Bill ('70) and Sally ('69) Smith
Retired Musicians, Jackson, Tenn.
Bill (’70) and Sally (’69) Smith came to Union from Illinois though their initial plans were to attend elsewhere. Bill, who was bound for a university in Illinois, learned about Union through his high school guidance counselor, but with his father a bit resistant to the Illinois school, he decided to visit Union.
Though far from home, the trip to Jackson won over his father, and Bill knew Union was the place for him.
Sally, on the other hand, had her heart set on a school in Texas. But when they drove onto campus after a lengthy road trip, she immediately knew she didn’t want to attend. Despite the long drive, they didn’t even go into a single building. A friend at her home church had attended Union and suggested that she visit. Her reaction was drastically different.
“It was a great experience,” she said. She enrolled that fall and began her freshman year at Union.
Although they grew up only 45 minutes apart — Bill in Pinckneyville and Sally in Marion — they did not meet until they came to Union as music majors. They became college sweethearts and married while still students.
Over time, their family grew with the addition of three children, and when the time came for those children to attend college, Bill and Sally told them, “If you go to a Christian school, we’ll pay no matter how much we have to borrow.”
The Smiths knew the impact a Christian education would have on their children, and to them, it was priceless.
Thus began the Smith family legacy at Union.
Their three children would attend Union and meet their spouses. Seven grandchildren have attended Union, and four met their spouses while enrolled.
In just three generations, Bill and Sally Smith have grown a Union legacy that -- between children, grandchildren and spouses -- includes 19 Union graduates and current students. When the fall of 2026 rolls around, they will round up that number to 20 as the next grandchild enrolls at Union.
To say they are a Bulldog family through and through is an understatement.
Jennie Hughes (’03), Bill and Sally’s daughter, watched as her brothers and their wives flourished at Union.
“I could see how the Lord worked in them and through them and how Union supported that,” she said. “I wanted that in my own life.”
Jennie can list many professors who poured into her life while at Union, and some who are still investing in her family. Jennie’s daughter Hannah, like every other Smith grandchild before her, is now a freshman at Union.
“I love knowing how many of my family members have attended Union in the past and how Union’s influence has been prevalent in my family,” Hannah said.
Clay Smith (’95), one of Bill and Sally’s sons, chose to attend Union because of how he was treated when he visited his brother on campus.
“It was obvious they cared about me, too,” he said.
Citing a long list of faculty who left a lasting impact on him, Clay said his time at Union was life-changing.
“My view of the Lord, of Scripture, of family, of faith and work have been beautifully changed and indelibly marked for good,” he said.
As he entered medical school, he was academically ready, but he was also prepared as an individual.
“I was ready as a person, as a Christian — to live as a believer in the world,” he said.
Clay’s daughter Laura, a freshman this year, is quick to recognize the legacy that her family has built at Union.
“Our family has kept coming back [to Union] because we’ve gotten something out of Union that we couldn’t find anywhere else,” she said.
Her brother Will, a 2023 graduate, knows that his sister will have a unique experience while at Union.
“But I know she will experience the same community and spirit that I did while I was at Union,” he said, “the same spirit that my grandparents and parents experienced as well.”
