Judy Vicars Van Hagen writes that an obituary appears in the SJR today for a former teacher at Dubois grade school, Georgia Gher Luttrell, who died on Dec 8, 2007 at the age of 80. At Dubois she launched the 8th grade Sextet (see below), which sang in programs all over town, and several of its members joined the Singing Seven at SHS.Mrs. Luttrell received degrees from SIU and Northwestern. She taught at Huntington College in Montgomery, AL and toured as a concert pianist in the Gulf states. As an music educator, she taught in Marion, IL and Springfield, where she also directed choirs for several churches. She was pianist for the Springfield municipal choir, opera, and symphony. She also sang in the Illinois Symphony Chorus and published poetry.
Judy recalls, "When we 8th graders first met her, Mrs. Luttrell was a most imposing person. She wore high platform heels, was quite a buxom lady, had bright red hair and was much in command. Actually, we were almost afraid of her."
Mrs. Luttrell was preceded in death by her husband, Claude E. Luttrell, and she leaves several cousins and surrogate grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Her friends and students may leave messages of tribute at the SJR obituary. A copy also appears at this memorial site.
The Dubois 8th Grade Sextet, 1954Elizabeth Tinsley, Lynda Bradley, Carolyn Baldwin,
Judy Vicars, Betsy Mylroie, Joanne Grove
2 comments:
Judy--This teacher was only in her early 20's when you were in eight grade. How points of view change with age.
Ann
Hi Ann,
I did the math, too. When Judy was 13, Mrs. Luttrell was 26. Anyway, she did quite a lot for music in Springfield.
Will
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