Students and faculty members at Anderson Intermediate School are remembering a popular teacher for her relentlessly positive outlook on life.
Nancy Staley, who taught sixth grade at AIS, died from injuries suffered in a traffic accident the morning of Jan. 8.
Administrators held a program Tuesday in the school’s gymnasium to honor Staley and allow her students and colleagues to share memories.
Staley’s widower, Kirk Staley, called his wife of 35 years “the most positive person.”
“She never met a human being she wasn’t friends with,” he said. “She didn’t make enemies. It was impossible. She was just a ray of sunshine every single day. No matter who she ran into, she was always positive.”
Brenda Thacker, a sixth-grade teacher, taught with Staley at AIS for eight years.
“Ever since the day I met her, she just always had a smile on her face,” Thacker said. “Our work friendship turned into a bigger friendship that we even started taking vacations together.
“Not only was she a friend at school and somebody to count on, but she was somebody that, in your personal life, you could text or call her,” Thacker continued. “We’d keep up with each other on what was going on and lean on each other.”
The program included a singing performance from a group of AIS students and a special song from seventh grader Kaydence Simmons and Eastside Elementary School teacher Austin Morgan.
Members of the Anderson High School band also played “Amazing Grace” on the bagpipes.
Simmons had Staley as her teacher last year.
“It was fun every day,” Simmons said. “She always put a smile on everyone’s faces. She was really helpful to the people who didn’t understand math that well, and I love her for that.
“She always taught me to be brave and never be afraid of conquering new things,” she said. “I used to be nervous all the time, but she would just be like, ‘No, let it go.’”
Other than teaching, Staley’s passions included nature, all things Notre Dame, and animals – including a total of 17 chickens on the property she shared with Kirk Staley.
Staley was also remembered for helping animal shelters in Madison and Henry counties by donating food. She also served as the pianist at her church.
Thacker recalled Staley’s love for her students and the high expectations she held for them.
“The kids respected her very much, and they loved her,” Thacker said. “I heard a lot of the kids say some really nice things over the last week and a half. One, about how unfair this is and how sad they are, but also a lot of positive things about how much they loved her and how much they miss her.”
This article appeared in The Herald Bulletin.