Worthy of a Rose

Deirdre Newman

One pink rose blows gently in the wind at California Elementary

School in Costa Mesa.

Soon many more will join it, gracing the school with an ethereal

beauty and elegance.

It is the start of a rose garden to honor the loving spirit of

Ellen Rose, a former teacher at the school who died of complications

from breast cancer in 2000.

On Thursday, a tearful crowd of former students, staff and parents

dedicated the Rose Garden with members of Rose’s family present.

All agreed that the Rose Garden captures the essence of Rose’s

life.

“She was really nice to everyone; she loved everybody so much,”

said Ashley Palmer, 12, a former student who is now a seventh-grader.

Rose came to California Elementary School in 1993, her last stop

after teaching at several schools in the Newport-Mesa Unified School

District.

Jane Owen, who now teaches at Andersen School in Newport Beach,

shared a classroom with Rose at California Elementary. She said the

idea for the garden originated with the California staff, who felt

they had to do something to memorialize Rose.

“She was a once-in-a-lifetime teacher,” Owen said. “She was

beautiful. Everyone loved her. She was very bubbly, very up, a

positive kind of person.”

Constructing the garden took a lot of effort, including chopping

down some trees and leveling the ground, said Jackie Rushmore, a

retired California teacher who worked with Rose.

Eventually, tile will be installed on the wall above the garden

with a sign that reads “The Rose Garden.”

The garden is between the front of the school and the playground,

so it will be one of the first things people see upon entering the

campus.

A fitting tribute for a teacher who always greeted her students

with a smile, said Madilynn Santoyo, 12, a former student who is now

in seventh grade.

“She was my favorite teacher -- she loved her students as much as

she loved her family,” said Madilynn, before breaking down in tears.

Rose’s daughter, Hillary, 15, said she deeply appreciated the

caring gesture.

“It’s really nice for them to do that,” Hillary said. “It

represents that a lot of people did like her. ... She would love it,

and think it was really special.”

* DEIRDRE NEWMAN covers education. She may be reached at (949)

574-4221 or by e-mail at deirdre.newman@latimes.com.