NOTE: I accepted the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge headed by fellow genealogy blogger Amy Johnson Crow. The idea behind this challenge is that you will receive email prompts, a word or phrase, every week, and you find something about your research or family history to write about. Click HERE to read my first 52 Ancestors blog post in 2019.
My Granny, Gladys Denson Mays, was a teacher and counselor in the Newport Public Schools for 50 years. She started her teaching career in 1935 in the Gartland school district teaching grades 1 through 4. Later she became a teacher at Newport Colored schools where she taught elementary grades, mathematics and English and eventually she became a school counselor in 1959. She retired from Newport Public Schools in 1985.
She was very active in the Arkansas Teachers Association where she served the organization in several capacities including president for three years. After her retirement she became a member of the Jackson County Retired Teachers Association and served as president from 1986-1988. She served on the Jackson County Learning Center and taught GED classes at White River Community College (now Arkansas State University – Newport).
I can say a great many things about my Granny. She was a woman of faith, always willing to lend a helping hand whenever someone needed it. Her door and kitchen were always open to anyone. She really was the most giving person I have ever known. The one thing she stood firm on for everyone, not just her family, was getting an education. Education, teaching, and counseling generations of children was more than just work for her. It was her passion and truly was her life’s work and her legacy that continues our family.
Journey Through the Generations 
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