Stories Honoring Educators
Honoree:Alice Rickman Cathey Submitted By:Laura Cathey Hart My grandmother’s decision to become a teacher was one of the defining roles of her life. Ours was a small town, and when I was a child, it seemed as if every adult I knew had been her student. “I knew your grandmother,” they would tell me. “She […]
Honoree:Margaret C. Kenney Submitted By:Myra Dietz Margaret was born in Rochester New York, the only child of Catherine Slattery and Thomas Kenney. Margaret’s family consisted of her parents, her father’s sister Anna and her cousin John Egan. By the 1940s, Margaret is a teacher supporting parents and widowed aunt with assistance from John. Margaret teaches […]
Honoree:Poppa and Momma Worsley Submitted By:Anthony Lowry It is my hope and desire to give The Worsley’s the honor of being on this mural while they live. For years both have battled and continue to battle life threatening diseases. To be honored in this way is to know that they are really appreciated. This will […]
Honoree:Mrs. Veronica Gilroy Lough Submitted By:Family of Veronica Gilroy Lough Inaugural Honerees Elliot Turiel Besty Rossi T Calvin Hayes Veronica Gilroy Lough Loy H “Doc” Witherspoon Jo Ann Springs John P. Smith Rebecca Ann Stasavich Ralph F W Brimley Careth (Gary) Shellman Vicki Page Jaus Harold (Hal) Jaus Margaret C. Kenney Bobbie M. Atwell Mary […]
Honoree:Arnie Cann Submitted By:Lawrence G. Calhoun I am pleased to honor one of UNC Charlotte’s great teachers, Dr. Arnie Cann, Professor of Psychology. I have known Arnie since he joined the faculty at UNC Charlotte in 1975. Throughout that time he has been one of the best teachers on this campus. He was a finalist […]
Honoree:Lawrence G. Calhoun Submitted By:Dean Mary Lynne Calhoun Dr. Lawrence G. Calhoun is in his 39th year as Professor of Psychology at UNC Charlotte. Here is how he describes his work: “The cultural traditions from which I come use the word vocation to describe one’s life work – spending one’s life engaged in an endeavor […]
Honoree:Linda Humble Submitted By:Misty Hathcock I am a sixth generation educator. Most of the women in my family are teachers in one way or another. There are those that are teachers in the classroom and there are teachers in the game of life. The teacher I wish to honor is my mother. A resilient woman, […]
Honoree:Faye K. Isherwood Submitted By:Liz Johnson Faye was a dedicated and simply wonderful teacher for over 35 years. She graduated from Women’s College, now known as the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Faye started her teaching career in Oakboro, NC. She then taught in a one room school house in Anchorage, Alaska. She eventually […]
Honoree:Lynn Johnson Submitted By:Liz Johnson There was a distinct sense of superior professionalism and compassion in her classroom. She always had smiles, hugs, or words of wisdom for those lucky enough to have her as a teacher. Her natural infectious, encouraging nature ensured all students thrived. She recognized the importance to getting young learners off […]
Honoree:Sue Stading Submitted By:Melba and Fred Spooner In the spring of 2000, I found myself in a quandary. My seven year old son, Max, was miserable in school. Even at such a young age, he had become jaded with our educational system and the chilling words, “Why bother?” had become his educational mantra. Turning my […]
Honoree:Mary Lynne Calhoun Submitted By:UNC Charlotte Cabinet Members Consummate Educator In her Philosophy of Teaching, Dean Mary Lynne Calhoun states: “Education is a gift human beings give one another, and that gift enables persons to transform and be transformed by society. I bring to education an activist perspective built on the beliefs that every person […]
Honoree:Herman J. Preseren Submitted By:Laura Veach Herman J. Preseren, Professor Emeritus of Education at Wake Forest University, had enormous influence in my work and life. As Chair of the Education Department, he was known for running a tight ship. His military service as an officer in the Army Air Corps during World War II provided […]
Honoree:Emma Sharpe Avery Submitted By:Emmy Lou Jeffress Burchette His face aglow, the man spoke to my grandmother with a mixture of reverence and excitement. Like a shy high school boy, this forty-something man shifted his feet and told her about his work, his family, his successes in life. He wasn’t bragging, but wanted her to […]
Honoree:Marti Snell Submitted By:Diane Browder When I began my Master’s degree program at the University of Virginia in 1975, I was surprised to discover that all of the special education training focused on mild disabilities. I was grateful to learn all that I did about teaching students with learning disabilities and mild intellectual disability, but […]
Honoree:Mary Thomas Burke Submitted By:Bob Barrett I met Mary Thomas Burke in the spring of 1972 when I came out to UNC Charlotte to inquire about the M.Ed. degree in school counseling. I had been a teacher for three years and had been asked by my school to become the school counselor. My connection with […]
Honoree:Jeanne Heller Submitted By:Bill Heller I should like to nominate for consideration as a great teacher, Mrs. Jeanne Heller. Mrs. Heller taught as a school librarian/school media specialist in the public elementary schools of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Lincoln County, North Carolina, and Pinellas County, Florida across a span of 30 years. As a school librarian/media specialist […]
Honoree:Spring Branch Independent School District Submitted By:Dawson R. Hancock I dedicate my Cato Teaching Mural brick not to an individual teacher but to an entire school district of teachers who shaped my life at an early age and contributed to my success as an adult. Spring Branch Independent School District is a small school district […]
Honoree:Elliot Turiel Submitted By:Michael Green In every life there are important people and events and places. Some are more important than others. In my life, none was more important than Elliot Turiel. I grew up in a very small town in Washington and went to a very large college in California. Two freshman courses – […]
Honoree:Mary Katherine Jarrell Submitted By:Mary Lynn Calhoun, Dean UNC Charlotte College of Education I am writing to honor my mother Mary Katherine Jarrell on the Cato Teaching Discovery Mural. Mary Katherine attended Marshall University in Huntington, WV during the years of the Great Depression, at a time when university tuition was $16 a month. She […]
Honoree:Sisters of Saint Joseph of Wheeling Submitted By:Maria Yon With this gift I honor a group of dedicated teachers who made a difference in my life in many ways. The Sisters of Saint Joseph of Wheeling (currently called the Congregation of Saint Joseph) were missioned to the new St. Francis de Sales Elementary School in […]
Honoree:Gary Shellman Submitted By:William Whittaker Dr. Shellman was the teacher of an intro European history course I took my sophomore year at UNC Charlotte. He taught in a living history fashion. If Rhiems, France was mentioned as the coronation site for French Kings, he would then talk about the Champagne cellars beneath the city and […]
Honoree:Mary Laura Calhoun Submitted By:Lawrence and Mary Lynne Calhoun Lawrence and I are pleased to honor a wonderful teacher who changes lives, our daughter Mary Laura Calhoun. Mary Laura teaches prekindergarten children in the Washington, DC Public Schools. Her classroom is an inclusive education setting, serving both children with disabilities and children who are typically […]
Honoree:Nancy Cooke Submitted By:David Test From the initial lesson, “We are women, not girls,” I have learned much from Nancy L. Cooke. Nancy has been a teacher to many people, in many ways. From a remedial reading teacher, to fourth and fifth grade teacher, to a college professor, she has spent her professional life as […]