Ellen Picard touched many lives as teacher, theater adviser at Orange High School

Ellen Picard, who spent her entire career teaching at Orange High School from 1971 until her retirement in 2001, died April 22 at age 75. Picard was the theater and drama department head at the high school and directed more than 80 plays and musicals there.(Photo Courtesy of Pat Hartman)

A Celebration of Life ceremony is set for 2 to 4 p.m. June 9 at the Orange Senior Center, 32205 Chagrin Blvd. in Pepper Pike.

Ed Wittenberg, special to cleveland.com, Published: May. 16, 2024, 2:20 p.m.

PEPPER PIKE, Ohio -- Ellen Picard, a longtime English and speech teacher and theater adviser at Orange High School, touched thousands of lives just by being herself.

“She emanated inclusivity, love, humility and compassion,” said Orange Councilwoman Staci Adelman Vincent, a 1983 Orange High School graduate. “She epitomized being an ‘upstander’ long before the word was in fashion.

“She was the teacher and adviser one could lean on long after departing her classroom doors. I did, and I am blessed for it.”

Picard -- who spent her entire career teaching at Orange High School, from 1971 until her retirement in 2001 -- died April 22 in hospice care at Avenue at Aurora. She was 75.

A Celebration of Life ceremony is set for 2 to 4 p.m. June 9 at the Orange Senior Center, 32205 Chagrin Blvd. in Pepper Pike.

Picard was the theater and drama department head at Orange High and directed more than 80 plays and musicals at the school.

In addition, she started the Orange Schools’ Unity in Diversity program and served as its coordinator.

“Although Ellen was never my classroom teacher, she was my director for all of the OHS productions in which I participated, dating back to one of my first shows in sixth grade,” Vincent said.

“That show (‘The King and I’) had a profound impact on my love of musical theater, which continues to this day.

“Ellen believed in each one of us and pushed us to be the very best we could be. She cared deeply about every person she encountered, and served as the wind beneath the wings of so many, long past her days as a teacher in the school.”

More than 50 Orange High School graduates commented on the impact Picard had on their lives after Vincent -- who also works in the Orange Schools communications department -- posted on the Orange Alumni Association’s Facebook page that Picard was in hospice care, and then that she had died.

“Ms. P was one of the most influential people in my early life,” Deborah Kuzmin said. “She immediately took me under her wing, and her class and her stage became my world in high school.

“She taught everyone around her to live their lives with honesty and integrity. I will never forget her, and I’m grateful I was fortunate to have been able to call her my mentor, teacher, director and friend.”

Brad Barton said on Facebook that Picard was “easily one of the most impactful” teachers and directors he has ever known.

“Her belief in me as a high school theater kid, her support and her guidance started me down a decades-long road of performance,” he said.

“But even more importantly, she served as a shining example of how to treat others in a collaborative, artistic endeavor.

“And I know I’m only one of thousands of similar interactions. My life is better for having spent even a sliver of it with Ellen Picard.”

Lisa Perlmutter said on Facebook that she entered the Orange Schools in ninth grade and that it was an awkward transition for her.

“I love this woman so much,” she said. “Ellen was assigned as my mentor and quickly became my confidant, advocate and cheerleader.

“She took great care to notice when kids weren’t ‘OK’ and provided a safe space and non-judgmental, wise ear. She brought me into drama and made me feel at home.”

In 2013, Picard was inducted into the Orange Alumni Association Hall of Fame in the staff category.

In her application, Picard said she hoped that she helped students to gain some confidence “about who they are, what they can become and to be less afraid to follow their dreams and hearts.”

“Your hope has been realized over and over again, Ellen, through all of the generations you have taught, and the generations that have learned from the generations you have taught,” Vincent told Picard while presenting her for induction at the ceremony.

Robert Hastings, another former English teacher at OHS who taught at the school from 1980 through his retirement in 2009, worked with Picard as technical director for fall plays and spring musicals.

He also worked with her as chairman of the English department.

“Ellen taught drama, and that’s where we developed a strong friendship,” said Hastings, who was inducted into the Orange Alumni Association Hall of Fame in the staff category in 2022.

“We shared a lot of laughs and a lot of enjoyment working with the students. We both loved theater, and she was an outstanding director.”

Hastings noted that Picard was extremely thorough “in terms of her not overlooking any detail.”

“Perhaps more importantly, she had a wonderful relationship with the students,” he said.

“We both had a love of music and a love of a good joke. She was pretty remarkable when you look back on her years.”

Picard also earned the Contributor to Excellence Teaching Award from Orange Schools. In 1992, she was named Orange Schools Secondary Teacher of the Year by the Kiwanis Club of Lander Circle.

She also received the Holloways Human and Civil Rights Commission Award from the Ohio Education Association in 1995.

Picard’s presentations on “The World of Difference” received many accolades and appeared on WEWS-TV (Channel 5) broadcasts.

‘She never knew a stranger’

A Cleveland native, Picard grew up in Shaker Heights and graduated from Shaker Heights High School.

Her partner, Pat Hartman, said she and Picard were in a committed relationship for 40 years and lived together in Bainbridge Township for 19 years.

Picard also lived at Hamlet at Chagrin Falls, an assisted living facility, for three months prior to her death.

“She was a very friendly person,” Hartman said. “She never knew a stranger … she was very outgoing.

“She was quick with word play. She was a very funny person, could make people laugh.”

As a teacher and theater adviser, Picard was “terrifically organized” and “demanding in a kind way,” Hartman said.

“She knew exactly what she wanted and brooked no nonsense from anyone, whether student, administrator or staff,” she said.

Hartman said Picard started the Unity in Diversity program at Orange Schools because “she cared deeply about bringing people together across all sorts of divides.”

“She worked with students throughout the Orange Schools on that, not just high school students,” she said.

“She wrote original scripts for that, using students’ own experiences and stories.

“She encouraged people to be their best selves. She was a wonderful listener and made people feel seen.”

Picard was also a certified drug and alcohol counselor and worked as a counselor and group facilitator for at-risk students at Orange High School.

“She sought those credentials specifically because she saw such a need among her students and became an informal counselor to many,” Hartman said.

Although Picard was not a member of a religious institution, she had strong ties to the Cleveland Jewish community and sang in the choir at Anshe Chesed Fairmount Temple in Beachwood for many years, Hartman said.

She was a professional vocalist and pianist and enjoyed birding in her free time, Hartman added.

After her retirement in 2001, Picard had ongoing health issues and “relentlessly pursued answers” to them, Hartman said.

“She had some success alleviating the worst symptoms, and we were able to do quite a bit of traveling,” Hartman said.

Picard earned a master’s degree in communications from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, as well as a bachelor’s degree in English, speech and theater from CWRU.

She also received vocal training from the Cleveland Institute of Music.

In addition to Hartman, Picard is survived by a sister, Madeleine Vaughn, of Ventura, Calif., and a niece and a nephew.

Scholarship in her name

A scholarship is being set up in Picard’s name through the Orange Schools Foundation. The goal is to present it annually to an Orange High School student.

Aimee Lurie, a 1994 OHS graduate who is coordinating the scholarship, said exact qualifications for it have not been determined. But the first scholarship will be awarded next year, she said.

“She was a wonderful teacher and a very caring person,” Lurie said. “The theater classes were engaging and promoted creativity, and it was an experience that I enjoyed during my time at Orange.”

Anyone who wishes to make a donation toward the scholarship can send a check to the Orange Schools Foundation, in memory of Ellen Picard, to the attention of Melissa Lynch at 32000 Chagrin Blvd., Pepper Pike, OH 44124.

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