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Beloved Hanahan teacher remembered

Published Wednesday, June 03, 2009 10:01 AM

By Stefan Rogenmoser
The Gazette

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Hanahan Elementary School teacher Toni Battey (above) was adored by her students and fellow teachers.

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Toni Battey

Toni Battey, a popular Hanahan Elementary School teacher, lost her battle with pancreatic cancer on May 23.

Battey was an educator for more than 20 years.

She grew up in Hanahan and graduated from North Charleston High School and Mars Hill College in North Carolina, according to her younger brother Barton Carson.

She taught in North Charleston, Germany, and throughout the United States before coming to Hanahan Elementary in August 2005. In 2008 Battey was named Hanahan Elementary Teacher of the Year.

In December 2008, during the winter holidays, she was diagnosed with cancer and could no longer teach, Carson said.

“She didn’t complain much,” HES Principal Tom Sparkman said. “She didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to her kids. When she passed away we had to tell the kids. Most of them were OK.”

School facilitator Christi Furrow’s seven-year-old son was in Battey’s class from August until December.

“The school did a great job of having guidance counselors available to students and teachers.” Furrow said. “When she passed away (my son) was broken-hearted.”

A teacher who substituted for the school took over the class. “It’s just a tough situation,” Sparkman said.

Sparkman knew Battey for a long time because their children are the same age. Her son, Brian Battey, currently attends Clemson University.

Several teachers said Battey “developed the whole child.” She taught children about life and how to learn on their own, Sparkman said.

“The teachers just flocked to her. She was a real leader, a strong person, and had a calm spirit about her,” he said.

“She let students lay on the floor to read, or stand up to work. That did not bother her,” Furrow said.

“She was like my second mom,” said Allison Clair, a first grade teacher who came to Hanahan Elementary the same year as Battey.

Clair said Battey was always smiling and was always there when needed.

“I personally looked up to her. She taught me how to be a good teacher,” Clair said.

Battey attended her students’ and four nephews’ soccer games and sports events. Battey sat with Carson and her close friend Jane Davis, now principal of Mount Pleasant Academy in the Charleston County School District.

Battey and Davis taught together at Midland Park Elementary in Charleston County. “She was just a funny person because she didn’t take anything seriously,” Davis said.

Battey earned a master’s degree in counseling from The Citadel. She then taught for the U.S. Department of Defense in Germany and came back with a husband, Davis said.

“We kept in touch. She was always your friend. She took the effort to keep that up,” Davis said. Battey sent her a birthday card every year, Davis said.

“We’ve been through thick and thin . . . she was there when my husband died,” Davis said. “She was just an exceptional person.”

“My sister was good at connecting with people,” Carson said.

Battey also taught autistic children at Hanahan Elementary.

During her career she taught terminally ill children in Asheville, N.C. and performed mission work in New Jersey and Maryland. She’s also taught at Trident Technical College, in Columbia and at St. Timothy’s Children’s Center in Goose Creek.

Her husband, Bill, had military duties that kept them on the move, but they worked their way back to Charleston.

“She seemed to make friends wherever she went. When you met Toni you never forgot her,” Carson said.

Many teachers said she was close to her family and proud of her nephews. “My son’s teacher was very close to Toni,” Carson said. “Her impact on Hanahan was the greatest and the most current.”

Battey constantly had visitors while in the hospital: one friend flew from Texas and spent five nights by her side.

The family received unbelievable support, Carson said. Both Carson and Davis said Battey remained positive during this difficult time.

Davis visited the day she was diagnosed and two days before Battey died, Davis said. According to Davis, the last five months turned her and other visitors into better people: “It was quite an experience. It’s a tragedy that she’s gone.”

In his eulogy, Carson recalled his earliest memory of his sister.

“Toni was grabbing me by my feet and holding me upside down,” he said. “I was choking on a piece of candy and Toni saved my life.”

Battey was 53 years old.

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