Sixth grade science teacher, Mrs. Six, passed away on Saturday, November 7 after a long illness. The Peacock community of teachers and students were grief stricken by her death. Mrs. Six had taught at Peacock for more than thirty-five years. The following paragraphs are memories of Mrs. Six from some of her students and colleagues.

Peacock has been saddened by the loss of our irreplaceable Mrs. Six. Mrs. Six worked at Peacock for as long as anyone can remember. She had even begun to teach her former students' children. She was a caring teacher who went out of her way to help a student who didn’t understand, even if it meant giving up her lunch break or staying after school.

Mrs. Six wanted more than anything for us to succeed in what we did. She not only taught kids about life science, but about life too. Her classes were always interesting and fun. We did projects, reports, watched movies, and tested experiments. She took us on numerous trips to the nature center and at the end of the rainforest unit, she took us to the mall to eat at the Rainforest Café.

She talked and laughed with us. And who could ever forget the bunnies. We cared for those animals like they were our pets. They were important to us because they were important to her. Mrs. Six taught us how to love the Earth and everything on it. She always talked with passion and encouragement. She was loved by everyone who knew her and will always be missed. Thanks Mrs. Six, for all your love and support. We will never forget you.
Kelly D., eighth grade

Mrs. Six was a woman of dedication, courtesy, integrity and perseverance. She spent her whole career teaching at Peacock. Mrs. Six was a gentle person. She made learning fun. Once in 1997, she bet the sixth grade students that if everyone got an A on the upcoming test, she would buy us an Oreo cookie cake.

She loved kids. She decorated her room to the appropriate holiday. She was a kind woman who was very devoted to animals. She was known as the "bunny lady." She had bunnies inside the classroom. Her favorite rabbit was Thumper, who died in 1997. Mrs. Six also had a ton of rabbits at her house.

We will always remember Mrs. Six here at Peacock. Everyone who knew her will hold her in their hearts.
Michael M., eighth grade

I’m sure that everyone here at Peacock that knew Mrs. Six will really miss her. She taught a class that many people enjoyed. We learned about animals and did many projects. She even had bunnies in the classroom for us to visit. She made her classroom a friendly place to be by having seasonal decorations, and had incentives for us if we did well on tests.

Even more than that, Mrs. Six cared about the people here at Peacock. When she heard she was sick, she just wanted to get back to teaching as soon as possible. Not many other teachers would be so thoughtful of their students. All of the students and teachers who knew Mrs. Six will probably mourn her for a while to come, and those who didn’t know her missed a fantastic teacher. We’ll probably never have a teacher quite like her.
Jeff R., eighth grade

Mrs. Six was my favorite teacher. I liked her as much as she liked all of her students in the past and in the present. She would always try to find something fun to do in her class no matter how boring it might have been. She did tons of experiments that she tried to make fun and educational.

Mrs. Six always found ways to amaze me. Almost every morning my friend and I would go and help her water her plants and give her bunnies some more food and water. After we finished, she would give us candy or let us take the bunnies out and pet them. During the two years I have been at Peacock, being in Mrs. Six’s class was the most wonderful time ever.

I’m sure that all of the students and teachers that even look at her old classroom will always thing of her humor, talent, and kindness.
Abby W., seventh grade

I have been asked to condense thirty years of professional association and personal friendship into a few paragraphs for the student newspaper. Professionally I am convinced Joan had few peers. Many successful professionals today owe at least a part of their achievement to having their lives touched by Joan Six. And these were not just the highly motivated students. Many of us can remember her working one-on-one with students who needed a caring friend to help them get through the next assignment. It did not matter what subject the students were having difficulty with, she was happy to help them. The Nature Center program developed by Mrs. Six and Fred Maier, the Center's director and one of Joan's students, is certainly one of the best in the state. Ask Mr. Poremba what he thinks of Mrs. Six. Mike informed me that when he came to work at Peacock, he was impressed with the friendliness of the staff. However, it was Joan Six who went the extra mile to make him feel even more wanted and comfortable as a new staff member.

