A legacy of great educators

Recently, two former St. Thomas More educators passed away within weeks of each other. Dorothy Masek and Linda Clark were part of the education legacy that one can still feel the effects of today.

Dorothy Masek, 92, passed away on May 6, 2021. With her master’s degree in education (all while raising her four children in Brooklyn), she taught at St. Thomas More for 28 years until her retirement.

As one former student put it, “Mrs. Masek was a tough teacher, but at the end of the day you knew math. Her dedication to her vocation, made me a better student. And I enjoyed seeing her at Mass after her retirement to say hello.”

Married for 72 to her husband Lawrence, Masek spent her retirement with family and traveling. She was a constant presence at Sunday Mass (quietly sitting with her husband near the Pieta). In continuing her legacy even today, a few of her great-grand children attend St. Thomas More School.

On May 15, 2021, Linda Clark entered eternal rest. While she only taught a short time at the school, her effects on her students were profound. She served as the junior high social studies teacher for most of the 1990s.

On her obituary’s memorial wall one former student wrote, “Mrs. Clark was one of the best teachers I have ever had. The way she delivered her curriculum always kept me intrigued and always paying attention. She always had a way of finding common ground and connecting.”

Clark went on to teach for 21 more years after STM at Padua Franciscan High School in Parma. In 2004, she was named the Ohio History Teacher of Year.

These two teachers are prime examples of the dedication and love of teaching that is still present in the teachers at St. Thomas More. While there is sadness in their passing, their legacy continues to live on in the hallways of St. Thomas More School.