Diana Lynn Maddren, a retired Oxford school teacher who spent 32 years in the district, was tragically killed last week in what appears to be murder-suicide in Blount County, Tennessee.
The bodies of Maddren, 59, and her husband, Gregory Charles Young, 58, were found in their Maryville home by a maintenance man Feb. 14.
According to The Daily Times, a newspaper in Maryville, Tennessee, preliminary results of the police investigation revealed Young shot Maddren, then shot himself.
A representative of the Blount County Sheriff’s Office was quoted in The Daily Times as saying, ‘It appears to be a murder-suicide.?
Maddren taught in the Oxford school district from September 1969 until her retirement in June 2001.
During her career, she taught at Daniel Axford, Lakeville and Leonard elementaries, Washington Street School, Oxford Intermediate School (now Oxford Elementary) and Oxford Middle School.
‘She was a great defender of children,? recalled Liz Wilson, aclose friend and Oxford teacher from 1965 to 2002. ‘She wanted only the very best for them.?
‘She was willing to go the distance for kids. She would do anything.?
Wilson, who taught with Maddren at Daniel Axford for a while, said she believed all children could be reached, all children could learn, sometimes it just took a little more effort or some extra creativity.
‘I don’t think I ever saw her throw up her hands about a kid,? she said. ‘She would keep on plugging the whole year long and never, never give up on them. She went way, way out of her way to try every single thing that was possible to reach a child ? whatever it took.?
Maddren’s boundless enthusiasm, positive spirit and unwavering commitment to finding new challenges as an educator led her to move around the district a lot.
‘She was really too restless to stay in one grade or at one school,? Wilson said. ‘She taught everything from second grade up to middle school.?
When she wasn’t in the classroom, Maddren was impacting education by being what Carol Micol called a ‘pioneer? in ‘co-teaching,? in which general and special education teachers work together on curriculum and helping students with special needs.
‘She was a true champion of special education students,? said Micol, who works in human resources for Oxford Schools.
Micol said Maddren was also involved in developing a writing curriculum for the district and cultivating resources for gifted and talented students.
‘She was always involved in everything that was cutting edge (in education),? Wilson said.
It’s no wonder that in 1995 Maddren was named the district’s ‘Teacher of the Year? nominee for the elementary level.
On a personal level, Wilson described Maddren as ‘very, very independent,? someone who was always ‘standing on her own two feet.?
Maddren was the first in her family to graduate college.
‘She put herself through college,? Wilson said. ‘She had no help. Did it all by herself.?
Her independence was also part of her spirituality, which Wilson said loomed large in her life.
‘She had very strong feelings about God and goodness,? but did not possess a ‘conventional set of beliefs? and was always ‘willing to listen? to all points of view.
But don’t for a second confuse independent and spirtual for overly serious or dull.
‘She had a screamingly funny sense of humor? that left people laughing ‘to the point of aching,? Wilson recalled.
Micol noted Maddren was ‘Queen of the Puns.?
Wilson agreed.
‘She was the biggest punster I’ve ever known,? Wilson said. ‘She could shoot like seven or eight of them in a row so fast, you could hardly keep up with them. She was the master.?
Wilson recalls the two of them laughing so hard while driving on M-24, they steamed up the windows and couldn’t see a thing. Fortunately, they didn’t crash into anything.
‘She and I literally almost died laughing ? literally,? Wilson said.
Wilson said there might be a memorial service for Maddren possibly in May at Immanuel Congregational United Church of Christ on Hovey Street.
The Leader will have more details about that as they become available.