MUS Today Fall 2023 by Memphis University School

OWLS MARK DAILY MEMPHIAN ANNIVERSARY

MEMPHIS FOURTH ESTATE TURNS FIVE

MUS TODAY THE ALUMNI MAGAZINE OF MEMPHIS UNIVERSITY SCHOOL l FALL 2023

The Mamma Mia! men’s chorus went underwater in Hyde Chapel for a scene in the November musical. Pictured from left, front row, Witt Ezzell ’26, Fenton Wright ’24, Tyler Edmundson ’25; back row, Bo Richards ’25, Trey Urcavich ’26, Russell Lindeman ’28, Will Hess ’24, and Noah Brooks ’25. History Instructor and Assistant Director of Theater Ted Fockler ’10 directed, Technical Director of Theater Robert Fudge handled the tech side, and Music Instructor Matt Tutor ’91 kept the ABBA tunes coming. English Instructor Jeff Posson ’03 and College Counseling Administrative Assistant Kim Justis Eikner served as assistant directors. Brandon Dill Photography

MUS TODAY THE ALUMNI MAGAZINE OF MEMPHIS UNIVERSITY SCHOOL l FALL 2023

F E AT U R E D T H I S I S S U E

6 Andy Cates ’89 and friends mark five years of The Daily Memphian

2 l MUS TODAY FALL 2023

Buck Lewis ’73 and team honored for work with ABAFreeLegalAnswers.org

Bill Townsend ’78 develops college search website

Alumni celebrate Homecoming 2023

Mark Dumas ’90 finds novel use for grandfather’s stories

musowls.org/media

IN EVERY ISSUE 4 From the Headmaster 5 Student Lauds 28 Board News 31 Faculty News 41 Class News and Milestones 54 Gifts in Memory and Honor

Assistant Head for Advancement Perry Dement perry.dement@musowls.org Director of Alumni and Parent Programs Ann Laughlin ann.laughlin@musowls.org

ON THE COVER Memphis Fourth Estate Board President and Chairman Andy Cates ’89 and Vice President Robert Davis ’82 stop for a photo at the Hilton Memphis in September after a MIFA event sponsored by The Daily Memphian. The nonprofit, online newspaper owned by Memphis Fourth Estate recently marked five years of publication. Read about the role Cates, Davis, and others have played in the founding and continued support of the news outlet on page 6. Photo by Wendy Adams

Assistant Director of Communications Rebecca Greer Communications Specialist Jonah Jordan Graphic Designer Kaitlan Koehler

Editor, Director of Communications Liz Copeland liz.copeland@musowls.org

Contributors Wendy Adams, photographer based in Memphis Christopher Blank, WKNO-FM news director Brandon Dill, photographer based in Memphis Jerry Gallik, photographer based in Memphis Patrick Lantrip, The Daily Memphian photographer Jon W. Sparks, writer based in Memphis Gaye Swan, writer based in Memphis Jim Weber, The Daily Memphian photographer

Founded 1893 MISSION STATEMENT Memphis University School is a college-preparatory school dedicated to academic excellence, cultivation of service and leadership, and the development of well-rounded young men of strong moral character, consistent with the school’s Christian tradition. © 2023 Memphis University School. All rights reserved. The name, seal, and logos of Memphis University School, as well as MUS Today, Inside MUS, The MUSe, The Owl’s Hoot, The Owl, and Beg To Differ, are registered marks of Memphis University School and use in any manner is prohibited unless prior written approval is obtained from Memphis University School.

HEADMASTER Peter D. Sanders BOARD OF TRUSTEES James F. Burnett ’83, Chairman Glenn A. Crosby II ’77, Vice Chairman Frederick C. Schaeffer, Jr. ’88, Secretary D. Stephen Morrow ’71, Treasurer Brandon K. Arrindell ’04 James H. Barton, Jr. ’85 R. Earl Blankenship Andrew F. Cates ’89 William B. Dunavant III ’78 Robert M. Fockler ’77 P. Trowbridge Gillespie, Jr. ’65 J. Brett Grinder ’91 Mark J. Halperin ’67 Robert J. Hussey III ’81 W. Thomas Hutton, Jr. ’91 Margaret C. McLean Jeffrey B. Meskin Richard C. Moore III ’98 Joseph M. Morrison ’78 William E. Orgel ’81 Jennifer R. Ransom Wiley T. Robinson ’75 William V. Thompson III ’95 William B. Townsend ’78 Philip S. Wunderlich ’90 ALUMNI ASSOCIATION EXECUTIVE BOARD Horace L. Carter ’89, President Scott S. Adams ’02 B. Galloway Allbright IV ’98 Jeremy G. Alpert ’91 William F. Bailey, Jr. ’96 W. Preston Battle IV ’07 Brandon A. Byrd ’07 Albert B. Carruthers II ’78 George R. Coors II ’09 John T. Crews III ’13 W. Calvin Edge III ’14 Thomas M. Garrott V ’15 James S. Gilliland, Jr. ’89 Jordan W. Hays ’18 Robert G. Heard III ’76 Kristopher C. Horne ’92 P. Graham Jones ’09 Lucius D. Jordan III ’83 Edward D. Lake ’13 William T. Levy, Sr. ’99 W. Neely Mallory IV ’07 Jay P. McDonald, Jr. ’00 Gregory P. McGowan ’86 E. Alston Meeks, Jr. ’99 James E. Sexton III ’14 J. McCown Smith, Jr. ’98 George J. Sousoulas ’78 George V. Steffens IV ’98 William H. Stokes ’09 Reid W. Wesson ’06

FROM THE HEADMASTER

Big News for Smaller Owls As our alumni and parents know best, Memphis University School has made its mark empowering boys through excellence since 1893. In an environment focused on honor, scholarship, service, and belonging, young men thrive as they prepare for college, and for life beyond their degrees. While our 130-year legacy is rooted in tradition, our institution is ever-evolving. Part of that evolution includes the introduction of Grade 6 to our Lower School in fall 2024. Following a multiyear study, our Sixth Grade Task Force and Board of Trustees determined that an earlier introduction to MUS would benefit Mid-South boys, especially those graduating from K-5 schools. For years boys in these institutions had to change schools for sixth grade before transitioning again to MUS for seventh grade. Now accepted students will only have to make one transition – while receiving the benefit of our extraordinary teachers and programs for an additional, formative year. As we expand our community to welcome rising sixth graders and their families, we recognize the interest must be met with intentionality. To appropriately scale our curriculum and extracurricular programs, both in the classroom and around campus, we will accept a limited number of boys for the introductory sixth-grade class, with plans for future growth. Applications for all grades are now open, and we encourage interested families to get in touch through our website, musowls.org/admissions, to further explore the value of an MUS education. We hope the following pages inspire and remind you of that distinct MUS experience. We are very excited about what this sixth-grade expansion means both for our school and for the greater community. We appreciate your help in spreading the word. Veritas Honorque,

PETER D. SANDERS HEADMASTER JAMES F. BURNETT ’83 CHAIRMAN, BOARD OF TRUSTEES

4 l MUS TODAY FALL 2023

BRINGING

HOME THE LAUDS

Evan Wu’s Research Published Evan Wu ’24 spent much of his free time the last two years on an unconventional task for a high school student: analyzing genetic data for human and mice tissue and writing about it. His resulting research paper – Conserved Spatiotemporal Expression Landscape of Dominant tRNA Genes in Human and Mouse – has been published in the peer-reviewed journal Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications. He began the research after his freshman Biology course and sought advice during the two-year project from his teacher, Instructor in Science Laura Landry. She is named alongside Wu on the paper, but she shines the light on Wu. “This is an outstanding achievement for a high school student,” Landry said. “Evan did all the analysis, data crunching, research,

and writing. I read through drafts and data and did a small amount of troubleshooting to give him feedback and encouragement along the way.” Wu used data published on RNA expression from previous research projects to critically analyze the expression patterns in human and mice tissues, Landry said. “He made a new discovery – not previously published – which is that in both species, the total expression of tRNA is the highest in the heart. His findings also confirmed previously published data on other organ expression patterns, which helps to support his analysis methods and statistical approach.” “It felt kind of like a scavenger hunt,” Wu said. “A lot of my process was reading through papers to make sure I didn’t double-dip on anything. Your data is a sea

of numbers, but when you can make sense of it, it’s really rewarding.” The research Evan Wu ’24 and Laura Landry was tedious, he said, and sometimes he felt like giving up, especially when he encountered a problem with the data. “You get nervous that all your work will go to waste,” he said. When that happened, he would take a break, returning when he felt motivated again. He said he appreciated Ms. Landry’s encouragement during these times.

Owls Earn National Academic Honors

2023-24 National Merit Semifinalists Parker Blackwell, Samuel Callan, Gabe Chen, Tyler Dang, Bryan Ding, Will Gramm, Parth Patel, Evan Wu, and Alan Zhou.

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation and College Board have honored 26 Memphis University School seniors, representing nearly 23% of the Class of 2024, for their high marks on the Preliminary SAT/ National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. The honorees include National Merit Semifinalists Parker Blackwell, Samuel Callan, Gabe Chen, Tyler Dang, Bryan Ding, Will Gramm, Parth Patel, Evan Wu, and Alan Zhou. The semifinalist designation indicates their PSAT scores rank in the top 1% nationwide. Among 16,000 students to receive the honor, the students will compete for 7,140 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $28 million that will be offered next spring. The following 15 seniors received recognition as National Merit Commended Scholars, indicating their PSAT scores rank among the top 3-4% in the United States: Dannie Dong, Henry Duncan, Harry

Feild, Harrison Goetze, Hayes Graham, Nathaniel Griffin, Will Hess, Andrew Kuhlo, Tucker Lowery, Zander Mathes, Eshaan Patnaik, Everett Sego, Neil Seth, Charlie Treadwell, and Jerry Xiao. In addition, the College Board recognized senior Jeremiah Tisdell as a 2023 National African American Recognition Scholar, and in the previous year, Jorge Garcia from the Class of 2024 received National Hispanic Recognition Program designation. The programs honor academically exceptional African American and Hispanic students who have a grade point average of 3.5 of higher and score in the top 10% in the state on the PSAT or earn a score of 3 or higher on two or more AP exams. Class of 2025 honors: The College Board also selected juniors Ammar Duldul and Tyler Edmundson as 2023 National African American Recognition honorees.

Power of the Nonprofit, Subscriber-supported,

DIGITAL PRESS

How Andy Cates and friends launched The Daily Memphian and, five years later, continue to work at sustainability BY JON W. SPARKS

ne of the first things you will notice about Andy Cates is that he’s always a few steps ahead. He knows the best spot in the coffee shop, he knows Memphis, he knows his business. And probably your business, too. Pay attention when having a conversation – anything he doesn’t know, he will press you for answers. He’s like a journalist that way – curious and driven. He’s not a reporter, although he does devour information. That makes Andy Cates ’89 well suited to be a co-founder and the chairman of the board of Memphis Fourth Estate, Inc., the 501(c)3 nonprofit – named for the term representing the media in a society – that owns and oversees The Daily Memphian online newspaper. He is also CEO and General Partner of RVC Outdoor Destinations and Managing Member of Value Acquisition Fund. So, he knows a thing or two about journalism as well as entrepreneurialism, both of which are linked to a fierce sense of civic duty. That’s evidenced by his involvement in getting the Grizzlies to come to Memphis as well as his work developing the Soulsville Revitalization Project. Add to those achievements the fact that The Daily

6 l MUS TODAY FALL 2023

Memphis Fourth Estate Board Vice President Robert Davis ’82 and President and Chairman Andy Cates’89 with The Daily Memphian CEO Eric Barnes at the Hilton Memphis after a MIFA event sponsored by the online newspaper. Photo by Wendy Adams

Memphian celebrated its fifth anniversary in September. In an era when newspapers are shrinking and disappearing, it’s a bold move to create a media startup from scratch – and keep it going. “I’ve always felt strongly that if you don’t have a strong local newspaper in a community, you’re already going to be at a disadvantage,” he says. “That’s everything from telling the good stories of what’s happening to holding people accountable, especially government. And to me the most critical part of the Fourth Estate is to have a communication system that brings the city together and proposes solutions to key problems. That’s what I think we’re doing now, and you have to have that for a healthy city.” Civic involvement has been a part of

Cates’ life from the start. His father, the late George Cates, was a prominent Memphis civic leader and philanthropist, and Andy has carried on the legacy. At Memphis University School he was a Civic Service Club leader, serving as vice president and then president. On the newspaper staff he was editorials editor his senior year. Just over a decade later, when he was involved with the group of influential Memphians who worked on getting the Grizzlies to come to town, he got to know Geoff Calkins, the sports columnist for The Commercial Appeal. “I saw how powerful his voice was,” Cates says. “Many people forget that it wasn’t a cup of tea getting the Grizzlies here and getting FedExForum built. It was important to have Geoff as an extraordinarily trusted, thoughtful voice,

who questioned everything. And he fully and transparently explained in the legacy paper what was going on.” But that legacy newspaper started to fail. Cates is quick to make an essential distinction: “Not the people there, I want to be clear, but the folks who took it over were decimating it,” he says. “We started seeing pictures of prominent Memphians with the wrong name attached. We saw tons of Nashville news that had nothing to do with us, not about the state legislature but about a society ball in Nashville. This cluelessness and lack of awareness and support from Memphis was difficult to fathom.” Cates and a group of investors made a bid to buy the newspaper, but Gannett was on an acquisition spree for its portfolio and sealed a deal first. In retrospect, he’s glad he didn’t end up with it. But having immersed himself in what was going on and having conducted research in other cities, Cates nurtured his ideas. The Daily News publisher Eric Barnes ( father of Reed Barnes ’16) was a friend and neighbor, and they had spoken at length about the state of the media in Memphis. It was also clear that many journalists were frustrated. “We had this extraordinarily lucky, perfect storm of opportunity where we had the ability to get many of the best journalists in town,” Cates says. “We had a very strong leader in Eric, who was ready to help and expand what he was already working on. Geoff was beyond critical and ready to move over. And then we went to some

extraordinarily smart and capable folks that were willing to help build it and help fund it.” Cates’ entrepreneurial mind keeps him a step ahead, giving him the ability to envision an outcome that aims above and beyond but also the awareness of the nuts and bolts required to pull it off. To create a new legacy publication, he knew that plenty of money had to be raised early, the mission had to be clear, and it had to be designed to succeed. Just having a couple of journalists on a website wouldn’t generate enough content or traffic to cover a city. He wanted this new enterprise to become the newspaper of record, and he believes The Daily Memphian has done that. “We are the lab experiment for local journalism flourishing in America,” Cates says. There are other digital startup newspapers around the country, but none are exactly the model of The Daily Memphian – nonprofit, subscriber-supported, and purely digital. Like the most capable entrepreneurs, he doesn’t allow satisfaction with the effort – or the challenges faced – to obscure the mission. In its half-decade of innovation, the news site has had to deal with nothing less than a global pandemic and economic rough seas on top of its daily coverage. It continues, Cates believes, thanks to the acceptance of the city. “I’m extraordinarily proud of what’s being built, but I say being built because the community is continuously supporting us. Without that, it won’t work.”

Owl Connections Run Deep

health books and hosts The Healthy Skeptic video series. He gives credit where it’s due: “I had fantastic English teachers at MUS who instilled in me those skills and gave me the confidence that I could do that for a living as a journalist.” He also cites his training in writing and critical thinking as key to being an effective board member at Memphis Fourth Estate. Davis, who lives in Los Angeles, is on the phone with Cates nearly every day. “Andy is a force of nature,” he says. “And to see him in action and the way that he is able to encourage everybody to do their best and to

ey Memphis Fourth Estate board members are MUS alumni or from MUS families, including Vice President Robert Davis ’82. “Robert’s been the most active board member,” Cates says. “He’s incredibly deeply engaged and was absolutely a critical part of getting this started and built. He was, frankly, my first phone call.” Davis is president, CEO, and editorin-chief at Everwell, a health and wellness TV service. He has written four consumer

Daily Memphian

BY THE NUMBERS 40

full-time journalists and 20 freelancers

35,000

articles published

18,500

household subscriptions

450,000

unique visitors to the website each month

80%

of expenses currently covered through subscriptions, advertising, and sponsorships

$13 million

in donations received through the nonprofit Memphis Fourth Estate

Source: The Daily Memphian CEO Eric Barnes and Memphis Fourth Estate Chairman Andy Cates

continually challenge us all to do better has really been phenomenal.” Board members are mindful not only of what they need to do, but also what they should not do. “Andy’s role is to make sure that we’re thinking about things but never dictating,” Davis says. “His leadership and expertise never cross that line, and he respects the independence of the journalists who are actually doing the work.” Cates lives by that distinction. He chose not to be photographed in the Daily Memphian newsroom for this article to emphasize the hands-off role of the board.

“We’re covering the city in all its complexity,” he says, “and we’re holding folks and ourselves accountable. We’re providing solutions. As a board, we prioritize coverage areas, but we don’t dictate content – we’re very careful about that. We believe we have a public safety crisis; however, we don’t think it’s helpful to tell you about every tragedy. Those are important to know, but we’re not doing the crime of the day. We are going to do the major stories that are affecting public safety. Often there are, sadly, specific stories that we must tell as part of that, but we always want to try to come through with solutions and with voices in the community that are providing those solutions.” Another alumnus on the board brings vast journalism experience. Edward Felsenthal ’84 is executive chairman and contributing editor at TIME magazine. Based in New York City, he served for six years as editor-in-chief, four years of which were also as CEO. A few years ago, Felsenthal heard of the effort to start a Memphis nonprofit news organization. “Because I’ve been in the industry for 30-plus years, I’d been watching the development of fabulous nonprofit news organizations all across the country. But when Andy asked if I’d be part of the board, it was an incredibly busy time in my life. I was running TIME as CEO and editor-inchief, and we had new ownership.”

On top of that, Felsenthal had young children, ages 10, 7, and 1. But he saw that what would become The Daily Memphian would be important for the city and important for journalism. “I’ve been part of it ever since,” he says. “It’s the work of many people, but I think special tribute goes to Andy, who is tireless and relentless in the best way, and I think just key to making it all happen.” Also on the board is Mary Tabor Engel, a former reporter for The New York Times and sister of alumni Owen Tabor ’85, an orthopedic surgeon at OrthoSouth, and Wellford Tabor ’86, managing director at HF Capital. MUS is also represented on The Daily Memphian staff by Sports Editor David Boyd ’83. “So, we have extraordinarily deep ties to MUS,” says Cates, who also serves on the school’s Board of Trustees. “I believe the English Department at MUS is legitimately one of the best in the country. I see that, and I’ve benefited from that in my own attempts at writing. It really does carry forward, and you see that in the talent and lifelong skills that we were all fortunate enough to get at MUS.” Perhaps his strongest endorsement is that he and his wife, Allison, sent their son, Stephen Cates ’21, now at Texas Christian University, to MUS. Stephen’s twin, Frances Cates (Hutchison ’21), is at University of

Texas at Austin. While the academics are strong, Cates says that what is truly the best part of MUS is character development, and from that comes the servant-leader mentality. “To whom much as given, much is expected,” he says, “and go make the world a better place.” After Cates earned a business degree from the University of Texas at Austin, he went to Dallas where he worked for the Trammell Crow Company and Crow Investment Trust. Returning to Memphis in 1999, he was the founding chairman and project developer of the Soulsville Revitalization Project that included Stax Museum of American Soul Music, Soulsville Charter School, and Stax Music Academy. In the summer of 2000, Cates joined a team of business and civic leaders – including his brother, Staley Cates ’82, and Pitt Hyde ’61 – to bring the National Basketball Association’s Vancouver Grizzlies to Memphis. Meanwhile, Cates built RVC Outdoor Destinations, which develops high-quality resorts around the country, from Yosemite to Florida. It has been serving the travel market for some 15 years. The outdoor resorts bring in RV travelers while offering cabins, tent sites, and other accommodations with scenery galore. Cates sees it as a growing market that feeds the need of a growing number of travelers.

business,” he says. “And we need to prove that the business model is sustainable. We’re getting closer and closer to that, but it’s taken longer than we expected. We still depend on raising dollars, but we do have financial stability – we’re going to make it.” He is confident, even in light of the risks and uncertainties that attend any entrepreneurial effort. The Daily Memphian gets backing from core supporters, but Cates – always aiming to be a step ahead – continues to push for fresh engagement. “Obviously, we need continued expansion of an increase in financial support,” he says. “I’d also add engagement of leadership. If you’re

living in Memphis, and you don’t subscribe, then pardon me and call me patronizing or obnoxious, but shame on you.” He points out that there is no cost to teachers and schools, so paid subscriptions continue to make that possible. “You’re supporting something that’s critical, and you get a lot more than what you pay for.” His words reflect a deep-seated belief in the vital role the Fourth Estate plays in a democracy. “The power of good journalism is that transparency and exposure of a deficit or a problem typically does lead to action.”

