Namesake

Opened in 2006, Leander ISD’s sixth middle school — Bernice Knox Wiley Middle School — was named after Bernice Knox Wiley to honor her commitment to public education, as well as a similar commitment by thousands of parent and community volunteers across our school district.

In efforts to honor all of those who volunteer their time and expertise for the betterment of Leander ISD schools, we named this campus in the name of a dedicated mother and volunteer.

Bernice Knox Wiley was selected by the Board of Trustees of the Leander Independent School District as a role model for the unsung heroes and workhorses who form the most basic building block for the foundation of the success of the school - the dedicated parents. The Board in 2006 named the new middle school the Bernice Knox Wiley Middle School to recognize not only her but also all other dedicated and supportive parents.

All of her eight children attended the Leander schools over a period of three decades. She taught her children by word and example that without question they were to study hard, do their homework, behave themselves in school, and most importantly be in school unless they were sick. From the time that her oldest child entered the first grade at Leander in 1929 until the youngest graduated from high school in 1956, she was there. She was always a key worker in the PTA. Indeed, she refused to rest and continued volunteering even after all of her children were grown. No task was too minor or demeaning for her--from dressing up as the gypsy fortuneteller at the PTA carnival to being a lead singer in the minstrel to making uniforms for the pep squad to doing basic grunt work in the concession stand. She was just there to help and make sure that the job got done.

Many in Leander will fondly recall her as that wonderful large lady with the eternal smile in a sunshine face who was asked to be the featured singer at the commencement and baccalaureate services year after year. Having had formal voice training as a child, she also sang at many church and community services.

Beyond her strong support of the schools, she had a very basic philosophy -- if she saw a problem, then she jumped in to help without being asked or without considering what other people might think. She was, by her very nature, a quiet pioneer in Leander in many other efforts. For example:

- She repeatedly took in abused women and children in the middle of the night who had to escape from abusive husbands. Now society has rightfully recognized the need for organized programs to address this problem.

- For many years, without fanfare she allowed the father of several mentally handicapped children, whose home was over a half a mile away from the school bus route, to leave them at her house early in the morning when he went to work to wait for the bus. Meanwhile she was trying to get her own house full of kids ready for school. These children never forgot her kindness and were devoted to her until her death.

- While the preservation movement was still in its infancy, she undertook to save the old historical water well at Bagdad Cemetery that was dug by the first settlers. It was going to be filled in so it would not be an inconvenience in the parking lot. At that time, this was so noteworthy that the Williamson County Sun did a special article on her and the well in August 10, 1972.

After her children had all left home, instead of enjoying her leisure time, she continued to grow a large garden, giving most of the yield away to friends and neighbors. She made and gave away homemade quilts, aprons, etc. Many women in Leander who knew of her efforts would save their leftover sewing material for her to use as “quilt scraps.”

In the latter part of her life, she lived beside a deceptively dangerous curve on infamous Highway 183. She became the informal rescue squad for those injured while trying to navigate it, offering them food, shelter, and use of telephone until help arrived.

This wonderful woman bridged that gap in Leander from quasi-frontier times to the growth of Leander as part of one of the major metropolitan areas of the nation. Bernice Knox came to Leander in 1922 as her family was moving their goats from drought-stricken Junction, Texas, to Dime Box. Her diary of that journey reflects a fascinating view of the Hill Country at that time, where she drove a chuck wagon and cooked for her family on the trail while her father and brothers herded their goats down the road, stopping periodically when ranchers asked them to have the goats eat out unwanted brush. It was during one of those such stops where she met and married Mood Wiley, the 1918 LHS valedictorian and a third generation native of Leander.

The Wiley's were one of the original families who came to Leander from eastern Tennessee after the Civil War. She made Leander her home and became a part of the fabric of the community and the Leander Presbyterian Church until her death in 1980.

There are and have been many dedicated parents in Leander--but those who knew Bernice Knox Wiley recognized that she had those special intangible qualities that made her unique. The Austin American-Statesman on July 22, 1973, did a special feature article on her, where the reporter tried to capture and describe this special individual.

While again she was the descendant of the founder of the Presbyterian Church and had many Presbyterian preachers and missionaries, as well as U.S. Senators, Congressmen, governors and generals in her family tree, she was completely unassuming. Life was hard and trying as a wife and mother of eight with modest economic means during the Depression and World War II. However, she was always content, with a ready happy smile and constantly fresh outlook. Her legion of friends ranged from the oldest to the youngest in the community. She forever remained young at heart.