Mary Scruggs

In the not too distant past, at least less than half a century ago, the fourth of seven children was born to Betty and Charley Gifford of Memphis, Tennessee. My childhood was, for the most part, uneventful, if being in a family with four sisters, two brothers, my mother and father, and every few years, my mother's mother can be called uneventful. We all attended Catholic schools for twelve years, which was a hardship for our parents, who, together, never made more than ten thousand dollars a year. But even so, we had fun. Family vacations were taken each summer, always camping, visiting museums, zoos, national parks, Civil War battlefields (mom was a history buff and loved that time period - she also is related to Ulysses S. Grant) and cemeteries (all of these had free admission at that time). Not until some years later, did I learn how unusual our vacations were, since most families did not do these types of activities or visit the places we had.

After high school, I earned my bachelor's degree in elementary education from Memphis State University.  I was the first of us to graduate from college; only two others have followed suit, an older sister and a younger sister.

At the beginning of my sophomore year, I married an absolutely incredible man, John Scruggs, who has supported and encouraged me during our 26 years together. We taught on the Navajo reservation at Newcomb, New Mexico, for three years, moved to Forrest City, Arkansas, where we taught for five years before moving to Denver, Colorado, where we have been for sixteen years. I earned my master's degree in secondary education at the University of Colorado. We have four children (three "starving" artists and one still in high school) and two grandchildren. Each of our children was born in a different city: Shiprock, N.M., Farmington, N.M., Memphis, Tn., and Forrest City, Ark.

I thoroughly enjoy teaching, and have taught 1st grade, 1st/2nd grade split, 3rd, 4th, 5th (for 6 years), 6th math and science (for 7 years), 7th math, 8th math, 9th math, and 12th trigonometry. I have learned and grown with each year of my teaching career and look forward to several more years.

I will, however, be taking a few months off sometime soon for a liver transplant, as I contracted Hepatitis C 20 or more years ago, and it has destroyed my liver.  I am therefore, dedicating my portion of this web site to my youngest sister - who is going to give me a part of her liver.