r
Former Springville High School biology teacher Richard Drollinger has been named Springville’s Citizen of the Year for 2016 by the Springville Chamber of Commerce.
r
Drollinger was born on a farm in Payson on Jan. 22, 1935. His life centered on the farm and all the hard work that was necessary to keep the farm working.
r
He graduated from Payson High School in 1953. Shortly afterwards, he served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Iowa and Nebraska areas for two years.
r
Richard attended Brigham Young University in fall of 1957 and graduated in 1962 with major in botany and a minor in zoology. He was hired at Springville High School in the fall of 1962 and taught there until he retired in 1996. Springville was certainly lucky to have him as an educator. Known as “Mr. D,” he will always be known for showing kindness to all but especially to those who struggled. He always reached out to the ones that needed help. During his teaching years at SHS, Drollinger furthered his education by attending Utah State University in Logan and Greeley College in Greeley, Colo.
r
Drollinger’s wife, Colleen, had a stroke in 1996, leading to his choice to retire that year. He cared for her for 13 years until her passing.
r
Richard and Colleen raised their family of four children in Springville. Richard Drollinger is dearly loved by many friends, neighbors, students and educators spanning over several generations.
r
You can still see Drollinger on a regular basis at Springville High School as he substitute teaches there three to four days a week. He will tell you that he has the best job out there and says that the students at SHS are “Super!” He loves teaching the kids and the kids love Mr. D.
