Fayette County has said goodbye to a dear lady, but for me, I said goodbye to a hero.

Mrs. Maggie Banks helped me to be the woman that I am today. As a student at Fayette County High School, my friends and I chose Mrs. Banks’ classes as soon as we were eligible. Little did I know back in 1981 that these classes would have such an impact on my life.

She taught me cake decorating, and after I finished those classes, I went on to take her food service classes. I had no clue back then that learning this trade would carry me far in life.

In 1988, I moved to LaGrange, Ga., and accepted a position on staff at First Baptist Church of LaGrange as the church hostess. I handled all food service for the church, feeding 250-300 people for family night supper and various other meals during each month.

I also worked with the Council on the Aging to incorporate a Meals on Wheels program in the downtown churches to alleviate the long waiting list for the county Meals on Wheels program. We also began a soup kitchen on the same days we prepared Meals on Wheels.

Also, over the past 29 years, I have shared with countless brides, making their wedding cakes and catering a meal once in a while, too, for friends and family (or the Callaway High School football team).

Being a student under the direction of Maggie Banks certainly changed my life and has helped me help others along the way.

As I listened to people chatting following the funeral, I heard a lady tell one of Mrs. Banks’ daughters that she had one of Maggie’s recipes, and it was in her handwriting. Memories flooded back for me: Mrs. Banks sent me all her recipes when I moved to LaGrange — in her handwriting: Rolls, squash casserole, ready to cook for 100.

Thank you, Fayette County Board of Education, for having a vision and giving Maggie Banks the opportunity to touch lives. Thank you to her family, for sharing her with us. Today, I am blessed. My life was touched, shaped and molded by Maggie Banks.

Pam Adams Pruett

FCHS Class of 1983

LaGrange, Ga.