Grady Franklin “Buddy” Tollison, Jr.

Grady Franklin “Buddy” Tollison Jr., 86, died Friday, May 31, 2024, at Baptist Memorial Hospital – North Mississippi. The funeral will be Thursday, June 6, 2024, at 2:00 P.M. at First Presbyterian Church of Oxford with Rev. Barrett Milner officiating. Visitation will be held prior to the service beginning at 12:00 noon at the church. Burial will follow the service in Oxford Memorial Cemetery.

Grady was born July 29, 1937, in the Dry Creek community of Tippah County, MS. He spent part of his youth in Booneville and later moved with his family to Memphis where he graduated from South Side High School in 1955. He was a dedicated Southside Scrapper football player, receiving numerous accolades for his accomplishments on the field.

Upon high school graduation, at the age of 17, Grady enlisted in the U.S Marine Corps, which required him to obtain a waiver from his parents. He completed basic training at Parris Island, SC and served three years on active duty at Camp Lejeune, NC, in addition to five years of reserve duty. Following his service, he entered Southwestern at Memphis (now Rhodes College). As an older student and lineman on the football team, Grady was a natural leader, even drawing up plays with the coaches. He graduated from Southwestern in 1962 with a B.A. in History.

After college he began teaching and coaching high school football and eventually moved to Clarksdale to become head coach of the Coahoma County Red Panthers high school football and lady basketball teams from 1965 to 1968. In his first year as head coach, the football team’s record was 1-8-1. But, by his fourth and final season, the team finished with a 10-1 record, an accomplishment of which he was very proud.

In 1969 he entered the University of Mississippi School of Law, where he quickly excelled even while working on the film crew for Ole Miss football games to help pay his tuition. He was selected as Editor-in-Chief of the Mississippi Law Journal and was the recipient of the Dean Robert J. Farley Award for the highest grade point average in his graduating class. He also received the Mississippi Bar Foundation Award for the highest grade point average among the three graduating classes. He was awarded a Juris Doctorate with distinction in May 1971 and returned to Clarksdale to practice law.

In June 1974, Grady and his young family moved to Oxford to open an office for the Holcomb Dunbar law firm. The firm was located in the nearly abandoned Holcomb building on the Square. Grady eventually purchased the building and later returned the original name to the building – Thompson House. He spent the next forty years restoring the Thompson House, which has become an iconic fixture on the Oxford Square. He also built his apartment on the third floor where he lived for the rest of his life. A voracious reader, a passion he had since childhood, Grady’s apartment was filled with hundreds of books, all of which he had read.

In 1983, Grady started his own law firm in the Thompson House where he continued to practice until his death. Over the years, many Ole Miss law students earned valuable legal experience as law clerks at the law firm. He was known in legal circles as one of the best courtroom lawyers in the state with a mastery of the rules of evidence and civil procedure. He was always a zealous advocate for his clients and had an unbending belief in our system of trial by jury. He tried hundreds of civil and criminal cases in state and federal court.

He was a member of the Lafayette County Bar (holding various offices including President, 1985), American Bar Association, The Mississippi Bar (President, 1993), Mississippi Trial Lawyers Association (Parliamentarian in 1986-87, Secretary in 1987, and Treasurer in 1988-90), and the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (State Delegate from 1984-86 and Governor to the National Board in 1990).

Grady was elected by his peers to serve as President of The Mississippi Bar. In July 1993 at the conclusion of his year as President, he received a commendation from the Mississippi Judicial Conference for his leadership and contributions to the State of Mississippi and to the Judicial Conference. Additionally, he was one of the persons who received the Chief Justice Award for his contributions to the profession in helping to promote the passage of landmark court reform legislation – legislation that led to the establishment of the Mississippi Court of Appeals and the Administrative Office of Courts in 1995.

Grady was a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, a Fellow of the Mississippi Bar Foundation, and a Fellow of the Young Lawyers Division of the Mississippi Bar. His other Bar activities include serving as Chairman of the Attorney/Client Relations Committee, the Professionalism Committee and the Judicial Liaison Committee. He also served on the Unauthorized Practice of Law, Law School Liaison and Legislative Committees.

Grady was a charter member of the Mississippi Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates (President of the Mississippi Chapter in 1986, National Representative in 1989-90 and served two terms on the national board). He served as Chairman of the Judicial Committee and the Committee of the American Board of Trial Advocates and also on the editorial board of Voir Dire Program, the official publication of ABOTA. Grady was a recipient of the Masters in Trial Award given by ABOTA. The MIT program is the continuing legal education branch of ABOTA presenting CLE programs nationwide. The award is given annually to recognize a person for exceptional participation in the Masters in Trial program the preceding year. He served as President of Southeastern ABOTA in 2008 and 2009 and was a trustee of the Foundation of the American Board of Trial Advocates.

Grady was a Bencher in the William C. Keady Inn of the American Inns of Court and was certified as a Civil Trial Specialist by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. He served on the Mississippi Board of Bar Admissions (1983-1986) and the Judicial Nominating Committee (1980-1984). He also served as Chairman of the Judiciary Advisory Study Committee, a body charged with advising the Supreme Court and the Mississippi Legislature on the administration of the Courts.

Grady was selected the Outstanding Alumnus of the University of Mississippi School of Law 1988-89. He previously served as Chairman of the Lamar Order at the law school. Recalling the challenges he faced paying for his own law school education, he established the Grady Tollison Scholarship helping well-deserving students fund their law school education at Ole Miss.

Grady is preceded in death by his parents Grady F. and Annie Gober Tollison Sr. and his sister Nadara Goodwin. He is survived by his wife, Lisa, his son Gray (Amanda), his daughter Rachel Calhoun (David), his step-sons Hank Spragins (Angela) and Hunter Spragins, his grandchildren Grady, Laurel and William and his step-grandchildren Haley and Smith Spragins.

Expressions of sympathy or memorial contributions in Grady’s memory may be made to the Mississippi Bar Foundation, P.O. Box 2168, Jackson, Mississippi 39225-2168.