Husband, wife retire together after teaching side-by-side for over 50 years
CRESCENT, Okla. (KOCO) - An Oklahoma couple is retiring after more than 50 years in education.
“It’s what you do with your life and in your career that makes it why you work, and this is why we did the job we did,” educator Rick McCombs remarked.
Rick McCombs and his wife, Beverly, have been married for 55 years and taught together for 52.
They’ve inspired generations of students in Oklahoma.
“We sit there and go you can’t believe how fast it goes,” Rick McCombs said.
In that time, they wore just about every hat.
Beverly McCombs has been a career tech teacher and counselor.
“They hired me as second-floor custodian from 4 to midnight,” Rick McCombs said.
The modest start took Rick McCombs to high places; from teacher to coach, principal and even a stint as superintendent.
The school also needed a bus driver, so add that to the resume, too.
The two said they were willing to a child in the school district in any way they could.
“This job basically pulls on your heartstrings. It really does,” Rick McCombs said.
The two said they may have been at their best as principal and counselor.
Beverly McCombs had this to say when asked how she kept it going for 52 years: “How I feel when I work with one and I can see the lightbulb go on and know that maybe I have helped them in some way, and when they come back and tell me what I mean to them.”
Each school year was a new chance to inspire more students.
“Everyone can be successful. It just may take them a while to figure out who they are and what they need to do,” Beverly McCombs said.
“If I can simply just correct a student who maybe has done something wrong and get them to do right, then I have done my job,” Rick McCombs added. “We’ve done a lot of things in our career and glad for every one of them. Now, it’s time to turn it over to younger people.”
Things won’t be the same at their school.
“I know that I am going to miss what I do,” Beverly McCombs said. “I’m looking forward to our new adventure.”
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