Hedda Thatcher

Dear Andreas, Stephen, David and Tony:
As a former student, I was shocked and saddened to hear of Hedda’s sudden passing. As a somewhat less-than-promising learner of German slouching in my desk in September, 1979, I had no idea that my life was about to change. Hedda taught German with razor-sharp wit, verve and style, and if she was impatient, it was because she knew – long before and more decisively than many of us did – that we could do better. Hedda taught me that to truly learn German one has to appreciate the beautiful logic of its structure. It is a language which requires precision and effort and a committed teacher like her with high expectations; there are no shortcuts to clarity and elegance of expression. I am so grateful to her for many things: for demanding that we take the long road to getting it right, and for giving me the skills to win a life-changing scholarship to travel to Germany in 1982 and to pursue language teaching as a career. What I learned from her stood me in very good stead over my educational and professional trajectory that began at St. Michaels over thirty years ago.
In the Germanic and Slavic Studies department we hold an annual awards ceremony in which top students of German receive book prizes from the German Consulate for their course grades in German. As the coordinator of the first- and second-year program, I speak to the audience about how learning a new language opens so many doors to remarkable possibilities. I also share with the group a still-treasured consular book prize I received in 1982 with a bookplate filled in with Hedda’s handwriting. It reminds me that the best teachers do not give us directions but help us choose our own path.
She will always be missed and always remembered.
Matt Pollard (Victoria)

Some of my classmates have already shared their memories of Hedda Thatcher as our German teacher from 1981-1985 at SMUS, and very eloquently expressed why she was such a rare teacher. I thought she was fantastic: an excellent teacher, firm when she needed to be, encouraging, and often great fun, with a wonderfully wry and iconoclastic sense of humor. Without her excellent tutelage, I wouldn’t have been able to enjoy a month in Germany on a language scholarship — an experience that I count as one of the best and most formative of my teenage years. Hedda Thatcher also made sure to remind us that even though our years in high school were very important, the world was large, and that the best was ahead of us. I think she really cared about us not just as students, but as people. My deepest sympathies to her family and friends.

Kenneth Oppel (Toronto)

I was saddened to learn of the death of Frau Thatcher, a teacher that we all feared, loved, and admired in equal respects. I was one of the students that she led fearlessly through Europe on what she dubbed “The Bratwurst Express” and carry with me very fond memories of that trip and her leadership on it.

I travel to Germany and Austria regularly on business and the German that I learned under the tutelage of Frau Thatcher continues to come in incredibly handy. On more than a few occasions, German colleagues and friends ask me when I learned German, and when I tell them that it was over 20 years ago, they ask me how I’m still able to remember it and converse in the language with relative ease. My answer is always, “I had a great teacher”.

My deepest condolences to Frau Thatcher’s family and friends. She was, as the French would say, formidable, and I am sure that she will be deeply missed.

David Chmiel

I also remember Frau Thatcher with great fondness. She was an extraordinary teacher not just because she was adept at languages, but because she had that intuitive ability to sense (and deliver) what her students really needed – whether they understand their own needs or not.

As I was graduating, Mrs. Thatcher kept me quietly after class one day to ask what my plans for university were. I told her my parents were forcing me into a program I didn’t like but that if I wanted tuition, I had to accept this course of study. She understood me better at the time than I understood myself, I think now, and suggested that I tell my parents I would attend as pre-law. “Maybe you will, maybe you won’t,” I remember her saying with one of those European shrugs. “By the time you actually have to decide, who’ll remember that first deal?” I followed her suggestion, left for university and a future at the bar, and wound up studying modern languages and literature instead. I’ve often sent her thoughts of thanks for that sage advice – and the launch from Victoria.

Und dort steht es, schwartz auf weiss.

Fondly, John Burns (Vancouver)

I have known Hedda as a dear friend and colleague since I joined SMUS in 1987. In 1990, she and I took a party of 26 students to Germany and Austria, and I was struck by the respect and affection they felt for a woman who was intolerant of deceit and political correctness. It has been a privilege to know her. Eva and I still find it difficult to believe that such a seemingly indestructible person is no longer around to share a Bratwurst and a laugh, and offer our heartfelt condolences to Tony and the other members of her family.

Hedda was often an inspiration to me in my first few years at the school when I started here in 1989. She encouraged me in our early years as a family adjusting to a new life in Canada. Hedda was always interested in me and was very kind. She gave sound advice, had a wonderful sense of humour, and had high expectations for her students. She was a professional and a most dedicated teacher. I always had respect for Hedda as a colleague. My sincere condolences to her family.
Joan Tweedie

In loving memories of Hedda I vividly remember the precious moments I spent with Hedda. She was the most understanding person with a great heart. I will miss Hedda. With her demise nature has taken away one of the most precious person I knew.
I will always keep her alive in my memories. I pray for her eternal peace in her heavenly abode.
My sincere condolence for Tony, Hedda’s family in Canada and Vienna.

It has taken a few days for this sad news to sink in and to consider what it was about Hedda that I will remember best.
She was the consummate professional. Students were expected to rise to her expectations rather than what she regarded as a more wishy-washy approach to learning. At the same time she knew her students as individuals. It seemed inevitable that each year one of her students would win the German Consular Prize.

It was a pleasure to know Hedda, as a colleague. She had a wonderfully acerbic,naughty sense of humour which she could pull-off with straight-faced innocence.

Our condolences to Tony, Stephen and Andreas.

Sean and I are sorry to hear about Hedda’s passing. We are still in shock especially we are planning to visit her in the summer when we go to Canada. We will always miss her passion and laughter.

Dear Tony, we know words can not really help to ease the sadness you bear. Please bear in mind Hedda lives in our hearts and won’t be forgotten.

It was with great sadness that we learned of the passing of Hedda. She was a passionate and dedicated teacher at SMUS for many years.
Our sincere condolences go to Tony, her family in Canada and in Vienna.
Mary and Sydney Humphreys

Dear Stephen and Andreas, it was with great sadness that I read of your mother’s sudden and unexpected passing. As my German teacher for four years and a close family friend for many more, Hedda leaves many happy memories. You are in my thoughts and prayers during this difficult time. In sorrow, Erik