Warren High inducts six into Hall of Fame

DOWNEY - A retired professional baseball player, three school board members, a teacher and military veteran were among the inductees in Warren High School's inaugural Hall of Fame class last week.Inductees included (their graduation year is in parentheses): Rick Burleson (1969), who played shortstop for the Boston Red Sox, California Angels and Baltimore Orioles. Jesse Hunt (1961), who returned to Warren High School after college, where he taught math and chaired the Math Department 32 years. He is a "Jaime Escalante Mathematics Teacher Award" winner for his ability to motivate students to excel in math. Donald E. LaPlante (1972), a retired middle school English and history teacher who has served on the Downey Board of Education since 1979. He is currently board president. Barbara Samperi (1968) is involved in several local community organizations and commissions, and has served on the Downey school board since 1993. Nancy Swenson (1970) worked as a computer operator supporting the engineering staff at Hughes Aircraft, now Raytheon Systems. She volunteers with several community organizations and was elected to the Downey school board in 2005. George Zambrano (1959) was in the first graduating class of Warren High School. He was the first student body president and held many other student government offices during his years at Warren. He served in the Army and was hired by the L.A. Times, where he retired as director of production operations in 1996.

********** Published: Nov. 7, 2013 - Volume 12 - Issue 30