So said a grateful parent when principal of Dubbo South Infants School Elza Moon retired in 1981.

The heartfelt accolade spoke to the teacher's commitment to her profession, young pupils and their parents.

Mrs Moon's colleagues also held their friend and mentor in high esteem.

"I still ask myself what would Mrs Moon do in this situation," one of them declared years after she had retired.

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Mrs Moon's final day at Dubbo South Infants School was captured on the front page of the Weekend Liberal in late September 1981.

Sadly, this newspaper is also recording her death.

Elza Hope Moon (nee Fountain) died in Sydney on January 22 at the grand age of 97, having nurtured and loved a large family.

Her loss will also be felt in Dubbo where many former students, now aged between about 50 and 70 years, still reside.

Elza Fountain was born in 1923 at Lorn near West Maitland but later moved with her family to Sydney where she graduated from Hornsby Girls' High School and then Sydney Teachers' College.

In 1948 she married ex-servicemen and fellow teacher John Moon, before giving birth to son David in 1949 and daughter Margaret in 1951.

In 1952 the couple took up positions at the Murrin Bridge Aboriginal Station where they taught for several years before moving to Merrygoen Public School.

Tragedy struck the family when Mr Moon was killed in a car accident in 1956.

Mrs Moon took her children to Dubbo in 1957 where Legacy in the form of Don Fairbrother and wife Mardi helped them settle into the community.

Mrs Moon taught at the Dubbo Central and Dubbo South public schools before leaving her mark as principal of the Dubbo South Infant School across 16 years.

"Her love of teaching, particularly younger children, was inspired by the desire to make a real difference in their lives and to lay down a sound platform for future learning and for life itself," David Moon said this week.

"This was underpinned by her ability to communicate with them at their level and also with their parents to achieve optimum outcomes."

The Moon family lived in public housing in Dubbo before moving into their brand new home in Lovett Avenue in the early 1960s.

In 2001 Mrs Moon followed her children to Sydney where she lived in a retirement village and shared her passion and skill for gardening with new friends.

In her final years, macular degeneration robbed Mrs Moon of her sight but not her connection to her two children, seven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

"Elza was greatly loved by her extended family who cherished her time with them and were grateful that right up to her death she knew and communicated with them even though she could not see them due to her blindness," David Moon said.