Mike Foley could hardly collect himself when he tried to tell Lynn Cleary exactly how much she means to him — first fighting off tears and then looking up as if the words were written on the ceiling.

Once he finally found them, he summed up how many in the Lincoln Consolidated Schools feel about their retiring superintendent.

“Eleven years ago when I came to the Lincoln school district as a sub I never thought I would find somebody who would help change my life,” said Foley, an English teacher and the men’s basketball coach at Lincoln High School.

“We’ve never had nothing but love. And she has always loved me. I have always loved her.”

Foley’s speech to about 50 or so members of the Lincoln schools community was easily the most emotional tribute to Cleary at a reception and ceremony celebrating her retirement after 32 years as an educator, 15 of those in Lincoln and three-and-a-half years as superintendent.

Although there were many more laughs than tears during the ceremony, Foley’s tribute to Cleary left barely any dry eyes in the Childs Elementary School cafeteria. He thanked Cleary for supporting him from his days as a substitute teacher in the district until now and said he’s called her every Mother’s Day to tell her he loves her. He even started his speech by saying, “I’m Lynn Cleary’s son.”

Cleary is staying with the district for three more weeks to help transition district leadership to new superintendent Ellen Bonter, who was hired earlier this year. Cleary said she would help Bonter get a grasp of the construction projects going on in the district before heading into a retirement spent enjoying her three dogs and rekindling her love of music.

“I don’t have any set plans except to enjoy my life,” Cleary said, adding that she’s thinking of forming an animal rescue. “I’m a young retiree and I told my parents before they passed that I didn’t want to go out kicking and screaming. I wanted to go out and enjoy my life and do something different. I don’t know what it will be, but it will probably involve animals or music.”

Although Cleary’s described her switch from middle school principal to superintendent as “trying to stay afloat,” other district leaders said she’s been a guiding light through difficult times.

In a rare speech without any prepared remarks — mostly due to Cleary’s goading — Lincoln school board president Kim Samuelson said Cleary’s willingness to adopt many roles within the district and the commitment she showed saved the district.

“I feel like you rescued us in a time when we needed to be rescued,” Samuelson said to Cleary. “For me personally, you made my job so much easier and I can never thank you enough for that.”

For many of the speakers at the ceremony, Cleary’s humor and love for students and fellow school colleagues are the things they said they’d miss the most. Laughs echoed around the cafeteria when stories were told of Cleary joining in musical performances, playing practical jokes on teachers, serving students lunch in the cafeteria or gathering a group of teachers and staff to go see a play.

Some of her friends from the district’s business office decided the ceremony would be a great time to repay some of Cleary’s hijinks. She was presented with a seemingly-never-ending bag of presents, which included reading glasses, giant yellow sunglasses, denture cleaner and Omega 3 pills, among many other retirement-themed goodies.

Cleary was also given a present from state lawmakers Sen. Rebekah Warren, D-Ann Arbor, and Rep. David Rutledge, D-Superior Township. Warren and Rutledge presented her with a tribute from the state legislature thanking her for her 32 years of service in education.

“She treats every child in this district like it’s her own child,” Warren said. “She would wipe their nose, put a Band Aid on their knee, whatever it took to get them back into the classroom.”

At the end of the ceremony, Cleary was sent off with a familiar saying.

Cleary is well known in the district for ending phone conversations with, “Talk to ya later, babe,” said David Northrup, president of the Lincoln Administrators Association and principal at Redner Elementary School. At the end of his tribute to Cleary, calling her the best superintendent he’s worked with, he said his good-bye in the best way he said he knew how.

“I think I speak for all of the Lincoln community when I say, 'Farewell, babe,” he said.

Kyle Feldscher covers K-12 education for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.