Elizabeth Jean “Scottie” Hontz died on Wednesday, May 31, 2023. She was 87.
God first. Family second. Profession third. Scottie credited that formula for the many joys of her 87-year life as a Protestant, a wife, a mother and a public school teacher.
She first heard that formula preached in her Scranton, Pa., Methodist church when she was 13-year-old Elizabeth Donaldson, and it helped guide her life.
God first. “When one’s belief is grounded in God,” wrote Scottie, “love and truth dominate, life has purpose, self-esteem soars, joy abounds, and one faces the ups and downs of life with God at one’s side.”
Scottie was raised and married at the Simpson Methodist Church in West Scranton, Pa.
At the First United Methodist Church of Newton, Scottie sang in the Senior Choir for 30 years, directed the Cherub Choir, taught Sunday School, and served on boards and committees in her most active years.
In retirement, Scottie sang in the choir and enthusiastically sold tickets for the annual quilt raffle at the United Church of Dorset and East Rupert, Vt.
At Yellow Frame Presbyterian Church in Fredon, Scottie found a loving and supportive spiritual home in her final years. She loved God and loved the church in her personal life but believed in “strict separation of church and state” in order to ensure “successful government and a strong democratic society.”
Family second. Scottie proudly identified as “Mrs. Jack Hontz” through 62 years of marriage and beyond Jack’s death in 2019. She was a proud and boasting mother of three sons: John Douglas “Jackie” Hontz, who predeceased her in 2017; David James Hontz of Newton; and Mark Joseph Hontz of Fredon.
She loved and was loved by her attentive daughters-in-law: Cindy, Donna and Stephanie. Scottie reveled in the lives of her nine grandchildren: Kelly Lynne, Jack Joseph, Samuel David, David John, Matthew Robert, Nathaniel Joseph, Thomas Abraham, Emily Elizabeth and Susanna Carolyn.
Her final months were illuminated by her great-grandsons, Macklin and Grant.
Scottie was the daughter of Ethel (Fear) Donaldson and John Hastie Donaldson. Her father, an immigrant from Scotland, inspired her lifelong nickname, “Scottie,” though she was always “Elizabeth” to her mother.
Scottie’s old brother, Fred Donaldson, predeceased her as did her niece Jill. Nieces Beth and Kristin were a source of continuing love and comfort to Scottie.
Profession third. Scottie Hontz cherished her professional career as a public school teacher. She enthusiastically embraced Friedrich Froebel’s philosophy, “Play is the business of children.”
Since her earliest school years at John Marshall No. 41 Elementary School in Scranton, Scottie wanted to be a teacher. She graduated from West Chester State Teachers College in three years, then taught at the Waverly School in Clarks Summit, Pa.; Halsted Street School in Newton; and Helen Morgan School in Sparta.
When her three children were still young, and with the help of babysitter Gloria Moffett at Paulinskill Lake, Scottie embarked on a 28-year odyssey as the kindergarten teacher at Fredon Elementary School in Fredon.
She filled her classroom with music, art, books, poetry and a sense of belonging to the community. The tools of her trade were the piano, painting easel, sandbox, blocks, trucks, crayons, dolls, activity centers, structured play opportunities and so many wonderful books. Her grocery store and post office classroom constructions grounded her students in community service while her poetry evenings and fine-art prints instilled an appreciation of the arts and the humanities.
Students were welcomed into class each day with a “Good Morning” song and classroom guests were enthusiastically celebrated with thoughtful compliments from students with her prompting, “Who has something nice to say to our guest?”
Scottie deeply appreciated and was sustained by her personal and professional friendships in New Jersey and Vermont. In recent months, she expressed her longing to be reunited with her husband and her oldest son and her passing is the answer to her recent prayers. Scottie left this world profoundly grateful for the affections of her family, her friends, her colleagues, her former students and her caregivers. Her departure marks her well-earned graduation from the kindergarten classroom.
The Hontz family is grateful for the superb, compassionate care Scottie received as a resident at Bristol Glen. A celebration of the life of Scottie Hontz will be held later this summer.
Scottie requested that any memorials be sent to the Yellow Frame Presbyterian Church in Fredon; the United Church of Dorset and East Rupert in Dorset, Vt.; or the First United Methodist Church of Newton.