Butch Mosely remembered for his ‘heart of an educator’

CLIMAX — The educational “family” throughout the state is mourning the loss of one of its own with the weekend passing of David “Butch” Mosely, a man with more than a half-decade of experience in the field.

No less a luminary than state Schools Superintendent Richard Woods paid tribute to Mosely by declaring, “Public education in Georgia has lost a giant. Dr. Butch Mosely had over 40 years of educational experience at all levels, but even beyond that experience, he brought insight and integrity to everything he did. Dr. Mosely was grounded in common sense, his core was rural Georgia, and he always had the heart of an educator. He leaves behind an unmatched legacy.”

But the loss is as much personal as it is professional for Dougherty County School System Superintendent Ken Dyer, who declared Tuesday he and Mosely “grew to be close personal friends” over the course of their tenure working with the local school system.

“Butch Mosely had a tremendous impact on me,” Dyer said as he prepared for a business trip to Atlanta. “I learned a lot from him about the ‘school business,’ as he called it. He certainly had a lasting impact on our school system, but his legacy is not just about Dougherty County. He served as superintendent of seven different school systems.

“I believe he was selected by all of those different systems because of the leader he was. He was well-thought-of, well-respected, and had a huge impact on education throughout the state.”

When he died Friday at age 80, Mosely was a member of the state Board of Education, representing District 2, having been appointed to the position by Gov. Brian Kemp.

When Mosely came to Dougherty County, originally on an interim basis that became full-time when the Dougherty School Board decided he was the man they needed to right the system’s foundering ship of state, the system was recovering from a standardized test cheating scandal. And DCSS’s graduation rate was hovering around 60% at the time, a number that quickly rebounded under policies imposed by Mosely.

“He came when the system was reeling,” Dyer, who was working in the system’s accounting department when Mosely arrived, said. “He took a bold, active approach but was still sensitive to the needs of the people the system served. That was him; he led through service.

“He provided me personally with a lot of opportunities to learn, and what I didn’t realize at the time was that he was preparing me for this position … without me knowing it. When he decided to step down (for health reasons), he recommended me for the superintendent’s position without my knowledge. When I asked him about it, he said, ‘I knew you would have said no, and I didn’t feel like arguing. Because I was going to recommend you anyway.’ That was Butch.”

Dyer said he’d called Mosely to tell him that the Commodore Conyers College and Career Academy — an institution Mosely championed during his tenure — had been named the state’s top college and career academy. It was then Mosely’s wife of 54 years, June Cox Mosely, told Dyer she had “decided to bring Butch home” from the hospital after his health took a turn for the worse.

“I knew what that meant,” Dyer said. “I believe he heard and understood what I told him about the 4C Academy, though.”

The current DCSS superintendent said his friend and mentor left big shoes to fill.

“Butch was one of those people who had a large impact everywhere he went,” Dyer said. “The thing about him is that, while he took the job very seriously, he never took himself seriously. He took the time to have fun along the way.

“He is leaving a void that’s going to be hard to fill. Like a lot of people, I can say I’m a better person for having known him.”

In addition to his wife, Mosely is survived by two children: Sylena Wiggins and John David Mosely. A memorial service will be held for Mosely at Shady Grove Farm at 11 a.m. Saturday with the Rev. Lynn Hurley officiating.

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