Greenwood Friends School

Students gathered for Meeting for Worship at the Millville Friends Meetinghouse on Monday, March 17th, to remember C. Renee Tucker and her place in our lives and in our hearts.  Renee died on Sunday, March 16th, at Geisinger Medical Center.  Joined by faculty and staff and many friends of the school, the children shared their own memories of Renee and heard from adults who have known Renee during the thirteen years she brought her spirit, energy, passionate love of teaching, and bottomless love of children to our school community.

Many of those attending felt moved to speak. One of Renee's colleagues from her early years at Greenwood remembered conga lines in the hallway; a parent of a child in their class back then remembered Renee and her teaching partner giving each student a kiss on the top of the head as the children lined up to go home every day. A current student remembered writing a story in Renee's class, and Renee's enthusiastic comments on it, and getting to take the story home to share, proudly, with her parents. Another student said "Renee taught me to read and write and now I just feel sad." Many people spoke of Renee's love of the natural world, and birds, and we could all imagine Renee's joy at this particular day, with the sun shining in a clear blue sky, snow geese rising in white clouds from the fields in Greenwood Valley, and the first crocuses starting to bloom.

Renee's mother, Pauline; her brother, Jeffrey; her husband, Phil; and their son, John, joined us for Meeting. Pauline and Phil thanked the Greenwood community for giving Renee our love and support over the years – we thank them for giving us Renee. John, now a freshman at Bloomsburg University, attended Greenwood as a child; he told the meeting that he sang to Renee in her last hours, including at least one song that he learned here, "Boom-di-a-da." Greenwood's students chose the songs that we sang as meeting concluded today, including "I Think You're Wonderful" (one of Renee's favorites), "Amazing Grace", and "How Can I Keep from Singing"; at John Tucker's suggestion, we all sang "Boom-di-a-da."

Renee's family welcomed our community for a service in Renee's memory at the Millville Friends Meetinghouse on Friday, March 21st.  After the Meeting for Worship for Remembrance, Renee's family and friends stayed for refreshments and fellowship.