Mary H. Woody, a retired Baltimore public schools educator and English department head, died June 28 at Genesis Cromwell Center in Parkville from complications of diabetes.
She was 75.
The daughter of Gaither Woody, a steelworker, and Elma Woody, a homemaker, Mary Helen Woody was born in Roxboro, N.C.
In 1942, she moved with her family to East Baltimore when her father went to work for the old Rustless Iron & Steel Co., later Armco Steel Co.
She was 1959 graduate of Paul Laurence Dunbar High School and received a bachelor's degree in 1963 from what is now Morgan State University.
She began teaching English that year at William H. Lemmel Junior High School and later joined the faculty at Northern Senior High School.
In the 1980s she was promoted to head the English department at Lombard Middle School. In this role she provided supervisory assistance and encouragement to the department's teachers.
The longtime Towson resident retired in 2000.
"I put Mary in a certain class. She was my friend, but she was also my mentor," said Deborah Quinerly Thomas, who taught at Northern High School for 25 years. "When I came to Baltimore to teach, I was 23 years old — what did I know?
"Mary and two other teacher mentors are what I call my personal Mount Rushmore," said Ms. Thomas, a Northeast Baltimore resident who retired in 2010 from National Academy Foundation School. "Not only did she know the subject matter, she knew how to run a classroom. She was such an inspirational person."
Ms. Woody had a well-honed reputation for being firm and for running a no-nonsense classroom.
"In fact, when the kids saw her name on their schedule all they wanted to do was run and hide," said Ms. Thomas, with a laugh. "She was strict. Very strict.
"Her classroom was well-ordered, and when the kids came in they knew exactly what to expect from the beginning of class until the end. She ran a tight ship and there never any disruptions in her class," she said.
Ms. Woody particularly enjoyed teaching writing to her students, said Ms. Thomas.
"She put in long hours at school and at home in the evening working on her schoolwork," said Ms. Thomas.
"She loved assisting teachers and they always felt comfortable going to her," said her sister, Wynola W. Cunningham of Howard Park.
"When her students had her they'd complain about her, but when she'd see them out in public years later, they told her that she was the best teacher they ever had and how much they had learned in her class," said a niece, Dee Hughes of Randallstown. "Also, a lot of teachers looked up to her and she was really respected for her school work."
Ms. Hughes said her aunt was equally devoted to family affairs.
"She was a really nice person and she really loved being around family for holidays and other events," said Ms. Hughes. "She looked forward to being with us and was always willing to help out her nieces and nephews. She was a giving aunt."
In recent years, Miss Woody suffered from arthritis, which more or less confined her to less strenuous activities.
"She liked reading, doing crossword puzzles and playing bingo," her sister said.
Miss Woody had been a member for nearly 70 years of Zion Baptist Church, 1700 N. Caroline St., where funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday.
In addition to her sister and niece, Miss Woody is survived by many other nieces, nephews and cousins.