BY NANCY HUMPHRIES, RETIRED ACS TEACHER

When I first arrived at ACS in September 1991 to begin my grade 2 teaching assignment, little did I know that I would be working with an unforgettable man named Maury Thiessen. He was also teaching grade 2. From the first day we met he made me feel so welcome and offered to help acquaint me with the campus.

Mr. Quigley and Toilet Plungers

It was impossible to be around Maury very long and not notice his wonderful sense of humour! He loved to dress up as the elderly “Mr. Quigley” and delight his students and retired teacher, Janet Hitchcock, with his British dialect.

One year on Groundhog Day, we dressed him up in a fur coat, brown theatre makeup, and protruding teeth. We placed Maury in a large box in the staffroom where he waited impatiently, with perspiration pouring from his brow, for the staff to arrive. When the signal was given, he jumped noisily out of the box and ran on all fours around the room and out the door. He loved the screams from his female colleagues from his actions!

Maury is the only teacher that I ever knew that had a toilet and two plungers in the corner of his classroom. When a student asked to leave the room, they would place a plunger on top of the toilet to indicate their absence.

You can’t make these things up!

The Animal Teacher

Maury’s students won’t forget the university level lessons in nuclear physics that he taught and practiced with them. Then, when a visitor was being shown around the school and came to his classroom, he would give the students a signal. They would then eagerly participate in answering the doctorate level questions that Maury asked.

He impressed many visitors!

Maury has sometimes been affectionately called the “animal teacher” because of his love for God’s critters! Who could forget the enormous cage that he built in his classroom for “Iggy” the iguana?

One day, when Maury thought his lizard friend was asleep on a tree branch, he opened the cage to put in some food. Unfortunately, Iggy was not asleep, and Maury was holding a banana in his hand. Things got ugly very fast! Iggy flew off the branch, attached himself to Maury’s chest, and snapped the banana from Maury’s shaking hand.

Modeling Jesus Everyday

Maury is a prayer warrior and he modeled this for his students daily. He showed them and his colleagues what following Jesus in your daily life looks like. Who can forget Mr. Thiessen and his class walking down the halls and stopping to pray at classroom doors for the teachers and students.

Thank you, Maury. As parents we knew that you were praying for each child’s relationship with Jesus Christ.

He is a “master teacher” and works tirelessly to help each of his students reach their potential academically, emotionally, and spiritually.

Maury is a gifted storyteller and uses this gift to teach life lessons from a biblical perspective to his students. He cares about the needy and expressed this in his role as the meal coordinator at “The Stream” church on Friday nights. Thank you for introducing me to that ministry; it was a blessing in my life.

On behalf of the ACS community who have the privilege to know you, Maury, and experience your kind and caring spirit, we all thank you and will miss you in the halls at ACS next year. You clearly demonstrate what being the hands and feet of Jesus looks like. May the Lord continue to bless you as you seek to serve Him.

“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the father through Him.” Colossians 3:17