LYNNWOOD — The first graders in Miss Jenni Warmouth’s class at Spruce Primary had to make friends fast with Natalie Teno early this school year, because they knew her short, precious life would be over soon because of the cancer that was attacking her body.
Natalie, at almost 5-years-old, died Jan. 20, 2003 and the first graders still talk about her everyday with a smile, Warmouth said.
The students were very sad when Natalie died, Warmouth said, “so they decided to create something beautiful to remember her by.” Despite, the reality of Natalie’s situation, she touched the students lives in such a way that they, along with the Lynnwood Fire Department and many others from the community, whom Natalie touched, joined together to create a mosaic memorial wall at the school in Natalie’s memory.
After studying Vincent Van Gogh’s “Starry, Starry Night” and Gustav Klimt’s “Tree of Life,” the students created the design for the memorial wall.
The students broke up the tile for the mosaic and sorted the glass by color. Firefighters came in and applied the grout for the large project and many businesses and groups in the community also donated time and supplies for the wall.
The class officially dedicated the finished wall to the Teno family; Mick and Linda Teno and their four daughters Summer, Olivia (who is Natalie’s twin) and twin sisters Mary and Gracie on June 19.
“Natalie would be so happy to see this and touch it,” Linda Teno said about the mosaic wall art.
First grader Ronahi Zebari, 8, said what she remembers most about Natalie was when she would stick out her tongue when she was happy.
“Everytime in the morning I touch the wall and I feel close to Natalie,” Zebari said.
Linda Teno said the candor of the first graders about Natalie, like Zebari, has been for the most part because of the way Warmouth has given her students a “gift of compassion” for the rest of their lives.
“Miss Warmouth has led them down this path of compassion,” Linda Teno said. “Instead of the kids being afraid of Natalie’s bald head and her scars they took her in and loved her as she was.”
The class “adopted” Natalie last fall when they found out through another Spruce parent about Natalie’s quickly declining health and her family. Natalie’s older sister, Summer, was a second-grader at Spruce at the time.
Mick and Linda Teno said they often speak of how incredible of an impact Natalie had in just her 4 and half years of life.
The mosaic wall dedication is among the many things the class has done for the family and is in addition to the great support they have received from the Lynnwood Fire Department, who was there helping the family often in Natalie’s last days, and other support from people in the community.
The kids smile when they think of her,” Linda Teno said, “because of the happiness she brought and that she was brave and faced her illness.” She added, and Natalie also had faith in God and shared with the students that she knew that Jesus would take care of her and Linda Teno hopes that also touched the students.
Miss Jennie Warmouth’s Spruce Primary first grade class, room 2, would like to give special thanks to the Teno family, Mr. and Mrs. Anselment, The Lynnwood Fire Department, JZ Tile of Lynnwood, Spectrum Glass, Spruce Primary principal Linda Tripp, Ms. Anna Walter, Home Depot, Wight’s Nursery, Emory’s Garden, the Mansfield family, the Douglas family, the King family and the Badrbigi family.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