Envisioning the Path Forward

ooking ahead, after years of preparation and now five years of publishing, where does Cates hope The Daily Memphian is headed? “We’ve grown faster than I thought we’d grow,” he says. “We’re two times the size of the legacy paper newsroom. We have by far the biggest digital paid subscriber base. We’ve got the most traffic, I would argue strongly. We’ve got the most eyeballs of those who are civically engaged in Memphis. We need to grow all of that.” Down the road, he would like to continue to prove sustainability. “We are a nonprofit, but we operate very much as a

8 l MUS TODAY FALL 2023

From the 1984 yearbook: "During the traditional Tuesday organizational period, Edward Felsenthal assigns articles to Mike Carroll and Gregg Landau."

From the 1982 yearbook: "Before the ink has dried, Mr. Thompson and Editor Robert Davis gloat over a job well done."

The Owl’s Hoot as Talent Incubator

emphis Fourth Estate board members Robert Davis ’82, Edward Felsenthal ’84, and Andy Cates ’89 all got a start in journalism at Memphis University School. English Instructor Terry Shelton (1951-2018) recruited Davis to serve as the first editor of the Lower School newspaper, The Half Hoot. That same year he served as anchor for the school’s internal television station, WMUS. “It was then that I knew I wanted to work in television,” says Davis, president, CEO, and editor-in-chief at the health and wellness TV service Everwell. Davis also spent four years on The Owl’s Hoot staff in Upper School, serving as assistant editor and then editor-in-chief under the English teacher who is still the newspaper’s advisor, Norman Thompson. Felsenthal followed a similar path, working on The Half Hoot in Lower School and spending four years with The Owl’s Hoot, including his senior year as editor-in-chief. “I always loved to write and was encouraged in that by the English faculty at MUS,” says Felsenthal, executive chairman and contributing editor at TIME magazine. “But really, being part of the high school newspaper in particular gave me a sense of what it was like to be a journalist and to see what journalism could do for communities. It shaped my direction.” Memphis Fourth Estate Chairman Cates joined the newspaper staff as a junior and served as editorials editor senior year. He sees the benefit of the strong English program at MUS. “Robert and I talk about [how] it’s no accident you have a disproportionate amount of journalism talent, when you look over the years, coming out of MUS – and just general writing, including business writing.”

This Letter from the Editor appeared in the 1982 yearbook.

5 YEARS IN PHOTOS The Daily Memphian’s anniversary coverage includes a collection of favorite photos. We share a few here. See more at tinyurl.com/photosDM.

Memphis Showboats receiver Vinny Papale (13) tries to haul in a pass during an April 15, 2023, game against the Philadelphia Stars. Photo by Patrick Lantrip

A Christ Community Health Center worker is sprayed with Lysol while collecting COVID-19 nasal swabs on July 14, 2020. Photo by Mark Weber

MLGW crews work to restore power along Winchester on July 19, 2023, after a storm. Photo by Mark Weber.

Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. gets hyped up with his teammates in a pregame huddle just before the January 28, 2022, home game against the Utah Jazz. Photo by Patrick Lantrip

10 l MUS TODAY FALL 2023

A large sandbar reflects historically low water levels along the Mississippi River on October 27, 2022. Photo by Mark Weber

Memphis Tigers Head Coach Penny Hardaway is introduced at FedExForum on October 3, 2019. Photo by Mark Weber

MUS receiver Gavin McKay ’21 loses a shoe while scoring a touchdown against CBHS on September 5, 2019. Photo by Mark Weber

Mourners hold photos of Lisa Marie Presley at a Graceland memorial service on January 22, 2023. Photo by Patrick Lantrip

Matt Ludwig tumbles to the ground after an unsuccessful attempt during the pole vaulting portion of the Ed Murphey Classic on Beale Street on July 30, 2022. Photo by Patrick Lantrip

Justice for All BY GAYE SWAN

Buck Lewis’s compassion a driving force behind FreeLegalAnswers pro bono advice website

rowing up, Buck Lewis ’73 learned compassion from his mom. “My mother’s family was extremely poor,” he says. “My grandfather was a house painter, so if he wasn’t feeling well or the weather was bad, the family had no money coming in. Sometimes, they didn’t have enough food from week to week.” His mother told him of times when a lawyer was available to help the family navigate challenges. Through the experiences she shared, Lewis learned what a difference it made to have someone with a little more education in your corner. “I learned from my mother to treat everyone with respect,” Lewis says. “She and my father taught me to regard a good education as a privilege and to pay it forward through public service. The servant-leader culture I was raised in was mirrored and reinforced at MUS.” After earning his undergraduate degree in business and his JD/MBA from the University of Tennessee, Lewis joined the Baker Donelson law firm in 1981. His career has been stellar – he was named Class Action Lawyer of the Year and Appellate Lawyer of the Year twice by Best Lawyers in America and Lawyer of the Year by the Memphis Business Journal. With a roster of prestigious clients, he is an inductee in the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers. Lewis has twice received the Presidential Citation from the American Bar Association. He played a vital role – along with

12 l MUS TODAY FALL 2023

many others, he will tell you – in activities leading to a recent award for Baker Donelson. On April 20, the ABA Section of Litigation honored the firm with the prestigious 2023 John Minor Wisdom Public Service and Professionalism Award. The national recognition celebrates outstanding contributions to improving access to justice and ensuring that the legal system is inclusive and available to everyone. Baker Donelson was specifically acknowledged for creating and curating FreeLegalAnswers (ABAFreeLegalAnswers.org) since 2010. Free Legal Answers is a website that allows low-income clients to receive pro bono legal advice from volunteer lawyers – a virtual free legal clinic. The platform was designed to address the justice gap; studies

estimate that low-income Americans lack adequate legal help for 92% of their critical civil legal problems. The driving force behind the creation of the platform? Lewis’s vision and determination. He began leading the development of the virtual legal advice clinic while he was serving as president of the Tennessee Bar Association in 2008. “When I went on a listening tour of the state with Chief Justice Janice Holder, I noticed lawyers responding to their paying clients on their Blackberries. I thought it would be an easy way for them to answer legal questions for pro bono clients as well,” he says. “Most lawyers love to experience the joy of pro bono work. I wanted us to offer an easy way for them to represent people

With the American Bar Association Section of Litigation’s John Minor Wisdom Award are, from left, Kent Lambert, Baker Donelson New Orleans Office managing shareholder; Jonathan Cole, Baker Donelson Pro Bono Committee chair; Malinda Lewis and her husband, Buck Lewis, past president of the Tennessee Bar Association and past chair of the ABA Pro Bono Public Service Committee; Linda A. Klein, Baker Donelson senior managing shareholder and past president of the ABA; and Danny Van Horn, chair of the ABA Litigation Section and past president of the TBA.

Through ABAFreeLegalAnswers.org, 12,750 volunteer lawyers throughout the United States have responded to 315,000 civil legal questions at no cost to the clients.

Photo by Wendy Adams

anywhere, anytime they could access the internet. The convenience and simplicity of FreeLegalAnswers makes that possible.” Baker Donelson’s IT staff created the technology to develop an online program that can easily connect pro bono volunteer lawyers with people who need legal assistance. Income-eligible individuals post their civil legal questions to be answered by attorneys from their jurisdiction at no cost to the clients. While Lewis was serving as chair of the ABA Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service in 2016, the program was made available nationwide. Today, ABA FreeLegalAnswers is a national online virtual legal clinic with 45 jurisdictions open for client access, including a federal portal that addresses veterans’ benefits and immigration questions and analogous sites in England, Wales, Australia, and New Zealand. Since the

site’s launch, 12,750 volunteer lawyers in the United States have responded to 315,000 civil legal questions. “Ever since Buck was a student at MUS, if he was passionate about something, you could guarantee that he would execute on that passion beautifully,” says Chairman Emeritus of Baker Donelson Ben Adams ’74. “He has been passionate about pro bono legal services for many years. This is an amazing example of what one person can do with vision and persistence. For those who know Buck, it is not all that surprising.” Lewis calls it a team effort. “The enthusiasm of the team in our tech department, the support of the firm leadership, the Tennessee Bar, the Tennessee Supreme Court, and the American Bar Association have been critical all along the way. And all the MUS alumni at the firm have supported it financially and by volunteering on the site.” (Alumni colleagues include

Adams, Sam Blair ’74, Buck Wellford ’74, Spencer Clift ’92, and Robert Tom ’96.) Looking back, Lewis is grateful for the examples set by the teachers and staff at MUS. “Headmaster Ellis Haguewood and history professor Mike Deadrick were both influential to me in terms of a public service ethic – that is something both teachers always stressed as important.” Reflecting on his pro bono and accessto-justice work, he feels both joy and contentment that these efforts continue to make a difference in the lives of others. “As you get older and look back on how you’ve spent your time, you do reflect on whether you’ve made wise choices. Developing FreeLegalAnswers was one of the wisest choices I’ve ever made, and it continues to bring great joy to our army of volunteers.”

n o i t a l u c i r Mat Game

Bill Townsend at Annesdale Mansion before hosting his Class of 1978 reunion

Bill Townsend’s counterpoint to ranking college websites puts students and parents in the driver’s seat BY CHRISTOPHER BLANK

ennifer Spector-Townsend, a high school junior, was beginning her search for a college when she received an assignment from an admissions counselor: make a spreadsheet of 15 to 20 schools that piqued her interest and compare “facts” about the schools. Her father, Bill Townsend ’78, was hovering. “This is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard of,” he remarked. “A huge waste of time. This whole search should be automated so you spend time actually evaluating schools and not just digging around for random information.” In the process of helping his daughter, he noticed that accurate data was difficult to find. Google’s algorithms promoted popular search results or paid advertisements. Some facts were out of date. That’s when Townsend got the idea for a website that could do this very task of collating information about higher education institutions, much of it publicly available through the U.S. Department of Education’s College Scorecard. He is not, however, a web designer. “I was in way over my head,” Townsend says. A phone call to an old friend from Rhodes College solved that part of the problem. Christian Boswell, who works for BFW, Inc., a branding and digital agency in Boca Raton, Florida, had his company design the front end of the site. (Boswell is the uncle of Graham ’18, Evan ’21, and Julian Boswell ’27.) Two years after the idea was hatched, in May 2022, they launched College Rover (CollegeRover. com), a “data neutral” search engine that shuns the hype of rankings and reviews and offers a practical, consumer-driven approach to information about higher education. “I don’t have an opinion about anything,” Townsend says of the site’s “anti-ranking” policy. “I just want parents, students, and counselors to have the best available information in the marketplace.”

The Ultimate Spreadsheet

Townsend may not be a higher ed expert,

14 l MUS TODAY FALL 2023

but his nearly 20 years of experience working with big data for companies such as Nestle and Hunt-Wesson gave him some perspective on why the college search process is dominated by lists and rankings, such as those published by U.S. News and World Report or The Princeton Review. “A lot of people think that’s the end-allbe-all for colleges,” Townsend says. “But I think a lot of the metrics are flawed.” He wonders, for example, what the size of an endowment – which factors heavily in some listings – has to do with academic quality. A small liberal arts college with 500 students, he says, may be harder to get into than a major university like UCLA, but does it really offer a better education? “It’s very confusing because the methodologies are different from ranking to ranking,” Townsend says. “And, sure, some parents and students are looking for a top25 school. But sometimes they get fixated on rank instead of attributes that might be better for the individual.” Townsend says the prestige factor can overshadow valuable opportunities at lesserranked schools. “What you see is that the Berklee College of Music in Boston is accepting the cream of the crop,” he says. “So they don’t really have to offer scholarships. Maybe you’re trying to get a great music education, but one that’s more in line with your family’s resources.” Boswell says College Rover provides substantial comparisons on a wide range of factors. “What’s the usefulness of knowing Princeton is a really good school? Everybody knows that,” Boswell says. “But let’s say you want to learn about winemaking; have you ever even heard of UC Davis? Or which is a better college town, Tallahassee or Gainesville? We thought there was a lot of value in data that doesn’t show up in ranking sites.” Townsend says institutional exclusivity isn’t a factor for many students, especially minorities, first-generation college students, or those facing economic challenges. “The end of affirmative action and legacy admissions could really have an

impact on some students,” Townsend says. “The question becomes not necessarily finding the best school, but the best fit or the best value.”

To Go, Once More, A-Roving

After decades living in Southern California, the self-styled “serial entrepreneur” moved back to Memphis around 2018 and started making headlines for his high-profile real estate buys. Townsend’s portfolio of vintage properties includes the Luciann Theater on Summer ( formerly the Paris Adult Theatre), the Masonic Temple Downtown, the Lowenstein House and the PillowMcIntyre House in Victorian Village, and the Annesdale Mansion in the AnnesdaleSnowden neighborhood off Lamar Avenue. His interest in these buildings, besides their historical value, is their potential to revitalize neglected areas and incentivize economic development. “I look at it as reinvesting in Memphis,” he says. “We can’t just keep moving East. We have to rebuild our communities, and these properties can become anchor points in neighborhoods.”

The 1850-era Annesdale Mansion is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

In that same vein, he sees College Rover as a tool for social development. The future of Memphis, he says, depends on an educated workforce. His own college experience reflects changes in both his educational needs and his family circumstances. After graduating from MUS, he attended Memphis State (now the University of Memphis), the University of Tennessee, and Shelby State (now Southwest Tennessee

Community College). “I had a great experience [at Shelby State],” he adds. “I had fantastic teachers, small classes, got a great education, and, by the way, the accounting classes were wicked hard.” He spent a summer learning Spanish in a University of Arizona immersion program in Guadalajara, Mexico, and returned to finish his undergraduate degree at Rhodes. He then earned a master’s in international relations at the University of Southern California. Given his own path, Townsend says College Rover will eventually grow to include community colleges, as well as tech and trade schools. “It doesn’t matter whether you’re going to a welding school or USC,” he says. “Education is the key to a better job or living in a nicer place. It helps build neighborhoods, and that’s a lot of what I’m about: community and neighborhoods.” College Rover is free to visit, but subscription-based after a few searches. He says people attach value to something with a fee, so College Rover charges a token $3 per month, which is time enough for most college students to print out that spreadsheet. The site is currently trending to get about 50,000 organic users per month. Visits spike in February as high school juniors start to narrow their focus on prospective colleges. New modules are continuously being added. Says Boswell: “We’re trying to respond to what users want. It’s an ongoing process.” Meanwhile, Townsend long ago fulfilled his primary mission: to help his four children (two sets of twins) get into college. Four different colleges, in fact. What the spreadsheets haven’t been able to tell him, he laments, is a better way to get kids to college. “Yeah, I’m pretty much on the road every August,” he said. “I’m still that dad who wants to be there for them when they’re starting the semester. But it’s a lot of traveling.”

ALUMNI NEWS

Alumni Executive Board Awards

Keith Ingram and Scott Rose Celebrated for Leadership and Service VOLUNTEER OF OF THE THE YEAR YEAR VOLUNTEER The Alumni Executive Board held its annual Awards Luncheon in the Wunderlich Lobby October 19 to celebrate the Alumnus of the Year and the Volunteer of the Year.

The Volunteer of the Year Award is presented to an alumnus who serves MUS in a significant and needed way throughout the year, seeking opportunities to promote the interests of the school. The 2023 Volunteer of the Year, Scott Rose ’82, had a standout basketball career for MUS and the University of Arkansas before earning his Juris Doctor from University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law and building a career as an attorney. He has given back generously to the Owls basketball program for a total of 14 years as a volunteer coach for school teams and summer basketball camps. He coached the seventh grade Owls from 1996-2006 and served as the junior varsity head coach and varsity assistant coach from 2019-23. His JV teams combined for a 47-20 record, earning a 70% winning average. More important, he built lasting relationships with players leading to their growth as athletes and young men. Basketball Head Coach David Willson ’99 says his work on the court, in team meetings, and in general conversation has been invaluable. “Coach Rose’s love for MUS has been on full display though his selfless contributions to our basketball program. He is admired by his former players. He has also been a great advisor and friend, for which I am extremely grateful.” After expressing gratitude and humility for the award, Rose used his time to praise Owls basketball coaches. He came to MUS to play for Coach Jerry Peters after participating in summer basketball camps. “Coming to MUS was the best thing I ever did,” he said. “Coach Peters, outside my

16 l MUS TODAY FALL 2023

From left, Ruth Peters, David Willson ’99, Carolyn Rose, Scott Rose ’82, Robert O’Kelley, and Bobby Alston

family, was the most influential person in my life. I am forever grateful for what he did.” Rose went on to thank Athletics Assistant Director Matt Bakke for serving as a mentor to him. Bakke was Peters’ assistant coach for 13 years before taking the reins as head coach in 2012. “Matt was a great player … and one of the most respected and wellliked people that I know.” Turning to the current basketball head coach, he said, “Y’all hit a home run when you hired David Willson [in 2019]. He has as good basketball knowledge as anyone I’ve ever seen. His preparation is second to none. His ability to teach these kids, to hold them accountable but encourage them is as good as I’ve ever seen. We are lucky to have him. Go, Owls, and thank you.

The Alumni Executive Board welcomes the following new members to serve up to two, three-year terms. Jeremy Alpert ’91 Ted Bailey ’96 Brandon Byrd ’07 Tripp Crews ’13

Tom Garrott ’15 Jordan Hays ’18 Will Stokes ’09

For more photos visit musowls.org/photo-gallery.

ALUMNI NEWS

Alumnus of OF THE THE YEAR YEAR Alumnus The Alumni Executive Board held its annual Awards Luncheon in the Wunderlich Lobby October 19 to celebrate the Alumnus of the Year and the Volunteer of the Year.

