‘I will never, never forget all of you,’ Turmenne tells Callahan community

LYNN – Edward Turmenne wore sunglasses Thursday – not to ward off late spring rays but to hide the tears glistening in his eyes as he accepted applause and hugs from Callahan School teachers, parents and students helping him bring down the curtain on a 47-year academic career.?These kids mean everything to me,” said Turmenne as he embraced groups of two and three students dressed in brightly-colored T-shirts.At the age of 71, Turmenne has seen public education evolve over a half century from classroom lessons to teachers and administrators “paying attention to the whole child.”?We?re more than we ever have before giving out medication,” he said.Turmenne?s last day on the job is June 27 – the last day of school – and his Callahan colleagues and children turned Thursday?s annual field day fun and games into a salute to Turmenne. They handed him a mayoral proclamation, posed for pictures and serenaded him with, “For He?s A Jolly Good Fellow,” to him.?I love Mr. Turmenne. Whenever we needed him, he?s been there for us. He shows us how to be leaders,” said 5th-grader Anna-Marie Alukonis.Teresa Raithel said her two children and other Callahan students “really respect and look up to” Turmenne.?He is not replaceable,” Raithel said.Turmenne studied education at the former Salem State College in hopes of teaching and coaching baseball. He switched his teaching preference to social studies but ended up in a Harrington School fifth-grade classroom at a time when local educators were trying to hire more male teachers.He was named Harrington?s principal in 1971 and became Callahan principal in 1993. Veteran Lynn teacher aide Donna St. Pierre on Thursday described Turmenne as “amazing.”?I don?t know what we would have done without him,” she said.Callahan 4th-grader Jordan Morales said Turmenne “helped him calm down” when Morales was having a rough day. Fifth-grader Kiara Edmonds said her principal “runs – he doesn?t walk” when there is a problem that requires his attention inside the school.Turmenne said he has yet to make retirement plans but he told the people who love him Thursday why he committed 47 years to a career in education.?Someone said, ?When you love what you do, you never work a day in your life.? I will never, never forget all of you,” he said.Thor Jourgensen can be reached at [email protected].