Hall of Fame
Former Outstanding Alumnus Cecil Weston Burford, Sr. passed away in 1991 at the age of 83 and was posthumously inducted.
He was the first male student to enroll at the College when it opened in September 1926. He was a member of the first Ranger football, basketball and baseball teams, where he played halfback on the football team, and in basketball was a guard and also served as team captain.
According to his son, Cecil Weston Burford, Jr., one of his great loves was baseball. He played catcher on the Ranger team. Burford's obituary reads, "He thoroughly enjoyed sports, and loved to duck hunt. He was truly a 'people' person who showed compassion and concern for his fellow man."
Burford was honored in 1975 as an “Outstanding Alumnus” at Northwest during Homecoming festivities on the campus. He served as vice-president of the Northwest Alumni Association from 1979-1980.
Burford was born on June 21, 1908 in the Shurford community in Panola County. He attended the Courtland School, and completed his education at Northwest from 1926-1928.
In 1932, Burford married Lillie Josephine Saunders of Como, who he had met when he was a student at Northwest. They are the grandparents of Cecil Weston Burford, III, and Christopher Holmes Burford and the great-grandparents of two. Mrs. Burford passed away in 1979.
After college, Burford began a 35-year-long association in the soft drink bottling industry. He was employed by the Coca-Cola Company in Memphis and later became manager of the Coca-Cola Bottling plant in Helena, Ark. He purchased the Dr. Pepper Bottling Company in Como in 1945.
Burford was very active in his church and in the community. He was a member of Como United Methodist Church and served on several church committees. He was a president of the Como Rotary Club, a board member of the North Mississippi Retardation Center, and a board member of the Panola County Federal Savings and Loan.
