3 minute read
A Passion for Opportunity
By Michelle Goff
With these words, Gayle Pinson explains why her late husband, Larry Blake Pinson, left directions in his will to establish an endowed scholarship to benefit UPIKE undergraduate students from Eastern Kentucky. Larry Blake, as he was known to friends, family and customers at the tack store he owned and operated on Raccoon Creek in Pike County, was not a UPIKE alumnus. Yet one of his three daughters, Anna Pinson Spears, offers a simple explanation for why her father chose to bestow such a generous gift to the university.
“It’s home.”
Gayle adds, “His mother (Anna D. Pinson) graduated from the university. She taught (for the Pike County School District) in Phelps and was the first female licensed real estate broker in Pike County. She emphasized education to her children. Larry Blake was proud of UPIKE and the way it’s grown. (Former Kentucky governor and UPIKE Chancellor) Paul Patton came in some time ago and talked to him and planted the seed about starting a scholarship.”
After earning his degree at Eastern Kentucky University, Larry Blake lived and worked in Richmond for 10 years. He and Gayle, a Campbellsville, Ky., native, had met in college. They moved to Pike County in 1975 and settled in Raccoon. Larry Blake, who held an auctioneer’s license and operated a construction business, also had a passion for horses. This led to him opening a feed and tack store on his family’s farm.
“The main reason he started the store is because he couldn’t find a store here that had everything he needed for horses,” Gayle says.
“The farm wasn’t just a home, it was also a working environment,” Anna notes. “There are not many places you could drive by and see horses running around and where you could also run in and buy a pair of boots.”
Anna says her dad’s dedication to hard work is evident in the scholarship.
“He believed in starting something and seeing it through and then building it into something better. Whatever he did, he set out to do the best. None of it was a hobby. He was always striving for more. He would have liked to see someone who will work for it receive the scholarship.”
In addition to honoring Larry Blake’s desire to create opportunities for UPIKE students through an estate gift, Gayle and her daughters have taken a personal interest in the basketball team. Gayle, who maintains a home in Campbellsville, hosted the team when they played an away game there. “I wanted to give them a feeling of home. A player was having a birthday, so we had him a cake.”
Her daughter, Lisa Sizemore, feels the same.
“I have left the classroom after many years, and I am filling that void with mentoring many UPIKE students. I am trying to help them feel like they belong and are at ‘home’ with my family.”
They don’t regard their actions as remarkable. Instead, Gayle smiles and says, “Maybe our story will inspire others to give to UPIKE.”