CARBONDALE - Mona Ruth Tomlinson Marcec, 72, died at 8:15 a.m. Monday, Oct. 29, 2007, at her home.
She was born Aug. 20, 1935, in Huntsville, Ala., to Erle R. and Pearl S. (Syler) Tomlinson.
Her devoted family includes her son, Steve Marcec of Carbondale, and his sons Tyler and Dylan of Henderson, Texas; her daughter, Megan Kircher and husband, David, and their sons Brian and Ryan of Yuma, Ariz.; her brother Earl Ripley Tomlinson II and wife, Pauline, of Murphysboro, and his son, Earl Ripley Tomlinson III and wife, Nikki; and one uncle, P. Howard Syler, of West Point, Ga.
While growing up in Huntsville, Ala., Mona fell in love with the planes that flew out of the Redstone Missile Center. Around the same time, she decided that one day she wanted to become a teacher.
She devoted 26 years of her life to teaching, earned her pilot's licenses and became a state finalist for NASA's "Teacher in Space" program, beginning a long association with NASA projects promoting aerospace education.
Her parents moved to Murphysboro, where Mona graduated from Murphysboro Township High School with the Class of 1953, then enrolled at Southern Illinois University, where she earned her bachelor's degree in elementary education. After marrying a fellow student, Andrew Marcec, the couple moved to the Chicago area where she began her teaching career in LaGrange Park.
She returned to Carbondale and completed a master's degree in education leadership in 1978 and taught for four years at SIU's University Lab School until it closed. In 1971 she moved to Carbondale Elementary School District 95, where she taught until retiring in 1990.
It was her personal goal to be the best teacher she could be and hoped her students would remember her class as the one where they learned the most. Mona was a passionate traveler and always returned to her classroom with extensive slide shows to share with her students.
She loved and cared for each of her third graders and would tell them once they had been a student of hers, they would be a little bit hers forever. Long after she retired her students and their parents stayed in touch.
She decided to apply for the "Teacher in Space" program and eventually became a state finalist for a spot on the ill-fated Challenger's 1986 flight. From that time she frequently attended NASA conferences and worked with their education unit to develop and promote space and aeronautics curriculum in schools nationwide.
In 1992 she was diagnosed with inflammatory carcinoma of the breast, a rare and lethal form of cancer. She survived the terminal diagnosis and was among the first to be given pioneering stem cell replacement therapy to fight the disease. However, in 2002 she was diagnosed with lymphoma.
During her lengthy illness, friends, family and parents of her students would drive her to St. Louis for her many treatments. She was always positive and viewed the trips as special opportunities to spend time on the road with friends.
Her enthusiastic and curious nature kept her busy with community involvement and she held committee and leadership positions in numerous organizations.
She was a member of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, Chapter GX, P.E.O. Sisterhood, the Daniel H. Brush Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, Ninety-Nines International, Southern Illinois University Alumni Association, Illinois Genealogical Society, Illinois Aviation Hall of Fame Selection Committee, the Illinois Retired Teachers' Association and the Carbondale Science Center, which she helped found. She also helped found the SIU Athletics Boosters' Club.
She was appointed by Gov. James Thompson to the Board of Aeronautical Advisors for the state of Illinois and was appointed by Mayor Helen Westberg to the Carbondale Bicentennial Commission.
She received a nomination for the A. Scott Crossfield Aerospace Education Teacher of the Year Award from the Illinois Division of Aeronautics and the Federal Aviation Administrator's "Championship" Award for Excellence in Aviation Education for the Great Lakes Region of the U.S.
After a trip to Scotland with a friend sparked Mona's interest in genealogy, she tackled her family's lineage, tracing all lines to 1800 and one line back to 1423. She was proud of the discovery that she was a direct descendant of Queen Isabella of Spain. In her genealogy work she discovered numerous family members around the country.
Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 1, 2007, in St. Andrews Episcopal Church in Carbondale, with Father David Taylor officiating. Interment will follow in Pleasant Grove Memorial Park.
Visitation will be from 5 until 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2007, at the Crain Pleasant Grove-Murdale Funeral Home.
Memorials in Mona's memory may be made to the donor's choice and will be accepted at the funeral home.
