QHS Alumni Spotlight: Eric Loos ’01 & Heidi Holzgrafe ’00

2025 A Night to Dream Big Chairs

From Blue Devil Days to Building Quincy’s Future

By: Katie Rodemich ’02

The QPS Foundation is honored to announce Heidi Holzgrafe ’00 and Eric Loos ’01, as the chairs of the 2025 Annual Campaign. The couple’s decision to chair the campaign continues their lifelong commitment to the community and giving back to Quincy Public Schools.

As students, Heidi and Eric were deeply involved in QHS extracurriculars, including band, orchestra, choir, theater, and more. Those experiences shaped their character, built lifelong friendships, and influenced their future paths turning them into the passionate advocates for public education that they are now.  

During her years at QHS, Heidi found her rhythm in two places—on the tennis courts and in the music department.

“I was involved in music and tennis—those were really my two primary extracurriculars outside of school,” Heidi said. “I grew up playing tennis from probably the age of five, and I started playing flute in band in fourth grade.

“By freshman year—while still part of the junior high—I had earned a spot on varsity tennis. My sister, Heather ’97, was a senior on the team, and I was always conscious of being the ‘little sister.’ I focused on staying out of trouble, staying in my lane, and keeping my head down.”

When Heidi entered QHS as a sophomore, her schedule revolved almost entirely around extracurriculars. The fall brought nearly three months of weekends spent traveling for tennis tournaments, culminating in the state tournaments in late October. That demanding schedule meant she missed most of marching band season and she admits she wasn’t disappointed.

“I went to marching band,” she laughs, “but it just wasn’t my thing.”

Many of Heidi’s friendships grew out of tennis and A Building. Friends such as Dora Wiskirchen, Diana Mahmood, Merica Shrestha, the Hoebing twins, Kolby and Krista and the Davis twins, Lindsay and Leslie, who often overlapped between the courts and the music department.

“By senior year, I finally had the chance to join orchestra and play in the pit for the traditional fall musical—something I’d always missed before because it overlapped with tennis season. By then, I had my circle of friends—mostly A Building kids. We’d spend our time on Ted Holt’s front porch, playing music, watching movies, and occasionally getting into a little mild trouble.”

Eric’s QHS experience echoed Heidi’s but from another corner of A Building. “By junior year, I really found my group of friends—Heidi, Tara Trader, Dustin Burnett, Matt Tipton, Ted Holt, Christopher Barnard, AJ Womack, and others. We were always together, whether it was marching band, musicals, plays, or choir. That’s really where I found a good group of friends, and we supported each other through school and through life. Honestly, we still stay in touch more than most of our college friends.”

In addition to performing in band, choir, and musicals, Eric also served as a drum major—an experience that put him front and center leading the marching band and added another layer to his involvement in A Building life.

For Eric and Heidi, some of the most meaningful parts of their Blue Devil years came from the teachers who influenced them.

Eric points to Jody Steinke as an English teacher. “I still appreciate Jody Steinke as an English teacher. I was a terrible writer, and he made me so much better in that class. Also, my teachers from A Building—Mr. Les Fonza had a big impact on my life—Dan Sherman, Kathi Dooley, Tom Burnett, and Clyde Bassett—all of them.”

For Heidi, “Mike McKinley challenged me to really think about what I was doing. A big part of that connection stemmed from our school trips to Canada under his leadership. That relationship evolved into mentorship. I remember dealing with some high school drama—not anything major—but it had me struggling. He knew something wasn’t right and said, ‘Let’s chat about it.’ That kind of teacher—who sees you as more than a student, who invites you to talk—makes such a lasting, meaningful impact.

“And like Eric mentioned, Mr. Steinke was another favorite. The growth I experienced in my writing in his class went far beyond what others had done for me. It meant that much—so much so that when I entered Loyola as a freshman, they held a student writing program and published articles. Mine was chosen, and I credit that entirely to Mr. Steinke.

