Christine Price

Christine L. Price brightened the halls of Lincoln Elementary School in Port Washington and the lives of the students who studied there, Principal Jane Gennerman said.

“She loved each of our children like they were her own,” Ms. Gennerman said. “She was a tiny person, but her heart was 10 times the size of her.

“There wasn’t a day she didn’t come in with a smile. She had so much energy. She would bend over backwards for others.

“She was really something special.”

Ms. Price, who lived in Sheboygan, had a tremendous sense of humor and a sense of empathy she used when dealing with students, especially those coming to the health room.

“She could distract a child who was feeling bad and turn the student around to feel good,” school secretary Laura Scharnweber said. “She would talk about rock ‘n’ roll and her dogs and the kids would stop crying.”

The key was that Ms. Price treated the youngsters with respect, her cousin Ginny Jacoby said.

“She didn’t treat them like little kids,” she said. “She got down to their level and treated them like equals, with respect and love.

“She always looked out for the other person.”

Ms. Price worked at the school for 22 years, most recently as an office assistant and lunchroom supervisor as well as a member of the summer cleaning crew.

Ms. Price died of cancer at Sharon S. Richardson Hospice Center in Sheboygan Falls on Monday, Nov. 5. She was 62.

When she celebrated her birthday, students from Lincoln Elementary School sent her “piles” of cards and get-well notes, her cousin said.

“They were absolutely beautiful,” she said, adding they were treasured by Ms. Price.

Ms. Price was a native of Port Washington, born on Oct. 20, 1956, to Lawrence and Ethel Wilson Laven.

She attended local schools, graduating from Port Washington High School in 1975.

She enjoyed gardening, cooking and keeping things tidy at the home she shared with her fiance Gene Dittrich and dogs Mimi and Lulu.

She also enjoyed working puzzles.

Ms. Price is survived by her son Brian of Cedarburg; daughter Jaime Price of Milwaukee; her fiance Gene Dittrich; his daughter Vicki (John) Landgraf of Sheboygan and her children Jacob and Andrew Landgraf.

She is further survived by her brothers Jeff (Nancy) Laven of Liberty, Mo., and Mike Laven of Port Washington and her caregiver and cousin Ginny Jacoby of Brown Deer.

She was preceded in death by her parents and sister-in-law Sherry Laven.

A gathering of remembrance will be held from 9 a.m. to noon Sunday, Nov. 11, at Eernisse Funeral Home in Port Washington.

Memorials to the Lincoln Elementary School breakfast club are suggested.

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Ozaukee Press

Wisconsin’s largest paid circulation community weekly newspaper. Serving Port Washington, Saukville, Grafton, Fredonia, Belgium, as well as Ozaukee County government. Locally owned and printed in Port Washington, Wisconsin.

125 E. Main St.
Port Washington, WI 53074
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