Source: Southern Illinoisan, Wed., Oct. 31, 2007
Obituary submitted by C. Ann Carruthers
She was born Aug. 20, 1935, in Huntsville, Ala., to Erle R. and Pearl S. (Syler) Tomlinson.
Her devoted family includes her son, Steve Marcec of Carbondale, and his sons Tyler and Dylan of Henderson, Texas; her daughter, Megan Kircher and husband, David, and their sons Brian and Ryan of Yuma, Ariz.; her brother Earl Ripley Tomlinson II and wife, Pauline, of Murphysboro, and his son, Earl Ripley Tomlinson III and wife, Nikki; and one uncle, P. Howard Syler, of West Point, Ga.
While growing up in Huntsville, Ala., Mona fell in love with the planes that flew out of the Redstone Missile Center. Around the same time, she decided that one day she wanted to become a teacher.
She devoted 26 years of her life to teaching, earned her pilot's licenses and became a state finalist for NASA's "Teacher in Space" program, beginning a long association with NASA projects promoting aerospace education.
Her parents moved to Murphysboro, where Mona graduated from Murphysboro Township High School with the Class of 1953, then enrolled at Southern Illinois University, where she earned her bachelor's degree in elementary education. After marrying a fellow student, Andrew Marcec, the couple moved to the Chicago area where she began her teaching career in LaGrange Park.
She returned to Carbondale and completed a master's degree in education leadership in 1978 and taught for four years at SIU's University Lab School until it closed. In 1971 she moved to Carbondale Elementary School District 95, where she taught until retiring in 1990.
It was her personal goal to be the best teacher she could be and hoped her students would remember her class as the one where they learned the most. Mona was a passionate traveler and always returned to her classroom with extensive slide shows to share with her students.
She loved and cared for each of her third graders and would tell them once they had been a student of hers, they would be a little bit hers forever. Long after she retired her students and their parents stayed in touch.
She decided to apply for the "Teacher in Space" program and eventually became a state finalist for a spot on the ill-fated Challenger's 1986 flight. From that time she frequently attended NASA conferences and worked with their education unit to develop and promote space and aeronautics curriculum in schools nationwide.
In 1992 she was diagnosed with inflammatory carcinoma of the breast, a rare and lethal form of cancer. She survived the terminal diagnosis and was among the first to be given pioneering stem cell replacement therapy to fight the disease. However, in 2002 she was diagnosed with lymphoma.
During her lengthy illness, friends, family and parents of her students would drive her to St. Louis for her many treatments. She was always positive and viewed the trips as special opportunities to spend time on the road with friends.
Her enthusiastic and curious nature kept her busy with community involvement and she held committee and leadership positions in numerous organizations.
She was a member of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, Chapter GX, P.E.O. Sisterhood, the Daniel H. Brush Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, Ninety-Nines International, Southern Illinois University Alumni Association, Illinois Genealogical Society, Illinois Aviation Hall of Fame Selection Committee, the Illinois Retired Teachers' Association and the Carbondale Science Center, which she helped found. She also helped found the SIU Athletics Boosters' Club.
She was appointed by Gov. James Thompson to the Board of Aeronautical Advisors for the state of Illinois and was appointed by Mayor Helen Westberg to the Carbondale Bicentennial Commission.
She received a nomination for the A. Scott Crossfield Aerospace Education Teacher of the Year Award from the Illinois Division of Aeronautics and the Federal Aviation Administrator's "Championship" Award for Excellence in Aviation Education for the Great Lakes Region of the U.S.
After a trip to Scotland with a friend sparked Mona's interest in genealogy, she tackled her family's lineage, tracing all lines to 1800 and one line back to 1423. She was proud of the discovery that she was a direct descendant of Queen Isabella of Spain. In her genealogy work she discovered numerous family members around the country.
Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 1, 2007, in St. Andrews Episcopal Church in Carbondale, with Father David Taylor officiating. Interment will follow in Pleasant Grove Memorial Park.
Visitation will be from 5 until 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2007, at the Crain Pleasant Grove-Murdale Funeral Home.
Memorials in Mona's memory may be made to the donor's choice and will be accepted at the funeral home.
