Dr. Small was born Maude Alice Reed on July 16,1932 to the parents of Booker T. Reed and Annie Mae Fisher Reed. Maude was the fifth of six girls born to Booker T. and Annie Mae. The girls were Lola Bell, Helen Jewel, Lurlean, Mabel, Maude and Marian. Maude was born during the Great Depression and her family lived the farm life on land they owned. Though they did not have much, they got by.
Maude's early education was in a one room segregated school house in the Bear Creek community of Irving, Texas. That one room held classes for the 1st through 6th grades. There, Maude was introduced to the importance of the teaching profession. Her teacher Mrs. Melrose J. Moore influenced the entire Bear Creek Community. Mrs. Moore taught everything from reading , writing, math and music to all students in the one room school house. Mrs. Moore well prepared her students to attend Booker T. Washington High School in downtown Dallas.
Maude Small graduated Booker T. Washington High School as Salutatorian in the spring of 1950. Upon graduation, Maude was provided with a full college scholarship to Wiley College through the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.
With high honors, Maude Small graduated Wiley College with a degree in Mathematics.
Marriage
In 1953, Maude married Alexander Small who was also attending Wiley College. The two moved to Dallas and had their first child Marcus Alexander Small on September 4, 1955. Four years later Maude had her second child David Small on October 18, 1959.
A career in Education
After obtaining her teaching certificate, Maude began as a math teacher in DISD in 1955. The Russian launch of the space craft Sputnik, and the race to the moon spurred Maude's desire to obtain credentials as a master mathematician. Maude obtained her Master's Degree in Mathematics from the recently integrated North Texas State University in 1962. Maude continued her mathematics studies at Texas Woman's University through a grant from the National Science Foundation Program. Shortly thereafter, Maude passed the test to become a mathematician for the same NASA team of mathematicians popularized by the movie "Hidden Figures". Maude was offered the job, but did not care to relocate to Houston.
Maude dedicated the next phase of her life to teaching mathematics. Starting in 1957, Maude taught at James Madison High School, Sequoyah Junior High School, and John Henry Brown Elementary School before being selected as Division Chair of Mathematics at Pearl C. Anderson. In 1970, Maude was moved to the newly opened magnet school, Skyline High School. At Skyline, Maude was directed towards vocational education, and obtained her PH.D. in Vocational Education from East Texas State University (Commerce, Texas). Maude Small then became a guidance counselor for Skyline High School.
In 1992, after only a year of retirement, Maude resumed teaching mathematics at Mountain View College, and then Paul Quinn College. After retiring from Paul Quinn College in 2005, Maude continued to assist the children of friends and neighbors in passing standardized testing and obtaining GEDs. She continued this through her 80s.
Her husband Alex Small preceded her in death in 1985. Maude Small never remarried. Her oldest son, Marcus, passed away in 2012. Maude is survived by her son David and his wife Becky, and her only grandson Alexander. She leaves behind: a special niece who was like a sister Patricia Ann Birdow; a host of nieces and nephews from her sisters; nieces, nephews and cousins In-law from her marriage; the step children of her son Marcus and their families; a host of close friends, associates, neighbors and others who have been touched by her life and touched her life as well.
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