GUILDERLAND — The wall outside the library at Westmere Elementary School is plastered with memories and love — heartfelt words and poignant art created by students to honor Micki Nevett.

A vibrant 53-year-old, Nevett died last Monday afternoon.

She was at school on Monday morning, said Westmere Principal Deborah Drumm, and told a couple of people she wasn’t feeling well. On her way to a librarians’ meeting that afternoon, she stopped by her doctor’s office, Drumm said, where she died of a heart attack.

Stunned and saddened teachers told their classes about her death last Tuesday and that day, said Drumm, a few handmade bookmarks honoring Nevett appeared on the shelf outside the library.
"Then more things started to appear," said Drumm. "It’s incredible."

Nevett, who had a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in library science from the University at Albany, had been the school’s librarian for 15 years.
"The reading workshop is the heart of our school," said Drumm. "Micki Nevett was involved with every single child and every teacher...When you look at that wall, you get a sense of her power, of who this person was...
"One of her author friends described her as a sparkler. She was the heartbeat of our whole reading program...The kids were so connected to her. She knew what they liked to read. She’d find a book she knew one of them would like and she’d set it aside with a Post-it Note on it."
Drumm called Nevett’s passing "a huge loss for Westmere." The principal said, "Every day, teachers come to me in tears." Grief has affected the students, too. The district’s crisis team and grief counselors have been on hand, but the wall of tribute outside the library — which was not planned — has had a healing effect all its own.

The aura of a shrine

The wall is covered with drawings of all shapes and sizes and the shelf beneath is filled with cards and letters, bookmarks and library passes, featuring pictures of Nevett. Some of the messages are individual and spontaneous; others are grouped in carefully bound and illustrated class books. The display has the aura of a shrine.

Many of the messages refer to Nevett as the Queen of the Library and Drumm said her extravagant Halloween costumes added to that legend.
A number of the kids also write fondly of the pet nicknames Nevett had for them. "Jeremiah the Bullfrog" was one for a boy of that name and another boy wrote, "She always called me Lovebug since kindergarten."
"Westmere misses you so much," says one letter in careful printing. "You were always so kind and you helped kids pick out great books."
Not only did Nevett know her students’ favorite books; they knew hers. One poster, titled "Ms. Nevett’s favorite book" is an artfully crayoned rendition of Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are.
Another drawing depicts the round face of a brown-haired girl, dominated by a frown and huge tears. It says simply, "We are very sad."
A nearby poster is more cheerful. It is titled "Ms. Nevett the Great!" and shows, in bright colors, Nevett as a flying superhero, wearing a hot pink cape and wide grin. As she soars above the earth towards a bright sun, her chest emblazoned with a giant "N," she holds a book in each outstretched hand.
Many of the messages are written as sympathy cards to Nevett’s husband and daughter, "Dear Mr. Galletly and April," says one. "She had a good sense of humor. She seemed to almost never get mad or lose her patience. My whole class is very sad right now."
Another sympathy note, from a fourth-grader, to Nevett’s husband and daughter says, "I know you will miss Ms. Nevett. Everyone at Westmere will miss her, too. She always knew everything from picture books to fiction books, all the way to non-fiction.
"She would always call my friend, Mohana, and I ‘Super Readers.’ Ever since kindergarten, she has been my favorite person in the whole school. Even though she’s not here anymore, she still remains my favorite!
"When I was in kindergarten, she would tell everyone she was 100 years old. Now in fourth grade, she still tells us she’s 100. (We’ve never believed her.)"

One sympathy card features a knock-knock joke while, in another, a girl shares her experience with death in her own family.
"I have had a death in my family," she writes. "It was my Grandpa. I love him very much. He died of a heart attack, too. He smoked. He did lots of bad things. But I will never see him again. I know how it feels. I was on my couch and my Mom comes in with red eyes and said, ‘Grandpa died.’ I thought I was in a dream but, when I felt my tears, I knew it wasn’t a dream. I’m really, really sorry."
The bookmarks bear some of the most succinct and direct messages. "Mrs. Nevett," says one. "You are fun, caring, loving. You always pick the right book for me and everybody else. You know us by heart and you always will."
Another bookmark is titled "Rules of the Library" and says: "Don’t whine and don’t say can’t."
A third bookmark is addressed to the "Queen of the Library," and says, "Hi, it’s me, Jake P. Just writing to you so you will know how many of us at W.E.S. will miss you. Just remember this: Only the good die young. I’ll miss you."
Some teachers wrote on tag board what their students who were too young to write were feeling about Nevett. One such poster, titled "Our Memories of Mrs. Nevett," lists these sentiments among others:

— She gave us extra candy on Halloween;
— She told us that "can’t" was a swear word;

—She said she always wanted to be a singer when she was younger but she wasn’t too good;

— She knew our families; and

— She always used big words.

Ripple effect
"The library was her place. The kids just kind of gravitate here," said Drumm as she stood in front of the wall on Friday. "They take comfort in seeing this."
The staff does, too. Teachers would gather at the wall each day after school last week to see what the students had written. "We’d sit on the bench here and laugh and cry as we read these things," said Drumm.
Nevett’s family — including her mother, her husband, and her brother and sister and their spouses — came by to see the wall, said Drumm. "They spent a good deal of time looking at it," she said. "Her husband said it helped bring some closure."
News of the memorial wall has spread beyond Nevett’s school and family. Storyteller Marni Gillard wrote about the "wonderful" wall in a message e-mailed to members of a far-flung interfaith story circle.
"She had a spirit bigger than life, full of laughter and joy," said Gillard, who had worked with Nevett. "She led one of our interfaith storytelling gatherings on Jewish tales. I remember it fondly."
She concluded, "Stories matter, and the people who share them with children and adults live on through the tales."

A substitute librarian will be used for the rest of the year at Westmere, Drumm said, and the school will look for a replacement for next fall.

Students leaving the school late last Friday afternoon on their way home for winter break proudly pointed out to their parents the things they had made in honor of their librarian. Some of them stopped to reminisce as they looked at the wall.
Drumm said the display will remain up until after the students return from vacation. "They will have had time to think about it," she said of Nevett’s death, "and may look for it when they return."

Eventually, the tribute will be taken down and given to Nevett’s husband, David Galletly, she said.

Drumm shared one last tribute that is a favorite of hers, written by a fourth-grade boy.
"Mrs. Nevett loved her job and loved her students," it says. "In fact, it was like we were all books and she had already read us."
Drumm smiled as she looked down the length of the colorful wall. "It just gives you chills," she said.