John Bligh
- Retired teacher
During her 40-year teaching career, Antoinette C. Messina often used her knack for connecting with children and her love of languages to help her immigrant students learn English. Decades after he was her student, one immigrant from Israel said Antoinette “taught me everything.” She was a shining example of the difference one teacher can make.
Antoinette died on Aug. 21, 2022, at age 91, after suffering a stroke.
“Teaching was such a passion in her life and the UFT was a great support,” daughter Catherine Messina said of the longtime UFT member.
In 2020, Antoinette was unexpectedly reunited with Rony Zeltzer, who had been her 1st-grade student at PS 180 in Borough Park, Brooklyn, where Antoinette taught for the last 15 years of her career. As a child, he spoke only Hebrew, so she worked with him until he learned English.
When Zeltzer, a physical therapist, was assigned to treat Antoinette, it sparked fond memories of his teacher, and he wanted to help her in an expression of gratitude for the way she had helped him. Zeltzer worked with her as her physical therapist until her passing and spoke at her funeral. A story about them appeared in the New York Teacher in September 2021.
Antoinette earned a bachelor’s degree in education at Hunter College and a master’s in early education at Brooklyn College. She began teaching in 1953 in Lakewood, New Jersey. She then taught in city public schools in Queens; in Canarsie, Brooklyn; and finally at PS 180.
“She loved her students and did everything she could to ensure they obtained the early education they needed to create a good foundation. She was very dedicated to creating an organized, appropriate and fun environment,” her daughter said.
Antoinette’s principal at PS 180, Marvin Grosskopf, in a letter of recommendation “in the highest possible terms,” said Antoinette mentored new teachers, but also was sought out by experienced colleagues who “recognized her superiority as a teacher.” He praised her judgment and said he relied on her advice. “I have not mentioned her wit, intelligence or charm,” he wrote, “since they are obvious.”
Antoinette told a reporter she was strict, but believed it was also important to make learning enjoyable and to show her students love and care. That combination was her formula for success.
Students often returned to school to see her or stopped her on the street in her Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, neighborhood to show their appreciation.
A first-generation American, Antoinette was raised speaking English and Italian but also became fluent in Spanish and French.
Antoinette was dedicated to her Catholic faith and relied on it to get through challenges, her daughter said. With John, her husband of 63 years, she often organized pilgrimages from Brooklyn to the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré in Quebec, one of eight national shrines in Canada.
Strong, independent and articulate, she was an only child who was raised atypically for the time, learning skills associated with both boys and girls. She raised her own daughter the same way.
“I’ve been thinking about all her words of wisdom,” Catherine Messina said, recalling in particular advice she was given at only 13: “She told me never to rely on a man for financial stability; it’s so important to be independent.”
A loving and supportive mother, Antoinette was also a talented cook and enjoyed family events and holidays, often hosting dinners for 25-plus people.
Adventurous, she loved to travel. She drove cross country at 26, then traveled extensively in the states and abroad throughout her life. After retiring, she spent winters in Florida, where she organized bus trips for her community. She also enjoyed the mountains in upstate New York.
In addition to her husband, John, and her daughter, Catherine, Antoinette is survived by two sons, John (spouse Gina) and Neil; Catherine’s spouse, Lucy; three grandchildren; three step-grandchildren; and a great-granddaughter.
Condolences may be sent to:
Catherine Messina
12550 9th Ave. NW
Seattle, WA 98177
