Clyde Lehman Shaver

Clyde Lehman Covingtion Shaver was born in Logan County, Kentucky, in 1910. Upon graduation from Lewisburg High School, she enrolled at Bethel College in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. After completing her work there, she traveled to Bowling Green, Kentucky to continue her formal education at WKU, then Western Kentucky State Normal School. She was able to pay her expenses by teaching every other semester. Clyde received a “life” certificate to teach in December 1933, and left WKU to marry, only one semester away from receiving her degree. She and her husband, John Wesley Shaver, moved to Henderson, Kentucky, where she lived and taught most of her life.

Widowed in 1950 with three young children to rear, Clyde faced life’s endless challenges with faithfulness, courage, and determination. Anxious to complete her college degree, she borrowed money and returned to WKU the spring semester of 1958. She graduated in 1959 with a degree in elementary education. She then returned to the classroom and became well known for her master teaching and leadership in local and regional educational organizations. Among her projects were Head-Start and Adult Education, each serving great needs in the Henderson Area; she was the first teacher in both programs.

To honor her memory, family and friends established the Clyde Lehman Shaver Memorial Scholarship Endowment. The fund assists female graduates of Henderson and Logan County Schools as they pursue a degree at WKU. Through this fund, Clyde’s legacy continues in perpetuity.