A teaching career spanning over 30 years is one thing. Completing such a feat as someone who was diagnosed at birth with Cerebral Palsy is quite another. Former teacher and local author Melody Weathermon proves that people are not defined by their challenges, but rather by how they rise above them. Through her long contribution to the growing minds of students in some of Montana’s most rural schools, Weathermon provides a legacy of innovative teaching techniques and special connections that many of her students carry into adulthood. In 2021, Weathermon published an illustrated book about her experiences entitled The Adventures of Miss Tipsy Toes: Teaching School in Rural Montana During the Late Twentieth Century.

Weathermon grew up in Laurel. She completed a B.A in Elementary Education from the University of Montana in 1976. Upon graduation, she began seeking employment as a teacher, driving to interview after interview only to be turned away. She says that many people told her that she could not follow her dream of becoming an educator because of her limitations. She didn’t give up.