By Kathleen Acuff

Above, Springer children will see their memorial to Mr. A each school morning.

In the new garden near the entrance to Springer School are lilies, two red maples, a cherry tree and a rock with a plaque inscribed:

“In loving memory of

‘Mr. A’

Franz Anderson

A Springer Super Star

7 years of dedicated service”

The man memorialized in the garden held fast to his work as a classroom and playground aide till cancer forced him out last fall. When he died Nov. 11, at the age of 72, Springer schoolchildren lost the man they considered their on-campus grandfather.

Students decided to make a memorial to Mr. A, and they bought the rock and the plaque to honor him. Parents donated plants and labor, working the previous weekend to ready the garden for a ceremony in Anderson’s honor last Wednesday. Third-grade teachers Marie Smith, Kathy Panec and Rachel Zierdt, coordinated the details.

Mr. A was a third-grade aide at Springer and also worked part-time as an aide at Covington, which his granddaughters attend.

Smith called the memorial “our small tribute to this wonderful man who lost his battle to cancer but won the hearts of so many here in Los Altos at Springer and Covington schools.”

Springer Principal Bob Celeste said all the school’s 460 students knew Mr. A. The aide loved his “yard duty,” keeping watch over students on the playground.

“He always came back, even after his major stint in the hospital,” Celeste said. “He was out there with his walker when he could hardly move. He just wouldn’t quit.”

School President Tyler Stout led the ceremony. “Mr. A was a cherished aide,” he began. “… Let it be known that Mr. A was a Springer Super Star.”

Chairs were arranged for the service on the school blacktop, facing the new garden. Under an umbrella in the front row, with granddaughters Katy and Isabel and their au pair Cynthia beside her and a sea of Springer children around her, Nannette Anderson was visibly moved by the memorial for her husband of 32 years.

The third-grade classes sang songs that Tyler said “celebrate what Mr. A taught us.”

Tyler explained, “Mr. A knew we all wanted to belong. He had that magical talent to make us feel as if we do. We’ll never forget Mr. A.”

After the ceremony, Mrs. Anderson was eager to talk about her husband, describing him as a charming man who was very active in the community. Anderson was a longtime member of the Los Altos Rotary Club and the Elks who volunteered for many local events over the years.

Mrs. Anderson was delighted with the garden and the memorial.

“It was a wonderful service - very touching. I loved the songs. The children sang them so well,” she said.