Joe Sills Memorial and Music Fund
On January 15, Mid-South band director, musician and outdoorsman Joe Sills passed away due to COVID-19. Though he was born into poverty, he played his trumpet into history.
The family is seeking funding to establish a music scholarship in his memory that will provide a new instrument to an incoming freshman at the University of Memphis, with some funds set aside for a permanent memorial at Oakwood Cemetery in Joe's hometown of Brownsville, Tennessee. Music has the ability to change lives, and it's that gift that we want to give to as many people as possible.
Though Joe could not read sheet music in high school, his natural ability and perfect pitch earned a band scholarship to then-Memphis State University. There, he traveled the country as a member of the “Mighty Sound of the South,” becoming one of the first people to ever play in a pep band inside Madison Square Garden. On weekends, he shared his horn with the artists of Stax Records and shared his soul with the waters of West Tennessee.
Joe went on to earn a masters in music education from Memphis State University en route to an unrivaled career as a high school band director. His bands at Bolivar Central High School, Murray High School (Ky), Ripley High School, Haywood High School and Dyersburg High School captured nine championships at the prestigious Mid-South Invitational, now the Bandmaster’s Championship hosted by The University of Memphis. His 1977 band at Murray High School won the Marching Bands of America Grand National Championship.
It was the bright, Spanish sounds of a silver trumpet that kept Joe out of the war in Vietnam. And it is our hope to endow a scholarship fund that will allow future band members from the Mid-South to attend the University of Memphis and receive a new instrument in the process.
Joe’s prowess as a band director was only rivaled by his skill as a fisherman. Over the course of 78 years, he captured more tournament victories and angler of the year awards from bass clubs in Kentucky and Tennessee than can ever be counted. He established the Haywood County Jr. B.A.S.S Club and served as Tennessee Youth Director for the sport’s preeminent organization, B.A.S.S, helping to guide one young Haywood County angler to two national championships of his own. 
Joe was a man of devout, Christian faith who was especially fond of his home church, Brownsville Baptist Church, and his last stop in music, Toone Baptist Church. There, he served as a music director in the service of God. And while he claimed four sons of his own, Joe was truly a father to thousands of former students and anglers nationwide.
The minimum funding for an endowed music scholarship at the University of Memphis is $35,000. As such, our total reflects that amount plus expected memorial costs. All proceeds from his fundraiser will be used for a memorial and the future scholarship.