Friday, July 17, 2020
I met "Mr. Hoban" at my 1973 interview at New Milford Middle School. I was fresh out of college and losing hope of getting a teaching job as they were hard to come by that year. I knew upon meeting him that he was someone for whom I would enjoy working. He hired me and I enjoyed four years at New Milford Middle before leaving to get married.
He was always supportive, kind, and funny. Whatever we needed as teachers to make our job more creative or worthwhile, he was there. He always attended any class activities to which he was invited, and the children loved when he watched their plays or little "shows." In our case, he came to watch my sixth grade class do a television show, dressed as Egyptians, the culmination of an ongoing project they did that year.
I recently found his name and hoped I could get in touch with him again. I am so sad that I missed the opportunity to talk with him. However, his spirit and warmth, sensitivity and kindness were the support a brand new teacher needed that scary first year in the classroom. It helped me complete a thirty-year stint in the profession until I retired. Please accept my deepest sympathies.
I will never forget him.
