The Bonners Ferry Badger Athletic Hall of Fame is excited to introduce two of the six individuals and team who will be inducted in the hall’s Class of 2025; Kathy (Tucker) Zech, Roland Hall, Gladys Richardson, Judy High, Tom Wofford and the 1990 and 1991 Badger Boys Track State Champs. Over the next few weeks, each inductee and sharing their inspiring stories and contributions to Badger athletics will be shared, beginning now with Judy High and Kathy (Tucker) Zech.
This year’s class will be guests of honor as the Badger football team takes Lakeside at 7 p.m. Friday, September 19, at Kenny Mendenhall Stadium, with introductions at half time.
The 2025 Hall of Fame Banquet and Ceremony will be held Saturday, November 15. Details and ticket information and event details are coming soon. Call (208) 610-8710, email travis.hinthorn@mail.bcsd101.com or contact any Board Member if you have questions or would like to donate to the Badger Hall of Fame.
And now, let’s meet Kathy and Judy.
Kathy (Tucker) Zech was born and raised in Bonners Ferry. She was a 1978 graduate of Bonners Ferry High School, where she participated in band, volleyball, basketball and track, which was her preferred sport. She excelled in the 100, 220 and 440.
Kathy was Athlete of the Year four years in a row and she still holds the school record in the 100, 200, and 400 meters. Her achievements in track provided her with a track scholarship at the University of Montana.
The University of Montana allowed her to continue her love for running and achieve a Bachelor of Science degree in physical therapy with a minor in accounting.
After graduating, she worked at the hospital in Missoula. During that time she met her husband, Richard, and they married and moved to Sandpoint, where Kathy worked at a private practice Physical Therapy Clinic.
In addition to working, Kathy ran sled dogs recreationally, commercially and competitively.
In 1995, Kathy and her husband decided to take a sabbatical from their jobs and buy a sailboat. They sailed from Hawaii to Vancouver Island, the Washington Coast, BC Coast and up to Sitka, Alaska, and many waterways in between.
In 2003, they left the sailboat and moved to Wellington, Kansas, so Richard could care for his parents. Kathy worked at the Derby Recreation Center in the Aquatic Department, teaching water aerobics, lifeguarding and managing the outdoor aquatic park.
In 2015, Kathy and Richard moved back home to Bonners Ferry to be with family and friends.
Kathy has two children, Gretchen and Spencer, and four grandchildren. She enjoys fishing, boating, swimming, going camping, traveling, reading, playing with her dogs and living life to the fullest.
Judith Linehan High was raised in Genesee, Idaho, and attended Genesee Public School for 12 years. Growing up, she enjoyed riding horses, driving grain truck during harvest and participating in many school and community activities, but times spent with family and friends, and playing basketball, were the most memorable.
Judy attended the University of Idaho for three years and Western Michigan University her junior year. She played both field hockey and basketball all four of her collegiate years, graduating in 1972 with a major in Physical Education and a minor in Mathematics.
Highlights include beating WSU Women’s Basketball team her sophomore year, her sorority winning the intramural women’s basketball championship, and playing field hockey at the University of Michigan on tartan turf!
She was hired by Boundary County School District in the fall of 1972 to teach Girls Physical Education, serve as the cheerleader advisor and coach Girls Track (the only girls sport offered at Bonners Ferry High School at the time).
With the passage of Title IX in 1972 and the support of school administration, Judy, along with other women coaches in North Idaho, began working on organizing more opportunities for girls.
In the fall of 1973, volleyball became a reality and the following year, girls basketball was implemented.
In 1976, Judy moved with her husband, Art, to Bozeman, Montana.
She taught and coached for one year before starting a family.
Returning to Bonners In 1979 with two kids, Judy was a stay at home mom for 14 years, and during that time they welcomed their third child in 1985.
Judy was hired in 1991 as a seventh grade math teacher, a position she held for 20 years before retiring in 2012.
Her involvement with Boundary County School District spanned over 35 years and included coaching volleyball, basketball and track at the high school and junior high levels, as well as substituting at area schools.
Judy and Art have three children, Jeff, Jessica (Neil) and Jacob (April). She has four grandchildren.
She feels incredibly blessed to have had the opportunity to work with amazing colleagues, administration staff, and the many athletes she coached and students she taught, some children of former students from the 1970s! Judy High is proud to be a Badger!