June 14, 2021

With Father’s Day coming up on Sunday, people everywhere are honoring their fathers and their impact on the world. Whether they celebrate a dad who is still alive or has passed away, and whether he is biologically related or not, most people have a father figure they look to as an example. 

While the ways to remember fathers are as unique as those being celebrated, the following individuals chose to honor their dads and their impact on others by paying it forward to the next generation of Texas A&M University students.
 

The Family Business

Jack Miller ’81 (right) created a scholarship in honor of his late father, Richard Miller ’55 (left), for Aggie civil engineering students.

For Jack Miller ’81, his relationship with his father, Richard Miller ’55, has had a profound impact on his life that continues even after his father passed away in 1993. Not only does he fondly remember the times they spent watching Aggie football games together, but he also reflects on his teenage years working for his father’s civil engineering firm, R.G. Miller Engineers Inc., which inspired his choice to major in civil engineering and take over as president of the family firm.

“Learning civil engineering at that early age and liking what I saw inspired me to pursue that profession,” Jack said.

To continue his father’s impact in the civil engineering field and help students discover their career paths like his father did for him, Jack created a scholarship in his father’s name for Aggie civil engineering students. “My father was proud of graduating from Texas A&M,” Jack explained. “He had many Aggie friends in the engineering community. I thought that giving an opportunity to students who want to pursue a civil engineering career was a great way to recognize his legacy. I hope the scholarship helps the program continue to grow and attract exemplary students.”

Jack also maintains ties with the university through the family business. “We always have occasion to recruit young engineers, and Texas A&M is our first choice,” Jack said. “A large part of our engineering staff is Aggies.”
 

Stephanie (middle) and Daniel Smith ’84 (second from right) created Endowed Opportunity Awards (EOAs) in their father's names, Howard “Jack” Jones ’52 (far left) and Warren Smith ’58 (far right), to help future Texas A&M students.

A Pair of Patriarchs

While Howard “Jack” Jones ’52 and Warren Smith ’58 had very different backgrounds and careers, both shared a love for their families and for Aggieland. To celebrate these passions, Stephanie and Daniel Smith ’84 created Endowed Opportunity Awards (EOAs) in their names to help future Texas A&M students.

A South Texas native, Stephanie’s father, Jack, worked as a veterinarian and later as a USDA poultry inspector before his death in 1993. Warren, Daniel’s father, grew up in Honolulu, Hawaii, and worked around the world for the Gulf Oil Corporation before retiring to his hometown. Both men, however, displayed the same Aggie value of selfless service.

“Dad was a dedicated worker who lovingly provided for his family,” Stephanie said. “He cared more about the people around him than he did for himself, which was inspiring.”

“My dad had a tremendous influence on my life as a businessman and entrepreneur,” Daniel said. “He was a very hands-on, loving father who helped me and my siblings understand how things worked, from school and sports to hunting and international business.”

Because all three of Stephanie and Daniel’s daughters had already furthered the family ties to Texas A&M by attending the university, the Smiths created scholarships to celebrate Jack and Warren’s values and their Aggie family legacy. “The idea of making a permanent gift to honor them in perpetuity was attractive,” Daniel explained. “The recipients will see the name of the person on their scholarship and know that this was a former student who was important to someone at Texas A&M.”
 

Giving with a Smile

Dr. Brock Lynn (middle) was inspired to follow in his grandfather's (Dr. Roland Lynn, left) and father's (Dr. David Lynn, right) footsteps to the Texas A&M College of Dentistry, then named the Baylor College of Dentistry, and to open his own practice. 

For more than 50 years each, both Dr. David Lynn and his father, Dr. Roland Lynn, left a legacy of brighter smiles in the Dallas area through their dental practices. Their impact inspired David’s son, Dr. Brock Lynn, to follow their footsteps to the Texas A&M College of Dentistry, then named the Baylor College of Dentistry, and to open his own practice. Brock’s daughter, Madeline ’25, will also attend the college beginning this year, further strengthening the family legacy.

“It was in our blood,” Brock explained. “They influenced me to always shoot for excellence and never stop learning.”

To honor his father and grandfather’s impact on his life, Brock created a gift for the College of Dentistry’s new Clinic and Education Building. The gift names the building’s graduate prosthodontics lab after David and Roland, a legacy that celebrates their passion for prosthodontics and their experience performing their own lab work.

“The lab is state-of-the-art, and I think it will continue to inspire people who are training in prosthodontics to strive for excellence,” Brock said.

Created partially by repurposing unused funds that his father had provided for a lectureship at the college, the gift also carries on the Lynns’ goals of supporting education. “There was a legacy of giving,” Brock explained. “My dad established the lectureship to contribute to the educational process of future dentists, and I hope this gift can continue that goal.”
 

To honor James Bond '58 and celebrate their father’s 80th birthday, siblings Robert Bond ’81, Russell Bond ’83, Randy Bond ’92 and Beth Bond Schmid ’94 created an endowed scholarship for students at the Texas A&M School of Law. (Shown left to right are Randy Bond, Beth Bond Schmid, James B. "Jimmy" Bond, Mary Beth Bond (James' wife), Russell Bond and Rob Bond.)

Aggie Bonds

While he may not have been a secret agent, the late James Bond ’58 pursued justice and helped others throughout his career as a lawyer. To honor this legacy and celebrate their father’s 80th birthday, siblings Robert Bond ’81, Russell Bond ’83, Randy Bond ’92 and Beth Bond Schmid ’94 created an endowed scholarship for students at the Texas A&M School of Law.

The gift also celebrates their father’s ties to the university he loved, including his 21 years as vice chancellor and general counsel for The Texas A&M University System. By supporting the law school, the siblings hope to continue their father’s vision for the university. “Dad always saw great potential in Texas A&M and thought the university could do anything it set its mind to,” Randy said. “For him, adding a law school was the ultimate feather in the university’s cap.” 

The siblings also created the scholarship as a lasting way to celebrate their father’s lifelong example of selfless service. “He had a heart of service and a heart for the underdog,” Beth explained, adding that he always enjoyed helping students in need during his years with the Texas A&M System.

“We hope the scholarship helps students who lack the means to pursue law and gives them the opportunity to serve other people through a legal career like dad did,” Russell said. “As a lawyer, he was a great humanitarian who cared for people in his service. He used his career to help others, which left an impression and legacy for all of us to follow.”

A gift in memory or in honor of a spouse, parent, sibling, relative or friend is a generous and thoughtful way to recognize a loved one while also supporting Texas A&M University. Many individuals even use honorary or memorial gifts as a way to celebrate important life milestones, such as birthdays, graduations or anniversaries. Honorary and memorial gifts to the Texas A&M Foundation can be tailored to fit the interests and values of your loved one, making it a true extension of that person’s life and accomplishments. Discover the different ways that your gift can create a living legacy for someone who has made an undeniable difference in your life by clicking the button below.