If you attended Gilmer High School between 1962 and 2000, there’s a very good chance one of your teachers, if not your assistant principal, was Ruth Caudell.
The longtime educator and former Ellijay City Councilwoman, who passed away Saturday, Jan. 30, at age 83, is being remembered for the lasting impact she had on students, as well as her decades of community involvement.
“She loved being an educator, and she loved her students,” said daughter, Kim Cagle, assistant superintendent for Gilmer County Schools. “She just knew everybody and (hardly) went anywhere where she didn’t see somebody who she’d taught.”
A Gilmer County native, Caudell grew up in the Tails Creek area and started teaching at GHS in 1962. In 1989, she became vice principal at the high school and also steered its vocational education program.
“She graduated from Gilmer High in 1954 and taught briefly at Pickens Technical School (before GHS). She worked for almost 37 years in education,” said Cagle.
Former Ellijay Mayor and city councilmember David Westmoreland was a student of Caudell’s years before the two served on the same city council board together.
“She was an excellent teacher and I think she was just an exceptional person,” Westmoreland said.
Westmoreland took a typing class taught by Caudell, who also led the high school’s Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) program for many years. There was certainly no auto correct or other such conveniences back then, he noted.
“(We used) a typewriter, almost like a Royal, and it wasn’t electric. But, when you learn on something like that, you really learn,” Westmoreland said.
Cagle said she and her sister, Stephanie, also had their mother as a teacher. Both sisters would eventually go on to pursue successful careers in education — Cagle in special education, then as an administrator, and Stephanie Caudell as a teacher, then a counselor and basketball coach at Sonoraville High School in Gordon County.
“We worked on the first computers the ‘80s, which were huge, like a Radio Shack computer,” Cagle remembered. “I think people enjoyed having her class because she made it meaningful. A lot of people who are (now) out there in the business world and use their typing skills, Mama taught them how to type.”
Lex Rainey, former GHS principal and county superintendent, described Caudell as a caring teacher and administrator who wanted her students to succeed.
“As a principal or assistant principal, you deal with lots of different things and it’s not always kids getting into trouble. There are also kids who need help. Ruth was always there to lend a hand and listen to those students. She had a way of encouraging and motivating them,” Rainey said.
“She taught a lot of folks and she always brought a lot of energy to the table, whether she was sponsoring something, supervising an event or working with students.”
Kent Sanford, director of the Greater Gilmer Joint Development Authority, said having Caudell as a teacher and participating in FBLA activities helped steer him toward a business-related career.
“She had a business class and William Turner had a business class. Between them was a workroom and, sometimes, they would have independent studies for students. I was interested in business law, so the two of them did an independent study for me when I was a senior. She taught me how to type, too, but she threatened to fail me because I was so far behind at one point,” he added.
As a GHS senior, Sanford was named STAR student. He picked Caudell as his STAR Teacher. In later years, the two served together on the boards of multiple community and civic groups.
“I guess the (STAR Student) kind of connected us for life after that. After she retired from teaching, she was that much more involved. She recruited me to be on the library board and I ended up serving about 21 years on it. We also did a Red Cross Heroes (campaign) together for years,” he said. “She taught me a whole lot about love for your community and getting involved. She set the example and continued to encourage it.”
‘Solid councilmember’
Caudell was elected to her first Ellijay City Council term in 1997. She would go on to be re-elected and serve on the board till 2019 after opting not to run again.
Mayor Al Hoyle, who’d also been a student of Caudell’s, described her as a “solid councilmember” and someone you could always count on.
“Ruth was dedicated and she listened to people. She was firm in her beliefs, but she followed the law. You really couldn’t ask for a better councilmember. Anything she did, she gave it her all. I really do miss her being on the council,” said Hoyle.
Westmoreland said serving alongside Caudell on the city council gave him somewhat of a new perspective on his former teacher.
“On the council, she was a peer. She was very steady and didn’t let her emotions rule her thinking or her vote. If she didn’t believe in something or was against something, she didn’t grandstand or make a big deal out of it. You knew how she felt about things. If she disagreed with you, you knew that, too,” he said. “She wasn’t influenced by anybody and liked to discuss things to come up with a consensus. She really was the anchor for a lot of things.”
Sanford said Caudell believed in allowing the county to grow, but also in practicing responsible development.
“She believed in quality development, not just allowing growth to run wild,” he added.
“Sometimes that meant you’d have districts where you would do certain things and where you would not do certain things. Things like the DDA District and the Historical Preservation District came into place during the time she was on the city council.”
‘If it’s a good committee, she’s on it’
Caudell’s community involvement extended to other areas including serving on the Gilmer Chamber board, North Georgia Medical Center’s board of trustees, the Gilmer Retired Educators Association and the Georgia Municipal Association.
Leslie Thomas, Gilmer Historical Society president, said Caudell was also instrumental in establishing a governing board for the historical society.
“We wouldn’t have a historical society board if she hadn’t instigated us getting our tax ID and building a set of bylaws. We started through Gilmer Arts, but we didn’t get off the ground until Ruth stepped up,” she added.
Sanford said it was also Caudell who had the initial vision for Friends of Harrison Park, which has since become an active planning and fundraising group for the local park.
“She had the idea to do something similar to Friends of the Library, but for the park. That was her brainchild. I was able to pass the idea along to (some of the group’s current membership) years later, and they took it and ran with it,” he added.
Decades of working as an educator and in community service led to Caudell being named the Gilmer Chamber’s Citizen of the Year (COTY) for 1999.
When announcing the award recipient, former Gilmer Schools Superintendent and 1998 COTY Homer Hefner said, “This Gilmer County native exemplifies the very best of what the county is capable of. (She has chaired or served on) every worthwhile committee ever. If it’s a good committee, she’s on it.”
“I don’t think Gilmer county could have a better ambassador,” agreed Rainey.
Cagle said her mother remained so involved, even after retirement, simply because she loved her hometown and the local community.
“She was born and raised here, and it was important for her to be part of what’s going on. She wanted to see downtown come to life again. It took a while for that to happen, but she wanted to be a part of it,” Cagle added.