William J. Deal

Mr. Deal entered music education in 1926 and soon became one of the seventeen charter members who worked in the early nineteen hundreds to remold the GEA Department of Music into a lasting and encompassing structure of music education called the Georgia Music Educators Association.
Like many pioneer music educators, William Deal did not receive his first degree in music education but in history from Oglethorpe University in Atlanta. A native of Statesboro, he attended Georgia Teachers College (Georgia Southern University) and received his BS degree in music education. While in school there, he was employed to organize and direct the institution’s first college band. The college president, Dr. Marvin Pittman, a nationally recognized educator, realized the value of music in the schools. Seeing the pitiful state of music education in Georgia, which had only five high school band programs at the time, he arranged for the GA Teachers College band, under the direction of William Deal, to tour Georgia high schools in order to encourage the organization of high school bands and music programs.
William Deal loved life and lived it enthusiastically. He was so devoted to his music that he made an impression on countless students in Georgia. He taught in public schools in Georgia, Alabama, and Illinois. Following WWII, he came to LaGrange as choral and band director at the high school and held that position until he retired in July, 1968. He passed away in February, 1969.

Established in 1982, the William J. Deal Memorial Scholarship was created to honor Mr. Deal’s contributions to the Department of Music and band.