What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned in life?
There are so many lessons to be learned in life. I know you can’t please everyone; I know every person deserves to be treated with respect. And it’s important to work hard and always do the right thing.

What’s your favorite memory from your childhood?
I grew up during the Great Depression, but living on the farm in Tippah County, MS, we never went without food or housing. We always had chores around the farm and spent time with family. I especially enjoyed running outside playing with my cousins.

How has the world changed the most during your lifetime?
There have been many changes during my life time. We worked the fields with mules and horses. Rode around in horse-drawn wagons, had no electricity out in the country and no running water. I do enjoy the conveniences today and enjoy the computer for playing solitaire and reading the news.

What advice would you give to someone just starting their life journey?
I have to say what I always told my children, be kind, work hard, do what you say you are going to do and to be grateful.

What are you most grateful for?
I am most grateful for my family. My wife of 67 years who passed away in 2018 and I have three children, five grandchildren and four great grandchildren.

What are some places in Memphis that no longer exist but were special to you?
I remember the Fairgrounds on East Parkway with the Pippin and the carousel. I remember the city before there were interstate highways all around it.

What is/was your favorite Memphis restaurant?
We rarely ate out, but a favorite was Leonard’s Drive In BBQ at the corner of Bellevue and McLemore.

How did your family celebrate holidays or special occasions in Memphis?
When the children were still at home, I always put up the Christmas lights all over the outside of the house. Sometimes we would visit with family but mostly we stayed home at Christmas and enjoyed a day or two of quiet family time.

What is your favorite Memphis memory?
There are so many memories of my time in Memphis since I moved here in 1950 not long after graduating from college. Memphis provided me a safe place for my family and a good place to work and make a living.

What do you want people to know about you?
Oh, I don’t know; I guess I’d want people to know how much I love my family and how much I love America.