Mary Vann Lunsford, 90: Shorter College alumna

By Rick Badie

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Mary Lunsford was set to return to Shorter College for her sophomore year. She was packed and ready to make the trip to Rome from Thomasville, her hometown.

Unexpectedly, her father delivered grim news. He didn't have the money to cover that year's college costs.  That very day, within hours of that conversation, the phone rang. A Shorter College official was on the line. Tuition wouldn't be an issue. Mrs. Lunsford had been awarded a full academic scholarship.

"She left for Shorter," said her son J. Rodgers Lunsford III of Atlanta, "and the rest, as they say, is history."

In part because of that scholarship, Mrs. Lunsford endeared herself to the Christian school.  As an undergrad, she held offices in the student council, honor society and Key Club. She was an outstanding member of the debate team.

As an alumna, she was president and vice president of the school's alumni association. She was Shorter's 1982 Alumna of the Year. She was president of the Atlanta Shorter Alumni chapter. She served three, five-year terms on the Shorter Board of Trustees. She served two chairperson terms, in 1991 and 1997.

Dr. Harold E. Newman, the college president, called her the "ideal alumna."

"To me, she is the example of what every college would want in an alum," he said. "She was dedicated to the college and celebrated its  growth and change by supporting it with her time and her resources. The college thought so much of her she was awarded an honorary doctorate."

Dr. Newman is scheduled to speak at Monday's memorial service for Mary Vann Lunsford.  It will be held at 2 p.m. at Second Ponce de Leon Baptist Church.

Mrs. Lunsford, 90, of Atlanta died Wednesday at her home of natural causes. H.M. Patterson & Sons, Spring Hill chapel, is handling arrangements.

Mrs. Lunsford attended city schools in Thomasville. She graduated from Shorter College in 1941 with a bachelor's degree in speech. She spent time as a homemaker, then taught pre-first grade for 10 years at The Westminster Schools, where she specialized in phonics and reading.

After retiring from Westminster in 1968, she served as a phonics and reading tutor for metro Atlanta students.

Her commitment to Shorter mirrored the educator's involvement in practically every civic purpose she signed on to. She came aboard to lead, her son said, not follow.

"She was an active leader," her son said. "She was engaged in a number of philanthropic activities."

Mrs. Lunsford was a life member of the Shepherd Center Auxiliary, where she served on the board and twice as treasurer. She was vice chair of the Board of  Senior Citizens Services of Metro Atlanta.

She and Claire Smith of Atlanta, a friend since their Shorter days, co-chaired the 1989 Atlanta Heart Ball to raise money for the American Red Cross.

"I knew her since she was 17 years old," Mrs. Smith said, "and I am almost 90. We met for the first time as freshmen at Shorter. We graduated together and were at each other's weddings. She had an analytical mind, and was the first woman president of the [Shorter] board of trustees."

Mrs. Lunsford's husband of 58 years, Julius R. Lunsford Jr., died in 1999.

Additional survivors include two other sons, Clark Vann Lunsford of Avondale Estates and Alan H. Lunsford of Cartersville; three grandchildren and one great-grandchild.