The Alumnus of the Year Award is presented to an alumnus who exemplifies community leadership and personal integrity, personifying the school’s guiding principle of developing well-rounded men of strong moral character. The 2023 Alumnus of the Year, Keith Ingram ’73, graduated from the University of Mississippi and built a distinguished career in both the public and private sector. Although he followed his father, Bill Ingram, and brother, Kent Ingram ’60, to the Arkansas Senate (2013-23), his public service career began as mayor of West Memphis from 1987-95. Along the way, he served as vice president of Razorback Concrete and was a four-term president of the West Memphis Chamber of Commerce. In 2009 he was sworn into the House of Representatives for the Arkansas State Legislature where he served a few years before being elected to the Arkansas Senate just prior to the 2013 session. Ingram was Senate Minority Leader for two terms and a member or vice chair on a variety of committees, subcommittees, and task forces. For this work he has been recognized as Legislator of the Year, Citizen of the Year, and Distinguished Legislator by various groups. Aside from his work as an elected official, Ingram served as the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame president, and he was named a Public Health Hero by the Arkansas Public Health Association in 2009. He received the Statesmanship Award from the Arkansas Hospital Association. Over the years he has sought an increase in funding for vocational education and health services, including a state-run trauma system. He is a founder of the Arkansas Delta Council,

an agency that promotes economic development. Upon receiving the Alumnus of the Year Award, Ingram praised the selection of Scott Rose as Volunteer of the Year, saying that those who give of their time are giving part of themselves. “You can earn money, but you can’t earn time back. Volunteers are From left, Kent Ingram ’60, Stacey Certain, John Jones, Maggie Hogan, so special in every Keith Ingram ’73, Robin Ingram, Scott Arnold, and Hadley Arnold facet of life. Scott, I just want to salute His class also experienced the next you. What a great selection.” generation of teachers and leaders, he He transitioned with a humorous said – Bob Boelte, John Harkins, Norman anecdote: “When I got the letter about my Thompson, Skip Daniel, Ellis Haguewood. selection, I didn’t tell anyone for about two “You know, Ellis is such a remarkable man. months because I was convinced this was His passion, his drive, his oddly charismatic another of Loeb’s practical jokes!” That drew sense of humor moved our school to the next a big laugh from Bob Loeb ’73 and fellow level. When he spoke, his insight and true classmates sitting at a table together. character came through. He never failed to Ingram referenced the “kind fate” from capture the moment,” Ingram said. He then the MUS Hymn that brought his classmates led the crowd in 15 Snappy Rahs in honor of together. “And then I think about the fate that brought the faculty here – Coach Thorn the headmaster emeritus, who was present with his wife, Peggy. and Col. Lynn, John Murry Springfield, “People in this room make this so very Coach Peters. Ruth, so glad you’re here,” he special for me. I love MUS, and I love our said, indicating Peters’ beloved wife. “Coach Class of 1973. Please know how deeply Peters was an individual who changed touched I am. I am truly humbled to be people’s lives whether they had him in the honored by the school that has meant so classroom or on the basketball court.” much to me.” Regarding the incomparable English teacher Bill Hatchett, he said, “I can still say the first 23 lines of The Canterbury Tales. Met [Crump ’60] can do that in French.”

HOME COMING 2023

Coming Home to Fun and Friends Alumni came from near and far to remember old times and make more good times during Homecoming 2023. Festivities included a Golden Owls Reception at the Headmaster’s House, a kickoff dinner in the Dining Hall, a 50th anniversary luncheon in Morgan Foyer, a golf scramble at Overton Park 9, and class parties across the city. On the gridiron, the Owls defeated Oakhaven, 42-0, as fundraising winners watched from Alumni Terrace. We had a wonderful time celebrating our alumni! For more photos, see the Alumni Album photo galleries on our website at musowls.org/photo-gallery. Selected photos by Gerald Gallik Photography Save the date for Homecoming 2024, September 20 and 21!

1 Danny Donovan ’83, Gary Wolf ’83,

Andrew Shainberg ’83, Jimmy Ringel ’83, Jim Burnett ’83, Frank Hitchings ’78, Craig Christenbury ’83, Thomas Lee ’83, Lloyd Monger ’83, and Gwin Scott ’83 2 Class of 1978 friends: Frank Hitchings, Brad and Mary Pat Adams, John Stewart, Suzanne and Rob Preston 6

3 DeAndre Jones ’08 and Austin Pretsch ’13 4 From the Class of 1998: Galloway Allbright, Joon Kim,

Jason Colgate, and Philip Kirsch 5 Daniel McGowan ’13, Forrest Field ’13, and Utkarsh Mishra ’13 6 From the Class of 2013: Andrew and Meredith Renshaw with Margot and Cassidy and James Burnett with Brook and Bridget.

18 l MUS TODAY FALL 2023

Class of 1973 Celebrates 50th The seventies came alive again as alumni shared lunch and treasured memories.

HOME COMING 2023

Class of 1973 friends, front row, Wise Jones, Jim Varner, Kip Caffey; back row, Larry Hayward, Buck Lewis, Keith Ingram, and Mark McGuire

1 Wise Jones, Kip Caffey, and Larry Hayward look at their younger selves on

the class composite. 2 Mark McGuire, Keith Ingram, Alumni Engagement Officer Steve Hickman ’76, Buck Lewis, and Jim Varner share a laugh. 3 Headmaster Pete Sanders addresses the gathering.

Golden Owls Reception

HOME COMING 2023

Tracey and Headmaster Pete Sanders invited alumni who graduated in 1973 or earlier to join them in their home for a reception before the Homecoming Dinner and football game.

Les Nicholson ’58, Camille Gotten, and Jody Brown ’61

Met Crump '60, Mark McGuire '73, and Gerald Wade '74

Wendy and Mac McCorkle ’73, Malinda and Buck Lewis ’73

Jere Crook ’63, William Gotten ’60, and Dick Doughtie ’64

D Cannon ’65 and Dan Michael ’72

20 l MUS TODAY FALL 2023

Wis Laughlin ’68, Ray Brakebill ’64, Bill Pollard ’68, and Headmaster Pete Sanders

Reunion Terrace Party Winners

HOME COMING 2023

CLASS OF 1963

Greatest Percentage increase in Total Annual Fund Class Gift: 99% CLASS OF 2003 Greatest Percentage Increase in Annual Fund Participation: 106% 5

CLASS OF 1978 Greatest Total Dollars Given: $44,366

1 Jesse Huseth ’03, Nathan Haynes ’03,

Owen Brafford '03, and Jamie Drinan ’03 2 Frank Hitchings ’78 and Newton Allen ’78 3 Matt Bolton ’13, Jonathan Wilfong ’13, and Andrew Renshaw ’13 dropped by the Terrace. 4 Lindsay and Philip Lewis ’98, Palmer and Foster Smith ’98 5 Michael Schaefer ’03 and Hite McLean ’03

HOME COMING 2023

Owls Scramble at Overton The newly renovated Overton Park 9 was the site of the 2023 Alumni Golf Scramble. It was a beautiful day for golf, and some players – especially Class of 2013 alumni – came away with more than suntans. Longest Drive Closest to the Pin Putting Contest First-Place Team Second-Place Team Third-Place Team Best Class Team

Tripp Crews ’13 Peyton Klawinski ’13 Derrick Baber ’13 Pete Abston, Derrick Baber, Ford Howell, and Andrew Miller of the Class of 2013 Jimmy Haygood ’93, Sandy Hooper ’93, Gil Uhlhorn ’93, and Frank Allen Tripp Crews ’13, Edward Lake ’13, Peyton Klawinski ’13, and John Madden ’15 Class of 2013: Pete Abston, Derrick Baber, Ford Howell, and Andrew Miller

MANY THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS Adams Keegan Armstrong Relocation Bass Berry Sims Belle Meade Social City Silo The Crump Firm Delta Asset Management Evans Petree

McGehee Clinic for Animals Financial Federal Bank McVean Trading and Investments Glankler Brown Pinnacle Bank Gould’s Salon Spa Price Hays Construction Grandview Window and Door Red Door Wealth Management Grinder Taber Grinder Royal Furniture Lit Restaurant Supply Tower Ventures NFC Investments, LLC Universal Commercial Real Estate LPI

22 l MUS TODAY FALL 2023

HOME COMING 2023 5

1 The Class of 2013 team: Pete Abston, Ford Howell,

Derrick Baber ’13

Derrick Baber, and Andrew Miller 2 From the Class of 2018: Daniel Black, Conner Hobbs, Charlie Rhodes, and Mathon Parker 3 Peyton Klawinski ’13, Tripp Crews ’13, Edward Lake ’13, and John Madden ’15 4 Gil Uhlhorn ’93, Sandy Hooper ’93, Jimmy Haygood ’93, and Frank Allen 5 Jimmy Haygood ’93 6 Peyton Klawinski ’13

HOME COMING 2023

Reunion Year Parties! There’s no time like the present to relive past glories, and this year the classes with graduation years ending in 3 and 8 made the most of their time together.

’68

’73

The Class of 1968 gathered at Cherryhill Townhomes Clubhouse.

Cecil Humphreys hosted 1973 classmates for their 50th reunion.

’78

’83

’88

’93

The Class of 1978 celebrated at Bill Townsend’s Annesdale Mansion.

Libby and Gary Wunderlich opened their home to the Class of 1988.

24 l MUS TODAY FALL 2023

Belle Meade Social was the setting for the Class of 1983’s 40th reunion.

Caroline and John Palmer welcomed Class of 1993 friends for their 30th reunion.

HOME COMING 2023

’03

’98

The Class of 2003 chose The Bluff as the site of their 20th reunion.

The Class of 1998 celebrated in the Tower Room at Clark Tower.

’13

’08

The Class of 2008 headed to Railgarten for their party.

The Class of 2013 held its 10th reunion at Young Avenue Deli.

’18

Railgarten was the spot for the Class of 2018 reunion.

review Mark Dumas Discovers Novel Treasure in Grandfather’s Stories BY GAYE SWAN

ark Dumas ’90 knew his grandfather told great stories about his life, but it wasn’t until 1996, the summer after Dumas graduated from college, that he learned the true extent of Will Miner’s experiences and exploits – experiences that would one day form the basis for his self-published novel Where There’s a Will. As a child, he cherished the time spent with Miner, and their bond grew stronger as Dumas grew older. “The summer before I began my career, I hung out with Granddad,” Dumas says. “One day he handed me 12 handwritten pages with an outline of all the most interesting parts of his life. It was full of rich details I hadn’t known.” While Dumas knew Miner had served his country in World War II, he did not know his grandfather had adventures such as joining a circus or hopping trains across the country. Although he was not sure what he would do with this trove, he knew one thing: He had to preserve the stories. “I decided to record him,” Dumas says. “This being 1996, I went to Radio Shack and picked up a cassette recorder with a microphone.” At first, Dumas tried to interview his grandfather, asking questions and making comments. He soon realized, however, that it was better just to let Miner talk. “He was a great storyteller,” Dumas says. “My biggest regret is that I didn’t dig deeper, but I lacked the training to interview him properly. All I wanted at the time was to be sure my grandfather’s history was not forgotten. I savored every word.” After earning an engineering degree from Mississippi State University, Dumas seized an opportunity to work in

26 l MUS TODAY FALL 2023

Author Mark Dumas ’90

Washington, D.C. At Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), he developed information technology on combat terrorism. In 2002 the self-identified serial entrepreneur founded Spatial Data Analytics Corporation (SPADAC), a leader in geospatial intelligence that in 2010 became a part of the satellite imagery company GeoEye, which is known as MAXAR today. Much of the work done at SAIC and SPADAC was and is classified, but Dumas shared some intel in a 2002 MUS Today article, Countering Terrorists (read it at tinyurl.com/MTSU2002, page 43). He stayed with GeoEye in a leadership role until 2013, when he started his second company, PlanetRisk. There he developed new ideas and concepts centered on

global real-time big-data and risk analytics for critical security event management, serving clients such as Apple, Starbucks, Disney, and the U.S. Army. In 2018 he sold PlanetRisk to the security software company Everbridge. The Government Services unit sold to Culmen International, a security and humanitarian assistance company primarily serving the U.S. government with operations reaching 40 countries, including war-torn Ukraine. Accepting a position to stay on as chief strategy officer at Culmen, he provides leadership in analytics, strategic technical planning, partnership development, and mergers and acquisitions, besides having his own P&L responsibility. Throughout his highly engaging career, Dumas never forgot about Miner’s life story. As technology developed, he digitized the recordings before the precious cassette tapes deteriorated. He hired a high school student to help edit and create individual tracks to match Miner’s outline. The main impetus for digitization was bittersweet: His grandfather later had a stroke that left him unable to speak, and he passed away in 2007. In 2021 Dumas published the tracks on SoundCloud, where his grandfather’s adventures and voice are beautifully preserved for anyone to hear (tinyurl.com/WillMiner). As pleased as he was with the results, Dumas kept thinking about the recordings. He knew Miner had wanted to write a book, but he was unable to complete the project. At last, it occurred to him – he could write a book. “My creative writing skills were firmly planted at MUS, along with a love of literature,” Dumas says. “But I knew I needed some help turning Granddad’s stories into a book. So I did a web search for ghost writers, and found the right person in Cara Lopez

Will Miner pictured during his service in World War II

Lee. She was so perfect, in fact, that I ended up promoting her to co-author.” Dumas and Lee worked together to determine the format of the book. A straight biography was sadly out of the question, as Miner was no longer with them to fill in any blanks. A novel, however, could use elements of Miner’s story and allow Dumas a little creative license. In March 2020 he met with Lee for a half day in the lobby of the Peabody Hotel to plot the story. The next day, the World Health Organization announced the COVID pandemic. Dumas and Lee sent pages back and forth during the ensuing year, collaborating on the subplots, writing and rewriting whole chapters, and sometimes diving deep into historical research for accuracy. Published in 2022, Where There’s a Will is the heartwarming tale of a troubled teenage boy who arrives to a then more rural Germantown to share a special summer with

A young Mark Dumas with his beloved grandfather, Will Miner

his wise and wonderful Grandpa Will. The main character of Will, of course, is based on Miner, who shares his name as well as his stories: a hero’s journey in World War II, time spent in the circus, a jaunt down Route 66, and riding the rails to get back home. Protagonist Dylan Mercer, the grandson, is not based on Dumas but was incorporated for drama, storytelling structure, and to introduce a present-day element into the narrative. “The book is a special story of how grandfathers and their grandchildren interact,” Dumas says. “I wanted readers to relate to Dylan and appreciate the power of an amazing grandfather.” Many people don’t think about their grandparents’ prior lives – what they did when they were young men and women – until it is too late, he says. The book is a testament to the multiple dimensions of older people and a challenge to view them outside the role of grandparent or simply as

the retired elderly. Lee’s mantra is “Everyone has a story to tell,” and Dumas says he is grateful to share Miner’s with the world. “Writing the book was like discovering my grandfather all over again,” he says. “I hope it inspires other children and grandchildren to ask questions and listen to the answers now – you may be blown away by what you learn. I know I was.” Dumas has been pleased by the response to the book, which has enjoyed brisk sales. “Everyone who has read it has gone out of their way to compliment me, and that’s really a compliment to my grandfather.” Could a movie be next? “I’d love that,” he says. “I think it would make a very original movie or mini-series, and I am open to any introductions to make it possible. We’ll have to wait and see.” In the meantime, Where There’s a Will is available for purchase on Amazon, and an audio book is in the works.

BOARD NEWS

The 2023-24 Board of Trustees:

Front row, Mark J. Halperin ’67, P. Trowbridge Gillespie, Jr. ’65, Vice Chairman Glenn A. Crosby II ’77, Margaret C. McLean, Jennifer R. Ransom, William E. Orgel ’81, Philip S. Wunderlich ’90; Back two rows, Secretary Frederick C. Schaeffer, Jr. ’88, Chairman James F. Burnett ’83, Treasurer D. Stephen Morrow ’71, William V. Thompson III ’95, Wiley T. Robinson ’75, Richard C. Moore III ’98, William B. Townsend ’78, Robert M. Fockler ’77, Joseph M. Morrison ’78, James H. Barton, Jr. ’85, Jeffrey B. Meskin, W. Thomas Hutton, Jr. ’91, J. Brett Grinder ’91, Andrew F. Cates ’89, and Brandon K. Arrindell ’04. Not pictured: R. Earl Blankenship, William B. Dunavant III ’78, and Robert J. Hussey III ’81 Photo by Jack Kenner

28 l MUS TODAY FALL 2023

BOARD NEWS

Sanders Retires from Board

hris Sanders, who lent her talent and voice to the Board of Trustees beginning in 2007, stepped down in May. “Chris was always available for advice, a quick vote, or general guidance for MUS,” Board Chair Jim Burnett ’83 said. “Her warm personality and friendly demeanor will be missed, and also her wisdom! She never passed on an opportunity to help the school. I wish we could have her on the board for many more years.” Sanders was secretary of the trustee Executive Committee from 2020 and chairman of the Academics Committee her entire tenure on the board. She also contributed her experience and vision to the board Strategic Planning Committee. For the 2005 Strategic Plan, she served on the Faculty and Academics Committee; and for the 2020 Strategic Plan, the Steering Committee and the Faculty Recruitment

and Development Task Force. She played a vital role on the 2016 Headmaster Search Committee, and she was a feasibility study participant recently for the Bold Vision Bright Future Capital Campaign. A member of the Ross M. Lynn Society, she has donated her time to Phonathon and College Counseling Mock Interviews. A 1972 Hutchison School alumnus, Sanders graduated with a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Tennessee and a master’s in guidance and counseling from University of Memphis. She is married to Reid Sanders ’67, and they are the parents of Reid Sanders ’10 and Aubrey Sanders (Hutchison ’04). Chris comes from an MUS family: Her brothers Jim Robinson ’68, Wiley Robinson ’75, and Bob Robinson ’78 are alumni as are four nephews – Jesse Robinson ’05, Robert Cartwright ’10, Fort Robinson ’13, and Trammel Robinson ’16.

Chris Sanders accepts a commemorative MUS chair from Board Chair Jim Burnett ’83 in May.

Bill Townsend Named to Board

ill Townsend ’78 joined the Board of Trustees in August. After spending the last three decades in Los Angeles building a marketing and tech startup career, he reclaimed Memphis as his home base in 2019. He is CEO of Townsend Development, a historical property redevelopment company; founder and CEO of College Rover, an information service for researching colleges (collegerover.com, see page 14); and CEO of Memphis Marinades, a packaged goods company. Previous startups have included American Land & Cattle (2016), focused on land restoration through rotational grazing; Goblin Security (2012), cyber-security protocols; MedKnex (2010), electronic medical records front-end; and Delphi VIM

(2006), online family organizational tool. Townsend served as president of the Rhodes College Alumni Board, and his civic involvement has included Memphis Jazz Collective, Friends for All, Junior Achievement of Memphis and the MidSouth, Overton Park Conservancy, Overton Park Shell, Rhodes College, and The University of Memphis. He is a member of the University Club of Memphis and The California Club of Los Angeles. Townsend holds a bachelor’s degree in international studies from Rhodes College and a master’s in international relations from the University of Southern California. He is the father of two sets of twins, all currently in college, two freshmen and two seniors.

IN MEMORY

John Hull Dobbs, Sr. 1932-2023

ntrepreneur, philanthropist, and family man John Hull Dobbs, Sr. died July 8, 2023, in Vero Beach, Florida, at the age of 91. He was a Memphis University School trustee from 1973-89 and a strong supporter of the school. Kent Wunderlich ’66, who served on the board from 1983-2008 and as chair from 1988-97, said Mr. Dobbs was a valuable contributor to the board. “I can remember seeking his advice on a number of subjects. He was a very good businessman and well known in the community. He always gave good advice and supported MUS with all of his talents, and he was also very generous to the school,” Wunderlich said. “He was a really good friend both at school and in life.”

“

He always gave good advice and supported MUS with all of his talents, and he was also very generous to the school. He was a really good friend both at school and in life.

”

-Kent Wunderlich ’66

Mr. Dobbs’ obituary describes a husband, father, grandfather, friend, and business leader who loved to make people laugh: “John was a fun-loving, hardworking, charismatic man who left an impact on his family, friends, and the many people he met over the years.” A graduate of Duke University, he served in the United States Air Force before beginning his business career with Dobbs House in 1956. He took over the leadership

30 l MUS TODAY FALL 2023

of Dobbs International Airline Catering at the age of 28 after his father’s death and built it into the largest international catering division in the world. It was sold to BeechNut Life Savers in 1966, and he served on the board for several years before forming Dobbs Automotive Group with his nephews, Jimmy Dobbs ’61 and John Collier Dobbs, and building it into the third largest auto retailer in the country. After selling the company to AutoNation in 1997, he expanded to other businesses under Dobbs Management Service, including Unison Health Care HMO, which grew to 350,000 members and operated in seven states and Washington, D.C., before it was sold to United Health Care in 2008. He was inducted into the Memphis Society of Entrepreneurs in 2004. He credited his father for giving him a starting place, a platform for success, and he passed that along to his children when he semi-retired to John’s Island in Vero Beach, Florida. He also passed on the importance of giving back to their communities, supporting charitable organizations in Memphis and Vero Beach. In addition to MUS, he served on the boards of Hutchison School (1968-78), including as chairman (1975-78); Rhodes College (1984-88); First Tennessee Bank (1962-95); the Memphis Area Chamber of Commerce (1960-64); and the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis (1984-85). He was also president of the Liberty Bowl (1969-70) and the Memphis Country Club (1982-84). “Family and friends were the most important part of John’s life,” reads his obituary. “He loved deeply and was very proud of his four children, his stepchildren, their spouses, and his 15 grandchildren. His large extended family gathered each year for Thanksgiving at the home he and his wife, Susan, built in John’s Island. This became a time for storytelling and bonding. John always called Memphis home and John’s

John Hull Dobbs, Sr.

