Teachers, students remember Shanahan

Emily Ridder has fond memories of Leslie Shanahan as a teacher.

“She was always very upbeat and always had a smile on her face,” said Ridder, who had Shanahan as a kindergarten teacher at Milliken Park Elementary.

Shanahan died Monday at Fremont Area Medical Center. She was 55.

Shanahan had been battling cancer since being diagnosed in October 2008. She also had previously been diagnosed with breast cancer in 1999.

“It’s a great loss,” said Ridder, now a second-grade teacher at Linden Elementary School. “I think she inspired many children and many little ones thought a lot of her.”

So did many of Shanahan’s co-workers.

Shanahan taught 33 years in Fremont Public Schools at Milliken Park, Lincoln Elementary and Bell Field Elementary. She retired in May from Bell Field.

Heather Millard, herself a kindergarten teacher at Bell Field, had known Shanahan for 14 years.

“She genuinely loved kids and cared about them and wanted what was truly best for them,” Millard said. “She would go out of her way to do anything to make learning more fun.”

Millard said Shanahan had a favorite saying: “God watches over kindergarten teachers.”

Even when supplies were running low or there was some other “emergency,” Shanahan’s saying seemed to hold true.

“It never failed,” Millard said. “It would always turn out OK.”

Shanahan’s kindness extended beyond the classroom walls.

“She had a great sense of humor and she would do anything for anybody,” Millard said. “If you needed help with something, she would always be there to help you.”

Shanahan also was driven to become a better instructor, Millard said.

Shanahan earned her early childhood degree and also got a degree for English Language Learners.

“Anything she could do to better herself and make herself a better teacher, she was always willing to do that,” Millard said.

Rhonda Gdowski, FPS executive director of student services, said Shanahan was a proponent for parental involvement.

“She always encouraged parents to be in her classroom and be part of her students’ learning experiences,” said Gdowski, who was Shanahan’s principal at Bell Field for six years and also worked several years with Shanahan at Lincoln.

Gdowski was impressed by Shanahan’s ability to get through to her students.

“She really was a hands-on, experience-based teacher,” Gdowski said. “She would really build her teaching around students’ interests, and a lot of times she would take their lead and take advantage of those teachable moments.”

Kevin Eairleywine, executive director of human resources and administrative operations for Fremont Public Schools, said both of his children had Shanahan as their kindergarten teacher.

“She was as caring a person and as caring a teacher as you could find,” Eairleywine said. “She always thought about the kids. She wanted to learn as much about each kid as possible to make sure that their first experience at school was positive.”

The funeral for Shanahan will be 10 a.m. Saturday at The Presbyterian Church in Fremont.

Visitation will be from 2-8 p.m. Friday with family receiving friends 6-8 p.m. at Moser Memorial Chapel in Fremont. Visitation also will be one hour prior to the service Saturday at the church.