Natchez &8212; A scholarship named in his honor will be another milestone in the life of Dr. J.R. Todd, Natchez physician, humanitarian and historian.

&8220;I&8217;ve always had an interest in children&8217;s education. This is right down my alley, so to speak,&8221; Todd said Thursday at City Hall, where Mayor Phillip West informed Todd and members of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity that today will be Dr. J.R. Todd Day in Natchez.

&8220;I&8217;ve often looked at my own education in Mississippi. It was probably inadequate for what I wanted to do,&8221; Todd said.

Today at 7 p.m. at the Natchez Convention Center, Todd will be the honoree at a banquet, where the Rho Epsilon Lambda chapter of the fraternity will announce the establishment of the Dr. J.R. Todd Scholarship to help high school graduates from Natchez pay for university expenses.

Michael Winn, who has chaired the scholarship committee for the chapter, said no one is more deserving of the honor than Todd. &8220;He&8217;s had so many opportunities in his career to go other places. He has denied himself and his family,&8221; Winn said. &8220;He stayed in this community. He serves this community.&8221;

West recalled Todd&8217;s return to Natchez in 1976. &8220;I got to know him very well. He was my doctor, my father&8217;s doctor and my mother&8217;s doctor. African-American doctors in this town were rare then, and it was really good to have someone from Natchez come back to practice here.&8221;

Todd graduated with honors from Tougaloo College with a major in biology and then went to Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tenn., where he graduated in 1967.

Since then, he has completed extensive continuing education, including courses at Cook County School of Medical Studies in Chicago and Harvard University.

Todd was a pioneer in treating poor and disadvantaged patients, Winn said. He referred to the years Todd spent in the impoverished Mississippi community of Mound Bayou.

&8220;I had never seen a place like Mound Bayou before I went there,&8221; Todd said. &8220;There was so much disease.&8221;

He recalled the cotton shack where he might find 100 children waiting to be treated for different problems. &8220;Maybe one of them had been to a doctor before, and that one would start crying when I walked in. Then all 100 of them would cry,&8221; he said.

Fraternity member Edward Brown thanked Todd for taking care of Hurricane Katrina evacuees sent to him during the early weeks after the storm.

West recalled the free help Todd provided to Little League players who needed physical exams. &8220;He is one who comes before you ask him to come,&8221; West said.

The Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity was founded in 1906 at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. Seven Cornell students banded together to help each other survive in what had become a racially hostile environment.

Todd&8217;s parents attended Cornell, and he spent many summers there as a youngster, he recalled during an earlier interview about the Natchez chapter.

He remembers playing in and around a house on the Cornell campus that figured in the history of the fraternity. That memory is one of many that solidify Todd&8217;s commitment to the fraternity.

Anyone wishing to donate to the scholarship fund may send donations to Michael Winn, 149 Wilson Road, Natchez, MS 39120.