Former Tennessee Gov. Ned McWherter was a big man physically. He also had a big heart, and he did a big and successful job leading Tennessee as governor from 1987 to 1995.
Before that, he was an outstanding, admirable and powerful leader in the Tennessee General Assembly for two decades.
It is saddening, therefore, that McWherter’s long and constructive life now has come to an end at the age of 80, after a battle with cancer.
McWherter was 6 feet 4 inches tall, with a physique to match his height. But more importantly, he was a big and inspiring example of the American ideal of “coming up the hard way” to become a success in both politics and business.
McWherter was from Dresden, in northwestern Tennessee. He was a young man during really “hard times” in the country.