Sanders, Errol
SANDERS, Errol Franklin
July 8, 1939 – October 1, 2020
Errol Franklin Sanders, 81, born in Columbus, GA in 1939, passed away peacefully in his mountain home in Jasper, GA on October 1. Errol is survived by his wife of thirty-seven years, Susan Sentell Sanders, and his son, Shane (wife Heidi) and their children, Alba, Nicholas, and Julian, his daughter, Meredith Sanders Weitnauer (husband Blake) and their children, Sam and Will and the mother of his children Nancy. Errol was pre-deceased by his parents, J.H. Sanders and Julia Nicholson Sanders of Columbus and a brother, James Sanders, Jr., of Chicago, IL.
He graduated from Columbus High School in 1957 and received his master's degree in English from the University of Georgia in 1964 while working as a graduate teaching assistant. A few years later, he began what would become a 50-year career in teaching, when he taught English at Andrew College from 1967-1969. In 1969, Errol joined the English faculty at Woodward Academy (formerly known as Georgia Military Academy), where he would teach in the Upper School for 21 years, until 1990. He also served as the long-time coach of the school's cross country team. While at Woodward he received the Teacher of the Year Award, the Senior Class tribute and the "Phoenix" yearbook dedication. He was exceptionally popular with the student body at WA, famous for his irreverent sense of humor, intellect, kindness, and most of all, a passion for literature. He had a gift for conducting complex discussions and analysis with his students in a way that was impossible to resist, easy to understand and fun. He was a voracious reader of anything and everything, from Flannery O'Connor to Ray Bradbury to Robert E. Howard, and was also extremely well-versed in Native American history. Known as an authority of the work of William Faulkner, Errol immersed his students in Southern literature, introducing them to the work of Flannery O'Connor, Mark Twain, Edgar Allan Poe, Eudora Welty, and fellow Columbus native, Carson McCullers. Errol also read to his students the works of Ernest Hemingway, Thomas Malory, and William Golding. He intrinsically recognized the connection between literature and film as mediums of human expression, and his natural talent for understanding the narrative arts made him a connoisseur of movies from all over the world. He creatively used cinema in the classroom to deepen his students' comprehension and appreciation for the art of storytelling, with great success. He loved music, especially bluegrass, and never missed an opportunity to see his favorites Doc Watson and Bill Monroe play live whenever he had the chance.
In 1988, he was the recipient of a William Faulkner fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities at the University of Southern Mississippi. Also, Mr. Sanders was selected to teach literature and composition on two different occasions at the Georgia Governor's Honors Program, a summer program for gifted and talented high school students.
After his career at Woodward Academy, Mr. Sanders continued to teach, enjoying many years of teaching literature and composition at Morris Brown College in Atlanta. He then joined the staff of Mill Springs Academy in Alpharetta, GA, teaching English, language arts, and composition in the Academy's PreUpper School for seventh and eighth graders. He was pleased in 2006 when a member of the Senior Class named him her Star Teacher (she had been in his class in 8th grade). Mr. Sanders retired from teaching in 2011, but was called back by Mill Springs as a part-time teacher of composition from 2013-2017. He fully retired from teaching in 2017 where he continued to read and add volumes to his personal library. Mr. Sanders had a voracious literary appetite, with over five thousand books in his library, spanning an enormous range of topics. He spent his entire professional life teaching, and showing his students how to deeply appreciate and understand words, stories, books, authors, and masterfully-written writing.
In lieu of flowers and to celebrate and honor the life and influence of Mr. Sanders, the family wishes donations to be made in Errol Sanders' name to the library at Mill Springs Academy, Alpharetta, GA or to the Flannery O'Connor-Andalusia Foundation in Milledgeville, GA.
A memorial service will be held at a later date in a safer time.
View the obituary on Legacy.com
Funeral Home Information
Roper Funeral Home
206 Holly Street
Jasper, GA
30143
