Nimal M. Vaz

Born on February 21, 1941, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, the eldest daughter of Felix and Dorothy Wickramaratne, Nimal was a precocious child who loved learning and teaching. It was no surprise that she became a pioneering Montessorian and lifelong advocate for children’s education.

Nimal’s journey into Montessori education began at the tender age of three. In 1944, she became the first child enrolled in the inaugural Montessori classroom in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) Young Nimal and her aunt Lena cut the pink ribbon that opened the school—an act that symbolically launched a vocation that would span more than eight decades.

After earning a degree from the University of Ceylon in 1963, Nimal reunited with her aunt Lena in Oklahoma City, receiving her AMI Primary Diploma in 1964. She worked as an assistant and teacher trainer, and expanded the Montessori method by organizing AMI training courses in Phoenix, Arizona, and Palo Alto, California.

Nimal gave birth to two daughters, Manjula and Anusha, and moved her young family from Sri Lanka to Arizona in 1969.

Nimal was dedicated to bringing Montessori education to children with special needs and received her Master’s degree in Special Education from Arizona State University. From 1972 to 1985 Nimal directed a Montessori classroom for children with special developmental needs that was housed in one of Arizona’s largest hospitals. She served as chair of an advisory committee for AMI special education training in Munich, Germany. She established a Montessori classroom for children with developmental delays at one of Arizona’s largest hospitals—working as director there until 1985 when she gave birth to her third child Amali.

In 1987 Nimal and her husband Joe established the Montessori Center School to offer children and families an authentic Montessori educational experience.The campus was housed on a large plot of land where they were able to create meaningful outdoor experiences for the children, including an internationally recognized Sensory Garden. During this time period Nimal also assumed the role of Director of Training/AMI 3-6 Trainer for the Montessori Education Center in Arizona. She would go on to train over 335 teachers during her years working as an AMI trainer in Arizona. Several of her students (Ann Velasco, Tiffany Liddell and Megan Trezise) would go on to become AMI Trainers themselves, others would go on to open their own Montessori schools.

Nimal’s family supported her school; her two older daughters Manjula and Anusha worked there while they pursued their Bachelor of Arts degrees and her two granddaughters Paris and Anjali attended the school, and eventually worked alongside their grandmother until she retired and sold the school in 2022.

Nimal was a devout Catholic. She lived with joy and discipline, working hard professionally but always taking care to spend time with her grandchildren at home. She had a way of making you laugh with an expression, a few choice words and a bright smile. She observed and appreciated the living and natural world around her for her entire life, like a true Montessori child.

Her life was one of extraordinary purpose—rooted in compassion, guided by wisdom, and devoted to the service of children. May her memory bring comfort to those who knew her and inspiration to generations to come.

Nimal is remembered with deep love by her husband Joseph Vaz; her daughters Manjula, Anusha (Moore), and Amali Vaz; her granddaughters Paris and Anjali Moore; and her sister Rupa Wickramaratne.

The Funeral Mass/Celebration of Life is scheduled for Tuesday, February 17, 2026 at 10:00am. Mass will be at St. Francis Xavier Church, 4715 N Central Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85012, with reception to follow at Anderson Hall.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Montessori Scholarship Fund. Please see the link below to make a donation.