A Tribute to D&E’s Legend – Dr. Gloria M. Payne

Editor’s Note: When planning for the Fall 2020 issue of Forward, Professor Emerita Dr. Gloria Payne was selected to grace the cover and a feature story on her life and career were to be highlighted. Sadly, before the edition went to publication, Payne passed away on Oct. 10, 2020, at age 98. This article serves as a tribute to a woman who inspired all who knew her. The photographs tell of her many celebrations. Dr. Gloria Payne never planned to become a teacher, much less the longest serving professor at her Davis & Elkins College alma mater. Yet, her career as an educator in business and fashion

year began that fall, Payne stayed on to serve the College for 71 years. At D&E, she met her husband, the late Carl Payne ’50, grew the business department and shaped thousands of lives. As chair of the Business and Economics Department, Payne developed 18 business programs at D&E and connected her students and the business community through honorary organizations and events such as “An Evening with Business” and “Project Interview.” She hosted etiquette dinners for students so they would know how to best present themselves in social settings and the Beta Alpha Beta Annual Awards Banquet to give recognition to students and For seven decades, Dr. Gloria Payne helped D&E students make the most of their talents, instilled confidence and community members. prepared them for career success. The James S. McDonnell That sentiment rang true for alumnus Mark Foundation Chair in Business Barber ’75, who currently serves as Chairman of and Economics in honor of Dr. the D&E Board of Trustees. Gloria M. Payne was established in 1986 and dedicated in 2008 “For me, Dr. Payne embodied the life-changing in gratitude for the education college experience that is Davis & Elkins College,” Marcella McDonnell Stevens ’85 Barber said. “Like so many students who arrive on received under Payne’s guidance. campus, unsure of the pathway to a degree or their Alumni John Whitman ’50, left, and Wendell Cramer ’59 congratulate Dr. Gloria Payne on the dedication of The James S. McDonnell Foundation Chair in Business and Economics in her honor. In 1995, she received the College’s Distinguished Alumna Award. For her dedication throughout the years, Payne was awarded the College’s inaugural Crystal Mace career interests, I made a course adjustment in my sophomore year, one of the most consequential in my life. Guided by Dr. Payne and others in the faculty and administration, I began to pursue a business degree, graduated with pride and then earned her state and national awards and she Award in 2017, the highest honor bestowed to went on to a rewarding career that literally took taught her students as much about life as she did an individual. However, she never viewed her me around the world. Throughout her long and about their chosen field. career as “work” and refused to take credit for her distinguished teaching career, Dr. Payne helped When word of her passing was announced on students’ successes. students, just like me, see their true potential and social media, thousands of memories and words In a 2017 interview, she said, of praise poured in from around the world with “I have so many students who heart break expressed by former students, friends keep in touch with me who and associates. To her students, she was a mentor, say, ‘I don’t know what I would friend and the professor they never forgot no have done had you not helped matter how much time had passed from their days me with this.’ Well, I didn’t do at D&E. She, too, never forgot her students and it. I just opened their eyes to kept up to date on their careers and life events. what they could do. It gave me Payne graduated from D&E in 1943 with a chance to use my talents. It Bachelor of Arts degrees in business and English, gave me a chance to be more and dreamt of moving to a larger city to work in aware of other people’s lives, the business industry. Just in case things didn’t go how you can help, how you as planned, she obtained a teaching certificate. can be a benefit to them. So, it’s Not long after, she went to work instructing not just a little world of what business at Spencer High School in Spencer, did I do, it’s what did we do. Davis & Elkins College President Chris A. Wood and his West Virginia, and discovered her passion. What have we done together wife, Lisa, present Dr. Gloria Payne with a certificate Two years later, she was asked to return to D&E to make your coming to D&E awarding her the honor of James S. McDonnell to teach a summer course. As the academic worthwhile.” Foundation Professor of Business and Economics Emerita. Payne is D&E’s longest serving faculty member.

Dr. Gloria Payne shed tears of joy after receiving the inaugural Crystal Mace Award. She and her daughter, Debbie Payne Fragale ’81, were humbled by the honor. The Crystal Mace Award is the College’s most prestigious award and is presented in recognition of transformational leadership, service and/or character, and of unparalleled gifts of time, talent and/or treasure.

