KILGOROUND
LINDA BALLARD

"When I first knew her, she was a checker at the old Gregg Steam Laundry located on North Kilgore Street," said Mart Lapin. "Her first husband was Doil Williams, who worked for the Post Office and also worked part time at the 7-11 at the corner of Houston and Martin. He was there one night sitting around and reading the paper before going to work, when the place was robbed (by two young men) and he was shot and killed.

"Jimmie Faye remarried and that husband (Jimmy Myers) died in 2004. She went on to get a B.A. and one or two M.A. degrees and was in the Kilgore school system for a number of years. She has one daughter, who would be in her 20s now. I always admired her very much for all that she has accomplished.

"Oh," said Jimmie Faye Chereene Williams Myers. "I had my B.S. and my M.E.D. before Doil died and then got a Masters in Library Science in 1970

and my first Masters in Elementary Education and School Administration after I married Jimmy in 1971.

"Education has always been so important to me. We grew up in Logansport, Louisiana and we were so very poor… I cut pulp wood with a cross-cut saw to have shoes on my feet and we picked cotton and tomatoes and whatever else it took to try to make a living.

"My father, Noble Chereene died, leaving my mother with seven small children to raise and for years we lived off $88 a month. My mother and father never owned a car - they used a wagon and a team of horses.

"On my mother's side, there was lots of Indian blood and being Indian, you learned to survive. Of course, on my daddy's side," she laughed, "we are connected to the pirate, Jean Lafitte. It made me determined to strive for a better way of making a living. I knew education was my only way out and I have always believed anybody can pull themselves up by their own bootstraps if they are willing to pull deep within themselves to do so…

"My mother came to Kilgore when I was between my junior and senior year of high school. She had a sister living in the Danville community and she came to see if she could make a better living for my siblings. I stayed in Logansport with a brother who was one year older than me, but one year behind in school. (He liked to play in classes, too much.) I kept the house, did all of the laundry, cooking, worked and made straight A's in school. When I graduated, an older sister moved back to the farm to be with him until he graduated. I moved to Kilgore and stayed for awhile with my aunt and uncle. They wanted me to go into a business, but, I knew in my heart I wanted to teach.

"I went to work for Gregg Steam Laundry during the summer of 1957 and started Kilgore College in the fall. I worked at the laundry from 7:30 in the morning until 5:30 in the afternoon then attended school from 7-10 p.m. I stopped working there when I married Doil and started to attend Stephen F. Austin full time. He was 34 years old when he was killed. I was teaching reading at the Sabine Jr. High School," she said.

After Jimmie Faye married Jimmy Myers, they adopted a tiny baby girl. They named her Susan. "I know that any naturally-born child couldn't have been loved any more or have been so much a part of us than Susan has been to us," she said.

Jimmie Faye continued to teach and was selected to be on numerous boards of education including the National Board of Education, chair of the American Indian and the NEA Administration and others throughout the years.

Susan is now in her early 20s. Today, Susan and husband Everett are raising their first born child, Tyler Adan Asher, near Jimmie Faye. Naturally, Jimmie Faye is proud to have them as close as possible. And Jimmie Faye still substitute teaches at Henderson and West Rusk Schools.

"I can't give it up. I love what I do and only when I get to where I don't enjoy the kids, will I give it up," she said. She knew as a child, it was all about education.

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Blowing out the candles today are Lucas Ryan Nono, Monica Nix, Rue Ann Wood, Dorothy Rothrock, Ana Renee Gore, Cecilia Read, Stacy Miller Montalbano, Karla Welch, Misty Nix, Bobby Bass, Gene Brown, Doris Etheridge, Ray Bias.

Happy anniversary today toJohn and Mary McCubbin