Oral history with Mrs. Billie Rossie Tonos

              Oral history with Mrs. Billie Rossie Tonos
F341.5 . M57 vol. 748, pt. 2
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Biography
One of eight children, Billie Rossie Tonos was born November 12, 1924, in Shaw, Mississippi, to Nazira Hallal Rossie and Sam Rossie, Americans of Lebanese descent. In May of 1942, she was graduated from Shaw High School as valedictorian of her class.
In the fall of 1942, she enrolled at Delta State Teachers College where she pursued a B. S. degree in English and Social Studies. On campus she was involved in a choral group known as " The Little Foxes," Delta Singers, Delta Playhouse, and its fraternity Alpha Psi Omega. She was editor of the annual, The Broom, and was selected to Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities in her junior and senior years. She was graduated with honors in 1946.
Miss Rossie taught in Minter City and Shelby public schools and then at St. Joseph's Catholic School in Greenville. In July, 1951, she married John Michael Tonos, a grocer of Greenville. That marriage produced four children, all of whom graduated from St. Joseph's School.
In 1971, she resumed her teaching career at St. Joseph's until she retired in 1990. Her husband died in 1981.
Strong commitment to her faith and to her educational background provides a focus for her retirement. A member of St. Joseph's Choir, she also sings with the Red Cross Chorus. At Delta State University, she is active in the Alumni Association, a member of the Golden Circle, and an ambassador at the Bologna Arts Center.
She is also a member of the King's Daughters Senior Circle and the Cedars of Lebanon Club. Recently she was honored as Alumnus of the Year for the Washington County Alumni of Delta State University.
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