Good Sunday morning to you. We'll be at The Mill for breakfast this morning.

Her teaching career spanned more than a half-century, including 35 years in Temecula. Those who taught with her, and those she taught, are remembering Lena Seeman as a friend, mentor, educator and colleague.

But most of all, they remember Seeman, who died Nov. 19 at the age of 73, as a teacher, the highest compliment to be paid to someone who dedicated her entire life to the students lucky enough to cross her path.

Seeman began her teaching career in 1955 in her native South Dakota. She also taught in Pennsylvania and Tennessee before moving to Temecula in 1972 with her husband, who came to the small town to start his veterinary practice.

That year, she was hired as a reading specialist at Temecula Elementary School, the only school in town.

"Temecula Elementary was K-8 back then," said longtime friend and colleague Liz Morris, who was hired to work at the school soon after. "The school had somewhere between 200 and 300 students."

For more than three decades, until she retired in 2006, Lena Seeman taught first-graders.

Teaching methods have come and gone over the years, but Seeman was steadfast in sticking with what she knew worked.

"When new things came along she always used a cautious eye," Morris said.

That included the coming and going of the "whole language" method of teaching reading.

Seeman stuck with old-fashioned phonics - her clandestine method of teaching was dubbed "bootleg phonics" - because she knew it worked.

Over the years, as the neighborhood's demographics changed, children from lower income and transient families came to Temecula Elementary.

While Seeman had offers to move on to newer schools in higher-income areas of the city, she stayed put.

"She felt she was serving the community best there," Morris said.

That didn't mean her students, many of whom struggled with English, got a lesser education than those in more affluent areas.

"She maintained high expectations for each child, no matter what their background," Morris said.

Those students usually met, and often surpassed, the high bar their teacher set.

Seeman also helped quietly behind the scenes.

"She used a lot of her own money to buy shoes and clothes for her students," said Morris.

On one occasion she even bought a bed for a child in need.

"She did it all for those children," Morris said.

Seeman not only worked hard for her students, she was a mentor to many other teachers and founder of the Temecula Teachers Association.

"She worked hard to make things better for both teachers and students," Morris said. "When Lena spoke (the school board listened). She was a fighter."

Seeman didn't have children of her own.

"But she had thousands of children," said Ed Sibby, president of the Temecula Valley Educators Association.

Four of those children were members of the Johnson family.

"She was the only teacher who had all four of my children," said Michele Johnson. "(She) gave such insight and wisdom to me as I raised my children."

Years after her children had moved on in school ,the Johnsons and their former teacher would get together for movies and pizza.

"My kids would love to hear her laugh during the movies," Johnson said. "She would always buy them popcorn and we just had a great time together."

Former students would often drop by Seeman's classroom to say hello, send her Christmas cards and invite her to their weddings and baby showers.

At least two Temecula teachers who learned their 3Rs under Seeman's tutelage currently work for the district.

"Who knows how many others she may have inspired to become teachers," Morris said.

There is a groundswell of support to change the name of the school where she taught for so long to Lena Seeman Elementary.

That seems appropriate in a school district whose motto for many years was "Student Centered: First, Last, Always."

For 35 years in Temecula, no one cared more about the kids she taught than Lena Seeman.

A memorial service for Lena Seeman will be held at 4:30 p.m. Monday at Rancho Community Church in Temecula. In lieu of flowers, her family has asked that donations be made to a fund they are setting up to benefit the kids of Temecula Elementary School.