Covid-19 claims the life of retired elementary school teacher Michael Ganci of Newington, Connecticut.

The Covid-19 pandemic has claimed the lives of many beloved educators. One of these is Michael Ganci, a retired elementary school teacher from Newington, Connecticut.

Michael was born on June 8th, 1945, in Brooklyn, New York, and raised in Glendale, New York. As a young man, he attended Richmond Hill High School in Richmond Hill, New York, where he graduated in 1963. Michael earned his Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from Long Island University, and his Master’s in Education from Central Connecticut State University.

For many years, Michael taught at Ann Antolini Elementary School in New Hartford, Connecticut. Over the course of his long career as an educator, he taught more than 10,000 students. “Mr. Ganci was my fourth grade teacher,” recalls former student Lydia Gibb. “One of the reasons I became interested in science was that he made it fun. He was a wonderful teacher.” Former student Charles Blow agrees. “I remember him as my fifth grade teacher at the Ann Antolini school,” remembers Blow. “He was my hero at that time in my life! Because of him I looked forward to school every day,” continues Blow. “He was very good at drawing caricatures. He’d have us give him a word and would draw an amusing caricature that represented the word. I remember laughing so hard at what he came up with. He was very imaginative!” concludes Blow.

In addition to his career as a public school teacher, Thomas was also a fourth degree black belt, and served his community as a Sensei in Kyokushin karate at the New Hartford Karate Club. He was introduced to martial arts by his father, who had been an amateur boxer, and began his karate instruction in his early teens in New York. In fact, Michael pioneered one of the first accredited college level courses in traditional karate in the United States.

To read more tributes to this amazing educator, see his page at Legacy.com.