Lynne’s 6th grade teacher, Katie, was so wonderful Lynne wrote notes and announcements to her over the last 40-years. Katie sent this to Lynne and all of us for Christmas 2021.
“Lynne, I was just thinking about you last week when I saw a young girl winning a spelling bee. Back in your 6th grade the Lansing School District decided to hold a district wide spelling bee. In our classroom you and Jeffrey were the last two students standing, and with the next word Jeffrey misspelled it and you won.
At that point in time you were so disappointed that Jeffrey lost — you had been coaching him and he was working very hard on the spelling list — that you came up to me and asked if you could pass the win to Jeffrey. Long story short. we called in the Director of Curriculum who ruled that you were the winner according to the rules.
That day was a day when you became a teacher of the year in a room with 28 other people. You taught all of us the beauty of a perfectly unselfish decision. There are so many wonderful memories I have of you during the last year you were in elementary school, all of them delightful.
However, that one memory will always stand out: you were a true influencer at the ripe age of 12. After your example of kindness, the entire classroom became a team of one, more careful of each other’s feelings and less quick to tease.
The curriculum director had a second thought about a district wide spelling bee and simply let classrooms have the national list if they wanted to participate as a classroom.
So, Lynne, just another reason to love you and thank you for all you have done for other people everywhere. Love Katie.
P.S. Lynne’s Alzheimer’s had not erased her memory of Katie and the spelling bee.
That is so beautiful!! I did not know that story, and yet somehow I’m not surprised.
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Wonderful memory of Lynne. A true blessing🤗