Remembrance of Teacher Takes Root

Four dozen kindergartners wearing blue headbands with paper ducks stapled on them sang Tuesday in Orange for their teacher who died unexpectedly last month.

The students wore the headbands at a memorial service in which they sang “The Little White Duck,” a favorite of Jaris “Bebe” Parker, a beloved veteran kindergarten teacher who died Feb. 17 after working at Esplanade Elementary School 11 years. About 500 people--students, teachers and parents--attended the event.

Parker, who spoke six languages, including Spanish, made the largely Spanish-speaking student body feel at home in her class, parents and teachers said.

She was remembered as an energetic teacher who not only taught but also developed curriculum and prepared children for the challenges of their first year at the elementary school. She became a teacher after stints as an executive secretary, a seamstress and a graduate student.

Teachers, administrators and students helped plant a magnolia tree at the school Tuesday morning as part of the memorial. The tree was donated by the Orange Unified School District.

“As we watch this beautiful magnolia grow, we will be reminded of the beauty she saw in each one of you,” Principal Bertie Anderson told the students.

Parker, 46, collapsed while gardening at her North Tustin Hills home Feb. 17. She is survived by her husband, Mitchell, and three children, Rachel, 19; Leah, 17; and Stephen, 13.

Rachel and Leah played a piano duet, “On Eagle’s Wings,” during the ceremony. Parker’s children and widower alternately clapped, laughed and held back tears as they heard praise for the fallen teacher.

“She was very religious. She thought God had put her here to do this job,” said Mitchell Parker, who owns a Costa Mesa company that builds sailboats. “She was the most satisfied person I know, career-wise. She never thought of leaving this job.”

Parker recently began work on her national certification, the highest honor for a teacher.

Parents asked the school to organize the memorial because “they just loved her,” Anderson said. In addition, parents organized a Mass at La Purisima Catholic Church in Orange on Feb. 24 attended by about 350 people.

About three dozen mothers with toddlers in tow were in the audience Tuesday, even though they understood little of the English-language ceremony. About 88% of Esplanade’s 525 students are Latino, and 65% are learning English. Only six of 24 teachers speak Spanish.

Parents said they felt at ease talking to Parker about their children’s problems.

Ariceli Flores, a mother of four, said it wasn’t just Parker’s knowledge of Spanish that was important: “I just felt comfortable talking with her. She made us feel at home at our school.”