RE Log Spring 2021

74 Ransom Everglades LOG SPRING 2021 In Loving Memory Members of the RE community were stunned by the sudden death of longtime security guard Tammy Valdez Anthon on October 7, 2020, after she had been hospitalized for a non-COVID-19 ill- ness. Anthon had been described as the school’s “beloved gatekeeper” in a Catalyst newspaper story last May, and was considered a friend to many and trusted presence at the upper school guardhouse. She was 50. “We loved Tammy,” Head of School Penny Townsend said at the memorial. “She meant so much to all of us, and we will honor her ... She loved her job; she loved coming to work every day. She al- ways gave us a smile ... What a fortunate school to have someone like Tammy. She was the first person so many of us saw.” A Miami native who attended Miami Central Senior High, Anthon began manning the front gate at RE after her security company, Bryant Security Corporation, relocated her from the Ramada Hotel in Sunny Isles in 2000. She never left. A talented vocalist, she sang the National Anthem for water polo games and other sporting events; she also shared her talents with Saint Mark Missionary Baptist Church. She is sur- vived by three children, two daughters and a son, and six grandchildren. Anthon’s daughter Tiffani addressed RE students who gathered around The Ringing Rock to honor her mother a day after her passing. She was joined RE’s Beloved Gatekeeper School community mourns the loss of longtime guard Tammy Valdez Anthon by front-office assistant Monique Regis and Student Government Association President Georgia Crosby ’21 . Seniors, the only students on the upper school campus that day, assembled on the new Touzet Quad to pay their respects. Many brought flowers. “I just wanted to let you know that my mother, she really loved these students out there, she really loved you guys. When she was in the hospital, she couldn’t wait to get back,” Tiffani said through tears. “This was her second her family. I can’t even say her ‘second’ fam- ily – it was her family.” Said Crosby: “She was loved and appreciated, and will be forever ... Her infectious smile and strong character will be in our hearts forever.” The memorial concluded with Townsend’s reading of Maya Angelou’s “Phenomenal Woman,” followed by the sounding of the bell. The sculpture had been installed the evening Anthon died. It was rung for the first time for Anthon. “Tammy, she protected everyone here,” Regis said. “It was hard for me to come through the gate this morn- ing knowing that I would never see her again. I just want to let the students know, the whole community know, she loved everybody. She watched out for us.” Show your support for Tammy Anthon Families can show their appreciation for Anthon with gifts to the renovation of the upper school guard house (“Tammy’s House”), or an Equitable Experience Endowment Fund, which will benefit students who need assistance with “the extras” at RE not typically covered by financial aid. “A gift to these initiatives will create a lasting legacy for Tammy, a valued member of the RE family who loved coming to work each day, and who always put our students and their wellbeing first,” Townsend said. For information on how to contribute to the memorial funds, please contact Melanie Hoffmann, Director of Advancement at mhoffmann@ ransomeverglades.org or 305 460 8820.