Darlington School will say goodbye to seven longtime faculty members at the end of the 2003-2004 year. After a combined total of 201 years at Darlington, LaVance Atkins, Mollie Avery, Reatha Carroll Dempsey, Gloria Eberhart, Rusty Jordan, Diann Kothe and Gordon Neville will be retiring.
LaVance Atkins:
Atkins began her career teaching at Darlington Lower School in August of 1973, the year it opened, and moved over to serve as Middle School librarian in 1988. Sally MacLeod, Middle School assistant principal, commended Atkins for her commitment to getting the students involved in community service activities. “LaVance has organized the Christmas Party and the Easter Egg Hunt for the Rebecca Blaylock Nursery School, which has provided our students with an opportunity to help those less fortunate,” she said. “It has been wonderful for our students. I love to see our ‘trouble-makers’ turn into the caring and loving people we know they can be.”
Mollie Avery:
Avery came to Darlington in 1991 as associate director of development and admission, after having been a Darlington parent for 18 years and serving on the Board of Trustees. She managed the first Annual Fund, which raised over $1 million in 1996 and holds the record of the highest number of donors. The next year, Avery was named director of development, and, in 1999, vice president for development. In these roles, she oversaw the Campaign for Darlington, which raised $43 million for the School at its close in 2000, at the time the largest campaign of a day school in the South.
Avery took a leadership role in the Setting the Stage Campaign, which from 2000 to 2002 raised funds for the restoration of the Home on the Hill, renovations to accommodate the house system and money to repay the library debt and name to McCallie Kennedy Library. She is also a frequent presenter on a variety of development topics at Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) and other professional conferences.
“Over the past 35 years, I have been involved in numerous fundraising activities for both community service non-profits and educational institutions, and in all that time have never met anyone more committed or goal driven than Mollie Avery,” said Roby Robinson, chair of the Board of Trustees. “The job she has done leading the development effort at Darlington truly speaks for itself. When I look at all the dollars raised for the various components of our long-range plan and the growth in both our physical plant and endowment, I realize that Mollie’s contribution to Darlington School is truly immeasurable.”
Reatha Dempsey:
Dempsey has taught at Darlington Lower School since it’s opening in 1973, remaining a loyal faculty member for 31 years. Fellow retiree and former Lower School teacher LaVance Atkins recalled teaching fourth grade with Dempsey from 1979 to 1988. “Those years working with Reatha were, without a doubt, the best and happiest teaching years of my life,” said Atkins. “The one comment I have always said about [her] is, ‘No matter what happens in Reatha’s life, she always has a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eye.’ I’ve said it many times, and I have meant it every time.”
For the past 15 years, Dempsey has teamed with Lola Bradshaw to teach fourth grade. “Reatha’s retirement means breaking up probably one of the all-time great combos in school history,” said Lower School Principal Mark Tayloe. “The fourth grade experience has been termed ‘magical’ by many.”
Gloria Eberhart:
Eberhart began her career at Darlington in 1967, 36 years ago, as the secretary to President R.M. Yankee. In 1970, she assisted Dan Hanks Sr., founder of the Darlington School Development Office. “They published the first alumni director, and, in fact, almost every one of the alumni programs we have at Darlington today was begun by Gloria when she was alumni secretary,” said Mollie Avery, vice president for development.
Over the years, she has also served as administrative assistant to the director of Campaign '75, the first fund raising effort in Rome to top one million dollars, alumni director, Annual Fund director, development office manager, administrative assistant to the vice president for development, Annual Fund coordinator and database manager. She currently serves as events coordinator for the Development Office. In January, 2004, Gloria was presented the support staff Distinguished Service Award, one of only four service awards presented at the national CASE/NAIS Conference in Washington, DC.
“Gloria has said that her greatest satisfaction is looking about the campus and knowing that she had a small part in facilities and program additions we have seen in the 36 years she has been at Darlington,” said Avery. “She has been a dedicated and vibrant part of the development staff, and we have benefited from her knowledge and team spirit. She is our ‘Queen of Development.’”
After the summer, Eberhart plans to work at Darlington on a part-time basis in the Communications Office, assisting with arrangements for the School’s Centennial Celebration.
Rusty Jordan:
Jordan (’63) has taught at Darlington for 25 years. “Rusty ‘The Invisible Man’ Jordan was more than a beloved Latin teacher to his students," said Carlos Ortega, chair of the foreign language department. “His students always smile when they think of him. They all loved his easy-going manner and the way he would spend time helping them build planes or reviewing history lessons. Rusty had the ability to get things done on his own terms. Now that he has retired, we will notice how involved he was in the school and in the students’ lives because he always worked quietly behind the scenes.”
Diann Kothe:
Kothe, a 24-year Darlington veteran, will forever be remembered as teacher of the first-ever keyboarding course. Since then, she has expanded the course by teaching Microsoft Office 2000, which includes useful programs such as Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Access. “She has experienced many changes in her area and has adjusted well to give the students what they needed to improve their computer skills,” said Fran Buice, Upper School math teacher. “Diann is always getting the most of each student, is proud of her students, always willing to offer a smile and maintains an amazingly positive outlook on life. She also makes them feel good about themselves and have confidence in their computer skills.”
Kothe will also be remembered for her classroom, especially the outside. Each morning, she would scan the paper and clip articles about Darlington students to post on the wall outside her door. Kothe would leave up an entire trimester’s collection before starting over. “Especially during the spring sports season, these articles have been numerous,” said Buice. “I have noticed that many students, day and boarding, come by first thing in the morning to see who got their picture in the paper or how their friend’s team performed.”
Buice went on to call Kothe one of the most hardworking teachers at Darlington School. “She has always made the best use of every single day of class, kept up with all of her students academically, taught them accountability and maintained excellent discipline in the classroom,” she said.
Gordon Neville:
Neville (’55) has been at Darlington School for a total of 46 years – four years as a resident and 42 years on the faculty. During his Darlington years, he has taught geography, bible and math; coached football and soccer; and worked in the administration as resident dean of Wilcox Hall, business manager, Upper School dean of students, chair of the Discipline Committee and associate headmaster.
“When I became principal of the Upper School, [then-president] Jim McCallie asked me who should replace me as dean of students,” said Bob Rogers, vice president for finance. “I thought for a second about the characteristics that I wanted … a person who I knew would handle students and parents with respect, love, dignity, compassion, fairness and consistency. That person was Gordon Neville.”
Rogers also called Neville witty, persistent, hard working, polite, honorable, committed, humble and gentlemanly. “There are numerous things that I will remember about Gordon. One of the most important is that when he became dean of students Gordon wanted to stress the importance of honor,” said Rogers. “Thus, when I hear and read the part of the Darlington motto [that reads] ‘Honor above Everything,’ I will think of Gordon Neville.”
Upon Neville’s retirement, the Neville Family Fund was established in honor of William Gordon and Elizabeth Smith Neville III. The earnings from this fund shall be awarded as tuition assistance to qualified students in need of financial aid.
