This week, the Oxford community celebrates the life of a beloved teacher, colleague, friend and neighbor, Ellen Douglas.

After a nearly five-year battle with stage IV breast cancer, the well-loved and respected teacher passed away on Friday, August 5th.

Before earning her early retirement in 2019,  Mrs. Douglas was an educator in the Oxford School District for seventeen years where she taught  Mississippi studies, social studies, and geography to 7th and 8th-grade students of Oxford Middle School.

Dozens of her former students will remember her trademark “map tests” which pushed them to memorize the globe, or her end of the year project which required students to create a new country with its own economic and government systems, and culture – and hoped that in doing so, her students would create a world in which everyone was treated fairly and where every human thrived.

The avid traveler and lover of the world experienced many cultures around the globe and enjoyed sharing those experiences with the students in her classroom. She was a woman of great intelligence with a no-nonsense approach to life, and had a passion to create a positive learning environment for her young students.

Her other hobbies included exploring her love of music, crafts, and classic films, and enjoying road trips with her family, gardening, and taking pictures of sunsets.

Those who knew her best were challenged to be better parents, teachers, citizens, and people.

She is survived by her loving husband of thirteen years, Gene Regan, her mother, Margaret Wright, her brother, Robert Wright, and her three children: Toby Douglas, Gavin Douglas, and Natalie Regan.

Public visitation will take place at Waller Funeral Home in Oxford, on Monday, August 8th, at 5:00pm until 7:00pm, where all who knew Ellen and her family may come and share their memories and give their condolences. There will be a private celebration of life held at a later time.