Her family, friends, former students and colleagues flocked to the Union County Museum to wish Wanda Woods Cox Byerley a happy 90th birthday.
All in all over a hundred visitors came on Sunday, April 16, 2023. Her birthday was April 13 and County Mayor Jason Bailey, who was also a former student, proclaimed that date “to be forever known as Wanda Cox-Byerley Day in Union County.”
The Mayor issued the proclamation, but Wanda was “the Queen.” She wore her “crown” and greeted each visitor by name and sometimes by the names of their parents too. Wanda’s sharp mind and quick wit helped her find the uniquely individual greeting for each one whether she was speaking with a new acquaintance or a student from over 60 years ago.
Wanda’s life of service has honed this skill set of understanding that each and every person was uniquely special. Before she was ten years old, she was taking care of baby brothers.
According to Wanda, her child rearing started at the age of four and though she loves them dearly, she still keeps after those brothers more than eight decades later.
She tells how her mother birthed seven boys, one for every day of the week, and that is how many days a week Wanda lovingly but firmly tended those boys. Brothers Harold and Jim are still in Union County and brother Paul is a phone call away in Oregon.
But brothers Steve, Gerald, Jerome and Clifford have all ‘gone to Glory’ as Wanda says.
Wanda endured the grief of her own younger son’s passing recently. Gregory Allen succumbed to complications from being injured in a car wreck. Her older son Everett Lynn lives in the Big Ridge area and makes sure he has “eyes” on his mama several times a week and checks in by phone daily.
Wanda's grandchildren through Greg (Shirley) are Laura, Melissa, and Jesse. From Lynn (Ivy) she has Angela, Anna, Adam, Amanda, Lyndsay. Her pride also extends to six great grandchildren—Victoria, Vance, Avian, Devin, Evin, and Sage. Wanda also claims a multitude of children (adults) as her self-adopted grandchildren. She says, “All of you know who you are.”
Wanda is among the few, if not the only one remaining teacher to have taught in a one-room school with all eight grades. The school was Pine Grove and was located near the Union and Anderson County line.
She had two of her brothers in her first class, Harold and Paul. Including Harold, five students from that first class came to celebrate and testify to the encouraging but firm teacher she was, and she greeted every one of them by name.
Some students commented that they got a paddling or a good “talking” they needed and deserved. Some related how they understood math after having been taught by Wanda, but most remembered the encouragement, the caring, the games played, or how she knew everyone and looked after the whole community.
They also praised her for challenging them to do their best. Many recited her two rules, work first; then play.
Wanda’s life is a mixture of those two rules. Wanda married Everett Wayne Cox, the love of her life, during her senior year at Horace Maynard High School. Everett served at Okinawa during reconstruction and again during the Korean War for a total of five years and six months.
Wanda spent her days finishing high school, working in the office, cheerleading and participating in numerous clubs as well as working several jobs.
When Evererett returned, they made their home in Big Ridge. Wanda took the education she received from raising brothers, working at JC Penney, and midwifing babies with Dr. McNeely and coupled that wisdom with the formal teacher preparation courses at the University of Tennessee to produce a common sense teaching style that used every day examples to teach math, English and reading at Horace Maynard High and Union County High, as well as at several elementary schools including Maynardville and Luttrell.
But she always spent time with those brothers, She danced and sang, attended community fundraisers, and forged relationships where ever she went. So many of Wanda’s former students like Mary Dixon have grown to be her lifelong friends. Mary became her “Sweet Little Mary” and she has been a part of the extended family ever since.
At the celebration, Dr. Ronnie Mincey related how Wanda taught him so thoroughly the basics of music including how to read music notes and count the beats that he was able to pass his college general music class at LMU. Wanda added to the story that one of the teachers at Maynardville did not want the children to actually touch the keys on the piano. So Wanda made sure every child played chopsticks and touched every key.
“After all,” said Wanda, “the piano was a tool that she needed to teach music, just as that other teacher used paper and pencil to teach spelling!”
Many of the benefits that teachers have today in Union County, Wanda helped to establish. Wanda was a leader in the Union County Education Association. She served as president, as a negotiator, and as an association representative.
Her leadership was instrumental in getting teachers their first local supplement. She worked on the committee to establish the state insurance plan for Union County that brought not just health care but maternity benefits in1984.
Also in the 1980s she saw her technique for recordkeeping evolve into a state-wide initiative called Basic Skills First.
Wanda was part of the group that lobbied the school board for a graduated pay scale in the early 1990s. Just before her retirement she started summer school at the high school so students who needed to repeat a class could graduate at the end of four years.
By her retirement, Everett had gone on to Glory and she married Paul Byerley, who was also an educator, and gained three friends, Lisa, Lori, and Paula who were Paul’s daughters, and a wonderful brother-in-law, Bill Byerley (Linda). Wanda also had Lori as a student.
But retirement was just another opportunity to work, play and serve. She taught GED classes for several years to help those who needed a second chance.
She served as president of the Union County Retired Teachers Association for many years. Wanda remained active in the Farm Bureau and continued to help with Farm Day at the schools.
Until 2022, she was president of the Union County Historical Society where she oversaw improvements in technology, book collections and many historic artifacts. She led the initiative to reroof and restore the historic schoolhouse located on the museum grounds. She also worked to expand the number of volunteers, improve the programming, and upgrade the outward appearance at the museum.
Now she attends meetings of the Farm Bureau and the Historical Society when she can. She keeps up with county issues and continues to let the public officials know her opinion. In her words, “my spirit is good, but my body won't move as fast as my spirit!”
Wanda graciously thanked all of the volunteers who organized her party. All are members of the Union County Historical Society and some are former students and “cousins.”
Happy Birthday, Wanda, and may you have 90 more! We are all blessed to have you here, although we all know that Beaumont and Rule still capture a special part of your heart!