Rest in Peace, Mrs. Ponchot

Mary Louise Ponchot

Obituary

I was going to write light today, but I can't when someone who was a huge influence on who I am today has passed on.  Mary Lou Ponchot, known as Mrs. Ponchot to most of us from Bellevue, died at Christ Hospital on December 17th at the age of 67.  I remember as a freshman, I had my first class with Mrs. Ponchot and boy was she scary.  There are classes on the your first day, you know you are going to get away with things.  I'd like to see a kid who did and lived to tell about it in her class.  She taught math; algebra and geometry for me, integrated math for others, but she always had a way to get you to understand it.  She was a stern woman, and truly cared about getting the most out of her students.  I remember doing homework for her and you'd have to go up to the board and do it in front of the whole class.  Sure some would stumble from problem to problem, but she was standing right there to walk you through it.  I took Algebra II with my friend Rob and I remember she called on him to do a problem and I guess he was day dreaming or something.  It was about a simple problem we had on homework, and Rob sat there with a blank look on his face.  The whole class was silent.  You could hear a pin drop in the room.  She was like, "Come on.  Answer.  It's a bunny."  I began laughing uncontrollably.  You know those moments you get when you can't stop?  I had one of those in Ponchot's class.  I was telling myself..."You gotta stop.  You gotta stop."  I just couldn't.  She stared at me as if I were ridiculous.  She was a tough cookie.  Some say she resembled Janet Reno.  The woman could do math and she could get you to understand it which was the most important thing.  I'm average at math.  She turned me into an "A" student.  I ran into her a few times since graduation and we had some very in depth conversations.  She was pure at heart; a nice lady.  She remembered stories about me from high school I didn't even remember.  She was interested in what I was doing with my life.  You can tell when people ask those things and don't really care.  They just ask to be nice.  She asked because she truly was curious how I was applying myself.  She saw something in me.  She didn't want whatever I had inside to go to waste.  She was hard on us to get the best out of us.  She never expected a thank you, she did it because she cared about you.  When I found out she was sick, it hit me. Not her. Not Mrs. Ponchot.  She can't be sick, but you know they say God won't give you anything you can't handle.  She's a strong lady and she didn't lay down.  I remember hearing the news a few years ago, so she hung on and fought.  I would be lying if I said I'm not a little shaken up today.  There are people who come into your life and you forget about them, but there are a few who touch you in such a way that you can't explain.  There truly are angels here on Earth and Mrs. Ponchot was one.  Some saw her as a grumpy old lady who was just mean.  She wasn't though.  Just talk to her.  Have a conversation.  She never saw those kids as little punks.  She saw their potential.  She knew everybody's name.  She knew me years after I graduated.  She taught everyone as if they were the only one in the class.  Bellevue is a tight nit community, and we just lost a motherly figure.  There isn't one of you out there that walked into that school during her time that she didn't touch.  She cared about us, more than she did herself, and did it without expecting anything in return.  My one regret is I didn't say, "thank you" the last time I saw her.  Just thank you for being there for me.  Thank you for believing in me.  Thank you for being you.  Cancer is an uglyness that is in this world.  I watched my grandmother turn into a shell of herself, which is the hardest thing I've seen in this beautiful world.  How can a world so beautiful have something so ugly?  Why does God have to take Mrs. Ponchot out of this world in such a way when she didn't deserve it?  I know one thing is for sure, up there in Heaven, Jesus better be doing his homework.  If not she knows he didn't.  Rest in peace Mary Lou.  We mourn you.  You have two children by blood, but you have a large extended family of students who would join me in saying that without you in our lives we wouldn't be the same. There are so many negative influences out in this world, especially as a teenager.  You were a positive one to me, and many others out there.  You will be dearly missed.  My prayers are with your family and friends and the alumni, students, and staff of Bellevue High School.  We love you, and I know it's late... "THANK YOU."