ETHEL M. GILDERSLEVE  1898 - 1991

by

Charles H. Bogino

Published in the Daily Press November 25, 1991

Miss Gildersleeve left no children of her own when she died Sunday morning November 24 at the age of 92.  But the retired Newport News educator left behind thousands of former students who loved and revered her.

        For more than seven decades, Miss Gildersleeve touched the lives of schoolchildren.  As a teacher, high school administrator, and even in retirement as an advocate for students, she earned something that meant more to her than plaques and certificates  --  their love.

        "She knew them all, and they knew her," said John M. Caywood, former principal at the now-defunct Newport News High School, where Miss Gildersleeve spent her career.  "She knew everything about them.  She was their advocate."

        The daughter of a night watchman at Newport News Shipbuilding, Miss Gildersleeve grew up in the 600 block of 32nd St. in the city's East End.  After graduation from Newport News High in 1916, she left the city for Farmville State Teacher's College - now Longwood College.  She returned to her alma mater in 1920 to teach math.  She also started teaching Sunday School at First Presbyterian Church.

        "Why, nothing else ever occurred to me," Miss Gildersleeve once said of her choice to return to Newport News.  "You'd think it was like the Dead Sea, coming back.  But it wasn't.  And it was just wonderful to see the children of the children I taught."

        She rose to the position of dean of girls at the high school in 1932.  But even the boys felt her influence.

        "She always had a beautiful sense of humor, always would put some extra effort forth to help everybody," said Alfred "Buck" Soter, a Newport News High School graduate.  "I don't know a teacher who had the respect for students she had.  She was one of the most outstanding ladies I have ever met."

        She went quietly about such tasks as helping clothe needy students and giving pep talks to students who needed them.  Along the way, she continued to take courses and eventually earned a master's degree from Columbia University.  She sought no accolades for her work, said former students and people who knew her.  But she got them nevertheless.  PTAs, community associations, civic leaders all honored her at one point or another during her career.

        Her title would change to assistant principal before she retired in 1964.  But her work continued.  Her love for Newport News High was only surpassed by her love for the many students she had come in contact with throughout her career as an educator -- even after it had ended.

        "She would stop by and talk with students, and they were disappointed when she was unable to make it to a special event." said Jean Beckerdite, principal of the Newport News middle school behind Todd Athletic Field named in Miss Gildersleeve's honor.  "There was a true sense of caring among the students for her."

        Indeed, since Gildersleeve Middle School was dedicated two years ago, she had sent personal greetings to every student who made the honor roll or were otherwise singled out by the school for achievements.  Beckerdite said that was more than 500 notes to Gildersleeve School students last year alone.  "I know because we bought her the note cards, and she said she ran out, so we bought her some more,"  Beckerdite said.

        The former students kept coming back, too.  More than 1,200 showed up for a Newport News High reunion to honor her in 1977.  About 4,000 showed up in 1986 to hear her address a group of alumni.

        She stayed active, her friends said, even mowing her own lawn with a push mower and raking leaves in the yard of her Wythe home.

        "It was her willingness always to be looking forward rather than backward," said Richard McMurran, one of her former Sunday school students and a member of a group that took Miss Gildersleeve to lunch every month.  The group had been planning a lunch date at Althous Delicatessen for her birthday.  On Dec. 2, Miss Gildersleeve would have been 93.

        As recently as last week, she again was honored for her commitment to education, as one of six Virginians recognized by the state PTA for their involvement with children.  "No adult has the right to say a child is doomed," Miss Gildersleeve said in a 1977 interview.  "We mustn't give up on our children."

        That attitude, said former Newport News High principal Caywood, is what set Miss Gildersleeve apart and is the kind educators can learn from.  "She's the kind we're all supposed to be, but most of us unfortunately don't always measure up," said Caywood, who retired in 1988 as principal of Menchville High.  "We should all live so well and die so gracefully."

Ronnie Crocker

Published in the Daily Press

December 4. 1991

        Ethel M. Gildersleeve was remembered Tuesday as a teacher who cared about her students long after they graduated.

        About 175 students, former students, teachers, administrators and local officials paid their respects Tuesday afternoon to Miss Gildersleeve, who died Nov. 24 at the age of 92.  During and after a brief memorial service in the Gildersleeve Middle School auditorium, she was recalled lovingly by three generations of students.

        Their relationship lasted long after graduation.  "At those poignant times in my life, she was there," said Olney.  "When my husband died; and when my child experienced an accident in her early years.  She was a friend who was and always will be close by."

        "I felt like it came from the heart," said Blackwell,  "I don't know what this school will be like without her," he said.
       Principal Jean H Beckerdite said Miss Gildersleeve was always the "biggest cheerleader" for the school that was named for her in 1989.  She urged those gathered in Gildersleeve's honor to heed the woman's lessons of kindness and encouragement.  "She would not want us to grieve this afternoon, but to look to the future and be cheerleaders for each other."