Drenette Woodson, Waynesboro, VA
My mom was the greatest person in the world. She was loved by many all over. She was a legendary music teacher for the Waynesboro Public School System for over 30 years. She was also named Teacher of the Year prior to retiring.
My mom was always organized and always got up at the crack of dawn to start her day on the road. She cooked most of the meals, had everyone’s clothes ready, and never missed any sports games of ours while we were in school and college.
She was very determined to do what she had to do for herself and for others. On a lighter side she was also funny. She did corny little things like say w-o-w-i-e when something was outstanding or screaming when something excited her and making faces when someone sang off key.
During her last months she was diagnosed with pneumonia and was hospitalized for a few days. During this time she was organizing the Christmas program for the church. The day after she was released from the hospital she directed the Christmas program as the pianist. It was probably one of her best performances. She performed that day as if she did not have cancer at all. Matter of fact you wouldn’t have even know she had cancer the way she was performing. Unfortunately, after that performance she was completely drained until her passing. That shows her determination of how she was going to make that program happen.
My mom loved playing the piano, driving/riding all over, going to Walmart in every city of Virginia, fishing, exercising (walking, swimming, aerobics classes).
One of my mom’s special talents was her gift of teaching music. I have never in my life seen such an impact on students. She taught and touched so many students, especially those that did not excel in other subjects who were your typical trouble makers. My mom was able to reach out to these students and all other students and engage them in music.
My mom played hand bells for the Presbyterian Church, she worked on the polls every year during election time, she was the pianist for her own church and a deaconess. She was Teacher of the Year for Virginia. She worked yard sales and directed Holiday programs for the church.
She was special to me because she did everything for me in order to make me successful. She gave me strength in order to become independent, she taught me how to be a Christian, how to love, and how to always smile even if it was a bad day. My mom was and will always be my strength.
When my mom was first married her mother passed and she took in her younger brother and younger sister and had them graduate from the high school in their town. She raised her grandson during the time she and my dad decided to retire and travel. Most importantly to me is that she always smiled. It wasn’t just a regular smile, it was the largest smile ever all of the time.
My mom’s philosophy on life was, work hard and you’ll get what you deserve. My mom was the hardest worker I knew. She always kept busy and always did things to better herself. At the age of 65 she learned how to swim. She took PowerPoint classes and was one of the best PowerPoint presenters I knew. She learned Excel, which is impressive considering I am a professor and I haven’t even learned it completely. She used to wake up at 4am to go exercise until about 8 or 9am EVERY DAY. My mom barely rested until her last month of life in which she still got out to take a ride in the car.
She has been missed by many but a piece of her is in everyone she ever touched.