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Mrs. Guida Lloyd was born in Biloxi,
Mississippi on 10/22/1918.
Daughter of Mark Thomas, Sr. and Guida Karlson Thomas and sister of Mark,
Octave and Norman Thomas
Due to her mother death in December 1919, she was raised by her father’s
sister in Long Beach. Many in Long Beach came to know her as “Aunt Jo”.
She moved to Long Beach in 1925 in a little house on Magnolia Street.
She entered 1st grade and graduated from Long Beach as the Valedictorian in
1935 at the early age of 16 (That was 72 years ago this year).
After graduation high school, she obtained scholarships to attend Gulf Park
Junior College for girls in Long Beach (now the site of USM) for 2 years and
graduated in 1937.
She then received a full scholarship to George Peabody College for Teachers
at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. She graduated in May 1939
with a B.S. in History and a minor in English at the early age of 20.
She returned to Long Beach, and in 1939, she began teaching History classes
in grades 7 through 12.
After the school year ended in 1940, she decided to go back to Peabody in
the summer to study Library Science which was to lead to a Master’s Degree.
After summer school, she came back to Long Beach and accepted a teaching
position at Orange Grove starting with the 1940 fall school year. And taught
there 2 ½ years.
At Orange Grove, she met John Lloyd who she later married on October 28,
1942.
While her husband was serving time in the Navy during WWII, she got a call
from Mr. Fred Skellie (Grandfather of our current Mayor, Billy Skellie)
about an instructor position at Keesler Field in Biloxi. She was accepted as
an instructor to instruct Airman in different fields that they were assigned
(washing airplanes, wielding, electronics, mechanical etc). This job lasted
over 2 years.
After the WWII, she and her husband settled in Long Beach at 216 Oak
Gardens.
They had 2 sons, John (Class of 63) and Norman (Class of 64).
She did not return to teaching until Norman went into the 1st grade in 1952.
From 1952 to 1974, she taught history in Junior High.
During this time, she attended night courses at USM in Hattiesburg and
obtained her Master’s Degree from USM in Guidance Counseling and became a
Guidance Counselor at Long Beach High until her retirement in 1981.
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