Burnis T. and Clytice Robertson Gardner were avid learners who knew the value of higher education, which inspired them to support The University of Southern Mississippi by establishing a scholarship and later supplementing it through a planned gift.
Burnis was a two-time graduate of Southern Miss, then known as Mississippi Southern College, where he earned a bachelor’s and master’s in education. After receiving his master’s in 1958, he and Clytice relocated to Jackson, Miss., where they established their life together. Burnis was an educator for 30 years in the Jackson Public School District where he taught Industrial Arts (shop and mechanical drawing) at Hardy Junior High School and Siwell Junior High until his retirement in 1985.
Burnis was a World War II Veteran, having served in the Sixth Marine Division in Okinawa and later during the Korean War.
Clytice was born in 1932 in Sallis, Miss., one of the oldest inhabited areas in central Mississippi. Her parents were sharecroppers with little resources to support their family. Despite this, Clytice was a passionate learner who thrived in school, graduating in 1949 from Sallis High School as valedictorian of her class.
She attended Holmes Junior College (now Holmes Community College) for one year before beginning her career at South Central Bell Telephone Company (now AT&T). She served as State Benefit Manager for more than 21 years until she retired in 1989 with a total of 37 years of service.
Proving one is never too old to pursue their educational dreams, Clytice went back to school after retirement and earned her bachelor’s degree in history from Millsaps College. The couple, married for 67 years, also began traveling the world in their retirement.
Before her passing in 2022, Clytice wished to continue the impact she and Burnis began. She named the USM Foundation as a beneficiary of her AT&T Retirement Savings Plan to be added to the Burnis T. and Clytice Robertson Gardner Endowment, which the couple established in 2007 to support students in curriculum, instruction and special education. To date, the endowment has provided more than $29,000 in scholarship support to 14 students.