George, BA '60, LLB '62 and Martha, BA '61 Chandler
- Baylor Legacy Award
Awarded to individuals who demonstrate extraordinary service and philanthropy to Baylor or to causes that fit our mission as a Christian university.
As a young history major, George Chandler, BA ’60, LLB ’62, became spellbound by longtime Baylor history professor Guy B. Harrison’s passion for his subject and his ability to connect through stories. The power of those stories stayed with Chandler as his aspirations changed from teaching history to becoming a lawyer.
For George and his wife Martha, BA ’61, that realization would impact their personal story, and the stories of thousands of clients along the way. When George started his law firm in Lufkin In 1971, he was the city’s first personal trial injury attorney. Over time, he became one of the most renowned trial lawyers in the country, bolstered by his ability to share his clients’ stories in a way that resonated with juries. Chandler, Mathis & Zivley won many of the largest jury verdicts in Texas history in categories such as punitive damages, civil case verdict and defamation.
The roots of the Chandlers’ success can be traced back to Baylor University, where they followed in the footsteps of their parents as Baylor students. George attended Baylor on a tennis scholarship and was named the team’s most valuable player in 1960. Martha came to Baylor to study English and education. She caught George’s attention in a history class, and he asked her out.
Both of their children—daughter Kelly Chandler Michaels, BA ’86, and son Reich, BA ’86, JD ’92—attended Baylor. Reich followed in his father’s footsteps, as a tennis player, matching his father’s on-court accomplishment by winning the team’s most valuable player award, and as a lawyer, practicing law with his father. Reich’s strongest battle however, was not on the tennis court or in the courtroom. Reich battled cancer for 15 months before succumbing to the disease in 2006.
In the Chandlers’ time of grief, the Baylor Family supported them in a number of ways. One that will have a lasting impact on future Baylor students is through The Reich O’Hara Chandler Endowed Memorial Scholarship Fund in Law, which the Chandlers’ friends Walter Umphrey, BBA ’59, JD’ 65, and John Eddie Williams, BBA ’76, JD ’78, established in Reich’s memory. The Chandlers have grown the Chandler Memorial Scholarship many times over since it was established. They also have supported Baylor Law School and the Student Life Tennis Center.
