John Lawrence Hernandez

“The process of building up a new school is difficult and arduous,” the book states. “It takes time, desire, leadership and a man like Mr. John Hernandez to guide, inspire and assist the physical progress of the construction and the mental growth of the students. It is to this man, who has accepted this challenge and who will help Yerba Buena grow in the coming years, that we gratefully dedicate” the Aztec yearbook.

John Lawrence Hernández was an educator in Santa Clara County for 40 years. He taught Spanish at Mountain View High School and at the former Buchser High School in Santa Clara, broke barriers as the first Mexican-American assistant principal at the former Peterson High School before moving onto “YB” as the district’s first Mexican-American principal, and later joined the district office as an assistant superintendent. John died in Saratoga, CA, on August 1, 2024, after suffering poor health in recent months. He was 93 years old.

“John always knew what he wanted to do. The path was not easy, professionally,” says his former student teacher and decades-long friend Bob Arce. “He didn’t have money growing up, and he was Latino. Latinos were not promoted (often) then. He was treated poorly … (but) he remained stoic and calm.”

John Hernández was born in Billings, Montana, in 1931, to migrant beet workers. He was the eldest of four living children of Felix Hernández and Magdalena Lemos Hernández, both who hailed from the Mexican state of Michoacan. He was christened “Juan,” but his name was summarily changed by an elementary school teacher who never consulted the family.

The Hernández family left Montana when John was young for Monterey County, California where Felix picked beets for the Spreckles Sugar Factory. The family ultimately settled in Santa Clara County, and John’s life changed after entering Santa Clara High School. He told his children the school librarian recognized his hunger for books and guided him towards novels about adventure and teenage heroes. Reading became a life-long passion and college became an aspiration.

John attended San Jose State College (now San Jose State University), graduating in 1954 with a BA in Business and a minor in Spanish. He was unable, however, to secure interviews at campus job fairs. A college secretary intervened and John met with one recruiter. “I sat down and said ‘Will this lead to anything?’ and he said, ‘No, I think you’re in the wrong major’,” John recalled. “They would not hire a Latino at that period of time.”

So John enlisted in the U.S. Army in August 1954, rising to the rank of 1st Lieutenant. He left in 1956, honorably, and went back to San Jose State, earning a teaching credential. He married Josephine Picazo later that year. (First a registered nurse then a school counselor, Jo was the love of his life until she died in 2022, at the age of 86 years.) The couple had three daughters in quick succession.

While still a teacher, John went back to San Jose State, earning a Master’s Degree in Education (1964). Ultimately, John earned a EdD in Education from the University of Southern California (1973). His dissertation studied the varied perceptions of college among Mexican-American students and their parents. He firmly believed education “is the only avenue for poor people to get out of poverty.”

While at Yerba Buena, John began to implement his educational philosophies in the new school: hiring a more diverse staff to better reflect the student body, monitoring student progress to maximize their learning, and extending bilingual outreach to parents. He never ate lunch with the staff, choosing instead to eat with “the kids.” “I got to know them and they got to know me,” he once recalled. “In getting to know them and who they were, I saw what some of their challenges were. Some I could help and some I couldn’t. But it was not a waste of time.”

“He was a sensitive, thoughtful person,” says Susana Arce, a retired high school assistant principal and wife of Bob Arce. “There’s no telling how many lives he touched.”

John was predeceased by his wife Josephine P. Hernández (2022). He is survived by his daughters Peggy, Pamela and Patricia; three sons-in-law, Geoffrey Ide, John, and Terry Holzemer; granddaughters Vanessa H. Ide, and Veronica; his brother Ang Hernández; sisters Ophelia Lozano and Vera Hernández; nieces Elizabeth, Laurie, Cindy and Cari. He was predeceased by his older half-brother Antonio Rodriguez (1986).

A funeral celebration and burial will be private.