After 33 years of faith-filled service to the Lourdes Central Catholic community in Nebraska City, Mrs. Valerie Able has decided it is time to hang up the last of many hats she has worn at the school. She was originally hired in 1981 to teach a combination of kindergarten along with 9th and 10th grade English, as well as coaching speech and drama! The following year she started the Lourdes pre-school program and continued to teach kindergarten for a total of 5 years. Next she taught 4th grade for 12 years and finally was tapped for the elementary principal’s job in 1998 after earning an administrator’s degree.
In addition to her administrator’s duties, Mrs. Able was responsible for many years for writing grant proposals, planning the major fundraiser events, and working hand-in-hand with Fr. McCabe on school development. She was instrumental in planning for the new addition of a chapel, gymnasium, theater, classrooms and administrative offices at the school. She also worked closely and had a great friendship with Mrs. Linda Isaacson, principal at St. John the Baptist in Plattsmouth. The two of them attended the National Catholic Educators Association conferences together, gleaning ideas for retention, marketing and trends in education.
A major event in Valerie’s life was her decision to convert to Catholicism in 1993. She calls it “…one of the best days of my life.” Another major event was the stroke she suffered in late September of 2011. Of her long recovery she particularly remembers the prayers sent to her and said for her by all the children, and the holy water from Lourdes, France, brought to her at the hospital by a parent. Her husband Leroy blessed her every day with the water. After her recovery she passed on the holy water to another parent who suffered an aneurism and recently gave her last vial to a parent with cancer. She strongly believes her recovery was directly tied to all the prayers of the whole diocese and to the holy water. She was able to return to work part time by January and full time the following school year.
Valerie had a great respect from all the teachers. Fr. McCabe characterizes her as “fair, nurturing, a great listener, decisive, and a problem-solver. Her faith shows the heart of Christ.”
Mrs. Able admits that her position at the school was “hard to give up. The decision came after a lot of prayer.” She feels that God is calling her to do something else, but she doesn’t yet know what that is. Having recently read the book Becoming the Best Version of Yourself, she remarks that—for now—maybe that is simply being a wife and grandmother!
The whole Lourdes community is praying that the Blessed Mother and Jesus watch over her as she settles in to this well-deserved retirement.
