Dr. Thomas Richard Puryear Endowment

Description:

A Wilson County native, Dr. Thomas Richard Puryear grew up on a farm under depressed economic conditions. With a dream of becoming a physician, he joined the Army to help pay for college expenses and graduated from Cumberland University in 1941 and from Vanderbilt University in 1944 with his medical degree. Married to Louis Graves for fifty years, Dr. Puryear never had children of his own. He did, however, believe in young people and the promise of the future that they helped. Many students who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford to attend a University were given money by Dr. Puryear to pay for their education. The only condition on the gift was not that it be paid back to him, but rather that the receiver afford the same opportunity for other struggling students. Keeping the circle of giving and aid to those in need was a strong value of his.