Kristine McClung

Kris McClung, a beloved Coronado resident who positively influenced the lives of countless Coronado youths since her arrival here in 1971, died quietly at Sharp Coronado Hospital at the age of 78.

Kris was born on April 14, 1946, in Granville, New York to Ben and Bette Hoover.

In her senior year at Camp Lejeune High School, she started her theater career by directing the totally unsalvageable senior class drama: Western Dude Ranch.

Undaunted, in 1964 she entered the first freshmen class at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to ever accept female undergraduates as an Drama Major, and subsequently graduated with a BFA in Theater. After college, she was oW to the Big Apple to perfect her acting and barista skills. While playing in a variety of OW Broadway shows, she really made her living through travelling dinner theater- all while maintaining a frequently empty Manhattan apartment. When in the city, she supplemented her income as a hat-check girl, office receptionist, and feeder/tender for Rhesus monkeys used for medical research in the basement of a NYC hospital (hours:10 PM to 6 AM).

In 1971, her lucky high school sweetheart, Roger proposed; she accepted and moved to Coronado. Ever undaunted, she picked up a teaching credential from San Diego State and started teaching English at Coronado High School (CHS). She quickly took charge of producing and directing the yearly high school musicals, adding additional plays to the curriculum, and improving CHS’ standing in interscholastic speech and theatrical competitions.

Under her leadership the theater program at CHS prospered. In 1993, she and a very few other key teaching visionaries committed to the herculean task of creating CoSA, the Coronado School of the Arts. In 1996, after aggressively pursuing business sponsors and a multitude of federal and state grants, Kris founded CoSA. CoSA gave students who were truly passionate about the arts an in depth, professional curriculum-driven opportunity to pursue their dreams and develop their musical/technical theater,

digital media/filmmaking, and visual art talents.

In 2007, Kris closely guided the construction of the $25 million construction of the present multi-stage CHS theater arts complex. Under Kris’ tutelage, CoSA provided school to-career pathways into the Arts, Media and Entertainment(AME) industry. CoSA graduates have fulfilled significant jobs at art institutions (such as Lincoln Center) and have even performed at the White House. Upon “retirement” after teaching for 35 years, she worked tirelessly for the California Department of Education supporting AME education through the establishment and nourishment of several CoSA-like institutions throughout Southern California.

Kris is survived by her husband Roger McClung, her brother Eric Hoover, her sister Andé Murray, her daughter Gabriele Ullrich, and her granddaughter Louisa Rae Ullrich. Kris lives on through the wonderful lives of her students. A celebration of Kristine’s life will be held in the foyer of the CoSA theater at 10 AM on Saturday, December 7th. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the CoSA Foundation

(www.cosafoundation.org).