NORTH BEND - Standing in his empty room before class on Friday, teacher Pete Whitty quickly surveyed its mural-covered walls and lamented that the images will vanish after he retires this summer.

But, while the murals may be erased in his absence, it will take more than a bucket of whitewash to remove Whitty from the memories of former students and colleagues at North Bend High School.

“They were my favorite classes,” recalled junior Jaycee Richey, who had Whitty for ninth-grade social studies and now works as his teaching assistant. “He makes classes fun and he's so easy-going and loving.”

Kezia Colberg, 17, agreed.

“He's my very favorite teacher. He used to tell me that he'd follow me through high school so he could see me graduate.”

Jaycee and Kezia are just two of a score of students who feel the same way about the 22-year North Bend High School veteran. In fact, they are so fond of him that about 250 - that's more than one-third of students at the school - nominated Whitty for the Wal-Mart Teacher of the Year Award, which he received on May 15. Jaycee said she didn't get to vote, but would have nominated Whitty in a heartbeat.

“I was pretty humbled. I went out to the middle of the gym floor and there was just a tremendous ovation. It blew me away, really,” Whitty said of the award ceremony. “I don't like being in the spotlight and there are a lot of great teachers and I don't know why I should be singled out. But, when you are shown that much appreciation, it's just an amazing feeling.”

With less than two weeks left in the trimester - and his career as a full-time teacher - the 54-year-old Coos Bay resident said he has truly valued his time at the high school, especially because he had a hand in preparing almost 20,000 students for the future.

Whitty said nearly every freshman who walked through the high school's doors has attended one of his classes.

In addition to teaching geography, cultures and government courses to freshmen, Whitty, like most teachers and staff, leads an advisory group to help students fulfill community service requirements to graduate. Earlier in his career, he also coached freshmen girls basketball.

“I like to make my classroom a fun place to be, where they are comfortable and they know I care about them,” Whitty said. “I just enjoy doing this. I enjoy the action, the energy. You come into my classroom and it will hardly ever be quiet and that's the way I like it.”

He said he will continue to teach two classes at the high school for just the 2007-2008 school year, but is ready to retire after overcoming a difficult battle with cancer last year.

“It's just time,” Whitty said. “I'm looking forward to it. I practice (retirement) every summer.”

As passionate as he is about teaching, Whitty said he never aspired to become an instructor. Several dissatisfying years working as a land-use planner, along with the influence of his wife, Vicki, a kindergarten teacher at Blossom Gulch Elementary School, eventually pushed him into the profession. Prior to teaching social studies, Whitty said he taught learning disabled students, career development and ran the school's work experience program.

“(It) was the best move I ever made,” Whitty said of becoming a teacher. “Once I got into it, it was a perfect fit.”

Vicki Whitty, who has been married to Pete for almost 30 years, said she is very proud of her husband and of his work at the high school.

“He doesn't like that recognition, but he deserves it, because that's all I hear about in the community. ‘Oh, you're Mr. Whitty's wife. He's my favorite teacher.' I've heard that for years,” Vicki Whitty said. “He's just a natural.”

Although so many students and colleagues hold him in high esteem, Whitty said his goal at the high school has never been to win a popularity contest. Instead, he hoped to provide, along with daily doses of coursework, a new appreciation of life.

“If there was one thing that I would want the kids in my classes to learn from me, and I stress this daily, (it) is that you only get one life and you have to enjoy each and every day because you don't know how many days you get,” Whitty said. “I realized this long before (I had cancer). I want them to realize that early, too.”