But now the teacher, Bob Conn, 84, of Winamac, has decided the time has finally arrived to retire. Outside of church, he now devotes his time to caring for his wife of 50 years, Marge, who is homebound with a chronic illness.

Conn began teaching Sunday school at First United Methodist Church in Winamac at age 22 in 1958. That’s over 3,200 classes in 62 years (he almost never misses a Sunday). During those years he has also given over 700 “children’s sermons” for worship service.

“I’ve loved the kids and I’ve loved the teaching,” Conn says. With an ever-ready sense of humor, he has taught children of all age levels, from kindergarten to high school youth.

He married two years after he began teaching Sunday school, and remembers he thought about giving it up at that time. Interestingly, he was persuaded to continue by a Jewish youth who lived in the community. Because the nearest synagogue was in South Bend, the family was not often able to attend. But the young man had been introduced to one of Bunny’s Sunday classes and received permission from his parents to continue to participate. When the youth learned Conn was considering leaving Sunday school teaching, he challenged him to continue - bargaining that if he did, the boy would attend seminary and become a Methodist pastor.

And so Conn continued, and the young man became a long time Methodist minister. They stayed in touch over the years and miles. Conn says the experience was an inspiration to him and was a factor leading to his lengthy Sunday morning career.

Conn is a teacher by trade. He taught public school in the Royal Center/Pioneer school system for 41 years (1958-1999), instructing mostly middle school children. The subjects he taught included math, science, and health/physical education. Over the years he also coached middle school sports, including cross country, basketball, track and baseball. He witnessed many changes in the teaching profession, and experienced the school consolidation movement when the Lucerne, Headlee, Lake Cicott, and Royal Center schools joined to become Pioneer Schools in 1967.

Many would-be teachers shy away from instructing middle-school-age students who are known to be a handful with their restless energy. But Conn was not daunted.

“I learned that at that age, if you’re honest and fair with them, they will go through a brick wall for you,” he explains.

Conn has enjoyed teaching children, both in public and Sunday school, from all backgrounds and heritages. One memory included teaching Spanish-speaking children (Conn doesn’t speak the language) of farm laborers who worked in the former pickle factory in Royal Center.

When it comes to teaching Sunday school, Conn says his main goal is to teach students how to study the Bible on their own.

“Don’t ‘teach’ the Bible,” he advises, “but show the kids how to learn from it themselves,” - leading to a lifetime of Bible study. He recommends starting with the books of Psalms and Proverbs where they will gain information to put to use in life; followed by the New Testament Gospels. “The Old Testament is for more scholarly study later on,” he believes.

As with most teachers in any field, Conn says he has definitely learned a lot more from his students than he taught them.

“I’ve learned the most important thing in the classroom is the child. More than the subject matter, have a good relationship with the child,” he emphasizes.

Bunny often hears from former students, and they share wagon-loads of memories and experiences - and smiles. Kids have often brought their friends to his class. He has even been asked to speak at the funerals of a couple former students.

“Children will remember the love you had for them,” Conn says. “They will be reminded all their lives of that Sunday school class where there was love.”

Upon retirement, Bunny and his Tic-Tacs will be greatly missed. But he will be long remembered.

- By Karen Clem Fritz

Note: Bob Conn was honored by the Winamac Methodist Church with a drive-by tribute parade past his home on Oct. 11. Church members, students (past and present) and friends participated. A video was also made and presented to him featuring photos and personal tributes and memories from his decades of teaching.