Debate Coach Rosemary Kincaid Never Gave Up on Students

From http://reporternews.com/news/2008/sep/09/former-abilene-high-speech-teacher-debate-coach/

Former AHS debate coach dies

By Sidney Levesque (Contact)
Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Local residents are mourning the loss of Rosemary Dodd Kincaid, a former Abilene High School speech and debate teacher and coach who was respected statewide in her field.

Kincaid, 57, died Friday in Plano after complications from heart surgery.

A memorial service will be at 7 p.m. Thursday at Ted Dickey Funeral Home, 2128 18th St., in Plano. Kincaid herself requested that jeans be worn to the memorial service.

She was born in 1951 in California, later making her way to Texas, where she graduated from Abilene Christian High School in 1969.

Kincaid earned a bachelor's degree in physical education and speech from Abilene Christian College (now university) in 1973 and a master's degree in communication from ACU in 2006. She also worked on a master's in principalship at ACU.

Kincaid was an educator for 30 years, most recently at Plano East Senior High School.

Her passion for debate began at Westwood High School in Austin, when she was asked to take over as speech and debate coach in the late 1980s. Since then, she led numerous speech students to state and national victories.

Kincaid, and later her husband, Warren, started teaching at Abilene High in 1999. They left in 2007 to teach in Plano.

During her time at AHS, Kincaid was elected president of the Texas Forensic Association, recognized as a finalist for Speech Teacher of the Year by the Texas Speech Communication Association and in 2006, received a Citation Award from the National Federation of State High School Associations. The award is the federation's highest honor.

School administrators described Kincaid as a dedicated teacher.

"She never gave up on kids," said AHS Principal Terry Bull, who was able to see Kincaid at the hospital Friday before she died. "She would take a student who maybe didn't believe in themselves and made them believe they could do it."

Bull said she was a tenacious fighter who stood up for her students and didn't like to lose.

Royce Curtis, a former AHS principal who now oversees personnel for the school district, said Kincaid was a wonderful teacher.

"She loved to compete and had the ability to bring out the best in her speech/debate students," he said in an e-mail. "They excelled under her guidance. It was a privilege working with her."