1/2/04

Bob Lowry, 334/844-9999

SERVICES HELD FOR LONGTIME AUBURN TRUSTEE W. JAMES SAMFORD JR.

JIMMY SAMFORD

AUBURN -- Funeral services were held on Friday, Jan. 2, at the First United Methodist Church in Opelika for Auburn University Board of Trustee member W. James Samford Jr..

Samford, a member of the board of since 1987, died Monday evening at his home in Auburn following a lengthy illness. He was 53.

Burial followed at Rosemary Cemetery.

Samford, an Opelika native, was the great-grandson of Alabama Gov. William James Samford, for whom AU's historic Samford Hall was named.

Survivors included Lucinda Cannon, a sister, and Edmund Rasha Cannon, a nephew.

AU President William F. Walker offered his condolences to the family.

"Mr. Samford had a great for love for Auburn University and was a wonderful asset to the institution," said Walker. "He was also a good friend of mine."

In April, the Board of Trustees voted to rename Auburn's baseball park, Plainsman Park, the W. James Samford Stadium at Plainsman Park. Samford, who frequented Auburn baseball games, spearheaded the efforts for the construction of the new baseball facility in 1996 and additional renovations in 2001.

Prior to the 2003 season, Plainsman Park was named the top collegiate baseball facility in the nation by Baseball America.

Just six years after being appointed to the Board of Trustees by former Gov. Guy Hunt to represent the 3rd District, Samford was elected by his fellow board members as president pro tempore -- a position he held until June 2003.

He was reappointed to the board for a 12-year term in 1999 by then-Gov. Don Siegelman.

Samford earned a bachelor's degree in political science from AU in 1972, and went on to get his law degree from the University of Alabama School of Law in 1978.

From 1978-1980, he was an attorney for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., in Washington, D.C. Upon his return to Alabama in 1980, he was appointed by former Gov. Fob James as a member of the three-person Alabama Public Service Commission -- the state agency that regulates in-state utility companies and trucking firms.

Samford, who was an Air Force veteran, later served as senior legal advisor to James before going into private law practice in Montgomery.

Samford's ties to AU went beyond his great grandfather. His father, William J. Samford, was Auburn's general counsel for 17 years and his first-cousin, the late Thomas D. Samford III, was general counsel for 29 years. And his grandfather, Thomas D. Samford, was a member of the Board of Trustees on two different occasions -- from 1902-1906 -- and from 1914-1947.

jan04:AU-samford