Rick, 
Such great stories!
Really shows that: 
1)   Mom was determined.   Mom had drive!     A power outage in a storm was not going to deter Mom. 
2)   Organization (little post-it pads) was not Mom’s strong suit.   And, Mom loved and drew energy from ideas! 
3)   Mom was not afraid to try new things, even those out of her comfort zone.
4)   Mom loved to learn and to cook; cooking was one of many signs of passionate creativity.  And, Mom had an A+ for Enthusiasm!
5)   Mom loved ideas that sparked learning and growth in others. 
6)   Mom was great at spotting talent, and supporting and trusting that in others. 
Thanks again, Rick for the wonderful stories
----------------------------------------- 
Good morning Neal and Merrill!
Talking about your mother is a domino effect!  As I related those stories to you yesterday, more came to my mind as the day and evening went on.  So here are a couple more of my personal stories with your mom!
1.  When she lived in Kingston (and this is prior to computers and cell phones), she and I were working on doing a presentation together somewhere.  We were going to discuss it on the phone the night before but there was a thunderstorm and she lost power in the house.  But there was a phone booth (yes, a phone booth!) across the street from the house and she went in there with her notes, pen, whatever, and called me from there, during the storm, determined that we were going to hammer this thing out before having to present the next day!  I could just imagine what she looked like inside that phone booth, trying to juggle the phone, notebook, etc.  Again, your mother in a situation that was an anomaly!
2.  Her notepaper:   She was known for scribbling as much as she could on a piece of paper the size of a post it!  We always kidded her about buying big notepads because she never carried anything around to jot notes on except these little tiny pieces of paper!
3.  Helen the patio builder:   When she lived in the Kingston house I guess she and Ralph decided to lay bricks for a patio, and she was telling me about how she learned how to use the brick splitter and hammer to do it. Once again, all I could picture was her doing something that was totally out of the ballpark for her, and — what did she wear to do it?   
4.  Regarding the beach house:  She told me how excited she was to have learned how to cook soft-shelled crabs!
5.  In our mutual connection with Bank STreet college and their philosophy, one time she must have been teaching I think fourth grade, and she and the students learned how to construct an oven out of a cardboard box and lightbulbs to bake.  They launched a bakery and created all kinds of loaf breads that they sold.  The project was something very typical of the kind of teaching that she was looking for in her staff and I related to it immediately.   We believed that learning was holistic and that all of the skills that children needed would come into play during the project approach.  Apparently, the “Bread Shed” as her store was called went wild, and they were taking order and baking all kinds of things—zucchini bread, pumpkin bread, etc.  So the kids had to keep track of money, ingredients, inventory, advertising—just think of the learning that went on just through the creation of that cardboard box and lightbulbs!    Those were the kinds of conversations about teaching that she and I had that let each of us know immediately that we were fated to meet!
6.  One last one:  she told me after I had worked with her for a little while that she knew when she hired me that I was the kind of teacher who had to be free——and she did just that!  She trusted that I knew what I was doing and allowed me to emerge as the kind of educator I dreamed of being!  
If she’s listening in, I can see her making that face right before she starts to laugh, then holding her hands across her stomach, laughing, and finally, snorting!  Love you, Helen!
Enjoy your week guys!  As more stories come my way I’ll continue to keep you posted!  I guess you can tell that your mother and I had a fantastic professional AND personal relationship!
Always,
Rick

I first met Helen in 2004 at lunch.  She was hosting the lunch meeting portion of my interview with Princeton's Program in Teacher Preparation.  We ate alongside a group of current Teacher Prep students and talked about my experience as a teacher and teacher educator. Helen and the Princeton students peppered me with questions throughout the lunch, but I wondered for a good while what Helen thought of me.  We came from such different backgrounds.  I was teaching high school social studies in Philadelphia and she was a retired suburban elementary school principal. Thankfully, I got the job... and for the next five years, until her retirement, I could always rely on Helen, whose office was across the hallway from mine, to be sharply engaged in our work with students, to have a hearty laugh about ever-changing standards and regulations for Teacher Prep, and being wonderfully supportive and proud of our collective work at Princeton. Sure, there was this wide generational gap between us, but our shared love of teaching and learning, and working with student teachers created a healthy and hearty bond.

As the lead instructor for our Seminar in Education for a number of years, I had the great pleasure of co-teaching with Helen for a few semesters. She provided expertise and guidance to our Elementary Education students and was so warmly appreciated by each one.  She would fiercely support them - in good times and rough patches - and offer both keen insight and tough love, right when it mattered the most.  I recall visiting some of our students who were placed for their teaching practicum at Dutch Neck School, where Helen had been the principal for many years. Teachers and administrators at Dutch Neck always said to me how lucky we were (at Princeton), to be able to work with Helen... and they shared how much they respected her leadership and care. 

I am honored to have had the privilege of being her colleague. 

I had the pleasure of working with Helen while she was at the Program in Teacher Preparation at Princeton University. Helen was our elementary specialist and also administered our Teachers as Scholars program which provided day-long seminars led by Princeton faculty to area teachers. Helen was amazing in both roles, but what I remember most about Helen was her dedication to our students.  She was so generous and giving of her time, and the students absolutely loved working with her.Helen held very high standards, but she also had a heart of gold and did whatever she could to help students or colleagues.  She was also one of the classiest people I have met, and I loved her laugh and smile, which were frequent.  Helen touched many lives during her time at Teacher Prep, and we miss her dearly.

Helen was a good friend and colleague.  We were members of the same extended family and shared our profession as educators.  I grew to understand Helen's tenacity as she worked her way through the arduous process of completing her dissertation at Teachers College, Columbia University.  We spent hours on the phone talking through all the phases and aspects of data collection and writing.  She was determined to get it right. In our family, Helen was a warm and delightful friend. We shared holidays and family get togethers.  Helen was a welcoming hostess and caring friend. 
. 

To her dear family - I hope that each of you are comforted by wonderful memories and the love that she had for all of you.  Her humanity, integrity and love of life will always be remembered. Her gentle strength made her a force to be reckoned with and admired!   I had the pleasure of working for Helen as a secretary at Dutch Neck School - what a lady!  

Our forty-five year journey was truly an adventure.
Helen was my dear friend and confidante. She was a creative perfectionist who was
also quick to laugh. Although she was ambitious and always thinking ahead, she had time for fun. I will never forget the time we team taught 4th grade together at Dutch Neck and the great time we had at her beach house at the shore with the Bakoulis'.
Helen maintained her poise and optimism until the end.
Love you Helen.
Miss you!
Marion 

I was fortunate to work with Helen in the capacity of secretary to the principal at the Dutch Neck School for 12 years.  We had an amazing relationship with mutual respect and love always. We went through many of life‘s ups and downs together. Helen was one classy lady!   I loved our time behind closed doors where she could let her guard down and sometimes have fits of laughter!!  I was her confidant and her friend and we both treasured that. We had always kept in touch throughout the years.Rick and I went to see her once a year when she was at Stonebridge. Helen was one of a kind and she will always be thought of with great admiration and love.