Biographical Text
Associate Professor Emerita of Chemistry May Evans Denton (May 14, 1908 -), retired college professor, was born in Comer, Georgia, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J.D. Evans. She attended Comer High School for two years and then Cordele High School for one year before she graduated in 1924. Denton reports that her year at Cordele was most significant; its excellent teachers and near college-level chemistry lab directed her to science, and the superb piano teacher--who coached her to win the D. Holmes gold medal in piano competition in 1926--allowed her to realize her talent in music. From this time forward Denton knew that she was wed for life to music, science, and teaching. Success in those fields at that time gave her self-respect, confidence, and a determination to go to college. Denton, who is now divorced from Sidney Eaves Denton (born 1907), has one daughter, Dorothy Denton Palombo (August 31, 1933 - ) who lives in Highland Park, Illinois. Denton had five brothers and two sisters. Now surviving are: J.R. Evans of Phoenix, Arizona; Thomas Evans Moon of Mt. Dora, Florida; and Wilda Evans of Fresno, California. In 1928 Denton received her B.S. degree in chemistry from Georgia State College for Women, Milledgeville, Georgia. After receiving her degree she supervised practice teachers and taught high school science at Peabody High School, a part of Georgia State College for Women, and during the summers she was an instructor of chemistry and physics at the college. Meanwhile, she took several courses in physics and chemistry at Emory University, and then went on in 1931 to work on her M.S. degree in physical chemistry at Vanderbilt University. Her masters thesis was, "Spectrographic Methods as Applied to the Determination of the Absorption Curves of Some Organic Compounds." After receiving the M.S. in 1932, Denton took the only job she could find during the height of the great depression at the junior high school in Monroe, Georgia where she taught math. During this time Denton married and gave birth to her daughter in 1933. After a year's leave Denton returned to work in Demorest, Georgia at its elementary school where she taught for four years. During summers she taught at Piedmont College, the local small congregational school. Her husband had a drug store in Demorest. In 1940 Denton went to Newberry, South Carolina to join the faculty at Newberry College where she taught biology and women's physical education. While at Newberry College Denton studied piano, organ and voice until she left to teach dramatics and high school science at the high school in Tabor City, North Carolina until 1942. For the next five years Denton did community work, served in the church choir as organist, and was active as a Girl Scout leader and council member in Newberry, South Carolina. In 1947 she took a position in Columbia, South Carolina at University High School of the University of South Carolina where she taught science for 10 years and worked with the University of South Carolina supervising student teachers. While there, she became a patron of Town Theater working back-stage at first and later having on-stage roles (as Mrs. Winslow in "The Winslow Boy", and as Monica in "Bad Seed"). During this 10-year period Denton also studied semantics at the University of South Carolina and did some graduate work in modern physics, math and science at Cornell University under a Shell Foundation award. She also received a Ford Foundation fellowship to conduct research on "Peacetime Uses of Radioactive Isotopes" at the Institute of Nuclear Studies (Oak Ridge) and Brookhaven National Laboratory Hospital (Upton, New York). In 1957 Denton went to the University of North Carolina to teach physical science on public television until 1961. Her programs emanated from Woman's College in Greensboro, North Carolina (now the University of North Carolina at Greensboro) for two years until the program was moved to N.C. State in Raleigh for the last two years. Denton came to Appalachian State Teachers College (now Appalachian State University) in 1961 as an associate professor in the Department of Biology, not teaching biology but a course in physical science which was originated for elementary teachers and was later transferred to the chemistry department. While at Appalachian, Denton was active in the National Geographic Society, the National Education Association, the American Academy for Advancement of Science, the American Association of University Women, and the American Association of University Professors. Some of Denton's publications are: "Science Teachers at Atomic Centers" in S.C£A. Journal, 1952 (selected portions of which were aired on "Voice of America") "An Hypothesis as to the Cause and Control of Menopausal Hot Flashes" in Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society, 1963. Denton was active in the Woman's Club-Fine Arts Division for whom she gave an organ recital in 1967. She also sculpted and entered a bust for exhibition and competition at the Mint Museum in 1967. She was also active in St. Elizabeth's Catholic Church where she played organ during Mass. Denton retired from Appalachian in 1973. In 1980 at Highland Park, Illinois, she went back to her ever-beloved music, tackling concert piano numbers, Chopin nocturnes and ballades and presenting them for two public recitals. She also, on a weekly basis, presented a mix of popular and classical piano for a group of stroke patients at an "alternate care" program. Most of all, she enjoys her daughter, executive director of the Northshore Mental Health Association and the Irene Josselyn clinic, and son-in-law, private practitioner and dean of the Institute of Social Work in Chicago, who live near her in Highland Park, Illinois. Sources: Appalachian State University files and personal correspondence. - Dr. Richard D. Howe and Miss J. Beth Carlton
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