|
Beckham Combs born Nov 6, 1903 to Sylvester Combs and Clarinda
Gayheart
both from Perry County. He passed away June 4, 1992. Beckham a Knott
County native, brought stable
and
progressive leadership to the local school system
while serving as
school superintendent for 35 years. He served as
superintendent
from
1932-1941 and 1945-1970. Prior to his tenure here, he taught
and
served as the football coach at Whitesburg High School. While
superintendent his
building program constructed all new grade
schools
and prepared for consolidation.
After being superintendent,
the school
board hired Combs to continue as a consultant
to finish building
projects,
including the construction of Knott county Central High
School.
He
has remained active in civic affairs and is a long time member of
the
Lions cub and the Hindman Methodist church. He received the
Governor's Award
(Gov. Ned Breathitt) for serving as a delegate
to the constitutional Revision Assembly,
was president of the
Upper Kentucky river Education Association twice and was
offered honorary doctorates from universities and colleges.
Additional Information submitted by Dulcie Mullins
Beckham Combs was
born November 06, 1903 and died June 04, 1992. He was one of
eleven children born to John S. Combs and Clarinda Gayheart Combs
of Vest on Ball's Fork of Troublesome Creek in Knott County. Beckham received his
early education at Vest Grade School. He received his high school
education at Eastern. Before he finished high school, he received
the first athletic scholarship given to a Knott Countian and went
on to get his college education at Eastern, where he played
football, basketball and baseball.
After he graduated
from Eastern University, Beckham taught and served as football
coach at Whitesburg High School. He became Superintendent of the
Knott County School System in 1932. He was noted for his
progressive and stable leadership that modernized the school
system during his tenure from 1932-1941 and 1945-1970.
Beckham was selected
as one of the three living charter inductees into the first Knott
County Hall of Fame in 1987. He was named the "Combs Man" of the
year in 1970. He received the Governor's Award for serving as a
delegate to the Constitutional Revision Assemble, was president of
the Upper Kentucky River Education Association twice and was
offered honorary doctorates from Universities and Colleges. He
received the "Leadership Award" from Eastern Kentucky University
in 1967.
Beckham was a charter
member of the Hindman Lion's Club and remained active in civic
affairs and the Hindman United Methodist Church. He was an avid
sports fan, a gardener and a master storyteller. Beckham said his
proudest achievement was getting the children out of old
dilapidated buildings into modern ones where they had central
heat, lunchrooms and libraries. Beckham Combs was one
of the most powerful political figures in Knott County's history,
at the same time, he was one to the most respected and beloved
citizens in the county.
Beckham married
Virginia Hatcher, 1935, a Floyd County teacher and daughter of
William T. Hatcher and Maude Spenser Hatcher. The Combses have two
children who have given their parents both pride and pleasure.
Their daughter Nancy Combs Pack, a retired teacher from Kettering,
Ohio and married to Roger Pack, a retired school administrator.
The Packs have two children, Lauren Elizabeth and Bradley Combs
Pack. Their son Jack Beckham Combs, a Grand Rapids, Michigan
Attorney, is married to Mary Peterson Combs. Jack's children are
John Beckham Combs and Brian Spenser Combs.
Beckham is buried in
the Combs Cemetery on the farm at Vest, KY, where he was born. The
cemetery overlooks a large consolidated elementary school aptly
named "The Beckham Combs Elementary School" and built only a few
years before he died. Family member recall that Beckham had stated
that he wanted the school built in this particular place "so that
he could look down the hill and watch the children as they played
at recess".
Quoting Congressman
Carl D. Perkins "This was no narrow-gauge man. This was not a man
of limited vision, he was a man of all season. He is a citizen of
the world:.
Written by:
Mildred D. Creighton
Thora Sutton Parkes
Taken from the book
"History and Families, Knott County, Kentucky"
Submitted by Corbett Mullins
February 28, 2003 |
