Growing up in Hornbeck, Ponder met two of his loves: basketball and music. Ponder played basketball for Hornbeck High School and played recreationally for most of his life. He made sure that he had a basketball backboard and goal at his home to teach his love of the game to his son. He loved playing the piano and played for his entire lifetime. In high school, Ponder wanted to play for Southern Gospel quartets. He even went to the Stamps Music School in Dallas, Texas to work on his craft. However, all of that changed in 1956 when he heard “Crazy Arms” by Jerry Lee Lewis. From that time on, Ponder loved the boogie woogie style of piano for the rest of his life. He played in several bands throughout college and in to adulthood.
At McNeese State University, in Lake Charles, Louisiana he met the true love of his life, Carol Medlen. Their first date was November 22, 1963; the day President Kennedy was assassinated. Less than three years later, after both graduated with degrees in education, they married on August 6, 1966, in New Orleans, Louisiana. They lived the first four years of their marriage in Lake Charles, Louisiana and then moved to Shreveport where they have lived for over fifty-two years. In total, they have been married for over fifty-six years.
It was in education that Ponder made the most impact in this world. He taught math in Cameron and Plaquemines Parishes before ending his Louisiana career at Ridgewood Middle School in Shreveport. He retired and went to teach in Texas. He taught for five years in Karnack, Texas. There he taught math, drove a school bus, served as interim superintendent and assistant principal. He then went to Palestine, Texas for the next nine years where he taught 6th grade math for a year and was then promoted to the position of Executive Director of Maintenance, Transportation, and Food Service for the district. He retired from Texas with the intent to stay retired. He was asked to come to a new private, Christian school, to teach elementary English/Language Arts for one year and then became the principal of University Christian Prep. He was at UCP for five years before he fully and finally retired. He made an impact in thousands of young lives over his 41 years of educational experience.
Ponder loved to travel. He loved to go west to snow ski in New Mexico and Colorado. He enjoyed traveling with friends and family to Mexico, Canada, and everywhere else in the United States. He traveled to 48 of the 50 states. He also traveled, with his wife and son, to Scotland and England. Ponder also loved English Bulldogs where he had them for more than thirty years.
Service marked Ponder’s life. He was honorably discharged from the US Army, after serving for six years, at the rank of Specialist Five. He was on the Caddo Parish Police Jury for five and a half years, served as Justice of the Peace, and served at his churches Brookwood Baptist, Parkview Baptist, and Woodridge Baptist when called upon. He also enjoyed going to Scottish Highland Games. He was a Commissioner for the International Association of the Clan MacInnes. He was also a member of MENSA.
Ponder lived a full life that most would be blessed to have. He will be missed for God broke the mold with him. The service will be held at 2:00 PM, Saturday, May 27, 2023, at Centuries Memorial Funeral Home in Shreveport, Louisiana with the Rev. Deacon Jason McInnis officiating. Visitation will be from 5:00 to 7:00 PM, Friday, May 26, 2023 at Centuries Memorial Funeral Home in Shreveport, Louisiana.
Ponder is preceded in death by his father, Mack McInnis; his mother, Lois Franklin McInnis; his brother, Dr. Charles Russell McInnis; his father-in-law and mother-in-law John and Alice Medlen. His memory will be cherished by his wife, Carol Medlen McInnis of Shreveport, Louisiana; his son and daughter-in-law, the Rev. Deacon Jason McInnis and Kim Cantrell McInnis of Shreveport, Louisiana; granddaughters Emma Grace McInnis and Ainsley Elizabeth McInnis of Shreveport, Louisiana; his sister-in-law, Virginia Allen McInnis of Shreveport, Louisiana; sister-in-law, Susie Marlene Zengel of New Orleans, Louisiana; brother-in-law, Norris "Blackie" Medlen and wife Mary Lou of Plaquemine, Louisiana; niece, Renee' McInnis Gauntlett, DDS and husband Bob of Dawsonville, Georgia; nephew, Russ (Bud) McInnis of Solana Beach, California; great-nephew, Hunter Gauntlett and wife Alison of Canton, Georgia; great-niece, Kate Gauntlett of Dawsonville, Georgia; and other numerous nephews and nieces.
Serving as pallbearers are Bob Gauntlett, Hunter Gauntlett, Mark Lanier, Russ McInnis, Jake Medlen, and Clint Medlen. Honorary pallbearers are Terry Booty, Charles Burleson, Randy Cantrell, Ronald Cooper, David Cupit, Jerry Jackson, Billy Lewis, Norris "Blackie" Medlen, Boyd Walker, and Milton "Buddy" Webb.
Memorials can be made in Ponder's name to the Louisiana Baptist Children's Home, P.O. Box 4196, Monroe, Louisiana 71211-4196.
