GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — As the door to the lobby opened at St. Ann's Home, I saw Miss T's face for the first time. I felt like I was meeting a celebrity. Up until that moment, Rita Totoraitis and I had never spoken before. But I had talked to the staff members at West Catholic High School about her, and they painted a beautiful picture of what her 31-year career meant to the community.
"She's a tremendous example of what it means to be loving and caring, to be strong in faith and to serve others, and not just be about yourself. She really does exemplify that as well as anybody I know," said West Catholic principal Tony Fischer.
Tony had the unique opportunity to get to know Miss T in so many different stages of life. He first met her when he was a little boy and his dad was a basketball coach at West. Miss T kept the scorebook back then, as she did for many years. When Tony was a high school student, Miss T taught him to type in her keyboarding class. And when he became a teacher himself, they taught right across the hall from each other.
"Her legacy will live on here because the students and parents appreciated her so much," Tony said.
Part of Miss T's legacy includes the VIP ticket booth at West Catholic's Falcon Stadium. In addition to her basketball score book duties, and being a cheerleading coach, Miss T took tickets at football games. The ticket booth, which was recently renovated by Rockford Construction, has been named "Miss T's House."
"That ticket booth should stay forever," said associate athletic director Cameron Burns, who was also a West Catholic student and basketball player during Miss T's teaching career.
"She would hand out lollipops to the whole team, and I would get my pregame hug before every game. She's a sweetheart. I've known her ever since I was 13 years old."
Snacks were not reserved only for athletes. They were a big part of how Miss T showed her love for all students.
"She told me that one boy one time would always be hungry, and he would come to her class and she would say, 'Go ahead.' And she would have snacks in her cupboard, and she would let him have a snack, and she would take care of people," said longtime friend and former classmate Patricia Licari.
Back in October, Miss T was honored with the Falcon Award for Alumni Excellence.
"People recognize what she's given to our school and how important this community is to her, and so she's feeling that love back a little bit these days. And she deserves that," said fellow West Catholic teacher Pat Nugent, who had the honor of accompanying Miss T to the stage as she accepted her award.
Miss T remembers that moment well.
"I never expected anything. Nothing like that has ever happened to me. Just looking at the number of people that were there, it was just unfathomable. It was a really special feeling." Miss T said.
"Wow. I'm part of a special group, whether it's kids that graduated from West or just people who celebrate all the good things that happen at West. If I had my own kids, they would have gone to West. It's a good place. Good people. Good building. There's a lot of fun memories of being around that."
Miss T is now living in St. Ann's Home and battling Parkinson's Disease. As basketball season begins, she says the thing that hurts the most is that she can't be with the players. But she says getting mail from former students and co-workers keeps her smiling.
"That means a lot to me - more so than anything else, and when I hear they're doing good whether at a job or just being themselves, that makes me feel warm inside," Miss T said.
"I would love to hear from a lot of former students, and a lot of former Falcons. Let me know how you're doing, and I only wish the best for you. Keep me in your prayers and I will keep you in mine. That's a big part of being a Falcon."
If you'd like to write Miss T, you can send her a card to this address:
Rita Totoraitis
St. Ann's Home
2161 Leonard Street NW
Grand Rapids, MI 49504
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