STARKVILLE, Miss. (WTVA) -- He was a giant among men.
That's how former Ole Miss Chancellor Robert Khayat describes the late Dr. Donald Zacharias.
He is among the dignitaries on hand for a celebration of life service held on the MSU campus.
A standing room only crowd fills a ballroom at the Colvard Student Union.
MSU President Mark Keenum praised Dr. Zacharias for an impressive list of accomplishments.
Speakers include celebrated author John Grisham, MSU Alumni Association Exec. Director Dr. Jimmy Abraham and Eric Zacharias.
Author John Grisham recalls his first sight of Dr. Zacharias while serving in the Mississippi Legislature.
Grisham remembers long dinners in Jackson with "DrZ" talking about baseball. He says it was during that time he began writing a book.
Grisham says a third of his first novel "A Time to Kill"
was written at the state Capitol.
Grisham says Dr. Zacharias helped him out by arranging a book signing with something he had not yet seen - a packed house.
Watch for more on the celebration of life for Dr. Donald Zacharias tonight on WTVA News.
