To some, business and personal finance teacher Joey Running was the heart of West Albany High School. They say she brought joy to her classroom, challenging the minds of the students she taught. 

     “[Joey’s] die-hard passion was personal finance, and that all students should be educated in personal finance. And she’s a big reason why the bill in Oregon got passed to make it a graduation requirement,” business teacher Morgan Wadlow said, “but it’s, I think, an amazing legacy for her to leave behind.”

     Running died unexpectedly on Oct. 4, surrounded by family, a few weeks after a complicated medical procedure. 

     “Joey had asked me which brain surgeon I went to, and I had asked her if it was for a friend, and she told me no…Then I never heard from her again,” science teacher Shana Hains said.

     Running has been teaching at WAHS since 2006, dedicating 19 years to the school. Before Running’s death, she had accepted a position to teach at the College of Business at Oregon State University to embark on the next chapter of her career.

     “I don’t think I said goodbye. I told her, I’ll see you later,” French teacher Jacqueline Kahler said. “She’s touched a lot of people in a lot of different ways during really hard times. So this was really hard because it was unexpected.” 

    In 2024, Running was recognized as the National Financial Empowerment Educator of the Year. In previous years, she was named the 2022 Western Business Education Association Outstanding High School Business Educator and the 2021 Oregon Council on Economic Education Teacher of the Year.

     “She was a leader on a national [level], and I always felt like she was very approachable,” Kahler said. “Because on a personal level, when you talk to her, you just felt like her best friend, and she has this whole huge network of people across the entire country.” 

     Around the holiday season, a few faculty members would gather and celebrate with one another, Kahler explained. Running was a big part of that tradition.  

     “I will never celebrate holidays the same without her,” Hains said. “Half the decorations in my house are from her.”

     Along with all of Running’s attributes, the way she taught, and all the kind words that teachers and students have said about her, in the end, many teachers and students will miss the amazing person Running was. 

     “Our world has lost a really good human,” Hains said.