Marie Goodman Hunter is an American actor, singer, and educator born
on October , . Her adoptive parents, Fred and Florence Goodman, named
her Florence Marie Goodman.Young Florence Marie attended public
schools in Richmond and Petersburg, Virginia. She discovered her
innate musical ability when her parents took her as a child of six to
a Palm Sunday ceremony at a family member's school. The festivities
were to include a vocal recital, but the singer did not show up. Young
Marie, thinking that singing was everyone's natural gift, volunteered
to entertain. And she did. With no prior lessons, she sang the
familiar hymn, "I Come to the Garden Alone"â€"to great acclaim. Years
of lessons followed. She attended Armstrong High School in Richmond.
At Virginia State University in Petersburg, she was certified as a
music teacher. Her first teaching assignment was in at the Luther
Foster High School in Blackstone VA. She next served as a member of a
team of arts specialists who would visit Richmond schools in turn, to
share their musical expertise with the regular teachers.She married
Charles Hunter on August , (divorced in ). In , they adopted their
daughter, Kelley Allyson Hunter.In Marie Goodman Hunter helped to
break the color barrier as a member of the first contingent of
African-American teachers assigned to Richmond's William Fox
Elementary, a previously all-white school. From to her retirement in
, she taught at John Marshall High School. She continued her own
education with studies at Columbia University's Teachers College, the
University of Virginia, and the College of William and Mary. Although
her main subjects were Music and Speech, Goodman Hunter took pride in
teaching the highest standards of citizenship to her students and
instilling in them a deep appreciation for the civic virtues of
"manners and respect [and] personal hygiene." She was enthusiastic and
demanding in her love of music and her distinctly maternal nurturing
of her choir "children." Combining discipline with respect, she set
rigorous standards, remembered by her daughter Kelleyâ€"who was also
her pupil for a time--"She demanded respect. She taught us how to
carry ourselves and to know that when we step out in the world we
should carry ourselves in the same way." Of her teaching style,
Goodman Hunter says, "I was very blunt, very abrupt at times. But I
did what it took to get the message across. I am proud of my teaching
years. ...[M]y children were ... on the ball probably because I scared
the hell out of most of them." She led her choir and the Marshall
Singers to perform for local churches, community events, and for
government officials. Among her students she earned the “nickname
‘Z’! Representing The End! There would be no one and nothing after
her!â€
on October , . Her adoptive parents, Fred and Florence Goodman, named
her Florence Marie Goodman.Young Florence Marie attended public
schools in Richmond and Petersburg, Virginia. She discovered her
innate musical ability when her parents took her as a child of six to
a Palm Sunday ceremony at a family member's school. The festivities
were to include a vocal recital, but the singer did not show up. Young
Marie, thinking that singing was everyone's natural gift, volunteered
to entertain. And she did. With no prior lessons, she sang the
familiar hymn, "I Come to the Garden Alone"â€"to great acclaim. Years
of lessons followed. She attended Armstrong High School in Richmond.
At Virginia State University in Petersburg, she was certified as a
music teacher. Her first teaching assignment was in at the Luther
Foster High School in Blackstone VA. She next served as a member of a
team of arts specialists who would visit Richmond schools in turn, to
share their musical expertise with the regular teachers.She married
Charles Hunter on August , (divorced in ). In , they adopted their
daughter, Kelley Allyson Hunter.In Marie Goodman Hunter helped to
break the color barrier as a member of the first contingent of
African-American teachers assigned to Richmond's William Fox
Elementary, a previously all-white school. From to her retirement in
, she taught at John Marshall High School. She continued her own
education with studies at Columbia University's Teachers College, the
University of Virginia, and the College of William and Mary. Although
her main subjects were Music and Speech, Goodman Hunter took pride in
teaching the highest standards of citizenship to her students and
instilling in them a deep appreciation for the civic virtues of
"manners and respect [and] personal hygiene." She was enthusiastic and
demanding in her love of music and her distinctly maternal nurturing
of her choir "children." Combining discipline with respect, she set
rigorous standards, remembered by her daughter Kelleyâ€"who was also
her pupil for a time--"She demanded respect. She taught us how to
carry ourselves and to know that when we step out in the world we
should carry ourselves in the same way." Of her teaching style,
Goodman Hunter says, "I was very blunt, very abrupt at times. But I
did what it took to get the message across. I am proud of my teaching
years. ...[M]y children were ... on the ball probably because I scared
the hell out of most of them." She led her choir and the Marshall
Singers to perform for local churches, community events, and for
government officials. Among her students she earned the “nickname
‘Z’! Representing The End! There would be no one and nothing after
her!â€
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