Barbara Hatfield overcame a traumatic childhood in rural Kentucky to spend more than 30 years traveling the globe as an educator with the Department of Defense Dependents Schools (DoDDS), teaching children of American military families in Europe and Asia.
Hatfield said she was raised in poverty and subjected to abuse by her stepfather, and that she was forced to fend for herself by the age of 14. Her biological father died in a car crash and left her a small inheritance, which she said was quickly squandered by her mother and stepfather. Despite a turbulent start, Hatfield never let go of her dream to become a teacher.
“At 14, I was on my own,” Hatfield said.
She found refuge with a retired schoolteacher in Illinois through her stepfather’s older brother. Encouraged by her new guardian and fueled by ambition, Hatfield excelled in school. Even though she attended a one-room schoolhouse, she said she achieved the highest score in the state on standardized testing and was soon labeled “the brain” in high school.
Hatfield returned to Kentucky in her late teens, moving in with her half-sister and brother-in-law in Livermore. She worked at Weir’s Drug and Jewelry in Owensboro to save money for college. She said a legal claim on the house in Evansville, which had belonged to her mother and stepfather, also helped; she was awarded $1,000, which she combined with her savings to pursue further education.
“I did three semesters and summer school and started teaching in McLean County,” Hatfield said.
After stints teaching in both McLean and Daviess counties, Hatfield learned of a program hiring American teachers to work on overseas military bases. It was the opportunity she had dreamed of since childhood.
She joined the Department of Defense Dependents Schools in the early 1960s and received her first assignment in Mildenhall, England. That was the beginning of a 32-year journey that took her across Europe and beyond. She taught at bases in France, Germany, Italy, and eventually Spain, where she spent two decades in Madrid.
“I was with Americans overseas, so coming home felt just like returning from college,” she said. “But I saw almost every country in the world.”
Hatfield’s teaching career spanned second through eighth grade, though she spent most of her time in middle school classrooms. She specialized in reading, math, and even taught special education for two years. Her commitment and success earned her multiple Outstanding Teacher certificates.
Outside the classroom, she was constantly exploring. Hatfield traveled during school breaks, often by a car she saved for and eventually purchased overseas. She took part in one of the first groups of educators allowed into China and later returned to Asia with her niece. Over the years, she visited every continent, including Antarctica — and every U.S. state except Alaska.
“I always wanted to see faraway places,” she said. “From the seventh grade, that was my dream.”
Madrid became her second home. When she requested a transfer there following a breakup, she didn’t think it would be granted. But it was — and it became her favorite assignment.
“There’s very little I haven’t seen,” Hatfield said. “And nobody ever left Madrid once they got there.”
Hatfield never married. She said she left behind a man she loved in Owensboro, and while he moved on, she chose the path of adventure.
“I’ve had students from all over the world,” she said. “One even became mayor of Seattle. They still write to me.”
Even in retirement, Hatfield’s former students keep in touch through email and social media. Many write her heartfelt messages, and she’s quick to let them know how much they still mean to her — though computer issues have slowed down her correspondence.
Now nearing 90 and living in Owensboro, Hatfield said she’s done traveling. But she has no regrets.
“I had a childhood that nobody wants their kid to have,” she said. “But people helped me all along the way. And I’ve lived a life I’m proud of.”
Though most of the friends and family from her early years have passed, Hatfield said the support she found in her half-sister’s household gave her a second chance at childhood.
“They gave me a family — a warm family,” she said. “And that made all the difference.”
