A memorial fund has been established in honour of a much-loved teacher at Laverton P-12 college who died suddenly last week.
Jospehine Montalti taught at the school for more than 30 years and was its year 12 co-ordinator when she died on Sunday, June 1, following a short illness.
The 61-year-old had been on sick leave since March, but her death was still unexpected and has stunned the Laverton P-12 college community, which has responded by setting up a memorial fund in her name.
The Josephine Montalti Memorial Fund will support students in need, something her daughter Ayeesha Montalti said her mother was renowned for.
“Mum used to buy them breakfast, mum used to feed them lunch,” said Ayeesha of her mother’s devotion to her students.
“She’d buy them snacks. She’d organise their formals, provide all their stationary. If a student wasn’t at school, she would call them up and be like ‘why aren’t you at school?’”
Ayeesha said her mother’s commitment to her students was born out of a deep sense of egalitarianism.
“I think she just deeply cared about making sure the kids had equal access, and then they had as much opportunities as the next kids, no matter where they came from.”
Originally joining the then Laverton Secondary College as a maths teacher in 1992, Josephine eventually held almost all senior roles at school, including assistant principal and head of the secondary school and received an award from the Altona Rotary Club in 2018.
Ayeesha said her mother’s loss would leave a huge void in the Laverton P-12 college community.
“My phone has been ringing off the hook from the community who are understandably devastated,” she said.
Josephine’s funeral will held at the Williamstown Town Hall on Monday, June 16, with entry open to the public and a livestream available for those who can’t attend.
Details: https://events.humanitix.com/josephine-montalti-s-last-hurrah
Josephine is survived by children Ayeesha and Peter and grandchildren Ambrose and Dallas.