Source: Southern Illinoisan, Wed., Oct. 31, 2007
Obituary submitted by C. Ann Carruthers
CARBONDALE - Mona Ruth Tomlinson Marcec, 72, died at 8:15 a.m. Monday, Oct. 29, 2007, at her home.
She was born Aug. 20, 1935, in Huntsville, Ala., to Erle R. and Pearl S. (Syler) Tomlinson.
Her devoted family includes her son, Steve Marcec of Carbondale, and his sons Tyler and Dylan of Henderson, Texas; her daughter, Megan Kircher and husband, David, and their sons Brian and Ryan of Yuma, Ariz.; her brother Earl Ripley Tomlinson II and wife, Pauline, of Murphysboro, and his son, Earl Ripley Tomlinson III and wife, Nikki; and one uncle, P. Howard Syler, of West Point, Ga.
While growing up in Huntsville, Ala., Mona fell in love with the planes that flew out of the Redstone Missile Center. Around the same time, she decided that one day she wanted to become a teacher.
She devoted 26 years of her life to teaching, earned her pilot's licenses and became a state finalist for NASA's "Teacher in Space" program, beginning a long association with NASA projects promoting aerospace education.
Her parents moved to Murphysboro, where Mona graduated from Murphysboro Township High School with the Class of 1953, then enrolled at Southern Illinois University, where she earned her bachelor's degree in elementary education. After marrying a fellow student, Andrew Marcec, the couple moved to the Chicago area where she began her teaching career in LaGrange Park.
She returned to Carbondale and completed a master's degree in education leadership in 1978 and taught for four years at SIU's University Lab School until it closed. In 1971 she moved to Carbondale Elementary School District 95, where she taught until retiring in 1990.
It was her personal goal to be the best teacher she could be and hoped her students would remember her class as the one where they learned the most. Mona was a passionate traveler and always returned to her classroom with extensive slide shows to share with her students.
She loved and cared for each of her third graders and would tell them once they had been a student of hers, they would be a little bit hers forever. Long after she retired her students and their parents stayed in touch.
She decided to apply for the "Teacher in Space" program and eventually became a state finalist for a spot on the ill-fated Challenger's 1986 flight. From that time she frequently attended NASA conferences and worked with their education unit to develop and promote space and aeronautics curriculum in schools nationwide.
In 1992 she was diagnosed with inflammatory carcinoma of the breast, a rare and lethal form of cancer. She survived the terminal diagnosis and was among the first to be given pioneering stem cell replacement therapy to fight the disease. However, in 2002 she was diagnosed with lymphoma.
During her lengthy illness, friends, family and parents of her students would drive her to St. Louis for her many treatments. She was always positive and viewed the trips as special opportunities to spend time on the road with friends.
Her enthusiastic and curious nature kept her busy with community involvement and she held committee and leadership positions in numerous organizations.
She was a member of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, Chapter GX, P.E.O. Sisterhood, the Daniel H. Brush Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, Ninety-Nines International, Southern Illinois University Alumni Association, Illinois Genealogical Society, Illinois Aviation Hall of Fame Selection Committee, the Illinois Retired Teachers' Association and the Carbondale Science Center, which she helped found. She also helped found the SIU Athletics Boosters' Club.
She was appointed by Gov. James Thompson to the Board of Aeronautical Advisors for the state of Illinois and was appointed by Mayor Helen Westberg to the Carbondale Bicentennial Commission.
She received a nomination for the A. Scott Crossfield Aerospace Education Teacher of the Year Award from the Illinois Division of Aeronautics and the Federal Aviation Administrator's "Championship" Award for Excellence in Aviation Education for the Great Lakes Region of the U.S.
After a trip to Scotland with a friend sparked Mona's interest in genealogy, she tackled her family's lineage, tracing all lines to 1800 and one line back to 1423. She was proud of the discovery that she was a direct descendant of Queen Isabella of Spain. In her genealogy work she discovered numerous family members around the country.
Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 1, 2007, in St. Andrews Episcopal Church in Carbondale, with Father David Taylor officiating. Interment will follow in Pleasant Grove Memorial Park.
Visitation will be from 5 until 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2007, at the Crain Pleasant Grove-Murdale Funeral Home.
Memorials in Mona's memory may be made to the donor's choice and will be accepted at the funeral home.
