Lillian Klym

October 25, 2021

Lillian Klym: Pioneer, Scrapper, and Educator Pioneer When your father refused to support your desire to attend college in 1947, you applied to St. Joseph’s, got a job, took the train every day from New Britain to Hartford, and walked the rest of the way to West Hartford. Not only did you get to classes on time, but you also graduated, went to the University of Hartford for a master’s in education, and became a teacher. Scrapper The year you turned 80, and the snow removal service sent you an email saying you owed hundreds of dollars for plowing, you wrote back with detailed notes about how many inches fell on which days—more than a foot less than stated on the invoice. Then you used your computer to process a check for the corrected amount and printed a letter of termination of services. Educator For you, education went far beyond the inner-city walls where you taught for 36 years. At home, you read to your child, you took him to the library on a regular basis, and you hosted his English Composition professor for a weekend. By now, at least half of Connecticut should know your son has a PhD, alongside a prizewinning collection of short stories dedicated to you. Lillian Klym, you never minced words. You told the truth no matter how hard it hurt. Thank you.