Pat moved to Rancho Bernardo in 1995.
The season of retirement revived a passion for Chet as a storyteller to children at local schools and churches. Spinning tales for over 300 elementary students a week throughout the community, Chet kept his young audiences so enthralled they often didn’t realize they were learning at the same time. Whenever Chet would tell the tale “Yellow Behind the Ears” he would howl. If children saw him around town, all they needed to do was mention the title and he would howl to their delight.
Chet is survived by his wife of 52 years, Pat; son Roger C. Ambrose of Thousand Oaks; daughter Nancy Casey and son-in-law Craig of San Diego; son Brian Ambrose and daughter-in-law Marilyn of Concord; and grandchildren Jenna, Katie, Lauren, Mike, Kevin, Christopher.
A Celebration of Life Service was held
at
Rancho Bernardo
Community Presbyterian Church,
17010 Pomerado Road
Rancho Bernardo, Calif
on August 8, 2007
in
Memory of an amazing
Husband, Father, Educator and Friend...
