Three Ipswich teachers retire, 110 years of service

Three Ipswich teachers retired after the completion of the 2020 school year. The three, Anita Doschadis, Lynette Heitz and Joy Kehrwald, were honored during the Senior Graduation parade on May 17.

Mrs. Doschadis began teaching in Ipswich the fall of 1980. "My entire career was at the Ipswich Public School and I couldn't have had a better school," she said.

She taught reading her first year, then moved to the Kindergarten room in 1981.

"I remember how excited I was when I received the call the spring of 1980 that I was being offered the Reading position and also the following spring when I was being offered the Kindergarten position," she said. "I continued to have that excitement every year of my career."

Mrs. Doschadis has made an album every year, packed with wonderful and precious memories of the approximately 960 or more children she had in her classroom. "Love What You Do, Do What You Love" says it all, she said.

Anita now plans to take the time to enjoy more time with her husband and family and do some of the crafts and projects that she hasn't had the time to do.

Joy Kehrwald has taught in various schools in the area. She began teaching in Ipswich in 1986 at Plainview Colony. After five years she taught at Holy Cross School and she was there for seven years. In 1997 she began teaching at Deerfield Colony, where she was for 23 years. She was reassigned five years ago to travel to all three colony schools in the district. Mrs. Kehrwald taught pre-school and special education.

After Joy graduated from Northern she taught special education in Faulkton for a year and then at the Todd County school in Mission, where she taught second grade for two years.

"No matter where I taught: the reservation, the colonies, the Catholic school, or the public schools, I enjoyed it all," she said. "Children are so fun to be around. It was wonderful to see their eyes light up when they grasped something new."

Teaching is in Joy's blood - her grandmother and mother were teachers. And now she has two daughters teaching. "I guess it is in our blood and what a passion it is," she said. "I loved it and was sad to end my career the way it did."

Now Joy plans to enjoy some free time and her family. She said she may be back at school subbing. "I will just wait and see where life leads me," she said.

Lynette Heitz started teaching in Ipswich on Feb. 25, 1991. She taught business education and a variety of computer classes to all ages.

Courses she taught through 29 years at Ipswich Public School include Accounting, Entrepreneurship, Personal Finance, Multimedia, Computer Applications, Middle School Computer classes, K-5th Grade Computer classes, Vocational Business, Computers I, II, and III.

Mrs. Heitz was also busy with extra-curricular duties. She was the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) advisor from 1994-2020. She had also be an advisor for the Ipsodak National Honor Society and the yearbook.

Lynette began her career as a teacher in 1976 in Polo and then at Conde High School from 1977 to 1981.

She took a break from teaching in 1981. She worked at the Ipswich State Bank for 10 years, where she was a teller and secretary/loan secretary to the president/vice president.

A great memory has been all the students over 34 years of teaching. "I truly have loved being a teacher and will forever have amazing memories," she said.

She has also enjoyed working with the FBLA members. The students have excelled at the Spring Leadership Conferences for 26 years. They have had FBLA National qualifiers for 22 years and had several members elected to State Officer positions. Four students were elected as State President Lynette said.

Now she plans to "do whatever I want, whenever I want!" She will spend more time with her husband and family, and find time for reading and traveling.