CAT Tracks Editor's Note:

Mac was well respected by his colleagues. More than that, he was considered a friend, the head of our school family. Many tears were shed when he and his wife, Naomi, reluctantly left Cairo.

During the coming days and weeks, family and friends will share their personal memories of "Mac" as they struggle to cope with his passing. There will be much sorrow, but there will be plenty of joy and laughter as the life of Elmer McPherson is rightfully celebrated.

I will offer one anecdote that not many know...

One CHS graduation day, when Mac was principal, one of the male seniors showed up in athletic shoes, battered athletic shoes. Mac quietly called him aside and told him that dress shoes were appropriate/required for the ceremony. I don't know if the graduate was just being obstinate (as teenagers and especially graduating Seniors can be) or if the student simply couldn't afford dress shoes. (The student was from a disadvantaged family.) I'm sure Mac was concerned with the formality/solemnity of the occasion, this being the early 1980s when "old school" standards were expected and enforced, but, knowing Mac, he was most concerned for the student, that he not be embarrassed while participating in this milestone of his life.

Not to worry...

You've heard it said about certain people: "He would give you the shirt off his back." Well, the shirt (and the pants) weren't a problem, being covered by the graduation gown, but, the feet! Yep, you guessed it, Mac noticed that he and the student shared the same approximate shoe size and gave the graduating senior a pair of his own dress shoes to wear during the ceremony.

Mac excelled as an administrator, as an educator. He took care of business, handled all the big things life threw his way, our way. For that he earned the accolades of those who worked with him in whatever capacity. But, this one little courtesy to a fellow human being with no fanfare, no recognition, shows the true character of Elmer McPherson.

So, on behalf of my Cairo School District colleagues, past and present, sincere condolences to Naomi and the family.