Schools
Simsbury Community Mourns Loss of Long-Time Educator Patty-Lou Peters
For more than 30 years Peters impacted students, parents and colleagues.
Sadly long-time Simsbury educator Patty-Lou Peters never had the chance to enjoy her retirement years but friends and colleagues say her impact on Simsbury students over the past 30 years has been immeasurable.
Patricia Louise (Hanna) Peters died on Wednesday June 5 after battling cancer. She was involved in several Simsbury organizations but was most well known for her work in the school system, including the past 18 years as vice principal of Henry James Memorial School.
"When you think of Henry James, you think of Patty Lou Peters," said Erin W. Murray, assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction. "She was the glue to the entire system."
Murray spent three years as principal of the school, working closely alongside of Peters.
Susan M. Homrok-Lemke, assistant superintendent for administration and human resource development, was principal at Henry James for five years and the two became close friends.
"She just had an extraordinary talent for working with middle school students and parents," Homrok-Lemke said.
Brian J. White, principal at Henry James, may have started this school year but it didn't take him long to realize how much Peters impacted the district.
“As the principal of Henry James Memorial School, I would like to express my gratitude for the years of service that Mrs. Peters provided the community of Simsbury. In the relatively short time I had the privilege to work with Mrs. Peters, it has become very apparent to me that her contributions to Henry James will be remembered and appreciated for years to come.”
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In the midst of ever-changing standards and mandates, Peters never lost sight of that, said Matthew T. Curtis, Superintendent of Schools.
"Every decision, I think, that Patty-Lou Peters made was in the best interest of students," he said. "In that way, she was so special."
Peters' son Ken said his mother felt it important that the students see her at least three times a day — as they arrived, at lunchtime and as they left.
"Part of her philosophy as a vice principal was to be highly visible to her students," Ken Peters said. "She didn't want to be an administrator who worked behind a desk, she wanted to be out working with the kids."
Dennice Schenk, president of the Henry James Parent Teacher Council, said Peters expected a lot of students but knew how to approach each one based on their needs and personality.
"She had expectations that the student was going to be the best they could be," she said.
Schenk said Peters was also great with the parents.
Fellow educators said Peters didn't like to take credit but accolades she received included the Simsbury Chamber of Commerce Educator of the Year in 2008 and a 2010 award for Excellence in Education Communications from the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education. In 2003 and 2008, Henry James received national blue ribbon designation.
A day before she died, June 4, 2013 was declared Patty-Lou Peters day in Simsbury, complete with an official proclamation from First Selectwoman Mary Glassman.
The Parent Teacher Council has also placed a bench in the garden Peters always cared for behind the office at Henry James. Schenk said the bench was initially going to be a thank-you in conjunction with a retirement party. The bench will also be engraved with a tribute to Peters.
When it became apparent she became too ill for the party, the PTC moved forward with plans for the bench but also began asking current and former students to write her notes and on Memorial Day Schenk was able to deliver more than 100 handwritten thoughts to Peters.
Of course Peters' job required long hours but Homrok-Lemke said family was always still a top priority.
"She always talked about the importance of sitting down at dinner with her family, even if it happened late at night," Homrok-Lemke said.
Peters had two children and four grandchildren and the family loved to vacation on Nantucket. Family traditions were also important to Peters, according to her obituary.
She also loved tennis, knitting and cooking.
In town, Peters was a director of the Friends of Simsbury Public Library and a Eucharist Minister at St. Catherine of Siena Church.
Born in Rochester, New York, Patricia Louise (Hanna) went on to Boston College where she met her husband Jim Peters. They married in 1968.
She initially taught in Newport Rhode Island, took a few years off and started as a sixth-grade teacher at Squadron Line School in 1980. She went on the teach 8th grade social studies at Henry James and served as a resource specialist at the elementary school level before taking on her role as vice principal in 1995.
In addition to Boston College, she had degrees from the University of Hartford and Central Connecticut State University.
In December she announced she would retire at the end of the school year but missed much of the year after her condition worsened.
Through all her years Peters was strong, yet caring, friends said.
"When I think of her I think of a warrior — tough but kind and empathetic," Homrok-Lemke said.
Friends are invited to visit at Vincent Funeral Home, 880 Hopmeadow St., from 3 to 6 p.m. Sunday, June 9 or 4 to 8 p.m. on Monday, June 10. A Mass of Christian Burial will take place Tuesday June 11 at 11 a.m.
For more details, to leave a message for the family or to see how to make a memorial donation, visit the Vincent Funeral Home web site here.
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