Marlene Linny Fowler. Inez Donley. Priscilla Payne Hurd. Individuallyand together, these three women made an impact on the region that will be feltfor generations. They made the Lehigh Valley their home, despite being born andraised in New York, Tennessee, and Illinois, respectively. And sadly for us andfor their families, they each passed away recently.
They saw need and filled it, not just with money, as theyare well known to have done. They rolled up their sleeves and spent time andenergy to fix problems. They created new things, saved things fromdisappearing, helped renew things that were worth preserving. What was theirsecret? What did they have in common? True, they were educated. They eachmarried and stayed married. They were often the “first” or “only” to takenotice, take action, be asked. They surrounded themselves with like-mindedpeople, who shared their passion for community service. They asked those peopleto support their causes and listened to others. They each had their own way of doing it, but each woman madeher mark on the Lehigh Valley.
I have copied their obituaries here for you to marvel at. Iask you, transplants: who among you will be the next Linny Fowler? How couldyou live your life more like Inez Donley did? How did these women work, raise families,and still find time to support their adopted community, including many peoplewho never knew their names? How could we each use the gifts that have beengiven to us to serve a greater good?
How can we carry on the good work they did in the LehighValley, we transplants of the next generation? It’s a question I ask myselfoften, and I challenge you consider it, too.
Marlene Fowler
Marlene Linny Fowler, beloved wife of Beall for over 51 years, mother of four,grandmother of 13, and angel to countless others, died at home on February 4,2013 at the age of 73. Born in New York City, she was the daughter of the lateHarold F. and Miriam (Dickey) Oberkotter. She grew up in Harrington Park, NJand graduated from Skidmore College in 1961 with a BA in biology. Two weekslater she and Beall were married and she joined Beall in Rochester, NY whereshe worked in urology research and gave birth to their first two children.After they moved to Champaign-Urbana, IL, their third child arrived. At a timeof great racial unrest, she helped to found a nursery school in the segregatedAfrican-American section of Champaign and helped to integrate it with theiroldest child. In 1966, Linny and Beall moved to the Bethlehem area where hejoined the faculty of Lehigh University. Soon she began volunteer work atHeadstart in South Terrace where she began her lasting interactions andfriendships with members of the Latino community, which became a lifelongpassion. Other activities followed, including leading Girl Scouts and CubScouts, and teaching nursery school in Hellertown for several years. Duringthis time their fourth child was born. She learned the art of stained glass andtaught it in several venues, finally establishing a studio at the BananaFactory. After the untimely death of both of her parents in the early 1980s,she acquired the means to financially support her passion for justice,education, and the arts. For the rest of her life she was intimately involvedin the cultural, educational, and human resources fabric of the Lehigh Valley;at one time she served on some 20 boards, and each organization benefitted fromher generosity, passion, and wisdom. She founded the Lehigh Valley Coalitionfor Kids, through which a number of projects were supported. Several of themost significant projects that she fueled are the Banana Factory, SteelStacks,the Southside campus of NCC, and Camp Fowler of Valley Youth House. Shesupported programs and capital facilities at the Baum Art School, MillerSymphony Hall, Allentown Art Museum, LCCC, Donegan School, ProJect of Easton,State Theatre, DaVinci Center, Habitat for Humanity, other institutions ofeducation, from preschool through college, and of health care in the LehighValley, the Bach Choir, the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, TouchstoneTheatre, Pennsylvania Youth Theatre, Community Action Committee of the LehighValley, the Hispanic Center of the Lehigh Valley, and many others. For thiswork she was honored numerous times, including honorary doctorates from LehighUniversity and DeSales University, the Pennsylvania Governors Award for theArts, the Edward and Inez Donley Award for Lifetime Advocacy for Children fromCommunity Services for Children, Inc., and the Lehigh Valley LifetimeAchievement Award. While this work was going on in an organized fashion, shewas privately and personally supporting the college expenses of countless youngpeople, while mentoring them as well. And she was always ready to help those inneed. But with all this activity, her first love was her family, especially herprecious grandchildren. She had a heart of gold, was loved by all, and her goalwas not only to give direct assistance but to serve as a model for others in aworld in which there are many needs but also many opportunities to serve.
