He is survived by his sister, Joyce Lott Hemphill of Birmingham, Alabama and six grandchildren and his second wife, Susan Percy.
Father of Lisa Hemphill Shadrach of Franklin, Tennessee; David Hemphill and Molly Hemphill Knudsen of Birmingham, Alabama from his first marriage. From his second marriage, a daughter Martha Hemphill of Decatur, Georgia.
He attended Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts on a Neiman Fellowship.
He joined the United States Air National Guard and served in France.
He earned a Bachelor's Degree in 1959 at Auburn University.