The late Deacon Anthony Koury, a graduate of Notre Dame HS, retired in 2012 after 43 years at Notre Dame, where he put his heart into serving the school as athletic director and a theology teacher. Deacon Koury had also been a permanent deacon at Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Catholic Church, Easton, since being ordained in 1982. He passed in 2024 after a courageous battle with metastatic prostate cancer.

When the class of 2026 graduated May 30, a very special moment occurred when his great nephew, Michael Koury III, was introduced as valedictorian. The day was a time for tassels, but also for tributes.

Koury said anyone who knew his great-uncle – often called “T.K.” – “knew that he was someone special.”

“He gave so much of his life to this school, to Catholic education and the students who walked these halls.”

“One of my biggest goals was to give this speech today because my uncle Anthony wanted so badly to see it happen,” Koury said.

“This moment is bittersweet because he passed in 2024. But I take comfort that knowing up in heaven there is a smiling angel driving everyone crazy, saying, ‘That’s my nephew Michael giving this speech!’”

Koury also voiced thanks to God, his family and teachers, adding that his grandfather was a teacher at Allentown Central Catholic HS.

“The Notre Dame family is where we shared our lives,” Koury said. “You can graduate from a school, but you never truly leave a family.”

“We will remember how it felt to grow up here,” he added.

Koury was one of the 117 graduates who processed into the school’s new auditorium for the school’s 68th Commencement Exercises. Rafqa Koorie, student council president, led the Pledge of Allegiance, and Mackenzie Hughes performed the National Anthem. The Rev. Alexander Brown, school chaplain, prayed the invocation and concluding blessing.

The celebratory event included welcoming and closing remarks and the awarding of diplomas by Principal Jaclyn Friel; remarks from salutatorian Savina Steele; and presentation of awards by Cheryl Muller-Fenton, director of operations and a Notre Dame alumna.

Paul Bento, representative of the United States Military Academy Admissions office, was on hand to congratulate graduate Jake Fretz on being accepted at the United States Military Academy at West Point. “This is no small accomplishment,” Bento said, noting each year about 14,000 men and women apply, and only about 1,200 are accepted.

Salutatorian Savina Steele expressed gratitude to her family, friends and teachers, and referenced the theme of a recent homily delivered by the Rev. Msgr. Edward Domin, assistant pastor of St. Jane Frances de Chantal, Easton, which focused on three paths we all travel in life: the paths of friendship, family and faith.

“The past four years as the senior class we have traveled these paths together,” Steele said.

“As students attending a Catholic high school for the past four years, we’ve attended a school where God is welcomed, honored and praised,” Steele said.

She noted the path is not always easy, as faith is tested by difficult times.

“Never forget wherever life may lead you, God will be walking every path beside you.”

As Friel addressed the graduates, she told them, “You were not put on this earth to be comfortable. You were put here to be useful, to love people who are difficult to love, to choose integrity in rooms where no one is watching, and to do the small things with great care.”

Friel expressed the words echoed the sentiment of the words of St. Teresa of Calcutta: “Faith is not a safety net; it is a foundation.”

“You have the foundation, now use it,” Friel told the graduates.

The commencement was preceded by a baccalaureate May 29 at St. Jane Frances de Chantal Church.