Judith Waldow taught second graders at Madison Elementary School in Wheaton for more than 30 years, starting each day by playing the piano as children walked into her room.
“More than anything, when I think of Judith, I think of that piano in her classroom, and how she tried to incorporate that into all aspects of her curriculum,” said retired Madison principal Gene Sikorski. “She just knew how to motivate children, and her special gift was through music.”
Waldow, 81, died of complications from dementia on May 6 at the Arden Courts of Glen Ellyn assisted living facility in Glen Ellyn, said her daughter, Marah.
Born Judith Streufert in Aurora, Waldo earned a bachelor’s degree in education in 1959 from Concordia College in River Forest — now known as Concordia University — and then, well into her career as a teacher, picked up a master’s degree in education in 1990 from Northern Illinois University.
Her first job was teaching elementary school in south suburban Lansing. She then moved with her husband to New York before returning to the Chicago area and settling in West Chicago.
In 1974, Waldow was hired as a teacher’s aide at the now-shuttered Jefferson Elementary School in Wheaton. She soon shifted to working as a classroom teacher at Madison, teaching second grade.
“She would always tell stories about this kid or that kid and about seeing the light go on (in a child’s head) and having that ‘Aha!’ moment,” Waldow’s daughter said. “She loved every single kid she taught. She loved the community in the school.”
Retired Madison second-grade teacher Jan Ballak recalled Waldow’s positive attitude and willingness to “lend a helping hand not only to the children who were entrusted to her but also to share (teaching methods) in a real team effort.”
“She was the ideal type of mentor that any teacher coming into a new building would want to have standing behind their shoulders,” Ballak said.
Sikorski called Waldow “the most innovative teacher that I have had the pleasure of working with.”
“She was a real positive influence on the kids and on the entire staff,” he said. “She helped set the tone in our school.”
Waldow, who also privately taught piano lesson to youngsters, retired from Madison at age 71 in 2008.
“She was very proud of that,” her daughter said. “She was going to teach as long as she could, because that was her life.”
Waldow’s husband, Carl, died in 1995. Waldow is survived by another daughter, Lisa; a son, Martin; six grandchildren; five sisters, Anita Meyers, Magdalene Karsel, Martha Jander, Cynthia Rossow and Rachel Nolen; and three brothers, Daniel, Stephen and Jonathan Streufert.
Services were held.
Bob Goldsborough is a freelance reporter.