To celebrate the life of veteran Hattiesburg Director of Parks & Recreation Director Dr. Clemon Terrell, a $25,000 memorial scholarship has been established that will provide two $500 scholarships annually forever.
Fifty-four-year-old Terrell, who died Nov. 30, 2017, at his home, worked for the City of Hattiesburg for 16 years. He was a star football athlete for both Hattiesburg High School and The University of Southern Mississippi, leaving a strong legacy for being both an engaged citizen and public servant.
In a ceremony last week announcing the scholarship fund, Mayor Toby Barker said the fund had already received donations and pledges of $13,000.
“On Dec. 9, when we recognized Clemon Terrell Day on his birthday, we said that we were going to move forward to establish a scholarship,” he said. “This fund is a scholarship endowment. That means that every year there will be a scholarship paid out in his memory. Working with the Greater PineBelt Community Foundation, we are pleased to make this announcement.”
Barker said the scholarships will assist the families of city employees, city employees themselves and the families of former city employees.
“We believe that Dr. Terrell loved his city family, and this is for them to draw on and their children and grandchildren to draw on well into the future,” he said. “This means that his memory will live even further in a different realm.”
Former USM teammate Reggie Collier, who served on the scholarship committee, said Terrell had several loves in his life.
“If you know Clem like I did, you know the man loved the City of Hattiesburg, he loved Hattiesburg High, he loved Southern Miss and, of course, he loved the City of Hattiesburg,” he said. “He would be the first one to tell you where he was from, how he was doing and how he was doing it. Also, the man loved his family.”
Dr. Joe Paul, the City of Hattiesburg’s Customer Service Coordinator, said the city is moving quickly to set up the scholarships. Paul is coordinating collection of the funds.
“Clemon’s love for his family and his community were the driving factors behind setting this up,” he said. “I want you to realize that this will start being awarded as early as next spring, but this will be awarded forever because it is an endowment.”
All donations are tax-deductible and are processed through the Greater PineBelt Community Foundation. To contribute, checks should be made to the Greater PineBelt
Community Foundation with “Clemon Terrell Fund" written in the memo.
Checks can be mailed to: City of Hattiesburg Terrell Fund c/o Dr. Joe Paul, P.O. Box 1898, Hattiesburg, MS 39403-1898.
Terrell graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi with a doctorate in chemistry. He is survived by his wife, Rosalind; five children, Victoria Terrell, Lachan Terrell, Taytum Terrell, Clemon Terrell, II and Kendyl Terrell; three grandchildren, Hailey Terrell, Maddi Terrell and Kyleigh White; his mother, Pinkie Terrell; three siblings, Clairene Terrell, Kathy Wade and Charles Terrell.
