THE DAYS were already long. He challenged geometry students with theorems and proofs, balanced like the opposite sides of a parallelogram with banter that demonstrated his care and concern. Students tapping away at typewriters, using dictation transcribers, and learning the ins and outs of office occupations filled her days.
Hours after the day’s last bell, there they were, surrounded by RAM chips, motherboards, and expansion cards. His love for repairing things inspired his confidence. Her love for him inspired hers. Their love for their students fueled them both. Building cutting-edge Apple machines might have intimidated some, but not this couple. Teaching computer classes off campus was about to be a thing of the past at Lincoln County High School (LCHS) if John and Betty Taylor had anything to do with it.
“Mr. Charles Arrington of Copperweld showed John and me how to assemble one computer. After teaching all day and working until midnight for a week, John and I built the first 13 computers without the help of Mr. Arrington, as he was called to the home office in Iowa for a week. All but one computer was workable, and after removal and replacement of a faulty memory card, it also worked,” Betty shared.
However, if the pair had pursued the careers they originally planned, LCHS students’ memories would not include them. John might have retired from a career at Redstone Arsenal, and Betty might have pursued her early career as an executive secretary at Northrop Space Laboratories in Huntsville. There might have been fewer educators, engineers, and administrative professionals to graduate from LCHS.
But before the calls that launched their careers as educators, they were high school classmates, familiar with one another but not more.
“We became better acquainted on the senior trip to Washington D.C. and New York City in 1961. We sat next to each other on a Trailway bus to and from the trip. Well, that lit a small flame within me. I thought, ‘I like this guy who was so mannerly, kind, and thoughtful,’” she said.
But, the small flame flickered like a distant candle in John’s peripheral vision. Even when she sat sandwiched between him and her friend, Malinda Conger, in his new 1962 Chevy II, riding back and forth to Middle Tennessee State University, he missed it. So, she seized the opportunity to invite him to a Pi Omega Pi picnic. It worked. The couple married shortly after, sharing nearly 59 years until his death this past July.
John and Betty filled those years with dedication to each other, their sons and families, their church, and their students. John entered teaching first, only expecting to teach math until the school filled the position permanently. Flintville High School found its replacement in John, and John found no substitute for the joy he found in his students. Betty answered the call about two years later, literally.
Betty recalled, “I received a call from Principal Buford Beadle, then Boonshill High School, as to an opening in my field of study. As I had a B.S. (Bachelor of Science) [degree] and a master’s in business education, I had all the certifications to teach. After careful consideration of knowing we wanted a family, and I could have the same occupation as my husband, I accepted.”
She continued, “There were seven periods each day at Boonshill. I taught six different classes, was responsible for the school annual, was a senior sponsor, and [directed] the senior play. Those six classes were typewriting on manual typewriters, Business English, bookkeeping, seventh grade geography, shorthand, and alternating freshman and senior English,” she said. “Can you imagine having that many preparations plus the extracurricular activities? But, I loved the students and people from a small community.”
Three years later, she joined John at Flintville High School. In 1979, when the county’s high schools merged into LCHS, the new comprehensive high school, the couple moved there together.
The dynamic duo always worked together, teaching adult education and homebound students in addition to their classroom hours. You’d find them in ticket booths, concession stands, on school trips and competitions, participating in school contests, or fulfilling church and community projects.
“Having taught for 32 years and John for 39 years, we had no regrets making the move to be in the educational field after seeing many of our students become outstanding citizens and successful in the business world,” Betty said.
Condolences on John’s obituary page on Higgins Funeral Home’s website and Facebook comments echo the couple’s lifetime impact on their students. John’s tough love, humor, and compassion, and Betty’s kindness, dedication, and ever-evolving office occupational skills are exceeded only by their ability to recognize former students and their families forever.
Betty stated, “It was estimated that together we taught between nine and ten thousand students during our career. We both have been very fortunate to get notes, phone calls, texts, and comments from former students expressing their thanks for a job well done in the classroom. John’s service on Aug. 4 was a testament to how much students appreciated and loved my deceased husband and me.”
She continued, “We were blessed to have traveled to 10 different countries and many states after retirement. Traveling and enjoying our farms, as well as our children and five grandchildren, have made retirement a blessed event where many memories were made. Our greatest reward has been reaping the fruits of our labor while teaching.” GN
