4 minute read
Oldest Living Alumni
ElizabethAnnWoodyBogema,whoturned97 inAugust,beganherstudiesatConcordState 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 secondarydegree.ShegraduatedinMay1943. ElizabethAnndescribeswhatlifewaslikefor Concordians at this time in history. “Concord 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
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waywhenshemetcadetAndrewBogema. SheandAndrewmarriedin1944and hadtwochildren.TheylivedinMichigan whereElizabethAnntaughtforanumber 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.
AsabiologymajoratConcord,shewas especially inspired by a botany course she tookfromDr.MeadeMcNeill.Theexcursions he led for students to identify plants remain amongEvelyn’sbestConcordmemories.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.
Extending exceptional generosity to her alma mater, Evelyn donated toward the purchase of new uniforms for the marching band. She is a majorcontributortoTheAllieIreneStrasko
FALL 2019 CONCORD UNIVERSITY MAGAZINEFALL 2019 CONCORD UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE Research Trust Fund, which supports scienceresearchandstudy.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.
Fred L. Taylor, I celebrated his 101st birthday onOct.8. Bornin1918,Mr.Taylorisaveteran and a retired educator. He currently lives in Lewisburg, WV.
Fred took not one, but two paths at Concord on his way to receiving instruction for a career in education. He attended Concord State Teachers College from 1936 to 1938 when he earned his Standard Normal Teaching Certificate.Afterteachingfouryearsand servingintheU.S.Armyforfouryears,he returned to Concord College from 1946 to December of 1948, earning his Bachelor of Science in Education degree.
Continuinghiseducation,Mr.Taylorreceived aMasterofArtsdegreefromMarshallin1949. His dedicated career as an educator includes 45 years as a teacher and principal with MonroeCountySchoolsinWestVirginia.
Mr.Taylor’sfamilyhascontinuedhislegacy of earning a Concord education. Several members have graduated from his alma mater or may have a Concord diploma in their future.
EthelwasborninKeenan,W.Va.Asagirl,she rode a horse to school from the farm where she lived. Ethel attended Concord from 1938- 1940,receivingaNormalCertificate.Shewas a member of the Glee Club and lived with her auntanduncleinAthens.
Whileherlatefirsthusband,GuyBiggs, advanced his education and career as a school administrator, Ethel taught in the states where they lived. She also added a bachelor’s degree and graduate studies to her resume. They landed in Roanoke, Va. where Ethel continues to make her home. She spent a good portion of her more than three decades in education teaching in Roanoke.
While Ethel’s second husband, John Lamanca, is now deceased, his family has become her family.
Once named the most beautiful young woman on Concord’s campus among a group of beauties, Ethel remains a lovely lady to this day. Looking radiant at her 104th birthday celebration in September, she is happily surrounded by family in photographs from themomentousday.Anavidgardener,Ethel’s undertaking this past summer included tending a patch of 40 tomato plants.
Jessie Ball Beckett turned 105 in February. She has enjoyed a full life centered around family, education, work and seeing the world.
BorninAthens,Jessieexcelledasastudent atConcord.Shegraduatedin1943–atthe headofherclass–withanassociatedegreein business. In recognition of this high academic achievement, Jessie had the honor of leading her classmates as they marched into their commencement ceremony. Today, she considers this a favorite memory from her college days.
Jessie taught school in West Virginia at the beginning of her career. Work as a buyer in retailsawhervisitNewYorkandCharlotte. She also spent a quarter of a century as a proofreader for the state legislature.
Her travels have taken her to all U.S. states, into Canada and across Europe. She has lived in various communities in the MountainStateincludingBeckley,where she resided for many years. She and her late husband also spent time in Pittsburgh, Penn. Jessie now makes her home in Sam Black Church near Lewisburg, W.Va.
When Louise Utterback celebrated herbirthdayinMarch,shereceived congratulations and best wishes from the likesofGov.JimJustice,Sen.JoeManchinand President Donald Trump. Considering that this year she turned 106, the greetings were well deserved.
Alongwithcelebratingmomentousbirthdays, Louise enjoys visits with family, friends, neighbors and former students in her Greenbrier County home.
Beginning her road to becoming a teacher, Louise,wenttoAldersonJuniorCollege.She would later earn a degree from Concord in 1947. Her late husband, George, also graduated from Concord and was an educator as well, teaching the sixth grade. The Utterbacks were well-liked and respected educators and members of their community.
Mrs.Utterbackdevotedherentirecareer as an educator to teaching the second grade.AfterteachingatBlueSulphurand Asbury,shewouldspend22yearsinthe classroomatAldersonElementarySchoolin Alderson,W.Va.Sheretiredin1967.Sheisa member of Old Greenbrier Baptist Church in Alderson.
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