“I liked Mr. Dennis Reinberg too—he taught math and was the girl’s golf coach. I had him for math after lunch, and I can’t even say how many times I’d walk into his class and plop my head on the table because I was in a total food coma. I can still hear him saying, ‘Holzgrafe, get your head up.’ Classic moment, right? He even tried to get me to join the golf team, but I told him, ‘Sorry—tennis is my love right now.’ I really enjoyed him as a person—and I enjoyed math class too. I’d say the same for Mr. Randy Mettemeyer, whom I had the year after Mr. Reinberg.”

Quincy has long been a place where families and circles of friends are closely tied to the QPS system, where teaching is viewed as a calling rather than just a career. For Heidi, that influence was even closer to home. Her mother, Virginia “Gingie” ’65, dedicated her career as a kindergarten teacher within Quincy Public Schools, modeling what it meant to see teaching as a calling rather than just a job. That example shaped Heidi’s perspective from an early age. Surrounded by family and friends connected to QPS, she grew up with an appreciation for the impact teachers have on students’ lives—a tradition of service that many of her classmates have since carried forward by returning to Quincy as educators themselves.

When the couple thinks back, the story of their relationship doesn’t begin with a first date or a big defining moment. They were part of the same circle, a group that spent countless hours together in the familiar rhythm of high school life.

“The beginning of our story was friendship, being in the same group of friends who spent so much time together before we ever started dating. Maybe it’s a little unique, being high school sweethearts. Eric was a junior and I was a senior, but for us, because we had already built that friendship within our group, it really became the foundation of our relationship.”

After graduating from QHS, Heidi and Eric both gravitated toward Chicago—a vibrant city that would become their home for nearly two decades. While Heidi pursued her business degree, Eric was drawn to architecture.

“I knew I wanted to study architecture. I figured the best place for that would be a big city. So, I moved to Chicago and studied there. We graduated and stuck around—we were in Chicago for 18 years.”

Heidi’s career in real estate development spanned 14 years, where she managed operations for portfolios in Texas and Florida. Eric pursued architecture, and together they built a life in the city—18 years filled with work, friendships, and fun experiences.

In 2016, life took a turn. Heidi’s Uncle Don passed away, leaving behind the family home built by her grandparents. “I was about 37 weeks pregnant with our oldest son. When Donnie died, Eric and I looked at each other and said, ‘I guess we’re moving home’.” In 2019, Heidi and Eric returned to their beloved hometown of Quincy, ready to begin the next chapter of their lives. Now, six years later, the couple’s two children are students at QPS.

When asked what wisdom they’d share with today’s students, both Eric and Heidi spoke about the importance of exploration.

Heidi: “My advice would really be to just try things. I know that sounds simple, but I think there’s so much pressure put on kids today—it starts at such a young age. We have a first grader and a fourth grader, and already there are so many kids who are on these ‘tracks’—traveling baseball, traveling soccer, or even music. And those are wonderful experiences, but I don’t think you need to decide that early. I’d rather my kids have the opportunity to explore a variety of interests, whether it’s sports, music, or the arts. The ability to try different things—sometimes even things outside your comfort zone—makes you so much more well-rounded and gives you a better sense of who you are.”

She added that she sometimes looks back on her own high school experience wishing she had pushed herself further.

“I never thought I was very good at science, so I avoided classes like physics. Looking back, high school would have been the perfect time to try something like that—even if I wasn’t great at it. It wouldn’t have mattered in the grand scheme of life, but it could have stretched me. To this day, I regret not giving myself that opportunity.”

For Eric, the message is clear: involvement leads to lifelong connection.

“There’s a lot of really amazing things not just from the school, but from this community as well. It’s very unique, and with that perspective, I think getting involved allows you to build bonds and make them even stronger. Whether it’s on the football field, the tennis court, or the concert stage—whatever it may be—you know this community really supports athletes, musicians, and students. It’s a unique perspective to have, and that all comes through our public schools and the support of the Foundation and other organizations within this community that make it pretty awesome.”

