Prominent businessman murdered in Memphis Friday had New Albany family ties
New Albany, MS – The Memphis businessman and philanthropist murdered in Midtown Memphis Friday night had close ties to a prominent New Albany family.
Glenn Walton Cofield, age 57, had left a charity event for St. Jude Children’s Hospital and walked with his wife to where their car was parked at the Greater Lewis Street Missionary Baptist Church.
Glenn Cofield was accosted by what eyewitnesses described as a “guy wearing a hoodie.” He was shot after a brief exchange of words with the assailant and died at the scene, near the intersection of Poplar and East Parkway North, at about 10:30 pm.
The shooter left the scene in what was described as a “dark colored” motor vehicle. The Memphis Police Department (MPD) is treating the killing as an armed robbery attempt gone bad. MPD said they have some information and are trying to find the killer. No arrests have been announced as of early Sunday evening as this is being posted on NAnewsweb.com.
Glenn Cofield was raised in Oxford, educated at Ole Miss and was a highly respected financial services businessman. He managed the Memphis office of Raymond James, an international investment banking firm. He was a board member of Paragon Bank, which opened a branch about a year ago in Oxford. He was a board member of several Memphis charities, including St. Jude.
Cofield’s mother, Martha Glenn Stephens, was born and raised in New Albany. She died in 2008 and as is buried in New Albany cemetery. Her father, Glenn Cofield’s maternal grandfather, was Marion Stephens, a New Albany businessman. The Stephens family is prominent in New Albany and Union County as business people, civic leaders, and philanthropists for at least 150 years.
Martha Glenn Stephens married John Cofield, of Oxford. He was the son of J.R. “Colonel” Cofield, who is known for his famous photographs of author William Faulkner, a New Albany native and Nobel Prize Winner. Colonel Cofield was, thus, the paternal grandfather of the Glenn Cofield killed Friday night in Memphis.
Glenn Cofield is the second prominent Memphis businessman to be killed in a similar fashion within the last nine months.
Phillip H. Trenary, president and CEO of the Greater Memphis Chamber of Commerce, was killed in September, 2018, as he was leaving a charity event in downtown Memphis. Two men are charged with Trenary’s murder and are awaiting trial in law enforcement custody.
Leave a Reply
Want to join the discussion?Feel free to contribute!