Stories about South Jerseyans and how they lived

Motivational author William Arthur Ward once said this about teachers: “The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.”

In this installment of The Good Life, we focus on two teachers who inspired thousands of area students.

Donna Lowther was meticulous.

She wrapped presents in color-coordinated paper; outfitted her children impeccably; and dressed herself in red, white and blue on patriotic holidays.

So it seems unfair that the 81-year-old lost her life to dementia last month, after living with the illness for several years. But one moment in that journey reflected the other thing Donna did meticulously: teach elementary-school students.

During a visit to Arden Courts, where Donna lived in her last days, her husband, Bill, recalls how his wife of 61 years sat next to a little boy for a bit, then walked away, tugging him along with a firm grip of his hand.

“Anytime she was around kids, her eyes just lit up,” Bill says. “She was in her element then.”

All Donna ever wanted to do was teach. Born into a family of seven kids in Haddon Heights – her father, Norman Kellaway, was once its mayor – she dabbled in cheerleading and local pageants.  

“She was just a fun person to be around,” Bill notes. “I knew I wanted her to be the mother of my children.”

The proud wife of a Marine, Donna mostly waited until Bill’s service was up to pursue her career. She then dove into teaching reading, writing and phonics, mostly to K-3 students, in Barrington.

“Over 40 years, she probably touched 1,000 youngsters,” Bill estimates. “There was nothing else she talked about doing.”

In his eulogy, Donna’s son, Bill Jr., focused on his mother, the teacher.

“Because that was not just her profession,” he told mourners. “It was her purpose. It was her identity. And it was her gift to the world.”

Not surprisingly, Donna insisted on good English – and not just for students. She had a coffee mug that read: “I am silently correcting your grammar.”

She brought a boom box to class so her students could hear the music she loved: classical, show tunes, spirituals. And Donna often sang around the house.

“She would sing in the kitchen,” Bill remembers. “It could be Handel’s Messiah or the Rolling Stones.”

Bill Jr. also recalled “everything” his mother included in his baby book.

“Not just the milestones, but the meaning,” he marveled. “ … It was more than documentation. It was devotion. It was a mother’s heart on display.”

It was meticulous. 

Bill Sr. recalled how Donna planned so carefully for holidays and birthdays, her car trunk was always stuffed with gifts. There were, after all, four children, 10 grandchildren and three great-grandkids.  

“She was the heart and soul of our family,” Bill said in his eulogy. “With her passing, it’s like losing Santa Claus, the Easter bunny, the tooth fairy, the fairy godmother and unicorns all at once.”

What a way to wrap up a life that was a color-coordinated gift.

Sources: Evoy-Banasz Funeral Home, Legacy.com 

When Jon D. Batchelor coached boxing, baseball and football for the U.S. Naval Academy following a distinguished military career, it was a harbinger of things to come and a chance for the Haddonfield native to guide a few good men whose names you may know. 

He taught boxing to Oliver North, a Marine and former advisor to President Ronald Reagan; coached Heisman Trophy winners Joe Bellino and Mike Rozier; and tutored future NFL coach Bill Belichick in algebra while working under Belichick’s father, Steve, at Annapolis High School.

“He poured his passion into guiding young athletes in football, basketball and boxing,” reads the 87-year-old’s obituary, “always leading by example with the discipline and care that defined his own identity.”

But in Jon’s own words, the most “cherished blessing” in a memorable life that ended last month was coaching his twin grandsons in midget football. He and his wife Mae had three kids and seven grandchildren, including another set of twins. 

“Youth sports was something he was very passionate about,” said his daughter, Janet DePersia, mother of all four twins.   

It was at her father’s funeral that DePersia realized his full impact on students during decades of teaching math and coaching football at Woodrow Wilson and Eastern high schools. 

“He tried to make (the subject) relatable and also fun and interesting,” she noted. “And he also cared. Kids notice that.

“He was also very goal-oriented and driven, someone who strove to do the right thing and not cut corners.”

In a memorial post, Nevin Kishbaugh called Jon one of the toughest guys he ever knew, but one with heart.  

“He was the consummate gentleman,” Kishbaugh wrote. “When you spoke, he really listened, and he could pick up the conversation where you left off weeks before. He was honest, funny, and genuine with everyone.”

After retiring from teaching and coaching, Jon ran triathlons and collected a number of honors, including being named to the Haddonfield Hall of Fame in 1994 and the Camden County Sports Hall of Fame in 2019.

Of the last, he expressed wonderment at being honored for doing something he loved: coaching.

DePersia found herself surprised at some of the other things she didn’t know about her dad while preparing his eulogy. 

“There was just so much to respect about him,” she observed. “He really was a pretty spectacular person.”

“The world,” Kishbaugh noted in his memorial post, “is lessened by his passing.”

Sources: Kain-Murphy Funeral Home, Legacy.com

Inside the obits

Scan the obituaries of South Jerseyans and you can find references to sports, most often the Phillies and Eagles, two organizations that many of the recently departed put their faith in, even when they didn’t always earn it.

Talk about taking one for the team. 

When she wasn’t doing the jitterbug or listening to Elvis, Lillian Martinelli could be found watching the Phillies, an activity that was among the “simple things” she loved, says her obituary in the Courier-Post. Martinelli – who died at 95 – lived long enough to have seen some truly lousy baseball teams, but the Phillies likely earned her faith with two World Series wins 28 years apart.

Emma L. Colon wasn’t just a Phillies and Eagles’ fan; she was a diehard one. You could say that the 73-year-old also had another “team” she had a passion for – her “homies,” as her obituary notes, a group of six friends she had for more than 50 years. She also collected Nativity scenes and sang in a church choir. We’re guessing a strong faith got her through some disappointing games. 

Dr. Robert H. Dilks was a fair-weather fan who spent much of his career delivering babies as an ob-gyn. In his spare time, Dilks’ obituary notes, the 77-year-old was a constant in his children’s lives, “coaching soccer, participating in Boy Scouts and watching the Phillies, but  “only enjoying it when they were winning.” We trust he enjoyed the World Series in 1980 and 2008.

You could say Walter J. Hudson III wore his heart on his sleeve when it came to the Eagles. Before he died at 82, the only thing the Vietnam vet loved more than his football team, his obituary notes, was eating candy and spending time with family. It took until the 21st century for Hudson to see an Eagles’ Super Bowl win; that’s a lot of candy.

Sources: Courier-Post, Gardner Funeral Home, Caruso Care Funeral Home, Kain-Murphy Funeral Services, Legacy.com.