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The Fred Birchmore family of Athens is one of the most interesting among University of Georgia alumni. Through two generations, family members have earned 19 degrees, with fifteen from UGA. A grandson, representing the third generation, has just completed his freshman year in Athens.
The family patriarch, Fred Sr., received his B.S. in 1932, and Master's and Law degree in '34, while wife Willa Deane earned a B.S. in Business in 1939, a B.S. in Education in '59, Masters in Education in '63 and her EDS in '74.
They have two sons and two daughters who are UGA graduates. Their oldest daughter Rebecca Birchmore Campen graduated in '63 with a major in Mathematics, received her MA in '68, a Law degree in '83 and earned an M.D. at the Medical College of Georgia.
Their first son, Fred C. Birchmore earned a B.A. in English in 1966 His younger sister, Linda Birchmore Musick received her ABJ in '69, a Masters in '70, and earned a PhD at the University of Illinois and completed an M.D. at the Medical College of Georgia.
Danny, their youngest son received his B.S. in '72 and then earned his M.D. at the Medical College of Georgia.
Earning all these degrees is more than noteworthy, but education is only a segment of this amazing family's accomplishments...
Fred Sr. is a rarity. He has been called a "curiosity," a community treasure, a legend. A listing of his exploits and adventurers would require a book - in fact, he has written two. Around the World on a Bicycle recounts an adventure he undertook after college. The other includes his personal observations regarding life and his faith.
He is retired from law and real estate. He has been a college teacher, a community leader, dedicated church layman, singer, scout leader, collector of Indian relics and lecturer on Indian folklore, an ornithologist, imitator of bird calls, avid hiker, free lance writer, aviator, boxer, youth camp director, Naval Gunnery officer in World War II, a champion tennis player and coach - and the list could go on.
His wife, Willa Deane, is a retired public school teacher and has shared in her husband's many adventures including extensive traveling, hiking, organic gardening and bicycling - for their honeymoon, the couple pedaled 4,500 miles from the Caribbean to the Pacific Ocean through Panama.
Their oldest daughter, Becky is the only female ever to participate on the Men's Tennis team and is a recipient of the Bill Hartman Award - the highest honor a former UGA student athlete can attain. Presently, she is Director of the Cutaneous Biological Research Laboratory at Harvard University in Cambridge, MA and maintains a medical practice in Savannah, GA.
Their oldest son, Fred, is in real estate in California while Linda Musick is a practicing dermatologist in Huntsvillle, AL. Her son, Andrew Musick is a rising sophomore at UGA.
The youngest son, Danny, an All-American tennis player at Georgia where he was captain of the championship Bulldogs, is a physician in Nashville, TN and teaches at Vanderbilt University.
Of all his unbelievable adventures, Fred Sr. says the most satisfying of all experiences was building the Great Wall of Happy Hollow. It was a five and a half-year project he undertook at age 75 that involved his moving 12 train boxcar loads of large rocks to his residence in Athens. He built a wall surrounding his 2 acre compound that reaches 18 feet high in places.
A loyal UGA alumnus, Fred is particularly proud of his three generations of Bulldogs.
Claude McBride '55, former UGA Alumni Association Tour Director is a veritable repository of campus lore and is now assisting us in writing legacy stories such as the one above. If you have an interesting legacy story please e-mail Claude at cmcbride@uga.edu.
