Sylvia Ann Becks Blaylock

Nov. 5, 1946 - December 23, 2020

LHS '64

Rainer Klauss wrote: "I may have missed an issue of the Traveller earlier this year,  so it’s possible I missed this sad news. Today was Sylvia’s birthday, and when I checked Facebook to wish her a happy birthday, I noticed an absence of well-wishers. I investigated and found this. Let me know if you already knew and I missed it." 

(Editor's Response: "With the crazy year we have lived I can not be sure if this was reported or not. With the forced change in software I could not go back and find out for sure. I elected to repost it just in case we did miss out.")

Sylvia Ann Becks Blaylock, 74, died on Wednesday, December 23, at home with her family, after a long battle with Multiple Myeloma.

Mrs. Blaylock was born on Nov. 5, 1946 in Aberdeen, MS, to Mildred “Millie” and Robert “Bob” Becks. Her parents careers with NASA and the Redstone Arsenal moved her family to Huntsville, AL. She grew up in church and gave her life to Christ at a young age. She always knew she wanted to be a teacher, and attended the Mississippi University for Women in Columbus, MS.

In 1968, she began her teaching career in the Mississippi Delta where she taught at Greenwood High School. Coincidentally, this is where she would meet the love of her life, Nat Blaylock. The couple married on March 25, 1972, and moved to Carrollton, MS, where they eventually welcomed three sons. Mrs. Blaylock taught at Carroll Academy and Carrollton Presbyterian Church’s Preschool during their time in Carrollton.

In 1982, the Blaylock’s made their home in Kosciusko and for well over 20 years, she devoted herself to teaching at Kosciusko High School. She was a devout Christian and faithful member of the First Presbyterian Church of Kosciusko, served on the board for a number of years at Presbyterian Day School, and was a member of the Garden Club.

She was a wonderful educator and was known for being tough, but fair and loving, in the classroom. She impacted thousands of students while teaching Biology, and enjoyed staying connected with many of them over the years as they began careers and raised their own families.

Mrs. Blaylock’s proudest accomplishments however, were being a Mom and a Mimi. The rock of her family, she enjoyed spending time with her husband at their family farm, raising her boys and supporting them in all aspects of their lives, loving on her grandchildren, watching them play in the yard, swimming with them, supporting them in all of their extra curriculars, making unlimited snacks with and for them, cooking for her family, and celebrating holidays with them.

Mrs. Blaylock leaves behind her husband, Nat; her three sons, Jason (Krista) of Kosciusko, Cory (Shana) of Kosciusko, and Shaun (Amy) of Kilmichael, her brother, Roger Becks of Huntsville, AL; seven grand children, Hunter, Grayson, Mary-Hayden, Bailey, Paxton, Ann Alyse, and Sara Taylor Blaylock; two nephews, Roger Becks III (Ann) of Ellicott City, MD, and Chad Becks (Kristi) of John’s Island, SC. and two great nephews and a niece, Rene, Charles, and Juliette Becks, of John’s Island, SC.

The family would like to thank Mrs. Blaylock’s many physicians and nurses over the years, especially her longtime home health nurse and friend, Mrs. Hayley Upchurch.

A graveside ceremony will took place at Oakwood Cemetery in Winona, MS, on Saturday, December 26, at 1:00 pm. Rev. Phillip Palmertree will officiate.

In lieu of flowers, memorials May be made to First Presbyterian Church or Presbyterian Day School at 603 Smythe St. Kosciusko, MS, 39090.

To plant a beautiful memorial tree in memory of Sylvia Blaylock, please visit our Tribute Store.

You're Sixteen!

Tommy Towery

LHS '64

Boy I am feeling ancient this week. One of my grand-daughters turned 16 and has just obtained her driver’s permit. It made me think back to the day I got my own permit, but more about when I was 16 years old – and made me worry about whether or not she has the same mindset as I had back then.

At our age now, 16 seems awful young. When we turned 16 we thought we were big stuff. It seems a lot of restrictions were lifted from me at that age. I know I had more freedom than a lot of you since I was living with only my grandmother during my senior year and she worked until 10pm almost every night. From the time I got home until she got off work and came home (normally about 10:30pm) I had the whole world to myself. I didn’t have a job, so I had a lot of free time on my hands. I fixed my own dinner all those nights and watched a lot of television. Had it not been for the Boy Scouts I probably would have turned out different. I had every opportunity to do so.

Once I turned 16 and got my driver’s license my horizons expanded. I had the constant cruising activity on the Parkway between Jerry’s and Shoney’s. I had car dates and drive-in movies and cruises up on Monte Sano Mountain. I went skating and to dances on Friday and Saturday night. I still was a pretty good kid though. I never got a speeding ticket the whole time I was in high school,  and only had one car accident and it was not my fault. I was driving over to pick up Dianne Hughey and a lady ran a stop sign and I T-Boned her in the middle of the intersection. The result of that was The Bomb ended up with a white front end and the rest of it was red. I do remember a lot of others who got tickets and would bum around their friends trying to collect donations to help pay for it. Of course I did have more than the normal car problems with my ’53 Ford, like radiator leaks, running out of gas, flat tires and I think a busted head-gasket. I look back now and am glad I did not have bucket seats! That said, still I was a very good driver. Another of my grand-daughters has already totaled a car, before she has been driving a whole school year.