I feel even more comfortable writing about the personal friendship my wife, Sandy, and I have developed with Joan and her husband, Gene. I have always felt that if you did not like Joan, there was something wrong with you. My fondest memories are of the many New Year's Eves that we spent together with the Tisons at her home. Generally, my Pekinese dog, Holly was also there. Joan loved our dog. I say this because one of her final acts of kindness toward me happened this past August. Holly died that month while receiving emergency care for a blood disorder. A couple of days later, I visited Joan. I mentioned to her that Holly had died. I then went to the refrigerator to get a can of pop, and to conceal the fact that I was crying. Joan, as usual was very perceptive. She followed me and put her arms around me while I cried like a baby. Here was a woman going through what she was suffering through, and her concern was for me. I feel a little embarrassed and perhaps even a little ashamed to mention this, in light of what has happened to Joan. However, I know that is not necessary. Joan would understand. She was my friend.
By Mr. Martin, eighth grade social studies teacher

It is very difficult to find just the right words to express my love, admiration and appreciation for my friend and mentor, Joan Six. When I was a young teacher at Peacock, I would often go to her for advice. She was a dedicated professional who always had the most positive outlook at resolving any situation. Mrs. Six loved her profession and she loved her students. She had a gentle, loving way when dealing with her students and I know she touched each and every one of their lives.

As her friend, I could always count on Joan for a supportive shoulder or an open ear. Her generosity was monumental and her laughter was contagious. She would giggle so hard it would bring a tear to her eye! I will always remember our lunch or dinner dates, countless shopping excursions, our Middle School trip to Cincinnati, gatherings at the Knudsen Kitchen where laughter abounded. The memories are endless and will always be treasured. I loved her dearly and she will be profoundly missed in my life.
Mrs. Knudsen, home economics teacher

I only knew Joan a short time. But in that time she was able to provide an example of what I as a teacher should strive for. She didn't talk much or lecture or force advice; she just modeled what it was to have integrity, honesty and dependability. Traits less common in my day and age.

Even in death she drove home what it meant to be a teacher. As I stood and watched the scores of students pay their respects at her wake - some current Peacock students, some as old as I am - it occurred to me that this was what teaching was about. Joan had made a positive difference in many lives. And this difference mattered.
Mr. Cousineau, industrial technology teacher

Having worked with Joan for twenty-two years, I certainly could recount numerous caring acts on her part. The one that I remember most was when my yellow Labrador retriever, Samantha, died one morning just as I was leaving for school. As Joan was always one of the first people there, I went into her room and said, "Sammie didn't make it." Joan responded, "I'm so sorry, do you want me to take your first class for you?" It probably was a little thing to Joan, but I have remembered it for the last nine years and always will.
Mr. Scaletta, eighth grade math teacher

I remember how she would scrunch up her eyes, turn and lower her head. She would then let out the most remarkable and infectious giggle. You could not help but to feel good. I will miss you Joan, God Bless.
Mr. Koenig, eighth grade science teacher

Turning Points

In every life, there are turning points, certain moments in time that affect us and change us forever: the birth of a child, falling in love, discovering your lifelong dream. Though I didn’t realize it then, I discovered my personal lifelong goal on my first day of fourth grade. My fourth grade classroom was in the basement of what is now Peacock Middle, then known as North School. But when I walked through the doorway, I seemed to have left North School behind.

That doorway was a magical portal that took me to a new world. This wasn’t a classroom, but a "life" room. Virtually every flat surface that wasn’t a student’s desk was filled with life. There were aquariums, terrariums and plants everywhere. The walls were covered with pictures and posters and drawings, and what wouldn’t fit on the walls was hung from the ceilings as mobiles. The room couldn’t contain all the life; most of the fire escape had been converted to a greenhouse to hold even more plants.

As I stood there (probably with my mouth hanging wide open), I became aware of a woman standing in the midst of it all. This woman was the maker of this magic, the spell caster that had teleported me from North School to the land of "BIOS". That was a turning point in my life, and in that moment in time, I fell in love twice; I fell in love with biology, and I fell in love with Mrs. Six.

The entire year was a year of wonder. We needed to do a leaf collection; fifty different leaves for an "A", forty for a "B" and so on. Mrs. Six took us on walking tours throughout the neighborhood, making sure that everybody had the opportunity to collect a wide assortment of leaves. She knew where the rare and unusual trees grew, and had made arrangements with the homeowners to allow us onto their property. The day the collections were due was a day when fall moved indoors. There were dozens of posters and binders and albums of leaves, all on display. Whenever I see autumn leaves, I remember our neighborhood walking tours.

We learned about plants, we learned about animals (I used the mammal book we made as a reference book through high school), we studying the human body. In reading, I first learned of a naturalist named Henry David Thoreau in a story we read. I was fascinated by his life. He was a teacher who knew every plant that grew in his community, and took his students out in the field to teach them. I asked Mrs. Six if anybody could possibly learn to identify that many plants. She smiled at me, and said: "If you study hard enough, you can learn them all."