Island paradise, but his heart was always in Memphis.” He is survived by his wife of 31 years, Susan, his children Kirby Dobbs Floyd (Glenn), John Hull Dobbs, Jr. ’85 (Katherine), Juliette Dobbs Allen (Dale), Edward Johnstone Dobbs ’89 (Cindy), stepdaughter Sully Amos Hurley (Jim), niece Catherine Dobbs Eleazer (Ed Eleazer ’66), nephew James Kirby Dobbs III ’61 (Lisa), and 15 grandchildren and many cousins. John was predeceased by his first wife, Yvonne Spragins Tatum; his brother, James Kirby Dobbs, Jr. (Catherine); nephew John Collier Dobbs (Sara); and stepson, John Ellison Amos III (Alex). In 1955 Hull-Dobbs Field was named in honor of John Hull Dobbs, Sr.’s father, James K. Dobbs, and Horace H. Hull, whose gifts made the original field possible. In 2005 the two families made lead contributions to provide for renovations of the field and resurfacing with artificial turf. In recognition, the Board of Trustees resolved that it would continue to be known as Hull-Dobbs Field in perpetuity.

FA C U LT Y N E W S

Champion Wrestler Pays Tribute to Hall of Fame Inductee Chris Lewis

an McGehee ’23 understands why the Tennessee Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame inducted Owls Head Coach Chris Lewis into the Lifetime Service category August 26. McGehee, the 2022 TSSAA state champion and 2023 runner-up at the 152-pound level, says Lewis helped him succeed in wrestling and taught him how to overcome adversity. “There is no better coach in the state than Coach Lewis. Without him, I most likely would’ve quit the sport,” says McGehee, now a freshman on the wrestling team at Davidson College. Lewis, who began coaching the sport in 1990, holds a lifetime record of 561-183 and has coached seven USAW National All-Americans, three USAW High School National Champions, 26 state champions, and 211 state medalists. His athletes have captured two TSSAA Duals Championships, one TSSAA Individuals Championship, and three state runner-up finishes. United States wrestler Nick Marable benefitted from Lewis’s tutelage on his way to medaling in two wrestling World Cups. A key to his coaching success, McGehee says, is that he exhibits genuine care for his athletes. “He helped form the family-like culture of the wrestling team and has been around the sport long enough to know there are ups and downs and when an athlete needs extra support. He extended a hand to students struggling with grades and made sure to encourage them to see the right people.” The team-building experiences Lewis cultivates, including competition trips to Hawaii every other year, establish bonds that keep alumni coming back to the wrestling gym when they are in town. “I had no shortage of experienced, college-level partners because of his connections,” McGehee says. He credits Coach Lewis with teaching

him a powerful lesson that extends beyond the mat. “I remember bawling my eyes out the first day of high school practice. Hart Gowen ’21 put me in a lethal banana split (which is as painful as it sounds), and I remember Coach Lewis calming me down so I could keep practicing. He described wrestling in a way that I could understand: ‘Keep it simple; it’s going to hurt sometimes. Push through.’ He helped shape the way I push through adversity.” The care does not end when Owls graduate, McGehee says. When The Daily Memphian named Chris Lewis Coach of the Year in “Coach Lewis checks up on me 2022, the wrestlers surprised him with a celebration. every week.” During the induction ceremony at Nashville’s Montgomery Bell Academy, the new Hall of Fame member thanked the wrestlers, assistant coaches, and others who have helped the programs he has led in the last 33 years. “It’s been a heck • National Wrestling Hall of Fame, of a ride. We’ve had hurdles to overcome. … Tennessee Chapter, 2023 It’s all about you and what you did. You are • The Daily Memphian the ones that made this happen. You are the Coach of the Year, 2022 ones who put in all the work. You are the • National Federation of State High School ones who did everything you were supposed Association Coach of the Year, 2010 to do. You are the ones who committed.” • National Wrestling Coaches Association Lewis went on to thank Memphis Tennessee Coach of the Year, 2009 University School and Director of Athletics Bobby Alston, who hired him in 2017 from • The Commercial Appeal Best of Preps Christian Brothers High School, where he Coach of the Year (10 times) had coached and taught for 26 years. "This is a well-deserved honor for Coach A contingent of coaches, former and Lewis,” Alston says. “His knowledge and current wrestlers, and parents made the trip experience have been very beneficial to our to the induction ceremony. Lewis said he wrestlers.” felt honored to be in the Hall of Fame with Lewis holds a bachelor’s degree in wrestling legends he has admired. “I don’t history from Rhodes College and a master’s feel like I belong up here, ” Lewis said. “I’m in education from Christian Brothers honored by all the coaches who worked with University. In addition to coaching wrestling me over the years. I’m floored by the parents and football at MUS, he teaches seventhand wrestlers who have shown up and come grade World Area Studies. He started the all this way. It means the world. It really Buzzards Wrestling Club for boys in Grades does. ” 4-8.

Chris Lewis Coaching Honors

FA C U LT Y N E W S

Rick Broer Celebrated as Gentleman and Scholar

he Alumni Executive Board honored Faculty Emeritus Rick Broer with the 19th artwork in the Faculty Portrait Series. Broer brought a calm, gentlemanly, levelheaded approach to his roles as teacher and administrator at MUS for over 22 years. Family and friends gathered in the Dining Hall on October 12 to celebrate the unveiling of his portrait, painted by Birmingham, Alabama, artist Carter Laney. Led by AEB President Horace Carter ’89, the evening featured tributes from Headmaster Pete Sanders, Director of Annual Fund Claire Farmer, former Lower School Administrative Assistant Julia DeBardeleben, and alumnus Steve Threlkeld ’82. Originally from Oregon, Broer earned a bachelor’s degree from Brown University and a Master of Education from Stanford University. Appointed to the faculty in 1973 as a Lower School social studies teacher, he also taught eighth-grade music, vocabulary, and photography, as well as Upper School American history and government. He left in 1980 to pursue a career in real estate for a decade, returning to the classroom to teach at St. Mary’s Episcopal School for six years. In 1996 Headmaster Ellis Haguewood drew him back to MUS as Lower School principal. In 2005 he shifted to academic dean, where he remained until his retirement in 2011. He also served the school on the Doors to New Opportunities Task Force in 2001, the Strategic Plan Task Force in 2004, and by leading the school through the SAIS-SACS re-accreditation process in 2010. Six years later he joined the Headmaster Search Committee. Broer once said, “I love independent schools because of the independence – a lot of freedom, the ability to emphasize what you’re good at as a teacher.” When he became academic dean, he relied on this thought as he guided the faculty, encouraging them to lean on their own

32 l MUS TODAY FALL 2023

Pictured, from left, Jill and Rick Broer with daughter, Katie Parr, and husband, Hampton Parr, and their children, Henry and Eleanor.

genuine experiences and personalities – just as he had done. At the unveiling Sanders welcomed the gathering, including Broer’s wife, Jill, and his daughter, former MUS Assistant College Counselor Katie Parr and her family. Sons Copley Broer ’96 and Peyton Broer ’02 were unable to attend. “We owe much to Rick Broer for the legacy of wisdom, concern, and camaraderie he fostered as a faculty member and administrator, and the balance of scholarship, accountability, and accomplishment he provided for each student,” Sanders said. “In his various roles he took the same approach of gently challenging students to stretch their potential. For all of us at Memphis University School, this portrait will serve as a reminder of the numerous roles he played to encourage, strengthen, and champion our MUS community.” Farmer, who served as Broer’s administrative assistant from 1995-2000,

said the two made a great team in Lower School. “We had a relationship that was built on trust, faith, respect, and the fact that I’m crazy about this man.” When she asked alumni to comment on her former boss, they praised his fairness, intelligence, and gentlemanly character. Her son Ken Farmer ’03 provided this assessment: “Rick Broer brought a warm and welcoming energy to MUS. A sense of honor that exemplified the fabric and tradition of the school, but also a gentle humility and graciousness that eased the mini-middle schoolers’ transition from baby birds into noble owls.” Ben Waller ’07 told her, “Mr. Broer is warm, understanding, and witty – he was the perfect guide in the Lower School melting pot, as boys figured out who they want to be.” The alumni mothers she consulted remembered what Broer would say about educating their boys: “Thank you for trusting us with your sons. If you drop them off with us, we will return them as young men.” Or

FA C U LT Y N E W S

“We have this, if we need you, we will call you!” Broer is the epitome of what MUS represents, Farmer said, referring to the tenets of the Community Creed: “Truth and Honor, Scholarship, Service, Respect, Humility, Involvement, and Accountability – the creed is a statement of the ideals and virtues that describe what an MUS student should always strive to be. It also describes Rick Broer to a tee.” DeBardeleben, who served as the Lower School administrative assistant from 200021 and is the mother of three Owls, recalled how Broer hired her even though she had no clerical experience and patiently taught her computer skills because he recognized in her the ability to relate to boys. She saw the same characteristic in her principal.

“

helped me see what I needed to do. I’ve got this!’ “You see, this was Mr. Broer, Lower School principal, at his best – insightful, understanding, and non-judgmental. His gentle humility made him the person we love and trust. … Rick, I will forever be better for having worked with you.” Threlkeld offered a view of Broer as teacher of American Government in Lower School. “His coursework was quite demanding. He taught concepts and had us memorize facts that went far beyond an eighth-grade level. … Rick maintained that so much of the richness of our history and of the genius of the American government was lost on the average American citizen.” Threlkeld continued, “My close friend and advisor on nearly all things, Robert

This was Mr. Broer, Lower School principal, at his best – insightful, understanding, and non-judgmental. His gentle humility made him the person we love and trust. … Rick, I will forever be better for having worked with you.

”

-Julia DeBardeleben

“One special example of Mr. Broer’s ability to be warm, understanding, and witty happened the day I walked into his office wringing my hands because Alex [Debardeleben ’03] was struggling in an Upper School class. “Without skipping a beat, Rick said, ‘Mom, he can’t fall out of the basement, so let’s get him down here and help HIM figure out what HE needs to succeed.’ I stayed out of that meeting, and Alex walked out smiling and said, ‘Mr. Broer

Davis ’82, majored in government at Princeton in no small part because of the inspiration that he derived from Mr. Broer, citing him as the finest teacher he ever had on the subject at any level. He reported that a significant portion of his Introduction to Government class at Princeton University had already been covered fully in Mr. Broer’s eighth-grade government class five years before.” Quoting Albert Einstein, Threlkeld

Rick Broer and Steve Threlkeld ’82 chuckle during Claire Farmer’s comments..

closed with these words: “‘Setting an example is not the main means of influencing others, it is the only means.’ Rick Broer, like all the other great educators in these portraits, helped mold a generation of young men, and like his peers in these portraits and many here tonight, did it by his teaching to be sure, but he did it much more by his example.” Broer fought back emotion as he expressed his appreciation to the speakers and to the Alumni Executive Board for sponsoring the series and honoring him. “As I look around the room, I am in awe that my portrait will be included in this great collection of MUS legends, every single one of whom I was fortunate enough to know and work with in my time here.” He concluded his brief remarks saying that MUS is more than a school. “It’s a community, a family, really. … We are all part of the MUS family. I hope that for all of you in that family, the words that John Murry Springfield wrote back in 1960 as the opening line of the MUS Hymn are as meaningful as they are for me: ‘Dear MUS, how kind the fate that brought us to these halls.’ Thank you.”

FA C U LT Y N E W S

Barry Ray Shifts Roles in May

arry Ray has announced he will step down from his roles as Upper School principal and assistant headmaster effective May 2024. He will continue to serve the school by assisting in the alumni office. “Barry Ray has been integral to MUS for 46 years. The effects of his exceptional leadership are woven into our history,” Headmaster Pete Sanders said. “Although he will move on from his current roles, he will remain involved with school life. We will celebrate his immeasurable contributions to

date in May.” Arriving at MUS in 1978, Ray has served as Lower School principal (1990-96), Upper School principal (since 1996), assistant headmaster (since 2018), as well as an American history instructor. He also coached football, wrestling, baseball, and track, among many other roles. He plans to continue his longtime job as color commentator at varsity football games. The school has launched a nationwide search for a new Upper School principal.

Smythe Named Hussey Chair of Religion

eadmaster Pete Sanders has named Clay Smythe ’85 the Robert J. Hussey, Sr. Chair of Religion. Smythe has served in many roles at Memphis University School, but teaching religion and ethics has been a strong thread throughout his tenure. “Clay Smythe has an abiding belief in the place of religion classes in the liberal arts tradition, which is at the core of the MUS curriculum.” Sanders said. “He holds a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Tennessee, a master’s degree from Covenant Theological Seminary, as well as a master’s in education from Columbia University. Together with William Halliday ’82, he founded the Metcalf Symposium in 1998, an annual lecture series to encourage reflection on the ethical traditions of Western Civilization. He is well suited to hold this endowed chair.” The symposium is a manifestation of Smythe’s educational philosophy: “What I love most about teaching at MUS is that we encourage academic freedom and inquiry in a culture of mutual respect,” Smythe said. “We rest on our liberal arts curriculum, which unifies our studies along the Western Tradition, and the boys learn as much about their vast world as they do about themselves.

34 l MUS TODAY FALL 2023

It’s a picture of the biblical call, ‘eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.’” Smythe returned to his alma mater in 2001 to teach religion after a career in his family’s funeral home business. Smythe previously held the Hussey chair from 2001-05 but relinquished the honor when he became Lower School Principal, a position he held from 2005-18. Afterward, he returned full-time to the classroom where he has taught Comparative Religions, New Testament, and Ethics classes. In 2001 he was named the Alumni Executive Board’s Volunteer of the Year for his work initiating and overseeing a before-school Bible study for students. He holds service to others and leadership training in high regard, as evidenced by his role in advising the Civic Service Organization (2002-05) and helping to launch TedxMemphis in 2015. In addition, he is assistant scoutmaster with Boy Scout Troop 86, and he has served on the board of trustees for Moore Tech since 2010. Recently, Smythe has been active with the MUS Inclusion and Belonging Committee, championing incorporation of the principles of the Honor Code, Community Creed, Mission Statement, and

Philosophy in school life to promote the development of character and a sense of belonging among all students. He is now focusing on the Wingman Program, which pairs new students with older “Wingmen” to help them adjust and thrive, and he is assistant advisor to the Student Council. Edwin ’63, Richard, and Robert J. Hussey, Jr. established the Robert J. Hussey, Sr. Chair of Religion in 1984 to honor their father, a founding member of the Board of Trustees of the new MUS and a longtime benefactor of the school.

FA C U LT Y N E W S

Support Systems Help Students Thrive

Phillip Stalls

n response to our Strategic Plan, Headmaster Pete Sanders has implemented enhanced support systems in Lower School and Upper School. Over the past year, Lower School Director of Studies and Student Affairs Anne McWaters, Coordinator of Academic Support Margaret Rodriguez, and Counselor Marisa Mills have worked with faculty and staff to ensure the success of all Lower School boys. “Anne and Margaret have focused on academic support and growth while Marisa has focused on social and emotional learning and support,” Sanders said. “These three have truly worked as a team, and we are thankful for all they have done.” This fall Sanders announced a similar model for the Upper School. Mathematics Department Co-chair Phillip Stalls has taken on an additional role as Assistant Academic Dean and Upper School

Candy Harris

Chima Onwuka ’13

Coordinator of Academic Support and Success. He oversees academic support and intervention for the Upper School, coordinating with Academic Dean Flip Eikner ’77 in the planning and execution of strategies designed to improve learning for Upper School boys. He assesses students’ academic needs and proficiencies, assists them in setting attainable goals, connects them to appropriate resources, and provides ongoing support as needed. He also works with the Counseling team to coordinate social-emotional support. In addition to co-chairing the Mathematics Department, Stalls serves as director of the after-school program (ASAP), and he oversees academic summer programs. “Phillip is uniquely positioned to move into this role and help guide and direct our new model of support in the Upper School,” Sanders said. Candy Harris has been promoted to

Senior Counselor. She coordinates with all school counselors to cast vision and implement plans to best support students’ social and emotional well-being. She also works with Stalls to assist with academic support. “In her short time at MUS, Candy has made a profound impact at the school,” Sanders said. “She has spearheaded several initiatives – including promoting Bullying Prevention and Awareness Month and recharging the peer mentoring program – and we look forward to her continued work with our boys.” Upper School Counselor Chima Onwuka ’13 (see page 37) works to support the Upper School boys’ social and emotional well-being and provide academic support. “Chima comes to MUS not only as a seasoned therapist but also as an alumnus,” Sanders said. “He is passionate about MUS and has brought expertise and energy to his role.”

FA C U LT Y N E W S

Welcome New Faculty and Staff Daniel Black, Director of Athletics Social Media Daniel Black ’18 joins the staff as director of Athletics social media and teacher of Media Arts. He completed a degree in communications with a concentration in journalism from Mississippi State University in 2022. While in Starkville he was a blogger for SB Nation and a writer for Rivals.com. For the past several years, he has served as the MUS assistant sports information director. He lent his talents to the Communications Office in summer 2019 as an intern, and he has written freelance articles for MUS Today, the school’s alumni magazine. While at MUS he was a student assistant to Athletics, and he received the Lee Murray Spirit Award and Communications Award.

Drew Hinote, Instructional Technology Teacher Instructional Technology Teacher Drew Hinote comes to MUS after 13 years teaching technology at Woodland Presbyterian School, where he created a computer science curriculum and taught students in grades 5-8. In addition, he created the Be a Gentleman Club, a Shark Tank invention competition, and the Robotics Club, the latter developing into a Vex Robotics competitive team. He coached football and cross country and served as Woodland’s head track coach for 12 years, winning five city championships. After earning a bachelor’s degree in American Studies at the University of South Florida, he worked for 10 years as a producer, videographer, and project manager. Hinote now teaches coding to seventh graders and computer applications to sophomores. Speaking on the rapid evolution of technology, he said, “This frequent change makes the task of being creative with my curriculum easy; the challenging part is pushing students to understand the history and imagine the future that technology offers.”

Harvey Kay, Director of Annual Fund Harvey Kay ’01 joined the Development Office September 25 as director of the Annual Fund, upon the retirement of Claire Farmer (see page 40). In his MUS days, Kay was president of the Civic Service Organization, played varsity lacrosse, wrote for The Owl’s Hoot, and received the Distinguished Community Service Award at graduation. Most recently, he has been director of business development for Epic Pivot ( formerly Southern Growth Studio). Prior to that, he gained valuable experience as assistant director of development at Memphis Leadership Foundation, company manager at Tennessee Shakespeare Company, and teacher at Collegiate School of Memphis and Westminster Academy. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in History and a minor in Religious Studies from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

36 l MUS TODAY FALL 2023

FA C U LT Y N E W S

Gabe McDermott, Maintenance Gabe McDermott joins the Maintenance staff, bringing experience in HVAC/R and construction. He served as lead technician at Superior Mechanical Solutions in Munford for the past year. From 202022 he worked at Hughes Mechanical, performing HVAC and refrigeration work on tugboats. At B&H Home Improvement from 2018-20, he learned intermediate carpentry and specialized in measuring and hanging sheetrock, placing flooring, and installing roofing. He earned an associate degree in computer networking from Dyersburg State Community College and attended the National Security Seminar in Washington, D.C.