When talking about Blue Devil pride, Heidi recalls how Quincy’s traditions carried far beyond the walls of Blue Devil Gym—even to her college campus.

“My freshman year at Loyola, I didn’t know anyone. One of the first people I met was a basketball player from the Chicago area. I told him I was from Quincy, and he looked at me and said, ‘You guys are the ones with the flaming devil.’ I was like, ‘Yep, that’s us.’ He said, ‘We know about that—schools talk about it, even in the suburbs.’ It gave me a lot of pride. He didn’t even know exactly where Quincy was, but he knew about our basketball tradition.  I thought that was so cool—that our little town’s pride reached that far.”

That pride is part of why Eric and Heidi are stepping up as the QPS Foundation’s 2025 Annual Campaign Chairs. The couple is dedicated to honoring the educators who made a lasting impact on their lives and the lives of many others, while also advancing the Foundation’s mission to fund meaningful academic, artistic, and extracurricular opportunities that continue to set Quincy students apart. Their shared passion is to grow community support for the Foundation and ensure that ongoing investment in students, educators, and school facilities remains a priority in maintaining a high quality of life across Quincy for generations to come.

Heidi also serves on the QPS Foundation Board, which she joined in 2020. She is currently the Nominating Chair.

“One of the big reasons I got involved was because we had two young kids, and I knew they’d be going through the public school system. I wanted to support the schools any way I could,” said Heidi.

“But my motivation goes beyond that—it’s really about giving kids in our community opportunities. Funding for schools is always a big topic. Nobody wants to pay more in taxes, and everyone wants to see dollars spent wisely. I don’t disagree with that, but I also believe public schools are the backbone of a community. They’re raising our future generation, our future leaders, and our future workforce. Investing in schools—and more importantly, in students—is an investment in the future of Quincy.

“As family dynamics have changed, schools have also become a place that provides more consistency and stability than some kids may have at home. Any way we can enable teachers to create that nurturing environment, while giving students access to opportunities they wouldn’t otherwise have—academically, socially, or creatively—is important.

“That’s what I want the Foundation to do: create well-rounded opportunities for kids. I want students to be able to say, ‘At my school, I had experiences other kids didn’t.’ In the arts, for example, that might mean access to professional lighting and sound boards, or the chance to perform in a musical with a live orchestra in the pit. Those unique opportunities are what set Quincy apart.”

Eric agrees. “I support the Foundation because its mission fills a real need. Resources in public schools are stretched thin—teachers are asked to do more with less, and the same is true for programs in the arts, music, and sports. The Foundation helps bridge that gap by giving students opportunities to try new experiences—whether educational, recreational, or through groups and activities. That’s what really draws me to the Foundation and inspires the community to step up. It continues the unique support Quincy gives its students and youth, helping them succeed.”

As this year’s campaign chairs, Eric and Heidi are especially excited about honoring four beloved A Building educators during this year’s A Night to Dream Big Gala: —Clyde Bassett, Tom Burnett, Les Fonza, and Dan Sherman. These are the educators who shaped their time at Quincy High School and left a lasting mark on their lives.

For Eric and Heidi, reflecting on those teachers has been an opportunity to relive the moments they shared with them and to recognize the important role each played during such formative times in their lives. They’ve also been inspired by the countless stories of students who went on to pursue the arts—both professionally and recreationally—building successful, meaningful careers and lifelong passions. Honoring these educators is about giving them the recognition they truly deserve.

At the same time, Eric and Heidi are excited about the chance to highlight the role of the QPS Foundation. They believe the Foundation plays a vital role in supporting both students and staff, particularly at a time when schools are under growing pressure. Whether through leadership, financial resources, or simply encouragement, the QPS Foundation helps fill important gaps. For Eric and Heidi, celebrating their educators and supporting the QPS Foundation go hand in hand—a way to give back to the people and programs that gave them so much.