My husband, Paul D. Smith ('58), was Dr. Leonard Burford's assistant for several years, and we were very close to him and Mabel and Jack and spent many hours in their basement, taking shelter from the many tornado alerts we had  during that time.

It was, in fact, my husband Paul who got the romance started between Dr. B. and Mary Titsworth.  He invited Mrs. Titsworth, who was my dorm mother for four years, to accompany Dr. Burford and us to the annual A Cappella banquet.  Paul always had responsibilities as president and thought it would be helpful to have someone to accompany Dr. Burford so  he would be able to carry out his duties better.

Dr. B. was amenable to that, and it turned out to be a wonderful experience.  As Paul was accompanying Dr. Burford to his door when we took him home, Dr. B. said that he had a wonderful time, and that he didn't know why he had not thought of it himself.  To use his expression, he said, "She is just terrific."

They married some time after that, and Paul was his best man.  We had many wonderful times with them after their marriage.  After he became so very ill and was brought to Dallas to the hospital, Mary (Sister T, as most people called her then) was staying with us and was there when Dr. Burford. died.  Paul was responsible for the music for his funeral (a large responsibility, I might say) and was able to gather a wonderful group of singers.  

Dr. Burford and his Mabel and Jack were such an inspiration for everyone, especially to us.  They could do anything.  I have watched Mabel iron so beautifully, and always knew we would have something wonderful when we ate with them.

Another interesting  adventure that Paul had with Dr. Burford was in accompanying him on a trip to California.  They went by train -- a long ride in those days -- but Dr. Burford did not want to miss anything, and Paul was his eyes for the whole trip.  Dr. B. could ask the most interesting questions, so it kept Paul on his toes to come up with descriptions -- but in the process learned more himself.

Northport, Ala.