MEMORABLE LIFE MOMENTS OF A BELOVED EDUCATOR

She entered the stage of life as Luveal "Katherine" Daniels on October 16, 1930, being born to the union of Alma Louise "Jurley" Lyons and Sanders Daniels in Ruston, Louisiana. She was the second of three siblings. She was preceded in death by her parents and her sisters Dorothy and Lucyellen.

Early in life, she joined Zion Traveler Baptist Church in Ruston where she taught Sunday School and Vacation Bible School. She was also a member of the choir for many years. Later in life, she often accompanied her daughter, Alysia, to Bible Class in Monroe, Louisiana; Shreveport, Louisiana and Los Angeles, California sponsored by the Institute of Divine Metaphysical Research (IDMR). She thoroughly enjoyed attending Bible Class and would often sing along with the choir. She also looked forward to visiting with members afterwards.
She soon realized the importance of education and set a goal to achieve her dream of becoming a school teacher. She graduated as salutatorian from Lincoln High School in Ruston in 1947. Her best friend, Lee Ivory Bonner, graduated as valedictorian with a 1-point difference in GPA. After graduation, she received an academic scholarship to Bishop College in Marshall, Texas but later transferred to Grambling College (now Grambling State University). At Grambling, she pledged Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and graduated with honors with a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education on August 15, 1952.

She married Samuel Bernard Lewis in 1952 and landed her first teaching job in Franklin Parish in Wisner, Louisiana the same year. They had two children, Sharon and Alysia. She also assumed the role of mother to Howard Keith Wright and Rhonda Lynne Reed after her sister Dorothy died. Both Sam and Howard Keith preceded her in death. She married John Henry Hodge in 1980. He also preceded her in death.
Beginning in 1959, she taught in Morehouse Parish in Bastrop. Finally in 1961, she landed her first job in Lincoln Parish in Ruston where she remained until retirement. She took a sabbatical to matriculate at Louisiana Tech University in 1967, two years after Black students were allowed to attend. She was among the first Black students to receive a Master of Arts in Elementary Education, graduating on August 21, 1969. She entered the PIPS Program at Louisiana Tech in November 1979, remaining until June 1985. She returned to Grambling State University in 1981, achieving Masters Plus 30 status in the summer of 1985 while continuing to teach.

She loved cooking but rarely cooked using recipes. She could cook anything and she fed everybody. She always added a little dash of love to everything she cooked. She was famous for her fried chicken, greens, yams, cornbread dressing, sweet potato pie, lemon meringue pie, German chocolate cake, pineapple cake, fruit cake cookies, pecan pralines and many other dishes too numerous to name.

She worked as a Commissioner and Commissioner-in-Charge for many local, state and national elections. She enjoyed fishing, playing cards (Spades, Hearts and Bid Whist), and playing dominoes. She was very passionate while playing cards and dominoes and talked loudly while flinging cards and slamming dominoes on the table. She conquered almost all of her opponents and claimed bragging rights on a regular basis. She also enjoyed an occasional trip to the casino. She often quoted idioms; among them, "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink, and you can lead a fool to knowledge but you can't make him think." If children made the mistake of asking where was something at, she would say, "it's behind your preposition." She encouraged children to use the dictionary often.

Her career teaching English Language Arts spanned 56 years. She taught at many schools in North Louisiana; among them, I. A. Lewis Jr. High School, Glen View Jr. High School, and Choudrant High School. After retiring on May 31, 1986, she was often requested to return to the classroom. She loved teaching and gladly accepted substitute assignments for teachers who were on extended leaves of absence. She taught in the Head Start Program for a few years. She was also a tutor and became Director of a Tutoring Program conceived under the Federal No Child Left Behind initiative, administered by the Louisiana State Department of Education. She also had a brief stint at an Alternative School for troubled youth. She retired from the classroom for the last time on November 18, 2008.

In July 2017, she embarked on another adventure by train with her daughter Alysia, traveling to Los Angeles California, stating, "If God wanted me to fly, He would have given me wings." Shortly after arriving in Los Angeles, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Hospital in September 2017. She underwent surgery for a double mastectomy. She sailed through surgery and radiation therapy with flying colors, excelling like she did in most of her endeavors, adding cancer survivor to her list of achievements. She had her first flight on the return trip to Ruston the following year. She enjoyed the flight, stating, "It didn't even feel like we were moving."

She touched the lives of thousands of children, inspiring some of them to also become educators. She was inducted into the Retired Teachers Hall of Fame in 2015. She leaves a legacy of love for children, for education and for family. Growing up in the segregated South, she learned many valuable life lessons and passed that knowledge on to her children, both in and out of the classroom.
She exited the stage of life on December 5, 2020, at home surrounded by family, after succumbing to a brief illness. Memories of her life will live on in her children, Sharon Lewis of Ruston, Alysia Bradford (LeRoy) of Los Angeles, and Rhonda Reed of Houston; her grandchildren, Shondra Spencer (Robert) of Ruston, Garrett Harris (Amber) of Los Angeles, and Jarrett Harris of Los Angeles; her great grandchildren in Ruston, Collin Lacy aka Pryde, Caleb Lacy and Carigen Spencer; her great grandchildren in Los Angeles, Cameron Colindres, Mackenzie Harris and Harper Harris and many relatives, friends, and without a doubt, a plethora of students.

Mama, Yahweh has given you wings. It's time for you to soar!

All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages.

From As You Like It, by William Shakespeare

Acknowledgements

We thank you for your numerous expressions of condolences. We appreciate you for being there to console us through our loss. A special thanks to the staff at Cedars-Sinai Hospital, Stat Home Health, Homedica HouseCalls and St. Joseph Hospice. A special thanks to Caleb, Shondra and Sharon for assisting in her care. A very special thanks to the members of the Institute of Divine Metaphysical Research for the genuine love, care and concern shown to our family during this difficult time and to Yahweh for His Grace and Mercy.