Front & Center: Mary Grice

RIVER VALLEY and OZARK AREA — Mary Grice is two different people - at least - and she may be more people than that.

The fourth-grade teacher at Sequoia Elementary School in Russellville spends time visiting elderly hospice patients in the summers. On top of all of that, she’s a preacher’s wife.

“That’s kind of a full-time job in and of itself,” she said.

Within their congregation of 500 at West Side Church of Christ in the community Russellville, she does as much work with her husband, Bruce, as possible. She says their presence as a couple is important.

“We do a lot of visiting and a lot of things outside the church. We’re real involved in all the programs at the church. We both teach a lot of Bible classes. We visit the nursing homes quite a bit and hospitals, of course,” Grice said.

On her own time, mostly in the summers, Grice makes personal visits to hospice patients. After the loss of her mother, Grice began volunteering with her daughter.

“My mother became ill and lived with us for a while, and hospice helped us take care of her at the end of her life, so the next couple of summers, Erin and I tried to

volunteer at the hospice center,” Grice said.

While Grice loves the reaction of the patients and

said it is important that they do not feel forgotten dur

ing their final days, she said making the visits is dif

ficult.

“I have to work myself up,” she said. “While I’m

there, I’m fine. It’s after I get home that I feel prettysad sometimes.” Grice said her favorite thing to do with the hospice patients is paint their nails.

“It makes them feel pretty,” she explained.

She also spends time reading to older people. Books open up all kinds of discussion.

Reading is also Grice’s favorite subject to teach in her fourth-grade classroom - teaching is her “real” full-time job.

“I love books and making [students] interested in books,” Grice said.

A lifelong reader, Grice said she first began thinking of herself as a teacher when she was in second grade and was asked to help tutor another student. She attended Arkansas Tech University and the University of Central Arkansas and taught in the Pulaski County School System for 14 years before she and her husband moved back to Russellville, Grice’s hometown.

“We thought it would be a nice community to raise children in,” she said. “That was the case absolutely.” She welcomes others who are looking for the same community atmosphere - especially those from outside the county.

“I tutor a couple of junior high kids, especially non-English-speaking kids,” Grice said. “I do a little extraoutside the school day to make sure they’re adjusting and doing well with their classes.”

Grice’s two Spanish-speaking students are doing well in her class this year. She is also pleased with the progress of a student from Taiwan that Grice has been tutoring for several years.

“When you can hardly even have a conversation with them and go from that to two years later, when they’re doing everything they need to be doing in English, it’s pretty amazing.”

Grice said her favorite part of being a teacher is seeing former students who come back to visit.

“It’s fun to see what they’re doing now,” Grice said.

Several of them have become teachers. Others have had children who have also wound up in her class.

She almost always recognizes her former students.

“Sometimes when I see them around town, I’m thinking, ‘I know that kid!’ They change a lot.”

In addition to everything else that keeps her busy, Grice is a mom who is very involved in her children’s activities.

She said having the summers off is a huge help.

“I can kind of be two people,” she said. “I don’t do asmuch volunteer stuff or visiting or other stuff during the school year because I am exhausted by the time I work all day and do all the stuff my kids are involved in.” When Grice runs out of steam, she usually crawls into bed.

“Sleep is my escape,” she said. “I think I’ve learnedthrough the years that I have to have different seasons of my life.” Grice spends more time on the sidelines of soccer games now instead of playing in the yard with her kids. She’s also always adapting to new challenges in the classroom.

“I just keep changing myself through the years,” she said.

matter of

factMy family is: My husband, Bruce; Erin, 17; and Brandon, 15 My favorite author is: Nicholas Sparks Favorite book to read to students: There’s a Boy in the Girls’ Bathroom. I like to read it to my kids every year because I think it has a changing effect on them about the way they look at people and think about people My favorite movie is: The Notebook My role model is: My mother. She was born in 1920 and lived through the Depression. She grew up very poor on a farm and had a fierce determination that her children would go to college and have opportunities she didn’t have. She was very giving and helping Some day I will: Travel My worst habit is: Sleeping My favorite part of my job is: Former students coming back to visit

River Valley Ozark, Pages 138 on 02/28/2010

Print Headline: front&center Mary Grice