Miriam STONE

LEAVITT, Miriam (Midge) Stone Midge Leavitt died peacefully on Monday afternoon at Pine Grove Nursing Home in Fredericton. Midge was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 1999. She was 60 years old. Midge was born in Poughkeepsie, NY, in 1944, the youngest daughter of child psychologist L. Joseph Stone and teacher Beatrice Berlin Stone. She graduated from Radcliffe College in 1966 and went on to become an early childhood and kindergarten teacher, and teacher educator, in the US (Philadelphia and Maine) and Canada (Nova Scotia and New Brunswick). In 1981 she received her Master's in Education from Wheelock College in Boston. In 1983, after moving to Fredericton, Midge was hired by the province to develop the curriculum for the New Brunswick kindergarten program. Midge and her colleague Mollie Fry developed an innovative, play-based curriculum that significantly changed the face of early childhood education across the province. Midge went on to work in other areas for the NB Department of Education, including programs for children with disabilities and support for home schooling. To all of her projects, Midge brought an intense passion for education and a warmth and understanding that inspired and nourished all who met her. Midge was dedicated to providing nurturing and stimulating environments for all children. She made a deep impression on countless students and their parents, on the teachers whom she taught, and on all her friends and family, who relied on her generous love, wisdom and support. Midge's publications include Young Children Learning (the NB kindergarten curriculum) and a number of videos about the integration of children with special needs into the provincial schools. Midge is survived by her husband Robert; daughters Sarah Leavitt (daughter-in-law Donimo Hanson) of Vancouver, and Hannah Davidson (son-in-law Jordan and grandson Zev) of Salisbury, NB; sisters Deborah Stone of Clinton Corners, NY, and Susannah Stone Eldridge of Guilford, CT; stepmother Jeannette Stone of Block Island, RI; and nephew Erik Nelson of Somerville, MA. There will be a private memorial service. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Pine Grove Foundation or to the Alzheimer's Society of New Brunswick.