Tree memorializes beloved teacher
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The remember her first as a loving aunt, but they are also well aware of the contributions she made to the community and to education in Warren County. That?s why the brothers decided to plant a Gingko tree in her memory at the high school courtyard within view of the classroom Linda occupied since the school?s opening.
?As an aunt she taught us the meaning of love,? the brothers said. ?As a teacher she taught us the importance of learning.?
Ridge, a WCHS student, and Roth, who attends Warren County Middle School, wanted to create a lasting memorial for Linda, whose birthday Monday came just a day before Teacher Appreciation Day. The boys felt Linda would be pleased the tree could be enjoyed by the students and faculty she was so fond of and who were so supportive of her through her illness and during her years as a teacher.
?As we plant this tree in honor of our aunt Linda, we hope, as this tree grows at WCHS, that each fond memory of her will always be alive.?
When the beloved teacher lost her battle with cancer on Oct. 21 of last year a multitude of family, friends and former students mourned her loss. Nunley had touched literally thousands of lives in her 26 year teaching career at WCHS, and the outpouring of love and support was overwhelming, and much appreciated by her family.
Linda was well-known in her community and in the region for her teaching skills and outgoing personality. She was an inspiration for a generation of students at WCHS and garnered widespread recognition for her efforts. She received the Apple for the Teacher Award from WSMV Channel 4 in Nashville, was chosen as one of the first 21st Century Classroom Teachers, and received several nominations for inclusion in Outstanding Teachers of America.
But, typically, Linda always said her greatest rewards were her students, who she said she felt privileged to work with, and the positive impact she had on the lives of countless young people in Warren County over the years.
WCHS librarian Carol Chambers has a unique perspective on Linda, having her as a student, and then working with her as a fellow educator for many years. Chambers appreciates Ridge and Roth?s efforts to establish a lasting tribute. Though new students and teachers are carrying on Linda?s tradition of teaching excellence in her old classroom, Chambers says it is sad they will miss knowing this wonderful educator.
?Room 136 at WCHS is not the same this year,? Chambers said. ?This time last year Linda Nunley was coaxing her 10th grade honors students into their author research projects. She was helping the English faculty prepare for the end-of-course exams. She was being her usual congenial self, one who always made everyone who stopped by her room feel as if he or she were the only ones who mattered.
?She was always one of the last ones to leave the WCHS building every day,? Chambers added, ?and she always had a bag of papers to grade on her shoulder as she left. This year new students and teachers are in room 136, but they won?t have the pleasure of experiencing Linda?s vibrant personality and expertise as an English teacher. We all miss her.?
Nunley?s family says her wish would be that others who battle cancer be given the encouragement, the support, and the love she experienced as she struggled to defeat a disease that she could not overcome.
Those who were with her during that struggle say her say her faith would be rewarded if she could know that the options cancer patients have will always increase in quantity and quality through the support of cancer research. In that way her fight could continue through all of us.