Inez Donley died on January27, 2013, at age 97 of Alzheimer's disease. Born: She was born Inez Cantrell onAugust 6, 1915 near Smithville, Tennessee, the fifth of seven children in apoor farming family. Her mother, Inus, died when she was 5. Personal: She was aloving wife for more than 66 years to her husband, Edward, a devoted mother,and a tireless volunteer and community leader in the Lehigh Valley for sixdecades. After high school, Inez worked in a Chattanooga, TN boarding house topay her tuition to McKenzie School of Business, where she studied typing andbookkeeping. In 1943, she was hired as a secretary at Air Products, Inc., a newcompany making oxygen generators for the war effort, where she met her husbandEdward Donley. They married on October 24, 1946. Inez and Edward came to theLehigh Valley when Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. moved here in 1949. Theylived in Alburtis, then Emmaus, and then Allentown for 45 years, before movingto Kirkland Village in Bethlehem in 2008. Mrs. Donley actively supported herhusband in his work as an engineer, senior manager, and ultimately CEO andChairman of Air Products. She was equally devoted to their children, MarthaDonley Robb (a psychologist in New Hampshire, spouse John), Tom (business developmentmanager, The Butz Companies, spouse Cindy) and John (a lawyer in Chicago,spouse Michele). A friend once said, Ed is CEO of Air Products and Nezzie isCEO of Donley Inc. Mrs. Donley's community service included driving patientsfor the Red Cross, delivering Meals on Wheels, and knocking on doors to raisemoney for many causes. Once, when a Good Shepherd Home fundraiser was belowgoal, Good Shepherd president Conrad Raker asked Mrs. Donley if she could takeon five more contacts. I'll take ten, Mrs. Donley replied, and her follow-upeffort pushed the drive over its $1 million goal. I love Inez Donley! Rakerdeclared in a letter to the Morning Call. Mrs. Donley served 25 years on theboard of KidsPeace, the regional home for disadvantaged children. When shejoined, the main building (then called Wiley House) was pocked with gopherholes or rat holes, I don't know, Mrs. Donley later recalled in an interview.We had a bucket ready on rainy days if the roof leaked. It was time to buildsomething better. She was a key member of the team that raised the money tobuild the modern KidsPeace campus in Orefield. As president of the AllentownLibrary board from 1979 to 2004, Mrs. Donley oversaw the library's move fromits cramped quarters on 9th Street to the modern building at 12th and Hamilton.Mrs. Donley led a team that doubled the number of library users, arranged freepeanut butter sandwiches for poor children, and pioneered free internet access.As former library director Kathryn Stephanoff said, She truly led us into the21st century, giving exceptional advice and leadership by using her subtleweapons - an occasional raised eyebrow, a few soft words, the very easy tointerpret silent stare and the wonderfully helpful questions - why, how, when,for whom. No one will fill her chair with the same simple dignity, the samesensible questions, the same loyal support. Mrs. Donley didn't seek thespotlight, yet still received many accolades. Muhlenberg College awarded her anhonorary Doctor of Human Letters in 1984 for truly salutary service to thiscommunity and your humanitarianism which reflects a quiet determination toreaffirm the worth and dignity of your fellow men and women. When she receiveda United Way award in 1981, the plaudits included this: Inez just wants to getthe job done. She doesn't look for recognition. There are givers and there aretakers . . . Inez is a giver. And this: She's a warm, generous person alwaysdoing things for people. She doesn't even have any hobbies, because she's sobusy doing volunteer work in the community. At the award ceremony, her husbanddescribed Inez as a woman of uncommon common sense, and credited her with(among other things) being the inspiration and motivation behind his ownsuccess. Mrs. Donley did have hobbies, too. She played basketball at NewMarket, Alabama High School and, with sufficient prodding in later years, wouldoccasionally demonstrate the granny shot free throw. Mrs. Donley was an avidbridge player, reader and gardener (groundhogs nibbled on her hollyhocks attheir peril). She enjoyed cooking and was famous for fried chicken and homemadepies. She had strong, quick hands and was adept with any tool, including a hoe,paring knife, rolling pin, sewing needle, Royal manual typewriter, rake, hammerand two-by-four. Most of all, Mrs. Donley loved being with her children,grandchildren, and her siblings, in-laws and their families. She graciouslyopened her vacation home in the Poconos to large and unpredictable crowds, andmade every guest feel at home.
Priscilla Payne Hurd, 93, ofRiegelsville, PA, died on Tuesday morning, February 5, 2013. Born: Mrs. Hurdwas born on September 26, 1919 in Evanston, IL. Prill' was the daughter of thelate Frank E. and Seba B. Payne of Chicago, IL. Personal: She was the wife ofGeorge A. Hurd, Sr., who worked for the legal and finance departments of theBethlehem Steel Company. Mr. Hurd died in 2002. Mrs. Hurd spent most of herchildhood in Glencoe, IL. She attended the North Shore Country Day School inWinnetka, IL, The Madeira School in McLean, VA, and Finch College in New YorkCity. During World War II, she drove an ambulance in Chicago. As a member ofthe Junior League of Chicago, the focus of which was to interest young woman inthe industrial and social problems on the city, she volunteered in familycourt. Mrs. Hurd moved to Bethlehem, PA in 1946 when she married George A.Hurd. Sr. Mr. and Mrs. Hurd lived in Bethlehem during the first years of theirmarriage, then moved to Saucon Valley and, finally, to a farm in Riegelsvillein the late 1950s. They had been married for 56 years, when Mr. Hurd died in2002 at the age of 91. Mrs. Hurd was on many organizational boards in the 66years that she lived in the Lehigh Valley, but notably was the first womanboard member and 1st woman chairperson of the board at St. Luke's Hospital, thefirst woman board member and the 1st woman chairperson at Moravian College, andthe 1st woman board member and chairperson of the National Museum of IndustrialHistory. She was awarded an honorary degree, Doctor of Humanities by theAllentown College of St. Francis DeSales (now DeSales University) in 1992, anhonorary Doctor of Letters Degree by Moravian College in 1993, was therecipient of Northampton Community College's first Community Fabric Award, andreceived an honorary degree, Doctor of Humane Letters from the LehighUniversity in 2003. In addition, she received numerous citations from the Cityof Bethlehem and awards from organizations across the Lehigh Valley.
Hiç yorum yok:
Yorum Gönder