The only thing Dr. John Deck loved more than his family, his patients, and his Catholic faith was spending time in nature. Whether planting trees on his Nebraska acreage or enjoying the north woods of Minnesota, John proudly shared his love of God’s creation with his wife, Ann, children, and grandchildren.
After John’s death in 2021, Ann pondered the best way to honor her husband’s memory by considering what he loved best in the world. As a parent of five Pius X alumni and grandparent of one recent Pius X graduate, Ann knew that creating an outdoor space at the high school would be a meaningful tribute that would benefit students, faculty, staff and families. She collaborated with Pius X Foundation, Nebraska Nursery and Color Gardens, and Clark & Enersen to envision and build a new outdoor space for prayer, reflection, respite and educational engagement.
The Dr. John and Ann Deck Family Prayer Garden and Outdoor Classroom is Pius X High School’s first dedicated space for students to pray, learn, and bond together outside. Ann’s vision for the new space combined their family’s faith and John’s love of the outdoors with several of the school’s strategic plan goals. The $175K+ project is a peaceful, inspiring new outdoor space to help engage students with innovative, interactive learning strategies, such as small-group mentoring and discussion activities, and for groups to gather together in prayer and reflection outdoors.
The Deck family’s friendship and professional collaboration with the Hastreiter family began in the early 1980’s. Ann asked Ben Hastreiter ’95 of Nebraska Nurseries and Color Gardens to help achieve her vision. “With the school’s ’land-locked’ location on A Street in the center of Lincoln, the green space near the Commons/Gym entrance was identified as the most suitable site for a beautiful outdoor area to help enhance students’ learning, connectedness and peace of mind,” Ben shared. Ben oversaw the project’s construction and collaborated with Building Construction teacher, Loran Stara, to guide students in building the classroom-sized pergola as a class project in spring 2024, which they volunteered over the summer to complete. The Outdoor Classroom provides a shaded area for learning outside, adjoining the garden space and Marian grotto area which invites prayer and peaceful reflection. The multi-use space includes seating walls, walkways, and paved areas surrounded by beautiful natural landscaping. “Surrounding the prayer garden area are burning bushes, some of John’s favorite plants that he had personally planted around the Deck family’s home, which will turn a beautiful red color in the fall,” Ben added.
When Ann drives down A Street, she is grateful to see the project coming to completion. The beautiful life-size Mary statue now graces the west end of the garden. Outdoor classroom seating made with low-maintenance, durable materials will accommodate 30+ students. Bronze signage, including Bible passages and quotes from the saints, are planned to be custom engraved by students in the Industrial Technology classes using the school’s new laser engraver. A dedication ceremony of the new space for friends and family of Dr. Deck is being planned for a future date.
Ann’s $100k investment, including matching the gifts donated in John’s memory, were integral to bring the new space to fruition. Pius X also is grateful to the D F Dillon Foundation as well as the May L. Flanagan Foundation Inc. for supporting a portion of the project infrastructure. To forever benefit the school that has meant so much to their family, Ann also decided to become a member of the St. Pius X Legacy Society.
“It just brings me such joy to drive by and see photography students exploring the space, classes enjoying the sunshine or students pausing to pray or reflect in the garden area,” Ann explains. “Working with Pius X Foundation throughout this time helped me work through my deep grief, and achieve my dream of creating a beautiful prayer garden and outdoor classroom that John would have loved. It is my sincere hope that the space will bring peace to the students, faculty, staff and families as well as the neighbors of Pius X for years to come. May it be a comforting place in times of deep grief and in times of great joy.”
“The Pius X faculty and staff were always there for us and our children – Pius X always loved them, even when they acted unlovable at times,” Ann recalls. Deck family alumni include: Christina (Deck) Harlow ’98 of Lincoln, Elizabeth (Deck) Ranson ’02 of Houston, TX, John Deck ’03 of Washington, D.C., Emily (Deck) Anton ’07 of Lincoln, and Thomas Deck ’07 of Grand Rapids, MI. John was proud that many of their 12 grandchildren, including recent grad Scotty Scow ’23, could attend Catholic schools in Lincoln and Houston.
After graduating from the University of Nebraska Medical Center and completing his residency in Lincoln, John began his 30+ career in family medicine. Known for his compassionate care and his depth of medical knowledge, John treated his patients like family. Alumni Dr. Harrison Wurster ’07 and Dr. Taylor Noel ’07 attributed their paths to becoming physicians to John’s mentorship. Harrison shared, “I was very lucky to have shadowed Dr. Deck while pursuing a career in medicine…I realized how incredibly important the humanistic aspect of medicine was for him as he cared for his patients…. I saw how much his patients appreciated not just his medical knowledge, but also his compassion. I am deeply grateful to have learned from a mentor like Dr. Deck.” Taylor began working at Dr. Deck’s office when he’d taken a break from college. “I had no special skills to bring to the table. He embraced me at a time where I really didn’t have much direction in my life, and simply showed faith in me when I can honestly say I didn’t have much faith in myself. And that was what I needed most at that critical time…. I owe him so much, not just my career in medicine, but also my wife who I met in medical school, and now our sweet daughter Harper. My life was forever changed by my relationship with Dr. Deck.”
If you are inspired by this project and want to contribute to ongoing maintenance, contact Courtney.Johnson@piusx.net.
Project photo credits: Ryan Lindbeck, Altitude Motion Media
