Stormes' friends, faculty recall teacher

Asked to describe what it was like to work with Donalie Stormes, Nancy Helton, a counselor at Rolla High School, cited one of her many stories about her.

Following the destruction left by Hurricane Katrina, Stormes wanted to mobilize relief aid. The only problem was, she didn’t want to send a little bit of aid, but an entire semi-truck filled with goods.

“She couldn’t find anyone to sponsor a semi-truck full of stuff,” Helton said, laughing while she remembered her 20-year friend’s effort.

In the end, however, Stormes found a sponsor for the project, and filled the semi-truck to the brim with goods.

“She was so enthusiastic, you couldn’t help but be drawn to her,” said Karen Hammond, a high school science teacher.

For those close to Stormes, memories like this offer some solace after she passed away Dec. 8, succumbing to breast cancer at the age of 45.

Stormes spent 12 years at Rolla High School, teaching English. Her battle with cancer started three years ago, with the cancer going into remission, but eventually returning earlier this year.

Stormes received a medical retirement after she learned her cancer had spread to her brain, and was not teaching this school year.

The stories most people told about her either came in two ways, how Stormes helped them personally, or how she helped others.

For Jack Weaver, a high school senior, it was a second chance to participate on Student Council, after failing to meet the participation requirements. Stormes let him join anyway – he still is serving on the student board.

Her ability to reach out to students in her class was something for which others lauded her.

“She was the teacher for the kids who didn’t get a lot of attention,” said Brooke Giddens, a senior, who took Stormes’ leadership class.

Her way of getting to those students, according to Hammond, was making her class fit to them, not the other way around.

“They (students) trusted her, and they didn’t want to disappoint her,” Hammond said.

That commitment was with her always. According to Assistant Principal Bonnie Brainard, in Stormes’ final semester she taught a class with 43 students.

Outside her class, her impact was felt with numerous student groups.

She worked with the Student Council for several years, being named Missouri’s South Central Student Council advisor of the year in 2009. She lent her time and energy to other groups, such as Link Crew and Student-2-Student.

She started the school’s ACT prep class. On the day of her funeral, a number of Rolla High School students were scheduled to take the test, but were considering skipping to attend the funeral. According to Hammond, teachers asked the students what Mrs. Stormes would want them to do – students went and took the test.

“Donalie was just an extremely dedicated teacher, not just in the class but with the student council and the other activities she helped out with,” High School Principal Nathan Hoven said.

The student groups were in addition to the faculty positions, English Department and curriculum chair, she held.

To put her involvement in terms of staff, there are currently, two teachers sharing the roles of curriculum and department chair, and one teacher advising the Student Council.

“I don’t know if you could actually replace the presence she had. You knew when she was in the building,” said Angie Anderson, a science teacher at the high school.

The outpouring of condolences and correspondences that have been sent since her passing is a testament to the impact she had.

Brainard said she would take cards, some of which came from students around the state, to Stormes’ house.

“She loved the cards that played music,” Brainard said.

For the students she inspired, the faculty members she worked with, and the friends Stormes had at the high school, they will have to go on without her presence.

Even with her retirement, she still came by the school to visit. But for some teachers, not seeing her on a daily basis was difficult.

“I physically missed having her in the building,” Hammond said.