Hewitt has already planned her new daily schedule. She will write for three hours each morning, she says, and spend the afternoon pursuing one of several recreational activities possible in the rural area where her new home is located.

Hewitt estimates that three hours of writing every day will enable her to finish in one year a book that she has been drafting for “far too long”—a project that she began in graduate school.

It is not only the free hours but the change of setting that excites her. She describes with uncharacteristic effusiveness a particular sheep-covered hill near her new New Hampshire home.

“The sheep are guarded by an elegant llama, and it is a pleasure to say hello to the llama every day,” she explains.

Hewitt says she may work as a volunteer teacher in some of the New Hampshire grammar schools as well, continuing a career in education even after retirement. She spent her academic career teaching Expository Writing in addition to upholding her administrative duties.

“It’s the only thing I know how to teach,” she says. “I’m really ignorant in several fields.”

But colleagues such as Moon describe Hewitt as a well read educator with an acute sense of humor and—behind a stern facade—a passion for teaching and for her students’ wellbeing.

“She is someone who has devoted a major portion of her career to young people, motivating and inspiring them,” Queen says. “We’re very sorry to see her retire.”

—Staff writer Nathan J. Heller can be reached at heller@fas.harvard.edu.