Thirteen years later, I had studied hard enough. I was hired by the Village of Itasca to create a Nature Center for the community. The first summer was spent working on the grounds, putting in trails, planting trees, cleaning up litter and fixing up the creek. That fall, I met with two of the science teachers at Peacock Middle School to begin developing programs for the students of School District 10 to do at the Nature Center. Both were former teachers of mine.

I renewed my friendship with both Mrs. Six and Mrs. Leistikow and we established the framework for Nature Center environmental education programs for all grade levels for the district. For me, this was a dream come true, working as a modern day Thoreau with my favorite teacher of all time, Joan Six. The collaboration that began that day lasted for the next twenty years.

It took almost ten years before I could bring myself to call her "Joan". By then, she, Mr. Tison and I had established the beginnings of what we now know as The Journey. The integration of the school’s science and social studies curriculum with the Nature Center visits developed, grew and went through continuous revisions over the years. We kept making it better because of a philosophy Joan instilled upon me. Our students deserve the very best we can give to them, do for them and share with them.

All that I have become in my life, I feel I can trace back to that moment in time when I stepped through a magic door on my way to fourth grade. Our Nature Center; it’s grounds, programs and staff; are all a direct result of Joan Six’s efforts as a teacher. A plaque will be placed in the Nature Center arboretum this coming April in Mrs. Six’s memory. While the plaque will mark a tree in the arboretum, in truth the plaque serves to mark the entire Nature Center. The plaque will read, in part, "Reader, if you require a monument, look about you." In all that she did in her life, Joan Six gave and shared her love of the outdoors. Through the Nature Center, her legacy continues.
By Fred Maier, Springbrook Nature Center Director

Joan Six was always doing things to help others, whether it was for a student or fellow teacher. Twenty-four years ago when I was a new teacher, Joan was there to give me a ride home after school. She always had encouraging words as a mentor for a first year teacher. She was a kind and generous person.
Donna Dengler, art teacher

My memories of Joan Six will be those of a loving daughter, devoted wife, caring teacher, and a dear friend.
Mr. Tison, sixth grade social studies teacher

It is always good to know, if only in passing, a charming human being. It refreshes our lives like flowers, making it richer and fuller. I am glad to have known Mrs. Joan Six, and working with her has made a difference. She was such a kind, loving and supportive human being.
Ms. Ellis, classroom aid

Joan

Gentle, fierce, loyal friend
Understanding confidant
One who cared for others with a passion
Loved children as God taught her to
Was a blessing to Myrtle and Mike
Wife to Gene
Reached out to those in need
Became a mother to Yvonne and a part of her family
What can we say right now when the wound is raw and open?
Family, friends, nature and animals will miss her deeply
And, yet, her legacy will live on
God gave us a beautiful person named Joan Brown Six
who was, and will be, a blessing in our lives.
Welcomed everywhere who lives with God in His heavenly home,
Waiting for us.

Bob and Ann Winter Lesher
11/12/98

To Mrs. Six, With Love

Your great days of bunny caring and science sharing are gone,
But your passion for nature will live on and on.
How can we thank you for helping us learn?
It won’t be easy, but we’ll try.

We’ll see you in spring’s wildflowers and azure summer skies.
You’ll be heard in fall’s rustling leaves and winter’s lullabies.
To Mrs. Six, With Love.

Thirty-seven years brought forth much goodness. How do we know?
We’ve seen adults return to thank you—many from years ago.
Your talks, faith, and warm smile helped students…for a long while.
Our respect and pride will remain high.

You’ll always be remembered with a beautiful tree.
So many lives you touched, all blessed in your memory.
To Mrs. Six, With Love.

The time has come to cherish you, and last words come to an end.
As you slipped away, we lost a great teacher and friend…
A friend who taught us right from wrong, respect for others, staying strong.
So much was learned; what can we return?

You left beautiful memories, with love being our guide.
Though we no longer see or hear you, you’ll be at our side.
To Mrs. Six, With Love.

**In August as we watched Mrs. Six’s favorite movie, To Sir, With Love," she told me that her goal had been to be as great a teacher as Thackeray (Sidney Portier). I think Mrs. Six more than accomplished her goals in all that she shared. We were all truly blessed.

Ms. Kaye