Dear Friends,

On September 22, 2020 two of my dearest friends passed away. Elizabeth Ford Hohenberg died suddenly and unexpectedly at her law office. Thomas James Walsh passed away after a brief but courageous battle with pancreatic cancer. Elizabeth was a former student and athlete of mine at Old Hickory Academy in Jackson. Tom was a colleague of mine at Booker T. Washington from 1969-1972.

Tom and I were two of 20 white teachers who were assigned to BTW. We were the first group of white teachers in the school’s history. Since we lived only few blocks from each other, we rode to school together almost every day. We were different personalities that was for sure. He was reserved, quiet, and an intellectual. I was just me. I always considered it a privilege to be his friend. Tom went off to law school and I moved to Jackson. He became a successful lawyer and was named the outstanding appellate lawyer of the Mid South (he argued before the US Supreme Court four times I believe). We reconnected about ten years later. He represented me pro bono during a difficult personal period of my life. Periodically we would get together to play trivial pursuit at a bar or cheer at a Redbirds’ game. They are memories I will always cherish. 

Elizabeth became a close friend about 15 years ago. She had remarried her husband, Julien Hohenberg, in order to take care of him. He was confined to a wheel chair and not the easiest person to get along with. But she stuck with him and dedicated her life to his wellbeing. She basically put her law practice on hold in order to care for Julien. When asked, she told me she did so because she loved him. That was typical of Elizabeth. Many times she and I talked for hours on the phone about everything, usually politics. She was always encouraging and supportive of any endeavor I undertook. I couldn’t ask for a better friend. 

Though Elizabeth and Tom never met they were very similar in many ways. Both were Yale graduates and successful attorneys. They both had this insatiable intellectual curiosity and a brilliant mind. They possessed an incorruptible integrity and a high moral compass that led them to care deeply for their fellow man. Both were committed to social justice. They were the ultimate role models for all of us to be the good, decent human beings. I admired and loved them both very much. And I miss them every day. 

I am honoring their lives by sponsoring meals for September 22 at the Memphis Union Mission. I want to make this an annual celebration of their lives. I want them remembered for all the good they did. If you would also like to donate meals in their names please visit the website Memphisunionmission.org and click on donate. You can choose any amount. In the box for special instructions please include an attention to Jeffery Patrick of the Memphis Union Mission. He knows where to direct the money.

Sincerely,

Jim Frost