Anne Kael Wallach 1912-2005
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Anne Virginia (Kael) Wallach, born Mountaindale, N.Y., September 23rd, 1912, eldest daughter of Isaac and Judith (Friedman) Kael. The family soon moved to California, where Isaac opened a mechanized egg-production business in Petaluma. It was a pioneering venture, and it prospered. Anne hated the chickens--thousands of White Leghorns--but she admired her father's success and always remembered the years in Petaluma fondly, not only with her parents but with her younger sisters, Rose and Pauline, and her two brothers, older Louis and younger Philip. The egg business collapsed with Isaac's investment losses in the Depression, and the family moved to San Francisco, where Isaac opened a small retail poultry business. Judith opened a small general grocery next door, where Anne was of little help because she adamantly refused to wear her glasses and so could not read the scales. Despite the economic hardship of those years, which Isaac did not survive, all three daughters, along with their brother Philip, received a college education thanks to the iron will of their mother Judith, whose own intellectual ambitions had been stifled by the limited professional opportunities offered women of her generation.
Annie Kael, as she was then, graduated from the University of California at Berkeley and found work as an elementary-school teacher in Graton, a village near Petaluma. She taught her students to read music, she took them outdoors to make sure they knew the names of local wildflowers, and she bought a new Chevrolet, which years later she recalled as a symbol of her new freedom. She also met and married Maxwell Wallach, with whom she would have three children. She and Max lived together for 20 years, almost all of it in San Francisco. He established a briefly successful furniture store, and she continued to teach, first at Polytechnic High School, then at Commerce. While teaching and raising her young children, she also completed a Master's degree at what was then San Francisco State College.
Finally, starting in 1951, she began teaching English at Lowell High. There she found her place, regularly teaching Advanced Composition and a course of her design called Prose Fiction, where she pushed her students to study Melville, Jane Austen, and Dostoyevsky. Thousands passed through those classes, and many still remember Mrs. Wallach's red marks, which might indicate a dangling participle, a misplaced modifier, an error in parallel construction, or merely an awkward phrase. Few thought of the hours she spent every night reading stacks of papers, but that was her regimen throughout the school year. Summers were a respite, with annual camping trips with the children. Max's business failed, however, and after several increasingly unhappy years, so did the marriage, ending in divorce in 1962. Anne stayed at Lowell for another dozen years before retiring in 1974 at age 62.
Moving to Berkeley, she embarked on a second career that continued for over 30 years and from which she never retired. She had a passionate faith in the importance of special programs for academically gifted students, and she now began to work closely with the California Association for the Gifted. She helped establish the Academic Talent Development Program at UC Berkeley, which continues to offer summer courses for bright high-school students. Lobbying at Sacramento for the gifted brought her to the League of Women Voters, and for decades she also never missed a meeting of the Berkeley Board of Education: she often spoke out there with a quiet determination that she, the shy child decades earlier, would have thought utterly impossible.
With the advent of jet travel, she went not only to Europe but to the Middle East and India. She retained her lifelong interests in the theater and in concerts, in movies, and in literature. Even when she became too frail for these activities, she arranged for the short ride to Willard Middle School, where she volunteered as an 8th grade writing coach. Her interest in national politics grew stronger, and near the end of her life she was praising the report of the 9/11 commission and excoriating the Bush administraion. A late child of the Enlightenment, she could admire religious art but found nothing to admire in religion itself. She was determined, until to the end, to live independently, and this she managed to do until the last few days of her life. Surrounded then by friends and family, she said that she had done the things she wanted to do.
She survived all her siblings but is survived by her three children--Bret, of Norman, Oklahoma, Dana (Salisbury), of Easthampton, Massachusetts, and New York City, and Jed, of Freestone, California. She is also survived by nieces Martine Makower and Gina James, by eight grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren. Those who knew her best saw in her many of the traits of her mother and sisters. She was a woman of gentle but great determination, with a deep belief in the importance of the creative life, and with a love for the people around her that until her final years she found difficult to express. She died of heart failure on October 3, 2005, ten days after her 93rd birthday.
The San Francisco Chronicle published the following obituary on October 24th at http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/10/24/BAGE1FD1051.DTL:
Anne Wallach -- Lowell High teacher of writing, literature
Kathleen Sullivan, Chronicle Staff Writer
Monday, October 24, 2005
Anne Wallach, who taught writing and literature at Lowell High School for more than two decades, then spent the next three decades promoting programs for academically gifted children, died of heart failure on Oct. 3 in her Berkeley home.
She was 93.
Mrs. Wallach, whose maiden name was Anne Virginia Kael, was born in Mountaindale, N.Y.
When she was a child, her family moved to Petaluma, where her father opened an egg business. Later, the family moved to San Francisco, where her father sold chickens and her mother ran a grocery store.
After graduating from UC Berkeley, Anne Kael became an elementary school teacher at Graton in Sonoma County. She married Maxwell Wallach, with whom she had three children. The couple lived together for 20 years, most of that time in San Francisco, and divorced in 1962.
While teaching and raising her children, Mrs. Wallach earned a master's degree at San Francisco State College, now known as San Francisco State University.
In 1951, she took a job at Lowell, where she taught advanced composition and literature.
Bob Gomez, a former student of Mrs. Wallach's who is now a middle school teacher in Watsonville, described her as one of his "intellectual parents" in an interactive Web site created to honor her memory.
"I had her for 'Heroes, Tragic and Comic' and 'Portrait of the Artist,' still two of the best courses I have taken in any school or university," Gomez wrote. "When (fellow student) Bob Armstrong and I attempted to write a comic scene a la Shakespeare, Anne's comment at the bottom of the page was 'Thanks for trying.' Apparently, she hadn't seen the humor. Bob and I were incensed. We marched into her office and demanded that she see how funny the scene was. She had no choice but to allow us to play the scene live for the class. It was funny enough for her to turn 'Thanks for trying' into an 'A'.''
