Francis Guess, Republican civil servant, business leader, civil rights advocate, deed at 69. RIP

Published July 24, 2015 by NashvillePost.c... - Francis Guess — a revered titan among Nashville’s civic leaders — has died at his home. He was 69.

Known largely as a civil rights advocate and humanitarian, Guess served on the National Civil Rights Commission and as the first African-American commissioner for the Tennessee departments of Labor and General Services under then-Gov. Lamar Alexander.

Guess, a Nashville native, worked in military intelligence with the U.S. Army during the Vietnam conflict. He would later earn a bachelor’s degree in political science from Tennessee State University and a master’s degree in business administration from the Vanderbilt University Owen Graduate School of Management. Eventually, he completed the Senior Executives in State and Local Government program at Harvard University.

In the public sector, Guess, a Republican, served 30 years....(link)