Ben & Helen Bumbry Educational Assistance Endowment

Ben moved to Quincy in 1955 from St Louis to enroll in Quincy College (now Quincy University). He played basketball at QU and later went on to receive a bachelor’s degree in physical education. With that degree, he taught for Quincy Public Schools for 22 years and was also the girls softball and basketball coach at Quincy High School. 

Ben was a musician, educator, athlete, mentor, and community leader. He was director of the Redmon-Lee Community Center in the 1990s and oversaw the Jackson-Lincoln Swimming Pool Complex. He helped organize the Mississippi Muddy Waters Blues Society, was the first African-American to serve on Quincy City Council, was a member of the Unity Lodge #16 (Masonic Lodge) for 50 years, and sat on the Quincy Park Board from 1993 to 2003. Quincy’s Riverview Park was even renamed Ben Bumbry Riverview Park in honor of him. 

Helen Bumbry has worked with the Young Achievers Girls Club, is part of the Martha K. Major Club, and has been an avid volunteer and member of the Executive Ministry at First Baptist Church.   

The Ben & Helen Bumbry Educational Assistance Endowment will provide opportunity for educational programs within the boundaries of the Quincy Public School District, with a preference for programs that provide under-served youth with musical and performing arts education.