“Jefferson School of Mine”

Jefferson school of mine
School of the blue and gold
We’re with you hour by hour
With spirit untold
So give a long cheer for Jefferson
We’re always back of you
Jefferson will fight to the last 
and never d-i-e

Have you ever wondered how many times you sang our school song and where and when it originated? We can thank a very accomplished Jeffersonian…

Obituary - Loretta Kalmbach Lorenz
1927 - 2020
Private interment for Loretta E. Kalmbach, beloved Mother, Grandmother and Great-Grandmother was held Saturday, March 21, graveside at Skyline, Portland, OR. Mrs. Lorenz passed away March 19, 2020, at nearly 93.

Born in Odessa, Wash., in 1927 to U.S. citizen, Russian immigrant, Reverend and Real Estate Agent, and author of biography, "An Angel on My Shoulder," Paul Kalmbach and to orphan Amelia Louise Ament, Sunday School Teacher, skilled at piano, arts and crafts. They moved to Hastings, Nebraska. Loretta was a born musician, winning a Blue Ribbon for violin at age 8. She moved to Biola, Calf., enjoying needlepoint, composing, piano and organ playing at her father's churches, before settling in Portland. Jefferson High, Class of '45 and member of A Cappella Choir, she composed the class theme song, "Jefferson School of Mine."

Recognized by scholarship to The Julliard School in New York and briefly attending, she realized she wanted a family one day. Graduating Lewis & Clark College B. of Arts '49, she received a Teaching Certificate and made Portland Public Elementary Schools her career for nearly 40 years. She helped her sister through nursing school and traveled to Europe by ship and Mexico in the 50s.

She married Wilfred Lorenz in 1959 and spent her golden years dancing and babysitting. After living as a German-Russian Congregational Christian, in later years she visited a Muslim Educational Trust in Portland with her daughter.

Survived by daughters, Aesha Lorenz Al-Saeed, Tamara Hampton; granddaughter, Bedriya Shehabi, Kadeeja Al-Saeed, Patrick Lorenz, Jamal Al-Saeed, Max Randall; and great-granddaughters, Sophia and Dahlia M. Shehabi.