Picture given to school in memory of teacher
Published 6:00 am Friday, March 1, 2002
The impact a former teacher had on her students will not beforgotten by her sorority sisters, family and former students.
A large picture, featuring a lighthouse on a rocky shoreline,was donated to Alexander Junior High School Thursday in memory ofKay Terrell by the Rho Conclave of the Kappa Kappa IotaSorority.
“Mrs. Terrell was a member of our family as well. The memory ofher will always be in our hearts and our spirit,” said AJHPrincipal LeVander German.
Terrell died Sept. 21, 2001, after a long bout with cancer. Shetaught career discovery and home economic for 32 years.
Her last 12 years in education were spent in the BrookhavenSchool District.
“Besides her family, I think teaching was the next mostimportant thing,” said Terrell’s daughter, Allison.
Terrell was a member of the Kappa Kappa Iota Sorority for 15years, during which she worked with other educators in the serviceorganization to help students in many ways.
“She was a really special person. She was always concerned aboutothers, not herself,” said her husband, Gabe.
Sorority members chose the lighthouse picture because they sawTerrell as a protector and a guide for the children she taught.
“As a teacher, you’re around the children constantly and you seetheir needs,” said Janet Richardson, empathy chairman of the RhoConclave.
The sorority presents two scholarships each year to high schoolgraduates needing a little help with finance for a collegeeducation. They also buy supplies for some needy students.
Some sorority members and Terrell’s family shed a few tearsThursday as they recalled how much she enjoyed being involved withthose projects.
Family members thanked sorority members for honoring Terrell insuch a special way.
“It just shows how much she touched other people and how mucheveryone thought of her,” said Gabe.
The lighthouse picture, which also featured a plaque forTerrell, will hang in a busy stairwell at the school for allstudents to remember how Terrell stood strong like alighthouse.
Also, this year’s Lincoln County/Brookhaven Relay for Life willbe held in memory of Terrell as well as Faye Wallace.