After retiring from Lowell in 1974 at age 62, Mrs. Wallach moved to Berkeley, where she helped establish the Academic Talent Development Program at UC Berkeley, which offers summer classes to bright high school students.
She also joined the League of Women Voters of Berkeley, Albany and Emeryville, where her special interest was in improving public education in Berkeley. In addition to monitoring school board meetings, Mrs. Wallach served as an eighth-grade writing coach at Willard Middle School in Berkeley, an activity she continued until a few months before her death.
Fellow league member Helene Lecar described working on projects with Mrs. Wallach as "Adventures with Anne," and recalled the time they went to the quad at Berkeley High School at lunchtime, bullhorn in hand, to urge teenagers to register to vote.
"Anne, such an elegant woman, with a soft voice and an unself-conscious dignity she brought to everything she did, just grabbed that bullhorn and came across like a football coach, because I, who go through life sounding like a field coach, was chicken to handle the bullhorn myself," she said.
Lecar also recalled a story Mrs. Wallach liked to tell about herself: "With tickets to a performance at Zellerbach Hall, time passing and a no-show taxi, she handed her car keys to a 'nice-looking,' completely unknown young couple walking down Ward Street to drive her to the theater, bring the car back to her driveway and then drop the keys in her mailbox, which they did. She told this story on herself, blithe of spirit and pleased that her trust in people was wholly justified."
Mrs. Wallach's daughter, Dana Salisbury of Easthampton, Mass., described her mother as a shy, reserved woman who loved music, the theater and travel.
"She loved stimulation that was intellectually and emotionally challenging," Salisbury said. "That was the one place where she got out of the teacher role and into a mode of pure being and joy."
In addition to her daughter, Mrs. Wallach is survived by sons Bret Wallach of Norman, Okla., and Jed Wallach of Freestone in Marin County; two nieces; eight grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
The family has decided not to hold a traditional memorial service and instead will allow the interactive Web site to honor her memory. It can be found at www.wallachs.org/anne.
The League of Women Voters of Berkeley, Albany and Emeryville wrote the following for the November issue of their newsletter, The Voter:
Anne Wallach passed away on Monday, October 3, 2005, surrounded by loved ones. Her many years of dedicated service to her family, friends, students and community will be warmly remembered by all of us.
As a member of the League of Women Voters for many years and as a retired English teacher, Anne's special interest in the League was improving public education in Berkeley. She monitored school board meetings, often urging board members to aim for the highest standards to meet the needs of all students and their families. One of her favorite activities was tutoring students in reading and writing at Willard, Malcolm X, and Le Conte schools. She continued this volunteer work even after she became ill, until several months before she passed away.
Anne’s contributions to the League will long be remembered and valued. She organized and led the League project that conducted mock elections in junior and senior high schools, so that students might learn how to be responsible informed voters. At the same time, she led the effort to produce the League’s first “Easy Reading Voter Guide,” keeping all the volunteers on this project organized and on target. The Guide was printed in two languages and was so successful that its style and format was adopted by the State League as a regular voter service publication.
Anne chaired the League's education committee for many years, bringing in speakers, organizing activities and in many other ways showing the rest of us how to be an effective League activist. Her sweetness, her sense of humor, her intelligence and professional competence -- all these characteristics won her the admiration and respect of all who knew her.
Mrs. Wallach was my favorite high school teacher at Lowell, challenging and rewarding. But it was all the years afterward when I saw her in the audience at concerts I was involved in, talking with her candidly about the performances, for which I most remember her. When she came to my tiny house in the country near Graton where she taught when young to deliver a music box to my new born daughter Ruth I saw what a huge and generous spirit she had. I was not more than one of the hundreds of young people she had taught in high school, but she still thought to bring by this gift! I miss seeing her in the audience. I am sorry she is no longer with us. -- Maria Walsh Caswell (mariacaswell@sbcglobal.net) 7/17/2006
After one of the final matinee performances of a play I directed,THE PRICE by Arthur Miller at Aurora Theatre Co. in Berkeley, there was a discussion with the audience. A familiar face was there that afternoon accompanying a beautiful woman in a wheelchair. He introduced himself as Jed Wallach whom I hadn't seen in about 25 years and the woman in the wheelchair was his mother, Anne Wallach. I was so moved to meet her and to hear that she, who had always been a lover and constant audience member of bay area theatre, had especially asked to see this play, this very afternoon and I was lucky enough to have been present to meet her and embrace her. Only recently have I learned that she died three days later. I have been reading these tributes to her and add my own to this extraordinary person who lived a life full of art and good work. -- Joy Carlin (carlinx2@earthlink.net) 6/12/2006
Anne Wallach was the best teacher that I ever had. Nathaniel Hawthorne will be in my mind forever. My opinion is entirely unbiased notwithstanding the fact that we were related. However, I strongly disagreed with her strict grading policies. But she stood firm despite the fact that I gave her ample opportunity to “revise” my grade at family functions in later years. To her entire family, please accept my deepest and most sincere condolences over the loss of this truly grand lady. -- Michael Friedman (MikeFrie@comcast.net) 4/24/2006
Hello, It is so gratifying to view so many wonderful memories and thank yous to just one woman! Yes, one person CAN make a difference. I would like to point out, in the bio, at least as it was told to me: The eldest brother, Louis, was asked to go to work to help support the family, as did the eldest often in those times, and was not able to attend college, but stayed on in the produce business which supported his family during his entire lifetime. He was quite proud of how he contributed in this way to the family.
Nancy Kael, wife of Howard Kael, son of Louis Kael
-- nancy kael (nhandlerkael@earthlink.net) 1/31/2006
Dear Wallach family:
I offer you sincere & heartfelt condolences on the loss of your beloved Pauline Kael Wallach. I attended Lowell, UC Berkeley, & graduated from UCLA..& every single exam & term paper written by me was influenced in style by my favorite teacher, Anne Wallach. She was the one & only teacher of my entire academic experience who challenged my intellect, my love of language, my skill in communication. She taught me lessons of humility, & appreciation of language & the arts; and she did so with humor, finesse, tact, and a no-nonsense, don't think you will get away with less than your best with me attitude. When I graduated from UCLA I wrote her a letter telling her how important she had been to me as a role model--at Lowell & forever. A letter I am now glad I made the time to write.
