Hampton Bays School District Honors Retirees And Pair Of Heroes

Hampton Bays School District administration bid farewell to six staff members during a Board of Education meeting Tuesday night, October 12.

Elementary school custodian Larry Nygard and teacher aide Margaret Byrnes; fifth grade middle school teacher Joan Moran, speech pathologist Normajean Mehrman and office assistant Anne Kuhn; and high school office assistant Susan Noonan are all retiring following decades of service to the community.

Elementary school Principal Marc Meyer said Nygard has been a fixture so much so that those like kindergarten teacher June Eaton and high school social studies teacher Joseph Burger would fight over him.

“They’d always come to me and say, ‘Can I get Larry for my section?’” Meyer said, laughing. “Larry’s dedicated. He took his job very seriously.”

Nygard actually asked to switch to the day shift his last year to be part of the school’s emergency response team, helping with fire and lockdown drills.

“He loves to make sure all the kids are in a safe, healthy environment,” Meyer said. “It’s something Larry really committed to. That’s what he spent his whole career doing.”

He called Nygard’s retirement “selfless” and “beautiful,” as he is retiring not because he wants to, but because he has to. The custodian is moving out of state to take care of his mother.

Meyer said Byrnes is the only district employee he’s never called by their first name. The teacher aide has worked a multitude of positions, from monitor in the cafeteria to athletic chaperone and attendance keeper.

“She always made sure each child was safe every day,” Meyer said. “Mrs. Byrnes wanted to work. She has the most incredible work ethic I’ve ever seen in my career.”

He said the aide wanted to work morning, noon and night, even putting in a few hours during a snow day because, she said, “I have work to do.”

“She would open the building. She closed the building,” Meyer said. “She’s an absolutely incredible person who taught me so much throughout my career. I relied on her advice in so many situations over the years.”

Middle School Principal Dennis Schug has worked with all three of his retirees for decades.

He’s known Mehrman, whose office is two doors down from his, for 25 years. Schug joked that for a long time he was convinced the speech pathologist lived in the building because he never saw her leave — she always arrived to work before him and stayed long after he’d gone.

“She’s a master of the preparation process. Seeing her work alongside students is like seeing a true artist at work,” the principal said, adding he will miss her parting words of wisdom with each group. “She sets children’s minds at ease so they can focus on continued improvement, and it’s purely remarkable. She’s a class act, a consummate professional and a wonderful human being I’ve had the pleasure to work with all these years.”

Mehrman, who began her career at the elementary school, thanked administration, her colleagues and the Board of Education for their trust and confidence in her to do her job.

“Because of this, I’ve been very fortunate to have a long, rewarding and successful career,” she said October 12. “It has been an honor and a pleasure to have served the Hampton Bays schools.”

The principal said Moran was one of the very first people he met as a new teacher in Hampton Bays, and the pair quickly became the best of friends.

“While working as co-teachers for a shared special educator, Joan taught me the meaning of preparation, instilling a value for lifelong learning and a sense of community service. I marveled at what she could accomplish in the classroom and out,” Schug said. “She’s calm, warm and her classrooms are productive, always teeming with student-centered activity and rich learning experiences.”

Schug has known Kuhn for two decades, and the pair also first met in the elementary school.

“She is someone who would do anything for anyone, but especially for a child,” the principal said of the office assistant. “Her trademark humility, sense of humor and work ethic made her a great teammate.”

Touting that work ethic, Schug said Kuhn could be found running progress reports and report cards even on Christmas morning. He said she will be dearly missed.

“She has long been someone I have counted on through thick and through thin,” the principal said. “She’s accepted complex assignments and been a strong, steady member of our counseling team and master schedule.”

While Noonan was the only staff member who could not attend Tuesday night’s meeting, high school Principal Christopher Richardt briefly spoke about the 35-year office assistant who could be found helping students open lockers, retrieving schedules, printing transcripts and getting working papers.

“She’s been here for years always with a smile on her face,” he said.

On behalf of administration and the Board of Education, Assistant Superintendent Larry Luce also honored Gene Buxton and Joseph Deluca, whom he called “Hampton Bays heroes.”

The pair were driving on Sunrise Highway, heading toward Oakdale, when they came upon a parked car in the left lane with the door open. The driver was wandering toward oncoming traffic. Buxton and Deluca parked behind the car, put on their hazards and immediately called police.

“They grabbed the driver and escorted him to the side of the road. They thought he was drunk or on drugs,” Luce said. “They sat with him and he calmed down, but he jumped up and wandered toward traffic again. It happened a few times.”

When police arrived on-scene they searched the man, a Hampton Bays resident, and found a diabetes alert tag.

“With some quick thinking and being in the right place at the right time,” Luce said, “they saved a person’s life.”