Lifelong Friendship with Faculty Leads to Scholarship Gifts

Ron Fox, PhD, was anything but an average college student, and in Physics Professor Ray Hefferlin he found the perfect faculty mentor to match. Their relationship extended far beyond the classroom and made a lasting impression on Fox, who recently honored Hefferlin’s lifetime of friendship by contributing a $100,000 charitable gift annuity and including a bequest in his estate plan to support scholarships for students studying physics at Southern.

Fox, ’62, (pictured below) came to campus in Collegedale without completing high school; he had taken every science course Campion Academy had to offer before losing interest in secondary school and quitting at the age of 15. While other Adventist colleges had turned him away, Southern enrolled him despite the lack of a diploma. Fox’s intelligence was obvious, but he needed time to mature and a flexible mentor to shape his development.

“Dr. Hefferlin impacted my life from the very beginning and guided me through those wild teenage years,” Fox said. “Once, I hitchhiked to the Alabama coast during a long weekend and spent my entire time there on the beach. When I came back to Southern, I was so sunburned that even wearing my clothes hurt—so Dr. Hefferlin allowed me to attend my all-male physics classes without a shirt!”

The entire Hefferlin family played a role in providing structure during Fox’s time at Southern. He and other students would often visit the Hefferlin house for dinner or take a ride with them to the Great Smoky Mountains. Hefferlin’s widow, Inelda (Phillips) Hefferlin, ’58, enjoyed serving alongside her husband in this ministry of hospitality that exceeded any professional responsibilities.

“Ray really cared for each of his students, especially his majors,” Inelda Hefferlin said. “In fact, I distinctly remember Ray telling me what a bright mind Ron had. Ray listened to students’ problems and sometimes even helped them financially. He also helped several with admittance into graduate schools.” Fox was one of those students. Shortly before graduation, he began looking for a job, but his mentor had other plans.

“Dr. Hefferlin thought I should pursue additional academic training, but I needed to start earning a living because I was recently married and had a family to support,” Fox said. “I told him that if he could find me funds for graduate school faster than I could find a job, then I’d follow his recommendation. It took him less than 30 minutes to obtain a full scholarship for me at the University of Tennessee!”

The two families kept in touch and visited one another years later, after Fox moved west for work with Boeing Aircraft on the early space program and Sandia National Laboratories—where he contributed to nuclear research and other advanced energy projects. According to Fox, the planned gifts that he and his wife Elaine (Latham), ’63, made to the Ray Hefferlin Physics Endowed Scholarship Fund are “just a small token of appreciation for all that the Hefferlins and Southern have done for me.”

Gifts like these provide tremendous financial relief for students as well as great joy to those who knew and loved Hefferlin.

“I am always surprised when Southern’s Planned Giving office tells me that a donation has been made in Ray’s honor,” Inelda Hefferlin said. “It’s a blessing to know that bright young physics students will have the opportunity to study how God made the universe. I can’t wait to share this particular happiness with Ray in Heaven!”

The Ray Hefferlin Physics Endowed Scholarship Fund was established in 1996. Since then, 88 alumni and friends of Southern have contributed to its growth. For more information regarding charitable gift annuities, estate plans, and other giving opportunities, visit southern.edu/plannedgiving.

-by Lucas Patterson, associate director for Advancement