Unbeknownst to her children, my family, my grandfather, Rabbi Rabinowitch, his wife Fagel, & my uncles Abe, Morris, & Sam and my mother, Rose were family friends with the Kaels in Petaluma. My family moved from SF after the big quake, as my grandfather did not believe S.F. was "clean"...and they bought a chicken ranch (where my mother, like Anne, had the odious task of collecting eggs). They were family friendly with the Kaels--and my mother told me so many stories of their close childhood. My mother told me that Phil, Pauline, & Anne were the most brilliant children--and my mother was thrilled when she heard that Anne Wallach was my teacher for several classes at Lowell. We used to visit Phil & Dorothy and their children. Regards to Paulette Kael from me...She was a sweet girl and probably now is a sweet Grandma....In the 90's, I owned the premier entertainment industry personnel agency, the Right Connections, in Los Angeles. One of my applicants was a young man who had worked as an asst to Pauline Kael. He gave me her phone number and Mom and I called her--She was gracious, charming, erudite even in a short conversation. It was a full circle moment for my mother--So sad that both she and Pauline Kael died of complications of Parkinsons...ironic.
To all of you who loved Anne, I know you must miss her in the most heartfelt way, but please know that your mother left you an important legacy. She was a teacher, a leader, an inspiration....and all of her students, like me, who were blessed by her gifts of intellect, insight, & creativity will never forget her...She certainly made her footprint a strong one, despite her gentle, quiet, sweet,manner. I hope that our notes bring you peace because your mother honored herself, her parents, & you. If Anne may read this note on another plane, as I believe in metaphysics & think it is possible, please know that you were one of gifts in life and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Should I ever be able to conquer my lack of discipline, I would like to author a novel, and if so, my dedication would be to my parents, grandparents, & Anne Wallach.
Warmest regards, Pauline Cymet, Lowell '60
-- Pauline Cymet (pauli13@aol.com) 12/31/2005
There are teachers who keep order in their classroom. There are teachers who teach. And, there are teachers who inspire. Anne Wallach was one of the most inspiring teachers I was fortunate to encounter at at time when I was not terribly interesting in school, learning or the arts. She and Jim Livingstone set me afire and things have never been the same. I went from a C student to an honors student in my senior year, went on to Cal and graduated from Boalt Law School. I later went back to graduate school and earned a Masters and Ph.D in psychology. I have written and had published two book in the field of psychology. I have remained a voracious reader and, while I can't exactly credit Anne for this, I married a novelist/poet. I was saddened to read of her passing. She made a difference. -- Phillip Ziegler, Lowell, '59 (ziegler@igc.org) 12/23/2005
Trying to send condolences & thoughts re my beloved teacher Mrs. Wallach, but when I finished my comments, was unable to send. Please advise as I would like to add my email. Thank you, pauline cymet -- pauline cymet (pauli13@aol.com) 12/22/2005
Mrs. Wallach was my first mentor. Soon after we met in 1965, she quietly hinted that she was dissapointed in my choice of leisure reading material (I was a big fan of teen romances and comic books) and guided me toward classics by twentieth century women writers. It was Mrs. Wallach who first introduced me to the works of French impressionist painters and the concept of art history -- this opened a new door which led eventually to my pursuit of a university degree in art and archaeology. And, it was Mrs. Wallach who mildly suggested that I apply to at least one other college besides UC Berkeley. I followed her advice and, as a result, went East for college and stayed on the East Coast. It took a lot of searching, but I finally found a poem about Mrs. Wallach that I wrote in Mr. Worley's class. Mr. Worley assigned us to write a poem in iambic pentameter about an unnamed teacher, and he was to guess the person.
Dedication
Minute of stature, blessed with quiet strength,
This woman, well endowed in mind, not length,
Devotes each day her time and knowledge both
To learning, giving, aiding students' growth.
Through prose and verse well-known throughout the land
She helps the young the world to understand
And softly voicing views of reason speaks
To make one think about the world he seeks.
To probe within himself, to search, to look
For meanings deep and far beyond the book.
Widening rings from stones in water cast,
Her teachings long in minds of students last.
Miriam Pichey March 7, 1967 Lowell High School, Mr. Worley's English 6H Class
I join with all the other students, colleagues, friends and family in saluting Anne Wallach. Her contributions live on in all of us.
Mimi Pichey, Lowell '68
-- Mimi Pichey, Lowell '68 (mimi.pichey@analog.com) 12/18/2005
As budding writers and artists, my friends and I took every class Mrs. Wallach taught during the early sixties at Lowell. You didn't dare dangle a participle, misspell a word, or improperly place a comma in her classes! She taught us to take pride in our writing, in the details and the perfection. Her classroom was a serene oasis of respect and awe for great writers, artists and the creative process.
When I published my memoir, The Other Side of Eden: Life with John Steinbeck, I was delighted to email her that I written a book. She was thrilled to hear about my marriage to John Steinbeck's son, knowing that I had come from a family of writers. It was wonderful to receive her blessing after forty years of writing that had started under her tutelage.
Anne Wallach embodied everything that has been lost in our culture of mediocrity. She inspired precision, tenacious effort, discipline and conviction. The world would be a better place if every child had a Mrs. Wallach as a mentor and guide.
I always remember her telling our class that she was going to Europe with her young children for the first time, to see it "through a child's eyes". We had no idea she was going through marital difficulties during the early sixties. She never wavered from her calm, quiet demeanor. Though now, as I look back, perhaps there was a hint of sadness.
