Jeanne D Stanley

A longtime Broward County educator who had a talent for teaching the disabled and a taste for Italian food and classical music Jeanne Desideri Stanley died Sept. 8 at a Tamarac assisted living facility. She was 81. During her three-decade career with the Broward school district, Mrs. Stanley taught Braille to the blind, was principal of a school for the emotionally challenged and operated a library. "She just loved teaching, and she just had such a gift with children," said Lisa Worley, Mrs. Stanley's daughter. "She got so much pleasure and enjoyment from it, and they sensed that in her. Mrs. Stanley was born in Springfield, Mass., to Italian immigrant parents, and earned a bachelor's degree at American International University in that city, as well as master's degrees in special education at Syracuse University. After teaching special education in Chicago and Connecticut, Mrs. Stanley moved to Fort Lauderdale in the early '50s, establishing Broward's first program for the visually impaired at what was then Edgewood Elementary School. "That was her passion, working with children who needed that extra helping hand," Worley said. She then served as principal at South Side Elementary School in Fort Lauderdale, a school for emotionally disturbed students. During the '70s she worked as librarian at New River Middle School in Fort Lauderdale, where her peers voted her Teacher of the Year. "She was very laid back," said Jean-Ann Hagy, a fellow teacher now retired. "It makes for a much more relaxed atmosphere, and the kids were more comfortable coming to the library." Hagy also recalled how Mrs. Stanley opened up her home on holidays: "She rounded up the strays. If you didn't have any place to go, Jeanne would take you in." Her daughter remembered how on Sundays Mrs. Stanley would fill her home with the smell of Italian cooking and the sounds of classical music. When she retired in the late '80s, Mrs. Stanley devoted her time to her two grandsons, baby-sitting and, of course, teaching them. Besides her daughter, son-in-law Bill and grandsons Ian and Nicholas of Southwest Ranches, Mrs. Stanley, who was predeceased by her ex-husband, Trowbridge Stanley, is survived by a sister, Yolanda, Springfield, Mass., and several nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held Sept. 26 at 3 p.m. at Fred Hunter Funeral Home, 2401 S. University Drive, Davie. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Alzheimer's Association in the name of the Jeanne Stanley Memorial Fund. Information on donations is available at alz.org.

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