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Taft B Botner 1909 - 2000

Taft Benjamin Botner of Cullowhee, Jackson County, NC was born on December 10, 1909 in Owsley County, Kentucky United States, and died at age 90 years old on September 30, 2000 in Cullowhee, Jackson County, NC. Taft Botner was buried at Fairview Memorial Gardens in Sylva.

Taft Benjamin Botner

Cullowhee, Jackson County, NC 28723

December 10, 1909

Owsley County, Kentucky, United States

September 30, 2000

Cullowhee, Jackson County, North Carolina, United States

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Taft B Botner Taft Botner (1909 - 2000)

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Taft Benjamin Botner's History: 1909 - 2000

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Introduction

Taft Benjamin Botner was born to John Beutner (1870 - 1961) and Madeline "Mattie" McQueen (1883 - 1917). His father was born in Kentucky, as was his mother. He had seven full siblings: Clyde, Della, Flora, Willie, Edgar, Orville, and Margaret; and a few half-siblings, including Edward and Elizabeth Botner. A veteran of the United States Army, he served during World War II. See Taft B Botner: Obituary.
12/10

1909

Birthday

December 10, 1909

Birthdate

Owsley County, Kentucky United States

Birthplace

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Ethnicity & Family History

White, Citizen
Early Life & Education

A native of Kentucky, Taft graduated from High School in Booneville, Kentucky. After high school, he attended Eastern Kentucky State University. He earned a bachelor's Master's and a doctorate.
Military Service

Military serial#: 35795123 Enlisted: March 23, 1943 in Ft Thomas Newport Kentucky Military branch: No Branch Assignment Rank: Private, Selectees (enlisted Men) Terms of enlistment: Enlistment For The Duration Of The War Or Other Emergency, Plus Six Months, Subject To The Discretion Of The President Or Otherwise According To Law
Professional Career

Taft was a teacher and later a principal and assistant superintendent, and then the dean of Western Carolina University.
Personal Life & Family

Taft Botner married Malvery E. Barker (1908 - 1991) on August 14, 1929 and they had one son, Gerald (1935 - 1936).
09/30

2000

Death

September 30, 2000

Death date

age; declining health.

Cause of death

Cullowhee, Jackson County, North Carolina United States
Death location

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Gravesite & Burial

mm/dd/yyyy
Funeral date
Fairview Memorial Gardens in Sylva, Jackson County, North Carolina United States
Burial location
Obituary

Taft Benjamin Botner, 90, of Cullowhee, a longtime educator, retired dean and benefactor of Western Carolina University, died Saturday, Sept. 30, at Mountain Trace Nursing Home after a period of declining health. Funeral services were held at 11 a.m. Monday, Oct. 2, 2000 at Melton-Riddle Funeral Home Chapel. The Rev. Bill Serjak officiated. Burial was in Fairview Memorial Gardens with military honors provided by American Legion Post 104. Pallbearers were Tyree Kiser Jr., Stedman Mitchell, Jim Hamilton, Arthur Manring, Edwin Russell and Gurney Chambers. A native of Kentucky, Dr. Botner was born in an Owsley County schoolhouse that had been converted into a home. By age 17, he had become a teacher in the one-room Upper Wolf Creek schoolhouse with 65 pupils. His career in education spanned 48 years, until in 1975, when he retired as dean of WCU's School of Education and Psychology (now known as the College of Education and Allied Professions). His late wife, Malvery Barker Botner, who died in 1991, taught public school for 34 years, 12 of them at Camp Laboratory School in Cullowhee. On their 50th wedding anniversary in 1979, the Botners established a scholarship fund that annually provides awards to academically-talented students in elementary education and reading. They also established the Taft Botner Award for Superior Teaching, which has been presented to an outstanding WCU education professor each year since 1982. Dr. Botner graduated from high school in Booneville, Ky., and then attended Eastern Kentucky State University. He earned his bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. He gained experience in Kentucky public schools as a teacher, principal, and assistant superintendent and served on the faculties of the University of Tennessee and Murray State University in Kentucky before joining the WCU faculty in 1950. He remained a WCU faculty member for 25 years, serving in the positions of professor, director of student teaching and teacher placement and head of the department of teaching before becoming dean. In 1986, he received the WCU Distinguished Service Award. In 1988, the university established the Taft B. Botner Conference Room in its Education Building in his honor. He organized and was the first president of the N.C. Association for Student Teaching and the Southeast Regional Association for Student Teaching and for a number of years was on the board of directors of the national association. A supporter of Catamount athletics, Botner also provided support for Player-of-the-Game awards at WCU football games. Botner, who played varsity baseball in college, was also a woodworker, cabinetmaker and U.S. Army veteran of World War II. Botner was the son of the late John E. and Mattie McQueen Botner, and his stepmother, Della Lynch Botner. - Obituary from the Sylva Herald newspaper, October 3, 2000 edition.

