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It is with saddening heart that I must report that Arlene who taught at Jefferson from approximately 1966 to 1970 has left us from a sudden, short and unexpected battle with Leukemia. Arlene passed away at Virginia Hospital Center after a short 3 day stay on August 25 of this year exactly 2 months before her birthday. She was a well liked and respected teacher of social studies. She coached the Majorettes to many championships. They won so many trophies that the AD made them move them from the trophy cases because they made the other teams pale in comparison. I cannot begin to tell you what a personal loss this is and how the world has lost a good and beautiful person.
Arlene is survived By: Husband Damien Chaves, daughter Maggie Champion, grand daughters Kayla, Lexi and Emma, her sister Linda Iltis and family.
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Steve Timberlake
Posted for Nancy Wrenn Porter, Class of '68
Oh me....My favorite teacher EVER !! It was Mrs. Koch who made me want to become a teacher. During my 33 years of teaching, and hearing repeatedly "what it is to be a great teacher", I always thought of Mrs. Koch. She always acted like she really cared about me, both academically and personally. She made everything relative. She assigned a Research paper that I dreaded before starting but will never forget Wonder what kids today would say about the number of hours we had to spend taking notes in the Public library. She would ask me at the end of the 9 wks what kind of extra credit I would like to do to raise my high D to a C. I believe that was in one of her Geography classes, and I was a freshman. History/Geography was always my worst subject, guess that's why I became a Math teacher. I will always remember her having us sit in a big circle to discuss things in History class. And SHE was always in a student desk right with us, just like she was one of us. She treated us with respect, and we gave back to her. She was so Outstanding as a Teacher, and has been my mentor for years. I wanted to be like just like her. Thank you, Mrs. Koch. Please Rest in Peace. 🌹
Steve Timberlake
Posted for Jim Case, Class of 1968
Like most, we can probably count on one hand or maybe two the great teachers that influenced our lives. As Nancy and Pam have clearly described, Mrs. Koch (Chaves) set the high bar for professional excellence, mentorship and inspiration. The great ones are often under appreciated except by those fortunate enough to have experienced their magic.
Mrs. Koch embodied what Nancy described, "What it is to be a great teacher."
Her 'research project' opened entirely new channels of knowledge discovery which ultimately led me to the Library of Congress to find sources unavailable in the local libraries. That was how much I cared about meeting her expectations.
Hers was a class to look forward to every day, demanding as it was. Open engagement, required preparation, a clear interest in each of her students as Nancy described and an unwavering goal of helping us prepare for life and college. She was precise with content, a virtuoso with the learning process and personally captivating.
Clearly her work went far beyond the classroom as the majorette trophy room kept expanding, for example.
She could not have been a better Senior Class Advisor.
We were fortunate.