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Health & Fitness

Prudence Hockley: Gone Today, Remembered Forever

Ms. Hockley was an amazing English teacher and will be missed dearly at Woodinville High.

 

When my mom told me Ms. Prudence Hockley, one of my favorite teachers ever, died, I didn’t quite know how to handle it. There is no news of the cause, just that she died suddenly in her home on Dec. 24. For those of you who have even heard of Ms. Hockley, you know that she was loved by many, many people and will be sorely missed.

I had Ms. Hockley for English last year and she made a huge impression on my life. Hockley was, simply put, crazy, but in an amazingly good way. She made me love English and always be excited for her class. She made books fun and Shakespeare interesting. We studied death and how it affected us during the year and we looked at things like Into the Wild and The Wreck of Time, an essay by Annie Dillard, and a video called Riding Giants. She had this phrase for when tragedies happened that was “having a Wreck of Time moment”, since the Wreck of Time was about mass death and how it made one person feel insignificant.

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I remember when we had to turn in essays she would call us up one by one, in alphabetically order, and have us put our essays on a chair in order. I remember she would wear these insane strapped heels all the time, even in winter and she had the funkiest outfits. I remember she had, like, five piercings and at least three tattoos. Her hair was cut short and she had a New Zealand accent. Hockley was obsessed with artichokes and kiwis, not the fruit kiwi, mind you, the bird from New Zealand.

I remember when we studied Shakespeare she had us get up out of our chairs almost every day and do something standing up, like choral readings or group activities. Hockley was a woman who touched everyone she met deeply.

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I know as long as I live, I will always remember Ms. Hockley. She was one of those people you always remember, whether you knew her for a long time or just once talked to her for half an hour. Hockley had such spirit and presence, it was almost impossible to miss her when she was in a room. Hockley was truly an angel on earth and though we don’t know how she died, my guess is she was called back to heaven by God.

Hockley was one of the most amazing people I’ve ever met in my life and I am honored to have been in her class. She made a huge impact on everyone at Woodinville High School, I’m sure. She made my experience as a student completely amazing. And to her daughter Maggie, I'm truly sorry, I can't say I know what you're going through but know you have a community of people  around you who will be there for you in this hard time. Your mom was an amazing and well loved person. R.I.P. Hockley, we will never forget you, for as long as any of us live, always.

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