Tribute to a Teacher

When Karen Palasek got the call from the Dallas Morning News in October, she was delighted to tell the reporter about her childhood teacher, Kay Weber Sillaway, a woman Palasek had profiled in a Carolina Journal story about mentoring. Saturday’s DMN carried the new piece, including Palasek’s memories of the teacher who was once a big band vocalist with the Dorsey Brothers and Bob Crosby orchestras. The story noted that when Palasek wrote her economics dissertation at George Mason University, Sillaway was among the people to whom it was dedicated. “I remember her writing on one of my papers – it was probably a silly mystery story, because I loved Nancy Drew,” Palasek recalled to the newspaper. “But her comment was, ‘When you write your first book, send me a copy.’”