{"id":49719,"date":"2015-05-27T10:15:17","date_gmt":"2015-05-27T15:15:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/?p=49719"},"modified":"2015-05-27T10:07:02","modified_gmt":"2015-05-27T15:07:02","slug":"cherished-friendship-leads-memorial-pharmacy-scholarship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/cherished-friendship-leads-memorial-pharmacy-scholarship\/","title":{"rendered":"Cherished Friendship Leads to Memorial Pharmacy Scholarship"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Bob<\/a>

Bob Buchanan (left), Sara Taylor Jenkins, Gloria Smith and David D. Allen<\/p><\/div>\n

OXFORD, Miss. – The Ben Taylor Smith Memorial Pharmacy Scholarship Endowment has been created to honor a University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy<\/a> alumnus and provide support to the school\u2019s students.<\/p>\n

\u201cBen Smith was one of the closest and dearest friends I have ever had,\u201d said Robert Buchanan (BSPh 59), Smith\u2019s college roommate. \u201cPharmacy was a very important part of our lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

A gift from Buchanan and his wife, Georgia, initiated the scholarship. Upon learning of the Buchanans\u2019 gesture, Gloria Franks Smith, Ben Smith\u2019s widow, also contributed to bring the scholarship to endowment level. Her gift assured permanent recognition of her husband while meeting the needs of pharmacy students for generations to come.<\/p>\n

The $25,000 endowment will provide assistance to students who are Mississippi residents in the professional pharmacy program with a grade-point average of at least 2.5.<\/p>\n

Gloria Smith said she was delighted that Bob Buchanan chose to honor her husband\u2019s legacy.<\/p>\n

\"Ben<\/a>

Ben Taylor Smith<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cBob is a generous and caring man, and it is evident that he loved Ben Taylor Smith as Ben loved Bob,\u201d said Gloria Smith, of Booneville. \u201cThe Buchanans are lifelong, special friends who have made an impact on our family. I know that both Bob and Ben will be remembered because of this scholarship.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben Smith and Bob Buchanan came to Ole Miss<\/a> as freshmen in fall 1954. They pledged Sigma Chi and in 1958 were among the first students to room in the fraternity\u2019s new house. Coming from families with pharmacy backgrounds, the men graduated with Bachelor of Science in pharmacy degrees in 1959.<\/p>\n

Smith and his friends were the quintessential Ole Miss gentlemen, Gloria Smith said. Her husband used to tell her about the \u201cbeautiful Ole Miss coeds\u201d and the \u201cglory days\u201d of the John Vaught football era, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe saw Coach Vaught about 2004, and Ben \u2013 quite out of character \u2013 stopped him and his group to ask for an autograph for our young granddaughter,\u201d Gloria Smith said. \u201cCoach Vaught obliged, signing a brief note and signature on a paper napkin for us. Ben was so proud of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

As seniors, Buchanan and Smith commuted to Batesville and worked in pharmacies making just one dollar per hour to gain experience before entering the working world.<\/p>\n

After graduation, the two friends parted ways. Buchanan worked in Columbia for his uncle Sid Armstrong (BSPh 27) \u2013 whom he honored with a scholarship in 1985 \u2013 before returning to Jackson. Smith went to work for a pharmacy in West Point, but ultimately returned to his roots in Booneville and worked for his father, Ben C. Smith (PhG 24). After his father passed away, Smith became owner of Smith Drugs and worked there for 55 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cBen was fair, honest and respected,\u201d Gloria Smith said. \u201cThe business was built on Christian principles from the beginning by his father and has been continued for 88 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith and Buchanan\u2019s friendship lasted well beyond their years at the School of Pharmacy.<\/p>\n

\u201cBen and I had a lifelong friendship and continued to get together after we graduated,\u201d Buchanan said. \u201cWe would go to New Orleans for the weekend and see each other at Ole Miss functions, ball games and Sigma Chi meetings. We were close friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gloria Smith said she hopes that the students who benefit from this endowment will be dedicated to pharmacy and honor what her husband stood for: the patient. She recalled an example of his relationship with customers.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne lady told me a few months ago that she had planned to bring her new great-granddaughter to the store last spring for a picture with Ben because the little girl would have been a fifth-generation family member for Smith Drugs,\u201d Gloria Smith said. \u201cBen was a trusted pharmacist and friend to his customers.\u201d<\/p>\n

To contribute to the Ben Taylor Smith Memorial Pharmacy Scholarship Endowment, mail a check with the fund noted in the memo line to the University of Mississippi Foundation, 406 University Ave., Oxford, MS 38655. For more information, contact development director Raina McClure at rmcclure@olemiss.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

OXFORD, Miss. – The Ben Taylor Smith Memorial Pharmacy Scholarship Endowment has been created to honor a University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy alumnus and provide support to the school\u2019s students. \u201cBen Smith was one of the closest and dearest friends I have ever had,\u201d said Robert Buchanan (BSPh 59), Smith\u2019s college roommate. \u201cPharmacy wasRead the story …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[199],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nCherished Friendship Leads to Memorial Pharmacy Scholarship - Ole Miss News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/cherished-friendship-leads-memorial-pharmacy-scholarship\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cherished Friendship Leads to Memorial Pharmacy Scholarship - Ole Miss News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"OXFORD, Miss. – The Ben Taylor Smith Memorial Pharmacy Scholarship Endowment has been created to honor a University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy alumnus and provide support to the school\u2019s students. \u201cBen Smith was one of the closest and dearest friends I have ever had,\u201d said Robert Buchanan (BSPh 59), Smith\u2019s college roommate. \u201cPharmacy wasRead the story …\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/cherished-friendship-leads-memorial-pharmacy-scholarship\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Ole Miss News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-05-27T15:15:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-05-27T15:07:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/smithendowment201-copy-300x168.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@OleMissRebels\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@OleMissRebels\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/\",\"name\":\"Ole Miss News\",\"description\":\"The official source for University of Mississippi news\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":\"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/?s={search_term_string}\",\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/cherished-friendship-leads-memorial-pharmacy-scholarship\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/smithendowment201-copy-300x168.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/cherished-friendship-leads-memorial-pharmacy-scholarship\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/cherished-friendship-leads-memorial-pharmacy-scholarship\/\",\"name\":\"Cherished Friendship Leads to Memorial Pharmacy Scholarship - 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