Bill and Faye Shobe

How many of us remember our elementary school teachers? Much more than just teaching us the 3 R’s, they became our coaches, friends, mentors, heroes, and taught us life skills that we use every day. At that stage of life, we are at our most impressionable and teachable age. Many of today’s teachers give credit to their elementary teachers for instilling in them the desire to enter this most noble profession.

Faye Ann (Fawcett) Shobe was just such a person. She taught elementary education…kids… for 33 years. Faye’s impact and teaching career began in 1962 at the Milan Elementary School and continued with the Brookville and Orleans Elementary schools, finishing at the Shoals Elementary School for the last 30 years, 1965-1995. Many of those kids who teach today, including one of her own daughters, entered the education field because they saw something in Faye and the way she went about her career they wanted to emulate.

After Faye left this world on May 26, 2005, many of her co-workers and others made remarks to her husband Bill about the admiration and high esteem they held for Faye as a teacher and person. One even remarked that she is now a teacher because of the influence and impact Faye had on her as a student. Is there a more tremendous compliment for someone than that?

In order to encourage students from Shoals High School to enter the elementary education field, Bill established the Faye Shobe Memorial Scholarship Endowment Fund in 2005 with the Martin County Community Foundation. This scholarship is to be awarded annually to a Shoals High School graduating senior planning to major in Elementary Education.