Dorothy Carter “Dot” Scruggs, 93, of Sardis, died peacefully in her sleep on Friday May 25, 2023, at Azalea Commons in Batesville.

The family will receive friends Tuesday, May 30, from 1 p.m. until 2 p.m. at Wells Funeral Home with the funeral service immediately following in the Martin Willingham Memorial Chapel at Wells Funeral Home. Private Interment will follow in Rose Hill Cemetery in Sardis.

Dot was born on July 15, 1929, in the Poplar Flat community near Louisville,  to the late Ben Tillman and Irene Ellis Carter. She grew up in Belzoni, with her five siblings: three brothers and two sisters. Dot graduated from Belzoni High School in 1947; and it was there that she discovered her calling in life – to be a math teacher. Upon her graduation from Delta State Teachers College in 1950, she accepted a position as the Math teacher at Sardis High School, later known as North Panola High School.

In Sardis, she met and married her late husband, Ernest (Lit) Scruggs and it was there that they settled and raised a family. After North Panola, she taught in West Point High School, North Delta Academy, and Senatobia Schools. In her 40+ years of teaching mathematics, she inspired hundreds of students to learn and enjoy the complexities of math, whether 8th grade math or AP Calculus. As a result of these efforts, Dot was named STAR teacher by numerous students throughout her career.

Dot was a faithful and devout member of the First Baptist Church of Sardis, for over 50 years. She enjoyed many years of teaching Sunday School there and her love for the Lord was evident. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, her brothers, Spiva, Malcolm, and Byron Carter, as well as her sister, Evelyn Carter Biggers. She is survived by her son, Lee Scruggs (Mary), of Phobe,  and a sister, Yvonne (Shug) Dyson, of Jackson.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis.