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Mrs. Warner always brought her 'A' game

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Mrs. Warner always brought her 'A' game

Van Wade

The Orange Leader

Some people are always missed along the road of life.

I’ve been blessed as far as getting to work with some of the finest people in the Orange County area over a lot of years. All kinds of great coaches, some community leaders and teachers and parents.

Some, however, stick out more than others.

Some of the best have been the likes of Tom Woolley, Bill Tennison, Dan Hooks and David Williams.

Another certainly falls in that category. However, she doesn’t bark out play calls or zone defenses. She did at one time, when she was a basketball coach. The first time I saw the woman, she was wearing thick, rimmed glasses and coaching the Lady Bears basketball team in the early 1970s. I guess I knew then, that this person was unique.

Her last week at Little Cypress-Mauriceville High School is this week.

I’ve heard her say over the years that she was blessed with having one of the best jobs in the world.

I hope she realizes how many people she’s blessed with her kindness and giving over the past 35 years. You can certainly put me in the that department.

The amount of kids that Linda Warner has had an effect on reaches infinity.

Well, maybe not that much, it just seems that way.

When I was in school (Class of 85), everyone thought Mrs. Warner was a tough nut to crack. Some thought she was too stern but when you got to know her, she was simply good ole’ Mrs. Warner.

She is all about being a part of the LC-M family. You couldn’t go to any type of sporting event without Mrs. Warner being there, giving her support and taking a lot of photos. She spent so many countless hours, hours she probably didn’t have to put in, to see that LC-M kids were taken care of, and of course, making sure they were behaving.

She’s also all about her family, one she’s so proud of.

Her husband, Larry, quite a gentleman. Larry was quite a coach and administrator before he retired from the LC-M school system several years ago.

I still remember Mr. Warner being the only principal I ever had to go see — for throwing spitwads on a bus ride home in seventh grade. I remember Mr. Warner looking at me and saying “Van, this is totally unlike you, I’m going to let you slide this time.†I think I’ve been pretty much on the straight and narrow since. I was fortunate enough to watch her two kids grow up and become fine citizens. Larry, Jr. Yes, I remember tossing the little “mighty mite†around in a few basketball practices. I was two years ahead of him, but you knew he was going to be a competitor and a gamer, just like his parents. Larry, Jr. honored the Warners with their first grandchild, Nash, who was born in March. You should see Mrs. Warner’s face glisten every time she talks about that feat.

Then there was little Miss Shannon, the cute kiddo with all of those freckles back in the day when Mrs. Warner toted her around. It was amazing to watch her grow up and I remember covering her when she played basketball for the Lady Bears. Now she is very successful in her professional life, has a wonderful husband and is a beautiful young lady.

After attending the retirement reception for Mrs. Warner last week, it made me feel much older but even happier to see some “old hands.â€

The only teachers left standing when this 40-year old attended LC-M is Rick Dean, Tanya Barnwell and Mike Gray, three excellent folks in their own right.

Everyone always has those high school flashbacks and Mrs. Warner is always in part of mine.

I loved being her office aide my senior year. I was one of those kids that would always go pick up those darn attendance slips off every room in the school and return them to the office during that period. There would be times where we’d answer the phones but most of the time, it was about goofing off. Gary Locke, who was an aide with me during that period, can certainly attest to that.

Mrs. Warner caught me red-handed one day, me shooting in the gym on a game day, during my aide period. She got on me in typical fashion and I deserved it. Three days later, on the next game night, she busted me again. The same thing happened the next week. I guess she just gave up but those moments made me feel like I was one of her boys. She made a lot of us feel that way.

That was even more evident when a bunch of overweight, hard-breathing 38-year old gentlemen banged on the door of her home in the summer of 2005. That was our 20-year reunion weekend. It was just a day where a bunch of old basketball “giants†wanted to play some hoops and couldn’t find a gym.

Mrs. Warner just simply trusted me by going to open the Bear Cave so we could turn back time one more time. She was there for our 20-year reunion, just like she was for our 10th.

Being in the media, I knew I could stay in touch with the most important person at LC-M High School.

If I needed a schedule, she would have it. If there were any type of time changes, she would know them.

The lady simply has had a hand in everything. Sometimes I actually think the school revolved around her, that’s how important she is.

She had a key chain that a 300-pound man would have problems toting around all day. She has a key to every door and every closet and probably knows so many things that probably need to stay in the closet.

It’s just hard to imagine LC-M High School functioning without her. I know everyone respects her, but I think they will all have even more respect for her when that first school bell rings this August.

It’s always a treat, going to back to your alma mater. It brings back old memories, especially since the surroundings haven’t changed much in the last 22 years, other than a new fieldhouse and a band hall.

However, it will have a different feel to it next year. Going out to visit the coaches and kids at LC-M will be different, because that extra little five-minute trip to see Mrs. Warner will not be there. I was hoping one day our daughter Emily, who will be a sophomore next year, could work as Mrs. Warner’s aide. Now, she has to “settle†for being Vicki Castino’s manager for the volleyball team, which is not a bad gig in its own right.

Many people are probably wondering why I’m dedicating this space to the sports page. Well, I guess I’ve never witnessed a more “truer “sport†than Mrs. Linda Warner.

There will never be another one like her.

I love you, and so do many others who have crossed paths with you on the highway of life. You’ve sent many of us in the right direction.

Good Luck to you, Larry, Larry, Jr. Shannon and their spouses and spoil that grandbaby. Oh, yeah, please keep the keys to the gym too!!

       

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