Ava Nell Donoho Chambers

I totally agree with Betty Rowland. This wonderful woman changed my life and I owe her so very much, instilling in me courage and confidence, even convincing me I could sing the lead in a play -- and I KNOW I was terrible! We remained friends long into my adulthood. She is always a part of me and always will be. Thank you Ava Nell!

I continue to have such fond memories of Ava Nell and miss her still. It warmed my heart to see her picture. She was one of a kind and her impact on me out lives her.

I was thinking of Mrs Chambers today, so I did an internet search and have found she passed away last year. I was a student at Bruce Shulkey when she became principal. It is a testament to her that after all these years (I'm 41 yo now) I still think of her, and so fondly. She was truly a great principal, grateful for people like her.

I knew Ava Nell thru SAI, honorary music fraternity. She was a doll to work with on committees. Very knowledgeable of music and composers and taught me a lot. The thing I enjoyed the most about her was her sense of humor and positive energy. She was a joy to many and will be missed.

I just read of Mrs. Chambers' death. I wasmone of a handful of student teachers who were blessed enough to have Mrs. Chambers as a mentor teacher.

Her love of teaching and all that it could be was clearly evident in all her words and actions. She treated each of us with dignity, respect, and love. At the end of the student teaching program she gave us each a wooden pointer with an apple at one end...I had her date and sign mine. It is in a prominent place in my classroom.

What a wonderful woman! The world has really lost someone special. Ava Nell was the best teacher there ever was and instilled in me a confidence that lasted 50 years and more. I hope she knew how much I loved her.

Ava Nell had an energy. You felt it in her presence. For six years Bruce Shulkey Elementary thrived because of her positive force. You actually could feel her energy throughout the building. At the school today, a larger-than-life portrait of Ava Nell hangs in the main hall.

When I saw the high school yearbook picture of Ava Nell that Betty McEntire posted, amazingly, I could "see" Ava Nell's energy in that photo!

Ava Nell definitely is one of the best gifts...

My thoughts and prayers are with you at the loss of Ava Nell. She was a delightful friend and colleage. Among the many other ways she added to joy in the world she was an outstanding volunteer at the Senior Citizens Fair. She visited with the vendors as they waited their turn to check in their homemade items and kept their spirits high. I treasure the times I spent with Ava Nell over the years.

Betty Rowland

Ava Nell was a friend of the McEntire family and a classmate of my mother Janice, and cousins June and Frances McEntire at Diamond Hill High School. My fondest memory of Ava Nell is as my first piano teacher in the mid 1940s. I would walk to her house on Grover Street and she taught me songs that I would play at church. A kind and gentle lady and a wonderful teacher, she will be missed. My condolences to her family.
Betty Jones McEntire