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Taft B Botner lived 15 years longer than the average family member when died at the age of 90.

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Did you know?

In 1909, in the year that Taft B Botner was born, the U.S. penny was changed to the Abraham Lincoln design. The Lincoln penny was so popular that it soon had to be rationed and it sold on the secondary market for a quarter. Abraham Lincoln was the first historical figure to be on a U.S. coin - which was released to commemorate his 100th birthday. This penny was also the first U.S. cent to include the words "In God We Trust.".

Did you know?

In 1911, by the time he was merely 2 years old, the United States Supreme Court broke up Standard Oil in May. John D. Rockefeller established Standard Oil in 1870 and it was the largest oil refinery at the time. The Supreme Court found that Standard Oil of New Jersey (one of the many iterations of Standard Oil) was guilty of "monopolizing the petroleum industry through a series of abusive and anticompetitive actions". The Court broke up the several entities that comprised Standard Oil and they eventually became competing firms.

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Taft Botner's Family Tree & Friends

Taft Botner's Family Tree

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Taft B Botner Dec 10, 1909 - Sep 30, 2000

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Taft's Friends

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Other Biographies

Other Botner Family Biographies

Botner, George (Oct 14, 1922 - Jan 6, 2005) Botner, Simon (Jul 4, 1895 - Sep 1974) Botner, Benjamin (Mar 8, 1900 - Nov 1984) Botner, Frieda (May 1, 1904 - Jan 1987) Botner, Jane (Feb 17, 1921 - Jun 7, 2007) Botner, Ruth (Apr 11, 1917 - Jul 18, 1991) Botner, Luther (Jun 1, 1906 - Oct 1977) Botner, Carrie (Jan 23, 1911 - Jan 14, 1998) Botner, Rachel (Nov 29, 1940 - Nov 12, 2007) Botner, Rufus (Dec 11, 1915 - Jan 1987)

Botner, James (Jan 13, 1936 - Oct 25, 2006) Botner, James (Apr 3, 1958 - Jul 19, 2008) Botner, Clyde (Jul 10, 1918 - Jan 29, 1996) Botner, Donald (Sep 8, 1929 - Sep 1978) Botner, Lois (Jul 2, 1920 - Oct 8, 2004) Botner, Carol (Aug 1, 1961 - Oct 1982) Botner, Lonley (Nov 7, 1926 - Aug 31, 1994) Botner, Homer (Nov 5, 1931 - Mar 12, 2008) Botner, Malvery (Mar 7, 1908 - Jul 15, 1991) Botner, Nancy (Feb 12, 1901 - Mar 1987)

About the AncientFaces Community

Taft B Botner 1909 - 2000

Taft Benjamin Botner's History: 1909 - 2000

Introduction

Birthday

Ethnicity & Family History

Early Life & Education

Military Service

Professional Career

Personal Life & Family

Death

Gravesite & Burial

Obituary

Add Memories, Stories & Photos about Taft

Taft Botner's Family Tree & Friends

Taft Botner's Family Tree

Taft's Friends

Other Botner Family Biographies