William Thomas "Scoop" Grogan's Obituary
William Thomas “Scoop” Grogan Jr., 72, of Memphis, passed away on February 10th at Methodist University Hospital. Born and raised in Memphis, Bill graduated from Kingsbury High School, and earned a degree in journalism from Memphis State University. Bill served as a Captain in the Air Force, where he was a speech writer for the office of the Secretary of the Air Force in Washington D.C. The highlight of his professional career was during the years 1970-1973, when he served as Sports Information Director at MSU (now University of Memphis). During this time he oversaw publicity as the team made it to the Final Four and NCAA Championship basketball game. He was also awarded national honors from the “College Sports Information Directors of America”. Bill served as the statistician crew coordinator for six Liberty Bowls, and was media assistant for the Danny Thomas Memphis Golf Classic. Later he worked as a freelance public relations consultant and in advertising. An avid lover of Southern Gospel music, he was a choir director at several different churches in the Memphis area over the years. He loved to sing, and was a tenor in the Methodist Music Men of Memphis. In his youth, he also enjoyed working as a high school and collegiate basketball referee and softball and baseball umpire. He was an active member of Harris Memorial United Methodist Church, and later at St. Stephen’s United Methodist Church. Bill was fun loving and gregarious, and loved puns and jokes. He enjoyed writing short stories and anecdotes. He had a sweet heart, and was generous, kind, and loving. He will be dearly missed by many. Bill is survived by his daughter, Marti Bott (David); two grandchildren, Grady Bott and Avery Bott, of Buena Vista, CO; his sister, Diana Sue of Ocean Springs, MS; his niece, Karen Murphy of Chicago, IL; his nephew, John Murphy of Chicago, IL, and his niece Donna Murphy of Ocean Springs, MS. He was preceded in death by his parents, Billy and Zuleika Grogan, of Memphis. The family will receive friends from 5-7 p.m. Monday, February 13 and his funeral service at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, February 14 all at Memorial Park Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the American Heart Association
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