Toni Jo Mason
Passed April 17, 2013
Tallahassee, Florida
Dr. Toni Jo MasonAs you recall, she and Jay Booth were our class advisors our Junior and Senior years at Moundsville High. Listening to her, we must have provided some unexpected excitement to the early days of her teaching career. More on that later. Since the days of dealing with us, Toni Jo has earned two Ph.D. degrees and earned one honorary Ph.D. She retired on July 1 of 2005 so she was excited about doing something else outside of the 45 years in education. She started a company the evaluated handicap accessibilities for facilities and plans on becoming more involved with this association. Her home is in Tallahassee, FL or she hopes so after Dennis went through last week end. Dr. Mason is well known in the society for her work in the American’s with Disabilities Act organization as well as with legal matters in the education community dealing with handling student with disabilities. She helped author P.L. 94-142 which is the instruction manual for educational special education programs.
Every person at the dinner on the 11th commented about how well Toni looked. The general comment was that she looked younger as we all looked older.
She was very quick to recall the incidents of trauma that we created for her beginning career yet warm heartedly confessed the she loved those days. In every comment, one could see her very positive attitude and desire to enjoy every moment life had to offer. We shared many stories and episodes in our lives then and since. Eventually, the Cafeteria had to close so we departed to the parking lot until her ride arrived.
She offered reflection of our history as she recalled the days of meetings at her parent’s house in Glen Dale. Seems we provided her parents with some concern about the safety and care of their house. They reached a real concern point when they say Fred Fuller and Rick Mullen wrestling on the sill of the front picture window. We all said that Fred and Rick wouldn’t do something like that, right ?
She also said she was introduced to class advisorship early as she prepared for her first duty. She dressed in her special dress up attire, hair all done prepared, new shoes and as she entered the event, Jay yelled at her to, Come on ! We’ve got popcorn and Pepsi to sell!
Toni and my sister, Sonya, became close friends at West Liberty as they were in education classes together and from “close” to home. Back then, it seemed to take a day to get to West Liberty from Moundsville. Anyway, she shared some memories of those days that were special for both of our families to remember. There had been significant tragedies in both families since those days and we grew in appreciation the status of our present health.
She also knew Dave Durbin as they grew up and went to school together in Cameron. They reflected on those days and marveled of how that small community was a strong influence on the development of their strong personalities. They were both saddened to see how much Cameron has changed since their memories of that community back then.
She thanked us all for meeting her and allowing time to reflect. She spoke of many others that she remembered with fondness and wished she could visit with again. We all felt that we had encouraged her enough for her to attempt the return trip for the Labor Day Brunch so to re-connect with even more members of the Class of ’62 and their spouses.
Pictured seated left to right: Sharon Gurskey Chambers, Dr. Mason, Susan Wilson Burk, Donna Best Durbin plus standing Bill Chambers, Mick Burk, Gary Church.
Picture taken by Dave Durbin..
June 2006 Lunch Visit
Toni Jo Mason was in town Memorial Day weekend for her class reunion at Cameron High School Class of 1956. Arrangements were made with her to have lunch with any of our classmates that was able to join her at Perkins Restaurant on Saturday May 27. She had already had breakfast there with some of her own classmates and when the server came to our table and recognized Toni, asked her “are you going to eat again?” We all chuckled and Toni laughed right along with us.
Toni had lots of fond memories of our class and some stories of misconduct by some students, none of which got any of us into big troubles with her or the principal.
Attending the lunch was, Barbara Brown Stern, Janice Crow Francis, Gary Church, Sue Wilson Burk, Mick Burk, Donna Best Durbin and Dave Durbin (a classmate of Toni’s at Cameron High School). Former student Denise Dick Freeland and her husband Larry stopped in to visit with Toni.
Toni said she enjoyed her visit with us and would like to do it again in the near future.
Obituary
Toni Jo Mason, Ph.D., 74, passed away on Wednesday, April 17th after an extended illness. Always a teacher, Toni leaves those that knew her an enduring lesson—to be an effective teacher in our rapidly changing world; we must ourselves be lifelong learners. After college graduation in 1960, Toni started her professional teaching career at her home town high school in Moundsville, West Virginia.
Never one to avoid new challenges, Toni left classroom teaching in 1963 and over the next 9 years, served as the Director of Career Education for Regional Education Service Area (RESA) 8 in Martinsburg, West Virginia and was subsequently promoted to the position of Director of Psychological Serves and Director of Gifted Programs for RESA 8.
In addition to her professional responsibilities during this period, Toni received a Masters Degree in Guidance and Psychology in 1964 from Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia.
And in1972, she was awarded an Education Specialist Degree in Counselor Education and Psychology from the University of North Carolina. Between 1972 and 1975, Toni was responsible for the development, the field testing, the demonstration and the infusion of a career education program into existing curricula of the eight county consortium served by RESA 8. The model developed was through a federal grant and after validation, the model was adopted by ten states.
Her curriculum design subsequently became a part of the National Depository for Curriculum at North Carolina State College and was the basis for Toni's receipt of an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Colorado.
In 1977, Toni was invited to join the U.S. Office of Education-Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
In her new position, Toni functioned as Compliance Officer, a Child Complaint Officer, and a State Plans Officer. In addition, she chaired numerous competitive grant panels related to gifted education, early childhood professional preparation and programs for the deaf and blind.
Prior to the implementation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Toni was responsible for verifying federal statues on the state level including the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
As Toni has described to her friends, her most memorable and intense assignment was chairing the first on-site compliance visit between the U.S. Office of Special Education and officials from the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Department of Education. After a great deal of thought regarding the possibility of language interpretations, Toni decided to change her presentation which essentially was scheduled as a review of the Compliance Manual chapter by chapter.
Instead, she came to the podium and firmly informed the group in uncomplicated English, what the regulations required and how they could use these regulations to better serve Puerto Rican people with disabilities. After her presentation there were many questions and in the end, a general consensus of a very successful meeting.
At the urging of several friends and her continuing desire to learn, Toni took a leave of absence from her federal position and entered Florida State University's College of Education Doctoral Program in Educational Administration.
As demonstrated throughout her professional career, Toni began the program with enthusiasm, focus and hard work. As such, she was able to complete the program with her doctoral degree conferred in December of 1982.
In 1983, the allure of Tallahassee and the encouragement of her friends at Florida State University, Toni returned to Tallahassee.
She initially served as a Program Consultant for the Florida Department of Education and subsequently as the Coordinator of Diagnostic Services, for the Leon County Schools until her semi-retirement in 1990. It was during Toni's tenure with the Leon County School System that she brought about an initiative her PhD. Professor described as "Your greatest accomplishment and one that you will never be known for." The initiative Toni instituted in Leon County Schools was quite simple; like many amazing insights we, in retrospect, wonder how this or that could have been overlooked for so long.
"We must make the play grounds at our Leon County Schools handicap accessible and compliant with all ADA requirements," she said at a planning meeting. The Leon County School System immediately recognized the validity of Toni's observation and within a short time the construction of handicap access began.
Similar accommodations have since been implemented across the Nation.
Toni is survived by her niece, Erica Mason, a great niece, Ashley Krahenbill and a host of friends who miss her dearly.
Toni was preceded in death by her parents, Hugh Bennett Mason and Ester Nell Mason; her brother, John Hugh Mason; and, a nephew, Robert Bennett Mason.
A Memorial Service will be held at 7:00 pm Thursday, April 25th , 2013 at the United Church of Tallahassee, 1834 Mahan Drive, Tallahassee, FL 32308.