Source: Southern Illinoisan, Wed., Oct. 31, 2007
Obituary submitted by C. Ann Carruthers
She was born Aug. 20, 1935, in Huntsville, Ala., to Erle R. and Pearl S. (Syler) Tomlinson.
Her devoted family includes her son, Steve Marcec of Carbondale, and his sons Tyler and Dylan of Henderson, Texas; her daughter, Megan Kircher and husband, David, and their sons Brian and Ryan of Yuma, Ariz.; her brother Earl Ripley Tomlinson II and wife, Pauline, of Murphysboro, and his son, Earl Ripley Tomlinson III and wife, Nikki; and one uncle, P. Howard Syler, of West Point, Ga.
While growing up in Huntsville, Ala., Mona fell in love with the planes that flew out of the Redstone Missile Center. Around the same time, she decided that one day she wanted to become a teacher.
She devoted 26 years of her life to teaching, earned her pilot's licenses and became a state finalist for NASA's "Teacher in Space" program, beginning a long association with NASA projects promoting aerospace education.
Her parents moved to Murphysboro, where Mona graduated from Murphysboro Township High School with the Class of 1953, then enrolled at Southern Illinois University, where she earned her bachelor's degree in elementary education. After marrying a fellow student, Andrew Marcec, the couple moved to the Chicago area where she began her teaching career in LaGrange Park.
She returned to Carbondale and completed a master's degree in education leadership in 1978 and taught for four years at SIU's University Lab School until it closed. In 1971 she moved to Carbondale Elementary School District 95, where she taught until retiring in 1990.
It was her personal goal to be the best teacher she could be and hoped her students would remember her class as the one where they learned the most. Mona was a passionate traveler and always returned to her classroom with extensive slide shows to share with her students.
She loved and cared for each of her third graders and would tell them once they had been a student of hers, they would be a little bit hers forever. Long after she retired her students and their parents stayed in touch.
She decided to apply for the "Teacher in Space" program and eventually became a state finalist for a spot on the ill-fated Challenger's 1986 flight. From that time she frequently attended NASA conferences and worked with their education unit to develop and promote space and aeronautics curriculum in schools nationwide.
In 1992 she was diagnosed with inflammatory carcinoma of the breast, a rare and lethal form of cancer. She survived the terminal diagnosis and was among the first to be given pioneering stem cell replacement therapy to fight the disease. However, in 2002 she was diagnosed with lymphoma.
During her lengthy illness, friends, family and parents of her students would drive her to St. Louis for her many treatments. She was always positive and viewed the trips as special opportunities to spend time on the road with friends.
Her enthusiastic and curious nature kept her busy with community involvement and she held committee and leadership positions in numerous organizations.
She was a member of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, Chapter GX, P.E.O. Sisterhood, the Daniel H. Brush Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, Ninety-Nines International, Southern Illinois University Alumni Association, Illinois Genealogical Society, Illinois Aviation Hall of Fame Selection Committee, the Illinois Retired Teachers' Association and the Carbondale Science Center, which she helped found. She also helped found the SIU Athletics Boosters' Club.
She was appointed by Gov. James Thompson to the Board of Aeronautical Advisors for the state of Illinois and was appointed by Mayor Helen Westberg to the Carbondale Bicentennial Commission.
She received a nomination for the A. Scott Crossfield Aerospace Education Teacher of the Year Award from the Illinois Division of Aeronautics and the Federal Aviation Administrator's "Championship" Award for Excellence in Aviation Education for the Great Lakes Region of the U.S.
After a trip to Scotland with a friend sparked Mona's interest in genealogy, she tackled her family's lineage, tracing all lines to 1800 and one line back to 1423. She was proud of the discovery that she was a direct descendant of Queen Isabella of Spain. In her genealogy work she discovered numerous family members around the country.
Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 1, 2007, in St. Andrews Episcopal Church in Carbondale, with Father David Taylor officiating. Interment will follow in Pleasant Grove Memorial Park.
Visitation will be from 5 until 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2007, at the Crain Pleasant Grove-Murdale Funeral Home.
Memorials in Mona's memory may be made to the donor's choice and will be accepted at the funeral home.
Source: Southern Illinoisan, Wed., Oct. 31, 2007
Obituary submitted by C. Ann Carruthers
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