by Dr. Joan Singley Schrysen
Living Waters received a generous, anonymous gift in memory of Ginger Aspy, one of our original Board members. We wanted our readers to know about this remarkable teacher.
It was always early when Ginger Aspy, a fourth grade teacher, started for school. Closing the car windows, she sang praise songs aloud to her Savior. She hurried to arrive extra early so her students from deprived homes could clean up before the others arrived and thus avoid ridicule. Ginger considered teaching a privilege. She had a rule that her classroom would be a safe place for all students: NO unkind words! Thus, learning flourished. She read to her students daily. and taught them delightful songs. Her presence was full of joy. Creativity permeated Ginger’s classes. Her students were pen pals with the keeper of the Statue of Liberty. They made Native American headdresses, constructed totem poles, and crafted drums out of oatmeal containers. Field trips included the NASA space center and Chinese restaurants where students ate with chopsticks. They attended the symphony and watched stage plays. Ginger was a committed Christian and faithful prayer warrior. She prayed not only for her students but also for their families and for the larger educational community – her colleagues, principals, and all those who influenced students’ lives. She taught adult Sunday School and even developed a curriculum for fifth graders to teach them the fundamentals of the Christian faith. With such commitment and creativity, it is not much wonder that Ginger’s classes are remembered to this day, although she retired in the early 90’s and passed away in 2000. One daughter, still living in Spartanburg, South Carolina, where Ginger and her husband Bill raised four daughters, reports people remembering fondly their time in Ginger’s classes. “Then I get to hear how she invested in them, encouraged them, loved them, and taught them.” After Bill’s sudden death in 1978 Ginger returned to Daytona and taught at South Daytona Elementary for many years. Her greatest legacy as a teacher is the example she set for her own children. Her four daughters, her sons-inlaw, and her grandchildren all know Jesus Christ as their Savior. Truly the apples have not fallen far from the tree.
My sincere thanks to Lissa Cone, Virginia Aspy Melvin, Angie Guess, and Ruth Aspy, Ginger’s daughters, for their help with this article.