My sympathy extends to every fortunate member of her family. She was a living treasure and blessed everyone whose path she crossed.
View Web site -- Nancy Lenn Steinbeck (nsteinbeck@aol.com) 12/16/2005
Anne Wallach had a huge influence on me (Lowell grad '67). She fostered and cultivated creative insight and made her students not only think but also have genuine feelings about the literature and art to which she exposed us. I remember her with great affection. -- Jas. Adams (jadams@teleport.com) 12/10/2005
Mrs. Wallach was a wonderful english teacher of mine. I graduated from Lowell in 1962. Together with friends, we saw her for lunch several times after graduation. I was particularly pleased when she publishe her e-mail address in the Lowell Alumnai newsletter and had some correspondence with her. I am a resident in Sonoma county. When Jed came here and opened one of the best bakeries around I remembered that Mrs. Wallach had invited students to her home near SF State College in the early sixties an that I had met Jed when he was about 8 year old. I am so grateful to have had such a wonderful, caring teacher. -- Kathy Littman (kathbass@yahoo.com) 12/7/2005
So many students, so many memories. I only learned yesterday of Anne's death. She was a huge presence in my life, the person who inspired me to become an English teacher and now a teacher of English teachers. I will never forget her 10th grade class on American literature--reading Walt Whitman and Thoreau in Stern Grove, spending a weekend creating a poster of the eyes of TJ Eckleburg with Chris, just to see her reaction on Monday morning. I remember her passion for teaching, for literature, for art--all passions she shared with her students. Each summer when I face my new crop of prospective English teachers, I think of Anne; and when I have my students write a literacy autobiography, I often tell them the story of the weekend we spent in a garage, puzzling over how to re-create the billboard that looms over the landscape of The Great Gatsby, and the teacher who inspired us. Pam Grossman (Lowell, '71) -- Pam Grossman (pamg@stanford.edu) 11/24/2005
Anne was my mentor within the Education Committee of the League of Women Voters of Berkeley, Albany, and Emeryville . She helped organize the first Mock Election for our 3 communities some 8 (I think?) years ago and by her example showed me what quiet but firm determination can produce. Lord, it was the most elaborate Mock Election ever - even the multi-page ballot was modeled after an authentic one! Students were drafted to help count ballots at a local Berkeley library, school board members helped register students at the high schools, and I truly believe that experience resulted in additional voters in America. What a wonderful legacy. She was so very kind and appreciative of our work on the committee. I am priviledged to have known her. -- Karen Carlson-Olson (hao_kco@earthlink.net) 11/22/2005
I have enjoyed viewing the photographs of Anne and was reminded about the valuable lessons we gained from her teachings and how fortunate we were to see a real lady in action in and out of the classroom. Claudia Wolf Eshoo'67 -- Claudia Wolf Eshoo (ClaudiaEshoo@comcast.net) 11/9/2005
Please accept my condolences at the passing of your mother, Anne, my professional lifetime friend. She was one of Miss Pence's ladies who greeted me when I began my teaching career at Lowell in 1954. It was my pleasure to have her as a teaching colleague and friend for the next half-century. Lucky Lowell H.S. and its students to have her on the faculty. She set the school's intellectual tone for decades. The Honors classes that she established as Gifted Program Coordinator became the bedrock for the burgeoning AP program that was to establish the school's national reputation for excellence. It was my privilege to work with her identifying gifted students and recommending them for honors classes. Her turf was the Gifted Resource Center, R. 215, where she was first among equals w/Flossie Lewis, Jo Anne Stewart, Lee Ann Torlakson, Dr. Phil Glander, Dr. Bob Bahnsen, Nancy Hayes, et al. What a pantheon of teaching stars our Anne gathered around her! No wonder Lowell surged to the forefront in secondary education. -- Paul Lucey 11/6/2005
I'm a friend of Dana's and though I never met Anne I can tell that she was a beloved woman. I love the photo of her and Dana from the 90's. My condolences to the whole family and all of her friends and students, may you carry her memory in your hearts forever. -- Michelle Moskowitz Brown (mishmoskowitz@optonline.net) 11/4/2005
I was privileged to have Mrs. Wallach as my English teacher twice while I was at Lowell and have thought of her over the years with great admiration and affection. She was such an encouraging, inspirational presence. I remember her leading discussions with enthusiasm and humor. I think that she projected personal interest in each student that she had. A light has gone out in the world for me and for alot of us.
Reva Paslin Segall, Lowell 1958
-- Reva Paslin Segall (revader@aol.com) 10/31/2005
Mrs. Wallach was my fifth or sixth grade teacher at Grant School in San Francisco in 1940 or 1941. She told us how her house burned down when she was a young girl and the only thing left was a set of encyclopedia. When she touched one of them, it crumbled into ashes and she was bitterly disappointed. She was extraordinarily kind to all of us. I was rather bratty but she didn't mind. In fact, she awarded me the prize of a book for winning a reading contest.
With great fondness and respect, Elizabeth
P.S. The email address is my daughter's but you may reply to me through her.
-- Elizabeth Macdonald Mettling (cmdarch@sbcglobal.net) 10/31/2005
Ms. Wallach was my 10th grade English teacher. I still remember her grammar lessons. "Don't use the comma unless you know why you are using it". Those comma rules have come in handy. My mother was her contemporary at Lowell. That was enough reason to want to do well in her class. She had my admiration and respect. I always felt she believed in me and my abilities. She brought out the best in all her students. Being in her class still remains one of my favorite Lowell memories. Joan Catelli Class"61 -- Joan Catelli (ciaojec@earthlink.net) 10/30/2005
Though it is more than forty years since Mrs. Wallach was my English teacher, I remember her gentility and quiet presence in the classroom. Often, I thought of her during my years as a middle school English teacher and hoped I would leave as lasting an impression on my students.
