Stefanie Clark Eskander

805-298-6342

1972

1958-Sister: Lynne Clark
1961-Sister: Leslie Clark
1964-Brother: Eugene Clark
1963-Sister-in-Law Joanne Johnson

2001-Nephew: Jamie Yager

I received a BFA in Illustration from Brigham Young University in 1975.

I lived in Provo, Utah for 5 years after high school, where I attended BYU. During that time I served a mission for our church in Texas- I spent most of my time in the panhandle (Lubbock & Amarillo) and also spent brief times in Dallas and Brownwood.
I moved home to So Pas for a few years, and had my own apartment on Huntington Drive until Bruce & I were married in 1978. We moved to Hollywood, where we lived for 8 years. The Toy Industry called- we moved a bit for my toy jobs. First to Rhode Island, where we lived for 4 years while I was working for Hasbro. Then the Minneapolis area (Eden Prairie) for 2 1/2 years while I worked for Tonka Toys, then East Aurora, NY (Near Buffalo) when I was working for Fisher-Price. We moved back to Southern California in 1995 when I went back to Mattel, living in Moorpark.

In the fall of 2012, I accepted a job as Design Manager of Girl's Toys at Toys R Us in Wayne, NJ. Bruce and I uprooted ourselves again, moving cross country. In 2015 I went to work for Madame Alexander Doll Company, commuting to NYC until 2016 when I was downsized. We then moved to Utah, where we live today.

I would like to thank my sweet husband Bruce Eskander (SPHS class of '72) for putting this website together!

Bruce and I are enjoying our time together. I went back to work full-time for three years from 2009-2011 after freelancing for 12 years. It looks like I might be going back to work once more, so not retiring quite as soon as I'd hoped!
After a stint of working for three other toy companies from 2009=2016 (Spin Master, Toys R Us, and Madame Alexander Doll), we moved to Utah where I am currently teaching art at Utah Valley University.

One of my favorite stories about high school (which shows what a goody-goody I really was) was the time during Commission period (I believe it was 5th period) when Richie, John Markytan, Richard Kudo, and probably Rick Rokola & Tim Stimpfel & I wrote ourselves a hall pass to 'go to Miss McDonald's class'. Of course we simply wrote that we were going to 'McDonalds'. In those days, Dr. Thompson didn't have a clue we weren't going to Miss McDonald's class- Mickey D's wasn't the household word it is today. We thought we were so smart to have permission to leave campus for a fast food run.

I attended El Centro School from kindergarten through 6th, and I loved it! When I was in the 5th grade, I prided myself in being the fastest runner in the school, except PeeWee Stimpson & Ray Von Neida. When I was in the 6th grade, I was Student Body President for a semester. I can still remember playing 'Exodus' on the piano for the talent show in 5th or 6th grade. Singing in the Christmas assembly in 6th grade, we finally learned to sing harmony. I can still remember learning & performing "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" with Mrs. Gosen. The Maypole dance in 6th grade was definitely a highlight, although we danced in the May Dance every year. I can still hear the song "Oh Johnny" in my head. When I was in the 6th grade, I was chosen as one of 4 narrators (one from each elementary school- the others were Jennifer Hines- Lincoln, Steve Merrill- Marengo, and Robin Reed- Oneonta) for a musical program put on at the Junior High for So Pas's 75th anniversary.
My very best friend from first grade through the 8th, was Davney Kinser. We were lucky enough to always be in the same class all the way through grade school, and we were in Brownies & Girl Scouts together. We've recently reconnected after many years, and I'm so glad we've been able to share our memories of our young years together.

I have such fond memories of several 'hang-outs'... the first was the high school itself, especially the boy's gym field. Since I lived next door to the stadium, and had no yard to speak of, the gym field was my personal playground & hang out.
I also have fond memories of Twoheys (glad it's still there!) and Taco Treat (wish it were still there!) The Rialto was fun, but the place that was my absolute favorite hang out, at least through the 10th grade, was the Plunge!

