“The influence of a teacher can never be erased.” These words sum up who Mrs. Ness was to her students. Her influence has encompassed so many of her students’ lives even though she has been retired for many years. I continually hear from friends and fellow students that they are still making the recipes she taught us and are now making them with their own children. She was our Home Ec Teacher, but she was so much more than that. She was our mentor, #1 encourager, nurse, social worker…the list goes on and on. She did so much for me personally to help me get through the tough “Jr. High” years. The years when so many were trying to find their niche, navigating through changing bodies and rollercoasters of emotions. I knew I could count on Mrs. Ness to lend a listening ear or give me a special job to give me a sense of belonging and purpose. When I think about the many “tips” Mrs. Ness taught us about cooking, I realize that many of them were analogies of how we should live our lives. For example, she always reminded us that we should crack our eggs into a separate bowl so a rotten egg didn’t ruin the whole batter. I guess she was teaching us that just like in life, one bad thing doesn’t outweigh all the positive things that have happened in life. Another thing she always reminded us to do was to give ourselves enough time to preheat our ovens while we were preparing our recipes. I guess what she was really teaching us is that there will be things in life that need more time to “heat up” and that sometimes the process of preparing things can happen while we’re waiting for that “oven” or event to be hot and ready. Finally, she always reminded us to set our timers so what we were cooking didn’t burn and get ruined. Here she was teaching us to take the time to fully “bake” something like an idea or goal, but to set a timer on it so we don’t over bake it and ruin it. The words that sum up who Mrs. Ness was to me are kind, generous, patient, and sweet. She always had a smile on her face and was so appreciative of what others did for her whether it was a visit where we shared a special treat or when I read her a story I had recently shared with my students. She was so generous in all she did for so many while she was teaching. I don’t think she ever really could grasp how many people truly loved her class and her as their teacher. I have recently spoken to so many people who have shared stories about what she meant to them or shared what their favorite recipe was. I know her love of teaching and sharing of her recipes will go on to teach future generations. Mrs. Ness was the sweetest person I have ever met. She never had a bad word to speak of anyone! I remember a visit I had with her just after Christmas this past year. I visited her at Ecumen Lakeshore and she had been enjoying some gumdrops. She wasn’t able to communicate verbally with me, but she slowly opened the container and handed me some gumdrops with a sweet smile and that special twinkle in her eye that told me she was glad I was there. What a sweet, sweet lady she was! I will remember my visits with her with fondness and joy in my heart. I’ll leave you with this one last quote “Teachers live forever in the hearts of those they teach.” How lucky I am that I had the good fortune of having Mrs. Ness as my teacher and friend. I will never forget her and all she did for me! I will cherish those memories of my time with her and hopefully instill in my students all she instilled in hers. The world is a better place because of having Mrs. Ness in it and all she did for so many.    - words of a former student