Chima Onwuka, Upper School Counselor Chima Onwuka ’13 returns to his alma mater to serve as Upper School counselor after earning a bachelor’s in psychology from University of Tennessee, Knoxville and a master’s in clinical mental health counseling from Walden University; launching a small business and an associated non-profit; serving as a therapist in several settings; and delivering inspirational speeches along the way (including an MUS chapel). Most recently, he served as an outpatient therapist with Ellie Mental Health and a residential counselor and clinical liaison at Youth Villages. In the past he worked as a recreational therapist for Memphis Mental Health Institute. Onwuka is the owner of Grind City Kicks, an online apparel and shoe brand, and the nonprofit Grind City Cares. He has been named to Memphis Flyer’s Top 20 under 30 (2021) and UTK’s Volunteer Top 40 under 40 (2022) lists. He received the Citizenship Award at Walden University (2022) and the Service Medallion (2017) issued by The Jones Center for Leadership and Service at UTK.

Steve Phillips, Director of Plant Operations Steve Phillips joins MUS as director of Plant Operations upon the retirement of Willie Hollinger. He brings varied experience in HVAC/R systems, EMS system management, construction, and team management, all in Memphis. Most recently, he oversaw lead inside sales for Ed’s Supply Co., an HVAC contractor supplier. From 2010-22 he was the lead HVAC technician at Hughes Mechanical where, among many responsibilities, he kept records on biannual preventative checks on 750 units in up to 40 locations; trained new technicians on policies, procedures, and safety; and served as the lead tow-boat technician, providing HVAC and refrigeration service to river tow boats. He created safety procedures for the Hughesowned service vessel. Previously, he spent eight years as a contractor and construction manager for Chittom Enterprises. He earned an associate degree in HVAC/R from Vatterott Career College and trained for 12 years under Ralph Hughes, Jr., the president of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers.

Bryan Scott, Music Instructor Bryan Scott joins the Arts Department as a music instructor following 11 years as director of bands at White Station Middle School where he taught beginning, concert, and advanced band. A percussion specialist, he also created a percussion ensemble class using his own curriculum that focused on drumming and music styles from around the world. His bands earned multiple superior ratings at regional and national adjudication concerts, and nearly half his advanced band students were selected for AllWest Tennessee honor bands. While teaching at White Station, he also led workshops on percussion technique and repair for West Tennessee band directors. Previously, he served as director of bands at Fayette Academy for three years. He received a bachelor’s in music education from the University of Tennessee at Martin and a master’s in percussion performance from the University of Wisconsin in Madison. In addition to teaching private lessons, he has served as a percussion instructor at MUS and other schools, and he has performed as a percussionist for dozens of productions and as an adjudicator for numerous marching contests.

FA C U LT Y N E W S

Scott Truitt, IT Network and Systems Administrator Scott Truitt joins the staff as IT network and systems administrator, bringing a broad understanding of computer hardware and software, including installation, configuration, management, troubleshooting, and support. Previously, he served as network manager for Bartlett City Schools (2013-23) where he was responsible for managing the Local Area Network (LAN) and Wide Area Network (WAN) for 11 schools and the Central Office. He supervised the installation and maintenance of Avigilon servers and cameras, managed the VOIP phones, and collaborated with vendors to support the organization. With Shelby County Schools for 10 years, he worked as network supervisor (2011-13) and senior systems administrator (2003-11). He earned an associate degree in electronics engineering technology from Southeast College of Technology.

Evan Warner, Instructor in Mathematics Instructor in Mathematics Evan Warner joins the faculty to teach Precalculus and Honors Algebra II. As math instructor at Evangelical Christian School from 2020-23, he taught two levels of Geometry and co-taught Engineering. Previously, following a year of mentorship with Memphis Teacher Residency at Soulsville Charter School, he remained at Soulsville for five more years, teaching Algebra 1 and Integrated Math and serving as the 9th grade team leader. For several summers, he was a counselor and then head counselor at Alpine Camp for Boys. After completing a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering at UT Knoxville, he earned a master’s in education from Union University. In his third year of teaching, he said he had an epiphany: “When students own their work and finding solutions, they remember the solution paths and are more willing to engage with challenging content.”

Faculty and Staff Gain New Titles • Stephond Allmond ’10, has been promoted to Director of Student Life. • Jenny Byers has been promoted to Assistant Head for College Counseling and Student Programming. • Perry Dement has been promoted to Assistant Head for Advancement. • Fred Foster has been promoted to Assistant Director of Security. • Rankin Fowlkes has been promoted to Assistant Head for Business Operations and CFO. • Candy Harris has been promoted to Senior Counselor (see page 35).

38 l MUS TODAY FALL 2023

SO LONG

FARE WELL

FA C U LT Y N E W S

Hollinger Honored for 20 Years of Service

irector of Facilities Willie Hollinger was honored in chapel in recognition of his retirement September 30 after 20 years of service to the school. He came to MUS in 2003 after more than two decades as director of plant operations/facilities at Methodist Healthcare in Memphis. Director of Maintenance Fred Taylor said Hollinger was not only his director but also a good friend and mentor. Over Taylor’s 17 years at MUS, the 6-foot whiteboard in the maintenance office was his classroom, and Hollinger was his teacher. “He encouraged me to go back to school at the age of 40-plus … and was there to push me every step of the way. He also attended my graduation ceremony. Still, I would have to go to Willie when there was something I could not figure out. While most people would say ‘Hey, Google,’ I would say, ‘Hey, Willie.’” Director of Business Operations Rankin Fowlkes called Hollinger one of his heroes. “To many of us, Willie has been a confidant, pet doctor, mechanic, HVAC consultant, landscape advisor, historian, and a puppet master. He works behind the scenes to make sure everything else works.” Fowlkes said he has been in almost daily contact with his facilities director for more than 18 years, usually coming to him with a problem – and Hollinger solving it. “Word of advice to you students: Be a problem solver, and you will be very valuable to your organization.” Fowlkes said you can tell how important someone is by where they rank on your “favorites” contact list. “Willie was No. 4 on mine, just after my wife and kids.” Headmaster Pete Sanders called Hollinger a jack of all trades who oversaw every aspect of facility services and plant operations on campus. He developed and implemented a preventative maintenance program and maintained the school’s

Assistant Head for Business Operations and CFO Rankin Fowlkes, Director of Maintenance Fred Taylor, and Director of Facilities Willie Hollinger

heating and air conditioning equipment, building automation systems, plumbing, electrical services, and food service equipment. He scheduled all work requests both in-house and with outside vendors. “Rain, shine, snow, or freezing pipes, he has always been here to keep our campus systems running,” Sanders said. He went on to describe how Hollinger came to campus even on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to deal with burst pipes last year. “Willie was also a pivotal member of our school Safety Team, and he was the perfect man for that job because his alternative career has been as a volunteer public servant for 30 years.” A graduate of the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, MD, he was once a firefighter for the Raleigh Volunteer Fire Department. In 1995 he joined the Shelby County Emergency Management Agency Reserves (later under the Shelby County Office of Preparedness/Homeland Security), where he helped launch the Community Emergency Response Team training

program to help citizens learn how to take care of their families in a disaster. As a first responder, he has been deployed many times to disasters and recovery operations. A man of many interests, he was a member of the National Association of Rhythm & Blues Dee Jays for many years. He has received numerous commendations from the mayors of Shelby County and Memphis, as well as the governor’s First Responder Honoree award. He received letters congratulating him on his retirement from Mayor Jim Strickland and Gov. Bill Lee. In 2011 his peers at the Office of Preparedness voted him Reserve Officer of the Year. In 2012 he received the MUS Jean Barbee Hale Award for Outstanding Service. Once asked why he spends so much time volunteering to teach others how to be safe, he replied, “I just may be the one needing help some day. Everyone needs to know what to do during an emergency.” “That sounds like Willie Hollinger,” Sanders said, “always ready to get the job done, but with characteristic humility.

SO LONG

FARE WELL

FA C U LT Y N E W S

Claire Farmer Retires After 28 Years

ssistant Head for Advancement Perry Dement’s announcement to faculty and staff that Claire Farmer was retiring reflected his respect and admiration for his director of Annual Fund and longtime associate. Even though Claire has been telling me for quite some time that she is planning to retire, it is still difficult to process that information. Claire has been a dedicated and stalwart Owl for over 28 years, and my right arm for most of that time! Claire arrived at Memphis University School on April 1, 1995, as the administrative assistant in the Lower School, and she was not fooling around. She became a surrogate mother to each boy who passed through Hull Lower School for the next five years. Developing those relationships with students and parents enabled her to move seamlessly into a new role as director of Alumni and Parent Programs in 2000. Over the next decade, she was instrumental in building and growing dynamic programs and services that have become vital to the alumni and parent experience. During that time, she took on the additional job as advisor to the cheerleaders for eight years. In 2010 I was able to convince Claire (over her vociferous objections) that she would be an outstanding Annual Fund director. It took a good bit of persuading, but because of her superb leadership, the Annual Fund has increased 44% during her tenure! In 2007 Claire was the recipient of the Lee Murray Spirit Award and in 2010 the Jean Barbee Hale Award for Outstanding Service. She was named an Honorary Alumna in celebration of 26 years of service in 2021. Claire’s last official day will be Friday, October 13, but that is no bad omen; she

40 l MUS TODAY FALL 2023

Director of Annual Fund Claire Farmer is surprised by a potluck lunch in Morrison Courtyard on her last day.

will forever be an Owl! We will celebrate Claire’s retirement in the spring of 2024, when we recognize all those who retire this school year. Please join me in thanking Claire for her excellent service to Memphis University School. Although Farmer will be celebrated in May, her co-workers could not wait and put together a surprise potluck lunch in Morrison Courtyard on her last day. Faculty members joined the lunch, punctuated with many hugs, much laughter, and a few tears. Upon hearing the retirement announcement, alumni through the decades praised her warm and loving ways and her dedication to excellence. “MUS without Claire Farmer is like Rice Krispies without the snap, crackle, and pop. … Your dedication to the school, students, and alumni is unsurpassed. I am blessed to be able to call you my friend. Your kindness, encouragement, and confidence have meant so much to me over the years. … May you enjoy your retirement and continue to fill your bucket list.” – Terry Wilson ’68 “You were a fantastic Alumni/ Development/Advancement/Lower School professional who impacted my family as

alumni, parents, and students (Barlow, Jr. ’03 and Lawson ’09). Best wishes for your next chapter of life.” – Barlow Mann ’71 “You’ll be missed. You deserve a standing ovation, but we’re all over the globe. Cheers to you and Godspeed in your retirement. Well done!” – Andy McArtor ’86 “Thank you so much for all your years of service and the energy put into what you did for MUS. You have always been so encouraging and helped keep the MUS spirit strong in me and so many other alumni. You will be missed greatly!” – David Bradford ’95 “What a pleasure it has been to work with you for these years as a class rep! … Your dedication to MUS has been tremendous, and without a doubt you have been one of the most important figures in the history of the school. Yes, it takes a team of parents, grandparents, alumni, and others to support the Annual Fund, but your leadership and vision have been paramount to the success of MUS. … Thank you for always showing patience and understanding with me, and providing encouragement in the way that truly great coaches do.” – Reid Wesson ’06

CLASS NEWS

FALL 2023

’59 The Class of 1959 is down to 12 remaining members with the recent passing of Tommy Keesee. Tommy’s death was sudden and unexpected, and we miss him very much.

Alumni military veterans gather after the panel discussion, in front, Swift Treadwell ’68, McClain Gordon ’67, Cage Carruthers ’76, John Reinhardt ’07, Mike Webster ’71; back, Andy McArtor ’86, Trevor Benitone ’91, David Malone ’75, and Christopher Williamson ’06.

Chapels Highlight Veterans The recently created MUS Alumni Veterans Committee was the impetus behind two chapel presentations leading up to Veterans Day. On November 8 a distinguished panel answered questions posed by History Instructor Jason Peters ’88 on life in the military. Panelists were Cage Carruthers ’76, Trevor Benitone ’91, Christopher Williamson ’06, and John Reinhardt ’07. On November 10 Music Instructor Matt Tutor ’91 introduced his father, Maj. Gen. F. Dexter Tutor, who spoke about the history and significance of Veterans Day. Maj. Reinhardt, the 164th Logistics Readiness Squadron Commander for the Tennessee Air National Guard, offered a stirring presentation about the U.S. flag, assisted by members of the color guard from the 164th Airlift Wing, Memphis Air National Guard. For more, visit musowls.org/alumni/veteran-alumni.

T.L. Stebbins writes that he retired from almost 40 years at Adams, Harkness & Hill in 2008 after they sold the company to a Canadian investment bank named Canaccord. He ran the banking group for most of that time. His proudest business achievement was that he trained 13 existing managing directors/ partners/principles at major investment firms during his tenure. Almost immediately upon the sale, he moved to Naples, Florida, while his wife, Lucinda, remained at Deutsche Bank in Boston for three years as head of taxes for the money management group. They retained their home in Boston for a while but now spend half of their time at their house on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire and half of their time

in Naples. Their oldest son, Ted, who suffered a traumatic brain injury in 1986, died in 2019. Their second son, Harrison, married in May. He continues to own a successful home health business on the South Shore of Boston and performs all over New England as a professional standup comedian at night. He got MOST of his humor directly from his dad! Their youngest, Tom, is fighting for tort reform as a lobbyist in the State of New York (good luck with that) and acting as a professional auctioneer for 501(c)3’s all over the East at night. Over the last 12 months, Tom’s 15-year-old daughter, Lyla, has assisted

Remember to submit photos whenever possible with your Class News items! Email ann.laughlin@ musowls.org.

CLASS NEWS

FALL 2023

a lot of time flying back and forth to Denver to visit their two grandsons (William and Hudson) and their daughter, Mary, and her husband, Tom. Bill now holds the record for having 13 stents in his chest, a cow valve, and a new pacemaker. Nearn is in close second with 10 stents and a new pacemaker but has avoided the cows. Growing old brings many unique features to life!

The recently renovated Leftwich Tennis Center has 24 outdoor courts and 12 indoor courts.

’61

A campaign committee chaired by Chuck Smith ’66, left, and John Pettey ’67 recently celebrated the grand opening of the Leftwich Tennis Center in Memphis, a public-private partnership between the University of Memphis, the City of Memphis, Tennis Memphis, and a host of private donors. According to Smith, other alumni involved in the campaign – which raised over $30 million – included Allen Morgan ’60, Pitt Hyde ’61, Fred Smith ’62, Kent Wunderlich ’66, Joe Morrison ’78, John Dobbs ’85, Murray Garrott ’85, Robert Fogelman ’90, and Will Deupree ’91. Brett Grinder ’91 of Grinder Taber Grinder was the contractor. The state-of-the-art facility, which boasts 12 indoor and 24 outdoor courts, is home to the University of Memphis men’s and women’s tennis teams in addition to sponsoring many programs focused on introducing kids from all over town to tennis. Pettey is on the board of Tennis Memphis, as are Dobbs and Gwin Scott ’83. For more information visit tennismemphis.org. him in his auctioneer business with some significant success. She is on track to get her professional license later this year. How would you like that on your college admissions documents: “I raised $550,000 for the New York Make-a-Wish Foundation last September!” All in all, T.L. says it has been a pretty good run extended by two open heart surgeries and three stents! He says, “I will always be thankful for all you guys who accepted me under unusual

42 l MUS TODAY FALL 2023

circumstances (school closing and busing in Little Rock) almost 65 years ago.” He had the privilege of living with Col. Lynn when he arrived unexpectedly in the fall of ’58. What a bachelor pad that must have been! Lyn and Ted Bailey continue to winter in Naples and often run into T.L. and Lucinda. The Nearns recently moved around the corner from the Baileys in the hood at The Woodlands and enjoy seeing

According to a Daily Memphian report, “past and present AutoZone employees gathered on the rooftop patio of the company’s Downtown headquarters Sunday, Oct. 22, to surprise founder J.R. “Pitt” Hyde with a nearly $7 million donation in his honor to the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art. The donations supplement the $20 million Hyde and his wife, Barbara, have committed to the museum’s new Downtown building that will make AutoZone and the art museum neighbors.”

each other often when they take their dogs for walks. (They walk Lyn and Ginny too!) Henry Turley practically lives in the Woodlands with them, as he is often seen hanging around Wanda Shea’s home there. Henry continues to be active in advocating the redevelopment of Downtown Memphis and has his fingers in a few development deals. Jamie and Bill Simmons spend

’64

Marion and Bill Quinlen, who live in a cottage at Trezevant Manor while leading active lives, are featured in Trezevant Living magazine. Bill has served

CLASS NEWS

FALL 2023

Help Us Make Even More Music! The MUS music program wants to build its inventory of instruments as the program grows. If you have an instrument that is no longer in use, please consider donating it. This includes band instruments ( flute, oboe, bassoon, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, French horn, trombone, baritone, tuba, drums, keyboard percussion) or string instruments (violin, viola, cello, bass). Contact music instructors Chris Piecuch (chris.piecuch@musowls.org) or Bryan Scott (bryan.scott@ musowls.org) with any questions or to arrange the donation. The school will issue a gift-in-kind receipt. as the trapshooting coach at St. Mary’s Episcopal School for 10 years. “He has the ability to connect with our community unlike anyone else,” said St. Mary’s Athletic Director John Bartholomew in the article. “Not only does he lead our students, but he also leads a staff of volunteer coaches who are all coaching for the love of the sport and the love of our St. Mary’s community.”

’65

Trow Gillespie, right, with Scott Crosby ’82, was honored with a reception for years of faithful service to Trezevant and the Trezevant Foundation in September.

’67 Jim Cowan retired last December as a leader of the Combat Shooting School in Walls, Mississippi. This company trained military and law enforcement personnel in gun shooting skills. Jim spends most weekends at his lake home at Grand Valley Lake, which is near Bolivar, Tennessee. Mark Halperin received the Lambda Alpha Lifetime Achievement Award for 2023 in recognition of his 50 years in commercial real estate with Boyle Investment Company. The award was presented at a dinner meeting of the organization where Mark received many compliments for his accomplishments over the years. Joel Fulmer and Rusty Bloodworth ’63 were also celebrated for 50 years of service. Mike Harris has joined the board of the Christian Psychological Center that has started special work dealing with children who are victims

of childhood trauma. John Pettey, a member of the boards of Methodist LeBonheur Healthcare and United Way, has joined the board of Tennis Memphis, which is opening a major new tennis center at Audubon Park, the Leftwich Tennis Center. It will be one of the leading tennis centers in the U.S. (Read more on page 42.) Minor Vernon is enjoying retirement and spending time with his seven grandchildren.

’68 George Alissandratos reports: Mary and I are both retired, living in Smyrna where I bought a practice in 2002. After operating the practice in Memphis and in Smyrna, it was evident that the one in Smyrna, with the growth in this area, needed more of my time. So, we left Memphis and moved here. Mary retired from First American Title Insurance Company after having been state counsel. We are enjoying

our grandchildren and our activities. Nicholas ’01 and his wife, Amy, have our 4 1/2-yearold grandson and live in Atlanta. Nicholas does financial planning and analysis for Cox in Atlanta. Louis and Venus have our 1-year-old granddaughter and live in Memphis where he is a psychiatric nurse in an administrative position at Lakeside. Andrew ’99 and his wife, Amanda, are in Okinawa where he is a lieutenant colonel in the Marine Corps and an aviator. In late June he took command of Marine Headquarters and Squadron Futenma. Charles is a rural postal carrier in Carriere, Mississippi. All of them are healthy and doing well, thankfully. Thank you, Terry, for your efforts in trying to keep us informed about each other. Hope all of you continue to enjoy all the great lives we have been given.

