Rose Hart Dale

Celebration of Life Services for Ms. Rose Hart Dale, age 108, of Livingston will be conducted 11 a.m., Friday, October 26, 2018 from the First Christian Church in Livingston. The family will receive friends from 10 a.m. until time of services. Rev. Dee Wells and Rev. James Shenko officiating. The great and great-great nieces and nephews are to serve as the honorary pallbearers. Rose Hart Dale was born in Livingston, Tennessee on October 23, 1910. She passed away on October 23, 2018, her 108th birthday. She was a daughter of J.B. (Jake Butler) and Leila Harris Dale who preceded her in death. She was also preceded in death by sisters, Leilabel Dale Officer and Ruby Dale Stephens and brothers, Charles Harris Dale, Sr. and Oscar Dale. Her longtime companion, friend and niece, Rebecca Ann Officer also preceded her in passing. She is survived by nieces, Betty Elaine Hawkins and Caroline Stephens Banker; nephews, Charles Harris Dale, Patrick Dale and John Officer along with many great and great-great nieces and nephews. The family wishes to thank and give special recognition to her long time and current caregivers, Myrna Holman, Nita Blaylock, Vicki Gottardy, Paige Dyer, ...[more]

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ri Hollaway, and Carol Breeding Ms. Dale's father was a farmer and her mother a homemaker and piano teacher. Ms. Dale received her early education in Overton County and graduated from Livingston Academy in 1928. She attended Tennessee Polytechnic Institute (later Tennessee Tech University) and Peabody Teachers' College, earning certification in library science and physical education, respectively. Ms. Dale then worked her way through Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky, obtaining her A.B. degree in English and History in 1935. Ms. Dale then returned to Overton County to begin her teaching career. Ms. Dale enjoyed a distinguished career as a teacher in Tennessee and Texas. She taught at the Okalona "tow-teacher" rural schoolhouse for two years, at Livingston Elementary for one year and at Livingston Academy for sixteen years, where she also coached girls' basketball. She then taught high school in Columbia, Tennessee for one year before moving to Texas in 1954. Ms. Dale taught at the high school in Mission, Texas for twenty years. During her tenure as an educator in Texas, Ms. Dale assumed several leadership roles. She served as a member of the state executive committee of the Texas State Teachers Association, as Treasurer for District 1 of that organization for four years and then as President of her local unit of the Texas State Teacher Association. Ms. Dale was recognized nationally for her outstanding work, receiving a certificate of acceptance from the National Education Association in 1968-1969 and was honored as an Outstanding Secondary Educator of America in 1973. Ms. Dale was a member and past-president of Delta Kappa Gamma, an honorary teachers society. Ms. Dale's teaching career spanned approximately forty years; she retired in 1974 and returned to Livingston, serving as the Overton County librarian from 1974 to 1980. Ms. Dale is a member and past-matron of Livingston's chapter #206 of the Order of the Eastern Star. In addition to her leadership as an educator, Rose Hart Dale has been a trailblazer at the Livingston First Christian Church. a member of the church for 97 years, in 1986 she was the first woman to be elected Chairman of the Board. In 1993, she earned the distinction of being the first woman to be elected Elder at the First Christian Church. In latter years she served as Elder Emeritus in church