Santo Domingo.- “When one of her students did not show up for class, on the second day of their absence, she used to go to their parents’ house to find out what happened to them.”
This is one of the testimonies heard among those close to her, and the good example that for decades was left by the exemplary and dedicated teacher (r) of San Juan de la Maguana, Celeste Féliz Tejeda, who passed away this Saturday, September 7, just before turning 96 years old, and after several months of poor health.
The professor who taught several generations, formed a beautiful family with Dr. Nicolás Enrique Mateo Bautista (+), who was a judge in San Juan de la Maguana for 35 years, giving birth to five professional children: Ysabel, Henry, María Luisa, Carmen and Augusto.
The remains of the distinguished teacher, who last year published the poetry book “Inspiración Divina” (Divine Inspiration), will be laid to rest at the Blandino Funeral Home on Abraham Lincoln Avenue starting this Sunday, September 8 at 9:00 am, and on Monday the 9th, her family and friends will pay tribute to her at the Fortuna Funeral Home in San Juan de la Maguana. After noon, she will be given a Christian burial at the Municipal Cemetery in her hometown.
Celeste, who was defined as a “Saint” among her relatives for dedicating her full life to serving, giving love and radiating peace among those who knew her and had the opportunity to receive the legacy of her teachings, was the daughter of Gerineldo Feliz, one of the founders of Padre Las Casas, where she spent part of her childhood and then completed her secondary studies in Azua, where from there she ventured into teaching.
Later, she began her working life as director of the Las Yayas School in Viajama; she continued as a teacher at the Juan Pablo Duarte Elementary School in Elías Piña, a time that allowed her to be chosen as the queen of San Andrés, an opportunity that she took advantage of to raise funds for charitable purposes in that community.
In 1956, she was appointed teacher at the Francisco del Rosario Sánchez School in San Juan de la Maguana and later at the Pedro Henríquez Ureña High School, places where she continued teaching literacy and educating generations of young people, many of them recognized for their professional career, such as the HOY journalist Leonora Ramírez, who always remembered her with distinction during her lifetime, as did others. Peace to her soul.
