Eleanor Hightower Mann spent nearly 40 years doing what she loved – teaching children to read.

So after the retired Lexington Two teacher’s death in 2017, it wasn’t hard for her family to figure out how best to honor her memory.

SETF Inc. — the company started by Steve Mann, Eleanor’s husband of 38 years, and their two adult children, Frances Medley and Thomas Mann — is gifting $20,000 to Riverbank Elementary, to purchase books and related materials for students, the ones Eleanor always called her “kiddos” and “friends.”

“She worked hard to connect with kids who were having trouble reading,” said her daughter Frances, who’s also a schoolteacher.

“If a child loved dogs or trucks or tractors, she would create her own books with things the child loved, with words he needed to work on, to try to connect.

“If she were still here, she would give back to this district to give kids the opportunity to be successful,” Frances added. “If they couldn’t read, they couldn’t be successful.”

A Bamberg native, Eleanor graduated from Clemson University and took her first job in 1978 at Lexington Two’s Saluda River Elementary, first working in special education and later teaching second and third grades.

Teaching “was her ministry,” Frances said.

Thomas said his mother cared deeply for her students.

“Mom didn’t just serve their minds, she served their souls, and I think that made a huge difference,” he said.

Eleanor retired after the 2010-11 school year — but her time away was short-lived.

“Patti Sims called her about a SMART room opening at Springdale (Elementary),” her husband Steve said.

“She missed working with the kids, and this was an opportunity to do what she loved, which was reading. She was excited to work with Patti and (principal) Shane Thackston.”

Eleanor always was focused on good health, Steve said. So when she started to get shortness of breath and lower energy levels, she went to the doctor, where they discovered a heart condition in fall 2016.

Her health challenges forced her to step away from her Lexington Two classroom for good in 2017.

Shortly after her death at age 61, Eleanor’s family opened her prayer book, which she wrote in throughout her life. They found prayers for her two children and her husband, as well as many of her students.

Thomas said his mother had “a servant’s heart that made an impact in the lives of many, many children. Frances and I were lucky to call her mom, but she served in a motherly role to many children, too many to count.”

The gift from SETF Inc. will ensure that her impact continues.

“Not only did Eleanor Mann devote nearly 40 years to teaching the children here in Lexington Two, but this special gift ensures that she will continue to instill that love of reading in our students at Riverbank for years to come,” said Superintendent Dr. William James Jr.,

The family still hears from former students, some of whom say they became teachers because of Eleanor.

“She loved the district, loved the kids,” her husband said.

“She never considered anywhere else,” he added. “This was home.”