Margaret Wellford Tabor ’55: Beloved Hutchison Teacher and Mother

Thank you, Margaret Walker Wellford Tabor, Class of 1955, for teaching us how to love learning, how to love our families and our communities, and how to appreciate our school and our teachers. 
We’ve invited her daughters to tell you a little bit about Margaret. We also spoke to Margaret about some of her favorite things about Hutchison. Read “According to Margaret.”

BY KYLE TABOR FURR '81 AND MARY TABOR ENGEL '82

One September morning, some 80 years ago, an eager five-year-old hopped out of her carpool, and with little white socks and saddle oxford shoes, walked into her first day of kindergarten at Miss Hutchison’s School on Union Avenue in Memphis.

With a neatly placed barrette holding her sandy brown hair out of her eyes, she smiled shyly, brimming with excitement. Her mother had regaled her with tales of Hutchison classes and friendships. Her grandmother, a middle school principal, had played reading and math games with her for as long as she could remember. She knew that learning was fun. And from the moment she stepped into Miss Taylor’s kindergarten class, this little girl knew she was in her right place.

Fifteen years later, this young woman returned home from Connecticut College and answered a call from Hutchison’s then Head of School, Dr. William Atkinson. An English major, Margaret began her teaching career at Hutchison as a middle school science and penmanship teacher, determined to share her love of learning with her young students.

Soon graduate school at Duke University, marriage, and military service called this young teacher away from Memphis, but not for long. By the late 1960s, she returned with her young family, enrolled her two daughters at Hutchison, and began to teach.

Her reputation as an effective, joyful teacher who could engage even the most distracted student soon became legend. This “Jill-of-all-trades” taught AP classes, pitched in with college counseling, helped with SAT prep, and taught sex ed. She was even recruited to handle rowdy classes full of MUS boys. Over the years, our mother shared her love of literature, poetry, history, and drama with students ranging from second graders to seniors. She inspired students to think beyond the confines of race, gender, religion, and economic status. She helped young women find their voices and write clearly. She believed every student had a meaningful story to tell.

In later years, by the time she turned in her final set of grades, our beloved mother had taught and mentored thousands of students. She was honored to be chosen by one of Hutchison’s Presidential Scholars as that student’s most influential teacher. She had a regular stream of forever students who still stop by our house and stay for a long time, seek her out at random gatherings, or track her down in the grocery store just to thank her for teaching them to love Shakespeare. She still loves to explore literature’s wisdom and humanity, from Shakespeare to Wright, from Austen to Capote.

In addition to teaching, she has worked as a cheerful alumna volunteer. Over the past 65 years, she has shared her time, talent, and treasure. If she wasn’t working full time, she regularly filled in as a substitute to help those teachers who might need a little time off.

Our mother has taught us to give back to our schools and to remember that participation is much more important than the dollar amount. Mom said even $10 a year is enough, just do it every year. For more than half a century, she has given generously to Hutchison every single year, never needing pushing nor prodding.

Hutchison has been by far our mother’s most beloved of institutions. It is not just family to her. It is mission. It is passion. It is celebration. She refers to Hutchison regularly and easily as her home. She still speaks with love and awe about teachers who nurtured and inspired her, and classmates with whom she shared happy experiences.

Hutchison is proud to honor Margaret Wellford Tabor as the Anne Marie Newton Walker ’47 Philanthropy Award recipient, created in recognition of Anne Marie’s passion for service to her alma mater. This award is presented to an alumna who advances philanthropy to Hutchison through personal giving and serves as an inspiration to the larger community. Margaret loves Hutchison fiercely. She has known the school as a student, alumna, faculty member, and parent and grandparent of students and alumnae. In fact, she has known seven heads of school at Hutchison. She also has been a loyal donor to Hutchison for more than 30 years. We appreciate her wisdom, knowledge, friendship, and support.

We asked Margaret Wellford Tabor ’55 to recall her favorite things about Hutchison, what she loved about teaching, and to describe some of her favorite teachers. Read “According to Margaret.”
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1740 Ridgeway Road
Memphis, Tennessee 38119
Phone: (901) 761-2220

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Hutchison is the leading private girls school in Memphis for ages 2 years old through twelfth grade.