By BY LYDIA GRIMES – Features Writer
Sharon Peacock is one of those rare people who never lets things get her down. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and as a person diagnosed with the disease, Peacock serves as a symbol to everyone of what can be accomplished through personal strength and unwavering support.
A school teacher at T.R. Miller High School, her days are full of teaching advanced biology, anatomy, physiology and girls' physical education. And if all that were not enough, she agreed to be the coach of T.R. Miller's first female volleyball team.
Peacock believes in keeping busy instead of worrying about her cancer. She could have given up her job and let everything get her down, but instead she has chosen to fight back with every thing she has.
Since that time she has undergone eight rounds of chemotherapy which she has just finished. She lost her hair during the chemotherapy treatments but that has not slowed her down one bit.
Peacock will follow up now with six weeks of radiation followed by drugs to repress her hormones.
Anyone who meets Peacock can see that she is doing exactly that. She's like the Energizer bunny from those commercials - she just keeps going and going.
She is quick to point out that she has not been alone in the fight. She points to those who have stood beside her and are there everyday.
Her faith and attitude are not lost on her two daughters. They have matured as young ladies since learning about their mother's disease.
The mother and her girls are very close, which is evident after only a short visit with them. It is as if they have formed a team to fight the enemy. That is how they plan to get through it - together.
Peacock was born in Montgomery while the family was living in Evergreen. It was in Evergreen that she grew up. She graduated from Sparta Academy in 1978 and from Troy State University in 1982 with a bachelor's degree in secondary education. She had a double major in biology and physical education.
She taught school one year in Wilcox County and married to Terry Peacock in 1983 whom she had dated in high school. They moved back to Conecuh County and she taught school at Sparta for a couple of years.
The family moved to Brewton in 1985 where she began teaching at T.R. Miller. She had her first child, Jamie, in 1986 and a second daughter, Terri Lynne, in 1990. In that same year, she finished her master's degree at what used to be the University of Livingston. She became an educational specialist at AUM about 1998 or 99.
Despite her illness, she is always a familiar sight on campus. She is easily recognized through her variety of hats. But, soon they will come off, as her hair is starting to grow back.