A Loving Legacy

Last weekend, our family lost an extraordinary lady when my beautiful grandmother passed away at age 88. She and my grandfather, who preceded her in death over 13 years ago, were truly wonderful people. Over the course of the past week, we heard story after story about the impact my grandparents made on people in the community, and the magnitude of their kindness and generosity – so you can imagine what sort of mark they left on us as family members. My brother is a minister and presided over the funeral service last Thursday and did a phenomenal job in honoring our grandmother. At my mother’s request, I wrote the following tribute, which was read at the service. I wanted to share it in an effort to celebrate my grandmother’s exceptional life:

As a lifelong educator, Boonetta Davis mastered the art of teaching. She was adored by her students, respected in the community and known as a “teacher’s teacher.” So it seems fitting to pay tribute to this remarkable woman in terms of what life lessons she taught her family and her friends, as well as her students.

Boonetta first and foremost taught us the importance of family. She met her future spouse when they were in the first grade together, although they thankfully waited until age 18 to elope. She cherished her husband, Don, and they made a terrific match. She kept him in line, while he showed her how much fun life could be! This wonderful marriage produced Boonetta’s two favorite and most important students – her two children, Jerry and Beverly, who both went on to become educators themselves, inspired by their mother’s example. She also dearly loved her grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.

Secondly, she taught us the value of education. School was important to her, but it went beyond textbooks and grades. She was a true student of life who never quit learning. As a result, her mind remained incredibly sharp.

In addition, she taught us that sometimes life is tough but you keep moving on and working hard for what you want. Boonetta’s life was not always easy – her mother died when she was very young, she lived through the Great Depression and she had to send her husband off to war. But she would tell you that these were all learning experiences, as much as anything you’d gain from a classroom.

She taught us that beauty should run deep. Boonetta was voted “Ozark Smile Girl” in 1938 and was one of the prettiest women in the area with her Hollywood good looks and savvy fashion sense. However, her beauty came from the inside out, and she instilled that in her children. She and her husband also introduced the entire family – grandkids included – to the beauty of the Ozarks with annual summer vacations in Branson, Missouri.

Always highly competitive, Boonetta taught us how to be winners. She loved competing herself – playing a mean game of Trivial Pursuit (in one memorable incident, she knew the answer, Hans Christian Andersen, AND his mailing address!), Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune – but also loved watching sports, especially the girls’ basketball teams her son coached and her grandsons’ athletic events.

Just as graduation from school is an end and yet also a new beginning, we know that the wonderful legacy of life lessons Boonetta taught will continue to live on in all of us. Plus, we can be comforted in imagining her new eternal home – and the great heavenly reunion she’s enjoying with her beloved classmate, Don Davis.