’70 Herb Davis shares that grandson Byron Freeman is in

CLASS NEWS

medical school, grandson Parker Massey is on a track scholarship at Charleston Southern, and granddaughter, Annie Massey, is a junior at UNC-Chapel Hill.

’71 Rose and Ed Garrett now have nine grandchildren. Can anyone beat that? Barlow Mann’s sons, Barlow ’03 and Lawson ’09, are now in North Carolina – Charlotte and Wilmington, respectively.

’72 Harry Wellford has been appointed to the Missouri Attorney General’s Trial Masters Program and Committee. Wellford is one of 14 attorneys from across the state selected for this new and innovative program, which is intended to provide training and mentorship to its next generation of public-service attorneys from experienced litigators across the state.

’74 Dolph Belton recently enjoyed a trip to the Greek Islands. He loves retirement, which he calls the best thing since sliced bread. He and his wife, Debbie, go on four or five trips each year, mostly abroad. The most unusual destination lately has been the country of Chad in Africa, and they plan to go back in January 2024. Debbie and he have been supporting some cat rescue groups and have brought

44 l MUS TODAY FALL 2023

FALL 2023

six cats back from Greece to Nashville. He is headed back to Greece to rescue a cat named “Vasi,” which is Greek for King. Unfortunately, he had to cancel his hiking trip to Lebanon in the Spring of 2024 for compelling reasons. He is looking forward to the 50th reunion and says: “Stay safe and healthy.” William Chase has taken the position of CEO and vice chairman at Bank3 Holdings. Rev. Frank Crawford has recently retired from the pulpit and from his last home in Virginia. He has moved back to the Mid-South with his wife, Janet, and they live in New Albany, Mississippi. He does fill-in church work for congregations in Middle Tennessee. He is eager to attend our 50th reunion where he will preach yet again in Hyde Chapel.

IN MEMORY

J. Walton Tomford ’67 July 27, 2023

Douglas Lindsay Winters ’68 June 25, 2023

Paul Herbert Williams, Jr. ’75 March 10, 2022

Clay Darville Robertson ’76 October 16, 2023

James “Jimmie” Enright ’77 July 31, 2023

Jared C. McStay ’84 November 15, 2023

Jeremy Thomas Brown ’99 July 6, 2023 Morris “Mojo” Jones receives the Goodwill Member of the Year award at the July North American Bridge Championships in Chicago. Morris “Mojo” Jones, founder and managing director of the Pasadena Bridge Club (pasadenabridgeclub.com), is a tournament player with the rank of gold life master in the American Contract Bridge League. Mojo is certified by the ACBL as a club director and tournament assistant and

holds every available bridge teaching accreditation. He is a past president of ACBL Unit 507 in San Jose and is currently vice president and tournament coordinator for the North American Pairs for District 23 (Los Angeles). Most recently, Mojo earned the designation master teacher from the American Bridge Teachers Association and is currently the president of the ABTA. He received the Aileen Osofsky Goodwill Member

Matthew Campbell Murphy ’10 September 10, 2023 of the Year for 2023 from the ACBL Goodwill Committee. Mojo retired in 2019 as a professional software engineer at DreamWorks Animation with credit in several movies. He and his wife, Jane, are avid amateur astronomers, having met under clear night skies in Northern California. Jane and Mojo are founders of the Old Town Sidewalk Astronomers. Jane retired as an astronomer and outreach specialist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in

CLASS NEWS

FALL 2023

’80

Friends came out to support Billy Oates ’76 at the signing for his book, Duck Hunting in Quicksand, at Novel bookstore in November. Pictured, from left, are Glenn Crosby ’77, Steve Barton ’76, Oates, Bob Ruch ’76, Sam Varner ’76, and John Peeples ’76. Written under Oates’ pen name, Will Sonnet, the novel is drawn from stories about the heroism, leadership, and endurance of his great uncle, Ensign CD Smith II, during World War II and Arthur Campbell, a black guide at Beaver Dam Hunting Club who sought employment with his father’s family after the club closed. Hear a dramatic reading from the book (and order a signed copy) at duckhuntinginquicksand.com. Pasadena and producer of the popular monthly What’s Up video podcast.

rival, Germantown (12-0), that has produced some of the area’s best kickers. Mark was unusually mum.

’76 Dennis Rasche, Mark Ruleman, and Cooper Sandusky reminisce at the MUS victory over the cross-River Oaks purple rival. Cooper shared his recent mission trip to Honduras where he pulled over 100 teeth a day. Not to be outdone and quite a missionary himself, Dennis shared his work with another

Johnny Pitts, board member and managing partner of Lipscomb & Pitts Insurance, was named to the Society of Entrepreneurs earlier this year.

Friends from the Class of 1980 gathered in Dallas for the wedding of Edward Good ’12, from left, Don Miller, Steve Johnson, Jay Good, Hopie Brooks, and Steve Short.

’81 Karen and Lance Fair are excited about the arrival of their first grandchildren in 2024. Courtney Fair Thomas is due in February and Lauren Fair Kraft is due in April. Their son, Fletcher, enrolled in September of 2023 in the MBA program at the University of Chicago. Lance and Karen have resided in Orlando since 2007, and they celebrated their 37th wedding anniversary in June of 2023 in Bali, Indonesia. Lance has served as COO of Estein USA since they moved to Orlando and plays golf as often as possible at his home course. Lance and Karen are both involved at their local church, First Presbyterian Church Orlando, where Lance currently serves as a ruling elder.

Bill Lewis and his wife, Lynn, live in Panama City Beach, Florida. In 2019 they launched a counseling ministry for pastors and others serving in Christian ministry. Bill and Lynn met while earning master’s degrees in counseling from Grace Theological Seminary in Winona Lake, Indiana. They have lived in Russia, the Middle East, and Washington D.C., and traveled extensively. They have four grown children. For more info, please visit www. BethesdaByTheSea.com.

’82

On June 9 Chaplain Lt. Col. Michael Howard retired from the United States Air Force in a ceremony held at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, after 21 years of faithful service in the Air Force Reserves and on active duty. The presiding officer for the ceremony was Col. Christopher M. Robinson, 375th Air Mobility Wing Commander. By the way, in attendance was a longtime friend and fellow Class of 1982 alumnus John T. Fisher (way to show out!), along with 120 or

CLASS NEWS

Twelve alumni are among Memphis magazine’s Top Doctors of 2023. ED GARRETT ’71 Heart valve surgery, endovascular surgery, coronary artery surgery, minimally invasive surgery MICHAEL THRELKELD ’75 Infectious disease HUGH FRANCIS ’76 Surgical oncology, breast cancer and surgery, sarcoma - soft tissue DEXTER WITTE ’76 Cardiac imaging and thoracic radiology HOWARD NEASE ’78 Internal medicine RUSH WALLER ’79 Cardiomyopathy, congenital heart disease, transplant medicine - heart STEVE THRELKELD ’82 Infectious disease KENNETH WEISS ’87 Trauma JEFF KERLAN ’90 Cardiac electrophysiology - arrhythmias KEITH TONKIN ’93 Nuclear radiology and mammography DAVID SPENCE ’97 Pediatric orthopaedic surgery, scoliosis, pediatric spinal deformity, spinal trauma NORFLEET THOMPSON ’99 Endocrinology - diabetes

46 l MUS TODAY FALL 2023

FALL 2023

so other friends, family, and coworkers from years past. Having spent more than four years away due to multiple deployments and assignments, it’s now time to focus on family. Michael and Shannon will continue to reside at Scott Air Force Base for the near future, at least until they break ground on a new home on 10 acres in North Idaho (where you are all welcome to visit). There they will be joined by the Howard’s son, Mike Howard, Jr., along with daughter, Walker Howard Chrisman, her husband Mack Chrisman, and their son, Fred. But his first order of business following his retirement is to grow a magnificent beard!

’85 Michael Thomas, editor and publisher of 1814 Magazine, and photographer and author Allison V. Smith collaborated on the exhibition DUST, a recently discovered cache of Texas photographs and negatives dating from 1948 -1966, that ran from November 3-19 in Corsicana, Texas. www.fffoundation.org

’86 Greg de Witt has grand-twins with different birthdays here in Memphis, and another daughter living it up in LA. Cliff Goldmacher is featured in the INNOVATE Nashville book as part of Nashville’s creative community. tinyurl.com/CGoldmacher

’91

Mike Patterson is enjoying his granddaughter, Ava. Spending time together outdoors in the woods and introducing her to golf have become two of his favorite pastimes.

’89 Rob Edwards has started a new position as director of security for North Mississippi Health Services.

’90 The fourth annual Edge Motor Fest to benefit the Edge Motor Museum filled Marshall Avenue in Memphis with 25 classes of vehicles Oct. 14. “What we’re really trying to do is keep some of these cars as they were when they were designed and built,” Richard Vining, executive director of the museum told The Daily Memphian. “When you think of some of the stuff that Memphis is good at culturally and musically, these cars overlap with that era. I’d like to position the museum as a complementary exhibit for the other cool stuff that you do when you come to town.”

Darrell Cobbins recently joined the Tennessee State Board of Education leadership team in attending the Education Commission of the States National Forum on Education Policy held in Minneapolis. The group heard from a variety of professionals and organizations about the current state of and needs for education across our country. Poag Development Group is buying Oak Court Mall, expecting to close by midDecember, according to The Daily Memphian. “Josh Poag, president and CEO of Poag Development, said he is ‘excited to roll up [his] sleeves and figure out what the vision is. We are looking at all the different possibilities, and we started talking to some architects about rough ideas of what we think we can do there. Each mall has a different vision for what it can and should be.’”

’92

Plans for Ducks Unlimited Park by Ritchie Smith Associates. Co-founder of the Big River Park Conservancy Dow McVean recently spoke with Memphis Business Journal about continuing plans for Ducks Unlimited Park, 1,500 acres

CLASS NEWS

BIRTHS Karen and Clay Harris ’01, a son, Liam James, born October 18, 2023 Paige and Ben Arnold ’08, a son, Benjamin Humphreys IV "Ford," born February 25, 2023 Elizabeth and Carl Krausnick ’09, a daughter, Ottilie “Tillie” Fairbanks, born July 13, 2023 Margo and Nathan Franklin ’12, a son, Jamie Phillip, born October 6, 2023 Mary Claire and Brayden Phillips ’12, a son, Jack, born July 5, 2023 Maggie and Andrew Counce ’14, a daughter, Mary Katherine, born September 18, 2023 Carrie and Hudson Atkins ’08, a daughter, Lucy “McCaull,” born September 27, 2023 MARRIAGES Cotter Norris ’04 to Cirley Alba on September 30, 2023 Stephen Counce ’07 to Lindsey Randall on October 13, 2023 Scott McClintock ’08 to Danielle Jo Cleveland on June 24, 2023 Will Benton ’09 to Mary Yeager on August 12, 2023 Hank Hill ’10 to Reegen Price on June 24, 2023 Christian Kauffman ’10 to Grace Howard on January 7, 2023 Wilson Orr ’10 to Sarah Williamson on October 28, 2023 Edward Good ’12 to Ellie Inman on October 28, 2023 John Grayson ’12 to Taylor Huneycutt on May 20, 2023 Warren Ball ’13 to Maggie Stephens on February 25, 2023 Will Jones ’13 to Parker Azwell on October 9, 2021 Buckner Loaring-Clark ’13 to Rachael Brewer on September 2, 2023 Davis Owen ’14 to Emily Walker on July 15, 2023 Peyton Jones ’15 to Caroline Hamilton on November 11, 2023 Zack Whicker ’15 to Christina Gregory on August 26, 2023 Charlie Gilliland ’17 to Channell Cole on August 5, 2023 William Quinlen ’19 to Greer McCallum on June 3, 2023

FALL 2023

of land located across from Downtown Memphis on the Arkansas flood plain that can be accessed from Memphis by the Big River Crossing pedestrian and bike bridge. “We would have never gotten to where we are now without Ducks Unlimited involvement and their support to help with fundraising,” McVean said. “We’re going to continue with our fundraising to pay for the wetland restoration work and the other trails and amenities.” Features will include new trails, a pavilion with an outdoor classroom and restrooms, and an off-leash retriever training dog park. Dow says other alumni involved in this project include Bert Robinson ’90, board member of Big River Park Conservancy; Jim Alexander ’93, managing director of Ducks Unlimited Corporate Relations; and Chuck Smith ’66, president of the Ducks Unlimited Board of Directors. Paul Hagerman became deputy district attorney in the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office September 1.

’93 Daniel Myers had to miss the class reunion festivities but shared an update on life with three kids: “I will be in Nashville that weekend cheering on my daughter, Zara, at her gymnastics meet. My oldest son, Max ’24, is a senior at MUS, and I’m proud to report that he is the co-editor-in-chief of The Owl’s Hoot. My younger son, Vinny, is in sixth grade and hopes to follow in his dad and older

brother’s footsteps and attend MUS next year in seventh grade. I hereby grant Gil and T-Bone permission to include the above info in the next edition of our Class News.” David Traywick has started a new position as vice president of Corporate Development at SoftServe.

’94

Enjoying Fall Break in Destin: Wilson Baird ’99, Ben Clanton, Howie Gober ’93, Will Abbay and Hamilton Eggers (seated).

’96 Kevin Williams recently started a new position at U.S. Sugar as assistant general counsel.

’98 Hunter Humphreys is now vice president of Investment Operations and general counsel at OakPoint.

CLASS NEWS

FALL 2023

title and run to the NCAA finals. I had no idea how it would turn out, but lo and behold he kicks it off with the two MUS kids [Dailey and Lewie Smith] and a reference to high school. Go, Owls!!” Read the story at vucommodores.com/ second-to-none

’01 Van Morris recently visited his favorite Spanish teacher, Señora Beba Heros, when he was in town. In other news, Morris, an associate professor in the Department of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, was featured in a CBS News story when one of his patients asked him to walk her down the aisle at her wedding. See it here: tinyurl.com/vmorris98

’99 Lt. Col. Andrew Alissandratos has been promoted to commanding officer, headquarters and headquarters squadron, Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan, Okinawa, Japan.

’00 Conner Townsend works in the neuromodulation division at Medtronic. Zach Dailey sent this note: “Vanderbilt recently hired a writer from ESPN who put out this piece on the 20th anniversary of our SEC tennis

48 l MUS TODAY FALL 2023

MUS Theater players go disco in Mamma Mia!

Chase Carlisle ’03, Social Studies Instructor Orlando McKay, Chance Carlisle ’01, and Headmaster Pete Sanders Chance Carlisle, CEO of The Carlisle Corporation, spoke in chapel August 18 about the challenges facing Memphis but also the city’s resources and promise. He founded The Greater 901 Initiative, “a grassroots, non-partisan, community-driven organization dedicated to improving the Greater 901 area by reducing violent crime, growing the local economy, and lobbying to receive our fair share of state and federal resources.” One of the group’s goals is to hold political and judicial leaders accountable.

History Instructor and Assistant Director of Theater Ted Fockler ’10 directed the MUS production of Mamma Mia! in November; Technical Director of Theater Robert Fudge handled the tech side, and Music Instructor Matt Tutor ’91 was musical director. English Instructor Jeff Posson ’03 and College Counseling Administrative Assistant Kim Justis Eikner were assistant directors.

’05 Hays Doan has accepted a position as corporate counsel with Tyson Foods.

’10 Hank Sullivant’s band Kuroma plays at the Wiseacre Beer and Music Festival. Thanks to Harvey Kay, MUS’s new director of the Annual Fund and Hank’s fellow 2001 classmate, for the photos. (See more about Harvey on page 36.) Battle Williford received the 2023 Luminary Award from Family and Children’s Services in Nashville September 12.

Kyle Anthony shares that he has taken a new position as director of Demand Generation Performance Marketing at CIQ.

’11 David Hernández started a new position as manager of Transaction Advisory Services at LBMC. Wyatt Whicker is doing his surgical residency to be a general surgeon.

CLASS NEWS

FALL 2023

’12

’14

Charles Belina served as Investment Banking summer associate at Guggenheim Partners.

’13 Harry Dunavant ’18 graduated summa cum laude from Auburn in May with a Bachelor of Architecture degree. As part of his studies, he spent a semester at New Zealand’s Unitec Institute of Technology where he created a design for a U.S. embassy consulate and accompanying cultural center for a site in Auckland. Harry interned at Met Crump’s ’60 architecture company, The Crump Firm, as well as Cooper Carry in Atlanta. Historical note: In fall 2017 Harry mapped Hyde Chapel and created a 3D model as an independent study with Technical Director of Theater Robert Fudge. He knew then that he wanted to study architecture.

Seth Carson started a new position as senior manager, Supplemental Benefits Partnerships at CVS Health. Marshall Clark began pursuing his MBA from Belmont University in August 2023. Charlie Goodfellow is currently serving in the Army.

Rachael and Buckner LoaringClark at their September wedding in Cape Charles, Virginia, with bridesmaid Austin Hasenmueller, MUS Annual Fund/Alumni Programs assistant director After years with Berkshire Hathaway, Andrew Plunkett has taken a position with Greysteel Self-Storage Investments as a sales associate. Sam Rosenberg reports he has a new girlfriend and a new puppy and is wrapping up grad school. Alex Weaver is working toward his architecture license.

MaLeik Gatewood ’15, Trey Moore ’14, and Malik Smith ’14 stopped by campus recently. Blake Bennett has taken the role of dean of students at First Assembly Christian School and will also be head baseball coach. Matthew Gayoso graduated with a Doctor of Medicine degree from Vanderbilt School of Medicine on May 12. He matched at Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Internal Medicine residency program. Trey Moore graduated with his master’s in business administration from the Fogelman College of Business & Economics at the University of Memphis in August 2023. Dennis Parnell continues to work toward his Ph.D. at the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering at University of Florida and shares that he is the inaugural recipient of the Robert (Bob) Moses Scholarship from ETS (Educational Testing Service). “It’s an honor to receive an award named after the great Bob Moses, a civil rights icon whose passion for educational equity has impacted generations,” Parnell wrote.

CLASS NEWS

FALL 2023

Jackson Pacheco has taken a job with the New York Gaming and Trading Council.

Thanks to These Supporters! The following names were inadvertently left out of the 2022-2023 Annual Report. We apologize for the omissions, and we extend our deepest gratitude to these generous members of the Owl family.

COLLEGIATE CIRCLE ’18 Daniel C. Black Douglas B. Doster Jordan W. Hays Robert M. Jones Richard M. Robinson William T. West III John K. Wilbourn

’19 Louis F. Allen III R. Scott Burnett R. Edward Feild Jonathan M. Fogarty W. Ethan Hurst JaHyne J. Johnson Russell E. Linkous IV Emerson T. Manley Samuel C. Nelson William N. Pollard William T. Quinlen Brandan J. Roachell Loyd C. Templeton IV Grant L. Young

’20 W. Tucker Caldwell Augustus L. Carter Cody L. Hopkins Samuel D. Kilgore

50 l MUS TODAY FALL 2023

Benjamin A. Lindy Daniel J. Meskin Arjun Puri Edwin L. Rawson, Jr. Reilly J. Ring

’21 Alexander J. Warr Andrew E. Burnett Jackson K. Fortenberry Warren A. Johnston William B. Patteson, Jr. J. Daniel Russell

’22 Colby H. Ring

ROSS M. LYNN SOCIETY ROSS M. LYNN SOCIETY MEMBER Mr. and Mrs. Richard F. Mattern

ALUMNI GIVING BY CLASS 1972 ROSS M. LYNN SOCIETY MEMBER Joel J. Hobson III

Parker Sexton has moved to Boston where he is the scouting coordinator for the Boston Celtics. Harrison Williams, shown here in his MUS days, won the decathlon championship at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in July, posting a career-high 8,630 points. Then he went on to finish seventh in the World Athletics Outdoor Championships in Budapest in August.

