October 19, 2006

(NOTE: The following is one of many special remembrances of University of Mobile Associate Professor of Modern Language Nancy Wall which was delivered at a memorial service in Weaver Hall on Wednesday, October 18, 2006. Miss Wall died October 14, 2006, after a brief illness.)

Remembering Nancy Wall: A Memorial

By Will Edmonds, Class of 1997
French Teacher, Davidson High School

I know that most all of you here knew her as Nancy. But to me she was Ms. Wall. She was my teacher, so she’ll always be Ms. Wall to me. After leaving the University of Mobile I worked in banking only to find out that banking wasn’t for me. I knew I wanted to teach French, but I wasn’t sure how to get started, so I called Ms. Wall. She was so happy to know that I had that I decided to teach French that she said, “we have to get together to get you started” and the rest is history. At the time I remember thinking how impressed I was that a former teacher still considered what was going on in my life important. We did meet and she did help me get on my way. In the years since that time, I have come to realize that what Ms. Wall did for me was simply the “Nancy Wall way.” It’s a tribute to her life, and it’s a tribute to the University of Mobile for having professors who are concerned about the lives of students even after they’ve graduated.

Ms. Wall worked tirelessly for the University of Mobile. She was always the one working behind the scenes. The Boar’s Head Festival comes to mind. I can still hear cast members saying…”Ms. Wall, my hat needs repairing,” “Ms. Wall, someone stepped on my costume and pulled the hem out,” and “Ms. Wall, I’m sorry, but I lost my costume!!” We will never know the number of hours she spent working on those costumes, but we all know how magnificent they looked.

Ms. Wall also gave of herself outside the University. For many years she has been the backbone of the Alliance Française de Mobile. She gave so much of her time to the organization, and we will never be able to express our gratitude for her dedication to the Alliance. Of all the activities in which the Alliance participated, the one that Ms. Wall cherished the most was the Mobile International Festival. With her creativity and direction, the Alliance and the University of Mobile were always well represented.
The International Festival is next month, and we will do our best to continue to uphold the traditions Ms. Wall put in place.

For me, Ms. Wall was much more than just a French professor, she was a friend. I would like to leave you with just one last story of Ms. Wall. In my final year here at the University I took an Independent Study with her. It was French 498, French for Business. Coming to class one Friday in November, I noticed that Ms. Wall had her door shut and she was sitting outside her office with her jacket on looking as if she were ready to get out of town for the weekend. I said Bonjour, to which she didn’t reply, rather she said, “have you ever been to Greek Fest?” I said no. She said, “do you want go?” I said sure! She said, “One stipulation, we have to speak French on the way down there and on the way back, you can speak whatever you want when you get there, I’m going to eat!” We went and had a great time.
She was a wonderful lady and she will be missed.

And so, Ms. Wall, Merci Beaucoup! Au revoir! MAIS A bientot!