36 From Cheerleader to Teacher - Off to School with Sue Nolen Robards

My Maternal Aunt, Martha Sue Nolen Robards

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Week 36 – September 3, 2025

Prompt: Off to School

My Aunt Sue was the third of four children born to Leonard and Elizabeth Nolen in Sand Springs, Oklahoma — my mother’s little sister.

Sue attended school in Sand Springs and later returned there as a teacher. 

Sue, standing on the left, at Charles Page High School where her energy and school spirit made her well-known.

After high school, she went on to Northeastern State College in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. There she was active in campus life as a member of Alpha Sigma Alpha sorority, Future Teachers of America, and the Women’s Athletic Association. She graduated in 1955 and took her first teaching job in the Eureka, Kansas schools.

Sue Nolen's 1955 college graduation picture.  

Miss Nolen, as a first year teacher in Eureka, Kansas.

In February 1956, Sue became engaged to Billy Paul Robards, who also graduated from Northeastern State. They were married on May 26, 1956, at the First Christian Church in Sand Springs, with their reception hosted at the home of Sue’s sister and brother-in-law, Margaret and Ralph Wallis. The newlyweds made their home in Sand Springs.

Following her marriage, Sue taught physical education and coached the swimming team at Charles Page High, her alma mater. Most of her teaching career, however, was at Garfield Elementary in Sand Springs. Over the years she taught 4th, 5th, and 6th grade homerooms, served as the science teacher, taught physical education, and coached the 5th and 6th grade girls’ basketball team — even taking responsibility for outfitting the team in uniforms.

Garfield Elementary Basketball Team with Coach RoBards. 

Sue’s classroom often included family. Her two daughters, two nieces, and two nephews all attended Garfield Elementary. They weren’t in her homeroom, but they had her for science, gym, or basketball. Family stories say she was the one who realized one nephew was struggling to read, catching the problem when he reached 4th grade.

For a time, Sue taught a 6th grade class that would today be considered special education. These students were often passed along by a principal who preferred to promote them rather than hold them back. Many of the children couldn’t read and some had speech impediments. Her daughters recalled that whenever they went to the grocery store or TG&Y, a voice would inevitably call out from across the store, “You’re Mrs. RoFart’s daughter, aren’t you?”

Mrs. RoBards, a well-known and well-loved teacher. 

Teaching was demanding, both physically and mentally. By the end of the day Sue was drained, and she didn’t want to be around kids after hours. Yet she was popular, and everyone in town seemed to know her. Going to a ballgame often meant she couldn’t sit in peace — too many people wanted to visit with “Mrs. Robards.” It wore on her, but it also showed the impact she had on her community.

Sue taught and coached until 1975, when she was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Because teaching was such a physical job, she never returned full-time, but she retired with 20 years in the Sand Springs school district. In later years, she did some substitute teaching.

Her influence lived on in the next generation. Four of her nieces went to college and earned teaching certificates; three of them became school librarians — one of them back home in Sand Springs. And this year her great great niece is a Charles Page High School Cheerleader, carrying on a tradition that began with Aunt Sue.