Two retired teachers from Central High School have died – within one day of each other.
Mary Sue Miller, 86, passed away on Monday, April 22, 2024. She was a student-favorite business teacher at Central High, starting in the age of manual typewriters and ending with her retirement in 2000 teaching keyboarding and word processing. Along the way, Mrs. Miller sponsored the CHS annual and supported athletics by selling tickets in the “sewer” ticket booth. She won numerous awards and recognition over her 38-year teaching career.
In many ways, Mary Sue was on her own from age 5 when her father died. Her mother was left with seven little children including two sets of twins. Two years later, Mildred and Elmer Castleberry suggested that their twin nieces, Mary Sue and Martha, come to Knoxville, live with them and attend Halls Elementary. The sisters stayed with the Castleberry family through high school, finishing and graduating from Central High.
During high school, Mary Sue started working at White Stores (now Food City). She continued working through her college years.
“I would not take anything for this work experience,” she told the program writer for the 2012 induction into the CHS Wall of Fame. “It taught me how to use and plan my time wisely, how to meet and work with people, and the importance of saving money for my college.”
She graduated from a two-year business program, got a bachelor’s degree in education from Carson-Newman College, and finally obtained her master’s from the University of Tennessee. I suspect she did this without a government loan.
In the community, Mary Sue and husband Ed were active members of Central Baptist Fountain City. Ed was involved with Fountain City Lions Club and Mary Sue was a “Lion’s helper.” She wrote a history of Beaver Dam Baptist Church (1775-1958) and served on the Fountain City Recreation Commission (1979-84).
She edited the quarterly newsletter for Mission of Hope, and she and Ed volunteered in the warehouse and on Christmas deliveries. Mary Sue volunteered at the O’Connor Senior Center and taught computer classes for adults.
The family will receive friends from 3-5 p.m. Sunday, April 28, at Berry Lynnhurst Funeral Home, 2300 Adair Dr., Knoxville. The full obituary is here.