Alice Beattie Tiller, nee Chisholm, is the embodiment of why Athens is a special place to live. As a teacher for Athens City Schools, her love and kindness touched the lives of countless children, many of whom she keeps in touch with often. Now retired, she continues to give back to the community she loves through multiple volunteer positions. Her immeasurable positive influence and graciousness makes her a Limestone Legend.

Tiller knew she wanted to be a teacher since she was a young girl attending Athens Elementary.

“Mrs. Wilma Ashford, I love my first grade teacher Ms. Coffman and I loved my second grade teacher Ms. Cain, but there was something about Mrs. Ashford. I knew I wanted to be a teacher and I never changed my mind,” she said.

Another thing she never changed her mind about was wanting to go to Auburn University where she earned her degree in Elementary Education.

While on spring break during her final year at Auburn, Tiller came home for an interview with the Superintendent of Athens City Schools Julian Newman and she was hired.

“That was exciting to go back to graduation knowing you had a job. They were opening West Athens and Mr. J.D. Clanton was the principal. Mr. Clanton I had had for chemistry and for democracy in high school. I was not an ace in chemistry. Democracy was my thing but chemistry was tough. There I had him as my first principal but it was such a pleasant experience. I have just been lucky,” Tiller said.

“Mr. Cowart came and his daughter was one of my good friends. He had been my band director in high school. Then I had Gerald Perry and I just think the absolute world of him. He was always so supportive,” she said.

At the beginning of the 1989-90 school year, ACS opened Brookhill Elementary and Tiller moved from West Athens, which had been renamed James L. Cowart Elementary, to the new elementary school.

“I was tickled to get to go. I felt lucky to get to open West Athens and open Brookhill,” Tiller said. She always taught her students a lesson from the book “The First Day of First Grade: The Little Engine That Could.” She made a pact with all of her students to never say “I can’t,” but always say “I’ll try.”

At Brookhill, Tiller started inviting guest readers to read to her class on Fridays.

“Whoever the leader was, they got to sit up by rocking chair next to the guest reader. That was a big deal.,” she said. “We decided to ask the governor and that was Jim Folsom. He wrote back and said that he couldn’t come but invited the class to Montgomery to read to them in his office. Mr. Perry was my principal and well, I had an aunt that taught me, where there’s a will there’s a way. Its not that you can’t tell me no but I will probably find a way to do this.”

She did tell him the plan and she figured out a way to make it happen. Folsom hosted the class at the Capitol and read “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day” by Judith Viorst.

“I loved my teaching career of 38  ears and working with young children. I have a passion for teaching a child to read. I’m probably what you would call an unorthodox teacher because I could figure out some sort of way to get to them and I just loved them all. On the first day of school, I think the most important thing you can do is learn the child’s name. What’s more important than somebody calling you by your first name rather than hey you?” Tiller said.

Tiller spent 28 years of her teaching career in Athens and the last 10 years teaching in Naples, Fla. Tiller earned Teaching Excellence Award for the State of Florida. The top five finalists in Florida were sent to Orlando and she was “thrilled” to be one of them.

“It was exciting to be sent to Orlando but when they called my name, I got weak in the knees. That was a biggie,” she said.

Winning the award from the State of Florida was definitely a big deal, but Tiller said only twice in her career was she rendered speechless-being asked to start a special needs program at the elementary level at Athens Elementary School and being told by Cowart that she would be moving to first grade to replace Ms. Huber.

“She was a legend.” Tiller said. “She was known everywhere- just wonderful. I didn’t buck him when I was in band or as principal. I just said, ‘yes sir’ even though I was absolutely in a knot.”

After retiring in 2004, Tiller tutored students in Naples before returning to Athens. She has tutored children in Athens, is actively involved with The Donnell House serving as the curator, is a member of God’s Blooms and collects donations for the homeless.

A small red wagon is placed in her front yard for friends and neighbors to leave donations for those in need. She also started a program in Naples that she brought back to Athens encouraging kids to write letters to veterans and, in many cases, receiving letters in return.

Tiller credits her grandmother Mrs. U.G. White for have an enormous influence on her family.

“She was just a kind, kind grandmother,” she said, “and Mrs. Ashford is the reason I became a teacher. Someone was going to do an interview for something I had done and they said, ‘Alice, have you ever told Mrs. Ashford?’ She was getting older and sick and I thought, ‘no’ but then I couldn’t forget about it. Thank goodness I called and told her. I never heard from her again. She passed away.”

Tiller still lives in Athens with her husband Eddie and their rescue dog Bailey. She has two children, three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Tiller has never regretted her decision to become a teacher. “I loved it. I wanted to make a difference and I know that I have touched lives. I know because I am still in touch with some of them. I wish I could be in touch with all of them but that’s probably not possible,” she said.

Limestone Legends is an ongoing series spotlighting members of the community who have spent their lives making Athens and Limestone County a great place to call home. If you have a suggestion of someone who has earned the distinction of Limestone Legend, email C.P. Bailey at christy@athensnews-courier.com.