Corinne Fong Venit Class of '62
-- Corinne Fong Venit (cfvenit@charter.net) 10/30/2005
I remember Mrs. Wallach fondly after all these years. I learned more in her Advanced Composition and Oral English classes than in any other classes at Lowell with the exception of Journalism. I credit her and Mr. Buckley with giving me the foundation that led to a career in journalism.
I am glad to hear she lived a long and productive life.
Joan Horowitz Lisetor Class of January 1957
View Web site -- Joan Horowitz Lisetor (jlisetor@prodigy.net) 10/30/2005
Too many wonderful stories and not enough space so just one quick "fish tale" from way back in the Sixties..After a tough week for both student and teacher alike Jed and I roll into the Wallach MG with Anne at the helm and head home to Parkmerced (SF) and either Jed or I blurt out "What a great weekend to do a little fishing in Yosemite"..within minutes our sleeping bags and fishing gear are packed, we give my Mom, Pat, a quick travel notice and away we (Anne, Jed and I) go mid to late Friday afternoon. We must have miscalculated the travel time slightly and spent a cold night huddled under blankets in the car in the parking lot of Tenaya Lake waiting for the morning and the best fishing time. Jed and I caught too many fish and Anne graded (in red ink) many papers, made tasty sandwitches for the hungry anglers. That's adventure! Love, The Bostons -- The Boston Family; Jim, Dave and Doug (Pat, EB) (jrboston333@hotmail.com) 10/28/2005
Lowell High School, and in particular half a dozen of its best teachers - among them three English teachers, Anne Wallach, Flossie Lewis, and Jim Knapton - made an enormous difference to my life. I was quite troubled then, having been ill and crippled for several years as a child, and having a home life that was often quite difficult. Anne never referred to it, but I could tell that she understood, if not the details then the general issue, and she was remarkably kind and patient and encouraging, even when I was difficult or undisciplined. She was quiet and soft, never raising her voice, yet quite determined, and obviously deeply committed to literature, writing, and above all the welfare of her students. The dignity of her behavior, throughout her life and especially in her final days, was astounding. If I ever reach the age of 93, I hope that I can conduct myself in a manner half as elegant as hers. Was that grammatically correct? Doubtless she would have told me, very nicely. -- Charles Ferguson (chf@cferguson.com) 10/27/2005
Mrs wallach is my best friend's mom. years ago when our children were little ,Jed invited us to his house for holiday celebration. I hadn't yet met Mrs.wallach so when Jed mentioned that his mom would be there it would be one small wish granted me; i wanted to see her, to know what my best friend's mom looked like. I wanted my mom to be there too but not possible. it was cloudy and cool, a bit of a breeze blowing through west-county when we got to the front door. and as the door opened as if by magic , i could see a woman sitting at piano across the people filled room. There was a table filled w/colorful and tasty dishes and drink. and there was Ben, in his mothers arms, little Sonia close by; Mia and Tania by the piano singing and making faces. Mrs. wallach was playing with both hands but turned her face around to sing out loud. Oh, she was so pretty; almost pretty as i remember my own mom. my mom could play piano too and she would have been here to sing with us if she were still here. and when she finished at the piano she stood and turned for us to be introduced. I put out my hand but she pulled herself up to me, i measure six feet one inch, put her arms around me and make me want her as my own right from there. She didn't know it but that's when I addopted her. i really miss her. -- clement (cfrank6@aol.com) 10/27/2005
Mrs. Wallach was my homeroom teacher while I was a Lowell student '70. Great teacher but also just a fine example for us all. -- John Larissou (larissou@flash.net) 10/26/2005
It is with great sadness that I learned today of Mrs. Wallach's death earlier this month. My incredible memories of her honors classes have come flooding back after all these years. She, with her great intellect, often surprising sense of humor, and overall class and integrity will always stand as a role model to all of us who had the fortune of experiencing this remarkable woman and teacher. -- Mardy Wasserman (Spring '67) (miw319@aol.com) 10/26/2005
Anne was not only a great teachers, and an advocate for the gifted. She was also a champion of those children who were "left behind." With her encouragement, the Education Committee of the League of Women Voters , reviewed the findings of annual testing, and began a series of presentations to the Berkeley School Board urging attention to the "gap." Anne was impatient and would not tolerate excuses, such as poverty of lack of English language skills. Every child could learn to read, and it was the responsibility of the school district to make it happen. The high value she placed on learning was not something to be restricted to those with special gifts or mindful parents, but to be made available to every child. It was due to Anne that the League organized a group of volunteers to assist in teaching reading to 1st graders in need of a little extra help. That experience was enriching not only for the children, but for all of us. She was a true proponent of the theory that "it takes a village" to raise and educate all the children. -- Doris Fine (doris_fine@hotmail.com) 10/26/2005
Thank you, Mrs Wallach, for the love of literature you gave to those of us who had good fortune to be in your classes at Lowell High School. Barbara Zipser Shapiro -- Barbara Zipser Shapiro 10/25/2005
Knowing that I was a fourteen year old who planned to be a writer, Mrs. Wallach loaned me (that in itself made me feel very special) a book with a title something like: Never Use the Word Very. I learned from that book not to undermine a verb or a noun with a bunch of qualifiers, and I think about that concept, and Mrs. Wallach, every single time I edit something I've written. I've "red-marked" my children's "veries" over the years as well. She was both rigorous and kind, a combination that made her a wonderful teacher. My condolences to her family. -- Julie Weinshel Tepper (Lowell 1962) (weinshel45@aol.com) 10/25/2005
Although I graduated from Lowell in 1975, I did not meet Anne until she was well into her “second career” in Berkeley. She was such a positive and constructive force in support of public education through her work with the League of Women Voters and her work directly with students as a writing coach at Willard middle school. What I particularly appreciated about Anne was not just her kindness, support and energy but her high expectations. She had high expectations for her individual students and also for Berkeley’s schools and their governance. The Berkeley School Board formally adjourned our October 19th, 2005 School Board Meeting in her honor.
