John Bligh
- Retired Teacher
Toby Skier, an unflagging champion of arts education, instilled a love of music in several generations of Howard Beach, Queens, elementary school students before retiring in 1993. She died on Oct. 1, 2023, at age 95.
After majoring in education at Brooklyn College, Toby began her teaching career in 1949 and, though she was on an extended maternity leave at the time, supported the inception of the United Federation of Teachers by marching with Al Shanker and Sandra Feldman in 1960. When she started working at PS 207 in Howard Beach in 1969, she originally intended to continue in a general education role, but soon took over for the retiring music teacher – a job for which she wasn’t sure she was qualified until the retiring teacher encouraged her to apply.
“She taught the whole school to love music,” said Toby’s daughter-in-law, Joanne Skier, who was herself Toby’s student at PS 207. Toby loved to sing and “she believed in instilling that appreciation of music in her students.”
Skier recalled that Toby, a former dancer, taught them that the rhythm of the song was the foundation of music. Toby had eclectic tastes and believed in exposing her students to all musical genres, from Chopin to contemporary pop music. “She made us listen to everything and appreciate everything,” said Skier.
She directed the Glee Club and always arranged second shows in the evenings so working family members would be able to attend their children’s performances. She scheduled concerts at the local senior center to bring music to the neighborhood’s elders and give the children an opportunity to share their hard work.
Toby never forgot her students’ accomplishments, and they never forgot her. “If you talk to anyone who grew up in Howard Beach in the 1970s, they all know who she was,” said Skier. Just before she died, Toby told her daughter-in-law, “You were such a good soprano in the Glee Club – and that was a hard job!”
Toby stayed busy after retirement. She was active with the Pythian Sisters, an international organization for women, and fundraised for Boys Town, Make-A-Wish America and causes in Israel. She sang the national anthem three times at Shea Stadium and was a runner-up in the Ms. Senior America pageant in the early 2000s.
When Skier was going through Toby’s belongings after her death, she found an enormous cache of correspondence. The letters, all from former students, described how much those students loved her class. “These letters all said things like their mothers and fathers were in the audience, and they couldn’t believe how their kids shined on the stage – and she brought that out in them,” said Skier. “She treasured those letters. She even had letters from the people at the senior center.”
Toby is survived by her son Steven Skier, her daughter-in-law, Joanne Skier, and three grandchildren, Kevin, Brian and Dylan. Her husband, Herman Skier, predeceased her, as did sons David and Phillip.
