By Kath Gannaway
Hundreds of people filled the chapel at the Victoria Police Academy on Wednesday morning (10 May) to pay tribute to, and farewell, Sue Contarino.
A teacher at Healesville High School who grew up in Launching Place, Sue was an amazing woman long before she made headlines as a campaigner for ovarian cancer awareness and research.
The many ways she had touched the lives of so many people was no secret among those who knew her, but the full reach of her living legacy of faith, hope and love was shared even more generously through the tributes of family, colleagues, friends and former students.
Sue died on Wednesday, 3 May, four years after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
Many of those attending had supported her and walked with her on her Walk With Me campaign in February 2016 and 2017.
“She is doing this for others, to fight for others so they don’t have to go through what she has been through,” Reverend Maria Brand-Starkey said.
Sue’s husband Steve Cade Contarino, father David Tanner and sister Nikki Johnson spoke bravely, sharing stories of her life growing up in Launching Place, school at Yarra Junction Primary, her passion for ballet and teaching, travels around the world, and the special relationships they shared with the woman in their lives.
David described a “serene simplicity” and spoke of her boundless passions and interests from ballet to bushwalking and her many years of teaching which he said provided her with friends everywhere.
Nikki shared childhood memories and shared experiences of joy, grief and challenge as “an epic blockbuster”.
Steve spoke of the love of his life and the courageous and loving mother of their daughter Raina Grace with tenderness, admiration and sadness.
He said she was well known for her ‘faith, hope and love’ teaching.
“She taught with love and grace through the syllabus, imparting self respect, moral courage, risk-taking, hard work and perseverance.”
Former students Caitlin and Chelsea Connell also spoke of Sue as an inspirational and rare teacher.
They said ‘Miss Tanner’ wasn’t typical, not the most prepared teacher, or the most ‘by the book’.
“It was never difficult to get her to deviate from the standard curriculum,” Chelsea said.
“Miss, can we work outside in the sun?” “Miss, can we go river walking?” “Miss, can we go lilo-ing?”
The answer … always “Yes”.
“Miss, can we field a hockey team?”
“But none of you play hockey! Oh all right, it’s good to try new things.”
“For every goss sesh about who liked who, there was a talk about self-worth and self-respect.
“For every chat about girl fights there was a lesson about treating people right,” they said.
They said Ms Tanner always encouraged students to take chances and push through their comfort zone.
They thanked her for “your unwavering belief in you students”, “being the trusted teacher”, “having the hard conversations”, and “seeing the importance in setting us up for life as adults”.
