A Distinguished Gentleman
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| Otha Sherrill, retired educator and community activist. Photo: Urban News archives |
by Sarah Williams
Otha Sherrill, known throughout the region as O.L., can be described with a few choice adjectives: dapper, tall, dark, and handsome, for example, to say nothing of well-spoken, dedicated, engaged, and devoted to his community. He is also the husband of Mrs. Jessie Forney Sherrill and the father of Keith and the late Wanda Sherrill.
Sherrill is a native of Statesville, North Carolina and attended Morningside High School there. Before moving to the Asheville area, he earned a B. S. and M.S., EDS from North Carolina A&T University. He was graduated in 1954, the unforgettable year that the great desegregation decision, Brown v. Board of Education, was handed down by the Supreme Court.
His parents, he
says, were his role models. He grew up in a Baptist church, where “the
older women were the key to guidance and motivation. I hooked my star
to their beliefs.” That motivation, along with his faith and hard work,
has led to many proud moments over the years. One that stands out for
him was receiving the Buncombe Human Relations Council’s Distinguished
Citizen Award. Sherrill felt especially honored to receive the award
the year after it was given to beloved Asheville physician Dr. John
Holt.
After
earning his Master’s Degree, Sherrill relocated to South Hill,
Virginia, where he taught for a year before being drafted into the U.
S. Navy for a two-year tour of duty. When he returned to civilian life,
he was hired by the Mooresville (NC) school system as social studies
and physical education teacher and basketball coach. He had wanted to
live in Greensboro after serving in the Navy, but at that time it was
difficult, if not impossible, for women to buy houses there, whether
married or not. Mrs. Sherrill had a home in Black Mountain, and they
decided to move there. In 1962 he started his long, illustrious career
with the Asheville City Schools.
In
Asheville Sherrill taught for one year under the legendary principal
Mrs. Rita Lee before being transferred to Stephens-Lee High School. The
segregated “Castle on the Hill” was renowned throughout the region for
its excellence in academics, sports, and music, and it was there that
Sherrill began to establish his reputation as a remarkable educator and
community leader.
Sherrill
says that there were certain positive aspects to working in a
segregated system. For one thing, he noted, at Stephens-Lee “the
faculty formed a close relationship, and they also had a personal
relationship with students and families. Teachers were more demanding
and discipline was enforced.” Those benefits diminished when the system
was integrated. “We lost family involvement,” he says, and the demand
for excellence wasn’t as strong it had been before.
Several
years after he started teaching at Stephens-Lee, South French Broad
High School opened, and Sherrill and the rest of the Stephens-Lee staff
moved to the new school; later he was appointed assistant principal
there. Then, in 1969, when South French Broad and Lee Edwards High
Schools merged under mandatory desegregation rules, he became Assistant
Principal and Dean of Boys at the newly named Asheville High School. He
stayed for three years, helping minimize the civil unrest that
accompanied the merger.
In 1972
Sherrill was promoted to principal, first at William Randolph
Elementary School and four years later at Hall Fletcher Middle School.
He then returned to Asheville High, where he worked as co-principal for
many years with Bill Stanley, now a Buncombe County Commissioner, and
later with Dr. Larry Liggitt. He retired after twenty-seven years in
the Asheville City Schools system.
Perhaps
dating from his days as Dean of Boys, or even from the church ladies
and his own parents, Sherrill still has advice for young fathers of
today, advice that’s particularly pertinent around Father’s Day: “I
would tell them to man up.” He’s clearly lived that advice himself.
When asked why people speak so highly of him, he responded, “I’m a
people person. I’ve always treated people the way I want to be treated.”
How well O.L. Sherrill treats people is evidenced by the list of
community organizations he has served. He has been president or
chairman of the NCTA
Teachers
Organization, the NC Division of Principals, the State Legislative
Committee of the NC Division of Principals, the ABC Board of Black
Mountain, the Buncombe County Social Service Board, and the Black
Mountain Martin Luther King Breakfast.
He has
served as a board member of the State Principal Division, the Buncombe
County Board of Elections, the NC High School Athletic Association,
Swannanoa Medical Center, Good Neighbor Council-Black Mountain, Health
Initiative, Black Mountain Mediation, United Way, Asheville Chamber of
Commerce, YMICC, NC Credit Union, Bank of America, Broughton
Foundation, Manna Food Bank, and Black Mountain Foundation for
Alzheimer’s Patients. He is also a Golden Life Member in NAACP, serving
as membership chair, and a 3rd Degree Mason, 32nd Degree Consistory
Shriner, and member of Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity.
Sherrill
explains his involvement this way: “I’m retired, and that gives me time
to give back to my community. I’m glad that I can.” Our whole
community, too, is both glad and fortunate for that.
