MaryJane Hackney, longtime first grade teacher and diehard Phillies fan, has died at 80
“She loved the energy first graders have,” said her husband, David. “She taught fourth, fifth, and sixth grades at first. But after going to first grade, she said she would never go back.”
MaryJane Hackney, 80, of Gloucester Township, longtime first grade teacher at Loring-Flemming Elementary School, singer, theater devotee, and diehard Phillies fan, died Sunday, May 3, of Alzheimer’s disease at the Residence at Voorhees Senior Living Center.
Inspired by her own favorite grade school teacher, Mrs. Hackney knew early in life that she wanted to be a teacher, too. She earned a bachelor’s degree in education, taught elementary school students in Pennsylvania for a few years, and spent nearly three decades, from 1981 to her retirement in 2010, working with thousands of first graders at Loring-Flemming in Gloucester Township.
“She loved the energy first graders have,” said her husband and caregiver, David. “She taught fourth, fifth, and sixth grades at first. But after going to first grade, she said she would never go back.”
Mrs. Hackney was so influential at school and at Loring-Flemming for so long that she taught children of her former students. Until a few years ago, she was routinely greeted around town by 40-year-olds who said: “Do you remember me?” Often, she did.
“MaryJane was a force to be reckoned with,” a former colleague said in an online tribute. “When I arrived at Loring-Flemming with only one year of teaching experience, she took me under her wing and taught me so many important lessons about life and education.”
Mrs. Hackney especially enjoyed teaching her students to read, and she told her husband that “one of her greatest joys was seeing the excitement of young children when they realized they could read.” The father of one of her former students told David Hackney recently that his son became an avid reader — and the father had to buy many books — thanks to Mrs. Hackney’s tutelage.
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“She was a constant source of good books and brought all of her best reads for us to share,” a former teaching colleague said in a tribute. “Everyone drifted to her classroom for support, information, or just to have a good laugh.”
Affable, innovative, and energetic, Mrs. Hackney participated in projects for the local and state education associations, and raised funds to buy new school equipment. She was a champion of new early education programs and a popular guest on the local Emmy Award-winning public TV program “Classroom Close-up, NJ.”
She was funny and witty, a former colleague said, “and her ability to know what was going on in our school, district, county, and state was incredible.” Before Loring-Flemming, Mrs. Hackney taught for a few years at a Lutheran elementary school in Delaware County and Ralph Waldo Emerson Elementary School in Bucks County.
Outside the classroom, Mrs. Hackney enjoyed singing, the theater, and the Phillies. She sang alto in choirs in high school and college, and attended nearly every performance of the Arden Theatre Co. in Philadelphia from 1996 until recently. Her husband worked several jobs over the years, and her absolute favorite, he said, was the one that had company tickets to Phillies games.
“She even met the players,” he said.
MaryJane Pierce was born June 22, 1945, in Abington. She grew up in Croydon, was so smart that she skipped third grade, and graduated from Delhaas High School in 1962.
She studied education and American history at what is now Concordia University Chicago in Illinois, and later enjoyed traveling to historic sites with her husband. She knew David Hackney from high school, and they got serious during a double date to celebrate her 21st birthday in 1966.
Eight weeks later, they got engaged. They married in 1967 during the famous Glassboro Summit Conference, had a daughter, Jennifer, and lived in Drexel Hill and Havertown before moving to Gloucester Township in 1974.
Mrs. Hackney liked histories and mysteries, and was longtime friends with local author Lisa Scottoline. She knew the words to Elvis Presley songs, doted on her daughter and grandson, Joshua, and visited relatives in Ireland several times after retiring.
She moved to the Residence at Voorhees a year ago. “I will forever remember her lessons, her delicious brownies, and helping hand that was used not just for her students but for the entire faculty and staff,” a former colleague said.
Her husband said: “She was fascinated by people, curious about people. And if you started talking about teaching, she could go on for hours.”
In addition to her husband, daughter, and grandson, Mrs. Hackney is survived by a sister, Deborah, and other relatives.
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Services were held earlier.
Donations in her name may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, 399 Market St., No. 250, Philadelphia, Pa. 19106.
