Mary Anne McNelis Myer, early childhood education teacher and friend of the arts, dies at 93
Mrs. Myer taught for over 40 years in the Philadelphia public schools — first in the Head Start program and later in kindergarten and the first grade. She died April 22.
Mary Anne “Polly” McNelis Myer, 93, a devoted early childhood educator and supporter of the arts, died April 22 of heart failure in her Chestnut Hill home.
Raised in Philadelphia’s East Oak Lane section, the only daughter of John McNelis, a banker, and Mary Barnett McNelis, Mrs. Myer had a lifelong love of learning, children and the arts.
She was a graduate of Mount St. Joseph Academy and the University of Pennsylvania, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in education. Afterward, she taught for over 40 years in the Philadelphia public schools — first in the Head Start program and later in kindergarten and first grade.
Even after she married Thomas J. Myer Jr., an investment counselor, and they had three daughters, Mrs. Myer continued to teach.
“She just loved teaching and being with children, so she continued while we were in school,” her daughter Julia Carroll Ward said. “She just talked about her passion for it. She always thought there was hope for the future through the next generation so focused on the little ones.”
She made a point of keeping up with her children’s education as well.
“She was always interested in seeing that we maximize our potential and that we were able to go to the best schools,” Ward said.
The visual arts and music were important too..
Over 50 years ago, Mrs. Myer cofounded Faith and Fine Arts, a philanthropic arts organization that takes members on curated tours of exhibitions of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and raises funds to support expansion of the museum’s library. The organization continues to this day.
Mrs. Myer found great joy in playing the piano and loved listening to her grandchildren play as well.
Growing African violets was also a favorite hobby, and she was a longtime member of Outdoor Gardeners, a local gardening club where she won many blue ribbons.
The Myers were lifelong members of the Philadelphia Cricket Club. It was there that the couple met in 1954 at a New Year’s Eve dance. Tom Myer had just returned from serving in the Korean War. They later celebrated their wedding at the club. Its St. Martin’s porch, where swallows would dart in and out of the rafters, was one of her favorite places, her daughter said.
She also enjoyed traveling, especially to visit her two other daughters, Mary Cassandra Surer and Anastasia Politizi, who live in Paris and Australia.
In addition to her three daughters, Mrs. Myer is survived by six grandchildren and other relatives. Her husband and two brothers died earlier.
A Funeral Mass will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, April 30 at Our Mother of Consolation Church, 9 E. Chestnut Hill Ave., Philadelphia, Pa. 19118. Interment will be in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, Pa., 19130.