Ellinor Elizabeth Myers

Nora (Ellinor) Myers, devoted English teacher and lifelong lover of literature and the arts, passed away March 6th at the age of 75.

Born in Baltimore on August 10, 1949, Nora discovered early a passion for language that would guide her entire life. For over 30 years, she taught English at Parkville High School and Dumbarton Jr. High in Baltimore County, finding profound purpose in holding students to high standards. What distinguished her teaching was her commitment to developing minds—teaching students to think critically, develop their ideas fully, and express themselves with precision. Her insistence on these fundamentals reflected her belief that language offered access to deeper understanding. Beyond the classroom, she spent a year directing Parkville’s theater productions, bringing literature to life for her students.

Even after her formal retirement from the classroom, Nora never stopped teaching. She continued to share her love of learning with her niece and nephews, her book group companions, and everyone fortunate enough to engage with her in discussions of literature, theater, or ideas. Teaching wasn't merely her profession—it was her calling and her way of moving through the world.

Nora led an independent life dedicated to cultivating her mind and enriching her understanding of the world. Never marrying was a choice that reflected her priorities and values. Throughout her life, she remained deeply proud of her career as an English teacher and her life as a single working woman. Her time and energy went to travel, theater, books, and cultural exploration—building a life rich with experiences and connections rather than following more conventional paths.

Nora cultivated meaningful relationships that sustained her intellectual life—her family, her artistic interests, and her cherished friendships.

She maintained a deep connection to literature through her participation in her two book groups, one of which a gathering of ten dedicated readers, both friends and family, she met with every month for 12 years. This was no casual social occasion. Instead of using books as pretexts for current events and gossip, the group engaged in spirited and searching 2½-hour discussions that went deep into theme, character, structure, prose, and philosophy. Her participation reflected her lifelong love of good books and meaningful conversation about ideas that matter.

Ballet, opera and theater held a special place in Nora's life, functioning as a regular source of pleasure, conversation, and engagement with the world. What made her relationship with these art forms remarkable was her ability to discuss them without a hint of pretension. Despite her nuanced understanding of performances, dancers, singers, and productions, she spoke about them with an easygoing conversational style that made what many consider "high culture" feel accessible and engaging. She could analyze an obscure production or lesser-known performer with the same comfortable familiarity others might discuss a favorite TV series, sharing her knowledge with warmth rather than display.

Shakespeare remained a constant companion throughout her life, and she took particular delight when his words found new expression through her beloved Star Trek, with the actor Patrick Stewart bridging these two worlds she cherished.

During her teaching years, Nora traveled to Europe every other summer, always concluding her journeys in London. There she immersed herself in the theater, often attending two performances daily with joyful dedication. What made these journeys all the more remarkable was that Nora accomplished them while managing multiple sclerosis, a condition she lived with for nearly four decades. Her determination to experience different cultures and artistic expressions despite physical challenges demonstrated her will and refusal to be limited by circumstances.

This pattern of cultural pilgrimage reflected her deep commitment to experiencing the arts firsthand. She was a devoted Sherlockian and member of the Sherlock Holmes society, finding community with others who shared her enthusiasm for Conan Doyle's detective. Her love for Dorothy Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey series was similarly heartfelt; she named her first cat Sir Impey Biggs after a character from Sayers' work—one of many ways literature enriched her daily life.

After her parents died, Nora stepped into the role of de facto grandmother to her youngest two nephews with characteristic intellectual engagement. She offered them not just affection but the gift of her thoughtful mind—challenging their assumptions, posing thought-provoking questions, and gently but firmly correcting them when needed. She demonstrated through these interactions that ideas require serious consideration, that intellectual integrity matters.

Nora earned her B.A. in English with a French minor and certificate in Education from Towson State College (Class of 1971), later completing her M.S. in Professional Writing with a concentration in Creative Writing at Towson University (Class of 1991). For many years she wrote poetry, contributing her work to Dancing Shadow Review. In "The Rapist Lens," she examines the ethical complexities of bearing witness to suffering: "I turned her page and became party to a crime. / I am a bystander who watched and heard / And kept on turning pages." Her poem "For Mary" captures the impossibility of proper goodbyes: "I could not say goodbye / Even as you struggled out of sleep, / Iced over under white sheets / And tentacled to food and air." These works revealed her capacity for deep reflection and moral consideration.

She is survived by her sister Elva Myers, brother Capt. Harry L. Myers and his wife Marilyn Myers, sister Ellen Myers Kliman and her husband Todd Kliman; her nieces and nephews Sean Mullin, Erin Reddy, Ben Myers, Andrew Myers, Jesse Kliman and Theo Kliman; and her great-nieces Avery, Aurelia and Leslie.

A memorial service will be held Tuesday March 18th at 2:00, in Bowie, Md., at Beall Funeral Home.