Friday, March 26, 2021
I would like to send my sympathy to your family at this time. Eleanor was a one in a million person. She was loving and caring beyond belief. In working with her for many years in the Greenville Special Education department, Eleanor was a perfect match for the students we served. She gave of her time and patience in guiding all those she worked with to be better teachers and role models.
Your mom had a very special place in my heart because we worked together and we were friends. When your mom, Barbara Layman and I worked together in Greenville every day was a new day. She kept the ball rolling and was always on top of the daily schedules. She kept the students happy, calm and so very cared for in a special way. We laughed each day after school as we reviewed our daily progress. She, by the way, often intuitively knew what would work with a student!
I will tell you two funny incidents that I still smile and laugh about to this day:
One day I came to work and my hem was torn on my dress. Your mother showed me it and told me to make sure and sew it soon. The next time I wore it I reminded her about the hem, and told her that I had indeed fixed it by "hot glue gunning the hem".
She looked at me in amazement and just grinned, and in a very soft voice said, "Oh, you glued your silk dress", as she shook her head. She was such a perfect seamstress, it was beyond her wildest imagination that there were a few of us who couldn't even sew on a button!
Lastly, in an "I told you so moment" I stated that I was bringing a sand, rice and water table into the classroom for one particular student to use. Eleanor quickly commented that it would be a mess and that our first item, rice, would be all over the place. I brought the table anyway and after the first day of the rice table, at dismissal, I was on my hands and knees in the classroom picking up rice. Eleanor never said, "I told you so" as she went home that day. She came in the next day and with a smile commented, "So you decided against the rice table I see?"
We laughed, we shared family stories and we supported one another. I will forever remember a lovely, remarkable woman.
May she rest in peace.
Maureen Pulice
