Gerry Carroll Sultan

Gerry Carroll Sultan of Collierville, an esteemed Mississippi educator, departed this life on Friday, February 13, at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis. She was surrounded by family at the time of her passing. She was 85.

Visitation will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, February 20, at Collierville United Methodist Church Sanctuary on the Square, 104 N. Rowlett Street, with a funeral service to follow at 11 a.m. Dr. Deborah Suddarth, senior pastor at CUMC, will officiate. A family graveside service will be held at 3 p.m. at New Cleveland Cemetery in Cleveland, Miss.

Gerry was born August 23, 1940, in Cleveland and was the eldest child of Ed and Helen Sultan. She grew up in Marks, Miss., and graduated from Marks High School where she played French horn in the band and excelled in debate team competitions. She received both the Bachelor of Arts (1962) and the Master of Arts (1967) in education from Delta State College in Cleveland. While at DSC as an undergraduate, she was a member of the Delta Belles dance team, Kappa Delta sorority, and was elected a campus beauty. As Miss Delta State College 1962, she competed for the title of Miss Mississippi in that year’s pageant and was crowned Miss Hospitality.

After graduation, Gerry began her teaching career in Colorado, where her parents lived at the time. Following her marriage in 1963, Gerry taught senior English at Poplarville High School in Poplarville, Miss., and later taught freshman English and composition at Holmes County Junior College. After moving with her family to Cleveland in 1973, she taught in the Cleveland Public Schools and later at Ruleville Central High School in Ruleville, Miss. As a dedicated advocate for quality public education, Gerry campaigned and was elected to the Cleveland School Board in 1977.

Gerry received her Ph.D. in education in 1989 from Delta State University. She earned National Board Certification (NBCT), a prestigious, advanced teacher credential, in the late 1990s.

For the last several years of her almost five-decades-long teaching career, Gerry was employed by the Mississippi Department of Education and the Education Department at Delta State University as director of the Mississippi World Class Teaching Program. In that capacity, she served as an instructor and mentor to other Mississippi teachers seeking National Board Certification and led workshops statewide. She was also the coordinator of the Delta Area Writing Project, an initiative that taught teachers throughout the state how to use writing to enhance classroom instruction in every subject. In a move that alarmed her family – but was in fact completely characteristic of her dedication and also her belief in the rehabilitative power of education – she decided to teach English comp classes to inmates for the Mississippi Department of Corrections at Parchman Penitentiary. She was also an editor of the Mississippi Council of Teachers of English Journal. After her retirement in 2014, Gerry moved to Collierville to be closer to family.

Gerry was a voracious reader and an ardent believer in lifelong learning. Her interests and pursuits were incredibly varied. She was fascinated by everything from orchid cultivation to hummingbird migration patterns to ancient cultures. She was a talented artist who for several years painted portraits on commission. She enjoyed interior decorating and particularly loved gardening and transforming her homes’ exteriors with flowerbeds and other landscaping. She enjoyed the arts in general, and was fond of attending Opera Memphis performances and Broadway musicals at The Orpheum in Memphis. Gerry also loved her travels to England, Ireland, and Hawaii with her brother Ed and his wife Kate, and her younger sister, the late Sharon Baessler. She was a lifelong member of the United Methodist Church and served that faith community as a Sunday school teacher and women’s ministry leader.

As a woman born and raised in the Deep South, Gerry had a deep appreciation of family and family history. Her children, grandchildren, and extended family brought her tremendous joy.

Gerry is survived by her daughter, Holly Hollingsworth Fava of Collierville; her son Charles Foster “Chet” Hollingsworth III (Brandi) of Carriere, Miss.; grandsons Dominic Fava, Anthony Fava, Garrett Hollingsworth (Sage), and Greyson Hollingsworth; her brother Ed Sultan (Kate) of Knoxville; and beloved nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Serving as pallbearers are her four grandsons, her nephew Wes Baessler of Knoxville, and her cousin Jack Wesley Carter of Madison, Miss. Her brother Ed Sultan will serve as honorary pallbearer.

The family would like to thank:

• Sue Benniston and other friends in the Stonevillage neighborhood in Collierville for their kindness and support.

• Cardiologist Frank A. McGrew and his research team at Stern Cardiovascular for the excellent care Gerry received during her years as both patient and heart study participant.