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Mary Jane Logan: A Brief Biography

Mary Jane Logan was born on July 2, 1916 to William and Mary Logan. Jane grew up in Kings Mountain, N.C. with her older brother Elmer and younger sister Virginia.

After graduating from Kings Mountain high school in 1933, Jane attended Appalachian State Teachers College (ASTC) the following Fall. At ASTC, Jane studied to become a teacher. She student taught reading and writing beginning in her sophomore year. While at ASTC, Jane also met her future husband, Edward Gerald “Red” Lackey, who was a student in her class. After graduating, Jane became an elementary school teacher in the Cherryville school district, about eleven miles north of her hometown of Kings Mountain.

Unfortunately, in the early 1990s Jane began to show signs of Alzheimer’s, and in 1993 Jane and Red retired to Punta Gorda, FL. Eventually Jane moved to a nursing home, where Red visited her three or four days every week. He stayed by her side for the next twelve years, until Jane passed away on January 17, 2008 at the age of 91. Red passed only forty days later.

Following Red's passing, a box containing Jane's scrapbook from college was discovered among his possessions by Steve Lackey, Red and Jane’s middle son. Steve gifted the box to Jane's granddaughter, Dianne Berendzen, who then passed the box on to me, Jane’s great-granddaughter. The scrapbook is currently stored in my apartment in Omaha, NE.

On Christmas Eve of 1938 Jane married Red, becoming Mrs. Jane Lackey. In 1940, Jane gave birth to her their first son, Gerry, and left her teaching position to became a homemaker. Red started a trucking business with Jane’s brother, which quickly grew into the sixth largest trucking company in the United States. The family moved into a large home in western Salem, N.C.  They also owned a summer home on the beach in South Carolina.

Over the years Red and Jane donated a lot of their time and money to ASTC. They set up a scholarship fund in Jane’s name, and the baseball field was even dedicated to Red. They loved the college, and placed great value in education. The couple also loved to travel, and they took trips all across the United States and to other countries. Jane especially loved the trips they took to Niagara Falls, Greece, and China.

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Photos:

1. Jane's senior photo from high school

2. Red and Jane in the 1934-1935 ASTC yearbook

    photo credit: DigitalNC Library

3. Jane, late 1930s

    photo credit: Steve Lackey

4. Jane, her mother, and her two eldest sons

    photo credit: Steve Lackey

5. Jane and Red in New Mexico

    photo credit: Steve Lackey

6. Jane and I, 1988

7. Red, Jane, and my family, 1995

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