My grandfather Stigall was a walking quote. A man who, by intention or by divine gift, could lay down a zinger with little effort. His thoughts and expressions came out in eruptions. Held in for as long as he could,…
‘Leave that boy alone; he’s at Grandaddy’s house!’
At 3 a.m. in the dark of the morning of June 14, 1954, William Emmitt Newell, my grandfather, stirred from his usual sound sleep. “Is it time to go to church, Momma?” he asked his wife, Lela Kittrell Newell, mother…

