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Coach Williamson Retiring After 35 Years

When Shelly Williamson arrived at Plummer Elementary School in the summer of 1990, she had no idea that she’d work her entire professional career at the campus.

A gallon of gas was $1.15, the Dallas Cowboys only had two Super Bowl trophies, the Dallas Stars hadn’t moved down from Minnesota and Nolan Ryan was still pitching for the Texas Rangers.

Williamson knew she’d be assigned to teach physical education at Plummer or the newly-opened High Pointe Elementary. She preferred the sparkling new campus, but she was ultimately assigned to Plummer.

It was a blessing, she said.

“It’s going to be hard because of the people – the kids and the staff,” Williamson said. “Plummer is a family. It still has such a family vibe.”

Williamson said the Plummer tradition is a continuing one. When she was a new teacher, the longtime educators welcomed her. She would do the same, when new teachers were hired over the years.

Williamson grew up in a military family and graduated from high school in Munich, Germany. Part of her youth was in DeSoto, but she’s all Longhorn now.

She lives in Cedar Hill, with her wife, Shelly Bateman, a Cedar Hill High School Graduate and member of the Cedar Hill Longhorn Legacy Athletic Hall of Honor. Her mother-in-law Patricia Bateman is also a CHHS Graduate who on to serve as an executive assistant to former Cedar Hill City Manager Greg Porter.

Williamson graduated from Springfield College in Springfield, Massachusetts, but P.E. jobs were few and far between there. The Bay State’s loss was Cedar Hill’s gain as Williamson went on to become three-time Plummer Teacher of the Year.

In the early part of her career, Williamson would coach youth sports in addition to her P.E. job. It was there that she coached a 4-year-old named Seth Dannheim.

Years later, Williamson would coach Dannheim – another member of the Longhorn Legacy Athletic Hall of Honor – in the Special Olympics. 

Williamson and Dannheim became inseparable, as he became a P.E. volunteer for her Plummer classes. Last spring, Williamson was on hand to watch Dannheim win the CHISD Volunteer of the Year Award.

Luckily for Plummer scholars, Dannheim will continue to serve in that role.