Longtime teacher had a love of French culture, language
Nancy J. Irey ~ 1946-2007
Around the halls of Wheaton Warrenville South High School, administrators and students alike greeted teacher Nancy J. Irey with a familiar phrase: "Bonjour, Madame."
Mrs. Irey taught French in Wheaton Warrenville Unit District 200 for 28 years, returning to the same district where she had been named valedictorian in 1964 when she graduated from Wheaton Community High School.
At various points in her career, she taught at Wheaton Central High School, Edison Junior High School, Wheaton Warrenville Middle School and, from 1992 to 2005, at Wheaton Warrenville South.
"She got such joy out of teaching French and the French culture," says former Wheaton Warrenville South High School principal Chuck Baker. "Her tone, her attitude and her genuine interest in the language and culture was contagious."
Colleagues and family members agree that Mrs. Irey touched the lives of thousands of students during her long career, and now they are mourning her loss.
The lifelong Wheaton resident passed away Monday. She was 61.
Family members point to Mrs. Irey's mother, who grew up in New Orleans, as the one who instilled a love of the French language and culture in her daughter. When she attended the University of Illinois, Mrs. Irey majored in French with a minor in history.
"She just tried to soak up as much of the culture, history and art from the country as she could," says Rod Irey, her husband of 38 years.
Her classes reflected her passion for the language. Every year, Mrs. Irey took her classes on field trips to the Art Institute of Chicago to see the works of French Impressionist painters.
She also sponsored an annual "buche de noel" or yule log contest, in which students baked and decorated the traditional French holiday cakes to be judged by teachers and administrators.
Her upper-level students were challenged to film a video in French. They designed clips that ranged from travelogues to French newscasts.
Over the years, Mrs. Irey moderated the French Club and accompanied its members on several trips to France. She also traveled there often with family members, including immersing her husband, her two children and her mother in the culture.
Despite the trend toward taking Spanish, the number of students enrolled in French at Wheaton Central and Wheaton Warrenville South high schools remained steady.
"There's no question that Nancy played a part in that," Baker says. "Students enrolled in French because they knew there was a good chance they would get her as a teacher."
Besides her husband, Mrs. Irey is survived by her daughter Susan (Eric) Clark of Arlington Heights and son John Irey of Chicago, and granddaughters Sarah and Emma Clark.
Funeral services for Mrs. Irey will take place at 10 a.m. today at Gary United Methodist Church, 224 N. Main St. in Wheaton.