UM to Hold Annual Memorial Ceremony Thursday

Photo by Robert Jordan/Ole Miss Communications

Each spring, the University of Mississippi conducts a memorial ceremony to commemorate the lives of students, faculty, staff and emeriti who died during this academic year.

This year’s ceremony is scheduled for 4 p.m. Thursday, April 30, at Paris-Yates Chapel. The community is invited and encouraged to attend.

Honoring the lives of the loved ones lost over the last year provides an opportunity to bring the Ole Miss family together in unity, said Brandi Hephner LaBanc, vice chancellor for student affairs.

“The most difficult aspect of our job is dealing with death,” Hephner LaBanc said. “Every year, we lose many individuals who have had an important and lasting impact on our community. Whether they have been here one semester or numerous years, they were an important part of the Ole Miss family. The memorial ceremony is our opportunity to remember their contribution and celebrate their lives.”

This year’s ceremony honors these 14 members of the Ole Miss family:

Students

John Fenton Kottkamp

Grant Womack

Luke Phillips

Tanner Chapmon

James McCastlain

Faculty and Staff

Andrew Stefani

Kerby Ladner

Burl Hunt

Charles Treas

Esther Sparks Sprague

Larry Taylor

Roy Sheffield

Russell Stokes

Robert Marlon Bates

Courtesy of Christina Steube, Ole Miss Communications