Nancy Riddle President, Board of Education Berkeley Unified School District
-- Nancy Riddle (nriddle@monstercable.com) 10/25/2005
I was so sad today to read of Mrs. Wallach's death. I graduated from Lowell in January of 1964 and was fortunate to be in her Honors English class my senior year. When I first learned she had an e-mail account, I wrote to thank her for the best class of my entire educational career (which included graduating from UCLA with a BA in English). Even now, in my late 50's, I still remember with pleasure almost everything we read in that course and the amazing discussions she encouraged and inspired. I'm glad I was able to tell her how much her teaching gift meant to me. My most heartfelt sympathies are with her family and friends.
Carole Florian Palo Alto, CA
-- Carole (Babow) Florian (cbflor@aol.com) 10/24/2005
I too remember the calm voice and beatific smile that carried us through the Honors program in the late 60s/early 70s (class of 72). I cannot say I had that "aha" experience in her class; her influence was more like a realization that there was way more going on in literature, and life, than we could know, motivating me at least to try to find out as my life has progressed. I again worked with Anne during her years working for gifted students, and she again filled up any room she was in with her quiet certainty. I'm sorry to hear that she's gone, but she'll live on in all of us that have known her. View Web site -- Bob Muller (muller@computer.org) 10/24/2005
Annie reached far - when I arrived at work this a.m. the president of the McKesson Foundation came flying into my cubicle with obit in hand. Over the years I had kept her informed about Anne's activities, some of which the Foundation funded. I continue to be amazed at the impact she had, even on people who hardly knew her. She was a huge part of my life (35 years) as well as my son's and I shall miss her terribly. -- Charlotte Ferguson (charfer@pacbell.net) 10/24/2005
Class of 1956 and she is still with me. View Web site -- dennis galloway (dennis@dennisgalloway.com) 10/24/2005
Anne Wallach was one of the best teachers to go through Lowell High. I graduated in Spring 1972, as the Senior Class President.
My prayers are with the family. Thank you for sharing this web site.
Otis Watson Lowell High School Senior Class President Spring 1972
-- Otis Watson (otiswatson1@hotmail.com) 10/24/2005
Mrs. Wallach taught my mother at the start of her career at Lowell, and I was privileged to have her twice in the early 70's. She validated my love of literature and made me a better writer for life. Every time - and I mean this, EVERY time - I stand in front of one of the high school classes I teach - I think about Mrs. Wallach: how she could touch off a class-long discussion with one quietly worded question; how her extensive comments on each paper taught and inspired me; how she always pushed us ever so gently toward a deeper understanding of literature and life. And when, on rare occasions, my classes get into a tear about this book or that play or film, I tip my hat to Mrs. Wallach for inspiring me to ask the right questions. -- Brad Friedman (bkfriedman@hotmail.com) 10/24/2005
anne was a lovely soul, who in her quiet but determined way mentored many troubled (are there any other kind?)english honors students and taught us the values of literature and life. i knew about her sister pauline of course, but it was anne who made a huge difference in my life at a time when it really mattered. i remember her going to the dean of boys about some disciplinary matter i was involved in and the problem quietly went away). it wasn't just me, but writers like russell leong (see comments below), who wrote for the literary magazine for which she was an adviser. i work at the san francisco chronicle, and david perlman, our veteran science writer, told me recently that his son, ric, would never have graduated if it were not for the independent study arrangment she crafted. she was emotionally and professionally available without ever pandering. i knew she was a single mother and was juggling honors english with her gifted program duties and academic and personal responsibilities and never complained. she made a huge difference in my life, and that of many others. -- paul wilner (pwilner@sfchronicle.com) 10/24/2005
Anne Wallach was a special person and an exacting teacher. In those days, coming from a segregated chinese elementary school, it was a surprise to have a teacher like Anne Wallach who loved literature and loved people for who and what they were. Quality was her aim, in reading as in writing. How discerning and quietly encouraging she was. Now it seems strange that I too should be teaching creative writing and literature at UCLA; for this, I owe a great debt to Anne. I still remember the pins and beads she would wear over her sweaters--these were from her beloved summertime trips, mainly to Europe. Yet, she was hardly eurocentric--she loved what spoke to her.
Lowell--1964-67
-- russell leong (rleong@ucla.edu) 10/24/2005
1961: I learned the proper use of the conditional tense. -- Alex von Hauffe (pam2musume@yahoo.com) 10/24/2005
I was a student at Lowell from '60-'64. I fondly remember Mrs. Wallach as the epitome of what I had heard was Lowell's reputation as a strong academic institution. She was soft-spoken, brilliant, and a wonderful teacher. I believe I was introducted to "Great Expectations" in her class. She was not only a teacher who made a lasting impression on me, but her sister, Rose Makower was a best friend of my mother, who taught in SF public schools for 40 years. -- Phil Handin (phil.handin@fimat.com) 10/24/2005
One of the many memorable things about Anne Wallach's classes at Lowell was how she held a class in perfect attention. She spoke in a soft, quiet voice with a calm that transferred itself to the class. I remember being amazed at how soft spokenness could be so effective. Of course, I also remember how revelatory her classes were about literature and writing. This was way back when at the old Lowell in the fifties. I still have my copy of George Eliot's "Middlemarch" which we read in Prose Fiction, my favorite course. -- Gwen Davis Toso (gwendolina564@msn.com) 10/24/2005
Mrs. Wallach was my honors English teacher at Lowell 1967-9. She recognized that each student had a unique gift and did her best to gently foster their imagination and skill. High school is a difficult time for most students, but her class was an oasis of kindness and respect as well as intellectual challenge. She touched all of us with her quiet belief that we were capable of great things. I remember she invited students to travel to Europe with her each summer. She loved what she did and it made her part of the heart of each of her students. We take her with us always. She helped make us effective speakers and writers and thinkers. We were very lucky to have such a true teacher in our lives. Nancy Ligon de Ita, Lowell Class of 1969 -- Nancy Ligon de Ita (nancydeita@aol.com) 10/24/2005
My thanks for sharing photos and comments of so many who knew and loved your mom... I am so sorry for your loss but know that her special qualities will make you both proud to be her daughter and stronger because of that relationship. Just reading about her gives me renewed faith in people and what they are able to be and do. -- Hedy Rose (prose@smith.edu) 10/17/2005
I was so blessed to have been the neice of this wonderful lady. She was always so interested in what our family was doing. I will miss her very much. Benette
-- Benette Elder (elderbenette@msn.com) 10/14/2005
Anne welcomed me with open arms. I am so greatful to have known her and so thankful to her. I am proud to be related to Anne and to the Kael/Wallach family (all of you).
