To say that the recent death of Howie Steere, a former Roslyn High School teacher, was shocking is an understatement: shouldn't certain individuals whose humanity embraced us all be acknowledged, so that a new generation of students and teachers at RHS could learn about him?

For 25 years, I taught at RHS with Howie in the Social Studies Department. He was my mentor, and during my first shaky year, he steadied me down, kept me from panicking, and with his generous, practical and smart advice, I survived, and we remained close, good friends all those years.

What was special about Howie? He was an incredibly warm, loving person, with a gentle manner, modest to a fault, never on an ego trip, and he had this great quality: he cared deeply about his students, and about their progress, and he always had or made time when they needed him; he shared with his students--and with his colleagues-- his wisdom, talents, patience, fortitude, and of course, his humor.

When students left his class, they knew they had together shared a unique learning experience. I used to joke with Howie about what I called his "Eddie Stanky intangibles." (Eddie Stanky was a second baseman with the New York Giants) and he was called great precisely because of his so-called "intangibles;" from what I recall, going back to the 1950s, it meant these were such special qualities that you couldn't write them down, even identify them exactly, but they made you "great."

For Howie, I used to think it was his gentle sweetness as a human being, his all-around decency as a person, his giving himself to what for Howie was a "calling," not just a job, and an openness to all and sundry.

Whatever it was--and I hope other colleagues will write and add to these--it was there, and so much more.

For me, I can simply say: as a teacher and colleague, to know Howie Steere, was to admire and love him.

Murray Kaufman