Calhoun Academy for the Arts Teacher Gena Parker Remembered as "Ray of Sunshine"

By: Connie LeGrand | WSPA-TV
Published: July 02, 2009

Fifty-year-old Gena Parker is being remembered by her school family as a ray of sunshine who brightened up the room. Having been in education for 28 years, she was currently teaching third grade at Calhoun Academy of the Arts in Anderson.

Teary-eyed teachers and PTA parents tried to make sense of it all as they gathered at Calhoun Academy of the Arts in Anderson Thursday to remember a friend, co-worker, mom and teacher, who was passionate about people. Principal Ann Self says, "If you were down, you wanted to go by Gena's room. She could give you that spark and pick you up."

Teacher Trevor Cole has known Gena since she was 18-years-old. He played football for Gena's husband Scott at North Greenville College and coached with him for nine years at TL Hanna High school. Cole says, "She’s been a mama to me and a lot of guys that I’ve played with and coached with. She's our mama. She's been there my entire adult life."

Friends and co-workers say Parker would have given anything asked of her. She loved people, her boys, God, and life, and her enthusiasm for all of them was contagious. Known for never being without her smile or her lipstick, Gena Parker's Facebook page is flooded with messages from students saying she was the best teacher they ever had. Self says she touched countless lives. "I went to her personnel folder that I keep at school this morning, just pulled out some letters that parents had written to stay my child was struggling, but Gena Parker changed my whole child's world around, by making my child believe in themselves..." It’s a gift she says she had not only with children, but anyone who had the opportunity to know her. Self says, "We will not ever forget the influences she has had on us… She just made a difference in our lives."

Both Self and Cole say they visited with Scott Parker Thursday morning. Self says Scott and the boys are devastated, but that Scott is committed to being strong for their two sons, one of whom is in high school. The other is in college. Next week Scott and Gena would have celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary.

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