Anna Lou Heatherly

Dr. Anna Lou Heatherly of Arlington, Virginia was born on November 14, 1936 and died March 6, 2014 at the age of 77. Anna loved the Lord, her family, her work, traveling, Broadway plays, great books (for adults or children), friends, food and laughter.

Anna is survived by her beloved sister, Julia Heatherly of Arlington, Virginia. She was preceded in death by her father, Emmette Heatherly, who was born 1898 and died in 1962. Her mother, Winnie Iva, was born 1910 and died in 1987. They lived in Arlington, Virginia.

Anna graduated from La Follette High School in 1954. She graduated from American University with a Bachelor’s Degree in 1958, with high honors, and graduated with a doctorate, with high honors, from the University of Virginia in 1970. She was the first woman to graduate from the University of Virginia.

Dr. Heatherly began her career teaching in elementary schools near Arlington and in McLean, Virginia. After completing her doctorate in 1970, she accepted a job at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, teaching courses I reading instruction in the College of Education. In 1972, she transferred to Little Rock to work as the Reading Specialist in “The Kramer Project” which was a collaboration between the Little Rock School District and the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, and directed by Dr. Bettye Caldwell, world-renowned in Early Childhood Education. This school was the first in the US to include babies in a public school setting with pre-schoolers and elementary students. Research was done on the effects of daycare, as well as experimental curriculum in reading, science, and math. Anna also taught graduate reading courses at the U of A Graduate Center at night.

In 1978, Dr. Heatherly began teaching in the Reading Program at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and remained in this position until she retired in 2001, and returned to her childhood home of Arlington, VA. During her time in Arkansas, she made important contributions to the state in the area of reading instruction. She was instrumental in establishing the “cutting edge” Reading Recovery Program in the state. Collaborating with a steering committee of dedicated Arkansans, the way was made clear to establish a Reading Recovery Teacher Training Center at UALR. Many children are successful readers because of her dedication in helping to provide access to Reading Recovery, as well as, increasing the skills of classroom teachers in reading instruction.

Numerous children profited from the UALR Summer Reading Program from 1976 to 2000, which provided enrichment and skill instruction while serving as a practicum for teachers enrolled in the Master’s Degree Reading Program. Dr. Heatherly directed that summer program, which the students called “Reading Camp” and she called it “the most fun I have all year.”

During her career in Arkansas, Anna participated in many professional organizations including International Reading Association, Arkansas Reading Association, and Central Arkansas Reading Association. She held offices, served on committees, and gave many presentations over the U.S. and in Bolivia. She has contributed many hours of staff development in local schools, as well as, in other parts of Arkansas.

During the late eighties and early nineties, new research-based reading instructional strategies from New Zealand and Australia gained prominence on the International Reading Association Conference program, and gained attention of educators in the U.S. Dr. Heatherly was committed to ensuring that Arkansas teachers would have access to these strategies too. Those who took her classes knew them well, but they and others needed to have continuing professional development. So she was dedicated to bringing the experts to Arkansas for conferences, for courses compressed into long days for a week or two, and for presentations at professional meetings in-state. During this era, Dr. Heatherly and colleagues at UALR College of Education brought in some of these outstanding leaders in literacy instruction to share the highly successful practices from New Zealand and Australia. Among those were, Dr. Mauri Clay, who developed Reading Recovery in New Zealand, Leanna Traill, a N.Z. literacy expert, and several teachers and principals from New Zealand schools. Dr. Brian Cambourne, a professor from a university in Australia and some of his colleagues were among those from “down under” who shared their successful discoveries with Arkansas teachers at the invitation of Dr. Heatherly. These conferences over a four-year period provided the foundation for the Reading Recovery Program and Early Literacy practices to be well-received in the state. Anna’s leadership was greatly appreciated by teachers and administrators, in providing this information and understanding of successful but different strategies that worked for our children too. She didn’t do it alone, but she was a leader of the movement toward excellence in Literacy Instruction in Arkansas.

Anna enjoyed the rich historical and cultural opportunities that nearby Washington, D.C. had to offer. As a teen, she often took a bus to explore the monuments, building, galleries and beautiful landscapes. On one of those days, as she walked along a city sidewalk, a young man grabbed her purse. Her immediate thought was, “How will I get home? My money is in that purse! I don’t even have a dime to call my mother to come get me.” Her response was to run him down, tackle him and take back her purse, scolding him as he ran down the street.

Anna Heatherly was an avid tennis player and swimmer. She loved theather, music, Waterford crystal, entertaining friends, children and children reading for pleasure. She shared a love of tiny Pekinese dogs with her mother and her sister Julia, lovingly called “Sister.” The dogs were their children and were treated to decadent birthday parties with doggie guests wearing birthday hats at a table. There were also Easter egg hunts, complete with baskets of special canine treats. Some of Anna’s friends’ children wanted to trade places with the luxurious lives of their dogs.

Anna will be missed. She was truly a unique and gifted individual. Notes via email would be welcome to be sent to [email protected], to be presented to her sister.