Dave Choo of Honolulu, HI, has indelible memories of Sr. Mary Ellen Howard, his fourth grade teacher at Star of the Sea Elementary School. He shared his thoughts in a blog post on a parenting site and kindly gave us permission to share his words.
"In fourth grade, I learned how to dance like a Greek. Every Friday, when we cleaned the classroom, we’d push our desks aside to make a dance floor. My teacher, Sister Mary Ellen, would play the soundtrack from Zorba the Greek on the record player, and we’d join arms and dance in a circle, slow at first and then faster and faster, kicking our legs high into the air.
Sister Mary Ellen was far and away my favorite teacher. She was unlike any other nun or teacher I had before or since. Seemingly straight out of the convent or teachers’ college, she was bursting with energy and enthusiasm, always laughing and always loud.
At nearly six feet tall, accentuated by the European clogs she always wore (a staple in the 70s) she was an imposing presence. That is, until she scooped you up and gave you a long hard hug.
For the life of me, I can’t remember a single lesson from Sister Mary Ellen. I don’t know how or if she inspired me to go to college. I do know that she was truly happy to see her students every morning and her classroom was a haven. In retrospect, my school year with Sister Mary Ellen may have been the first time I experienced the warm embrace of family, outside of the family. She was one of the really great teachers I’ve had who I wanted to emulate.
I always assumed that Sister Mary Ellen went on to other, more exciting things, such as founding Greenpeace or fighting to end apartheid. So, I Googled her and learned she’s still a nun and still doing great things. After teaching for several more years, she became a missionary and served in Africa for 30 years, working in Kenya and then in Sudan, where she helped the “Lost Boys,” orphans of that country’s long civil war. At one of the refugee camps, a former child soldier had dug a grave for himself and lay down in it, wanting to die. Sister Mary Ellen climbed into the grave and coaxed the man out, pointing out that there were so many people who wanted him to live. I imagine after they emerged from the grave the young man got the hardest, warmest hug that he ever got in his life, and the refugee camp had the biggest, wildest Zorba dance in all of Africa. Thank you, Sister Mary Ellen.”
Sr. Mary Ellen is home from Africa now, and celebrating her 60th year as a Sister of Notre Dame de Namur. She brings that same energy and enthusiasm to her current ministry as a chaplain at the Central Detention Center in Lynnwood, CA, where there are surely more Zorba stories to tell and more people being coaxed out of some very dark situations."
Let’s never take Sisters like Mary Ellen for granted, but instead, let us thank all Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur for what they have done in the past and support them now.
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