Troy Allen Malone

School To Honor A Great Teacher

Kansas City Star, The (MO)

May 28, 2004 Page: B3 School to honor `a great teacher' JOE ROBERTSON Naturally, anything goes in an elementary school garden memorializing Troy Malone. What else would anyone expect for a music teacher who enjoyed the snickers from his urban pupils when he showed up every day in cowboy boots? The seat above the Burke Elementary School carnival dunk tank might as well have had his name on it. The Hickman Mills music teacher would love it that chief garden planner Toni Newman's design would include a didgeridoo. New music teacher Mike MacFarland is working on that -fashioning the tubular musical instrument originated by Australian aborigines and known for deep, mystical rumbling. "A cool sound," MacFarland said. Yes, Malone would love it. And the mint garden, the rock garden, the rotting log pit - great for science education - and more that will be dedicated today. Time was when Malone's "perky, happy kind of outlook" was the best tonic to pick up any teacher or student's bad day, art teacher Nancy Finn said. But when he died a year ago of complications from pneumonia, at 37, a lost community of teachers, pupils and parents found peace toiling together with bricks, soil and flower pots. Malone served laughter as his basic staple. He showed his colleagues how to survive those things one can't control with what physical-education teacher Rick Wadlow called Malone's "Cool Hand Luke smile." Yet Wadlow expects plenty of tears today, when people gather to dedicate the garden. "I lost a friend," he said. Wadlow was watching a swarm of fifth-graders making final preparations for the dedication. They spread mulch and tended gardens, still giggling over the cowboy boots when asked what they remembered about Mr. Malone. They talked of how much they loved him. "He was a great teacher," pupil Malcolm Whitelaw said. Mandi Shepard said: "He taught us (she turned into a jazz dancer in mid-sentence) the cha-cha glide." The students compiled many of their thoughts last year into letters they sent to Malone's parents in Wichita. Larry and Mary Malone knew their oldest son had a knack for getting children and adults to love music. They had seen results of his work as music director at Holy Cross Church of Kansas City when they visited on weekends. They had seen his children's shows when he taught at parochial schools in Wichita. Now they know what he meant to the community at Burke the past five years. "We were amazed at the people he touched, the friends he made," Larry Malone said. The cards from the students, Mary Malone said, still cause her to tremble. She can read only a few at a time. The Malones will join the gathering at the dedication to see "the wonderful thing they've done," she said. It was an easy and obvious gesture to carry on the garden project in Malone's memory, Newman said. The spring of 2003 already had been emotionally difficult at Burke, principal Ken McCrary said. Illnesses among staff and spouses weighed on people's minds. Then came that Monday morning last April when Malone didn't show up. He had been sick the week before, but it wasn't like him not to show up. McCrary went to the teacher's house and found him. For a moment, the principal's eyes glinted with tears recalling that day. In the days that followed, he said, people found their way back to the garden and worked, side by side, young and old. "It gave us a boost in the arm," McCrary said. "It was nice. It was a good thing at a good time." Troy Malone had come up with the idea, Newman said, to include an outdoor classroom in the garden, with benches shaded by a pergola and a leafy canopy. Now it will be called "Malone's Classroom." As the gardens flourish, Finn said, she will remember her friend. She'll remember how young he was, how "nothing is guaranteed." "It was a real wake-up call for me," she said. It was a call, she said, to enjoy life the way Malone did, to delight in all people, to always try to make someone's day. Sometimes, just give 'em cowboy boots for fun. To reach Joe Robertson, call (816)234-7806 or send e-mail to [email protected]. First glance Burke Elementary School will dedicate a garden today to former music teacher Troy Malone, who died about a year ago at 37. The garden will serve as part of an outdoor classroom at the Hickman Mills school. Work has been under way for months. Burke Elementary School students and staffers have toiled, prodded and planted in "Malone's Classroom," a memorial to music teacher Troy Malone. Science teacher Toni Newman helped fifth-graders Iesha Taylor and Sue Seemani put finishing touches on the outdoor classroom recently. It will be dedicated today. The idea for an outdoor classroom at Burke Elementary came from music teacher Troy Malone. After he died last year, many at the school found peace in working to make his dream come true. Students Catrice Echols, Nzingha Campbell, Dwiniecia Finnell and Johneta Jackson worked on the project recently. FRED BLOCHER /The Kansas City Star Malone Photo coutesy of Burke Elementary Photos (3, color and b/w)