John Abbott came to Mineola to teach in 1974. He never left, and he never stopped teaching.

His “retirements” were the subject of good-natured kidding, because each time, he went back to work.

When he died Friday at 70, he was still on the staff of Grand Saline schools, making the daily commute to a ”temporary” assignment he took in 2014.

Dr. John Abbott was also the president of the Mineola ISD school board. He was first elected in 2011 and was unopposed for a fifth term in May. He became board president in 2018.

He, and his wife Janell, a teacher herself for 43 years, had a heart for children, and for community service.

Abbott had recently been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and was undergoing treatments when he was hospitalized Friday morning and died later that day in Quitman.

His stint on the board included helping shepherd the May 2022 school bond election which resulted in funding a new primary campus – the district’s first major construction project in decades.

Site work on NE Loop 564 had just begun two weeks ago.

And at last Monday’s school board meeting, trustees approved unanimously a resolution opposing the state legislature’s school voucher plan.

Though Abbott was absent, he had asked the board to take up the matter in support of public education. (See the resolution on Page 4A)

In its tribute Sunday the MISD used the word “champion” to describe Abbott.

“Dr. Abbott was a champion for kids, a champion for the employees of Mineola ISD, and a champion for the community of Mineola,” it said.

During his service to Mineola and other districts, he served from the classroom to the board room and administration offices.

After graduating from John H. Reagan High School in Austin in 1970, he earned a bachelor’s degree from Southwest Texas State University (now Texas State) in 1974 and came to work at MISD to teach Spanish and English. He met Mineola math teacher Janell Polk at an in-service training in Lindale, and they married five years later.

In addition to his teaching duties, he sponsored the student council and Spanish Club.

He served Alba-Golden ISD as counselor from 1979-87, returning to MISD as curriculum director.

He rose to assistant superintendent and then was superintendent at MISD for four years. He worked as a counseling supervisor in the Dallas ISD for three years and director of teacher certification at the Region 7 Education Service Center.

He retired the first time in 2007, returning as director for three years at Chrisman private school in Longview and then as head of the Department of Education at Tyler College for four years, retiring again in 2014.

That’s when he got the call from Grand Saline ISD where he served at various times as a counselor, teacher and administrator.

Along the way, he obtained a master of arts in counseling and a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction from East Texas State University (now A&M Commerce).

Abbott was a past member and president of the Mineola Kiwanis Club and has served on the Caring and Sharing board and the Wood County Child Welfare Board. He has also served on the boards of the Mineola chamber of commerce and Mineola Civic Center.

He was named the community’s humanitarian of the year in 2014.

The Abbotts attended the First Methodist Church in Mineola where he had served on the church council and several committees.

His service was held there Tuesday afternoon, followed by burial at Roselawn Memorial Gardens.

Pall bearers included the members of the Mineola school board.

MISD Superintendent Cody Mize was a student during Abbott’s time as superintendent and then obtained his teaching certificate under Abbott’s guidance at the service center.

“Dr. Abbott was one of the most passionate educators that I have ever had the privilege of knowing,” Mize said. “He genuinely cared about and positively influenced many of his students well into adulthood, myself included. He was always willing to listen, provide timely wisdom, and had an immense amount of knowledge to share when called upon.”

On working with Abbott as board president, Mize added, “The superintendency can be a lonely place, many of my peers refer to it as working on an island, but it was a huge blessing and very unique that the board president I had the opportunity to serve with had walked in my shoes. That amount of experience and wisdom is irreplaceable, and I am so blessed to have had the honor of serving with him during this time. We are all going to miss Dr. Abbott very much!”