Ann C. Tibbets



			About Ann Cain Tibbets (1922-2002) Ann Cain Tibbets was a born teacher. As my brother said in her eulogy “she really thought there was nothing in life that reading a good book couldn’t fix.” She couldn’t wait to have children to read to, so my brother, Mike, and I were read to from “the get-go.” When a divorce in the 1950’s made it necessary for her to go to work, Ann became certified to teach in Texas, and spent 24 years teaching English in the Alamo Heights School District in San Antonio.



	When she retired, she looked for opportunities to read to children. She sought out kids who didn’t have the experience of being read to or know the joy of hearing a great story. In San Antonio, she volunteered at the old Burnet Elementary School near downtown. She adored the kids and laughed mightily when they patted her face, commented on her wrinkles, and told her she was “so old.” She loved to tell that story on herself.

After hearing about their often-fractured family lives, she decided these kids needed a role model and set out to get David Robinson of the San Antonio Spurs to come read to “her kids.” With no trepidation about asking this of the star, she contacted his foundation, which at the time was administered by his mother, coincidentally, a former teacher. These two strong women bonded instantly and before long David was at the school reading to the kids. At the time, David’s wife was pregnant, and David told the kids that reading was so important that they read stories to the child in his mommy’s tummy. For months afterward, the kids would tell visitors and friends about David Robinson reading to the baby in his wife’s tummy.


	In the early 1990’s, Ann moved back to her home town of Kansas City, Missouri. She sought out the Plaza de los Ninos preschool in the Guadalupe Center. Soon, she identified Tony Gonzalez of the Kansas City Chiefs as the next target for “her kids” and in short order Tony was there reading and playing with the children.


	With great pride, I donate proceeds from my jewelry sales to LIFT (Literacy Instruction for Texas – www.lift-texas.org ) to develop their Family Literacy program, which teaches parents with even limited literacy skills how to share books with their children, and the value of doing so. A fitting memorial to my Mother, I think.


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