Judy Thome: A truly great teacher

I was deeply saddened to hear of the recent passing of a beloved teaching colleague and friend, Judy Thome. This followed the recent death of another great colleague, Theresa Klocke. I also recently learned that yet another of my generation of RFHS faculty, John Tierney, had died.

But today, it is Judy whose memory I want to honor. She was the finest English teacher I ever had in the English department that I chaired for almost 30 years. She loved kids, loved her subject matter, and held herself to the highest standard.

Judy was already teaching at RFHS when I arrived in 1967, but she left to be a full-time mom for a while, later teaching for a time at Newman Central Catholic. But, when she became available and I had become department chairman, I eagerly embraced the opportunity to rehire her.

From that day until her retirement, she taught a variety of classes and supervised numerous activities. She took all of these responsibilities seriously and she excelled.

Her most enduring class assignment was English I-A, the class taught to our most outstanding incoming freshmen. She challenged the students and brought out the best in them. She developed a curriculum suited to these bright kids and helped prepare them for the classes that would follow.

Unlike a few of the teachers I supervised, Judy never complained about the classes I assigned her to teach. When I would ask her what she would like to teach, she always answered,

“Wherever you need me!” And she meant it.

Of the classes she taught, I was most impressed with her work teaching our Shakespeare class.

The class had been planned and developed by the late Jeanne Spring, who had done a great job with it. When Judy took it over, she brought to the class her experience as a drama coach, and she got the kids involved in acting out scenes from the plays, along with field trips to see Shakespeare productions.

Speaking of drama, Judy became known as a great play director and helped put RFHS on the map as a frequent qualifier for the state drama contest, She also worked for some years as the coach of our speech team. She was every bit as good in these roles as she was in the classroom.

After Judy’s retirement, I tried twice, unsuccessfully, to get the board to name our stage, “The Judy Thome Stage.”

It could still happen.

Late in her career, Judy accepted a new challenge: She became coach of our Scholastic Bowl team. Our oldest son, Phil, benefited hugely from this program as Judy helped him find a place where his unusual memory skills helped him to excel.

Finally, Judy added another responsibility to her illustrious career. I had been department chairman for many years but had become very busy with many responsibilities, coaching three sports and raising a family. It seemed unfair that Judy was the one to whom our young teachers turned for advice on questions relating to speech and drama. She was also a role model and counselor for many of them, most of whom were female.

So, I asked her if she would like to be co-chair of the department and split the stipend. She would handle extra-curriculars and I would handle the academic side.

She accepted, and we worked very harmoniously for the remainder of her career. We became better friends and often consulted with one another about how to improve our instruction and our department.

There is much more I could say, but perhaps it is enough for me to repeat something I wrote for the Gazette after the passing of another beloved colleague, Ray Deibert. This statement, author unknown, applies equally to Judy Thome:

“One hundred years from now, it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of clothes I wore. But the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child.”

James Newton is a retired Rock Falls High School teacher living in Eugene, Oregon with his wife, Sharon, a retired Rock Falls Elementary School teacher. He can be reached at jimmyknewton45@gmail.com.