3 minute read
Gloria’s Garden
Planting Seeds for a Lifetime of Success
Throughout her 72-year teaching career at Davis & Elkins College, Dr. Gloria M. Payne planted seeds every day. Not the kind that grow plants, but rather the kind that come in the form of ideas that made her students realize their potential. With each day, she nurtured her students with encouragement and knowledge until they bloomed into what she was sure they could become. Now a flower garden constructed in her honor serves as a daily reminder of the teacher, mentor and friend who made a life of helping others grow to their full potential. Established by a close friend who had a vision to honor Payne with a colorful and living tribute, the garden is filled with many of Payne’s favorite flowers, hydrangeas, calla lilies and butterfly bush. The Dr. Gloria Marquette Payne Memorial Garden was dedicated on Oct. 3, 2021, with family and friends. Led by Davis & Elkins College President Chris A. Wood, the ceremony also included words from Vice President for Advancement Scott Goddard ’96, Payne’s daughter Debbie Payne Fragale ’81 and Payne’s nephew Dr. David McGee ’84. A video of the dedication was released on social media on Oct. 10, 2021, the one-year anniversary of Payne’s death. Payne graduated from D&E in 1943 and was a member of the faculty from 1945 to 2016. She held the James S. McDonnell Foundation Chair – the first endowed chair in business and economics – and received the College’s highest honor, the Crystal Mace Award in 2017. “Numerous alumni have credited Gloria with their success as students and in their careers,” Wood said. “She was always that person building their confidence, cheering them on and making them realize they really could achieve more than they thought.” Goddard, a student and advisee of Payne’s, said that while the two kept in touch long after he graduated there was one shining moment in their relationship – a chance for him to give back for all she had done for him. “As director general of the Mountain State Forest Festival, I had the honor of selecting the Grand Feature Parade marshal,” Goddard said. “Dr. Payne had been volunteering for the Festival for 67 years, she had given so much to the community and I wanted her to have this distinction. I think she really enjoyed it.” Fragale told the group her mother often said, “If you really have a passion for your work, the work is not a job, it’s your life.” She shared with the group one of Payne’s speeches titled “What Makes a Good Teacher.” A quote from that speech will be engraved on a plaque that will stand in the garden: “Good teachers open students’ eyes to reality and prepare them for life’s challenges and make them endeavor to learn forever. Good teachers touch eternity.” For the ceremony, McGee prepared a special reading that correlated Payne’s career to the symbolism of the garden. “Helping someone grow, learn and mature is a wonderful thing. Gloria did just that with all of her students,” McGee said. “To her they were sources of opportunity for greatness, wanting to find their way in the world, just like these beautiful flowers. “Her students went out into the world strong and educated and ready for new challenges,” he continued. “They continued to blossom and drop seeds of their own. Gloria’s garden continues to grow. Her flowers are many, each showing everyone they meet: ‘this is what going to Davis & Elkins College will get you.’” The garden was also made possible with the efforts of Fragale, Director of Alumni Engagement and Support Wendy Morgan ’12, the National Management maintenance team under the direction of Ryan LaBrozzi, Matt Davis ’95 and Terra Flora Landscaping and Design, and Paula Doerr.
Participating in the garden dedication are, from left, Vice President for Institutional Advancement Scott Goddard, President Chris A. Wood, Director of Alumni Engagement and Support Wendy Morgan, Debbie Payne Fragale, Dr. David McGee and Executive Vice President Dr. Rosemary Thomas. Celebrating the dedication of the Dr. Gloria Marquette Payne Memorial Garden are Payne’s family, from left, nephew Mark Carrico, great niece Leesa Ice, great niece Marissa Ice Plauger, great-great nephew Levi, niece Jaime Cupp, great-great niece Novalee, daughter Debbie Payne Fragale, nephew David McGee and wife Madison and niece JoAnn Gable and husband Paul Gable.
