Skelton, in 23 years, taught 2,000

Even dialysis didn't keep her from the classroom

·       One can estimate the number of students Dorothy Skelton taught at St. Mary Parish School with a simple equation: an average of 90 students per year for 23 years equals 2,070 young minds molded.

There is no similar equation to estimate her devotion to those children; but the story of her quietly taking dialysis in her classroom so that she wouldn't miss a chance to teach may provide the most accurate gauge.

"She made it work because she loved teaching so much," said Diane Harley, a close friend and fellow teacher at St. Mary. "She loved the kids; she loved the families."

Through a kidney transplant, Skelton overcame the worst of the health problems that forced her onto dialysis back in 1999. She continued to teach, while battling diabetes, but succumbed to cancer late last month.

She died on Sept. 26, at the age of 58.

A memorial Mass for the beloved teacher was held Saturday at Good Shepherd Catholic Church, N88-W17658 Christman Road, Menomonee Falls. Her family will greet friends and visitors from 10 a.m. until the time of the service.

No doubt, a good number of those 2,070 students were there to pay their respects to a woman who used a quiet sense of humor to enliven the repetition of math tables and formulas.

"She was an amazing math teacher, and that's coming from the kids," said Linda Joyner, the school principal who still hears glowing reviews of a teacher who retired two years ago.

While Joyner arrived at St. Mary too late to see Skelton work, Harley had a front-row seat for 23 years.

"She really, really cared for her students," Harley said. "She could relate to them and she showed her love for them."

Skelton was raised in La Crosse, and graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

She started her career in the early 1970s, teaching at the Thomas Jefferson Middle School in Menomonee Falls. At that time, she also worked as a bartender and manager, helping the owners of a tavern near Oconomowoc.

Jim Skelton stopped in one day for a beer and a bowl of chili, and found a lifelong companion.

Over the years, the Skeltons helped raise a number of foster children, along with two nephews and a niece. They devoted themselves to a successful business, Hour Glass & Trim Service, and enjoyed vacations to their cottage in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

Dorothy battled diabetes for more than four decades, always positive, never complaining, according to Harley.

When her kidneys began to fail in the late '90s, she worked the dialysis into her teaching schedule.

She had a booth set up in the back of the room and took a treatment during a break in her classes, often grading papers while hooked up to the portable machine.

Skelton's health problems provided the St. Mary family an opportunity to show their affection for the veteran teacher. They raised more than $29,000 to help cover the costs of the kidney transplant she received.

By any equation, it was a small repayment.

Skelton is survived by her husband, Jim, a brother, Jim Krans, and a sister, Mary Ciochetto.

Memorials to the American Diabetes Association are appreciated.