But driving is not the main concern I would have for a kid turning 16 these days. I think back about the dating and the loves and heartbreaks which normally accompany kids that age. She does not have a boyfriend yet. At 16 I was madly in love. I suppose many of you had already gone through many loves by the time you celebrated your 16th birthday. I think back about how naïve I was about so many things. I did not know a soul who did any type of drugs. We didn’t have television programs or movies about the subjects kids are subjected to these days. We also did not have sex education classes. Without a father living with me I had to learn what I could from my older brother. Later in my Air Force life I would use the term "Combat Rules" for this type of learning.  I went to church. I didn’t drink; I didn’t smoke either. That reminds me of the cheer back then that went “We don’t smoke and we don’t chew and we don’t go with girls that do!” Okay, it was not a real cheer, but everyone in my group knew it.

In reality I guess except for my male teenage hormones always acting up. I don't even think I knew what "hormones" were back then. In looking it up today they I find "Chemical substances, produced in the body by endocrine glands, that are transported by the blood to other organs to stimulate their function. Adrenaline, estrogen, insulin, and testosterone are all hormones." I know for sure I did not know what testosterone was. Kids today are bombarded with advertisements about male hormones and erectile dysfunction.   I was a pretty nice kid. I know I was not the only one. I look back and think that was the normal at Lee at the time. Of course we did have a few who did not fall into that category.  In reunions I have heard the tales of kids I thought were wild but in reality were living under the iron-fists of parents in a way I never had to live. But still I find myself worrying about the lives of 16-year-olds today. My grandmother would say they can get into a “lot of mischief!”

This sound like I am bragging a lot about me, but in fact I am bragging about our generation and our environment. We didn’t live with the drug problems and the shootings which fill the news today.  We didn't gain our knowledge of sex on television or in the movies. Yes, as people today we remember, “Those were the good old days.” Would you like to be 16 again in this modern world?

While I was searching for the Johnny Burnette video on Youtube, I found the one below and thought it was kinda neat. I had never heard it before, but it seems to go with this topic.

I don't remember if I have made this statement before, but I do not feel I am violating the copyrights of the music I sometimes include in The Traveller. The songs I use are available on Youtube and are not posted on this site by me, I only provide a link to them. Besides, I also believe the use of these songs fall under the Fair Use rights as educational material and are not used for profit since there are no charges made for you for viewing this site.

Fair Use

Copyright law provides for the principle, commonly called "fair use" that the reproduction of copyright works for certain limited, educational purposes, does not constitute copyright infringement. The Copyright Act establishes a four factor test, the "fair use test," to use to determine whether a use of a copyrighted work is fair use that does not require the permission of the copyright owner. The fair use test is highly fact specific, and much can turn on seemingly insignificant variations on the proposed use.

The exposure of the old and new songs in these stories is also promotional for them. All the songs you hear are readily available from sites such as Amazon. Perhaps hearing them again might trigger you to purchase your own copy.

Comments on Last Week's Issue

Lynn Bozeman Vanpelt, LHS ‘66, "Toby Neal was my boyfriend in the 10th grade. We lived in the same neighborhood and he walked me home many times."

Jim King, LHS ‘67, "Yes. 5th grade. Would walk her home and carry her books. Liked her a lot but was too young to know anything. A crush at 10 years old is still a great memory."

David Mullins, LHS ‘64, "Great memories Tommy. I identify with it completely although I left Huntsville Junior High halfway through 7th grade for LEE. I never walked a girl home either. I did however sing that song a million times. I always loved FATS."

Pam (Grooms) Smith, LHS ‘65, "I remember lots of Lee students walking home from school because of the location of Rison and Lee . I lived on Humes Ave and had lots of neighborhood kids to walk to school with and back. Lots of great memories. Do any of you remember the good old days like I do?"

Rodney White, LHS ‘66 (Checked in but did not leave a comment.)

Andrea Roberson, LHS ‘66, "I started to Lee in the 7th grade and at that time I lived on Oakwood Ave between Kildare St. and Virginia Blvd. Before moving on Oakwood in 1960, I lived on Kildare St and had lots of friends in that area.  Lots of us would walk home from school and go down the railroad tracks, through parts of the village houses to Meridain St, cross Meridian St to Kildare and then split up and go in different directions to our homes. As I remember there were lots of laughter, talking and maybe a few holding hands! Never did we think of any danger because at that time everyone watched out for the other person! Lots of FUN TIMES that cannot be again."

Photographic Memories - Who Are They?

This week I am launching a new weekly feature for your enjoyment. Each week I plan to share a group of photos from the 1960 "The General" yearbook without disclosing the names of the individuals. You may stop and try to identify them here, and when you are through you may scroll to the bottom of this page to see the identities of your classmates in the photos.

Slow Song Selections

You Picked in the Past

16 Candles - The Crests

"16 Candles" is a 1958 song performed by The Crests. The song peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, while "Stagger Lee" by Lloyd Price was at #1. It also went #4 on the US R&B charts for 21 weeks in 1959, selling over one million copies and earning a gold disc status.

The Crests were an American doo-wop group, formed by bass vocalist J.T. Carter in the mid 1950s. The group had several Top 40 hits in the late 1950s and early 1960s on Coed Records. The group's other hits include "Step By Step", "The Angels Listened In", "Trouble In Paradise", "Six Nights A Week", and "A Year Ago Tonight". The Crests were the first interracially mixed doo-wop group, consisting of three African American members (one female), one Puerto Rican, and one Italian American.

The Identites of the Classmates in the Pictures Above