Geraldine (Geri) Hammill spent her life preparing students for theirs. After 37 years working in public school systems, thousands of lives owe their successes to her persistence.
‘She always had an emphasis on the kids,? said her husband, DuWayne Hammill. ‘They were what she was there for, and she enjoyed what she was there for.?
Geri died on Aug. 4.
She was 58.
The students affected by the counselor do not take her impact on their lives for granted.
‘With all of the college stuff I did last year, she sat right next to me the whole time,? said Chloe Slade, 2009 Goodrich High School graduate. ‘She always told me to go for it.?
Slade’s words could be mirrored by every student who walked into Geri’s counseling office at Goodrich High School. Geri worked as a counselor at GHS for 23 years. Before that, she was a business teacher in Livonia and a counselor in Peck Public Schools.
‘She’s been able to retire for six or seven years,? her husband said. ‘I’d ask her if she was ready, and she’d always say, ‘I think I’ll go back one more year.? She said that every year.?
Beyond the students who were grateful for her return each fall, her coworkers breathed a sigh of relief when she walked in the door.
‘She was probably the most respected staff member at Goodrich,? said Bob Foreback, fellow GHS counselor. ‘The way she did her job–she was one of the top in the whole district.?
Foreback remembers Geri as ‘ultra-organized.? He counted on her attention to detail and her flawless work ethic.
‘She was kind of the mother hen,? he said. ‘Always one of the last to leave the building. I think it’s a generational thing. She was old school.?
Foreback cannot remember a time when Geri wasn’t doing something to contribute to the organization or production of the office.
‘Sometimes she’d even create work to do. I’m going to try to do a better job of that in her honor,? he said.
While Foreback works in Geri’s honor, Al Martus feels honored to have worked with Geri the longest of any GHS staffer.
Martus was the principal at Peck High School while Geri was its counselor. After seven years of teamwork, Martus moved to Goodrich as the assistant principal and athletic director. When he saw that GHS needed a counselor, Geri was the first name that came to mind.
‘She was thorough. Everything had to be done right,? Martus said. ‘We would do something, and she’d tell me I was doing it wrong. Respectfully, of course. But wrong.?
Martus said Geri made a lot of people look good.
‘She was in the trenches in the background,? he said.
Beyond her loyalty to Martus in the workplace, the athletic director remembers Geri as a loyal friend.
‘You think you know people, and then you learn. I don’t think I realized what a friend I had in her,? Martus said.
After retiring as assistant principal at GHS, Martus’s office as athletic director was right next door to Geri’s counseling office.
‘It’s funny that’s where we ended up,? he said.
While future generations of Martians may not realize, at first, what they are missing out on since the loss of Geri, those who knew her will always feel a certain emptiness in the halls of GHS.
‘Freshmen are going to be lost without her,? Slade said. ‘She helps with tours and she always made my schedule perfect every year.?
Geri’s husband said there will be one less supportive smile to greet each student.
‘By the time she finished talking to someone, they felt like they could do anything,? DuWayne said.
Martus said he will notice right away the gap that has been left in GHS.
‘But people don’t always know she’s in the trenches,? he said. ‘I don’t think people will know until two or three years down the road. It was the little things she did.?
Foreback remembers those little things. He said he will do his best to pick up where she left off.
‘I’ve always said we’re all replaceable,? Foreback said. ‘But with what Geri did here, she’s going to be the toughest one to replace in the whole building.?