Dr. John Morris McPhail

He was born in Longtown, MS on January 14, 1931. He grew up in Jackson, MS.

He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War and was stationed for a time in Korea. Upon returning to the U.S., he entered Mississippi College as a student and met the love of his life, Mary Anne Cason. They were married on December 27th, 1954.

After the wedding and graduation, he worked as a teacher and basketball / football coach at both Provine and Central High Schools. He later enrolled at the University of Mississippi where he received his Doctorate in Education.

He then took a job at then Radford College as the Vice President of Student Affairs. While at Radford, he eventually transitioned to the Education and Counseling Department serving as its department chair, teaching undergraduate and graduate classes and serving as the faculty advisor for the Alpha Sigma Tau Sorority. He also served his community and the Radford City Schools as the School Board Chairman for many years.

After retirement, he and Mary Anne returned to Jackson, MS in 1998 and reunited with local family, former students, old Army buddies and friends. Upon Mary Anne’s death in 2014, he moved to the Charlotte, NC area to live closer to his son, daughter-in-law and grandsons.

He spent the last years of his life watching his grandsons play football, trying every local restaurant in search of the best ribs (he realized he made the best using a former student’s rub recipe), telling (and re-telling) stories of his youth to his family and tracking the great-grandkids being born!

He is survived by his son, John M. McPhail, II and his wife, Melissa and their sons, John Christian (married to Allison), Matthew, Mitchell and Luke; and his daughter, Cindy Anne Adcock and her husband Al and their children, AJ (married to Bethany), Brad (married to Nicole and their children Payton, Harper and Cole), Hannah Rice (married to Eric and their children Lila, Evie, Eric, Jr and Lillie) and David (married to Shannon and their daughter Virginia). He is also survived by his sister Sara Hospes of Jackson and his little brother Boyd (married to Ann).

He will be missed.

A memorial service will be held at 12:00 pm on Friday, January 24, 2019 at McEwen Funeral Service-Mint Hill Chapel. A graveside service will follow at 2:00 pm at Salisbury National Cemetery where he will be laid to rest with his wife.

Condolences may be offered online at www.mcewenminthillchapel.com.