Abels of Madison Elementary

Denny Abel doesn’t have to go far to see his wife, daughter or grandchildren. He teaches at Madison Elementary, his wife and daughter work there, and 10 of his grandchildren are students there.
A Madison Elementary graduate himself, Abel is in his fifth year at the school, teaching a third- and fourth-grade combination class.
His wife, Pam, the cafeteria manager, has been at the school for 16 years.
Their daughter Shanna Palmer is in her second year as a special education instructional assistant at the school.
Abel taught at Sheridan and Regal before coming to Madison. “It was always my goal to teach at Madison someday, and finally everything fell into place and here I am,” said Abel.
“I love it. Having all my family here is great. We’ve never had any problems. It’s been a real positive experience,” said Pam Abel. “At a recent school concert our family alone took up two rows.”
It’s great to have a backup system at school. If one of the grandchildren forgets their lunch money or their house key, Grandma and Grandpa are there to help out.
And it’s not just the grandkids that might need help. During softball practice at school, daughter Shanna was hit in the face with a bat, breaking her jaw. Her dad was immediately called to the office. “I didn’t start crying until I saw my dad, and I’m 36 years old,” said Palmer.
Palmer’s son Jacob Davis is a fifth-grader at the school.
The Abels’ daughter Shawn Heyer has daughters Victoria (sixth grade), Lexi (first grade) and son Rique (fourth grade) attending school at Madison.
Daughter Stacie Ramey’s children include Emili (sixth grade), Brittani (fifth grade), Dylan (first grade) and Faith (kindergarten).
Derek (sixth grade) and Paige Kimple (fifth grade) are children of the Abels’ youngest daughter April Lyon.
“I have a son, Dennis Abel II, who also went to school here at Madison, but his children go to Willard. I hate for him to think he is being left out,” said Abel.
Granddaughter Victoria said it’s great to be able to see her grandparents at school and sometimes the cousins are in the same classes.
Last year Brittani was in her grandpa’s class, and the year before that her sister Emili had him for a teacher.
Abel had to discipline Emili once for talking in class. “I told her you’ve upset two people here today, your grandpa and your teacher. I never had a problem after that,” said Abel.
At the end of this year Victoria, Emili and Derek will be moving on to middle school.
But April’s children, 3-year-old Gavin Lyon and his 3-month-old brother Ethan, are waiting in the wings.