Evelyn Handler’s claim to fame was her seniority — she was 87 when she retired in 2005 as the oldest teacher in Illinois.
But the reason she became the “Legend of Lake View High” was her extraordinary commitment to Chicago students over the last four decades.
As her North Side neighborhood high school changed around her, she remained a beloved teacher who inspired troubled gangbangers and aspiring lawyers alike.
“She saw potential in kids that they weren’t able to see in themselves,” said Howard Binder, a Lake View assistant principal who worked with Mrs. Handler for 37 years. “She was very upfront and took no nonsense from her students. But they knew she really cared about them.”
Mrs. Handler, 89, a lifelong resident of Chicago, died of leukemia Tuesday, June 12.
In a 2001 Chicago Tribune article about her, Mrs. Handler said she tried to retire once, in 1987, so she could travel the world with her husband while they were still healthy. She only lasted a year before she returned, first as a substitute, then as a full-time teacher. She came back with more energy than ever, organizing extracurricular clubs and a mock-trial project for her social studies classes.
She was tickled when her accomplishments were recognized with an honorary street sign in front of Lake View at Ashland Avenue and Irving Park Road. She declared “I’m famous,” and wrote a memoir about her teaching days called, “Is Mrs. Handler Still There?”
Mrs. Handler discovered her calling to teach as a young teen, but she delayed her career so she could stay home to dote on her two sons. Steven Handler said his mom “spoiled us rotten” and bragged about their accomplishments.
But she had one major shortcoming as a stay-at-home mom, her sons said.
“She couldn’t cook for a lick. She knew only one thing: Burnt,” said her younger son, Joel. “But one thing she would make that everyone would die for — her Mandel bread. You knew you were in her good graces when she brought you her Mandel bread.”
Mrs. Handler outlived a grim health prognosis and traveled to China and Russia. She told her son she made a bargain with God to wait until she was 90 before He came for her.
“She had such a zest for life. Unfortunately, He grabbed her six months too soon,” Joel Handler said.
Mrs. Handler’s husband, Milton, died in 1997. Besides her sons, she is survived by a sister, Rose Tipp, and five grandchildren.
Graveside services will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday at Rosemont Park Cemetery, 6758 W. Addison St., Chicago.
