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Carey Ivory, a beloved teacher, friend, and colleague passed away on the night of Jan. 8, after a long battle with cancer. She taught at NSMS for 22 years, impacting many students’ lives before passing away.
Ivory had many passions, and was always engaged with one thing or another. One of the most important things was her family, and the time that she spent with them. She loved to be with her grandkids and kids, and loved to travel with them.
“One thing I can say is family comes first,” teacher Des Dyches said.
Ivory was a hardworking person who always loved to prove people wrong. She was also devoted to her students and her work. She worked right up until Christmas break despite the toll of the cancer and treatments she was going through, and she had lessons planned for the next few weeks, showing how dedicated and hardworking she truly was.
“She was not afraid of hard work. She was not afraid to work for everybody, but especially for a good cause,” teacher Cindy Johansen said.
She would go to treatments every Tuesday and Thursday, and then go to school the next day, sometimes in immense pain. But she still continued to push through.
In a letter to Ivory from NSMS principal Jeff Ericksen he said,
“You have shown a level of determination and toughness that exceeds most people,” referring to Ivory.
She worked until the very end, she put her students only second to her family, and she always wanted to help her students learn and grow. She always wanted her students to not only succeed, but excel.
“For her, education was super important,” Johansen said.
She was always so calm and composed, and was always looking for good ways to solve the problems at hand.
“I loved her dedication and her calm way of handling things,” Johansen said.
She always wanted to be the best person that she could be, and always pushed her students and others to do the same. She was never slacking.
“She expected herself to be the top shelf, and showed others how to do the same,” teacher Preston Cox said.
She loved to have fun adventures with her friends and family, and she always had a good attitude even if things weren’t going the way that she wanted them to.
“I just loved her spirit of adventure, and her attitude,” Johansen said.
Not only was Ivory hard working, but she loved to have fun with the ones that she loved the most. Whether it was by taking a vacation with her friends, playing games with the faculty, going to concerts, throwing axes, or spending time with her family. You could bet that she was there creating all of the fun, and making everyone laugh.
“Carey had a wicked sense of humor,” Cox said, “She could bring anyone to tears streaming laughter with her witty zingers and one liners.”
Carey loved hanging out with her friends, who were also most of her colleagues.
“To be part of Carey’s friend group was a gift.” Cox said, “She did it all, bowling, volleyball, bunko, traveling. She helped with weddings, funerals, parties and graduations.”
Overall, Ivory was an inspiration and impacted the lives of so many colleagues, friends, family, and students. She will be remembered, loved, and missed.
