OLDEST LIVING ALUMNI
during the war years meant saying goodbye to many students who were drafted or enlisted in WWII,” she said. “1943 came and our campus had few male students. It was changed by air force cadets that came on the campus.” Her own life was changed in a very special
"Concord during the war years meant saying goodbye."
Elizabeth Ann Woody Bogema, who turned 97 in August, began her studies at Concord State Teachers College in September 1940, enrolling in a two-year program for elementary teaching. She would go on to earn credits in the summer and transition into a four-year secondary degree. She graduated in May 1943. Elizabeth Ann describes what life was like for Concordians at this time in history. “Concord
way when she met cadet Andrew Bogema. She and Andrew married in 1944 and had two children. They lived in Michigan where Elizabeth Ann taught for a number of years. She then switched careers. “When my husband bought a business in 1967, I ran the jewelry department of a small town pharmacy from 1967-1982,” she said. Following several decades of retirement in North Carolina, they would later return to Michigan.
Evelyn Lilly Blake has enjoyed a lifelong love for nature and the arts. Growing up in West Virginia, she performed with the Shady Spring High School band and played the snare drum in Concord’s marching band. As a biology major at Concord, she was especially inspired by a botany course she took from Dr. Meade McNeill. The excursions he led for students to identify plants remain among Evelyn’s best Concord memories. A talented seamstress, Evelyn minored in art.
Evelyn earned a bachelor’s degree from Concord in 1942, pursued a master’s degree at Virginia Tech, and enjoyed a career in teaching. She received an honorary doctorate from Concord in December 2018.
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Extending exceptional generosity to her alma mater, Evelyn donated toward the purchase of new uniforms for the marching band. She is a major contributor to The Allie Irene Strasko FALL 2019 CONCORD UNIVERSIT Y MAGAZINE
Research Trust Fund, which supports science research and study. Additionally, her bequest creates the Evelyn Lilly Blake Endowed Science Fund at Concord.
Evelyn’s effervescent personality remains her trademark today at the young age of 99. She currently lives in Daleville, Va.
