Mrs. Joan Dev, our Headmistress at the Middle School and subsequently the Headmistress of the Junior School who was associated with the school for more than thirty years passed away on 2nd January 2011 in Toronto at a nursing home.
Over the past two years it is sad how many of our teachers have passed away starting with Mr. Lewis, then Mrs. Nargorwala followed by Mr. Sharma and Mr. Nagia. In November Mr. Pande passed away and now Mrs. Dev. An end of an era of teachers who taught us is drawing near!
Mrs. Dev had written a lovely note prior to her passing away and Vijay her elder son who stays in Texas had forwarded it to me to share it with all of you. (at the end of this post)Mrs. Dev was a wonderful headmistress and human being.
It is sad how our teachers have passed away, but that is life.
One thing’s for sure, they don’t make them like that any more...
Thank you for sharing the letter with us.
Vivek Hurry
Thanks for sharing, Viral. I remember Mrs Dev as a somewhat formidable Headmistress, but my memories are based on the impressions of a ten-year-old - all Headmistresses are formidable at that age.
Our teachers are one by one passing into the sunset. As Dinesh said, that's a part of life. What's important is that they were a part of our lives and in many ways shaped us. We owe them.
Vivek Kapur
That is sad news ...may her soul rest in peace , alongwith so many of our teachers who have recently passed on !
I agree with Dinesh and would like to repeat his words..." they sure dont make them like any more .." ...
we shud feel truly blessed to have been part of that era...!
Vinay Asar
I remember Mrs. Dev as the Head Mistress of the Middle School as also the mother of a good friend of mine - Sudhir, her younger son.
I used to be at their home on D Road almost everyday.
May God bless her soul.
Yes, they sure don't make them like that any more - that dedication is simply not there.
Amy Madon
Reading the note brought her back so clearly in my minds eye.
She was a wonderful person.
May her soul rest in peace.
Kershaw Colabawala
what a wonderful note from even a more wonderful lady !
yes, it does seem like the end of an era.....
Dina Wadia
Thanks for sharing Viral- she seems to have led a full life and hopefully her passing was peaceful. I can still picture her reading out her report for the year in the middle school assembly which always began with "Lash year..." She had a wonderful north England type accent and always prnounced "last" as 'lash"- funny what silly things stick in your head!
Ravi Hazari
It is good that Mrs. Dev penned her memoirs, (a very "English" thing to do), which gives future generations a glimpse of the life and times of an Englishwoman in India, circa 1960s-1970s.
Vasu Gupte (Chitnis)
Mrs. Dev was the first person I met when I started in 6th Std. in the Middle School in January 1970. My family had returned from the US, and I had just been enrolled at Cathedral. She helped make my transition into the Indian education system much easier by meeting with me on a regular basis. She was always so kind and tried to make me comfortable for my "trip to the Principal’s Office!" I felt like such a foreigner with my American accent, but looked like everyone else. I remember Mrs. Dev telling my mother at one point, that she was sorry that my accent had changed, she was hoping that I would retain my American accent to help the American children adjust to an Indian environment.
Ila Raiji
My memory of Mrs Dev ... like Dina - at assembly. I always thought of her as someone quite regal.
Another memory is when I won the Bombay regional junior trophy in the all India singing competition hosted by the Rotary club of India - 2 years in a row I think 1969 and 1970 or 1968 and 1969. The trophy was presented by the headmaster / mistress of your school so mine was presented to me by Mrs Dev.
click on pics to enlarge
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