Delane
-- Delane Dale (ddale3@lfsus.jnj.com) 10/11/2005
Love Beauty Brightness and Roses.........Anne!
-- Lauren Kael (kaell@neurology.ucsf.edu) 10/11/2005
Tribute to Anne Kael Wallach – October 10, 2005
Anne embodied the joy of teaching and shared that joy with so many teachers in the Gifted Program at UC Berkeley. I met Anne “over the phone” when one of my former students recommended me for the program. Anne’s wonderful voice and manner of speaking captured me right away. She convinced me that I wanted to work in this uplifting and academic program – to teach AP Biology in six weeks!! I remember confessing to her once that I would be willing to do it for free. The professional meetings that Anne Wallach organized were so worthwhile – like no meetings I have attended before or since. Anne brought people together and found the right mix of topics to generate an appreciation for our mission. As a teacher, knowing Anne changed my professional life. I became a better teacher with broader goals and a stronger sense of purpose.
We became friends after Anne retired from the UC Berkeley program. We had many opportunities to visit our lunch, dinner, or coffee. Her wise counsel meant a great deal to me. I will always remember her gentle but firm approach to all that we discussed. Anne was and is such a wonderful role model for all of us and I am sad that she is gone – but all of us who knew her are better people because of our shared times with Anne. All who were touched by her intellect and kindness will continue to be influenced in a positive way every day. I dedicate this school year to Anne Kael Wallach with love and gratitude. Lois Peterson (bioslois@aol.com)
-- Lois Peterson (bioslois@aol.com) 10/10/2005
Anne was Development Chairperson with Berkeley League of Women Voters when we met. Meetings held over tea in her welcoming home led to enduring bonds among many members. Moments were shared about family as well as the task at hand. Task-oriented, Anne could point the way, establish connections, plan agendas, attend to detail, assemble helpers, accomplish goals--always with persistence and good will. She was an inspiration as she encouraged young people in learning and in responsible participation in our world. Her voice had almost a musical lilt, her manner a quiet grace. I was so happy she could continue attendance at theater and music events even when age had brought serious physical challenge. She epitomized generous loving spirit, stamina, and courage. -- winifred mclaughlin (winmcl@aol.com) 10/10/2005
I am currently a Board of Directors member for California Association for the Gifted and my library of past CAG Communicators list Anne Wallach as the Parent Representative from Region 4 (there were 14 regions in California with a parent and an educator representing each area) along with a Carolyn Lee in 1980. This was a very busy time for advocates for Gifted Education as the new legislation was being implemented and there was a lot of work to do. I do remember meeting her at a meeting in the Bay Area one time and enjoyed listering to her comments. -- Sharon A. Freitas (safreitas@aol.com) 10/10/2005
I am truly sorry that Anne has passed away. She was a friend whom I admired greatly. Her love and respect for her family were always part of her conversations. In a recent visit to her, she proudly talked about her grandaughter going to work at Lowell High, the same high school where she had taught also.
For a number of years Anne and several of her League friends met for lunch once a month. We would get caught up on what we had been doing, and Anne always proudly had stories to tell about the activities of her family.
Anne would rarely talk about her accomplishments, but those who knew her were aware of how much she had done in her lifetime, and her many accomplishments in the fields of education and activities for young people while she was a member of the Berkeley League of Women Voters.
We have lost a good friend, and I will miss her.
-- Lenora Young (leeyo1@sbcglobal.net) 10/9/2005
I felt it a privilege to have known Anne and to regularly share lunch and family updates with her (along with Sophie Souroujon) over the past thirty some years. Our connection started with her mentoring our gifted program in Oakland - and I continued to look at her as a "great mentor of life" over all those years. I am happy that she was able to close her life chapter with the great dignity with which she lived her life. She will be missed. - Liz LaGorce (lizlagorce@msn.com) 10/7/2005 -- Liz LaGorce (lizlagorce@msn.com) 10/7/2005
I remember that in 1969, using a poem by Countee Cullen as an example, Mrs. Wallach taught us the distinction between the speaker of a poem and the author of a work. This lesson has been crucial in my life as an academic and clinical psychologist. She meant more to me intellectually than any teacher I had in college or in graduate school, so I dedicated my dissertation to her. My husband Michael and I feel privileged to have kept in contact with her over the years and I am pleased to remember our last lunch in Berkeley in 2000, which my children also attended. I believe that Anne was still tutoring poor elementary school students at the time. I only wish that I could command a classroom with a voice as soft and sure as Anne’s. --With fond memories and best wishes to the family, especially to Jed. Amy Herstein Gervasio (Lowell ’72), University of Wisconsin—Stevens Point -- Amy Herstein Gervasio (agervasi@uwsp.edu) 10/6/2005
Anne Wallach: Dear and faithful friend, esteemed colleague, master teacher. -- Ed Crossley (brandyec@vom.com) 10/6/2005
Anne, thanks for years of friendship, laughter, curiosity, dedication, wisdom, gentleness, and example -- and, of course, coffee. Maybe you made me a little better as a person -- that is, I'd like to credit you but not claim much. This poem seems to say it:
Love
Love means to learn to look at yourself
The way one looks at distant things
For you are only one thing among many.
