Rean Marble-Sanders says she likes small-town life in Minter City and never wanted to live in a bigger place.
Marble-Sanders, 56, was born in Minter City. She attended T.Y. Fleming Elementary School and graduated from Amanda Elzy High School in 1979. She grew up in a quiet neighborhood and liked it that way.
“I’m a family-oriented, quiet person,” she said. “So, growing up, I liked to spend time with friends and family.”
She was interested in working with children or caring for older people. So she went to Holmes Community College, where she earned certification as a nursing assistant.
After working in nursing homes for a while, she joined the Leflore County School District in 1987 as a computer lab attendant. Over the years, she has worked in that capacity at Fleming, Elzy Elementary and now East Elementary.
Her job involves correlating computer programs with classroom lessons in accordance with the state curriculum. She works with kindergartners now and enjoys helping them with lessons.
“I dedicate myself to my work,” she said. “My kids are very eager to learn.”
Marble-Sanders said she never considered an educational career when she was growing up but had a solid foundation in the Leflore County schools. She earned an education degree from Mississippi Valley State University in 2009.
She said she also received a good spiritual foundation at Barwick United Methodist Church in Minter City, which she has attended all her life. For more than 10 years, she has served as communications director for the church, and she assists with other ministries there, including efforts to feed and clothe the needy.
The typical attendance for a Sunday service is about 15 people, with more coming in for special events.
“It’s a small congregation, but there’s lots of love for each other in the church,” she said. “We work together.”
She also said Barwick’s pastor, the Rev. Juanita Cook, provides good leadership.
“She’s one of the best pastors,” Marble-Sanders said. “She leads by example.”
When not at work or church, Marble-Sanders most enjoys spending time with friends and family.
She and her husband, Robert Sanders, have one daughter, Emilia, who is 33, and one son, Edmund, 29. She also has three grandchildren: Kirsten, Kamryn and Micah.
Her mother, Rachel Marble, also lives in Minter City. One of her six sisters, Virgie, also lives nearby, and another sister, Josephine, resides in Philipp.
She has visited larger cities but prefers to be where she is.
“I’m a local person,” she said. “I’m not big on traveling. I like being home.”
•Contact David Monroe at 581-7236 or dmonroe@gwcommonwealth.com.
