Nov. 23--Mari Ann Chambers taught first- and second-graders in Oak Park for 39 years.
"She was an excellent teacher," said Marian Hartmann, who taught alongside Chambers at Longfellow Elementary School in Oak Park and is now retired. "The children really liked her and she really did a good job teaching."
Chambers, 92, died of complications from an intestinal infection on Oct. 26 at the Westbridge assisted living community in Wheaton, said her son, Frank. She had lived in Glen Ellyn for 54 years before moving to a retirement community in Wheaton in 2009.
She was born Mari Ann Pukys in Robertsdale, Ala. Her father immigrated to the United States from Austria-Hungary in 1914 and her mother came from Czechoslovakia in 1920. The family settled in suburban Forest View outside Chicago around 1927.
Chambers graduated from Morton High School and then spent two years at Morton Junior College. She then became the first member of her family to graduate from college when she received a bachelor's degree in elementary education from what today is known as Western Illinois University.
"Her father thought it was more important for girls to go to college than boys so they could be sure to support themselves," Chambers' son said. "That was his philosophy."
Right after college, Chambers took a job in Oak Park, teaching first for one year at Irving Elementary School. In 1946 she shifted to Longfellow Elementary, where she spent the next 38 years teaching first- and second-graders.
"She always said that first and second grade were so important because she taught reading and that was something that was so important to kids that they used it forever and it established a good foundation," her son said. "She thought that was very important."
At Longfellow, Chambers taught alongside Hartmann in an open classroom known as "the Pod," which allowed the two teachers to speak to one another in Czech, a language they both knew. Hartmann recalled Chambers' dignified style and sense of humor.
"She was just an elegant person," Hartmann said.
While teaching, Chambers earned a master's degree in early childhood education from Roosevelt University in 1963.
After retiring from Longfellow in 1984, Chambers kept busy with travel and cultural events. She also tutored underprivileged children through a program at First Presbyterian Church of Glen Ellyn.
Chambers' husband, William, died in 1987. Her son, William, died of AIDS in 1993 when he was 34. During his final months, she was his principal caregiver.
"It was very hard for her," Frank Chambers said.
There were no other immediate survivors.
Services were held.
Bob Goldsborough is a freelance reporter.
