Beverly Rhodes was not an imposing figure, in fact, she was small in stature, but her heart, mind and drive made her a giant for decades in her classrooms and volunteer groups around Forest. Rhodes, 80, died November 27, at Lackey Memorial Hospital and the city lost a true treasure.
The unquestioned loves of Rhodes’ life were her late husband Dusty, every student she taught during more than two decades in the classroom and public service in the Forest community.
Rhodes will be missed by countless individuals, but her memory will live on through the difference she made in the lives of her students and the citizens in the local community.
She met her husband Dusty in 1956 in Forest. He asked her to marry him on the first day they met, and four years later on June 4, 1960, they were married.
Longtime friend Norma Ruth Lee said that she called her husband the sun in her sky. The two worked together when they first met and continued to work together for decades teaching at Forest High School.
“My husband is my life’s blessing and being in the classroom and working with my students was my life’s calling,” Rhodes said in a 2018 interview with The Scott County Times.
During the funeral held Sunday, many of Rhodes’ former students were in attendance as they returned to speak of the difference she made in their lives.
“The funeral was very well attended and it was easy to see how much Beverly meant to her students as many of them spoke of her and the time she spent with them. She had the inate ability to know what a student was needing and how to help them. This was clear on Sunday as we all came together to honor her life,” Lee said.
In other conversations with this reporter Rhodes said, “One of the best blessing of my life has been watching my students excel in so many things they do. I really enjoy talking about their experiences in both conversation and written correspondence. Teaching my students really made a difference in my life.”
After retiring from teaching, Rhodes continued her public volunteer service in Forest. She was President of Friends of the Library, President of Lackey Hospital Auxiliary, member of MS Professional Educators and President of the Novel Lunch Bunch Book Club. She served in many offices in all these organizations. In the past, she had been a member of the Lions Club, Classroom Teachers, MEA, Kappa Kappa Iota and Fortnightly Club.
The Beverly Rhodes Scholarship is a $1,000 award given in her honor by the Forest Friends of the Library. “We have had multiple donations come in for the scholarship since the funeral on Sunday,” Dianne McLaurin, Forest Public Library Branch Manager, said. “We started getting calls on Monday and we are expecting to receive many more so that the Rhodes scholarship will live on for years to come.”
Forest Mayor Nancy Chambers worked side by side teaching with Rhodes at FHS for many years and said her dedication to teaching was obvious. “Every day I recognized how intelligent and kind Beverly was, and her absolute dedication to her students, their education and their future.”
Anyone who would like to donate to the Beverly Rhodes Scholarship fund can contact Dianne McLaurin at the Forest Library.
See complete obituary in Obituaries.
