In his nine years as School Resource Officer at Russellville Middle School, the late Wyman Pounders impacted countless students, teachers, and staff with his kindness and care. Now, thanks to the addition of a new memorial bench, his legacy at the school will continue to live on.
Pounders passed away on June 13, 2016. A few months after his death, his widow Roxann decided that he should be honored and memorialized. This is when she came up with the idea to dedicate the bench to the middle school.
“He loved the school and he thought the world of the students,” she said. “I decided to have the bench made and put at the school in his honor.”
When Pounders pitched the idea to Karen Thorn, the principal at RMS, she was immediately on board. Over the years, Pounders and Thorn worked together a lot. As the SRO and as a person, Thorn says Pounders was irreplaceable.
“He was a true servant in every sense of the word,” she said. “There are no words sufficient enough to explain just how great he was. He took care of everyone, and whatever he had to do for the students or the teachers or faculty he would do it.”
Pounders’ entire life was evidence of the servant’s attitude Thorn spoke of. Once a petty officer in the United States Navy, Pounders joined the Russellville Police Department and served for 30 years before retiring as captain. After retiring from the police force, former RMS principal Frankie Hammock asked him to become the SRO, which he did from 2007 until retiring at the end of 2016 school year.
“I remember when Mr. Hammock hired him,” Thorn said. “And I remember when he came to me and told me, ‘I don’t want to leave, but I know I need to leave.’ It was very important to him that he still be able to keep the students safe and he didn’t feel he was able to do that like he used to. He told me if anything bad happened, he wouldn’t be able to live with himself. To me, it just showed how much he truly cared about people.”
The memorial bench is placed, according to Thorn, at the ideal position on campus.
“I think we put the bench in the perfect place, right next to the crosswalk,” she said. “That’s where he would have been standing every morning making sure kids got across the street safely. It’ll be a continuous reminder of him and what he meant to all of us here at the middle school.”
The memory of Wyman Pounders will not only live on with the dedication of the bench, but his family has also started a scholarship fund in his name. Roxann and the high school are working together to make the scholarship available to current Russellville seniors.
“The applications for the scholarship are already available,” Pounders said. “This scholarship is for anyone that wants to go into law enforcement or criminal justice.”
Serving the community and serving young people was Pounders’ life work and it will continue even now that he is passed on.
“He lived a wonderful life,” Pounders said. “He loved what he did, and I think this is what he would want. It’s the best way to remember him.”