I loved the girl's sports program at SPJHS, and was so disappointed in the high school program. In junior high I was a Tiger Cub, (the rule was you were arbitrarily assigned to one of the four teams- Mustangs, Dumbos, Tiger Cubs or Amazons, unless you had an older sibling who was a member of a team. Then you could be on THAT team. My older sister was a Tiger Cub, so I was so proud to carry on the tradition). I loved pentathalon (I was always a fast runner & good jumper), tumbling, soccer, speed-away, and of course, the best of all: field hockey! I was so excited to be chosen to be on the hockey play day team in the 9th grade. Of course, the super-athletes like Lyn Lemaire & Pam Porter got to go in the 8th grade, but still, it was a thrill. I was on the hockey play day team every year after that, and played center-forward my senior year.
Does anyone remember the dance competitions they had for us in Jr. High? It was part of the sports program, and we paired up with other girls, to come up with routines. I also remember fondly the tumbling meets. I was a pretty good tumbler, I could do flips, handsprings & round-offs, but I was so jealous of Sue Carbonnel who could do back handsprings. I also remember that tumbling not only included individual routines, but doubles, where we would do pairs stunts. I can still remember doing forward rolls where you would hold on to the other girl's ankles, and kind of roll down the mat. We also did 'airplanes', and assisted flips. I haven't thought of this for years!
By the time we got to high school, although I still loved hockey, I didn't excel in sports any more. I remember more time sitting on the grass talking, than actually playing anything. I do remember archery, though- my Dad had been an expert bow hunter, so I took a moderate interest in it.
South Pasadena had a city track meet for awhile while I was growing up. I believe it was sponsored by the Kiwanis Club, and it was held at the high school gym field. I used to enter the sprint and long jump events. Living next door to the gym field, I had plenty of practice on the broad jump pits!
I participated in the yearly Swim Meets at the plunge every year from the time I was 6 or 7, until about the 9th or 10th grade. I was primarily a diver, and I spent all my time on the diving board. I remember when Patti Shull hit her head on the diving board when we were about in the 8th grade. I also remember when Steve Columbatto fell off the high board onto the pavement below. Although I was a good diver, I never got higher than 2nd place in the diving meet. But I won first place in the splash dive competition for about 4 years. I can still do a mean suicide dive & can opener!

I was a Brownie and Girl Scout in elementary school. Some of my friends in my troop (293! I still remember!) were Paulie Moran, Julie McCloud, Ponce Pierson, Davney Kinser, Linda Bernard, Annka George) My favorite memories were going to Singing Pines & Mission Ranch camps.
In high school, I was in several clubs like French Club, Soroptimist Club, but they didn't have a huge impact on me. I loved being a Tigerette, and I loved being a Bengal. My favorite thing of all was being elected Commissioner of Publicity. Commission was really the highlight of high school for me. We were such a close group: Richie Begin, Richard Kudo, Rick Rokola, John Markytan, Tim Simpfel, Connie Perkins, and the others.

Not as often as I'd like. One of my dearest friends still lives in her old home in South Pas, so I like to go visit her when I'm in California, and another friend lives in Pasadena.

Robin Ferrer. Dee Mouri Whiting. Mary Bowers Silverstein. Patte Franklin Nafius. Carole Liu Kincheloe, Terri Stimpfel Hall (class of '70) Nancy Johnson Halpin (class of '70) and still best friend! I've recently reconnected with Davney Kinser, my best friend all through grade school and junior high.

I was influenced by so many people when I was a student. The two most memorable teachers I had at SPHS were Mrs. Ercek, and Mr. Dalton. Mrs. Ercek instilled in me a greater love of literature and reading, and Mr. Dalton was the best art teacher I could have had. I learned so much about strong design principles, and good draftsmanship. I can still remember those endless Art History slideshow artists! His exquisite hand lettering inspire me even today!
Friends who inspired me were: Carole Liu, Becky Gayman, Lyn Lemaire, and Nancy Johnson. They all encouraged & supported me, and we cheered each other on through good times and bad. (And we had so much fun!)
Then there were the boys! I have to thank John Markytan, Richard Kudo, Bill Hoffman, and of course, Richie Begin, for making me one of the guys. Well, Richie didn't treat me like one of the guys...but that's another story.

My faith guides my life. I'm an active member of the LDS Church, and our family is very involved in so many aspects of gospel living.
My husband is my Rock. My children inspire me, teach me patience, and make me laugh.

"When you're curious, you find lots of interesting things to do." -Walt Disney

Jim Kweskin Jug Band (Thanks Bob Johnson & Brad Bryce) The Lovin' Spoonful, the Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel.
Richie introduced me to the Blues.

Sarah McLachlan, Allison Krause, Josh Groban, Michael Buble. I still love music from the 60s & 70s, and I adore music from the 30s & 40s too. Can't get enough of Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald.

I would get to know more people. We all have our cliques, but I wish I had paid more attention to the people that weren't part of 'my group'. I have a little story to tell about this. When I was a senior, I went on a date with Steve Czerkas. He invited me to go to the 'Farewell to the Cream' concert at the Forum in Inglewood. I didn't know Steve very well, but wanted to go to that concert. It was quite a long drive to Inglewood from So Pas, so I got to know him a bit as we drove. He told me that his hobby was building dinosaur dioramas. Literally, that information changed my life! (He doesn't know this). A little door opened in my brain, and I realized that some people's lives DIDN'T revolve around high school! Some people had interesting secret lives! Some people didn't care to be like everybody else! It was a true revelation, and I never forgot it. Years later, I discovered that Steve is a world famous paleontologist, and builds/ designs/ sculpts dinosaurs. He is a true artist & scientist. His work is found in museums all over the country, including the Museum of Natural History in Washington DC, where I stumbled on them in the mid 1980s.