Jack Sanford
Former Baylor School Headmaster Jack Stanford has died.
Current Headmaster Scott Wilson sent this notice:
It is with great sadness that we share the news that Jack Stanford, a beloved and legendary member of the Baylor family, has died.
Jack had been in the hospital since Monday for a planned heart procedure that, by all accounts, had gone well.
So, it was all the more unexpected to learn of his passing early this morning.
Jack first became involved with Baylor in the summer of 1950 when he landed a job as an assistant play camp director. Amidst the relaxed laughter of children and enthusiasm of his colleagues, he discovered a fondness for working with young people. He also developed an affinity for Baylor.
After graduating from the University of Chattanooga, he worked briefly for a manufacturing company, but after several months he decided he wanted to teach. In 1953 he was hired by Dr. Herb Barks, Sr., and for the next 19 years, his career would span the economics and science classrooms, basketball court, football field, dormitories, administrative offices, and summer camps. His basketball teams won Mid-South championships in 1962-65, setting a new record for four consecutive Mid-South championships.
Jack and his wife, Jody, embraced the adventure of living on campus with approximately 200 adolescents while also raising their two daughters, Lisa Stanford and SusanBeth Stanford Purifico. In his biology classroom Jack combined art with teaching and required each student to have a drawing notebook. When students performed a dissection, Jack would require each student to draw it in his notebook, telling them that after completing his course they would either be a medical doctor or an artist. When meeting former students years later, the biology notebooks would inevitably become the topic of animated conversations.
Jack also held several administrative positions, ultimately becoming Associate Headmaster in 1964. He left Baylor in 1972 to become headmaster at Presbyterian Day School in Memphis. Seven years later he was named headmaster at Hutchison School in Memphis where he remained until his retirement in 1995. Following several interim headships, he returned to Baylor as our interim head in the summer of 2004. He was elected to the Baylor Board of Trustees in 2005, and he retired from the board in 2011.
Jack and Jody were married for 59 years, and Jody has an extensive support group of friends from her high school days and church in Chattanooga. Her daughters and their families will be traveling today to be with her.