Thursday, May 18, 2023

Mancil James Vinson -- State Government Agriculture Leader

 





Mancil James Vinson

Mancil James Vinson was born on October 4, 1924 in Calloway County, Kentucky.  He was the fourth and youngest child of Henry Cullen “Bub” Vinson and Amy Susan Knight Vinson. Henry was a farmer and a native of Trigg County, Kentucky. He died in an automobile accident when Mancil was 16 years old. His mother, Susan, was a native of Stewart County, Tennessee.  Mancil’s siblings included an unnamed infant, born and died in 1904; a sister, Wildy Lee, born in 1913 and died at the age of six; and a sister, Zelma Estelle, born in 1911.

Mancil attended schools in Calloway County and earned a bachelor’s degree in agriculture education from Murray State University in 1949.  He went on to obtain his Master of Science Degree in Agriculture from the University of Kentucky in 1960. He was awarded membership in Gamma Sigma Delta fraternity for his high scholarship and outstanding achievement in Agriculture Science.

He was a World War II veteran serving in the United States Air Force He had the honor of being assigned as a guard at the Nuremberg Trials and witnessed the testing of the first atomic bomb in New Mexico.

On January 4, 1950, Mancil married Pearl Anne Stephens at the Porter Memorial Baptist Church in Lexington, Kentucky. Mancil had met Anne while working on his graduate degree at UK.   She was the daughter of Lewis and Christine Welch Stephens of Lexington. After their marriage, Mancil and Anne made their home in Hopkinsville, Kentucky where he had begun his career as an agriculture and science teacher at the Sinking Fork High School.

From 1956 until 1968, Mancil  was  associated with  the  State of Kentucky  Department  of Agriculture,  first  as  director  of marketing  and  then  as  assistant commissioner. During  his  years   with   the department,  he  was  active  in the  development  and  expansion  of the  market  news  system  and special  market  promotions  and services  that  were  designed  to improve  the  efficiency  of  the marketing  channel. He served 16 years with the state Agriculture Department, serving longer than any other individual and under five commissioners, both Democrats and Republicans

On October 15, 1968, Mancil returned to his home town of Murray to become the become director of alumni affairs for Murray State University.  He served at MSU for 13 years.  He ended his career as a representative for the Kentucky Independent Bankers Association.

He was the first recipient of the Outstanding Agriculture Alumnus Award presented by the Murray State University Department of Agriculture and was awarded the Golden Horseshoe Award from Murray State University for his dedicated service to the university. Mancil also served on the Murray City Council for two terms in the 1970's.

Mancil died on June 13, 2015 at his home in Murray at the age of 90. He was buried in the Murray City Cemetery.


 Tombstone of Mancil J. Vinson


LINEAGE:  (Mancil James Vinson was the son of Henry Cullen and Amy Susan Knight Vinson and the grandson of James Henry and Martha Alice Futrell Vinson.  James Henry was the first child of Baylous Prent and Amanda Jane Thomas Vinson.  Amanda was the fifth child of James, Jr. and Margaret Ethridge Thomas.  James, Jr. was the sixth child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.)


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