’17

’15 Xavier Greer recently began a new position as staff auditor at Fluor Corporation.

’16 Danny Harris graduated from Vanderbilt Law School and accepted a position with Bass, Berry, and Sims in Nashville. Austin Hord is now practicing at Hall Booth Smith in the field of medical malpractice defense. Durand Martin has completed pharmacy school and is working for Walgreens corporation. Will McAtee is at Auburn doing graduate work for his Ph.D. in aerospace engineering. Winn Medlock now works as a private equity associate with Angeles Equity Partners. Max Murray has taken a new position with Raymond James as an investment banking associate.

Bradley Foley, the running back coach for Belhaven University, was on campus September 8 as his team borrowed Stokes Stadium for the pregame walk-through before facing Lyon College in Batesville, Arkansas. Belhaven won, 48-15, on the way to a 9-1 regular season. David Jordan is a supply chain analyst with AutoZone. Jake Meskin has joined Barings as a senior associate, Real Estate Debt. Sloan Schneiter has taken a new position working at Excellere Partners as an associate. Henry Trammell has started a new position as an associate at Berkeley Research Group.

CLASS NEWS

’18

FALL 2023

’19

Bennett Barousse has taken a new position with Vanderbilt University Medical Center as clinical research coordinator. Baugh Doster is now in Charlotte, North Carolina, working at Shep Digital Solutions as an account manager. Will Huffman is now working with The Shopping Center Group as a tenant representative based out of Nashville. John McBride graduated from the University of Notre Dame - Mendoza College of Business with an M.S. in accountancy.

Check out how J.J. Johnson, Vanderbilt ’23, took advantage of his Vandy education to earn a chemistry degree, conduct research, write poetry, launch a podcast, and dance in The Nutcracker ballet – twice! tinyurl.com/jjjohnson19

Hastings McEwan started a new position as audit associate at KPMG.

Selection Sunday: Sunday, March 17th

Will Murrah has moved to New York City and joined PwC as an assurance associate in the Asset and Wealth Management sector. Bobby Wade has started a new job with Raymond James as an investment banking analyst. Upon graduation from The University of the South, Rucker Wilkinson took a new position with Western Express as breakdown coordinator.

Final Four, National Championship: April 6-8

’20 Daniel Meskin has been promoted to incoming investment banking analyst with Bank of America. Reilly Ring has taken a new position with A.B.C. Sports Foundation as the director of foundation advancement.

This bracket event pits alumni, faculty, and the Class of 2024 in a March Madness battle – with a few exciting twists! Compete for a watch party, prizes, and bragging rights – all while connecting with classmates and giving to the Annual Fund.

David Willson (901) 504-3260 OR david.willson@musowls.org Austin Hasenmueller (901) 260-1412 OR austin.hasenmueller@musowls.org

CLASS NEWS

AW S WE

FALL 2023

Alumni Gather in San Francisco 1

School Year Kick Off Faculty and staff celebrate at Annesdale Mansion, owned by Bill Townsend ’78.

Stephond Allmond ’10, Christa Palms, and Chelsea Cheshire

...and Los Angeles 2

Scott Cohen ’00, Blake Cowan ’07, Lancelot Minor ’06, and Chris Mullins ’07

Drew and Candace Hinote and Courtney and McKee Humphreys ’01

1 Steve Hickman ’76, Clara

Hathorne, Salman Haque ’14, Chris Galvin ’14, Pete Sanders, and Al Varner ’65 2 Charlie Sullivan ’81 and Nena Sullivan 3 Chris Speer ’97, Jason King, Richard Bloom ’94, and Jeff Keltner ’98 Elizabeth Crosby, Shelli Henry, and Marisa Mills

52 l MUS TODAY FALL 2023

Allison Greenfield, Graham Boswell ’18, and Barden

Greenfield

Send news to your class representative listed below or to Ann Laughlin at ann.laughlin@musowls.org. ’58 ’59 ’60 ’60 ’61 ’62 ’63 ’64 ’65 ’65 ’66 ’67 ’68 ’68 ’69 ’70 ’70 ’70 ’71 ’71 ’72 ’72 ’73 ’73 ’74 ’74 ’75 ’76 ’77 ’78 ’78 ’79 ’79 ’80 ’80 ’81 ’81 ’82 ’83 ’83 ’84 ’84 ’85 ’85 ’86 ’86 ’86 ’87 ’87 ’88 ’88 ’89 ’90

Claude Crawford: grill17@yahoo.com Bryan Nearn: bryan@bnearn.com Metcalf Crump: metcrump@crumpfirm.com Alex Wellford: awellford@farris-law.com Scott May: sfmay@bellsouth.net Jerry Bradfield: jbradfi293@aol.com Doug Ferris: dferris@ffcfuelcells.com Bill Quinlen: wlq1975@aol.com Bob Heller: hrheller3@comcast.net Rick Miller: drrick640@gmail.com Chuck Smith: chucks@ngp.com John Pettey: john.pettey@raymondjames.com Bill Ferguson Terry Wilson: fishriveractor@gmail.com Class representative needed Herb Davis: hdavis52@outlook.com Kelly McGuire: c.kingu70@gmail.com Jimmy Ogle: jimmyogle14@comcast.net Barlow Mann: barlow.mann@sharpenet.com Phil Wiygul: philwiygul@earthlink.net Russell Day: rkday54@gmail.com Joel Hobson: jhobson@hobsonrealtors.com Cecil Humphreys: cecil@cecilhumphreys.com Wise Jones: Wise.Jones@regions.com Mark Ruleman: markruleman@gmail.com Walker Sims: wsims@walkersims.com Lee Marshall: lee57marshall@gmail.com Gib Wilson: gwilson@lehmanroberts.com Bruce Moore: jmoore1977@comcast.net Cecil Godman: cecil.godman3@gmail.com Rob Preston: robertbatespreston52@gmail.com Arthur Fulmer: afulmer@fulmerco.com Jerry Martin: jerry.martin@mcgriff.com Louis Jehl: louis.jehl@jehlconsulting.com Bryan Jones: oatmeal0930@gmail.com Jeff Harris: jharris3@comcast.net Boyd Wade: bwade@fcgtn.com Ron Helmhout: ron@thecompanynurse.com Craig Christenbury: craig@chrishillconstruction.com Jimmy Harwood:jeharwood4@gmail.com Evans Jack: evans.jack@emesales.net Drew Taylor: taylorjamesandrew@yahoo.com Ted Simpson: ted.simpson@pnfp.com Owen Tabor: otabor@aol.com Andy McArtor: andy@mcartor.com Rob Williams: robwilliamsiii@gmail.com Andy Wright: adwri@bellsouth.net Jeff Blumberg: jrblumberg@gmail.com Bill White: bill.white@westfraser.com Max Painter: max.painter@att.net Fred Schaeffer: fschaeffer@strategicfinancialpartners.com Scott Sherman: scott.sherman@fhnfinancial.com Brian Eason: brian@cobuilt.com

’90 ’90 ’91 ’91 ’92 ’92 ’93 ’93 ’94 ’94 ’95 ’95 ’95 ’96 ’96 ’96 ’97 ’97 ’97 ’98 ’98 ’98 ’99 ’99 ’99 ’99 ’00 ’00 ’00 ’01 ’01 ’01 ’01 ’02 ’02 ’02 ’02 ’03 ’03 ’03 ’04 ’04 ’04 ’05 ’05 ’05 ’06 ’06 ’06 ’07 ’07 ’08 ’08 ’09 ’09

Hootan Hidaji: hootanh@yahoo.com Jeff Kerlan: jeffrey.kerlan@sterncardio.com Trevor Benitone: benitonec130@yahoo.com Ellis Haddad: ellis.haddad@raymondjames.com Chuck Hamlett: chamlett@goarmstrong.com K. C. Horne: horneKC@gmail.com Thomas Quinlen: tquinlen@gmail.com Gil Uhlhorn: guhlhorn@bassberry.com Ben Clanton: bclanton@duncanw.com Kirby May: kirbymay@hotmail.com David Bradford: dcbradford@tcco.com Gideon Scoggin: gscoggin@finfedmem.com Will Thompson: wthompson@nfcinvestments.com Nelson Cannon: nelson@cannonaustincannon.com Rusty Shappley: wshappley@gmail.com Spike Treadwell: spiketreadwell@hotmail.com Justin Grinder: jgrinder@grindertaber.com Trey Jones: trey.jones@ldc.com Michael Thompson: mthompsonjr@gmail.com Erick Clifford: eclifford@pointcappartners.com Don Drinkard: dddrinkardjr@gmail.com Justin Lohman: lohmanjw@yahoo.com Richard Burt: richardtburt@gmail.com Chip Campbell: chip.campbell3@gmail.com Norfleet Thompson: fltbuck@aol.com Josh Winters: joshua.n.winters@gmail.com Chris Hamilton: jchamil19@gmail.com Jay McDonald: jaypmcdonald@gmail.com Ryan Miller: phillipryanmiller@gmail.com Kip Gordon: kipgordon@gmail.com Ben Adams: chinn2000@gmail.com Daniel McDonell: dmcdonell@gmail.com Battle Williford: battlewilliford@gmail.com Scott Adams: scott.adams@ftnfinancial.com Scott Douglass: smd@iplawgroup.com Frank Langston: flangston@gmail.com Joe Pegram: jdp@sldpllc.com Jamie Drinan: james.drinan@gmail.com Andy Garrett: andrew.e.garrett@gmail.com Henry Talbot: henry.b.talbot@gmail.com Kyle Slatery: slatery.kyle@gmail.com Brad Spicer: bradford.spicer@gmail.com Stephen Weston: sweston1985@gmail.com Kane Alber: kane.alber@gmail.com Warner Russell: wgrussel1028@gmail.com Sam Sawyer: sam@shscapital.com Hunter Adams: hadams87@gmail.com Chad Hazlehurst: chazlehu@gmail.com Reid Wesson: rwesson@reliantllc.com Neely Mallory: wneelymallory@gmail.com Buck Towner: btowner@cmdsmemphis.org Michael Cross: mscrossjr@gmail.com Connell Hall: wcchall1@gmail.com Robert Counce: rcounce@imcg.com Rhobb Hunter: srhunter5@gmail.com

FALL 2023

’09 Jim Moore: jimmoore910@gmail.com ’10 Stephond Allmond: stephond.allmond@musowls.org ’10 Hank Hill: hank4hill@gmail.com ’10 Jake Rudolph: jcrudolph4@gmail.com ’10 Paul Stephens: paul@fpkcap.com ’11 Blake Hennessy: blakehennessy11@gmail.com ’11 Chase Schoelkopf: cschoelk@gmail.com ’11 Scooter Taylor: scooter@scootertaylor.com ’12 Edward Francis: jefrancis56@gmail.com ’12 Anthony Hodges: ahodges.phys@gmail.com ’12 Lee Marshall: leermarshall41@gmail.com ’13 Tripp Crews: trippcrews@gmail.com ’13 Sam Moore: smoore410496@gmail.com ’13 Hurston Reed: hurstonreed@gmail.com ’13 Jake Woodman: jakecwoodman@gmail.com ’14 Hayden Combs: haydenpcombs@gmail.com ’14 Cal Edge: caledge901@gmail.com ’14 Chris Galvin: chris.finn.galvin@gmail.com ’14 Anthony Walton ’15 Tom Garrott: tom.garrott11@gmail.com ’15 Pierce Jones: spj.jones09@gmail.com ’15 Kamar Mack: kamar@appdrop.com ’15 Joseph Preston: jpres1@ucla.edu ’15 Connor Wright: connor.m.wright97@gmail.com ’16 Nathan Dinh: nathan.dinh47@gmail.com ’16 Tim Hart: 35skates@gmail.com ’16 Mac McArtor: mcartor.mac@gmail.com ’16 Trammel Robinson: trammelrobinson16@gmail.com ’17 Josh Gray: 98joshua.gray17@gmail.com ’17 Alex Hyde: alexhyde@live.unc.edu ’17 Evan Smith: evansmith11@gmail.com ’18 Barry Klug: pbklug64@gmail.com ’18 Mathon Parker: mathon.parker99@gmail.com ’18 Daniel Shumake: foofighter2210@gmail.com ’19 Scott Burnett: scottyb2256@gmail.com ’19 Stephen Christenbury: christenburystephen@gmail.com ’19 William Quinlen: wquinlen@gmail.com ’20 Robert Dickinson: rd3804@gmail.com ’20 Hunter Kendall ’20 Will McEwan: will.mcewan@icloud.com ’20 Will Portera: wportera5@gmail.com ’21: Drew Burnett: drewburnett2002@gmail.com ’21 William Patteson: williampatteson3@gmail.com ’21 Edwin Shy: edwinshy21@gmail.com ’21 Nash Stewart: nashrstew@gmail.com ’21 Tamaz Young: poetrybytamaz@gmail.com ’22 McRae Dickinson: mcraedickinson@gmail.com ’22 Clayton Nearn: nearnclayton@gmail.com ’22 Fred Schaeffer: schaefferf3@gmail.com ’23 Wilson Lemay: wlemay10@gmail.com ’23 Will McDaniel: willmcdaniel14@gmail.com ’23 Thomas Preston: thomasfosterpreston@gmail.com ’23 Demar Wells: thewellsboys2004@gmail.com 53

Includes gifts received 7/14/23 – 11-29-23

GIFTS IN MEMORY AND HONOR

Your gifts in memory of loved ones or in honor of special friends enable young men at MUS to receive a world-class education. Memorials to Memphis University School support the Annual Fund program. Families of those whose memories are honored will be notified by an appropriate card with an acknowledgment to the donor. We gratefully acknowledge the following gifts to the school:

In Memory Of __________ KATHY ALEXANDER Dr. and Mrs. H. Michael McSwain ALBERT H. ALLEN ’73 The Honorable and Mrs. Keith M. Ingram ’73 FRANKLIN PEARSON ALLEN III ’61 Mr. and Mrs. W. Frederick Bailey, Sr. ’59 TRENT E. ALLEN ’91 Mr. and Mrs. J. Stephen Austin ’91 EDWARD ATKINSON III ’73 The Honorable and Mrs. Keith M. Ingram ’73 WILLIAM M. AYRES, JR. ’69 Mr. and Mrs. Warren W. Ayres ’70 JOHN DYLAN BAKER ’06 Ms. Bonnie U. Barnes Mr. and Mrs. Richard C. Broer DOROTHY HALL BARRY Mr. Warren H. Barry, Jr. ’74 ANNE EVERETT BARTON Mr. and Mrs. Robert M. Ruch, Jr. ’76

RICHARD K. BOLLINGER III ’04 Mr. C. Kyle Slatery ’04

JANE DEWEY DEATON Mr. Perry D. Dement

B. NORMAN BROWN III Mr. and Mrs. Byron N. Brown IV ’97 Mr. and Mrs. W. Price Morrison, Jr.’75

HART G. DILLARD ’70 Mr. George J. Whitlock ’70

B. NORMAN BROWN, JR. Mr. and Mrs. Byron N. Brown IV ’97 Mr. and Mrs. W. Price Morrison, Jr. ’75 JEREMY T. BROWN ’99 Mr. and Mrs. Richard E. Batey Mr. and Mrs. Richard C. Broer Dr. Teresa Dalle and Dr. Reginald A. Dalle Mr. and Mrs. Ellis L. Haguewood Mr. and Mrs. S. Clay Smythe, Sr. ’85 Mr. and Mrs. Norman S. Thompson, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Robert P. Walters, Jr. ’82 Mr. and Mrs. David H. Williams BLAKE N. CAUMMISAR ’11 Mr. and Mrs. John M. Summers ’05 DONNELL R. COBBINS, JR. ’89 Mr. and Mrs. Darrell T. Cobbins ’91 MARY FRANCES COOPER Mr. James A. Cooper, Jr.

JAMES E. BARTON ’78 Mr. and Mrs. Robert M. Ruch, Jr. ’76

JASON L. CRABB ’91 Mr. and Mrs. J. Stephen Austin ’91 Mr. and Mrs. J. Alexander Crabb ’93

JANICE SCHAUMANN BELL Mr. Perry D. Dement

LEWIS HOWARD DANIEL III ’79 Mr. and Mrs. Henry M. Caldwell ’79

A. ROBERT BOELTE, JR. Mr. and Mrs. Pearce W. Hammond, Jr. ’86

MICHAEL R. DEADERICK Mr. and Mrs. W. Frederick Bailey, Sr. ’59 Mr. and Mrs. Michael H. Thompson ’97

54 l MUS TODAY FALL 2023

JOHN HULL DOBBS, SR. Mr. Perrry D. Dement Mr. and Mrs. S. Clay Smythe, Sr. ’85 Mr. and Mrs. Alexander W. Wellford, Jr. ’60 RAVI T. DUGGIRALA ’89 Mr. and Mrs. S. Clay Smythe, Sr. ’85 KATIE OLIVER EARLY Mr. and Mrs. Richard C. Broer JOHN SYDNEY EVANS ’58 Mr. and Mrs. J. Bayard Boyle, Jr. Dr. Jere L. Crook ’63 Mr. and Mrs. J. Sidney Evans, Jr. ’87 GEORGE E. FALLS, JR. Mr. Perry D. Dement ELLEN LEWIS FORTAS Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin C. Wunderlich, Sr. ’97 JAMES H. FRAZIER Mr. Perry D. Dement MANILLA MCCORD FRISBY Mr. and Mrs. Bobby A. Alston D. TIMOTHY GREER ’80 Mr. and Mrs. E. Hope Brooks III ’80 Mr. Jeffrey S. Schlosberg ’86

Includes gifts received 7/14/23 – 11-29-23

GIFTS IN MEMORY AND HONOR

WAYNE C. GULLEDGE ’73 The Honorable and Mrs. Keith M. Ingram ’73 JOHN E. HARKINS Ms. Bonnie U. Barnes WILLIAM R. HATCHETT Mr. and Mrs. Norman S. Thompson, Jr. JOHN F. HILTONSMITH Dr. and Mrs. Walter B. Klyce III ’06 Mr. Jeffrey W. Posson ’03 CYNTHIA COX HOEHN Mr. Perry D. Dement GEORGE E. HOLMES IV ’73 The Honorable and Mrs. Keith M. Ingram ’73

WILLIAM E. LONG, JR. Mr. and Mrs. Bentley M. Long ’79 DOUGLAS H. MCCLEW ’14 Mr. and Mrs. Douglas E. McClew Mr. Samuel B. Ostrow ’14 BETTY JO HIGGS MCKEE Dr. Kimberly Stegmaier and Mr. J. Andrew Shelley ’86 H. ELLIS MISNER ’73 The Honorable and Mrs. Keith M. Ingram ’73 FONTAINE B. MOORE III ’70 Mr. George J. Whitlock ’70 ALFRED LOUIS MULLINS, JR. Mr. and Mrs. Richard C. Broer

JUDY AND BILL HURST Mr. and Mrs. Norman S. Thompson, Jr.