Dr. Gloria Payne reminisces with one of her former students, David Kirby ’83, and longtime friend Jackie Bright following a dinner in her honor during Homecoming Weekend in 2015. Dr. Gloria Payne thanks Board of Trustees member James McDonnell for The James S. McDonnell Foundation Chair in Business and Economics in her honor as President Emeritus Dr. Thomas Mann looks on. McDonnell and his wife, Elizabeth, established the chair with a $350,000 gift. Nearly 300 alumni and friends contributed to reach the $1 million goal to endow the chair.

motivated us all to strive and excel. She was a mentor and friend and she will always be … an inspiration.” It was that helpfulness, kindness and consideration for others that stood out as Payne’s persona. Her former students say some of her good habits and personal characteristics seemed to rub off on the people she encountered. Jack Sanzari ’56 studied business and Payne taught him about corporate dynamics and how to type. Although those skills were helpful in his career in human resources, it was the character traits he admired in Payne and emulated. “She was a great listener because she really took an interest in you and that has stayed with me to this day,” Sanzari explained. “What carried over is, when somebody talks to you, you have to listen to what they are saying.” Dr. Gloria Payne waves to the crowd when she served as Honorary Parade Marshal in the 2016 Mountain State Forest Sanzari wasn’t the only Festival Grand Feature Parade. She was named to the honor by one who took notice. alumnus and Vice President for Student Affairs Scott Goddard Debbie Larkin ’11 was in her 40s when she started ’96, who served as Director General that year. In 2013, Payne was recognized for 67 years of volunteerism with the Forest Festival. taking classes from Payne and volunteered to help with projects outside of the classroom. around looking at Christmas lights, going to lunch, decorating windows for the Forest Festival. When we were going somewhere, we’d plan what we were going to wear and talk about who we might see. With her and I there was no age difference, we were just girlfriends and we enjoyed a lot of girl talk.” With that friendship came support and encouragement for one another in personal growth. “She was always looking to take whatever you came with and enhance it to its maximum,” Larkin said. Alumna and D&E Professor of Sport Science Dr. Mary Ann DeLuca ’80 says she also received encouragement, along with sage advice on life,

“When I was around Gloria, I always felt like I wanted to do more for someone else because that was what she was doing. She just always wanted to make that other person feel special,” Larkin said. “I learned first and foremost to put the other person first.” Their relationship grew beyond teacher and student as they formed a true bond of friendship and in later years, Larkin was always at Payne’s side accompanying her to College and community events. “We by far considered each other best friends,” Larkin explained. “Some of the things we did weren’t necessarily D&E events, like driving

Davis & Elkins College honored Dr. Gloria Payne for 60 years of teaching during a weekend celebration titled “Takin’ Care of Business.” A special dinner was hosted in Payne’s honor with alumni, faculty and staff sharing their memories. The weekend also included seminars, a train ride and social events.

business and the importance of people. “We would talk career and I would get wisdom,” DeLuca explained. “She would always say our students are our clients. She would tell me that each one of them are special and that I was special because no one else can do what I can do. That’s the same kind of thing she would instill in her students. That’s her philosophy. I would always walk away and say, ‘wow, that is so inspirational.’” Although DeLuca was never one of Payne’s students, the two were friends, neighbors and what they considered extended family. “I think a lot of it has to do with our Italian heritage and I was born and raised in a small community. When I moved into this house, Gloria was right there and it became just like home,” DeLuca said. “The bond was so strong; we were definitely family. We would cook and share food, and there was just love.” But there is another way to look upon this truth. If life went on the same without the presence of the one who died, we could only conclude that the life we here remember made no contribution, filled no space, meant nothing. The fact that this person left behind a place that cannot be filled is a high tribute to the individual. Life can be the same after a trinket has been lost, but never the loss of a treasure.’”

“Dr. Gloria M. Payne was a treasure to the thousands that knew and loved her,” Wood said. “She was certainly a treasure to her beloved Davis & Elkins College, where she spent her long and purpose-filled career, and where she impacted the lives of countless students.”

The full service may be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=DofeJCvzONI&feature=youtu.be

Farewell to a Grand Lady

On a cold, rainy October morning, Davis & Elkins College employees scattered red rose petals on the ground in front of Halliehurst. Not long after, a member of the West Virginia Highlanders of Davis & Elkins College began playing “Amazing Grace” on the bagpipes and a black hearse ascended the hill. The College community stood along the roadside to watch as Dr. Gloria Payne made her last trip through campus. At her funeral Mass at St. Brendan Catholic Church, Davis & Elkins College President Chris A. Wood spoke the words of poet Paul Irion: “‘A death has occurred, and everything is changed by this event. We are painfully aware that life can never be the same again, that yesterday is over, that Davis & Elkins College President Chris A. Wood congratulates Dr. Gloria Payne on being the relationships once rich have ended. inaugural recipient of the Crystal Mace Award.

A fashion show and auction highlighted the “Takin’ Care of Business” weekend celebration as a complement to Dr. Gloria Payne’s fashion merchandising program. Clothing featuring fashion through the years was provided by alumni and local businesses. Alumni served as models for the event, which was part of the College’s Centennial Celebrations.