Curtis McKee, beloved Berkeley County public school teacher
Curtis McKee was a Berkeley County public school teacher for 36 years, retiring in 1994.
He joined the faculty of North Middle School in 1962. Widely regarded as a talented educator, he was widely beloved by his students.
One of his former students recalled that when Mr. McKee taught history, he kept the kids interested with interactive lessons. For example, for a lesson on the Aztecs, he showed the students how to make hot chocolate like the Aztecs drank it.
In 1969, he won the Outstanding Young Educator Award, and was named the Berkeley County Teacher of the Year for 1978.
“I like the constant challenge of teaching — of having a part in the development of the lives of students in our rapidly ever-changing world,” he said in 1977.
The youngest of four siblings, Curtis grew up in the Falling Waters district, the son of an orchard helper.
He got married and began his teaching career around the same time, in the late 1950s, soon after he graduated from Shepherd College.
His bride, Anne Virginia "Sis" Lemaster, was 19 …
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