It is with a broken heart that I reach out to you again with the passing of our one and only Judy Neagle, a beloved and powerful English Teacher of Heritage Academy that taught from the very beginnings of the school’s existence. She was a one-of-kind woman who commanded her classroom with excellence and charm. Every English unit was intentionally chosen to help her students to live powerful lives. She loved quality education, pushing her students to depths we didn’t know we were capable of, memorizing epic poems, and encouraging great literature to come to life for us. She cared deeply about accessing the hearts, minds, and potential of her students by establishing school-wide standards of excellence such as the 4 B’s and “You Gotta Wanna.” The way she lived and taught left no doubt in her student’s minds how significant we were to her. She laughed the loudest at the school talent shows and play performances and found delight in our efforts, and even when we were naughty we knew we wouldn’t be able to get away with it, but we were loved anyway. This larger-than-life woman has left a larger-than-life hole in this world and we are devasted to lose her. It is impossible to ignore the significant impact she has had on so many, as we couldn’t get these poems out of our minds and hearts even if we tried. This graceful and powerful woman will never be forgotten.
