Maureen Mitchell. a retired, senior teacher at St Michaels in Adyar and a longtime San Thome passed away.
She spent her final years at the Home of the Little Sisters of the Poor on Harrington Road, Chetpet.
She had cared for her mother to the age of 103, then gave away all her possessions and moved into the Home, people close to her said.
In a tribute, her student Vikram Raghavan, now with the World Bank based in the USA said – ‘As my fifth-standard teacher at Michael’s, Miss Mitchell was a gifted educator and a stickler for grammar and aesthetics.
‘Her scarlet Wren & Martin and perfectly sharpened pencils were her stock-in-trade. She was the first who taught us how to write and post letters. She guided her students with gentleness and care.
‘I recall this incident of how she explained to our class of the news on the assassination of the then prime minister Indira Gandhi, with age-appropriate grace. Indeed, she urged me to process the news by writing a piece on Mrs. Gandhi and she had it published in the school magazine.
‘Impeccably turned out, whether in a crisp light dress or neatly tailored shift, she mirrored the order and beauty she instilled in us.’
Added Vikram – ‘She was, in every way, “the truth in beauty bright,” a line sung by St.Michael’s Academy students over decades.’
