Thursday, January 1, 2015
It is with sadness that I heard about Sister Thaddeus, for she will never know how she touched my life! I guess none of us ever really knows the impact we have upon another, but I'll try to honor my first grade teacher by expressing my reflections.
There were 62 students in our first grade class at St. Peter's School in Utica, NY, which was the first year the school opened, in 1959. My guess is that could have been Sister Thaddeus's first teaching assignment. How did she-and the other nuns-ever have coped?! A class that size today would be deemed impossible! I don't remember many details of that year, yet I was so in love with my teacher and loved school! She must have been pretty special, because I wanted to grow up to be a teacher just like her! And I did, except for the nun part!
I have never forgotten you, Sister Thaddeus. A bit of you was passed to me, which hopefully was passed to my students, and so on. We live through others. Rest in peace.
Janet Baltes Harrison
