Cairns School of Distance Education teacher Nevis Todd remembered for positivity

Not even a four-year battle with leukaemia could break the spirit of this popular Far Northern teacher who has been remembered for her positivity.

THE husband of a well-known and popular Far Northern teacher says he wasn’t surprised people underestimated her illness during her battle with leukaemia.

Cairns School of Distance Education teacher Nevis Todd passed away aged 59 on August 2, four years and one day after she was diagnosed with the painful cancer.

Despite the horrendous physical challenges it presented which were resisted with countless bouts of chemotherapy, blood transfusions and a bone-marrow transplant, Ms Todd never showed her pain.

“When she was diagnosed, her attitude was still the most positive, you thought if anyone can beat this, Nevis can,” husband Ron Todd said.

Nevis Todd was a popular teacher with the Cairns School of Distance Education. Ms Todd lost her battle with leukaemia on August 2, aged 59.

“She would spend all day in hospital and the next day we might be at a party, and people would say ‘you look well’, she would never really show how unwell she was.”

Mr and Mrs Todd both grew up at Innisfail and married in 1982.

In 1993 Ms Todd started what would be a remarkable career with the Cairns School of Air, now known as School of Distance Education.

“She loved that job, and she did that right up until she was diagnosed.

“It was challenging because it was over a two-way radio but she was extremely patient and she just had a way with kids.

“These were kids that otherwise would have not attended or sent their assessment papers in, but when she taught them they adored her. If there were a group of kids around her, within minutes they’d be sitting on her lap and she’d be reading to them, and they would want to read to her.

“She loved the outdoor lifestyle, the bush.

“But she’ll be remembered for her character, her positivity, she was just an amazing person.

“One of her things was ‘you’ve just got to pick up the pieces and move on’.”

Last week Ms Todd’s ashes were buried with her grandma at Innisfail and the Cairns School of Distance Education planted a tree in her honour outside her office’s window at the campus.

In a video tribute the CSDE principal Andrew Oliver said the impact Ms Todd had on education in the Far North was “as profound and beautiful as the landscape itself.”

Originally published as Cairns School of Distance Education teacher Nevis Todd remembered for positivity