MATTHEW C. MURPHY ’10 Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence K. Jensen

ROBERT O.C. JOHNSON, SR. ’63 Ms. Mary K. Leslie and Mr. Richard C. Johnson ’70

CARTER LEE MURRAY ’94 Mr. and Mrs. G. Kirby May ’94

WALTER M. JONES ’76 Mr. and Mrs. Robert M. Ruch, Jr. ’76 ROY KEATHLEY Mr. and Mrs. Alexander W. Wellford, Jr. ’60 THOMAS M. KEESEE, JR. ’59 Dr. and Mrs. R. Louis Adams ’70 Mr. and Mrs. W. Frederick Bailey, Sr. ’59 P. NICHOLAS KOLEAS ’67 Dr. and Mrs. Minor C. Vernon ’67 ODESSA JOLINE KILLEN Mr. Perry D. Dement R. CHRISTOPHER LASTER ’91 Mr. and Mrs. J. Stephen Austin ’91

BERNARD J. MYERS ’90 Mr. and Mrs. Daniel R. Myers ’93 PRABHAKAR PARIKH Dr. Sonali Parikh and Dr. Salil P. Parikh ’85 JAMES HAL PATTON III Mr. Perry D. Dement H. JERRY PETERS Mr. and Mrs. B. Christopher Clark ’78 S. THOMAS PETERS ’73 The Honorable and Mrs. Keith M. Ingram ’73 SCOTT M. REMBERT ’70 Mr. and Mrs. W. Frederick Bailey, Sr. ’59 Mr. George J. Whitlock ’70

SARA HARRISON RHEA Mr. D. Dwight Drinkard ’66 Mr. and Mrs. Kent Wunderlich ’66 JACKSON J. ROBERTS ’14 Mr. and Mrs. James A. Breazeale Mr. Christopher F. Galvin ’14 The OLAS Mr. Samuel B. Ostrow ’14 Mrs. Nancy S. Roberts CLAY D. ROBERTSON ’76 Mr. Perry D. Dement Mr. and Mrs. Bruce H. Henderson ’76 Mr. and Mrs. David E. Tate MONTGOMERY B. SERNEL ’90 Mr. and Mrs. Kevin J. Wilson ’94 Mr. and Mrs. Robert J. Wilson TERRY N. SHELTON Mr. and Mrs. Sean A. Alpert ’97 Ms. Bonnie U. Barnes Mr. and Mrs. Nathan A. Franklin ’12 DEWITT M. SHY, JR. ’69 Mr. and Mrs. Scott P. Wellford ’69 JAMES G. SOUSOULAS Ms. Daneel Buring and Ms. Vanessa Etheridge Mr. Perry D. Dement Mr. and Mrs. Glenn D. Floyd Mr. and Mrs. Steven L. Guinn Dr. and Mrs. Dean A. Klug Mr. and Mrs. Donald M. Levy Mr. and Mrs. Coffee Miklos Mr. Robert B. Nance III Mr. and Mrs. Peter D. Sanders Mr. Kevin Scanlon and the PCG Family Ms. Kay Stewart Ms. Verna H. Turner Mr. Walter D. Wills III ’67 GRAHAM R. STEWART ’10 Mr. and Mrs. Donald M. Kilgore

Includes gifts received 7/14/23 – 11-29-23

GIFTS IN MEMORY AND HONOR

DION M. STUTTS ’24 Dr. Michele H. Alston and Captain Andrew L. Alston ’07 Mr. Daniel C. Black ’18 Mr. Ross M. Kaye ’24 Mr. and Mrs. Christopher C. Lee ’89 Mr. and Mrs. Alexander D. McLean Mr. and Mrs. John W. Owen Mr. Colby H. Ring ’22 Mr. and Mrs. Robert Q. Wilson ’89 RICHARD ALLEN WILLIAMSON, JR. ’83 Mr. Daniel R. Cruthirds ’83 Mr. Derek Scheidt and Mr. D. Kevin Isom ’83 PETER S. WILLMOTT Mr. and Mrs. S. Clay Smythe, Sr. ’85

In Honor Of __________ BOBBY A. ALSTON Mr. and Mrs. Scott W. Vogel ’01

L. VAUGHAN DOW, JR. ’28 Mr. and Mrs. S. Terry Ray

J. RHODES HEARD, JR. ’21 Mr. and Mrs. John R. Heard, Sr.

DONALD D. DRINKARD, JR. ’98 Mr. D. Dwight Drinkard ’66

WILLIAM T. HOLLINGER Mr. Perry D. Dement Mr. and Mrs. Peter D. Sanders

DONALD D. DRINKARD III ’28 Mr. D. Dwight Drinkard ’66 PHILLIP B. EIKNER ’77 Mr. Brandon J. Roachell ’19 Mr. and Mrs. Brian S. Roachell Mr. Jianyin Roachell ’11 CLAIRE K. FARMER Mr. and Mrs. Bobby A. Alston Mr. and Mrs. Trevor B. Benitone ’91 Mr. Perry D. Dement Mr. and Mrs. Ellis L. Haguewood Mr. and Mrs. Barlow T. Mann ’71 Ms. Kimberly F. McAmis and Mr. Joseph Weaver Mr. and Mrs. Peter D. Sanders

KEITH M. INGRAM ’73 Mr. and Mrs. Ellis L. Haguewood DAVID B. JACKSON Mr. and Mrs. Peter D. Sanders CURTIS L. JONES Mr. and Mrs. Peter D. Sanders WALLACE L. KEELER ’26 Mrs. Nancy Hearn JONATHAN M. LARGE Mr. and Mrs. Fletcher F. Maynard III ’97 Mrs. Kat Gordon and Mr. Thomas H. Robinson, Jr. ’00

WILLIAM B. FARNSWORTH ’15 Mr. and Mrs. Thomas C. Farnsworth III

JOHN W. LEWANDOWSKI ’13 Mr. and Mrs. Whitten R. Bell

ADAMS S. FEILD ’27 Ms. Christi S. Feild

MICHAEL P. LEWANDOWSKI ’10 Mr. and Mrs. Whitten R. Bell

JERALD E. GAINES III ’25 Mr. and Mrs. Jerald E. Gaines, Jr.

GEORGE C. LUTON ’26 Dr. and Mrs. Bruce S. Alpert

CLASS OF 1963 Dr. Jere L. Crook ’63

BILLIE JEAN GRAHAM Dr. and Mrs. Stephen D. Graham ’75

N. GATES LUTON ’24 Dr. and Mrs. Bruce S. Alpert

CLASSES OF 1961-1968 Ms. Anne E. Frassinelli and Mr. William B. Ferguson ’68

HAYES D. GRAHAM ’24 Mr. and Mrs. Troy R. Graham

JOHN E. MARCOM, JR. ’75 Mrs. Mary Lee Marcom

MR. AND MRS. ELLIS L. HAGUEWOOD Mr. Brandon J. Roachell ’19 Mr. and Mrs. Brian S. Roachell Mr. Jianyin Roachell ’11

PAUL D. MAREK, JR. ’25 Mr. Paul D. Marek

P. QUINN BRESEE ’27 Mr. and Mrs. Melvin Bresee RICHARD C. BROER Mr. and Mrs. Ellis L. Haguewood Mr. John D. Stewart ’78 Mr. and Mrs. Eric P. Wulf

CLASS OF 2014 Mr. Samuel P. Hecht ’14 TYLER J. H. DANG ’24 Dr. Sherri Li and Dr. Gerald T.H. Dang LYLE H. DAVIS Mr. Timothy E. Davis, Jr.

56 l MUS TODAY FALL 2023

MARK J. HALPERIN ’67 Mr. and Mrs. Marc S. Hanover DANNY H. HARRIS III ’16 Mr. and Mrs. L. Charbonnier Miller

PHILLIP B. MAY ’07 Mr. and Mrs. Mark A. May MILES M. MCCARROLL ’26 The Honorable and Mrs. John R. McCarroll, Jr.

Includes gifts received 7/14/23 – 11-29-23

GIFTS IN MEMORY AND HONOR

PATRICK W. MCCARROLL ’92 The Honorable and Mrs. John R. McCarroll, Jr. J. MICHAEL MCKAY ’28 Ms. Betsy C. McKay R. PATRICK MCKAY, JR. ’26 Ms. Betsy C. McKay ANNE M. MCWATERS The Honorable and Mrs. John R. McCarroll, Jr.

Mr. and Mrs. Brian S. Roachell Mr. Jianyin Roachell ’11

WILLIAM R. TAYLOE, JR. ’23 Mrs. Louise Tayloe

COLBY H. RING ’22 Dr. Kristen D. Ring and Mr. H. Dennis Ring III

WILLIAM S. TAYLOR Mr. John D. Stewart ’78

REILLY J. RING ’20 Dr. Kristen D. Ring and Mr. H. Dennis Ring III R. SCOTT ROSE ’82 Mr. and Mrs. Ellis L. Haguewood

HENRY L. MILLS ’25 Mr. and Mrs. Henry P. Mills

CHRIS R. SANDERS Mr. and Mrs. Peter D. Sanders

WARREN G. MILNOR, JR. ’26 Mr. and Mrs. Burton H. Milnor Ms. Abbay Robinson

PETER D. SANDERS Mr. Brandon J. Roachell ’19 Mr. and Mrs. Brian S. Roachell Mr. Jianyin Roachell ’11

JAMES B. MITCHUM ’14 Dr. and Mrs. James R. Mitchum ’75 W. PRICE MORRISON, JR. ’75 Mr. and Mrs. Byron N. Brown IV ’97 LOYAL W. MURPHY IV ’86 Mrs. Loyal W. Murphy III A. FEILD OWEN III ’26 Dr. and Mrs. Kit S. Mays K. BENNETT OWEN ’24 Dr. and Mrs. Kit S. Mays K. SANFORD MAYS OWEN ’26 Dr. and Mrs. Kit S. Mays LEE B. PACKARD Mr. and Mrs. Peter D. Sanders W. BARRY RAY Mr. and Mrs. Bobby A. Alston Mr. Harrison M. Ford ’01 Mr. and Mrs. L. McKee Humphreys ’01 Mrs. Sammy Ann Marshall Mr. Brandon J. Roachell ’19

NORMAN S. THOMPSON Mr. Charles S. Day ’74 WILLIAM B. TOWNSEND ’78 Mr. and Mrs. Peter D. Sanders J. MCKEE WHITTEMORE ’20 Mr. and Mrs. John M. Whittemore, Jr. CHRISTOPHER G. YARBRO ’22 Ms. Christine L. Barzizza MICHAEL W. YARBRO ’25 Ms. Christine L. Barzizza

ANDREW F. SAUNDERS III Mr. Gordon Robertson III ’86 FREDERICK C. SCHAEFFER, JR. ’88 Mrs. Frederick C. Schaeffer, Sr. D. CARSON SMITH ’25 Mr. and Mrs. Jay M. Smith BRENDA AND KEN STALLS Mr. and Mrs. K. Phillip Stalls, Jr. ALBERT W. STEMMLER ’99 Mr. and Mrs. John A. Stemmler JOHN A. STEMMLER, JR. ’94 Mr. and Mrs. John A. Stemmler MATTHEW M. STEMMLER ’97 Mr. and Mrs. John A. Stemmler H. BYARS TAYLOE ’23 Mrs. Louise Tayloe H. KREIDER TAYLOE IV ’27 Mrs. Louise Tayloe

Illustration by Greg Cravens

THE LAST WORD

‘They are happy men whose natures sort with their vocations’ by Norman Thompson

s the long journey of my teaching career approaches the once-distant landfall, and I glimpse in the offing the beckoning harbor of retirement, I find myself beguiling the time often by reflecting on the qualities that imbue the teacher of distinction, wondering, “Do I possess any of those? Where did I fail to measure up to even the minimal standard expected of the respected teacher wielding influence over the best and brightest that our nation has to offer?” These reflections remind me of a longago incident in which I heard students complaining before my class began about a certain teacher whose class they dreaded and whom they seemed to dislike personally.

58 l MUS TODAY FALL 2023

I immediately assigned the class a brief essay, due the next day on the topic “My Idea of the Ideal Teacher.” A few aspiring standup comics revered the hypothetical donutladen teacher or the early class-dismissing film-shower (yes, it was film in those days), or the one who almost never took roll and was often absent from class. Many idolized the imagined teacher who graded on the magical curve. But most took the assignment seriously, listing the obvious characteristics of the good instructor. All of them included some version of “the teacher must know well the subject that he is teaching; he must like his students; he must be fair (i.e., lenient); he must assign a reasonable workload (light homework over the weekend

and none during any holiday).” Others wrote of personality traits that they found congenial. All obvious and predictable. Many years have passed and have added their sentimental compound interest to my own idea of the superior teacher. Yes, the good teacher must possess the attributes listed by students of the past, and I am sure that the same ones hold sway today. But the teacher most likely to be remembered and who in some small way affects the life of his or her students does not merely know the subject that he teaches. He loves it. For him it is a guidon leading to the meaningful, the full life. Yes, the good teacher must like his students, whose loved ones have entrusted them to him, but he must understand that

he must hold them accountable, that he is their teacher, not their friend. Students do not need another friend. They need a caring mentor. The traits of a good young teacher mellow through time and experience until they reach the hoped-for critical mass, until techniques particular to that teacher crystallize, that is, until the teacher finds his “voice,” just as the experiential writer hopes finally to stop imitating admired sources and begin to express himself in his personal idiom, his distinctive rhythm. It is only then, perhaps, in the fullness of time, that the genuine teacher becomes the conduit through which the art, literature, and wisdom of the past flow into the receptive vessels occupying the classrooms where he finds much of the meaning of his life. This teacher agrees in his soul with Theodore Roosevelt, who observed that “far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.” Many such archetypal teachers and leaders of young men have walked the hallways, classrooms, and fields of play at Memphis University School. Many of these are enshrined in portraits hanging in the Dining Hall and in hallways, foyers, and lobbies. Even more are preserved in the memories of students whose lives were enriched by these paragons, these men and women who contributed so substantially to the character building of generations of young men. They remain symbols of devotion to their profession and to the pursuit of perfection for future generations who never knew them. While one may learn something from the middling teacher, it is the teacher who has found his “voice,” his personal and peculiar way of conveying the material so dear to him, who is able to light the fire of inspiration in his students. It is such a teacher who will be remembered long after each has passed out of the life of the other. Such a teacher may be in some ways imperfect, may know that he is imperfect, yet may be remembered by his students long after more highly credentialed teachers are forgotten. Such a teacher may be remembered for his attitude, his approach to his discipline rather than for his advanced degrees or his inflated reputation. Such a teacher may inspire despite his obvious shortcomings. As a college undergraduate, I once spent a semester with a teacher of Shakespeare

who profoundly affected my approach to literature. He looked very much like a cross between Woody Allen and Ichabod Crane. Tall and lean with frazzled hair, sporting black horn-rimmed glasses, he would lope down the center aisle of the lecture room, mount a high stool behind a high lectern, open the playbook, and read and comment on the text. He never asked questions or engaged his audience in discussion, but he explicated the text cogently, he read the passages in voices reflective of the personalities of the characters, and he brilliantly analyzed the structure of each play. He showed even the least perceptive student the various ways that Shakespeare melded a cohesive whole out of disparate elements; how repetition of words, lines, even whole scenes, how patterns of imagery woven throughout the five acts fused to develop the theme and inevitable dénouement of each assigned play. One day as we students sat facing forward waiting on the professor to stride through the French doors behind us, we heard the door slam, but no professor appeared. After a long pause we looked back to see the bedraggled lecturer leaning against the door, eyes closed, face toward the ceiling. Eventually he began a labored gait, culminating in a struggling ascent of the high stool. As this was an early morning Saturday class (another relic of the past), we students deduced that had passed an enjoyable, if not for him memorable, Friday night at the local bistro. His eyes opened, he gaped once at his class, and he began to read and enact the scene exactly where he had left off the class before. The timbre of his voice, that is, the voices of Shakespeare’s characters, was mesmerizing as the volume and intensity of his voice rose, reverberating throughout the small auditorium. As he strove to overcome his discomfort, it became obvious that his lecture and his love of Shakespeare’s work was more important to him than was his personal comfort. Reflecting in later years on this professor and his methods, I could see that he had found his “voice,” his methodology that worked for him and inspired students to focus on the text before them, to absorb themselves in the words that their long-dead friend, the author, was confiding personally to them. Equally memorable and influential to me is another professor in whose classroom

I was privileged to spend a semester. Almost the opposite in appearance and technique of my earlier Shakespeare teacher, this nattily dressed Ivy Leaguer was soft-spoken and scholarly. His tailored three-piece suits were adorned by a gold watch, chain, and fob that he wore sometimes in his vest pockets and sometimes in his jacket breast pocket, anchored in the buttonhole in his lapel. After assigning scholarly articles illuminating the author being studied, he engaged his students in discussions of the work being studied and of the critical opinions of that work. He welcomed student commentary but was not hesitant to rebut faulty arguments and correct misunderstandings of both the work under study and the critical evaluations of that work. His method was to compliment the student for forming an opinion and through leading questions cause the student to see the source of his misunderstanding. I remember his method of correcting my misreading in such a way that it was only much later when I became a teacher and was teaching the same poem that I realized that it was my professor’s mediation, his leading me to the more profound, the correct understanding of that text that prompted me to apply his inquisitive, contemplative method to the many sublime works that I would encounter in after years, many of which now embellish the syllabi of MUS. From my promontory of time and tenure I gaze more often on the journey thus far completed and wonder to what extent I found my “voice,” my personal and, one hopes, to some extent successful way of reaching students where they are intellectually and emotionally. That determination, of course, must be left to others. Of one thing, though, I am certain. If Francis Bacon was right when he said, “They are happy men whose natures sort with their vocations,” then I am a happy man. And if any “happy” person’s vocation is teaching, then perhaps his greatest reward will be to be remembered by his students long after they have departed his classroom. Norman Thompson has been an MUS instructor in English since 1972, and he holds the L. Edwin Eleazer III Chair of Excellence in Teaching.

A Football Season to Remember his was the 106th time Owls came together as a team on the gridiron, and this group certainly did all they could do to build on the legacy. The second line of our fight song sets the standard: “Honor bring to the Red and Blue.” This squad met their challenges and, despite all the adversity put in their way, persevered to the end. And while the ending came a couple of games sooner than we hoped, the team recorded many great achievements both on and off the field.

The adversities have been well documented, beginning with the death of teammate Dion Stutts ’24 in an ATV accident in June. The leadership of fellow seniors to hold fast to the team culture helped the Owls cope with this tragic loss as they embraced the Stutts family. At the beginning of the season, the Owls were not even in the top 25 in the state by most polls and barely ranked in the top 10 in Memphis. At the end of the regular season, the team was ranked No. 1 in the state in our division by AP, as high as fourth in the state overall by computer polls, and second in the city. The team won three games over five weeks in Nashville, against MBA, Father Ryan, and Ensworth. A victory over our neighbors on Walnut Grove made it three wins in three years.

The mercy rule was invoked for the fifth time this season in the convincing win over Briarcrest. The pre-season pick to be fourth or fifth had won the region championship! The motto of W.I.N. (What’s Important Now) served the team well. At practice the attention to preparation was remarkable. The athletes attacked the strength training program, allowing them to stand up strong on the field. And the coaches and players relentlessly pursued perfection through their drill work, allowing them to execute fundamentals at a high rate on Friday nights. None of this is easy or common. The standard of excellence that has been set by the sweat of countless warriors who preceded this 2023 team was not only met but raised. All the men who are a part of this legacy can smile and tip their hat to this crew. They never yielded, they forever were true, in victory and defeat they loved each other, creating a great team! They were always ready to fight again for MUS and victory. Adapted from Head Coach Bobby Alston’s season recap Varsity football record: 9-2-0; TSSAA DII-AAA quarterfinalist

Seniors gather on Hull-Dobbs Field during the 42-0 Homecoming win over Oakhaven, which was also Senior Night. The jersey of the late Dion Stutts ’24 is at the center. His number, 62, adorned helmets and was emblazoned on the field. Photography by Jerry Gallik

NON-PROFIT ORG

US POSTAGE

PAID THE ALUMNI MAGAZINE OF MEMPHIS UNIVERSITY SCHOOL 6191 Park Avenue, Memphis, TN 38119

Address Service Requested

Parents Only: If this issue is addressed to your son who no longer maintains his permanent address at your home, please notify the MUS Development Office (901-260-1350) of the new mailing address. Because college addresses change so frequently, we are unable to use them for general mailing.

MEMPHIS, TN

PERMIT NO. 631