[11/25/04] During their lives, Paul and Mary Frederic of Vicksburg did little to draw attention to themselves. Their wills, however, have left a lot of students thankful and will do so for generations.

The Frederics, who died six months apart seven years ago, bequeathed nearly $700,000 in a trust to generate money for Warren County students enrolled at Mississippi State University.

“This is a sizable scholarship that will do a lot of good,” said David Easley, chief financial officer of the MSU Foundation, the organization that manages gifts to the Starkville-based university.

Because only interest is spent each year, the Paul A. and Mary Elgie Frederic Memorial Endowed Scholarship will eventually help hundreds of local students obtain a university education.

The Frederics were not wealthy people. Both were employed by the federal government. He was a civil engineer at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Vicksburg District for 40 years. She was an administrative assistant for the government for 20 years.

Moody Culpepper, active in the local MSU alumni association, said they were frugal people who must have invested wisely.

Charles Riles, a friend, said the trust fund is a reflection of the Frederics’ love for the university.

“Because he was such a gentleman, he almost did not speak until he was spoken to, out of courtesy, unless it was about Mississippi State,” said Riles. “If you saw him talking to someone, the odds were it was about MSU.”

“He loved MSU football, but he was devoted to MSU education, too,” Riles said. “He wasn’t the kind of fellow that razzed you if MSU lost a ball game to Ole Miss.”

Another reason the couple likely intended for the scholarships to be awarded locally is their involvement with youth.

Paul Frederic, who had lived in Vicksburg since 1929, helped organize Little League baseball in the city and served as a coach for 27 years.

One of those he coached was Randy Sherard, Vicksburg attorney and attorney for the Warren County Board of Supervisors.

“He was very patient, because some of us had less talent than others,” Sherard said.

Though Frederic didn’t coach Sherard’s brother, Fred Sherard he tried to draft him from the county league Fred Sherard remembers Frederic as an MSU fan.

“I know he was a big MSU fan,” he said. “They used to drive off up there all the time, even when they got older.”

Paul Frederic was 90 when he died, and Mary Elgie Frederick was 83 at the time of her death.

Though Mary Elgie Frederic did not attend MSU, she was behind her husband 100 percent.

“She wasn’t quite as fanatical as Paul, but as a dutiful wife she supported his enthusiasm for Mississippi State,” said L.W. “Bump” Callaway III, one of Mary Elgie Frederic’s nephews. “She was a fan of MSU, I think, by default.”

She was the sister of Callaway’s father, and the younger Callaway remembers going to his aunt and uncle’s home as a child.

“They both loved to fly fish and traveled quite a bit,” he said. “She was very sweet to us as children. She was a doll.”

Riles said the couple’s generosity was in keeping with how they lived.

“He and Mary Elgie never had children of their own, but in a way they had children,” Riles said of the couple who married in 1957. “Through their generosity, quite a few have been able to be educated at MSU.”

Scholarships were first awarded for the 2003-2004 school year. Five students received $1,500 a year for four years, and six received $750 a year for four years.

For the 2004-2005 school year, eight students received $1,000 scholarships for four years.

David Athow, a 19-year-old freshman at State, was one of the recipients.

“It’s been great. It helped pay for my computer,” said Athow, who is studying to become a civil engineer.

The program at the university requires that students have a computer. “So, it’s mostly going toward that.”

And as MSU sophomore Jeremy Wolfe said, any scholarship is a big help.

“Everything is welcome,” he said.