Individual Details

Springfield Union, Springfield, Massachusetts, January 4, 1972, Page 27: Teacher Who Challenged school Board Succumbs. Mrs. Eleanor (Pratt) Duncan, 79, of 19 West St., Marblehead, who, as a Springfield teacher, challenged her obligation to supervise school lunch programs, died Sunday at her home. Born in Worcester, July 13, 1892, she taught in Springfield schools 27 years until she was dismissed by vote of the School Committee in 1953 for refusing to supervise the school lunch program on a rotating basis at Warner School, contending teacher participation in this type of school work was not compulsory. After a hearing before the School Committee, Mrs. Duncan appealed to Superior Court and finally to the state Supreme Judicial Court. The School Committee's action was upheld by the courts in part because Mrs. Duncan had not pursued what the School Committee called an appropriate administrative remedy. Mrs. Duncan then retired from teaching and later wrote articles on education for "American Childhood" magazine put out by Milton Bradley Co. She also wrote songs including one which was played on local radio stations in 1956. Since moving to Marblehead from Longmeadow, she developed an interest in painting and was an artist during her retirement years. She was the widow of Robert P. Duncan. She leaves two sisters, Miss Christine M. Pratt and Mrs. John E. Packard, both of Marblehead, and a brother, Leonard C. Pratt of West Springfield. The funeral will be Wednesday at Nichols funeral home, Marblehead. Burial will be in Monson.

Birth	13 Jul 1892	Worcester, Worcester Co., Massachusetts
Death	2 Jan 1972	Marblehead, Essex Co., Massachusetts
Burial		Hillside Cemetery, Monson, Hampden Co., Massachusetts

Spouse

Robert Pemberton Duncan (1885 - 1966)

Father	Charles A. Pratt (1864 - 1930)
Mother	Ellen T Hartnett (1866 - 1951)
Sibling	Leonard Charles Pratt (1893 - 1973)
Sibling	Harold Joseph Pratt (1895 - 1965)
Sibling	Christine M. Pratt (1900 - )
Sibling	Elizabeth Frances Pratt (1906 - 1996)