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Cecil Mays, who taught Latin, Italian, and French over the course of 43 years at Norfolk Academy, all with her signature wit and humor, passed away in early February.

Mays worked at Norfolk Academy from 1973 to her retirement in 2016. A native Virginian, she earned her bachelor’s degree from James Madison University and her master’s degree from the University of Virginia. While the Classics were her specialty, she also spoke German, French, and Italian, and she was passionate about the power of language as the pathway to cultural knowledge and understanding.

Her classroom was a place where students learned the fundamentals of language, but also about literature, art, music, movies, and more. As a former colleague, Bill Miller, said at her retirement: “Aside from being one of the true master teachers I have ever known, Cecil has the quickest mind and wit I have ever encountered.”

She was a proponent of “experiential learning” before the phrase had been coined: For decades, she led month-long European backpacking trips to explore art and culture, and she chaperoned the German exchange, founded and led by her friend and colleague Frau Katherine Holmes.

Mays also delighted in quietly supporting students and faculty alike. Generosity governed her actions large and small, seen and unseen. She enjoyed getting to know new people and invited new faculty members to dinner – especially if they were new to the area – so they could start to feel at home. She kept an open door for colleagues who sought advice about lesson planning or the fine points of grammar; her reputation as an ace grammarian brought her the role of proofreader-in-chief for Middle School comment slips.

Above all, she had an eagle eye for students in need, whether that need might be extra guidance or financial support; on countless occasions, she quietly gave donations to make it possible for students to purchase school supplies and sports equipment, or to participate on an exchange trip.

At her retirement, colleague Heidi Pollio summed it up this way: “You have made us better teachers, better students, better people by your example and your generosity of spirit. You are a beacon of kindness and light.”