By JIM STEELE

It's with heavy heart tonight that I write this. I learned Wednesday night of the passing of Sandra Mattox (MHS Class of '78). And I learned recently of the untimely death of Ruth Gilbert (Class of '77).

I went to school with both of them and knew them both fairly well.

About Ruth, she was one of the best guards McKenzie's Rebelette basketball team ever had. When I say guard, you have to remember that five-on-five basketball was still three years away. She was a top-flight defensive player during the days of three-on-three (in those days, girls' basketball was a half court game with three forwards vs. three guards; the guards played defense, the forwards played offense; when the guards stole the ball, got the rebound or inbounded the ball, they'd scurry to the halfcourt line to pass it to the forwards so they could score; crossing the line was a violation akin to over-and-back). The Rebelettes in those days were, if I recall, 16-12 overall, having beaten former state champ Trezevant High School twice that season. The MHS girls suffered an upset loss to Huntingdon in the first round of the district tournament (after beating the Fillies twice in the regular season). They wound up as the third-place team in the district and suffered a tough loss to Riverside in the regionals, if I recall correctly. Ruth was a big part of that team's sucess.

Ruth had good size, decent speed and was one of those lock-down defenders for then-coach J.C. Popplewell. She was very athletic, tenacious and focused on the floor. Off the floor, she was a card. She had a great sense of humor, always seemed to be the center of attention and was very quick to speak her mind when the need arose. You never had to wonder where you stood with Ruth.

One Christmas, in 1981 if I'm not mistaken, Ruth and I took part in the United Neighbors' Christmas basket drive at what was then Baker's IGA (now Save-A-Lot). We hadn't seen each other probably since she graduated. We were there for four hours, but we laughed, cut up and had a blast. The four hours seemed like four minutes. That was Ruth. My understanding is she died at home on March 25.

Sandra was another Rebelette basketball player who was a good sport and always (along with her sister Barbara) always seemed to garner the attention of the guys in school. She had an infectious smile and a certain charm about her. I remember when I started covering the Rebels, I ran into her at the MHS office. She was always had a great sense of humor and loved to laugh. She always had a response to my smart-alecish remarks.

She had the same doctor as my dad and I assured her that he was a top-notch specialist and would do the very best he could for her. We used to visit in the waiting room or while she was receiving treatments. She always had a great attitude and didn't seem, outwardly, to let her ailment bother her. She showed tremendous courage.

Sandra used to be the one who made up those scrapbooks for football players. She spent a lot of time on it, but it was something she enjoyed doing. I hope the football Rebels who received those scrapbooks look at them forevermore with great appreciation. I asked Mary Walker at MHS how Sandra was doing about two weeks ago. I was told she was having good and bad days, but she was keeping her spirits up. That was Sandra for you.

Both Sandra and Ruth were good sports, good eggs and wonderfully amusing characters. They both will be missed.