April 25, 2022 - Since he established the remarkable timpson66.com website some years ago, 1966 THS graduate Ralph Corry has become the de-facto historian of Timpson schools. Along with a wealth of Timpson ISD history and updates, timpson66.com features a compendium of THS graduates from 1898 until 2021, including photos and profiles when available. Speaking to the April monthly meeting of the Timpson Area Genealogical and Heritage Society last Wednesday, Corry recalled many past graduates who went on to achieve notable success in later life. Among those mentioned by Corry were:
- Charles “Chuck” Hancock, who graduated in 1945, served in the Texas House of Representatives from 1953 until 1955.
- Wesley W. Haden, who was born in 1880 and was a local minister, was granted a patent for a sanitary banana display case.
- 1926 THS graduate Paul Evans played minor league baseball with Dizzy Dean.
- Dewey Wayne Jackson, who graduated in 1936, donated his life savings to a struggling college in Hawaii which was later re-named Jackson College in his honor.
- Young Bussey, who was born in Timpson in 1917 and played quarterback for LSU, was the backup for Sid Luckman with the Chicago Bears in the early 1940's. He was a Naval officer during WWII and died in the Pacific.
- Burt Hairgrove, who graduated from THS in 1971, became an accomplish trick roper, was featured in Mrs. Baird's tortilla commercials, and performed at the White House for President George W. Bush.
- A 1940 graduate of THS, Mary Ruth Green McKibben went to the University of Texas Medical School and practiced anesthesiology in Modesto, California for 34 years.
- Charles Cook, a member of the Class of 1963 and a THS football player, began covering sports for an Arizona newspaper after graduation and moved into feature writing later. He was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize during his career.
- Terry Bussey graduated from THS in 1967, later joining the Army and rising to the rank of Colonel
- Former Texas and United States Senator Earl Mayfield graduated from THS in 1898. He served in the Texas Senate from 1907 until 1913 and in the U.S. Senate from 1922 until 1928.
- Shelby County native Rushing Manning taught school in Timpson and later served two terms in the Texas House of Representatives from 1941 until 1945 and is buried in the Texas State Cemetery in Austin.
- Perry Nichols was born in Timpson in 1915. He played college football at Stetson University and later became a lawyer, first practicing in Timpson and later in Miami, Florida. He rose to prominence there and was inducted into the Trial Lawyers Hall of Fame in 2011.
- Curtis Stilley graduated from THS in 1926 and began working for Western Union in Beaumont delivering telegrams on a bicycle. He retired 47 years later as Vice President of the company and is buried in Corinth Cemetery.
- Cherry Harrison Rainone attended Timpson schools in the 1940s and later was a published author and scriptwriter. She and her husband created one of the finest collections of art by Texas painters before it was fashionable.
- 1940 THS graduate Virginia Jarrett joined the Navy in 1943 and became a nurse, later working for Dr. Dan Bussey after the war. She went to work for the VA Hospital in Shreveport in 1953 and in 1967 became the Dean of the School of Nursing at TCU. In 1989 she became Dean of the School of Nursing at the University of Arkansas.
- Eleven-time Bassmaster Classic qualifier David Wharton graduated from THS in 1968. He became a professional fisherman in 1974, earning over $800,000 in a career that lasted until his death in 2009.
- Judge Sidney Ramsey, who was born in Timpson in 1873 and served in the Texas Legislature from 1904 to 1908, moved to Henderson in 1908 where he published the Henderson Times for 23 years. He served as County Judge from 1928 until 1934.
- THS Class of 1931 member Kavanaugh Francis was an All-American football player for the University of Alabama Crimson Tide 1934 National Championship Team and drafted by the Detroit Lions of the NFL in 1936, though he declined their offer.
Corry emphasized that his talk was not intended to include all the notable people who had come from Timpson and that many THS alumni who had distinguished themselves in later life were omitted.
The Timpson Area Genealogical Society meets at 2PM on the third Wednesday of each month in the meeting room of the Timpson Public Library on the corner of Austin and Bremond Streets in downtown Timpson. The TAGHS library is located within the Timpson Public Library and is open and staffed from 9AM until 5PM weekdays. Telephone 936-254-2966 and ask for the Genealogical Library.
