Mary. Where does one begin? I heard about what a wonderful teacher she was from my husband, Paul. She was his teacher too. He always felt he was a little of a teacher's pet. He was a great reader and she praised him for that.
Years later, Paul taught along side of Mary. We became friends of Mary and Joe's. We did so many fo the same things many people remember doing with the Heller's. I especially remember going to ball games to watch Joe and Paul play ball. Great times were always had. They were good to our four kids, and often did special things with them.
We would stop and visit at their house many a time. After Joe passed, Mary seemed sad much of the time. They were meant to be together, and now they are. I'll bet she and her Joe are smiling down on us all. Rest in peace, Mary. Love, Ann Cornelius

Mrs. Heller was my 6th grade teacher at Spring Valley Elementary back in 1982-1983. She taught with true meaning and purpose. I remember her praising my cursive writing, and she even gave me the courage to sing a part in the Christmas program that school year. I still remember her playing the piano. I was the only one left in our class who didn't have to write out of the "Manor Book", but alas, I too finally ended up doing so. She will be deeply missed and always remembered.

Mrs. Heller was much more than just a teacher to so many any of us at Spring Valley School. She taught from the heart and we were blessed to have her for our 6h grade teacher. I will always remember the manor book and the fun of square dancing on Fridays. Rest in peace and may God keep you with him in heaven.

My heartfelt sympathy to the family. I too had Mrs Heller as my teacher and she was my very favorite. She was so influential in my life. I have thought of her many,many times. Yes she was tough but we all knew she was fun too. We would sing we would play games that taught us things while we played I remember being invited to her house and being given special jobs in the classroom like decorating or being the head of some project. She was awesome! Rest in Peace Mrs Heller!

Mrs. Heller was truly a "one of a kind" teacher. I too had Mrs. Heller in 6th grade at Spring Valley. She was a very strict teacher. I remember if you "screwed" up it was not your first name but Miss so-in-so or Mr. so-in-so... Full name and then you would shake in your shoes. I remember her command of the English language and how we used to stand in front of the whole class and she would make us do sentence structures. Mrs. Heller would give us a sentence and each student would have to describe what that word was, how it functioned in the sentence. Nouns, pronouns, adverb, adjectives and the all mighty definite article-- and yes "the" is the only definite article. How she loved to play the piano and would let us decorate the room for Christmas. She was by far one of the best teachers I ever had. My thanks to her dedication and devotion to her students. My deepest sympathy to the family. Pamela (Hurlbert ) Bahr

My second attempt to acknowledge the love and respect for Mrs. Heller. It is bittersweet for her loss as we on earth will dearly miss her but sweet to know she is in heaven by her beloved Joe (and others she loved). The best memories of her as a teacher, well OK, I will admit prior to entering into 6th grade I was nervous (as many others) but we all came out of that grade knowing she was the BEST TEACHER EVER! How she loved her music. I was never asked to sing a solo, in fact close to production night, she would stop playing her piano to find out who was off key. It was easy to tell as my face was red from holding my breath. But on the night of our program, it was OK to belt it out and raise the roof as she sat there playing and being so proud of us all. I also remember putting up bulletin boards. the radio programs. Oh how I hated those (and told her so)...first draft, second draft, final draft (was I the only one who had to do a second draft?) I soon learned if you used your color pencils and colored REAL dark, you'd generate a 6 vs a 5. :) To this day, my sisters and I still get out "Mrs. Heller's red pen" to edit letters -- OK we ask Barb to do this for us. She found something special in each one of us....taught us how to be confident, independent and true leaders. I her much to her for who I am today. Thank you again Mrs. Heller. Ron Piela, do you remember her taking us for ice-cream? All the softball games she came to watch of mine (& families), spent many a nights at her house, helped Joe put roofing up, went to gleason by her family, went to the prom with her nephew (may he rest in peace). She came to Escanaba with my sisters and mom to help me celebrate my birthdays. She even brought to me her 6th grade music book after telling her how I loved to sing 'My Grandfather's clock" while mowing the lawn. A true treasure for me to have. Whenever our family started an invitation list for confirmation, graduation, wedding, etc, Mrs. Heller was on the top of the list. She will remain a member of our family conversation. It is truly sad to know I can't reach out to her by sending a card, going to visit her, but also happy to know she is with her beloved Joe. She will be eternally happy now! May you rest in peace Mrs. Heller. We love you and thank you for being so important to US ALL!

Mrs. Heller was a wonderful teacher, and I am so glad I had the privilege of being in her classroom. We sang, did square dancing and those poems that we memorized and drew pictures for. Oh my! I have so many fond memories of time spent with Mrs. Heller and Joe. She has missed him dearly for 15 years, and I'm sure she is playing music for him again! Love and miss them dearly.

After reading the post from Judi, it would be hard to top all of the wonderful things she has said about Mrs. Heller. She truly was a favorite teacher to many of us Fassbender kids. I still remember the last time I visited with her.... my 3 sisters and I went to the nursing home in Wausau to visit her. We saw a piano out in the hallway and asked her to play it for us. She did! And we sang along. (the nurses/aides there didn't know she played the piano until she did it for us that day). Anyway, all I can say about Mrs. Heller is that she truly was one of the best teachers in my life. May she rest peacefully in heaven with 'her Joe'. She is in a better place now. Goodbye Mrs. Heller. Love you!

My heartfelt thoughts are with Mary Heller's family. ❤. Mrs. Heller was an incredible teacher at Spring Valley School and the most influencial teacher I ever had, even as I eventually earned a Master's Degree in Education and School Counseling. She was truly inspiring! Mrs. Heller was my 6th grade teacher in 1969-70. She deeply cared about each of her students and challenged us to reach farther to learn and find our talents. Everyday was filled with innovative learning opportunities as well as athletic encouragement. In the winter we played volleyball everyday as a class and learned how to be a team player. She also made me believe I could achieve the Presidential Fitness Award, which I did. And she filled our classroom with music! Some of my fondest memories were of our class sing-alongs at the end of the day, folk and patriotic music, as she accompanied us on her upright piano. It was because she let me sing a solo at our evening school-wide Christmas program, that I was eventually allowed to sing in the church choir with my Dad for many years. Up until then, only men sang in the choir. She engaged us in great debates on various curriculum topics. She "gave me a voice". She inspired my love of art and reading and science and so much more. Often she would sit in the bleachers of my brother's Little Leage games chearing them on. Mrs. Heller was truly one-of-a-kind! Over the years, I did send her a couple of letters telling her she was the best teacher I ever had and the enormous impact she had on my life. It meant so much to me when she told me a few years ago, that my letter hung on her bullitin board up until she moved from her beloved home on Hwy 45. Mrs. Heller truly "raised-up" many hundreds of children over her long teaching career. I am blessed to have been one. Heaven is filled with even more love and music now.??'?