Vivian M. Prindl
Died Feb. 2, 2019
HUDSON
FALLS - Vivian Mitchell Prindl, 107, a longtime resident of Hudson Falls,
passed away peacefully on Feb. 2, 2019 at her home, surrounded by loving
friends and family.
Vivian
was born on Oct. 31, 1911, in Detroit, she was the second of three children
born
to the late Mildred (Hotchkiss) and Robert Mitchell. After graduating from Detroit Northeastern
High School in 1930, she attended a business high school studying short hand
and typing, earning money for tuition to attend Kalamazoo College, graduating
in 1935.
She
met her future husband on a train traveling to Arizona. She was living and working
there
and he was working on his master’s degree at the University of Arizona. They
married
in August of 1938 in Detroit.
Vivian
and Frank then settled in Decatur, Illinois, where they started their family. They
welcomed
a son, Andreas in 1939 and a daughter, Patricia, in 1941. In 1944 they moved to Lexington, Kentucky
where Frank taught at the university and Vivian became an elementary school
teacher. They lived in Germany from
1957-59 where her husband was Cultural Affairs Officer at the U S Embassy and
she taught kindergarten.
In
1961 the Prindl’s moved to Hudson Falls, NY, after Frank was chosen to be one
of
the
founders of Adirondack Community College. Vivian soon accepted a position at
Sanford
Street School in Glens Falls, where she taught third grade for 16 years,
retired
and
then returned as a part time volunteer for an additional 25 years, taking time
off to
travel.
In
1999, at the age of 88 she inquired about becoming a volunteer teacher and
resident
grandmother
at the Kurn Hattin Home in Westminster, VT. In exchange for housing and
meals
she taught reading and crafts to students in grades 1st to 8th
for several weeks in
the
spring and fall for the next 16 years, officially retiring in 2015. In the 70 plus years of
teaching,
she has enriched the lives of thousands of children.
In
2004, in recognition of years of volunteer work, she received Yankee Magazine’s
Barn
Raiser Award. In 2009, she was
recognized as the most senior volunteer in the
Northeast
and was awarded with the Community MVP Award sponsored by the New
England
Patriots football team. Tom Brady,
Patriot quarterback, personally awarded the
engraved
wooden football trophy and a $1500 check for Kurn Hattin Home to her.
Every
year, since 1950, she has spent her summers at the family cottage in Suttons
Bay,
Michigan. This past summer, she was
invited to speak at the Traverse City District
Library
to a group interested in her secrets of living a long and productive life. It well
attended
and covered by the local TV station, and the Traverse City Mayor presented
her
with the key to the city in recognition her lifelong volunteerism and
dedication to
teaching.
In
addition to teaching, she enjoyed reading and traveling. Vivian traveled all over the
world,
visiting her family and friends in England, California, Japan and took a
105-day
cruise
around the world, volunteering in the ship’s library. She was especially proud of
her
trips to Indonesia and the Philippines under the auspices of the International
Book
Project.
She also visited Brunei, where she
stayed with an influential Muslim family
learning
about their culture and beliefs.
She
was an avid Scrabble player, and would usually win every game, always willing
to learn and give of herself, she recently was accepted to participate in a longevity
study, (for those over the age of 105) sponsored by the Boston University Medical
Center, in Boston, Mass.
Vivian
is survived by her son Andreas Prindl, of Princeton, NJ and Angouleme, France,
granddaughter
Karin Prindl, of San Francisco, California, grandson Chris Prindl and his
wife
Susie and their children, Meaghan, Joseph, Martha and Elspeth of Truro, England
and
many, many friends both near and far.
The
Vivian Prindl Outreach Prize is awarded annually by the Trinity College of
Music in
London,
England and a scholarship fund has been established in her name at Wayne
State
University in Michigan.
Burial
in St. Michael’s Cemetery of Suttons Bay will be announced in the spring.
In
lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations be made to New England Kurn
Hattin
Home,
Box 127 , Westminster, VT 05158
Please
share condolences with Vivian’s family below or at our funeral home Facebook page:
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