Individual Details
Gayle Tallo
(1946 - March 2, 2011)
Gayle Nathe
1946-March 2, 2011
Palo Alto, California
Gayle Nathe, who touched the lives of countless families as a teacher and director of the First Congregational Church Nursery School of Palo Alto, died March 2, 2011, at her Palo Alto home. She was 64.
She was introduced to the nursery school when her older daughter, Tristan, enrolled there in 1973 and began teaching there in 1978.
Nathe balked a few years later when offered a promotion to school director.
"She was none too sure she wanted that job," Nathe's husband, Don Nathe, recalled Thursday.
"'I don't want to be director I want to jump in mud puddles with the kids,'" Don Nathe remembered her as saying.
After assurances that she would be able to do both, Nathe accepted the job and -- until a recent recurrence of breast cancer -- continued as both a teacher and school director. Nathe is remembered by generations of children for her warm and playful personality and her elaborate collection of artistic frogs. The frogs -- reflecting the travels of many nursery school students and friends -- were displayed behind glass near a small table, where Nathe personally greeted each child at the beginning of each day, pinning bird-shaped name tags on their shirts.
Her husband said Nathe's teaching philosophy could be summed up in a quote from Janet Gonzalez-Mena "There is a beautiful child inside every child. Put your energy into finding that child" -- and Ralph Waldo Emerson's, "It is a happy talent to know how to play." She loved children's literature, with Mem Fox's "Whoever You Are" a particular favorite.
Born Gayle Tallo, she was raised in Honolulu, where she graduated from Maryknoll School. She moved to the mainland to attend Seattle University, where she met Don Nathe. The two married in Honolulu in 1968 and moved to Palo Alto two years later. Nathe completed her undergraduate education, which included a credential in early childhood education, at San Jose State University and California State University, East Bay.
Before joining the nursery school staff, Nathe spent several years caring for neighborhood children in her home. Nathe loved the ocean and spending time with her grandchildren. Even before her own diagnosis of breast cancer, she volunteered with Breast Cancer Connections (formerly the Community Breast Health Project), a nonprofit resource center for people facing breast cancer.
Besides her husband of 42 years, she is survived by her mother, Gladys Tallo of Palo Alto; her daughters, Tristan of Oakland and Alayna of Santa Cruz; and her three grandchildren, Teagan, Kirra and Kadin.
1946-March 2, 2011
Palo Alto, California
Gayle Nathe, who touched the lives of countless families as a teacher and director of the First Congregational Church Nursery School of Palo Alto, died March 2, 2011, at her Palo Alto home. She was 64.
She was introduced to the nursery school when her older daughter, Tristan, enrolled there in 1973 and began teaching there in 1978.
Nathe balked a few years later when offered a promotion to school director.
"She was none too sure she wanted that job," Nathe's husband, Don Nathe, recalled Thursday.
"'I don't want to be director I want to jump in mud puddles with the kids,'" Don Nathe remembered her as saying.
After assurances that she would be able to do both, Nathe accepted the job and -- until a recent recurrence of breast cancer -- continued as both a teacher and school director. Nathe is remembered by generations of children for her warm and playful personality and her elaborate collection of artistic frogs. The frogs -- reflecting the travels of many nursery school students and friends -- were displayed behind glass near a small table, where Nathe personally greeted each child at the beginning of each day, pinning bird-shaped name tags on their shirts.
Her husband said Nathe's teaching philosophy could be summed up in a quote from Janet Gonzalez-Mena "There is a beautiful child inside every child. Put your energy into finding that child" -- and Ralph Waldo Emerson's, "It is a happy talent to know how to play." She loved children's literature, with Mem Fox's "Whoever You Are" a particular favorite.
Born Gayle Tallo, she was raised in Honolulu, where she graduated from Maryknoll School. She moved to the mainland to attend Seattle University, where she met Don Nathe. The two married in Honolulu in 1968 and moved to Palo Alto two years later. Nathe completed her undergraduate education, which included a credential in early childhood education, at San Jose State University and California State University, East Bay.
Before joining the nursery school staff, Nathe spent several years caring for neighborhood children in her home. Nathe loved the ocean and spending time with her grandchildren. Even before her own diagnosis of breast cancer, she volunteered with Breast Cancer Connections (formerly the Community Breast Health Project), a nonprofit resource center for people facing breast cancer.
Besides her husband of 42 years, she is survived by her mother, Gladys Tallo of Palo Alto; her daughters, Tristan of Oakland and Alayna of Santa Cruz; and her three grandchildren, Teagan, Kirra and Kadin.
Events
| Birth | 1946 | ||||
| Death | March 2, 2011 | Palo Alto, San Mateo, California, USA |
Families
| Spouse | Donald Robert Nathe |
| Child | Tristan Michelle Nathe |
| Child | Alayna Marie Nathe |