Teacher Margaret S. Hadley, 102; Had Special Rapport With Disabled

When Margaret S. Hadley was hired to teach a special class of handicapped children 40 years ago, Lee Carson, one of the parents, thought Mrs. Hadley would not be able to handle the job.

"I thought she was too old," Carson recalled. "Our children were so rambunctious that I thought she couldn't handle them."

But Mrs. Hadley, then in her 60s, turned out to be a brilliant and patient teacher who, Carson said, became a "pillar of strength" to Carson's daughter Anne and other students.

A pioneer in the education of preschool and handicapped children in Seattle, Mrs. Hadley died June 1. She was 102.

Born in Concord, Mass., Mrs. Hadley moved to Seattle in 1909 to attend the University of Washington.

She wanted to study botany, but a teacher advised her to go for more challenging courses. She graduated in 1911 with degrees in math and physics.

In 1913, she married Homer S. Hadley, who was credited with having first conceived the idea for the floating bridge across Lake Washington, linking Seattle and the Eastside. Homer Hadley died in 1967.

Mrs. Hadley taught at Coulee City High School from 1911 to 1913. In 1949, she earned a master's degree in education from the University of Washington. She taught at various schools, becoming director of the Laurelhurst Cooperative Nursery School and later the Seattle Public Schools' Demonstration Nursery School from 1950-53.

"She would be remembered for her outgoingness, for her

leadership and integrity in the community," said her daughter, Eleanor Martha Hadley, 74, of Seattle, a retired academic and civil servant.

Her mother became especially involved with preschool and handicapped children, Eleanor Hadley said. She fondly recalled how Mrs. Hadley remained friends with many of her nursery students until her death.

Many of them, now in their 30s and 40s, still visited her during Christmas and other holidays.

"This was highly exceptional, an indication of her impact as a teacher," Eleanor Hadley said.

Among these friends were Lee Carson and her family.

"She was an inspiration to all of us," Carson said. "She always had a rapport with our children. She was, without doubt, the dearest woman I have ever met."

Besides her daughter, Mrs. Hadley is survived by a son, Richard H. Hadley, 60, a Seattle urban developer.

At her request, no services were planned.