And whoever sees that way heals his heart,
Without knowing it, from various ills
A bird and a tree say to him: Friend.
Then he wants to use himself and things
So that they stand in the glow of ripeness.
It doesn't matter whether he knows what he serves:
Who serves best doesn't always understand.
-- Czeslaw Milosz
-- Susan Schwartz (susanschwa@aol.com) 10/6/2005
Anne was my high school English teacher and, as I have described her for over thirty years, one of my "intellectual parents"--my own term for mentor. I had her for "Heroes, Tragic and Comic" and "Portrait of the Artist," still two of the best courses I have taken in any school or university. When Bob Armstrong and I attempted to write a comic scene a la Shakespeare, Anne's comment at the bottom of the page was "Thanks for trying." Apparently, she hadn't seen the humor. Bob and I were incensed. We marched into her office and demanded that she see how funny the scene was. She had no choice but to allow us to play the scene live for the class. It was funny enough for her to turn "Thanks for trying" into an A.
I remember sitting in the audience at a school board meeting; I think it was at City College. Anne stood small and insistent at the podium facing the board, arguing forcefully, quietly, with dignity and clarity, that gifted children needed both the expertise of gifted teachers and the challenge of being among gifted peers. Small she was, feisty, yet a grand dame, undeniably Anne, in service to others.
The lightheartedness and seriousness with which Anne approached teaching and life will always be with me. A life lived with intention, with joy, with openness to possibility, with belief in the essential goodness of people, with fervor of mind, with right action--these gifts and more she shared. I treasure her memory--I live her intellectual offspring.
-- Bob Gomez (bobanddenise@sbcglobal.net) 10/6/2005
I met Anne 25 years ago when she came to mentor us, parents of the Gifted and Talented Students' Program in the Oakland Public School System. Since then, Anne and I have kept in constant touch via phone, lunch get-togethers, movie-going, restaurant dining and latte-sipping - all in Oakland and/or Berkeley, California.
Once a month, Anne, Liz LaGorce and I (Sherrill Walker used to join us too before she moved to Southern California) would meet for lunch. That was our monthly date - no matter how busy our schedules. We all greatly treasured those times. And lately, in the last few months, we took turns visiting Anne and having lunch with her at her home - either inside her dining-room or on the patio where we could all enjoy her beautiful garden.
We traveled a wonderful journey with Anne and were privileged to walk the path with her.
Shalom, Anne, my friend, Shalom. Sophie
-- Sophie Souroujon (sfsouroujon@yahoo.com) 10/6/2005
As my English teacher at Lowell in the early 70's, Anne brought her love for literature and creative writing into her wonderful classroom. This was a lasting inspiration, for she helped show to me the importance of art in our lives, which helped me later to the choice of becoming a painter. Thank you to her; she will be missed. -- Bob Armstrong (strongarm_art@hotmail.com) 10/6/2005
As a League friend of many years standing, I had the privilege of "Adventures with Anne" every time we worked together. Tiny Anne blasting away on a bullhorn, urging kids in the Berkeley High quad at lunch time to come register and vote.
Or the opera that almost wasn't. With tickets to a performance at Zellerbach, time passing, and a no-show taxi, she handed her car keys to a "nice-looking," completely unknown young couple walking down Ward Street to drive her to the theater, bring the car back to her driveway, and then drop the keys in her mailbox, which they did. She told this story on herself, blithe of spirit and pleased that her trust in people was wholly justified.
On numerous occasions, at meetings with pontificating officials or resistant bureaucrats explaining why things cannot be done differently, I hear her voice echoing in my ear, and I'm inspired to persist, carrying that pose of Sweet Reason she wore like a cloak into finding a new way to negotiate.
-- helene Lecar (hlecar1@ix.netcom.com) 10/6/2005
Supreeya first introduced me to Anne a few years back. Such a pleasure to have known her. Anne's delight in the world was catching--I always came away from our conversations with renewed enthusiasm for life. A genuine and thought-filled person, she will be hugely missed by everyone who's been in her orbit. I send much sympathy to Anne's family during this time. Anne would want you each to enjoy your lives fully, and be sure to take deep pleasure in the small details of the everyday. -- Madeleine Corson (madeleine@corsondesign.com) 10/6/2005
By happy chance, it was last December, 04, when I saw Anne Wallach's e-mail address in the Lowell High alum newsletter. Got to write her and tell her what she meant to one kid in the mid-60's. She wrote me a lovely note back. She was not only a great teacher, she knew how to love her students. Anne also showed us a lot of fun - Angel Island, Freddy Kuh's Old Spaghetti Factory, poetry from both Dylans. She knew how to laugh at herself. Unforgettable woman. I will always love her back. -- Jamie Dillon (mavericks@redshift.com) 10/5/2005
Anne Wallach was the most inspirational teacher I ever had the pleasure to work with. Her love for literature and language and her example of what a good teacher is certainly drew me to teaching, which I have done for 36 years. -- John Petrovsky (jpetrovsky@ma.org) 10/5/2005
Willard Middle School was fortunate to have had Anne as a writing coach for our 8th graders. She shared her warmth and wit with us and we are grateful. We will miss her.
Karen Meryash and the Willard students
-- Karen Meryash (kmeryash@denovomed.com) 10/5/2005
My dear and well-beloved mentor, my sage guide and friend... View Web site -- Lloyd Nebres (lloyd@berkeley.edu) 10/4/2005
Family circa 1915. Left to right: Rose, Anne, Phil, Lou, Judith, Isaac
Family circa 1945. Rose (Max's mother), Isabelle (Max's sister), Max, Anne, young Bret
1960 Yearbook image from Lowell
mid 1990s with Dana
March 2000
March 2000 with Flossie Lewis - "The best canes in the west, how lame without her." -- Flossie Lewis, (flossiel@earthlink.net) 10/19/05
May 1996 with Maya Wallach and Yehudit Goldfarb
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