Doc and I became friends during my senior year in high school, at which time I had serious reservations about coming to the University of Alabama. I did not think it was progressive or liberal enough, and I was not sure that it could give me what I was looking for. Doc gave me sound, realistic advice. He admitted that it probably was possible to spend four years at the U of A and earn a diploma without having been particularly well educated — if that is what a person set out to do. He then convinced me that there was more than a sufficient number of excellent faculty members to give anyone — provided that he was motivated and selective — a first-class education. The most practical piece of advice he gave me regarding my studies was, “Take the man, not the course.” I followed this advice with the consequence that though I often disappointed my professors, they rarely disappointed me.

I had another unfair advantage that made all the difference in the world to me: a key to the cultural oasis at 20 1/2 Audubon Place, John Ramsey’s home. There at my disposal were the vast library, the paintings, what was perhaps the largest privately owned collection of recorded classical music in Tuscaloosa, and a well-stocked bar. I felt that the world was at my fingertips. It was a place that stimulated questions and provided quite a few answers. There congregated men of learning, men of affairs, and jocks, all feeling brotherly towards each other, sharing the bond of John Ramsey. In the afternoons I found quiet sanctuary there for study and reading. There was happy hour, Doc with his dry Martini, sitting in his favorite chair, a special time when there were no limits on what could be discussed. And there were the parties, during which serious discussion generally was overpowered at some point by laughter at ribald stories and a great feeling of camaraderie. We all felt special to be a part of it.

As I consider what character traits Doc had which made him outstanding, two in particular come to mind. One was how he judged people. Social class, financial status, race, or religion were of little consequence to him. The qualities he treasured in others were the capacity for affection and love, honesty, and an enthusiasm for life.

The other trait that made him even more remarkable was his generosity. When most of us give something, it is from a mixture of motives: the yearning for praise and appreciation and the expectation of some benefit. I don’t think that’s wrong. But I do think there is something special about a man who can give so much with so few strings attached. Doc’s generosity was not born of weakness or insecurity — John Ramsey certainly never found himself lacking in friends and their support. It was simply his greatest satisfaction in life to share with and give to those he cared about. There were no limitations. His time, his knowledge, his sympathy, his affection, his house, his money, he gave them all. I was, in the days before his retirement, concerned about his future financial situation. I asked him what kind of investments he had made. He told me he had none, that whatever extra money there had been he had given away. “I always felt that giving to my friends when they needed it was the best investment I could make.” How true that turned out to be. Perhaps his last gift to those who cared about him was giving them the opportunity to help meet his needs in his last years. Toward the end of one of those evenings of good cheer at Doe’s house, as the gin and Scotch bottles stood near empty on the sideboard, the conversation took a serious turn when one of Doc’s friends asked him his views on life after death. He reluctantly replied that he was not sure that it existed as it was conventionally conceived. Then he added, “But a way I am sure that a personality can continue to exist after the body past in the hearts of those who have been touched by it.”

John Ramsey had not been with us physically for eight years. If I were to say that during that time I have daily made a conscious note of how he enriched my life, it would be an exaggeration — but only a slight one. There is no doubt that by his own standard he achieved a high degree of immortality.

Doc did a great deal to help me become a better person. I have not, however, become ennobled to the point that I can honestly say I envy Bill and Rachel Cadenhead for what they gave and sacrificed on John Ramsey’s behalf during the last two years of his life. I do, however, feel a great sense of personal indebtedness to them. Thank you, Bill and Rachel.