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Martinsville High School Alumni
| Class of 1965 |
Message List
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| Recollections of Kathy Mitchell Foster Rice.... - 12 |
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06/08/21
Archer Thomasson
(1965)
Archer1710@msn.com
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I thought it would be nice if we said a few words about Kathy, and our recollections of her. Please add you thoughts, a funny story, or one of Kathy’s kind deeds for others. Maybe we could send these to her sons, so that they might understand how much one person ‘can’ make a difference, and ‘did’ make a difference….
I met Kathy when we were about 5 years old. We both lived on Mountain Road. The Mitchell’s, with five kids, the Damerons with five or six, two Donavants, two Thomasson’s, three Ransom’s, the Wagoner’s, the Paynes, the Wheeler’s, and a hodgepodge of ‘little rascals’ roamed the street and surrounding creeks, forests, and meadows. If you remember ‘our gang’, you will recall that Darla was the spark plug that kept both sides (male and female) in check. There would be little dissention today if I said that Kathy Mitchell was ‘our gangs’ Darla. Kathy, being the youngest of five, was always in charge, and knew that a civilized society needed order to avoid mayhem. Kathy naturally assumed that position of leadership, and challenges were rare, as Kathy had that combination of beauty, brains, and determination to accomplish whatever the day or challenges might bring. I moved to Danville when I was ten, but Kathy had remained in Charge of the Mountain Road Gang. The best position that I could etch out was possibly Spanky, who would occasionally mock Darla, and liked to challenge her authority, but knew that Darla was the fabric that held the road safe from wandering tribes from Owen’s Road, and distant tribes like Bank’s and Myrtle. But I have it on good authority that Kathy continued for a few more years until she joined the Starling Avenue tribe. After one year in Danville, I returned to the ‘ville, and reunited with Kathy in Miss Hilda Marshall’s Seventh Grade Class.
I have written several times about people who ‘made a difference’, and came from the ‘ville. Most of these moved from the ‘ville, made money, became famous, but never forgot their humble origins. Kathy was the very heart and soul of the ‘ville. She found love and moved from the ‘ville, but after the loss of her husband, she had another love that drew her back….Martinsville and Henry County. Kathy was no stranger to sadness, but you would never hear Kathy complain. She brought the best out in all of us. We relied on Kathy to bring us together, keep us at peace, and informed on one another. Kathy may not have been the most successful, she may not have had the lifestyle of the ‘rich and famous’, but Kathy had the love and admiration of the ‘old dawgs of Mavahi’, and we are thankful for our time with her, and look forward to an old dawgs reunion in heaven! Thank you Kathy for a life well lived, and a legacy that we promise will not be forgotten….archie
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