Anne Ginnane, Admired Teacher

“Tracho, trahere, traxi, tractus, do, draw, drag… I have been marked for life. She once called on me and said “Tom, you’re next. “I said, “Tom, Tom? I am not Tom; I don’t think my brother had any classes with you.” “Oh my, it’s your dad, you look just like him.” They were classmates at St. Mary’s. When I think of teachers’, I think of Miss Ginnane, a standard not many others can meet.”

“…my all-time favorite teacher and the one I learned more from than any other. Her language and spelling rules, grammar, and sentence structure all helped me in my career. I admired her so much…”

Anne was born in Lorain, Ohio and lived here all her life. She never married but as a life-long educator, she had more devoted “kids” than anyone we know. She taught in the Lorain School System (Longfellow, Irving and Admiral King,) for 32 years and, after “retiring”, she taught 12 years at Lorain Catholic High School.” She stated,” I loved teaching. There was never a problem with discipline because I kept them busy.”

Anne earned her bachelor’s degree at Mary Grove College, now University of Detroit, and her Master of Arts Degree at Western Reserve University, now Case Western Reserve.

Anne never married or gave birth but she had more devoted children than anyone we know. People would approach her in the grocery store or at restaurants to thank her for inspiring their love of learning. There is even a Face Book Page called Fans of Anne Ginnane. Her seventh graders from Irving School (circa 1948) still visited her, and picked her up for their annual reunion picnics. The students that she taught 42 years later at Lorain Catholic still feel the same sense of love and gratitude.

She was the kind of teacher that even a cynical seventh grader could want to learn from. And Anne, I am sure you are reading this and cringing over the dangling participle. Just want to keep you on your toes! God bless you!

Anne is survived by several cousins and generations of really great students.

We wish to thank the Caregivers at the Gardens of French Creek and Avon Oaks Caring Community for the loving care she received.

Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.
Robert Frost

Her family will receive friends Wednesday, July 10 from 4 to 7 PM at Richard J. Reidy Funeral Home, 1783 East 31st Street, South Lorain, (440) 277-8164. Friends may also call Thursday, July 11 from 9 AM until Mass of Christian Burial at 10 AM at St. Mary Church, West 8th Street and Reid Avenue, Lorain. Burial will follow at Calvary Cemetery, Lorain.