Depew teacher who helped memorialize Cleve Hill classmates dies of Covid

This is part of a series of stories on Western New Yorkers who have died from Covid-19. Read more at "Profiles of a Pandemic."
Richard L. Odien never forgot the 1954 fire that took the lives of 15 of his sixth grade classmates in Cleveland Hill Elementary School. In fact, he told their story to educate youngsters in the Depew school district, where he taught for 27 years.
He served on the planning committee for a memorial to the youngsters who lost their lives. At its dedication, he told a reporter, "When I was a teacher and my fifth graders went outside for a fire drill and were talking and laughing, I would bring them back in and tell them about this fire. Every year, I would tell them about this fire."

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