Rodney Edwards: Yvonne Mathers was a teacher who touched the lives of a generation of children

To teach is to touch a life forever and Yvonne Mathers certainly did that for a generation of children. I should know, I was one of them.
When I last spoke to my former P7 teacher on March 16 having bumped into her on East Bridge Street in Enniskillen she was still as thoughtful as she was when she was teaching me at Jones Memorial Primary School between 1997 and 1998.
She wanted to know how I was, asked about my work, and told me to ‘keep going’ just as she did when encouraging the 10-year-old me to read and write. I discovered my love for creativity and expression in her classroom which has shaped my life. I know many of my classmates, including my best friend Julian Thornton, were guided by her positive influence. She was a champion, an adult who never gave up on us or put us down and insisted that we could be the best we possibly could be if we stuck at it. She also had a mischievous sense of humour and we all adored her.  
I once got 10 out of 10 in my spellings and she asked me what I had for breakfast. 
“Coco pops,” I replied. She laughed and told the rest of my class to eat coco pops. 
“I remember telling mum we had to buy some,” texted my old classmate Roisin Francis this week.
It’s strange to feel sad at the death of someone you only really knew for a year of your life but Mrs. Mathers was an exceptional person and good teachers leave a mark on you. When they die it almost feels like a tiny part of your childhood goes too. 
Sheila McCaul, a former senior education officer at the Western Education and Library Board where Yvonne worked after Jones Memorial, said she had an innate feel for what was important in education “placing the child at the centre of her thinking.”
Paddy Mackey, former senior education officer at WELB, described Yvonne as a “good friend and colleague” and “a true professional” while Kathleen Bradley, a former primary school adviser, said she was “an absolute joy and inspiration to work with.”
On behalf of the principals of all local primary schools, Adele Kerr said Yvonne “always had her feet on the ground and never forgot what it was actually like to be in school.”
She had quite the impact on her former colleagues at Jones Memorial too.
Former Principal Jim Kerr remembers appointing her from Drumgor Primary School in Craigavon where she taught Vietnamese children who couldn’t speak English. 
“We were delighted when she applied for the post at Jones Memorial. I will miss her a lot,” he said.
Barbara Ferguson said she “settled in very quickly to the Jones Memorial family” and was “very talented”.
“She had a special gift for working with special needs children. I remember once she and the special needs children decorated the foyer for Christmas and it was amazing.”
Claire Elder, described her as “kind, supportive, experienced, talented, capable, creative and artistic.”
“She adored her own children and more recently was so proud of her grandchildren. I will remember her as a beautiful lady who made a positive difference to my life and to so many children’s lives.”
Dianne Woods said Yvonne was “an excellent teacher” while Margaret O’Malley said she was “a wonderful lady full of enthusiasm for all she did.”
Yvonne was a “gifted educator with a bubbly personality”  said Enda Topping while Hilary Pringle said she was a “dedicated teacher”.
Former classroom assistant Yvonne Bowles and her colleague Naomi Armstrong said:  “She was such a talented, inspirational teacher whom the kids loved and related to so well.”
This was true.
During our brief conversation four weeks ago she told me she had been to see her grandchildren a few days before and spoke of her fears over the coronavirus. 
“Stay safe you” were the last words she said to me as we walked away. That was Mrs. Mathers in a nutshell; always looking out for others, always caring. 
It takes a big heart to shape little minds. 
Mrs. Mathers had a huge heart and didn’t just teach, she touched all our lives. Forever.